All Episodes

January 23, 2025 12 mins
This English lesson helps you improve your listening skills through a heartwarming short story, “The Cafe Reunion.” Alongside enjoying the story, you’ll learn 10 phrasal verbs and three idioms used in everyday English. To make the most of this lesson, listen to the story with subtitles, then revisit it after reviewing the language analysis. Repetition is key—each time, you’ll absorb the language more deeply.

RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ENGLISH

Affiliate Disclosure Some links in this description may be affiliate links. This means I earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the channel!

Fantastic courses from a teacher friend: https://www.tofluency.com/espresso/
Find a language teacher online here: https://go.italki.com/tofluency
Learn English through TV: https://www.tofluency.com/fluentu/
Learn English with AI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cIvJsDPmXw
Speaking method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7PGRbvJBkQ
Writing method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDkiY1lcfgw

Chapters: 00:00 learn English through story 00:37 the story 05:36

Language analysis 🔑 Push open: To open something, like a door, by pushing it. “Rachel pushed open the café door to step inside.” “He pushed open the door to the classroom and walked in quietly.” “I pushed open the window to let some fresh air in.”

🔑 Shake off: To remove something by shaking or moving. “She shook off the rain from her umbrella.” “She shook off the sand from her shoes after the beach trip.” “It took her a while to shake off her nervousness before the speech.”

🔑 Look around: To observe your surroundings or explore a place. “She looked around the café to take it all in.” “We looked around the park to find a good spot for a picnic.” “She looked around the shop but didn’t find anything she liked.”

🔑 Pull out: To take something out of a bag, pocket, or container. “Rachel pulled out her notebook and phone to prepare for the interview.” “He pulled out his wallet to pay for the meal.” “She pulled out her phone to check the time.”

🔑 Catch up: To reconnect and talk about what’s happened in someone’s life. “Oliver invited her to catch up on their lives.” “Let’s catch up over coffee this weekend.” “I need to catch up on the work I missed while I was sick.”

🔑 Bring back: To make someone remember something or feel a certain way again. “The conversation brought back memories of university.” “That song always brings back memories of my childhood.” “Seeing her old house brought back a lot of emotions.”

🔑 Speak up: To say something, especially when it’s important or difficult. “Rachel finally spoke up to ask why Oliver had disappeared.” “If you don’t agree, you should speak up during the meeting.” “She was too shy to speak up about her concerns.”

🔑 Keep it together: To stay calm and composed in a stressful situation. “Oliver explained he was trying to keep it together during a tough time.” “She kept it together during the presentation even though she was nervous.” “It’s hard to keep it together when everything feels overwhelming.”

🔑 Come back: To return to a place or situation. “He thought he’d come back to university, but things didn’t work out.” “I can’t wait to come back to this restaurant—it’s amazing.” “After taking a break, she decided to come back to her art classes.”

🔑 Leave behind: To move on from something or let go of it. “Rachel felt like she’d left behind years of unanswered questions.” “When he moved to the city, he left behind his old life.” “Don’t leave behind your phone—it’s still on the table.”

Idioms from the Story:

🌟 Life’s funny like that: Used to describe unexpected or surprising events in life. “Oliver said, ‘Life’s funny like that,’ referring to their reunion.” “I bumped into my old teacher today—life’s funny like that.”

🌟 For old times’ sake: Doing something to remember or celebrate the past. “Oliver brought tea and cookies for old times’ sake.” “Let’s watch that movie again for old times’ sake.”

🌟 A lump in her throat: Describes feeling emotional or close to tears. “Rachel felt a lump in her throat as Oliver explained why he disappeared.” “The speech was so moving that everyone had a lump in their throat.”
Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In this English lesson, you're going to listen to a
short story called The Cafe Reunion. This is a great
way to practice your English listening skills by listening to
comprehensible input. Be sure to turn on subtitles, and at
the end of the story, we're going to have ten

(00:22):
phrasal verbs from the story and also some idioms so
that you can learn new words and phrases. Let's start
with the story, The Cafe Reunion. Rachel pushed open the
glass door of Oliver's Cafe. The smell of coffee filled

(00:43):
the air, mixed with the sound of milk frothing and
quiet chatter. She closed her umbrella, shaking off the raindrops,
and looked around. The cafe had a cozy feel. There
were wooden tables, shelves lined with books, and a small
up board on the wall with today's specials written in chalk.

