English Recordings

Saint George and the dragon
Once upon a time there was a strong brave knight called George.
He travelled to many places on his beautiful white horse.
One day he came to a village.
The villagers were terrorised because a dragon lived in a cave next to a lake and it attacked the village every day.
One day the dragon demanded that they sacrificed a beautiful girl.
The girls were chosen by lottery. The villagers were desperate.
George heard that the lot of the day fell on the king’s daughter.
George decided to kill the dragon to save the princess.
He went to the lake where the dragon lived.
The dragon rose out of the water with a mighty roar!
George wasn’t scared. He started to fight the dragon.
He attacked the ferocious beast with his lance, but the dragon's scales were so hard that the lance broke into a thousand pieces, and George fell from his horse.
Fortunately George took refuge under a magic orange tree. Soon the oranges made him strong again so he used his sword to pierce the dragon under its wing where there were no scales.
The dragon fell dead at his feet.
The princess was saved, the dragon was dead, the villagers were overjoyed!
THE END

Hello! My Name is Simon, I’m sixteen years old and I live in London. My favourite food is pizza! I like it very much! I sometimes eat pizza and hamburgers with friends at the restaurant or at home. I also eat fish, pasta and some fruit, but never vegetables. I hate vegetables! I usually drink coke or fresh apple juice. I never drink tea, I don’t like tea!

Hi! My Name is Lisa, I’m sixteen years old and I live in Manchester. My favourite food is fish and chips! I also like salad and tomatoes, but I never eat carrots. I sometimes eat some ice cream, it’s very delicious! I often drink tea, orange juice and strawberry milkshake. Strawberry milkshake is my favourite drink!

Hi, my name is Anthony, I’m sixteen years old and I live in Sheffield. I usually eat bread with jam or honey and I drink some milk or orange juice for breakfast. At school, I often eat a sandwich with cheese, salad and tomatoes for lunch. But I also eat hot meals like Pasta, hamburgers or some tomato soup. I don’t eat any crisps, I don’t like crisps! I sometimes eat fish and chips for dinner.

Hello, I’m Julia, I’m sixteen years old and I live in York. I often eat some cereal with milk for breakfast. I never eat sausages, I don’t like that! At school, I usually eat a tuna salad with vegetables and eggs. I also eat some fruit and drink some water. I sometimes go with friends to a restaurant and we eat chicken with potatoes and vegetables for dinner. I don’t eat any hamburgers, I don’t like that!

Saint George is the patron saint of England. A patron saint is a special protector, a guide or a guardian.
The symbol of Saint George is a red cross on a white background. This is now the flag of England, and part of the British flag.
George was born in Turkey in the third century A.D.
He was a Christian and he became a very brave Roman soldier when he was 17.
By the 4th century, the Roman Emperor Diocletian started to persecute Christians.
George protested against the persecution of Christians by the Romans.
So he was arrested, imprisoned and tortured. He was executed on 23rd April 303 A.D.
He became a Christian martyr because he was killed for his religion.
During the Middle Ages, English kings placed their armies under George's protection as he was a symbol of bravery and faith, thus becoming the saint patron of England.

Sam
My favourite meal is breakfast. I have cereal and milk for breakfast. I don't like biscuits. I like apples and pears.

Pam
My favourite meal is lunch. I like olives and mushrooms. I don't like peppers.

John
My favourite meal is a snack. I have apple juice and some biscuits for a snack. I like chocolate but I don't like olives and pasta.

Dora
My favourite meal is dinner. I have chicken and potatoes for dinner. I don't like broccoli. I like ice cream and bananas.

Let’s meet two great explorers: Osa and Martin Johnson.

