Shadowing Practice: Tactics for Listening Third Edition Expanding Unit 17 Past Events - Learn English Speaking with Video

Choose a practice mode

Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.

154 sentences

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

Listening One.

1. I got an invitation to my boss's birthday party on Saturday night.

Two.

I thought I'd better get him a nice birthday present, so I bought him a really expensive tie.

3. When I got to the party, my boss's wife met me at the door and invited me inside.

4. Then I went in and saw all my friends from work there.

5. I heard my boss's voice behind me as he came out of the kitchen.

6. I turned around to say hello, and guess what?

He was wearing exactly the same tie as the one I had bought him.

Listening to.

1. Some friends and I were in the elevator going up to my apartment

when suddenly the elevator stopped between floors and wouldn't move.

We were able to open the doors a little, but we were still stuck.

2. I went to the airport to pick up my boss.

I was so nervous that I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing.

After I met him at the arrival terminal, I realised I couldn't remember where I had parked my car.

I couldn't believe it with my boss there and all.

I felt so stupid.

3. When I left for work on Monday morning, I realized I had to walk because I didn't have a dollar bill for the bus.

My boss gets angry if I'm late, so I really had to hurry.

I was afraid of being fired.

Well, I'd gotten about two blocks from my house when all of a sudden I felt something blow onto my leg.

I looked down, and it was a dollar bill.

4. I wanted to go sailing, but just as I arrived at the lake, a storm broke out and it started to rain.

It wasn't a very strong storm, but it was much too cold for sailing.

5. I was driving down Pleasant Street yesterday.

I was singing along with a song on the radio and probably wasn't paying as much attention as I should have been.

All of a sudden, a deer ran out in front of my car.

6. Last weekend, I went out on a date with a friend from my history class, We were at this really nice restaurant, and when the check came,

I realized that my wallet was missing.

I guess I left it in the taxi after I paid the taxi driver.

I didn't know what to do.

The check was really expensive.

Listening to.

1. Some friends and I were in the elevator going up to my apartment

when suddenly the elevator stopped between floors and wouldn't move.

We were able to open the doors a little, but we were still stuck.

Two.

I went to the airport to pick up my boss.

I was so nervous that I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing.

After I met him at the arrival terminal, I realised I couldn't remember where I had parked my car.

I couldn't believe it.

With my boss there and all, I felt so stupid.

3. When I left for work on Monday morning, I realized I had to walk because I didn't have a dollar bill for the bus.

My boss gets angry if I'm late, so I really had to hurry.

I was afraid of being fired.

Well, I'd gotten about two blocks from my house when all of a sudden I felt something blow onto my leg.

I looked down, and it was a dollar bill.

4. I wanted to go sailing, but just as I arrived at the lake, a storm broke out and it started to rain.

It wasn't a very strong storm, but it was much too cold for sailing.

5. I was driving down Pleasant Street yesterday.

I was singing along with a song on the radio and probably wasn't paying as much attention as I should have been.

All of a sudden, a deer ran out in front of my car.

6. Last weekend, I went out on a date with a friend from my history class, We were at this really nice restaurant, and when the check came,

I realized that my wallet was missing.

I guess I left it in the taxi after I paid the taxi driver.

I didn't know what to do.

The check was really expensive.

Listening 3.

1. It was a pretty bad snowstorm and the roads weren't in very good condition.

I guess I was driving a little too fast and I went into a skid.

I couldn't control the car at all.

I went off the side of the road and into the snow.

Luckily, the car wasn't damaged and I wasn't hurt but I couldn't get the car to move.

I just had to stay in it and wait for the tow truck.

Finally, after about half an hour, the tow truck arrived and pulled me out.

Two.

Yeah, it was pretty scary.

We ran into a bad storm, and the plane really bumped around.

The passengers were pretty scared.

And of course, all the kids were screaming and crying.

It lasted for only ten minutes.

But those 10 minutes felt like an hour.

I don't know how the pilot got the airplane out of that storm.

But he finally did.

and the rest of the flight was perfect.

3. All I wanted was to get the newspaper.

You know how some hotels leave it in front of your door in the morning?

Anyway, I stepped out of the room to get it, but the door shut behind me.

I tried to open it, but it was locked, and my key was inside the room.

I was in my pajamas!

Luckily for me, someone from housekeeping came by and she had a key.

4. We were staying in this hotel in Thailand when there was a fire.

I was so scared when I heard the fire alarm go off.

We got out of the hotel as quickly as we could.

The hotel was badly damaged and some people lost their clothes and money.

