School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies

Speed Readings for ESL Learners

500 BNC

Sonia Millett

English Language Institute

Occasional Publication No. 28

ISSN 1173-535X
Speed Readings for ESL Learners

500 BNC

Sonia Millett

English Language Institute Occasional Publication No.28

ISSN 1173-535X
2017
 School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies
Victoria University of Wellington
PO Box 600
Wellington
New Zealand
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/lals

To order copies please visit www.vicbooks.co.nz

English Language Institute Occasional Publication Number 28

ISBN 978 0 475 10525 7

© Sonia Millett
2017

Teachers and staff of the English Language Institute at Victoria University of Wellington
helped to proofread and trial these readings and gave valuable feedback and suggestions.

The material contained in this book may be photocopied, provided that it is not sold at a
profit and that its source is acknowledged.
Introduction

Speed Readings for ESL Learners 500 BNC was written at the School of Linguistics and
Applied Language Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. The
programme contains twenty 300 word passages, each with eight comprehension questions.
The readings are world stories and are written within the British National Corpus 500 (VP-
Kids) most frequently used words of English. Exceptions are words that are explained in the
text, titles of passages, content words like country names and animal names, and some
common words like television, cell phone and internet.

Principles of a speed reading programme

A speed reading programme should isolate the skill that is being practised which is
increasing the speed of a student’s reading. It is important not to confuse the purpose of
the exercise with increasing vocabulary, improving reading comprehension or anything else.
A speed reading programme is only a small part of an overall reading programme and while
success with the programme may lead to benefits such as increasing confidence and the
effectiveness and enjoyment of reading, the focus is speed.

1. The focus is speed. While reading without understanding would be pointless,

the goal of speed reading is not to achieve perfect accuracy in answering the
questions. If students are getting all the answers right, they are reading too slowly.
The goal is the fastest time with about 70 percent accuracy.

2. The readings should be easy. There should be very little unknown vocabulary
and the grammar should be straightforward. There should be nothing to stop the
readers in their tracks. Similarly the questions should test general understanding
rather than detailed knowledge. Questions about specific details slow down reading.

3. The method of reading is important. Students should not use their fingers or
pens to trace the words as this encourages slow word-by-word reading. By reading
quickly, students are training their eyes to process meaning chunks.

4. Gaining confidence is an important aspect of the programme. A lot of

learning is getting past the ‘I can’t do it’ barrier. A speed reading programme can
push the student through this barrier. Teachers can help by setting individual and
class goals and time limits. Success in speed reading engenders confidence, and
confidence leads to enjoyment, motivation and more success. The virtuous circle.
(Nuttall, 1996).

5. A speed reading programme should be intensive. Complete the twenty

readings by doing one every day for four weeks.

6. Speed reading should be an isolated activity. Don’t plan a follow up activity

with the readings. When students realise they will be doing a follow-up activity, they
will concentrate on comprehension and slow down.

i
 7. Recording the time and score is important as seeing daily progress is a very
effective motivator for students. It is also a good way for the teacher to monitor
progress, give feedback and encouragement, and set individual and class goals.

Instructions for teachers

Photocopy class sets of the readings. These can be put into plastic sleeves to prolong life.
The readings can be done in any order so that it is not necessary for all students to be
working on the same reading. You could make a few sets and then have students choose a
reading they haven’t done yet.

Introduce the programme to the class by explaining the procedure and the reasons for
doing a speed reading programme:

Over the next month you will be doing a daily speed reading exercise which involves
reading a short passage and answering 10 comprehension questions.

Speed reading is only one of the many ways that the class will be studying reading.
The focus of the speed reading programme will be to increase reading speed.
Accuracy in answering the questions is not the main consideration. Aim for the
fastest time with about 70 percent accuracy.

Reading quickly is an important skill for native and non-native speakers and most
people can double their reading speed with practice (Nation, 1991). This skill will be
necessary at university to cope with heavy reading requirements and for tests. In
addition, the faster you read, the more effective and enjoyable it will be. Research
suggests that an improvement in reading leads to benefits across all other language
skills. An example is the Fiji book flood (see Elley & Mangubhai, 1979).

The passages are all 300 words long and the vocabulary is controlled and the
passages and questions are not supposed to be difficult.

While reading, don’t use a pointer or your finger to trace each word because this will
make you read slowly word-by-word. Try to read in meaning chunks.

Answer the questions from memory. Don’t turn back and look at the passage.

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Instructions to students

1. Give out the answer sheet and the graph for recording times and comprehension scores.
2. Display an online stopwatch so that students can time themselves.
3. Give out the readings and say START.
4. Students read as quickly as they can.
5. When they reach the end of the passage, they look up and note down their time.
6. They then turn over the paper and answer the questions without turning back to the passage.
7. When they finish answering the questions, they check their answers.
8. They record their time and comprehension score on the graph.

As students finish recording their times and scores on their graphs, the teacher can walk
around to check progress and collect the readings. If a student is scoring 8, 9 or 10 on the
comprehension questions, encourage them to read faster next time. You can set individual
goals by drawing a line on a student’s graph.

After about half the readings have been completed, it is time to start reducing the
maximum time allowed from 3 minutes to 2.50 to 2.40. While many students will already be
reading more quickly than this, there will be some who take as long as they are given and
these students can be helped to push through the barrier. If a student does not finish
reading the passage in the time allowed, they should still turn over and try to answer the
questions. Their goal is to finish in the time allowed the next day.

Once students see their graphs going up, they are motivated to read faster each day. By
looking across to the right-hand side they can see their words per minute. If a student
makes no improvement in time and continues to score below 6 correct answers, this is a
signal to the teacher that they need additional reading help.

Speed Reading Booklets

Asian and Pacific Speed Readings for ESL Learners (1000)

New Zealand Speed Readings for ESL Learners 1000 Word List
New Zealand Speed Readings for ESL Learners, Book One (2000)
New Zealand Speed Readings for ESL Learners, Book Two (2000 plus AWL)
Speed Readings for ESL Learners 500 BNC (World stories)
Speed Readings for ESL learners 3000 BNC (General topics)
Speed Readings for ESL learners 4000 BNC (General topics)

Available from: http://www.vicbooks.co.nz and

http://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/about/staff/sonia-millett

iii
A model of a daily fluency programme incorporating speed readings

A daily fluency programme attends to the fluency component of Nation’s four strands of a
successful English programme (2007). Students use and practise the four skills of English:
writing, speaking, reading and listening, by accessing the language they have stored in their
heads. The focus is fluency so feedback on accuracy is not given.

