The recording is your basic reference: use it all the time. Help yourself with the transcription. Ideally, you should read each step looking at the transcription rather than the text. The transcription is what you have to pronounce. You MUST NOT leave any sound out, so you have to be very careful to pronounce EVERY SOUND you see and hear. Linking words is essential: words ending in a consonant followed by words beginning with a vowel: He gets up at eleven “He get su pa televen “ Rythm is very important: stress only the words in YELLOW Consonat clusters: several consecutive consonants, as in THE STUDENT STARTED | ð ə ˈ stju ː dnt ˈ st ɑː t ɪ d | Be specially careful with: Vowels in general and LONG vowels in particular. Dypthongs The following consonant sounds in particular : ð v z ʃ ʒ j

I went to a great party last summer. My friend, Maggie, was leaving our town and moving abroad to live. So she had a leaving party, but she also came up with a really good theme – it was fancy dress, and everybody had to dress up as something beginning with the letter M. She chose the letter M, because it’s the first letter of her name. I thought it was a great idea, and people came dressed as all sorts of things – Mickey Mouse, Madonna, Medusa – I went as Marilyn Monroe. It was fun, but I didn’t particularly enjoy wearing lipstick or high heels. I don’t know how women do it all the time. The party was at Maggie’s house, but it was summer, so we were in the garden a lot of the time. The garden looked really beautiful. They had fairy lights in the trees and lots of mirrors, so that the lights were reflected, and it made the garden look much bigger. There must have been at least seventy people there. I think she invited everyone she knew. I didn’t know everybody, but it didn’t matter. The fancy dress was a perfect ice-breaker and everybody mixed really well. The food was great too – Maggie was moving to Thailand, so the food was Thai. She got the local Thai restaurant to do it, and it was delicious. We even had Thai beer to go with it. Maggie’s brother is a DJ, so the music was fantastic, and I danced a lot – without my heels on.

Read the following line. Follow the transcription and play the recording. Do it as many times as necessary till you think you are doing it as well as you possibly can. Do not go on to the next step till you are over with the present one. Pronounce ALL the sounds you hear and pronounce them FLUENTLY and with RHYTHM. I went to a great party last summer. My friend, Maggie, was leaving our town and moving abroad to live. | a ɪ went t ə ə ɡ re ɪ t ˈ p ɑː ti l ɑː st ˈ s ʌ m ə | ma ɪ frend | ˈ mæ ɡ i | w ə z ˈ li ː v ɪ ŋ ˈ a ʊ ə ta ʊ n ə nd ˈ mu ː v ɪ ŋ ə ˈ br ɔː d tu l ɪ v

Repeat step 2 with this new line: So she had a leaving party, but she also came up with a really good theme – it was fancy dress, and everybody had to dress up as something beginning with the letter M. s ə ʊ ʃ i h ə d ə ˈ li ː v ɪ ŋ ˈ p ɑː ti | b ə t ʃ i ˈɔː ls ə ʊ ke ɪ m ʌ p w ɪ ð ə ˈ r ɪ ə li ɡʊ d θi ː m ɪ t w ə z ˈ fænsi dres | ə nd ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di h ə d tu dres ʌ p ə z ˈ s ʌ mθ ɪ ŋ b ɪˈɡɪ n ɪ ŋ w ɪ ð ð ə ˈ let ə r em | ʃ i t ʃ ə ʊ z ð ə ˈ let ə r em

Now read the previous lines. Listen again, read the transcription and repeat to get a fluent pronunciation. I went to a great party last summer. My friend, Maggie, was leaving our town and moving abroad to live. So she had a leaving party, but she also came up with a really good theme – it was fancy dress, and everybody had to dress up as something beginning with the letter M. a ɪ went t ə ə ɡ re ɪ t ˈ p ɑː ti l ɑː st ˈ s ʌ m ə | ma ɪ frend | ˈ mæ ɡ i | w ə z ˈ li ː v ɪ ŋ ˈ a ʊ ə ta ʊ n ə nd ˈ mu ː v ɪ ŋ ə ˈ br ɔː d tu l ɪ v | s ə ʊ ʃ i h ə d ə ˈ li ː v ɪ ŋ ˈ p ɑː ti | b ə t ʃ i ˈɔː ls ə ʊ ke ɪ m ʌ p w ɪ ð ə ˈ r ɪ ə li ɡʊ d θi ː m ɪ t w ə z ˈ fænsi dres | ə nd ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di h ə d tu dres ʌ p ə z ˈ s ʌ mθ ɪ ŋ b ɪˈɡɪ n ɪ ŋ w ɪ ð ð ə ˈ let ə r em | ʃ i t ʃ ə ʊ z ð ə ˈ let ə r em

