Hi Lang

I’m writing in English to practise. I’m sorry I didn’t answer your email. I started school the day after we arrived in
Boston and I’ve got too much work to do. I hate it here. I can’t understand what people are saying. The accent is
very strange.

I miss Shanghai and I miss playing in the band with you. I try to practise the guitar, but the neighbour who lives
opposite is angry because his daughter plays the violin and he said the noise disturbs her. I saw her staring out of
the window at me. I think she hates me too. She’s really beautiful...

Hey, I’ve got to stop. My mum just came back from work and I haven’t finished my homework.

Please write back soon. I want to hear about what you’re doing in London. Can you understand the accent?

Deshi

PS: I think I’m in love!

Deshi turned off the computer and opened his English book, but it was difficult to concentrate on irregular verbs.
He couldn’t stop thinking about the girl in the building opposite. She had beautiful eyes. He opened his bedroom
window and looked across the street. Her window was open too and he could hear her practising classical music
on her violin. She was very good. “She probably hates rock music!” thought Deshi. “Have you finished your
homework?” Deshi’s mum opened the door. “Quick! Dinner is in half an hour!” He wasn’t hungry.

Deshi couldn’t sleep that night and he was late for school the next morning. He ran out of the house and there she
was! She was sitting in her dad’s car with the window open. Deshi dropped his schoolbag and she turned to look
at him. He couldn’t move. Her eyes were green. He’d never seen anyone with green eyes before. He smiled at
her but she just stared at him like he didn’t exist. Deshi could feel his face turning red. He picked up his bag and
ran for the bus.

School didn’t go well that day. He failed a maths test and the English teacher shouted at him for not
concentrating. At lunch time, he wasn’t hungry. The food in the cafeteria just made him feel sick. And then he had
to stay late after school for extra English and missed the bus. He decided to walk home. He was crossing the park
near his street, thinking about his school back in Shanghai and how he missed it. Then, he saw her. She was
sitting on a bench with her dog. “Oh no, she’s seen me,” he thought. He waved at her but she just ignored him
again. “Idiot!” he said to himself. “Why did I wave? Now she really hates me.” Later that evening, Deshi was
practising his guitar with the headphones on. His friends in Shanghai thought he was very good but now he didn’t
want anyone to hear him playing. He was thinking about getting a a classical guitar when his mum came into the
room. She had a letter in her hand. “The postman made a mistake,” she said. “This is for the building across the
street. Can you take it over while I’m making dinner?” “OK, mum!” said Deshi.

Deshi thought about how unhappy he was as he went down the stairs. His mum had no time for him, she was
always working. School was really difficult and he had no friends in Boston. He was outside the building opposite
when the door opened. “Oh no, it’s her!” he thought. The girl was about to come down the steps when she
dropped something. Without thinking, Deshi picked it up. “Hello?” she said, frightened. “Who’s there?” Deshi was
confused. “Er, I live across the street.” “Are you the boy who plays the guitar?” she said. “Hi, I’m Helen. I really
like your music and I’m sorry my dad complained.” Deshi looked at what he was holding. It was a white stick. She
was blind.
Brendan Dunne
- See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/easy-reading/love-blind-level-
1#sthash.fa5uNUwr.dpuf

Where's Roxy?
When Chloe arrives home from school, she always makes a cup of coffee and then goes upstairs to her bedroom.
This is her favourite time of day. The house is quiet and she can play with her pet rats. Yes, that’s right, pet rats!
Chloe has got two of them. Their names are Zena and Roxy and they live in a cage in Chloe’s bedroom. Chloe
knows that most people don’t like rats or they think rats are dirty. A year ago, Chloe didn’t like rats either. Then
one day, her friend Martin, showed Chloe his pet rats and Chloe saw how intelligent and affectionate they are.
“If you can have cats, dogs or hamsters as pets, then why not rats?” she thought. When one of Martin’s rats had
babies, Chloe asked her mum if she could have two pet rats for her birthday present. Her mum and dad didn’t like
the idea, but then Chloe got an excellent school report and they decided to give Chloe the present she wanted.
“There’s one very important rule” said Chloe’s mum “The rats live in your bedroom and they never go to other
rooms, especially not the kitchen!”.
In her room, Chloe opened the cage. First she picked up Roxy and put her on the floor. Then she picked up Zena
and put her on her shoulder. Roxy loved to explore. She climbed furniture and went under Chloe’s bed. Zena was
quieter and liked sitting on Chloe’s shoulder while Chloe sent messages to her friends or read a book.
Someone knocked on the door. “Hi Chloe” called Mum “are you there?”.
“Yes, Mum” said Chloe “come in”.
“I’m going to my aerobics class. I’ll be back at seven o’clock. Dad’s on his way home. He’s making pasta tonight.”
“OK, Mum, see you later”, Chloe replied.
Mum closed the door. Chloe put Zena back in the cage and called for Roxy.
“Roxy,” said Chloe “Roxy, where are you?” Roxy usually came when Chloe said her name. Chloe started to look
for her. Where could Roxy be? “She must be here somewhere,” thought Chloe “but Mum was here and Mum
opened the door! Oh no! Roxy could be in the bathroom or living room … or even the kitchen!”

