Shadowing Practice: Effortless English - Lost Custody - Mini story - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
A2
Okay, it's time for the mini-story for the lost custody lesson.
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Okay, it's time for the mini-story for the lost custody lesson.
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Let's get started right away.
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Here we go.
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Yuriko is unfit to be a student.
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Every day she comes to school late.
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Then she belittles the other students.
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When another student makes a mistake,
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Yuriko yells, Are you stupid?
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Do you have a mental disability?
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What's wrong with you, you idiot?
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One day, another student named Jin Hua complains to AJ, the teacher.
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She says, I'm frightened by Yuriko.
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I'm going to quit this class.
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The teacher says, stick it out, Jin Hua.
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Don't worry.
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I will get rid of Yuriko.
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Then we will all be better off.
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The next day, AJ, the teacher,
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brings a gun to school.
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He points the gun at Yuriko and threatens her her.
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He says, Yuriko, if you come to my class again,
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I will kill you.
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Then I will take custody of your son and I will beat him every day.
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So leave now.
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Yuriko is frightened by AJ's threat.
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She starts crying and then she runs out of the class.
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The other students cheer.
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Yay!
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And everybody's happy.
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Okay, let's go again.
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Back to the beginning, this time with questions.
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Yuriko is unfit to be a student.
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Is Yuriko good enough to be a student?
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No, of course not.
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She's not.
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She's unfit to be a student.
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She cannot be a student.
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Why is she unfit to be a student?
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Well, because she comes late every day and she says bad,
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terrible things to other students.
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That's why she's unfit to be a student.
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Is Jin Hua unfit to be a student?
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No, no, no. Jin Hua is a very good student.
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She's fit to be a student,
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but Yuriko is unfit to be a student.
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Is Yuriko unfit to be a business person?
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Well, I don't know, but maybe she's okay.
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Maybe she can be a business person,
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but she's unfit to be a student.
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She might be fit to be a business person,
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but she's unfit to be a student.
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Who is unfit to be a student, Yuriko or Jinhua?
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Well Yuriko is unfit to be a student.
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Who is unfit to be a student?
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I mean Yuriko is unfit to be a student, right?
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She can't be a student because she's a very mean, terrible person.
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Every day she comes to school late.
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Then she belittles the other students.
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she insult the other students and say bad things?
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Yes, that's right, exactly.
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She belittles the other students.
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She says terrible things to them.
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You're stupid.
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You're ugly.
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I don't like you.
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You're a horrible person.
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She says these things.
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She belittles the other students.
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Who belittles the other students?
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Well, Yuriko belittles the other students.
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Who does Yuriko Well, Yuriko belittles the other students.
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Does Yuriko belittle the teacher?
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No, no, no. She does not belittle the teacher.
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She does not insult him.
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She does not say terrible things to the teacher.
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She belittles the students.
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Does the teacher, AJ, does he belittle the students?
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No, no, AJ does not belittle the students.
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Who belittles the students?
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Well, Yuriko belittles the students, right?
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How does she belittle the students?
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Well, when another student makes a mistake,
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Yuriko yells, are you stupid?
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Do you have a mental disability?
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What's wrong with you, you idiot?
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Does she ask the students if they are damaged,
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if their brain is damaged,
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something's wrong with their brain?
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Yeah, that's right, exactly.
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She says, do you have a mental disability?
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It means, is your brain broken?
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Is your mind broken?
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Right?
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She says, do you have a mental disability?
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Does she ask if they have a physical disability?
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No, she doesn't ask if they have a physical disability.
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Physical disability, maybe their legs don't work,
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maybe their eyes don't work well, they can't see.
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That's not what she's asking.
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She asks if they have a mental disability,
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right, a brain disability because they're so stupid.
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Does she ask other students if they have a mental disability?
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Yeah, that's right.
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She asked the other students if they have a mental disability.
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Does she ask the teacher if he has a mental disability?
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No, no, remember she does not belittle the teacher,
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so she never asked the teacher if he has a mental disability.
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Who does she ask?
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Do you have a mental disability?
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Well she asked that, she says that to other students when they make a mistake.
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So it's very strong, right?
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Do you have a brain problem,
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a brain, something broken in your brain? a mental disability.
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She says, what's wrong with you, you idiot?
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Well, the students feel very bad.
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One day, another student named Jin Hua complains to AJ, the teacher.
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She says, AJ, I'm frightened by Yuriko.
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Does Yuriko scare her?
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Yes, that's exactly right.
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She's frightened by Yuriko.
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She's scared of Yuriko.
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She feels afraid.
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Does Jin Hua feel very, very scared and afraid.
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Well, exactly right.
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She feels frightened, right?
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She's frightened by Yuriko.
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Is Jinhua frightened by AJ?
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No, no, no. She's not frightened by AJ.
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Who is she frightened by?
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Well, she's frightened by Yuriko.
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Why is she frightened by Yuriko?
