Reading Course
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Lesson 1 – Introduction & Eight Fascinating Facts About Coffee3 Activities
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Lesson 2 – Nine Jobs That No Longer Exist3 Activities
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Lesson 3 – Amazing Celebrations Around the World3 Activities
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Lesson 4 – Amelia Earhart: America’s Pioneering Female Pilot3 Activities
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Lesson 5 – It’s the Best Time to Be Alive3 Activities
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Lesson 6 – Biggest Business Blunders3 Activities
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Lesson 7 – Conspiracy Theories That Were True3 Activities
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Lesson 8 – Cultural Perceptions of Time3 Activities
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Lesson 9 – Cyberbullying On the Rise3 Activities
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Lesson 10 – Development of Artificial Intelligence3 Activities
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Lesson 11 – Drowning in Debt3 Activities
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Lesson 12 – All About Esperanto3 Activities
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Lesson 13 – Finland’s Approach to Education3 Activities
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Lesson 14 – Common Health and Exercise Myths Debunked3 Activities
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Lesson 15 – Helicopter Parents3 Activities
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Lesson 16 – History’s Heroic Dogs3 Activities
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Lesson 17 – Interesting Recent Inventions3 Activities
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Lesson 18 – The Dark Side of International Adoption3 Activities
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Lesson 19 – Meditation: Ancient and Modern3 Activities
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Lesson 20 – How to Stay Motivated3 Activities
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Lesson 21 – Oprah Winfrey3 Activities
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Lesson 22 – Parenting Styles Around the World3 Activities
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Lesson 23 – Disastrous Dating Pet Peeves3 Activities
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Lesson 24 – The Challenge of Reducing Poverty3 Activities
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Lesson 25 – Rejection Therapy3 Activities
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Lesson 26 – Seven Unusual Hotels3 Activities
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Lesson 27 – Three Fascinating Shipwrecks3 Activities
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Lesson 28 – Songs That Changed the World3 Activities
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Lesson 29 – SpaceX and Its Plan to Colonize Mars3 Activities
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Lesson 30 – Four Strange Sports3 Activities
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Lesson 31 – Fame After 403 Activities
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Lesson 32 – The Origins of Disney3 Activities
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Lesson 33 – The Psychology of Advertising3 Activities
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Lesson 34 – What’s the Deal with Tipping?3 Activities
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Lesson 35 – Famous Unsolved Crimes3 Activities
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Lesson 36 – History of U.S.-Cuba Relations3 Activities
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Lesson 37 – Vaccines3 Activities
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Lesson 38 – Stories Behind Famous World Landmarks3 Activities
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Lesson 39 – World’s Most Expensive Foods3 Activities
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Lesson 40 – Young Entrepreneurs3 Activities
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Your feedback & Next steps
Watch the introduction video to learn how to get the most benefit from these lessons!
Click to read transcript of introduction video
Welcome to the Reading Course! I’m excited to help you improve your reading skills and vocabulary.
Here are a few tips for getting the most benefit out of the course. Remember, your English will improve the most if you do ALL the exercises included in each lesson.
STEP 1: READ THE ARTICLE AND LEARN THE VOCABULARY
Read the lesson text. I’ve included definitions of the words in bold. The definitions are in green (if you are reading the lesson online) or in the sidebar (if you are reading the lesson PDF).
If you want to see more examples of a particular word, I recommend looking it up on thefreedictionary.com or sentence.yourdictionary.com. (However, keep in mind that some words have multiple definitions – so the one I give you directly in the lesson is the one that best applies to the use of the word in the text).
Each article has five words that are NOT defined – they are in highlighted in yellow (if you are reading the lesson PDF). DON’T look these words up in the dictionary! These are words you will learn in the “Discover New Words” quiz in the worksheet.

STEP 2: DO THE COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
These are located right underneath the text, and they test how well you understood what you read. It’s OK to go back and look at the article in order to help you answer these questions. Make sure to click “Finish quiz” and then “View Questions” to check your answers!
Step 3: The Discover New Words Quiz
The next activity is the Discover New Words Quiz. You’ll see a sentence from the article including one of the yellow words that was not defined, and you need to guess the best possible definition of the word from three options. This helps you learn to figure out new words from context. It’s OK if you don’t get all the answers right… the goal is simply to practice!
