English Audio Request

Mike likes to make out that he's tough, but he's a pussycat really.
She spent the day fretting about what she'd said to Nicky.
Don’t fret – I’m sure we’ll find the kitten.
Big supermarkets can undercut all rivals, especially small family-owned shops.
They claim to undercut their competitors by at least five percent.
He suspected it was an attempt to undercut his authority.
He's got a plan, so I don't want to undercut the effort that he has underway.
The company says it doesn't pay spiffs because the product is so good, they don't have to pay salespeople.
The conditioner gives hair a beautiful soft sheen.
Just pull over here, and I'll get out and walk the rest of the way.
My pencil was poised over the page, ready to take down her words.
She watched a little white bird, poised on a branch and fluttering its wings.
The public pension fund is poised to invest up to $1.5 billion over the next year.
She remained poised throughout the difficult presentation.
The waxwork blacksmith, for example, could be poised ready to strike with his hammer at the forge.
It is even worse when, from time to time, the screen takes on the appearance of a sheet of herringbone tweed.
The death rate for pedestrians hit by cars is unacceptably high.
A few pedestrians sheltered from the rain in doorways.
Her books, with few exceptions, are workmanlike but pedestrian.
In these cities, the ground floor plane has become the domain of the motor vehicle: pedestrians have made a claim for the sky.
The base of the bed was made of slats.
Rather than being slated for obsolescence by competing new electronic commodities, these instruments can reach new audiences and cross musical boundaries.
Fines are collected and the money goes into a kitty to be used for entertainment purposes at the end of the season.
Since this experiment only investigated past and present tense, only two locations were used and the kitty only demonstrated the event twice.
Wipe your feet on the mat before you come inside.
The electrician must have called (round) this morning when we were out - there's a note on the door mat.
Please remember to bring a mat and a towel with you to the next aerobics class.
The top few buttons on his shirt were open, revealing a mat of dark hair on his chest.
If you come up against difficulties, let me know and I'll help out.
The building was surrounded with bodyguards toting sub-machine guns.
He is someone who finds it difficult to curb his fleshly desires.
You must try to put a curb on your bad temper/spending habits.
She stood on the curb and waited until the light turned green to cross the street.
The application of control measures that curb human infection in endemic areas depends critically on the detection of infected people.
The cat injured her paw, so I took her to the vet.
During the war, the government vetted all news reports before they were published.
All agencies must carefully vet new workers.
The results of the survey have been carefully vetted by independent researchers.
Policy originated with the vets, but their claims to authority, based on professional expertise, were initially weak and carried little institutional weight.
The child takes a snack in a piece of paper or a satchel and there is nowhere to warm it.
Nothing of value must be left in overcoat and raincoat pockets, or in bags and satchels.
Harold’s working to bring about changes in the industry.
The lone survivor of the crash claimed that a crocodile hidden in a duffel bag had escaped.
The nest of the honey wasp is small; the size of a football, but it can become large, like the size of a duffel bag.
A little money spent right can do more than a lot of money spent on frills and gimmicks.
a cheap airline, with no frills.
Hundreds of trucks full of fruit and vegetables trundle across the border each day.
The negotiations have been trundling on for months and there's still no end in sight.
We are aware that various companies have shown an interest in those factories and that such companies are trundling around the royal ordnance factories.
During the first few months of pregnancy the slightest whiff of food cooking made my stomach turn.
They regularly hold elections without a whiff of corruption or violence.
The European Commission is investigating allegations of airline fare price-fixing.
She divides her time between her apartment in New York and her cottage in Yorkshire.
The cottage is situated in the middle of a wood at the end of a narrow potholed lane.
They allowed retired and elderly couples or single people to vacate cottages needed for working families, without obliging them to leave the village altogether.
I was at the gas station, and he pulled up next to me.
The boat pulled up at the dock.
He was caught pilfering (sweets) from the shop.
They were charged with conspiracy to pilfer $600m from a major international conglomerate.
U.S. officials claimed the plane's electronic surveillance equipment had been thoroughly examined and pilfered by their military.
If this charge were true, the discovery would have remained public, but would have been re-attributed to the person from whom it was pilfered.
