Shadowing Practice: Britney Spears' First Appearance on The Ellen Show (Full Interview) (Season 1) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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All right.
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We're back with Ruby Spears.
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And I was just saying to you when I was watching that clip, I remember seeing that video and thinking, whoever she is, she's going to be huge.
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I just knew from that video you were.
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There was something very special about you and dynamic.
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And look at you.
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Look at you now.
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Thank you.
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Now, that was fantastic, by the way.
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And the video is amazing.
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I realize watching you, I need a lot more arm movement.
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I'm not moving my arms enough.
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Yeah.
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I do a lot of wiggling, as Rosemary called it, the woman who taught me my big finish.
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But I don't use my arms nearly enough, and I'm not lifted enough.
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Yeah, just use it a little bit more, and I think it'll, you know, it just takes practice.
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But you're doing really good.
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Thanks.
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I see you.
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It looks really cool.
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Thank you very much.
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But now, how often do you, like, you're getting ready to go on tour, right?
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So how often, how much do you dance every day?
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hours, sometimes to like 10 o'clock at night, sometimes to like 6.
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Yeah.
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Really?
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All the time.
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Every day?
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Every day.
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Wow.
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That's amazing.
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So but then you go out dancing too?
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Sometimes.
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Yeah.
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I need to a little bit more.
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Now, how do you maintain your energy?
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Because I'm trying to figure out, I had the whole Grammy weekend, and I'm exhausted.
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I can't, I don't know how you do it.
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I mean, well, you're 22.
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But other than that, how do you do it?
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But do you have downtime that you just chill?
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Yeah, sometimes.
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But I get a little antsy.
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I love dancing.
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I love what I do, so I, you know.
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But I definitely make time for like massages and stuff like that.
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That's what you do to completely unwind?
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Yeah, yeah.
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Massages.
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And movies, too. And movies?
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Mm-hmm.
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What have you seen lately?
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I saw a movie last night.
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It's an old movie with Goldie Hawn.
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It's called There's a Girl in My Soup.
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I like watching old movies, like fun stuff like that.
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When was that, There's a Girl in My Soup?
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That's very old.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Like really old movies and stuff.
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Yeah.
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Well, I could see where you do like a remake of a Goldie Hawn movie like that.
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Maybe you should do that.
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Maybe so.
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All right.
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Now, do you think that when you're working as hard as you are, because I watched that Driven, that VH1 special that they did on you,
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and it's amazing to see what you've done in this amount of time.
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You started when you were eight, right?
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And what you've accomplished.
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And for you to make it at all is, you know, the odds are always against you in this business.
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But for you to make it to where you are now, what's the hardest thing?
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What's the biggest surprise to you that you thought, I wanted fame but I had no idea it was going to be like this?
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Honestly, the whole thing, nobody can tell you what it's like once, you know, I mean, you can't be prepared in any way.
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It's just, you know, there's some wonderful things and there's, you know, some kind of downfalls with everything.
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But I think right now I'm just, you know, at a point where I just want to keep, you know, the energy, creative energy going and keep, you know, pushing myself and challenging myself.
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And, you know, that's like a part of the whole process right now.
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Is it hard sometimes?
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I would think it's hard to have fun because you've got everybody watching every single move you make.
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And no one can understand, you know, if you put it on your own level, like if you're at work and all of a sudden everybody in your office is talking about you,
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you times that times a million of what's going on with you.
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You just, it's got to be just so much pressure to do everything right.
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Well, you do, but there's some times where, you know, you have to just let loose.
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I mean, I try not to pay too much attention to, like, tabloids and stuff like that of what they they say about you and everything.
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And just kind of, I don't know, go home and hang out with your girlfriends and do stuff like that.
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But I see what you're saying.
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Yeah, it can get a little grueling sometimes.
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Yeah.
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Well, you're handling it, I think, pretty well.
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I think it's a lot to be put on a 22-year-old.
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And so I think you're an amazing person.
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That's a lot on your shoulders.
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Well, thank you.
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Thank you for having such a wonderful show for me to watch in the morning.
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Well, oh, I'm glad that you get to watch it.
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So, now what's the, what's the, first of all, I asked you, are you kind of, have you caught your breath from just performing just now?
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Because I asked you in the dressing room if you would teach me, you do 500 to 1,000 sit-ups a day?