And so on… She chose the letter M, because it’s the first letter of her name. I thought it was a great idea, and people came dressed as all sorts of things – Mickey Mouse, Madonna, Medusa – I went as Marilyn Monroe. ʃ i t ʃ ə ʊ z ð ə ˈ let ə r em | b ɪˈ k ɒ z ɪ ts ð ə f ɜː st ˈ let ə r ə v h ə ne ɪ m | a ɪ θ ɔː t ɪ t w ə z ə ɡ re ɪ t a ɪˈ d ɪ ə | ə nd ˈ pi ː pl ̩ ke ɪ m drest ə z ɔː l s ɔː ts ə v θ ɪ ŋz – ˈ m ɪ ki ma ʊ s | m ə ˈ d ɒ n ə | m ə ˈ du ː s ə a ɪ went ə z ˈ mær ɪ l ɪ n m ə n ˈ r ə ʊ ˈ

I went to a great party last summer. My friend, Maggie, was leaving our town and moving abroad to live. So she had a leaving party, but she also came up with a really good theme – it was fancy dress, and everybody had to dress up as something beginning with the letter M. She chose the letter M, because it’s the first letter of her name. I thought it was a great idea, and people came dressed as all sorts of things – Mickey Mouse, Madonna, Medusa – I went as Marilyn Monroe. a ɪ went t ə ə ɡ re ɪ t ˈ p ɑː ti l ɑː st ˈ s ʌ m ə | ma ɪ frend | ˈ mæ ɡ i | w ə z ˈ li ː v ɪ ŋ ˈ a ʊ ə ta ʊ n ə nd ˈ mu ː v ɪ ŋ ə ˈ br ɔː d tu l ɪ v | s ə ʊ ʃ i h ə d ə ˈ li ː v ɪ ŋ ˈ p ɑː ti | b ə t ʃ i ˈɔː ls ə ʊ ke ɪ m ʌ p w ɪ ð ə ˈ r ɪ ə li ɡʊ d θi ː m ɪ t w ə z ˈ fænsi dres | ə nd ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di h ə d tu dres ʌ p ə z ˈ s ʌ mθ ɪ ŋ b ɪˈɡɪ n ɪ ŋ w ɪ ð ð ə ˈ let ə r em | ʃ i t ʃ ə ʊ z ð ə ˈ let ə r em | b ɪˈ k ɒ z ɪ ts ð ə f ɜː st ˈ let ə r ə v h ə ne ɪ m | a ɪ θ ɔː t ɪ t w ə z ə ɡ re ɪ t a ɪˈ d ɪ ə | ə nd ˈ pi ː pl ̩ ke ɪ m drest ə z ɔː l s ɔː ts ə v θ ɪ ŋz – ˈ m ɪ ki ma ʊ s | m ə ˈ d ɒ n ə | m ə ˈ du ː s ə a ɪ went ə z ˈ mær ɪ l ɪ n m ə n ˈ r ə ʊ |

It was fun, but I didn’t particularly enjoy wearing lipstick or high heels. I don’t know how women do it all the time. ɪ t w ə z f ʌ n | b ə t a ɪ ˈ d ɪ dnt p ə ˈ t ɪ kj ʊ l ə li ɪ n ˈ d ʒ o ɪ ˈ we ə r ɪ ŋ ˈ l ɪ pst ɪ k ɔː ha ɪ hi ː lz | a ɪ d ə ʊ nt n ə ʊ ha ʊ ˈ w ɪ m ɪ n d ə ɪ t ɔː l ð ə ta ɪ m

