Shadowing Practice: The Magic Shop by H.G. Wells | Audiobook - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
305 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
Gates of Imagination presents The Magic Shop by Herbert George Wells, read by Arthur Lane.
2
I had seen the magic shop from afar several times.
3
I had passed it once or twice.
4
A shop window of alluring little objects, magic balls, magic hens, wonderful cones, ventriloquist dolls, the material of the basket trick,
5
packs of cards that looked all right and all that sort of thing, but never had I thought of going in until one day,
6
almost without warning, Gip hauled me by my finger right up to the window, and so conducted himself that there was nothing for it but to take him in.
7
I had not thought the place was there, to tell the truth, a modest -sized frontage in Regent Street between the picture shop
8
and the place where the chicks run about just out of patent incubators, but there it was, sure enough.
9
I had fancied it was down nearer the Circus, or round the corner in Oxford Street, or even in Holborn, always over the way and a little inaccessible it had been,
10
with something of the mirage in its position.
11
But here it was now, quite indisputably, and the fat end of Gipp's pointing finger made a noise upon the glass.
12
If I was rich, said Gipp, dabbing a finger at the disappearing egg, I'd buy myself that, and that, which was the crying baby,
13
very human, and that, which was a mystery, and called, so a neat card asserted, buy one and astonish your friends.
14
Anything, said Gip, will disappear under one of those cones.
15
I have read about it in a book.
16
And there, Dada, is the vanishing halfpenny, only they've put it this way up so's we can't see how it's done.
17
Gip, dear boy, inherits his mother's breeding, and he did not propose to enter the shop or worry in any way.
18
Only, you know, quite unconsciously he lugged my finger doorward and he made his interest clear.
19
That, he said, and pointed to the magic bottle.
20
If you had that, I said, at which promising inquiry he looked up with a sudden radiance.
21
I could show it to Jesse, he said, thoughtful as ever of others.
22
It's less than 100 days to your birthday, Gibbles, I said, and laid my hand on the door handle.
23
Gip made no answer, but his grip tightened on my finger, and so we came into the shop.
24
It was no common shop, this.
25
It was a magic shop, and all the prancing precedence Gip would have taken in the matter of mere toys was wanting.
26
He left the burthen of the conversation to me.
27
It was a little narrow shop, not very well lit, and the doorbell pinged again with a plaintive note as we closed it behind us.
28
For a moment or so we were alone and could glance about us.
29
There was a tiger in papier -mâché on the glass case that covered the low counter, a grave, kind -eyed tiger that waggled his head in a methodical manner.
30
There were several crystal spheres, a china hand holding magic cards, a stock of magic fishbowls in various sizes,
31
and an immodest magic hat that shamelessly displayed its springs.
32
On the floor were magic mirrors, one to draw you out long and thin, one to swell your head and vanish your legs,
33
and one to make you short and fat like a draught.
34
And while we were laughing at these, the shopman, as I suppose, came in.
35
At any rate, there he was behind the counter, a curious, sallow, dark man with one ear larger than the other and a chin like the toe cap of a boot.
36
What can we have the pleasure, he said, spreading his long magic fingers on the glass case, and so with a start we were aware of him.
37
I want, I said, to buy my little boy a few simple tricks.
38
Ledger domain, he asked.
39
Mechanical?
40
Domestic?
41
Anything amusing, said I.
42
Um, said the shopman and scratched his head for a moment as if thinking.
43
Then, quite distinctly, he drew from his head a glass ball.
44
Something in this way, he said, and held it out.
45
The action was unexpected.
46
I had seen the trick done at entertainment's endless times before.
47
It's part of the common stock of conjurers.
48
But I had not expected it here.
49
That's good, I said with a laugh.
50
Isn't it, said the shopman.
51
Gipp stretched out his disengaged hand to take this object and found merely a blank palm.
52
It's in your pocket, said the shopman.
53
And there it was.
54
How much will that be?
55
I asked.
56
We make no charge for glass balls, said the shopman politely.
57
We get them.
58
He picked one out of his elbow as he spoke.
59
Free.
60
He produced another from the back of his neck, and laid it beside its predecessor on the counter.
