The Amazon

The Amazon Rain Forest

Author: Bernard Smith

Publishers: Pinguin readers

                             

                                 Summary

The Amazon is the second longest river in the world. It is about 6,400 kilometres long. It is between one and ten kilometres wide. In the Amazon area it rains a lot, between August and November. There are more than 2,000 different kinds of fish in the Amazon. Every square kilometre is full of thousands and thousands of plants, birds and animals. The weather in the Amazon rain forest doesn’t change much. It stays hot (25ºC-35ºC) all through the year.

 There are 3,000 or more fruits in the rain forests of the world. A quarter of the medicines in the world are made from rain forest plants. Every year, the rain forests of the world are getting smaller. We are losing them day after day. Between the years 1978 and 1988, about 15,000 square kilometres of Amazon rain forest disappeared every day.

 The first people in rain forest, of course, were the “Indians”, or “Amerindians”. Today, there are about 350,000 Indians in the Amazon rain forest.

Opinion: It's interesting if you want to know about Amazonas. But I don't.

Title: 20,000 leagues under the sea

Publisher: Penguin Readers

Author: Jules Verne

This is the story of the Capitán Nemo and his famous submarine, the Nautilus . One day , Nemo finds three men in the cold sea. For 20,000 leagues the men live together on the Nautilus . They find a town on the sea floor, beautiful coast and lots of gold. But they are not happy. They can escape from Nemo’s submarine and live.

My opinion is: I don’t recommend this book to those who do not read every day but I personally liked it.

UNDERGROUND

Author: J. Meade Falkner

Publishers: Peanguin Readers

This story talks about one boy whose name was John. He lived in Moonfleet (a village) with his aunt, because his parents were dead.

One evening when he was 15th years old, he started to read but the light was bad, so he left the house and walked. It was very quiet and he could hear the voice of his friend Ratsey in his house. He lived near his aunt. His friend Ratsey and he went to the bar to talk with Elzevir, because he was very unhappy.

Elzevir was always sad because his only child, David, was dead. One day David was in a boat with a rich man in the village, Mr Maskew. He killed David, so Elzivir wanted to kill him.

After a long time, Elzivir said to John that he had to go home because Blackbeards walked around the village on winter nights. The legend of the Blackbeards talked about one dead person who was looking for a diamond. John and Elzivir wanted to find the diamond but John's aunt wasn't to take care of John anymore, so he went to live in Elzivir house. They found the diamond, but the diamond was false.

Opinion: This book it's quite boring.

Underground

Title: Underground

Publishers: Storylines

Author: Peter Viney

Craig is one of the men looking for work in the subway. He found a job in the night shift.  

His first day at work somebody told him the story of the Station of London.  In 1940 a bomb fell killing 200 people.

Craig went to the library to look up information about the station.

At night he examined the tunnel, and another supervisor told him he had to be careful because there was no light, and he grabbed a flashlight. After a while walking, he meet on the road and opened his head. When he stood back he turned towards home.

My opinion:

I liked the book but does not have much history.

Twenty thousand leagues under the sea

Title: Twenty thousand leagues under the sea
Author: Jules Verne
Publisher: Penguin Readers

This is the story of captain Nemo and his famous submarine, the Nautilus. One day, Nemo finds three men in the cold sea. For 20.000 leagues the men live toguether on the Nautilus. They find a town on the sea floor, beautiful coass and lots of gold. But they are not happy.

In my opinion, this book is very interesting and I do recommend it to the other people.

BROWN EYES

PUBLISHERS: Penguin Readers

AUTHOR: Paul Stewart

SUMMARY

The story starts when one couple arrives to their summer house or hotel in Lea-on-Sea. The couple enters the house and they say “hello”. The receptionist says “hello Mrs Reed”.

Susan asks for little Mary, she was fifteen. Then Mrs Brown goes to the kitchen and Susan looks at him. She gets close to him and starts to talk. Then they walk across the Connor’s Coffee House and start to talk. Later they walk dawn the sea and they kiss. They go to the hotel and they see a photo on the bed. But the doors open and a man with a gun enters.

This man is the same as Peter. He says that he is in love with Susan, but Susan doesn’t love him. He smiles and shoots the gun and Susan dies. Then he hits Peter and puts the gun in his mouth. Peter hears Mrs  Brown and Stephen answers in Peter’s name. Then the police enter and catch Peter.

My opinion is that this book is interesting and strange but it’s entertaining and I recommend it.

Underground

Title: Underground
Author: Peter Viney
Publisher: Oxford University Press


Craig is a student who also works as a night as a cleaner on the London Underground. Very strange things happen in the underground at the tunnels. It is a mystery of Church End Station, closed after World War II.

