English audiobooks with translation online. Read and Listen in English (10 Simple Texts)

Beginners learning English are always advised to read and listen to English as much as possible. The texts posted here are very simple, some are funny and ridiculous, all of them are accompanied by audio with a slow piece, all sounds are very easy to listen to.

How to read and listen in English

These small texts can be read, listened to and repeated out loud at the same time. Do this every day, several times a day, as an exercise, this will help you learn the language on your own without a teacher. You may not like your pronunciation at first. It's okay, this is normal, continue, try to completely copy the announcer.

Speaking out loud allows you to tune your speech apparatus to a new language. How do young children learn a language? They repeat after adults. At first they do very poorly, but we enjoy their sounds, encourage them, try to find something similar to the spoken word. The more children repeat, the better they get.

Also in the case of adults - repeat, don’t be lazy. Repeat despite the fact that you have long understood the entire text and have even become quite bored with it. You can Beginners learning English are always advised to read and listen to English as much as possible. others are simple. Achieve automaticity, tune your speech muscles to English pronunciation.

1. The Flag

Tracy looked at the flag. The flag is red, white and blue. It has 50 stars. White stars on a blue square. The flag has six white stripes. It has seven red stripes. All stripes are horizontal. They are not vertical. The stripes don't go up and down. They go from left to right. Tracy loves her flag. This is the flag of her country. It is a beautiful flag. No other flag has 50 stars. No other flag has 13 stripes.

2. A piece of Paper.

Jimmy threw the piece of paper onto the floor. He bent down and picked it up. He folded a piece of paper in half. He put it on the table. He took the pencil. He wrote a phone number on a piece of paper. He put the pencil on the table. He took the scissors. He picked up a piece of paper. He cut a piece of paper in half. He placed one half of a sheet of paper on the table. He put the other half with the phone number in his shirt pocket. He put the scissors on the table.

3. A Storm.

Laura looked out the window. The storm is approaching. The sky became darker. The wind began to blow. Some trees were bent. Leaves flew through the air. It became cold. She closed all the windows. She went outside. Her car was on the street. She closed the windows in her car. She locked the car. She returned to her house. She turned on the TV. She wanted to see news about the storm. The announcer man said it was a big storm. He said it would rain heavily. He told people to stay home.

4. Cold Weather.

Thomas was not hot. He also didn't feel warm. He was cold. The weather was not hot. The weather was also not warm. The weather was cold. Thomas didn't like being 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 closed. They were all closed. None of the windows were open. He looked at the door. The door was not open. It was closed. He was still cold. He looked for a warmer jacket.

5. A Thin Man.

Richard is a light eater. He doesn't eat much. He's not a glutton. He eats a light breakfast, a light lunch, and a light dinner. Richard is not fat. He is thin. He will always be thin because he is an easy eater. He eats a bowl of porridge for breakfast. He eats a bowl of porridge with milk. He eats a sandwich for lunch. Sometimes it's a fish sandwich. He loves fish. He eats rice and vegetables for dinner. All he eats for dinner is rice and vegetables. He will never be fat.

6. 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 will be 40 next week. She wants to know what to give him. Maybe give him a watch? Maybe give him a sweater? Maybe give him a new guitar? What should I give him? She asked him what he would like 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 eternal love."

7. Shoes.

Lisa loves to go shopping. Tomorrow she is going to go shopping. She needs a new pair of shoes. She wants to buy a pair of red shoes. She thinks the red shoes are beautiful. She will buy a pair of shoes at the mall. Lisa usually does her shopping at the mall. The shopping center is just a mile from her home. She just walks to the shopping center. It only takes 20 minutes. Tomorrow she will go to four different shoe stores. Tomorrow is Saturday. The shopping center always has sales on Saturday. If the sale price is good, Lisa will be able to buy two pairs of shoes.

8. To Buy a New Car.

Linda wants to buy a new car. She has an old car. Her old car is a white Honda. Linda wants to buy a new Honda. She wants to buy a new red Honda. She has saved $1000. She uses $1000 to buy a new car. She will give $1000 to the Honda dealer. The Honda dealer will let her sign the contract. The contract will pay her $400 a month for seven years. Her new red Honda will cost Linda a lot of money. But that's okay because Linda makes a lot of money.

