Shadowing Practice: 160k - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
C1
You can't handle the truth!
368 sentences
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You can't handle the truth!
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Son, we live in a world that has walls,
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and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns.
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Who's gonna do it?
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You?
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You, Lieutenant Weinberg?
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I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom.
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You weep for Santiago, and you curse the Marines.
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You have that luxury.
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You have the luxury of not knowing what I know,
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that Santiago's death, while tragic,
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probably saved lives, and my existence,
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while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives.
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You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties.
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You want me on that wall.
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You need me on that wall.
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We use words like honor, code, loyalty.
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We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something.
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You use them as a punchline.
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I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises
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and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide
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And then questions the manner in
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which I provide it I would rather you just said thank you and went on your way
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Otherwise I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post Either way,
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I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to
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I thought about what you said to me the other day About my painting
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No. I stood up half the night thinking about it.
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Something occurred to me.
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I fell into a deep,
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peaceful sleep, and I haven't thought about you since.
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You know what occurred to me?
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No. You're just a kid.
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You don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about.
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Why, thank you.
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It's all right.
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You've never been out of Boston.
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Nope.
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Nope.
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If I asked you about art,
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you'd probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written.
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Michelangelo.
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I know a lot about him.
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Life's work, political aspirations, him and the pope,
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sexual orientation, the whole works, right?
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I bet you can't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel.
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You never actually stood there and looked up with that beautiful ceiling.
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Seemed that.
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If I ask you about women,
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you'd probably give me a syllabus of your personal favorites.
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You may have even been laid a few times.
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But you can't tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy.
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You're a tough kid.
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When I ask you about war,
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you'd probably throw Shakespeare at me, right?
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Once more into the breach, dear friends.
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But you've never been near one.
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You've never held your best friend's head in your lap.
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You've watched him gasp his last breath,
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looking to you for help.
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When I ask you about love,
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you'd probably quote me a sonnet.
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But you've never looked at a woman who'd been totally vulnerable.
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Known someone that could level you with her eyes.
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Feeling like God put an angel on earth just for you.
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Who could rescue you from the depths of hell.
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And you wouldn't know what it's like to be her angel.
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To have that love for her be there forever.
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Through anything.
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Through cancer.
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And you wouldn't know about sleeping sitting up in a hospital room for two months holding her hand
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because the doctors could see in your eyes that the terms visiting hours don't apply to you.
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You don't know about real loss because that only occurs when you love something more than you love yourself.
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I doubt you've ever dared to love anybody that much.
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When I look at you,
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I don't see an intelligent, confident man.
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I see a cocky, scared, shitless kid.
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But you're a genius, Will.
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No one denies that.
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No one could possibly understand the depths of you.
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But you presume to know everything about me because you saw a painting of mine,
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you ripped my fucking life apart.
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You're an orphan, right?
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Do you think I'd know the first thing about how hard your life has been?
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How you feel, who you are,
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because I read all of the twist. Does that encapsulate you?
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Personally, I don't give a shit about all that, because you know what?
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I can't learn anything from you.
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I can't read in some fucking book.
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Unless you want to talk about you, who you are. And I'm fascinated.
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I'm in.
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But you don't want to do that to your sport.
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You're terrified of what you might say.
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Your move, chief.
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You ain't gonna believe this.
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What you used to fit right here,
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I'd hold you up and say to your mother,
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this kid's gonna be the best kid in the world.
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This kid's gonna be somebody better than anybody ever knew.
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And you grew up good and wonderful.
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It was great just watching.
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Every day was like a privilege.
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Then the time come for you to be your own man and take on the world,
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and you did.
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But somewhere along the line, you changed.
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You stopped being you.
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You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you're no good.
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And when things got hard,
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you started looking for something to blame, like a big shadow.
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Let me tell you something you already know.
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The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows.
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It's a very mean and nasty place,
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and I don't care how tough you are,
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it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.
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You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life.
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But it ain't about how hard you hit.
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It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.
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How much you can take and keep moving forward.
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That's how winning is done.
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Now, if you know what you're worth,
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now go out and get what you're worth.
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But you gotta be willing to take the hits
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and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you want to be because of him or her or anybody.
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Cowards do that and that ain't you.
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You're better than that.
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I'm always gonna love you no matter what.
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No matter what happens.
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You're my son, you're my blood.
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You're the best thing in my life.
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But until you start believing in yourself,
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You gotta have a life.
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Don't forget to visit your mother. Were you meditating?
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Well, now, let me see.
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You know, I don't have any idea what that means.
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Well, it means you're ready to rejoin society.
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I know what you think it means, honey.
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To me, it's just a made-up word.
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A politician's word, so that young fellas like yourself can wear a suit and a tie and have a job.
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What do you really want to know?
