Prática de Shadowing: Why British cities make no sense - Aprenda a falar inglês com vídeo
Escolha um modo de prática
Cada modo abre uma sala de prática em tela cheia.
185 frases
Se as frases estiverem muito curtas ou longas, clique em Edit para ajustá-las.
1
How would you define a city?
2
It's what you do on a cherry.
3
How would you define a city?
4
An inhabited place of greater size, population or importance than a town or village.
5
That's better, but wrong.
6
Welcome to Map -ow!
7
Welcome to Mapmen.
8
We're the men.
9
And here's the map.
10
In the majority of the world, where it's not Britain, the definition of city is reasonably reasonable.
11
In Japan, a city is any settlement with more than 50 ,000 people.
12
In the USA, a city is anywhere with its own incorporated government.
13
But Britain, as per usual, has its own special way of doing things.
14
Here is a map of all 76 places in the UK that are officially classed as cities.
15
The usual ones you heard of are there, Liverpool, Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and so on.
16
But among them are some surprising and seemingly unworthy cities.
17
Ely, with just 20 ,000 people, Ripon with just 16 ,000 people, and St David's with less than 1 ,500 people, barely enough for a flash mob.
18
And oppositely, there are some very notable places that are mysteriously not on this map.
19
Where's Reading? Or Northampton? Or Bournemouth?
20
The most surprising omission from this list is none other than London.
21
Britain's capital city is technically not a city.
22
Although confusingly, Greater London contains within it the City of Westminster and the tiny, confusingly named City of London, which is not the same as London.
23
So what's going on?
24
If British cityness is clearly nothing to do with size, then what is the criteria?
25
What makes a British city a city?
26
I think I know this one.
27
I think you don't.
28
It's something to do with cheese.
29
Let's deal with some common misconceptions.
30
Cathedral Contrary to popular wrongness, city status in the UK has nothing to do with having a cathedral.
31
There are 12 cities without a cathedral of any kind.
32
And 32 non -cities with a cathedral of any kind.
33
Yay.
34
University Another common assumption is that you can't spell university without city.
35
But, just as with cathedrals, there are multiple examples proving that this is not the case, including 17 UK cities that do not have universities.
36
Can you name three?
37
Hard Knocks Cooper Jones.
38
And Rippon, Wakefield and St. Asaph.
39
Correct, and for a bonus, can you also name three non -cities that do have universities?
40
Northampton, Reading and Ipswich.
41
And that's our bonus word of the day!
42
And it's where you'll be spending an all -expenses -paid weekend trip to Ipswich with your mother, brought to you by the town of Ipswich.
43
Meh.
44
In an admittedly nowhere near as common as the other two
45
but we're going to deal with it anyway misconception Just
46
because you're at mayor doesn't mean the thing you're at mayor
47
of is a city For two examples Ramji Chauhan is the old -timey ceremonial red -robed
48
and gold -chain Lord Mayor of Harrow
49
Which is a dull suburban borough not a city
50
and Oliver Coppard is the democratically elected Metro Mayor of South Yorkshire A massive political region comprising mostly countryside
51
which is even more not a city The term mayor in Britain is almost as confusing useless
52
and vague as city itself So then, what is the answer?
53
What decides whether a place makes the official British list of cities?
54
The surprisingly simple answer is...
55
The King!
56
In a tradition going back to the 10th century, city status in Britain is granted by personal command of the sovereign and conferred by letters patent.
57
Do you know what that means?
58
I do.. not.
59
The long version is this, and the short version is Every city on the official list has been put there by the monarch.
60
It's as simple as that.
61
On the list, city.
62
Not on the list, not a city.
63
So why then do so many people think it's about cathedrals?
64
Because it used to be.
65
In the olden days, all settlements by today's standards were rather small.
66
With Britain's population being overwhelmingly rural, cities weren't considered important if they were big, but if they were powerful.
67
Back then, power came from the church.
68
Big cathedrals such as Wells, Ely and St Albans, which oversaw large chunks of the surrounding countryside, made the settlements they were in important settlements.
