World Wonders (Level 2)

Learn English Through Story - Subtitles:
World Wonders (Level 2)

Short description:
What are the most beautiful, the most interesting, the most wonderful things in the world? The Great Pyramid, the Great Wall of China, the Panama Canal - everyone has their favourites. And there are natural wonders too - Mount Everest, Niagara Falls, and the Northern Lights, for example.

Here is one person's choice of eleven wonders. Some of them are made by people, and others are natural. Everyone knows the Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef - but what about the Iguazú Falls, or the old city of Petra? Come and discover new wonders ...

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Glossary

1. Buddhist: (n & adj) following the teachings of Buddha
2. calcium carbonate: (CaCO3) something solid and white that is found in chalk and some kinds of stone
3. camel: a large animal with a long neck that carries people and things in hot dry places
4. canal: a long narrow passage that carries water
5. cherry tree: a tree with beautiful pink or white flowers
6. city: a big and important town; capital city the most important city in a country
7. column: a tall piece of stone or wood that is part of a building
8. cool: a little cold; between warm and cold
9. cubic metre: the volume of something that is 1 metre long, 1 metre wide, and 1 metre high (m3)
10. dam: a wall that is built across a river to hold the water back
11. defend: to fight to keep away people or things that attack
12. destroy: when something is destroyed, it is dead and finished (e.g. fire destroys a forest)
13. earth: the world; the planet that we live on
14. earthquake: a sudden strong shaking of the ground
15. electricity: power that makes machines work and can make heat and light
16. elephant: a very big wild animal with a long nose that hangs down
17. entrance: the door or opening where you go into a place
18. flag: a piece of cloth with a special pattern on it; every country has its flag
19. flat: (adj) smooth, with no parts higher or lower than the rest
20. forest: a large area of land covered with trees
21. gazelle: a small animal like a deer that can run very fast
22. god: a spirit that people believe has power over them and nature
23. grass: a plant with thin green leaves that grows on the ground
24. grow: to get bigger; (of a plant) to exist in a particular place
25. harbour: a place where ships can stay safely in the water
26. Hindu: belonging to the religion of Hinduism
27. hyena: a wild animal like a dog that eats dead animals
28. jaguar: a large wild cat with black spots
29. kind: a group of things that are the same in some way
30. king: the most important man in a country
31. land: the part of the earth that is not the sea; a piece of ground
32. line: a long thin mark like this _
33. magnetic: able to attract things made of iron;
34. magnetic field: an area with a magnetic force
35. moss: a very small green plant that grows in wet places
36. Muslim: following the religion of Islam
37. nail: a thin piece of metal that holds pieces of wood together
38. natural: made by nature, not by people
39. park: a large place with trees and gardens where people can walk
40. particle: a very small piece of something
41. pink: with a light red colour
42. prayer: words that you say to God or a god
43. rare: not found very often
44. rock: something very hard that is found in the ground
45. shadow: a dark shape that something makes on the ground when it is between the sun and the ground 
46. snake: an animal with a long thin body and no legs
47. spice: a small part of a plant that you put in food to make it taste good
48. sport: a game like football, tennis etc.
49. statue: a model of a person, made from stone or metal
50. telegraph: a way of sending messages along wires using electricity
51. temple: a building where people worship a god or gods
52. terracotta: a red-brown earth that is cooked to make it hard
53. treasure: something that is worth a lot of money;
54. treasury: a place where valuable things are kept
55. weapon: something that you use to fight with
56. wildebeest: a large wild animal with curved horns
57. zebra: a wild animal like a horse with black and white stripes on its body

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Dinosaurs (Level 3)

Learn English Through Story - Subtitles:
Dinosaurs (Level 3)

Short description:
Imagine an animal with teeth as big as bananas - and a brain as big as an orange. Or a flying animal with wings as wide as a small plane. Think about a tail that could knock a man's head off, or a mouth with hundreds of teeth. Is it any surprise that people are interested in dinosaurs?

Nobody has ever seen a living dinosaur, but millions of us go every year to stare at the bones of these enormous animals. In books, films and games, we can't get enough of the secrets of the dinosaur world ...

