Short Story Mr. Harris and the night train

If you want to read the story online, click on the link.  ONE WAY TICKET.

It's a book that contains Mr. Harris and the night train .

Questions

1. Where did Mr. Harris travel on 14th September? Why?
2. How did he travel? Why?
3. What did he usually do on the train?
4. What happened at midnight?
5. Who were Carl and Elena?
6. What did they argue about?
7. What did Elena do?
8. How did Mr harris react?
9. What happened when the guard told Mr. Harris about Elena and Carl?
10. How did Mr. Harris go back home? Why?

Jennifer Bassett

Jennifer Bassett has been a teacher, teacher trainer, editor, and materials writer, and has taught in England, Greece, Spain, and Portugal. She is the Series Editor of the Oxford Bookworms Library, and has written more than twenty original and retold stories for the series, including The Phantom of the Opera, One-Way Ticket,The President's Murderer, and William Shakespeare. Two of her adaptations, Rabbit-Proof Fence and Love Among the Haystacks, have won Language Learner Literature Awards, and three of her other titles have been finalists for the Awards. She has created a new sub-series called Bookworms World Stories, which are collections of short stories written in English from around the world. She has also written original stories for the English Today Readers and Storylines series. Jennifer is series co-adviser, with H.G. Widdowson, of the Oxford Bookworms Collection, volumes of unadapted short stories for advanced learners.

Background to the story:

Trains have been used to great effect as a setting for novels and films. Complete strangers come together in random combinations, spend a short or a long time together and part. The intimacy of the train compartment can encourage the sharing of confidencies or it can drive lovers or families to a screaming point. Strangers on a train or Murder on the Orient Express are two films that use the meeting of strangers on a train their starting points.

Mr. Harris and the night train (Jennifer Bassett)

1. • Vola Buenos Aires-Madrid
   • Madrid-Barcelona dsd $100
   • Buscador de Vuelos

Search Results

1. From Helsinki, Finland

   To Oulu, Finland

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Vocabulary

blood: the red liquid in a person's body
carriage:  a 'room' on a train
corridor:  the long narrow place on a train with doors to the
carnages
damn:  a word to show that you are angry
diamond:  a beautiful, very expensive, bright stone; women
wear diamonds in rings, necklaces, etc
ghost:  a dead person that living people think they can see
great : very good; wonderful
guard  : a man who works on a train
guy:  a man
Hi:  hello
holiday:  days or weeks when people do not go to work
hurry : (v) to move or do something very quickly
loud:  not quiet; with a lot of noise
necklace:  something beautiful that women wear round their
necks
pick up:  to take something in the hand
platform:  trains stop next to a platform in a station, and people
get off:  the train onto the platform
prison:  a big building for bad people; they live there and cannot
leave
seat a 'chair' on a train
shout: (v) to speak or cry very loudly and strongly
sir:  when you don't know a man's name, you can call him 'sir'
stare: (v) to look at someone or something for a long time
station:  trains stop at stations for people to get on or off
sweet:  (of people) very nice
terrible:  something terrible makes you very afraid or unhappy
unhappy not happy
vodka:  a very strong cold drink
voice:  you talk with your voice
whisper:  (v) to speak very, very quietly
yeah : yes

File 3 C 900 new words

gas‧tro‧pub [countable] British Englisha pub that serves very good food

road rage [uncountable]violence and angry behaviour by car drivers towards other car drivers:Road rage seems to be on the increase.
a road rage attack

toy boy [countable]informal a young man who is having a sexual relationship with an older woman - used humorously

tweet [intransitive]to make the short high sound of a small bird

bar‧is‧ta [countable]someone whose job is to prepare coffee in a coffee bar

lat‧te [uncountable and countable]very strong coffee with a lot of steamed milk in it, or a cup of this type of coffee

smart‧phone [countable]a mobile phone that also works as a PDAPDA [countable]personal digital assistant
a very small light computer that you can carry with you, and that you use to store information such as telephone numbers, addresses, andappointments. Some PDAs can send and receive email, and connect to the Internet

YouTube

ˈjuːtjuːb/

verb

1. upload a video of (someone or something) to the video-sharing website YouTube.

