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Reading: emails, notices and short stories
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A short email
- Hi Tom, I'm sorry but I can't come to the cinema on Friday. My train arrives late. Can we go on Saturday instead? The 2 pm show? Let me know. — Ben
- Plans change in emails too. Catch the reason (the train) and the new plan (Saturday, 2 pm).
- Outcome: find the purpose, key details and limits of a short message. Start with present simple. Allow 50–70 minutes across sessions; the existing optional read-aloud clips do not turn this written sequence into a listening assessment.
Why can't Ben come to the cinema on Friday?
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“My train arrives late.”
What new plan does Ben suggest?
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“Can we go on Saturday instead? The 2 pm show?”
Translate into English: 我们改到周六好吗?
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instead = the new plan, not the old one.
Hi Tom, I'm sorry but I can't come to the cinema on Friday. My train arrives late. Can we go on Saturday instead? The 2 pm show? Let me know. — Ben
Has Tom agreed to the Saturday cinema plan in the email?
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Ben asks Can we go…? and Let me know. That is a suggestion awaiting a reply, not evidence that Tom accepts or refuses it.
A notice
- GARAGE SALE — Saturday 10 am–2 pm, 14 Park Street. Books, clothes, toys. Everything under five pounds.
- A notice answers five questions fast: what, when, where, what is on offer, how much.
- under five pounds = less than five pounds.
True or false? Everything at the garage sale costs more than five pounds.
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“Everything UNDER five pounds” — under means less than.
Complete the address: The garage sale is at 14 ___ Street.
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“14 Park Street.”
GARAGE SALE — Saturday 10 am–2 pm, 14 Park Street. Books, clothes, toys. Everything under five pounds.
Could an item cost exactly five pounds and still meet “Everything under five pounds”?
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Under five means less than five. A price of £4.50 fits; £5 does not. Check the boundary word, not only the number.
A short story
- Last year, Anna moved to a new city. She didn't know anyone. One day, a neighbour brought her some homemade bread. They talked for an hour. Now they are best friends.
- Stories move through time: last year → one day → now. Follow the tense change.
What did the neighbour bring Anna?
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“A neighbour brought her some homemade bread.”
Last year, Anna moved to a new city. She didn't know anyone. One day, a neighbour brought her some homemade bread. They talked for an hour. Now they are best friends.
Which claim about Anna is supported by the story?
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Now they are best friends supports the current friendship. The story does not give daily visits or a friendship before the move.
Instructions in order
- How to make a cup of tea: First, boil the water. Then, put a tea bag in a cup. Next, add the hot water. Wait three minutes. Finally, add milk if you like.
- Instruction words keep the order clear: First, Then, Next, Finally.
Match each sequence word to its place in the instructions.
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First → Then → Next → Finally keeps the steps in order.
How to make a cup of tea: First, boil the water. Then, put a tea bag in a cup. Next, add the hot water. Wait three minutes. Finally, add milk if you like.
What do the tea instructions say about adding milk?
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If you like makes milk optional, and finally places that option at the end. Do not turn a condition into a requirement.
Read for purpose, then check the words
- Ask what the writer wants the reader to know or do. Text type gives a useful starting point, but the actual wording decides the answer. Read the surrounding sentence before choosing.
- Find the evidence for who, where, when, why or what next, then check words such as under, before, if and instead. You can sometimes infer an unfamiliar word from context, but check uncertainty rather than assuming every word explains itself.
Email, notice, story or instructions?
Each text type has its own shape and its own questions.
Common traps
- Under five pounds means less than five, not exactly five. She didn't know anyone means she knew nobody; that interpretation is correct. Check the whole phrase instead of translating one word in isolation.
- Instead replaces part of a plan, but a suggested change may still need a reply. If you like makes the milk optional in these instructions; First, Then, Next, Finally identify the sequence.
Write a short email (3–4 lines) to a friend: you must change a plan. Give a reason and a new time.
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Example: “I'm sorry I can't come on Friday. I have to work late. Can we meet on Saturday at two?”
