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There's a snake.Once again, there's a conspiracy in Zootopia, and it's up to Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde to uncover the truth. In today's lesson, we'll learn with some scenes where Judy meets Gary the Snake, the first snake to be seen in Zootopia in a century, and she discovers that snakes are not dangerous as she's been told.

And here's the best part. To help you not only learn all of the expressions we'll cover in today's scenes, but also never forget them, we want to give you all the smart flashcards for today's lesson for free. You can practice them in our app by clicking the link below. Thousands of learners just like you are becoming more fluent every day and having fun while doing it. If that sounds like something that you'd like, be sure to try our method. You only need a few minutes a day to see real progress. Now, let's see Judy's first encounter with Gary.

Stop. Please, you don't have to hurt him. Hurt him.

Snakes never hurt anyone. We aren't the bad guys. They are. And this journal holds the secret that will prove it. I have to prove it. Please. This is our only chance to set things right. And when I do, my family will finally be able to come home.

Part 2: Language Breakdown & Connected SpeechSo Gary is immediately trying to convince Judy that snakes have been misunderstood all along. Let's break down the language he uses to make his case.

Snakes never hurt anyone. We aren't the bad guys. They are.

In everyday English, "bad guys" means the villains, the people doing harm, breaking rules, or causing trouble. The opposite, naturally, is the good guys. It's a very casual, informal way of talking about heroes and villains. You might recognize this from Billie Eilish's hit song Bad Guy:

"I'm that bad guy type. Make your mama sad type. Make your girlfriend mad tight. Might seduce your dad type. I'm the bad guy."

Here, Billie playfully flips the whole idea. She's the one claiming to be the bad guy. And then Gary reveals that the Lynxley's journal is the key to Zootopia's biggest mystery.

And this journal holds the secret that will prove it.

When something holds a secret, it means that it contains hidden or crucial information that others don't know about. We use the verb hold because the object is keeping something inside, like a container. You could say, "This old letter holds the answer." Or, "Her expression held a secret." Listen to these other examples.

"This candle holds the miracle given to our family."

"Use this magic to get your father back." / "I can't. Not yet." / "I don't understand. This holds a power no human can access."

"I think the clock holds a clue. So, I need to get back to the garden and to Hattie."

And I mentioned the real life app earlier. It really holds the secret for you to be able to speak confident natural English. Why am I so sure? Well, I've personally learned six languages and we've taught millions of English learners just like you over the last 15 years. We used our experience to build the only English app you'll ever need.

If you feel too busy to dedicate enough time to studying, or you feel like you've been stuck at the same level forever, let me share with you a method to go from being a lost, insecure English learner to being a confident, natural English speaker, even if you only have 10 to 15 minutes per day.

Watch a short lesson like this one with Zootopia 2. Practice the new words with smart flashcards which use science to help you remember new words forever and speak the new words in a real conversation so you feel confident using them in any situation and practice pronunciation. The great thing is we make it super easy for you to do this on the real life app. And in fact, you can use the new words you're learning in a guided speaking conversation based on this exact lesson with Zootopia 2 right now. Stop just recognizing and forgetting new words and start being able to actually speak them naturally. So try for free. Just click the link in the description.

Now, I bet you get frustrated when natives speak fast and you can't understand them, right? Well, actually, the problem isn't usually about speed. It's about connected speech. That's how we natives cut, reduce, and link our words together when speaking fluently. Listen again to how Gary says "prove it".

And this journal holds the secret that will prove it.

So connected speech usually happens when we have content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.) and function words (articles, particles, pronouns, auxiliary verbs, etc.) together. Function words link to content words or other function words and sometimes even reduce or morph. This is a simple example. Instead of saying "prove" and "it" as two separate words, we say a smooth "prove it". Prove it. Your speaking will only improve with lots of practice. So listen to Gary again and try to say that just like him.

Holds the secret that will prove it.

And we have another great instance of connected speech that we can practice in the clip where Gary first appears.

Mayor Wind Dancer: There's a snake! There's a snake!

Mayor Wind Dancer's exclamation almost sounds like just one word. First, the article "a" usually just reduces to what's called a schwa sound (uh, uh). It then links to "there's" (there's a, there's a). Let's put it all together. There's a snake. There's a snake. Now you try. Say that just like Wind Dancer.

Mayor Wind Dancer: There's a snake! There's a snake!