Shadowing Practice: I Never Had A Real Friend Like Me - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Hi, I'm Edith from Ohio.
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265 sentences
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Hi, I'm Edith from Ohio.
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Yeah, I know I sound like an 80-year-old woman.
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My dad was very close to his great-grandmother, and he insisted that his first child would be named after her.
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Unfortunately, that's me.
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Also, as you can see, I'm in a wheelchair.
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I had a spinal injury when I was little, and I don't even remember what it's like to walk.
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So if you want to feel bad for me, it should only be because of my name.
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Before I continue, please like and subscribe.
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After me came my sisters, Louisa, Isabel, and Celine.
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Their names are pretty because mom chose them.
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We lived in a kind of poor household in a small town, with parents who were galaxies apart.
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My dad was a neuroscientist who lived in our basement.
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He was convinced he was on to some groundbreaking research that would win him the Nobel Prize.
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But every year, his research got rejected.
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It had almost become a metaphor in our town.
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It'll rain today, I'm sure of it.
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As sure as Mr. Arnstein getting rejected again.
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Ugh, my son has failed 10th grade again.
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He's really pulling a Mr. Arnstein on us.
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Those comments made me so mad.
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No one was as smart or hardworking as my dad.
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Mom, on the other hand, was pretty and vain.
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She never met a reflective surface she didn't like.
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All she'd ever wanted was a fancy life, so she reminded dad of his failures every day.
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When I met you, you made me believe you were freaking Einstein.
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I thought we'd be rich by now.
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Can't you discover gravity or something already?
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Like, really, how hard is it?
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I might figure out all the mysteries of the universe before I understand why I asked you to marry me.
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Ugh, I was such a fool the day I said yes.
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Not much has changed since.
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Mom unhappily ran a small flower shop to make ends meet.
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As the eldest, I wanted to make things easier for both my parents.
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I was a model student, and I tried helping out at home by making my sisters responsible.
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It worked when they were younger, but they were growing up to be useless.
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Especially my second sister, Louisa, who was a lot like mom.
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She was pretty, but apparently her nose wasn't rich-looking enough.
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What does that even mean, girl?
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I've got this flat button nose, and rich people have cute upturned noses.
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Ah, okay, gotcha.
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They look like they can smell cow dung all the time.
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Exactly.
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She would sleep with a clothespin on her nose, hoping it would turn upwards.
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She'd also poke her cheek with a pencil while doing her homework, thinking if she did that every day, she might get a cute dimple.
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Such a moron.
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The other two weren't much better.
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Isabelle wanted to be a dancer, and I've never met anyone so uncoordinated.
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Celine was also super untalented, but she kept trying new things all the time, hoping to find her true calling soon.
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No one prayed harder than me that it would be really soon.
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Luckily, I'd inherited dad's brains, and in the 11th grade, I got a scholarship into a private school that would open up great opportunities for college.
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You've always been my favorite for a reason, darling.
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I know you'll do amazing things one day.
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I know you will too, Dad.
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I was really excited to start school until disaster struck, and my crazy family was to blame entirely for it.
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A week before, Mom came home really excited one day because she'd received a huge order for flowers at a rich client's house.
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And the minute my sisters heard that, they were dying to go with Mom to help her.
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Dad was out of town, and I'd just settled in for a peaceful evening by myself when I got a frantic call from Isabel.
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Edith, I'm at the police station.
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Mom and Louisa are going to jail.
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What?
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What do you mean they're going to jail?
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Louisa stole a necklace from the rich lady's room and got caught.
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Mom begged and cried, but the lady called the police.
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Please, you have to go talk to her.
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Ugh, Louisa was such a pain.
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Isabelle sent me the lady's location pin, and I took the bus to this massive mansion.
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I was asked to wait in the main hall, and I just couldn't resist taking a spin on the marble floors.
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But suddenly, I lost control of my wheelchair and went crashing into the center table, which sent a huge fishbowl to the ground, which made the servants running in slip on the water and land on their butts.
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Oopsie-tasey.
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Soon, I was in the library, facing the snooty owner and her carbon-copy snooty daughter.
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Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?
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Again, so sorry for the damage.
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I'd love to repay you, but my parents are poor, so I can't.
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Speaking of parents...
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Actually, my mom is the flower lady who came here today, and the girl who took something from you is my, um, sister?
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What?
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You're related to those thieves?
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Louisa's mentally unstable, I swear.
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And some days, she just refuses to take her meds.
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Please, please don't send them to jail.
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What will I do without my mom, given my condition?
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This is very distressing, and the doctors have told me stress is really bad for me.
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The lady didn't look happy, but she called the police station and asked for Mom and Louisa to be released.
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I thanked them profusely, and just as I was leaving, I ran into a school bag lying on the floor, knocking over its contents.
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Do you even know how to use that thing?
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You should take driving classes or something.
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I apologized and left, but I was horrified.
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This girl was going to the same school I'd just gotten into.
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How has my life suddenly become so complicated?
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Oh, I'll tell you.
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It's because Miss Kleptomaniac here decided to steal, and I had to save her greedy butt.
