Reading in English at level A2

You read short, simple texts about everyday life. You find specific information in adverts, menus, timetables and short letters.

• A1
• A2
• B1
• B2
• C1

This is how each text begins at level A2:

• Short story · Oscar WildeThe Canterville Ghost

  When Mr Hiram Otis, the American Minister, bought Canterville Chase, everyone said he was making a mistake. The house was haunted. Lord Canterville was an honest man, and he told Mr Otis about the ghost.

• CustomConkers: a string, a nut and a long October

  Walk through a British park in October and look down. In the grass there are green balls covered in spikes. They have fallen from the horse chestnut tree. If you step on one, it splits open, and inside there is a shiny brown seed: a conker.

• CustomDogger, Fisher, German Bight: the Shipping Forecast

  Turn on BBC Radio 4 just before one o'clock at night. After some quiet music, a calm voice begins to read a list. There are names like Dogger, Fisher and German Bight. Then come numbers and short words. It sounds a little like a poem.

• ScienceWhy is the sky blue and the sunset red?

  Look up on a clear day: the sky is blue. Look at the sun in the evening: it is yellow, orange or red. But there is only one sun. So where do the colours come from?

• ScienceWhy does the sea go in and out?

  The Moon is very far away. Yet twice a day it moves the sea, and near Bristol the sea rises and falls by more than 12 metres. Sit on a beach in Britain for an afternoon and you can see it happen. When you arrive, the sea is far away. Two hours later, it is near your towel. Nobody pushed it. It just came in.