Into the Story: Learn English with True Stories Bree Aesie

Season 6 of Into the Story arrives August 2024! Meanwhile, enjoy this fiction story from Ariel Goodbody of Easy Stories in English about two sisters.

Angeline and Annabelle are a classic sister act. Annabelle writes the songs and they sing together, but Angeline gets all the compliments. When a music producer offers a deal to Annabelle, she realises she can't let the opportunity go. But what starts as a harmonious collaboration soon turns into a discordant nightmare...

Level: Intermediate

Accent: United Kingdom (Bath) 

👉 Get the full transcript at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Sisters 

Episode Vocabulary: 

- FIDDLE: To play with something in a restless or nervous way. Examples: "He fiddled with his pen during the meeting." or "She fiddled with her hair while she talked."

- SPRINKLES: Tiny pieces of candy used to decorate desserts. Examples: "She added sprinkles to the cupcakes for a festive look." or "The ice cream was topped with colorful sprinkles."

- KEEP YOUR NOSE CLEAN: To stay out of trouble. Examples: "He tries to keep his nose clean and avoid any legal issues." or "She was advised to keep her nose clean at her new job."

- COMPLIMENT: A polite expression of praise or admiration. Examples: "She gave him a compliment on his new haircut." or "He received many compliments on his performance."

- FLIRT: To behave playfully towards someone you are attracted to. Examples: "He likes to flirt with her at parties." or "She was flirting with him at the coffee shop."

- PINCH: To squeeze tightly between the fingers. Examples: "She pinched her arm to make sure she wasn't dreaming." or "He pinched his brother playfully."

- FLAP: To move up and down or back and forth quickly. Examples: "The bird flapped its wings and flew away." or "The flag flapped in the strong wind."

- X MEETS Y: A way to describe something as a combination of two different things. Examples: "The movie is like 'Indiana Jones meets Star Wars.'" or "Her music is a mix of pop meets classical."

- BROADSHEET: A large-format newspaper known for serious journalism. Examples: "He reads the broadsheet every morning for the latest news." or "The broadsheet published an in-depth article on the topic."

- NOTE (MUSIC): A single sound of a particular pitch in music. Examples: "She played a high note on the piano." or "He hit the perfect note during his solo."

- HIKE: A long walk, usually in the countryside or wilderness. Examples: "They went for a hike in the mountains." or "She enjoys hiking on weekends."

Episode Links:

- Find more episodes like this one at Easy Stories in English 

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Christie was on tour as a professional dancer when unexpected turns teach her about strength and confidence, even when things get difficult.

Level: upper intermediate 

Accent: Canadian

🚐 Ready to take your English further? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CLICK HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ FOR FULL EPISODE PACKAGE⁠ with vocabulary, test, and transcript!

5 words and expressions in today's story:

- BREAD AND BUTTER: Someone's main job or main source of income. Examples: "For many musicians, playing concerts is their bread and butter." or "Writing is her bread and butter; it pays all her bills."

- OUT OF THE BLUE: Something happens suddenly and unexpectedly. Examples: "I was walking home, and out of the blue, it started raining heavily." or "He received a phone call out of the blue from an old friend."

- BUMP UP: This phrasal verb means to upgrade or move to a higher position or level. Examples: "She was bumped up to a manager position at work." or "The airline bumped up her seat to business class for free."

- LONG STORY SHORT: To explain only the most important parts of a story, leaving out unnecessary details. Examples: "The car broke down, we missed the event, and long story short, it was a terrible day." or "Long story short, we decided to move to a new city after many discussions."

- TO BURN OUT: This phrasal verb can mean two things: (1) When a fire stops burning because there is no more fuel. Example: "The campfire burned out after we ran out of wood." (2) When a person becomes very tired and can't continue because they have worked too hard. Example: "The campfire burned out after we ran out of wood." or "After working nonstop for months, he finally burned out and needed a vacation."

Episode Links:

- To find out more about Christie Cunningham, visit her website

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Tom spends months preparing for an ultramarathon, but race day brings surprising challenges.

Level: upper intermediate 

Accent: Australian

🚐 Ready to take your English further? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CLICK HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ FOR FULL EPISODE PACKAGE⁠ with vocabulary, test, and transcript!

5 words and expressions in today's story:

- TO PUSH YOURSELF TO DO SOMETHING: To make a big effort to do something. Examples: "I need to push myself to stay awake until midnight." or "He pushes himself to work harder every day."

- TO CLOCK / TO CLOCK UP: To reach a certain number or amount of something. Examples: "He clocked 70 kilometers last week as part of his training." or "She has clocked up 200 hours of volunteer work this year."

- TO TAKE A TOLL: To have a bad effect on someone or something. Examples: "Working long hours takes a toll on health." or "Hard training takes a toll on your body."

