Hey everyone and welcome back to easy english, the best place for learning practicing, listening and improving your english vocabulary.
I'm oliver and today we are going to be reading a story in easy english, and the story is about b1 to b2 level.
So stick along and you will find out how difficult this story is, and you will learn some new words too.
As always, I will first read the story to you and then, at the end, we will look at some key and difficult vocabulary.
So that's the structure and let's get started.
Today's short story is called The Race of Kindness.
The Race of Kindness.
And let's start reading.
Every summer, the small town of Sunnyfield held the Great River Run.
A famous bicycle race that drew riders of all ages.
Drew here simply means attracted, so it brings people from all ages.
The prize?
A shiny gold trophy and free ice cream for a whole year from the local sweet shop.
Can you imagine?
Free ice cream for a whole year.
The race was the talk of the town and everyone wanted to win.
When we use this phrase, the talk of the town, it simply means that everyone is talking about it.
It is the talk of the town.
Okay, let's continue.
12-year-old Liam had dreamed of joining the race for as long as he could remember.
He wasn't the fastest cyclist, but he loved riding his old red bike, which had belonged to his dad.
Its paint was scratched and the bell barely worked.
But Liam believed it had heart.
So he believed that it was great.
It had heart.
It could survive and do the job.
This year, Liam finally signed up.
His best friend, Maya, also joined.
Maya was confident, fast and always cheered Liam on.
You're going to do great, she told him the day before the race.
But what if i come last?
Liam asked nervously.
Then you'll come last with style, maya said grinning.
The big day arrived.
The sun was shining and the town square buzzed with excitement.
Riders lined up at the starting line, some on sleek racing bikes that sparkled in the sunlight.
Liam glanced at his red bike and he took a deep breath.
Riders ready, called the mayor, holding up a flag.
Three, two, one, go!
The race began with a loud cheer.
The riders zoomed off, their wheels spinning like the wind.
Liam started slow, knowing the course was long and tricky.
It wound through the streets, crossed the old wooden bridge and climbed a steep hill before circling back to the square.
As Liam pedalled through the narrow streets, he felt the rush of the wind and the thrill of the race.
He wasn't in first place, but he wasn't last either.
The steep hill came next, and he struggled to push his bike up.
His legs burned, but he kept going.
At the top of the hill, Liam noticed something unusual.
Maya and a few other riders were stopped on the side of the road.
Maya's bike had a flat tyre.
So the tyre had stopped working.
It had lost its air.
It went flat.
Maya, Liam called out, skidding to a stop.
What happened?
My tire's flat, Maya said, frustrated.
I don't have a spare.
Liam looked at the road ahead, where the other riders were disappearing into the distance.
He hesitated.
If he had stayed to help, he'd fall behind for sure.
But Maya had always been there for him.
He couldn't just leave her.
Here, Liam said, digging into his backpack.
He pulled out his tyre pump and handed it to her.
Liam, you'll lose the race, Maya protested.
It's okay, Liam said with a shrug.
I'm not here to win, I'm here to ride.
Together, they pumped air into her tyre.
It wasn't perfect, but it would last the rest of the race.
Thanks, Liam, Maya said as they got back on their bikes.
You're a great friend.
The two pedaled hard to catch up.
They passed a few riders who were just slowing down, tired from the steep hill.
The finish line was just ahead, and the crowd in the town square cheered loudly.
Go Liam, someone shouted.
As they neared the line, Maya slowed down and smiled at him.
You helped me, now let's cross together.
Side by side, they crossed the finish line to loud applause.
They didn't win the trophy, but the mayor gave them a special medal for the spirit of the race.
Kindness is the greatest victory, the mayor said, handing them their medals.
After the race, Liam and Maya celebrated with two big scoops of ice cream.
You know, Maya said between bites, we might not have won the race, but we definitely won the day.
Liam grinned.
Next year, we'll race together again.
And maybe, just maybe, we'll win both the trophy and the ice cream.
The two friends laughed, already dreaming of their next big adventure.
Okay, how was that story?
Did you find it difficult, easy?
You can let me know in the comments or maybe the vote below.
So, let's take a look at some difficult words and explanations.
So just a few words I've highlighted.
I know that I explained some words as we went through the story, so I won't explain those again.
So another word is trophy.
So we talked about how they won a trophy and the person in first place also got a trophy.
And a trophy is a shiny prize for winning a competition.
Sometimes this can look like a cup or a plaque, we call it.
So it can be made of wood, perhaps with a name or a title on it.
And this is just something you get for winning.
It's a trophy.
The next one is hesitated, hesitated.
So in the story, Liam looked at the road ahead where the other riders were disappearing into the distance.
He hesitated.
So in this part of the story, he was thinking about, hmm, should I stay?
Should I go?
And when you hesitate...
You stop for a moment because you're unsure, usually to maybe decide or to think about something.
So you're unsure.
You're not like so confident in your choice or your idea at that moment.
But as we know, Liam decided to stay and help Maya instead of continuing the race.
Okay, the next one is protested.
And to protest is to speak against something or to disagree.
And let me just find where this was in the story.
Okay, got it.
So after Liam started to help Maya um, Maya said Liam, you'll lose the race.
Maya protested so she spoke against him.
She disagreed maybe with him and said no like, don't stay, continue with the race, okay.
The next word or phrase is flat tire.
I did say about this when we were reading, but I think it's a very key phrase in this story.
So a flat tire is a bike tire, or maybe a car tire as well, that has no air inside, so the air has run out of it.
Maybe there was a puncture, so a little hole, and the air has left the tire and it has become flat.
And finally, it's something that unfortunately, Maya didn't get and Liam didn't get either, and that was a victory.
So victory is a win or success.
But I guess they had a victory anyway because they won sort of the spirit of competition, spirit of the competition award, the spirit of the race, sorry award.
And that was a victory too.
So, let me know what you think about this story.
I hope you learned some new words and at the very least got to practice your English listening.
Thank you so much for listening and as always, I hope you have an amazing day.