I went to a great party last summer. My friend, Maggie, was leaving our town and moving abroad to live. So she had a leaving party, but she also came up with a really good theme – it was fancy dress, and everybody had to dress up as something beginning with the letter M. She chose the letter M, because it’s the first letter of her name. I thought it was a great idea, and people came dressed as all sorts of things – Mickey Mouse, Madonna, Medusa – I went as Marilyn Monroe. It was fun, but I didn’t particularly enjoy wearing lipstick or high heels. I don’t know how women do it all the time. | a ɪ went t ə ə ɡ re ɪ t ˈ p ɑː ti l ɑː st ˈ s ʌ m ə | ma ɪ frend | ˈ mæ ɡ i | w ə z ˈ li ː v ɪ ŋ ˈ a ʊ ə ta ʊ n ə nd ˈ mu ː v ɪ ŋ ə ˈ br ɔː d tu l ɪ v | s ə ʊ ʃ i h ə d ə ˈ li ː v ɪ ŋ ˈ p ɑː ti | b ə t ʃ i ˈɔː ls ə ʊ ke ɪ m ʌ p w ɪ ð ə ˈ r ɪ ə li ɡʊ d θi ː m ɪ t w ə z ˈ fænsi dres | ə nd ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di h ə d tu dres ʌ p ə z ˈ s ʌ mθ ɪ ŋ b ɪˈɡɪ n ɪ ŋ w ɪ ð ð ə ˈ let ə r em | ʃ i t ʃ ə ʊ z ð ə ˈ let ə r em | b ɪˈ k ɒ z ɪ ts ð ə f ɜː st ˈ let ə r ə v h ə ne ɪ m | a ɪ θ ɔː t ɪ t w ə z ə ɡ re ɪ t a ɪˈ d ɪ ə | ə nd ˈ pi ː pl ̩ ke ɪ m drest ə z ɔː l s ɔː ts ə v θ ɪ ŋz – ˈ m ɪ ki ma ʊ s | m ə ˈ d ɒ n ə | m ə ˈ du ː s ə a ɪ went ə z ˈ mær ɪ l ɪ n m ə n ˈ r ə ʊ | ɪ t w ə z f ʌ n | b ə t a ɪ ˈ d ɪ dnt p ə ˈ t ɪ kj ʊ l ə li ɪ n ˈ d ʒ o ɪ ˈ we ə r ɪ ŋ ˈ l ɪ pst ɪ k ɔː ha ɪ hi ː lz | a ɪ d ə ʊ nt n ə ʊ ha ʊ ˈ w ɪ m ɪ n d ə ɪ t ɔː l ð ə ta ɪ m |

The party was at Maggie’s house, but it was summer, so we were in the garden a lot of the time. | ð ə ˈ p ɑː ti w ə z ə t ˈ mæ ɡ iz ha ʊ z | b ə t ɪ t w ə z ˈ s ʌ m ə | s ə ʊ wi w ə r ɪ n ð ə ˈɡɑː dn ̩ ə l ɒ t ə v ð ə ta ɪ m

