Shadowing Practice: Red Magic | Who Is Taking the Reds? The Battle for Magica Begins! (Ch. 1–2) - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
A2
Little Fox!
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Little Fox!
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The ancient fortress stood on a craggy,
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windswept ridge on the western slope of Mount Mystery.
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Miles of dense, shadowy forest guarded by fearsome creatures separated it from the rest of Magicka.
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Most people had forgotten the fortress was even there.
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But to those who remembered,
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it was a reminder of the old times,
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when Magicka was not the peaceful place it was now.
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A gaunt man with glittering amber eyes stood at a high window staring down at the forest.
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He heard a grunt and turned to see that a troll had entered.
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What is it? the man demanded.
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The troll grunted again.
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A puff of magic energy rose above him,
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showing a rough image of ugly troll teeth tearing into food.
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Hungry, the trolls were hungry.
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You'll have to wait a little longer,
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the man said, but soon you'll have all the food you want.
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He stepped over to the contraption in the center of the room.
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He'd finished building it moments ago.
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It was a mishmash of many things,
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dragon bones and scales, leather-bound books,
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stones gathered from the cave of the unknown, and more.
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At the very top of the pile was an ancient human skull bleached white by time.
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The man rubbed his hands together and placed them over the skull's eye sockets.
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The machine shuddered to life and belched out an image.
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A map of all of Magica.
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Tiny red dots glowed here and there, hundreds of them.
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The man smiled.
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The secret eye worked just as the ancient writings had predicted.
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This would make things much easier.
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It was time to go and take what was rightfully his.
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Xan, you're next.
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Xan.
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Xan!
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Xan!
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Xan blinked and looked at the teacher.
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Sorry, Professor Liblo, he said.
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Could you repeat that?
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Several of Xan's classmates laughed.
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It's your turn to perform today's exercise, Professor Liblo said patiently.
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Please move your assigned objects according to my instructions.
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Oh, okay.
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Zan stood up.
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Everyone was watching him.
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He had no idea what instructions the teacher had given or what his assigned objects were.
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He'd been too busy daydreaming.
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He looked at the table at the front of the room.
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All sorts of things were sitting there.
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Fruit, rocks, shoes, and more.
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Which items was he supposed to move?
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Books.
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A voice hissed behind him,
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too softly for the teacher to hear.
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You're supposed to stack them by size.
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It was Perda, his next-door neighbor and friend.
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He shot her a grateful look.
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Then he glanced at the books.
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Transporting stuff was easy, but it wasn't easy to do it with the control and precision that the teacher wanted,
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especially for someone like Zan.
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He was good at bigger magic,
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like zapping himself to a new place or creating clothing or food out of nothing.
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This smaller, more detailed type of magic was not easy.
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It required a quiet mind,
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and Zan's mind was rarely quiet.
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He rubbed his thumb against his other fingers.
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There was a crackling sound as sparks began to jump from his hand.
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Zan pointed at the largest book and everything on the table flew into the air and exploded.
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The other students giggled and Xan smiled sheepishly.
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Oops, he said.
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Sorry about that.
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Professor Liblo rubbed his hands together.
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Restore, he said.
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The items reappeared.
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Try again, please, Xan.
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And try to focus this time.
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We don't want you accidentally transporting the entire school to the peak of Mount Mystery." That made everyone laugh, including Xan.
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Then he tried again.
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This time he did his best to focus.
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Come to me, he murmured.
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Now only the largest book rose.
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It flew through the air and landed gently on his desk.
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One by one, he brought the other books to him.
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Finally, a slim volume titled,
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Dragon-taming tips landed neatly atop the pile.
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Most of the class clapped.
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Zan gave a playful bow.
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Pretty slow, a boy said loudly.
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And you had to use a focusing phrase.
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I thought reds were supposed to be better at magic than the rest of us.
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Enough, Jev, the teacher said sternly.
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If you think you can do better, you may go next.
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Zan sat down.
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Thanks for saving me, he whispered to his friend.
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Perda leaned forward.
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No problem, but you really should pay attention, she whispered.
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Even Reds can't just fake their way through every class they don't like.
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Zan didn't answer.