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And now I have to go to school with this snooty girl who thinks I'm from a family of thieves.
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Oh, what a great start.
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Edith, are you done with this useless family meeting?
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Louisa and I have had a very tough day, and we need our beauty sleep.
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Maybe the girl won't remember who you are.
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Fingers crossed.
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Yeah, right.
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In fact, as luck would have it, that girl and I were in the same class.
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Her name was Haley, and the minute she saw me, her face went from shock to a wide grin.
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Uh-oh.
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And soon, Haley became my arch-nemesis.
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Apparently, she was the smartest kid in class till I turned up.
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She was also beautiful and wealthy, and she was dating the star basketball player Cody.
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And Cody was fine.
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But Haley still didn't like being knocked off the number one student spot.
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How about we make a deal, Edith?
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You can act a little less smart in class, and I won't tell everyone how we really know each other.
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I won't be doing that, thanks.
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I can make your life miserable, you know.
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You really want to make the wheelchair girl's life miserable?
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How would it make you look if I started telling people you're bullying me?
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It'll tank your popularity.
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and you might even get suspended or worse.
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And Haley knew I was right.
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We just never got along and continued to compete in class.
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I always got the highest marks in subjects like math and physics, but she beat me in history and literature.
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She knew she couldn't openly bother me, but she tried in sneakier ways.
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Like one morning when I wheeled into literature class, our teacher, Miss Agatha, was looking furious and everyone was staring at me.
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And that's when I saw the chalkboard.
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On the lower half, it said, Ms. Agatha should change her name because she is not cool like Agatha Christie.
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In fact, she is dull and ugly and stupid.
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I think she was a toad in another life.
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She is- It went on and on, and the lovely cursive handwriting was unmistakably mine.
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Okay, I know what this looks like, but I really didn't do this.
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Detention for a week.
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Ugh, this Haley was good.
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She'd copied my handwriting to perfection.
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I didn't take her prank sitting down, though.
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Well, I'm always sitting down, but you know what I mean.
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I just had a lot of accidents around her.
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Oops, sorry, lost control.
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That jacket looks new, huh?
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Sorry, Sorry, I just didn't see your toes.
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You have really tiny feet, Haley.
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Then one day, our principal came to class to tell us about a statewide competition for which one student would be chosen from the school, and all interested candidates had to sit for a test.
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Also, I should add that the winner of the competition will get a full scholarship to any university of their choice.
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This was a chance to make all my dreams come true.
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I spent countless hours studying for the test.
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I knew Haley was preparing for it, too, even though she didn't need a scholarship.
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It was just an attempt to beat me.
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The test was tough, but I did my best.
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And guess what?
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It was good enough.
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I managed to come out on top, and I was over the moon.
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But there was one problem.
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The competition required a big entry fee, and I had to travel to another town and cover those expenses too.
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I wanted to ask my parents for help, but that evening, I heard a huge fight between them over money, and I just couldn't.
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I wasn't giving up, though, not after coming this far.
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So I decided to sell tacos in the school cafeteria because seriously, I make the world's best tacos.
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I could cover the cost of ingredients and I just needed to sell enough for two weeks to collect the amount I needed.
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I set up a little taco corner in the cafeteria and they were an instant hit.
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My tacos were selling like hotcakes till the awful lunch ladies in the cafeteria reported me to the principal.
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And I was informed that I couldn't sell food on school premises.
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So the next day, as soon as school ended, I was ready with my taco stall right outside the school gate.
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Technically not on school premises, so no one could say anything to me.
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Even some friends joined me in selling them, and the first few days, things were going great.
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But suddenly, things started going very wrong.
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Students started getting sick in school with similar symptoms, and parents poured in with complaints.
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The principal launched an investigation, and it wasn't long before they discovered the problem.
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My tacos!
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I was suspended for two weeks, but worse than that, Haley was chosen for the competition instead.
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And I was devastated.
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I didn't even tell anyone at home I was suspended.
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They all thought I had spring break.
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But three days later, the most unlikely thing happened.
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Cody, Haley's boyfriend, came to visit me at home.
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Um, hello.
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I'm Cody from school.
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I came to see if you were doing okay.
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Oh, wow.
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You're welcome.
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You too.
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What?
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Can I come in?
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Or are you busy?
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No, no. I'm not busy.
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I mean, yes, I am busy.
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Actually, there's an avocado that's going bad, and I need to make some guacamole.
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But it can wait a bit longer.
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Not too long, though.
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What was I even saying?
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And that afternoon, Cody told me that Haley had sabotaged my taco business.
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She'd mentioned something about bringing you down, and I thought she was kidding.
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She got someone to mix something into your food, which made everyone sick.
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I am so sorry.
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I couldn't believe that someone could be so heartless, and there was nothing I could even do about it.
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And I just started to cry.
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There'll be other chances, Edith.
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And I can't believe you started a business and made that much money.
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You're really cool and brave.
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After that, Cody started visiting regularly during my suspension, and we'd have fun and joke around.
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He really made me feel seen, and we could talk about anything.
