English reading practice

If you want to read English more confidently, here you will find English texts for reading online — from A1 for beginners to C1 for advanced learners. Pick a text at your level, read it and answer the comprehension questions.

Checking happens once for the whole text: the correct option appears beside the one you chose, so you see the actual mistake rather than just a score. It is free, with no sign-up and no install.

40 texts 5 levels Free, no signup

Language of the texts:
EnglishSpanishGermanFrenchItalianPortuguese
A1

Beginner

8 texts

Very short texts with simple words and present-tense sentences.

A1 113 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read Bike Shop Visit Tom has an old red bicycle. The chain often falls off and the brakes do not work well. One Monday morning he… 5 questions Read → A1 125 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read Bus Ticket Dialogue Passenger: Good morning. I want one ticket. Driver: Good morning. Where do you go today? Passenger: I go to… 5 questions Read → A1 112 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read Haircut at the Shop Emma enters the hairdresser shop. She takes a seat. Ben greets Emma with a smile. He puts a cover on her. Ben… 5 questions Read → A1 120 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read Helping at the Shelter Mia works at an animal shelter every Saturday. She is fifteen years old. The shelter is in a small town near… 5 questions Read → A1 103 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read Office Visitor Sign In Receptionist: Good morning. Please state your name. Visitor: My name is Lisa Brown. Receptionist: Which… 5 questions Read → A1 175 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read Parcel at the Post Office Customer: Good morning. I need to send this parcel. Worker: Good morning. Please put the parcel on the scale.… 5 questions Read → A1 104 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read The Blue Umbrella Anna walks to school every day. One morning it rains. She takes her blue umbrella. At school she puts it near… 5 questions Read → A1 127 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read The Music Lesson Miss Reed teaches music at West Hill School. Today she brings a small drum and two flutes to class. The… 5 questions Read →
A2

Elementary

7 texts

Short everyday stories with common vocabulary and past tenses.

A2 162 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read Bike Shop Fix Last Saturday, Tom took his old red bicycle to Mr Lee's repair shop. The chain was loose and the back brake… 5 questions Read → A2 145 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read Last Day at the Cafe Mia worked at Sunny Cafe for two months last summer. On her last day she woke up early and put on her blue… 5 questions Read → A2 135 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read Lost Bag Report Clerk: Good morning. How can I help you today? Passenger: I lost my bag at the station. It happened after my… 5 questions Read → A2 129 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read New Bank Account Customer: Good morning. I want to open a current account today. Clerk: Good morning. Please sit down. What is… 5 questions Read → A2 144 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read New Surgery Registration Receptionist: Good morning. How can I help you? Patient: I want to register as a new patient. Receptionist:… 5 questions Read → A2 143 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read Refused Card at Till Customer: Hello. I want to buy this milk, these eggs, this cheese and this bread. Assistant: Good morning.… 5 questions Read → A2 178 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read The Late Train Last Saturday Mia and her brother Leo went to the train station at nine o'clock. They wanted to visit their… 5 questions Read →
B1

Intermediate

9 texts

Longer narratives with a wider range of tenses and linking words.

B1 208 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read Bathroom Leak Agreement Tenant: Hello Mr Ellis. I am calling about a leak in the flat. I was having a shower yesterday evening when… 5 questions Read → B1 254 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read End of the Harvest Last summer I worked on a small fruit farm near the village of Oakridge. Every morning we picked apples and… 5 questions Read → B1 229 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read Flat Viewing Chat Renter: Good afternoon. I have come to view the flat on the second floor. Landlord: Hello. I have shown it to… 5 questions Read → B1 241 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read Garden Surprise Last Saturday afternoon, while the sun was shining brightly, Mia and her brother Leo were preparing a small… 5 questions Read → B1 242 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read Interview Date Gap Interviewer: Good morning, Ms Wells. Thank you for coming in today. I have reviewed your application and I… 5 questions Read → B1 234 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read Library Renovation Project Last month the city council announced plans to update the old public library on Maple Street. While workers… 5 questions Read → B1 227 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read Reporting a Phone Theft Sergeant Clarke: Good afternoon. I am Sergeant Clarke. How can I help you today? Mr Quinn: I need to report a… 5 questions Read → B1 258 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read The Broken Chain Yesterday afternoon while Mark was fixing his old mountain bike in the garage, he noticed the chain had… 5 questions Read → B1 253 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read The Forgotten Umbrella Last Tuesday afternoon, Mia was hurrying through heavy rain in the city centre when she realised she had left… 5 questions Read →
B2

Upper-intermediate

8 texts

Detailed texts with richer vocabulary and more complex sentences.