I went to a great party last summer. My friend, Maggie, was leaving our town and moving abroad to live. So she had a leaving party, but she also came up with a really good theme – it was fancy dress, and everybody had to dress up as something beginning with the letter M. She chose the letter M, because it’s the first letter of her name. I thought it was a great idea, and people came dressed as all sorts of things – Mickey Mouse, Madonna, Medusa – I went as Marilyn Monroe. It was fun, but I didn’t particularly enjoy wearing lipstick or high heels. I don’t know how women do it all the time. The party was at Maggie’s house, but it was summer, so we were in the garden a lot of the time. | a ɪ went t ə ə ɡ re ɪ t ˈ p ɑː ti l ɑː st ˈ s ʌ m ə | ma ɪ frend | ˈ mæ ɡ i | w ə z ˈ li ː v ɪ ŋ ˈ a ʊ ə ta ʊ n ə nd ˈ mu ː v ɪ ŋ ə ˈ br ɔː d tu l ɪ v | s ə ʊ ʃ i h ə d ə ˈ li ː v ɪ ŋ ˈ p ɑː ti | b ə t ʃ i ˈɔː ls ə ʊ ke ɪ m ʌ p w ɪ ð ə ˈ r ɪ ə li ɡʊ d θi ː m ɪ t w ə z ˈ fænsi dres | ə nd ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di h ə d tu dres ʌ p ə z ˈ s ʌ mθ ɪ ŋ b ɪˈɡɪ n ɪ ŋ w ɪ ð ð ə ˈ let ə r em | ʃ i t ʃ ə ʊ z ð ə ˈ let ə r em | b ɪˈ k ɒ z ɪ ts ð ə f ɜː st ˈ let ə r ə v h ə ne ɪ m | a ɪ θ ɔː t ɪ t w ə z ə ɡ re ɪ t a ɪˈ d ɪ ə | ə nd ˈ pi ː pl ̩ ke ɪ m drest ə z ɔː l s ɔː ts ə v θ ɪ ŋz – ˈ m ɪ ki ma ʊ s | m ə ˈ d ɒ n ə | m ə ˈ du ː s ə a ɪ went ə z ˈ mær ɪ l ɪ n m ə n ˈ r ə ʊ | ɪ t w ə z f ʌ n | b ə t a ɪ ˈ d ɪ dnt p ə ˈ t ɪ kj ʊ l ə li ɪ n ˈ d ʒ o ɪ ˈ we ə r ɪ ŋ ˈ l ɪ pst ɪ k ɔː ha ɪ hi ː lz | a ɪ d ə ʊ nt n ə ʊ ha ʊ ˈ w ɪ m ɪ n d ə ɪ t ɔː l ð ə ta ɪ m | ð ə ˈ p ɑː ti w ə z ə t ˈ mæ ɡ iz ha ʊ z | b ə t ɪ t w ə z ˈ s ʌ m ə | s ə ʊ wi w ə r ɪ n ð ə ˈɡɑː dn ̩ ə l ɒ t ə v ð ə ta ɪ m

The garden looked really beautiful. They had fairy lights in the trees and lots of mirrors, so that the lights were reflected, and it made the garden look much bigger. | ð ə ˈɡɑː dn ̩ l ʊ kt ˈ r ɪ ə li ˈ bju ː t ə fl ̩ | ðe ɪ h ə d ˈ fe ə ri la ɪ ts ɪ n ð ə tri ː z ə nd l ɒ ts ə v ˈ m ɪ r ə z | s ə ʊ ð ə t ð ə la ɪ ts w ə r ɪˈ flekt ɪ d | ə nd ɪ t me ɪ d ð ə ˈɡɑː dn ̩ l ʊ k m ʌ t ʃ ˈ b ɪɡ ə |

