Unit Readings

Unit
Readings
English (American)
Unit 1: A Man Is Walking
A man is walking. The sun is a big yellow ball. He is walking, walking, walking ...
The grass is yellow. There are no trees, no flowers, no water. He is walking,

walking, walking ...
He does not have a car; he does not have a horse. He is walking, walking,
walking ...
The sun is a big red ball. He is walking, walking, walking ...
Water! There is water!
The man is running. He is drinking, drinking, drinking ...
The sky is black, and the moon is a big white ball.
The man has water, and he is sleeping.
2 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

Circle the correct answer.
1. Where is the man walking?

A. B. C.
2.What color is the grass?

A. green
B. black
C. yellow
3. In the story, the man does not have
A. a car.
B. a newspaper.
C. a hat.
4. Read this sentence, and then answer the question about this part of the text.
There is water!
What is the man doing?
A. walking
B. running
C. sleeping
5. What is “a big white ball”?
A. the sun
B. the moon
C. the sky
The sky is black.
What is the man doing?
A. walking
B. running
C. sleeping
Answer the questions. Remember to use complete sentences and check your spelling.
7. Where the man is walking, what is there?
8. How many “balls” are in the story? What are they?

What do you think? Read the questions and answer with your thoughts. Remember to use complete
sentences and check your spelling.
9. What is there where you walk?
10. The sky is black. What are you doing?
11. Do you have a cat, dog, or other animal? What is it doing today?
12. What things do you have in your house or apartment?

Unit 1: Driving
The man is driving, driving, driving ...
The small car is white, and the sky and the highway are black. The trees and
flowers are black. The woman and the children are sleeping, and the man is
driving. He is wearing a coat. He is not sleeping, not sleeping ...
The man is buying and drinking coffee, buying and eating eggs, and he is
driving, driving, driving ... highway
The sky is red and blue, and the sun is yellow. The trees are green, and the
flowers are red. The woman and the children are sleeping, and he is driving.
The man is wearing a T-shirt and a hat. He is drinking coffee and driving. There
are cars and big white trucks.
The sun is white, the coffee and the highway are black ... and the man is driving.
trucks

Unit 1: Driving
1. The man is not 4. What are the children doing?

A. drinking. A. sleeping
B. driving. B. drinking
C. sleeping. C. eating
2. How many adults are in the car? 5. What is black when the sun is white?
A. one A. the trees
B. two B. the flowers
C. three C. the highway
3. What does the man buy? 6. Read this sentence, and then answer the
A. hats question about this part of the text.
B. eggs The sky is black.
C. flowers What is the man wearing?
A. a hat
B. a coat
C. a T-shirt

Unit 1: Driving
7. What is the man doing in the story?
The sun is yellow.
What is red? What is blue? What is green?
9. The sky is black. What are you wearing?
10. The sun is yellow. What are you eating?

Unit 1: Driving
11. Where do you live? Write to describe it.
12. Do you have friends far away? Write about them.

Unit 1: The Boy from Hana
Hana, Hawaii
forest
Hana, Hawaii, has a big forest. It has big, green trees and flowers. There are
yellow flowers, white flowers, and red flowers. There are butterflies on the butterflies
flowers and red and blue birds in the trees. Hana is near the ocean. The ocean
has big and small fish in the blue water.
Kye is a boy from Hana. He does not have a cell phone; he does not have a
bicycle; he does not have a car. He has a surfboard, a spear, the beach, and the
blue sky.
Kye is swimming in the water. Yellow and black fish are swimming in the water,
birds
and there is an octopus in the water!
The small fish are swimming, Kye is swimming, and the octopus is swimming …
The moon is in the sky, and the birds are sleeping. The men are walking on the
beach, and the women are cooking. Kye has the octopus on the spear. Tonight,
the men, the women and the children are eating Kye’s octopus.
ocean
octopus beach spear surfboard

1. What does Hana have? 4. Who cooks the octopus?

A. a big apple A. Kye
B. a big newspaper B. the men
C. a big forest C. the women
2. Where are the birds? 5. Who eats the octopus?

A. in the sky A. the red and blue birds
B. in the trees B. the black and yellow fish
C. in the water C. the men and women and children
3. What does Kye do at the beach? 6. Read this sentence, and then answer the
A. eat question about this part of the text.
B. read The moon is in the sky.
C. swim What are the birds doing?
A. eating
B. sleeping
C. drinking

7. What does Hana have that is green? What does Hana have that is red and blue? What does Hana have that is
yellow and black?
8. What is in the water?
9. The boy is from Hana. Where are you from? What is there where you are from?

10. Kye has a surfboard, a spear, the beach, and the blue sky.
What do you have?
11. Do you have clothes that make you laugh when you’re wearing them? What colors are they?
Why do you laugh?
12. What do you think happens next? Write a story that tells what the children and parents do next.

Unit 2: He Loves Her, She Loves Him
She loves cats

He loves dogs
She loves listening to the radio
He loves watching the stars
She loves his white hair and his black shirt

He loves her red hair and her blue skirt stars
She loves big cities

He loves parks
She loves bicycles
He loves cars
He loves walking in grass and driving in Rome

She loves kissing in France under the moon
They love their daughter

They love their son
He loves his wife and
She loves her husband


1. What does she love?
A. walking in Rome
B. watching the stars
C. listening to the radio
2. What does he love?
A. cats and dogs
B. grass and parks
C. bicycles and big cities
3. What color is his hair?
A. gray
B. black
C. white
4. What color is her hair?
A. red
B. blond
C. brown
5. They have
A. one boy and one girl.
B. one dog and one cat.
C. one car and one bicycle.
6. They love
A. their family.
B. their friends.
C. their country.

7. What shirt does she love?
8. What skirt does he love?
9. What do you love?

10. Who do you love? Why do you love them?
11. What do you think happens next? Write a story about what happens when Rob’s family and Maria go home.

Unit 2: Hello from San Francisco
San Francisco
hills
Hello Mom!
school
I am writing in the bedroom of my apartment in San Francisco. San Francisco is
a big city, and there are many bicycles and cars ... and hills! My apartment is small
and near the park. The apartment is purple and green, and it has a small living
room, bedroom, and kitchen, and three big windows. I have a television in the
living room and a radio in the kitchen. I listen to the radio when I am cooking.
I am a teacher at a small school near my apartment. I have twelve students ... and
two gray hairs! Three students are from Japan, six are from Mexico, two are from
Mexico
China, and one is from Russia.
My students live near my apartment. We love the park: It has green trees and pink,
yellow, and red flowers. The park is not far from many coffee shops in the city,
where we love drinking coffee ... cups and cups of coffee!
My apartment is also near the Golden Gate Bridge — a big, red bridge. I love
walking on the bridge and watching the boats under the bridge.
coffee shop
How are you, Mom? How is Dad? Tell Dad and Grandpa “hello.”
I am far from you, Mom, but I love you.
Your daughter,
Anne
boats Golden Gate Bridge


1. Where is Anne when she is writing to her mom?
A. in the park
B. in a coffee shop
C. in her apartment
2. What does do Anne when she is cooking?
A. She listens to the radio.
B. She watches television.
C. She drinks coffee.
3. How many students are from Russia?
A. one
B. two
C. three
4. Why do the students love the park?
A. There are many hills and bridges.
B. There are many trees and flowers.
C. There are many cars and bicycles.
5. Who lives near Anne’s apartment?
A. her students
B. her grandpa
C. her mother
6. What is under the bridge?
A. cars
B. trees
C. water

7. Why does Anne love living in San Francisco?
8. Where is Anne standing when she is watching the boats?
9. What is near your house?

10. What do you do in the park?
11. Write about a time when you got lost or couldn’t find someone else. What did you do? How did you find
where to go?

Unit 3: Breakfast with My Family
St. Louis
cereal
Good morning! My name is Leon Jones, and I am a teacher in St. Louis, Missouri.
I live with my wife and two sons in a house, near a big park. My wife is a teacher,
too, and she works with me in the school near our house.
muffin
From Monday to Friday, my wife and I work, and my sons have school. Before
school, my children eat milk and cereal. My wife and I drink coffee, eat a muffin or
toast, and then we walk to work. We do not drive to the school.
On Saturdays and Sundays, my sons do not have school, and my wife and I do
not work. They are days to eat a big breakfast with my family! My wife, my sons,
and I have breakfast with my parents at their house. They do not live far from our
house. The breakfast tastes good because my mother and I cook.
Today is a Saturday in spring, and the sun is hot in the blue sky. My wife, sons, and toast
father are sitting at the table outside. They have coffee, orange juice, and milk on
the table.
My mom and I walk outside from the kitchen. In her hands, my mom has one plate
with pancakes and one plate with biscuits. I have one plate of scrambled eggs
and one plate of bacon. Everything smells good!
orange juice
bacon scrambled eggs biscuits pancakes

maple syrup
butter

We sit at the table and eat our big breakfast. We eat the pancakes with maple
syrup and butter, and we eat the biscuits with gravy. We also eat the eggs and gravy
the bacon. The adults drink coffee, and the children drink orange juice.
We watch the sun and clouds in the sky, but we do not watch the clock. These
breakfasts on Saturdays and Sundays are so good because I am with my family!
clouds
clock


1. Where does Leon Jones work?
A. in his house
B. in a big park
C. in a school
2. Who eats cereal for breakfast?
A. Leon
B. Leon’s sons
C. Leon’s wife
3. Who cooks breakfast on Saturday and Sunday?
A. Leon and his wife
B. Leon and his mother
C. Leon’s wife and Leon’s mother
4. Where does Leon’s family eat breakfast on Saturday and Sunday?
A. at his parents’ house
B. at a restaurant
C. at his house
5. How many plates do Leon and his mom carry outside?
A. two
B. three
C. four

6. Read this sentence, and then answer the question.
We watch the sun and clouds in the sky, but we do not watch the clock.
“We do not watch the clock” means Leon’s family
A. loves breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.
B. sleeps in the afternoon after they eat.
C. is tired from school and work.
7. For Leon, why is breakfast on Saturday and Sunday so good?
8. For Leon and his family, breakfast is small from Monday to Friday and big on Saturday and Sunday. Why?
9. What do you love to eat for breakfast?
10. When do you eat outside?

Unit 3: Big Sky Country
Montana
chaps
It is a hot fall morning in Montana, and Mike is sleeping under a tree. He is wearing
jeans, chaps, a white T-shirt, and brown cowboy boots with spurs. Not far from
Mike is his twelve-year-old daughter, Jenny.
Jenny is wearing a brown cowboy hat, a T-shirt, gloves, jeans, and cowboy boots
with spurs. She and her family have sixty cows, and she is sitting on her horse and
watching the cows eat the yellow grass.
cowboy boots
This week, Jenny and her father are walking with the cows from the dry yellow
grass to the wet green grass near their house. The house is not far, but cows do
not run: they eat and walk and sleep ... eat and walk and sleep ... eat and walk ...
On Saturday night, Mike and Jenny sleep under the big sky. The grass smells good
at night, and Jenny watches the stars twinkle — white and black, white and black,
white and black ...
On Sunday morning, Jenny and Mike walk with the cows in the canyon. They eat
lunch under a big old tree. They eat sandwiches and apples. After lunch, Jenny spurs
sleeps, and her father drinks coffee and watches the cows. On Sunday evening,
the sky is the color of blue jeans. The cows eat the wet green grass, and Mike and
Jenny brush the horses. Not far from the cows and horses and the trees stands
a big yellow house with a red door. Inside the house, there is a kitchen, and inside
the kitchen a woman, wearing a purple flower in her blond hair, is cooking dinner
for her husband and her daughter.
Mike and Jenny are tired and hungry. They smell the good food she is cooking,
and they walk inside the house. cowboy hat
canyon stars cows gloves

It is Sunday night. The horses and cows are sleeping in the grass, and the mother,
father and daughter are sleeping in their beds.
The yellow stars are waking up in the night sky. And outside the house, big and
small cowboy boots stand near the red door.

1. What are Jenny and her father doing in the story?

A. They are walking with their horses to where there is water.
B. They are walking with the cows from the dry grass to the wet grass.
C. They are walking from their house to where Jenny’s grandmother lives.
2. Jenny and her father are
A. visiting.
B. playing.
C. working.
3. In the story, it is
A. spring.
B. summer.
C. fall.
4. Where do Jenny and her father sleep on Saturday night?
A. in their beds
B. under the big sky
C. in a house for the animals
5. On Saturday night, what do Jenny and her father smell?
A. the grass
B. apples
C. hot coffee
Jenny watches the stars twinkle — white and black, white and black, white and black ...
Which one of these twinkles?
A. B. C.
7. What are Jenny and her father wearing?

8. Who is the woman inside the yellow house? What is she doing?
9. It is Sunday night. What is outside? What is inside?
On Sunday evening, the sky is the color of blue jeans.
Where you are now, what is the sky the color of?
11. It is Monday morning. What are Jenny and her father doing?

12. What do you wear when you work outside?
13. What do you do on Saturday and Sunday?

Unit 3: Sarah Brushes
BrushingHer
HerTeeth
Teeth
I am in the bathroom of our apartment in New York. I am watching my daughter

Sarah. She is standing at the window, brushing her teeth. She is two years old.
There is toothpaste on the sink, on the blue towel, on her purple sweater and in
her hair. Brushing her teeth is a game to her. I walk to my daughter and kiss her
wet face.

Unit 3: Sarah Brushes Her Teeth

1. Who is watching Sarah?
A. Sarah’s sister
B. Sarah’s parent
C. Sarah’s grandmother
2. How old is Sarah?
A. 2 years old
B. 3 years old
C. 4 years old
3. Where is Sarah standing?
A. at the sink
B. at the table
C. at the window
4. What color is the towel?
A. blue
B. green
C. purple
5. What color is Sarah’s sweater?
A. red
B. pink
C. purple
6. What is the story about?
A. A parent loves a child.
B. A family lives in New York.
C. A child plays with a friend.

7. Where is there toothpaste?
8. Why does the person in the story kiss Sarah?
9. What do you do before bed?

Brushing her teeth is a game to her.
What is a game to you?
11. It is time for breakfast. What is Sarah doing at the kitchen table?

Unit 4:
3: Sarah
A Big Texas
Brushing
Breakfast
Her Teeth
It is Sunday morning in Texas, and a man on the television is teaching John how
to cook a big Texas breakfast: apple pancakes, eggs, bacon, hash browns, and
coffee.
John is wearing his Sunday clothes (a gray suit and an orange tie) and a small
apron. His wife and son are sleeping. He wants to cook a breakfast for his wife and
son because he loves them, but ... Texas
1. The television is in the living room, but John is cooking in the kitchen.
2. The kitchen is far from the living room.
3. John does not cook.
The man on the television says: “Many people in the United States eat pancakes,
eggs, and bacon in the morning. But the big Texas breakfast has more eggs, more
bacon, and bigger pancakes. And today we are cooking apple pancakes. You need
pancakes
milk, eggs, water, and a big bowl.”
John runs to the kitchen. He has one cup of milk, and the big bowl is in the sink.
Is there no clean bowl? He washes the bowl and walks to the living room with the
milk and the eggs.
The man on the television says: “... in the bowl with the milk and the eggs.”
“How many eggs?” asks John. John has the bowl with the milk and, in his hands,
he has a dozen (12) eggs. “How many eggs?”
hash browns
The man on the television says, “Good,” but he doesn’t say how many eggs.
John has one cup of milk, not two. Because his eggs are smaller than the eggs on
the television, John puts a dozen eggs in the bowl.
The man on the television says: “You need two big green apples for the apple
pancakes. Wash the apples in cold water and ...”
apron
35 Rosetta Stone Storybook – English (American) Level 1
®
Unit 4: A Big Texas Breakfast
John walks to the kitchen. “Apples ... apples ... apples,” he says. There are two
yellow bananas and one small red apple on a plate near the window.
The man on the television says, “For the pancakes you need two cups of flour ...”
“Flour?” John does not have flour ... does he?
John is cooking fast, but the man on the television is cooking faster.
bananas
Amy and Mike open the door to the kitchen ... and there is John. He is standing in
the kitchen, wearing his Sunday clothes and an apron, but his suit and his hair and
his shoes and the kitchen are white, all white. There is a broken egg on the table,
but the kitchen smells good.
“Why are you all white?” says Mike.
“Good morning,” says John. “Are you hungry?”
On the kitchen table there are three plates. On the plates there are eggs, bacon,
flour
and pancakes of different sizes and colors.
“There is no coffee or hash browns,” he says, “and the apple pancakes are made
with bananas, but ...”
“It smells good,” says Amy.
Mike is sitting, and he has a pancake on his fork. “Dad, this tastes good.”
“Thank you for cooking breakfast,” says Amy, and she eats a pancake.
fork

1. What is John watching on television?

A. a family eating pancakes
B. a woman cooking breakfast
C. a man teaching how to cook
2. Breakfast is different in Texas because
A. the eggs are smaller.
B. the pancakes are bigger.
C. there are no hash browns.
3. What does John need to do before he can cook pancakes?
A. cook the eggs
B. wash the bowl
C. buy some more milk
4. How many eggs does John have in his bowl?
A. twelve
B. less than twelve
C. more than twelve
The man on the television says: “You need two big green apples for the
apple pancakes…”
What are in the pancakes John makes?
A. two red apples
B. two green apples
C. two yellow bananas
6. When Amy is in the kitchen, what does she say?
A. “It smells good.”
B. “There is no coffee…”
C. “Why are you all white?”

7. In the story, why is John running to the living room and to the kitchen?

“Flour?” John does not have flour ... does he?
Does John have flour? Why do you think he does or doesn’t?
9. Write about what you like to eat for breakfast. Who cooks breakfast in your family?

10. How does your family cook? Do they watch cooking shows on television? Do they have cookbooks? Write
about how your family cooks.

Unit 4: My New Dog Sparky
tail
collar
It is Saturday, and I am walking to the café. A small dog is in the street near the
café. The dog is brown and black with a black tail and a brown face. I read the
name SPARKY on his collar, but there is not a person’s name on the collar.
“Hello, Sparky.”
“Woof!”
hot dog
“Are you hungry, Sparky?”
Sparky and I walk to my house, and I cook lunch: a hot dog for Sparky and a
sandwich with cheese for me. He eats all of his hot dog. “You’re a hungry dog. Do
you like cheese?” Sparky smells the sandwich, but he does not like cheese.
“Sparky, you are a dirty dog!” I wash Sparky in the bathroom sink. I brush and dry
him with an old towel and brush. Sparky is not brown and black, but white and
black. His face is the color of milk and coffee.
cheese
When he is dry, Sparky walks from the bathroom to the bedroom and smells the
bed and my socks. In the living room, he smells the big chair, and under the chair,
he smells a tennis ball.
“Woof woof woof.”
“Do you like tennis balls, Sparky?”
We walk to the park, and Sparky plays with the tennis ball.
sign
We walk to the grocery store, and I buy hot dogs, a red plastic collar, a metal bowl,
and a dog blanket.
I like Sparky, but he is not my dog.
Sparky and I walk to the cafe, and I leave a paper sign on the bulletin board:
“I have a black and white dog. His name is Sparky. He is a good dog, and he likes
people, but he needs his family and his house. Is he your dog?”
bulletin board
We walk to the grocery store, the bookstore, the pharmacy ... and I leave a sign
with all of them. Sparky is in all of the stores! But after one week, no people want
Sparky.
I like to play with Sparky, he’s a good dog, but I work day and night at the hospital.
I need a person to watch Sparky for me! Today, I speak with a woman at the
newspaper.
“Hello,” I say to the woman, “this is Clark Simpson, and I have a dog ...”
It is a Saturday in spring. Anna, a student from a school near the park, is sitting
on a blanket in the grass, reading the newspaper. She reads: “People in China Eat
More Rice than the People in the United States.” And: “More Students Want to
Work This Summer.” Anna wants to work in the summer, too. She plays tennis,
and playing tennis is expensive. She needs new shoes, a new skirt, and new tennis
balls. In the newspaper, she reads:
“Do you love dogs? I’m a doctor, and I live and work in the city. I have a new dog
named Sparky. I love Sparky, but I work in a hospital at night, and I sleep in the
mornings and the afternoons. I need a young man or a young woman to play with
my dog mornings and afternoons. Do you like to play outside? Do you like to play
with dogs in the park? I need you. My name is Clark Simpson, and I pay well.”
“I love dogs,” says Anna, “Where is my phone?”


1. What does Sparky like to eat?
A. cheese
B. hot dogs
C. bread
2. After Sparky is dry, what does he do?
A. He eats a hot dog in the kitchen.
B. He sleeps in the bedroom.
C. He smells the chair in the living room.
3. Why does Clark put a sign on the bulletin board?
A. Sparky needs his family.
B. Clark wants to work in the store.
C. Clark likes to meet new people.
4. Where does Clark put signs?
A. in the hospital
B. in all the stores
C. in the newspaper
5. Why does Clark speak to the woman at the newspaper?
A. He wants a student to work at night at the hospital.
B. He wants the woman to leave a sign on the bulletin board.
C. He wants people to read about Sparky in the newspaper.
6. Why does Anna want to work in summer?
A. She wants to buy tennis clothes.
B. She wants to go to school.
C. She wants to visit China.

7. What color is Sparky before Clark washes Sparky? What color is Sparky after Clark washes Sparky?
8. Why does Clark Simpson need someone to play with Sparky?
9. Write a story about what Anna does after she says “Where is my phone?”

10. Do you or your friend have a dog? What does the dog like to do?

Unit 4: My Old Brown Radio
I love my old brown radio. It is in my kitchen near the window. It is made of metal
and wood, and it is big and heavy. It is the radio of my grandmother. It is 50 years
old, much older than me. In the summer, when the sun is in the sky and it is hot in
my apartment, I smell the wood. On Sundays, I wake up in the morning, cook eggs
and coffee, and listen to the radio. I love Sundays. They are good days with a big
breakfast and my old brown radio.

1. Where is the old brown radio?

A. in the kitchen
B. in the bedroom
C. in the living room
2. How old is the radio?
A. five years old
B. fifteen years old
C. fifty years old
3. The person who speaks in the story is the narrator.
What does the narrator smell when it is hot in the apartment?
A. eggs and coffee
B. the wood of the radio
C. the grandmother’s soap
4. The radio is
A. big and heavy.
B. light and plastic.
C. new and expensive.
5. What is the the narrator doing in the story?
A. buying the radio
B. reading about the radio
C. speaking about the radio
6. What are the “good days” for the narrator?
A. Sundays
B. summer days
C. days with the grandmother

7. Why does the narrator love the radio?
8. What does the narrator do on Sunday mornings?
9. What is in your house or apartment that you love? Where is it? What is it made of? Write about it.
10. What do you do when you wake up on Sundays?

I love Sundays.
What day of the week do you love the most? Why?
12. What do you have that is old? How old is it?

Unit 5: Johnny Appleseed
Ohio
seeds
Johnny is eating an apple in the living room of his house. He is eighteen years old,
but his clothes are older. It’s cold and snowing outside, but Johnny is not wearing
shoes. In the bedroom, his younger brother and sister are sleeping.
The year is 1792, and many people in the United States do not have bread or milk,
but Johnny has apples to eat. Johnny can give them seeds; this he can do. He can
teach people to put the seeds under the grass so they can have apple trees.
Indiana
“Wake up,” he says to his brother. “Wake up, sister.”
His brother and sister are sitting on their beds. Johnny has three apple seeds in
his hand.
“This is going to be the first apple tree in Ohio,” he says. “And this second seed is
going to be the first apple tree in Indiana. And this third apple seed is going to be
the first apple tree in Illinois.”
They listen to Johnny, and they study the apple seeds. Illinois
Today, he is going to walk with his brother and sister to Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.
He wants hungry people to have apples to eat.
Johnny walks and walks for many years. He drinks the water from lakes, and he
cooks in a pot. He has his seeds, and he speaks to people, and he eats his apples.
People give Johnny money and bread and new clothes, but he likes to wear old
clothes, no shoes, and his pot for a hat. Johnny walks, and gives seeds, and walks ...
Today, there is a Johnny Appleseed Park in Indiana. And in the fall, you can eat pot
apples from the trees.

1. How old is Johnny Appleseed when the story begins?

A. eighteen years old
B. thirty years old
C. sixty years old
2. What is Johnny Appleseed doing at home?
A. sleeping in the bedroom
B. eating an apple in the living room
C. putting apple seeds under the grass
3. When Johnny Appleseed was young, many people in the United States were
A. sick.
B. cold.
C. hungry.
4. What does Johnny Appleseed give to people?
A. seeds
B. apples
C. money
5. What does Johnny Appleseed teach people?
A. how to walk to Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois
B. how to get money to buy food and clothes
C. how to put seeds under the grass to have apple trees
6. What does Johnny Appleseed drink?
A. milk
B. apple juice
C. water from lakes

7. In the story, how is Johnny Appleseed different from most people?
8. Read these sentences, and then answer the question.

Today, there is a Johnny Appleseed Park in Indiana. And in the fall, you can eat apples from the trees.
How did the apple trees get there?
9. Do you put seeds under the grass? What seeds do you put there? What seeds do you want to put under
the grass?

10. Write a story about when Johnny Appleseed arrives in Ohio.

Unit 5: Number Sixty for Babe Ruth
home plate
Good afternoon. It’s September 30, 1927, and I’m speaking to you from Yankee
Stadium in New York. The New York Yankees and the Washington Senators are
playing today, and this is the biggest game of the year.
It’s cold and cloudy this afternoon, but there are 10,000 people in Yankee
Stadium. All of them are waiting to watch Babe Ruth. People love to watch Babe
Ruth play. pitcher
... And there he is, “the Babe”!
The Babe is walking to home plate. He stands beside home plate, waiting, and
he watches Tom Zachary, the pitcher of the Senators. The men standing on the
baseball field all watch the Babe. Babe watches the sky; he waits, watches the
clouds, watches the people in the stadium ... and now he walks to home plate.
The Babe is waiting for Tom Zachary ... watching Tom Zachary ...
A man is walking beside the seats, selling drinks and hot dogs, but not one person baseball field
in the stadium is eating or speaking. Some are sitting, some are standing, but they
all are watching Babe Ruth.
And outside the stadium, many people are listening to the game on radios. They
are not in the stadium because they do not have tickets, but they are at the game.
And in New York, many people are sitting outside in the streets, eating hot dogs
and listening to the game on the radio. In the parks and all of the restaurants in
New York people are listening to the game. clouds
And in many cities in the United States, more people are listening to the game.
They want to be at the stadium, but they live too far from New York. But they
listen to the radio, and they wait for the Babe ...
hot dogs
Babe has his bat and is waiting for pitcher Tom Zachary. Tom Zachary has the
baseball in his left hand and ...
Oh! Oh! The ball is in the sky ... the ball is in the sky ... Babe is running to first base,
to second base ... the ball is in the sky ...
All of the people in the stadium and in the streets are standing.
... And the ball is over the wall, in the seats, and the Babe is running to third base, bat
to home plate! A man is standing beside his seat with the ball in his hand.
Babe Ruth has hit 60 balls over the wall in one year! Sixty! Sixty home runs in one
year! The most home runs in one year!
The Babe is at home plate ... and that is number 60 for Babe Ruth!
baseball
wall


1. What are people watching at Yankee Stadium in New York?
A. the Babe
B. the ball
C. the clouds
2. Who is “the Babe”?
A. He is the pitcher of the Senators.
B. He is playing baseball for the Yankees.
C. He is watching the game from Yankee stadium.
3. The narrator is the person who speaks in the story.
Who is the narrator in this story?
A. a person who is speaking on the radio
B. a person who is writing for a newspaper
C. a person who is playing baseball at the stadium
A man is walking beside the seats, selling drinks and hot dogs, but not one person in the stadium is eating
or speaking.
Why is no one eating or speaking?
A. The hot dogs and drinks are too expensive.
B. They want to watch every minute and second of the game.
C. They are not happy about how the men are playing.
5. Where did the ball go after it went up in the sky?
A. behind home plate
B. in the streets
C. over the wall
6. In the story, what is the number 60?
A. the most baseballs in one game
B. the most home runs in one year
C. the most baseball games for one man

The Babe is waiting for Tom Zachary ... watching Tom Zachary ...
In the story, the Babe and Tom Zachary wait and watch, and the people wait and watch. What are they
waiting and watching for?
8. When Babe Ruth hit the baseball into the sky, why were all the people standing?
9. What do you like to watch or listen to?

10. What do you like to play or do? Why do you like it?

Unit 6: The Man Who Drives the Taxi
Viktor drives a taxi: It’s his work. He works from 6 in the morning to 7 or 8 in the
evening. Some days, he goes home after 1 or 2 in the morning and is tired. But he
likes to drive his taxi and to meet his passengers (the people who take his taxi).
In his taxi, Viktor listens to the radio, and when it is hot outside, he opens the
windows of his car and listens to the city. He likes to listen to his passengers when
he is driving them. Some of them are from different countries and cities.
Last week, Viktor drove a man to a school because his son was in a play. The man
gave him more money to drive the taxi faster.
On Monday, he drove a woman to the airport, where she hugged an old friend
from college.
And this morning, he drove a woman and her husband to the hospital because
the woman was going to have a baby. He spoke to them about the day when he
and his wife, Giulia, also took the taxi to the hospital.
Now it’s 7 in the evening, and he is going home, where his wife and two sons are
waiting to eat with him. They sit at the table and speak about their day: Viktor and
the people he drove in his taxi, his wife and her day at the office, and his sons and
their day at school.
Viktor likes his taxi, but the hours with his family are the times he likes most.

1. Most days, Viktor works

A. from morning to noon.
B. from morning to evening.
C. from evening to morning.
2. Last week, a passenger gave Viktor more money to drive faster to
A. a play.
B. the airport.
C. the hospital.
3. This morning, one passenger was going to
A. visit a friend.
B. have a baby.
C. work at an office.
4. When is Viktor tired?
A. when it is too hot outside
B. when his passengers speak too much
C. when he drives until two in the morning
5. What do Viktor and his family speak about at dinner time?
A. what to do tomorrow
B. their day at work and school
C. the time when the sons were babies
6. What time of his day does Viktor like most?
A. when he is with his wife and sons
B. when his passengers speak to him
C. when it is hot and he can open the window

7. Viktor listens when he drives his taxi. What does he listen to?
8. Why does Viktor like driving his taxi?
9. Would you like to drive a taxi? Why or why not?

10. What time of your day do you like most? Why?

Unit 6: The Oldest Treasure of the City
Nancy and Anne are in a bookstore on Pine Street. They’re reading books and
newspapers. Some are new, some are old. After an hour, Anne says to Nancy:
“Nancy, there’s an envelope in this old book.”
“What’s in it?” says Nancy.
“It’s ... an old map! And a letter!”
treasure
“Read the letter.”
Anne reads:
Friend,
You have before you the map to the oldest treasure of the city.
Walk from the old library to Patterson Park. Turn right at the park and walk to the
third house. Turn right on the small street next to the wooden house. Go straight
and turn right on Elm Street. When you arrive at the small bridge, turn left on
Orange Street. The treasure is in the fourth house on the right.
Good day,
John Bertrand
“Nancy,” says Anne, “it’s a treasure map!”

“Yes, now we can have a lot of money and jewelry!” says Nancy.
The two girls buy the old book and, in the book, the letter and the map. They go to
the old library and walk to Patterson Park. It’s a big park with a lake and trees.
They turn right and walk.
“One house, two ...” says Anne.

fireplace
They arrive at the third house: It’s the wooden house. They turn right on the small
street next to the house and walk straight. They turn right on Elm Street and go to
the bridge.
“We’re near the treasure,” says Anne.
The two girls turn left and run to Orange Street. They turn left and count the
houses: one, two, three ... four! candle
“The treasure is in this house!” Anne says.
Their faces are red, and they’re tired, but they want that treasure!
The two girls are in front of a small, old gray house. On the door, they read:
“Welcome.” After a minute, they go inside the house.
The house is old and dirty. In the living room, there is a fireplace, a chair, and a
candle on a table.
stairs
“There is an old chair but no treasure,” says Nancy.
“After running,” says Anne, “this old chair IS a treasure.” Anne sits on the chair, and
a door in the fireplace opens.
“There’s a door in the fireplace!” says Nancy. “And behind the door there are
stairs!”
The girls take the candle and walk down the stairs. They arrive in a small room,
stage
and on a door, they read: “Raven Theater – 1830.”
They open the door, and in front of them is a big wooden stage with old red
curtains and chairs.
“It’s a theater!” Anne says. “The treasure is a theater under the city!”
“There’s a letter on the stage!” says Nancy.
curtains
She reads:
Friend,
You are in my treasure. Good work! My treasure is now your treasure.
A big thank you!
John Bertrand
After eight months ...

Anne and Nancy are sitting in the Raven Theater. Sixty-four people are sitting in
the theater with them. They are watching the play “All’s Well That Ends Well” by
William Shakespeare. The city loves its oldest treasure.

1. What are Nancy and Anne doing on Pine Street?

A. They are reading in a bookstore.
B. They are studying in a library.
C. They are walking in a park.
2. What is in the old book?
A. some money
B. an envelope
C. a stamp
3. Who is John Betrand?
A. The man who wrote the play.
B. The man who wrote the old book.
C. The man who used to have the theater.
Anne sits on the chair, and a door in the fireplace opens.
What do the girls do next?
A. read the map
B. run to the front door
C. walk down the stairs
5. Down the stairs, there is a door with words on it. What is behind that door?
A. a big stage
B. a small room
C. a candle on a table
6. Where is the treasure?
a. under the city
b. near the library
c. in the wooden house

7. Why do Anne and Nancy buy the old book?
8. Why does Anne think the old chair is the treasure?
9. When the girls go down the stairs there is a treasure. What is it?

10. Write a new story about reading a map to get treasure.
11. What is your treasure? Write about it.

Unit 7: The First Airplane
My brother Wilbur did not go to college because he was sick. He studied at home
and read the books in our house in Dayton, Ohio.
Wilbur was four years older than I, but we were good friends, and we liked to play
with the same toys. We loved to play with Wilbur’s kite the most. We ran with that
kite in the field near our house. When it broke, Wilbur and I made more with wood
and sheets and gave them to our family.
Dayton, Ohio
I liked to work with Wilbur. In 1892, when we were older, we opened a bicycle store
in the city. For many years, we made and sold bicycles. But Wilbur wanted us to
make an airplane and fly it in the sky.
In December of 1903, we drove with our airplane, the “Wright Flier,” to Kitty Hawk,
North Carolina. It was cold that day, December 17, but we wanted to fly our
airplane.
I was sitting inside the airplane, and Wilbur was running beside me because the
airplane was slow. I went faster and faster, and I flew the airplane in the sky ... for kite
12 seconds! In the afternoon that same day, Wilbur flew the airplane, and I ran
beside him. He was in the sky for 59 seconds!
We were the first people to make and fly an airplane, but Wilbur and I made more
than the first airplane. That cold day in December, we made history.
Orville Wright
field
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina

1. Who is speaking in the story?

A. Orville Wright
B. Wilbur Wright
C. a person who writes for a newspaper
2. What did Wilbur and Orville do when they were boys?
A. They played with a kite.
B. They rode their bicycles.
C. They made a toy airplane.
3. Read this phrase, and then answer the question about this part of the text.
…Wilbur did not go to college because he was sick.
What did Wilbur do when he was sick?
A. read books at home
B. sleep in the hospital
C. drive to North Carolina
4. What did the brothers do when Orville’s kite broke?
A. They played a game.
B. They bought a new kite.
C. They made a different kite.
5. On the day that Orville and Wilbur flew their airplane, it was
A. cold.
B. raining.
C. cloudy.
6. How did Orville and Wilbur Wright “make history”?
A. They made the first kite.
B. They made the first bicycle.
C. They made the first airplane.

7. What did Wilbur and Orville make before 1903?
8. Write a story for a newspaper of December 18, 1903. Write a newspaper story about the Wright brothers
flying the Wright Flier.
9. What do you do with your brother or sister or friend?

10. Imagine that it’s December 2040. There is a story in the newspaper about something you did. Why are you
in the newspaper?

Unit 7: The Yellow School Bus
pajamas
dresser
Today is Danny’s first day of elementary school. He is now in kindergarten, the

year of school before first grade for the youngest children. Danny is five years old,
and he lives with his father, John, but he doesn’t have brothers or sisters. His best
friend is Max, his big black dog.
It is 6:30 a.m., and John and Danny are in the living room.
“Today is your big day — your first day of school!” John says. “But what are you sidewalk
wearing? You’re still wearing your pajamas? You can wear your new jeans, shirt,
and shoes. I put them on your dresser last night. And you have to eat breakfast!
The school bus is going to be in front of our house at 7:15.”
Danny runs to his bedroom. He doesn’t want to be late for the school bus on his
first day!
At 7:15, John and Danny are standing on the sidewalk in front of their house.
There are five other children with them, waiting for the same school bus. All
of them are wearing new clothes, and all of them have new backpacks and backpacks
lunchboxes. Max is standing beside Danny — he is waiting, too.
“There is the bus!” John says when the bus turns left onto their street. The
children stand in line and wait. Danny is the sixth person in line for the bus, and
Max is beside him. When the school bus stops in front of them and the doors are
open, the small children get on the big yellow bus.
“Welcome to my school bus!” says the driver when they get on her bus. All of
them are sitting in the seats and waiting to go to school — but not Danny. He still lunchboxes
is standing in front of the doors, beside the big yellow bus, and Max is behind him.
“Are you okay, Danny?” John says.
“Umm, yes,” Danny says. “But … do I have to go?”
“It’s okay, Danny. You’re going to love school. You’re going to play games and
make many new friends. You’re going to be home before you know it! So please
get on the bus, because your friends are waiting.”
driver
“Okay, Dad,” Danny says. “But … Dad ...?”

“Yes, Danny?”
“Can you call me ‘Daniel’? I’m in school, so I’m a big boy now ...”
“Sure, Danny ... I mean DANIEL,” John says. “Yes, you are a big boy now, Daniel.”
Danny hugs John, turns, and gets on the big yellow school bus with all of the other
children. The doors close, Danny sits behind the driver, and the bus drives away
from the house.
John and Max stand on the sidewalk and watch Danny go to his first day of school.
When the bus turns onto a different street, John walks to the house and goes
inside. But Max walks to a tree, sits on the grass, and watches the street. He is
going to wait for Danny.


1. Why is today a big day for Danny?
A. He is five years old today.
B. He starts kindergarten today.
C. He is going to play with Max today.
2. It is 6:30 a.m. What is Danny wearing?
A. jeans
B. pajamas
C. new clothes
3. What does the driver say to the children?
A. “Here is the bus!”
B. “Please get on the bus.”
C. “Welcome to my school bus!”
4. While waiting for the bus, where is Danny standing in the line?
A. He’s first.
B. He’s fourth.
C. He’s sixth.
5. Where does Danny sit on the bus?
A. behind the driver
B. beside a new friend
C. far from all the people
6. After Danny gets on the bus, what does Max do?
A. He waits there for Danny.
B. He runs besides the bus.
C. He walks home with John.

7. Why doesn’t Danny want to get on the yellow school bus?
8. Why does Danny ask John to call him ‘Daniel’?
9. Write about your first day at your school.

10. How do you get to school? Do you take the bus, like Daniel, or do something different? Do you like it?
Write about how you get to school.

Unit 8: A Painting of My Summers in New York
I took the subway to work this morning, and there was a woman in the subway
station selling paintings. Her paintings were small and of different colors. She had
one painting of a yellow taxi in the rain, one of two men playing chess at a cafe,
and one of an old woman laughing with children who are playing in New York’s
famous Bethesda Fountain.
I liked the painting of the laughing woman and the children the most because I
lived with my grandmother in a small apartment in New York when I was a child. chess
The summers were hot, and on Sundays men would open the fire hydrant, and
the water would make a lake in the street. My friends and I would run and dance
in the water. My grandmother was happy because I was happy. She smiled
and laughed, watching me play and dance in the water with my friends. When I
was cold and tired, she would bring me a towel, and then we would walk to the
apartment. My grandmother would make dinner, and after dinner we would sit in
the living room, watching television.
Now I have a wife and children, and we live in a big house far from the city ... and Bethesda Fountain
the fire hydrants. I bought the painting of the children playing in the fountain, and
I put it in the living room beside a photograph of my grandmother standing in the
street near our old apartment.
fire hydrant


1. What was the woman in the subway station doing?
A. She was selling paintings.
B. She was buying a painting.
C. She was making a painting.
2. The paintings in the subway station are about
A. going to work.
B. living in New York.
C. playing and laughing.
3. What is the woman in the painting doing?
A. smiling
B. laughing
C. dancing
Who did the narrator play with in the water?
A. his friends
B. his parents
C. his grandmother
5. After playing in the water the narrator was
A. cold and tired.
B. hungry and thirsty.
C. happy and laughing.
6. What does the narrator do with the painting he buys?
A. He gives it to his grandmother.
B. He returns it to the woman at the subway.
C. He puts it beside a photo in his living room.

7. Why does the narrator like the painting of the old woman at Bethesda fountain? Write about it.
8. Where does the narrator live now? How is it different from where he lived as a child?
9. What do you like to do when it is hot?

10. What did you use to do when you were younger?

Unit 8: The New York City Marathon
The New York City Marathon

Taylor bought her first running shoes for $12 when she was 10 years old. They
were red, pink, and white. In the mornings, she ran four miles from her house to
the beach. On Saturdays, she ran up and down the stairs at her school.
Today, 10 years later, her shoes do not cost $12 but $120, and Taylor is now
running 15 miles a day. She loves to run, and today she’ll be in the New York City
Marathon, a famous marathon in the United States. (A marathon is a 26.2 mile Statue of Liberty
run.)
It is 9:25 on a November morning. Taylor is wearing her running shoes, socks, light
shorts, and a T-shirt. Beside her, and behind her, there are more than 20,000 men,
women. and children. Some of them are wearing costumes.
In the New York City Marathon, the runners will go from Staten Island to Brooklyn,
over five bridges, and to Central Park. They will see the Atlantic Ocean, the Statue
of Liberty, and the famous Empire State Building. Empire State Building
Taylor will need to be the fastest runner to get a lot of money: $600,000!
It is 10 a.m. Taylor wants to run. Beside and behind her, the men and women want
to run, too. Some love to run, and some want the money. Taylor is young and fast,
and she loves running.
It is 10:10 a.m.
Three!
Two!
One!
Go!


1.Taylor began running when she was
A. 10 years old.
B. 12 years old.
C. 15 years old.
2. Where did Taylor run when she was a young girl?

A. from her house to the beach
B. from her school to Central Park
C. from Staten Island to Brooklyn
3. Now, how many miles does Taylor run every day?

A. 4
B. 15
C. 26.2
4. Read this phrase, and then answer the question about this part of the text.
Today, 10 years later, her shoes do not cost $12 but $120…
What did the person who wrote this want you to understand?
A. Taylor wears bigger shoes than she used to wear.
B. Taylor runs much more than she used to run.
C. Taylor has much more money than she used to have.
5. Who will get $600,000?
A. The person who has the best costume.
B. The person who runs the most miles.
C. The person who runs the fastest.

6. Read these sentences, and then answer the question about this part of the text.
It is 10:10 a.m. Three! Two! One! Go!
What will the people do next?
A. They will begin running.
B. They will go home.
C. They will put on their costumes.
7. What does Taylor wear to run the marathon? Write about her clothes.
8. Why are many people running the marathon? Why is Taylor running the marathon?
9. Plan a marathon in your city. Where in the city will the runners go?

10. Write a story about running the New York City Marathon. Do you get the $600,000?

Unit 9: Flowers for My Mother
Today is my birthday. I am 35 years old, and I am a history teacher at a famous

school. Each year on my birthday, I go to my parents’ house and bring flowers
to my mother because it’s winter, and she can’t work in her garden. I bring her
flowers to say “thank you” for all that she did for me when I was a child.
My parents did not go to college. My father repaired cars, and my mother cleaned
houses.
When I was a young girl, my mother used to go to work at 7 o’clock in the morning
in a big house not far from ours. In the kitchen, she cleaned the refrigerator, the
stove, and the counters. Then, she swept and vacuumed the house (the house
had five bedrooms and three bathrooms). My mother worked a lot every day.
At 12 o’clock, she made lunch for the family who lived in the big house. In the
afternoon, she cleaned a second, then a third big house.
After her day of work, she helped us study. When she was cooking, she listened to
us talk about math, history, and science. In the evening, my mother was tired, but
she was happy because she helped pay for school for my sister and me. She used
to say:
“When you are adults, you will be doctors and teachers. And I will be able to be in
the garden with my flowers.”
For our birthdays, she didn’t go to work. She made us a cake, played the violin for
us and drove us to the city’s swimming pool.
Now, my parents don’t work. My father reads books and my mother works in her
garden with her flowers. And that is why, when it is my birthday in winter, I bring her
flowers.


What does the narrator do on her birthday?
A. go to school
B. work in the garden
C. visit her mother
D. make a cake
2. What did the narrator’s mother use to do when she first arrived at the big
house?
A. make lunch
B. clean the kitchen
C. sweep the bathrooms
D. vacuum the bedrooms
3. What did the children do in the evening?
A. cook dinner
B. play the violin
C. study for school
D. help their father
4. What did the mother do on the children’s birthdays?
A. read them books
B. give them money
C. give them flowers
D. take them swimming
5. Why did the mother work a lot?
A. to give her children a big home
B. to pay for her children to go to school
C. to pay for swimming and violin classes
D. to have a nice garden for her children to play in

6. What did the mother want for her children?
A. to have different work than she did
B. to understand how to repair cars
C. to work with her in the garden
D. to learn how to play the violin
7. Most of the time, people give something to the person who is having a birthday. Why does the narrator
bring flowers for her mother when it is the narrator’s birthday?
8. Read this sentence and then answer the question.

My mother worked a lot every day.
What did the woman’s mother do every day?
9. Write about something you did for someone to say “thank you.”

10. Write about someone who helped you.

Unit 9: Iced Tea in Alabama
Portland, Oregon
Birmingham, Alabama
John Wilson lives in Portland, Oregon, but this week he is visiting Birmingham,
Alabama. It is a hot afternoon in August, and he is walking down a street in the
city. It is 2 o’clock, and he is hot and wet, walking under the big sun. He wants to
find a restaurant or a café: He needs a cold drink!
John walks and walks, but he doesn’t have a map of Birmingham, and now he is lost.
He is standing in front of a big white house, looking left and right. He sees an old
woman in a white dress, with white hair, sitting on the porch of a house near him.
porch
“Excuse me, can you help me?” John asks the woman. “I’m not from Birmingham,
and I’m lost. Is there a restaurant near here?”
“Good afternoon,” the woman says. My name is Suzanne, Suzanne Lee.”
“Nice to meet you, Suzanne,” John says. “My name is John. It is a lot hotter in
Birmingham than in Portland. I want to find a restaurant and drink something cold
... with a lot of ice.”
Suzanne laughs. Then she says, “John, you don’t need a restaurant if you’re thirsty.
ice
Come up here on my porch, and I will give you something good and cold to drink.
All my friends say it’s the best iced tea in Birmingham, Alabama! Yes, I’m famous
for my iced tea.”
John comes up on the porch.
“I’ve never had iced tea,” John says, “but I drink hot tea a lot.”
“I make the best iced tea,” she says. “All of my friends make iced tea, and you can
buy it in stores and restaurants, but my iced tea tastes a lot better. And it’s too teabags
hot today for hot tea. You have to drink some cold ‘sweet tea’ on this hot day.”
“How do you make it?” John asks.
Suzanne says, “I make it like my mother made it, and like her mother made it. You
will love it.
“First, you get four teabags of black tea. Then, you put two cups of cold water in a
pot on the stove — you have to start with cold water. When the water is good and
pot
®
hot, you take it off of the stove and put the teabags in the water for five minutes.
I also put some mint in my tea — but not a lot of mint.”
“Mint!” John says. “I like tea with mint.”
“Good!” Suzanne says. “Now, when the teabags and the mint are in the water, put
one cup of sugar in a big pitcher. You have to have sugar in iced tea! Sugar makes
it ‘sweet’ iced tea.
mint
“You have to wait five minutes — not six minutes, not four minutes, but five! After
five minutes, you put the tea in the pitcher. Stir the tea, and taste it. Is it sweet?
Does it need more sugar? If it isn’t sweet, put more sugar in the pitcher. Then, put
cold water in the pitcher; it needs to be full.
“You also have to put in some lemon. Not a lot of lemon, or the tea will be too
sour; but the tea has to have some lemon in it.”
“Do you drink the tea after you put in the sugar?” John asks.
pitcher
“No,” Suzanne says. “When the tea is good and sweet, it’s still too hot to drink. You
don’t want to drink hot tea in the summer in Birmingham! You have to put the tea
in the refrigerator and wait for one hour, or sometimes for two hours.
“When the tea is cold, it’s time to drink a glass. Put some ice in your glass — the
ice makes it ‘iced’ tea. Next, pour in the cold tea, and then you’ll have it: cold,
sweet iced tea!
“Iced tea tastes best on a hot summer day, a day with a big, angry red sun and no
clouds in the sky. A day like today.” clouds
“Yes, cold tea would be good on a hot day in Birmingham,” John says.
“Here,” Suzanne says, “have a big, cold glass of my sweet iced tea. And after you
drink that glass, drink a second glass. You can put in more ice and more sugar; it
has to be cold, and it has to be sweet!”
“Thank you, Suzanne! I would love some of your iced tea.”
“But be careful, my friend,” Suzanne says. “If you drink too much of my cold, sweet
iced tea, you will not want to leave Birmingham.”


1. At the beginning of the story, John is
A. cold and wet.
B. lost and angry.
C. hot and thirsty.
D. tired and hungry.
2. Who taught Suzanne how to make iced tea?
A. her friends
B. her mother
C. someone who sold it to stores
D. someone at a famous restaurant
3. If you make Suzanne’s iced tea, you should be careful to
A. start with hot water on the stove.
B. not put too much sugar in the tea.
C. take out the mint before you drink the tea.
D. leave the teabags in the water for not more than five minutes.
4. “Iced tea tastes best on a hot summer day, a day with a big, angry red sun and no
clouds in the sky. A day like today.”
The words “a big, angry red sun” help you know that
A. the day is very hot.
B. Suzanne is not happy.
C. the afternoon is ending.
D. the sky is nice to look at.
5. Suzanne says that if John drinks too much of her iced tea, he will
A get sick.
B. get too cold.
C. have to eat dinner with her.
C. want to stay in Birmingham.

6. What do you know about Suzanne from reading the story?
A. She used to be a teacher.
C. She likes to meet new friends.
B. She does not have family near.
D. She does not like to leave home.
7. What does Suzanne put in her iced tea?
8. How does Suzanne welcome John to Birmingham? What words does Suzanne say to welcome him?
9. Imagine that you are John. Write a letter to your friend about meeting Suzanne and drinking her iced tea.

10. What are you good at making? How do you make it? Write about it.

Unit 10: Home Sweet Home
One
The cars, the people, the buildings, the police officers ... Sue didn’t like the city!
She used to love her apartment in the city. She loved walking to her office, riding
her bicycle to the grocery store and eating dinner with her friends on Saturday
nights. She liked taking photos of the statues, visiting the museums downtown
and watching concerts in the park in summer.
But now, after 20 years, Sue was older, and the dirty streets and expensive stores
made her sad. She was not happy sleeping with a pillow on her head because
people always played music in the apartments near hers ... at 2 o’clock in the
morning!
Sue wanted blue sky and forests and mountains. She wanted flowers and trees.
She wanted to be happy.
On her 55th birthday, Sue bought a house in the country, far from the city.
Two
The new house was small and white. It had big windows and a small living room,
but the kitchen was big, and there was a door to the garden.
The garden! Oh, what a beautiful garden!
Sue had a hundred different plants and flowers that smelled like mountain rain.
She loved working in the garden. She loved making iced tea and sitting outside
under the trees.
But Sue wasn’t happy. It was more than a mile to the next house, and all of her
friends lived in the city. And because they lived in the city, they did not have cars.
Sue wanted someone to talk to.

Three
Once a week, Sue walked to a small store near her house to buy eggs, milk, and
bread. And last Saturday there was a “yard sale” sign in front of the house behind
the store.
Sue walked to the house. There were blankets and tables on the grass in front
of the house. On the many tables and blankets, there were old plates and bowls,
clean old sheets, old books and clothes.
A woman was sitting in a chair near the house.
“Hello,” she said. “Welcome to my yard sale.”
“Why are you having a yard sale?”
“We’re selling everything we don’t want or need.”
“Oh, okay,” said Sue.
“Where are you from?”
“I used to live in the city, but now I live in the small white house with the garden.”
“I know the house,” she said. “Good place. My name is Jane.”
“Nice to meet you. My name is Sue.”
Sue walked from table to table, looking at everything Jane was selling. There were
old guitars, broken toys, glasses, cups, chairs ...
On a table near the apple tree, Sue found some black-and-white photos and a
small wooden house for birds. The house was green and white, and it had small
windows.
It was beautiful!
“So, what are you looking for?” asked Jane.
“I like your photos very much,” said Sue. “And I love this birdhouse! How much is it?”
“Two dollars for the photographs,” she said. “I built the birdhouse, but I’m not
selling it.”
“Why not?” asked Sue.
“Because I’m going to give it to you.”
“You’re going to give it to me?”
worms
“To say welcome to your new home!”
Sue was smiling. “Thank you,” she said.
Four
But the birdhouse was not empty. Inside there were small blue eggs.
Sue put the birdhouse in the garden near the bird bath, but the next day the eggs
were broken, and the baby birds were hungry.
Sue walked to Jane’s house to ask her what baby birds eat.
“Worms,” said Jane. “Baby birds eat worms. This afternoon I’ll walk to your house,
and we can find worms in your garden.”
“And I can cook us dinner,” said Sue.
Five
Summer arrived, and the baby birds were now black and blue adult birds. The birds
now lived in the trees near the house, and they drank water from the birdbath in
Sue’s garden. And there was a new bird, a small red bird, living in the birdhouse!
Jane visited Sue on Saturday mornings. The two women drank coffee and talked
about plants and birds and the weather.
Jane taught Sue to make birdhouses, and the two women talked about selling
them in the city.

Six
Sue finished building her first birdhouse in July. In August, she packed her car with
potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, beans, and apples from her garden, and
she drove to the city to visit her friends.
They were very happy to see Sue.
Now, twice a month, Sue and Jane drive to the city and sell their birdhouses to cauliflower
their friends and to some of the stores.
And twice a month, Sue’s friends take a bus to the country to visit Sue and Jane,
the gardens, and the many birds.
broccoli


1. What does Sue love to do at her new home?
A. sit under the trees
B. cook in the big kitchen
C. look out of the windows
D. drink coffee the living room
2. In part 2, why is Sue sad?
A. Her house is too small.
B. She does not have a car.
C. She has no one to talk to.
D. Her garden is a lot of work.
3. What was inside the birdhouse on the day Jane brought it home?
A. baby birds
B. broken toys
C. some small blue eggs
D. black-and-white photographs
4. In part 4, what does Sue do for Jane?
A. cook dinner for her
B. help her find worms
C. build her a birdhouse
D. teach her about birds
5. When summer arrives, what does Sue see when she looks in the birdhouse?
A. The birdhouse is empty.
B. There is a small new bird.
C. There are small new eggs.
D. The baby birds are now adults.
6. What does Sue do once a week?
A work in her garden
B. walk to the little store
C. call her friends in the city
D. sell birdhouses in the city
7. Why did Sue want to leave the city? Write about it.
8. In part 6, what is Sue going to do with the fruits and vegetables from her garden?
9. In what part of the story (1, 2, 3, 4 or 5) does Sue begin to be happy? Write about it.

10. At the end of the story, what does Sue have that she didn’t have before? Write about it.
“I like your photos very much,” said Sue.
What does Sue see in the black-and-white photos that she buys? Write about it.

12. What do you think is beautiful? Write about it.

Unit 10: In the Mountains (Part 1)
Three men and a woman are walking in the mountains near Juneau, Alaska.
There’s a blanket of white snow on the mountains and the trees. It’s very cold
here, but the sun is in the sky, and it’s beautiful.
“Viktor,” says one of the men, “should we climb here?”
“What do you want to do, Bobby and Jen?” Viktor says to the third man and t
o the woman. Juneau, Alaska
“Dan’s right,” says Jen. “We have been walking for more than an hour now. We
should climb!”
“Okay,” says Viktor. “We’ll climb now.”
***
All four people are now climbing. They don’t talk, but they’re smiling because
they love to climb mountains with each other. They have climbed in different
clouds
continents, in hot and cold weather, and on ice and on sand.
But suddenly, there are heavy clouds in the sky, and it begins to snow.
“Listen!” Dan says. “Listen ...”
They all listen. Something is in the mountains near them, and on the left and right
... but they don’t know what it is.
“Oh, no!” Bobby says. “It’s an avalanche!”
avalanche
A lot of snow is going to fall on them: Avalanches are very dangerous!
“We need to get off the mountain, fast!” Jen says.
“We don’t have time!” Viktor says. “It’s here! Hold on to each other if you can ...”
The avalanche is on them. There’s a lot of snow coming down the mountains, like
a big waterfall of snow.
*** waterfall

Jen wakes up first. She is very, very cold, and her head and legs hurt. There’s a
heavy blanket of snow on her.
“Bobby?” she says. “Bobby? Bobby? Are you there?”
Bobby is her husband, and she’s afraid he is hurt.
“Viktor? Dan? Hello?”
Jen stands up.
“Hello? Bobby? Viktor? Dan? Where are you?”
Jen looks left and right, but she doesn’t see her friends. It’s difficult to see
because everything is white and gray, and it’s still snowing.
“Jen!”
She sees a man running to her.
“Jen! It’s me, Bobby!”
“Bobby!”
They hug.
“Do you know where Viktor and Dan are?” Jen asks him.
“No,” he says. “We need to look for them!”
They walk and call Viktor’s and Dan’s names.
“Over here!” someone says.
Jen and Bobby run to the person who spoke. It’s Dan, sitting in the snow. He can’t
stand up.
“Dan’s leg is broken,” Viktor says. “We need to get help!”
“I don’t know where we are,” Bobby says. “The mountain looks different after the
avalanche. I think we’re lost.”
***
Read about what happens next in “In the Mountains (Part 2).”

1.What are the friends doing at the beginning of the story?
A. looking for animals in the snow
B. going for a short walk
C. visiting Juneau, Alaska
D. looking for a place to climb
“Listen!” Dan says. “Listen ...”
What is Dan listening to?
A. the waterfall
B. the avalanche
C. the heavy clouds
D. the friends walking
3. Why does Jen want to get off the mountain?
A. She is afraid of the heavy snow.
B. She is tired of walking.
C. She is angry at her friends.
D. She is getting too cold.
4. Read these sentences, and then answer the question.
Jen wakes up first. She is very, very cold, and her head and legs hurt. There’s a heavy blanket of snow
on her.
“A heavy blanket of snow” means
A. the snow is very beautiful.
B. the snow is nice to touch.
C. Jen is under a lot of snow.
D. the snow helps Jen be less cold.

5. At the end of the story Viktor says, “We need to get help!” Why does he say they need help?
A. night is coming
B. they are lost
C. Dan is hurt
D. an avalanche is coming
6. Why does Bobby think they are lost?
A. The friends walked a long time.
B. The mountain looks different.
C. The sky is too gray to see well.
D. They don’t see any more people.
7. What is the mountain like before the avalanche? What is it like when the avalanche comes?
8. After the avalanche, Jen can’t see her friends. What does she do?

9. What weather do you like best? Write about it.
10. If you were lost on the mountain with Jen, Bobby, Viktor, and Dan, what would you do?

Unit 11: April Fools’ Day
It was a beautiful spring morning, and Michael was drinking coffee in his kitchen
and reading the newspaper. Then, he heard the phone ring.
“Hello?” he said, picking up the phone.
“Hello, Michael! It’s Anne.”
“Good morning, Anne! How are you doing today?”
hamster
“Not very well,” Anne said.
“Why is that?” Michael asked.
“You know the book you gave me to read on vacation?” Anne asked.
“The old book about Japan?”
“Yes,” Anne said, “that book. Something happened ... My hamster ate it. It looked
like a big slice of cheese, and he ate it! I’m so sorry.”
“What?!” Michael said. “That expensive book? Oh, no! Anne, that was a very
important book to me! I bought it when I was on vacation in Japan.”
Then Anne began laughing.
“Anne?” Michael asked. “Why are you laughing?”
“April Fools’ Day!” Anne said. “Today is April first! Your book is at my office. My
hamster didn’t eat it.”
Michael didn’t speak for a minute ... and then he began laughing.
“Yes, Anne! Today is April Fools’ Day. I didn’t know it’s April first before you called.
Last year my mother said that she lost my new car.”
“Have a good day, Michael.”
“Thank you, Anne. And you have a good day ... you and your hamster!”


1. What is Michael doing at the beginning of the story?
A. thinking about Anne
B. reading a book about Japan
C. drinking coffee in his kitchen
D. thinking about April Fools’ Day
2. What did Michael give to Anne?
A. a car
B. a book
C. a hamster
D. a newspaper
3. What does Anne say happened?
A. The hamster got sick.
B. The hamster got lost.
C. The hamster ate the book.
D. The hamster ate some cheese.
4. When Anne calls Michael, she
A. is afraid he will be angry.
B. is sorry about what happened.
C. thinks the book is not important to him.
D. hopes he will first be sad and then happy.
5. Michael didn’t speak for a minute ... and then he began laughing.
In this part of the story, Michael understands that
A. Anne bought him a new book.
B. nothing bad happened to his book.
C. Anne is more important than a book.
D. his mother lost something bigger than a book.

6. What do people do on April Fools’ Day?
A. have a party with singing and dancing
B. go on vacation to a place far from home
C. give something nice to friends and family
D. make people think something happened that didn’t
7. Why do you think Anne chose the book for her April Fools’ Day game?
8. What happened to Michael last year on April Fools’ Day?
9. What will you do on April Fools’ Day? Write a story about it.

Extended Writing
10. Did you give someone something that they should return to you? Or did someone give something to you
that you should return? What happened?

Juneau, Alaska
avalanche
Bobby, Jen, Dan, and Viktor were climbing in the mountain near Juneau, Alaska
when there was a big avalanche. After the avalanche, they found each other, but
Dan had a broken leg, and they were lost in the mountains.
***
After two hours, Jen, Viktor, Bobby, and Dan find a cave. Outside, it’s snowing
and very windy. The cave has walls made of ice, but the four friends are happy
because they have a place to sit down where it’s warmer than outside. Dan isn’t cave
sleeping, and his leg hurts.
“My radio isn’t working,” Bobby says. “I can’t call for help, and my cell phone
doesn’t work in these mountains.”
Jen looks in her backpack.
“I lost my cell phone, but I have enough nuts and water for everyone.”
nuts
They all eat and drink. No one is talking — they’re all thinking about what they
should do.
“I think someone will come,” Viktor says. “People know we’re up here on the
mountain. They’ll look for us.”
“I think my hands and feet are frozen,” Bobby says. “We need to sit beside each
other to stay warm.”
Golden Retriever
It’s now night, and they need to use the flashlight to see. They’re all very tired and
cold, and soon they’re sleeping.
***
Bobby is the first to wake up. His face is cold, but at least he doesn’t have a broken
leg like Dan. The ice on the walls is blue-white: The sun is out! Bobby looks at his
wife and his friends, who are sleeping. Dan’s face looks very white. Bobby looks in helicopter
®
Jen’s backpack: There are no more nuts or water. He is hungry and thirsty, and he
is very, very cold. He hopes help will come soon.
Bobby listens. There is something outside the cave. It’s a dog! Bobby is listening
to a dog barking!
“Jen! Viktor! Dan! Wake up!” he says. “Wake up now! Help is here!”
Slowly, Jen and Viktor wake up. They look at Bobby.
“What did you say?” Jen asks him.
“There’s a dog outside!” Bobby says. “We have to get out of this cave so they can
see us. I think someone is coming!”
He runs outside, and Viktor and Jen run behind him.
“Look!” Bobby says. “There’s the dog!”
A big yellow dog is running to them. It’s a Golden Retriever! And behind the dog,
there are three men wearing red-and-black suits.
“Hello!” Bobby says. “Thank you, thank you for coming!”
“Are you hurt?” asks one of the men.
“No, but my friend is. We think he has a broken leg!”
The man talks to someone using his radio, and five minutes later, a helicopter
arrives. Soon, the four friends are in the helicopter. The men give them blankets
and hot coffee.
Bobby hugs his wife and smiles to his friends.
“So, where are we going for vacation next year?” he asks Jen.
“To the beach!” she answers.
Under the helicopter, the snow is a beautiful white blanket on the mountains.


1. In the beginning of Part 2, after the avalanche, where were the friends?
A. inside the cave
B. in Juneau, Alaska
C. lost in the mountains
D. on a walk in the forest
2. When the friends find the cave, they are happy because
A. they find water.
B. it is made of ice.
C. the walls are blue and white.
D. it is warmer inside than outside.
3. What does Jen find in her backpack?
A. her cell phone
B. some nuts
C. a blanket
D. a radio
4. What do the friends do to stay warm?
A. make a fire
B. talk to each other
C. use blankets
D. sit near each other
5. What does the man in the red-and-black suit use the radio to call for?
A. a helicopter
B. a doctor
C. a dog
D. hot coffee
6. How do the friends get off the mountain?
A. They follow the dog.
B. They get into a helicopter.
C. They walk with the three men.
D. They use a map.

7. What do the friends do while they are in the cave?
8. When Bobby wakes up, he looks at his friends and hopes help comes soon. Why?
9. In this story, Dan broke his leg. Write about a time when you were hurt.

10. Where do you want to go on vacation? Write about the place and why and when you want to go there.

Unit 12: Martin Luther King Jr.
Atlanta, Georgia
Martin Luther King Jr. was born January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. He had an
older sister, Christine, and a younger brother, Alfred. His mother was a teacher,
and his father and his grandfather worked in a church in Atlanta.
In 1955, a young black woman named Rosa Parks was taken off a bus in
Montgomery, Alabama, by a police officer because she didn’t give her seat to a
white man. In 1955 in the southern United States, black and white people could
Montgomery, Alabama
not sit together on buses, in restaurants or in schools.
King was only 26 years old in 1955, but he worked for a Christian church in
Montgomery, and he had many friends. He asked all black people in the city not
to take the bus. They drove cars, and they walked, but they did not take the bus.
After 381 days, the bus companies agreed to allow people of all colors to sit any
place they wanted on the bus.
King was famous for helping Rosa Parks and the black people in the city. But now
he wanted to help all people in the United States. He loved people of all colors, Washington, D.C.
and he wanted them to be friends. He began speaking to people in churches,
talking to people in the city, and talking on the news. He also wrote letters to the
newspapers and to the president, and he wrote books.
Each year, King spoke to more and more people. In 1957, he spoke to 15,000
people in Washington, D.C., and in 1959, he traveled to India to speak on the
radio. Many people in different countries listened to him speak.
In 1962, King walked in the streets of Washington, D.C., with 250,000 people.
They stopped in front of the Lincoln Memorial, near the White House, and he Lincoln Memorial
gave his most famous talk: “I Have a Dream.” In the talk, King said he believed in an
America where people do not hurt each other, an America where all people could
be friends and love each other.
Because King was talking about people of all colors working together, there were
some angry people and many police officers. But after the talk, people hugged
and cried, and there was not one fight. The president of the United States was
very happy with King and all of the people, and he agreed to help them.
White House

Martin Luther King Jr. died on April 4, 1968, but he is a very important person in
all countries, and he is loved by many people. In the United States, we celebrate
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 15), we have a Martin Luther King Jr.
museum, and more than 730 American cities have streets with the name “Martin
Luther King Jr. Boulevard.” Before he died, Martin Luther King Jr. talked to many
thousands of people, wrote more than 10 books, studied the work of Mahatma
Gandhi in India, and was, at the time, the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace
Prize.
More than 60,000 people were at his funeral in Atlanta, Georgia.


