English Podcast | SHADOW ME! LOST WALLET | PODCAST ENGLISH | EP190

[Music] Simply Explained English. Hi everyone and welcome back to our podcast. I am Sam.

I will be your host today and our guest is Rosa. Hello everyone. It's great to be back.

Rosa will help us again with shadowing. I hope our listeners will love it. Shadowing is such a great technique to practice English pronunciation and speaking flow.

Remember, shadowing is simple. You listen to someone speaking English and you try to repeat exactly what they say and how they say it like you are their shadow. So, Rosa, what do you have for today's video?

We have a wonderful story for you to practice with. It's about two friends who found a wallet. I will read the story.

Please listen carefully. You can use this story for your shadowing practice later. Okay, listeners, get ready.

Rosa, please start the story. Okay, here is the story. Two friends, Maria and Julia, were looking at shops.

They stopped in front of a beautiful dress shop. Maria sighed. "Oh, I really, really want that dress.

It's so perfect. " Julia looked at the dress, too. "Yeah, me, too.

It would be the perfect dress for the dance this weekend. " She paused, then said sadly, "I wish I had enough money. " Maria looked sad.

I only have 20 bucks and the dress I want is $100. That's so much money. Julia looked around.

Then she looked at Maria with a naughty idea in her eyes. Well, she started quietly. What if we go in there and steal it?

Maria was very surprised. Steal it? That's not funny, Julia.

Not funny at all. She shook her head firmly. As they continued walking, Julia suddenly stopped.

"Oh my gosh, look. " She pointed to something on the pavement. "It's a wallet.

" She quickly picked it up. "Wow, we hit the jackpot. " Maria took the wallet from Julia's hands.

"Let me see that," she said. The wallet looked quite old. Oh, there's a name and address inside.

It belongs to Edward Gil. Maria thought for a moment. I know this address.

He doesn't live too far from here. Julia's eyes were wide with excitement. Well, is there any money in it?

Is there? Maria opened the wallet carefully. Uh, yeah.

There's 20 bucks. I'm glad no one took it. Julia quickly grabbed the wallet from Maria's hand.

Let me see that. And she took $20 from it. Hey, give it back, Maria said, trying to take the wallet.

Julia held the wallet tightly. Come on, finders keepers. It's not my fault this guy lost his wallet.

Maria's voice was firm. That's stealing, Julia. We can't keep it.

Come on, hand it over. Julia smiled a little. A sly smile.

I know. 10 for you and 10 for me. Think about it, Maria.

We'll be $10 closer to buying our dresses. Maria shook her head strongly. No, absolutely not.

She looked very seriously at Julia. Look, Julia, I believe honesty is the best policy. When you're an honest person, good things always come back to you.

Julia rolled her eyes. Oh, I don't need a lecture right now. Maria took a deep breath, trying to be patient.

Look, we're going to this guy's house and give his wallet back to him, and before we do, you're going to put the money back in the wallet. " Julia sighed loudly. "Yeah, whatever.

" She didn't look happy at all, and she gave the empty wallet to Maria. Later, they arrived at Edward Gill's house. They were standing in front of his door.

Okay, Julia, we're here now, Maria said quietly. Put the money in the wallet, please. Julia crossed her arms stubbornly and said, "No, I'm not going to do that.

" Maria paused, her hand hovering. Julia, now's your last chance to do the right thing. There was no answer.

So, Maria turned to go to the door. Julia whispered angrily. Just make up a story.

Saying it was empty when we found it. A little white lie. Maria looked very disappointed in her friend.

Oh, I can't believe you, Julia. Then Maria opened her own small purse. She took out her own money, her last $20.

Julia saw this and said, "Maria, what are you doing? That's your last $20. You need that for your new dress.

" Maria didn't answer her. She carefully put her $20 bill into Edward Gil's wallet. Then with a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

Julia was waiting for her outside the garden gate. A kind-l looking man opened the door. "Hi, can I help you?

" he asked with a friendly smile. Maria held out the wallet. "Hello, sir.

Are you Edward Gil? " "Yes, I am. " the man replied, looking a little curious.

I believe this belongs to you, Maria said, giving him the old wallet. The man looked very surprised. Oh, you found my wallet.

I've been looking everywhere for it, and all the cash is still in it. Wow, thank you so much. Really, thank you.

He looked so happy and relieved. Maria smiled a small and kind smile. "No problem.

Have a nice day, sir. " While Maria was about to turn and leave, "Wait a moment," Mr Gill said. "Hold on a second.

" Then he went inside. Julia whispered urgently to Maria. "Let's go.

Come on, let's go. But Mr Gil came back. He had some money in his hand.

"Here, this is for you," he said to Maria, holding out the money. Maria looked at the money. "It was a lot.