B2 265 words · ⁦~1⁩ min read Dental Options Discussed Dentist: Good morning, Mrs Thornton. I examined the lower right molar yesterday and the X-ray shows that the… 5 questions Read → B2 467 words · ⁦~3⁩ min read Farewell at the Orchard By the time the last crates had been stacked on the lorry, the August sun was already sinking behind the… 5 questions Read → B2 302 words · ⁦~2⁩ min read Hire Insurance Discussion Customer: Good morning. I collected a booking reference last month for a vehicle to be collected tomorrow.… 5 questions Read → B2 350 words · ⁦~2⁩ min read Midnight at the Oven Elena had been working the night shift at Willow Bakery for almost two years, but the quiet hours still… 5 questions Read → B2 314 words · ⁦~2⁩ min read Progress Meeting Talk Parent: Good afternoon, Mr Wilkins. I was hoping we could discuss how Emily has been getting on since the… 5 questions Read → B2 401 words · ⁦~2⁩ min read The Late Shift Routine Elena had been working as a senior analyst at Meridian Bank for nearly four years when she volunteered to… 5 questions Read → B2 367 words · ⁦~2⁩ min read Unexpected Neighbours When Clara finally signed the lease for her new flat in Willow Court, she thought her biggest worry would be… 5 questions Read → B2 377 words · ⁦~2⁩ min read Unrecognised Payment Dispute Customer: Good morning. My name is Eleanor Finch and I am calling about a transaction on my current account… 5 questions Read →
C1

Advanced

8 texts

Nuanced, near-native texts with idiomatic and abstract language.

C1 413 words · ⁦~2⁩ min read Boundary Consultation Dialogue Customer: Good afternoon. I am Eleanor Hargrove and I have come to discuss the boundary between my garden and… 5 questions Read → C1 378 words · ⁦~2⁩ min read Late Immersion Elena had always avoided the water with a quiet determination that masked deeper unease. At thirty-four, she… 5 questions Read → C1 343 words · ⁦~2⁩ min read Tenancy Contract Review Solicitor: Good morning, Mrs Patel. Shall we proceed through the principal clauses of this tenancy agreement?… 5 questions Read → C1 377 words · ⁦~2⁩ min read The Delayed Connection On a drizzly Tuesday morning, Elena settled into her reserved seat in carriage six of the intercity service… 5 questions Read → C1 309 words · ⁦~2⁩ min read The Faded Portrait While sorting through a box of inherited volumes in his late aunt's cluttered study, Thomas stumbled upon a… 5 questions Read → C1 532 words · ⁦~3⁩ min read The Unspoken Repair When Marcus wheeled his vintage racing bicycle into Elena's cluttered workshop on a drizzly Thursday… 5 questions Read → C1 336 words · ⁦~2⁩ min read Uncertain Scan Findings Doctor: Good morning, Mrs Ellwood. I have reviewed the imaging and blood markers from your examination last… 5 questions Read → C1 323 words · ⁦~2⁩ min read Viability of Claim Advice Solicitor: Good morning, Mr Thornton. I have examined the letters exchanged with your neighbour in the… 5 questions Read →

English texts for reading by level

Each text is written specifically for its CEFR level rather than shortened from a harder one. The catalogue can be filtered to a single level, and each card shows the word count, the number of questions and an estimated reading time in advance.

  • A1 — simple texts in English for beginners: short sentences, present tense, everyday words.
  • A2 — short stories and everyday situations for the basic level.
  • B1 — texts of medium difficulty with several tenses and a coherent story.
  • B2 — longer texts on various topics where shades of meaning matter.
  • C1 — texts for the advanced level: complex syntax, idioms, implied meaning.

How the exercise works

  1. Choose a text at your level — not one a step above.
  2. Read it all the way through without stopping at every unfamiliar word.
  3. Answer all the questions without looking back at the text.
  4. Press “Check answers” — checking is done once for the whole text.
  5. Look at the correct options: each is shown beside yours.
  6. Retry the same text or move on to the next one.

Reading in English online

You can practise with no preparation and no partner: open the page, choose a text, read it and answer. The catalogue remembers how many texts you have finished, so you can see where you left off last time.

Every text has a read-aloud button that speaks the passage with the browser voice — useful when you want to compare your reading with the pronunciation. You can also download a printable PDF worksheet for each text: the questions come after the passage and the answer key is set apart so it can be removed before you start.

Texts in English for beginners

If you have only just started learning English, take the A1 and A2 levels. They use familiar vocabulary and simple structures, so you can read them even with a small word list.

The topics come from daily life: family, school, work, travel, shopping, the doctor, the library, the weather. A familiar setting makes it easier to guess the meaning of a new word — so your vocabulary grows from context rather than from lists.

How to improve your reading in English

The first reading is for overall meaning, without a dictionary. The second is for details, and that is when you should look up the words without which the meaning does not come together; the rest can be left for later.

It is more useful to understand a mistake than simply to correct it: go back to the sentence that led to the right answer and see exactly what you understood differently. Move up a level when the questions stop causing doubt, not when the texts start to feel familiar.

Reading not only in English

The same exercise, with the same levels, is available in 29 other languages — Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese and Polish among them. The language of the texts is switched directly above the catalogue.