This would be for xoops 2.2.* From the admin menu go to Preferences > System > General Settings. On the fifth line down on this page you will see Module for your start page. In the pulldown menu for this item select News. Scroll to the bottom of this page and click Go!.

If you want to change the number of news articles displayed, again from the admin menu go to Preferences > News > Module Preferences. The first item on this page is Select the number of news items to display on top page. In the pulldown menu for this item you can choose between 5 and 30. Make your selection then scroll to the bootom of the page and click Go!

If all went well you now have news (with the text) displayed on your home page.

Regards,
JP