In Bahrain, Ten Prisoners Charged with Terrorism Escape Jail

  Officials in Bahrain are searching for ten escaped prisoners charged with terrorism. The prisoners escaped after armed gunmen attacked Jaw prison, located south of the capital city Manama, on Sunday. The Bahrain interior ministry described the attack on Twitter. It said the five attackers were part of a “terrorist group” armed with automatic weapons. One police officer was killed in the attack. Seven of the prisoners were serving life sentences for what the ministry called “terrorist acts.” The other three were serving long sentences. Bahrain is a small island nation off the coast of Saudi Arabia. The country has faced low-level unrest since the 2011 Arab Spring protests. During those protests, crowds took to the streets to demonstrate against their leaders in several Middle Eastern and North African countries. At that time, Bahrain’s Shi’ite Muslim majority and others demanded greater political freedoms from the nation’s Sunni Muslim rulers. Shi’ites have argued the Sunni-led monarchy does not treat them fairly. The government denies these claims. The government began a campaign against protesters in April. Officials arrested several well-known political leaders and forced others into exile. They have also put thousands of people, mostly Shi’ites, into prison for being involved in anti-government activities. The United States Navy’s 5th Fleet has a base on the island. Britain also is opening a naval base there. I’m Pete Musto. Pete Musto adapted this VOA News story for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. We want to hear from you. Has there been any major prison escapes in your country recently? How does your government treat political figures with different opinions? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story gunmen – n. people who uses guns to shoot someone or to try to shoot someone automatic – adj. shooting many bullets very quickly when the trigger is pulled unrest – n. a situation in which many of the people in a country are angry and hold protests or act violently monarchy – n.  a form of government in which a country is ruled by someone who rules for life and usually receives their position from another person when that person dies

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In Fight Against Troubling Viruses, Vaccines Offer Hope

Lesson 40: How Am I Doing?

