The Secret Garden (ESL/EFL Version with Audio)

By Qiliang Feng and Frances Hodgson Burnett

This is Book 5, Collection I, 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 | 86.57
Total word count | 22614
Words beyond 1500 | 593
Unknown word percentage (%) | 2.62
Unknown headword occurrence | 3.2
Unknown words that occur 5 times or more | 31
Unknown words that occur 2 times or more | 93

[Synopsis]
Mary Lennox is a nine-year-old British girl. She grows up in India and is spoilt and selfish. Her parents die and she becomes an orphan, so she is sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle. There is a secret garden at the manor, which has been locked up for 10 years. And with the help of “magic”, Mary finds the key to the garden door that has been buried in the earth.
With the help of kind Dickon, Mary begins secretly working in the garden to bring its many roses back to life. Mary also discovers the secret of the Manor one night: her uncle has a son. The boy, Colin, is even more spoiled than Mary. He’s weak and is not allowed to go out.
What is the secret about the garden? What other miracles can “magic” bring about?
This book is rewritten from “The Secret Garden” by Frances H. Burnett (1849-1924). It was first published in 1911. It is now one of Burnett’s most popular novels, and is considered to be a classic of English children’s literature. Several stage and film adaptations have been produced.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Qiliang Feng
• Release date: Dec 21, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311370556

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 Secret Garden

(ESL/EFL Version with Audio)

Original by: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Rewritten by: Qiliang Feng

Million-Word Reading Project Workshop

Copyright 2022 Qiliang Feng

License Notes

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

About This Book

This is Book 5, Collection I, 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 | 86.6

Total word count | 22614

Words beyond 1500 | 593

Unknown word percentage (%) | 2.62

Unknown headword occurrence | 3.2

Unknown words that occur 5 times or more | 31

Unknown words that occur 2 times or more | 93

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

Mary Lennox is a nine-year-old British girl. She grows up in India and is spoilt and selfish. Her parents die and she becomes an orphan, so she is sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle. There is a secret garden at the manor, which has been locked up for 10 years. And with the help of magic, Mary finds the key to the garden door that has been buried in the earth.

With the help of kind Dickon, Mary begins secretly working in the garden to bring its many roses back to life. Mary also discovers the secret of the Manor one night: her uncle has a son. The boy, Colin, is even more spoiled than Mary. He’s weak and is not allowed to go out.

What is the secret about the garden? What other miracles can magic bring about?

This book is rewritten from "The Secret Garden" by Frances H. Burnett (1849-1924). It was first published in 1911. It is now one of Burnett’s most popular novels, and is considered to be a classic of English children’s literature. Several stage and film adaptations have been produced.

Chapter 1. There Is No One Left

When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle, she was a little thin child. Her hair was yellow, and her face was yellow because she had been born in India and had always been ill. Her father had worked in the English Government and had always been busy. Her mother had been a great beauty who always went to parties. She had not wanted a little girl at all, and when Mary was born she asked a nurse to take care of her. The nurse let Mary do whatever she wanted, because she did not want her to cry and make her mother angry. Mary soon became a spoiled and selfish little girl.

One hot morning, when she was about nine years old, when she awakened, she felt everything strange. Her nurse did not come to her. This made her very angry. At last, she wandered out into the garden and began to play by herself under a tree.

Suddenly, she heard her mother come out of the house with someone. She was with a fair young man and they stood talking together in low strange voices. Mary knew the fair young man was a very young officer who had just come from England.

Is it so very bad? Oh, is it? Mary heard her mother say.

Yes, the young man answered in a trembling voice.

At that very moment a loud sound of crying broke out from the servants’ house, and Mary stood trembling from head to foot. What is it? What is it? cried Mrs. Lennox.

Someone has died, answered the boy officer. You did not say it had broken out among your servants.

I did not know! Mrs. Lennox cried. Come with me! Come with me! and she turned and ran into the house.

Later, Mary learned that a serious disease had broken out and people were dying like flies. The nurse had died and before the next day three other servants were dead and others had run away in terror.

During the confusion of the second day, Mary hid herself in her room and was forgotten by everyone. Nobody thought of her; nobody wanted her. Mary cried and slept through the hours. She only knew that people were ill and that she heard mysterious and frightening sounds.

Once she went into the dining-room and found it empty. The child ate some fruit and biscuits, and being thirsty she drank a glass of wine on the table. It was sweet, and she did not know how strong it was. Soon after she returned to her room, she felt so sleepy that she could hardly keep her eyes open. She lay down on her bed and knew nothing more for a long time.

When she awakened she lay and stared at the wall. The house was perfectly still. No one came.

Then she heard footsteps outside. They were men’s footsteps. That pretty woman! I suppose the child, too. I heard there was a child, though no one ever saw her, she heard one voice say.

Mary was standing in the middle of the room when they opened the door a few minutes later. The first man who came in was a large officer she had once seen talking to her father. He looked tired and troubled, but when he saw her he was so surprised that he almost jumped back.

Barney! he cried out. There is a child here! Who is she?

I am Mary Lennox, the little girl said. I fell asleep and have only just wakened up. Why does nobody come?

It is the child no one ever saw! cried the man. She has actually been forgotten!

Why was I forgotten? Mary said. Why does nobody come?

The young man whose name was Barney looked at her very sadly.

Poor little girl! he said. "There is nobody left to