Category: Story

149. A Bad Smell It was a warm, sunny day. She put a hat on to keep the sun out of her eyes. She needed to visit her bank. She walked down to the corner. There were four buildings at the intersection. One was her bank. Opposite the bank was a fast food restaurant. The…

155. I Smell a Rat Shelly was working in her Manhattan office one night for the first time. No one else was in the office. At about 9 p.m., she heard a scratching noise. She got a little scared. She looked around. “Hello,” she said loudly. “Is anyone there?” Nobody answered. The scratching continued. She…

154. Maybe the Driver Yelled “Fore!” Jerry parked alongside the winding road next to his favorite golf course. He got out of his brand new Honda and took his clubs out of the trunk. He closed the trunk and stood there, admiring his new car. He carried his clubs to the clubhouse. He rented a…

153. A Thief on the Sidewalk She looked at the man walking along the sidewalk next to the nice houses. He didn’t live in any of those houses. She had seen this man several times before. He looked like a criminal. She knew not to judge a book by its cover, but this man was…

152. Take a Drive She wanted to travel. He asked her where she wanted to go. She said she wanted to just get on the road and drive for a day or two. She wanted to get out of the house and out of the city. They packed a small suitcase. They packed their underwear,…

151. Fix the Car She got into her car. She hoped it would start. Twice in the past month, the car had not started the first time she turned the key. It had started the second time she turned the key, but that made her nervous. Sooner or later, she might have to turn the…

150. Time to Shop It was time to go to the market. He had no bananas, no apples, and no milk. He got into his car and drove to the market. It was only five minutes away. The parking lot was almost empty. Good, he thought. He wouldn’t have to stand in a long line.…

148. Problems at Home Emily sat down on the sofa. She took off her shoes. She put her feet on the coffee table. She leaned back. She picked up the remote and turned on the TV. It was 6 o’clock. The news was on three channels. She didn’t want to see the news. The news…

147. Two Babies She wanted to have two babies—one boy and one girl. She wanted to have the boy first and the girl a year later. That way they could grow up together. He said that was okay with him. She said, “What do you mean, ‘okay’? It shouldn’t be ‘okay’ with you. You should…

146. Nutrition “Facts” Americans get confused when they try to understand the food labels (“Nutrition Facts”) on their packaged food. This is partly because the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture often seem more interested in the welfare of the food industry than in the health of consumers. For example, even though…