Free Daily English · Level A2 (Elementary) · Topic: getting completely lost with a map
Arjun and the Confusing Map
Name: ______________________ Date: ____________
Arjun walked into the big museum entrance hall on a sunny morning. He was very excited because he wanted to see the dinosaur bones. The entrance hall was very large and full of people. There were tall white walls and a shiny floor. Arjun looked around and saw many doors and corridors. He did not know which way to go. He found a free paper map near the front desk. He picked it up and opened it. The map was very big and colorful. It had many lines, arrows, and small pictures on it. Arjun turned the map to the left. Then he turned it to the right. He looked at the map for a long time. He said to himself, "This map is very confusing." He did not understand it at all. Arjun tried to walk to the dinosaur room.
He looked at the map and turned left. He walked past a large statue in the middle of the hall. Then he turned right and found a gift shop. "This is not the dinosaur room," he said quietly. He looked at the map again and turned it upside down. Now the map looked even more confusing. He walked back to the statue. Then he tried to go straight, but he found the toilets instead. A woman near the door saw him and smiled. "Are you lost?" she asked. "Yes, I am very lost," Arjun said with a small laugh. "I have a map, but it does not help me." The woman laughed too. "Many people get lost here," she said kindly. "The map is not very good." The woman pointed to a big blue sign on the wall.
"Follow the blue signs for the dinosaur room," she said. Arjun looked up and saw the sign clearly. It had a small picture of a dinosaur on it. "Oh, I did not see that before!" Arjun said. He thanked the woman and followed the blue signs. He walked down a wide corridor and turned left at the next sign. After a short walk, he finally saw the dinosaur room. There were huge bones and a giant skeleton inside. Arjun smiled and put the map in his pocket. "I do not need this map anymore," he said happily. He spent a wonderful hour looking at the dinosaurs. Next time, he decided, he would look for signs first. He learned that sometimes a simple sign is better than a complicated map.
Key vocabulary
| entrance (noun) | the place where you go into a building“We met at the entrance of the building.” |
| confusing (adjective) | difficult to understand“The instructions were very confusing.” |
| corridor (noun) | a long narrow passage inside a building“She walked down the corridor to find her room.” |
| statue (noun) | a figure of a person or animal made from stone or metal“There is a large statue in the park.” |
| upside down (adverb) | with the top part at the bottom“He held the book upside down by mistake.” |
| sign (noun) | a board with words or pictures that gives information“The sign said the shop was closed.” |
| skeleton (noun) | the complete set of bones in a body“The museum has a skeleton of a whale.” |
| complicated (adjective) | having many parts and difficult to understand“The game has very complicated rules.” |
Useful phrases
- get lost — to not know where you are“I always get lost in big buildings.”
- pick something up — to take something with your hand“She picked up the pen from the table.”
- look around — to look in different directions to see what is there“We looked around the shop but did not buy anything.”
- turn left — to change direction to the left side“Turn left at the corner to find the bank.”
- at all — used to make a negative statement stronger“I did not understand the question at all.”
- point to — to show where something is using your finger“He pointed to the map and showed me the way.”
- next time — the time after this one, in the future“Next time, I will bring an umbrella.”
- look for — to try to find something“I am looking for my keys.”
Word search
Find all 8 key words from the story. They can read forwards, backwards, up, down or diagonally.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | L | N | X | E | N | T | R | A | N | C | E | B |
| 2 | B | G | N | I | S | U | F | N | O | C | W | J | R |
| 3 | N | W | S | T | A | T | U | E | H | P | D | K | N |
| 4 | W | P | W | W | C | U | Z | V | N | E | G | F | I |
| 5 | O | Q | S | Y | Q | O | N | D | T | P | K | N | K |
| 6 | D | D | B | G | E | R | R | A | E | D | P | N | H |
| 7 | E | R | V | W | H | S | C | R | K | U | M | O | X |
| 8 | D | J | Y | R | S | I | I | U | I | B | Y | W | Z |
| 9 | I | K | K | E | L | I | M | G | O | D | A | L | N |
| 10 | S | A | U | P | S | R | I | J | N | E | O | T | E |
| 11 | P | O | M | X | Y | H | E | V | F | L | X | R | E |
| 12 | U | O | Q | D | C | Q | U | H | A | K | M | Y | K |
| 13 | C | L | V | N | O | T | E | L | E | K | S | J | C |
Comprehension quiz
Where did the story take place?
- A) In a school
- B) In a park
- C) In a museum entrance hall
- D) In a shopping center
What did Arjun want to see at the museum?
- A) A statue
- B) Dinosaur bones
- C) A gift shop
- D) Old paintings
What does the word 'confusing' mean in the story?
- A) Very small
- B) Very colorful
- C) Difficult to understand
- D) Easy to read
True or false: Arjun bought the map from the front desk.
- A) Not stated
- B) Not mentioned
- C) False
- D) True
What did Arjun find when he turned right in the hall?
- A) The dinosaur room
- B) The toilets
- C) A gift shop
- D) The exit
What does 'upside down' mean?
- A) Very far away
- B) Folded in half
- C) Turned to the right
- D) With the top part at the bottom
Who helped Arjun find the dinosaur room?
- A) A woman near a door
- B) A man at the front desk
- C) A young child
- D) A security guard
What color were the signs Arjun needed to follow?
- A) Green
- B) Blue
- C) Yellow
- D) Red
True or false: Arjun spent two hours looking at the dinosaurs.
- A) Not stated
- B) Not mentioned
- C) False
- D) True
What lesson did Arjun learn at the end of the story?
- A) You should never use a paper map
- B) Museums are too big to visit alone
- C) Sometimes simple signs are better than complicated maps
- D) Maps are always the best tool
Answer key (A2 (Elementary))
1. C 2. B 3. C 4. C 5. C 6. D 7. A 8. B 9. C 10. C
Word search answer key (A2 (Elementary))
Columns are lettered from the left, rows numbered from the top. The arrow shows the reading direction from the word's first letter.
complicated: A13 ↗ · confusing: J2 ← · corridor: E4 ↘ · entrance: E1 → · sign: F7 ↘ · skeleton: K13 ← · statue: C3 → · upside down: A12 ↑