Shadowing Practice: Pebbles on the Beach | Human Interest | Dominoes Quick Starter - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Chapter 1 Dallas Girl
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Abby is from Dallas.
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It's the summer vacation.
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She's in her room with her friend, Sadie.
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Sadie says, let's go to a concert next week.
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I can't, Abby says.
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Dad's working in Dubai for deep oil for three weeks, and Mom's going with him.
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What about you?
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Sadie asks.
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I'm staying with my Aunt May in California, Abby says.
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I don't want to go, but nobody listens to me.
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Next week, Aunt May drives Abby home from the airport in her crazy old car.
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In Aunt May's house, Abby finds a lot of pebbles in her room.
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They're all different, her aunt says.
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Your mom and I are sisters, but we're different too.
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What am I doing here?
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Abby thinks.
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My aunt's crazy.
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Chapter 2 The Boy on the Beach
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Three days later, Sadie calls Abby.
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She tells her all about the concert.
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Abby listens quietly.
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She cries after she puts down the phone.
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When she goes into Aunt May's studio, her aunt says, I'm going into town for paint this afternoon.
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Do you want to come?
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No, thanks, Abby says.
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Suddenly, Aunt May cries, Be careful!
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My new picture!
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Now there's black paint on Abby's best pants.
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She runs angrily out of the studio and away.
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When she stops, she's on the beach.
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A boy is putting something into bags there.
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What are you doing?
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She asks him.
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Picking up garbage?
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He answers.
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When birds eat it, it kills them.
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I'm Diego, he says.
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And you're staying in Mae Wilson's house.
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How do you know?
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Abby asks.
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We are neighbors, Diego says.
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Do you want to help me?
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He asks.
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Okay, Abby answers.
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They walk on the beach, talk, and pick up garbage.
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Abby forgets the paint on her pants.
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When it's time to go home, she says, Let's meet here again tomorrow.
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No, let's go to the National Park, Diego says.
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My cousin Bianca works there.
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She can take us.
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Hmm, maybe, Abby says.
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Chapter 3 The Park and a Storm
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That evening, Abby tells her aunt, Sorry about earlier.
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Can I visit the National Park tomorrow with Diego and his cousin?
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Sure, Aunt May smiles.
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Next day, Bianca takes Diego and Abby to Point Reyes National Park.
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They see a lot of animals.
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When they're walking there, Abby suddenly cries.
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Ah, there's something on me.
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It's a beautiful beetle, Bianca says.
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Abby looks down at the beetle.
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Well, it is a nice color, she thinks.
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Abby has a good time at the park.
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Do you want to come again?
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We can have a picnic next time, Bianca says.
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Okay, but when?
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Abby asks.
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It's a windy evening when Abby comes home.
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Nice day?
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Aunt May asks.
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Yes, Abby answers.
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And we're having a picnic at Point Reyes tomorrow.
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That night, there's a storm.
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Abby can't sleep.
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She gets up for some water.
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Just then, Aunt May comes in and finds her.
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What's the matter? she asks.
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Well, begins Abby.
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They sit at the table.
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Abby plays with the pebbles there and speaks about her parents.
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Dad's always working, and Mom doesn't like my friends, she says.
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Talk to them, Aunt May tells her.
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How can I?
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Abby answers.
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Chapter 4 A Ship on the Rocks
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Next morning, Abby and her aunt are watching TV.
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A reporter is talking.
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Today, after last night's storm,
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there's a ship on the rocks at Point Reyes and a lot of oil in the water, the reporter says.
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Diego and Bianca arrive at Aunt May's house.
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No picnic today, Abby says.
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Not with that oil spill, Diego agrees.
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But maybe we can help.
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We must go and see.
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When they arrive at Point Reyes, there's oil on the beach.
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Diego and Abby see a lot of dead birds.
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The mayor is talking to a reporter.
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Neighbors from villages near here must help, he says.
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We're having a meeting this afternoon.
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Look at the beach, Abby cries.
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What can we do?
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Let's go to the meeting and see.
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Bianca answers.
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There are a lot of people at the meeting.
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Teams of people can pick up the oil, the mayor says.
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But how do we move the ship?
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A man asks.
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I don't know.
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The mayor answers.
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Ask that man there.
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He's from the oil company.
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Deep oil can't move the ship.
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The oil man says.
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It's our oil, but it isn't our ship, you see.
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Deep oil's my dad's company, Abby says.
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Chapter 5 A Call for Help
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After the meeting, Aunt May tells Abby, I can't call your father.
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We don't get on.
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You must do it.
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But Dad never listens to me.