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Do you feel people act weird around you sometimes?
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Yeah, most people get so awkward when they see a wheelchair.
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Like, they don't know if they need to express sympathy or if they should just ignore it completely.
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But really, I'm fine, and I just want people to act normal.
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Do you wish you could walk someday?
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More than anything in the world, I dream about it all the time.
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Cody pressed my hand and smiled warmly, and my heart fluttered.
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And when I went back inside, my stupid sisters were waiting for me with huge grins.
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You like him.
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You wanna hug him.
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You wanna kiss him.
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You wanna...
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Shut up, Louisa.
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He's just a friend.
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You may be book smart, but you don't know the first thing about boys.
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He's not coming over every day because he likes you as a friend.
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And if you're not interested in dating him, I can.
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I mean, it would be a crime to let this rich, yummy boy go.
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Shut up, Louisa.
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He's mine.
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When my suspension ended, I was back to school ready to work hard again.
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Actually, I was looking forward to seeing Cody more than anything, but to my disappointment, I found him right next to Hayley.
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I gave him a small wave, and he just looked away.
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Well, I guess things were back to normal.
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Cody had just felt bad for me, and he tried to make me feel better.
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He was still gonna choose Hayley because she was everything a guy could want.
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Soon enough, the spring dance was on everyone's mind, but I wasn't even thinking about it till one day in the cafeteria, I was reading by myself when Cody sat and joined me.
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Edith, I'm sorry I've been avoiding Will you go to the spring dance with me?
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What?
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But what about Haley?
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You, you stole my boyfriend.
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You act like this poor little wheelchair girl, but you're so cunning.
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And I'm done keeping your stupid little secret too.
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Hey, everyone.
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Did Edith ever tell you that her sister's a thief who stole something from my house?
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Who knows?
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Maybe dishonesty runs in the family.
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And Edith's lying, and she can't actually walk.
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That's enough.
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I broke up with you because I don't love you, Haley.
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Please, just back off and stop spreading lies lies about Edith.
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No one's buying them.
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Least of all me.
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Haley stared at us furiously, then screamed and stormed off.
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So, where were we?
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Oh yeah, the spring dance.
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Go with me.
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Since you're desperate.
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Sure.
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We had an amazing time dancing away.
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And then we went out for a breather and shared our first kiss.
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Well, my first kiss ever.
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And it was magical.
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But when I got back home, I found dad in the lounge in tears.
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Dad, what's wrong?
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Are you okay?
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I'm more than okay, honey.
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I just won a huge research grant.
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Oh my god, I knew you'd do it.
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I'm so proud of you.
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What's your research about?
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It's about you.
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It's all I've been working on for years, and I couldn't give up.
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You never lost complete sensation in your feet, Edith, and I've been working on developing a machine that can get you walking again.
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I don't want to raise your hopes too high, but it's a very real possibility, and we have the money to try it out.
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Dad, I can't believe you did this for me.
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Even if it all doesn't go to plan, this means everything.
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Well, long story short, I was one of dad's subjects, and within two months, he got me to stand on my own two feet.
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A baby couldn't be prouder of his first steps than I was, and all of my mom's and sister's dreams came true too.
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We moved to a much bigger house with much fancier things, and mom didn't have to work anymore.
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I knew I always made the right choice marrying you, Mr. Arnstein.
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I'm still wondering why I married you, but let's not argue anymore, dear.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you'll have the opportunity to practice your English speaking skills through a captivating and personal story shared by Edith. The video offers rich insights into family dynamics and self-identity, providing you with a unique context to enhance your language abilities. By engaging with the transcript, you can improve your English pronunciation, expand your vocabulary, and develop a deeper understanding of conversational nuances. This exercise not only focuses on learning English with YouTube but also encourages learners to connect emotionally with the content, making the practice more relatable and effective.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Spinal injury - an injury affecting the spine or back.
- Groundbreaking research - innovative or pioneering studies.
- Nobel Prize - a prestigious international award given annually in various fields.
- Reflective surface - any surface that can reflect images, like mirrors.
- Scholarship - a financial aid awarded to a student based on merit.
- Model student - an exemplary student who excels in their studies and behavior.
- True calling - a person's vocation or the work they are meant to do.
- Coordination - the ability to use different parts of the body together smoothly and efficiently.
Practice Tips
When engaging with this transcript, consider implementing the shadowing technique. This method involves listening to Edith as she talks and then immediately repeating what she says, mimicking her tone and rhythm. Given that the video's pace is conversational, it’s important to focus on how she personally expresses emotions and experiences. Start by listening to segments of 5-10 seconds, then pause and repeat what you heard. This will not only help you improve your English pronunciation but also enhance your listening skills.
As you practice, pay attention to the emotional undertones and pauses in Edith's speech. Reflecting these elements will add depth to your speaking practice. Lastly, make sure to maintain a relaxed posture while practicing; this can significantly impact your clarity and confidence. By consistently practicing shadowing with engaging content like this video, you’ll find that your ability to express yourself in English becomes both easier and more natural.
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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