Shadowing Practice: We Built the Product Apple Gave Up On... - Learn English Speaking with Video

For the past two months, I have been building a desk.

To understand what it does, we need to go back on an Apple event 9 years ago.

In 2017, I had just started college when Apple showed its wireless charging pad, AirPower.

The best part was simple.

Put your phone on it, and it would charge.

This idea hit me right away.

If you have used a round wireless charger, you know the phone had to be put right in the center.

Move it a little, and it will not charge.

Sometimes, I put my phone on the charger and went to sleep.

Then I woke up for class and found it was still at 5 % Air power would not have this problem

But Apple said it would not go on sale until the next year

So I waited and waited and waited

and waited until the 9th next year I already had a job

and it was still not out Then I searched a line and guess what?

Apple had already cancelled it in 2019 To make up for

those wasted 9 years I decided to build my own air power

And mine had to be even better Apple's idea was to charge your phone anywhere on the pad

so I wanted to build an air power the size of

a desk you would only need to put your phone on a desk

and it would charge you could even use it as a

normal work desk the idea behind air power is easy to

understand this is a wireless charging coil put your phone above it

and it will charge with enough coils to cover the whole pad your phone can charge anywhere on it

but covering your whole desk we need 600 charging coils

that would be too expensive I mean it would be very

bad for the environment actually there's a smarter way to solve

this instead of using hundreds of coils why not let one

coil travel across the whole desk there is a type of wireless charger

that can track your phone you put your phone on a pad

and the coil moves under it to charge it we only needed to bring this idea to a desk

so i built a simple round prototype a camera hands above it

when someone puts a phone on a desk the camera sends its position to the motors the motors

that move the coil under the phone and charge it.

It sounds like a perfect plan.

Let's see how well it works.

It works perfectly, except for three very serious problems.

First, the motors are too slow, Though, it will be still faster than I make videos.

Second, there are too many moving wires inside the desk.

They look messy and can get caught on other parts.

The biggest problem is that the desk is just too boring.

So I decided to spin big and give it a feature.

One month later, the new desk was ready.

First, I replaced the motors so the coil can move faster.

To manage the moving wires, I made this, a double -ended cable reel.

It connects to the motor.

When the motor moves out, it pulls the cable from the reel.

When the motor moves back, the reel quietly returns under the desk.

The cable system took me a whole week to build.

I was so happy when it finally worked.

Then I found out something called a linear slide exist.

It has no moving wires and is much faster.

Anyway, we managed the wires perfectly, as long as you do not look under the desk.

So how do we make the desk less boring?

Let's put a phone on it.

I turn the desk into a transparent screen.

Whenever you place your phone on the desk, our little fairy cat of light and power moves under it.

It then summons the mysterious electric power from the cyber world to charge your phone.

Once one device is full, the desk looks for the next device it can charge and start charging it.

When there is nothing left, the coil returns under the keyboard i also put a receiver coil under the keyboard

so we can charge wirelessly too some of you may ask

but hey your desk only had one coil can it charge

three devices at once like air power i don't know can

you use one straw to drink from three cups of course

when the desk finds several devices the coil quickly moves between them

if the coil moves faster than the devices can notice then

from our view it's charging all three at once i just made all

that up i also put two fixed coils in the corner.

You can charge extra devices there.

There is also a Mac Mini inside the desk.

You can connect a monitor and use it as a computer.

Besides charging animation and normal information, the screen has three special features.

At the start of each day, you can set a few tasks.

Every time you finish the task, a new dot lights up.

You will see what these dots do at the end of the video.

For the second feature, I added standing desk legs.

I also changed their control system.

If the camera sees that you have been sitting for an hour and the desk is still down, the whole desk lights up.

Then the charging cat comes out and reminds you to move.

A raise button also appears on the desk.

Tap it and the desk rises to my safe height.

Another health feature moves my cup in front of me every hour.

It reminds me to drink more water.

To make this work, I added an electromagnet under the coil.

Finally, when your phone is charging, a focus mode button appears.

Press it and the desk lights up.

A 25 -minute timer appears under your phone.

It reminds you to focus for 25 minutes.

If you pick up your phone before the timer ends the desk will refuse to charge it when you put it back.

I added this because I want to stay focused while I work and stop checking my phone all the time.

Finally, after 9 years, I have my own AirPower Pro Max Ultra Plus.

It can charge your devices.

It can remind you what you need to do today.

It cares about your health.

It can help you use your phone less.

And most importantly, whenever you finish the day of work, it says...

Okay everyone, that's all for this video, thank you for watching, see you next time.

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173 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 96 sentences and 1101 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:24. The speaker talks fast, about 204 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
desk noun	/dɛsk/	A table, frame, or case, in past centuries usually with a sloping top but now usually with a flat top, for the use of writers and readers. It often has a…
coil noun	/kɔɪl/	Something wound in the form of a helix or spiral.
wire noun	/ˈwaɪɚ/	Metal formed into a thin, even thread, now usually by being drawn through a hole in a steel die.
remind verb	/ɹəˈmaɪnd/	To cause one to experience a memory (of someone or something); to bring to the notice or consideration (of a person).
wireless adjective	/ˈwaɪ(jə)ɹ.ləs/	Not having any wires.
reel verb	/ˈɹiːl/	To wind on a reel.
charger noun	/ˈt͡ʃɑɹd͡ʒɚ/	A device that charges or recharges.
connect verb	/kəˈnɛkt/	To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object.
keyboard noun	/ˈki.bɔɹd/	A set of keys laid out in a gridlike pattern, used for typing on a typewriter, computer, etc.
bore verb	/boɹ/	To inspire boredom in somebody.
timer noun	/ˈtaɪmɚ/	A device used to measure amounts of time.
solve verb	/sɒlv/	To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out.
refuse verb	/ɹɪˈfjuːz/	To decline (a request or demand).
spin verb	/spɪn/	To rotate, revolve, gyrate (usually quickly); to partially or completely rotate to face another direction.
monitor noun	/ˈmɑ.nɪ.tɚ/	Someone who watches over something; a person in charge of something or someone.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
light up verb		To illuminate, to bring light to something, to brighten.
come out verb	/ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/	To be discovered; to be revealed.
find out verb		To discover, as by asking or investigating.
go back on verb		To be treacherous or faithless to; to betray.
move back verb		To reschedule (something) to a later date or time.
move out verb		To leave one's present location; to leave somewhere for another place.
pick up verb		To lift; to grasp and raise.

Pronunciation to watch

Long words — get the stress right: animation /ˌæn.ɪˈmeɪ.ʃən/, mysterious /mɪˈstɪɹi.əs/, importantly /ɪmˈpɔɹ.tənt.li/

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 desk, coil, wire.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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