L2 – Pre-Intermediate

Stories for pre-intermediate level students, equivalent to CEFR B1.

The Shadow Club #8: Ready to Fight

31/08/2021 L2 - Pre-Intermediate

The door to the classroom opened, and we all turned around. Mr Burne stood there. Then he saw Bethany, who was still holding his notebook in the air like, well, like a weapon. She gasped, but it was like she couldn’t move. None of us could move. For a moment, I wondered if Mr Burne’s hair was going to fall out, or if he would shout at us. But he just walked over, took the notebook out of Bethany’s hands, and threw it in the bin.
‘Get out,’ he said. ‘Now.’

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The Shadow Club #7: A Group Project

17/08/2021 L2 - Pre-Intermediate

Later on, in history class, Mr Pearson announced we were going to do a group project, to prepare for our coursework. These teachers just wouldn’t give us a break, would they? I knew that we were in year 10, but it wasn’t like our exams were tomorrow!
‘You’ll be working in groups of four. Each group will choose a period of British history, and you’ll have to give a presentation describing the lives of ordinary people in that period. And no, Mr Marshall, you can’t write about cavemen.’

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The Shadow Club #6: Just a Stick

03/08/2021 L2 - Pre-Intermediate

‘Y-yeah, I… Oh no!’
He turned around suddenly, and started shaking with fear. I looked where he was looking, and there it was.
The shadow was long, tall and thin, like a snake standing on its tail.

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The Shadow Club #5: Bullies or Heroes?

20/07/2021 L2 - Pre-Intermediate

I did my best. If I didn’t know the answer to something, I just thought of my own name. I made some wonderful new elements: Rickium, Larrium and Maxium. I wasn’t going to get any marks for them, but at least I had some fun.
As soon as we came out of the exam hall, Max said, ‘So how did it go?’

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The Shadow Club #4: Hunting for Shadows

06/07/2021 L2 - Pre-Intermediate

‘Hey, what are you three losers up to?’
I turned around. Bethany was standing right next to us. She was the only girl in our team, and none of the other boys liked her very much. Sure, when we were on the field, we were a team, but it was strange when you were hanging out with other boys, and then suddenly there was a girl there. And she wasn’t like the other girls in our year, either.

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The Little Frog with the Big Mouth (Pre-Intermediate)

29/06/2021 L2 - Pre-Intermediate

One day, the Little Frog with the Big Mouth woke up and thought, ‘I don’t feel like eating flies today. I have eaten flies every day of my life. How about a change?’
But the Little Frog with the Big Mouth had never eaten anything else before. He didn’t know what other food there was. So he hopped through the forest to find other food.

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The Shadow Club #3: A Strange Kind of Club

22/06/2021 L2 - Pre-Intermediate

‘Shadows,’ said Max. ‘Let’s call them shadows. They’re all dark, and they change shape. Just like a shadow.’
‘Max,’ I said, ‘this isn’t a video game, you know.’
‘I know, but we’ve got to have a name for them.’
‘Ugh,’ I said. ‘Fine then. We’ll call them shadows.’

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The Shadow Club #2: Shadows and Lightning

15/06/2021 L2 - Pre-Intermediate

‘What’s up, Coach?’
‘Bad news, I’m afraid. Although the weather is lovely today, there’s a storm forecast for Saturday. A big one. A bit of rain might be OK, but a storm… Unless a miracle happens, I’m going to have to cancel the match.’
My stomach clenched again, and I felt like I was going to be sick.

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The Shadow Club #1: A Boring Life

08/06/2021 L2 - Pre-Intermediate

Jemima started hissing.
‘I agree, Jemima. He’s being a real—whoa!’
I turned around and saw why Jemima was so angry. Next to her, there was something. It was big and had lots of black hair, sharp teeth and claws. They made Jemima look like a mouse. The monster was moving slowly towards Max, and it looked hungry.

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Love Like Salt

25/05/2021 L2 - Pre-Intermediate

Satisfied, he asked the third daughter, ‘How much do you love me, my dear?’
The third daughter was more creative than the other two. She often got into trouble by saying clever things.
So she said, ‘I love you like fresh meat loves salt.’
Her father frowned. ‘You don’t love me at all!’ he cried. ‘Get out of my house.’
And so he threw her out of the house.
The girl cried and cried, but she had to find a way to live. So she walked until she reached a marsh. There, she took lots of long grass and made it into a cloak. The cloak covered her whole body, and hid her expensive clothes.

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