Setting: Modern
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New Year, New Me
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Genre: PhilosophicalSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: All at once, Childhood, Frown, Go off (sound), Gym, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s resolution, Pour, Serious (person), Smile, Spontaneous, WiseWord Count: 1515Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyDiana was surprised. ‘You don’t make resolutions? But you’re the most serious person I know! You go to the gym, and cook healthy food, and read books… How do you do all that without New Year’s resolutions?’ Minerva drank some wine. ‘Let me ask you something. How much are you planning on drinking tonight?’ Diana frowned. ‘You plan how much you’re going to drink?’
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Stalking is For Girls, Too
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Genre: ComedySetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: Fate, Get down on one knee, Hold your breath, Impatient, Lean, Make something up, Might as well, Sneak, Stalk, Trapped, Twist, Vent (complain)Word Count: 730Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyCLANG! The gate to the car park closed behind Bella. She was trapped. Uh-oh. She had gone past the apartment building on her day off work. She had had one date with the man, but she was impatient. She just wanted to look at him through the window, because she couldn’t stop thinking about him. But his curtains had been closed, so she decided to sneak into the car park so she could do… something?…
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The Cello That Spoke
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Genre: DramaSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: “For all intents and purposes”, Air freshener, Bird’s nest, Bow (music), Cello, Cockney, Echo, Ecstasy, Gruelling, Note, Recital, Rhyme, Standing Ovation, Tree stumpWord Count: 2127Once upon a time, there was a talented cello player. She loved her cello like a son, and practised on it for hours every day. Sometimes, she concentrated so hard that she could practically see the notes floating in the air around her. But one day, as she sat down to practise before breakfast, she was met with a rude surprise: as she put the bow to the strings, the cello spoke.
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The Other Mermaid
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Genre: RomanceSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: Cast a spell, Curse, Juggle, Mermaid, Octopus, Shipwreck, Spin (movement), Tentacle, Wallow in self-pity, WizardWord Count: 3328You have probably heard of a certain mermaid, who came from Denmark and fell in love with a human prince. She made a deal with a witch, turned into a human and tried to win his heart, but she was unable to. So she turned into sea water and disappeared. Well, I’m sorry to say that the mermaid in this story does not fall in love with any evil prince living in a fancy castle,…
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A Letter from God
My name is Hubert Lenartowicz, and this is my story. All the details in it are true. I hope you will believe me. I’m 57 and I grew up in a family of athiests. My father in particular did not believe in God. In addition, he was a police officer in a school for traffic police, as well as a history teacher. In the communist era in Poland it was forbidden for police officers to…
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The Toy Rabbit
There was once a toy rabbit. In the beginning, he looked amazing. He was fat, like a rabbit should be. His hair was brown with white spots. He had real whiskers made of thread. His ears were soft on the inside. On Christmas morning, he sat in the Boy’s stocking and looked very cute.
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The Boy Who Hoped
In a town called Białystok, there was a boy called Ludwik Zamenhof. Ludwik was a Jew. There were many Jews in Białystok. There were also Russians, Poles, and Germans. They all lived in different parts of the city, and they did not get on well.
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House of Secrets Chapter 4
Xu’s room was a mess. Steve thought his was bad, with jewels and bones and spellbooks everywhere, but at least in his room you could see the floor. Everywhere in her bedroom, there were pieces of paper, old fast food boxes, apple cores, magazines, and polaroids. There was some genuinely nice art on her walls, but the complete mess everywhere else distracted from it.
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House of Secrets Chapter 3
Steve hadn’t been joking. There was a circle of thick candles on the floor, and a table had been placed in the middle, with expensive cloth on top. Elisabeth was impressed. She’d been in professional productions with far worse sets than this.
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House of Secrets Chapter 2
Xu hated lots of things. She hated burnt toast, ugly sweaters, and tiny loud dogs. But more than anything, she hated spiders. And the attic was full of them.