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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Zoologists believe the stripes on a zebra could be one of several reasons. It could be basically for camouflage
very much like the military fatigues. The bold wavy lines of a zebra blend in with the tall wavy grassy plains
of Africa where these animals live. The bold stripe may even serve to break up the shape of the Zebra. If a
zebra is standing still in such surroundings, a lion, its chief predator, may overlook it completely.
It doesn't matter that the Zebra's stripes are black and white and the grass are dusty brown or green, because
the lion is color blind!
However this may benefit an individual zebra in some situations but is it likely a large zebra herd would be
able to escape a lion's notice? This is exactly where it helps the zebra most. Zebra herds are very large but
they stay very close to one another.
When all the zebras stick together in a herd, the pattern of stripes blends in with the stripes of the zebras
around it. This is confusing to the lion! All it can see is a large, moving, striped mass instead of many
individual zebras. The lion has trouble picking out individual zebras and it's harder still for the lion to
recognize which way each zebra is moving!
Each zebra pattern is unique like a fingerprint. Also like a fingerprint, the patter varies from zebra to zebra
and no two zebras are exactly alike. What is truly amazing is that zebras can recognize other zebras from their
body stripe! A mother can instantly spot her colt in a herd!
There are three species classified according to the variations in the arrangement of the stripes - the Imperial or
Grevy's zebra, the Plains or Common zebra and the Mountain zebra - and several subspecies. The mountain
zebra is the smallest of these averaging only four feet. It has silver- white stripes with black markings that
extend to every part of the body except the stomach and the inner part of thighs. Plains zebras travel in large
herds and are pale yellow with broad black stripes. This specie has several variations: some have stripes down
to the hooves while the lower legs of the others are solid white without any stripes.
People of Africa think of zebras as black animals with white stripes whereas people outside Africa consider
them as white animals with black stripes! Black stripes or white, the fact remains that zebras are extremely
unique and are among the fastest and most graceful of runners in the African bush land.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
One might find it amazing - how can smudges on a glass identify people? How can one’s hand be different
from others - apart from the size that is? If you were to press your thumb on an inkpad and then on a sheet of
white paper you will leave a smudge or print. No one else in the world can make a similar smudge. The same
would be true for each of your fingers. The Chinese were the first to use fingerprints to affix their signature on
important documents. But, they had no way of identifying or matching it with the owner.
If you look closely at the inside of your palm you can see tiny lines all over. These are absolutely unique and
they remain practically unchanged from birth to death. Each print is one-of-a-kind and no two people have the
same characteristic. Scientists and criminologists (those who study criminal characteristics) determine the
individuality of a fingerprint by a careful study of its ridge characteristics and not by its general shape or
pattern.
The surface of the skin has been designed to provide our bodies with a firm grasp and to prevent objects
grasped from slipping. Skin is composed of layers of cells. The outer portion of skin is called the epidermis
while the inner skin is the dermis. Separating the two layers is a boundary of cells called the papillae.
Each skin ridge has a single row of pores that open out for the sweat glands. Once the finger touches a
surface, sweat from these pores, along with other body oils layer the ridge of the skin and are thus transferred
to that surface. The result is an impression of the finger's ridge pattern. Such prints are referred to as hidden
fingerprints because they are invisible to the naked eye.
The system, called dactyloscopy or the science of fingerprint identification was first implemented in London
by Sir Edward Richard Henry, the head of Scotland Yard. This system is still used by police departments all
over the world today with few changes. It works so well that fingerprints can be filed away by some groups,
instead of by the name or description of the criminal. Even though millions of prints may be on the file in an
office, the right one can be picked out in just a few minutes.
Today, technology has improved so much that from even half a print, scientists can identify and match it with
the prints in their files and today, fingerprints can be ‘lifted’ from most any surface, not just glass!
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Do you know that a newborn child is given vaccination or shot for many diseases? You scream your head off
to avoid the injection. You might also the person who invented such a painful method for treatment, but the
fact remains that whenever we are sick, an injection does the trick.
How did it begin? It so happened that one day in 1768, a young milkmaid visited a doctor in Gloucestershire,
England. Though nearly everyone in the district was then sick with smallpox, the milkmaid was not affected!
The smallpox was a dreaded disease at that time. In the eighteenth century, smallpox was a killer disease, as
widespread as cancer now. The majority of victims of smallpox were young children.
When the doctor asked her the reason, the milkmaid remarked that she had already had cowpox. The cowpox
is a disease with symptoms similar to those of smallpox. But the cowpox was in a very mild form. The
significance of her remark was not lost on a young medical student, Edward Jenner, who was also present
there.
Jenner was intrigued by this simple explanation that those who caught cowpox could not catch smallpox.
After getting his degree, he returned to Gloucestershire to practice medicine. He devoted his spare time in
research and investigation. He found out that the milkmaid had been right - people who had cowpox very
rarely caught smallpox.
In 1796, another milkmaid, Sarah Nelmes, came to Jenner with cowpox. He conducted a daring experiment.
He took some of the virus from the boils on Sarah's hands and passed on the disease to James Phipps - his
gardener's son - by scratching his skin with infected metal (vaccination). When James had recovered from the
cowpox, Jenner tried to give him smallpox. James failed to contract the disease.
Edward Jenner had discovered a cure for smallpox! Jenner named this inoculation process, "vaccination",
from the Latin name for cow (vacca) and cowpox (vaccinia).
Vaccination at first had many opponents, but eventually its value became firmly established. Today smallpox
been nearly wiped out and it’s no longer a killer disease. Many can now get vaccinated or immunized against
many other diseases too. Vaccination is usually performed right from the birth of the child.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Ginger has always been an essential part of most Asian kitchens and grandmothers’ medicine boxes. This
spice has been used to treat the feeling of vomiting and indigestion. Now the Western world has also
discovered the wonderful qualities of ginger. They see it as a powerful medicine against nausea across the
world. Ginger is most commonly known for its effectiveness as a digestive aid. By increasing the production
of digestive fluids and saliva, Ginger helps relieve indigestion, gas pains, diarrhea and stomach cramping.
Grandmothers have known all along that the juice squeezed from ginger mixed with lime juice can stop one
from feeling like vomiting. Since the taste is not very appealing, especially to children, sugar is often used to
mask the strong taste of ginger. Then it is no longer a medicine, but a sweetmeat that everyone likes to eat!
Ginger is a perennial plant, distinguished by the white and yellowish-greenish flowers it produces, as well as
its thick stem. The ginger plant is known to have originated in China, however it has since then been
cultivated in many other countries, including: India, South West Asia, West Africa and the Caribbean. The
plant is famous for its concentrated, spicy aroma, which can be attributed to the fact that it is composed of up
to 3% natural essential oils.
Fresh ginger is essential to Asian and oriental cookery. It is used in pickles, chutneys and curry pastes and the
ground dried root is a constituent of many curry powders. Tender young ginger can be sliced and eaten as a
salad. Sometimes the roots will produce green sprouts which can be finely chopped and added to a green
salad. In the West, dried ginger is mainly used in cakes and cookies especially ginger snaps and gingerbread.
British scientists are conducting six studies on the spice's effect on various types of nausea, including
seasickness and sickness caused in the treatment of cancer. Already, the studies have begun to show results.
Scientists have found that those who took a tablet containing the juice of ginger every day, felt much better
than those who took allopathic medicines that are available in chemist shops. After the results are made final,
companies will manufacture it as a herbal medicine.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Wondered how plants talk to each other? They do not have the same language as humans but they have their
own ways. Recent research by scientists at Kyoto University, Japan, describes how the Lima bean plant
protects itself and its neighbors from the spider mite or the red spider. It sends out clear distress signals. It’s
not like they make weird noises to attract attention, though. It does it very silently.
The Lima bean plant emits chemicals to send the message of a troublesome intruder to all its neighbors. That
is the signal for all the plants to get their defense mechanisms working.
Plants all over the world have qualities, which make then special in their own ways. Some plants produce
chemicals that give the leaves and stem a strong taste or smell of peppers, spices and herbs used for cooking.
These substances either discourage or even kill insects and other animals that might try to eat the plant.
Since plants cannot escape from creatures that feed on them, many have evolved features to protect them
against herbivorous or plant eating animals. The two main defenses that plants use are armor and poison. In
the Galapagos Islands cacti grow a thick stalk more than two meters tall putting the tender leaves well out of
the reach of the giant tortoises.
Japanese azaleas produce toxic chemicals that let them survive even among hungry deer. Some of these
chemical substances may even prevent the growth of nearby plants. For example, radishes produce a chemical
substance, which slows the growth of spinach. Similarly, walnut and apple trees cannot grow together because
chemicals released from walnut tree kill the apple tree.
So it is not just a self-survival instinct that plants have. They also have an instinct for community feeling, as
the Lima bean plant shows. Nature is full of unending surprises!
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Once upon a time, Merlin, the magician, was travelling through the countryside. He stopped to take
rest at the cottage of a farmer and his wife.
The couple gave him a hearty welcome. The farmer's wife served him milk and bread since the
magician seemed to be tired and hungry after a long journey.
Merlin was very much pleased with the treatment that was given to him. He noticed that everything in
the house was perfect yet the farmer and his wife were both downcast and sad. The magician inquired
about the reason of their sadness. The couple told him that they were sad as they had no children.
The farmer’s wife said with tears in her eyes that she would be the happiest person if she had a son. She
remarked, 'Why, even if the boy is just as big as husband's thumb, I would be satisfied.'
The magician decided to grant their wish and the poor couple did indeed have son. He was a fine little
fellow, but he never grew any bigger than a thumb. He was known as Tom Thumb.
Little Tom had lots of fun being small, though, this very small size had its disadvantages also.
One day his father's cow saw Little Tom hopping gaily through the grass. She just snapped him up
along with a mouthful of green grass.
‘Ooh! I must get out of here,' said Tom. He wriggled and tickled until the cow gave a huge sneeze.
Puff! Out popped Tom, right into his mother's outstretched apron.
Tom, though short in height, was big in his pranks and tricks. He used to spend many happy hours on
the kitchen table whilst his mother did her baking. She had warned him about falling into things
dangerous for him, and he did his best to keep out of trouble. Unfortunately, one day, he grew careless.
His mother was preparing a pudding. She began to stir the batter, and gave the bowl a jerk. The jerk
was so strong that Tom could not balance himself and he slipped off and fell into the batter.
Tom's mother, in a hurry, as usual, tied the cover on the basin and fastened Little Tom inside! She
popped the pudding into the pan where it soon began to bounce about in the hot water.
‘What is the matter with the pudding today?’ thought Tom's mother uneasily, hoping that it would
stop. But it did not stop. As the water grew hot, poor Tom kicked and floundered about at a great rat
‘God help me! The pudding is bewitched!’ cried the poor woman. She lifted the pan lid and threw the
pudding as far as it would go.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Henry Hudson was a British explorer who is best known for discovering the Hudson River, Hudson Strait,
and Hudson Bay. In 1607, the Muscovy Company, which was an English trading company, hired Hudson to
find a passage to the Orient by the way of the Arctic Ocean. The Orient was an area of many countries in east
and Southeast Asia. So on May 1, 1607, Hudson and his son, John, and a crew of ten men set off on a ship
called the Hopewell. Ice blocked the way and Hudson had to turn back. His first mission was a failure.
Hudson returned to England only to find another mission from the Muscovy Company. They wanted him to
find a shorter passage to the Orient. Determined, Hudson set sail on 1608. Once again, the waters of the
Arctic were covered with icebergs and Hudson had to turn back. Another failure overcame Hudson.
Hudson moved to Holland and there, another trading company, the Dutch East India Company, paid for
another voyage. Hudson set sail on the ship Half Moon. The trip was a hard one. Ice soon blocked the way.
Instead of returning back, Hudson headed for North America. There he traded with Native Americans and
discovered many places such as New York and the Hudson River. Soon, Henry Hudson returned back to
England.
On April 17, 1610, Hudson set sail again from England in his new ship called the Discovery. He was trying to
find a shorter route to the Orient. On his way, he discovered The Hudson Strait and the Hudson Bay. Hudson
ordered his men to sail south. He hoped to find warmer waters to travel in. His men, though, were tired and
hungry. They were very mad at Hudson and could no longer wait for Hudson’s orders towards home. The
crew started a mutiny. On June 24, the mutineers threw Hudson, his son, and seven others into a rowboat
without food or water. Hudson was never seen again.
The surviving mutineers returned to England, but they were not punished for their crime. As for Henry
Hudson, some say they made it to shore. There are legends that Hudson’s ghost roams around the areas he
explored. Today, we know Henry Hudson as a great navigator and for discovering many rivers and places.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
A volcano is a mountain with an opening called the crater. When a volcano erupts, hot gases, ash, rocks, and
lava can be thrown out of the crater. The soft rock from the mantle of the earth oozes out to the crust and out
of the volcano. This soft rock is called magma and it turns into lava when it comes out of a volcano. After an
earthquake happens, the volcano erupts. There are many volcanos around the Pacific Ocean. This large group
of volcanos is called the Ring of Fire.
