Reading Comprehension
Texts and Exercises

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Welcome to our Reading Comprehension section!

To help you make the most of these lessons, make sure you study the Barriers to Study booklet first. It is available online, free of charge.

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Use a good and simple dictionary while reading and answering questions.

Reading comprehension is an important skill, and it is not acquired by skimming over content and guessing the meanings of words and sentences.

It is acquired by reading and understanding the words and concepts in your text.

See also: Building Vocabulary and Some Common Mistakes

Click Here for Step-by-Step Rules, Stories and Exercises to Practice All English Tenses

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Using These Lessons

Here you can find many interesting lessons with reading texts (and photos for illustration) in intermediate English, followed by reading comprehension exercises.

Exercises include:

• Vocabulary Questions
• Collocation Questions
• Wh Questions (who, what, when, where, how, etc.)
• Evaluating Statements
• True or False Questions

An important part of practice is collocation practice.

Collocation Practice

Do you sometimes ask yourself if you have used the best word for what you want to say, or is another one more suitable? 

For example: do you want to say "He came in quietly" or "He came in silently"?

Check collocations. 

A collocation is a combination of words that is used together frequently. It's actually a common phrase.

For example: "commit a crime" is a typical combination of words in English. You could say "make a crime," and it wouldn't be incorrect, but many people tend to use these words together, and it sounds right to a native. So "commit a crime" is a collocation.

Another example: we say "heavy traffic" not "strong traffic," and so forth.

Here are some more examples of collocations:

• Fully aware ("We are fully aware of the problem.")
  
• Do homework ("I will do my homework later.")
  
• Give a speech ("He gave a very good speech at the conference.")

There are many collocations in English. The better you use them, the more NATURAL your English becomes.

Most of the lessons in this section include collocation practice to help students practice this vital skill.

List of Lessons

Places around the World

Europe

Asia and Africa

Americas and the Pacific Ocean

Customs and Traditions

Food and Cooking

Animals

Earth and the Universe

Words

Finance

Places around the World

The World's Most Beautiful Islands – Five Wonders of Nature	Delicious Desserts from Four Continents, Some of the World's Most Famous Desserts
Can You Guess Where These Beautiful Natural Places Are?	The Oldest Cities in the World
The World's Most Beautiful Natural Wonders	World's Largest Countries
Can You Guess Where These Beautiful Natural Places Are? (Part 2)	The Coldest Places Where People Live
Europe's Smallest Countries

Europe

Rome, the Eternal City	Budapest, the Hidden Gem of Europe
Vienna, the City of Culture	Lisbon, the City of Explorers
London, the Crown of Europe	Belfast, the Street Art Harbor
Barcelona, Gaudi's Masterpiece	Bucharest, the Little Paris
Dublin, the Fair City	Dusseldorf, Japan on the Rhine
Kiev, Eastern Europe's Secret	Thessaloniki, the Aegean Secret
Berlin, the Reunited City	Monaco, the Casino City
Tbilisi, the Food Capital	Caucasus, the Border of Europe and Asia
Sarajevo, the Jerusalem of Europe	Saint Petersburg, the Capital of Imperial Russia
Venice, the City of Canals	Marseille, the City of 111 Districts
Bristol, the Capital of the South West	Valletta – Superbissima ("Most Proud" in Latin)
Oslo, the Tiger City

Asia and Africa

Taipei, the New and the Old	Shanghai, Gateway to the West
Phnom Penh, Capital of Cambodia	Vientiane, the Buddhist Gem
South Korea Travel Advice	Istanbul, Between Europe and Asia
Israel, the Holy Land	Israel, the Holy Land, Part 2
Tokyo, the City of Cherry Blossoms	Cairo, the City of Contrasts
Alexandria, the Pearl of the Mediterranean	Kathmandu, the City of Temples
Dar es Salaam, the House of Peace	Beijing, the Celestial City
Johannesburg, the City of Gold

Americas and the Pacific Ocean

Canada Fun Facts	New York, the Empire State
Boston, the Home of US History	Rio de Janeiro, the Marvelous City
Oceania	Perth, the City of Lights
Vancouver, Rain City	Detroit, the Motor City
Los Angeles, the City of Angels	Brasilia, the Isle of Fantasies

Customs and Traditions

Japanese Kimono	Flamenco Dresses
Interesting Traditional Marriage Customs around the World	Interesting Traditional Marriage Customs around the World, Part 2
Beauty Rituals around the World	Interesting Dining Manners in Different Cultures
Winter Holidays Around the World	Unique Holidays People Celebrate Around the World
Interesting Festivals around the World

Food and Cooking

A Guide to South American Cuisine	Types of Cookies and Their Special Names
Types of Cookies and Their Special Names, Part 2	Some of the World's Most Famous Desserts
Famous Cakes from Around the World

Animals

Cats, Our Curious and Fluffy Pets	Dogs, Our Loyal Friends, Part 1
Dogs, Our Loyal Friends, Part 2	Dogs, Our Loyal Friends, Part 3

Earth and the Universe

Types of Climate	Winter Solstice
Summer Solstice	Planets of Our Solar System
Vegetation Regions
The Strongest Army in the World: Your Immune System (Health Related Vocabulary and Grammar Practice)

Words

Interesting Word Origins in the English language

Interesting Word Origins in the English language, Part 2

Finance

Bitcoin, the Currency of the Future

We add many new lessons, so come back and visit this section!

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