Shadowing Practice: 'Comparing Business Cards' Scene | American Psycho - Learn English Speaking with Video

This video has 127 sentences and 519 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:02. The speaker talks slowly, about 103 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 75% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

• hungry /ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi/ (adjective) — Affected by hunger; having the physical need for food.
• impressive /ɪmˈpɹɛsɪv/ (adjective) — Making, or tending to make, a positive impression; having power to impress.
• subtle /ˈsʌtəl/ (adjective) — Of an action or movement: very delicate or slight, and thus barely noticeable; not obvious; inconspicuous, unintrusive.
• thickness /ˈθɪknəs/ (noun) — The property of being thick (in dimension).
• mister /ˈmɪstəɹ/ (noun) — Alternative spelling of Mister, especially when used as a form of address without a name.
• bone /boʊn/ (noun) — A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates.
• congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/ — Expressing praise and approval, expressing approbation.
• swing /ˈswɪŋ/ (verb) — To rotate about an off-centre fixed point.
• sufficient /səˈfɪʃənt/ — An adequate quantity of; enough.
• pension /ˈpɛnʃən/ (noun) — An annuity paid regularly as benefit due to a retired employee, serviceman etc. in consideration of past services, originally and chiefly by a government but…
• logical /ˈlɑd͡ʒɪkəl/ (adjective) — In agreement with the principles of logic.
• sweat /swɛt/ (verb) — To emit sweat.
• pale /peɪl/ (adjective) — Light in color.
• joking /ˈd͡ʒoʊkɪŋ/ (verb) — Kidding, trying to fool.
• loser /luzɚ/ (noun) — A person who loses; one who fails to win or thrive.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

• look at (verb) — To observe or watch.
• come on /ˌkʌm ˈɒn/ — Come along with me; join me in going.
• look after (verb) — To follow with the eyes; to look in the direction of (someone or something departing).
• speak up /ˌspik ˈʌp/ (verb) — To talk more loudly or clearly.
• work at (verb) — To make a physical or mental effort to progress some specified task; to endeavor or struggle on an issue or project.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 25 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

• The “sh” and “zh” sounds: congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/, sufficient /səˈfɪʃənt/, pension /ˈpɛnʃən/, reservation /ˌɹɛz.ɚˈveɪ.ʃən/, squash /skwɔʃ/
• Long words — get the stress right: congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/, reservation /ˌɹɛz.ɚˈveɪ.ʃən/

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 hungry, impressive, subtle.