There are many reasons for captions on every video: ESL viewers, people in other countries, searchability, not wanting to disturb others, loud locations and automatic translations to other countries.

The captioning won’t be perfect, since Google’s speech recognition isn’t perfect, but it is really, really cool, and is sort of one step toward the goal of speech to speech recognition in real time that Google is aiming for.

I feel like the future is finally coming true. When I was young, speech recognition and the electric car were promised every few years, but it seemed that no significant progress was ever made. Finally, the future is now !

It won’t be any less true than the usual anti-gay claims about God’s wrath in reaction to natural disasters.

That thought occurred to me while reading a 2008 story about an Israeli MP blaming gays for an earthquake.

Of course, Pat Robertson recently made basically the same claim in response to the Haiti earthquake last month. You stay classy Pat.

EDIT: Just to add a more current example of blaming earthquakes and blizzards on homosexuality, multiple felon James Hartline:

Despite the impending catastrophes, the vast majority of Americans are ignoring the warning signs and the desperate need for this nation to return to God. In Washington D. C., the city council is pressing into the demands of corrupt city politicians who are determined to force homosexual marriages on the nation’s capitol. Washington D. C. is also suffering its worst winter storms in the city’s history.

via Joe My God

(a) The man is riding a horse.False – Riding a horse means that a person is directly on top of a horse.

(b) There are telephone piles in the background. Wrong Word – telephone poles

(c) The horse is pulling the wagon by itself. Maybe? – There might be another horse beside it. There isn’t enough information in this picture to tell if the statement is true or not.

(d) There is a quadruped in this picture. Correct – A quadruped is an animal with four legs.

(2) Vanity

(a) Behind this woman’s chair is something large that has been covered on. Wrong Word – has been covered up

(b) Her sweater has long cuffs. Correct

(c) She is scratching her forehead. Maybe?

(d) Her sweater is unzipped. Incorrect / Wrong Word – ‘Unzipped’ means all the way unzipped. Right now her sweater is partially unzipped.

(3) no title

(a) This room has a softwood floor. Wrong Word – This room has a hardwood floor.

(b) The window in the door is covered by a curtain. Incorrect – The windows in the wall have curtains, but the window in the door at the back of the room does not.

(c) The woman is alone. Maybe? – But then who is taking the picture?

(d) The room is messy. Correct – Yeah, there’s stuff all over the tables and floors.

(4) On the way of Shangri-La

(a) It has rained recently. Maybe? – The ground is wet, but maybe it was washed with a hose.

(b) both men are wearing jackets. Correct

(c) There is a stair to get up to the door. Wrong Word – there is a step

(d) The building on the left has a criss cross style on the front wall. Wrong Word – criss cross pattern

(5) Chapelle de la Gliere (2)

(a) A mountain climber is climbing up the large rock. Maybe? – Maybe he/she is climbing down.

(b) The climber has his/her feet against the rock face. Correct – A ‘face’ of a rock or mountain is a vertical surface that is flat and wide.

(c) Most of the rocks are jugged. Wrong Word – The rocks are jagged.

(d) The top of the large rock is rounded. Incorrect/Wrong Word – When something is rounded it is curved or round-shaped, not pointed.

(6) …

(a) The man’s earlobes hang low. Incorrect – Actually, they are quite high.

(b) In the background are rolling hills. Correct – Rolling hills are hills that are small and not steep.

(c) This man does not wear an earing. Maybe? – He might have on in his right ear.

(d) The man’s scarf is zipped up around his neck. Wrong Word – His collar is zipped up around his neck.

(7) blow

(a) In this picture, the woman’s jawline is outlined by shadow. Correct – ‘Jawline’ refers to the bottom of the jaw.

(b) This woman is outside. Maybe

(c) This woman has a facial piercing. Incorrect / Wrong Word – Even though ears are part of the face, “facial piercing” refers to a piercing in another part of the face, such as the lip or nose.

(d) The woman is blowing the petals off of a dandetiger. Wrong Word – It’s a dandelion.

(8) no title

(a) The boy on the left is wearing a hat that is tipped to the side. Wrong Word – His hat is tilted to the side.

(b) The boy on the right is wearing a wristclock. Wrong Word – It’s a wristwatch

(c) One of them is eating fast food. Correct – The boy on the left has a hamburger.

