“Hey, everybody! Uncle Andy here. And it looks like I’m in a bit of a pickle.”

—Ebaby!’s Andy, speaking about forgetting to bring something -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Did you ever have an imaginary friend, someone you played with when you were alone, someone you could tell your deepest secrets to, and they would never betray you? Maybe, you even ran away with this person when you were little. Imaginary friends can be great companions when you are young. Was your imaginary friend an animal, perhaps? Maybe, your imaginary animal friend was actually your spirit animal.

Some cultures believe that everyone has a spirit animal. A spirit animal is an animal that protects you. Many spirit animals are carved into a totem. They can also offer guidance and love during difficult times. If you are missing your spirit animal, try meditation. Your spirit animal will often be revealed to you while you are meditating. Once you have connected with your spirit animal, they will not stray from you. They will be your loyal companion forever.

Nestor thinks he has lost his spirit animal. Listen as he asks Romeo to help him locate the lost animal. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

“I liked having my secret comedy life. At the time, I was going to Philadelphia a couple nights a week to do trumpet stuff, and I’d go to New York a couple nights a week to do comedy stuff. I was at the end of my rope.”

—Comedian Zac Woods, speaking about his life in entertainment (The Window) -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Playing any competitive sport is hard work. You have to practice long hours every day, learn good technique, and then do your best when it’s time to compete. Most athletes just train for one sport. However, that’s not enough for some people. For them, triathlons are a better challenge because they are doing three sports at one time.

Triathlons are popular sports events that combine running, biking, and swimming. There are different levels of triathlons, but the most intense triathlon is the ironman event. In the ironman, athletes have to run a marathon (26.2 miles or 42.2 km), bike 112 miles (180.2 km), and swim 2.4 miles (3.8 km)... all without stopping!

People who want to do well in a triathlon have to be serious about their training. Any sport takes a lot of dedication and focus. Preparing for a triathlon takes three times as much!

Who’s training for a triathlon? Find out in this English lesson about sports. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

For some people, everything is easy. They want to learn magic tricks, and the next day their rabbit is levitating. They want to cook, and somehow, they made a delicious sauerkraut brownie. They want to start a business, and suddenly, they’ve made an impact on their whole community. For them, everything is a snap.

When something is a snap, it is very easy. When something snaps, this means it is broken in two. When someone snaps, they are very, very angry and ready to blow. When something makes a snap sound, it is very loud and unpleasant. But when you do something like you’ve been doing it forever, and it’s easy and breezy, then it’s a snap in the best possible way.

Kelsey thinks their show will be a snap. See if it will be as easy as she thinks in today’s English soap opera. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

“Are you down to go to the beach next week?”

—Ebaby!’s Kat, asking her friend if she wants to go see the ocean -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Have you ever thought about how technology can be fun? For example, think about escalators. Sure, they help us out when we need to tote an armful of shopping bags up three stories at the mall, or when we have to transport heavy suitcases at the airport. But it’s also pretty entertaining to step on the lowest stair and automatically be carried to another level of a building. All you have to do is stand there and watch the floor get farther and farther away.

Sometimes people get carried away with the fun they have on escalators. Teenagers dare each other to run up the down side of the escalator, for example. These kind of antics not only seem like accidents waiting to happen, but they are also not convenient for other people who actually want to use the escalator to go down a level.

Lily loves riding escalators, but Rafael definitely doesn’t. Find out why in this English lesson about technology. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

“My pops just had his hip replaced and called me and said, ‘Hey, Mr. D, the surgeon really feels like I should have a bigger car since my hip rehab.’ I cut my dad off and just started laughing because I knew what he was hustling for.”

—Actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, speaking about buying his dad a new car (TMZ) -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Picture a large room, dark and quiet before a show. There’s a curtain hanging across the stage. Suddenly, soft music begins to play and gets louder and louder as the curtain is pulled up. Then dancers appear on stage. The musical has begun!

Musicals are a much-loved form of entertainment around the world. Before movies were invented, actors were performing on stage, dancing amazing choreography and singing original pieces. Today, musicals are still popular, though many of the lyrics can be quite cheesy. Still, the collaborative work between the musicians and the actors is something you’ll only see on stage. Generally, movies that try to capture a musical on the big screen just don’t succeed. If you’ve seen the magic live, you’ll never be as happy with the movie version.

Jessica and Brian are talking about musicals. Learn about their opinions in today’s English lesson about live performances. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Are you the kind of person who likes to understand how something works? Do you spend your free time putting objects, liquids or foods together to find out what will happen? Maybe you tried building a robot or rocket. Or perhaps you tried turning your little brother into a frog. Science is fun for you, and you enjoy learning through experiments.

In movies, science experiments make monsters or terrible things happen. We have Frankenstein and Godzilla because of science. But good things come from science, too, and not just in movies. Because people use science to study the world, we can treat sick people and clean dirty water. People who build robots as children sometimes grow up to be great scientists.

Do Jeff and Rafael conduct science experiments? Find out in today’s English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com