English Recordings

He eats everything except eggplant and spinach.

Children should not swear at their parents.

Goddammit! Haven't I told you never to use swear words!

Swear words are always the first thing you want to learn in another language -- and the last thing you should use.

Don't swear in front of the kids.

The following are the National public holidays and other observances of Argentina.

Independence Day, July 4th is a public holiday in the United States.

Tomorrow's a public holiday.

What time did you get up today?

I’ve just woken up.
I just woke up

The bond between mother and child.

There is a close bond between the brothers.

My common bond with him is that we grew up in the same neighborhood.

The new municipal flag waves in front of City Hall.

The ceiling fan whirred in the background as he wrote the letter.

The ceiling fans whirred in the smoky air.

The whir of the projector.

Be careful or you’ll trip on the wire. 

He's got an impressive tattoo of barbed wire on his upper arm.

I am looking forward to my next trip to Africa.

Impact

iTEC (Innovative Technologies for an Engaging Classroom) is a four year, large-scale project that takes an informed look at the potential classroom of the future.
Starting in September 2010, iTEC will bring together policy makers, researchers, technology suppliers, other technology-enhanced learning experts and innovative teachers in order to design and build scalable learning and teaching scenarios for the future classroom with recognition of the realities of pace of the educational reform process. Rigorous testing of these future classroom scenarios in large-scale pilots will then be carried out in order to significantly increase the possibility that innovation can be mainstreamed and taken to scale when the project ends.
With 27 project partners, including 14 Ministries of Education (MoE), and funding from the European Commission of 9.45 million Euros, iTEC will provide a model describing how the deployment of technology in support of innovative teaching and learning activities can move beyond small scale pilots and become embedded in all Europe's schools. The strategic nature of the project is underlined by the fact that the iTEC piloting in >1,000 classrooms in 12 countries is by some margin the largest pan-European validation of ICT in schools yet undertaken.
In developing more meaningful visions and scenarios for the future classroom, iTEC will have a significant impact by putting in place a user-centred design process and rigorous testing methodology; all learning activities and proposed designs for the future classroom will be validated in large-scale pilots in order to determine whether they can be taken to scale. In this respect, the aim is that iTEC will act as a ‘Living Lab’ for pedagogical and technical innovation involving ICT in schools and allow both public and private sector stakeholders to rethink and test designs for the future classroom.
iTEC is being launched at a time when teachers and learners have access to a loose collection of tools that are increasingly seen and used as an alternative to a conventional learning platform. IWBs and interactive, multi-touch displays in schools may also be acting as a ‘gateway’ that enable many teachers to start integrating ICT in their classrooms. iTEC will particularly impact on the design of the future classroom by allowing teachers to more easily select from among this growing loose collection of tools and services in order to support learners using a wide range of pedagogical methods, particularly those that are based on collaborative learning and constructivist approaches.
Interoperability between people, tools, events and content is essential to the iTEC vision and several iTEC partners are already key players within the main standardization bodies concerned with Technology-Enhanced Learning. With its precise objectives and ambitious requirements in terms of interoperability, iTEC will provide a unique opportunity to evaluate relevant state-of-the-art standards and specifications, to assess their usefulness and to suggest improvements. Undoubtedly, the project will also provide opportunities to elicit missing interoperability pieces that require further standardization work.
Adopting a ‘one size fits all’ approach to the design of the future classroom is neither practical nor desirable, given the differences between national curricula, assessment practices, teacher education, and ICT infrastructure and support. The direct involvement of 14 Ministries of Education in scenario development, school piloting and mainstreaming/dissemination, however, will ensure that the project produces results that can be adopted by policy makers in different countries and in schools that have reached different levels of eMaturity. iTEC (Innovative Technologies for an Engaging Classroom) is a four year, large-scale project that takes an informed look at the potential classroom of the future.

1. (To) cash in on something:

Def:To profit from something

ex: "The actor wanted to cash in on his popularity by opening a restaurant."

2. (To) call it a day:

Def:To end work and go home

ex. "Let's call it a day. It's getting late."

3. (To) come away empty handed:

Def:To return without anything. To expect to receive something but to end up receiving nothing.

ex. "The union workers came away empty handed from the negotiations."

4.(To) come to an end:

Def:To finish. To stop.

ex. "When the road came to an end, we turned left."

5.(To) come up short:

Def: To not quite achieve one's goal.

ex. "The students tried to raise $1,000 for the school play, but they came up short."

1.(To) be in one's element:

Def: To be completely comfortable doing something; To do something that comes very naturally to someone

ex. "When it comes to speaking in public, the Senator is in his element."

2.Behind (someone)

Def: In the past.

ex: "I used to smoke, drink, and take drugs, but all that is behind me now."

3. (To have a) big mouth:

Def: To not be able to keep a secret.

ex: "Don't tell her anything. She's got a really big mouth."