I went to a great party last summer. My friend, Maggie, was leaving our town and moving abroad to live. So she had a leaving party, but she also came up with a really good theme – it was fancy dress, and everybody had to dress up as something beginning with the letter M. She chose the letter M, because it’s the first letter of her name. I thought it was a great idea, and people came dressed as all sorts of things – Mickey Mouse, Madonna, Medusa – I went as Marilyn Monroe. It was fun, but I didn’t particularly enjoy wearing lipstick or high heels. I don’t know how women do it all the time. The party was at Maggie’s house, but it was summer, so we were in the garden a lot of the time. The garden looked really beautiful. They had fairy lights in the trees and lots of mirrors, so that the lights were reflected, and it made the garden look much bigger. a ɪ went t ə ə ɡ re ɪ t ˈ p ɑː ti l ɑː st ˈ s ʌ m ə | ma ɪ frend | ˈ mæ ɡ i | w ə z ˈ li ː v ɪ ŋ ˈ a ʊ ə ta ʊ n ə nd ˈ mu ː v ɪ ŋ ə ˈ br ɔː d tu l ɪ v | s ə ʊ ʃ i h ə d ə ˈ li ː v ɪ ŋ ˈ p ɑː ti | b ə t ʃ i ˈɔː ls ə ʊ ke ɪ m ʌ p w ɪ ð ə ˈ r ɪ ə li ɡʊ d θi ː m ɪ t w ə z ˈ fænsi dres | ə nd ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di h ə d tu dres ʌ p ə z ˈ s ʌ mθ ɪ ŋ b ɪˈɡɪ n ɪ ŋ w ɪ ð ð ə ˈ let ə r em | ʃ i t ʃ ə ʊ z ð ə ˈ let ə r em | b ɪˈ k ɒ z ɪ ts ð ə f ɜː st ˈ let ə r ə v h ə ne ɪ m | a ɪ θ ɔː t ɪ t w ə z ə ɡ re ɪ t a ɪˈ d ɪ ə | ə nd ˈ pi ː pl ̩ ke ɪ m drest ə z ɔː l s ɔː ts ə v θ ɪ ŋz – ˈ m ɪ ki ma ʊ s | m ə ˈ d ɒ n ə | m ə ˈ du ː s ə a ɪ went ə z ˈ mær ɪ l ɪ n m ə n ˈ r ə ʊ | ɪ t w ə z f ʌ n | b ə t a ɪ ˈ d ɪ dnt p ə ˈ t ɪ kj ʊ l ə li ɪ n ˈ d ʒ o ɪ ˈ we ə r ɪ ŋ ˈ l ɪ pst ɪ k ɔː ha ɪ hi ː lz | a ɪ d ə ʊ nt n ə ʊ ha ʊ ˈ w ɪ m ɪ n d ə ɪ t ɔː l ð ə ta ɪ m | ð ə ˈ p ɑː ti w ə z ə t ˈ mæ ɡ iz ha ʊ z | b ə t ɪ t w ə z ˈ s ʌ m ə | s ə ʊ wi w ə r ɪ n ð ə ˈɡɑː dn ̩ ə l ɒ t ə v ð ə ta ɪ m | ð ə ˈɡɑː dn ̩ l ʊ kt ˈ r ɪ ə li ˈ bju ː t ə fl ̩ | ðe ɪ h ə d ˈ fe ə ri la ɪ ts ɪ n ð ə tri ː z ə nd l ɒ ts ə v ˈ m ɪ r ə z | s ə ʊ ð ə t ð ə la ɪ ts w ə r ɪˈ flekt ɪ d | ə nd ɪ t me ɪ d ð ə ˈɡɑː dn ̩ l ʊ k m ʌ t ʃ ˈ b ɪɡ ə |

There must have been at least seventy people there. I think she invited everyone she knew. | ð ə m ə st ə v bi ː n ə t li ː st ˈ sevnti ˈ pi ː pl ̩ ðe ə | a ɪ θ ɪ ŋk ʃ i ɪ n ˈ va ɪ t ɪ d ˈ evr ɪ w ʌ n ʃ i nju ː |

I didn’t know everybody, but it didn’t matter. The fancy dress was a perfect ice-breaker and everybody mixed really well. | a ɪ ˈ d ɪ dnt n ə ʊ ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di | b ə t ɪ t ˈ d ɪ dnt ˈ mæt ə | ð ə ˈ fænsi dres w ə z ə ˈ p ɜː f ɪ kt ˈ a ɪ sbre ɪ k ə ə nd ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di m ɪ kst ˈ r ɪ ə li wel |

There must have been at least seventy people there. I think she invited everyone she knew. I didn’t know everybody, but it didn’t matter. The fancy dress was a perfect ice- breaker and everybody mixed really well. ð ə m ə st h ə v bi ː n ə t li ː st ˈ sevnti ˈ pi ː pl ̩ ðe ə | a ɪ θ ɪ ŋk ʃ i ɪ n ˈ va ɪ t ɪ d ˈ evr ɪ w ʌ n ʃ i nju ː | a ɪ ˈ d ɪ dnt n ə ʊ ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di | b ə t ɪ t ˈ d ɪ dnt ˈ mæt ə | ð ə ˈ fænsi dres w ə z ə ˈ p ɜː f ɪ kt ˈ a ɪ sbre ɪ k ə ə nd ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di m ɪ kst ˈ r ɪ ə li wel

