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High Elementary (A2 High) Test Preparation CEFR A2

Ember's Glowing Heart: A Dragon's Tale

Ember was a small dragon who lived in a frozen tundra. Unlike the other dragons, who had icy blue scales, Ember had warm orange scales. He could breathe fire, but his friends could breathe sparkling f...

Duration

5 min read

Length

204 words

Story

4 paragraphs

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Story Excerpt

Sample preview reading passage

Paragraphs 1–2 of 4

The winter competition was announced by the leader, who said the best winter display would win the Golden Snowflake. Ember wanted to win, so he tried to freeze his breath. He held ice in his mouth, but it melted. He practiced for many days, and he became very tired.

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Educational Objectives

Story Details

Grammar focus and learning objectives covered in this story.

Grammar Level

A2 · Past Simple, could for past ability, relative clauses with who

Learning Outcomes

Read a short story about a dragon and understand the main events.
Recognise and use the past simple to talk about completed actions.
Use 'could' to describe past abilities and talents.
Identify relative clauses with 'who' that give more information about people or characters.
Answer simple comprehension questions about the story's plot and message.

Grammar Focus

Past Simple: subject + verb(-ed) or irregular past form

Use the past simple to talk about completed actions in the past. Regular verbs add -ed, but many common verbs are irregular (e.g., 'lived', 'had', 'could', 'made', 'saw').

“ Ember was a small dragon who lived in a frozen tundra.

Tip: Learn the past form of irregular verbs by heart, and remember that the past simple is the same for all persons (I lived, you lived, he lived).

Could for past ability: subject + could + base verb

Use 'could' to talk about general abilities in the past. It is the past form of 'can' and is followed by the base form of the verb.

“ He could breathe fire, but his friends could breathe sparkling frost.

Tip: Don't add -s or -ed to the verb after 'could'; always use the base form (e.g., 'could breathe', not 'could breathes').

Relative clauses with who: noun + who + verb

Use 'who' to add extra information about a person or character. The clause comes right after the noun it describes.

“ The judges, who had never seen such a thing, gave him the Golden Snowflake.

Tip: Put the 'who' clause immediately after the person or character it describes, and use commas if the information is extra (non-defining).

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