English Recordings

Why don't we go to the pub to have a drink?
Shall we sit at the bar?
The barman serves the drinks to the customers.
Have you ordered yet?
I'll have a sparkling mineral water.
Could you bring me a bottle of still water?
I'll have a soft drink, please.
Could you bring me another jug of beer?
Can you bring us a bottle of white wine?
Can you bring me a glass of red wine, please?
I love having an aperitif at midday on Saturdays.
Do you mind bringing us some crisps?
Can you bring us some nuts?
Come on, the last drink's on me.
I'll get the next round of shots!
Let's toast the people who are here!
Could you give me the cocktail menu?
A rum and coke, please.
Can you give me a whisky and water, please?
A vodka and lemon, please!
Can you give me a gin and tonic please?
Do you feel like a game of pool?
Do you want to play darts?
What's the matter with you? Are you drunk?
Don't shout! I've got a hangover.

10 first-time homebuyer mistakes

(Continued ...)

6. Being swept away
Minor upgrades and cosmetic fixes are inexpensive tricks that play on your emotions and elicit a much higher price. Sellers may pay $2,000 for minimal upgrades or staging that you'll end up paying $40,000 for. If you're on a budget, look for homes whose full potential has yet to be realized. Also, first-time homebuyers should always look for a house they can add value to; this ensures a bump in equity to help you up the property ladder.

7. Compromising on the important things
Don't get a two-bedroom home when you know you're planning to have kids and will want at least three bedrooms. By the same token, don't buy a condo just because it's cheaper when one of the main reasons you're over apartment life is because you hate sharing walls with neighbors. It's true that you'll probably have to make some compromises to be able to afford your first home, but don't make a compromise that will be a major strain.

8. Neglecting to inspect
It's tempting to think that you're a homeowner the moment you go into escrow, but before you close on the sale, you need to know what kind of shape the house is in. You don't want to get stuck with a money pit or with the headache of performing a lot of unexpected repairs. Keeping your feelings in check until you have a full picture of the house's physical condition and the soundness of your potential investment will help you avoid making a serious financial mistake.

9. Not hiring your own agent or using the seller's agent
Once you're seriously shopping for a home, don't walk into an open house without having an agent (or at least being prepared to throw out a name of someone you're supposedly working with). Agents are held to the ethical rule that they must act in the best interest of their clients, but if you're a buyer, you'll probably have a stronger advocate for your interests if you use your own agent and not the seller's.

10. Not thinking about the future
It's impossible to perfectly predict the future of your chosen neighborhood, but paying attention to the information that is available to you now can help you avoid unpleasant surprises down the road.
Some questions you should ask about your prospective property include:
• What kind of development plans are in the works for your neighborhood?
• Is your street likely to become a major street or a popular rush-hour shortcut?
• Will a highway be built in your backyard in five years?
• What are the zoning laws in your area?
• If there is a lot of undeveloped land? What is likely to get built there?
• Have home values in the neighborhood been declining?
If you're happy with the answers to these questions, your house's location can keep its luster.
Buying a first home can seem stressful and overwhelming, and it isn't without its share of potential pitfalls. If you're aware of those issues ahead of time, though, you can protect yourself from costly mistakes and shop with confidence.
For many people, a home is the largest purchase they will ever make, but that doesn't mean it has to be the most difficult.