Each student buys a small exercise book (ideally size 1B4). They tape the speed reading
answer key and graph to the inside back cover for daily use. They bring the exercise book to
class every day and the teacher collects it once a week.

1. Quickwrite
Five to ten minutes writing on a topic generated by the students with emphasis on fluency
and flow of ideas. The goal is to write as much as possible without the use of an eraser or
dictionary. Students write in the back of their journals. The topics might include: myself, my
family, my home town, my best friend, weather, cats, studying English, a graded reader, a
media story, independent study and so on. The topics start at a very easy level and become
more sophisticated over the course of the programme. The students demonstrate an
increasing willingness to tackle any topic.

2. Quickspeak
Three to five minutes of speaking without pauses to a listening partner on the quickwrite
topic. Then students change roles. It is good to number off students to form pairs as this
ensures a different partner every day. It is also a good idea to have the students stand up
while they are speaking. They should be speaking as fluently as they can and they shouldn’t
be reading their quickwrites.

3. Quickread
Speed reading

4. Quicklisten
Each day students listen to a chapter (five to ten minutes) of the audio recording of a graded
reader and simultaneously answer quick questions. Examples of quicklistens and worksheets
are available from http://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/about/staff/sonia-millett

These activities should take about 40 minutes and may be combined with a weekly fluency
journal depending on the level and needs of the students.

5. Fluency Journals
Students write three pages of free writing every week. They are encouraged to treat their
journals as a quickwrite exercise and take not more than 20 minutes per page. Topics can be
set by the teacher or students can choose their own topics. Examples might be: one page
about their independent learning, one about their extensive reading and the third page on
their own topic. It can be helpful to start the programme with a brainstorm of possible
topics. Journals are collected once a week, read and commented on for content, not
accuracy, by the teacher and returned to students.

iv
Speed Readings for ESL Learners 500 BNC

1. Peach Boy

2. How Māui slowed the sun

3. The tortoise and the hare

4. The king’s new clothes

5. A man, his son and a donkey

6. The Christmas presents

7. Stone soup

8. The boy who cried wolf

9. The 1001 nights

10. The fox and the crow

11. Tom and the fence

12.The rat catcher

13. The man who worried too much

14. Going home

15. Ondal and the kings daughter

16. Frida and the animals

17. The party

18. Where did coffee come from?

19.Beautiful men

20.The last straw that broke the camel‘s back

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vi
1. Peach Boy

A long time ago in Japan, an old man and an old woman lived in a little house
by a river. They were happy except for one thing. They didn’t have any
children.
One day the old man said, “I’m going to cut down a tree for the fire”. The old
woman said, “I’m going to the river to wash the clothes”.
While the old woman was washing the clothes, she saw a big peach coming
down the river. The old woman thought the peach would be very good to eat
so she caught it and took it home. When the old people cut the peach open, a
little boy jumped out of the middle. They were happy and they called him
Peach Boy.
Peach Boy was a happy child and the family lived together for many years. One
day the old woman said, “Our boy is now a man”.
Some bad people lived a long way from the little town. Every year, they came
and took all the money from the people. The people were very scared of them.
Peach Boy thought to himself, “I’m going to kill the bad people”. He left home
with some food his mother made for him. On the way he saw a dog. The dog
said, give me some food and I’ll help you kill the bad people. So he did. Next he
saw a monkey and the same thing happened. Then they saw a bird. Peach Boy
gave the bird some food and they all started on their way to find the bad
people.
When they got there, the bad people fought hard, but the four friends were
very smart and in the end, they killed them all. The friends took all the money
back to the people and everyone was happy.

1
1. Peach Boy

1. The old people lived in a: 5. Who made the food for Peach
Boy?
a. little house
b. big house a. His mother
c. a very big house b. His father
c. His mother and father
2. They were unhappy about:
a. one thing 6. Peach Boy saw:
b. two things
c. many things a. a bird and a dog
b. a dog and a monkey
3. The old woman was washing: c. a bird, a dog and a
a. her hands monkey
b. clothes
c. children 7. What did the bad people
take?
4. She saw a big:
a. apple a. Animals
b. peach b. Children
c. fish c. Money

8. How many friends fought the

bad people?

a. 2
b. 4
c. 6

2
2. How Māui slowed the sun

One day, Māui and his brothers were making their food. Then everything was
black because the sun went away. They couldn’t see what they were doing.
Māui was not happy. He said “Why does the sun move so fast? We don’t have
time in the day to do all our work. I’m going to catch the sun and teach it how
to go across the sky slowly”.
His brothers said he couldn’t catch the sun because it was too big and too hot.
Māui said “I have done many hard things and I can do this thing too.” The
people thought about this and they all said they would help him.

The next day all the people made a lot of big ropes. Then they started to go to
where the sun first gets up in the morning. After 12 days they saw a very big
hole in the ground. It was night and they saw that the sun was sleeping in the
hole. They got the ropes and said, “Soon we will catch the sun and make it
slow down.”

The next morning, when the sun tried to climb up into the sky, all the people
caught it in the ropes and wouldn’t let it go. The sun was very hot and very
unhappy but Māui told the sun to slow down. At first the sun would not slow
down and tried to go faster, but in the end, Māui hit it with his stick many
times and the sun slowed down. The sun went slowly up into the sky and from
that day the sun moved slowly across the sky and the days were longer. The
people had time to do all their work and they were happy.

This is the story of how Māui slowed the sun.

3
2. How Māui slowed the sun

1. Who were making food? 5. They made:

a. The women a. a lot of ropes

b. The men b. a lot of suns
c. Everyone c. a lot of food

2. What went away? 6. How many days did it take to

find the sun?
a. The sun
b. The people a. 6
c. The food b. 12
c. 18

3. The sun:
7. They found the sun:
a. moved too slowly
b. didn’t move a. in the sky
c. moved too fast b. in the water
c. in a hole

4. Who helped him?

8. In the end, the days were:
a. Some people
b. All the people a. longer
c. Nobody b. shorter
c. the same

4
3. The tortoise and the hare

Many years ago there was a very fast hare. His name was Hare. Hare was
always talking about how fast he could run. He talked about himself so much
that all the other animals got tired of his talking.
There was a very slow tortoise too. The tortoise’s name was Slow and Steady.
One day Slow and Steady got tired of Hare’s talking and said to him, “Let’s
have a race.” Then Hare said, “How can you run faster than me? I am the
fastest animal. It will be nothing for me to win the race.” Slow and Steady said,
“I will do my best.”
On the day of the race, all the animals came to watch. They were interested to
see who would win the race.
Hare and Slow and Steady stood in line and somebody said, “Go!”
Hare started running very fast. He ran hard and soon he couldn’t see the
tortoise. After a short time, Hare started to get sleepy so he stopped. He said
to himself, “I can run much faster than Slow and Steady. I’m going to have a
sleep.” He lay down and went to sleep.
Slow and steady walked and walked. She walked and walked and she never
stopped walking until she got to the end of the race. All the animals were very
happy. They ran to Hare and said, “Get up! Get up!”
Hare got up and started running, but he was too late. Slow and Steady had
already won the race.
Hare was very unhappy and said to himself, “I will never talk about how fast I
can run again.”
This story tells us that slow and steady wins the race. This means that if you
keep going and never give up, you will do what you want to do.

