
Herding Mountains to Make a Forest (Pre-Intermediate)Get episodes without adverts at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Support. Your support is appreciated! The Stone Forest in Yunnan is a beautiful karst mountain range. But how did it come to be? Learn all about the Sani people and the magical origins of this Chinese nature site in today's episode. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Mountains for the full transcript. Level: Pre-Intermediate. Genre: Myths & Legends. Vocabulary: Herd, Bucket, Spirit, Order, Whip, Unfurl, Dam, Rooster, Freeze. Setting: China. Word Count: 681. Author: Chinese Myths. 00:00 Intro 00:52 The Sani people 01:39 My full circle momoent 04:12 Leaving Chinese 06:19 Coming back to Chinese 08:57 Busy busy! 11:14 Stumbling across the origin story 13:30 Vocabulary 17:34 Herding Mountains to Make a Forest 23:31 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Doing Stand-Up Comedy in Chinese (Conversation)Get episodes without adverts at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Support. Your support is appreciated! Comedy is hard enough, but doing it in Chinese? Oh, Ariel, you do love a challenge! Hear all about my performance adventures and upcoming travel in this laughs-packed episode. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Comedy for the full transcript. 00:00 Intro 01:18 Batching episodes 03:09 Discovering pine cones 05:14 The nightmare of tones 08:33 Trying comedy in Chinese 11:37 This is your host! 13:45 London vs. China 15:48 I've arrived 17:56 Upcoming holidays 19:33 Wicked 2 22:31 Let's gallop! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Animals' Peace Party (Pre-Intermediate)Get episodes without adverts at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Support. Your support is appreciated! The cows and horses have argued with the pigs for too long. It's time to have a peace party and finally settle things. But one very talkative pig has a different view... Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Peace for the full transcript. Level: Pre-Intermediate. Genre: Myths & Legends. Vocabulary: Hoarse, Filthy, Greedy, Settle a dispute, Master (leader), Amongst, Farmhand, Favour (verb), Wisdom, Squeal. Setting: China. Word Count: 1044. Author: Mary Hayes David, Chow Leung. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
All the Housemates I've Ever Had (Conversation)Get episodes without adverts at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Support. Your support is appreciated! Living with people isn't easy, and I've had it really hard. The Illuminati, the silent treatment, and deadly narcissists - I've seen it all. If you live alone, this episode will fill you with relief, and if you have housemates, it'll make you think 'Maybe they aren't so bad after all!' Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Housemates for the full transcript. Cover art image of dirty dishes by Johan Hansson CC BY 2.0 00:00 Preview 00:39 Intro 03:48 The ethics of this episode 05:50 Living in Bristol 13:46 Moving in with a 'friend' 20:16 Choosing my next housemate 22:36 A brief interlude 23:21 Moving to London 27:27 Down to Eltham 32:20 Finally, up to Walthamstow 38:40 The confrontation 48:58 The actual building 52:11 Would I do it again? 55:07 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How the Moon Became Beautiful (Beginner)Get episodes without adverts at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Support. Your support is appreciated! The moon is beautiful, but it wasn't always that way. True love was needed, as well as breaking a mother's heart... Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Moon for the full transcript. Level: Beginner. Genre: Myths & Legends. Vocabulary: Astronomy, Poem, Pick (flower), Sharp, Gentle, Ridiculous. Setting: China. Word Count: 843. Author: Ariel Goodbody. 00:00 Intro 01:11 Vocabulary 04:53 How the Moon Became Beautiful 12:58 Transcription problems 16:10 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hansel and Gretel (Pre-Intermediate)Get episodes without adverts at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Support. Your support is appreciated! What if the witch in Hansel and Gretel was Chinese? Well, then things would be very different. In this twisted version of the classic fairy tale, the two young children run away from the house of sweets and end up somewhere far more exotic... Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Hansel for the full transcript. Level: Pre-intermediate. Genre: Horror. Vocabulary: Woodcutter, Sweet tooth, Twig, Abandon, Breadcrumbs, Quitter, Betrayal, Witch, Belly, Prison bars. Setting: Fairytale. Word Count: 2357. Author: Ariel Goodbody. 00:00 Intro 10:55 Hansel and Gretel 29:52 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's My Podcast and I'll Ramble If I Want To (Conversation)Get episodes without adverts + bonus episodes at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Support. Your support is appreciated! Have you ever eaten bone marrow? You know, the fat inside of animal bones? Have you ever wondered whether ancient humans sucked out the marrow like a tube of yoghurt? Yeah, that's the kind of stuff I've been doing recently. Have a listen. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Ramble for the full transcript. 00:00 Intro 00:48 Friday dreams vs Saturday realities 02:57 Dreaming of any colour Christmas 05:06 Whammageddon 06:42 Yummy bones 09:56 Style change! 12:22 Japan for Christmas 17:06 Osaka is Daban, apparently 23:52 No more faffing about with thumbnails! 30:34 Me, Myself and AI 34:03 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Three Goats (Rerun)Get episodes without adverts + bonus episodes at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Support. Your support is appreciated! Three goats live happily in a field eating grass. But one day, there's no more grass. They decide to cross a bridge to another field. But when they try to cross, a monster jumps out, and he wants to eat them! Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/ThreeGoats for the full transcript. Level: Beginner. Genre: Children's. Vocabulary: Goat, Eldest, Middle child, Greedy, Flow, Silly, Drown, Narrow, One by one, Troll, Annoying. Setting: Fairytale. Word Count: 1232. Author: Fairy Tales. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hangzhou and the Joy of Cycling (Conversation)Get episodes without adverts + bonus episodes at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Support. Your support is appreciated! This episode has come out very late because of my appendicectomy. Apologies! I have recovered now and we should be back to our regular schedule soon enough. 'Above there is heaven, and below there is Hangzhou.' So it must be a pretty great city, right? I sure thought so! In today's episode, I tell you all about my visit to this ancient Chinese city, with its lovely lake, temples and food. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Hangzhou for the full transcript. 00:00 Intro 00:53 A rite of passage 02:54 A new view 06:03 Hali Bote 09:57 Hang Joe! Do it! 11:36 Bustling with history 13:30 A mouldy hotel 14:24 That West Lake vibe 16:59 Soaking up the temples 19:22 Amazing noodles 21:37 Back on the bike! 25:44 An unfortunate incident 28:07 New frames 29:18 Where's this cafe?? 31:13 The results of my Japanese exam 34:07 Random China things 37:49 The best tissues in the world 40:22 Stay in the light? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Demon Cats (Beginner)Get episodes without adverts at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Support. Your support is appreciated! Would you go fishing on Halloween night? That's when demons walk the Earth, and nobody is truly safe... But Murdo McTaggart doesn't believe in superstitions like that, and he heads out to catch fish while the other villagers go to church. He'll come to regret that mistake as the Devil - Auld Clootie himself - comes to him in the form of 13 tone-deaf cats. Have a spooky time with today's Scottish folk tale! Apologies for the changes to the usual schedule - I'm recovering from an appendicectomy (having my appendix removed) so I've had to move things around a bit. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/DemonCats for the full transcript. Level: Beginner Genre: Horror. Vocabulary: Demon, Fisherman, Superstition, Fur, Disappear, Bone, Stab, Scratch, Bite, Priest, Holy water. Setting: Scotland. Word Count: 1423. Author: Ariel Goodbody. 00:00 Intro 01:09 Pumpkin Day? 02:28 Vocabulary descriptions 02:32 Demon 03:12 Fisherman 03:30 Superstition 04:10 Fur 04:24 Disappear 04:47 Bone 05:09 Stab 05:35 Scratch and bite 06:01 Priest 06:16 Holy water 06:52 The Demon Cats 08:02 Murdo ignores the warnings 09:14 Something dark is coming... 