The Thirty-Nine Steps (ESL/EFL Version with Audio)

By Qiliang Feng and John Buchan

This is Book 8, Collection II, of the Million-Word Reading Project (MWRP) readers. It is suitable for learners with a basic vocabulary of 1,500 words.
Million-Word Reading Project (MWRP) is a reading project for ESL/EFL learners at the elementary level (with a basic vocabulary of 1,500 words). In two years, for about fifteen minutes each day, an ESL/EFL learner can read one million words, and reach the upper-intermediate level, gaining a vocabulary of about 3,500 words and a large number of expressions.

[Text Information]
Readability | 85.41
Total word count | 26104
Words beyond 1500 | 847
Unknown word percentage (%) | 3.24
Unknown headword occurrence | 2.44
Unknown words that occur 5 times or more | 40
Unknown words that occur 2 times or more | 151

[Synopsis]
The year is 1914 and Europe is close to the First World War. Mining Engineer Richard Hannay is staying in London and is finding life in the city boring. One night, he is surprised to find Franklin Scudder at his door. Scudder is a spy and has information about a plan by German spies to steal the British plans for war. Hannay later finds Scudder killed in his flat and decides he must carry on Scudder’s work. With both German spies and the police after, Hannay must solve the riddle of the thirty-nine steps alone....
This book is rewritten from the novel “The Thirty-Nine Steps” by British writer John Buchan (1875-1940), which has been made into films several times.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Qiliang Feng
• Release date: Dec 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310599125

Qiliang Feng

Qiliang Feng has been a teacher of English in senior high schools since 1983. He is a keen supporter of reading in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and is expert at rewriting graded/simplified ESL(English as a Second Language) and EFL (English as a Foreign Language) readers. He has published several series of English reading course books and is promoting a reading project called Million-Word Reading Project (MWRP), in which ESL/EFL learners at the elementary level (with a basic vocabulary of 1,500 words) are expected to read one million words within two or three years, and reach the upper-intermediate level easily.

Book preview

The Thirty-Nine Steps

(ESL/EFL Version with Audio)

Original by: John Buchan

Rewritten by: Qiliang Feng

Million-Word Reading Project Workshop

Copyright 2022 Qiliang Feng

License Notes

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About This Book

This is Book 8, Collection II, of the Million-Word Reading Project (MWRP) readers. It is suitable for learners with a basic vocabulary of 1,500 words.

Million-Word Reading Project (MWRP) is a reading project for ESL/EFL learners at the elementary level (with a basic vocabulary of 1,500 words). In two years, for about fifteen minutes each day, an ESL/EFL learner can read one million words, and reach the upper-intermediate level, gaining a vocabulary of about 3,500 words and a large number of expressions.

Text Information

Readability | 85.4

Total word count | 26104

Words beyond 1500 | 847

Unknown word percentage (%) | 3.24

Unknown headword occurrence | 2.44

Unknown words that occur 5 times or more | 40

Unknown words that occur 2 times or more | 151

Notes:

1. About readability: This is Flesch Reading Ease Readability calculated with MS WORD. The higher the score, the easier the text is to read.

Score | Level

0-29 | Very difficult

30-49 | Difficult

50-59 | Fairly difficult

60-69 | Standard

70-79 | Fairly easy

80-89 | Easy

90-100 | Very easy

2. This e-version does not give the meanings of unknown words. You can look them up with the dictionary on your e-reader. For words with different meanings and some expressions, we give their meanings at the end of the passages. We also provide some necessary background information.

3. To get the audio or video of this book, GO>>>

Synopsis

The year is 1914 and Europe is close to the First World War. Mining Engineer Richard Hannay is staying in London and is finding life in the city boring. One night, he is surprised to find Franklin Scudder at his door. Scudder is a spy and has information about a plan by German spies to steal the British plans for war. Hannay later finds Scudder killed in his flat and decides he must carry on Scudder’s work. With both German spies and the police after, Hannay must solve the riddle of the thirty-nine steps alone….