Summary Anna's New Year’s Resolution is to try something new. She auditions for a play. Will she get the part? Speaking In this video, learn how to say the new words. Then learn about asking for and giving feedback. Pronunciation Use this video to learn about projecting when public speaking. Learn one way to make your voice sound more confident when you speak to a group. Conversation Anna: Happy New Year! Some people, at the start of a new year, make a resolution -- a promise to yourself to be better. I thought about my resolution carefully. I want to be an actor on the stage! Today I will audition for a show called "The Woods Are Alive!" Wish me luck! Director: Next! What is your name? Anna: My name is Anna Matteo. Director: Are you ready to audition? Anna: (warms up voice) Yes. Director: Great. Let's begin on page 1. Here is the story. You are lost in the woods. You are searching desperately for a way out. Suddenly, you hear something. Director: Now, say your line. Anna: 'What was that? Hello. Is someone there?' Director: Anna, you are speaking too softly. Can you speak more loudly and a little more, um, seriously? Anna: Yes, of course I can. 'What was that? Hello. Is someone there?' Is that loud enough? Director: Yes, that is loud enough. Let's turn to page 25. In this scene, you are moving slowly and quietly through the woods. Director: Anna. Anna! You are walking quickly and loudly. Walk slowly and quietly. Anna: I'm walking slowly and quietly. I am walking… Director: Anna. Anna. You don't need to say "slowly" and "quietly." Alright, let's try the last scene. Turn to page 48. I say my line first, then you say your line. Director: 'You will never get out of these woods alive! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!' Anna: 'Yes, I will.' Director: Okay, Anna, you said that line -- you said that line really late. You need to say it earlier. Anna: Sorry. Sorry. Let me try again. Director: 'You will never …' Anna: 'Yes, I will.' Director: '… get out of the woods alive.' Anna: I was too early, wasn't I? Director: Yes. Yes, you were. Anna: Director, how am I doing? Director: You know, Anna. I think that I have the perfect part for you. Director: The costume is in the back. Please go try it on. Anna: Awesome! (Anna returns as a tree.) Director: Oh, Anna, that fits you perfectly! Anna: I'm a tree. I'm a tree in … "The Woods Are Alive!" Yes! Anna: My new year is starting awesomely! Excuse me, Director! I have a great idea for my tree. Oh, wait! Until next time!   Writing In this lesson, Anna tries something new. What new activity do you want to try in 2017? Why do you want to do it? Write to us by email or in the Comments section. Click on the image below to download the Activity Sheet and practice using adverbs as well as acting out and guessing everyday activities. Learning Strategy Learning Strategies are the thoughts and actions that help make learning easier or more effective. The learning strategy for this lesson is self-evaluate. When we speak English or try to do something new, it helps to self-evaluate, or check how well we are doing it. In this lesson, when Anna asks the director of the play, "How am I doing?" she wants to learn how well she is acting. The director tells her that she said her line too late. Later, Anna notices a problem: "I was too early, wasn’t I?' She is self-evaluating. This strategy can help to make her a better actor. Do you ever self-evaluate when you speak English? Write to us about it in the Comments section or send us an email. Teachers, see the Lesson Plan for more details on teaching this strategy. Quiz Listen to short videos and test your listening skills with this quiz. ______________________________________________________________ New Words actor - n. a person who acts in a play or a movie audition - n. a short performance to show the talents of someone (such as an actor or a musician) who is being considered for a role in a play or a position in an orchestra desperately - adv. in a way that is very sad and or upset manner because of having little or no hope director - n. a person who directs a play or a movie enough - adj. equal to what is needed line - n. a row of words, letters, numbers, or symbols written across a page loudly - adv. in a manner that makes or causes a lot of noise page - n. one side of a sheet of paper quickly - adv. at a fast speed; rapidly quietly - adv. in a manner that makes little noise resolution - n. a promise to yourself that you will make a serious effort to do something that you should do scene - n. a division of an act in a play during which the action takes place in a single place without a break in time script - n. the written form of a play, movie, or television show softly - adv. in a quiet voice or manner stage - n. a raised platform in a theater or auditorium where the performers stand suddenly - adv. very quickly in usually an unexpected way ______________________________________________________________ Free Materials   Download the VOA Learning English Word Book for a dictionary of the words we use on this website. Each Let's Learn English lesson has an Activity Sheet for extra practice on your own or in the classroom. In this lesson, you can use it to practice acting out and guessing everyday activities. For Teachers​ See the Lesson Plan for this lesson for ideas and more teaching resources. Send us an email if you have comments on this course or questions. Grammar focus: Adverbs (loudly, quietly, slowly); Comparatives of adverbs (more seriously); Review agent nouns (actor, director) Topics: New Year resolutions; Describing people’s actions Learning Strategy: Self-Evaluate Speaking & Pronunciation Focus: Asking for & giving feedback​; Projecting when public speaking​   ____________________________________________________________ Now it's your turn. Send us an email or write to us in the Comments section below or on our Facebook page to let us know what you think of this lesson.

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China Space Plan to Develop “Strength and Size”

