Pratica di Shadowing: 2709 - When Ugly Doesn’t Mean What You Think it Means - Impara a parlare inglese con i video
Scegli una modalità di pratica
Ogni modalità apre una sala di pratica a schermo intero.
329 frasi
Se le frasi sono troppo corte o troppo lunghe, clicca su Edit per modificarle.
1
Lindsay, how are you today?
2
Good, Aubrey.
3
I'm excited to be on the microphone.
4
How about you?
5
How's it going?
6
Excellent.
7
Yes, I'm great.
8
I have a question for you.
9
Okay.
10
Have you ever gotten a bill that was higher than you expected it to be?
11
Oh my gosh.
12
Kind of every time I eat out now.
13
Every time I go to a restaurant.
14
Yeah.
15
Every time I go to a restaurant, my bill is ugly.
16
I mean, what about you?
17
Anything astronomically high?
18
I can think of a specific example when once we're at a restaurant
19
and the server recommended the seafood salad and it wasn't on the menu
20
but like that sounds amazing and he brought this giant salad
21
that had all of this like lobster and crab and
22
when the bill came just the salad was 250 dollars
23
and we were like oh my god oh
24
we should have asked okay how much it was okay i i was about to chime in
25
and say i had something similar happen
26
but what happened to me was we were kind of upsold into a plate instead of spending like $12.
27
It was a $35 meal.
28
But now that you've said $250, I can't say anything.
29
It was shocking.
30
It was shocking.
31
That's insane.
32
Even that, 12 to 35 sounds a lot.
33
Wow.
34
$250.
35
It was a lot.
36
Which this was years ago.
37
So inflation, that doesn't sound so much today.
38
Oh, it'd be a thousand dollar plan.
39
Right.
40
Exactly.
41
It was so much.
42
And we just, cause it was, it was, we were with, it was my husband and I,
43
we were trying to find a place to do our wedding luncheon.
44
So it was a nicer place than we would usually go to.
45
We were with his parents and my parents.
46
And so we, they like split the bill and was fine.
47
But both of us were just like, whoops.
48
Oopsies.
49
Didn't mean to do that.
50
Sorry.
51
I mean, they should have told you.
52
They really should have.
53
That felt really sneaky for us.
54
That's sneaky.
55
This is great.
56
Get a bigger tip.
57
That's kind of the definition of sneaky in a way, isn't it?
58
Yeah, it felt that way.
59
But I loved that you called, you know, your bill ugly.
60
This came up recent.
61
This was inspired by a recent episode when we were talking about my AC bill.
62
And in the summer, my electric bill is always really ugly.
63
But it's interesting how we use this word ugly as slang to mean terrible, disappointing, upsetting, right?
64
Because of course, that's not how we usually use the word ugly.
65
Yeah.
66
So today we're going to show you four fun slang ways to describe something
67
that is kind of disappointing or difficult or terrible or something that you dread, a bad situation.
68
because that's also fun to connect about when things go terribly wrong.
69
Yeah, for sure. For sure.
70
So guys, go ahead and hit that follow button right now, wherever you're listening.
71
If you are on YouTube, which you might be because this video is there.
72
If you want to watch our videos and learn that way, you have that option too.
73
So you can hit subscribe right there on the All Ears English YouTube channel.
74
Definitely do that.
75
But if you're in podcasting, go ahead and hit follow on the podcast.
76
Awesome.
77
So we are going to share four slang phrases that we use.
78
And we're going to share both the literal meaning, how we usually use it, and then how we use it as slang to mean,
79
like you said, you know, terrible, disappointing.
80
Yes.
81
Love this.
82
Okay.
83
So for the word ugly, starting off here, I mean, the familiar meaning that we all know is just unappealing, unattractive.
84
Maybe you think a hat looks ugly on you, for example, you might say that, or I don't know.
85
It's kind of a basic word.
86
I feel like maybe kids might use this word a lot.
87
Yeah, probably.
88
Or I might say something like, you know, some people might think this painting is ugly, but I love it.
