← All listening lessons B2 · 5 minutes · Short stories
The Devil and Tom Walker Tom Walker, a mean and greedy man, meets the devil in a dark forest near Boston and is offered a pirate's hidden treasure. A story by Washington Irving, adapted for learners.
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What you’ll practise Understand comparatives and humorous descriptions.
Words to know capture To catch and take control of something. devil In stories, a powerful evil spirit. ashes The grey powder left after something burns. Words at this lesson’s level (B2) At B2, you probably know about 100% of the words in this lesson.
The other words of this lesson are at B2 or below.
Word levels from the CEFR-J Wordlist 1.5 (Yukio Tono, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies); words not in it count as above B2. Your level is the one you chose in the level guide, otherwise the lesson’s.
Source “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving, adapted for VOA Learning English American Stories. Public domain.
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Five sentences selected from the opening and cut into clips. Explanations and vocabulary are original.
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