1. What happened in 1955 that King chose to speak to many people about?
A. A white man would not ride a bus that black people were on.
B. A white person wanted to go to a church for black people.
C. A black person wanted to go to a school for white people.
D. A black woman would not give her seat to a white man on the bus.
2. King asked black people not to ride the bus. What finally happened because of this?
A. All buses had to have police riding on them.
B. There were different buses for white people and black people
C. Bus companies said that black people could not ride the buses.
D. Bus companies said that all people could sit where they wanted.
3. After helping Rosa Parks, what did King begin talking to people of all colors about?
A. going to church
B. reading his books
C. riding the buses together
D. being friends with each other
4. How many people were with King when he gave his famous “I Had A Dream” talk?
A. sixty thousand
B. fifteen thousand
C. seven hundred and thirty
D. two hundred fifty thousand
5. In his famous talk, what did King say he dreamed about?
A. Americans voting for a better president
B. Americans helping other countries
C. Americans loving each other
D. Americans fighting an important war

Martin Luther King Jr. died on April 4, 1968, but he is a very important person in all countries, and he
is loved by many people.
Which sentence from the story most helps you know that Martin Luther King Jr. was loved by
many people?
A. “The president of the United States was very happy with King.”
B. “He was the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize.”
C. “More than 60,000 people were at his funeral in Atlanta, Georgia.”
D. “ We celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.”
7. Read this sentence, and then answer the questions about this part of the text.
Because King was talking about people of all colors working together, there were some angry people
and many police officers.
Why were there angry people and police officers? What happened?
8. What did Americans do to show Martin Luther King, Jr. was a very important man?

9. Write about a holiday that you celebrate. Why is it important?
10. Write about a man or woman who worked to make something better in your country or the country your
family is from. What did he or she do?

Unit 12: New Year’s Eve in Times Square
robe
Dorothy Robertson is watching television in the living room of her house. She is
75 years old, has white hair and is wearing big glasses and a pink robe. It is 11:50
p.m., and she is very tired. She wants to sleep, but today is December 31st, and
it’s New Year’s Eve. She can’t sleep now ... the new year is almost here.
On the television, there is a big party in New York. It’s the New Year’s Eve
celebration in Times Square, a big party that people from many different
countries go to or watch on television each year. The man on television is talking, Times Square
and Dorothy sees thousands of people in the streets behind him. They are
wearing heavy coats and gloves, and they look cold on this winter night, but they
all are dancing, singing, laughing, and jumping up and down. Some are wearing
costumes — big hats, glasses, and scarves—and many of them are talking on
cell phones. Dorothy also sees a band on a big stage, and she can hear the music
when the man on television is not talking.
There are only five minutes before 12:00, the new year, but Dorothy is almost
sleeping. Her eyes are almost closed ... but then her phone rings. scarf
Dorothy jumps a little in her chair, looks at the television, and then picks up the
phone.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Grandma! This is Shelly! Were you sleeping?”
“Oh, no! I’m watching the New Year’s Eve celebration in New York. Where are
you?” New Year’s Eve Ball
“I’m in New York, Grandma! I’m standing in the street, on Broadway and 47th
Street. I have been standing here since this afternoon, and now there are so many
people in the streets! Can you hear them and the music?”
“Yes, I hear them in your phone and on television! Can you see the New Year’s Eve
Ball, Shelly?”
“Yes, it’s coming down now ... it’s almost near the big sign for the new year on the
roof of the building, One Times Square.” roof

“The man on television said this Ball is bigger than all the others,” Dorothy says.
“It’s twice the size of last year’s Ball, and it weighs almost 12,000 pounds.”
“I didn’t know that, Grandma,” Shelly says. “I’m very happy that I came to New
York this year to see it. Employees of the city gave us all pompoms, balloons, and
confetti two hours ago. Now everyone is throwing the confetti at each other! It’s
almost 12:00!”
pompoms
“Yes, and the Ball is almost at the sign!” Dorothy says. She can hear the people
more now. They are counting down the seconds: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 ...
Then, Dorothy and Shelly begin counting at the same time:
“... 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Happy New Year!”
They laugh, and the people in New York begin singing “Auld Lang Syne,” the
song that people sing each year at New Year’s Eve in Times Square and in many
other places. Dorothy sees people in New York throwing confetti, and there are balloons
beautiful fireworks in the sky.
“Welcome to the new year, Grandma,” Shelly says. She is laughing and singing, like
all of the people behind her.
“Happy New Year, Shelly,” Dorothy says.
confetti
fireworks


1. It is 11:50 p.m. Why doesn’t Dorothy go to bed?
A. She is not tired.
B. She is not happy.
C. She is waiting for Shelly to call her.
D. She is waiting for the new year to arrive.
2. Every year on December 31st in Times Square, there is a big
A. game.
B. party.
C. movie.
D. parade.
3. Dorothy is almost sleeping when
A. the phone rings.
B. the people start counting.
C. the clock says the time is 12:00.
D. the New Year’s Eve Ball comes down.
4. What can Shelly and Dorothy both hear at the same time?
A. the big ball coming down
B. the man on the television
C. the person speaking on the radio
D. the people in the streets and the music
5. What do the people do soon after 12:00 a.m. on New Year’s Day?
A. count from ten to one
B. sing “Auld Lang Syne”
C. go to Broadway and 47th Street
D. wait for the New Year’s Eve Ball

6. Which sentence helps you know that Shelly does not live in New York most of the time?
A. “Hi, Grandma! This is Shelly! Were you sleeping?”
B. “I’m standing in the street, on Broadway and 47th Street.”
C. “I’m very happy that I came to New York this year to see it.”
D. “Welcome to the new year, Grandma,” Shelly says.
7. It is January 1 and you are Dorothy. You are talking on the phone to your friend. You are telling your friend
what you saw on television last night. Write about it.
8. Shelly and Dorothy are both watching and listening to the New Year’s Eve celebration, but from different
places. What does Shelly say about it that Dorothy doesn’t know? What does Dorothy say about it that Shelly
doesn’t know?

9. What do you do to celebrate the new year? Write about it.
10. Who do you love that lives far from you? How do you celebrate with them on holidays when they are not
near you?

Unit 13: A Night on the Riverboat
Shanghai, China
New Orleans, Louisiana
Mei lives in Shanghai, China, but she has been visiting her friend, Pierre, in New
Orleans, Louisiana, for a week. Mei and Pierre had a lot of fun, because the
holiday of Mardi Gras was last week, and the whole city was like one big festival.
Mei and Pierre weren’t bored for one minute, and every night they danced in the
restaurants and cafés, ate spicy Cajun food, and visited famous places in New
Orleans — old houses, famous graveyards, and gift shops.
Mardi Gras has ended now, and today is Mei’s last day in this big, busy city; she has graveyard
to leave for Shanghai tomorrow afternoon.
“This is your last night in New Orleans,” Pierre says to Mei. “I have an idea. Let’s
ride on a riverboat!”
“Pierre, I don’t want to ride on a boat. I can do that in Shanghai.”
“No, Mei, riverboats are different. They’re big boats with one, sometimes two
paddle wheels, and they’re very famous, because they were important in
American history. In the early nineteenth century, the first riverboats brought riverboat
food, clothes, and people to new cities beside the Mississippi River and other
rivers in the country. But soon, they were used for traveling, not only for business,
by people who wanted to visit new places or to take a vacation. Now, tourists can
ride on riverboats and visit famous cities on the Mississippi River, like Memphis,
St. Louis, ... and New Orleans! And the riverboats are fun, too, because they have
good music and good food.”
paddle wheel
St. Louis Memphis Mississippi RIver

mustache
Mei smiles a little, but she doesn’t say a word to Pierre.

“Believe me, Mei, you’ll love it.”
***
“Hello, friends, and welcome to my riverboat! My name is Luc, and my boat’s
name is ‘Bayou Sue.’ Come on up the stairs! We’re leaving soon for our night on
deck
the Mississippi River!”
Mei and Pierre look up at the man as they climb the stairs onto the riverboat. He
is a very big man, with very black hair and a very long mustache. He is smiling
and looks very, very happy. He speaks English ... but sometimes he also speaks
French, or something like French.
Mei, Pierre, and almost fifty other people now are standing on the first deck of the
riverboat, listening to Luc talk and laugh. His boat, “Bayou Sue,” has four decks
(one over the other) and two paddle wheels, one on the left and one on the right. cabin
Mei and Pierre can hear Cajun music coming from inside the cabin: Musicians are
playing fiddles, accordions, drums, and guitars. And even out on the deck, Mei
and Pierre can smell the spicy Cajun food cooking inside.
“We’re leaving now,” Luc says, “so go inside, eat, dance, and have fun!”
Mei listens to the music and smells the food, and now she is smiling, too. “Let’s
go, Pierre!”
fiddles
accordion
fabric
headscarf
They walk into the cabin, and the paddle wheels begin to turn in the water.
The music is loud, but they still can hear the paddle wheels ... and Luc singing
on the deck. A band of men and women are standing on a stage, playing their
instruments and singing. They are wearing colorful clothes: long dresses of yellow,
purple, and green fabric; and red or orange shirts; and beautiful headscarves.
“Look at all of the food, Pierre!” Mei says. There is a long buffet of Cajun food near
the stage: pots full of crawdads, shrimp, fish, vegetables ... Many people already buffet
have full plates and are eating as they walk to their tables.
“You have to taste the jambalaya, Mei,” Pierre says. He is in line for the buffet, and
Mei is behind him. “It has rice, chili peppers, onions, tomatoes, chicken, sausage,
and seafood. There it is, in the second pot on the buffet.”
“Look, Pierre, it has shrimp in it! Shrimp are my favorite. I love Cajun food.”
Pierre is dancing a little as he stands in line, and Mei starts to dance a little, too.
She puts some jambalaya on her plate, with crawdads, oysters, and more rice. pots
Pierre has oysters and gumbo with rice in a big bowl.
They dance and walk to a table, where they eat and talk and dance in their seats.
Some of the musicians now are walking in the room, dancing between the tables
as they play their instruments and sing. And Luc is dancing with them,
laughing and singing loudly, with a big plate of food in one hand and a tambourine
in the other.
“How can he sing, dance, play music, and eat all at the same time?” Mei asks crawdads
sausage chili peppers jambalaya shrimp

oysters
gumbo
Pierre, laughing.
“I don’t know,” Pierre says, “but we should follow him! Come with me, Mei,” he
says and takes her hand. They get in the line behind Luc and dance between the
tables. The room is hot, like the food and the music, but everyone is having fun. It
is late now, but no one is tired.
***
tambourine
Mei and Pierre are standing on the fourth deck, looking at the moon and stars,
watching the small buildings of the cities beside the river. The riverboat, “Bayou
Sue,” is returning to New Orleans now after many hours of traveling up the
Mississippi River. But they still can hear music and smell food under them, in the
cabin on the first deck, and they can hear the paddle wheels in the water beside
them.
“You’re leaving tomorrow, Mei. How did you like your week in New Orleans?”
stars
“Pierre, Mardi Gras was fun ... but I’ll always remember Luc, ‘Bayou Sue,’ and this
night on the riverboat. Thank you.”
river


1. Why were Pierre and Mei celebrating in New Orleans?
A. It was Mardi Gras.
B. It was Mei’s birthday.
C. Pierre was getting a new job.
D. Mei was going home soon.
2. Why doesn’t Mei want to go on a riverboat?
A. She wants to go dancing instead.
B. She is afraid it may be dangerous.
C. She is tired from days of celebrating.
D. She has been on a boat before.
3. The riverboat that Pierre and Mei ride is for
A. having fun.
B. bringing food to cities.
C. taking people to work.
D. learning American history.
4. How many people are on “Bayou Sue”?
A. ten
B. twenty
C. fifty
D. a hundred
5. What does Luc do while he eats?
A. He drives the riverboat.
C. He welcomes the guests.
D. He dances and plays music.
B. He speaks French and English.

The room is hot, like the food and the music, but everyone is having fun.
The person who speaks in the story is the narrator.What does the narrator probably mean by “hot” music?
A. fast and not boring
B. loud but boring
C. sad but beautiful
D. quiet and slow
7. Why does Pierre think Mei will love going on a riverboat?
8. What do Pierre and Mei see, hear, smell, and taste during their time on the riverboat?

9. You are Mei and you are at home in Shanghai thinking about the fun time you had in New Orleans. Write a
thank you letter to Pierre.
10. You are on vacation. Write about it. Where is your vacation? What do you see, hear, smell, and taste on
your vacation?

Unit 13: My Summer on Desolation Peak
fire lookout tower
Washington
Monday, June 16
Today was my first day in the Desolation Peak fire lookout tower, high up in the
North Cascade Mountains in Washington. The fire lookout tower was built in
1932, six years after a big fire on the mountain. Because there are no trees on the
mountain, I can see other mountains, hills, and forests very far from here. But I
can’t see other houses, the city or other people ... they are very far from here, too. Arizona
This summer, my friends are all on vacation, but I’ll work as a fire lookout on
Desolation Peak instead. As a fire lookout, I’ll use binoculars to watch for fires on
the mountain and in the forests. If I see a small fire, I will hike down the mountain
and use water to stop the fire. And if it’s a big fire, I have a radio I can use to call for
help.
Yesterday, I took a motorboat across Ross Lake, and then I hiked six miles up a
very difficult trail to the fire lookout tower, where I’ll work and live for the summer.
California
The mountains are very beautiful here, and although it is summer, there is still
snow on Desolation Peak.
I’m now going to be with the animals, the trees, and some of the books I want
to read. I also want to begin writing a book about my work as a fire lookout. In
the 1940s, some famous American writers worked as fire lookouts in Arizona,
California, and here in Washington, on Desolation Peak. And when they were not
watching for fires on the mountains, they were writing books.
Because I have a lot to do tomorrow, I’ll go to sleep early tonight. faucet
Friday, June 20
My fifth day in the fire lookout tower! This morning it was windy and very cold
outside. I made a fire in the wood burning stove, and I only went outside once to
get some snow for water. At home, in my apartment in Seattle, the warm water
comes out of the faucet. Here, on Desolation Peak, my only water is from snow
and ice. I have to carry the snow and ice in a bucket up the ladder into the fire
lookout tower. Then I put the snow and ice in a pot on the stove and wait. pot

The fire lookout tower is small. It’s quiet here without television or a computer.
But I’m not bored. I have windows in every wall, and this is the best place to watch
the beautiful North Cascade Mountains and the sky. There is also a guitar here,
but I don’t know how to play guitar.
It is very different here without other people, but I love to have the time to think.
One of the books I brought with me says that we should not always think about
what is wrong. It is sometimes more important to remember to live well with what pine needles
you have.
In this forest, I have a lot of pine needles, so I have learned to make pine needle
tea. It’s easy. First, get a cup of fresh pine needles from a White Pine tree. Then,
cut the pine needles with a knife. Finally, put the pine needles into hot water and
wait 30 minutes (or an hour, if you like strong tea).
Tuesday, July 8
I have been on Desolation Peak for four weeks, but there have been no fires.
Today, a family hiked up the mountains and visited my fire lookout tower. We ate
lunch and drank pine needle tea, and we talked about the books I am reading.
After lunch, I taught them what to do if they find a fire in the forest, and they
played the guitar and sang.
It was nice to visit with them. I spoke about the book I want to write and my
apartment in Seattle. I miss my friends and my apartment, but I don’t want to
return home before the end of summer. There is a lot of work for me here.
Wednesday, August 20
What a night! Yesterday afternoon I was outside, giving food to some birds, and I
saw a fire in the forest. It was almost three miles down the mountain, and it took
me a long time to find it. The fire was in the dry grass, but it was not in the trees. I
was able to use water to stop the fire, but it was late when I finished, so I slept in a
tent in the forest.

I returned to the fire lookout tower today, but I am very tired, so I’m going to
sleep now.
Saturday, September 20
My last evening in the fire lookout tower on Desolation Peak has arrived! The dry
summer has ended, and tomorrow I am going to hike down the mountain to Ross
Lake. A friend will be waiting for me on the other side of the lake. We’re going to
drive to his house between the lake and Seattle. I’ll talk about the mountains and
my books, and he will talk to me about his summer traveling in Europe.
I did a lot of work this summer, but it will take me two or three more years to finish
my book. I can’t wait to return next year to the fire lookout tower, my summer
home in the North Cascade Mountains.


1. The fire lookout tower was built on Desolation Peak because
A. it is easy to see far away.
B. there are a lot of trees.
C. there is water there.
D. it is beautiful.
What does the narrator use to bring water to the tower?
A. a pot
B. a bottle
C. a faucet
D. a bucket
3.What does the narrator want to do while he is a lookout?
A. go hiking and camping
B. learn to play guitar
C. play snow sports
D. read and write
4. When the narrator sees the fire, what does he have to do to get to it?
A. call for help
B. cut down trees
C. walk three miles
D. climb up the mountain

5. Which sentence best shows you that the narrator has a good time being a lookout?
A. I can’t wait to return next year to the fire lookout tower, my summer home in the North Cascade
Mountains.
B. This summer, my friends are all on vacation, but I’ll work as a fire lookout on Desolation Peak instead.
C. I miss my friends and my apartment, but I don’t want to return home before the end of summer.
D. My last evening in the fire lookout tower on Desolation Peak has arrived!
6. Why does the narrator want to return next year?
A. He hopes to see the family again.
B. He hasn’t finished writing his book.
C. He wants to hike to Ross Lake.
D. He wants to visit his friend.
7. What does a fire lookout do? Write about it.
It is very different here without other people, but I love to have the time to think.
What does the narrator think about?

9. If you were going to write a book, what would you write about? Why?
10. Do you like to be without other people? Write about it.

Unit 14: Lewis and Clark Discover the Pacific
Thomas Jefferson
Missouri River
In 1803, the American President Thomas Jefferson bought almost a quarter of

the United States from France. The United States is a very big country, with many
tall mountains and big rivers, but not many people were living in the country in the
nineteenth century, and no one had found a trail to the Pacific Ocean. President
Jefferson asked two men, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, to travel on the
Missouri River and other rivers because he wanted to find a trail to the Pacific
Ocean. Camp Dubois, Illinois
Lewis and Clark discovered the Pacific Ocean after many dangerous and difficult
months of travel.
***
May 14, 1804
They said goodbye to Camp Dubois, Illinois, at 4:00 p.m., and departed on the
Missouri River in three sailboats. The biggest of the three sailboats was called a guns
keelboat. It was 55 feet long and eight feet wide, and it carried all of their food,
medicine, guns, and cannons. Commanders Lewis and Clark were in the big
keelboat, and the other men were in two smaller rowboats.
It was windy, and they sailed many miles before camping.
Lewis and Clark believed they would find the Pacific Ocean by sailing north and
west on the Missouri River.
October 24, 1804 cannons
They traveled for many months and arrived at a wide place on the Missouri
River, where they built their camp. Some of the men explored the forests and
discovered more than 4,500 Mandan and Hidatsa people living in big houses
that looked like hills. Lewis and Clark wanted to live near the Mandan and Hidatsa
for the winter, and they designed and built a fort near the river and called it Fort
Mandan.
fort

November 4, 1804
Many of the people who lived in the forests and the mountains visited Fort
Mandan. They needed food, so they agreed to help Lewis and Clark.
On November fourth, they met a white man named Toussaint Charbonneau.
He’d been living with the Hidatsa for more than 10 years, but he didn’t speak the
Hidatsa language very well. He was married to two women. One of his wives was
a Shoshone woman named Sacagawea, who understood how to make medicine
using plants and trees.
More important for Lewis and Clark, Sacagawea spoke many different languages.
If someone who spoke Shoshone or other American Indian languages wanted to
speak to Lewis and Clark, they first spoke to Sacagawea in their language, then
she spoke to Toussaint in Hidatsa, then he spoke in French to one of their men,
who then spoke in English to Lewis and Clark.
Sometimes it was difficult for them to understand each other.
February 11, 1805
A baby named Jean Baptiste was born to Sacagawea at the fort. In spring, Lewis
and Clark would leave the fort and sail west. And although Sacagawea was now a
mother, she would go with them to the Pacific Ocean. Jean Baptiste would soon
be the youngest person to explore America!
September 11, 1805
They left boats in the river, and they hiked west over the Bitterroot Mountains. But
because many of the men were sick and there was a lot of snow on the trail, they
soon were lost. It was cold and dark in the woods, and their hands and feet were
almost frozen. They didn’t catch any birds or animals, and the men almost died.

braids
September 22, 1805

They finally found a trail out of the forest!
They met Chief Twisted Hair of the Nez Percé, and he asked Lewis and Clark to
visit his home. But Lewis and many of the men were still sick, and Clark had to go
alone.
teepees
There were more than 100 Nez Percé living on an island named “Fishing Island,”
because of the many fish in the Clearwater River. The Nez Percé were very
interesting people. The men and the women had very long black hair worn in
braids, and they lived in tents called teepees. Chief Twisted Hair taught Clark
how to use pine trees to build small boats. He also drew Clark a map of the rivers,
which showed them that they were not far from the Pacific Ocean!
The Nez Percé brought fresh fish to Lewis and the other men, but some of them
got sick from eating too much.
Columbia River
November 7, 1805
Lewis and Clark hiked the last miles to the Pacific Ocean with 10 of the men. But
before arriving at the Pacific Ocean, they met people who were living in houses on
a small island in the Columbia River. The women were wearing skirts made from
the bark of trees, and the men sold Lewis and Clark fish, plants, and dogs.
In the evening, Lewis and Clark stood on a hill to see the ocean. They had traveled
more than 4,000 miles, and they had finally found the Pacific Ocean.
bark
***
In March of 1806, Lewis and Clark and the others began the long walk home.
Before leaving the Pacific Ocean, they voted on where to camp for the winter.
When he was six years old, Sacagawea’s son, Jean Baptiste, lived with William
Clark in St. Louis, Missouri. When he was 18 years old, he traveled in Europe for
six years, learning how to speak German. He returned to the United States in
1829 and worked as a guide. Like his mother, he spoke many languages: Spanish, St. Louis, Missouri
English, Hidatsa, German, and French.

1. What were Lewis and Clark trying to do when they departed on May 14?
A. find a good place to live near the Missouri River
B. get to the Pacific Ocean from the Missouri River
D. learn about the people who were living near the Missouri River
C. discover what there was to buy and sell near the Missouri River
2. The Mandan and Hidatsa lived in
A. tents called teepees.
B. buildings made of wood.
C. big houses that looked like hills.
D. small houses made of the bark of trees.
3. What was Fort Mandan?
A. the place where Lewis and Clark first departed from
B. a store where Lewis and Clark bought food and medicine
C. Lewis and Clark’s home during the first winter of their travels
D. some houses that the Mandan and Hidatsa people lived in
4. What happened in the Bitterroot Mountains?
A. Jean Baptiste was born.
B. Some of the men almost died.
D. Someone found a trail to the ocean.
C. Lewis and Clark met the Nez Percé.
5. Where did the Nez Percé live?
A. in a canyon
B. on an island
C. beside the river
D. in the mountains

6. How did Chief Twisted Hair help Lewis and Clark?
A. He built them a boat made of pine trees.
B. He taught them to use the plants for medicine.
C. He drew them a map of rivers going to the ocean.
D. He showed them a trail through the Bitterroot Mountains.
Lewis and Clark wanted to live near the Mandan and Hidatsa for the winter, and they designed and built a fort
near the river and called it Fort Mandan.
Why do you think that Lewis and Clark wanted to live near the Mandan and Hidatsa for the winter?
8. Why was Sacagawea so important to Lewis and Clark?

9. It is the year 1803. You are living in the United States and there is a lot of new country to discover. Would you
want to travel with Lewis and Clark? Why or why not?
10. What is a place you would like to explore? Why?

Unit 15: A Ride in a Hot Air Balloon
It’s a beautiful day in October in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Emily and Frank, her
husband, are walking on the sidewalk near Balloon Fiesta Park. Emily is 75 years
old, and Frank is 79 years old. Thomas, their son, is with them. They can hear
music and laughter, and in the sky, hundreds of hot air balloons of different colors
are flying above the city. Today is the first day of the Albuquerque International
Balloon Fiesta, the biggest hot air balloon festival, and Thomas has given his
parents a flight in a hot air balloon as a gift!
There are hundreds of hot air balloons in the sky, and more of them are getting Albuquerque, New Mexico
ready to fly. When Thomas and his parents arrive in front of their hot air balloon,
the man standing beside the balloon says:
“Welcome! So, will you be flying alone today?
“Not me,” says Thomas. “I’m afraid of flying. This is a gift for my parents.”
“Ah, good,” says the man. He looks at Emily and Frank. “Very nice to meet you.
Have you ever taken a ride in a hot air balloon before?” hot air balloons
“No,” says Frank. “We’ve lived in Albuquerque for 40 years, and we’ve taken a lot of
photographs of the hot air balloons, but we’ve never been up in one.”
“You’re going to have a nice time today,” he says. “The weather is very good for
flying. Did you know that Albuquerque has an interesting history with the hot air
balloon? The first hot air balloon in the United States was called the Enterprise.
In 1892, a man in Albuquerque named Park Van Tassel went 14,000 feet into
the sky! Then, in 1978, three businessmen from Albuquerque flew their hot air
balloon from the United States to France.” gift
Emily looks at the balloon above her. “They flew in a hot air balloon over the
Atlantic Ocean?” she asks. “That must have taken them a very long time.”
“It did,” says the man. “It took them a little more than 137 hours.”
“When did the festival in Albuquerque begin?” asks Frank. “I don’t remember
seeing hot air balloons when I was a young man.”

“The first festival was in 1972, but there were only 13 hot air balloons at that time.
Today, more than 700 hot air balloons fly here each year!”
Emily, Frank and Thomas look at the balloons in the sky and at all of the people
and balloons getting ready to fly.
“More than 700!” says Emily. “I had no idea.”
basket
“Wow,” says Frank.
“So, are you ready to fly?” asks the man.

“Yes!” says Frank. “Let’s go!”
The man helps Emily and Frank into the basket with him.
“Ready?” he asks. “Okay, let’s go!”
The two other men who work with him let go of the ropes that are holding the hot
air balloon, and it starts going up in the sky. Soon, Thomas doesn’t see the faces
of his parents anymore, but he hears his mother’s laughter.
“Have a good ride!” says Thomas.


1. Why are Thomas and his parents at Balloon Fiesta Park?
A. to learn more about the history of Albuquerque
B. to take photos of the hot air balloon festival
C. so that Frank and Emily can ride in a hot air balloon
D. so that Thomas can show his parents his favorite hobby
2. What does the man who works at the park think when he sees Thomas, Frank, and Emily?
A. He thinks they all want to ride together.
B. He thinks they are there only to take photos.
C. He thinks Thomas wants to ride on a hot air balloon.
D. He thinks Frank and Emily have been on a hot air balloon before.
3. When did the first hot air balloon in the United States fly?
A. in 1892
B. in 1900
C. in 1972
D. in 1978
4. How long did the first hot air balloon flight over the Atlantic Ocean take?
A. 40 hours
B. 75 hours
C. 700 hours
D. 137 hours
5. When they learn how many hot air balloons are flying, Frank and Emily are
A. surprised.
B. happy.
C. worried.
D. embarrassed.

6. How does Thomas know that his parents are having fun on their balloon ride?
A. He can see their smiling faces.
B. He can hear his mother laugh.
C. They stay in the sky for a long time.
D. They always like flying in balloons.
7. What is the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta?
8. Why do you think Thomas chose to give the gift of a hot air balloon ride to his parents?
9. What happens next? Write about what Frank and Emily see and hear from their hot air balloon in the sky.

10. Would you like to fly in a hot air balloon? Why or why not?

Unit 15: Music in the Night
1952 – Memphis, Tennessee

Willie sits on the bed, listening to the sound of Sadie’s shoes walking down the
wooden stairs in the hallway outside his apartment.
It’s late at night, but it’s probably 90 degrees inside the apartment. Willie can’t
sleep. He crosses the dark room and sits in the wooden chair beside the open
window. Tomorrow morning, the streets will be busy with cars and people and
music, but tonight he can only hear Sadie’s shoes on the sidewalk and then her Memphis, Tennessee
car door closing. He hears the engine, and he watches the red taillights of her car
getting smaller until he can’t see them.
Willie’s guitar is hanging on the wall. He holds the guitar like a baby in his arms, and
he begins to sing:
Good night Sadie, I’m sad to see you go.
I said, I love you Sadie, and I’m so sad to see you go.
taillights
I’ve been a mean old man, and you don’t need me no more.
A neighbor turns his light on and opens his window. The man says, “Hey Willie,
what’s wrong? Why are you singing? You woke me up.”
Willie looks out his window. “Sorry to wake you, Alex,” he says. “My woman walked
out the door, and I’m singing the blues.”
“Why did she leave you, Willie?”
“She says that she’s bored with Memphis. She wants me to take her to Paris.”
“Paris!” says Alex.
“Paris,” says Willie. “Our floors are dirty, the mop is broken, the refrigerator is
empty, and I can’t turn on the lamp because there’s no electricity, but she wants
to go to Paris. I love her, but we were always fighting over something.”
“I’d leave you too,” says Alex, laughing.
“I gave her flowers,” says Willie.

“You don’t give flowers to women who want to go to Paris. They want to travel.
They want jewelry and ...”
“I know, I know,” says Willie. “Do you want to come and sing the blues with me?”
“I would,” says Alex, “but I broke my guitar.” harmonica
“I have a guitar,” says Willie. “I also have a harmonica.”
“Okay,” says Alex, “but let’s go up on the roof. Your apartment is too small. To sing
the blues, we need the night.”
***
Willie and Alex are sitting in wooden chairs on the roof. The two men are wearing
white t-shirts. Willie is wearing dark sunglasses and a fedora. Alex is playing the fedora
guitar, and Willie is singing and playing the harmonica.
He sings:
Good night Sadie, I’m sad to see you go.
I said, I love you Sadie, and I’m so sad to see you go.
Then Alex sings:
He bought you flowers, he gave you a home,
And now you’re leaving Willie all alone.
And Willie sings:
Oh, I’ve been a mean old man, and you don’t need me no more.
You’re leaving for Paris; you walked right out that door.

Then Alex sings:

Paris is good, but Memphis is better
Because in Memphis you don’t need ...
And Willie sings:
. .. a sweater! record
The two men stop playing and start laughing. They laugh until Willie sees
someone standing on the roof in the dark.
It’s Sadie!
“Sadie,” says Willie. “You came home!” Willie and Sadie hug. “I was worried you
wouldn’t return,” says Willie. “I wrote a song for you.”
“I know,” says Sadie. “I heard you play, Willie. I came back to talk with you, and I met
this man on the street in front of your apartment.”
The man is waiting in the dark near the stairs. He is tall, and he is wearing an
expensive white suit and a beautiful white fedora. He walks toward Willie, Sadie
and Alex.
“My name is Wilson Smith,” he says. “I’m a businessman. I was going to work, but
I stopped in the intersection because there are two people dancing in the street
beside your apartment building.”
Willie and Alex look at each other, and then they look at the street. They are
surprised to see a man and a woman hugging in the intersection.
“I’d like to make a record of you singing the blues,” says Mr. Smith. “I have a small
record company on Beale Street.”
Willie and Alex look at each other again.
Mr. Smith smiles. “I’m going to make you famous,” he says.
“Do you hear that, Willie?” asks Sadie. “Now we can go to Paris.”


“My woman walked out the door, and I’m singing the blues.”
“The blues” probably means singing that is
A. sad.
B. quiet.
C. by only one person.
D. without instruments.
2. …and he watches the red taillights of her car getting smaller until he can’t see them.
This sentence helps you understand that
A. Sadie is leaving Willie.
B. it is late in the evening.
C. Willie is looking for Sadie.
D. the streets are busy with cars.
3. “You don’t give flowers to women who want to go to Paris.”
In this sentence, what is Alex saying about Sadie?
A. She doesn’t like flowers.
B. She would be bored living in Paris.
C. She wants much more than flowers.
D. She doesn’t love Willie.
4. Why do Willie and Alex go to the roof to sing?
A. Willie hopes Sadie will hear them.
B. Alex wants to be under the dark sky.
C. There is no electricity in the apartment.
D. The people in the hallway are too loud.
5. Who sings about being “a mean old man”?
A. Alex
B. Willie
C. Sadie
D. Mr. Smith

6. Mr Smith stopped to listen to Willie and Alex’s music because he saw
A. two men playing guitars.
B. someone standing on the roof.
C. two people dancing in the street.
D. Sadie standing in front of the building.
7. In the story, Willie and Alex are singing a blues song. What are they singing about?
Mr. Smith smiles. “I’m going to make you famous,” he says.
“Do you hear that, Willie?” asks Sadie. “Now we can go to Paris.”
Why does Sadie think they can go to Paris now?

9. Read the words Willie and Alex are singing about Sadie leaving. Now write your own blues song.
10. What type or types of music do you play or listen to? Why do you like it?

Unit 16: Leave Before the Water Returns
Ben is saying goodbye to his friends, Michael and Jennifer, who live in Bar Harbor,
Maine. He arrived at their house this morning. Michael has a boat, and he and Ben
were fishing for lobster until the afternoon. When they returned, they walked with
Jennifer to Bar Island, a small island without any houses or stores. It is now late in
the afternoon, and Michael and Jennifer are walking home, but Ben wants to stay
on Bar Island for a while and watch the boats.
“Don’t stay here too long,” says Jennifer. “The water is out now and you can walk Bar Harbor, Maine
on the sand, but in a while there will be too much water and you won’t be able to
get to Bar Harbor. It’s not dangerous, but if the water returns, it will not go out
until tomorrow.”
“I’m okay,” says Ben. “I used to sit here with my father and watch the boats return
in the evening. I won’t be long, and I’ll call you if there is a problem.”
“Goodbye, Michael,” Ben says. “Goodbye, Jennifer.”
“Goodbye, Ben,” Michael and Jennifer say. “Be careful!” lobster
Michael and Jennifer leave Ben and walk on the sand to Bar Harbor. There are
other people walking between Bar Island and Bar Harbor. Some of them are
looking for shells, and some of them are carrying their bicycles.
It’s a beautiful afternoon. Ben sits on the grass and watches the boats and the
men who are carrying lobsters off the boats. He can also see people in Bar
Harbor. Some men are building a boat on the beach, and children are riding
bicycles and skateboards downtown.
Bar Island
It is a warm afternoon, and he closes his eyes and smells the salt water. ...
When Ben opens his eyes, it is almost dark. He runs to the beach, but the water
is returning, and the trail of sand he walked on to get to Bar Island is almost all
covered with water. He begins walking on the sand toward Bar Harbor, but the
water goes inside his shoes. So, he removes his shoes and socks, but his cell
phone falls into the water.
“Oh, no!” shells
He finds his phone in the dark water, but it does not turn on.
He walks on the wet sand between Bar Island and Bar Harbor, but the water is now
touching his knees, and the water is coming in fast. He doesn’t know how to swim
very well, and he’s afraid of falling in the water, so he returns to the beach on Bar
Island. He’s cold, and he is worried that it is going to get colder tonight.
Then, he sees something ... it’s a rowboat!
Ben shouts: “Hello!”
The rowboat comes closer and closer. It is dark, but Ben sees now that it is a small
fishing rowboat, like a lot of people in Bar Harbor have. After five minutes, the
rowboat arrives and Ben sees his friend, Michael.
“Michael!” says Ben. “It’s you!”
“Hello,” says Michael. “Were you thinking of sleeping out here?”
Ben laughs, and Michael throws him a towel.
“It’s good to see you, Michael,” says Ben. “But how did you know I was still here?”
“We were going to sleep,” says Michael, “and Jennifer saw your car in front of the
house. We remembered that you can’t swim very well, and we were both worried.
I’m happy to see that you are okay.”
“I would have called,” said Ben, “but ...”
He holds up his wet cell phone.
Michael laughs. “Let’s go home,” he says. “We made you a bed on the couch in the
living room, and tomorrow maybe you can help me take the lobster boat out of
the water to make repairs.”
Ben looks behind him: The sky is gray, and the trail to Bar Island is under the dark
water. He will return to Bar Island, but he knows that next time he will leave before
the water returns.


1. Why is Ben saying goodbye to his friends?
A. He is going to fish for lobsters.
B. He wants to make a phone call.
C. He wants to stay and watch the boats.
D. He is leaving Bar Harbor to return home.
2. Which sentence from the story shows you that Ben probably lived in Bar Harbor when he was younger?
A. Ben is saying goodbye to his friends, Michael and Jennifer, who live in Bar Harbor, Maine.
B. “I used to sit here with my father and watch the boats return in the evening.”
C. It is dark, but Ben sees now that it is a small fishing rowboat, like a lot of people in Bar Harbor have.
D. Michael laughs. “Let’s go home,” he says.
“…It’s not dangerous, but if the water returns, it will not go out until tomorrow.”
What is Jennifer forgetting when she says “it’s not dangerous.”?
A. Ben can’t swim well.
B. The weather is not good.
C. Ben doesn’t have a boat.
D. There are lobsters in the water.
4. What does Ben do while he is on Bar Island?
A. He goes to sleep.
B. He builds a boat.
C. He looks for shells.
D. He carries lobsters.
5. Ben can’t call his friends because
A. his cell phone gets lost.
B. his cell phone gets wet.
D. he can’t see well in the dark.
C. he doesn’t have their phone number.

6. When do Michael and Jennifer begin to worry that Ben might need help?
A. when they make his bed
B. when the weather gets colder
C. when it starts to get dark outside
D. when they see his car at the house
7. From Bar Island, Ben watches the people in Bar Harbor. What are they doing?
8. What will Ben do differently next time?
9. Write about a time when you were afraid. What happened?

10. In the story, Michael says, “tomorrow maybe you can help me take the lobster boat out of the water to
make repairs.”
Write a story about Ben and Michael taking the lobster boat out of the water to make repairs.

Unit 16: Letter in a Bottle
Hawaii
It’s an early morning in Hawaii, and Matthew is running on the beach near his
home. The sky is pink and blue, and the beach smells like coconuts and rain.
On the beach in front of him, he can see the tall palm trees. He likes the early
morning, before it’s too hot, and before his two young sons, Mike and Bobby, have
to go to school. Some red and blue birds fly out of the trees. They are loud today.
coconuts
When Matthew can’t run anymore, he walks to the sand near the water. He sits
on the beach and takes off his shoes and socks. The sand feels like silk under
his feet. Although it’s winter, it will probably be a hot afternoon on the island. In
Hawaii, the weather is different every hour of every day.
His feet touch something in the sand. It’s a bottle with a cork, and there’s
something inside the bottle. It looks like a letter! Matthew uses his finger to get
the letter out of the bottle. It’s folded and wet, and he has to be careful not to tear
the paper. He reads:
palm trees
Help us!
Two of us were caught by a dangerous pirate named Old One Eye.
She locked us in a room inside the white house on the beach. She is
wearing gold earrings and a red scarf.
It’s hot, and we’re hungry and thirsty ...
Please help us ... but be careful! cork
X
Matthew folds the letter and smiles. The white house is straight ahead. He runs to
the house, holding his shoes and socks, the bottle, and the letter.
He arrives at the house and finds a woman sitting on a chair near the front
door. She is wearing gold earrings and a red scarf on her head. She is reading a
magazine about computers, but when she sees Matthew she closes one eye and
speaks like a pirate: “Arrrrrrrg,” she says.
pirate

Old One Eye, the pirate!

Matthew walks 20 feet and turns right to go behind the house. The door is open,
and inside he finds a hallway with two closed doors.
The first door isn’t locked, and there’s no one inside the room. There’s a clock on
the table beside the bed. It’s 7:03 a.m. He has to be at work in an hour and a half.
He leaves the room and goes to the next door. Inside the room there’s a big
sheet over two chairs. Matthew can hear two people talking and laughing under
skull and crossbones
the sheet.
“Hello,” he says. “I found your letter in the bottle on the beach, and I’m here to help
you.”
One of the people under the sheet asks, “Does the pirate named Old One Eye
know you’re in here?”
“No,” says Matthew. “Old One Eye is outside. She doesn’t know I’m here, but we
should go before she hears us.”
“What’s your name?”
“My name is, uhh ... Dad,” says Matthew.
“Your name can’t be ‘Dad,’” says Mike.
“Yes,” says Bobby, “you need a new name, a pirate name!”
The two boys are now standing beside the chair and sheet. Bobby is wearing
gloves and a black paper hat with a skull and crossbones drawn on the front. And
Mike, the younger and smaller of the two boys, is wearing a helmet and a beard
made of cotton.
Matthew laughs a little when he sees the boys. He says, “You can call me Captain
Tired.”
“No,” says Bobby. “That’s a bad name.”

“You need a better name,” says Mike.

Matthew can now see that Mike is holding his stuffed tiger, but someone put a
scarf on its head and an eyepatch over one of its eyes.
“Okay, listen,” says Matthew. “I’m sorry, but I need you to pick up this room, take
off those clothes and get ready for school, please.”
“Can we play one more game?” asks Mike. eyepatch
“I’ll be home at 5:00, and we can play soccer,” says Matthew. “But you have to go
to school in 45 minutes, and you little pirates are probably hungry. Go outside and
get your mother, Old One Eye, and I’ll make us some breakfast.”


1. Why does Matthew like to run early in the morning?
A. The boys are in school.
B. The weather is not too hot.
C. He has to work late every day.
D. He has to wear shoes and socks.
2. When does the reader first know that the letter in the bottle is from a game?
A. when Matthew finds the bottle in the sand
B. when Matthew reads the letter
C. when Matthew folds the letter and smiles
D. when Matthew sees a woman wearing gold earrings and a red scarf
3. In the letter, what do the boys make you think about Old One Eye?
A. She is locked in a room.
B. She is very nice to them.
C. She isn’t giving them any food.
D. She is sitting near the front door.
“Your name can’t be ‘Dad,’” says Mike.
Why does Mike want Matthew to choose a different name?
A. Matthew isn’t Mike’s dad.
B. Bobby already chose the name “Dad.”
C. Mike wants Matthew to play the game.
D. Mike wants to give Matthew a name.
5. Who is Old One Eye?
A. a man who helps the boys
B. Mike and Bobby’s mother
C. Mike and Bobby’s dad
D. Matthew’s neighbor

6. After reading this story, what can you say about Matthew?
A. He works many hours every day.
B. He doesn’t like to cook for his family.
C. He likes to play games with his sons.
D. He would prefer to live in the mountains.
7. Matthew tells Mike and Bobby to “take off those clothes and get ready for school.” What are Mike and Bobby
wearing?
One of the people under the sheet asks, “Does the pirate named Old One Eye know you’re in here?”
“No,” says Matthew. “Old One Eye is outside. She doesn’t know I’m here, but we should go before she hears us.”
Does Old One Eye really know that Matthew is inside? Why does Matthew tell the boys that she doesn’t
know?

9. What do you do to get ready for school in the morning?
10. Write about a game you play with your family or friends.

Unit 17: Harvesting Maple Syrup
Springfield, Vermont
ham
March 1855
It’s sunrise at the farm of the Norton family, in Springfield, Vermont. Outside,
there is snow on the trees, but everyone knows it: Spring is coming. It is beginning
to be less cold, and the birds are singing again.
In the house, Anthony Norton wakes up. He walks down the stairs to have
breakfast with his family in the kitchen, where a nice fire is burning in the fireplace. maple syrup
He eats ham, eggs, bread, and he drinks warm milk.
Today is an important day for Anthony’s family: It’s the first day of the harvest of
maple syrup. His family has a farm of medium size, where they raise cows for milk,
but every year, they also harvest maple syrup to eat and sell.
After breakfast, the whole family puts on warm clothes: big coats, shawls, gloves,
hats, and boots. They load a wagon with crates of bread, meat, potatoes, and
milk. Then, they leave for the forest with employees of the farm. They all wear
shawl
snowshoes to walk more easily in the snow.
After an hour and a half of walking, they arrive at the place where they are going
to camp for many weeks. They camp near the maple trees, which are going to
give them maple syrup. There is also a shack, which people call a “sugar shack.”
While Anthony’s mother and his two sisters build the tents and the fire, Anthony’s
father and the employees begin working.
hats
maple trees snowshoes crates wagon

shack
axes
They have buckets, axes, and wooden spouts. Anthony’s father, Michael, makes
the first cut: With his ax, he cuts the trunk of a maple tree. Sweet water pours
from the tree: It’s the sap of the tree. Michael puts a spout at the place where sap
is coming out, and he hangs a bucket on the spout. The sweet sap is now slowly
going into the bucket. Anthony and the other men do the same thing to the other
trees. Soon, there are buckets hanging on the trees.
When the buckets are full, Anthony and the men pour the sap into a big barrel. spouts
Then, the buckets are hung again on the trees to harvest more sap. In the
afternoon, the barrel is put on the wagon, and everyone goes to the sugar shack.
Anthony’s mother and his sisters have made a good dinner with meat and
potatoes. After eating, they transport the barrel of sap into the sugar shack. They
put the sap into a very big pot and cook it for hours, until the sap becomes maple
syrup, which has a beautiful brown color. With this syrup, they will also make sugar
and candy.
barrell
In the evening, everyone is sitting by the fire. Anthony’s father plays the mouth
harp, and everyone sings.
It is late, and Anthony is going to sleep in a tent with his family. It is very cold
outside, but in the tent, under his blankets, Anthony is not cold. He is tired
but happy. Tomorrow, he will do the same work with his father and the farm
employees. And the day after, and the day after ...
They will work until late spring. When the sap is not as sweet, the harvest is over,
and they will return to the farm, where they will have a party. There will be a lot to candy
eat, music, dancing, singing, ... and a lot of maple syrup!
mouth harp


1. How does Anthony’s family know that spring is coming?
A. The birds are singing.
B. There is snow on the trees.
C. There are new young trees.
D. The cows are giving more milk.
2. Read this paragraph, and then answer the question about this part of the text.
“After breakfast, the whole family puts on warm clothes: big coats, shawls, gloves, hats and boots. They load
a wagon with crates of bread, meat, potatoes and milk. Then, they leave for the forest with employees of the
farm. They all wear snowshoes to walk more easily in the snow.
What is Anthony’s family getting ready to do in this part of the story?
A. sell their produce
B. go on a vacation
C. move to a new farm
D. harvest maple syrup
3. What is the “sugar shack”?
A. It is where maple candy is made.
B. It is where the family keeps its food.
C. It is where the family sleeps at night.
D. It is where the maple syrup is made.
4. When does the harvest end?
A. when there is no more snow
B. when the family has no more food
C. when the sap is not sweet anymore
D. when there is no more sap in the trees

5. How long does Anthony’s family stay in the forest?
A. the whole week
B. the whole month
C. the whole spring
D. the whole year
6. What happens in the evenings?
A. The women make sugar and candy from the syrup.
B. The father plays an instrument and everyone sings.
D. The men make cuts in the trees and put spouts in them.
C. The farm employees return to the farm to feed the cows.
7. How are maple sap and maple syrup different?
8. Does Anthony like harvesting maple syrup? How do you know? Why do you think he does or doesn’t like it?

W hat do you think? Read the questions and answer with your thoughts. Remember to use complete
9. Do you think you would like to harvest maple syrup like Anthony’s family does? Why or why not?
10. It is summer. What are the different people at the Norton farm doing?

Unit 17: Pike Place Market
Seattle, Washington, is famous for its coffee, its music, its restaurants and
the Pike Place Market, one of the oldest farmers’ markets in the United States.
Pike Place Market opened early in the twentieth century, when onions were too
expensive to buy in the grocery store. The man who opened the market believed
food would be less expensive if the people who grew the food also sold it.
I work in an office downtown, and I love to cook for my friends and family on the
weekends (Saturday and Sunday). And when friends visit Seattle, Pike Place
Seattle, Washington
Market is the best place to meet, because everyone knows where it is.
It’s early on Saturday morning, and I’ve asked three friends to come to my house
for dinner tonight. I wake up early and walk from my apartment to the market.
Seattle is built on the Elliott Bay, and I love the smell of the ocean in the morning.
I buy coffee from one of the many bakeries downtown, and I wait outside the
market and think about dinner. I’m going to cook salmon in a sauce of onions,
garlic, and mushrooms.
Because it’s summer in Seattle, there are a lot of tourists waiting for the market Elliott Bay
to open. Some of them are here to eat in the restaurants or try new foods, and
some are here to see all of the fish. But the Pike Place Market is much more than a
place to buy good food and art: It is a place where people go to meet friends,
eat good food in the restaurants inside the market, listen to the musicians, and
have fun!
While we’re waiting for the market to open, two tourists ask if I can take their
photo in front of the market. They tell me they’re visiting the United States from
Japan. They arrived a week ago, and they have already sailed in the Elliott Bay, salmon
hiked in the mountains, and eaten dinner in the Space Needle. They are leaving
tonight, but this morning they are here to take photos of men throwing fish in the
market. The photos are for their friends in Japan.
“Why do people throw fish in the market?” asks the woman.
This is a question many people ask me about the market.
I tell them, “One man sells the fish, and another man weighs the fish on a scale Space Needle

behind the counter. If the customer wants to return the fish for something less
expensive or different, they would need to carry each fish from the table to the
counter. Instead of carrying the fish, they throw them.”
The man asks, “Do they always catch the fish?”
I smile and say, “Almost always.”
When the market opens, there are already a lot of people inside. It smells like cook
fish and flowers, and there are musicians playing music near the big doors to the
market. Because all of the fresh seafood is sitting on ice, the market is cold inside.
A lot of tourists with cameras are standing near one table of fish. They’re waiting
for a customer to order a fish so they can watch the men throw it.
I look at the different types of seafood on the table, and I ask the man about the
cost of one of the salmon. He says, “Salmon,” and throws the fish to another man.
Some people take photos of my flying fish. I agree to buy the fish, and the man
puts it in paper and throws it to the first man.
Now I have to buy spices, and flowers for the table. I leave with my fish and walk
up the hill toward my apartment. It’s sunny outside, and there are a lot of people
downtown. A man is playing piano outside on the sidewalk near the market.
The sun is on my face, and I stop and close my eyes. I can hear the piano, a young
girl who is singing and playing the guitar, people talking and laughing, and the
engines of cars. And I can smell the ocean, the bakery, and Chinese food from the
restaurant beside me. I open my eyes again. From here, I can see the market and
sailboats on Elliott Bay.
Today I think I’ll return home on the walking trail near the ocean. I want to see the
new sculptures near the art college. After that, I’m going to put the fish in the
refrigerator and ride my bicycle to a bookstore downtown. My favorite cook is
going to be talking about his new cookbook, and I have a question or two about
the sauce I want to make for the salmon.


1. Pike Place Market is a place where people
A. buy books.
B. shop for fresh food.
C. look at sculptures.
D. ride their bikes.
Why is the narrator going to the market?
A. to meet friends
B. to go to work
C. to get some coffee
D. to buy food for her guests
3. What do the Japanese tourists want to do before they leave Seattle tonight?
A. eat dinner in the Space Needle
B. go hiking in the mountains
C. throw fish at the market
D. take photos of flying fish
4. What does the man behind the counter do?
A. play music
B. buy spices
C. take photos
D. weigh the fish
5. What is happening in the paragraph that starts with “The sun is on my face…”?
A. The narrator is getting tired.
B. The narrator is trying to remember what to buy.
C. The narrator is smelling and listening to what is near.
D. The narrator is thinking about the guests coming this evening.

6. Why does the narrator go to the bookstore?
A. to buy a new cookbook
B. to look for a map of walking trails
C. to find a book about sculpture
D. to ask a cook how to make a sauce
7. Write about things you can do in Pike Place Market.
8. In the story, what are “flying fish”?
9. What is a famous place that tourists like to visit in the city where you are from? Write about it.

