Chocolate: Meet a real Willy Wonka

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english_2024/ep-240829

a dream (come true): you want to happen very much but is not likely to (but that does in fact happen)

launch: introduce something new, such as a consumer product, to the public

consumer demand: measure of consumers’ desire to buy a certain product based on its price and availability

hit the shelves: (idiom) become available for purchase

go for (something): (something)

a flop: completely unsuccessful; a failure

Why we love dumplings

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english_2024/ep-240822

hits the spot: (idiom) is exactly what you needed or wanted; gives total satisfaction

staple food: basic and important type of food that is regularly eaten by a large portion of the population

yum yum!: used to say that food tastes or smells very good

dig in!: to invite someone to start eating and encourage them to eat as much as they want

comfort food: food that makes you feel happier because it tastes good to eat, or because it reminds you of home

tummy: (informal) stomach

Kids and climate change

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english_2024/ep-240815

climate anxiety: feeling worried, afraid or depressed because of global climate change

parasite: animal or plant that lives on/in another living creature and feeds from it; person who is lazy and lives off other people who support them or give them money

freaks (me) out: causes (me) to become very emotional, upset, angry or confused

one in a million: extremely special, rare or unlikely

put (something) off: delay doing something until a later time

push (something) away: decide to forget about or ignore something

Birthday cakes

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english_2024/ep-240808

homemade: made at home and not bought from a shop

higgledy-piggledy: mixed up and jumbled in no particular order

all sorts: many different kinds of something

leeway: the freedom to do something in the way you want to

last long in the memory: create such a strong effect that it is remembered for a long time

go above and beyond: do something with more effort than would usually be expected or required

The science of falling in love

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english_2024/ep-240801

head over heels: (idiom) be completely in love with somebody

lust: very strong feeling of sexual desire

asexual: not experiencing sexual attraction towards anyone of any gender

it’s fair to say: used to introduce a statement you believe to be true and reasonable

feel-good: making people feel happy and optimistic about life

stuck in a loop: unable to break the habit of repeating the same patterns of behaviour over and over again

Why read books, not screens?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english_2024/ep-240725

attention span: the length of time that someone can keep their thoughts concentrated and fixed on one thing

(do something) for the joy of it: do an activity simply for the pleasure of doing it, rather than as a means to gain something else

on the surface level: quickly and superficially looking at what can be easily understood, rather than understanding the full depth of something

analogy: comparison between things that have similar features

inference: guess, opinion or conclusion that you make based on the information you already have

skimming: reading rapidly in order to get a general overview of the text being read

AI to reduce animal testing

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english_2024/ep-240718

human guinea pigs: the first people to have something new tested on them

vice versa: used to indicate that the opposite of what you have just said is also true

thread the needle: task which requires extreme skill and precision to do successfully, especially one which requires balancing conflicting interests

the whole picture: a complete description of something which includes all the relevant information and opinions about it

wade through something: spend a lot of time and effort doing something boring or difficult, especially reading a lot of information

on top of (something): addition to something, especially something unpleasant

The school that puts the kids in charge

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english_2024/ep-240711

call the shots: have the power to make the important decisions which can influence a situation

hands-on: being actively involved in doing something practical, rather than talking about it or getting someone else to do it

real world: used to describe how the world really is, in contrast to a particular person’s view which may be unrealistic or untypical; reality rather than an idea, wish or dream

grown-ups: (informal) adults

kids: (informal) children

community service: work that is done without pay to help people in a community

What can we learn from toddlers?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english_2024/ep-240704

toddler: young child, aged between two and four years old, who is learning to walk

tantrum: noisy, uncontrolled outburst of anger

out loud: in a way that other people can hear

self-talk: the messages that you tell yourself, and the way in which you tell them; your inner voice

(be) down on yourself: feel disappointed and self-critical about yourself

negative cycle: a pattern of repeating the same negative thoughts over and over again