reading worksheet b2

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Practise reading with letters, words, videos and games.

Read stories with or without audio and answer the questions.

Reading for receptive language with interactive audio

Easy reading with interactive audio to help you understand.

Read and listen to passage, then complete exercises. Choose number 120 onwards.

Read and listen to these short texts with questions.

Read stories and poems by British authors

Select a reading strategy, listen, watch, and read about the strategy

Select from a list of activities to practise different styles of reading comprehension

Read stories, check your reading speed and answer the questions.

Work–life balance

Read what four people have to say about their working hours to practise and improve your reading skills.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and do the exercises.

Preparation

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I work in a fairly traditional office environment doing a typical nine-to-five job. I like my job, but it's annoying that my commute to work takes an hour and a half each way and most of my work could really be done online from home. But my boss doesn't seem to trust that we will get any work done if left to our own devices, and everyone in the company has to clock in and out every day. It's frustrating that they feel the need to monitor what we do so closely instead of judging us based on our task performance, like most companies do these days.

I used to do a typical five-day week, but after I came out of my parental leave, I decided that I wanted to spend more time with my children before they start school. After negotiating with my boss, we decided to cut my working week down to a three-day work week. This of course meant a significant cut in my pay too, as I'm paid on a pro-rata basis. I've since noticed, though, that my workload hasn't decreased in the slightest! I'm now doing five days' worth of work in three days, but getting paid much less for it! I find myself having to take work home just so that I can meet the deadlines. It's wearing me out trying to juggle work with looking after my children and my family, but I don’t dare to bring this up with my boss because I think he feels as if he's made a huge concession letting me come in only three days a week.

I work for a global IT company, but because their headquarters is in the States, I do all my work online from home. That means that I don't waste time commuting or making idle chit-chat with colleagues. I work on a project basis, and this flexibility is very valuable to me because it means that I can easily take some time off when my children need me to go to their school performances or if I need to schedule an appointment with the dentist. The downside is that without clear office hours, I tend to work well into the evening, sometimes skipping dinner to finish a task. It can also get quite lonely working on my own, and I sometimes miss sharing ideas with colleagues.

I'm a freelancer and work for myself. This is great because I am in control of what I do and how I spend my time. At first, I was working from home, but I found it really hard to concentrate. There were just too many distractions around: housework that needed doing, another cup of tea, my family members wanting my attention for various things. So I started to go to a nearby café to work, but the Wi-Fi connection wasn't ideal and I found myself drinking too much coffee. In the end, I decided to rent a desk in a co-working space with five other freelancers like myself. I liked getting dressed to go to work in the morning and being able to focus in an office environment. The other freelancers do similar kinds of web-based work to me and so it's nice to have workmates to bounce ideas off as well.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of your working situation? What would you change if you could?

Language level

Well, one advantage is working in a good enviroment with young people working most of the time in a good mood, but that sometimes tend to lead into unnecesary distractios like listen loud music or little long Idle chit-chat, I suppose If I could change something, I wouldn’t dare do more working from home like 2 or 3 times a week, because like Ronan, I think a lot of my work could be done online from home. Although I go to work by riding my bicycle, I spent more than 90 minutes a day commuting between home and work and in the end of the day that’s a lot of time.

Thanks for the lesson. Great site!

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There were no advantages in my working situation, so I quit. As anyone would expect, there were many disadvantages, such as long working hours, lack of breaks, insults from patients both physically and verbally, low salary, and the list goes on. I couldn't change any of these, so I decided to change my career.

I’m an Software Engineer and I work a typical 9 to 5 job just like most people do. I prefer going to the office as I think it’s easier communicate about work and get to know my coworkers. To be honest working at the office, I can even save on both electricity bills and water bills. I used to live 10 mins drive away from the office but then when I took into account transportation costs and time consuming, then I decided to move nearby office which is only 10 mins walk to the office now. Not only do I get a chance to walk to the office but also I pass through the park on the way where I can see the trees, breath fresh air and avoid traffic and also avoid road accidents. As a person who like to work in an office environment, I made the decision to move to a condo/place nearby the office.