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Glossary

1. archosaur: a very early kind of dinosaur
2. attract: to make somebody like something
3. bear: a big wild animal with thick fur
4. bone: one of the hard white parts inside the body of an animal; (adj) bony
5. brain: the part of the head that thinks and remembers
6. breathe: to take air in through your nose or mouth
7. club: a heavy stick with one thick end, used as a weapon
8. cold-blooded: having a body temperature that changes as the air or water temperature changes
9. continent: a very large area of land, e.g. Africa
10. crocodile: a big animal with a long tail and a big mouth with sharp teeth
11. defend: to fight to keep away things that attack
12. dung: solid waste from animals
13. Earth: the world
14. elephant: a very big wild animal from Africa or Asia, with a long nose that hangs down
15. enormous: very big
16. evolve: to change slowly over time
17. female: belonging to the sex that can have babies
18. fossil: part of a dead plant or animal that has changed to rock over a long time; (v)
19. fossilize: to become a fossil
20. herd: a big group of animals of the same kind
21. hollow: with an empty space inside
22. huge: very big
23. human: a person, not an animal or machine
24. hunt: to chase animals and kill them
25. iguana: a large American lizard
26. imagine: to make a picture of something in your mind
27. insect: a very small animal that has six legs
28. jaw: one of the two bones in the head that hold the teeth
29. lay: (past tense laid) to bring an egg out of the body
30. lion: a large wild animal of the cat family
31. lizard: a small animal that has four legs and a long tail
32. male: belonging to the sex that cannot have babies
33. mammal: an animal that drinks milk from its mother’s body when it is young
34. model: a copy of something
35. mouse: a small animal with a long tail
36. museum: a place where you can look at old or interesting things
37. nest: a place where a bird or snake keeps its eggs and its babies
38. ornithiscian: a plant-eating dinosaur with very thick skin
39. period: an amount of time
40. rhinoceros: a big animal with thick skin and a horn on its nose
41. sand: very small pieces of rock that you find on beaches
42. sauropod: a big plant-eating dinosaur with a long neck and tail
43. scientist: a person who studies natural things
44. sharp: with a point that cuts or makes holes easily
45. snake: an animal with a long thin body and no legs
46. theropod: a meat-eating dinosaur
47. up to: as much as or as many as
48. victim: someone who suffers as the result of a crime
49. volcano: a mountain with a hole in the top where fire and gas sometimes come out
50. warm-blooded: having a body temperature that does not change when the air or water temperature changes
51. weight: how heavy something is; (v) weigh
52. wound: a hurt place in the body

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Lorna Doone (Level 4)

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Lorna Doone (Level 4)

Short description:
One winter's day in 1673 young John Ridd is riding home from school, across the wild lonely hills of Exmoor. He has to pass Doone valley - a dangerous place, as the Doones are famous robbers and murderers. All Exmoor lives in fear of the Doones.

At home there is sad news waiting for young John, and he learns that he has good reason to hate the Doones. But in the years to come he meets Lorna Doone, with her lovely smile and big dark eyes. And soon he is deeply, hopelessly, in love . . .

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Glossary

1. attack: (v) to start fighting someone or something; attack (n) an attempt to hurt someone or something
2. bog: very soft, wet ground that pulls you down
3. darling: a word for someone that you love very much
4. defend: to fight to keep away dangerous things or people
5. earl: a title for a man from a very grand family
6. evil: very bad
7. fire: (v) to shoot a gun
8. force: (v) to make someone do something when they do not want to
9. gap: an opening in something, or between two things
10. inn: a house or small hotel where you can get meals and drinks, and a room for the night
11. lord: a title for a man from an important family
12. master: a man who has servants working for him
13. mistress: a woman who has servants working for her
14. moor: open, wild, high land
15. rebel: a person who fights against his country’s leaders
16. sand: the soft, yellow or white earth that is found on beaches by the sea
17. signal: a sign (e.g. a flag or a light) that sends a message to someone
18. size: how big or small something is
19. strength: being strong
20. Saint Valentine’s Day: February 14th; a day when lovers give each other cards and sometimes presents
21. tightly: very closely and strongly

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Drive into Danger (Level 0)

Learn English Through Story - Subtitles: Drive into Danger
(Level 0)

Short description:
'I can drive a truck,' says Kim on her first day at work in the office. When Kim's passenger Andy finds something strange under the truck things get dangerous - very dangerous.

