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1 Introduction 'I won't be a cruel king. I won't kill dragons and peasants. I'll love my people and be kind to them. I'll always live by the Old Code.' Young Prince Einon is dying. His mother wants Draco, the Great Dragon, to help him. Draco says that he will help. But first the boy has to repeat these words. When Einon is king, he forgets the dragon's words. He is cruel to the peasants, and everybody in the country is unhappy and afraid. Draco and good Sir Bowen, a Knight of the Old Code, want to help the peasants. But can they? Will people live by the Old Code again? What will happen in the fight between Good and Bad? This story is about dragons and knights, kings and peasants. Charles Edward Pogue wrote the story for the film of Dragonheart - a book by Patrick Read Johnson and Charles Edward Pogue. Sean Connery (Draco), Dennis Quaid (Sir Bowen), David Thewlis (Einon), Pete Postlethwaite (Gilbert, the monk) and Julie Christie (Queen Aislinn) are all in the film. It was expensive and difficult to make. They used computers to film the dragon; the beautiful woods, mountains and castles are in Slovakia, in the east of Europe. It is a very exciting film, and a lot of people went to see it at the cinema. Chapter 1 The Old Code A sword shone in the sun. 'Not bad!' shouted Sir* Bowen. Then he pulled out his sword and started to fight Prince Einon. The prince fell to the ground. 'But you'll have to fight harder than that, or you'll die!' laughed Sir Bowen. Sir Bowen was one of King Freyne's knights. Prince Einon was the king's son. He was fourteen years old and a strong young man. He liked fighting but he didn't like losing. He got up quickly and took up his sword again. 'That's better,' laughed Bowen. The young prince smiled. Then suddenly he felt Bowen's sword, hard, on his arm. 'Dead again!' laughed Sir Bowen. Einon started to fight again. His face was angry now. 'Careful! Careful! Fight with your head, don't fight with your heart, boy!' shouted Bowen. The knight wanted to make Einon a good fighter. But he also wanted to teach him the Old Code. Sir Bowen and all the kings, princes and knights before him were Knights* of the Old Code. For thousands of years kings were kind to peasants and knights helped kings. This was the Old Code. Life was good, and everybody in the country was happy. Then everything started to change and the peasants were angry. Bowen didn't like this. He loved Einon and he wanted the boy to remember the Old Code all his life. After the sword-fighting lesson, Bowen and Einon sat down. 'Never turn your back to somebody when you fight, Einon! Why can't you remember that?' Suddenly they heard the sound of a horse. They looked up and saw Brok, one of the king's knights, on his horse in front of them. Bowen didn't like Brok and looked at him angrily. Brok didn't live by the Old Code. 'We're fighting the peasants,' Brok told them. 'We're winning, of course. King Freyne wants his son to come and watch.' 'We're fighting the peasants,' Brok told them. 'We're winning, of course. King Freyne wants his son to come and watch.' 'It's not good or clever to fight the peasants,' answered Bowen. He really hated Brok. 'They're stupid! The king says they have to die. He wants Einon to come now. And you too, Bowen,' Brok shouted. Then he turned his horse and rode away fast. 'Why did he shout at you?' asked Einon. 'You're a Knight of the Old Code! You're not afraid of him!' 'No, of course I'm not afraid of him. I hate him. He doesn't live by the Old Code. He enjoys killing the peasants. He's the king's man.' 2 Einon understood. Bowen hated his father, the king, too. He smiled at Bowen. 'When my father dies, I'll be VnDoc - Tải tài liệu, văn pháp luật, biểu mẫu miễn phí Truyện ngắn tiếng Anh: Món quà cha Trong học này, VnDoc xin giới thiệu tới bạn truyện ngắn tiếng Anh Món quà cha Vì phút nóng vội, người trai phải hối tiếc đời làm cha buồn Câu chuyện không giúp bạn học tiếng Anh mà học cách cân nhắc trước hành động Câu chuyện kể quà ngày tốt nghiệp đại học người cha dành cho trai Vì nóng vội, người hiểu nhầm cha không tặng quà yêu thích, bỏ nhà sau phát sai Bạn học cụm từ hữu ích với “Món quà cha” Truyện có văn phong từ vựng mức bản, giúp người đọc dễ nắm toàn câu chuyện Xem phần từ vựng dịch để kiểm tra khả đọc hiểu Bản tiếng Anh: A young man was soon going to graduate college For many months, he admired a very beautiful sports car He knew that his father could afford it so he told him that he wanted that car As graduation day near, he waited for signs that his father had bought that car for him Finally it was graduation day On the morning of graduation, his father told him that how proud he was to have such a good son and how much he loved him After saying this, the father handed a wrapped gift box to his son as a graduation present VnDoc - Tải tài liệu, văn pháp luật, biểu mẫu