📖 What is Muse English?
Muse English is a free English learning app with daily lessons across all 6 CEFR levels (A1 Beginner to C2 Proficient). Every day brings new vocabulary, a real podcast conversation, shadowing practice, grammar and quizzes — all at museenglishapp.com.
📚 Vocabulary
10 new words Learn new words with real examples and audio.
Podcast: Nature & Environment
Listen to today’s conversation.
📝 Podcast Transcript
Word Kitchen: A Walk Through Nature
Hello and welcome back to Word Kitchen, everyone! I am Maya.
And I am Lena. Today we are cooking something different. No food, no kitchen today.
That is right, Lena. Today our ten new words are all about nature and the environment.
I love this topic. When I was a child, my grandmother had a house near a river. In the summer, we sat by the river every day.
A river is a long line of water that moves to the sea. My father taught me to swim in a river when I was eight years old.
That sounds wonderful. I also remember a small bridge over that river. We crossed the river on the bridge, and the water was so clear.
Clear water is the best. And next to that river, was there a forest?
Yes! A big forest was just behind the house. A forest is a big place with many trees. We walked into the forest every morning.
I love walking in a forest. The air in a forest is fresh and clean. In the forest, the trees are so tall that you cannot see the sky.
And in the morning, the forest is quiet. Only birds sing. But be careful in a forest at night. It can be dark and a little scary.
True. Now let us talk about high places. Our third word is mountain. A mountain is a very high hill of rock.
Oh, I climbed a small mountain last year! The mountain was not very high, but the view from the top was amazing.
I have never climbed a mountain. Was it hard?
A little hard, but beautiful. On the mountain, we saw snow. And far away, we could see the ocean.
The ocean! Our fourth word. An ocean is the big sea around the land. I love the ocean because it never ends.
Me too. When you stand by the ocean, the ocean looks bigger than everything. The sound of the ocean is so relaxing.
Yes! Last summer I sat on the beach for three hours and just listened to the ocean. The ocean makes me feel small, but in a good way.
That is a beautiful feeling. Now, let us move from big places to small things. Our fifth word is flower. A flower is the colored part of a plant.
Flowers make everything nicer. My sister grows flowers on her balcony. Red flowers, yellow flowers, pink flowers.
I bought a flower for my mother yesterday. One small flower, but she smiled for a long time.
A flower is a small gift with a big meaning. And next to every flower, you find our sixth word, leaf. A leaf is a flat green part of a plant or a tree.
In the autumn, the leaves change color. A green leaf becomes yellow or red. I love picking up a beautiful leaf when I walk.
In the park near my house, every leaf on the ground is like a small carpet. And look, a new leaf is growing on this tree now. Spring is here.
When a leaf falls from a tree, it is dry. Kids love to play with a dry leaf. A leaf is flat and light.
Now the weather words! Our seventh word is rain. Rain is water that falls from the sky.
I like the rain when I am at home. The rain on the window makes a nice sound. But I do not like rain when I forget my umbrella.
Haha, same! Yesterday the rain started suddenly. The rain was so strong that the street became a small river.
Oh no! So the rain made the street look like a river. Nature is funny like that.
Exactly. And our eighth word is wind. Wind is air that moves. When the wind is strong, the trees dance.
The wind can be cold or warm. Yesterday the wind was warm, and it felt like summer. Today the wind is cold, so I need a jacket.
In my city, the wind is always strong in March. The wind moves the clouds, and the wind makes the flags fly.
Speaking of clouds, let us do our ninth word first. Sand. Sand is very small pieces of rock on the beach.
Sand between your toes! I love walking on warm sand. When I was a child, I built castles with sand every summer.
Me too! And warm sand is the best place to sit and watch the ocean. The sand was hot, the ocean was cool. Perfect day.
Do you know what? The sand on some beaches is white, and on other beaches the sand is black. Nature has so many colors.
And now our last word, cloud. A cloud is soft white water floating in the sky.
Look at that big cloud! Every cloud has a shape. That cloud looks like a rabbit. That small cloud looks like a boat.
I love watching the clouds move. When a cloud covers the sun, it gets cooler. When the cloud goes away, the sun is warm again.
Let us review our ten words quickly. River, forest, mountain, ocean, flower, leaf, rain, wind, sand, cloud.
Say them with us! River, forest, mountain, ocean, flower, leaf, rain, wind, sand, cloud.
Great job, everyone! Go outside this weekend and find these things in nature.
And use your new words when you talk about them. See you next time on Word Kitchen!
🎙 Try Shadowing free sample
Listen and repeat along with the studio audio. Full shadowing practice with pronunciation scoring is in the app.
My Day in Nature
On Saturday morning, I woke up early to visit the forest.
The forest was green and quiet, and I felt very happy.
Train your speaking
Shadow every sentence with studio audio and get your pronunciation scored — only in the Muse English app.
📝Grammar: Obligation and prohibition - have to, must, should
Use **have to** for a general rule or an outside rule. For example, you **have to** wear a hat when the wind is very cold at work. Use **must** for a strong personal rule or a personal decision. For example, I **must** bring water when I walk in the forest. Use **mustn't** for a prohibition, something that is not allowed. You **mustn't** pick the flowers in the park. Do not say **don't have to** for a prohibition. **You don't have to** means something is okay, not a rule. You **don't have to** run in the forest. You can walk. Use **should** and **shouldn't** for advice or an opinion. They
Master this grammar in the app
Get clear explanations, more examples and interactive exercises.
Keep learning every day
New lessons, podcasts and quizzes daily — free in the Muse English app.