Shadowing Practice: Cambridge 12 Test 1 Section 4 Listening - Learn English Speaking with Video

Choose a practice mode

Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.

73 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Section 4.
2
You will hear part of a lecture for business students about business values.
3
First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.
4
Thank you.
5
Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.
6
In public discussion of business, we take certain values for granted.
7
Today I'm going to talk about four of them.
8
Collaboration, hard work, creativity and excellence.
9
Most people would say they're all good things.
10
I'm going to suggest that's an over -simple view.
11
The trouble with these values is that they're theoretical concepts, removed from the reality of day -to -day business.
12
Pursue values by all means, but be prepared for what may happen as a result.
13
They can actually cause damage, which is not at all the intention.
14
Business leaders generally try to do the right thing,
15
but all too often the right thing backfires if those leaders adopt values without understanding and managing the side effects that arise.
16
The values can easily get in the way of what's actually intended.
17
OK, so the first value I'm going to discuss is collaboration.
18
Let me give you an example.
19
On a management training course I once attended,
20
we were put into groups and had to construct a bridge across a stream using building blocks that we were given.
21
The rule was that everyone in the team had to move at least one building block during the construction.
22
This was intended to encourage teamwork.
23
But it was really a job best done by one person.
24
The other teams tried to collaborate on building the structure and descended into confusion, with everyone getting in each other's way.
25
Our team leader solved the challenge brilliantly.
26
She simply asked everyone in the team to move a piece a few centimetres to comply with the rule,
27
and then let the person in the team with an aptitude for puzzles like this build it alone.
28
We finished before any other team.
29
My point is that the task wasn't really suited to teamworking, so why make it one?
30
Teamwork can also lead to inconsistency, a common cause of poor sales.
31
In the case of a smartphone that a certain company launched, one director wanted to target the business market,
32
and another demanded it was aimed at consumers.
33
The company wanted both directors to be involved, so gave the product a consumer -friendly name, but marketed it to companies.
34
The result was that it met the needs of neither group.
35
It would have been better to let one director or the other have his way, not both.
36
Now, industriousness or hard work.
37
It's easy to mock people who say they work hard.
38
After all, a hamster running around in a wheel is working hard and getting nowhere.
39
Of course hard work is valuable, but only when properly targeted,
40
otherwise it wastes the resources that companies value most – time and energy, and that's bad for the organisation.
41
There's a management model that groups people according to four criteria.
42
Clever, hard -working, stupid and lazy.
43
Here, lazy means having a rational determination not to carry out unnecessary tasks.
44
It doesn't mean trying to avoid work altogether.
45
Most people display two of these characteristics, and the most valuable people are those who are both clever and lazy.
46
They possess intellectual clarity, and they don't rush into making decisions.
47
They come up with solutions to save the time and energy spent by the stupid and hard -working group.
48
Instead of throwing more man -hours at a problem, the clever and lazy group looks for a more effective solution.
49
Next, we come to creativity.
50
This often works well.
51
Creating an attention -grabbing TV commercial, for example, might lead to increased sales.
52
But it isn't always a good thing.
53
Some advertising campaigns are remembered for their creativity without having any effect on sales.
54
This happened a few years ago with the launch of a chocolate bar.
55
Subsequent research showed that plenty of consumers remembered the adverts, but had no idea what was being advertised.
56
The trouble is that the creator derives pleasure from coming up with the idea, and wrongly assumes the audience for the campaign will share that feeling.
57
A company that brings out thousands of new products may seem more creative than a company that only has a few,
58
but it may be too creative.
59
and make smaller profits creativity needs to be targeted to solve a problem
60
that the company has identified just coming up with more and more novel products isn't necessarily a good thing
61
and finally excellence we all know companies that claim they strive for excellence but it takes a long time to achieve excellence.
62
In business, being first with a product is more profitable than having the best product.
63
A major study of company performance compared pioneers, that is, companies bringing out the first version of a particular product,
64
with followers, the companies that copied and improved on that product.
65
The study found that the pioneers commanded an average market share of 29%,
66
while the followers achieved less than half that, only 13%, even though their product might have been better.
67
Insisting on excellence in everything we do is time -consuming, wastes energy, and leads to losing out on opportunities.
68
Sometimes second -rate work is more worthwhile than excellence.
69
Make sure it's excellent sounds like a good approach to business, but the just -get -started approach is likely to be more successful.
70
That is the end of Section 4.
71
You now have half a minute to check your answers.
72
Thank you.
73
In the IELTS test, you would now have 10 minutes to transfer your answers to the answer sheet.

Download App

Everything you need to speak fluently

AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Scan QR
Scan QR
Download on theApp StoreGet it onGoogle Play

Same Channel

Cambridge 17 Test 2 Section 3 ListeningB2
1

Cambridge 17 Test 2 Section 3 Listening

IELTS PrepUniversity Students
Cambridge 10 Test 4 Section 4 ListeningC1
2

Cambridge 10 Test 4 Section 4 Listening

Daily ConversationUniversity Students
Cambridge 15 Test 1 Section 4 ListeningB2
2

Cambridge 15 Test 1 Section 4 Listening

IELTS PrepUniversity Students
Cambridge 18 Test 4 Section 2 ListeningB2
3

Cambridge 18 Test 4 Section 2 Listening

IELTS PrepUniversity Students
Cambridge 10 Test 3 Section 2 ListeningB2
1

Cambridge 10 Test 3 Section 2 Listening

Cambridge Exam PrepUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
Cambridge 10 Test 2 Section 1 ListeningB1
5

Cambridge 10 Test 2 Section 1 Listening

Cambridge Exam PrepHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
Cambridge 13 Test 4 Section 1 ListeningB1
12

Cambridge 13 Test 4 Section 1 Listening

Business EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students
Cambridge 14 Test 2 Section 1 ListeningB1
4

Cambridge 14 Test 2 Section 1 Listening

TOEFL PrepCambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students
Cambridge 16 Test 4 Section 2 ListeningB2
2

Cambridge 16 Test 4 Section 2 Listening

Cambridge Exam PrepUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
Cambridge 15 Test 3 Section 4 ListeningC1
5

Cambridge 15 Test 3 Section 4 Listening

IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students
Cambridge 12 Test 2 Section 4 ListeningC1
11

Cambridge 12 Test 2 Section 4 Listening

IELTS PrepBusiness EnglishUniversity Students
Cambridge 13 Test 1 Section 3 ListeningC1

Cambridge 13 Test 1 Section 3 Listening

Daily ConversationUniversity Students
Cambridge 13 Test 1 Section 4 ListeningC1

Cambridge 13 Test 1 Section 4 Listening

IELTS PrepUniversity Students
Cambridge 11 Test 2 Section 2 ListeningB2

Cambridge 11 Test 2 Section 2 Listening

IELTS PrepUniversity Students
Cambridge 16 Test 1 Section 3 LIsteningB2

Cambridge 16 Test 1 Section 3 LIstening

Cambridge Exam PrepHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
Cambridge 16 Test 1 Section 2 LIsteningB2

Cambridge 16 Test 1 Section 2 LIstening

TOEIC PrepCambridge Exam PrepBusiness English
FOR YOU

Recommend Video

IELTS Listening Section-4(Four Business Values) with answersC1
2
86 sentences

IELTS Listening Section-4(Four Business Values) with answers

IELTS PrepBusiness EnglishUniversity Students
Cambridge IELTS 11 | Listening Test 4 Section 2 | Audio, Questions, Answer Key and TranscriptB2
1
45 sentences

Cambridge IELTS 11 | Listening Test 4 Section 2 | Audio, Questions, Answer Key and Transcript

IELTS PrepUniversity Students
IELTS Speaking Part 3: Work-Life Balance and the Four-Day WeekC1
3
30 sentences

IELTS Speaking Part 3: Work-Life Balance and the Four-Day Week

American AccentBritish AccentIELTS PrepUniversity Students
Vol 3 - test 1 - section 4C1
1
49 sentences

Vol 3 - test 1 - section 4

IELTS PrepUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
IELTS Listening Practice B2–C1 | The Importance of Lifelong Learning in Modern SocietyC1
4
119 sentences

