Books by level / English books
A Retrieved Reformation: reading level, length and free edition
A Retrieved Reformation by O. Henry is a short story adapted for learners in English. Our team rates it A2. It runs to 2,535 words with 642 different word forms, about 13–25 min of reading at 200 to 100 words per minute, and it is free from VOA Learning English.
- Author
- O. Henry
- Language
- English
- Level
- A2
- Form
- short story, adapted
- Words
- 2,535
- Different word forms
- 642
- Forms for 95% / 98%
- 516 / 592
- Reading time
- 13–25 min
- Free edition
- VOA Learning English
Is A Retrieved Reformation right for your level?
To recognise 95% of the running words in A Retrieved Reformation, you need its 516 most frequent word forms; for 98%, the share at which most readers manage a novel without a dictionary, 592. The median English A2 book in our table needs 415 forms for 95%, so by this measure the book is harder than most for its level: number 49 of 60, 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 Retrieved Reformation 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.
- tools 7
- shoe 6
- breaking 5
- dollars 5
- shoes 4
- banker 4
- restaurant 3
- shaking 3
- planned 3
- enjoyed 3
- sold 3
- clock 3
- flower 3
How does it begin?
In the prison shoe-shop, Jimmy Valentine was busily at work making shoes. A prison officer came into the shop, and led Jimmy to the prison office. There Jimmy was given an important paper. It said that he was free.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,535 | 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 A2
English books at the same level that ask for a similar amount of vocabulary:
- Rappaccini’s Daughter, Nathaniel Hawthorne: 2,819 words, 525 forms for 95%
- Hearts and Crosses, O. Henry: 3,116 words, 527 forms for 95%
- The Furnished Room, O. Henry: 2,378 words, 474 forms for 95%
- The Open Boat, Stephen Crane: 2,971 words, 558 forms for 95%
- The Boarded Window, Ambrose Bierce: 1,505 words, 469 forms for 95%
- One Thousand Dollars, O. Henry: 1,575 words, 457 forms for 95%
See also all English books by level and books at A2 in all five languages.