Shadowing Practice: FCE1 TEST3 PART4 - Learn English Speaking with Video

Now turn to part four.

You'll hear a radio interview with a young tennis player, Alice Winters, and her coach, Bruce Gray.

For questions 24 to 30, choose the best answer, A, B or C.

You now have one minute in which to look at part four.

Thank you.

In some sports, the players seem to be getting younger and younger.

My guests today are 14 -year -old Alice Winters and her coach, Bruce Gray.

Alice, as National Junior Tennis Champion, has been described as the most talented young player for years.

Alice, Bruce, welcome.

Hello.

Let's start by talking about money.

Have you found it easy to get help in that respect, Bruce?

Not really.

We've applied to local companies for sponsorship, but they would sooner put their money into something which gets them publicity.

Alice isn't that well known yet, so we'll probably have to get there without it.

And I reckon that with Alice's talent, there's no reason why we can't.

That'd be an even greater achievement, wouldn't it?

Now, Alice, you must do a lot of training.

Is it sometimes a bit too demanding for someone of your age?

Well, a lot of players my age might ask themselves, why can't I be like everyone else, you know, free in the evenings and at weekends?

But that side of it doesn't bother me.

I must admit, though, that there are times when I just don't fancy it, you know, freezing cold winter mornings when Bruce comes round to take me on a training run and I think,

oh, go away and leave me alone.

But apart from that, well, I do it because I enjoy it.

Nobody's making me do it, are they?

So I don't really see it as making sacrifices.

And what about your schoolwork?

Well, I'm managing to keep up with that at the moment, although I can see that if I do get more successful, the sport might get in the way of academic work.

But, well, I know which comes first for me.

After all, if I make it to the top in tennis, I won't need any academic qualifications.

Now, Alice, when you're competing in a tournament, is it all terribly serious or do you have fun?

Well, I'm only there for one reason, really.

I mean, I can't see the point otherwise.

I'm not one of those people who think that taking part matters more than winning.

I mean, I know I can't win every time, especially up against people a lot older than me, but that's always the aim.

And if I lose, well, I look at my performance with Bruce, look at ways of improving it, and, well, I don't let it get to me.

I'm just more determined next time.

Bruce, what do you think makes Alice different from other players of the same age?

I've never come across any young player quite like her in all my years as a coach.

What amazes me is you can watch her play, and she doesn't seem to be trying, even though, of course, she is.

With other players, you can see the effort involved, but with her, well, she's just so gifted.

So, Alice, how do you see your future?

Well, I'd love to turn professional, but it's a bit early to think seriously about that.

I mean, I'm a big fish in a small pond at the moment, but as I get older, well, there are going to be a lot of tough players out there

if I do end up doing it full time the lifestyle looks glamorous from outside

but it might just be too hard for me and I might decide to get out but it's hard to say

Some people stay at the top for years, don't they?

Bruce, do you and Alice get on well?

Is she an easy person to coach?

You know, sometimes I find it difficult to remember how young she is, because she's got an old head on young shoulders.

We've had the odd, shall I say, disagreement, but she doesn't have much of a temper.

It soon passes.

She doesn't have a great deal to say, I guess, when we're working or travelling to tournaments.

She has friends outside the game, but she doesn't have much time for a social life at the moment.

Well, Alice and Bruce, thanks for being my guests and good luck for the future.

Thank you.

Now you'll hear part four again.

In some sports, the players seem to be getting younger and younger.

My guests today are 14 -year -old Alice Winters and her coach, Bruce Gray.

Alice, as national junior tennis champion, has been described as the most talented young player for years.

Alice, Bruce, welcome.

Hello.

Let's start by talking about money.

Have you found it easy to get help in that respect, Bruce?

Not really.

We've applied to local companies for sponsorship, but they would sooner put their money into something which gets them publicity.

Alice isn't that well known yet, so we'll probably have to get there without it.

And I reckon that with Alice's talent, there's no reason why we can't.

That'd be an even greater achievement, wouldn't it?

Now, Alice, you must do a lot of training.

Is it sometimes a bit too demanding for someone of your age?

Well, a lot of players my age might ask themselves, why can't I be like everyone else, you know, free in the evenings and at weekends?

But that side of it doesn't bother me.

I must admit though that there are times when I just don't fancy it,

you know, freezing cold winter mornings when Bruce comes around to take me on a training run and I think, oh, go away and leave me alone.

But apart from that, well, I do it because I enjoy it.

Nobody's making me do it, are they?

So I don't really see it as making sacrifices.

And what about your schoolwork?

Well, I'm managing to keep up with that at the moment, although I can see that if I do get more successful the sport might get in the way of academic work,

but, well, I know which comes first for me.

