Shadowing Practice: The Magic Finger☝🏼 - By Roald Dahl - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
1
Hi there everyone!
2
Today the bookworms are going to be reading The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake.
3
The farm next to ours is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Gregg.
4
The Greggs have two children, both of them boys.
5
Their names are Philip and William.
6
Sometimes I go over to their farm to play with them.
7
I am a girl and I am eight years old.
8
Philip is also eight years old.
9
William is three years older.
10
He is ten.
11
What?
12
Oh, all right then.
13
He is eleven.
14
Last week, something very funny happened to the Greg family.
15
I am going to tell you about it as best as I can.
16
Now, the one thing that Mr. Gregg and his two boys loved to do more than anything else was to go hunting.
17
Every Saturday morning, they would take their guns and go off into the woods to look for animals and birds to shoot.
18
Even Phillip, who was only eight years old, had a gun of his own.
19
I can't stand hunting.
20
I just can't stand it.
21
It doesn't seem right to me that men and boys should kill animals just for the fun they get out of it.
22
so I used to try to stop Philip and William from doing it.
23
Every time I went over to their farm, I would do my best to talk them out of it, but they only laughed at me.
24
I even said something about it once to Mr. Greg, but he just walked on past me as if I wasn't there.
25
Then one Saturday morning, I saw Philip and William coming out of the woods with their father, and they were carrying a lovely young deer.
26
This made me so cross that I started shouting at them.
27
The boys laughed and made faces at me, and Mr. Greg told me to go home and mind my own P's and Q's.
28
Well, that did it!
29
I saw red, and before I was able to stop myself, I did something I never meant to do.
30
I put the magic finger on them all.
31
Oh dear, oh dear!
32
I even put it on Mrs. Greg, who wasn't there.
33
I put it on the whole Greg family.
34
For months I had been telling myself that I would never put the magic finger upon anyone again.
35
Not after what happened to my teacher, old Mrs. Winter.
36
Poor old Mrs. Winter.
37
One day we were in class and she was teaching us spelling.
38
Stand up, she said to me, and spell cat.
39
That's an easy one, I said.
40
K-A-T You are a stupid little girl, Mrs. Winter said.
41
I am not a stupid little girl, I cried.
42
I am a very nice little girl.
43
Go and stand in the corner, Mrs. Winter said.
44
Then I got cross, and I saw red, and I put the magic finger on Mrs. Winter, good and strong.
45
And almost at once, guess what?
46
Whiskers began growing out of her face.
47
They were long black whiskers, just like the ones you see on a cat, only much bigger.
48
And how fast they grew!
49
Before we had time to think, they were out to our ears.
50
Of course, the whole class started screaming with laughter, and then Mrs. Winter said, Will you be so kind to tell me what you find so madly funny?
51
All of you!
52
And when she turned around to write something on the blackboard, we saw that she had grown a tail as well.
53
It was a huge, bushy tale.
54
I could not begin to tell you what happened after that, but if any questions of you are wondering whether Mrs. Winter is quite alright again now,
55
the answer is no, and she never will be.
56
The magic finger is something I have been able to do all my life.
57
I can't just tell you how I do it, because I don't even know myself.
58
But it always happens when I get cross, when I see red.
59
Then I get very, very hot all over.
60
Then the tip of the finger of my right hand begins to tingle most terribly.
61
And suddenly, a sort of flash comes out of me.
62
A quick flash, like something electric.
63
It jumps out and touches the person who has made me cross.
64
And after that, the magic finger is upon him or her, and things began to happen.
65
Well, the magic finger was now upon the whole of the Greg family, and there was no taking it off again.
66
I ran home and waited for things to happen.
67
They happened fast.
68
I shall now tell you what those things were.
69
I got the whole story from Philip and William the next morning after it was all over.
70
In the afternoon of the very same day that I put the magic finger on the Greg family, Mr. Greg and Philip and William went out hunting once again.
71
This time they were going after wild ducks so they headed towards the lake.
72
In the first hour, they got ten birds.
73
In the next hour, they got another six.
74
What a day, cried Mr. Greg.
75
This is the best yet.
76
He was beside himself with joy.
77
Just then, four more wild ducks flew over their heads.
78
They were flying very low.
79
They were easy to hit.
80
Bang, bang, bang, bang, went the guns.
81
The ducks flew on.
82
We missed, said Mr. Greg.
83
That's funny.
84
And to everyone's surprise, the four ducks turned around and came flying right back to the guns.