   "Obama's inaugural will be the first to be YouTubed."

   • search for or watch on YouTube.

     "I went back and YouTubed the show"

key‧board [countable]

1 a board with buttons marked with letters or numbers that are pressed to put information into a computer or other machine:

a computer keyboard

2 the row of keys on some musical instruments that you press in order to play them

3 also keyboards [plural] an electronic musical instrument similar to a piano that can make sounds like many different instruments[↪ synthesizer]:

Chris Kelly (guitar) and Benny Hayes (keyboards and vocals)

File 3 A song

File 3 A Top airports

Singapore airport

Hong Kong airport

 Seoul airport

Munich airport

Osaka airport

Zurich airport

Song Blue as your eyes

"Blue As Your Eyes"

Am I falling apart?
Is this falling in love, am I going insane?
You scratched out my heart
You scratched out my heart, you etched on my brain

Every word
Every word that you said goes round
Round in my head
Round like a cyclone in my mind

Well I've been trying to get a hold on you
I've been trying to get a hold on you
I've been trying to get a hold on you
On this crazy world of mine

Every day, right from the start
When I showed you my hand, I gave you my heart
Falling in love, feeling alive
Clear as to mud, I'm blue as your eyes, blue as your eyes

Is it all in my head?
You turned me away, you begged me to stay
Is it something I said?
You wanted to change, you wanted the same

Well I've been trying to get a hold on you
I've been trying to get a hold on you
I've been trying to get a hold on you
On this crazy world of mine

Every day, right from the start
When I showed you my hand, I gave you my heart
Falling in love, feeling alive
Clear as to mud, I'm blue as your eyes, blue as your eyes
[x3]

Short Story The Ant and the Grasshopper

Questions about the short story

1. What lesson is it meant to teach?
2. Why did Maughan not like this story?
3. Why was George Ramsay looking miserable?
4.  Then, one day, Tom said that he did not like work
     What did Tom do?
     What did Tom do when he needed small amounts of money?
     What did Tom do when he needed large amounts of money?
5. Why was George willing to help his brother?
6.




CLICK AND LISTEN TO:
Aesop's Fables: The Ant and the Grasshoppe

Willliam Somerset Maugham - The Ant and The Grasshopper

William Somerset Maugham When I was a very small boy I was made to learn by heart certain of the fables of La Fontaine, and the moral of each was carefully explained to me. Among those I learnt was The Ant and The Grasshopper, which is devised to bring home to the young the useful lesson that in an imperfect world industry is rewarded and giddiness punished. In this admirable fable (I apologize for telling something which everyone is politely, but inexactly, supposed to know) the ant spends a laborious summer gathering its winter store, while the grasshopper sits on a blade of grass singing to the sun. Winter comes and the ant is comfortably provided for, but the grasshopper has an empty larder: he goes to the ant and begs for a little food. Then the ant gives him her classic answer: 'What were you doing in the summer time?' 'Saving your presence, I sang, I sang all day, all night.' 'You sang. Why, then go and dance.' I do not ascribe it to perversity on my part, but rather to the inconsequence of childhood, which is deficient in moral sense, that I could never quite reconcile myself to the lesson. My sympathies were with the grasshopper and for some time I never saw an ant without putting my foot on it. In this summary (and as I have discovered since, entirely human) fashion I sought to express my disapproval of prudence and common sense. I could not help thinking of this fable when the other day I saw George Ramsay lunching by himself in a restaurant. I never saw anyone wear an expression of such deep gloom. He was staring into space. He looked as though the burden of the whole world sat on his shoulders. I was sorry for him: I suspected at once that his unfortunate brother had been causing trouble again. I went up to him and held out my hand. 'How are you?' I asked. 'I'm not in hilarious spirits,' he answered. 'Is it Tom again?' He sighed. 'Yes, it's Tom again.' 'Why don't you chuck him? You've done everything in the world for him. You must know by now that he's quite hopeless.' I suppose every family has a black sheep. Tom had been a sore trial to his for twenty years. He had begun life decently enough: he went into business, married, and had two children. The Ramsays were perfectly respectable people and there was every reason to suppose that Tom Ramsay would have a useful and honourable career. But one day, without warning, he announced that he didn't like work and that he wasn't suited for marriage. He wanted to enjoy himself. He would listen to no expostulations. He left his wife and his office. He had a little money and he spent two happy years in the various capitals of Europe. Rumours of his doings reached his relations from time to time and they were profoundly shocked. He certainly had a very good time. They shook their heads and asked what would happen when his money was spent. They soon found out: he borrowed. He was charming and unscrupulous. I have never met anyone to whom it was more difficult to refuse a loan. He made a steady income from his friends and he made friends easily. But he always said that the money you spent on necessities was boring; the money that was amusing to spend was the money you spent on luxuries. For this he depended on his brother George. He did not waste his charm on him. George was a serious man and insensible to such enticements. George was respectable. Once or twice he fell to Tom's promises of amendment and gave him considerable sums in order that he might make a fresh start. On these Tom bought a motor-car and some very nice jewellery. But when circumstances forced George to realize that his brother would never settle down and he washed his hands of him, Tom, without a qualm, began to blackmail him. It was not very nice for a respectable lawyer to find his brother shaking cocktails behind the bar of his favourite restaurant or to see him waiting on the box-seat of a taxi outside his club. Tom said that to serve in a bar or to drive a taxi was a perfectly decent occupation, but if George could oblige him with a couple of hundred pounds he didn't mind for the honour of the family giving it up. George paid. Once Tom nearly went to prison. George was terribly upset. He went into the whole discreditable affair. Really Tom had gone too far. He had been wild, thoughtless, and selfish, but he had never before done anything dishonest, by which George meant illegal; and if he were prosecuted he would assuredly be convicted. But you cannot allow your only brother to go to gaol. The man Tom had cheated, a man called Cronshaw, was vindictive. He was determined to take the matter into court; he said Tom was a scoundrel and should be punished. It cost George an infinite deal of trouble and five hundred pounds to settle the affair. I have never seen him in such a rage as when he heard that Tom and Cronshaw had gone off together to Monte Carlo the moment they cashed the cheque. They spent a happy month there. For twenty years Tom raced and gambled, philandered with the prettiest girls, danced, ate in the most expensive restaurants, and dressed beautifully. He always looked as if he had just stepped out of a bandbox. Though he was forty-six you would never have taken him for more than thirty-five. He was a most amusing companion and though you knew he was perfectly worthless you could not but enjoy his society. He had high spirits, an unfailing gaiety, and incredible charm. I never grudged the contributions he regularly levied on me for the necessities of his existence. I never lent him fifty pounds without feeling that I was in his debt. Tom Ramsay knew everyone and everyone knew Tom Ramsay. You could not approve of him, but you could not help liking him. Poor George, only a year older than his scapegrace brother, looked sixty. He had never taken more than a fortnight's holiday in the year for a quarter of a century. He was in his office every morning at nine-thirty and never left it till six. He was honest, industrious, and worthy. He had a good wife, to whom he had never been unfaithful even in thought, and four daughters to whom he was the best of fathers. He made a point of saving a third of his income and his plan was to retire at fifty-five to a little house in the country where he proposed to cultivate his garden and play golf. His life was blameless. He was glad that he was growing old because Tom was growing old too. He rubbed his hands and said: 'It was all very well when Tom was young and good-looking, but he's only a year younger than I am. In four years he'll be fifty. He won't find life so easy then. I shall have thirty thousand pounds by the time I'm fifty. For twenty-five years I've said that Tom would end in the gutter. And we shall see how he likes that. We shall see if it really pays best to work or be idle.' Poor George! I sympathized with him. I wondered now as I sat down beside him what infamous thing Tom had done. George was evidently very much upset. 'Do you know what's happened now?' he asked me. I was prepared for the worst. I wondered if Tom had got into the hands of the police at last. George could hardly bring himself to speak. 'You're not going to deny that all my life I've been hardworking, decent, respectable, and straightforward. After a life of industry and thrift I can look forward to retiring on a small income in gilt-edged securities. I've always done my duty in that state of life in which it has pleased Providence to place me.' 'True.' 'And you can't deny that Tom has been an idle, worthless, dissolute, and dishonourable rogue. If there were any justice he'd be in the workhouse.' 'True.' George grew red in the face. 'A few weeks ago he became engaged to a woman old enough to be his mother. And now she's died and left him everything she had. Half a million pounds, a yacht, a house in London, and a house in the country.' George Ramsay beat his clenched fist on the table. 'It's not fair, I tell you, it's not fair. Damn it, it's not fair.' I could not help it. I burst into a shout of laughter as I looked at George's wrathful face, I rolled in my chair, I very nearly fell on the floor. George never forgave me. But Tom often asks me to excellent dinners in his charming house in Mayfair, and if he occasionally borrows a trifle from me, that is merely from force of habit. It is never more than a sovereign.

