VOODOO ISLAND (Level 3)

Mr James Conway wants to make money. He wants to build new houses and shops - and he wants to build them on an old graveyard, on the island of Haiti. There is only one old man who still visits the graveyard; and Mr Conway is not afraid of one old man. But the old man has friends - friends in the graveyard, friends who lie dead, under the ground. And when Mr Conway starts to build his houses, he makes the terrible mistake of disturbing the sleep of the dead . . .

VOODOO ISLAND

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Vocabulary:

awake: not asleep

believe: to think that something is true

bell: when a telephone rings, the noise is made by a bell

blow (past tense blew): when air moves, a bind is blowing

clean: to work on something that is dirty and make it clean

coconut: a large brown hard fruit that grows on trees in hot countries

company: a group of people who work together to make money

construction: building

doll: a small model of a person; children play with dolls

draw (past tense drew): to make a picture with a pencil, pen, etc.

dream: pictures in your mind when you are asleep

dry: not wet

dust: dry dirt that is like powder

flame: the yellow/orange part of a fire

frightened: afraid

gate: a kind of door in a wall or fence outside

grave: a hole in the ground where the body of a dead person lies

graveyard: a place with many graves

hope: to want something that you think will happen

hougan: a person in Haiti who can use voodoo

howl: to make a long loud cry (like a dog makes)

land: ground used for building, etc.

law: a law says that a person must, or must not, do something.

lorry: a kind of very large car that can carry big things 

mad: ill in the mind (the head)

magic: when somebody makes a strange things happen and nobody can understand or explain them

map: a drawing of a town or a country that shows roads, rivers, hills, etc.

medicine: something that can make ill people well again

ordinary: not strange or special

pain: when something hurts, you feel pain

park (car park): a place where you can leave your car

pick up: to take something in the hand

pin: a very small, sharp piece of metal

problem: something difficult to understand, or find an answer for

snake: a long thin animal without legs

spirit: the part of a person that is not the body; some people think that the spirit lives after the body dies

steps: stairs outside a house, in a garden, a road, etc.

throw (past tense threw): to make something move through the air

university: a place where people study after they leave school

voodoo: a special magic that is used in Haiti

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH (Level Starter)

In Hamburg, Germany, Professor Otto Lidenbrock comes home with an old Icelandic book. In it there is a message about a journey to the centre of the Earth.

Can Lidenbrock and Axel and their Icelandic guide, Hans, find the centre of the Earth? And can they all get home alive after their many underground adventures?

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH

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Vocabulary:

professor: an important teacher who also studies a lot

nephew: your sister's or brother's son

scientist: a person who studies the natural world

paper: you write on this

secret: something that you don't tell to everybody

message: you write this to someone

sure: when you feel that something is true

fire: this is hot, and it burns

backwards: beginning at the last letter and going to the first letter

uncle: your father's or mother's brother

crater: a big, wide hole

shadow: a dark shape that the sun makes on things

fall: to go down suddenly

centre: the part in the middle

Earth: we live on this

volcano: a mountain that fire and rocks sometimes come from

fiancée: the woman that a man wants to marry

plan: when you get something ready to do later; to get something ready to do later

journey: they you go far

marry: to make someone your husband or wife

luggage: bags and things that you take when you go on a journey

ship: you use a ship to go across the water

sail: to go across the water

storm: a lot of rain and very bad weather

mountain: a big hill

science: the study of the natural world

guide: a person (or thing) that shows or tells people where to go

food: you eat this

erupt: when rocks and fire come out of a volcano

top: the highest part of something

light: a thing that helps you to see in the dark

bottom: the lowest part of something

hole: an opening in something that you can look through or go through

sign: something that hows you something important

climb: to go up or down using your hands and feet

compass: something that shows you north and help you see where to go

lamp: a thing that helps you to see in the dark

tunnel: a long hole that goes through or under something

crystal: a beautiful stone

wall: the side of a tunnel

small: little

worried: not happy about something and thinking a lot about it.

