A B2 -level stort for you today... A True Champion Sofia had always dreamed of becoming a professional tennis player. She trained every morning, even when she was tired, because she knew success would depend on her hard work. Some people tried to discourage her from doing so much training, saying she was wasting her time, but Sofia refused to listen. Her first big tournament didn’t go well. She suffered a terrible defeat, and her confidence began to decline. Deep down, she felt that maybe eve...
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A B2 -level stort for you today... A True Champion Sofia had always dreamed of becoming a professional tennis player. She trained every morning, even when she was tired, because she knew success would depend on her hard work. Some people tried to discourage her from doing so much training, saying she was wasting her time, but Sofia refused to listen. Her first big tournament didn’t go well. She suffered a terrible defeat, and her confidence began to decline. Deep down, she felt that maybe eve...
A B2 -level stort for you today... A True Champion Sofia had always dreamed of becoming a professional tennis player. She trained every morning, even when she was tired, because she knew success would depend on her hard work. Some people tried to discourage her from doing so much training, saying she was wasting her time, but Sofia refused to listen. Her first big tournament didn’t go well. She suffered a terrible defeat, and her confidence began to decline. Deep down, she felt that maybe eve...
The Mystery of the Lake Day after day, Lily walked past the old lake near her village. The elderly people of the village said it was dangerously deep, and that in its depths lived an enormous monster. In all her life, Lily had never seen anything, although she often wondered why there were never ducks or swans on the lake. One summer morning, she decided to take her small boat and explore the lake herself. As her tiny boat moved further from the lake’s edge, dark clouds began to form. T...
Ask me a question for the podcast? The audioscript for today's B2 story: If only we could go back On Tuesday morning, Alice decided to call in sick, not because she was ill, but because the clouds outside looked like elephants marching across the sky. Today she felt like the little girl that she used to be many years before. She simply couldn’t be bothered to sit at her office desk when such wonders were happening around her. She set off to the fields near her country home, carrying a picnic ...
Ask me a question for the podcast? The story audioscript for the story. The B1 words are shown in black. The missing actor Detective Anna Jones had a long career solving strange crimes. One rainy night, the police had called her to a dark hotel outside the village to help them. A film actor and celebrity, John Kelly, had disappeared from his locked room. The manager had knocked on the door, to bring his dinner, but there had been no reply. Unfortunately, the local police had been carele...
Ask me a question for the podcast? B2 story and vocabulary today. Here is the audioscript of the story and the B2 words in bold. The Crown Thief Detective Harris was on the point of leaving the police station when the phone rang. A robbery had taken place at the old museum. He grabbed his coat and hurried out. At the scene, the guard looked bad-tempered. “This is a disgrace!” he shouted. “The thief just walked in and out. Nobody stopped him. There are three of us, but the robbery happened the...
Ask me a question for the podcast? A B1-level podcast today with a story and a test on the B1 words and expressions: A frightening experience at the airport When Anna reached the arrivals lounge, she noticed her baggage was missing. She had just got off the plane. Where was it? Everybody had picked up theirs except Anna. She wanted to blame the airline, but she tried to behave calmly – besides, she didn’t really know whose fault it was. Suddenly, a loud noise made everyone stop and look...
This is the B2 podcast for this week. Aidioscript: The Fresh-food Market Lena had always tried to follow a balanced diet, but after she moved to the city, she often skipped meals. The constant absence of fresh food in her neighbourhood made it difficult to eat properly. One evening, she wandered outside and saw an old, abandoned house at the end of the street. It was heart-breaking to see its broken windows, reminding her of her childhood home that had been left behind when her family moved. ...
I'm back from my holidays! Today I'm publishing the first B1 podcast of season 5 - five years helping intermediate students pass Cambridge exams. I also have news of my new book just published on Amazon "B1 English Vocabulary Builder" 22 Short Stories for Learning the Words and Phrases Students Need to Pass the B1 Exam. Hear more on the podcast! The story audioscript is here: A Climbing Accident My name is Mary, and I love mountain climbing. My friend John and I travel abroad a lo...
This favourite story for learners of B1 will be the last of the summer episodes before my return for season 5 next week. Enjoy the story! At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages. https://www.practisingenglish.com/ My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N https://amzn.to/33Axu2N Be back soon with ano...