" Her eyes widened. "Wo, I can't take this. It's really not necessary, sir.

" Mr Gil smiled warmly. His eyes were kind. Please, I really want you to have it.

Maria felt a bit shy, but also grateful. I appreciate it, but honestly, I can't take this. It's more than the wallet is worth itself.

Mr Gill's expression became soft and thoughtful. No, you have no idea how much this wallet is worth to me. It belonged to someone very special in my life.

He paused for a moment, holding the wallet gently. He continued, his voice a little lower. A long time ago, my dad was in the army, so he had to serve.

He said goodbye to me, not knowing if we would ever see each other again. And then one day, a soldier came knocking at our door. His voice was quiet, full of old sadness.

He told me that my dad was gone. He had thrown himself on a grenade, sacrificing his own life to save the lives of others. It was the saddest day of my life.

The only thing they found of his was this wallet. He looked at Maria with deep emotion in his eyes. So you see, this belonged to my father who died a hero.

And this is the only thing I have of his. So I can't tell you how much this wallet is worth to me. Maria's eyes filled with tears.

She felt so much for him. Oh, I am so sorry for your loss. Your dad seemed like an honorable man, a true hero.

Yes, he was. The man nodded. And my father would always say to me, "Honesty is the best policy.

And if you're an honest person, it will always come back to you. " So here, please take this. It's your honesty coming back to you.

This time, Maria accepted it. Her voice was soft. Thank you so much.

You don't know what this is going to do for me. You're welcome, Mr Gil said kindly. Have a nice day.

You too," Maria replied, still a bit stunned by everything. As Maria and Julia walked away, Maria looked at the money in her hand. "Wow, I wasn't expecting that at all.

" Julia looked down at her feet. She looked ashamed. "Yeah, I can't believe you were right this whole time.

I feel so bad, Maria. Maria put her arm around Julia's shoulder. It's okay.

Don't feel too too bad about it. You learned something today, right? Julia nodded, looking up at Maria.

You know what? This money belongs to you. She took out the $20 she had kept and handed it back to Maria.

And from now on, I'm always going to be an honest person. I promise, she said, her voice sincere. Maria's heart felt warm.

That makes me so happy to hear you say that, Julia. Oh my gosh. Julia suddenly realized.

I just realized you have enough money to buy your dress. Maria's eyes widened with joy. Oh, wait.

You're right. I do. I can buy my dress.

She felt so happy and excited. Then she looked at Julia. But what about you?

What about your dress? Julia smiled. A true happy smile this time.

Don't worry about me. I'm just happy for you. Come on, let's go get your dress.

Later that day, Maria came out of the dress shop. She had a big smile on her face and a shopping bag in her hand. I got the dress, she announced happily to Julia, who was waiting outside.

"Nice. I'm so happy for you," Julia said. And I got you a little something, too, Maria said, pulling out another bag.

You did? What is it? Julia asked and opened the bag.

Oh my gosh. You got me a dress, too. But I don't understand.

How did you have enough money? Well, it turns out the dresses were 50% off, so I got one for me and you, Maria explained. Wow, thank you, Julia said, hugging her friend tightly.

Maria laughed. Maria hugged her back, smiling. Now we'll both look fab at the dance.

The two friends walked away together. They both learned a very important lesson that day. Wow.

Thank you, Rosa. That was a really nice story. Yes.

Like it? Absolutely. So, listeners, now it's your turn to practice shadowing.

You can listen to the story again. Choose any sentence you like. Pause the podcast after Rosa says it and then repeat the sentence aloud.

Try to copy the sound in the rhythm. That's right. We chose a few sentences from the story so that you can do shadowing.

You don't need to understand every single word. Just focus on listening and repeating. Okay.

Thank you for listening to our podcast. We hope you like it. Keep studying.

Happy shadowing. Bye for now. Maria sighed.

Oh, I really, really want that dress. It's so perfect. Wow, we hit the jackpot.

That's stealing, Julia. We can't keep it. Come on, hand it over.

Maria, what are you doing? That's your last $20. You need that for your new dress.

So, I can't tell you how much this wallet is worth to [Music] me. But I don't understand. How did you have enough money?

That makes me so happy to hear you say that, [Music] Julia. Wow. It was a fantastic story.

I like it a lot. Me too, Lisa. I like this quote.

It's so true. Honesty is the best policy. When you're an honest person, good things always come back to you.

Honesty is one of the good values of people. Lisa, definitely, Eric. Let's start our words.

What are the words today, Eric? The first word today is fab. Then we will continue with firm and to sacrifice.

then hand over and the final one is hit the jackpot. Okay, let's start with the first word. The first word is fab.

Fab. Fab. Oh, that sounds fun.

What does it mean? Fab is short for fabulous. It's an informal word that means really great or wonderful.

