Future Simple Stories with Exercises and Answers (Free PDF)

The Cake on the Bus

Nila stepped onto the number fourteen bus on Saturday morning. In her hands, she held a large white bakery box with two ribbons. Inside was a tall berry cake for her family's lunch. "I am going to visit my brother today," she thought happily. But the bus was crowded, and the road had three sharp turns. "The soft decoration will slide if I do not sit down," she thought. "It won't survive twenty minutes on a bumpy road."

She walked down the narrow aisle with careful steps. A man in a blue jacket looked up from the middle row. His name was Zeki, and he was returning home from the neighborhood market. He saw Nila carrying the box and noticed the bakery sticker.

"Excuse me!" Zeki said with a warm smile. "That box looks heavy. I'll make room on the seat beside me. You can place it here on this level bench."

"Thank you," Nila answered. "I'll take the seat, and the cake will stay safe between us."

She stepped closer to the bench, but a sharp smell suddenly reached her nose. On the floor by Zeki's feet sat an open bag with large raw onions. The strong smell filled the whole row.

Nila stopped. She did not want a strong onion smell near sweet cream. "If I put the cake beside that bag," she thought, "the sweet frosting will smell like soup! My niece won't eat onion-flavored cake."

Zeki noticed her look. "Don't worry," he offered warmly. "I'll push my shopping bag further away, or I'll hold the box on my lap for you."

"You are very kind," Nila replied with a friendly laugh. "But I won't trouble you with my cake. Your onions look wonderful, but I don't want the sweet frosting to smell like onions."

Zeki chuckled and looked into his bag. "You are right," he said. "My dinner will have onions, but your dessert will be sweet. They will not be good friends!"

Nila saw an open seat across the aisle. "I'll sit over there," she decided quickly. "I'll place my flat backpack on the floor between my shoes. That will support my feet, and I'll hold the cake firmly on my lap."

She sat down and arranged her bag on the floor. Her knees made a flat, steady table for the bakery box. When the bus turned the first sharp corner, the box did not tilt at all.

"It works!" Nila called softly with a smile. "The tall frosting will stay safe, and it will smell like fresh vanilla."

"Excellent," Zeki replied with a nod. "And I promise I won't let any onions roll toward you!"

Ten minutes later, the bus stopped near her brother's street. Nila stood up carefully with her sweet, safe dessert. She walked into the midday sunshine, confident that the family lunch would be a delicious success.

Questions

1. Who was Nila going to visit on Saturday morning?
2. Why did Nila stop as she moved closer to Zeki's seat?
3. What showed that Nila's new way of holding the box worked?
4. What can you tell about Zeki from his last promise to Nila?

Future Simple Practice

1. Choose the correct words: Zeki smiled and said, 'That box looks heavy. I __________ room on the seat beside me.'
   • will make
   • 'll making
   • make
   • made
2. Complete the sentence with 'will' or 'won't': Nila thought, 'The sweet frosting will smell like soup! My niece __________ eat onion-flavored cake.'
3. Put the words in order to make a statement.
   • cake
   • stay
   • The
   • will
   • safe
4. Choose the correct words: Nila saw an open seat and decided, 'I __________ over there.'
   • will sit
   • sitting
   • sat
   • sit
5. Read Zeki's words: 'I promise I won't let any onions roll toward you!' What is he doing?
   • Making a prediction
   • Making a promise
   • Describing a past event
   • Describing a habit

Your turn: You are carrying a gift on a bus. Write three or four sentences about how you will keep it safe. Include an offer or a promise.

The Sound of Saturday

Farah stood near the fountain in the town square on Saturday morning. The sun was bright, and the morning air was cool. Farah held her smartphone in both hands. Her sister, Vera, lived in Chicago now, and Farah missed their weekly walks. "I will send Vera a short audio postcard," Farah decided. "It will be a calm greeting. She will hear the water, and she will feel close to home."

Farah sat on a stone bench and opened her recording app. She held the phone near the splashing water. Then she smiled and tapped the red record button. "Good morning, Vera," Farah whispered into the microphone. "Listen to our peaceful square. Nobody is awake yet. The whole day will be quiet and slow."

Suddenly, heavy wooden wheels clattered over the rough stones. A fruit vendor pushed a tall cart past Farah's bench. "Sweet yellow peaches!" the vendor called in a booming voice. "Fresh fruit for Saturday morning!" A pigeon fluttered up, and a shop door banged open across the square.

Farah opened her eyes wide. The green audio meter on her screen jumped to the top. She quickly tapped the pause button. "Oh no," Farah thought. "This loud noise will ruin the peaceful greeting. The microphone won't catch the gentle fountain now." Her thumb moved toward the trash icon to delete the file.

