English podcast story for B1, B2 levels (intermediate - upper intermediate) - Jonathon Baxter has spent ten years walking around Britain, playing his harmonica to survive. Then he decides to return to his home, but what will he find?

B2 phrases to listen for. What is the context of each phrase?

1, more or less (finished etc.) = nearly

2, obliged to = you have to

3, not have the slightest intention = (used in the neagative) not want or will not do something

4, neither (inversion = e.g. neither do I like...) / neither... nor... e.g. I don't want to do neither one thing or the other

5, drop in = an informal visit

6) turn up = arrive without an appointment

Vocabulary test

The vowels (a, e, i, o, u) have been taken out (unless the word begins with a vowel). Read the definition and guess the word in bold.

B1-level

1) ow - when you must pay somebody money because it is theirs

2) unbl - you cannot do it

3) brng up - the care and protection that parents give their children until they are adults

4) sgntr - your written name

5) lttry - tickets you buy to try to win a money prize

B2-level

1) dbt - the money you owe to somebody

2) dstrb - by making noise etc. other people get annoyed

3) incm - the money you earn in your job

4) py off - pay the money that you have borrowed

5) shbby - untidy clothes

You can find the answers at https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-217.htm

Here is a link to a Pdf extract from my new book: "B1 English Vocabulary Builder" so you can see how it works and how it can help you reach a B1 English level.

https://www.practisingenglish.com/pdf/Inchcape-rock-sample.pdf

My NEW book: "B1 English Vocabulary Builder - 22 Short Stories for Learning the Words and Phrases Students Need to Pass the B1 Exam" is now available! This book gives the learner enough vocabulary to pass any B1 exam (special help for Cambridge exams).
To read more about my book, click here (you can access it from any Amazon platform):
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Learners studying towards B2 level will be interested in my B1 to B2 reader: The Tudor Conspiracy (includes audio version) https://amzn.to/4gPsj0i

For very young learners (from 8-10), I recommend my picture reader book for children learning A1 to A2 English. It comes with a fully dramatised audio version: https://amzn.to/46TCWvv

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, free grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and...