Shadowing Practice: A Toothpick Changed My Life Forever - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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The End
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Why don't you go play with the other kids?
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They seem like a fun bunch.
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Why should I?
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I have all the invisible friends I need.
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Meet Sam, Ram, and Cam.
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My parents got so worried about my attitude, they even took me to see a doctor.
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Nope, it's not autism, but he leans towards being quite unfriendly.
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Could end up being a very lonely old man.
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Maybe a little exercise would do him some good?
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Or a dance class?
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Something to make him more sociable?
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My parents became obsessed about trying to engage me and trigger some kind of excitement.
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They would take me with them wherever they were going, but all their efforts were like water on stone.
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Until, one day, when I was six, they were invited to service some go-karts in a karting arena.
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The moment the race started, I felt so jittery I could faint.
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Dad, Mom, I want a ride in one too.
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Want to join the race?
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Be with the other kids?
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Holla, he's never been this excited.
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This is huge!
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Mom and Dad were astonished, and of course, just to keep me talking, they rushed me to the sports manager and begged him to make me part of the race somehow.
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This little girl, it takes months to learn how to drive a cart, years before she can get to race in a competition like this.
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First off, he's a boy.
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Please, you don't understand, our son has never shown interest.
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Let me handle this.
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Mr. Man, get my son in there, or I promise you this arena of yours will mysteriously turn into a place of rebels tomorrow.
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Mysteriously.
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Paula Rodriguez?
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I.. um...
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I can arrange something!
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Note about my mom.
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She was a wrestler before she met my dad.
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Note end.
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Thanks to my mom's former reputation as a female wrestler, I was put in a cart for the first time and everything was like magic.
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I had never felt the burst of energy racing gave me that day, and the experience was enough for me to find my passion.
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Ten years later, I was ready to be a full-time car racer, But Dad took a stab at my heart with what he presented as his support.
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Ta-da!
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Look at this sweet baby.
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That is.. a sweet baby?
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I spent months secretly working on this car, Diego.
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It may look rough, but it will do the job.
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This car wasn't just rough.
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It was straight up ugly.
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I could imagine how much I would be laughed at if I was caught in it.
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I can't.
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I can't use that to race.
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Well, it's what we can afford.
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Take it or leave it.
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Besides, this car might look throwaway worthy, but you will have a blast on the road with it.
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Diego, trust me, this car will serve- No, don't worry, it's cool.
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I will just have to wait until I start earning my own cash, I guess.
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Save up enough to buy a good car.
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Whenever that'll be.
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That night, I laid awake thinking of something
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that could fetch me money in addition to the little I earned helping my parents out.
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I decided to start washing cars for my parents' clients.
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But Dad couldn't take seeing me exert myself so much.
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Diego, so you would pause your dreams to be a racer because you don't have a sleek ride?
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That thing in there, Dad, is hideous.
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No offense.
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I guess this is my last resort.
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Our family heirloom.
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Yeah.
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There is this man in Mexico that is popular for collecting precious antiques such as this.
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Perhaps if I sell this to him, he can help us afford a car that is to your taste.
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It is worth a good number of bucks, you know.
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My heart practically melted at Dad's gesture.
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Thanks, Dad.
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I know how special this heirloom is to you.
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I will make selling it worth it.
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I promise.
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I am trusting you, son.
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I'll be back in a couple of days.
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A couple of days turned to weeks, and Dad didn't come back.
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It was like he had disappeared into thin air.
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The police kept telling us to be patient, that he could be found, but it was hard to just wait and hope that he was okay.
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To make things worse, Mom turned into a shadow of herself.
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It got so bad I began to fear for her.
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One morning, I woke to the smell of burning food.
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I rushed to the kitchen and saw Mom stirring a pot that was turning to charcoal.
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Mom, what are you doing?
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What a silly question.
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Cooking of course.
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Cooking?
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Or trying to turn the kitchen into an incinerator?
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Oh, so sorry.
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Now don't you go worrying about me, boy.
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Of course, I did worry.
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Seeing Mom so out of it scared me.