The food was great too – Maggie was moving to Thailand, so the food was Thai. ð ə fu ː d w ə z ɡ re ɪ t tu ː ˈ mæ ɡ i w ə z ˈ mu ː v ɪ ŋ tu ˈ ta ɪ lænd | s ə ʊ ð ə fu ː d w ə z ta ɪ

There must have been at least seventy people there. I think she invited everyone she knew. I didn’t know everybody, but it didn’t matter. The fancy dress was a perfect ice- breaker and everybody mixed really well. The food was great too – Maggie was moving to Thailand, so the food was Thai. ð ə m ə st h ə v bi ː n ə t li ː st ˈ sevnti ˈ pi ː pl ̩ ðe ə | a ɪ θ ɪ ŋk ʃ i ɪ n ˈ va ɪ t ɪ d ˈ evr ɪ w ʌ n ʃ i nju ː | a ɪ ˈ d ɪ dnt n ə ʊ ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di | b ə t ɪ t ˈ d ɪ dnt ˈ mæt ə | ð ə ˈ fænsi dres w ə z ə ˈ p ɜː f ɪ kt ˈ a ɪ sbre ɪ k ə ə nd ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di m ɪ kst ˈ r ɪ ə li wel | ð ə fu ː d w ə z ɡ re ɪ t tu ː ˈ mæ ɡ i w ə z ˈ mu ː v ɪ ŋ tu ˈ ta ɪ lænd | s ə ʊ ð ə fu ː d w ə z ta ɪ

She got the local Thai restaurant to do it, and it was delicious. We even had Thai beer to go with it. | ʃ i ɡɒ t ð ə ˈ l ə ʊ kl ̩ ta ɪ ˈ restr ɒ nt t ə d ə ɪ t | ə nd ɪ t w ə z d ɪˈ l ɪʃ ə s | wi ˈ i ː vn ̩ hæd ta ɪ b ɪ ə tu ɡ ə ʊ w ɪ ð ɪ t

There must have been at least seventy people there. I think she invited everyone she knew. I didn’t know everybody, but it didn’t matter. The fancy dress was a perfect ice- breaker and everybody mixed really well. The food was great too – Maggie was moving to Thailand, so the food was Thai. She got the local Thai restaurant to do it, and it was delicious. We even had Thai beer to go with it. ð ə m ə st h ə v bi ː n ə t li ː st ˈ sevnti ˈ pi ː pl ̩ ðe ə | a ɪ θ ɪ ŋk ʃ i ɪ n ˈ va ɪ t ɪ d ˈ evr ɪ w ʌ n ʃ i nju ː | a ɪ ˈ d ɪ dnt n ə ʊ ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di | b ə t ɪ t ˈ d ɪ dnt ˈ mæt ə | ð ə ˈ fænsi dres w ə z ə ˈ p ɜː f ɪ kt ˈ a ɪ sbre ɪ k ə ə nd ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di m ɪ kst ˈ r ɪ ə li wel | ð ə fu ː d w ə z ɡ re ɪ t tu ː ˈ mæ ɡ i w ə z ˈ mu ː v ɪ ŋ tu ˈ ta ɪ lænd | s ə ʊ ð ə fu ː d w ə z ta ɪ | ʃ i ɡɒ t ð ə ˈ l ə ʊ kl ̩ ta ɪ ˈ restr ɒ nt t ə d ə ɪ t | ə nd ɪ t w ə z d ɪˈ l ɪʃ ə s | wi ˈ i ː vn ̩ hæd ta ɪ b ɪ ə tu ɡ ə ʊ w ɪ ð ɪ t

Maggie’s brother is a DJ, so the music was fantastic, and I danced a lot – without my heels on. | ˈ mæ ɡ iz ˈ br ʌ ð ə z ə ˌ di ːˈ d ʒ e ɪ | s ə ʊ ð ə ˈ mju ː z ɪ k w ə z fæn ˈ tæst ɪ k | ə nd a ɪ d ɑː nst ə l ɒ t w ɪ ð ˈ a ʊ t ma ɪ hi ː lz ɒ n