85
Hey, said Mr. Greg.
86
What on earth are they doing?
87
They are really asking for it this time.
88
He shot at them again.
89
So did the boys.
90
And again, they all missed.
91
Mr. Greg got very red in the face.
92
It's the light, he said.
93
It's getting too dark to see.
94
Let's go home.
95
So they started for home, carrying with them sixteen birds they had shot before.
96
But the four ducks would not leave them alone.
97
They now began flying around and around the hunters as they walked away.
98
Mr. Gregg did not like it one bit.
99
Be off! he cried, and he shot at them many more times.
100
But it was no good.
101
He simply could not hit them.
102
All the way home those four ducks flew around in the sky above their heads, and nothing would make them go away.
103
Late that night, after Philip and William had gone to bed, Mr. Greg went outside to get some wood for the fire.
104
He was crossing the yard when all at once he heard the call of a wild duck in the sky.
105
He stopped and looked up.
106
The night was very still.
107
There was a thin yellow moon over the trees of the hill, and the sky was filled with stars.
108
Then Mr. Greg heard the noise of wings flying low over his head, And he saw the four ducks, dark against the night sky, flying very close together.
109
They were going around and around the house.
110
Mr. Gregg forgot about the firewood and hurried back indoors.
111
He was now quite afraid.
112
He did not like what was going on, but he said nothing about it to Mrs. Gregg.
113
All he said was, come on, let's go to bed.
114
I feel tired.
115
So they went to bed and to sleep.
116
When morning came, Mr. Gregg was the first to wake up.
117
He opened his eyes.
118
He was about to put out a hand for his watch to see the time, but his hand wouldn't come out.
119
That's funny, he said.
120
Where's my hand?
121
He lay still wondering what was up.
122
Maybe he had hurt that hand in some way.
123
He tried the other hand.
124
That wouldn't come out either.
125
He sat up, and for the first time he saw what he looked like.
126
He gave a yell and jumped out of bed.
127
Mrs. Greg woke up, and when she saw Mr. Greg standing there on the floor, she gave a yell too, for he was now a tiny little man.
128
He was maybe as tall as the seat of a chair, but no taller, and where his arms had been, he had a pair of duck wings instead.
129
But, but, but, cried Mrs. Greg, going purple in the face.
130
My dear man, what's happened to you?
131
What's happened to both of us, you mean? shouted Mr. Greg
132
It was Mrs. Greg's turn to now jump out of bed She ran to look at herself in the glass,
133
but she was not tall enough to see into it She was even smaller than Mr. Greg, and she too had got wings instead of arms Oh,
134
oh, oh, oh, sobbed Mrs. Greg This is witch's work, cried Mr. Greg And both of them started running around the room,
135
flapping their wings A minute later, Philip and William burst in.
136
The same thing had happened to them.
137
They had wings and no arms, and they were really tiny.
138
They were about as big as robins.
139
Mama, Mama, Mama, she roamed Philip.
140
Look, Mama, we can fly.
141
And they flew up into the air.
142
Come down at once, said Mrs. Greg.
143
You're much too high.
144
But before she could say another word, Philip and William had flown right out of the window.
145
Mr. and Mrs. Greg ran to the window and looked out.
146
The two tiny boys were now high up in the sky.
147
Then Mrs. Greg said to Mr. Greg, Do you think we could do that, my dear?
148
I don't see why not, Mr. Greg said.
149
Come on, let's try.
150
Mr. Greg began to flap his wings hard, and all at once up he went.
151
Then Mrs. Greg did the same.
152
Help, she cried as she started going up.
153
Save me!
154
Come on, said Mr. Greg.
155
don't be afraid.
156
So out the window they flew, far up into the sky, and it did not take them long to catch up with Philip and William.
157
Soon, the whole family was flying around and around together.
158
Oh, isn't it lovely, cried William.
159
I've always wanted to know what it feels like to be a bird.
160
Your wings are not getting tired, are they, dear, Mr. Greg and Mrs. Greg.
161
Not at all, Mrs. Greg said.
162
I could go on forever.
163
Hey, look down there, said Philip.
164
Somebody is walking in our garden.
165
They all looked down, and there below them, in their own garden, they saw four enormous wild ducks.
166
The ducks were as big as men, and what is more, they had great long arms like men instead of wings.
167
The ducks were walking in a line to the door of the Greggs' house, swinging their arms and holding their beaks high in the air.
