Lit2go

Lit2Go is a great free online collection of stories and poems in text and MP3 to listen to, read or download. Check it out! Each reading passage can also be downloaded as a PDF and printed for use as a read-along.

• One of my favourite ones is Uncle Tom's Cabin and
• Hernando de Soto

http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/genres

The digital bystander

Live-streaming apps like Facebook Live and Periscope give us a voyeuristic peek into the lives of others. But what is our obligation when we encounter digital violence?

By RETRO REPORT on Publish Date June 4, 2017.

La-la land

From The English we speak (BBC Learning English), listen to the dialogue and tell us what the expression "la-la land" means.

Takeaways

Download PDF

Download Audio

Different types of selfie!

Listen and read about different types of selfies on HotEnglish Magazine. Which one is your favourite??

Selfies he150 from Majorick

Narrative Tenses

Dramas from BBC Learning English

Listen and read these popular stories:

BBC Learning English - Dramas from BBC Learning English www.bbc.co.uk

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

The Race, Phil and his friends as they attempt to sail around the world in just 80 days. 

The White Elephant, serving up lots of functional English phrases as it follows the story of a brand new restaurant

Chapters 7 and 8

Hi,

You can listen to Chapter 7 on Los Angeles and Chapter 8 on New Orleans.
It might be a good idea to shadow read (read and listen at the same time).

Have a good day!

Easter bunny jokes!

Here are some Easter Bunny jokes. Match each question (1 to 12) with each answer (A-L). A “hare” is a large rabbit. It is pronounced the same as “hair”. Listen: Hare – hair. Afterwards, check your answers on the CD. How many were correct? 

1. How does the Easter Bunny keep his fur neat? = __D__ (with a “hare” brush)
2. How did the wet Easter Bunny dry himself?
3. How does a rabbit keep his fur looking good?
4. What did the Easter Bunny get at the hairdresser’s?
5. What did the Easter Bunny study at university?
6. What do you call an Easter Bunny with no fur?
7. Why was the Easter Bunny so upset?
8. What do rabbits do after their wedding?
9. How do you catch the Easter Bunny?
10. How many chocolate bunnies can you put into an empty Easter basket?
11. What do you call a rabbit that tells good jokes?
12. How do bunnies stay healthy?


ANSWERS:
A: Hare dressing.
B: Hide in the trees and make a noise like a carrot.
C: Eggsercise
D: With a hare-brush.
E: Hare less.
F: None – it won’t be empty if you put something in it.
G: A hare cut.
H: A funny bunny!
I: They go on a bunnymoon.
J: With hare spray.
K: With a hare dryer.
L: He was having a bad hare day.

Glossary:

bunny: (used by or when or talking to children) a rabbit
• fur n = the hair that animals have on their bodies• to dry yourself exp = to use a towel or warm air to take water off your body/hair, etc
• the hairdresser’s n = a shop where they cut your hair
• upset adj = angry and sad
• a “bunnymoon” n = a honeymoon – the holiday people have after they get married
• a bad “hare” day n = a bad hair day – a day when everything goes badly

Download the free MP3 file for this lesson: Listen: MP3 audio file

Source: Hot English Magazine

What are the best cities in the world?

Do you agree with this article from Hot English Magazine?
You may also listen to it as well.

The Garden of Earthly Delights

The Garden of Earthly Delights is a story about moral and sin in a particular time. The painting however is timeless. The journey that the visitor sets out on in the interactive documentary is a personal one. Beneath the surface we aim to invite the visitor to reflect upon and question their sins and morals. Enjoy going on a guided tour or just roam at will.

 

The Pig, poem by Roald Dahl

Is English an easy language to learn?

Is English an easy language to learn? Here are a few arguments in favour of the idea that English is fairly simple. What do you think? Express your opinión in the comment section.
Listen to this HotEnglish document.

PluralsPlurals are relatively easy in English. In most cases, you simply add an “s” to the end of the word. For example: one chair, two chairs. There are very few exceptions to this. Some other languages have several different types of plural endings, which can get quite complex.

NounsIn general, nouns in English don’t have any gender as they do in other languages. For example, it’s a horse or a cow. But in languages such as Spanish, words can be either masculine or feminine. So, “a horse” in Spanish is “un caballo” (which is masculine), and “a cow” is “una vaca” (which is feminine).

Today's headlines

US-UK forces in Afghanistan

Cancer not just 'bad luck'

Athletics boss steps down

LingoHack Transcript

Christmas kindness

For many children, Christmas is the most exciting time of the year when they look forward to all the presents Santa Claus will bring. But for families who struggle to buy food they can’t afford presents for Christmas day. Neil and Alice discuss how some charities are helping these families in need.

Source: 6 minute English

This week's question

In the famous classic story A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, what does Ebenezer Scrooge buy the Cratchit family for Christmas dinner? Is it…

a) a goose?
b) a turkey?
c) a chicken?

You can hear the right answer at the end of the programme.
Takeaways:

Download PDF

Download Audio

The best inventions of 2015

Every year, Time picks the 25 best inventions of the year. Here are five of them. To see the full list of the 25 Best Inventions of 2015, click here. How about you? Which one is your favourite?

 

BBC 6 Minute English – 100 Women (listen & read)

'Migrant' Or 'Refugee'? Why The Distinction Matters

As Europe debates how to deal with the influx of people landing on its shores, the language used to describe them is subject to its own dispute.
This is an example of how language can be misleading and used to manipulate voters and listeners.
Source: Newsy
Transcript

Travelling expressions

Now that vacation time has arrived, you may need some useful travelling expressions. Listen to them at HotEnglish

Miss Japan: First mixed-race winner provokes debate

With a Japanese mother and African American father, Ariana Miyamoto has become the first bi-racial woman to be crowned Miss Japan. The question of whether a person of mixed race should be eligible to win the competition has since provoked a heated argument on social media,

Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports.
5 June 2015 BBC Last updated at 02:35 BST
 

Athénaïse by Kate Chopin

Our story today is called "Athénaïse" by Kate Chopin. Women in the United States long wanted to be independent. This classic American Story tells about a young married woman in the Bayou of Louisiana who questions her role as a wife. Can she have her personal liberty and stay married to Mr. Cazeau?

Source: VOA English