Shadowing Practice: How Good Is Your English Listening? Let's test it! - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
C1
I want to play a game.
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I want to play a game.
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How good is your English?
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Let's test it.
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This is a listening challenge.
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I have 10 questions for you.
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To answer each question, you will listen to an audio file.
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And based on that audio file,
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you will choose the correct answer.
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Then I will give you the correct answer and the transcript and you can check if your answer was correct or not.
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Now, this is a game and a challenge.
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What do I mean?
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The questions will start from a very easy one to the most difficult one.
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So number one is the easiest and number 10 is the most difficult.
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Every one question gets more difficult and more challenging.
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We are going to see if you can keep up.
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Now, do you see the stars?
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For every correct answer, you get one star.
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And if your answer is not correct,
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you don't get any stars.
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It's officially a game.
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At the end of this video,
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you're going to let everyone know how many stars you got.
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One star, five stars, six stars, or maybe 10 stars.
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All right, enough talking.
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Let's start with number one.
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Very easy, very simple.
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This one is the easiest.
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Here's the question that you're going to answer.
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What did the speaker have for breakfast?
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Coffee and eggs, tea and bread, or juice and fruit?
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Let's listen.
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Today is Monday.
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I woke up at seven o'clock in the morning.
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I stayed in bed for a few minutes and then got up.
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I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and got dressed.
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Before breakfast, I thought about what to eat.
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Some people like coffee and eggs in the morning.
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Others prefer juice and fruit.
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I like simple food.
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So I had breakfast at home.
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I drank tea and ate some bread.
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After breakfast, I cleaned the table and went to work.
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That was very easy.
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Look at the script.
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The speaker said, I drank tea and ate some bread.
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So the correct answer is option B, tea and bread.
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So if your answer to this question was correct, you get a star.
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Let's go to question two.
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This is slightly more challenging.
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Here's the question.
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Why did the speaker stay at home?
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They were tired, the weather was bad or they had too much work.
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Let's listen.
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Yesterday was a very cold day.
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It was windy and the weather was not nice at all.
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I looked outside and saw dark clouds.
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Some days, when people are very busy,
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they stay at home because they have too much work.
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Other days, people stay at home because they are tired and want to rest.
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Yesterday was different.
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I wanted to go outside,
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but I decided to stay at home instead.
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The cold wind made me change my mind.
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I stayed inside, watched TV for a while, and relaxed.
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See, a bit more challenging.
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Have a look at the script
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This is what the speaker said Yesterday was very cold
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And then the speaker said I decided to stay at home instead Why?
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Because it was cold So the correct answer is Option B The weather was bad
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Easy Another star If your answer was correct Are you ready for the next one?
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It's going to be more challenging Here's the question Why did the speaker walk to work today?
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the bus was crowded, the bus didn't arrive,
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or they woke up late.
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Let's give it a go.
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I usually take the bus to work every day because it is fast and easy.
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I like sitting on the bus and listening to music.
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Some days, the bus does not come on time.
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Other days, people wake up late and miss the bus.
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Today, however, the bus was very crowded.
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There was no space to sit or stand comfortably.
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I did not want to wait.
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The weather was nice and sunny,
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so I decided to walk to a to work instead.
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A bit more challenging, but still quite easy.
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This was the script and this is what the speaker said.
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Today, however, the bus was very crowded.
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So the correct answer is option A, the bus was crowded.
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Easy.
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Another star if your answer was correct.
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So far, if you answered correctly,
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you may have three stars.
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Let's continue with number four, a bit more challenging.
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Why did the speaker return home on Sunday?
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Option A, they were bored.
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Option B, they had work.
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Or Option C, their cousin was busy.
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Last weekend was nice.
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I traveled to another city to visit my cousin.
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We were happy to see each other.
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We talked a lot, laughed,
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and watched movies at home.
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The time passed very fast.
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On Sunday, I wanted to return home.
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Not because I was bored or that my cousin got busy.
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I wanted to stay longer,
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but I had work early,
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so I returned home on Sunday evening.
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I needed to wake up early the next day.
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I said goodbye to my cousin and went back home to rest.
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Simple.
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Look at the script.
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The speaker said, I wanted to stay longer,
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but I had to work early.
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Done.
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Which was the correct answer?
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Option B.
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They had work to do.
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Okay.
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From here on, things are gonna get hot.
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Let's get to question five.
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It's a very interesting question.
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How did the speaker feel when they received the email?
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Angry, surprised, or confused?
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Let's have a listen.
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Last month, I applied for a job that I really wanted.
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The position was a good match for my experience,
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and the company was well known.
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I spent a lot of time preparing my application and felt hopeful after I sent it.
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After that, I waited for a long time.
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Days passed, then weeks passed,
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and I didn't receive any reply.
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I started to feel a little angry at first because no one contacted me.
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Later, I felt confused and unsure about what would happen.
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I slowly began to believe that I had not been chosen.
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However, just when I had stopped thinking about it,
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I received an email inviting me to an interview.
