books

Playing Global Business on a Level Field

B2-Intermediate+Biz BNC Levels CEFR Levels Listen!Protected Step 3 Stories March 9, 2020 0

ReadOasis Step 3 A Review of The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century By Thomas L. Friedman. We are entering a new era where the world is one massive marketplace. Old powers had the advantage, but the playing field is leveling now. New powers are... Read more

Big Thinkers Win (Step 3)

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Protected Step 3 Stories March 7, 2020 0

ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 1) George turned over in bed and covered his head with a pillow. The alarm clock had been ringing on and off for a long time. It was noisy. The neighbors could hear it through the walls. George finally opened his eyes and looked at... Read more

Making Work Fun: The Levity Effect

B1-Intermediate Biz BNC Levels CEFR Levels Public Step 3 Stories Top Picks March 4, 2020 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 responded with great enthusiasm. “Sir, your search ends here! I’m the one. In... Read more

Be a Starter: Poke the Box

A3-Beginner++Biz BNC Levels CEFR Levels Protected Step 3 Stories Top Picks February 24, 2020 0

ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 1) I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it. Pablo Picasso, Artist. It is a basic secret of success. To get skill, we need to do new things. Depending on the task, doing something... Read more

The Rules of Elite Success

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Protected Sciences Step 2 Stories Top Picks February 17, 2020 1

ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) The computer sat in a funny little room at the Lakeside School in Seattle. It was a gift from the Mother’s Club. Costing $3,000, it was expensive at the time. But the mothers wanted the students to have a computer so they could have... Read more

Making Work Fun: The Levity Effect (Step 2)

A3-Beginner++Biz Biz Step 2B BNC Levels CEFR Levels Courses Protected Step 2 Stories Top Picks January 6, 2020 1

ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) 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... Read more

Meaning to Live (Step 2)

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Protected Step 2 Stories December 2, 2019 1

ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) Viktor had just married Tilly. She was the love of his life. He was a young doctor in Vienna, Austria. And Viktor and Tilly should have expected a bright future together. But Nazi Germany was in control of Austria, and Viktor and Tilly were... Read more

Unforgettable Communication

B1-Intermediate BNC Levels CEFR Levels Listen!Protected Step 3 Stories Styles December 2, 2019 1

ReadOasis Step 3 You are in class. The teacher is speaking, but you only hear noise, like hot air and wind. We often hear, and sadly speak, boring ideas. But can we learn to communicate successful and unforgettable ideas? Authors Chip and Dan Heath wrote the book, “Made to... Read more

Themes of A Christmas Carol

Arts BNC Levels C1-Advanced CEFR Levels Listen!Protected Step 5 Stories October 23, 2019 1

ReadOasis Step 5 "Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster." This is the... Read more

Newspeak and 1984

Arts B2-Intermediate+BNC Levels CEFR Levels Protected Step 3 Stories July 29, 2019 3

ReadOasis Step 3 Winston is an editor. Every day he works with words. His hands are soft, and he is not strong. He does not do hard physical labor. But his job is challenging and even dangerous. He works for the government of Oceania. Every day, he rewrites history.... Read more

Culture of Innovation (Step 3)

B3-Intermediate++BNC Levels CEFR Levels Ideas Protected Step 3 Stories Top Picks July 19, 2019 0

ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 1) It was 5 o’clock on a warm summer evening in July 2008. In a busy part of Tokyo, people were leaving their places of work. Some were going home, and others were going out to enjoy the nightlife. It was an ordinary night. But... Read more

The Old Man and the Sea

Arts B2-Intermediate+BNC Levels CEFR Levels Listen!Protected Step 2 Stories July 1, 2019 12

ReadOasis Step 2 An old man was fishing alone in a small boat. He was off the coast of Cuba near the town of Cabanas. He hooked a marlin, a great fish with a long, sharp spear for a nose. The powerful fish pulled the small boat out to... Read more

How to Know if a Book’s Level is Right for You

A3-Beginner++BNC Levels CEFR Levels Protected Step 1 Stories Styles June 27, 2019 6

By Randall Short ReadOasis Step 1 At ReadOasis, you can read lots of short stories. Short stories are great because you can read to the end without stopping. You may keep on reading even if the words are difficult and the story is hard to understand. You know that... Read more

A Sentimental Imagination

Arts B3-Intermediate++BNC Levels CEFR Levels Listen!Protected Step 3 Stories June 26, 2019 0

ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 1) I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. Charles Dickens (1786-1851) Most people know Charles Dickens for his famous ghost story: A Christmas Carol. But many people don’t realize that Dickens was the most notable English author of the... Read more

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Arts B2-Intermediate+BNC Levels CEFR Levels Listen!Protected Step 3 Stories June 13, 2019 0

ReadOasis Step 3 We are far into "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" when Albus Dumbledore says, "Dark and difficult times lie ahead." But they lie behind us too. And these dark and difficult times have caught our imagination since the beginning of Harry Potter. But this fourth... Read more

Music as Medicine

B2-Intermediate+BNC Levels CEFR Levels Courses Invention Step 3A Listen!Music Step 3A Protected Sciences Step 3 Stories Top Picks June 11, 2019 2

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

Be a Starter: Poke the Box

A3-Beginner++Biz BNC Levels CEFR Levels Protected Step 3 Stories Top Picks August 9, 2015 0

ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 2) Seth Godin is a starter. He has written many best-sellers and founded many companies. He has also created many famous marketing concepts. Business Week Magazine has said this about him: He “may be the ultimate entrepreneur for the Information Age.” On his own site,... Read more

Be a Starter: Poke the Box

A3-Beginner++Biz BNC Levels CEFR Levels Protected Step 3 Stories Top Picks August 9, 2015 0

ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 3) The great author and humorist Mark Twain was known for his many sayings. And he said something like this. In 20 years, you will be more disappointed by what you didn’t do than by what you did do. Sail away from the safe harbor,... Read more

Making Work Fun: The Levity Effect (Step 3)

B1-Intermediate Biz BNC Levels CEFR Levels Protected Step 3 Stories Top Picks August 9, 2015 0

ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 2) Let’s contrast this fun with the reality of the workplace. The New York Times has reported that 25% of American workers have cried because of stress at work. Almost half the workers in the U.S. say this. The office is a place of “verbal... Read more

A Sentimental Imagination

Arts B3-Intermediate++BNC Levels CEFR Levels Listen!Protected Step 3 Stories October 1, 2013 1

ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 2) A Christmas Carol is full of dramatic, appealing, or memorable personalities: Tiny Tim, the Christmas Ghosts, and Ebenezer Scrooge. These characters have become classic images in Western literature and culture. The story shows the powerful emotions that Christmas can bring. But it was written... Read more