Shadowing Practice: Con Sisters - EP 1 - First Long MSA Series - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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When the music kicked off and everyone started dancing, I escaped to the garden for some fresh air.
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261 sentences
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When the music kicked off and everyone started dancing, I escaped to the garden for some fresh air.
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As I sat down by the fountain and sighed, a soft object hit me squarely in the face.
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Then someone in black jumped down from the tree above me.
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Brought your favorite cheeseburger.
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Meredith, what are you doing here?
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And why would you hit me with a burger?
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Wait, are you dressed up like Catwoman?
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Yeah, it's been my look for weeks now.
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One, it shows off my fantastic figure, which is a service to humanity.
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Two, every vigilante hero needs a costume.
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and I've always found Catwoman classy.
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Three, vigilante hero?
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You basically raw people.
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Uh, yeah, like Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.
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You steal for yourself.
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I am the poor.
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And what's all this you-you nonsense?
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Last time I checked, we were a team.
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But sis, what's taking so long with this mission?
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It's not that simple.
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It's pretty simple.
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You make this rich dude fall for you, get access to his vault, steal the painting, and we run off to Bora Bora.
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Are you having trouble making him fall for you?
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Maybe he hates your eyebrows.
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I don't know, but I feel like punching you in the face every time I see your eyebrows, which is basically every time I see your face.
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Shut up, Em.
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Everything's going fine.
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OK, but hurry up.
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This cat suit is giving me a butt rash, even though I use baby powder under it.
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I want to put it away soon and retire on a beach in a bikini.
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Aren't you looking forward to it?
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Just take the stupid suit off.
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You're a con artist, not a cat burglar.
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And of course I'm looking forward to it.
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You should go before you blow my cover.
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And thanks for the burger.
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It's not a gift.
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Duh, you're gonna pay me back.
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I've noted it in my diary.
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See ya.
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I couldn't help laughing as I saw her clumsily climb the wall, then fall over to the other side.
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But as I turned away, I felt troubled.
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The problem wasn't about making this rich guy I had to rob fall for me.
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He already had.
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The problem was, I'd fallen for him too.
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Let's start from the start, okay?
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Hi, I'm Claire, originally from Connecticut.
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And yes, you might have heard some fun words being used for me.
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Deceitful witch, manipulative liar, and con artist might come up.
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None of which is an exaggeration.
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But people change, okay?
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Before I tell you my crazy story, please like and subscribe.
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My mother was born into what she always called old money, which basically means her family had been rich for a long time and their wealth was passed down generations.
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Unfortunately, it skipped our generation.
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Apparently, my dad was extremely charming and swept mom off her feet when she was just 20.
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She married him against her parents' wishes, and they cut her off from their wealth.
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Then, two years later, Mom gave birth to twins, Dad met another woman, and he abandoned us.
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At least he left us the house in a nice neighborhood.
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But my grandparents refused to help Mom out and said she had to live with her decisions.
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Mom, how are you feeling now?
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Like my organs are shutting down one by one.
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So same as this morning, then.
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Here's some chicken soup.
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There's no chicken in it.
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Well, you asked for chicken soup when there was no chickens in the fridge.
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So I guess we all have to use our imaginations, don't we?
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Oh, the soup at my parents' house always had chunks of chicken and big fat prawns.
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What has life come to now?
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I was raised as a creature of luxury.
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I'm like that fairy-tale princess who couldn't sleep because of a single pea under her mattress.
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So you say.
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But there's a bunch of sharp pebbles under your mattress, and you sleep like a log and snore like a bear.
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What?
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How could you put pebbles?
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I do not snore.
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Leave me to decompose, please.
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Well, you have to return to your waitressing job, so get well soon, Mom.
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Shall not.
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I loved Mom, but she was basically a spoiled, selfish child who just couldn't adapt to her change in fortunes and start acting like a freaking parent.
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My sister Meredith and I were twins, but we looked nothing alike.
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With her soft blonde hair and big baby blues, she looked like the kind of sweet soul who saved kittens from trees, helped old people across the road, and sang to birds.
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She didn't look like she had an ounce of evil in her, which wasn't true, like at all.
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But we'll come back to that later.
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From an early age, it was clear to me and Meredith that we had to be resourceful for money.
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I started doing odd jobs for our rich neighbors in the eighth grade, like breaking their gardens, walking their dogs, and babysitting their kids.
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But Meredith was always finding more creative ways, like taking stupid boys in her class on paid exclusive tours to an alien site she'd discovered in the nearby forest.
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I'd seen her digging up the crater where the spaceship had landed, or selling youth water to high school girls, claiming she'd traveled far to the Fountain of Youth over summer break and had a limited supply.
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They actually thought she was telling the truth because it tasted different.
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Yeah, that's because she was filling up bottles from the neighbor's gross jacuzzi.
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People eventually caught on and stopped buying from her.
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And that's when she started stealing from me.
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But whenever I'd confront her, she'd throw a tantrum and deny it like I'd accused her of killing someone.
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So the next time, I hid money in my diary and made my latest entry, Dear Diary.
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Guess what?
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What?
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When mom took Meredith to the hospital for her sore throat the other day, the doctors made a shocking discovery.
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Meredith has a rare, incurable disease.
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She only has a few more months with us.
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We've decided not to tell her so she isn't scared and lives the rest of her short life in peace.
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Yes, I'm sad, but not that much, because my baby sister is going to a better place and leaving me all her stuff.
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I knew my trick had worked when Meredith came down one morning with swollen eyes.
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When mom asked her what was wrong, she burst into tears about her incurable disease.
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Where would you get an idea like that?
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Yes, Meredith.
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Please tell mom where you got this idea from.
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You wrote it in your...
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Wait, you chubby witch!
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You made me believe I was dying!
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Meredith lunged at me, and we went rolling all over the kitchen floor.
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But she ended up getting grounded for a month for stealing and invading my privacy.
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I soon started missing her at dinner time, though.
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So late one night, I snuck into her room with ice cream to find her playing darts with my face as the target.
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I'm sorry you're stuck here, but you did steal from me.
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I know we don't have a lot right now, but we'll work hard and make money in the future.
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But the future is in the future.
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What do I do now when I need money for mascara and gummy bears?
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Maybe we can think of some business idea.
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Oh, I thought you'd never ask.
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She pulled out a box from under her bed full of t-shirts.
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So you know my friend George, the next-door gardener's nephew?
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Apparently he volunteers at a mental institution every weekend.
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The owners got t-shirts made from all the patients, but they refused to wear them, blah, blah.
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So now the mental place has hundreds of these lying in storage.
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George said he can score them for me, and we could have our own t-shirt range with cute things written on them.
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Look, here's one I made for myself.
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I wanna go to Bora Bora, but I'm Bora Bora.
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Please help me.
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Funny.
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I'm very serious, actually.
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I'm gonna live in Bora Bora one day.
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So, are we selling these t-shirts?
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I'm in.
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I also made one for you.
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That'll be $10, thanks.
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Money can't buy happiness, but poverty can't buy anything.
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Please help me.
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Uh, you should pay me for wearing this.
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Meredith didn't have the best reputation in our neighborhood or school to sell things, so we decided to hit the other end of town and set up a t-shirt stall outside a private school.
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With my salesmanship and Meredith's flirting, we managed to sell quite a few on the first day.
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We started setting up shop at different locations, and one day as we were heading home, Meredith suddenly said she had to pee really badly, so we walked up to the closest house to ask if they'd let us use the bathroom.
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We rang the bell, but no one seemed to be home.
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I was peeking in through the window when suddenly I turned around to see Meredith already crawling halfway through one.
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Are you crazy?
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That's breaking and entering!
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I'll kick in your face so hard that you'll need plastic surgery, which we don't have money for.
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If you don't want to be ugly for the rest of your life, let me pee!
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I let her go and was standing guard at the door when, to my horror, a car suddenly pulled into the driveway and a snooty woman stepped out.
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Hey, you girl, what are you doing lurking around my house?
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Were you thinking of breaking in?
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What?
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No, of course not.
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I, um, I'm a Girl Scout selling cookies.
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Yeah, I study in the, uh, Aston Bridge School for Girls.
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Oh, I see.
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It's a lovely school.
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I know many people whose children go there.
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Sorry for my mistake.
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I'll be happy to buy some cookies from you.
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Put me down for 20 boxes.
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Sure, sure, sure.
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It's, um, $5 a box.
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So that'll be $100.
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I'm putting your name down on my list, and I'll drop them by tomorrow.
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That's perfect, sweetie.
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Here's the money.
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I'll see you soon.
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Just then, I saw Meredith slip out the window, and as soon as the lady went in, we ran like crazy down the block and then collapsed on some grass.
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Look, I took some pastries from her kitchen.
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Perfect for a spontaneous picnic.
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That's stealing.
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Oh, you're one to talk.
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I heard the whole cookie conversation from inside.
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You took that lady's money and you're never gonna give her any cookies.
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I was just trying to distract her before she caught your butt.
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I didn't think she'd be dumb enough to actually give me the money.
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I can return it.
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Look, she didn't do it out of the goodness of her heart.
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She's a rich snob who was being really rude till she thought you were someone rich too.
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You didn't force her to give you money at gunpoint.
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Oh, Claire, this has just given me the best idea.
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You're not serious.
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Yes, I am.
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Dumb people deserve to be tricked.
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And what does $100 mean to someone who has a gold toilet seat?
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I knew it was wrong, but it was also so easy.
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And before I knew it, Meredith and I were wearing private school uniforms and hitting different neighborhoods collecting money for Girl Scout cookies that we had no intention to deliver.
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We made $2,000 in a month.
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But one day, when we went up to a rich old lady's house, she invited us in and even offered us cake as we signed her up.
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How many boxes will that be, ma'am?
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Oh, none, thank you.
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You see, I don't buy imaginary cookies.
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Uh, what?
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I'd heard that there were two conning Girl Scouts in town, and I was ready for you.
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I've called the police, and you two will end up in a detention center.
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Just then, there was a loud bang, and the power went out.
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In the confusion, Meredith kicked the old lady and yelled, Run!
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As we were sprinting down the street, I suddenly noticed a nerdy-looking boy my age running beside us too, grinning and waving at us.
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Hey, hold on.
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Who are you?
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I'm your new neighbor, Freddy.
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I'm the one who saved you from that old crow.
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What?
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I'm so confused right now.
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New neighbor?
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You moved into the house next to ours?
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Why are you here?
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I was bored and saw you girls leaving your house, so I followed you for fun.
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Don't worry.
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I won't tell anyone about your little cookie secret.
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When I heard that old lady threatening you, I went to the main circuit board and pulled out a wire with my tweezer.
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which I always keep handy.
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You could have been electrocuted.
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You're either incredibly smart or exceptionally dumb.
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My mom says the exact same thing, except for the incredibly smart part.
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Listen, you geek, what do you want?
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If you think you're going to get a cut of our profits.
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No, no, my parents are well off.
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They're neurosurgeons.
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I just want to be friends.
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I swear, I don't have any siblings, and I don't know anyone here.
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What if we say no?
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I'll keep following you around until you say yes.
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Okay, fine.
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Congratulations.
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You got yourself two friends.
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Oh, I'm so happy.
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Merry Christmas and a happy new year.
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And from that day on, that goof really did become our best friend, especially mine.
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He was like the sibling I never had.
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I mean, the nice sibling who did my nails and watched the channel I wanted to watch on TV without arguing.
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He was also really generous.
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I didn't want to take advantage of it, but Meredith and Mom had no problem keeping all the gifts he was always getting us.
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We decided to lay low with our conning activities, in case the old lady had actually told the police about us.
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But soon after we joined the 11th grade, a new drama unfolded in our lives.
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A family moved into the huge white house across the street.
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Apparently, the couple who'd bought the place was loaded, and they had five teenage boys.
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Finally, some eligible bachelors on our street.
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Thanks.
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My feelings aren't hurt at all.
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Oh, I'm sorry I left you out, sweetie.
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Maybe you'll find someone, too.
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I mean, they have five boys.
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There's a good chance one of them is gay.
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What?
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Why would you think?
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OK, girls, here's a basket of goodies for you to take over as a welcome present.
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Now go, throw yourselves at those boys.
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Meredith and I rolled our eyes, but we decided there wasn't any harm in checking them out.
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And we were welcomed by the ugliest quadruplets ever.
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They were really sweet and really excited to see us, but with their orange hair, acne, and buck teeth, they were not a pretty sight.
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Man, I feel sorry for those parents.
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Like, you know, Mom got one average-looking kid, but God made it up by giving her me.
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But those parents?
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Ugh, God decided to use copy-paste on that ugly model.
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They must have done something terrible to deserve this.
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You are so rude.
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Oh, shut up.
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I know you're thinking the same.
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I just have the guts to say it out loud.
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But then a day later, I'd just woken up when the bell rang, and I opened the door to find the most gorgeous boy ever standing outside.
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you
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Shadowing English

