Shadowing Practice: Can a 2017 MacBook Survive In 2026? - Learn English Speaking with Video

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This MacBook came out over 10 years ago, so I wiped it, fresh install of macOS,

and I put it through 4K gaming, editing, and multiple tabs.

Let's see if it can survive in 2026.

With the upcoming potential releases of the new M6 line of MacBooks, it got me thinking, I kind of need to upgrade my laptop.

Now, I thought, why not pull out Overliable and see if it can survive my 2026 workload.

But before we get into the test, let's check what's under the hood.

This is a 2017 MacBook Pro.

Yeah, 2017.

It's currently running macOS Ventura.

It has 8 gigabytes of RAM and 256 gigs of storage.

It's also running an Intel i5 processor.

I don't have my iCloud signed up on here, so there's nothing to hide behind.

It's as free and as basic and stripped down as it gets.

So let's get into round one the easy stuff.

Now, as for the browsing performance, it wasn't bad.

I definitely noticed some lag when websites first loaded.

Even Apple's own website took a second to get itself together.

Oh, it's slugging behind.

Oh, ooh, ooh, yes.

That is not pretty.

But once everything loaded, the experience was pretty smooth.

I even pulled up the weather channel, which apparently has enough ads to turn it to its own benchmark.

Surprisingly, the MacBook handled it pretty well.

Google Flights was completely fine too

so you can definitely tell this laptop is getting old

but for basic web browsing it's still usable

but obviously browsing Google Flights wasn't enough I needed something a little more demanding

oh my gosh and listen we're testing the MacBook here not my Pac -Man skills you

You know, if you're just doing some like, like I said, light, basic web browsing, I think it's still capable in 2026.

So for me, I give it a pass.

Okay.

Now, this is where I wanted to start to push the laptop a little bit more harder.

Watching videos sounds like a basic task, but I was curious about two things.

How well the Intel processor could handle higher resolution video in 2026 and probably, but more importantly, what it would do to this old battery.

So I pulled up activity monitor picked up a YouTube video and started working my way through the different resolutions

I just checked I just checked the battery percentage were at 94 % right

now I think we were like 98 before we started it and it's been it's been six

It's been six minutes and now we're down to like four percent.

We're down four percent

It wasn't even like a higher quality setting.

It's it was for it.

This is for ADP not full screen either like this was not this was not full screen it's 480p windowed

so I bumped it up to 1080p full screen down another 3 % CPU at 16 %

and it's getting warm under the keyboard

but I haven't heard the fans yet now we're getting into 4k eight minutes later battery at 84 %

it handles the video

but it drains fast not great for an almost 10 year old laptop we're getting into the best part honestly

and where i think the laptop will more than likely struggle the most um

but before we get into it i do want to say even with just this latest testing i feel like

this laptop not gonna lie has actually surprised me

i honestly did not think

it would be very capable of like keeping up even with like just web browsing in general i didn't think you know

It would do as good as it done,

but it's done actually a very great job time for the real test I airdropped clips for my 17

Pro Max and the speed was fine.

Oh It failed Huh?

Yeah, see look

Choosing open and photos failed so I tried again with save the downloads

and it worked I'm using DaVinci Resolve 19 since it's the last version that supports macOS Ventura

Load times were slow and then the timeline hit I hope the mic is picking it up.

I dropped the playback quality to a quarter resolution and nothing improved.

Importing and adding clips cost me 4 % battery before I even started editing.

Memory told the story.

6 .1GB in use, nearly 3GB swapped.

I exported a 22 second vertical video.

7 to 8 minutes to render probably about like a 16 second video it only took about 6

and I never heard the fans while I was rendering but

when I tried a long form edit I just realized for the free version

which is resolved eventually resolve you can't edit 4 .2 to 10 bit footage

That's a pro feature only.

Honestly, with how it was getting, that might have been a blessing.

Technically, you can edit on it, but with stutters, weird audio, and no smooth playback, it just makes the whole experience terrible.

One last test, for the love of the game.

The most CPU intensive game I could find.

Minecraft.

And not just any

Minecraft edition, Java edition.

Because if you know, you know.

Booting into the world around 15 frames per second and the settings weren't even high.

I tried to load Optifine but I couldn't get it working on the Mac.

And the battery?

Almost dead at about 10%.

Can a 2017 MacBook Pro survive in 2026?

It can survive in 2026, but not for long.

It can handle the typical college student workload.

Maybe you have one of these and you're thinking about getting into content creation.

Can it edit videos?

Depends on your tolerance level.

For the most part, no. Okay.

It is laggy, stutters.

I wouldn't recommend it.

unless it's a last ditch type of option

this that's what I would say that's about the end of this video I appreciate you

if you've watched all the way to the end this was a very fun test to do comment down below

if you still have this I do know

that some people still keep this around

because of the touch bar feature who knows might be having a new one of these coming along

so you know I'm excited to see what the future holds anyway

that's it for me I'm gonna go charge this thing and let it cool off.

100

I will catch you guys in the next one.

101

Peace.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Can a 2017 MacBook Survive In 2026?”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Macbook, laptop, browsing, battery, edit. This video has 101 sentences and 1046 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:00. The speaker talks at a steady 149 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

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

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
edit verb	/ˈɛdɪt/	To change a text, or a document.
laptop noun	/ˈlæp.tɑp/	A laptop computer.
browse verb	/bɹaʊz/	To scan, to casually look through in order to find items of interest, especially without knowledge of what to look for beforehand.
resolve verb	/ɹɪˈzɑlv/	To find a solution to (a problem).
smooth adjective	/smuːð/	Having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough.
clip noun	/klɪp/	Something which clips or grasps; a device for attaching one object to another.
processor noun	/ˈpɹɑˌsɛsɚ/	A person or institution who processes things (foods, photos, applications, etc.).
render verb	/ˈɹɛn.dɚ/	To cause to become.
minecraft noun	/ˈmaɪnˌkɹæft/	A warship which lays naval mines.
percentage noun	/pə(ɹ)ˈsɛntɪd͡ʒ/	The amount, number or rate of something, regarded as part of a total of 100; a part of a whole.
audio adjective	/ˈɔ.di.oʊ/	Focused on audible sound, as opposed to sight.
curious adjective	/ˈkjʊɹ.i.əs/	Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying.
skill noun	/skɪl/	A capacity to do something well; a technique, an ability, usually acquired or learned, as opposed to abilities that are regarded as innate.
monitor noun	/ˈmɑ.nɪ.tɚ/	Someone who watches over something; a person in charge of something or someone.
strip verb	/ˈstɹɪp/	To remove or take away, often in strips or stripes.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
pull up verb	/ˌpʊl ˈʌp/	To lift upwards or vertically.
come along verb		To accompany.
cool off verb		To decrease in temperature, activity, or temper.
keep up verb		To maintain; to preserve; to prevent from deteriorating or falling.
pick up verb		To lift; to grasp and raise.
pull out verb		To withdraw; especially of military forces; to retreat.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 23 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, I'm, wasn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: gosh /ɡɑːʃ/, benchmark /ˈbɛn(t)ʃmɑːk/
Long words — get the stress right: technically /ˈtɛk.nɪˌkəl.i/, importantly /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/, surprisingly /səˈpɹaɪzɪŋli/

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 edit, laptop, browse.

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 →

Shadowing Practice: Can a 2017 MacBook Survive In 2026? - Learn English Speaking with Video

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