English Phonetics III Phonetic dictations

2018

DICTATION 1. SITTING FOR AN EXAM

Write down in phonetic script what the speaker says. You will hear the text divided by
pauses. Try to write during each pause; the recording will not be played back; if you cannot
write everything, leave a space to complete in the next listening. After you finish, you have
three minutes to if what you have written makes sense.

  Checking. The text has 65 words, the passing mark is 75%, that is no more than
16 mistakes.

DICTATION 2. A SHAKY LANDING

Write down in phonetic script what the speaker says. You will hear the text divided by
pauses. Try to write during each pause; the recording will not be played back; if you cannot
write everything, leave a space to complete in the next listening. After you finish, you have
three minutes to if what you have written makes sense.

  Checking. The text has 60 words, the passing mark is 75%, that is no more than
15 mistakes.

DICTATION 3. THE ROOM WE SHARED

Write down in phonetic script what the speaker says. You will hear the text divided by
pauses. Try to write during each pause; the recording will not be played back; if you cannot
write everything, leave a space to complete in the next listening. After you finish, you have
three minutes to if what you have written makes sense.

  Checking. The text has 66 words, the passing mark is 75%, that is no more than
16 mistakes.

DICTATION 4. AN AUSTRALIAN WOMAN

Write down in phonetic script what the speaker says. You will hear the text divided by
pauses. Try to write during each pause; the recording will not be played back; if you cannot
write everything, leave a space to complete in the next listening. After you finish, you have
three minutes to if what you have written makes sense.
  Checking. The text has 106 words, the passing mark is 75%, that is no more than
26 mistakes.
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English Phonetics III Phonetic dictations
2018

DICTATION 5. HICCUPS
Write down in phonetic script what the speaker says. You will hear the text divided by
pauses. Try to write during each pause; the recording will not be played back; if you cannot
write everything, leave a space to complete in the next listening. After you finish, you have
three minutes to if what you have written makes sense.

  Checking. The text has 96 words, the passing mark is 75%, that is no more than
24 mistakes.

DICTATION 6. THE BLUE SKY HOTEL

Write down in phonetic script what the speaker says. You will hear the text divided by
pauses. Try to write during each pause; the recording will not be played back; if you cannot
write everything, leave a space to complete in the next listening. After you finish, you have
three minutes to if what you have written makes sense.

  Checking. The text has 96 words, the passing mark is 75%, that is no more than
24 mistakes.

2
English Phonetics III Phonetic dictations
2018

TRANSCRIPTION 1
(133 words – passing park 80%: 27 mistakes)
When I asked my mom if I could go to this really cool party, she told me to clean my room
first. So I ran upstairs and started picking things up- I had to lie down next to my bed to pull
out a few Candy wrappers underneath it. When I was done, I met my bud and we were off to
the party. We walked in the door and I headed right over to my crush to ask him to dance.
Before I could, this guy he was standing with said, “Did you have an accident or something?”
I looked back at my butt and saw a nasty Brown stain from a chocolate bar wrapper I must
have rolled onto. Then they both cracked up. My nickname all night was Party Pooper! (133
words – passing park 80%: 27 mistakes)

TRANSCRIPTION 2
(114 words – passing park 80%: 23 mistakes)
Your hearing: if you run with headphones and music cranked to the max, you could be setting
yourself up for premature hearing loss. To determine if you’re at risk, take this test: at home
or in your car, tune a radio to an all-talk station. Turn down the volume until you can barely
understand the words. Then go out for a run with your music set at its usual volume. When
you return, turn the radio back on. If you no longer can discern the voices, you’re suffering
from “temporary hearing threshold shift”. This condition will likely reverse itself within 24
hours, but its effects can accumulate and lead to permanent hearing damage.

TRANSCRIPTION 3
(150 words – passing park 80%: 30 mistakes)
Adventure with attitude. The door was licked, so I kicked it in. the bartender wouldn’t talk, so
I grabbed him by the nose ring and… well, let’s just say he was a lot more cooperative after
that. Then a biker from a rival gang wouldn’t get his hog out of my way. So I punched him
senseless, and left him chewing asphalt in the searing heat of a desert with no name. this kind
of stuff just doesn’t happen in computer games- not unless you’re playing Full throttle,
LucasArts’ gripping new graphic adventure. As the burly biker Ben- a motorcycle gang
leader who gets whacked on the head and wakes up in the middle of a murder mystery- you
have plenty of muscle, and more importantly, the freedom to use it. Yes, you’re the good guy,
but that doesn’t mean you’re a nice guy- and that makes all the difference.

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English Phonetics III Phonetic dictations
2018

TRANSCRIPTION 4
(81 words – passing park 80%: 16 mistakes)
Communications experts are rewriting London Underground’s fire instructions to staff ‘in
plain English’, 15 months after the King’s Cross fire in which 31 people lost their lives in
1998. This followed criticism that the size and wording of the fire emergency instructions had
contributed to difficulties in staff – the Underground has 10,000 employees – getting the fire
brigade quickly to the scene. These regulations are being replaced by simply-worded
instructions. A Cambridge communications firm has been commissioned for the project.

TRANSCRIPTION 5
(98 words – passing park 80%: 20 mistakes)
Keeping fit. Most of us lead unhealthy lives: we spend far too much time sitting down. If, in
addition, we are careless about our diets, our bodies soon become flabby and our systems
sluggish. Then the guilt feelings start: ‘I must go on a diet and lose weight’, ‘I must get more
fresh air and exercise’, ‘I must stop smoking’. There are, however, unavoidable aspects in our
lives. I am thinking of such features of modern urban life as pollution, noise, rushed meals
and stress. But keeping fit is a way to minimise the effects of these evils.

TRANSCRIPTION 6
(101 words – passing park 80%: 20 mistakes)
Like many other ancient cultures, religion, superstition and magic played a very important
part. The Egyptians were, of course, well-known for their pyramids and tombs, and believed
firmly in life after death and spent a great deal of time and energy making sure that they
would be comfortable in the afterlife. The process of mummification was very elaborate. The
body was treated with special oils – seven different oils in fact because the number seven was
considered to be particularly lucky and had a great deal of religious significance. Then, it was
wrapped up in bandages to keep it in good condition.