Plain English

Today's story: Dolly Parton, the country music singer, died at age 80. She rose from rural poverty to become one of the most celebrated musical artists of her generation. While she was famous for her music, she was beloved for her personality. Generous, authentic, and accepting, she united fans from many different worlds. Transcript & Exercises: https://plainenglish.com/897
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Learn the English expression, "eat away at"
Get the full story and learning resources: https://plainenglish.com/expressions/eat-away-at
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Today's story: The first postcards were sold in the late 1800s and quickly became a popular way to communicate. In the days before social media (and even consumer photography), they were a fast and cheap way to communicate. But across the world, postcard usage is falling sharply (except one specific type of postcard). Transcript & Exercises: https://plainenglish.com/895
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Mentioned in this episode:
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Learn the English expression, "better off"
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Today's story: Scientists at the University of Minnesota built a synthetic cell entirely from non-living chemical ingredients. Called SpudCell, it can absorb nutrients, copy its genetic code, divide into two, and even show natural selection over several generations. However, it still depends on scientists to supply key cellular machinery, cannot reproduce forever, and does not always pass on a complete set of DNA. Researchers hope this fully documented cell will help them understand how life works and eventually develop engineered cells that can produce fuels, plastics, or medicines. Transcript & Exercises: https://plainenglish.com/893
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Mentioned in this episode:
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