A1

Millie: Kitty, have you read any good books recently?

Kitty: Yes. I love travelling, so I’ve just read a book named Notes from a Small Island. The writer talks about his travels around Britain. How about you, Millie?

Millie: I read a humorous novel called Three Men in a Boat. It’s the story of three men and a dog. What are you reading, Daniel?

Daniel: I’m reading a history book named Flags of Our Fathers. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read about World War Ⅱ. And you, Simon?

Simon: Well, I read a book about science—A Brief History of Time, by the famous British scientist Stephen Hawking. What about you, Sandy?

Sandy: I’ve just finished reading the novel Moment in Peking by the Chinese writer Lin Yutang.

A2

Suzy: Have you heard of the Harry Potter books? They’re a series of novels by J.K. Rowling, a British writer.

Rowling was born on 31 July 1965. As a child, she often wrote stories and read them to her sister. In 1990, while she was on a train trip to London, the idea for the first Harry Potter story came to her. In 1995, Rowling finished the first Harry Potter book, and in 2007 she finished the seventh book of the series. That’s the last one of the Harry Potter series.

The first Harry Potter book wasn’t a success in the beginning. When Rowling wanted to publish the story, all the British publishing houses refused it. That was a difficult time for her. But a year later, a small publishing house in London was willing to accept it.

The Harry Potter series has been a great success so far. The books have been translated into about 70 languages, with sales of over 450 million copies, in over 200 countries and areas all over the world.