Shadowing Practice: When The Work Safety Guy Is Too Intense | Utopia - Learn English Speaking with Video

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386 sentences

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It's getting out of hand, Katie.

147 emails overnight.

You're a busy man.

Yeah, but it's mostly junk and spam.

You want me to get rid of them?

No, no, I want them sorted.

I need to know what's priority and what's junk.

What's personal?

Well, I don't get many personal emails on this account.

What about that one?

It's an ad for Viagra.

So you don't know that lady?

No. How does she know you?

It's spam.

Personal spam?

No, it's just spam.

I'll speak to Courtney.

Just some sort of system.

Oh, and Dennis is here today.

Dennis.

For our risk and safety assessment.

We just did a risk and safety assessment.

Last year.

He was here a whole week and all we ended up was a huge folder that no one's ever read.

But the folder needs to be updated.

Why?

New building.

No. It's a legal requirement.

Alright, but Dennis...

I thought you liked him.

What?

I remember you said, that's a guy I could sure spend more time with.

I was being sarcastic. Were you?

Yeah.

Oh, and Jim rang back.

He wants to catch up this morning.

Great.

Sarcastic?

Yeah.

10 o 'clock?

Perfect.

Yeah.

Still 10?

Yep.

Nat, you remember Dennis? Of course.

Hi, Dennis.

Dennis is back to do our safety audit.

Oh, yeah.

Didn't we just do one?

New building.

Is this yours?

Yeah.

On your desk.

It's a desk fan.

I knew a bloke once, just like you.

I'm not a bloke.

Thought it was okay to balance a blow heater on a windowsill.

Few days later, bang.

Office burnt to the ground.

Oh, my God.

It can happen.

And was the man okay?

Oh, well, there's another story.

Courtney, I'm just in the middle of something important.

Oh, yep.

Why don't we stay out in the basement?

You need to get that tagged.

Fine.

Thank you.

Ash, do you know what's wrong with our toaster?

Dennis red flagged it.

He red flagged it.

What?

Because it's electrical.

Yeah, that's how toasters work.

Improbably earthed, Natalie.

We've been using it for months.

Dennis knew a man who used one of these for years.

Then one day, boom, power surge.

We're in toast.

Month in hospital.

What's happened to our knives?

Cutting hazard.

Cutting hazard?

They're knives.

Dennis knew a bloke who reached into a drawer and severed a finger.

Right through.

Blood everywhere.

I think you'll find everything, you know, pretty modern building, Dennis.

A newer bloke, car dealer, moved into a brand new showroom, telling me he didn't need an audit,

but turns out a bracket on one of his AC units was faulty.

Long story short, two weeks later, there's a customer in the showroom.

Bang.

Killed him?

Just missed.

Oh, so happy ending.

No, that wasn't the end of it.

Metal shards from the casing came down...

Can we put a pin in part two?

100

Katie, why don't you get Dennis to have a look around the basement?

101

He's already done the basement.

102

Second pass, check for shards.

103

Baby, level one.

104

Yeah, let me up.

105

I'll go with you.

106

Thank you, Brian.

107

Great.

108

Tony, Nat says she's running about 10 minutes late.

109

Sure.

110

Oh, and we've come up with a system for emails.

111

We're just going to print the urgent ones.

112

I don't need you to print them out.

113

What's this?

114

Urgent.

115

Urgent sale bathroom tiles.

116

Are you renovating?

117

It's spam.

118

It's a dear valued customer.

119

I don't want junk email.

120

I don't want group emails.

121

I don't want anything unsolicited.

122

Just work related.

123

Got it.

124

From people I know.

125

Do you know Dan?

126

Dan.

127

Murphy?

128

The wine merchant who died 15 years ago.

129

Yep, clearly a friend of mine.

130

Sarcastic?

131

Yep.

132

I'll do a new printout.

133

Sorry, guys, one more minute. Who?

134

Ray.

135

Drummond.

136

It's a golf store.

137

So you don't know him?

138

No. 30 % off putters this weekend.

139

What's he doing in the documents room?

140

He's worried about our filing cabinets.

141

Seriously?

142

What if someone got squashed in there?

143

You wouldn't be happy.

144

If it happened right now, it would be.

145

But he said if a child was in there...

146

What would a child be doing in there?

147

Dennis knew a bloke once who brought his son in on a Sunday.

148

Does he get paid by the anecdote?

149

Is it OK if he does a quick assessment of your workstation?

150

Oh, that'd be wonderful.

151

Sarcastic?

152

Yeah, he's not to come near my office.

153

Come on in, guys.

154

Dennis, we can go down.

155

So let's go through the updated system.

156

Someone's injured, what do you do?

157

Call an ambulance?

158

Nope.

159

Check if they're breathing?

160

First things first.

161

You create and file an incident report.

162

Okay.

163

So just log on to the page here.

164

You've got date of incident, location of incident, type of incident.

165

There's a drop -down menu for that.

166

Death, serious injury, disease.

167

What's contagion?

168

Just pick one.

169

Serious injury.

