English Recordings

A long time ago, there was an Irish giant who was called Finn McCool. One day, he challenged his enemy, the Scottish giant Benandonner, to come to Ireland and fight him.
So Finn built a passage across the sea from Ulster to Scotland but he was so exhausted when it was finished that he fell asleep.
Suddenly, he heard a tremendous noise. It was the Scottish giant who was walking towards him. Finn was terrified when he realised that Benandonner was much bigger than him. So he ran back home, where his wife, Oonagh, was waiting for him.
Later on, Oonagh had an idea. She disguised him as a baby to pretend he was their son and put him in the cradle. When Benandonner arrived, she told him her husband was not here.
As soon as the Scottish giant saw the huge 'baby boy', he imagined the size of the father and ran away back to Scotland, destroying the causeway as he went, so that Finn could not come after him. And that's why only two fragments of the causeway now remain. In the end, Finn thanked his wife.

Hello buddy ! Are you hungry ? Do you want something to eat ? A pizza ? A hotdog ? Or maybe a tacos ?

Do you prefer sweet food ? Maybe you want a donut ? There is an amazing place on the streets of Manhattan !

There are so much food there with a lot of diversity, just like the inhabitants.

Let's discover all of this !

The buffalo is no longer slaving away

The Year of the Buffalo 2021 is considered one of good luck and great prosperity
A friend of mine told me that by the time this coming Tet – the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Buffalo – is over, he will have had a new family member. After extending my best wishes, I didn’t forget to make a joke that, given his family already has two “buffaloes,” he was already the richest guy around. Now that he would have another “buffalo,” nobody would be able to keep up with him. Hearing that, my friend gave a big laugh, seemingly very satisfied.

My friend was born in the year of the buffalo. So was his mother. His soon-to-be-born child would be the same. So, his family will have three “buffaloes.” To put it a little bit humorously, as each buffalo currently costs tens of millions of Vietnamese dong, poor farming households don’t even dream of possessing one of them, let alone three.
In the old days, people would often say, “a buffalo is the start of a career.” Therefore, having a single buffalo at home to start a fortune used to be a wish or even a life-changing dream of many farming households. Strangely, however, few wanted children to be born in the year of the buffalo. At that time, knowing that their kids or grandchildren were born in the year of the buffalo, parents or grandparents would take a deep sigh. They were worrying that those children would lead a miserable life later, just like that of a buffalo in Vietnam.

In the old days, Vietnam was still lacking agricultural machinery. The buffalo then indeed contributed greatly to the life of Vietnamese farmers. A buffalo was supposed to work hard from dawn to dusk performing all kind of jobs, from ploughing to pulling, and from hauling to rice threshing. Yet it was the buffaloes that had to drag logs in the forest, which evoked the deepest compassion.

As hardworking and diligent as they were, buffaloes were never treated decently. What they were allowed to eat was no exception. The worst hay which was refused by other domestic animals, even oxen and cows, was used for buffaloes. Apparently, buffaloes were aware of how little the time was they had to rest. Therefore, they tried to eat as much as they could, regardless of how bad their food was, so that they would have enough energy for the next job.

But agriculture in Vietnam has since changed and buffaloes were replaced by machinery. Currently, only at a few places whose terrain is quite unsuitable for agricultural machines do buffaloes have to work. Also, the jobs to be done by them are much less tiresome and the time for them to rest has increased. Instead of working tirelessly as their ancestors did, today’s buffaloes in Vietnam may take time to graze leisurely in the field and then bathe in a waterhole. Although buffaloes have relinquished much of their significance in Vietnam’s agriculture, they still play a role in her culture in addition to the food industry for their meat.

Changes in life have resulted in changes in conceptions. Such idioms as “cực như trâu” (literally, as hard-working as a buffalo) are now seldom heard. Many people, like my friend, give a big smile when their children are born in the year of the buffalo.

In that spirit, the Year of the Buffalo 2021 is considered one of good luck and great prosperity. Therefore, many married couples have planned children this year.

Your brother is being very annoying this evening. He isn't usually so annoying.
John was being a silly fool yesterday. He isn't usually such a fool.
I think this milk is getting sour. I would't use it to make porridge.
Mr Potter was sitting on the bench. It was so quiet around.
Mr Potter sat on a bench for half an hour and then began reading a paper.
I waited for Ann for an hour and a half and then left.
It was useless to wait longer.
We were walking all day long.
We walked for ten minutes and then saw the palace.
Whenever I met Tom he was talking constantly about his grandson.
Something is wrong. Billy is being so quiet!
The Thompsons couldn't understand why George was being so rude to them.
The children didn't go skiing as it was snowing from noon till evening.
Nobody could recognize Polly. She was being so nice trying to charm the guests.
Don't argue, please. I feel that you don't really mean it. You are just being difficult.