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I couldn't sit and wait for Dad to come home anymore.
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So after Mom slept, I got ready to go to Mexico and find Dad, or at least know what happened to him.
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We needed some closure somehow.
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And for that, I had no choice but to use our only means of mobility, the battered buggy I had rejected.
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Hey, I know you may hold a grudge against me from last time.
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Today, I ask for your forgiveness and pray that you please cooperate and not break down on the road.
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A few hours after I left the U.S border for Mexico...
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Stop!
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Are you crazy?
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I nearly hit you!
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You're on your way to Mexico, right?
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Hurry up and drive!
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Make hay while the sun shines, yo!
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She really was crazy.
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I'm sorry, what?
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Please, just drive!
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Help a fellow woman out here!
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Fellow woman?
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That's it!
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Please, get out of my car!
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I didn't know what her hurry was, but there was no way I was traveling with a crazy woman to Mexico.
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Oh, sorry.
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That was an easy mistake, yo.
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But believe me, if you don't step on that pedal, you and I are gonna...
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My heart stopped at the sight of a very unfriendly looking guy speeding towards us.
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Please drive!
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They're after me!
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No way!
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They're businesses with you, not me!
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Did you rob them or something?
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Tell me what you did!
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I am not a thief!
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They are the ones that want to rob a helpless Mr. Worryberry-o!
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Did you say Mr. Worryberry?
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That's my dad!
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How do you know him?
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Where did you see him?
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No way!
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Are you Diego?
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Of all the things your family could have as a special family item, a golden toothpick?
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Really?
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You know about our toothpick?
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That sounded wrong.
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Who are you?
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Who are those men?
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What do they have to do with my father?
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I'm Adaku.
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They're gaining on us.
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We need to throw them off somehow.
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I'll explain later, yo.
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As much as I wanted to stop the car and get my answers, I knew I had to survive first.
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Find something to throw at them.
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Not my drink!
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Dang!
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He's down.
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You can slow down now.
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Oh no. What now?
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His colleagues are behind us now, with a car!
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I nearly gave up when I saw that they were pursuing us with a Saline S7, one of the fastest cars I dreamed of driving.
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This clunky box has no chance, but I have no choice.
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It's this or nothing.
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We're not gonna make it!
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Quit screaming and start praying!
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Lord of the skies!
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Please tell me there's enough space for me in heaven, yo!
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Not that kind of prayer, you blockhead!
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We're still gonna get you!
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It's a promise!
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When we had driven for some hours without any sight of our pursuers, I deemed it safe to rust from all the driving and finally talk to the stranger in my car.
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But that idea flew out the window the moment Atticus spoke first.
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Man, that was some awesome driving you did back there.
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It was like a Fast and Furious scene.
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Are you a racer or something?
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I used to be a kart racer.
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Haven't really raced with a car before.
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Well, that's a shame.
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What's stopping you?
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Look at what you did with this old car, yo.
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What was stopping me indeed?
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I realized then that I had put my career on hold for a stupid reason.
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I haven't even given this car a chance to prove its worth.
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And now my dad was missing because I couldn't be content with what we had.
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Let's focus at the matter at hand.
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You said you know my father.
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I ain't so sure he's your father yet, yo.
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What if you're another of Boss's boys?
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Is this the worry-bear you know?
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Yes, I was actually on my way to see you and your mom.
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On your way?
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From the US?
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To see me in Mexico?
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When he told me your name was Diego and your mom Paula, I just assumed you lived in Mexico, yo.
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Wait, my dad is not in Mexico?
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Nope, he's in California.
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My head swam with her words and I rushed out to get some air.
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Hey, what's wrong?
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I thought he went to Mexico.
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You mean I've driven for over 13 hours in the opposite direction?
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Hey, going back to California is still closer than continuing to Mexico.
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And you wouldn't have met me, yo.
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Your dad came to sell this to my boss, Mr. Beephorn.
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What happened to him?
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Your dad came down with the flu the same day he arrived at Beephorn's place.
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Beephorn took the golden toothpick.
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Wouldn't pay.