(d) They are coming from school. Maybe?

(9) Vagrants

(a) The dog is wagging it’s tail. Maybe?

(b) The dog has a long snout. Corrrect – The ‘snout’ is the protruding portion of an animal’s face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw.

(c) The boy is giving the dog an ember. Wrong Word – The boy is giving the dog an embrace, not an ember

(d) The boy is wearing a T-shirt. Incorrect / Wrong Word – A T-shirt has short sleeves. His shirt has no sleeves. It is called a ‘tank top’.

(10) Cathy Drull

(b) There are five doors in this picture. Correct

(a) The sky is overcast. Incorrect / Wrong Word – The sky is cloudy. ‘Overcast’ means that the sky is completely covered by clouds.

(c) You can see one of the headlights at the back of the car. Wrong Word – Headlights are on the front of a car. Tail lights are on the back.

(d) Vancouver Moose is the most handsome moose in all of Vancouver. Correct – But not relevant to this picture.

Some sets of sentences use advanced English. Even native English speakers probably would not get a perfect score. So don’t stress out; just do your best.

(1) Ride in town

(a) The man is riding a horse. False – Riding a horse means that a person is directly on top of a horse.

(b) There are telephone piles in the background. Wrong Word – telephone poles

(c) The horse is pulling the wagon by itself. Maybe? – There might be another horse beside it. There isn’t enough information in this picture to tell if the statement is true or not.

(d) There is a quadruped in this picture. Correct – A quadruped is an animal with four legs.

(2) Vanity

(a) Behind this woman’s chair is something large that has been covered on.

(b) Her sweater has long cuffs.

(c) She is scratching her forehead.

(d) Her sweater is unzipped.

(3) no title

(a) This room has a softwood floor.

(b) The window in the door is covered by a curtain.

(c) The woman is alone.

(d) The room is messy.

(4) On the way of Shangri-La

(a) It has rained recently.

(b) both men are wearing jackets.

(c) There is a stair to get up to the door.

(d) The building on the left has a criss cross style on the front wall.

(5) Chapelle de la Gliere (2)

(a) A mountain climber is climbing up the large rock.

(b) The climber has his/her feet against the rock face.

(c) Most of the rocks are jugged.

(d) The top of the large rock is rounded.

(6) …

(a) The man’s earlobes hang low.

(b) In the background are rolling hills.

(c) This man does not wear an earing.

(d) The man’s scarf is zipped up around his neck.

(7) blow

(a) In this picture, the woman’s jawline is outlined by shadow.

(b) This woman is outside.

(c) This woman has a facial piercing.

(d) The woman is blowing the petals off of a dandetiger.

(8) no title

(a) The boy on the left is wearing a hat that is tipped to the side.

(b) The boy on the right is wearing a wristclock.

(c) One of them is eating fast food.

(d) They are coming from school.

(9) Vagrants

(a) The dog is wagging its tail.

(b) The dog has a long snout.

(c) The boy is giving the dog an ember.

(d) The boy is wearing a T-shirt.

(10) Cathy Drull

(a) There are five doors in this picture.

(b) The sky is overcast.

(c) You can see one of the headlights at the back of the car.

(d) Vancouver Moose is the most handsome moose in all of Vancouver

1. Where does the conversation between mother and son take place? (0:00 seconds)

Answer: “I was hanging out in the kitchen with my mom”.

2. What chopped vegetable did the mother add to the tuna fish to “give it a little crunch”? (0:20 seconds)

Answer: celery

3. What other two meats does the mother mention as being less healthy than fish? (0:35 seconds)

Answer: beef and chicken

4. What kind of metal can accumulate in your body if you eat too much fish? (0:45 seconds)

Answer: Mercury. The mother is pointing at a picture of a thermometer because mercury is used in thermometers.

5. Why is the son not concerned about this kind of metal poisoning happening to him? (0:45 seconds)

Answer: He doesn’t eat fish. I think that he mentions that once or twice, or maybe a hundred times.

6. What other kind of fish does the mother suggest that the son try? (1:30 seconds)

Answer: salmon

7. Why does the mother tell the son, “You shouldn’t have too much to eat right now anyways”? (1:30 seconds)

Answer: They are about to go to a restaurant.

