Shadowing Practice: Alan's Arguments | Alan Partridge - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Alan, we're back home.
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With respect, Councillor, I think our listeners will be more concerned about cuts to public services.
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Well, absolutely, Terry, and that's why we've set out proposals to ensure...
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Terry, let me take it from here, throw me the ball.
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Councillor, you talk a good game.
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I caught it, by the way.
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But I have figures that show that you plan to cut public spending.
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Are you talking about the raw figures or the figures adjusted for inflation?
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Yes.
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Well, the first or the second.
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The first, the first, the first, the first!
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The first!
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The first!
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I'll say.
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Well, in that case, that's wrong, because if you look at the figures, the actual spend has remained the same as last year, see?
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Yeah.
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No, I understand it.
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I'm just...
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Another area where we've seen a great deal of public anger is in council housing.
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Now, what is the I meant the second.
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Sorry, I meant the second one.
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When you gave me the choice before.
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I meant the second choice where the figures are adjusted for inflection.
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Well, Alan, we've made no secret of the fact that we're not going to keep pace with inflation.
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In fact, it's one of the few issues that we have cross -party agreement on, so...
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Right.
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We've made no secret of the fact that we're going to have to make...
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Bus, bus, bus, bus fares!
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I'm sorry?
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Bus fares.
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Have you not put up bus fares?
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As we said in our manifesto, we won't be putting up bus fares in any...
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Have you put up bus fares?
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Not in real terms.
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Have you put up bus fares?
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In line with inflation, we have had to keep...
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Yes or no?
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Have you put up bus furs?
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In our manifesto... Have you... Have you... Have.
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You put...
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Up bus...
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Fares.
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We've only put up buses.
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Have you put up?
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Bus fares?
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Yes, but only in as much...
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Yes, but you, yes, but you, yes, but yes, yes, yes.
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Thank you.
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If you want to see that interview back online
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and see me getting a politician to admit something slightly different from what they said earlier,
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and then saying, "Look, you said something slightly different from what you said earlier." And... So, 1 -0.
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It's 10am.
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It's just after 10am.
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You have been listening to Alan Partridge with special guest Tori Bronwyn, Matthews...
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Tory councillor Bronwyn Matthews.
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Yeah, her and what's your name?
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Terry Cohen.
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Terry Cohen.
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Get well soon to Eddie Shadow.
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Shepard.
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Who I'm sure will get well very soon.
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That's rhetoric, not a prognosis.
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Right now you're listening to Midmorning Matters with Alan Partridge.
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See ya.
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Good morning, good morning, afternoon, who cares, who cares a flying monkey?
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because today we're talking about things you don't see much of anymore.
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Already we have capes, tinned meat, horlicks, sparrows, hula hoops, the crisps, not the toy, hula hoops, the toy, not the crisp,
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swimming pools with deep ends and asbestos.
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We'll be asking should we bring some and or all of them back?
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So do please text, Twitter, spam, fax, page, write and /or email.
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Well.
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You're listening to Alan Partridge excellent and we're back with Cecil Phillips of the North Norfolk Hello.
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Hello.
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Uh, joined in the interest of impartiality on my left by none other than Simon Denson.
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Simon, I believe your girlfriend is a vegetarian.
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Yes.
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Great.
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Well, Simon will be replacing his jester hat with a protester.
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hat, which often frequently are jester's hat.
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Simon, did you oppose fox hunting?
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Why?
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Just think it's cruel to the foxes.
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Just a Phillips.
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You and your mates just go around beating up Wildlife for kicks.
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Foxes can be pretty unpleasant.
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I think we have a very romanticised idea of foxes.
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If you'd ever been in a chicken coop after a fox attack.
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Yes.
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Simon Denson.
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Foxes are thieving bastards.
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If a fox was a human being, it'd be David Starky.
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A real git of a guy.
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They always talk about the inside of a chicken coop, but foxes are animals at the end of the day.
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They're not evil.
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They're just looking for food.
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Philip, you portray these little red dogs.
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No, they're not dogs.
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They're just trying to put a chicken dinner on the side, or for the carbs?
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Chickens are a farmer's livelihood.
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Precisely.
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Simon Denter, he's saying...
