Shadowing Practice: Learn English with KUNG FU PANDA — It’s Training Time! - Learn English Speaking with Video
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410 sentences
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When you concentrate, you stink.
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But perhaps that is my fault.
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I cannot train you the way I have trained the Five.
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I now see that the way to get through to you is with this.
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Oh, great.
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Because I am hungry.
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Good.
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When you have been trained, you may eat.
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Let's begin.
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Oh yeah, Global Citizens, I'm Xenia, your real-life fluency coach.
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And in today's lesson, we're going to learn English with training scenes from Kung Fu Panda.
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Along the way, you'll learn everyday expressions that natives actually use in real situations,
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lousy months at a time and gets through to someone
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and to help you learn
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and never forget these important expressions we want to give you
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access to the smart flashcards we created for this lesson for
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free you can practice with them in our app by clicking
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the link below thousands of learners just like you are learning to speak English fluently every day
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and having fun while doing it All right, now we begin our story today in the kitchen, where Poe's cooking for the Furious Five,
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and telling a story to impress them, trying to sound a lot braver than he really is.
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Let's watch the first scene with subtitles in English before we learn the advanced words.
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I'm like, fine, you may be a wolf,
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you may be the scariest bandit in Hajin province, but you're a lousy tipper.
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Really?
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So how'd you get out of there alive?
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I mean, I didn't actually say that, but I thought it in my mind.
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If he could read my mind, he'd have been like, What?
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Order up!
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Hope you like it.
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This is really good.
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No, come on.
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You should try my dad's secret ingredient soup.
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He actually knows the secret ingredient.
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What are you talking about?
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This is amazing.
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Wow, you're a really good cook.
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I wish my mouth was bigger.
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Tigress, you've got to try this.
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It is said that the dragon warrior can survive for months at a time on nothing
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but the dew of a single ginkgo leaf and the energy of the universe.
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I guess my body doesn't know it's the Dragon Warrior yet.
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We need a lot more than dew and universe juice.
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Oh, nothing, Master Shifu.
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You'll never be the Dragon Warrior unless you lose 500 pounds and brush your teeth.
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What is that noise you're making?
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After I never heard of it.
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Work hard, Linda, and maybe someday you will have ears like mine.
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That's good.
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Ears?
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It's not working for you?
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I thought they were pretty good.
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It's Shifu.
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Of course it's Shifu.
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What do you think I'm doing?
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Ooh, Master Shifu.
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At the beginning of the scene, Pope uses a couple of words that are more advanced.
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Did you catch those?
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You may be the scariest bandit in Hajin province, but you're a lousy tipper.
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If you say something is lousy, you mean it's very bad or poor quality.
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For example, you might say, that was a lousy movie.
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I had a lousy day or he's a lousy driver.
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And a tipper is someone who gives a tip, extra money given to workers to thank them for good service.
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In certain countries, like the US, it's common to tip 20% in restaurants.
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So a lousy tipper is someone who tips very little or nothing at all.
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Now listen to how Crane responds.
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Did you notice how the words how did you get out of flowed naturally here?
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This is because it was full of connected speech, the way natives cut through Jews and link words together when they speak.
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Let's break it down.
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It'll be great for improving your pronunciation.
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First, instead of how'd you, he said how'd you.
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This is a common pattern where there's a D and a Y next to each other, you can morph them into a J sound.
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Listen to these examples.
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When did you make this decision?
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I told you it's over.
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Next, get out becomes get out.
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In American English, the T becomes this soft D sound when placed between vowels.
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We call it flap T or the American T.
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Like put on or it is.
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Then the word off becomes a simple a sound, another common pattern.
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And finally, we hear the American T again in out as it links to off.
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Outer, outer.
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Now the entire phrase.
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How'd you get outa?
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How'd you get outa there alive?
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Now let's practice after crane.
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How'd you get outa there alive?
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How'd you get outa there alive?
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So when Po finishes cooking, he uses a specific expression.
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Check it out.
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Order up!
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Hope you like it.
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You'll hear this a lot in restaurants.
