1.

BEGINNER

My name is Ben and I come from Australia. I am 24 years old and

I live in a small town near Sydney called Branton.

I don't have a job now, but normally I clean shop windows. I am

not married but I live with my very beautiful girlfriend, Maria, in a
nice house in Branton. We don't have any children...maybe next
year.

My girlfriend is an actress, but she isn't very famous. She acts in

a small theatre in our town. At the weekend, we like to go
swimming in a big lake near our house.

I normally get up at eight o'clock, but on Thursday I get up at six

o'clock because that is the day when I go running in the park.

Clarkson is a large town. It has more than fifty thousand people

living there. It sits next to a large river, the Clark River. Every day,
people take the ferry from North Clarkson to South Clarkson to go
to work.

Most people live in North Clarkson. There are many trees and the
streets are very broad. When the sun shines and the children run
and play in the safe streets, North Clarkson is a wonderful place
to live.

South Clarkson has a lot of shops and factories. People don't live
there, but they come in the morning to work. There is also a big
stadium where the Clarkson Tigers play. On Sundays, many
people go to watch their favorite team.
At the weekend, the people from Clarkson enjoy walking along
the bank of the Clark River. They also sail small boats on the
water and if there is a little wind, they fly kites in the large park.

Every year, Clarkson grows in size because a lot of people come to

live there. The government builds more houses and the streets
get busier. Maybe in the future, if the town continues to grow, it
will become a city!

On Sunday, Tom gets up at 10 o'clock. Then he reads his

newspaper in the kitchen. He has breakfast at 11.30 and then he
telephones his mother in Scotland.

In the afternoon, at 1.00, Tom plays tennis with his sister and
after that, they eat dinner in a restaurant. At 6.00, Tom swims for
one hour and then he goes by bike to his brother's house. They
talk and listen to music.

Tom watches television in the evening and drinks a glass of Jack

Daniel's whiskey. He goes to bed at 11.30.

Martin Benson is a journalist from Seattle. He is married to

Jennifer and they have three children. They have two boys, Peter
and Don, and a daughter, Alice.

Martin Benson is 47 years old. He has short black hair and he has
a beard. Jennifer has large glasses and she has long blonde hair.

Peter is 15. He has short black hair, like his father. He is tall. His
brother, Don, has fair hair and is not very tall. He is 13 years old.
Their sister, Alice, is 17. She has beautiful long black hair. She has
a new car - she is very happy.

The Benson family have a Labrador dog, Benji. They have a small
apartment in Seattle.

My working day starts very early. From Monday to Friday I get up

at half past three and I have a shower and a cup of coffee. I
usually leave the house at ten past four because the car always
arrives a few minutes early. I get to the studio at about five
o'clock and start work.

Good Morning Britain starts at seven o'clock and finishes at nine

o'clock. Then I leave the studio at a quarter past ten. After that, I
get home at twelve o'clock. A woman helps me with the
housework and the ironing. I read a newspaper and do some
work.

Then my husband gets home at half past five in the afternoon and
I cook dinner. We stay at home in the evening. We don't go out
because I go to bed very early. We usually watch television and
then I go to bed at half past eight, I'm usually asleep by nine
o'clock.

At weekends, I don't get up until ten o'clock. In the evening, we

often see some friends or go to the cinema. But I'm always up
early again on Monday morning.
This is my garden. It's very big and also very wide. On one side,
there is the McDonald family and on the other side, there is the
Korfman family. I like both my neighbors.

There is a lot of grass in my garden. Now, it's September and the

grass is long and thick. I also have three trees in the garden.
There is a young lemon tree which is very small. It doesn't have
any fruit, maybe next year! Then, there is a peach tree. There
aren't many peaches this year because of the cold weather in
April and May. The third tree is an apple tree. Apples always grow
well in this area and the tree is full of big green apples. Tomorrow,
I want to make a big apple pie.

There are two animals in the garden at the moment. Max is my

Rottweiler dog. Many people think Rottweilers are dangerous, but
Max is very friendly and everybody loves him. He's 4 years old.
Playing with Max is Hector, our beautiful white cat. He's nearly ten
years old.

There are many other colors in my summer garden. In December

when it's cold and gray, it's not a very happy place, but now in
September, it's wonderful. There are the red roses and we have
other flowers that are green and yellow.

There is a large tent in the middle of the grass, a huge purple

tent. That's because my brother, Luke, likes camping but my
mother doesn't want him to go camping - only in the garden! So
he sleeps in the purple tent. Luke is only eight years old, so I
think my mother is right. Camping in the garden is safe for an
eight year old.
2.ELEMENTARY

Martin had a terrible day yesterday. It was the day of his vacation
to Spain but it was a nightmare. He left the house at 10 o'clock in
the morning and caught a taxi to the airport.

Martin went to the check-in with his luggage. When the man who
worked for the airline asked for his passport, Martin became very
upset. Where was his passport? Martin realized he didn't have his
passport with him. What a disaster!