4. (To) blow someone's cover:

Def: To reveal someone's secret, or true identity.

ex. "The spy was very careful not to blow her cover."

5.(To) break new ground:

Def: To do something that hasn't been done before. To innovate

ex. "Dr. Davis was breaking new ground in cancer research."

1. At each other's throats:

Def: Fighting or arguing heavily.

ex. "They were at each other's throats. The arguments never stopped."

2. At this stage:

Def: At this point.

ex. "At this stage, it's difficult to say who will win the election."

3. At all hours (of the night):

Def: very late at night etc

ex. "Her boyfriend would call her at all hours of the night."

4. All-out:

Def:Complete. Very strong.

"They did an all-out search for the missing boy and they found him."

5. Armed to the teeth:

Def:Heavily armed.

ex. "The rebels were armed to the teeth."

Kate and her accident

Kate never drove gracefully, although she always was a careful driver but that day she was in a hurry, which made her driving careless. Her boyfriend Simon had already
criticized her many times for failing to stop completely at stop signs. He knew it wasn't a coincidence beacuse she had done it so many times.

“If the cops catch you sliding through a stop sign like that,” he said, wagging a finger at
her, “I'll remaind about the cops again. They’ll give you a ticket for running a stop sign.
That means at least a $100 ticket, plus eight hours of driving school for another $30.”

“I know, I know,” she replied. “But I never do it when they’re around, so there's no chance they can catch me.”
Simon was about to tell her that it is common for cops to suddenly
appear out of nowhere, but Kate told him to stop thinking so negatively. “You are bad luck,” she said. “When you talk like that, you make bad things happen.” He told her that life
doesn’t work that way.
Kate was in a hurry in order to drop off a package at the post office. It had to get to New York by Wednesday. She exited the freeway and pulled up at the stop sign. One car was in
front of her. Kate looked to the right and to the left. No cars were coming. It was safe to
pull out. She hit the gas pedal. Bang! The car in front of her was still sitting there. The
driver was a young woman, who got out of her car, walked back to look at the damage to her new car, and started yelling at Kate.
“What were you waiting for?” Kate demanded.

The rough across the plain soon became so bad that we tried to get Bruce to drive back to the village we had come from. Even though the road was littered with boulders and pitted with holes， Bruce was not in the least perturbed. Glancing at his map， he informed us that the next village was a mere twenty miles away. It was not that Bruce always underestimated difficulties. He simply had no sense of danger at all. No matter what the conditions were， he believed that a car should be driven as fast as it could possibly go.
As we bumped over eh dusty track， we swerved to avoid large boulders. The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. We felt sure that sooner or later a stone would rip a hole in our petrol tank or damage the engine. Because of this， we kept looking back， wondering if we were leaving a trail of oil and petrol behind us.
What a relief it was when the boulders suddenly disappeared， giving way to a stretch of plain where the only obstacles were clumps of bushes. But there was worse to come. Just ahead of us there was a huge fissure. In response to renewed pleadings， Bruce stopped. Though we all got out to examine the fissure， he remained in the car. We informed him that the fissure extended for fifty years and was tow feet wide and four feet deep. Even this had no effect. Bruce went into a low gear and drove at a terrifying speed， keeping the front wheels astride the crack as he followed its zigzag course. Before we had time to worry about what might happen， we were back on the plain again. Bruce consulted the map once more and told us that the village was now only fifteen miles away. Our next obstacle was a shallow pool of water about half a mile across. Bruce charged at it， but in the middle， the car came to a grinding half. A yellow light on the dashboard flashed angrily and Bruce cheerfully announced that there was no oil in the engine！

Cave exploration， or pot-holing， as it has come to be known， is a relatively new sport. Perhaps it is the desire for solitude or the chance of making an unexpected discovery that lures people down to the depths of the earth. It is impossible to give a satisfactory explanation for a pot-holer's motives. For him， caves have the same peculiar fascination which high mountains have for the climber. They arouse instincts which can only be dimly understood.
Exploring really deep caves is not a task for the Sunday afternoon rambler. Such undertakings require the precise planning and foresight of military operations. It can take as long as eight days to rig up rope ladders and to establish supply bases before a descent can be made into a very deep cave. Precautions of this sort are necessary， for it is impossible to foretell the exact nature of the difficulties which will confront the pot-holer. The deepest known cave in the world is the Gouffre Berger near Grenoble. It extends to a depth of 3，723 feet. This immense chasm has been formed by an underground stream which has tunneled a course through a flaw in the rocks. The entrance to the cave is on a plateau in the Dauphine Alps. As it is only six feet across， it is barely noticeable. The cave might never have been discovered has not the entrance been spotted by the distinguished French pot-holer， Berger. Since its discovery， it has become a sort of potholers' Everest. Though a number of descents have been made， much of it still remains to be explored.
A team of pot-holers recently went down the Gouffre Berger. After entering the narrow gap on the plateau， they climbed down the steep sides of the cave until they came to narrow corridor. They had to edge their way along this， sometimes wading across shallow streams， or swimming across deep pools. Suddenly they came to a waterfall which dropped into an underground lake at the bottom of the cave. They plunged into the lake， and after loading their gear on an inflatable rubber dinghy， let the current carry them to the other side. To protect themselves from the icy water， they had to wear special rubber suits. At the far end of the lake， they came to huge piles of rubble which had been washed up by the water. In this part of the cave， they could hear an insistent booming sound which they found was caused by a small waterspout shooting down into a pool from the roof of the cave. Squeezing through a cleft in the rocks， the pot-holers arrived at an enormous cavern， the size of a huge concert hall. After switching on powerful arc lights， they saw great stalagmites —— some of them over forty feet high —— rising up like tree-trunks to meet the stalactites suspended from the roof. Round about， piles of limestone glistened in all the colours of the rainbow. In the eerie silence of the cavern， the only sound that could be heard was made by water which dripped continuously from the high dome above them.

