Shadowing Practice: Taylor Swift Answering Every Question Like It's About Her Cats - Learn English Speaking with Video

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345 sentences

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What do you think about?

Are you really in the moment?

Do you ever, like, and this is not to diss any, because you've got to once in a while drift off and go,

oh, I wonder if this is going on.

Do you ever leave that moment and go someplace in your head?

You know what?

Sometimes, yes.

Because, you know, and I catch myself because I'm like, focus, focus.

Because if I, like, there are a million different times during that show where I could, like, fall into a hole and break my leg.

Yes.

Because there are, like, all these different cues, and you have to remember them but sometimes I'll be like, oh, my gosh, cats are so cute.

I'd love a cat.

Like, maybe I should get a cat.

Can they travel on planes?

Do they allow cats in hotel rooms?

But they're so cute.

Some cats like to swim.

That's cool.

And then I'm like, I'm on stage right now.

Like...

Congratulations on your two Grammys the other night and a standing ovation.

Thank you.

How great was that?

Thank you.

It was like top five best moments of my life, the standing ovation at the Grammys.

Top five.

Like, first, well, there have been so many wonderful ones.

Like, that's so top five.

One being with him, obviously.

The top four?

Yeah.

I think, do you, OK.

Like, winning album of the year at the Grammys, playing Gillette Stadium, singing with James Taylor, standing ovation at the Grammys, buying my cat.

That cat is unbelievably cute.

We're going to show pictures of that cat.

I am so envious of you having that cat.

My cats don't look like that.

Oh, wow.

No, that cat is the cutest thing.

It's a Scottish fold, right?

Yeah.

It's the cutest cat I've ever seen in my life.

And I look at my cats when I go home every day going, why aren't you that cute?

They're not as cute.

That is, okay, so you brought some video.

Just to rub it in my face how cute that cat is, that it's cuter than my cats, you brought a video as well.

Yeah.

All right.

I take a lot of video of the cat.

All right, I don't blame you.

All right, let's take a look of the video.

Oh, this one's called Cat Fail.

All right.

That's hilarious. And fail.

Uh -oh.

Oh, no. Oh, no. That's awesome that you take this. And that.

So the CD launch is very exciting.

Yeah.

But can I talk about your new addition to your family first?

Yes, you can.

Oh, OK.

You can do that.

So I got a new cat.

Yeah.

Um...

Yeah.

Come on.

Her name is Detective Olivia Benson.

Mm -hmm.

She was named after my favorite character on Law & SVU, but it's very confusing for me, because since I named the cat

Detective Olivia Benson, she's since been promoted on the show to Sergeant Olivia Benson and it's very confusing for the cat and also for me.

Yeah.

So do you call her detective sometimes and sergeant sometimes?

Usually, well, I actually call her a name that doesn't really make any sense, but her name is, in the house, it's Dibbles.

Because it suits her personality more than Olivia.

She's like a scrappy little cat.

So her name is like Olivia, but it's like her personality's more like, here goes the Dibbles.

Like...

What?

Wait, and we have a video?

You brought a video?

I did.

I brought several videos, um, because I over -prepare, but I'm not sure which one they've chosen.

Oh, this is her sleeping.

She's a very aggressive sleeper.

All right.

Everybody kind of sleeps in weird positions, I guess, but...

Girls...

Come on.

Cat is cornering the market.

Oh, my God. On weird positions.

That is the cutest thing.

Taylor and I have been working on a project together where we get to talk about our passion for cats.

It's a local access show, and we brought a clip of our first show, and if it's okay with you,

we thought we would show it to you right now.

It's 5 .55 a .m on Sunday.

Welcome to our very first episode of Kitty Corner.

on Utah Public Access Channel 843.

If you're looking for us, it's just after the music channels.

100

I'm Taylor with a Y.

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And I'm Ellen with a Y.

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I'm just kidding.

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I hope that's okay.

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It's perfect.

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I'm so excited we finally get to have our own show, and I want to thank our whole crew here at Channel 843

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in helping put this show together and as part of your court -ordered public service.

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Thanks, Paco.

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Thank you, D -Train.

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Thank you.

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Kitty Corner is a show for people who love cats, and we're gonna talk about cats.

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For example, I'll talk about my cats.

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And I'm gonna talk about my cats.

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And we'll answer your questions about cats.

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Yeah.

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You can call us with your questions.

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Well, not now.

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We don't have a phone yet.

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But eventually, and we can call it cat calls.

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Or look what the cat called in.

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Or it's raining, ringing cats and dogs except no dogs.

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No dogs.

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No. Before we go any further, I just want to welcome our newest sponsor.

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Oh, Flea Gone Collar.

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Are fleas a problem for your pretty kitty?

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Then...

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Get your flea gone!

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Get your flea gone!

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Get your flea gone!

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Get your flea gone!

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Collar!

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Collar!

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Hey, Taylor, did you notice that I had pictures of our cat's frame back there?

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You did?

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Yeah.

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Let's look at them.

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Okay.

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Okay.

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Our cats are so cute.

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I've got some questions about your cats.

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Oh, and I've got some questions about your cats.

