Short stories in English intermediate level. Texts in English

"Night. Dead silence. Only the breath of the night shakes the grass on the plain. A lonely fire burns in the night, ”this is how this story begins, which was written back in 1955 by the great visionary and almost madman Ray Bradbury. Read an online short story in English called The Dragon. The story is adapted for the intermediate level(intermediate). Words are included for study.

The Dragon by Ray Bradbury (part 1, for intermediate)

Words to understand:

• on the moor- on a plain covered with heather
• in the wilderness in this wild place
• strewn hither and thither scattered here and there
• the birth of Jesus- the birth of Christ

The night fell, the silence was on the moor. It was years since a bird had flown in the dark sky. Two men were sitting by their lonely fire in the wilderness, darkness pumped quietly in their veins and ticked silently in their temples and their wrists .

Firelight gleamed on their wild faces. They listened to each other's faint breathing.

At last, one man poked the fire with his sword.

"Don't do that; you'll give us away! »

"No matter," said the second man. "The dragon can smell us miles off, anyway. How cold it is! I wish I was back at the castle.

"It's death, don't sleep, we're after..."

Why? Why? The dragon never sets foot in the town!"

Quiet, fool! He eats men traveling alone from our town to the next!”

"Let them be eaten and let us get home!"

"Wait now; listen!"

The two men sat in silence. They waited for a long time, nothing had happened, nothing was heard, there was only the shake of their horses’ buckles, softly, softly.

Ah. The second man sighed. "What a land of nightmares. Everything happens here. God, listen! This dragon, they say his eyes are fire. His breath is white gas; you can see him go across the dark lands. He runs with thunder and kindles the grass. Sheep panic and die insane. Women deliver forth monsters. The dragon's fury is such that tower walls shake back to dust . His victims, at sunrise, are strewn hither and thither on the hills. How many knights , I ask, have gone for this monster and failed , even as we shall fail? »

Enough of that!

More than enough! Out here I cannot tell what year this is!”

"Nine hundred years since the birth of Jesus«.

"No, no," whispered the second man, eyes shut. "On this moor is no Time, is only Forever. I feel if I ran back on the road the town would be gone, the people yet unborn, things changed; don't ask how I know, the moor knows, and tells me. And here we sit alone in the land of the fire dragon. God save us!"

"What's use? The dragon runs from nowhere; we cannot guess its home. It vanishes in fog, we know not where it goes. Aye, put on our armor, we'll die well-dressed."

The second man turned his head.

The Dragon by Ray Bradbury (part 2, for intermediate)

Words to understand:

• all the time confused- time is confused
• the midnight wilderness- midnight desert
• terrible wailing cry- terrifying piercing howl
• gave him plenty of whistle- whistling with might and main

Across the dim country the wind blew full of dus t from clocks that used dust for telling time. The burnt leaves were shaken from some autumn tree beyond the horizon. This wind blew, making the blood thicken. It was a thousand souls dying and all the time confused. It was a fog inside of a darkness , and this place was no man’s place and there was no year or hour at all, but only these men were standing in the emptiness of the moor. Sudden thunder was heard, then came the lightning. The rain drenched the moor, and the two men were waiting alone, listening to its sound .

"There," whispered the first man. "Oh, there..."

Miles off, rushing with a great roar appeared the dragon.

In silence the men mounted their horses. The midnight wilderness was split by as the dragon roared nearer, nearer. Its yellow glare appeared above a hill and then disappeared into a valley.

They spurred their horses forward to a small hollow.

"This is where it passes!"

They got their swords ready for the battle.

On the instant the dragon rounded a hill. Its monstrous yellow eye flashed on them. With a terrible wailing cry it was going forward.

'Mercy, God!'

The sword struck under the huge yellow eye. The dragon buckled him, threw the man through the air, knocked him down. Passing, the monster smashed the other horse and a rider. The two knights were dead. The roaring dragon, the fire and the smoke all around, disappeared .