He jumped back into the taxi and told the driver to take him
home. The driver drove quickly and Martin arrived back at his
house in twenty minutes.

He ran into the house and went into his bedroom. He found his
passport on the bedside table and left the house again. But the
taxi wasn't there! Where was the taxi!

Martin jumped up and down angrily. "I don't believe it. The taxi
left!" he shouted. He ran down the street and looked for another
taxi.

After a few minutes, Martin found another taxi and told the driver
to take him to the airport as quickly as possible. The traffic on the
roads was very bad and, unfortunately, Martin's taxi arrived at the
airport late. His plane left for Spain at 11.30 and Martin missed it.
He was very sad and went to speak to the airline. They promised
to get him a seat on an evening flight and Martin went home on
another taxi to wait.
In January 1990, I was at primary school and in January 2000, I was at
university! I left primary school in September 1990 and went to a secondary
school five kilometres from my house. I took the bus every day at 7.30am
and didn't get home until 5 o'clock in the evening. What a difficult life!

My family bought a satellite TV in 1990 and a new video the next year. In
1994, my brother bought a computer and I got a bicycle the same year.

I left my school in 1997 but decided not to go to university like most people:
instead, I went walking in France alone for three months and then drove
around America for three months with my brother. For the first six months of
1998, I got a job in a health food shop and then went to university in
October 1998 in Wales.

This is where I work. The name of my company is Marshall

Publishing. I started working here six years ago. I spend a lot of
time on the phone, speaking to our clients, especially in Japan
and Saudi Arabia. It's lucky that they all speak very good English
because I don't speak Japanese or Arabic! I also do some work in
the advertising department of the company, helping to make
adverts for radio stations around the world. That's my favorite
part of the job.

It's not a big office and it's not very modern either, but we really
like working here. There's only one computer and there's a lot of
papers and files. It's like an office from ten years ago really. The
walls are gray, although they should be white. They are dirty and
we need to paint them again.
In my part of the office, there's me and then there are three
others, Lucy, Helen and Paul. Paul is the new one. He arrived only
three months ago. He was a lawyer before, then he decided he
didn't want to be a lawyer any more, so he changed his job
completely. I imagine he earns a lot less money with us! Helen
arrived at Marshall Publishing only a month or two after me. She's
my best friend in the office because we helped each other a lot
when we were both new. Lucy is the grandmother of the office.
She started working here almost twelve years ago, when the
company started. Everybody comes to her when there's a
problem, when you have something you don't understand. She's a
grandmother in real life too: she has 6 grandchildren!

The manager of the office is Liam. He's 39 years old and worked
for a large publishers in London before taking this job. I think at
the beginning, he felt a little strange, like an outsider. Now, he's
one of the family. He's the best boss you could have!

Linda: Hello, do you have a little spare time?

Hugo: No, sorry.
Linda: It won't take long, just a couple of minutes.
Hugo: Oh, OK, what do you want to know?
Linda: We want to know what sports you do, how much exercise
you do every day or every week.
Hugo: Well, I like playing soccer. That's my favorite sport. I play
a match every Sunday and every Wednesday.
Linda: Who do you play with?
Hugo: Just some friends from college.
Linda: What other exercise do you do? Do you go swimming?
Hugo: No, I don't like swimming.
Linda: Can you swim?
Hugo: Yes, I can, but I don't enjoy swimming. I prefer running. I
go running once or twice a week.
Linda: Where do you go?
Hugo: There's a big park near my house and I go running there.
Linda: Do you also go in the winter when it's cold and snowy.
Hugo: Yes, it's good for keeping me warm!
Linda: I couldn't run in the snow! Do you play tennis or volleyball
or another sport like that?
Hugo: No, but I go to karate classes on Thursday evenings.
Linda: Isn't that dangerous?
Hugo: I started karate about four years ago so I'm quite good at
it now.
Linda: OK, thanks for your time.
Hugo: No problem, bye.
Carston is a very historic town in the north of England. The
Romans arrived in Carston two thousand years ago and they
stayed for three hundred years. Even today, you can still see
many signs of the Romans. There is still the large city wall that
they built with its three gates: Main, East and South. The wall is
not complete but you can still see the three gates. Many tourists
comes to Carston to see the Roman ruins.

Carston is famous for its history, but it's also a modern town with
74,000 people. They work in many types of jobs. The most
common occupation is tourism, but there are also many people
who work in the local car factory. The factory makes sports cars
that are exported all over the world. There is another factory in
Carston and in this factory, four hundred people work and they
make microwave ovens.

Carston also has a small football team which is not very

successful and a rugby team that is more successful. The rugby
team won the regional championship three years ago and one of
their players, Danny Biggs, played three times for England. He
still lives in Carston. He wants to return to play for Carston rugby
team before he retires.