168
Stop! called the tiny Mr. Gregg, flying down low over their heads.
169
Go away!
170
That's my house!
171
The ducks looked up and quacked.
172
The first one put a hand and opened the door of the house and went in.
173
The others went in after him.
174
The door shut.
175
The Greggs flew down and sat on the wall near the door.
176
Mrs. Gregg began to cry.
177
Oh dear!
178
Oh dear! she thought.
179
They have taken our house.
180
What shall we do?
181
We have no place to go.
182
Even the boys began to cry a bit now.
183
We will be eaten by cats and foxes in the night, said Philip.
184
I want to sleep in my own bed, said William.
185
Now then, said Mr. Greg, it isn't any good crying.
186
That won't help us.
187
Shall I tell you what we're going to do?
188
What, they said.
189
Mr. Greg looked at them and smiled.
190
We are going to build a nest.
191
A nest, they said.
192
Can we do that?
193
We must do it, said Mr. Greg.
194
We've got to have somewhere to sleep.
195
Follow me.
196
They flew off to a tall tree, and right at the top of it, Mr. Greg chose the place for the nest.
197
Now we want sticks, he said.
198
Lots and lots of little sticks.
199
Off you go, all of you, and find them and bring them back here.
200
But we have no hands, said Philip.
201
Then use your mouth.
202
Mrs. Greg and the children flew off.
203
Soon they were back carrying sticks in their mouths.
204
Mr. Greg took the sticks and started to build the nest.
205
More, he said.
206
I want more and more and more sticks.
207
Keep going.
208
The nest began to grow.
209
Mr. Gregg was very good at making the sticks stick together.
210
After a while, he said, that's enough sticks.
211
Now I want leaves and feathers and things like that to make the inside nice and soft.
212
The building of the nest went on and on.
213
It took a long time, but at last it was finished.
214
Try it, said Mr. Gregg, hopping back.
215
He was very pleased with his work.
216
Oh, isn't it lovely, cried Mrs. Gregg, going into it and sitting down.
217
I feel I might lay an egg any moment.
218
The others all got in beside her.
219
How warm it is, said William.
220
And what fun to be living so high up, said Philip.
221
We may be small, but nobody can hurt us up here.
222
But what about food, said Mrs. Gregg?
223
We haven't had anything to eat all day.
224
That's right, Mr. Greg said.
225
So we will now fly back to the house
226
and go in by an open window and get the tin of biscuits when the ducks aren't looking.
227
Oh, we will be pecked to bits by those dirty great ducks, cried Mrs. Greg.
228
We shall be very careful, my love, said Mr. Greg, and off they went.
229
But when they got to the house, they found all the windows and doors closed.
230
There was no way in.
231
Just look at that beastly duck cooking at my stove, cried Mrs. Greg, as she flew past the kitchen window.
232
How dare she!
233
And look at that one holding my lovely gun, shouted Mr. Greg.
234
One of them is lying in my bed, yelled William, looking into a top window.
235
And one of them is playing with my electric train, cried Philip.
236
Oh dear, oh dear, cried Mrs. Greg.
237
They have taken over our whole house.
238
We shall never get it back.
239
And what are we going to eat?
240
I will not eat worms, said Philip.
241
I would rather die.
242
Or slugs, said William.
243
Mrs. Gregg took the two boys under her wings and hugged them.
244
Don't worry, she said.
245
I can mince it all up very fine and you won't even know the difference.
246
Lovely slug burgers, delicious warm burgers.
247
Oh no, cried William.
248
Never, said Philip.
249
Disgusting, said Mr. Greg.
250
Just because we have wings, we don't have to eat bird food.
251
We shall eat apples instead.
252
Our trees are full of them.
253
Come on.
254
So they flew off to an apple tree.
255
But to eat an apple without holding it in your hands is not at all easy.
256
Every time you try to get your teeth into it, it just pushes away.
257
In the end, they were able to get a few small bites each.
258
And then it began to get dark.
259
So they all flew back to the nest and lay down to sleep.
260
It must have been about this time that I, back in my own house, picked up the telephone and tried to call Philip.
261
I wanted to see if the family was all right.
262
Hello, I said.
263
Quack, said a voice at the other end.
264
Who is it?
265
I asked.
266
Quack, quack.
267
Philip, I said.
268
Is that you?
269
Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack.
270
Oh, stop it, I said.
271
Then there came a very funny noise.
272
It was like a bird laughing.
273
I put down the telephone quickly.
