Keep the contrast
Listen for words such as but and although. Check how the words that follow change the message.
Focused listening library
B2 listening lesson library
Browse upper-intermediate lessons by topic, accent, and length. Practise connected speech, phrasal verbs, and implied meaning.
Correlative conjunctions: rules and examples
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Crossed wires
You arrive for a meeting on Tuesday, but your colleague expects you on Thursday. Neither person meant to cause a problem. How can you describe what happened?
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Cut to the chase
Cut to the chase means to stop wasting time on minor details and talk directly about the most important subject.
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Cynical Meaning: How to Use It
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Debauchery Meaning: Register and Careful Use
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Despicable Meaning: Strong Moral Judgment
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Dichotomy Meaning: Two Opposing Sides
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Dictionary Updates: How Words Enter
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Didactic Meaning: When Teaching Sounds Preachy
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Distributive Adjectives: Choose Each and Every
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Each, Either, Neither: Choose the Right Word
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Easier said than done
Someone tells you to stop worrying before an important interview. The advice is sensible, but following it feels much harder than giving it. How can you respond?
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Educational Goals Essay: Planning Your Main Steps
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Egregious Meaning: Calling Out Severe Errors
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Elicit or Illicit: How to Choose
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Elusive: Meaning and Everyday Use
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Empathy meaning: how to use it
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Emphatic pronouns: clear rules and uses
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English subjunctive: rules and wishes
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Epiphany meaning: sudden clear realization
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Esoteric meaning: explain specialized terms clearly
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Expressions with get
Get in touch means start communicating with someone. Get rid of means remove or throw away something unwanted. Get used to means become familiar and comfortable with a new situation.
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Eye to eye
Two team members have different working styles, but both want to delay the launch until the product is safer. How can you describe the opinion they share?
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Facetious: Meaning, Tone, and Use
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How this practice helps
Follow the main message and the details that change it: a contrast, a reason, or an expression that is not literal.
Use the examples to check meaning, then listen again for the exact wording.
Practice at your level
Practise with support, try a test, then review the words you missed.
Review exact wording
A missed word may change the grammar or only the detail. Compare your answer with the transcript to see which happened.
Compare available accents
Once the wording is familiar, choose another voice offered for that clip. Listen for what becomes harder or easier.
