Shadowing Practice: ENGLISH SPEECH - BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH - Just Do It! (English Subtitles) - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Dear Eva, April 14th, Almost a month since you wrote to me and you have possibly forgotten your state of mind, I doubt it though.

I seem the same as always, and being you hate every minute of it.

Don't.

Learn to say fuck you to the world every once in a while.

You have every right to.

Just stop thinking, worrying, looking over your shoulder,

wondering, doubting, fearing, hurting, hoping for some easy way out,

Struggling, grasping, confusing, itching, scratching, mumbling, bumbling, grumbling, humbling, stumbling,

numbling, rambling, gambling, tumbling, scumbling, scrambling, hitching, hatching, bitching, moaning,

groaning, honing, boning, horse shitting, hair splitting, nitpicking, piss trickling,

nose sticking, ass gouging, eyeball poking, finger pointing, alleyway sneaking, Long waiting, small stepping, evil eyeing, back scratching,

searching, perching, besmirching, grinding, grinding, grinding away at yourself.

Stop it and just do!

From your description, from what I know of your previous work and your ability, the work you were doing sounds very good.

Clean, clear, but crazy like machines.

Larger and bolder real nonsense.

That sounds fine.

Wonderful.

Real nonsense. Do more.

More nonsensical.

More crazy.

More machines.

More breasts, penises, cunts.

Whatever.

Make them abound with nonsense.

Try and tickle something inside you.

Your weird humor.

You belong in the most secret part of you.

Don't worry about cool.

make your own uncool make your own, make your own world if you fear, make it work for you draw and paint your fear

and anxiety and stop worrying about big deep things such as to decide on a purpose

and way of life a consistent approach to even some impossible end

or even an unimagined end you must practice being stupid dumb,

unthinking, empty then you will be able to do.

And much confidence in you, and even though you are tormenting yourself, the work you do is very good.

Try to do something bad, try to do some bad work.

The worst thing you could think of is see what happens, but mainly relax and let everything go to hell.

You are not responsible for the world.

You're only responsible for your work, so just do it.

And don't think that your work has to conform to any preconceived idea, form, or flavor.

It can be anything you want it to be.

If life would be easier for you if you stopped working, then stop.

Don't punish yourself.

However, I think that this is so deeply ingrained in you that it would be better for you to do.

It seems I do understand your attitude somewhat anyway because I go through a similar process every now and again myself.

I have an agonizing reappraisal of my work

and change everything as much as possible and hate everything I've done and try to do something entirely different and better.

Maybe that kind of process is necessary to me, pushing me on and on.

Well, the feeling that I could do better than that shit I just did.

Maybe you need your agony to accomplish what you do, and maybe it goads you on to do better, but it's very painful, I know.

It would be better if you had the confidence just to do the stuff and not even think about it.

Can't you leave the world and art alone?

Also, quit fondling your ego.

I know that you or anyone can only work so much, and the rest of the time you are left with your thoughts.

But when you work, or before you work, you have to empty your mind

and concentrate on what you are doing after you do something it is done and that's that

after a while you can see some better than others but also you can see what direction you're going

i'm sure you know all that you also must know that you don't have to justify your work not even to yourself.

Well, you know I admire your work greatly and can't understand why you are so bothered by it, but you can see the next ones and I can't.

You also must believe in your ability.

I think you do.

So try the most outrageous things you can.

Shock yourself.

You have at your power the ability to do anything.

I'd like to see your work, and we'll have to be content to wait until August set.

I've seen photos of some of Tom's new things at Lucy's.

They're very impressive, especially the ones with more rigorous form, the simpler ones.

I guess he'll send some more later on.

Let me know how the shows are going and that kind of stuff.

My work has changed since you left, and it's much better.

I will be having a show May 4th to 29th at Daniel's Gallery, 70th East and 64th Street, where Emmerich was.

I wish you could be there.

Much love to you both.

Saul.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 74 sentences and 813 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:50. The speaker talks at a steady 139 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 84% 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:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
nonsense noun	/ˈnɒn.səns/	Letters or words, in writing or speech, that have no meaning or pattern or seem to have no meaning.
grind verb	/ˈɡɹaɪnd/	To reduce to smaller pieces by crushing with lateral motion.
scratch verb	/skɹæt͡ʃ/	To rub a surface with a sharp object, especially by a living creature to remove itching with nails, claws, etc.
consistent adjective	/kənˈsɪs.tənt/	Of a regularly occurring, dependable nature.
finger noun	/ˈfɪŋɡɚ/	A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (often) exclusive of the thumb, and the corresponding part, irrespective of including a thumb, in many other…
bone noun	/boʊn/	A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates.
impressive adjective	/ɪmˈpɹɛsɪv/	Making, or tending to make, a positive impression; having power to impress.
shock noun	/ʃɔk/	A sudden, heavy impact.
anxiety noun	/æŋˈzaɪ.əti/	An unpleasant state of mental uneasiness, nervousness, apprehension and obsession or concern about some uncertain event.
deeply adverb	/ˈdi(ː)pli/	To a deep extent or degree; very greatly.
bother verb	/ˈbɑðɚ/	To annoy, to disturb, to irritate; to be troublesome to, to make trouble for.
belong verb	/bɪˈlɒŋ/	To have its proper place.
breast noun	/bɹɛst/	Either of the two organs on the front of a female human's chest, which contain the mammary glands; also the analogous organs in males.
greatly adverb	/ˈɡɹeɪ̯t.li/	To a great extent or degree.
painful adjective	/ˈpeɪn.fl̩/	Causing pain or distress, either physical or mental.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
go through verb	To travel from one end of something to the other.
look over verb	To check quickly; to make a brief or cursory visual inspection of.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 17 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, can't, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shock /ʃɔk/, accomplish /əˈkɑm.plɪʃ/, punish /ˈpʌnɪʃ/
Long words — get the stress right: anxiety /æŋˈzaɪ.əti/, agonizing /ˈæɡ.ə.naɪ.zɪŋ/

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 nonsense, grind, scratch.

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: ENGLISH SPEECH - BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH - Just Do It! (English Subtitles) - Learn English Speaking with Video

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