These diaries entries have been written by intermediate students from 2ºC, 2ºE and 2ºH. After reading and discussing on The Diary from a Wimpy Kid, they got to work on their own diaries. They invented new characters, different from their personal ones in order to write these extracts. So, ‘all characters and events in these entries are entirely fictional’, aren’t they?
Looking for funny well this book is funny. Diary of a Wimpy Kid is hysterical.
The book is about a boy named Greg trying to get through his life. He has an older brother and a younger brother. The older brother makes his life miserable. But the way he gets through it is by playing with his friend Rowley.
This book is really good for beginner readers. The reason why is because the book has pictures on every page. The words don’t fill up the whole page. What really catches my eye is that the lettering is in a normal kid’s handwriting.
Now let’s get back to the story. Greg’s older brother is always playing tricks on him. And his younger brother calls him bubby. Oh did I forget to mention, his older brother’s name is Rodrick and his younger brother’s name is Manny.Once when Manny drew on Greg’s door, Greg told his parents but they thought it was cute. When Greg gets in trouble, let’s just say it’s not cute. Remember how I said Rodrick always plays tricks on Greg, well the worst one was on the first day of summer vacation. Rodrick woke Greg up at 6:00 AM and told him he slept through the whole summer vacation.
Want to know more… Read diary of a wimpy Kid.
Some useful links on the Diary of a Wimpy Kid:
The Diary of A Wimpy Kid microsite.
Click on the book cover to do a general comprehension exercise.
Questions for discussion:
1. Why didn’t the following characters like Soren?
a. Lillian
b. Helen
c. Louie
d. Wyoming
2. Why did Soren want to break his agreement with Helen?
3. What happened when Leo and Koranda had a fight?
4. Who cut the rope and why?
5. What do you think happens to Maxine and Gabrowski after the end of the story?
6. Which character do you like most and least? Explain why
7. What did you like and not like about the story?
State of Play (2009)
Director: Kevin Macdonald.
Cast: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams and Hellen Mirren.
Plot: A petty thief is gunned down in an alley and a Congressman’s assistant falls in front of a subway - two seemingly unrelated deaths. But not to wisecracking, brash newspaper reporter Cal McAffrey who spies a conspiracy waiting to be uncovered. With a turbulent past connected to the Congressman and the aid of ambitious young rookie writer Della Frye, Cal begins uprooting clues that lead him to a corporate cover-up full of insiders, informants, and assassins. But as he draws closer to the truth, the relentless journalist must decide if it’s worth risking his life and selling his soul to get the ultimate story.
Blood from a stone is the 14th book of the Commissario Brunetti series created by Donna Leon in 1992. Like the other books of the series, this is mainly a crime novel but deals as well with political issues like corruption, inmigration and conspiracy.
The story is set in Venice, Italy. One night, a few days before Christmas, a street vendor is killed by two hit men in Campo Santo Stefano. The case is assigned to Commissario Brunetti who immediately wonders why a black inmigrant has been murdered by professionals. At the same time, discussion about inmigration arises at Brunetti’s home, when his daughter, Chiara, shows a surprising disrespect for the black man’s death.
As soon as Brunetti discovers that the pedlar was smuggling diamonds from Africa, the case acquires a new dimension much more complicated. Brunetti’s suspicions are confirmed when his boss, ViceQuestore Patta, tells him that the Ministry of Interior is going to lead the investigation instead of the Venice Police Department. Despite the orders, Brunetti tries to find out the truth with the help of his usual collaborators, inspector Vianello and signorina Elettra, Patta’s secretary. However, the interests and power of the people involved in the case are too big for Brunetti’s attempts to solve the crime.
Fans of Commissario Brunetti will not be dissapointed with this book. It has all the ingredients of Donna Leon novels: a gripping plot, deep characters, moral issues (corruption, racism, justice), political intrigue…everything in the mysterious atmosphere of Venice. It does not matter if you have never read a novel of the saga, every story is independent and you will soon get familiar with the characters and their relationships. To sum up, it is worth reading and, good news, if you like it, there are at least thirteen books more of the Commissario.
INTRODUCTION
The book title is “Circle Games” and the story that I chose “Quick Man Tan”. It was written by Frank Brennan.
The book genre is comedy short stories.
I chose this book because the cover looked cool and the summary said that it had five short stories to make you smile and I enjoy comedy books.
SUMMARY
The book tells the story of Caleb Tan (an old Chinese Lion Dancer) who has a Café with his wife May May (the waitress) and his son Henry (the cooker). Caleb, when hi was young, was a famous dancer called Quick Man Tan. Nowdays he entertains his customers with his old stories about fighters and The Chinese New Year until one day, he saves the life of a customer when a thief attacked him and Caleb became famous again.
