Shadowing Practice: Talking About Life in the Countryside in English | Easy English Podcast - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Everyday English Academy, where we make English simple and enjoyable.
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I'm Sarah.
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And I'm Mike.
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Hello to all of our wonderful listeners, wherever you are in the world right now.
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Sarah, I am so tired today.
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Oh no, what happened?
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My neighbors.
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They had a party last night.
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Music until 2 a.m.
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My walls were shaking.
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On a Tuesday?
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On a Tuesday.
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Who has a party on a Tuesday?
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That's terrible.
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Did you say anything?
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No. I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, thinking, I need to move to the middle of nowhere.
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The middle of nowhere?
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Like the countryside?
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Yes.
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A place where my only neighbor is a cow.
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A quiet, polite cow.
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A polite cow.
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That's your dream neighbor?
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Better than the guy playing drums at midnight.
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Okay, well, this is actually perfect, because today we are talking about life in the countryside.
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Oh, really?
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Yes, not city versus country.
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We did that before.
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Today, we're going to paint a picture of countryside life.
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What it looks like, what it sounds like, what it feels like.
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I like that, because honestly, I don't know much about countryside life.
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I've always been a city person.
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Well, today we're going to change that.
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And listeners, if you enjoy learning with us, please subscribe to Everyday English Academy and give this episode a like.
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It really helps us.
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And stay with us
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because later I'm going to tell you about the one thing about countryside life that nobody warns you about.
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Ooh, I know what you're talking about, but we'll get to that later.
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Okay, so Sarah, let's start simple.
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What does the countryside actually look like?
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Because when I hear countryside, I just imagine green.
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Just green?
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Yes, green and more green?
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I don't know.
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Okay, let me help you.
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The countryside is the area outside of cities, far from buildings, traffic, and noise.
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And yes, there is a lot of green.
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I knew it.
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But it's more than just green.
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Imagine wide open fields.
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And sometimes you see a meadow.
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A meadow is a big field full of grass and wildflowers.
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Yellow flowers, purple flowers, really beautiful.
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That does sound nice.
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What else would I see?
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Old farmhouses, dirt roads, and barns.
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Do you know what a barn is, Mike?
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A barn?
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Is that like a big garage for animals?
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That's actually not bad.
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A barn is a large building on a farm.
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Farmers keep animals inside or they store tools and hay there.
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Okay, so it's like the animal's house.
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Kind of, yes.
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And you know what else you see in the countryside?
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Orchards.
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Orchards?
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What's that?
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An orchard is an area with many fruit trees, apple trees, cherry trees, pear trees, all in rows.
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So it's like a garden, but bigger?
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Please don't say a garden with extra steps.
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I was going to say that.
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I knew it.
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But yes, an orchard is much bigger than a garden.
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Some orchards have hundreds of trees, and in autumn, people go there to pick fresh fruit.
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That sounds really nice, actually.
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What about the overall feeling of the place?
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Well, the surroundings are just different.
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Your surroundings are everything around you in a place.
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And in the countryside, your surroundings are nature.
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Hills, trees, open sky, no tall buildings blocking your view.
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I like that word, surroundings.
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The surroundings were beautiful.
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Exactly.
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Very natural sentence.
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Okay, now let's walk through a typical day in the countryside.
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I visited a friend last year who lives in a small village, and I want to describe what that day was like.
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Oh, I want to hear this.
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What time did you wake up?
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Early, around 7 a.m., but not because of an alarm.
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I woke up because of birds.
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Birds?
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Yes, birds singing outside the window.
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It was actually really nice.
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Okay, that is nicer than my neighbor's drums.
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Much nicer.
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So I got up, and my friend made coffee, and we drank it outside.
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Just sitting in the garden, looking at the fields.
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Wait, outside?
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No rushing?
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No checking emails?
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Nothing.
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Just coffee and fresh air.
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I don't think I've had a morning like that in years.
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And the air, Mike.
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I took a deep breath and I could smell grass and flowers.
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Just clean air.
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I'm a little jealous right now.
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The only thing I smell in the morning is traffic.
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That's sad.
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And while we were sitting there, I could see livestock in the fields nearby.
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Livestock?
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What's that exactly?
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Livestock means farm animals.
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Cows, sheep, pigs.
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The animals that live on a farm.
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And they were just walking around?
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Just eating grass and walking around.
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Very relaxed.
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Honestly, they looked happier than most people I know.
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That's probably true.
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They don't have emails or deadlines.
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What did you do in the afternoon?
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We walked through the fields to a small local market.
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Oh, like a farmer's market?
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Yes.
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Fresh fruit, vegetables, bread, everything from local farms.
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And on the way there, my friend showed me where farmers grow their crops.
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Crops?
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Those are the plants farmers grow for food, right?
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Like wheat or corn?
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Exactly.
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You already knew that one.
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I know some things.
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And what about harvest?
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I've heard that word before, but I'm not sure.
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Harvest is when farmers collect those crops from the fields, usually in late summer or autumn.
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So you could say the harvest was very good this year?
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Perfect.
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That means the farmers collected a lot of food.
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See, Mike, you're learning countryside English already.
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I might be a country person after all.
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Okay, listeners, have you ever been to the countryside?
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What would your perfect countryside morning look like?
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Tell us in the comments.
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Yes, we want to know.
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Even one sentence is great practice.
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Okay, Mike, now let's talk about something really interesting, the sounds and feelings of the countryside life.
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Ooh, okay.
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What does the countryside sound like?
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Well, that's the thing.
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Sometimes it sounds like nothing.
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Nothing?
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Nothing.
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Just silence.
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Maybe the wind moving through the trees.
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Maybe a bird far away, but mostly quiet.
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Hmm.
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That sounds nice for about 20 minutes.
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Why only 20 minutes?
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Because after that, I start hearing my own thoughts, and trust me, that's dangerous.
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What do your thoughts say?
