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ADVANCED ENGLISH STORY 🚣A Day by the River 🚣C1+ | Level 7 - 8 | English Listening Practice
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Hello and welcome to Lovely English
Stories. Thank you for stopping by. This
story was voted for by you, our
subscribers, and it's for advanced
English learners. So, are you ready?
Well, let's get started. A Day by the
River, C1 Advanced English Story. We'll
read through the story first with some
vocabulary explanations within the
story. Then we'll go through some more
vocabulary and then we'll read the story
again without any explanations. Ready?
It was a mild, which means a pleasantly
warm, not too hot or too cold, Saturday
morning when Emma decided to spend the
day by the river. She packed a picnic,
which is a meal eaten outdoors, often on
a blanket, into her rucksack, of two
crusty baguette sandwiches, a ripe
peach, and a flask of tea. After lacing
up her trainers, which are comfortable
sports shoes, she left her flat and
strolled towards the park.
The park was already bustling with
activity. Joggers passed by, their
footsteps rhythmic against the gravel
paths, while children squealled with
laughter as they chased each other
across the grass. Near the bandstand, a
man was flying a kite. That's a light
frame covered with fabric or paper, and
it is flown in the wind. Its vibrant
tail twisting and fluttering in the
crisp breeze.
When Emma reached the riverbank, she
paused for a moment. The water flowed
lazily, its surface glinting, which
means reflecting small flashes of light
under the midday sun. She chose a spot
beneath a sweeping willow tree, which is
a tree with long trailing branches.
Its foliage providing cool dappled
shade. Sitting cross-legged, she
breathed in the earthy scent of grass
and damp soil and listened to the
distant murmur of voices blending with
bird song.
Emma opened her book, but was soon
distracted by two elegant swans gliding
across the water. Unlike ducks, swans
move with an almost regal grace. Their
necks curved like question marks as they
dipped beneath the surface, searching
for food. Emma tossed a few crumbs from
her sandwich onto the water.
The ripples widened as the birds
approached cautiously, their moments and
movements serene, which means calm and peaceful.
peaceful.
As afternoon settled in, the park grew
livelier. Families arrived carrying
picnic baskets.
Cyclists whizzed along the riverside
path, and somewhere nearby, a group of
friends strummed a guitar, filling the
air with soft melodies.
Emma savored the moment. The gentle
breeze, which is a light wind, was
brushing against her cheeks, the sun
flickering through the canopy above.
A sudden commotion snapped her out of
her thoughts. A dog had leapt into the
river, sending up a spray of water. Its
frantic owner called from the bank, her
voice sharp with concern. Yet the dog
emerged triumphant, tail wagging and
stick clenched between its jaws.
Laughter rippled through the onlookers
and the owner exhaled in relief. That's
the easing of an anxiety, anxious
feeling or worry.
Later, Emma wandered along the toe path
where she watched a team of rowers. This
is people propelling a boat using long
oars as they glide past in a sleek
racing shell. Their strokes were
perfectly synchronized. That means they
occurred at the same time and in the
same rhythm, a testament to discipline
and teamwork. She wondered how many
early mornings it had taken to achieve
As dusk approached, the river mirrored
shades of orange and rose pink. Emma
lingered for a final glance, then took a
photograph to capture the scene. Walking
home, her thoughts drifted lazily like
the current itself. It had been an
ordinary day, yet threaded with quiet
beauty. A reminder that sometimes
simplicity holds the greatest reward.
Now, we're going to go through some of
those more advanced or complex words
from the story and then we'll read the
story again and hopefully this will help
you understand those words in context.
So let's start with drifted to drift.
Drifted means moved slowly without
control. The clouds drifted across the
evening sky. Frantic. If someone is
frantic, they are very worried or
anxious in a hurried way. She made a
frantic search for her missing keys.
Lingered or to linger. Lingered means to
stay in a place for longer than is
necessary. He lingered by the door,
unsure what to do. Melodies. Melodies
are pleasant musical tunes. The piano
filled the room with gentle melodies.
Murmur. A murmur is a low, soft,
continuous sound. The murmur of voices
came from the next room. Cautiously.
Cautiously.
To do something cautiously means in a
careful way to avoid risk or danger. She
approached the wild animal cautiously.
Commotion. A commotion is a sudden noisy
confusion or disturbance. There was a
commotion in the hallway when the bell rang.
rang.
Squealled. To squeal means to make a
high-pitched cry or sound. The children
squealled with delight at the surprise.
Synchronized means something that
happens at the same time or in harmony.
For example, dancers can be
synchronized. Swimmers can be
synchronized. The rowers on the boat
were synchronized.
Bandstand. A bandstand is an outdoor
platform for musicians to perform. The
band played on the park's band stand.
Snapped or to snap means that something
has broken suddenly or spoken in an
angry or sharp way. She snapped the
pencil in half or she snapped at the
little boy who was being naughty.
Triumphant means feeling or showing joy
after a victory after a win. He returned
home with a triumphant smile after
winning the race.
Footsteps are the sound or mark of
someone walking. She could hear her
dad's footsteps.
