Shadowing Practice: Rachel’s Dad Has Major Beef with Ross | Friends - Learn English Speaking with Video
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87 sentences
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1
How's the library?
2
Uh, museum.
3
What happened to the library?
4
There never was a library.
5
I mean, there are libraries.
6
It's just that I, um, I've never worked at one.
7
You know what's really good here?
8
The lobster.
9
What do you say, shall I just order three?
10
Yeah, if you're really hungry.
11
It was a joke.
12
I made a joke.
13
Yeah, actually, Daddy, Ross is allergic to lobster.
14
What kind of person is allergic to lobster?
15
I guess the kind of person that works in a library.
16
It's not a...
17
I know, it's a museum.
18
What, you're the only one around here who can make a joke?
19
At least mine was funny.
20
Uh, waiter.
21
Um, I have...
22
I have a problem.
23
I tip way too much.
24
Way, way too much.
25
It's a sickness, really.
26
Yeah, it is.
27
It is.
28
We really, really need to do something.
29
Excuse me.
30
You think I'm cheap?
31
Oh, Daddy, no, you didn't mean anything by that.
32
He really didn't.
33
Nothing I do means anything, really.
34
This is nice.
35
I pay $200 for dinner, you put down $20, and you come out looking like Mr. Big Shot.
36
You really want to be Mr. Big Shot?
37
Oh, here.
38
I'll tell you what.
39
You pay the whole bill, Mr. Big Shot, all right?
40
Honey.
41
Rachel, one brunch is not gonna solve anything.
42
You've gotta face it, okay?
43
We're never gonna get along.
44
Okay, well, you are just going to have to, okay?
45
Because I've already got a mother and a father who cannot stay in the same room together, okay?
46
I don't want to have to have a separate room for you, too.
47
Okay, okay, okay.
48
Dr. Bobby happens to be an excellent doctor.
49
Oh, wait a minute.
50
His name is Dr. Bobby?
51
Well, that's his last name.
52
And his first name.
53
He's Bobby Bobby?
54
It's Robert Bobby.
55
Oh.
56
And, um, excuse me, he helps me.
57
Oh, please, ask her how.
58
What do you need help for?
59
With my alignment.
60
I got one leg shorter than the other.
61
Oh, my God.
62
Argue with that.
63
What?
64
It's true.
65
My right leg is 200 shorter.
66
Come on, you're just tilting.
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Her legs are fine.
68
I know that.
69
So what do you let her go to a chiropractor for?
70
I'm sorry, let her?
71
What can I do?
72
She doesn't listen to me about renter's insurance, either.
73
Wait a minute.
74
You don't have renter's insurance?
75
No. But what if somebody steals something?
76
How are you going to run after him with one leg shorter than the other?
77
Yeah, would you, uh, would you like some juice?
78
I'd love some juice.
79
Okay.
80
Wow, this is going so well.
81
Did you see us?
82
Did you see?
83
Yeah, honey, I'm standing right there.
84
Why don't you just tell me about the mole?
85
I haven't gotten checked yet.
86
Excellent.
87
Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Rachel’s Dad Has Major Beef with Ross”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Bobby, leg, library, lobster, shorter. This video has 87 sentences and 472 words to shadow. The speech runs for 2:58. The speaker talks at a natural 159 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start. 26 of its 87 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.
Key vocabulary in this video
14 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| lobster noun | /ˈlɑb.stɚ/ | A crustacean of the Nephropidae family, dark green or blue-black in colour turning bright red when cooked, with a hard shell and claws, which is used as a… |
| honey noun | /ˈhʌni/ | A sweet, viscous, gold-colored fluid produced from plant nectar by bees, and often consumed by humans. |
| juice noun | /d͡ʒuːs/ | A liquid made from plant, especially fruit. |
| allergic adjective | /əˈlɝ.d͡ʒɪk/ | Of or pertaining to allergy. |
| argue verb | /ˈɑɹ.ɡju/ | To show grounds for concluding (that); to indicate, imply. |
| hungry adjective | /ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi/ | Affected by hunger; having the physical need for food. |
| solve verb | /sɒlv/ | To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out. |
| steal verb | /stiːl/ | To take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else without intending to return it. |
| sickness noun | /ˈsɪknɪs/ | The quality or state of being sick or diseased; illness; an illness. |
| alignment noun | /əˈlaɪn.mənt/ | An arrangement of items in a line. |
| tilt verb | /tɪlt/ | To slope or incline (something); to slant. |
| waiter noun | /ˈweɪ̯təː/ | A male or female attendant who serves customers at their tables in a restaurant, café or similar. |
| brunch noun | /bɹʌnt͡ʃ/ | A meal eaten later in the day than breakfast and earlier than lunch, often in a leisurely, festive, and/or social way, and often consisting of typical foods… |
| chiropractor noun | /ˈkaɪ.ɹəˌpɹæk.tə(ɹ)/ | A health-care practitioner who specializes in chiropractic. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| get along verb | To interact or coexist well, without argument or trouble. | |
| put down verb | To insult, belittle, or demean. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- You know what's really good here?
- What do you say, shall I just order three?
- What, you're the only one around here who can make a joke?
- You don't have renter's insurance?
- Why don't you just tell me about the mole?
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 | I've never worked · haven't gotten |
| Comparatives -er than / more … than — comparing two things | shorter than |
| Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see coming | gonna solve · gonna get · are just going to have |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | you're just tilting · is going · I'm standing |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 22 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
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 lobster, honey, juice.
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.