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Glossary

1. Café: a place where people can eat and drink
2. coffee: a hot drink
3. danger: something that can hurt you or get you into trouble
4. dirty: you need to have a bath when you are dirty
5. drug: something that some people take to make them feel happy or sleepy
6. entrance: the way into somewhere
7. fall: go down suddenly
8. ferry: a way of getting cars and trucks across the sea
9. follow: go after
10. gun: something that shoots and kills people
11. jump: move quickly or suddenly
12. licence: you need this paper before you can drive a car
13. motorway: a big road where you can drive fast
14. oil: a liquid that helps cars and trucks move
15. overnight bag: a bag with sleeping and washing things
16. passport: you need this book to travel outside your country
17. throw: move your arm quickly to send something through the air
18. truck stop: a place where trucks stop and their drivers eat and drink
19. wine: an adult drink made from fruit

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Sense and Sensibility (Level 5)

Learn English Through Story - Subtitles:
Sense and Sensibility (Level 5)

Short description:
Sometimes the Dashwood girls do not seem like sisters. Elinor is all calmness and reason, and can be relied upon for practical, common sense opinions. Marianne, on the other hand, is all sensibility, full of passionate and romantic feeling. She has no time for dull common sense - or for middle-aged men of thirty-five, long past the age of marriage.

True love can only be felt by the young, of course. And if your heart is broken at the age of seventeen, how can you ever expect to recover from the passionate misery that fills your life, waking and sleeping?

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Glossary

1. admire: to have a very good opinion of someone or something
2. affection: a strong feeling of liking or love; (adj) affectionate
3. agitated: showing in your behaviour that you are anxious and nervous
4. approve: to think that someone or something is good or right
5. astonish: to surprise someone very much
6. attachment: a feeling of liking or love for a place or person
7. attract: to cause a person to like someone
8. attractiveness: the appearance or qualities that make a person pleasant to look at or to be with
9. bachelor: an unmarried man
10. bear: (v) to suffer pain or unhappiness; to accept something unpleasant without complaint
11. blush: (v) to become red in the face, especially when embarrassed
12. carriage: a vehicle, pulled by horses, for carrying people
13. the Church: the Anglican Church (the Church of England)
14. comfort: (n) having a pleasant life, with everything you need
15. comfort: (v) to be kind and sympathetic to someone who is worried or unhappy
16. cottage: a small, simple house, usually in the country
17. debt: money that is owed to someone
18. debtor: a person who owes money
19. deceive: to make someone believe something that is not true
20. deserve: to be good enough, or worthy enough, for something
21. duel: a formal fight with weapons between two people, used in the past to decide an argument, often about a question of honour
22. elegant: graceful and attractive in appearance; (n)
23. elegance fair: treating people equally or in the right way
24. firm: (adj) strong and determined in attitude and behaviour
25. frost: a thin white covering of ice on the ground in cold weather
26. gain: (v) to obtain or win something that you need or want
27. gentleman: a man of good family and social position
28. Good heavens! an exclamation of surprise
29. honour: (n) (1) the quality of knowing and doing what is morally right; (2) a great pleasure or privilege
30. hospitable: welcoming and generous to guests and visitors
31. infection: an illness which can easily be passed on to others
32. inheritance: money or property that you receive from someone when they die; (v) to inherit
33. lack: (n) not having something, or not having enough of something; (v) to lack
34. living: (n) (in the past) a position in the Church as a priest, and the income and house that go with this
35. lock: (n) a length or curl of hair
36. mistress: (in the past) the female head of a house, who employs the servants
37. mother-in-law: the mother of your husband or wife
38. opportunity: a chance, the right time for doing something
39. passion: a strong feeling or emotion, especially of love or hate; (adj) passionate
40. praise: (v) to express your admiration and good opinion of someone; (n) praise
41. recover: (v) to get better after an illness; (n) recovery
42. relieved: glad that a problem has gone away; (n) relief
43. respect: (v) to admire and have a high opinion of someone because of their good qualities; (n) respect 
44. rival: (n) someone who competes with another person (e.g. in love)
45. romantic: very imaginative and emotional; not looking at situations in a realistic way
46. scoundrel: a man who treats other people badly, especially by being dishonest or immoral
47. seduce: to persuade someone (usually young and inexperienced) to have sex against their wishes
48. sensibility: the ability to understand and experience deep feelings; the quality of being strongly affected by emotional influences
49. sink: (v) to go down, or to cause to become, lower; to move downwards (e.g. by sitting or falling)
50. sob: (v) to cry loudly and very unhappily
51. sociable: fond of being with other people; friendly
52. sorrow: a feeling of great sadness
53. spoil: to do too much for a child, so that it has a bad effect on their character; (adj) spoilt
54. stepmother: the woman who is married to your father but who is not your real mother
55. subject: (n) the thing or person that is being discussed
56. taste: (n) the ability to choose or recognize things which are elegant, attractive and pleasing
57. trust: (v) to have confidence in someone, and in their ability to keep a secret
58. vicar: a priest in the Church of England
59. vulgar: low, common, coarse, lacking in taste or manners

