Shadowing Practice: US Thanksgiving Dinner vs UK Pub Roast! (ft. John Cena) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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452 sentences
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1
It just tastes like autumn, doesn't it?
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My favourite dessert in the world with my favourite beverage in the world.
3
What do you got?
4
This is going to cause an episode in my life that I will certainly remember you.
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What?
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No!
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Last time John Cena was in town, we put American and British breakfasts head to head.
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God damn it, that's good.
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Now he's back to promote his new movie, Matchbox.
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And with Thanksgiving just round the corner, we thought we'd settle another great transatlantic debate.
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American Thanksgiving versus the classic English roast.
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Thanksgiving, you're in trouble.
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Yeah.
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All right.
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What do we got?
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I mean, you tell us.
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This is what we've been told is a pretty classic Thanksgiving spread.
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It looks like I got turkey stuffing, some sort of bean casserole with crispy bits on the top, buttery mash, rolls, cranberry juice up front,
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sweet potato casseroles, pumpkin pie to finish off the flight of taste.
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All right.
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Giant turkey. Of course.
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I've totally forgot the main event.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Shall I get carving?
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Oh, yeah, please.
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I don't know, sitting next to such an alpha male, it feels bold to assume the carving knife.
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I concede.
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I better not screw it up.
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Yeah, whatever you plan, you want to stop going in.
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Yeah, okay, I'm going to hold this for you.
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Just don't cut my hands off.
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Don't cut my hands off.
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Lots of skin.
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What?
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Yeah, I'll do it.
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Yeah, that's all right, serve it up.
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There we go.
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Like an American Thanksgiving in my house.
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Yeah, just take it.
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Now, you're one of five brothers, right?
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So Thanksgiving must have been insane.
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When the food drops, it is gone.
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Wow.
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Really?
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Things disappear real quick.
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It's like a tank of piranhas.
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Yes.
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Okay.
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Okay. Am I doing okay?
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Done well.
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So a thing that a lot of folks do is as they pass the food, we say things we're grateful for.
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So as we try this food, whether it wins the battle or not, we've got to lean into the Thanksgiving tradition.
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I love it.
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Okay.
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You're the carver, which means it's your house.
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Uh, I'm grateful that we're back here with you, John.
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I like that.
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Talk more about that.
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Well, I'm being completely sincere, which is hard for me.
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It is.
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The last video that we did with you was one of my favorites that we've ever shot.
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Oh, man, thanks for saying that.
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We've also filmed, I think, upwards of probably 3 ,000, 2 ,000, 3 ,000 videos in over 14 years.
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Wow, thank you.
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This is my job, you know?
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It's kind of a pinch -me moment.
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Every now and again, we have to just remind each other, we get to do this, you know?
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It's a privilege.
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What a great take.
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I'm really, really grateful for the connections I've made in this crazy journey because I agree with you doing this for work, but come on.
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And when you can take away the experience and make some good friends along the way, if you did it without any sort of connection, it would be a really lonely road.
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So I'm grateful for the connection and love I got in my life.
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100%, wow.
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Now, 3 ,000 videos.
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What was your biggest disaster?
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Oh, the biggest disaster.
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Wow.
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I like that because there's so many ideas running through your head.
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We had some big ones.
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Today was nearly a disaster.
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No. Well, because the traffic in London is crazy.
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You might notice I'm sweating a little bit.
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I generally don't sweat.
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Yeah.
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That's because I had to get out of the cab a marble arch and run.
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Oh, okay which is three kilometers away.
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That's good.
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You can feed you, though.
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Yeah, exactly.
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As much as I like to avoid the cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving, we have to go, because it's a chance for me to just ask the question, why do we still do this?
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Do I just slice it off?
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You do.
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Oh, wow.
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That's kind of satisfying.
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That is wild.
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Oh, wow.
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This feels a little bit like a recipe from, like, the 1950s that didn't change.
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Yes, like, dessert of the future, cranberry sauce.
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I have overstepped my boundary on the cut there as well.
101
And then these buns.
102
Is this like a Hawaiian roll kind of vibe?
