26666 Although rainforests make up only two percent of the earth's surface, over half the world's wild plant, animal and insect species live there. Zifre 953968 In many countries, whenever a group of people from various language backgrounds get together, English is usually the language that is spoken. CK 591425 Mr. Gardner of the ABC Corporation is staying at the Marriott Hotel from February 20th to the 27th, and would like very much to meet with you. CK 1334078 She has a boyfriend she's been going out with since high school, but she feels their relationship has stagnated, so she's become dissatisfied. CM 953965 If you weren't exposed to a language until you were an adult, you are very, very unlikely to ever sound like a native speaker of that language. CK 1230823 If you translate from your second language into your own native language, rather than the other way around, you're less likely to make mistakes. CK 46734 The hand of the magician was quicker than our eyes. Before we could say Jack Robinson, the cards he was holding between his fingers disappeared. CM 263510 Winning the competition is important. However, fair play is more important. You need to understand that winning is not the most important thing. CK 953929 If a man wants to learn to sound like a native speaker of Japanese, he shouldn't only learn Japanese from women. The reverse is true for a woman. CK 30000 A good theory is characterized by the fact that it makes a number of predictions that could in principle be disproved or falsified by observation. CM 2278815 The more time you spend speaking a foreign language, the better you get at guessing what non-native speakers are trying to say in your own language. CK 273759 The National Center for Education Information says a predicted teacher shortage won't pan out because teachers who left the profession are returning. CM 35781 Irene Pepperberg, a researcher at Northwestern University, is discovering that a parrot can not only mimic people but also learn the meaning of words. CM 2950156 The police commissioner said that he would in no way, shape, or form discuss the details of the matter, as it was the subject of ongoing investigations. patgfisher 1232894 Midterm exams start next week. Just cramming the night before won't get you ready. There'll be a lot of tough questions. You should start studying today. CK 552247 Roger Miller's father died when he was only one year old and his mother became sick soon after, so he was sent to live with his uncle in Erick, Oklahoma. American 2518462 The people here are particular about what they eat, so even if a restaurant is inexpensive, it'll soon go out of business if the food doesn't taste good. CK 2033447 When we were in school, my best friend and I made our own secret code so we could write messages to each other without other people being able to read them. Chrikaru 2009244 One way to lower the number of errors in the Tatoeba Corpus would be to encourage people to only translate into their native languages instead of visa versa. CM 954773 You may not learn to speak as well as a native speaker, but you should be able to speak well enough that native speakers will understand what you have to say. CK 3037515 Tom threw rocks at Mary's window in the middle of the night to get her attention, but he ended up breaking her window instead and Mary's father called the cops. Hybrid 1230633 If a person has not had a chance to acquire his target language by the time he's an adult, he's unlikely to be able to reach native speaker level in that language. alec 897909 It's still too hard to find a job. And even if you have a job, chances are you're having a tougher time paying the rising costs of everything from groceries to gas. CK 1027257 Though Tom's English seems quite good at times, he doesn't seem to know his limitations and it's impossible to convince him that he's wrong when he makes a mistake. CK 953960 If you want to sound like a native speaker, it's easier if you choose one dialect and stick with it. Native speakers don't usually mix dialects in everyday speaking. CK 73247 Even at the end of the nineteenth century, sailors in the British Navy were not permitted to use knives and forks because using them was considered a sign of weakness. CM 2840514 One way to lower the number of errors in the Tatoeba Corpus would be to encourage people to only translate into their native languages instead of the other way around. CK 953944 If you can't visit a country where they speak the language you are learning, find a local bar where native speakers of that language hang out and start hanging out there. CK 241223 A building with high ceilings and huge rooms may be less practical than the colorless block of offices that takes its place, but it often fits in well with its surroundings. CM 912384 Five tremors in excess of magnitude 5.0 on the Richter scale have shaken Japan just this week, but scientists are warning that the largest expected aftershock has yet to hit. Source_VOA 62321 I may seem confident, but I get extremely nervous speaking in front of people. My hands tremble, I get all tongue-tied, and sometimes I don't even know what I'm saying myself. CM 954354 The more countries a language is spoken in, the less important it is to sound like a native speaker, since speakers of that language are accustomed to hearing various dialects. CK 939787 No matter how much you try to convince people that chocolate is vanilla, it'll still be chocolate, even though you may manage to convince yourself and a few others that it's vanilla. CK 2783162 A mistake young people often make is to start learning too many languages at the same time, as they underestimate the difficulties and overestimate their own ability to learn them. catcher 552259 In 1969, Roger Miller recorded a song called "You Don't Want My Love." Today, this song is better known as "In the Summer Time." It's the first song he wrote and sang that became popular. American 953070 A child who is a native speaker usually knows many things about his or her language that a non-native speaker who has been studying for years still does not know and perhaps will never know. CK 26395 The swimmer, Cindy Nicholas, barely made it ashore at Dover at the end of the exhausting swim, but a spokesman from the Channel Swimming Association announced that she was in very good shape. NekoKanjya 1338945 I do many things at the same time, so not only am I reading things by Akutagawa, I've also increased the amount of time I spend reading in English and I also read a little in German every day. CM 1141314 There are four main causes of alcohol-related death. Injury from car accidents or violence is one. Diseases like cirrhosis of the liver, cancer, heart and blood system diseases are the others. Source_VOA 347771 There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for their child's college education. CM 1863010 "Top-down economics never works," said Obama. "The country does not succeed when just those at the very top are doing well. We succeed when the middle class gets bigger, when it feels greater security." Source_VOA 1141316 A carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide pollution that we produce as a result of our activities. Some people try to reduce their carbon footprint because they are concerned about climate change. Source_VOA 1969892 Death is something that we're often discouraged to talk about or even think about, but I've realized that preparing for death is one of the most empowering things you can do. Thinking about death clarifies your life. davearms 954270 Since there are usually multiple websites on any given topic, I usually just click the back button when I arrive on any webpage that has pop-up advertising. I just go to the next page found by Google and hope for something less irritating. CK 953962 If you want to sound like a native speaker, you must be willing to practice saying the same sentence over and over in the same way that banjo players practice the same phrase over and over until they can play it correctly and at the desired tempo. CK 953936 If someone who doesn't know your background says that you sound like a native speaker, it means they probably noticed something about your speaking that made them realize you weren't a native speaker. In other words, you don't really sound like a native speaker. CK