Guinness Book of World Records is the collection of fastest, tallest, longest, shortest and other facts and feats around us.
The story of the book began on May 4, 1951. Sir Hugh Beaver, the director of the Guinness Breweries, argued with his friends about what the fastest game bird was. Later the author decided that records and sport achievements was a nice topic to talk on in the pubs. He had an even better idea to create a book where people could find answers on puzzling questions.
Now Guinness Book of World Records is a vast collection of thousands of human and natural achievements. Some records are surprising.
For example, Tran Van Hay, a 73-year-old man from Vietnam has the longest hair in the world. He stopped cutting his hair 42 years ago and now they are over 6 metres long.
Or take Sultan Kösen from Turkey who is the tallest person on Earth. He is 2.51 metres tall.
On the contraty, the shortest person is an 18-year-old Khagendra Thapa Magar. This teenager from Nepal is just 67 cm tall, and is called “little Buddha”.
But there are people with much more amazing records.
The elastic man exists not only in comic stories and movies such as Fantastic four. Garry Turner from England looks like an ordinary person… until he does unbelievable tricks to his body. He has the world’s stretchiest skin.
Two Mexican brothers Larry and Danny Gomez love doing tricks too. Though not only tricks amaze people, but also their unusual appearance. These guys are the hairiest people on our planet.
Some of the Guinness records are mouth-watering.
On May 2010, a Canadian cook created the biggest hamburger in the world which weighed 268 kilos. Yum, yum…
There were rather sweaty records.
In 2009 a Canadian strongman Kevin Fast pulled one of the heaviest aircrafts on Earth.
Some of the achievements are really dangerous.
In the year 2000 an American Dean Sheldon put the largest scorpion in his mouth and held it there for 18 seconds.
But Joe Kittinger, US pilot, set up an even more incredible record. In August 1960 he skydived from the height of 31 km. It’s by far the highest parachute jump ever.
The Guinness book of Records includes also the names of famous people.
Michael Jackson, a king of pop music, has its place in Guinness world records as the best entertainer of all time.
In 1997 a popular saxophonist Kenny G played the longest note ever recorded and got a place in the book.
Guinness world record book unites people of different nationalities and social backgrounds. Today it’s one of the best selling books in the world and it’s not a surprise since a human being is always curious about the abilities of its body and surprises of the nature.

10 first-time homebuyer mistakes

A house is probably the biggest purchase you'll ever make. And, if you can avoid these missteps, chances are you'll be happy with the home you choose.

Are you gearing up to buy your first place? Shopping for a home is exciting, exhausting and a little scary, especially in this market. In the end, your aim is to end up with a home you love at a price you can afford. Sounds simple enough, right? Unfortunately, many people make mistakes that prevent them from achieving that simple dream. Arm yourself with these tips to get the most out of your purchase and avoid making 10 of the most costly mistakes that could put a hold on that sold sign.

1. Not knowing what you can afford
As we learned from the subprime mortgage mess, what the bank says you can afford and what you know you can afford or are comfortable with paying are not necessarily the same. If you don't already have a budget, make a list of all your monthly expenses (excluding rent), including vehicle costs, student loan payments, credit card payments, groceries, health insurance, retirement savings and so on. Don't forget major expenses that occur only once a year, like any insurance premiums you pay annually or annual vacations. Subtract this total from your take-home pay and you'll know how much you can spend on your new home each month.
If you end up looking at homes that are outside your price range, you'll end up lusting after something you can't afford, which can put you in the dangerous position of trying to stretch beyond your means financially or cause you to feel unsatisfied with what you actually can afford. You may even learn that you can't afford the type or size of home that you desire and that you need to work on reducing your monthly expenses and/or increasing your income before you even start looking.

2. Skipping mortgage qualification
What you think you can afford and what the bank is willing to lend you may not match up, especially if you have poor credit or unstable income, so make sure to get preapproved for a loan before placing an offer on a home. You'll be wasting the seller's time, the seller's agent's time and your agent's time if you sign a contract and discover later that the bank won't lend you what you need or that it won't give you a mortgage you find acceptable.
Be aware that even if you have been preapproved for a mortgage, your loan can fall through if you do something to alter your credit score, like finance a car purchase. If you cause the deal to fall through, you may have to forfeit the money that you put up when you went under contract.

3. Failing to consider additional expenses
Once you're a homeowner, you'll have additional expenses on top of your monthly payment. Unlike when you were a renter, you'll be responsible for paying property taxes, insuring your home against disasters and making any repairs the house needs (which will occasionally include expensive items like replacing the roof or furnace).
If you purchase a condo, you'll have to pay monthly maintenance costs regardless of whether anything needs fixing because you'll be part of a homeowners association, which collects monthly fees from the owners of each unit in the form of condominium fees.

