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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

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All Episodes

27:10

Every Dog has his Day (B1 and B2 Story)

Practising English ·

2025/10/28

Norman Newbury has never won anything in his life, and then when a swimming competition comes up, Norman thinks he could, at last, win the trophy. 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...

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17:10

268. The Girl in the Painting (B1 Story)

Practising English ·

2025/10/22

The B1 story today:The Girl in the PaintingSophie had been meaning to visit the old house on the hill for years, and she was surprised to see the door open, as though inviting her to visit.Inside, the air was heavy and quiet. She glanced around the dusty room and saw an old mirror. In the glass, she saw a handsome young man smiling at her. She turned suddenly, however, there was no one there behind her. She turned back to the mirror. There was the same young man dressed in a smart dinner jacket and

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17:24

267. Article on Friendship (B2 level)

Practising English ·

2025/10/16

This is a B2 level podcast:The Magic of True FriendshipHave you ever stopped to think what really makes a good friend? We all have people we hang out with, but genuine friendship goes beyond just having fun together.A good friend is someone you can count on, no matter what. They listen when you need to talk, cheer you up when you’re feeling down, and tell you the truth — even when it’s hard to hear. Trust and honesty are key. After all, what’s friendship without trust?With good friends, you don’t

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19:44

266. An article about games for PET exam (B1 level)

Practising English ·

2025/10/15

Today, I'm going to read an article, which is similar to the articles you have to write if you're doing the B1 Cambridge PET exam. Many people enjoy playing games in their free time. Some prefer board games like chess or Monopoly, while others like video games such as Minecraft or FIFA. But which type of game is more interesting to play? Board games are great for spending time with family and friends. You can sit together, talk, and have fun face to face. These games often need players to thi...

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20:35

265. A True Champion (B2 Story)

Practising English ·

2025/10/09

A B2 -level stort for you today...A True ChampionSofia had always dreamed of becoming a professional tennis player. She trained every morning, even when she was tired, because she knew success would depend on her hard work. Some people tried to discourage her from doing so much training, saying she was wasting her time, but Sofia refused to listen.Her first big tournament didn’t go well. She suffered a terrible defeat, and her confidence began to decline. Deep down, she felt that maybe everyone had

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21:59

264. The Mystery of the Lake (B1 Story)

Practising English ·

2025/10/08

The Mystery of the LakeDay after day, Lily walked past the old lake near her village. The elderly people of the village said it was dangerously deep, and that in its depths lived an enormous monster. In all her life, Lily had never seen anything, although she often wondered why there were never ducks or swans on the lake. One summer morning, she decided to take her small boat and explore the lake herself.As her tiny boat moved further from the lake’s edge, dark clouds began to form. The wind grew

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18:56

263. If Only We Could Go Back (B2 story)

Practising English ·

2025/10/02

Ask me a question for the podcast?The audioscript for today's B2 story:If only we could go backOn Tuesday morning, Alice decided to call in sick, not because she was ill, but because the clouds outside looked like elephants marching across the sky. Today she felt like the little girl that she used to be many years before. She simply couldn’t be bothered to sit at her office desk when such wonders were happening around her.She set off to the fields near her country home, carrying a picnic

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21:06

262. The Missing Actor (B1 Story)

Practising English ·

2025/10/01

Ask me a question for the podcast?The story audioscript for the story. The B1 words are shown in black.The missing actorDetective Anna Jones had a long career solving strange crimes. One rainy night, the police had called her to a dark hotel outside the village to help them. A film actor and celebrity, John Kelly, had disappeared from his locked room. The manager had knocked on the door, to bring his dinner, but there had been no reply. Unfortunately, the local police had been careless, and Anna