This book is rewritten from the novel "The Thirty-Nine Steps" by British writer John Buchan (1875-1940), which has been made into films several times.

Chapter 1. The Man Who Died

I returned from the City[1] about three o’clock on that May afternoon. I was very unhappy with life. I had been in Britain three months, and was fed up with it. If anyone had told me a year ago that I would have been feeling like that, I should have laughed at him; but there was the fact. The weather was terrible, the talk of the ordinary Englishman made me sick, I couldn’t get enough exercise, and the amusements of London seemed boring. Richard Hannay, I kept telling myself, you have done wrong, my friend, and you had better do something about it.

It annoyed me to think of the plans I had been making those last years in Africa. Although I had not made much money, it was enough for me; and I had thought of all kinds of ways of enjoying myself. My father had brought me out from Scotland at the age of six, and I had never been home since. I had dreamed of spending the rest of my days there.

But from the first, I was disappointed with it. In less than a month I had become tired of this place. I had no real friend to go about with. Plenty of people invited me to their houses, but they didn’t seem much interested in me. Here I was, thirty-seven years old, healthy and strong, with enough money to have a good time, yet, bored to death.

That evening, I went into my club. I had a long drink, and read the evening papers. They were full of the troubles in the Near East, and there was an article about Karolides, the Greek Premier. I rather liked the fellow. He seemed to be honest, but some people in Europe hated him. One paper said that we were going to support him, for he was the only person who could prevent Europe from going to war.

The night was fine and clear as I walked back to my flat near Portland Place. I made up my mind to stay one more day in Britain. If nothing interesting happened, I would take the next ship for Africa.

My flat was the first floor in a new building behind Langham Place. Each flat was quite shut off from the others. I had a fellow to look after me who came in by the day. He arrived before eight o’clock every morning and used to leave at seven, for I never ate at home.

I was just fitting my key into the door when I suddenly noticed a man next to me. He was a slim man, with a short brown beard and small blue eyes. I recognized him as the man who lived in a flat on the top floor.

Can I speak to you? he said. May I come in for a minute? His voice was trembling.

I got my door open and we went in.

Is the door locked? he asked, and he locked it with his own hand.

I’m very sorry, he said. But I’m in trouble, and you looked like the kind of man who would understand. If I explain, will you help me?

I’ll listen to you, I said. That’s all I’ll promise. I was getting worried by the strange behaviour of this nervous little fellow.

There were drinks on a table beside him. He took a whisky and drank it quickly, and broke the glass as he put it down.

Pardon, he said, I’m a bit nervous tonight. You see, I’m dead at this moment.

I sat down and lit my pipe.

What does it feel like? I asked. I was certain that I had to deal with a madman.

A smile came over his face. I’m not mad - yet. I think you’re an honest man, and you seem brave, too. I need help badly, and I want to know if you can help me.

Tell me your story, I said, and I’ll tell you.

Then he began his story. I didn’t understand it all at first, and I had to stop and ask him questions. But here is what he told me:

He was an American, from Kentucky. After college, he had started out to see the world. He wrote a bit, and acted as war reporter for a Chicago paper, and spent a year or two in South-Eastern Europe. He spoke of many names that I remembered to have seen in the newspapers.

He had played about with politics, he told me, at first for the interest of them, and then because he couldn’t help himself. He had discovered, by accident, that a secret movement was going on. It had been started by very dangerous people. These people were trying to push Europe towards a war. Some hoped to see a new world appear. Some would make money from the war. They planned to get Russia and Germany at war with each other.

I want to stop them, he said, and if I can keep alive for a month, I think I can.

But I thought you were dead, I put in.

I’ll explain it to you in a minute, he said, but first, I guess you know the name of Constantine Karolides?

I had been reading about him that very afternoon.

"He is the man who can prevent the war. He is not only intelligent, but also