Practising English
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 pronunciation practice, advice and help for passing B1 and B2 English examinations: Cambridge, IELTS and Trinity. Start practising and improving your British English listening, vocabulary and speaking levels today!
Practising English
284. A Christmas Surprise (B1 and B2 Story)
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This is a B1 and B2 story with phrasal verbs. Here is the audioscripy for the story:
https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-284.htm
A Christmas Surprise
Christmas didn't turn out very well for Flora. She lived in the north of Scotland, where the weather can be a problem in the winter months. She lived in Keiss, a fishing village at the northern end of Sinclair's Bay on the east coast of Caithness in Scotland's Highland area.
She wanted to spend Christmas with her ageing mother who lived in Lairg - not far away but higher up in the mountains. A heavy snowstorm had cut off the town, so travel there was impossible. She had to give up that idea. Feeling disappointed, she decided to stay in and wait for the weather to change.
On Christmas Eve, Flora woke up early and put on her warmest coat to check outside. The streets were quiet, and most shops were closed. While she was looking around, she noticed an elderly neighbour, Mr. Armstrong, trying to clear away the snow in front of his house. Flora went over to help him, even though she didn't know him very well.
As they worked together, Mr. Armstrong opened up about his life. He told Flora that his family lived far away and that he usually ended up spending Christmas alone. Hearing this, Flora didn't want to walk away and forget about him. Instead, she came up with an idea.
Later that day, Flora set up a small Christmas dinner in her apartment. She invited Mr. Armstrong over, and he happily turned up just before sunset. They shared stories, laughed a lot, and slowly got to know each other better. Flora realized that even though her original plans had fallen through, something special had worked out in the end.
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