There three kinds of volcanos. They are called the shield volcano, composite volcano, and cinder- cone
volcano. The shield volcano is not that tall, but it is very wide. When a shield volcano erupts, it is very quiet,
but a lot of lava flows out of it. The composite volcano looks like a tall mountain because it is tall. Composite
volcanos can either have great explosions or quiet lava flows. Lastly, the cinder- cone volcano has very steep
sides, but it is the smallest kind of volcano. Some cinder- cones will turn into a composite volcano after a big
explosion.
When a volcano explodes, it may produce some interesting features. One type of lava flow is called pahoehoe.
This lava forms smooth rock when it cools. Another type of lava flow is called aa. Aa has a rough, jagged
shape. When lava flows into the ocean, it quickly cools into a shape known as pillow lava. Lava flows can
also create “lava trees”. This happens when lava flows into a forest and surrounds a tree bark. The leaves burn
away and the bark hardens into rock.
One of the most famous volcanic eruptions took place in Italy in the year A.D. 79. Mount Vesuvius erupted
and city next to it called Pompeii was destroyed completely. When this volcano exploded, the city was buried
by ash. For 2,000 years, Pompeii was buried and forgotten, but archeologists have uncovered it. Another
famous eruption happened in Indonesia when the volcano Krakatoa exploded. The noise from this volcano is
thought to be the loudest sound in Earth’s history. It was heard 3,000 miles away! The eruptions caused huge
waves that were 120 feet high. In the end, it killed 36,000 people.
The eruption of volcano can disrupt the weather all over the world for a noticeable period. Can you imagine
what might happen if all volcanoes erupt at the same time? It would certainly change world’s weather and our
lives forever!
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
The pudding along with Little Tom, hit a wandering tramp on the head with a bump. As the tramp rubbed his
head, he peered at what had hit him, and he saw that it was a nice big pudding. He lifted it up very happily
and put it in the glass bowl he was carrying. The tramp thought that it was a magic pudding as it appeared
from nowhere.
Sure, the tramp was happy. But, then suddenly he heard a scream from the bowl. He was stunned and
frightened. He was now certain that the sweet dish was evil. He ran for his life, hurling the pudding bowl. The
bowl bumped against a stone and it smashed to pieces. Tom was able to crawl out and go home to wash off
the sticky pudding.
On another occasion, a big bird mistook Tom for an insect which could be eaten. It swooped down and
grabbed Tom up with its claws. They flew over hill and dale before the bird realized its mistake and dropped
Tom in disgust.
Tom came hurtling down towards a huge castle, perched on a rocky crag, overlooking the sea. The sea breeze
puffed Tom through a window, into a room where an enormous giant was eating his porridge for breakfast.
When Little Tom fell into his porridge, the giant just spooned Tom up into his great mouth. Tom kicked so
hard that the giant plucked him out again and tossed him away as he would toss a fly.
Even after going through so much Tom's troubles were by no means over. He floated quietly with the breeze
on to the shining sea, where he rested as light as a feather or thistledown. Tom enjoyed this until a big fish
popped out its head and eyed him curiously.
‘I wonder if you are good to eat?' the fish asked Tom.
‘No, I am not!’ cried Tom. 'Nobody likes eating me!' But the fish did not listen and swallowed him. And there
Tom would have been, to this day, if the King's fisherman had not caught that very fish soon afterwards. The
fish was cooked, very lightly, fortunately for Tom, and served on a silver plate before the King.
This looks good,' smiled the King, serving a slice to himself.
It was the very slice of fish in which Tom, tired out with his adventures, was dozing. He stretched his arms
and yawned right in the King's face. The King was surprised at first, but was soon delighted with the little
fellow, and invited him to live in the castle forever.
Tom told the King about his parents and the kind monarch gave him a sack of gold to take home, and tell
them of his good fortune.
‘Come back, Tom,’ said the King, and Tom promised to do so soon.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Tom enjoyed being with his parents again, but after sometime he remembered his promise to the King.
So bidding his father and mother a loving good-bye, Tom started back for the castle. He wondered what
new and strange adventures lay ahead of him. That there would be lot more of such adventures, he was
positive. ‘I am one of those people who are simply bound to have adventures,’ he thought to himself as
he journeyed along. Indeed, the King was pleased when Tom returned to the castle!
Tom told the King how grateful his parents were for the sack of gold and how glad he was to be back at
the castle once more.
‘We must have some fashionable clothes made for you, Tom,' said the King,’ clothes that really befit a
loyal and well-loved courtier of mine.’ He sent for the Royal shirt makers, shoemakers, and a famous
Fairy tailor, and oh! How proud Tom was when his wonderful clothes were stitched.
Tom commenced on some amazing adventures almost at once. One day, he was wandering through the
countryside, and stepped right in front of a huge toad, who, mistaking Tom for some kind of a large
insect, flicked out its tongue, and if it had not been for a passing' butterfly, Tom would have gone down
the toad's throat. The butterfly carried Tom safely back to the castle. Tom told the butterfly to go to the
Royal rose gardens, for the nectar of the roses was the sweetest in the whole land. Then Tom asked the
butterfly if it would kindly take him to visit the Queen of the Fairies. The butterfly gladly agreed. The
Queen was enchanted when she saw Tom. 'Why, you must be a fairy too,' she gasped. But Tom assured
her that he was indeed a mortal.
Then she gave him a pair of tiny fairy gloves woven with thistledown, and told him whenever he
wanted to visit her he had only to put the gloves on and say, 'Little magic gloves of green, take me to
the Fairy Queen,' and they would do so.
One night, Tom thought he would play a prank on the Royal chamber maids. As they went from one
bedroom to another, lighting the candles in the sticks on the Royal dressing tables, Tom would dart
from behind a mirror or vase or trinket box and snuff the candles out again. Oh dear! The maids did get
angry and started blaming each other! Tom, of course, had great fun.
Every month, Tom would mount a carrier pigeon named 'Swift Wing' and fly off to visit his parents and
tell them stories of his wonderful life at the castle.
One Christmas, the King sent the Royal coach to fetch Tom's parents to the castle for the Christmas
dinner. What a fine time they had, especially when he King and Tom's father pulled a large cracker. Out
popped Tom himself holding a motto which read, ‘The very smallest person can be a big success!’
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
A wise old gentleman retired and purchased a modest home near a junior high school. He spent the first week
of his retirement in peace and contentment and then a new school year began. The very next afternoon three
young boys, full of youthful, after school enthusiasm, came down his street, beating merrily on every trash
can they encountered. The crashing percussion continued day after day, until finally the wise old man decided
it was time to take some action.
The next afternoon, he walked out to meet the young percussionists as they banged their way down the street.
Stopping them he said, ‘You kids are a lot of fun. I like to see it. I used to do the same thing when I was your
age. Will you do me a favor? I’ll give you each a dollar if you’ll promise to come around every day and do
your thing.’
The kids were elated and continued to do a bang up job on the trash cans.
After a few days, the old timer greeted the kids again, but this time he had a sad smile on his face. ‘This
recession is really putting a big dent in my income,’ he told them. ‘From now on, I’ll only be able to pay you
50 cents to beat on the cans.’ The noisemakers were obviously displeased. But they did accept the offer and
continued their afternoon ruckus.
A few days later, the wily retiree approached them again as they drummed their way down the street. ‘Look’
he said, ‘I haven’t received my Social Security check yet, so I’m not going to be able to give you more than
25 cents. Will that be okay?’
‘A lousy quarter?’ the drum leader exclaimed. ‘If you think we are going to waste our time beating these cans
around for a quarter, you are mistaken! No way, mister. We quit!’ and the old man enjoyed peace and serenity
for the rest of his days.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
The Taj Mahal is a magnificent tomb and one of Seven Wonders of the World. It is in the city of Agra and
125 miles from New Delhi, the capital of India. The Taj Mahal was created by a powerful Mogul emperor
named Shah Jahan. It was built as a burial place for his dead wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan was very
depressed at the death of his wife and he ordered for a beautiful tomb to be made in memory for her.
Shah Jahan searched for the best designers for his wife’s tomb. It was to be built in Agra, the capital of the
Mogul empire. Designers from India, Persia, and other countries came to design the great tomb. 20,000
workers worked hard to build the Taj Mahal. The work took 20 years. One thousand elephants were used to
carry heavy marble from other countries. Rare shells were brought from the Indian Ocean. Jewels used on the
walls came from places as far as China.
The Taj Mahal has a large garden surrounded by tall red walls and rows of trees. Four waterways run through
the garden and in the middle of all the plants is a large pool. Four towers stand at each corner of the building,
each 200 feet high. The Taj Mahal is more than just a tomb, it is a place where people can remember and
honor Shah Jahan. The emperor allowed members of his court to spend time at the garden. There, they all felt
like they were in paradise since the building was so peaceful.
Shah Jahan got older and older. He grew ill and useless. His sons wanted to be the new emperor, but only one
could take the throne. Shah Jahan’s sons battled one another. The youngest son, Aurangzeb, fought the
hardest and won. Aurangzeb moved his father to the Red Fort. Shah Jahan was not allowed out. Every day, he
wished he could visit the Taj Mahal. He, however, didn’t get the chance. Eight years later, Shah Jahan died
and he was buried next to his wife.
Today, you can visit the Taj Mahal and admire its beauty and calmness. You can go back to the times where
the powerful Shah Jahan lived and how sad he was when his wife died. You can feel Shah Jahan’s
determination to create a lovely tomb for his beloved wife. You can also feel the Taj Mahal giving out a
beautiful presence to every spectator who passes by the greatest wonder the world.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Our world is made out of rocks and minerals. They are fascinating, often beautiful, and fun to study. Rocks
and minerals can’t run away or die out like animals or plants so you can study them as much as you want
without them disappearing. Geologists are people who study these rocks and minerals. They help discover
and study rocks. Thousands of years ago, people who lived in the Stone Age did not have metal or plastic. To
solve this problem, they used rocks to make their tools and weapons.
Look at the land. Now imagine it without any buildings and the layers of plants. Rocks and minerals would be
left underneath all these things! Rocks are made up of minerals and each rock has its own variety of minerals.
For example, a rock called granite is made up of three minerals- mica, feldspar, and quartz. Each mineral is
made from chemicals. Mica contains aluminum, potassium, and silicon. Guess what? Minerals aren’t just
found in rocks. Some minerals, called organic minerals, come from plants and animals!
The earth was formed nearly 4,600 million years ago, but rocks aren’t that old. Through the years, old rocks
have melted and cooled again. Some rocks have been changed by pressure and heat while others are worn
away to tiny pieces. When rocks heat up so much, they melt. When they cool down, rocks harden into igneous
rocks. Igneous means “made by fire”. When they are squeezed hard or heated, rocks change their shape and
color. These are called metamorphic rocks. Sometimes, rocks wear down to tiny pieces that settle in deep
layers. Gradually, layers cement and harden into one rock. These rocks are sedimentary rocks.
Rocks and minerals are a group that is unique to many other fields of science. Many minerals are shiny and
attractive. The weird shapes that rocks have add up to the fun of studying these rocks and minerals. Just take
a magnifying glass, go outside, find a rock, and start experimenting!
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
United States has a total of 50 states. Hawaii is the 50th and the most recent state that has become part of
United States. There are many regions in the United States. The Middle Atlantic region (also known as midAtlantic region) has the fewest number of states. The Middle Atlantic States are New York, New Jersey and
Pennsylvania. The exact definition varies, though, based on the source. Some sources also include seven other
states in this region. The mid-Atlantic region has a combined total land area of 102,745 square miles. They
are bordered on the east by New England and the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Southern States, in the
west by the Midwestern States, and on the north by the Great Lakes and Canada.
The physical features of the region ranges from a broad coastal plain that fronts on the Atlantic to fertile
valleys, huge plains and the rugged beauty of the Adirondack Mountains in New York State. It also possesses
great natural resources in the form of large mineral deposits and boundless wooded areas. This area can boast
of having highly productive farm land, and an excellent water supply. In the region the coastal areas are
thoroughly urbanized and most developed. The large number of immigrants in the 19th century contributed
towards the development of the coaster area of the region. Shipping and trade have been important to the MidAtlantic economy since the beginning of the colonial era.
Dutch founded New Amsterdam in 1964. It was later renamed to New York by the English. They established
commerce and industry. Farming was also an important part that has been essential to the development of the
area. Today New York City is one of the world’s most important port cities. It is also a center of trade and
finance as well as a leader in publishing and cultural arts.
During the Revolutionary War, this region was the keystone to the military success of the Americans. Many
of the Continental Army’s most important battles were fought in the tri-state area. The city of Philadelphia
was the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
The Inuit tribe was a Native American tribe that lived around the Artic area. These days, they live around
Northern Canada. The lands where the Inuit live is cold and harsh. They had long cold winters and short,
cool summers. There is a lot of snow. On the average there are between 15 and 90 inches of snow each
year. The snow doesn't melt until spring and winter storms can force people to remain inside for days at a
time.