Did you see it? cry a voice. "Just like I told you!"

“The Same! The same! A knight in armor , by the Lord, Harry! We hit him!”

Are you going to stop?

Did once; found nothing. Don't like to stop on this moor. I get the willies.

"But we've hit something."

"We gave him plenty of whistle; but he didn't move."

The steam cut the mist aside.

"We'll arrive at Stokely on time. More coal, eh, Fred?”

The night train vanished over cold earth, towards the north, leaving black smoke and steam to dissolve in the air minutes after it had passed and gone forever.

Read more online short stories in english for intermediate level writer Ray Bradbury / Read more short stories by Ray Bradbury in the category —

In this section you can read or download simple, short and easy texts in English for beginners. Materials include short stories, articles, excerpts from well-known works or short stories in English for beginners. These texts will be useful, first of all, for those who are at the initial stage of learning and have a small vocabulary, although they may be of interest to more advanced students. Approximate level of presented stories from beginner to elementary. Simple stories and beginner-level stories will be an excellent source of vocabulary building, especially when reading without a dictionary using semantic guesswork, since most of the words in the text are quite simple and will most likely be familiar to you. Reading light articles and stories will allow you to develop and consolidate the vocabulary of the most frequently used words in everyday speech, the so-called "minilex" consisting of about 400-500 popular words.

You can read your favorite stories in English at an entry level on our website, print materials directly from the browser "Ctrl + P" or save to your computer using the keyboard shortcut "Ctrl + S" for further work with the text.

The more you read, the faster your vocabulary builds up, as reading is the most natural, efficient and enjoyable way to build up your vocabulary. At the initial stage, short and easy texts for reading in English are suitable, as well as specially adapted books of 1-3 difficulty levels (starter, beginner, elementary).
You just read the story, trying to guess the meaning of all unfamiliar words. If the level of the work is chosen correctly, then there will not be too many such words, and you will be able to fully understand the meaning of what you read. A good option for reading would also be easy texts in English for beginners with translation into Russian. The advantage of this option is that there is no need to consult a dictionary. But in this case, one should not abuse the translation and mainly use a semantic guess, and only then watch the Russian version.

This section presents mainly fiction for reading. And if you didn’t find what you were looking for, then perhaps you need to turn to the section of the site where are presented, as well as essays in English. Or a collection of topics for reading and memorizing to your computer.
The collection includes simple texts in English for beginners on various topics and will be a great helper for language learners. Only 400 topics from stories about yourself, family and your hobbies, to biographies of prominent people in the history of mankind and the traditions of the inhabitants of English-speaking countries.
If easy texts for beginners in English seem too simple to you, that is, when reading there will be no unfamiliar words or there will be too few of them, then you can safely move on to stories and stories of an average level of complexity or adapted books of an intermediate level.

Download and read short easy stories in English :

English legend

Hello my beloved readers!

Have you ever wondered how to force yourself to listen and read more at the very beginning of learning a language? After all, it seems as if it is so difficult, and difficult, and uninteresting ... and you can come up with a couple of hundred more excuses!

Today I will share a method that helps my students a lot. I will give you stories in English for beginners (by the way, I have begun to form - please)!

I have prepared for you short and very interesting stories with parallel translation. This practice at the beginning of language learning helps to quickly and also absorb the structure of the language as a whole.

Story 1

Sudden rain.

Sudden rain.

It was definitely going to rain. The sky turned into gray and there was no sun at all. It was already a noon.

It was definitely going to rain. The sky turned gray and there was no sun at all. It was already noon.

Mary was standing at the corner of the street talking to Jane. Both of them were holding shopping bags in their hands.

Mary was standing on the corner of the street talking to Jane. They were holding shopping bags.

Mary and Jane started to discuss the weather.

-Do you like rain? - Mary asked.

-Yes, actually I do. - Answered Jane. - When it rains, I sit on the porch and drink tea. Rain is quite refreshing and allows you to think about everything. And you?