They were arrested for buying dope.
You shouldn't have told him, you dope!
They hoped to dig up some dope on her that might be damaging, but they never did.
His blog is a must-read for anyone who wants the inside dope on the tech world.
We always have to dope up our cat for long car journeys.
The party's at Kate's on Friday night - bring some booze.
Have you been out boozing again?
I have never understood why people who visit places to see the scenery want to spend all their time sitting in pubs boozing.
Freddie was an angelic-looking child with blond, curly hair, blue eyes, and dimples.
The outer leaflets fuse and the distal leaflets are pulled towards each other, forming a dimple.
She makes a delicious apple cinnamon buckle.
Originally, buckle was topped with blueberries but over the years a variety of fruits and toppings have been used.
The intense heat from the fire had caused the factory roof to buckle.
But these were difficult times and a lesser man would have buckled under the strain.
Please buckle your seat belts.
The judge threatened her with jail, but she refused to buckle and would not say where she got the information.
I could see a foot sticking out from under the duvet.
There was a handkerchief sticking out of his jacket pocket.
Dye your hair orange and you’ll really stick out in a small town like this.
My colorful clothes stuck out like a sore thumb.
Over time, the milk thickens or curdles into a yogurt-like substance with a strong, sour flavor.
The goal is to get the milk to the end before it curdles (5 min).
a dollop of whipped cream.
On farms, mink are typically kept in long rows of barren cages in open-sided sheds and fed with dollops of paste.
It is a combination of muddle on the one hand and the market on the other, with a great dollop of malice for good measure.
What do you mean you don't understand - do I have to spell it out for you?
The government has so far refused to spell out its policies.
the Texas panhandle.
He was arrested for panhandling.They were arrested for embezzlement of company funds.
He's accused of tax evasion, embezzlement, and fraud.
A homeless man often panhandles in front of the bank.
Restrictions defining solicitation or panhandling as aggressive regard both manner and context.
After years of addiction, he swore off drugs completely.
She threatened to walk off the film set because of the conditions.
He refused to discuss it and just walked off in a huff.
They busted up last year.
She had a big bust-up with her brother-in-law.
The CEO was ousted last month after a boardroom bust-up.
But you can have difficulties with your brother, sister or cousin, and it does not mean that you have to have a bust-up.
The washing machine totally seized up on Thursday.
The traffic had seized up for miles because of the roadworks.
Drugs are too easy to get ahold of.
I'd like to get ahold of Debbie and talk to her about this.
I grabbed ahold of his legs and held on so he could not get away.
Once the drugs get ahold of you, it just changes you completely.
He was approached to head up Barclays' investment banking business.
Big oil company suppliers are warning that prices are heading up further.
The ambassador has offered to act as a go-between for the two countries involved in the conflict.
When we act as a go-between for supplier and buyers, we help them develop trading links.
An intermediary acting as go-between among agents is known variously as a translator, embassy or mediator depending on its specific characteristics.
We've got rid of the old computer system, and good riddance is what I say.
Good riddance to the state that violates its sacred trust.
Her lawyer declined to comment about the embezzlement charge she faces.
The embezzlement scandal involves a local school district.
He discovered he was the victim of embezzlement.
Throughout our company we need diverse, talented, creative, enterprising individuals who seize responsibility and think strategically.
People who though not well-educated are practical and enterprising and may well have exercised their right to buy.
The speaker sidestepped the question by saying that it would take him too long to answer it.
The thankless and probably fruitless effor t to estimate the propor tion of oats eaten by people and horses can be sidestepped by simply providing the limits of the argument.
It is my pleasure, nay (my) privilege, to introduce tonight's guest speaker.
Eventually, he voted against the administration's bill, only one of eight "nays" cast by a nonsouthern senator.
She chided him for his bad manners.
This critique, while accurate in its own metaphysical way, is the equivalent of chiding the tiger for not bearing the markings of the tortoise.
Women are chided for believing in omens and consulting astrologers and palmists.
Rain in the morning will turn into snow during the afternoon.
They gave us a long spiel about why we needed to install double glazing in our house.
They listen to the "spiel" and the sales pitch and try to assess the value of what is offered.
