TRACK 1: Black Friday is also buy nothing day

Black Friday takes place the day after American Thanksgiving at the end of
November. It is one of the busiest shopping days of the year, and many retailers offer
special deals for consumers who are starting their holiday shopping. In recent years,
many people have noticed that consumerism has taken over the holidays and taken a
toll on our earth. Some have decided to boycott Black Friday by calling it Buy Nothing
Day. This international day of protest against consumerism gains a little momentum
each year. Some activists stand in shopping line-ups and offer to cut up credit cards for
those who are about to waste money on things they don’t need. Others stay out of the
malls and try to convince friends and family members to do the same.

Main idea:
- Black Fridays takes place the day after American Thanksgiving
- But Nothing Day is an international protest against over-consumption. It takes
place on the same day as Black Friday.
- The report says that on But Nothing Day, activists stand in line-ups at shopping
malls and often cut up credit cards for people who are wasting money on things
they don’t need.

I) NEW WORDS

Word Prononciation Meaning Example

Retailer riːˈteɪlə Nhà bán lẻ Retailers face their slowest

business period in January and
February.

Consumerism kənˈsjuːmərɪz(ə)m Chủ nghĩa The growth of consumerism

tiêu dùng

Boycott ˈbɔɪkɒt Tẩy chay We boycott all products tested

on animals.

Momentum məʊˈmɛntəm Động lực The campaign for reform

should start to gather
momentum in the new year.

Toll təʊl Gây thiệt hại The bombings took a heavy

toll, killing hundreds of
Londoners.
II) COLLOCATIONS AND IDIOMS

Collocations/Idioms Prononciation Example

Take over teɪk ˈəʊvə All limits taken over finite index
 categories exist.

Take a toll teɪk ə təʊl Various diseases have taken a toll

upon different populations.

Line-ups ˈlaɪnʌps This is interspersed with live

footage of his various line-ups .

TRACK 2:
Hey everybody, welcome to this A2 English Listening Practice videos. You can use
this video to practice your listening and comprehension as I speak. Before we start,
remember to download the listening time postcard and become a member at
patreon.com listening time to receive my listening practice seminars, bonus postcard
episodes and my sound training videos. Okay today I’m going to talk about fads from
the past.
First of all we need to define the word fad. A fad is something that becomes really
popular really fast and then eventually becomes forgotten for a while. It seems like
everyone is excited about this thing and follows the trend but after a while they move
on to the next big thing often. This is because people are more interested in it just
because everyone else is. You don’t necessarily love this thing: you just get caught up
in the excitement.
So, let’s go through some popular fads from the past. One of the fads I remember as a
kid was Heelys shoes. These are shoes that have wheels on the heel of the shoe. The
word “heel” just refers to the back part of your foot. So, tons of kids started wearing
these shoes, and they would kind of skate around as they walked. Skateboarding and
other “wheel” sports have always been considered to be pretty cool, so I think that’s
why Heelys became so popular. I have to admit that I thought they were pretty cool,
but I didn’t end up buying them. These shoes still exist today and sometimes I see kids
wearing them, which takes me back to my childhood a little bit.
Alright, the next fad that I want to talk about is Furby. Furbies are these little
electronic tons that look like owls. If I remember correctly, they talk, sing, and do
other stuff like that. They come in a lot of different varieties, so you can choose the
one that you think is the best of cutest. This fad was huge when I was a kid. For some
reason everyone wanted a Furby, and I saw them everywhere. To be honest, I was
always kind of freaked out by their eyes. They’re really big, and it just seems like
they’re always following you. But maybe that’s just me. Nowadays, I have no idea if
these furry little toys are still sold. But one thing’s for sure: Furrbies were all the rage
at one point.
Alright, one fad that I actually got caught up in a kid was Beanie Babies. Beanie
Babies are these small animals that are stuffed with beans instead of the normal soft
stuffing. You can feel the texture of the beans inside. One of their most recognizable
features is the red, heart-shaped tag attached that says “TY”, for TY incorporated.
Beanie Babies became a huge fad in the late 90s. I can remember collecting them as a
kid and always wanting more. I can’t say for sure how many I ended up with, but it
was a lot.
Alright, one last fad that I completely forgot about is Livestrong bracelets and other
wristbands. Livestrong bracelets were these yellow silicon-gel bracelets that people
started buying and wearing in 2004 to raise funds to support people affected by cancer.
What started out as a noble cause very quickly became a fashion trend across America.
I remember when I was in fifth grade I started seeing these bands everywhere. In all
honesty, I wanted one of these bands just because everyone else had one. I never ended
up getting one, But I did get some other wristbands. What’s funny is that people
started wearing all kinds of different wristbands, not just these Livestrong bands. I had
a handful of different-colored ones that I wore every day for a period of time. I
remember matching the color of my wristbands with the color of my clothes. Needless
to say, I bought into this fad 100%.
Okay, that’s all for today. Leave a comment and tell me about a fad that you remember
from the past.

