Become Fluent Fast with this Reading and Listening Method | Learn English with News

Today you're going to learn English with the news.

We're going to read a news article together  so you can learn advanced vocabulary,  

so you can learn advanced grammar, and  so you can improve your pronunciation.

Welcome back to JForrest English.

Of course, I'm Jennifer.

Now let's get started.

First, I'll read the headline, A  Brief History of Airline Foods.

Rapid descent.

We're talking about airline food.

So here we have what you might get today.

What do you think?

Does this look appealing to you?

If it looks appealing, So our verb is look,  and then appealing is always in the ING form.

It means it looks attractive or  appetizing, something you want to eat.

So does this look appealing?

Maybe not so much, but if you're on A8 hour  flight and this is the only option available,  

maybe it looks pretty appealing at that moment.

So a brief history.

Brief means short, concise,  communicated in few words.

This is commonly used as a statement.

You might say, oh, I'm going to share  something with you, but I'll be brief.

I'll share it in few words, quickly, concisely.

This can also be used as a request.

If someone asks you for a few minutes to tell  you something, you say OK, but please be brief.

So notice it's used with the verb be.

A brief history in this case is an adjective.

It's describing what type of  history they're going to provide.

A brief history of airline foods.

Rapid descent.

So descent, of course, means going down,  which is interesting because the pilot will  

come on the speaker and say we have now began our  descent, so we're now beginning to land the plane.

So in this case, it's airline foods  rapid descent, implying that at one  

point airline food was appealing, but  then there has been a rapid descent.

It has gone down very quickly.

Don't worry about taking notes because I  summarize everything in a free lesson PDF.

You can find the link in the description.

Now let's continue with our lesson.

If you took an American Airlines flight  in the 1960s, so when you have a decade  

and then you have an S after it,  it means anytime from 1961 to 1969.

And notice it's in the.

So this is the preposition  that you need in the 60s.

We sometimes use this to talk about  our age or when we did something.

So you could say I was born in the 80s.

You don't have to say 19 because  it's implied, but you can.

I was born in the 80s.

I graduated in the 90s, the 70s.

Now if you want to be a little more  specific but not reveal the actual number,  

you can say the early 80s, the  mid 1980s, or the late 1980s.

Now this is a true statement for me.

So if you had to guess, would you say I was born  in the early 80s, the mid 80s, or the late 80s?

Hmm, what do you think?

Put your answer in the comments.

You can guess a specific year or  you can say early, mid, or late.

Put that in the comments just for fun.

Why not?

Now notice how it's it says if you  took because this is hypothetical  

here the structure is if some jacked past simple.

For the first part.

If you took an American Airlines flight, American  Airlines is just the the name of the airline.

If you took an American Airlines  flight in the 1960s, you would be.

So this apostrophe D represents wood.

So the next part is subject wood base verb.

You would be wined and dined.

What does that mean to be wined and dined?

This is just a expression that we use to mean  

treated very well with a high  degree of service or quality.

So maybe you went to a conference  and you say I was wined and dined.

They treated me very well at the conference,  

but it generally includes the  quality of food and beverages.

You'd be wined and dined  from the coach class menu.

You would be treated very well, specifically  when it comes to food and drink.

Your meal began with the beef consomme and  proceeded to sauteed breast of chicken in wine.

So these are just examples of quality food  to show how you would be wined and dined.

Care for a fruit tartlet for dessert.

So notice how this is being asked  as an expression because a common  

way to offer you something, perhaps if you're on  

a plane is the flight attendant would  go by and say care for some pretzels.

Now this is the short form because  the full sentence would be would you?

Would you care for some pretzels?

But native speakers often drop the would you and  just say care for care for some water, care for a  

hot towel, care for a blanket, care for a pillow,  Things you generally don't get anymore on a plane.

But in the past you would  because you were wined and dined.

So I could ask you care for  some more video lessons,  

Would you would you care  for some more video lessons?

So you can say yes, I would  to use the full structure.

Yes, I would care for some more video lessons,  

Which means you want more video lessons  or just to be fun put yes, yes, yes.

So if you want more video lessons,  put yes, yes, yes in the comments.

So I know you want more lessons just like this.

And then I'm happy to make them because  I want to wine and dine all my students.

Now remember, technically we would  use that if food and beverage were  

present, but you know what I mean.

So put yes, yes, yes in the comments.

Are you enjoying this lesson?

