A chance of a lifetime.
That's an expression which is used quite commonly in the English-speaking world.
It means, literally, an exceptional opportunity that is unlikely to happen again.
A chance of a lifetime.
But we use it in lots of other situations.
Maybe you come into some money.
Come into some money.
That means perhaps you win some money, or somebody leaves you some money after their death, or perhaps somebody gives you some money for whatever reason, and you have a few days off from work so you realize you can have a short holiday, a chance of a lifetime.
It's not really a chance of a lifetime, but it's just a good opportunity to take advantage of.
And so we use it in a less literal way.
The story today is called A Chance of a Lifetime.
It's a B2 level story.
I've got some B2 language in there.
I'll read it to you and then I'll test you on the language afterwards.
So here we go.
Hello and welcome to Practicing English.
My name is Mike Bilbre and these are podcasts for students of English at B1 or B2 levels.
For transcripts, please go to practicingenglish.com.
Right, so I'm going to read you the story.
I'd like you to listen and decide which are the B2 words in the story.
And another question is to listen for the verb in English, the B2 verb, which is the opposite of shake your head.
To shake your head is to move it from left to right.
In most cultures, that means no, but not all.
I want you to tell me what is the opposite of that.
So when you move your head up and down, what is that called in English?
Listen to the story.
A Chance of a Lifetime Sophie had always led a busy life.
Between her job at the hospital and her evening art classes, she hardly had a moment to relax.
One Friday, after a long shift, she received a last-minute call from her boyfriend, Tom.
He insisted she came to the old café by the river.
When Sophie arrived, the place was quiet and Tom was waiting, with a big smile.
You'll never guess what's happening, he said.
Sophie laughed sharply.
You're such a liar, Tom.
You said you'd gone to Italy on business for a few days.
Tom nodded his head.
I did go.
That was part of the surprise.
I was planning something for you.
He handed her an envelope.
Inside was a plane ticket to Italy and a letter inviting her to an international art exhibition.
Her paintings had been chosen to be displayed.
For a moment, Sophie couldn't speak.
She had always lived for her art, but never believed it would lead anywhere.
I can't accept this, she whispered.
Just enjoy it.
Tom replied gently.
Don't worry about work.
You can't live on stress forever.
That evening, Sophie realized that this was a chance of a lifetime and she wasn't going to miss this opportunity.
Last but not least, she now knew that Tom was a guy worth holding on to.
Right, that's the story.
I'll now go through it and unpack the B2 vocabulary in the story.
Sophie had always led a busy life.
So the verb led, which is the past tense of lead or the past participle here of lead, means to have a busy life.
But the collocation is often to lead busy. a busy life, meaning that she was always doing something.
Between her job at the hospital and her evening art classes, she hardly had a moment to relax.
She hardly had, meaning that she rarely, very rarely had a moment to relax.
Hardly.
Friday after a long shift.
So if you are a nurse or a doctor, well then you often work different times of the day.
Maybe you work on a day shift or maybe you work on a night shift.
That means then that you work at different hours.
You don't start at the same time and sometimes you might work at night.
She received a last minute call.
Last minute meaning At the last moment, a last minute call so it's an adjective here from her boyfriend Tom.
He insisted she came to the old cafe by the river.
To insist, meaning to say, you must come, you must come.
To insist.
When Sophie arrived, the place was quiet and Tom was waiting with a big smile.
You'll never guess what's happening, he said.
Sophie laughed sharply.
Okay, so she's upset here.
Because if you laugh sharply, it means in a rude, sarcastic way.
You're such a liar.
Okay, a liar then is somebody who tells lies, who does not tell the truth.
Liar, spelled L-I-A-R.
You said you'd gone to Italy on business for a few days.
So on business, meaning that you go somewhere for reasons of work.
To go on business is the expression.
Tom nodded his head.
So that is the verb then, which is the opposite of to shake your head.
That was the question I asked you at the beginning.
So if you nod your head, usually You are saying yes or something positive.
And Tom does say, I did go.
I did go.
Notice the did there to put emphasis in the phrase, in the expression, in the sentence.
I did go.
Okay, because she said he didn't or thinks he didn't because he's there at the cafeteria.
I did go.
That was part of the surprise.
I was planning something for you.
He handed her an envelope.
Inside was a plane ticket to Italy and a letter inviting her to an international art exhibition.
Her paintings had been chosen to be displayed.
To display something, meaning to show something, often to the public, as in this case.
So this would be in an art gallery of their paintings.
If their paintings would be in an art gallery, wouldn't it?
So they're going to be displayed.
For a moment, Sophie couldn't speak.
She had always lived for her art.
So to live for something means that most of what you do in life is directed towards one objective, one aim.
And that is, in her case, her art. because she was a painter, to live for something.
But never believed it would lead anywhere.
I can't accept this, she whispered.
Oh, it's okay, that's a whisper.
I can't accept this, she whispered.
To whisper is to speak very quietly.
Just enjoy it, Tom replied gently, in a gentle way.
Don't worry about work.
You can't live on stress forever.
Okay, to live on something often refers to food.
A lot of people perhaps eat badly and live on pizza and hamburgers.
It means they eat only those things or practically only those things.
To live on something.
And here he says, you can't live on stress forever.
Being a doctor or a nurse is a very stressful job.
That evening, Sophie realized this was her chance, was the chance of a lifetime, and she wasn't going to miss this opportunity.
So you've got these little collocations here, a chance of a lifetime and to miss an opportunity.
Last but not least, which is a common expression, when we perhaps say something, a number of good things, and just because we say something at the end doesn't mean it's less important.
So we say, last but not least.
Okay?
So we say it at the end, but it's still very important.
She now knew that Tom was a guy worth holding onto.
To hold onto something means you won't let it go.
If you hold on to something literally with your hands, you won't open your hands to let it go.
To hold on to Tom, meaning to keep him as a boyfriend.
Right, that's the explanation.
Now I'm going to read through the story again and I'm going to stop when I come to the B2 words and you will hear a bleep.
And when you do so, wait for the next space and then say the word.
And then I will say the word so you know if you have the right answer.
So here we go.
A Chance of a Lifetime Sophie had always A busy life.
Lead.
Between her job at the hospital and her evening art classes, she had a moment to relax.
Hardly.
One Friday after a long shift, she received a call. from her boyfriend, Tom.
Last minute.
He... She came to the old café by the river.
Insisted.
When Sophie arrived, the place was quiet and Tom was waiting with a big smile.
You'll never guess what's happening, he said.
Sophie laughed loudly.
You're such a... Tom.
Liar.
You said you'd gone to Italy... for a few days.
On business.
Tom... his head... nodded.
I did go.
That was part of the surprise.
Yes.
I was planning something for you.
He handed her an envelope.
Inside was a plane ticket to Italy and a letter inviting her to an international art exhibition.
Her paintings had been chosen to be displayed.
For a moment, Sophie couldn't speak.
She had always her art. but never believed it would lead anywhere.
I can't accept this, she whispered.
Just enjoy it, Tom replied gently.
Don't worry about work.
You can't stress forever.
Live on.
That evening, Sophie realised this was the chance of a lifetime and she wasn't going to miss this opportunity.
Last but not least, she now knew that Tom was a guy worth holding on to.
That's the end of the story.
I hope you learned a few new words for your B2 studies.
I'll be back next week with another B1 and B2 podcast for you all, so have a very enjoyable weekend and don't miss an opportunity to accept a chance of a lifetime music.
