典范英语8-10

10. Jem Stone Genie -the Crash

1Test time at the Three Wishes School

It was test time again at the Three Wishes School for genies.

Miss Genius put a pile of test papers in her cupboard. Then she beamed at the class.

‘Tomorrow is your end of year test, ‘she said. ‘Work hard and don’t worry. Then you will all pass.’

Jem Stone groaned. He’d forgotten all about the test. Flying was sure to come up in the test and his magic carpet had a

hole in it. He’d been meaning to fix it for ages. Now he’d have to spend all evening mending the hole. He wouldn’t have

time to practice for the test. But there was worse to come.

‘Today we are going to practice flying our carpets, ‘said Miss Genius. ‘Line up at the window with your carpets, class.’

Pearl stood up and accidentally-on-

purpose trod on Jem’s foot.

‘Ouch! He cried. ‘Look out, clumsy clogs!’

‘Me? Clumsy?’ said Pearl, spitefully. ‘You’re the most clumsy genie in the whole of school, Jem Stone!’

Jem forwned. It was true. He didn’t mean to be clumsy, but he did have a lot of accidents. Only last week, he’d fallen

into the lake when the class were learning about frogs.

‘Don’t listen to Pearl, ‘said Pebble, kindly.

Pebble was Jem’s best friend and she didn’t like Pearl at all.

Miss Genius frowned at Jem and Pebbl

e. ‘No talking!’

Miss Genius went on, ‘Pearl. Thank you for tidying up my room after class, yesterday. You can go first.’

Pearl smirked. ‘Out of my way,’ she said.

‘Teacher’s pet, ‘hissed Jem.

‘Don’t listen to her,’ said Pebble. ‘She’s not worth it.’

Pearl

had the best magic carpet in the school but she wasn’t very good at flying. She almost bumped into the window

when she flew out of the classroom. Her carpet wobbled and then she was gone.

‘I can catch her, easy peasy,’ said Jem. He jumped onto his carpet,

and shouted, ‘Fly!’

‘Mind that hole!’ Pebble told him.

‘I will, ‘said Jem, and he whizzed out of the window.

2 Jem gets into trouble

Jem’s old carpet could not fly as fast as Pearl’s posh new one, and the hole made it flying than Pearl and soon he was

just behind her.

He was getting ready to overtake, when Pearl flew her carpet in front of him.

‘Oi!’ shouted Jem. ‘Look out! I’m trying to get past.’

But Pearl wouldn’t move out of the way. When Jem flew left, she flew left, too. When Jem flew right ,Pearl fl

ew right.

When Jem flew up, Pearl flew up.

Then Jem had a clever idea. He would fly under Pearl’s carpet! It would be dangerous but Jem hoped he could do it.

‘Carpet, fly down,’ he said.

Pearl heard him and grinning spitefully, she flew her carpet down, too.

Jem tried to fly down even faster, so Pearl wouldn’t hit him. But his foot got stuck in the hole. He tired and tried to tug

it free and the carpet wobbled closer and closer to Pearl.

BANG! The two carpets crashed. Then Jem and his carpet began to fall.

Jem could see Miss Genius standing on the playground. He tried to move the carpet out of her way but the hole was

making it very hard to steer.

Miss Genius was a bit deaf and she hadn’t noticed Jem was about to fall on her head.

Jem did some fast thinking. Spells were against the school rules. He would be in big trouble if Miss Stick, the head

teacher, found out. But he had to do something, or he would crash onto Miss Genius.

‘Carpet,’Jem wished, ‘Please land beside her, as softly as a spider.’

There was another bang and a cloud of green smoke. Jem landed with a bump.

Something small ran over his hand and then scuttled away.