🎓 B1 Vocabulary Practice (Improve Your Fluency in English with the News)

Today I have a.

B1 level reading exercise for you We're.

Going to read a news article together.

This news article is at the B1 level and you're going to learn very useful vocabulary, grammar,

structures, and a lot of expressions that will help you sound fluent and natural so

you can get up to that C1 level.

Welcome back to JForrest English.

I'm Jennifer now.

Let's get started.

1st I'll read the headline Pen Pals of 70 years meet for first time.

So these two are the pen pals and now 70 years.

Later they met.

So first notice in the headline it says meet for first time.

This is actually grammatically incorrect.

Do you know why?

It's because there's a word missing, a small but important word, and that's.

The article This is considered acceptable acceptable to do specifically in headlines

you can.

Omit the article just to save space, but you need to say.

For the first time, first is an ordinal number and we use.

The article the.

It has to be the.

It can't be for a first time, for the first time, for the first time now.

It's correct when we add that pen, pals of 70 years meet for the first time.

So let's hear about their story now.

First of all, do you know what a pen pal?

Is.

To be honest, I'm not.

Sure, if this is something that's popular anymore.

But when you have a pen pal, it's when you and someone else, usually in another country,

another.

Part of the world decide to become friends, and your friendship consists of you writing.

To each other.

So of course, 70 years ago, writing would take place by sending a.

Letter to the other person.

Now obviously you can have a pen pal online.

In the past I know it was quite common to have pen pals for language learning purposes.

I personally had a pen pal, someone from Africa, when I was learning French and he was learning

English and I wrote to him in French and he wrote to me in English and we actually met

in Canada.

So that was a very interesting experience for me.

So I have met.

A pen pal that I had?

What about?

You have you ever had a pen pal?

Have you met your pen pal?

Do you still have?

A pen pal.

Share that in the comments.

So that's the definition of pen pal.

If you weren't aware, I added that definition of pen pal.

Here for you.

Now don't worry about writing this down because I summarize everything in a free lesson PDF,

so you can look for the link in the description.

Let's continue.

A pair of 80 year old pen pals so notice.

Here a pair.

Well, of course that means two, so 1/2.

This is a pair of women, a pair of pens, a pair.

Of apples.

It doesn't matter what, but it means to.

A pair of 80 year old.

This is an adjective to describe the pen pals.

As an adjective, they don't take singular or plural forms.

Which is why you don't see an S on years and remember.

That adjectives are always optional in English.

A pair of pen pals.

So if I remove the adjective, the sentence would still be.

So it's still correct without the adjective, and it just describes who the pen pals are,

so a pair remember.

That equals 2.

A pair of 80 year old pen pals who have been writing to each other since 1955.

Of course we need.

Our what?

Verb tense because I have since 1950.

What verb tense?

Well, of course the present perfect.

In this case, the present perfect continuous because the action started in the past and

continues until now.

They're still writing to.

Each other.

So that's why we have the present perfect and since.

Is a keyword for the present perfect and in this.

Case it's just in the continuous form.

Because it shows the continuation of the action.

A pair of 80 year old pen pals who have been writing to each other since 1955 have finally.

Fulfilled their lifelong wish to meet in person, so it's been their lifelong wish.

I think you can understand what lifelong means, but this is an adjective.

To describe the wish and it's something that the person has been wanting to do for their

entire life.

You can have a lifelong wish.

You can also have a lifelong dream desire.

Or goal, for example.

It's my lifelong dream to go to Disneyland.

I don't know why I chose that.

It was just the first thing that popped into my head and then notice.

Here, they say have finally fulfilled their lifelong wish.

When you fulfill it, it means.

You achieve it, they've done it, so you.

Could add, I hope I fulfill it soon.

Patsy Gregory from Lancashire, which is in the UK.

I'm not sure where to be honest.

If you know where this is, feel free to share.

Patsy Gregory from Lancashire, traveled nearly 4000 miles to meet Carol Ann Cross in South

Carolina, which is of.

Course a state in the US I'm.

More familiar with South Carolina than I am, Lancashire, I must admit who she began writing.

To as a 12 year old.

So again, here we're using it as an adjective as.

A as a what?

As a 12 year old girl and then they just.

Omitted the word girl because it's obvious, but here as a 12 year old girl and then you

can just omit that now and then just have.

As a 12 year old?

As a 12 year old, so she began writing to who she began writing.

To as a 12 year old.

So that's when their pen pal relationship pen pal.

Ship, Pen Pal.

Ship.

I don't know if that's a word.

I made it up.

Their pen pal relationship began all right.

