CHARLIE CHAPLIN

Charlie Chaplin was born in London in 1889. He first appeared in music halls and then acted on the London stage. In 1910 he went to the USA with Fred Karno's company, but he didn't stay with Karno very long. In 1913 he started to work at the Keystone Company in Hollywood. There he made his first film, Making A Living, in 1914. In his second film, Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914), he introduced the little tramp. This character made him famous. Chaplin got married several times. He met his last wife, Oona O'Neill in 1942 and married her a year later. Chaplin was then 54 years old and Oona 18. He left the USA in 1952 for political reasons and lived with his family in Switzerland for the rest of his life. He died in 1977.

1. Where was Charlie Chaplin born?
2. When was he bom?
3. Where did he first appear?
4. Where did he go in 1910?
5. What did he do in 1913?
6. When did he make his first film?
7. What character did he introduce in his second film?

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford on April 23rd, 1564. His father, John Shakespeare, was an important man in the town - William did not come from a poor family.
When he was eighteen, William married Anne Hathaway in Stratford. But he didn't want to stay there. He wanted to be an actor and the best theatres were in London. So, in 1587, William went to London, where he worked as an actor in a theatre called The Rose. He began to write plays for the actors. He wrote Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Richard II, Antony and Cleopatra and many more. Everyone liked his plays, and he became famous.
When James I became King in 1603, Shakespeare worked for him, and performed his plays for the King and his friends. He also worked at the famous Globe Theatre. This theatre presented his last play, Henry VIII. There was a gun in this play, and fire from the gun burned the theatre down. In 1610 Shakespeare went back to Stratford. He wanted to live there with his family, but he died on April 23rd, 1610. He was only forty-six years old.

KELSEY THE KITTEN

Kelsey likes to play outside. She likes to play inside. Kelsey has a little bed. She likes to eat cat food. Kelsey is a little cat. She is so sweet. Kelsey is my pet. The little cat can jump and play with me. Do you have a pet?

I Want To Be A Firefighter

I want to be a firefighter when I grow up. They are nice people. They help to put out fires. They help to keep us safe. Firefighters drive big red trucks. I like their red hats and yellow clothes. The trucks make a loud noise when they go by. Do you want to be a firefighter?

It is The Earth

We live on the Earth. The Earth is very big. The Earth is a sphere, the same shape as a ball. The Earth spins every day. The Earth has land, where people and some animals live. It has oceans, where fish and whales live. A globe is a model of the Earth. It looks like the Earth. A globe is also a sphere. The Earth and a globe are the same shape.

We use a globe to learn about the Earth. A globe has pictures of land and water on it, so we can understand where those things are on the Earth. The Earth spins around and travels around the sun. We can make the globe spin, too. It is fun to learn about the Earth with a globe.

I Like To Swim

My name is Danny. I am a little duck. I like to play in the water. I like to swim. I like to swim in a tub. I like to swim in a pond. I don’t like to swim in the ocean. It is too big for me. I like to swim in my little red pool the best. I can swim and swim. Do you like to swim? Where do you like to swim?

Frank Likes To Fish

Frank likes to fish. He wants to fish every day. He likes to go to the pond and fish. He likes to go with his brother. They have fun when they go fishing. They buy worms at the store. They like to see the fish jump. They like to catch fish. Frank likes to fish with his brother. Do you like to fish?

Fluffy Likes To Play

Fluffy was a little white dog. He wanted to play. He wanted a new friend. Fluffy liked to jump and run. He liked to run after a ball. Fluffy saw a little black kitten. He ran to the kitten and played . Fluffy has a new friend to play with. They have fun outside.

DO YOU HAVE A WISH?

My friend Emily is always wishing for things. She wishes for new shoes. She wishes for ribbons for her hair. She wishes for toys. I like to wish too. But, I wish for different things. I wish for sunny skies. I wish I could see my grandmother. I wish people would be nice to each other. I wish I could see my friends everyday. My brother, Justin, wishes for different things. Justin wishes he could fly. He wishes he could travel to the moon. He wishes he could be a super hero. Justin wishes he could be a knight in shiny armor.

We all have different wishes and that is okay. We all have different wishes that we hope come true someday. We all have wishes. Do you have a wish?

by Sandy Kemsley

Bessie s Friend

Bessie’s friend is a doll named Sandy. Bessie and Sandy play school. They like to write their names on paper. They like to paint pictures. They like to play outside. Bessie’s Mom makes them cookies. They have a party. Bessie and Sandy go everywhere together. They like to wear dresses that are just alike. They have fun.

