シャドーイング練習: A poor worker suddenly became rich after finding the diary of someone who had died - 動画で英語スピーキングを学ぶ
レッスンを作成中...
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The story opened with Matthew, a perpetually single young man, deeply absorbed in finishing his first novel, titled Someone From Behind.
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He was a struggling orphan, dreaming of becoming a renowned writer.
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His greatest hope was that his novel would be accepted by a publisher, transforming his life and financial situation.
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Day after day, he worked as a daily laborer, assisting with a cargo truck.
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His job involved the endless task of loading and unloading all sorts of goods, from food and clothing to restaurant waste,
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and sometimes even moving college students' belongings.
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One day, while making a delivery to a university campus, Matthew coincidentally spotted a famous novelist giving a seminar to literature students.
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The writer, Alice, appeared young and beautiful.
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Matthew immediately felt an attraction.
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It was a clear case of love at first sight.
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However, as he was enjoying gazing at Alice, his friend abruptly snapped him back to reality, reminding Matthew that they were just common laborers.
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Matthew then shrugged it off and went back to work.
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Days later, Matthew received the long-awaited reply from the publisher.
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Unfortunately, his novel was rejected, crushing his hopes in a matter of seconds.
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Undeterred, he called the publisher to ask which parts of his writing were unappealing.
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He hoped to revise his novel, but the call was immediately disconnected.
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The very next day, Matthew was back at work, assigned to clean an apartment.
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Its elderly tenant had passed away two days prior.
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The apartment owner explained that the old man had rented the place for 35 years, living alone without any family, and no one had ever visited him.
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They were instructed to take some furniture to a charity, while the remaining items should just be thrown away.
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Inside the old man's bedroom, Matthew saw it was filled with books, newspapers, and various other odds and ends.
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This clearly indicated the deceased had been fond of reading and writing.
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Matthew quickly began putting the items into plastic bags.
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He discovered the late old man's name was Leon.
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He also found a photo of a young Leon, who was once a soldier and had fought in Algeria.
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Suddenly, a dusty, leather-bound book tumbled from the top of a cabinet, startling him.
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Curious, he opened it.
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It turned out to be Leon's personal diary from his time as a French soldier in Algeria.
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Matthew immediately recognized the exceptional quality of the writing.
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It vividly recounted Leon's life, from his first kill to his profound anxieties on the battlefields of Africa.
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Back at home, Matthew still struggled to write a new novel.
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He couldn't figure out how to create a story that could truly move readers.
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Then, an idea sparked.
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He would write a novel based on Leon's diary.
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It chronicled Leon's life as a soldier, describing a terrifying atmosphere where the sky turned dark, hands were red with sin,
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and how he wrestled between harsh orders and his own conscience, especially as women and children also became victims in that Algerian conflict.
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After days of rewriting Leon's story, carefully changing the original character names, the novel was finally complete.
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However, Matthew was unsure what title would fit this tale.
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He eventually found inspiration in a powerful phrase, Algerian sands blackened by blood.
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He then titled his new novel, Black Sand.
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The very next day, while working, Matthew received a phone call from the publisher.
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They told him his novel, Black Sand was excellent and invited him to a meeting.
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Matthew was overjoyed that his novel had been accepted.
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However, since the story was not entirely his own idea,
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he meticulously noted down all the important moments from Leon's diary so he could explain the narrative smoothly to the publisher.
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After memorizing everything, he burned the diary, outwardly claiming the story as entirely his original work.
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Unbeknownst to him, a major misfortune was about to haunt him for the rest of his life.
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Matthew finally met the publisher, who was thrilled with his writing.
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He praised Matthew's writing style and the novel's deeply moving story, saying it transported readers right into the battlefield.
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Coincidentally, Matthew saw Alice there, who was also reviewing the novel.
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Matthew, still smitten, approached her.
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Alice seemed unfazed, not recognizing him.
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She commented that Black Sand was an excellent novel, far exceeding her expectations.
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Just then, a bookstore owner called out to Matthew and congratulated him.
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Alice suddenly realized that the man she had been talking to was Matthew, the author of Black Sand.
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This, of course, impressed her.
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Three years later, Matthew had become a renowned author.
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His novel was a huge bestseller, bringing him considerable income.
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Even better, Alice was now his girlfriend.
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She invited him to meet her wealthy parents, Alain and Helen, who lived in a luxurious mansion on the beach.
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There, Alain proudly showed off his collection of rare French royal-era weapons.
