Improve Your English *FASTER* by reading the NEWS (Proven Method!)

Today you'll learn English with the news. We'll read an advanced C1 article. As we read, you'll learn the advanced grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation so you improve your fluency by the end of the lesson. Welcome back to JForrest English. Of course, I'm Jennifer. Now, let's

get started. Our headline, if you find yourself falling asleep in meetings, there are steps you can take to stay awake and alert. So how would you describe this man in this picture right now?

He is asleep. He is asleep. This man is awake. Now notice here fall asleep is the process from going from awake to asleep. So it's when you start your eyes start closing or your head starts falling.

That's when you fall asleep. So someone might ask you when did you fall asleep last night or how long does it take you to fall asleep? So it's from being in bed but to being asleep. Notice here

the verb is to be. So to be asleep to be awake. Now stay awake has the meaning of remain. So right

now he is awake but if the meeting is boring or you're really tired you might fall asleep. So you

have to stay awake remain awake. And notice this sentence structure here. If you find yourself to so to find oneself doing something. So you need the verb in ing if you use this structure. Now,

grammatically, you could say if you fall asleep in meetings. So, you can just use it in the present simple to suggest a routine action. Adding find yourself doing something just implies that it's more unintentional or it's a situation that you're dealing with, maybe a negative situation.

like if you find yourself struggling to speak in English, it's this negative situation that you're experiencing. So, grammatically, you could simply use the present simple,

you're experiencing. So, grammatically, you could simply use the present simple, but this structure is commonly used. I could say, if you find yourself struggling to speak English, subscribe to JForce English. So, this is in the imperative because I'm giving it as an instruction. subscribe to J4 English if you find yourself struggling to speak English. So,

an instruction. subscribe to J4 English if you find yourself struggling to speak English. So,

I could reverse that order as well. So, it's a great structure to get comfortable with.

And of course, I recommend this and put let's go, let's go, put let's go in the comments if you recommend that to others as well. And don't worry about taking notes. I summarize everything in a free lesson PDF. You can find the link in the description. And they use stay awake. We know what

that means. He is awake. He needs to stay awake throughout the entire meeting. Stay awake and

that means. He is awake. He needs to stay awake throughout the entire meeting. Stay awake and stay alert. So alert is an adjective. It means quick to ask. So if you're alert in a meeting,

stay alert. So alert is an adjective. It means quick to ask. So if you're alert in a meeting, if someone says, "Who knows the answer?" You you're quick to provide the answer because you're alert. Let's read this all together. If you find yourself falling asleep in meetings,

you're alert. Let's read this all together. If you find yourself falling asleep in meetings, there are steps you can take to stay awake and alert. Now, let's keep reading. Everyone knows

what it's like to be stuck in a boring meeting or class or watching a long performance. Now,

notice here we're using the verb in ing because of this or it uses the same grammar to be stuck. what

it's like to be stuck in a boring meeting or what it's like to be watching a long performance. What

it's like to be overseeing a cabinet meeting. So these grammatically require the ing form because it's a continuation of here. And if you're stuck, it sounds like you're unable to leave the meeting.

you must stay. Just like when you're stuck in traffic, you can't leave that section of the road because there are cars in front of you, behind you, beside you. So, stuck in a boring meeting or class, or watching a long performance or overseeing a cabinet meeting, which looks like

that's what's taking place in this image right here. And if you're overseeing a cabinet meeting, if you oversee something, it sounds like you are in charge of it. You're leading it. You're

managing it. So those are alternative verbs. And slowly feel the seemingly unstoppable force of sleepiness. So you could simply say and slowly feel sleepiness. So se sleepiness is a noun.

sleepiness. So you could simply say and slowly feel sleepiness. So se sleepiness is a noun.