Worked contrasts: evidence and limits
- A proposal is not an agreement: Ben asks about Saturday at 2 pm and says Let me know. That supports a suggested new plan, not Tom’s acceptance. A boundary matters: £4.80 is under £5; exactly £5 is not.
- Keep a condition: Add milk if you like permits tea without milk. Saying that everyone must add milk changes the instruction. After each answer, find the decisive words and explain why a plausible alternative adds or changes a fact.
A changed meeting
- Hi Eva, I can't meet you at the pool on Thursday because I have a dentist appointment. Could we meet at the library on Friday at four instead? Please reply before Wednesday evening. If Friday is difficult, tell me another day. — Mina
- Read this fresh English text and answer the questions before revealing feedback. Keep the text available as evidence; this is reading comprehension, not a memory test.
Hi Eva, I can't meet you at the pool on Thursday because I have a dentist appointment. Could we meet at the library on Friday at four instead? Please reply before Wednesday evening. If Friday is difficult, tell me another day. — Mina
Why does Mina write?
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Could we meet…instead? proposes a replacement meeting. Mina asks Eva to reply, so acceptance has not been given.
Hi Eva, I can't meet you at the pool on Thursday because I have a dentist appointment. Could we meet at the library on Friday at four instead? Please reply before Wednesday evening. If Friday is difficult, tell me another day. — Mina
Where does Mina suggest meeting on Friday?
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The proposed Friday meeting is at the library. The pool belongs to the Thursday plan, and the dentist appointment explains the change.
Hi Eva, I can't meet you at the pool on Thursday because I have a dentist appointment. Could we meet at the library on Friday at four instead? Please reply before Wednesday evening. If Friday is difficult, tell me another day. — Mina
By when does Mina ask Eva to reply?
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Please reply before Wednesday evening gives the reply deadline. Friday at four is the suggested meeting time, not the reply deadline.
Hi Eva, I can't meet you at the pool on Thursday because I have a dentist appointment. Could we meet at the library on Friday at four instead? Please reply before Wednesday evening. If Friday is difficult, tell me another day. — Mina
Which fact is still unknown?
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If Friday is difficult… leaves Eva’s availability open. The appointment and the proposed library location are both stated.
A repair-table notice
- REPAIR TABLE — Sunday, 11 am–1 pm, Room 3. Bring one small broken item. Help is free, but you pay for any new parts. Arrive before noon to join the queue. We cannot repair phones. No booking needed.
- Read this fresh English text and answer the questions before revealing feedback. Keep the text available as evidence; this is reading comprehension, not a memory test.
REPAIR TABLE — Sunday, 11 am–1 pm, Room 3. Bring one small broken item. Help is free, but you pay for any new parts. Arrive before noon to join the queue. We cannot repair phones. No booking needed.
Which cost statement matches the notice?
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Help is free is qualified by you pay for any new parts. The notice does not state a separate queue fee.
REPAIR TABLE — Sunday, 11 am–1 pm, Room 3. Bring one small broken item. Help is free, but you pay for any new parts. Arrive before noon to join the queue. We cannot repair phones. No booking needed.
You arrive at 12:30 pm. What rule matters for joining the queue?
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The event ends at 1 pm, but the queue arrival rule is before noon. An end time and an entry deadline can differ; no booking is needed.
REPAIR TABLE — Sunday, 11 am–1 pm, Room 3. Bring one small broken item. Help is free, but you pay for any new parts. Arrive before noon to join the queue. We cannot repair phones. No booking needed.
Which item is explicitly excluded?
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We cannot repair phones is an explicit exclusion. A lamp or radio is not named as excluded, though the notice does not guarantee every repair.
REPAIR TABLE — Sunday, 11 am–1 pm, Room 3. Bring one small broken item. Help is free, but you pay for any new parts. Arrive before noon to join the queue. We cannot repair phones. No booking needed.
Does the notice guarantee that every permitted item will be repaired?
