Speaking English for 20 seconds a day?

[Alan]

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Hello 20 Seconders,

For me, Claudia it's tea that sets me up first thing out of the biggest mug I can find. Today is a special day in the UK calendar because it celebrates the attempt by a group of Catholic plotters who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament on November 5th 1605. The most famous of the plotters was called Guy Fawkes and it is he whose name is given to this day. As darkness falls, thousands of bonfires will be lit and thousands of fireworks will be let off. And there will be a right old deafening din. If you want a little bit of local colour, I could put the microphone out cautiously to give you a snatch of the rumpus going on. As for me, I'm staying in the warm.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
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[Kitosdad]

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[Alan]

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Can't hear you, Bill.

Alan
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[Kitosdad]

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16 views

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[Tom Kane]

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Hello everyone,

Alan, you're posts are going to be tough to beat! They're wonderful. I find myself waking up and thinking, "I wonder what Alan is going to write today? Tune in and find out."

As for me, a good cup of coffee is what I need in the morning. Tea is usually held off until mid-day in the Kane household. After I post this message, I'm heading out to the office supply store to buy more ink and paper for my printer, and then back to the office. I know what you're all thinking..."Man, that Tom really lives on the edge!"

That's it for now!

Tom

[Cgk]

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Hi everyone,

Claudia here.

Well, I survived the visit downtown. It only rained once, otherwise it was nice and sunny, but I took a raincoat with me so I didn't get drenched. It was quite busy downtown and everybody was coughing and sneezing, so there is a real bad cold going around and I was glad when I went back home and got out of there. Hehe.

Oki, take it easy.

P.S. Welcome Tom Kane! I hope to hear from you more. Bye.

[Borislav]

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Claudia - thank you very much,the sore throat missed me these days.What about the health insurance bugging ?
Alan and Tom - I'm drinking the same as you - tea! My grandmother collects different kinds of herbs from the mountain.
Alan - this events isn't very popular it is the first time I've heard such a celebration.The occasion is something like rebellion, revolution or .. ?
Kitos - Did you take the dogs for a stroll or you stayed at home ? Maybe i missed that moment

I'M HAVING PROBLEM WITH THE HEADPFONES.FOR NOW I CAN'T TALK.
THIS POST HAD VOICE MESSAGE BUT IT DOESN'T APPEAR - I'LL FIX IT

[SkiIucK]

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[Alan]

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Hi,

Managed to survive the firework onslaught - no that's a bit of an exaggeration. It was eerily quiet. We're shortly off on a visit to a place not far from the south coast of England. As the crow flies, it's not really that far but then crows aren't bothered about traffic and going through central London and my six year old Jaguar would probably take all day to do that. It's reckoned traffic now moves in London at about the rate it did in the 19th century in the days of horse and carriage. So we travel on the motorway that goes all the way round London, laughingly referred to as the longest roundabout in the world. It goes by the name of M25. Mention that letter and those two digits to anyone living in the south east and you'll see a grimace appear on the face of your listener followed by a series of anecdotes about traffic delays. It rivals the weather as a topic for conversation. So wish me luck!

Alan
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[Cgk]

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23 views

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Please listen to my recording and respond with a voice message too. Many thanks.

[Tom Kane]

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Hi Claudia,

A little housework is good for you. It keeps you out of trouble! HA! Housework is one of those little annoyning things that we all must do, I guess.

As for me today, I am organizing the paperwork to begin recording the full length TOEIC and TOFEL tests that will soon be available on english-test.net. So hopefully, I will have those back to Torsten in a couple of days.

The weekend looks promising - at least the weather looks good. It should be about 65 degrees and sunny.

Alan, I hope you had a dandy trip!

Bye for now...

Tom

[Siri]

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Hello everyone ,
I am new member to this site.
I would like to take test on next month.
Please tell me how to I prepare for the speaking section and writing section.
I saw essays and vocabulary questions in this site.
Really very good site , I appreciate
Kitosdad ,Torsen and Alan are helped so many students.
Please help me to get good score.
Many Thanks to all.

[Alan]

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Good morning Tom,

Just love the word 'dandy' - it has a really jumpy enthusiastic ring about it. I know the word when it's used to mean a bloke who is dressed in the latest fashion. Anyhow, the trip had its dandy moments and others not so dandyish- yes I like that word. I'm going to use it more often. We got there without the notorious delays with which the motorway is associated. My car simply purred its way along. When we arrived, we all went out for lunch and the only way I could describe the food and service is dandy. But the journey home was distinctly undandy. It rained so heavily the cat's eyes on the road were barely visible. And then as soon as we were on the final stretch, the rain stopped and the roads took on a very smug look as if to say: What's the problem?

This weekend I'm undertaking a book cull -I've just acquired too many. I know a cull is usually used to describe killing animals to reduce the breeding rate but the thing is I keep finding books I didn't know I'd bought. The thought occurs to me what do all those books of mine get up to sitting together on those dark winter nights?

Alan
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[Borislav]

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Hi,
Today is far better day than yesterday.I got up from the bed relaxed and laid-back.
Friday first of all I was absent in the mourning lectures and that wasn't very good.There is strong possibility the teacher makes me some problems for the absent and I can be grounded like little kid.Second my headphones broke down I was confused if i could not record my voice here.
Today my friends keeping on at me to go with them to disco but I have work to do and I'll turn them down in spite of being invited.

[Alan]

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Hi,

This morning was what you might call a wake up call for me as I had to go to the dentist but it wasn't too painful. There was a bit of minor engineering needed inside my mouth. But my dentist is such a happy soul and she's so jolly that you can't really complain. My car told me on the dashboard that it was cold, in case I hadn't noticed. There's some old wives tale that if there are a lot of berries on bushes, it'll be very cold and if there aren't many, then it'll be mild. I've just looked out of the window and there do seem to be rather a lot of berries. Do you think if I remove some, my garden will be less cold than all the others in the neighbourhood? Well, it's a warming thought.

Alan
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