Shadowing Practice: I Asked 100 People Their Most Controversial Opinion - Learn English Speaking with Video
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429 sentences
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What is your most controversial opinion?
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I think I would date a racist.
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What?
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I'm about to ask 100 random people for their most controversial opinion.
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And after we get 100, I'll be asking 100 different people to vote on which one is the most controversial.
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This is insane.
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Oh my God.
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Let's start asking.
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First of all, you can't change your gender.
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Why are we being gaslit into thinking that's a thing?
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That's not a thing.
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If you want to be a guy and you want to wear lipstick, if you want to wear high heels, that's cool. Do it.
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But you can't go get surgery and then just say you're a girl.
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Taylor Swift is not talented.
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Very overrated.
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Why do you think she's overrated?
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Her singing is meh.
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She can't dance.
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And her music tastes like unseasoned food.
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Unseasoned food.
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Yeah.
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A &W is a really bad fast food restaurant.
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I believe in every conspiracy theory about the government.
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On hers, I'll say yes.
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I think it's naive to think we're the only ones out here.
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So aliens are real?
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Yes.
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I think the Dallas Cowboys are going to win the Super Bowl this year.
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We had a top five offense last year.
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We brought back George Pickens on the franchise tag.
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I'll be honest, I didn't really listen to what you said.
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I was just lost in your voice.
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I really appreciate that.
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It just made my day.
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Really?
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The voice and the face for radio.
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Definitely have the voice.
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Yeah.
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If you're dating a man and there's a woman harassing him, calling his phone 24 -7, it's his fault, not hers.
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Like, women aren't crazy like that.
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He's making her crazy.
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Yes.
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My controversial opinion is I feel like sex work is very glamorized and young girls shouldn't look up to that.
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I don't like weddings.
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We've turned it into this whole money grab.
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ABBA is terrible.
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Transsexual women are not real women.
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There should be laws for walking on the sidewalk as there is driving on the road.
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They're walking too slow.
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Too slow.
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You're supposed to walk on the right side.
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There should be a good flow going on.
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I think like some places don't offer enough mat leave.
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AI being used for art is ruining art as a whole.
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One of my controversial opinions is that I freaking love fedoras.
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People are very sensitive nowadays, like being scared to share your opinion because you're scared of getting canceled.
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What is your most controversial opinion?
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I think I would date a racist.
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I don't think it's that bad.
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You know, people could change and if he says that he's changed
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and I could forgive him and then we could be in love forever.
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Don't you agree?
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People could change right?
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I agree people can change.
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That's how I'll date a racist.
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Why don't you just date someone who's not?
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No I could do that too but like if he tells me
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that he racist somebody like later on
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and I liked him like of course I'm gonna be devastated
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but then like he isn't racist anybody anymore because he stopped and he's dating me now.
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But I wouldn't mind dating everybody.
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I don't like
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Drake when he's acting tough.
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Why do you think he tries to act tough?
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I think it's just the idea
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that you're selling an image to people both people in the culture
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and the people outside the culture time loops in movies are bull
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so for example in interstellar him being able to affect his
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own past from the future doesn't make any sense uh what mine is that time loops are fine
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and you i think there's a middle ground and there's some constraints
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that have to be respected all of us should feel pain the more pain the better
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because that's how we grow as people not talking about political opinions
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when you're like in a friendship you think in a friend group
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You should keep your political opinion to yourself.
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Yeah.
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Dogs shouldn't be able to just go on public sidewalks.
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More public spaces should be kid -free, like restaurants, etc. Just 18 plus.
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What do you hate about kids?
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They can be chaotic, running around, screaming.
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You shouldn't have to ask for ketchup when you're at McDonald's.
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They'll drive away and then they'll realize I don't have any ketchup.
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I can't turn around, not in traffic.
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You know what I mean?
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People want to think that having a higher degree means that you're successful.
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Oftentimes that doesn't really get you anywhere.
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Not paying your rent isn't really that bad because you're paying the ass to get evicted anyways.
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You can skip a couple months.
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Have you ever missed your rent?
