The War of the Worlds

Leo Meng

H.G. Wells

Setting: England

Genre: Science fiction

The War of the Worlds (1898) is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. It describes an unnamed narrator who travels through the suburbs of London when the earth was invaded by Martians.It is the earliest story that details a conflict between mankind and an alien race.

"At the end of nineteenth century, a metal object falls from the sky over the south of England, People come to see what it is." Then a lot of people surround the big hole. Suddenly, one end of the object starts to open, and the watchers realize that is hollow, but the creatures that come out are not human. Slowly, people begin to understand that these visitors have come from Mars. A small group of scientists approaches but they were killed. A second metal object lands, then a third, and more.

Most of the story takes place around the town of London where H.G.Wells was living when he wrote the novel.The book appeared in 1898,at the end of a century in which Britain became the most powerful country in the world. This is the background.Only these conditions could lead to a writer who created science fiction.

This story has interesting things to say about space and space creatures,but it also says a lot about our own society and the dangers of the world today.This is the most important reason why this book is absorbing to many people. It is because it reacted to real social phenomena. For example, why were Jackson's songs famous and his space walk dance? Because of the special surroundings in America! At that time, the American economy had a big problem which lead many people to lose their jobs and have nothing to do. The citizens wanted to express their emotions and the songs reflected human feelings.

H.G.Wells died in 1946.He had lived through two world wars in which his ideas about killing machines and their effect on ordinary people had come tragically true.

I advise you watch the movie before you read this book because it could help you understand. The film is more interesting than the book. Maybe such events as these will happen in the future.The scientist Stephen Hawkings said that aliens exist, but far away from the earth. However, one day they will get to the earth. While, we do not know whether or not they will be peaceful or have a war with people, I hope they will be harmonious visitors.

Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Boscombe Pool

Misaki Niikura

Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

Genre: Mystery

Date Started: 22^nd March

Date Finished: 23^rd March

The main characters: Dr. Watson, Sherlock Holmes, Patience Moran, Miss Turner, Mr. Charles McCarthy, Mr. James McCarthy, Lestrade and Mr. John Turner

It is set in June in England.

A rich man, Charles McCarthy, was dead. He died near the Boscombe Pool, hit on the head with something heavy. The policeman had taken Mr. James McCarthy who was Charles McCarthy’s son into custody, because, Patience Moran saw them by the lake. They were both shouting. James was very angry. The facts were clear. But Sherlock Holmes was not sure, so he worked to find the real murderer with Dr. Watson.

James said everything to a questioner. He wanted to shoot some birds at Boscombe Pool. He was by the pool, and he heard someone call ”Cooeel”. His father and he often used it. He hurried toward the pool and found his father. He met his father there, and began to talk and more angry words followed. James became angry and felt ready to hit him, but instead he decided to leave. He went back towards Hatherley Farm. After some time he heard a terrible scream, so he ran back to the pool. He found his father was dying.

Sherlock Holmes met Miss Turner who loved James. She wanted to know the facts, because she believed James was innocent. So she decided to ask Sherlock Holmes to come and find the facts.

Sherlock Holmes asked someone and went to the pool. And he found some clues. He found the real criminal. It was Mr. John Turner who was Miss Turner’s father. Mr. Charles McCarthy was pressing for his son to marry Mr. John Turner’s daughter. But John didn’t want his daughter to marry Charles’s son. So John killed Charles.

Sherlock Holmes didn’t talk to policeman about the real murderer. Because he just wanted to know the facts and John was seriously ill. The few facts which Holmes gave to the policeman were enough to free James. John lived for seven months more, but he died. James and Miss Turner would soon marry.

I had never read any of the Sherlock Holmes books before. It was a very interesting story. I could enjoy reading this story. I like that the story was concluded clearly, but I didn’t like that the speeches were long.

The English level was good. I could understand almost all the words. I want to read other stories about Sherlock Holmes. I recommend other people read this book.

The Fugitive

Junpei Kogai

Author: J.M DILLARD

Genre: Action

Date started: 16/3/2011

Date finished: 23/3/2011

The main character’s name is Richard Kimble. He has a good wife and wealth.

He spent a good life. One day, he came back home after doing an emergency operation. A man ran out of the Kimble’s home. In the house, Kimble’s wife was lying on the floor, and she died. Kimble was arrested by police, because of this reason.