8. What does the mother suggest bringing to the restaurant? (1:45 seconds)

Answer: a sweater

9. Why does the son not bring this item? (1:45 seconds)

Answer: “I’ve already been outside today and it’s not that cold”.

10. Why did the family not eat at the restaurant that they planned to eat at? (1:57 seconds)

Answer: The restaurant was full and they couldn’t get a table.

11. What kind of restaurant does the mother suggest eating at instead? (2:02 seconds)

Answer: a seafood restaurant

Please remember that it’s OK to make mistakes. The purpose of practice exercises to become more familiar with English, not to memorize it all at once. So don’t stress out; just keep practicing.

Oh, and leave a comment if you see anything that you think is a spelling mistake. Thanks!

(2) Bridge

(a) This bridge is for training. Wrong Word – This bridge is for trains.

(b) This bridge is used to cross a river. Maybe? – It might be used to cross a dry ravine.

(c) Only trains can cross this bridge. False – Look closely at the bottom right hand side of the picture.

(d) The rails on the ground run parrallel to each other Correct

(3) Hot Rod

(a) The hubcap of one of the wheels is refracting an image of another car. Wrong Word – It is reflecting the image, not refracting it.

(b) This car is used for racing. Maybe?

(c) There is a lot of chrome on this car. Correct – I think that the amount of chrome qualifies as ‘a lot’.

(d) We can see both sides of both front tires. False – We can see the left side of one tire and the right side of the other.

(4) Crumbs at the Fountain Of Neptune

(a) The woman in this picture is feeding crumbs to the birds. Maybe?

(b) The road is made of cobblestone Correct – Cobblestone is also sometimes called paving stone

(c) The woman is standing on the steps. False – The woman is in front of the steps.

(d) The birds are picking up crumbs with their mouths. Wrong Word – A bird’s mouth is called a beak.

(5) Dave Bielanko – Marah

(a) You can’t really see them all, but if it is a standard guitar, there must be six wires. Wrong Word – Even though they are made of metal, they are called guitar strings.

(b) He is clean-shaven. Correct – ‘Clean-shaven’ means that he has shaved recently and he has no beard.

(c) He is wearing pants. Probably – but we don’t know for sure.

(d) His shirt has vertical stripes. False / Wrong Word – His shirt has horizontal stripes.

(6) Beijing Airport Terminal 3

(a) From this angel, you can see a lot of people Wrong Word – From this angle, you can see a lot of people.

(b) The windows let in a lot of light. Correct

(c) All of the people have luggage. False – Only some of them do.

(d) The roofs are supported by pillars. Wrong Word – The roofs is supported by pillars.

(7) no title

(a) One black bird is birched on the wall almost in the center of the picture. Wrong Word – When a bird sits on something, they perch on it. The noun form of the word is also perch

(b) Another black bird is on a lodge further down. Wrong Word – That bird is on a ledge.

(c) This building is abandoned. Maybe?

(d) This building has an unusual facade Correct – Well, I think it’s interesting.

(8) Calling you who needs a Cell Phone

(a) The boy is straining up to reach the dial. Wrong Word – The boy is stretching up to reach the dial.

(b) The telephone is very old-fashioned. Correct – Something that is old-fashioned has a style that used to be common, but isn’t any more.

(c) There is a light ball near the top of the picture. Wrong Word – It’s a light bulb.

(d) This is a picture of a boy in a phone box. Wrong Word – He is in a phone booth.

(9) Schloss Hof

(a) The fence wood keep the animal from getting away. Wrong Word – Would, not wood

(b) Other animals are grassing in the background. Wrong Word – They are grazing.

(c) The animal is costing a shadow onto the fence. Wrong Word – It is casting a shadow. (making a shadow)

(d) This animal is a quadruped. Correct – A quadruped is an animal that walks on four limbs.

(10) Medioeval

(a) This corridor is part of a castle. Maybe?

(b) There are many columns in this corridor. Corrrect

(c) Even though the corridor looks old, the runway on the ground is made of modern materials. Wrong Word – walkway – A runway is where planes land and take off.

(d) This corridor has a medieval pattern. Wrong Word – ‘Medieval’ refers to a style of architecture, not a pattern.

Unlike the rest of the colony of Humboldt penguins, which lose their old feathers gradually to make way for a fresh set, nine-year-old Ralph’s always fall out in just one day.