File 1 C Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy

Click on MR. AND MRS. CLARK AND PERCY  and visit Tate gallery description of the painting.

File 1 B Song: Ugly

File 1 B Who knows you better?

Vocabulary - Useful expressions

I often feel like staying at home

I'm quite friendly and sociable

I get on well with most people

I have a good sense of humour

I like interesting men who can make me laugh

I prefer men with a really nice smile

I don't usually like men with beards!

I like men who are into Literature and art

Short Story News of the engagement.

Setting:(time / place)

_ Philip lived in London and visited his mother in Five towns (an industrial town)

_ The action took place in Sarah Land Philip’s house.

_ He returns home for Christmas.

_ His mother brought up him alone because she was a widow.

Mr. Nixon:

_ He was 49 years old.

_ He was large and strong.

_ He was very helpful with Sarah (his mother’s Philip)

Agnes:

_ She was Philip’s fiancé

_ She lived in London with her family.

_ Her family knew him.

……………………………………….

Plot

_ He arrived home.

_ Sarah saw there were three chairs.

_ He thought his mother invited Agnes.

_ He thought his mother and Agnes were planning a surprise for him.

_ Suddenly, somebody knocked at the door. It was Mr. Nixon.

_ Philip was unhappy to see him.

_ They ate but Philip was nervous. He wanted to send a letter to Agnes so he went to the post-office. When he returned Mr. Nixon was still there and told him If he would like him to be his stepfather.

_ He was happy. For the first time he thought about her mother as a woman who wanted to fall in love and start a new life again.

File 10 B Couchsurfing around the world

File 10 B Couchsurf round the world!

Click on the link and read the real newspaper article

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hubs/gapyear/2551532/Couch-surfing-going-it-alone.html

Or join Couchsurfing.com:

https://www.couchsurfing.org/´

File 10 B Going to - Plans

GOING TO

There is no one 'future tense' in English. There are 4 future forms. The one which is used most often in spoken English is 'going to', not 'will'.

We use 'going to' when we want to talk about a plan for the future.

• I'm going to see him later today.
• They're going to launch it next month.
• We're going to have lunch first.
• She's going to see what she can do.
• I'm not going to talk for very long.

Notice that this plan does not have to be for the near future.

• When I retire I'm going to go back to Barbados to live.
• In ten years time, I'm going to be boss of my own successful company.

We use 'going to' when we want to make a prediction based on evidence we can see now.

• Look out! That cup is going to fall off.
• Look at those black clouds. It's going to rain soon.
• These figures are really bad. We're going to make a loss.
• You look very tired. You're going to need to stop soon.

We can replace 'going to go' by 'going'.

