English Recordings

Braveheart is a 1995 American epic/drama film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. The film was written for the screen and then novelized by Randall Wallace. Gibson portrays William Wallace, a Scottish warrior who gained recognition when he came to the forefront of the First War of Scottish Independence by opposing King Edward I of England and subsequently abetted by Edward's daughter-in-law, Princess Isabelle of France and a claimant to the Scottish throne, Robert the Bruce.

King Edward I of England, known as "Longshanks", has occupied much of southern Scotland, and his oppressive rule there leads to the deaths of William Wallace's father and brother. Years later, after Wallace has been raised abroad by his uncle, the Scots continue to live under the iron fist of Longshanks' cruel laws. Wallace returns, intent on living as a farmer and avoiding involvement in the ongoing "troubles". Wallace seeks out and courts Murron, and the two marry in secret to avoid the decree of primae noctis the King has set forth. When an English soldier tries to rape Murron, Wallace fights off several soldiers and the two attempt to flee, but the village sheriff captures Murron and publicly executes her, proclaiming "an assault on the King's soldiers is the same as an assault on the King himself." In retribution, Wallace and several villagers slaughter the English garrison, including the sheriff.
Wallace, the men from his village, and a neighbouring clan enter the fortress of the local English lord, killing him and burning it down. In response to Wallace's exploits, the commoners of Scotland rise in revolt against England. As his legend spreads, hundreds of Scots from the surrounding clans volunteer to join Wallace's militia. Wallace leads his army through a series of successful battles against the English, including the Battle of Stirling Bridge and the sacking of the city of York. All the while, Wallace seeks the assistance of young Robert the Bruce, son of the leper noble Robert the Bruce and the chief contender for the Scottish crown. However, Robert is dominated by his scheming father, who wishes to secure the throne of Scotland to his son by bowing down to the English, despite his son's growing admiration for Wallace and his cause.
Two Scottish nobles, Lochlan and Mornay, planning to submit to Longshanks, betray Wallace, who is defeated at the Battle of Falkirk but saved at the last instant by Robert, who was fighting on the English side. Wallace goes into hiding, fighting a guerrilla war against English forces, and personally murders Mornay and Lochlan for their betrayal. Meanwhile, Princess Isabelle of France (whose incompetent husband Prince Edward ignores her) meets with Wallace as the English king's emissary. Having heard of him beforehand and after meeting him in person, she becomes enamored with him and secretly assists him in his fight. Eventually, she and Wallace share a tryst, in which she becomes pregnant.
Still believing there is some good in the nobility of his country, Wallace eventually agrees to meet with Robert the Bruce in Edinburgh. Wallace is caught in a trap set by the elder Bruce and the other nobles, beaten unconscious, and handed over to the English. Learning of his father's treachery, the younger Bruce disowns his father.
In London, Wallace is brought before the English magistrates and tried for high treason. He denies the charges, declaring that he had never accepted Edward as his King. The court responds by sentencing him to be "purified by pain." After the sentencing, a shaken Wallace prays for strength during the upcoming torture and rejects a painkiller brought to him by Isabelle. Afterwards, she goes to her husband and father-in-law, begging them to show mercy, but they refuse; she retaliates by tormenting the terminally ill and mute King with the knowledge she is pregnant with Wallace's child. The torture takes place in a London square, where he is to be disemboweled. Awed by Wallace's courage, the Londoners watching the execution begin to yell for mercy, and the magistrate offers him a quick death in exchange for a plea for mercy. Using the last strength in his body, William instead cries, "Freedom!", and the judge, deciding that nothing more can be done, orders the end of the execution anyway. Just as he is about to be beheaded, Wallace sees an image of Murron in the crowd smiling at him, before the blow is struck.
Some time later, Robert the Bruce (now King Robert I), leads a strong Scottish army and faces a ceremonial line of English troops at the fields of Bannockburn in 1314. Invoking Wallace and his desire for freedom among his troops, he leads them into battle. A voiceover, by Gibson, states that the Scots won their freedom in that battle.

Part of society
and drug free
Part of society
and drug free
What's fun in that
Not that much
What's fun in that
Gotta be fucked up
What's fun in that?
What's fun in that?
What's fun in that?
Not much...

