Shadowing Practice: He Wanted $1 MILLION for This Funko Pop! | Pawn Stars - Learn English Speaking with Video

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How much do you want for this?

A million dollars.

Hello?

Funko, Willy Wonka, and?

An Oompa Loompa.

An Oompa Loompa, and a Funko Golden Ticket.

This is supposedly like the holy grail of Funkos, isn't it?

This is the grail of grails of Funko.

And this is from the 1972 movie, the Gene Wilder, Willy Wonka.

That was, like, my favorite movie when I was a kid

but I don't think Funko's factory is nearly as cool as Willy Wonka's.

I'm at the pawn shop, and I'm here to sell the Funko Pop Golden Willy Wonka 2 -Pack with its original ticket.

It has some minor scuffing on the window and some slight corner damage.

However, among the Willy Wonka 2 -Packs, it is among the best.

If I do make a deal today, my fiancé is going to have both the wedding and honeymoon of her dreams.

Okay, pretty cool.

You know, it's Funko.

They started in the 90s, and it was basically a small company, licensed some products, T -shirts, bobbleheads, everything like that.

And it wasn't doing well, and he ended up selling the company to a guy named Marriott.

And he turned it into this insane business.

I mean, he made vinyl figures collectible, and they kind of exploded.

This setup right here, they only made, like, how many did they make of these?

So they made 10 of the actual Willy Wonka two -pack, but only four came with a ticket.

All right, greetings to you, the lucky finder of this golden ticket.

Present this ticket at the factory gates at 10 o 'clock

in your wildest dreams you could not imagine the marvelous surprises that await you.

Okay, pretty cool.

And this says right on the label right here, 2016, two of 10.

Funko's really, really popular.

I mean, like, some prices have actually really skyrocketed.

How much do you want for this?

A million dollars.

Okay.

The price sounds insane to me.

I know there's funcos that have gone over $100 ,000.

I've never heard of a million dollars.

I have a friend who does this.

He works for the grading company that grades them.

They don't grade double packs at the moment?

They only grade an individual, so they don't grade a two -pack.

Okay.

But he would know about it.

Let me get him over here and have him take a look at it and, like, see what he seems to think about it.

Give me four or five minutes.

I'm going to go give him a call.

Sounds perfect.

All right.

Hey, Dan.

Nice to meet you, Tyler.

So this guy's got the golden ticket of Funkos.

The golden ticket two -pack.

This is one of ten, but only one of four that includes the ticket.

So in 2016, Funko produced ten of these pops, and six of them are believed to have been given away to employees.

Now four of them were given away at the Funko Fun Days event, and the tickets were distributed inside chocolate bars called Funko Bars.

Four lucky people found the ticket, and were able to present it for a prize, which was this Willy Wonka two -pack.

Okay.

So, first off, I mean, is this the real deal?

Well, there's a number of ways that these are counterfeited.

So, if you don't mind, I'd like to take a closer look at it.

Absolutely.

So, what's the go -to thing to look for?

I mean, just in case it's counterfeited.

The box itself, the figures, the window, the stickers.

These are all things that I take into consideration when I'm authenticating these Funko Pops.

The ticket is a vital piece of the value of this pop.

There aren't a lot of examples, but this one does appear to be authentic.

Okay.

I know there's six -figure Funko Pops, but he's asking a million bucks for this.

A million dollars.

All right.

Is he crazy or am I crazy?

There was recently a sale for $250 ,000.

However, that did not include the original golden ticket as this example does here today.

To the right buyer, it could be worth more than that.

All right.

Tells me a lot.

And appreciate it, man.

Glad to help.

Talk to you soon.

Good luck.

Nice to meet you.

So he's saying one just sold for $250 ,000.

But this is with its original ticket.

And I did pay over $200 ,000 for this one, and value has gone up quite a bit in the market.

The ticket by itself is worth $30 ,000, $40 ,000.

All right, if he's saying one just recently sold for $250 ,000, I mean, that's what they sell for.

You just told me the tickets go for, like, 30 grand.

Yeah.

So maybe a couple years from now, who knows?

But right now, I don't think it's anywhere close to that.

And I just think that price is just way too much at the moment.

Thanks for bringing it in, man.

I appreciate it.

I appreciate you.

100

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 100 sentences and 842 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:49. The speaker talks at a natural 175 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
insane adjective	/ɪnˈseɪn/	Exhibiting unsoundness or disorder of mind; not sane; utterly mad.
gate noun	/ˈɡeɪ̯t/	A doorlike structure outside a house.
clock noun	/klɑk/	A chronometer, an instrument that measures time, particularly the time of day.
label noun	/ˈleɪ.bəl/	A small ticket or sign giving information about something to which it is attached or intended to be attached.
vital adjective	/ˈvaɪtəl/	Relating to or characteristic of life.
consideration noun	/kənˌsɪd.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/	The thought process of considering, of taking multiple or specified factors into account (with of being the main corresponding adposition).
slight adjective	/slaɪt/	Minor; small in amount
authentic adjective	/ɔˈθɛn.tɪk/	Of the same origin as claimed; genuine.
buyer noun	/ˈbaɪ.əɹ/	A person who makes one or more purchases.
buck noun	/ˈbʌk/	A male deer, antelope, sheep, goat, rabbit, hare, and sometimes the male of other animals such as the hamster, ferret, salmonid, shad, skunk and kangaroo.
vinyl noun	/ˈvaɪ.nɪl/	The univalent radical CH₂=CH−, derived from ethylene.
supposedly adverb	/səˈpoʊ̯.zɪd.li/	As a matter of supposition; in the beliefs or according to the claims of some people.
explode verb	/ɪkˈsploʊd/	To fly apart with sudden violent force; to blow up, to burst, to detonate, to go off.
distribute verb	/dɪˈstɹɪbjuːt/	To divide into portions and dispense.
sticker noun	/ˈstɪkə/	Something or someone that sticks (pierces, or adheres).

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
end up verb	To bring to a conclusion.
go over verb	To look at carefully; to scrutinize; to analyze.
go up verb	To move upwards.

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 actually really skyrocketed · have gone · I've never heard
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	are believed · were given · are counterfeited
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	friend who does · prize, which was

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 15 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, aren't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: authentic /ɔˈθɛn.tɪk/, authenticate /ɔˈθɛn.tɪ.keɪt/
Long words — get the stress right: consideration /kənˌsɪd.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/, supposedly /səˈpoʊ̯.zɪd.li/, authenticate /ɔˈθɛn.tɪ.keɪt/, collectible /kəˈlɛktɪbəl/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like insane, gate, clock.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: He Wanted $1 MILLION for This Funko Pop! | Pawn Stars - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

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