Lesson76 April Fools Day
'To end our special news bulletin,' [ˈbʊlətɪn] said the voice of the television announcer,' we are going over to the macaroni [ˌmækəˈroʊni] fields of Calabria. Macaroni has been grown in this area for over six hundred years. Two of the leading growers, GiuseppeMoldova and Ricardo Brabante, tell me that they have been expecting 【ɪksˈpɛktɪŋ】 a splendid [ˈsplendɪd] crop this year andharvesting ['hɑːvɪstɪŋ] has begun earlier than usual. Here you can see two workers who, between them, have just finished cutting three cart-loads of golden brown macaroni stalks. [stɔːks] The whole village has been working day and night gathering and threshing [ˈθreʃɪŋ] this year's crop before the September rains. On the right, you can see Mrs. Brabante herself. She has been helping her husband for thirty years now. Mrs. Brabante is talking to the manager of the local factory where the crop is processed. This last scene shows you what will happen at the end of the harvest: the famous Calabrian macaroni-eating competition! Signor Fratelli, the present champion, has won it every year since 1991. And that ends our special bulletin for today, Thursday, April 1st.We are now going back to the studio.'
tuː ɛnd ˈaʊə ˈspɛʃəl njuːz ˈbʊlɪtɪn,' sɛd ðə vɔɪs ɒv ðə ˈtɛlɪˌvɪʒən əˈnaʊnsə,' wiː ɑː ˈgəʊɪŋ ˈəʊvə tuː ðə ˌmækəˈrəʊnifiːldz ɒvCalabria. ˌmækəˈrəʊni hæz biːn grəʊn ɪn ðɪs ˈeərɪə fɔːr ˈəʊvə sɪks ˈhʌndrəd jɪəz. tuː ɒv ðə ˈliːdɪŋ ˈgrəʊəz, Giuseppe mɒlˈdəʊvə ænd rɪˈkɑːdəʊ Brabante, tɛl miː ðæt ðeɪ hæv biːnɪksˈpɛktɪŋə ˈsplɛndɪd krɒp ðɪs jɪər ænd ˈhɑːvɪstɪŋ hæz bɪˈgʌn ˈɜːlɪə ðæn ˈjuːʒʊəl. hɪə juː kæn siː tuː ˈwɜːkəz huː, bɪˈtwiːn ðɛm, hæv ʤʌst ˈfɪnɪʃt ˈkʌtɪŋ θriː ˈkɑːtləʊdz ɒv ˈgəʊldən braʊn ˌmækəˈrəʊni stɔːks. ðə həʊl ˈvɪlɪʤ hæz biːn ˈwɜːkɪŋ deɪ ænd naɪt ˈgæðərɪŋ ænd ˈθrɛʃɪŋ ðɪs jɪəz krɒp bɪˈfɔː ðə sɛpˈtɛmbə reɪnz. ɒn ðə raɪt, juː kæn siː Mrs. Brabante hɜːˈsɛlf. ʃiː hæz biːn ˈhɛlpɪŋ hɜː ˈhʌzbənd fɔː ˈθɜːti jɪəz naʊ. Mrs. Brabante ɪz ˈtɔːkɪŋ tuː ðə ˈmænɪʤər ɒv ðə ˈləʊkəl ˈfæktəri weə ðə krɒp ɪz ˈprəʊsɛst. ðɪs lɑːst siːn ʃəʊz juː wɒt wɪl ˈhæpən æt ði ɛnd ɒv ðə ˈhɑːvɪst: ðə ˈfeɪməs Calabrian ˌmækəˈrəʊni-ˈiːtɪŋ ˌkɒmpɪˈtɪʃən! ˈsaɪnə Fratelli, ðəˈprɛzntˈʧæmpiən, hæz wʌn ɪt ˈɛvri jɪə sɪns 1991. ænd ðæt ɛndz ˈaʊə ˈspɛʃəl ˈbʊlɪtɪn fɔː təˈdeɪ, ˈθɜːzdeɪ, ˈeɪprəl 1st. wiː ɑː naʊ ˈgəʊɪŋ bæk tuː ðə ˈstjuːdɪəʊ.'
