English Recordings

Mr. Davis, I’ve just finished reading your x-rays, and I would like to discuss them with you. You have osteoarthritis in the middle of your back and scoliosis, which is a curvature of the spine. I can also feel the muscle spasms and pinched nerves from your shoulders to the base of your spine. While this may terrible to you, it is not life threatening, nor is it something to worry about. At present there is no cure for these problems, but you can control them with proper treatment. First of all, we need to adjust your diet a little. The nurse will provide you with information on some foods to avoid completely and other whose consumption should be restricted. Here is an explanation of some back exercises that you can do. They will help to stretch and strengthen the muscles and to relieve the pain. Use a heating pad and an ice pack to alleviate soreness in the joints. I’m going to prescribe some muscle relaxers and pain killers. Take them as indicated. In about six weeks we’ll see how you are progressing and then begin some chiropractic treatment. I’d like to see you again in three weeks. Please have the nurse make an appointment for then.

Hi everybody. Welcome to PT1.

Sometimes you’d like to express just how much you really, really want to do something. In other words, you’d like to express your enthusiasm. In other words, you’re pumped and you want tell to tell the world just how stoked you are about something. This is the opposite of expressing sadness and calls for very positive words. Use these phrases to express enthusiasm for something you are doing, or to support someone else.

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Idioms in the introduction:

to be pumped = to be very excited and physically ready to do something

to be stoked = to be very enthused about something

Expressing Enthusiasm for Something You are Doing

These expressions are used to express something about your own projects. You can also use these forms to state that someone else is excited about his / her own project. Below you will find expressions to use when supporting or showing your enthusiasm for someone else.

S + be + (really, very, quite) excited + about something

I’m very excited about working with Tom on the new project.
I’m quite excited about my new car!

S + be + (really) looking forward to something

I’m really looking forward to opening the new store next week.
She’s looking forward to taking some time off work.

S + feel confident that ...

I feel confident that I’ll get the position.
We feel confident that our son will succeed.

S + cherish

I cherish the time I spend with you.
Jack cherishes every opportunity to speak to a client.

Well, there are quite a few streets that I could have chosen to talk about, but I reckon probably the most interesting one to describe would be ABC Street, which is somewhere in the centre of my hometown, about fifteen to twenty minutes’ walk from where I live.

And as for what the main buildings are on this street, well, it’s kind of hard to say really, because the street is essentially just a long stretch of shops selling various souvenirs, but there are also a handful of restaurants dotted in amongst the shops, most of which are pretty nondescript to be honest with you. However, one building that does stand out is the traditional medicine shop, which doubles up as a hospital, so I suppose it’s probably fair to say that this would be the main building on the street, and there are always floods of people going in and out, apparently because it’s meant to be one the best places, if not the best, for traditional medicine in the whole province, although I’ve never actually been inside myself.

Anyway, regarding what I usually do on this street, well I guess most of the time I just go there for the street food, because there are a load of stalls which do really good food, such as barbecued squid, lamb kebabs, uh… what else… oh yeah, chicken wings and also chicken drumsticks. So that’s basically what I mainly go there for, and it’s actually making me feel quite hungry just to think of it!

But getting back to the topic, with regard to how I feel about this street, well, on the whole I would say it’s a really cool street, firstly because it’s pedestrianized, so there’s a lot of space to walk around without having to worry about getting hit by a car! Also, most of the buildings seem to be quite old, which gives the street a nice, traditional feel.

But saying that, though, it can sometimes feel a little touristy, especially on weekends when you’ll see people walking around with cameras dangling around their necks, and I guess because of this, the things sold in the shops there tend to be quite pricey. For example, a pack of postcards will probably set you back about $30 or so, whereas if you went to one of the bookshops in the city, it would probably only cost about $10. But anyway, all in all I would say it’s a really great street, and I feel lucky that we have such a place in our hometown.

