English Short Stories For Intermediate Learners: 8 Unconventional Short Stories to Grow Your Vocabulary and Learn English the Fun Way!

Multiple-choice questions
Select one answer for each question
11. Spring Field is a:
a. mountain town
b. Sliwoh town
c. human town
d. sea town
12. Yardum sold the Sliwoh’s to the miners. What else did he sell?
a. Some horses
b. Some blankets
c. A stolen crown
d. Weapons
13. The miners make very good:
a. guns
b. jewels
c. soup
d. cabins
14. Lummp saw the miner put a key:

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a. in a bag on a donkey
b. in a blanket on a horse
c. in another miner’s pocket
d. in Sadida’s hand
15. When the Sliwohs returned home, they:
a. had a dance
b. ate a large meal
c. joined with other Sliwoh towns
d. killed all humans

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Answers to Chapter 3
11. d
12. c
13. a
14. a
15. c

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4. My Friend, The Supercomputer
Chapter 1
“Congratulations, Thom,” the French doctor said to me.
She was young for a doctor. I thought she looked very smart. I also thought
she was very attractive.
“The operation was a success,” she said, smiling at me. “Your brain is now
linked to our supercomputer.”
“Oh,” I said. I felt tired. It had been a long operation. “Can I have a drink?”
“Not yet, Thom. How do you feel?”
“I’m thirsty,” I said. “But, I feel good. It’s funny, but I don’t feel any pain.” I
was lying on a bed at the hospital in Switzerland. There were three people in the
small room…and one giant black computer. The computer was bigger than a
refrigerator.
It was supercomputer--the fastest, smartest computer in all of Europe.
The name of the computer was Titan 2035 (2035 was the year is had been
built) and I was now connected to it.
“Of course, you do not feel pain. The human brain cannot feel pain,” the
French doctor said. Her name was Doctor Sheila Benoit. She was one of the
creators of Titan 2035. “Relax now. We will start the data download soon.”
I looked at the large computer. It contained more knowledge than all the
libraries on Earth. Compared to Titan 2035, my brain seemed very small and
dumb. “How much information will you download?” I asked.
“All of it!” said Doctor Benoit’s assistant, Professor Bidwell. He was much
older than her, and with a white beard and reading glasses. “Why wait? Your
mind can handle it all!”
“No, don’t listen to him. He is joking,” Benoit said. “Of course, we will be
very careful. We will download as much data as possible. But, we cannot do all
of it in one day.”

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“Would it kill me?” I asked. “Or could my mind really handle it all?”
Professor Bidwell looked at the young doctor, then at me. “I don’t think it
would kill you, but that is my opinion, and I am not in charge.”
“No, it would not kill you, Thom,” Benoit agreed. “But, it might make you
crazy. We do not know how much information your mind can take, so we will
go slowly. We will not hurt you, I promise.” She smiled and patted me on the
head. “You are too expensive. We don’t want to damage you.”
*
The process of the data link began. The information slowly leaked from
Titan 2035 to my brain. At first, I did not notice it, but then I became aware of
the new facts and the new information. It was transferred to my long term
memory. The information was new, but it seemed like I had known it for a long
time.
They were feeding me different types of information: mathematics, history,
science, technologies. I was also learning medicine, law enforcement
procedures, fighting tactics, acting techniques…a lot of variety!
Three hours passed. Doctor Benoit and Professor Bidwell were sitting
quietly the whole time. The third person in the room was an investor. He was
very old and he wore an expensive silver suit. When he walked, he used a cane
to help him.
I knew he was the owner of TRANSMUTE Corporation. His Swiss company
owned the hospital. It had paid for the supercomputer…and for the operation.
“Are you almost finished, Sheila?” he asked. “You said three hours.” He
pointed to a clock on the wall. “It has been three hours.”
“Yes sir,” she said. “I will end the download process soon, then we will
disconnect him from the computer.”
“When will the tests be finished?” the investor asked. He had spent millions
of Euros in research and development. He was eager to learn the results of this
experiment.
“We will test Thom tonight and tomorrow. If his brain has accepted the
information we downloaded, he should be able to pass the tests,” Doctor Benoit
said.

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“Then, we will link him up again,” Professor Bidwell said. “We will transfer
more data tomorrow or the next day.”
“Excellent,” the investor said. He stood up to leave. “Good job, Thom,” he
said to me.
“Thank you,” I said. For some reason, I could not remember his name. It was
very strange because I knew the name of his company. “I’m sorry, but I don’t
know your name.”
“That is alright,” he said, walking out of the room. “You don’t need to know
it anymore.”
Doctor Benoit watched him leave. When he was gone, she turned to the
professor.
“Are you ready to begin the disconnect process?” she asked.
“Are you sure you don’t want to give Thom a little more?”
She shook her head. “He has had enough. Let’s turn off the data stream.”
*
I felt myself getting sleepy. Everything went black. I do not know how long
I was asleep.
My dreams were long and unpleasant…dreams of war and suffering, and of
death and destruction. There was no way to tell how long I was asleep.
I finally woke up and opened my eyes. Above me, I could see the sky and
the clouds.
That’s funny. Am I still dreaming? I wondered. Where is the ceiling?
Then, I turned my head and saw the room. It had been destroyed. Quickly, I
sat up and looked around. Doctor Benoit was on the floor dead. Professor
Bidwell was missing. The black supercomputer, Titan 2035, was alright. It was
still turned on and feeding me information!
But, the rest of the hospital was gone. A massive bomb had exploded and
destroyed the hospital as I had slept. Far away, I heard someone yelling for help.
Further away, I heard the sound of police cars coming.
There was a terrorist attack, I thought. Or did this happen because of me?
Did somebody try to kill me?

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Whoever did this made a big mistake, I decided, slowly getting off my bed. I
unhooked myself from Titan 2035. I’m not dead and I will find out who did
this…and make them pay!

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Annex to Chapter 1
Summary
Thom is connected to a supercomputer. His doctor and her assistant are
transferring information from the computer, Titan 2035, to Thom’s brain. There
is also an investor in the room, but he leaves before they are finished. Thom goes
to sleep. When he wakes up, he sees the hospital has been destroyed and his
doctor is dead.