If you are, then I want to tell you  about the Finally Fluent Academy.

This is my premium training program where  we study native English speakers from TV,  

the movies, YouTube, and the news.

So you can improve your listening  skills of fast English, expand your  

vocabulary with natural expressions,  and learn advanced grammar easily.

Plus, you'll have me as your personal coach.

You can look in the description  for the link to learn more,  

or you can go to my website and  click on Finally Fluent Academy.

Now let's continue with our lesson today.

If you're flying coach, you'll need  to book a long distance international  

flight or maybe if you're lucky, a coast to  coast domestic one to receive a free meal.

So notice here between the two  dashes, maybe if you're lucky  

so you can remove this section and it  will still be grammatically correct.

You'll need to book a long distance international  

flight or a coast to coast domestic  one and that's to receive a free meal.

Now here 1 replaces what word?

What word does one represent?

One replaces flight or a coast  to coast domestic flight.

Now native speakers will often replace the  noun with one or it depending on the sentence.

To avoid being repetitive,  let's look at this sentence.

If you're flying coach, you'll need to book.

What type of sentence is this?

This is a conditional sentence most students know.

Because of this if clause, you can also use  when, if or when and the first conditional.

Now the first conditional is usually  formed with the present simple.

If you fly coach, to be safe,  I would use the present simple.

However, this is in the present continuous.

It just shows that continuation of the action.

So let's look at this sentence.

If you subscribe to my channel,  make sure you subscribe.

You'll receive amazing free video lessons.

So we have if or when.

If sounds like it might not happen, but  when is assuming you will subscribe.

But if is maybe you will, maybe you won't  if you subscribe when you subscribe.

So if when subject and then the present  simple, then the next part is subject  

will base for which is the future simple.

You'll receive amazing free video lessons.

So make sure you hit subscribe  today if you're flying coach.

If you fly coach, you'll need to book  a long distance international flight.

So notice the verb you use.

You book a flight.

Have you booked your flight yet?

Let's continue.

On shorter flights, you might get a choice  of complimentary cookies or pretzels.

I love how they say might.

I have been on many short flights where  they don't give you anything you might get.

So might is a modal verb.

Notice our structure might plus base verb.

Modal plus base verb might  is used for possibility.

It could be 50%, 60 percent, 80%.

There is no set definition  is just for possibility.

So if you say to me, Jennifer, I  might subscribe to your channel.

Oh, that's not very good because  that's just a possibility.

There's an equal chance you might not subscribe.

But if you say, Jennifer, I will subscribe.

This is great news for me and for you because I  

share lots of free lessons  to help you become fluent.

And will is used for promises or  commitments, but my is used for possibility.

So if you want to communicate with  confidence, don't say might use will.

So hopefully you say, Jennifer, I will subscribe.

You might get a choice of  complimentary cookies or pretzels.

Pretzels.

Now, there's actually a mistake in this part that  I've highlighted, and this is a mistake that many  

native speakers make because there is one word  that is very easily confused with another word.

Do you know what the mistake is?

And I hope this makes you feel better.

If you make these mistakes because  native speakers make these mistakes.

A professional writer made this mistake.

Do you know what the mistake is?

Put the word in the comments.

If you do, the mistake is with this  word and is just a spelling mistake,  

because in spoken English there's  no difference in the pronunciation,  

but in spelling it's not spelled correctly  because this word means something different.

The correct spelling is with an I instead of an E.

That's the only difference between these two.

But complementary with an I  means free and complimentary.

With an E means that it goes  well with, it complements,  

it matches, it enhances, it goes well with.

So to be fun, I can say, care for a glass of milk.

I'm offering you a glass of milk.

Care for a glass of milk, It would  be complementary to your cookies.

So you're already eating cookies,  and I say care for a glass of milk.

It would go well with it  would enhance the flavor of.

It would be complementary to your  cookies and is complimentary,  

and it's free, so you don't have to pay for it.

So, of course, take the glass of milk.

There are no disadvantages.

So that's how you could technically use  both of these words in one sentence,  

but they do have different meanings.

Remember, this is just a minor spelling issue.

Pronunciation is identical.

Let's continue.

Airplane food has fallen a  long way from the glory days.

The glory days were when airline  food was at its highest point.

From the glory days of in flight dining.

So dining on an airplane in flight dining  

when meals were served on white tablecloths  and stewardesses scrambled eggs in the air.

So the stewardess is scrambling eggs in  the air, meaning the plane is in the air.

