Stories to practice English

1.    She Catches the Train

She gets dressed. She grabs her purse. She leaves her apartment. She goes downstairs. She walks out of the building. She walks one block west. She arrives at the subway station. She walks down the stairs. She goes through the turnstile. She walks down some more stairs. She waits on the platform for her train.

2.    She Sells Mangoes

She stands on the sidewalk. She stands behind a small table. She peels a mango. She slices it. She puts it into a plastic cup. There are five cups on the table. They are for sale. One cup costs two dollars. A man stops. He buys a cup for two dollars.

3.    She Makes Coffee

She opens the bag of coffee beans. She pours some beans into the grinder. She puts the lid back on top of the grinder. She turns on the grinder. She grinds the beans for 10 seconds. She removes the lid. She pours the ground beans into a paper filter. She boils some water.

4.    A Good Book for a Rainy Day

He looks out the window. The sky is gray. Leaves fall from the trees. Paper flies through the air. It is windy. He goes back to his book. He hears raindrops. He looks out the window again. He sees the rain. He closes the window. He goes back to his book.

5.    He Waters the Plant

He looks at the plant. It is in a pot. The plant looks dry. Its leaves droop. It needs water. He picks up the pot. He carries it to the kitchen. He fills a glass with water. He pours the water into the pot. He puts the plant back on his desk

6. She Makes the Bed

She takes the dirty sheet off the bed. She takes the dirty pillowcases off the pillows. She puts a clean sheet on the bed. She puts clean pillowcases on the pillows. She puts the blanket on the bed. She puts the dirty sheet and pillowcases into the laundry basket. She goes into the next bedroom.

7.    He Takes a Shower

He turns on the hot water faucet. He turns on the cold water faucet. He tests the water temperature. The water is the right temperature. He pulls open the shower curtain. He steps into the tub. He pulls the curtain closed. He grabs a bar of soap. He rubs the soap between his hands.

8.       He Thinks About Bad Things

His mind controls his thoughts. His mind thinks about negative things. His mind thinks about past insults. His mind thinks about his bad decisions. His mind thinks about rude people. His mind thinks about all the bad things in his life. His mind never thinks about the good people and the good things in his life.

9.Try to Sleep

Norma went to bed. It was eleven o'clock. She turned out the light. She lay in bed. It was dark. It was quiet. She couldn't sleep. She closed her eyes. She tried to sleep, but she couldn't. She turned the light back on. She opened her book. She started to read her book. It was a good book. She read one page. Then she read another page. After a while, she felt sleepy. She closed the book. She turned out the light. She closed her eyes. She went straight to sleep.

10. Cold Weather

Thomas was not hot. He was not warm either. He was cold. The weather was not hot. The weather was not warm either. The weather was cold. Thomas did not like to be cold. He looked for his jacket. He found his jacket. He put on his jacket. But he was still cold. He looked at the windows. Were all the windows closed? Yes, they were. They were all closed. None of the windows were open. He looked at the door. The door wasn't open. It was closed. He was still cold. He looked for a warmer jacket

11. in Love

Donna loved her husband. Her husband loved Donna. They were in love with each other. She wanted to give him a birthday present. He was going to be 40 years old next week. She wondered what to give him. Should she give him a watch? Should she give him a sweater? Should she give him a new guitar? What should she give him? She asked him what he wanted for his birthday. He said he didn't want anything for his birthday. "Oh, you must want something!" she said. "You're right," he said. "I want your love forever."

12. Go to Work

Patricia did not have much time. It was time to go to work. She did not want to be late for work. She would lose her job if she was late. She finished her coffee. She drank the last drop. She put the coffee cup in the kitchen sink. She turned on the kitchen faucet. She poured water into the cup. She turned off the faucet. She picked up her keys. The keys were on the kitchen table. She grabbed her gray coat. Her gray coat was on the chair. The chair was next to the door. She walked outside. She locked her door with her house key.

13. Poor Dog

Jason looked at his watch. It was time for his favorite TV show. He turned on the TV. He sat down in his chair. But then he heard his dog. His dog was scratching at the door. Oh, no, Jason thought. The dog wanted to go out. The dog had to go to the bathroom. If he lived in a house, he could let the dog go out the door and into the yard. But he lived in an apartment. He didn't have a yard. He had to take the dog for a walk. But if he took the dog for a walk, he would miss his favorite TV show. The dog scratched at the door again. Jason turned off the TV.

14. Out of Food

He drove to the supermarket. He was out of food. He had no food in his refrigerator. He had no food in his cupboards. He needed to buy some food. He hoped he would find a sale. A sale would save him money. He walked into the supermarket. He walked over to the produce section. The apples were on sale. The bananas were on sale. It was his lucky day. He loved apples. He loved bananas. The apples were only one dollar a pound. The regular price was $2.50 a pound. The bananas were only 49 cents a pound. The regular price was 89 cents a pound. He bought four pounds of apples. He bought four pounds of bananas. Then he walked over to the dairy section. Maybe the milk was on sale, too.

15. He Will Work for Gas

Doug went to the gas station. "Can I have a job?" he asked. The owner said, "Maybe you can have a job. Can you count money? Can you put gas in a car?" "Yes," said Doug. "I can count money. I can put gas in a car. So, can I have a job?" "There is just one problem," said the owner. "I cannot pay you with money." "You cannot pay me with money?" asked Doug. "What good is that? What will you pay me with—bananas?" "No," said the owner. "I won't pay you with bananas. You aren't a monkey, are you? No, I will pay you with gasoline. I have lots of gasoline." "It's a deal. My car uses lots of gasoline," said Doug.

16. A Patient Mom

May called her mom. Her mom lived in China. China was far away. Her mom was 50 years old. Her mom had many friends. But she missed her daughter. May lived in America. She was a waitress. She was a waitress in a restaurant. It was a Chinese restaurant. "Guess what, Mama?" May asked. "I met a nice man." Her mom said she was happy. "Will you marry him?" she asked. She wanted May to marry. She wanted a grandson. She wanted a granddaughter. She wanted May to bring her children back to China. "Be patient," May said. "I only met him last month. But he's very nice." Her mom said, "Okay, I will be patient. But hurry up!"

17. A Wedding

"Tomorrow will be the best day of my life," Betty said. "Yes, it will be," said her mom. "I'm so happy for you. Paul is such a good man. He will make a great husband and father. And he's so nice. Your dad and I both love him." Betty met Paul after she broke her leg. She broke her leg skiing. Paul was the doctor who fixed her leg. He visited her every day in the hospital. Then he visited her at home. He brought her Get Well cards and gifts. They fell in love with each other. "I never thought a broken leg would be a good thing," Betty told her mom. "But it was the best thing that ever happened to you. Life is strange sometimes," her mom said. After Betty's leg healed, she and Paul started dating. They went to movies and restaurants. They went to the beach. They even went skiing. They were so happy together. One day Paul asked Betty to marry him. "Can we have lots of kids?" she asked. "Of course," he said. "But let ME teach them how to ski." They both laughed.