Another famous Carston resident is the Hollywood movie star,

Jason John Lee. He left Carston when he was 15 years old, but
returns every summer to visit his family. Jason's school, Carston
Middle School, now has a small theatre named after Jason. Jason
gave his school some money to build the theatre. Maybe in the
future, there will be other famous actors from Carston!
The Hodgson family from Texas, USA are probably the most
talented family in the country. Thomas is the father of the family.
He's 52 years old and he can do everything. He can run for a long
time. Every day, he goes running in his neighborhood for 40
minutes. He can also swim very well. He swims for his state's
over-50 team! Thomas can't speak any foreign languages, but his
wife, Judy, certainly can! She can speak French, Spanish and even
Japanese. And she can teach them too. She works at the
Pinewood Language Academy.

Thomas and Judy Hodgson have three children and they can all do
many things too. Robbie, 23, can't run for long distances like his
father, but he can run very fast. He can run 100 meters in just 11
seconds. That's very fast. He can also fly! Not like a bird, but
using a hang-glider. He goes hang-gliding every weekend in the
hills near the family home. The middle child is Janine, who is 19.
She's similar to her mother and she loves foreign languages. She
studies Italian and French and can speak both of them very well.
When she's with her mother, they can speak French and nobody
in the house understands them!

Clara is the baby of the family. She's only 9 years old. She can't
speak French and she can't fly. What can she do? She can bake
the best cakes in the world! And her parents and her brother and
sister can eat them.
Michael works in a restaurant in the centre of Madrid, Spain. He
goes to work at 5pm, but yesterday at 5pm, he wasn't on the bus,
he was in a taxi going to the hospital. He was very sick! Usually,
he works in the kitchen all evening, but yesterday he wasn't in the
kitchen. He was in the X-ray department of the hospital because
the doctors were worried about his stomach pains.

Normally, at 11pm, Michael takes a bus to go home after finishing

at the restaurant, but yesterday at 11pm, he was still in the
hospital and he was still unhappy and sick. He was in a bed and
he was very hot - 102 degrees! Was he worried? Yes, he was!

In the morning, he was better and the doctors were pleased.

What was the problem? It was bad food - from his restaurant!

Mary Dexter is a young student who lives in Denver, Colorado in

the west of the USA. Now, she is 17 and is studying at her local
high school, but she already has big plans for her future. After she
finishes high school next year, she's going to study at a big
college in California. She's very excited about it.

She's going to live in San Diego - her favorite city. She's going to
study Marine Biology, which means she is going to learn about all
the animals that live in the sea. And San Diego is the perfect
place to study Marine Biology because the Pacific Ocean is very
near and there is the wonderful Sea World there, where you can
see sharks and seals and many other sea animals.

What is she going to do after she finishes her six-year course in

San Diego? "I'm going to become a famous biologist and save the
oceans," Mary says.
3

Dear Marge,
All the other children laugh at me at school and say my clothes are
completely unfashionable. I feel really stupid. I ask my parents to buy me
better clothes but they say they don't have enough money. What can I do?

Dear Marge,
I have been married for nearly a year and my husband doesn't seem
interested in me anymore. I think he may be more interested in his work
partner, a woman half his age. I am pregnant now and feel fat and ugly. Is
there any hope for our marriage?

Dear Marge,
I saw one of my work colleagues taking some paper from the office
photocopier and put it in her bag. Do you think I should report her for theft
to the boss or not? My parents always taught me to tell the truth and that
any stealing is wrong. What do you think?

Dear Marge,
I am 16 years old and I want to leave school this year. My parents say it is
too early for me and that I should be trying to get into university. I think I
am old enough to make my own decisions now. I want to work with my
friend Susan in McDonalds. Then, I can start earning money to buy things.

About libraries

There are many big and small libraries everywhere in our country.
They havemillions of books in different languages.
You can find there the oldest and thenewest books.

Every school has a library.

Pupils come to the library to take books ondifferent subjects.

The school library where Oleg studies is good.

It is a large clean room.
Thereare four big windows in it.
The walls are light blue.
There are a lot of shelvesfull of books.
You can find books on literature, physics, history, chemistry,geography, biology and other subjec
ts.
There are books in English, too.

On the walls you can see pictures of some great writers and poets.

On the table near the window you can always see beautiful spring andautumn flowers.

Oleg likes to go to the library.

He can always find there something new,something he needs.
-----

At school

This is our classroom.

It is light, clean and large.
The room is nice.
Its ceiling and walls are white, its floor is brown.
There is one door and three windowsin it.
When it is warm, they are open.
When it is cold, they are shut.
The dooris always shut when we have our lessons.

There is a blackboard on the wall.

We write on it.
On the blackboard there aresome words.
They are English words.
We read them: "We want to knowEnglish."

We sit on chairs in front of desks.

The desks are nice and green.

The teacher's desk in near the blackboard.

There are not many pupils in ourclass.
There are only seventeen in it.
Today fifteen pupils are present, two areabsent.
We learn many subjects at school.
They are: Russian, English, history,literature, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geograp
hy and physicaltraining (or PT).
--------------

Big ben

The big clock on the tower of the Palace of Westminster in London is oftencalled Big Ben.
But Big Ben is really the bell of the clock.
It is the biggest clockbell in Britain.
It weighs 13.5 tons.

