Benito Cereno: reading level, length and free edition

Name: Benito Cereno
Author: Herman Melville

Benito Cereno by Herman Melville is a short story adapted for learners in English. Our team rates it A2. It runs to 3,955 words with 966 different word forms, about 20–40 min of reading at 200 to 100 words per minute, and it is free from VOA Learning English.

By the Readlang Mobile team (an independent app, not affiliated with readlang.com). Updated 31 October 2026.

Author: Herman Melville
Language: English
Level: A2
Form: short story, adapted
Words: 3,955
Different word forms: 966
Forms for 95% / 98%: 769 / 887
Reading time: 20–40 min
Free edition: VOA Learning English

Is Benito Cereno right for your level?

To recognise 95% of the running words in Benito Cereno, you need its 769 most frequent word forms; for 98%, the share at which most readers manage a novel without a dictionary, 887. 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 59 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 Benito Cereno 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.

rebels 12
deck 11
sail 8
rebel 6
leader 6
voyage 6
supplies 6
whale 6
aboard 5
crew 5
harbor 4
sails 4
sailed 4
dagger 4
cabin 4

How does it begin?

Captain Benito Cereno hurried aboard his ship. It was ready to sail. A bright sun and a soft breeze promised good weather ahead. The ship’s anchor was raised. And the San Dominick -- old but still seaworthy - moved slowly out of the harbor of Valparaiso, on the west coast of Chile.

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?

Hours to read *Benito Cereno* (3,955 words) at four reading speeds.
Words	100 wpm	150 wpm	200 wpm	250 wpm
3,955	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.

VOA published the story in 3 parts, each with a recording of the text read slowly:

To read it with a translation over every word you tap, open it in Readlang Mobile on iPhone or iPad.