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Free help and a queue deadline do not promise a successful repair. Do not turn conditions for attending into an outcome guarantee.
A small change at the market
- On Monday, Eli forgot his shopping bag. A stallholder lent him a cloth bag and asked him to return it the next week. Eli took it back the following Monday with a thank-you note. The stallholder smiled and put the note beside the till.
- Read this fresh English text and answer the questions before revealing feedback. Keep the text available as evidence; this is reading comprehension, not a memory test.
On Monday, Eli forgot his shopping bag. A stallholder lent him a cloth bag and asked him to return it the next week. Eli took it back the following Monday with a thank-you note. The stallholder smiled and put the note beside the till.
What happened before Eli received the cloth bag?
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Forgetting his own bag creates the need for the loan. Returning the borrowed bag and giving the note happen the following Monday.
On Monday, Eli forgot his shopping bag. A stallholder lent him a cloth bag and asked him to return it the next week. Eli took it back the following Monday with a thank-you note. The stallholder smiled and put the note beside the till.
Was the cloth bag described as a gift for Eli to keep?
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Lent and asked him to return it describe a loan. The note expresses thanks; the text does not call it payment or transfer ownership.
On Monday, Eli forgot his shopping bag. A stallholder lent him a cloth bag and asked him to return it the next week. Eli took it back the following Monday with a thank-you note. The stallholder smiled and put the note beside the till.
When did Eli return the cloth bag?
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The following Monday places the return one week after the first Monday. It is not the same day or the next day.
On Monday, Eli forgot his shopping bag. A stallholder lent him a cloth bag and asked him to return it the next week. Eli took it back the following Monday with a thank-you note. The stallholder smiled and put the note beside the till.
Which statement stays closest to the evidence?
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The smile is stated. Daily shopping and a claim about the stallholder’s whole past are not given; a pleasant ending does not prove them.
Preparing a seed pot
- To start the seeds, put dry soil in the pot. Make two small holes and put one seed in each hole. Cover the seeds with a little soil, then add water. Keep the pot beside a window. Add a label if you are growing more than one kind of seed.
- Read this fresh English text and answer the questions before revealing feedback. Keep the text available as evidence; this is reading comprehension, not a memory test.
To start the seeds, put dry soil in the pot. Make two small holes and put one seed in each hole. Cover the seeds with a little soil, then add water. Keep the pot beside a window. Add a label if you are growing more than one kind of seed.
What comes immediately before adding water?
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Cover the seeds…, then add water gives the immediate order. The window instruction comes later; labelling depends on the stated condition.
To start the seeds, put dry soil in the pot. Make two small holes and put one seed in each hole. Cover the seeds with a little soil, then add water. Keep the pot beside a window. Add a label if you are growing more than one kind of seed.
How many seeds do these instructions put in the pot?
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Two holes with one seed in each gives two seeds. Read both the number of holes and the amount per hole.
To start the seeds, put dry soil in the pot. Make two small holes and put one seed in each hole. Cover the seeds with a little soil, then add water. Keep the pot beside a window. Add a label if you are growing more than one kind of seed.
When do the instructions ask you to add a label?
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If you are growing more than one kind of seed supplies the condition. The instructions do not say to wait for full growth or require a label in every case.
To start the seeds, put dry soil in the pot. Make two small holes and put one seed in each hole. Cover the seeds with a little soil, then add water. Keep the pot beside a window. Add a label if you are growing more than one kind of seed.
Which detail is not specified?
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No growth duration is given. Beside a window supplies the place, and then supplies the cover-before-water order.
A shared-kitchen message
- Kitchen message, Tuesday: The small fridge is being cleaned today. Please put your lunch in the large fridge beside the door. Write your name on the box. Take your food home tonight. You can use the small fridge again tomorrow morning.
- Read this fresh English text and answer the questions before revealing feedback. Keep the text available as evidence; this is reading comprehension, not a memory test.
Kitchen message, Tuesday: The small fridge is being cleaned today. Please put your lunch in the large fridge beside the door. Write your name on the box. Take your food home tonight. You can use the small fridge again tomorrow morning.
