Intermediate

D’Artagnan travels to Paris hoping to join the Musketeers, a group of adventurers who serve Louis XIII. A series of misadventures brings him to a duel with none other than three of his heroes — the Musketeers Porthos, Athos, and Aramis. The three men ask D'Artagnan to join them in their struggle to protect Queen Anne against the plots of power-hungry Cardinal Richelieu.

Dossier:
France in the 17th century
Costumes in the 17th century
Dumas beyond the page

‘It was the first murder case I ever investigated on my own.’ Wexford said angrily. ‘There’s no mystery. Herbert Arthur Painter killed his ninety-year-old employer by hitting her over the head with an axe. He did it for two hundred pounds.’

Chief Inspector Wexford was sure that the murder of an old lady had been carried out by her employee, Herbert Painter, and the courts agreed with him. But then Henry Archery, whose son is engaged to marry Painter’s daughter, starts questioning the case …

Born in the Kenyan Highlands, Wangari Naathai never lost her connection with the land. She started the Green Belt Movement, which planted tress where forests were being destroyed. Environmental campaigns led to wider political protests nad the fight for democracy - and when democracy was finally won, Maathai became an elected politician. This is her story.

Careful, Connie, please. Your little sister's eyes are looking angry. Look at the sudden lines around her mouth. Connie, a sister is a good thing. Even a younger sister. 'Mercy, who are you going out with?'

Connie gets an answer to her question, but it is not the answer she wants to hear. And what is the price of peace between sisters?

Word count 16,068

Who will speak for the poor? Who will listen to slaves, and those who have no rights? Who will work for a future where everyone is equal? Who will give up his house, job and money to fight for people who are shut out by everyone else?

'I will,' said Mohandas Gandhi. And he began to fight in a way the world had not seen before - not with weapons, and wild crowds, and words of hate, but with the power of non-violence. This is the story of a man who became the Father of the Nation in his own country of India, and a great leader for the whole world.

Word count 17,000

FACTFILES (NON-FICTION)

He smiled, showing teeth yellow from cigarette smoke. He looked at his desk diary, then at her papers again. 'Mmm... a hundred pesos a month, Why, that's one thousand two hundred pesos a year. Surely, you can afford to buy me a forty-peso dinner!'

How can Marina say no? How can she refuse the Chief's next request? He is an evil man, but she needs her promotion...

Word count 12,589

He smiled, showing teeth yellow from cigarette smoke. He looked at his desk diary, then at her papers again. 'Mmm... a hundred pesos a month, Why, that's one thousand two hundred pesos a year. Surely, you can afford to buy me a forty-peso dinner!'

How can Marina say no? How can she refuse the Chief's next request? He is an evil man, but she needs her promotion...

Word count 12,589

It is beautiful to look at, hard to reach, and terribly difficult to climb. Winds of 200 kilometres per hour or more scream across it day and night, while the temperature falls to -20 °C or lower. Every year, some who try to climb the highest mountain in the world do not return.

But for a century people have been coming to climb Everest - some alone, some in groups, but all with a dream of going to the highest place in the world. This is their story.