Listening training
Passages
Short real-life scenes that train your ear. Listen, read, answer one quick question, and keep the words.
A1Beginner
0 / 15
01Up nextTen Minutes a Day
6 min
One song. One hundred days. Only ten minutes a day.
02My Cat Is My Boss
5 min
At five o'clock every morning, Tom's cat wants one thing.
03PremiumThe Perfect Selfie
5 min
Jake wants one good photo. How hard can it be?
04PremiumPizza, Where Are You?
5 min
Forty-five minutes. No pizza. Where is it?
05PremiumThe Wallet on the Bench
5 min
Maria finds a wallet with two hundred dollars. Nobody is looking.
06PremiumDad Learns to Text
5 min
Sara's dad gets a new phone. Nobody is ready.
07PremiumThirty and Afraid of Water
5 min
Sara cannot swim, and her friends are going to the beach.
08PremiumYou Won a Million Dollars!
5 min
Anna gets the best email of her life. Her brother says: wait.
09PremiumLost in the Big City
5 min
Ben has a big interview and a dead phone. Can anybody help?
10PremiumThe Gym on January First
5 min
Everybody in the gym looks strong. Everybody except Mike.
11PremiumPush or Pull?
6 min
The sign on the door says one word. Nobody reads it.
12PremiumThe Wrong Seat
6 min
Two tickets, one seat, and nobody wants to stand.
13PremiumThe Phone Rings
6 min
Ryan has a new job, a big phone and three small sentences.
14PremiumThe Vending Machine
5 min
Sam puts in one dollar. The chips do not fall.
- 15Premium
Did You Eat?
5 min
Every evening at six, Luke's mom calls. She always asks the same question.
A2Elementary
0 / 15
01The Escape Room
5 min
Six coworkers, one locked room, and sixty minutes.
02The Man Who Never Said Hello
5 min
Mr. Hall never says hello. On Wednesday, his light is off.
03PremiumThe Wrong Wedding
5 min
The map said, “You have arrived.” The map was wrong.
04PremiumThe Camera Is On
5 min
Brandon's shirt looked perfect. His shorts did not.
05PremiumThe Surprise Party
5 min
Thirty people are hiding in the living room. Lisa comes home early.
06PremiumHappy Birthday, Stranger
5 min
It was a first date. It was not Dan's birthday. Nobody told the waiters.
07PremiumThe Dog on the Poster
5 min
Ben put up a hundred posters. Only one person called.
08PremiumThe Last Bus
5 min
Frank thought he was driving an empty bus. He was not.
09PremiumLearning to Drive at Forty
5 min
Linda failed the driving test twice. Then she tried again.
10PremiumLast Place and Proud
5 min
Jess hated running. Then her little brother made a bet.
11PremiumThe Night Class
5 min
Daniel's granddaughter talks fast. Daniel only smiles.
12PremiumThe Chirp
6 min
At three in the morning, something in the house went chirp.
13PremiumWhere Is Lily?
6 min
Hannah turned away for ten seconds. When she turned back, Lily was gone.
14PremiumThe Sofa on the Stairs
5 min
Mike bought a sofa. He did not measure the stairs.
- 15Premium
One Umbrella
5 min
Every rainy morning, Emily stayed dry. Jack's coat never did.
B1Intermediate
0 / 12
01Reply All
6 min
Mark clicked the wrong button. Four hundred people read the truth.
02The Honest Mechanic
6 min
Rachel's car broke down. Walt could have charged her ten times more.
03PremiumA Seat at the Table
6 min
A text for a grandson reached a stranger. The stranger came to dinner.
04PremiumTwo Brothers
6 min
Two brothers, one old garage, and a boat their father never finished.
- 05Premium
Starting Over at Forty-Five
6 min
The factory closed. Paul was forty-five and had never written a line of code.
- 06Premium
The Café on Maple Street
6 min
Elena had a small café, a big table, and almost no customers.
- 07Premium
The Biggest Pumpkin
6 min
Henry had one goal this autumn: to beat Mrs. Dale and her pumpkin.
- 08Premium
The Class Nobody Wanted
6 min
Paul was sure he would never need what he learned in this class.
- 09Premium
Halftime
6 min
The job paid forty dollars. The costume came with a beak.
- 10Premium
The Town Clock
6 min
For twenty-two years, Arthur wrote to the mayor every Monday about one small thing.
- 11Premium
A Tour for One
6 min
Leo had memorized the script. His only customer had lived the story.
- 12Premium
Say That Again
7 min
George's hearing aids whistle. Ruth's stay in her handbag.
B2Upper intermediate
0 / 11
01The Quiet Hour
6 min
Every Tuesday at six, the store turned down its lights, its music and its beeps.
02Twelve Strangers
5 min
Eleven jurors were ready to go home. One was not.
- 03Premium
Window Number Nine
5 min
Kevin needed one stamp. The stamp needed a form. The form needed Kevin.
- 04Premium
The Reference Letter
5 min
Marcus needed a reference letter. He knew exactly one person to ask, and she had every reason to refuse.
- 05Premium
Final Offer
5 min
Dana had three rules for flea markets. The vendor had only one.
- 06Premium
The Interpreter
5 min
At fifteen, Sofia carried her mother's words. Today she had to carry the doctor's.
- 07Premium
The Vacant Lot
5 min
Everyone on Elm Street agreed the vacant lot was an eyesore. Nobody agreed on what to do about it.
08PremiumThe Discrepancy
6 min
Claire's job was to check that everything matched. Then something didn't.
09PremiumThe Flamingo
6 min
Nobody had ever admitted buying it. Everybody had given it away.
10PremiumThe Obituary
6 min
Janet had one rule: the obituary page must never contain a mistake. Tonight it did.
- 11Premium
Route Nine
7 min
For forty-six years, Margaret won the Sunday argument. This Sunday, Harold let her.