Mary and Jane began to discuss the weather.

Do you like rain? Mary asked.

Yes, I actually like it,” Jane replied. - When it rains, I sit on the porch and drink tea. The rain is very refreshing and allows you to think about everything. And you?

-Well, I love when it rains during the summer. But I can't stand rainy weather in winter.

I love when it rains in summer. But I can't stand rainy weather in winter.

They were talking when a sudden stroke of thunder interrupted them. The heavy rain was about to start. Jane noticed that Mary didn't have an umbrella. She decided to invite her for a cup of tea and continue their conversation sitting on her porch.

-I have no objections. At least, we can spend more time talking about your journey to the USA.

They were talking when a sudden clap of thunder interrupted them. It was about to start raining heavily. Jane noticed that Mary didn't have an umbrella. She decided to invite her for a cup of tea and continue their conversation while sitting on the porch.

I do not mind. At least we can spend more time chatting about your trip to the USA.

At the initial stage of learning, it is very important that the stories are adapted exactly to your level. These stories are just that. So try another exciting story with translation and audio.

Story 2

A Book Shop Robbery.

Bookstore robbery.

Sandy was on her way to work. Being the owner of a book shop was her dream. She loved books and the smell of recently published ones.

Sandy was on her way to work. Being the owner of a bookstore was her dream. She loved books and the smell of newly published books.

When she got to the shop she noticed that there was something wrong with the door. It was open. She remembered closing it last night. So there was only one explanation - she was robbed.

When she reached the store, she noticed that something was wrong with the door. She was open. She remembered closing it last night. So there was only one explanation - she was robbed.

Entering the shop she realized that the place was turned upside down. All the books were on the floor. She checked the till and thanked herself for taking all the money to the bank last night so there was nothing to steal.

Upon entering the store, she realized that everything had been turned upside down. All books were on the floor. She checked the cash register and thanked herself for taking all the money to the bank last night, so there was nothing to steal.

She was upset but the relief of the thought that nothing was stolen calmed her down.

-I need to set an alarm system, -thought Sandy and started placing books on the bookshelves.

She was upset, but the relief that nothing had been stolen calmed her down.

We need to install an alarm, Sandy thought, and began to arrange books on the bookshelves.

If you want to not only learn to read, but also perceive texts by ear, then I suggest listening to these stories. I recommend that you first read the story several times, then read and listen at the same time, and not the last stage just listen.

2. A Book Shop Robbery

Now you can find hundreds of stories online that will help you quickly master the initial steps of the English language. They can be read, listened to, downloaded on the road and all this is completely free. Don't be lazy and spend 20 minutes a day.

And if you do not know what to learn, then subscribe to my newsletter, where I will constantly give you new materials and ideas for learning, as well as replenish your piggy bank with new stories for different levels.

Remember that the most important thing on the way to good English is practice.

See you again, my dears.

Which is useful to read for both adults and children. These stories are very instructive, at the end of each of them a moral is stated. For those who still find it difficult to translate even such simple texts, a translation is presented. Most likely, you have already heard similar fairy tales in Russian, so it will be easier for you to understand their meaning.

The Ant and the Grasshopper

In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great effort an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.

"Why not come and chat with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of toiling and moiling away?" "I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant, "and recommend you to do the same." "Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; "We have got plenty of food at the present."

But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing, every day, corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer.
Then the Grasshopper knew..

MORAL: Work today and you can reap the benefits tomorrow.

Ant and Grasshopper

On a field on a sunny day, a grasshopper jumped, chirped and sang to his heart's content. An ant passed by, dragging a corncob with great effort to his home.

“Why not come up to me and have a chat,” the grasshopper said, “instead of straining like that?” “I help to stock up for the winter,” said the ant, “I advise you to do the same.” “Why worry about winter? - said the grasshopper, - We have a lot of food at the moment.

But the ant did its job and continued its hard work. When winter came, the grasshopper literally starved to see how the ants distribute corn and grain every day from their stores, which they collected in the summer.
Then the grasshopper realized...