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Foxes are screwing the farmers and meanwhile they're being defended by by soap dodging meat dodging job dodging.
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No, I did not say that.
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No. He didn't say that.
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He's saying, "Whoa, you're putting words in my mouth big time.
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Back off !" No, no, I'm saying Fox numbers need to be controlled.
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Answer him.
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I just think there's an arrogance about it all.
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Yeah, so Cecil, he looks at you guys, you're red tunics, you're tight white tights.
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Jodhpers.
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You just look like bloody pillocks.
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Look, I won't deny that our pageantry we take seriously, but you can't just turn up in jeans.
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That's a good point.
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It's not like some teenage pursuit, like, like laser quest.
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You can't just turn up, well hang on a second, hang on a second.
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Laser Quest is not a teenage pursuit.
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I quest with a round tabler who served in Northern Ireland.
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Sometimes he gets flashbacks.
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I have to talk him down over a milkshake.
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It's different.
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If society ever breaks down, you may well regret not having been to Laser Quest, because the people who can't stand you go a lot.
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I'm sure we'll cope.
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Well, I think you'd be overrun by sheer weight of numbers.
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Exactly, if the working classes all rise up as one, then you are done for, mate.
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Yeah, you're a communist.
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We have horses.
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Horses...
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I'm sorry, in an inner -city war zone, we'll be all but useless.
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End up roasting on a spit in the middle of the precinct.
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Yeah, in some sort of post -apocalyptic vision of hell.
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Yeah, where the hunter becomes the hunted.
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You can run, but you can't hide.
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Sure, you.. ditch your red tunic and don a hoodie.
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And you blend in for a while.
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But then some local grabs you and says, all right mate yeah and yes and and you say Yeah, spiffing.
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Oh, wagwan.
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But the game's up.
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By nightfall, you and Leopold are swinging from a lamppost.
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Your bugle stuck up your backside.
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So the last gas is escaping from your body.
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make a bleakly comic noise.
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HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM And I'm afraid that's all we've got time for.
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But encouraging to know that within that, you've at least found some common ground.
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Cecil, you dreamed dinner party guests.
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Yeah, well, you know, the thing is that when it comes to crime, you know, I'll be honest with you, you know, people listen to me just purely on the basis that, you know, I've been there, I've done it, you know?
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You're a scum.
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Well, I just got him with a bad crowd, you know.
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There was a lot of stealing, a lot of violence, you know.
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Yeah, I admit, I was a bit of a bad boy.
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Scum.
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Yes, it's a horrible word.
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I mean I don't use it he does well.
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No that was in the heat of the moment I Someone had peed in my car.
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Well, you know, the point is, you know, I just think that I can use, you know, my experiences just to, you know, educate people, let people know what's going on.
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Yeah, I mean, I'm the same.
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I've had a few scrapes of the law, don't you worry about that.
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I've also had a few dinners with them too.
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A friend of mine's a chief inspector.
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He didn't drive, but then he can.
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So who's that?
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Brian does the pub quiz.
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He's a copper, is he?
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Yeah, DCR Tollesmore.
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Two weeks ago, they found him asleep in his car on the roundabout.
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Do you know him?
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No, no, no, I don't know him, but, you know, I know
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quite a few people like him you know some good cops
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you know some are dodgy yeah he's not dodgy i mean
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he's a very good cop i mean he cuts corners then drink drivers do
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but then drink drivers do yeah well you know it just goes to show
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that you know anyone can full foul the law you know it can happen
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that easy i know it can happen that easily um i mean
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when i was uh back in the day
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when i was a kid at school put some money on a vending machine for a kitkat there was a malfunction
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I got delivered three Kit Kats.
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These were the five -fingered kind Julius.
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Now, you and I know when you've received excess confectionery, you contact the manufacturer or you call a cop.
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I didn't.
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I kept them.
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I wanted those fingers inside me, Julius all five of them.
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Three times.
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Like a chocolate fist?
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Yeah, I knew it was wrong, but I still did it.
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The chocolate fist?
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Yeah, I wanted them inside me.
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And it felt good, even though I knew it was wrong.
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From a chocolate fist?
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That's right.
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News and travel coming up, but time for a quick text on how hot you should have your bath.