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Am I sorry for what I did?
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Well, I am.
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There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret.
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Not because I'm in here,
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because you think I should.
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I look back on the way I was then.
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A young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime.
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I want to talk to him.
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I want to try to talk some sense to him.
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Tell him the way things are. But I can't.
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That kid's long gone and this old man is all that's left.
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I gotta live with that.
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Rehabilitate it.
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It's just a bullshit word.
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So you go on and stamp your form,
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Sonny, and stop wasting my time.
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Because to tell you the truth,
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I don't give a shit.
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Why is America...
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Not the greatest country in the world, Professor.
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That's my answer.
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You're saying...
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Yes.
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Let's talk about...
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Fine.
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Sharon, the NEA is a loser.
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Yeah, it accounts for a penny out of our paycheck,
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but he gets to hit you with it any time he wants.
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It doesn't cost money, it costs votes.
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It costs air time and column inches.
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You know why people don't like liberals?
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Because they lose.
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If liberals are so fucking smart,
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how can they lose so goddamn always?
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Hey!
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And with a straight face,
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you're gonna tell students that America is so star-spangled awesome that we're the only ones in the world who have freedom?
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Canada has freedom.
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Japan has freedom.
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The UK, France, Italy, Germany,
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Spain, Australia, Belgium has freedom.
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207 sovereign states in the world,
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like 180 of them have freedom.
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All right.
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And yet you, sorority girl,
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just in case you accidentally wander into a voting booth one day,
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there's some things you should know.
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And one of them is,
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there is absolutely no evidence to support the statement that we're the greatest country in the world.
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We're seventh in literacy, 27th in math,
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22nd in science, 49th in life expectancy,
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178th in infant mortality, third in median household income,
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number four in labor force,
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and number four in exports.
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We lead the world in only three categories.
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of incarcerated citizens per capita,
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number of adults who believe angels are real,
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and defense spending, where we spend more than the next 26 countries combined,
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25 of whom are allies.
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Now, none of this is the fault of a 20-year-old college student,
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but you, nonetheless, are, without a doubt,
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a member of the worst period generation period ever period.
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So when you ask what makes us the greatest country in the world,
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I don't know what the fuck you're talking about.
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Yosemite?
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Sure used to be.
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We stood up for what was right.
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We fought for moral reasons.
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We passed laws, struck down laws for moral reasons.
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We waged wars on poverty, not poor people.
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We sacrificed.
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We cared about our neighbors.
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We put our money where our mouths were,
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and we never beat our chest.
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We built great big things,
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made ungodly technological advances, explored the universe,
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cured diseases, and we cultivated the world's greatest artists and the world's greatest economy.
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We reached for the stars, acted like men.
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We aspired to intelligence.
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We didn't belittle it.
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It didn't make us feel inferior.
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We didn't identify ourselves by who we voted for in the last election,
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and we didn't scare so easy.
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We were able to be all these things and do all these things because we were informed by great men,
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men who were revered.
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First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one.
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What's been wrong with me for 19 years?
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I've been a witness and I tell you I've been complicit.
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I love you, Steve.
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You know how much.
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I love that you don't care how much money a person makes,
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you care what they make.
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But what you make isn't supposed to be the best part of you.
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When you're a father That's what's supposed to be the best part of you and it's caused me two decades of agony,
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Steve, that it is for you.
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the worst.
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It's a little thing.
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It's a very small thing.
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Fix it.
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Fix it now.
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Or you can contact me at my new job.
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Working anywhere I want.
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I'm sorry, Will.
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You know what?
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Actually, this works out better for me.
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You know, it is slim as a summer coming to class wearing next to nothing.
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You know what I'm saying?
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Well, it's all right to be angry.
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Hey, why should I be mad?
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I'm saying, at least he said goodbye this time.
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I just wish I hadn't wasted my money buying this stupid present.
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I'm sorry.
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If there was something that I could do.
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Hey, you know what?
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You ain't got to do nothing, Uncle Phil.
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Ain't like I'm still five years old, you know?
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Ain't like I'm going to be sitting up every night asking my mom,
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when's daddy coming home, you know?
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Who needs him?
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Hey, he wasn't there to teach me how to shoot my first basket,
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but I learned, didn't I?
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Hey, I got pretty damn good attitude, didn't I, Uncle Phil?
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Got through my first date without him, right?
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I learned how to drive.
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I learned how to shave.
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I learned how to fight without him.
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I had 14 great birthdays without him.
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He never even sent me a damn card.
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Down with him!
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I need him then, and I don't need him now.
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Well, well.
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You know what, Uncle Phil?
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I'm going to get through college without him.
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I'm going to get a great job without him.
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I'm going to marry me a beautiful honey.
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And I'm having me a whole bunch of kids.
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I'm going to be a better father than he ever was.