69
And so the then monarch awarded these places city status, which they retain to this day.
70
But what about all those cities with city status that don't have cathedrals?
71
When did the monarch start awarding city status to them and why?
72
In the 19th century and because...
73
The arrival of the Industrial Revolution caused some towns to turn into manufacturing powerhouses and go through smoky growth spurts.
74
By the 1850s the little town of Birmingham was now bursting with factory workers
75
and had outgrown the nearby cities of Lichfield and Leicester.
76
The citizens insisted that the Synod slanted system that saw sensible cities for several consecutive centuries suddenly seemed silly.
77
Well done.
78
And demanded that their town be given the city status it deserved.
79
So, the Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, decided the time had come to change the cathede rules.
80
Oh, excellent, that's really good.
81
Thank you, thank you.
82
Tom, Tom, one of your five.
83
And reinvented the meaning of city.
84
Incidentally, that's the same Lord Salisbury who, at the same time, reinvented the meaning of the word county.
85
In 1889, Birmingham's size and industrial importance was officially acknowledged
86
when it became the first place without an Anglican cathedral to gain city status.
87
Confusingly, Birmingham's church turned into a cathedral later in 1905, but for an explanation of how that works, ask a priest.
88
Father, what's the difference between a church and a cathedral?
89
Errr.. something to do with bishops?
90
Birmingham was quickly followed by cathedral -free Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, Nottingham, and a slow trickle of other godless heathen towns that had recently become large, joining throughout the 20th century.
91
The list was gradually starting to make more and more sense.
92
Until 1994, when a completely good run of sensible cityings was ruined by the tiny Welsh village of St. David's for no good reason.
93
Apparently the Queen just liked it.
94
The thing that makes this otherwise logical list illogical is these pesky small cities that ruin it for the proper big ones.
95
So can a place lose its city status if it doesn't deserve it anymore?
96
Welcome back to Stranded With Songs.
97
Now before the break my guest Jimothy Twigg's five song choices
98
to be stranded on a desert island with were The Ketchup Song by Las Ketchup four times
99
and The Ketchup Song Christmas Remix.
100
I regret nothing.
101
Now, as you know, as well as the five songs, you also get to take with you one luxury item to the island.
102
What luxury item will you...
103
I will take Surfshark VPN.
104
Literally any luxury item you can think of.
105
I will take Surfshark VPN.
106
Why do you want to take Surfshark VPN?
107
Because it's marvellous.
108
Surfshark VPN allows you to virtually change your location, so your browser thinks you're in another country.
109
And that means you can access content and discounts that are normally blocked in your country, so you can watch shows and movies on American Netflix that aren't available on UK Netflix.
110
There's no internet on the desert island.
111
Not only that, Surfshark masks your IP address and keeps you safe online from trackers and hackers, and you can use just one account on an unlimited number of devices.
112
You won't have your phone or laptop.
113
And it's affordable too!
114
Mapmen viewers can get a special deal by using the code MAPMEN, or by clicking the link in the description below to get an extra three months for free.
115
You're allowed to take your wife.
116
And there's a 30 day money back guarantee, which effectively makes it a free trial.
117
Jimothy Twig, you've been a weird guest.
118
Right, take him away.
119
Where am I going?
120
Desert Island.
121
But I thought the island on Desert Island Discs was only a hypothetical island.
122
This isn't Desert Island Discs.
123
Hey, get off me!
124
Oh, I said it!
125
Ah!
126
Surfshark VPN.
127
Literally all you need to survive.
128
In 1998, Little Rochester and Kent, which had been a city since 1211, merged its local council with its neighbours to form the modern unitary authority of Medway.
129
What they didn't realize was doing this effectively removed Rochester from the official list of British cities.
130
The new council of Medway could have retained city status simply by filling in a bit of paperwork, but they forgot, making poor Rochester the only place in the UK ever to lose its city status.
131
Luckily, the Rochesterians didn't have to wait very long for a chance to put things right.
132
The year 2000 was the roundest date in the calendar in living memory, even for trees.