There must have been at least seventy people there. I think she invited everyone she knew. I didn’t know everybody, but it didn’t matter. The fancy dress was a perfect ice- breaker and everybody mixed really well. The food was great too – Maggie was moving to Thailand, so the food was Thai. She got the local Thai restaurant to do it, and it was delicious. We even had Thai beer to go with it. Maggie’s brother is a DJ, so the music was fantastic, and I danced a lot – without my heels on. ð ə m ə st h ə v bi ː n ə t li ː st ˈ sevnti ˈ pi ː pl ̩ ðe ə | a ɪ θ ɪ ŋk ʃ i ɪ n ˈ va ɪ t ɪ d ˈ evr ɪ w ʌ n ʃ i nju ː | a ɪ ˈ d ɪ dnt n ə ʊ ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di | b ə t ɪ t ˈ d ɪ dnt ˈ mæt ə | ð ə ˈ fænsi dres w ə z ə ˈ p ɜː f ɪ kt ˈ a ɪ sbre ɪ k ə ə nd ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di m ɪ kst ˈ r ɪ ə li wel | ð ə fu ː d w ə z ɡ re ɪ t tu ː ˈ mæ ɡ i w ə z ˈ mu ː v ɪ ŋ tu ˈ ta ɪ lænd | s ə ʊ ð ə fu ː d w ə z ta ɪ | ʃ i ɡɒ t ð ə ˈ l ə ʊ kl ̩ ta ɪ ˈ restr ɒ nt t ə d ə ɪ t | ə nd ɪ t w ə z d ɪˈ l ɪʃ ə s | wi ˈ i ː vn ̩ hæd ta ɪ b ɪ ə tu ɡ ə ʊ w ɪ ð ɪ t | ˈ mæ ɡ iz ˈ br ʌ ð ə z ə ˌ di ːˈ d ʒ e ɪ | s ə ʊ ð ə ˈ mju ː z ɪ k w ə z fæn ˈ tæst ɪ k | ə nd a ɪ d ɑː nst ə l ɒ t w ɪ ð ˈ a ʊ t ma ɪ hi ː lz ɒ n |