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Every single day?
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Not every single day, but I try to, yeah, almost every single day.
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All right, so I want to know what kind of sit-ups you do.
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I want you to teach me those sit-ups, and I want you to show me some workout things, because I need to know.
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All right.
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All right, yeah.
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We're going right here.
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OK.
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All right.
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OK, lay down.
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OK.
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You lay down there.
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All right, I'll lay down here.
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No, no, no, I got to do something.
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OK.
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All right.
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Lay down.
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Yeah.
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Now, I'm going to stand over you like this.
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Oh, you're going to push my legs back, aren't you?
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Yes.
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OK, so give me your legs.
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All right.
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You hold on to mine.
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Yeah, I know.
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I know this one.
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Throw them down.
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Yeah, like that.
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You're good.
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I know.
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I know this one.
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I would have shaved my legs if I thought I was doing this.
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All right.
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What else?
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Okay, let me see.
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How come I'm doing all the work?
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You can, let me see.
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Lay down.
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All right.
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Okay.
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I've got this mic packs back here.
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Okay.
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Watch that coffee table.
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Usually, I'll do with my legs up, and I'll do 50 of these, like this.
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Yeah, just put your hands up.
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Yeah.
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Like that.
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You do 50.
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Then you do 50 of these with your hands like that, yeah.
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All right.
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And then this is the hard one.
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Then you do 50 with your butt up like that.
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Okay.
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With the mic pack, that hurts.
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I'm sure this was a good view for everybody in the audience. And then.
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Yeah.
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And then you just repeat that.
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Yeah.
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The whole thing over again.
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So those are the only stomach things you do?
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Mm-hmm.
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You don't do any of these things?
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Sometimes, yeah, I do these.
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Sometimes.
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And then another thing that really works good, if you turn sideways like this, and do it.
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It works the side part right here.
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Yeah, that's the thing I don't like doing.
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I don't like the side things.
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Yeah.
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All right.
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And then do it the other way.
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Right.
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Two.
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All right.
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And now, how many, like, do you count by ones or tens?
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Ones.
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And then also, this is the way we should have interviewed the whole time.
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Yeah.
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Because you've got to be tired.
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I want to help you out here.
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Uh-huh.
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All right.
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Now, so you would do, like, say if you were, um.
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So you do how many of each of these?
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Like, you do how many of each you do to add up a thousand?
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You wouldn't do a thousand each.
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No, not a thousand each.
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I do like a hundred.
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A hundred, yeah.
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In one time, or you take breaks, like 25?
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I do it all together.
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Uh-huh.
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Mm-hm.
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Spider.
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Oh.
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Kidding.
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I'm just kidding.
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There.
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Man, oh, man.
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That's cool.
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That is cool.
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Wait, hold on.
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How do you do that?
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Oh, I hate when they don't come out again after I do one.
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How come yours did and mine didn't?
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I don't know.
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Maybe I'm not meant to smoke.
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Yeah, you shouldn't.
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No one should.
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This is just a joke.
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No one smokes.
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OK.
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We'll fix it for you.
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We'll fix it.
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All right, we're going to take a break, and then we're going to do push-ups.
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We'll be right back with the industry.
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All right, well, that's good.
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I'm going to do those every single day, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to look just like you.
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So now when do you start your tour?
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March 2nd in San Diego.
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In San Diego.
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Mm-hm.
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And who's on tour with you?
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Who are you going on tour with?
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Cleese is opening up for me.
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Mm-hm.
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Her milkshake is pretty good, I understand.
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Awesome.
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She's amazing.
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So and now you start in San Diego, you said?
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Mm-hm.
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And then you end up, how long?
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You're going to do that for a year?
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For like nine months.
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Wow.
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Yeah.
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So your life is basically rehearsal and studio and promotion and touring, and it just starts all over again.
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Yeah.
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Wow.
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And then you're doing a showtime.
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You're doing a live special in Miami?
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Yeah.
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Is that scary to do a live special?
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No. I mean, you get nervous beforehand, but I'm really excited about the show because I'm getting a bunch of different new collaborations, hopefully, to come in and do it,
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to spice it up a little bit, make it cool.
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So I'm excited.
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Spice it up.
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Spice it up a little bit.
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That's what you need, because you're so bland, you know?
