Which are useful for both adults and children to read. These stories are instructive, with a moral at the end of each. 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 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 sunny day, a grasshopper jumped, chirped and sang on the field on a sunny day. An ant passed by, dragging an ear of corn with great effort to its home. 
"Why not come up to me and chat," said the grasshopper, "instead of straining so hard?" "I help to make supplies for the winter," said the ant, "and 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 was literally starving to death as he watched the ants distribute corn and grain from their supplies that they had collected during the summer every day.
Then the grasshopper understood ...
Morality: Work today and you can reap the benefits 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.
"Pardon, 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 little mouse began to run over it. He soon awakened the lion, who caught him with his huge paw and opened his jaw to swallow him.
“Forgive me, O king! - the mouse sobbed, - 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. " 
Leo was so amused by 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 looking for a wagon to put him in.
Just then it happened that a mouse was running by, he saw the predicament in which the lion was, ran up to him and quickly cut through the ropes that tied the king of beasts. "Was I wrong?" - said the little 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 the golden eggs
Once a man and his wife were fortunate enough to have a goose that laid a golden egg every day. Despite such great luck, they soon began to think that this way they weren’t 
get rich fast enough.
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 can get all this precious metal at once, then very soon they will be extremely rich. So the man and his wife decided to kill the bird.
However, when they opened the goose, they were shocked to find 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. Be sure to invite your children who are learning English to read stories like this. They will love this unobtrusive way of learning a new language.
And here is a 45-minute collection of fairy tales with subtitles.
Friends, you already know that the study of the English language is divided into levels: beginner, basic, intermediate, professional, etc. Each of these levels gives a person certain knowledge of the English language, corresponding to a given stage of study. Consequently, each level has its own requirements and its own degree of difficulty in language learning.
Today we will focus on reading in English at the Intermediate stage or intermediate, intermediate level. What books, what texts are suitable for those who study English at the Pre Intermediate, Intermediate Upper Intermediate level, what can you read to improve your knowledge of English and enrich your vocabulary?
Reading skills at pre-threshold, intermediate, and advanced levels have significant advantages over previous levels. At these stages of learning, you have a good understanding of the literature on these levels. You are able to read and understand articles on the Internet, in newspapers and magazines. You can start reading simple literature in the original, you understand the meaning and main idea of the material read.
Let's start by reading at the Pre Intermediate level. Since this is a pre-threshold level, that is, a stage up to an intermediate level, here texts and books hardly differ from reading at the basic level. What can you read at the Pre level? Pay attention to the following authors and their works:
- David A. Hill "How I Met Myself?"
- Isaac Asimov "I, Robot"
- Jack London "Call of the Wild"
- Stephen Colbourn "Robin Hood"
- David Morrison "The Mind Map"
Since the Intermediate level is an intermediate, intermediate level of language learning, texts and books in English should be of medium difficulty. This means that the reader must grasp the main meaning, the essence of the story or the book as a whole, despite the fact that he still encounters unfamiliar words.
Short stories are perfect for intermediate reading. If you want your reading to be not only useful, but also fascinating, then we bring to your attention:
- O'Henry's humorous stories (O "Henry)
- Ray Bradbury Stories
- Sara Paretsky Detective Stories
- Famous tales of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson by Arthur Conan Doyle
And finally, books in English at the Upper level. This stage of learning is more difficult than the previous one, therefore, the reading will be the same:
- Herman Melville "Moby Dick"
- Peter Abrahams "Mine Boy"
- Alan Maley "A Tangled Web"
- Margaret Johnson "Jungle Love"
- John Stainbeck "Of Mice and Men"
- Margaret Johnson "All I Want"
These three levels are somewhat similar, but they also have significant differences. The Pre level prepares us to learn English at an intermediate level; the intermediate level itself equips us with a base for the Upper level, etc. Accordingly, the reading proceeds in ascending order.
How to read profitably?
- Create a notebook or notebook in which you will write down all the words you don't know.
- Pay attention to the context in which a particular word is used.
- Translate the words in writing.
- Make up phrases, sentences, a short story with them.
- Use new words in short conversations.
- Make a written outline of the passage you read.
- Retell the passage out loud in English.
- Work in this order for each chapter or passage you read.
This way, your reading will be productive, and very soon you will achieve good results in working with English vocabulary.
Learning English can be challenging. There are many ways to help overcome various problems related to grammar, spelling, pronunciation and even. One of them is the active reading method. The more you read texts in English, the more your understanding of English develops. As a result, the faster you learn to read and speak English. Reading on your own is quite effective, and it is also highly motivating to learn. When you read on your own, and not with a teacher, you yourself choose the texts that will certainly be of interest to you, in contrast to the texts suggested by the teacher. As a result, you will read more willingly and, accordingly, memorize more new words.
English are useful learning tools, but English newspapers, magazines and books can be just as useful. From them you will learn popular English expressions, phrases, grammatical constructions and words that will significantly expand your vocabulary.
What is reading for?
Reading in English is one of better ways replenish vocabulary. The context of articles, stories and dialogues helps to bring out and understand the meanings of English words that you come across for the first time. Also, with the help of reading, you repeat already familiar words, thereby better remembering them.
Reading helps you concentrate your thinking in English. When you read books in English, hundreds of English words, fixed phrases, and grammatical constructions are stored in your memory. Later they will be useful to you in writing and in doing exercises. Over time, you will stop thinking every time what tense form of a verb to use, how to place punctuation marks, how to write a particular word - your brain will learn to process all this information automatically. By the way, there is a strong connection between reading and writing. Reading allows you to see grammatically correct sentences in a living context, which can serve as a model for your own writing. Regular reading stimulates imagination and creativity, helps to learn to write more meaningful and original.
