Books by level / English books
The Boarded Window: reading level, length and free edition
The Boarded Window by Ambrose Bierce is a short story adapted for learners in English. Our team rates it A2. It runs to 1,505 words with 544 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
- Ambrose Bierce
- Language
- English
- Level
- A2
- Form
- short story, adapted
- Words
- 1,505
- Different word forms
- 544
- Forms for 95% / 98%
- 469 / 514
- Reading time
- 8–15 min
- Free edition
- VOA Learning English
Is The Boarded Window right for your level?
To recognise 95% of the running words in The Boarded Window, you need its 469 most frequent word forms; for 98%, the share at which most readers manage a novel without a dictionary, 514. The median English A2 book in our table needs 415 forms for 95%, so by this measure the book is typical for its level: number 47 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.
How does it begin?
In 1830, only a few miles away from what is now the great city of Cincinnati, Ohio, lay a huge and almost endless forest.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,505 | 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:
- The Furnished Room, O. Henry: 2,378 words, 474 forms for 95%
- One Thousand Dollars, O. Henry: 1,575 words, 457 forms for 95%
- The Caliph, Cupid and the Clock, O. Henry: 1,961 words, 457 forms for 95%
- The Cop and the Anthem, O. Henry: 2,050 words, 455 forms for 95%
- The Ransom of Red Chief, O. Henry: 1,548 words, 441 forms for 95%
- The Gift of the Magi, O. Henry: 1,564 words, 441 forms for 95%
See also all English books by level and books at A2 in all five languages.