FlexiLingo
#636 | Victor Lustig: The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower
In 1925, Victor Lustig convinced a Paris scrap-metal dealer that the French government was selling the Eiffel Tower. His secret was a mixture of official papers, careful acting, and victims too embarrassed to report him. He later returned to Paris and tried to sell it again. Victor Lustig reads that Paris may dismantle the rusting Eiffel Tower Born in Bohemia, Lustig learns languages, gambles and develops his skill at deception On Atlantic liners, he persuades wealthy passengers to invest in imaginary projects In America, he sells a fake money-printing box...
Opens the player: the full transcript, every word clickable, with translation and flashcards.
Is this episode right for you?
B2 · Upper-intermediate
Comfortable if you already follow TV news
- 85% of the words are B1 or easier.
- 135 words a minute: a natural pace.
- 97 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.
Try it: tap any word
Real sentences from the start of this episode. Every word is marked with its level.
country and sold it to the British public.
, ,
that his name became a word in the English language.
Tap a word to see its meaning in your language.
Do you know these words?
8 harder words from this episode. Tap one to see what it means, then mark it.
Mark a few words and we'll tell you how this episode fits your level.
Is this episode right for you?
B2 · Upper-intermediate
Comfortable if you already follow TV news
- 85% of the words are B1 or easier.
- 135 words a minute: a natural pace.
- 97 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.
Transcript
The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.
harder words (B2+)
Hello, hello, hello and welcome to English Learning for Curious Minds by Leonardo English, the show where you can listen to fascinating stories and learn weird and wonderful things about the world at the same time as improving your English. I'm Alastair Budge and today It's the start of another three-part miniseries, this time on famous con artists.
In today's episode, we'll be meeting Victor Lustig, the smooth-talking Count, who managed to sell the Eiffel Tower and then came back to try to sell it again. In part two, we'll meet Gregor McGregor, the Scottish soldier who invented an entire country and sold it to the British public.
And in part 3, it's the story of Charles Ponzi, the Italian who ran a scheme so spectacular that his name became a word in the English language. Like all our miniseries, parts 2 and 3 will be member-only episodes, so now is my time to briefly remind you that if those sound like fun, now might be the time to check out
That was the opening. The rest of the episode (23 min) is in the player: every word clickable, with translation, saved words and flashcards.
Continue in the playerAutomatically generated from the audio. May contain errors. Audio belongs to its publisher and is played from their feed. Rights holders can request removal — copyright & takedown policy