To live alone with an old person is terribly nerve-racking, and the healthier he or she is, the more one worries. Actually, when I lived with my grandmother this didn’t occur to me; I enjoyed it. But looking back, I can’t help thinking that deep down I was always, at all times, afraid: Grandma’s going to die.”

When I came home, my grandmother would come out of the Japanese-style room where the TV was and say, “Welcome home.” If I came in late I always bought her sweets. She was a pretty relaxed grandmother and never gave me hard time if I told her I was going to sleep over somewhere or whatever. We would spend a little time together before bed, sometimes drinking coffee, sometimes green tea, eating cake and watching TV.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - Elections, Political Parties

The right to vote is given to all citizens at the age of 18. Citizens vote in parliamentary and local elections and also in elections to the European Parliament. Each member of the House of Commons represents one parliamentary constituency. Registration of electors in compulsory and carried out annually. Candidates for election to Parliament or a council are normally chosen by the local parties.
The House of Common is elected for a maximum term of five years, reduced in 1911 from seven. At any time during those five years, the prime minister has the right to request the monarch to dissolve Parliament and call a general election.

A two-party system has existed in the United Kingdom since the late 17th century. From the mid-1920s the dominant groupings have been the Conservative Party and the Labour Party, despite the existence of smaller parties such as the Liberal Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party.
The two-party system, together with uncertainty about the timing of a general election, has produced the British phenomenon of the Opposition. Its decisive characteristic is that it attempts to form an alternative government, ready at any time to take office, in recognition of which the leader of the Opposition is paid an official salary.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - Government

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. Its constitution is partly unwritten and is flexible. The constitution's basic sources are legislative enactments of Parliament and decisions mad by courts of law. The head of state is a reigning monarch. Executive power is in hands of the prime minister, and his of her cabinet. The prime minister also appoints about 25 ministers outside the cabinet, as well as 50 junior ministers.
The Parliement consists of the monarch, the hereditary and appointed HOuse of Lords, and the elected House of Commons. The 651 members of the House of Commons are elected for five-year terms, though the prime minister may call general elections at any time. The main function of the House of Lords is to revise legislation. The Cabinet, being the respentative of the majority party in the House of Commons, can control legislation. A two-party system has existed in the United Kingdom since the late 17th century, though it is occasionally threatened by a third party. The Conservative Party and the Labour Pary are the dominant parties today. Because it is supported by the party with a majority in the House of Commons, the Cabinet exercises the sovereignty of Parlieament. The royal right of veto has not beet exercised since the 18th century, and the legislative power of the House of Lords was reduced in 1911 to the right to delay legislation. The Cabinet plans and lays before Parliament all important bills. While the Cabinet thus controls the lawmaking machinery, it is also subject to Parliament; it must expound and defend its policy in debate, and its continuation in office depends on its retaining the confidence of the House of Commos.
The United Kingdom is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Gertrude is stealth, smart, thorough, caring and vicious.

The Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The Czech Republic has been a member of NATO since 1999 and of the European Unionsince 2004. From 1 January 2009 to 1 July 2009, the Czech Republic held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The Czech Republic is a pluralist multi-party parliamentary representative democracy, with thePrime Minister as head of government. The Parliament is bicameral, with the Chamber of Deputies (200 members) and the Senate (81 members).
The President of the Czech Republic is selected by a joint session of the parliament for a five-year term, with no more than two consecutive terms. The president is a formal head of state with limited specific powers, most importantly to return bills to the parliament, nominate Constitutional court judges for the Senate's approval and dissolve the parliament under certain special and unusual circumstances. He also appoints the prime minister, as well the other members of the cabinet on a proposal by the prime minister.
In a 1948 coup d'état, Czechoslovakia became a communist-ruled state. In 1968, the increasing dissatisfaction culminated in attempts to reform the communist regime. The events, known as the Prague Spring of 1968, ended with an invasion by the armies of the Warsaw Pactcountries (with the exception of Romania); the troops remained in the country until the 1989 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved into its constituent states, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The current Czech Republic comprises three historical lands: Bohemia in the West, Moravia in the South-East, andnCzech Silesia in the North-East. Jointly, these 3 parts can be described as "Czech lands", with Czech language being spoken in all three. When the Czech nation regained its independence in 1918, the new state of Czechoslovakia was constituted to reflect the union of the Czech and Slovak territories that were merged together after World War One.
According to the 2001 census, the vast majority of the inhabitants of the Czech Republic are Czech (94.24%). The most numerous national minorities are: Slovaks, Poles, Germans, , Ukrainians, Vietnamese, Hungarians, Russians, Romani, Bulgarians, and Greeks. In the Czech Republic, there were 436,116 foreigners residing in the country in October 2009, according to the Czech Interior Ministry, with the largest groups being Ukrainian, Slovak, Vietnamese, Russian, Polish, German, etc. The fertility rate is a low 1.50 children per woman. Immigration increased the population by almost 1% in 2007. About 77,000 new foreigners settle down in the Czech Republic every year. Vietnamese immigrants began settling in the Czech Republic during the Communist period, when they were invited as guest workers by the Czechoslovak government. Today, there are an estimated 70,000 Vietnamese in the Czech Republic. In contrast to Ukrainians, Vietnamese come to the Czech Republic to live permanently.

The Czech Republic, along with Estonia, has one of the least religious populations in the world. Historically, the Czech people have been characterised as "tolerant and even indifferent towards religion". According to the 2001 census, 59% of the country is agnostic, atheist or non-believer, 26.8% is Roman Catholic and 2.5% is Protestant. According to the census, the fastest growing religious group between 1991 and 2001 was those with no religion, which increased by 19.1 percent. Christianity showed negative growth, especially the Roman Catholic Church which lost more than 1 million of its members in 10 years. The largest population increase was No-religion which increased by nearly 2 million people. According to a Eurobarometer Poll in 2005, 19% of Czech citizens responded that "they believe there is a God“, whereas 50% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 30% said that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".
The Czech Republic has a temperate continental climate, with relatively hot summers and cold, cloudy and snowy winters. Most rain falls during the summer. The temperature difference between summer and winter is relatively high, due to the landlocked geographical position. The coldest month is usually January, followed by February and December. During these months, there is usually snow in the mountains and sometimes in the major cities and lowlands. The warmest month of the year is July, followed by August and June. On average, summer temperatures are about 20 degrees higher than during winter. Especially in the last decad, temperatures above 30 °C (86 °F) are not unusual. Summer is also characterized by rain and storms.
The Czech landscape is exceedingly varied. Bohemia, to the west, consists of a basin drained by the Elbe and the Moldau rivers, surrounded by mostly low mountains, such as the Krkonoše range of the Sudetes. The highest point in the country, Sněžka at 1,602 m, is located here. Moravia, the eastern part of the country, is also quite hilly. It is drained mainly by the Morava River, but it also contains the source of the Oder River.
Water from the landlocked Czech Republic flows to three different seas: the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Black Sea. The Czech Republic also leases the Moldauhafen, a 30,000-square-metre lot in the middle of the Hamburg Docks, to allow the landlocked country a place where goods transported down river could be transferred to seagoing ships. The territory reverts to Germany in 2028.
There are four national parks in the Czech Republic. The oldest is Krkonoše National Park (Biosphere Reserve), Šumava National Park(Biosphere Reserve), National Park Podyjí, České Švýcarsko National Park.

As I was passing near the jail
I met a man, but hurried by.
His face was ghastly, grimly pale.
He had a gun. I wondered why
He had. A gun? I wondered... why,
His face was *ghastly*! Grimly pale,
I met a man, but hurried by,
As I was passing near the jail.
Entering the lonely house with my wife,
I saw him for the first time
Peering furtively from behind a bush--
Blackness that moved,
A shape amid the shadows,
A momentary glimpse of gleaming eyes
Revealed in the ragged moon.
A closer look (he seemed to turn) might have
Put him to flight forever--
I dared not
(For reasons that I failed to understand),
Though I knew I should act at once.
I puzzled over it, hiding alone,
Watching the woman as she neared the gate.
He came, and I saw him crouching
Night after night.
Night after night
He came, and I saw him crouching,
Watching the woman as she neared the gate.
I puzzled over it, hiding alone--
Though I knew I should act at once,
For reasons that I failed to understand
I dared not
Put him to flight forever.
A closer look (he seemed to turn) might have
Revealed in the ragged moon
A momentary glimpse of gleaming eyes,
A shape amid the shadows,
Blackness that moved.
Peering furtively from behind a bush,
I saw him, for the first time,
Entering the lonely house with my wife.

In most countries, people believe that men are stronger than women. In games, sports and work, this is probably true. But in real life there are many examples which show that women are really stronger than men.

Women live longer in most countries. In Japan, for example, women can expect to live until they are eighty-five years old. Japanese men can live till about seventy-nine. Even at birth, more boy babies die than girl babies.

When the children grow up, more boys than girls will die in accidents. More boys will kill themselves. The number of males who die because of crimes is also higher than for females.

Why do women live longer? Doctors believe it has something to do with life-style. That means the kind of things people eat and drink and the things they do to their bodies. Men usually drink more alcohol such as beer and whisky. They smoke more cigarettes and drive faster.

On the other hand, women take care of themselves better than men do. They visit the doctor more often and do more exercise. So, you see, girls are stronger than boys.

45.
With the rise of the social sciences, and especially the anthropology of the 1930s and thereafter, words like ‘savage’ and ‘primitive’ began to disappear from the vocabulary of cultural studies, along with the notion that the people who had once borne these labels represented a biologically less evolved form of humanity. Medical science could find no difference in the brains of the former primitives to account for their different behavior; colonists necessarily observed that yesterday’s ‘savage’ might be today’s shopkeeper, soldier, or servant. As humanity began to look more like a family of potential equals, Westerners had to accept that the behavior found in native cultures was not the distinctive feature of savage ‘otherness’ but the expression of a capacity that may exist, for better or for worse, in all of us.

Westerners came to admit that their view toward the distinctive behavior found in nativecultures was biased.

46-48.
“There is a good reason to make this trip to the Island of Paradise,” Captain Koppe told himself as he stepped out of the elevator car into the covered rooftop hangar of his house. The journey itself would be of use. There were times when it was important to be alone, to have time to think. Alone even from one’s personal robot, from one’s trusted wife.
Captain Koppe sensed that this was one of those times when he had to be alone—if for no other reason than to remind himself that he would have to make his decision alone. And he would have the duration of the flight all to himself. The thought appealed to him as he powered up the aircar and it lifted a half-meter or so off the deck of the hangar.
The outer doors opened, and the aircar slowly eased out into the driving rain. Suddenly, it was in the middle of the storm, jumping and swinging in the darkness, the rain crashing down on the windows with incredible violence. The storm boomed and roared outside the long-range aircar as it fought for altitude, the banging and clattering getting worse with every moment.
Smooth sailing after the storm, the aircar arrived at the orbit of the Island of Paradise. Captain Koppe looked out at the Island through the window. He had been longing for it since his childhood. At that moment, his family picture posted on the inside of the aircar came into his eyes. All of a sudden, he had an irresistible urge to go to see his beloved wife and his two sons. He turned his back on the Island of Paradise and directed it toward the homeland.

49-50.
PersonA
In ordinary life, you can be very comfortable with modern technology. Just as people search for books in bookstores, you can find and select what you want with a computer. You have already seen how much modern technology has changed the world. You can talk to each other in real time, looking at each other on a palm-sized phone. In the near future, I believe that most people will wear user-friendly computer equipment making their daily lives even more convenient. This would give us the chance to find information quickly and communicate with others no matter where we are or what we are doing.

PersonBThe latest devices are fun to use for many tasks like browsing cyber space, but it is important to keep your distance from them as well. The constant noises of electronic devices like computers, mobile phones, fax machines, stereos, and home appliances will drown out the sounds of the birds singing in the morning, the wind blowing through the trees, or a pencil drawing on rough paper. Modern technology is addictive, so be sure to plan days away from its electromagnetic fields. Go out into nature and leave your mobile phone behind. Or just turn everything off and enjoy the peace and quiet.