Improve Your English Vocabulary With 10 Minutes Of English Listening Practice Ep 596

Perfect English Listening Practice For Intermediate Learners Tune In And Boost Your Vocabulary

Do you want to improve your English vocabulary? This English lesson is perfect for you! We'll show you how to get the most out of your English listening practice with just 10 minutes a day. We'll give you tips and tricks to help you understand and remember new words quickly. We'll show you how to understand, use, and remember new words with our simple and effective techniques. Plus, we'll give you a few exercises to help you retain the words you've learned. So if you're ready to expand your English vocabulary, this English lesson is for you!

One of the best ways to learn English is to start by listening. The English language can be complicated and confusing, so it is important to first understand the way words are pronounced and the way sentences are constructed. Listen to native English speakers and work on understanding their conversation. This will help build your listening comprehension and give you a foundation for further language learning.

A good teacher will be able to provide you with tips and tricks to help you along your journey. They can also assist in correcting any mistakes you make, which will help you become more comfortable and confident speaking the language. Learning to speak English can seem like a daunting task, but with the right approach it can actually be quite exhilarating. Listening is the key to success; if you can actively listen to the English language and practice speaking it, you'll soon be on your way.

✔Lesson transcript: https://adeptenglish.com/lessons/english-phrases-great-way-to-learn/

Learning to speak English is an exciting journey that can open up a world of opportunities. With the English language being one of the key languages used in international business, it is essential for a successful career. And, even if your professional life does not require speaking English, it can still be a useful tool for travelling, watching movies and reading books in the original language, and connecting with people from all over the world.

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Finally, don't be afraid to make mistakes. We all make them - it's part of the learning process! So don't be discouraged if you make a few errors along the way. With practice and dedication, you'll soon be speaking English fluently. So don't be intimidated, and get started on your English journey today!

Most Unusual Words:

Dedication: Being very focused on something, giving it a lot of time and effort.
Discouraged: Feeling like you want to give up or lose hope.
Techniques: Specific ways to do something well.
Exhilarating: Making you feel very excited and happy.
Songbird: A bird that makes musical sounds.
Controversy: A big disagreement among many people, usually causing a lot of talk or arguments.
Formulating: Making a plan or idea more clear and organized.
Ploughed: To move ahead with strong force, like a plow digging into soil.
Conflict: A serious disagreement or fight, sometimes even a war.
Mitigation: Making something less bad, harmful, or severe.
Rumours: Stories or facts that people talk about, but may not be true.

Most common 2 word phrases:

Phrase	Count
You May	3
Last Week	2
News Stories	2
News Podcast	2

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Transcript: Improve Your English Vocabulary With 10 Minutes Of English Listening Practice

Hi there. Today how about another news podcast? We know you love a news podcast, and it's a really good way of practising your English.

And this is of course, my 'edit' of the news. There are hundreds of news stories out there, so I've selected just a few. I'll talk through them with you and I'll explain any difficult words.

These are not necessarily the main news stories, as we say, but they're the ones that caught my eye. There's an idiom for you - 'to catch someone's eye'. That means you noticed them.

Hello, I’m Hilary, and you’re listening to Adept English. We will help you to speak English fluently. All you have to do is listen. So start listening now and find out how it works.

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So news in the last week, what caught my eye?

A musical loss

Well, I was sad on Thursday to learn of the death of 79 year old Christine McVie. You may not immediately recognise her name, but you may well know her voice and her songs. That's much more likely, if you like Fleetwood Mac, that's F L E E T W O O D, and 'Mac', M A C, then it may become clearer. And if not, try listening to their music. If you type that in on YouTube, that's the name of the band, and perhaps a title like 'Songbird', S O N G B I R D. That's my favourite. Or you could try, ' You Make Loving Fun' or 'Don't Stop'. They're also well known Christine McVie songs. Or even 'Sweet Little Lies'. They're old songs, but they're good ones. And you may find that you know them, even if you've never heard of Fleetwood Mac. She was an English singer songwriter with a mainly American band.

I'm reminded of that phrase that we use sometimes in English - 'the soundtrack of our lives'. And what we mean by this is that music finds its way into our consciousness. We don't really notice until the maker of that music is gone. Fleetwood Mac 'Rumours' is probably one of the best albums of all time. Certainly the best selling.

What part of my life does Fleetwood Mac 'Rumours' remind me of?

Well, driving through France as a child with my sister and brother-in-law, in the car with Fleetwood Mac 'Rumours' on a loop. Looping on repeat.

The World Cup news

What else is in the news? Well, I had a comment last week. 'When are you going to talk about the World Cup?' So here we are.

I don't know what it is. Normally I love the World Cup, but I haven't really paid much attention to it this year. This year in Qatar. That's Q A T A R in English. However, now that England are through the Group Stage, I feel that maybe they need support and I will be watching. That's often the 'kiss of death', of course!

I'm not going to say too much about England's fortunes. World Cups are a painful business. It's too hard to watch. Wales are already out, of course.

But I'm also aware that between me making this recording and you being able to listen to it, England have their match with Senegal. So I'm not gonna say very much because I don't know what will have happened in that match, by the time you're listening to this!

Improve Your English Vocabulary With 10 Minutes Of English Listening Practice Ep 596 Article Image

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A photograph of the Dohar skyline. Improve your English vocabulary with 10 minutes of English listening practice. This podcast will help you learn new words and improve your pronunciation.

There's been all sorts of controversy around this World Cup in Qatar. From the cost of building the stadia - so 'stadia', S T A D I A is the plural of 'stadium' as in 'football stadium' - the cost of building the stadia, the suitability of Qatar to hold a World Cup, and of course the number of people who died building the stadia. That's a whole other story.