5
3. The tortoise and the hare

1. The story happened: 5. Who said they would have a

race?
a. 2 years ago
b. 10 years ago a. Hare
c. many years ago b. The tortoise
c. The people

2. Who talked and talked all the

time? 6. After Hare ran for a short
time, he started to get:
a. Hare
b. Slow and Steady a. happy
c. Another animal b. hungry
c. sleepy

3. Hare could run:

7. Who was unhappy?
a. not very fast
b. very slowly a. Slow and Steady
c. very fast b. Hare
c. The people

4. The tortoise could:

8. The story means:
a. run fast
b. run slowly a. run fast
c. not run b. have a sleep
c. never give up

6
4. The king’s new clothes

A long time ago, there was a king who loved to have beautiful new clothes.
Every day he wore different new clothes and he used all his money to buy new
clothes.
One day two bad men came to the town. They saw how much the king loved
clothes and they thought they could get a lot of money. They told the king that
they could make very beautiful clothes. Not only were the clothes beautiful,
but they were magic too. The magic was this. Only good people could see the
clothes. Bad people could not see them.
The bad men could not really make magic clothes and they didn’t make any
clothes at all. But, the king thought they were telling the truth. He was very
happy. He thought to himself, “This is very good. Now I can find out which of
my people are good and which of my people are bad”.
The two bad men said they were working very hard day and night. They always
needed more money to buy everything for the magic clothes.
After many days of waiting, the clothes were done. But when the bad men
showed the king his new clothes, he couldn’t see anything.
“Oh, no, this is not good!” he thought to himself. “I really am a very bad
person.”
But he didn’t want anyone to know he was a bad person so he said, “Oh, my
new clothes are very beautiful!”
Then the king had to put on his beautiful new clothes and go and talk with all
his people. First, all the people said how beautiful the clothes were. Then a
very little girl called out. “The king isn’t wearing any clothes.” Then everyone
started calling out, “The king hasn’t got any clothes on.”
And they were right.

7
4. The king’s new clothes

1. The king didn’t like: 5. How long did it take to make

the clothes?
a. new clothes
b. old clothes a. One day
c. beautiful clothes b. Two days
c. Many days

2. How many bad men came to

town? 6. What did the people say
when they first saw his new
a. One clothes?
b. Two
c. Three a. They are beautiful.
b. They are new.
c. Nothing
3. They said, the clothes were:

a. beautiful 7. What was the king wearing

b. new when he talked to his people?
c. magic
a. New clothes
b. Magic clothes
4. If you could not see the c. No clothes
clothes you were:

a. a good person 8. Who called out first?

b. a bad person a. A little girl
c. a smart person b. The bad men
c. All the people

8
5. A man, his son and a donkey

One day, a man and his son were taking their donkey to the town close to their
house. They were going to sell the donkey in the town. As they were walking to
the town, a person said to them, “Why don’t you ride on the donkey”. So the
man put his boy onto the donkey and they started walking again.
Soon, they came to some more people and they said, “What a bad boy! He
lets his father walk while he is riding the donkey.” So the man made the boy
get down and he climbed onto the donkey’s back and they started walking
again.
Soon they came to some more people who said, “Look at that bad man! He
makes his son walk while he rides.” The man didn’t know what to do. After
thinking for a long time he said to the boy, “Get up on the donkey with me.
We will both ride to town on the donkey.”
When they came to the town, a lot of people saw them and said, “Look at
those big people riding on the back of the little donkey.” So the man and his
son got off the donkey and sat down to think about what to do. At last they
thought they would carry the donkey so they got some rope and put it around
the donkey’s feet. The man and the boy started to carry the donkey. At the
time they were walking by a river. The donkey was too much for them and it
fell into the river and died. Both the man and the boy were very unhappy. They
had to go home with no donkey and no money.
The meaning of the story: If you try to make everybody happy, you will make
nobody happy.

9
5. A man, his son and a donkey

1. Where was their house? 5. Who rode on the donkey

next?
a. Close to the town
b. Far away from the a. The man and the boy
town b. The man
c. Close to the river c. The boy

2. Where were they taking the 6. Then who rode on the

donkey? donkey?

a. To the river a. The man and the boy

b. To the town b. The man
c. Home c. The boy

3. Why were they taking it? 7. The donkey:

a. To sell a. swam in the river

b. To ride b. died
c. To carry c. was sold

4. Who rode the donkey first? 8. What is the meaning of the

story?
a. The man and the boy
b. The man a. Don’t ride donkeys.
c. The boy b. Don’t carry donkeys.
c. Don’t try to make
everyone happy.

10
6. The Christmas presents

A young man and a young woman lived in New York. They were in love and
they got married. The young woman had beautiful long hair. The young man
loved her beautiful long hair and every day he looked at it and thought how
beautiful she was.
The young man owned an old watch which his father had given him many
years ago. The young man loved his father’s watch. It was his favourite thing.
The young people were very happy but they didn’t have very much money.
It was the day before Christmas and the young woman was unhappy because
she had no money to buy her man a Christmas present. She knew he loved his
watch but he couldn’t wear it because the strap was broken.
“What can I do?” she thought. After thinking for a long time she said to herself,
“I know. I will cut off my hair and sell it. I can get a lot of money for my hair.
Then I can buy a new strap for his watch.”
She cut off her hair and took it to a woman who bought it. Then she bought
the watch strap for her man. She went home and waited for him to come
home from work. She didn’t want him to be unhappy when he saw her.
She heard the door open and he said “Happy Christmas.” He was very
surprised to see her short hair.
They gave each other their Christmas presents. When they saw the presents
they looked at each other. He had sold his watch to buy a beautiful comb for
her hair. She had cut off her hair and sold it to buy a strap for his watch.
They were both so happy because they knew how much they loved each other.

11
6. The Christmas presents

1. They lived in: 5. The two young people:

a. New York a. were unhappy

b. London b. were in love
c. Tokyo c. had a lot of money

2. The woman’s hair was: 6. They had:

a. short a. a lot of money

b. very short b. not much money
c. long c. not much food

3. The young man owned: 7. When he saw her short hair

he was:
a. a dog
b. a lot of money a. happy
c. a watch b. unhappy
c. surprised

4. Who gave him this thing?

8. In the end, they were both:
a. His mother a. very happy
b. His father b. very unhappy
c. His brother c. very hungry

12
7. Stone soup

A long time ago, two friends were walking to the next little town. They had
been walking and looking for work for a long time. It was hard to find work in
those times. They were hungry and they didn’t have any money or any food.
They were tired and they didn’t have a place to sleep.
At night, they came to the little town but they couldn’t see any people. All the
people of the town were sleeping in their beds. The two friends found a place
in the middle of the town and lay down and went to sleep. In the morning
they were very hungry so they took out their cooking pot, and put water into it
and put it on the fire. They put some stones in the cooking pot and they
waited. Soon the people of the town got out of their beds and came outside.
They looked at the two people and their fire.
“What are you cooking?” someone asked.
“Stone soup” they said. “It will be very good, but . . . it would be better if it had
some chicken.”
One of the women said, “I’ve got some chicken.” And she ran to her house to
get it. The two friends put the chicken into the soup and then they tried a little
of the soup.
“Much better.” They said. “But . . . it would be better if it had some potatoes.”
Someone said, “I’ve got three potatoes”, and ran off to get the potatoes.
Slowly all the people thought of something they could put into the soup and
they all ran back to their houses to get more food.
In the end, there was soup for all the people of the town as well as the two
hungry happy friends.

13
7. Stone soup

1. How many friends were 5. In the morning, they were:

walking?
a. tired
a. 1 b. hungry
b. 2 c. happy
c. 3

6. What did they put in their

2. What were they looking for? cooking pot first?

a. Work a. Chicken
b. A town b. Water
c. Soup c. Potatoes

3. How many people did they 7. They were making:

see in the town that night?
a. potato soup
a. A lot b. chicken soup
b. Not many c. stone soup
c. None

8. Who ate the soup?

4. They slept:
a. The two friends
a. in the middle of the b. The people of the town
town c. The two friends and the
b. outside the town people of the town
c. by a river

14
8. The boy who cried wolf

A long time ago, there was a boy. His work was to look after the sheep every
day. All the children had to look after the sheep every day. This boy really
didn’t like his work because all day long, he had to sit and watch the sheep. If
he didn’t watch them, they ran away and got lost. Day after day he sat and
watched the sheep. He thought, “I want something interesting to happen to
me. I’m tired of doing the same thing every day.”
One day he thought to himself, “I know what I’ll do. I’ll tell all the other
children that I can see a very big wolf, and I’ll say that the wolf is going to eat
my sheep.”
He stood up and cried out, “Help! Help! There is a big wolf and it’s going to eat
all my sheep”. All the other children left their sheep and ran over to help the
boy. But there was no wolf. The other children were very angry with him. They
said, “Don’t tell lies.” They went back to look after their sheep.
The next day, the same thing happened. “Help! Help!” cried the boy. All the
other children ran to him as fast as they could. Again they saw that the boy had
told them a lie. There was no wolf.
The next day, the boy was sitting looking at his sheep. He looked up and saw a
big hungry wolf running at him.
“Help! Help!” he cried out. “There is a wolf and it is going to eat me!”
He called and called but nobody came. They all thought he was telling lies
again.
The wolf ate the boy and that is the end of the story.
The meaning of the story is: Don’t tell lies!

15
8. The boy who cried wolf

1. Who had to look after the 5. They were:

sheep?
a. unhappy
a. Boys b. angry
b. Girls c. hungry
c. Boys and girls

6. On the third day, the boy

2. The boy: saw:

a. liked his work a lot a. a wolf

b. liked his work a little b. a lot of angry children
c. didn’t like his work c. a lot of hungry sheep

3. Every day he did: 7. Which is right?

a. different things a. The wolf ate the

b. the same things children.
c. new things b. The wolf ate the sheep.
c. The wolf ate the boy.

4. The first time, the children:

8. What is the meaning of the
a. helped him story?
b. didn’t help him
c. didn’t hear him a. Don’t help people.
b. Don’t eat sheep.
c. Don’t tell lies.

16
9. The 1001 nights

A long time ago there was a king and queen in Arabia. For some time, they
were happy but one day the queen ran away with another man. The king was
very angry. He caught the queen and the man and killed them both. After that,
he married a different woman every day. The next day she was killed, and he
married another woman.
He had killed 1000 woman before he found Scheherazade. At first, her father
said, “No. You will not marry the king because the next day you will die and I
will never see you again.” But Scheherazade was a very smart woman. She said
she would stay with the king for one night.
When that night came, she asked the king if her sister could stay with them
because she wanted to say her last goodbye to her and to tell her a story. The
king said yes.
That night, Scheherazade, started to tell her story. It was a very interesting
story and a very long story. The king and her sister listened all night, but then
they saw it was morning. Scheherazade stopped before she got to the end of
the story. The king said, “Please don’t stop your story”, but she said there was
no time because the king had to kill her.
The king really wanted to hear what happened at the end of the story so he
said he wouldn’t kill her until the next day. That night Scheherazade told the
end of the first story, and started the second story. By morning, she had only
told half the story so the king had to let her live for another day.
After 1001 stories and 1001 nights, the king fell in love with Scheherazade and
they lived happily together for many years.

17
9. The 1001 nights

1. The king and queen were in: 5. Why did Scheherazade really
want her sister to stay with
a. Arabia them?
b. France
c. Japan a. To say good bye
b. To help her start her
stories
2. At first, they were: c. Because she was scared

a. unhappy
b. happy 6. The first night, she told:
c. angry
a. half a story
b. one and a half stories
3. The king killed: c. two and a half stories

a. the queen
b. the man 7. Why did she stop telling the
c. the queen and the man story?

a. It was morning
4. How many woman did he kill b. They were sleeping
before he knew c. The king killed her
Scheherazade?

a. 100 8. In the end, the king:

b. 1,000
c. 10,000 a. fell in love with
Scheherazade
b. fell in love with her
sister
c. fell asleep

18
10. The fox and the crow

One morning, a fox was walking through the trees looking for something to eat
for her breakfast. She was very hungry but she couldn’t find any food. As she
was walking, she looked up and saw a crow sitting in a tree. The crow had a
piece of cheese in his mouth.
“Yes!” said the fox. “Here is my breakfast.”
“Good morning, beautiful crow”, she said. The crow looked at the fox but he
did not open his mouth. He did not let go of the little bit of cheese.
“What a beautiful black colour you are”, she said. “What beautiful black eyes
you have.” The crow did not open his mouth because he did not want to lose
his breakfast.
“You are the most beautiful bird in the land”, said the fox. “You are the king of
the land.” The crow really wanted to be the king of the land, but he really
wanted to eat his piece of cheese, so he didn’t open his mouth.
The fox sat down and thought. Then she said. “I know you are beautiful, but I
don’t know if you have a beautiful song.” When the fox said this, the crow
opened his mouth to sing. He wanted to show the fox that he could sing a
beautiful song. The piece of cheese fell out of his mouth and into the open
mouth of the fox waiting under the tree.
The fox ate the cheese and said “Thank you very much, Crow. You are not
really beautiful and you are not very smart”. The crow was very unhappy and
hungry because he had lost his breakfast.
The meaning of the story is: Don’t listen to people who say nice things about
you, when they really only want to take something away from you.

19
10. The fox and the crow

1. The fox was walking through 5. The crow did not want:
the trees:
a. to be king of the land
a. in the morning b. to be hungry
b. last week c. to look beautiful
c. at night

6. The crow lost the cheese

2. She was looking for: when he:

a. cheese a. talked
b. food b. sang
c. a crow c. fell from the tree

3. The fox said the crow had: 7. Who was hungry at the end?

a. beautiful black hair a. The fox

b. a beautiful black head b. The crow
c. beautiful black eyes c. The king

4. Why didn’t the crow open his 8. What is the meaning of the
mouth? story?

a. He didn’t want to lose a. Everything you hear

his breakfast. isn’t always true.
b. He didn’t want to talk b. Don’t eat cheese for
to the fox. breakfast.
c. He didn’t hear the fox. c. Don’t try to sing
beautiful songs.

20
11. Tom and the fence

A long time ago in America, there was a boy called Tom. He lived with his aunt
in a very little town by a very big river. One day, his aunt said, “Tom, please go
and do your work? Tom said, “I don’t want to do my work. I want to go to the
river with my friends”. His aunt said, “Please do your work now!” She was
starting to get angry.
Tom’s work was to paint the fence. He really didn’t want to do it, but he really
didn’t want to make his aunt angry. Tom went outside and sat down next to
the fence. After a while he got up and started painting the fence. He worked
as hard as he could. He tried to look happy and he sang a happy song.
Soon one of his friends came by. He said, “Ha ha! Tom has to paint the fence!”
Tom said, “HAVE to paint the fence? No! I LOVE painting the fence. It is my
favourite thing. Only really smart people can paint a fence”. He went on
painting the fence singing happily to himself.
“Can I try?” said his friend. “Oh no” said Tom. “You are not smart. You couldn’t
do it”
“Please let me try. Please. Please. Please! I’ll give you my apple.”
Tom took the apple and sat down while his friend worked as hard as he could.
Soon their other friends came by, and they all wanted to paint the fence.
When Tom’s aunt came outside, she saw that the fence had been painted
three times. She was surprised, but she said, “You are a good boy, Tom. I will
make your favourite - apple pie - for dinner.”
Tom thought about the five apples he had eaten that day. He wasn’t hungry.

21
11. Tom and the fence

1. Tom and his aunt lived in: 5. Tom said his favourite thing
was:
a. New Zealand
b. Australia a. singing songs
c. America b. eating apples
c. painting fences

2. They lived in:

6. Where did Tom sit down?
a. a little town by a big
river a. Next to the fence
b. a big town by a big b. By the river
river c. In the house
c. a big town by a little
river
7. How many times did they
3. Tom wanted to: paint the fence?

a. go to the river a. One

b. eat apples b. Two
c. play computer games c. Three

4. Tom was: 8. How many apples had Tom

eaten that day?
a. an angry boy
b. a smart boy a. Three
c. a hungry boy b. Five
c. Seven

22
12. The rat catcher

It was 1842 in a little town by a river in Germany. There were many rats in the
town and people were getting sick and dying because of the rats. The people of
the town didn’t know what to do. One day, a man came to the town. He said
he could make all the rats run after him by playing music. The people of the
town were happy and they said they would give him a lot of money.
He started playing music and all the rats came out of the houses and ran after
him to the river. When they came to the river, all the rats jumped into the
water and died.
At first, the people of the town were very happy, but when the rat catcher
asked them for the money, they were not so happy. They talked about what to
do for a long time and in the end they said they would only give the rat catcher
half of his money. The rat catcher was very angry and said, “You will all be very
unhappy!”
The rat catcher left the town, but the next day he came back. There were no
people in the streets. All the mothers and fathers were in church. He started
playing his music again, but this time all the children ran after him to the river.
Only three children didn’t go with him. One child had a bad foot and couldn’t
walk, one could not hear the music. The other couldn’t see so she couldn’t go
with them. When the people came out of the church, the three children told
them the story. All the people cried out and started looking everywhere for
their children. They couldn’t find them. The children and the rat catcher were
never seen again.

23
12. The rat catcher

1. The little town was in: 5. The angry rat catcher said,
“You will be very:
a. England
b. France a. happy.”
c. Germany b. unhappy.”
c. angry.”

2. People were dying because:

6. Who went to church the next
a. of the cold day?
b. of the rats
c. they had no food a. The children
b. The mothers and
fathers
3. The people of the town said c. The rat catcher
they would give the rat
catcher:
7. How many children didn’t go
a. a lot of money with the rat catcher?
b. a good dinner
c. three children a. 3
b. 2
c. 1
4. All the rats:

a. jumped into the river 8. In the end:

b. stayed in the town
c. ran to the church a. the people found the
children
b. the people found the
rat catcher
c. no one found anyone

24
13. The man who worried too much

A long time ago in China, there was a man called Yoyo who worried about
everything. He worried that he didn’t have a lot of money. He worried that his
children wouldn’t study hard. He worried that his family would not have any
food and that they would get sick. He worried there would not be any water
and everything would die. He worried about his animals and about his work.
He worried that his house would catch fire. Yoyo worried about everything and
he couldn’t stop worrying.
One day, after he had eaten a good dinner with his family, he was sitting
outside his house. He looked up into the sky and saw the stars. He started to
get worried that the stars would fall down on his head. The stars were so big!
How could they stay up in the sky? Why didn’t they fall down onto his head?
The man sat and looked at the night sky and he got more and more worried.
He called out to his friends and family.
“Come here! Come here!” he said, “The stars are going to fall down on my
head! Please, help me. What can we do?”
All his friends and family came to him. They all tried to talk to him and tell him
that there was nothing to worry about. The stars had been in the sky for many
years. They were not going to fall from the sky.
The man could not stop himself worrying. He worried and worried. There was
nothing his friends could do to help him. In the end, he got very sick from all
his worrying and died.
The meaning of the story is: Don’t worry too much. Life isn’t all about bad
things. Don’t worry about things that will never happen.

25
13. The man who worried too much

1. This story happened in: 5. Yoyo sat outside:

a. Japan a. before dinner

b. China b. in the morning
c. Korea c. after dinner

2. Yoyo worried about: 6. He looked:

a. everything a. at the trees

b. nothing b. at the house
c. most things c. at the sky

3. He worried that his children 7. Who came to talk to him?

wouldn’t:
a. His friends
a. study hard b. His family
b. eat their dinner c. His friends and family
c. look after the animals

8. What is the meaning of the

4. He worried that his house: story?

a. would fall down a. Life isn’t all bad.

b. would catch fire b. Life is always good.
c. was too little c. Don’t look up at the
sky.

26
14. Going home

In 1961, Sheila Burnford wrote a book about three animals that walked almost
500 kilometres to get back to their old home. In 1963, it was made into a
movie.
The story happened in Canada. Two dogs and a cat lived happily with their
family for many years. One day the family had to go away for three months.
While they were away, the animals stayed with a good friend of the family,
John, who lived in a little town about 500 kilometres away.
The three animals liked living with John, but one day he had to go away so he
asked his friends to look after them. Soon after John went away in his car, the
animals started their long walk home.
Many bad things happened to them on their way home. A fast car almost ran
them over. The old dog got tired and slowed down, so they always had to stop
to sleep. The young dog took some food from some people who got very angry
and chased them. After that, they only walked at night and slept in the day so
no one would see them. Then they came to a river. The two dogs swam across
but the cat fell into the river. The dogs thought the cat had died but a week
later they found her next to the river. She was very cold and sick. After she got
better, they started walking again.
When the family came home three months later, they were very unhappy. But
a week later, they heard something outside. They went outside and saw their
three lovely animal friends.
This is not a true story, but if you look on the internet you can see many true
stories about animals that have walked a long way to get home.

27
14. Going home

1. When was the book written? 5. Who got angry?

a. 1921 a. The cat

b. 1961 b. The old dog
c. 2001 c. Some people

2. How many kilometres did the 6. The three friends:

three friends walk?
a. walked at night and
a. 5 slept in the day
b. 50 b. slept at night and
c. 500 walked in the day
c. walked in the day and
slept at night
3. The story happened in:

a. Canada 7. Who fell into the river?

b. Cuba
c. Cambodia a. The old dog
b. The young dog
c. The cat
4. The friend of the family was
called:
8. This story:
a. Peter a. is true
b. John b. could not be true
c. Susan c. is not true

28
15. Ondal and the king’s daughter

A long time ago in Korea, there was a man called Ondal. He lived with his
mother. Everyone thought he was not very smart. Children called him bad
names. No one wanted to marry him. But he was a good kind man and he was
big and strong.
The king had a beautiful daughter. When she was young she was sometimes a
bad girl and didn’t do what her mother and father told her. When she was bad,
her father said, "If you are a bad girl, I will make you marry Ondal when you
are older.”
Many young men wanted to marry her but she always said no. One day her
father asked her why she always said no to the young men. She said. “When I
was young, you always told me that I would marry Ondal, so I will marry him.”
The king was very angry with his daughter and said, “You can’t marry Ondal!”
But the girl said, “You told me I would marry Ondal and I will marry him.”
The king told her to leave his house.
She went to look for Ondal. She lived with Ondal and his mother. No one knew
she was the king’s daughter. After some time they got married. They loved
each other very much. She taught him to read and write and how to ride a
horse and fight.
One day the king was looking for a big, strong, smart man to help him. Many
men wanted to help the king but the king liked one man. Later he found out
that the man was Ondal. The king was very happy and asked his daughter,
Ondal and his mother to come and live with him.
Ondal was known as the biggest, strongest, smartest and kindest man in the
land.

29
15. Ondal and the king’s daughter

1. The story happened: 5. The king said:

a. 10 years ago a. You can marry Ondal.

b. 50 years ago b. You can’t marry Ondal.
c. many years ago c. You have to marry
Ondal.

2. Ondal lived with:

6. Who left the house?
a. his mother
b. his father a. The king
c. his family b. His daughter
c. Ondal

3. The king’s daughter was:

7. Who came to live with the
a. always good king?
b. always bad
c. sometimes bad a. His daughter
b. His daughter and Ondal
c. His daughter, Ondal
4. How many men wanted to and his mother
marry her?

a. A lot 8. In the end, the king was:

b. Not many
c. One a. happy
b. angry
c. hungry

30
16. Frida and the animals

Not so long ago, there was a little girl called Frida. She lived in a big town with
her two mothers called Jenny and Olivia. When Frida was a little girl, she loved
animals. She had a lovely black and white cat and a lovely little dog. Every day
she looked after them. She gave them their food and she took her little dog for
a walk while her cat slept on her bed. When Frida was 12 years old, she said to
her mothers, “I love animals so much I want to be an animal doctor when I am
older”. Her mothers were very happy when they heard this because they loved
animals too.
Frida studied hard every day because only the very best students could be
animal doctors. By this time, Frida’s lovely cat and lovely dog were getting very
old. One day when she came home from school, she saw her lovely dog lying
very still with the cat very close to her. That night she cried herself to sleep.
The next morning, her cat had died too. All the family cried together, but it
made Frida want to be an animal doctor more than ever.
After she left school, she had to study hard for another six years. She studied
and studied and at last she was an animal doctor.
Frida started her work. Every day she helped many cats and dogs and other
animals too. Soon she was well known in the town.
One day, someone from TV came to talk to Frida. She wanted to show
everyone about Frida’s work. Frida was surprised and happy.
Now Frida lives in a beautiful little house with her new cat. Every Saturday,
Jenny and Olivia come over for dinner and they all watch Frida on TV together.

