Psst...

Do you want to get language learning tips and resources every week or two? Join our mailing list to receive new ways to improve your language learning in your inbox!

Join the list

English Audio Request

Seema
379 Words / 1 Recordings / 1 Comments
Note to recorder:

Please record the audio with clear pronunciation at a medium pace. Please do your best to add good intonation to boost up the interest of the listeners and making them feel, and visualize the story. Please do not skip any word and do take the name of the author. And please record in a silent room so that no background noise is in the audio. I will use this story in my class for my students.

Life is Not a Fairy Tale
by Rizwan Ahmed Memon

Qasim, a ten-year-old boy, always believed in luck. In last five years, he had won many competitions at his school, including a marathon, singing competition, and a pie-eating contest. His father often told him to be optimistic, but also work hard.

One day, at his school, the principal announced that there would be a quiz show. Hearing that Qasim whispered into his friend’s ear, who was sitting beside him, “And I will be the winner!” “I hope so.” replied his friend. Thinking that the luck would be on his side as always, Qasim did not prepare much for the show. His parents were looking forward to seeing another prize in his hands. “The quiz show is nearing. Are you preparing for it?” said his father. Qasim in an annoyed manner replied, “Oh, come on, Dad! Let me play the video game.” His father said, “What about the quiz?” “I will win. You will see,” said Qasim. “Well, son you better wake up and smell the coffee. Everything doesn’t come without hard work,” said his father.

The competition day came and all the students and their parents gathered. Qasim was nervous, as he was not prepared. The quiz show started and from two teams the team leader was supposed to answer. Qasim was his team’s leader. The questioner asked, “Who gave the speech 'I Have a Dream'?” Qasim had not studied his history book. He remained silent, but his opponent gave the correct answer: Martin Luther King. On most of the questions, Qasim remained silent, for he had not studied. The questions were from different subjects from his syllabus. Everybody laughed at Qasim, and his mom and dad were very disappointed. Qasim lost the quiz program.

At night, Qasim came into his parent’s room and said, “I am sorry.” His father encouraged him and said, “You work hard. Do not rely only on luck.” His mother further added, “Look, son, life is not a fairy tale that has some magic in it, which will fix everything. On the contrary, life is all about action. If you rest, you rust.” Qasim gave his word to the parents and said he would always work hard and would not rely just on luck.

Recordings

Comments

Seema
Feb. 22, 2019

Thank you, but I feel you have rushed the story especially in the middle and end of the story. There is also some background noise. You changed voice and showed emotions on Qasim's dialogue, but you didn't change voice or showed much emotions on the dialogue of other charactors. I have clicked the button " more audio please" so please give it a second try. Thank you.

Rizwan

Overview

You can use our built-in RhinoRecorder to record from within your browser, or you may also use the form to upload an audio file for this Audio Request.

Don't have audio recording software? We recommend Audacity. It's free and easy to use.

Sponsored Links