Since the pandemic, I started working 3 days at home and 2 at the office. That gives me the opportunity to avoid spending too much of the week commuting, since I live 1.5 hours from work. However, I work more hours a day at home than at the office, so I don't have more free time to spend with my family. But it does give me the opportunity to better balance my schedule with my personal needs, like going to the doctor, playing a tennis match or going to run during the day.

I work in a traditional working enviroment. We can not work from home so it is big disadvantage for me. I like going to the office, but I would prefer to work from home two days a week. The main advantage for me is that I have great team. It is very important to me.

I am nutritionists and I am working online from home. This is great because I could separate time to my 2 years old son also doing my houseworks. The downside is that there is no me time at all! Just doing work or being mother! Also working from home is very boring and there is too much distraction!

The reason of my learning English is switching my job. I liked it before. But now I can not see the future for the following reasons. I work at Oil and Gas Company as a Lead Control Systems Engineer. My work schedule is shift. I commute to the work by a train or plain once in a month. I'm working at work for 15 days in a row. After my working shift I came back for home also by train or plain, and this journey is wearing me out besides the work. At first two days at home I feel myself exhausted. I try to spend my time with my family, because I have nto seen them for 15 days. I have 14 days for resting. And I'm done with this work-life balance. I decided to switch my job, and started to learning Programming and English. My goal is relocating to Big Software Company and make amazing Software Products, and that time having pretty enough time to spend my time with my family.

Wish you luck in improving your work-life balance :)

I am a student. I have online classes due to the earthquake in Turkey. I can say that I don't waste time for commute. But, it's hard to concentrate at home and my comprehension is worse than physical education. Also, interaction between teacher and students is lower which makes the lessons boring.

I work with children with special needs. I like to work with children more than adults and it is one advantage. The second advantage is a lot of free time to learn and take care of my own child. Disadvantage is poor salary

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Advanced English reading

From linguapress ~   levels b2 - c1 - c2.

• English grammar
• Advanced reading
• Intermediate reading
• Language games and puzzles

• NEW ►  Article with  audio podcast .  ► A short guide to phonetics - the sounds of British English
• For lots of ideas for using reading resources in the classroom see Reading Comprehension
• To select articles by classroom activity,  see ► Thematic exercise and classroom activity index .

1. Reading comprehension - articles on life and issues in  North America

Life in  america .

• NEW     ► The decline of WASP America - from Kennedy to Trump . The USA has changed massively since the time of Kennedy
• NEW     ► Los Angeles - city on the brink -   with audio
• NEW   (UK / USA)   From Magna Carta to American democracy  President Biden says that US democracy is at risk; this text looks at the historic origins of the Anglo-Saxon democratic tradition
• (Technical)   NEW audio   The electric car revolution, realistic or optimistic?  With interactive worksheet. Can the world really convert to electric vehicles by the middle of the century?
• Mark Twain and the frogs of Calaveras County . With audio  and interactive worksheet. A California festival is a tribute to Twain's famous short story.
• The American way of eating . With audio  and interactive worksheet. A short look at the origins of fast food.
• Steaming on the Mississippi . With audio  and interactive worksheet.  The Mississippi's famous paddleboats.
• Aeroponics . Agriculture for tomorrow's world. (Technical English)
• Nevada and its Extraterrestrials . Have aliens from another planet really been seen near the township of Rachel ?
• Log cabins and the White House . Now with audio   Many US presidents have come from humble roots.
• Gettysburg - the terrible battle . A dark page in US history - with four exercises and activities
• Awaiting the Big One . Another massive earthquake could hit California very soon
• The story of Ellis Island , With  audio  - The gateway to America through which millions once passed.
• Skyscrapers  Now found in cities worldwide, skyscrapers were once symbols of America.
• Wall Street Culture - One could call it America's most popular street culture.
• Thanksgiving  With  audio  - a very American festival.
• Mardi gras in New Orleans - the most colorful festival in the USA, by John Robillard
• College sport USA - Sport is part of US campus life, but at what cost?
• Rodeo - the sport of the American West  .
• The Yukon Quest - The 1000 mile race that is the toughest race in the world..
• And among  new texts available only in the Linguapress paperback or hadcover collection  ► A Background to America
• Harriet Tubman and the Underground railroad -  the lady whose face will soon be on the new $20 bill - With  audio
• The settling of the Cherokee Strip - how the West was opened - With  audio
• American and Chinese - the story of Chinese America  - With  audio

America : people and society

• NEW    The Rosenberg affair  and the legacy of McCarthyism in the USA
• Thinking it over with baby . With   audio  and interactive worksheet.  Being a teenager and a mom at the same time is usually not a good idea.
• The Man who changed America . With  audio  Henry Ford did more than anyone else to shape 20th century life.
• Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
• Hillary Clinton - the early years  . by Nicole Bernheim.
• Citizen Welles - a short biography of Orson Welles, the greatest unsuccessful Holywood director.
• Who killed Martin Luther King? With  audio  Mystery still surrounds the assassination of America's greatest civil rights leader.
• Rosa Parks - the young lady whose defiance helped start the Civil rights movement
• So just who is Angelyne ? - the Hollywood celebrity who's famous just for being famous
• America's Amish; model society?  A look at some Americans with an unusual lifestyle
• America's teen courts - Where teenage offenders are judged by other teens..
• Crime-time Basketball - Midnight basketball aims to keep young people off the streets..
• America's Drive-in Movie theaters - how much longer will they last?
• Americans fat and thin - A third of Americans are seriously overweight.
• The Mormons, a curiously American phenomenon .  One of America's biggest fringe religions. 

American music

• Woodie Guthrie . The Dustbowl baladeer.
• The Story of the Blues - with   audio  -  by Robert Springer
• Interview with Leonard Cohen . A Linguapress exclusive.
• Jewel, the voice from Alaska - the singing sensation from America's far north.
• Mississippi music - Jazz, blues, soul and rock 'n' roll, they all originated in the Mississippi valley.
• John Lennon - Remembering the death in New York of the Beatle who changed the world..

USA : places and environment

• Highway 66 revisited -- with   audio - A trip down America's legendary "Route 66"
• Mighty Mississippi - the river that links and divides the USA
• Bodie - where the West was once wildest - Visiting a ghost town in the mountains of California.
• America's bald eagles - a story of success . How the emblematic bird of the USA has been saved from extinction.
• Save the Everglades - Florida's unique wetlands are in serious danger.
• California's Water Wars - Larry Wood reports on a critical issue facing Californians.
• Deserts of America - with   audio - A large part of the western USA is covered by desert, and it is getting larger.
• A town called Sturgis - Mecca for Harley Davidson riders.

International themes,  language

• NEW   The electric car revolution, realistic or optimistic?  With interactive worksheet. (technical English)
• NEW   A rose by any other name . - with  audio  - Words, meaning and political correctness
• Accents and dialects . - with  audio  - An introduction to varieties of spoken English
•  Globalization? What globalization?  It's here to stay, but changes are needed

2. Reading comprehension - articles on life and issues in the UK and Ireland

• NEW   King Charles, the Monarchy and their future Is there a future for the British monarchy?. with  audio
• NEW   Guy Fawkes and bonfire night The nearest thing that Britain has to a National day celebration.
• NEW   The Oxford and Cambridge boat race This great amateur sporting event is almost 200 years old.
• NEW   Just who are the English ? Trying to define Englishness is not a very easy task.
• Britain - at any cost ? Human traffickers are waiting to exploit people who want to come to the UK.
• English pub signs  What lies behind the  sometimes strange names of English pubs ?
• From smugglers to people trafficking: old activity, new phase - Smuggling has long been an illicit activity on England's south coast
• Tea and the British - with  audio  - Tea has been Britain's favourite drink for more than two centuries
• Life in Umbridge - Finding a place to live in rural Britain can be hard for ordinary folk.
• London's Notting Hill Carnival - Europe's biggest street carnival
• Britain's Chinese come out on top - they are the most successful group in modern Britain
• All you need is Love -With audio A true story from Ireland, by Leanne Meyer
• Nature / wildlife: the Bird Man of the Isles - an interview from the Scottish isle of Skye.

Britain : people

• Charles Darwin - a genius remembered with audio and interactive worksheet. A scientific text for general readers.
• Topical    Queen Elizabeth II - 1926 - 2022  The Queen who almost wasn't with audio and interactive worksheet. Queen Elibath II was not born to be Queen...
• Agatha Christie - She died in 1976, but she's still a worldwide bestseller.
• Stephen Hawking - the world's greatest scientist - who died in 2018
• J.R.R. Tolkien - the Oxford professor who wrote the Lord of the Rings
• Shakespeare's enduring heritage  With audio and interactive worksheet. Shakespeare died over 400 years ago, so why is he still so important ?
• Drugs: Days in the death of Francis X - interview with a heroin addict
• More resources coming

3. Technical English, short stories and word games

Technical english.

• NEW    The electric car revolution, realistic or optimistic?  With interactive worksheet. Can the world really convert to electric vehicles by the middle of the century?
• NEW   Aeroponics . Agriculture for tomorrow's world. 
• Fox Talbot and the origins of photography  , The first photo was taken in... 1835 !
•   GM crops: Frankenstein food?  Are genetically modified crops a huge risk, or the future of agriculture?
• Skiing in the wind  How science and technology help skiers go faster
•   The story of the jet plane  With audio
• Charles Babbage, the father of the computer   (short text).
• Meet Robodog  (hard): 

Advanced English short stories and games

• NEW   A suitable job - by Lindsay Townsend. A short story from Britain
• A few good reasons - by Sue Quinn. A short story from the USA   with audio
• For Elise - by Pamela Garza. A short story from the USA  with audio
• Short story: The Car  - by Andrew Rossiter. A short story in advanced level English  with audio
• Short story: Blue Gum Tree - by Pat Boyle. A short story from New Zealand  with audio
• Short Story: Lucky Jim - by Walda Cameron. A short story from the USA.  with  NEW   audio
• The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain (Appendix to Mark Twain and the frogs of Calaveras County )
• Quiz: Famous Americans

4. The English language (information texts)

• Accents and dialects  -   with  audio   different varieties of English
• Word stress in English   with  audio how to know how to stress words correctly
• A rose by any other name . - with  audio  - Words, meaning and political correctness
• A short history of the English language  from the Middle Ages to today

English for  B2, C1 and C2 levels. Advanced English reading resources 

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Here you can find activities to practise your reading skills. Reading will help you to improve your understanding of the language and build your vocabulary. The learning materials in this section are written and organised by level. There are different types of texts and interactive exercises that practise the reading skills you need to do well at school, get good marks in your tests and exams, and get more out of your free-time activities. Take our free online English test to find out which level to choose. Select your level, from beginner (CEFR level A1) to advanced (CEFR level C1), and improve your reading skills at any time and at your own speed.

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Are you an elementary (CEFR level A1) learner of English? Practise and improve your reading skills with these texts and exercises.

Are you a pre-intermediate (CEFR level A2) learner of English? Practise and improve your reading skills with these texts and exercises.

Are you an intermediate (CEFR level B1) learner of English? Practise and improve your reading skills with these texts and exercises.

Are you an upper intermediate (CEFR level B2) learner of English? Practise and improve your reading skills with these texts and exercises.

Are you an advanced (CEFR level C1) learner of English? Practise and improve your reading skills with these texts and exercises.

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Reading practice b2

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STS PRACTICE DOING A READING

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