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I'll go first.

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What's the cutest thing your cats ever did?

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Okay.

144

So Olivia and Meredith have been fighting a lot lately, bickering, you know, second child syndrome or second kitty syndrome, as I like to call it.

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And so I thought, are these two ever gonna get along?

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And I was just so worried about it.

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And the other night, in the middle of the night, I got up out of bed to get a drink of water,

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and what did I see on the foot of my bed?

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Is the two kitties snuggling together like they're best friends, but secretly.

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It's like they've been trying to hide their friendship from me.

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That was so cute.

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That's adorable.

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Oh, I just died.

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That's so cute. So cute.

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Yes.

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Now, I'll ask you a question about your kitties.

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Where's the cutest place that your cats have ever hidden?

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Oh, one time, my cat was on the pillow.

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That's cute.

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Well, okay, what should we do next?

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I think I know what you want to do next.

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I think I know what you want to do next.

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Let's say it at the same time.

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Watch a cat video!

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Okay.

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What's she doing?

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What is she doing?

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Oh, my God, what is she doing?

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What is she?

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What am I doing?

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Hey.

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Why are you always...

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What a weird little animal.

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Oh, that was cute.

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That was really cute.

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That's so cute.

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I just wish we could watch cat videos all day.

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I know, but unfortunately, it's only a four -minute show.

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And we can't forget to thank our sponsor, our other amazing sponsor.

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That's right.

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Kitty Corner is also sponsored by Carla's Formula cold medicine for cats.

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Does your cat have the flu?

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Then...

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Carla's formula, it works on fevers.

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Carla's formula, it works on sneezing.

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Achoo!

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If your kitty, kitty is coughing.

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Oh, my heavens, it's almost 6 a .m.

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And that means it's time to say goodbye.

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So stay tuned for your Bible lesson and Mexican cooking on holy guacamole.

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For Kitty Corner, I'm Taylor with a Y.

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And I'm Ellen saying bye for Meow. For Meow.

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Bye bye.

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Did you know French already, or did you learn it for that?

195

I've tried to learn French several times in my life, because I think it's a really beautiful language.

196

It is beautiful.

197

And I definitely made sure that I had native French speakers on set, because I didn't want to butcher the language of love.

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Like, that's not what I came here to do.

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Say something in French right now.

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You're putting me on the spot.

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But I mean, je suis calm.

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Ah, thank you.

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I don't know.

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What does that mean?

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It means I am calm.

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Oh.

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Je ne peux pas te parler quand c 'est comme ça.

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Oh, that's good.

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That's a good one.

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Thanks.

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I don't know what that means, but that sounded real French.

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All right.

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Because I love cats.

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OK, let's talk about cats.

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So was that kitten?

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It doesn't.

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So was that kitten just there to be in the video, or did you and then you took it home,

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or did you put it in the video and it was yours already?

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He was a little cat actor.

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He was there.

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Apparently there was, I didn't know this at the time.

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All I know is we had to have a kitten in the scene, because I wanted to have the scene where it's like, you know.

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He gives me a ring.

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I'm like, no. He gives me flowers.

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I'm like, no. And then he gives me a kitten.

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And I'm like, yes, absolutely.

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You know me clearly.

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And so they show up with this little kitten.

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And his handler was like, do you want to hold him first?

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I was like, absolutely I do.

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And so they hand me this tiny cat.

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And I've never really experienced a cat that the second I held this little kitten, he started purring like a motor.

233

And I was like, OK, whose cat is this? you're really lucky whoever owns this cat.

234

And then the girl was like, actually, he doesn't have a home.

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And then my eyes turned into hearts.

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Yes.

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I just immediately was like, I can't think about anything else.

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And so how did the other two get along?

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You can't just bring a cat home.

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Cats don't, they're not like that.

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They're like little puff balls getting in a fight.

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It's like marshmallows throwing each other.

243

That's good then.

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And his name is Benjamin?

245

Benjamin Button.

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That's right.

247

Right.

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Because it's an incredible movie.

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Yes, it is.

250

It's an incredible film.

251

He ages backwards.

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Yeah.

253

All right, so we're going to take another break, and then we'll come back again.

254

OK, we'll be back.

255

We're back with the only person who loves cats possibly as much as I do, or more.

256

But I think, no, we.

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I don't want to get in a fight about it.

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No, but no, we both love cats.

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Let's just leave it at that.

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All right, Taylor Swift is who I was talking about.

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OK, so there's video of your other two cats on the plane, I think.

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Is that what we have?

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I think it's just a picture, but it's a good demonstration of just what my personal life looks like.

264

Yeah.

265

It's just, well, that's just Olivia stretching.

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That's just?

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That's my middle child.

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Yeah.

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She's kind of like a seal.

270

And she just lays on her back?

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Oh my god.

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Isn't she amazing?

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And her tail just never grew.

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Oh my god.

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And then she stands up.

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Here's meerkat.

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One.

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Yeah.

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Get it.

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She's a really special animal.

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And that was when she was a baby, meowing.

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Oh my god.

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They're just so cute.

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And now, so you would be, and you're doing the movie Cats.

