Shadowing Practice: Taylor Swift - Cruel Summer (Lyrics) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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41 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
2
Leave a dream high in the quiet of the night
3
You know that I caught it
4
Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price
5
You know that I bought it
6
Killing me slow, out the window I'm always waiting for you to be waiting below
7
Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes
8
What doesn't kill me makes me want you more
9
And it's blue, the shape of your body
10
It's blue, the feeling I've got in it
11
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, summer It's cool, that's what I tell them
12
No rules, it breakable heaven
13
But ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, summer
14
With you Hang your head low in the glow of the vending machine I'm not dying
15
We say that we'll just screw it up
16
In these trying times when I try it
17
So cut the headlights, summer's a knife I'm always waiting for you just to cut to the bone
18
Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes
19
And if I bleed, you'll be the last to know
20
Oh, it's blue, the shape of your body
21
It's blue, the feeling I'm cutting it
22
It's a cruel summer
23
It's cruel, that's what I tell
24
No rules, it breakable heaven
25
But it's a cruel summer with you I'm drunk in the back of the car
26
And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar
27
Said I'm fine, but it wasn't true I don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you alive
28
Stuck in through the garden gate
29
Every night that summer just to seal my fate
30
And I scream for whatever it's worth A love you ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?
31
He looks so pretty like a devil
32
It's blue, the shape of your body
33
It's blue, the feeling I've got it
34
It's cool, it's cool summer
35
It's cool, that's what I tell them, no rules And freak of all heaven but Ooh,
36
ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, summer I'm drunk in the back of the car
37
And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar
38
Said I'm fine but it wasn't true I don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you alive
39
It's not you, we were gardeners
40
Every night that summer just to steal my face I love ice cream or whatever it's worth
41
Of all of you, ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Taylor Swift - Cruel Summer”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: summer, blue, roll, cool, cruel. This video has 41 sentences and 402 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:49. The speaker talks at a steady 142 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 78% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
14 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| devil noun | /ˈdɛvəl/ | An evil creature, the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. |
| cruel adjective | /ˈkɹuːəl/ | Intentionally causing or reveling in pain and suffering; merciless, heartless. |
| angel noun | /ˈeɪ̯n.d͡ʒəl/ | An incorporeal and holy or semidivine messenger from a deity or other divine entity, traditionally depicted as a youthful, winged figure in flowing robes. |
| bone noun | /boʊn/ | A composite material consisting largely of calcium phosphate and collagen and making up the skeleton of most vertebrates. |
| gate noun | /ˈɡeɪ̯t/ | A doorlike structure outside a house. |
| knife noun | /ˈnaɪ̯f/ | A utensil or a tool designed for cutting, consisting of a flat piece of hard material, usually steel or other metal (the blade), usually sharpened on one edge… |
| steal verb | /stiːl/ | To take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else without intending to return it. |
| fate noun | /feɪt/ | The presumed cause, force, principle, or divine will that predetermines events. |
| seal noun | /siːl/ | A stamp used to impress a design on a soft substance such as wax. |
| scream verb | /skɹiːm/ | To cry out with a shrill voice; to utter a sudden, sharp outcry, or shrill, loud cry, as in fright or extreme pain; to screech, to shriek. |
| glow verb | /ɡloʊ/ | To emit heat and light without a flame. |
| bleed verb | /ˈbliːd/ | To shed blood through an injured blood vessel. |
| breakable adjective | /ˈbɹeɪkəbəl/ | Able to break or be broken. |
| vend noun | /vɛnd/ | The act of vending or selling; a sale. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| slow out verb | To adjust the spacing of intermediate frames so as to smoothly accelerate movement of an object as it leaves a resting position. |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 21 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, ain't, 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 devil, cruel, angel.
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.