Free English reading practice

Short articles on interesting topics, each written at three levels — A2–B1, B2 and C1. Read at the level that suits you, check your understanding, then use the discussion questions with a tutor or a partner. No sign-up needed.

Psychology Why We Procrastinate Putting things off is not really about being lazy — it is about how the brain handles difficult feelings. Read at A2–B1, B2 or C1 → Health How Sleep Works We spend about a third of our lives asleep. Here is what the brain and body are actually doing. Read at A2–B1, B2 or C1 → Culture The History of Coffee From a hillside in Ethiopia to three cups a day for much of the planet — how coffee travelled the world. Read at A2–B1, B2 or C1 → Science Why Do We Dream? Everyone dreams, most nights, and mostly forgets. Science still has not fully settled why. Read at A2–B1, B2 or C1 → Money What Is Inflation? Why the same money buys less over time, what causes it, and why a little inflation is considered normal. Read at A2–B1, B2 or C1 → Food The Origins of Pizza A cheap meal for the poor of Naples became, within a century, one of the most eaten foods on Earth. Read at A2–B1, B2 or C1 → Health How Vaccines Work A vaccine teaches your immune system to recognise a disease before you ever meet it. Read at A2–B1, B2 or C1 → Science Why We Get Jet Lag Your body keeps its own clock. Fly fast enough and you leave it behind. Read at A2–B1, B2 or C1 → Nature How Bees Make Honey Honey is flower nectar, collected, shared, dried and stored by tens of thousands of insects working together. Read at A2–B1, B2 or C1 → Technology The QWERTY Keyboard The letters on your keyboard are in a strange order set by a machine from the 1870s that almost nobody uses any more. Read at A2–B1, B2 or C1 → Language Why Languages Disappear Around half of the world's 7,000 languages may not survive the century. They rarely die suddenly. Read at A2–B1, B2 or C1 → Money What Is Compound Interest Interest that earns interest. It grows slowly at first, then surprisingly fast — for savers, and for borrowers. Read at A2–B1, B2 or C1 → Science Why Do We Yawn? Everyone yawns, including babies before birth. Science is still not certain why — or why it spreads. Read at A2–B1, B2 or C1 → Food The History of Chocolate For most of its 4,000-year history, chocolate was a bitter drink. The sweet bar is barely 175 years old. Read at A2–B1, B2 or C1 →
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