Shadowing Practice: 老人與海｜英文故事｜聽故事學英文｜英文聽力練習｜睡前英文故事｜英文學習（初學者友好） - Learn English Speaking with Video
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The Old Man and the Sea How many times can a person fail and still refuse to give up?
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There was once an old fisherman who had gone 84 days without catching a single fish.
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Everyone believed he would never succeed again.
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But on the 85th day,
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he sailed alone into the deep sea and began a journey that would change his life forever.
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Today's story is Ernest Hemingway's famous novel, The Old Man and the Sea.
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It is not just a story about the sea and a fisherman.
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It is a story about courage, dignity, and the power of never giving up.
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Once there was an old fisherman named Santiago.
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He lived in a small fishing village near the sea in Cuba.
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He was thin and old.
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Deep wrinkles covered his face, and his hands showed the marks of many years spent pulling fishing lines from the ocean.
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Santiago had spent his whole life fishing.
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The sea was his friend, his workplace, and his world.
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For many years, a young boy named Manolin had gone fishing with him.
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The boy loved Santiago and respected him greatly.
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Santiago had taught him everything he knew about fishing.
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But lately, things had changed.
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For 84 days, Santiago had not caught a single fish.
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The villagers began to think he was unlucky.
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Some fishermen felt sorry for him.
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Others quietly laughed at him.
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The boy's parents believed Santiago's bad luck would continue.
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They told Manolin to fish with another boat.
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Although the boy obeyed his parents, he still cared deeply about the old man.
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Every evening, he visited Santiago's small shack.
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They talked about baseball, fishing, and life.
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The boy brought him food whenever he could.
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One evening, after the 84th day without a fish, the boy asked, Can I go fishing with you again?
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Santiago smiled kindly.
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Your parents have made their decision, he said.
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The boy lowered his head.
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I know, but I still believe in you.
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The old man's eyes brightened.
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Thank you, my boy.
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That night, Santiago slept in his small hut.
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The walls were simple.
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The furniture was old.
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Yet his dreams were filled with memories of his youth.
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He dreamed of Africa, where he had sailed as a young sailor.
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He dreamed of golden beaches and lions walking proudly along the shore.
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The next morning, long before sunrise, Santiago awoke.
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The village was still asleep.
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He quietly carried his fishing equipment to his small boat.
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The boy helped him prepare.
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I wish you luck, old man, said Manolin.
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Luck comes and goes, Santiago replied.
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I will do my best.
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With that, he pushed his boat into the dark water and began rowing toward the open sea.
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Most fishermen stayed closer to shore, but Santiago rowed farther and farther.
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He believed that the big fish lived in deeper waters.
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As the sun slowly rose, the ocean became bright and blue.
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The sea stretched endlessly in every direction.
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Birds flew overhead.
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Flying fish jumped across the surface.
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Santiago felt peaceful.
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He loved the sea.
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He often thought of the sea as a woman, beautiful, generous, and sometimes unpredictable.
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As he rode, he carefully placed several fishing lines into the water at different depths.
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Then he waited.
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Hours passed.
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The sun climbed higher.
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Still no fish.
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But Santiago remained patient.
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End.
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He had learned long ago that fishing required faith.
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Around noon, something happened.
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One of the lines suddenly moved.
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The old man immediately felt it.
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Something enormous was pulling beneath the water.
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His heart began to beat faster.
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This is a big one, he whispered.
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He held the line carefully.
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The fish did not jump.
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It did not struggle wildly.
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Instead, it simply swam away with great strength.
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The line continued moving, deeper into the ocean.
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Santiago knew this was no ordinary fish.
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This was a giant marlin.
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The marlin kept swimming, hour after hour.
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It pulled the small boat farther and farther from land.
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Santiago could not stop it.
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The fish was simply too strong.
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The old man wrapped the line across his shoulders and back.
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The pressure hurt his body.
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His hands began to ache, yet he refused to let go.
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If I lose this fish, he thought, I may
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They never get another chance like this.
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The sun set.
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Darkness covered the sea.
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Still, the marlin swam steadily forward.
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The boat followed.
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Santiago was alone with the fish and the stars.
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The ocean seemed endless.
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He spoke aloud to himself.
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Talking helped him feel less lonely.
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Sometimes he spoke to the fish.
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Sometimes he spoke to the birds.
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Sometimes he imagined the boy sitting beside him.
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I wish the boy were here, he said many times.
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The night grew colder.
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His muscles became stiff.
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But the line remained tight.
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The marlin Marlin continued pulling.
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By morning, Santiago had been connected to the fish for nearly twenty -four hours.
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His hands were bleeding.
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His back hurt terribly.
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His body felt exhausted.
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Still, the fish showed no sign of stopping.
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The old man admired the Marlin.
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It was powerful, intelligent, and brave.