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Well, she's scared of Yuriko.
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She's frightened by Yuriko because Yuriko says mean, terrible things.
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Yuriko belittles Jinhua every day.
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That's why she's frightened by Yuriko.
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Does Yuriko frighten all the students in the class?
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Well, yeah, that's right.
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Actually, she does.
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All the students are frightened by Yuriko.
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They're all frightened by Yuriko.
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Does Yuriko frighten the teacher?
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No, no, AJ's not afraid of Yuriko.
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He's not frightened by Yuriko.
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But Yuriko frightens everybody else.
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And anyway, Jinhua tells AJ,
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I'm frightened by Yuriko and I'm going to quit this class.
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AJ says, Jinhua, stick it out.
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Does AJ want Jinhua to quit the class?
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No, No, no, no. He wants her to continue with the class.
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He says, stick it out, Jin Hua.
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Continue with the class, Jin Hua.
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Does AJ want Jin Hua to stick it out in English class?
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Yeah, that's right.
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He wants her to continue with English class.
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He wants her to stick it out in English class.
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Does he want her to stick it out in science class?
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No, no, no, this is not a science class.
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He doesn't want her to stick it out in science class.
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He doesn't want her to continue with science.
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He wants her to stick it out in English class.
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Does AJ want Yuriko to stick it out?
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No, no, no, no, the opposite actually.
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He does not want Yuriko to continue with the class.
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Who does he want to stick it out in class?
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Well, he wants Jin Hwa to stick it out, right?
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He likes Jin Hwa.
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He wants Jin Hwa to stick it out in class.
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He wants her to continue.
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He does not want Yuriko to stick it out.
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So he tells Jin Hwa,
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Stick it out, Jin Hwa.
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Don't worry.
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I will get rid of Yuriko then we will all be better off
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is he going to make yuriko leave the class yeah that's
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right he's going to get rid of yuriko he's going to
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make her leave he's going to throw her away he's going to push her out
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right that's get rid of get rid of means to eliminate to delete to throw away
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so he's going going to get rid of Yuriko.
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Will he get rid of Jinhua?
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No, no, no. He wants Jinhua to stick it out.
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He will get rid of Yuriko.
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Why will he get rid of Yuriko?
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Well, because Yuriko is frightening the other students, right?
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That's why.
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After Yuriko leaves, he says,
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then we will all be better off.
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Will all the students have a better situation after Yuriko leaves?
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Yeah, that's exactly right.
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They'll be better off.
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They will have a better situation.
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Will the class improve after Yuriko leaves?
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Yes, that's exactly right.
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The class will be better off.
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The class will improve.
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Everyone will feel better.
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Everything will be better.
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They will be better off.
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They will improve and be happier after Yuriko leaves.
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Will the class be better off if Jin Hua leaves?
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No, no, no. They won't be better off if Jin Hua leaves.
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Jin Hua is a great student.
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She's very nice.
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They'll be better off if Yuriko leaves.
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Will the class be better off if AJ leaves?
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Well, maybe.
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Maybe they need a better teacher.
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AJ is maybe not a good teacher.
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But in general, no, they won't be better off if AJ leaves.
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They'll be better off if Yuriko leaves.
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Okay, so AJ says we'll all be better off after Yuriko leaves.
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The next day, AJ, the teacher,
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brings a gun to class.
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Because he's American and we all have guns.
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He points the gun at Yuriko.
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And he says to Yuriko, he threatens her.
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And he says, Yuriko, if you come to my class again,
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I will kill you.
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Then I will take custody of your son and beat him every day. Does AJ threaten Yuriko?
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Yeah, that's exactly right.
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AJ says he's going to hurt her.
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So he threatens her.
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He threatens Yuriko.
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Does AJ threaten Jin Hua?
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No, AJ does not threaten Jin Hua.
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AJ threatens Yuriko.
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Why does AJ threaten Yuriko?
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Well, he threatens her because he wants her to leave the class, right?
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He wants to frighten her.
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He wants her to leave the class.
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That's why he threatens her.
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And I'm using threaten as a verb here, right?
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This is a verb, to threaten.
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Does AJ threaten other students?
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No, no. He only threatens Yuriko.
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He only says he will hurt Yuriko.
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He says, Yuriko, if you come to my class again,
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I will kill you.
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Then I will take custody of your son and beat him every day.
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When AJ threatens Yuriko, what does he say?
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Well, he says he's going to kill her and take her son,
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take custody of her son,
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and then beat him every day.
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Will AJ take her son?
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Will he own her son?
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Yeah, that's right he will take custody of her son.
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He will become the owner of her son.
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The government will say, AJ,
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you are now the official father, the legal father.
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So AJ will take custody of her son after Yoriko is killed.
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Why will AJ take custody of her son?
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Well, he will take her son.
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He will take custody of her son so he can beat him every day.
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Oh, AJ's such a nice guy.
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He says, I will take custody of your son and beat him every day.
