This site contains 100 original short stories about life in America. These stories are written for ESL(English as a second language ) learners who are, at least, high beginners. We want to help ESL students learn English as quickly and effortlessly as possible. Learning should be interesting, not boring. We hope that learners will find that these stories are of some help to improve their English.
The stories have interesting topics and are easy to understand. Each story comes with an audio narrative so that learners can listen as they read. The audio requires downloading the free Real Player. Each story contains a search for pictures, definitions, and pronunciation.“ Following each story are four sets of exercises, and each containing 10 items.
Exercise A is “Yes / No Questions”. The learner is asked questions like, “Does Sara have children?” The learner can then type in, “Yes, she does.” Then the learner can check whether it’s the right answer or not.
Exercise B is “Wh-Questions”. The learner is asked questions like, “Where does Sara live?” The learner can then type in, “She lives in Pasadena.” Then the learner can check his answer.
Exercise C is “Ask Questions”. The learner is given an answer like, “They have two children.” The learner must then type in a question like, “How many children do they have?”The learner can then check to see whether he is correct or not. Exercise D is “Dictation”. The learner listens to a sentence. Most of the sentences duplicate the sentences in the stories. The learner types the dictation and then checks to see whether he is correct or not.
Work on the site is in progress. Help us make it better as the years go by. We welcome all comments, suggestions, complaints, new ideas, and questions. Click here to send us emails.
1.Where does this passage come from?
|
A．A newspaper. |
B．A magazine. |
C．A website. |
D．A research report. |
2.The main purpose of this passage is to _____.
|
A．tell English learners how to do exercises |
|
B．ask the readers to help them improve the site |
|
C．give a brief introduction of an English learning site |
|
D．teach you how to download English articles |
3.All of the following statements are correct EXCEPT _______.
|
A．the learners can listen to a story while reading it |
|
B．there are pictures, definitions, and pronunciation, as well as exercises followed |
|
C．new ideas and suggestions are welcomed |
|
D．the stories are suitable for learners of different levels |
4.If you want to improve your listening ability, you may mainly do some practice in _____.
|
A．Exercise A |
B．Exercise B |
C．Exercise C |
D．Exercise D |
My name is Ralph and I am 42 years old. I work in a factory that I enjoy very much. On May 27, 1999, I was working on an automatic machine. While working my hand was pulled into the machine and my middle finger on my right hand was ripped off. I had surgery to replace what was left of the finger and now I have a finger that is almost as long as my index finger.
Over the years I have been very blessed for a full and healthy life. Most of all, blessed for having my wife. We have grown together and grown in our faith. Life is going to go on with or without my finger. I was not going to let this take over my life and I pushed to go back to work and got light duty.
This was where my lesson began. When I returned to work, I started getting comments and some teasing from people asking me if it was worth losing my finger over a pack of cigarettes. Someone started a rumor that I had dropped a pack of cigarettes and reached down to pick them up and that is how I lost my finger. This is not true. This rumor hurt more than losing my finger in that machine. Everyone was called in to a meeting to resolve this matter and get the story straight. I had to share my lesson.
We can ruin a person’s life by just a few bad words. There is an old saying that I will never forget: “Words and water are easily poured, but impossible to recover.” So please remember to watch what you say.
1.According to the author, his index finger on his right hand is almost as long as ________.
|
A．his middle finger on his right hand |
|
B．his middle finger on his left hand |
|
C．his thumb on his right hand |
|
D．his thumb on his left hand |
2.From the second paragraph, we know that the author ________.
|
A．was not happy with a short finger |
|
B．had a good relationship with his wife |
|
C．didn’t want to work any more in the factory |
|
D．wanted to find an important job |
3.The rumour about the author is that he lost his finger ________.
|
A．when he was picking up a pack of cigarettes that had fallen into the machine |
|
B．because he was not careful and smoked when running the machine |
|
C．because he was too sleepy to operate the machine properly |
|
D．when he was reaching down to fix something wrong in the machine |
4.Which of the following can match the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?
|
A．Nothing is really beautiful but truth. |
|
B．Bad words are meaningless. |
|
C．Lies having short legs can do harm. |
|
D．Words cut deeper than swords. |
A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a meeting in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night’s dinner. In their rush, with tickets, one of these salesmen happened to kick over a table which held a display of baskets of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their boarding.
All but one stopped, took a deep breath and experienced a twinge（刺痛）of sorrow for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned. He told his friends to go on without him, waved goodbye, and told one of them to call his wife when they arrived and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to where the apple stand had been overturned. He was glad he did.
The 16-year-old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her face. The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them into the baskets, and helped set the display up once more. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become damaged; then he set them aside in another basket. When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, “Here, please take the $20 for the damage we did.” He continued, “I’m sorry for what we did and hope we didn’t spoil your day too badly.”
She nodded with her tears. As the salesman started to walk away, the blind girl called out to him, “Mr. ...”. He stopped, and turned back. She continued, “Thank you very much”.
1.These salesmen were hurrying because they ________.
|
A．had to attend an important meeting |
|
B．wanted to have plenty of time at home |
|
C．almost missed reaching the airplane |
|
D．hoped to have Friday night’s party |
2.Which of the following is the correct order of what the salesman did?
a. He made an apology to the blind girl.
b. He told his friends to go on without him.
c. He experienced a twinge of sorrow.
d. He returned to the fallen apple stand.
e. He paid the girl $20 for the damage.
|
A．c-e-b-d-a |
B．c-b-d-e-a |
|
C．d-b-c-a-e |
D．d-c-b-e-a |
3.Which of the following can describe the salesman?
|
A．Popular and friendly. |
B．Good and humorous. |
|
C．Honest and generous. |
D．Kind and considerate. |
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
|
A．A Man’s Kind Action |
|
B．Picking up the Fallen Apples |
|
C．A Blind Girl’s Bad Luck |
|
D．A Blind Girl Who Sold Apples |
Gone are the days when Chinese people were ______. China is more powerful than ever.
|
A．looked forward to |
B．looked down on |
C．looked back on |
D．looked out for |
— Did you go to the cinema last night?
— Well, I had _______ to, but it was raining too hard.
|
A．forgotten |
B．intended |
C．expected |
D．wished |
_______, I must say my spoken English is not very good, so I hope you can speak slowly. In the second place, I’m not familiar with the topic.
|
A．In the first place |
B．On the one hand |
C．In a flash |
D．In a while |
