243 | Advanced - Short Story: The Timekeeper [English Listening Practice]

03/06/25 • 20 min

Listen English | Learn English by Short Stories

Title: The Timekeeper

Level: Advanced (C1)

Story :

Dr. Amelia Hartley, a brilliant physicist, develops the Chronos Engine, a device capable of manipulating time. Initially, she successfully tests the machine on small objects, but the temptation to use it for personal gain grows. Haunted by the memory of her father’s death, she decides to use the Chronos Engine to travel back in time and warn him before his fatal heart attack. However, her actions create unintended consequences—a fracture in the fabric of time itself. As reality begins to unravel around her, Amelia is confronted by a version of herself who warns her that the past cannot be changed without severe repercussions. In order to save what remains of reality, Amelia must make the painful decision to let go of her desire to control time and destroy the Chronos Engine. In the end, she realizes that time cannot be bent to one’s will, and she must accept the past in order to move forward.

Vocabulary :

Fracture – a crack or break, in this context, a break in the fabric of time.
Unravel – to come apart, to break down or become undone.
Destabilize – to make something unstable or unsteady, often leading to collapse.
Catastrophic – causing great and sudden damage or suffering.
Confront – to face a difficult or challenging situation directly.

Grammar Focus:

Third Conditional
Used to talk about hypothetical situations in the past. For example: “If Amelia hadn’t used the Chronos Engine, reality wouldn’t have fractured.”
Past Perfect Tense
Describes an action completed before another past event. For example: “She had worked on the Chronos Engine for years before testing it.”
Modal Verbs for Speculation
Modal verbs like could, might, and must to speculate about outcomes. For example: “The fracture might have destroyed everything if she hadn’t acted.”

Website:

https://Readiocast.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@Readiolingua

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Title: The Timekeeper

Level: Advanced (C1)

Story :

Vocabulary :

Fracture – a crack or break, in this context, a break in the fabric of time.
Unravel – to come apart, to break down or become undone.
Destabilize – to make something unstable or unsteady, often leading to collapse.
Catastrophic – causing great and sudden damage or suffering.
Confront – to face a difficult or challenging situation directly.

Grammar Focus:

Third Conditional
Used to talk about hypothetical situations in the past. For example: “If Amelia hadn’t used the Chronos Engine, reality wouldn’t have fractured.”
Past Perfect Tense
Describes an action completed before another past event. For example: “She had worked on the Chronos Engine for years before testing it.”
Modal Verbs for Speculation
Modal verbs like could, might, and must to speculate about outcomes. For example: “The fracture might have destroyed everything if she hadn’t acted.”

Website:

https://Readiocast.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@Readiolingua

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

242 | Intermediate - Short Story: The Stranger in the Fog [English Listening Practice]

Title: The Stranger in the Fog

Level: Intermediate (B1-B2)

Story:

Elara has always believed that the whispers about the mysterious figure in the fog were just village folklore—until the night she sees him with her own eyes. When the stranger calls her by name, something deep inside her stirs, a forgotten familiarity she cannot explain. He tells her that she is in danger, that the fog hides something far worse than shadows. As eerie voices and shifting shapes begin to haunt Ravenshade, Elara is forced to trust Cassian, a man who claims they have met before—in another life. As she unearths a journal written in her own handwriting, detailing a past she doesn’t remember, the truth becomes impossible to deny. Some love stories don’t begin in this lifetime—and some curses refuse to break. With danger closing in, Elara must decide: will she run from the truth, or fight to remember who she truly is?

Vocabulary:

Haunting - unsettling or beautiful in a way that stays in the mind.
Ominous - suggesting something bad will happen.
Familiarity - the feeling of recognizing something or someone.
Unravel - to discover or figure out something complex.
Curse - a supernatural punishment or spell causing suffering.

Grammar Focus:

Past Perfect Tense:
“She had always thought the stories were just myths.”
Describes an action completed before another event in the past.
Modal Verbs for Speculation:
“This must have been a warning.”
Expresses a logical assumption about a past event.
Conditional Sentences (Type 3):
“If she had left the village earlier, she wouldn’t have seen him.”
Talks about a hypothetical situation in the past that didn’t happen.

Website:

https://Readiocast.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@Readiolingua

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Next Episode

244 | Intermediate - Short Story: Moonlight and Magnolia [English Listening Practice]

Title: Moonlight and Magnolia

Level: Intermediate (B1-B2)

Story:

On the eve of her engagement, Serena finds herself questioning everything when Julian, the man she once loved, unexpectedly reappears. In the warm, magnolia-scented air of Charleston, old emotions resurface, forcing her to confront the truth she had buried. Julian tells her he never stopped loving her, but Serena is caught between the life she’s carefully built and the reckless, all-consuming passion she once shared with him. As the weight of her impending marriage presses down on her, she must decide: is love about stability, or is it about following the heart, no matter the risk? Under the glow of moonlight and the whispers of the past, Serena realizes that some loves never truly fade—they wait for the right moment to be reclaimed.

Vocabulary:

Reckless - acting without thinking about the consequences.
Hesitation - a pause before making a decision due to uncertainty.
Longing - a deep, emotional desire for something or someone.
Unspoken - feelings or thoughts that are deeply felt but never expressed.
Passion - intense emotion or love for something or someone.

Grammar Focus:

Past Perfect Tense:
“She had convinced herself she was over him.”
Describes an action completed before another past event.
Modal Verbs for Certainty:
“This must have been a mistake.”
Expresses logical assumption about a situation.
Conditional Sentences (Type 3):
“If she had never seen Julian again, she wouldn’t have questioned her choices.”
Talks about a hypothetical past event that didn’t happen.

Website:

https://Readiocast.com

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@Readiolingua

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