Today's story is B1 level with lots of B2 phrases added. This let's you improve little by little without getting lost because the text is too difficult to understand. I'm listing below the phrases I explain in the audio.

I also talk about ellipsis, which is where you omit words from a sentence in an "economy of words". We still understand the meaning - only the grammar is affected. Ellipsis is common in informal prose and speech. The examples are:
- Not a nice place, the street.
- No nice mat by the fire to sleep on either.
- Got to keep away from the police.

The expressions I talk about are:

B1 level.
take it easy
make a face
in case (of)
keep somebody waiting
be willing to do something
keep something a secret

B2 level.
taking everything into consideration
make your way
in actual fact / as a matter of fact
the look of somebody
be out of practice
be a disgrace
none of your business

Listen for these expressions and examples of ellipsis as you listen to the story.

You can see a better version of the painting which inspired my story at my website:
https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-182.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):
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...