Shadowing Practice: INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH STORY โœˆ๏ธ Solo Travel ๐ŸŒ„ B1 - B2 | British English 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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Get productive and check out our language learning productivity packs on Etsy.
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Ready?
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Let's get started.
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B1 B2 English Story Solo Travel
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Daisy woke up with a smile on her face for the first time in a long time.
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She knew it was now time for her to book her next travel adventure.
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Like many people,
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Daisy had experienced a lousy few years Her relationship had broken
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down She'd started a new job She had moved house And her pet cat,
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Jerry, had passed away She was now starting to come out of the other end of it
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No longer did she feel like a heavy cloud was looming over her.
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She could see the light at the end of the tunnel and she was working her way towards it.
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She had a lovely day planned.
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It was a Saturday and she was going to go for a quick 5km run before showering
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and meeting her friends for brunch and a walk around a local nature reserve.
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Then Daisy planned to come home and spend the rest of the day on her computer.
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That might not sound overly exciting,
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but what she was going to do was incredibly thrilling.
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Daisy had been thinking for some time that she wanted to go on a solo travel adventure.
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She thought about the countries she wanted to visit and how much money she had in her savings account.
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She was saving up to buy a house,
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but the last few years had reminded her that it was now or never.
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She needed to take life by the horns and enjoy herself.
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She had set herself a budget and decided she was going to book a two week trip to Vancouver.
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She had wanted to go for many years and she had met
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so many wonderful Canadian people that she knew she would like it.
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Daisy had never been to Canada before.
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She was excited but she wasn't looking forward to the long plane journey as she didn't like flying.
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Nevertheless, Daisy couldn't wait to get her trip planned and booked.
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She completed her plans for the day,
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and after getting home after socializing with her friends,
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she made herself a big cup of hot chocolate and curled up on the sofa.
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On her way home, she had stopped off at the bookshop and purchased a travel guide about Vancouver.
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She looked through the options and decided that 10 days in the city would be enough.
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She planned to spend half her time in Vancouver and half exploring Vancouver Island.
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Daisy really wanted to see the sights at Whistler and Banff but unfortunately she didn't have the budget or the time.
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Daisy didn't tell her friends about her travel plans.
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She decided that she wouldn't tell anyone until she had booked everything.
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The first thing she did was try and find cheap flights.
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She managed to find a return flight from London Heathrow to Vancouver for ยฃ550.
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She had some air miles so she actually paid ยฃ475.
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Then she sorted out her travel insurance just in case she got sick or had an accident.
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Then she paid for her electronic travel authorization,
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which is like a tourist visa.
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It was cheap.
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It only cost $7.
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Now she had the difficult decision of where to stay.
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Daisy didn't really fancy staying in a hotel.
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She preferred to stay in hostels so she could chat with other people
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and get ideas of places to see and things to do.
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She opted for a private room in a hostel in downtown Vancouver
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as she wanted to be able to walk
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or cycle to most places rather than paying a lot for public transport or taxis.
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She would stay there for five nights.
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Then she checked where she could stay on Vancouver Island.
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There were so many places she wanted to see.
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It was hard to narrow down her options.
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She decided she would be daring
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and would leave it until she was in Vancouver to decide on where she would stay on the island.
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After all, she wasn't going at a busy time of the year.
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And if she got stuck,
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she could always extend her stay in Vancouver.
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The last thing Daisy needed to do was book her transport to and from the airport in the UK.
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She decided she would drive and park at the airport as she had a money off voucher.
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It was a little expensive,
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but she preferred that to getting a train that might end up being late.
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For the rest of the evening,
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Daisy looked up blogs and YouTube videos about where to stay and what to see.
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Now she just had a couple of months until she could go
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and explore a city that she has wanted to see since she was a little girl.
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If you could visit any city in the world,
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where would you go and why?
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Tell us in the comments below.
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Now let's go through some of the vocabulary budget budget a
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budget is a plan to show how much money you will earn
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and how much you will need extend to extend to extend
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is to add to something in order to make it bigger or longer.
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Genuinely.
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Genuinely.
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Genuinely means honestly or in a sincere way.
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Insurance.
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Insurance.
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Insurance is an agreement in which you pay a company money
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and they pay your costs if you have an accident or an illness.
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Purchase to purchase to purchase is to buy something.
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Savings savings the money you keep usually in a bank.
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Solo Solo Solo is to do something alone.
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Thrilling Thrilling is extremely exciting.
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Account
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Account In the story an account is an arrangement with a bank to keep your money
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and to take it out when you need to.
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So, a bank account.
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Decision.
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Decision.
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A decision is a choice that you make about something.
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Explore.
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To explore.
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To explore is to travel to a place in order to learn about it or to search for something.
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Transport.
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Transport.
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Transport is a vehicle that gets you from one place to another,
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like a train, bus, plane or car.
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Visa.
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Visa.
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A visa is an official document which is usually in a passport and it allows you to enter or leave a country.
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We hope you enjoyed this lovely English story.
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Thank you for stopping by.
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And don't forget to like, subscribe and share.
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And remember you can get productive with our language learning productivity packs on Etsy.
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Link in the description below and use code YouTube10 for 10% off.
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See you soon.
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Thank you.

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Why practice speaking with this video?

This engaging story about Daisy's solo travel adventure provides a perfect context for practicing your speaking skills. As you immerse yourself in the narrative, you not only enhance your listening abilities but also develop your capacity to express similar thoughts and experiences. By following along, you can learn English with YouTube and use the tale as a backdrop for stimulating discussions about travel, personal growth, and life decisions. Sharing your own travel dreams or adventures helps reinforce your language skills and boosts your confidence in spoken English.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

Throughout the video, several key grammatical structures and expressions emerge, offering rich material for learners. Here are a few notable ones:

  • Past Simple Tense: Daisy's experiences are recounted in the past simple tense, which is essential for discussing events that have already occurred. For example, โ€œDaisy woke up with a smileโ€ effectively narrates her emotional state.
  • Present Perfect Tense: The phrase โ€œshe had experienced a lousy few yearsโ€ showcases the use of the present perfect tense to connect past experiences with the present situation, highlighting the progression in Daisy's life.
  • Future Plans: Daisy's intentions to travel are expressed through phrases like โ€œIโ€™m going to book a trip.โ€ This structure is crucial for discussing future activities and intentions, which can help learners articulate their own plans.
  • Expressions of Emotion: Phrasing such as โ€œshe could see the light at the end of the tunnelโ€ conveys deep emotions and can enhance vocabulary related to feelings and experiences.

Common Pronunciation Traps

While practicing with Daisy's story, pay attention to characteristically tricky words and phrases that may pose challenges for learners:

  • Travel: The pronunciation of "travel" can be difficult, particularly emphasizing the 'v' sound found in many English words.
  • Excited: Be mindful of how you stress the syllables in โ€œexcited.โ€ The emphasis can change how your enthusiasm is conveyed.
  • Authorization: This longer word often trips up speakers. Practice breaking it down into smaller parts: โ€œau-tho-ri-za-tion.โ€
  • Heathrow: Pronouncing place names correctly is crucial for clarity. Make sure to articulate โ€œHeathrowโ€ clearly without dropping sounds.

By focusing on these pronunciation aspects, learners can significantly improve their English pronunciation. Take your time to practice shadow speech by repeating after the speaker, creating a strong foundation for your oral communication skills.

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 โ€” like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1โ€“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 โ€” making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

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