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The cook yells, order up!
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To tell waiters the dish is done and ready to be taken to customers.
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Order up!
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Okay, order up!
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Hey, number 1, order up!
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This is really good!
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No, come on, you should try my dad's secret ingredient soup.
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He actually knows the secret ingredient.
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What are you talking about?
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This is amazing.
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And just another note on connected speech.
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Here we have another common pattern.
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What are you may sound like warrior.
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We have the American T, the word are being cut and the word you being reduced to ya.
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Try to repeat.
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What are you talking about?
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What are you talking about?
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Now, Tigris says something very serious, almost like legend.
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It is said that the dragon warrior can survive for months at a time on nothing
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but the dew of a single ginkgo leaf and the energy of the universe.
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It is said is a formal way to introduce information that comes from common belief.
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Tigris is referring to legendary stories about the dragon warrior.
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It's like saying people say or according to tradition.
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Check out this other example.
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It is said that we humans use only a tiny portion of our brains.
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It is said that every man has three tasks to accomplish in this world.
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Okay, so it is said that practice makes perfect.
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Have you ever heard that?
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Well, I really want you to become that successful, fluent English speaker you've always dreamed of being.
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However, I bet you feel lost about how to do this.
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You feel too busy to dedicate enough time to studying, right?
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Or you've been stuck at the same level forever.
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And I know this because I've been there myself.
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Remember, I'm an English learner just like you.
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So, let me share with you a method to go from being a lost, insecure English learner to becoming a confident,
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natural English speaker, even if you only have 10-15 minutes per day.
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First, watch a short lesson like this one with Kung Fu Panda.
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Second, practice the new words from that lesson with smart flashcards, which use science to help you remember new words forever.
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And finally, third, speak the new words in a real conversation
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so you feel confident using them in any situation
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and practice pronunciation the great thing is we make it super
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easy for you to do this all on the real life app
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and in fact you can use the new words you're learning
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today in a guided speaking conversation based on this exact lesson with kung fu panda right now stop just recognizing
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and forgetting new words and start being able to actually speak them naturally.
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So try it for free, just click the link in the description below.
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It is said that the dragon warrior can survive for months at a time on nothing
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but the dew of a single ginkgo leaf and the energy of the universe.
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When you do something for months at a time, you do it continuously for months without stopping.
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For example, she travels four weeks at a time he works for hours at a time without breaks
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and they disappear for days at a time he's been holed
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up in his room for days at a time playing old
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video games my father would often disappear for months at a time
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and dew is the tiny drop of water that forms on plants cars
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or any surfaces overnight when the air cools down a ginkgo leaf is a leaf from the ginkgo tree
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an ancient tree species with distinctive fan-shaped leaves.
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Okay, so right after this, Poe starts doing an impersonation of Master Shifu.
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An impersonation is when you copy the way someone talks and moves, usually in an exaggerated or funny way.
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You'll never be the dragon warrior unless you lose 500 pounds and brush your teeth.
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Pounds is a unit of weight used in the United States, abbreviated as LB.
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While most of the world uses kilograms, Americans measure body weight in pounds.
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One pound equals about 0.45 kilograms, which means 100 pounds is about 45 kilos.
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So keep in mind, if you are talking about weight with Americans, they'll use pounds, not kilograms.
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So the fun doesn't last long.
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Shifu arrives and brings shocking news.
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Tai Long, a powerful and dangerous Kung Fu warrior, has escaped from prison.
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And he's coming for the Dragon Scroll.
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And suddenly, everything becomes real for Po.
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This isn't just a joke anymore.
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He was chosen to be the Dragon Warrior, and now he actually has to face a real enemy.
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Now, the next day, Shifu is still thinking about this, about Tai Long and about Po.
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and when he goes looking for him, he finds him in the kitchen.
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What?
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I keep getting upset, okay?
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Oh, no need to explain.
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I just thought you might be monkey.
