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PODCAST

Practising English

M. A. Bilbrough

Listening practice for learners of B1 intermediate and B2 upper-intermediate levels of British English. Learn British English by listening to stories. Original and exciting stories written for learners and students of British English. Practise and prepare for Cambridge: B1 PET Preliminary and FCE First Certificate exams. IELTS: level 4, level 5 and level 6. Includes English grammar explanations and practice exercises, examples of vocabulary use, phrasal verbs and collocations help, British English

education language learning

All Episodes

00:21:27

229. B1 adjectives with hyphens (with dialogue)

Practising English ·

2025/02/23

Adjectives with hyphen at B1 levelgood-looking (only with hyphen) - attractive (for people, often men)well-known - a lot of people have heard of it and know it/him/herold-fashioned (only with hyphen) - (often criticising something) not new, not in fashionwell-dressed - dressed in attractive clothes, smart, elegantup-to-date - (usually technology) the newest in software, hardware, computers etc.middle-aged - around 50 years oldface-to-face (only with hyphen) (also adv. came face-to-face with the

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00:11:27

228. The Medical check-up (expressions for emphasis)

Practising English ·

2025/02/16

Words and expressions for emphasis- The reason is I like working with people, I have experience of looking after elderly people and I enjoy volunteering work. - The problem is I’m a little lazy, I am often late for work because I sleep in. - The fact (of the matter is) is that the planet is warming and many species are dying. - The fact is we need computers to function better in business. - It is true that a lot of accidents are caused by motorbikes. But the point is that the car if far more

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00:12:40

227. Talking about the Future (with dialogue)

Practising English ·

2025/02/09

Future Forms in EnglishI'm not going to talk about future tense and predictions, but other uses of future tense.Going to and present continuous for futureGoing to – plans and intentions that we have;I'm going to pay Mum a visit later today. She's not feeling well.Strong intentions.I'm going to learn German next year. It's something I've always wanted to do.Present continuous – something that had been planned earlier – some sort of planning has taken place. You have a plan now. That's why we often

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00:17:52

226. Get and verbs of movement B1, B2 and story

Practising English ·

2025/02/02

Now it's interesting that we use get as a verb of motion. Often, when it's difficult to actually move. Have you noticed that we say,Would you like to get into my car. Now, you go into your house, you open the door and you walk in. You don't usually get into your house, but you get into a car. Why? Because you have to bend down usually to get in. So you get into a car. Perhaps you're up a ladder, you know, a ladder, which takes you upwards. If you're painting a wall, for example. And you don't like

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00:18:25

225. Verbs of Movement with story (B1, B2)

Practising English ·

2025/01/26

Why my students say 'enter the classroom'Where there is movement, there's a preposition, and a preposition is used in the same way we use preposition of place (where things are) He ran across the street. The dog ran after the cat. Go / run / walk / swim etc. along this street until you get to the crossroads and then turn right. I walked among the all the people. They travelled all around / round the country. The little girl walked between her mother and father. He ran down the stairs. She got into

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00:19:06

224. The Londoner (B1 B2 level story)

Practising English ·

2025/01/19

In today's story, I'll be looking at some B2-level phrasal verbs.I explain 5 of the phrasal verbs below in the podcast: 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10. You can listen to all ten of these phrasal verbs. They are in the order you'll hear them. 1) figure something out - try to find the answer to a problem 2) get on with something - continue an activity you were doing earlier 3) get round to something - do one of the jobs that needs doing but you don't find time for it 4) go down with something - to get ill 5) get

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00:18:41

223. The Cambridge exam B1 story writing

Practising English ·

2025/01/12

To write a successful story for the Cambridge PET exam (Preliminary English Test)Here is some of the help and advice I talk about in the podcast. I will also read you a model story. You are always given a first sentence, which you must use. 'When Jasmin looked down at the soft ground, she could see quite clearly that the tiger had recently come this way.' Use of 'when' here. 'When ' is a good word to use in your story as it means you create a complex, 2-part sentence. Setting the scene - where the

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00:31:57

222. A Window on Time (complete version) B2 level

Practising English ·

2025/01/05

Strong B1 to B2-level story. Today, as I'm still on holiday, I'm offering you the complete version of the very popular story I published in September - A Window on Time. Read and listen to the comprehension questions before you start listening.1) What was the bad news Geoffrey received at the beginning of the story? 2) What physical changes happened to Geoffrey when he entered the classroom for the first time? 3) Why did Geoffrey stay in the classroom and not make an attempt to get back to his

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00:27:06

221. Victims of Nature (complete version) B1, B2

Practising English ·

2024/12/29

Victims of Nature Complete Version (B1, B2) This is the full version of the two story parts published last September. Comprehension questions 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

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00:22:44

220. A Christmas Carol - The end of it (Part 2) B2 story

Practising English ·

2024/12/22

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.B1 B2-level story with exra Christmas idioms included. I have re-written this story for my English students.Ebenezer Scrooge visits his nephew for Christmas dinner and surprises Bob Cratchit with some astonishing news.Phrases to listen for. What is the context of each phrase in the story? You can see the answers after you listen in the audioscript below. 1) Give somebody the cold shoulderTo be rude to somebody by ignoring them....