Again, click “Finish quiz” and “view questions” to check your answers to “Discover New Words” before you continue to the next exercise.
Step 4: Vocabulary Quiz
This is a chance for you to use the vocabulary from the article by putting the words into new sentences. The more you practice these new words, the easier it will be to remember them.
Just type a word from the box into the correct sentence. Again, you can check your own answers by clicking “Finish quiz” and “View questions.”
STEP 5: WRITING TASK WITH FEEDBACK
There’s a topic/question for you to respond. You don’t need to write a lot – two or three short paragraphs is fine! Type your writing into the form on the lesson page and click “Send my answers.”
The Espresso English teaching team will correct students’ writing in the order we receive it. We’ll usually reply within a couple days, depending on how much homework we have to correct.
QUESTIONS? PROBLEMS?
If you have a question about a lesson, or if you’re having technical problems, send me a message and I’m happy to help. I hope you enjoy the course!
Then continue to Lesson 1 below!
Remember: The words in yellow you will learn in the Discover New Words quiz.
Read the article and learn vocabulary
Many of us cherish our morning cup of coffee. The aroma rouses us from sleep and launches us into a more productive day. The taste is comforting and invigorating. We cradle the warm mug in our hands as though it were a treasure. But how much do we know about coffee?
You might appreciate your coffee even more after learning these interesting tidbits about its history and benefits.
- cherish = love with a lot of affection, as if it were very valuable
- aroma = smell (this word is used for a nice smell)
- rouses = wakes up or causes to be active
- invigorating = gives you energy and strength
- mug = a thick cup with a handle
- tidbits = tiny pieces of information or food
1. The coffee bean is extracted from a red berry
The coffee plant is a shrub or small tree that produces edible red fruit, called cherries. Each cherry contains two seeds – and it is these that become our esteemed coffee beans. The cherries are picked, dried, and peeled down to the green seed, which is then roasted at a temperature of 500 degrees until it doubles in size.
- shrub = a bush, a type of vegetation that grows low to the ground
- esteemed = respected
- roasted = cooked with dry heat (no water)
2. Goats discovered caffeine
Legend has it that the stimulant effects of caffeine were discovered by Ethiopian shepherds in the 9th century, after they witnessed their goats’ unusual hyperactivity following a binge on the coffee cherries. We can only assume that the goats later experienced a caffeine crash.
- legend has it = according to legend (unconfirmed)
- shepherds = people who take care of sheep & goats
- witnessed = were present to observe
- crash = sudden loss of energy
3. It’s a hot commodity
After oil, coffee is the second most traded product in the world, beating out agriculture, animal products, metals, precious metals, natural gas, and the combined categories of butter, orange juice, sugar, and cocoa.
- hot = (informal) currently popular and successful
- beating out = performing better than
- precious metals = gold and silver
4. Coffee could kill you…
There is a lethal dose of caffeine, and that dose is roughly 100 cups of coffee in a day. It is said that Voltaire, the French philosopher, drank fifty cups per day. That’s more than three times the amount consumed by U.S. President Teddy Roosevelt, who downed a gallon a day.
- a lethal dose = an amount that could kill you
- roughly = approximately
- downed = (informal) drank
- a gallon = a unit of volume equal to 3.785 liters
5. …but it will more likely help you live longer
There are many health perks to drinking coffee, which is full of antioxidants. Studies indicate that regular coffee drinkers are at lower risk for conditions including Parkinson’s disease, Type II Diabetes, Heart Disease, cirrhosis, and dementia. Coffee does the body good.
- antioxidants = chemicals that are believed to protect the body’s cells from damage
- cirrhosis = a disease of the liver
- dementia = loss of mental ability caused by old age or disease
6. Coffee assists in weight loss
Not only does caffeine stimulate an increased metabolism for fat burning, it also triggers an adrenaline release and unbinds fatty acid from fat tissue, both of which heighten performance while exercising.