It's a something. So, it's taking the concept of sleep and it's it's the noun as well. So,

the force of sleepiness. Just imagine there is sleep coming at you. The force of sleepiness and it's unstoppable. Your eyes just keep closing and there's nothing you can do about it. And seemingly

it's unstoppable. Your eyes just keep closing and there's nothing you can do about it. And seemingly

unstoppable is just emphasizing it really. So, grammatically, it's not required to be there, but it makes it sound stronger, like this unstoppable force. You're unable to control it in any way. Creep over you. So if it creeps over you, it sounds like it just it starts that feeling

of sleepiness starts and then it just continues and it spreads from your eyes to your shoulders to your full body and it just keeps spreading over you. You could if I were to say this very

simply you could say and slowly feel sleepiness come over you. So come over you, creep over you, take control of you. Let's continue. You know how bad it'll be. So this is it will. It will the

future simple. It will be bad if you fall asleep in a meeting. It'll repeat after me. It'll it.

future simple. It will be bad if you fall asleep in a meeting. It'll repeat after me. It'll it.

It'll. So notice this sounds like a soft D. And this is your dark L. It'll how bad it'll be. It'll

be it'll be how bad it'll be if you're caught catching public shutye. So shutye is another word for sleep and it's a noun as well. So it's a noun and it means sleep. It's just an alternative way

of saying it. So you might say I need some shutye. I need some sleep. So if you're caught, it means people see you or know that you did something. And you can just catch shut eyee, which means

sleep. So to catch shut eyee, the verb doesn't have necessarily a meaning. It just means sleep,

sleep. So to catch shut eyee, the verb doesn't have necessarily a meaning. It just means sleep, have a short rest, take a nap. That would be catch shuty. And public just means people see you. It's

you're in a public space or it's televised perhaps like right now this man was caught catching public shutye and it looks like this might have been an important meeting judging by how they are dressed.

Let's review this last part. But the sandman still gets you in the end. So, the Sandman got this man.

The Sandman is a a way of describing sleep. It's like this mythical character. And if the Sandman gets you, perhaps touches you or even looks at you, you fall asleep. So, the Sandman is a

mythical character that causes you to fall asleep. So, the Sandman got this man because this man is sleeping when he should not be sleeping. Are you enjoying this lesson? If you are, then I want to tell you about the Finally Fluent Academy. This is my premium training program where we study native

English speakers from TV, movies, YouTube, and the news so you can improve your listening skills of fast English. Expand your vocabulary with natural expressions and learn advanced grammar easily.

fast English. Expand your vocabulary with natural expressions and learn advanced grammar easily.

Plus, you'll have me as your personal coach. You can look in the description for the link to learn more or you can go to my website and click on finally fluent academy. Now,

let's continue with our lesson. Fear not. There are expert back solutions that can help. And of

course that can help you not fall asleep in public places. So fear not. A very common alternative is don't fear. Don't fear. Fear not. So you can use this to present a solution. So maybe if a student

don't fear. Don't fear. Fear not. So you can use this to present a solution. So maybe if a student was telling me about a problem they're having. Jennifer I find myself struggling to present my ideas clearly in meetings. And I can say to that student, fear not. I have the solution for you.

So fear not. You can add this at the beginning just to provide some relief to that person or even a group. Fear not. There are expertbacked. So here backed means supported. So solutions

that are supported by experts. Supported in the sense that they approve of them. They say yes, these solutions work or are effective expertbacked solutions that can help. First and foremost,

this is quite formal sounding to say first and foremost. You can absolutely start a speech, a presentation with this and then identify your first point. To sound more casual, you can simply say first, especially if you're describing, for example, things you did on vacation. It

might sound a little too formal to say first and foremost. You can simply say first or firstly, first of all sounds casual enough to use in everyday speech, but it sounds a little more formal. But first and foremost, I would reserve that for more formal situations. First and

formal. But first and foremost, I would reserve that for more formal situations. First and

foremost, and notice this and is being pronounced as a quick n first in first and foremost. First

and foremost, prioritize sleep and ensure you get enough rest the night before important meetings to help you stay alert. So remember, alert was our adjective, stay awake, stay alert. So alert sounds

more meaningful because you can be awake but not alert because you're on your phone or you're just lost in thought. So alert is another way of saying stay focused or stay stay alert stay alert stay

focused. So first and foremost prioritize. This is your verb. You prioritize something. Prioritize

focused. So first and foremost prioritize. This is your verb. You prioritize something. Prioritize

sleep. Now, sleep as a noun, you don't need an article in front of it. You could use a possessive and say prioritize your sleep, but you can also just say prioritize sleep. That sounds perfectly fine. Prioritize something. Prioritize sleep and ensure you get enough rest the night before

fine. Prioritize something. Prioritize sleep and ensure you get enough rest the night before important meetings to help you stay alert. If you use prioritize and then there's a verb, you would

use the ing. So, prioritize getting eight hours of sleep or whatever amount of hours you feel is sufficient. Prioritize getting sleep. Getting. And then you can be specific. Eight hours of sleep.

sufficient. Prioritize getting sleep. Getting. And then you can be specific. Eight hours of sleep.

Remember that sleep can be a verb and a noun. And the spelling is the same. Of course, as a verb, it would be conjugated. So, in the past simple, I slept for 8 hours last night, but it's also a verb

to sleep. I always sleep for 8 hours, for example. So, here, because the spelling is the same,

to sleep. I always sleep for 8 hours, for example. So, here, because the spelling is the same, you have to look to the grammar to understand that it's a noun. Because if it were a verb, you would need the verb in ing. So you could also say instead of getting 8 hours of sleep, which is very

common, you get x amount of sleep. But you could also say prioritize sleeping. So that's the verb for 8 hours. That's also completely acceptable. So you're using the verb form of sleep. Whereas here

you prioritize something. So it's just the noun form and ensure. So now our verb is ensure you.

So ensure someone does something. You need the base verb here. Ensure you get enough rest. Okay,

let's keep going. Do you have time to take a nap? So do you have time to take a nap? You can also use have. Take a nap. Have a nap. They're the same. And nap is a noun. And with this noun,

use have. Take a nap. Have a nap. They're the same. And nap is a noun. And with this noun, you need an article. So, it's always a nap. I had a nap on my lunch break. I took a nap on my lunch

break. And we don't use nap as a verb. Generally, sometimes parents do for kids, but not to confuse

break. And we don't use nap as a verb. Generally, sometimes parents do for kids, but not to confuse you, it's more common to use nap as a noun and use take or have as your verb. A nap. Remember, this

is your noun. You need the article. a nap as short as. So here you need as as short as as short as six minutes has been shown to increase alertness. So here alertness this is the noun form. Alert

was our adjective. So stay is our verb and then alert is the adjective. But in this case here, alertness is the noun. So the meaning is the same. It's just a different part of speech. So it's

focusing on it as a thing and some a something. And sometimes the only reason why is because grammatically the sentence structure requires an adjective compared to a noun. So that could be why has been shown to increase alertness. So has been shown to make you feel more alert. In that case,

you would use an adjective. Grammatically, that's what's required. But keep it brief. If you say, "I had a brief nap." A brief nap. A brief nap. It's another way of saying a short nap. So brief

is is an alternative to short. So keep it brief. Keep it short because if you sleep, so what is this? A verb or a noun. It's a verb. If you sentence structure, subject, verb. If you sleep

this? A verb or a noun. It's a verb. If you sentence structure, subject, verb. If you sleep longer than 30 minutes, you might go into deeper stages of sleep. What is this? Verb or noun? Noun.

Of something of sleep and feel even worse when you wake up. I'm sure you've had that situation yourself. So, it's because you went into deeper stages of sleep. Now, might is our modal verb and

yourself. So, it's because you went into deeper stages of sleep. Now, might is our modal verb and might is for possibility. So, this might happen, but you could also have a 30 minute nap or 35

minute nap and wake up feeling alert and refreshed because of might. It's only a possibility. Now,

with our modal, you want the base verb. Modal plus base verb. Let's keep reading. Then head

outside to take a brisk walk. So, head outside. Native speakers use the verb head a lot. So,

here it's a the verb head. What would you replace this with if you wanted to use an everyday regular verb? you would say then go outside. So head is an alternative to go and native speakers really

verb? you would say then go outside. So head is an alternative to go and native speakers really like using that word for whatever reason as a replacement to go. Then head outside to

take a brisk walk. So you take a walk. Brisk describes the walk. If you take a brisk walk, it means fast and focused, but it's not running. So you're you're not going to sweat from it,

but it's a fast and focused walk. So it's not leisurely where you're admiring the flowers or stopping to check your phone. It's a a fast walk, a brisk walk. You could also use go on a

brisk walk instead of take, but take is perfectly common as well. Alternatively, I added fastpaced because you might use pace to describe the speed, but you can absolutely just say a fast walk. But

brisk is very commonly used. Light exercise. So light meaning it's not strenuous because you're not you're not running for five miles and you're not lifting weights. You're just walking. Yes,

it's a fast walk, but it's still just walking. So that's light, the opposite of strenuous exercise.

Light exercise does help get the heart rate going and gets certain hormones flowing that can help stave off fatigue. So here's a phrasal verb stave off. It's not the most commonly used to be honest.

However, it means prevent to help prevent fatigue. Now frequently native speakers prefer phrasal verbs to regular verbs. I would say prevent is more commonly used to help prevent fatigue, but you can absolutely use stave off. So if you stave something off, it means you stop something

negative from happening. And the negative thing is fatigue. But that is also the meaning of prevent.

Prevent fatigue. So fatigue, this is uh the noun form and you could replace this with sleepiness. So fatigue is a feeling of tiredness or sleepiness. The article already used sleepiness

sleepiness. So fatigue is a feeling of tiredness or sleepiness. The article already used sleepiness before. Let's go back to this sentence. Light exercise does help get the heart rate going. So

before. Let's go back to this sentence. Light exercise does help get the heart rate going. So

here this is the emphatic present simple because does is not required in this sentence. The verb

is help. Light exercise helps get the heart rate going. When you use the emphatic present simple, you're just emphasizing something because maybe someone would assume that light exercise doesn't get the heart rate going. So to get the heart rate going, just if your heart rate is like this,

to get it going, you want your heart rate to be elevated, to be faster when you're exercising. So

that's what it means by get the heart rate going. It means cause your heart rate to increase. So

they're using the emphatic present simple just to emphasize this because many people may not think it is true. But grammatically you can simply say light exercise helps get the heart rate going.

This needs to be in your ing form because the sentence structure is get something going.

So get something and then your verb in ing. So this has to be in the verb in ing. This is the base verb after help. And this is the emphatic present simple conjugated with the subject it.

It. So that's why you have the e s here. So light exercise does help get the heart rate going. And

light exercise gets. This is with the s because after and you have to look to what the subject is.

Light exercise gets certain hormones flowing. So again, get something and then your next verb is an ing. So get something going, get something flowing. That can help stave off prevent fatigue.

ing. So get something going, get something flowing. That can help stave off prevent fatigue.

Let's keep reading. Still feeling fuzzy. So notice this is the short form. They dropped the auxiliary verb and the subject. Are you are you still feeling fuzzy? Fuzzy. Fuzzy describes that feeling

when you you wake up first thing in the morning and you can't really think clearly. You can say, "Oh, I feel a little fuzzy." People would also describe their vision as fuzzy. For example, at nighttime if things are a little blurry, it would be an alternative to blurry. Blurry, fuzzy. So,

an image, a low resolution, low quality image. You could say, "Oh, the image is a little fuzzy." So,

that would be an alternative to blurry. But to it really describes that feeling when you just you don't feel like you're very sharp or alert. So, that would be the opposite. If someone asks you a simple question, you're like, "What? Huh? What? I need a minute. I need a minute to wake

up." So that would be that feeling of fuzzy. Still feeling fuzzy. Head to the bathroom. So again,

up." So that would be that feeling of fuzzy. Still feeling fuzzy. Head to the bathroom. So again,

head to go to the bathroom to rinse your face with cold water. So to rinse your face just means to apply cold water to your face. So rinse your face with cold water before the meeting. So

this can help stave off prevent that feeling of fuzziness, that mental fuzziness that you can experience. Instead of rinse your face with cold water, it's very common to say splash splash cold

experience. Instead of rinse your face with cold water, it's very common to say splash splash cold water on your face. So, splash cold water on your face because to me, rinse sounds a little more

intense. It sounds like I would do do this. And as a female who wears makeup, I wouldn't rinse my

intense. It sounds like I would do do this. And as a female who wears makeup, I wouldn't rinse my face with cold water before a meeting. Women would not do that because of makeup. But I would splash my face with cold water carefully to not ruin my makeup. So, as a female, I would say uh this

doesn't accurately describe something we would do, but splash cold water on your face. In English,

there are always many different ways to say the same idea. I said splash cold water on your face, but you can use the same sentence structure and say, "Splash your face with cold water." So,

you can use either sentence structure. They sound the same to me. This is just the first one that came out of my mouth for no reason at all. Let's keep reading. How about a beverage? How about a beverage? So, as a a recommendation or to propose something to a friend, you might say, "How about

beverage? So, as a a recommendation or to propose something to a friend, you might say, "How about coffee after work?" So, it's a a way of suggesting coffee after work or how about a movie tonight?

So, it's a very common phrasing. How about a beverage? So, it's a way to to introduce an idea and then get feedback. Drinking a cup of coffee before or during the meeting. May also help. So,

may is a modal verb and that's why we have our base verb here. May is a modal verb of possibility as well. So, it may not help. May also help, but use that advice for morning meetings. Caffeine,

as well. So, it may not help. May also help, but use that advice for morning meetings. Caffeine,

of course, this is the substance in coffee that makes you alert. Alert, the adjective form that makes you alert. Caffeine can disrupt your sleep. So, if something disrupts your sleep, imagine your

neighbors are banging on the wall or playing loud music or there's cars honking. It prevents

you from sleeping fully. So you sleep, you wake up, you sleep, you wake up. That disrupts your sleep. And caffeine can disrupt your sleep. So it can cause you to wake up once or multiple times

sleep. And caffeine can disrupt your sleep. So it can cause you to wake up once or multiple times during the night if you're not a fan of caffeine. So to be a fan of something means that you like

it. So you can say, "I'm not a fan of of in-person classes. I prefer online classes. I'm not a fan. I

it. So you can say, "I'm not a fan of of in-person classes. I prefer online classes. I'm not a fan. I

don't like and you can be a fan of of anything. Of course, it comes from sports fan where you support a sports team, but music, movies, preferences, tastes, anything. You can describe yourself as I'm not a fan of and then whatever it is. If you used a verb, you you would use the Jarn verb. So

you can say, "I'm not a fan of studying in person. I prefer to study online because I have a very hectic schedule." So of and then a a noun or your verb in ing. If you're not a fan of caffeine,

hectic schedule." So of and then a a noun or your verb in ing. If you're not a fan of caffeine, if you don't like caffeine, so that's another way of saying if you don't like coffee, if you're not

a fan of coffee, drinking water throughout the meeting can also keep you alert. Can also keep you alert. Alert. So again, they could say awake, but remember, alert sounds more impactful because

you alert. Alert. So again, they could say awake, but remember, alert sounds more impactful because you're awake and you're ready to quickly answer any question you're asked. Let's keep reading. Is

there a point to the meeting? So, is there a point to the meeting? Stay actively engaged by asking questions and taking notes. So, let's say someone has been talking for a long time and you say to that person, "What's your point? What's your point?" Keep in mind that could sound a little

rude. What's your point? It's like saying, "What is the purpose of what you're saying to me? You've

rude. What's your point? It's like saying, "What is the purpose of what you're saying to me? You've

been talking to me for five minutes and I don't know what you want or I don't know what you're asking. What's your point? What's your point?" So that's is there a point to the meeting? So

asking. What's your point? What's your point?" So that's is there a point to the meeting? So

is there a purpose of the meeting? So a point to the meeting. Point means purpose. So what's your point? What what's your purpose? But if you say to someone, what's your point? Depending on how

point? What what's your purpose? But if you say to someone, what's your point? Depending on how you use it, it could sound rude. Stay actively engaged by asking questions and taking notes.

Okay? So by is our preposition. That's why we have our verb and ing. And this is the base verb and it's for the imperative. So it's giving it as an instruction. Stay actively engaged by asking questions and taking notes which can help keep your mind alert and focus. So for sure you can say

your mind alert or you can say help you help keep you alert and focused. Either of them are fine if you find yourself falling asleep. So remember we talked about this find oneself. So that means it's

the reflexive because you yourself if she finds herself falling asleep. So find is your verb. So

if you used she then you would have to conjugate that. If she finds herself falling asleep then it would be the exact same. So just remember the reflexive pronoun it has to match the subject.

So if we find ourselves falling asleep for example. So let's keep it with she. So to remind you that you need to conjugate your verb find. If you find yourself falling asleep in the middle of

the day. So you have the so in the middle of the day. Don't forget these small words. So,

the day. So you have the so in the middle of the day. Don't forget these small words. So,

prepositions and articles, they're important and there are mistakes I see a lot of. In

the middle of the day, you could also say in the middle of the afternoon, in the middle of the morning, evening day. Those would work as well. On a regular basis. So,

you could replace these four words with regularly. Regularly or routinely. on a regular basis has the exact same meaning as regularly or routinely. It's probably time to examine your sleep hygiene. So,

this has become quite a trendy concept. It's a relatively new concept to me at least to talk about sleep hygiene. Before the concept of hygiene really referred to how you take care of your body in sense of the cleanliness. So if you have poor hygiene it means you don't wash your

hair regularly, you don't brush your teeth, you don't wash your body, uh things like that. So that

was the word hygiene but now it's become quite trendy. You hear a lot of podcasts, a lot of books on sleep hygiene. So, think of it as how you take care of your sleep. So, the quality of your sleep, the quantity, the regularity, all of that. Just like how you take care of the cleanliness of your

body, how you take care of your sleep. That is the concept of sleep hygiene. And like I said, it's quite a trendy concept right now. And that's the end of the article. So, I'll read the article from start to finish and you can focus on my pronunciation. If you find yourself falling asleep in meetings, there are steps you can take to stay awake and alert. Everyone knows what it's

like to be stuck in a boring meeting or class or watching a long performance or overseeing a cabinet meeting and slowly feel that seemingly unstoppable force of sleepiness creep over you.

You know how bad it'll be if you're caught catching public shutye, but the Sandman still gets you in the end. Fear not, there are expert backed solutions that can help. First and foremost, prioritize sleep and ensure you get enough rest the night before important meetings to help you stay alert. Do you have time to take a nap? A nap as short as 6 minutes has been

shown to increase alertness, but keep it brief because if you sleep longer than 30 minutes, you might go into deeper stages of sleep and feel even worse when you wake up. Then head outside to take a brisk walk. Light exercise does help get the heart rate going and get certain hormones

flowing that can help stave off fatigue. Still feeling fuzzy? Head to the bathroom to rinse your face with cold water before the meeting. How about a beverage? Drinking a cup of coffee before or during the meeting may also help, but use that advice for morning meetings. Caffeine

can disrupt your sleep. If you're not a fan of caffeine, drinking water throughout the meeting can also keep you alert. Is there a point to the meeting? Stay actively engaged by asking questions and taking notes, which can help keep your mind alert and focused. If you find yourself falling asleep in the middle of the day on a regular basis, it's probably time to examine

your sleep hygiene. Amazing job. Do you want to keep learning English with the news? If you do, put yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Put yes, yes, yes in the comments below, and of course, make sure you like this lesson, share it with your friends, and subscribe so you're notified every time I post a new lesson. And you can get this free speaking guide where I share six tips

on how to speak English fluently and confidently. You can click here to download it or look for the link in the description. And here's another lesson I know you'll love. Watch it now.