MICROSCOPIC ORGANISMS

In the seventeenth century, Anionic van Leeuwenhoek was the first person to see tiny organisms with a microscope. He called them animalcules, Later, scientists in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries named these animalcules bacteria and protozoa. This was the beginning of the sciences of Bacteriology and Protozoology, the studies of microscopic organisms. Bacteriologists and proiozoologists have studied these organisms for many years, but they rind it difficult to classify them. Scientists cannot classify some of these microscopic organisms in the plant or animal kingdom, so they put them into another kingdom, protists. Some protists are like animals. They, do not have chlorophyll, and they cannot make their own food. These protists get their food fromother organisms.

Other protists are like plants. They have chlorophyll, and they can make their own food. They usually live in water. Both animal and plant-like protists provide food for other plants and animals that live in the water. Many protists are single-celled organisms. They have only one cell. Others, however, are multicelled. They have many cells.Because these organisms are neither plants nor animals, scientists put them in another kingdom.

Bacteria are also difficult to classify in the plant or animal kingdoms.They have only one cell, but the cell does not have a nucleus, it contains only a cell membrane and a cell wall. Bacteria cannot make their own food. They must get the food from other organisms. Some bacteriologists classify bacteria separately in the monera kingdom.

Another microscopic organism is the virus. It is much smaller than protists or bacteria. Scientists can see it only with the electron microscope. A virus is not a cell. It is simpler than a cell. It does not have a cytoplasm or a nucleus. It has a cover of protein, and inside the protein, there is reproductive material. This reproductive material helps the virus reproduce. It makes more viruses.The virus reproduces only when it is inside another cell. When it enters another cell, it begins to reproduce. It makes more and more viruses inside the cell until the cell breaks open and the viruses go into other cells. For this reason, scientists have difficulty classifying it as living or non-living. Outside another cell, the virus is inactive . It does not become active and reproduce until it enters another cell. Although we cannot see them, microscopic organisms are everywhere. They are an important part of life on the earth. It is difficultto classify these organisms, because they are different from other plants and animals. Some of them have chlorophyll like plants, and others do not. Some of them are not complete cells. Bacteria do not have a nucleus, and viruses do not have cytoplasm. To help classify microscopic organisms, some bacteriologists have added two more kingdoms: the protists and the monera.

TORNADOES

The great power of tornadoes is almost unbelievable. The speed of this whirling funnel-shaped wind may be more than 800 kilometres per hour. Like a giant vacuum cleaner, it sucks up anything in its path. There are many interesting stories about the strange things that tornadoes have done in the United States. Common wheat straw has been driven several centimetres onto posts and trees. Buildings have been turned completely around on their foundations and have remained intact. People and animals have been carried hundreds of metres, often suffering no physical harm. Feathers have been removed from chickens. Cars, trucks, and even whole freight trains have been carried away. Fortunately, a tornado does not last long, about 20 to 30 minutes on the average. Usually, it destroys an area about 26 kilometres long, and the great damage that it does in one place lasts only about 30 seconds. Tornadoes normally occur on hot, humid days but not necessarily in the summer. The biggest and most destructive tornado in the United States struck on March 18, 1925. Roaring along at a speed of 96 kilometres per hour, it swept clean a path 2 kilometres wide across the states of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. In its 354-kilometre long journey across these three states, the tornado killed 689 people. More than 200 tornadoes strike in the United States every year. It is not possible to predict when a tornado will strike although the U.S. Weather Bureau gives storm warnings when conditions are right to cause a tornado. The safest place to be if a tornado seems likely is in some underground area such as a cellar or a basement.

A.

1. How long does a tornado last?

2. What weather conditions are suitable for a tornado?

3. What is the best place to hide in case of a tornado?

4. Give two examples of the damage tornadoes can cause.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

It gets hotter and hotter as you go down towards the centre of the earth. This heat is geothermal energy. In some places the temperature increases as much as 40°C per kilometre, and this is a very good 'heat gradient. A normal heat gradient is 25°C per kilometre. Often if you make a deep hole in the ground, you will find hot water deep underground. For example, engineers drilled for hot water in Southampton, England. At 1500 metres they found water at 60°C. There is enough hot water there to heat a thousand houses for thirty or forty years. In some places you do not have to drill to obtain geothermal energy. This is because hot water and steam are already coming out of the ground. The most famous examples of this are in California (USA), New Zealand, Italy and Iceland. In these places the water and steam are very hot. It is hot enough to heat most of the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik, or to drive, i.e. provide the power to work, electric generators in California.

There is not always hot water deep down, but there is often very hot dry rock. Of course, we want to use this heat, but can we get it out? In Los Alamos, USA, scientists are trying to do this. They are drilling down to the hot rock. Then they are going to break the hot rock. They will then send cold water down to the bottom, and il will get hot there. This hot water will return to the top through another hole. The hot water will be useful for making electricity or heating houses.Geothermal energy will never be an important source of energy. But there are many places where it can be very useful.

