Books by level / English books
Luck: reading level, length and free edition
Luck by Mark Twain is a short story adapted for learners in English. Our team rates it B1. It runs to 1,270 words with 477 different word forms, about 6–13 min of reading at 200 to 100 words per minute, and it is free from VOA Learning English.
- Author
- Mark Twain
- Language
- English
- Level
- B1
- Form
- short story, adapted
- Words
- 1,270
- Different word forms
- 477
- Forms for 95% / 98%
- 414 / 452
- Reading time
- 6–13 min
- Free edition
- VOA Learning English
Is Luck right for your level?
To recognise 95% of the running words in Luck, you need its 414 most frequent word forms; for 98%, the share at which most readers manage a novel without a dictionary, 452. 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 4 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.
How does it begin?
I do not want to tell you his real name and titles. I will just call him Lieutenant General Lord Arthur Scoresby.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,270 | 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:
- The Black Cat, Edgar Allan Poe: 1,515 words, 422 forms for 95%
- The Whirligig of Life, O. Henry: 1,512 words, 428 forms for 95%
- The Masque of the Red Death, Edgar Allan Poe: 1,466 words, 383 forms for 95%
- The Birthmark, Nathaniel Hawthorne: 1,376 words, 467 forms for 95%
- Doctor Heidegger’s Experiment, Nathaniel Hawthorne: 1,475 words, 471 forms for 95%
- The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, Mark Twain: 1,657 words, 348 forms for 95%
See also all English books by level and books at B1 in all five languages.