Practising English

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A Strong B1 and B2-level story based on a real event this summer in the Alpujarra mountain region of Southern Spain (Granada).

Words to explain:

shepherd = spmebody who looks after sheep in the countryside

raft = a small flat boat

flock of sheep = a group of sheep

waterfall = where water falls vertically down from a high rock

B2 phrases to listen for. What is the context of each phrase?

1) The reality of the situation...

2) take charge of...

3) he held on for dear life...

4) What’s the point of...

5) be bored stiff...

The vowels (a, e, i, o, u) have been taken out (unless the word begins with a vowel). Read the definition and guess the word in bold.

B1-level

1) dsty adj. covered in a fine layer of dirt, sand, etc.

2) shd n. the dark are under a tree, for example, where the sun does not shine.

3) strm n. a small river

4) dprtr n. opposite of arrival, where you leave from, going away

5) end p v. finish, where an event has its end.

B2-level

6) unblvbl adj. something you find difficult to think is true

7) pctrsq adj. very pretty scenery e.g. mountains, woods etc.

8) wtty adj. clever with words

9) undrstndbl adj. when you respect somebody's feelings and feel what they say is true

10) thrtnng adj. something that could hurt or harm us, it could be dangerous

Read the answers at: https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-206.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)

Send me a text.

One way or another, Norman imagined that other people regarded him as an underachiever. He became obsessed by what his colleagues at the supermarket might call him when he was not listening. What about Norman Nobody or Norman Nothing in Particular. Norman was a man who was of the opinion that life had not treated him fairly...

This is a strong B1 to B2-level story.

B2 phrases to listen for. What is the context of each phrase?

1) talk things over with

2) kept in good shape

3) push himself

4) (feel) over the moon 

5) took a deep breath

6) taken it for granted

The vowels (a, e, i, o, u) have been taken out (unless the word begins with a vowel). Read the definition and guess the word in bold.

B1-level

1) achvmnt n. (something difficult you managed to de)

2) dscssn n. (talking among people)

3) rd v. (opposite of polite)

4) rcgnsd (saw somebody and knew who they were)

5) cmpttr n. (somebody in a competition)

B2-level

6) otstnding adj. (exceptional, very good)

7) trgc adj. (very sad)

8) prftbl adj. (a way that earns you money)

9) gggls n. (worn over the eyes when swimming)

10) astnshd adj. (very surprised)

For answers, listen to the podcast, and go to: https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-205.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)

Send me a text.

The Winds of Bolonia (B1 Story with new comprehension questions)

I wanted to publish this story together with the Para-olympics in Paris. I was watching it on television. It shows how positive attitudes, strength, determination are not qualities limited to those athletes in the Olympics we saw earlier this summer, but that persons with disabilities are no different and share the same qualities.

The heroine in my story today, The Winds of Bolonia (B1 level) is about a young girl in a wheelchair. Her story is a success story, not because she learns how to be better than her disability but because she has a disability.

Comprehension questions and vocabulary test for the complete story (read before you listen)

1) Why was the wind a problem on the island of Bolonia?

2) What was Ainimos' favourite hobby?

3) Why was Animos in a wheelchair?

4) Did Animos pass the university entry exam?

5) Why did Animos feel positive at the end of the story?

The vowels (a, e, i, o, u) have been taken out of each word (unless the word begins with a vowel). Read the definition and guess the word in bold.

1) pnfl adj. (hurts very much)

2) lkd frwrd t v. past (waited for an event and wanted it to happen soon)

3) prvntd v. past. (stopped her from doing something)

4) sns of hmr (be funny, know how to make people laugh; laugh at good jokes)

5) old-fshnd adj. (not modern, not in fashion)

6) hpfl adj. (feeling good about what is going to happen)

7) at lng lst (in the end, finally)

8) rmnd qt (continued not saying anything)

9) cldn’t blv hr eys (she saw something but she didn’t think it could be true)

10) injrd v. past (hurt yourself e.g. in an accident)

See all answers at https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-204.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)

Send me a text.

Comprehension questions and answers for the complete story.

1) Why did Benjamin decide to go back to the hotel?

2) How did Jessica know Benjamin was staying in the Borromeo Hotel?

3) Where did Benjamin move to when fe left school?

4) What did Benjamin think the old woman was doing on the stairs?

5) What did Benjamin plan to do with Jessica?

6) Why did Benjamin's son, Logan, leave the car at the end of the story?

You can see the answers to these questions at https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-177.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)

Send me a text.

Comprehension questions to read before listening to the complete B1-level story:
Who was Sidney Peabody?

1) What was unusual about the way Sidney Peabody looked?

2) According to Simon Fotheringay, the journalist and reporter, why did Sidney Peabody perform the miracle in Benalmadena?

3) What did people do in Madrid just before Sidney Peabody said the words: "I wish it would rain!"?

4) After talking to his friend, Stephen Smithers, who did Simon think Sidney Peabody was?

5) Did the detective believe Sidney Peabody wanted to help others by making it rain?

You can find the answers at my website: https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-158.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)

Send me a text.

This is the complete B1-level story of The Spaceman (first published in 2022)

Comprehension questions for story
1) Why was Max Headroom angry at the beginning of the story?

2) What were the space-time doors?

3) Who was the old man in Max's bedroom?

4) Why did Max and his wife, Sheena, separate?

5) Do you think Max and Sheena got back together again?

I'll give you the answers at the end of the story.

Think about this question below. You can send your written answer at the link at the top of this page "send me a text" (mobile phones only)
If you as a much older man or woman came to visit you now from the future, what would he or she (you) tell you that you should stop doing before it's too late?

Transcript.
The transcript below is for the first part of the story (until you hear the music). Listen carefully to the rest of the story and try to answer the questions 2 to 5 above. (Answers at the end of the podcast.)

Max Headroom felt very annoyed. As he looked out of the side window of his tiny spaceship*, he could clearly see the red paint falling off the back wings. Max remembered the words of the advertisement at his local spaceship* garage.

Special offer - this week only!
Small-sized spaceships painted at half-price!

Why hadn’t he taken his spaceship* to the garage last week?  Now it was too late for the special offer.

Max turned away from the side window and looked forward through the front windscreen. Bright stars filled the black space ahead of him. It was another wonderful weekend away in space for Max. He really looked forward to his weekends.

Max opened the computer screen and turned on the display. He could now see the space social network groups and who was online. Max found a few of his friends. Dekker was in his own spaceship*. He had just left the planet Gonda. Baxter and Bleeper had been in space since Thursday and were close by. Max touched Dekker’s avatar on the screen. Dekker replied immediately.

‘Hi, there, Max! How are you?’ said Dekker.

‘Fine,’ answered Max. ‘Good to hear from you, Dekker! Let’s do some space travel!’

‘Sure!’ said Dekker. ‘I’ll contact Baxter and Bleeper. The space cowboys are gonna have fun! Wahoo!’

They enjoyed going to the typical holiday planets around Vega with their hot and sunny weather, luxury hotels, enormous swimming pools and noisy night clubs.
 
However, Max and his friends chose to go to a completely different planet this time – a holiday planet called Bluewater. Not many people travelled there and Max had to choose a different flight route. 

First of all, he had to fly past the planet Darkhole, which was where strange non-humans* lived in dirty, smelly houses. They hated visitors from other planets and if they had the chance they would attack and rob them. Even the space police wouldn’t go to planet Darkhole.

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)

Send me a text.

Today I'm giving you the full version of my B1-level story (with some B2 English)
Tsunami!

Here are 4 comprehension questions for part TWO of the story, which starts after the written transcript has finished.

1) What did Yannick think Melville's name was?
Mr Tsunami
2) Which was the last accident that stopped Melville and the French family from escaping from the beach?
But that jeep was going nowhere that day. It hit a rock hidden under the sand, which made it jump to the side and turn over completely - everybody with it.
3) What happened to the Tsunami? Why weren't Melville and the French family killed?
The huge wave divided in two – like a pair of curtains at a window. Each half dropped in height to just a few metres and moved down to the sides of the island and disappeared.
4) What did Melville look like?
Melville stood there in front of them, dark-skinned, handsome, long black curly hair and beard, looking larger than life - like a Greek god.

To read the trandscript go to https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-200.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)

Send me a text.

These are the two stories I chose for the story task I gave you at podcast 197.

Story 1

Mrs Jones was 82. Her husband had died many years ago, so she lived alone with her cat. She had a large vegetable garden, and she kept fit by working there every day.

But she was often unhappy, because she remembered she had lost her wedding ring many, many years ago. It was like a treasure for her.

One day, she was in the garden pulling carrots out of the ground. Suddenly she saw the ring. A carrot had grown inside it.

'Well, well, well. After all these years!' she said.

(Yolanda, La Coruña, Spain)

Story 2

Yvette was a very responsible girl, although she was only 12 years old. One evening, her parents decided to go out for a meal and leave Yvette at home to look after her brother, who was 10.

Yvette sat in front of the fire and read her book. It was a big old house and some people said it had a ghost.

Suddenly, Yvette's mobile phone rang. 

'I am the ghost of this house, and I'm coming to get you!' said a voice.

'See you in a bit, then,' she said, and hung up.

Then her little brother came in.

'Why weren't you frightened,' he said.

'Stop playing silly games and go to bed,' said Yvette.

(Aleksy, near Warsaw, Poland)

Thank you for your contributions!

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)

Send me a text.

There are 4 questions for you to answer while you listen to the story:

The questions are:
1) What did uncle Tom make so he didn't have to get up early?
2) When they were on the boat, where did Stephen Liddel put the box of beer?
3) What did William's Dad do wrong that made him lose the fish?
4) Why did Uncle Tom fall into the sea?

At the end of the story, I'll tell you the answers.

You can also answer the question:
Is there a hero in your family? Who is it?

You can send me your answer by clicking on the link above: Send me a Text. You can only do this from your mobile phone.

I'll read out answers on next week's podcast - July 29th 2024. Please include a name and the country you are from.

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)

Send me a text.

Here are the rules for the story-writing activity.
- The story must include at least one of the phrases 1 to 8 shown below.
- The subject of the story can be anything you like.
- The story should not be longer than 80 words.
- The story can only be sent from the link on mobile phones "send me a text" at the top of this page in your podcast app.
- Please include your name and the country you are from at the bottom of the text.
- The last day for sending the story is 28th July 2024.
- I'll read two or three of the best stories on my podcast.

1) The voice sounded rather weak, sleepy even.

2) I’ve got a few hours. I thought we could meet up.

3) Thoughts began to go through Stephen’s mind

4) 'Why don’t you come over?' Jane suggested.

5) ‘See you in a bit* then,’ she said and hung up.

6) On such a small island, everybody knew everybody else

7) 'Well, well, well. After all these years!' she said.

8) She had to move piles of papers off the sofa, so Stephen could sit down.

See the full transcript of the story extract at: https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-197.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)