Learn Through Listening: Uplift Your English With Positive News
Today we work on your English fluency while you listen to some positive news stories! The pace is nice and slow & easy to follow, any tricky words or phrases are explained. We love feedback and we listen to what you have to say, so when we asked in a recent Spotify poll would you like more positive news stories & 93% of you said YES - here we are - click play and enjoy!
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Lot's of benefits to this type of English language learning:
- Improve listening comprehension
- Learn useful vocabulary
- Stay informed
- Practical english you will actually use
- Improves your fluency
Are you looking to improve your English listening skills? Our NEW course, Activate Your Listening is designed just for you. This course offers a simple and effective way to enhance your understanding of spoken English. We have a video that explains what it's all about here.
The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.
⭐ Robert Swan
✔️ Lesson transcript: https://adeptenglish.com/lessons/learn-english-language-good-news-listening-practice/
Tired of hearing only negative news? Ready for a refreshing change? This English lesson is just what you need. Tune in to our latest episode where we bring you uplifting news stories that not only brighten your day but also enhance your English listening skills.
Discover how positive developments around the world can make a real difference while improving your English fluency.
Motivation will almost always beat mere talent.
⭐ Norman Ralph Augustine
Follow and subscribe to our FREE English language podcast, wherever you listen or watch your podcasts.
More About This Lesson
Improve your English skills by listening. This type of English listening practice lesson offers a refreshing change from the usual negative news and provides engaging content. It will also help you learn English effectively using our Listen & Learn approach.
The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.
⭐ J.R.R. Tolkien
Here are the key benefits of this English lesson:
- Enhances listening comprehension skills.
- Improves vocabulary with real-world contexts.
- Introduces positive and engaging news topics.
- Reinforces pronunciation of difficult words.
- Provides spelling and meaning of new words.
- Helps understand complex sentences and structures.
- Encourages repeat listening for better retention.
- Illustrates practical use of grammar in context.
- Boosts confidence through understanding diverse topics.
It's an interesting listen! Learn about a groundbreaking method to combat malaria. Discover new advancements in cement recycling that could reduce emissions. Hear about an Australian doctor's remarkable experience with cancer.
Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.
⭐ Steve Jobs
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- What are the benefits of listening to positive news stories for learning English? Listening to positive news stories can be an engaging and motivating way to improve your English listening comprehension skills. Enhance your understanding of different accents, intonation patterns, and speaking styles within British English. Expand your vocabulary by encountering new words and expressions in context. Improve your ability to follow narratives and understand the flow of a story. Gain exposure to idiomatic language and cultural references used in everyday conversations. Stay motivated by focusing on uplifting news rather than negative or discouraging stories.
- How can I get the most out of listening to positive news stories for language learning? To maximize the benefits of listening to positive news stories for language learning, consider the following strategies. Listen actively and avoid multitasking to ensure full attention and focus. Take notes on new vocabulary, expressions, or grammar structures you encounter. Look up the meanings of unfamiliar words or phrases to reinforce your understanding. Repeat or shadow the speaker's pronunciation and intonation patterns to improve your speaking skills. Discuss the stories with others to practice speaking and exchange perspectives. Seek out transcripts or subtitles to follow along and reinforce your listening comprehension. Gradually increase the difficulty level as your listening skills improve.
- What types of positive news stories are best for learning British English? When we select a positive news story for learning British English, we consider: A diverse range of topics, such as science, technology, culture, and human interest stories, to expose you to a variety of vocabulary and expressions.Incorporate idiomatic expressions, cultural references, and humour that are common in everyday British English conversations. News about current events, trends, or issues that are relevant to British society and culture, providing valuable context and insights.
- How can I find my own positive news stories for learning British English? There are several sources you can explore to find high-quality positive news stories for learning British English: Podcasts from reputable British media outlets, such as the BBC, The Guardian, or The Economist, often feature engaging stories with professional narration. YouTube channels focused on positive news, inspirational stories, or educational content may offer video resources with British English narration or interviews. Of course Adept English has more slow news with positive stories.
- How can I stay motivated and consistent when learning English through positive news stories? Consider these strategies: Set realistic goals and celebrate small achievements along the way to maintain a sense of progress and accomplishment. Integrate listening to news stories into your daily routine, making it a habitual part of your language learning journey. Vary the sources, topics, and formats (podcasts, videos, articles) to maintain interest and avoid monotony. Regularly review and reinforce the new vocabulary, expressions, and language concepts you've learned to solidify your understanding. REPEAT LISTENING.