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He hides his almond cookies on the top shelf an almond
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is a type of nut like this it has a hard shell
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but it's creamy inside it's commonly used in cookies
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and desserts this is a shelf and the top shelf is the highest shelf hardest to reach
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Don't tell monkey.
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Look at you.
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Yeah, I know.
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I disgust you.
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No, no, I mean, how did you get up there?
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I don't know.
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I guess, I don't know.
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I was getting a cookie.
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And yet you are 10 feet off the ground and have done a perfect split.
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Feet, in this case, is a measurement of height.
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Americans use feet instead of meters.
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10 feet is about 3 meters.
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If something is 10 feet off the ground, it's 3 meters above the floor.
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Shifu is surprised that Poe is actually doing a perfect split.
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A split is when you spread your legs wide apart like gymnasts and martial artists do.
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A perfect split means your legs are completely flat, 180 degrees apart. So after
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seeing what Poe could do in the kitchen, Shifu realizes something very important.
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In the next scene, he decides to try a completely different way of training him.
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Let's watch it.
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When you concentrate, you stink.
193
But perhaps that is my fault.
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I cannot train you the way I have trained the Five.
195
I now see that the way to get through to you is with this.
196
Oh, great.
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Because I am hungry.
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Good.
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When you have been trained, you may eat.
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Let's begin.
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Oh!
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Ah!
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Ow!
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Ow!
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Ow!
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Ah!
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Ah!
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Ah!
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Yuck!
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Yuck!
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Yuck!
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Huh?
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Oh!
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After you, Panda.
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Just like that?
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No sit-ups?
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No-no-no-no-no ten mile hike?
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I vowed to train you, and you have been trained.
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You are free to eat.
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Enjoy.
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Hey!
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I said you are free to eat.
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Have a dumpling.
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Hey!
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Listen to what Shifu says in the beginning of post training.
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When you concentrate, you stink.
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What do you think stink means here?
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Smell bad.
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Being terrible at something or become nervous.
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Literally, if you stink, you smell bad.
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But here it's figurative.
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When you say someone stinks at something, you mean they're really bad at it.
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They perform poorly.
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For example, I stink at math.
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He stinks at cooking.
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She stinks at dancing.
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Perhaps means maybe or possibly.
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Don't turn your back on me, Scar.
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Oh no, Mufasa.
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Perhaps you shouldn't turn your back on me.
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It's commonly used in more polite speech.
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But perhaps that is my fault.
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I cannot train you the way I have trained the Five.
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I now see that the way to get through to you is with this.
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To get through to someone means to successfully communicate with them or make them understand something.
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When you finally get through to someone, you're breaking through their resistance or confusion and they finally understand what you're trying to tell them.
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Shifu is saying he's figured out how to teach Po effectively by using food as motivation.
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So, Po goes through a few days of incense training and finally arrives at the moment where Shifu will let him eat.
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After you is a polite phrase meaning you go first or you start first.
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It's a gesture of courtesy, letting someone else take the first turn.
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To you, Claude.
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No, after you, sir.
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No, after you, Claude.
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No, after you, sir.
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Oh, get the move on.
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Just like that.
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No sit-ups.
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No, no, no, no, no 10-mile hike.
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A sit-up is an exercise where you lie on your back
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and lift your upper body up towards your knees repeatedly to strengthen your stomach muscles.
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You also have push-ups and pull-ups, which are very common exercises.
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So we've talked about pounds for weight and feet for height and short distances.
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But what if we're talking about longer distances?
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How do Americans talk about it?
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That's where miles come in.
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One mile is about 1.6 kilometers.
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Two miles is a little over three kilometers.
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I vowed to train you and you have been trained.
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You are free to eat.
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To vow means to make a serious promise or commitment.
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When you vow to do something, you're promising to do it no matter what.
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Check out this example.
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But when the strangers left, they vowed to return.
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When I adopted Sherman, I vowed to be the best father I could be, to prepare him for all the wonders of the world, present and past.
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You are free to eat.
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This is a phrase commonly used to give others permission to do something like there's nothing stopping you.
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You're free to ask questions.
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You're free to leave.
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Well, now you're free to go back to your business.