31. What can Tom have for dinner?
Boy: Can we have fish and chips for dinner today, Mom?
Woman: Not today, Tom, but we’ve got sausages. You like those.
Boy: Can we have tomatoes and peas with them?
Woman: Yes, we can.

32. Where is Alex now?
Woman: Where’s Alex? Is he in the living room?
Boy: No, Mom. He’s cleaning his bike in the garden.
Woman: Well, I’m making meatballs in the kitchen. Come and have lunch now, please.
Boy: OK! (shouts) Alex!

33. What food does Pat want for dinner?
Man: Pat, do you want a burger and some fries for dinner?
Girl: No thanks, Dad. And I don’t want sausages today.
Man: Well, what about some chicken and rice, then?
Girl: Yes please!

34. What is Ben’s favourite food?
Girl: I love this fish, Ben. Do you like it?
Boy: It’s OK but it’s not my favourite food. I like meat.
Girl: Me too. Sausages are my favourite.
Boy: Meatballs are mine. I love them, Eva!

35. What does Alex want?
Boy: Dad, do we have any fruit?
Man: Yes, we do, Alex. Would you like a pear? Or some grapes?
Boy: No thanks. Can I have an orange?
Man: Yes, we’ve got lots of those. Here you are.

36. What would Jill like for lunch?
Girl: Can I have a burger and carrots for lunch, please?
Man: Yes. And peas?
Girl: No, thanks. But I’d like an apple.
Man: OK.

37. What is in Grandpa’s garden?
Girl: What has Grandpa got in his garden? Let’s look.
Boy: Well, he hasn’t got tomatoes.
Girl: I don’t like those. But he’s got potatoes!
Boy: Great! We can have them with some carrots for dinner.

38. What is Pat’s favourite food?
Boy: Can I have a burger, please?
Man: Sorry, there are no burgers. Would you like some chips?
Boy: Yes, they’re my favourite! Can I have some chicken, too, please?
Man: Yes, here you are!

39. Where’s Mum?
Girl: Mum, where are you?
Woman: I’m here, Kim! I’m having lunch in the garden.
Girl: Oh, there you are! Can I have some bread, too, please?
Woman: Yes, here you are.

40. What cake are Mum and Jill making?
Girl: Mum, let’s make a cake with fruit!
Woman: OK. What fruit have we got?
Girl: There are two apples and a big mango!
Woman: Yes, but we’ve got lots of pears. We can make a pear cake!

41. What’s for dinner?
Boy: Mum, can I have some cake for dinner?
Woman: No, you can’t. Not with good food in the house.
Boy: Oh? Is it burgers?
Woman: No. We’ve got fish and chips!

21. What’s Bill’s favourite fruit?
Man: Mmm. This mango is nice. What fruit do you like, Bill?
Boy: Well, I don’t like mangoes. And I don’t like apples!
Man: Grapes are my favourite.
Boy: Me too!

22. What can the boy have for lunch today?
Boy: Mum, what can I have for lunch today? Sausages?
Woman: No. you can have fish.
Boy: OK, but can I have chips with it?
Woman: No, you can have rice with it.

23. Where are the onions?
Woman: Pat, I can’t find the onions for dinner.
Girl: Are they in the bag from the shop?
Woman: No, and they’re not in the cupboard.
Girl: Here they are, Mum. They’re on the table!

24. What are Pat and her dad getting for lunch?
Man: Let’s get some chicken for this shop for lunch, Pat.
Girl: I don’t like that, Dad. Can we have fish?
Man: They don’t sell it here. Let’s have eggs.
Girl: OK.

25. What’s Nick’s favourite food?
Woman: Are you eating your favourite food, Nick?
Boy: No, that’s fish. But I like chicken too.
Woman: What about burgers?
Boy: They’re OK.

26. Which ice cream is Lucy eating?
Man: Are you eating banana ice cream, Lucy?
Girl: No, I don’t like that. This is mango.
Man: I like pineapple ice cream.
Girl: Me, too.

27. What cake can they make today?
Female child: Can we make a banana cake or a lemon cake, Mum?
Female: No, sorry. Dad doesn’t like them.
Female child: Can we make an apple cake?
Female: Oh, yes! Dad likes that.