  China wants to develop “strength and size” in its space program, a China National Space Administration official said last week. In the next five years, the country plans to speed up the development of its space program. China wants to become the first country to carry out a controlled landing of a probe on the far side of the moon in 2018. China also has plans to launch its first probe to the planet Mars by 2020. China released an official policy proposal, known as a white paper. The document provides details of China’s plans for space exploration for the next five years. It was released by the State Council Information Office last Tuesday. "To explore the vast cosmos, develop the space industry and build China into a space power is a dream we pursue unremittingly," the white paper said. China says it will use space for peaceful purposes, to guarantee national security and to carry out new scientific research according to the paper. Russia and the United States have more experience in manned space travel with programs that have been operating for more than 50 years. China's military-supported program, however, has made progress in a short time. Morris Jones is an independent writer and an expert on the Chinese space program. He is based in Australia. He told VOA that the Chinese have one of the world’s best space programs. He said it was about the same as the European program. “They’re moving ahead very rapidly. They have a very impressive human spaceflight capability. They've recently completed their longest space mission to date, which was roughly a month. And they’re preparing probes to go to the moon and deeper into space.” China conducted its first manned space mission in 2003. Since then, Chinese astronauts have carried out a spacewalk. China also landed a vehicle on the moon in 2013. That was the first time a spacecraft had made a soft landing on the moon since the 1970s. Most recently, two Chinese astronauts stayed aboard China's Tiangong 2 experimental space station for one month. It was the country's sixth and longest space mission. A fully operating, permanently crewed space station is to begin operations six years from now. It is expected to operate for at least 10 years. In the white paper, Chinese officials do not talk about sending humans to the moon, but Jones says that may happen in the future. “What I also think is interesting to consider is the fact that the white paper gives further hints that even beyond landing robot probes on the moon, China is moving steadily in the direction of eventually sending humans there.” Jones says landing a probe on the far side of the moon is technically difficult. Because of the moon’s orbit, the far side of the moon always faces away from Earth. That, Jones says, makes communications with the landing probe more difficult. He says China will have to use advanced technology including a special satellite to communicate with the lander. China says landing on the far side of the moon may help explain the formation and evolution of our only natural satellite. He Qisong is a space security expert at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law. He said a soft landing on the far side of the moon would show that China has fully developed the technology needed to land on a specific area of the Moon’s surface. "China never talks big and says something it's unable to achieve," he told the Associated Press. The white paper says that China is committed to the peaceful use of space and opposes a space arms race. Jones disagrees. He says China continues to develop its military space program. “It’s not accurate at all because China has one of the world’s most advanced military space programs. They use space flight for most aspects of their military—communication, surveillance, weather forecasting. But one of the rising trends in China is the fact that they have a very aggressive development program for anti-satellite weapons. They’ve been able to hit satellites in low orbits for quite some time.” Jones says China has the ability to attack satellites in geostationary orbit or ones that are in a lower Earth orbit. That means, “they can probably try to knock out America’s GPS satellites in the event of a war,” says Jones. China plans to join Americans and Europeans who plan to go to Mars either with robots or humans. The white paper discusses China's plans to launch its first Mars probe by 2020. One goal is to explore and bring back samples from the red planet. China also wants to explore Jupiter and to carry out “research into major scientific questions such as the origin and evolution of the solar system, and search for extraterrestrial life." I’m Anne Ball   Anne Ball wrote this story for Learning English with material from VOA. Mario Ritter was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit us on our Facebook page. ______________________________________________________________   Words in This Story   probe – n. an instrument used to examine something csmos – n. the universe, especially when it is understood as an ordered system unremittingly – adj. not stopping or growing weaker hint – n. a small piece of information that helps you guess an answer or do something more easily surveillance – n. the act of carefully watching someone or something especially in order to prevent or detect a crime geostationary – adj. a circular orbit above the Earth that follows the direction of the Earth’s rotation, so to ground observers, the satellite appears as a fixed position in the sky GPS – n. stands for “global positioning system” and means a radio system that uses signals from satellites to tell you where you are and to give you directions to other places

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New York City Driver Gets 236 Green Lights in a Row