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I love you, fish, he said softly, but I must kill you.
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As the second day passed, Santiago became increasingly tired.
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He caught a small fish and ate it raw to keep his strength.
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The food tasted simple, but it gave him energy.
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The marlin continued swimming.
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Neither the man nor the fish gave up.
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They were locked in a silent battle.
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At times, Santiago thought about baseball.
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He thought about his favorite player, Joe DiMaggio.
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DiMaggio often played despite pain and injury.
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Remembering this inspired him.
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If DiMaggio can endure pain, Santiago thought, then so can I.
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The second night arrived.
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The stars shone brightly overhead.
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The ocean remained calm.
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Santiago's body felt close to its limit.
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His left hand suddenly cramped and became difficult to use.
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He stared at it angrily.
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What kind of hand are you? he muttered.
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Slowly the cramp eased.
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He continued holding the line.
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He could not afford any mistakes.
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The marlin was still pulling.
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The battle had now lasted more than two days.
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On the third day, something changed.
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The fish began swimming in large circles.
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Santiago knew what this meant.
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The marlin was becoming tired.
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At last it was coming closer to the surface.
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Each circle brought the fish nearer.
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Each circle also demanded every bit of strength the old man had left.
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He pulled steadily.
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little by little, minute by minute.
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Finally he saw it.
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The marlin emerged from the deep blue water.
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Santiago stared in amazement.
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The fish was larger than he had imagined.
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Its long body glittered in the sunlight.
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Its enormous tail cut through the water like a giant blade.
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The marlin was longer than the boat itself.
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Beautiful, Santiago whispered.
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For a moment, he simply admired it.
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Then he remembered why he was there.
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When the fish came close enough, Santiago gathered his remaining strength.
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He lifted his harpoon.
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The marlin circled once more.
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The old man waited.
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Then he struck.
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The harpoon pierced deep into the fish.
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The marlin leaped high above the water.
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For a brief moment, it seemed suspended in the air.
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Then it crashed into the sea.
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The ocean exploded with foam and spray.
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Moments later, the giant fish lay still.
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The battle was over.
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Santiago felt exhausted beyond words.
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But he also felt proud.
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He had achieved something extraordinary.
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He tied the enormous marlin alongside his boat.
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The fish was far too large to fit inside.
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Then he turned toward home.
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The journey back would take many hours.
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The old man looked at his catch and smiled.
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The villagers would be amazed.
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The boy would be happy.
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After 84 days of failure, he had finally succeeded.
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The wind filled his small sail.
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The boat moved steadily toward shore.
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But the story was not over, not even close.
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Several hours later, Santiago noticed a dark shape beneath the water.
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A shark.
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The shark had smelled blood from the marlin.
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It was approaching quickly.
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Santiago understood the danger immediately.
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The shark attacked.
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Its powerful jaws tore into the marlin's flesh.
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The old man grabbed his harpoon and fought back.
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He struck the shark hard.
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The shark died.
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But as it sank into the sea, it carried away a large piece of the marlin.
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Santiago looked sadly at the damaged fish.
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Still, he continued home.
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Soon, more sharks arrived.
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The blood trail stretched for miles through the ocean.
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It attracted hungry predators from far away.
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Again and again, the sharks attacked.
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Again and And again Santiago fought them.
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He used his knife.
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He used an oar.
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He used a club.
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He used every weapon he could find.
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Each battle left him weaker.
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Each attack took more of the marlin.
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The old man knew he was losing, yet he refused to stop fighting.
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As evening approached, even more sharks came.
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They surrounded the boat.
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They tore away large pieces of flesh.
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Santiago struck them with all the strength he had left.
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His hands bled.
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His shoulders burned.
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His body screamed with exhaustion.
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Still he fought.
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By nightfall, very little meat remained.
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The marlin had become almost a skeleton.
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Santiago stared at the remains.
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A deep sadness filled him.
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He had defeated the great fish, yet now the sea was taking it away.
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The old man wondered if he had gone too far from shore.
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Perhaps he had been too ambitious.
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Perhaps he had challenged fate itself.
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But there was no time for regret.
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He still had to reach home.
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The night was dark.
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The stars watched silently overhead.
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The old boat moved through the black water.
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At last, near midnight, Santiago saw the lights of the village.
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Relief washed over him.
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He had made it back.
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When he reached shore, Everyone was asleep.
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The harbor was quiet.
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The old man tied his boat to the dock.
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Then he looked at what remained of the marlin.
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Only the giant skeleton was left.
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The magnificent fish was gone.
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Santiago felt completely exhausted.
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He removed the mast from his boat and carried it on his shoulders.
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The weight felt enormous.
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Several times he had to stop and rest.
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Finally he reached his hut.
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He lay down on his bed.
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Within moments he fell into a deep sleep.