You may be tempted by the offer of a 40% discount off the price of a new pay-as-you-talk handset.
Some providers won't cover you if your handset is stolen from your car or if you mislay it.
The technical constraints of cellular radio networks—the need to have a line of sight between handsets and base stations, for example—means that providing the necessary infrastructure represents a considerable challenge.
The living-room windows have net curtains that let in sunlight but stop passers-by looking in from the street.
There are laws there to protect the mentally ill, but now and then someone does slip through the net.
If the ball touches the net during a serve in a game of tennis, you have to serve again.
I got a whiff of perfume as she walked by.
The smoke spread very gradually as far as the crater of the volcano, while there were many whiffs issuing from points in the direction of another headland.
I put my money in the slot and pressed the button but nothing came out.
The programme will occupy that half-hour slot before the six o'clock news.
Slot piece A into piece B, taking care to keep the two pieces at right angles.
Shaap’s program can be heard in the same time slot every morning.
If only we could tap into all that energy and creativity.
Within a few years we expect to compete with the big Wall Street firms for the top slot in the industry.
Even for much smaller classes, this is impractical because, in general, overloading dispatches on types only and several slots can have the same type.
Some of the runners could only manage to hobble over the finishing line.
A long list of amendments have hobbled the new legislation.
This is none of your business, so butt out.
We can't release his name until we have informed his next of kin.
The Justice Department publicly rebuked him over a leaked memorandum.
When I mildly rebuked your cousin for falling asleep, she acted like she had done the most horrible thing.
Failure by a low-ranking chimpanzee (or wolf or human) to exhibit submissive behavior in the presence of more dominant animals will earn rebuke.
He showed up for the interview wearing some grungy old sweatshirt and jeans.
After a 15-hour flight, I felt really grungy.
This debuted the band's new grungy and messy image in which band members would often come out in ragged clothes slathered in corn starch.
They're very chummy with their neighbours.
Routinely, they hire high-powered, politically connected agents who just happen to be chummy with commissioners.
The theory that best suits our needs is consolidation, an idea borrowed from the fields of geotechnical engineering and slurry dewatering.
This implies only slight variation in nutrient content of the slurry over time.
I'm scooting off to the seaside for a few days' holiday.
Scoot over and make room for your sister.
The rest of the dance involves original use of partnered teetering, scooting and dodging steps with some jitterbugging thrown in.
Don't be browbeaten into working more hours than you want.
He objected that McDonald was browbeating the witness.
Mulch around the base of the roses.
The plant material was either removed after crop mowing or was left on the field after mulching.
It was just a ruse to distract her while his partner took the money.
You didn’t fall for my ruse.
Rather than revise the ruse of cooperation that he devised to protect his political domain, he blamed corrupted evidence.
What appears particularly objectionable is the ruse itself, which delivers up the unwitting to the caprices of a tyrant who (ab)uses the law.
He secured a dramatic victory for England by netting the ball half a minute before the end of the game.
The net weight of something excludes the weight of the material that it is packed in.
With unemployment in the area below 1%, it has had to cast its net wide to fill the 70 jobs it expects to create this year.
The soffit of the new bridge incorporates bat bricks, which provide nesting sites for pipistrelle bats and a timber otter run on one bank.
Only the stub remained after cutting down the tree.
the emperator subdued dozens of nations during is reign.
The price of property has almost trebled in the last ten years.
He was gunned down in front of his house.
The city received heavy poundings from the air every night last week.
the translator managed to convey all the nuances of the text.
He was, she said, a heartless scoundrel who had stripped her of everything she owned.
As he left the theatre, the singer was set upon by fans desperate for autographs.
It is as if some awesome force kept misleading sleuths, even as it pushed the hijackers' improbable conspiracy to an inexorable conclusion.
It is a resort that clearly caters for the well-off.
The cars honking (their horns) kept us awake half the night.
All the roads out of the town had been blocked off by the police.
Is the lager on draught or is it bottled?
He minced across the room in a pair of tight pink trousers.
The lamb is minced, mixed with spices, and formed into meatballs.
The flames were quenched by heavy rain.
Her thirst for knowledge will never be quenched.
Her remarks could not have been more germane to the discussion.
My father believed that if I got an apprenticeship to a proper trade I'd be financially secure for life.
She steeled herself to jump out of the plane.
During the 1960s its grounds were a popular hang-out for artists and hippies, but the wall outside upon which people sat was subsequently redeveloped into shops.
He knew he had been wrong, and duly apologized.
She asked for his autograph and he duly obliged by signing her programme.
Many people carry good luck charms.
their lives were torn asunder by the tragedy.
Children can't sit still for long without fidgeting.
I got the fidgets halfway through the lecture.
Vises are often used to hold pieces of wood that are being cut or smoothed.
We should make judicious use of the resources available to us.
There is a marked cleavage between the parties about the government's defence policy.
She learned multiplication by rote.
Airport security was extra tight in the wake of yesterday's bomb attacks.
She produced some bogus documents to support her application.
The general and his cronies are now awaiting trial for drug smuggling.
I’d like to see the president and his cronies booted out of office.
A group of young lads were standing outside the shop.
An average life span of 70 years.
The new owner carved up the company and sold off several divisions.
She had to search back through the paperwork to find the interest rate.
My grandmother is finding it harder to get around these days.
Spain last week and Germany this week - he gets around, doesn't he!
I had talked too much about myself and felt like a garrulous old fool.
I could not close the door because the latch was broken.
y produced a list of the districts that are considered most likely to flip in the upcoming elections.
lost my place in my book when the pages flipped over in the wind.
The police were called and they were on the spot within three minutes.
The oil in which the fish is fried is strained off and used to cook potatoes.
he policewoman spotted that I hadn't got my seat belt on and signalled me to stop.
"I've just seen your glasses - they're under the table." "Ah, well spotted!"
I was just wondering where Sarah was, when, right on cue, she came in.
She watched his lips carefully and took her cue from him.
e cases of jaundice detected during the survey were examined\interviewed by senior physicians for epidemiological information and risk factors of viral hepatitis.
Should any harm befall me on my journey, you may open this letter.
ome of the tunnels in the cliff are natural, some were carved out by soldiers for defensive purposes.
Would you like me to carve the chicken?
This is the first book to go into her personal life as well as her work.
He was the company's go-to guy for new ideas.
He is the go-to politician for all federal matters in the state.
For 20 years, Wild Mountain was the go-to store for outdoor enthusiasts.
The unbeaten Charlottesville Crackers romped past the Beantown Beanies 68-26.
It turns out that she had known him when they were children.
With a number of employees having called in sick, the remaining staff were struggling to cope.
A pruning of the product range and the 30 factories they currently own could produce massive savings.
He's often bracketed with the romantic poets of this period although this does not reflect the range of his work.
A total of 217 people have gone through the roustabout training programme operated by the offshore petroleum industry training board.
She has spent her life trying to help the homeless and other social outcasts.
If you want to follow politics, basically you have to become a talk-show junkie.
He admitted taking the money, but later withdrew his confession.
They argue that the membership of the Council does not reflect the racial make-up of the city.
Organizational ability is not one of the most obvious parts of his make-up.
He was a wiry man 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 145 pounds.
The police insist that they are not letting up on their campaign against drugs.
The system will work fine once we work out a few kinks.
he window slides along a deep metal groove to open and close.
After 20 years he reunited with comrades from his army unit.
She's a lot better than she was but she's still not ready to face the stresses and strains of a job.
The recent decline in the dollar has put a bigger strain on the economic system.
They planned to reduce staff and thus to cut costs.
Colombians will vote in a run-off election to choose a new president.
You can't run off now, just when I need you!
Depression can sap the energy and self-esteem from an individual.
The punchline is that we must be cautious about naïvely assuming that our experiences resemble the world.
Her cell phone's switched off. I'll try her on her landline.
Mr. Taylor just stepped out of the office to get the mail.
If a conveyor belt moves too fast, parts may be damaged or the workers may not be able to keep up.
The monument was hewn out of the side of a mountain.
Raucous laughter came from the next room.
The party was becoming rather raucous.
He said he wasn't coming, which I thought was a bit rum.
His boss eventually rumbled him, and he was sacked.