In my opinion, this book is boring and I don't recommend it to the other people.

RockStars

Tittle: Rock stars.

Author:  Alan McLean
Publishers: Longman

This book is a story about rock music and some people in it. It’s about a band (Dave and Viv), a singer(Annie Freeman) and a disc jockey(Marty Young)

Marty Young started in a London Pub (The Eight Bells). You can see his pictures on the wall. After a few years of becoming a disc jockey, he returned to the pub and heard a girl singing and he liked her and wanted to do an interview. They talked for a while and it appeared the band, Dave and Viv. Dave Robson is the one who plays the guitar and Viv is the drummer.

Marty Young  did not see the band for a long time because they were gone on tour. They spoke on television of how it went on tour and Annie said well enough, that his teammates were very funny and that the concerts were very exciting, but always started late. After talking, she sang the song that she most enjoyed on the tour, the song said: ”Black bird up in the tree, Black bird where can you be? Come back, come back to me.”

Between Dave and Viv things went worse because Viv made ​​an album of his songs, because he thought it was his opportunity , and Dave did not like that, and thought of going to Rock Stars but before that they went on tour once more. When the tour was over, Dave said to Annie, he was leaving the band and her dreams were broken.  Dave did not like to break that dream she had, so he wrote a letter for Annie where he said why he was leaving the band and then she read the letter. It was the end of the band.

My opinion: This book is boring.

The Man With No Name

Tittle: The Man With No Name.

Author: Evelyn Davies and Peter Town.

Publishers: Heinemann Educational Books.

It was dark night, there was no light. Mary Wallace lived alone and there was no thelephone in Mary’s cottage.  She was awake. Suddenly, the sky lit for a second, and then the sky was dark again. She fell asleep. Next morning, Mary went to the village. On top of the hill, there was a valley. Thirty years ago, in the valley there was an airfield. Mary stopped and breath. Then she looked down at the old runway and there was a jet aircraft on the old runway. There was no sound, no damage, no people, nothing. She heard something now and opened the cabin door. She shouted but no one answered. For the second time that morning, Mary found Ned Harding, he was walking to the village but he saw the plane. They found a landing card. Mary wrote facts in her notebook.

Mary and Ned found one man in the toilet. The man with no name was deaf and dumb. Mary and Ned took care of him. In the morning, they went to the plane, but when they came, the man was not there, he had disappeared. In the aircraft there weren’t any passengers or crew.

My opinion: I like this book, it is very interesting. I recommend this book for people who like the mystery.

Hampton House

Title: Hampton House

Author: Jenny Dooley

Publisher: Express Publishing

This book is about a girl named Kathy who started to work in a residence. Kathy was very happy until he met the lady in the room number 16. Kathy, while riding his bicycle in the direction of the house, crashed into a truck. When Kathy was recovered, he remembered that she had to go to that house. When she was in the house, a glass of strawberry with whipped cream appeared and it approached her. From that day she went to the house although it was raining every day. Until one day she left home because someone was telling people that the house had a ghost, but nobody could hear it except Kathy who was the only one who could.

My opinion

This story is very interesting, easy to read but I would not recommend it because it didn’t motivate me much.

THE MISTERY OF THE LOCH NESS MONSTER

Title: THE MISTERY OF THE LOCH NESS MONSTER

Author: Leslie Dunkling

Publishers: LONGMAN STRUCTURAL READERS STAGE 1

Summary:

THE MISTERY OF LOCH NESS

What is a monster? The monster is a big animal, or a big fish. It’s  big and strange.

LOCH NESS

Loch Ness is an old lake, scientists tell us. Old? Yes, 25,000 years is old. It is also a long lake. It is 38.6 kilometres (24 miles) long, but only 1.6 kilometres (1 mile) across. Loch Ness is also a deep lake, 296 metres (975 feet) deep. The water in the loch isn't clear. You can see into clear water, but Loch Ness has only one metre of clear water.

NESSIE

The Loch Ness Monster has a name. The monster is in Loch Ness, and the name of the monster is Nessie. Nessie is a real Scottish name, and it is not only the name Agnes: Scottish people like the name Agnes, and it is common in Scotland. Nessie is common too. The name of Loch Ness comes from the River Ness.

THE DAILY MAIL

The Daily Mail is a newspaper to. It's a big and important London newspaper.

A film of the Loch Ness Monster

Now people come to Loch Ness with film cameras and tape recorders. They are going to make a film. Nessie is going to be in cinemas, and on television! The monster is going to be a film star.