| a ɪ went t ə ə ɡ re ɪ t ˈ p ɑː ti l ɑː st ˈ s ʌ m ə | ma ɪ frend | ˈ mæ ɡ i | w ə z ˈ li ː v ɪ ŋ ˈ a ʊ ə ta ʊ n ə nd ˈ mu ː v ɪ ŋ ə ˈ br ɔː d tu l ɪ v | s ə ʊ ʃ i h ə d ə ˈ li ː v ɪ ŋ ˈ p ɑː ti | b ə t ʃ i ˈɔː ls ə ʊ ke ɪ m ʌ p w ɪ ð ə ˈ r ɪ ə li ɡʊ d θi ː m ɪ t w ə z ˈ fænsi dres | ə nd ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di h ə d tu dres ʌ p ə z ˈ s ʌ mθ ɪ ŋ b ɪˈɡɪ n ɪ ŋ w ɪ ð ð ə ˈ let ə r em | ʃ i t ʃ ə ʊ z ð ə ˈ let ə r em | b ɪˈ k ɒ z ɪ ts ð ə f ɜː st ˈ let ə r ə v h ə ne ɪ m | a ɪ θ ɔː t ɪ t w ə z ə ɡ re ɪ t a ɪˈ d ɪ ə | ə nd ˈ pi ː pl ̩ ke ɪ m drest ə z ɔː l s ɔː ts ə v θ ɪ ŋz – ˈ m ɪ ki ma ʊ s | m ə ˈ d ɒ n ə | m ə ˈ du ː s ə a ɪ went ə z ˈ mær ɪ l ɪ n m ə n ˈ r ə ʊ | ɪ t w ə z f ʌ n | b ə t a ɪ ˈ d ɪ dnt p ə ˈ t ɪ kj ʊ l ə li ɪ n ˈ d ʒ o ɪ ˈ we ə r ɪ ŋ ˈ l ɪ pst ɪ k ɔː ha ɪ hi ː lz | a ɪ d ə ʊ nt n ə ʊ ha ʊ ˈ w ɪ m ɪ n d ə ɪ t ɔː l ð ə ta ɪ m | ð ə ˈ p ɑː ti w ə z ə t ˈ mæ ɡ iz ha ʊ z | b ə t ɪ t w ə z ˈ s ʌ m ə | s ə ʊ wi w ə r ɪ n ð ə ˈɡɑː dn ̩ ə l ɒ t ə v ð ə ta ɪ m | ð ə ˈɡɑː dn ̩ l ʊ kt ˈ r ɪ ə li ˈ bju ː t ə fl ̩ | ðe ɪ h ə d ˈ fe ə ri la ɪ ts ɪ n ð ə tri ː z ə nd l ɒ ts ə v ˈ m ɪ r ə z | s ə ʊ ð ə t ð ə la ɪ ts w ə r ɪˈ flekt ɪ d | ə nd ɪ t me ɪ d ð ə ˈɡɑː dn ̩ l ʊ k m ʌ t ʃ ˈ b ɪɡ ə | | ð ə m ə st h ə v bi ː n ə t li ː st ˈ sevnti ˈ pi ː pl ̩ ðe ə | a ɪ θ ɪ ŋk ʃ i ɪ n ˈ va ɪ t ɪ d ˈ evr ɪ w ʌ n ʃ i nju ː | a ɪ ˈ d ɪ dnt n ə ʊ ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di | b ə t ɪ t ˈ d ɪ dnt ˈ mæt ə | ð ə ˈ fænsi dres w ə z ə ˈ p ɜː f ɪ kt ˈ a ɪ sbre ɪ k ə ə nd ˈ evr ɪ b ɒ di m ɪ kst ˈ r ɪ ə li wel | ð ə fu ː d w ə z ɡ re ɪ t tu ː ˈ mæ ɡ i w ə z ˈ mu ː v ɪ ŋ tu ˈ ta ɪ lænd | s ə ʊ ð ə fu ː d w ə z ta ɪ | ʃ i ɡɒ t ð ə ˈ l ə ʊ kl ̩ ta ɪ ˈ restr ɒ nt t ə d ə ɪ t | ə nd ɪ t w ə z d ɪˈ l ɪʃ ə s | wi ˈ i ː vn ̩ hæd ta ɪ b ɪ ə tu ɡ ə ʊ w ɪ ð ɪ t | ˈ mæ ɡ iz ˈ br ʌ ð ə z ə ˌ di ːˈ d ʒ e ɪ | s ə ʊ ð ə ˈ mju ː z ɪ k w ə z fæn ˈ tæst ɪ k | ə nd a ɪ d ɑː nst ə l ɒ t w ɪ ð ˈ a ʊ t ma ɪ hi ː lz ɒ n |

I went to a great party last summer. My friend, Maggie, was leaving our town and moving abroad to live. So she had a leaving party, but she also came up with a really good theme – it was fancy dress, and everybody had to dress up as something beginning with the letter M. She chose the letter M, because it’s the first letter of her name. I thought it was a great idea, and people came dressed as all sorts of things – Mickey Mouse, Madonna, Medusa – I went as Marilyn Monroe. It was fun, but I didn’t particularly enjoy wearing lipstick or high heels. I don’t know how women do it all the time. The party was at Maggie’s house, but it was summer, so we were in the garden a lot of the time. The garden looked really beautiful. They had fairy lights in the trees and lots of mirrors, so that the lights were reflected, and it made the garden look much bigger. There must have been at least seventy people there. I think she invited everyone she knew. I didn’t know everybody, but it didn’t matter. The fancy dress was a perfect ice-breaker and everybody mixed really well. The food was great too – Maggie was moving to Thailand, so the food was Thai. She got the local Thai restaurant to do it, and it was delicious. We even had Thai beer to go with it. Maggie’s brother is a DJ, so the music was fantastic, and I danced a lot – without my heels on.