Syncope (loss of unstressed vowels after a stressed syllable.)

Example “chocolate” [CHAWK-uh-luht] becomes [CHAW-kluht]

1- I like to eat chocolate. [CHAW-kluht]

2- She visits her mother every weekend. [EV-ree]

3- He bought a new camera. [KAM-ruh]

4- We go for a walk in the evening. [EEV-niŋ]

6- Are you interested in ancient history? [HIS-tree]

7- We have a vegetable garden. [VEJ-tuh-buhl]

8- Those two ideas are not comparable. [KOM-pruh-buhl]

9- She works in a laboratory. [LAB-ruh-tor-ee]

10- What an interesting person he is. [IN-truhs-tiŋ]

11- I got the flu last week. I felt so miserable. [MIZ-ruh-buhl]

12- Generally I only drink coffee in the morning. [JEN-ruh-lee]

13- I have a headache. I’m going to take an aspirin.

14- Mexican Spanish is different from Argentinian Spanish.

15- What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

16- Let’s go to a restaurant for dinner.

17- Is coffee your beverage of choice?

18- I’d like to introduce you to my family.

19- That seems like a reasonable solution to our problem.

20- Ireland is nicknamed the “Emerald” Isle.

Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

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One of the science podcasts I listen to regularly is Astronomy Cast hosted by Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela Gay. In today’s lesson, you’ll hear a short excerpt from Episode 705: Water Worlds - Looking for Life Beyond Earth. First you’ll hear a clip from their podcast, and then I’ll break their speech into shorter fragments so you can listen and repeat. You’ll hear that Fraser Cain in particular speaks quite rapidly. It would be hard to repeat at his speed!

1- Wherever we find liquid water on Earth, we find life.

2- So it makes sense to search for water across the universe, and hopefully, we can find evidence of life.

3- But what about worlds which are completely covered in water?

4- Oceans, hundreds of kilometers deep. Can there be too much water?

5- So this idea of water worlds, I mean, we learned everything we needed to know from that Kevin Costner movie, right?

6- No, no, one of the things that I was thinking about preparing for this show

7- is just how magnificently wrong in pretty much every way that movie appears to have been,
8- except from a climate change perspective.

9- And really, if you want one thing to be wrong, you want it to be the climate change part that's wrong.

10- Yeah, but climate change causes sea levels to rise by a couple of hundred feet in the worst case scenario.

Let's listen to the original podcast excerpt again.

11- Right, no, that's true. It won't eat the entire planet. There will still be soil.

12- The coastlines will be roughly where they were, especially in places that are very mountainous.

13- So it won't be hard where you're trying to find evidence of islands.

14- No, no. But this idea of water worlds, we know they exist here in the solar system, and so we assume that they're out there.

15- So give us sort of like an idea, what is the quintessential water world here in the solar system?

You've listened to the original speakers, you've listened to me, and you've had a chance to listen and repeat. Now listen to the original one more time. Remember: you can't listen too much when you're studying a new language!

Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

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You can now support my podcasts and classes:
Help Barry pay for podcast expenses--thank you!

The phone rings and it's a stranger trying to sell you something. This is part one of a multi-podcast series based on a real script. Have fun!

Hi, this is Barry calling from Scam-O-Rama Car Services. I’m calling regarding your 2016 Chevrolet Survivor. How is your 2016 Chevy Survivor running? Do you know the approximate current mileage? Great! I’m calling because the original factory warranty that was on your vehicle has expired. We're running a promotion today for reinstating your original factory coverage. We're going to add 12 months of service at no additional cost. You can take your vehicle to the DownTown HotShot dealership. Are you familiar with them? Do you know where they're located? For the next 12 months you'll take your vehicle there for all your service needs, all your oil changes, tire rotations, and they will also provide you with roadside assistance.

1- Hi, this is Barry calling from Scam-O-Rama Car Services.

2- I’m calling regarding your 2016 Chevrolet Survivor.

3- How is your 2016 Chevy Survivor running?

4- Do you know the approximate current mileage? Great!

5- I’m calling because the original factory warranty that was on your vehicle has expired.

6- We're running a promotion today for reinstating your original factory coverage.

7- We're going to add 12 months of service at no additional cost.

8- You can take your vehicle to the DownTown HotShot dealership. 9- Are you familiar with them? Do you know where they're located?

10- For the next 12 months you'll take your vehicle there for all your service needs, all your oil changes, tire rotations, and they will also provide you with roadside assistance.

Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Support the show

You can now support my podcasts and classes:
Help Barry pay for podcast expenses--thank you!