Shadowing Practice: Middlemarch by George Eliot | Brief Plot Summary - Learn English Speaking with Video

This video has 28 sentences and 410 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:49. The speaker talks at a steady 146 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 69% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

• marry /ˈmæɹi/ (verb) — To enter into the conjugal or connubial state; to take a husband or a wife.
• epic /ˈɛp.ɪk/ (noun) — An extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a deity, demigod (heroic epic), other legend or traditional hero.
• meanwhile /ˈmiːnwaɪl/ (adverb) — During the time that something is happening, often specifically in a different place.
• defend /dɪˈfɪnd/ (verb) — To ward off attacks against (something or someone).
• discovery /dɪˈskʌv.ɹi/ (noun) — Something discovered.
• suffer /ˈsʌfɚ/ (verb) — To undergo hardship.
• uncle /ˈʌŋ.kl̩/ (noun) — The brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent.
• reveal /ɹɪˈviːl/ (verb) — To uncover; to show and display that which was hidden.
• essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/ (adverb) — In essence: by nature.
• participate /pɑːˈtɪs.ɪ.peɪt/ (verb) — To join in, to take part, to involve oneself (in something).
• cousin /ˈkʌz(ə)n/ (noun) — Chiefly with a qualifying word: Any relation (especially a distant one) who is not a direct ancestor or descendant but part of a person's extended family; a…
• spiritual /ˈspɪɹɪt͡ʃuəl/ (adjective) — Of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul.
• arrive /əˈɹaɪv/ (verb) — To reach; to get to a certain place.
• fortune /ˈfɔːtjuːn/ (noun) — Destiny, especially favorable.
• intellectual /ˌɪntəˈlɛkt͡ʃʊəl/ (adjective) — Pertaining to, or performed by, the intellect; mental or cognitive.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

• fall for (verb) — To be fooled by; to walk into (a trap) or respond to (a scam or trick).
• fall in (verb) — To collapse inwards.
• move up (verb) — To promote, put onto a higher level.
• turn out (verb) — To end up; to result.

Pronunciation to watch

• The “th” sounds: wealthy /ˈwɛl.θi/, threaten /ˈθɹɛt.n̩/, mythology /mɪˈθɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, empathetic /ˌɛmpəˈθɛtɪk/
• The “sh” and “zh” sounds: essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, suspicion /səˈspɪʃ.ən/, shady /ˈʃeɪdi/, omniscient /ɑmˈnɪʃənt/
• Long words — get the stress right: essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, participate /pɑːˈtɪs.ɪ.peɪt/, intellectual /ˌɪntəˈlɛkt͡ʃʊəl/, inheritance /ɪnˈhɛɹɪtəns/, protagonist /pɹəˈtæɡ.ə.nɪst/

How to practise with this video

1. Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
2. Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
3. Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like marry, epic, meanwhile.