The quiet life of the country ahs never appealed to me. City born and city bred. I have always regarded the country as something you look at through a train window， or something you occasional visit during the weekend. Most of my friends live in the city， yet they always go into raptures at the mere mention of the country. Though they extol the virtues of the peaceful life， only one of hem has ever gone to live in the country and he was back in town within six months. Even he still lives under the illusion that country life is somehow superior to town life. He is forever talking about the friendly people， the clean atmosphere， the closeness to nature and the gentle pace of living. Nothing can be compared， he maintains， with the first cockcrow， the twittering of birds at dawn， the sight of the rising sun glinting on the trees and pastures. This idyllic pastoral scene is only part of the picture. My friend fails to mention the long and friendless winter evenings in front of the TV —— virtually the only form of entertainment. He says nothing about the poor selection of goods in the shops， or about those unfortunate people who have to travel from the country to the city every day to get to work. Why people are prepared to tolerate a four-hour journey each day for the dubious privilege of living in the country is beyond me. They could be saved so much misery and expense if they chose to live in the city where they rightly belong.
If you can do without the few pastoral pleasures of the country， you will find the city can provide you with the best that life can offer. You never have to travel miles to see your friends. They invariably lie nearby and are always available for an informal chat or an evening's entertainment. Some of my acquaintances in the country come up to town once or twice a year to visit the theatre as a special treat. For them this is a major operation which involves considerable planning. As the play draws to its close， they wonder whether they will ever catch that last train home. The cit dweller never experiences anxieties of this sort. The latest exhibitions， films， or plays are only a short bus ride away. Shopping， too， is always a pleasure. The latest exhibitions， films， or plays are only a short bus ride away. Shopping， too， is always a pleasure. There is so much variety that you never have to make do with second best. Country people run wild when they go shopping in the city and stagger home loaded with as many of the exotic items as they can carry. Nor is the city without its moments of beauty. There is something comforting about the warm glow shed by advertisements on cold wet winter nights. Few things could be more impressive than the peace that descends on deserted city streets at weekends when the thousands that travel to work every day are tucked away in their homes in the country. It has always been a mystery to me who city dwellers， who appreciate all these things， obstinately pretend that they would prefer to live in the country.
　

It has never been explained why university students seem to enjoy practical jokes more than else. Students specialize in a particular type of practical joke： the hoax. Inviting the fire brigade to put out a nonexistent fire is a crude form of deception which no self-respecting student would ever indulge in. Students often create amusing situations which are funny to everyone except the victims.
When a student recently saw two workmen using a pneumatic drill outside his university， he immediately telephoned the police and informed them that two students dressed up as workmen were tearing up the road with a pneumatic drill. As soon as he had hung up， he went over to the workmen and told them that if a policeman ordered them to go away， they were not take him seriously. He added that a student had dressed up as a policeman and was playing all sorts of silly jokes on people. Both the police and the workmen were grateful to the student for this piece of advance information.
The student did in an archway nearby where he could watch and hear everything that went on. Sure enough， a policeman arrived on the scene and politely asked the workmen to go away. When he received a very rude reply from one of the workmen. He threatened to remove them by force. The workmen told him to do as he pleased and the policeman telephoned for help. Shortly afterwards， four more policemen arrived and remonstrated with the workmen. As the men refused to stop working， the police attempted to seize the pneumatic drill. The workmen struggled fiercely and one of them lost his temper. He threatened to call the police. At this， the police pointed out ironically that this would hardly be necessary as the men were already under arrest. Pretending to speak seriously， one of the workmen asked if he might make a telephone call before being taken to the station. Permission was granted and a policeman accompanied him to a pay phone. Only when he saw that the man was actually telephoning the police did he realize that they had all been the victims of a hoax.