(01:03):
She spotted an empty table near the back and headed
straight for it. Rachel pulled out her notebook and phone,
ready to start. Her editor had sent her here to
write about hidden cafes in London. She didn't know much
about the place, just that it had been getting a
lot of attention lately for its charm and friendly atmosphere.

(01:24):
She glanced toward the counter, trying to catch the owner's eye.
That's when she froze. Behind the counter, wiping down a
tray was Oliver. Oliver looked up and saw her. For
a moment, his face was blank, but then he smiled. Rachel,
he said, walking around the counter. Rachel stood, unsure of

(01:46):
what to say. Oliver, what are you doing here? He laughed.
I could ask you the same thing. I'm here for work,
she said, holding up her notepad and writing about cafes
in London. I had no idea this was your place,
it's mine, Oliver said. Welcome to Oliver's cafe. Rachel laughed nervously. Well,

(02:10):
I guess I don't need to ask who the owner is.
He pulled out a chair for her sit down. Let's
catch up. Rachel sat down, still feeling a bit shocked.
She hadn't seen Oliver in almost a decade. They'd been
close at university, best friends who did everything together. She'd
always thought that they'd stay in touch, but one day

(02:33):
he disappeared, no explanation, no goodbye. So Rachel began trying
to sound casual. How long have you been running this place?
About five years, Oliver said. It started as a small project,
but it's grown. What about you still writing always? Rachel said,
though I didn't expect to find you as part of

(02:54):
the story. Oliver chuckled, life's funny like that. The conversation
turned to old times. They laughed about late night study
sessions and cheap takeaway dinners. For a moment, it felt
like nothing had changed, but the unanswered question hung in
the air, making Rachel's chest tighten. Finally, she spoke up,

(03:16):
why did you disappear, Oliver? You just left? Oliver's sighed
and leaned back in his chair. I wanted to explain,
but it's hard to talk about. I think I deserve
to know, Rachel said, her voice softer now. Oliver nodded,
you're right. Dune our final year, my dad got really sick.

(03:37):
I had to go home and help. It all happened
so fast. I thought i'd come back, but I couldn't.
Then time past and I didn't know how to reach
out again. Rachel felt a lump in her throat. You
could have told me, I would have understood, I know,
Oliver said, but back then, I was just trying to

(03:58):
keep it together for a moment, neither of them spoke.
The sound of cups clinking and soft music filled the
space between them. Finally, Oliver smiled, enough about the past,
let me get you something. He went behind the counter
and came back with two steaming cups of tea and
a small plate of cookies. For old time's sake, he said,

(04:20):
settling them down. Rachel smiled, you always knew how to
make things better. They sat together, drinking tea and sharing
stories about their lives since university. Oliver told her about
his dad's recovery, the ups and downs of running a cafe,
and how much you love creating a space where people
felt welcome. Rachel shared her adventures as a journalist, from

(04:43):
covering big events to chasing leads and small towns. It
feels like no time has passed, Oliver said, leaning back
in his chair. Except we're not living on instant noodles anymore,
Rachel joked, making them both laugh. When it was time
to leave, Rachel stood up and reached for her bag.
Oliver handed her receipt, but instead of a total, there

(05:05):
was a handwritten note at a bomb, Let's catch up
properly dinner soon. Rachel looked at him and smiled, I'd
like that. Walking out into the cool evening air, Rachel
felt lighter, as if she'd left something heavy behind. The
rain had stopped, and the city lights reflected on the
web pavement. As she walked home, she thought about how

(05:27):
strange life could be, how one assignment had brought her
back to someone she thought she'd lost forever. In the story,
we used ten commonly used phrase of verbs and three
natural idioms. What we're going to do now and stay

(05:48):
until the end is to go through these phrase of verbs,
understand their meanings and how to use them in everyday conversations,
and then once you've done this, go back and listen
to the story again. The first phrase of verb is
push open. To push open means to open something like

