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EMMA

★ Basic information of the book

Author：Jane Austen

Retold：Annette Barnes

Series Editor：Andy Hopkins and Jocelyn Potter

Publishing and distributed by Person Education Limited

Word level：Intermediate (1700 words)

Classification：Classics British English

Number of Pages：55

We share our friends' feeling and try to give them some advice, but we shouldn't dominate their decision. The story was based on a group of nobles. Therefore, their life was filled with literature, music and parties. Emma Woodhouse was a beautiful young lady. She amused herself by trying to arrange marriages between her friends and neighbors. However, she always messed things up. Then, she almost lost her own chance of love.

Everyone needs a true friend to point out his / her shortcoming. In the story, my favorite character was Mr. Knightly. Due to his calm and honesty, he suggested to Emma that she shouldn't choose spouse for any other person and shouldn't judge people by their position. Besides, he told Emma that he was ashamed of her for speaking something rude to the neighbor. Finally, Emma knew she had been wrong, and she apologized. Fortunately, she and her friends all found their true love.

I chose this novel because it was written by Jane Austen. Her books have always been popular through films for cinema and television. I read the Pride and Prejudice when I was little, and I really appreciated it. In short, I believed that Jane Austen's brilliance will ever be illuminated through her works.

THE QUEEN OF SPADES

★ Basic information of the book

Author：Aleksandr Pushkin

Retold：Stephen Colbourn

Series Editor：John Milne

Illustrator：Kay Dixey

Publishing and distributed by Heinemann

Word level：Intermediate (1600 words)

Number of Pages：51

Pushkin, the Great Russian poet and storyteller, brought us the magic and adventure of 19th century Russia. This book was composed of five stories tell of army life and romance. One of them was"The Queen of Spades", telling a story about an officer who coveted after wealth. In order to know the secret of Three Winning Cards, he murdered an old woman. After he got the secret, he put all his money in gambling and won again and again. One night, Army generals and other important people came to watch the gamble and expected him to win. Nevertheless, a strange thing happened. The card hold on his hand changed from ace to the queen of spades. She looked exactly like the dead woman opening one eye and winking at him. Needless to say, the officer was frightened to death and no one ever saw him again.

Since we didn't dabble in army life, especially in 19th century, we could explore Russia through the author's view. In addition, there were extraordinary stories about a sharpshooter, an undertaker and so on. To me, the book was worth reading.

ISLAND IN THE SUN

★ Basic information of the book

Author：John Milne

Series Editor：John Milne

Illustrator：Alan Burton

Publishing and distributed by Heinemann

Word level：Intermediate (1600 words)

Number of Pages：58

The island, Solara, was remote and beautiful and the lives of the islanders were simple. But how long would this last? The chief of the Island Council was old and ill. His son, Sunil, would take over as the running of the island's business－coconut sale. However, there was a plot which was proceeded secretly. Randil, who was a strange man with hard, burning eyes, was Sunil's uncle. He was jealous of Sunil's ability. Consequently, he collaborated with a group of mercenaries and Major Brown, who wanted to find a place to test the nuclear bomb. With their help, he could achieve his goal to be the next chief.

Sunil and his friend, Bill, tried to avoid the disaster. Sunil asked the islanders to prepare for trouble. On the other hand, Bill asked the help of government soldiers. Yet, matter has taken an unexpected turn. At last, Randil regretted what he had done causing his love to die. When the evil men attacked the island, Randil tried to protest Sunil and even threw himself in front of him and the bullet hit him. Eventually, they successfully fought off those evil monsters.

I thought this kind of story still happened everywhere in real world. Like Sunil said," We must face the problems of future. The modern world will come to Solara." In my opinion, it's hard to strike a balance between primitive and modern. Undoubtedly, we shouldn't do others what we don't want to be done to us.

These three novels I read were quite different. And I believed this was the spirit of free reading; I could broaden my horizon through reading them.

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