UFO: A story to remember

A listening activity about a man who saw a UFO.

Two Peas in a Pod

Click here to listen to a story about two identical twins.

Life of a Tree

You will hear the story of the life a tree in six parts. 

1. Guess the order that they will hear these parts:

a. The polluted city

b. First years of life

c. A terrible war

d. The village becomes a town

e. The forest grows again

f. Trees are cut down to make farms

2. Watch the video and  check your guesses.

3. Watch the video again and answer these questions:

Part a: How was the tree different from the young animals?

Part b: Why was the tree lucky?

Part c: Where did the tree live in the big town?

Part d: Why was the tree lucky again? (

Part e: Why was the tree unhappy?

Part f: What happened after the people left?

-Which changes happened slowly?

-Which changes were big and fast?

Check your answers in 'comments'

Click here to read the script.

Fairy Tales

First click here to see the script of a video with a different version of Sleeping Beauty and fill in the gaps with the right tense of the verbs in brackets. Then watch the video and check your answers. Finally, go to 'comments' and check them again.

Glossary: 
harsher: more unpleasant
stinking: having a very stron, unpleasant smell
left out: not included
'ladida': informal BrE, something typical of upper-class people but not natural or sincere.
Try this on for size!: informal, Take that!
a shower: a group of people
loom over: to appear as a large shape that is not clear in a threatening way.
to put a curse on somebody: use magic powers or words to cause bad luck

The Tragic Tale of Ruddy Wee Hoody

1.A little story. Fill the gaps with suitable forms of the verbs given in brackets. You have some vocabulary at the bottom of the page.

2. Listen and read Roald Dahl's version of Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf.

Narrative tenses

This podcast is about narrative tenses (past simple, past continous, past perfect). To master the use of these tenses you have to deal with their form, their use and their pronunciation - both for listening and speaking. A full transcript, pronunciation drills, grammar notes and advice are all available for this episode.