9. Washing Hands

Faye went to the bathroom. She turned on the cold water. She turned on the hot water. Warm water came out of the tap. She put her hands under the warm water. She rubbed her hands. She took a piece of white soap. She rubbed the soap with her hands. She put the soap back. She washed her hands for half a minute. Then she rinsed her hands with water. She turned off the hot water. She turned off the cold water. She dried her hands with a towel.

10. Water and an Apple

Susan loves to eat apples. She loves to eat big red apples. She likes to wear a blue hat. She wears a large blue hat on her head. She wears a hat and eats an apple. She drinks water from a white cup. Susan drinks water and eats apples. She doesn't cut the apple with a knife. The knife is sharp. She's just eating an apple. She is holding an apple in her hand. She bites off an apple with her teeth. She licks her lips. She drinks more water. She wipes her mouth with her hand.

A very large selection of similar texts (only without translations) can be read and listened to in English on the website

Stage 1 (Elementary): This is the beginner level. Audiobooks at this level are distinguished by simple vocabulary and elementary grammar.

Stage 2 (Beginner): audiobooks are also simple from a lexical and grammatical point of view, easily understood by beginners learning the language.

Stage 3 (Pre-Intermediate): audiobooks of “average difficulty”, there are no particular difficulties yet, but in terms of grammar, a very wide range of grammatical tenses is already used here.

Stage 4 (Intermediate): audiobooks at this level are already approaching natural works of fiction in their lexical and grammatical complexity.

Stage 5 (Upper-Intermediate): audiobooks at the fifth level are almost authentic works of fiction with minor adaptations of overly complex and not widely used grammatical structures, as well as minor lexical corrections.

All audiobooks come with texts, which is designed to make listening easier in case of difficulties.

Elementary Beginner Pre-Intermediate Intermediate Upper-Intermediate

Tim Vicary “The Elephant Man”.
He is not beautiful. His mother does not want him, children run away from him. People laugh at him, and call him ‘The Elephant Man’.

Mark Twain “Huckleberry Finn”.
Who wants to live in a house, wear clean clothes, be good, and go to school every day? Not young Huckleberry Finn, that’s for sure. So Huck runs away, and is soon floating down the great Mississippi River on a raft. With him is Jim, a black slave who is also running away. But life is not always easy for the two friends. And there’s 300 dollars waiting for anyone who catches poor Jim. . .

Rudyard Kipling “Jungle Book”.
In the jungle of Southern India the Seeonee Wolf-Pack has a new cub. He is not a wolf – he is Mowgli, a human child, but he knows nothing of the world of men. He lives and hunts with his brothers the wolves. Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther are his friends and teachers. And Shere Khan, the man-eating tiger, is his enemy.

O. Henry “New Yorkers Short Stories”.
A housewife, a tramp, a lawyer, a waitress, an actress – ordinary people living ordinary lives in New York at the beginning of this century. The city has changed greatly since that time, but its people are much the same. Some are rich, some are poor, some are happy, some are sad, some have found love, some are looking for love.

Daniel Defoe “Robinson Crusoe”.
I often walked along the shore, and one day I saw something in the sand. I went over to look at it more carefully. . . It was a footprint – the footprint of a man!’. In 1659 Robinson Crusoe was shipwrecked on a small island off the coast of South America. After fifteen years alone, he suddenly learns that there is another person on the island. But will this man be a friend – or an enemy?

Joyce Hannam “The Death of Karen Silkwood”.
This is the story of Karen Silkwood. It begins with her death. Why does her story begin where it should end? Certain people wanted her death to be an ending. Why? What were they afraid of? Karen Silkwood had something to tell us, and she believed that it was important. Why didn't she live to tell us? Will we ever know what really happened? The questions go on and on, but there are no answers. This is a true story. It happened in Oklahoma, USA, where Karen Silkwood lived and worked. . . and died.

Rosemary Border “The Piano”.
One day, a farmer tells a farm boy to take everything out of an old building and throw it away. ‘It’s all rubbish,’ he says. ‘In the middle of all the rubbish, the boy finds a beautiful old piano. He has never played before, but now, when his fingers touch the piano, he begins to play. He closes his eyes and the music comes to him – and the music moves his fingers. When he opens his eyes again, he knows that his life is changed for ever…

Erich Segal “Love Story”.
This is a love story you won’t forget. Oliver Barrett meets Jenny Cavilleri. He plays sports, she plays music. He's rich, and she's poor. They argue, and they fight, and they fall in love. So they get married, and make a home together. They work hard, they enjoy life, they make plans for the future. Then they learn that they don’t have much time left.

