This time Catherine Tate meets British Prime Minister Tony Blair…

Well it is Friday. So time for a little more comedy, this time Eddie Izzard tells us what it is like to speak a different language!

People think James Blunt is annoying.

James Blunt is one of the most annoying things in Britain, according to a recent survey. People said they thought James Blunt was more annoying than noisy neighbours, traffic wardens, and estate agents.

Meanwhile, James Blunt’s song Goodbye My Lover, has become the most requested song at funerals. Apparently, fifty one percent of people have decided what song they would like at their funeral. A spokesperson from the Bereavement Register said, “Many people are choosing contemporary music that is easier to relate to. Everyone has a favourite song that means something very special to them, often connected to a particular time and place.” Blunt’s song was first in the survey.

MP3 Australian man pre intermediate

Florida congressman forced to resign.

The Republican leadership has been accused of covering up the activities of a Florida congressman. House of Representatives member Mark Foley, a champion of children’s rights, allegedly sent a sexually charged e-mail to a 16-year-old boy. Mr Foley, 52, was forced to resign after ABC News confronted him with an e-mail to one former teenage boy, and instant messages to a number of others. In one e-mail message Mr Foley wrote, “Do I make you a little horny?” In another, he asked one of the teenage boys if he worked out and requested a photo.

According to reports, the Republican leadership in the House knew about the inappropriate e-mails for nearly a year, but did not contact the police or their Democratic counterparts on the ethics committee. Democratic congressman John Murtha said, “It’s outrageous. We have an obligation to protect these young pages [teenage boys who work in Congress]… It really makes me nervous that they might have tried to cover this up.”

Previously, Mr Foley was a member of a group that focussed on missing and exploited children. He had also called for more rigorous tracking of convicted sex offenders.

MP3 British man upper intermediate

British Airways pilot flies with engine on fire

Air traffic controllers monitoring a British Airways jumbo jet were stunned at a pilot’s decision to continue flying after an engine caught fire on takeoff. The controllers in Los Angeles expected the four-engine Boeing 747 to turn around. But after taking advice from BA’s operations base, the pilot carried on towards London. He said, “We just decided we wanted to set off on our flight plan and get as far as we could.”

He was allowed on his way. But an air traffic controller who saw the flames said, “If you had seen what we saw out the window, you’d be amazed at that.”

The plane was carrying eighteen crew members and 351 passengers. Flight 268 eventually made it to the UK. But the pilot was so concerned about his fuel levels that he carried out an emergency landing in Manchester. By continuing with the flight, the aircraft avoided a £100,000 bill for delay compensation. Since April 2001, British Airways has recorded fifteen incidents in which jumbo jets continued after an engine had been shut down.

MP3 British woman upper-intermediate

Sequel to Peter Pan published.

A sequel to the children’s classic Peter Pan has been published more than 100 years after the original. Peter Pan in Scarlett was written by author Geraldine McCaughrean. She said, “There is a magic to that place Neverland.” The book is set twenty years after the original, with Peter Pan’s friend Wendy now having children of her own, and the Lost Boys having grown up.
“The first thing they have to do is to become children again, so they can go back to Neverland, because only children can go there,” McCaughrean said. “When they get there, they find Neverland seriously changed. It’s colder and more dangerous and more frightening than it was before,” she added.

Publishers tried to keep details of the book secret. However, they were forced to launch an investigation after an American newspaper printed a summary of the plot. The book is being published in thirty different countries and thirty four languages.

MP3 US American woman intermediate

The world’s worst sounds analysed.

Which sound do you hate the most? A year-long study has identified the worst sounds in the world. This included fingers being dragged down a blackboard, a dentist’s drill, and crying babies. The online study attracted 1.1m votes from around the world.
The winner was the sound of someone vomiting.

Other sounds included microphone feedback, the noise made by trains on a track, a cat howling and mobile phone ring tones. Unexpectedly, snoring came in very low at number 26 in the list. The study was set up by Trevor Cox, a professor of acoustic engineering at Salford University. He uploaded 34 sounds at the website www.sound101.org.

“From a scientific perspective, we really don’t understand why some sounds are so horrible, but our reactions are part of what makes us human. If, as engineers, we can learn what offends people then, in some cases, we may be able to engineer them out of existence or at least reduce their impact,” he said.

Listen to the article being read by clicking the link below!

MP3 Canadian woman intermediate

New London Taxi Introduced

London taxis are becoming environmentally friendly. The traditional London black taxi is made by Manganese Bronze. The company has launched the new TX4 model. The new taxi meets European Union pollution standards. That is good news for London taxi drivers. There are 17,000 taxis that do not meet these standards.
But it is also good news for Manganese Bronze. The company expects to sell a lot more cars. And not just in London. The company has just signed an agreement with a Chinese manufacturer. This means 20,000 cars will be sold to hotels and taxi companies in Shanghai. There are 23,000 black cabs in London. The first taxi appeared in London in 1662.

Have a listen to this story below!

MP3 British woman pre-intermediate

Sometimes it takes just a few words to become immortalized in history – especially TV history. John F. Kennedy’s “Ask not what your country can do for you…” was recently voted one of TV’s 100 greatest catchphrases. The poll was conducted by the TV Land cable network. The other 99 phrases range from the serious to the silly. TV Land president Larry Jones said, “We have found that television is such a huge part of baby boomers’ DNA that it makes sense that so much of America’s pop culture jargon has come from TV.” The greatest number of moments, 26, came from the 1970s. TV Land identified nine moments from this decade. Ten are from commercials, and 28 from comedies. Also included on the list were Homer Simpson’s “D’oh!”, “Joey Tribianni’s how you doin’?” from Friends, and Regis Philbin’s “Is that your final answer?” from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

Listen to this news story below.

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The English have always been known for their talents in foreign languages. Here Catherine Tate shows you how to produce difficult foreign phonetics.