OPINION
In my opinion it´s beautifully written. The story is short but is a highly entertaining read.
I like the plot because I enjoy the Chinese culture.
It has a surprising but happy end, I didn´t expect that the old man was the hero and I like that Henry finds his wife at the end. The end makes me feel good because Caleb get his dream: to become famous again and people want him to teach The Lion Dance to children and get paid for it.
My favourite character is Caleb, the protagonist; he´s a dreamer and he likes to remember his childhood but many customers didn´t listen to his stories.
CONCLUSION
I learned a lesson: we should listen more to old people.
I would recommend this book to people who are studying English because there are five short stories easy to read and it has two CD´s to practice “listening”
I chose the first story because it was the funniest for me.
In 1998, Ian McEwan won the Booker Prize with Amsterdam. The book tells the story of four men linked by the same woman, Molly Lane, whose funeral opens the novel. They are: her widower, George Lane, a rich Press Baron; Clive Linley, a famous composer; Vernon Halliday, editor of The Judge, a newspaper; and Julian Garmony, current Foreign Secretary. The story takes place in Great Britain and is set in the last years of the Twentieth Century.
The plot is quite simple: these four men, who had been in love with Molly sometime in the past, secretly hate each other and her funeral joins them. The main part is focused on Clive and Vernon and some photos taken by Molly, in which Garmony appears in female clothes during a sexual game he used to play with her. George Lane gives Vernon these pictures and he wants to publish them in order to ruin Garmony’s ambition to be Prime Minister. Clive tries to convince Vernon not to do it and they fall out. The day before their publication, Garmony faces the facts publicly and resigns from the Cabinet. At the end, George Lane is shown as the winner: he takes revenge against the men with whom Molly had cheated him.
Please, don’t bother with this mediocre novel, unless you want to waste your time on a rather confusing and badly-written book. Molly, who seems to be the key at the beginning, is irrelevant in the development of the story, which is quite dull too. McEwan makes Clive and Vernon become enemies in a completely silly and absolutely unjustified way. The ending is embarrasing and ridiculous. McEwan is a well-known author, so be sure he must have written better books.
Title: The Secret Garden
Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett
Synopsis
When Mary’s parents died she goes to live with her uncle (Mr.Crave, who is a strange person) in England.
She is often ill like her cousin Colin, so Mrs. Medlock and Martha (servants) take care of them.
Walking around the gardens Mary meets Ben Weatherstaff (the gardener) and his only friend “The Robin” on the wall of a garden without door.
Marta talks to Mary about her brother Dickon (a friendly boy) who tells his mother Mrs. Sowerby (a really nice woman) about children’s troubles and she helps them to be happy.
Personal Opinion
I would like to recommend this book to everybody. I think “The Secret Garden” is a wonderful story which reminds us of our childhood , always full of values such as willpower and friendship.
The novel was written by Alex Garlan. It was published in 1996 and became a cult classic quickly. Soon it was made into a film.
The story takes place in a tropical solitary island in Thailand.
The novel tells the story of a twenty-something-year- old boy called Richard, who goes to Thailand on holiday and finds himself in possession of a strange map.
The story begins when Richard shares the secret of the map with a French couple he has just met at the backpacker where he was staying. When they reach the island they find a small community of dwellers and a group of dope farmers.
Then the plot has an unexpected twist when a group of tourists that the trio had met before they reached the island and told them about the map, try to go to the island by themselves. As soon as they arrive the get killed by the dope farmers.
After the killing, the dope farmers ask the community’s leader to get rid of Richard for being responsible for all the trouble caused in the island. Richard, feeling the bad atmosphere surrounding him, decides to leave the island with the French couple.
From my point of view, this novel is well worth reading, gripping, fast-paced and it is definitely non-stop reading.
“The Boat That Rocked” is an ensemble comedy in which the romance takes place between the young people of the ’60s and pop music. It’s about a band of rogue DJs that captivated Britain, playing the music that defined a generation and standing up to a government that, incomprehensibly, preferred jazz. The Count, a big, brash, American god of the airwaves; Quentin, the boss of Radio Rock — a pirate radio station in the middle of the North Sea that’s populated by an eclectic crew of rock and roll DJs; Gavin, the greatest DJ in Britain who has just returned from his drug tour of America to reclaim his rightful position; Dave, an ironic, intelligent and cruelly funny co-broadcaster; and a fearsome British government official out for blood against the drug takers and lawbreakers of a once-great nation.