4. Being too picky
Go ahead and put everything you can think of on your wish list, but don't be so inflexible that you end up continuing to rent for significantly longer than you really want to. First-time homebuyers often have to compromise on something because their funds are limited. You may have to live on a busy street, accept outdated decor, make some repairs to the home or forgo that extra bedroom. Of course, you can always choose to continue renting until you can afford everything on your list -- you'll just have to decide how important it is for you to become a homeowner now rather than in a couple of years.

5. Lacking vision
Even if you can't afford to replace the hideous wallpaper in the bathroom now, it might be worth it to live with the ugliness for a while in exchange for getting into a house you can afford. If the home meets your needs in terms of the big things that are difficult to change, such as location and size, don't let physical imperfections turn you away. Besides, doing home upgrades yourself, even if you have to hire a contractor, is often cheaper than paying the increased home value to a seller who has already done the work for you.

How TV Affects Your Child

Most kids plug into the world of television long before they enter school. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF):

-Two-thirds of infants and toddlers watch a screen an average of 2 hours a day.
-Kids under age 6 watch an average of about 2 hours of screen media a day, primarily TV and videos or DVDs.
-Kids and teens 8 to 18 years spend nearly 4 hours a day in front of a TV screen and almost 2 additional hours on the computer (outside of schoolwork) and playing video games.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that kids under 2 years old not watch any TV and that those older than 2 watch no more than 1 to 2 hours a day of quality programming.

The first 2 years of life are considered a critical time for brain development. TV and other electronic media can get in the way of exploring, playing, and interacting with parents and others, which encourages learning and healthy physical and social development.

As kids get older, too much screen time can interfere with activities such as being physically active, reading, doing homework, playing with friends, and spending time with family.

Of course, television, in moderation, can be a good thing: Preschoolers can get help learning the alphabet on public television, grade schoolers can learn about wildlife on nature shows, and parents can keep up with current events on the evening news. No doubt about it — TV can be an excellent educator and entertainer.

But despite its advantages, too much television can be detrimental:

-Children who consistently spend more than 4 hours per day watching TV are more likely to be overweight.
-Kids who view violent acts are more likely to show aggressive behavior but also fear that the world is scary and that something bad will happen to them.
-TV characters often depict risky behaviors, such as smoking and drinking, and also reinforce gender-role and racial stereotypes.

Children's advocates are divided when it comes to solutions. Although many urge for more hours per week of educational programming, others assert that no TV is the best solution. And some say it's better for parents to control the use of TV and to teach kids that it's for occasional entertainment, not for constant escapism.

That's why it's so important for you to monitor the content of TV programming and set viewing limits to ensure that your kids don't spend too much time watching TV.
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From: http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html?tracking=P_RelatedArticle#

Whose is this hat?
Whose is this money?
He won't tell me whose fault it was.
I don't care whose it is.
Whose turn is it anyway?

Something you did not want to learn earlier but now you want to

 Interests and hobbies keep changing over time.
 This happened with me too.
 I was a real technophobe.
 I had no interest in learning about computer.
 Even in school I used to run away from this subject.
 Even in school when I had to choose an optional subject I chose Physical
education.
 Few months ago I went to my cousin's house.
 He was sitting in front of the computer and doing voice chatting with his friends abroad.
 I too started chatting.
 I saw that my cousin was very comfortable with the use of computer.
 I felt very bad because I was completely computer illiterate.
 Even my seven year old niece was playing games on the computer and handling the key-board and mouse very nicely.
 She made me feel like a real nut.
 I was ashamed of myself.
 The very next day I joined the computer basics class.
 Seeing my interest in computers my parents bought me a computer of my own.
 Now I have an internet connection also.
 I have my e-mail ID and I send and receive e-mails from my friends.
 I also chat with them.
 It has improved my English also.
 I am a technophile now.
 I feel more confident now.
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From: http://kiransielts.blogspot.com/2009/08/something-you-did-not-want-to-learn.html

The kettle's boiling!

To put the kettle on.

The copper kettle whistled loudly when the water began to boil.

If two kids are fighting in the back seat of the car, a parent could say, "Would you two calm down!?"

"Would you two stop misbehaving!?"

I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming