Speaker Characteristics:

Gender: [male];
Age range: [adult];
Pronunciation dialect: [South African English].

Recording Information:

Microphone: [headset unknown type unknown manufacturer];
Audio Card: [MCP51 AC97 Audio Controller];
Audio Recording Software: [Audacity rel 1.2.6];
O/S: [Linux Ubuntu Feisty].

File Info:

File type: [wav];
Sampling rate: [48kHz];
Sample rate format: [16bit];
Number of channels: [1].

Copyright (C) 2007  [D.T. Jones]

These files are free software; you can redistribute them and/or
modify them under the terms of the GNU General Public License
as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

These files are distributed in the hope that they will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
GNU General Public License for more details.

Transcription

ar-01 Once there was a young rat named Arthur who never could make up his mind.
ar-02 Whenever his friends asked him if he would like to go out with them,
ar-03 he would only answer, "I don't know;" he wouldn't say yes or no either.
ar-04 He would always shirk making a choice. His Aunt Helen said to him,
ar-05 "Now look here! No one is going to care for you if you carry on like this.
ar-06 You have no more mind than a blade of grass."
ar-07 One rainy day the rats heard a great noise in the loft.
ar-08 The pine rafters were all rotten, so that the barn was rather unsafe.
ar-09 At last the joists gave way and fell to the ground.
ar-10 The walls shook, and all the rats' hair stood on end with fear and horror.
ar-11 "This won't do," said the captain; "I'll send out scouts to search for a new home."
ar-12 Within five hours the ten scouts came back and said,
ar-13 "We found a stone house where there is room for us all.
ar-14 There is a kindly horse named Nelly, a cow, a calf, and a garden with an elm tree."
ar-15 The rats crawled out of their little houses and stood on the floor in a long line.
ar-16 Just then the old rat saw Arthur. Stop. he ordered coarsely.
ar-17 "You are coming, of course." "I'm not certain," said Arthur, undaunted,
ar-18 "The roof may not come down yet."
ar-19 "Well," said the old rat, "we can't wait for you to join us. Right about face! March!"
ar-20 Arthur stood and watched them hurry away.
ar-21 "I think I'll go tomorrow," he said calmly to himself, "but then again I don't know;
ar-22 it's so nice and snug here,".  That night there was a big crash.
ar-23 In the foggy morning some men with some boys and girls rode up and looked at the barn.
ar-24 One of them moved a board and saw a rat quite dead, half in and half out of his hole.

--- (Edited on 5/19/2007 6:32 am [GMT-0500] by squilla) ---