After that he was sentenced to death by the chief justice. But He escaped from a patrol wagon. He started to journey to prove his innocence. He wanted to find the true suspect. A few days later, Kimble and Gerard (FBI agent) found out the true suspect. Gerard arrested Nikols.

I think that this book has words that were a little difficult, so this book was a little difficult for me. Sometimes I used a dictionary. But I watched the movie of this book, so I understood the content of the story. I think that this story is so exciting, so I recommend the book.

New Yorkers

Tomoya Suda

· Author: O’HENRY

· Genre: Short stories

· Date started: Monday 21st March

· Date finished: Monday 21st March

· Describing the book:

There are 5 short stories.

1^st The Christmas Present

2^nd Soapy’s Choice

3^rd A Walk in Amnesia

4^th Tildy's Moment

5^th The Memento

1^st

The main characters are Della and her husband Jim.

Jim has only one dollar and eight-seven cents. Near Christmas, Della wanted to give a gold-chain to her husband. So, she sold her beautiful hair and she could buy it. But at Christmas, Jim gave expensive combs to her. Her hair is very short now. Therefore, they decide to keep their presents for a time when her hair is long again.

2^nd

The main character is Soapy.

Soapy wanted to be in prison. There is a lot of food and good friends and so on. He had no money! He did many wrong things but he couldn’t get arrested. One day, He walked around a town. He found a church, and went there.

He could change his mind!! He decided to work!! He was very happy. So he jumped and looked around quickly. He was very noisy. So he put in prison about 3 months.

3^rd

The main characters are Bellford, and Pinkhammer (The same person)

Bellford got amnesia, because he worked very hard. He forgot his name! so he lived as a Pinkhammer. And he enjoyed his life. Later he met his wife and friend, and talked a lot, and he remembered I am a Bellford and a lot of things.

(Amnesia means that you can’t remember anything)

4^th

The main characters are Aileen and Tidy. They are best friends! And Seders.

Aileen is a very tall, beautiful, and full of life. Tidy is small, fat, and not beautiful. One day Mr Seders came in for his meal. He drank too much beer. He finished his meal, got up, put his arm round Tidy, kissed her loudly and walked out of the restaurant. She fell in love. She wore bright clothes, did her hair differently and so on. She changed!! But a few days later, he came again and said "I want to say sorry for doing that to you. I drank alcohol a lot." She cried a lot. But she still had her friend. And Ailleen put her arm round Tidy.

5^th

The main character is D’Armande.

Amanda is a actress. Every day she did dancing, singing, and got onto her swing. She thought the man who came to the theatre is an animal!! One day she fell in love and left her work. She did not say she was an actress. After they were married, she knew that he was in love before. Then she told him it. It was when she was an actress. He knew that she was a actress!! They are happy.

This book’s level is just right for me. I could read it easily. I throught that friends are important. Most story’s characters have no money, but they have friend or husband. Even if we have a lot of money, we are not able to buy them! I want to live as these characters.

A Room with a View

Name: Iyona Matsuda

Author: E M FORSTER

Genre: Love story

Date started: 16^th of March

Date finished: 23^rd of March

About the story

The main characters are two girls. One girl is Lucy and the other is Charlotte. Lucy is a beautiful girl, visiting Italy for the first time. Gorge Emerson is a young Englishman, on holiday and staying in the same hotel as Lucy.

One day, Lucy and Emerson met at a church and they looked at a murder. Emerson held her by his hand and helped her. After that, Lucy finds herself falling in love with him slowly.

Responding to the book

This book was hard to read for me because a lot of people appear in this book. So until I kept reading, I could not recognize who the various people were. At first, I returned to earlier pages to help me recognize them. If I could have recognized who each was clearly, I could have read more smoothly and happily.

In the middle of this book, I could not understand who was who, what happened to who and who thought something, so to tell the truth, I don’t know if I like this book or not. However, I think that maybe I should like this book because this book is a love story.

Michael Jackson: The King of Pop

Binfu Tang

Author:Carl W Hart

Genre: biography

Date started:10th March, 2011

Date finished:14th March, 2011

Describing the book

Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, America, on August 29, 1958. He was a member of the Jackson 5 which was Michael and his brothers' music group, when he was a child. They went to many places to perform with their father. Some years later, they got ahead in all of America. But Michael grew up, and he had some happenings in his job and his family. For instance, he had some arguments with his boss and his father. He got ahead in his music, and he made a lot of money. But he severed his relations with his family. His strange and wonderful life came to an end on June 25, 2009.