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I did not expect it at all.
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The message surprised me, and it made me feel more confident about myself and my abilities.
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That was saucy, wasn't it?
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What's the correct answer?
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Let's look at the script.
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This is what the speaker said.
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However, just when I had stopped thinking about it,
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I received an email inviting me to an interview.
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So the speaker had stopped thinking about it and was like, okay, that's done.
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It's not going to happen.
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All of a sudden there was an email.
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What?
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What kind of feeling?
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Surprised.
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The speaker was surprised.
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So another star for those who have answered correctly.
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How many stars?
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So far, we've covered five questions.
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So if you've answered all of them,
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you may have five stars.
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Now, these were easy questions.
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That was a warm-up.
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The juicy questions are coming up.
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Are you ready for them?
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How difficult can they be?
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Let's see question six.
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Why was the final decision delayed?
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Option A, the team disagreed personally.
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Option B, the plan lacked details.
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Or option C.
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there were concerns about time
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and money let's listen during the team meeting everyone sat together
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to talk about a new project the project plan was explained step by step
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and it included many details at the beginning the team felt positive no one disagreed personally
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and the plan did not seem unclear or confusing as the meeting went on people started asking more questions
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Some team members talked about different ideas and possible problems.
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As the discussion continued, some team members raised concerns about the budget and the timeline.
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They worried about how much money the project would need and whether there was enough time to finish it.
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Interesting, right?
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Let's have a look at the script.
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This is what the speaker said.
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As the discussion continued, some team members raised concerns about what?
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about budget and timeline.
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Budget, money, timeline, time.
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So the correct answer would be option C.
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There were concerns about time and money.
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Another star if your answer was correct.
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Now let's get to the next one.
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Question 7 guys.
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What change did the speaker make?
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We're talking about changes.
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Their job, their working method or their schedule.
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Let's listen.
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For many years I thought multitasking was the best way to work.
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I believed it helped me finish things faster.
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I often answered emails, wrote reports and listened to meetings at the same time.
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I did this every day at work.
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I did not change my job and my daily schedule stayed almost the same.
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However, over time, I noticed problems.
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I felt stressed, tired and unfocused.
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I made more mistakes and my work was not as good as before.
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After thinking about it, I decided to change how I work.
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Now I focus on one task at a time and my work quality has improved.
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I feel calmer, more organized, and more productive.
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Now, the reason why these questions are getting more difficult is not because the audio file is more difficult,
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or it's not because the grammar or the new vocabulary being used are more difficult.
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As you have noticed, the reason why it's difficult is because now you need to analyze the information.
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The answer is not very direct.
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You need to analyze and extract the answer.
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So, with that being said,
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let's have a look at the script.
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This is what the speaker said.
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Now, I focus on one task at a time,
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and my work quality has improved.
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What does this show?
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Does it show that their schedule has changed?
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No. Does it show that their job has changed?
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No. But the way the speaker does the job has changed,
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focusing on one thing at a time.
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See how I'm getting to the answer?
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And the answer is B, their working method.
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Instead of multitasking, now the speaker is focusing on one thing at a time.
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Let's go to question 8.
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We're getting to the end of the test.
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From now on, the last questions are C1, C2, advanced questions.
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The first C1 question here.
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What is the speaker mainly describing?
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The audience's reaction, the event's budget,
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or the difference between appearance and reality?
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Let's listen.
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At first glance, the event looked very successful.
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Many people came, the place was full,
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and everything started on time.
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From the outside, it seemed perfect.
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The audience looked happy, and no one talked about money or the event's budget.
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Some people only saw the good side.
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They focused on the smiles and the nice atmosphere.
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The audience's reaction was positive,
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and everything looked well planned.
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However, behind the scenes, there were communication problems,
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last-minute changes, and a lot of pressure on the staff.
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Many things went wrong quietly.
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The team had to work very hard to fix problems that people could not see.
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This showed a big difference between what people saw and what really happened.
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It was a very short audio file,
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but again, analyzing and choosing the correct answer is the difficult part.
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If you are familiar with the IELTS Listening Test,
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or if you want to prepare for the IELTS Listening Test one day,
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this is the exercise you need to do to receive the information.
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That's the easy part.
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To analyze and choose the correct answer.
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That's the challenging part.
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Now, look at this script.
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This is what the speaker said.
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However, behind the scenes, there are communication problems,
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last-minute changes, and a lot of pressure on the staff.
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behind the scenes that is clue one a lot of the things were going wrong behind the scenes
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so not on the stage but behind the scenes not the appearance
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but what was going on in the background
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so looking back at the options the only viable option here would be option c the difference between appearance
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and reality the event appeared successful everything was good the venue was full but what was happening in the background,
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that was the real problem.
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Another star for you if you've answered correctly.
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Let's move on to question nine.
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We're getting to the end.
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Don't forget to like this video if you're enjoying it.
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And if you're not a member of this channel,
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click subscribe now so that you don't miss my future videos.