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As a breaducator by trade, those who don't know, the dinner roll scenario with a Hawaiian roll is a great way to describe it.
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OK.
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The reason you get the accoutrement is because of all the sauces and whatnot.
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Ah.
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It's a mop.
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It's a mop.
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It is.
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Is that a jar of gravy?
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Oh, OK.
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That looked a lot like gravy with drinking glasses.
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Americans, we go at it.
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We do.
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We're a calorie flow, but I mean, there's got to be some law.
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There's got to be some law.
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You've got to draw a line somewhere.
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Now, I want to lead into honesty with you guys.
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I'm going to pass on that for all my reasons.
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It's like day five of salmonella for me.
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And this is going to cause an episode in my life that I will certainly remember you for.
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Oh, no. So, uh...
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That was the time I had a jolly bad time.
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Eat up, and it's great.
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Mmm.
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Turkey.
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And cranberry and gravy, though.
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I absolutely love it.
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And maybe it's because I so rarely have it.
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Turkey's such a tough course to navigate, but if you undercook it, it's raw, and you get what I have, and you don't want that.
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It's 14 days of kipo and givin'.
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I believe this is why all of the accoutrement, the creme sauce, the gravy potatoes has matriculated to the Thanksgiving staples, because as long as you have that, yeah.
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We don't have Thanksgiving, right?
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I can tell by how weird you got with expressing your gratitude.
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It's very, very difficult for us to be sincere, to share our feelings.
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But then whenever we've had it, you're like, oh my gosh, we should have this.
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It's good to stop and be thankful.
138
We always say that and never actually do.
139
I actually read that Roosevelt changed the date of Thanksgiving.
140
He moved it a week earlier so that there could be more time for Christmas shopping to help the economy.
141
Nice.
142
Solid move, Femi.
143
Solid move.
144
Now the marshmallows with sweet potato combination, this is a thing to be studied.
145
It is interesting, and many times it tastes like it's dessert.
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A little bit sweet, but it's still got the saltiness.
147
Man, kids love the burnt marshmallows.
148
Yeah, I mean, I love the burnt marshmallows.
149
My gosh.
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Can we move on to the pie?
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Bro, how the f* am I not going to address the gelatinous elephant?
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Yeah.
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I want to try it by itself.
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It's very strange by itself.
155
Mmm.
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It's gross.
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Texturally, it is alien.
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It sure is.
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I think this might be why I avoid it.
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I'm like traumatized.
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It's hitting my head for everything.
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Very sad.
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I don't know how you're having that post -salmonella.
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The texture is making me want to lean into what my body wants to do.
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I'm going to leave that right there.
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I got to give the potatoes a fork.
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Potatoes are good.
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Potatoes are good.
169
These are great.
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Potatoes are going to be your all -purpose winner.
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Like the gravy.
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Put it on anything.
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You can mix the potatoes up, and it's almost like a sauce.
174
It kind of all mixes together.
175
And there's different kind of lubes, aren't there?
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There's the gravy.
177
Oh, I was going to say, I want to hear about it.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, well, I mean, there's many available.
180
I'm curious.
181
It's okay.
182
I'll try anything through this four times, yeah.
183
But there are many lubes in the next kit.
184
Yeah.
185
Yeah.
186
Um, no. Well, yeah.
187
Okay, let's move on to the pumpkin pies.
188
Oh, we got cornbread as well.
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My gosh, this is a feast.
190
You may have overordered.
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You guys hear what I said?
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You're like, oh, we're gonna fk him.
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Bring out more food.
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Do some of the roast food.
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Put that down.
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Just embrace the first slice not pretty.
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You can serve that to me, because I'll eat enemy.
198
And then, I'd say the first three slices are probably pretty now.
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No, it's great.
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But that's okay.
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There's also these epic moments that happen at Thanksgiving that are just unforgettable family memories.
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And what I remember from our first Thanksgiving is, just because you wear a suit doesn't mean you should carve and serve the food.
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Okay. That is the takeaway.
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That's not bad.
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From this family's first episode.
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Here we go.
207
You dressed great, but maybe it was the 3KM run you did.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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Next takeaway, don't exercise.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Okay, pumpkin pie is a favorite of mine.
