dict.cn

Last semester, I was approached by a Chinese business student wanting me to record 660 English sentences for an online dictionary project:

"Greetings from Lihong!
...I understand that students from linguistics department has the recording facility, and more importantly, you have the expertise in pronunciation and speech. I found your name and email address in your department website, and hopefully you will forgive my rudeness. I am writing to ask whether you could help us out. In return, we can make some hourly payment."

The sentences themselves were very weird:
He's a terrible man when he's angry.
My god! There are mice in Mrs. Lee's kitchen!
Don't be uneasy about the consequence.
I dig songs and I like pop music very much.
He dare not tell us his evil conduct.
Mother doesn't make up.
He is physically mature.
You may have heard of Birth Control.
It is clear that the cat has eaten it!

I asked them for $20, and they counteroffered with $80. And they were supposed to be business students? Anyhow, many trials and tribulations later, the site is complete. You can now hear my voice reading crazy sentences to English learners at http://dict.cn/. Just roll over the speaker symbol in the little oval under the main box. There's a different one every day!