Practice Stories for Pronunciation

These short stories are designed to help you practice your pronunciation. Each story includes an audio recording and a list of vocabulary words to focus on.

Never Give Up​

Key Vocabulary: crash, courage, pilot, huddle, rescue, treacherous, freeze to death, stick, slide, give up

An Unknown Sacrifice​

Key Vocabulary: Spring Break, drawbridge, stare in awe, machinery, gears and wheels, crush, sacrifice

A Present for Peter​

Key Vocabulary: petrified wood, expression, urgent, firm, inquisitive, disgusted, elated, annoyed, sly, upset, concerned, comforting, curious

An Appointment with Love​

Key Vocabulary: uniform, hold, used, to one's surprise, plain, feel sorry for sb, appointment, Ma'am, confused, test

Mother and Daughter​

Key Vocabulary: sound, throat, besides...what else, cucumber, cooking oil, flour, at all

Mother Gets Sick​

Key Vocabulary: take a nap, shake one's head, yell, broom, depressed, drop, annoyed, a mess

Mrs. Proctor Goes to the Doctor​

Key Vocabulary: stethoscope, breathe in, hammer, ankle, knee, shoulder, elbow, wrist, knuckle, That's the way life is, grow older

The Bag of Chocolates​

Key Vocabulary: postcards, Chicago, vending machine, criminal, ignore, furious, take sth back, throw sth away, mentally ill, purse, astonished

The Job Interview​

Key Vocabulary: job interview, nervous, take a seat/have a seat, glance, cookie, offer, polite, imagine, complain, wonder, shortly

The Job Application​

Key Vocabulary: telegraph, advertisement, Morse code operator, apply, application, applicant, fill out, background, employer, grumble, interview

Twin Boys​

Key Vocabulary: identical twins, judge, criminal, recognize, go easy on somebody, sentence somebody to death, jail cell, fair, switch, elated, shot

The Gift​

Key Vocabulary: cent, sob, possession, platinum, chain, leather, curl, disapproval, terrified, to have someone going, hysterical, jeweled