The clock tower is 318 feet high.

You have to go up 374 steps to reach the top.
So the clock looks small from the pavement below the tower.

But its face is 23 feet wide.

It would only just fit into some classrooms.

The minute-hand is 14 feet long.

Bob and Rose

Bob and Rose are English children.

Bob is fifteen.
Rose is fourteen.
They are brother and sister.
They go to school.
Bob goes to a boys' school and Rosegoes to a girls' school.
The children's schools are not far from home.
At school Bob learns English and German.
Rose learns English and French.
Bob andRose have a lot of books at home.
They have English, German and French books.

Rose is a very good pupil.

She always works hard.
She reads a lot of books.
She always does all her exercises.
She always helps her mother at home.

Bob does not work hard.

He does not work at all.
He does not like books andhe does not like school.
He does not like to help his mother at home.
He is a lazy boy.
He only likes to sing and dance.
He knows some English songs, andhe likes to sing them.
A busy day
Though it was winter Vadim Petrovich, the agronomist of the farm, had a busyday last Tuesday.

He began his morning with the radio, he listened to the news.

At half past
seven he got up, washed, did his morning exercises at an open window,dressed and had breakfast.

Vadim Petrovich likes mornings, because he can see his family, and he can
have a talk with his wife and children.

At a quarter to nine Vadim Petrovich left home.

It was a cold winter day.
There was a lot of snow on the ground.
The sky wasn't blue, and the sundidn't shine at all.
There weren't any people in the street.

Vadim Petrovich went to the farm.

It is not far from his house, so he walksthere.
The road was white with snow and he couldn't walk fast.
When hecame to the farm, some people wanted to see and talk to him.
His workingday began.
At 1 o'clock he went home to have dinner.
He had dinner with hiswife and little daughter who does not go to school.
He ate his dinner, rested alittle, and went back to the farm.
Vadim Petrovich had to talk to some people,to write some letters, and to do some other work.

At 5 o'clock he had an important meeting.

And only at 8 o'clock he camehome.
---------

Can you tell us what women wear?

It depends on the season of the year.
Usually it is a skirt and a blouse or a dress.
If it is cold, they wear a coat.
A pairof gloves and a hat are necessary.
They also wear stockings and shoes.

Can you tell us what men wear?

They usually wear a shirt and trousers, a coator a jacket, socks and shoes.
If it is cold, they put on a coat, a cap or a hat anda pair of gloves.

If it rains, men and women wear a raincoat.

In autumn when it is raining hardan umbrella is necessary.

Kelly and Julie are best

friends. They do everything
together. They walk to school
together every morning. They
eat breakfast together. Kelly
eats bacon and eggs. Julie
eats cereal. They take the
same classes. Kelly is good
at math. Julie is good at
English. They help each
other out. They plan to go to
the same college.
She is a doctor. She treats
children. She takes care of
them. She asks them what is
wrong. She tells them
everything is going to be
okay. She gives them candy
at the end. The children love
her. She gives the
prescription to the parents.
He is walking. A woman
stops him. She asks if he is
Christian. He says no. She
says that he should be. She
gives him a Bible. He takes
it. He reads it. He thinks it is
really interesting. He cannot
put it down. He goes to a
nearby church. He prays.
Kate looks at the magazine.
The magazine cover has a
pretty girl. She has long hair.
She has big, blue eyes. Her
skin looks nice. She is a
fashion model. Kate opens
up the magazine. She flips to
pages where the model is.
She reads about the model.
She wishes she could be her.
He loves a girl. He loves how
she talks. He loves how she
walks. He thinks she is
pretty. He thinks she is
smart. She is perfect. She
does not know he loves her.
He asks her out. She says
no. He is sad. He still loves
her. He will ask her out
again.

He wakes up. He sees the

sun rise. He brushes his
teeth. His teeth are white. He
puts on his clothes. His shirt
is blue. His shoes are yellow.
His pants are brown. He
goes downstairs. He gets a
bowl. He pours milk and
cereal. He eats. He gets the
newspaper. He reads.