And this World Cup has been notorious so far - and forgive the biblical reference here - notorious for 'David and Goliath moments'. If that's not familiar to you, what I mean is that there have been 'giant-slaying teams'.

So Germany crashed out of the World Cup as Japan beat Spain. Belgium, ranked second in the world, were knocked out after a goalless draw with Croatia and a drubbing by Morocco. A 'drubbing', D R U B B I N G. That means a 'thorough beating'. And Morocco actually won their group.

As it stands today, Friday Uruguay are currently bottom of their group, but they are due to play Ghana later today. So of course that could change.

But Saudi Arabia beat Argentina and Mexico are already out. What's going on? Is there a new world order being established in football? I don't know, but I think I'll be watching that England game, against Senegal, just in case.

Peace talks are still far away, it seems

A BBC News quote on the day I'm recording this, this podcast. It says 'US President Joe Biden has said that he would be ready to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin if in fact there is an interest in him deciding that he's looking for a way to end the war.' Biden was meeting with Emmanuel Macron, the French president, and apparently had been on the phone for over an hour with German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz. But at this point, Vladimir Putin has not expressed interest in such a meeting. The BBC News reports that ' Russia says the West's refusal to recognise new territories seized from Ukraine makes peace talks harder'. So what stands in the way? Putin has said he will not do talks, peace talks unless 'new Russian territories' (in quotation marks) within Ukraine are recognized.

And in fact Joe Biden is saying that he'll not talk with Putin until Russia leaves Ukraine. I think that sounds like the same old stalemate, doesn't it? I don't think that's actually any further forward.

I know that Russia are accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine, but this is not going to end until there are peace talks. And the cost of the conflict just keeps getting higher and higher in different ways.

Harry and Meghan revelations about the Royal Family

Other news, Harry and Meghan have released a 60 second trailer for their new Netflix documentary, no doubt full of more revelations about the Royal Family. This seems timed, say the newspapers, to coincide with Prince William and Katherine's visit - so the Duke of Cambridge and the Duchess of Cambridge - their visit to the United States. Almost as though to 'upstage' it and to ruin any positive PR that it might generate.

A damaging incident at 'the Palace'

The other thing this week, which 'ruined the positive PR' at the Palace? An incident was reported at a charity function. There was an event at the Palace - that means Buckingham Palace - attended by various people who work for domestic violence charities. And at that event was a black British woman, Ngozi Fulani, who is the chief of one of these particular charities.

She was in conversation with Lady Susan Hussey, age 83, and one of Queen Elizabeth's ladies in waiting - the late Queen Elizabeth, of course. And a 'lady in waiting', is a member of the Royal Household who attends to somebody's personal care. So she knew the queen very, very well.

The problem was in their conversation, Lady Hussey asked repeatedly, 'But where are you from?' And Ngozi Fulani replied, 'I'm a British citizen. I was born here'. But Lady Hussey ploughed on. 'But where are you actually from?' ' But where are you actually from?'

Lady Susan Hussey has since resigned her honorary position. 'Honorary' means 'she works for free'. She's resigned her position and made a full apology.

To make matters worse, not only was she lady in waiting to the Queen, but she's also Prince William's godmother. Not good PR for the Palace.

Listening Lessons

Would you like a new job? NYC based

One more story? Apparently there is a problem currently with rats in New York City and the city have been advertising for a 'Rat Tsar'.

'Rat', R A T, like a big mouse, but with teeth. And rats carry disease and live in sewers. Think of the film 'Ratatouille'. That's a rat.

And the word 'tsar'? Well, the 'Tsars', T S A R were Russian leaders in times past. But when we use that in modern English, we mean 'an expert, a leader, someone who is going to advise us'. So for example, in the UK before, we've had 'Drug Tsars', who have been there to help us with formulating the best policy to tackle drug problems on our streets.

So a 'Rat Tsar'. Or more officially, the job title is a 'Director of Rodent Mitigation', a 'Director of Rodent Mitigation to fight the Big Apple' s real enemy'. Well, of course 'the Big Apple means New York City. And 'mitigation', M I T I G A T I O N? That's when 'you make something less' or 'you make something better'. That's the noun 'mitigation'.

So apparently the numbers of rats in New York City have been getting out of control since October this year. And apparently some of the citizens of New York have been taking their dogs, mainly terriers, down to certain streets in Manhattan to catch the rats, to help with the effort.

Rat gestation period? That's 'gestation'. It means 'how long it takes to make babies'. Rat gestation period is only 21 days and there are 8 to 10 rat babies per litter, so they do increase very quickly.

Download The Podcast Audio & Transcript

It's estimated that there are over 2 million rats in New York City, one for every four New Yorkers apparently. But then Boston and Philadelphia have even more rats, even bigger rat problems. Anyway. If you fancy applying for the job of Rodent Mitigation Officer or Rat Tsar, then it's paid $170,000 per year. Not a bad salary. Not quite sure what sort of experience they're expecting you to have.

Goodbye

Anyway, there's a quick tour of some news in the UK and around the world this week. Use it to practise your English language understanding, of course. Great listening practice. Listen to it quite a few times until you understand all the words and any vocabulary that's new to you.

Enough for now. Have a lovely day. Speak to you again soon. Goodbye.

Thank you so much for listening. Please help me tell others about this podcast by reviewing or rating it. And, please share it on social media. You can find more listening lessons and a free English course at adeptenglish.com