🎧 In this episode, we learn English through one of the most dramatic and frightening true stories in American history: the Donner Party. This Halloween-themed lesson tells the story of a group of settlers who traveled west in 1846, became trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and faced extreme hardships during the winter.

Throughout the episode, you will learn useful vocabulary connected to survival, danger, tragedy, weather, and historical events. Words like crucial, desperate, perish, and frail will help you understand documentaries, news stories, and conversations about difficult situations. The story is told clearly and naturally so B1–B2 learners can follow along easily.

This episode is ideal for anyone who enjoys dark stories, American history, or learning English through real events. By listening, you will improve your comprehension, expand your vocabulary, and understand why the Donner Party remains one of the most well-known tragedies in U.S. history.

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Source🔗:

The Donner Party

California Trail Center

PBS documentary

📝 Vocabulary list:

1) Set the stage – To explain background information so the listener understands what happens next.

2) Manifest Destiny – A belief in the 1800s that Americans were chosen by God to expand across the continent.

3) Manifest (something) – To make something real by believing strongly that it will happen.

4) Optimistic – Believing that good things will happen; positive about the future.

5) Settlers – People who move to a new place to live and build a community.

6) Wagon train – A group of wagons traveling together across long distances in the past.

7) Crucial – Extremely important; necessary for success.

8) Desperate – Feeling hopeless or ready to do anything to survive or solve a problem.

9) Perish – To die, especially in a tragic or natural way.

10) Weep – To cry because you are sad or emotional.

11) Frail – Weak or easily broken, often used to describe someone who is very thin or sick.