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00:20:46

219. A Christmas Carol - The end of it (Part 1) B2 story

Practising English ·

2024/12/16

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion."Scrooge jumped out of bed and rushed over to the window, opened it, and put his head out. There was no fog, no mist; it was a clear, bright, cheerful day...."This is the last chapter of Charles' Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol adapted to B2 level. B2 phrases to listen for. What is the context of each word?1) seasonal - refers to a time of year e.g. seasonal decorations (during the Christmas season)2) remarkable - a wonderful

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21:38

218. Coming Home (part 2) B1 B2-level story

Practising English ·

2024/12/08

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.Jonathon goes to the bank to claim his prize, but he comes away with something he didn't expect. B2 phrases to listen for. What is the context of each phrase?1, get rid of - try to make disappear2, be taken in - makes you believe something bad3, live for - be a very important thing in your life4, fall apart - collapse, disappear so it exists no longer5, see to something - make something happen6, let somebody down - not help somebody

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21:02

217. Coming Home (part 1) B1, B2-level story

Practising English ·

2024/12/01

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.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 to his home, but what will he find?B2 phrases to listen for. What is the context of each phrase?1, more or less (finished etc.) = nearly2, obliged to = you have to3, not have the slightest intention = (used in the neagative) not want or will not

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23:28

216. Candle Burning (part 2) B1-level story

Practising English ·

2024/11/24

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.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-level words and expressions:lack of something - not enough of somethingget rid of somebody - tell somebody to leaveout of work - to have lost your jobtry your best - do a task the best way you canstay behind - to wait after others have

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21:24

215. Candle Burning (part 1) B1-level story

Practising English ·

2024/11/17

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.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 listen to the short story.I'll analyse these intermediate-level words and expressions:no going back - you cannot go to where you were earlier, or if you start something, you cannot leave it but must carry on.warning - a notice or

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22:27

214. The Second-hand Shop (B2 Story)

Practising English ·

2024/11/10

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.The upper-intermediate phrsal verbs studied in today's episode are:look up to - admire somebody because of their qualitiesfall apart - to break into pieces, probably because it's olddate from - saying how old something is, from what year something isthink sth over - consider something carefullytake on - offer a contract of work to somebodymiss out - not to take advantage of an opportunity which would bring benefitscome across -

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23:02

213. B1 Intermediate-level Phrasal Verbs 2 (with story)

Practising English ·

2024/11/03

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.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 join or becme part of a club etc.show up - to arrive somewhere unexpectedly.deal with - to try to resolve a problemtake up - to begin a new sport, hobby or other activitycarry on - to continue, often when things seem difficult.Listen to the

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24:09

212. B1 Intermediate-level Phrasal Verbs (with story)

Practising English ·

2024/10/27

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.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 off - to do some activity at a later time.set off - to start a journey.run out - to find you have no more of something e.g. petrol in your car, milk in the fridge.look forward - wait excitedly for an event to happen.For story transcript

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25:28

211. The Visitors (part 2) B1 B2 upper-intermediate...

Practising English ·

2024/10/20

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.Intermediate (B1) and upper-intermediate (B2) English expressions and vocabulary. Words to explain:binoculars - a device used to see objects far awayUFO - unidentified flying object (alien spaceship)What the hell is going on? - What is happening?fin - wing-like structure of a creature that lives in the seaB2 phrases to listen for. What is the context of each phrase?1, failed to comprehend2, under the impression 3, get straight to the

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27:22

210. The Visitors (Part 1) B1 B2 story

Practising English ·

2024/10/13

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.Words to explain:extraterrestrial - from another planetalien - life from another planetlife forms - beings which are livingelectro-magnetic field - this surrounds the Earth and protects us from harmful rays from spaceorbit - going around the sun etc.meteorite - an object that may crash into the Earthevolve / evolution - life that grows and changes over long periods of timecosmic - from the universecomet - a huge ball of us that flies

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