Elementary stories in English. Tales and stories in English for children. Short story with elements of a joke

Fiction is very helpful in developing language skills, and when we readstories in english, then we effectively improve our level and have an interesting time.

Books in English

Books play a big role in language learning. When reading literature, we learn new words, assimilate constructions. Of course, no one canceled the importance of oral language practice, but in a conversation we only hone what we received earlier, we translate theory into practice. In a conversation, we do not have time to work out the vocabulary, and when reading, we have the opportunity to refer to the dictionary, understand everything and, if necessary, re-read the incomprehensible.

Literature develops good taste and gives us an idea of the right language. In addition, through books in English, you are immersed in a foreign language culture, you begin to better understand native speakers.

At the initial stage, when the vocabulary is very small, special words help to parse the vocabulary.. They are also called adapted. In such books, information is divided into certain topics, and dictionaries of words used in the text are attached. Adapted texts are simplified in terms of vocabulary and sentence construction, and can be read by those who have recently started learning. But what is lost in them is what unadapted literature gives - the language of native speakers, which does not adapt to the level of knowledge of foreigners.

Why are short stories good?

Of course, reading literature is important for anyone who is learning a language. But what? It is not worth taking on huge novels right away: such a path will not be effective, and it may discourage the desire to read English literature in the original - not everyone can handle such ambitious goals.

The language in small texts is more concise, since it is necessary to fit all the events into a small volume of the work. Details play a big role in the stories, they allow you to describe the situation in a succinct way. For language learners, such bright strokes that are significant for the plot are much easier to remember, which means it is easier to learn the words corresponding to them.

When parsing stories, it is convenient to memorize grammar and words. You always have the opportunity to reread the text again after you have analyzed the translation of words and sentence constructions. After all, reading a story does not take much time, and when you read it again, new phrases will be deposited in your memory much better.

Reading interesting stories in English, we immediately see our progress. After all, each text here is a finished work, which serves as a stepping stone in mastering English. After reading a story, we learn vocabulary on a certain topic, after which we can move on to another topic and thus quickly improve our language.

How to work with texts

Read the text without translation. No need to immediately translate every word in a dictionary. In the beginning, we just get acquainted with the text, and our task is to understand what the story is about. You can guess the meaning of many words from the context.
Now you can translate unfamiliar words. When you understand the essence of the story, then you already have guesses - this way the new vocabulary will be remembered much better. In addition, it will be easier for you to navigate the necessary meanings of ambiguous words.
Pay attention to the construction of sentences, the choice of grammatical tenses. Reading unadapted texts is a good test of your understanding of why certain grammatical forms. Look also at the stylistic features, note in what situations the expressions from the story may be appropriate.
Starting from the story, reflect on what you have read. Think about why the characters act the way they do and why the author has framed the story the way they do.Interesting stories in Englishwill give a good impetus to the formulation of your opinion on certain topics, which is extremely important for language practice.
Retell the story. Try to use the words and structures you have learned from the text to learn how to apply what you have learned. Short stories are very convenient for retelling: you can quickly read the work and immediately get the finished story.

What text to choose

We have already talked about the effectiveness of reading stories. But in this genre there are works of very different complexity, and you need to choose the text in accordance with your level of knowledge of the language.

Assess your strengths. Choose a text that has a moderate amount of new words. If you have been learning a language for a long time, theneasy stories in english for beginnerswill be simply useless for you: you will not learn anything new. If the entire text consists of unfamiliar words for you, then you have overestimated your capabilities. In this case, it is better to choose a simpler material.

When the text is not full of unfamiliar vocabulary, it is much easier to learn it. You can guess the meanings from the context, which is the easiest way to remember new words and expressions. In addition, you will have the opportunity to pay attention to the construction of sentences and the use of grammatical indicators. And you will get much more pleasure from reading, because the constant looking into the dictionary will prevent you from enjoying literature.

If you have recently started learning a language, takestories in english for beginners with translation, fairy tales or children's stories. Works for children are simpler, while you can learn a lot of useful things for yourself. When you feel confident, move on to more complex literature.