This leaves him at severe risk of sunburn and he faced being kept indoors for three weeks until his new set have grown.

But yesterday he was feeding happily with his chums after wildlife park keepers fashioned him the rubber outfit from the leg of a man’s wetsuit.

‘Ralph’s really taken to his new suit,’ said Helen Jeffreys of Marwell Wildlife, near Winchester, Hampshire.

‘It’s not inhibiting him in any way. He’s just getting on with his daily business.

‘All the other penguins were intrigued by his new clothes and they spent a good while checking him out.

Watch the video all the way through and then see how many of the question below you can answer. If there are any questions that you cannot answer, watch the video again. Each question includes the time at which you can find the necessary information.

I will post the answers in a few days. Enjoy!

UPDATE: click here to see the answers

1. Where does the conversation between mother and son take place? (0:00 seconds)

2. What chopped vegetable did the mother add to the tuna fish to “give it a little crunch”? (0:20 seconds)

3. What other two meats does the mother mention as being less healthy than fish? (0:35 seconds)

4. What kind of metal can accumulate in your body if you eat too much fish? (0:45 seconds)

5. Why is the son not concerned about this kind of metal poisoning happening to him? (0:45 seconds)

6. What other kind of fish does the mother suggest that the son try? (1:30 seconds)

7. Why does the mother tell the son, “You shouldn’t have too much to eat right now anyways”? (1:30 seconds)

8. What does the mother suggest bringing to the restaurant? (1:45 seconds)

9. Why does the son not bring this item? (1:45 seconds)

10. Why did the family not eat at the restaurant that they planned to eat at? (1:57 seconds)

11. What kind of restaurant does the mother suggest eating at instead? (2:02 seconds)

Some sets of sentences use advanced English. Even native English speakers probably would not get a perfect score. So don’t stress out; just do your best.

(1) Lava a Dora

(a) It looks like somebody is sitting on a washer. Wrong Word – Someone is sitting on a washing machine. A washer is small piece of hardware.

(b) This person is doing their laundry. Maybe? – There isn’t enough information in the picture to tell whether this statement is true or false.

(c) The floor is covered in linoleum. False – The floor appears to be tiled.

(d) The person in this picture is wearing sneakers. Correct – sneaker is one word for athletic shoes. They are also commonly called running shoes.

UPDATE: answers posted here

(2) Bridge

(a) This bridge is for training.

(b) This bridge is used to cross a river.

(c) Only trains can cross this bridge.

(d) The rails on the ground run parrallel to each other.

(3) Hot Rod

(a) The hubcap of one of the wheels is refracting an image of another car.

(b) This car is used for racing.

(c) There is a lot of chrome on this car.

(d) We can see both sides of both front tires.

(4) Crumbs at the Fountain Of Neptune

(a) The woman in this picture is feeding crumbs to the birds.

(b) The road is made of cobblestone.

(c) The woman is standing on the steps.

(d) The birds are picking up crumbs with their mouths.

(5) Dave Bielanko – Marah

(a) You can’t really see them all, but if it is a standard guitar, there must be six wires.

(b) He is clean-shaven.

(c) He is wearing pants.

(d) His shirt has vertical stripes.

(6) Beijing Airport Terminal 3

(a) From this angel, you can see a lot of people.

(b) The windows let in a lot of light.

(c) All of the people have luggage.

(d) The roofs are supported by pillars.

(7) no title

(a) One black bird is birched on the wall almost in the center of the picture.

(b) Another black bird is on a lodge further down.

(c) This building is abandoned.

(d) This building has an unusual facade.

(8) Calling you who needs a Cell Phone

(a) The boy is straining up to reach the dial.

(b) The telephone is very old-fashioned.

(c) There is a light ball near the top of the picture.

(d) This is a picture of a boy in a phone box.

(9) Schloss Hof

(a) The fence wood keep the animal from getting away.

(b) Other animals are grassing in the background.

(c) The animal is costing a shadow onto the fence.

(d) This animal is a quadruped.

(10) Medioeval

(a) This corridor is part of a castle.

(b) There are many columns in this corridor.

(c) Even though the corridor looks old, the runway on the ground is made of modern materials.

(d) This corridor has a medieval pattern.