The Inuit lived in igloos. When we think of igloos, we think about snow- blocked houses, but the Inuit didn’t
live in these snow- blocked houses. They lived in cabins made from driftwood which was then covered in
soil. In the igloo, Inuit slept on a low snow platform covered with twigs and caribou furs. Each igloo had a
skylight made of freshwater ice. When summer arrived the igloo melted, and the family had to move into
tents made of animal skins.
The Inuit people hunt for their food. They eat primarily fish, sea mammals and a few land mammals. They
hunt seals, especially, the ring seal. The Inuit people hunt seals during winter through the frozen ocean ice. In
the spring and summer, when the ice melts, seals are hunted from boats called kayaks. The kayak holds only
one hunter. It is covered all over with sealskin or caribou skin. The kayak moves silently through the
water. The hunter can get very close to seals without being heard. Caribou are also hunted for food, as well as
for their skins for clothing and antlers for tools.
For transportation, Inuit people used kayaks, umiaks, snowshoes and dogsleds. The kayak is a boat that can
carry only one person. The umiak is a larger and more open boat and is covered with animal skins. It was
made to carry large loads. The best known transportation was the dogsled. The dogsled has a light but sturdy
frame on runners with reins. The reins are hitched up to six snow dogs.
Only fur clothing was warm enough to live in cold places. The Inuit preferred the fur of the caribou, though
they sometimes used fur of other animals such as seals and polar bear. Clothing consisted of coat, trousers,
stockings, shoes or boots. In very cold weather two of each garment was worn. One Inuit garment, the
hooded coat called the parka, has been adopted by skiers and others who spend time in the cold.
The Inuit is a very interesting tribe that you can learn more about. There were also other tribes during the time
when the Inuit lived. There may be many similarities among them. The network of tribes was just like a very
ancient country.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Mount Rushmore is the largest work of art in the world. The giant sculpture of four American presidents was
drilled, blasted, and carved into the solid granite face of a mountain ridge in the Black Hill of South Dakota.
The presidents that are shown are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham
Lincoln. With each head being 60 feet high, this sculpture is a symbol of America that cannot be forgotten.
In the 1920s, a South Dakota state historian and senator thought a large outdoor sculpture would bring in
more tourists to their state. This would be difficult task because of many reasons. First, the Lakota Sioux (a
tribal group) were upset because they thought that the Black Hill (the place where the structure is built) was
sacred to them. Secondly, not everyone agreed on what figures to carve or who would pay for the sculpture.
Third, people thought this monument idea was unnatural and silly. Even with all these problems, Gutzon
Borglum, the artist who designed Mount Rushmore, was able to start the construction of the sculpture.
Work on Mount Rushmore began in 1927 and ended 14 years later. Congress paid most of the cost. Borglum
made large models of the heads. Then he used a Greek measuring method called “pointing”. The models were
measured with a small pointing tool. The mountain was measured with an enormous pointing tool. An inch on
the model became a foot on the mountain.
The workers had to climb 506 stairs just to get to work every morning. Work meant hanging in a harness of
the side of a mountain while drilling with a jackhammer that weighed 75 pounds. Half a million tons of rock
were blasted away. Honeycombing brought out details of the presidents’ faces. Carvers would drill shallow
holes close together so they looked like a bee’s honeycomb. Then they chipped off the rock in between the
holes and bumped out any rough places with a special hammer. In the end, George Washington got a 20- foot
nose, Thomas Jefferson got an 18- foot mouth, Theodore Roosevelt a 20- foot moustache, and Abraham
Lincoln got 11- foot eyes.
Today, Mount Rushmore is a beautiful place that everyone goes to. The goal of the people in South Dakota to
get more tourists has been reached and now, it is a wonderful area to live in and just relax. Before you go
there, be sure to say thank you to the workers to have worked so hard to make the sculpture that you are
admiring. If it wasn’t for them, Gutzon Borglum, and all the supporters of Mount Rushmore, there would be
nothing to be in awe at!
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Have you ever eaten a Hershey chocolate bar before? That piece of yummy chocolate was made by the
Hershey Company. Hershey is one of the oldest and largest chocolate companies in the United States and an
American icon for its chocolate bar. It was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894 and its headquarters are in
Hershey, Pennsylvania. Not only does this successful company fill people’s belly, it also gives the U.S
something to be proud of.
Milton S. Hershey founded a candy shop in Philadelphia, which failed six years later. After trying
unsuccessfully to manufacture candy in New York, Hershey returned to Pennsylvania, where he founded the
Lancaster Caramel Company. In 1900, Hershey sold his caramel company and began to concentrate on
chocolate manufacturing. He then began building a chocolate plant in Pennsylvania. When the chocolate bars
were proved successful, the company grew rapidly.
In 1907, Hershey introduced a new candy, small flat-bottomed conical-shaped pieces of chocolate that he
named "Hershey's Kiss". Initially they were individually wrapped by hand in squares of foil, but the
introduction of machine wrapping simplified the process. The machine adds the small paper ribbon to the top
of the package to indicate that it was a genuine Hershey product. Other products introduced were Mr.
Goodbar, Hershey's Syrup and the Krackel bar.
Hershey Chocolate supplied the US armed forces with chocolate bars during World War II. These bars were
called Ration D Bars and Tropical Chocolate Bars. First, only the Ration D Bars were provided to the
soldiers, but when the Army was impressed enough with the durability and success of the Ration D Bar, they
told Milton to make the Tropical Chocolate Bar. The only difference between them was that the Tropical
Chocolate Bar was made to taste better than the Ration D Bar did and still be as durable as the Ration D Bar
was. For their service throughout World War II, the Hershey Chocolate Company was issued five Army-Navy
'E' Production Awards.
Milton S. Hershey died at the age of 88 in 1945. To honor Hershey, the United States Postal Service put him
on a 32¢ Great Americans series postage stamp. Today, Milton is looked up at like he was a hero and in fact,
he was. With his support to the making of chocolate, we can always enjoy a snack of a Hershey bar!
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
George Washington was elected our first president in 1789, winning every vote! Washington was our nation’s
first big hero and so people thought he deserved a big monument. The spot where the monument was to be
made on was south of the White House. This land turned out to be too unstable for something so heavy. So
the location of the Washington Monument was moved 390 feet. Construction of the Washington Monument
began in Washington D.C. on July 4, 1848. An architect named Robert Mills designed the monument. His
original plan included a 110- foot- high Greek temple with an enormous sculpture of George Washington. In
front of the temple, there would be a 600- foot- tall obelisk. An obelisk is a four- sided stone pillar that ends
in a point.
The private project soon ran into trouble because of money and politics. Then the Civil War came and raged
for four years. By 1876, the Washington Monument was just a half built tower surrounded by scaffolds and
swamps. Then the government took over. Congress voted for money to start building again. The plan became
simpler: no temple, just the obelisk. But it would be the world’s tallest obelisk. There would also be a
reflecting pool, an elegant 2,000- foot- long rectangle of water that would run between the monument and the
Lincoln Memorial. The Washington Monument was finished on December 6, 1884. It is still one of the tallest
structures in the world.
The Washington Monument is 555 feet and 5 1/8 inches tall. It took 36,491 bricks covered in marble to build
it that high! The monument’s walls support themselves since there is no framework inside. That is why the
building is wider and thicker at the bottom, but narrower and thinner at the top. Today, visitors cannot walk
up the Washington Monument. An elevator whisks people up to an observation platform in the pyramid top in
70 seconds, but they can climb down the 896 stairs. There are 193 stones embedded in the staircase walls.
They came from all 50 states, some foreign countries, and some special groups. Some of the stone are made
from unusual materials such as Alaska’s jade and Arizona’s petrified wood. They were created in honor of
George Washington. Actually, the whole structure was created for George Washington. He was America’s
greatest hero who will surely never be forgotten. Three cheers for our oldest celebrity!
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
A mammal can be a carnivore (meat eater), herbivore (plant eater) or omnivore (meat and plant eater). By
looking at the teeth, eye position and feet you can usually identify which of the three it is.
First, let's look at teeth. If the mammal has long, sharp canine teeth next to the front (incisor) teeth and also
has sharp cheek teeth (carnassial) it is a carnivore. The canines are for seizing and stabbing prey. The
carnassials help cut up meat in the mouth.
If the mammal has either blunt canines or no canines, and has big flat side and back teeth (premolars and
molars), it is a herbivore. Herbivores use their molars for crushing and grinding plants.
But what about herbivores that do have large front teeth? Beavers, for example, have huge front incisors. And
river hippos have two huge lower canines. Well, beavers use their incisors for chewing through bark, branches
and even trees. And hippos use their canine tusks for defense and fighting, not for chewing. But both beavers
and hippos have large flat molars that they use for grinding up plant matter. If the mammal has a variety of all
kinds of teeth (canines, incisors, premolars and molars) it is an omnivore. It has a variety of teeth because it
eats a variety of foods, both meat and plants.
Now let's talk about eye position. Carnivorous and omnivorous mammals have eyes in front to help those spot
and judge the distance of prey. Think of the rhyme “eyes in front, help them hunt”. Herbivores’ eyes are
located more on the side of their head. This gives them a wider view, helping them to spot predators sooner so
they can flee. Think of the rhyme “eyes on side, help them hide”.
And, finally, there are the differences in feet. Carnivores almost always have claws to hold prey, climb trees,
dig for food and fight. They also have soft pads on their feet so they can sneak up on prey. Omnivorous
mammals may have claws (like bears), or hands (like primates) for grabbing food. Herbivores, meanwhile,
often have hooves to help them run away. Or, like the beaver and capybara, some or all of their feet may be
webbed to help them swim away.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Glaciers are huge, slow moving rivers of ice and snow. They flow down from mountain peaks and spread out
across flat lands. Some make it to the ocean just like rivers. Others begin to melt in the heat of lower
elevations, becoming streams or melt water. Glaciers are found on every single continent except for Australia.
Some glaciers are so big that they spread over mountains and plains. Huge glaciers, called ice caps, are so
thick, they almost bury mountains! Ice sheets blanket vast areas of continents. Ice sheets cover much of
Greenland and Antarctica. In fact, Antarctica- which is twice the size of Australia - is covered by the world’s
largest ice sheet. Much of Earth is covered by salty sea water. Barely 3 percent of the Earth’s water is
freshwater. Glaciers are natural reservoirs of freshwater. More than 75% of our supply of freshwater is frozen
in glacier ice.
Snow sometimes falls into hollow and deep valleys. In some places of the world, the snow never melts
entirely. Then, new snow falls on top of the old snow. Year after year, snow piles deeper and deeper. Its
weight presses down and squeezes the air out of the bottom layers. These lower layers of snow become
packed down and turn into ice. The ice becomes thicker and heavier. Then, slowly, like an ice cube on a
slanted surface, the ice and snow begin to flow downhill. A glacier is formed.
Glaciers help shape the Earth. Some scientists have described them as “nature’s bulldozers”. This is because
glaciers do not just slip downhill. On the way, they push, pull, and pluck at rocks beneath them. When a
glacier begins to form, it carves out a round basin called a cirque. The cirque begins to form when melt water
seeps into cracks in the mountainside. The water expands when it freezes, pressing the sides of the cracks.
Chunks of the mountainside break away from the mountain to form the cirque.
A glacier that reaches the sea does not stop. It continues to flow. There, it floats as an ice slab, or ice shelf, but
remains attached to the glacier. Icebergs form when large chunks of ice break away from the ice shelf, a
process called calving. Carried by ocean currents, the chunks become islands of ice floating on the sea.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
She has stood tall over New York City’s harbor for more than 100 years. When she was young, she was a
copper brown, but now she’s pale green. Steamships chugged past her, bringing new immigrants to America.
The boats still come, but now, it is ferry boats bringing millions of visitors to her feet. The Statue of Liberty is
an immigrant herself! She was made in France. It was a present from French people to America to celebrate
democracy. Frederic- Auguste Bartholdi, a French sculptor, designed this statue. Some people say the statue
is modeled after his mother’s face and his wife’s body. The Statue of Liberty proudly holds a torch with a
golden flame in her right hand. In her left hand, she holds a tablet with July 4, 1776, the date of the
Declaration of Independence, carved on it in Roman numerals. She wears a crown with seven spikes in honor
of the seven seas and continents. There is a broken chain under her feet resembling America’s independence.
Bartholdi’s statue is enormous and hollow. The sculptor used a method to create copper skin that gives the
statue its shape. More than 300 sheets of copper were hammered over the statue model. These metal sheets
were only 3/32 inch thick! To hold the 62,000 pounds of copper, Bartholdi contacted Alexandre- Gustave
Eiffel, a brilliant French engineer who would later build the Eiffel Tower, to design an iron skeleton. By
1884, the statue was finished. At a ceremony, Bartholdi and the French government officially gave the statue
to America. Now it had to get there.
The Statue of Liberty was carefully taken apart. Every copper piece and iron bar was labeled and then packed
in 214 crates to be shipped off to New York City. The ship reached in June 1885, but the crates stayed packed
because there was nowhere to put the statue! The French had expected the Americans to build a pedestal, or
base, for the Statue of Liberty, but not enough people had given money to build the base. Joseph Pulitzer, an
immigrant who successfully ran a newspaper, was outraged. He wrote about the problem on his newspaper,
The World. He also printed the name of anyone who gave money- even a penny- for the pedestal.