This lesson is an oasis in a desert of gloomy news. Immerse yourself in its waters as you absorb the uplifting stories, letting the rhythms of British English flow through your mind.
Most Unusual Words:
- Antidote: A remedy or solution to counteract something unpleasant.
- Genetically modified: Changed or altered at the genetic level.
- Malaria: A serious disease spread by mosquitoes, causing fever and chills.
- Eliminate: To completely remove or get rid of something.
- Breakthrough: A significant and positive development or discovery.
- Limestone: A type of rock often used in construction and making cement.
- Recycle: To process and reuse materials instead of throwing them away.
- Melanoma: A type of skin cancer.
- Offspring: The children or young of a person, animal, or plant.
- Slag: A waste material produced during the process of making metal.
Most Frequently Used Words:
| Word | Count |
|---|---|
| Cement | 9 |
| Positive | 8 |
| Mosquitoes | 7 |
| Would | 6 |
| Means | 6 |
| Listening | 5 |
| Because | 5 |
| Malaria | 5 |
| Mosquito | 5 |
Listen To The Audio Lesson Now
Transcript: Learn English-Uplifting News Stories
Positive News Stories
Hi there. Would you like to hear some positive news stories, some good news stories for a change? In the midst of all the bad things that are happening in the world, I know that in the past you really liked our positive news stories. In a previous podcast, number 685, I was talking about the negative state of the world back then. And I covered six positive news stories as an antidote. When we released that podcast on Spotify, we asked you whether you would like more positive news stories. And 93% of you said yes. So that was October 2023. And it's taken a while to find some more positive news stories. But today, here they are. And the first one is similar to the ones I covered previously, but even better. Even more positive. So listen on to hear more, while at the same time using this podcast to do repeat listening and improve your understanding of spoken English. And if you want to read the original news items, the links are in the transcript.
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.
A breakthrough against the mosquito
First news story. Now in the UK, we do get mosquitoes. They come in hot weather and they are annoying. Mosquitoes, M-O-S-Q-U-I-T-O-E-S. They're little insects that fly particularly at night and in hot weather. And they bite you. In the UK, if you get bitten and you react to the bite, then you may have a painful wound for a week. But they're not dangerous here. But in many countries in the world, mosquitoes are a real threat to life because of course they carry malaria. 'Malaria', M-A-L-A-R-I-A, is a very dangerous disease. And it kills many people, particularly children, every year. And malaria is difficult to eliminate because it's carried by mosquitoes.
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An AI generated image of a large stone in a limestone quarry. Follow along to improve listening skills while feeling upbeat about the future
Mosquitoes are hard to get rid of. In the tiny country of Djibouti, that's D-J-I-B-O-U-T-I, on the Horn of Africa, that's just across from Yemen, they thought they were close to eliminating mosquitoes a few years ago. 'To eliminate' E-L-I-M-I-N-A-T-E means 'to get rid of'. In Djibouti, they had reduced the number of malaria cases to 30 a few years ago, using other methods. But since then, the number of cases has shot up to 73,000, showing just how difficult it is to eliminate malaria. But a positive thing, a breakthrough is happening. We may be familiar with the term GMO, or 'genetically modified', in relation to food. We could have a GMO, or 'genetically modified' strawberry, for instance, which would have been changed genetically, perhaps to last a bit longer, to have a better shelf life.
MosquitoSphere in Burkina Faso
But scientists have been using genetic modification on certain types of mosquito to try to reduce malaria. In podcast 685, I talked about the trial project MosquitoSphere in Burkina Faso, where they were using a particular type of bacteria to infect mosquitoes because that meant they couldn't carry malaria. And this effect, not being able to carry malaria that the bacteria had, it lasted the whole time the mosquito was alive. So I've talked about something similar before, but it looks as though this latest GMO project may be even more successful, more effective at eliminating malaria. And it's really clever, this.
Clever genetic engineering
This time the genetic change, the GMO, means that the female mosquito dies before it produces any young. They die before they lay eggs. So the female mosquitoes cannot reproduce. And what's really great is that the male mosquitoes go on to mate with the wild type of mosquito. This means that their offspring, that's O-F-F, S-P-R-I-N-G, their children in other words, will carry this genetic modification too. So effectively this genetic modification would gradually spread through the whole mosquito population. This is brilliant. You could see the effect of this increase over time as the numbers reduce. And what also helps? Of course it's only the female mosquitoes that bite. And the surviving males last long enough to spread the GMO. How much more effective might this be than something like mosquito nets? So let's hope that that project brings the success that it's hoped for.
