Write a short summary of the book
your teacher has assigned you to read.
BOOK LIST:
City of Lights
Footprints in the Jungle
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
The Fly in the Ointment
The Wrong Order
Charlie Chaplin
Paste
Silver Streak
Thirty-nine Steps
A Visit at Tea Time
A Mild Attack of Locusts
New Yorkers
Christmas Carols
Interesting Things
The Perfect Tenants
Book:"Footprints in the jungle" and other stories...
ReplyDeleteGiulia Lazzari
In a shell, the story has passed through the first world war, in Europe and there used to be a war of spying either. Chandra Lal was an indian who caused lots os problems in India (British Colony)and he was chosen by the german secret service to be their spy. England was in war against Germany and the british knew that Chandra was such a threatening person. A kind of 007 agent (called Ashenden) was contracted to chase and arrest Chandra. He found out that Chandra fell in love for a woman (Giulia) who was arrested in England. The agent took the woman near to Chandra and the plan started...She had written love letters to Chandra frequentely.When he came to meet her in France he was caught by the agents but for a moment, Chandra had a poison drink in his coat and took it totally, he died immediately and Giulia went to Spain freely.
Flávio has summed up the third story of the book.
Silver Streak
ReplyDeleteGeorge was going to his sister's marriage in Chicago. So, he got a train called Silver Streak in Los Angeles. There, he met a vitamin salesclerk called Bob and a pretty girl, that didn't like Bob. Her name was Hildegarde, but her nickname was Hilly. She was a secretary and her boss was traveling with her. The reason why they were there was: her boss had got some letters that could prove that a guy (Devereau) who was also traveling in the train had payed a lot for two pictures from a famous artist (Rembrant). But the pictures were not painted by him. They were false. Devereau wanted to sell the again to get his money back.
At night, Hilly's boss was killed. George saw when his body was thrown down from the train's roof. At the time, he was looking at Hilly's book, when he found some letters inside. He tried to tell her about her boss, but the criminals sent him out of the Silver Streak and killed Bob, who wasn't a vitamin salesclerk, but a policeman. George called help and tried to tell the police. At first, they didn't believe him, thinking he was the killer. But later, they discovered he wasn't. George escaped from the police because he managed help with a carjacker (Grover). Grover painted him black, put a hat on his head, lended George his jacket and gave him a radio. When the police passed by them, grover told George to dance like crazy! And he did. Later, the police decided to help, killing Devereau. George saved Hilly, who was almost exploded with the train, shocking with a train station. This explosion wa planed by Devereau, before he died.
Hilly and George turned into valentines.
Amanda.
Paste, by Henry James, is a sort of mystery, with no answers at the end, about a
ReplyDeletesupose fake pearl jewel. After the Arturs's step-mother death he found some fakes
jewels, owned by his step-mother, hidden for almost three years. When he
discovered the existence of that he gave the fake jewels for his cousin
Charlotte, an young governess at Bleet, as a sort of inherit. In the same pack
of the fake jewels there was a pearl necklace, very beautiful with a pretty big
pearls. Charlotte noticed that necklace was might to be real, not a fake at all.
Despite of the fact that Charlotte tried to say the necklace could be an gift
from some love-affair of her aunt, Arthur won the discuss about the reality of
that pearls and she take the necklace as the others fake jewels.
Then, Charlotte brought the fake jewels with her to Bleet and showed that to Mrs
Guy, who has persuaded her that the pearls are real and confirm the possibility
that history about love-affair. After that, her respect about her aunt increase
and she returning the necklace for his cousin, advise him about the reality of
the pearls. Arthur shows offended with that behavior and send a note stand the
idea of the dignity of his step-mother. But, other thing happen, Mrs Guy, who
apparently shows as a friend, appear with the necklace after some time. Charlotte
feels betrayed by her cousin and almost friend.
“A Visit at Tea-Time” by John Wain
ReplyDelete“A Visit at Tea-Time” tells us the William’ story, a man in his thirties, who decided to return to his childhood’ house. That house made him so happy when he was a little child because there he lived a rich childhood with her parents and Frances, the housekeeper who he loved a lot.
He loved spending so much time in the attic busy with some dream-game! Even when his father had moved their things out of one downstairs rooms, he had preferred the high, secret attic – it was so much more likely to encourage dreams. Another moment he loves remembering is when Frances set the table for tea. As he was so young, he was not allowed to have dinner with his parents at seven o’clock, so Frances would been getting tea and bread-and-butter just for the two of them.
Outside house there were a great garden with grass and a special thing: a tree that the dad’s William had planted when William was born. His father used to say he wanted two forms of life to grow up together. So, that tree was so special for him - and because that, he decided to return to that house – which he had left after his father’s death, when William was fifteen.
But the new owners were not so sympathetic, specially Mrs. Edmundson, who seemed to be a psychologist. William and Mrs Edmundson had an unpleasant conversation and he finally discovered what happened with his tree.
He left the house so sad, until he heard a voice coming from the garden – it was a little boy called David (he was the Edmundson’s young son). They were talking about something that made William feel so good, when the new housekeeper called David for his tea and bread-and-butter.
Silas said:
ReplyDeleteI love Charlie Chaplin, also called “Carlitos” for Brazilians.
It was so good to know about his life.
He was born in London in 1889 in a poor family of entertainers.
His father left his mother, Charlie and his brother when he was three and a half years old. His older brother was nearly eight. It was hard times.
Twice, Charlie and his brother Sidney had been taken to a school for destitute children.
When Charlie was 14 he could play the part of Billy, the pageboy, in a play about Sherlock Holmes. Two years later, the famous American actor William Gillette gave Charlie the part of Billy in his new play in London’s West End.
After that Fred Karno took Charlie into his show. From him Charlie learnt to do comedies.
In 1910, Charlie went to America at the first time. He was still with Fred Karno.
In 1913, Charlie had invited by Keystone film Company to act for films. It began a new phase for Charlie, the film world.
The “Little Tramp”, the most famous character played by Charlie, appears at the first time in 1915, at the second film that he acted. Nearly all the time, Charlie, as the Tramp, must lose. But he always wins in the end. He gives the “unimportant” people a chance to laugh at themselves. That is why people all over the world love the Little Tramp.
Then Charlie began to made lots of films. He was the “king of mime”, and he suddenly was famous.
His brother Sidney had come to him as his agent and manager.
He had worked for a few film companies, until he founded his own company, together with other actors.
In 1920, Charlie sent friends to bring his mother to the United States. In her new home she was calm and happy. She lived with Charlie the last years of her life.
He made many interesting and exciting films. Among the main, we can mention “The Pawnshop”, in 1916, “The Immigrant”, in 1917, “Shoulder Arms”, in 1918, “The Kid”, in 1919, “The Gold Rush”, in 1921.
Between 1931 and 1940 he made his finest films: City Lights in 1931, Modern Times in 1936, and The Great Dictator in 1940.
In my opinion “Modern Times” was the top film of Charlie Chaplin. Who doesn’t remember The Tramp working to make himself like a machine?
Every film of Charlie Chaplin brought us a good message. For example, in Modern Times he told us: “You aren’t machines. You are men. Men have rights. Defend them. Fight for them.”
But there is a teaching applicant in all films: “Face your problems. Believe that you can win in the end.”
In his personal life, Charlie had married four times, but only in the last one he was happy. He met Oona O'Neill in 1942, when she is 17 and he is 54. Despite of a large difference between their ages, they were so happy and had eight children.
After the II World War II, a kind of madness attacked America – a great fear and hatred of communism. Because his films, much people, include the newspaper reporter continually ask Charlie if she was a communist.
Charlie always answered clearly: “I am a citizen of the world and a peace lover”.
But the attacks had keeping.
Those who were so afraid of communism in the USA found a new leader: a senator Joseph McCarthy.
In 1950, Charlie decided to take his new film to London (Limelight) for its first showing. On the third day of the voyage, Charlie heard that the United States government wouldn't let him return to the country.
So, He is in exile.
Charlie and his family went to the Switzerland. A beautiful house at Corsier-sur-Vevey was Charlie's home for the rest of his life.
A few years ago, the people in America came to their senses.
Charlie began to receive many prizes at the many places and countries, include The United States. In 1975, Charlie went to Buckingham Palace in London. Queen Elizabeth II made him a knight: Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin.
He had died in the evening of 24 December 1977, in his sleep. He was so happy, because stood by him Oona, his children and grandchildren.
In summary, I loved to know the biography of Charles Chaplin.
FERNANDO said:
ReplyDeleteBook: The Fly in the Ointment, by V.S. Pritchett
It's a expression that means 'the problem'.
The story goes on 1929, during the big economic depression and involves basically a talking between a father and his son, Harold, about their relationship.
The father had a factory, but lost all his money because of the crisis and went bankrupt after thirty years working hardly. Now, the son is going to visit him at the last day in the office, before the creditors take it.
The office is completely empty and the father ask Harold if he remembers how was the things before the machines had gone. He could listen his own steps.
The father calls Harold with a family joke, it's Professor, because he is lecturer at a provincial university. Actually, the father doesn't think very well about that career.
After, the father intend to serve a tea, but he just have one cup and complain about the liquidators who sold everything.
During the meeting is possible to realize that Harol is married with Alice and has childrens, once his father asked about them. However he doesn't care them.
Those are some subjects among others that father and son talks during the meeting.
At the end the son offers to his father some money he had raised and instantly all the relationship problens has disappeared.
Penha Maass said…
ReplyDeleteThe wrong order (by Elizabeth Taylor)
Hilda Warfield talks all the time about her death. Hilda, Hector (her husband) and Tom Bonchurch (her friend) had lived in harmony until the day the doctor told them that Hilda had a health problem. According to the doctor an operation would not cure her and most likely she would not live for many years.
Her husband works in London and every day he goes to the office by train. He needs a year to retire in his job. He looked so tired of the life.
In her house there was a beautiful garden with lilac tree, which is a kind of tree with purple or white flowers. She loves to take care of the garden especially of the lilac tree.
Hector and Tom were always worried about Hilda’s health. She used a wheel chair. She was the center of all attentions. Tom was her assistant in the garden. Hilda was worried about the future of the garden when she died, and if they would take care it.
The other people could not understand how it was possible to a woman to live with two men. In fact, Hector was the husband and Tom was the best friend that was all the time near. The butcher was responsible for spreading gossip about Hilda’s health and her death.
One day, Hector died by heart attack when he was playing golf on the golf course. Hilda was shocked and she did not understand how this was possible.
Tom kept taking care of Hilda, although he would like to start his own life independently. Hilda got sad because she knew that her friend needed to go ahead with his life.
Hector dying before Hilda was the wrong order.
PRESENTENTION, BY TAMARA KUPERCHMIT - EXPRESS PLUS 3.
ReplyDeleteCHRISTMAS CAROL, written by Charles Dickens.
A mean-spirited miserly old man named Ebenezer Scrooge sits in his office on a very cold Christmas Eve. His employee Bob Cratchet shivers in the anteroom because Scrooge refuses to spend money on heating.
Scrooge´s nephew, Fred, pays his uncle a visit and invites him to his annual Christmas party. Two gentlemen ask Scrooge for a contribution to their charity. Scrooge reacts to the holiday visitors with bitterness and anger.
He says: “Bah! Humbug!” in response to his nephew´s Merry Christmas.
Later that evening, after returning to his dark, cold apartment, Scrooge receives a chilling visitation from the ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley. Marley, looking haggard and pallid, relates his unfortunate story. As punishment for his selfish life his spirit has been condemned to wander the Earth with heavy chains.
Marley hopes to save Scrooge from Marley from sharing the same fate.
Marley informs Scrooge that the three spirits will visit him during each of the next three nights. After the disappears, Scrooge sleep.
He wakes moments before the arrival of the Ghost of Christmas Past, a strange childlike phantom with a brightly glowing head.
The spirit escorts Scrooge on a journey into past to previous Christmas from his earlier years.
Invisible, Scrooge revisits his childhood school days and the woman who leaves him because his lust for money eclipses his ability to love another.
Scrooge moved, sheds tears of regret before the phantom returns to his bed.
The Ghost of Christmas Present, wearing a green robe, takes Scrooge through London to show as it will happen that year. He discover Bob Cratchet´s diseable son, Tini Tim, a courageous boy whose kindness and humility warms Scrooge´s heart. The ghost than takes Scrooge to his nephew´s Christmas party, and the ghost shows Scrooge two starved children. He vanishes instantly as Scrooge notices a dark.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come leads Scrooge through a sequence of mysterious scenes relating to an unnamed man recent death. Scrooge sees people expressing relief at the death of this man.
Scrooge, anxious to learn the lesson of his latest visitor, begs to know the name of the dead man.
Scrooge finds himself in a churchyard. The spirit pointing to a grave.
Scrooge looks at the headstone (tombstone) and is shocked to read his own name.
He desperately implores to a spirit to change his fate, promising to renounce his insensitive avaricious ways and to honor Christmas with all his heart.
He suddenly finds himself safely in his bed!
Scrooge, happy, sends a grant Christmas turkey to the Cratchet house and attends Fred´s party.
As the years go by, he honors Christmas with all his heart. He treats Tini Tim very well.
Vânia said:
ReplyDeleteSummary of “A Mild Attack of Locusts”
By Doris Lessing
Margaret didn’t know about the lifestyle on farm, but her husband (Richard) and her father-in-low (Stephen) did. She didn’t know anything about weather and the other experiences about soils and crops. She had been lived on farm for three years; totally different for her family. Richard and Stephen had been a farmer for many years, so they just kept going and managed to live, because the Farmer’s language was the most important for them and Margaret was beginning to learn this language.
Their crop was maize and their farm was three thousand acres on the slopes that rise up towards the Zambesi country, on South Africa, which high, dry, cold and dusty in winter. So, they listened, by Government, about the swarm of locusts that season “but they hadn’t had locusts in seven year!” they thought.
Unfortunately, locusts coloured the sky and, so fastly, they had come up the Margaret and their neighbours houses. She wondered to help, but she didn’t know how. Suddenly, Margaret listened the locusts bit the metal of tin roof. In her eyes the swarm crawling everywhere and she didn’t see the lands at all. Stephen sad to Margaret that the crops had finished and the eggs of them couldn’t settle on their farm.
So, she thought that they might went back to town, because they ruined, may be bankrupt but, in the and, before all fight with the locusts, the sky was blue and the scene of the wings fanning to free from the wetness of the night dews were very beautiful, that they recognized the effort to plant everything again.
Summary of “A Mild Attack of Locusts”
ReplyDeleteBy Doris Lessing
Margaret didn’t know about the lifestyle on farm, but her husband (Richard) and her father-in-low (Stephen) did. She didn’t know anything about weather and the other experiences about soils and crops. She had been lived on farm for three years; totally different for her family. Richard and Stephen had been a farmer for many years, so they just kept going and managed to live, because the Farmer’s language was the most important for them and Margaret was beginning to learn this language.
Their crop was maize and their farm was three thousand acres on the slopes that rise up towards the Zambesi country, on South Africa, which high, dry, cold and dusty in winter. So, they listened, by Government, about the swarm of locusts that season “but they hadn’t had locusts in seven year!” they thought.
Unfortunately, locusts coloured the sky and, so fastly, they had come up the Margaret and their neighbours houses. She wondered to help, but she didn’t know how. Suddenly, Margaret listened the locusts bit the metal of tin roof. In her eyes the swarm crawling everywhere and she didn’t see the lands at all. Stephen sad to Margaret that the crops had finished and the eggs of them couldn’t settle on their farm.
So, she thought that they might went back to town, because they ruined, may be bankrupt but, in the and, before all fight with the locusts, the sky was blue and the scene of the wings fanning to free from the wetness of the night dews were very beautiful, that they recognized the effort to plant everything again.
By Vânia Sibylla
Summary of 'City of Lights" written by Tim Victory
ReplyDelete"City of Lights" is the story of the three young womens's flight to space. Two of them, Helen and Cathy, were NASA's astronauts and the third one, Mary, was a journalist that had her own TV programme about scientist.
They boarded in "Space Bird One" a spaceplane built by NASA that "can take-off from an ordinary airport, like an ordinary plane, and fly straight up into space. Then it can fly back down and land like a plane. It uses its own engines all the time - jet engines in the atmosphere, rocket engines in space". As a matter of fact, people from NASA wanted publicity for its new space plane, that was the reasen they invited three women, among them a reporter. It could be a TV show.
During the flight, Mary had been describing the landscape for her audience on TV, it means she told them how was the earth from the space. She also tried to describe the american military sattelites, but she was not allowed by NASA because they considered them confidential matters.
After some minutes in space, they saw a huge UFO, that hadn't been seen by Mission Control radar. "It was round and flat, like a wheel. Green and blue lights at the edge of it. It was spinning slowly and there was a yellow light in the middle". Cathy took some pictures of it while Mary tried to show the UFO on TV, but, again, the astronauts said it was a official secret. Then Mission Control told them to fly away from the UFO. They tried, but the rocket engines didin't work.
Suddenly the rocket engines began to work so fast that the astronauts couldn't control the plane. After some minutes the plane stopped, and the astronauts saw that they didin't have enough fuel to come back to the Earth. After a hard working, they found a solution but it was necessary to go to the moon. When they were there, they found what they called a "City of Lights, a UFO city, at the moon dark side.
Mary and the astronauts were forbidden by NASA to talk about the UFO for anyone. A year later, Mary called Cathy to go to her programme on TV. A week before the programme day Mary died in an accident and Cathy was fired for medical reason acording NASA's declaration, just after she decided to send the UFO's story to a newspaper.
Neila Leal
The Snows of Kilimanjaro, by Ernest Hemingway, is a story about a writer named Harry which hurt himself during a journey in Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa covered by eternal snow.
ReplyDeleteHe and Helen, his wife, decided to travel abroad to do a safari. They hired two natives to go with them, but during the adventure, Harry scratched his right knee in a thorn as he had moved to photograph some animals. He forgot to use iodine and the gangrene started in his leg.
When they decided to go to a hospital their truck broke down. Now, the couple and the men were waiting for the plane rescue. Harry stayed depressed because he was sure that his life was coming to terms.
His wife helped a lot, she huntered animals to cook broth to him and the men built a comfortable cot to the writer lay on. Harry was out of his mind, he drank whiskey-soda a lot and squarreled with Helen because that makes the time pass. With stong worlds he said that only got married with her because she was the richest woman he've ever met. Helen loved him and forgave what he said.
After two weeks, the plane, finally, comes. The aircraft was short so only Harry could go. Helen and the men waved and the pilot and the writer got out.
All Harry could see in the sky was the square top of Kilimanjaro knowed as the "House of God". Harry died that moment before come to the hospital, but he was in peace because he feels that he is worthy of the "House of God". He intended to do this trip to involve a mental discipline to return to write again, that he succeeded only in the face of death. His last writings were only mental.
Book: Interesting Things, by Kingsley Anis.
ReplyDelete"Interesting Things" is a story about Gloria Davies, a eighteen-year-old typist, and Mr Huws Evans, a stiff Inspector of Taxes, who was interested in her.
They work in the same office and somehow she admired this man. One day he invited her to a movie and she accepted. They arranged to meet in the Odeon Cinema and after then many things happened during this day and Gloria realized that Mr Huws Evans wasn´t the person she expect to.
All the time he demonstrated that he didn´t care about her opinion or feeling. He just listened what he wanted and their conversation was always about tax. Besides she wanted him more attitude to her, but he was very slow and formal, what disappointed her.
After the cinema, they went to a restaurant, where he told her there was a party to go later. Before going to the party, he tried to say how she was special for him, but his dumb way made her feel foolish. When he finally tried to kiss her, she was so irritated with him and this situation that she didn´t let. After this incident, they head for a party quiet.
In the party she met Mr Huws Evans´s brother, who sat her on a sofa. Since then she started talking about interesting things.
In real, she accepted Mr Huws Evans´s invitation because of his brother. Originally she´d intended just to look at the brother across the room in the office, when Mr Huws Evans invited her to go to the cinema.
Scudder discover a plan yo kill Karolides, The Greek Prime Minister, and other plan that aims to provoke war in Europe. Scudder writes some code in his notebook.
ReplyDeleteThe next day, Scudder tell his discovery to some members of the Parliament: Lord Harkness and Mr. Porton, but they don't believe in it.
Two days after the appointment, the two members of Parliament die. Scudder is very frightened by the events and late the night he goes to Hannay apartment and ask him for help. They don't meet each other, but Hannay helps Scudder.
One day after Scudder dies. Hannay try to help him, but it's pointless. Soon after, the police arrives and arrests Hannay. They think Hannay is guilty for the death.
In the Police station, Hannay is questioned by the police and by Appleton (member of Parliament). Appleton wants Scudder's notebook. He thinks Hannay knows where it is. Hannay doesn't tell anything. So, Appleton let him go. Soon after, Appleton arranges with his two spies to follow Hannay.
Hannay gets to take the notebook. The Police discover that Hannay was telling the truth. They arrest Appleton and his two spies.
Ana Lúcia