A slow English story about Halfway through 2026 already, looking back at the year's goals and the one unexpected win. 15 simple sentences. Word by word. About 17 minutes.

📝 Today's sentences

① Someone left a comment on my latest podcast episode today.

② She wrote, "Wow, half of 2026 is already gone, just like that."

③ Quick note for the folks using my app: I also have a podcast.

④ It's called TingMate too, on the Xiaoyuzhou app and the Apple Podcasts app.

⑤ Long story short, that comment really made me stop and think.

⑥ Time flies, so I looked back at my goals for this year.

⑦ Land an offer from a dream company? I actually got it. Nice!

⑧ Work out twice a week, sleep before midnight? Almost never.

⑨ Read a book a month, take a trip abroad? Nope, neither.

⑩ And honestly, a bunch of other plans never happened either.

⑪ But there was one surprise win: my TingMate app and podcast.

⑫ And that one win honestly makes up for all the misses.

⑬ Thanks for all your support. It really means a lot to me.

⑭ I know I'm pretty good at complimenting myself! Hope you are too.

⑮ I've still got half the year to catch up. I'm a driven person, after all.

🔑 Vocabulary

• episode /ˈepɪˌsoʊd/

• left a comment /left ə ˈkɑːment/

• long story short /ˌlɔːŋ ˈstɔːri ʃɔːrt/

• stop and think /stɑːp ən θɪŋk/

• makes up for /meɪks ʌp fɔːr/

• means a lot /miːnz ə ˈlɑːt/

• complimenting myself /ˈkɑːmplɪmentɪŋ maɪˈself/

• catch up /kætʃ ʌp/

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