The Ringing Dog

LONDON, ENGLAND. It's Christmas time in London. Rachel Murphy, 27, buys a Christmas gift for her roommate. It's a small cellular phone. She wraps it and puts it under the Christmas tree in their apartment. a little bit later, Rachel notices a pile of torn paper under the tree. The phone is gone! "What's going on?" she wonders. She suspects Charlie, her roommate's dog, who is sleeping like a log near the tree. She looks high and low for the phone, but it's nowhere. She can't firgure it out. The phone has vanished into thin air!




Rachel gets the phone number from the telephone company and dials the number. She hears ringing in Charlie's stomach. "What in the world?" she thinks. She's confused,
but all at once she gets the picture. Charlie swollowed the phone! She rushes the dog to the vet. "Don't worry," the vet says. "Just let nature take its course." Sure enough, 24 hours later, the phone passes through Charlie's system. It seems to be in perfect working order!

About You:

1. Do you have a pet? If so, does it get into trouble like Charlie?

2. Did you ever own something that vanished into thin air? Did you look high and low for it? Did you ever find it?

3. Do you sleep like a log, or are you a light sleeper?

4. What is the best gift you ever received? On what holidays do you give gifts?

Lesson 2: Fish Turns the Tables on Fisherman

KONAKOVO, RUSSIA. One day, a Russian man is fishing at a lake near Moscow. He is crazy about this sport. He catches a very large fish and is on cloud nine! when he begins to show off for his pals. He grabs the fish and kisses it right on the mouth. But the fish turns the tables on the fisherman and bites his nose. It won't let go. The poor fisherman is in hot water now. "Take it easy," his friends advise. Then they have an idea. They cut the head off the fish. But the fish still won't let go of the fisherman's nose. It has strong teeth! Finally, doctors in local hospital set the fisherman free. "play it safe," they tell him. "Don't kiss any more fish!"


About you:




1. Do you like to fish? If so, are you crazy about it? Do you clean the fish? Do you cut the head off?




2. What sports or hobbies are you crazy about?




3. Tell about a happy memory when you were on cloud nine.




4. Do you know people who show off? If so, what do they do?




5. Have you ever been in hot water? Why? When? Tell the story.




6. Are you the type of person who plays it safe, or do you like to take risks?

Lesson 1: A Heart of Gold

ORANGE COUNTY, CA, USA. Victor Cacelis is a California immigrant who grew up in a poor village in Mexico. He is used to working hard. He works more than 90 hours a week in three different jobs including McDonald's. He is saving up to buy a house.




One day, while Victor is cleaning the floor at McDonald's, he finds an envelope and picks it up. It contains $612 in cash! He gets in touch with the police to report the lost money. The police can't find the owner, so they give the money back to Victor.




Then Victor reads a story in the newspaper about Adrian Sandoval, a baby who is very sick. Victor decides to give the cash away to help pay for the baby's surgery. "Life has been nice to me," Bacelis said. "I'm healthy. I have enough money. Adrian is a little boy and his condition really touched me this is what i want to do." Vistor Bacelis trully has a heart of gold.




About You




1. Do you know anyone who has a heart of gold? How does this person act?




2. If you found cash on the floor at work, what would you do? Would you keep the money, get in touch with the police or your boss, or give it away?




3. Are you used to working hard? Tell about your weekly schedule.




4. How do you usually get in touch with friends and family who live far away: by phone, by email, by letter, or by fax?