Morality: Work today and you can reap the rewards tomorrow.

The Lion and the Mouse

Once when a Lion was asleep, a little Mouse began running up and down upon him. This soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him and opened his big jaws to swallow him.

"Sorry, O King!" cried the little Mouse, “Forgive me this time. I shall never repeat it and I shall never forget your kindness. And who knows, but I may be able to do you a good turn one of these days?”

The Lion was so tickled at the idea of ​​the Mouse being able to help him, that he lifted up his paw and let him go.

Sometime later a few hunters captured the King and tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him on.

Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, and seeing the sad plight in which the Lion was, ran up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts. "Was I not right?" said the little Mouse, very happy to help the Lion.

MORAL: Little friends may prove great friends.

Lion and mouse

Once, when the lion fell asleep, a small mouse began to run over him. Soon he woke the lion, who caught him with his huge paw and opened his jaw to swallow him.

"Excuse me, O king! sobbed the little mouse, “Forgive me this time. This will never happen again and I will never forget your kindness. And who knows, maybe one day I can also do something good for you.”

The lion was so amused at the idea that the mouse could somehow help him that he raised his paw and let him go.

A few days later, the hunters caught the king and tied him to a tree while they were looking for a wagon where they could put him.

Just then it happened that a mouse ran past, he saw the predicament in which the lion was, ran up to him and quickly gnawed through the ropes that tied the king of beasts. "Wasn't I right?" - said the mouse, joyful because he helped the lion.

Morality: Little friends can be great friends.

The Goose that laid the Golden Eggs

Once upon a time, a man and his wife had the good fortune to have a goose which laid a golden egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough.

They imagined that if the bird must be able to lay golden eggs, its insides must be made of gold. And they thought that if they could get all that precious metal at once, they would get mighty rich very soon. So the man and his wife decided to kill the bird.

However, upon cutting the goose open, they were shocked to find that its innards were like that of any other goose!

MORAL: Think before you act.

The goose that laid golden eggs

One day, a man and his wife were lucky enough to have a goose that laid a golden egg every day. Despite such great luck, they soon began to think that they could not get rich pretty fast.

They imagined that if a bird could lay golden eggs, then its insides must also be made of gold. And they thought that if they could get all this precious metal at once, then very soon they would become extremely rich. So the man and his wife decided to kill the bird.

However, when they opened the goose, they discovered with great shock that its insides were the same as any other goose.

Morality: Think before you do.

If you liked these stories, then you can read another interesting one. Don't forget to offer similar stories to your children who are learning English. They will love this unobtrusive way of learning a new language.

And here is a 45-minute collection of fairy tales with subtitles.

One way to learn English is to read. Regular reading in English not only allows you to expand your vocabulary in the most natural, enjoyable and accessible way, but also observe the practical application of grammatical structures in finished texts.

If you regularly read the fiction of English-speaking writers, you will master "correct" English, which is different from spoken English.

In addition, you become familiar with the culture of the countries of the language being studied, have the opportunity to "observe" the natural behavior of the characters in the books in various life situations.

Easy texts in English for beginners can be divided into two types:

• simple literary texts;
• topics - short stories on specific topics.

At first, both children and adults can recommend topics on the simplest topics - about yourself, about family, about the daily routine, about the weather, about holidays. Children are likely to be interested in stories about toys, about animals.