Responding to the book

I think it is a good book. It's a true story. I think that to get ahead in your work, you must work hard. Although they have some talent, if people don't work hard, they don't win success. I believe that if we work hard at anything, we can win success. I also think that family is important for everybody, because your parents won't betray you. If we severe relations with our families, it is bad for our jobs.

The book is good. because I can learn some words from the book e.g: solo, album, image, divorce, mannequins, & sponsor. The level is right for me. I would recommend this book to my classmates.

The Last of the Cheju Divers

Name: Iyona Matsuda

Genre: Nonfiction

Date started: 14th of March

Date finished:16th of March

About the story

This story is about the island of Cheju. There, almost all women work as divers catching octopus for a living.

A hundred years ago, there were no other ways to live. However, now the tradition is changing. There is not only to become a diver, younger women can now choose other jobs.

Sunny is a tourist guide. She did not want to become a diver because divers do dangerous work. Now in Cheju there are lots of women such as Sunny who don’t become divers.

Responding to the book

I think that there are traditional jobs around the world. But now, maybe traditional jobs are changing all around the world because we are getting new customs and techniques.

I like this book because this book has vocabulary practice. And there are some particular words which have explanations in English at the bottom of the pages they are found in.

Jane Eyre

Sabrina Hu

Jane Eyre is poor and she has a small body, but she is a self-respecting girl. After reading this book, it has left me so much to recall and think about.

She is a good girl, but some people hurt her too much. She is a kind and polite girl. She does not hate anyone. She thinks everyone is equal. She is a very amiable person.

Her life is full of slight hope. She works hard. She is a confident girl. I don't know how to describe her. Her temperament is from the heart. It is good and beautiful.

After reading this book, let us recognize the concept of beauty, both how to look beautiful and how to treat others.

I think this book is easy for students to read.

African Adventure

Mohammed Baalsharaf

15/03/2011 - 16/03/2011

The title of the book is African Adventure. It was written by Margaret Iggulden. The story of the book started when Teresa came from the UK. She went to Africa to help her father's friend. His name is Dr McCall . He tried to help African people from blindness. A medicine woman in another city knew a medicine that can cure the people. The doctor wanted it to be a secret between him and Teresa . She was surprised why he wanted it to be secret. She thought Dr McCall is bad because Teresa had read in The African Telegraph about the one million dollar prize that will be given by the F.D.I to the person who can find a medicine for the disease. Teresa and Dr McCall went to the medicine woman to meet her. The medicine woman's name is Rose. Rose told Teresa about the flower that will cure the African people but Rose didn't like to tell Dr McCall because she thought he is bad as well. After that, Teresa went to the place where they were camping and Dr McCall brought a tea mixed with drugs for Teresa. The tea made her feel sleepy and then she was talking to him and told him the secret. Then he went to the Village International building to tell them about the flower's name but he wanted to help African people, not to take the million dollar. It was misunderstood by the girls.
I really loved this book and I recommend my classmates read this book I was interested when I was reading it because of the mystery in it.

Casino Royale

Junpei Kogai

Author: Ian Fleming

Genre: Action

Date started: 10/3/2011

Date finished: 15/3/2011

British intelligence agency MI6 employee, James Bond, who got a license to kill people, was investigating the supply of funds to terrorist networks. He uncovered the terrorist group of Ru siffle's. James Bond interrupted their subversive activities, so Ru siffle lost a lot of money.

Later Bond got a partner whose name is Vesper. She was dispatched by the Department of the Treasury. After Bond got to know her, Bond had a game of poker with Ru siffle. He lost the game and he drank poison. But Vesper helped Bond, so Bond was safe.

A few days later, Vesper vanished. Bond tried hard to find her. Vesper had contact with Ru siffle. Bond got her back from Ru siffle, but Vesper killed herself. Bond got angry. So Bond found the terrorist group’s background. He got revenge.

I think this book is so fun and exciting. I like this movie and the 007 series. If you like action movies, may be you'll like this book. I recommend it, though I think that some of the words are difficult, such as “subversive activities” “department of the treasury”. Next time I will try an easier book.

