Lucas had a big maths exam tomorrow. He sat at his desk and opened his textbook. The pages were full of numbers and formulas. Lucas felt a knot in his stomach. 'I will never understand this,' he thought. His mother knocked on his door. 'Lucas, how is the studying going?' she asked. 'Not well. I don't understand fractions at all,' said Lucas. His mother came in and sat next to him. 'Show me the problem,' she said gently. Lucas pointed to a difficult exercise in the book. His mother looked at it and smiled. 'I learned this too, a long time ago. Let's work on it together,' she said. They spent an hour working through the problems. Slowly, Lucas began to understand the method. 'I think I'm getting it now,' he said. His mother was pleased. 'Now practice a few more on your own,' she said. Lucas worked through ten more exercises by himself. He got most of them right. The next morning, Lucas arrived at school early. His friend Mia was already in the classroom. She looked pale and worried. 'Are you okay?' Lucas asked her. 'No. I studied until midnight but I still feel unprepared,' said Mia. 'Me too,' said Lucas. 'But my mum helped me with fractions last night.' Mia looked at him with hopeful eyes. 'Can you explain fractions to me quickly?' she asked. Lucas took out a piece of paper and started to draw. He drew a circle and divided it into four parts. 'One quarter means one out of four equal parts,' he explained. Mia's face brightened. 'Oh! That makes so much sense now,' she said. Other students gathered around to listen. Lucas explained the same thing to three more classmates. The teacher, Mr. Hansen, walked into the room. He saw Lucas explaining fractions to the class. 'Very good, Lucas!' said Mr. Hansen with a smile. Lucas felt proud. Mr. Hansen gave out the exam papers. Lucas looked at the first question and took a deep breath. It was about fractions. He smiled and started to write. The exam lasted one hour. When the time was up, Lucas put down his pencil. He felt much better than before the exam. Mia came over to him after class. 'Thank you for explaining fractions to me this morning,' she said. 'I think I answered the fraction questions correctly!' she added. Lucas laughed. 'Me too, I think.' Two weeks later, Mr. Hansen returned the exam papers. Lucas got a B+ on the exam. Mia got a B on her exam. They were both very happy with their results. That evening, Lucas told his mother about his grade. 'B+! I am so proud of you,' she said and hugged him. Lucas smiled. He had learned something important. It was not about being perfect. It was about asking for help when you needed it. And it was about helping others too.
English Story (A2)Exam Stress
This A2 English story is designed for elementarys learning English. It includes simple vocabulary and short sentences to help you improve your reading and listening skills. Click any word to see translations and hear pronunciation.
About this story
Lucas felt stressed before a big maths exam because he did not understand fractions. His mother helped him study the night before, and the next morning he taught the method to his friend Mia and other classmates. Both Lucas and Mia passed the exam with good grades, and Lucas learned that asking for help and helping others are both important.
Translations in English
Linked wordUnderlined wordOther words
Comprehension Questions
4 questions
1
What subject did Lucas have trouble understanding?
2
How did Lucas explain fractions to Mia?
3
What grade did Lucas get on the exam?
4
What important lesson did Lucas learn from this experience?
Vocabulary
30 words from this story
