News in Levels takes news stories and writes them at three different language levels. In each level, the difficult words are defined in simpler terms so you can learn what they mean. Each lesson has a voice recording reading the story, which allows you to learn proper pronunciation. The story is always read at a speed that lets you read along if you choose. In case you want to practice reading the news on your phone, you can also download the free News in Levels app to your iOS or Android device. When it comes to English reading materials for learners, there are few better resources than LearnEnglish from the British Council. If you’re a beginner, you can start with the A1 reading section. You can learn to decipher (understand) common English materials ranging from simple messages to friends to job adverts (short for advertisements or materials designed to get you to do a specific action). Each topic contains instructions on how you can best learn from the material, the text itself and a couple of interactive tasks you can complete near the end. You can also download and print out each page if you prefer to do the exercises using pen and paper. Currently, Lingua has 42 free texts available to learners across all levels and 178 premium texts (meaning you have to pay to use these additional materials). Each text comes with an audio reading and multiple-choice questions that will instantly give you a score once you’re done with the exercise. You can also download a PDF file of each text and the questions—the difference is that the PDF version doesn’t have audio and has the answers to the questions printed at the bottom of the page. If the idea of 20th century novels makes you think of books written in hard-to-understand language, this work by Ernest Hemingway might just change your mind. The book is written in Hemingway’s trademark (distinctive) beige prose, meaning prose that uses simple language and is straight to the point. It’s about an old Cuban fisherman who keeps trying and failing to catch a fish called a marlin. I can’t say any more than that, because I’ll end up spoiling (giving away or revealing) the parts of the plot that you’ll want to enjoy for yourself. After reading this, you’ll understand why this book is considered one of Hemingway’s best works and won the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.