Shadowing Practice: Ff3 U 5 L 5 The lion and the mouse - Learn English Speaking with Video

This video has 24 sentences and 139 words to shadow. The speech runs for 1:27. The speaker talks slowly, about 96 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 76% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

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

• lion /ˈlaɪən/ (noun) — A big cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa, India and formerly much of Europe.
• mouse /maʊs/ (noun) — Any mammal of the many rodent families (especially Muridae) that have a small body and a long tail.
• jungle /ˈd͡ʒʌŋ.ɡ(ə)l/ (noun) — A large, lush, undeveloped, humid forest, especially in a tropical region, thick with vegetation and wildlife; a tropical rainforest.
• scare /skɛɚ/ (verb) — To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way.
• roar /ˈɹoɹ/ (verb) — To make a loud, deep cry, especially from pain, anger, or other strong emotion.
• chew /tʃuː/ (verb) — To crush with the teeth by repeated closing and opening of the jaws; done to food to soften it and break it down by the action of saliva before it is swallowed.
• angry /ˈæŋ.ɡɹi/ (adjective) — Displaying or feeling anger.
• hole /hoʊl/ (noun) — A hollow place or cavity; an excavation; a pit; a dent; a depression; a fissure.
• laugh /læf/ (verb) — To show mirth, satisfaction, or derision, by peculiar movement of the muscles of the face, particularly of the mouth, causing a lighting up of the face and…
• nose [nəʊ̯z] (noun) — A protuberance on the face housing the nostrils, which are used to breathe or smell.
• mouth /maʊθ/ (noun) — The front opening of a creature through which food is ingested.
• wake /ˈweɪ̯k/ (verb) — (often followed by up) To stop sleeping.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

• fall over (verb) — To fall from an upright or standing position to a horizontal or prone position.
• run away (verb) — To flee by running.
• run over (verb) — To exceed the allotted time.
• wake up /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/ (verb) — To stop sleeping; to awake.
• walk in (verb) — To come without an appointment to a place that would normally require one.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 3 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

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 lion, mouse, jungle.