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Okay, you're free to go.
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Enjoy your trip.
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I said you are free to eat.
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Have a dumpling.
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A dumpling is a small piece of food made from dough usually filled with meat or vegetables.
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They're very common in many cultures, in Ukrainian, Polish, and Chinese cuisine.
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Now notice the structure Shifu used.
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Have a dumpling.
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Have a food or have a drink is a common phrase used to offer something to someone.
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It's an invitation to take and consume something.
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Have a cookie.
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Have a seat.
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Have some cake.
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It's friendly and casual.
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So Shifu finally finds a way to train Poe.
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And from here, Poe starts to become the Dragon Warrior he's meant to be.
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Now, are you ready to the final and most important step of the lesson?
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We're gonna take everything you've just learned, the new vocabulary and pronunciation, and put it into practice.
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You'll watch the whole scene again, this time without subtitles, and answer some quiz questions.
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Let's do it!
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You may be the scariest bandit in Hajin province, but you're a lousy tipper.
301
Really?
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What does lousy mean in this context?
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slightly disappointing poor quality unusual but interesting
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so how'd you get out of there alive I mean I didn't actually say
305
that but I thought it in my mind he could read my mind he'd have been like, What?
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Order up!
307
Hope you like it.
308
This is really good.
309
No, come on.
310
You should try my dad's secret ingredient soup.
311
He actually knows the secret ingredient.
312
What are you talking about?
313
This is amazing.
314
Wow, you're a really good cook.
315
I wish my mouth was bigger.
316
Tigress, you've got to try this.
317
It is said that the dragon warrior can survive for months at a time on nothing, Nothing but the dew of a single ginkgo leaf and the energy of the universe.
318
Which sentence uses at a time correctly?
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He traveled for months at a time without taking breaks.
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I studied many subjects at a time yesterday.
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She worked at a time when she was tired.
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I guess my body doesn't know it's the Dragon Warrior yet.
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I'm gonna need a lot more than dew and, uh, universe juice.
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What?
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Oh, nothing, Master Shifu.
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You'll never be the Dragon Warrior unless you lose 500 pounds and brush your teeth.
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What is that noise you're making?
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Laughter?
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I never heard of it.
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Work hard, Linda, and maybe someday you will have ears like mine.
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What do you call the act of imitating others in a funny or exaggerated way?
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Impersonation.
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That's good.
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Ears!
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It's not working for you?
336
I thought they were pretty good.
337
It's Shifu.
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Of course it's Shifu, what do you think I'm doing?
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Ooh, Master Shifu!
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What?
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I keep going upset, okay?
342
Oh, no need to explain.
343
I just thought you might be monkey.
344
He hides his almond cookies on the top shelf.
345
Don't tell monkey.
346
Look at you.
347
Yeah, I know.
348
I disgust you.
349
No, no, I mean, how did you get up there?
350
I don't know.
351
I guess, I don't know.
352
I was getting a cookie.
353
And yet you are ten feet off the ground.
354
What is this person doing?
355
A split.
356
And have done a perfect split.
357
Now this?
358
This is just a.. accident.
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There are no accidents.
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Come with me.
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When you concentrate, you stink.
362
But perhaps that is my fault.
363
I cannot train you the way I have trained the Five.
364
I now see that the way to get through to you is with this.
365
What does it mean to get through to you?
366
To reach you physically, to make you understand something, or to understand you without words.
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Oh great, because I'm hungry.
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Good.
369
When you have been trained, you may eat.
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Let's begin.
371
After you, Panda.
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Just like that?
373
No sit-ups?
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No 10-mile hike?
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Shifu promised to train Poe, but he doesn't say promised here, he uses a more formal word.
376
What does he say?
377
He vowed to train Poe.
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guys now if you're new to this youtube channel you should know
379
that every single week we make new lessons just like this one with celebrities movies
380
and tv series to help you understand fast speaking natives without getting lost without missing the jokes
381
and without subtitles so if
382
that sounds like something you want to be able to do hit the subscribe button
383
and the bell down below
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so you never miss any of our new lessons remember to go
385
and practice what you learned today on the real-life english app
386
you'll find a special link right in the description below that'll
387
take you straight to this lesson over there no no no
388
what do you mean she's not coming i have a backyard
389
full of these little girls who are counting on the visit from a fairy princess Ah!
390
Halt!
391
Hey!
392
Heyo!
393
Stop it!
394
Hey!
395
Hey!
396
Hey!
397
Listen!
398
I don't want a refund!
399
I want the fairy princess!
400
Please!
401
Please!
402
I'm begging you!
403
You know what?
404
I hope that you can sleep at night, you crusher of little girl's thieves!
405
Oh!
406
Oh!
407
When's the fairy princess coming?
408
Any minute now!
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Yay!
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Yay!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Learn English with KUNG FU PANDA — It’s Training Time!”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Shifu, warrior, word, dragon. This video has 410 sentences and 3245 words to shadow. The speech runs for 27:36. The speaker talks at a steady 118 words per minute, a comfortable pace for shadowing. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| warrior noun | /ˈwɔɹi.ɚ/ | A person who is actively engaged in battle, conflict or warfare; a soldier or combatant. |
| lousy adjective | /ˈlaʊ.zi/ | Insufficient and less than expected of a good thing. |
| stink verb | /stɪŋk/ | To have a strong bad smell. |
| pound noun | /ˈpaʊ̯nd/ | A unit of weight in various measurement systems. |
| ginkgo noun | /ˈɡɪŋ.kəʊ/ | Any trees native to China with small, fan-shaped leaves and edible seeds. |
| ingredient noun | /ɪnˈɡɹiːdi.ənt/ | One of the substances present in a mixture, especially food. |
| cookie noun | /ˈkʊki/ | A small, flat, baked good which is either crisp or soft but firm. |
| leaf noun | /lif/ | The usually green and flat organ that represents the most prominent feature of most vegetative plants. |
| tipper noun | /ˈtɪpɚ/ | Someone who tips; someone who gives a gratuity. |
| vow noun | /vaʊ/ | A solemn promise to perform some act, or behave in a specified manner, especially a promise to live and act in accordance with the rules of a religious order. |
| 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. |
| shelf noun | /ʃɛlf/ | A flat, rigid structure, fixed at right angles to a wall or forming a part of a cabinet, desk, etc., and used to display, store, or support objects. |
| dumpling noun | /ˈdʌmp.lɪŋ/ | Specifically, a ball of dough used in stews and other sauced dishes; a thick noodle. |
| outa noun | An old black man. | |
| monkey noun | /ˈmʌŋki/ | A member of the clade Simiiformes other than those in the clade Hominoidea containing apes, generally (but not universally) distinguished by small size, tails… |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| order up verb | To summon for military duty. | |
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. | |
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). | |
| get out verb | To leave or escape. | |
| get up verb | To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb. | |
| break through verb | To gain popularity. | |
| cool down verb | /kuːl ˈdaʊn/ | To become cooler; to be reduced in temperature. |
| cut through verb | To take a shortcut through. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- What are you talking about?
- What is that noise you're making?
- It's not working for you?
- What do you think I'm doing?
- How'd you get outa there alive?
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 trained · have been trained · Have you ever heard |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | have been trained · is said · being cut |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | someone who gives · someone who tips · kilograms, which means |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | may eat · may be · might say |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 74 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, don't, how'd. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thief /ˈθiːf/, strengthen /ˈstɹɛŋ(k)θən/, mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shelf /ʃɛlf/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, brush /bɹʌʃ/, flashcard /ˈflæʃˌkɑɹd/, crusher /ˈkɹʌʃə/
- Long words — get the stress right: ingredient /ɪnˈɡɹiːdi.ənt/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, exaggerate /ɛɡˈzæd͡ʒ.ə.ɹeɪt/, abbreviate /əˈbɹi.vi.eɪt/, figurative /ˈfɪɡəɹətɪv/
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 warrior, lousy, stink.
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.