Books by level / English books
A Pair of Silk Stockings: reading level, length and free edition
A Pair of Silk Stockings by Kate Chopin is a short story adapted for learners in English. Our team rates it B1. It runs to 1,509 words with 577 different word forms, about 8–15 min of reading at 200 to 100 words per minute, and it is free from VOA Learning English.
- Author
- Kate Chopin
- Language
- English
- Level
- B1
- Form
- short story, adapted
- Words
- 1,509
- Different word forms
- 577
- Forms for 95% / 98%
- 502 / 547
- Reading time
- 8–15 min
- Free edition
- VOA Learning English
Is A Pair of Silk Stockings right for your level?
To recognise 95% of the running words in A Pair of Silk Stockings, you need its 502 most frequent word forms; for 98%, the share at which most readers manage a novel without a dictionary, 547. The median English B1 book in our table needs 702 forms for 95%, so by this measure the book is easier than most for its level: number 9 of 21, easiest first.
A word form is any spelling that appears in the text, so “walk” and “walked” count twice, and names count too. These numbers are a guide to how much vocabulary the book asks for, not a test. The level itself was set by hand by our team. Before you commit, read one page of the free edition and count the words you do not know: the one-page test takes two minutes.
Which words should you know before you start?
These are the words that A Pair of Silk Stockings uses most often but that are not among the 2,000 most common word forms across all 309 English books in our library; the number is how many times each appears. Names of people and places are left out. Learning a handful of them first makes the opening chapters easier.
- stockings 13
- silk 6
- gloves 5
- counter 4
- boots 4
- worn 3
- dollar 3
- shoes 3
- department 3
- costly 3
- fitted 3
How does it begin?
Little Missus Sommers one day found herself the unexpected owner of fifteen dollars. It seemed to her a very large amount of money. The way it filled up her worn money holder gave her a feeling of importance that she had not enjoyed for years.
From the VOA Learning English edition, which is in the public domain. If this paragraph already feels slow, try a book one level lower.
How long does it take to read?
| Words | 100 wpm | 150 wpm | 200 wpm | 250 wpm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,509 | under 1 h | under 1 h | under 1 h | under 1 h |
Learners reading a book at their level often manage 100 to 150 words per minute, and readers in their first language 200 to 250. Where these speeds come from, and a calculator for your own: How long does it take to read a book?
Where can you read it for free?
This is not the original text but an adaptation for learners of English by VOA Learning English (Voice of America), from its American Stories series: shorter sentences, a limited vocabulary and an audio recording read at a slower speed. Text and audio are free on the VOA site. Material produced by the Voice of America, a U.S. government broadcaster, is in the public domain.
To read it with a translation over every word you tap, open it in Readlang Mobile on iPhone or iPad.
What to read next at B1
English books at the same level that ask for a similar amount of vocabulary:
- Doctor Heidegger’s Experiment, Nathaniel Hawthorne: 1,475 words, 471 forms for 95%
- The Birthmark, Nathaniel Hawthorne: 1,376 words, 467 forms for 95%
- The Whirligig of Life, O. Henry: 1,512 words, 428 forms for 95%
- The Black Cat, Edgar Allan Poe: 1,515 words, 422 forms for 95%
- Luck, Mark Twain: 1,270 words, 414 forms for 95%
- The Masque of the Red Death, Edgar Allan Poe: 1,466 words, 383 forms for 95%
See also all English books by level and books at B1 in all five languages.