Read and listen to some classic American short stories which have been specially adapted for learners of English. If you need to practice summary writing (riassunti) for school you can use these as original texts.
Category Archives: Reading Practice
Oxford Owls
This is a fantastic site with a huge library of free ebooks and activities for children from 3-11.
Chaos after Italian election
ADV033 This is a text about the immediate aftermath of the Italian elections in spring 2013. Complete the text by putting one suitable word in each gap.
Squeezed Homeowners take in lodgers
ADV035 This is an article which appeared in a British newspaper recently, about how more and more people are taking in lodgers in order to earn a little extra cash. Complete the text by putting one suitable word in each gap.
Lottery winner blows it all
ADV023 This is an article which appeared in a British newspaper about a lottery winner who spent all his money and is now broke. Change the form of the words in CAPITALS so that the word fits the gap in the text.
Gapfill – The Road
This is part of a review of Cormac McCarthy’s apocalyptic novel “The Road” by Jennifer Egan. Complete the text by putting the words in the right gaps.
Gapfill – William Shakespeare
Scuola media reading comprehension (terza media) Here is a short text about William Shakespeare. Drag the words into the correct gap to complete the text.
Getting arrested
This is an article which appeared recently in Slate magazine about the differences between the US and the UK when it comes to getting arrested. Some useful legal terminology. getting arrested
AISLi Blog
AISLi is the Italian association of quality language schools. The AISLi blog is written with all learners of English (and their families) in mind. It’s updated regularly with interesting articles written by teachers from across the AISLi network. There is a link here.
The Beatles
This is a text, adapted from Wikipedia, about the Beatles. 20 words have been taken out. Try to guess what the missing words are, then check with the answer key. The Beatles
Advanced Reading Practice (1)
Here is a book review from the New York Times, but the order of the paragraphs has been changed. Read it and try to decide what the original order of the paragraphs was. Advanced Reading Practice (1)
You can check your answer here. Advanced Reading Practice (1) key
ESL Reader
This is a great tool to help you improve your reading skills. Copy and paste a text and the program creates hyperlinks to online dictionaries. Try it!
Government Plans to Cut Benefits
Read a short article from a British newspaper about new government proposals to cut the number of people receiving unemployment benefit. Then try to write a short summary of the article in your own words and do a vocabulary exercise. Unemployed will be made to do unpaid work
Silvio Berlusconi denies allegations
Read the newspaper article and do the exercises that follow. Berlusconi denies allegations
Aung San Suu Kyi
Read this newspaper article about Burma’s imprisoned opposition leader. Then write a short summary of the article and do a vocabulary exercise. Aung San Suu Kyi
British and American English
Scuola media reading comprehension (terza media) This is a short text about the differences between British and American English, with comprehension questions and a summary-writing exercise. British and American English
Using English
Feedbooks
The United States
Scuola Media reading comprehension (terza media) A short text about the United States with comprehension questions. The United States
Robin Hood
Scuola media reading comprehension (terza media) A short reading text about Robin Hood, with comprehension questions. Robin Hood
Buzzle.com
This site contains loads of articles on a variety of topics. Very useful for extra reading practice.
The United Kingdom
Scuola media reading comprehension (terza media) A short text with comprehension questions about the countries which make up the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom
The British Isles
Scuola media reading comprehension (terza media) A short text with questions about the geography of the British Isles. The British Isles
William Shakespeare
Scuola media reading comprehension (terza media) A short text with questions about William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare
Friends screenplays
Historic Britain
Scuola media reading comprehension (terza media) A short text with questions about early British history and the origins of the English language. Historic Britain
The Last Unicorns
A nice short story with an unexpected twist. The Last Unicorns
Cat In the Rain
This is one of Hemingway’s most celebrated short stories. Read the story and answer the questions that follow, then compare with the suggested answers. Cat in the rain
The Case For the Defence
This is a classic story by Graham Greene. Read the story and answer the questions which follow. The Case For the Defence
The Learning Edge
This site has articles which you can read and listen to. You can choose the level of difficulty. There are also exercises and games to check your comprehension.
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