C1 · ADVANCED Reading practice · ~3,300 words · 16-min read This is an original story for advanced learners. The language is rich but controlled: before you begin, read the ten key words below, because each one appears more than once in the story. At the end there are comprehension questions, a grammar focus, and…
C1 · ADVANCED Reading practice · ~3,000 words · 15-min read This is an original C1 short story about city life, community, and a professional dilemma. Before you begin, skim the twelve key words below — each one appears again inside the story, so read the definitions once and you will meet them in context….
C1 · ADVANCED Reading practice · ~3,950 words · 26-min read This is an original short biography for advanced learners. It tells the invented life of Inês Barroca, a Portuguese cartographer who devoted her career to hand-drawing the villages of her country in the years before they were flooded to make way for hydroelectric reservoirs….
infer /in-FUR/ Listen To work something out from clues or evidence. The listener or reader does the inferring. Quick Answer Infer means to work something out from clues. The listener infers. Think: to infer is to read between the lines. Example: We can infer from the data that sales are rising. Infer in 3 Sentences…
imply /im-PLY/ Listen To suggest or hint at something without saying it directly. The speaker or writer does the implying. Quick Answer Imply means to hint at something without saying it directly. The speaker implies. Think: to imply is to send a hidden message. Example: Her silence seemed to imply that she disagreed. Imply in…
Quick Answer A participle clause makes a sentence shorter by dropping the subject and turning the verb into an -ing form (active) or an -ed form (passive). Full: Because she felt tired, she left early. Shorter: Feeling tired, she left early. · Built in 1889, the tower still stands. See the Three Types of Participle…
Quick Answer Use were for every subject when the situation is imaginary or unreal — including I, he, she, and it. This special “were” is called the subjunctive. Unreal: If I were you, I’d say sorry. · I wish it were Friday. Real past fact: When I was a child, I lived in Cairo. See…
Quick Answer A mixed conditional joins two different times in one sentence — usually an unreal past and an unreal present. The if part and the result part do not share the same time. Past cause, present result: If I had taken that job, I would be in Paris now. Present cause, past result: If…
zz uninterested /un-IN-truh-stid/ Listen Bored, not caring at all — the simple opposite of interested. Quick Answer Uninterested means bored or not caring. The prefix un- just means “not” — so uninterested is simply not interested. Think of a bored student watching the clock. Example: He looked uninterested throughout the meeting. Uninterested in 3 Sentences…
disinterested /dis-IN-truh-stid/ Listen Fair, neutral, with no personal stake — like a judge who has nothing to gain. Quick Answer Disinterested means fair and neutral. A disinterested person has no personal stake — they are not on either side. Think of a judge or a referee. Example: We need a disinterested judge for this case….