Topics

Here are examples of some of these light topic texts in English:

my family

Meet my family. There are five of us - my parents, my elder brother, my baby sister and me. First, meet my mum and dad, Jane and Michael. My mum enjoys reading and my dad enjoys playing chess with my brother Ken. My mum is slim and rather tall. She has long red hair and big brown eyes. She has a very pleasant smile and a soft voice. My mother is very kind and understanding. We are real friends. She is a housewife. As she has three children, she is always busy around the house. She takes care of my baby sister Meg, who is only three months old. My sister is very small and funny. She sleeps, eats and sometimes cries. We all help our mother and let her have a rest in the evening. Then she usually reads a book or just watches TV. My father is a doctor. He is tall and handsome. He has short dark hair and gray eyes. He is a very hardworking man. He is rather strict with us, but always fair. My elder brother Ken is thirteen, and he is very clever. He is good at Maths and always helps me with it, because I can hardly understand all these sums and problems. Ken has red hair and brown eyes. My name is Jessica. I am eleven. I have long dark hair and brown eyes. I am not as clever as my brother, though I try to do my best at school too. I am fond of dancing. Our dancing studio won The Best Dancing Studio 2015 competition last month. I am very proud of it. I also like to help my mother with my little sister very much. Our family is very united. We love each other and always try to spend more time together.

My family

Meet my family. There are five of us - my parents, my older brother, my little sister and myself. First, meet my mom and dad, Jane and Michael. My mom loves to read and my dad loves to play chess with my brother Ken. My mother is slim and quite tall. She has long red hair and big brown eyes. She has a very pleasant smile and a gentle voice. My mother is very kind and understanding. We are real friends. She is a housewife. Since she has three children, she is always busy around the house. She takes care of my baby sister Meg, who is only three months old. My sister is very small and funny. She sleeps, eats and sometimes cries. We all help our mother and give her a rest in the evening. Then she usually reads a book or just watches TV. My dad is a doctor. He is tall and handsome. He has short dark hair and gray eyes. He is a very hardworking person. He is quite strict with us, but always fair. My older brother Ken is thirteen and very smart. He is good at math and always helps me with it because I barely understand all these examples and problems. Ken has red hair and brown eyes. My name is Jessica. I am eleven. I have long dark hair and brown eyes. I'm not as smart as my brother, although I try hard at school too. Dancing is my hobby. Our dance studio won the Best Dance Studio 2015 competition last month. I am very proud of this. I also really love helping my mom with my little sister. Our family is very friendly. We love each other and always try to spend more time together.

Lunches for school

Every day in elementary school in America begins at 9.20 a.m. Children have classes till 3.15 p.m. At 12 o'clock children have lunch. Many boys and girls bring their lunch from home. But some of them go for lunch to a school cafeteria.
Mrs. Bradley prepares school lunches almost every weekday for her two children. Sometimes she gives the children money and they eat in the school cafeteria. But usually the children prefer to take a lunch from home.
This morning Bradley is making peanut butter and cheese sandwiches, the children's favorite. She puts two bottles of apple juice for the children to drink. She is going to put the sandwiches, some cherry tomatoes and two bananas in their lunchboxes. The lunchbox is easy for the children to carry to school.

school lunches

Every day in elementary school in America starts at 9:30 in the morning. Lessons for children last until 3.15 days. At 12 o'clock the children have lunch. Many boys and girls bring their lunch with them. But some go to lunch in the school cafeteria.
Mrs. Bradley cooks school lunches for her two children almost every working day. Sometimes she gives the children money and they eat in the school cafeteria. But usually children prefer to take lunch from home.
This morning, Mrs. Bradley makes peanut butter and cheese sandwiches, the favorite (sandwiches) of the children. She puts down two bottles of apple juice for the children to drink. She is going to put sandwiches, some cherry tomatoes and two bananas in their lunch boxes. It's easy for kids to carry a lunchbox to school.

Giraffes

There are different kinds of animals on our planet, and all of them are very important for it. For example, everybody knows that the sharks are dangerous for people, but they are useful for cleaning seawater. There are two types of animals: domestic (or pets) and wild. People keep pets in their homes. And some wild animals are very dangerous. Domestic animals live next to people, whereas wild animals’ “homes” are forests, jungles, oceans and so on.
Giraffes are very beautiful and unusual animals. They are the tallest land animals in the world. Giraffes can reach a height of 5.5 m and a weight of 900 kg. They are famous for their long necks. But does anybody know that giraffes have a very long tongue? They can even clean the ears with it! Giraffes are usually yellow or light brown with dark stains. Giraffes live in African savannas. They can live from 20 to 30 years. It is interesting to know that giraffes sleep only for a few minutes at a time. They sit down on the ground and bend their long neck down.
Giraffes do not hunt. They eat leaves, grass, and fruit. Due to their long neck, they can reach the highest leaves on the trees that other animals cannot eat.
You can often meet giraffes in city Zoos. They are very friendly and all the children like them very much.

giraffes

There are many different types of animals on the planet, and all of them are very important for her. For example, everyone knows that sharks are dangerous to humans, but they are useful for purifying sea water. There are two types of animals - domestic (or pets) and wild. People keep pets in their homes. And some wild animals are very dangerous. Domestic animals live close to people, while the "homes" of wild animals are forests, jungles, oceans, and so on.
Giraffes are very beautiful and unusual animals. They are the tallest land animals in the world. Giraffes can reach a height of 5.5 meters and a weight of 900 kg. They are famous for their long necks. But does anyone know that giraffes have a very long tongue? They can even clean their ears! Giraffes are usually yellow or light brown with dark spots. Giraffes live in the African savannas. They can live from 20 to 30 years. It is interesting to know that giraffes sleep no more than 20 minutes at a time. They sit on the ground and bend their long necks.
Giraffes don't hunt. They eat leaves, grass and fruits. Thanks to their long necks, they can reach the very top leaves on trees that other animals cannot eat.
You can often meet giraffes in city zoos. They are very friendly and the children love them very much.

Fiction for Easy Reading in English

As for literary texts, it is advisable for beginners to choose adapted books. Now you can pick up works of art for any level of language proficiency, with dictionaries, comments and translation. At the initial stage, short and easy texts for reading in English are suitable, as well as specially adapted books of the first three levels of complexity (starter, beginner, elementary). You don't have to look up every unfamiliar word in the dictionary. As you read the story, try to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words. If the book you have chosen corresponds to your level, then there will not be too many such words, and you will be able to understand the meaning of what you read.

Here are some of the works of English and American writers that are easy to find in an adapted version in English. All these books have been translated into Russian and are well known to Russian readers, which, of course, will provide additional assistance when reading them in English.

How to get the best out of reading

So, you have decided to build your English base by reading English books. But finding and reading texts in English for beginners is only half the battle. For a good result, you need not only to read, but also to work with the material read. Here are some tips on how to do it.

• Look for English texts with audio accompaniment. So you can not only increase your vocabulary, but also control and improve your pronunciation.
• Look for English texts with tasks after them. These can be questions, various exercises for choosing words or correct options, etc. This will give you an additional opportunity to fix new words in memory and work out grammatical constructions.
• If there are no exercises after the texts, try the "Why" -questions method. It lies in the fact that, based on what you read, you yourself can make up several questions for yourself, starting with “Why?”. Moreover, it is better if the text does not contain a direct answer to your questions and you have to reason or think something while answering them.
• Try using the text to make a brief retelling, no more than 7-8 sentences. It is advisable to use new words. Learn the retelling by heart. Speak it out loud.

Online text comprehension exercise for beginners

Read the text and do the tasks.

The trip to my Granny

Yesterday I visited my Granny in the countryside. We go there every weekend and I enjoy these trips. But not this time. It was raining cats and dogs, our car broke several times and we were all very tired. But when we saw the Granny, I forgot about the difficulties.

Answer the questions

Indicate whether the statements in the text are true (true - correct, false - incorrect)

Write a sentence that reflects the main idea of ​​this text.

In world the is Family the best thing ... in world the is Family the best thing ... in world the is Family the best thing ... in world the is Family the best thing ... in world the is Family the best thing ... in world the is Family the best thing ... in world the is Family the best thing ... in world the is Family the best thing !

You will find even more simple texts and online exercises in the Lim English online learning service. Sign up and start learning!