English Recordings

A．Are you coming to Jane's farewell party?
B．No. You can count me out.
A．OK.

a goal
achieve a goal
a foundation
come through
the needy
the poor
the underprivileged
the homeless
the hungry
the disabled
the blind
the deaf
the victims of war
the victims of wars
the victims of natural disasters
the victims of abuse

Is Kevin Richardson completely crazy?
Kevin Richardson is an animal behaviorist who has studied and interacted with wild animals ever since he was a child.
He became aware of the potential threats to their lives when he worked in a reserve.
Unlike the tamers in circuses, he developed a technique that didn't involve a stick or a whip.
Instead, he spent a lot of time with them, from the time they were born (they were cubs) fed them, learnt about them and eventually became their friends.
Now, lions consider him as a part of the group ; that's why he is able to hug them, interact with them, and even play with them.
It's amazing to watch the videos he has made and the relationship he has developed with the animals.
He is one of the changemakers, people who make a difference and change things for the better.

He can be compared to Dian Fossey, who sacrificed her life for saving gorillas, in the famous film adapted from her life, gorillas in the mist.

OK. Here we are. What a mess! So, it is my copybook. It is her pencil-case. It is his diary. It is our book.
And, oh, is it your copybook? This is my eraser, and here is her glue stick. Oh ! Yes it is his blue pen and this is our calculator. Oh what a shame! Is it your mobile phone? You know you can’t have a mobile phone in our school!

head start
dynamic interplay
poor relief
street lighting
persevering valour
to glisten like enamel
immediate commotion
of yore
groundbreaking achievement
puerile prank
police detail
nugatory precaution
adamant refusal
with the old pageantry
it is high time
compulsory primary education
visible pointer
ineffectual jealousy
to field questions
to prevent the effusion of blood
low ebb
the rabble, or the vulgar
thorny matter
a customary rowdiness
public mirth
one’s effervescent spirit
pure moonshine
to break one's fetters
ruddy complexion
the choicest booty
sewerage system
to take flak
arrogant swagger
saturation point
to brook no dissent
pithy maxims
to exert a baneful influence on the adjudication of the question
vivacious spirit
to afflict hindsight
hard sledding
with bated breath

it's half past eight
it's half past five
it's half past four
it's quarter past eight
it's quarter past ten
it's quarter past eleven

Note to recorder:
HELLO SIR, I WILL HAVE TO PRACTICE SPOKEN ENGLISH. JUST RECORD FOR PROFFESORS DAILOGUES AND BE SILENT FOR THE STUDENTS PART .THANKYOU

P: Hello, Michelle. Can I help you?

S: SILENCE FOR 5 SECONDS
P: Sure. Sit down.

S: SILENCE FOR 15 SECONDS
P: Well, you're not alone, Michelle. I'm afraid most of the class is doing poorly this term. Now, I've tried to explain what I want you all to do several times now, but nobody seems to get it. I guess I'm a failure as a teacher.

S: SILENCE FOR 20 SECONDS
P: Have you got your paper with you?

S: SILENCE FOR 5 SECONDS
P: Let me have a look.

S: SILENCE FOR2 SECONDS
P: Mmm...yes...I remember now. Actually, Michelle, you have a very good thesis here. I like it. I just wish you could've presented it more effectively.

S: SILENCE FOR 5SECONDS
P: Well...just look at your opening sentence. This is the first sentence that the reader meets. "Most authorities consider the zygote the initiation of a new existence." Now tell me, Michelle, if the average person picked this up and started reading it, would they understand that?

S: SILENCE FOR10 SECONDS
P: Of course. It seems short and direct. But you must remember that when you wrote this, you had been reading and researching your topic beforehand- I hope- but the reader is coming to this cold. How many people know what a zygote is? How self-evident is the meaning of "a new existence"? That's a very abstract phrase.

S: SILENCE FOR5 SECONDS
P: Michelle, the writer's first duty is to his readership and his second duty is to his thesis. Think of all the articles you've read that've been built on flimsy arguments, misconceptions or untruths, and yet have become widely popular, have enjoyed wide acceptance because of the writer's talent at communicating.

S: SILENCE FOR10 SECONDS
P: (laughs) Well, I certainly don't want you to be promulgating untruths- that's what I hope I'm helping my students avoid- but it would be worth your while to notice how some of those writers do it. The key to effective writing is "Know thy readership"- assess your reader accurately.

S: SILENCE FOR 5SECONDS
P: Exactly! What they know... and what they don't know. If you talk down to them, they feel insulted. They say to themselves, "Does he think I'm stupid or something?" And they walk away.

S: SILENCE FOR 5SECONDS
P: Maybe not, but your opening sentence borders on the other extreme- if you expect too much of your readers, you'll also put them off. They'll say to themselves, "Who does he think I am, Einstein?" And again, they'll walk away.

S: SILENCE FOR10 SECONDS
P: No, but you can certainly tone down the vocabulary. Either that or define difficult or arcane words when you use them. But that usually slows things down. Anyway, you have to bring yourself and the reader to the same level somehow- that's what you should always be shooting for.

S: SILENCE FOR 10 SECONDS
P: That's the idea...but keep it short, or you'll lose the effectiveness of your opening. Why not just go ahead and use 'egg'? Then you can introduce the more, uh, precise scientific term later in the paragraph.

S: SILENCE FOR5 SECONDS
P: Sure. It's strong and clear, which is just what you want in order to interest your reader. You have a whole essay to be more precise in, to get down to the details.

S: SILENCE FOR10 SECONDS
P: Too abstract. OK, just tell me this: what do you mean by that phrase?

