Shadowing Practice: Jim Carrey - Secrets of Life - Learn English Speaking with Video
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34 sentences
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1
My soul is not contained within the limits of my body.
2
My body is contained within the limitlessness of my soul.
3
I've often said that I wish people could realize all their dreams
4
and wealth and fame so that they could see that it's not where you're going to find your sense of completion.
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I can tell you from experience the effect you have on others is the most valuable currency there is.
6
Because everything you gain in life will rot and fall apart, and all that will be left of you is what was in your heart.
7
We are not the avatars we create.
8
We are not the pictures on the film stock.
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We are the light that shines through.
10
All else is just smoke and mirrors, distracting, but not truly compelling.
11
Our eyes are not viewers.
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They are also projectors that are running a second story over the picture
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that we see in front of us all the time.
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Fear is writing that script.
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Now fear is going to be a player in your life.
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You get to decide how much.
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You can spend your whole life imagining ghosts, worrying about the pathway to the future, but all there will ever be is what's happening here
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and the decisions we make in this moment which are based in either love or fear.
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So many of us choose our path out of fear disguised as practicality.
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What we really want seems impossibly out of reach and ridiculous to expect, so we never dare to ask the universe for it.
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I'm saying that you can ask the universe for it.
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Life doesn't happen to you.
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It happens for you.
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As far as I can tell, it's just about letting the universe know what you want
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and working toward it while letting go of how it comes to pass.
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Why not take a chance on faith?
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Not religion, but faith.
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Not hope, but faith.
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I don't believe in hope.
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Hope is a beggar.
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Hope walks through the fire and faith leaps over it.
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You are ready and able to do beautiful things in this world.
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And after you walk through those doors today, you will only ever have two choices, love or fear.
34
Choose love and don't ever let fear turn you against your playful heart.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 34 sentences and 385 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:45. The speaker talks at a steady 140 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. 89% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- mirror /ˈmiɹɚ/ (noun) — A smooth surface, usually made of glass with reflective material painted on the underside, that reflects light so as to give an image of what is in front of it.
- ridiculous /ɹɪˈdɪk.jə.ləs/ (adjective) — Deserving of ridicule; foolish, absurd.
- ghost /ɡoʊst/ (noun) — A disembodied soul; a soul or spirit of a deceased person; a spirit appearing after death.
- currency /ˈkʌɹ.ən.si/ (noun) — Money or other items used to facilitate transactions.
- script /skɹɪpt/ (noun) — A writing; a written document.
- fame /feɪm/ (noun) — One's reputation.
- dare /dɛ(ə)ɹ/ (verb) — To have enough courage (to do something).
- completion /kəmˈpliː.ʃən/ (noun) — The act or state of being or making something complete; conclusion, accomplishment.
- shine /ʃaɪn/ (verb) — To emit or reflect light so as to glow.
- leap /ˈliːp/ (verb) — To jump.
- pathway /ˈpæθˌweɪ/ (noun) — A footpath or other path or track.
- viewer /ˈvju.ɚ/ (noun) — Someone who views a spectacle; an onlooker or spectator.
- disguise /dɪsˈɡaɪz/ (verb) — To change the appearance of (a person or thing) so as to hide, or to assume an identity.
- distract /dɪˈstɹækt/ (verb) — To divert the attention of.
- avatar /ˌæv.əˈtɑː(ɹ)/ (noun) — An incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- walk through (verb) — To explain (something) to (someone), step by step.
- fall apart (verb) — To disintegrate, to break into pieces.
- have on (verb) — To be wearing.
- see in (verb) — To show (someone) in: to introduce (someone) to the inside of a place.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 6 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, doesn't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: completion /kəmˈpliː.ʃən/, shine /ʃaɪn/
- Long words — get the stress right: ridiculous /ɹɪˈdɪk.jə.ləs/, impossibly /ɪmˈpɒ.sɪb.li/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like mirror, ridiculous, ghost.
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.