Mrs.

So remember Mrs.

Gregory said Mrs.

Gregory's from the UK?

Mrs.

Cross is from the US Mrs.

Gregory said Mrs.

Cross was exactly as she imagined.

She would be now notice as she imagined she.

Would be, we have the hypothetical.

Here because obviously as you're writing to someone, you you have an image in your.

Head of who?

That person is, but at this time they didn't have social media, they didn't have video

chat.

So it was.

They probably didn't see that many.

Pictures of each other or were exposed to each other's lives in the way we are now because

of social media, so they have this image in their mind.

Of what the other person was like, and that's why it's in the hypothetical here.

She would be.

Mrs.

Gregory said Mrs.

Cross was exactly as she imagined she would.

Be I recognize her immediately.

When you recognize someone, it means.

You look at someone and they are familiar.

To you so you can recognize a person.

And sometimes if you're talking to someone, you're like, oh hi, do you recognize me?

It's another way of saying, do you remember who I am?

Because perhaps we met at a conference, but five years ago and the person is asking if

I remember.

Who she is?

Do you recognize me?

Do you recognize me?

Now you can recognize someone physical appearance, but you can also recognize them based on the

sound of their voice.

For me, actually, I tend to remember someone's voice, the sound of their voice, more than.

Actually, what they look like so I might recognize someone because their voice sounds familiar

to me.

I recognized her immediately.

And it.

Just felt natural in this way.

Natural means comfortable because they're meeting each.

Other for the first time and when you meet someone for the first time, it can be.

Awkward, because you don't know how to interact with that person, but they've been communicating

with.

Each other as pen pals for 70 years.

So that's why it felt natural.

Which means it felt.

Comfortable because of the relationship they have as pen pals.

Comfortable.

Mrs.

Gregory, the one from the UK Mrs.

Gregory said though the pair had not met before, their lives had taken similar patterns.

So remember, the pair means the two of them, so she could say Mrs.

Gregory said though they because they represents the two of them, which is also.

The pair so you could say although they had not met before, and then you can.

See the equivalent of they as.

The possessive pronoun there, their lives, had taken similar patterns.

We're both the same age and got married around the same time and have three children, she

said.

Which is probably why.

Their pen pal relationship, which I just described as pen pal ship, I'm making up a new word

you heard.

It here first their pen pal ship.

Maybe it already exists.

I'm not sure their pen pal ship was successful because they have all of these similarities.

So you could say these are the things they have in common.

We have so much in common and we're both married.

We.

Both have three children.

We're both the same age.

We're both women.

We have so much in common.

We have so many similarities, so notice so much in common.

Because common is uncountable, we don't put a S on it.

But here similarities.

So, so many similarities.

We have so many similarities.

You can use the same verb.

Have we started in pencil?

They're talking about their.

Pen pal ship, Their pen pal relationship.

We started in pencil, moved on to ink.

When you move on, it means you.

Progress to something else.

So you advance progress or advance progress.

Advance.

Now you move on to something.

You can move on to the next task.

Notice that.

So if you finish one task at.

You can progress to the next task, advanced to the next task.

We started in pencil, moved on to ink, then typing.

Wow, this is an interesting relationship when you think of how the method of communication

has changed.

Over the past 70 years, then typing and now we can e-mail and stay in touch on social

media.

So different and notice here stay in touch.

When you stay in touch with someone, it means you keep communicating with that person so

often.

This.

Is how we say goodbye to someone.

We say bye, stay, stay in touch, Which?

Is a way of saying make.

Sure, you keep talking to me.

Make sure you keep sending me messages.

Make sure you keep emailing me, calling me.

So to remain in communication, remain in communication and you stay in touch with someone.

OK, so we've stayed in touch for the last 70 years.

We have the present.

Because it started in the past and it continues until now.

This is how you can use it in a sentence.

We've stayed in touch for the last 70.

We've stayed in touch.

Now you don't have to include the with.

Each other because.

It's we it's not necessary at all but I just want to show you that if you identify someone

you need with so in this.

Case If you use we it wouldn't be common to include that, but you might say I've stayed

in touch with my pen pal for the last 70 years.

We have a great pen pal ship.

Okay, it's going to catch on.

Just wait so you can stay in touch.

You can also keep in touch by stay in touch, keep in touch.

I'll just add that in here, Keep in touch, they're exactly the same.

There's no difference.

So.

For all of these, you just need to conjugate your verb.

We've kept in touch, We've kept in touch.

I've kept in touch with my pen pal, so you can you stay or keep.

There's no difference in meaning.

There's just two separate options here.

