Shadowing Practice: How I Met Your Mother - TOP 5 Moments #2 - Learn English Speaking with Video

This video has 172 sentences and 1354 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:52. The speaker talks slowly, about 105 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 83% 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 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

• rush /ɹʌʃ/ (verb) — To hurry; to perform a task with great haste, often not properly or without thinking carefully.
• trick /ˈtɹɪk/ (noun) — Something designed to fool, dupe, outsmart, mislead or swindle.
• impressive /ɪmˈpɹɛsɪv/ (adjective) — Making, or tending to make, a positive impression; having power to impress.
• angel /ˈeɪ̯n.d͡ʒəl/ (noun) — An incorporeal and holy or semidivine messenger from a deity or other divine entity, traditionally depicted as a youthful, winged figure in flowing robes.
• whoever /huˈɛvɚ/ — Who ever: an emphatic form of who.
• lately /ˈleɪt.li/ (adverb) — Recently; not long ago; of late; not long since.
• steal /stiːl/ (verb) — To take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else without intending to return it.
• nurse /nɝs/ (noun) — Anyone performing this role, regardless of training or profession.
• disaster /dɪˈzɑːs.təː/ (noun) — An unexpected natural or man-made catastrophe of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life or sometimes permanent…
• resource /ɹɪˈzɔːs/ (noun) — Something that one uses to achieve an objective, e.g. raw materials or personnel.
• regret /ɹɪˈɡɹɛt/ (verb) — To feel sorry about (a thing that has or has not happened), afterthink: to wish that a thing had not happened, that something else had happened instead.
• spell /spɛl/ (noun) — Words or a formula supposed to have magical powers.
• reporter /ɹɪˈpoɹ.tɚ/ (noun) — Someone or something that reports.
• drag /dɹæɡ/ (verb) — To pull along a surface or through a medium, sometimes with difficulty.
• disgusting /dɪsˈɡʌstɪŋ/ (adjective) — Causing disgust; repulsive; distasteful.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

• fall in (verb) — To collapse inwards.
• give up (verb) — To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone).
• come back (verb) — To return to a place.
• come on /ˌkʌm ˈɒn/ — Come along with me; join me in going.
• count on /kaʊnʌn/ (verb) — To rely on, trust, or expect.
• draw in (verb) — To attract.
• find out (verb) — To discover, as by asking or investigating.
• mess around (verb) — To fiddle idly.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 58 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

• The “sh” and “zh” sounds: rush /ɹʌʃ/, rendition /ɹɛnˈdɪʃ(ə)n/

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 rush, trick, impressive.