274
Oh, that magic finger, I cried.
275
What has it done to my friends?
276
That night, while Mr. and Mrs. Greg and Phillip and William were trying to get some sleep up high in the nest, a great wind began to blow.
277
The tree rocked from side to side and everyone, even Mr. Greg, was afraid that the nest would fall down.
278
Then came the rain.
279
It rained and rained, and the water ran into the nest, and they all got as wet as could be.
280
And oh, it was a bad, bad night.
281
At last the morning came, and with it the warm sun.
282
Well, said Mrs. Gray, thank goodness that's over.
283
I never want to sleep in a nest again.
284
She got up and looked over the side.
285
Help! she cried.
286
Look!
287
Look down there!
288
What is it, my love? said Mr. Greg.
289
He stood up and peeped over the side.
290
He caught the surprise of his life!
291
On the ground below them stood the four enormous ducks as tall as men, and three of them were holding guns in their hands.
292
One had Mr. Greg's gun, one had Philip's gun, and one had William's gun.
293
The guns were all pointing right up at the nest.
294
No, no, no, called out Mr. and Mrs. Greg, both together.
295
Don't shoot!
296
Please don't shoot!
297
Why not? said one of the ducks.
298
It was the one who wasn't holding a gun.
299
You were always shooting at us.
300
Oh, but that's not the same, said Mr. Greg.
301
We are allowed to shoot ducks.
302
Who allows you? asked the duck.
303
We allow each other, said Mr. Greg.
304
Very nice, said the duck.
305
And now we are going to allow each other to shoot you.
306
I would have loved to have seen Mr. Greg's face just then.
307
Oh, please, cried Mrs. Greg.
308
My two little children are up here with us.
309
You wouldn't shoot my children.
310
Yesterday, you shot my children, said the duck.
311
You shot all six of my children.
312
I'll never do it again, cried Mr. Greg.
313
Never, never, never.
314
Do you really mean that? asked the duck.
315
I do mean it, said Mr. Greg.
316
I'll never shoot another duck as long as I live.
317
That is not good enough, said the duck.
318
What about deer?
319
I'll do anything you say if you will only put down those guns, cried Mr. Greg.
320
I'll never shoot another duck or another deer or anything else again.
321
Will you give me your word on that? said the duck.
322
I will, I will, said Mr. Greg.
323
Will you throw away your guns? asked the duck I will break them into tiny bits,
324
said Mr. Greg And never again need you be afraid of me or my family Very well, said the duck You may now come down And by the way,
325
may I congratulate you on the nest For a first effort, it's pretty good
326
Mr. and Mrs. Greg and Philip and William Hopped out of the nest and flew down Then all at once
327
Everything went black before their eyes, and they couldn't see.
328
At the same time, a funny feeling came over them all, and they heard a great wind blowing into their ears.
329
Then the black that was before their eyes turned to blue, to green, to red, and then to gold.
330
And suddenly, there they were, standing in lovely bright sunshine in their own garden, near their own house, and everything was back to normal once again.
331
Our wings have gone, cried Mr. Gray, and our arms have come back.
332
And we are not tiny anymore, laughed Mrs. Gray.
333
Oh, I am so glad.
334
Philip and William began dancing about with joy.
335
Then high above their heads, they heard the call of a wild duck.
336
They all looked up and they saw the four birds, lovely against the blue sky, flying very close together, heading back to the lake in the woods.
337
It must have been about half an hour later that I myself walked into the Greg's garden.
338
I had come to see how things were growing, and I must admit I was expecting the worst.
339
At the gate, I stopped and stared.
340
It was a queer sight.
341
In one corner, Mr. Greg was smashing all three guns into tiny pieces with a huge hammer.
342
In another corner, Mrs. Greg was placing beautiful flowers upon sixteen tiny mounds of soil,
343
which I learned later were the graves of the ducks that had been shot the day before.
344
And in the middle of the yard stood Philip and William with a sack of their father's best barley beside them.
345
They were surrounded by ducks, doves, pigeons, sparrows, robins, larks, and many other kinds that I did not know.
346
And the birds were eating the barley that the boys were scattering by handful.
347
Good morning, Mr. Gregg, I said.
348
Mr. Greg lowered his hammer and looked at me.
349
My name is not Greg anymore, he said.
350
In honor of my feathered friends, I have changed it from Greg to Egg.
351
And I am Mrs. Egg, cried Mrs. Greg.
352
What happened, I asked.