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Yeah.

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So you probably have an advantage, because you probably act more like.

287

I understand them.

288

Yes.

289

Yeah, I study them.

290

Because James Corden had to learn.

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They went to cat school.

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We all went to cat school.

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You have no idea.

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It was like all my dreams came true on the set of this film.

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It was like they literally, they're like, you can come to set as much as you want.

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And I ended up being there every day for four months.

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Just like, they're all like, oh, Taylor's doing cat school again.

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Again.

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She's still here.

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She's still doing cat school.

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What did you learn?

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Well, you crawl around on the floor and you pretend to be a cat.

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Right.

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So this was a good excuse that it's OK and not crazy.

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This was great.

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I was like, this is my job, guys.

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I just have to do this.

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This is my job.

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And then I'm like, you know?

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You know?

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It was great.

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It was like the best experience.

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And then I would go to set.

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So I'd go to cat school in the morning.

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Then I'd stop by the music department, do a little music, do some voice lessons.

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And then I'd go to set.

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And I'd watch

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Rebel Wilson be a cat, or Idris Elba be a cat, or Ian McKellen be a cat, Judi Dench be a cat.

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Who's the best out of all those, obviously?

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I mean, there's got to be one.

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Everybody's a different kind of cat.

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That's a political answer.

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It's, well, it's also the truth, you know?

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They really all are great cats.

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They are all different.

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Yeah.

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But I bet you have the advantage.

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I bet you're really a good cat.

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I mean, I don't, we'll see.

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I really don't know.

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I had the best.

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I had the most fun.

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Yeah.

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I had the best time.

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Name three words to describe yourself.

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Curious.

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Cat lover, make it one word.

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Sure.

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Romantic.

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Yes.

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I would say creative, also.

342

That's nice.

343

Thank you.

344

Yes.

345

Okay.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Taylor Swift Answering Every Question Like It's About Her Cats”. This video has 345 sentences and 2293 words to shadow. The speech runs for 13:52. The speaker talks at a natural 165 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
kitty noun	/ˈkɪti/	A young cat; a kitten.
kitten noun	/ˈkɪtən̩/	A young rabbit, rat, hedgehog, squirrel, fox, beaver, badger, etc.
sponsor noun	/ˈspɒn.səː/	A person or organization with some sort of responsibility for another person or organization, especially where the responsibility has a religious, legal, or…
formula noun	/ˈfɔː.mjʊ.lə/	Any mathematical rule expressed symbolically.
detective noun	/dɪˈtɛktɪv/	A police officer tasked with collecting evidence and information in order to solve a crime; an investigator.
lesson noun	/ˈlɛs.ən/	A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided.
syndrome noun	/ˈsɪndɹoʊm/	A recognizable pattern of signs, symptoms and/or behaviours, especially of a disease or medical or psychological condition.
sergeant noun	/ˈsɑɹ.d͡ʒənt/	A UK army rank with NATO code OR-6, senior to corporal and junior to warrant officer ranks.
confuse verb	/kənˈfjuːz/	to puzzle, perplex, baffle, bewilder (somebody); to afflict by being complicated, contradictory, or otherwise difficult to understand
curious adjective	/ˈkjʊɹ.i.əs/	Tending to ask questions, or to want to explore or investigate; inquisitive; (with a negative connotation) nosy, prying.
passion noun	/ˈpæʃən/	A true desire sustained or prolonged.
romantic adjective	/ɹoʊˈmæn(t)ɪk/	Fantastic, unrealistic (of an idea etc.); fanciful, sentimental, impractical (of a person).
flower noun	/ˈfloʊɚ/	A reproductive structure in angiosperms (flowering plants), often conspicuously colourful and typically including sepals, petals, and either or both stamens…
whoever	/huˈɛvɚ/	Who ever: an emphatic form of who.
lately adverb	/ˈleɪt.li/	Recently; not long ago; of late; not long since.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
get along verb	To interact or coexist well, without argument or trouble.
come back verb	To return to a place.
drift off verb	To fall asleep slowly.
end up verb	To bring to a conclusion.
stand up verb	To rise from a lying or sitting position.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

What do you think about?
Are you really in the moment?
Wait, and we have a video?
Are fleas a problem for your pretty kitty?
What's the cutest thing your cats ever did?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	have been working · have been fighting · they've been trying
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	have been · I've ever seen · they've chosen
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	was named · been promoted · is also sponsored
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	people who love · person who loves

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 75 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: passion /ˈpæʃən/, congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/, friendship /ˈfɹɛn(d)ʃɪp/, demonstration /dɛmənˈstɹeɪʃən/, gosh /ɡɑːʃ/
Long words — get the stress right: congratulations /kənˌɡɹæt͡ʃəˈleɪʃ(ə)nz/, hilarious /hɪˈlɛə.ɹi.əs/, adorable /əˈdoɹ.əˌbəl/, demonstration /dɛmənˈstɹeɪʃən/, guacamole /ˌɡwɑ.kəˈmol.i/

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 kitty, kitten, sponsor.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Taylor Swift Answering Every Question Like It's About Her Cats - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?