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And I sure as hell don't need him for that,
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because ain't a damn thing he could ever teach me about how to love my kids.
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How come he don't want me, man?
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You know, we're sitting here.
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You and I, like a couple of regular fellas,
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you do what you do,
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I do what I gotta do.
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And now that we've been face to face,
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if I'm there and I gotta put you away, I won't like it.
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But I'll tell you, if it's between you and some poor bastard whose wife you're gonna turn into a widow,
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Brother, you are going down.
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I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor.
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That's not my business.
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I don't want to rule or conquer anyone.
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I should like to help everyone if possible.
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Jew, Gentile, black man, white.
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We all want to help one another.
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Human beings are like that.
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We want to live by each other's happiness,
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not by each other's misery.
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We don't want to hate and despise one another.
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In this world, there's room for everyone,
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and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone.
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The way of life can be free and beautiful,
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but we have lost the way.
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Greed has poisoned men's souls,
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has barricaded the world with hate,
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has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.
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We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in.
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Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want left us in want.
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Our knowledge has made us cynical,
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our cleverness hard and unkind.
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We think too much and feel too little.
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More than machinery, we need humanity.
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More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness.
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Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.
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The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together.
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The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men,
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cries out for universal brotherhood,
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for the unity of us all.
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Even now, my voice is reaching millions throughout the world,
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millions of despairing men, women and children,
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victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people.
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To those who can hear me,
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I say, do not despair.
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The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed,
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the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress.
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The hate of men will pass and dictators die,
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and the power they took from the people will return to the people.
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And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.
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Soldiers, don't give yourselves to brutes,
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men who despise you, enslave you,
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who regiment your lives, tell you what to do,
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what to think, and what to feel,
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who drill you, diet you,
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treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder.
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Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men,
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machine men with machine minds and machine hearts.
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You are not machines.
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You are not cattle.
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You are men.
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You have the love of humanity in your hearts.
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You don't hate, only the unloved hate,
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the unloved and the unnatural.
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Soldiers, don't fight for slavery, fight for liberty.
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In the 17th chapter of St. Luke,
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it is written, the kingdom of God is within man,
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not one man nor a group of men,
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but in all men, in you,
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you the people have the power,
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the power to create machines,
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the power to create happiness.
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You the people have the power to make this life free and beautiful,
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to make this life a wonderful adventure.
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Then in the name of democracy,
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let us use that power.
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Let us all unite.
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Let us fight for a new world,
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a decent world, that will give men a chance to work,
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that will give youth a future and old age a security.
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By the promise of these things,
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brutes have risen to power, but they lie.
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They do not fulfill that promise.
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They never will.
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Dictators free themselves, but they enslave the people.
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Now let us fight to fulfill that promise.
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Let us fight to free the world,
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to do away with national barriers,
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to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance.
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Let us fight for a world of reason,
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a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness.
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Soldiers, in the name of democracy, let us all unite!
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Thank you.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will practice English by analyzing a powerful and dramatic speech from a well-known film. This transcript provides an excellent opportunity to improve your listening and speaking skills, particularly in understanding emotion and emphasis in spoken English. As you follow along, you will learn how to articulate important themes such as responsibility, honor, and loyalty, which are recurring motifs in the text. This exercise is ideal for those who want to learn English with YouTube content that carries depth and complexity.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Responsibility - the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something.
- Guarded - to keep watch over; to protect.
- Luxury - a state of great comfort or elegance.
- Honor - high respect; esteem.
- Indignation - anger or annoyance provoked by what is perceived as unfair treatment.
- Fathom - to understand after much thought.
- Art - creative expression through various forms, including painting and sculpture.
- Experience - knowledge or skill acquired by a period of practical experience.
Practice Tips
For effective shadowing practice with this transcript, follow these steps to enhance your improve English pronunciation:
- Listen and Repeat: Pay attention to the emotional intensity and pacing of the speaker. This video contains fast-paced dialogue, so listen to short segments multiple times before attempting to repeat them.
- Mimic the Tone: The speaker uses a commanding tone that emphasizes passion and authority. Practice mimicking this tone to improve your shadow speak skills and add depth to your own speaking.
- Focus on Intonation: Notice how the speaker’s voice rises and falls. Try to capture this intonation as you practice, as it can make your speech sound more natural.
- Record Yourself: After practicing, record yourself repeating sections of the transcript. Compare your recordings with the original dialogue to identify areas for improvement.
- Practice with a Partner: If possible, practice this dialogue with a friend or fellow learner. Engaging in dialogue will help reinforce the key vocabulary and phrases, as well as enhance your confidence.
By incorporating these techniques, you can effectively engage with the material and maximize your learning from this powerful content. Enjoy exploring the nuances of English while you learn English with YouTube!
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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