THE PEN

Man has never been satisfied with simply talking. For some reason he has always considered his ideas to be so important that he has always tried to find ways to record them on paper. Man has developed many systems of writing; he also developed various tools with which to write.

One of the first instruments developed by man for writing was the stylus. It was a sharp instrument made of bone or metal, and with it the writer could make marks on stone or wood. It was used for thousands of years and was very practical.

The idea of using pen and ink was developed by the Egyptians. Their version of the pen was made from bamboo. They sharpened one end of the stem (or the body) to make a nib, that is, the point which you write with. Then they filled the empty part of the stem with ink and forced the ink onto the nib. It was a good idea, but when paper was later introduced, a much finer instrument was needed. The problem was solved with the introduction of the quill pen. The quill is a large feather from the wing or tail of a bird. The quill also gave us the word 'pen' - feather in Latin is penna. Because this pen was a feather, however, it had to be sharpened quite often. A special instrument was made for this purpose, the penknife.

The quill was used from the 6th through the 18th century, but in the 19th century a machine was invented which successfully made a nib out of metal and which, thus, solved the problem of sharpening. The nib could be fitted into a holder and dipped into a bottle of ink. Finally, in 1884, a young American, Lewis Waterman, found a way of putting the ink into the holder, and the fountain pen as we know it was complete. Although the fountain pen was very popular, a more popular kind of pen was introduced in 1943. This was the ball-point pen, invented by Laszlo Biro, an Argentinian.

THE BIG BALLOON

We saw a big balloon at the picnic. It was a hot air balloon. It had many colors on it. It had a big basket on the bottom.

People can ride in the hot air balloon. It goes up high in the sky.

My sister wanted to ride in the balloon. She is too little to ride in that balloon. My dad bought her a little red balloon to play with.

She liked the little red balloon. Have you ever seen a hot air balloon?

MY DOG

I have a dog. His name is Sam. Sam is five years old. He is big and brown. I play with Sam everyday. We play ball. We play tag. We play hide and go seek. Sam is my best friend.

ACID RAIN (2)

According to some scientists, one of the most serious problems for the environment is acid rain. Acid rain is caused mainly by power plants that burn coal to produce electricity. The smoke from these power plants contains acidic substances which later fall back to earth in rain or snow. As a result, the amount of acid in lakes and rivers increases, causing the fish to die. Already many lakes in Canada, the northeastern U.S., and Norway are contaminated by pollution from power plants. Scientists are also warning that acid rain can damage plants and trees and lead to the contamination of drinking water. It is, therefore, a danger to human health. Many governments do not want to pass laws that will reduce the pollution which causes acid rain. They say that the causes of acid rain are still not completely clear. However, it is clear to the majority of environmentalists that economics is the real reason why governments do not take immmediate action. In most industrial countries, the majority of power plants use coal. It will be extremely expensive to develop the special equipment that is needed to reduce the pollution from these power plants.

A. Mark the best choice.
The main idea of the passage is that .
a) although acid rain is a serious problem for the environment, governments have still not taken the necessary steps to reduce it
b) many power plants burn coal to produce electricity and this increases the amount of acid in rivers and lakes
c) acid rain, which is a serious problem for the environment, has polluted many lakes in Canada, Norway and the United States
d) many governments will pass laws to reduce acid rain when its causes become clear

B. Mark the statements as True (T) or False (F).
1. Power plants which burn coal to produce electricity pollute the environment.
2. Most environmentalists say that they do not really know the causes of acid rain.
3. It will not be cheap to reduce pollution from power plants.

ACID RAIN

Acid rain is caused by burning coal or oil. When either fuel is burned, it releases poisonous gases which are carried up into the atmosphere and sometimes transported long distances. Over 3000 research projects have been carried out to look into acid rain, and a decision to tackle the problem has been taken in most of the Western European countries. Measures have been taken in Scandinavia and in Central Europe to stop the pollution before it is dumped on the environment: and a diplomatic campaign has been launched to convince the other countries that the problem has to be considered as a major ecological threat.

"Five years ago this issue was not being treated seriously," says one leading environmental group, "but now that damage has been reported in large areas of forest and lakeland, our politicians are being forced to take action. This problem must be solved quickly: if governments do nothing, they will be faced in two or three years' time with the accusation that they have allowed our forests to die." A major international initiative to combat acid rain is expected in the near future.

THE OZONE LAYER

The end of the human race cannot be put before the interests of aerosol manufacturers. This important decision was reached by the top brains of twenty-four countries in Montreal this September. It was a historic decision, because, for the first time, governments from
different countries all over the world put aside political and national differences to ensure that pollution does not bring disaster on the multinational companies which are causing il.