Why does the message ask people to use the large fridge?
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The message names today’s cleaning as the reason. Tomorrow’s permission to use the small fridge contradicts a permanent removal claim.
Kitchen message, Tuesday: The small fridge is being cleaned today. Please put your lunch in the large fridge beside the door. Write your name on the box. Take your food home tonight. You can use the small fridge again tomorrow morning.
Where is the large fridge?
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Beside the door gives the location directly. Neither a window nor a fridge inside another fridge is stated.
Kitchen message, Tuesday: The small fridge is being cleaned today. Please put your lunch in the large fridge beside the door. Write your name on the box. Take your food home tonight. You can use the small fridge again tomorrow morning.
What should people do with their food tonight?
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Take your food home tonight is explicit. The small fridge becomes usable tomorrow morning, not tonight.
Kitchen message, Tuesday: The small fridge is being cleaned today. Please put your lunch in the large fridge beside the door. Write your name on the box. Take your food home tonight. You can use the small fridge again tomorrow morning.
The message was written on Tuesday. When can the small fridge be used again?
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Tomorrow morning after Tuesday is Wednesday morning. Keep the message date and the relative-time word together.
Transfer: a new club notice
- Tool club — new visitors must arrive before four. The session runs until five. Entry is free; there is a charge for borrowing a tool.
- Answer the checks, then write an English summary from the notice. Separate the arrival limit, the end time, the payment condition and facts the notice does not give.
Tool club — new visitors must arrive before four. The session runs until five. Entry is free; there is a charge for borrowing a tool.
The club notice says the session runs until five, but new visitors must arrive before four. Is arriving at 4:30 enough to meet the new-visitor rule?
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Before four is the specific new-visitor condition. The five o’clock finish does not replace that deadline.
Tool club — new visitors must arrive before four. The session runs until five. Entry is free; there is a charge for borrowing a tool.
Does “Free entry; there is a charge for borrowing a tool” mean everyone must pay?
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Free entry applies to attending. A charge for borrowing a tool makes that payment conditional, not a charge for every visitor.
Tool club — new visitors must arrive before four. The session runs until five. Entry is free; there is a charge for borrowing a tool.
From the club notice, write two or three English sentences for a new visitor. State the arrival deadline and the payment condition. Then name one thing the notice does not tell you. Compare and revise your actual wording.
Use the text as evidence, compare your English summary and revise one actual mismatch. A self-review does not award correctness or certify reading or writing proficiency.
Return later: another changed meeting
- Hi Sam, we planned to meet in Room 8 at 2 pm. The lift is not working. Could we use the downstairs room instead? The time stays the same. Please reply before lunch. — Nia
- Tomorrow, before rereading the worked examples, try this fresh message and explain the evidence. Next: present perfect, change a plan politely or notes, signs and messages. A written self-review does not certify proficiency.
Hi Sam, we planned to meet in Room 8 at 2 pm. The lift is not working. Could we use the downstairs room instead? The time stays the same. Please reply before lunch. — Nia
In the later message, is the room change already accepted by Sam?
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Could we…? asks for a response. Neither acceptance nor refusal appears; a proposed change is not proof of agreement.
Hi Sam, we planned to meet in Room 8 at 2 pm. The lift is not working. Could we use the downstairs room instead? The time stays the same. Please reply before lunch. — Nia
Which part of the later meeting does Nia explicitly keep the same?
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The time stays the same refers back to 2 pm. The room is the proposed change, and a reason is given rather than kept or rescheduled.
Hi Sam, we planned to meet in Room 8 at 2 pm. The lift is not working. Could we use the downstairs room instead? The time stays the same. Please reply before lunch. — Nia
Later recall: read Nia’s new message, then write two English sentences. State the proposed room and the unchanged time; say whether Sam has agreed. Give the words that support your judgement. Compare and revise.
Use the text as evidence, compare your English summary and revise one actual mismatch. A self-review does not award correctness or certify reading or writing proficiency.