Fortunately, We were lucky.

No guests or staff members were injured.

5. I was out shopping with a friend when I saw some kids selling raffle tickets to raise money for a charity.

It was for a really good cause, so I bought a ticket.

I didn't think much more about it, But in the end, I won first prize.

It was a good prize, too.

A weekend trip for two to New York City.

6. I was at a restaurant with my wife when this famous movie star sat down at the table next to us.

I couldn't believe it.

I wanted to ask him for his autograph, but my wife said I should let the man have his dinner in peace.

Later, when my wife was in the restroom, I asked the waitress if she would ask the movie star to sign my menu.

And believe it or not, he did.

Listening 3.

100

1. It was a pretty bad snowstorm and the roads weren't in very good condition.

101

I guess I was driving a little too fast and I went into a skid.

102

I couldn't control the car at all.

103

I went off the side of the road and into the snow.

104

Luckily, the car wasn't damaged and I wasn't hurt but I couldn't get the car to move.

105

I just had to stay in it and wait for the tow truck.

106

Finally, after about half an hour, the tow truck arrived and pulled me out.

107

Two.

108

Yeah, it was pretty scary.

109

We ran into a bad storm, and the plane really bumped around.

110

The passengers were pretty scared.

111

And of course, all the kids were screaming and crying.

112

It lasted for only ten minutes.

113

But those 10 minutes felt like an hour.

114

I don't know how the pilot got the airplane out of that storm, but he finally did.

115

and the rest of the flight was perfect.

116

3. All I wanted was to get the newspaper.

117

You know how some hotels leave it in front of your door in the morning?

118

Anyway, I stepped out of the room to get it, but the door shut behind me.

119

I tried to open it, but it was locked, and my key was inside the room.

120

I was in my pajamas!

121

Luckily for me, someone from housekeeping came by and she had a key.

122

4. We were staying in this hotel in Thailand when there was a fire.

123

I was so scared when I heard the fire alarm go off.

124

We got out of the hotel as quickly as we could.

125

The hotel was badly damaged and some people lost their clothes and money.

126

Fortunately, We were lucky.

127

No guests or staff members were injured.

128

5. I was out shopping with a friend when I saw some kids selling raffle tickets to raise money for a charity.

129

It was for a really good cause, so I bought a ticket.

130

I didn't think much more about it, But in the end, I won first prize.

131

It was a good prize, too.

132

A weekend trip for two to New York City.

133

6. I was at a restaurant with my wife when this famous movie star sat down at the table next to us.

134

I couldn't believe it.

135

I wanted to ask him for his autograph, but my wife said I should let the man have his dinner in peace.

136

Later, when my wife was in the restroom, I asked the waitress if she would ask the movie star to sign my menu.

137

And believe it or not, he did.

138

Pronunciation.

139

One.

140

We went to the beach on Friday and just as we arrived, it started to rain.

141

Two.

142

I was walking to work when all of a sudden I heard someone call my name.

143

3. I was having a great time and before I knew it, it was midnight.

144

4. We waited and waited, and finally the tow truck arrived.

145

Dictation Did I tell you about what happened to me last Saturday morning?

146

No, what happened?

147

I was walking down the street to get some coffee, when suddenly I heard someone call my name.

148

I looked around.

149

But I didn't see anyone I knew.

150

Then what did you do?

151

Well, I thought maybe I imagined it.

152

So I kept walking.

153

And just as I was about to go into the café, I heard it again.

154

It was my best friend from elementary school.

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

FOR YOU

Recommend Video

105 sentences

LISTENING B1 - PART 2 - TEST #25

Travel EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students

171 sentences

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Expanding Unit 13 Special Days

Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students

194 sentences

Caught in Traffic | English Listening & Speaking Practice

Travel EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students

38 sentences

English Listening Quiz - Test Your Skills

Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students

49 sentences

UNIT 8 28 COMPLETE FIRST

Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students

118 sentences

Cambridge 11 - Listening - Test 1 - Section 1

Cambridge Exam PrepDaily ConversationHigh School Students

329 sentences

English Listening and Speaking Practice | Learning English Conversation 🗣️ | English Podcast

Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students

186 sentences

Improve Your Listening with a Beautiful Story, Shadowing & Conversation

Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students

56 sentences

Unit 1 Small Talk - Tactics For Listening Expanding

Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students

26 sentences

A Day in My Life 21: Taking a Taxi

Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults

176 sentences

English listening practice pre-intermediate level

Daily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Tactics for Listening Third Edition Expanding Unit 17 Past Events”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: storm, hotel, door, wife. This video has 154 sentences and 1729 words to shadow. The speech runs for 12:05. The speaker talks at a steady 143 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
luckily adverb	/ˈlʌk.ɪ.li/	In a lucky manner; by good fortune; fortunately.
elevator noun	/ˈɛləˌveɪtɚ/	Anything that raises or uplifts.
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…
scare verb	/skɛɚ/	To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way.
taxi noun	/ˈtæksi/	A vehicle that may be hired for single journeys by members of the public, particularly one with an automated meter to calculate the fare.
autograph noun	/ˈɔtəɡɹæf/	A person’s own handwriting, especially the signature of a famous or admired person.
housekeeping noun		The chores of maintaining a house as a residence, especially cleaning.
injure verb	/ˈɪn.d͡ʒɚ/	To wound or cause physical harm to a living creature.
pajamas noun	/pəˈd͡ʒɑ.məz/	Clothes for wearing to bed and sleeping in, usually consisting of a loose-fitting shirt and pants/trousers.
raffle noun	/ˈɹæfl̩/	A drawing, often held as a fundraiser, in which tickets or chances are sold to win a prize.
restroom noun	/ˈɹɛstˌɹum/	A room containing a public toilet: a public lavatory.
skid noun	/ˈskɪd/	An out-of-control sliding motion as would result from applying the brakes too hard in a car or other vehicle.
snowstorm noun	/ˈsnəʊstɔːm/	Bad weather involving blowing winds and snow, or blowing winds and heavy snowfall amount.
waitress noun	/ˈweɪ.tɹɪs/	A female attendant who serves customers in a restaurant, café, or similar.
airplane noun	/ˈɛɹˌpleɪ̯n/	A powered heavier-than-air aircraft with fixed wings: a fixed-wing aircraft with at least one engine or electric motor.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
go off verb	To explode.
break out verb	To escape, especially forcefully or defiantly.
drive down verb	To cause or force a price, quantity, rate, etc. to decrease.
get out of verb	To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of.
look down verb	To lower one's eyes; to direct one's look downwards.
pick up verb	To lift; to grasp and raise.
look around verb	To inspect a building or area.
walk down verb	To continually advance (on an opponent) and punch (the opponent) in order to control the fight and dominate the opponent, while shrugging off the opponent's…

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

I didn't know what to do.
I couldn't control the car at all.
Then what did you do?

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	being fired · wasn't damaged · was locked
Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past	was wearing · wasn't paying · was driving
Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea	should have · should let
Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessary	had to walk · had to hurry · had to stay

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 38 contractions and reduced forms, such as couldn't, wasn't, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: dictation /dɪkˈteɪʃən/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, invitation /ɪnvɪˈteɪʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: elevator /ˈɛləˌveɪtɚ/, fortunately /ˈfɔɹ.t͡ʃə.nɪt.li/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, invitation /ɪnvɪˈteɪʃən/

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 luckily, elevator, sail.

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: Tactics for Listening Third Edition Expanding Unit 17 Past Events - Learn English Speaking with Video

Choose a practice mode

Download App

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Expanding Unit 3 Successful Businesses

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Developing Unit 5 Restaurants

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Developing Unit 8 Mishaps

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Developing Unit 7 Air Travel

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Basic Unit 20 Describing Things

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Developing Unit 12 Campus Life

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Developing Unit 19 Touring a City

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Developing Unit 21 Hotels

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Basic Unit 10 The family

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Basic Unit 11 Entertainment

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Expanding Unit 15 Favorites

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Basic Unit 14 Small Talk

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Basic Unit 12 Prices

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Developing Unit 18 Phone Messages

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Developing Unit 13 Hobbies & Pastimes

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Developing Unit 1 The Weekend

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Developing Unit 11 Invitations

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Expanding Unit 18 Vacations

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Expanding Unit 16 Phone Message

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Developing Unit 6 Gifts

LISTENING B1 - PART 2 - TEST #25

Tactics for Listening Third Edition Expanding Unit 13 Special Days

Caught in Traffic | English Listening & Speaking Practice

English Listening Quiz - Test Your Skills

UNIT 8 28 COMPLETE FIRST

Cambridge 11 - Listening - Test 1 - Section 1

English Listening and Speaking Practice | Learning English Conversation 🗣️ | English Podcast

Improve Your Listening with a Beautiful Story, Shadowing & Conversation

Unit 1 Small Talk - Tactics For Listening Expanding

A Day in My Life 21: Taking a Taxi

English listening practice pre-intermediate level

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?