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Afterward, Alice took Matthew for a walk along the coast
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and even showed him a shed where she used to play hide-and-seek with her father as a child.
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While spending his dear time with Alice, his publisher suddenly called.
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Matthew had violated his contract.
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It had been three years since Black Sand was released, and Matthew had not submitted a new novel.
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His fans were waiting for more work, and his contract obliged him to produce new material.
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Yet he had not sent a single page.
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In his room, Matthew was utterly frustrated.
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He could not write a good novel because, deep down, he knew he lacked the natural talent.
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To make matters worse, his royalties were now being withheld by the publisher
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because he had not fulfilled his contract to produce a new novel.
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The contract stipulated at least two novels per author for royalties to continue indefinitely.
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Then Stanislaus, or in short, Stan, Alan, and Helen's slightly arrogant godson, came to visit and met Matthew.
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They had a few drinks.
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From his demeanor, it was clear Stan had a crush on Alice and was not happy about Matthew being her boyfriend.
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The next day, Matthew still struggled with what to write.
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He revisited his first rejected novel, Someone From Behind, and gave it to Alice for her review.
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He didn't tell her it was his own work, instead claiming the publisher had sent it to him for review and, feigning busyness, asked Alice to read it to gauge her reaction.
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Shortly after, Stan arrived and chatted with Matthew.
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Stan boasted about his extensive knowledge of Algeria, where his father had served, and expressed his awe that Matthew, despite never having been there,
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could write such a detailed and atmospheric account of the war in black sand.
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However, Stan consistently sought weaknesses to corner Matthew, even remarking that Alice's standards for an ideal man were very high, which made Matthew uncomfortable.
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That evening, Alice told Matthew that the writing he'd given her was terrible.
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She couldn't even finish it because it was so uninteresting, and she was certain no publisher would accept such a novel.
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Matthew silently seethed, disappointed with himself.
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Days passed.
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At breakfast, Matthew received a call from the bank.
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His credit card had exceeded its limit, and they demanded immediate payment.
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Matthew panicked.
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His account was empty because his royalties were withheld due to breaching his contract with the publisher.
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He couldn't write another novel as good as Black Sand, which only added to his stress and self-doubt.
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Desperate, he faked an accident and went to the hospital, claiming he had been attacked by robbers.
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This was a lie to prevent Alice and her family from realizing he was actually stressed and self-harming himself.
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Meanwhile, Stan seemed to sense something suspicious about Matthew.
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Back home, the publisher relentlessly hounded Matthew for the new novel manuscript, but Matthew only offered empty promises.
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He hadn't even written a single paragraph.
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On the other hand, Alain, Alice's father, seemed worried about his future son-in-law.
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He informed Matthew that a letter for him had arrived.
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When Matthew opened it, he found a photograph of Leon, the diary's owner, who Matthew believed was dead.
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Time passed.
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Matthew visited a bookstore with Alice for a fan signing event.
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Suddenly, a man approached, claiming to be a friend of Leon and saying that Matthew had misused a dead man's diary.
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The man, identified as Arno, demanded $500 million as hush money, threatening to expose to the public that Black Sand was not Matthew's original work.
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The next day, Arno called, demanding the money.
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Matthew asked for time, explaining that his account was empty.
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Arno then revealed he knew Alice and her family were hanging out in the yard, implying he had been spying on their house.
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Matthew, cornered, promised to give Arnaud a very expensive pistol from Alain's collection.
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Unbeknownst to Matthew, Stan was standing behind him, overhearing the conversation about the pistol.
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Later that night, it was time for Matthew to steal that collector's pistol.
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He used Alain's golf glove and broke a window to make it look like a burglary.
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The next morning, the police finished investigating the supposed break-in at Alain's house.
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Matthew and Alice suggested installing an alarm system.
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Meanwhile, Stan, suspicious of Matthew's conversation from the day before, bravely ventured to search Matthew's room.
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At the same time, Alice and her father went for a walk on the beach for some fresh air, with Matthew opting not to join them.
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Back in Matthew's room, Stan discovered a wooden book box.
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At the same time, Matthew walked in and found Stan holding the pistol he had hidden.
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Stan immediately attacked Matthew, declaring that he would never have Alice.
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In a desperate struggle, Matthew hit Stan on the head with the pistol.
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Tragically, Stan died from that head wound, leaving Matthew bewildered.
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His intention was never to kill.