Children and adults both gave money. In five months, 121,000 people sent in $102,006.39. The pedestal
builders went to work and on April 1886, they were finished. It took a couple more months to rebuild the
statue of the pedestal. Finally, on October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty was shown. Bartholdi pulled of the
French flag. Cannons roared and crowds cheered. Lady Liberty was home at last.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
The beaver had made a dam about two hundred yards long. It had formed out of the quickly flowing stream,
a wide stretch of water about twelve feet deep. The dam was so firm and broad that it was easy for me to
walk along it. After a hundred and fifty yards, I came to a “beaver’s castle”. It’s a great heap of logs,
skillfully fitted together. The lower part is covered with earth and plants. The upper logs were put loosely
together, so that the air could pass through to the interior.
In the late autumn, before land and water are covered with snow and ice, the beaver has to make its dwelling
frost-proof. It collects young trees and gnaws the stems in a double cone until the tree falls. Then the long
stems are gnawed into small sections, the thin twigs bitten off, and the logs are dragged to the dwelling.
There the timber is piled on the ‘castle’, sometimes to a height of ten or a dozen feet. Mud is brought up
from the bottom of the lake and packed between the logs with the animals clever forepaws. The interior is
lined with the finest wood shavings. In this tall shelter the beaver remains high and dry, and protected from
frost throughout the winter.
The only access to the dwelling is under water, and even the forest wolves are unable to pull the firm
building apart.
The water is the beaver’s element. On land it moves slowly and awkwardly. Thus it is vital for the beaver to
have water in which it can swim, and where Nature has not provided this condition for it, it creates it with its
dam.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Happy is the man who acquires the habit of reading when he is young. He has secured a life-long source of
pleasure, instruction and inspiration. So long as he has his beloved books, he need never feel lonely. He
always has a pleasant occupation of leisure moments, so that he need never feel bored. He is the possessor of
wealth more precious than gold. Ruskin calls books, “Kings` Treasuries” - treasures filled not with gold and
silver and precious stones, but with riches much more valuable than these - knowledge, noble thoughts, and
high ideals. Poor indeed is the man does not read and his life can be said to be empty.
The blessings which the reading habit confers on its possessors are many. Provided we choose the right kind
of books, reading gives the highest kind of pleasure. Some books we read simply for pleasure and amusement,
for example, good novels. And novels and books of imagination must have their place in everybody`s
reading. When we are tired or the brain is weary with serious study, it is a healthy recreation to lose ourselves
in some absorbing story written by a master hand.
But reading nothing but books of fiction is like eating only cakes and sweetmeats. As we need plain,
wholesome food for the body, so we must have some serious reading for the mind. And here we can choose
according to our taste. There are many books on history, biography, philosophy, religion, travel and science
which we ought to read and which will give us not only pleasure but also education. That is how we develop a
taste for serious reading, so that in the end it will give us more solid pleasure than even novels and books of
fiction.
Nor should poetry be neglected, for the best poetry gives us noble thoughts, and beautiful imagination clothed
in lovely and musical language. Books are the most faithful of friends. They are always there for us. No
wonder a reader becomes a “book-lover”.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
The difference in the shapes of eyes in the animal kingdom is astounding. Eyes have evolved in different
ways to suit each animal’s needs. An eagle flies almost a kilometre above the ground, so it should be able to
see small prey down on the ground. Predators like the cheetah should be able to see the prey hidden behind
the bushes. Cats should be able to see in the dark, fish should be able to see underwater, amphibians should be
able to see both in water and on land. All these creatures have eyes that suit their lifestyles.
Predators that need to spot their preys quickly have eyes in front of their faces. They also have powerful eye
muscles that help the eye to focus quickly. Animals that move fast generally have large eyes. When it comes
to eyes, there is no one-size-fits-all!
Some animals are able to see in colour, like humans. Some are able to see more colours than humans, like the
mantis shrimp; while some can only see two colours like the horse.
The iris in human eyes is circular, but its shape varies in different animals. Goats have rectangular irises.
Snakes like pythons and vipers have vertical and slit irises, as do cats and foxes.
The vision of the animal depends not only on how powerful its eye is, but also on the location of the eye.
Some insects have eyes on stalks on their heads. The stalk-eyed flies, for example, sometimes have stalks that
are even longer than their body. These tiny insects are about a centimetre long and live in moist under growth,
wriggling among leaves and dirt, feeding on microbes from decaying vegetation. In this dark and cluttered
environment, it is good to have eyes on stalks, as they are able to see a larger area.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Even from an early age Marya Skladowski had an interest in science. Marie Curie, as she was later known,
became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person to win two of them - in physics and
chemistry! She was the first female professor at the University of Paris.
Marya was teased by her brothers and sisters for studying all the time and for her ability to shut out all the
sounds around her when she was reading. One day, as the Sklodowski children along with other boarders,
studied together at the dining room table, they came up with an idea. They put a chair on each side of
Marya’s. Then they put another chair behind her. Next, they stacked two more chairs on top of the first three.
Finally, they laid a chair on top of all of them. Marya was surrounded by a pyramid of six chairs.
For half an hour, Marya kept on reading unaware of the giggling children. As Marya closed her book and
prepared to get up, she pushed back her chair and the pyramid came crashing down. Marya was startled even
as the mischief-makers howled with laughter. She gathered her books and walked out angrily.
Marya never forgot the pyramid of chairs and her ability to keep her mind locked on what she was doing
helped her to become one of the greatest scientists of the world, also probably one of the most famous female
scientists to date.
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Mulla Nasruddin was famous for being a bit odd. You could say that his mind worked very differently from
that of others. He thus behaved in a way that people found hard to understand. Some put it down to the fact
that he came from Sivrihisar. Everyone knew that the people of that region were strange. They dressed
strangely and they talked strangely and their entire conduct was strange. But most wise men agreed that
beneath that apparent foolishness of Mulla Nasruddin was clarity of insight that cut straight to the heart of the
truth. Sometimes though, one had to ponder before one understood the wisdom of his remarks and ways.
When Nasruddin was a boy, he helped his father carry merchandise back and forth from the cities where the
goods were made to those where they were sold. Even then Nasruddin did exactly what he wanted and not
what he was told to do. If he did not agree what he was commanded to do, he would do things his own way even if it was his father’s orders he was disobeying.
“What is wrong with the boy?” sputtered Nasruddin’s father in exasperation to his wife and friends. “He does
exactly the opposite of what I say”.
“Then the best thing is to reverse your command”, everyone advised. “Tell him you want him to go right, if
you wish him to go left and command him to stand still if you want him to walk on”.
So that is what the old merchant did.
On the whole this method worked reasonably well. Nasruddin galloped along in great speed when his father
asked him to slow down, and loaded the goods on the donkeys when he was told to leave them at the store
and remained very quiet when his father wanted him to converse. And so the partnership became very
workable though the old man wished that he did not have to work in such a contrary way just to get the
simplest things done smoothly.
One day, as Nasruddin and his father were driving their donkeys across the fast moving stream, the pannier on
the back of one of the donkeys began to slip.
“Nasruddin!’’ yelled the old merchant, thinking hard how to frame his command, so that it would be the
opposite of what he wanted done. ``Quick! The bags of flour are slipping into the water. Press down on
them”.
Immediately, Nasruddin reached out and pressed hard on the pannier carrying the flour. The fastening
unloosened with his weight, and the bags of flour came away and fell into the river.
“Heavens, boy! ‘’ yelled Nasruddin’s father. “Why, in the name of Almighty God, did you do that?”
Nasruddin looked into his father’s face. “Because, Father, I thought you should realize how foolish your
orders are”.
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Alfred Nobel was born on 21st October, 1833 in Sweden. When he was a young boy, one morning, he got up
from the dining table and went to his laboratory workshop in the backyard. The next minute he came running
back into the house. Behind him sounded the loudest explosion anyone in the neighborhood had ever heard.
Alfred`s laboratory disappeared in bursts of flame.
The people of the town were horrified. They were also very angry. They had warned Alfred Nobel against
experimenting with explosives. So the people transported his laboratory on a barge. Then they towed the
barge out into the middle of the lake. Now, they would be safe if there was an explosion again.
In 1842, Nobel`s family moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, where he obtained his education. He travelled
widely as a young man and learnt five languages. Nobel was interested in literature and wrote poetry, plays
and novels when he was free. In 1860`s, he began experimenting with nitroglycerin in his father`s factory.
Nobel discovered that a mix of nitroglycerin and a fine porous powder called kieselguhr was the most
effective. Construction and mining companies and the military ordered large quantities of this relatively safe
explosive.
Many people had been trying to find ways to build railway tracks over the mountains. They wanted to dig
tunnels through the sides of the mountains. They wanted to build roads through forests and across the rocky
plains. They wanted to dig canals for ships to sail through. They needed something to blast away the stones,
dirt and trees. They had used gunpowder before but it was just not strong enough. They needed something
more powerful. After the discovery of dynamite, they knew they had found the solution to their problems.
Nobel, who later became very wealthy because of his creation, endowed a $9 million fund in his will. This
was meant to be used as awards for people whose work most benefited humanity. He wanted the profit from
his invention to be used to reward creativity. The Nobel Prize was first awarded in 1901 and has continued
ever since.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
There was a time, when the elephant's nose was no bigger than a boot that he could wriggle from side to side.
But an elephant's child changed all that.
He was a curious fellow who asked ever so many questions. He asked the ostrich why her tail feathers grew
just so. He asked the giraffe what made his skin spotty. He asked the hippo why his eyes were red, and the
baboon why melons taste as they did.
"What does a crocodile have for dinner?" he asked one d y. "Shushh" said all the animals in a scared voice.
But he would not shushh. By and by he met the Kolo kolo bird. She told him where he could find an answer.
"Go to the grey, green, greasy Limpopo River," said she.
So off he went, carrying a load of bananas and sugarcane and melons. He'd be hungry on the way, you see.
After a week of trudging and budging he reached where he had to reach.
At the edge of the river he stepped on what he thought w s a log of wood. It winked one eye. "Excuse me, but
have you seen a crocodile in these parts " asked the elephant's child politely. The creature winked the other
eye and half lifted his tail out of the mud. "I am the crocodile," he said. The elephant's child grew excited and
kneeled down. "I have been looking for you all these days," he said. "Will you please tell me what you have
for dinner."
SPLATH! Went the crocodile's tail back into the oozy m d. "Come nearer little one, come nearer and I'll
whisper," said the crocodile. The elephant‘s child put his head down close to the crocodile's musky tusky
mouth. And the crocodile caught him by his little nose.
The elephant's child knew he was in BIG trouble. He sat back on his haunches. And he pulled and pulled. The
crocodile splashed in the water and pulled and pulled. They both pulled and pulled. And the elephant's nose
kept stretching and stretching. At last the crocodile let go. Bfuddudd!! Fell the elephant, right on his big broad
back.
He looked at his nose. He could not see where it ended! It was loooong! So long, he could swish it around.
But it hurt him awfully. So he wrapped e nose in cool banana leaves and waited for it to shrink. He waited and
waited. But nothing happened. He could still swish it all around. And so it remains to this day. LooooooonG!
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One day an ass and a fox entered into an agreement with the lion that they would assist each other while
hunting for food. They felt that their combined efforts would ensure that none of them would have to starve.
Of course, both the ass and the fox were a little nervous about accompanying the lion in the hunt. But the
thought of the game they would acquire with his help, made them salivate. They put the nervousness down to
nerves.
It was an excellent hunt. The three had combed the jungle in their search for food. When they came to a
clearing by the lakeside, they dispersed. It was decided that the ass would keep an eye out for animals to prey
on; when he spotted one, he would go up to the animal and introduce himself. The introductory bray would
alert the other two, who were hiding.
The fox would come out at first, growling at the animal. The frightened animal would try to run, the fox
would give chase and in trying to avoid him the animal would run directly in the path of the lion. The lion
would then finish the animal 0 f in one swoop.
In the evening, the tired but happy trio assembled in front of the lion's den with their large booty. The lion
ordered the ass to allot to each of the three partners, his due portion in the treaty.
The ass was very happy. He felt that, by asking him, the lion had bestowed a great honor on him. Very
carefully, he divided the spoil into three equal shares. "Sirs, I have done the needful. I modestly request the
two of you to take your Tares," he said.
The lion stared at the shares for a minute. "Oh! So you t ink each one of us deserves an equal share. You think
that your feeble attempts to chat with t e game compares with my efforts to kill them," he said and jumped on
the ass. He killed the ass in one second.
Then he told the terrified fox to make the division. The fox accumulated all that they had killed into one large
heap and left to himself the smallest possible share. The rest he requested the lion to have.
"Who has taught you, my dear fellow, the art of division? You are perfect to a fraction," said the lion, pleased
as punch.
"I learned it from the ass sir, by witnessing his fate," replied the fox. He made up his mind never to take a lion
as partner in any future venture.
