Hello and welcome to Real Easy English, the podcast where we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn.
I'm Neil.
And I'm Georgie.
You can watch this podcast with subtitles on our website bbclearningenglishcom, where you can also find a free worksheet.
Hi, Georgie.
Hello, Neil.
It's getting towards the end of the year.
It is.
How are you feeling about that?
Well, there's a few things that I wanted to achieve that I haven't, so I don't feel good about that.
But I'm feeling quite festive and ready for those celebrations.
What about you?
Yeah.
Time flies, as we say.
It's the end of the year again.
And that is what we're talking about today in this episode of Real Easy English.
Shall we start?
Yes.
Have you had a good year, Georgie?
Yes, Neil.
I've had a great year.
I've been very busy.
I've had a few trips.
And I've also turned 30, so I've had a big birthday.
What about you?
How's your year been?
Yeah, it's been pretty good.
I went to your 30th birthday party.
You did.
That was definitely one of my highlights.
Was it?
Talking of highlights, so highlights are the most important or interesting thing.
What have your highlights been this year?
Well, my 30th birthday was probably one of my highlights, because I had friends and family from all over.
I basically invited everyone I knew, which is why you got the invite.
And yeah, that was something that I was quite proud of because I am not a very organised person.
And with this, I was very organised.
What's been the highlight of your year, Neil?
Oh, well, that's a tricky question.
But I did go on a fantastic holiday with my family.
We went to Sicily.
Wow.
And it's so beautiful.
And the food was amazing.
And is there anything you're proud of this year?
Proud of?
Yeah, I'm always proud of my kids.
They make me feel proud.
Yes, they had a good year.
And yeah, they both did well in their own way at school.
Oh, that's nice.
And how about you?
Well, I talked about being proud of my 30th birthday party, but I also performed at the Royal Albert Hall, which is a big, famous music hall in the UK, in London.
I didn't sing as a soloist.
I sang with my choir at the BBC Proms, which is a Big music festival.
Wow.
How did it feel to sing in front of all those people in that incredible setting?
It felt incredible.
And I had lots of people I knew in the audience.
Actually, some of our colleagues came.
Yeah.
It was the atmosphere was incredible and I'll never forget it.
Wow.
So, Georgie, is there anything that you didn't do this year that you wanted to do?
Yes, lots.
I had lots of plans at the beginning of the year.
Lots of New Year's resolutions like running.
I wanted to run more.
I have not been running very much.
So I regret not doing more running and also my sugar intake.
We all know that I eat too much sugar and I wanted to reduce my sugar intake, but I find it too difficult.
So I regret not reducing my sugar intake.
Well you stopped having sugar in your coffee at least.
That's true.
What about you Neil?
Well a bit like you I wanted to do lots of running.
Actually I wanted to get really fit this year and I haven't because I
I hurt my ankle and I can't run and running is my main way of keeping fit.
So I need to find something else to do.
Yeah.
Time now to recap some of the vocabulary we've heard in this episode, starting with highlight.
And a highlight is the best bit of something.
So the highlight of my year, Georgie, was my trip to Sicily.
Or was it your 30th birthday?
If you are proud of something, it means you feel good about something you've done.
You can also be proud of someone else.
For example, Neil is proud of his kids.
And if you regret something, you feel sad about it and wish that you had done it differently.
For example, I regret not running more.
I'm not very fit.
That's it for this episode of Real Easy English.
We'll be back in the new year for more real conversations in Easy English to help you learn.
Have a really great end to 2025.
Happy New Year!