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will practice your English listening and speaking skills through an entertaining dialogue from the first episode of "Con Sisters." The characters navigate a playful yet intense situation filled with humor, camaraderie, and tension. By engaging with the content, you will enhance your ability to understand conversational English, idiomatic expressions, and character-driven dialogues, giving you the tools to improve your overall fluency. This activity is perfect for those looking to learn English with YouTube by integrating fun and relatable scenarios into their practice.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Jessica: to escape to a different environment, often for a mental break
  • A vigilante: a person who takes matters into their own hands, often associated with crime-fighting
  • Fall for someone: to develop strong romantic feelings for someone
  • Cover: the act of maintaining a disguise or hidden identity, often in a deceptive context
  • Manipulative: a trait of influencing someone in a clever but sometimes unscrupulous way
  • Butt rash: a colloquial term for discomfort or irritation in the buttocks area
  • Pay back: to return what is owed, often in terms of money or favours
  • Clumsily: an awkward way of moving or handling situations, lacking grace

Practice Tips

To effectively utilize the shadowing technique with this video, follow these recommendations:

  • Listen Actively: First, watch the video without pausing to understand the context and emotions of the characters. Notice their tones and how they convey humor, frustration, and affection.
  • Slow it Down: Use playback settings on the video platform to reduce the speed. This will allow you to catch every word and intonation used by the speakers.
  • Repeat & Imitate: Once you're comfortable, start mimicking the characters’ dialogues. Pay close attention to their pauses, emotions, and the rhythm of their speech. This helps integrate new vocabulary into your speaking.
  • Record Yourself: Practicing aloud is vital. Record your attempts and compare them with the original dialogue. This will help you identify areas for improvement in pronunciation and intonation.
  • Engage with the Text: Try shadowing specific phrases, such as those related to emotions or actions, like "I couldn't help laughing" or "the problem was." This will aid in developing expressive speech patterns.

With these methods and by using a shadowing site or YouTube video, you can enhance your English speaking practice and build confidence in conversational skills effectively. Happy learning!

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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