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All right, let's do this.
213
Oh, oh my gosh.
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Oh, this one is, oh, it's not overly sweet.
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This is all day long.
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Holy moly.
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It just tastes like autumn, doesn't it?
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It does.
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The two things I will indulge on on holidays.
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One, Thanksgiving pumpkin pie.
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Two, Christmas eggnog.
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Eggnog.
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Yes, and a cup this big has as much calories as that f*ing turkey.
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OK is an international man of mystery.
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The name's Kendall.
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Oliver John Kendall.
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OK for short.
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We are sending you on an important mission to spy on our favorite notorious thief, but he's in a local pub.
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Ah, OK.
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I'll get on it right away.
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Ah, damn it!
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My phone is out of battery again.
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This is not OK.
234
Fear not.
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I prepared for you a ridge power bank.
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Super fast charging.
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Five different charging methods.
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That is a steal in a legal way.
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I'll have a tap water.
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Shaken, not stirred.
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Thank you.
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Oh, that is a nice wallet.
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Yes, it's a ridge wallet.
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Sleek, compact, and made of aluminium.
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Very nice.
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It even has radio frequency identification blocking.
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That's why the radio wave you just sent to my card information was intercepted.
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Ridge was started by friends and family and now they're giving you friend prices on wallets, key cases, luggage and more.
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If you want to always be ready for action, head to ridge .com forward slash jolly to get a buy
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two get one free deal on power banks in the friends and family sale.
251
Excuse me, can I have one?
252
No, you can go to jail young man.
253
I see this weapon of mass destruction.
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Yeah, I'm not sure you should go anywhere You put a perfect pint in front of me in the like,
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but hey if you drink that you're gonna shit Well, I think we might actually be about to make it worse
256
We are both prepared just a little something for you just to say thankful just to say thank you
257
and each gift
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Represents our specific love languages okay yeah i guess you would say
259
that this is something
260
that my mum actually made for us as kids man basically
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whenever there was a special occasion in the uk man
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and i heard you have a bit of a soft spot
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for this this is my favorite dessert of desserts come on
264
screw regional like hey what's your favorite uk does no dessert
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of all time yeah this is banoffee pie This is panopi pie.
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And I made this this morning.
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Well, last night and this morning.
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You made this.
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I made this, try my best to copy my mom's recipe that she made for us as kids growing up.
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I don't know if it's going to be as good as the ones you've had before, but for me, this is the taste of my childhood.
271
It's going to be a very tough act to follow.
272
Bloody hell.
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My favorite dessert in the world is my favorite beverage in the world.
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What do you got?
275
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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Josh's love language is heartwarming.
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It tastes delicious.
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My love language is a product of massive overthinking.
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Love it.
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It will maybe make you feel a little uncomfortable.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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I thought I could get you, like, a really rare piece of merch that featured you.
283
But then I thought I could make you the best piece of merch ever.
284
Okay.
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One of one.
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You're John Cena.
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This is very Ollie.
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We can't see you, right?
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Right.
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What if I made a bust of your head that you couldn't see?
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and it's a piggy bank so that you can't see john cena
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but you can see money in his piggy bank oh man
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and you made this it took 120 hours on the 3d printer i 3d modeled it it's uh what do you think
294
so i love it and here's why i don't need to see any more of my own face
295
I'm an advocate for responsible spending.
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This is your next line of merch.
297
You teach people how to save money, and this is a fantastic way to do that.
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Yeah.
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Use your John Cena piggy bank, like John Cena would do.
300
Exactly.
301
This is great, man.
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Yeah, you go.
303
This is great.
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You should be a salesman.
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This is fantastic.
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Again, I mean, I kind of nailed it.
307
Like, this is not, I look like , this looks great.
308
That's not true.
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This is fantastic.
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I'll tell you what, I know I shouldn't, but I can't resist.
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Thank you guys for the gifts.
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Very grateful for you to have me back, I appreciate that.
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Oh, yeah.
314
Oh, my God.
315
Wow.
316
Oh, and he split the G as well.
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Wow.
