RP Elocution July

Here are some phrases you can use to practice British English Received Pronunciation (RP) elocution: 1. "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain." 2. "How now brown cow?" 3. "She sells seashells by the seashore." 4. "Whether the weather be fine, or whether the weather be not, whether the weather be cold, or whether the weather be hot, we'll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not." 5. "Red lorry, yellow lorry." 6. "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked." 7. "Six sick hicks nick six slick bricks with picks and sticks." 8. "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." 9. "To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison, with a life-long lock, awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock, from a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block." 10. "The Leith police dismisseth us."

Certainly, here are some additional phrases for practicing British English Received Pronunciation: 1. "In Hertford, Hereford, and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly ever happen." 2. "The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick." 3. "I thought I saw a slit in her throat but it was just a black silk scarf." 4. "The thirty-three thieves thought that they thrilled the throne throughout Thursday." 5. "A proper cup of coffee from a proper copper coffee pot." 6. "Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said, 'This butter's bitter. If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter.'" 7. "The big black bug bit the big black bear, and the big black bear bled blood." 8. "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?" 9. "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!" 10. "She stood on the balcony, inexplicably mimicking him hiccupping and amicably welcoming him home." These phrases should provide ample practice for British English Received Pronunciation and help refine your elocution skills.

Here are some passages for practicing British English Received Pronunciation: **Passage 1:** "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him." - George Orwell, 1984 **Passage 2:** "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense." - J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone **Passage 3:** "In the great green room, there was a telephone, and a red balloon, and a picture of the cow jumping over the moon. And there were three little bears sitting on chairs, and two little kittens, and a pair of mittens." - Margaret Wise Brown, Goodnight Moon **Passage 4:** "The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home. First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash; till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms." - Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows **Passage 5:** "Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter. They lived with their Mother in a sandbank, underneath the root of a very big fir tree." - Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Peter Rabbit These passages offer varied vocabulary and sentence structures to help you practice your British English Received Pronunciation reading skills.

Here's the full text of Lord Byron's "She Walks in Beauty": She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that's best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes: Thus mellow'd to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies. One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impair'd the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o'er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. And on that cheek, and o'er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent!