A B2-level short story 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 everyone had been right. For a moment, she even hesitated to enter the next competition.

However, her coach reminded her that real champions never give up. He said that despite the fact she had lost she had learned something important. Sofia realised he was right. She returned to the court, determined to demonstrate her true ability.

In the final match, her opponent tried to deceive her with tricky shots, but Sofia stayed calm and focussed. This time, she won.

When she lifted the trophy, she smiled – not because of the victory, but because she had proved to herself that determination and a belief in yourself are stronger than fear.

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):
https://amzn.to/46AVFe9

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...