Osa was born in Chanute, Kansas, and Martin met her during a trip in Kansas. She accepted to marry him in 1910 and they travelled around the world from 1917 to 1937. In 1917, they were captured by a tribe. British soldiers helped them escape. The couple worked together in very dangerous situations. One day, they were attacked by a rhinoceros! Martin was filming, and Osa had a gun. She took it, shot the animal and saved her husband. Osa and Martin Johnson left us many films, images and stories. If you ask me, I think that being an explorer is an amazing job! But maybe it’s not for you…

Easter poem

Bunnies are brown
Bunnies are white
Bunnies are always
An Easter delight.

Bunnies are cuddly
The large and the small.
But I like chocolate ones
The best of them all.

PART I
“This is going to be a shock to you, I'm afraid,” he said. “But I've thought about it for a long time and I've decided the only thing to do is to tell you right away. I hope you won't blame me too much.”

“So there it is,” he added. “And I know it's kind of a bad time to be telling you, but there simply wasn't any other way. Of course I'll give you money and see you're looked after. But there shouldn’t be any problem. I hope not anyway. It wouldn't be very good for my job.”

“For God's sake,” he said, hearing her, but not turning round. “Don't make supper for me. I'm going out.”

PART II
“Quick! Come quick! Patrick's dead!”
“Who's speaking?”
“Mrs. Maloney. Mrs. Patrick Maloney.”
“You mean Patrick Maloney's dead?”
“I think so,” she sobbed. “He's lying on the floor and I think he's dead.”
“Be right over,” the man said.
“Is he dead?” she cried.
“I'm afraid he is. What happened?”

“Which grocer?” one of the detectives asked.

PART III

“Jack Noonan,” she said.
“Yes?”
“Would you do me a small favour – you and these others?”
“We can try, Mrs Maloney.”

“Have some more, Charlie?”
“No. Better not finish it.”
“She wants us to finish it. She said so. Be doing her a favour.”
“Okay then. Give me some more.”
“That's the hell of a big club the guy must've used to hit poor Patrick,” one of them was saying. “The doc says his skull was smashed all to pieces just like from a sledge-hammer.”
“That's why it should be easy to find.”
“Exactly what I say.”
“Whoever done it, they're not going to be carrying a thing like that around with them longer than they need.”
One of them belched.
“Personally, I think it's right here in the house.”
“Probably right under our noses. What you think, Jack?”

The spread of COVID-19 is posing serious challenges to airlines, airports and their ecosystems. In the long term however the pandemic could help catalyse investment in new technologies and radically reshape the industry.

The pandemic could help catalyse investment in new technologies and radically reshape the industry.

The coronavirus pandemic is currently wreaking havoc across the global aviation industry. The likes of American Airlines and Virgin Atlantic have started deploying their passenger aircraft to carry cargo, while easyJet recently announced plans to ground its entire fleet and British Airways suspended all flights departing from its base at Gatwick Airport.

Despite huge uncertainty, in the next decade stakeholders should expect traffic to decrease and more investment to go into digital and technological advancements. This is what Paul Cuatrecasas, CEO of investment banking firm Aquaa Partners and author of Go Tech or Go Extinct, believes will be an outcome of the ongoing outbreak.

In a media briefing held last week, Cuatrecasas explained how the current health crisis might spur investment in different segments of robotics and drone technology. These changes were all meant to happen even before the spread of the pandemic, but will now accelerate, forcing all industries to rethink their ecosystems and shift towards a stronger adoption of new technologies.

Number 1
I wear a uniform. My uniform is a blue dress, black shoes and blue hat. I like my unifirm. I'm a nurse. I work in a hospital.

Number 2
I don't wear a uniform. In this picture I'm wearing a red jumper and a brown skirt. There's an apple and a book on the table. I'm at school. I'm a teacher.

Number 3
I wear a uniform. My uniform is a blue jacket, blue trousers and a blue hat. I've got short black hair. I've got a bag. In my bag I've got letters and cards. I'm a postman.

Number 4
I wear a uniform. I'm a firefighter. I help people. My uniform is a yellow and blue coat, yellow trousers, black boots and a yellow hat. I like my uniform.