- GUT FEELING: A strong feeling about something without a clear reason. Examples: "She had a gut feeling that something was wrong." or "He trusted his gut feeling during the race."

- RELIEF: Feeling better after being worried or stressed. Examples: "When the storm passed, they felt great relief." or "Finding her lost keys was such a relief."

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Jaclyn tells the story of a paragliding accident and its emotional impact on her life.

Level: upper intermediate 

Accent: Canadian

🚐 Ready to take your English further? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CLICK HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ FOR FULL EPISODE PACKAGE⁠ with vocabulary, test, transcript and much more!

5 words and expressions in today's story:

- TO END UP: To arrive at a particular place or find yourself in a situation, often unintended. Examples: "After getting lost, we ended up at a beautiful beach." or "She ended up working late because of the unexpected project."

- TO LIFT OFF: To take off, especially for rockets or planes, launching in a vertical direction. Examples: "The rocket lifted off successfully, heading towards space." or "The helicopter lifted off from the helipad."

- TO GLIDE: To fly smoothly through the air in a continuous motion. Examples: "The bird glided effortlessly across the sky." or "The paraglider glided down to the landing point."

- SLOPE: A surface with one side higher than the other; can also be used as a verb to describe something inclining. Examples: "The children enjoyed sledding down the snowy slope." or "The path slopes gently towards the river."

- TO FIT IN: To be comfortable with a group of people or to have enough space for something. Examples: "She fit in well with her new colleagues at work." or "The couch didn’t fit in the small living room, so they had to move it to another room."



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Twice in her life has Brigitte felt alone and lost, and both times she decided to search for the northern lights. 

Level: Intermediate 

Accent: Canadian (Quebec)

🚐 Do you want to get much further? CLICK HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ FOR FULL EPISODE PACKAGE⁠⁠ with vocabulary, test, transcript and more!


5 words and expressions in today's story:

- UPROOT: to pull something—especially a tree or plant—out of the ground. 

Examples: "The strong winds uprooted the old tree." or "They had to uproot the weeds from the garden."

Metaphorically: to move (someone) from their home or a familiar location.

Examples: "His family was uprooted when they moved to a new city." or "The war uprooted many families from their homes."

- OUTGOING: Friendly and socially confident.

Examples: "She is very outgoing and makes friends easily." or "His outgoing personality makes him popular at parties."

- FIRST NATIONS: Indigenous peoples that are the original inhabitants of the land that is now Canada.

Examples: "First Nations have a rich cultural heritage and history." or "The government works with First Nations to preserve their traditions." 

- PITCH-BLACK: Completely dark.

Examples: "The night was pitch-black without any stars." or "The power outage left the house in pitch-black darkness."

- STAY PUT: To not move or go anywhere.

Examples: "She told the dog to stay put while she answered the door." or "During the storm, we decided to stay put at home."

- DIM: Not shining brightly or clearly.

Examples: "The room was lit by a dim lamp." or "The dim light made it hard to read."

Episode Links: 

- Find out more about Brigitte at The Story Warrior

💛 Want more from Into the Story? Subscribe to our ⁠free newsletter⁠ to get a quick email from Bree every few weeks filled with practical tips, fascinating topics from the world of psychology, and strategies to improve your life.

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When Scott goes exploring in a dark cave and gets stuck hanging on a rope with no light, he has to use his imagination to find a way out.

Level: Advanced 

Accent: United States (Ohio)

🚐 Ready to take your English further? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CLICK HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ FOR FULL EPISODE PACKAGE⁠ with vocabulary, test, and transcript!

5 words and expressions in today's story:

- CAVING / SPELUNKING (CAVER/SPELUNKER): Exploring caves as an adventure activity. A caver or spelunker is someone who enjoys this, often with helmets and lights for safety.

Examples: "The spelunker explored deep caves, amazed by the rocks." or "Caving is fun for people who like discovering new places."

- TO GET DRENCHED: To get completely wet, usually from rain or water.

Examples: "We got drenched in the rain, running for cover." or "The kids got drenched playing in the water."

- SLACK VS TAUT: Slack means loose, while taut means tight.

Examples: "Check the rope is taut before climbing." or "He adjusted the slack in the rope for better climbing."

- TO NOT SAY SOMETHING LIGHTLY: To say something seriously, not casually.

Examples: "I don't say this lightly, but we need to change." or "She didn't say it lightly when apologizing."

- TANGLED VS UNTANGLED: Tangled means twisted, while untangled means straightened out.

Examples: "The wires were tangled and hard to fix." or "She untangled the knots in the necklace."

Episode Links: 

- For more thoughts and inspiration from Scott Brandon, follow him on LinkedIn.

- Visit Scott’s website.

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