Shadowing Practice: Cambridge 11 Test 2 Section 2 Listening - Learn English Speaking with Video

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56 sentences
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Section 2
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You will hear a woman who works in a theatre talking to two new staff members on their first day of work.
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First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 16.
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Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 16.
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Hi, great to see you.
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I'm Jodie, and I'll be looking after both of you for the first month you're working here at the Amersham Theatre.
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I'll tell you something about the theatre now, then take you to meet two of the other staff.
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It's an old building, and it's been modernised several times.
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In fact, as you can see, we're carrying out a major refurbishment at the moment.
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The interior has just been repainted, and we're about to start on the exterior of the building.
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That'll be a big job.
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The work's running over budget, so we've had to postpone installing an elevator.
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I hope you're happy running up and down stairs.
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When the theatre was built, people were generally slimmer and shorter than now, and the seats were very close together.
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We've replaced them with larger seats, with more legroom.
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This means fewer seats in total, but we've taken the opportunity to install seats that can easily be moved to create different acting spaces.
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We've also turned a few storerooms over to other purposes, like using them for meetings.
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We try hard to involve members of the public in the theatre.
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One way is by organising backstage tours, so people can be shown round the building and learn how a theatre operates.
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These are proving very popular.
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What we're finding is that people want to have lunch or a cup of coffee while they're here,
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so we're looking into the possibility of opening a cafe in due course.
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We have a bookshop which specialises in books about drama, and that attracts plenty of customers.
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Then there are two large rooms that will be decorated next month, and they'll be available for hire, for conferences and private functions, such as parties.
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We're also considering hiring out costumes to amateur drama clubs.
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Now I want to tell you about our workshops.
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We recently started a programme of workshops that anyone can join.
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eventually we intend to run courses in acting
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but we're waiting until we've got the right people in place as trainers
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that's proving more difficult than we'd expected
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there's a big demand to learn about the technical side of putting on a production
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and our lighting workshop has already started with great success
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we're going to start one on sound next month a number of people have inquired about workshops on makeup
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and that's something we're considering for the future a surprise success is the workshop on making puppets
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we happen to have someone working here who does it as a hobby
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and she offered to run a workshop it was so popular we're now running them every month
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Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 17 to 20.
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Now, a word about the layout of the building.
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The auditorium, stage and dressing rooms for the actors are all below ground level.
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Here on the ground floor, we have most of the rooms that the public doesn't see.
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The majority are internal, so they have windows in the roof to light them.
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Standing here in the foyer, you're probably wondering why the box office isn't here, where the public would expect to find it.
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Well, you might have noticed it on your way in.
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Although it's part of this building, it's next door, with a separate entrance from the road.
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For the theatre manager's office, you go across the foyer and through the double doors.
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Turn right, and it's the room at the end of the corridor, with the door on the left.
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The lighting box is where the computerised stage lighting is operated, and it's at the back of the building.
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When you're through the double doors, turn left, turn right at the water cooler, and right again at the end.
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It's the second room along that corridor.
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The lighting box has a window into the auditorium, which of course is below us.
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The Artistic Director's Office is through the double doors, turn right, and it's the first room you come to on the right -hand side.
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And finally, for the moment, the room where I'll take you next, the relaxation room.
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So if you'd like to come with me...
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That is the end of Section 2.
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You now have half a minute to check your answers.
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Now turn to section 3.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Cambridge 11 Test 2 Section 2 Listening”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: theatre, workshop, door, lighting, seats. This video has 56 sentences and 760 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:08. The speaker talks slowly, about 107 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

WordPronunciationMeaning
workshop noun/ˈwɝk.ʃɑp/A room, especially one which is not particularly large, used for manufacturing or other light industrial work.
hire verb/ˈhaɪɹ/To obtain the services of in return for fixed payment.
install verb/ɪnˈstɔl/To connect, set up or prepare something for use
corridor noun/ˈkɒɹɪdɔː/A narrow hall or passage with rooms leading off it, as in a building or in a railway carriage.
auditorium noun/ˌɔ.dɪˌto.ɹi.əm/A large room for public meetings or performances.
carefully adverb/ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/With care; attentively, circumspectly.
entrance noun/ˈɛn.tɹəns/The action of entering, or going in.
fewer/ˈfjuː.ɚ/Less; a smaller amount of something non-integral commonly expressed as an integer
involve verb/ɪnˈvɑlv/To have (something) as a component or a related part; to comprise, to include.
amateur noun/ˈæ.mə.t͡ʃɚ/A person attached to a particular pursuit, study, science, or art (such as music or painting), especially one who cultivates any study, interest, taste, or…
attract verb/əˈtɹækt/To pull toward without touching.
costume noun/ˈkɑsˌt(j)um/A style of dress, including garments, accessories and hairstyle, especially as characteristic of a particular country, period or people.
stairs noun/ˈstɛɹz/A contiguous set of steps connecting two floors.
intend verb/ɪnˈtɛnd/To fix the mind upon (something, or something to be accomplished); be intent upon
layout noun/ˈleɪ.aʊt/A structured arrangement of items within certain limits.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

WordPronunciationMeaning
carry out verb/ˈkæ.ɹi aʊt/To hold while moving it out.
close together adjectiveNear each other in time or space.
run over verbTo exceed the allotted time.
run up verbTo run (towards someone or something); to hasten to a destination.
show round verbTo show someone the important parts of something (a building, town etc.)

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

StructureIn the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters nowit's been modernised · has just been repainted · we've had
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does itbeen modernised · been repainted · was built

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 29 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, we've, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

  • The “sh” and “zh” sounds: workshop /ˈwɝk.ʃɑp/, relaxation /rᵻˌlækˈseɪ.ʃən/
  • Long words — get the stress right: auditorium /ˌɔ.dɪˌto.ɹi.əm/, elevator /ˈɛləˌveɪtɚ/

How to practise with this video

  1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
  2. Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
  3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like workshop, hire, install.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →