Shadowing Practice: Keeping Up Appearances - Children In Need Special 1995 - Learn English Speaking with Video
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98 sentences
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1
My dream of, my dream of delight...
2
The bouquet residence, the lady of the house speaking.
3
Oh, it's you, Daisy.
4
Is Onslow with you and is he wearing a shirt?
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He's not with you, good.
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He's gone upstairs to attend to Daddy.
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Why, what's wrong with Daddy?
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Why should I sit down, dear?
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Is Daddy in trouble again?
10
Well, I should like to speak to him.
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Why is that difficult? Because he's dead.
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Daisy, what have you done with Daddy?
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Have you been careless with him?
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Peacefully in his sleep with a smile on his face.
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Poor Daddy.
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Look, he can't be dead.
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He wouldn't choose tonight, when I'm expecting people for a candlelight supper, finger buffet and the first showing of my holiday slides look i'll phone you back daisy
18
richard daddy's dead are you sure i've just this minute put the phone down
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would he be phoning you if he was dead now that really is silly He was an old man.
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If he died peacefully, that's all you can expect.
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Poor Daddy.
22
And to think that only yesterday he was running around naked at the over-sixties.
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Richard, we can't leave him there.
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I'm afraid you'll have to leave him there.
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When they're dead, they're dead.
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No, I mean we can't leave him at Onslow's.
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Daddy was much loved.
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People will want to see him.
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I can't take people to Onslow's.
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You'll have to fetch him.
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Now.
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Bring him here.
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Mind my wallpaper.
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He loved my herringbone woodblock.
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I will not have Daddy lying in state in that outfit.
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Richard, you'll have to lend him a suit.
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Lend?
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I don't want it back.
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And close those doors, dear.
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I can't have Daddy in a draft.
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I've got his bugle.
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Oh.
43
He always wanted to be buried with his bugle.
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Good job he didn't play the piano.
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Now, Daddy was a war hero.
46
I must ring the Prime Minister.
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No, there'll be no room in the Abbey.
48
You think it was the King Prawn with the water chestnuts?
49
Oh, I enjoyed mine.
50
Well, you have a more robust metabolism, which, even after all these years, I still find powerfully attractive.
51
Richard, I think we should announce that Daddy will be on view to the public in my guest room
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with the exclusive wallpaper and built-in wardrobes.
53
Should I arrange a military band, do you think?
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It's only a small room.
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Richard, none of my rooms are small.
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They are attractively compact.
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Off you go.
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Off you go, everybody.
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Make yourselves at home in the kitchen. Or the garage. Who is it?
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I don't know.
61
Well, find out.
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Good evening, Richard.
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Emma, wait for a moment.
64
It's Elizabeth.
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She's very early.
66
You said eight o'clock.
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My watch must have stopped.
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Richard, you never told me my watch had stopped.
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Go through.
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Well, we can always come back.
71
Hello, Elizabeth.
72
You're just in time to see my new low-lying, fully reclining, waist-high telephone table seat.
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It's a coffin.
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Designed exclusively to look like a coffin.
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Hello, Richard.
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Haven't you come on the wrong night?
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No, no, no. I'm just testing my new low-lying, fully reclining, waist-high telephone table seat.
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All my guests are arriving at once.
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Richard, keep them out in the garden.
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It looks beautiful by moonlight.
81
It's pouring with rain.
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LAUGHTER Keep them in the garden, Richard!
83
Keep them in the garden!
84
We're away from Onslow's Fest!
85
What are you doing awake at this hour?
86
Oh, nothing, dear. Who are you phoning?
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Hello, is that you, Daisy?
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Yes.
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How's Daddy, dear?
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Oh, I'm so glad, yes.
91
Oh, no, nothing, dear, just an elder sister's natural concern.
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Oh, go back to bed, dear.
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Oh, and give my love to Onslow.
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Providing he's wearing pyjamas.
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Oh.
96
Oh.
97
Oh, put the light out, dear.
98
You know I can't sleep with the light on.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 98 sentences and 647 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:29. The speaker talks slowly, about 100 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| daisy noun | /ˈdeɪ.zi/ | A wild flowering plant of species Bellis perennis of the family Asteraceae, with a yellow head and white petals |
| telephone noun | /ˈtɛləˌfoʊn/ | A telecommunication device which converts data or sounds (usually speech) into electrical signals which are then transmitted to enable two or more people to… |
| waist noun | /weɪst/ | The part of the body between the pelvis and the stomach. |
| lend verb | /ˈlɛnd/ | To allow to be used by someone temporarily, on condition that it or its equivalent will be returned. |
| coffin noun | /ˈkɔfɪn/ | A closed box in which the body of a dead person is placed for burial. |
| wallpaper noun | /ˈwɔːlˌpeɪpə/ | Decorative paper-like material used to cover the inner walls of buildings. |
| peacefully adverb | /ˈpiːsfəli/ | In a peaceful manner. |
| finger noun | /ˈfɪŋɡɚ/ | A slender jointed extremity of the human hand, (often) exclusive of the thumb, and the corresponding part, irrespective of including a thumb, in many other… |
| naked adjective | /ˈneɪkɪd/ | Bare, not covered by clothing. |
| silly adjective | /ˈsɪl.i/ | Laughable or amusing through foolishness or a foolish appearance. |
| arrive verb | /əˈɹaɪv/ | To reach; to get to a certain place. |
| residence noun | /ˈɹɛz.ɪ.dəns/ | The place where one lives (resides); one's home. |
| piano noun | /piˈænɪː/ | A percussive keyboard musical instrument, usually ranging over seven octaves, with white and black colored keys, played by pressing these keys, causing hammers… |
| slide noun | /ˈslaɪ̯d/ | An item of play equipment that children can climb up and then slide down again. |
| announce verb | /əˈnaʊn(t)s/ | To give public notice of, especially for the first time; to make known. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come back verb | To return to a place. |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| run around verb | To be very busy doing many different things. |
| sit down verb | To assume a sitting position from a standing position. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 26 contractions and reduced forms, such as can't, I'm, you'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: exclusively /ɪkˈskluːsɪvli/, metabolism /məˈtæb.əˌlɪz.əm/, attractively /əˈtɹæk.tɪv.li/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like daisy, telephone, waist.
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.