953966 If your company primarily does business with America, then you should be studying English with a native speaker from America. CK 281315 Japan's gold and foreign exchange reserves stood at $68.9 billion at the end of 1998, down from $77.0 billion a year earlier. CM 571143 The English language is undoubtedly the easiest and at the same time the most efficient means of international communication. CK 684588 "Jingle Bells," a popular song around Christmas time, is not really a Christmas song. The lyrics say nothing about Christmas. CK 1153265 Because of yesterday's heavy snow, the ground is very slippery. As soon as I stepped outside, I slipped and fell on my bottom. CK 63198 Catherine had an ulterior motive when she urged her father to buy a new car. She hoped that she'd be able to drive it herself. CM 1529635 I thought I had paid the monthly fee, but I received a phone call from the school saying that the bill still needs to be paid. erikspen 552228 In 2009, Selena Gomez became the youngest person to be named a United Nations Children's Fund Ambassador in the United States. American 3020384 Mary thought to herself that she ought to buy a new cover for the ironing board since the old one was getting pretty tattered. Delian 552220 Singer and actress Selena Gomez started her career at age seven on the children's public television show "Barney and Friends." American 2943880 Generally speaking, teenagers of today have less respect for their elders and for authority, than was the case fifty years ago. patgfisher 2158875 I never meant to say that the conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally conservative. Hybrid 608168 One of my favorite quotes by Mark Twain is, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." CK 2158345 According to the contract you may take three days of bereavement leave for your uncle's funeral, but only one for your nephew's. Dreamk33 1141301 Food prices are at their highest level since the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization began keeping records in 1990. Source_VOA 953912 I've heard that it's impossible to sound like a native speaker unless one starts speaking the language before the age of twelve. CK 2114902 If one has the right to live, then one should also have the right to die. If not, then living is not a right, but an obligation. CK 70548 No matter what your profession, or how happy you may be in it, there are moments when you wish you had chosen some other career. CK 34069 Freddy's been working the graveyard shift the past month, so he hasn't been able to see any of his friends who work normal hours. CM 40879 It was bad enough that he usually came to work late, but coming in drunk was the last straw, and I'm going to have to let him go. CM 326019 The cones of the jack pine, for example, do not readily open to release their seeds until they have been subjected to great heat. CM 27846 A really perceptive person can figure out a whole situation with just a few clues. That's the kind of person I want you to become. CM 612009 This was a translation of copyrighted material, so I deleted it since copyright owners have the right to control derivative works. CK 279665 A freezing beggar was brought into the hospital for treatment. However, he didn't have even one cent with which to settle the bill. CM 912382 Cities and provinces along the Yangtze River in central China are grappling with the country's worst drought in more than 50 years. Source_VOA 2302045 Honey, I know the budget is tight, but do you think we could splurge a bit and have a night out at a fancy restaurant this weekend? orionthehunter 44947 That proposal may be a way to kill two birds with one stone, but we also have to be careful not to get greedy and spoil everything. NekoKanjya 1582370 A committee is a group of people who individually can do nothing, but who, as a group, can meet and decide that nothing can be done. Biga 30538 Oh, sure, I studied English in my school days. But it wasn't until two or three years ago that I really started taking it seriously. CK 1988439 The term "autistic savant" is used to describe a person who is autistic and is extremely talented in one or more specialized fields. CK 2793517 Usually before a concert there is an announcement asking the audience to either turn off their phones or switch them to manner mode. CK 3054417 "How many push-ups can you do, Tom?" "I used to be able to do a hundred easily, but I wonder how many I can do now. Maybe 50 or so?" WestofEden 918603 Earlier, as I was walking down the sidewalk, a car drove by and splashed water on me. Look at this! My skirt and shoes are all muddy. CK 1988007 Since it will be cold soon, it might be nice to enjoy doing something outdoors the final few warm days we have before winter sets in. CK 3342574 Tom's parents told him that, though they didn't like Mary very much, they wouldn't stand in the way if he really wanted to marry her. patgfisher 2775321 "You dislike Tom, don't you?" "It's not that I dislike like him, it's just that I kind of have trouble dealing with people like him." CK 269211 A new study suggests that hospital records for patients older than 65 are often incorrect, which may lead to serious treatment errors. CM 881938 Blues singer and guitarist Robert Johnson would have been 100 years old on May 8th of 2011 if he hadn't died when he was 27 years old. CK 1334053 I got fired from the company, but since I have a little money saved up, for the time being, I won't have trouble with living expenses. CK 552260 In 1964, Roger Miller agreed to record sixteen songs. One of those songs was "Dang Me." It became his first number one selling record. American 3320537 Tom is reluctant to talk to his mother about her going into a nursing home because he knows she will be violently opposed to the idea. patgfisher 267040 Crashes in the early days of commercial jets tended to be caused by technical faults, such as metal fatigue in the airframe or engines. CM 2009243 One way to lower the number of errors in the Tatoeba Corpus would be to encourage people to only translate into their native languages. CK 277683 It wasn't my lucky day. First, I got a parking ticket and then things went from bad to worse when I got pulled over for making a U-turn. CM 52784 John and Cathy have different tastes and different characters. Trying to get them together is like putting a square peg in a round hole. CM 52462 Shinji found it very difficult to adjust himself to life in the new school. However, the fact that he was an EVA pilot made him popular. CM 1093792 Tom had the munchies, but since there was nothing in the house to eat, he went to the convenience store not too far from where he lived. CK 916639 Even though the media reports that she is a potential presidential candidate, does anyone really think that she is a potential president? CK 284423 He and I have a near-telepathic understanding of each other. No sooner does one of us say something than the other is already responding. CM 1334080 She has a boyfriend she's been going out with since high school, but she feels their relationship is in a rut, so she's become discontented. CM