Do you want to learn English with an inspiring movie?
Let's do it today with Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happiness.
Alright.
So I want you to pay special attention to the formal language used in today's scene, because it's really fantastic for preparing for a job interview in English.
And you're also going to get tons of examples American pronunciation and connected speech.
By the way, do you want to be able to understand natives at any speed, without getting lost, without missing the jokes and without subtitles?
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Now let's learn English with Will Smith.
Our method for helping you understand fast-speaking natives is simple.
First you will watch the scene with subtitles and Then you will learn all the most important vocabulary expressions pronunciation, cultural context, etc.
And finally, you will test your learning by watching it a final time without subtitles.
Our goal is for you to understand almost 100%.
I just had to show them I was good with numbers and good with people.
Good morning, Mr. Twissel.
Good morning, Jane.
Mr. Twissel.
Chris Gardner.
Hi.
Hey, I wanted to drop this off to you personally and make your acquaintance.
I thought I'd catch you on the way in.
Okay.
I'd really love the opportunity to sit and discuss what may seem like weaknesses on my application.
Okay, well, we'll start with this.
Chris, and we'll call you if you want to sit down.
Yes, sir.
You have a great day.
You too.
Mr. Gardner.
Chris Gardner?
Chris Gardner.
How are you?
Good morning.
I've been sitting out there for the last half hour trying to come up with a story that would explain my being here dressed like this.
And I wanted to come up with a story that would demonstrate qualities that I'm sure you all admire here, like earnestness or diligence and team playing, to something
And I couldn't think of anything.
So the truth is, I was arrested for failure to pay parking tickets.
Parking tickets?
And I ran all the way here from the Polk station, the police station.
What were you doing before you were arrested?
I was painting my apartment.
Is it dry now?
I hope so.
Jay says you're pretty determined.
He's been waiting outside the front of the building with some 40-pound gizmo for over a month.
He said you're smart.
I like to think so.
And you want to learn this business?
Yes, sir.
I want to learn this business.
Have you already started learning on your own?
Absolutely.
Jay.
Yes, sir.
How many times have you seen Chris?
You know, I don't know.
One too many, apparently.
Has he ever dressed like this?
No.
No.
Jacket and tie.
First in your class?
In school?
High school?
Yes, sir.
How many in the class?
Twelve.
It was a small town.
I'll say.
But I was also first in my radar class in the Navy, and that was a class of 20.
Can I say something?
I'm the type of person if you ask me a question and I don't know the answer, I'm going to tell you that I don't know.
But I bet you what.
I know how to find the answer, and I will find the answer.
Is that fair enough?
Chris, what would you say if a guy walked in for an interview without a shirt on?
And I hired him.
What would you say?
He must have had on some really nice pants.
Drop something or someone off.
To leave someone or something at the destination to which one has transported it.
Example.
Acquaintance.
Someone you know, but who is not a close friend.
Example.
It's a small town.
Almost everybody is an acquaintance.
Chris here uses make your acquaintance, which is a more formal way to say to meet someone.
It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.
Catch you on the way in.
In this case, catch is to reach or be in a place in time to see a person, performance, program, etc.
By catching him on the way.
In Chris Gardner, Will Smith's character refers to meeting him right before he walks into the office.
I'm glad I caught you before you left for work.
We have to get home in time to catch the premiere of the new season of Game of Thrones.
I'd really love the opportunity to sit and discuss what may seem like weaknesses on my application.
Weakness The opposite of your weaknesses are your strengths.
When employers review applications, they analyze the candidate's weaknesses and strengths.
Sit down.
Besides the meaning of physically sitting down, this phrasal verb also means to meet and discuss something.
When this is the case, we more commonly use the word as a noun, sit down.
Example.
We had a sit down with the new employees and discussed the terms of contract.
Chris Gardner.
See you again.
See you again.
See you again.
See you again.
I've been sitting out there for the last half hour.
I've been sitting out there for the last half hour.
I've been sitting out there for the last half hour.
I've been sitting out there for the last half hour trying to come up with a story, trying to come up with a story.
Trying to come up with a story.
We're trying Come up with something.
To think of something such as an idea, answer, plan, etc.
Example We need to come up with a good plan.
Here we use the gerund form of the verb to be to make the verb something we can possess.
All he means by this is the fact that he is there.
Some other examples are He asked me about my having broken up with her.
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Team playing to something.
To regard something or someone with respect or approval.
Elon Musk is an amazing entrepreneur.
I really admire him.
We really admire that she was able to teach herself English.
Earnestness.
Diligence.
Team playing.
Chris defines these words as qualities, that is, things that are part of one's character.
There are good qualities, like intelligence, and bad ones, like selfishness.
Let's now define the three positive qualities mentioned in this scene.
Ernestness is the quality of being serious and sincere.
An earnest person does not treat his or her job like it is a game or with lack of care.
Example Diligence is the noun form of diligent.
A diligent person is someone who consistently works hard and is careful and thorough.
Example Team playing or teamwork refers to a situation where a group of people work cooperatively towards a common goal.