Chloe started to search the house. First, she looked in her parents’ room and the bathroom but Roxy wasn’t there.
Next, she went downstairs and looked in the kitchen. She opened cupboards and drawers, calling Roxy’s name
all the time. She looked under the table and behind the fridge. She looked in the washing machine too, but Roxy
wasn’t there.

“Hi Chloe!” said Dad as he came into the kitchen with a bag of tomatoes and pasta.
“Are you OK?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m … I’m …” Chloe wanted to say “I’m fine!” but she wasn’t fine and she needed Dad’s help. “Dad, I’ve .. ,
I’ve .., I’ve lost Roxy” she said.
“I see,” said Dad, putting down the shopping bag “don’t worry, we’ll find her, she can’t be far!”

Chloe and her dad looked all over the house but they couldn’t find Roxy anywhere. Chloe went upstairs to look in
her room for the third time. Then, she heard a key in the door and Mum calling “It’s me, I’m home.”
“Oh no!” thought Chloe. “Mum’s going to be angry!”. She decided to stay in her room and wait for Dad to tell Mum
about Roxy. Then Dad laughed and Mum called out, “Chloe, come downstairs”.
Chloe went downstairs and there was Mum with a smile on her face and Roxy on her shoulder.
“Oh Mum, you found her!” said Chloe, “where was she?”
“When I arrived at the gym” said Mum, “I opened my bag and found Roxy. She was sleeping in one of my shoes.”
“Oh sorry mum, are you angry?” asked Chloe.
“No, I’m not angry. I picked her up for the first time and do you know what? Now, I think I like rats too!”
Robin Newton
- See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/easy-reading/wheres-roxy-level-
1#sthash.dFQKODe3.dpuf

One night in December 2011, a bear came into the city of Vancouver in Canada. It walked through the city streets
past houses, shops and offices. Then it found some food in bins outside a restaurant and started eating. In the
morning, someone saw the bear and called the police. The police came with a vet from the city zoo. They put the
bear in a lorry and took it to the mountains outside the city. Luckily, the bear was safe, but what happens in other
countries when big animals come into cities? In Vancouver, it is unusual to see a bear, but in some cities, you can
see big animals on the city streets every day.

Big animals usually come into cities to find food. In Cape Town in South Africa baboons come into the city when
they are hungry. They go into gardens and eat fruit from trees. They go into houses and take food from cupboards
and fridges! Baboons are strong animals and they can scare people. But the city can be dangerous for baboons
too. Sometimes, cars and buses kill baboons in accidents. Human food is very bad for the baboons’ teeth
because it has a lot of sugar. Now, there are Baboon Monitors working in Cape Town. Their job is to find baboons
in the city and return them to the countryside.

In Berlin in Germany, pigs sometimes come into the city to look for food. They eat flowers and plants in parks and
gardens. Sometimes they eat vegetables from gardens and they walk in the street and cause accidents. Some
people like the pigs and they give them food and water to drink. Other people do not like the pigs and they want
the government and the police to stop them coming into the city.

In Moscow in Russia, there are 35,000 wild dogs. The dogs live in parks, old houses, markets and train stations.
Some dogs live in groups and others live alone. Many people in Moscow like the dogs. They give them food and
water. Some people make small houses for the dogs in their gardens. This helps the dogs in winter, when the
temperature in Moscow is -10ºC and there is a lot of snow and ice.

Many animals live in cities. In some cities, you can see birds, insects, mice and squirrels every day. But
sometimes, it is dangerous when big animals come into cities to find food. We need some good ideas to stop
animals coming into the city without hurting them.