28. What is Mum’s favourite fruit?
Male child: Mum, can we have this coconut?
Female adult: Well, they’re very nice but I can’t open them.
Male child: What about these oranges?
Female adult: OK. They’re my favourites. And let’s have this pineapple too.

29. Which is Nick’s brother?
Girl: Look over there, Nick. That boy’s eating a burger. Is he your brother?
Boy: Where … oh him … no. That’s his friend. My brother’s there. He’s watching the football.
Girl: What? The boy with the camera?
Boy: No, the one with the glasses.
Girl: Right!

30. What does Sam want?
Boy: What food have we got, Mom?
Woman: There’s some pineapple, Sam. Do you want that? Or some watermelon?
Boy: No thanks. Can I have a banana?
Woman: OK, here you are.

11. Which is Kim’s lunch?
Man: Is Kim having chicken for lunch?
Woman: No, she isn’t.
Man: Oh. Well, is she having a burger today?
Woman: No. She’s having some fish and French fries.

12. What can Nick have?
Boy: Can I have some ice cream please, Mum?
Woman: Not now, Nick. Sorry.
Boy: Oh. Can I have a cake, then?
Woman: No. Look. You can have this apple.

13. What does Bill want for lunch?
Woman: Do you want a burger for lunch, Bill?
Boy: No thanks, Mum. Can I have some sausages?
Woman: OK. And do you want a drink of milk?
Boy: No, not today. Can I have some orange juice, please?

14. What’s Pat’s favourite lunch?
Man: What’s your favourite lunch, Pat? Is it burgers and French fries?
Girl: No, I don’t like them.
Man: Oh. Is it meat and potatoes?
Girl: No. My favourite lunch is chicken and rice.

15. What does May want for supper?
Woman: May, what do you want for supper? Do you want some fish and lemon?
Girl: No, thanks. Can I have some meat and a tomato, please?
Woman: OK. Do you want some rice with that?
Girl: No thanks, Mum.

16. What’s in Bill’s lunch box?
Girl: What have you got in your lunch box today, Bill?
Boy: I don’t know. Let’s see.
Girl: I’ve got an apple and a banana.
Boy: Oh, no! I’ve got a carrot! I don’t like them!

17. What’s May drinking?
Man: What are you drinking, May? Is it milk?
Girl: No, I don’t like milk.
Man: Is it pineapple juice?
Girl: No. I’ve got lemonade.

18. What’s Sue doing?
Man: Where’s Sue? Is she watching TV?
Woman: No. She’s in the kitchen.
Man: Oh. Is she having her lunch?
Woman: No. She’s reading a book.

19. What does Tom want?
Boy: Mum, can I have a drink?
Woman: Do you want a drink of milk?
Boy: No, thanks.
Woman: Some lemonade then?
Boy: No. Can I have some pineapple juice, please?

20. What’s for lunch?
Boy: Mum, can I have a burger for lunch today?
Woman: Well, yes, but not with chips.
Boy: Can I have a tomato with it?
Woman: No … sorry. We’ve got some carrots in the kitchen. You can have those.
Boy: OK.

STARTERS LISTENING: FOOD AND DRINK

Look at the pictures. Now listen and look. There is one example.

Which fruit can Tom eat now?
Boy: Can I have some pineapple please, Mum? Or some mango?
Woman: No, Tom, but there are some bananas on the table.
Boy: OK. I like those.
Woman: So do I.
Can you see the tick? Now you listen and tick the box.

1. What are the girls eating?
Girl: I can’t find Sue and Mary.
Boy: They’re having lunch in the kitchen.
Girl: Are they eating cake?
Boy: No, they’re eating bananas.

2. What’s Mum doing?
Girl: Where’s Mum?
Boy: She’s in the kitchen. She’s giving the baby her breakfast.
Girl: And is Dad there?
Boy: No, he’s reading a book in the living room.
Girl: Oh.

3. What’s John drinking?
Girl: Hello John! What drink have you got today? Is it orange juice?
Boy: No. I don’t like orange juice now.
Girl: Is it milk, then, or lemonade?
Boy: Milk. It’s good for me and I like it!

4. What’s for supper?
Girl: What’s for supper, Dad?
Man: Chicken and French fries.
Girl: Can we have peas or beans with them?
Man: No, not today.

5. What’s Sue doing?
Woman: Where’s Sue?
Boy: She’s in the kitchen.
Woman: Is she watching TV?
Boy: No, she’s eating her breakfast.