If you want to become an experienced, "skillful" reader, it is advisable to read and translate at least a few pages a day. If you don't have enough free time for this, take books, magazines and newspapers with you on the road, read on public transport or in a long line. After starting to read every day, after a while you will learn to look less and less in the dictionary, and then completely abandon it.
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Reading is an activity that can be of interest to all age groups and students of all levels of English.
Texts for children
English texts for children are usually limited to a small list of topics that any student and child can understand. As a rule, these are simple, sometimes funny and amusing, stories about animals, family members, nature, and surrounding objects. English texts for children use the simplest vocabulary and short sentences. These stories are easy to follow and usually consist of 1-2 small paragraphs.
Texts for beginners
These texts are designed for students at the Beginner and Elementary levels. Here you can find a wider variety of topics: holidays, appearance, cities and countries, everyday affairs. In terms of vocabulary, texts for beginners are almost as easy as children's texts; all the same basic words and expressions are used here. As for grammar, here the temporal forms of verbs, complex and compound words, subordinate clauses begin to appear.
Medium difficulty texts
English texts of medium difficulty already include a large list of topics: professions, work, study, relationships with family and friends, music, art, history, social problems, invented stories. Complex vocabulary is used here, professional terms are encountered, but in general, the topics of the texts are not narrowly focused; they should be interesting and understandable to a wide range of readers. There are many grammatical constructions in texts of medium complexity - almost all of them can be found here, with the exception of the most complex and outdated ones.
"Night. Dead silence. Only the breath of the night sways the grass on the plain. A lonely bonfire burns in the night ”- this is how this story begins, which was written back in 1955 by the great dreamer and almost madman Ray Bradbury. Read an online story in English called The Dragon. The story is adapted for the intermediate level(intermediate). Study words included.
The Dragon by Ray Bradbury (part 1, for intermediate)
Words for understanding:
- on the moor- on a plain overgrown 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 the ir 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, not 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 for understanding:
- all time confused- time has mixed
- the midnight wilderness- midnight desert
- terrible wailing cry- terrifying piercing howl
- gave him plenty of whistle- whistled 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 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?" cried 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 online more stories in English for intermediate level by Ray Bradbury / Read more short stories by Ray Bradbury in the category -
There is a myth that books in the original can only be read by connoisseurs of English. But today you will make sure that even a beginner is able to master literary work and understand its meaning (especially if these are adapted books in English for beginners). In addition, you can always click on an unfamiliar word and see its translation.
Why is it so important to read books at the beginner level?
- Firstly, reading books guarantees a deeper immersion in the language than texts from textbooks.
- Secondly, this is a huge plus for self-esteem and motivation, which is very important for further language learning.
- And finally, it is one of the easiest and most interesting things to do if the right literature is selected.
Therefore, we found for you the best adapted versions of foreign works(just follow the links). All books were rewritten by professional linguists and significantly reduced: the average volume of a simplified version is about 10-20 pages, which is quite realistic to read in one evening.
The story of the friendship of two smart mice from France and Great Britain, worried about their fate cultural heritage Shakespeare. Direct speech is often used in this book, which means that in the future you will not have problems with spoken English.
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by Mark Twain (beginner - 7 pages)It's hard to find someone who hasn't heard of Tom Sawyer's thrilling adventures. And reading about them in the original is even more fun. The vocabulary of the story will suit even those who "yesterday" began to learn English. |
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by Sally M. Stockton (elementary - 6 pages)An ageless tale of a brave archer who fights for justice. After reading the book, you can watch one of the many film adaptations. |
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by Andrew Mathews (elementary - 6 pages)A beautiful story about a teenage girl, Susie, living in the shadow of her more attractive friend Donna. Susie hates her freckles and thinks that they make her ugly. Find out how the story ends and whether Susie's attitude towards herself will change. |
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by John Escott (elementary - 8 pages)Our selection also includes a ghost story. The author has a very bright style narration, so it is difficult to break away from the story. This means that you can easily master 8 pages in one go. |
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by Mark Twain (elementary - 9 pages)Another work by Mark Twain in our selection will delight you with the story of Huckleberry Finn. A great chance to remember childhood. The adapted version of this children's book is a real find for a beginner! |
More than ten pages - success! Simple English Books for Beginners
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by Peter Benchley (elementary - 12 pages)An adapted version of the famous "Jaws" - a novel about a great white shark attacking vacationers in a resort town (brrr, horror!). Long common sentences can make the book seem daunting to elementary level, but we believe that 12 pages is not a problem for you. |
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by Lewis Carroll (elementary - 13 pages)A wonderful opportunity to once again be in Wonderland and find out the names of the heroes in English. The book reads very quickly and easily - tested on my own experience in elementary school. |
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by Jack London (elementary - 15 pages)A heartbreaking story about the life of a dog during the gold rush. The book focuses on the relationship between humans and animals. In my opinion, this work is one of the best in our collection in terms of plot and writing style. |
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by Roger Lancelyn Green (elementary - 16 pages)A great opportunity to get acquainted with the exploits of King Arthur and the famous Knights of the Round Table. Welcome to the English Middle Ages. |
For those who are serious. We read books in English for beginners
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The second novel by Arthur Conan Doyle, dedicated to the investigations of Sherlock Holmes. The simplified version of the work perfectly preserves the beauty of the narrative and the mystery of this detective story. |
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by Elizabeth Gaskell (pre-intermediate - 51 pages)The novel North and South describes the confrontation between manufacturers and aristocrats during the Industrial Revolution in England. The book will appeal not only to fans of romantic classics performed by Jane Austen, but also to those who like historical works. |