Two men and a thirteen-year-old boy are safe now after being rescued from their tiny boat which had been adrift in the Gulf of Mexico for twenty-four hours. After their families had reported them missing, the Coast Guard began searching, but the group was rescued after waving frantically at a private airplane flying overhead. It turned out that they had drifted only seven and a half miles from where their engine had broken down.

What you see below you is crude oil. Crude oil is the source of all petroleum products: gasoline, fuel oil, jet fuel, asphalt, lubricants, and chemicals. The modern world cannot exist without the energy derived from petroleum products, for industrial operation as well as transportation. These products are burned to produce energy or used as lubricants to reduce friction.

Many years ago, crude oil could be found close to the surface, and it would ooze from the ground without a recovery operation. That supply was very limited. Today oil wells must be drilled to depths of hundreds and even thousands of feet. Generally, crude oil must be pumped to the surface.

Crude oils are classified into two types determined by the percentage of sulfur they contain. “Sweet” crude oil has less than one percent sulfur, while “sour” crude has greater than one percent sulfur content. Crude oil is a mixture of many complex organic compounds. Though the chemical elements involved are mostly carbon and hydrogen, with traces of sulfur, nitrogen, and oxygen, the complicated structures of these organic chemicals create a multiple of different compounds.

Topic: More and more countries are implementing policies that force newcomers to acquire at least a basic working knowledge of the local language. Some people think this will help ease these immigrants’ assimilation into society, while others believe this is an attack on people’s cultures and freedoms. Discuss both arguments and state which you agree with.

Model essay:

Mass migration has changed the global makeup, sometimes requiring entire societies to adapt to new realities. In many nations, language is seen as the key to new immigrants’ social integration, and governments want new residents to adopt the local language quickly. While some view this as necessary, others feel it is an attack on the new populations’ identity and freedoms. While both sides present legitimate points, I believe that newcomers should learn their hosts’ language to better their own lives.

To assimilate into a new environment people must engage those around them and take part in the daily life of the place. This can hardly be done if a person’s means of communication is limited, especially in terms of language. If, for instance, a person wants to buy food, take a bus, or meet locals, he must be able to speak to others. Furthermore, if he wants to maintain a sustainable lifestyle, though not at taxpayers’ expense, he needs to secure employment, something he cannot do without the ability to communicate with colleagues and clients. A government that insists on language acquisition, therefore, is doing so to ease a new immigrant’s transition to his new home and to make sure he is a valuable member of society.

On the other hand, language learning should not be forced and lead to a loss of one’s cultural identity or freedom. Governments must allow newcomers to continue their traditions and customs while helping them adopt new ones. Immigrants, in turn, must realize that with their new language they will, in the long run, gain more freedom and a stronger identity. Thus, if an Indian man in Canada wears a turban, he can explain to his Canadian peers that it is a part of his faith. This will enlighten others while strengthening his sense of identity as a Sikh. Lacking this, he will always remain the other and raise suspicions, especially if he refuses to learn the language. And social harmony, after all, is a government’s main aim.

To conclude, learning the language of one’s new home has many benefits. Governments should definitely encourage language acquisition, but in a way that does not interfere with one’s sense of identity.

Topic: More and more people in the developed world are living longer these days, and they are living well past the age of retirement. As a result, many of them do not have enough money in their old age to maintain a quality standard of life, often ending up poor and struggling to survive.

Suggest some steps governments can take to ensure a quality lifestyle for their elderly. What can people do to better prepare financially for old age?

Model essay:

Modern advances in medicine, education, and technology have led to a global increase in average life expectancy, especially in wealthy nations. Yet despite this positive development, many people reach old age financially unprepared and struggle to survive. In my opinion, governments should take some responsibility for their elderly and secure for them a better life by offering affordable access to medicine and housing. In addition, governments can educate their populations on how to prepare for old age. Young people, for their part, should adopt a more forward-thinking approach to aging.

