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Shadowing practice: Haley and Cam Go on a Blind Date (Clip) | Modern Family | TBS

Listen to the line, then say it out loud
Line 1

Full transcript

  1. There she is.0:00
  2. Hey, lady.0:01
  3. Yeah, I can't give you free stuff.0:03
  4. Let's go.0:04
  5. Hey, take care.0:04
  6. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.0:05
  7. Oh, my gosh.0:07
  8. It's her.0:09
  9. Who?0:10
  10. The blonde over there in the cute jacket and fab shoes.0:10
  11. If that's who I think it is, we hate her so hard.0:13
  12. Last night, I was robbed.0:16
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  1. That's right.0:18
  2. There I was at Lily's dance recital, breathlessly anticipating my baby's first ever ballet solo.0:19
  3. Oh, here, here it comes.0:25
  4. This moment is worth every cent of the $2 ,000 in lessons.0:27
  5. What?0:30
  6. Oh, my gosh.0:32
  7. Oh, my gosh.0:33
  8. I can't see.0:33
  9. Didn't you say no filming?0:34
  10. Excuse me, Miss.0:35
  11. Oh, did you just see that?0:36
  12. That horrid woman robbed me of my proud daddy moment and forced me to lie to my daughter.0:38
  13. You danced beautifully, Lily, but did she?0:44
  14. I have no idea.0:46
  15. Why didn't you smack her down last night with words, obviously?0:48
  16. Wait, can you smack woman?0:51
  17. No.0:52
  18. No.0:53
  19. You know what?0:54
  20. I would have cussed her out last night except the selfish hag left the moment her daughter's dance was over.0:54
  21. I hope there's no rule in here about causing a commotion.0:59
  22. Well, I mean, we didn't really feel the need to put it up on a sign because, you know, civilization.1:01
  23. Well, I answer to a higher law.1:05
  24. Hey, get back here.1:07
  25. You don't even know it's her.1:08
  26. You're beasing this off the back of the head of someone you saw in the dark.1:09
  27. That may be how you recognize your old boyfriends, but...1:12
  28. Excuse me.1:14
  29. As much as I admire that and do intend on using it on Mitchell without giving you any credit, there is a line.1:15
  30. Just go ask her if she was at the recital and then tell her off when she says yes.1:22
  31. No, I can't because if it's her, she'll sense confrontation coming in denying it.1:25
  32. People can always tell when I'm in attack mode.1:28
  33. Flaring nostrils.1:30
  34. No.1:32
  35. Fan in your forehead?1:32
  36. Blutchine?1:33
  37. No.1:34
  38. You know what?1:35
  39. Just the heads up, you both are turning into your mother.1:35
  40. Okay.1:39
  41. New plan.1:40
  42. What are you doing?1:42
  43. Well, if there's video of Lily's recital on her iPad, then I know it's for sure her.1:44
  44. Plus, I can email it to myself and have a proper viewing party.1:47
  45. Ooh, I've got a thing.1:50
  46. You all probably be working.1:51
  47. I haven't even set a date yet.1:52
  48. Okay, there's a passcode.1:53
  49. Well, of course there's a passcode.1:54
  50. Give me that.1:55
  51. Alright, well, she ordered a powdered donut, so...1:56
  52. Alright, chalky fingerprints on the 8, the 5, the 3 and the 1.1:59
  53. Your passcode is some combination of those four.2:02
  54. Oh my god, you're brilliant.2:04
  55. Last year I was doing differential topography at Caltech and now I sketch leaves and milk foam for adult skateboarders.2:05
  56. I need something more.2:11
  57. She's coming back.2:12
  58. What?2:12
  59. She's coming back.2:13
  60. Hey, I left my iPad on the table and somebody took it.2:17
  61. Oh gosh, I didn't...2:20
  62. I didn't what?2:22
  63. Do your job?2:23
  64. It's not like you're so busy, you don't have time.2:24
  65. Excuse me, I couldn't help overhearing.2:26
  66. You talking about that iPad and that bag there?2:28
  67. Oh god.2:31
  68. What a dits.2:33
  69. I guess I'm just nervous for this stupid blind date I never should have agreed to.2:34
  70. Oh no.2:39
  71. You're not Richard, are you?2:41
  72. Yes, I am Richard.2:43
  73. I'm your blind date.2:44
  74. You're Anna.2:46
  75. Oh, am I the worst person ever?2:47
  76. No, that's what we're here to find out.2:49
  77. Kidding, please sit.2:51
  78. I hope that is her.2:53
  79. She's gross.2:54
  80. I want him to yell at her.2:55
  81. Excuse me, I'm here for a blind date and my friend didn't even give me a picture.2:56
  82. I just know the woman's name.3:01
  83. Any chance you served in Anna?3:02
  84. Oh, well this is crazy.3:04
  85. Anna, say hello to...3:07
  86. Richard.3:09
  87. Yeah.3:10
  88. Sorry, I don't mean to be forward but Vanessa kind of undersold how attractive you are.3:11
  89. Wowza.3:17
  90. The things I've done because people tell me I'm pretty.3:19
  91. You'd almost think I wasn't pretty.3:22
  92. How are you 36?3:24
  93. I just can't get over how young you look.3:26
  94. The trick is to not smile too hard.3:28
  95. You're funny.3:31
  96. I did not expect that from a seismologist.3:32
  97. Which by the way, how did you get into that?3:35
  98. Oh, um, it's just always come easy for me.3:37
  99. You know, I look at people and I just instinctively know their size.3:40
  100. People are like, oh, I'm a four and I'm like, who you fooling girl, you a ten.3:44
  101. Damn, here's that napkin you asked for.3:48
  102. Oh, thanks.3:50
  103. Ha ha, fooled you.3:51
  104. I was just joking about clothing stuff.3:52
  105. The real reason why I got into studying earthquakes is because I love nature.3:54
  106. I guess that would explain the ornithology interest too, huh?4:00
  107. Miss, could I have another?4:03
  108. Um, yeah, yeah, yeah, angels have always been cool but not as cool as birds.4:05
  109. I love birds.4:14
  110. I mean, I love my mother.4:15
  111. I do.4:17
  112. But it's like, her needs come before everyone else's.4:18
  113. You know that kind of person?4:20
  114. I think I do, yeah.4:22
  115. Wait, why was I talking about her?4:23
  116. I don't know.4:25
  117. The question was what did you do last night?4:25
  118. And the question stands.4:27
  119. Uh -huh.4:29
  120. Ex -husband.4:33
  121. Honestly, it's like he can't be with my son for more than three hours without texting me some inane question.4:34
  122. Oh, you have a son.4:40
  123. Love of my life.4:43
  124. He took the divorce pretty hard.4:46
  125. He's different, you know.4:50
  126. He's really, he's creative and sensitive.4:52
  127. And he gets picked on a lot at school.4:56
  128. You know, it's like, thank God for his dance class.5:00
  129. I feel like it's the only place that I see like real joy in space.5:03
  130. I knew it.5:09
  131. You're the worst.5:10
  132. Excuse me?5:11
  133. I'm not Richard Youfoul.5:12
  134. I'm the father you and your giant iPad robbed of his daughter's first ballet solo.5:14
  135. I hope whatever reason you had to prioritize your child over mine was a good one.5:18
  136. And now that I hear it, it's pretty close.5:23
  137. I have to admit.5:25
  138. But still.5:26
  139. Wow.5:27
  140. You're a maniac.5:29
  141. But I'm grateful because this has been one of the most abysmal dates I have ever been.5:30
  142. People think the cats are standoffish, but my guy, when I come home...5:36
  143. Okay, I've got to stop you right there.5:39
  144. I'm not Anna and this isn't happening.5:41
  145. I had a feeling.5:44
  146. Can I at least take a picture with you so I can tell whether women be dated?5:46
  147. What?5:49
  148. No.5:50
  149. You're right.5:50
  150. It's just that you're so pretty.5:52
  151. All right.5:55
  152. Get in here, ma 'am.5:56

