Shadowing Practice: 'The Most Magnificent Thing' read by Olivia Munn - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Welcome to Storyline Online brought to you by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation.
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I'm Olivia Munn, and today I'm going to read “The Most Magnificent Thing,” written and illustrated by Ashley Spires.
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For all the little perfectionists of the world.
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This is a regular girl and her best friend in the whole wide world.
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They do all kinds of things together.
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They race. They eat.
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They explore.
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They relax.
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She makes things.
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He unmakes things.
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One day the girl has a wonderful idea.
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She is going to make the most MAGNIFICENT thing!
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She knows just how it will look.
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She knows just how it will work.
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All she has to do is make it.
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And she makes things all the time.
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Easy peasy!
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First, she hires an assistant.
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Next they gather their supplies.
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They set up somewhere out of the way and get to work.
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The girl tinkers and hammers and measures...
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...while her assistant pounces and growls and chews.
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When she is finished, she steps back to admire her work.
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She walks around one side.
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Her assistant examines the other side.
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It doesn't look right.
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Her assistant picks it up and gives it a shake.
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It doesn't feel right either.
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They are shocked to discover that the thing isn't magnificent.
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Or good. It isn't even kind of sort of okay.
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It is all WRONG.
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The girl tosses it aside and gives it another go.
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She smooths and wrenches and fiddles.
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Her assistant circles and tugs and wags.
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When she is finished, she stands up and takes a long look at it.
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Her assistant gives it a nudge with his paw.
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The thing is still wrong.
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She decides to try again.
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The girls saws and glues and adjusts.
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She stands and examines and stares.
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She twists and tweaks and fastens.
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She fixes and straightens and studies.
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She tries all different ways to make it better.
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She makes it square.
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She makes it round.
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She gives it legs. She adds antenna.
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She makes it fuzzy.
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She makes it long, short, rough, smooth, big, small — one even smells of stinky cheese!
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But none of them are MAGNIFICENT.
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Her hard work attracts a few admirers, but they don't understand.
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They can't see the MAGNIFICENT thing that she has in her mind.
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She gets MAD.
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The angrier she gets, the faster she works.
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She SMASHES pieces into shapes.
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She JAMS parts together.
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She PUMMELS the little bits in.
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Her hands feel too big to work, and her brain is too full of all the not right things.
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If only the thing...
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WOULD... JUST...
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WORK!!! The PAIN starts in her finger.
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It rushes up to her BRAIN...
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...and she EXPLODES!
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It is not her finest moment.
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I'm no good at this.
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I QUIT. Her assistant suggests a walk.
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It's not much help at first, But before long, she starts to feel different.
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Bit by bit, the mad gets pushed out of her head.
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As they stroll along, she comes across the first wrong thing she made.
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The bad feelings are about to start all over again.
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Then she notices something surprising.
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There are some parts of the WRONG things that are really quite RIGHT.
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The bolts on one, the shape of another, the wheel-to-seat ratio of the next.
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There are all sorts of parts that she likes!
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By the time she reaches the end of the trail, she finally knows how to make the thing MAGNIFICENT.
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She gets to work.
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She works carefully and slowly, tinkering, hammering, twisting, fiddling, gluing, painting.
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Her assistant makes sure there are no distractions.
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This is the perfect thing to ward off bears!
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This will stop that leak.
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This one's all wet.
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The afternoon fades into evening.
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Finally, she finishes.
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She alerts her assistant.
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The pair take a good long look.
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It leans a little to the left.
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and it's a bit heavier than expected.
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The color could use a bit of work, too.
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But it's just what she wanted!
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They climb aboard and take it for a spin.
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They are not disappointed.
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It really is THE MOST MAGNIFICENT THING.
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You know, I like it when she says she's going to quit.
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As a kid, I think I always wanted to be able to scream, like, “I quit!” My mom, I have a I have a tiger mom, Asian mom, who will not let me quit anything.
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I wanted to quit piano.
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I couldn't quit piano.
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I wanted to quit, Taekwondo, I couldn't quit.
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I want to quit swimming.
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I wanted to quit everything.
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And she never let me quit.
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And so, the thing that I love about this little girl saying she quits is that for me I know if I was allowed to quit at any point, then I would really have regretted it as an adult.
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And I'm so happy that my mother made me keep going and keep pushing through all the tough feelings and the hard feelings and the tired feelings so that I could stick with it.
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And I love that in this book because she says I quit.
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But we know there's so much more to the book.
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You know, there's still so many more pages left.
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So we know that she, she's not going to quit.
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She's not going to let herself down.
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Thank you for watching Storyline Online.
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Make sure to check out all of our stories.
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Keep watching and keep reading.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, learners will practice listening and speaking skills by engaging with the story of "The Most Magnificent Thing," read by Olivia Munn. The narrative features a young girl who embarks on a creative journey with her furry friend, facing challenges and learning about perseverance. By following along with the reading, you'll enhance your English pronunciation while embracing important lessons about creativity and determination. This lesson is particularly beneficial if you are preparing for your IELTS speaking practice, as it emphasizes both expressive storytelling and the articulation of emotions.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Magnificent - exceptionally beautiful or awe-inspiring.
- Tinker - to attempt to repair or improve something, often in a casual or experimental way.
- Admire - to regard something with respect or warm approval.
- Assistant - a person who helps or aids another person in their tasks.
- Marvelous - wonderful; splendid.
- Perfectionist - someone who strives for perfection and is rarely satisfied with any result that does not meet their high standards.
- Explore - to travel through an unfamiliar area to learn about it.
- Creativity - the use of imagination or original ideas to create something.
Practice Tips
Using shadowspeak, you can improve your English pronunciation effectively. Start by watching the video and listening closely to Olivia Munn’s delivery. Notice the rhythm and intonation of her voice. Here are some practical steps to follow:
- Watch Actively: Watch the video without pausing initially to get a feel for the flow of the story.
- Repeat and Imitate: After your initial watch, play segments of the video and repeat after Olivia Munn, trying to mimic her tone and pace.
- Focus on Highlights: Pay special attention to the words related to the girl’s creative process, such as "admire" and "explore." These words are crucial in conveying emotions.
- Record Yourself: After shadowing, try recording yourself reading excerpts from the text. Compare your pronunciation and intonation with the original.
- Engage with the Story: Discuss the story elements with friends or in study groups to practice speaking in a relaxed environment.
By embracing these techniques, you will not only learn English with YouTube more effectively but also enhance your speaking skills in a fun and creative way, perfect for preparing for exams like the IELTS.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | The Most Magnificent · her best · her finest |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | keep pushing · Keep watching |
| Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see coming | I'm going to read · is going to make · she's going to quit |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will look · will work · will stop |
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.