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Yeah, it's worked out.
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You're chilling.
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Yeah, on that line of property is left.
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I think plan B should be free.
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I just don't think that homeless people should be blamed for being homeless.
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It's like the city's fault.
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Girls and guys can be friends.
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The state of Israel should not exist, period, point blank.
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And why do you think it should not exist?
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The creation of Israel was illegal to begin with.
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I mean, the UN and Britain decided that.
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Not really a fair shake.
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Also, the Palestinians were one of the only countries that was allowing
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Jewish refugees post -Holocaust into their country en masse.
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They were housing them, feeding them.
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They turned on them.
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And if Palestine is the land where
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Judaism originated, then how dare you?
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Because they are your people.
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I think that hot dogs are sandwiches.
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Because if you think about like a sandwich, it's just bread, meat, and then bread.
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and then a hot dog.
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What's hot dog?
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Bread, meat, and more bread.
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We are one third of the way there, and I'm pretty curious to see how the voting segment is going to turn out.
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But before we get ahead of ourselves, let's head to the mall to ask more people.
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What is your most controversial opinion?
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I love that my phone listens to me because then I don't have to try and remember to look up certain things.
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It just sends me ads.
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I'm not important enough.
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Nothing to hide.
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Nothing to hide.
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So I'm like, sure, help me out.
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Trump is an idiot.
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Tipping culture is a bit out a hand.
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A lot of places it's expected and the behavior to earn these tips is like not even granted.
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Sometimes they don't even know my waiter's name and they ask for a tip.
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I don't believe that this is a god at all.
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We pay a lot of taxes here in Toronto and I don't think we're getting our return on what we pay.
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Girls playing boy sports.
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I think like girls can play any sport.
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What kind of sport would be an example?
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Football.
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Maybe that's why they invented rugby.
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Do more girls play rugby?
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I believe so.
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But that's not fair.
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See, we should get to play football.
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In a relationship, the men have to pay more than a girl.
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I think like 90%.
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90 % men pay.
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Messi and Ronaldo.
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I love Ronaldo because he has a lot of aura.
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I'm currently in a debate with someone about wrap pizzas.
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Wrap pizzas?
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Yes, instead of having like dough as the base, you have like a wrap, like a tortilla wrap.
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And you like this?
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Yeah, it's delicious.
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And then you put corn on it.
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I'm so sorry, I know.
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I'm worried the right wing is taking over.
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We should be putting spikes on the road to reduce the number of cars.
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Yeah, sure.
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Let's go with that one.
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You agree?
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Yeah, why not?
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Just spikes all over the road.
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For the greenery is good.
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Fine, no police good on pizza.
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GPA does kind of matter in school.
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Misogyny is probably more ingrained into society than we think it is.
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A lot of girls, for example, are less likely to pursue math,
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not because they're not good at it or like they're not sort of like naturally inclined.
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It's just because the way that girls are socialized, it's like we have a hard time excelling in subjects like
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that because we're not encouraged to try again if we fail at something.
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If men fail at something, they are more likely to sort of pick themselves back up and like try again.
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What is your most controversial opinion? in.
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Okay, I think that school should be optional for people who truly want to go.
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What level of school?
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High school should be optional for people who really, really want to.
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What about you?
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I think that voting should kind of be the same way
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because I think that if we let younger people who want to vote, vote, then maybe we would have a more willing society.
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You say lower the voting age.
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I would say like you should be able to apply to vote at a younger I'm not a big Donald Trump fan.
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We're overpaying taxes.
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The younger generations can't afford a home.
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So there's something wrong with the system that we live in, right?
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I have a home.
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I'm a homeowner.
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And it's still very difficult.
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I don't think I can remember if I ever had one.
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Nothing at all?
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Nothing.
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Sorry.
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Okay, no worries.
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It should be more done for disabled people and wheelchair users to get around the city.
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You would like it to be easier?
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Yes, very much so.
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Bulbasaur is my starter.
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So you would pick Bulbasaur?
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Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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What do you like about Bulbasaur so much?