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Frank Bannister in Blickling says a bath should be hot enough to gradually poach an egg.
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Time for news.
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Your headlines this lunchtime.
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Talking about bath temps, you want to make sure you don't end up in hot water yourself.
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- What do you mean?
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- The chocolate fist thing.
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Grow up, mate.
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OK.
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Cool.
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I don't see my phone.
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What kind is it?
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Mobile?
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Huh?
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This has gone AWOL.
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Well, that AWOL has gone missing.
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Well, not missing, you know, just, in fact, forget about it.
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These things always turn up, don't they, Simon?
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Yes, like the half a stone you lost last month.
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-We're not on air.
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-You want me to check over here?
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No, no, God, forget it, scrap it, scrim it.
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That's not even a word.
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I mean, phone Schmoen, it's insured.
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People get so hung up on phones.
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Yeah, we're not on air.
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I could really murder a pop right now.
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A what?
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I could really use a pop right about now.
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Do you wanna pop on me, Julius?
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Do you want a fizzy drink, Julius?
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No, no thanks.
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I'm alright.
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Brian, Brian.
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Brian, I'm sorry.
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It was a joke.
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Okay, Brian, stand away from the fruit machine.
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I can't tell what you're saying.
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Cool it.
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Cool it!
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I'm sorry.
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OK.
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All right, are you still all right for the quiz on Monday?
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No, I'll pick you up.
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No, I want to.
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OK, ciao.
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Thank you.
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That guy should not be a serving police officer.
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Do you mind me watching Quiro on UK Gold?
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No, no, no, as long as you pop the earphones on.
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Oh, you have.
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Look at her.
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Dead to the world.
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She's sitting in the exact spot where me and Sonia have it off.
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So are you still, er...
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Doing it twice a day Yeah, you know, diary permitting.
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Hmm?
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Captain, you didn't give yourself a heart attack.
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No, it's actually quite good for you.
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It's cardiovascular exercise.
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If you think about it, it's like press -ups, isn't it?
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I suppose, yeah, cos you are, you know, you are.. sort of working the major muscle groups, right?
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You know? That is a woman.
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LAUGHTER Well, that looks like long, long hair.
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Could be Brian May.
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And that's not his cup of tea.
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That's the other one.
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God rest his soul.
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I've got a book signing to do later.
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I've got to pop up to Corister's and get the PA.
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They haven't lost it.
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The security's terrible.
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Probably even let someone like you in.
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That's ridiculous.
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I know.
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And the person who stole your front door.
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Sonia, talking to the Builders League.
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Yeah?
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Oh, God.
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You try to take normal photograph into snappy snaps, and put a photo on cushion.
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And this cushion is called scatter cushion.
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It's brilliant.
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I call it the "scat -a -love cushion" because it represents My love for Ellen.
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You could sit on his face.
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What do you mean?
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You could sit on Alan's face.
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It's a joke.
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It's a very filthy joke.
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It's an elephant.
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Whoa!
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Whoa!
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That's English for stop a horse.
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He's being very disgusting.
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What did he say?
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Did I say that on your face?
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Have you been spying on us?
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Sonia, I'll handle this.
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Go and sit in the static home.
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LAUGHTER Thank you.
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Sorry about that.
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Throughout the questions I will be remaining impartial at all times.
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I will remain Pontius Partridge so So any questions for the panel, please?
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Oh Yes, the woman with the high hat.
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Yeah, I'd like to ask the panel, in view of the rising crime rates, would they consider the reintroduction of capital punishment?
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Fair point.
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Charlotte Fraser, Labour.
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We see these pictures of old women's faces in the paper
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Surely the best way to deal with hooligans is to hang them by the neck until the spinal column is severed, thus starving the body of oxygen.
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Isn't that the best, most sensible way to deal with them?
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Absolutely not.
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No, hanging really is brutal and barbaric and the hallmark of an uncivilised society.
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What about lethal injection?
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gas chamber, electric chair, you know, with a spoil for choice.
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That's not really the point, Alan.
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I mean all the indications...
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Firing squad?
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The head slap?
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The head slap.
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Please don't do that, Lieutenant Colonel Kojak Slaphead III.
