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Oxford University Press
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From out of the sky, from under the earth, from far out at sea — disaster comes. We build and invent new things — and sometimes bring disaster on ourselves. Today television and the Internet mean that we can watch disasters as they happen, and see their terrible results. From Pompeii to the Asian Tsunami, from the Great Fire of London to Chernobyl, the stories of disasters are frightening, but they have much to tell us. Disasters bring stories of fear, pain, loss, and death — but also of people whose extraordinary bravery and feeling for others will touch your heart. |
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Thousands of years ago, people looked out across an ocean and asked themselves, What is on the other side? And the bravest of them began to travel and find the answers — beautiful islands, frozen lands, different peoples... And there are still interesting questions about the oceans. How do they change our weather? Why does the water go up and down twice a day? Why do most animals and plants live near the land? And what can possibly live at the bottom of the ocean, thousands of metres down, where there is no light? Surely nothing can stay alive in a place like that... |
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It's an exciting life — full of fast cars, money, and travel. The names of Formula One champions are known all over the world. And everywhere young drivers dream of success one day in Monaco, Melbourne, Monza... But it is a difficult life too. Drivers need strong bodies — and minds. They need to think quickly, drive hard, and sometimes look death in the face. This is the dangerous, exciting world of Formula One — where the world's best drivers have only seconds to win or lose a race. |
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The bride wore a long white dress, with flowers in her hair. After the wedding, there was a party, and people gave presents to the bride and groom. This wedding was nearly two thousand years ago, in Rome. Some things don't change. But some things do. Today you can have a wedding on a mountain, or under the sea, or Elvis can sing for you. And different things happen in different places. Little birds made of paper, small trees, money in the bride's shoe, and lots of noise — they are all important for weddings somewhere. Welcome to the wonderful world of weddings! |
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The bride wore a long white dress, with flowers in her hair. After the wedding, there was a party, and people gave presents to the bride and groom. This wedding was nearly two thousand years ago, in Rome. Some things don't change. But some things do. Today you can have a wedding on a mountain, or under the sea, or Elvis can sing for you. And different things happen in different places. Little birds made of paper, small trees, money in the bride's shoe, and lots of noise — they are all important for weddings somewhere. Welcome to the wonderful world of weddings! |
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In a city in Arabia there lives a boy called Aladdin. He is poor and often hungry, but one day he finds an old lamp. When he rubs the lamp, smoke comes out of it, and then out of the smoke comes a magical jinnee. With the jinnee's help, Aladdin is soon rich, with gold and jewels and many fine things. But can he win the love of the Sultan's daughter, the beautiful Princess Badr-al-Budur? |
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In a house in Oxford three people are having breakfast — Carol, her husband Jan, and his father Josef. They are talking about Prague, because Carol wants them all to go there for Christmas. Josef was born in Prague, but he left his home city when he was a young man. He is an old man now, and he would like to see Prague again before he dies. But he is afraid. He still remembers another Christmas in Prague, many long years ago — a Christmas that changed his life for ever... |
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In the summer of 1910, a race began. A race to be the first man at the South Pole, in Antarctica. Robert Falcon Scott, an Englishman, left London in his ship, the Terra Nova, and began the long journey south. Five days later, another ship also began to travel south. And on this ship was Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian. But Antarctica is the coldest place on earth, and it is a long, hard journey over the ice to the South Pole. Some of the travellers never returned to their homes again. This is the story of Scott and Amundsen, and of one of the most famous and dangerous races in history. |
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He is not beautiful. His mother does not want him, children run away from him. People laugh at him, and call him The Elephant Man. someone speaks to him — and listens to him! At the age of 27, Joseph Merrick finds a friend for the first time in his life. This is a true and tragic story. It is also a famous film. |
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Everybody wants to win the lottery. A million pounds, perhaps five million, even ten million. How wonderful! Emma Carter buys a ticket for the lottery every week, and puts the ticket carefully in her bag. She is seventy-three years old and does not have much money. She would like to visit her son in Australia, but aeroplane tickets are very expensive. Jason Williams buys lottery tickets every week too. But he is not a very nice young man. He steals things. He hits old ladies in the street, snatches their bags and runs away... |
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It is Molly Clarkson's fiftieth birthday. She is having a party. She is rich, but she is having a small party — only four people. Four people, however, who all need the same thing: they need her money. She will not give them the money, so they are waiting for her to die. And there are other people who are also waiting for her to die. But one person can't wait. And so, on her fiftieth birthday, Molly Clarkson is going to die. |
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England and Scotland in the 1500s. Two famous queens — Mary, the Catholic Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth I, the Protestant Queen of England. It was an exciting and a dangerous time to be alive, and to be a queen. Mary was Queen of Scotland when she was one week old. At sixteen, she was also Queen of France. She was tall and beautiful, with red-gold hair. Many men loved her and died for her. But she also had many enemies — men who said: The death of Mary is the life of Elizabeth. |
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Outside, the night is cold and wet. Inside, the White family sits and waits. Where is their visitor? There is a knock at the door. A man is standing outside in the dark. Their visitor has arrived. The visitor waits. He has been in India for many years. What has he got? He has brought the hand of a small, dead animal — a monkey's paw. Outside, in the dark, the visitor smiles and waits for the door to open. |
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It is night in the south seas near Tahiti, and the ship HMS Bounty has begun the long voyage home to England. But the sailors on the ship are angry men, and they have swords and guns. They pull the captain out of bed and take him up on deck. He tries to run, but a sailor holds a knife to his neck. Do that again, Captain Bligh, and you're a dead man! he says. The mutiny on the Bounty happened in April, 1789. This is the true story of Captain Bligh and Fletcher Christian, and the ship that never came home to England. |
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In EDI (the European Department of Intelligence in Brussels) there are some very secret files — the Omega Files. There are strange, surprising, and sometimes horrible stories in these files, but not many people know about them. You never read about them in the newspapers. Hawker and Jude know all about the Omega Files, because they work for EDI. They think fast, they move fast, and they learn some very strange things. They go all over the world, asking difficult questions in dangerous places, but they don't always find the answers... |
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Tom Walsh had a lot to learn about life. He liked travelling, and he was in no hurry. He liked meeting people, anyone and everyone. He liked the two American girls on the train. They were nice and very friendly. They knew a lot of places. Tom thought they were fun. Tom certainly had a lot to learn about life. This is a collection of short stories about adventures on trains. Strange, wonderful, and frightening things can happen on trains — and all of them happen here. |
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It is 1880, in the Opera House in Paris. Everybody is talking about the Phantom of the Opera, the ghost that lives somewhere under the Opera House. The Phantom is a man in black clothes. He is a body without a head, he is a head without a body. He has a yellow face, he has no nose, he has black holes for eyes. Everybody is afraid of the Phantom — the singers, the dancers, the directors, the stage workers... But who has actually seen him? |
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A beautiful young Indian girl, and a brave Englishman. Black eyes, and blue eyes. A friendly smile, a laugh, a look of love... But this is North America in 1607, and love is not easy. The girl is the daughter of King Powhatan, and the Englishman is a white man. And the Indians of Virginia do not want the white men in their beautiful country. This is the famous story of Pocahontas, and her love for the Englishman John Smith. |
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The President is dead! A man is running in the night. He is afraid and needs to rest. But there are people behind him — people with lights, and dogs, and guns. A man is standing in front of a desk. His boss is very angry, and the man is tired and needs to sleep. But first he must find the other man, and bring him back — dead or alive. Two men: the hunter and the hunted. Which will win and which will lose? Long live the President! |
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