In 1985, a hole the size of the United States appeared in the ozone layer above the Antarctic. Without the ozone layer, more UV-B rays from the sun penetrate the atmosphere with various inconvenient results, such as a massive increase in skin cancers, reduced crop
productivity, depletion of fish stocks, and climate changes resulting in floods and famine.

The scientists rushed to the conclusion, over the next few years, that the depletion of the ozone layer was due to chemicals known as chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, which are used in such things as aerosols, hamburger packaging and refrigerators.

Most scientists agree that a reduction of 85 per cent in CFC emissions is needed immediately - just to stabilise conditions. In Montreal, however, the top brains from twenty-four countries decided on a reduction of only 50 per cent, and then not until 1998. Moreover, they were talking only about consumption of CFCs. In fact, they've actually agreed to let the big companies increase their production of CFCs. I'm sorry, I'd better repeat that. Faced with the extinction of the human race by depletion of the ozone layer owing to the manufacture of CFCs, the top brains of twenty-four countries agreed to increase the production of CFCs. But who cares? As the Secretary of the Interior of the United States put it, 'So what if the ozone layer does go? We'll all just have to wear hats, dark glasses and barrier cream whenever we go out-of-doors.'

Hamsters

by Sandy Kemsley

Hamsters are fun. They are fun pets. They eat hamster mix. They like fruit and nuts, too. Only feed hamsters things that are good for them. Kids like to play with hamsters. Classrooms have them for pets. Kids take turns taking care of the hamsters so they stay healthy. Have you ever played with a hamster?

A Pretty Day

By Linda Owens

Mom said, " It is a pretty day. Go and play outside." Jenny and Joe went outside. The sky was blue and it was warm. Jenny said, " We can run and play. I will run after you, Joe". Joe ran and ran. Jenny ran and ran. They ran up the hill. They ran down the hill. Joe sat down. " You can’t run after me," he said. " I am too fast for you." Jenny laughed at Joe.

CARS OF THE FUTURE

What kind of cars will we be driving in the year 2015? Rather different ones from those that we know today. The next twenty years will bring greater change in car models than the past fifty years.Tomorrow's cars will not look like those of today. The most important cause that will lead to a change in the design of cars will be environmental. That is, tomorrow's cars will be designed not to cause air pollution. They will be electrically powered; in other words, they will run on electricity entirely and therefore, be environmentally clean. Besides the problem of pollution, there is also the problem of heavy traffic and traffic accidents today. The last two may also be avoided if computers drive the cars instead of drivers. As a passenger, all you will have to do will be to get in the car and say where you want to go. The computer will do the rest and take you there. This, however, will require the construction of special intelligent roads, as tomorrow's models won't be able to move on ordinary roads. These roads will contain special strips that can supply (provide) electrical power to the vehicles as they drive along them. The special equipment in cars will pick up the necessary fuel during long journeys from a power source which will exist in the road. As computers - not drivers - will provide safe driving, there will be fewer accidents; or, maybe, there won't be any accidents at all.

VIDEO CLIPS

Did you see Michael Jackson's twenty-minute pop video 'Thriller'? He had to spend over $ 800,000 to make it, and it became very famous all over the world. Unknown singers and groups can become rich in one night when their pop videos get on the American MTV channel. The Birmingham group 'Duran Duran' became famous only after their first video. That made all the difference.

Videos became the biggest thing in the pop music world in the 1960s. British record companies are now spending more than £ 12 million a year on videos of new records. With these videos, singers and groups get on TV. People can also buy these videos in shops. These two things make singers and groups famous. They can't become famous if thev don't make a good video.

Record companies send Jools Holland, the director of a British TV pop music programme, hundreds of videos very year. "I must say that most pop singers are very bad actors" says Jools, "but thev don't look bad when record companies spend thousands of pounds on these videos. We've got some excellent film directors in Britain. Their videos are very good - much better than the American ones." Jools Holland gets all kinds of videos: some cost more than £50.000 for three minutes of film; others, from new groups cost £500 or less.

TWO STRANGERS ON A TRAIN

Kate sat in the dining car of the express train ;har was taking her back home to Bristol. She had hardly touched the meal in front of her. The steak was just as she normally Isked it: medium-rare and thick. It was surrounded by large, grilled mushrooms and crisp fried potatoes. But Kate was worried and in a bad mood. She had recently come back from Mexico, where she had been very happy teaching English to businessmen and engineers. It seemed unlikely that she wouid ever find such a good job again. Two had been offered to her, both of which she had turned down because of the poor salaries. Nobody seemed interested in her excellent qualifications, which included almost perfect Spanish, fluent German and French and an excellent knowledge of commercial and technical English.