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Rainforest Plants
There is a fantastic variety of rain forest plant life. A typical 10 km square area contains l,500 kinds of
flowering plants and 750 tree species. These plots form a system of layers. The top layer consists of giant
trees up to 75 meters tall that tower over the rest of the forest.
Canopy Trees, 20 to 30 meters tall, form the next layer. Shrubs and young trees make up the T under layer.
The last layer is the forest floor itself. Ferns herbs and seedlings that need little sunlight for growth are found
in this bottom layer.
Small plants called epiphytes that need more sunlight attach themselves to the trunks and branches of the
canopy trees. They never touch the ground, but their aerial roots absorb water from the moist air. Vines that
have roots in the ground climb trees of the top layer to obtain the sunlight they require.
Most tropical rain forest plants are exotic and very beautiful. Orchids and bromeliads for example are found
throughout the canopy and under-story. The flowering Rafflesia arnoldi which grows on the forest floor has
the largest flower in the world measuring up to 1 meter across. Unfortunately it smells like rotting meat!
However the odor attracts flies which carry out the necessary pollination.
The huge top layer trees are also quite strange. Many of them have huge base fins known as buttresses. These
help support them in the poor soil, and prevent them being blown over by the high winds that can accompany
the monsoon. The monsoon is the strong winds with heavy seasonal rains. Other trees send their roots down
from their branches to provide extra support. Many trees have also evolved protection from leaf eating insects
and animals. They produce disagreeable chemicals in their leaves making them unpalatable. Others grow
spines on their trunks and branches making it hard for animals to reach their leaves. Some have hollows in
their branches for ants to nest in. These ants return the favor by attacking those insects and vines that can
harm the tree.
Many rainforest plants are very useful. Food such as pineapple, banana, grapefruit, avocado and coconut
originated there, as did many spices like chocolate, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, black pepper, ginger and
paprika. Chicle, (chewing gum) as well as bamboo and balsa wood also come from the rainforest.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
No one is quite sure when humans first domesticated dogs, but one thing is certain – dogs and people have
been working side by side for thousands of years. Modem training methods have led to dogs becoming an
integral part of many people's lives, not just as companions, but also as guide dogs, search-and-rescue dogs,
and bomb- or drug-sniffing dogs. But few dogs are asked to give as much of themselves as police dogs.
Today, police forces in most major cities use police dogs to track criminals, sniff out illegal materials, search
buildings, and do other jobs human police officers can't do as well as a dog can. Not only are there thousands
of police dogs on the job on any given day, but there are also hundreds of police dogs who have given their
lives to protect and serve.
Why do we bother using police dogs at all? For one thing, their sense of smell is almost 50 times more
sensitive than a human's. A dog can sniff out criminals, drugs, weapons, and bombs in situations where a
human officer would have to search every inch, a dangerous task. In addition to sensitivity, a dog's sense of
smell is picky. It can discern a specific scent even when there are dozens of other scents around. Drug
smugglers have tried to fool drug-sniffing dogs by wrapping drugs in towels soaked with perfume, but the
dogs find the drugs anyway.
A police dog's work isn't all about his nose, though. The intimidating growl of a well-trained German
shepherd can cause many criminals to surrender instead of running or fighting. The very presence of a police
dog can prevent physical confrontations.
When a conflict does arise, dogs are faster and stronger than most humans, able to catch a fleeing criminal and
clamp down with powerful jaws to apprehend the suspect until other L officers arrive. Dogs have more than
earned their place in the police forces of the world.
European police forces were using bloodhounds as early as the 18th century. It wasn't until World War I that
countries like Belgium and Germany formalized the training process and started using dogs for specific tasks,
such as guard duty. The practice continued through World War II. Soldiers returning home brought news of
the well-trained dogs being used by both sides of the conflict. Soon, K-9 programs were begun in London and
other cities across Europe. The use of police dogs didn't gain a foothold in the United States until the 19705.
Today, police dogs are recognized as a vital part of law enforcement, and the use of police dogs has grown
rapidly in the last five years.
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Have you heard of plants that cannot produce food for them and steal food from other plant?
Most plants make all the food they need by a process called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is a process with
which plants use energy from sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into energy-rich sugar. This energyrich sugar is also known as glucose.
There are some plants that cannot make food for themselves. These plants are parasites. They steal food from
other plants, known as host plants. Parasitic plants have special suckers that may invade the host plant’s food
channels and draw off sugars and minerals. Many parasitic plants are totally dependent on their host for food
and no longer need green leaves. These types of parasite plants are known total parasites. Others still have
green leaves and make some of their own food through photosynthesis. These types of parasite plants are
known as green parasites.
Dodder is a total parasitic plant that cannot produce their food by photosynthesis at all. Its leaves are reduced
to tiny brown scales. Since it has no green chlorophyll, it must obtain all its food from the host plant. Dodder
is a climber related to bindweed. Its stems twine around the host, producing suckers, called haustoria. It
invades the host and steals its food to survive.
Mistletoe is a green parasite that steals water and minerals from its host tree. However, mistletoe also has
green leaves. It produces its own food through photosynthesis, using water stolen from the host tree.
Rafflesia arnoldii is a parasitic plant that produces the world’s largest flower. It grows in the rainforests of
Southeast Asia. The plant invades the underground roots of vines to take food. Sometimes the Rafflesia puts
out a shoot from one of these roots. This develops into a giant, stinking flower that may be 1 m (3 ft) across.
The flower’s powerful smell of rotting flesh attracts flies. These flies help to pollinate.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
(unedited) Many plants produce special substances in their roots, leaves, flowers, or seeds that help them to
survive. For example, some plants make nasty-tasting substances to defend themselves against plant-eating
animals. Since earliest times, people have gathered these substances to create herbal medicines to treat certain
diseases. Many of the powerful drugs used in modern medicines originated in plants. Today’s plant-based
drugs treat a range of diseases, from headaches to cancer.
Aloe vera is the thick juice of the aloe, a type of plant that comes from tropical Africa but is also cultivated
elsewhere. The juice contains a chemical called alonin, that has been used in cosmetics and medicine. Its
healing properties have made it especially useful as an ingredient for lotions and gels that soothe burns,
including sunburn. It can also be used to repel biting insects.
Rauvolfia is a small, woody plant that grows in tropical rainforests. It contains reserpine, a chemical that
effectively relieves snake bites and scorpion stings. Reserpine was the first tranquillizer used to treat certain
mental illnesses. It also lowers blood pressure.
The bark of this tropical tree contains a drug called quinine. Quinine is used in the prevention and treatment
of malaria, a deadly disease carried by mosquitoes. Malaria is responsible for thousands of human deaths
around the world every year.
Also known as toothpickweed, this Mediterranean herb contains a chemical that opens up blood vessels,
improving blood flow to the heart, and opens the breathing tubes of the lungs. The chemical has been used in
medicines to treat asthma and angina (pain due to heart problems).
Rainforest people possess valuable knowledge about medicinal plants. With proper research, scientists believe
they might find cures for some of the world’s deadliest diseases among rainforest plants. Some of these plants
have not even been discovered yet. Unfortunately, rainforests are being destroyed. As they disappear, so do
thousands of possible life-saving drugs.
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About one-tenth of Earth’s dry land and one-eighth of its oceans are covered with ice. This ice is made of
snow that collects and becomes compacted (pressed down). Most ice occurs in thick ice sheets that cap the
land in the Polar Regions. In the past, during long cold eras called Ice Ages, ice covered much more of the
Earth’s surface than it does today. Scientists estimate that there have been over 15 Ice Ages in the last 2
million years.
Ninety per cent of the world’s ice is found in Antarctica. The ice cap here is 13,000 ft deep in places. Over
thousands of years, a thick ice sheet builds up over land when more snow falls during the winter months than
melts each summer. The enormous weight of the ice pushes much of this vast, high landmass down below sea
level.
Icebergs are not formed from salty sea ice, but from land ice that calves (breaks off) from ice sheets or
glaciers on the coast. Only 12 per cent of the iceberg’s mass appears above the sea surface. The rest is hidden
below. A fringe of sea ice also edges the Antarctic landmass, expanding in winter and melting in summer.
Glaciers are slow-moving rivers of ice that begin high on mountains. Fallen snow pressed down by new snow
forms a dense ice called firn. When enough ice builds up, gravity and the glacier’s own weight set it sliding
downhill at a rate of 1–2 m (3–6 1/2 ft) per day.
Moving ice is a powerful erosive force. As glaciers slip downhill they carve deep, U-shaped valleys, sharp
peaks, and steep ridges. The gouging power of the ice is increased by rocks and boulders carried along at the
front, sides, and beneath the glacier. When the glacier reaches the warmer lowlands, it melts.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Earthquakes are caused by movements of the giant tectonic plates that form Earth’s crust. SEISMOLOGY is
the study of earthquakes. Most occur at cracks called FAULTS, at the boundaries where the plates meet.
Every minute, the ground shakes somewhere in the world, but these vibrations are usually minor tremors that
are barely noticed. When a major earthquake strikes, the ground shakes violently, and buildings and bridges
topple.
Faults are deep cracks in rocks, mostly caused by movement at plate margins. Deep earthquakes strike in
subduction zones where two plates collide and one slides below the other. Shallow earthquakes occur mostly
where two plates grind past one another. The rocks may be shifted only a few centimetres, but over millions
of years, this can add up to hundreds of kilometres of movement sideways, and up to 30 km (19 miles) of
vertical movement.
The distance that the rocks slip up or down during a quake or tremor is called the throw. In a reverse fault,
pressure causes one block of rock to overhang another. As the rocks shift, the block is forced farther up and
over the other. A reverse fault with a fault plane of 45° or less is called a thrust fault.
In a strike-slip fault, rocks scrape sideways past one another. The amount of sideways slip is called the heave.
The San Andreas Fault, which runs along the west coast of North America, is a famous example. The rocks in
an oblique-slip fault slide past each other, and also up and down in a diagonal movement.
Seismologists study earthquakes. They also examine the behaviour of seismic waves passing through the
Earth to find out about its structure. Instruments called seismographs measure the intensity of seismic waves.
The magnitude (size) of earthquakes can be rated by measuring either these waves, on the Richter scale, or the
damage caused – the Mercalli scale. Earthquakes cannot be prevented, but they can sometimes be accurately
predicted.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
New mountains are built when rocks are pushed upwards by the movement of the giant rocky plates that make
up the Earth’s crust. The rocks are pushed upwards in two ways: FOLD mountains are formed when layers of
rock become buckled, and BLOCK mountains are formed when giant lumps of rock rise or fall. Volcanic
eruptions also create mountains. Many mountain ranges have been built up and eroded away since the Earth
was formed.
The Andes is the longest mountain range on land. It was formed along the western margin of South America,
where two tectonic plates (rocky plates that make up the Earth’s crust) collided. The mountains are still rising
by about 10 cm (4 in) every century.
Fold mountains are pushed up at a boundary where two tectonic plates collide. The boundary between an
ocean plate and a continental plate is called a subduction zone. Here, the thin ocean crust slides slowly under
a thicker continental crust, making the rocks buckle and fold. The ocean plate also melts, creating magma
(molten rock) that rises to form volcanoes.
The world’s major mountain ranges, such as the Andes, the Himalayas, and the Alps, are situated along the
boundaries where tectonic plates collide. These ranges formed in the last few hundred million years, so are
they quite young. The map also shows thin lines of volcanoes that erupt from the ocean floor, forming chains
of mountainous islands.
The Himalayas is a range of fold mountains formed by the collision between India and the rest of Asia. When
the two tectonic plates collided, the southern edge of Asia buckled. The Indian plate continues to slide under
Asia and, to date, has uplifted Tibet to a height of over 5 km (3 miles).
When layers of rock are pushed inwards from both ends, they crumple up into waves called folds. Rocks are
too hard to be squashed into a smaller space. Instead they fold upwards and downwards. The immense forces
that cause folding can crunch solid rocks into folds just a few metres across.
The rocks that buckle to form fold mountains are made up of layers of sedimentary rocks and igneous rocks.
When the layers are folded, the rocks on the outside of a fold are stretched and the rocks on the inside of a
fold are squashed. The folding also makes the layers of rock slide over each other.
Block mountains are mountains formed when layers of rock crack into giant blocks. Cracks in layers of rock
are called faults. They form when the Earth’s crust is stretched, squashed, or twisted. The blocks are free to
slip up, down, or sideways, or to tip over. These movements are very slow, but over millions of years they
form mountains thousands of metres high.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
A habitat is a place where plants and animals live, and provides them with food and shelter. It can be very
small, such as a single tree or pond, or vast, such as a rainforest or desert. The physical conditions in a place
and its vegetation are both part of the habitat. HABITAT LOSS is occurring in many parts of the world.
Tropical rainforests, such as the Amazon rainforest in South America, flourish in equatorial regions where it
is hot all year round and it rains almost every day. A rainforest contains three main habitats: the upper layers
of the trees, called the canopy; the darker, cooler understorey; and the forest floor. A greater variety of species
live here than in any other habitat.