61
Gip regarded his glass ball sagely, then directed a look of inquiry at the two on the counter,
62
and finally brought his round -eyed scrutiny to the shopman, who smiled.
63
You may have those too, said the shopman, and if you don't mind, one from my mouth.
64
So, Gip counseled me mutely for a moment, and then in a profound silence put away the four balls,
65
resumed my reassuring finger, and nerved himself for the next event.
66
We get all our smaller tricks in that way, the shopman remarked.
67
I laughed in the manner of one who subscribes to a jest.
68
Instead of going to the wholesale shop, I said, of course it's cheaper.
69
in a way the shopman said though we pay in the end
70
but not so heavily as people suppose our larger tricks
71
and our daily provisions and all the other things we want we get out of
72
that hat and you know sir
73
if you'll excuse my saying it there isn't a wholesale shop not for genuine magic goods sir i don't know
74
if you noticed our inscription the genuine magic shop he drew a business card from his cheek and handed it to me.
75
Genuine, he said, with his finger on the word, and added, There is absolutely no deception, sir.
76
He seemed to be carrying out the joke pretty thoroughly, I thought.
77
He turned to Gip with a smile of remarkable affability.
78
You, you know, are the right sort of boy.
79
I was surprised at his knowing that, because in the interests of discipline we keep it rather a secret even at home.
80
But Gip received it in unflinching silence, keeping a steadfast eye on him.
81
It's only the right sort of boy gets through that doorway.
82
And as if by way of illustration, there came a rattling at the door, and a squeaking little voice could be faintly heard.
83
Nyar, I wanna go in there, dada, I wanna go in there.
84
Nyar -ah -ah -ah.
85
And then the accents of a downtrodden parent urging consolations and propitiations.
86
It's locked, Edward, he said.
87
But it isn't, said I.
88
It is, sir, said the shopman, always, for that sort of child.
89
And as he spoke we had a glimpse of the other youngster, a little white face, pallid from sweet eating and over -sappied food, and distorted by evil passions,
90
a ruthless little egotist, pawing at the enchanted pain.
91
It's no good, sir, said the shopman, as I moved with my natural helpfulness doorward, and presently the spoiled child was carried off howling.
92
How do you manage that, I said, breathing a little more freely.
93
Magic, said the shopman with a careless wave of the hand, and behold, sparks of colored fire flew out of his fingers and vanished into the shadows of the shop.
94
You were saying, he said, addressing himself to Gip, before you came in, that you would like one of our buy one and astonish your friend's boxes.
95
Gip, after a gallant effort, said yes.
96
It's in your pocket, and leaning over the counter, he really had an extraordinarily long body.
97
This amazing person produced the article in the customary conjurer's manner.
98
Paper, he said, and took a sheet out of the empty hat with the springs.
99
String.
100
And behold, his mouth was a string box, from which he drew an unending thread, which when he had tied his parcel he bit off,
101
and it seemed to me swallowed the ball of string.
102
And then he lit a candle at the nose of one of the ventriloquist dummies, stuck one of his fingers, which had become sealing -wax red,
103
into the flame and so sealed the parcel.
104
Then there was the disappearing egg, he remarked, and produced one from within my coat -breast and packed it, and also the crying baby, very human.
105
I handed each parcel to Gip as it was ready, and he clasped them to his chest.
106
He said very little, but his eyes were eloquent, the clutch of his arms was eloquent.
107
He was the playground of unspeakable emotions.
108
These, you know, were real magics.
109
Then, with a start, I discovered something moving about in my hat, something soft and jumpy.
110
I whipped it off, and a ruffled pigeon, no doubt a confederate, dropped out and ran on the counter and went,
111
I fancy, into a cardboard box behind the papier -mâché tiger.
112
Tut -tut, said the shopman, dexterously relieving me of my headdress.
113
Careless bird, and, as I live, nesting.
114
He shook my hat and shook out into his extended hand two or three eggs, a large marble, a watch,
115
about half a dozen of the inevitable glass balls, and then crumpled, crinkled paper, more and more and more,
116
talking all the time of the way in which people neglect to brush their hats inside as well as out, politely of course, but with a certain personal application.