He goes to class. There is an

empty seat in front. He sits in
the seat. He looks around.
There are different people.
He says "hi" to the girl next to
him. She smiles. The teacher
comes in. She closes the
door. Everyone is silent. The
first day of school begins.
The beach is fun! Some
people swim in the water.
They see who is the fastest.
The winner gets a surfboard.
Some people lie down on the
sand. They want to relax.
The kids make sandcastles.
They try to make the castles
big and tall. Later, the water
washes the sandcastles
away. The kids make new
ones.
She came back home from
work. She looked at the clock
and yawned. It was nine
o'clock. She went to her
bedroom and put on her
pajamas. She got her
blanket. She lay down on her
bed. The room was cold. She
got up and went to her closet
to get extra blankets. She lay
down again and covered
herself. She fell asleep. She
woke up in the middle of the
night to get a glass of water.
She drank the glass of water.
She walked back to her
bedroom. She yawned and
fell asleep. Two hours
passed. She woke up and
went to the restroom. She
heard a noise outside her
window. She looked out the
window to see what it was. It
was a black cat climbing a
tree. She hushed the cat.
The cat ran away. She went
back to bed. She closed her
eyes and fell asleep. She
slept very little.
It was night time. He went
out to walk his dog. His dog
was big. The dog's name
was Max. "Let's go, Max!" he
said to his dog. He walked
past his neighbor's house.
He saw there were no lights
in the house. His neighbor
was not home. He walked
past the market. There were
people shopping for
groceries. He remembered
he needed milk. He tied Max
to a pole. "Wait here, Max,"
he said. He walked inside the
market. It took fifteen
minutes to buy the milk. He
untied Max and continued
walking. He walked back to
his house. He let Max inside
the house. It was time to feed
Max. He served Max a bowl
of dog food. Max ate it
quickly. It was late. He took
Max to the backyard. Max
slept in a dog house. He said
good night to Max. Max
barked.
It was a hot day. The sun
was shining in the sky. The
air was sticky. It was a
Sunday afternoon. Jane was
thirsty. She went to the
kitchen to get a drink. She
opened her refrigerator.
There was nothing to drink
inside. Jane grabbed some
lemons and a big pitcher.
She cut the lemons in two.
She filled the large pitcher
with water. She squeezed
the lemons into the pitcher of
water. She opened her
cabinet to get the sugar. She
poured some sugar into the
pitcher of water and lemon
juice. She had made
lemonade. She took a sip of
the lemonade. It needed
more sugar. She grabbed the
bag of sugar and poured a
little more. She took another
sip. The lemonade tasted
sweet. All it needed now was
ice. She opened the
refrigerator to grab some ice.
There was no ice.
Jim and his sister were
walking home from school.
"How was school?" Jim
asked. "It was nice," said
Jim's sister. Her name was
Nancy. Nancy was seven.
She had black hair. Her hair
was short and straight. She
also had braces. Jim forgot
to bring an umbrella for
Nancy. Jim and Nancy
huddled together under Jim's
umbrella. The rain fell lightly.
"Let's hurry," Jim said. Jim
and Nancy walked faster. Jim
stepped on a puddle. The
water splashed. Nancy's
pants got wet. "I'm sorry," Jim
said. "It's okay," said Nancy.
It started raining more. They
soon arrived home. Lightning
struck across the sky. It
sounded loud. They were
safe inside. Nancy's clothes
were wet. She changed her
clothes. Jim did the same.
Nancy looked out the
window. It was raining hard.
She was glad to be inside.
Jim felt the same.
Reading a book is fun. Books
make you smarter. They also
make you a better reader.
John loves to read books. He
reads books on sunny days.
He reads books on cloudy
days, and he reads books on
rainy days. John has read
many books. He read his first
book in second grade. His
teachers were impressed.
John was a good student. He
had the highest grades in
class. John learned a lot by
reading books. He learned
new words. He learned new
verbs. He learned new
adjectives. John reads every
day. He has learned about
the world. He has learned
about history. He has learned
about animals. He has
learned about people. John
loves to learn. He learns
something new every day.
John has many books. He
has large bookshelves. They
are full of books. John
collects books. He has
bought books at bookstores.
John wants to read every
book in the world.
He exercised every day. He
lifted weights. He ran on the
track. He rode his bicycle
everywhere. He did pull-ups
and push-ups. He did sit-ups
and crunches. He loved
being in shape. It felt great.
He felt powerful. He felt vital.
He felt fast. He felt attractive.
It made him feel confident.
People complimented his
appearance. "Look at those
muscles," people said to him.
"Thank you, I work out," he
replied. He wasn't always in
shape. He used to be fat. He
did not like being fat. He was
made fun of. He had a low
self-esteem. He felt
unattractive. His body felt
tired and heavy. He had no
energy. He knew he had to
change. He looked in the
mirror one day. He promised
himself to lose weight. He
stopped eating unhealthy
food. He started moving
around more. He went
jogging at night. He bought a
gym membership. He lost
weight.
She ate a lot of food. She ate
cheese burgers. She ate
chips. She ate sweets. Every
day she ate these types of
foods. She was always
hungry. She did not like
vegetables or fruits. She
never drank water. She only
drank soda, or juice. She
was big. She did not
exercise. She was happy
about her appearance.
People made fun of her.
"Lose weight," people said to
her. "Stop eating," people
said to her. "No, thank you,"
she replied. "I'm happy with
how I look," she said. She
loved eating fattening foods.
Nothing could change her
diet. She went to see a
doctor. The doctor told her to
lose weight. She did not want
to lose weight. Her doctor
explained why she had to
lose weight. She could die.
She became scared. She did
not want to die. She decided
to lose weight.

