The Moon and Sixpence

The Moon and Sixpence

by W. Somerset Maugham

William Somerset Maugham (January 25, 1874 – December 16, 1965) was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was one of the most popular authors of his era, and reputedly the highest paid of his profession during the 1930s.

The Moon and Sixpence (1919) is a short novel by William Somerset Maugham based on the life of the painter Paul Gauguin. The story is told in episodic form by the first-person narrator as a series of glimpses into the mind and soul of the central character, Charles Strickland, a middle aged English stock broker who abandons his wife and children abruptly in order to pursue his desire to become an artist.

Chapters I-III + exercises
Audio 

Bridget Jones's Diary

"I decided to take control of my life and start a diary to tell the truth about Bridget Jones...the whole truth.

Resolution number one-- ohh--obviously wiIl lose twenty pounds.

Number two...always put last night'spanties in the laundrybasket.

Egually important...will find nice sensible boyfriend to go out with and not continue to form romantic attachments to any of the following...

alcoholics, workaholics, commitment-phobics, peeping toms, megalomaniacs, emotional fuckwits, or perverts.

And especially will not fantasize about a particular person who embodies all these things.

Unfortunately,he just happens to be my boss..." 

Download audio book (Intermediate level)

Excalibur

 "Excalibur" - a story about King Arthur, his knights and Camelot. Adapted for lower intermediate level. Read & listen!

Chapter 1-2  

Chapter 3-4  

Chapter 5   
To be continued ... 

Journey to the centre of the earth ch.3-4

Chapter III "Iceland"

It was very early in the morning when the boat got to Iceland. We could see the round body of the Sneffells Yokul volcano going up into the sky through the clouds. It had snow near the top, and it looked like an angry monster waiting for someone to try and climb it... Download audio.

Chapter IV "Inside the volcano"

The mouth of the volcano was one mile wide. We tied a rope around each other and began to climb down,. Hans went first. The inside of the volcano looked like the inside of an ice-cream cone. Its opening became smaller as we went down because of the rocks left there after explosions... Download audio.

Download the text.

Source: "Express Publishing", Elizabeth Gray

JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH by JULES VERNE

Photo of Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Chapter I A Strange Message

Otto Lidenbrock is the famous Professor of Geology at the University of Hamburg, in Germany. He is also my uncle. He is sixty-five years old, not very tall, with grey hair. He wears small round gold glasses that make him look very serious.

I'm Axel. I'm only nineteen and the Professor's personal assistant. I watch my uncle very carefully when he works. That's why I know so much about our planet -Earth.

My uncle, the Professor, is a hard worker. He spends most of his day in his laboratory at the University, so he never comes home before two o'clock for lunch. But yesterday, he came home very early. This surprised Martha, our cook. The poor old girl did not have the lunch ready and she was a little upset.