If you make an effort towards achieving the goal of your team rather than acting in a selfish or self-fulfilling way, you're a good team player.
Even though it was his idea and he did a lot of the work, he'd give credit to the entire department.
He's a real team player.
Practice your English.
What are some qualities that you admire in other people or would like to cultivate in yourself?
Comment below, I will correct many of you.
Arrest.
To take someone into custody by legal authority.
He was arrested for selling drugs.
Failure to do something.
If you fail to do something, you don't do it because you can't, don't want to, forget, etc.
He's failed to pay the fee for two months in a row.
My aunt never fails to phone me on my birthday.
We've seen so far a couple of words that will take their noun, adjective or verb form, depending on how they are used in a sentence.
For example, with the word earnestness.
We would use the noun form in a sentence like His earnestness and hard work made him climb up to the position of CEO of the company.
The adjective form is used in a sentence like He's an earnest and hardworking employee.
Take a look at failure to, noun form, and fail to, verb form.
I was arrested for failure to pay parking tickets.
I was arrested because I failed to pay parking tickets.
It's important for your fluency that you're able to use all the different forms of a word with relative ease.
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I was painting my apartment.
Is it dry now?
I hope so.
He said you're smart.
I like to think so.
In I hope so, so refers back to is it dry?
This is better than saying I think it is dry, as it would be redundant.
Example.
Determined.
Having made a decision and being resolved not to change it.
He was determined to get accepted to Harvard Law School.
Yes sir, we use sir to reply or say something respectfully to someone who we consider our superior.
This can be polite to use in a formal situation such as a job interview.
Did you write the report?
Yes sir, I'll email it to you in just a moment.
Have you already started learning on your own?
One too many.
We use too many when we had or did something more times than required, desired, etc.
I think I had a few too many drinks.
This is a humorous way to say that you got drunk.
Jacket and tie.
Dressed formally with the two pieces of clothing seen here.
First in your class in school.
First in your class refers to the ranking someone had out of all the students of her level at a certain school or university.
Example.
She was second in her class at Columbia.
But I was also first in my radar class in the Navy and that was a class of 20 radar, a piece of equipment that uses radio waves to find the position of things and watch their movement.
The Navy is the part of a country's military forces that fights at sea.
If you ask me a question and I don't know the answer, I'm gonna tell you that I don't know.
I'm gonna tell you that I don't know.
I'm gonna tell you that I don't know.
But I bet you what?
But I bet you what?
Bet you what.
We use bet to talk about something we are sure is gonna happen.
I bet it'll rain tomorrow.
I bet no one here knows how to do it.
The phrase bet you what has the same meaning, but it conveys more emphasis.
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What would you say if a guy walked in for an interview without a shirt on?
Walk in.
To enter.
In becomes into when it's immediately followed by the place you are entering.
Maybe we'll find you a good dress in the shop.
Let's walk in.
Let's walk into the shop.
Have on.
I just had to show him.
I was good with numbers and good with people.
Good morning, Mr. Twissel.
Good morning, Jane.
Mr. Twissel, Chris Gardner.
Hi.
Hey, I wanted to drop this off to you personally and make your acquaintance.
I thought I'd catch you on the way in.
Okay.
I'd really love the opportunity to sit and discuss what may seem like weaknesses on my application.
Okay, well, we'll start with this.
Chris, and we'll call you if you want to sit down.
Yes, sir.
You have a great day.
You too.
Chris Gardner.
How are you?
Good morning.
Chris Gardner.
Chris Gardner, good to see you again.
Chris Gardner, pleasure.
I've been sitting out there for the last half hour trying to come up with a story that would explain my being here dressed like this.
And I wanted to come up with a story that would demonstrate qualities that I'm sure you all admire here, like earnestness or diligence and team playing, to something
And I couldn't think of anything.
So the truth is, I was arrested for failure to pay parking tickets.
Parking tickets?
What?
And I ran all the way here from the Polk station, the police station.
What were you doing before you were arrested?
I was painting my apartment.
Is it dry now?
I hope so.
Jay says you're pretty determined.
He's been waiting outside the front of the building with some 40-pound gizmo for over a month.
He said you're smart.
I like to think so.
And you want to learn this business.
Yes, sir, I want to learn this business.
Have you already started learning on your own?
Absolutely.
Jay.
Yes, sir.
How many times have you seen Chris?
I don't know.
One too many, apparently.
Was he ever dressed like this?
No.
No.
Jacket and tie.
First in your class?
In school?
High school?
Yes, sir.
How many in the class?
Twelve.
It was a small town.
I'll say.
But I was also first in my radar class in the Navy, and that was a class of 20.
Can I say something?
I'm the type of person if you ask me a question and I don't know the answer, I'm gonna tell you that I don't know, But I bet you what I know how to find the answer and I will find the answer.
Is that fair enough, Chris?
What would you say if a guy walked in for an interview without a shirt on And I hired him?
What would you say?
He must have had on some really nice pants.
All right, I hope you had a lot of fun with today's lesson.
Go check out the movie.
It's really inspiring.
I think that you'll really love it.
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Aww yeah!