This quiver tree, in South Africa’s Northern Cape, is adapted to survive its desert habitat by storing water in
its stout trunk. Deserts are harsh, dry habitats, with sometimes no rain for years. Animals and plants that live
there have to cope with daytime temperatures of up to 50°C (120°F) and nights that can be very cold.
Habitat loss is the destruction of habitats such as forests and marshes through human activities, especially
forestry and farming. Many species of animals and plants live in one small habitat and cannot survive
anywhere else. It is estimated that more than a hundred species become extinct every day through habitat loss.
Cutting down natural forests (rather than forestry plantations) is called deforestation. The world’s tropical
rainforests have suffered most from serious deforestation. The trees are cut down for their valuable timber, or
burned to make space for farming and ranching. Across the world, an area of rainforest larger than the city of
New York is cut down every day.
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The Olympic Games are the world’s biggest sporting spectacle. They are divided into a summer and winter
Games, held every four years by a single city. Athletes with disabilities compete at the Paralympics. More
than 10,000 athletes take part in the summer events alone.
In the 19th century, archaeological discoveries revived interest in the ancient Olympics. The Greeks tried to
recreate the Games in Athens in 1859 and 1870. However, the major force behind the modern Olympics was
the French aristocrat Baron de Coubertin (1863–1937). In 1894 he organized an international conference in
Paris to support a revival of the Games.
De Coubertin’s 1894 conference created the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which has run the
Games ever since. The IOC chooses the host cities and sets the rules for competing. In recent years, its
reputation has been hurt by scandals over corruption and bribery in the selection of the host cities.
The ancient Olympics celebrated the god Zeus and were held every four years at Olympia, Greece. Winners
received an olive wreath. The date of the first Games is unclear, but the first recorded Olympic champion was
Koroibos, who won a sprint in 776 BC.
The summer and winter Games each cost around $3 billion to host. Cities must house hundreds of thousands
of visitors and provide security and transportation for them. The host city must also build world-class
stadiums and facilities. All this bankrupted the 1976 host, Montreal. Costs are met by the income from
television sponsorship and tourism.
The Olympics have changed a great deal since 1896, when there were no women’s events at all. The winter
Games only began in 1924. Track and field is the focus of the summer Games, but many events have come
and gone, such as the tug-of-war. Recent additions include volleyball, canoeing, and cycling.
Track and field events were the core of the ancient Olympics and included running, throwing, and jumping,
which combined into multi-event competitions—the pentathlon (five events) and the decathlon (ten events).
Today, track and field also includes pole-vaulting, hurdling, and relay racing.
Great athletes, like all great sports competitors, require fitness, dedication, natural ability, and luck. What lifts
some athletes above others is a relentless will to win, psychological strength, and the capacity to produce their
best performance under any circumstances.
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Sports are any competitive game that has set rules and involves physical exertion or coordination. There are
team sports, individual sports, winter sports on snow and ice, motor sports with cars and motorcycles, sports
with horses and dogs, and extreme sports.
People of all cultures and times have played games to test skill and athleticism. Some early ball games used
balls made from straw or an inflated animal’s bladder. Games were often linked to social and religious rituals.
It is only within the last 150 years or so that games with rules have been played regularly for competition.
The first set of rules for golf were drawn up in Scotland in the 18th century. Many other sports—such as
soccer, baseball, cricket, and football—acquired formal rules from the mid-19th century onward. Some games
are relatively recent—basketball was invented from scratch in 1891.
In professional sports, competitors are paid prize money or salaries, or both. In amateur sports competitors are
not paid. Before sports like rugby union and track and field became professional, many amateurs had to work
part-time in other professions to support themselves.
Team sports involve more than one person per side and require the members of a team to cooperate with one
another to win the game. Nearly all team sports are ball games. Teams attract long-term interest and loyal fan
support that outlasts the popularity of their individual star players.
Soccer is the world’s biggest team sport. Football and baseball are the most popular in the US. Hockey,
cricket, and rugby are strong in other nations. Field hockey, handball, netball, and volleyball get less media
coverage but are widely played.
A coach trains the individual players to work together as a successful team. Coaches motivate the players to
keep up the discipline required during training. They also create strategies for winning. During a game, a
coach may send in substitutes to replace players who are injured or playing badly.
Extreme sports are events that are a deliberate extension or intensification of older games. Extreme sports are
dangerous, challenging, and sometimes bizarre. They have few rules and are usually not team-based. Players
use their skills to control the risks.
The X stands for extreme. The X Games began in 1995 in the US. They are now the biggest annual
international event for extreme sports. Summer events are inline skating, skateboarding, stunt biking, and
motocross. Winter events are snowboarding and skiing. In the past, competitions were also held for
skysurfing (with parachutes), barefoot waterskiing, ice-climbing, and mountain biking in the snow.
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Greece was home to a rich civilization that reached its peak between 500 BC and 300 BC. Its people lived by
farming, fishing, crafts, and trading. They built 300 CITY-STATES and settled in colonies. In 146 BC,
Greece was conquered by Rome, but many aspects of Greek culture still shape our world.
Mycenaean kings were powerful from 1600 BC to 1200 BC. They were warrior chieftains who lived in
fortresslike cities and ruled small kingdoms. Their name comes from the richest of these—Mycenae, in
southern Greece. They employed skilled artists and craftworkers to make fine pottery and magnificent gold
jewelry. They owned fleets of trading ships that sailed to many ports.
The Ancient Greeks worshiped many different gods and goddesses. They believed that these gods had magic
powers and that they were human in form, but bigger and more beautiful. Each god or goddess controlled a
different aspect of life. The supreme god Zeus led all other gods. His brother Poseidon ruled the sea, and
another brother, Hades, ruled the underworld.
Greek tragedies and comedies told stories about gods and goddesses, or made fun of people such as
politicians. Only men watched the plays. They thought women would find them too rude or upsetting. The
plays of Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripides are still performed today.
Sports were good training for war, but city-states also organized sports competitions to form part of their
religious festivals. The most famous was the Olympic Games, held every four years to honor the god Zeus.
Competitors came from all over Greece. Victorious athletes won praise for themselves, and prestige for their
families and towns.
Alexander was ruler of Macedon, north of Greece. As a young man he conquered many lands, including some
of the Greek city-states. When he died, his vast empire stretched from Egypt to Pakistan.
In Athens, all adult male citizens could listen to debates in the Assembly, which met on most days. Here, they
could elect and expel city leaders, and vote to decide on government policies. Women, slaves, and foreigners
were not able to vote. Three of the world’s most famous philosophers—Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle—lived
and taught in Athens.
The Greeks used a battle formation called the phalanx. Soldiers stood side by side in rows, overlapping their
shields to make a solid wall of defense as they advanced toward the enemy. Their commanders rode in horsedrawn chariots to overlook the battlefield. City-states also hired foreign experts, such as archers from Scythia,
and used warships called triremes.
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Rome began, around 1000 BC, as a settlement of farmers and shepherds in central Italy. Over the course of
the next thousand years, it developed into a powerful city-state, and became the capital of an empire that
stretched from Britain in the north to Arabia in the southwest.
Gradually, the Roman Republic conquered its neighbors, until, by 260 BC, it controlled all of Italy. Next, the
Romans defeated the Carthaginians, which by 100 BC gave Rome control of the Mediterranean. At the heart
of the government of this expanding Roman Republic were the politicians called SENATORS.
Jupiter, Minerva, Vesta, and Mars were among the chief gods and goddesses of Ancient Rome. On special
occasions, animals were sacrificed to them in temples. Before going into battle, for example, a public sacrifice
would be made to Mars, the god of war. Throughout the empire a wide range of non-Roman religions were
tolerated, so long as they did not disrespect official Roman gods and the EMPERORS.
In the early days of Rome, every citizen had to be prepared to fight, but soldiers of the Roman imperial army
were paid, highly trained professionals who signed on for 20-25 years of service. The ordinary foot soldier
was equipped with a short sword, two javelins, and a heavy shield of leather and wood. When he was not at
war, he was building forts and roads.
The Roman Republic was ruled by the Senate, the council of noblemen that controlled all the top jobs in the
government and army. After 27 BC, when the Roman Republic was replaced by the Roman Empire, the
Senate continued to play an important part in politics.
In 44 BC, five years after he had become the sole ruler of Rome, Julius Caesar was murdered in the Senate
building. His assassins were a group of senators who thought he had become too powerful. They also resented
the fact that Julius Caesar had rewarded hundreds of his supporters by making them senators. As a result, the
Senate, which for most of its history had between 300 and 600 members, was packed with 900 senators.
After Julius Caesar’s death, Rome was divided by civil wars. By 27 BC, his adopted son Octavian was master
of the Roman world. Under the title Augustus, which means “revered” in Latin, he became the first Roman
emperor. His reign brought peace and prosperity to a war-weary world.
Rome was the largest city in the world. By AD 300, it had a million inhabitants, many of whom were hungry
and unemployed. To stop them from rioting, they were given “bread and circuses.” The “bread” was the
regular ration of grain issued to Roman citizens, and the “circuses” were the free entertainments and chariot
races provided by politicians and emperors.
Augustus reigned for nearly 50 years. He reorganized coins, laws, and taxation, and transformed the Roman
army into a peace-keeping force, designed to protect the empire’s expanding frontiers.
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The U.S. Mint buys strips of metal about 13 inches wide and 1,500 feet long to manufacture the nickel, dime,
quarter, half-dollar, and dollar. The strips come rolled in a coil. Each coil is fed through a blanking press,
which punches out round discs called blanks. The leftover strip, called webbing, is shredded and recycled. (To
manufacture the cent, the Mint buys ready-made blanks after supplying fabricators with copper and zinc.)
The blanks are heated in an annealing furnace to soften them. Then, they are run through a washer and dryer.
The shiny blanks are sorted on a “riddler” to screen out any that are the wrong size or shape. Next, the good
blanks go through an upsetting mill. This raises a rim around their edges. Finally, the blanks go to the coining
press. Here, they are stamped with the designs and inscriptions, which make them genuine United States
coins.
A press operator uses a magnifying glass to spot-check each batch of new coins. Then all the coins go through
a coin sizer to remove any misshapen or dented ones.
An automatic counting machine counts the coins and drops them into large canvas bags. The bags are sewn
shut, loaded on pallets, and taken by forklifts to be stored in vaults. New coins are shipped by truck to Federal
Reserve Banks. From there, the coins go to your local bank!
The U.S. government introduced the 50 State Quarters Program Act in 1999. It features new quarters with
unique state designs on the back. Five coins have debuted each year since 1999, and five new quarters will be
released every year until 2008. The quarters are being released in the order that the states joined the union.
The 50 State Quarters Program Act began in 1999 and ran through 2008, with five new quarters released
every year. The quarters were released in the order that the states joined the union. Each quarter features a
different state design on the back.
Two new nickels were released in 2004, the first new designs for the coin since 1938. Both commemorated
the 200th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. The head side of the new nickels remains the same: Thomas
Jefferson's image in profile. The back of one of the coins shows a handshake between an American Indian and
an American soldier under the words “Louisiana Purchase.” This design is similar to the Indian Peace Medals
given to American Indian leaders during Jefferson's presidency. The second nickel shows the keelboat, which
was designed by William Clark for his 1803–1806 exploration of the Pacific Northwest with Meriwether
Lewis.
Thomas Jefferson was responsible for the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the United States,
and for sending Lewis and Clark off on their expedition in search of a Northwest Passage.
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Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chine e calendar. The Chinese year
4710 begins on Jan. 23, 2012. 2012 was the year of the dragon.
Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar. Each month begins on the darkest day. New Year
festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is
brightest. In China, people may take weeks of holiday from work to prepare for and celebrate the New Year.
Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve
came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year
would have some of that animal's personality. Those born in dragon years are innovative, brave, and
passionate. Salvador Dali, John Lennon, and Mary-Louise Parker were all born in the year of the dragon.
At Chinese New Year celebrations people wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper, and give
children "lucky money" in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fi e, which according to legend can drive away bad
luck. The fireworks that shower the festivities are rooted in a similar ancient custom. Long ago, people in
China lit bamboo stalks, believing that the crackling flames would frighten evil spirits.
In China, the New Year is a time of family reunion. Family members gather at each other's homes for visits
and shared meals, most significantly a feast on New Year’s Eve. In the United States, however, many early
Chinese immigrants arrived without their families, and found a sense of community through neighborhood
associations instead. Today, ma Chinese-American neighborhood associations host banquets and other New
Year events.
The lantern festival is held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Some of the lanterns may be works of
art, painted with birds, animals, flowers, zodiac signs, and scenes from legend and history. People hang
glowing lanterns in temples, and carry lanterns to an evening parade under the light of the full moon.
In many areas the highlight of the lantern festival is the dragon dance. The dragon, which might stretch a
hundred feet long, is typically made of silk, paper, and bamboo. Traditionally the dragon is held aloft by
young men who dance as they guide the colorful beast through the streets. In the United States, where the
New Year is celebrated with a shortened schedule, the dragon dance always takes place on a weekend. In
addition, many Chinese-American communities have added American parade elements such as marching
bands and floats.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Botanically a fruit, the tomato is nutritionally categorized as a vegetable. The word ″tomato″ comes from a
word in the Nahuatl language, ″tomatl″. It is one of the most spread plants, which is popular all over the
world. It is a plant typically growing to 1–3 m in height. It has a weak, woody stem that usually climbs over
other plants.