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Moments later, Alice's voice echoed from a distance, prompting Matthew to quickly hide Stan's body in the closet, along with his belongings.
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As he cleaned himself, Matthew noticed Stan's scratch marks on his neck, which he then covered with a collared shirt.
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Soon Elaine and Alice arrived, wondering why Stan had left so abruptly without saying goodbye.
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Alice tried to call him, which made Matthew panic.
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He quickly silenced Stan's phone and sent a text message to Alice, claiming Stan had left due to an urgent matter.
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That evening, they all had dinner together when suddenly something dripped from the ceiling onto the dining table.
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Matthew immediately feared it was blood from Stan seeping through, but it turned out to be only his own fear.
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The liquid was actually blood from his nosebleed.
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Alice tried to help him but Matthew refused and left the table, rushing to check the closet.
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To his relief, there was no red liquid leaking or pooling on the floor.
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Shortly after, Alice came to check on Matthew bringing her dog.
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The dog began barking intensely at the closet door, which angered Matthew slightly and he told Alice to leave immediately.
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Later that night, as everyone slept soundly, Matthew retrieved tools from his in-law's shed.
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He wrapped Stan's body in a mat, and with his slender build, he exerted all his strength to push the bundle from the upper floor.
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He then carried it to the beach, planning to sink the body.
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Matthew found heavy metal weights to submerge Stan in the sea, and the gruesome scenario finally began.
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After successfully executing his plan, Matthew rushed back, but strangely, the boat's engine stalled.
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Soon, a Marine police patrol boat appeared on the water.
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Panicked, Matthew immediately dove to the seabed, fearing discovery, and swam desperately toward the shore.
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The morning sun had already arrived.
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Matthew hurried back home before the household woke up, wanting to appear as if he hadn't gone anywhere.
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He quickly got into bed, but Alice was already awake and silently wondered where Matthew had been all night.
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Later that afternoon, Matthew woke up and looked for Alice, thinking she might be at the beach, And sure enough, Alice was engrossed in reading a novel.
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She was startled to see a wrapped bundle floating by the rocks.
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However, it was just Matthew's nightmare.
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He then took a refreshing shower and quickly handed the stolen collector's pistol to Arnaud.
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Arnaud was thrilled, knowing the antique pistol's high value.
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He then revealed he was Leon's son.
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He had never visited his father when Leon was alive, but now that his father's diary had become a best-selling novel, he was claiming kinship and extorting money from Matthew.
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Upon returning home, Matthew was shocked by Alice's changed demeanor.
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She accused him of cheating the previous night, which Matthew vehemently denied.
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Alice also pointed out numerous calls on Matthew's phone, assuming they were from another woman, when in fact they were from Arnaud.
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Matthew desperately tried to explain that she was the only woman he loved.
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He had always dreamed of her since the very first sight, but he was no one back then.
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Then Black Sand changed everything.
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They started to get to know each other, and that was the happiest day of his life.
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Matthew finally confessed that he wasn't a great writer and that the novel wasn't truly his.
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He had only been afraid that if Alice knew the truth, she would leave him.
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But to his relief, Alice still loved Matthew, even knowing he wasn't the brilliant writer she had believed him to be.
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Their love, she said, was true and needed no reason.
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They reconciled and spent the rest of the day together.
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Days later, Matthew found inspiration to write a novel about his own story.
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It began with his past as a nobody, his falling in love with a high society girl, his intense struggles, and everything that had happened in his life,
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including the murder and the lies he had experienced.
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Of course, he changed all the character names so Alice and everyone else wouldn't suspect it was his real story.
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Matthew wanted to prove that he could write a good novel with his own hand, while Alice continued to encourage him never to give up.
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Finally, the novel was complete.
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He titled it False Pretenses and confidently wrote his name as the author.
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However, when he went to find Alice on the beach, he instead saw that the police had discovered Stan's body in the sea.
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Panic surged through him.
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His problem seemed endless.
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The police soon arrived at their house and informed the residents that skin had been found under Stan's fingernails, suggesting Stan had scratched his assailant.
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The police requested that every member of the household including neighbors and anyone known to Stan, undergo a DNA test in Paris on Sunday.
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As if that wasn't enough, Arnaud called Matthew again, demanding more money.
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Matthew grew increasingly frustrated.
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He was in a dilemma.
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If he took the DNA test, he would surely be caught for Stan's murder and sent to prison.
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He began frantically thinking of a way to escape this impossible situation.
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The next day, Alice and her parents left to meet Stan's parents in Paris for the funeral.
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Matthew couldn't join them, feigning a meeting with his publisher.
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He then gave Alice the novel about his life story, asking her to read it, and promised to meet her in Paris for the DNA test on Sunday.
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It was time for his meeting with Arnaud, who continued to extort money from him.
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Matthew planned to harm Arnaud by inserting a coin into the seatbelt buckle slot, hoping to disable it.
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Arnaud, feeling superior, threatened to harm Alice and her family if Matthew didn't give him the money, even planning to take antique items from their home himself.
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Matthew, now utterly disgusted, crashed the car into some rocks.
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Fortunately, Matthew survived, but Arnaud had perished.
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His seatbelt clearly failed.
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Matthew then conceived a desperate plan to escape the DNA test and imprisonment.
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He moved Arnaud's body to the driver's seat and put his watch, wallet, and phone on him, hoping everyone would believe Matthew himself had died.
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The risk, of course, was that he would be presumed dead and could never live with Alice again.
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To ensure the scenario's perfection, he doused the car and the body with gasoline and set them ablaze.
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Matthew then vanished, with the entire world believing he had died in the accident.
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Two days later, Matthew watched the news from a hotel, seeing reports that he, the phenomenal author of Black Sand, had tragically died in a car crash.
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Two years passed.
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Matthew had reverted to his old self, working as a junk hauler.
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He had come to terms with the fact
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that he was not a great writer and that this was perhaps his true fate.
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For him, it was better to be an ordinary person than to be famous in rotten prison.
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Though his wages were meager, his life was finally peaceful, free from the burden of living a lie.
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Soon rain fell, drenching the city streets.
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As he walked past a bookstore on his way home, Matthew was stunned to see his own photograph displayed prominently.
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The novel about his life, false pretenses, which he had given to Alice, had been accepted by a publisher and was now a bestseller across Europe.
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Not only that, but he also saw Alice inside with a baby who was in fact his own son.
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Matthew looked devastated, unable to embrace his adorable child.
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Suddenly Alice glanced toward the door and the story ended.
このレッスンについて
このレッスンでは、「ある貧しい労働者が、亡くなった人の日記を見つけて突然富を得る」という物語を通じて、英語のリスニングとスピーキングのスキルを向上させることを目的としています。具体的には、重要な語彙やフレーズを学び、さらにその発音を改善するための練習方法についても説明します。このビデオを通じて、ストーリーの理解を深めながら、自然な英語のリズムとイントネーションを身につけましょう。
重要な語彙とフレーズ
- author - 著者
- diary - 日記
- struggling - 苦しんでいる、奮闘している
- rejected - 拒絶された
- publisher - 出版社
- life-changing - 人生を変える
- novel - 小説
- inspiration - インスピレーション
練習のヒント
このビデオのスピードとトーンに合わせて、shadow speakを行う際の効果的なアプローチをいくつか紹介します。まずは、動画を何度も繰り返し視聴し、セリフを耳に馴染ませましょう。その後、話し手の声に合わせながら自分の声を重ねてみてください。このプロセスにより、英語の発音を良くすると同時に、流暢さを向上させることができます。
また、物語に感情を込めて読み上げることで、英語の表現力を高めることができます。特に Matthew の感情や葛藤を意識しながら練習することで、より実践的なコミュニケーションスキルを身につけることができるでしょう。さらに、IELTS スピーキング対策としては、日記や小説などの文学作品をテーマにしたディスカッションを行うのも良い練習となります。こうした取り組みによって、YouTubeで英語学習をもっと有意義にすることができるでしょう。
シャドーイングとは？英語上達に効果的な理由
シャドーイング（Shadowing）は、もともとプロの通訳者養成プログラムで開発された言語学習法で、多言語習得者として知られるDr. Alexander Arguelles によって広く普及されました。方法はシンプルですが非常に効果的：ネイティブスピーカーの英語を聞きながら、1〜2秒の遅延で声に出してすぐに繰り返す——まるで「影（shadow）」のように話者を追いかけます。文法ドリルや受動的なリスニングと異なり、シャドーイングは脳と口の筋肉が同時にリアルタイムで英語を処理・再現することを強制します。研究により、発音精度、抑揚、リズム、連音、リスニング力、そして会話の流暢さが大幅に向上することが確認されています。IELTSスピーキング対策や自然な英語コミュニケーションを目指す方に特におすすめです。