MY OPINION:  My opinion about this book is that it is interesting although I already knew about it and I liked it quite a bit.      

◊Three Sherlock Holmes Adventures◊

◊Three Sherlock Holmes Adventures◊

Author: Sir A. Conan Doyle

Publisher: Nelson Readers

NOTE: In these three stories, the author doesn't reveal the end..

Silver Blaze

Sherlock Holmes is notified that a horse called Silver Blaze has been stolen  and that his trainer is dead. This horse is so fast and the best in the horse races. Then, Holmes and Mr Watson  investigate the case.

Thor Bridge

Holmes receives a letter by Neil Gibson saying that his wife was dead. They found her body in the Thor Bridge and a gun on the floor of the Miss Grace Dunbar bedroom. Holmes and Mr Watson go to Sergeant Coventry to talk about the gun.

Suddenly, they go to speak with Miss Grace Dunbar, who has a meeting with Mrs Gibson in the bridge.

The Stockbroker's Clerk 

Sherlock Holmes and Mr Watson find a note which tells of a meeting in a train with Mr Hall Paycroft. Then Mr Paycroft starts telling he had been offered a good job. The three go in the train to Birmingham, the place where the work is.

 

My opinion

I  liked this book very much because I have always admired the detective novels, but I never find the real murderer.

Sherlock Holmes Adventures

~ Sherlock Holmes Adventures ~

Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Publisher: Nelson Readers

Summary of Silver Blaze:
Silver Blaze was the fastest and most famous racehorse in the country. And suddenly, a few days before the Wessex Race, he was gone and his trainer was dead.

Summary of Thor Bridge:
The wife of "The Gold King" or Neil Gibson, was dead and the police had a woman in prison for it. Gibson did not agree about it, and sent a letter to Holmes and Watson.

Summary of The Stockbroker's Clerk:
A young clerk, Hall Pycroft, consults Holmes with his suspicions concerning a company that has offered him a very well-paid job. Holmes, Watson and Pycroft travel by train to Birmingham where the job is initially to be based, and Pycroft explains that he was recently made redundant from a stock broking house.

My opinion:
It's a good book, and it doesn't reveal the end of the story until the end.

San Francisco

Title: This is San Francisco

Author: Betsy Pennink

Publishers: Heinemann

San Francisco is an important city on the west coast of the United States of America. It is not a very large city. Only 679,000 people live in San Francisco. San Francisco is an International city. People from many countries live there.

In 1848, gold was discovered in the hills near San Francisco. After that, San Francisco changed completely.

The population of San Francisco grew to 35,000 in two years. All kinds of people lived here. Millionaires built beautiful, big houses on Nob Hill. Other people lived in small, bad houses. There were dangerous groups of bad men, or ‘hoodlums’’. The hoodlums robbed and killed many people.

On 18 of April 1906, San Francisco was shaken by a terrible earthquake. San Francisco is a special city for several reasons. Here is one: The city has water on three sides (On the west, there is the Pacific Ocean, on the east, San Francisco Bay, on the north, between the Ocean and the Bay, is the Golden Gate.

San Francisco has a special climate. It is never very hot or very cold.

San Francisco is famous for its cable cars. Its first cable car was made in 1873 by Andrew Hallidie.

Things to see and do: Victorian Houses and Skyscrapers, Fisherman’s Wharf, Telegraph Hill and Nob Hill, Parks and Museums, Shopping, Restaurants and Entertainment, The Wine Country, The bay area.

My opinion:I like this book I seemed interesting and explain very information of this country. If you want to know about San Francisco, I recommend this book.  

LONDON

Title: LONDON

Author: Vicky Shipton

Publishers: PENGUINS READERS

London: London, in the south-east of Britain, is one of the great cities of the world. With more than 1,500 square kilometres, it is the biggest city in Europe. It is also an old city, with a long and interesting story.

The River Thames: The river Thames runs through the centre of London from west to est. Its name comes from and old word for river.

The Story Begins: There were people in the area near the River Thames a long time before the Roman Julius Caesar arrived in Britain in 55 BC*. Ceasar and his men fought the people in the south of the country, and Ceasar said the famous words, ‘ Veni, vidi, vici’. (I came, I saw, I won) Some people think that Ceasar built the first bridge across the river.

London Theatre: London is one of the theatre capitals of the world. Most of the big theatres are in the ‘West End’. There are more than fifty theatres in this area. The Mousetrap, by Agatha Christie, started in the West End in 1952 and you can see the same play today!

Kings and Queens in London: The history of London is also the story of the country’s kings and queens. Some of the most famous buildings tell this story.                                                                                                

The Tower of London  

 In 1066 the new king, William I, built the White Tower in the city. Later kings and queens built more buildings round this tower.

Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace was a great house to the south-west of the city. It was Thomas Wolsey’s house but king Henry VIII liked it. Henry was angry with Wolsey. Wolsey gave the house to the king but it did not help him and he was taken to prison.

Buckingham Palace

No kings or queens built Buckingham Palace. It was a rich person’s house. Kings George III liked it and he bought it in 1761.

My Opinion: This book is interesting and explains a lot about London. I recommend this book to people of 12 or 13 who have a medium level of English.

                                                                                                    

Robin Hood

Title: ROBIN HOOD

Author: D K SWAN

Publishers: LONGMAN

This book is divided in fifteen chapters.

Robin Hood is a ‘’folk hero’’. The common people were poor and they loved to hear stories about Robin Hood. The Robin Hood stories were first told as ballads.

The ballads were poems, partly because poems are easy to remember, partly because they were sung.

Robin Hood was the best bowman in England, and he could fight very well with a sword.

The Little John is the first man of Robin. Robin found Sir Richard in the forest. He explained his story: ‘’ I had a son. He killed a knight. It was in a fair fight at the tournament field, but the proud Sheriff of Nottingham put my son in prison. To get him out of prison took all my money and more. I had to borrow’’

They went to talk with the Sheriff of Nottingham. He was bad. The Sheriff of Nottingham hated Robin Hood.

Maid Marian was a pretty girl, but she was also strong.  She was friend of Robin.          

Robin Hood and Maid Marian grew old at last. Maid Marian died first and Robin was alone.

Before dying Robin said: “Put my long bow at my side, and put these words above me: Here lies brave Robin Hood”.
Robin Hood is known as the king of the poor because he stole money from the rich and give to the poor.

My opinion: I found this book boring and I did not understand much.

New words:

DEER- CERVOL

SWORD- ESPASA

BOW- ARC

QUARTERSTAFF- BASTÓ

FIGHT- LLUITAR

KNIGHT- CABALLER

Annie Leibovitz by Jorge Estel and Pau

She’s Annie Leibovitz, she’s a professional photographer of portraits.

 She was born in Waterbury, Connecticut USA on the 2nd October of 1949. In 1967, she entered in the Secondary School of Art, in San Francisco. She was interested in photography because her father was a military commander and he had a dark chamber in the Clark an aerial base.

 She’s the best well paid in the world. She worked for the magazines Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone and Vogue. In 1948, she won the prize of American association of magazines as photographer of the year. In 1988 she received the prize Clio for the campaign publicity of American Express. On April 2000 the American congress library considered her a legend.

 Memorable portraits: On 2005, the American Photo magazine mentioned her as the most important photographer at that moment. She also took documental photography and landscape photos.

Barack Obama and her family.

 Whoopi Goldberg

Yoko Ono and John Lennon: He died after take this photo. When he arrives at home a person murder and then they go to the hospital and the doctors say he’s died.

The singer Sting covered in mud in the desert.

The queen of England.

Angelina Jolie

Susan Sontag: She was Annie Leibovitz’ girlfriend. They together adopted children. Later, she died of cancer. 

Annie Leibovitz by Pau Estel and Jorge

                                                                   TARZAN OF THE APES 


AUTHOR: EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS
PUBLISHERS: BURLINGTON BOOKS        

                                                                                          SUMMARY
 One day, John Clayton is travelling by ship with his wife. One night the sailors kill the Capitan. Two days later the sailors see land, the Claytons build a house. Alice has a beautiful boy but Alice dies. One day Kurchak attacks John and he dies immediately. And Kala takes the baby boy and runs into the jungle. The baby’s name is Tarzan. One day a boat arrives in Africa, when the people leave the boat and walk to the house, they see a note on the door. The people enter the house, they have a problem: there is one lion next to the house, Tarzan of the Apes comes to save them. After the fight the apes choose Tarzan to be the new king of the jungle. But Kurchak takes Jane and jumps from tree to tree with her. Tarzan runs to save her and then leaves Jane in the house. Tarzan shows D’Arnot a book, It is John Clayton’s dairy! Tarzan wants to go England with Jane. When he arrives, he’s wearing clean clothes and D’Arnot tries to teach Tarzan to use a knife and a fork. William invites Jane and he says: I want to marry you! But Jane loves Tarzan. Then Jane makes a decision: I want to marry you too. After that, the doors open and Tarzan enters. Jane is surprised, Tarzan tells Jane her love but she was engaged. Tarzan is sad and he returns to the jungle, to his house.

 My opinion is that this book is good, but this story is not the same as the movie, but I like it.