Robin Newton
- See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/easy-reading/animals-city-level-
1#sthash.gQucAYlq.dpuf

The Story of Street Art

Modern graffiti began in big cities in the United States in the 1970s. In New York, young people wrote their names
or “tags” in pen on walls around the city.

One of the first “taggers” was a teenager called Demetrius. His tag was TAKI 183. He wrote his tag on walls and
in stations in New York. Other teenagers saw Demetrius’s tag and started writing their tags too. Soon, there were
tags on walls, buses and trains all over New York.

Then, some teenagers started writing their tags with aerosol paint. Their tags were bigger and more colourful.
Aerosol paint graffiti became very popular in the 1970s and 1980s. It appeared on trains, buses and walls around
the world.
In the 1990s and 2000s, a lot of graffiti artists started painting pictures. Some artists’ pictures were about politics.
Other artists wanted to make cities beautiful and painted big, colourful pictures on city walls.

Graffiti in Galleries
In some countries, writing or painting on walls is a crime. Sometimes, graffiti artists have problems with the police.
In other countries, artists can draw and paint in certain places. For example, in Taiwan, there are “graffiti zones”
where artists can paint on walls. In Sao Paulo in Brazil, street artists can paint pictures on walls and houses. Their
pictures are colourful and beautiful. Some tourists visit Sao Paulo just to see the street art!

In Bristol in the UK, there is a street art festival in August every year. Artists paint all the buildings in a street. Lots
of people come to watch the artists and take photos. You can see exhibitions of street art in some galleries too.
There have been exhibitions of street art in galleries in Paris, London and Los Angeles.

Who are the Artists?

Some street artists have become famous. Here are three stars of the street art world:

Os Gemeos are twin brothers from Sao Paulo in Brazil. They paint big, colourful pictures of people on buildings.
In 2007, they painted a castle in Scotland!

Blek le rat is from Paris. He is famous for painting pictures of homeless people in big cities.

Faith 47 is from Cape Town in South Africa. She paints big, colourful pictures of people and animals. She likes
painting in different places and you can find her work on pavements, postboxes, buses and, of course, on walls!

The Future of Street Art

Many street artists use the internet to look at photos of street art from around the world. They communicate with
other artists on-line and share ideas. Some street artists are famous and you can see their pictures in galleries.
We don’t know about the future of street art, but it is here to stay for sure!

Robin Newton
- See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/easy-reading/graffiti-and-street-art-level-
1#sthash.nkptlzWT.dpuf

Monica and Carl are teenagers from Los Angeles in the United States. They both love skateboarding. Read this
interview with them and find out more about their favourite sport.

Who invented skateboarding?

Monica: Skateboarding began in California in the 1950s, but we don’t know who the first person to go on a
skateboard was.

Carl: In the beginning, skateboarding was popular with surfers. They wanted to practise surfing on land when the
ocean was calm or the weather was bad.

Where can you go skateboarding?

Monica: There are skate parks in lots of towns and cities. They are special places for skateboarding. You can
practise jumps at skate parks and meet other skateboarders.
Carl: You can skateboard in the street too, but you have to look out for the traffic, people, bicycles and dogs.

When did you start skateboarding?

Monica: When I was a child, I liked going rollerskating with my friends. When I was thirteen, one of my friends got
a skateboard and I tried it. I fell several times but I loved it. Two weeks later, I got my first skateboard. I haven’t
stopped rollerskating. I like both sports now.

Carl: I live in the city and there’s a skate park near my house. When I was eleven, my dad gave me a skateboard
for my birthday and I spent the summer skateboarding at the skate park. I love the freedom and speed. When I
was a child, I rode my bike every day, but I never ride it now.

Is skateboarding dangerous?
Carl: All skateboarders fall off their boards but fortunately most injuries are minor. It’s a good idea to wear a
helmet to protect your head.

Are there skateboarding competitions?

Monica: Yes, there are. They usually take place in skate parks. Skateboarders do jumps or tricks. The
skateboarders who do the most difficult jumps or tricks win.

Carl: There was a campaign to get skateboarding included in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro but
unfortunately it wasn’t successful. But who knows? Maybe, skateboarding will be in the 2020 games!

Tell me about “Go Skateboarding Day”.