89
So often we'll use this word to talk about like style, taste, you know, that someone else, you know, you might find furniture and be like,
90
the average person might think this is ugly, but I think it's cool.
91
That's what, like I said on a previous episode, we're looking around at houses in Denver.
92
And that's a thing that happens for sure.
93
When you walk into, when you're home shopping, there's a lot of ugly stuff that you see
94
because people renovate their own homes and they go by based on their own taste.
95
Or the first condo we moved into had all of this wallpaper and it was all so ugly.
96
One of them had like giant red chili peppers all over on the walls.
97
Like they just were all terrible.
98
How did someone choose this?
99
Oh, that's so funny.
100
But then what if we want to use, go out of the literal meaning and be more of a C2 level speaker where we're using
101
kind of different meanings for something, what does it mean?
102
Yeah.
103
So we use this to mean unpleasant, difficult, disappointing.
104
So for example, my credit card bill maybe is going to be ugly after this vacation, right?
105
So it's just an interesting way of like saying, I'm not looking forward to it.
106
It's going to be ugly.
107
Ugly or their argument ended up getting ugly.
108
This is so ugly is used frequently when it comes to an altercation, some kind of a, um,
109
when people are kind of going up against each other in some way, right?
110
This is going to get ugly or a game, right?
111
Someone got wiped out, just defeated.
112
There was like no contest.
113
That's a good example, right?
114
It'd be like, Ooh, it was ugly.
115
It was ugly.
116
Yeah.
117
Yeah.
118
And so it's interesting.
119
It's kind of whatever it, whatever you're talking about, we can use it in a lot of different contexts.
120
We're just wanting to share that something was unpleasant.
121
It did not go well for someone.
122
Exactly.
123
And then painful.
124
Now, what does it mean literally?
125
Yeah.
126
So of course, this familiar meaning is causing pain.
127
You might say it was extremely painful when I injured my shoulder, but very similar to ugly.
128
We also use painful as slang to mean something's unpleasant or difficult.
129
Like that medical bill is going to be painful.
130
Right.
131
Or watching my old audition tape was so painful.
132
I had this experience.
133
I was in this like talent competition in high school when I was like 17.
134
And then some friends found the tape and played it.
135
I was playing like
136
Phantom of the Opera dressed as the Phantom of the Opera with the white mask.
137
It was so embarrassing.
138
It was painful to watch. So embarrassing.
139
We're looking at photos.
140
I remember when I had, I played clarinet, which I hated the clarinet, but I played it in school and I went to a concert
141
when I was in fourth grade and my mom dressed me in this awful,
142
awful um like tie thing like a female tie thing that like you wear with a sweater you know you know
143
exactly what you mean
144
you're looking at these old photos of you're like i i
145
have one where i was wearing like a bolo tie
146
and one with like a brooch at my neck what was i doing
147
so painful and it's so painful to look at photos
148
or even honestly looking back on any of your
149
if you have a body of work right for example
150
this podcast like maybe it would be painful to go back and listen to episode one of Voller's English, right?
151
Audio quality.
152
We found our voice.
153
Audio quality, awkwardness.
154
I know when we started recording, we were recording live
155
and there was like a humming refrigerator in the background of every episode for the first like 20 episodes.
156
I'm curious if you listeners have thought this.
157
If you go back into the archives and listen, you're like, wow, this is painful compared to the current episodes.
158
It was pretty ugly, pretty painful.
159
So, all right, let's move on to the next one, Aubrey.
160
Brutal.
161
Yes.
162
Of course, the familiar meaning is violent or cruel.
163
You might say the scenes in the film depicted brutal military tactics.
164
But we also use this as slang just to mean unpleasant or difficult that something was brutal.
165
Yes, exactly.
166
And then in this more slang meaning that hike was brutal.
167
I say this every time I go for a hike, right?
168
I didn't realize how steep it would be.
169
Yeah.
170
Or we say this a lot in Arizona.
171
We'll say, oh, the heat today is brutal or the heat was brutal yesterday.
172
So it's interesting because some of these are definitely collocated more often with specific things.