Imagine that.

Imagine being on a plane and  there is a flight attendant.

Stewardess is an outdated word  because it is a gendered word and  

in modern English uses we avoid gendered words.

So we don't say waitress, waiter now  we say server for both male and female.

So in the past they said stewardesses,  

but now we say flight attendants,  which is gender neutral, male, female.

So you have a flight attendant scrambling eggs  in the air, puts down a white tablecloth and  

serves you a meal that is whining and  dining, which no longer takes place.

Let's continue.

Disappearing meals have joined  a long list of pain points,  

inconveniences and cutbacks that Flyers endure.

Today, Flyers represents people  who fly now disappearing meals.

This is the subject of the sentence and they're  

saying that this the disappearing  meals have joined a long list.

So there are many other items on a list.

And these items are things that Flyers, people  who fly are mad about their pain points.

They're mad about it.

They don't like it, maybe because  it's inconvenient, for example.

And so disappearing meals is  just one thing on that list.

And it's a long list is what  this is saying now, cutbacks.

This is when airlines try to save  money by reducing how much they spend.

So that would be cutbacks and it's  appropriate that they use the word endure.

So the one disappearing meals is one of the things  that Flyers people who fly endure today because  

when you endure something, it's always used  with something negative is when you experience  

something negative, you suffer through, you  tolerate, but it's only used with negative things.

And this is an example of something  negative, but industry cost cutting.

So here they're cutting costs, which  could also be called a cut back because  

a cutback is when there is a spending  reduction, which is also cost cutting.

So industry cost cutting, the airlines are  spending less money on things like meals for you.

Industry cost cutting isn't the  only reason your tartlet is gone.

Remember at the very beginning it was  care for a fruit, I think a fruit tartlet.

So a tartlet is simply a type of dessert.

So you can replace this with the word dessert.

So spending reduction, cost cutting, cutbacks  isn't the only reason why your dessert is gone.

So why they're no longer offering  you dessert on an airplane?

The end of in flight dining for many passengers.

A passenger is someone who is on a plane,  so you could also refer to them as a flyer.

But a flyer is someone who flies.

But if you're a passenger, it sounds  like you are currently on the plane.

So I'm a flyer.

I fly frequently, but I'm  not a passenger right now.

I'm only a passenger when I'm on a plane,  

but I would describe myself as a flyer  even though I'm not currently flying.

The end of in flight dining for  many passengers surprisingly rose  

out of big changes in government regulation.

Airplane design in flight  movies industry tax breaks.

OK rose out of this would be  another way of saying arrived from.

This is the reason why this happened  for alternatives you could say arrived  

or came from was caused by was because  we're talking about one singular thing.

The end of in flight dining.

This was caused by This was the result  of big changes in government regulation,  

airplane design in flight movies,  interestingly, industry tax breaks,  

plus heightened health and safety concerns.

Airline safety protocols and  regulations since September  

11th have changed what types of cooking  knives crews can work with in the air.

Crew is another word for employees, but crew is  

used in very specific circumstances,  is used with transportation.

So the employees on a plane, all of them  collectively are referred to as the crew.

The crew, planes, boats, trains, transportation,  you would refer to them as the crew.

And this is also used frequently  in the entertainment industry.

So all the people involved in making a movie  would be called the Crew, but in most situations.

You would just use the word  employees in an office environment.

You wouldn't say crew, you would say employees.

Airplane galleys are smaller to allow  for more passenger seats on a plane.

The galley is the space on the plane where  you, as a passenger are not allowed to go.

It's only for crew.

It's for the flight attendants or  if the pilot wanted to go there.

Of course, the pilot could.

Generally, when you're  waiting to use the bathroom,  

you can see the galley right behind  the bathroom and you've seen it.

It's tiny.

It's a very small space.

Of course, it's not a a full kitchen  where they can scramble eggs for you.

It's very small.

Airplane galleys are smaller to allow  for more passenger seats on a plane,  

and airlines don't serve some foods like  peanuts to protect people with allergies.

Meals are often smaller, blander, or nonexistent.

Nonexistent, of course, means doesn't exist, so  it's implying that you don't even get a meal.

A meal is not offered to you on the plane.

What does blander mean?

Of course you know what smaller means.

What about blander?

Meals are often blander.

Do you know what this means?

It means meals are often less flavorful.

So if a meal doesn't have a lot of flavor  in terms of simple things like salt,  

spices, garlic, you would  say this is bland, bland.

