English Recordings

What do you see?

The crescent moon, swirling clouds, a big black castle, the stars, a church, a quiet town, and houses with lights on.

What colors can you find in the painting?

Van Gogh used curved lines for the swirling clouds

Look how the brushstrokes made the sky seem to move and come alive.
Van Gogh really made his paintings come alive with movement. He achieved this with the use of color, his type of brushstrokes and using very thick paint.

This technique is called impasto

Vincent Van Gogh was born a long time ago (in 1853) and grew up in Holland.

Can you see this little red spot on a world map? It’s where Holland is located.

When he was 27, he decided to become an artist. Up until then, he had been a teacher, a shop assistant and had dreams of working for the Church. All of these experiences inspired his art.

Van Gogh liked to paint the places he visited. When you look at his paintings, you can almost imagine you are there with him.

Unfortunately he struggled with mental health problems. This meant that he sometimes felt very angry or sad and was not able to control his emotions. Sometimes, he would harm himself and have blackouts (a short period when someone suddenly becomes unconscious, not awake).

Van Gogh used painting as a way to express his emotions and way to help with his illness.

Today, most people know the name Vincent van Gogh. However, when he was alive, he was not very famous at all.

1 - What's your name?
 2 - My name is John. And you?
 3 - I'm Julia.
 4 - And how old are you, Julia?
 5 - I'm sixteen.
 6 - And what do you do? 
 7 - I'm a student. I'm in my last year at school.

Listen to the 3 conversations. Identify the films. Did they like it?

Conversation 1
- Hey, did you see the movie on HBO yesterday?
- Oh yeah, I watched it at the cinema when it was released. I watched it with my big brother. And it's about a kid who has problems with his big brother. So, that was pretty funny.
- Yes, it was. Some things were hilarious. I love comedies like that, about school. The characters were just so silly!
- I know! and it's the best book series ever!
- Oh, is it an adaptation from a book? I didn't know! I'm going to read it.

Conversation 2
- Hey, when we come over this weekend, we are doing a movie marathon.
- Cool, what movies are we watching?
- Try to guess! I'll give you a hint... It's a great saga with amazing special effects and action scenes.
- Mmm, I'm not sure. Can you give me another hint?
- The main characters are really good. And, even if some of the scenes are just decent, they are never boring.
- 'Indiana Jones'.
- No... Okay, one last hint: Light sabers!
- Oh, got it!
- So, are you coming?
- Absolutely!

Conversation 3
- So, did you do a movie night last Friday?
- Yes, we did. But do you know what my sister did? She insisted on watching this romance movie. And my parents agreed! It was sooo boring, I hated it! I wanted to watch an action movie but no! We watched a movie about 2 teenagers.
- Wait a minute! Is it a movie with 2 kids who are sick? I liked it, I thought it was enjoyable.
- Well, it wasn't for me. I like martial arts movies and sci-fi movies, NOT romance!
- Ok, but didn't you find the story interesting?
- No, I didn't. No way!!! Annoying? yes! Interesting? Not at all! Next Friday, I'm picking the movie , and I'll choose 'the X-Men'.

The London City Hall is often nicknamed the Snail or the Onion because it is round. It was completed in 2002 and it is not very high, only 45 metres high or 147 feet. It cost £43 million to build which is approximately 50 million euros.

30 St Mary Axe has only got one nickname, it's the Gherkin. It got its nickname because it is oval. It opened in 2004. It is 180 metres high or 591 feet and was expensive to build, indeed it cost £138 million.

20 Fenchurch Street is also called the Walkie-Talkie. It was completed in 2014 and it is 160 metres high or 525 feet. It cost a lot of money : £200 million.

122 Leadenhall Street has a funny nickname, it's the Cheesegrater because it is triangular like a cheesegrater. It opened in 2014 and it is really high : 225 metres or 738 feet high. It cost £340 million to build which is a lot of money!

The Shard is also called The Shard of Glass. It was completed in 2003 and it is the highest monument in London at 309.7 metres or 1,016 feet. It is also the most expensive because it cost about £435 million.

Normally I start work at seven a.m., so I get up very early.

When I was a child, I never used to eat meat, but I eat it now.

Do you go to work by car? Sometimes, but most days I go by subway.

What games did you use to play when you were a child?

Have you ever been to France? No, I haven't.

Igor used to be a waiter. Now, he's the manager of a hotel.

the bathroom, the bedroom, the dining room, the living room, the garage, the kitchen, the hall, the stairs

a cat, a dog, a goldfish, a bird, a frog, a sheep, a horse, a duck, a monkey

Hello, my name is ..............

I had a trip to Liverpool 2 years ago. Liverpool is a city in the North West of England.

First of all, I visited the Tate museum . It is a modern art museum which opened in 1988. I saw nice paintings . I loved it !

Then,I went to the Beatles story museum. This museum is about the famous rock band : the Beatles . I saw their costumes and instruments and I learnt a lot about their history. It was very intense because they grew up in Liverpool.

I love football so I visited Anfield, the stadium of the Liverpool football club. I saw their trophies, the cloakrooms and the football pitch. It was incredible to see it in real !

There are other nice monuments that I saw : the cathedral, the Liver Building .
I did some shopping too and of course, I bought some tea for my family !

I loved this city , you should go there !

Working as a volunteer: a testimony

Part 1:

Aline Sternberg is 24 years old. She (studies )social sciences .She (lives in ) Belgium. She (joined a program with) « Volunteers Without Borders » in India (to provide) education to children from slum areas.

Part 2:

Aline strongly (recommends) people( to volunteer) abroad or internationally because it’s an amazing and (moving ) experience and because you can (meet) great people, you can (get a taste of) a different culture and above all (make )the world (a better place).