English Recordings

On June 28th 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo. Declarations of war followed in an exorable sequence: Germany, Russia, France, Great Britain, Belgium, Austria-Hungary, Serbia, etc… Almost all the pieces were in place for the sinister war.
The war was confidently expected to end by Christmas: it was to last more than four years. Trenches* and communication lines were dug*, underground shelters and surface defences were constructed. Networks of barbed wire* were set up by both sides along the edges of No Man's Land*.
1915 proved to be the most murderous year of the whole war. Great offensives were launched, all designed to achieve a breakthrough* but all failed*.
In 1916 millions of men were killed, wounded* or missing in action* at the battle of Verdun and at the Battle of the Somme. The chief events on the Western front in 1917 were the tragic French offensive of the Chemin des Dames and the third battle of Ypres. In November, 381 tanks were engaged in the first British mass tank attack at the battle of Cambrai.
In 1918, the German army was reinforced by the arrival of divisions transferred from the east, after their defeat of the Russian army and Russia's withdrawal* from the war. This was the year of the final German offensive. The German advance was stopped by Australian forces at Villers-Bretonneux and the intervention of American troops. The Allied counter-offensive led to the Armistice.
The Armistice was signed on November 11th at Rethondes, Oise.

The doctor gave me a sick note for my employer.
Impermeable to the vicissitudes of crime and punishment.
For a few days it was acutely painful, but now it's just a dull ache.
Enjoying vintages they couldn't otherwise afford.
Carbohydrates break down into glucose quickly.
The inspector sifted through the rubble.
My nose is all bunged up today.
It is easy to get under the hood of a vehicle.
I've got grave reservations about stem cell treatment.
These are not to be scoffed.
A piston is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings.
I have a penchant for things that are a bit wacky.
I've washed the crockery but the cutlery is still dirty.
The sky is suffused with deep colors.
He sidled up to her.
Front flip, roll.
The regiment disbanded at the end of the war.
He began chortling like an idiot.
I will add another every coon's age.
How to field dress a wound?
You have far to go before you can throw aspersions at me.
Sometime during the ensuing week.
The connecting rod connects the piston to the crankshaft.
Excellent fiddlesticks for the insolent rascal, and other ways to while the days.
He was merciful only when mercy was expedient.
A bustling provincial town steeped in history.
Deeds iconized in effigies.
Is inventiveness inborn?
A speedometer is a gauge that displays the instantaneous speed.
He lost his grip after he was fired.
He must have clipped my wing mirror when he went past.
The upper gastrointestinal tract consists of the gullet, stomach, and duodenum.
Raids of orcs on dragon steeds.
The largest union that represents water and sewage workers.
Dividing plausible plans from those untenable.
Symbiotic bacteria and yeasts living in our gastrointestinal tract.
My waistline bears testimony to my chocolate devotion.
If you don't know the number, call directory enquiries.
Stir your stumps and get out of here!
Petroleum Transfer Engineer
The pupils dilate in the dark.
I must disabuse you of your feelings of grandeur.
The vermiform appendix is attached to the cecum.
The parcel is ready for dispatch.
He left her to ruminate about what this implied.
The chasm gaped before him.
It was all starting to look ever more like a wild goose chase.
Ability to turn nondescript words into volatile explosives.
A handy wooden slotted spatula.
He conducted us to the palace.

This is some pretty high level vocabulary! Some of these words I haven't heard in a long time. Just read them as is. Medical word pronunciation might be iffy.

-999 emergency. What’s your emergency?
-Oh my God! It’s my boss, Sir Villaroy… He is lying unconscious on the floor with a pool of
blood all around him!!! He’s holding a gun! He must have shot himself!
-Have you checked to see if Sir de Villaroy is dead?Is he breathing?
-I don’t think so.
-I see. Where are you calling from ?
-From the living-room.
-No, I mean what’s the address?
-1 Oak Lane West Bromwich
-Who are you, m’am?
-I’m the housemaid, Mrs Studridge.
-Ok Mrs Studridge. I'll have a police officer on his way to check it out. Stay on the line until
someone gets there and do not touch anything.

-999 emergency. What’s your emergency?
-Oh my God! It’s my boss, Sir Villaroy… He is lying unconscious on the floor with a pool of
blood all around him!!! He’s holding a gun! He must have shot himself!
-Have you checked to see if Sir de Villaroy is dead?Is he breathing?
-I don’t think so.
-I see. Where are you calling from ?
-From the living-room.
-No, I mean what’s the address?
-1 Oak Lane West Bromwich
-Who are you, m’am?
-I’m the housemaid, Mrs Studridge.
-Ok Mrs Studridge. I'll have a police officer on his way to check it out. Stay on the line until
someone gets there and do not touch anything.

-999 emergency. What’s your emergency?
-Oh my God! It’s my boss, Sir Villaroy… He is lying unconscious on the floor with a pool of
blood all around him!!! He’s holding a gun! He must have shot himself!
-Have you checked to see if Sir de Villaroy is dead?Is he breathing?
-I don’t think so.
-I see. Where are you calling from ?
-From the living-room.
-No, I mean what’s the address?
-1 Oak Lane West Bromwich
-Who are you, m’am?
-I’m the housemaid, Mrs Studridge.
-Ok Mrs Studridge. I'll have a police officer on his way to check it out. Stay on the line until
someone gets there and do not touch anything.

-999 emergency. What’s your emergency?
-Oh my God! It’s my boss, Sir Villaroy… He is lying unconscious on the floor with a pool of
blood all around him!!! He’s holding a gun! He must have shot himself!
-Have you checked to see if Sir de Villaroy is dead?Is he breathing?
-I don’t think so.
-I see. Where are you calling from ?
-From the living-room.
-No, I mean what’s the address?
-1 Oak Lane West Bromwich
-Who are you, m’am?
-I’m the housemaid, Mrs Studridge.
-Ok Mrs Studridge. I'll have a police officer on his way to check it out. Stay on the line until
someone gets there and do not touch anything.

-999 emergency. What’s your emergency?
-Oh my God! It’s my boss, Sir Villaroy… He is lying unconscious on the floor with a pool of
blood all around him!!! He’s holding a gun! He must have shot himself!
-Have you checked to see if Sir de Villaroy is dead?Is he breathing?
-I don’t think so.
-I see. Where are you calling from ?
-From the living-room.
-No, I mean what’s the address?
-1 Oak Lane West Bromwich
-Who are you, m’am?
-I’m the housemaid, Mrs Studridge.
-Ok Mrs Studridge. I'll have a police officer on his way to check it out. Stay on the line until
someone gets there and do not touch anything.

A．May I speak to the store manager, please?
B．She's with a customer right now. Can you hold on for a minute?
A．Uh....I'm going to call back later. Thanks.