She said it's come a long way.

When something has come a long way, it means that something has progressed.

A lot.

So we can say, for example, computers have come a long way.

Think back to the computer that these women.

Used to type their first message to each other and then compare that to the computer they're

using.

Now, obviously, that technology has.

Progressed a lot.

It has come a long way, so has progressed advanced.

A lot to come a long way.

Let's continue, Mrs.

Gregory's trip was organized by her three children as a.

Special gift for her 80th birthday.

Oh, that's sweet.

And her daughter's stuff.

Callum accompanied her for the journey.

When you accompany someone, it means you.

Go with that person.

So her daughter went on the trip with her.

Her daughter accompanied her.

To America, Mrs.

Gregory is the UK pen pal, so my daughter accompanied me to South Carolina.

So this means my daughter went with me, went with me to South Carolina.

You accompany someone.

All right.

I'll just.

Highlight that for you, so Steph Callum accompanied.

They don't include the location.

If they did, it would be to South Carolina for the journey.

Mom has always wanted to meet her American pen friend, I've.

Never heard it referred to as pen friend.

I've only heard it as pen pal maybe, I'm not sure.

Maybe that is a?

British expression.

I have not heard that.

Before, but also I don't know if I've ever heard pen pal ship which I just made-up.

Pen pal, pen friend, but I can definitely tell you in US at.

Least we say pen pal.

I've never heard pen friend.

Also notice this spelling of mom.

Is specific to UK spelling in.

The US in American English we say mom.

Which is of course, if you didn't know.

Is short for mother and almost everyone calls their mother mom.

It's Mom.

To me it sounds very formal to say.

Mom.

Mom.

And when you're a little kid, maybe until you're 10 years old, you say Mummy, but after

10 years?

Old if you still say Mummy, it sounds a.

Little childish.

A little.

It doesn't sound appropriate for an adult or a teenager to do, at least in North America.

So when you're maybe until you're 10 years old, you can say mummy.

And then after that and until.

For the rest of your life.

You'll say mom.

You can absolutely say mother.

It's just not the most common.

Miss Callum the daughter.

Remember Miss Callum The daughter?

Miss Callum.

Said she said the meeting had been on her mother's.

Bucket list as it was one of her lifelong regrets.

Oh, remember, we had lifelong.

Wish.

I believe it was a wish, lifelong wish.

You can also have a lifelong regret.

A regret is something you.

Wish you had done something.

You wish you had done.

But you didn't.

I don't like having regrets.

I think having regrets are some of the worst feelings you could have.

So I always try to make sure I do the things I want to do so I don't have regrets.

I don't want to have lifelong regrets.

I want to.

Fulfill my lifelong wishes dreams.

And I guess that's it.

Wishes.

Dreams.

Desires.

Goals, that was.

The other one goals OK, a bucket list.

This became very popular with a movie.

I don't know if I had heard the expression before the movie.

When you kick the bucket, it's.

Another way of saying you die a very casual.

Slang way of saying you die to kick the bucket.

This means to die.

It's not very commonly used.

It might be considered a little disrespectful to say something like my friend kicked the

bucket.

Which means my friend died, but.

This expression comes from the list of.

Things that you want to do, your goals, your wishes, your desires, the list.

Of things you want to do before you kick the bucket before.

You die.

That's called your bucket list.

So on her mother's bucket list.

One, she wanted to meet her American pen pal pen friend.

It was one of her lifelong regrets that they had never met in person.

So remember, a gret is when you say like, oh, I wish I had applied to that job.

I wish I had moved to another country.

I wish.

I had spent more time improving my English.

Now, I don't want you to have that regret, so let me tell you about.

One of the best ways you can improve your English directly with me, and that's in the

Finally Fluent Academy.

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

movies, YouTube.

And the news so you can improve your listening.

Skills of fast English.

And add Advanced expressions advanced grammar to your speech.

To help you sound fluent and natural.

And you'll have.

Me as your personal coach, so to.

Avoid any regrets about your English I.

Recommend you join the Finally Fluent Academy.

You can look for the.

Link in the description.

Let's continue.

It was very emotional when they met.

When something is described as emotional, it means it produces very.

Strong feelings in you.

Women tend to show these feelings by crying, so you can imagine they probably were.

Crying, but in this case they were tears of.

Happiness because they're meeting for the first time.

It was very.

Emotional when they met, she added.

I was quite choked up when they hugged for the first.

When you get choked up to get or to become to be.

In this case, it's be choked up it.

Means emotional.

It's another way of saying emotional.

So perhaps you're it's your retirement party and after working for this company for 50

years.