31
16. Frida and the animals

1. The little girl’s name was: 5. Her lovely cat and dog died
when she was:
a. Frida
b. Olivia a. a very young child
c. Jenny b. a student
c. an animal doctor

2. How many mothers did she

have? 6. After she left school, how
many more years did she
a. 1 study?
b. 2
c. 3 a. 2
b. 4
c. 6
3. How old was she when she
said she loved animals?
7. She helped:
a. 10
b. 12 a. cats
c. 14 b. cats and dogs
c. cats and dogs and
other animals
4. Was she a good student?

a. Yes 8. Who watches her on TV on

b. No Saturday night?
c. Sometimes
a. Frida
b. Frida and Olivia
c. Frida, Olivia and Jenny.

32
17. The party

Last Saturday, I went to a party. My friends’ daughter, Betty, and her

boyfriend, John, are going to get married. I have known Betty from when she
was born 26 years ago and I have been friends with her parents for a lot longer
than that. Betty and John have been going out together for about three years.
They held a big party for all their friends and family. They had a BBQ and
everyone brought their favourite food to eat with everyone. Some people
brought food from their own countries for everyone to try. Everyone brought
their own drinks as well.
The party was held at John’s house. He bought the house about six months
ago. It is an old house and needs a lot of work, but he is a builder so he can do
everything. His builder friends are going to help him.
At the party there were many different people to talk to. Betty’s parents aren’t
married. They don’t eat meat so they couldn’t have any BBQ. Betty’s sister
couldn’t come because she is away studying in another town. Betty is a teacher
so her teacher friends came and her Church friends were there too. John’s
mother, who lives close to his house, came to the party but his father couldn’t
come because he lives in America now with his new family. But his parents,
John’s grandparents, came. All his work friends were there. There were lots of
aunties and uncles and even a little dog.
The party started at 4 and ended late. I don’t know what time it ended because
the older people left at about 8. The young ones stayed till . . .
Betty and John are going to get married in six months. That will be a very good
party too.

33
17. The Party

1. How old is Betty? 5. Her parents don’t eat:

a. 16 a. potatoes
b. 26 b. apples
c. 36 c. meat

2. Her boyfriend’s name is: 6. When did John buy his

house?
a. Jack
b. John a. 6 weeks ago
c. Chris b. 6 months ago
c. 6 years ago

3. How long have they been

going out? 7. The story writer:

a. 1 year a. was young

b. 2 years b. was older
c. 3 years c. didn’t like the party

4. Betty is a: 8. What time did the party end?

a. teacher a. 8
b. doctor b. 10
c. builder c. We don’t know.

34
18. Where did coffee come from?

A long long time ago in a country called Ethiopia there was a man who had a
lot of goats. He got up at 5 every day and he took his goats to the hills to find
food. One day, some of the goats started eating something from some trees.
The man saw that these goats looked happier than the other goats, and they
were running around a lot and playing. He looked at the happy goats and he
looked at the trees. There were little red berries on the trees. He thought, “I’m
going to eat one of those red berries”. He ate one berry and then another and
another. Soon, the man started to feel happy and he didn’t feel tired anymore.
He put a lot of the berries into a little box and took them back to the people of
his town. They all tried the little red berries and soon they started to feel very
happy too. “Now, I don’t feel tired at all”, they said.
The people of the town said, “If we cook the berries in water they might be
even better.” They got some water and put some berries into the water and
then they put the cooking pot onto the fire. Soon they started to smell a very
good smell. They drank the water and it was very good. Everyone in the town
wanted to try the new drink.
That was the first time anyone drank . . .
“We need a name for the new drink. What will we call it?” the people said.
Someone said, “The name of our town is Kaffa. Let’s call the new drink Kaffa!
So they did. That was many years ago and now we call the drink coffee and it
is loved by people everywhere.

35
18. Where did coffee come from?

1. This story happened: 5. The man ate:

a. one berry
a. many years ago b. some berries
b. some years ago c. no berries
c. 100 years ago

6. The people put the berries

2. The man had a lot of: into:
a. very hot water
a. pigs b. cold water
b. goats c. very cold water
c. horses

7. They had:
3. The berries were:
a. a funny smell
a. red b. a bad smell
b. white c. a good smell
c. blue

4. The animals were: 8. Today, coffee is loved:

a. unhappy and tired a. only in Ethiopia

b. unhappy and not tired b. only in Kaffa
c. happy and not tired c. everywhere

36
19. Beautiful Men

A long time ago, there was a little town on an island in the Pacific. The town
didn’t have many men. The women of the town wanted to find more men but
they didn’t know how they could do it.
Every day, the young women got up at 6. They got into their boats and went to
catch fish. An old woman lived by the boat place. When she saw the young
women, she said “Stop and talk with me. I will give you food”. But the young
women would not stop and talk with her. Every day was the same.
One day, some different young women walked by. “Come and eat with me”,
the old woman said. These women stopped to talk. While they were eating,
the old woman asked, “Why are you so unhappy?” The young woman told her
their story.
“I will help you”, she said. “When you go out in your boat, take some of the
new leaves from this tree. When you get to the fishing place turn the boat
over. You will get a surprise.”
The young women did what she said and they were very surprised because
when they looked at the boat, they saw some beautiful young men. They were
all very happy.
The other unkind young women of the town were not happy at all. They ran to
the old woman and said, “Tell us what to do now!”
The old woman told them to pick some old leaves from the tree and put them
into their boat. They did what she said, but when they looked at their boat
they saw a lot of very old men. They were very angry with the old woman, but
the kind women lived happily with their beautiful men and had lots of children.

37
19. Beautiful Men

1. The little town was: 5. What did the old woman

want to give them?
a. by a river
b. on a hill a. Food
c. on an island b. Drink
c. Fish

2. There were:
6. What did the women put in
a. too many men their boats?
b. not many men
c. no men a. Food
b. Leaves
c. Water
3. The young women got up at:

a. 5 7. What happened at the end of

b. 6 the story?
c. 7
a. The kind women were
happy.
4. They started: b. The unkind women
were happy.
a. cooking c. The kind women were
b. fishing angry.
c. washing

8. What is the meaning of the

story?

a. Don’t get old.

b. Don’t go fishing.
c. Be nice.

