204. Winds of Bolonia (complete B1 story)

09/02/24 • 29 min

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.

The Winds of Bolonia (B1 Story with new comprehension questions)

I wanted to publish this story together with the Para-olympics in Paris. I was watching it on television. It shows how positive attitudes, strength, determination are not qualities limited to those athletes in the Olympics we saw earlier this summer, but that persons with disabilities are no different and share the same qualities.

The heroine in my story today, The Winds of Bolonia (B1 level) is about a young girl in a wheelchair. Her story is a success story, not because she learns how to be better than her disability but because she has a disability.

Comprehension questions and vocabulary test for the complete story (read before you listen)

1) Why was the wind a problem on the island of Bolonia?

2) What was Ainimos' favourite hobby?

3) Why was Animos in a wheelchair?

4) Did Animos pass the university entry exam?

5) Why did Animos feel positive at the end of the story?

The vowels (a, e, i, o, u) have been taken out of each word (unless the word begins with a vowel). Read the definition and guess the word in bold.

1) pnfl adj. (hurts very much)

2) lkd frwrd t v. past (waited for an event and wanted it to happen soon)

3) prvntd v. past. (stopped her from doing something)

4) sns of hmr (be funny, know how to make people laugh; laugh at good jokes)

5) old-fshnd adj. (not modern, not in fashion)

6) hpfl adj. (feeling good about what is going to happen)

7) at lng lst (in the end, finally)

8) rmnd qt (continued not saying anything)

9) cldn’t blv hr eys (she saw something but she didn’t think it could be true)

10) injrd v. past (hurt yourself e.g. in an accident)
See all answers at https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-204.htm

At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.
https://www.practisingenglish.com/
My latest novel for learners of B2 English is called The Tudor Conspiracy. You can see it on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
https://amzn.to/33Axu2N
Be back soon with another podcast!
Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.

Comprehension questions and vocabulary test for the complete story (read before you listen)

1) Why was the wind a problem on the island of Bolonia?

2) What was Ainimos' favourite hobby?

3) Why was Animos in a wheelchair?

4) Did Animos pass the university entry exam?

5) Why did Animos feel positive at the end of the story?

The vowels (a, e, i, o, u) have been taken out of each word (unless the word begins with a vowel). Read the definition and guess the word in bold.

1) pnfl adj. (hurts very much)

2) lkd frwrd t v. past (waited for an event and wanted it to happen soon)

3) prvntd v. past. (stopped her from doing something)

4) sns of hmr (be funny, know how to make people laugh; laugh at good jokes)

5) old-fshnd adj. (not modern, not in fashion)

6) hpfl adj. (feeling good about what is going to happen)

7) at lng lst (in the end, finally)

8) rmnd qt (continued not saying anything)

9) cldn’t blv hr eys (she saw something but she didn’t think it could be true)

10) injrd v. past (hurt yourself e.g. in an accident)
See all answers at https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-204.htm

Previous Episode

203. Never Go Back (Complete B1 Story)

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.

Comprehension questions and answers for the complete story.
1) Why did Benjamin decide to go back to the hotel?
2) How did Jessica know Benjamin was staying in the Borromeo Hotel?
3) Where did Benjamin move to when fe left school?
4) What did Benjamin think the old woman was doing on the stairs?
5) What did Benjamin plan to do with Jessica?
6) Why did Benjamin's son, Logan, leave the car at the end of the story?
You can see the answers to these questions at https://www.practisingenglish.com/podcast-177.htm

Next Episode

205. Every Dog has his Day (B1 B2 Story)

Write to Mike Bilbrough to ask a question or give an opinion.

One way or another, Norman imagined that other people regarded him as an underachiever. He became obsessed by what his colleagues at the supermarket might call him when he was not listening. What about Norman Nobody or Norman Nothing in Particular. Norman was a man who was of the opinion that life had not treated him fairly...
This is a strong B1 to B2-level story.
B2 phrases to listen for. What is the context of each phrase?

1) talk things over with

2) kept in good shape

3) push himself

4) (feel) over the moon

5) took a deep breath

6) taken it for granted

The vowels (a, e, i, o, u) have been taken out (unless the word begins with a vowel). Read the definition and guess the word in bold.

B1-level

1) achvmnt n. (something difficult you managed to de)

2) dscssn n. (talking among people)

3) rd v. (opposite of polite)

4) rcgnsd (saw somebody and knew who they were)