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Pride and Prejudice (Level 6)

Learn English Through Story - Subtitles:
Pride and Prejudice (Level 6)

Short description:
'The moment I first met you, I noticed your pride, your sense of superiority, and your selfish disdain for the feelings of others. You are the last man in the world whom I could ever be persuaded to marry,' said Elizabeth Bennet.

And so Elizabeth rejects the proud Mr Darcy. Can nothing overcome her prejudice against him? And what of the other Bennet girls - their fortunes, and misfortunes, in the business of getting husbands?

This famous novel by Jane Austen is full of wise and humorous observation of the people and manners of her times.

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Glossary

1. Accomplished: well trained or educated in social skills such as conversation, art, music, etc.
2. affection: a strong feeling of liking or love
3. agreeable: pleasant, charming
4. amends, make amends to put right a mistake or an injustice done to somebody
5. apparent: seeming, not real
6. astonishment: great surprise
7. attachment: a feeling of liking or love for a place or person
8. ball: a grand, formal dance
9. blush: (v) to become red in the face, especially when embarrassed
10. the Church: the Church of England
11. colonel an army title; the head of a regiment
12. compliment: (n and v) a remark expressing respect or admiration
13. conquer: to repress or control; (n) conquest
14. considerate: thoughtful; careful not to hurt other people’s feelings
15. contempt: a feeling that someone or something is worthless
16. desire: (n) a strong wish
17. disdain: (n) a feeling or show of superiority or dislike
18. elder/eldest: older/oldest (used only of people, especially of members of a family)
19. elegance: good taste in clothes, appearance, and manner
20. elope: to run away from home in order to get married secretly
21. favourable: giving or showing approval
22. flatter: (v) to praise someone too much or insincerely
23. Gentleman: a man of good family and social position, usually wealthy
24. haste: a hurry; quickness of action
25. honour: (n) moral principles; a privilege or pleasure
26. indifference: a complete lack of concern or interest
27. inferior: less clever or important than other people, or of lower social position
28. justice: right and fair behaviour or treatment
29. ladyship: a title used in speaking to or about a titled lady
30. late: no longer alive
31. library: a room in a house, used for keeping books
32. long: (v) to want to do something very much
33. master, mistress: a man or woman who owns a house and employs servants
34. mock: (v) to laugh unkindly at someone, to make fun of them
35. morals: an understanding of right and wrong behaviour
36. mutual: of a feeling shared by two people
37. obstinate: refusing to change one’s opinion or actions; (n) obstinacy
38. party: a group of people doing something together
39. patron: (here) a person who has the right to give someone a Church of England post (e.g. the post of rector)
40. penniless: very poor; having no money at all
41. propose: to ask someone to marry you
42. rector: a priest in the Church of England
43. rectory: a rector’s house
44. regiment: a large number of soldiers, part of an army
45. reject: (v) to refuse to accept
46. Right: (n) a proper claim to something
47. servility: being too ready to obey other people and behave like a servant
48. sister/brother-in-law: a sister/brother by marriage (e.g. your husband’s sister)
49. sociable: fond of being with other people; friendly
50. superior: better, cleverer, more important than other people, or of higher social position
51. taste: (here) the ability to enjoy or to choose things which are elegant, attractive and pleasing
52. underestimate: (v) to have too low an opinion of something or someone
53. vulgar: low, common, coarse, lacking in taste or manners.

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