SpeakBase Times is a free English news site for learners that rewrites every real news story at four levels: Level 1 Absolute Beginner, Level 2 High Beginner, Level 3 Intermediate and Level 4 Advanced.
Every level has its own text, a vocabulary list, read-aloud audio and exercises (multiple choice, true or false, fill in the blank and matching, plus sentence ordering at levels 3 and 4).
More than ten new stories are published every day, 1,771 so far since May 2026, across world news, science, technology, health, sport, business and culture.
Levels 1 and 2 are free; levels 3 and 4 open for a 60-second preview and are part of SpeakBase Premium. After reading, one tap starts a spoken conversation about the story with Kate, SpeakBase's AI speaking tutor.

Two commercial ships were hit within 24 hours outside the Strait of Hormuz, one off Qatar and one burning off Fujairah, as maritime sources said last week saw the most tanker attacks of any week since the war began. Iran did not claim either strike, and the Pentagon has reportedly been told to prepare for a possible return to major combat.

Science · Oct 8 · L2

Science · Oct 8 · L2

Sports · Oct 8 · L2
Discuss today's news with Kate
Talk about: Iran Hits Tankers Off Qatar and Fujairah, Widening Its Campaign Beyond the Strait of Hormuz

Finance · Oct 8 · L2

Science · Oct 8 · L2
Tech · Oct 8 · L2

Entertainment · Oct 8 · L2

Finance · Oct 8 · L2

World · Oct 8 · L2

Sports · Oct 8 · L2

Tech · Oct 8 · L2

Science · Oct 8 · L2

Science · Oct 8 · L2

Finance · Oct 8 · L2

World · Oct 8 · L2

Sports · Oct 7 · L2

Entertainment · Oct 7 · L2

Science · Oct 7 · L2

Science · Oct 7 · L2
Finance · Oct 7 · L2
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World · Oct 7 · L2
World · Oct 7 · L2
Tech · Oct 7 · L2
Words you tap become flashcards
Every word you tap in an article joins your Smart Review automatically
English news in levels means the same real news story rewritten at several difficulty levels, so a learner can read today's news at a level they understand and still meet a few new words. SpeakBase Times does this at four levels, from Level 1 Absolute Beginner to Level 4 Advanced, with vocabulary, audio and exercises for each level.
Levels 1 and 2 of every story are free to read, with their vocabulary, audio and exercises. Levels 3 and 4 open for a 60-second preview and are then part of SpeakBase Premium.
Every day, usually in a morning and an afternoon batch (Israel time), and more than ten stories a day. 1,771 stories have been published since May 2026, and the full archive stays online.
On its home page in September 2026, newsinlevels.com offered three levels defined by vocabulary size. SpeakBase Times uses four levels, adds exercises at every level, turns the words you tap into flashcards, and lets you talk about each story out loud with Kate, an AI speaking tutor who corrects your English as you speak.
If you are not sure, read Level 2 and move up when it feels easy. The free 3-minute spoken level test on SpeakBase also tells you your CEFR level if you want a second opinion.