Stories in English can be found from a variety of writers. There is always an opportunity to choose which of the authors is closer to you: O. Henry, Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe, Jack London, Ray Bradbury, Rudyard Kipling, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Kurt Vonnegut.

Stories for beginners

To give you an idea of the texts, we will use Mark Twain's parable short story "The Five Boons Of Life" as an example. The story is short, consisting of five short passages. The first snippet looks like this:

In the morning of life came a good fairy with her basket, and said: “Here are gifts. Take one, leave the others. And be wary, chose wisely; oh, choose wisely! for only one of them is valuable”.

The gifts were five: Fame, Love, Riches, Pleasure, Death.

The youth said, eagerly: “There is no need to consider”; and he chose Pleasure.

He went out into the world and sought out the pleasures that youth delights in. But each in its turn was short-lived and disappointing, vain and empty; and each, departing, mocked him.

In the end he said: “These years I have wasted. If I could but choose again, I would choose wisely.”

Translation into Russian:

At the dawn of life, a fairy came to a man with a basket in her hands and said: “Here are the gifts. Take one, leave the others. Be careful, choose wisely, very wisely! Only one of them is truly valuable."

There were five gifts: Glory, Love, Wealth, Pleasure, Death.

The young man answered with passion: "There is nothing to think about" - and chose Pleasure.

He went out into the world and sought those pleasures that youth admires. But each turned out to be short-lived and brought disappointments, vanity and emptiness, each left him with ridicule.

In the end, the man said, “I wasted these years. If I could choose again, I would be wiser.”

We will not give the wholeEnglish story, but let's analyze his ending: the young man tried all the gifts except death, and each time he was disappointed. Then he again appeared before the fairy:

The fairy came, bringing again four of the gifts, but Death was wanting.

She said: “I gave it to a mother's pet, a little child. It was ignorant, but trusted me, asking me to choose for it. You did not ask me to choose.”

“Oh, miserable me! What is left for me?”

“What not even you have deserved: the wanton insult of Old Age”.

The fairy came and again brought four gifts, but Death was not among them.

She said, “I gave it to the baby. He did not know anything and trusted me, asked me to choose for him. You didn't ask me to choose."

"Oh, I'm unhappy! What is left for me?

"What even you don't deserve: a senseless insult to Old Age."

From these two fragments, you can see that key vocabulary is repeated throughout the story, so it can be remembered already in the process of reading. There are also no complex constructions and ambiguous sentences. The story serves as a prime example of what type of text is suitable for beginners to read English literature in the original.

Choosing stories in english for beginners, you can stop at fairy tales. At the same time, it is not necessary to choose English works: you can read stories translated into English. If you take a work with which you are already familiar, then it will be much easier to perceive the text, and you will quickly learn new vocabulary. For example, you can read English translations of all the familiar fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen or Charles Perrault.

Stories in English for advanced

It is not necessary to assume that all stories are easy to read: a small volume does not necessarily indicate simplicity. Short texts can be written using complex grammatical structures.

Here is the beginning of Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Oval Portrait". His writing style is much richer, but also much more difficult to understand.

The chateau into which my valet had ventured to make forcible entrance, rather than permit me, in my desperately wounded condition, to pass a night in the open air, was one of those piles of commingled gloom and grandeur which have so long frowned among the Appennines, not less in fact than in the fancy of Mrs. Radcliffe. To all appearance it had been temporarily and very lately abandoned. We established ourselves in one of the smallest and least sumptuously furnished apartments. It lay in a remote turret of the building. Its decorations were rich, yet tattered and antique. Its walls were hung with tapestry and bedecked with manifold and multiform armorial trophies, together with an unusually great number of very spirited modern paintings in frames of rich golden arabesque.

The castle, into which my footman ventured to break in, lest I, in my deplorable state, be left out at night in the street, was one of the mixtures of gloominess and majesty that still frown among the Apennines no less than in the imagination of Madame Radcliffe. In appearance it seemed that the castle was temporarily and recently abandoned. We settled in one of the smallest and least luxurious apartments. He was in the far tower of the building. Its decoration was rich, although it had long since fallen into disrepair. The walls were covered with tapestries and decorated with a wide variety of spoils of war, along with an unusually large number of very animated paintings of our day in gold frames with arabesques.