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Question 9.
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Why did opinions about the proposal change?
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Public criticism, detailed expert analysis, or lack of interest?
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Let's listen.
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At the beginning, many people liked the proposal.
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It sounded new and exciting,
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and it promised good results in the future.
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People talked positively about it and showed strong support.
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Later, different opinions started to appear.
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Some people thought the change happened because of public criticism,
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while others believed there was a lack of interest over time.
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These ideas were discussed, but they were not the main reason.
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However, once experts examined the details more carefully,
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concerns emerged about feasibility potential risks specialists looked closely at the facts numbers
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and possible problems after this detailed review many people began to change their minds
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and think more carefully about the proposal let's look at the
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script however once experts examined the details more carefully concerns emerged about feasibility
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and potential risks which option experts did more analysis
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and raised some concerns that would be option b detailed expert analysis
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that was what changed the decision about the proposal
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that was the ninth star
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if you've answered everything correctly you may have nine stars by
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now let's go for the last one i try to make this the most difficult one of this video
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let's have a look at the question this is the question what's the speaker's main concern legal problems,
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unintended negative effects, or high financial costs.
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Let's go.
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The policy was introduced with good intentions.
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It was designed to promote fairness and equality and to help people who need support.
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At first, many believed it would create positive change.
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Some people worried about legal problems and others talked about high financial costs.
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These issues were mentioned in discussions,
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but they were not the main focus of the speaker.
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The real real concern was about the future.
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The long-term effects of the policy are still unclear.
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Without careful implementation, it may unintentionally reinforce existing inequalities and harm the very groups it aims to support.
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Because of this risk, the speaker believes the policy must be handled very carefully.
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How was it?
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Let's have a look at the script.
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Let's see if you get the last star.
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Without careful implementation, this is what the speaker said,
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it may unintentionally reinforce existing inequalities and harm the very groups it aims to support.
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Wow.
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However, let me say that it's easy to understand what the answer is.
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There are some unintentional things going on if the implementation is not careful.
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That's what the speaker is trying to say.
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And the correct answer would be legal problems?
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No, there is no discussion of any legal problems here.
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And there is no discussion of any financial costs per se.
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But the speaker is saying if the implementation is not careful,
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we may unintentionally do the exact opposite of what we're trying to do.
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So that is option B, unintended negative effects.
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That was the 10th star.
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Okay, all right, let me know.
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How many correct answers have you had?
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How many stars did you get?
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Two, three, five, ten?
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Let me know in the comments section right now.
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And if you want to have the summary of this lesson
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and all other lessons of mine on YouTube in a single PDF file for free,
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you can download my Ultimate English Book,
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which has more than 500 pages of lesson summaries.
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500 pages for free.
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Go ahead, get it now by clicking on the link above this video.
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Don't miss this.
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It's for free.
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Go ahead, get it, try it.
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I hope you've enjoyed this listen.
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Let's go to the comment section now.
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I'm going to have a look to see how many correct answers have you had.
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Bye.
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Why practice speaking with this video?
Engaging with this listening challenge video is an excellent way to practice speaking in English. By participating in a structured activity where you listen and respond to questions, you create a dynamic environment for language acquisition. This method not only improves your comprehension skills but also encourages you to practice speaking as you verbalize your answers. Tracking your progress through stars motivates you to strive for improvement, making learning enjoyable and competitive.
Moreover, this format mimics real-life conversations where understanding context is vital. The gradual increase in difficulty of questions helps you adapt to various speaking styles and vocabularies, ultimately bolstering your confidence when you communicate in English.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The speaker in the video uses several effective grammatical structures that are beneficial for learners:
- Past Simple Tense: The phrase "I woke up at seven o'clock" demonstrates the use of the past simple tense to describe completed actions, which can be crucial when narrating past events.
- Preference Expressions: The sentence "Some people like coffee and eggs in the morning" introduces how to express preferences using "like" and "prefer." This can help you articulate your choices in daily conversations.
- Sequential Actions: The speaker states, "I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and got dressed." This structure helps you learn how to communicate a series of actions effectively, enhancing fluency in storytelling.
By using tools like a shadowing app, you can mimic the speaker's intonation and rhythm, which further immerses you in the nuances of English expression.
Common Pronunciation Traps
As you listen to the video, pay attention to certain words that may present pronunciation challenges:
- Breakfast: Many learners struggle with the initial "brea" sound, which can easily become distorted. Practicing this word can help clarify your intentions when discussing meals.
- Preferring: The way the speaker emphasizes the "pre" syllable may be unfamiliar. Shadowing this can significantly improve your English pronunciation.
- Simple and Home: The connected speech in these words can trick listeners into misunderstanding. Recording yourself with a shadow speak tool can reveal areas for improvement.
Utilizing various shadowing sites can aid you in mastering these tricky sounds and improve your overall pronunciation proficiency. By consistently practicing with challenging audio, you can refine your skills and become a more effective communicator in English.
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.
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