We avoided an oil crisis. Then diesel prices spiked.
Cost of Living

We avoided an oil crisis. Then diesel prices spiked.

B2Upper-intermediateSeptember 26, 202625 min
  • Business & money

When the Strait of Hormuz closed, many feared the worst. Analysts predicted oil could hit $200 a barrel, ushering in a global energy crisis. That hasn't happened, but it doesn't mean we're out of the woods. Also, are Pokémon cards a good investment, or are collectors being played? And — what it's really like to go bankrupt?

Play episode

Opens the player: the full transcript, every word clickable, with translation and flashcards.

Try it: tap any word

Real sentences from the start of this episode. Every word is marked with its level.

Sentence 1 of 12 · 0:37

, .

And it almost goes without saying,

Hear this sentence

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.

  • B20:37
  • B24:16
  • C18:28
  • B212:27
  • C113:54
  • C118:59
  • B223:12
  • C124:04

Mark a few words and we'll tell you how this episode fits your level.

Is this episode right for you?

B2

B2 · Upper-intermediate

Comfortable if you already follow TV news

A1 45%A2 35%B1 17%B2 3%C1 0%
  • 97% of the words are B1 or easier.
  • 165 words a minute: natural, fairly fast speech.
  • 111 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.

Transcript

The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.

0:37

Every day, around 400 Canadians declare bankruptcy. And it almost goes without saying, it's no one's first choice. It's incredible how scared people are of that word.

0:50

And part of it is that they feel like they're walking away from everything. They're giving it all up. They're saying I can't do anything anymore.

0:57

Soooo bankruptcy. Yeah, you guessed it. Not super fun. Hi, I'm Paul Havishardt.

That was the opening. The rest of the episode (25 min) is in the player: every word clickable, with translation, saved words and flashcards.

Continue in the player

Automatically 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