Bland means lacking in flavor.

Blander is a comparative, so it means  less flavorful than in the past.

In the 1960s, this meal is bland.

That's what you could say if you are eating  a meal and it doesn't have a lot of flavor.

This meal is bland.

Bland is your adjective and the verb to be.

Of course, you need to conjugate.

Meal service was once a point of pride.

To describe something as a point of pride  means it was something that you were proud of.

You could say my high IELTS score is  a point of pride, not price pride,  

which means I'm proud of my high IELTS score  or my high IL score is something I'm proud of.

You could also say the fact that I watch  one lesson 1 J for his English lesson,  

because of course you have already subscribed.

The fact that I watch one lesson per day is  a point of pride is something I'm proud of.

And you absolutely should be  proud of simply making progress.

The fact that you're consistent and committed,  that should be a point of pride for you.

Meal service, the meals you were served.

Meal service was once a point of pride.

If it was once, it means it no longer is.

I'm sure airlines know their food isn't good.

Of course they know this.

It's very obvious meal service was once  a point of pride, said Henry Hartfeld,  

who covers the travel industry  for Atmosphere Research Group.

I don't know what this is.

Clearly it's a group that does research.

Now the quality is so poor you have to wonder.

So to wonder, do airline executives  actually have taste buds?

This is a cheeky thing to say  because if you had taste buds,  

which means you have the ability  to taste different flavors,  

if you had taste buds and you tried this  meal, you would know it isn't very good.

You would know it's very bland.

So you have to wonder, do airline  executives actually have taste buds?

That's a very cheeky thing to say.

You're probably wondering about that word.

I just use cheeky, cheeky.

What does that mean?

Well, to be cheeky, this  means to be rude, impolite.

But when you're cheeky or you say  something cheeky to use it as an adjective,  

you're doing it in more of a humor,  humorous, playful or lighthearted way.

So comedians generally are cheeky.

They say things that are rude,  but they do it in a funny way.

So if I was talking to you and you're an airline  executive and I say do you have any taste buns?

That sounds rude.

But hmm, I have to wonder,  do you have any taste buns?

That sounds more cheeky?

I'm saying the same thing, but I'm  trying to be more humorous, playful,  

lighthearted, but ultimately  I'm saying the same thing.

So that's a cheeky thing to say,  and that's the end of our article.

So what I'll do now is I'll read  the article from start to finish,  

and this time you can focus on my pronunciation.

A brief history of airline foods Rapid descent.

If you took an American Airlines flight  

in the 1960s, you'd be wined and  dined from the coach class menu.

Your meal began with the beef consomme and  proceeded to sauteed breast of chicken in wine.

Care for a fruit tartlet for dessert today?

If you're a flying coach, you'll need  to book a long distance international  

flight or maybe if you're lucky, a coast to  coast domestic one to receive a free meal.

On shorter flights you might get a choice  of complimentary cookies or pretzels.

Airplane food has fallen a long way  from the glory days of in flight dining,  

when meals were served on white tablecloths  and stewardesses scrambled eggs in the air.

Disappearing meals have joined  a long list of pain points,  

inconveniences and cutbacks  that Flyers endure today.

But industry cost cutting isn't the  only reason your tart lit is gone.

The end of in flight dining for many passengers  

surprisingly rose out of big changes in  government regulation, airplane design,  

in flight movies, industry tax breaks,  plus heightened health and safety concerns.

Airline safety protocols and  regulations since September  

11 have changed what types of cooking  knives crews can work with in the air.

Airplane galleys are smaller to allow  for more passenger seats on a plane  

and airlines don't serve some foods like  peanuts to protect people with allergies.

Meals are often smaller, blander or non existent.

Real service was once a point  of pride, said Henry Heartfelt,  

who covers the travel industry  for Atmosphere Research Group.

Now the quality is so poor you have to wonder,  do airline executives actually have taste buns?

So did you like this lesson?

Do you want me to make more lessons  where we read the news together?

If you do, then put yes, yes, yes, put  yes, yes, yes, yes in the comments below.

And of course, make sure you like this lesson.

Share with your friends and  subscribe to your Notified.

Every time I post a new lesson and you  can get this free speaking guide where  

I share 6 tips on how to speak  English fluently and confidently.

You can click here to download it or  look for the link in the description.

And I have another lesson I know you'll  love, so make sure you watch it right now.