English Recordings

The following country is called Gambia. It is located in the west of Africa. It is ten thousand six hundred and eighty-nine square kilometers. There are one million eight hundred and eighty thousand four hundred and fifty inhabitants. Gambia's capital city is Banjul.
As for its flag, it is divided into three parts : red represents revolution, blue symbolizes justice and green, the agriculture.
Many languages are spoken there : English and Wolof for example.
They pratice national sports such as football. They usually use the airports, the roadways and the waterways.
You can visit monuments, but you will have to pay with the Dalasi.
You can come across different species such as dolphins, zebras and crocodiles.

Hello, it's my first time here!

But, during the period of serious intensive work, it is essential to keep complete silence so as not to disturb others as well as yourself.
If you feel you may have difficulty with this rule, please contact the management immediately after this talk, before the course itself begins.

3. OTHER SPIRITUAL PRACTICES
During the course we ask you to suspend any spiritual or meditation practices that you have learned previously and work exclusively with the meditation instructions that are given here.
You have come here to learn something, to receive this teaching and in order to do this, you need to be receptive; you have to be prepared to accept the teaching and to accept the guidance of the teachers throughout your stay here.
At the end of the course you can make a judgement about which technique suits you best, but during the course please work exclusively with the instructions given, without adding anything or leaving anything out.

4. EXERCISE
There are separate walking areas for men and women. You will notice signs demarcating the boundaries.
Every reasonable effort is made to maintain the grounds suitable for walking but like any country area there is always a risk of concealed tree stumps or fallen logs, unexpected holes caused by animal activity or other hazards. If choosing to go into these areas you do so entirely at your own risk. Please take care. We advise against walking beyond the lit areas when dark.
Please restrict taking exercise to walking only. Please refrain from other forms of exercise since this can be distracting for your self and others. This is a rural area so please ignore any animals you may encounter while you are staying here. We do have rats on the property so please be careful not to leave food on the ground outside or take food to your rooms. Be sure to keep doors closed at all times.
You may have seen a ginger cat around the centre. This is not our cat, and the owners of the cat have written to us. So please do not feed it, let it in any rooms, or generally encourage it in anyway.

5. COURSE BOUNDARIES
For the entire period of your stay here there will be complete segregation of men and women. This applies to your contact with the management – men should contact the male manager. You should never enter the residential areas of the opposite sex and you should only walk within the male walking area.
You should also avoid any physical contact with anyone here, whether male or female. Please continue to observe this rule at all times, including day 10 and at the end of the course on day 11 as you are leaving.

6. LEAVING ITEMS IN YOUR LOCKER
We ask you to please leave in your locker any reading or writing materials, religious objects, intoxicants, tobacco or other smoking materials you might have with you. We also ask you to leave in your locker any mobile phones, cameras or audio devices. The centre will provide you

Yesterday was the Loy Kratong festival. I went to Jatujak park in Bangkok to float my kratong. This year I went with my father because my mother was sick. My father made a kratong from the trunk of a banana tree, candles and some flowers. After we floated the kratong, my father bought some fireworks which we lit and watched them fly into the dark sky.

On Loy Kratong day I was excited even though I didn’t have any money to buy a kratong. My mother works in a market so she gets lots of bread for free. I decided not to buy a kratong, but to make one. I used bread, paint, incense sticks, and candles. I designed and made it with my mother and painted it green. My mother took me to a small canal in the evening and we floated it together. Bread Kratongs are good because the fish can eat them. I will always remember this special day.

Well, On November 6th, I went to a temple called ‘Wat Yanawa’ near Sapan Taksin skytrain station with my (girlfriend/ boyfriend) It was a very special day for us because it was so romantic. We bought kratongs on the streets outside the temple for just 30 baht. They were very cheap so we bought two kratongs, one for each of us. We floated the kratongs inside the temple after making a wish.

London
The Tube
Picadilly
Covent Garden
Leicester Square
Charing Cross
Embankment
Inigo Jones
The Apple market

vegetable
entertainment
leisure
attraction
arts and crafts market
boutiques
restaurant
theatre
artist
performer
musician

amazing
famous

Thanksgiving
The origins
The Pilgrims
At the beginning of the 17th century, a group of people left England to look for religious freedom in the New World. They left Plymouth, England, on a ship called the Mayflower in September 1620. After a difficult voyage, the Pilgrims landed at a place called Plymouth (now in Massachusetts) in November 1620.
A new life
After they landed, many Pilgrims died because it was winter and they had no food, were cold and ill. They were unfamiliar with the land so the Native Americans showed them how to hunt animals, how to fish, what foods to eat and what crops to grow. When harvest time came, the Pilgrims organized a big meal to thank the Indians. They ate turkey, venison, fish, bread and pumpkin pie.
Did you know ?
In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday.
Today
Today thanks giving is a national holiday celebrated on the 4th Thursday in November. Each year, many Americans fly long distances to meet up with their families and have a big meal.
The dinner
On Thanksgiving Day, Americans traditionally eat turkey, sweet potatoes, beans, squash and bread. For dessert, they usually have pumpkin pie.
Did you know ?
In the USA, about 46 million turkeys are consumed for the Thanksgiving celebrations.
The pardoned Turkey
Each year the U.S. President formally pardons a turkey and spares it from ending up on the Thanksgiving table.
Did you know ?
91 % of Americans eat turkey for Thanksgiving.

Sweet potatoes
Squash
Carrot cake
Pumpkin pie
Cupcakes

Welcome to Ellis Island
Immigration in the USA
Liberty Island
Ellis Island is in New York Harbor. From 1892 to 1954, 12 million immigrants arrived here for a new life in the USA.
Liberty Island
The journey to the USA from Europe took eight to 20 days by sea, if conditions were bad. When immigrants arrived in the USA, the first thing they saw was the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island.
Most passengers had all their possessions in a bundle.
Many immigrants came to the USA from Italy, Russia, Hungary, Austria, Germany and Ireland to look for a better future.
First and second class passengers disembarked in New York. For them, the USA was the land of opportunity. Third class passengers were taken by ferry to Ellis Island for inspections. They never forgot their experience on Ellis Island.
Doctors examined immigrants when they arrived. People with problems had longer medical examinations.
Inspectors asked immigrants questions about their age, destination and job. Then they decided if the immigrants could enter the USA. Some immigrants shortened their names or made them more American. Portnovsky became Porter, Schmidt became Smith, Golstein became Gold, etc.
Island of Tears
Ellis Island is called "the Island of Tears" because 2% of immigrants were not admitted to the USA. Family members were separated, and some had to return home.
The main building is now a museum. 100 million Americans can trace their family history to the immigrants who arrived here.
Five days was the maximum time that immigrants could stay on Ellis Island. But if people were ill or pregnant, they stayed in quarantine for many weeks in these buildings.
Immigration in numbers.
In 1907 more than one million immigrants arrived in the USA, it's a record! The most immigrants to arrive in one day is 11,747 on April 17, 1907. The Immigration Act of 1924 limited immigration numbers. After this, fewer immigrants arrived at Ellis Island.

stepped
lined
separated
didn't understand
limited
didn't speak