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The next morning the villagers discovered the marlin skeleton.
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They were astonished.
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The fish was enormous.
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Many fishermen measured it.
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They could hardly believe its size.
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People gathered around the boat to look.
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Meanwhile, Manolin hurried to the old man's hut.
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When he saw Santiago sleeping, tears filled his eyes.
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The old man's hands were badly injured.
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His face showed signs of suffering.
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The boy quietly sat beside him.
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When Santiago finally woke, Manolin smiled.
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They do not know what you went through, the boy said.
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The old man looked at him.
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They beat me, Manolin.
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The boy shook his head.
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No, the fish did not beat you.
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Santiago smiled faintly.
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No, the fish did not.
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The boy promised he would fish with Santiago again.
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He no longer cared what others thought.
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The old man had proven his courage.
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The villagers now respected him more than ever.
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They understood that Santiago was not simply a fisherman.
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He was a man who refused to surrender.
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Later the boy brought him food and coffee.
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They talked quietly about future fishing trips.
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For the first time in many days, hope returned.
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Santiago rested peacefully.
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As he drifted back to sleep, his mind returned to the dreams of his youth.
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Once again, he saw the lions walking along the beaches of Africa.
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They moved confidently beneath the golden sun, strong, free, fearless.
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And as the old man slept, the lions continued to walk across the shore in his dreams,
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just as they had many years before.
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The sea had taken away the fish.
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Time had taken away his youth.
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But neither the sea nor time had taken away his spirit.
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And that was the greatest victory of all.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “老人與海｜英文故事｜聽故事學英文｜英文聽力練習｜睡前英文故事｜英文學習（初學者友好）”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Santiago, fish, marlin, sea, boy. This video has 280 sentences and 1993 words to shadow. The speech runs for 17:59. The speaker talks at a steady 111 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
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| shore noun | /ʃɔɹ/ | Land adjoining a non-flowing body of water, such as an ocean, lake or pond. |
| enormous adjective | /ɪˈnɔː.məs/ | Extremely large; greatly exceeding the common size, extent, etc. |
| swim verb | /swɪm/ | To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means. |
| refuse verb | /ɹɪˈfjuːz/ | To decline (a request or demand). |
| quietly adverb | /ˈkwaɪ.ɪt.li/ | Producing little or no noise. |
| tear verb | /tɛɹ/ | To rend (a solid material) by holding or restraining in two places and pulling apart, whether intentionally or not; to destroy or separate. |
| lion noun | /ˈlaɪən/ | A big cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa, India and formerly much of Europe. |
| beneath | /bɪˈniːθ/ | Below. |
| sail noun | /seɪl/ | A piece of fabric attached to a boat and arranged such that it causes the wind to drive the boat along. The sail may be attached to the boat via a combination… |
| overhead noun | /ˈəʊvəˌhɛd/ | The expense of a business not directly assigned to goods or services provided. |
| stare verb | /stɛɚ/ | To look fixedly (at something). |
| steadily adverb | /ˈstɛdɪli/ | In a steady manner; with a steady progression. |
| exhaust verb | /ɪɡˈzɔst/ | To draw or let out wholly; to drain completely. |
| skeleton noun | /ˈskɛlətən/ | The system that provides support to an organism, where in vertebrates it is internal and consists of bones and cartilage, and external in some other animals. |
| carefully adverb | /ˈkɛɹf(ə)li/ | With care; attentively, circumspectly. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| give up verb | To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone). | |
| take away verb | /ˌteɪk əˈweɪ/ | To remove something and put it in a different place. |
| carried away adjective | Made excessively emotional or excited, so that one goes too far. | |
| cut through verb | To take a shortcut through. | |
| fight back verb | /faɪt bæk/ | To defend oneself by fighting. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. | |
| tear away verb | To remove (oneself or another person), overcoming that person's reluctance to be so removed. | |
| wash over verb | To pass (one) unnoticed so that one is unaffected by it. |
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 | were filled · had been connected · were locked |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was pulling · were bleeding · was still pulling |
| Comparatives -er than / more … than — comparing two things | larger than · longer than |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | my best · the greatest |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “th” sounds: beneath /bɪˈniːθ/, gather /ˈɡæðɚ/, thin /ˈθɪn/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shore /ʃɔɹ/, flesh /flɛʃ/, wash /wɑʃ/, shake /ˈʃeɪk/, shine /ʃaɪn/
- Long words — get the stress right: ordinary /ˈɔɹdɪnɛɹi/, extraordinary /ɪksˈtɹɔːrdɪn(ə)ɹi/, intelligent /ɪnˈtɛlɪd͡ʒənt/, magnificent /mæɡˈnɪfəsənt/, confidently /ˈkɑnfɪdəntli/
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 shore, enormous, swim.
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.