Mr. and Mrs. Su don't often go out in the evening, but today they go out for a walk after supper. They go to the park and have a good time there. On their way home, Mrs. Su says to Mr. Su, "Look! A woman is running in the street and a man is running after（追赶）her." Mr. Su says, " What's the matter? Let's go and help her."

    Now the woman gets near them. Mr. Su asks, "Shall we help you?" "No, thank you," the woman says, "My husband and I are running home, and the slower (较慢的) one does the housework."

    English book Animal Farm (1945) tells a story about farm animals. They are fed up with ( 受够了) Mr Jones, the farmer. He treats them badly, so they decide to kick him off the farm and run the farm themselves.

    One day an old pig called Old Major gathers the animals around him. He tells them that all animals should stand together. He says they should take over the farm. They say that all animals are equal.

    After they get rid of ( 摆 脱 ) Mr Jones, two pigs become the leaders of Animal Farm. One pig called Snowball is a great speaker. He has big ideas for Animal Farm. The other leader is a pig called Napoleon. Napoleon is a crafty (狡猾的) animal. He brings together supporters by offering them advantages.

    Napoleon makes a war against Snowball and kicks him away from the farm. He turns Snowball into a big enemy. He says that Snowball is working with Farmer Jones and other farmers to destroy Animal Farm.

    But as it turns out it is Napoleon who is working with the enemies of the animals. He joins up with the old human enemies of the animals. But he tells the animals that he is working for them. Meanwhile the animals work hard. It seems that it is as bad to live under Napoleon as it was under Farmer Jones!

    Why is the story so important?

    Animal Farm is an excellent choice for learners of English because it's very short. The language is also simple.

    Like many famous stories Animal Farm is not just a book. It was played on the BBC radio in 1947. The big modern way of telling stories is in movies of course. Orwell's book has become a film twice. Perhaps it won't surprise you that the first one (1954) was a cartoon. In 1984 another film was made.

    This was a live-action (真人版的) film. The famous book has also been put on in the theater. In 1984 aversion was made and it toured a number of British cities.

    Lion was the King of the Jungle(灌木丛). One day, Giraffe told Lion, "Rabbit says he is the new King of the Jungle." "What?" Lion was very angry. He went to meet Rabbit. The other animals followed him to see what he would do. "Rabbit," said Lion, "Why do you say that you are the new King of the Jungle?" "Oh, but it's true," said Rabbit. "I'm faster and cleverer than you. We can have a competition（竞赛）.""All right," said Lion.

    Rabbit took Lion to a deep ravine (深谷). He said, "If I fly down to the ravine faster than you, I am faster and cleverer than you. So I go, or you will go first?" "Of course I will go first," said Lion, "I am the King of the Jungle!" He then threw himself into the deep ravine. Rabbit smiled and said to the other animals. "I am your new king now. I am faster and cleverer than Lion." The other animals didn't understand.

    "Lion was stupid! Anyone will die after jumping into the ravine!"

    It all started at the beginning of the fifth grade. At first, Carmen wasn't really sure what was happening. In class, she had to squint (眯着) her eyes to see the blackboard clearly. She had to do the same thing when she read street signs, or when she watched a movie.

    It wasn't long before Carmen found herself squinting all the time, but she didn't want anyone to know that. One day, she asked for a desk closer to the blackboard. Her teacher asked if she had trouble seeing the blackboard. Carmen shook her head, but she knew she couldn't pretend(假装) much longer.

    At home, she had to sit closer and closer to the television while watching her favourite shows. Her mother noticed that and said, "Tomorrow I'm calling the eye doctor to get an appointment for you." Three days later, Carmen had" new glasses and the doctor told her to wear them all the time. Carmen frowned in the car the whole way home.

    "All of the kids at school will think I'm a nerd." she said.

    "You look just as beautiful with those glasses on as you do without them," her mother smiled and said. But Carmen didn't believe her.

    The next day, Carmen kept the glasses in her pocket as she walked into the schoolyard. She avoided her friends and stood alone, feeling unhappy. Suddenly, she heard her friend Tracy shout. Carmen ran over. "What's wrong?" she asked.

    "My silver ring is gone!" Tracy cried. "It's very special and I can't lose it!"

    Carmen could tell that Tracy was very sad. They all looked for the ring in the grassy area of the playground.

      ▲   She took the glasses out and put them on. She caught, her breath. Everything looked so different! So clear! She looked down at the ground and a glimmer of silver caught her eye. It was the ring.

    "Here it is. I've found it!" She handed it to Tracy.

    "Thanks, Carmen. I never thought we'd find it," Tracy paused. "Hey, I didn't know you wore glasses. They look great!"

    Carmen had forgotten that she was wearing the new glasses. "Thanks," she replied shyly. As they walked back towards the school building, two more girls from her class complimented (赞美) her on her glasses. Carmen smiled. "Maybe wearing glasses won't be so bad after all," she thought.

    Maria lived near a forest. She often played with the animals in the forest. They were all her friends.

    One day, Maria walked into the forest to play with her animal friends. But to her surprise, the forest was very quiet and the animals weren't there! Maria hurried back to tell her parents. Her parents returned to the forest with Maria. The forest was still very quiet. But Maria's father noticed a little monkey behind a big tree.  The monkey was dying! They tried to save it. But the monkey was too weak. Before it died, the monkey told them the truth(真相)：a ghost(魔鬼)wanted to get the forest, so he asked all the animals to go away.

    Maria and her parents were very angry. They decided to drive the ghost away. They asked their friends and neighbors to help them. The ghost was strong but the people were stronger. At last, the ghost left and the animals returned to the forest happily.

    One day, the teacher held up an apple in class, stood on the platform(讲台) and said, "Please smell the smell in the air!" One student raised his hand and answered, "I have smelled it. It is the smell of an apple."

    The teacher stepped off the platform, passed by each of the students and said," Please smell again to see if the smell of the apple is still in the air."

    Half of the students raised their hands to show that they could smell it. The teacher returned to the front of the classroom and asked again if the students could smell the apple. Everyone raised their hands except one student. The teacher came to the student and asked," You really can't smell the apple?"

    The student answered," No, I can't smell it. I don't think it's a real apple."

    The teacher smiled at the student and said to the class," He is right! This is not a real apple."

    All of the other students were tricked. They might have thought that perhaps the apple was not real, but they didn't have the self-confidence to speak up. They just "followed the leader" and went along with the first student.

    Please remember "Believe in yourself first, and then others will believe in you".