听播客学英语 211 如何打造家具

In this podcast, we meet the expression the trouble is that (which means the problem is that.). We also discover several different ways of getting things wrong upside down, back to front and inside out. Kevin and Joanne sat on their sofa and looked a

听播客学英语 212 灾难

At 9.25am on Friday 21 October 1966, the police officer on duty at Merthyr Tydfyl police station in South Wales answered a telephone call. I have been asked to inform you that there has been a landslide, said the caller. The tip has come down on the

听播客学英语 213 周末在威尔士

I am sorry about the problems that some of you had last weekend in downloading new episodes of Listen to English. We have now fixed the problem, and I hope you will have no more difficulties. Todays podcast is about the expressions I had better do (s

听播客学英语 215 健康

week our government published a report on how healthy we English are. There was some good news. The number of people who smoke has continued to fall. We live longer than any previous generation. Deaths of young children (infant mortality) are the low

听播客学英语 216 安东尼·霍尔国王

In 1931, the King of England came to Birmingham. He stood on a soapbox in Bull Ring Market and spoke to his people. Actually, he wasnt the King of England at all. His name was Anthony Hall. He had been born in London, and had been an ambulance driver

听播客学英语 217 关于你的一切

In this podcast I use words which are useful when we talk about numbers, especially when we want to talk about the information that numbers give us. The podcast is also about you, my listeners, because I know quite a lot about you. How do I know abou

听播客学英语 218 海绵

This is the tragic story of a monkey called Spongebob. Spongebob is a Bolivian squirrel Monkey. Squirrel monkeys are quite small about the size of a European or North American squirrel, which is perhaps why they are called squirrel monkeys. Spongebob

听播客学英语 219 长跑

There are lots of English idioms and expressions in this podcast. I have explained them in a Grammar and Vocabulary note. Go to the podcasts website to see this note. Kevin and Joanne were reading the local newspaper. There were news stories like Loc

听播客学英语 220 Probably, definitely, maybe....

Often we need words to explain how probable something is. Lets look at some examples. Will it rain today? There are dark clouds in the sky. It will definitely rain Will it rain today? There are no clouds in the sky. It will certainly not rain this mo

听播客学英语 221 和电脑交谈

Joan is a computer programme. She talks a lot. In fact, talking is what she does best. She can hold conversations with people so well that she has won a $2000 prize for being the most human-like computer programme in the world. Joan does not contain

听播客学英语 222 罗宾汉

There is an English legend about a man called Robin Hood. According to the legend, Robin Hood lived in the late 12th or early 13th century, at the time of King John. (People say that King John was the worst king that England ever had). Robin Hood liv

听播客学英语 223 比较

Todays podcast is about how to make comparisons in English. I am talking to my friend Anna. She comes from Canada and she is going to tell us about some of the differences she has seen between Canada and England. I first came to England in January 20

听播客学英语 224 霍比特人

Are you less than 170cm tall? Do you have hairy feet and toes? You do? Then there may be a job for you. Let me explain. You have probably heard of the writer JRR Tolkien. He wrote the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and a number of other books. His boo

听播客学英语 214 黑斯廷斯战役

Last weekend was a famous anniversary. No, not my birthday. Not the anniversary of the last time England won the World Cup. It was the anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, which took place 940 years ago at a place called (appropriately) Battle, whi

听播客学英语 232 忙碌

Todays podcast is about words and phrases which we use to talk about being very busy. Kevins boss wants his staff to prepare a new report. As usual, he wants it straight away. His staff explain that they cant write the report instantly. So the boss s

听播客学英语 225 Lend and Borrow

This podcast is about the two words lend and borrow. Sometimes people learning English find it difficult to remember how to use them correctly. I hope this podcast helps. Kevin is a punk rock fan. When he was younger, he used to wear big boots and a

听播客学英语 226 投注

Many English people like betting. They bet on horse races, and football matches. They bet in the National Lottery. They bet on who will win the next General Election, and whether it will snow on Christmas Day. To place a bet, you go to a bookmakers,

听播客学英语 227 海边

Welcome back. I hope you had a good summer. I hope too that you like the redesign of the web-site. Where do British families go for a summer holiday? Nowdays, of course, many families fly to Spain or Greece or Florida, or to more exotic places. But t

听播客学英语 228 热浪

When we have several days of very hot weather, we call it a heatwave.In Britain, we are having a heatwave at present. In fact, we are having record high temperatures. Yesterday, 19 July, was the hottest July day on record. The highest temperature (36

听播客学英语 229 竹篙巷

In Liverpool, there is a street called Penny Lane. Why is it called Penny Lane? Perhaps the name comes from the penny coin nowdays the smallest coin used in Britain. Perhaps there were shops on Penny Lane which sold cheap things, things which cost on