English Recordings

1/ Australia is the world's smallest continent.
2/ Australia is the sixth largest country in the world.
3/ Australia has got the highest number of reptile species.
4/ Saltwater crocs are the heaviest and the most dangerous crocodiles in Australia.
5/ 180 speciaes of sharks inhabit the deeps waters around Australia. The white shark is the most ferocious.
6/ The box jellyfish is one the most lethal jellyfish.

me, myself and my screens
a multitasker
an evening
a screen
an account
a speaker
a password
a teenager
headphones
a keyboard
a score
a mate
an app
a smartphone
a website
a laptop
a channel
a wall
a computer
a tablet
a team
entertainment
a TV set
a tip
log on to
switch on/off
stream
join
plug in
tidy one's bedroom
download
take a snap/take a selfie
chat
walk the dog
leave
upload
text
check
use a pen and paper
turn on
want
need
share
unlike
contrary to
like
more
less
how often
instead
nearly
once
twice
3 times
how many
outdoors
downloaded
digital
late
healthy
multitasking
online
offline
impressed
awful
unlimited
rude
annoying
useless

Hello! My Name Is Johnathan!

Banksy is the pseudonym of a British artist known for his urban art but he is also a painter and a film director . We don't know a lot about his real identity , maybe he is called Robert Banks , people say that he's around 40 years old and that he probably lives in Bristol in the South West of England but he's got a very elusive personality.
While some artists use wheatpaste or stickers ,most of Banksy's works are made with stencils. In his book , "Wall and piece" , he explains why he uses this technique. When he was young he worked very slowly and was often caught red-handed." Stencils allow me to work faster on the spots because a part of the work can be anticipated." he said.

He often paints animals or people representing authority (soldiers , policemen...)
He likes playing with the contrasts of colours to make people react. His graffiti is clever, nice and is seen by thousands of passers-by.
Through his work of arts, he conveys political or poetry messages related to the country he finds himself in.
Some of his works are parody of very popular masterpieces like "Girl with a pierced eardrum", a wink to the painting by Vermeer, others denounce child labour or wars while others criticize the use of social network , the pollution of the environment like one of his latest work in the town called "Talbot Harbour" in Wales.

BOY 1: Well, Sam. Here we are at the Oceanographic City of Arts and Sciences of Valencia, the biggest aquarium in Europe.
BOY 2: Wow! I'm really looking forward to our visit. Can we see dolphins first?
BOY 1: Yes, there's a dolphin show at ten o'clock. Let's go to the pool!
BOY 2: Look at that aquarium! I can see a gigantiv blue wahle. You can really see all of its body.
BOY 1: And look at the tentacles on that jellyfish. I wonder what species it is.
BOY 2: I read that the guides in the blue T-shirts are marine biologists. Why don't you ask him?
BOY 1: OK, and let's go to the underwater restaurant after the dolphin show.
BOY 2: Good idea!

This is the type of vase that can't answer what kind of animal it is!

Androcles and the Lion

A slave runs away from his master and hides in the woods – then finds himself face to face with a limping lion…
The tale of Androcles and the Lion is said to have been written by Aesop – the great Greek storyteller who always summed up his stories from the animal kingdom with a moral. In the case of Androcles, the lesson is that “Gratitude is the sign of a noble soul!”
Read by Natasha. Duration 6 minutes 5 seconds
Proofread by Claire Deakin.

