Shadowing Practice: Listening B2, FCE 1 (2015), Test 1, Part 2 - Learn English Speaking with Video

Now turn to part two.

You will hear a photographer called Ian Gerard talking about his career.

For questions nine to eighteen, complete the sentences with a word or short phrase.

You now have forty-five seconds to look at part two.

Thank you.

Good evening everyone.

My name's Ian Gerard and I'm a photographer.

I'm here to tell you a bit about my career so far and also about my new book.

I often get asked if I studied photography at university and people are sometimes surprised that I didn't.

I wanted to, but my parents wouldn't let me, so I had to choose something else.

I loved history, but my marks weren't very good, but I was keen on geography too, so that is what I did in the end.

I actually think it's made me a better photographer and has given my work a broader context.

On my degree course, in my final year, we studied all aspects of the development of cities and we had to do a presentation.

We could do what we wanted and it was really interesting the topics people chose.

I chose street markets for mine, but a friend did his on the growth of urban transport networks.

On graduation, I went to the USA.

I knew I wanted to work as a photographer, so I'd sent pictures to news organisations and advertising agencies, hoping I might get something in a brochure or even a newspaper.

In fact, it was a magazine that noticed my pictures, and I worked for it for a year.

I learnt a huge amount, but what I really wanted to do was see the USA for myself.

I needed a theme, something really American, maybe photographing diners or shopping malls around the country.

Then I remembered all those westerns I'd seen, and I just knew it had to be horses.

I'd found what I wanted to focus on.

It was an amazing six months.

I started off in the baking heat of summer on the East Coast and finished my journey up in the mountains.

I get the most striking shots in the winter light, although I do love the warmth in summer photos.

Anyway, I came back to Britain at the beginning of spring and published my US photos in a small book.

I earned just enough to finance my next trip round the UK.

I felt it was time I explored my own country.

I'd done a lot of driving in the USA and I wanted a change from the car, so went by motorbike instead.

I love train travel, but I wanted to get to more remote areas.

I wanted to explore the relationship between people and place.

Interestingly, in the last few decades, many photographers from the UK haven't done much on fishing communities here, so that's what I did.

They've tended to focus on family life in inner-city communities instead.

The resulting photos I'm putting together for my new book.

One thing I've learnt is that it takes ages to produce a book,

almost as long in fact as it took me to travel around Britain and then develop all the photos I'd taken.

I started my journey in August and finished last month in November.

My book won't be in the shops until March, though there's an exhibition of my pictures touring the UK from January.

It's funny, I really wanted to call my book Visions, but apparently there's already one called that,

so my publishers suggested the title In Focus, which I thought was horrible.

In the end, we settled for Images, which is OK.

Now I'm planning my next tour.

I wasn't sure which theme to choose this time.

I initially thought I'd look at lakes and mountains, but then I saw a tractor in a field, and I knew I'd do farming.

I've decided to use a special camera to create very large photos, which I'm hoping to exhibit next year.

Well, if you have any questions about my new...

Now you'll hear part two again.

Good evening, everyone.

My name's Ian Gerard, and I'm a photographer.

I'm here to tell you a bit about my career so far, and also about my new book.

I often get asked if I studied photography at university and people are sometimes surprised that I didn't.

I wanted to, but my parents wouldn't let me, so I had to choose something else.

I loved history, but my marks weren't very good, but I was keen on geography too, so that is what I did in the end.

I actually think it's made me a better photographer, and has given my work a broader context.

On my degree course, in my final year, we studied all aspects of the development of cities, and we had to do a presentation.

We could do what we wanted and it was really interesting the topics people chose.

I chose street markets for mine, but a friend did his on the growth of urban transport networks.

On graduation, I went to the USA.

I knew I wanted to work as a photographer, so I'd sent pictures to news organisations and advertising agencies, hoping I might get something in a brochure or even a newspaper.

In fact, it was a magazine that noticed my pictures, and I worked for it for a year.

I learnt a huge amount, but what I really wanted to do was see the USA for myself.

I needed a theme, something really American, maybe photographing diners or shopping malls around the country.

Then I remembered all those westerns I'd seen, and I just knew it had to be horses.

I'd found what I wanted to focus on.

It was an amazing six months.

I started off in the baking heat of summer on the East Coast and finished my journey up in the mountains.

I get the most striking shots in the winter light, although I do love the warmth in summer photos.

Anyway, I came back to Britain at the beginning of spring and published my US photos in a small book.

I earned just enough to finance my next trip round the UK.

I felt it was time I explored my own country.

I'd done a lot of driving in the USA and I wanted a change from the car, so went by motorbike instead.

I love train travel, but I wanted to get to more remote areas.

I wanted to explore the relationship between people and place.

Interestingly, in the last few decades, many photographers from the UK haven't done much on fishing communities here, so that's what I did.

They've tended to focus on family life in inner-city communities instead.

The resulting photos I'm putting together for my new book.

One thing I've learnt is that it takes ages to produce a book,

almost as long in fact as it took me to travel around Britain and then develop all the photos I'd taken.

I started my journey in August and finished last month in November.

My book won't be in the shops until March, though there's an exhibition of my pictures touring the UK from January.

It's funny.

I really wanted to call my book Visions, but apparently there's already one called that.

So my publishers suggested the title In Focus, which I thought was horrible.

In the end, we settled for Images, which is OK.

Now I'm planning my next tour.

I wasn't sure which theme to choose this time.

I initially thought I'd look at lakes and mountains, but then I saw a tractor in a field, and I knew I'd do farming.

