Shadowing Practice: Tragedy and Wisdom: The Reason This Man Will Never Be Happy Again - Learn English Speaking with Video
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56 sentences
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1
Excuse me sir, can I stop you for two seconds?
2
I think you look absolutely incredible.
3
It's not my intention, but I just feel very cold.
4
So that's the reason I have this.
5
The reason I stopped you is could I take a picture of you?
6
Would that be okay?
7
You can, no problem.
8
What is your name sir?
9
Ramiro, it's a Spanish name.
10
You're from Spain obviously.
11
Whereabouts in Spain are you from?
12
San Sebastiano.
13
Amir, the question I ask everybody that I stop is what makes you happy in life?
14
Happiness was lost a long time ago, 14 years ago.
15
My happiness was lost when I lost my wife.
16
It was of sickness, she died.
17
My 42 -year wife died 14 years ago and my happiness went with it.
18
But I survived and I tried to make a thing the best of it.
19
But happiness, once you have had a happy marriage,
20
you have had an extraordinary person with you for 40 years and she goes away with no fault on anybody's side,
21
then happiness, you know, it's a tough position.
22
You only realize how important that was and how extraordinary she was when you lose it.
23
You know what you've got until it's gone.
24
Yes, I had a good idea that it was very important.
25
Certainly after she went, that was a clear confirmation.
26
If you could go back in time and give that younger version of yourself some advice, what would it be?
27
Study what you like.
28
Your main subject of study, I made a big mistake in my life.
29
That was not marriage.
30
My big mistake was to study engineering instead of law or political science, instead of social sciences.
31
I did study also social sciences, but I have a degree in aeronautical engineering, which fortunately I have not used.
32
I would study social sciences, law, humanities.
33
I thought economically, you know, my future job was better guaranteed studying engineering.
34
That was a very conservative decision, which I would not repeat.
35
So you think it's a better idea to follow your heart and do what you like?
36
What you like.
37
In life you have to do what you like.
38
That is the first priority.
39
In fact, eventually I had a good job.
40
I had a good job in which I had a good financial compensation and I had good job satisfaction.
41
That took time.
42
That was only after 20 years.
43
What age are you?
44
You're 70s?
45
76. Have you had a good life?
46
I still can swim one mile every day.
47
How did you meet your wife?
48
We were in the same swimming team.
49
She was very good.
50
She was much better than me swimming.
51
Getting married is a good idea?
52
If you find the right person, of course.
53
If you find the right person, the right decision is to make everything possible to retain her the right person.
54
It is not so easy that it shows up.
55
Sometimes it appears, but if it appears, you know, just seize it.
56
Seize the opportunity, don't let it go away.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Tragedy and Wisdom: The Reason This Man Will Never Be Happy Again”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: happiness, study, science, engineering, wife. This video has 56 sentences and 507 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:04. The speaker talks at a natural 165 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 13 of its 56 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| happiness noun | /ˈhæpinɪs/ | The emotion of being happy; joy; elation. |
| swim verb | /swɪm/ | To move through the water, without touching the bottom; to propel oneself in water by natural means. |
| extraordinary adjective | /ɪksˈtɹɔːrdɪn(ə)ɹi/ | Out of the ordinary; exceptional; unusual. |
| seize verb | /ˈsiːz/ | To deliberately take hold of; to grab or capture. |
| guarantee noun | /ˌɡæɹ.ənˈtiː/ | Anything that assures a certain outcome. |
| priority noun | /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/ | An item's relative importance. |
| compensation noun | /ˌkɑm.pənˈseɪ.ʃən/ | The act or principle of compensating. |
| intention noun | /ɪnˈtɛnʃn̩/ | A course of action that a person intends to follow. |
| humanity noun | /hjuˈmænɪti/ | Humankind; human beings as a group. |
| retain verb | /ɹəˈteɪn/ | Often followed by from: to hold back (someone or something); to check, to prevent, to restrain, to stop. |
| satisfaction noun | /sætɪsˈfækʃən/ | A fulfilment of a need or desire. |
| confirmation noun | /ˌkɑn.fəɹˈmeɪ.ʃən/ | An official indicator that things will happen as planned. |
| fortunately adverb | /ˈfɔɹ.t͡ʃə.nɪt.li/ | In a fortunate manner. |
| economically adverb | /ˌiː.kəˈnɒm.ɪ.kli/ | In an economical manner; not wastefully; not extravagantly. |
| sickness noun | /ˈsɪknɪs/ | The quality or state of being sick or diseased; illness; an illness. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go away verb | To depart or leave a place. |
| show up verb | To appear, arrive, or attend, especially suddenly or erratically. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Excuse me sir, can I stop you for two seconds?
- What is your name sir?
- You know what you've got until it's gone.
- Have you had a good life?
- How did you meet your wife?
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 had |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was lost |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 4 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, you've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: compensation /ˌkɑm.pənˈseɪ.ʃən/, intention /ɪnˈtɛnʃn̩/, satisfaction /sætɪsˈfækʃən/, confirmation /ˌkɑn.fəɹˈmeɪ.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: extraordinary /ɪksˈtɹɔːrdɪn(ə)ɹi/, priority /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/, compensation /ˌkɑm.pənˈseɪ.ʃən/, humanity /hjuˈmænɪti/, satisfaction /sætɪsˈfækʃən/
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 happiness, swim, extraordinary.
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.