English Recordings

271 It's time for a bath. I'll fill up the tub and then turn on the water heater.
272 I like the water to be slightly hot. About 41Celsius is just right.
273 Then I'll throw in some herb bathing salts.
274 After relaxing for a while, I'll get out of the tub and wash my hair.
275 After I shampoo my hair, I like to use treatment conditioner.
276 Then I'll wash my whole body with body soap and a sponge.
277 I make sure to scrub the area behind my ears, around my neck and the bottom of my feet.
278 Then I'll rinse off with the shower hose.
279 The next thing I do is wash my face with face cleanser.
280 Finally, I get in the bathtub again and soak for a little longer.
281 When I'm through bathing, I always weigh myself and measure my body fat.

260 Sometimes after work I'll go drinking with my co-workers. We usually go to a little pub near the station.
261 We usually start out with a round of beers.
262 The beer usually comes with some snacks like nuts or potato chips.
263 I like my beer really cold with a good head.
264 But some people are nondrinkers and so they order non-alcoholic drinks.
265 After everyone gets their drinks, we have a toast.
266 While we eat and drink, we often talk about our jobs. Sometimes people will drink too much.
267 They'll get so drunk that they can't stand up and someone will have to call a taxi for them.
268 It's really gross when someone throws up.
269 After a night of drinking, you can expect to have a hangover the next morning.
270 The best thing to do is go to bed and sleep it off.

248 Last Saturday I went to see a movie with my boyfriend.
249 It was the first showing of a popular movie and so we got there early.
250 We had discount ticket, so we didn't have to wait in line at the ticket booth.
251 But we were 30 minutes early so we had to wait outside of the door.
252 While I saved out place, my boyfriend went and bought a movie pamphlet.
253 About 15 minutes before starting time, the doors opened and we rushed in.
254 Most of the seats were filled, so we had to sit in the very back. I guess it was better than standing up.
255 Even though it was filled to capacity, there was hardly anyone in the reserved seats.
256 I went and got some popcorn and drinks, and then my boyfriend went to the restroom.
257 By the time he got back, the previews had already started.
258 By that time, all the seats were full and people were standing in the aisles.
259 After all of that, I forgot to bring my glasses and so I couldn't read the sub-titles and didn't understand at all what was going on.

The relationship between my mother, sister and me had been cold and inimical for as long as I could remember.
"Inimical" means harmful or hurtful or hostile. So the relationship is basically unfriendly and bad.

To me, my mother was irrational, often hurling hurtful invectives for the slightest infraction.
"Hurling" means throwing in a non-practical way. So her mother is shouting and throwing hurtful words and insults towards her by the force of her voice. Her words are so harsh and hurtful that it can be described as throwing. You throw something with force so her voice is throwing these words at her.

Tammy dithered about everything, incapable of making any firm decision. No matter how often my mother deprecated her -- “dumb, ugly, fat”—Tammy made futile attempts to fawn her way back into mother’s good graces.
"Dithered" means to be indecisive or unfocused.
I tend to say to my sister "Stop dithering about" It just means stop what you are doing and focus!! It is fairly hard to explain, sorry.
"Deprecated" means to disapprove of something. So her mother is constantly making her feel worthless and anything that Tammy does will not please her mother.

Another woman comes with great alacrity and offers her hand, but when I reach to grab it, she disappears.
"Alacrity" means to show willingness. So the lady is showing that she is eager to help her and to cheer her up in a time of sorrow.

The professor derides me for my poor performance.
"Derides" means to make fun of. The teacher mocks/taunts her performance. The teacher is basically being nasty about her performance.

I knew that they both reflected the pugnacious relationship I shared with my mother and sister.
"Pugnacious" means not nice or horrible. So the relationship between her mother and sister was horrible.

I was not cognizant of these details as I made my way through the doors of The Ursula Children’s
"Cognizant" means aware. So she was not aware/didn't know of/about these details.

I’m glad I wasn’t swayed though I would not realize until much later what a fortuitous decision this was.
"Swayed" means that one was persuaded or "drawn into" a situation and "Fortuitous" can mean accidental and lucky. So in the sentence she is glad she wasn't persuaded to go the other way and by choosing to go the other way she was lucky. "Fortuitous" has the same meaning as fortunate. So I could word the sentence differently:
"By not being persuaded I would realise later on just how lucky I was to do that"

The children’s theater, much to my boys’ chagrin, was more convenient for me to get to than the karate studio.
"Chagrin" means sorrow or sad. So the boys were sad because they weren't able to go to Karate.

Nov 18th 2012 ) <Isn't it beautiful ?
Isn't it beautiful? Would you correct my mistakes?>
Aren`t these so beautiful?/
Isn't it a beautiful view?
My friend just sent me these pictures with her smartphone.
She said that these are pictures she just took of the sunset over the West Sea from 영홍(도/island).
I'm grateful to her for sharing this beautiful moment with me.
I will share it with everyone!
~~ ♪~ Thanks for reading and correcting!~~♪~~~

236 I usually ride my bicycle to the train station.
237 I used to have a no-gear bike, but now I have an expensive 10-speed mountain bike.
238 I rent a parking space, but I was in a hurry today so I parked on the sidewalk and chained my bike to a telephone pole.
239 Chains are safer than wheel locks.
240 But when I went to get my bicycle after work it was gone.
241 I thought a bicycle thief had stolen it or maybe city workers had impound it.
242 I went to the bicycle collection center and found one just like mine.
243 It had black fenders, green handlebars, big yellow reflectors, and silver pedals.
244 It even had loose brakes, just like mine.
245 But the frame was gray and it had a shopping basket.
246 As I walked home, I saw something that looked familiar.
247 It was my bicycle, chained to a telephone pole. Ah, I had the wrong telephone pole.

