Focused listening library
Received Pronunciation listening
Find lessons from the original Received Pronunciation collection. The accent label beside each clip describes its current recording.
Vain meaning: pride and failed efforts
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Vulnerable: Meaning and Everyday Use
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Whatever or what ever: choosing the right form
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When it comes to
Your friend is generally relaxed, but money makes her extremely careful. You want to narrow a broad description to that one particular subject.
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Who or Whom: Choose with Confidence
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Word of mouth
A tiny café buys no advertisements, yet every table is full because customers keep recommending it to friends and colleagues.
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Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely: How to Choose
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Zeal meaning: Energetic Commitment to Goals
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apathetic meaning: unconcerned or indifferent
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austere meaning: strict, plain, and serious
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benevolent meaning: kind people and actions
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disposition meaning: character and tendency
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paradox meaning: clear everyday examples
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perception meaning: understanding daily impressions
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poignant meaning: touching and sad moments
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prudent meaning: wise future choices
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schadenfreude: pleasure at someone's misfortune
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serendipity meaning: lucky chance discoveries
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A matter of time
A new café is already popular, and you are confident it will need a bigger space, but you do not know when. Which phrase expresses that expectation?
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A mean streak
A usually charming colleague sometimes humiliates people for amusement. Which phrase describes that unkind side of the person's character?
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A mixed blessing
Working from home saves your commute but makes you feel isolated. Which phrase captures the benefit and drawback together?
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A short fuse
A colleague becomes furious over tiny delays that most people barely notice. Which phrase describes this tendency to anger quickly?
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Keep a low profile
After an embarrassing mistake, a colleague avoids interviews and public events for a while. Which phrase describes this deliberate lack of attention?
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Last-ditch effort
Several repairs have failed, and one final solution must work before the building closes. How can you describe that desperate final attempt?
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How this practice helps
This is the original Received Pronunciation collection. The name identifies the historical grouping, not a promise about every current voice.
Check the player’s accent label. Treat each recording as one speaker’s pronunciation, not a rule for how everyone should sound.
