The Last Leaf and Other Stories

Author: O. Henry
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-02-01
Features: Easy Read Classics Series. To promote English learning among Chinese middle school students and cultivate their cultural literacy and literary appreciation, Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, after extensive deliberation and market research, decided to introduce a series of abridged literary classics from Macmillan Publishing Company to Chinese middle school students. From this series of abridged literary classics by Macmillan Publishing Company, SFLP carefully selected 40 books, compiling them into the "Easy Read Classics Series," with difficulty levels spanning from Level 3 to Level 8 of the "English Curriculum Standards." This series includes classic works by literary masters from the UK, the US, France, and other countries, featuring the works of renowned authors such as Shakespeare, Dickens, Mark Twain, Hardy, and Alexandre Dumas. To help middle school students better grasp the essence of the original works and the creative journeys of the authors, SFLP has specially annotated the language difficulties in the reading materials and included background introductions about the authors and their works. We sincerely hope that the "Easy Read Classics Series" will help improve the literary appreciation of Chinese middle school students, cultivate their moral character, enhance their English reading skills, and become the key to opening the door to reading English literary classics for middle school students.
In the late 19th century, many American homes and shops were powered by electricity. More and more people owned cars. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, allowing people to communicate instantly over long distances. In 1883, Edison invented the electric light, illuminating the streets and homes of major cities with bright light. Fast trains sped across the railways spanning the United States. O. Henry's stories featured both the rich and the poor. Some were about criminals and detectives. In his stories, criminals became even smarter, expanding their range of activities. They traveled by train and car, making it very easy to escape police pursuit. Thieves broke into stores and homes to steal money. Burglars who picked locks broke into banks, using specially designed tools to pry open sturdy metal safes and steal thousands of dollars. The police collected extensive information on criminals, records that described their hair and eye color, height, weight, and age. More and more detectives worked hard to prevent crimes. Each state had detectives, who were special police officers working for the government. They tracked down criminals and investigated cases. Private detectives worked for clients, who paid them to find people or things.