Then Farah paused and listened to the square. The vendor hummed a cheerful song as he arranged his fruit. Water splashed, and church bells chimed softly down the street. A warm smile appeared on Farah's face. "No, I won't erase the recording," she decided. "I will keep every sound. Vera will love this lively morning much more than silence."

The vendor set his cart down and wiped his forehead. He noticed Farah holding her phone in the air. "Are you making a recording, young woman?" the vendor asked. "I am making an audio postcard for my sister abroad," Farah explained. The vendor smiled warmly. "Then I will help you!" he offered. "I will add a greeting from our market."

Farah smiled and tapped the record button again. The vendor leaned toward the microphone. "Hello, Vera!" he shouted cheerfully. "Come home soon, and we will save the sweetest peaches for you!" Farah laughed as a bicycle bell rang near the fountain. "That is wonderful," Farah said. "I will stop the recording now." She pressed the square button and saved the audio clip.

Farah tapped the send button, and the audio file traveled across the ocean. She leaned back on the bench and enjoyed the warm sunshine. Only three minutes later, her phone buzzed with an incoming voice note. Farah pressed play, and Vera's happy laughter filled the speaker. "That was amazing!" Vera said. "I will listen to those market sounds every morning. I promise I will visit home next summer, and we will walk through the square together."

Questions

1. Where was Farah on Saturday morning?
2. Why did Farah nearly delete the recording?
3. How did the vendor make the postcard more personal?
4. What does Vera's last promise suggest about her feelings?

Future Simple Practice

1. Farah decided about the postcard: 'It __________ be a calm greeting.'
   • will
   • won't
   • is
   • was
2. Complete with 'will' or 'won't': Farah changed her mind and said, 'I __________ keep every sound.'
3. Put the words in order to make a statement.
   • will
   • I
   • help
   • you.
4. Vera made a promise: 'I promise I __________ visit home next summer.'
   • will
   • won't
   • did
   • are
5. Farah almost deletes the file, then says, 'No, I won't erase the recording.' Which use of won't is this?
   • A past habit
   • A decision made at that moment
   • A fixed timetable
   • An action happening now

Your turn: You are sending an audio message to a friend who lives far away. Write three or four sentences about the sounds around you. Include a promise or a prediction with will or won't.

The Comet That Came Back: A True Story

Edmond Halley lives in England during the late seventeenth century. He is an astronomer. An astronomer is a scientist who studies space, stars, and planets. Halley studies bright objects in the sky called comets. A comet is an object made of ice, dust, and rock. It travels around the Sun in a huge oval path.

In 1682, a bright comet crosses the night sky. Halley studies its path and examines old science records. In these records, he finds reports of comets from the years 1531 and 1607. Halley compares the three paths and notices something surprising. The three comets followed almost the same path.

Halley realizes that they are one single object that returns again and again. About seventy-five or seventy-six years pass between each appearance. In 1705, Halley publishes his findings in a science paper. He makes a famous prediction about the comet. He states that the comet will return in the year 1758. He calculates that gravity from large planets will pull slightly on the comet. Halley predicts that people in the future will see the bright visitor again.

Years later, on December 25, 1758, a sky watcher spots the glowing comet. The comet returns, just as Halley predicted. Scientists name the object Halley's Comet to honor his work. People observe the comet again in 1835, 1910, and 1986. Because large planets pull on it, the travel time varies between seventy-four and seventy-nine years. Today, astronomers track the comet with modern computers.

Scientists predict that Halley's Comet will return to our sky in the year 2061. In the summer of 2061, the comet will pass close to the Sun. Heat from the Sun will warm the comet's icy surface. Frozen gas and dust will escape into space. This glowing material will form a bright cloud around the comet. Sunlight will push the dust into a long tail. The tail will point away from the Sun across space.

Astronomers on Earth will study the comet with powerful telescopes. The comet will not hit our planet, and it won't stay near the Sun. The Sun's gravity will pull the comet into another long orbit. The icy traveler will fly far beyond the planet Neptune. Then, it will begin its long journey back to Earth once more.

Questions

1. What year do today's astronomers predict for Halley's Comet's next return?
2. What does Halley realize after comparing the old comet records?
3. What evidence confirms Halley's prediction about 1758?
4. Why can a reader expect a long wait after the comet's 2061 visit?

Future Simple Practice

1. Complete the prediction: 'Scientists predict that the comet __________ in 2061.'
   • will returns
   • will return
   • returned
   • returning
2. Use will or won't according to the story: 'The comet __________ hit our planet.'
3. Put the words in order to make a prediction.
   • 2061.
   • will
   • The
   • in
   • return
   • comet
4. Complete with the base form of warm: 'Heat from the Sun will __________ the icy surface.'
5. Scientists predict that Halley's Comet will return in 2061. What does will express here?
   • A finished past event
   • A daily habit
   • A prediction about the future
   • An offer to help

Your turn: Write three predictions about your town in 2050. Use will for two predictions and won't for one.

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