218 I'll show you how to drive.
219 First, get in the driver's seat and put on your seatbelt.
220 After you adjust the rearview mirror and the seat, insert the key and start the engine.
221 After you warm up the engine for a few seconds, release the parking brake.
222 Next,push down on the brakes and shift into drive.
223 Turn on the turn signal, make sure there are no cars coming, and then start out.
224 No quick stops or starts.
225 There's a car tailing us so speed up a little.
226 The stoplight is red so make a gentle stop in front of the crosswalk.
227 The light has changed to green now.
228 Okay, make a right turn at the next corner.
229 Turn on the right turn signal and get into the right lane.
230 When you make a right turn, the oncoming cars have the right of way.
231 Don't turn the steering wheel so sharply.
232 Be careful at intersections.
233 That's where most traffic accidents happen. Okay, now let's head home.
234 Watch out for that car! (Crash!)
235 Didn't I tell you to be careful?!

207 I'll be gone for a while, so I'd better check everything.
208 I'd better double check the gas in the kitchen. Ah, the valve was open.
209 Now, I've turned off the gas for the water heater in the bathroom. The air conditioner is also off.
210 I've already set the answering machine.
211 I'll also pull out the plug for all the appliances.
212 I hear that's a good way to save electricity.
213 Did I remember to lock up everything? T he bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, living room.
214 Check. All the windows are closed and locked.
215 Okay. And now I'll turn on the home security system.
216 If a cat burglar tries to break in while I'm gone, the system will call a security guard.
217 I'll make a final check and then I'm ready to go.

195 Billy, could you go to that fast food shop on the corner?
196 I'd like you to get two hamburgers, French fries, and two large drinks.
197 I want mine heavy on the mustard and light on the mayonnaise.
198 And leave off the pickles.
199 If they have set specials, get those instead.
200 Most sets have a hamburger of your choice, French fries and a drink, but maybe only medium-size drinks.
201 Be sure to ask for catsup packets and those plastic cups.
202 I like French fries with lots of catsup.
203 When you place the order, the clerk will ask you if you are going to eat in or take out.
204 Tell them that you want it to go.
205 Take these coupons with you and they'll give you a 50-yen discount.
206 Two thousand yen should be more than enough, so don't forget to bring back the change.

11. Plan a support system. Who will you turn to when you have a strong urge? Write these people into your plan. Support forums online are a great tool as well — I used a smoking cessation forum on about.com when I quit smoking, and it really helped. Don’t underestimate the power of support — it’s really important.
12. Ask for help. Get your family and friends and co-workers to support you. Ask them for their help, and let them know how important this is. Find an AA group in your area. Join online forums where people are trying to quit. When you have really strong urges or a really difficult time, call on your support network for help. Don’t smoke a cigarette, for example, without posting to your online quit forum. Don’t have a drop of alcohol before calling your AA buddy.
13. Become aware of self-talk. You talk to yourself, in your head, all the time — but often we’re not aware of these thoughts. Start listening. These thoughts can derail any habit change, any goal. Often they’re negative: “I can’t do this. This is too difficult. Why am I putting myself through this? How bad is this for me anyway? I’m not strong enough. I don’t have enough discipline. I suck.” It’s important to know you’re doing this.
14. Stay positive. You will have negative thoughts — the important thing is to realize when you’re having them, and push them out of your head. Squash them like a bug! Then replace them with a positive thought. “I can do this! If Leo can do it, so can I!” :)
15. Have strategies to defeat the urge. Urges are going to come — they’re inevitable, and they’re strong. But they’re also temporary, and beatable. Urges usually last about a minute or two, and they come in waves of varying strength. You just need to ride out the wave, and the urge will go away. Some strategies for making it through the urge: deep breathing, self-massage, eat some frozen grapes, take a walk, exercise, drink a glass of water, call a support buddy, post on a support forum.
16. Prepare for the sabotagers. There will always be people who are negative, who try to get you to do your old habit. Be ready for them. Confront them, and be direct: you don’t need them to try to sabotage you, you need their support, and if they can’t support you then you don’t want to be around them.
17. Talk to yourself. Be your own cheerleader, give yourself pep talks, repeat your mantra (below), and don’t be afraid to seem crazy to others. We’ll see who’s crazy when you’ve changed your habit and they’re still lazy, unhealthy slobs!
18. Have a mantra. For quitting smoking, mine was “Not One Puff Ever” (I didn’t make this up, but it worked — more on this below). When I wanted to quit my day job, it was “Liberate Yourself”. This is just a way to remind yourself of what you’re trying to do.
19. Use visualization. This is powerful. Vividly picture, in your head, successfully changing your habit. Visualize doing your new habit after each trigger, overcoming urges, and what it will look like when you’re done. This seems new-agey, but it really works.
20. Have rewards. Regular ones. You might see these as bribes, but actually they’re just positive feedback. Put these into your plan, along with the milestones at which you’ll receive them.
21. Take it one urge at a time. Often we’re told to take it one day at a time — which is good advice — but really it’s one urge at a time. Just make it through this urge.

(From http://zenhabits.net/the-habit-change-cheatsheet-29-ways-to-successfully-ingrain-a-behavior/)