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Physical Objects was one of his least favorite classes.
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It was boring, even more boring than food and drink creation.
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When would he ever need to move things around like that anyway?
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He wasn't planning on becoming a physical builder or anything of the sort.
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No way.
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He was going to be an explorer like his parents.
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That's why he spent most of his time in school daydreaming about exciting adventures.
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I'm finished, Jev announced as he lined up one last shoe on his desk.
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He shot Xan a smug look.
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Much faster than the red, Xan frowned.
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Jev always had to make him look bad.
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Just then, a pretty girl named Gliss pointed to the door.
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Gliss was the only other red in the class besides Xan.
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An echo crow, she cried.
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A large, purple-feathered crow flapped into the room.
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Message!
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Message! it squawked.
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Urgent message from the king and queen!
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Several kids gasped, and Zan sat up straight in his chair.
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He couldn't remember anyone from Magica's capital,
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First City, sending a message to boring old Swamp Bottom before.
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Especially not the king and queen.
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Hush, Professor Liblo told the class.
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Then he nodded to the crow.
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Go on, please.
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Urgent!
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Danger!
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The crow squawked.
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Danger for all reds!
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Danger for all reds!
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Gliss cried, echoing the crow's warning.
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What does that mean?
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Hush!
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Professor Liblow said again.
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Let it finish its message.
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Echo crows didn't talk on their own.
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They could only repeat what a person told them.
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The crow flapped its wings.
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Urgent danger!
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It said again.
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Reds are disappearing all over Magicka!
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Nobody knows where they went or what has become of them!
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All reds, please take precautions!
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Urgent!
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Urgent!
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The echo crow clacked its beak.
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Then it flew out of the room.
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Everyone started talking at once.
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Well, almost everyone.
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Xan didn't say a word the crow's message had made him think about his parents.
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Nobody knew where they were either,
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or what had become of them.
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But that was different.
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For one thing, they weren't Reds.
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For another, they had disappeared four long years ago.
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Perda poked him.
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Did you hear that?
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She said.
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What do you think it means?
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Silence!
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Professor Liblow cried.
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His voice boomed with the help of a swelling spell.
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The class quieted down at once.
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Gliss raised her hand.
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I need to go home,
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she said, her voice cracking.
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Both of my parents are reds.
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I should tell them about this warning.
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Me too, Zan said.
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My grandfather, Boz, is a red.
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What's the big deal?
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Jev's voice was loud enough for Zan to hear, but not the teacher.
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All those snooty reds are probably sneaking off somewhere together.
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Maybe they're trying to come up with even more ways to act superior to the rest of us.
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Be quiet, Jev.
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Perda glared at him.
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You're just jealous.
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Gliss hadn't heard Jev.
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She stood up.
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I just remembered something, she said.
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Last night, I overheard my parents whispering.
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You overheard them?
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Professor Liblo gave her a suspicious look.
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How?
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Gliss blushed.
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Okay, I admit it.
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I used a spy fly.
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I know we're not supposed to use them to spy on people.
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But my parents wouldn't tell me why they look so worried lately.
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I had to find out what's going on.
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Wow, thought Zan.
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If Gliss had used a spy fly,
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she must have been very concerned.
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So what did you hear? he asked.
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It was about my uncle, Gliss said.
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He lives in New Mist.
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You mean the town near Mount Mystery?
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Zan said.
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My parents haven't heard from Uncle Gar in three days, Gliss said.
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He's a red too!
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Oh dear.
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Professor Liblo shook his head.
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This sounds rather serious.
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Perhaps you'd better go home.
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It's almost time to go anyway.
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Class dismissed.
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The students started gathering their things and chattering about what had just happened.
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Xan grabbed his bag and hurried out of the room with Perda.
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I should find out what Boz knows about this, Zan said.
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He's a retired magic master, remember?
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Maybe some of his friends in the capital know what's going on.
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Perda gave him a look.
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You sound almost excited, she said.
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Aren't you scared?
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You and Boz are both Reds.
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Before Zan could respond, Jev came into the hall with some friends.
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Rushing home to hide under your bed, Red?
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Jev jeered.
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Zan didn't answer.
