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High Beginner (A1 High) TOEFL Prep CEFR A1

The Secret of the Space Shark

In the big space kingdom, there was a problem. A big shark was near the castle. The people were very scared. They did not know why the shark was there.The king said, "We must stop the shark." But a gi...

Duration

5 min read

Length

99 words

Story

3 paragraphs

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Story Excerpt

Sample preview reading passage

Paragraphs 1–2 of 3

In the big space kingdom, there was a problem. A big shark was near the castle. The people were very scared. They did not know why the shark was there.

The king said, "We must stop the shark." But a girl named Mia was kind. She gave food to the shark. The shark looked sad and tired. Mia saw the shark was not bad.

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Educational Objectives

Story Details

Grammar focus and learning objectives covered in this story.

Grammar Level

A1 · Past Simple (was/were, regular & irregular verbs), prepositions of place

Learning Outcomes

Read and understand a short story about a space shark and a kind girl.
Recognise and use the past simple forms 'was' and 'were' to describe past states.
Identify regular and irregular past simple verbs like 'looked', 'gave', 'saw', and 'told'.
Use prepositions of place such as 'in', 'near', and 'to' to talk about locations.
Answer simple comprehension questions about the story's events and characters.

Grammar Focus

Past Simple: was/were + adjective or noun

Use 'was' or 'were' to talk about states or situations in the past. 'Was' is for singular subjects (I, he, she, it), and 'were' is for plural subjects (we, you, they).

“ The people were very scared.

Tip: Remember: 'was' for one person or thing, 'were' for more than one.

Past Simple: regular and irregular verbs (e.g., looked, gave, saw, told)

Use the past simple to talk about completed actions in the past. Regular verbs add -ed (e.g., looked), while irregular verbs change form (e.g., give → gave, see → saw, tell → told).

“ She gave food to the shark.

Tip: Learn common irregular verbs by heart, like 'give/gave', 'see/saw', 'tell/told'.

Prepositions of place: in, near, to

Use prepositions like 'in', 'near', and 'to' to show where something is or where it moves. 'In' means inside, 'near' means close to, and 'to' shows direction.

“ A big shark was near the castle.

Tip: Visualise the position: 'in' for inside, 'near' for close, 'to' for movement toward.

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