miễn phí Curiously, the son opened that gift He found a Bible with a beautiful leather cover The son angrily raised voice at his father, "With all the money you have, you bought me a Bible?" and left instantly, leaving the book there Years passed by and he never returned home The young man became a very successful businessman in the meantime He had a beautiful house and happy family Years later, he realized that he should go to his father’s house as he never returned after leaving the house on that day Before he could make arrangements to return home to his father, he received a telegram informing him about his father’s death It was to inform him that his father willed all his possessions to his son and he should come home as soon as he can to take care of things He returned home but upon reaching home, his heart was filled with regrets and sadness He began to search for important papers and saw that the Bible his father had gifted was still new With tears, he opened the bible and began to turn the pages and as he read those words, suddenly a car key dropped from an envelope which was stuck behind the bible It had a VnDoc - Tải tài liệu, văn pháp luật, biểu mẫu miễn phí tag with the dealer’s name, same one who had the sports car he desired The date on tag was of his graduation day with words written on it, “PAID IN FULL” Bản dịch: Một chàng trai trẻ tốt nghiệp đại học Nhiều tháng qua, cậu say mê ôtô thể thao đẹp Cậu biết cha mua nên nói với ông cậu muốn xe Khi ngày tốt nghiệp gần kề, cậu chờ đợi xem liệu cha có mua xe không Cuối cùng, ngày lễ tốt nghiệp đến Vào buổi sáng đó, người cha nói với cậu ông tự hào có người giỏi cậu ông yêu cậu nhiều Sau đó, người cha trao cho cậu hộp quà mừng ngày tốt nghiệp Người hiếu kỳ mở hộp quà Cậu thấy Kinh Thánh bọc bìa da đẹp Người tức giận cao giọng với cha mình: “Với số tiền cha có, cha mua cho Kinh Thánh ư” bỏ lập tức, để lại sách Nhiều năm trôi qua, cậu không quay nhà lần Cậu niên trẻ trở thành doanh nhân thành công khoảng thời gian Cậu có nhà đẹp gia đình hạnh phúc Mấy năm sau, cậu nhận thấy nên quay nhà thăm cha kể từ ngày tốt nghiệp Chưa xếp thời gian để nhà, cậu nhận điện thông báo chết cha Bức thư nói ông để lại toàn tài sản cho cậu cậu nên nhà sớm để mắt đến thứ Về đến nhà, cậu cảm thấy ngập tràn hối hận buồn đau Cậu tìm kiếm giấy tờ quan trọng thấy Kinh Thánh năm xưa bố tặng Trong nước mắt, cậu mở sách, lật đọc trang Bỗng chìa khóa ôtô rơi từ phong bì dán đằng sau sách Một nhãn gắn phong bì đề tên người bán - chủ nhân ôtô cậu thích Ngày tháng phong bì trùng với ngày tốt nghiệp cậu có dòng chữ "Đã chi trả" Từ vựng: Từ/cụm từ can/could Phiên âm afford /ə'fɔːd/ Diễn giải Tạm dịch have enough money to pay có đủ tiền chi trả something (v) for cho thứ hand something to /hænd/ to put something into đặt vào tay thứ VnDoc - Tải tài liệu, văn pháp luật, biểu mẫu miễn phí someone/ someone someone's hand from something (v) Bible (n) /'baɪ.bəl/ in the meantime /'miːn.taɪm/ từ tay mình, trao tay your own hand Kinh Thánh meanwhile lúc đó, khoảng thời gian make arrangements make a (v) something will possession (n) /pə'zeʃ.ən/ plan for how thu xếp, chuẩn bị happen (usually plural) something (số nhiều) tài sản that you own will something to /wɪl/ to someone (v) money or others after death reach (n) /riːtʃ/ to arrange to give your place, especially after spending a paid in full (v) property to arrive at a or a lot of để lại tài sản cho long đến nơi đó, sau nhiều thời time effort gian, công sức di chuyển travelling debt satisfied in its entirety hoàn thành trả góp 1 Introduction You have to understand that a prize-winning horse is worth millions . . . There is enough money in the world of horse-racing to make it very attractive to criminals. And one of the worst of these is Julius Filmer, a known murderer. Filmer has promised to take revenge on the horse-racing world after a recent attempt to catch him. How will he do it? The great horse-racing season in Canada is about to begin. Owners from all over the world will travel across the country, from Toronto to Vancouver, on a special train - and Filmer will be on it. Filmer, and friends. There is only one way to stop him. Someone eke must join the train to watch Filmer — and be ready to act. . . Dick Francis is one of the most successful thriller writers in the world. He was born in 1920 in South Wales. He can't remember learning to ride: for him it was as easy as learning to walk. He served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, becoming a professional rider in 1948. For ten years he was one of Britain's top jockeys. When he left the sport in 1957, he became a racing journalist. He wrote his first book, the story of his life, in the same year. Then he began to write crime stories — always set in the world of horses and horse-racing. The first of these, Dead Cert (1962), was a success and he has written over thirty books since then — about