Frances Burnett “The Secret Garden”.
Little Mary Lennox is a bad-tempered, disagreeable child. When her parents die in India, she is sent back to England to live with her uncle in a big, lonely, old house. There is nothing to do all day except walk in the gardens – and watch the robin flying over the high walls of the secret garden. . . which has been locked for ten years. And no one has the key.

Jerome K. Jerome “Three Men in a Boat.”
With ideas like this, perhaps it is not a good idea to spend a holiday taking a boat trip up the River Thames. But this is what the three friends – and Montmorency the dog – decide to do. It is the sort of holiday that is fun to remember afterwards, but not so much fun to wake up to early on a cold, wet morning.

Emily Bronte “Wuthering Heights”.
The wind is strong on the Yorkshire moors. There are few trees, and fewer houses, to block its path. There is one house, however, that does not hide from the wind. It stands out from the hill and challenges the wind to do its worst. The house is called Wuthering Heights. When Mr Earnshaw brings a strange, small, dark child back home to Wuthering Heights, it seems he has opened his doors to trouble. He has invited in something that, like the wind, is safer kept out of the house.

The appearance of audiobooks has become a great gift for lovers of reading, who are always busy with everyday activities, work, study... Although not! Just in studies they became a help. Especially audiobooks for learning English have significantly speeded up, simplified and diversified the learning process.

However, another problem has arisen: which works to choose for learning English from audiobooks? And then - where to look for them, download or buy them? This article will answer every question. We will distribute, literally “sort out” the best audiobooks for beginners to learn English from scratch, for intermediate and advanced levels, and show several sources of high-quality recordings.

Audiobooks for learning English by level

When we say “study,” we mean “book,” right? This is what a classic source of knowledge looks like in the minds of most students. But we offer you not an English textbook or even an English tutorial, but much more fascinating literature. But first, it’s your turn: honestly determine your level of language proficiency in order to choose the right adapted audiobooks; in this list they are grouped by level of preparation:

Elementary, Beginner, or A1-A2:

• The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde
• The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
• The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum
• Robin Hood (Adapted by Stephen Colburn)
• Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
• White Fang by Jack London.

These books have common features that make them ideal for beginners learning English, including children in grades 2 and 3. This includes common vocabulary, simple forms of tenses, basic grammatical structures, and fascinating stories.

Intermediate, Elementary, or B1:

• Emma ("Emma") Jane Austen
• The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald
• The Red-Headed League by Arthur Conan Doyle
• Robinson Crusoe ("Robinson Crusoe") by Daniel Defoe (text adapted).

You are probably familiar with these stories, but listening to them in the original language will reveal their meaning in a new way. Adapted audiobooks ensure that you understand the text.

Upper Intermediate, or B2:

• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
• A murder is announced by Agatha Christie
• Three men in a boat ("Three in a boat") Jerome K. Jerome
• A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
• Therese Raquin by Emile Zola
• GoldFinger ("Goldfinger") by Ian Fleming.

Even difficult points will be clear thanks to your vocabulary at this level. And exciting stories motivate you to listen further and/or again (yes, learning English from audiobooks involves and recommends repeated listening!).

Advanced or C1:

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by Francis Scott Fitzgerald
• The memoirs of geisha by Arthur Golden
• Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally
• The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

Please note that many of these works have been filmed. Watching these films in English (and also these ones from our list) will help consolidate your vocabulary.

How to choose audiobooks in English for beginners

Audiobooks in English for beginners from our list are just indicative examples. After listening to them, the boundless world of literature in English will open before you. But you need to choose works carefully in order to combine the pleasant (a good book) with the useful (learning English).

Choose to your liking. Don't force yourself to "listen" to a piece just because it is a classic or a universally recognized masterpiece. Look for genres, styles and works that you personally like.

Choose a speaker - that is, the voice with which the book is narrated. Your perception of both a specific work and the method of learning English from audiobooks in general greatly depends on it. If it is difficult to perceive a British accent, listen to American announcers. Men or women - the choice is yours.

Choose your perception speed. Audiobooks allow you to listen to a difficult or favorite episode several times, pause and then continue listening at a convenient time. This is their advantage over listening to live interlocutors.