Grace. If something is done with grace,
it is done smoothly and elegantly. The
ballerina moved with effortless grace
across the stage.
to clench. Clenched means closed
tightly, usually due to a strong emotion.
emotion.
He clenched his fists in frustration.
Dappled. Dappled means marked with spots
or patches of light and shade. They
walked under the dappled sunlight
filtering through the trees.
A reminder is something that makes you
remember something else. The photo was a
reminder of the holiday. Simplicity.
Simplicity.
Simplicity is the quality of being
simple and uncomplicated.
She loved the simplicity of a quiet life
in the countryside.
Twisting. To twist.
Twisting means turning in a winding or a
spiral shape. The smoke was twisting up
into the clear blue sky.
Bustling. If something is bustling, it
is full of lively activity and movement.
The market was bustling with shoppers
and street performers.
Glinting or to glint.
Glinting means shining with small
flashes of light. The sun was glinting
on the surface of the water.
Willow. Willow is a type of tree with
beautiful long trailing branches. They
sat beneath a willow by the river.
They're often called weeping willow trees.
trees.
To flutter. Fluttering means moving
lightly and quickly in the air. The
butterfly was fluttering above the flowers.
flowers.
To ripple. Rippled means something that
is forming or formed small waves on the surface.
surface.
Laughter rippled through the crowd after
the joke. Serene.
Serene.
Serene means calm, peaceful, and
untroubled. She looked serene as she sat
by the lake.
Canopy. Canopy is a covering formed by
tree branches and leaves. The hikers
rested under the forest canopy.
Exhaled or to exhale means to breathe
out air
like that. He exhaled or exhaled. Some
people pronounce it slightly
That could also be a bit of a sigh.
Rowers. Rowers are people who propel a
boat by using oes. The rowers worked in
perfect rhythm. Rhythm. Crusty.
Crusty means having a hard outer layer.
She bought a loaf of crusty bread from
the bakery.
Tow path. A toe path is a path along the
side of a river or a canal. They cycled
along the toe path.
Now, we'll read through the story again,
but this time we won't do the
explanations. You can still see them on
the screen if you're not sure, but we
won't read them out. So, are you ready?
Hopefully, this will be useful.
It was a mild Saturday morning when Emma
decided to spend the day by the river.
She packed a picnic into her rucks sack
of two crusty baguette sandwiches, a
ripe peach, and a flask of tea. After
lacing up her trainers, she left her
flat and strolled towards the park.
The park was already bustling with
activity. Joggers passed by, their
footsteps rhythmic against the gravel
paths, while children squealled with
laughter as they chased each other
across the grass. Near the bandstand, a
man was flying a kite, its vibrant tail
twisting and fluttering in the crisp breeze.
breeze.
When Emma reached the riverbank, she
paused for a moment. The water flowed
lazily, its surface glinting under the
midday sun. She chose a spot beneath a
sweeping willow tree, its foliage
providing cool, dappled shade. Sitting
cross-legged, she breathed in the earthy
scent of grass and damp soil, and
listened to the distant murmur of voices
blending with bird song.
Emma opened her book, but was soon
distracted by two elegant swans gliding
across the water.
Unlike ducks, swans move with an almost
regal grace. Their necks curved like
question marks as they dipped beneath
the surface searching for food. Emma
tossed a few crumbs from her sandwich
onto the water. The ripples widened as
the birds approached cautiously, their
As afternoon settled in, the park grew
livelier. Families arrived carrying
picnic baskets. Cyclists whizzed along
the riverside path. And somewhere
nearby, a group of friends strummed a
guitar, filling the air with soft melodies.
melodies.
Emma savored the moment, the gentle
breeze brushing against her cheeks, the
sun flickering through the canopy above.
A sudden commotion snapped her out of
her thoughts. A dog had leapt into the
river, sending up a spray of water. Its
frantic owner called from the bank, her
voice sharp with concern. Yet the dog
emerged triumphant,
tail wagging and stick clenched between
its jaws. Laughter rippled through the
onlookers and the owner exhaled in relief.
relief.
Later, Emma wandered along the toe path
where she watched a team of rowers glide
past in a sleek racing shell. Their
strokes were perfectly synchronized, a
testament to discipline and teamwork.
She wondered how many early mornings it
had taken to achieve such precision.
As dusk approached, the river mirrored
shades of orange and rose pink. Emma
lingered for a final glance, then took a
photograph to capture the scene. Walking
home, her thoughts drifted lazily like
the current itself. It had been an
ordinary day, yet threaded with quiet
beauty, a reminder that sometimes
simplicity holds the greatest reward.
We hope you enjoyed this lovely English
story as voted for by you. And we hope
you can realize that we are real people.
Sometimes people comment and think that
we're a computer or a bot or AI, but we
are very much real people as you can
hear when sometimes I stumble over
words. But everyone does that, even
native speakers. So when you're learning
a new language and you worry that you're
stuttering or stumbling, native speakers
do it, too. No one is perfect. The fact
that you're trying to learn is good
enough. So, thank you for stopping by
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