Practice Makes Perfect: Intermediate English Reading and Comprehension contains 15 reading texts about unusual and amazing topics. The book is designed to: • Build your English vocabulary • Develop reading comprehension skills at an intermediate level • Stimulate further investigation into the topics presented This workbook is directed at the English language learner at the intermediate level-the student in a classroom looking for extra practice, as well as the indepen- dent learner practicing at his or her own pace. Each chapter contains the following sections: 1. Pre-reading As an introduction to the topic, students who are learning in a classroom setting can answer questions or engage in a short discussion. 2. Reading text Following the theme of "find out about it," the stories-each between 1,000 and 1,600 words long-cover a broad range of topics of interna- tional appeal. They originate in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Aus- tralia, Germany, Japan, and Australia. 3. Vocabulary Understanding and learning vocabulary can be difficult. You will find lots of new words in each text, and since not every new word can be included in a vocabulary list or exercise, you are encouraged to use an English- language dictionary and to keep an independent vocabulary journal to record new words. The exercises are broken down as follows. • Organizing vocabulary An effective way to increase vocabulary is to learn