Shadowing Practice: Board Meeting: Responding to a Takeover Bid - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
34 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Right, shall we begin? I take it you've all read it.
2
Oh, read it, reread it, and lost a night's sleep.
3
Entirely unsolicited, of course. How very thoughtful of them.
4
I fear Hartwell think we're ripe for the picking.
5
Well... at nine pounds a share, who can blame them?
6
Helen, give it to us straight. Is the price fair?
7
Frankly, no. It undervalues us quite considerably.
8
And the bid ignores every contract we've signed since spring!
9
So they're buying the dip, and calling it generosity.
10
Twenty percent short, at least, on any sensible valuation.
11
The trouble is, our shareholders may not see it that way.
12
Well, a thirty percent premium is awfully tempting.
13
Ugh, the hedge funds will be ringing by lunchtime.
14
Which is precisely why we can't dismiss it out of hand.
15
And what becomes of our people in all this?
16
Hartwell's record on integration is, shall we say, brutal.
17
They gutted the last firm they acquired... within a year.
18
Synergies, they called it, if memory serves.
19
And our culture is half of what they're paying for.
20
Still, our fiduciary duty is to the shareholders, first and foremost.
21
Agreed, but that duty means securing full value,
22
not rubber-stamping the first bid that comes along.
23
Hang on, so is this a no, or a not yet?
24
Hmm... that, I suspect, is the real question.
25
We could reject it, but signal we're open to talks.
26
If they want us, let them sharpen their pencils.
27
Yes! And meanwhile, we quietly sound out a white knight!
28
Brightway have been circling for years, haven't they?
29
They have! And they'd keep the business intact.
30
Right, then. We reject the offer as it stands,
31
but we make it clear the door isn't closed.
32
Firm, but not slammed shut. I like it.
33
Lovely. I'll have the advisers rework the numbers by Friday.
34
Excellent. And naturally, not a word leaves this room.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
A11,857
A Day in My Life 1: Getting Up
American AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
A1665
Fast and Slow: The Big Race
American AccentBritish AccentKidsDaily Conversation
B11,408
Discipline Beats Motivation
American AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
A11,988
Can You Swim? What Can You Do?
American AccentBritish AccentKidsDaily Conversation
A2370
A Day in My Life 19: Cleaning the House
American AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B2388
IELTS Speaking Part 2: Describe a Quiet Place You Like to Go
American AccentBritish AccentIELTS PrepUniversity Students
A21,532
What's in Your School Bag?
American AccentBritish AccentKidsTeensDaily Conversation
A2360
A Day in My Life 9: Doing the Dishes
American AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
A144
A Day in My Life 24: Watching TV
American AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
A1422
A Day in My Life 5: Leaving the House
American AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B2388
Why a Song Gets Stuck in Your Head
American AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B1151
First Day Nerves at the Café
American AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
A1116
Hide and Seek in Maple Wood
American AccentBritish AccentKidsDaily Conversation
B1760
IELTS Speaking Part 1: Food, Shopping and the Weather
American AccentBritish AccentIELTS PrepDaily ConversationUniversity Students
A1452
Lunch Break: What Do You Want to Eat?
American AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
A241
A Day in My Life 21: Taking a Taxi
American AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B2151
SEtalk: Procrastination Isn't About Laziness
American AccentIELTS PrepUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B1615
Calling In Sick: I Can't Come to Work Today
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B286
SEtalk: Sleep Is Not a Waste of Time
American AccentIELTS PrepUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
A1133
A Day in My Life 2: Brushing My Teeth and Taking a Shower
American AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
C111
44 sentences
TOEIC Speaking Respond Using Information (Questions 8–10): A Trade Fair Agenda and a Product Launch Plan
American AccentBritish AccentTOEIC PrepBusiness EnglishWorking Adults
B236
32 sentences
Senior Leadership Interview: Turning Around a Struggling Team
American AccentBritish AccentBusiness EnglishInterview EnglishWorking Adults
C12
121 sentences
BEST of MARGIN CALL #4 - Senior Partners Emergency Meeting
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
1008 sentences
Business Meeting Dialogues in English — Listening Practice (B2 – C1)
Business EnglishWorking Adults
C12
44 sentences
suits-negociation
Business EnglishWorking Adults
C13
53 sentences
Stop Getting Rejected By Your Boss (Copy This Framework)
Business EnglishWorking Adults
B21
134 sentences
A Day as a Purchasing Staff | English Story + Business Vocabulary I Intermediate B1-B2 Level
Business EnglishWorking Adults
B21
696 sentences
Oxford Business English English for Meetings
Business EnglishWorking Adults
C12
331 sentences
Private Equity Pays On Day One. They Still Said No
Business EnglishWorking Adults
C12
33 sentences
BUSINESS ENGLISH: HANDLING DIFFICULT NEGOTIATIONS
Business EnglishWorking Adults
B290 sentences
Sir Humphrey throws Sir Frank under the bus | Yes Prime Minister
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C17
20 sentences
Finding Your Voice in the Boardroom
Business EnglishInterview EnglishWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This C2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Board Meeting: Responding to a Takeover Bid”. This video has 34 sentences and 315 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:21. The speaker talks at a steady 134 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 77% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding. 6 of its 34 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| shareholder noun | /ˈʃɛəˌhəʊl.də(ɹ)/ | One who owns shares of stock in a corporation. |
| awfully adverb | /ˈɔ.f(ə.)li/ | Badly, terribly. |
| fiduciary noun | /fəˈduːʃ.i.eɹ.i/ | One who holds something in trust for another. |
| lunchtime noun | /ˈlʌnt͡ʃtaɪm/ | The time or hour at or around which lunch is normally eaten. |
| reread verb | /ɹiːˈɹiːd/ | To read again. |
| rework noun | /ˈɹiːwɜː(ɹ)k/ | The act of redoing, correcting, or rebuilding. |
| sharpen verb | /ˈʃɑɹpən/ | To make sharp. |
| synergy noun | /ˈsɪnəɹd͡ʒi/ | A synonym of binding energy. |
| undervalue verb | /ˌʌndə(ɹ)ˈvælju/ | To underestimate, or assign too low a value to (something or someone); to have too little regard for. |
| unsolicited adjective | /ˌʌnsəˈlɪsɪtɪd/ | Not requested; neither welcomed nor invited. |
| generosity noun | /ˌd͡ʒɛn.əˈɹɑ.sə.ti/ | The trait of being willing to donate money, resources, or time. |
| ripe adjective | /ɹaɪp/ | Of a fruit, vegetable, seed, etc., ready for reaping or gathering; having attained perfection; mature. |
| hedge noun | /ˈhɛd͡ʒ/ | A thicket of bushes or other shrubbery, especially one planted as a fence between two portions of land, or to separate the parts of a garden. |
| valuation noun | /ˌvæ.ljuːˈeɪ.ʃən/ | An estimation of something's worth. |
| foremost adjective | /ˈfɔː.məʊst/ | Positioned in front of (all) others in space, most forward. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come along verb | To accompany. |
| sound out verb | To question and listen attentively in order to discover a person's opinion, intent, or preference, especially by using indirect conversational remarks. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Right, shall we begin?
- I take it you've all read it.
- Hartwell's record on integration is, shall we say, brutal.
- Brightway have been circling for years, haven't they?
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 11 contractions and reduced forms, such as they're, we're, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shareholder /ˈʃɛəˌhəʊl.də(ɹ)/, fiduciary /fəˈduːʃ.i.eɹ.i/, sharpen /ˈʃɑɹpən/, valuation /ˌvæ.ljuːˈeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: fiduciary /fəˈduːʃ.i.eɹ.i/, undervalue /ˌʌndə(ɹ)ˈvælju/, unsolicited /ˌʌnsəˈlɪsɪtɪd/, generosity /ˌd͡ʒɛn.əˈɹɑ.sə.ti/, valuation /ˌvæ.ljuːˈeɪ.ʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like shareholder, awfully, fiduciary.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.