Colombo e il mare Oceano (Level B1/2)

.epub ebook, .mobi (kindle compatible) ebook, .pdf ebook
(11 customer reviews)
An original Italian easy reader by Enrico Maso

September 1492, Atlantic Ocean: Christopher Columbus is wrestling with his fear of failure and ruin. After months at sea, there’s still no sign of land. Captains and crew are growing desperate!

This challenging easy reader ebook is an excellent way for intermediate-advanced students of Italian to consolidate their knowledge of grammar rules, learn new words and, above all, build reading and listening skills!

  • .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online)
  • .mobi (Kindle-compatible) and .epub (other ebook readers) available on request at no extra charge – just add a note to the order form or email us
  • 8 chapters to read and listen to
  • Comprehension questions to check your understanding
  • Italian/English glossary of ‘difficult’ terms for the level
  • Suitable for students at intermediate level or above
  • Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
How do I access my ebook?

When your order is ‘completed’ (normally immediately after your payment), a download link will be automatically emailed to you. It’s valid for 7 days and 3 download attempts so please save a copy of the .pdf ebook in a safe place. Other versions of the ebook, where available, cannot be downloaded but will be emailed to people who request them. There’s a space to do that on the order form – where it says Additional information, Order notes (optional). If you forget, or if you have problems downloading the .pdf, don’t worry! Email us at the address on the website and we’ll help. Also, why not check out our FAQ?

£9.99

Description

An original Italian easy reader by Enrico Maso

September 1492, Atlantic Ocean: Christopher Columbus is wrestling with his fear of failure and ruin. After months at sea, there’s still no sign of land. Captains and crew are growing desperate!

This challenging easy reader ebook is an excellent way for intermediate-advanced students of Italian to consolidate their knowledge of grammar rules, learn new words and, above all, build reading and listening skills!

  • .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online)
  • .mobi (Kindle-compatible) and .epub (other ebook readers) available on request at no extra charge – just add a note to the order form or email us
  • 8 chapters to read and listen to
  • Comprehension questions to check your understanding
  • Italian/English glossary of ‘difficult’ terms for the level
  • Suitable for students at intermediate level or above
  • Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
How do I access my ebook?

When your order is ‘completed’ (normally immediately after your payment), a download link will be automatically emailed to you. It’s valid for 7 days and 3 download attempts so please save a copy of the .pdf ebook in a safe place. Other versions of the ebook, where available, cannot be downloaded but will be emailed to people who request them. There’s a space to do that on the order form – where it says Additional information, Order notes (optional). If you forget, or if you have problems downloading the .pdf, don’t worry! Email us at the address on the website and we’ll help. Also, why not check out our FAQ?

Additional information

Format

.epub ebook, .mobi (kindle compatible) ebook, .pdf ebook

11 reviews for Colombo e il mare Oceano (Level B1/2)

  1. david.hood_scotland (verified owner)

    I found this the most interesting and enjoyable Easy Reader I’ve read so far. Lots of new vocabulary, but often with enough similarity to English words that you can guess the meaning without needing to look them up. I feel I’ve at last reached a level where the story generated genuine excitement and tension – or maybe that is just the skill of this writer! Highly recommended as a level B1/B2 book.

    • easyreadersorg

      Sounds like your reading skills have reached a tipping point, David. Well done to you for having put in the work that got you this far!

  2. Caroline Livingston (verified owner)

    I’m using reading to get back into Italian after a break. I enjoyed this book. It’s a bit challenging but I think that’s beneficial. My technique is to listen first, without looking at the text, trying to understand what I can. Then I look at the text, read it aloud myself and then listen again. As other reviewers have mentioned, the audio is very fast, so it’s not easy with this book, but it works for me. I go through this system chapter by chapter. I have several other books that I bought before being sidetracked away from studying Italian, so I shall carry on with them and hope to be “match ready” when I re-start lessons

  3. rosemarie (verified owner)

    I really enjoyed this book but I did find it very challenging. I am B1 and i came across many words I am not familiar with, also I found the reading very fast at times, however, it makes for very good practice for me, and I learnt many nautical terms. I listened and read along a couple of times and tried to just listen as well. not easy but a good story. I liked the length of the chapters.