The day of the math test was

next Monday. He had three
days to study. He did not like
math. It was his hardest
subject. He had to study in
order to pass. He locked
himself in his room. He
turned off his phone. He shut
off his computer. There could
be no distractions. He left his
radio on. Music helped him
study. Every day he studied
for hours. After two days he
stopped. He needed help. He
could not solve a math
problem. He called his friend.
His friend was good at math.
He asked his friend if he
could help. His friend said
yes and came over. His
friend helped him study for
three hours. He was ready to
take the test. His friend
wished him good luck. The
day of the test came. He took
the test. He passed the test.
Studying had paid off.
Lisa likes to draw. She also
likes to paint. Drawing and
painting are similar. She
draws with a pencil. She
paints with a paintbrush. Lisa
draws many things. She
draws cats. She draws
vases. Lisa also draws
people. Drawing is easy for
Lisa. Lisa is a good drawer.
Lisa is also a good painter.
She paints landscapes. She
paints sunsets. Lisa also
paints people. Painting is
more difficult than drawing
for Lisa. Painting requires
patience. Drawing is fast for
Lisa. Lisa wants to be
famous one day. Lisa paints
every day. She draws every
other day. Lisa paints in her
room. Her room is full of art
supplies. Her clothes also
have paint. Lisa does not
mind. Her favorite color is
green. Green is the color of
leaves. Lisa loves nature.
She is painting a big tree.
Sally was petting her cat. Her
cat's name is Kitty. Kitty is a
large black cat. Sally ran her
finger down Kitty's back. She
loved her cat. Her cat
smelled like shampoo. She
had been washed that
morning. Cats do not like
water. Kitty, on the other
hand, liked water. Kitty was a
friendly cat. Sally was on her
bed. Kitty fell asleep. Sally
was thirsty. She did not want
to wake up Kitty. She picked
up her cell phone. She called
her little brother. She
whispered into the phone
and said, "Get me a glass of
water, please." Her brother
said okay. He was
downstairs watching
television. He went to the
kitchen. He got a glass of
water. He took it upstairs to
his sister's room. He did not
know Kitty was asleep. He
slammed the door open. Kitty
woke up and ran away.
It was a beautiful day. Joe
went to the park. There were
people everywhere. Joe saw
many things. He saw a boy
riding a bike. He saw a girl
swinging on a swing. He saw
a family having a picnic. He
saw a man playing the guitar.
It was a happy sight. Joe
took a deep breath. The air
was fresh. The smell of
flowers was in the air. The
trees were swaying in the
wind. Joe felt so alive. Joe
heard a bell. He looked
around and saw the ice-
cream man. He reached in
his pockets. He grabbed
three dollars. "Hey, ice-
cream man!" Joe yelled. The
ice-cream man stopped and
turned around. He walked
towards Joe. "One ice-
cream, please," Joe said.
The ice-cream man handed
Joe an ice-cream bar. "Thank
you," said the ice-cream
man. Joe paid and went on
his way. It was a sunny day.
Everything was perfect.
David ran a marathon. He
could not believe it. It was a
big achievement. Running a
marathon is not easy. David
had to train all year long.
David woke up every
morning. He would put on his
running shoes, drink a lot of
water, and run out the door.
David ran for hours. He
stopped only when he
finished. David ran again at
night. He had a lot of energy.
He never got tired. Running
a marathon took a long time.
David ran 26 miles and 385
yards. It took 5 hours and 30
minutes to finish. David was
exhausted when he finished.
He was really thirst. He drank
a gallon of water. He was still
thirsty. David was happy.
Running a marathon had
been his wish. He could not
wait to run it again next year.
Thanksgiving is a national
holiday. It is celebrated once
a year. Mark loved
Thanksgiving. It is his
favorite holiday. Every year,
he cooks a turkey. Mark's
wife helps him. Mark cooks
other dishes, too. He makes
stuffing, potato salad, and
ham. Mark invites his family
to his Thanksgiving. Mark
has a large family. Mark's
wife also invites her family.
She has a small family.
Everybody brings food to the
table. There is always
leftover food the next day.
The doorbell rings. Mark
invites his family inside.
"Happy Thanksgiving,"
everybody says to each
other. The food is cooked.
They wait for Mark's in-laws
to arrive. The doorbell rings.
Mark's in-laws come inside.
Everybody sits at the table.
The food is served.
Everybody is smiling and
talking. Everybody begins to
eat. Thanksgiving is a festive
holiday.
He went to the mall. He
needed clothes to wear.
Summer was nearing. He
brought a list. It was a list of
clothes to buy. He looked at
the list. He needed t-shirts.
He entered a store. The
name of the store was
"Summer Shirts". He bought
ten shirts. They were
different colors. Three of the
shirts were blue. Another
three were red. Two of the
shirts were white. The last
two were black. He crossed
shirts off his list. He needed
pants. He walked into a
store. The name of the store
was "Fancy Pants". He
purchased five pairs of
pants. Two pants were blue
jeans. Another two were tan
slacks. The last ones were
brown khakis. He crossed
pants off his list. He just
needed shoes. He walked