173
Like you could say, oh, this heat is painful or ugly, but we don't really, we're much more likely to say that it's brutal.
174
So as you're listening to English, pay attention to which, when do you hear this used as slang?
175
What types of things is it being collocated?
176
Exactly.
177
Exactly.
178
I think the brutal is about often collocated with physical experiences, right?
179
The heat is a great experience, the physical hike, but you're right.
180
It's not always just choose a random thing to use one of these adjectives for.
181
It is collocated with certain types of topics.
182
That's interesting.
183
It is interesting.
184
Yeah.
185
Hey, quick question.
186
Do you want to feel more confident when you speak English?
187
If so, we made a free guide for you.
188
It'll help you avoid those common mistakes and start speaking more naturally in real conversations.
189
Go grab it in the description below.
190
And if this is helpful for you, make sure that you like and subscribe.
191
We're here five times a week to help you connect in English.
192
All right.
193
We're back from break.
194
And the last one is no joke.
195
Yes.
196
Yes.
197
Okay.
198
And this is interesting we do use this more literally to mean I'm not exaggerating.
199
You might say like, I waited in line for three hours, no joke.
200
And what I mean is just like, I'm not exaggerating.
201
I actually waited for three hours.
202
Yeah.
203
This episode, this could be its own episode, just the phrase, no joke, honestly.
204
Um, but in the slang sense, let's flip over to the slang sense, unpleasant or difficult, or also kind of to be taken seriously,
205
I think is another, um, yeah that's interesting so we use it um synonymously with these right painful ugly brutal
206
and to say something's no joke
207
but we this one's a little more flexible we'll also use it with other things as well
208
so a couple examples you know as soon as i saw the prices on the menu
209
i knew the bill was going to be no joke
210
and this you could say was going to be ugly painful brutal it was going to be no joke
211
and that's that meaning of just like it was not going to be good yeah
212
so i I feel like these days when I go out for dinner, it's all like exciting and fun in the beginning.
213
And then as you get closer to when the bill's coming, I feel like the mood kind of gets like, was this worth it?
214
It's funny.
215
Or airports, right?
216
Getting through airport security was no joke.
217
I couldn't believe how long the line was.
218
Um, and then I have another example.
219
I have a friend, so I live in Colorado, but I had a friend who I used to hike with in Boston
220
and she came out to Colorado when we were both still living there to hike,
221
um, Mount Evans or one of the big hikes, big famous hikes.
222
And the difference between a New Hampshire hike and a Colorado hike is substantial, right?
223
14 ,000 feet versus 4 ,000.
224
So she would always say, you know, that hike is no joke, right?
225
Let's, you know, prepare for it, trained for it.
226
Yeah.
227
And like, like you said, it's more like, yes, difficult, but likes to be taken seriously.
228
To be taken seriously.
229
Interesting.
230
So yeah, that is a little more flexible.
231
Let's do a role play here and use a few of these.
232
I am asking my friend Lindsay here about a recent vacation.
233
I'll start us out.
234
Okay.
235
Okay.
236
How was your trip to the mountains?
237
Honestly, it was kind of brutal.
238
It was so much hotter than we expected.
239
Oh no. That's always painful when you want to spend time outdoors and the weather doesn't cooperate.
240
Yeah, we tried to go hiking, but the heat was no joke.
241
We had to turn back after less than a mile.
242
What a bummer.
243
Well, at least you missed the rain here.
244
It was ugly.
245
Rained all weekend.
246
Oh my gosh.
247
Yeah.
248
Okay.
249
So these are good.
250
And we mentioned hiking again.
251
That's so funny.
252
These plans are very synced up with who we are here.
253
I try to be creative with the role plays, but sometimes I'm like, this is just something I would say.
254
This is a conversation I would have.
255
Oh, for sure.
256
All right.
257
So the first thing that you said was, how was your trip to the mountains?
258
I said, honestly, it was kind of brutal, right?
259
It was much hotter than expected, than we expected.
260
Yeah.
261
And this is interesting too.