Another example of whatstories in englishoften not easy to understand - the story of O. Henry "The Dream" ("Dream"). The piece starts like this:

Murray dreamed a dream.

Both psychology and science grope when they would explain to us the strange adventures of our immaterial selves when wandering in the realm of “Death's twin brother, Sleep”. This story will not attempt to be illuminative; it is no more than a record of Murray's dream. One of the most puzzling phases of that strange waking sleep is that dreams which seem to cover months or even years may take place within a few seconds or minutes.

Murray had a dream.

Both psychologists and scientists are lost in explanations of the strange adventures of our non-material "I", when we wander in the realm of the "twin of death" - in the realm of sleep. This story does not claim to be an explanation, it is just a description of Murray's dream. One of the most confusing aspects of these strange dreams is that in a dream, it seems to us months or even years pass, but in reality only a couple of seconds or minutes.

In the article, we have analyzed small passages to show how effective it is to read stories in English. You can choose from your favorite author's collections or get to know the work of various writers through their stories: in the variety of works everyone will find what they like.

When learning a foreign language, it is important to read as much as possible, so short stories in English will be published here often so that the reader can practice again. These are short english stories attract with its simplicity and unusual content…

Finny

There is a small city in the deep Pacific Ocean. This city is home for about 500 fish and other water creatures. It is a very homey town and is very quiet.
This town is also as colorful as a tropical forest and is very beautiful. You can get lost here in your thoughts as you explore the beauty. It is settled right under the sun in the afternoon. It is a very green city, full of plants and exotic fish. This town is located near the Hawaiian island of Maui.

This is the wonderful town of Olina, meaning “joyful” in Hawaiian.
In this little town is a small school. This school is the life of many teachers and children. The itty-bitty school, located in the center of the town, is more than 100 years old. The school building is painted green with bright pink spots all over. This school teaches swimming, safety, and first aid. It is called Beach Water Middle.

One student from the Beach Water Middle School is a little fish. This specific fish seems to be a troublemaker. He has a golden color with one spot on his fin. He comes to school every day, not willingly. This little fish is quite popular and very loud. He makes jokes and has many girlfriends. He's just cool. He lives on the west side of Olina. His name is Finny.

Finney

In depth Pacific Ocean there is a small town. About 500 fish and other aquatic creatures live in this city. It is a very homey, very quiet city.
This city is as colorful as a tropical forest and very beautiful. Here you can get lost in your thoughts while exploring its beauty. It sits right under the midday sun. It is a very green city full of plants and exotic fish. This city is located next to the Hawaiian island of Maui. This is the wonderful city of Olina, which means "joyful" in Hawaiian.
There is a small school in this small town. This school is life for many teachers and
children. The tiny school, located in the city center, is over 100 years old. The school building is painted green with bright pink spots throughout. This school teaches swimming, safety, and first aid. It's called the Coastal Waters Centre.
One of the students of this school is a small fish. This particular fish, it seems that he likes to create problems. It is painted gold with one speck on the fin. He goes to school every day, but without desire. This little fish is quite popular and very noisy. He jokes, he has many girlfriends. He's just awesome. He lives on the west side of Olina. His name is Finny.

Great White Shark

Today at Beach Water Middle, Finny and his class are going on a trip. They want to see the Great White Shark. The Great White Shark is a famous speaker, representing the local recycling agency. He speaks all around the ocean with very passionate emotion towards his words. He has been near Alaska, California, Mexico, Japan, and Russia. All of the local children are very fascinated by the Great White Shark. All of the local children want to grow up and be a speaker for recycling agencies too. He is a great inspiration to everybody around him.

So, they go. The class passes the “Welcome” sign outside of town. Outside of Olina, it is very dangerous. There are jellyfish, sharks, whales, and many dangerous animals out here. The class must stay in a large group and be aware at all times.
About thirty minutes swimming, Finny becomes absolutely exhausted. About five minutes pass, Finny loses the class. He falls so far back that he can barely see his friends and cannot hear them anymore. His fins grow more and more tired. He drifts away with the current. Finally, Finny falls asleep on a nearby rock.

Great White Shark

Today, the Coastal Water Center, Finney and his friends are going on a field trip. They want to see the Great White Shark. The Great White Shark is a famous speaker for the local waste disposal agency. He speaks all over the ocean, and his words are filled with passionate emotions. He was near Alaska, California, Mexico, Japan and Russia. All local children are very passionate about the Great White Shark. All the local kids want to grow up to be waste disposal agents. He is an inspiration to everyone around him.

So they set off. The class passes the "Welcome" sign outside the city. Outside Olina is very dangerous. There are jellyfish, sharks, whales and many dangerous animals. The class must remain a large group and be vigilant at all times. After about thirty minutes of a long swim, Finney was completely exhausted. About five minutes pass and Finney loses class. He falls so far that he can barely see his friends and can't hear them anymore. His fins are getting more and more tired. He is carried away by the current. Finally, Finny falls asleep on a nearby rock.

Short stories in English (short English stories) - adapted and in the original. For beginners, continuing and improving. For those who are just starting to learn English or those who do not want to forget it. The best stories by English and American writers with exciting plots are especially suitable for those who study English on their own.

If you have looked at this page, dear reader, then you want to read something in English. You can choose book, story or short work, and at the same time and watch his film adaptation. Let's take a journey through time together, say, to the 18th century, get acquainted with the era, its typical characters, and at the same time with the greatest writers who lived at that time. They speak to us through several centuries, putting words into the mouths of the heroes of their works. A good book is a relative term. After all, we have different tastes, so you will find different works on our site. However, one thing is certain - all the books that we offer are worthy of being read. After all, it's not just best books in english- this is classics of English and American literature. So, open the book and go to another world. Don't get lost!

When learning English, we must practice such abilities as: understanding, reading, writing, grammar, speaking and listening. Each skill has its own ways of practicing. However, there are many methods that allow you to combine work on several skills at once. For example, when reading stories in English for beginners, we not only practice reading, but also work with pronunciation, learn new vocabulary, get acquainted with the use of grammar in speech. In today's material, we will tell you how to read short stories to learn English and give examples of literature for beginners.

Reading in English will only be effective if certain conditions are met.

If you ask students what are the benefits of studying a text in English for beginners, the majority will answer - acquaintance with new vocabulary. It certainly is. When we read short stories in English, we come across new words and expressions and learn how to use them in different contexts.

All new phrases and words always need not only to be translated, but also to clarify their correct pronunciation. Only such scrupulous work will give effective results: quick memorization of vocabulary and the ability to use it when building your speech.

In addition to mastering vocabulary, you can simultaneously improve your pronunciation and understanding of English speech by ear. To do this, you need to use audiobooks for beginners.

To make it easier for you to parse the record, you must definitely have its printed text with you. To develop the skill of listening comprehension, beginners need to select easy and simple texts in English. Take a look at the text and evaluate it, focusing on the fact that you should know about 90% of the vocabulary presented in it. If this indicator is reached, feel free to turn on the recording and work with the perception of the text by ear.

After listening, read the text aloud on your own, trying to correctly highlight intonations and pronounce all the words correctly.

Varieties of English Literature for Beginners

A typical way to work on reading is to study topics.

These are small English texts that cover one topic. The most common topics are:

A family,
Favorite hobby/movie/book
My city,
My schedule,
In the airport,
At the restaurant etc.

In fact, this is a special training material, designed for a certain level of training of students.

Sometimes there are topics in the dialogue format, but most often it is just a short story. After the text, vocabulary is usually located, i.e. a small dictionary with transcription and translation of words. Also, such texts are provided additional tasks knowledge of the studied material.

Topics are a convenient format for learning English, but many people are repelled by their somewhat “artificial” and formal content. If you need interesting stories in English for beginners to work with, then it is better to use fiction. Moreover, for beginners who want to learn English, they release adapted texts for reading. Two types of such literature are widespread.

1) Books in English

These texts for beginners have undergone a thorough revision with the simplification of all grammatical structures and the removal of complex and outdated vocabulary. At the same time, they are given entirely in English, only sometimes accompanied by a small dictionary with difficult expressions.