My Family and Other Animals

Misaki Niikura

Author: Gerald Durrell

Genre: Nonfiction

Date started: 14^th March

Date finished: 16^th March

It is in 1935, on the Greek island of Corfu. The main characters are Gerald, Mother, Leslie, Margo, Larry, Spiro, George and Lugarezia. The theme is family.

An English family, the Durrells, go to live on the Greek island of Corfu. Gerald who is the youngest son is interested in all sorts of animals. There are many animals in the house, and there is danger at any time.

This family had all their usual illnesses. Mother and Gerald had bad colds. Leslie, who is Gerald’s brother, had a problem with his ears. Margo, who is Gerald’s sister, had worse spots then ever. Only Larry, who is Gerald’s brother, was healthy. They needed sunshine. They wanted to live in a country where they can grow, so they moved to Corfu which is a wonderful place. They met a lot of interesting people there, for example, Spiro who found the family’s house, the Rose-Beetle man who could not speak and wanted money and Kosti who was a prisoner. And all the time, Gerald learned about the animals and insects which he loved.

I like this book. This family was quite different from my family. I think their life was very interesting. I was surprised that this book was a true story. I want to experience a life like it. But maybe, I’ll give up if I live like this, because I don’t like insects and snakes.

I don’t have a pet, but I want to have a pet after reading this book.

I think the English level of the book was right. This book is pre-intermediate so there were no difficult words. I could understand this story. I recommend other students read this book. Maybe, if you read this book, you will be surprised about their life.

The Missing Coins

Asami Taguchi

Author: John Escott

Genre: Fiction

Date started: 11^th May

Finished: 13^th May

Describing the book

#When

A Saturday in summer

#Where

A very old city in England

#Who

Pete, Carla, a shopkeeper, a flute player and a policeman

#What happens

The coins which are very expensive were missing and Pete and Carla were suspected by the policeman because they were in the shop, and the coins were missed at the same time as they went out of the shop. However, they could find the coins. At the same time as when the coins went missing, a man played flute in front of the shop. Then, a girl who was in the shop gave the coins to him because she didn’t know the coins value. Pete and Carla were cleared of theft.

#What is the theme

Mystery

#What is the message

We can’t suspect people when we don’t have enough evidence.

Responding to the book

I know most words in this book and I could quickly read it. I recommend other students read it too.

Moonfleet

Tsukasa Ogawa

Author: John Meade Faulkner

Genre: Adventure

Date Started: Sunday March 9^th

Date Finished: Wednesday March 16^th

Describing the book:

It is set in 1757. The main character is John Trenchard, a fifteen-year-old boy who has come to live in the village of Moonfleet in Dorset, by the sea. There are smugglers in Moonfleet. Most are not bad men, but they are breaking the law. John made friends with Elzevir and Ratsey, two of these men. Elzevir lived and worked at The Mohune Arms. David Block, Elzevir’s only son, was killed by Maskew who lived in Moonfleet House, and Moonfleet people didn’t like him and he didn’t like them either.

There was a rumour that Blackbeard’s ghost comes out of his grave late at night, and he looks for a lost diamond that he got from King Charles at Carisbooke Castle. Blackbeard was John Mohune – dead for a hundred years.

One day, John Trenchard found John Mohune’s coffin, and some paper with words from the Bible written on it. He and Elzevir went on a trip to find Blackbeard’s lost diamond.

They found it at last and sold it. But they sold it to a dishonest dealer. So they protested to him. However the police arrested them.

Eleven years later, only John came back to Moonfleet, fortunately. Elzevir died on his way to Moonfleet. John got married to Grace who is Maskew’s daughter. He was happy there, near the sea.

The theme is happiness. The message is the most important thing is not money.

Responding to the book:

This book was very interesting and exciting. I learned the most important thing is not money, and money is a most horrible thing.

I thought the English level of this book was about right. I recommend this book to other students, because everyone should know what the most important thing is.

Michael Jackson: The King of Pop

Vic Ren

Author: Carl W Hart

Genre: Biography

Dates: 3.9 - 3.11

The book describes the whole life of Micheal Jackson, including his childhood, his career and his contribution in music. The book was published in 2010. Michael Jackson is the main character. The purpose of this book is to commemorate Michael Jackson and his achievements

Responding to the book

I think this book provides readers lots of information about Jackson's life and his career. It helps readers to understand Jackson's values and behaviour. Jackson donated lots of money into a charity programme. Maybe that's why people love him, besides for his music. So, from this book I feel that if you want others to love you, you should love others first.

The book has changed my attitude somehow re. music. I preferred rock music before, but now I think I will like pop music more. I will not change my lifestyle after reading this book, because my attitude is close to Jackson's: love the whole world.

The best thing about this book is its clear structure. The worst thing might be that the book did not give readers some suggestions of his music. I rate this book as good, because I had already known some of Jackson's story and I liked his music before I read this book. I recommend other students read this book, because I hope that every one can be like Jackson and love others as he did.

Barack Obama

Leo Meng

This book shows Barack Obama's growth from a young child to be the US president.

A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He was not so clever a student than any other student at Columbia University.At the same time, he was the oldest student at 30. But his teacher said he had the ability to do better so he applied for a scholarship.

Unfortunately, he was a black man and subject to discrimination from white people. His mother was a white women and his father was a black man. When he was studying at Columbia,his father died in an accident.So at that time,he felt very depressed and turned to drinking and drugs.He was sad because black people hardly ever found a job in America and he felt lonely after his father died.

Following high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles in 1979 to attend Occidental College. In February 1981, he made his first public speech, calling for Occidental's divestment from South Africa. Later in 1981 he transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialty in international relations and graduated with a B.A. In 1983, He worked for a year at the Business International Corporation, and then at the New York Public Interest Research Group.He had a good job and a high salary as a lawyer. But he was interested in politics, which he did not want to give up. Suddenly, the 911 event happened in New York and he began care more about the political.Through his industrious work,he won the election with 54% percent support.

Obama was an early opponent of the George W. Bush administration's 2003 invasion of Iraq. On October 2, 2002, the day President Bush and Congress agreed on the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War, Obama addressed the first high-profile Chicago anti-Iraq War rally, and spoke out against the war. He addressed another anti-war rally in March 2003 and told the crowd that "it's not too late" to stop the war.

Undoubtedly the economy was a crucial issue, thus he provided a plan to solve the unemployment problem.

My feeling is I believe the American people's eyesight is true.I think there will be challenge and frustration. Maybe it is difficult to be a American present because there is the demand to be beneficial for all the America citizens and the political career is a long one.

I adapted to reading this book because it was easy to understand for I know the background of the people it is about.

Island For Sale

Ryo Yamashiro

It is kind of adventure.

I started it on March 4th, and finished it on the 5th.

Main characters

Duncan McTavish

Jock

Mr Moneybags

Leaping Larry

Roxanne

Bobo

Jean Stewart

This book is a nice book.

There are many islands in the sea near Scotland. This story is about one of these islands. The name of the island is Lana. Lana isn't big, but it's very beautiful. It's very quiet, too. There are no houses or roads or cars on Lana. But there is a castle. The castle is very old. A young Scotsman lives in the castle. The Scotsman's name is Duncan McTavish. Duncan lives in the castle with his dog, Jock.

One day, Duncan received a letter. The detail is he has to pay money to an electric company. Duncan hasn't money enough, so he decides to sell his island, and castle. Mr Moneybags looks for a buyer. Leaping Larry and his girl friend, Roxanne want to buy it. But Duncan doesn't want to sell it to them, because they are not good people. Finally, he and Jean who is Duncan's wife opened a school on his island, so he gets off selling to them.

When I finished reading it, I decided to do what I want to.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Jumpei Kogai

Genre: Adventure

Date started: 3.3.2011

Date finished: 8.3.2011

This story is about one of the pirates whose name is Jack Sparrow. He was captain of the Black Pearl. However his ship was stolen by Barbossa, so he wants to take back his ship. Barbossa & Barbossa’s underlings are cursed. They want to remove the curse, so they want to go to the island of Tortuga. And Jack has a curse too, so he wants to go there too.

I read a book last week, which is the second book in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. This book is the first.

I think that The Curse of the Black Pearl is better than The Deadman's Chest because the story is easier than the 2nd. The book’s level is good for me. I think that this book’s sentences are simple. I recommend The Curse of the Black Pearl.