262
If it would be strange if you just said, honestly, it was kind of brutal, full stop.
263
Because this, when we use these words, we're sort of intentionally building drama for whatever we're going to share was difficult or tough.
264
So we're going to say this like, oh, it was brutal.
265
And we're going to immediately share why right
266
you wouldn't want to just like wait for them to be like really oh what was
267
so terrible yeah i mean in this case
268
it could have been anything else it could have been i could have said oh
269
you know we were in a small cabin
270
we had no child care my in -laws were there like you could be any lost our keys right right
271
so you gotta give us any situation
272
yeah for sure and then what did you say aubrey after
273
that i said oh that's always painful when you want to spend time outside and the weather doesn't cooperate.
274
So this is a fun way to use that too.
275
Here I could have said, now it's interesting.
276
We probably wouldn't say that's always ugly when you want to spend time outdoors.
277
This is if we're talking about an experience that was frustrating, we would use brutal and painful and be like,
278
oh, that's always brutal when, or that's painful when.
279
Yeah.
280
Or an experience is frustrating is the word.
281
I think something is like dangled in front of you, but you can't do it right in a way.
282
Yeah.
283
So that's an interesting note here that we wouldn't really use ugly for something that's frustrating, but we would use brutal and painful.
284
Right.
285
And then I said, yeah, we tried to go hiking, but the heat was no joke.
286
And again, that's to be taken seriously.
287
Right.
288
Yeah.
289
And we definitely could also say the heat was brutal, painful, but no joke works perfectly.
290
And then you said, what a bummer.
291
Well, at least you missed the rain here.
292
It was ugly, rained all weekend yeah
293
so this is more ugly is used more for like disappointing right yes
294
so um because you likely had plans to do fun things outside on the weekends
295
and be like oh it was
296
so ugly it rained all weekend disappointing yes it makes me think this weekend
297
that my friend is coming out to meet our son from new hampshire fun
298
and it never ever rains in colorado like we've been having the hottest
299
we've been like you've been having a crazy hot summer in the hundreds every day
300
and then it's supposed to rain like all weekend just just the weekend
301
that she's coming out that sounds like murphy's law right the percentage of likelihood
302
that it'll rain is directly proportionate to how much your friends
303
visiting like to spend time outside hiking in the sun she is an outdoorsy hiker person yes
304
if she's a person that loves rain then it wouldn't be raining
305
no of course it would be sunny yeah that's life for you you gotta just roll with it aubrey right
306
What can we do?
307
What can we do?
308
So guys, go over to 2671, Splash Into Summer Part 4.
309
That is our summer series.
310
How's your summer going?
311
Yes, that was such a fun series.
312
If you missed any of those episodes, scroll up, check them out.
313
These are so great for having conversations about what someone's doing over the summer or what they did.
314
Yes.
315
And for a takeaway, I mean, this is the hallmark of a high B2C1 level speaker when we're able to take terms,
316
not just use them literally.
317
We know the literal definitions most of you do of all of these words
318
but how can we use
319
that in a more figurative way right exactly how are they
320
being used as slang how are they being used idiomatically this is the more fun meaning
321
so practice using these yeah this is where we get into great connection
322
because we're describing the moments of our life whether they're good
323
or bad in a more interesting way right exactly don't be
324
afraid to connect about things going badly as well not everything's going to be sunshine
325
and roses and that's a great way to bond is
326
when things go poorly oh yes for sure
327
and then bring your stories right there you go all right good stuff
328
i'll bring you have a good weekend a good week
329
and i'll talk to you soon you too see you next time bye all right bye
Scarica l'app
Tutto ciò che serve per parlare fluentemente
Pronuncia con IAVoto per ogni frase
Pratica IPAPadroneggia ogni suono
VocabolarioCostruisci il tuo lessico
Gioco di vocabolarioImpara giocando
Stesso Canale
B11
2708 - Honestly, You’ll Be Happy About These Pronunciation Tips
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
2710 - Should You Tell Someone They're Aging Like a Fine Wine?