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Terrible things, like, did you lock the door, and why did you say that weird thing in 2014?
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Oh, no. But seriously, that feeling of deep calm, there's a perfect word for it.
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Tranquil.
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Tranquil.
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What does that mean exactly?
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Tranquil means very calm and quiet.
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No disturbance, no stress, just peace.
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It's stronger than just quiet.
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So the countryside was so tranquil I could hear my own heartbeat.
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That's actually a great example.
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Or simply, we found a tranquil spot by the river and sat there for an hour.
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I like that word.
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Tranquil.
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It even sounds calm.
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It does.
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And there are also beautiful smells in the countryside.
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Fresh grass after rain, wood fires in the evening, flowers in spring.
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Okay, you are really selling this lifestyle to me right now.
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I'm just being honest.
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But I want to be fair.
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Sometimes the countryside is too quiet.
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Some people feel lonely there.
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Yeah, I can imagine.
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If you're used to people and noise everywhere, total silence might feel strange.
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Exactly.
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Some people love it.
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Some people find it uncomfortable.
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But there's something about the countryside that nobody warns you about.
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Oh, are we doing this now?
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Not yet.
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That's coming next.
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You're making everyone wait.
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That's the plan.
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Okay, Mike, let's talk about the things nobody tells you about countryside life.
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The surprising parts.
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Yes, I've been waiting for this.
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Okay, number one, mud.
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Mud?
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Mud, everywhere.
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After it rains, the ground is soft and wet, and your shoes become brown in five seconds.
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Every pair of shoes?
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My favorite white sneakers, destroyed.
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One walk through a field, and they were finished.
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Oh, no. Rest in peace, sneakers.
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And it's not just mud.
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There are bugs, so many bugs.
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In the city, I see maybe one bug a week.
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In the countryside, they're like roommates.
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Roommates you didn't invite.
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Exactly.
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Now, here's a big one.
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Some places in the countryside are completely off the grid.
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Off the grid?
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What does that mean?
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Off the grid means you're disconnected from modern services.
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Slow internet or no internet.
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No food delivery.
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No shops nearby.
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very few services.
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Wait, no food delivery?
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No food delivery.
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Oh, I changed my mind.
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I love my neighbors.
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The drums are fine.
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I knew that would get you.
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Seriously, though, I think being off the grid sounds exciting for maybe three hours.
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After that, I'd start panicking.
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And that's honest.
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Some people love being off the grid.
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They feel free.
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But other people feel lost without their phone and their apps.
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Listeners, here's a real question.
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Could you survive one week off the grid?
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No fast internet, no delivery apps, no online shopping?
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Be honest in the comments.
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I think the answers will be very interesting.
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And here's another thing nobody tells you.
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Animals in the countryside are loud.
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Oh, this is your story.
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Yes.
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I visited my cousin once.
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He lives on a farm.
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And every morning at 5 a.m., the rooster.
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Five in the morning?
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Five in the morning.
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This animal screamed like it was angry at the entire world.
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And you can't press snooze on a rooster.
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No, you cannot.
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There's no off button.
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I put the pillow over my head.
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Nothing.
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I closed the window still loud.
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That rooster wanted me awake.
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The countryside alarm clock.
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The worst alarm clock ever invented.
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And one more thing about small villages.
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What?
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I mean, if you go to the shop and buy something, three people already know about it by lunchtime.
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Like a village news network?
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Exactly.
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Privacy is different in the countryside.
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People are friendly, but they're also very curious.
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So my polite cow neighbor would also be a gossip.
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Probably.
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Okay, but you know what?
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Even with the mud, the bugs, the slow internet, and the nosy neighbors, there's something special about the countryside.
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I agree.
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It feels real, like life is simpler somehow.
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It is, and I think sometimes we all need a little bit of that.
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Even city people like me.
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Especially city people like you.
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All right, let's do a quick review of the words we learned today.
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Sarah, what's the countryside?
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The countryside is the area outside cities with nature, farms, and open space. And tranquil?
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Tranquil means very calm and quiet.
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No disturbance.
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The village was so tranquil at night.
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Surroundings?
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Everything around you in a place.
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The surroundings were beautiful.
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Green hills everywhere.
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What about a meadow?
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A meadow is a big field of grass and wildflowers.
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We walked through a meadow full of yellow flowers.
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And a barn?
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A large building on a farm for animals or tools.
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The old red barn was next to the farmhouse.
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Orchard?
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An area with many fruit trees.
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We picked apples from the orchard.
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Okay, quiz time.
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What are crops?
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Plants that farmers grow for food, like wheat, corn, or vegetables. And harvest?
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When farmers collect those crops from the fields, usually in autumn.
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Livestock?
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Farm animals.
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Cows, sheep, pigs.
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The livestock were eating grass in the field.
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And the last one, off the grid.
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Disconnected from modern services.
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Slow internet, no delivery, no shops nearby.
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The cabin was completely off the grid.
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And I would survive there for approximately three hours. At least you're honest.
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All right, everyone.
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Before we go, we have a question for you.
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Yes.
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Have you ever spent time in the countryside?
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What did you notice?
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Was it the quiet?
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The fresh air?
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The mud?
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Write one or two sentences in the comments.
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For example, I visited my grandparents in the countryside.
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It was very tranquil and the surroundings were beautiful.
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Or, I could never live off the grid.
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I need my internet.
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We read every comment and we love hearing about your lives.
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And if you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to Everyday English Academy and give us a like.
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Share this with a friend who is learning English.
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Maybe someone who dreams about living in a tranquil meadow somewhere.
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Thank you so much for spending time with us today.
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Keep practicing, keep listening, and keep enjoying your English journey.
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Stay curious, stay relaxed, and we'll see you in the next episode.
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Bye, everyone.
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Goodbye.

Context & Background

In this engaging episode of the Easy English Podcast, hosts Sarah and Mike delve into the idyllic aspects of life in the countryside. The discussion begins with a relatable complaint from Mike about his noisy neighbors, leading him to dream of a tranquil existence away from the hustle and bustle of urban life. This conversation sets the stage for an exploration of the countryside, emphasizing not just the picturesque scenery but also the sounds and sensations that define this serene environment. As listeners, you are invited to imagine a peaceful landscape filled with wide open fields and the soothing presence of nature.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • “I need to move to the middle of nowhere.” - A humorous way to express a desire for solitude.
  • “My walls were shaking.” - An expressive phrase that conveys disturbance from noise.
  • “The countryside is the area outside of cities.” - A simple definition that helps learners conceptualize the countryside.
  • “Imagine wide open fields.” - A vivid image that can be used to describe spacious environments.
  • “Did you say anything?” - A common inquiry in conversations when someone is uncomfortable or disrupted.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

To enhance your English speaking skills, especially focusing on pronunciation and fluidity, try the shadowspeak technique with this podcast episode. Follow these steps for effective shadowing:

  1. Listen Actively: First, listen to the episode without attempting to repeat anything. Pay attention to the speakers' tone, rhythm, and pronunciation.
  2. Choose Key Phrases: Select some of the top phrases provided. These phrases capture essential conversational elements that can be useful in everyday communication.
  3. Use a Shadowing App: Find a shadowing app that allows you to play audio in segments. This will help you focus on shorter phrases and practice more effectively.
  4. Repeat After the Speakers: Start shadowing by listening to a short segment and immediately repeat it aloud. Focus on mimicking the pronunciation, intonation, and pace. This will significantly help to improve English pronunciation.
  5. Record Yourself: After practicing, record your voice as you shadow the audio. Listening to your recording will help you identify areas to improve.

Incorporating shadow speak into your learning routine can greatly enhance your language skills. Regular practice will boost your confidence in speaking English naturally and fluently.

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.