Shadowing Practice: BBC 6 Minute English - How Honest Are We?? - English Subtitles - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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This is a download from BBC Learning English.
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To find out more, visit our website.
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Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English,
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where we bring you an interesting topic and six items of vocabulary.
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I'm Neil and joining me is Rob.
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Hello there.
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And today we've got six minutes to talk about honesty and how honest people are,
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particularly when it comes to spending money.
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So Neil, what's an honesty box?
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Well, it's where you pay for something by putting money in a box.
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But it's up to you to put in the right amount.
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A small business might use this method to take money for things like parking your car
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or buying a newspaper because it means you don't need a sales assistant.
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But that means people could take a newspaper or park their car without paying anything.
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An honesty box relies on people being honest.
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The adjective honest means truthful and not trying to cheat people.
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And the noun is honesty,
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the quality of being truthful.
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Have you ever cheated an honesty box, Rob?
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Absolutely not, I never have.
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Honestly?
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Honestly.
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And to cheat, by the way,
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means to trick or deceive someone to get something you want.
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Honesty is the best policy, as they say.
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Which, of course, leads us onto our quiz.
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The 6 Minute English quiz.
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Who said honesty is the best policy?
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Was it a Donald Trump,
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b Benjamin Franklin, or c Richard Nixon?
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Honestly Neil, everyone will know the answer to that.
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Ah, but do you know the answer to that Rob?
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Well, I'll have an honest guess.
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I think it's B.
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Benjamin Franklin.
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Well, you might be right but you might not.
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We'll find out at the end.
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I did like your use of honesty there Rob.
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We can use the adverb honestly at the beginning of a sentence to show that we're feeling irritated.
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For example, when your co-presenter picks a quiz question that's too easy.
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OK, OK.
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Let's move on now and hear from Philip Graves,
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a psychologist and author of the book Consumerology,
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who can tell us about why honesty isn't always the best policy.
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The question is not are most consumers honest,
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the question is are most people honest?
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And the answer to that is no. We have evolved with the capacity to be dishonest.
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It's part of our evolutionary psychological makeup because if we can gain an advantage over the people around us,
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we have a greater chance of surviving.
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Now, what's important in that is that we also benefit from being in a social group,
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and that was important in our evolutionary past.
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So there is a balance to strike between the extent to which we can feather our own nest,
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so to speak, and the risk of being ostracised by the group.
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A consumer is a person who buys things or services,
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for example, food or clothes.
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Or the use of a parking space or a taxi.
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Now, if I park my car and I don't pay for the parking space,
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I'm being dishonest, but I'm also saving money.
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And Philip Graves says being dishonest is part of our psychological make-up.
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What does that mean?
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Our psychological make-up is the way the human mind works,
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the way we think.
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And it makes sense to be dishonest if you gain an advantage through this behaviour.
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So when you take something without paying for it,
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you save money you can spend on something else.
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So why do we place such importance on being honest then,
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if we benefit from being dishonest?
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Because it's selfish behaviour, which other members of our social group won't like.
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If everybody acted selfishly and dishonestly all the time,
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the world would be a very unpleasant place.
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Selfish, meaning only caring about yourself and not about other people.
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That's a good point, Rob.
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Yes, societies work better if people behave cooperatively,
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which means working together towards shared goals.
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So, honesty really is the best policy then,
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at least most of the time.
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And now it's time for the answer to the quiz.
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Who said honesty is the best policy?
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What do you think, Rob?
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OK, well was it Benjamin Franklin?
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And that was.. the right answer!
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Maybe the question was too easy.
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Benjamin Franklin wrote it in a book of proverbs called Poor Richard's Almanac between 1732 and 1758.
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Other famous quotes include, there are no pains without gains,
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and have you something to do tomorrow?
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Do it today!
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OK, well let's follow Franklin's wise words and move right ahead with the vocabulary items we learned today.
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First up was the adjective honest,
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meaning truthful and not trying to cheat people.
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For example, Neil has a very honest face.
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OK, then there's, erm, honesty and honestly,
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the noun and adverb forms.
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For example, erm...
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Honestly, Rob, hurry up and do the second item.
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OK, OK, I'm getting there.
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To cheat means to behave dishonestly to get what you want.
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My granny always used to cheat in card games.
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It was so annoying.
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And I always used to cheat in spelling tests at school.
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How dishonest, Rob.
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OK, number three, consumer, a person who buys goods or services for their own personal use.
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For example, I am a big consumer of chocolate bars.
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That's horrible English, Rob.
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How about we asked UK consumers how much money they spent on food every month?
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OK, I agree.
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That's a better example.
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Anyway, I never consumed chocolate.
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Right, number four.
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Psychological make-up, the way our minds work.
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The way we think.
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For example, he had the psychological make-up of a serial killer.
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Urgh, that's nasty.
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Moving on.
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Selfish.
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Caring only about yourself and not other people.
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You only made yourself a cup of tea?
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That was a selfish thing to do.
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What?
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It was just an example.
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You're not selfish, Neil.
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You're actually the most cooperative person I know.
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You're happy to work with others towards a common goal.
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Ah, not selfish then.
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Never selfish.
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Always cooperative.
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And honest too.
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Great.
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Now, I honestly recommend that listeners visit our Facebook,
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Twitter, Instagram and YouTube pages.
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You can cooperate with other learners in your common goal of improving your English.
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Bye bye.
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Goodbye.

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Why practice speaking with this video?

This episode of BBC 6 Minute English dives into the intriguing topic of honesty, particularly in the context of consumer behavior. By engaging with this content, learners gain valuable insight into a culturally relevant subject while practicing their English speaking skills. The conversational format allows you to learn English with YouTube by shadowing native speakers and modeling your speech on their natural rhythm and intonation.

Moreover, discussing concepts like honesty in financial transactions provides a practical context for everyday conversations. By repeating phrases and sentences from the video, you can enhance your English speaking practice and assimilate new vocabulary about honesty and ethical behavior. This enables you to express your views clearly and confidently, which is particularly beneficial for scenarios such as the IELTS speaking practice.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

The dialogue features several key structures and expressions that are essential for learners to grasp. Here are a few notable ones:

  • Use of Adverbs: The adverb honestly is used to convey sincerity or irritation, as in "Honestly, everyone will know the answer." This usage reflects how adverbs modify the meaning of verbs and the tone of the sentence.
  • Question Forms: The phrase "The question is not are most consumers honest, the question is are most people honest?" demonstrates the construction of comparative questions, which can be useful for framing similar inquiries in discussions.
  • Conditionals: The statement "if we can gain an advantage, we have a greater chance of surviving" features a conditional structure, which is essential for expressing hypothetical situations.

By incorporating these structures into your own speaking, you not only improve your grammar but also gain confidence in your ability to express complex ideas in English.

Common Pronunciation Traps

As you practice shadowing this video, pay attention to the pronunciation of certain tricky words that native speakers use effortlessly:

  • Honesty: Notice how the "h" is pronounced softly, and the second syllable has the stress.
  • Cheat: The 'ch' sound can be difficult for non-native speakers, so practice making it crisp and clear.
  • Consumer: This word often trips up learners due to its syllable stress. The second syllable should be emphasized.

By focusing on improving your English pronunciation through these common traps, you can achieve a more natural-sounding speech pattern. Embracing these practices will undoubtedly aid your journey in speaking English fluently and confidently.

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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