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We got that bulb.
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We got that sword.
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We saw it.
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Anything else?
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We got that vinewood.
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Affordability crisis are not something that we can overlook.
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Pineapple belongs on pizza.
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That the world is getting better.
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Why do you think the world is getting better?
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There's innovation happening.
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And with AI, things are going to become more efficient.
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I just think the world is getting better, no matter what.
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We just have to wait like a few thousand years, probably.
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Oh, you dropped it.
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Sorry, thank you.
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Oh, it's perfect.
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Okay, thank you so much.
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You have so many different religions telling you a lot about different parts of your prayer
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and how things are supposed to go in life.
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You believe in only one religion?
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Yeah, only one.
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And which religion is that?
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The real one, this religion.
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Some people shouldn't be allowed to fly.
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They don't know airplane etiquette.
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Only go up when your zone is cold.
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Don't stand up immediately.
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Put your personal item under the bin unless there's space above.
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That kind of thing.
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I'm not happy with the way
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President Trump runs his state, whatever.
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I really don't have any.
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I'm just happy to be here, happy to be sitting next to you.
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I don't think it's controversial though, is it?
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I just said I don't have any, big head.
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Listen, listen, I said I'm not happy with Mr. Trump.
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Okay, that's good.
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That's good for you.
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Is it controversial, Matt?
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That bike lane should be controversial.
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Like the fact that we're talking about tearing it up still, like, it's insane.
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Criminals should be held more accountable for their actions.
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I don't love tipping culture.
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I feel like people in this world, they try to say LeBron's the GOAT.
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They say LeBron's the best to ever do it, but then they haven't seen me.
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Hell no. Why aren't you in the league?
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Humble.
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What is your most controversial opinion?
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I don't think we should give good customer service to people who are just really bad to you.
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Like they're like super rude.
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So you should be able to ignore them? fight them just like a one -two like a quick let's settle
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it in the fitting rooms you know more privacy exactly
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and the other customers don't need to see nothing and which store do you work at which location
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on that note it was time to head to the third
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and final location what is your most controversial opinion
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that michael jackson is still alive why do you think he's still alive i believe it in my heart
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and he had like a closed casket i think it's also just
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because i want him to be alive because I love him.
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What are your thoughts about the kid stuff?
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I don't think he did it.
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I think he's innocent.
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Just go with the flow, regardless for themselves.
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I know it's really complicated.
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It's just ups and downs.
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Just go with the flow.
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Perfect.
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Thank you so much.
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Show him as the best food ever.
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Men should always pay on all dates.
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Do you think men should pay 100 % of the time?
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I think yes, because they're providers.
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If he doesn't have money, he should not have a relationship.
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Sadism is underrated.
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Everyone has a point in their life where they have to realize sadness is part of the life
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and they have to deal with it no matter what.
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Like you know how right now we eat like five times a day?
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That's actually us being a cactus in a rainforest.
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If you think about it from like evolutionary biology perspective, we could go like days without our next meal.
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So do you think more people should be fasting?
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100%.
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The healthcare industry isn't made for women.
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I'm from Ukraine, all right?
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I don't support
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Russia in any sense or Russian people in any sense.
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I hate everything about that.
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Kids is a choice.
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I've chosen not to.
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That we don't treat life as it should be.
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How do you think we should be treating life?
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People like to complicate.
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Pardon my French.
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We like to complicate it.
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Life is so simple.
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We don't need to worry about a 9 -to -5 schedule.
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About do I need this or do I want that?
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It doesn't matter about that.
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First day, man has to pick.
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I don't know if this first pick for the Leafs is going to change anything next year.
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I think gambling supports positive mental health.
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I think that humans should die.
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We're really bad for the planet.
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We're the most selfish creatures to ever exist.
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If you look at dinosaurs, you watch the dinosaur documentary, they've been around for billions and billions of years.
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They've come back.
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They've come back bigger.
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Humans have been here for not even a fraction of the time, and we're destroying each other.
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We're cruel to each other.
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We're mean to each other.