into a shoe store. He saw
sandals. He bought sandals
instead of regular shoes. He
was now ready for summer.
He bought a computer. It was
a laptop. The laptop was
expensive. It cost him
several hundred dollars. He
saved up money. It took him
four months to save enough.
He earned his money. He
worked at a restaurant after
school. The job was hard. He
was determined to buy a
computer. He never quit his
job. He went to the Best Buy
to purchase it. He walked in
with the money in his hand.
He knew which computer he
wanted already. He paid for
the computer, and took it
home right away. He opened
the box. He lifted the
computer gently from the
box. "It's beautiful," he said.
The laptop was sleek. It
looked nice. It was the
happiest day in his life. He
turned it on. He logged on
the Internet.
She was popular. Everybody
at school knew her name.
She liked the attention. She
was pretty. She had blonde
hair. It was long and straight.
She wore expensive clothes.
She wore classy perfume.
She put on pricey make-up.
All the other girls were
jealous of her. All the guys
liked her. She was not
interested in being a
relationship with anybody.
One day, her parents told her
a surprise. They said they
were moving. She was
devastated. She moved the
next week. They drove to
Colorado. She went to a new
school. She was not popular
anymore. Nobody knew her
name. Nobody liked her. No
one was jealous of her. She
was just an ordinary girl now.
She was sad at first. She
soon felt happy. It was a nice
change. It was nice being a
regular person. She did not
miss being popular anymore.
She liked to talk. Talking was
easy for her. She talked to
friends: "Hello, how are
you?" Her friends replied: "I
am fine." She was always
polite. "Bless you," she would
say when someone sneezed.
"Have a nice day," she would
say after saying goodbye.
She was a good talker. She
was skilled at talking. She
talked all the time. She talked
over the phone. She talked
during class. She talked at
work. Her job was to talk.
She helped customers buy
things. "Can I help you, sir?"
she would ask. Every day
she talked to customers. She
was always helpful. "Thank
you for taking the time to talk
to me," a customer said one
day. "You are very welcome,"
she said and smiled. Talking
is a good skill to have. She
practiced it every
She walked into a restaurant.
It was lunch time. She was
hungry. She sat down at a
table. The waiter handed her
a menu. "What would you
like to drink?" the waiter
asked. She asked for water.
She was on a budget. She
stopped buying drinks. Water
was always free. She liked
eating fish. She looked at the
menu. There was no fish.
She called the waiter. "Do
you serve fish?" she asked.
"No, I am sorry," the waiter
said. She was disappointed.
She looked at the menu
again. She needed time to
think. The waiter left. She did
like chicken. She did not like
beef. She did not even like
pork. She was a picky eater.
She made up her mind. The
waiter came back. She
ordered lamb. The waiter
wrote it down. He smiled and
left. She ate lamb for lunch.
Claire is 5 years old. She
watches a lot of TV. Her
parents want her to read
more. She likes the TV too
much. Her moms asks her to
read a book. She says no.
Her mom asks her to read a
picture book. She says no.
Claire's dad asks her to read
books. She says no. Her dad
asks her to read a book
about Barbie. She says no.
Her parents force her to
read. Claire cries. Claire's
teacher asks her to read.
She says no. Claire's older
sister has an idea. She gives
her a book based on a
movie. Claire reads it.
Billy always listens to his
mother. He always does what
she says. If his mother says,
"Brush your teeth," Billy
brushes his teeth. If his
mother says, "Go to bed,"
Billy goes to bed. Billy is a
very good boy. A good boy
listens to his mother. His
mother doesn't have to ask
him again. She asks him to
do something one time, and
she doesn't ask again. Billy is
a good boy. He does what
his mother asks the first time.
She doesn't have to ask
again. She tells Billy, "You
are my best child." Of course
Billy is her best child. Billy is
her only child.
Nancy wants to live a long
time. She wants to live for
one hundred years. She is
five years old now. She
wants to live 95 more years.
Then she will be 100. Her
father is 30 years old. He
wants to live a long time, too.
He wants to live for one
hundred years. He wants to
live for 70 more years.
"Daddy, we will grow old
together, okay?" Nancy said
to her father. "Yes, honey, we
will grow old together," he
said to Nancy. Then Nancy
smiled. She gave her daddy
a big hug.
David lost his yellow pencil.
He could not find it. "Where
is my yellow pencil?" he
asked his sister. His sister
did not know. "I don't know
where your pencil is," she
said. David thought about it.
He thought and thought. He
used his yellow pencil before
lunch. He used it to write a
note to his teacher. The note
said, "Dear teacher, Thank
you for helping me. David."
He put the note in an
envelope. Where was the
envelope? He looked in the
kitchen. He looked on the
kitchen counter. He found the
envelope. It was next to the
toaster. He found the pencil.
It was under the toaster.
"Can I ride my horse,
Mommy?" Sara asked her
mom. Sara loved to ride her
horse. She rode her horse
almost every Saturday.