S: SILENCE FOR10 SECONDS
P: Good! Well, why didn't you say that in the first place? That's much more direct and attention-getting. It's expressed in a way that anyone can understand. "An egg is the start- or the beginning- of a new life".

S: SILENCE FOR5 SECONDS
P: Don't confuse formality with obfuscation, Michelle. You don't have to write densely to be formal- and lord knows you don't have to use big words! You just need to avoid slang and, uh, casual language. And be sure that the grammar is standard. Write clearly, simply, directly- that's what makes a good essay.

S: SILENCE FOR10 SECONDS
P: Good. And I'll be looking forward to how well you succeed. I'm not averse to giving A grades if they're deserved, you know.

S: SILENCE FOR 10SECONDS
P: Not at all, Michelle. That's what I'm hear for. See you in class.

About 3:00 am Sunday morning, I heard my daughter making some strange sounds. I woke up to a very smoky room. Of course, I panicked. I thought my house was on fire.

I rushed to the room where my husband was sleeping and asked him to help me find the source. Before taking my daughters, dog, and cat out into the frigid, winter air (it was -18 degrees Celsius), I stepped outside to see if it might be coming from another house. But when I looked down the street, I saw a huge wave of smoke billowing from a house across the street. "How could there be such an involved fire without any fire fighters or trucks in sight?" I asked myself.

I called 911 and asked if anyone had reported a fire. They said they hadn't, and they thought I meant it was my house. I told them it wasn't my house, but that it was somewhere close to my house, and they should hurry!

They came within 5 minutes, and found which house the smoke was coming from. They had some trouble getting their hoses hooked up to the fire hydrant because of the cold. About 5 minutes after they arrived, huge, orange flames burst through the roof! They started spraying the roof, as well as the area between the burning house and the house next door, to keep the flames from jumping to the next house. Many of the neighbors began peeking out their windows to see what all the flashing lights and noise were about. Most of us did not go outside, however, because of the cold and because the acrid smoke was stinging our throats and eyes even while we were inside our homes.

After about 90 minutes, the fire was out, and the neighboring houses were safe. We'd all been up for hours, and our houses smelled terrible. Even after the entire day has passed, we're still trying to get the smoky odor out of our house.

It was a terrible way to start our day, but at least no one was in the house, so no one was injured. I imagine it will be quite a shock to the owners of the house when they arrive at home. I'm sure many of us neighbors will help in whatever way we can.

The Swiss vote to reintroduce immigration quotas and abandon free movement of people has attracted worldwide attention, not least from Switzerland's EU neighbours, where there is also heated debate about free movement of people.

In Switzerland itself, one day after the vote, there is a feeling of nervousness.

Nearly all the newspapers are expecting a difficult period in Swiss-EU relations, and many are openly asking what the "far-reaching consequences" predicted by Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga might be.

Ms Sommaruga herself now faces a very tricky task: she will have to try to persuade Brussels that while Switzerland has decided against free movement of people, it still wants various other EU perks, such as access to Europe's single market.

That won't be easy. The EU's Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said in reaction to the Swiss vote: free movement of people, goods, capital and services is not separable. "The single market is not a Swiss cheese - you cannot have a single market with holes in it."

Any limitation of access to the single market could be disastrous for Switzerland's currently booming economy; more than half of all Swiss goods are sold to EU countries.

Divided country

But there are other worries on Swiss minds today as well. The proposal in favour of quotas was passed by the narrowest of margins, just 50.3 % voted yes, while 49.7% voted no.

The split has revived bitter memories of 1992, when Switzerland voted, again by the tiniest of majorities, against membership of the European Economic Area, which is a first step towards full EU membership.

At that time Switzerland's French speakers were firmly in favour of the EU, the German and Italian speakers against. In 2014 those linguistic divisions have reappeared, with the French side of the country, in the west, backing free movement, and the German and Italian regions supporting quotas.

These divisions worry the Swiss. It has not been easy creating a small nation out of three distinct languages and cultures.
Preserving national unity is a central pillar of nearly all Swiss political thinking.

It is the reason the Swiss cantons are permitted so much autonomy, it is one reason Switzerland is neutral (siding with one or other big neighbour who shares a language would have split Switzerland in either of the two world wars) and it is the reason the government is always a coalition, whose chief task is to rule by consensus.

Sunday's vote on immigration shows again that that national unity, let alone consensus, is really rather fragile, and addressing this will also be a tricky task.

What quota system?
But the chief, and most immediate problem for the Swiss government now is how to implement the people's wish on immigration quotas, while at the same time preserving a functioning relationship with the EU.

No-one is really sure yet how the quotas will work: the proposal supported by voters says only that they should be introduced, and that Swiss nationals should be given preference for jobs.

Swiss business leaders are already distressed - many rely heavily on highly skilled workers from the EU, and believe restrictions will undermine their competitiveness.

EU citizens in Switzerland are uncomfortable too: it's not the best feeling in the world to know that your colleagues in the hospital you work in may have voted in favour of quotas which might affect your livelihood.

But under the Swiss system of direct democracy, the people's word is final.

Even though the majority was so tiny, the proposals on immigration must now come into force.

Reaction from the European Union is inevitable - the question is, how severe will that reaction be, and what effect will it have on one of Europe's most successful economies?

I'm more than happy to try to organise some lessons with you after you finish the evening course. However, I think it's only fair to tell you that some of my colleagues would do classes for a lower price. I charge more because I have a higher qualification in teaching and because I have over 10 years experience.

Let me know what you decide once you've finished your evening classes.

Take care