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We want to, like, get rid of each other, and we should just all die for the planet.
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For the planet.
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For the planet.
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Yo, I think peptides should be FDA -approved and legal.
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It's not all that great to own a home.
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Renting is way better.
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Get rid of like the gentle parenting.
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Bring a little bit more discipline back.
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Kids aren't scared.
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They're entitled.
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Not that they have to be scared, don't get me wrong, but they have no respect anymore.
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Drake is not that good.
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Drake is not.
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Sorry, Iceman dropped.
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The album was mid.
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Maid of Honor was mid.
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Absolutely dog water.
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I'm Persian.
328
I'm against the monarchy.
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I don't think it's good.
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A lot of people love it.
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I don't like it.
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I feel like pandas are just polar bears in disguise guys.
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So they're secretly polar bears.
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Yeah.
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So how did they become pandas and why are they pandas?
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I think like the government dies them.
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How did you first come to this conclusion?
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Um you know deep dive on Reddit.
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McDonald's is overrated.
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I mean this like from a good place in my heart bringing back masculinity.
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I feel like men can provide for women.
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I'm like if they just do
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that more it'll make women want to be not out at the club
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and instead like at home with you and everything like that.
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What is your most controversial opinion?
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That men's voices aren't low anymore.
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My most controversial opinion is I think truck drivers are compensating with their trucks because they're compensating for something else.
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Men don't have the capacity to not be lustful.
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So you think all men are lustful?
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Yes.
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I don't I don't like sushi.
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I don't like sushi either.
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You're Asian and you don't like sushi.
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Well, I'm Chinese.
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I don't really like peanut butter.
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It gives me a headache.
357
We should teach religion in schools.
358
And what about you?
359
I guess.
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Also teaching religion in schools.
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That Daenerys Targaryen is the prince that was promised.
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And it's not Jon Snow.
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And you can't convince me that it's Jon Snow.
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Not Jon Snow.
365
I don't like Chipotle.
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What about you?
367
I don't think you should drink on random days.
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You should only drink if you're like getting drunk.
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Why are you drinking otherwise?
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Like that's a waste of money.
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And before I knew it, I was at 99 opinions with one more to go.
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What is your most controversial opinion?
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I would say feminism.
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What about feminism?
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Now that we have 100 controversial opinions, it's time to put them all on a board
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and ask 100 more people to vote to determine the most controversial one of them all.
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This is the board with all 100 opinions.
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Now, let's go find 100 more people to vote.
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On this board, there are 100 controversial opinions.
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All I need you to do is pick which one you think is the most controversial.
381
Maybe the only religion that exists is Christianity.
382
Perfect.
383
I think this one, yeah.
384
The world is getting better, yeah.
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Could you just make a small tally right under it?
386
Just a line up?
387
Perfect.
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You can't change your gender, it's very controversial.
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Perfect.
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In relationship, men should pay 90 % of the time.
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Okay, that's my choice.
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90 % is too much, you think?
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Yeah, it is too much.
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We ain't got too much money out here.
395
The first few people all picked different answers.
396
But as I approached 25 votes, one opinion was clearly standing up.
397
So we have asked 25 people to vote so far.
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And right now, there is one opinion that is taking the lead.
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I might need like more space for the tallies later on.
400
But I guess we'll see.
401
Okay, oh my god, I would date it right now.
402
Yeah.
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That's crazy.
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This is insane.
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I would date a r*.
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This is the most controversial opinion I've ever seen.
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Dating a r* is pretty bad.
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What do you call it?
409
Really?
410
What do you mean?
411
Really?
412
Oh, dear.
413
I'm f.
414
Sorry.
415
We are halfway there.
416
We have 50 votes total.
417
Right now, there is one opinion that is taking the lead at 26 votes.
418
Although one opinion was pulling far ahead in the votes, there was another opinion that surprisingly caught people's attention too.
419
What do you dislike about Fedora Hat so much?
420
I'm just not a fan of how they look.
421
Who the hell is wearing fedoras?
422
Wow, yeah that's a scary one.
423
I mean fedora hats is up there though.