I've decided to use a special camera to create very large photos, which I'm hoping to exhibit next year.

Well, if you have any questions about my new...

That is the end of part two.

📺 Same Channel

✨ Recommend Video

231 sentences

IELTS CAMBRIDGE LISTENING BOOK 18 TEST 3 WITH ANSWERS

IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students

97 sentences

HỌC FCE 1 TEST 1 PART 2

Cambridge Exam PrepBusiness EnglishInterview English

94 sentences

Cambridge 15 listening (Test-2) (Part-3)

Cambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students

67 sentences

The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS unit 7 following a lecture or talk

IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students

[Audio] Cambridge Vocabulary For Ielts With Answers - 16 6a

127

15 sentences

[Audio] Cambridge Vocabulary For Ielts With Answers - 16 6a

IELTS PrepCambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students

451 sentences

Full B2 First (FCE) Listening Test 66 with Answers

Cambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students

393 sentences

Cambridge CAE 2 Listening Test 2

Cambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students

145 sentences

INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH STORY 📍A Trip Around England🚘 B1 - B2 | British English Listening Practice

Cambridge Exam PrepTravel EnglishDaily Conversation

71 sentences

FCE1 TEST2 PART2

Cambridge Exam PrepHigh School StudentsUniversity Students

79 sentences

Cambridge 17 listening (Test-1) (Part-3)

Cambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students

74 sentences

Cambridge IELTS 10. Test 2. Listening Section 3

Cambridge Exam PrepUniversity Students

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Listening B2, FCE 1 (2015), Test 1, Part 2”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: photos, photographer, Usa, pictures, focus. This video has 90 sentences and 1315 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:36. The speaker talks at a steady 137 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 13 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
brochure noun	/bɹoʊˈʃʊɚ/	A booklet of printed informational matter, like a pamphlet, often for promotional purposes.
diner noun	/ˈdaɪ̯nɚ/	Someone who dines.
motorbike verb	/ˈmoʊtɚˌbaɪk/	To ride a motorbike; to travel by motorbike.
interestingly adverb		In an interesting way.
tractor noun	/ˈtɹæktɚ/	A vehicle used in farms e.g. for pulling farm equipment and preparing the fields.
warmth noun	/wɔɹmθ/	A moderate degree of heat; the sensation of being warm.
bake verb	/beɪk/	To cook (something) in an oven (for someone).
geography noun	/d͡ʒiˈɑɡɹəfi/	The study of the physical properties of the earth, including how humans affect and are affected by them.
graduation noun	/ˌɡɹæd͡ʒuˈeɪʃən/	The action or process of graduating and receiving a diploma for completing a course of study (such as from an educational institution).
publisher noun	/ˈpʌblɪʃɚ/	A person or (especially) a company who publishes, especially books.
keen adjective	/kin/	Often with a prepositional phrase, or with to and an infinitive: showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness; eager, enthusiastic, interested.
exhibit verb	/ɪɡˈzɪbɪt/	To display or show (something) for others to see, especially at an exhibition or contest.
forty adjective	/ˈfoɹti/	Resembling or characteristic of a fort.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has given · haven't done · They've tended
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	Images, which is

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 43 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'd, I'm, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: brochure /bɹoʊˈʃʊɚ/, graduation /ˌɡɹæd͡ʒuˈeɪʃən/, publisher /ˈpʌblɪʃɚ/
Long words — get the stress right: geography /d͡ʒiˈɑɡɹəfi/, graduation /ˌɡɹæd͡ʒuˈeɪʃən/

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 brochure, diner, motorbike.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Listening B2, FCE 1 (2015), Test 1, Part 2 - Learn English Speaking with Video

Listening B1, PET 3, Test 3, Part 3

Listening B1, PET 1 for Schools, Test 1, Part 4

Listening A2, KET 1, Test 4, Part 4

Listening A2, KET 3, Test 3, Part 1

Listening B1, PET 3, Test 1, Part 1

Listening A2, KET 3, Test 4, Part 1

Listening A2, KET 1, Test 4, Part 5

Listening A2, KET 2, Test 1, Part 1

Listening A2, KET 3, Test 1, Part 1

Listening A2, KET 1, Test 4, Part 3

Listening B1, PET 1 for Schools, Test 1, Part 1

Listening B2, FCE 1 (2015), Test 3, Part 2

Listening A2, KET 3, Test 2, Part 1

Listening B1, PET 1 for Schools, Test 3, Part 2

Listening A2, KET 1, Test 4, Part 1

Listening B2, FCE 1, Test 1, Part 1

Listening B1, PET 3, Test 4, Part 2

Listening B2, FCE 1 (2015), Test 2, Part 4

Listening B2, FCE 1 (2015), Test 3, Part 1

Listening B1, PET 1 for Schools, Test 2, Part 2

IELTS CAMBRIDGE LISTENING BOOK 18 TEST 3 WITH ANSWERS

HỌC FCE 1 TEST 1 PART 2

Cambridge 15 listening (Test-2) (Part-3)

The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS unit 7 following a lecture or talk

[Audio] Cambridge Vocabulary For Ielts With Answers - 16 6a

Full B2 First (FCE) Listening Test 66 with Answers

Cambridge CAE 2 Listening Test 2

INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH STORY 📍A Trip Around England🚘 B1 - B2 | British English Listening Practice

FCE1 TEST2 PART2

Cambridge 17 listening (Test-1) (Part-3)

Cambridge IELTS 10. Test 2. Listening Section 3

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?