This is What’s Trending Today. Noah Forman is an Uber driver in New York City. He is an experienced driver in a city known for its severe traffic jams. Forman started driving a taxi in 2005. Then, he switched to the ride-sharing service. He said he got the idea to see how many green lights he could make it through without being stopped by a red light, when he saw a video in 2014. One driver made 55 straight green lights. Forman thought he could get through more intersections than that without stopping. So one day, he made a video of himself driving and posted it on YouTube.  He got more than 100 lights that time. After reaching a red light, he continued on, and made it through 76 more lights without stopping. Inspired by his first try, Forman thought he could do even better. So in early December, he tried again. This time, he made it through 236 lights in a row. The drive covered almost all of Manhattan’s East Side and took about 27 minutes. Many people wanted to know how he did it. A local television station spoke to Forman. He said he drove about 35 kilometers per hour because the lights are timed to reward safe, slower drivers. He also made the drive early on a Monday morning when there was not much traffic. After over 10 years of driving in New York, he knew which streets would provide long stretches of green lights. One day, Forman said, he might try to get through 500 green lights. Most people seemed impressed with his video. But, there were some who said it was not a big deal. On a website that covers life in New York, one reader wrote: “this isn’t impressive, to be honest.”  Other readers said the long stretches of green lights are called “the green wave.” Some said the most important thing about Forman’s trip was “good luck.” Long trips in New York can be influenced by many things, including bad drivers and people walking in the street. And that’s What’s Trending Today. I’m Dan Friedell.   Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. Do you know of other cities with long stretches of green lights? Let us know in the comments section. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   intersection – n. the place where two or more streets meet or cross each other​ inspire – v. to make someone want to do something, to give someone an idea impress – v. to cause admiration or interest  

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Everyday Grammar: Time Clause Before/After

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Memories and Hopes Meet in New Year's Music

Welcome to This Is America with VOA Learning English. Steve Ember brings you music for the New Year.  In the United States and other countries, this old Scottish song, "Auld Lang Syne" is played when a new year begins. The song is about remembering old friends. New Year's is a holiday for memories and for hopes. The past and the future come together at midnight. Not surprisingly, emotions are as much a part of New Year's Eve as noisemakers and fireworks. After all, a traditional way to welcome the New Year is to kiss the person you love. "Old Lang Syne" lends its name to a modern song about a man and a woman who once were lovers. One day, a week before New Year's, they meet again by chance. The singer is Dan Fogelberg and the song is called "Same Old Lang Syne." On December 16, 2007, fans of Dan Fogelberg lost an old friend. The American singer and songwriter died of prostate cancer at the age of 56. He was known for the kind of soft rock popular in the 1970s and 80s. "Same Old Lang Syne" was one of the hits from his 1981 album "The Innocent Age." The idea of meeting an old lover by chance is also at the heart of a Paul Simon song. Here is the title song from Paul Simon's 1975 album "Still Crazy After All These Years." Chance meetings are one of life's little surprises. They can happen anywhere -- in a market, on the street, even in a taxicab. This song by Harry Chapin is called "Taxi." Harry Chapin was a popular folk singer and songwriter. In 1981, at the age of 38, he died in a car crash on his way to a performance. Music and emotions go hand in hand. Songs can make us feel the heartbreak of a lost love, or the excitement of finding a new love. Songs can also capture the pain of a wish that a person knows will never come true. Here is James Blunt with "You're Beautiful." The 1989 movie "When Harry Met Sally" was about a relationship.  Billy Crystal plays Harry and Meg Ryan is Sally. They meet and become friends, though not at first. Later, they fall in love, though not for very long. Then, on New Year's Eve, Harry comes to his senses and finds Sally at a party. HARRY: “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and the thing is, I love you.” SALLY: “What?” HARRY: “I love you.” SALLY: “How do you expect me to respond to this?” HARRY: “How about you love me, too?” SALLY: “How about I’m leaving?” HARRY: “Doesn’t what I said mean anything to you?” SALLY: “I’m sorry, Harry. I know it’s New Year’s Eve, I know you’re feeling lonely, but you just can’t show up here, tell me you love me, and expect that to make everything all right. It doesn’t work this way.” HARRY: “Well, how does it work?” SALLY: “I don’t know, but not this way.” HARRY: “How about this way? I love that you get cold when it’s 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts. I love that after I spend a day with you I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. “And it’s not because I’m lonely, and it’s not because it’s New Year’s Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” SALLY: “You see? That is just like you, Harry! You say things like that, and you make it impossible for me to hate you. And I hate you, Harry. I really hate you.” What are they doing now? Well, you can probably guess. From New Year's Day, we turn to "A New Day." That was the name of Celine Dion's music and dance show at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.  It closed on December 15, 2007, after almost five years. It sold a reported 400 million dollars in tickets. The show's run ended two months before the start of a worldwide tour for a new album by the Canadian singer. But some fans came to the show again and again, so closing night was like an emotional goodbye to an old friend.                                       We leave you with Celine Dion and a song that some of you will probably sing along with. From the 1997 movie "Titanic," here is "My Heart Will Go On." Avi Arditti wrote today’s program, and Steve Ember was your reader. Wishing you a happy New Year from all of us at VOA Learning English.

