Top Picks | ReadOasis

Slower is Faster

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ReadOasis Step 1(Part 1) Bill was walking slowly to class. He always walked slowly. He wore thick glasses, and it was hard for him to see far ahead. He didn’t want to trip and fall. It’s better to be safe than sorry, he thought. Safe was good, but Bill... Read more

Music as Medicine

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ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 1) You are watching TV. On the screen, you see the two strong hands of a man. In his left hand, he holds a book of matches. In his right hand, he holds a single match. With his right hand, he strikes the match on... Read more

Making Work Fun: The Levity Effect (Step 3)

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ReadOasis Step 3 A manager at a company was interviewing a job candidate. The manager said, “We need a very responsible person for this job. We need someone who can take charge.” The candidate’s eyes lit up, and he responded with great enthusiasm. “Sir, your search ends here! I’m... Read more

Einstein Equals Genius

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ReadOasis Step 4 (Part 1) Albert’s father pulled the compass out of his pocket. He placed it on the table. The needle moved and then stopped, facing north as it always did. It was pulled by an invisible force, a magnetic field. For young Albert, the magnetic field that... Read more

The Trial of Galileo (Step 4)

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ReadOasis Step 4 (Part 1) Ideas on Trial Galileo was old, weak, and ill. But he had to make the 200 mile journey to Rome in the middle of winter. Why all this trouble? The leader of the Church, the Pope, demanded it. Galileo must go on trial for... Read more

A Small World of English

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Protected Step 2 Stories Top Picks Why Read Big 0

ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) Is it a small world after all? What do you think? Travellers easily move all around the world in the air. By the power of the Internet, a teacher in New Delhi meets face to face with a student in London. Through video link,... Read more

Experience Flow

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Courses Listen!Protected Sciences Sports Step 2A Step 2 Stories Top Picks 0

ReadOasis Step 2 Shaun White is a world famous snowboarder. Watch him slide down the pipe in slow motion. He goes up one side and flies into the air at an extreme height. Time stands still. Coming down, he gains speed and lands smoothly. Then he rises to the... Read more

The Boy Who Cried Wolf (Step 1)

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By Aesop ReadOasis Step 1 (Part 1) Illustration by Milo Winter The Boy was sleepy. It was not interesting staying in the fields all day and watching sheep. The sheep always did the same thing. They ate grass. They walked around, and they ate more grass. After that, they... Read more

The Science of Good (Step 3)

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ReadOasis Step 3(Part 1) President Clinton stood in front of the microphone. He took a breath and swallowed. Then he began his apology. He was not apologizing for being with another woman. Not yet. And he was not apologizing for a personal failure. Not this time. He was apologizing... Read more

A Coach for Life (Step 3)

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ReadOasis Step 3 The students stared at the lights on the scoreboard. Through their tears, the numbers were hard to see. They rubbed their eyes in disbelief. But the numbers still read Notre Dame - 71, UCLA - 70. It was impossible, even unbelievable. Between January 30, 1971, and... Read more

Lady Sings the Blues (Part 1)

Arts B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Courses Movies Step 2B Music Step 2A Protected Step 2 Stories Top Picks 1

ReadOasis Step 2 Southern trees bear strange fruit Blood on the leaves and blood at the root Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees These sad words open the song “Strange Fruit.” The song was written by Abel Meeropol, and it was... Read more

The Boy Who Cried Wolf (Step 2)

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By Aesop ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) Illustration by Milo Winter The Boy was bored. It was not interesting staying in the fields all day and watching sheep. The sheep always did the same thing. They ate grass. They walked around, and they ate more grass. After that, they... Read more

Photo Art: Composition (1 in a Series)

Arts B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Listen!Protected Step 2 Stories Top Picks 2

ReadOasis Step 2 Cameras and photos are everywhere today. For example, Flickr is a photo sharing site. People put thousands of photos on Flickr every minute. And some of these photos are excellent. The photographer Ansel Adams once said this. "You don't take a photograph, you make it." This... Read more

Genius for Melody

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ReadOasis Step 4 (Part 1) On June 2, 2010, President Barack Obama stood on a small stage in the White House. In the audience sat a mix of elite leaders and famous musicians. The President was about to give America’s highest award for popular music to Paul McCartney of the... Read more

The Last Leaf

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By O. Henry ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) Creative Commons Photo by Nephelim Many artists lived in the Greenwich Village area of New York. Two young women named Sue and Johnsy shared a studio apartment at the top of a three-story building. Johnsy's real name was Joanna. In November,... Read more

The Gift of the Magi

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By O. Henry ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. These pennies were saved one and two at a time. To save this money, she had to fight with the vegetable man, the meat man,... Read more

Are Lectures Effective? (Step 3)

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ReadOasis Step 3 The professor stood in front of the class. He put his notes on a tall stand. The stand was in the middle of the room, and the professor could move around behind it. As he faced the class, there were many windows on his right. On... Read more

Making Work Fun: The Levity Effect (Step 2)

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ReadOasis Step 2 A manager at a company was interviewing a job candidate. The manager said, “We need a very responsible person for this job. We need someone who can take charge.” The candidate’s eyes lit up, and he answered with great confidence. “Sir, your search ends here! I’m... Read more

The Gutenberg Revolution

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ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 1) Johannes Gutenberg was in trouble. He borrowed money from investors, but he was about to lose it. He promised to make a special kind of mirror and sell lots of them. The mirrors were unusual. It was said that they could capture the holy... Read more

Habit Power (Step 3)

A3-Beginner++BNC Levels CEFR Levels Listen!Protected Sciences Step 3 Stories Top Picks 1

ReadOasis Step 3 Will walked into the large office area and looked around. He was carrying a cup of coffee, and he spilled some on his hand. “Ouch!” he said. “That’s hot!” He looked around, but all the other workers were busy. They didn't even notice him. He walked over to... Read more