"Okay, honey, get ready to
go," her mom said. Sara was
happy. She went into her
bedroom. She put her pink
socks on. She put her pink
sneakers on. She grabbed
her pink hat. She went to the
front door. "I'm going to wait
in the car," she told her mom.
"Okay, I'll be there in a
minute," her mom said. Sara
opened the car door. She sat
down in the front seat. She
put on her hat. She was
excited.
Patricia did not have much
time. It was time to go to
work. She did not want to be
late for work. She would lose
her job if she was late. She
finished her coffee. She
drank the last drop. She put
the coffee cup in the kitchen
sink. She turned on the
kitchen faucet. She poured
water into the cup. She
turned off the faucet. She
picked up her keys. The keys
were on the kitchen table.
She grabbed her gray coat.
Her gray coat was on the
chair. The chair was next to
the door. She walked
outside. She locked her door
with her house key.
Lisa loves to go shopping.
Tomorrow she is going
shopping. She needs a new
pair of shoes. She wants to
buy a pair of red shoes. She
thinks red shoes are pretty.
She will buy a pair of shoes
at the mall. Lisa usually
shops at the mall. The mall is
only a mile from her house.
She just walks to the mall. It
only takes her 20 minutes.
Tomorrow she will go to four
different shoe stores.
Tomorrow is Saturday. The
mall always has sales on
Saturday. If the sale price is
good, Lisa might buy two
pairs of shoes.
Daniel wanted to visit a farm.
He asked his parents to take
him to a farm. His teacher
told him about the animals
on a farm. There are lots of
animals on a farm. Daniel
wanted to see the animals.
He wanted to see the cows.
He wanted to see the
chickens. He wanted to see
the pigs. He wanted to pet
the animals. He wanted to
feed the animals. He loved
animals. He wanted to live on
a farm. He wanted to live
with cows and chickens and
pigs. They would be his
friends. He didn't have any
friends in school.
Andrew was in the third
grade. He loved his teacher.
His teacher was young. She
was pretty. She was friendly.
She helped Andrew add
numbers. She helped
Andrew draw dogs and cats.
She helped Andrew learn to
spell. Andrew gave his
teacher an apple one day. He
gave her an orange another
day. He gave her a peach
another day. His teacher
thanked him. "Thank you for
the apple," she said the first
day. "Thank you for the
orange," she said the second
day. "Thank you for the
peach," she said the third
day. Each day Andrew said,
"You're very welcome."
Jeff sat down. He was in
class. He was at school. He
was in English class. He
liked his English class. He
liked his teacher. His teacher
was friendly. His teacher
helped all the students. His
teacher answered everyone's
questions. Jeff asked a new
question every day.
Yesterday he asked his
teacher a spelling question.
He asked his teacher how to
spell "myself." His teacher
told him how to spell it. Jeff
thanked his teacher. His
teacher said, "You're
welcome. Ask me anything
anytime. That's what I'm here
for, to help you."
Alice told her son Jesse to go
to his room. He didn't want to
go to his room. "Why do I
have to go to my room?" he
said. "You were a bad boy,"
she said. "You hit your
sister." He said, "No, I didn't.
She hit me first." Alice said,
"But you shouldn't hit your
sister, even if she hits you
first. She is younger than you
are. And she's a little girl.
Boys should never hit little
girls." Jesse said, "Okay, I
won't ever hit little girls again.
Now do I have to go to my
room?" Alice said yes, he still
had to go to his room. "When
she's a big girl, I'm going to
hit her again," he said.
Louis got a new book. The
book was about animals.
Louis loved animals. The
book had lots of pictures. It
had pictures of dogs and
cats. It had pictures of cows
and pigs. It had pictures of
chickens and rabbits. It had
pictures of squirrels and
birds. Louis looked at the
pictures on the first page.
Then he turned the page. He
looked at the pictures on the
second page. Then he turned
the page again. The book
had 30 pages in it. Louis
looked at all the pictures on
all the pages.
He played the piano. He
played it very well. He started
playing the piano when he
was six years old. That was
seven years ago. Now he
was 13 years old. He was
very good. He won one piano
contest after another. A
famous piano teacher heard
him play the piano. The
teacher said, "I want to bring
you to New York. I will teach
you how to be even better. I
will teach you how to be the
best piano player in the
whole world." He didn't like
that idea. He wanted to stay
at home. He wanted to stay
with his parents and his
friends. His parents wanted
him to go. They said they
would visit him in New York
every weekend.
Deborah was angry at her
son. Her son didn't listen to
her. Her son was 16 years
old. Her son thought he knew
everything. Her son yelled at
Deborah. He told her he
didn't have to do anything.
He didn't have to listen to
her. He didn't have to go to
school. He didn't have to do
his homework. He didn't
have to study. He was 16. He
could do anything he wanted
to do. What could Deborah
do? She wasn't married. She
was divorced. She could not
control her son. He would
listen to his father. But his
father was not there. His
father lived in another city.