The President’s Murderer

Misaki Niikura

Author: Jennifer Bassett

Genre: mystery

Date started: March 7^th

Date finished: March 9^th

The main characters: Alex Dinon (a murderer), Felix (the inspector), Eva Hine (the Chief of Police), Marta (old woman), Olivia (Alex’s wife)

Alex killed the President, so he went to prison, but he escaped from prison. Felix followed him, but he lost Alex. The chief of Police was angry, and she said “Find Dinon quickly.”

Alex Dinon was forty kilometers south of the prison. He was tired and needed some sleep. Then the old woman helped him, because he was dirty, and hungry, and tired. He went to her house and ate some food. She noticed he was a murderer, but she didn’t tell the police, because she didn’t like the police.

Felix was called by the Chief. She said “We need to find Alex quickly.” He asked her “How did Dinon escape from prison?” “That’s not important now,” “Find him. And bring him back dead or alive!” the Chief said. “Dead?” he asked. “Dead man can’t talk. Now go!” Felix didn’t understand why she wanted Dinon dead.

Alex slept well, and next morning, he ate a big breakfast. Perhaps a man visited Marta’s house, and he told Marta and Alex the police would come here, because a woman told them about Alex. So Alex left the house quickly. He walked and ran all day and all night. Many people helped him, because they didn’t like the police, so he could escape.

Alex’s wife waited for him at an old house in Alex’s home town. Alex and his wife met here. He told her the truth. In fact, he didn’t kill the President. He knew real murderer’s name. The police knew that. But they put him in prison, because they needed a murderer.

Alex had to leave the next day. His wife cried. He left the home, and he walked quickly along the road. Suddenly he was killed by the soldiers. They had waited for him. Felix wanted to know the truth, but he couldn’t ask Alex.

Later that day Felix asked the Chief about the truth, but she didn’t answer. She said “Perhaps you need a new job. Think about it…very carefully.” Felix said “I’d like to know the murderer’s name, and I’m going to find it.” He went out and closed the door, for the last time.

This book is so so, because this book is written about the police’s mind and the murderer’s (but he was not the true murderer) mind. It was interesting for me. And I wanted to know the truth, so I could read smoothly. But I didn’t know who the real murderer was, and why Alex could escape from the prison, and why the chief didn’t answer the truth. I want to know these things. I want to read a sequel.

This book was easy for me, because the English level of the book is elementary, so I could understand the story.

I recommend other students read this book. Maybe if you read this book, you will want to know the truth, so you will be able to read smoothly.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

Binfu Tang

Author: Eleanor Coerr

Genre: Non-fiction

Date started: 5th March, 2011

Date finished: 8th March, 2011

Describing the book:

Sadako was a Japanese girl who was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped, near her home. Much later she was diagnosed with leukemia. She was hospitalized on February 21,1955. She was living through her strong will and as a result she encouraged lots of people who were also suffering in the hospital. Thinking of a Japanese story that promises that anyone who folds a thousand paper cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, she created a thousand paper cranes in the hope that she could simply live.

Responding to the book:

I think it is a good book. It's a true story. I learned from it that life is fragile, but we can have wishes for life. Before I thought my life is living in a metropolis playing everyday. After I read this book, I think life is living in hope. We should have a simple life which is good for our life. No matter if we have a very difficult problem, we must believe life will be changed for the better.

The book is good because I could learn some words from it (e.g leukemia, crane, condition, progressively). The level is right for me.

I would recommend this book to my classmates.

Ancient Worlds (Mysteries of the Unexplained)

Tsukasa Ogawa

Author: Kathy Burke

Genre: Mystery

Date: Sunday March 6^th 〜 Monday March 8^th

Describing the book:

1. Stonehenge

It was built 5,000 years ago in the UK. 1,500 men had to work every day over five years to built this. The most popular opinion why it was built is Stonehenge was used like a giant computer to make predictions from the position of the sun, moon and stars.

2. The Easter Island statues

The island of Rapa Nui, in the Pacific Ocean, was named Easter Island when it was ‘discovered’ by Europeans on Easter Day in 1722. It is famous for over 800 stone statues, called moai. In the early 1990s, forty scientists moved fifteen of the statues and put them on new platforms. They used modern equipment and worked every day, but it took them four years. So how did the people of Easter Island move more than 300 statues?

