Sarah was driving home from work on a Friday evening. She was tired after a long week and looking forward to the weekend. The road was quiet and the sun was beginning to set. Suddenly, she heard a strange sound from her car. The car started to pull to the right side. Sarah knew immediately that something was wrong. She slowed down carefully and pulled over to the side of the road. She turned off the engine and got out of the car. She walked around the car to check the tires. The right front tire was completely flat. 'Oh no,' Sarah said to herself. She had never changed a tire before in her life. She took out her phone to call someone for help. But there was no signal on her phone. She was in an area with very poor reception. Sarah looked around but there were no houses nearby. She decided that she would have to change the tire herself. She opened the trunk of her car. Inside, she found a spare tire, a jack, and a wrench. She also found a small instruction manual for emergencies. 'I can do this,' she told herself. She read the instructions carefully step by step. First, she placed the jack under the car near the flat tire. She raised the car slowly until the tire was off the ground. Then she used the wrench to loosen the bolts on the tire. The bolts were very tight and hard to turn. Sarah had to use all her strength to turn them. Finally, the first bolt began to move. She removed all four bolts and put them in a safe place. Then she pulled the flat tire off the car. The tire was heavier than she expected. She put the flat tire next to her car. Next, she lifted the spare tire and put it on the car. She put the bolts back on and tightened them with the wrench. Then she lowered the car back to the ground. She tightened the bolts one more time to make sure they were secure. Sarah put all the tools back in the trunk. She also put the flat tire in the trunk to take to a repair shop later. Her hands were dirty and her clothes had some oil on them. But Sarah felt proud of herself. She had solved the problem all by herself. She got back in the car and started the engine. The car drove smoothly with the spare tire. Sarah drove slowly and carefully the rest of the way home. When she arrived home, her husband Tom was waiting for her. 'What happened to you?' he asked when he saw her dirty hands. Sarah smiled and told him about the flat tire. 'I changed the tire all by myself!' she said proudly. Tom was very impressed. 'That is amazing!' he said. 'I did not know you could do that.' Sarah laughed and said, 'I did not know either until today!' The next morning, Sarah took the flat tire to a repair shop. The mechanic found a small nail in the tire. 'This is what caused the flat tire,' he explained. He repaired the tire quickly and put it back on the car. Sarah was happy to have her regular tire back. She thanked the mechanic and paid for the repair. From that day on, Sarah felt more confident about driving. She knew that she could handle any problem on the road.
English Story (A2)The Flat Tire
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
Sarah gets a flat tire on her way home from work on a quiet road with no phone signal. Having never changed a tire before, she uses the instruction manual in her trunk and successfully changes the tire herself. Her husband is impressed, and the next day a mechanic fixes the puncture caused by a small nail. Sarah feels more confident knowing she can handle problems on her own.
Translations in English
Linked wordUnderlined wordOther words
Comprehension Questions
4 questions
1
Why couldn't Sarah call for help when she got a flat tire?
2
What did Sarah find in her trunk to help change the tire?
3
What was the most difficult part of changing the tire for Sarah?
4
What did the mechanic find was the cause of the flat tire?
Vocabulary
33 words from this story