Such books are divided into 6 levels of difficulty. The simplest stories are intended for children and beginners, more difficult texts will be of interest to people who have been studying English for more than a year, and the most complex stories can only be read by advanced speakers, i.e. practically fluent in the language. Accordingly, at the initial levels, little vocabulary is used (300-500 words), and at advanced levels, more than 1000.

2) Books adapted according to the method of Ilya Frank.

They are texts in English with a parallel translation into Russian. The first reader is offered a paragraph of the English text, followed by a paragraph with a Russian translation. Compound words are given in a separate list, and in addition to translation, they are accompanied by transcription.

This approach allows you not to be distracted by working with a dictionary or online translator, and immediately write out unfamiliar words and expressions in a study book. In addition, you will be sure of the correct understanding of the content of the text, because you can always rely on a literary translation.

Now let's try to move a little away from theory and move on to practice. In the next section, we will give some examples of texts that will be of interest to study for both adult and children's audiences.

Stories in English for beginners

Let's start with an example of a typical topic about a family. Here is a text with a translation, a small dictionary and questions that students must answer.

Topic My family

I want to tell you about my family. There are five of us - my parents, my two younger sisters and me.

My father's name is Andrew. He is 45 years old. My dad is very tall and strong. In his childhood he played basketball very well. When he studied at the University, he won many competitions with his team. And now he goes to the gym three times a week. I am very proud of my father.

My mother's name is Svetlana. She is a famous actress. She really enjoys working at the theatre. All our family often goes to the theater to watch her performances. My mother is 42, but she looks very young. My mum is slim and rather tall. She has long dark hair and big blue eyes. My mother is very kind and understanding. We are real friends.

I've got two younger sisters. Nina is 5 years old and Vera is 14 years old. They go to school. Nina enjoy painting. I think she will be a great artist, when she grows up. Vera likes reading books and learning foreign languages. Perhaps she will be an excellent interpreter.

And my name is Boris. I'm 20. Now I study at Moscow State University. It was founded by a famous Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov. I went to the Faculty of Fundamental Medicine two years ago. In four years I will be a professional surgeon. I like my future profession and want to get a job as soon as possible.

My family supports me in my choice. Generally, our family is very united. We love each other and always try to spend more time together.

Vocabulary
family	[ˈfæməli]	a family
tall		high
famous	[ˈfeɪməs]	famous, famous
strong		strong
performance		performance, performance
slim		slim
rather	[ˈrɑːðə(r)]	quite, quite
childhood	[ɪnˈtʃaɪld.hʊd]	in childhood, childhood
competition	[ˌkɒmpəˈtɪʃn]	competition
think (thought/thought)	[θɪŋk]	think (irregular verb)
painting	[ˈpeɪntɪŋ]	drawing
foreign	[ˈfɒrən]	foreign, foreign
perhaps		maybe, probably
excellent	[ˈeksələnt]	a great
interpreter	[ˈeksələnt]	translator, interpreter
was founded		was founded
scientist	[ˈsaɪəntɪst]	scientist
surgeon	[ˈsaɪəntɪst]	surgeon
future	[ˈfjuːtʃə(r)]	future
job		Work
as soon as possible	[əz suːn əz ˈpɒsəbl]	As soon as possible
support		support, support
generally	[ˈdʒenrəli]	in general, in general
spend (spent/spent)		spend, spend (time, money)
each other		each other

Questions :

How many people are there in Boris's family?
Does Boris have grandparents?
What does his father do?
What does his mother do?
What are the names of his sisters?
Are they younger or elder than Boris?
What are they fond of?
Where does Boris study?
Does he like his profession?
Is this family friendly?

Translation

I want to tell you about my family. There are five of us: my parents, my two younger sisters and myself.

My father's name is Andrew. He is 45 years old. My dad is very tall and strong. As a child, he played basketball very well. When he was at university, he won many competitions with his team, and now he goes to the gym three times a week. I am very proud of my father.