Joe sat in another part of the train, smoking nervously. He was the Director of Studies at a large English language school in Cambridge, which had recently started specialising in courses for foreign businessmen and engineers. He had a lot of problems, but the biggest one was finding good, qualified teachers who could teach the sort of English his students needed. A meeting of technical and commercial translators was taking place in Bristol, which was why he was going there. He hoped to persuade some of them to become teachers at his school, and was prepared to offer good salaries.

The only other person in Joe's compartment was an old man who was already asleep and snoring, and whose mouth was hanging open like an empty mouse-trap. Even though he was not hungry, he wondered if he might find more attractive company in the dining-car. The old man began to snore more loudly. Joe got up.

It was only after he had sat down in the only vacant seat in the dining-car that he noticed Kate. She was opposite him, and had the sort of face he liked. He wondered how he could start a conversation with her. He casually asked her if she minded him smoking, feeling sure she would not. But to his surprise, she did. Nothing more was said for a moment. Then,

WELCOME TO PRESTEL

Among the latest developments in telecommunications are viewdata systems which use both telephone and television. The extract below is from a brochure advertising "Prestel".

Prestel is the first of a new kind of information service. It is currently being used by thousands of customers in Britain and overseas, large businesses, small firms, colleges, farms, hotels, high street shops and in a growing number of private homes. They find Prestel a quick and very easy
way to get the information they need every day, as well as offering powerful two-way communications.

An adapted television set and an ordinary telephone line link Prestel customers to an enormous range of computer-held information. To call up an item from the thousands available, you simply press the numbered buttons on a keypad the size of a pocket calculator. The information on Prestel is organised in 'pages' - a page is a screenful of information. As soon as you ask for a particular page, the computer sends it instantly down the telephone line and it appears on the screen of your set. Prestel can store hundreds of thousands of pages, but finding the information
is easy. There are special index pages on Prestel to help you, and also printed directories. You can learn how to use the system in a few minutes without any special training.

The information on Prestel is supplied by hundreds of independent organisations called Information Providers, who are in direct contact with the central computer and edit their pages to keep them constantly up-to-date. Prestel is, therefore, an important medium for fast-changing information like foreign exchange rates, the availability of airline seats, or the latest sports results. It can, of course, bring you business information, the latest news, detailed guides to the countries of the world, office space to rent, theatre and cinema guides, and more. The first group of people to take to Prestel in a big way were travel agents, and there are now over 200 tour operators, ferry companies and airlines on Prestel detailing fares, timetables and up-to-date availability, all at the press of a button. Such information can be very valuable when planning holidays and business trips.

With its vast range of topics, Prestel can be thought of as an electronic publishing medium. But it is more than that. As well as receiving information, users can send messages to each other on a special computer. They can also send messages to Information Providers using Response Pages. This allows them to order goods via Prestel, book a hotel room, or reserve a seat at the theatre.

WHERE ARE WE GOING?

WHERE ARE WE GOING?
In 1829, when Stephenson entered his invention, the steam engine, for a competition, people were shocked to find that it was possible to travel at a dangerous speed of 36 m.p.h. There were many powerful opponents of the railway companies. Stage-coach owners, innkeepers and horse dealers all saw their means of living threatened by the new rival: the canal companies became aware of a powerful competitor. If railway transport was to become widespread, they would lose their jobs. Another group of people who were against the introduction of the railways into Britain were those who were interested in the natural conservation of the country. Trains were considered to be dangerous and it was said that they frightened cows and hens, killed birds with their smoke, and set houses on'f ire with their sparks. One man summed up the general feeling of the people when he said, "The locomotion monster carrying eight tons of goods, navigated by a tail of smoke and sulphur, comes through every man's ground between Manchester and Liverpool."
On the other hand, communication was certainly helped by the railways, now that trains were being used in postal service. And what made communication even faster was the electric telegraph, which was 20 introduced in 1840. The introduction of railways influenced other aspects of life as well. The laying of the tracks provided work for thousands and transporting people and goods w? made easier. In fact, travelling by rail soon became a common thing in everyone's life, and it is now difficult to imagine a world without railways or any other form of rapid transport.
But how much faster do we want to travel? How much further can transport be developed? Do we want the sea and air to be as cluttered as the roads, which are overcrowded with cars? Apparently more and more means of transport ai eing invented. For example, ten years ago Anthony Hawker bought a house with a canal around it, which he used as a testing place for models of his latest invention, a small hovercraft, and his friends laughed. They thought it was a dangerous pastime for someone who had no formal engineering training. "I have never been so laughed at in my life. Everyone thought I was mad. I was told it was totally impossible. Everyone said it wouldn't work," he said. But it did work and the result is a four-seater hovercraft Meanwhile, Anthony Hawker is working on a flying saucer. It will probably work.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE WEATHER?