Monica: “Go Skateboarding Day” is on the 21st of June every year. In the United States, Europe and Australia,
there are competitions, parties and barbecues for skateboarders.

What about fashion? Is there a skater look?

Carl: At the moment, the fashion is for skateboarders to wear tight jeans or black trousers and a T-shirt or check
shirt. Baseball caps and hats are popular too.

Monica: A lot of skateboarders have long hair too. But fashion doesn’t matter. For me, enjoying the sport is more
important than clothes.

What’s a long board?

Monica: A long board is skateboard that’s longer and has got bigger wheels. Skateboards are usually 70 to 80
centimetres long, but long boards are 90 to 120 centimetres long. It’s difficult to do jumps on a long board, but you
can go fast.

Carl: Listen to this! In 2006, a skateboarder went across Australia on a long board. That’s 5,850 kilometres!

Robin Newton
- See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/easy-reading/la-skaters-interview-level-
1#sthash.08KfbWiF.dpuf

Introduction
The Hunger Games is a book by the American author Suzanne Collins. It was published in 2008 and has sold
millions of copies. It is the first book for young readers to sell a million electronic books and you can buy it in 26
different languages. The Hunger Games is now a very successful film. It made 152.5 million dollars in its first
weekend in North America!

A Fight to the Death

The story is set in the future, after the destruction of North America. The country is called Panem. There are
twelve poor districts governed by the rich Capitol. There was a thirteenth district in the past but the Capitol
destroyed them because they rebelled.

The Capitol organises the Hunger Games every year to punish the districts. One boy and one girl aged 12 to 18
fight in a battle. Only one person will live. The chosen teenagers are called “tributes”. The whole country must
watch the games on television.

The story is about Katniss Everdeen, a sixteen-year-old girl. Her father died and now she has to kill animals for
her family to eat. Her younger sister, Prim, is chosen to be a “tribute”, but Katniss volunteers to go instead. The
other “tribute” from District 12 is a boy named Peeta.

Where did the idea for The Hunger Games come from?
One night in 2003, Suzanne Collins was watching TV. It was at the time of the US invasion of Iraq. The only
programmes she could find on TV were ‘reality’ programmes of young people competing to win a million dollars
and news programmes about the war. Suzanne says that the two things started to mix together in her head and
she had the idea for The Hunger Games.

She has always found news programmes of wars upsetting. When she was a child, her father was a pilot in the
US airforce and he fought in Vietnam. It was a very frightening experience for her.

Too much violence?

Some parents in the US have complained about the violence in the book. But Suzanne says she was very worried
about how much violence we see on TV nowadays. Suzanne is also worried about the amount of reality TV we
watch. “We put too much of our lives on TV,” she says. “And we care less for people because of this.” She said
that writing about death and violence in the story was the hardest thing for her to do and she hopes it will make
people think about what they watch in future.

Brendan Dunne
- See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/easy-reading/hunger-games-book-review-
level-1#sthash.tYxjPJg1.dpuf

Mo was waiting outside her class. She was feeling sick. She always felt sick in exam week. She had two exams
that day. Physics was first and she hated physics, it was her worst subject. But this was the last day of exams!
Terry looked back at her from the front of the line, then looked away quickly. Mo thought she looked guilty. She
didn’t have a problem with physics. She didn’t have a problem with anything!

“Hi, Mo, it’s your favourite exam today” said Nima as she arrived. Terry looked back again. “What’s wrong with
her?” said Nima. “I thought you were friends.” “Yes, so did I,” said Mo. “but she hasn’t spoken to me for two
weeks.” She promised to help me revise for the physics exam, but then she ignored all my calls and texts. And
when I rang her house, her mum told me she was busy. She doesn’t remember who her friends are!” said Mo
angrily. “Are you listening Maureen Quinn?” Mr Reed was talking to the class and the other students were going
into the exam room. Mo gave Nima a worried look and followed them.

Mo couldn’t answer question number five, it was too difficult. She looked up and saw Terry sitting in the next row.
Mo was surprised. Terry was holding her phone under the table and she was reading from it. Mo didn’t know what
to think. Is that how Terry always got good grades? She felt really angry at Terry but didn’t know what to do. She
thought about telling the teacher, but what would everyone else think of her? It wasn’t fair! Mo never cheated and
she failed lots of exams. Terry had already put her phone away when Mo looked up again. She looked back at Mo
and smiled sadly. “Stop writing and put your pens down” said Mr Reed as he started to collect the exam papers.
Oh no, Mo hadn’t answered two of the questions. She was going to fail again!

Mo wanted to talk to Terry at lunch time, but she couldn’t find her in the dining hall. The next exam was history.
That was Mo’s favourite subject but she didn’t feel good. She was angry with Terry. Nima went home for lunch
every day, so she couldn’t talk to her either. Mo went to the library to study. She didn’t know what to do about
Terry. She thought about telling a teacher, but everyone would hate her if she did that. “It wasn’t fair!” she
thought. “Terry was getting good grades by cheating all that time. And I thought we were friends!” Just then, Mr
Reed walked past her table. “Mr Reed...”

Mo was sitting behind Terry again in the history exam that afternoon, but Terry didn’t take her phone out. Maybe
she didn’t need to cheat at history. Mo was feeling bad again, but she had no problems with the exam. Why did
she tell Mr Reed? But it was too late now. He wanted her to look at him and nod if she saw that Terry had her
phone in the exam. She was on the last question, when she saw that Terry had her phone under the table.
Without thinking, Mo looked up and nodded to Mr Reed. Terry was looking at her phone and didn’t hear him as he
walked silently up to her table. He didn’t say anything. Terry looked, surprised. He picked up her exam paper and
pointed to the door, to tell Terry to go outside. Terry started crying as she walked to the door. Everyone was
staring at her and Mo felt really sorry now.

She was leaving school, when she heard footsteps behind her. It was Terry. “Mo, wait!” she called. “I want to talk
to you.” Mo could see Terry had been crying, her face was pale and her eyes were red. Mo couldn’t speak.
“Listen, I’m really sorry I didn’t answer your calls. but we’re having a terrible time. My dad had a heart attack and
he’s in hospital. He had a big operation today and I was very worried. I know it was stupid, but I was reading texts
from my mum to see how it was going, but Mr Reed caught me. He thought I was cheating. But he believes me
now. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what was happening. I know you’re a good friend. Will you forgive me?”

Brendan Dunne
- See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/easy-reading/cheat-level-
1#sthash.udJSGjn4.dpuf

In April 2007, a 16-year-old boy named Charlie McDonnell was studying for his exams. But he was bored, so he
turned on his laptop computer. He found a website called YouTube and watched a video of another teenager like
him. The teenager was sitting in his bedroom and talking about how bored he was. “I can do better than that!”
thought Charlie. So he used his laptop and webcam to make his first video, and posted it on YouTube under the
name Charlieissocoollike.
YouTube started in 2005 and is now the world’s largest video website. More than 3 billion videos are watched
every day on YouTube and a large number of those are video blogs. These are simply videos of people talking to
a camera about their lives or things that interest them.
Two days after Charlie posted his first video, he had 150 subscribers, so he decided to make more videos. He
soon became quite popular. A few months later, Oprah Winfrey, the famous American TV host, showed one of his
videos called How to be English on her programme. In this video, Charlie wears a suit and tie and talks in a funny
accent. He shows viewers how to make a cup of tea. Charlie suddenly became very famous in the United States
too.
To say thank you to all his fans he made a video called Challenge Charlie, asking people to suggest funny or
difficult things for him to do in his videos. Challenges included drinking tomato ketchup, wearing all of his clothes
at once and painting himself purple!
Charlie is also a singer and songwriter. His most popular videos are of him singing and playing the ukelele.
In Duet with Myself, he uses special effects to sing a duet with himself about what a boring person he is. This has
now been watched over 7 million times!
Charlie’s best friend, Alex Day, is also a musician and video blogger. They met through YouTube and started a
band together. The band is called Chameleon Circuit, and they have made two CDs and performed several
concerts.
With more than one and a half million subscribers, Charlie is the most popular video blogger in the UK. He has
now made enough money to buy a house with his friend Alex. But what is the secret of his success? “I make the
kind of videos that I want to watch,” he says. And when asked how fame has affected him, Charlie says, "I still sit
in my bedroom talking to my camera, and that's what I want to do."

Oh, and how did Charlie do in his exams back in 2007? Well, he passed with nine A grades and one B! He says
that he wants to go to university in the future but decided to try and make a career on YouTube before that. So,
far, it’s going very well!