133
The government celebrated this milestone with a big blancmange, a bicycle wheel, and the announcement of a bidding round for city status.
134
Three new cities were to join the list, and for the first time ever, any town with ambitions to become a city could apply to be one, and size did not matter.
135
The criteria they were looking for were notable features, historic features, royal features, and a forward -looking attitude.
136
And so, lots of towns submitted bids, each having to provide a 25 -page pamphlet and lots of photos explaining why they were worthy.
137
A hot favourite to win was Reading, the largest town in England with a fast -growing tech sector.
138
It boldly ticked all these boxes.
139
And the winners of Millenium City Status 2000 are Inverness, Brighton & Hove and Wolverhampton.
140
Oh, what the...
141
The national bidding for city status frenzy was so much fun, the government decided to make it a semi -regular thing, every time the Queen had a party.
142
Newport, Newry, Preston, Sterling and Lisbon.
143
Lisbon?
144
Lisburn.
145
Oh, Lisburn.
146
Chelmsford, Perth, and St. Asif.
147
St. Asif?
148
Wales run out of big towns.
149
Bangor, Colchester, Doncaster, Dunthirman, Milton Keynes, Rexham, and South Island.
150
And that brings us to today's grand total of 76 cities.
151
8 in Scotland, 7 in Wales, 6 in Northern Ireland, and 55 in England.
152
The question we need to ask, other than why did the Queen hate Reading so much, is why bother bidding?
153
Submitting a bid is an expensive business, with tens of thousands of pounds being spent on Printer Inc alone.
154
So what are the advantages of being a city instead of a town?
155
Extra government funding?
156
No. Extra local powers?
157
No. Extra promotion for tourism?
158
No. Who was that?
159
Sorry, typo.
160
The clue is in the name, city status.
161
That's a very good word for it because that's literally all it is.
162
And that's why every town that bids has a different justification for why their bid was bother -worthy.
163
Preston said gaining city status in 2002 put them on the map, even though our research has shown that Preston was already on most maps.
164
Perth claimed that in the decade since becoming a city in 2012, its economy grew 12 % which would be impressive
165
if it weren't for nearby Dundee also growing by about 12
166
% Towns don't even need to win to benefit from bidding
167
The parish council of Marazion in Cornwall submitted a no -hoper
168
underdog bid without their bosses in Cornwall ever knowing about it They were quickly disqualified, but not before the subsequent publicity resulted in a mini -boost
169
in tourism The people who seem to get the most tangible benefit from the bidding process are the government themselves
170
Awarding city status to an unsung town is a way to appear to show support for it
171
and get some positive PR without having to commit any time or money.
172
But is this okay?
173
Is it right that the government of the day gets to mess with the dictionary definition of a geographical word?
174
Is it perhaps time we dropped this nonsense of a system and replaced it with something more meaningful?
175
Naaah.
176
The government has 8 ,007 more important things to worry about than what the meaning of city is.
177
Once those have been sorted, yes, we might look at redefining the definition.
178
And even then, we probably shouldn't.
179
After all, a vague, archaic, mostly harmless tradition fraught with pomp and ceremony
180
and mawkish self -aggrandizing with a bit of royalty thrown in is about the most British thing imaginable, and would never happen in a boring, sensible country like Germany.
181
Regular rounds of royal city status -ing look set to be with us for many jubilees to come.
182
So, if you want your town to become a city, just sit tight and wait, and rest assured that at this rate, every corner of the country will become a city by the year 3000.
183
And the winner is...
184
Newport Faculty Services of Year 1!
185
Except Reading.
Baixar aplicativo
Tudo o que você precisa para falar fluentemente
Pronúncia com IANota em cada frase
Prática de IPADomine cada som
VocabulárioMonte seu banco de palavras
Jogo de vocabulárioAprenda brincando
Mesmo canal
FOR YOU
Vídeo recomendado
B21
198 frases
A Geopolitical Tour of the World
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
38 frases
What’s the worst thing about living in Manchester?