one a year. All of them have been best-sellers. He has won prizes both in America and Britain for his books. Chapter 1 Invitation to a Train Ride I was following Derry Welfram at a race meeting when he dropped to the ground and lay face down in the mud in the light rain. Several people walked straight past him, thinking that he was drunk. I knew that he wasn't drunk, because I'd been following him all afternoon — and, in fact, for some days. However, I didn't go up to see what was wrong or to try to help him: I didn't want anyone to see me with Welfram. It was soon clear that this was not just an unconscious drunk. A doctor came out of the race track building, turned Welfram over, did some tests and started to hit him hard on the chest. He carried on at this for a while, but eventually gave up. An ambulance arrived and took Welfram's body away. I headed for the bar: that was where the gossip would be. I moved around the room, listening, and it wasn't long before I overheard a woman ask her husband whether he'd heard about that man who died of a heart attack earlier. It was a pity, I thought, that Welfram had died — not because anyone would miss him, but because it put me and my boss, Brigadier Valentine Catto, back to where we started. The investigation had got nowhere so far. My name is Tor Kelsey. I work for the Jockey Club* as a kind of policeman — or some would say as a spy. The horse-racing world is attractive to criminals, and our job is to catch them and warn them off, if possible, or get them banned from any further involvement in horse-racing. On extreme occasions, we bring in the official police force. One of the worst criminals to inhabit the horse-racing world was Julius Apollo Filmer. Tall and elegant, he mixed with the highest levels of society, because they were the ones with the money and the horses. Nobody knew exactly how he did it, but he managed to persuade people to sell him their best horses cheaply. You have to understand that a prizewinning horse is worth millions. So why would people sell? The paperwork was all nice and legal, but something rotten was in the air. We were certain that Filmer used blackmail and threats, but we needed hard evidence. A few months ago, we almost had the evidence. A young groom foolishly boasted in a pub that what he knew could spell big trouble for Mr Julius Filmer. Two days later, the groom turned up dead in a ditch. The police found four witnesses to pin the planning of the crime on Filmer, but on the day of the trial they either left the country or changed their stories, with the result 1 Introduction 'Harriet Smith has no family and no money. Robert Martin was a good match for her, Emma. Until she met you, she thought of nothing better for herself, but you have filled her head with ideas of high society and of how beautiful she is.' Emma Woodhouse is beautiful, clever and rich. She has never thought of getting married herself. Instead, she amuses herself by trying to arrange marriages between her friends and neighbours. But Emma makes a lot of mistakes and causes more problems than happy marriages. Because she is so busy trying to arrange other people's lives, will she lose her own chance of happiness? Jane Austen was born in 1775, the daughter of a vicar. She had six brothers and one sister, Cassandra, who was her greatest friend. Her home was in Hampshire in the south of England and she lived there for most of her life. She began writing short stories when she was sixteen but she did not write her first book, Sense and Sensibility, until 1811. There were five more books. Emma came out in 1816 and many people think it her best work. Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Persuasion (1817) are three of her books on the list of Penguin Readers. Her books have always been popular and recently many people have been introduced to her stories for the first time through films for the cinema and television. Although she wrote a lot about falling in love, Jane Austen never married. She died in Cassandra's arms in 1817, when she was forty-one years old. Chapter 1 An Offer of Marriage Emma Woodhouse was beautiful, clever and rich. She lived sixteen miles from London in the village of Highbury and at nearly twenty-one years old she thought her life was perfect. But nothing stays the same for ever and even the most perfect life must sometimes change. Emma was the younger of two daughters but only she lived with her father at the family home. Her sister Isabella lived in London with her husband and five children. Emma's mother died when she was only five, and so her father found Miss Taylor to five with them at Hartfield and look after his two daughters. Miss Taylor became their teacher and friend and, even after Emma had grown up and didn't need Miss Taylor as a teacher any longer, she continued to live with them and was part of the family. But Emma's comfortable life changed when Miss Taylor decided to get married to Mr Weston. Although his house — called 'Randalls' — was very near Emma's, she soon realised there would be a great difference between a Miss Taylor at Hartfield and a Mrs Weston half a mile from Hartfield. And so Emma and her father were left alone together, both wishing that Miss Taylor was still there too. 