Main idea:
- There are 5 fads in the past of the author: Heels shoes, furry, Beanie babies,
Livestrong bracelets and wristbands.
- A fad is something that becomes popular quickly and forgotten too. It seems
like everyone is excited about this thing and follows the trend for a period of
time.
- Firstly, Heels shoes. These are shoes that have wheels on the heel of the shoe. It
still exists today.
- Secondly, Furries are these little electronic tons that look like owls. They come
in a lot of different varieties, so you can choose the one that you think is the
best of cutest.
- One fad that he actually got caught up in a kid was Beanie Babies. They are
these small animals that are stuffed with a lot of beans instead of the normal
soft stuffing. The author also has a lot of Beanie Babies although he doesn’t
exactly the amount.
- One last fad is Livestrong bracelets and other wristbands. People sold that to
raise funds to support people affected by cancer. Since then, they were widely
sold and you can see them everywhere. The author had a handful of
different-colored ones that he wore every day for a period of time. He
remembered matching the color of his wristbands with the color of his clothes.

I) NEW WORDS

Word Prononciation Meaning Example

Seminar ˈsɛmɪnɑː Hội thảo A Shakespeare seminar

Fad fæd Đam mê trong 1 Interest in organic food is not
tgian a fad, it’s here to stay.

Wristband ˈrɪstbænd Dây đeo tay The clerk gave me a key on an

elastic wristband, a towel, and
buzzed me in.

Bracelets ˈbreɪslɪts Vòng đeo tay A gold bracelet

Skate skeɪt Giày trượt băng Ice skates were only a $ 74

million business.

Stuff stʌf Thứ gì nhỏ nhỏ I felt sorry for the ones who
had to eat the awful stuff.

Owl aʊl Con cú Like the great horned owl,

these owls should now be
getting ready to nest.

Tons tʌnz Nhiều I feel tons better after a rest.

Noble ˈnəʊbl Cao quý A member of an ancient noble

family

Furry ˈfɜːri Lông Your belly is very furry and

quite sweet.

Incorporate ɪnˈkɔːpərɪt Kết hợp Our original proposals were

not incorporated in the new
legislation.
II) COLLOCATIONS AND IDIOMS

Collocations/Idioms Prononciation Example

Caught up kɔːt ʌp Sick left in camp yesterday caught

up .

Tons of kids tʌnz ɒv kɪdz And there were tons of kids there
that were quite upset, not just
mine.

Freaked out friːkt aʊt I am really getting freaked out

here.

Heart-shaped hɑːt-ʃeɪpt Wearing pink heart-shaped glasses

at age 4 3.

