Practice Speaking English - Read with me (Shadowing Practice)

When you read, do you read out loud or silently?

Most adults read silently which is surprising when you realise that there

are so many benefits to reading out loud.

For example, it boosts memory.

Studies have shown that people remember more of what they read aloud

compared to what they read silently.

It also helps in understanding complex texts.

Reading aloud can make it easier to understand and process information.

Let's start a new habit of reading out loud whenever we have the opportunity.

You can start now, with me, if you like.

If you're new here, my name is Anna, founder of English Like A Native,

a platform providing online courses and a community to help you to

embrace this language so that you feel and speak English like a native.

Now, I'm going to read an excerpt from one of my podcast stories.

I will put the text on screen so you can read out loud with me.

I will read at a steady pace.

It may help for you to listen once and then shadow me, which means

to speak at the same time as me.

Afterwards, you can download an audio and PDF of the reading

in order to practice offline.

Just click on the link below, join my free newsletter and I

will email the files to you.

Are you ready?

Let's read.

The Butterfly and the Octopus.

One day, feeling especially confident, he went out further still to watch the fish.

And his marvellous eyesight meant it was very surprising indeed for

the butterfly when he turned around to fly back to the archipelago.

But he couldn't see it.

Going through first 180 degrees, then 360 degrees, then 540, 720, and round

and round the butterfly saw nothing but water, and in the water swirling

and darting fish, but also an octopus.

Who the butterfly had noticed before, every day, gliding around the

water, on the most graceful of legs.

Whatever could be happening?

The octopus was very active and sensitive and sometimes got so confused

and overwhelmed that her long legs got quite tangled up and she had to

use them like a great big oar and shoot away from wherever she was.

One day she had shot away and gone to the surface of the water.

Quite by accident, or guided by some other force, she will not tell.

But there, she felt the strangeness of the air on her skin, and

saw a small creature flying.

A creature throwing patterns in the air and making beautiful sounds

with his wings, the like of which the octopus long, long used to the

muted depths, had never heard before.

The octopus was short of breath up there at the surface, but was so captivated

by what she saw that she waited until she was quite blue before sinking

back down into the security she knew.

But every day she wanted to return, and every day she rose to the

surface to watch and be with the butterfly, as he fascinated her

with his actions and his sounds.

On this particular day, the octopus got quite a pain in her

stomach from hearing the panicked sounds of the butterfly's wings.

The octopus became afraid and started to shoot over to the butterfly.

She had to pass through the darting and swirling fish, and as she shot across

towards the butterfly, they moved aside respectfully, because they all had,

for a long time, loved and admired her.

At this, the butterfly, rather distracted by now spinning round and round, and

almost giving up the idea that he would ever see land again, saw land.

Where was it?

Round and round, but trying to slow down, the butterfly saw sometimes land

and sometimes approaching octopus.

Sometimes land, sometimes octopus.

Until the butterfly saw no more and simply passed out.

Landing on the most outstretched tentacle of the octopus, who

had just made it there in time.

The butterfly came to quickly, and saw the fish once again swirling and darting.

The octopus understood the question in the butterfly's eyes.

She eased herself off on seven of her legs, with not quite the grace of before

as one was taken up holding the butterfly aloft, knowing that it was unlucky

for an octopus to use an odd number.

The fish again stopped and moved aside for the beautiful octopus, and the

octopus held up the holding tentacle and turned the butterfly to face the land.

There it was, as it should be.

The butterfly looked at the octopus and saw her as the keeper

of the secrets of the ocean.

As something he could never misunderstand, and immediately loved her as much,

if not more than one could love the beauty of another living day.

They were together all days.

The butterfly somehow soothed the octopus, ridding the busy,

passionate creature of her anxieties.

He soothed the octopus with the music of his wings through the air.

He drew the octopus closer and nearer with the inspiration of his markings.

The octopus responded lovingly to the butterfly, and with her eight

arms, was able to do unimaginable tricks which astonished and

inspired the butterfly in turn.

The octopus grew more and more adept at breathing the oxygen from above the

water, above the depths that she had known, and the butterfly's touch had

become so light that he was even able to sit on the surface of the water

with the octopus, though they would still have to spend their nights apart.

The butterfly was only small though, and soon became so overwhelmed by

everything that he had to sleep.

One night, he just lay down on the back of a turtle and slept and slept and slept.

The octopus came to the surface the next day, but the butterfly was not there.

For days and days the octopus surfaced, but the butterfly never showed.

The octopus searched with all her three hearts, but she heard nothing back from

the sleeping butterfly, and returned eventually to the depths, deciding

to never look up from them again.

How was that?

Please like and give a comment below to let me know if you enjoyed it or not.

If you did enjoy it and you want to listen to the entire story, I

will leave a link for you below.

Don't forget to grab your audio and pdf and I hope to see you again very soon.

Until then, take care and goodbye.