English speaking practice with a fast American sitcom argument

Two women stand outside a shop comparing notes on someone they suspect wronged them at a dance recital. The scene is rapid fire american accent training material: overlapping outrage, quick interruptions, and bursts like "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." inside a clip that runs at 245 words per minute, faster than 92 percent of the catalogue.

At B2 the vocabulary is not the obstacle, the speed is. There is no slow lead in: the first line drops you into the middle of a confrontation and the pace never eases across the clip's 164 lines. Repeating short bursts like this is one direct way to improve your english accent, since stress and timing carry more of American speech than individual sounds do. It also works as daily english conversation practice: real arguments do not wait for you to catch up either.

What to notice before you shadow this scene line by line

A handful of lines here reward a second look before you try to say them out loud.

  • "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." the same word seven times in a row. Nothing to translate, the whole line is stress and breath control, which makes it a clean pronunciation drill on its own.
  • "That horrid woman robbed me of my proud daddy moment and forced me to lie to my daughter." one long sentence delivered without a real pause, useful for practising phrasing across a full breath group.
  • "I would have cussed her out last night except the selfish hag left the moment her daughter's dance was over." casual, slightly dated word choice ("hag") sitting inside an otherwise formal sentence structure, typical sitcom register.
  • "breathlessly anticipating my baby's first ever ballet solo" a rare word from this clip's own vocabulary list, and it lands mid clause with no break either side, so it has to be said at speed to sound natural.
  • "Flaring nostrils." two words on their own, clipped and fast, part of a joke that depends entirely on timing rather than meaning.

A line by line order for working through the opening exchange

Go in this order rather than jumping around, each line builds on the one before it.

  • Start with line 6, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." Say it until the rhythm feels automatic. Every word is identical, so this isolates rhythm from vocabulary before anything else gets harder.
  • Move to "breathlessly anticipating my baby's first ever ballet solo." Slow it down once, then bring it straight back to full pace. It is one clause with no pause in it, so a slow version and a fast version should feel like the same shape.
  • Take "That horrid woman robbed me of my proud daddy moment and forced me to lie to my daughter." Split it after "moment," shadow each half separately, then join them back into one breath.
  • Work "I would have cussed her out last night except the selfish hag left the moment her daughter's dance was over." This is the longest single breath in the section, treat it as the target line for the whole exercise.
  • Finish with "Flaring nostrils." Just two words, but say them at the same clipped pace as the recording, not slower. If those two words feel natural at speed, the earlier lines will too.
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