Here are some words that are not B1 and you'll need to understand the story. Words which are outside the A1 to B1 levels *Greenhouse - a building with glass sides and roof for growing plants in. *Skin - the outside of some types of vegetable and fruit. *String - a long piece of material used for tying things together. *Ultraviolet (light) - a blue light with wavelengths shorter than violet light. *Allotment - an area of land in a town which a person can rent or buy in order to grow vegetables...
This lovely story from the the American writer O'Henry, I completely re-wrote for B2 level. Here is the vocabulary discussed: Just around the corner. The means a place further on where we cannot see but is very close. English proverb: The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. This means that life is better any place but where you are now. hesitation - worried about doing something because you are not sure that it is the right thing to do. impersonal - without friendly ...
Here is Part two of my popular story, Tsunami for learners of B1 English At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages. https://www.practisingenglish.com/ My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N https://amzn.to/33Axu2N Be back soon with another podcast! Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher an...
I am still on holiday during August, so today I bring you a favourite of many listeners - the B1 story of Tsunami! (Part 1). Part 2 next week. Enjoy it and enjoy your summer! Mike Bilbrough At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages. https://www.practisingenglish.com/ My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/...
While I'm on my summer holiday, here is a repeat of a lovely B1 story - Part 2 of "Dad". I published Part 1 last Wednesday. The verbs we are studying today are: realize drop call out weigh admire encourage dive appear breathe hug At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages. https://www.practisingenglish.com/ At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English,...
I'm on holiday so I'm leaving you with a favourite story of mine "Dad" in 2 parts. This is a repeat of a podcast from September 2023. Next Wednesday, I'll publish part 2. This is part 1 of a B1-level story for learners of English, especially Cambridge English. The story is called Dad. It's about a family fishing trip in Spain. Vocabulary about the sea, boats and fishing equipment... At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercise...
Comprehension questions for this B2-level story. (I'm on holiday at the momento so leave you with a repeat episode.) Enjoy! 1) What reasons did Alberto's mother give Alberto for leaving the Alpujarra? 2) What did Gustavo mean by the comment "we're just victims of nature"? 3) The story says, "When Alberto saw the pink clouds at dawn, he knew bad weather was on the way". What was the saying mentioned in the story which told Alberto there was going to be a storm? 4) Why was Alberto worried when ...
This is about the trial in Australia that finished just last week and is popularly known as "The Mushroom Murders". Today, I'll ask the famous detective, Hércules Poirot (from Agatha Christie's novels) to explain to his exclusive audience of people involved in the crime and to us, the listeners of the podcast, what happened exactly, and who the murderer is. This is a B2-level podcast with focus on the third conditional. e.g. If I had studied more, I would have passed my Cambridge exams. Liste...
This is a B2-level recording and story with vocabulary about animal sounds and movement: Animal words: warren - where rabbits live together in the ground roar - sound like a lion makes thunder - sound like large animals running past scream - high pitched sound that sounds angry or scared hop - to jump (in humans - on one leg) poke your head out - look out briefly from somewhere twitching - quick movements like a rabbits nose or ears crouch - when somebody or an animal moves their body down, o...
Hello, dear students! Future continuous for fixed events, which are expected to happen. (This is B1 grammar with interest for B2 students too!) will + be + verb+ing I'll be giving a talk at that time, but I could see you afterwards for a coffee. This time next week I'll be flying into paradise I'll be seeing you soon, then. Yes. Holidays finish next week. Not about making decisions but sth decided anyway Shall I take you into town? Don't bother No bother. I'll be going to the shops anyway....
Today, I’m going to talk about the family of ‘there is’! At first, that might seem very basic English grammar. Indeed, the phrase ‘there is’ is A1 level. However, at B1 and even B2 level, I must admit there are few students who talk about this family. Why? Because it’s not a structure that has a literal word for word translation in many other languages. Anyway, let’s meet some of the family first of all. I can’t name all of them because it’s a very extended family tree. But here are som...
A B2 -level stort for you today... A True Champion Sofia had always dreamed of becoming a professional tennis player. She trained every morning, even when she was tired, because she knew success would depend on her hard work. Some people tried to discourage her from doing so much training, saying she was wasting her time, but Sofia refused to listen. Her first big tournament didn’t go well. She suffered a terrible defeat, and her confidence began to decline. Deep down, she felt that maybe eve...
