A Tale of Two Cities: read-along
A Tale of Two Cities as a read-along for the projector: 18 pages, 2824 words, level 17, beyond grade 8.
Page 1 of 18
It was, as the celebrated opening declares, the best of times and the worst of times, and in the November of 1775 two magnificent countries, England and France, were each governed by a king and queen who were thoroughly convinced that nothing would ever change. On a bitter and foggy night, a mail coach labored painfully up the hill from Dover, and among its apprehensive passengers sat Jarvis Lorry, a meticulous and extremely cautious gentleman from Tellson's Bank. A breathless messenger overtook the coach and delivered a mysterious note, and Lorry returned an answer that perplexed the messenger completely: "Recalled to life." Behind those three words lay a tremendous secret, which had been waiting patiently for eighteen years. Neither the king nor the queen suspected that, in barely fifteen years, the storm gathering beneath their feet would sweep away everything that they imagined to be eternal.
Keys: ← → or Page Up and Page Down turn the page, Space starts and pauses the voice, Home and End jump, F fills the screen. Tapping the right side of a page goes on; the left side goes back.
How to use it
- Press Full screen (F) to put the book on the projector.
- Press Read to me (Space), or read it yourself and turn pages with the arrow keys or a tap. Pick the Pace that suits the class.
- After the last page, three questions come up to talk about.
About this book
- Level 17, beyond grade 8
- 18 pages, 2824 words, about 21 minutes aloud
- A classic tale, a little spooky
Related
About A Tale of Two Cities
A man freed from eighteen years in the Bastille, the daughter who brings him home, and a careless lawyer who looks just like her husband are swept up in the French Revolution. A short edition of the Dickens novel, with its famous last night.
Words to preview
- dissolute (DIS-uh-loot)
- wasteful, careless
- tribunal (try-BYOO-nul)
- court of judges
- haughty (HAW-tee)
- proud, scornful
- register (REJ-ih-ster)
- written list
- oppressed (uh-PREST)
- treated cruelly
Questions that fit any book
- What happened at the beginning, in the middle and at the end?
- Which page was your favorite? Why?
- How did the main character feel at the end? What tells you?
Questions
How long does A Tale of Two Cities take to read aloud?
It has 18 pages and 2824 words, so about 21 minutes at the Steady pace and a little less at Quick. If you stop to talk on the way, plan for more.
What reading level is A Tale of Two Cities?
Level 17, beyond grade 8. The library numbers its levels from 0 to 18 and puts the level of a book on its cover; levels above 13 are beyond grade 8 and have no grade. A level is a guide for choosing, so look at the pages yourself.
Whose voice is it?
Your browser's own. Read to me uses a speaking voice already on the computer, so it sounds like that computer and works without a sign-in. Voices differ: some light each word as it is spoken, and some do not, in which case the highlight follows a steady pace instead. Some browsers use an online voice; if yours does, the browser, not us, sends the words of the page to its speech service. If no voice is installed, turn the pages and read it aloud yourself.
Do students need an account?
No. Nothing is asked of anyone and nothing is sent to us. Project the page, or share the link and let students open it on their own screens.
Is this the original text?
No. It is a retelling in Peabody's own words at this reading level, so it may differ from the edition you know.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. The voice is your browser's own. No sign-in, no ads.