Short Stories for Adults3

21

MOLLY IS A WIDOW

A. Reading

Molly husband, Jake, died from cancer in 1991. He was sick for three years andwas unable to work. Jakes employer provided health insurance, but they still hadfinancial problems. Without Jakes income there was no way to pay all the bills, so theylost their house. Jake got a little money from disability insurance, and Molly workedpart-time at a fast food restaurant for minimum wage. After Jake died, she was able tocollect social security. It isnt much money, so she collects things and has garage sales.She makes enough to pay the rent. She doesnt have any children to help her.

B. True or False

1. ________ Jake died from cancer.

2. ________ The money from disability insurance was less than Jakes salary.

3. ________ Molly is poor.

4. ________ Molly became a widow in 1991.

5. ________ Molly is buying a house.

C. Yes or No Share Your Opinion

1. ________ Married women should have careers.

2. ________ Molly should get married again.

D. Writing What can Molly do to earn more money?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

22

WORKING IN NEW YORK CITY

A. Reading

Mai lives with her parents in New York City. Her parents own a Vietnameserestaurant called Flavors of Saigon. Mai helps her parents on the weekend. She servesfood to the customers and orders supplies for the restaurant. During the week, she worksas a teacher at an elementary school near her house. She usually grades papers in theevening. Mai works seven days a week. She doesnt own a car because parking isexpensive. When she wants to go someplace far, she takes a taxicab. Mai is savingmoney so she can buy a house. She has already saved $18,000.

B. True or False

1. ________ Mai owns a Vietnamese restaurant.

2. ________ Parking in New York City is expensive.

3. ________ On Wednesday, Mai teaches school.

4. ________ Mai works all week.

5. ________ There is an elementary school near her parents house.


1. ________ Mai should buy a car instead of a house.

2. ________ Its difficult to save money in the United States.

D. Writing Would you work seven days a week to buy a house?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

23

YOUNG AND IN LOVE

A. Reading

Craig and Jennifer are boyfriend and girlfriend. They spend all their free timetogether. They go to parks, museums, movies, and dinner. Sometimes they just hang outat Jennifers house and play pool or listen to music. When they cant be together, theycall each other on their cell phones. They talk for hours and hours. They always havesomething to say. Whenever Craig tells a joke, Jennifer always giggles. WheneverJennifer says something, Craig listens and agrees. Craig and Jennifer are young and inlove, but their parents think they are too young to be so serious about each other.

B. True or False

1. ________ Jennifer is Craigs boyfriend.

2. ________ Craig and Jennifer play pool and listen to music.

3. ________ When Jennifer says something, her boyfriend listens.

4. ________ Craig tells jokes that make Jennifer laugh.

5. ________ Craigs parents think he is too young to be so serious about Jennifer.


1. ________ Young people should date many people before getting serious.

2. ________ Craig and Jennifer are in love.

D. Writing Who was your first love? Describe him or her.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

24

Answer Key True/False

1. Buying a Used Car - p. 41. false 2. true 3. true 4. true 5. true

2. Community College - p. 51. true 2. false 3. false 4. true 5. true

3. Crimes Around Town - p.61. true 2. true 3. true 4. true 5. false

4. Dream Vacation - p. 71. true 2. false 3. false 4. true 5. false

5. Ednas On a Diet - p. 81. false 2. false 3. true 4. true 5. false

6. Good Neighbors - p. 91. true 2. false 3. true 4. true 5. false

7. Everyone Needs a Hobby p. 101. true 2. false 3. false 4. true 5. true

8. Messy Teenagers - p. 111. true 2. false 3. true 4. true 5. false

9. Miguel is a Runner - p. 121. true 2. true 3. false 4. false 5. false

10. Office with a View - p. 131. false 2. false 3. true 4. true 5. true

11. Problems at Work - p. 141. true 2. true 3. false 4. true 5. false

12. Recycling for Cash - p. 151. false 2. true 3. true 4. false 5. true

13. Robots Can Help Us - p. 161. true 2. true 3. true 4. false 5. true

14. Shipwrecked - p. 171. false 2. false 3. true 4. true 5. false

15. Volunteers - p. 181. true 2. true 3. true 4. true 5. false

16. Voting is a Civic Duty - p. 191. true 2. true 3. true 4. true 5. false

17. Walking the Dog - p. 201. false 2. true 3. false 4. true 5. false

18. Molly is a Widow - p. 211. true 2. true 3. true 4. true 5. false

19. Working in New York City - p. 221. false 2. true 3. true 4. true 5. true

20. Young and In Love - p. 231. false 2. true 3. true 4. true 5. true

25

PRINT & GO ESLReading Worksheets, Book 1Downloadable E-bookAvailable at http://www.elcivics.com

PRINT & GO ESLReading Worksheets

Short Stories for Adult Students Beginning Level

ESL Printable Online E-book Christina Niven, 2010 www.elcivics.com

Book2

2Print & Go ESL Reading Worksheets, Book 2 is an assortment ofreproducible worksheets for ESL teachers and students. The material isdesigned for beginning-level adults who are learning English. Worksheetsubjects include: gardening, education, food, cell phones, health,transportation, and feelings.

Worksheet Features FreeWeb site download, no need for paper backups Black and white pages that copy well Small easy-to-digest chunks of information Short one or two paragraph stories Clear subject/verb/object sentence structures Repetitive exercises to guarantee student success Four skill areas: reading, true/false, forming opinions, writing

Teaching Tips Preview the story by asking questions about the pictures. Pair students and have them read the stories aloud to each other. Conduct class surveys by tallying yes/no answers to Exercise C. Have students stand and share their written responses to Exercise D. Assign higher level students the task of writing a second paragraph for

each of the stories. Assign the worksheets as homework. Use the worksheets as a supplement to Distance Learning Classes.

Permission to Make Photocopies Download to Your Web SiteCopyright holder is licensing this eBook under the Creative Commonslicense, Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 3.0 -http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. You have permission toshare this eBook, post to your web site, print it, and pass it along to others,as long as you don't make any edits or changes to its contents or digitalformat. You do not have permission to sell it electronically or as a printedbook. If you do post it to your site, provide a link back tohttp://www.elcivics.com/ giving credit to the copyright holder. This eBookis available for free by visiting http://www.elcivics.com. Christina Niven,2010.

3PLANTING FLOWERS

A. Reading

Mrs. Mott and her granddaughter, Sally, are planting flowers in the garden. Mrs.Mott is using a trowel to dig small holes in the dirt. The holes are three inches deep andsix inches apart. After Mrs. Mott digs a hole, Sally puts a flower in it. The flowers are insmall plastic containers. Each container has dirt surrounding the roots of the plant. AfterMrs. Mott and Sally plant the flowers, they will water them with a garden hose. In a fewweeks the flowers will grow taller. When they are about eight inches tall, Mrs. Mott willcut them and put them in a vase. She will put the vase of flowers on her kitchen table.

B. True or False

1. ________ Mrs. Motts grandson is named Sally.

2. ________ Sally and her grandmother are planting flowers.

3. ________ The flowers came in small plastic containers.

4. ________ Mrs. Mott is wearing gloves.

5. ________ The holes for the flowers are six inches deep.


1. ________ I like to get flowers for my birthday.

2. ________ People who talk to plants are crazy.

D. Writing Do you prefer artificial plants or real plants? Why?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

4PREPARING FOR A TEST

A. Reading

Whitney and Dion are preparing for a Spanish test. Their teacher, Mr. Hidalgo, isgiving the test on Tuesday. The test will be on the vocabulary words in chapter two oftheir Spanish textbook. There will be fifty questions on the test. Each correct answer isworth two points. Students who get all the answers correct will get one-hundred points.Both Whitney and Dion want to get an A on the test. They wrote the vocabulary wordson index cards. They wrote the words in Spanish on one side of the index cards and inEnglish on the other side. Now, they are saying the words aloud.

B. True or False

1. ________ Whitney and Dion are students.

2. ________ Mr. Hidalgo is giving a Spanish test on Tuesday.

3. ________ Each test question is worth fifty points.

4. ________ Dion wants to get an A on the test.

5. ________ Whitney and Dion wrote the vocabulary words on index cards.


1. ________ Its good to study with a friend.

2. ________ Its easy for adults to learn a new language.

D. Writing How do you prepare for a test?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

5BANANA SPLITS

A. Reading

Banana splits taste delicious, and they are fast and easy to make. First, put ascoop of vanilla ice cream, a scoop of chocolate ice cream, and a scoop of strawberry icecream in an oval bowl. Then, pour strawberry, butterscotch, and pineapple syrup over thescoops of ice cream. Next, top each scoop of ice cream with whipped cream, choppednuts, and a cherry. Finally, peel a ripe banana and cut it in half lengthwise. Put thebanana halves on opposite sides of the bowl. Be sure to have plenty of napkins becausebanana splits are messy to eat.

B. True or False

1. ________ Banana splits are difficult to make.

2. ________ Boil the bananas before you cut them in half.

3. ________ After a banana is cut in half, it has four pieces.

4. ________ Syrup and ice cream come in various flavors.

5. ________ Banana splits are messy to eat.


1. ________ Vanilla is the best ice cream flavor.

2. ________ Banana splits are delicious.

D. Writing Are banana splits healthy or unhealthy? Why?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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Short Stories for Adults3