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English in a Minute: Get off on the Wrong (or Right!) Foot

It is a new year. We hope it begins well for you! If it does not, you may say you are "getting off on the wrong foot."

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Top Photos of the Year 2016 - Human Interest

A gander at the greatest photos that grabbed our interest in 2016.

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Israel-U.S. Relations Stretched Over Issue of Settlements

  The United States and Israel have exchanged criticism over the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. On December 23, the Obama administration allowed the United Nations to pass a resolution that declared Israel’s growing settlements in the occupied territories illegal. Until that vote, the Obama administration had blocked resolutions criticizing Israel by using its veto power in the UN Security Council. Days later, on December 28, Obama’s secretary of state, John Kerry, gave a speech in support of what is known as a two-state solution for the area. Kerry started the speech by saying the U.S. remains committed to Israel’s security. He criticized Palestinian leaders for not doing more to stop terrorist attacks on Israel. But he said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had supported a policy on the settlements “driven by the most extreme elements in his country.” By settlements, Kerry meant Israeli efforts to build new housing in the West Bank. Israeli leaders say religious history and security concerns justify the housing. Palestinian leaders and many world leaders consider Israel’s West Bank developments as a barrier to a peace deal. Such a deal would give the Palestinians their own state in exchange for lasting peace with Israel. In his speech, Kerry said, “Let’s be clear: Settlement expansion has nothing to do with Israel's security. Many settlements actually increase the security burden on the Israeli Defense Forces.” He said the Israeli settler movement ignores the “legitimate” hopes of the Palestinian people for their own state. Republican Donald Trump replaces Democrat Barack Obama as U.S. president on January 20. In a post on the social media site Twitter, he suggested the Obama administration’s Israeli policy will not continue. “We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect. They used to have a great friend in the U.S., but not anymore.” He added:  “January 20th is fast approaching.” Trump recently named lawyer David Friedman as his U.S. ambassador to Israel. Friedman has been a strong supporter of Israel’s settlement movement. Obama and Netanyahu have not had a friendly relationship for much of Obama’s eight-year presidency. Netanyahu took the unusual step of delivering a speech critical of the U.S. president to the U.S. Congress in 2015. The speech criticized the nuclear deal the Obama administration and leaders of other nations were about to sign with Iran. Netanyahu Delivers Speech Responding to Kerry Netanyahu gave his own speech one day after Kerry’s. He was critical of Kerry and the Obama administration. “What he (Kerry) did was to spend most of his speech blaming Israel for the lack of peace by passionately condemning a policy of enabling Jews to live in their historic homeland and in their eternal capital, Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said. He accused Kerry of not doing enough in his speech to discuss the “campaign of terrorism” by Palestinians against Israel over a long period of time. Kerry, in his speech, said the Obama administration has been Israel’s “greatest friend and supporter.” He said he and the president have continually spoken out against terrorism against Israel. But he said the U.S. had no choice but to criticize the growing Israeli settlements that, he said, threaten a two-state peace agreement. He said the number of Israeli settlers on the West Bank increased by 100,000 since Obama became president. “Now, one thing we do know: if Israel goes down the one-state path, it will never have true peace with the rest of the Arab world, and I can say that with certainty,” Kerry said. In defending his criticism of a U.S. ally, Kerry said: “Friends need to tell each other the hard truths.” I’m Bruce Alpert. VOA News reported on this story. Bruce Alpert adapted the story for Learning English and did additional reporting. Mario Ritter was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story   commit - v. to say someone will definitely do something justify - v. to provide a good reason for doing something burden - n. someone or something that is very difficult to accept, do, or deal with legitimate - adj. allowed or understandable passionately - adv. having, showing, or expressing strong emotions or beliefs enable - v. to make someone able to do or to be something eternal - adj. lasting forever