117
all sorts of things accumulate sir not you of course in particular nearly every customer
118
astonishing what they carry about with them the crumpled paper rose
119
and billowed on the counter more and more
120
and more until he was nearly hidden from us until he was altogether hidden
121
and still his voice went on
122
and on we none of us know what the fair semblance of a human being may conceal, sir.
123
Are we all then no better than brushed exteriors, whited sepulchres?
124
His voice stopped, exactly like when you hit a neighbor's gramophone with a well -aimed brick, the same instant silence, and the rustle of the paper stopped,
125
and everything was still.
126
Have you done with my hat?
127
I said, after an interval.
128
There was no answer.
129
I stared at Gip, and Gip stared at me, and there were our distortions in the magic mirrors, looking very rum and grave and quiet.
130
I think we'll go now, I said.
131
Will you tell me how much all this comes to?
132
I say, I said on a rather louder note, I want the bill and my hat, please.
133
It might have been a sniff from behind the paper pile.
134
Let's look behind the counter, Gip, I said.
135
He's making fun of us.
136
I led Gip round the head -wagging tiger, and what do you think there was behind the counter?
137
No one at all.
138
Only my hat on the floor, and a common conjurer's lop -eared white rabbit lost in meditation,
139
and looking as stupid and crumpled as only a conjurer's rabbit can do.
140
I resumed my hat, and the rabbit lollopped a lollop or so out of my way.
141
Dada, said Gip, in a guilty whisper.
142
What is it, Gip? said I.
143
I do like this shop, Dada.
144
So should I, I said to myself, if the counter wouldn't suddenly extend itself to shut one off from the door.
145
But I didn't call Gip's attention to that.
146
Pussy, he said, with a hand out to the rabbit as it came lolloping past us.
147
Pussy, do Gip a magic.
148
And his eyes followed it as it squeezed through a door I had certainly not remarked a moment before.
149
Then this door opened wider, and the man with one ear larger than the other appeared again.
150
He was smiling still, but his eye met mine with something between amusement and defiance.
151
You'd like to see our showroom, sir, he said, with an innocent suavity.
152
Gip tugged my finger forward.
153
I glanced at the counter and met the shopman's eye again.
154
I was beginning to think the magic just a little too genuine.
155
We haven't very much time, I said, but somehow we were inside the showroom before I could finish that.
156
All goods of the same quality, said the shopman, rubbing his flexible hands together, and that is the best.
157
Nothing in the place that isn't genuine magic and warranted thoroughly rum.
158
Excuse me, sir.
159
I felt him pull at something that clung to my coat sleeve, and then I saw he held a little wriggling red demon by the tail.
160
The little creature bit and fought and tried to get at his hand, and in a moment he tossed it carelessly behind a counter.
161
No doubt the thing was only an image of twisted India rubber,
162
but for the moment, and his gesture was exactly that of a man who handles some petty, biting bit of vermin.
163
I glanced at Gip, but Gip was looking at a magic rocking horse.
164
I was glad he hadn't seen the thing.
165
I say, I said, in an undertone, and indicating Gip and the red demon with my eyes.
166
You haven't many things like that about, have you?
167
None of ours.
168
Probably brought it with you, said the shopman, also in an undertone, and with a more dazzling smile than ever.
169
Astonishing what people will carry about with them unawares.
170
And then to Gip.
171
Do you see anything you fancy here?
172
There were many things that Gip fancied there.
173
He turned to this astonishing tradesman with mingled confidence and respect.
174
Is that a magic sword? he said.
175
A magic toy sword.
176
It neither bends, breaks, nor cuts the fingers.
177
It renders the bearer invincible in battle against anyone under 18.
178
half a crown to seven and sixpence according to size.
179
These panoplies on cards are for juvenile knights -errant and very useful, shield of safety, sandals of swiftness, helmet of invisibility.
180
Oh, Daddy!
181
gasped Gip.
182
I tried to find out what they cost, but the shopman did not heed me.
183
He had got Gip now.
184
He had got him away from my finger.
185
He had embarked upon the exposition of all his confounded stock, and nothing was going to stop him.