  4. Wendy Hartnell (verified owner)

    I’ve only read three chapters and am finding this more difficult than other B1/B2 stories. I like the way the chapters are very short chunks. There’s a lot of new vocabulary for me – lots of nautical terms. I’m finding the story a bit slow to be honest but it’s all useful for my learning.

  5. Ruth

    Very enjoyable story. The narration is rather fast and I listened to each chapter twice before then reading it. The text is easy to understand and fill in the gaps left from the listening, which is my weakest point. Picked up a lot of new words.
    Would recommend this book.

  6. Fred (verified owner)

    Enjoyable and an easy way to learn new words.

  7. Lynne F (verified owner)

    Exactly as described on the tin! I enjoyed reading this book even though it was a little challenging, probably due to the subject specific vocabulary.I was able to guess some of the words from context but also found the glossary very useful. It is all too easy to stay in your comfort zone and read content you are familiar with.!The audio is a brilliant resource to help with pronunciation and to tune the ear into the Italian language. I have purchased both parallel text and text+audio versions of books and feel for the bonus of developing listening skills I would recommend the audio versions. The comprehension exercises at the end of each chapter are also useful although rather than completing at the end of each chapter I did read the whole book then complete these on second reading.

  8. Tim O’Neill (verified owner)

    I liked this book very much. It is an interesting story which draws you along. For me there were quite a lot of new words and phrases, but many of them you can guess from the context. There is some use of the subjunctive. The text is a nice mix of speech and description and it is not to difficult to follow the plot (which can be the case if multiple characters and the story is mostly in dialogue – then I lose enthusiasm!). The audio reading is quite fast but the diction is clear, as is the recording itself. I appreciated the end of chapter exercises to check my understanding of the text and as grammatical exercises in themselves (especially “I preposizioni!”)

  9. Barry Edwards

    This reader is currently above my level in Italian (A2) and as pointed out is quite a challenge. The audio is pretty quick but as that is how a lot of Italians speak, it is something I need to get used to rather than asking them to talk slower. I think the story is good and follows Columbus and the problems he faced on his journey. This is a reader I will go back to every often to deepen my understanding and gauge how I am progressing in my learning and comprehension of this language. I actually have the parallel text version.

  10. Tony Prosser (verified owner)

    This is one of the best of the easy readers, but is quite demanding. My level is B2; rather better in grammar due to old fashioned lessons many years ago, but weaker in listening, which is what I concentrate on now (and like many others, I find progress frustratingly slow!). My technique is to read the questions, listen, attempt to answer the questions, then listen again whilst following the Italian text. I have found the easy readers an excellent way of gaining gradual improvement.

    Of the B1/B2 readers this is not the one to start with. I would start with the excellent ‘Segreti and Polpette’. The reason is that this one has more specialist vocabulary relating to ships (explained in the glossaries), and, as the other reviewer has pointed out, is read more quickly. Although this last is challenging, I think it is ultimately very useful. My aim is to be able to engage naturally in conversation with my Italian friends, and they talk even faster. I think this reader is the nearest to the way Italians would normally speak, so it is worth persevering. I think the story works well in maintaining interest, and the flashback didn’t bother me. Indeed, detecting that it is a flashback is a useful challenge.

  11. Harold Wonham (verified owner)

    This is an absorbing account of Columbus’s gaining sponsorship for his journey westwards to the Americas, the hardships and doubts and despairs of the journey, and the final sighting of land. The vocabulary is carefully chosen and several appropriate words are given in the glossary (though of course every reader will already know some of these, while other, unknown words must be sought in a dictionary). There is good tension in the story, which invites you to read further.

    There are two reasons why I don’t award five stars. One, I found the reading too fast in places, often with parts of words swallowed. That may be how many Italians speak, but it doesn’t aid my learning. Second, there is a flashback in the middle, which is intially confusing. I’d have preferred the whole story to be sequential.

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