Shadowing Practice: INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH STORY 🧗New Adventures 🚣B1 - B2 | British English Reading & Listening Practice - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

B2
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Hello and welcome to Lovely English Stories.
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Thank you for stopping by.
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This story is written for intermediate English learners.
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Ready?
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Let's get started.
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B1, B2 English Story.
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New Adventures.
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The tick-tock of the clock was all that could be heard in the dark room.
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Rosa lay in bed listening.
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She was staring at the ceiling, waiting for her alarm clock to sound.
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She felt nervous.
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Her stomach was churning.
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Rosa was starting to regret her decision.
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Why has she done this?
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She could have had such an easy life, but she always seemed to make things difficult for herself.
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Rosa huffed and pulled the duvet over her head.
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She wanted to silently scream into her pillow.
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She looked at her alarm clock.
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It was 4.30am.
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She still had another three hours until she needed to get up.
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Rosa got out of bed and the floorboards started to creak.
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This wasn't her room.
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It was a dusty room in a bed and breakfast a long way from her home.
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She did some stretches, looked out of the window and got back into bed.
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She didn't want to make too much noise and wake up the other people who were staying at the accommodation.
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Rosa had set herself the challenge of saying yes to more things.
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She had always been quite pessimistic and after a friend recently got very ill,
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she realised that life was too short and she needed to do more with her time.
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She needed to say yes and experience some new adventures.
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Since then, she had said yes to more parties, dates, random workout classes and,
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annoyingly, more overtime at work.
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But it was the extra hours she had worked that had paid for her next adventure.
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Rosa looked at her clock again, 4.45am.
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She was being picked up at 8.15 by someone called Drew.
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Drew was a friend of a friend.
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He had just started working as an outdoor activities instructor and was setting up his own adventure park.
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He wanted some people to test out his activities and Rosa, in a moment of madness, had said yes.
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Rosa was terrified of quite a few things, including water and heights.
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Her day ahead was going to involve white water rafting and climbing a huge rock.
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Rosa was petrified, but it was too late to back out now.
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She knew the activities were safe as they had all been inspected by professionals
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and she knew she was lucky that she was going to try out all these so-called fun things with her friends.
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But she couldn't budge the feeling of fear.
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Rosa must have dozed off as the next time she opened her eyes, her alarm clock said 6.55am.
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She decided to get out of bed, have a shower and get prepared for her day.
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She then made her way down to the breakfast room where she met two of her friends,
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Richard and Felicity, who were also going to take part in some activities.
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They were more excited than scared and it made Rosa feel like she was overreacting.
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Rosa forced herself to eat some breakfast as she knew she would need the energy.
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She managed some cereal, a banana and a slice of toast.
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She then went back to her room, packed her bag, and did a few more stretches to calm her shaking hands.
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She made her way downstairs, checked out, and then waited outside with Richard and Felicity.
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Suddenly, a coach arrived with some other participants, and they set off.
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Everyone was friendly and chatty and there was a buzz of nervousness in the air.
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Rosa knew she was doing the right thing.
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But at that very moment, she felt like her saying yes to this adventure was a very silly idea.
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Once they arrived at the outdoor activity centre,
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they were given a quick tour and left their belongings in lockers before heading off to their given activities.
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Rosa would not have chosen to climb a huge rock or go white water rafting.
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She would have chosen cycling or perhaps archery.
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She got to the climbing area and was helped into a harness
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She then listened to a safety talk Before one of the instructors showed them how to climb the rock surface
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Drew came over to check that everything was okay And he gave everyone some snacks and water
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Rosa took a deep breath and started to pull herself up the climbing wall.
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She tried to keep looking up.
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She didn't want to look down as she knew she would feel sick.
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She didn't feel strong enough to do this.
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She kept her eyes on the instructor who was at the top of the wall guiding her and the other participants.
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She was doing better than she realized, and before she knew it, she was at the top.
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Finally, she looked down and saw how far she had come.
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She wanted to cry, laugh, and be sick all at once.
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The instructor assumed she had climbed before.
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She told them it was pure fear that drove her up the wall so quickly.
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She just wanted it to be over.
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Rosa cheered on the other climbers.
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She felt proud.
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That was one new adventure ticked off her list.
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Now it was time to have a quick snack before heading over to the white water rafting activity.
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This was what Rosa was really worried about.
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She was scared that she might fall into the water or the boat might sink.
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Luckily, the buzz of climbing so well had helped her to feel calmer.
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Again, Rosa and the other volunteers were given a safety talk by one of the instructors
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and then they were off to their rafts.
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She felt safer knowing she was wearing a life jacket and that the water wasn't actually that deep.
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Luckily, as there hadn't been much rain, the water was flowing downstream quite calmly.
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She got on the boat, put on her helmet and prepared herself.
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She kept telling herself it was all going to be fine.
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One of the other people in her boat was quite nervous,
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so she found herself trying to calm him down, which helped her too.
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Then, without any warning, they were off paddling downstream.
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Rosa found herself screaming and laughing.
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Cool water was flying in her face and she almost fell in the water three times, but she didn't care.
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By the time they had reached the end of the ride, she wanted to do it again.
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She felt like she had caught the extreme sports bug,
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even though she had been terrified just a few hours earlier.
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As they dried off, Rosa started to feel very tired.
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The excitement of the day had finally caught up with her.
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As she took a huge sip of her orange juice, she smiled to herself.
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Now she was glad she had said yes.
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She'd had such a wonderful day experiencing some new adventures with people who would become her friends for life.
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Now let's go through some of the vocabulary from this story.
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Chatty.
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Chatty.
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If someone is chatty, then they enjoy talking a lot in a friendly way.
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Inspect. To inspect.
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To inspect is to look at something carefully in order to check that it is correct or good enough.
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Participant A participant is a person who takes part in or becomes involved in a particular activity.
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Random Random If something is random,
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it is chosen or is happening without any particular method or purpose.
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Assume To assume To assume is to accept something to be true without question or proof.
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Helmet Helmet A helmet is a hard hat that you wear to protect your head.
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Pessimistic, pessimistic.
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If someone is pessimistic, they think that bad things are more likely to happen
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or perhaps they focus on the bad part of a situation.
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Petrified, petrified.
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To be petrified is to be very scared.
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Calm.
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Calm.
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To be calm is to be peaceful, quiet and without worry.
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Instructor.
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Instructor.
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An instructor is a person whose job is to teach people a practical skill.
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Regret. To regret.
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To regret is to feel sorry and sad about something you have said and done or perhaps not said or done.
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Suddenly Suddenly If something happens suddenly then it happens quickly or unexpectedly.
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We hope you enjoyed this lovely English story and the vocabulary explanations.
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Thank you for stopping by.
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Get productive and check out our language learning productivity packs and stories on Etsy.
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And don't forget to like, subscribe and share.
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See you soon.