Although climatologists believe that global warming may eventually trigger
extreme weather variations like the ones we are experiencing, they say it is too early to prove a direct connection. The outbreak of freakish weather could also have been partly caused by one or more of the following large-scale atmospheric events:

EL NINO
To meteorologists, the weather phenomenon named after a child is not a theory, but a recognisable and recurrent climatological event. Every few years around Christmas-time, a huge pool of warm sea water in the western Pacific begins to expand eastward toward Ecuador and disrupts weather patterns across half the earth's surface. The El Nino that began last year and is now breaking up has been linked to the flooding in Latin America, the unseasonably warm winter in North America and the droughts in Africa.

PINATUBO

The full effects of the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines last June probably the largest volcanic explosion of the 20th century are starting to be felt this year. The volcano released 20 million tons of gas and ash into the stratosphere, where they formed a layer of dust that will scatter sunlight and could lower temperatures - by a quarter of a degree Celsius - for the next three or four years. Smoke from the Gulf-war fires, by contrast, never reached the stratosphere and had no measurable effect on the world's weather.

THE OLYMPIC MARATHON

Sport is full of wonderful moments, but perhaps nothing is as exciting as the finish of the marathon. It is the longest, hardest race of all. The name 'marathon' comes from a village in Greece. A famous war was fought there in the year 490 BC. When the Greeks won the war, a soldier ran all the way from Marathon to Athens (more than 40 km.) to tell the people the good news. The organisers of the first modern Olympic games in 1896 decided to include the marathon in the games so that this event would not be forgotten. The marathon has been a race since then.

10 At first the Olympic Games were part of a festival. The Greeks had this festival once in every four years in Olympia. Athletes from Greece, Cyprus, Sicily, etc. went there to participate in the games. These games were very important to the Greeks. They even stopped their wars for them.


The modern Olympic Games were started again in 1896 in Athens. However, only 300 athletes from 12 countries went there to participate in the games. Since then, of course, the games have become much more popular. Only male athletes participated in the early Olympic Games. In the 1923 Olympics in Amsterdam an important change took place. Female athletes participated for the first time.

We all know that only amateur athletes can participate in the Olympic Games. An amateur is someone who doesn't earn any money from sport. But today it is difficult to say who is an amateur and who is not. It is true that Olympic athletes never earn as much money as professional sportsmen. But they are often students or teachers of a sport and have to spend a lot of time training. Their governments pay for their training, travel and pocket-money, because they want them to win. Some people think that this changes the Olympics. They feel that the games are now a political marathon.

THE BARASANA

Between Colombia and Brazil there is an area called Vaupes Region'. About 15.000 people live in this area. They are the Amazonian Indians. These Amazonian Indians live in small groups. These groups have got different names like: Tukano, Desana, Cubeo and Barasana. The Barasana have a very different life-style. They do not live in villages. Many families live together in one house. It's a very big house and they share everything in this house. These houses are very far away from each other. A person has to walk for one hour to get from one house to another. There are gardens for special plants behind the houses. The Barasana pick bananas from the banana trees and use the leaves of these trees to serve food. The Barasana men and the Barasana women do different things. The women spend most of their time doing housework. They look after children, work in the gardens and prepare the food. The men go fishing and hunt animals for their meat. The Barasana are marvellous language-learners. This is because a Barasana man has to marry a woman from a different house. The people in different houses speak different languages, so they must learn the other language to understand each other. The wife has to learn her husband's language and the husband has to learn his wife's language. The children first learn their father's language and use it every day, but they also understand their mother's language. The children do not go to school. They play with other children, watch their parents and in this way they learn about life. Young girls have to help their mothers, but the boys don't.

John Bear is starting his university education in London, so he needs

John Bear is starting his university education in London, so he needs accommodation. He has written a letter to an agency and the following is the answer to his letter.
Family Friends Agency
London Wl
Dear Mr. Bear,

Thank you for your letter of 17*" October. You asked about good families for students to stay with in London. Here are three suggestions: Mr. and Mrs. Cranley, Garden Street, London NW1 A large family with a large house. It can take up to four students .Everybody is part of the family. Good food. Good location (near an underground station), very central and easy to get to anywhere in London.

Mrs. Eisley, 3 Newton Avenue, Uxbridge Mrs. Eisley is an old lady. There are five bedrooms for students. Everyone has his/her own room and each bedroom has a washbasin and shower. Another house on the same street has two more single bedrooms, but students eat with Mrs. Eisley.Professor and

Mrs. James Earl-Jones, Wimbledon A famous family (Mr. Jones is a well-known professor, and his wife sings opera). The house is lovely, with a very large garden. There are two bedrooms for students, with two beds in each. Everyone who has stayed there says that the food is excellent. Each of these places is very clean and friendly. Some students don't like Wimbledon because it's quite far from central London. Others love it. Some like staying with the Cranleys because they have five children and three dogs, but others don't like it because it's too no noisy. Everyone likes Mrs. Eisley, so it's very difficult to get in. You must book at least six months in advance. I hope these suggestions are helpful. Yours sincerely,