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John Cena does not mess around.
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He is a professional.
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This is my first one.
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First one I've ever had.
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Clearly.
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So to finish us off, bit of British roast beef.
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We have some stuffing, roast potatoes, some cauliflower cheese.
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Love that.
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And a Yorkshire pudding.
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My mom used to make Yorkshire pudding.
328
So like, if this is nailed proper, it's Thanksgiving.
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It's still a chance.
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Tell me the tradition behind the Sunday roast.
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I grew up every single Sunday going to my grandparents' house.
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My late grandfather would cook an amazing roast.
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He liked to say grace and then do Cook's health, even though he had done it.
334
Classic.
335
He had done it.
336
He then tucked a napkin into his three -piece soup.
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You would have loved him, John.
338
Smart.
339
And so this, for me, represents family.
340
It represents happy memories.
341
It represents my grandfather.
342
My mum, growing up, would put the chicken in in the morning.
343
We'd go to church, just leave the oven on with the chicken in, roasting away.
344
Come back.
345
Come back.
346
And it's roast time.
347
I love it.
348
This, to me, is, like, way less heavy than Thanksgiving.
349
Ah, interesting.
350
Every than Thanksgiving needs to be a hodgepodge.
351
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
352
Well, I mean, this cauliflower cheese, it's kind of like mac and cheese.
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It is.
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With a vegetable instead of a vegetable.
355
What a great con to get kids to eat their vegetables.
356
Now, John, you're over here promoting Matchbox the movie, which is out now on Apple TV.
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So appreciate you talking about it.
358
Yeah, people are literally ready to form that movie right now.
359
Would you please mention this movie, mention Matchbox, please?
360
Me and my brothers were like the Matchbox gang.
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We used to play with Matchbox cars in the corner of my dad's garage.
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This movie really leans heavily on friendship, nostalgia.
363
That's what I was going to say.
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All the things are kind of leaning in.
365
It's about reconnecting.
366
This segment sells itself.
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You don't have to tell us.
368
This is what we're talking about.
369
This is what we're doing.
370
This knocks it out of the park.
371
This reminds me of my mom's rooster party.
372
This is fantastic.
373
We are all good.
374
We're in a way of giving you credit.
375
You don't stand a chance.
376
Yes, I mean, we should really give credit.
377
You don't.
378
We just high -fived, but it was great.
379
Yeah, yeah.
380
We just took all the credit.
381
Now, got to get a bite of this before we go.
382
This looks great.
383
Here's you have it.
384
This is exactly how it was.
385
The cream on top of the chocolate flakes, layer of banana, layer of toffee.
386
Oh, my God.
387
The biscuit base.
388
Oh, yes.
389
It's just flaky enough.
390
Well, let's dive in.
391
I knew we had to give it a try.
392
Yeah.
393
I, this is, well done, oh my god.
394
It's good, huh?
395
Thanksgiving, you're in trouble.
396
So, let's get down to business.
397
We gotta say who what?
398
Yes.
399
Don't fucking do it.
400
Thank you so much.
401
That really means a lot, thank you.
402
I wish we had Thanksgiving in this country.
403
Because I think we could do with more thankfulness.
404
I think sweet potato casserole is amazing.
405
Pumpkin pie is amazing.
406
How do we not have that?
407
Cranberry jelly out of a can is disgusting.
408
Should step in the can.
409
I do think mashed potatoes should have more butter in it.
410
And you guys have got that right.
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I'm not going to sit here as a Brit and say our roasts are better.
412
But to me, it's more special.
413
I want to just take bits of both.
414
I can't live without Yorkshire pudding in my life.
415
But I also don't really want to live without a pumpkin pie.
416
So what are you going to do?
417
I'm never a sucker for a draw.
418
I always want to get a clean winter.
419
Please, go for it.
420
The American.
421
Go for it, we'll leave you.
422
Yeah, I got to raise my pint to the pub that poured it.
423
I'm saying Sunday roast.
424
Okay.
425
And here's what I like about it.
426
It's every week.
427
Although you may not sit around the table and say what you're thankful for, you being together is thanks enough.
