Shadowing Practice: Literature Anthology Grade 3.Vote! - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Suppose your town is about to choose a new mayor.
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How will you do it?
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You'll vote.
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Voting is a way to choose.
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You can vote for favorite books, movie stars, candy bars, or even puppies.
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If someone wants to be elected mayor, she needs to convince as many people as possible to vote for her.
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Many people just don't vote.
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Why not?
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Maybe they think their vote is like a little drop of water in an enormous ocean.
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Their vote is only one out of many, many votes.
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But sometimes, the winner of an election is decided by just a few votes.
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Who decided who could vote?
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When this country began, the Founding Fathers wrote a constitution.
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It said how we would govern ourselves.
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It said people should vote, but it didn't say who could vote.
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That was left to each state to decide, and that was a problem.
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Angry people protested.
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They wrote letters.
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They held rallies and made speeches.
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They marched, were arrested, and went on hunger strikes.
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Some were killed trying to claim their right to vote.
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But it took many years, four amendments to the Constitution, and several new laws before all citizens,
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18 years or older, were allowed to vote.
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If you want to vote, you need to register. Where?
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At your town office.
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Or you can download a registration form from the Internet
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or you might even find a booth set up at a shopping mall or at a political rally.
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Do you want to join a political party?
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You've probably heard of the Democrats and the Republicans, but you could join the Green Party, the Libertarians, the America First Party,
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or the Progressives, to name just a few.
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Or you could be independent and not join any party at all.
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Before you vote, you'll need to find out about the different candidates.
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How?
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Read newspapers, watch TV news, listen to the radio, or surf the Internet.
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Do you agree with their ideas?
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How do we know if Chris will be a good mayor?
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She lets us sleep on the couch.
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That's important.
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You might have a chance to hear the candidates' debate.
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You might even be able to ask questions.
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We need new schools.
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Classes are being held in halls.
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There you go again, spending our money.
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Before an election, everyone tries to guess who will win.
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Pollsters ask some of the voters whom they're planning to vote for.
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Then they estimate who will be the winner
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but voters can change their minds someone just called to ask who i'm voting for and you said
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maybe brown what but smith is so much better that pollster should have asked me
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do you need help we sure do we have to mail 14 000 letters by tonight
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We're hoping you'll vote for Chris Smith.
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How can you help your candidate win?
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You can volunteer to answer phones, call voters, address envelopes, or hand out flyers.
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Campaigns need lots of help.
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And they need lots of money to help pay for phones, computers, stamps, flyers, and bumper stickers.
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And most of all, ads and more ads.
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Where will they find the money?
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What do the letters say?
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Please vote for Chris Smith and please donate money.
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You might want to donate a few dollars to your favorite candidate's campaign.
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Or maybe you'll be invited to a fundraising dinner.
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Would you like to pay $250 for a fancy hamburger and a chance to meet the candidate?
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Thank you if you donate lots of money maybe the candidate will listen to you more than to other voters
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is that fair does
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that mean your vote will count more than other voters votes
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there's a lot of disagreement about this by the last week of the campaign everyone is tired
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but the candidates make more speeches they shake more hands
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and they run more
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and more ads maybe just maybe they will convince another few
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voters to vote for them see we keep hearing Smith wants to spend all our money
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that worries me Chris Smith wants to spend your money that's
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an ad for Brown he's trying to worry us save your
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money vote for bill brown honest reliable a nice guy honest that ad isn't honest brown makes sense to me
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some of these ads can be very misleading
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i'm worried lots of these signs are for brown it's going to be a close election finally it's election day.
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Please sign in here, your name.
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Dad, are you voting for Mom?
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He'd better vote for me.
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Why do they have to sign in?
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Most voters are assigned a particular place to vote, a school, a library, a church basement, wherever there is space for voting booths.
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What if you're away on voting day?
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You can get an absentee ballot in advance.
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Some places let people vote by mail or on the internet.
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A few places set up voting machines early.
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But however you vote, you get just one vote.
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You can't go back and vote again.
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to check if they're registered and to make sure they vote only once.
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In most places, people use voting machines.
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Many cities and towns are replacing old machines with new electronic ones.
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But in very small towns, voters still mark paper ballots with a pencil.
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However you do it, you'll vote in a private booth truth.
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No one can see how you vote." There's lots to vote for,
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the mayor and city council, and a question.
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Should dogs be on leashes in public places?
