Shadowing Practice: 10 Very Old Stories that will change your life - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
B2
This mom cuts the head and the tail off a fish before cooking it.
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This mom cuts the head and the tail off a fish before cooking it.
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What a waste.
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Her daughter asks, Why do you do this?
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The mom says, Because my mom did it that way.
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So the daughter calls Grandma and asks the same question.
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Grandma, why?
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Grandma says, Because my mom did it that way.
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So the daughter visits Great Grandma and asks the same question.
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Why do we cut the head and the tail of the fish?
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The great-grandma laughs and says,
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Oh, I only cut it because in 1950,
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my pan was too small.
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That's it.
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It was not a recipe, not a tradition.
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Great-grandma just had a tiny pan,
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and we never questioned it.
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We do this in life,
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in religion, in culture, in government.
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We follow tradition, and we don't know why.
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So maybe it's time to ask why a little bit more often.
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If you throw a frog into boiling water, it jumps out immediately.
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It knows it's in danger and it saves its life.
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What the heck, bro?
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Did you just try to kill me?
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But if you put it in warm water and slowly turn up the heat...
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Oh, spa day.
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and a bit more heat Okay,
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who turned the sauna on? and a bit more heat This is trying to kill me!
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The frog dies Not because it couldn't jump but
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because it didn't notice in time Let this be a lesson in life
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Sometimes danger doesn't hit you all at once It creeps in, slowly but surely.
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A toxic relationship, a bad job, a terrible living condition.
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Slowly then, you're dead.
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So ask yourself, what pot are you sitting in?
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And is it time to jump?
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Never touch a woman.
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This is the promise between two monks.
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But then they see a woman struggling to cross a river.
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Without a word, the old monk lifts her,
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walks through the river, sets her down safely on the other side.
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They walk for hours in silence.
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The old monk is happy,
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but the young monk is angry inside.
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He broke the rule.
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How could he touch a woman?
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And then he explodes.
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Master, we're forbidden to touch women.
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Yet you carried her.
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The old monk smiles and says,
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I left the woman hours ago.
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Why are you still carrying her?
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The heaviest thoughts live in our mind, not our shoulders.
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Listen to the old monk and drop the weight of your angry thoughts.
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A professor puts a rock in an empty jar,
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one by one, and the jar is full.
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He asks, Is the jar full?
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Students shout, Yes!
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Then he adds, Pebbles.
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They fall into the spaces between the rocks.
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How about now?
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Is it full?
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Yes!
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Then he adds sand and somehow it fits too.
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Okay, now it's full.
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And finally, he adds water and even that fits.
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The class is amazed and the professor says,
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This jar represents your life.
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The rocks, he says, are the most important things, family, health, purpose.
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The petals are secondary things,
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your job and your house.
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The sand is everything small, emails, chores, errands.
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And the water, that's noise, social media, gossip, Netflix.
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If you fill your jar with water first,
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there is no room for the rocks.
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But if you start with the big things,
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everything else will find space around them them your life is like this jar make sure the important things go in first
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stop crying a parent hits their kid with an arrow to the heart
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and up more arrows more pain
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so the kid defends himself a helmet don't speak a chest plate don't cry a shield don't feel now
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nothing can hurt him he's strong and safe years pass the kid grows up
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but the armor stays there he can't hug can't cry can't
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have fun can't say i'm not okay i'm fine people say wow you've got it all together
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but inside he's weak and tired the arrows stopped years ago but the armor stayed
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and now it's not protection it's prison
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and he is not alone we all wear emotional armor to look strong
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and survive as kids but we all forget to take it off so maybe the time to do that is now
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Okay, now back to the video.
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This man is from the year 1025 and this girl is from 2025 and I made them talk to each other.
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Hi, I'm Alexa.
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She, her, social media manager and I think I have ADHD.
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I'm Tom Hobb.
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I grow onions and I have no idea what any of that means.
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So how is the future?
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Oh, the future is awesome.
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We have electricity, unlimited food,
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TikTok and Instagram on my phone.
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My goodness, you must be a queen.
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No. I live with my mom, actually.
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Turn off the TV.
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It's already late.
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Oh, okay.
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So, how do you survive winters?
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Vitamin gummies, Netflix, and seasonal depression.
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Seasonal depression?
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What's that?
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I'm not sure, but I think I have it.
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Um, right, anyway.
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Tell me, Alexa, what makes your life good?
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Uh, taking time off work,
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having a good salary, going to a bar, and...
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I don't know.
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Just not feeling like a loser, I guess.
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Okay.
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Enough about me.
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How about you?
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What makes your life good?
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Oh, a good life?
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Warm bread.
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Children who work with me.
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A full stomach.
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A good sleep under the stars, that's a good life.
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Wow, you have so little,
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and yet you have so much.
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And you have so much,
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yet it seems you have very little.
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In Japan, a man broke his favorite ball.
