Tinkenglish Website : 2nd Grade Educational Page

FAIRY TALES
Title	Abstract	Text	Podcast
From the "THE HAPPY PRINCE AND OTHER TALES"
The Happy Prince In a town where a lot of poor people suffer, a swallow who was left behind after his flock flew off to Egypt for the winter meets the statue of the late "Happy Prince", who in reality has never experienced true happiness. Viewing various scenes of people suffering in poverty from his tall monument, the Happy Prince asks the swallow to take the ruby from his hilt, the sapphires from his eyes, and the golden leaf covering his body to give to the poor.
The Nightingale and the Rose A nightingale overhears a student complaining that his professor's daughter will not dance with him, as he is unable to give her a red rose. The nightingale visits all the rose-trees in the garden, and one of the roses tells her there is a way to produce a red rose, but only if the nightingale is prepared to sing the sweetest song for the rose all night with her heart pressing into a thorn, sacrificing her life.
The Devoted Friend Hans is a gardener, the devoted friend of a rich miller. On the basis of this friendship, the miller helps himself to flowers from Hans' garden, and promises to give Hans an old, broken wheelbarrow, to replace one that Hans was forced to sell so that he could buy food. Against this promise, the miller compels Hans to run a series of arduous errands for him. One stormy night, the miller asks Hans to fetch a doctor for his sick son.
The Remarkable Rocket This story concerns a firework, who is one of many to be let off at the wedding of a prince and princess. The rocket is extremely pompous and self-important, and denigrates all the other fireworks, eventually bursting into tears to demonstrate his "sensitivity". As this makes him wet, he fails to ignite, and, the next day, is thrown away into a ditch.
From the "A HOUSE OF POMEGRANATES"
The Young King The Young King tells the story of the illegitimate shepherd son of the recently dead king's daughter of an unnamed country. Being his only heir, he is brought to the palace to await his accession. There, he is in awe of the splendor of his new home and anxiously awaits his new crown, scepter, and robe which are soon to be delivered to him for his coronation in the morning.
The Birthday of the Infanta The Birthday of the Infanta is about a hunchbacked dwarf, found in the woods by courtiers of the King of Spain. The hunchback's father sells him to the palace for the amusement of the king's daughter, the Infanta, on her twelfth birthday. Her birthday is the only time she is allowed to mingle with other children, and she much enjoys the many festivities arranged to mark it, especially the Dwarf's performance. He dances, as he did in the woods, thoroughly unaware of his audience's laughing at him. She insists on his performing a second time for her after dinner.
The Fisherman and His Soul In The Fisherman and his Soul, a young Fisherman finds a Mermaid and wants nothing more than to marry her, but he cannot, for one cannot live underwater if one has a soul. He goes to his priest, but the priest tells him his soul is his most precious possession, and the soulless mermen are lost. He tries to sell it to merchants, who tell him it is not worth anything. He goes to a witch, who tells him his soul is his shadow, and says how it can be cut away with a viper-skin knife after he dances with her.			Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
The Star-Child The Star-Child is the story of an infant boy found abandoned in the woods by a poor woodcutter, who pities him and takes him in. He grows up to be exceedingly beautiful, but vain, cruel, and arrogant, believing himself to be the divine child of the stars. He lords himself over the other children, who follow him devotedly, and takes pleasure in torturing the forest animals and town beggars alike.

English Through Stories

English Through Stories is for intermediate and advanced learners of English who are looking for a fun, relaxing way to improve their speaking and listening skills. Each podcast is an episode of a drama or "soap opera," with romance, mystery, and sometimes...murder. Join the fun today and improve your English at the same time!

THE MISSING PERSON
Episode	Title	Opening	Podcast
1	The Man in the Mask	I didn’t kill him. I didn’t even plan to kill him. I had a gun, but I just wanted to hurt him and stop him from attacking me. I had no idea why this stranger was hitting me, and it was ticking me off......
2	Beer and Cigarettes	Some of my students know I’m an amateur detective. Before I became a university professor five years ago, I had a real job. I worked for a security agency that protected private homes, and also important people like famous actors and politicians. I learned a lot about criminals. I had also learned a lot about police work from my father, who was a cop for 34 years......
3	A Woman in Pain	I put my hand on my gun, and slowly opened the door wider. I saw nothing. I carefully picked up a towel from the floor. Nothing. “There must be someone in the bathtub,” I thought....
4	Meeting at the Cafe	“We have to go, Dr. Reeves!” Anne said excitedly. “That was Bill on the phone. He is at a restaurant called Cafe Pico. Sarah’s been kidnapped!” “Kidnapped? Are you sure?” I asked, somewhat incredulously.....
5	No Police!	“When does he want the money?” I asked. “Tomorrow. He said he would call me this afternoon and tell me where to make the drop,” Bill said. “He also made it crystal clear that we were not to call the police. If I don’t hand over the money by the deadline, he said he’s going to kill Sarah!”.....
6	Kathy (Again)	I drove Bill and Anne back to Sarah and Bill’s apartment building to drop them both off there. Anne had left her car there, so she could drive herself home. I told them to call me if anything new came up......
7	An Accident?	Kathy came back in the room with tonight’s dinner, Italian pasta with chicken. As we ate, I told Kathy about Anne and her missing sister. “A strange man came to Sarah and Bill Salas’s apartment building two days ago, forced them both into a car, and took them away,” I explained......
8	Tracing the Plates	“Be careful! She may have broken bones,” the ambulance driver yelled. I arrived at the accident scene just a few minutes after the police. Anne was already in the ambulance and ready to go to the hospital......
9	At the Beach	So now someone wanted to kill me. But how did anyone know I was working on this case? Was Lenny part of this kidnapping in some way? I still had more questions than I had answers about this case.......
10	The Bartender Shows Up	It was time to try a different approach. I decided to find John Costello first and talk to him. I wanted to find out why his car hit Anne’s and almost killed her. I knew Costello lived in Santa Monica, so I drove up the freeway and got off near Main Street......
11	Right on Schedule	Things were starting to make more sense to me now. I was beginning to see what had really happened to Sarah Salas, and why she was killed. But I had no proof to show that I was right. I needed to get some real evidence. I went home and rang up Kathy Chang.......
12	Kathy to the Rescue	Without thinking another second, I kicked Bill in his right knee. He screamed in pain and fell backwards on his back. The gun fell to the ground. I picked it up and pointed it at Bill.......

English Idioms

Some English Idioms from the BBC series : 'Learning English - The Teacher'

Subject	Description	Text File	Video
Fish idioms	In this episode, The Teacher introduces you to three idiomatic phrases connected with fish : 1. There's something fishy about this 2. A big fish in a small pond 3. A fish out of water
Fruit idioms	In this episode, The Teacher introduces you to three idiomatic phrases connected with fruit: 1. To go bananas 2. It's a case of sour grapes 3. A second bite of the cherry
Monkey idioms	In this episode, The Teacher introduces you to three idiomatic phrases connected with monkeys: 1. To monkey around 2. Monkey business 3. To make a monkey out of someone
Pie idioms	In this episode, The Teacher introduces you to three idiomatic phrases connected with pies: 1. It's as easy as pie 2. Pie-eyed 3. To have a finger in many pies

The Simpsons : Lisa Goes To Washington

Abstract

While reading a copy of Reading Digest, Homer finds an entry form for an essay contest for which Lisa signs up. When she successfully wins the contest, she and the family travel to Washington, DC where the finals are to be held. Here, Lisa bears witness to the seedy underbelly of politics and becomes bitterly disappointed after learning of a bribery scandal involving Springfield’s state congressman. In her final essay, she disdains and condemns the government system, which leads to the arrest of the corrupt congressman. While she fails to win the contest, her faith in government is restored.