End up ɛnd ʌp We ended up recording everything

really quickly.
TRACK 3: Reading and books
Hey everybody, welcome to this A2 English listening practice video. You can use this
video to train your listening and comprehension as I speak. You’re ready?
So today I’m going to talk to you about reading. For some people this is a great topic
and for other people this might be a boring topic. I really like reading so this is the
topic that I like talking about. So first, let’s talk about the different genres of books.
First, we have a difference between fiction and non-fiction. I’m more of a fiction
reader, but I occasionally read some non-fiction books too. In this category, some
genres include self-help books, biographies, political books, and many books about
specific fields of study. I think that nowadays, many adults are starting to read more
non-fiction than fiction. When I ask my students what type of books they read, they
usually tell me that they read books about their line of work. Reading is a great way to
improve your knowledge in your fields of work. Also I know a lot of people that love
reading self-help books, because they want to improve their lives.
Okay, so moving on to fiction, there are many different genres. One of my favorites is
mystery. I love mystery novels. I say that my favorite author in this genre is Agatha
Christie. In case you haven’t heard of her, she is actually the best-selling novelist of all
time. More people have bought her novels than any other author’s novels. The reason
why I like Agatha Christie’s book is that she’s really good at keeping the answer to the
mystery a secret. You have no idea what is going to happen at the end of the book, so
it’s always very satisfying for the reader. I also really like literary fiction, which is
fiction that many students have to read during high school. Usually in high school,
students don’t like reading these books, but I always liked them. They are a little
deeper and more complicated, but I also find them satisfying. I really enjoy reading the
great American authors of the past, such as Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck,
William Faulkner, and others like that. Ernest Hemingway, in particular, is one of my
favorite authors. Another genre that I’m interested in is the western genre. I’ve always
loved stories about the wild west of the late 1800s to early 1900s in the US, and I also
like more modern westerns. Some of my favorite authors of this genre include Zane
Grey, Louis L’Amour and Cormac McCarthy. I think that not many people like
westerns, but for me they’re super fun. I know that many people prefer fantasy books,
like Harry Potter and Game of Thrones, but I don’t really like them. I usually prefer
more realistic novels.
Okay now let’s talk about how you can read to learn a language. This is a great way to
improve your English, get yourself some interesting books in English. In my opinion,
reading in your target English is the best method for learning that language. However
it’s important that you choose reading material that you can understand at your level. If
you are a beginner, don’t try to read advanced level books. Get yourself some
children's books, for example, I’m learning French, so I try to read a little bit in French
everyday. I just started a novel that’s fairly easy but also really interesting for me. So I
learn and have fun at the same time. This is the key to learning English. If you have
any recommendations for easy English books, you can write them in the comment so
other English learners can check them out.
Okay, that’s all for today. Let me know in the comment, what your favorite book is. I’ll
see you next time.

Main idea:
- The topic that the author talked about is reading and books. This topic is one
that he likes so he is excited to talk about that.
- There are 2 genres: fiction and nonfiction. In the nonfiction category, some
genres include self-help books, biographies, political books, and many books
about specific fields of study. He thought nowadays almost all adults like
reading nonfiction more than fiction.
- Moving on fiction, there are many different genres. One of his favorites is
mystery novels. His favorite author is Agatha Christie, she is a famous writer
and almost all her novels are the best selling. One thing that the author likes
about Agatha Christie’s novels is she knows how to keep secrets until the end of
the novel.
- He also likes literary fiction that students don’t like although they must study in
school. There are some of the authors he likes such as Ernest Hemingway, John
Steinbeck, William Faulkner, and others like that.
- He suggested one way we can learn language - Learning language through
reading books. In each level, we read the same level of books. If you are a
beginner, you don’t need to read the advanced book. Instead of advanced books,
you can read children's books. And you should find the genre you like to enjoy
reading. You also don’t need to read too much in one day, you can read just a
little bit as long as you read everyday.

I) NEW WORDS

Word Prononciation Meaning Example

Genre ˈ(d)ʒɑːŋrə Thể loại Science fiction as a genre is

relatively new.

Category ˈkætɪgəri

Literary ˈlɪtərəri Văn học A literary style of writing

Mystery ˈmɪstəri

Western ˈwɛstən
II) COLLOCATIONS AND IDIOMS
Collocations/Idioms Prononciation Example

Be more of biː mɔːr ɒv His prosecution was more of a

persecution.

Fields of study fiːldz ɒv ˈstʌdi The university provides 175 fields

of study .

Line of work laɪn ɒv wɜːk Why don't you guys try another
line of work ?

Fields of work fiːldz ɒv wɜːk There were many emerging fields

of work for her.