Listening transcript · Episode 141

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A short study session

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Welcome to Your English Toolbox.

I am Peter.

Today, we are turning this week’s three short episodes into one vocabulary and shadowing workout.

We will review all twenty learning items: success idioms and useful collocations, three words for probability, four natural spoken reactions, and the five extra reactions that appeared only in the web lesson.

Here is the two-sentence game.

First, I will say one short, natural sentence containing an expression from this week.

Then you will hear three seconds of silence.

Shadow the sentence aloud.

Copy the words, the rhythm and the stress.

If you need the whole pause, keep speaking until the silence ends.

After the pause, I will say a second sentence with the same meaning, but with different vocabulary.

That second sentence helps you check the meaning without translating.

On your first listen, focus on meaning.

On your second listen, try to make your voice follow mine more closely.

Ready?

Let us begin.

Part one.

Success idioms and useful learning language.

Pair one.

Maya came out on top after a difficult final.

Maya succeeded after the difficult competition.

Pair two.

All those early mornings finally paid off.

Her effort finally produced a good result.

Pair three.

Everyone thinks Leo is going places.

Everyone expects Leo to become very successful.

Pair four.

Nina passed the assessment with flying colours.

Nina passed the assessment extremely successfully.

Pair five.

Our team competed against three larger companies.

Our team tried to win against three bigger companies.

Pair six.

Moving abroad alone was a challenging situation.

Moving abroad alone required a lot of effort.

Pair seven.

Every trainee must pass an assessment.

Every trainee must succeed in a formal evaluation.

Pair eight.

Close the book and use retrieval practice.

Close the book and recall the information from memory.

Part two.

Likely, unlikely and inevitable.

Pair nine.

The train is likely to arrive before six.

The train will probably arrive before six.

Pair ten.

The concert is unlikely to be cancelled.

The concert will probably not be cancelled.

Pair eleven.

Some delays were inevitable during the repairs.

Some delays could not be avoided during the repairs.

Part three.

Natural ways to react to news.

The first four reactions came from the audio lesson.

The final five were the extra expressions on the web.

Pair twelve.

They upgraded our seats for free?

No way!

That news is so surprising that I can hardly believe it.

Pair thirteen.

You passed the exam?

That’s great news!

I am genuinely happy to hear that.

Pair fourteen.

The test results are normal?

What a relief!

I am so glad that the worry is over.

Pair fifteen.

Your interview went badly?

I’m sorry to hear that.

That is disappointing, and I feel for you.

Now we move to the five expressions from the web lesson.

Pair sixteen.

You got front-row tickets?

You’re joking!

I can hardly believe you.

That is amazing!

Pair seventeen.

You won the scholarship?

I’m so pleased for you.

I feel genuinely happy about your success.

Pair eighteen.

They found the documents?

Thank goodness!

I am relieved and grateful that the problem is solved.

Pair nineteen.

The café is closing?

That’s a shame.

That is disappointing and unfortunate.

Pair twenty.

You are caring for him alone?

That must be difficult.

I can imagine that situation feels very hard.

You have completed all twenty pairs.

You reviewed four success idioms, four related collocations and learning terms, three probability words, four spoken reactions, and five expressions from the web lesson.

This practice combines retrieval practice with shadowing.

You recall the language, say it aloud, and then confirm the meaning through a paraphrase.

Come back tomorrow and try again.

This time, start repeating as soon as I begin speaking, then use the silence to finish the sentence.

On the episode page at yourenglishtoolbox.com, use the speed controls to make the same workout gentler or more challenging.

One idea, two sentences, and one stronger English voice.

I am Peter.

Thank you for practising with me.

See you in the next episode.

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