It happened in ancient times that a slave named Androcles escaped from his master and fled into the forest, and he wandered there for a long time until he was weary and well nigh spent with hunger and despair.
Just then he heard a lion near him moaning and groaning and at times roaring terribly. Tired as he was, Androcles rose up and rushed away from the lion; but as he made his way through the bushes he stumbled over the root of a tree and fell down twisting his ankle. When he tried to get up, there he saw the lion coming towards him, limping on three feet and holding his fore-paw in front of him.
Poor Androcles was in despair; he had not strength to rise and run away, and there was the lion coming upon him. But when the great beast came up to him, instead of attacking him it kept on moaning and groaning and looking at Androcles, who saw that the lion was holding out his right paw, which was covered with blood and very much swollen. Looking more closely at it Androcles saw a great big thorn pressed into the paw, which was the cause of all the lion’s trouble. Plucking up courage he seized hold of the thorn and drew it out of the lion’s paw, who roared with pain when the thorn came out, but soon after found such relief from it that he rubbed up against Androcles, and showed in every way that he knew, that he was truly thankful for being relieved from such pain.
Instead of eating him up he brought him a young deer that he had slain, and Androcles managed to make a meal from it. For some time the lion continued to bring the game he had killed to Androcles, who became quite fond of the huge beast.
One day a number of soldiers came marching through the forest and found Androcles, and as he could not explain what he was doing they took him prisoner and brought him back to the town from which he had fled. Here his master soon found him and brought him before the authorities, and he was condemned to death because he had fled from his master.
Now it used to be the custom to throw murderers and other criminals to the lions in a huge circus, so that while the criminals were punished, the public could enjoy the spectacle of a combat between them and the wild beasts.
So Androcles was condemned to be thrown to the lions, and on the appointed day he was led forth into the arena and left there alone with only a spear to protect him from the lion. The Emperor of Rome was in the royal box that day and gave the signal for the lion to come out and attack Androcles. But when it came out of its cage and got near Androcles, what do you think it did? Instead of jumping upon him, it rubbed up against him and stroked him with its paw and made no attempt to do him any harm.
It was of course the lion which Androcles had met in the forest. The Emperor, surprised at seeing such a strange behavior in so cruel a beast, summoned Androcles to him and asked him how it happened that this particular lion had lost all its cruelty of character. So Androcles told the Emperor all that had happened to him and how the lion was showing gratitude for his having relieved it of the thorn. Thereupon the emperor pardoned Androcles and ordered his master to set him free, while the lion was taken back into the forest and let loose to enjoy freedom once more.

Once upon a time, there lived a lovely princess with fair skin and blue eyes.
She was so fair that she was named Snow White.
Her mother died when she was a baby and her father married again.
This queen was very pretty but she was also very cruel.
The wicked stepmother wanted to be the most beautiful lady in the kingdom and she often asked her magic mirror,
"Mirror, Mirror on the wall ! Who is the fairest of them all? "
And the magic mirror always said, "You are, Your Majesty!" But one day , the mirror replied, "Snow White is the fairest of them all !"
The wicked queen was very angry and jealous of Snow White. She ordered her huntsman to take Snow White to the forest and to kill her...

NANNY WANTED IN THE SCOTTISH BORDERS

If you had the opportunity, would you apply for this job? Weigh the pros and cons

On the one hand, it would be interesting to apply for this job because if I got it, I would work for a very friendly family.
Moreover, I would live in a beautiful old house and I would have my own bedroom with a kitchen and a bathroom.
Furthermore, the family would lend me a car.
Last but not least, I would get a very good salary so I would be able to save some money.

Yet, on the other hand, there would be some drawbacks too.
For example, I would have to live in the middle of nowhere, therefore I would probably feel lonely.
Besides, I would have a lot of responsibility.
As a consquence, I would certainly be stressed and a little scared too.
Last but not least, if I were stressed, I wouldn’t sleep very well so I would imagine all sorts of supernatural things and I would quit the job like the previous nannies!
As a conclusion, I think that if I had the opportunity, I wouldn’t apply for this job although it offers a lot of advantages.

Hello, my name´s Paul Mitchell. I was born in London, but we live in Birmingham now. Me and my family live in a big family house. There is a big garden behind the house.
My mum is Kate, she´s 33 and she works in an office. My daddy is Peter, he is 36 and he is a Science teacher. I am 10 years old and I have got two brothers and a sister. My brothers are twins. They are Sam and Bob. They are 8 years old. My sister is Sofia and she is 3.
I have got two uncles.
Uncle Tony is my mum´s brother. He is single. He is 30 years old and he lives in Australia. He´s a doctor.
Uncle James is my dad´s brother. He is 40 years old and he lives in Birmingham, too. He is married. His wife is Betty. They have got 2 children. My cousins are Steve and Linda. Theyre’re 12 and 15 years old. I like them very much.

My dad’s parents live in Chicago. We visit them every summer. They are Joe and Megan. They live on a farm and they have got horses and cows. Joe is 72 and Megan is 71.
My mum´s parents are William and Jane. They live in Manchester. William is a policeman and Jane is a nurse. They are 55 years old. I like my family very much.