6. What’s Ben having for lunch?
Boy: What’s for lunch, Mum? Is it sausages?
Woman: No, it’s bread and apples today.
Boy: And a drink of milk?
Woman: Yes, OK.

7. What’s Pat’s favourite food?
Man: What’s your favourite food, Pat? Burgers?
Girl: No. I don’t like them.
Man: Is it French fries?
Girl: No, my favourite food is ice cream.

8. What does Bill want for his breakfast?
Woman: What do you want for your breakfast, Bill?
Boy: Can I have eggs and beans, please?
Woman: Yes. Do you want some bread with it?
Boy: No, thanks.

9. What does May want for breakfast?
Woman: May, do you want an egg for your breakfast?
Girl: No, thank you, Mum. Can I have a banana?
Woman: OK. And do you want juice or milk?
Girl: Juice, please.

10. What does Sam want for lunch?
Man: Sam, what do you want for lunch? Do you want a burger?
Boy: No. Can I have a sausage and some French fries, please?
Man: Yes, OK. Do you want some peas?
Boy: No, thanks.

We are all explorers. Our desire to discover, and then share that new-found knowledge, is part of what makes us human — indeed, this has played an important part in our success as a species. Long before the first caveman slumped down beside the fire and grunted news that there were plenty of wildebeest over yonder, our ancestors had learnt the value of sending out scouts to investigate the unknown. This questing nature of ours undoubtedly helped our species spread around the globe, just as it nowadays no doubt helps the last nomadic Penan maintain their existence in the depleted forests of Borneo, and a visitor negotiate the subways of New York.
Over the years, we’ve come to think of explorers as a peculiar breed ~ different from the rest of us, different from those of us who are merely ‘well-travelled’, even; and perhaps there is a type of person more suited to seeking out the new, a type of caveman more inclined to risk venturing out.
That, however, doesn’t take away from the fact that we all have this enquiring, instinct, even today;
and that in all sorts of professions — whether artist, marine biologist or astronomer — borders of the unknown are being tested each day.
Thomas Hardy set some of his novels in Egdon Heath, a fictional area of uncultivated land, and used the landscape to suggest the desires and fears of his characters. He is delving into matters we all recognise because they are common to humanity. This is surely an act of exploration, and into ac world as remote as the author chooses. Explorer and travel writer Peter Fleming talks of the moment when the explorer returns to the existence he has left behind with his loved ones. The traveller ‘Who has for Weeks or months seen himself only as a puny and irrelevant alien crawling laboriously over a country in which he has no roots and no background, suddenly encounters his
other self, a relatively solid figure, with a place in the minds of certain people’.
In this book about the exploration of the earth’s surface, I have confined myself to those whose travels were real and who also aimed at more than personal discovery. But that still left me with another problem: the word ‘explorer’ has become associated with a past era. We think back to a golden age, as if exploration peaked somehow in the 19th century — as if the process of discovery is now on the decline, though the truth is that we have named only one and a half million of this planet’s species, and there may be more than 10 million — and that’s not including bacteria. We have studied only 5 per cent of the species we know. We have scarcely mapped the ocean floors, and know even less about ourselves; we fully understand the workings of only 10 per cent of our
brains.
Here is how some of today’s ‘explorers’ define the word. Ran Fiemies, dubbed the ‘greatest living explorer’, said, ‘An explorer is someone who has done something that no human has done before — and also done something scientifically useful.’ Chris Bonington, a leading mountaineer, felt exploration was to be found in the act of physically touching the unknown: ‘You have to have gone somewhere new.’ Then Robin Hanbury-Tenison, a campaigner on behalf of remote so-called ‘tribal’ peoples, said, ‘A traveller simply records information about some far-off world, and reports back; but an explorer changes the world.’ Wilfred Thesiger, who crossed Arabia’s Empty Quarter in 1946, and belongs to an era of unmechanised travel now lost to the rest of us,
told me, ‘lf I’d gone across by camel when I could have gone by car, it would have been a stunt.’
To him, exploration meant bringing back information from a remote place regardless of any great self-discovery.
Each definition is slightly different — and tends to reflect the field of endeavour of each pioneer. It was the same whoever I asked: the prominent historian would say exploration was a thing of the past, the cutting-edge scientist would say it was of the present. And so on. They each set their own particular criteria; the common factor in their approach being that they all had, unlike many of us who simply enjoy travel or discovering new things, both a very definite objective from the outset and also a desire to record their findings. I’d best declare my own bias. As a writer, I'm interested in the exploration of ideas. I've done a great many expeditions and each one was unique. I’ve lived for months alone with isolated groups of people all around the world, even two ‘uncontacted tribes’. But none of these things is of the slightest interest to anyone unless, through my books, I’ve found a new slant, explored a new idea. Why? Because the world has moved on. The time has long passed for the great continental voyages — another walk to the poles, another crossing of the Empty Quarter. We know how the land surface of our planet lies; exploration of it is now down to the details — the
habits of microbes, say, or the grazing behaviour of buffalo. Aside from the deep sea and deep underground, it’s the era of specialists. However, this is to disregard the role the human mind has in conveying remote places; and this is what interests me: how a fresh interpretation, even of a well-travelled route, can give its readers new insights.

