Shadowing Practice: Dinner Party: The Guest Who Won't Stop Talking About Crypto - Learn English Speaking with Video
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33 sentences
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1
And that's why I moved my entire pension into tokens!
2
Your entire pension? How terribly brave of you.
3
Brave? It's simple maths. Traditional money is doomed.
4
Doomed, you say. Pass the potatoes, would you?
5
Laugh all you like. In five years, you'll be begging me.
6
Forty minutes. He's been at it for forty solid minutes.
7
Ugh, I did try the weather. He pivoted to mining rigs.
8
Right. Time for a rather more surgical intervention.
9
Oh no. Darling, please don't spill custard on him.
10
Tempting... but no. I've a subtler plan in mind.
11
Rupert, didn't you mention you'd taken up sailing?
12
I did! Actually, I bought the boat with my gains!
13
Well, naturally you did. How marvellous.
14
Oh! Funnily enough, there's a coin just for sailors now—
15
And where have you sailed to so far?
16
Well... nowhere yet, if I'm honest.
17
The market dipped, so I've had to sell the sails.
18
Ah. A boat without sails. That's rather poetic, really.
19
Oh dear, I'm sorry. That must have stung a bit.
20
It did. Truth be told, my wife isn't thrilled either.
21
Well, you're among friends. No portfolio required here.
22
Quite. The only currency at this table is gossip.
23
Ha! Now that's an asset I can get behind.
24
Splendid! Then do tell us how you met your wife.
25
Oh, it's mortifying. I fell into a canal, actually.
26
No way! Were you pushed, or merely clumsy?
27
I was explaining blockchain to her on a towpath.
28
Somehow, I find that remarkably easy to picture.
29
Thank you both. Genuinely, the best evening in ages.
30
He barely mentioned crypto after pudding. A minor miracle.
31
Never underestimate a well-timed question, darling.
32
Remind me never to get on your bad side.
33
Oh, darling, you've been on it for years.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This C2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Dinner Party: The Guest Who Won't Stop Talking About Crypto”. This video has 33 sentences and 291 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:32. The speaker talks at a steady 115 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 71% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding. 6 of its 33 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| sail noun | /seɪl/ | A piece of fabric attached to a boat and arranged such that it causes the wind to drive the boat along. The sail may be attached to the boat via a combination… |
| darling noun | /ˈdɑɹlɪŋ/ | Often used as an affectionate term of address: a person who is very dear to one. |
| doom noun | /duːm/ | Destiny, especially terrible. |
| clumsy adjective | /ˈklʌmzi/ | Awkward, lacking coordination, not graceful, not dextrous. |
| custard noun | /ˈkʌs.təd/ | A type of sauce made from milk and eggs (and usually sugar, and sometimes vanilla or other flavourings) and thickened by heat, served hot poured over desserts… |
| marvellous adjective | /ˈmɑɹvələs/ | Exciting wonder or surprise; astonishing; wonderful. |
| mortify verb | /ˈmoɹtɪfaɪ/ | To discipline (one's body, appetites etc.) by suppressing desires; to practise abstinence on. |
| towpath noun | A path alongside a canal or river, originally for draft animals towing barges, now more often used as a footpath, nature trail, etc. | |
| crypto noun | /ˈkɹɪptoʊ/ | A secret supporter or follower. |
| pudding noun | /ˈpʊdɪŋ/ | Any of various dishes, sweet or savoury, prepared by boiling or steaming or from batter. |
| blockchain noun | A shared record of past transactions in a distributed network, typically used for cryptocurrency. | |
| underestimate verb | /ʌndɚˈɛs.tɪ.meɪt/ | To estimate too low; to perceive (someone or something) as having a lower value, quantity, worth, etc., than what he/she/it actually has. |
| poetic adjective | /poʊˈɛtɪk/ | Relating to poetry. |
| thrill verb | /θɹɪl/ | To suddenly excite someone, or to give someone great pleasure; to (figuratively) electrify; to experience such a sensation. |
| splendid adjective | /ˈsplɛndɪd/ | Possessing or displaying splendor; shining; very bright. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| get behind verb | To come to believe or support something. |
| take up verb | To pick up. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Pass the potatoes, would you?
- In five years, you'll be begging me.
- I've a subtler plan in mind.
- Rupert, didn't you mention you'd taken up sailing?
- Were you pushed, or merely clumsy?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | He's been · have you sailed · I've had |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is doomed · be told |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 11 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: underestimate /ʌndɚˈɛs.tɪ.meɪt/, remarkably /ɹɪˈmɑɹkəbli/
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 sail, darling, doom.
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.