The origin of the tomato is obscure. One theory suggests that it originated in the highlands of the west coast
of South America before the Spanish arrived. Another theory says that the tomato, and the word "tomato",
originated in Mexico, where one of the two oldest "wild" types grows.
No matter which of the theories is correct, the tomato appeared in Central America. Maya and other nations
in the region used the fruit in their cooking, and it was being cultivated in southern Mexico and other areas,
by the 16th century. The large and lumpy tomato, probably the direct ancestor of some modern cultivated
tomatoes, originated in Central America.
The tomato was brought to Europe by the Spanish. It grew easily in Mediterranean climates. Cultivation
began in the 1540s. People probably ate tomatoes shortly after they were brought to Europe, or at least in
Spain, where it is certain, that the tomato was used as food by the early 1600s. The earliest discovered
cookbook with tomato recipes comes from Naples and was published in 1692. However, the author had
received these recipes from Spanish sources.
Today, tomatoes are used especially in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines, mainly Italian ones. The
tomato has an acidic property that intensifies other flavors. This same acidity makes tomatoes especially easy
to preserve in home canning as tomato sauce or paste. Tomato juice is also canned and sold as a beverage.
Their consumption is believed to benefit the heart. Up to 80% of Lycopene, one of nature's most powerful
antioxidants, is present in tomatoes and has been found to be beneficial in preventing prostate cancer, among
other things. Tomatoes are also rich in vitamin A.
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There are four basic climatic zones in the world – tropical, subtropical, temperate, and arctic. Tropical zone is
the hottest and arctic is the coldest. The weather pattern in the different climatic zones can be divided into
several seasons. But while in the tropical zone there are 2 seasons – dry and wet – in the temperate zone there
are four seasons, as we know them in Europe, for example.
Spring is the time of year when nature returns to life, vegetation grows fast, the weather is usually rainy and
warm, but can get cold in the evening, and at night. Due to snowmelt, floods can also occur in many places
and threaten people and their houses.
Summer is typical for the highest temperatures of all the four seasons. It is also usually dry. It is time when
many fruits, vegetables, and other plants ripen. It is time for swimming, sunbathing, going to the beach, and
going on holidays. In this season, children are usually out of school.
Autumn is the season of windy, chilly days. In many mid-latitude countries, this is the season when deciduous
trees shed their leaves making parks and forests beautiful spots full of various colors. It is also the season
during which the remaining crops are harvested and children come back to school.
And finally winter is a cold, snowy season. It has the lowest temperatures of all the seasons. It has also the
shortest days. It is the season of skiing, skating, and other winter sports. The weather pattern does not only
depend on the climatic zones and seasons. The location of the region for which you want to know the weather
is also important. There are continental and maritime weather patterns. The continental weather has high
contrasts between summer and winter. The maritime weather is not so extreme, and is wetter.
To predict the weather in the future is an interest of almost every holidaymaker. Today we can get the weather
forecast of any region in the world. Unfortunately, the forecast is more or less accurate only for several days
in advance, therefore it cannot help you if you decide to book a holiday several months in advance. So, next
time you go on holiday, good luck and have nice, sunny days!
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
The desire to get something that a person needs or wants is as old as mankind. However, shopping in ancient
times was very different from the idea of shopping that we know today. Before the invention of money,
people had to exchange one kind of goods for another. They had to barter. This type of shopping can be still
found in some places in the world. The introduction of money made shopping much easier. People didn't have
to go shopping with many other things to pay with, the only thing they needed were small golden, silver or
copper coins.
The place where people could barter or buy things was called a marketplace. There are still marketplaces
today. You can also see them on annual fairs and festivals. However, people mostly get goods from various
shops, supermarkets or malls. There are many kinds of shops with specific kind of goods. For example, you
can get books in a bookshop, clothes in a clothes shop, etc. The place where you can buy a lot of different
kinds of goods is called supermarket, department store or hypermarket. At shopping malls or shopping centers
you can also find other facilities, apart from shops. You can have lunch in a restaurant, enjoy a cup of coffee
in a café, or even watch a movie in a cinema.
With the invention of the Internet, a new type of shopping was soon introduced - Internet shopping. This kind
of virtual shopping first appeared in 1994. The first thing people could buy online was pizza. Now, online
shopping is a trillion-dollar business. The main advantages of it are the comfort and accessibility of goods.
People don't have to travel far away to buy goods they want. They can simply sit in their living room and
order the goods in a virtual e-shop.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
A book is a set of paper sheets that are fastened together. It is a thing that everybody knows. As children we
read books of fairy-tales and children stories. At school we learned from books. And as adults, we read books
for pleasure, information, or education.
Writing was invented in about 1800 BC. People wrote on stones, dried clay, wood, and other material. But
writing on these kinds of material was quite difficult. The change came with the invention of papyrus and
parchment. Texts were written on scrolls made of this material.
Books, as we know them today, started to be written by hand in the 6th century AD in monasteries. They
were rare, because they were copied by hand on sheets of parchment, illustrated, and then bound together.
Books started to be made in great numbers with the invention of the printing press.
We can buy books in bookshops, on the Internet, or borrow books in libraries. The idea of libraries originated
in the medieval times. First libraries were in monasteries, where books were also reproduced. However, they
were available only to monks and scholars. Today, libraries are open to everyone. The main advantage of
libraries is that you can get older books that are not sold in bookshops anymore. Thus, it is a great source for
students, as they can find there valuable information for their school projects.
Modern time has brought other forms of books. First of all, it is the electronic form of book, called e-book,
that changed the concept of the classic books. You can easily get e-books on the Internet, download it into an
electronic device which enables you to read it, and then read it whenever and wherever you like. Another
form of books is an audio book. It is a book read by either a human or a computer. The main advantage of an
audio book is that you can "read" in the dark, or while driving, for example.
No matter which type of book you like most, books are an inseparable part of modern life. They are not only
sources of information, but also a good way how to fill our spare time. So, next time when you go on holiday,
don't forget to pack a nice book with you.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Train is a kind of transport which consists of a locomotive and a set of carriages. Trains move on special rail
tracks. They are used for transporting both cargo and people.
The idea of vehicles moving on 2 parallel rails is more than 400 years old. First trains were dragged by horses
or people on wooden rails, and were used in mines to haul coal and ore. Later, wooden rails were replaced by
iron ones.
The expansion of railway use began with the invention of the steam engine in the 18th century. Train quickly
became the most useful and powerful means of transport, because rails were smoother than roads, and heavier
goods could be transported easily. Train soon became number one type of transport of that time.
Another great boom in train use came in the early 20th century, when electric and diesel engines were
invented. These engines were much stronger than steam engines. However steam engines were used until
1970s, but in some countries, they are used even today.
In developed countries these days, trains are used by many people. They are fast, comfortable, less harmful to
the environment, and have facilities such as toilet, restaurant car, and sleeping car. Sometimes, trains are even
preferred to planes, because they are cheaper and almost as fast. Trains are also used as a type of public
transport in big cities, usually travelling underground, so they avoid traffic jams.
Unfortunately, despite the advantages of trains, more and more people prefer their cars to trains. Then the
traffic is heavier and air more polluted. The reason, why people use their cars, is probably the fact, that cars
can transport people from "door to door". Many people in many countries also consider the car to be a symbol
of wealth and luxury.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Have you ever visited a hospital? If you did, you might have seen many people are working at the hospital.
There are many jobs at the hospital. We probably know that doctors and nurses work in the hospital, but there
are many jobs in the hospital than just doctors and nurses. Out of many people that work in a hospital, some
work as nurses and work as doctors. If you are a patient in a hospital, you will meet different workers. It
might start with the ambulance driver. Ambulances are used to get a sick person to the hospital as soon as
possible and the ambulance driver helps people get to the hospital quickly. A person’s life might be saved if
he or she reaches the hospital quickly. So, ambulance driver’s job is important.
Some workers take care of visitors to the hospital. The visitors have to sign in before they can get to see
someone in the hospital. Hospitals employs receptionist. The receptionists are the ones you would interact
first and helps you to sign in. The receptionist makes sure they can find the right places in the building. They
make sure your time in the hospital is not wasted and you get answers to the questions that you might have.
Hospitals have a big kitchen to make meals for the patients. They cook food for the patients. Some patients
need a special diet. The cooks need to plan their meals carefully. They need to make sure they get good food.
Some workers’ job is to make healthy and special food at the hospital for patients.
Some workers help keep the hospital clean. It is very important that the building is clean. They clean all the
rooms every day. People who are sick need to have really clean rooms. That helps them get better.
Some workers run a cafeteria. Cafeteria is different than kitchen. That is a place where people other than
patients can get food. The people who work at the hospital need to eat. They go to the cafeteria to get their
food. Workers in the cafeteria cook and serve food for people in the hospital and so their job is important.
Some workers help with computers or medical equipment. Doctors need to use computers or equipment.
Nurses or other works and need to use computers. These people who help with computers or equipment are
known as technician. These people help other workers with computers and show them how to use them. They
fix the computers and keep them up-to-date with latest programs.
Each of these workers needs to learn and update their skills so they can server better in their areas. They keep
learning even after they get their job. Doctors have the most to learn. They need to keep learning because
medicine and way to treat patients keep changing. So, next time you visit a hospital, you will see the hospital
workers are working tirelessly to help us and the community healthy.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
In any ecosystem, all living things are connected with each other by what they eat. Organism depends on each
other to survive are joined together in something called food chain. In this one leg, there are many different
food chains that work together. Small plants and animals called plankton are eaten by shrimp. Shrimps are
eaten by small fish, small fish are eaten by big fish and then the big fish is eaten by shark when they are
hungry. What would happen when all the shrimps disappear from the world? The small fish would not get any
food when they need. If the small fish does not have its food, they will die and disappear. The same will
happen to the big and fish and then to shark or bears.
Some suppose if all bears or shark do not exist? There will be no one to eat big fish. Which means the big fish
will grow in large number and will eat all small fish and will stay hungry and eventually die. So, to maintain
the food chain both shrimp or small fish or bear or shark must exist.
There may be may such food chain that are interconnected forming a big food webs. Normally a food web has
three parts – a producer, a consumer and a decomposer. Plants are mostly the producers. They make their own
food from sunlight and the water and nutrients from the ground. The process by which plants make their food
is called photosynthesis. Plants are very large in number since they are at the bottom of the food chain. The
living things that cannot make their own food using the sunlight and largely eats plants or other living things
are called consumers.
Cats, dogs, birds and even humans are consumers. The living things that only eat plants are the primary
consumers and also the herbivores. The living things that eat only the living things are known as carnivores.
Lions and tigers are example of carnivore. Omnivores are the ones that eat both the living things and plants.
Decomposers are mostly bacteria and the fungi. Yes, it is the same bacteria and fungi that make us sick, but
they also do the good things. They help by decomposing or breaking down the dead animals and plants and
returning the nutrients to the ground so that plants can use them to make their food.
Since humans are more sophisticated, it is our duty to make sure that all the living things and plant are not
destroyed in a large quantity. A very small organism may seem unimportant, but they actually disturb the
entire food web and cause threat to our existence in the long run. So, we will need to protect every living
thing in the planet Earth, to secure the existence of our future generations.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Energy helps us do things. It gives us light. It warms our bodies and homes. It bakes cakes and keeps milk
cold. It runs our TVs and our cars. It makes us grow and move and think. Energy is the power to change
things. It is the ability to do work.
Light is a type of energy we use all the time. We use it so we can see. We get most of our light from the sun.
Staying awake during the day saves money because sunlight is free. At night, we must make our own light.
Usually, we use electricity to make light. Flashlights use electricity, too. This electricity comes from batteries.
We use energy to make heat. The food we eat keeps our bodies warm. Sometimes, when we run or work hard,
we get really hot. In the winter, our jackets and blankets hold in our body heat. We use the energy stored in
plants and other things to make heat. We burn wood and natural gas to cook food and warm our houses.
Factories burn fuel to make the products they sell. Power plants burn coal and natural gas to make electricity.
All living things need energy to grow. Plants use light from the sun to grow. Plants change the energy from
the sun into sugar and store it in their roots and leaves. Animals can’t change light energy into sugars.
Animals, including people, eat plants and use the energy stored in them to grow. Animals can store the energy
from plants in their bodies.
It takes energy to make things move. Cars run on the energy stored in gasoline. Many toys run on the energy
stored in batteries. Sail boats are pushed by the energy in the wind. It takes energy to run our TVs, computers
and video games - energy in the form of electricity. We use electricity many times every day. It gives us light,
and heat, it makes things move, and it runs our toys and microwaves. Imagine what your life would be like
without electricity.
We make electricity by burning coal, oil, gas, and even trash. We make it from the energy that holds atoms
together. We make it with energy from the sun, the wind, and falling water. Sometimes, we use heat from
inside the Earth to make electricity.