170

Perfect.

171

Now, hit submit.

172

Job done.

173

And what about the injured person?

174

What about them?

175

Like if they needed medical assistance.

176

Ah.

177

Oh, I see what you're saying.

178

OK.

179

Create a new file.

180

Agency initially contacted.

181

Paramedics.

182

Via.

183

Triple zero.

184

Can I check if they're breathing?

185

Not yet, darling.

186

No. But isn't this work -related?

187

I'm working on a defence white paper.

188

But it says army.

189

Disposals.

190

Superstore sale.

191

Oh, I just saw the camouflage.

192

Oh, God, here's fun.

193

Sarcastic?

194

Yep.

195

I'm getting better.

196

Come on in.

197

Say.

198

Let's have a seat.

199

I thought we'd do it here.

200

Did you have a look?

201

Yep.

202

Great.

203

We all did.

204

Okay, this is what we wanted to hear.

205

Good news. And?

206

I don't follow it.

207

What?

208

Sorry, we don't follow it. Which bit?

209

All of it.

210

Well, how's that good news?

211

But I mean, did you get a general sense of what it's saying?

212

Well, that we need to spend 2 % of our GDP on defence.

213

Oh, there you go.

214

You're being too hard on yourself.

215

But it's not clear why.

216

Well, maybe we don't need to say why, just that we're spending.

217

That we're muscling up, we're hawks, keeping the Anzac spirit alive.

218

Have you been to a focus group?

219

Yes, of real Aussies, proud Aussies.

220

So what are we buying?

221

Ships?

222

What?

223

A couple of new subs?

224

Those are multi -billion dollar investments.

225

Gut feeling.

226

Blink reaction.

227

What's in the shopping cart?

228

I don't think we can...what?

229

Oh.

230

Hang on.

231

What's going on?

232

Sorry about that.

233

What's going on?

234

Dennis is testing our duress alarm.

235

Could you guys hear that in there?

236

Yes.

237

Very, very clearly.

238

Sorry, why are we testing our duress alarm?

239

Dennis knew a lady who stayed back...

240

I've got an acto.

241

Thanks.

242

That's okay.

243

I'll just correct you in a minute.

244

Alright.

245

Let's start from the beginning.

246

This white paper is a visionary blueprint for Australia's defence.

247

Let's start at the end.

248

It's an impenetrable, uncosted fence -sitting wishlist.

249

Should we start in the middle?

250

There must be something specific we can announce.

251

Look, let me give you a hypothetical.

252

Two weeks from now, the PM's at the National Press Club giving his take on the white paper.

253

He steps confidently up to the podium and says...

254

What part of that is hypothetical?

255

The confident bit.

256

He says, ladies and gentlemen, Australia's number one defence priority is...

257

Well, it's...is...

258

Somewhere in here.

259

See, this is where we need a dress alarm.

260

What?

261

You said keep emails from members of government.

262

This is from a Nigerian prince.

263

Sort of government.

264

He's asking for aid.

265

It's a scam.

266

Tony, the Brigadier's just arrived.

267

Great.

268

And the Colonel will be here this afternoon.

269

Excellent.

270

So, he's fixing the light, foot slips, asphyxiation.

271

Scotty, Ash.

272

You've got to tell Tony.

273

I can't need you both.

274

Anyway, long story short.

275

Guys, now.

276

Did you survive?

277

Two months on a respirator.

278

You've really got to tell Tony.

279

Yeah, I will.

280

You've got a moment? When?

281

An hour.

282

Oh, I'm a little bit busy.

283

Nothing too serious at this stage.

284

There's a small slipping hazard in the gents.

285

Might need you to look into that.

286

That lighting in your rear corridor needs a bit of a tweak.

287

There's a few egress and ingress issues, but I can turn a blind eye to that.

288

Yeah, like I said Dennis, new building, I think you'll find it pretty safe.

289

True story.

290

Knew this bloke, CEO of a big organisation, said he didn't see the need for a risk assessment.

291

Sorry, is this story about me?

292

A different building, they had a faulty elevator.

293

CEO didn't see it as a priority.

294

This is about me.

295

Anyway, long story short...

296

I know this story.

297

Hang on, what have we got here?

298

Flowers.

299

Hmm.

300

What?

301

No, back, sorry folks.

302

Jim rang, he got your email about the divot...

303

The what? To Asia.

304

The pivot.

305

He wants to know, are you being sarcastic?

306

No. I knew it.

307

I'll let him know.

308

And are you expecting an email from a brigadier?

309

Yes, yes.

310

It's spam, right?

311

No, no. But he tried to sell you think tanks.

312

No, I need that.

313

I'll get it out of junk mail.

314

Yes, and any attachments.

315

Got it.

316

Thank you.

317

Here you go, Tony.

318

Oh, thank you, Katie.

319

Lovely.

320

Katie?

321

Hmm?

322

This is barely warm.

323

Do you know what temperature at hot water was said to?

324

Hot?

325

Dennis said it was nearly boiling.

326

It's here to make tea.