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
AEE - Can You Use “Yet” With Past Simple Tense?
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
2389 - Everyday English You Should Use Every Day
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B23
2684 - Intimidated by Classic Literature? 3 Tips to Overcome It With Rebecca Schinsky
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B26
2177 - Are You Behind the Times? English Idioms Inspired by Dinosaurs
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
Don't disclose this!
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B28
Great scott! This connection is strong!
American AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
2700 - What Would You Do for a Million Dollars?
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B11
Vocabulary to show frustration!
American AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B214
Don’t Bite My Head Off! Anger Idioms in English
American AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
AEE - What is Lookism and What Can We Do About It?
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
AEE - Can Movies Make You More Excited to Read?
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B29
2 Idioms You May Be Saying Incorrectly
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B26
2579 - Don't Undermine Your English Listen Today!
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B24
Go off! You're doing great!
American AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B15
2683 - Let’s Clean Out the Pantry! Ways To Describe Old, Rotting Food
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B12671 - Splash Into Summer Part 4: How’s Your Summer Going?
American AccentTeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B22
AEE - Do Aliens Exist? How to Connect Over Extraterrestrial Life
American AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
2649 - 3 Tips to Start Thinking in English
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
FOR YOU
Video consigliato
B11
27 frasi
Splitting the Bill: Who Had the Lobster?
American AccentDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
12 frasi
Saying 'Ugly' Nicely - Turn Negatives Into Positives!
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
128 frasi
Why Earning More Still Doesn't Feel Like Enough
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B271 frasi
EAVESDROPPING (the show) | Ep. 135 | This might be the hottest top you own
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B2200 frasi
What should you never say out loud l That was not necessary to say
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
95 frasi
The Moment I Realized I Was Wrong | The Moth StorySLAM Winner
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B21
137 frasi
International Jokes: 001 - 015
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
179 frasi
English With Series Ted Lasso | Idioms, Expressions, Vocab
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B2449 frasi
Talking about the Cost of Living in the UK | Real British English Conversation
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B284 frasi
Learning
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
Vocabolario e note di pronuncia per questa lezione
Questa lezione di conversazione si basa sul video “2709 - When Ugly Doesn’t Mean What You Think it Means”. Le parole che ritornano più spesso: ugly, painful, brutal, interesting. Questo video contiene 34 frasi e 3038 parole da ripetere con lo shadowing. Il parlato dura 15:13. Chi parla va veloce, circa 200 parole al minuto: aspettati suoni legati e ridotti. Il 84% delle parole rientra nelle 3.000 più comuni dell’inglese; conviene studiare le altre prima di iniziare. 45 delle sue 34 frasi sono domande: un buon esercizio per l’intonazione interrogativa e le risposte brevi.
Vocaboli chiave di questo video
15 parole del video che vale la pena imparare, con pronuncia e significato:
| Parola | Pronuncia | Significato |
|---|---|---|
| ugly aggettivo | /ˈʌɡli/ | brutto, laido |
| painful aggettivo | /ˈpeɪn.fl̩/ | doloroso |
| brutal aggettivo | /ˈbɹuːtəl/ | brutale |
| hike sostantivo | /haɪk/ | camminata, passeggiata |
| disappoint verbo | /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪnt/ | deludere, dispiacere |
| unpleasant aggettivo | /ʌnˈplɛzn̩t/ | spiacevole, sgradevole |
| connect verbo | /kəˈnɛkt/ | connettere, connettersi |
| podcast sostantivo | /ˈpɑdˌkæst/ | podcast, audioprogramma |
| salad sostantivo | /ˈsæl.əd/ | insalata |
| literal aggettivo | /ˈlɪt(ə)ɹəl/ | letterale, alla lettera |
| awful aggettivo | /ˈɔːfʊl/ | pessimo, terribile |
| server sostantivo | /ˈsɝvɚ/ | server |
| shock sostantivo | /ʃɔk/ | trauma, trauma emotivo |
| vacation sostantivo | /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ | vacanza |
| phrase sostantivo | /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/ | espressione, polirematica |
I phrasal verb che sentirai
| Parola | Pronuncia | Significato |
|---|---|---|
| go ahead verbo | /ˌɡoʊ əˈhɛd/ | procedere, andare avanti |
| come up verbo | venire fuori, emergere | |
| end up verbo | andare a finire, finire | |
| get through verbo | /ɡɛt ˈθɹu/ | superare, farcela |
| go back verbo | tornare | |
| look forward to verbo | non vedere l'ora | |
| wipe out verbo | obliterare, spazzare via |
Frasi da ripetere
Frasi brevi e complete del video che puoi riutilizzare nella conversazione di tutti i giorni:
- I mean, what about you?
