Plain English

Today's story: Andy Burnham became Britain's prime minister in July, and immediately faced a dilemma: should he continue to wear the polo shirts, jeans, and casual jackets that he wore when he was a mayor? His "hipster dad" style became a signature part of his personal messaging. Or would he follow the dress code of all (male) politicians in the House of Commons, wearing a suit and tie? Transcript & Exercises: https://plainenglish.com/905
Get the full story and learning resources: https://plainenglish.com/905
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Today's story: The marathon takes its name from a Greek legend about a messenger who ran from the battlefield at Marathon to Athens with news of victory. That story isn't quite true, but it did inspire the modern-day race. Today, about 1.2 million people finish a marathon every year, in races that range from huge city events to unusual courses on the Great Wall of China and in Antarctica. Transcript & Exercises: https://plainenglish.com/904
Get the full story and learning resources: https://plainenglish.com/904
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Mentioned in this episode:
Hard words? No problem
Never be confused by difficult words in Plain English again!

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Each episode transcript includes built-in translations into Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Polish, and Turkish.

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Today's story: Burglars often leave no fingerprints or hair behind, but they may still leave traces of themselves floating in the air. What if that could be used to help solve crimes? In an experiment in Oslo, Norway and Adelaide, Australia, researchers staged fake burglaries, and then tried to identify the "intruders" using DNA floating in the air. The result? They found evidence of the intruder more than half the time. But real-world use by police would be much more complicated. Transcript & Exercises: https://plainenglish.com/903
Get the full story and learning resources: https://plainenglish.com/903
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Plain English helps you improve your English:
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Mentioned in this episode:
Hard words? No problem
Never be confused by difficult words in Plain English again!

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Each episode transcript includes built-in translations into Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Polish, and Turkish.

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Today's story: Six-year-old Lian Yunzhi from China set a new Rubik’s cube world record with an average time of 4.27 seconds, breaking her own record just three days after setting it. The Rubik’s cube has fascinated and frustrated puzzle lovers for decades, but competitive speedcubers have mastered the art of solving it in seconds. Lian began learning to solve cubes at age four and now trains for hours each day to compete at the highest level. Transcript & Exercises: https://plainenglish.com/902
Get the full story and learning resources: https://plainenglish.com/902
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Plain English helps you improve your English:
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Mentioned in this episode:
Hard words? No problem
Never be confused by difficult words in Plain English again!

See translations of the hardest words and phrases from English to your language.

Each episode transcript includes built-in translations into Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Polish, and Turkish.

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Today's story: We continue our look back at 900 Plain English lessons with five more favorite topics. We revisit stories about airport chapels, the history of QR codes, what makes a good apology, the debate over top sheets, and the surprising way anti-venom is made. Transcript & Exercises: https://plainenglish.com/901
Get the full story and learning resources: https://plainenglish.com/901
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Plain English helps you improve your English:
Learn about the world and improve your English
Clear, natural English at a speed you can understand
New stories every week
Learn even more at PlainEnglish.com

Mentioned in this episode:
Hard words? No problem
Never be confused by difficult words in Plain English again!

See translations of the hardest words and phrases from English to your language.

Each episode transcript includes built-in translations into Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Polish, and Turkish.

Sign up for a free 14-day trial at PlainEnglish.com