Despite the many undeniable advantages, audiobooks have some disadvantages. But they can and should be taken into account so that the benefits of the technique are maximized.

Just a few tips on how to make learning English from audiobooks more effective:

Go from simple to complex. As your knowledge deepens and your vocabulary expands, choose more complex works. Otherwise, the meaning will be lost and erased from memory.

Read, don't just listen. It will be great if you have the same work in two formats: text and audiobook. But books with translation, of course, are not suitable. Your task is to perceive the same text both auditorily and visually.

Take notes. Some people take notes in the books they read. While listening to an audiobook in English, take notes in a notebook: write down the names of the characters, a brief description of their characters, the main events of the plot.

And be sure to use new vocabulary yourself. Don’t leave new words in books, transfer them to real life, use them, tell your friends the content, discuss the work in a language club.

Where can I download audiobooks in English for free?

The World Wide Web has everything, which is why it can be so difficult to find something specific. If you are looking for audiobooks to learn English, check out these resources:

• voicesinthedark.com

  freeclassicaudiobooks.com

Here is another list of sites with audiobooks in English. Now you are ready to learn English from audiobooks. Headphones, player - and forward, about your business and into the world of literature. Do cleaning, travel, walk the dog, play sports and listen to audiobooks in English at the same time.

Learning a language will quickly yield fruitful results if you approach it in a multi-faceted way, developing all the necessary skills in parallel with each other. One lesson should be devoted to grammar, the second to vocabulary and reading, the third to speaking, and the fourth to listening comprehension. Moreover, all skills can be improved during one lesson, which is greatly helped by audiobooks in English for beginners. With them, students learn new vocabulary, observe the use of grammar in practice, perceive the English accent and improve their pronunciation. In this material we present some of the best English books for beginners.

Books are a good method for learning English, but you need to be able to work with it correctly.

Let us immediately note that we strongly recommend that beginners use only adapted versions of English works. Yes, everyone wants to immediately learn to understand the text in the original language, but miracles do not happen. Having grabbed onto complex stories, you will get confused in grammar and a large amount of new vocabulary, and as a result, you will abandon such an important task as practicing the perception of English speech.

Adapted audiobooks in English for beginners are written in the simplest grammatical structures, and the entire plot is revealed using several hundred expressions of active basic vocabulary. The exact number of words depends on the student’s level of preparation: for complete beginners there are about 200-300, for those with basic knowledge 300-600, for an intermediate course more than 1000, etc.

Learning English from books consists of several stages:

• listening to an audio recording;
• reading text;
• working with vocabulary and translation;
• repeat listening.

First, you perceive the English language by ear, then work through obscure moments by reading, write down and learn new words. And the next day, you reinforce all the material you’ve learned by listening to the audio recording again.

So, the time has come to move from a theoretical analysis of the methodology to its practical implementation. Below are the most interesting and easy books for learning English.

Adapted audiobooks in English for beginners

Here you can download your favorite audiobook and its text version, or watch a short educational video with story.

Starter level

Very short works are ideal for those who have just started learning English.

The Umbrella (by Clare Harris)

A touching story, the action of which begins with a cloudy rainy day and ends with warmth and comfort in the soul. An exciting detective-romance story will not leave fans of this genre indifferent.

Ski race (by Eleanor Jupp)

A dynamic story about competitions at a ski resort and the will of participants to win. Sport is not only about strength and passion, but also about the cunning of opponents. Will the heroes be able to win this ski relay?

Alissa (by C. J. Moore)

A story about a little girl Alice who loves to read and study. She is hardworking, kind, smart, honest and flexible. However, few people in the modern world value such qualities, so our heroine will have to endure a lot of troubles and misadventures. Are they able to eradicate in an inquisitive girl her desire for goodness and knowledge? We'll find out at the end of the story!

Sara says no (by Norman Whitney)

And this audiobook tells the story of a girl Sarah, who helps her father with work. Trading on the market is a very profitable business, but not always fair. Childish naivety and faith in goodness and justice clearly have no place here. But sometimes miracles happen and the world becomes a better place, right?

Beginner level

The books are suitable for those who have been studying the language for several months. The works are provided with a glossary and small assignments.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (by Mark Twain)

The most famous children's book, which, according to the author, was written just for adults. With the hooligan and restless Tom, you will plunge into a fascinating world of fun and adventure. You should not miss the opportunity to get acquainted in the original with a classic work that has earned good fame throughout the world.