There is the same amount of energy today as there was when the world began. When we use energy, we don’t
use it up; we change it into other forms of energy. When we burn wood, we change its energy into heat and
light. When we drive a car, we change the energy in gasoline into heat and motion. There will always be the
same amount of energy in the world, but more and more of it will be changed into heat. Most of that heat will
go into the air. It will still be there, but it will be hard to use. That is why it is very important to use energy
wisely.
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
You might not think of plants as dangerous, but in this case they are threatening nature's delicate food web.
The invaders are plants from other countries brought here to make gardens and yards look pretty. Ever since
people started to arrive on America's shores, they've carried along trees, flowers, and vegetables from other
places. Now there are so many of those plants, they are crowding out the native plants that have lived here
since before human settlers arrived.
And that's a problem. Almost 90% of all the plant-eating insects in the United States are specialized. That
means they eat only certain plants. Monarch butterfly caterpillars, for example, dine on milkweed. If people
cut down milkweed and replace it with another plant, the butterflies will not have the food source that they
need to survive.
But the trouble doesn't stop there; it goes right across the food web. When insects can't get the right plants to
eat and they die off, then the birds don't have enough bugs for their meals. Almost all migrating birds depend
on insects to feed their young.
We cannot let the plants and animals around us disappear. The way to preserve them is to give them food to
eat. But when we plant non-native plants, we are clobbering the food web, because then we don't have the
insects the birds need to live. Fewer of the right plants mean fewer bugs, and fewer bugs mean fewer birds.
And that's bad for the Earth, because we need a variety of living things to keep the planet healthy and
beautiful.
The good news is, gardeners everywhere are working hard to protect native plants and get rid of the invaders.
Many local garden centers sell native plants. We can easily find out which plants really belong where you
live. Planting the right things makes a real difference, and fast. Milkweed can be planted in a tiny city
courtyard about the size of a living room one spring. By summertime, that milkweed patch would produce 50
new monarch butterflies!
So, what you are waiting for? Find a native plant and plant it today and help save the environment!
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Reading: Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
If your family is like many in the United States, unloading the week’s groceries includes hauling a case or two
of bottled water into your home. On your way to a soccer game or activity, it’s easy to grab a cold one right
out of the fridge, right?
But all those plastic bottles use a lot of fossil fuels and pollute the environment. In fact, Americans buy more
bottled water than any other nation in the world, adding 29 billion water bottles a year to the problem. In
order to make all these bottles, manufacturers use 17 million barrels of crude oil. That’s enough oil to keep a
million cars going for twelve months.
Imagine a water bottle filled a quarter of the way up with oil. That’s about how much oil was needed to
produce the bottle.
So why don’t more people drink water straight from the kitchen faucet? Some people drink bottled water
because they think it is better for them than water out of the tap, but that’s not true. In the United States, local
governments make sure water from the faucet is safe. There is also growing concern that chemicals in the
bottles themselves may leach into the water.
People love the convenience of bottled water. But maybe if they realized the problems it causes, they would
try drinking from a glass at home or carrying water in a refillable steel container instead of plastic.
Plastic bottle recycling can help - instead of going out with the trash, plastic bottles can be turned into items
like carpeting or cozy fleece clothing.
Unfortunately, for every six water bottles we use, only one makes it to the recycling bin. The rest are sent to
landfills. Or, even worse, they end up as trash on the land and in rivers, lakes, and the ocean. Plastic bottles
take many hundreds of years to disintegrate.
Water is good for you, so keep drinking it. But think about how often you use water bottles, and see if you
can make a change. We can make a difference. Recycling one plastic bottle can save enough energy to power
a 60-watt light bulb for six hours.
(Adopted Text by Catherine Clarke Fox)
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Reading: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions below:
The short days of October remind us that summer is long past, and that autumn too is coming to an end.
Although it is pleasant to think of the bright days and splendid twilights of summer, many of us look forward
to the long, dark evenings that are before us.
How are we to spend them? Most of us do not find the question difficult to answer. We shall have more time
for reading, for listening to the radio, for looking at our favorite programme on television and for following
our chosen hobbies. Of course, all our spare time will not be spent indoors, but when we venture out we shall
have to wear overcoats and other thick clothing which we could not have worn in the heat of summer.
Indeed, we make quite a change in our lives as winter comes on. We should remember that we are not the
only creatures to do so. Many animals and most plants prepare for the dull, cold days of winter even more
carefully than we do.
Have you ever wondered what happens in winter to the many hundreds of plants whose flowers adorn our
gardens and meadows during the summer months? When they have shed their last flowers, most of them
wither away and we often say that they are dead.
That is not quite true, however, for beneath the ground the roots of many of them lie as if asleep, ready to
spring up again when the bleak days are past. The daisy, the dandelion and the violet are among the plants
which pass the winter in this way. Many plants, such as the poppy, the shepherd”s purse and the sweet pea, do
really die when summer goes, but they have taken care to provide seed from which new plants of their kind
may spring in the next season. Often the seed is scattered widely by wind or by other means.
Most trees prepare for winter by allowing their leaves to fall before the season of storms comes upon them.
During the long summer sunshine the leaves have been busy making food for the tree, but in autumn the tree
begins to use up the food stored in them.
Each leaf is then sealed with a tiny layer of cork and gradually it turns to the yellow or golden-brown color
which makes our woods so beautiful in that season. Then when winter comes, or even sooner, the leaves drop
off or are scattered by the wind. Through the months of snows and frosts and gales the trees stand with
branches bare and cold, like great ships that have furled their sails in the face of the storm and are resting until
the fair weather comes again.
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Reading: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions below:
Some hundreds of years ago there lived a Bishop named Evrard, who built a great cathedral in a city on a hill.
The cathedral was a very beautiful one, with wide carved doorways, lovely windows of colored glass and
splendid towers. As he looked at the stately building while it was being made, the Bishop said to himself,
“Surely God has no more beautiful house in the entire world than this, and I, Bishop Evrard, have built it. It is
my work, for I have planned it all-the towers and the windows, the carving and the statues.
“With my riches I have bought the stone and the timbers of which it is made. My gold pays the builders, the
carvers and the sculptors who work upon it. In raising this wonderful church I am doing a noble service to
God and to my fellow-men.”
Over the great doorway of the cathedral was a place where a statue might stand. The Bishop meant to fill this
place with a stone image of him. “It must be only a small, simple statue,” said he, “ for I am not a proud
man.” Yet, as he looked up at the empty place, it pleased him to think that, hundreds of years after he was
dead, people would stop before his statue and praise him for what he had done. Thus, though he did not know
it, his heart became full of pride.
One night Bishop Evrard had a dream. He thought that a shining angel stood beside his bed, and told him to
rise. “Come; said the angel. “I will show you some of those who have worked with you in building the
church.
They are humble, but in God’s sight their work has been worth more than yours.” The angel led Evrard past
the cathedral and down the steep streets of the old city. Though did not seem to see them. Beyond the city
gates they followed a road that led them down till they came to flat, green fields. There, in the middle of the
road, they saw two big white oxen yoked to a square block of stone. The great beasts were resting before they
began to drag the stone up the steep hill to the cathedral.
“Look!” said the angel. Then the Bishop saw a little ill-clad girl run out from a poor hut near the place where
the oxen were standing. She had a bundle of hay in her arms. Going up to the oxen, she gave a handful of hay
first to one and then to the other. Then she stroked their black noses and laid her rosy face against their white
cheeks. Their driver rose from the bank where he had been resting and cried to his cattle to begin their
journey. Now that they were refreshed and cheered, they moved off, straining at the thick ropes; and presently
the great block of stone was being dragged slowly up the hill.
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Reading: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions below:
Pixie was having a lovely time staying with grandma in the quaint little cottage. But as we all know, good
things are short lived – it was Pixie’s last afternoon with the old darlings and she needed to start packing to go
home the next morning. She told grandpa that she needed some time on her own.
“There is something very precious and it’s hidden in a chest somewhere in the house or the garden. Would
you like to try and find it or would you prefer to pack?” said grandma. “I’d like to find the treasure!” cried
Pixie. Pixie raced off to try and find the hidden treasure.
She started with the garden where she looked in the storage shed, under the apple tree and in and around the
shrubs and flowerbeds. Alas! There was no sign of the treasure anywhere in the garden. Then she came
indoors and looked downstairs first, searching behind curtains and underneath tables and chairs. But there was
no sign of the treasure. She did the same upstairs, also looking under all the beds. There was still no success.
“I think I’ll try the attic,” said Pixie. She got hold of a torch and climbed the ladder to the attic. Pixie’s sharp
eyes caught sight of something metal gleaming inside the partly open cupboard that was under the stairs. She
scrambled into the cupboard and found a chest. She heaved out the chest. It was locked but when Pixie went
back into the cupboard she found a key. She tried it and it worked. “I’ve found it! Grandpa, grandma, I have
found it!” Pixie cried out.
Pixie rummaged through the contents of the chest and found lots of precious stuff – necklaces, broaches and
bracelets; and a couple of old watches and dolls. She also found a little purse with coins in it; and an old book
about a little girl like her, called Alice In Wonderland.
That evening, grandma sat down with Pixie and read Alice In Wonderland for Pixie as both of them enjoyed
their cold coffee. After that it really was time for Pixie to pack. Grandpa said that as a prize for finding the
hidden treasure, she could take it all with her to keep and to show mom and dad.
Snuggled up in bed that night, Pixie hugged her newly-found ragged doll and said to herself that the treasure
hunt had been the most amazing thing and the prizes had come as a wonderful surprise. She soon drifted off
to sleep and dreamed of dwarfs and rabbits and cars and ticking watches and, of course, hidden treasure!
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Reading: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions below:
Nora was waiting eagerly for Christmas. Well and why not, she would always look forward to this day every
year. And now, it was just round the corner. Christmas meant so many things for this 7-year-old girl. It was
all about fun and frolic, sharing, and caring, buying new clothes, chocolates, decorating Christmas trees and
most importantly receiving gifts from Santa Claus.
Now Santa was usually generous when it came to giving Nora what she wanted because Nora was a very
sweet girl. She was very kind, obedient, truthful, and unselfish. But she had one big fault – she always forgot
what she was asked to do. She usually remembered getting her own things but when it came to others, she
always forgot.
No matter how important the task was, her answer would always be, “Sorry, I forgot.” When she was asked to
give the tuition fees to her tutor, her mother would find it in her bag at night. If she was sent to the store to get
something, she would return late, without the thing, but with her usual answer, “Sorry mom, I forgot.”
Christmas was near, and Nora was busy making a list of things that she wanted Santa Claus to bring for her.
“Nora, do you realize that like you, Santa Claus may also forget some of those things,” said her mother. “No
mommy, he cannot,” replied Nora.
She put her list into her stocking with great care, prayed diligently and went off to sleep. She had a contented
smile because she knew Santa would give her all she wanted. Nora was up at dawn to check what was in her
stocking. “Let’s see what Santa Claus left for me,” said Nora and handed over another roll of paper to her
mom. Her mother opened the roll and saw that it was a list of all the errands Nora had been asked to do for the
past six months and which she had never done. At the end of all was written, in bold letters, “I FORGOT”.
Nora wept for an hour. To cheer her up, her parents told her that they were all going to grandpa’s place. There
grandma had decorated a Christmas-tree just for her. Perhaps there might be something for her there. Grandpa
and grandma were so happy to see her. They hugged her and took her to the huge room where the Christmastree was kept.
And guess what! It was very strange, but on grandpa’s tree Nora found everything she had written on her list.
“Mom, Santa did not forget me!” exclaimed Nora.
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Reading: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions below:
World is getting noisy these days. The roar of traffic, the scream of jet engines and loud music at shopping
centers are just a few of the loud noises that we might be surrounded by every day. We all live in the same
world, so we need to remember that some people don't like loud noise. Others seem to love it, but there are
times when everyone wants to have some peace and quiet.
Noise can be measured by a special scientific instrument called a sound level meter. Any noise gives a
pressure to the air in the atmosphere. The instrument measures the pressure of sound in the air. It is measured
in decibels or dB. Normal conversation is 50–60 dB. A loud radio is 65–75 dB. Ears start to hurt from noise
at around 90dB.
Protecting your ears from loud noise is very important. Have you been to a music concert or a movie theater
where the amplifiers were really belting it out and you could feel the beat in your body? Did your ears feel
sort of blurry afterwards? Maybe you felt sick or dizzy? Very loud noises are not good for your ears.
Sometimes we listen to loud music through earpieces while you are walking along. We may not realize what
is happening around you and that could be dangerous.
Perhaps the most serious problem created by sound pollution is the impact it has on our health. Constant noise
can lead to other health issues too like stress, tiredness and mental health problems. Noise pollution has also
been linked with health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke.
It is fun to be noisy at times but we need to respect the rights of others to a safe and quiet environment in
school where people are doing so many different things during the day. This is particularly important when
there are students in the classroom who have hearing problems. We should do our part to help improve our
environment.
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