Practising English

English podcast story for B1, B2 levels (intermediate - upper intermediate) - Jonathon Baxter has spent ten years walking around Britain, playing his harmonica to survive. Then he decides to return t…

B1 words and expressions studied:

In this B1-level podcast today, I'll also discuss 6 interesting intermediate B1-level words, which you can listen for while you listen to the short story.

Intermediate…

In this B1-level podcast today I'll use lots of important vocabulary and expressions to talk about daily actions. I'll also discuss 10 interesting B1-level words, which you can listen for while you l…

The upper-intermediate phrsal verbs studied in today's episode are:

look up to - admire somebody because of their qualities
fall apart - to break into pieces, probably because it's old
date from - sayin…

This is another podcast on B1 intermediate phrasal verbs - those a little difficult to learn. The ones I will talk about are:

put on - to switch on or activate some device (electrical?)
sign up - to jo…

The six B1 phrasal verbs studied are:
give up - stop doing some activity e.g. smoking, or a game because you are losing.
end up - to finish in a place probably you didn't expect to find yourself in.
put…

Intermediate (B1) and upper-intermediate (B2) English expressions and vocabulary.

Words to explain:

binoculars - a device used to see objects far away

UFO - unidentified flying object (alien spaceship)

…

Words to explain:

extraterrestrial - from another planet

alien - life from another planet

life forms - beings which are living

electro-magnetic field - this surrounds the Earth and protects us from harmf…

The second part of my story A Window on Time.

Strong B1 and B2-level story.

Words to explain: 

detention - in schools this was (is?) a punishment for children. We had to stay in a classroom during the …

B2 phrases to listen for. What is the context they are used in during the story.
1) deep in thought
2) Strangely enough,
3) strictly forbidden
4) an exception to the rule
5) the situation had become unbea…

Part 2 of my exciting story Victims of Nature for students studying B1 and B2 English.

Words to explain: 

shepherd = somebody who looks after sheep in the countryside

raft = a small flat boat

flock of sh…

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 country…

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 abo…

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 attitud…

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 …

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 …

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 d…

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 f…

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…

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 L…