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Jev had never forgiven him for an incident on Zan's first day at the Swamp Bottom School almost four years earlier.
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But even if that had never happened,
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they still wouldn't be friends.
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Jev seemed to hate all Reds.
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Well, not all Reds.
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Just then, Gliss hurried out of the classroom and Jev's voice instantly changed from sneering to sympathetic.
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Hey, Gliss.
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Sorry your uncle is missing.
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Want me to walk you home?
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Thanks, that's sweet, but I'm in too much of a hurry to walk.
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Gliss rubbed her hands together and muttered the word, Zapped.
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A second later, she disappeared.
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Jev frowned and then zapped himself away too.
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Zan was glad to see him go.
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Come on, he told Perda.
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I'll walk you home in case you're afraid of disappearing without a trace.
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I'm not the one who should be afraid, she retorted.
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The crow said the warning was only for reds.
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Okay, Zan said.
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Then you can walk me home.
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She smiled.
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It's a deal.
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Let's go.
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They headed for home.
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It was a bright, clear day with a light breeze that blew Perta's soft,
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caramel-colored hair around her face.
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Was it magic, or did she seem to get prettier every day?
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Xan tried not to notice that.
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It made him feel confused and nervous,
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a lot more nervous than he'd felt on hearing the Echo Crow's message.
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When they reached Perta's house, she sighed.
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Looks like Mom's been redecorating again.
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The house had been square and blue that morning when the kids left for school.
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Now it was a multicolored blob.
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Hey, she lives in Swamp Bottom, remember?
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Zan joked.
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She has to do something to lessen the boredom.
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Perda rolled her eyes.
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See you tomorrow.
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She said.
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Bye.
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Zan headed next door.
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His grandfather wasn't very interested in redecorating,
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so their house looked the same as always.
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In other words, it was just as boring as everything else in Swamp Bottom.
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For a second, Zan wondered how his mother might redecorate the place.
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She'd always been good at that sort of thing.
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She'd love to surprise him by turning his bedroom into a spooky cave or a mysterious jungle.
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He snapped out of those thoughts when he heard a rustling sound directly overhead.
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Glancing up, he barely had time to take in a dragon's snarling face hissing down at him.
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Xan jumped back just in time.
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A bolt of flame sizzled down,
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incinerating the ground where he just stood.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will practice your English speaking skills by immersing yourself in a fantastic narrative from a thrilling fantasy world. The selected transcript from “Red Magic: Who Is Taking the Reds?” provides a rich context for shadow speaking, where you can not only improve your vocabulary but also gain insights into character dynamics and storytelling elements. You'll engage in active listening and repetition, allowing you to enhance your IELTS speaking practice while building your confidence in using English in both academic and casual contexts.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Fortress - A large fortified building or military stronghold.
- Craggy - Having many crags; rugged.
- Grunted - A low, guttural sound often used to denote animalistic communication.
- Magic energy - A mystical force associated with spells and sorcery.
- Contraption - A strange or poorly made machine or device.
- Bleached white - A term referring to something that has lost its color due to exposure to sunlight or chemicals.
- Ancient writings - Texts written in the distant past, often containing historical or mythical significance.
- Perform today's exercise - An instructional phrase suggesting an action or task must be completed.
Practice Tips
To truly benefit from this lesson, focus on the technique of shadow speech. As you listen to the narration, try to mimic the intonation and rhythm of the speaker. This can be particularly beneficial for improving your English pronunciation. Here are some strategies to implement during your practice:
- Listen Carefully: Play the audio at a normal speed initially. Focus on understanding the overall meaning before attempting to repeat what you hear.
- Slow it Down: If you're having trouble keeping up, try using a playback feature to slow down the audio. This will help you catch details and improve your shadow speak.
- Repeat and Imitate: Pause after each sentence or phrase and repeat it out loud, trying to exactly match the speaker's tone and pace.
- Record Yourself: After shadowing, record your voice. Listen to the playback to identify areas where your pronunciation could improve.
- Engage with the Content: Visualize the storyline and characters while speaking. This mental imagery can enhance your engagement and retention.
Consistent practice using these techniques will help you with both your English speaking practice and broader language skills, ultimately preparing you for exams like the IELTS.
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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