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Your dad was too weak to get it back, and Beephorn wouldn't let him go.
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I was assigned to monitor him, yo, but we became friends, and he begged me to retrieve the toothpick.
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Correction.
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Family heirloom?
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Yeah, family heirloom in the form of a toothpick.
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My ears seemed to ache from hearing my father's ordeal, but at least there was hope.
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This bee porn?
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You will have to take me to him.
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It's hard to get the police on him.
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He's slippery like a fish, deep in the mafia.
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And if he sees me again, he will- Even if he's the devil, no one is going to keep me from my dad now I know he's alive.
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You took a big risk to help my dad, and I can't be grateful enough, and I won't let anything happen to you.
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Promise.
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Okay, that was way too corny.
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Not my style.
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Well, don't blame me.
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It's not like I ever had interest in a girl before, or anybody other than my parents for that matter.
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Between me and you, I was just winging it.
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But the heavens were on my side because we found our pursuers in a predicament that proved very advantageous for us.
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Look what we have here, stuck in the quicksand.
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I think this is the situation where we say the predator has become the prey.
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Please help us, please!
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Oh, I'm willing to help alright, but it's gonna come with a prize.
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You're going to tell us where to find your boss, give us your phones, and we're gonna need your suits.
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No way in hell!
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I heard that there's a music that makes quicksand swallow people faster.
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Oh, wanna try it out?
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Sure.
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Yaddle-ay, yaddle-ay, yaddle-ay, ee-hoo!
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Told ya!
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Beautiful medley.
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I think I wanna hear it again.
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No!
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No, please!
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You fools!
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How did you let out Aku escape?
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Who knows where she will go screaming to?
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Well, it's not like she has the evidence to prove it.
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No one will search the house for a missing nobody.
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That is reference to whom I guessed should be my dad.
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I couldn't keep up the disguise anymore.
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I'm interested in that missing nobody.
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Imposters!
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Hello, boss.
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You traitor.
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I gave you everything.
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Raised you like my own daughter.
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Why would you bite the finger that fed you?
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I can't watch you do the things you do anymore.
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I can't.
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Mr. Beef Horn, why would you take my family's heirloom from my dad, refuse to pay him, and still hold him hostage for months?
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No comment.
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I knew getting him to cooperate that way would be hard, but I had planned two.
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Paula Rodriguez!
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Ready to start talking?
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Let's go for a ride.
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Beef Horn kept his lips sealed, but by the time we got him to the police station and he saw his boys, he had little choice.
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With his exposure, the police got to search his house and found my dad.
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I couldn't have been happier.
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Dad, a sport.
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Miss me.
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I'm so sorry.
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I was selfish.
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I shouldn't have let you leave to sell your precious toothpick for my sake.
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Precious toothpick?
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That sounds so wrong.
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Family heirloom.
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Family heirloom.
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Sorry.
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Got bad influence.
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Hey, old man.
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You should have just told me your family was right here in Callio.
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You ran off the moment I mentioned their names.
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Ha!
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Figures.
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Thank you, Araku and Diego.
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I don't regret trying to sell it.
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Why would I hold on to something that could help my son achieve his dreams?
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Did you sell it?
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I don't have to.
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Yesterday, I realized that I already have what I need.
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Thanks to that experience, I learned that I didn't even need the fanciest car to be the best racer.
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My skills were what mattered most.
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Formula One was a sure goal for me, and I had the best support team.
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Life couldn't possibly get better.
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What was that for you?
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You don't...
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I thought we...
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Just messing with you.
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Come here.
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I learned that success is not always dependent on having the fanciest or most expensive equipment or resources.
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If small is what you have, start small.
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Focus on your skills rather than overreaching or trying to make a big splash at the onset.
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And hey, drive carefully, yo.
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About This Lesson
You're practicing English with "A Toothpick Changed My Life Forever" using the Shadowing technique — a method originally developed for professional interpreter training.
Focus on sounding like the speaker — not just repeating words. With 15–30 minutes of daily practice, you'll build real-world speaking confidence.
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.