Lesson 002- The Worst Bus Ride Ever! – English Listening Lesson (podcast)

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Story:

I thought it would be more relaxing to take the bus downtown Toronto instead of driving, but I was wrong!

Pronunciation lesson:

When to drop the h sound at the beginning of the pronouns him, his, and he

 
This weekly podcast is for intermediate to advanced English learners. I use core vocabulary to tell you a story about something that happened in my daily life in Canada. Each podcast also includes a pronunciation lesson that explains something I said in the story. You’ll hear the story twice. The first time, I speak a little slower than normal. After the pronunciation lesson, you’ll hear the story again, but at a normal speed. I speak naturally and with a standard American accent.

Transcript

[I speak with a standard American accent, but sometimes my spelling is British. That's the way we do things in Canada!]

 
On a recent Friday night, I went downtown Toronto for a night out with friends. I really don’t like driving downtown. There’s so much traffic crowded into a very small space, and parking is so expensive! I decided to take the bus instead. There’s an express bus from my suburb that will take me straight downtown without stopping. The buses are really nice and the seats are really comfortable. I thought it would be more relaxing and less stressful than driving, but I was wrong!

On that Friday night there were tons of people heading downtown, so the bus was packed. My friend and I couldn’t get 2 seats together, so we had to sit on opposite sides of the aisle. I had the great misfortune to sit next to a complete stranger who insisted on telling me his entire life story … for 45 minutes! I didn’t want to be rude to him, but I really didn’t feel like talking to him. I just wanted to rest & relax. I tried to ignore him and look uninterested, but that didn’t work. He just kept talking. It sounded like he had a really sad life. At the end of the bus trip, he asked me to go out with him and then he tried to give me his phone number. What was he thinking? I don’t think he was all that bright.

To make things worse, the bus was so packed that people were standing in the aisle and sitting on the aisle floor. There was a guy sitting on the floor next to me who had not showered for days. Not only did he smell of B.O., but he started eating the smelliest crackers ever. He ate the entire package. It was disgusting.

You know, I think I would have been better off driving downtown instead of taking the bus!

Pronunciation:

In the story, I used the pronouns he, him, and his frequently. Did you notice that I didn’t fully pronounce them?

Listen carefully:
I tried to ignore him…
I don’t think he was all that bright.
What was he thinking?

Pronouns are functions words. They’re grammar words. They need to be there for the sentence to be grammatically correct, but they’re not important words. Function words are not fully pronounced in a sentence.

When any pronoun with h is in the middle of the sentence (and NOT at the beginning), you don’t need to pronounce the h. You can drop the h, and then link the pronoun to the previous consonant sound.

Then he becomes /ðɛni/
was he becomes /wəzi/
ignore him becomes /ɪgˈnoɚɪm/

Listen to the story again. Can you hear more examples of pronouns without the h sound?

Related blog posts:

How to practice listening
How to talk about transportation
How to talk about relationships

Reference Vocabulary

relaxing (adjective)
I thought it would be more relaxing and less stressful than driving,…
= describes something makes you feel relaxed (calm, pleasant, less tense, etc.)

stressful (adjective)
I thought it would be more relaxing and less stressful than driving,…
= describes something that causes you to feel stressed (something that causes you to feel worried, tense, anxious etc.)

aisle
…so we had to sit on opposite sides of the aisle.
…people were standing in the aisle and sitting on the aisle floor
= a passage or walkway in the middle of seats (on an airplane, train, bus, or in a theatre, church, etc.) or between shelves in a store

uninterested (adjective)
I tried to ignore him and look uninterested, but that didn’t work.
= not interested; don’t want to learn or know more about something

shower (verb)
There was a guy sitting on the floor next to me who had not showered for days.
= to take a shower

B.O.
Not only did he smell of B.O.,
= body odor; the unpleasant smell of someone’s body when they have not washed for a long time

smelliest (adjective: smelly)
…he started eating the smelliest crackers ever.
= describes something that has an unpleasant smell

crackers
…he started eating the smelliest crackers ever.
= a very thin, dry, baked biscuit, usually made of flour and water

better off (adjective: well-off)
You know, I think I would have been better off driving downtown instead of taking the bus!
= in a better position or situation

Phrasal Verbs:

to go out with someone
At the end of the bus trip, he asked me to go out with him and then he tried to give me his phone number.
= go on a date with someone (in this context)
(For other uses of ‘go out with,’ click here.)

Core Vocabulary

(What is core vocabulary?)

3*** words:
recent
traffic
space
expensive
decide
instead
seat
comfortable
wrong
heading [verb: head]
opposite
side
complete
insist (on)
entire
bright
package
frequently

2** words:
straight
tons
stranger
ignore
smell

1* words:
crowd [verb]
parking
express
suburb
packed
misfortune
disgusting

Collocations

(What are collocations?)

a night out
take the bus
tons of
on opposite sides
to sit next to
a complete stranger
insisted on
life story
ignore (something/someone)
to go out with (someone)
to be better off
instead of

Listen to more lessons here!

Tagged as: transportation