186
Presently I saw with a qualm of distrust and something very like jealousy
187
that Gip had hold of this person's finger as usually he has hold of mine.
188
No doubt the fellow was interesting, I thought, and had an interestingly faked lot of stuff.
189
Really good faked stuff.
190
Still.
191
I wandered after them, saying very little, but keeping an eye on this prestidigital fellow.
192
After all, Gip was enjoying it, and no doubt when the time came to go, we should be able to go quite easily.
193
It was a long, rambling place, that showroom, a gallery broken up by stands and stalls and pillars, with archways leading off to other departments,
194
in which the queerest -looking assistants loafed and stared at one, and with perplexing mirrors and curtains.
195
So perplexing indeed were these, that I was presently unable to make out the door by which we had come.
196
The shopman showed Gip magic trains that ran without steam or clockwork, just as you set the signals,
197
and then some very, very valuable boxes of soldiers, that all came alive directly, you took off the lid and said,
198
I myself haven't a very quick ear and it was a tongue -twisting sound, but Gip, he has his mother's ear, got it in no time.
199
Bravo, said the shopman, putting the men back into the box unceremoniously and handing it to Gip.
200
Now, said the shopman, and in a moment Gip had made them all alive again.
201
You'll take that box, asked the shopman.
202
We'll take that box, said I, unless you charge its full value, in which case it would need a trust magnate.
203
Dear heart, no. And the shopman swept the little men back again, shut the lid, waved the box in the air, and there it was, in brown paper,
204
tied up, and, with Gipp's full name and address on the paper, the shopman laughed at my amazement.
205
This is the genuine magic, he said.
206
The real thing.
207
It's a little too genuine for my taste, I said again.
208
After that he fell to showing gip tricks, odd tricks, and still odder the way they were done.
209
He explained them, he turned them inside out, and there was the dear little chap nodding his busy bit of a head in the sagest manner.
210
I did not attend as well as I might.
211
Hey presto, said the magic shopman, and then would come the clear, small hey presto of the boy but I was distracted by other things.
212
It was being borne in upon me just how tremendously rum this place was.
213
It was, so to speak, inundated by a sense of rumness.
214
There was something a little rum about the fixtures even, about the ceiling, about the floor, about the casually distributed chairs.
215
I had a queer feeling that whenever I wasn't looking at them straight,
216
they went askew and moved about and played a noiseless puss in the corner behind my back.
217
And the cornice had a serpentine design with masks, masks altogether too expressive for proper plaster.
218
Then abruptly my attention was caught by one of the odd -looking assistants.
219
He was some way off and evidently unaware of my presence.
220
I saw a sort of three -quarter length of him over a pile of toys and through an arch.
221
And, you know, he was leaning against a pillar, in an idle sort of way, doing the most horrid things with his features.
222
The particular horrid thing he did was with his nose.
223
He did it just as though he was idle and wanted to amuse himself.
224
First of all, it was a short, blobby nose, and then suddenly he shot it out like a telescope, and then out it flew and became thinner and thinner until it was like a long,
225
red, flexible whip.
226
Like a thing in a nightmare it was.
227
He flourished it about and flung it forth as a fly -fisher flings his line.
228
My instant thought was that Gip mustn't see him.
229
I turned about, and there was Gip quite preoccupied with the shopman and thinking no evil.
230
They were whispering together and looking at me.
231
Gip was standing on a little stool, and the shopman was holding a sort of big drum in his hand.
232
Hide and seek, Dada, cried Gip.
233
You're he and before I could do anything to prevent it, the shopman had clapped the big drum over him.
234
I saw what was up directly.
235
Take that off, I cried, this instant.
236
You'll frighten the boy.
237
Take it off.
238
The shopman with the unequal ears did so without a word and held the big cylinder towards me to show its emptiness, and the little stool was vacant.
239
In that instant, my boy had utterly disappeared.
240
You know, perhaps, that sinister something that comes like a hand out of the unseen and grips your heart about.
241
You know it takes your common self away and leaves you tense and deliberate, neither slow nor hasty, neither angry nor afraid.
242
So it was with me.
243
I came up to this grinning shopman and kicked his stool aside.
244
Stop this folly, I said.
245
Where is my boy?
246
You see, he said, still displaying the drum's interior.
247
There is no deception.
248
I put out my hand to grip him, and he eluded me by a dexterous movement.
249
I snatched again, and he turned from me and pushed open a door to escape.
250
Stop, I said, and he laughed, receding.
251
I leapt after him, into utter darkness.
252
Thud.
253
Lord bless my art.
254
I didn't see you coming, sir.
255
I was in Regent Street, and I had collided with a decent -looking working man, and a yard away perhaps, and looking a little perplexed with himself, was Gip.
256
There was some sort of apology, and then Gip had turned and come to me with a bright little smile, as though for a moment he had missed me,
257
and he was carrying four parcels in his arm.
258
He secured immediate possession of my finger.
259
For the second, I was rather at a loss.
260
I stared round to see the door of the magic shop, and behold, it was not there.
261
There was no door, no shop, nothing, only the common pilaster between the shop where they sell pictures and the window with the chicks.
262
I did the only thing possible in that mental tumult.
263
I walked straight to the curbstone and held up my umbrella for a cab.
264
Ansoms, said Gip, in a note of culminating exultation.
265
I helped him in, recalled my address with an effort, and got in also.
266
Something unusual proclaimed itself in my tailcoat pocket, and I felt and discovered a glass ball.
267
With a petulant expression I flung it into the street.
268
Gip said nothing, for a space neither of us spoke.
269
Dada, said Gip at last.
270
That was a proper shop.
271
I came round with that, to the problem of just how the whole thing had seemed to him.
272
He looked completely undamaged.
273
So far, good.
274
He was neither scared nor unhinged.
275
He was simply tremendously satisfied with the afternoon's entertainment.
276
And there in his arms were the four parcels.
277
Confound it!
278
What could be in them?
279
Um, I said.
280
Little boys can't go to shops like that every day.
281
He received this with his usual stoicism, and for a moment I was sorry I was his father and not his mother, and so couldn't suddenly there,
282
quorum publico, in our handsome, kiss him.
283
After all, I thought, the thing wasn't so very bad, but it was only when we opened the parcels that I really began to be reassured.
284
Three of them contained boxes of soldiers, quite ordinary lead soldiers, but of so good a quality as to make Gip altogether forget
285
that originally these parcels had been magic tricks of the only genuine sort, and the fourth contained a kitten,
286
a little living white kitten in excellent health and appetite and temper.
287
I saw this unpacking with a sort of provisional relief.
288
I hung about in the nursery for quite an unconscionable time.
289
That happened six months ago, and now I'm beginning to believe it is all right.
290
The kitten had only the magic natural to all kittens, and the soldiers seem as steady a company as any colonel could desire. And Gip?
291
The intelligent parent will understand that I have to go cautiously with Gip.
292
But I went so far as this one day I said, How would you like your soldiers to come alive, Gip, and march about by themselves?
293
Mine do, said Gip.
294
I just have to say a word I know before I open the lid.
295
Then they march about alone?
296
Oh, quite, Dada.
297
I shouldn't like them if they didn't do that.
298
I displayed no unbecoming surprise, and since then I have taken occasion to drop in upon him once or twice, unannounced, when the soldiers were about,
299
but so far I have never discovered them performing in anything like a magical manner.
300
It's so difficult to tell.
301
There's also a question of finance.
302
I have an incurable habit of paying bills.
303
I've been up and down Regent Street several times looking for that shop.
304
I'm inclined to think indeed that in that matter honour is satisfied, and that, since Gipp's name and address are known to them.
305
I may very well leave it to these people, whoever they may be, to send in their bill in their own time.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
B21
466 sentences
Disappearing Samantha | FULL EPISODE | S2E29 | Bewitched
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B25
35 sentences
Our High Street Is Dying: The Bookshop Is Closing
British AccentIELTS PrepDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B232
25 sentences
Nearly Headless Nick | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C11
163 sentences
The Secret Garden ~ Chapter 6: "There Was Someone Crying - There Was!" ~ Audiobook
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
![You’ll stop using ChatGPT after listening to this | Jonathan Pageau [ARC 2026]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/yZUuKzDQSsI/mqdefault.jpg)
C13
173 sentences
You’ll stop using ChatGPT after listening to this | Jonathan Pageau [ARC 2026]
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C11
148 sentences
The Looking Glass. A Short Story by Anton Chekhov.
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
![SPANISH LOVE DECEPTION AUDIOBOOK [Chapter-1] 💕](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tJRgdfmBKdE/mqdefault.jpg)
B22
489 sentences
SPANISH LOVE DECEPTION AUDIOBOOK [Chapter-1] 💕
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
345 sentences
Improve your English ⭐ Sherlock Holmes Thriller - Mysterious Job Offer
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B252 sentences
The Midnight Library Matt Haig, read by Carey Mulligan | audiobook excerpt
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C12
126 sentences
The Story of My Life - Audiobook - Chapters 3-4
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B12
23 sentences
A World Without... Night
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “The Magic Shop by H.G. Wells”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: gip, shopman, magic, shop. This video has 305 sentences and 4027 words to shadow. The speech runs for 24:52. The speaker talks at a natural 162 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 75% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| shopman noun | The proprietor, manager, or operator of a small store. | |
| dada noun | Father, dad. | |
| parcel noun | /ˈpɑɹsəl/ | A package wrapped, as for shipment or transport. |
| astonish verb | /əˈstɑnɪʃ/ | To surprise greatly. |
| stare verb | /stɛɚ/ | To look fixedly (at something). |
| rabbit noun | /ˈɹæbɪt/ | A mammal of most genera of the family Leporidae, with long ears, long hind legs and a short, fluffy tail. (Those of the larger kind are instead called hares) |
| disappear verb | /dɪsəˈpɪɹ/ | To vanish. |
| tiger noun | /ˈtaɪɡə/ | Panthera tigris, a large predatory mammal of the cat family, indigenous to Asia. |
| crumple verb | /ˈkɹʌmpəl/ | To rumple; to press into wrinkles by crushing together. |
| showroom noun | /ˈʃoʊˌɹum/ | A room in a business set aside for the display of the company's products. |
| stool noun | /stuːl/ | A seat for one person without a back or armrests. |
| kitten noun | /ˈkɪtən̩/ | A young rabbit, rat, hedgehog, squirrel, fox, beaver, badger, etc. |
| remark verb | /ɹɪˈmɑɹk/ | To pay heed to; notice; to take notice of, to perceive. |
| presently adverb | /ˈpɹɛzəntli/ | Before long; soon. |
| behold verb | /bɪˈhəʊld/ | To look at or see (someone or something), especially appreciatively; to descry, to look upon. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| break up verb | To break or separate into pieces. | |
| carry off verb | To transport away. | |
| carry out verb | /ˈkæ.ɹi aʊt/ | To hold while moving it out. |
| come up to verb | To approach. | |
| drop out verb | To leave (school, a race, etc.) prematurely and voluntarily. | |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. | |
| get through verb | /ɡɛt ˈθɹu/ | To overcome; to endure. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- That's good, I said with a laugh.
- It's in your pocket, said the shopman.
- Have you done with my hat?
- You haven't many things like that about, have you?
- Do you see anything you fancy here?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have read · they've put · Have you done |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was carried · was distracted · being borne |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | that, which was · one who subscribes · man who handles |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 35 contractions and reduced forms, such as isn't, didn't, haven't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: altogether /ɔl.tuˈɡɛð.ɚ/, thoroughly /ˈθʌɹ.ə.li/, breathe /bɹiːð/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: astonish /əˈstɑnɪʃ/, showroom /ˈʃoʊˌɹum/, deception /dɪˈsɛpʃən/, shake /ˈʃeɪk/, meditation /mɛdɪˈteɪʃn̩/
- Long words — get the stress right: altogether /ɔl.tuˈɡɛð.ɚ/, ventriloquist /vɛnˈtɹɪl.ə.kwɪst/, inquiry /ɪnˈkwaɪ(ə)ɹi/, apology /əˈpɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, inevitable /ɪˈnɛvɪtəbəl/
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 shopman, dada, parcel.
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.