272. The Sandwich Hero (B1 Story)

12/11/2025 18 min Temporada 5 Episodio 272
272. The Sandwich Hero (B1 Story)

Listen "272. The Sandwich Hero (B1 Story)"

Episode Synopsis

Here is the script for today's B1 story:The Sandwich HeroIn our town there used to be this chap, Tom. Every day, he sat near the market asking for coins or for a sandwich to eat. His clothes were dirty, and his hair was messy, I noticed he smelled a bit too. People didn’t pay him much attention. I couldn’t say I was fond of him, but I did feel sorry for him. He looked a bit depressed. I wondered if he’d had a difficult life. I used to give him money now and again.I remember one cold winter morning, smoke began to rise from the baker’s in the High street. Soon, the fire filled the building. People just stood there watching. Quite honestly, I didn’t know what to do either. Where the baker was – I don’t know. Somebody called the fire brigade, but that was it. We all heard this crying sound from inside – a child crying. Then Tom appeared, and without delay, he ran into the burning building.A few minutes later, Tom came out, coughing, with a small girl in his arms. The crowd clapped. The baker’s daughter was safe, thanks to him.Then the fire brigade arrived. Fortunately, they didn’t need to save anybody. I think people felt ashamed of how they had felt about Tom. Now he was a hero. The baker, who had left the baker’s for change when the fire started, gave him a new coat and a place to stay.From that day on, people greeted Tom with smiles instead of cold looks. He no longer asked for money in the street as the baker gave him a job in the shop selling sandwiches.My NEW book: "B1 English Vocabulary Builder - 22 Short Stories for Learning the Words and Phrases Students Need to Pass the B1 Exam" is now available! This book gives the learner enough vocabulary to pass any B1 exam (special help for Cambridge exams).To about my book, click here (you can access it from any Amazon platform):https://amzn.to/46AVFe9 Learners studying towards B2 level will be interested in my B1 to B2 reader: The Tudor Conspiracy (includes audio version) https://amzn.to/4gPsj0i For very young learners (from 8-10), I recommend my picture reader book for children learning A1 to A2 English. It comes with a fully dramatised audio version: https://amzn.to/46TCWvv At https://www.practisingenglish.com/ I offer learners of intermediate-level English, free grammar help and exercises and other English learning pages.https://www.practisingenglish.com/Be back soon with another podcast!Mike Bilbrough (Secondary school English teacher and Doctor in English philology)