follow: to go after something or somebody

stream: a small river

break: to make something stop working

cave: a big natural room under the Earth

underground: under the Earth

raft: a small ships made from trees

monster: an animal that is very bad to look at

fight: to hit again and again

land: the part of the Earth that is not the sea

cloud: a big white or grey thing that rain comes from

lightning: the light in the sky when there is storm

explode: to break suddenly with a big noise

rock: a very big stone

mastodon: a type of elephant from five million years ago

ground: we walk on this

knife: a sharp tool used for cutting something

letter: we write with these, there are 26 of them in English.

gunpowder: powder that explodes

blow up: to break into small pieces noisily

light: to give fire to something

waterfall: where water falls far down over rocks

lava: the hot liquid that comes out when a volcano erupts

world: where we all live; people live in lots of different countries in the world

language: people say or write things with this

hero: a person who does something important or good

FIVE CHILDREN AND IT (Level 3)

When the children dug a hole in the gravel-pit, they were very surprised at what they found. “It” was a Psammead, and it was thousands of years old.

It was a strange little thing – it was furry and with eyes on long stalks. It was often very cold and unfriendly, but it could give wishes – one wish a day. ‘It’s wonderful!’ the children said.

But wishes are difficult things they can get you into trouble.

FIVE CHILDREN AND IT

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Vocabulary:

1. Baker: a person who makes and sell bread
2. Believe: to think that something is real or true
3. Diamond: a very expensive, bright stone, often put in rings, etc
4. Dig (past tense dug) to make a hole in the ground
5. Enormous: very, very big
6. Fair: a kind of travelling market, where you can buy things, play games, watch interesting things, etc.
7. Fairy: a person or things which is not real, but which in stories does wonderful, impossible things.
8. Fur: the soft hair on an animal’s body
9. Good Heavens!: words that show you are very surprised
10. Gravel: very small stones
11. Gravel-pit: a big hole in the ground or the side of a hill, where people have taken away gravel and sand
12. Jewel: a very valuable, expensive stone, e.g. a diamond
13. Kick: to hit someone or something with your foot
14. Lemonade: a sweet drink made from lemons and sugar
15. Nursemaid: a woman servant who helps a mother with her baby
16. Plum: a soft, dark-red or purple fruit
17. Psammead: Edith Nesbit’s word for said-fairy (from a Greek word)
18. Sand: very fine, light earth, usually white or yellow (often found on beaches)
19. Servant: somebody who works in another person’s house
20. Vicar: a priest, the man of the church
21. Wish: to say what you would like to have or do (usually something which is not possible)

FRANKENSTEIN (Level 4)

Victor Frankenstein thinks he has found the secret of life. He takes parts from dead people and builds a new 'man'. But this monster is so big and frightening that everyone runs away from him - even Frankenstein himself!

The monster is like an enormous baby who needs love. But nobody gives him love, and soon he learns to hate. And, because he is so strong, the next thing he learns is how to kill . . .

FRANKENSTEIN 

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Vocabulary:
believe: to think that something or someone is true or right
blind: not able to see
cabin: a room on a ship
chain: a row of very small gold rings joined together, to wear round the neck
create: to make something new
creature: a living animal or person
electricity: the power that travels through wires and can make heat and light drive machines
evil: very bad
faint: to fall down suddenly because you are ill or hurt
float: to stay on the top of water
forgive: to say or show that you are not angry with someone any more
great: very big; special, very important
honeymoon: a holiday for a new husband and wife after their wedding
horrible: terrible; making you very afraid
horror: a feeling of very strong fear and dislike
huge: very very big
hut: a small building made of stone or wood, usually with one room
human: of people, not animals
judge: the most important person at a trial, who decides how to punish a criminal
laboratory: a building where scientists work and study
lightning: a sudden, very bright light in the sky during a storm
look after: to take care of someone or something
mad: ill in the head
mark: when you touch something, your fingers can leave a mark, which shows where you have touched
mast: a very tall wooden or metal post
monster: an animal or person in stories which is big, ugly, and frightening
ordinary: usual, not special
point: to show with your finger or hand where something is 
power: something strong that makes other things work, e.g. electric power
professor: an important teacher at a university
scientist: someone who studies science, which is the study of natural things, e.g. biology, chemistry, physics
sledge: a kind of 'car' without wheels, that moves on long pieces of wood or metal over snow
strangle: to kill someone by holding them very hard round the nect
telescope: an instrument with special glass for looking at things which are a long way away
throw (past tense threw): to move your arm quickly to send something through the air
thunder: a very loud noise in the sky during a storm
trial: a meeting (in a law court) to decide if someone has done a crime
ugly: not beautiful
wire: a long thin piece of metal; electricity travels through wires