New Activate Your Listening
Before I continue, just a reminder of our New Activate Your Listening Course. This is a more advanced course than the Most Common 500 Words. And it will move you towards better English conversation, better English communication. Go to our website at adeptenglish.com to find it. That's our first news story.
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Cement is everywhere and but its production is a big CO2 source
Scientists have found a way to recycle cement. Cement is a building material and it's used all over the world. In fact, cement is the modern world's most used building material. It's everywhere. And the problem with cement? Well, it contributes a lot to climate change, to CO2 emissions. The BBC news article that I read - again, link in the transcript if you want to check it out for yourself - it says, "If cement was a country, it would be the third biggest source of emissions after China and the US. In fact, cement is responsible for 7.5% of human-made CO2, carbon dioxide in other words." So the ability to recycle used cement, old buildings if you like, would cut CO2 emissions dramatically because we wouldn't need to make as much new cement. We could just reuse, recycle. Cement is particularly bad from the CO2 viewpoint for a couple of reasons. To make cement, you have to heat up a substance called 'limestone'. That's L-I-M-E S-T-O-N-E. Heat it up to over 16,000 degrees centigrade. That's hot. And fossil fuels are used to do this. On top of this, the process of making cement itself actually releases CO2. In fact, it means that for every ton of cement produced, a ton of CO2 is also produced. That's bad.
The beauty of recycled cement!
Now it's been known for a while that you can recycle, reuse old cement. But only if you heat it to high temperatures. And the problem is to achieve that high temperature, it's fossil fuels again. It is a well-understood and well-known process, but it's that need to heat to high temperature that gets in the way of recycling cement, but a 'breakthrough'. And it means 'a positive development, which could really make a difference'. A team at Cambridge University were looking at another big industry - steelmaking. That's steel, S-T-E-E-L. And it's a metal used in the production of cars and bridges and many other things. Like cement, steel needs very high temperatures. What the Cambridge team noticed is that old cement is very similar to a substance that they put in when making steel. It's similar to something called 'lime flux'. So that's great. We can use something old and useless instead of having to create a new substance as input to the recycling process. That's great. It has a use. It's a substitute for lime flux. But even better than that, the way steel is normally recycled produces something called slag, S-L-A-G. It's a waste product, a byproduct that we don't want. But if you use old cement to go into the process instead of lime flux, guess what comes out the end? Beautiful recycled usable cement! That's called 'killing two birds with one stone'. Wow! Again, the link is in the transcript. I've included two articles and I found the Cambridge one easier to follow.
Generational Labels: From Boomers to Gen Z!
Prof Richard Scolyer’s work means Melanoma Cure rates rise dramatically
Next news item, there was news last week from Dr. Richard Scolyer. He's a well-known pioneer in Australia, famous for working on melanoma. So 'melanoma', M-E-L-A-N-O-M-A, is 'skin cancer'. And Dr. Scolyer is recognised for helping patients with advanced melanoma. In fact, because of the treatment he developed, the cure rate has gone up from 10% of people to 50% of people. That's huge. And he's been recognised as Australian of the Year.
The doctor uses his own treatment
However, more recently, he developed a cancer himself, but not a melanoma. His cancer was a brain tumour, so a cancer in his brain. And unfortunately, with this type of brain cancer, not many people survive beyond a year. Once he was told he had cancer, Dr. Richard Scolyer wanted to adapt the treatment that he developed for melanoma to treat his brain cancer. And his team agreed. So this is how Dr. Scolyer's brain tumour was treated.
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And so far, so good. He announced this week that he'd had an MRI scan, a test, and one year on, he is cancer-free. This means he's already survived longer than most patients with this disease. A quote from Dr. Scolyer, "It certainly doesn't mean that my brain cancer is cured, but it's just nice to know it hasn't come back yet. So I've still got more time to enjoy my life with my wife Katie and our three wonderful kids." Let's hope that this continues to be successful for Dr. Scolyer a while longer. We wish him all the best. An a cure rate that goes up from 10% to 50%.
Goodbye
That's brilliant! So there you have it, three positive news stories. Let us know what you think of these. So they cheer you up amidst all the bad news in the world?
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
Links
- GMO mosquitoes
- Slash emissions from cement
- Cement recycling
- Top doctor remains brain cancer-free
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