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
101 frases
LIVERPOOL Travel Guide - The Best City in the UK
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
49 frases
London's Secret Art Scene! 🤫 Forget the Museums—Discover Pop-up Galleries
Travel EnglishDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B2216 frases
Learn Real-Life British English - In Bath! | Comprehensible Input B2
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
44 frases
Can You Guess These Victorian Slang Words?
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B2371
20 frases
Urbanisation and the growth of global cities
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
530 frases
Who's faster around London: a taxi driver or a GPS?
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
74 frases
Crazy Laws That Still Exist Around The World
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
251 frases
I Tried Living in the Happiest City in the World
Travel EnglishDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
213 frases
What Do Indians Think About The UK? | Street Interview
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B2311 frases
When British Actors Are Forced to Do American Accents!
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
Primeiras impressões: por que esse vídeo é ótimo para prática de conversação em inglês
O vídeo "Why British cities make no sense" é uma excelente ferramenta para aprender inglês com vídeos, graças à sua linguagem coloquial, ritmo natural e conteúdo repleto de exemplos práticos. A conversa entre os apresentadores é informal, com interrupções, piadas e explicações claras, o que reflete como o inglês é falado no cotidiano. Isso ajuda os aprendizes a se acostumarem a diferentes tons e fluxos de fala, essenciais para a comunicação real. Além disso, os tópicos surpreendentes (como cidades pequenas e omission de Londres) mantêm a atenção, tornando o aprendizado mais envolvente.
Analisando a fala: por que essas frases soam naturais
Vamos desmembrar algumas frases do diálogo para entender sua naturalidade:
- "That's better, but wrong.": A simplicidade da estrutura e o uso de "but" para contrariar cria uma resposta direta e coloquial, comum em conversas informais.
- "St David's with less than 1,500 people, barely enough for a flash mob.": A expressão "barely enough for" é uma forma informal de dizer "quase não suficiente", e a referência a "flash mob" (um termo em inglês mantido por ser universal) adiciona humor e modernidade, tornando a frase mais próxima do que se ouve no dia a dia.
- "Meh.": Esse interjeição informal expressa indiferença, mostrando como as pessoas usam palavras curtas para transmitir emoções sem complicações.
Rota de prática: shadowing para melhorar a fala
Uma rotina eficaz para praticar com esse vídeo é o shadowing, técnica de repetir frases imediatamente após ouvi - las. Siga esses passos: 1) Assista um trecho de 10 - 15 segundos e anote a intonação e o ritmo. 2) Repita a frase em voz alta, tentando imitar exatamente o som e a pausa. 3) Grave sua voz e compare com o original, observando diferenças de pronúncia e entonação. 4) Repita até sentir que a fala flui naturalmente. Essa prática ajuda a treinar a audição e a produção simultaneamente, essenciais para a fluência. Para ampliar, use um shadowing site ou ferramentas como o shadowspeak, que permitem controlar a velocidade do áudio. Lembre - se: a consistência é chave, então reserve 10 minutos diários para essa rotina. Com o tempo, você notará que sua capacidade de se comunicar em inglês melhora significativamente, graças a essa prática de conversação em inglês baseada em contextos reais.
Gramática neste vídeo
As estruturas que o falante mais usa, com as palavras exatas do vídeo:
| Estrutura | No vídeo |
|---|---|
| Voz passiva be + particípio passado — o foco está no que acontece, não em quem faz | are officially classed · is granted · has been put |
| Present perfect have/has + particípio passado — uma ação passada que ainda importa agora | has been put · you've been · has shown |
| Orações relativas who / which + oração — informação extra sobre uma pessoa ou coisa | London, which is · people who seem |
O que é a Técnica de Shadowing?
Shadowing é uma técnica de aprendizado de idiomas com base científica, originalmente desenvolvida para o treinamento de intérpretes profissionais. O método é simples, mas poderoso: você ouve áudio em inglês nativo e repete imediatamente em voz alta — como uma sombra seguindo o falante com 1-2 segundos de atraso. Pesquisas mostram melhora significativa na precisão da pronúncia, entonação, ritmo, sons conectados, compreensão auditiva e fluência na fala.