Standard English (SE)

Book Two – Stories

Author: Wade Y. Dong

Lesson 1 – The Man at Harvard Square

Professor Alan Whitmore stood outside the subway entrance at Harvard Square on a cold October morning.

A young student, David Wong, looked confused while studying a map.

“Are you lost?” Whitmore asked.

“Not exactly,” David said. “I know where I am. I just don’t know where I’m going.”

Whitmore laughed softly. “That sounds like philosophy.”

“No,” David replied. “It’s just my first day at Harvard.”

Lesson 2 – Lunch in Paris

Kelly Huang found a small restaurant on a corner street in Paris.

She ordered soup and bread.

The waiter asked, “First time in Paris?”

“Yes,” Kelly answered.

“Then you must try our wine.”

Kelly smiled. “I came to learn French, not wine.”

The waiter shrugged. “In Paris, sometimes they are the same lesson.”

Lesson 3 – The Quiet Library

Michael Carter entered the Boston Public Library late in the afternoon.

A girl named Emily Stone sat across from him.

“You’re reading very fast,” she said.

“I’m not reading,” Michael answered.

“Then what are you doing?”

“I’m pretending to read. It helps me think.”

Emily looked at him and whispered, “Then this must be a very intelligent library.”

Lesson 4 – A Taxi in New York

Sarah Bennett got into a taxi in Manhattan.

“Where to?” the driver asked.

“Anywhere quiet,” she said.

The driver looked surprised. “In New York?”

“Yes,” Sarah replied.

After a moment he smiled and said, “Then we should drive very far.”

Lesson 5 – Coffee in Rome

James Parker ordered coffee in a small café near the Pantheon in Rome.

“Espresso?” the waiter asked.

“Yes.”

James tasted it and said, “It’s very small.”

The waiter replied, “In Italy coffee is small, but life is big.”

Lesson 6 – The Train to Oxford

Linda Zhao sat on a train leaving London.

A gentleman beside her asked, “Are you going to Oxford?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Student?”

“No. Tourist.”

The man smiled. “That’s wise. Students rarely have time to see Oxford.”

Lesson 7 – The Bookshop in Boston

Peter Hall walked into a quiet bookshop in Boston.

“Can I help you?” the owner asked.

“Yes,” Peter said. “I’m looking for a book about happiness.”

The owner thought for a moment.

“We have many books about happiness,” he said.

“But the happiest people usually stop buying them.”

Lesson 8 – Rain in London

It began to rain in London.

Maria Lopez stood under a small umbrella.

A stranger said, “First time in London?”

“How did you know?” she asked.

“You’re surprised by the rain,” he replied.

Maria smiled. “I thought it was only a story.”

“In London,” the man said, “it’s a daily story.”

Lesson 9 – A Museum Question

At the Louvre in Paris, Kevin Li stared at a famous painting.

A guide approached him.

“Do you understand it?” she asked.

Kevin shook his head.

“Neither do I,” the guide said.

“But it’s still beautiful, isn’t it?”

Lesson 10 – The Last Train

Late at night in Boston, Robert Chen hurried toward the subway.

“Is this the last train?” he asked a station worker.

“Yes,” the man said.

Robert ran down the stairs and caught the train just in time.

When he sat down, he laughed quietly.

“Sometimes,” he said to himself, “philosophy can wait, but trains cannot.”