• I'm going out later.
• She's going to the exhibition tomorrow.

Click on these links and do the exercises:

http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-games/going-plans

http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/goingtofuture/exercise2.html

http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/goingtofuture/exercise4.html

File 9 C Comparatives and superlatives

Comparative and superlative adjectives

The comparative form of an adjective is used for comparing two people or things (e.g. he is taller than me), while the superlative is used for comparing one person or thing with every other member of their group (e.g. he was the tallest boy in the class).

Adjectives make their comparative and superlative forms in different ways, depending on the base adjective itself. Here’s a quick-reference guide to the spelling of comparative and superlative adjectives:

Adjectives with one syllable

In general, if the adjective has one syllable, then the letters -er or -est are added:

warm warmer warmest

quick quicker quickest

tall taller tallest

Adjectives with one syllable ending in e

If the adjective has one syllable and ends in e, just add -r or -st:

late later latest

nice nicer nicest

large larger largest

Adjectives with two syllables

Adjectives with two syllables vary. Some add -er/-est or -r/-st:

feeble feebler feeblest

Some use the words ‘more’ for the comparative and ‘most’ for the superlative:

famous more famous most famous

Many can do either, like clever:

clever cleverer/more clever cleverest/most clever

Adjectives with three syllables or more

If the adjective has three syllables or more, then the words ‘more’ and ‘most’ are used:

interesting more interesting most interesting

attractive more attractive most attractive

Adjectives that change their spelling

Some adjectives change their spelling when forming the comparative and superlative:

• Some one-syllable adjectives that end with a single consonant (e.g. big, wet, sad, fat) double this consonant before adding -er or -est:

big bigger biggest

wet wetter wettest

sad sadder saddest

• If the adjective ends in y (e.g. happy, greedy, or tidy), change the y to an i and add -er or -est:

happy happier happiest

greedy greedier greediest

tidy tidier tidiest

• Some common adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms that you just have to learn:

bad worse worst

good better best

little (of a quantity) less least

much more most

File 9 C Comparatives

When we talk about two things, we can "compare" them. We can see if they are the same or different. Perhaps they are the same in some ways and different in other ways. We can use comparative adjectives to describe the differences.

Formation of Comparative Adjectives

There are two ways to make or form a comparative adjective:

• short adjectives: add "-er"
• long adjectives: use "more"

Short adjectives
1-syllable adjectives	old, fast
2-syllable adjectives ending in –y	happy, easy
Normal rule: add "-er"	old → older
Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add –r	late → later
Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last consonant	big → bigger
Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i	happy → happier
Long adjectives
2-syllable adjectives not ending in –y	modern, pleasant
all adjectives of 3 or more syllables	expensive, intellectual
Normal rule: use "more"	modern → more modern expensive → more expensive

 With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use '-er' or 'more':

• quiet → quieter/more quiet
• clever → cleverer/more clever
• narrow → narrower/more narrow
• simple → simpler/more simple

Exception
The following adjectives have irregular forms:

• good → better
• well (healthy) → better
• bad → worse
• far → farther/further

File 10 A The most dangerous road ...

Trafalgar Square, the largest square in London, is often considered the heart of the city. 

Ever since the Middle Ages, this area has been a central meeting place. In the middle of the square stands a tall column honoring admiral Nelson.

Read more:

http://www.aviewoncities.com/london/trafalgarsquare.htm

http://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/place/283774-trafalgar-square

On this day in 1933, construction starts on what will become one of America's most famous landmarks: the Golden Gate Bridge. When completed in 1937, the Golden Gate has a 4,200-foot-long suspension span, making it the world's longest suspension bridge. Since opening to the public in May 1937, almost 2 billion vehicles have crossed the bridge, in both the north- and southbound directions.

The bridge was named not for its distinctive orange color (which provides extra visibility to passing ships in San Francisco's famous fog), but for the Golden Gate Strait, where the San Francisco Bay opens into the Pacific Ocean. The bridge spans the strait and connects the northern part of the city of San Francisco to Marin County, California.

Prior to the bridge's construction, the only way to travel between these two areas was by ferry boat.

Wall Street is one of the world's most famous streets. Historically known as the center of New York's financial district, Wall Street is often associated with wealth and ambition in America.

How It Got Its Name

After the Dutch purchased "New Amsterdam" from the Native Americans, a palisade was erected that formed the northern boundary of the new colony. The first "walls" along the street were basic plank fences, but as time passed and tensions grew, a stronger, taller wall was built in order to defend the colony against both the British and the American Indians tribes that still dominated the area. In 1685, after the original palissade was torn down and replaced with a new wall, a new street was created parallel with the wall, aptly named Wall Street. The British removed the defensive wall in 1699.

How It Got Its Reputation

Records show that in the years after the Revolutionary War, traders and speculators would gather under a particular buttonwood tree that sat at the foot of Wall Street. They soon formed The Buttonwood Association (1792), which is believed to be the roots of the New York Stock Exchange, whose headquarters has been located on Wall Street for centuries.

Buildings along Wall Street

By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Wall Street was "the place" to be if you were a large financial institution or other big business. So many buildings sprung up on this tip of Manhattan that the Wall Street district began to boast its own distinct skyline, separate from the buildings in Midtown.

People like J.P Morgan built headquarters like the one at 23 Wall Street, which was - for decades - the most important financial institution in the country. (One can still see the pockmarks on the building, left there from an unsolved bombing that occurred in 1920.)

Other notable buildings include the columned Federal Hall, originally built to house City Hall and its offices. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Building is also quite grand, built by George B. Post in a neoclassical style 

Federal Hall

Charging Bull

that earned it a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. Equally as notable is the ornate40 Wall Street, once home to the Bank of Manhattan.

The Charging Bull Statue

One of the Financial District's most famous symbols is the 'Charging Bull' Statue (The bull represents a bull market, a constantly rising market).

Inspired by the stock market crash in 1987, sculptor Arturo Di Modica created the 7,000-pound (3175kg) bull statue as a token of optimism. In 1989 he placed it - without authorisation - in front of the New York Stock Exchange in Wall Street. Police removed the statue but thanks to a public outcry it was reinstalled, but this time on Bowling Green, a small square annex park near Wall Street. The statue has become one of Lower Manhattan's most popular attractions.

Edinburgh Castle is a historic fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland from its position on theCastle Rock. Archaeologists have established human occupation of the rock since at least the Iron Age (2nd century AD), although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. There has been a royal castle on the rock since at least the reign ofDavid I in the 12th century, and the site continued to be a royal residence until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. From the 15th century the castle's residential role declined, and by the 17th century it was principally used as military barracks with a large garrison. Its importance as a part of Scotland's national heritage was recognised increasingly from the early 19th century onwards, and various restoration programmes have been carried out over the past century and a half. As one of the most important strongholds in the Kingdom of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle was involved in many historical conflicts from the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century to the Jacobite Rising of 1745. It has been besieged, both successfully and unsuccessfully, on several occasions.

Read more:

http://www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk/

 

The Rocky Mountains are located in western North America. They are know for their beautiful scenery with mountains, trees and big game. People visit the Rockies for many recreational activities like hiking, hunting, camping, skiing and lots of other sports.

The Rocky Mountains have unpredictable weather which can change rapidly. As with other highland climates, the climate changes with increasing altitude. In general, the Rockies have mild summers, cold winters and a lot of precipitation.

The Rockies have very different seasons. In the winter there is deep snow, high winds, and sudden blizzards are common. At night it can get to -35û F or below! In the spring there is unpredictable weather. It could be wet or dry, cold or warm. In the summer there are sunny mornings, afternoon thunderstorms and clear nights. In the fall there are cool, crisp days, wind and decreasing precipitation.

There is lots of vegetation. The forests are full of pine trees, firs and spruces.Plants are very sturdy, most clinging to rock or hard soil.

Read more:

http://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm