Shadowing Practice: Cambridge 16 Test 4 Section 2 Listening - Learn English Speaking with Video

Creating lesson...
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Part 2.
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You will hear a town councillor reporting on the local transport network and a recreation facility.
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First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 14.
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Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 14.
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Right, next on the agenda we have traffic and highways.
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Councillor Thornton.
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Thank you.
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Well, we now have the results of the survey carried out last month about traffic and road transport in the town.
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People were generally satisfied with the state of the roads.
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There were one or two complaints about potholes, which will be addressed,
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but a significant number of people complained about the increasing number of heavy vehicles using our local roads to avoid traffic elsewhere.
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We'd expected more complaints by commuters about the reduction in the train service, but it doesn't seem to have affected people too much.
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The cycle path that runs alongside the river is very well used by both cyclists
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and pedestrians since the surface was improved last year, but overtaking can be a problem, so we're going to add a bit on the side to make it wider.
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At some stage, we'd like to extend the path so that it goes all the way through the town, but that won't be happening in the immediate future.
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The plans to have a pedestrian crossing next to the post
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office have unfortunately had to be put on hold for the time being.
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We'd budgeted for this to be done this financial year, but then there were rumours that the post office was going to move, which would have meant there wasn't really a need for a crossing.
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Now they've confirmed that they're staying where they are,
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but the highways department have told us that it would be dangerous to have a pedestrian crossing where we'd originally planned it, as there's a bend in the road there,
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so that'll need some more thought.
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On Station Road, near the station and level crossing, drivers can face quite long waits if the level crossing's closed,
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and we've now got signs up requesting them not to leave their engines running at that time.
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This means pedestrians waiting on the pavement to cross the railway line don't have to breathe in car fumes.
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We've had some problems with cyclists leaving their bikes chained to the railings outside the ticket office, but the station has agreed to provide bike racks there.
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Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 15 to 20.
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Now listen and answer questions 15 to 20.
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So, next on the agenda is proposals for improvements to the recreation ground.
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Councillor Thornton again.
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Well, since we managed to extend the recreation ground, we've spent some time talking to local people about how it could be made a more attractive and useful space.
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If you have a look at the map up on the screen, you can see the river up in the north and the community hall near the entrance from the road.
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At present, cars can park between the community hall and that line of trees to the east, but this is quite dangerous for pedestrians,
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so we're suggesting a new car park on the opposite side of the community hall, right next to it.
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We also have a new location for the cricket pitch.
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As we've now purchased additional space to the east of the recreation ground, beyond the trees, we plan to move it away from its current location,
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which is rather near the road, into this new area beyond the line of trees.
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This means there's less danger of stray balls hitting cars or pedestrians.
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We've got plans for a children's playground
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which will be accessible by a footpath from the community hall and will be alongside the river.
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We'd originally thought of having it close to the road but we think this will be a more attractive location.
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The skateboard ramp is very popular with both younger and older children.
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We had considered moving this up towards the river
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but in the end we decided to have it in the south-east corner near the road.
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The pavilion is very well used at present by both football players and cricketers.
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It will stay where it is now, to the left of the line of trees and near to the river, handy for both the football and cricket pitches.
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And finally we'll be getting a new notice board for local information
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and that And that will be directly on people's right as they go from the road into the recreation ground.
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That is the end of part two.
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You now have half a minute to check your answers to part two.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Cambridge 16 Test 4 Section 2 Listening”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: road, pedestrian, recreation, river, crossing. This video has 50 sentences and 778 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:10. The speaker talks at a steady 126 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 88% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

WordPronunciationMeaning
pedestrian noun/pəˈdɛstɹiən/A walker; one who walks or goes on foot, especially as opposed to one who uses a vehicle.
recreation noun/ɹiːkɹiˈeɪʃən/Any activity, such as play, that amuses, diverts or stimulates.
councillor nounA member of a council.
cyclist noun/ˈsaɪ.klɪst/A person who rides a cycle, especially a bicycle, or who habitually engages in cycling.
commuter noun/kəˈmjuːtɚ/One who commutes (etymology 1).
cricketer noun/ˈkɹɪk.ɪtɚ/A person who plays cricket.
footpath noun/ˈfʊtˌpæθ/Any set path or trail to be used by people walking.
overtake verb/əʊ̯vəːˈteɪ̯k/To pass a slower moving object or entity (on the side closest to oncoming traffic).
pothole nounA shallow pit or other edged depression in a road's surface, especially when caused by erosion, weather or traffic.
railing noun/ˈɹeɪlɪŋ/A fence or barrier consisting of one or more horizontal rails and vertical supports.
rumour noun/ˈɹumɚ/UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland spelling of rumor.
skateboard noun/ˈskeɪt.bɔɹd/A narrow, wooden or plastic platform mounted on pairs of wheels, on which one stands and propels oneself by pushing along the ground with one foot.
pavement noun/ˈpeɪvm(ə)nt/A paved surface; a hard covering on the ground.
pavilion noun/pəˈvɪljən/An ornate tent.
stray verb/stɹeɪ/To wander, as from a direct course; to deviate, or go out of the way.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

WordPronunciationMeaning
carry out verb/ˈkæ.ɹi aʊt/To hold while moving it out.
sign up verbTo add a name to the list of people who are participating in something.

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 nowthey've confirmed · have told · has agreed
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does itwill be addressed · was improved · be put

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 20 contractions and reduced forms, such as we'd, we've, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

  • Long words — get the stress right: recreation /ɹiːkɹiˈeɪʃən/, accessible /əkˈsɛs.ɪ.bəl/

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 pedestrian, recreation, councillor.

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 →