T&N – Unit 1 – Lesson 5 – The Metric System IPA

/ðə ˈmetrɪk ˈsɪstɪm/

People all over the world use kilograms, centimeters, square meters,
liters, and Celsius (C).
ˈpiːpl ɔːl ˈəʊvə ðə wɜːld juːs ˈkɪləʊgræmz ˈsentɪmiːtəz skweə ˈmiːtəz ˈliːtəz
ənd ˈselsjəs/
These are all ways to measure things.
/ðiːz ə ɔːl ˈweɪz tə ˈmeʒə θɪŋz/
They are all part of the metric system.
/ðeɪ ə ɔːl pɑːt əv ðə ˈmetrɪk ˈsɪstɪm/
During the French Revolution (1789-1799) against the king, the
revolutionary government started the metric system.
/ˈdjʊərɪŋ ðə frenʧ revəˈluːʃən (sevnˈtiːn ˈeɪti naɪn tə sevnˈtiːn ˈnaɪnti naɪn) ə
ˈgenst ðə kɪŋ, ðə revəˈluːʃnərɪ ˈgʌvnmənt ˈstɑːtɪd ðə ˈmetrɪk ˈsɪstɪm/
Before that, every part of France had a different system for measuring
things.
/bɪˈfɔː ðæt ˈevrɪ pɑːt əv frɑːns həd ə ˈdɪfrənt ˈsɪstɪm fə ˈmeʒəɪŋ θɪŋz/
Also, cloth makers measured cloth with one system.
/ˈɔːlsəʊ klɒθ ˈmeɪkəz ˈmeʒəd klɒθ wɪð wʌn ˈsɪstɪm/
Jewelers used another system of measurement.
/ˈʤuːəlz juːst əˈnʌðə ˈsɪstɪm əv ˈmeʒəmənt/
They asked a group of scientists and mathematicians to invent a
system.
/ðeɪ ɑːskt ə gruːp əv ˈsaɪəntɪsts ənd mæθɪməˈtɪʃənz tʊ ɪnˈvent ə ˈsɪstɪm/
The mathematicians and scientists decided to use the numbers ten,
hundred, and thousand for their system.
/ðə mæθɪməˈtɪʃənz ənd ˈsaɪəntɪsts dɪˈsaɪdɪd tə juːs ðə ˈnʌmbəz ten
ˈhʌndrəd ənd ˈθaʊzənd fə ðeə ˈsɪstɪm/
Next they had to decide on a “natural” length.
/nekst ðeɪ həd tə dɪˈsaɪd ɒn ə ˈnæʧrəl leŋθ/
They chose one ten-millionth (1/10,000,000) of the distance from the
Equator to the North Pole.
/ðeɪ ʧəʊz wʌn ten ˈmɪlɪənθ əv ðə ˈdɪstəns frɒm ðiː ɪˈkweɪtə tə ðə nɔːθ pəʊl/
They called this one meter.
/ðeɪ kɔːld ðɪs wʌn ˈmiːtə/
Then they chose one gram for weighing things.
/ðen ðeɪ ʧəʊz wʌn græm fə ˈweɪɪŋ θɪŋz/
A cubic centimeter of water weighs one gram.
/ə ˈkjuːbɪk ˈsentɪmiːtə əv ˈwɔːtə ˈweɪz wʌn græm/
Mathematicians and scientists worked on these problems for twenty
years until they finally finished the complete system.
/mæθɪməˈtɪʃənz ənd ˈsaɪəntɪsts wɜːkt ɒn ðiːz ˈprɒbləmz fə ˈtwentɪ jɪəz ənˈtɪl
ðeɪ ˈfaɪnəlɪ ˈfɪnɪʃt ðə kəmˈpliːt ˈsɪstɪm/
The biggest problem was measuring the meter.
/ðə ˈbɪgɪst ˈprɒbləm wəz ˈmeʒəɪŋ ðə ˈmiːtə/
The metric system was a wonderful gift to the world.
/ðə ˈmetrɪk ˈsɪstɪm wəz ə ˈwʌndəfʊl gɪft tə ðə wɜːld/
There are only a few countries that don’t use it.
/ðeə ə ˈəʊnlɪ ə fjuː ˈkʌntrɪz ðæt dəʊnt juːs ɪt/
The United States is one.
/ðə ˈjʊˈnaɪtɪd steɪts ɪz wʌn/
The metric system is truly an international system.
/ðə ˈmetrɪk ˈsɪstɪm ɪz ˈtruːlɪ ən ɪntəˈnæʃənl ˈsɪstɪm/