Shadowing Practice: RE2 Unit 11B - Learn English Speaking with Video

Choose a practice mode

Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.

38 sentences

If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.

Track 22, Reading 11B The Limits of Lying Lying is a part of human nature, but how far will people go?

Psychologist Dan Ariely became interested in dishonesty about 15 years ago.

During a long -distance flight, he came across an IQ test in a magazine.

He answered the first question and checked the answer key to see if he got it right.

He then took a quick look at the next answer before looking back at the quiz.

He continued in this way through the whole test.

Not surprisingly, he scored very well.

When I finished, I thought, I cheated myself, he says.

So why did he do it?

Presumably, I wanted to know how smart I am, but I also wanted to prove I'm this smart to myself.

The experience led Ariely to develop a lifelong interest in the study of lying and other forms of dishonesty.

To find out more about lying habits, Ariely developed a series of studies known as the Matrix Experiments.

In the experiments, volunteers completed a test with 20 simple math problems.

They were given five minutes to solve as many as they could.

For each correct answer, they were told they would receive a sum of money.

When the time was up, the volunteers counted the number of problems they solved correctly.

They were then asked to destroy their answer sheets in a shredder.

After reporting their own test scores, they were paid accordingly.

However, there was something the volunteers didn't know.

Their answer sheets were never actually destroyed.

By comparing actual test scores to reported scores, Ariely's research team found out how many volunteers lied and how much they lied by.

The results?

Of the 40 ,000 people who participated in the experiment, nearly 70 % lied about their test score.

On average, volunteers said they solved six problems, but it was closer to four.

The results are similar across different cultures.

Most of us lie, but only a little.

The question Ariely finds most interesting is not why so many of us lie, but rather why we don't lie a lot more.

In one version of the experiment, participants were offered significantly more money for each correct answer.

However, this did not cause them to cheat more.

Here we give people a chance to steal lots of money, and people cheat only a little bit

so something stops us most of us from not lying all the way arieli says the reason he believes is

that we want to see ourselves as honest because honesty is a value taught to us by society

this is why most of us place limits on how much

we lie we may be able to come up with an

excuse for taking post -it notes from an office fairly easily

but it is much more difficult to come up with an excuse for taking $10 ,000, Ariely explains.

The extent of our lying is determined largely by what is acceptable by society.

Cheating is easier, he says, when we can justify our behaviour.

Download App

Everything you need to speak fluently

AI PronunciationScore every sentence

IPA PracticeMaster every sound

VocabularyBuild your word bank

Vocab GameLearn while playing

Scan QR

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Same Channel

RE2 Unit 10A

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

Recommend Video

38 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “RE2 Unit 11B”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: lying, answer, test, Ariely, volunteers. This video has 38 sentences and 500 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:20. The speaker talks at a natural 150 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 83% 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
volunteer noun	/ˌvɑlənˈtɪɹ/	One who enters into, or offers themselves for, any service of their own free will, especially when done without pay.
experiment noun	/ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/	A test under controlled conditions made to either demonstrate a known truth, examine the validity of a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of…
cheat verb	/ˈt͡ʃiːt/	To violate rules in order to gain, or attempt to gain, advantage from a situation.
solve verb	/sɒlv/	To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out.
sheet noun	/ʃit/	A thin bed cloth used as a covering for a mattress or as a layer over the sleeper.
extent noun	/ɪkˈstɛnt/	A range of values or locations.
compare verb	/kəmˈpɛɚ/	To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it…
math noun	/mæθ/	Arithmetic calculations; (see do the math).
participate verb	/pɑːˈtɪs.ɪ.peɪt/	To join in, to take part, to involve oneself (in something).
steal verb	/stiːl/	To take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else without intending to return it.
behaviour noun		British standard spelling of behavior.
acceptable adjective	/əkˈsɛp.tə.bəl/	Worthy, decent, sure of being accepted or received with at least moderate pleasure.
habit noun	/ˈhæb.ɪt/	An action performed on a regular basis.
correctly adverb	/kəˈɹɛk(t).li/	In a correct manner.
justify verb	/ˈd͡ʒʌstɪfaɪ/	To provide an acceptable explanation for.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
come up with verb	To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it.
find out verb	To discover, as by asking or investigating.
come across verb	To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition.

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 3 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, don't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: sheet /ʃit/, shredder /ʃɹɛdə(ɹ)/
Long words — get the stress right: experiment /ɪkˈspɛɹ.ə.mənt/, participate /pɑːˈtɪs.ɪ.peɪt/, acceptable /əkˈsɛp.tə.bəl/, surprisingly /səˈpɹaɪzɪŋli/, presumably /pɹɪˈzuːməbli/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like volunteer, experiment, cheat.

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: RE2 Unit 11B - Learn English Speaking with Video

Choose a practice mode

Download App

G7 U7 Essay

RE2 Unit 9B

RE2 Unit 12A

G8 U2 Mindmap

RE3 Unit 6A

RE2 Unit 7B

RE2 Unit 7A

RE3 Unit 8B

G7 U11 Q&A Des

RE3 Unit 8A

G8 U4 Mindmap

G6 U5 des

RE2 Unit 10A

RE2 Unit 11A

G7 U10 mindmap

RE2 Unit 10B

RE2 Unit 8A

GS8 U1 Mindmap

RE3 Unit 4A

G7 U10 Q&A Topic

RE2 Unit 11A

It's easy to lie, It's not easy to live with lies - with @melrobbins

16 Personalities Try to Catch a Traitor

Creepy Psychology Experiments That Actually Happened

"This Doesn't Lie" | Build Your Own English Level Checker with Google AI Studio

The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene (Detailed Summary)

🔥They Studied Your Weaknesses

He's a Dangerous LIAR

"My Name is Dexter Morgan" - English listening practice | Listen and Repeat

High IQ vs High EQ: Who Actually Wins at Life

Give Me 2 Mins–I’ll Prove Why Positive Thinking Fails

Former FBI Agent Explains How to Read Body Language | Tradecraft | WIRED