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Yeah.
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Fedora hats is very up there.
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Fedora hats.
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Oh my goodness, what did a fedora hat do to you?
428
After 100 votes, the results were pretty one -sided.
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Surprisingly, people weren't a big fan of fedora hats for some reason.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “I Asked 100 People Their Most Controversial Opinion”. This video has 428 sentences and 3213 words to shadow. The speech runs for 16:06. The speaker talks fast, about 200 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 67 of its 428 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| controversial adjective | /ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.ʃəl/ | Arousing or likely to arouse controversy. |
| racist noun | /ˈɹeɪ.sɪst/ | A person who believes in or supports racism; a person who believes that a particular race is superior to others, or who discriminates against other races. |
| pizza noun | /ˈpi.tsə/ | A baked Italian dish of a thinly rolled bread crust typically topped before baking with tomato sauce, cheese, and other ingredients such as meat or vegetables. |
| wrap verb | /ɹæp/ | To enclose (an object) completely in any flexible, thin material such as fabric or paper. |
| scare verb | /skɛɚ/ | To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way. |
| insane adjective | /ɪnˈseɪn/ | Exhibiting unsoundness or disorder of mind; not sane; utterly mad. |
| drake noun | /ˈdɹeɪ̯k/ | A male duck (animal). |
| sushi noun | /ˈsuːʃi/ | A Japanese dish made of small portions of sticky white rice flavored with vinegar, usually wrapped in seaweed and filled or topped with fish, vegetables or… |
| panda noun | /ˈpɑndə/ | A brahmin who acts as the hereditary superintendent of a particular ghat or temple, and is regarded as knowledgeable in matters of genealogy and ritual. |
| overrated adjective | /ˌəʊvəˈɹeɪtɪd/ | Given an undue amount of credit for quality or merit in a field; not necessarily related to popularity. |
| rugby noun | /ˈɹʌɡbi/ | A form of football in which players can hold or kick an ovoid ball; rugby football. The ball cannot be handled forwards and points are scored by touching the… |
| loop noun | /luːp/ | A length of thread, line or rope that is doubled over to make an opening. |
| sandwich noun | /ˈsæn(d).wɪd͡ʒ/ | A dish or foodstuff where at least one piece, but typically two or more pieces, of bread serves as the wrapper or container of some other food. |
| surprisingly adverb | /səˈpɹaɪzɪŋli/ | In a way that causes surprise because it is unexpected, or unusual. |
| polar adjective | /ˈpoʊlɚ/ | Of, relating to, measured from, or referred to a geographic pole (the North Pole or South Pole); within the Arctic or Antarctic circles. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| bring back verb | /ˈbɹɪŋ bæk/ | To fetch something. |
| come back verb | To return to a place. | |
| stand up verb | To rise from a lying or sitting position. | |
| back up verb | To move backwards, especially for a vehicle to do so. | |
| drive away verb | To force someone or something to leave | |
| get ahead of verb | To take preemptive action before a potential development becomes reality. | |
| get around verb | To move to the other side of (something, such as an obstruction) by deviating from a direct course or following a curved path. | |
| go up verb | To move upwards. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- What is your most controversial opinion?
- Why do you think she's overrated?
- Why don't you just date someone who's not?
- I don't think it's controversial though, is it?
- Why aren't you in the league?
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 | We've turned · Have you ever missed · haven't seen |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was just lost · be devastated · be respected |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who truly · people who really · people who want |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | shouldn't look · should feel · should keep |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 129 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: controversial /ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.ʃəl/, sushi /ˈsuːʃi/, optional /ˈɑp.ʃə.nəl/, efficient /ɪˈfɪʃənt/, conclusion /kənˈkluːʒən/
- Long words — get the stress right: controversial /ˌkɑn.tɹəˈvɝ.ʃəl/, overrated /ˌəʊvəˈɹeɪtɪd/, surprisingly /səˈpɹaɪzɪŋli/, feminism /ˈfɛmɪnɪz(ə)m/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/
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 controversial, racist, pizza.
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.