You're giving a speech and you're saying goodbye to all of your Co workers.

And as you're saying goodbye, you might get a little choked.

Up.

You might have trouble expressing those words because there's a.

Lot of emotion and you're.

Trying not to show that emotion and that causes you from like getting a little choked up.

So it's when you have a lot of emotion, but you also try not to really show that emotion,

because you might be in the middle of a speech, for example.

I was quite choked up when they hugged for the first.

So the daughter is watching the two women.

Remember one of them is her mother.

It was her lifelong dream to meet this pen pal that she's had for 70 years.

And they hug and the daughter is watching them and like, getting choked up, getting

emotional.

They hit it off instantly and have a lot in common.

Oh, I already shared this with you.

Woohoo.

Now to hit it off.

This is when you get along with someone.

When you get along with someone, it means you have a positive.

Relationship with them.

So when you hit it off, it means you you feel very.

Connected to someone you feel that you will have a.

Good relationship with someone after.

Meeting them for the first time and in this case it is their.

First time meeting.

Although they've been communicating for 70 years, they hit it off, so they like.

Someone and they became friends immediately.

They hit it off instantly and have a lot in common.

They've been talking nonstop, nonstop.

This is an adverb and it means they've been talking continuously.

So the action happens for a long period of time.

I have another example here for you.

I've been working nonstop continuously now because this action started in the past and

continues until now.

You can use the present perfect or the present perfect continuous.

Mrs.

Gregory and her daughter stayed for 9 days in South Carolina.

With much of that time being spent with Mrs.

Cross and her family, the two pen pals said they would continue to stay in touch.

So remember, stay in touch.

Or what's the other verb?

You can use stay in touch or.

You can keep in touch.

Continue to.

Stay in touch.

Keep in touch through letters and cards.

But we're not sure if the meeting would ever be repeated.

If something's repeated, of course it means it happens again.

So they're not sure if they'll ever meet in person again, although they do want to maintain

their pen pal relationship their.

Pen pal ship.

And that's the end of the article, and this is an image of the women.

When they met and here are some of the letters that they wrote to each other.

When they could have been 12 or 14.

Years old.

So that must have been really fun to meet each other, to look at these old letters to

talk about their.

It must have been a very interesting meeting.

What about you do?

You have a pen pal.

Share that in the comments.

And now what I'll do is.

I'll go to the.

Beginning of the article.

And I'll read it from start to finish, and this time you can focus on my pronunciation.

Pen pals of 70 years meet for first time, a pair of 80.

Year old pen pals who have been writing to each other since 1955 have finally fulfilled

their lifelong wish.

To meet in person, Patsy Gregory from Lancashire.

Traveled nearly four.

1000 miles to meet Carol Ann Cross in South Carolina.

Who she?

Began writing to as a 12 year old.

Mrs.

Gregory said Mrs.

Cross was exactly as she imagined she would be.

I recognized her immediately and it just felt natural, she said.

Mrs.

Gregory said though the.

Pair had not met before.

Their lives had taken similar patterns.

We're both the same age and got married around the same time and have three children, she

said.

We.

Started in pencil, moved on to ink, then typing, and now we can e-mail and stay in touch on

social media, she said.

It's come a long way, Missus.

Gregory's trip was.

Organized by her three children as a special gift for her 80th birthday.

And her daughter Steph Callum accompanied her.

For the journey, mom has always wanted to meet her American PEN friend, Miss Callum

said.

She said the meeting had been on her mother's bucket list as it was one of her lifelong

regrets that they had never met in person.

It was very emotional when they met, she added.

I was quite.

Choked up.

When they hugged for the first time, they hit it off instantly and have a lot in common.

They've been talking nonstop.

Mrs.

Gregory and her daughter stayed for 9 days in South Carolina, with much of that time

being spent with Mrs.

Cross and her family.

The two pen pals said they would.

Continue to stay in touch through letters and cards, but we're not sure if the meeting

would ever be repeated.

Did you like this lesson?

Would you like me to make more lessons like this?

If so, put pen pal ship.

The new.

Word that I made-up pen pal ship.

Now, it turns out that this isn't a real word.

But Chachi PT said that anyone would be able to.

Infer the meaning.

Of it, which means that they would instantly understand that I combined.

Pen pal and friendship or?

Relationship and I took.

The ship.

And I added it to pen pal to create.

Pen pal ship so I think this was pretty clever of.

Me, a native speaker would absolutely know what it means.

Perhaps.

A student though.

Wouldn't understand the inference?

Pen pal ship.

Put that in the comments if you want more lessons just like this.

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