Ah, like when someone says, "You look fab today. " Exactly. It's a friendly and casual way to say something is amazing.

For example, the movie was fab or we had a fab time at the beach. So, it's a positive word. Very positive.

You can use it to describe a person, a place, an experience, anything you think is great. Can I say that dinner was fab? Yes, that's perfect.

Or even she gave a fab presentation at work. Nice. Is fab ever used in formal situations?

Not really. It's better for casual talk with friends, family, or co-workers you're close with. So, it's an adjective, right?

Yes. We use it before nouns like fab dress or fab idea, and we don't follow it with a verb or a preposition. Okay.

Well, I think now our followers understand the word fab. Now, let's move on to our next word. Let's do that.

The next word is firm. Firm. Firm is an adjective that means strong and steady.

A firm handshake feels strong, not soft or weak. Got it. Can we use firm for other things?

Yes, we can use it for things you can touch, like a firm bed. That means it's not too soft. So a firm pillow is harder than a soft one, right?

But we also use firm for people or decisions. For example, my teacher was firm but fair. So firm can mean someone doesn't change their mind.

Yes. If your boss says, I made a firm decision, it means they will not change it. Can we say she spoke in a firm voice?

Yes. That means her voice was serious and strong. Okay.

Is firm followed by a special preposition? Sometimes we say firm with someone like parents should be firm with their children. It means they should be strong when they say no.

We don't follow it with a verb. We use it before a noun like a firm answer or a firm rule. Okay.

Well, that's it for the word firm. Shall we move on to the next word? Let's do that.

The next word is to sacrifice. To sacrifice. To sacrifice means to give up something important or valuable, usually to help someone else or for a bigger purpose or reason.

Oh, like when parents work hard and don't buy things for themselves so their kids can have what they need. Exactly. That's a common kind of sacrifice.

For example, she sacrificed her free time to help her brother study. So, it's like choosing to lose something for a good reason. Yes.

Another example is he sacrificed his weekend to finish the project. Can we say I sacrificed my lunch break to finish my homework? Perfect example.

That shows you gave up something small, but it still matters. Is there a preposition we use with it, Eric? Yes.

We often say to sacrifice something for someone or something. For example, they sacrificed a lot for their country. So the structure is sacrifice plus something plus for plus someone.

That's right. If you want to say a verb, it should be in the ing form. Like she sacrificed watching TV to clean the house.

Got it. That verb sounds strong but also kind. It really is.

It shows someone cares deeply. Okay. Well, I think now our followers understand the word sacrifice better.

Let's move on to our next word. Our next word is hand over. Hand over.

Hand over is a phrasal verb that means to give something to someone, usually in a serious or official way. Ah, so it's a bit more formal or perhaps a bit stronger than just give. Exactly.

For example, at the end of the visit, you need to hand over your visitor's card at the reception. I see. So, you wouldn't usually hand over a cup of coffee to a friend.

You'd just give it. That's a good way to think about it. You might say, "The librarian asked me to hand over the overdue book.

" That makes sense. What about the grammar? Is over always with hand?

Yes. Hand over is a phrasal verb, and it's often separable, which means you can put the object between hand and over. For example, you can say, "Please hand over your keys.

" Or, "Please hand your keys over. " Oh, so I can say she handed her report over to her boss. Perfect.

And if you use a pronoun like it or them, it must go in the middle. So you'd say she handed it over to her boss. Got it.

Hand it over. That sounds quite direct, like in movies when they say hand over the bag. Precisely.

That's a very common way you might hear it. It can also mean to give control or responsibility for something to someone else. For example, the current director will hand over the company to the new CEO next month.

So, it's about transferring something important, either an object or a responsibility. You've understood it well. Okay.

Well, that's it for the word handover. Let's move on to the last word. The last word is hit the jackpot.

Hit the jackpot. Hit the jackpot means to win a big prize, usually money, or to have a big success. So like in a casino.

Exactly. That's where the phrase comes from. If you play a slot machine and all the symbols match, you hit the jackpot.

You win a lot of money. Wow. But can we use it in everyday life, too?

Definitely. It doesn't have to be about money. For example, I really hit the jackpot with my new job.

I love it. Oh, I like that. So, it means you were very lucky.

Yes. Another one. He hit the jackpot when he met her.

She's perfect for him. That makes perfect sense. So, if I found a beautiful park that no one else knows about, I could say I hit the jackpot.

Precisely. Or if someone finds a rare book they've been searching for for years, they've hit the jackpot. Okay.

Got it. It's clear. Okay.

Well, that's it for today's episode of Simply Explained English. We hope you found the words helpful and the explanations easy to understand. Thanks for listening.

Keep studying your English and stay tuned. Bye for now.