IELTS Listening Practice B2–C1 | The Importance of Lifelong Learning in Modern Society

IELTS PrepBusiness EnglishUniversity Students
(Level- Medium) IELTS Actual listening Economics and TrustC1
1
75 sentences

(Level- Medium) IELTS Actual listening Economics and Trust

IELTS PrepUniversity Students
IELTS Actual listening Professor Smith's article part 3(14.06.2025)B2
1
66 sentences

IELTS Actual listening Professor Smith's article part 3(14.06.2025)

IELTS PrepUniversity Students
English vocabulary in use Advanced Unit 2C1
5
24 sentences

English vocabulary in use Advanced Unit 2

IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepCambridge Exam Prep
'Self-Regulatory focus theory' and leadership | IELTS LISTENING TEST | SECTION-4C1
3
57 sentences

'Self-Regulatory focus theory' and leadership | IELTS LISTENING TEST | SECTION-4

IELTS PrepTOEFL PrepBusiness English
Cambridge IELTS 18 Test 1 Section 3C1
4
79 sentences

Cambridge IELTS 18 Test 1 Section 3

IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students
Cambridge 19 Listening Test 4 Part 4C1
9
76 sentences

Cambridge 19 Listening Test 4 Part 4

IELTS PrepUniversity Students

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Cambridge 12 Test 1 Section 4 Listening”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: product, value, excellence, companies, creativity. This video has 73 sentences and 931 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:45. The speaker talks slowly, about 106 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

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

WordPronunciationMeaning
excellence noun/ˈɛksələns/The quality of being excellent; brilliance
lazy adjective/ˈleɪ̯zi(ː)/Unwilling to do work or make an effort; disinclined to exertion.
creativity noun/kri.eɪˈtɪv.ᵻ.ti/The ability to use imagination to produce a novel idea or product.
clever adjective/ˈklɛv.ɚ/Nimble with hands or body; dexterous; skillful; adept.
solve verb/sɒlv/To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out.
collaboration noun/kəˌlæbəˈɹeɪʃən/The act of collaborating.
intend verb/ɪnˈtɛnd/To fix the mind upon (something, or something to be accomplished); be intent upon
pioneer noun/ˌpaɪ.əˈnɪɹ/One who goes before, as into the wilderness, preparing the way for others to follow.
follower noun/ˈfɒləʊə(ɹ)/One who follows, comes after another.
necessarily adverb/ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/Inevitably; of necessity.
rush verb/ɹʌʃ/To hurry; to perform a task with great haste, often not properly or without thinking carefully.
carefully adverb/ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/With care; attentively, circumspectly.
compare verb/kəmˈpɛɚ/To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it…
encourage verb/ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit.
nowhere adverb/ˈnoʊ.(h)wɛɹ/In no place.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

WordPronunciationMeaning
come up with verbTo manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it.
bring out verbTo elicit, evoke, or emphasize (a particular quality).
carry out verb/ˈkæ.ɹi aʊt/To hold while moving it out.

Grammar in this video

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

StructureIn the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does itwere put · was intended · wasn't really suited
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thingdamage, which is · people who say · those who are

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 10 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, isn't, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

  • The “th” sounds: altogether /ɔl.tuˈɡɛð.ɚ/, theoretical /ˌθi.əˈɹɛt.ɪ.kəl/, worthwhile /ˌwɜː(ɹ)θˈwaɪl/
  • The “sh” and “zh” sounds: collaboration /kəˌlæbəˈɹeɪʃən/, rush /ɹʌʃ/, sheet /ʃit/, organisation /ˈɔː.ɡə.naɪˌzeɪ.ʃən/, intention /ɪnˈtɛnʃn̩/
  • Long words — get the stress right: creativity /kri.eɪˈtɪv.ᵻ.ti/, collaboration /kəˌlæbəˈɹeɪʃən/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, organisation /ˈɔː.ɡə.naɪˌzeɪ.ʃən/, intellectual /ˌɪntəˈlɛkt͡ʃʊəl/

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 excellence, lazy, creativity.

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 →