Level 8 B1/B2
THE VENICE CARNIVAL
Level 8 | 250 Words | Reading| GAP FILL
The Venice Carnival in Italy is one of the world's oldest and most colourful festivals. This popular winter festival takes place just before Lent... (read more)
MARDI GRAS AND NEW ORLEANS
Level 8 | 350 Words | READING | ACTIVITIES
"Mardi Gras" is a French expression, meaning "Fat Tuesday." Mardi Gras celebrations take place every year in New Orleans, Louisiana... (read more)
MOROCCAN HOSPITALITY - A TALE OF TEA
Level 8 | 200 Words | Reading | GAP FILL
Tea is central to Moroccan hospitality, but no one is sure about its history. Some Moroccans say they have been drinking the same tea for thousands of years... (read more)
LADYBIRDS TO THE RESCUE!
Level 8 | 650 Words | Reading
More than a hundred years ago in America, Californian orchards were nearly destroyed by a plague of thousands of tiny bugs called scale insects. These little sap-sucking creatures were attacking the orange trees... (read more)
GROWING AND HARVESTING CRANBERRIES
Level 8 | 275 Words
Cranberries are a little red fruit native to North America. Cranberries have a long history. Native Americans used them in ceremonies... (read more)
CHOOSING AND USING SMOKE ALARMS
Level 8 | 300 Words | Reading | Activities
A smoke alarm is a warning devicethat detects smoke at the earliest stages of a fire. If there is a fire somewhere in your home it sounds a piercing alarm... (read more)
SLEEP CYCLES
Level 8 | 350 Words | Reading | Activities
Stages of sleep were discovered in the 1950's and 1960's - when researchers recorded brain activity in sleepers all night long.... (read more)
SHOPPING FOR BARGAINS IN PARIS
Level 8 | 250 Words | Reading | Activities
The Vanves flea market in Paris, or Marche aux Puces de la Porte de Vanves as it is known in France, is a collector's paradise. This small, traditional, open-air market is one of the few places you will find open on Christmas Day... (read more)
Level 9 B2
MARTIN LUTHER KING
Level 9 | 500 Words | Reading | Activities
Martin Luther King was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1929. He was born into a religious family and his father was a preacher at a Baptist church... (read more)
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT NEW YORK
Level 9 | 500 Words
New York City is the most densely populated city in the United States of America. More than eight million people live within the city boundaries.... (read more)
THE PEACE CORPS
Level 9 | 500 Words
The Peace Corps is a volunteer force of Americans who take time out from their careers to work in developing countries... (read more)
THE HISTORY OF LIVERPOOL
Level 9 | 300 Words
Liverpool started as a tinyfishing village on the banks of the River Mersey almost 800 years ago. The city has seen many changes over the years to become the busy, successful place it istoday... (read more)
ALL ABOUT PUMPKINS
Level 9 | 500 Words
Pumpkins are gourds, and belong to the squash family. They are related to melons, and they are a fruit rather than a vegetable. Squashes are one of the world's oldest crops... (read more)
VALENTINE'S DAY
Level 9 | 450 Words
Valentine's Day has its roots in several different legends that have found their way to us through the ages.One of the earliest popular symbols of the day is Cupid... (read more)
THE BELTANE FIRE FESTIVAL
Level 9 | 350 Words
Beltane is an ancient Celtic fire festival, which takes place on the first of May. Beltane was widely celebrated until the 18th century in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. In recent years... (read more)
KEEPING FISH AS PETS
Level 9 | 425 Words
Keeping fish to look at and admire is nothing new. People in China bred fish for decorative purposes well over a thousand years ago... (read more)
Level 10 B2/C1
JAMAICA
Level 10 | 350 Words | Reading | Activities
Jamaica is one of the most beautiful islands in the world, attracting thousands of visitors throughout the year..... (read more)
SEA ICE
Level 10 | 525 Words
Sea ice is found in remote polar oceans. On average, sea ice covers about 25 million square kilometres (9,652,553 square miles) of the earth, or about two-and-a-half times the area of Canada... (read more)
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Level 10 | 300 Words
British director Danny Boyle's film Slumdog Millionaire is an acclaimed feelgood movie set in the slums of Mumbai, India.... (read more)
HEDGEHOGS IN YOUR GARDEN
Level 10 | 300 Words
Gardens with a lot of cover offer ideal homes for hedgehogs. They are very useful animals to have around as they consume large quantities of snails and slugs... (read more)
THE CHINESE NEW YEAR
Level 10 | 600 Words
GUNG HAY FAT CHOY! This is the Chinese greeting for the New Year; it means, 'Wishing you luck and prosperity'. The New Year is one of the most important and festive Chinese holidays.... (read more)
AMY WINEHOUSE
Level 10 | 125 Words | Reading | Activities
Level 11 C1
THE CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL
Level 11 | 175 Words | Reading | Activities
The blooming of the cherry trees in Washington, D.C. is an annual tradition which has come to symbolize the natural beauty of America's capital city... (read more)
AMERICA'S NATIONAL PARKS
Level 11 | 300 Words
National parks are protected areas of natural beauty. The first national park in the United States of America, Yellowstone, was established in 1872... (read more)
STUDYING THE UNIVERSE
Level 11 | 200 Words
Cosmologists study the universe: its birth, growth, shape, size and eventual fate. The vast scale of the universe became clear in the 1920s when Edwin Hubble proved that "spiral nebulae" are actually other galaxies... (read more)
THE REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA
Level 11 | 250 Words
Colombia is the fourth largest country in South America and the only one with coasts on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Colombia shares borders with Panama... (read more)
Level 12 C1/C2
THE MAP THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
Level 12 | 200 Words
Two hundred years ago, the geology of an entire country came to life for the first time. The creation of a map which gave an unprecedented view of the UK by showing the distribution of rock types in vivid colour.... (read more)
THE FREEGAN MOVEMENT
Level 12 | 200 Words
A freegan is someone who only eats food obtained for free. The freegan lifestyle involves salvaging discarded food that is still edible and nutritious... (read more)
MARATHONS
Level 12 | 200 Words
A marathon is a popular long distance road race, which requires a lot of effort to complete. A marathon covers a very long distance... (read more)
Level 13 C2 +
CORAL REEF ECOSYSTEMS
Level 13 | 375 Words
The Earth's coral reefs teem with diverse forms of life, from tiny, microscopic phytoplankton to giant whale sharks. As much as one quarter of all ocean species depend on coral reefs for food or shelter... (read more)
STONE AGE TOOLS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE
Level 13 | 475 Words
A couple of million years ago our ancient human ancestors created the world's first tools when they broke some rocks into sharp pieces so that they could slice apart and butcher animals for food... (read more)
ALAN TURING AND THE ENIGMA CODE
Level 13 | 425 Words
The English mathematician, logician, and codebreaker Alan Turing was a computer pioneer. Often remembered for his contributions to the fields of artificial intelligence and modern computer science... (read more)
PROTECTING ENDANGERED SEABIRDS WITH TECHNOLOGY
Level 13 | 425 Words
Have you ever visited a beach and wondered where the waves carry all that sand? On a college camping trip, curiosity about waves and sand sparked Rob Thieler's desire to study shorelines around the world... (read more)
KEW GARDENS
Level 13 | 375 Words | Reading | Activities
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually known as Kew Gardens, in Richmond upon Thames is a major London tourist attraction and a UNESCO Word Heritage site...... (read more)
