Shadowing Practice: "Sometimes Good Isn't Good Enough" | Suits - Learn English Speaking with Video
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201 sentences
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1
Rachel, do me a favor?
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Can you just put that on pause for a sec?
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Because I need to make a copy.
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No, Lewis, I can't.
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I'm busy doing my job.
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Excuse me?
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You want to fire me like you fired Harold?
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Because honestly, I don't give a shit.
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I get it.
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Rachel, listen.
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I know about the Harvard thing.
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And I think it's great.
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What?
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Yeah, Norma told me.
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Rachel, I know that waiting is hard, but you're not gonna be here for much longer.
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I got 100% faith in you.
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I didn't get it.
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What?
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I don't understand.
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I had everything.
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My grades, the LSATs, I'm a legacy, and I don't even puff myself up, but I killed it at that interview.
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That doesn't make any sense.
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And do you remember that woman who came from Harvard?
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She didn't like anyone, but I swear she loved me.
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Sheila.
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Yeah.
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Sheila...
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Sheila Sass.
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You remember.
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Yeah, I remember. Is there something wrong?
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Yup, there is something wrong.
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I believe you were wronged.
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I believe you suffered the slings and hours of outrageous wrongness.
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And I will not have it.
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What does that mean?
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That means that I'm gonna rectify this situation because you miss saying you're going to Harvard.
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Look, Sheila, I'm flattered by what you did.
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But this is not fair, and you know it can't stand.
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Lewis, pull a resume from the stack.
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Anyone.
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Read it.
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Sure.
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Magna cum laude.
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Yale, 3.9 GPA.
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Another one.
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Summa cum laude.
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Georgetown, 4.3 GPA.
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Listen, I get it.
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I know what you're trying to...
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That's my reject pile.
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I am a professional.
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I would never let my feelings for you sway me against a candidate.
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Okay, but you have to let them sway you for a candidate.
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You can't ask me that.
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Rachel Zane is the best paralegal in the best law firm in New York.
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She is relied upon by the best lawyers who have graduated from the best university.
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The woman is crimson.
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So who do I knock out?
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I promised her.
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Louis, I liked her.
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I did.
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You're just gonna have to tell her the truth.
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Sometimes good isn't good enough.
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What is it, Louis?
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Got a hard truth to tell you.
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I'm not going to Harvard.
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No, you're not.
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I get it.
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I'm not good enough.
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I never have been.
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That is not the hard truth.
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You're an amazing candidate, and you need to know this in your heart.
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The truth is you did not get in.
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Because I let you down.
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What are you talking about?
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Sheila and I had a relationship.
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I hurt her. And...
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And she took it out on me?
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I want to write you a recommendation for anywhere.
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Any law school.
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It just...
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Won't be Harvard.
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I'm really sorry.
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Hey.
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Hey.
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I never got to buy you that drink last night.
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They were free.
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I know.
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You left.
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I did.
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It was a nice party.
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It was.
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Mm-hmm.
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Mm-hmm.
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Okay.
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So I see you're still not gonna tell me why.
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I didn't get to know.
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I don't know.
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I don't know.
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You left.
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I did.
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It was a nice party.
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It was.
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Mm-hmm.
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Mm-hmm.
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Okay.
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So I see you're still not gonna tell me why you...
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I didn't get into Harvard.
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Don't look at me that way. With sympathy? With pity.
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I wasn't.
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Rachel...
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Listen to me.
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There are other schools...
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Don't.
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Yeah, I won't.
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It wasn't that I wasn't good enough.
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I know that.
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It was Louis.
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What?
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The interviewer.
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Uh, apparently she and Louis had a history and...
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Wait, she didn't let you in because of him?
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That's...
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I know.
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...not right.
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I know.
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Tell me about the day you found out.
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Rachel, come on.
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No. I need to hear how it felt from someone who got in, because I'll...
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I'll never hear that from myself.
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You're looking at me like that again.
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I'm not.
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Then what?
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It's.. it's just not right.
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Yeah.
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Whatever it is, I'm not in the mood.
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I know about Rachel and Sheila at Harvard.
