What would you do if you were a fifth grader facing a huge homework load every night, and you found out that there was a machine that would do all the work for you? That's the situation presented to Sam, Kelsey, Judy and Brenton in Dan Gutman's entertaining new book for young readers, The Home Machine.
The four children, all fifth graders in Miss Rasmussen's Grand Canyon School, are as different as any other 11-year-old child could be, but they have one thing in common — all are somewhat separated from their classmates. Sam is a newcomer and has had his share of school trouble before; Kelsey quietly carries her pain at losing her father; Judy's sense of justice always annoys others; Brenton is the smartest child in the school, so smart that even his parents and teachers have trouble keeping up with him. When Brenton and his three classmates are put into the same study group by their teacher, the others discover that Brenton has made a time-saving gadget(装置) to do homework for him. While the boy is perfectly able to do his homework himself, Sam, Kelsey and Judy can use the help.
Having perfect grades is something new for these three, and as they meet every day to "do homework", they find that they're learning a lot about each other. Such a good thing can't last though, and when a secret man starts trying to get in touch with them, they begin to get nervous. Soon there's an even more frightening problem ― why can't the Homework Machine be turned off?
Told in different voices as all the children make statements to the Grand Canyon Police, the story develops in an interesting fashion. Gutman is a gifted writer who has written dozens of children's books, each with a funny and impressing table that should be equally liked by boys and girls.
小题1: What is one common thing that all the four children have to deal with at school?
A．Getting along with their classmates.
B．Doing their homework by themselves.
C．Overcoming difficulties on their own.
D．Catching up with others to get good grades.小题2: Which of the following words best describe Brenton?
A．Strange and nervous.
B．Quiet and smart.
C．Brave and special.
D．Clever and helpful.小题3: Why did the children get frightened?
A．They lost touch with each other.
B．They were questioned by a strange man.
C．They had no idea how to stop the machine.
D．They were tracked down by the police.小题4: This passage most probably comes from .
A．a student's diary
B．a book review
C．a school report
D．a science story