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I finally decided, but don't ask.
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Votes are secret." He voted for Brown.
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You peaked.
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When the voting ends, the counting begins.
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Who will win?
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Stay close to your TV or radio to find out.
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Usually a few hours after the polls close, the winner is announced.
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Looks like Brown is winning.
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Oh no, but there are still lots more votes to count.
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And the winner is my mom.
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Congratulations, Madam Mayor.
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I'll be Mayor Dog.
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We won! But wait.
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What if the election is won by only a few votes?
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The candidate who lost can ask that the votes be counted again.
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Then it could take a few days or longer to carefully recount the ballots and find out who really won.
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Uh -oh, Brown wants a recount?
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I'll tell her.
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What's wrong?
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I won by just 105 votes out of 35 ,000.
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That's why Bill Brown wants a recount.
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Do you think Chris will lose?
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She might.
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At last, the election is decided.
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In the end, someone does win.
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And someone does lose.
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The votes have been recounted.
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Bill Brown was correct.
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Mistakes were made.
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Smith actually has 203 votes more than Brown.
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Almost half the voters don't want Chris to be mayor.
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Look at the bright side.
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Slightly more than half do want her.
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Brown lost.
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I guess we won't get a new stadium.
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But we might build new schools.
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I'm going to write a letter to Chris Smith and tell her why this town needs a stadium.
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She needs to listen to all the voters.
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You aren't happy?
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You wish the other candidate had won?
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Well, remember, the mayor works for everyone, even the people who didn't vote for her.
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She'll need to listen to all the voters.
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After she is sworn in, the new mayor will have a few years to do her new job.
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What are they doing?
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Chris is being sworn in as mayor.
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I promise to do my best.
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She won't please all the people all the time, but if she does a good job, maybe the voters will elect her again.
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I wonder if I'll be sworn in as mayor, dog.
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Who says you get to be mayor, dog?
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What about me?
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About the author and illustrator Eileen Cristolo had a strange dream when she was just three years old.
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She dreamed she could read.
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In first grade, she really did learn to read.
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From then on, Eileen's nose was almost always in a book.
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As Eileen grew up, she discovered art and photography.
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She also liked children's books and thought about writing and illustrating one of her own.
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After a lot of work, Eileen's first book was published.
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She went on to publish many more.
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Eileen gets her story ideas from newspapers, the radio, and even conversations.
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Why This Video Is Great for English Speaking Practice
The video about voting is an excellent tool for english speaking practice because it uses everyday language, clear storytelling, and relatable scenarios. The dialogue flows naturally, mixing explanations with casual conversations, which helps learners grasp how to communicate ideas in both formal and informal settings. It also includes common phrases like "convince as many people as possible" and "change their minds," making it easy to apply these expressions in real life. Plus, the topic of voting is universal, so learners can connect with the content while improving their language skills.
Breaking Down Natural Speech Patterns
Let’s look at a few lines from the video to see why they sound natural:
- "Maybe they think their vote is like a little drop of water in an enormous ocean." This simile uses simple, vivid language to explain a common feeling, making complex ideas easy to understand. The rhythm of "little drop of water" and "enormous ocean" creates a natural flow that’s easy to mimic with shadowing technique.
- "You might have a chance to hear the candidates' debate. You might even be able to ask questions." The repetition of "you might" and the transition "even" mirror how people speak in casual conversations, showing how to build on ideas smoothly.
- "That pollster should have asked me! Do you need help? We sure do!" This exchange includes exclamations and short, direct responses, which are key to sounding natural in spoken English. The quick back-and-forth teaches learners to respond promptly and with emotion.
A Simple Shadowing Routine for This Video
To practice with this video, try a shadow speech routine: First, watch a 10-second clip and listen carefully to the intonation, stress, and pace. Then, play the clip again and repeat the words aloud immediately after the speaker, mimicking their tone and rhythm. Record yourself doing this, then compare your recording to the original. Focus on matching the pauses in phrases like "But sometimes, the winner of an election is decided by just a few votes" and the emphasis in "We need new schools." For extra support, use a shadowing app to slow down the audio or loop tricky sections. Repeat this process with different clips until you feel comfortable. This method helps build fluency and trains your mouth to move like a native speaker, making your English sound more natural over time.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be elected · is decided · was left |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | You've probably heard · have been recounted |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might even find · might have · might even be |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should vote · should have · Should dogs |
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.