Business leaders can make bad decisions. Sometimes, they hurt the environment or people. They can be reckless and blinded by greed. Most of the time, their decisions will save them money. But does it save the planet? No. So, what is the solution? Many businesses are trying to help their communities. They are paying it forward.

B-corps are companies that follow strict guidelines to help their communities. They can be anything from ice cream to grocery stores. They help the ecosystem and sell sustainable and recyclable products. They treat their workers with fairness and respect. Their leaders are very ambitious, hardworking, and admirable people.

Andy’s friend is starting a b-corp. Listen as he tells Romeo about it in today’s English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

The world moves very fast these days. People seem to be in such a hurry. Rushing to work, rushing to school, rushing home, rushing through dinner. People are in too much of a hurry to walk, so they take the elevator. They barely have time to stop and hang with their friends. Sometimes, you just want the world to hold up for a second, so you can catch your breath. It would be so nice to have some time to ping your best friend and go to a music gig, but even enjoyable activities can be stressful if you don’t have time to hold up.

When you hold up, you stop what you are doing and wait for a second or two. If you are out hiking with your friends, and they get too far ahead of you on the trail, you might ask them to hold up. You might be talking with someone on the phone, and they are telling a story. If they say something you don’t understand, you might interrupt them and ask them to hold up.

Kelsey was on the way to her gig, but she got lost. Watch as Andy tells Kelsey to hold up and worriedly searches for her. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Spring and early summer are wonderful times of year. People’s gardens begin blooming with tons of beautiful flowers, and it’s time to start turning the soil for summer gardens. When you plan a flower garden, you have many options. You could go to a nursery to buy seeds and young plants. Or you could talk to friends instead.

Many people love to plant bulbs so they can enjoy big, beautiful flowers in the spring and summer. Bulbs look a lot like onions. In fact, onions are one type of bulb! You can plant bulbs in the ground and enjoy their flowers for many years. Some popular bulbs include dahlias, daffodils, and gladioli. You can even dig some up later to share with your friends.

Marni gives Jordin the rundown on bulbs in today’s English lesson. Listen to find out what she learns. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

High school can be a tough time for many of us. We have to figure out who we want to be, and what we want to do. We have to learn who our friends are. There are the popular kids, the geeky kids, the jocks, and the dorks. Sometimes, kids get picked on and bullied. Getting bullied is really depressing. High school can be a hardcore experience.

Trending on Netflix right now is the show 13 Reasons Why. The show is based on the novel by Jay Asher. It is about a high schooler named Hannah, who commits suicide. She leaves behind 13 cassette tapes that explain why she did it. Many people are very intrigued by this show. It discusses the effects of bullying and the importance of being kind to other people.

Dominique and Romeo have different opinions about the show. Listen as they discuss it. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

“When people argue that Wonder Woman should ‘cover up,’ I don’t quite get it. They say, ‘If she’s smart and strong, she can’t also be sexy.’ That’s not fair. Why can’t she be all of the above?”

—Actor Gal Gadot, speaking about her costume in the movie Wonder Woman (Time) -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

These days, you hear a lot of buzz about the environment. Being environmentally friendly is important. There are lots of easy ways to cut down on waste and help the environment. You can use reusable shopping bags, recycle, and plant a tree. Use tap water instead of bottled water. Do you love coffee? Then buy a reusable travel mug instead of using paper coffee cups. Ride your bike!

Many large companies are also finding ways to cut down their carbon footprint. Some companies want their employees to take public transit, or to carpool. Carpooling is a great way to spend less money on gas. Carpooling is also a great way to build a good relationship with your coworkers. It reduces the number of cars on the road, and it reduces the stress of driving alone in rush hour traffic.

Kelsey loves to carpool. Listen as she tells Jordin about carpooling with her neighbors. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

In today’s world, most of us are busy. It is difficult to decide what to do first. Of course, if you have a job, you should listen to your boss first. But what about everything else? How do you know what to do first in your life? Some things must be done, but others can wait a few moments. For example, you must feed your pets, but you could hold off on making your own dinner if you aren’t hungry.

When you hold off on something, you wait to do it. You might wait for a short time or a long time. For example, you might want to ask your friend a question, but they tell you to wait just a sec. You can hold off on asking for a minute or two. On the other hand, if your dog has flown the coop, you might hold off on doing anything until you locate your dog.

Andy and Dominique could not hold off on finding bathrooms. Now, they’ve lost Kelsey. In today’s English lesson, they begin to look for her. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Salad bars provide lots of fresh fruits and vegetables for people to eat. Many restaurants have salad bars. You can make delicious salads from the vegetable options. Vegetables are very healthy and give you lots of nutrition. Vegetarians also need to be sure to eat lots of protein. There are many vegetables that have protein. Avocado, beans, and spinach all have protein.

Some salad bars are all-you-can-eat. This means you can eat all the salad under the sun. When you finish your first salad, you can go back to the salad bar for a second salad. Salad bars are set up on long tables. Some salad bars have a glass top to protect the food. These glass tops are called sneeze guards. Eating food that someone else has sneezed on would be gross. The sneeze guard will protect the salad bar from a bounty of germs.

Listen as Marni tells Kelsey about healthy salad bars in this English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

Watching a game can be as fun as playing one. Sometimes, it’s fun to imagine instead of actually do the work. This is true with sports, chess matches, and even video games! Video game streaming is when people watch other people play video games. They watch to learn cheat codes, shortcuts, and get a sense of the game. Twitch is a popular channel where people can do video game streaming.

You don’t get firsthand experience playing the game when you’re just watching it on a channel like Twitch. But some people like to watch video games and nerd out with their friends. Other people think this is really lame. Why would you want to watch other people play video games? Shouldn’t we learn to do these things through our own experience?

Gary loves watching video game streaming channels. Listen as he tells Dominique about it in today’s English lesson. -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com

“Ah, dear Adam West. He was always so kind when we met. A real gent. Once when I was a kid, we found ourselves in front of the Batmobile. I got in.”

—Actor Val Kilmer, speaking about the death of Adam West, the original Batman (Twitter) -- View this and other great English lessons at www.englishbaby.com