- metabolism = the process of the body breaking down food and using it for energy
- unbinds = disconnects
7. Cold weather + Americans = Irish Coffee
Irish coffee, the rich cocktail of coffee, brown sugar, whiskey, and cream, was created by an Irish airline in order to help American passengers warm up as they disembarked into Ireland’s chilly and damp weather.
- rich = when a food or drink is described as “rich,” it means it’s very full of flavor
- cocktail = a drink where alcohol is mixed with other ingredients
- disembarked = got off a boat or plane
- damp = slightly wet
8. The effects of coffee are immediate
You’ll experience a caffeine rush merely ten minutes after your first sip of coffee. That means the potential to feel restored, energized, and ready for the day. So, what are you waiting for? Drink up!
- rush = a sudden intense sensation
- sip = small drink
Reading Course
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Lesson 1 – Introduction & Eight Fascinating Facts About Coffee3 Activities
-
Lesson 2 – Nine Jobs That No Longer Exist3 Activities
-
Lesson 3 – Amazing Celebrations Around the World3 Activities
-
Lesson 4 – Amelia Earhart: America’s Pioneering Female Pilot3 Activities
-
Lesson 5 – It’s the Best Time to Be Alive3 Activities
-
Lesson 6 – Biggest Business Blunders3 Activities
-
Lesson 7 – Conspiracy Theories That Were True3 Activities
-
Lesson 8 – Cultural Perceptions of Time3 Activities
-
Lesson 9 – Cyberbullying On the Rise3 Activities
-
Lesson 10 – Development of Artificial Intelligence3 Activities
-
Lesson 11 – Drowning in Debt3 Activities
-
Lesson 12 – All About Esperanto3 Activities
-
Lesson 13 – Finland’s Approach to Education3 Activities
-
Lesson 14 – Common Health and Exercise Myths Debunked3 Activities
-
Lesson 15 – Helicopter Parents3 Activities
-
Lesson 16 – History’s Heroic Dogs3 Activities
-
Lesson 17 – Interesting Recent Inventions3 Activities
-
Lesson 18 – The Dark Side of International Adoption3 Activities
-
Lesson 19 – Meditation: Ancient and Modern3 Activities
-
Lesson 20 – How to Stay Motivated3 Activities
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Lesson 21 – Oprah Winfrey3 Activities
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Lesson 22 – Parenting Styles Around the World3 Activities
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Lesson 23 – Disastrous Dating Pet Peeves3 Activities
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Lesson 24 – The Challenge of Reducing Poverty3 Activities
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Lesson 25 – Rejection Therapy3 Activities
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Lesson 26 – Seven Unusual Hotels3 Activities
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Lesson 27 – Three Fascinating Shipwrecks3 Activities
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Lesson 28 – Songs That Changed the World3 Activities
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Lesson 29 – SpaceX and Its Plan to Colonize Mars3 Activities
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Lesson 30 – Four Strange Sports3 Activities
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Lesson 31 – Fame After 403 Activities
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Lesson 32 – The Origins of Disney3 Activities
-
Lesson 33 – The Psychology of Advertising3 Activities
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Lesson 34 – What’s the Deal with Tipping?3 Activities
-
Lesson 35 – Famous Unsolved Crimes3 Activities
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Lesson 36 – History of U.S.-Cuba Relations3 Activities
-
Lesson 37 – Vaccines3 Activities
-
Lesson 38 – Stories Behind Famous World Landmarks3 Activities
-
Lesson 39 – World’s Most Expensive Foods3 Activities
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Lesson 40 – Young Entrepreneurs3 Activities
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Your feedback & Next steps
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Question 1 of 1
1. Question
Write a T for “true” or F for “false” according to the article:
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- The coffee plant is quite tall. –
- Coffee beans come from inside a red fruit. –
- The seeds get bigger when they are roasted. –
- Caffeine was discovered thanks to animals. –
- Coffee is the world’s most traded product. –
- Voltaire drank enough coffee to kill him. –
- Regular coffee drinkers have lower risks for some diseases. –
- Drinking too much coffee can lead to weight gain. –
- Irish coffee was actually invented in America. –
- Caffeine takes effect ten minutes after you start drinking coffee. –
CorrectIncorrect -
Make sure to click “Finish quiz” and then “View Questions” to check your answers! ☝️