10:13 The cats sing a cumha 11:48 The first gift 12:32 Another 'song' 13:20 Another offering 13:54 More singing?! 14:57 A clever trick 16:11 A fight to the death? 17:07 A cry for help 18:01 Just in time! 19:32 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Doggo and Kitty Bake a Cake (Pre-Intermediate)Get episodes without adverts at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Support. Your support is appreciated! It's Kitty's birthday! And how better to celebrate than by baking a cake? Just one problem: how do you do it? Well, if you add five delicious things, it will be five times as delicious, and if you add a hundred delicious things... Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/CakeL2 for the full transcript. Level: Pre-Intermediate. Genre: Children's. Vocabulary: Sandpit, Nuts, Eggshell, Divine, Pretend, Wag, Naughty, Stomach rumbles, Mud. Setting: Fairytale. Word Count: 1947. Author: Ariel Goodbody. 0:00 Intro 0:52 You can see me! 2:31 Relevelling 6:26 Vocabulary 11:03 Doggo and Kitty Bake a Cake 26:10 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How Slow Can I Go? (Conversation)Get episodes without adverts + bonus episodes at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Support. Your support is appreciated! Listen to me articulate and enunciate every word as I discuss unusual beverages, insane apps, doing Pilates in Chinese, and how I'm feeding you all worms. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Slow for the full transcript. Vocabulary: Latte, Beetroot, Pistachio, Red envelope, Massage, Pilates, Monologue, Worm, Nest 0:00 Intro 01:41 How slow can I go? 05:33 A mysterious drink 08:10 Crazy Chinese apps 13:00 Inappropriate videos 17:20 Pilates à la Chinoise 19:15 Levelling up abroad 20:59 Autumn, anyone? 22:00 Where to find my funky food pics 24:20 My upcoming travels 27:08 Let's speed things up a bit 32:23 Mother has arrived 33:19 Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Juniper Tree (Advanced)Get episodes without adverts at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Support. Your support is appreciated! Skin as white as snow and eyes as red as blood. Some would call it beautiful, but to Nicholas's parents, he is a demon child. But when Nicholas discovers that his 'mother' is not his real mother, his whole world starts to change. Today's story has themes of child abuse, cannibalism and violence. It is not appropriate for children. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Juniper for the full transcript. Level: Advanced. Genre: Horror Vocabulary: Juniper berry, Torment, Console, Demon, Witch, Chest (box), Padlock, Millstone. Setting: Fairytale. Word Count: 4623. Author: Ariel Goodbody. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
My Morning Routine (Conversation)Get episodes without adverts + bonus episodes at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Support. Your support is appreciated! What I do every morning, in excruciating detail. When do I floss, how do I know when to put on deodorant, and what do I eat for breakfast? All these fascinating questions, and more, answered for you. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Routine for the full transcript. Vocabulary: Night owl, Equator, Dental floss, Mouthwash, Yoga block, Yoga strap, Cork, Bar soap, Shower gel, Deodorant, “He could talk for England”, Grind, Muesli 00:00 Intro 00:50 Throwback to French class 02:59 Are you a morning person or a night owl? 06:22 Brushing and flossing 10:41 Adventures in Listerine 11:55 Yoga time! 16:11 Getting clean 18:27 Deodorant tactics 22:40 Talking for England 23:32 A coffee fiend 26:40 What's for breakfast? 31:21 Eating isn't enough! 35:03 Dumping rubbish 37:43 Easy like Sunday morning Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Before the Light Dies (Beginner)Get episodes without adverts at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Support. Your support is appreciated! The king asks a clockmaker to repair an old magical clock. But when the clockmaker tries to repair the clock, nothing works... until he discovers a secret that will change his life. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Clockmaker for the full transcript. Level: Beginner. Genre: Romance. Vocabulary: Clockmaker, Ancestor, Repair, Ban, Apprentice, Gear, Rush, Symbol, Diary, Honesty, Secret. Setting: Fairytale. Word Count: 1753. Author: Ariel Goodbody. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices