Jennifer Lopez

Ali Al Hamad

Author: Rod Smith

Genre: Biography

Started: 24th January

Finished: 28th January

Jennifer Lopez can dance, she can sing, she is a smart businesswoman, and she is beautiful

She was born on July 24, 1970. It was a good day for David and Guadalupe Lopez and their daughters Lynda and Leslie

They were happy, because they had a new girl in the family. In 1975, Jennifer went to the Holy Family Catholic School in New York. One day in 1988, she said, I want to stop going to school. David and Guadalupe were angry. She walked out of the house. Jennifer lived in her dance school for a short time. She was looking for a job. In 1995, she was in her first Hollywood movie: Mi Familia. In 1999, Jennifer had a boyfriend. His name was Sean Coombs. He's a famous black singer. Early in 2000, Jennifer stopped see him. In 2001 Jennifer starred in The Wedding Planner. It was a funny movie. In the same year, Jennifer got married to Chris Judd. He was a dancer, but they divorced in Aug, 2002. She made many CDs in a different language, that were successful but the last CD in Sep, 2007 wasn't successful and only got to number 12 in the US. She had success in the fashion business, too. She opened a clothes business with Tommy Hilfiger. Some people were angry about Jennifer's clothes and they said some of her clothes come from dead animals and that's not right. Jennifer is in the food business, too. In April, 2002 she opened a place in Pasadena, California. She does a lot of charity work for sick children and she helps families with very little money. So, she is a dancer, a singer, an actress, a businesswomen, and she helps unhappy children and families. Jennifer does all of these jobs very well. Today, she is famous for many things in many countries

I like the story of Jennifer and I like the book. It suggests to me if you have a hope or dream, you must work hard for that. I recommend other students read this book. It is incredible.

Rain Man

Dennis Han

Author: Barry Morrow

Date started: 21.1.2011

Date finished: 23.1.2011

When Charlie Babbitt's rich father dies, Charlie gets two surprises. One,he does not get his father's money. Two, his brother gets all the money. But Charlie did not know that he had a brother. His brother is named Raymond and is a special man, he is autistic. When Charlie meets his brother, he will change.

I like this story because the it is very touching. This story tells me that love it is more important than money. When I think about Charlie's change, I think that it is very good.

But I don't know why his brother is named 'rain man.'

English Digest vol 6 lssue 5

Miranda Fan

I read English Digest vol. 6, issue 5. This is a magazine for helping students learn English. I started reading it on the 13th of January and I finished reading it on the 19th of January.

I read one story about Michael Jackson.

Michael Jackson is a famous singer in the world. He became a star when he was 5 years old, and had a lot of people love him and his songs and his dances. He is an idol, so people gave him the nickname ‘King of Pop’.

But during the 1980s MJ lived a reclusive way of life, and he was hiding away at Neverland. He underwent a series of problems relating to his skin and had lots of cosmetic surgery.

In 2009, he declared his return to the stage. But he died in June 2009. He didn’t finish do last performances.

In his career, he created many great MTV videos, songs and dances. He is the ‘King of Pop.' His name we remember forever.

This magazine has a lot of stories. This is my favourite story in this magazine but you can choose others if you like. I think this magazine is the best to learn English for you so I want to introduce it to my classmates.

Snow White

Naimah Al Abdullah

I read a very nice story on Tuesday, 1/18/2011. I advise my colleagues to read it on the Net because the words are easy and new

The Authors are the Grimm Brothers: Jakob and Wilhelm.

This is a fictional story. The events revolve around many of the characters I will talk about

Snow White. was a girl of great beauty. The evil Queen, her stepmother, wanted to be the most beautiful lady in the kingdom. She asked her magic mirror “who is the most beautiful woman among the women of this country?”

The mirror’s answer was that Snow White was the most beautiful one. The Queen got angry and asked the hunter to take Snow White into the forest and kill her there.

Snow White cried and begged the hunter to let her alive and she would leave the country. Snow White saw the hut of the seven dwarfs; she told them her story, and asked them to keep her. They accepted to keep her on one condition that she would clean the cottage and cook food. The Queen stood in front of the mirror one day and asked it: “Who is the most beautiful woman among the women of this country?” It answered her “Snow White is the most beautiful” The queen became very angry and smashed the mirror. The Queen tried to kill Snow White several times, but the dwarfs rescued her every time. The latest attempt was successful. Snow White had lost consciousness because of eating the poisoned apple sent by the Queen. The pygmies thought that she was dead and placed her in a glass coffin.

The Prince found the glass coffin and was not able to raise his eyes from that beautiful girl. He begged the dwarfs to give him the coffin. While the prince’s guards were carrying the coffin to the prince’s palace, Snow white fell down and the apple fell from her mouth. She woke up and the Prince proposed marriage to her. Snow White and the prince lived a happy life together.

Tunnels

Fahid Othman

Author: Jo Windsor

Genre: Non - Fiction (Expository)

Date started: 17/01/2011

Date finished: 21/01/2011

Main characters: Workers

Theme: Tunnels

The book shows how tunnels are made. It tells where tunnels can be. It explains what tunnels are used for.

I think it is a wonderful book. The best thing about the book is I learned how tunnels are made and how tunnels are are made much bigger with explosives. The worst thing is it is very simple, so I can't understand more deeply.

I would recommend the book to other students.

Pele - King of Football

Abdulmohsen Al Johani

Author: NOEL MACHIN

Genre: Biography

Date started: 10/1/2011

Date finished: 11/1/2011

This book talked about Edson Arantes Do Nascimento (better known as Pelé). He is known as a legend and the best soccer player to ever play the game. He was born on 23 October,1940. He was raised in a very poor family in Tres Coracos, Brazil and his parents, Dondinho and Celeste Nascimento called Edson "Dico," growing up. He first learned the game of soccer from his father, Dondinho, who was a decent center forward until his career was halted by a fractured leg. Pelé began playing soccer for a local minor-league club when he was a teenager. His father was happy but his mother not happy because she was afraid for her child, she said footballers always break their legs, also she asked God "Please say Edson isn't going to be a footballer." In 1944 his family went to Bauru because his father was going to play for the B.A.C (Bauru Athletic Club) team. In 1954 he was in the Bauru Stadium again. B.A.C juniors were playing in the Avelone Junior Cup. They won the Cup.

Sept 7, 1956 was big day. He was playing in the Santos team. Step by step, Pele became a famous player and a rich man. In 1957, Santos were the star team in Brazil. Pele scored 64 goals this year, too. He played in the Brazilian team in the Rocca Cup games, and they won the Cup. In 1958 it's World Cup year. He went to Sweden to play in the World Cup. In June 29,1958 they were in the Solna Stadium, Stockholm. Brazil was going to win the Cup. They won the game and they won the world Cup.When Pele received the Cup the King of Sweden said "I'm the king of Sweden but you Pele, you're the king of football." Today all the people of the world know the name of the black boy from Brazil. In 1969 Pele scored goal number 1000. In 1970 they won the World Cup again in Mexico.

This story was easy and wonderful. I recommend my classmates read it.

Walkabout

Dennis Han

Author: James Vance Marshall

Date started: 12.1.2011

Date finished: 13.1.2011

This story has three main characters: a bush boy, Mary and Peter.

The bush boy is an Aboriginal boy, and he is sixteen. The bush boy walked alone. He had to live in the desert alone for six months. He had to find food and water. He had to kill animals, and find fruit on the trees. This is because in Australia, when an aboriginal man-child is sixteen, his tribe sends him out into the bush. A lot of the bush is desert. The bush boy has to live alone for months. The aboriginals call this time the 'walkabout.'

Mary is Peter's sister. They went to go to Adelaide, but their airplane crashed in the desert. There were no roads, no houses, no people. Only two children survived. They are lost in the desert. Mary and Peter are from an American city. They do not know about the desert, they could't survive in the desert. When Mary and Peter meet the bush boy, they try to exchange and they learn about the desert. They also start to think about their world. Mary, Peter and the bush boy are from different worlds. They were always misunderstanding each other, but in the end they were friendly.

I think this story is very touching and it makes me know how to survive in the desert. I really like the bush boy and felt sad when he died.

The Good Earth

Emma Wang

In two weeks I read The Good Earth. I started reading this story in the evening on the 8th of January and I finished reading it in the evening on the 18th of January. This is a very long story and it happened in China.

The author of this story is Pearl Buck. She was a famous writer all over the world, and she lived in China a long time.

There are lots of people in this story and the main people are Wang Lung and his wife O-lan. At first they are poor farmers and at last he has a lot of money.

Wang Lung is a farmer and he doesn’t have much knowledge. He married his wife O-lan and then they farmed in their fields and make a lot of money. When Wang Lung had more money, He began to employ workers to farm their fields. When Wang Lung was old, he was a more famous landlord in the local area.

This story is about Chinese farmers and this story's background is Chinese history. In Chinese history, Wang Lung is a typical farmer but not every farmer has a lot of money when they are old. Wang Lung has a clever wife O-lan. She helps Wang Lung to make more and more money. But at last Wang Lung has a lover. It’s so sad.

I think this book is very long and not very interesting, but it’s a good story about Chinese. The English level I rate as a little difficult but I still want to introduce this book to my friends.

The Soccer Club

Naimah Al Abdullah

Author: SHEILA DUKE

On 11/01/2011 I read a useful story to learn new English words. The story is about Kofi . He loves football and dreamed of taking part in a World Cup match for Australia. One day, he saw an announcement in the supermarket. Then he contacted the number mentioned. Kofi talked to a person named Ken, and asked him if he could join the club. Ken said to him, "Yes, can you come on Thursday, six o'clock?" Kofi said "Yes." When Thursday came, Kofi went quickly to his house after he finished his work. Then he got ready and went to the club. There he met the coach and identified himself and, he was welcomed by the players. He began training with them.

I hope my friends read this story, because it is simple and interesting.

A Scandal in Bohemia

Emma Wang

In this holiday I read A Scandal in Bohemia. This is a long detective story from the series of Sherlock Holmes, and this story is about the royal family of Bohemia.

The author of this story is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This story started on the 20th of March, 1888, and it began at 221B Baker Street.

There are two main people in this story. At first, of course one is Sherlock Holmes, a great detective. A lot of people usually visit Holmes at 221B Barker Street when they have some difficult questions. And the second main person is his best friend, Dr Watson. He is always working with Holmes and taking note of the cases. So this story is from Dr Watson’s notebook.

This is a story about the king of Bohemia and his old lover. When the King of Bohemia was still a prince, he fell in love with a woman whose name was Irene Adler, but in the end, he left her. Now the King wants to marry, but the King is worried about Irene because Irene has a photo of her with the King. So the King of Bohemia visited Holmes and found help from Holmes. Holmes agrees to this case and Holmes tries to take back that photograph of the prince and his lover. Holmes was very clever to get Irene to show the photograph to Holmes and Holmes saw where the photograph was. But Irene was aware that she showed the photograph to Holmes at the same time. The final result is Irene ran away and Holmes takes the photograph with the King, and Irene Adler is only a respectable woman for Holmes.

I think the best point in this book is the lover is aware the 'pastor' is Holmes, because it reflects the wisdom of a woman. I started reading this story in the morning on the 6th of January and I finished reading it in the evening on the 6th of January. I think this book is very good and very interesting. The English level I rate as about right so I want to introduce this book to all my friends.

Alissa

Tiger Li

Author: John Milne

I read Alissa. The English version is on cassette. This story is a popular story. I started reading it on the 10^th of November and I finished reading it on the 11^th of November.

The book’s time and place isn’t given.The main character is Alissa, a girl, a twelve year old, and she likes study. Her parents are very poor.

One day, she has to go to a city with a fat man. She dislikes him. Then she has to work more than fifteen hours a day, and she is very tired. Then the fat man sells Alissa to a thin man. Because the thin man’s wife doesn’t like Alissa, the thin man sells Alissa to a industry. She makes clothes in a small dark room, and she works more than twelve hours a day. Finally, she goes to school, because she takes a lady’s purse to her and doesn’t want some money for thanks. The lady likes Alissa’s honesty, and pays Alissa’s school fee for her.

I judge this book as good because I like this story, and I will be honest. The story tells us honesty is a feature of a good character. The English Level I rate as easy so I want to introduce it to my follow students.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Tiger Li

Author: Brent Furnas

I read Leonardo Dicaprio. This story is a famous man’s story. I started reading it on the 5^th of December and I finished reading it on the 6^th of December.

This story tells us about a little boy who realized his dreams, He changes into a famous movie star. This book has five important pictures:

The first picture is ‘A young Leo.’

The second picture is ‘Leo in This Boy’s Life.’

The third picture is ‘Juliette Lewis, Johnny Depp and Leo in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.’

The fourth picture is ‘Leo with Kate Winslet in Titanic.’

The fifth picture is ‘Leonardo DiCaprio is a happy young man.’

I judge this book as good because I have some dreams, The story tells us you will succeed if you work hard. The English Level I rate as easy so I want to introduce it to my classmates.

Aladdin and the Lamp

Tiger Li

I read Aladdin and the Lamp. The English version is on cassette. This story is a Chinese story. I started reading it on the 28th of November and I finished reading it on the 29th of November.

The book’s time is a long time ago. The main character is Aladdin, a poor Chinese boy.

When Aladdin was a boy, he just wanted to play. He talked and laughed and played with his friends all day at the market. By accident, he got the enchanted lamp from a magician named Abanazar. And he used it to get food and money. Soon, Aladdin and his mother were rich. Five years later, he married the Sultan’s daughter, Princess Badr-al-Budur and built a very beautiful palace for her. They lived very happily. But soon, Abanazar came back and deceived the lamp from the princess and snatched the palace and the princess. So Aladdin went to Morocco through the genie of the ring, and rescued the princess and took the lamp away. Afterwards, Aladdin and his princess lived happily.

I judge this book as good because I like this story. The story tells us that courage, iron will and luck are important. The English Level I rate as easy so I want to introduce it to my classmates.

The Fox and The Crow

Tiger Li

I read The Fox and the Crow. It’s a English story. I started reading it on the 20^th of November and I finished reading it on the 21^st of November.

The book’s time and place isn’t given.The main characters are the Fox and the Crow.

A crow is sitting in a big tree. She has a big piece of meat in her mouth. “My babies will have a nice breakfast.” she thinks. An old fox is looking for his breakfast. He sees the crow and the meat. “How can I get the meat?” he thinks. “Good morning, Mrs. Crow,” says the fox sweetly. “How are you?” but the crow doesn’t say a word. “You have very nice babies, Mrs. Crow” says the fox very sweetly. “How are they? May I see them ?” Still, the crow doesn’t say a word. “You’re very beautiful Mrs. Crow, and you have a beautiful voice, too” says the fox very, very sweetly. “Will you please sing a song for me?” Mrs. Crow thinks, “How nice Mr. Fox is! I must sing a song.” So she opens her mouth. “Ahh! Ahh!” Down drops the meat into the fox’s mouth. The fox goes away happily.

I judge this book as good because I like this story, and this story tells us that intelligence is very very important. The English level I rate as easy so I want to introduce it to my classmates.

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Tiger Li

Authors: Annie Hughes and Melanie Williams

I read Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves . It’s the English version. This story is an Arab story. I started reading it on the 13^rd of November and I finished reading it on the 14^th of November.

The book’s time and place isn’t given. The main characters are Ali Baba and the forty thieves. Long long ago, There was a man calld Ali Baba. When Ali Baba was in the forest, he saw a troop of men on horseback, coming toward him in a cloud of dust. He was afraid they are robbers, and climbed into a tree for safety. Then he found forty robbers with a secret. He took some gold home. Because his wife was very stupid, his brother knew this thing. He went to the robbers’ base and took much gold, but when he left, he forgot “Open, Sesame.” The thieves found him and killed him. The thieves wanted to kill Ali Baba and hid in Ali Baba’s house to kill him. Finally, Morgiana helped Ali Baba with her intelligence and killed the thieves. Ali Baba was so grateful to Morgiana for saving his life that he offered her his son in marriage, who readily consented, and a few days later the wedding was celebrated with greatest splendor.

I judge this book as good because I like this story. The story tells us, you and I should help each other. When it happens, the world will be beautiful. The English level I rate as easy so I want to introduce it to my classmates.

Let’s Lose Weight

Tiger Li

Author: David Caspar

I read a book about weight loss . It’s the English version. Losing weight is an interesting topic to people now. I started reading it on the 6th of November and I finished reading it on the 7th of November.

There are more and more overweight people in the world. Most of them don’t pay attention to their diets. Many people like eating fast food. They all think it cheap and fast. So it’s interesting to think that the reason why people get fat is not that they are rich, but that they are poor. They don’t know fast food has lots of fat which is easily making out bodies fat. So we should pay attention to healthy food, such as rice, vegetables and fruit. Losing weight is a difficult thing. In order to lose weight, some people don’t eat food or only eat a little food. Sufficient food lays the foundation of our bodies. The lack of food leaves their bodies weak and even ill. Some people take medicine to lose weight. We should use a natural way to lose weight. Doing exercise is a good way. We can form the habit of doing physical exercise every day.

In this book, there are many useful suggestions. If you are worried about your weight, it’s a good book for you. The English level I rate as easy so I want to introduce it to my classmates.

Alissa

Khaled Sobahi

Alissa is a girl from a simple family living in a village. Her parents wanted her to go to the city with the fat man, but she wanted to stay in the village because she likes school and reading. Her father made Alissa go with the fat man to the city. They arrived in the city and go to a house where Alissa is given a small room. The next day the man laughed when Alissa told him she liked reading, and he told her to go to the kitchen to prepare food. Alissa worked fifteen hours a day and she was sad because of overwork and ill treatment. She was crying every night.

One day the man took her away because his wife did not like Alissa and she went to work in another place with some girls in a small room too. Later Alissa could work in a shop. One day a beautiful and rich lady entered the store. She liked the job Alissa did and told her she is an honest girl. Then she paid money to the store owner and Alissa went with her. Alissa was finally happy.

Aladdin & The Lamp

Abdulmohsen Al Johani

Genre: Folktale
Date started: 9/1/2011
Date finished: 10/1/2011
Setting: China

Main characters: Aladdin, his mother, the old man, the Emperor, & his daughter

This story talked about Aladdin who lived with his mother in China. They were very poor. One day, a rich man came to Aladdin's house. He gave Aladdin a magic ring. He asked

Aladdin if he would like to work for him. "Oh yes" said Aladdin "because we're very poor." The man took Aladdin to a cave and he said "Go down into the cave find my magic lamp."

Aladdin was scared because the old man was very angry now. Aladdin said very quietly "He is a bad old man." When Aladdin went d0wn into the cave, it was very dark and very cold.

Aladdin found a magic lamp and rubbed it. Out flew out a large red monster. He said, "What can I do for you?" Aladdin said "I want some money, and a new house for my mother."

Aladdin became a rich man and was handsome.

One day he went to the city with his mother And he saw a beautiful young woman. He said "It's nice. I'm going to marry her. She's the daughter of the emperor." He went to the fortress of the emperor. "Hmm" said the emperor "you're a very handsome man. Are you rich?'' "Oh yes!" said Aladdin. After that "You can marry my daughter," smiled the Emperor.

One morning when Aladdin was not in the castle the old man came to the castle and he said "New lamps for old." Aladdin's wife said "We've got an old lamp. I'd like a new one please."She didn't know about the magic lamp and she gave the man the magic lamp. The old man was happy and he quickly rubbed it. The big red genie flew out and the man said to the genie "Take Aladdin's castle and put it in the middle of the forest." Aladdin was very angry when he could not find his castle. Aladdin rubbed his magic ring. The big green genie flew out of it! He said "What can I do for you? " Aladdin said "Find my castle and bring it here! " There was Aladdin's castle again. Aladdin ran in to the castle and saw the bad old man. Aladdin was very fast and he quickly caught the old man. He took the magic lamp and rubbed it. Aladdin said to the genie I don't want to see this man again.

Aladdin took the magic lamp and put it in a safe place. Aladdin said "Now we can be happy, but let's be careful with this lamp."

Aladdin lived with his wife and his mother happily ever after.

This story is easy and wonderful. I recommend my classmates read it.

The President's Murderer

Abdulmohsen Al Johani

Author: JENNIFER BASSETT
Date started: 15/11/2010
Date finished: 29/11/2010
Setting: Europe, in both countryside & village

Main characters: Alex, Marta, Felix, Adam, Eva Hine, & Olivia

The book talks about the president's murderer.The story starts on the first day when the police are chasing a man suspected of murdering the president. The second day he found a woman who helped him. She gave him some food and clothes and room for sleep.The third day the man moved because he was scared the police knew were he was and he wanted to move to see his wife. The third day in the morning, the man said goodbye to the woman. When the man went, the police speeded to the woman's house in the village but the didn't find the man. The inspector said to her "You know he murdered." The inspector asked her question after question but she told him nothing. Then she said "The newspapers and the television never tell us the true story." The police were angry and continued chasing the man. More interesting things happened before he arrived at his house. The fifth day the man arrived home and saw his wife. The man said to his wife "I did not kill the president and the police know that." Finally the police knew he was in the house. The police and cordoned off and surrounded the house. The police asked the man to give himself up but the man didn't want to do that, and when he fled the police opened fire and killed him.

The story is really nice. I think this book's action is really interesting because the police are chasing the man suspected, with guns and dogs. Also, this book reveals many rules and includes new words.I recommend my classmates read it.

Hulk

Jack (Yu Hong) Ru

I read a book named HULK. This a good book. I watched the movie in China. The story is of scientist Bruce Banner who continues his desperate search to cure what has been poisoned by γ-irradiation. He tries to lift what is hidden inside his body, a green giant!

Banner lives in solitude and tries to avoid the people's nemesis, General Thunderbolt Ross, who is constantly looking for him. Banner wants to escape arrest and being handed over to the brutal military. Banner achieved a major breakthrough in treatment. Someone saw all the effort and hard work will soon be ruined, and decided to make an unprecedented counterattack (Haw haw, this is a long story)!

This is a good story, but it is hard (This is a perfect homework. Haw haw).

The Soccer Club

Ali Al Hamad

Author: Sheila Duke
Genre: SPORT
Date started: 7 Dec 2010
Date finished: 7 Dec 2010

Kofi loved soccer. He dreamed of playing for Australia in the World Cup. He saw a notice about wanted soccer players so he was happy. Kofi rang Ken and told him about the notice and about his age. Ken told Kofi "you can come on Thursday" and he told him about something important: It’s soccer boots. On Thursday Kofi hurried home from work. He changed into his soccer gear. He went to the soccer field. He saw the coach and was introduced to the other players.
All the players said hello to Kofi. Then some players asked Kofi "Did you play much soccer before?" He played in his own country, but he wants to play for Australia.

The message is: 'Keep it up!'
The book was good because I like soccer and soccer is an incredible part of my life.
I recommend other students read this book.