My mom's name is Svetlana. She is a famous actress. She really enjoys working in the theatre. Our whole family often goes to the theater to watch her performances. My mother is 42 years old, but she looks much younger. She is slim and quite tall. She has long dark hair and big blue eyes. My mother is very kind and understanding. We are real friends with her.

I have two younger sisters. Nina is 5 years old and Vera is 14. They go to school. Nina is fond of drawing. I think she will become a great artist when she grows up. Vera loves to read books and learn foreign languages. Perhaps she will be an excellent translator.

And my name is Boris. I am 20 years old. I study at Moscow State University. It was founded by the famous Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov. I came to the Faculty of Fundamental Medicine 2 years ago. In 4 years I will become a professional surgeon. I like my future profession and I want to get a job as soon as possible.

My family supports my choice. In general, our family is very close-knit. We love each other and always try to spend as much time together as possible.

Fiction

As we have already noted, not everyone likes to work with topics. They are uninformative, stingy with new vocabulary and, frankly, boring. In contrast, fiction attracts students with interesting characters and exciting plot twists. And loves exciting adventures and child, and an adult.

Here are some tips for short fiction stories.

Mark Twain : A dog and three dollars, Mistake identity;
O'Henry : A walk in amnesia, Tildy's moment; The Christmas presents, The Memento;
Alvin Schwartz : Room for one more;
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm : Rumpelstiltskin;
Jan Carew : Journeys end, The Charm, Lost love; The doll
Jennifer Bassett : South for the winter; The girl with green eyes.

This is just a small list of noteworthy stories.

When you're ready for more volumes, we recommend that you check out another of our material, in which you will find a selection of audiobooks for beginners. So you will not only train reading and improve your vocabulary, but also listen to real English speech, adjusting to its perception and understanding.

Texts with translation are the next step after mastering the basic vocabulary and basic grammar rules in any language, including English.
Most often, the so-called parallel texts are used: this means that the English part in them is accompanied by a Russian translation. It can be read like this:

First read in full English, then in Russian
Read and translate in fragments

The second option is preferable for beginners.

Thematic English texts for beginners

Parallel text sample with translation

A young man is preparing for an interview with the director of the company and has prepared the following text in English:

I am the beginning programmer. I am interested in only technique and computers during all my life. Mechanical cars and planes were always my favorite toys, and physics and mathematics were my favorite subjects. When the first computer had appeared when I was 10, it replaced everything. I sat in front of it all days and nights, having forgotten about sleep. I could play and communicate with friends continuously. When I had grown up, it became interesting for me how these games and programs were created. Soon I came to believe that programming is that unique area which is really important for me. I entered the university on the specialty of programming after school. Learning was not easy, but it was justified for my interest. I made my first website at once after I had graduated from the university. Then information technologies became interesting for me and I even finished an Internet class on this subject by dint of the one international educational platform. I believe the protection of information against hacker intrusions is the main problem of our time today. When I have found that a programmer in this area is required to your company, I was very happy, as your company is doing high technologies. The robotics connects my childhood memories with dreams of the future. I ‘m going to register in courses of lectures on a robotics, incidentally. I think it will expand my opportunities and I would be still more valued and preferable employee for you.

Translating to Russian language:

I am a beginner programmer. All my life I was only interested in technology and computers. Mechanical cars and airplanes have always been my toys, and physics and mathematics were my favorite subjects at school. And when I got my first computer at the age of 10, it replaced everything. I sat behind him for days and nights, forgetting about sleep. I could continuously play and chat with friends. When I grew up, I became interested in how these games and programs are created, with the help of which it all works. I soon came to believe that programming was the only field that for real important to me. After school, I entered the university with a degree in programming. It was not easy to study, but it was justified by my interest. Immediately after graduating from university, I made my first website. Then I became interested in information technology, and even completed an online course on this topic with the help of one international educational platform. I believe that the protection of information from hacker intrusions is the main problem of our time today.

When I found out that your company needs a programmer in this area, I was very happy, because your company is engaged in high technologies. Robotics connects my childhood memories with my future dream. By the way, I'm going to enroll in a lecture course on robotics. I think this will expand my opportunities and make me an even more valuable and preferred employee for you.

See more ready-made texts in English.