'What a pity Mr Weston ever thought of Miss Taylor,' said Mr Woodhouse, sadly. 'I cannot agree, Papa. They are very happy together, and I am happy for them. And we shall see them often. They will come here to Hartfield and we shall visit them at Mr Weston's house. We shall always be meeting.' But although Emma tried to make her father feel happier, she was just as sad as him. As they sat together playing cards on the evening after Miss Taylor's wedding, their friend Mr Knightley came to visit them. His brother John was Isabella's husband and he had just returned from their home in London. 'How was the wedding? Who cried the most?' 'Everybody was on time and looked their best,' said Emma, 'And there were no tears.' 'But I know how sad you must feel, Emma,' said Mr Knightley. 'Yes, but I am happy that I made the match myself, four years ago. People said Mr Weston would never marry again, but I saw the possibility of love,' said Emma. 'And now Miss Taylor has left us,' said Mr Woodhouse. 'So please do not make any more matches that might break up our circle of friends and family, 1 Alice in Wonderland Introduction This time the Cheshire Cat vanished quite slowly. First its body went, then its legs. Then all of it vanished, and there was only its smile. 'There are a lot of cats without a smile, but a smile without a cat! Sow that's very strange! 'Alice said. One hot summer day, Alice and her sister are sitting under a tree. Alice sees a white rabbit and runs after it. The rabbit goes down a rabbit-hole and Alice follows it. Down the rabbit-hole, everything is different. Alice is in 'Wonderland'. Her size changes all the time. Caterpillars can talk and rabbits have watches. The Queen wants to cut off everybody's head. When the Queen sees the Cheshire Cat, she wants to cut off the Cat's head too. But there's a problem. The Cheshire Cat hasn't got a body . What strange things happen to Alice, in Wonderland ? And how will she get back home again ? Charles Dodgson was born in 1838. He went to Oxford University and then he was a teacher there. He was a quiet man and did not talk to people easily. He wrote Alice in Wonderland in 1865. For him, Alice in Wonderland was not an important book, so he did not use his name for the book. He used the name Lewis Carroll. But the book sold very well and it was quickly very famous. At that time, children's books always tried to teach something. Lewis Carroll did not try to teach anything. He only wanted to tell a wonderful story. Carroll wrote a second story about Alice in 1871. He died in 1898. Today, Alice in Wonderland is one of the most famous children's stories in the world. Chapter 1 Down the Rabbit-hole Alice and her big sister sat under a tree one sunny day. Alice's sister had a book, but Alice had nothing with her. She looked at her sister's book. There were no pictures or conversations in it. 'Why is she reading a book without pictures or conversations?' she thought. 'I'm bored. I know! I'll look for some flowers.' Then she thought,' No, it's too hot for that and I feel sleepy' Suddenly, a white rabbit ran past her. It took a watch from its jacket and looked at it.' Oh! Oh ! I'm going to be late!' it said. ' That's strange! A rabbit with a watch!' said Alice. She jumped up and ran after the animal. It ran down a large rabbit-hole, so Alice went down the hole too. She didn't stop and ask,' How am I going to get out again ?' Alice fell down and down. But she fell very slowly and didn't feel afraid. 'What's going to happen next?' she wondered. She looked round. There were cupboards in the walls of the rabbit-hole. Some of the cupboards were open, and there were books in them. Sometimes she saw pictures. She looked down, but she couldn't see any light. Down, down, down. 'When will the hole end?' she wondered. Perhaps I'm going to come out in Australia! I'll have to ask the name of the country. " Please, madam, is this Australia or New Zealand?" No, I can't do that. They'll think I'm stupid.' She thought about her cat, Dinah. 'What's Dinah doing? Will they remember her milk tonight? Oh, Dinah! Why aren't you here with me ? Perhaps there's a mouse here and you can eat it!' ♦ Suddenly, Alice was at the bottom of the hole. ' That didn't hurt' she said and sat up quickly. She could see the White Rabbit and she ran after him again. They were in a different rabbit-hole now. ' Oh, my ears and nose!' the White Rabbit cried.' It's getting very late!' He ran faster and vanished through another hole. 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