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.
To get a word in edgeways
One person has talked for ten uninterrupted minutes. You have something useful to add, but every pause disappears before you can begin.
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To jump ship
A company loses its biggest clients, and several senior employees immediately accept jobs elsewhere. Their timing suggests more than an ordinary career change.
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To not lift a finger
Three people cook, carry boxes, and clean the room while a fourth person watches from the sofa. How do you emphasise that the watcher contributed nothing?
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To pull the plug
A promising project keeps losing money. Its sponsor finally ends the funding, and the whole operation must stop immediately.
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To put someone on the spot
During a public meeting, someone unexpectedly asks you to choose which colleague should lose their budget. Everyone waits for your immediate answer.
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Torn between
One job offers meaningful work near your family. Another offers better pay in a city you love. Both choices matter, and neither feels easy.
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Touch a nerve
A casual remark about school closures suddenly changes your friend's expression. You did not intend harm, but the subject connects with a painful experience.
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Trauma meaning: physical injury and shock
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Up in the air
You may travel next month, but the dates, budget, and permission are undecided. The trip has not been cancelled, yet nothing is settled.
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Up to scratch
A report contains good ideas, but several figures are wrong and key evidence is missing. It is not terrible, although it cannot be accepted yet.
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Up to speed
You return after two weeks away. The project has changed, and you need the latest decisions before you can contribute confidently again.
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Vain meaning: pride and failed efforts
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Vulnerable: Meaning and Everyday Use
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Whatever or what ever: choosing the right form
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When it comes to
Your friend is generally relaxed, but money makes her extremely careful. You want to narrow a broad description to that one particular subject.
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Who or Whom: Choose with Confidence
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Word of mouth
A tiny café buys no advertisements, yet every table is full because customers keep recommending it to friends and colleagues.
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Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely: How to Choose
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Zeal meaning: Energetic Commitment to Goals
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apathetic meaning: unconcerned or indifferent
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austere meaning: strict, plain, and serious
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benevolent meaning: kind people and actions
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disposition meaning: character and tendency
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paradox meaning: clear everyday examples
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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.
Your level route
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.