MR. HARRIS AND THE NIGHT TRAIN (Level 2)

Mr. Harris loves the night train and he usually travels on it. Until one day, something happened and he never goes on it again.

MR. HARRIS AND THE NIGHT TRAIN

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Vocabulary:

1. blood: the red liquid in a person's body
2. bright: not dark, giving a lot of light
3. bus: a very big car for many people to travel in
4. carriage: a 'room' on a train
5. clothes: things you wear, e.g. dress, shirts, trousers
6. corridor: the long narrow place on a train with doors on the carriages
7. diamond: a beautiful, very expensive, bright stone
8. fall (past tense fell): to move suddenly from a higher place to a low place
9. floor: the 'ground' in a room; you walk on a floor
10. ghost: a dead person that living people think they can see 
11. guard: a man who works on a train
12. holiday: days or weeks when people do not go to work
13. jump: to move quickly with both feet off the ground
14. kind: friendly; good to other people
15. life: the time when you are alive, not dead
16. loud: not quiet; with a lot of noise
17. necklace: something beautiful that women wear round their neck
18. newspaper: you read a newspaper to know what is happening in the world
19. poor: when you say 'poor', you are feeling sorry for somebody
20. restaurant: a place where you can buy a meal and eat it
21. seat: a 'chair' on a train
22. shout: to speak or cry very loudly and strongly
23. stare: to look at someone or something for a long time
24. station: trains stop at stations for people to get on or off
25. sweet: (of people) very nice
26. terrible: something terrible makes you feel afraid or unhappy
27. unhappy: not happy
28. vodka: a very strong cold drink
29. voice: you talk with your voice
30. whisper: to speak very, very quietly

THE ELEPHANT MAN (Level 2)

This is a true and tragic story. He is not beautiful. His mother does not want him, children ran away from him. People laugh at him, and call him ‘The Elephant Man.’
Then someone speaks to him – and listens to him! At the age of 27, Joseph Merrick finds a friend for the first time in his life.

THE ELEPHANT MAN

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Vocabulary:

1. Bath: when you want to wash your body, you sit in a bath full of water
2. Below: under
3. Beside: next to
4. Bible: the most important book for Christians
5. Box: (in a theatre) a small ‘room’; you can watch the stage from a box, but other people can’t see you
6. Cab: an old word for ‘taxi’
7. Card: a piece of paper with your name and address on it (visiting card); or a card with a picture and a greeting on it (e.g. a Christmas card)
8. Chairman: an important man in the hospital
9. Cloth: trousers, coats, dresses, etc. are made from cloth
10. (the) country: not the town
11. Creature: a living animal
12. Drop: to let something fall
13. Editor: the most important person in a newspaper office
14. Elephant: a very big grey animal with a long nose and big ears
15. Enormous: very big
16. Yours Faithfully: you write “Yours Faithfully” at the end of a formal letter
17. Fingers: you have five fingers on each hand
18. Fish: fish live in rivers and in the sea
19. Food: what you eat
20. Gentleman: a man from an important family
21. Glass: you drink tea from a cup, you drink water from a glass
22. Heavy: it is difficult to carry heavy things; 1,000 kilos is very heavy
23. By himself: nobody was with him
24. Hip: the place where your leg joins your body
25. Hole: an empty space or opening in something
26. Horrible: not nice; people are often afraid of ‘horrible’ things
27. Kind: nice, good; a kind person often helps people
28. Knee: the middle of your leg where it bends
29. Lady: a woman from an important family
30. Life: your life stops when you die
31. Lighthouse: a tall building by or in the sea, with a strong light; the lights tells ships that there are dangerous rocks
32. Like (preposition): not different; e.g. a river is like the sea, because it is made of water
33. Loudly: with a lot of noise
34. (His/Her/Your) Majesty: when you speak to a king or a queen, you say ‘Your Majesty’
35. Marry: to take somebody as your husband or wife
36. Mirror: a piece of special glass; you can see your face in a mirror
37. Neck: your neck is between your head and your body
38. Newspaper: you read a newspaper to know what is happening in the world
39. Nose: your nose is between your eyes and your mouth
40. Place: where something or someone is (a room, a house, a town, etc.)
41. Play: (n) you go to the theatre to see a play
42. Police: the police help people; they also put bad people in prison
43. Present: something that you give or get from somebody (e.g. a birthday present)
44. Prison: a building for bad people; they must stay there and cannot leave
45. Queen: the most important woman in Britain
46. Sad: not happy
47. Scream: to make a loud high cry because you are afraid or angry
48. Shake hands (past tense shook) to hold somebody’s hand and move it up and down as a greeting
49. Shopkeeper: a person who has a small shop
50. Side: the part of something that is not the top, bottom, front or back
51. Skin: you have skin all over your body; people have different skin colours
52. Smell (past tense smelt) you see with your eyes; you smell with your nose
53. Step: a place to put your foot when you go up or down
54. Stick: a long piece of wood; Merrick walks with a stick
55. Strange: different
56. Stream: a small river
57. Tears: water from your eyes when you cry
58. Theatre: a building where you go to see plays
59. Touch: to feel something with your hands
60. Ugly: not beautiful
61. Voice: you talk with your voice

GOODBYE, MR. HOLLYWOOD (Level 2)

The girl suddenly kisses Nick on the mouth and said to him: "Goodbye, Mr. Hollywood.' Nick didn't understand anything, and he doenst know that someone near there doesn't like "Mr. Hollywood". Dangers come to Nick and he doens't know it.

GOODBYE, MR. HOLLYWOOD

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Vocabulary:

1. bar: a room where people can buy and have drinks
2. blood: blood is red and moves around inside the body
3. bridge: something build high to go over a river or a road
4. busy: with many things happening
5. cafe: a place where people can buy and eat food and drink
6. city: a big important town
7. crowd: a lot of people
8. desk: people in offices sit and work at desk
9. fall (past tense fell): to go down quickly from a high place
10. ferry: a ship to carry cars and people
11. floor: the part of a room which is under your feet
12. fly (past tense flew): to travel through the air (ex: by areoplane)
13. follow: to go after someone or something
14. great: wonderful, very good
15. guess: to try to give the right answer when you don't know it 
16. gun: a thing that shoots out bullets to kill people
17. guy: a man
18. kiss: to touch someone with your lips, to show love, or to say hello or goodbye
19. magazine: a book with a paper cover which comes out every week, month, etc.
20. maybe: perhaps
21. millionaire: somebody who has a millions pounds or dollars, or more
22. mountain:  a very high hill
23. movie: a film which you see at a cinema
24. mystery: something that you do not understand and cannot explain
25. outside: not in something (a room, a building, etc.)
26. park: a garden or place in a town where people can walk, sit, play games, etc.
27. party: a meeting of friends to eat, drink, talk, dance, etc.
28. point: to show with your finger where someone or something is
29. policeman: the police are the men and women in a country who catch criminals, try to stop people doing wrong, etc.
30. police station: an office of hte police
31. pretty: beautiful, nice to look at
32. pull: to hold and move something towards you
33. push: to move something away from you with your hands
34. restaurant: a place where people can buy and eat meals
35. scream: to cry out loud, usually when you are afraid or hurt 
36. shoot (past tense shot) to sent a bullet from a gun to kill or hurt somebody
37. short: the bullet sent from a gun
38. shout: to call or try out loudly and strongly
39. stranger: somebody that you do not know
40. sure: certain, knowing what something is true
41. tea: a hot drink, often with sugar and milk or lemon
42. travel: to visit other countries, cities, etc.
43. turn: to move around
44. vacation: a holiday, a time when you do not work and perhaps go travelling
45. waiter: somebody who brings your food or drink in a restaurant or cafe
46. worried: afraid that something is wrong or something bad is going to happen

