B2 AI reading lesson
The City That Learned to Breathe
Lena is preparing a proposal for a city that is too hot, too busy, and too polluted. Read the story carefully, answer each B2 reading task, and let the AI judge unlock the next password clue.
Reading for gist, detail, inference, vocabulary in context, evidence, summary, and supported opinion.
Lena arrives in Arbordale and notices that the city's idea of success may have a hidden cost.
First Impression
Read Part 1. In 3-4 sentences, explain what Arbordale is like at the beginning and what problem Lena starts to notice.
The City That Learned to Breathe When Lena first moved to Arbordale, the city seemed proud of being fast. Buses hissed through narrow streets, delivery bikes slipped between cars, and office lights stayed on long after midnight. People called it efficient, but Lena noticed something else: nobody looked up. They hurried under grey towers, coughing into their sleeves, while the sky above them carried the colour of old metal. Lena lived on the twentieth floor with her aunt, who worked as a nurse. Every evening, her aunt returned tired and left her shoes by the door as if they were too heavy to carry another step. "The hospital is full of breathing problems again," she said one night. "Not emergencies exactly, but enough to tell you the city is not healthy." At school, Lena joined the environmental club mostly because her friend Amir promised there would be snacks. The club was small, and its projects usually disappeared under more urgent school events. But that spring, a science teacher showed them a map of Arbordale's hottest streets. The red areas followed the busiest roads and the neighbourhoods with the fewest trees. Lena stared at the map and saw her own apartment building glowing almost orange.