Advanced English reading

NEW: find advanced  texts by CEFR level, grammar, and exercises. See ► CEFR level, grammar points and exercise / activity index. 

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IATEFL Voices - the magazine of the International TEFL association 

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► NEW   Bob Dylan - the early years December sees the release of "A complete Unknown", a biopic about the young Bob Dylan, and it's already being talked about for next year's Oscars.  This C1 advanced English text looks at Dylan's journey from small town America to stardom. With audio  and IELTS-style reading test

► NEW   Greenwashing - what is it all about? With interactive exercises.. Why should we be worried by this common practice? with audio  

► NEW &  TOPICAL   The US Presidential elections '24  - with audio  
  In November 2024, Americans chose their president for the next 4 years. With a choice between Kamala Harris and Trump, this was no ordinary US Presidential election.

► NEW   The Taylor Swift phenomenon  - the sensation of a generation
   Taylor Swift has had more influence on contemporary music than any artist since the Beatles and Bob Dylan . With audio   and interactive worksheet.

► TOPICAL   KIng Charles and the British Monarchy
   What future is there for the British monarchy? Under Queen Elizabeth it had its ups and downs, finishing on a high note. Can King Charles ensure its survival?
    ► The King, the Monarchy and their future -   with audio

TOPICAL   Time to talk of Energy shortages. A global problem.
   One way of reducing CO² emissions is to move from petrol / gas powered cars to electric vehicles. It's something that most countries want to achieve. But are the goals attainable? That is by no means sure......
    ► The electric car revolution, realistic or optimistic? with interactive worksheet.

TOPICAL    Time to talk of American Democracy...

President Biden has told Americans that they have to stand up for their democracy; it is not a guaranteed right. Here is an article that looks at the origins of US democracy and its roots in medieval England.
►   The origins of American democracy from Magna Carta to the Constitution - with interactive worksheet.

• 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 US Presidential elections '24  - with audio  
• NEW   ► The decline of WASP America - from Kennedy to Trump. The USA has changed massively since the time of Kennedy
• ► Los Angeles - city on the brink -   with audio
•  (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)   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. with additional IELTS reading test.  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  and  and IELTS-style reading test. 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  and additional IELTS reading test.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 - With audio  the most colorful festival in the USA, by John Robillard
• College sport USA - With audio  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   Taylor Swift - the sensation of a generation  With audio
• 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.
• Who killed Martin Luther King? With audio  Mystery still surrounds the assassination of America's greatest civil rights leader.
• Rosa Parks -  With audio   and IELTS-style reading test: the young lady whose defiance helped start the Civil rights movement
• So just who is Angelyne ? -  with IELTS-style reading test: 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 is a social program whose aim ist o 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

• NEW ►  Bob Dylan - from small-town America to global icon  With audio  and IELTS-style reading test
• NEW ►  Taylor Swift - the sensation of a generation  With audio
• 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 - - with audio  Jazz, blues, soul, rock 'n' roll, and Elvis - 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

• NEW   ► Los Angeles - city on the brink -   with audio
• Highway 66 revisited -- with audio - A trip down America's legendary "Route 66"
• Mighty Mississippi - With audio    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 . With audio   and additional IELTS-style reading test. How the emblematic bird of the USA was saved from extinction.
• 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   Greenwashing - what is it all about? With interactive exercises.. Why should we be worried by this common practice?
• 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
• Aeroponics.  Agriculture for tomorrow's world. (Technical English)
•  Globalization? What globalization?  It's here to stay, but changes are needed

• 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.
• The Oxford and Cambridge boat race This great amateur sporting event is almost 200 years old.
• 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 pubs and their signs   with IELTS-style reading test  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 and additional  reading test  for IELTS. - Tea has been Britain's favourite drink for more than two centuries
• The Searchers - a tale of country life - with separate IELTS reading comprehension test . Finding a place to live in rural Britain can be hard for ordinary folk.The Searchers, a tale of country 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.  With additional IELTS reading test.
• 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 ?

Interview

• 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   Greenwashing - what is it all about? With interactive exercises.. Why should we be worried by this common practice?  With audio  
• 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  ,with additional IELTS reading test.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  Unsolved Mysteries - by Sarah Wolbach A short story from the USA  
• 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 from Britain,  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)
• Language games and puzzles
• 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