3. Mysteries of Egypt

The three most famous pyramids are in Giza. They were built for the bodies of the pharaohs after they died almost 5,000 years ago. The Great Pyramid is the largest. It is 140m high and 228m wide at its widest point. People think that the pyramid shape helped the pharaohs climb to the sky after their death. Maybe over 100,000 men worked for more than twenty years to build this. The stones that made the Pyramid are very large and very heavy, so how were they lifted to the top?

The Sphinx guards the Pyramids. It is 20m high and more than 73m long.

The Valley of the Kings is near the city of Luxor, in Egypt. The bodies of the most famous pharaohs were put in special rooms there. An Englishman, Howard Carter, found the place where King Tutankhamen’s body was kept, in 1923. He took many things away but his teammates, twelve of the twenty scientists, died. A sign at the entrance promised death to the people who opened it.

4. The Nazca Lines

In Peru, very large ‘drawings’ of animals and 1,300km of straight lines cover more than 500km² of land. These were made by the Nazca people thousands of years ago. Many of the animal shapes are as big as two football fields. How could the Nazca people make perfect shapes like these when they couldn’t see them from the ground?

These are still mysteries.

The theme is the mystery of world. The message is ancient people were intelligent.

Responding to the book:

This book was very interesting, because I like mysteries of history. I thought the ancient people were great, because we couldn't build these buildings or draw these lines without modern equipment.

I thought the English level of this book was about right. I recommend this book to other students, because this book was very interesting. I think everyone should read this book to know how smart the ancient people were!

The Colombian Connection

Iyona Matsuda

The Author: Alan Mc Lean

Genre: Adventure

Date started: Mar 4^th

Dare finished: Mar 7^th

About this story:

An English writer, Kay, goes to New York. She comes to New York to write about cocaine. When she comes back to her hotel from the National Drugs Council (NDC), she meets a man, Frank, and he gives her a paper. That paper says a man will wait for her at a bar tonight and he has important news about cocaine.

She goes to the bar and meets the man. His name is Andy and he works in the drug trade. He says that if she gives some money to him, he will give some information to her. She decides that she will give some money to him and will get information. They make a promise that they will meet in her room the next day and do the swap.

However, the next day, Andy is dead. Frank said to her that Andy was killed by a drug cartel because he had dealings with her. Frank gives the book Andy would have given to her. In the book there is information about a cocaine business and the business is in Colombia. She decides she to go to Colombia.

Following her plan, she sits next a woman. Her name is Marisol and her husband manages a big coffee farm. Marisol invites her to come to her farm.

During her stay, Kay notices that the coffee farm has a cocaine farm. One night, she searches the cocaine farm but she is by found by a man who defends the cocaine farm every day. But, the man is Frank! Frank says to her that he works at the cocaine farm but to tell the truth, he gives some information about cocaine to the NDC. The day, the cocaine manager (Marisol’s husband) has dealings with a buyer, Frank calls the NDC and the cocaine producers are arrested.

Responding to the book:

I learned that New York is the center of the cocaine trade and thousands of people are killed by cocaine in a day. It is so awful.

I also think that an encounter with someone is so important and may change my life.

I like this book because in this book, there are a lot of pictures. I could read it enjoyably.

The Climb

Mohammed Baalsharaf

Author: John Escott
Read between: 8/03/11 & 10/03/11

The story talks about a person who climbs Eagle's Rock.

I like this book because it tells me to be patient, generous, competitive and reliable if I want to do something dangerous. I will think about what I will do and when to choose the right time.

I like the part of the book where a person made a lot of money to have a great life with his wife, and then then the wife became greedy and ran away with the money. That was the funny part.

The Earthquake

Asami Taguchi

Author: Elizabeth Laird

Genre: Disaster Stories

Date started & finished: 4 May

Describing the book

#When: One evening

#Where: At a Restaurant

#Who: Gabriel, Silvia, Marco, Mrs. Delgodos (Silvia’s mother)

#What happens: An earthquake

#What is the theme: Human nature in times of stress

#What is the message: Money is necessary for life so a rich man is good for a girl, but if a disaster happens money is not useful. A man who is gentle is best.

Responding to the book

I remembered Christchurch when I read this book. Earthquakes are a threat for people but we can’t predict them. Disasters could change people’s lives. I learned if a disaster is happening, we should help each other. I would rate the English level of this book about right because it is a little long but most words I knew.