(06:09):
a door by pushing it, and in the story, Rachel
pushed open the cafe door to step inside. Other examples
are he pushed open the door to the classroom and
walked in quietly, and I pushed open the window to
let some fresh air in. Number two is shake off,

(06:32):
which is close to a very popular Tailors swift song,
and to shake off means to remove something by shaking
or moving, and it can also mean to get rid
of something like feelings or problems. In the story, when
she entered a cafe, she shook off the rain from

(06:52):
her umbrella. Other examples are, she shook off the sand
from her shoes after the beach trip, which sounds like
a tongue twister, she shook off the sand from her shoes,
and it took him a while to shake off his
nervousness before the speech. The next one is look around.

(07:13):
To look around means to observe your surroundings or explore
a place. In the story, she looked around the cafe
to take it all in. Other examples are, we looked
around the park to find a good spot for a picnic,
and she looked around the shop but didn't find anything

(07:35):
she liked. The next one is pull out. To pull
out means to take something out of a bag, pocket,
or container. In the story, Rachel pulled out her notebook
and phone to prepare for the interview. Other examples are,
he pulled out his wallet to pay for the meal,
which is very nice of him, and she pulled out

(07:59):
her phone to check the time. The next one is
catch up. To catch up means to reconnect with someone
and talk about what's happened in their lives. It can
also mean to reach the same level as someone, which
we'll see soon. In the story, Oliver invited her to
catch up on their lives. Another example is let's catch

(08:24):
up over coffee this weekend, and I need to catch
up on the work I missed while I was sick.
The next one is bring back. To bring back means
to make someone remember something or feel a certain way again,
and in the story, the conversation brought back memories of university.

(08:47):
Other examples are that song always brings back memories of
my childhood and seeing her old house brought back a
lot of emotions. The next one is speak up. To
speak up means to say something, especially when it's important
or difficult to say. In the story, Rachel finally spoke

(09:11):
up to ask why Oliver had disappeared. Of their examples
are if you don't agree, you should speak up during
the meeting, and she was too shy to speak up
about her concerns. The next one is keep it together.
To keep it together means to stay calm and composed

(09:34):
during a stressful situation. In the story, Oliver explained he
was trying to keep it together during a tough time.
Of their examples are she kept it together during the
presentation even though she was nervous, and it's hard to
keep it together when everything feels overwhelming. The next one

(09:57):
is come back. To come back means to return to
a place or situation. In the story, he thought he'd
come back to university, but things didn't work out. Other
examples are, I can't wait to come back to this
restaurant it's amazing, and after taking a break, she decided

(10:19):
to come back to her art classes. The last phrase
of herb before we talk about idioms is leave behind.
To leave behind means to move on from something or
let go of it. It can also mean to forget
or not take something with you. In the story, Rachel

(10:42):
felt like she'd left behind years of unanswered questions. Other
examples are when he moved to the city, he left
behind his old life, and don't leave behind your phone,
it's still on the table now. This idiom is life's

(11:02):
funny like that. This idiom is used to describe unexpected
or surprising events in life. In the story, life's funny
like that, Oliver said, referring to their unexpected reunion. Another
example is I bumped into my old teacher today. Life's

(11:24):
funny like that. The second idiom is for old time's sake.
This idiom means doing something to remember or celebrate the past.
In the story, Oliver brought the tea and cookies for
old time sake. Another example is let's watch that movie

(11:46):
again for old time sake. And the last idiom is
a lump in her throat, and this idiom describes feeling
emotional or close to tears. In the story, it said
Rachel fell to lump in her throats as Oliver explained
why he disappeared. Another example is the speech was so

(12:11):
moving that everyone had a lump in their throat. So
those are the phrase of verbs and idioms. Like I
mentioned before, what to do now is go back to
the story and listen to this again so that you
can get more practice in more repetition. And then in
the description, be sure to click the link so you

(12:33):
can listen to more short stories in English on this channel.
One last thing, if you enjoyed this lesson, then please
share it with a friend. Thank you for listening and
speech you seen. Bye for now,
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

The Joe Rogan Experience

The Joe Rogan Experience

The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.