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He was ashamed, didn't want anyone to know,
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so he took it to a repairman.
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Please, fix it so nobody can see it, Brock.
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The repairman smiled and agreed.
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Sure, come back tomorrow.
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But he didn't listen.
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Instead of using clear glue,
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he used shiny golden glue to put the bowl back together.
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He didn't hide the cracks, he highlighted them.
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Next day, the man came back.
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What have you done?
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I wanted to hide broken pieces.
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One day, you will understand.
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The man brought the bowl home embarrassed, but something crazy happened.
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Everyone who saw it loved it.
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Wow, this is the most beautiful bowl we've ever seen.
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This is called Kintsugi, the Japanese way of fixing broken bowls with gold.
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In Japan, they don't hide scars.
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They make them shine.
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Be like the Japanese bowl.
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Don't hide your scars show them because that's what makes you beautiful.
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A rich man sees a poor man fishing by the sea with only two fish in his bucket.
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He looks at him and says,
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Why don't you fish more?
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You can make more money.
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The fisherman said, Because I have enough.
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But the businessman said, You don't.
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If you fish more, you can buy a boat.
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And then?
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Then you can catch more fish,
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hire workers, and buy more boats.
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And then?
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Then you'll build a fishing empire,
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open offices, and sell globally.
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And then?
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Then you'll make millions, retire early,
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and live in a quiet village by the sea.
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The fisherman looked at the businessman and said,
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But that's exactly what I'm doing now.
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We always want more.
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More money, more success.
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But sometimes happiness comes from saying, I have enough.
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A man was stuck on the roof of his house because of a flood.
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So he prayed.
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God, please save me!
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Minutes later, a man in a boat came by.
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Hop in!
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I'll take you to safety!
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But the man said, No thanks.
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God will save me.
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Then a rescue team in a motorboat showed up.
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Get in!
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The water's rising!
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Again he said, No!
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God will save me!
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Then a helicopter threw him a rope,
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but he didn't grab it because he was still waiting for a miracle from God.
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God!
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The man, unfortunately, drowned.
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And when he got to heaven,
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he asked, God, why didn't you save me?
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And God said, I sent you a roadboat, a motorboat, a helicopter.
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What more were you waiting for?
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Sometimes we wait for miracles to happen and ignore the help that's already here.
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If you take a bamboo seed and water it, nothing happens.
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Even if you water it for 1,
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2, 3, 4 years, nothing happens.
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Most people give up.
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Bamboo seed is dead.
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Move on.
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But guess what?
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In the fifth year, boom,
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the bamboo seed shoots up 24 meters in 6 weeks all at once.
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And here is the secret.
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It was always growing.
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But it was growing roots underground that you can't see.
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Life works the same way.
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Your startup, relationship, money, social media followers,
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they don't grow in a straight line.
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Sometimes it feels like nothing happens for years.
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But remember, you are building roots.
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So no matter what, keep watering.
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Your bamboo moment is about to come.
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Why practice speaking with this video?
Engaging with the video titled "10 Very Old Stories that will change your life" is an excellent way to enhance your English speaking practice. The content encourages critical thinking about traditions and the passage of time, guiding viewers to reflect on their own lives. By shadowing the speaker, you get the chance to mirror their intonation and rhythm, which is crucial for building fluency. Each story offers an accessible narrative that enhances comprehension while promoting discussion on broader themes, enabling learners to practice expressing their thoughts clearly.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
Understanding how to effectively communicate involves grasping various grammatical structures and expressions used in the video. Here are some notable examples:
- Question and Answer Structure: The use of direct questions in dialogues showcases how to initiate a conversation and probe for deeper understanding, e.g., "Why do you do this?" This technique is valuable for English speaking practice, as it encourages active participation and expression of curiosity.
- Conditional Statements: Phrases like "If you throw a frog into boiling water..." illustrate the use of conditional clauses, which are essential for discussing hypothetical situations—great for enhancing your conversational skills.
- Imperative Sentences: The expression "Let this be a lesson in life" serves as an excellent model for making suggestions and sharing insights, encouraging learners to express their thoughts more persuasively.
Common Pronunciation Traps
As you shadow the speaker in the video, be mindful of certain tricky words and phrases that could hinder effective communication:
- “Monk” vs. “Month”: These words are often confused. Ensure to pronounce them clearly, as they have distinct meanings but can sound similar in rapid speech.
- “Danger” and “Dangerous”: Pay attention to the stress on the first syllable of both words, as misplacing the emphasis can lead to misunderstandings.
- “Tradition”: This term can be challenging due to its syllabic structure. Practicing the flow of this word will improve your overall pronunciation skills.
By utilizing the shadowing technique with this video, you will not only enhance your understanding of these expressions and pronunciation traps but also improve your English pronunciation overall. Don't forget to practice regularly, and soon, speaking English fluently will feel much closer to reality.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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