Topical Reading Comprehension
12th February 2025
First Day at University (with answers)
I have found that another easy-to-teach topic is a student’s first day at university. This is a an experience that university students can identify with and works smoothly in the classroom.
The Weekend Market (with answers)
This is an English language reading comprehension worksheet about a visit to a weekend market. It is an experience that almost every student in the world can relate to and so it’s extremely suitable for an English language class.
Inventing a mRNA vaccine to save the world
Katalin Kariko and the story of mRNA
This is a reading comprehension exercise about the people who invented a vaccine for the coronavirus.
Inventing an mRNA vaccine (PDF)
Learning a New Language
Learning a new language has a lot of benefits for the learner.
The Intern
This is a reading/listening comprehension exercise about a day in the life of an intern and contrasts it with university life.
Shein: the Best, and Worst, of Fast Fashion
The fast fashion industry has become quite topical recently. I think it’s really interesting on many levels. I hope the vocabulary in this exercise is not too difficult but it’s unavoidable with a topic like this.
The Experiment
This is a reading exercise about a scientist or researcher conducting an experiment in a lab. It’s great for any kind of medical/science students learning English, but I think it’s good for English language learners generally.
The History of the T-shirt
The t-shirt is one of those topics that just about everyone can relate to.
A Day in the Life of an Online Shopper
A fairly elementary reading comprehension exercise about an online shopper.
High School vs University
This reading exercise focuses on the differences between high school students and university students.
High School vs University (PDF)
Air Tags
This is a reading comprehension about Apple’s latest innovation, Air Tags.
Christiane Amanpour
This reading worksheet is about the journalist Christiane Amanpour.
Autonomous Vehicles
The arrival of autonomous vehicles is a topical issue of our times. It’s a great way to to engage in a discussion about the impacts of new technologies.
Autonomous vehicles reading comprehension (PDF)
San Francisco – a Tale of a City
his is a reading/listening comprehension exercise about a bellwether city, San Francisco. It’s a more advanced reading exercise focusing on social issues related to the development of cities and technology in the 21st century.
