This modern story is written in simple English and talks about a young lady who dreads (thinks about with anxiety or fear) going to her family’s annual reunion barbecue.
 
Sample Vocabulary:
 
Vegetarian — Someone who doesn’t eat meat.
 
Have you heard the word vegan?
 
Vegan — A vegan is also a vegetarian but a stricter one.
 
So what’s the difference between a vegetarian and a vegan?
 
vegetarian doesn’t eat meat but may be fine with eggs or dairy products such as milk and cheese.
 
vegan, however, doesn’t eat meat, eggs or dairy products, or use products that come from animals such as leather.
 
8. "Likable" (333 words)
 
In this very short English story, the writer describes how likable (easy to like) the character is.

The really interesting part is the many questions the writer asks about her personality.

Although the story is short, there are quite a few difficult words to understand here, so have a dictionary handy for this one.
 
Sample Vocabulary:
 
Why is the word "could" used in this sentence?
 
"These could be strangers, these could be people she loved…"
 
"Could" is a modal verb that shows possibility. The writer is referring to a group of people but is unsure who they are.

Here, the use of the word "could" shows that it’s possible they could be strangers, or family and friends.
 
9. "Miracles" (369 words)
 
This is a beautiful modern-day story that describes a group of children gathering around their father to watch little spiders hatch out of their eggs.

But the story gets a different meaning as it nears the end. What do you think happened?
 
Sample Vocabulary:
 
To put our noses to it (the jar) — To come up so close to the jar that your nose is almost touching it.

取消订阅