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About This Lesson

Welcome to your English learning adventure! In this lesson, you will practice intermediate English listening and reading skills through an engaging story titled "New Adventures." This narrative follows Rosa, a character who confronts her fears while embracing new experiences. As you immerse yourself in the story, you'll not only improve your vocabulary but also enhance your listening comprehension and overall fluency. By the end, you should feel more confident in speaking English, particularly when discussing personal challenges and adventures. This lesson is perfect for B1 and B2 level learners looking to enrich their language skills.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Nervous - feeling anxious or worried about something
  • Challenge - a task that requires effort and determination
  • Pessimistic - having a negative outlook or expectation
  • Adventure - an exciting or unusual experience
  • Terrified - extremely frightened
  • White water rafting - a sport involving navigating through turbulent water
  • Outdoor activities - activities that take place outside, often involving physical exercise
  • Inspection - a careful examination or assessment

Practice Tips

To enhance your English speaking and pronunciation skills while shadowing this story, follow these tips:

  • Shadow Speak: As you listen to the video, try to mimic Rosa's tone, speed, and inflections. Pay close attention to her emotional responses, especially when she feels nervous or excited. This will help you convey emotions effectively in your speaking.
  • Break Down Sentences: When you encounter longer sentences, pause the video and repeat them in smaller phrases. This will help you practice difficult constructions and improve your fluency.
  • Record Yourself: After shadowing parts of the story, record yourself reading the same sections aloud. Listen to the playback to identify areas for improvement in your pronunciation and intonation.
  • Focus on Key Vocabulary: Pay special attention to the key vocabulary and phrases listed above. Use them in your own sentences or conversations to reinforce your learning and ensure they become part of your active vocabulary.
  • IELTS Speaking Practice: If you're preparing for the IELTS exam, try discussing the story's themes and vocabulary with a friend or tutor. Engaging in discussions will solidify your understanding and improve your speaking performance.

By following these practice tips and immersing yourself in this engaging story, you'll significantly boost your English skills and gain confidence in speaking and understanding the language. Enjoy learning English with YouTube!

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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