327

But he knew a man once who was making...

328

Katie, not an earning tea.

329

Long story short, three months in the burns unit.

330

Can you microwave that?

331

Uh -uh.

332

It wasn't earthed properly.

333

Okay.

334

We thought it was spam.

335

It was from the treasurer.

336

It said sale.

337

Of a port.

338

Can you get back in touch with him?

339

You've unsubscribed.

340

Ring him.

341

Sure.

342

Just a reminder, Jim and Rhonda will be in at 10.

343

Mm -hmm.

344

And Nat had to go back to Canberra.

345

Wow, they're getting serious.

346

And have you got a moment for Dennis?

347

No. He just needs to hand over the new risk register.

348

You can leave it on your desk.

349

And then he'll be gone.

350

Two minutes, no anecdotes.

351

So, I've ranked each hazard in terms of likelihood and likely consequence.

352

Hence, back injury from incorrect seating posture is likely, but relatively mild in terms of impact.

353

Whereas, say, a tsunami would be...

354

That's page 32, I think.

355

Yep, there it is.

356

Severe to catastrophic outcome.

357

But again, unlikely.

358

Interesting.

359

I was doing a job in the Solomon Islands once.

360

Does this involve a tsunami?

361

I'll get to that.

362

Can you do this?

363

Yeah, lovely.

364

Anyway, so we're in Honiara.

365

You been there?

366

No. It's beautiful.

367

Wow.

368

Here it is.

369

All done.

370

I will get Katie to put it in its rightful place beside the old one.

371

Replacing?

372

Replacing the old one is what I meant to say.

373

Is something wrong?

374

Oh, I just worry I might have missed something.

375

Shall we have another look around?

376

No, no. I think it's all in here.

377

Ranked, graded and colour -coded.

378

It's your lift.

379

Thanks, Tony.

380

See you, Dennis.

381

See you, Katie.

382

Yeah.

383

Thank you, Dennis.

384

You know, there's a light out in here.

385

Shall I get him back?

386

No. Thank you.

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926 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “When The Work Safety Guy Is Too Intense”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Dennis, email, knew. This video has 386 sentences and 1876 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:57. The speaker talks fast, about 210 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 79% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding. 91 of its 386 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
spam noun	/spæm/	Any undesired electronic content automatically generated for commercial purposes.
sarcastic adjective	/sɑɹˈkæs.tɪk/	Containing sarcasm.
bloke noun	/bloʊk/	A fellow, a man; especially an ordinary man, a man on the street.
assessment noun	/əˈsɛsmənt/	The act of assessing or an amount (of tax, levy or duty etc) assessed.
junk noun	/d͡ʒʌŋk/	Miscellaneous items of little value, especially discarded or unwanted items.
hazard noun	/ˈhæzəd/	The chance of suffering harm; danger, peril, risk of loss.
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…
priority noun	/pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/	An item's relative importance.
alarm noun	/əˈlɑɹm/	A summons to arms, as on the approach of an enemy.
basement noun	/ˈbeɪsmənt/	A floor of a building below ground level.
urgent adjective	/ˈɜː.d͡ʒənt/	Requiring immediate attention.
rank noun	/ˈɹæŋk/	A row of people or things organized in a grid pattern, often soldiers.
alright	/ɔlˈɹaɪt/	Used to indicate acknowledgement or acceptance; OK.
knife noun	/ˈnaɪ̯f/	A utensil or a tool designed for cutting, consisting of a flat piece of hard material, usually steel or other metal (the blade), usually sharpened on one edge…
bang noun	/ˈbæŋ/	A sudden percussive noise.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
come on in verb	Synonym of come in (“to enter”).
look around verb	To inspect a building or area.
catch up verb	To pick up suddenly.
come down verb	To descend, fall down, collapse.
come up with verb	To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it.
drop down verb	To sail, move, or row down a coast, or down a river to the sea.
end up verb	To bring to a conclusion.
get out of verb	To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Didn't we just do one?
Why don't we stay out in the basement?
Ash, do you know what's wrong with our toaster?
What's happened to our knives?
Someone's injured, what do you do?

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	we've come · Have you been · You've unsubscribed
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	be updated · was said · wasn't earthed

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 61 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'll, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: breathe /bɹiːð/, hypothetical /ˌhaɪpəˈθɛtɪkəl/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: organisation /ˈɔː.ɡə.naɪˌzeɪ.ʃən/, treasurer /ˈtɹɛʒəɹə(ɹ)/, squash /skwɔʃ/, shard /ˈʃɑːd/, showroom /ˈʃoʊˌɹum/
Long words — get the stress right: priority /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/, hypothetical /ˌhaɪpəˈθɛtɪkəl/, electrical /ɪˈlɛktɹɪkəl/, organisation /ˈɔː.ɡə.naɪˌzeɪ.ʃən/, elevator /ˈɛləˌveɪtɚ/

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 spam, sarcastic, bloke.

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 →

Shadowing Practice: When The Work Safety Guy Is Too Intense | Utopia - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?