Below are some audio files along with their transcripts. Click on the links to listen to the file as you read it.
SUGGESTION: Use a dictionary to look up any words you do not know or use the online dictionaries below:
Longman Web Dictionary
Free JavaScripts provided
by The JavaScript Source
| SONGS |
Click on the SONG link to listen to the song. It will open in a new window. Click on the LYRICS link to read the words to the song. At the end of the lyrics you will find a short 'vocabulary section' to help you with difficult words. The songs will be changed every few weeks.
SONG: 'I Will Be There For You' by Jessica Andrews.
LYRICS: 'I Will Be There For You'.
SONG: 'I Would Die For You' by Jan Arden.
LYRICS: 'I Would Die For You'
| POEMS |
The Lost King ((CLICK TO LISTEN))
Frog eyes
mud pies,
and days gone by.
when I was a boy
each day brought new joy,
And I never knew how to cry.
Up a strawberry hill
I'd climb for the thrill,
and pronounce myself a king.
I'd wave my hand
across the land,
and command the earth to sing.
And the earth would obey
and the plants would sway,
and rubies would appear at my feet.
Then I'd smile with pride
feeling hungry inside,
and choose a strawberry to eat.
But those days flew past
and I grew old fast,
and now live in crumbling health.
Though I still recall
being king of all,
and living in infinite wealth.
Vocabulary:
Mud (noun): wet earth/soil that becomes soft and sticky.
Thrill (noun): a sudden, strong feeling of excitment and pleasure.
Pronounce (verb): to make the sound of a letter, word etc. OR to officially state that something is true.
Obey (verb): to do what someone in a position of authority tells you to do, or to do what a law or rule says you must do.
Sway (verb): to move slowly from side to side.
Ruby (noun): a red jewel/precious stone.
Crumbling (adjective): breaking into small pieces, becoming weak.
Recall (verb): to remember (deliberately).
Infinite (adjective): without limits in space and time OR very great.
* * * * * * * * * *
| FABLES |
The Ass in the Lion's Skin ((CLICK TO LISTEN))
An Ass once found a Lion's skin which the hunters had left out in the Sun to dry. He put it on and went towards his native village. All fled at his approach, both men and animals, and he was a proud Ass that day. In his delight he lifted up his voice and brayed, but then everyone knew him, and his owner came up and gave him a sound cudgelling for the fright he had caused. And shortly afterwards a fox came up to him and said: "Ah, I knew you by your voice."
Fine clothes may disguise, but silly words will disclose a fool.
Vocabulary
ASS: (noun) another word for a donkey.
FLED: (verb) past of 'to flee' (to run away).
APPROACH: (noun) from the verb 'to approach' (to move towards/closer to something or someone).
DELIGHT: (noun)feelings of great pleasure and satisfaction.
BRAY: (verb) the noise a donkey makes.
CUDGEL: (noun) a short thick stick used as a weapon.
DISGUISE: (verb and noun) 'to disguise (yourself)'to change someone's appearance so that they look like someone else and people cannot recognize them.
DISCLOSE: (verb) to make something publicly known, especially after it has been kept secret from the public / to show something by removing the thing that covers it.
* * * * * * * * * *
The Tortoise and The Hare ((CLICK TO LISTEN))
One day a hare made fun of the short feet and slow pace of a tortoise, who replied, laughing: "Although you might be fast, I will beat you in a race." The hare agreed to a race, believing it would be impossible for the tortoise to win.
On the day of the race, the two began side by side. The tortoise never stopped for a moment, but crawled with a slow, steady pace directly towards the finish line. The hare, sitting beside the course, fell fast asleep. At last waking up, and moving as fast as he could, he saw the tortoise on the other side of the finish line. He was resting comfortably.
TRUE OR FALSE?
The hare was too confident.
The hare won the race.
The tortoise was the fastest.
The hare had the ability to win the race.
CLICK FOR ANSWERS
* * * * * * * * * *
| STORIES |
The Emperor's New Clothes ((CLICK TO LISTEN))
Once upon a time there was an emperor who loved clothes more than anything else in the world.
One day, two swindlers came to see the emperor. They pretended to be weavers who made the most beautiful cloth in the world.
And they said that their cloth had one amazing quality: only an honest person could see it. A person who was a fool couldn't see it.
The emperor thought this over. "If I have suit made of this cloth, I'll be able to know who is honest and who is a fool." So he gave the weavers gold, enough for a new suit of clothes.
In a few days, the emperor went to check on the weavers, but he couldn't see any cloth.
The emperor's assistants couldn't see anything either, but they pretended to see the cloth. "Oh, it's wonderful, emperor!"
One day, there was going to be a parade through the city. "The emperor's new suit of clothes is finished!" announced the weavers. The weavers put the new suit of clothes on the emperor. The people all pretended to see it. No one wanted to admit that they were fools.
Suddenly, a small child cried out, "But the emperor has no clothes on!" The child was right. The people began to point and whisper.
The emperor had learnt his lesson. He knew the child was right. Even though the emperor had no clothes on, he still walked through the town with his head held high, like a real, true emperor.
Vocabulary:
Emperor (noun: the ruler of an empire.
Swindler (noun): somebody who gets money by deceiving someone else.
Weaver (noun): someone who makes threads into cloth by crossing them under and over each other on a loom.
Parade (noun): a public celebration when musical bands, brightly decorated vehicles etc move down the street OR a line of people moving along so that other people can watch them.
Announce (verb): to officially tell people about a decision or something that will happen.
* * * * * * * * * *
| VOCABULARY |
Opposites ((CLICK TO LISTEN))
Wide - narrow
Thick - thin
Long - short
Happy - sad
Many - few
Young - old
Full - empty
Fast - slow
Wet - dry
Rich - poor
Here - there
Dangerous - safe
Tight - loose
Soft - hard
Deep - shallow
Heavy - light
New - old
Inside - outside
Beautiful - ugly
Cheap - expensive
Clean - dirty
Hot - cold
High - low
Strong - weak
Smooth - rough
Fat - thin
Far - near
Warm - cool
True - false
Easy - difficult
* * * * * * * * * *