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19:43

261. The Crown Thief (B2 Story)

Practising English ·

2025/09/25

Ask me a question for the podcast?B2 story and vocabulary today. Here is the audioscript of the story and the B2 words in bold.The Crown ThiefDetective Harris was on the point of leaving the police station when the phone rang. A robbery had taken place at the old museum. He grabbed his coat and hurried out.At the scene, the guard looked bad-tempered. “This is a disgrace!” he shouted. “The thief just walked in and out. Nobody stopped him. There are three of us, but the robbery happened the other side

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20:47

260. A Frightening Experience at the Airport (B1 Story)

Practising English ·

2025/09/24

Ask me a question for the podcast?A B1-level podcast today with a story and a test on the B1 words and expressions:A frightening experience at the airportWhen Anna reached the arrivals lounge, she noticed her baggage was missing. She had just got off the plane. Where was it? Everybody had picked up theirs except Anna. She wanted to blame the airline, but she tried to behave calmly – besides, she didn’t really know whose fault it was. Suddenly, a loud noise made everyone stop and look. A child had

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18:32

259. The Fresh-food Market (B2 story)

Practising English ·

2025/09/18

Ask me a question for the podcast? This is the B2 podcast for this week. Aidioscript: The Fresh-food Market Lena had always tried to follow a balanced diet, but after she moved to the city, she often skipped meals. The constant absence of fresh food in her neighbourhood made it difficult to eat properly. One evening, she wandered outside and saw an old, abandoned house at the end of the street. It was heart-breaking to see its broken windows, reminding her of her childhood home that had been ...

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23:06

258. The Climbing Accident (B1 Story)

Practising English ·

2025/09/17

Ask me a question for the podcast?I'm back from my holidays!Today I'm publishing the first B1 podcast of season 5 - five years helping intermediate students pass Cambridge exams.I also have news of my new book just published on Amazon "B1 English Vocabulary Builder" 22 Short Stories for Learning the Words and Phrases Students Need to Pass the B1 Exam. Hear more on the podcast!The story audioscript is here:A Climbing AccidentMy name is Mary, and I love mountain climbing. My friend

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26:32

257. The Fool on the Hill (B1 story) (last of the...

Practising English ·

2025/09/10

This favourite story for learners of B1 will be the last of the summer episodes before my return for season 5 next week. 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/33Axu2Nhttps://amzn.to/33Axu2NBe back soon with another

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16:57

256. The Cucumber (B1) (summer repeat)

Practising English ·

2025/09/03

Here are some words that are not B1 and you'll need to understand the story.Words which are outside the A1 to B1 levels*Greenhouse - a building with glass sides and roof for growing plants in.*Skin - the outside of some types of vegetable and fruit.*String - a long piece of material used for tying things together.*Ultraviolet (light) - a blue light with wavelengths shorter than violet light.*Allotment - an area of land in a town which a person can rent or buy in order to grow vegetables on

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19:28

255. The Green Door (summer repeat) B2 level

Practising English ·

2025/08/27

This lovely story from the the American writer O'Henry, I completely re-wrote for B2 level. Here is the vocabulary discussed:Just around the corner. The means a place further on where we cannot see but is very close.English proverb: The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. This means that life is better any place but where you are now.hesitation - worried about doing something because you are not sure that it is the right thing to do.impersonal - without friendly human

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22:53

254. Tsunami (summer repeat) B1 level story (part 2)

Practising English ·

2025/08/20

Here is Part two of my popular story, Tsunami for learners of B1 EnglishAt 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/33Axu2Nhttps://amzn.to/33Axu2NBe back soon with another podcast!Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in

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20:41

253. Tsunami (summer repeat) B1 level story (part 1)

Practising English ·

2025/08/13

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 BilbroughAt 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:

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21:46

252. Dad (summer repeat) B1 level story (part 2)

Practising English ·

2025/08/06

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,...

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19:34

251. Dad (summer repeat) B1 level story (part 1)

Practising English ·

2025/07/30

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,

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27:06

250. Victims of Nature B2 (repeat)

Practising English ·

2025/07/27

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 ...

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269 results

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