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Mystery at The Ice Castle Inn: The End

  And now the VOA Learning English program, Words and Their Stories. This week we finish the three-part story “Mystery at The Ice Castle Inn.” You will learn not only the ending of the mystery but also more English expressions that deal with cold. At the end of part two, our four travelers had gone on a treasure hunt. They followed clues and searched the castle. But as they gather by the fire to tell what they found, no one is happy. What they found are not treasures at all. The actress, Sylvia, is deeply disturbed by a pink baby’s rattle. A framed termination letter unnerves teacher Madeline. A white wedding veil angers Vincent, the handsome athlete. Major Jack is saddened by a military medal. As each person looks at their so-called treasure, they hear a terrifying sound from the room above. They all break out in a cold sweat. They are so scared they cannot speak -- well, all but one. The housekeeper remains as cool as a cucumber. They wonder why she is able to stay so calm while they are scared to death. The housekeeper tells them to not move. She will investigate. As they listen to her footsteps traveling up the massive staircase, Sylvia asks, “Shouldn’t one of us go with her? What if it is a wild animal?” Vincent says, “I am staying right here by the fire and drink my wine. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long night.”  The teacher suggests they use furniture to block the door in case the creature, whatever it is, is dangerous. Major Jack suggests they each find something to use as a weapon. Time passes. Finally, Sylvia speaks. “Someone needs to check on the housekeeper,” she says. The actress goes the door. But when she tries the knob, it will not turn! She runs to a window and pulls up. But it does not move. She cries out. “We are not only snowed in --- we are locked in!” Everyone stops cold. They stop immediately. “You can’t snow us, Sylvia,” yells Vincent. “And why would you try to fool us, anyway?” He hurries to the door but finds it is, indeed, locked. The others run to the windows but none will open. Major Jack finally loses his cool and yells at the group. “Why are we here?! What is going on?” “Look, everyone just chill out,” Madeline says, using her poor classroom discipline skills to try to calm the group. Then, she explains why she is at The Ice Castle Inn. “I was invited,” she says. “That’s why I'm here. The plane ticket, room, food -- everything was free!” The others look at each other in shock. They all received identical invitations. Each guest comes to the same realization at once: they are victims of a trick.  “Getting us all together here in this castle – it is one big snow job,” says Major Jack. Sylvia agrees, “Yes, but who is trying to snow us? Who invited us?” Just then, the door to the room creaks open. The four guests stare as the housekeeper walks into the room. She has returned from investigating the upstairs. “I invited you,” she says. “You? You?! You’re just a housekeeper,” says Madeline. She eyes them each, coldly. “No, I’m not just the housekeeper. My name is Crystal Castle. The Ice Castle Inn is mine. And now, I’d like you to meet my daughter, my adopted daughter, Hope.” A young woman enters. She is very thin and her straight, blond hair is messy. But her face – it’s like an angel’s. She wears a silky white nightgown and robe. They look costly. But her feet are bare. Her body twitches and her eyes move nervously around the room. She doesn’t speak. Vincent drops his wine glass. He is suddenly stone cold sober, as he says, “Hope? Is that you?” Madeline, is now standing next to Vincent. “It can’t be. Hope? I haven’t seen you in years.”  “You haven’t seen her in exactly 5 years.” says Crystal. Sylvia and Major Jack do not recognize Hope. They are only more confused. “Was she the one who made that terrible noise? Is she … mad? I mean, is she crazy?” asks the major. Crystal, no longer the housekeeper, yells at them, “Hope is as pure as the driven snow! She is good and kind. But yes, she is mad. And you four people in this room drove her to madness! That is why you are here!” It is now the middle of the night. Crystal let’s everything out in the open. She explains how each person in that room contributed to her beloved girl’s insanity. “I’ll start with you, Vincent. You and Hope were engaged. But on the wedding day, you broke your promise to marry her, leaving her stranded at the church!” Vincent