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Yeah, that's good.
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What can you possibly spice up?
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What are you talking about?
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Well, I like spice up the show just to make it more interesting and to, you know.
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It's pretty interesting, I think.
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But hey, listen, I'm just looking at all your bling you got going on there.
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Yeah.
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That's a lot of bling.
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Yeah, yeah.
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This is my favorite right here.
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It's a pink diamond.
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I got this for Christmas.
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That's gorgeous.
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Who gave you that?
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My mom gave it to me.
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That's beautiful.
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Well, thank you.
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And then this is, is that like a dragonfly or something?
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Actually, I don't know what this is.
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I think it is.
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I think it's cool though.
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It's really cool.
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It's just like, I don't know, I could get in a fight with this and really hurt somebody.
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No, I know.
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That looks like a weapon sort of.
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I thought it was actually connected with the other one.
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Isn't that cool?
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And what's What's this one on your engagement finger?
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This is a fake ring.
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It's just for fun.
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Uh-huh.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, it's a lot of fun.
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Hey, listen, I understand that you promised that everybody in your group that when you go on tour, you would do something for them that you have yet to do.
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So I thought I would help you out with it.
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OK.
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And so we got you a little gift to take on tour with you.
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Oh.
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There it is right there. Are you good?
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You want to shoot some wood?
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Yeah.
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Are you good?
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I'm OK.
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Oh, I'm excited.
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I'm really bad at this.
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You try one.
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I really am so bad.
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I'm so excited.
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Thank you.
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You're welcome.
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OK.
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Just aim for my face.
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All righty.
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Oh, I sucked.
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OK, wait.
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Hold on.
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All right, you go.
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No, you go.
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No, well, listen.
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I'm really bad.
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See?
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I'm good.
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Go ahead.
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OK.
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I just am so bad.
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Just.
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Can you do a layup?
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No. Go.
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Go ahead.
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And those two, you're going to do a layup?
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I'm going to try.
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All right.
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All right.
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Again.
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We're going to try it this way.
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Try it again.
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OK.
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Here we go.
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Wait, one more.
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One more.
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And it goes out.
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OK.
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Yeah.
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Don't make it look like you got it on your first time.
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OK, cool.
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I'm really bad.
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I'm telling you, I can't play better.
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Go ahead.
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This is really sad.
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Oh my god.
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Yeah.
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You're done.
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I'm sad.
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I'm gonna get better.
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Dang.
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See, it's good to have these guys.
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Watch out.
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All right.
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All righty.
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Well, you're gonna get better because you'll have this every day.
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Nice!
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Speaking Goals for This Clip
This video is perfect for practicing conversational fluency and natural turn-taking, key milestones for IELTS speaking practice. The casual, interview-style dialogue helps learners master how to respond to compliments, share daily routines, and explain personal habits—skills critical for Part 1 and 2 of the IELTS speaking test. It also trains you to maintain a relaxed tone while speaking at a natural pace, which is essential for shadow speech practice.
Phrase Bank
- "I remember seeing that video and thinking..." – Great for sharing past impressions.
- "There was something very special about you and dynamic" – Useful for giving specific compliments.
- "I need a lot more arm movement" – Natural way to admit a skill gap.
- "It just takes practice" – A common phrase to encourage or reassure.
- "How do you maintain your energy?" – Perfect for asking about habits or routines.
- "I get a little antsy" – Informal way to say you feel restless (great for conversational variety).
- "I definitely make time for..." – Ideal for explaining how you balance activities.
Fix Your Weak Spots
The dialogue’s rhythm—with short, conversational sentences and pauses—helps address hesitation and sentence flow. Notice how the speakers use filler words like "yeah" and "I mean" to keep the conversation smooth, not as mistakes. For pronunciation, focus on reducing "you're" to "you're" (not over-enunciating) and the stress in words like "dynamic" (DYE-nam-ic) and "maintain" (main-TAIN). This is where a shadowing site can help: repeat the lines aloud, mimicking the speed and intonation, to train your mouth and ears to match natural speech patterns. Learning English with videos like this bridges the gap between textbook phrases and real-world communication, making it easier to apply these skills in IELTS speaking practice or everyday conversations.
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 | have you seen · you've done · you've accomplished |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be put · was actually connected |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was just saying · was doing |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should do · should have |
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.