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There's no evidence to show that capital punishment would reduce the crime statistics.
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Well, well, it'd reduce it by one, wouldn't it?
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Adrian Finch capital punishment There's a gibbet, will you pull the lever?
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Well, whether I pull the lever or not is not the question.
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Yes, it is.
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The whole issue of capital punishment of hanging,
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is one which must be addressed on a moral level by the public in general,
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before we can make any absolute moral decision.
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Good point, very good point.
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Very good point.
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You see, Charlotte Faze, it's not simply yes or no. Ronnie Biggs, it's not yes or no, is it?
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Well, yes, it is.
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Good.
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No, I'm disagreeing with you.
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It is a yes or no question.
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No one really cares.
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I mean, look, yes, no, maybe, you know, it's not life or death.
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Well, yes it is.
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Yes, but it's boring.
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Right.
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Okay, well, the phone lines are open.
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We have a call.
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David Silk from Leeds.
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David, Are you there?
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Yes, I am.
333
Are you wearing any silk?
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No, I'm naked.
335
What's the question?
336
Which of the candidates will have the bottle to tighten up the laws on immigration?
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Immigration, it's a political hot potato.
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Charlotte Rampling, catch.
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Fraser.
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Sorry, yes.
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Yes, immigration is one of those questions that comes up time and time again at meetings like this.
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And you know, it's interesting because it always seems to be mostly when other social...
343
Excuse me, he's trying to speak.
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You're such a rude woman.
345
Go on, go ahead.
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Yes, what we must do absolutely is put in place a system of...
347
Head schlepping?
348
No, er, er, a system of er...
349
Page slapping?
350
No, please, I'm trying to answer the question, do you mind?
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- A system of-- - H -letters?
352
- You're put-- You're putting me off, please.
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I know.
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a System of a system of a system of it's less
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system of it's less system of it's less this ignore him ignore him um Charlotte No, it's gone.
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Fraser.
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Do you want to talk about, I don't know, women or something?
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Understanding the Dialogue: A Real-World English Conversation
The video features a lively exchange between Alan and a councillor, showcasing how people navigate tricky conversations—like pressing for clear answers or correcting misunderstandings. This type of back-and-forth is common in daily life, from debates with colleagues to discussions with public officials. It’s a goldmine for learning natural English rhythm and how to stay assertive while communicating.
5 Must-Know Phrases for Daily Communication
- "Throw me the ball": A casual way to ask for a turn to speak or take control of a conversation.
- "Talk a good game": To speak confidently about something, even if actions don’t match the words.
- "In real terms": Used to clarify a statement by focusing on actual effects, not just numbers (e.g., "Bus fares didn’t rise in real terms").
- "Cross-party agreement": A consensus between different political groups, useful for discussing shared opinions in any context.
- "Slightly different from": A polite way to point out a contradiction (e.g., "Your new statement is slightly different from earlier").
Step-by-Step Shadowing Guide for This Video
Shadowing (repeating speech immediately after the speaker) is a great way to improve English pronunciation and fluency. Here’s how to tackle this dialogue:
Step 1: Listen and Identify Pauses
The conversation has quick interruptions and overlapping speech. First, listen to the video and note where speakers pause or cut each other off. This helps you mimic natural speech timing.
Step 2: Focus on Intonation for Emphasis
Alan uses rising tones to press for answers (e.g., "Have you put up bus fares?"). Repeat these lines, emphasizing the high pitch to sound assertive. This is key for IELTS speaking practice, where intonation affects clarity.
Step 3: Repeat Short Bursts
Don’t try to shadow the entire dialogue at once. Pick 5-second clips (like Alan’s "Yes or no? Have you put up bus fares?") and repeat them until you match the speed and tone. This builds shadow speech skills gradually.
Step 4: Practice Interruptions
The video includes many interruptions ("Bus, bus, bus fares!"). Practice cutting in smoothly using phrases like "Let me take it from here" to sound natural in fast-paced conversations. This is perfect for english speaking practice in real-life settings.
By following these steps, you’ll master the art of clear, confident communication—just like Alan does when he gets a straight answer!
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | we've set · has remained · we've seen |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are adjusted · being defended · be controlled |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who can · person who stole |
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.