Family Friends Agency

A LANGUAGE TEACHER'S PERSONAL OPINION

A LANGUAGE TEACHER'S PERSONAL OPINION
Why is English such an important language today? There are several reasons. Many newspapers send their reports to other newspapers in different countries in English - not in Spanish or Italian. English is also the language of the businessworld. For example, when a Mexican businessman buys something from a Chinese businessman he usually speaks English. At airports you can always hear English, and at the cinema you can watch a film in English. Today a lot of people want to learn this language. They go to language schools in England or take English courses in their own countries. Every day I see advertisements in the newspapers and on buses. They are about language courses. Sometimes they also advertise language cassettes in English. They say you can learn a second language very fast and easily.
They often say you can read plays by Shakespeare or books by Charles Dickens after you listen to the cassettes or after you go to the classes for three months. These advertisements are awful. I am an English teacher and I know that it is difficult to learn a new language. But a lot of people think these advertisements are true. They want to go to these short courses or buy those expensive cassettes. I don't understand them. How can someone learn a new language in three months? Are 'super teachers' teaching their classes? I really don't know. I don't think people can learn English from cassettes. When we speak a language we don't repeat sentences only. We use the language every day and everywhere. For example, we talk to our friends, our neighbours or to a waiter in a restaurant. You can't speak to a cassette. You can only repeat the questions and answers. We must talk to people and listen to them when we learn a new language. And this takes a long time. Not only three months!

VOLCANOES

Earthquakes and volcanoes frighten people but they also give them great pleasure. Although volcanoes are mostly beautiful mountains, they have destroyed cities, forests and farmland throughout history. The word volcano comes from the name of the island of Vulcano, just 5 north of Sicily. In classical times, people thought k was the home of Vulcan - the god of destruction. Science has improved greatly. However, we still know very little about volcanoes. A volcano is a kind of chimney, or vent. This chimney goes down to a liquid deep in the earth, called 'magma'. Three types of material come out of this vent: a hot liquid ('lava'), pieces of rock and great quantities of gas. The lava and rock often collect around the vent and form the volcano's 'cone'.

Scientists often classify, i.e. group, volcanoes according to the type of vent and kind of explosion.

RUDYARD KIPLING

RUDYARD KIPLING
The story-writer Rudyard Kipling was the son of an Englishman. Kipling was born on December 30th, 1865 in Bombay, India. When he was 5 years old his father sent him to England. There he went to school at the United Services College in Devon. He wrote about this school later in his life in his book called Stalky and Co. He finished school when he was 17 and returned to India. There, he worked as a reporter and wrote many books. His stories, especially those about soldiers, were very popular and he became very famous at the age of 25. He travelled to India, China, Japan and America and finally went to England. There, he worked on stories of India and wrote a book called Barrack Room Ballads.

In 1892 Kipling married an American - Caroline Balstier. For some time they lived in Vermont in the United States but later returned to Sussex, England. Kipling wrote books for readers of all ages. He also wrote children's stories. Some of them are The Jungle Book (1894), The Second Jungle Book (1895), and Just so Stories (1902). He received the 1907 Nobel Prize for literature.

A. Mark the statements as True (T) or False (F).
1. Rudyard Kipling lived in India between 1865 and 1870.
2. The United Services College is in the U.S.A.
3. Kipling worked as a reporter in Sussex, England.
4. Barrack Room Ballads is about Kipling's trips to India, China and Japan.
5. Kipling was in his twenties when he became famous.
B. Complete the sentences with the information in the text.
1. Kipling wrote about in his book called Stalky and Co.
2. His stories about made him a famous writer at a young age.
3. Caroline Balstier was Kipling's .
4. Kipling wrote The Jungle Book for .
5. Kipling received in 1907.

THE OSTRICH

The ostrich is the largest bird in the world. Africa and Arabia are the home of the ostrich, but we can see one in almost every zoo around the world. It has got wings but they are very small, so it cannot fly. Some male ostriches can be 2.5m in height and weigh from 90 to 135 kg. An ostrich has a small, flat head and a very long neck. Its legs are strong and thick. It is an excellent runner. It can run very fast - about 40 miles an hour. It is faster than a horse, but it is not the fastest animal. There are faster animals than the ostrich - for example, the antelope. The food of the ostrich is plants and some insects. Ostriches leave their eggs into holes in the sand. Sometimes there are 20 eggs in one hole. They are white and the largest eggs in the world. The female ostrich looks after the eggs in the daytime and the male ostrich at night.