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Will he take custody of her daughter?
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No, no, he will not take custody of her daughter.
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He will take custody of her son.
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Whose son will he take custody of?
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Well, he will take custody of Yuriko's son.
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Why will he take custody of Yuriko's son?
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Well, so he can beat him and so he can threaten her.
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Okay, so he says, leave now or I will take custody of your son and kill you.
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Leave the class now and never come back.
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Yuriko is frightened by AJ's threat.
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Is Yuriko scared by what AJ says?
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Yes, she is.
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She's very frightened by AJ's threat.
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Is Yuriko frightened by AJ's compliment?
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No, no, of course not.
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AJ did not say something nice to her.
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That's a compliment.
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she's frightened by AJ's threat.
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What was AJ's threat?
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Now it's a noun, right?
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Threat this time is a noun.
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Well, AJ's threat was he said he would kill her and take her son.
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That was AJ's threat.
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That's the dangerous thing AJ said he will do.
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Okay, AJ's threat.
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Was it frightening?
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Was it scary?
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Now I'm using frightening as an adjective.
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Oh, yeah, AJ's threat was frightening,
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so Yuriko was frightened, right?
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AJ's threat was frightening, so Yuriko felt frightened.
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Frightened is a feeling.
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Frightening describes a situation or a thing.
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So AJ's threat was very frightening, very scary.
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Okay, so after AJ's threat, what does Yuriko do?
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Well, after AJ's threat, after she hears AJ's threat, Yuriko starts to cry.
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Oh, no, please don't hurt me.
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Then she runs out of the class,
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and all the other students cheer.
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Yay, we're happy.
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All right, good.
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One more time.
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This time I'll pause after the key phrases.
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Yuriko is unfit to be a student.
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Good.
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Yuriko is unfit to be a student.
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Every day she comes to school.
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Then she belittles the other students.
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Then she belittles the other students.
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When another student makes a mistake,
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Yuriko yells, Are you stupid?
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Do you have a mental disability?
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Do you have a mental disability?
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What's wrong with you, you idiot?
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One day, another student named Jin Hua complains to AJ, the teacher.
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She says, I'm frightened by Yuriko.
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I'm frightened by Yuriko.
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I'm going to quit this class.
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The teacher says, stick it out, Jin Hua.
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Stick it out, Jin Hua.
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Don't worry.
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I will get rid of Yuriko.
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Then we will all be better off.
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Then we will all be better off.
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The next day, AJ brings a gun to school.
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He points the gun at Yuriko and threatens her.
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He points the gun at Yuriko and threatens her.
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Yuriko, if you come to my class again,
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I will kill you, and then I'll take custody of your son.
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And then I'll take custody of your son.
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And I will beat him every day, so leave now.
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Yuriko is frightened by AJ's threat.
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Yuriko is frightened by AJ's threat.
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She starts crying and then runs out of the class.
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The other students cheer.
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Yay!
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Okay, that is the end of the mini-story.
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Please stop now and tell all of the story yourself using the correct phrases.
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Okay, bye-bye.
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About This Lesson
This lesson focuses on improving your English speaking skills through a mini-story about a challenging classroom situation. You will practice comprehension, pronunciation, and conversational skills as you engage with the narrative of Yuriko, a student who struggles to fit into her classroom environment. By participating in this engaging story, you will enhance your ability to express emotions and reactions in English, helping you to communicate more effectively in various situations.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Unfit: Not suitable or qualified.
- Belittle: To make someone or something seem less important or worthy.
- Complain: To express dissatisfaction or annoyance about something.
- Threaten: To indicate or express an intention to cause harm.
- Custody: The protective care or guardianship of someone.
- Frightened: Afraid or scared.
- Cheer: To shout or make joyful noises to show approval or support.
- Fit: Suitable or qualified for a particular role or task.
Practice Tips
To maximize your speaking abilities through this lesson, consider utilizing shadowing techniques. While watching the mini-story, practice shadow speaking by carefully listening to the dialogues and mimicking the tone, pace, and emotions of the speakers. Here are some specific tips:
- Synchronized Listening: Play the video and repeat phrases immediately after you hear them. This technique will help improve your fluency and pronunciation.
- Focus on Emotion: Pay attention to the emotional context of the dialogue. Try to convey similar feelings when you repeat the lines. This will make your speech more authentic.
- Slow Down: If the video is too fast, use a shadowing app to adjust the playback speed. Slower speeds will allow you to correctly form and articulate words.
- Repetition is Key: Revisit challenging phrases multiple times. By repeatedly practicing these segments, you will increase retention and understanding, enhancing your overall speaking skills.
- Utilize a Shadowing Site: Explore available resources that help you find similar stories to practice with. Engaging with a variety of content can deepen your learning experience.
By integrating these techniques into your practice routine, you'll be well on your way to improving your English speaking capabilities, connecting better with others, and expressing yourself confidently in conversations.
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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