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High Intermediate (B1 High) General Reading CEFR B1

The Wolf's Debt: A Wild West Adventure

Duration

5 min read

Length

451 words

Story

5 paragraphs

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Story Excerpt

Sample preview reading passage

Paragraphs 1–2 of 5

The dusty town of Red Rock stood silent under a blood-orange moon. A lone gray wolf has made its way to the edge of the settlement, its ribs showing through its matted fur. It had been three days since it chewed free from the bounty hunters' net, and desperation pushed it into the shadows. If any townsperson saw the wolf, the guns would certainly come out. The animal's stomach ached, but the scent of food from a small hill house was too strong to resist.

The wolf crept toward the hill house, ignoring the warning bells that clanged softly in the distance. Then a hidden iron trap snapped shut around its front paw with a sickening crunch. The animal howled and pulled, but the teeth of the trap only bit deeper into its leg. It had escaped one trap only to fall into another, and now it lay helpless in the cold dirt. However, the wolf was not ready to surrender; it snarled and clawed at the earth until its body shook.

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Educational Objectives

Story Details

Grammar focus and learning objectives covered in this story.

Grammar Level

B1 · Past Perfect, Third Conditional, Past Continuous

Learning Outcomes

Recognise and use the past perfect to show which of two past events happened first.
Form third conditional sentences to talk about imaginary past situations and their results.
Use the past continuous with 'while' or 'when' to describe interrupted actions in the past.
Answer comprehension questions about the story's plot, characters, and themes.
Discuss the moral of the story using new vocabulary such as 'mercy', 'bravery', and 'kindness'.

Grammar Focus

Past Perfect: had + past participle

Use the past perfect to talk about an action that happened before another past action or time. It shows which event came first.

“ It had been three days since it chewed free from the bounty hunters' net

Tip: Use the past perfect for the earlier event and the past simple for the later event. Look for time words like 'since', 'before', or 'already'.

Third Conditional: If + past perfect, would have + past participle

Use the third conditional to imagine a different past. It describes a situation that did not happen and its imaginary result.

“ If Martha had acted out of fear, the wolf would have bitten her

Tip: Remember: the 'if' clause uses the past perfect, and the main clause uses 'would have' + past participle. Never use 'would have' in the 'if' clause.

Past Continuous: was/were + verb-ing

Use the past continuous to describe an action that was in progress at a specific time in the past, often interrupted by another action.

“ While the hunters struggled, Martha ran to the church bell and rang it loudly

Tip: Use 'while' or 'when' to connect the ongoing action (past continuous) with the shorter action (past simple).

Reading tip

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