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Abby cries.
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You can change things, her aunt says.
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Believe me.
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She's right, Abby thinks. So, she calls.
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In Dubai, Abby's dad is sleeping when the phone rings.
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Ugh.
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It's 4 a.m here, he says.
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What is it, Abby?
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Sorry, Dad, Abby says.
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I need your help.
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She tells him about the ship on the rocks and the oil spill.
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He listens.
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Talk to people in your company, Dad, she says.
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Please persuade them.
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They must help.
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Okay.
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He answers.
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After the phone call, Abby tells her aunt, He's talking to people at Deep Oil.
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It's working.
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You see?
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Aunt May says.
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Next morning, Bianca and Diego are cleaning the beach when Abby and Aunt May arrive.
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They work all day and all week.
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One day, Abby and Diego are cleaning birds.
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There's oil all over me, but I'm okay with that, Abby thinks.
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I can't believe it.
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After work, her phone rings.
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Abby, your mom and I are in Dallas.
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Her dad says.
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You can come home.
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Oh, Dad!
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Abby cries.
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Chapter 6.
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The Summer Finishes.
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Abby listens to her phone.
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Everybody here in the Dallas office agrees, her dad says.
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A deep oil team's coming to Point Reyes.
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That's wonderful, Abby cries happily.
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Hey, take it easy.
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They can't empty the ship in a day, her dad says.
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So, can I stay here for longer?
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She asks.
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Sure.
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Her dad answers.
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Next week, the deep oil team arrives and begins work.
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Abby and Diego help at the beach for weeks.
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After work, the two of them visit the national park.
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They learn about the animals there from Bianca.
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But then the summer finishes and Abby's vacation finishes too.
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At the airport, Aunt May gives a heavy little bag to Abby.
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Diego gives a picture of a whale to her.
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Can you see whales here?
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Abby asks Diego. In the spring?
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He answers.
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Abby's dad meets her in Dallas.
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Sorry about your vacation, he says.
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Why?
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Abby laughs.
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I get on with Aunt May.
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I want to visit her again next spring.
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At home, Abby empties her aunt's heavy little bag on the table.
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Every pebble's different, she tells her parents.
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Her mom smiles.
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Her dad laughs. And Abby laughs too.
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Suddenly, it's good to be home.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This A2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Pebbles on the Beach”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Abby, aunt, oil, Diego, dad. This video has 186 sentences and 1147 words to shadow. The speech runs for 17:37. The speaker talks slowly, about 65 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 78% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| aunt noun | /ɑːnt/ | The sister or sister-in-law of one’s parent. |
| arrive verb | /əˈɹaɪv/ | To reach; to get to a certain place. |
| vacation noun | /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ | An extended trip or journey away from home for rest or pleasure. |
| reporter noun | /ɹɪˈpoɹ.tɚ/ | Someone or something that reports. |
| picnic noun | /ˈpɪknɪk/ | An informal social gathering, usually in a natural outdoor setting, to which the participants bring their own food and drink. |
| pants noun | /pænts/ | An outer garment that covers the body from the waist downwards, covering each leg separately, usually as far as the ankles; trousers. |
| cousin noun | /ˈkʌz(ə)n/ | 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… |
| garbage noun | /ˈɡɑɹ.bɪd͡ʒ/ | Food waste material of any kind. |
| whale noun | /ˈweɪl/ | Any large cetacean, usually with the exclusion of dolphins and porpoises. |
| spill verb | /spɪl/ | To drop something so that it spreads out or makes a mess; to accidentally pour. |
| beetle noun | /ˈbiːtəl/ | Any of numerous species of insect in the order Coleoptera characterized by a pair of hard, shell-like front wings which cover and protect a pair of rear wings… |
| quietly adverb | /ˈkwaɪ.ɪt.li/ | Producing little or no noise. |
| happily adverb | /ˈhæp.ə.li/ | In a happy or cheerful manner; with happiness. |
| persuade verb | /pə(ɹ)ˈsweɪd/ | To successfully convince (someone) to agree to, accept, or do something, usually through reasoning and verbal influence. |
| windy adjective | /ˈwɪn.di/ | Accompanied by wind. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. |
| get on with verb | To proceed with; to begin or continue, especially after an interruption. |
| put down verb | To insult, belittle, or demean. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- What am I doing here?
- Do you want to come?
- Do you want to help me?
- Do you want to come again?
- Can you see whales here?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | I'm staying · am I doing · I'm going |
| Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessary | must go · must help · must do |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 21 contractions and reduced forms, such as can't, I'm, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 aunt, arrive, vacation.
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.