Brendan Dunne
- See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/easy-reading/why-charlie-so-coollike-level-
1#sthash.fWwlxf8S.dpuf

Amy normally hated Monday mornings, but this year was different. Kamal was in her art class and she liked
Kamal. She was waiting outside the classroom when her friend Tara arrived.

“Hi Amy! Your mum sent me a text. You forgot your inhaler. Why don’t you turn your phone on?” Amy didn’t like
technology. She never sent text messages and she hated Facebook too.

“Did Kamal ask you to the disco?” Tara was Amy’s best friend, and she wanted to know everything that was
happening in Amy’s life. “I don’t think he likes me,” said Amy. “And I never see him alone. He’s always with
Grant.” Amy and Tara didn’t like Grant.

“Do you know about their art project?” asked Amy. “It’s about graffiti, I think,” said Tara. “They’re working on it at
the old house behind the factory.” “But that building is dangerous,” said Amy. “Aah, are you worried he’s going to
get hurt?" Tara teased. “Shut up, Tara! Hey look, here they come!”

Kamal and Grant arrived. “Hi Kamal!” said Tara. “Are you going to the Halloween disco tomorrow?” “Yes. Hi Amy,”
Kamal said, smiling. “Do you want to come and see our paintings after school?” “I’m coming too!” Tara insisted.

After school, Kamal took the girls to the old house. It was very old and very dirty too. There was rubbish
everywhere. The windows were broken and the walls were damp. It was scary. Amy didn’t like it. There were
paintings of zombies and skeletons on the walls. “We’re going to take photos for the school art competition,” said
Kamal. Amy didn’t like it but she didn’t say anything. “Where’s Grant?” asked Tara. “Er, he’s buying more paint.”
Kamal looked away quickly. Tara thought he looked suspicious. “It’s getting dark, can we go now?” said Amy. She
didn’t like zombies.

Then, they heard a loud noise coming from a cupboard in the corner of the room. “What’s that?” Amy was
frightened. “I didn’t hear anything,” said Kamal. Something was making strange noises. There was something
inside the cupboard. “Oh no! What is it?” Amy was very frightened now. “What do you mean? There’s nothing
there!” Kamal was trying not to smile. Suddenly the door opened with a bang and a zombie appeared, shouting
and moving its arms. Amy screamed and covered her eyes. “Oh very funny, Grant!” said Tara looking bored.
Kamal and Grant started laughing. “Ha ha, you were frightened!” said Grant. "Do you like my zombie costume?”
Amy took Tara’s arm. “I can’t breathe,” she said. Kamal looked worried now. “Is she OK? It was only a joke.” “No
she’s not OK, you idiot. She’s having an asthma attack and she forgot her inhaler.” Tara took out her phone. “I’m
calling her dad.”

Next evening was Halloween. The girls were at the school disco. “Are you better now?” asked Tara. “I’m fine,”
said Amy. “I think it was the smell of paint that started the attack.” Tara looked around. “So, where are
the zombies?” “I don’t know, I don’t want to see Kamal again,” said Amy. “Come on, let’s dance!”
Amy and Tara were dancing when Grant arrived, looking worried. “Hi, someone stole my phone. Have you seen
Kamal? He said he was coming here at eight o’clock. Can you phone him?” “Go away, idiot!” Tara didn’t stop
dancing. Grant looked upset. “Tell him I’m looking for him,” he called as he left the disco. Tara really didn’t like
Grant.
Just then, Tara’s phone rang. She looked at it. “Ha!” she said, “I don’t believe it!” “What is it?” asked Amy. “Kamal
just sent a text to everyone. Listen!” Tara read out Kamal’s message.

“I’m at the house. I can’t move. Please call an ambulance. My battery is running out.”
The girls didn’t stop dancing. Lots of their friends saw Kamal’s message too, but Tara told everyone it was just a
joke. They all ignored it.

The next morning, Amy’s mum and dad were listening to the radio. “Is Amy up yet?” Dad asked. “No, she’s tired,”
said mum, turning the volume up on the radio.

“This morning, police are investigating the death of a sixteen-year-old boy. He died last night in a disused house
on Moortown Road...”
Dad put down his newspaper. “But that’s where Amy went with her friends.”

“...They found the body early this morning. His name was Kamal Naseer...”
Brendan Dunne
- See more at: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/easy-reading/text-level-
1#sthash.Z6USIqgd.dpuf