B1 · INTERMEDIATE Reading practice · ~3,000 words · 15-min read This is a B1 reading story. The English is at intermediate level, so you will meet perfect tenses, relative clauses, and a few new words. Learn the nine key words below first. Then read the story. At the end, there is a short quiz…
empathy /EM-puh-thee/ Listen The ability to imagine and share another person’s feelings, as if they were your own. Quick Answer Empathy means feeling WITH someone — you imagine yourself in their place and share the feeling. “Good nurses have great empathy with their patients.” Example: Her empathy helped her understand exactly how I felt. Empathy…
sympathy /SIM-puh-thee/ Listen The feeling of being sorry for someone who is in a bad situation. You care about their pain from the outside. Quick Answer Sympathy means feeling sorry FOR someone. You see their pain from the outside and you care. “We sent flowers to show our sympathy.” Example: Everyone expressed their sympathy after…
? elicit /ih-LIS-it/ Listen To draw out a reaction, answer or emotion from someone. A verb — it does things. Quick Answer Elicit means to draw out a response — an answer, a laugh, a memory. It is a verb: teachers elicit answers; jokes elicit laughter. Think: Elicit Extracts. Example: Her joke elicited a big…
illicit /ih-LIS-it/ Listen Not allowed by law or by rules; forbidden. An adjective — it describes things. Quick Answer Illicit means illegal or against the rules. It is an adjective: illicit trade, illicit copies, an illicit deal. Think: iLLicit starts like iLLegal. Example: Customs officers found illicit goods in the container. Illicit in 3 Sentences…
dessert /dih-ZERT/ Listen Sweet food eaten at the end of a meal — cake, ice cream, fruit salad. Quick Answer A dessert (double s) is the sweet dish you eat after your main meal. Say it dih-ZERT, with the stress at the end. Want more sweet? Add more s! Example: We had chocolate cake for…
desert /DEH-zert/ Listen A large, dry area of land with very little rain, often covered in sand — like the Sahara. Quick Answer A desert (one s) is a dry, sandy place where almost no rain falls. Say it DEH-zert, with the stress at the front. Think: sand, sun, camels. Example: The Sahara is the…
Quick Answer Use is when you talk about one person or thing. Use are when you talk about two or more. For example: “The dog is big” but “The dogs are big.” Is or Are — See the Pattern Look at these sentences. Can you see when we use is and when we use are?…
Quick Answer Who’s is the short form of “who is” or “who has.” Whose asks about the owner — who something belongs to. Try saying “who is” in place of the word. If it makes sense, use who’s. If it does not, use whose. Who’s and Whose — See the Difference These two words sound…
Quick Answer Use who when the person is doing the action (like “he” or “she”). Use whom when the action is done to the person (like “him” or “her”). Quick trick: if you can swap in “him,” use whom. If “he” fits, use who. Who and Whom — See the Difference Look at these sentences….