Firstly, a government is accountable to its citizens, meaning it has a duty to ensure their well-being. This includes guaranteeing their dignity, something hardly achievable when a person must choose between medicine and food. To counter this dilemma, a government should allocate some of its annual budget toward subsidizing living costs for those who cannot afford it. One way to do this is to establish more senior residences and hire in-house medical professionals to care for their inhabitants. This will allow the tenants not only to receive the attention they need, but also to have the ability to socialize with others and live a normal life.

Another step a government can take, which would also reduce long-term costs and minimize the number of people requiring assistance, is to introduce courses into the public school curriculum that will address these issues. If young people learn early on how to manage their money and use technology to increase their livelihood, then retirement ought to be less of a struggle. These young people, in turn, need to be more receptive of this type of education and be accountable for their own lives. They need to learn to save, invest, and grow their wealth for a rainy day. More importantly, though, young people must realize that life is a marathon, not a sprint, and that they need to think about the future as much as the present.

To sum up, governments, especially those of rich nations, have to make sure that all of their citizens can live a worthy life. However, people must realize that they are ultimately responsible for their own situations and should therefore learn to prepare for their future.

Well, it took me a few moments to decide on which shop to talk about, because I actually like going to quite a number of different shops around my hometown, but possibly my favourite is H&M, so that’s the one I’m gonna describe.

Firstly then, with regard to what it sells, well I’m not sure if you’re familiar with H&M, but it’s basically a mid-end clothes shop which sells a variety of women’s and men’s clothing, mostly geared towards young adults like myself. And as well as clothing, the shop also has a small accessories section for women, with things like hair bands, bracelets and earrings, but the main focus is definitely on clothes.

Anyway, as for when I first started going to this shop, well to be totally honest with you, I’m really not that sure, but off the top of my head, I guess I must have first started shopping there two or three years ago, round about the time I was in high school, because I seem to vaguely remember one of my high-school classmates telling me about it, and how good it was.

So that’s kind of how I got to know about H&M, and finally, regarding why I like shopping there, well I suppose it’s really a combination of reasons, one of which would be that the clothes there, on the whole, tend to be quite fashionable and trendy, unlike the stuff I see in many other shops, and the clothes are pretty simple in style, which is exactly what I like. So that’s one thing, and I guess another reason would be that everything there is really good-value, and just to give you an example, a decent pair of jeans there costs around $50, whereas a similar pair at another shop would probably set you back $70 or so, and in terms of quality, well, there’s really not that much difference between H&M’s clothes and the higher-end brands, but you’re paying considerably less.

So yeah, I would say these are, more or less, the main reasons why I like shopping there, and I would probably go so far as saying it’s become one of the most popular clothes shops here in my hometown, and I just hope they continue to keep their prices as low as they are!

That’s pretty much it then, so thanks for listening.

Topic: As more and more technology enters the classroom, there is a strong possibility that teachers will not be needed in the future. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this idea?

Model essay:

Digital natives, those born into a high-tech world, will be increasingly educated via devices and various software. While some view this as making teachers redundant, I believe there will always be a need for teachers in the classroom, even if a reduced one. This is because children will always require a human element in their development, just as machines need human controllers. All that technology can offer is access to information, and even in this respect it may be limited.

Young children are fragile; their minds and hearts are affected by many external forces that need to be explained to them and monitored by caring adults. Technological gadgets, conversely, do not involve emotions or morals. In other words, machines cannot make a crying child feel better, or a misbehaving child play nice. These inherent aspects of childhood demand an experienced human touch to deal with them. What is more, as children grow up, they change, and machines lack this adaptive experience, unlike adult teachers.

One must remember that technological devices have to be programmed by human beings. In this case, who better than teachers, who can draw on their classroom experiences, to inform the software developers’ work? Moreover, teachers will be required to instruct their pupils on the use of the programs, fix bugs and glitches, and replace worn out components when they break down. Ultimately, even if a teacher only acts as a coach or service tech in the classroom, his presence will still be necessary.

In conclusion, while technology certainly has its place in education, it can never be a substitute for the human contact that children crave and, therefore, cannot replace teachers entirely. Teachers will still be called on to engage students and even serve as mediators between child and machine.