Shadowing Practice: Best scene one must watch & make sure you read the description | Edward Norton - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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The irony is that most of the stores that were destroyed during the riots were owned by black people.
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The irony is that most of the stores that were destroyed during the riots were owned by black people.
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That's stupid though.
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I mean, why trash your own neighborhood?
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Well, that's my point.
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It's an irrational act.
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It's like an expression of rage by people who feel neglected and turned away by the system.
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Exactly.
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I mean, it's like we had in Watts or the riots in Chicago in 68.
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That's crap.
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I don't buy that for a minute.
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Calling a riot an irrational expression of rage is such a cop-out.
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It's opportunism at its worst.
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It's a bunch of people grabbing any excuse they can find to go and loot a store.
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Nothing more.
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You know, the fact that these people ripped off the stores in their own communities,
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all that reflects is the degree in
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which these people have absolutely no respect for the law at all and certainly no concept of,
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like, community or civic responsibility.
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Wait a minute.
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White people commit crimes against white people, too.
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Yeah, but they're not offing each other in record numbers all over America.
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Look at the statistics, for Christ's sakes.
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It's one in every three black males is in some phase of the correctional system.
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Is that a coincidence?
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Or do these people have,
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you know, like a racial commitment to crime?
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Well, not only that, they're proud of it.
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Well, maybe it says something about prejudice in the judicial system.
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Yeah, if you want to talk about criminal statistics,
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you might want to take a look at the social inequalities that produce them.
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Yeah, yeah, you know what?
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That's exactly what I hate,
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because what you're doing, Davina,
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is taking one thing and calling it something else and just,
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you know, alleviating the responsibility that these people have for their own actions.
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You know, it's like saying,
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it's not a riot, it's rage.
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It's not crime, it's poverty.
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It's just nonsense.
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Bullshit.
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You know, it's exactly what happened in this trial,
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too, because the media twisted things around so people got all focused on,
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you know, these cops and whether or not they were going to get convicted
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and whether Rodney King's civil rights had been violated.
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I mean, everybody lost sight of old Rodney King himself.
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I mean, the guy's a multiple felon by his own admission.
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He's high as a goddamn kite,
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driving 120 miles an hour down the highway.
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He gets pulled over by a bunch of cops, and he attacks them.
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He attacked police officers.
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That's the bottom line.
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And he walked.
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Yeah, and there's some Yahoo there with a video camera who turned it on halfway through
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so that all we see is them hitting him.
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Exactly.
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You know, you got Powell and Coon winding up
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and cracking him with billy gloves and Bersenio kicking him in the back of the skull so it looks severe,
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you know, and people are going,
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oh, this poor guy, this poor guy who attacked four cops
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and those cops end up on the stand defending themselves for using absolutely standard textbook self-defense procedures.
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I don't think that the tape showed that at all.
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You didn't think so, huh?
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And what, you're an authority, Ma?
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Murray, what do you think?
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Well, I did think that the police use their clubs rather excessively.
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Who are you to say what's excessive?
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I think it was totally appropriate.
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I think they're in a better position to make that judgment call than you are.
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In fact, we as society grant cops a certain amount of authority to make those calls
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because we acknowledge that their job is difficult and dangerous.
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You know, unfortunately very few people like respect that, respect that authority.
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Look who's talking about respect here, Mr. Junior KKK.
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What?
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You know what, you know what,
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you wanna go to college, Doreena?
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You should learn to listen.
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Derek!
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Okay, I didn't say I respect any laws.
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Derek!
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I acknowledge a cop's authority.
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I don't respect any laws that let monkeys like Rodney King back on the street.
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Second of all, I am not,
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as you well know, a member of a low rent,
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disorganized bunch of rednecks like the fucking KKK.
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Please.
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So, take your head out of your ass.
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You've gotten off the point.
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I had a point.
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That wasn't even the point.
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Do you have one?
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What is your point, Derek?
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All right, think about this.
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Think about this.
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If Danny had been walking across the street that night,
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and Rodney King had clouted into...
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Can we just drop this Rodney King thing?
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Who would like some dessert?
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We're having a discussion.
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We're having a nice discussion, right?
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If Rodney King had been driving along,
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hopped up on Chivas Regal and PCP and had killed Danny,
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he'd be singing a very different tune about the force of those cops.
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I didn't see him hit anybody in the tapes, and neither did you.
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He didn't happen to kill anybody, thank God.
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Put it down, okay?
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Allie's sleeping.
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If he had though, I mean,
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come on, think about it.
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If that fucking monkey had run some kid over,
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everybody would have a very different opinion of this whole matter.
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You know, they'd be focused on Rodney King and not on these officers,
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but instead he just attacked a few cops.
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And so all of a sudden it's hands across America for this fucking total son of a bitch.
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I mean, it blows my mind.
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We're so hung up on this notion that we have some obligation to help this struggling black man,
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you know, cut him some slack until he can overcome these historical injustices.
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It's crap.
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This stuff you guys are saying just perpetuates it.
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All this liberal nonsense, you know?
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Everyone's turning and looking the other way while our country rots from the inside out.
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Christ, Lincoln freed the slaves.
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What, like 130 years ago?
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How long does it take to get your act together?
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Well, Jews have been persecuted for over 5,000 years.
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Are you saying that it's wrong to feel sensitive about anti-Semitism?

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Context & Background

The excerpt from the video explores deep societal issues through a heated dialogue between characters reflecting on riots and crime statistics. The conversation raises critical points about community responsibility, social inequality, and the psychological impact of systemic neglect. Edward Norton's delivery sheds light on the complexity of racial issues in America, emphasizing personal accountability while also acknowledging the intertwined social structures affecting behavior. This dialogue provides English learners a real-world context on how language can articulate complicated themes, helping them understand and appreciate the intricacies of discussions surrounding race and justice.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • It's like an expression of rage - A phrase used to describe actions born out of strong emotion.
  • That's a cop-out - An idiomatic expression meaning to avoid responsibility or an honest answer.
  • Reflects the degree in which - This phrase indicates how much something shows or demonstrates a particular characteristic.
  • Social inequalities that produce them - A useful way to discuss root causes of issues, often seen in debates on justice and fairness.
  • Alleviating the responsibility - Used to talk about shifting blame or responsibility from one party to another.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

Shadowing is a powerful technique to improve English pronunciation and fluency in spoken language. Follow these steps to effectively use shadowing with this video:

  1. Listen Thoroughly: Watch the video once without attempting to repeat the dialogue. Focus on the tone, the emotions conveyed, and the rhythm of the speech.
  2. Break it Down: Segment the dialogue into manageable parts. For this transcript, focus on phrases that showcase emotion and perspective, such as “It's like an expression of rage” and “That's a cop-out.”
  3. Repeat and Imitate: Play each segment again and repeat the text immediately after hearing it, imitating the speaker’s intonation and emotion. This will enhance your English speaking practice and make you sound more natural.
  4. Record Yourself: Capture your repetitions. This allows you to compare your pronunciation and rhythm to the original. Focus on areas that need improvement.
  5. Reflect on Context: Consider how the phrases used in the transcript might apply in real situations. Think about your own opinions on social issues, which can provide a deeper connection to the language you’re practicing.

Utilizing shadow speak methods on this dialogue can significantly enhance your fluency and comprehension, particularly if you are preparing for assessments like IELTS speaking practice. Engaging with such meaningful content not only builds language skills but also encourages critical thinking about complex social issues.

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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