LOVE OR MONEY (Level 2)

It is Molly Clarkson's fiftieth birthday. She is having a party. She is rich, but she is having a small party - only four people. Four people, however, who all need the same thing: they need her money. She will not give them the money, so they are waiting for her to die. And there are other people who are also waiting for her to die.

But one person can't wait. And so, on her fiftieth birthday, Molly Clarkson is going to die.

LOVE OR MONEY

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Vocabulary:

1. Aunt: the sister of your father or mother, or the wife of your uncle.
2. Build: to make a house or a building
3. Club: a number of people who meet because they are interested in the same thing (e.g. a tennis club)
4. Cup: a thing to put drinks in
5. Empty: with nothing in it
6. Farm: land and buildings where people grow things to eat and keep animals for food.
7. Find out: to ask questions and learn about something
8. Inspector: an important policeman or policewoman
9. Job: when you work and get money for it, you have a job
10. Kitchen: a room where people make breakfast, dinner, tec.
11. Land: ground (not water – sea, rivers, tec.)
12. Lie: to say something that is not true.
13. Murder: killing someone (not in an accident)
14. Murderer: somebody who murders
15. Police: people who look for bad people
16. Ring (past tense rang) to make a sound like a bell (e.g. a telephone rings)
17. Sell: to give something to someone and they give you money for it
18. Sergeant: a policeman or a policewoman
19. Tablet: a doctor gives you tablets to eat and you feel better
20. Trouble: something bad, or difficult, or unhappy
21. Uncle: the brother of your mother or father, or the husband of your aunt
22. Wine: a cold drink made from grapes

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLE (Level 3)

Holmes and Watson investigate the mysterious death of sir Charles Baskerville, whose body was found mutilated by a huge dog. Is this horrible death an example of 'The Curse of the Baskervilles'?

SHERLOCK HOLMES & 

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES

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Vocabulary:

hound: large dog used for hunting

flat: apartment

smart: intelligent

wicked: evil, extremely bad

avoid: stay away from

ride (past tense rode, ridden): travel by horse

hardly: only just 

moor: wide open area covered with short grass

tear out: (past tense tore, torn) remove with great violence

throat: the part between the head and the body

shine (past tense shone, shone) give out light

Yew Alley: long path with yew trees at the sides of it.

butler: male servant

footprint: marks left on the ground by the feet

lawyer: person who give advice about legal quesions

heir: person who owns a property when someone dies

shaking with terror: moving from side to side in fear

quite clear: easily visible

hedge: wall make of plants 

foot (plural feet): a length measurement (1 foot = 0.33 meter)

summerhouse: small construction in a garden, made of wood or glass

yard: a length measurement (1 yard = 0.9 meter)

ash: burnt material from a cigar or cigarette.

acidly: sarcastically

boot (in hotel): servant who cleans guests's shoes

natter: subject, case

reluctantly: without wanting to

astonished: greatly shocked

clever: intelligent

carriage: vehicle pulled by horses

narrow: not wide, thin

murderer: killer

cheerful: happy, positive

maid: woman servant

loft: space inside the roof of a house

butterfly net: a tool for catching butterflies 

marsh: area of wet, dangerous ground

sink down (past tense sank, sunk): to move down 

struggled furiously: made a great effort

silly: ridiculous

argue: debate

sternly: seriously

what's all this about?: what's happenning here?

: criticise

quarrel: hve a bad disagreement

typewriter: a tool for typing words

hut: 

eagerly: enthusiastically

revolver: type of gun, similar to a pistol

blanket: 

pots:

grimly: very seriously

fault: responsibility

scent: smell

whisper: speak very quietly

bitterly: with emotion

wicked: bad, evil

seize: take hold of violently

injure: hurt