353
They seemed to have gone completely dotty, all four of them.
354
Philip and William then began to tell me the whole story.
355
When they had finished, William said, Look, there's the nest.
356
Can you see it?
357
Right up in the top of that tree.
358
That's where we slept last night.
359
I built it all myself, Mr. Gregg said proudly.
360
Every stick of it.
361
If you don't believe us, Mrs. Egg said, just go into the house and take a look at the bathroom.
362
It's a mess.
363
They filled the tub right up into the brim, Phillip said.
364
They must have been swimming around in it all night.
365
And feathers everywhere.
366
Ducks like water, Mr. Egg said.
367
I'm glad they had a good time.
368
Just then, from somewhere over by the lake, there came a loud bang.
369
Someone's shooting, I cried.
370
That'll be Jim Cooper, Mr. Egg said.
371
Him and his three boys, they're shooting mad.
372
Those Coopers are the whole family.
373
Suddenly, I started to see red.
374
Then I got very hot all over.
375
Then the tip of my finger began tingling most terribly.
376
I could feel the power building up and up inside me.
377
I turned and started running towards the lake as fast as I could.
378
Hey! shouted Mr. Egg.
379
What's up?
380
Where are you going?
381
To find the coopers, I called back. But why?
382
You wait and see, I said.
383
They'll be nesting in the trees tonight.
384
Every one of them.
385
The end.
386
That's it for today, everyone.
387
I hope you guys enjoyed.
388
For more read-alongs like these, don't forget to subscribe.
389
If you enjoyed the book, give it a big thumbs up and share it with a friend.
390
I'll see you guys next time.
391
Bye!
📺 Same Channel
✨ Recommend Video
A2370 sentences
Roald Dahl | The Magic Finger - Full audiobook with text (AudioEbook)
KidsTeens
A21
48 sentences
"The Handiest Things in the World" Read Aloud by Ms. Torres
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A21
226 sentences
Little lunch S1 E1 - The Principal’s office
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A21
284 sentences
The Snow Queen ❄️ 👑 | The Fisherman & His Wife 🐠 👸🏻 - Classic Fairy Tales
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A21
102 sentences
Storyfun5 - unit 7 - Harry's diary
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A21
88 sentences
Usborne First Reading - Level 04 - The Reluctant Dragon
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A22
131 sentences
Detective Animals Solve the Circus Mystery 🕵️🐘| English Moral Stories | Bedtime Stories
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A21
186 sentences
A Christmas Carol Story | Story Time with Ms. Booksy at Cool School
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A21
92 sentences
The Gruffalo's Child - Animated Read Aloud Book
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A2108 sentences
'Being Frank' read by Bob Odenkirk
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
A26
140 sentences
Jack and the Beanstalk | Classic Tales Level 2
KidsTeensDaily Conversation
Who Will Love This Video?
This video is perfect for beginner to intermediate English learners looking to boost their speaking skills, whether for daily conversations or exams like IELTS. The story’s simple, engaging plot and clear narration make it ideal for shadowing practice—repeating lines aloud to mimic rhythm and pronunciation. If you want to sound more natural while learning fun vocabulary, this is your go-to! Even advanced learners can refine their intonation here.
Words & Idioms to Add to Your Toolkit
- "Mind your own P's and Q's": Stay out of other people’s business. Example: "My brother told me to mind my own P's and Q's when I asked about his plans."
- "Saw red": Got very angry. Example: "She saw red when she found out her laptop was broken."
- "Talk them out of it": Persuade someone not to do something. Example: "I tried to talk him out of quitting his job, but he didn’t listen."
These phrases are common in everyday English—steal them to sound more like a native!
Nailing the Accent: Tips for Shadowing
The speaker’s clear, conversational tone is great for english speaking practice. Focus on: - Stress in "hunting": HUN-ting (not hun-TING). - Intonation in questions: "What?" rises at the end, showing surprise. - Linking words: "go off into" becomes "go-off-into" (smooth transitions). Use a shadowing app to pause and repeat lines—this helps with timing and fluency, key for IELTS speaking practice. Don’t worry about mistakes; the goal is to imitate and improve! Shadowspeaks techniques (like mirroring mouth movements) can also make a big difference.
Ready to start? Press play, pause, and repeat—your English will sound more natural in no time!
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 | is owned · was filled · will be eaten |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have been · has made · I've always wanted |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | person who has · one who wasn |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | were carrying · was teaching · were going |
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.