- You might say that or I don't know.
- We're just wanting to share that something was unpleasant.
- What was I doing?
- How was your trip to the mountains?
La grammatica di questo video
Le strutture che chi parla usa di più, con le parole esatte del video:
| Struttura | Nel video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — un’azione iniziata prima e ancora in corso | we've been having · you've been having |
| Forma passiva be + participio passato — conta ciò che accade, non chi lo fa | was inspired · are definitely collocated · being collocated |
| Present perfect have/has + participio passato — un’azione passata che conta ancora adesso | Have you ever gotten · you've said · have thought |
Pronuncia a cui fare attenzione
Chi parla usa 59 contrazioni e forme ridotte, come we're, you're, I'm. Pronunciale nella forma breve, così come le senti.
- I suoni “sh” e “zh”: shock /ʃɔk/, vacation /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/, gosh /ɡɑːʃ/, substantial /səbˈstænʃəl/, sunshine /ˈsʌnʃaɪn/
- Parole lunghe — attenzione all’accento: cooperate /kəʊˈɒp.ə.ɹeɪt/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, intentionally /ɪnˈtɛn(t)ʃənəli/, refrigerator /ɹɪˈfɹɪd͡ʒ.əˌɹeɪ.tɚ/, exaggerate /ɛɡˈzæd͡ʒ.ə.ɹeɪt/
I suoni difficili per chi parla italiano:
- /h/ — va soffiata, non è muta: hike /haɪk/, helpful /ˈhɛlp.fl̩/, wherever /(h)wɛɹˈɛvɚ/, likelihood /ˈlaɪklihʊd/, hum /ˈhʌm/
- Consonante finale — senza aggiungere una vocale dopo: hike /haɪk/, disappoint /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪnt/, unpleasant /ʌnˈplɛzn̩t/, connect /kəˈnɛkt/, podcast /ˈpɑdˌkæst/
- /æ/ — più aperta della “e”: podcast /ˈpɑdˌkæst/, salad /ˈsæl.əd/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/, badly /ˈbæd.li/, substantial /səbˈstænʃəl/
Come esercitarsi con questo video
- Ascolta tutto il video una volta senza parlare e annota le parole che non conosci.
- Inizia a velocità 0,75×, fai shadowing frase per frase e torna alla velocità normale quando diventa facile.
- Registrati e confronta con l’originale, facendo attenzione a parole come ugly, painful, brutal.
Cos'è la tecnica dello Shadowing?
Shadowing è una tecnica di apprendimento delle lingue supportata da studi scientifici, originariamente sviluppata per la formazione dei traduttori professionisti e resa popolare dal poliglotta Dr. Alexander Arguelles. Il metodo è semplice ma potente: ascolti un audio in inglese di madrelingua e lo ripeti immediatamente ad alta voce — come un'ombra che segue il parlante con un ritardo di solo 1–2 secondi. A differenza dell'ascolto passivo o degli esercizi di grammatica, lo shadowing costringe il tuo cervello e i muscoli della bocca a elaborare e riprodurre simultaneamente i modelli di discorso reale. La ricerca dimostra che migliora significativamente la precisione della pronuncia, l'intonazione, il ritmo, il discorso connesso, la comprensione dell'ascolto e la fluidità del parlato — rendendolo uno dei metodi più efficaci per la preparazione alla prova di speaking dell'IELTS e per la comunicazione reale in inglese.