Mark the statements as True (T) or False (F).
1. There are larger birds than the ostrich in the world.
2. Ostriches live in zoos only.
3. An ostrich can't fly.
4. An antelope is faster than a horse.
5. An ostrich can weigh 125 kg.
6. Ostriches like eating insects and large eggs of other birds.
7. The male and the female ostriches look after the eggs together at
night.

NOTTINGHAM - BANGOR

NOTTINGHAM

Nottingham is a busy industrial, commercial and university town with almost 300,000 inhabitants. Close to the centre of one of Britain's richest coalfields, it is important in the Midlands for its many kinds of industry. Nottingham is an industrial city, but it is not at all ugly or dirty. Nottingham lies on the side of a hill near the River Trent, only a short distance away from Sherwood Forest, the famous home of Robin Hood. The city's castle is also quite famous, and Nottingham has three theatres, several cinemas, a very large university and various museums and galleries to look after the cultural needs of the town. Nottingham also enjoys some of the best sport in the country, with two professional football clubs, a first-class cricket ground (Trent Bridge) and the National Water Sports Centre in its large country park.

BANGOR


Centred round its university on the hill and its cathedral below, Bangor is one of the most attractive towns in North Wales. It is a small town with a population of only 13,000 and with little or no heavy industry. Therefore, it is still clean and quiet.
Bangor is an important cultural centre. There is a theatre and a cinema and visitors should not miss the Museum of Welsh Antiquities or Bangor's famous public garden, Gardd yr Esgob. A little further away, there is Penrhyn Castle with its railway museum. For sports enthusiasts, Bangor has an 18-hole golf course and a large modern swimming-pool.

JOHN LENNON

A lot of people remember John Lennon for his music with the Beatles. He was serious and creative, and many young people of the 1960's and 1970's thought he spoke for them. Lennon was born on October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, England. When he was a child, he listened to the music of rock and roll singers like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard. At 15, when he was in art school, Lennon started his first rock-group, the Quarrymen. The members of the group were Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Pete Best, who played the drums.
The Quarrymen later changed their name to the Silver Beatles and then the Beatles. When Pete Best left the group, Ringo Starr joined the Beatles as the drummer. Between 1958 and 1962 the group played in night clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg, Germany. Then the Beatles made a record called 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand' and had their first big success in Britain. 'Please Please Me' came a short time after that and it became number one. Lennon was both a singer and a songwriter. He wrote many of the Beatles' songs and most of these songs became number one all over the world. They were romantic and intelligent, and today's musicians still play them. Lennon did not only make music and films with the Beatles. He also wrotetwo books, the first one in 1964 and the second one a year after that. In 1967 he acted in a film called How I Won The War. On December 8, 1980 John Lennon died in New York, shot dead outside his apartment building. Every year thousands of people come together in New York's Central Park to remember him. For many people in the world, he was someone very special.

AMY'S RESTAURANT

AMY'S RESTAURANT
Amy's Restaurant is an example of a good place to eat in Greenwich Village. It's a perfect place for students to eat lunch and dinner. It's clean, the service is fast and the prices are reasonable. Amy's has a different special every day. The special includes fish or meat, vegetables, a mixed salad, bread and butter, dessert and coffee or tea - all for $3.45. The special and the other items on Amy's menu are always excellent for the prices.

1. Where can you eat in Greenwich Village?
2. What can you say about Amy's restaurant?(Write only one sentence.)
3. How much is a special meal at Amy's?

GOING TO BRITAIN

Money
There are one hundred pence (lOOp) in a pound (£1). People sometimes say "p" instead of "pence", for example, "eighty p". Not all banks change foreign money, but you can usually find at least one bank in each town that will do it

Where
Hotels are very expensive in Britain. A cheaper solution is a bed and breakfast' in someone's home. Information centres or tourist offices can help you to find these. There are also youth hostels and campsites in many places.

Writing Home
Stamps can only be bought in post offices; but nearly every village (or part of a town) has a post office. Often it is inside a small shop.

Getting Around
Trains are quite good in Britain. If you are under 24 or over 65, or if you are travelling with a family, ask about 'railcards' for cheaper fares on the train. There are also coaches (long-distance buses) between some towns and cities; these are cheaper than trains. In towns and cities, there are usually buses, and in London there is also an underground. But the underground is not easy to use, so you should learn about it before you use it. You can get information about the system in all the stations in London.

Eating Out
Restaurants are often expensive, and you cannot be sure the food will be good. But Indian and Chinese restaurants serve good meals, which are cheap. Pubs sometimes serve good food but it is usually quite expensive. Fast food shops - fish and chip shops, hamburger shops - are cheap, but the food is not always very good.


1. Where can you ask about a cheap place to stay?
2. Who can get 'railcards'?
a) People
b) People over 65.
c) People
3. Where can you have a good and cheap meal?
4. In most villages, where is the post office?