38
20. The last straw that broke the camel’s back

A long time ago in Arabia, a family had a camel. It was a big strong camel and it
could carry a lot of things on its back. It could walk a long way and didn’t need
to drink water all the time. The camel worked very hard and the family loved it
and looked after it very well.
One day the family had to go to a little town far from their home. Two of the
young people in their family were getting married.
The man said, “Our big strong camel can carry everything and we can all walk
by its side”.
The big day came. It was very hot. The family put everything they wanted to
take in one place. They cooked food to eat on the way and they had a lot of
things to give to the young people.
When they saw how much stuff there was they looked at each other. “Can our
camel carry all our things?” they said.
They started to put things on the camel’s back. First they put on some straw.
This was food for the camel on the way. Then they put on their clothes, their
food and all the other things. The camel stood very still and waited but it was
getting hard for it to keep standing. More and more things went onto its back.
The camel thought it would fall over if one more thing was put on.
When everything was on the camel’s back, it could not move at all.
Then the man saw a very little piece of straw on the ground. He picked it up
and put it on the camel’s back.
It was too much! The camel cried out and fell over dead.
It was the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

39
20. The last straw that broke the camel’s back

1. The story happened in: 5. The family were going to:

a. Australia a. ride the camel

b. Arabia b. sell the camel
c. America c. walk next to the camel

2. The camel was: 6. What is straw?

a. little and funny a. Food for the camel

b. big and strong b. Food for the people
c. little and strong c. A kind of drink

3. Did the family love their 7. What made the camel fall
camel? over?

a. Yes a. The first thing

b. No b. The next thing
c. Not much c. The last thing

4. The family go to the other 8. The camel was:

town:
a. sleeping
a. to buy food b. eating
b. to work c. dead
c. to see people get
married

40
 Speed Readings for ESL Learners
500 BNC
Answers

1. 1. a 2. a 3. b 4. b 5. a 6. c 7. c 8. b
2. 1. b 2. a 3. c 4. b 5.a 6. b 7. c 8. a
3. 1. c 2. a 3. c 4. c 5. b 6. c 7. b 8. c
4. 1. b 2. b 3. c 4. b 5. c 6. a 7. c 8. a
5. 1. a 2. b 3. a 4. c 5. b 6. a 7. b 8. c
6. 1. a 2. c 3. c 4. b 5. b 6. b 7. c 8. a
7. 1. b 2. a 3. c 4. a 5. b 6. b 7. c 8. c
8. 1. c 2. c 3. b 4. a 5. b 6. a 7. c 8. c
9. 1. a 2. b 3. c 4. b 5. b 6. a 7. a 8. a
10. 1. a 2. b 3. c 4. a 5. b 6. b 7. b 8. a
11. 1. c 2. a 3. a 4. b 5. c 6. a 7. c 8. b
12. 1. c 2. b 3. a 4. a 5. b 6. b 7. a 8. c
13. 1. b 2. a 3. a 4. b 5. c 6. c 7. c 8. a
14. 1. b 2. c 3. a 4. b 5. c 6. a 7. c 8. c
15. 1. c 2. a 3. c 4. a 5. b 6. b 7. c 8. a
16. 1. a 2. b 3. b 4. a 5. b 6. c 7. c 8. c
17. 1. b 2. b 3. c 4. a 5. c 6. b 7. b 8. c
18. 1. a 2. b 3. a 4. c 5. b 6. a 7. c 8. c
19. 1. c 2. b 3. b 4. b 5. a 6. b 7. a 8. c
20. 1. b 2. b 3. a 4. c 5. c 6. a 7. c 8. c

41
 Progress Graph

Put an X in one of the boxes to show your reading time and words-per-minute reading rate.

Then write your score in the box under the number.

time wpm

1.00 400

1.10 345

1.20 300

1.30 265

1.40 240

1.50 220

2.00 200

2.10 185

2.20 170

2.30 160

2.40 150

2.50 140

3.00 135

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

score

42
Progress Graph

Put an X in one of the boxes to show your reading time and words-per-minute reading rate.

Then write your score in the box under the number.

time wpm

1.00 400

1.10 345

1.20 300

1.30 265

1.40 240

1.50 220

2.00 200

2.10 185

2.20 170

2.30 160

2.40 150

2.50 140

3.00 135

3.10 125

3.20 120

3.30 115

3.40 110

3.50 105

4.00 100

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

score

43
Progress Graph

Write the number of the passage under the #.

Put an X in one of the boxes to show your reading time and words-per-minute reading rate.

Then write your score in the box under the number.

44
References
Coxhead, A. (1998). An academic word list. (ELI Occasional Publication No. 18). Wellington, New
Zealand: School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria University of
Wellington.

Elley, W. B., & Mangubhai, F. (1979). A research report on reading in Fiji. Fiji English Teachers
Journal, 15, 1-7.

Millett, S. (2017) New Zealand speed readings for ESL learners, Book One (Revised 2017). (ELI
Occasional Publication No. 19). Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University of Wellington,
School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies.

Millett, S. (2017) New Zealand speed readings for ESL learners, Book Two (Revised 2017). (ELI
Occasional Publication No. 22). Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University of Wellington,
School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies.

Millett, S. (2017) New Zealand speed readings for ESL learners, 1000 Word List. (ELI Occasional
Publication No. 25). Wellington, New Zealand: School of Linguistics and Applied Language
Studies, Victoria University of Wellington.

Millett, S. (2017) Speed readings for ESL learners, 500 BNC. (ELI Occasional Publication No. 28).
Wellington, New Zealand: School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria
University of Wellington.

Millett, S. (2017) Speed readings for ESL learners, 3000 BNC. (ELI Occasional Publication No. 26).
Wellington, New Zealand: School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria
University of Wellington.

Millett, S. (2017) Speed readings for ESL learners, 4000 BNC. (ELI Occasional Publication No. 27).
Wellington, New Zealand: School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria
University of Wellington.

Nation, I. S. P. (1996) Vocabulary lists. (ELI Occasional Publication No. 17). Wellington, New Zealand:
School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria University of Wellington.

Nation, I.S.P. (2007) The four strands. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching 1, 1: 1-12.

Nuttall, C. (1996). Teaching reading skills in a foreign language (2nd ed.). Oxford: Heinemann.

Quinn, E., Nation, I. S. P. and Millett, S. (2007) Asian and Pacific speed readings for ESL learners,
(Revised 2017). (ELI Occasional Publication No 24). Wellington, New Zealand: School of
Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria University of Wellington.

Schmitt, N., Schmitt, D., & Clapham, C. (2001). Developing and exploring the behaviour of two new
versions of the Vocabulary Levels Test. Language Testing, 18, 1: 55-88.

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