The automotive sector is well used to adapting to automation in manufacturing.
The implementation of robotic car manufacture from the 1970s onwards led to
significant cost savings and improvements in the reliability and flexibility of vehicle
mass production. A new challenge to vehicle production is now on the horizon
and, again, it comes from automation. However, this time it is not to do with the
manufacturing process, but with the vehicles themselves.
Research projects on vehicle automation are not new. Vehicles with limited self-
driving capabilities have been around for more than 50 years, resulting in significant
contributions towards driver assistance systems. But since Google announced in
2010 that it had been trialling self-driving cars on the streets of California, progress
in this field has quickly gathered pace.
There are many reasons why technology is advancing so fast. One frequently cited
motive is safety; indeed, research at the UK‘s Transport Research Laboratory has
demonstrated that more than 90 percent of road collisions involve human error as a
contributory factor, and it is the primary cause in the vast majority. Automation may
help to reduce the incidence of this.
Another aim is to free the time people spend driving for other purposes. If the vehicle can do some or all of the driving, it may be possible to be productive, to socialise or simply to relax while automation systems have responsibility for safe control of the vehicle. If the vehicle can do the driving, those who are challenged by existing mobility models - such as older or disabled travellers — may be able to enjoy significantly greater travel autonomy.
Beyond these direct benefits, we can consider the wider implications for transport
and society, and how manufacturing processes might need to respond as a result. At present, the average car spends more than 90 percent of its life parked. Automation means that initiatives for car-sharing become much more viable, particularly in urban areas with significant travel demand. If a significant proportion of the population choose to use shared automated vehicles, mobility demand can be met by far fewer vehicles.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology investigated automated mobility in
Singapore, finding that fewer than 30 per cent of the vehicles currently used would
be required if fully automated car sharing could be implemented. If this is the case,
it might mean that we need to manufacture far fewer vehicles to meet demand.
However, the number of trips being taken would probably increase, partly because
empty vehicles would have to be moved from one customer to the next.
Modelling work by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
suggests automated vehicles might reduce vehicle ownership by 43 percent, but
that vehicles‘ average annual mileage would double as a result. As a consequence,
each vehicle would be used more intensively, and might need replacing
sooner. This faster rate of turnover may mean that vehicle production will not
necessarily decrease.
Automation may prompt other changes in vehicle manufacture. If we move to a
model where consumers are tending not to own a single vehicle but to purchase
access to a range of vehicles through a mobility provider, drivers will have the
freedom to select one that best suits their needs for a particular journey, rather than
making a compromise across all their requirements.
Since, for most of the time, most of the seats in most cars are unoccupied, this may
boost production of a smaller, more efficient range of vehicles that suit the needs
of individuals. Specialised vehicles may then be available for exceptional journeys,
such as going on a family camping trip or helping a son or daughter move to
university.
There are a number of hurdles to overcome in delivering automated vehicles
to our roads. These include the technical difficulties in ensuring that the vehicle
works reliably in the infinite range of traffic, weather and road situations it might
encounter; the regulatory challenges in understanding how liability and enforcement
might change when drivers are no longer essential for vehicle operation; and
the societal changes that may be required for communities to trust and accept
automated vehicles as being a valuable part of the mobility landscape.
it's clear that there are many challenges that need to be addressed but, through
robust and targeted research, these can most probably be conquered within the
next 10 years. Mobility will change in such potentially significant ways and in
association with so many other technological developments, such as telepresence
and virtual reality, that it is hard to make concrete predictions about the future.
However, one thing is certain: change is coming, and the need to be flexible in
response to this will be vital for those involved in manufacturing the vehicles that
will deliver future mobility.