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How?
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Rachel told me.
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She wants me to send this letter going over Sheila's head, but it can't come from me.
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Yeah, it can't come from anyone.
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She didn't get in because they didn't think she was good enough.
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You lied to her.
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No, I never lied to her.
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I told her she was good enough, which she is, but I let her down because I couldn't persuade Sheila, which is the truth.
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Louis, you have to tell her the real truth.
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Like, I saw the look on her face and I took it away.
148
I do not want to put it back.
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She is gonna pursue this.
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She's gonna find out one way or the other.
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I'm not gonna let her find out from Harvard.
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I can't tell her.
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You'll regret it.
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Look, I'll give you another day to think about it, but after that, I have to tell her myself.
155
I mean, so look, I'm sorry, but I am not...
156
When did you send that letter?
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Um, I was, uh...
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I'll tell you when.
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Never.
160
Okay, look, let me explain.
161
When I went to see Louis, he told me what really happened.
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I know.
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He told me to.
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And I get it.
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I'm not good enough.
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What I don't get, Mike, is why you didn't have the courage and tell me that yourself.
167
Look, he lied to you.
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I thought he deserved the chance to tell you himself, all right?
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When I went to his office to get him to sign the letter, I...
170
Wait.
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You went to him to sign the letter?
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You told me you were gonna sign the letter.
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No. So you lied to me.
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No, I didn't.
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I told you that I would help you.
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That is such bull .
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That's not what you meant, and you know it.
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You've been cagey with me since the second I came to you about the letter, and you're being cagey with me right now.
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You are.
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You're lying to me.
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Not today.
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Rachel, please stop.
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Then what day, Mike?
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Because it's always something.
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It is always some secret or some story or some lie.
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You don't understand.
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I don't understand why.
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You don't understand what I have been through.
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You don't understand what I have lost.
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Because it's everything.
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Everyone that I love.
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Trevor, my grandmother, Harvey, now probably this job.
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I am not ready to lose you.
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Not today.
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Then tell me.
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I never went to Harvard.
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What?
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I'm a fraud.
199
Rachel.
200
Rachel.
201
I'm sorry.
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What You'll Practice in This Lesson
Ready to boost your English speaking skills with real-world dialogue? This lesson uses a dynamic scene from the show "Suits" to help you master conversational flow, emotional tone, and natural phrasing. You'll practice understanding fast-paced exchanges, mimicking intonation, and using common workplace and personal interaction phrases. It's perfect for learners who want to sound more confident in everyday or professional conversations—plus, you'll get to try the shadowing technique, a proven way to improve pronunciation and fluency.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases to Learn
- "I don't give a shit": A casual (and slightly strong) way to say you don't care about something. Example: "He kept complaining, but I don't give a shit anymore."
- Legacy: Someone who gets special consideration because a family member attended the same school. Example: "She's a legacy at Harvard, so her application stood out."
- Killed it: To do something extremely well. Example: "I was nervous, but I killed it at the presentation."
- Rectify: To fix or correct a problem. Example: "We need to rectify this mistake before it gets worse."
- Reject pile: A group of things (like resumes) that were not chosen. Example: "My application ended up in the reject pile, but I'm trying again."
Practice Tips for Shadowing Success
The dialogue in this video is fast and emotional, so it's a great challenge for shadow speech practice. Here's how to make the most of it: First, watch the video once to understand the context. Then, play short clips (5-10 seconds) and repeat them immediately, copying the speed, tone, and stress. Pay attention to how Rachel's voice rises when she's confused ("What?") and how Lewis's tone softens when he offers support. If you struggle, use a shadowing app to slow down the audio—many apps let you adjust speed without changing pitch. Practice daily for 10-15 minutes, and you'll notice your fluency improve. Remember, the goal isn't to be perfect; it's to sound natural. So don't worry if you stumble—just keep going! Learning English with videos like this is fun and effective, and the shadowspeaks technique will help you sound more like a native in no time.
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 graduated · have been · You've been |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | woman who came · someone who got · Sheila, which is |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | were wronged · is relied |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the best |
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.