428
So thank you guys for having me.
429
Oh, I like that.
430
Goodness, the gifts, man.
431
I hope that was nice.
432
Thank you, guys.
433
Cheers to you, Jon.
434
I say roast wins.
435
My voice is the only one that can.
436
OK.
437
All right, we'll see you jolly soon, guys.
438
See you later.
439
Cheers.
440
Man, that was aces.
441
He's never made this for me, by the way.
442
I know.
443
It was a pleasure to be able to bring that to the table.
444
Thank you so much, man.
445
I appreciate it.
446
Come on, Keith.
447
Let's hug it out.
448
I was like, it has to be done.
449
And dude, the piggy bank has got potential.
450
Always amazing.
451
Fantastic.
452
Likewise. So great.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “US Thanksgiving Dinner vs UK Pub Roast!”. This video has 343 sentences and 2767 words to shadow. The speech runs for 16:28. The speaker talks at a natural 168 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| potato noun | /pəˈteɪ.təʊ/ | The edible starchy tuber of the plant species Solanum tuberosum. |
| roast verb | /ɹoʊst/ | To cook food by heating in an oven or over a fire without covering, resulting in a crisp, possibly even slightly charred appearance. |
| dessert noun | /dɪˈzɝt/ | The last course of a meal, consisting of fruit, sweet confections etc. |
| pumpkin noun | /ˈpʌm(p).kɪn/ | A domesticated plant, in species Cucurbita pepo, similar in growth pattern, foliage, flower, and fruit to the squash or melon. |
| grateful adjective | /ˈɡɹeɪtf(ə)l/ | Of a person or their actions, feelings, etc.: expressing gratitude or appreciation; appreciative, thankful. |
| gosh | /ɡɑːʃ/ | A mild expression of surprise or enthusiasm. |
| lean verb | /ˈliːn/ | To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating. |
| slice noun | /slaɪs/ | That which is thin and broad. |
| pudding noun | /ˈpʊdɪŋ/ | Any of various dishes, sweet or savoury, prepared by boiling or steaming or from batter. |
| disaster noun | /dɪˈzɑːs.təː/ | An unexpected natural or man-made catastrophe of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life or sometimes permanent… |
| remind verb | /ɹəˈmaɪnd/ | To cause one to experience a memory (of someone or something); to bring to the notice or consideration (of a person). |
| grandfather noun | /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌfɑðɚ/ | A father of someone's parent. |
| recipe noun | /ˈɹɛs.ɪ.pi/ | Any set of instructions for preparing a mixture of ingredients. |
| nail noun | /neɪl/ | The horny plate or appendage at the ends of the digits of various animals, including most reptiles, birds, and mammals (both nonhuman and human). |
| sweat verb | /swɛt/ | To emit sweat. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. |
| hands off | Refrain from touching; refrain from initiating any physical contact. |
| bring out verb | To elicit, evoke, or emphasize (a particular quality). |
| come back verb | To return to a place. |
| eat up verb | To consume completely. |
| finish off verb | To finish completely. |
| get down to verb | To start focusing on doing something serious |
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- All right, what do we got?
- What was your biggest disaster?
- Why can we still do this?
- Do I just slice it off?
- It's uh, what do you think?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | used to make · used to play |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | we've been told · we've ever shot · We've also filmed |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | we've been told · be studied · was intercepted |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | carver, which means · sincere, which is · okay which is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 70 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: grandfather /ˈɡɹæn(d)ˌfɑðɚ/, thankful /ˈθæŋkfəl/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: gosh /ɡɑːʃ/, mash /mæʃ/, friendship /ˈfɹɛn(d)ʃɪp/, occasion /əˈkeɪ̯ʒən/, destruction /dɪsˈtɹʌkʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: uncomfortable /ʌnˈkʌm.fɚ.tə.bl̩/, accoutrement /əˈku.tɚ.mənt/, salmonella /ˌsæl.məˈnɛ.lə/, cauliflower /ˈkɔl.ɪˌflaʊ.ɚ/, gelatinous /d͡ʒəˈlæt.ɪn.əs/
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 potato, roast, dessert.
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.