Sherlock Holmes. The blue diamond (By Arthur Conan Doyle)

Another classic whose hero is known all over the world. Why listen and read this book? Elementary Watson. A detective story from a recognized master of the pen will appeal not only to connoisseurs of the genre, but also to those who want to get acquainted with the deductive method of Sir Sherlock Holmes for the first time.

Level Elementary

These texts are intended for students who have been studying English for more than six months. The stories contain over 1,000 words and come with additional questions to answer the text.

The woman in black (by Susan Hill)

A mystical story that became the basis for a sensational film adaptation. This book is a kind of cocktail that many will enjoy. Its components: a gothic atmosphere, classic English nebula, a little detective, a bit of mysticism and, of course, an unexpected ending. The author managed not only to withstand the tension throughout the story, but also to combine it with a very dynamic plot. The book is read and listened to very excitingly and quickly.

Frankenstein (by Marry Shelley)

This classic is a fascinating blend of gothic romance and science fiction. A talented scientist comprehends the most terrible secret of existence and uses this secret to conduct his own experiments. As a result, unwittingly, he gives birth to a monster, which becomes his curse for many years. Whether the creator will defeat his creation or become its victim will become known only at the end of the story.

There are many resources for listening to texts in English: English-test.net, audiorazgovornik.ru, duolingo.com and many others. Our site offers listening exercises in a slightly different format, but we follow the same scientific principles as the resources mentioned. We also strive to implement our own developments, which we are doing quite well.

How to listen correctly

To start listening to texts in English online, you need to determine your level of preparedness. Tests developed by our specialists will help you with this. We will distribute the tasks to be solved when listening to texts in accordance with the level you have.

So, you have a zero level, you have never studied English, and have no idea about sounds. Here are some recommendations on how to listen to texts in English correctly:

• Become familiar with the concept of “spelling” and learn to spell words pronounced by the speaker, for example, t-a-b-l-e. Spelling in English is simply necessary, since many words in it are written completely differently from how they are pronounced. The British even have this joke: “Only we, having written Manchester, read Liverpool.” And in fact, without knowing the English language, no one would guess that the word “choir” is pronounced “quaye” and not in any other way. It is especially important to listen to texts in English for beginners, memorizing pronunciation and articulation (the location of speech organs such as the tongue, lips, teeth, palate at the moment of pronouncing the sound). The so-called spelling dictations are very useful - when each word after drilling is completed is spelled out by ear (k-i-t-e; b-l-a-c-k; d-r-i-v-e and so on.
• The time is gradually coming when you will have to listen to English online every day. It is assumed that you are already familiar with both the alphabet and transcription, and your vocabulary is so rich that you can not only compose, but also hear and understand sentences in simple tenses (simple present, simple past and simple future). In English, these tenses sound like Present Simple, Past Simple, Future Simple. Texts should be short, simple and understandable, but they must also be voiced by a native speaker so that every nuance of pronunciation is remembered, and students immediately gain the skills to perceive an authentic text.

Here is an example of such text on our website:

Hi Jerry. - Hey Lima!
Can you answer my questions?
Yes, of course.
Do you have many friends? - Yes, I have a lot of friends.
Do you like coffee? -Yes, I do.
How many cups of coffee do you drink?
I drink too much coffee. About six cups a day.
Do you eat many fruits?
I eat a lot of fruit.
And I also eat many cookies and sweets.
Let's go get coffee with cookies.
Let's go.

Listen to the text

Hello Jerry! - Hello, Lima!
Can you answer my questions? - Yes, sure.
Do you have a lot of friends? - Yes, I have a lot of friends.
Do you like coffee? - Yes.
How many cups of coffee do you drink?
I drink too much coffee. About six cups a day.
Do you eat a lot of fruit?
I eat a lot of fruit.
And I also eat a lot of cookies and sweets.
Let's go have coffee and cookies.
Let's go to.

When you realize that you understand almost everything, you will be convinced that listening to English for beginners online is not only useful, but also very exciting. Our character Lima will always be ready to come to your aid, and we are sure that you will love him and become true friends with him. Good luck in your search for the most useful exercises and in learning the world's most popular foreign language.