says nervously, “I got cold feet! I was nervous and changed my mind at the last minute.” He picks up the white wedding veil from the floor and holds it tightly. “If you must know, it was the worst mistake of my life. I’ve never been the same. I’ve never been happy. I was happy with Hope. But I was too young to marry.” He sinks into the chair. He looks deep into the fire, his mind trapped in the mistake of years past. “You may think you know me but you don’t know anything about me,” he says, his voice filled with regret. “I know a lot about you, Vincent,” Crystal says. She knows, for example, that Vincent’s wealth and status come entirely from his wife’s family. She also knows that he was married before and never got divorced. “Which means,” she continues, “that you are not legally married to your rich wife. What will happen if I tell her and her family?” “I would lose it all,” he says, “my wealth, home, social position. But, I don’t care. Tell them. I don’t care about anything. Life without Hope has been a cold and lonely place. I bet you didn’t know that.” Outside the storm is easing. The wind blows lighter and the snow has stopped. And, Hope has changed ever so slightly. She puts on a pair of slippers and moves toward the fireplace. Standing over Vincent, she lays a hand on his head. And then she speaks. “It is okay, Vincent. We were very young.” They are Hope’s first words in many months. The young man can’t bring himself to look at Hope. He simply holds tighter to her wedding veil. Crystal moves to her daughter, hugs her tightly and puts a coat over her shoulders. Then, she redirects her frigid stare to Madeline. The teacher looks down at the framed letter in her hands. “You don’t need to speak, Crystal. I can explain this myself,” Madeline says. She says she and Hope worked at the same school. At first, they were best friends. Hope was very talented, beautiful and kind. Everyone liked her very much. Over time, Madeline became very jealous. “I tried to freeze her out as much as possible. I gave Hope the cold shoulder. I tried my best to leave her out of things. But that didn’t work. So, I stole money from the school and made it look like Hope did it. She was fired immediately.” Crystal answers with anger. “You destroyed her career and her reputation!” “Crystal, you should check again,” Madeline says. “Several teachers investigated the theft knowing their beloved Hope would not steal. They suspected I was to blame for the situation. But, they couldn’t find any evidence against me so they couldn’t fire me.” “But, my career has been in a deep freeze ever since,” Madeline continues. "My students hate me, the other teachers hate me and I hate my job. And I’ve never had another friend like Hope.” As she says this she throws the framed termination letter across the room.   Hope says in a calm, clear voice, “It will all be okay. Listen … outside … the storm has stopped.” The actress, Sylvia, suddenly feels an unexpected and strong feeling for this strange, quiet young woman. Then she asks Crystal how she is connected to Hope. Crystal says with an icy tone in her voice, “Why, Sylvia, Hope is your daughter.” With that news, Sylvia passes out cold. When she wakes up, the others learn why the actress so often holds her gold locket close to her heart. In the locket are pictures of a baby girl and a baby boy – babies she gave up for adoption. “I was young and alone,” Sylvia explains. “I was poor and snowed under so many unpaid bills that I could barely breathe. I didn’t know what to do with two babies. But I have thought of them every day since. But how did you come to adopt them?” Crystal says she was a young doctoral student assigned to the orphanage. She took care of the brother and sister. When a rich relative died, she inherited a fortune and The Ice Castle Inn. So, she adopted the two babies and raised them as her own. As Crystal talks of raising two wonderful children, the actress holds the locket to her chest. It was Crystal’s plan all along to expose Sylvia’s history. She thought that people would stop seeing her films if they knew she had given up her own children to further her career. But she now realizes that that is not true.   