After all, if I make it to the top in tennis I won't need any academic qualifications.

Now, Alice, when you're competing in a tournament, is it all terribly serious or do you have fun?

Well, I'm only there for one reason, really.

I mean, I can't see the point otherwise.

I'm not one of those people who think that taking part matters more than winning.

I mean, I know I can't win every time, especially up against people a lot older than me, but that's always the aim.

And if I lose, well, I look at my performance with Bruce, look at ways of improving it, and, well, I don't let it get to me.

I'm just more determined next time.

Bruce, what do you think makes Alice different from other players of the same age?

I've never come across any young player quite like her in all my years as a coach.

What amazes me is you can watch her play and she doesn't seem to be trying, even though of course she is.

With other players you can see the effort involved, but with her, well, she's just so gifted.

So, Alice, how do you see your future?

Well, I'd love to turn professional, but it's a bit early to think seriously about that.

100

I mean, I'm a big fish in a small pond at the moment, but as I get older, well, there are going to be a lot of tough players out there.

101

If I do end up doing it full -time, the lifestyle looks glamorous from outside,

102

but it might just be too hard for me and I might decide to get out.

103

But it's hard to say.

104

Some people stay at the top for years, don't they?

105

Bruce, do you and Alice get on well?

106

Is she an easy person to coach?

107

You know, sometimes I find it difficult to remember how young she is, because she's got an old head on young shoulders.

108

We've had the odd, shall I say, disagreement, but she doesn't have much of a temper.

109

It soon passes.

110

She doesn't have a great deal to say, I guess, when we're working or travelling to tournaments.

111

She has friends outside the game, but she doesn't have much time for a social life at the moment.

112

Well, Alice and Bruce, thanks for being my guests and good luck for the future.

113

Thank you.

114

Thank you.

115

That's the end of part four.

116

There'll now be a pause of five minutes for you to copy your answers onto the separate answer sheet.

117

Be sure to follow the numbering of all the questions.

118

I'll remind you when there is one minute left so that you're sure to finish in time.

119

That's the end of the test.

120

Please stop now.

121

Your supervisor will now collect all the question papers and answer sheets.

122

Thank you.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 122 sentences and 1526 words to shadow. The speech runs for 10:24. The speaker talks at a steady 147 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
tennis noun	/ˈtɛnɪs/	A sport played by two players (or four in doubles), who alternately strike the ball over a net using racquets.
sheet noun	/ʃit/	A thin bed cloth used as a covering for a mattress or as a layer over the sleeper.
bother verb	/ˈbɑðɚ/	To annoy, to disturb, to irritate; to be troublesome to, to make trouble for.
compete verb	/kəmˈpiːt/	To be in battle or in a rivalry with another for the same thing, position, or reward; to contend.
achievement noun	/əˈt͡ʃiːv.mənt/	The act of achieving or performing; a successful performance; accomplishment.
fancy noun	/ˈfæn.si/	The imagination.
talented adjective	/ˈtæləntɪd/	Endowed with one or more talents.
lifestyle noun	/ˈlaɪfˌstaɪl/	A style of living that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group.
sacrifice noun	/ˈsæk.ɹɪ.faɪs/	Originally, the killing (and often burning) of a human being or an animal as an offering to a deity; later, also the offering of an object to a deity.
freeze verb	/ˈfɹiːz/	Especially of a liquid, to become solid due to low temperature.
publicity noun	/pʌbˈlɪsɪti/	Advertising or other activity designed to rouse public interest in something.
pond noun	/pɑnd/	An inland body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is smaller than a lake.
terribly adverb	/ˈtɛɹ.ɪ.bli/	Very; extremely.
qualification noun	/ˌkwɑlɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/	The act or process of qualifying for a position, achievement etc.
temper noun	/ˈtɛmpɚ/	A general tendency or orientation towards a certain type of mood, a volatile state; a habitual way of thinking, behaving or reacting.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
come across verb	To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition.
end up verb	To bring to a conclusion.
get out verb	To leave or escape.
go away verb	To depart or leave a place.
keep up with verb	To manage to remain beside or just behind someone or something that is moving away from one.

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	has been described · We've applied · I've never come
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	has been described
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	people who think

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 63 contractions and reduced forms, such as doesn't, I'm, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: sheet /ʃit/, qualification /ˌkwɑlɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: publicity /pʌbˈlɪsɪti/, qualification /ˌkwɑlɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/, disagreement /dɪsəˈɡɹiːmənt/, supervisor /ˈsupɚˌvaɪzɚ/

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 tennis, sheet, bother.

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: FCE1 TEST3 PART4 - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?