I am still on holiday during August, so today I bring you a favourite of many listeners - the B1 story of Tsunami! (Part 1). Part 2 next week.

Enjoy it and enjoy your summer!

Mike Bilbrough

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

While I'm on my summer holiday, here is a repeat of a lovely B1 story - Part 2 of "Dad". I published Part 1 last Wednesday.

The verbs we are studying today are:
realize
drop
call out
weigh
admire
encourage
dive
appear
breathe
hug

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

I'm on holiday so I'm leaving you with a favourite story of mine "Dad" in 2 parts. This is a repeat of a podcast from September 2023. Next Wednesday, I'll publish part 2.

This is part 1 of a B1-level story for learners of English, especially Cambridge English. The story is called Dad. It's about a family fishing trip in Spain. Vocabulary about the sea, boats and fishing equipment...

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

Comprehension questions for this B2-level story.

(I'm on holiday at the momento so leave you with a repeat episode.) Enjoy!

1) What reasons did Alberto's mother give Alberto for leaving the Alpujarra?

2) What did Gustavo mean by the comment "we're just victims of nature"?

3) The story says, "When Alberto saw the pink clouds at dawn, he knew bad weather was on the way". What was the saying mentioned in the story which told Alberto there was going to be a storm?

4) Why was Alberto worried when he saw the effects of the storm on the mountain?

5) Why did the picnickers run away from the pool?

6) Was this a true story?

I also include the transcript.

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

This is about the trial in Australia that finished just last week and is popularly known as "The Mushroom Murders". Today, I'll ask the famous detective, Hércules Poirot (from Agatha Christie's novels) to explain to his exclusive audience of people involved in the crime and to us, the listeners of the podcast, what happened exactly, and who the murderer is.

This is a B2-level podcast with focus on the third conditional. e.g.

If I had studied more, I would have passed my Cambridge exams.

Listen for examples of the third conditional.

You can read the full transcript of Hércules Poirot's speech at my website: 

https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-249.htm

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

This is a B2-level recording and story with vocabulary about animal sounds and movement:

Animal words:

warren - where rabbits live together in the ground

roar - sound like a lion makes

thunder - sound like large animals running past

scream - high pitched sound that sounds angry or scared

hop - to jump (in humans - on one leg)

poke your head out - look out briefly from somewhere

twitching - quick movements like a rabbits nose or ears

crouch - when somebody or an animal moves their body down, or down flat to the ground

beast - an animal

whine - high pitched sound like a car engine when going fast, a dog 'crying'.

slip back in - move quickly into a place

hum - sound similar to that the bees make

B2 words:

beyond - further away than

generation - referring to people or animals, the sons, then sons of sons etc.

mutter - talk quietly

unfamiliar - something you have not seen before

tremble - shake, often with fear

whistle - sound made with lips, often with a tune

uneasy - a little frightened

giggle - a laugh like a little girl's

glance - look quickly

to fade - sound getting quieter

To read the Transcript of the story, go to: https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-248.htm

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

Hello, dear students!

Future continuous for fixed events, which are expected to happen. (This is B1 grammar with interest for B2 students too!)

will + be + verb+ing

I'll be giving a talk at that time, but I could see you afterwards for a coffee.
This time next week I'll be flying into paradise
I'll be seeing you soon, then. Yes. Holidays finish next week.

Not about making decisions but sth decided anyway
Shall I take you into town?
Don't bother
No bother. I'll be going to the shops anyway.

Polite - not to influence people's decision about plans
Will you be staying the weekend?
Yes, if that's OK with you.
Of course, we'd be delighted to have you stay with us.
Compare;
Are you going to stay the weekend?
(Come on! Tell me! I want to know now!)

Note often with non-ing verbs like want.
Will you be wanting breakfast tomorrow?
Yes, please!

Say what people are doing now.
Don't call now. They'll be having lunch at this time.

Well, the managers will be deciding who leaves and who doesn't.
I'm just hoping I won't lose my job.

For transcript of story, go to: https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-247.htm

For more help on Future Continuous, also listen to: https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-25.htm

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

Today, I’m going to talk about the family of ‘there is’! At first, that might seem very basic English grammar. Indeed, the phrase ‘there is’ is A1 level. However, at B1 and even B2 level, I must admit there are few students who talk about this family. Why? Because it’s not a structure that has a literal word for word translation in many other languages. 

Anyway, let’s meet some of the family first of all. I can’t name all of them because it’s a very extended family tree. But here are some you might often meet while reading or listening to native English speakers.

There is, there are, there was, there were, there has been, there had been, there will be, there won’t be, there can be, there can’t be, there may be, there could be, there might be, there must be, there would be, there should be…

Read the transcript: https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-246.htm

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

B1 Linking Words

Linking words join two sentences together. Here are the ones I mention during the podcast:

A Rainy Adventure

Tom wanted to go hiking. The sky looked grey but he didn’t mind – no problem

With linker: Tom wanted to go hiking, although the sky looked grey. 

He packed his bag. He wanted to be ready the moment his friend Anna called.

With linker: He packed his bag in order to be ready as soon as his friend Anna called.

Anna wasn’t sure if they should go or not. The weather looked bad.

With linker: Anna wasn’t sure whether they should go or not because of the weather.

It was raining. So what? They decided to try. They wore boots and jackets. They didn’t wear their normal clothes.

With linker: Despite the rain, they decided to try. They wore boots and jackets instead of their usual clothes.

The rain was heavy. The trail was wet and muddy. If they walked slowly it would be safe. If they walked fast they might risk falling.. They chose to go slow.

With linker: Due to the heavy rain, the trail was wet and muddy. They could either walk slowly and be safe, or go fast and risk falling. They chose to go slow.

They reached the top. The rain stopped. The view was beautiful! They took photos and ate lunch.

With linker: Once they reached the top, the rain stopped. The view was beautiful! They took photos and ate lunch.

They were tired. They sat down and rested. They hoped the weather didn’t get worse. They wanted to stay longer.

With linker: Since they were tired, they sat down to rest. Unless the weather got worse, they planned to stay longer.

In the end, they were happy they went, the rain at the start wasn’t a problem. It was a fun day full of adventure.

With linker: In the end, they were happy they went, despite the rain at the start. It was a fun day full of adventure.

See the full transcript of the second story at my website: https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-245.htm

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

For health reasons, I'm afraid I cannot share a new podcast with you today. I include instead, one of my favourite stories that I wrote for students studying for B1 English level: The Breath of the Mosquito as a complete version.

This extract will help you understand what the story is about...

'If… if something went back in time and existed in the past, something or somebody who was not there before, he/she/it would change time in the present. Things would not be the same when he or she returned. It would take just a moment, the tiniest movement in the past would have the effect like a stone thrown into a pond. The circles of effect would move out, growing and growing 
for ever and changing the world as they go.'

'But, Emil,' interrupted his friend. 'I was only there for a minute or so.'

'Mathew, a minute is a long, long time. Listen to me, even the breath of a mosquito 33 million years ago would change the world and events in history as we know them today. Just one breath of a mosquito. Imagine how incredibly small that would be.'

Has time changed in the present? If so, in what ways?

Enjoy the story!

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/

My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N

Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)