B2 — Reading to Analyze
Opinion articles, reports, essays, longer nonfiction and cultural analysis. 10 original texts, each with vocabulary, key expressions, a reading strategy, and questions with explanations.
Skills at this level: Inference · Author's attitude & tone · Argument & evidence · Implied meaning · Organization · Writer's purpose
The Case for a Four-Day Week
An opinion article argues that the five-day week is overdue for retirement. (Opinion Articles · ~2 min · ●●● Challenge)
OpenCities Are Getting Greener
A report on how American cities are planting their way to cooler streets. (Reports · ~2 min · ●●○ Steady)
OpenIn Praise of Boredom
An essay in defense of doing nothing — and the wandering mind it sets free. (Essays · ~2 min · ●●● Challenge)
OpenThe Rise of Urban Gardens
Empty lots are turning into gardens across America's cities. A look at why. (Longer Nonfiction · ~2 min · ●●○ Steady)
OpenThanksgiving in America
Turkey, travel, football, and gratitude: what Thanksgiving means in the United States today. (Cultural Articles · ~2 min · ●●○ Steady)
OpenReading the Market: Small Business in a Changing City
Coffee shops multiply, bookstores return, rents climb. An analysis of what the numbers mean. (Analytical Texts · ~2 min · ●●● Challenge)
OpenShould Cash Disappear?
Cards and phones are winning. A writer argues that paper money still has one essential job. (Opinion Articles · ~2 min · ●●● Challenge)
OpenThe Science of Sleep
Why teenagers are not lazy, why memory needs the night, and what schools changed. (Longer Nonfiction · ~2 min · ●●○ Steady)
OpenThe New Museum on the River
A review of the city's new art museum: a glorious building, one weak café, and a line out the door. (Cultural Articles · ~2 min · ●●○ Steady)
OpenThe Quiet Comeback of Vinyl
Young listeners are buying a technology their grandparents threw away. The reason is not the sound. (Cultural Articles · ~2 min · ●●● Challenge)
Open