Crystal also realizes she was wrong and feels, quite unexpectedly, ashamed. She doesn’t feel any better when Sylvia looks down at her locket and asks, “Where is my son?” “This is where the major comes into the story,” Crystal says hesitantly. Major Jack says that he does not know this young woman. Crystals agrees with him. “That’s right. You don’t,” she says. “But you did know her brother – her only brother. They were so close growing up. They were more like best friends than brother and sister. His name was Lieutenant Justice Castle.” Major Jack’s blood turns to ice. Yes, he knows the name Justice Castle very well. “Justice was a soldier under my command – one of the finest soldiers I have ever met. We were on a peace keeping mission and weren’t supposed to see any fighting. But I got my information wrong. I sent his squad into a dangerous area.” The major has a difficult time continuing. His voice breaks as he speaks and his eyes fill with tears. “Justice was killed in action because of my mistake. But I lied on official reports. I blamed him for misreading a map. This has haunted me ever since. Before coming on this trip, I told my superiors the truth about what happened that day. When I return, I will probably be court-martialed. And I deserve it.” Crystal turns off a recording device. She had planned to say, “And now I have recorded your statement, Major.” She had planned to say, “Now, I have the proof I need to ruin you too.” But her plans are not necessary now. He is already a ruined man. Vincent is the next to speak. “Do you mean to tell us, that for the past several years you have been collecting information on us, planning this whole trip just to get even with us?” Crystal stares at the empty faces of the group and says, “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” “What does that mean, mother?” asks Hope as she moves to Crystal’s side. “It means,” she explains, “that I have waited a long time to get my revenge. And that just makes my revenge feel even better.” “But revenge won’t bring back Justice, will it.” “No, it won’t, my dear.” Crystal collapses into a chair, tired from the years of planning and hating. She has waited so long to get her revenge for her daughter but now it is cold comfort. The revenge has offered her none of the reward she thought it would. “Oh, look! The sun is coming up!” Hope says happily. “And what’s that on the horizon?” The group are shocked to hear the sounds of a helicopter approaching. “Look mother!” says Hope. “A helicopter is landing on the big lawn! How beautiful the day is going to be.” She looks reborn, renewed.  “Yes, I think it will be,” says Crystal Castle. “Let’s get our bags and leave this cold place. How would you like to spend the rest of the winter on a tropical island?” “That sounds lovely,” Hope says as the color returns to her cheeks. “But what about the others? I hope they will be alright. I hope.” A helicopter is not the only sound they hear. A snow plow is slowly working its way up the long drive to The Ice Castle Inn. It won’t be long before Vincent, Madeline, Sylvia and Major Jack will be able to leave the inn and return to their normal lives. Or will they? Will their lives ever be normal again? Will any of them ever be the same ever again? And so ends “Mystery at The Ice Castle Inn.” I’m Anna Matteo. Anna Matteo wrote “Mystery at The Ice Castle Inn.” Kelly Jean Kelly, Ashley Thompson and Caty Weaver edited the three parts. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story disturb – v. to worry or upset (someone) obvious – adj. easy for the mind to understand or recognize stranded – v. to leave (a person or animal) in a place without a way of leaving it identical – adj. being the same twitch – v. to make a slight, sudden movement that is not controlled or deliberate insanity – n.  severe mental illness : the condition of being insane regret  – n.  to feel sad or sorry about (something that you did or did not do) frigid – adj. very cold : not friendly or loving : lacking emotional warmth inherited – v. to receive (money, property, etc.) from someone when that person dies fortune – n. a very large amount of money — usually singular lullaby – n.  a song used to help a child fall asleep revenge – n. he act of doing something to hurt someone because that person did something that hurt you ashamed – adj.  feeling shame, guilt, or disgrace hesitantly – adv.  slow to act or proceed haunt – v. to keep coming back to the mind of (someone) especially in a way that makes the person sad or upset : haunted – adj. court-martial – v. to present evidence against (someone) in a military court : to put (someone) on trial in a military court tropical – adj. of, relating to, occurring in, or used in the tropics  

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