10. If guests were coming to your home for dinner, what food would you make for them? What would you need
to make it?

Unit 18: The Grapes of Napa
Napa, California
vineyard
Near Napa, California, in a vineyard where beautiful grapes grow, Tomás works
with twenty other people. The vineyard is part of a small winery, the place where
wine is produced. Tomás is a grape picker: He harvests the grapes to make wine.
Because the harvest of grapes happens in late summer and fall, Tomás only works
at the vineyard during August and October.
People work in teams: Some people cut the ripe grapes and then put them into
buckets. When the buckets are full, another team pours the grapes into a big box. grapes
And when the box is full, a tractor transports the grapes to the winery, where they
are used to make wine.
There are three other men and one woman on Tomás’ team. They are from
different cities in California and came to work here because they need to work,
and they like picking grapes with their hands. Tomás’ team has to work fast
because ripe grapes shouldn’t stay too long under the sun. While they work, they
sing or talk about their families, movies, politics, war, and peace.
When the day ends, Tomás is very tired, but he feels good: He had a beautiful day wine
outside, and he worked with nice people at a vineyard he likes. Other vineyards
use machines to harvest grapes, but Tomás likes that the harvest is still traditional
here.
Before going home to eat and sleep, he looks at the sunset behind the vineyard.
He thinks about tomorrow and the following days, when he’s going to work in the
vineyard. And he thinks about the barrels in the cellars under the winery, which will
soon be full of good wine from Napa. For him, it is the best wine on Earth. And he
will return next year for the next harvest. California
cellar barrels

1. When are the two grape harvests each year?
A. in summer and fall
B. in spring and summer
C. they are both in the fall
D. they are both in the summer
2. What does a grape picker do?
A. grow grapes
B. harvest grapes
C. make wine
D. sell wine
3. What do the workers on Tomás’ team do while they work?
A. sing and talk
B. eat and drink
C. think about the future
D. listen to the radio
4. Why does Tomás’ team work fast?
A. They don’t want to be replaced by faster workers.
B. They don’t want the grapes to become too ripe.
C. They want to finish work early so they can have fun.
D. They want to get more money by picking more grapes.
5. Which sentence from the story tells you that Tomás has tasted the wine from the vineyard?
A. “The vineyard is part of a small winery, the place where wine is produced.”
B. “Other vineyards use machines to harvest grapes, but Tomás likes that the harvest is still traditional
here.”
C. “And he thinks about the barrels in the cellars under the winery, which will soon be full of good wine from
Napa.”
D. “For him, it is the best wine on Earth.”

6. What does Tomás do before he goes home from work?
A. He buys some wine.
B. He watches the sunset.
C. He thinks about the past.
D. He puts on clean clothes.
7. What are the three different parts of the work of harvesting grapes for wine?
8. What does Tomás like about his job?

9. The story says that although other vineyards use machines to harvest grapes, the harvest is still traditional
where Tomás works. Imagine that the time is ten years in the past. The people at the winery are thinking about
buying machines for harvesting grapes, like many other wineries are doing. They are talking about it.
What are they saying to each other?
10. What type of work do you like to do? Write about it.

Unit 18: The Traditional Arts of Taos, New Mexico
Taos Pueblo
New Mexico
The ancient Taos Pueblo has a long, important history at the feet of the beautiful
desert mountains. It was built more than 1,000 years ago in northern New
Mexico. Today, it’s the home of more than 100 families of the Taos Pueblo people,
who are American Indians. All of the beautiful houses and shops in the Taos
Pueblo are made of mud and straw mixed together into bricks and then dried
under the sun.
Mary lives in the Taos Pueblo, where she makes pottery: vases, pitchers, bowls, mud
and plates made of clay. The Taos Pueblos are famous for producing many types
of art, like clothes, paintings, musical instruments and pottery. Their art, music,
and stories all represent important parts of their culture, and the modern Taos
Pueblos still make much of their art like the ancient Taos Pueblos.
Mary has lived in the Taos Pueblo with her family since she was born, and her
family has lived there for hundreds of years. Mary’s father, like his father and
grandfather before him, made pottery. Her mother made clothes and rugs, and
her brother, Daniel, likes to make traditional jewelry and dream catchers. When straw
Mary was a child, she used to help her father make his pottery, so now she makes
pottery, too.
Mary works in her house, which used to be her family’s house. Making pottery is
long and difficult work, but she loves it. She makes all of her beautiful pottery by
hand, using the red-brown clay from the places near the Taos Pueblo.
vases
pitcher
She makes many different vases, pitchers, and bowls with the wet clay. After her
pottery is dry, she puts it in a kiln, a type of oven for pottery, for many hours. When
it comes out of the kiln and isn’t hot, she paints some of it with different colors
and designs. But Mary doesn’t paint all of it, because she wants some of the red-
brown color of the clay after it’s finished.
Once all of her pottery is finished and she is happy with everything, Mary sells it in
a shop at the Taos Pueblo and on her website. She has been making and selling
her pottery for a long time, and now Mary sells her pottery to people in many
different countries.
Thousands of tourists visit the Taos Pueblo every year, and there are guided tours
and shops, where you can see the different artists at work. You also can learn
more about the culture of the Taos Pueblos at the Taos Pueblo or in museums in
New Mexico.
If you go to the Taos Pueblo, you can see some of Mary’s beautiful vases and
pitchers in shops with some of the traditional clothes, jewelry, paintings, and
dream catchers made by other Taos Pueblo artists. Although all of it has been
made in modern times, it looks like ancient art from hundreds of years ago.
At the Taos Pueblo, ancient and modern live together as a part of the culture of
the Taos Pueblo people.


1. What is Taos Pueblo?
A. a type of brick house
B. a desert mountain
C. an ancient town
D. a type of pottery
2. Mary learned to make pottery from her
A. mother
B. brother
C. father
D. grandfather
3. What does Mary’s family do for work?
A. produce types of art that represent their culture
B. give museum tours about Taos Pueblo art and culture
C. make bricks that are used to build houses and shops
D. teach other Taos Pueblo families about their art and culture
4. What would you see if you looked at a piece of Mary’s pottery?
A. little pieces of grass in the clay
B. designs that tell a story about her family
C. modern designs together with traditional ones
D. the red-brown color of the clay
5. Where does Mary sell her pottery?
A. on her website
B. at her house
C. in museums
D. on tours

6. Which sentence from the story tells you the Taos Pueblo art is traditional?
A. “It looks like ancient art from hundreds of years ago.”
B. “The Taos Pueblos are famous for producing many types of art.”
C. “Mary sells her pottery to people in many different countries.”
D. “After her pottery is dry, she puts it in a kiln.”
7. If you were a tourist at Taos Pueblo, what would you see? Use information from the story in your answer.
8. Read this sentence and then answer the question about this part of the text.
At the Taos Pueblo, ancient and modern live together as a part of the culture of the Taos Pueblo people.
How do the ancient and modern live together as part of the Taos Pueblo culture? What parts of the culture
are traditional and what parts are modern? Write about it. Use information from the story in your answer.

9. Write about an ancient place in your country or the country your family is from. What is the art from that
place like?
10. Do you like to make art? What type do you like to make? Write about it.

Unit 19: A Photograph of Amelia Earhart
A Photograph of Amelia Earhart

It is a warm day in Papua New Guinea, and Amelia Earhart stands in front of her
airplane. In this 1937 photograph, Amelia is 40 years old, and she looks beautiful
and strong.
Despite being born 23 years before all American women had the right to vote,
Amelia lived an interesting and dangerous life. She was a nurse and an English Papua New Guinea
teacher, she drove her car alone across the United States, she wrote books, and
she became a pilot.
In 1928, Amelia was in the news for being the first woman to cross the Atlantic
Ocean as a passenger in an airplane. The next year, she became the first woman
to fly a helicopter-airplane in a race from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
When she was 35 years old, Amelia surprised everyone by becoming the first
woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean alone. It was a dangerous flight. There
wing
was lightning in the sky and ice on the wings of the airplane, and the engine was
on fire. The airplane fell 3,000, but fortunately, Amelia arrived safely in Northern
Ireland.
On July 2, 1937, the day this famous photograph was taken, Amelia and her
navigator, Fred Noonan, were on a 10-day flight crossing most of the continents
of the Earth. It was the first flight around the whole Earth. They began their flight
in the United States and flew south and east to South America, Africa and Asia
before arriving on the island of Papua New Guinea. In all the places they visited,
Northern Ireland
people with cameras were waiting to meet the woman pilot, Amelia Earhart. In
1937, she was the most famous woman on Earth.
They had to fly from Papua New Guinea to Howland Island before returning
home. The sky over Papua New Guinea was a little cloudy, but there were no
hurricanes reported between the two islands.
Howland Island

Despite the good weather, Amelia and Fred never arrived on Howland Island. No
one knows if they had an accident, if they collided with birds or the ocean, or if
they arrived safely on one of the many small islands in the Atlantic. Hundreds of
people looked for Amelia, Fred and the airplane, but they did not find them.
This photograph was taken more than 70 years ago, but today it is behind glass at
the International Women’s Air & Space Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.
People are still looking for Amelia and Fred, but there are no answers.


1. Amelia Earhart is most famous for being a
A. pilot.
B. nurse.
C. writer.
D. teacher.
Despite being born 23 years before all American women had the right to vote, Amelia lived an interesting and
dangerous life.
The underlined part of the sentence helps you know that
A. being able to vote was not important to Amelia.
B. many women of her time tried to be like Amelia.
C. Amelia could not do everything she wanted to do.
D. Amelia lived an unusual life for a woman of her time.
3. Amelia was the first woman to
A. ride in a helicopter.
B. fly around the world alone.
C. fly across the Atlantic Ocean alone.
D. drive across the United States.
4. In 1937, what were Amelia and Fred trying to do?
A. win a race
B. write a book
C. fly around the world
D. fly faster than they ever did before

5. What was the weather like in Papua New Guinea on July 2, 1937?
A. It was warm and a little cloudy.
B. There were lightning and ice in the sky.
C. The sky was blue and without clouds.
D. There were heavy gray clouds but no rain.
6. What happened to the 1937 photograph of Amelia Earhart?
A. It got lost.
B. It was destroyed.
C. It is in a museum.
D. It is with Amelia’s family.
7. The story says “Amelia lived an interesting and dangerous life.”
What information from the story helps to show this idea?

8. Read this sentence, and then answer the questions about this part of the text.
It is a warm day in Papua New Guinea, and Amelia Earhart stands in front of her airplane. In this 1937
photograph, Amelia is 40 years old, and she looks beautiful and strong.
This sentence is the first sentence in the story.
What words does the story writer use in this sentence to show that it is a good, happy time for Amelia
Earhart? How does reading the whole story change how you understand the sentence?
9. It is July 2, 1937. Amelia and Fred are in their airplane flying from Papua New Guinea to Howland Island.
Write a story about what happens next.

10. Write about a photograph that you are in. How old are you? What are you wearing? What are you doing?
What has just happened or is about to happen?

Unit 19: Water
Scottsdale, Arizona
riverbed
1886, Scottsdale, Arizona

It’s August, and Mary and John are standing on the riverbed of the Gila River near
their farm in Arizona. The river is dry, but they found a place where there is an inch
of water and sand. Mary cries while she puts water into the metal buckets. John
carries the buckets to their covered wagon.
Mary and John use the water from the Gila River to grow wheat and beans, but Gila River
every year the river has less water. Last April, the water stopped and the river
became dry. Almost half of the wheat died before the harvest, and they will not
have enough water to plant seeds for next year’s harvest.
John loads the metal bucket into the covered wagon with the other buckets, and
he studies the desert. The Gila River is dry, and to John it looks like a big brown
snake sleeping in the desert. Finding water is important, but nothing is more
dangerous than losing hope.
“Mary,” he says, “tonight we’ll take the horses and ride to Flagstaff. It’s a big town. Arizona
The man at the bank who sold us the farm might know someone who can help us.
We can’t be the only people having problems with this drought.”
Mary smiles, but she is also worried. “But the chickens and the ...”
“I’ll ask our neighbor Jacob to visit the farm and feed the chickens,” says John.
“Don’t worry.”
***
covered wagon
It takes John and Mary two and a half days to arrive in Flagstaff. They ride at night
and in the morning. In the afternoon, when the sun is hot, they give the horses
water, and they sit under the pine trees and talk. They remember their beautiful
wedding in Kansas and their life before moving to Arizona.
It’s late in the afternoon when they arrive in the city of Flagstaff, and there are a lot
of horses, covered wagons, cows and people in the town. Neither John nor Mary
remembers this many people in Flagstaff.
Flagstaff
Unit 19: Water
They ride their horses to the bank to speak with the man who sold them the farm,
but the bank closed early.
John says, “We’ll have to return in the morning.”
“Do you hear that?” asks Mary. “It sounds like music, and there are a lot of people
walking in the street. What do you think they’re doing?”
Kansas
“I don’t know,” says John. “It looks like a celebration.”
They watch the people coming toward them. Three small men who are dressed in
costumes are carrying signs and dancing in the street. The children are laughing
and running after the men. Neither John nor Mary can read the signs. Following
them is a horse that carries three women and two men. And behind the people
on the horse comes a woman eating fire and a man with a monkey on a rope.
Mary is surprised and worried and happy. John can’t speak.
A big white covered wagon drives in the street behind the man with the monkey.
A band plays music inside the covered wagon, and a sign on the wagon says:
“Great Wallace Shows – The First Circus in Arizona!” The man who drives the
covered wagon is big, and he has white paint on his face and a tall hat. He screams
to the people who are watching. He says, “Come and see the Great Wallace Show,
the first circus in Arizona. Free night tonight. Come see the circus for free ...”
***
John and Mary are sitting in the circus tent a mile from town. They’re not thinking
about the problems at the farm; they’re laughing and having fun. Everyone from
the town is at the circus. The adults are sitting in wooden chairs, and the children
are sitting on the floor. The eyes of the children are big, and some of the younger
children are hugging the older children.
They watch a girl walking on a high rope, a woman eating knives and a man who
puts his head into the mouth of a tiger. They also watch a horse that can dance
and count with its feet.

Unit 19: Water
The manager of the circus wears a red suit and a tall red hat. And after each
performance, he speaks to the people who are watching.
“Next we have an animal that walked here from Africa,” he says, and a big gray
elephant walks into the tent. The elephant is the biggest animal any of them has
seen, and many people are afraid. Mary stands up, ready to run, and some of the
younger children and older adults scream.
“It’s okay,” says the man. “Please don’t be afraid. You’re all safe. Please, sit down.”
Some of the people doubt that they are safe, but they all sit down. John holds
Mary’s hand.
The manager of the circus tells them the story of the elephant in Africa. He says,
“Because there is no water in the deserts of Africa, elephants have learned to dig
in the dry rivers to find water. They know there is water under the dry river, and
they use their large feet to dig down until the water comes up from the earth ...”
John looks at Mary. “We should dig in the riverbed,” he says. “We dug near the
house, but why didn’t we think of digging in the riverbed?”
Some of the men near them are talking about water and the Gila River. John asks
three of the men if they could go outside and talk more about the drought.
John returns before the end of the circus. A band is playing, and a girl is riding,
standing up on a white horse.
“Some of the men know about the government plan for the Gila River,” John says
to Mary, “and they also know places in the riverbed where we should be digging.
One man has a brother who works in the mining industry. He has horses and
instruments for digging, and he’ll help us find water if we pay him with wheat after
the next harvest.”
Mary hugs John. She is almost too happy to stay in her seat. Tomorrow they will
return to the farm and begin looking for water, but tonight there is nothing they
can do but watch the circus.

Unit 19: Water

Mary cries while she puts water into the metal buckets.
Why is Mary crying?
A. She is worried about the drought.
B. She does not want to travel to Flagstaff.
C. She is remembering her wedding in Kansas.
D. She does not like doing farm work.
2. Why did John and Mary go to Flagstaff?

A. to see the circus
B. to buy wheat seeds
C. to ask questions about water
D. to repair their covered wagon
3. John and Mary travel at night and in the morning instead of the afternoon because
A. it is not as difficult.
B. it is not as hot.
C. it is not as dry.
D. it is not as dangerous.
The Gila River is dry, and to John it looks like a big brown snake sleeping in the desert.
This sentence helps you know that
A. the river is a place of peace and quiet.
B. the desert is full of dangerous animals.
C. the river is dirty because of the drought.
D. the future is scary because of the drought.

Unit 19: Water
5. What gives John the answer to his problem?
A. a horse using its feet to count
B. a story about African elephants
C. a woman eating fire
D. a government plan for the Gila River
6. After reading this story, what can we say about Mary and John?
A. They almost never lose hope.
B. They don’t like to get help from others.
C. They have been to the circus before.
D. They wish they were still in Kansas.
7. How does the circus help the people who are watching it? Write about it. Use information in the story in
your answer.
Some of the men near them are talking about water and the Gila River. John asks three of the men if they could
go outside and talk more about the drought.
What do the men tell John? Write about it.

Unit 19: Water
9. Write about a circus, play, concert, or other show that you have seen. Did you like it? Why or why not?
10. What happens after John and Mary return to their farm? Write about it.

Unit 20: As American as Apple Pie
In 1913, Henry Finck wrote that the apple pie was as American as the American
flag. But although the apple pie is the most famous dessert from America, it
might surprise you to learn that neither apples nor the apple pie came from
America.
The people from Europe who first visited North America did not eat pies made
from fruit; their pies were made from meat and vegetables. The apples they
found growing in North America were small and sour, so Europeans brought new
types of apple trees to America. Then, after many years, they started to make pie crust
pies with fruit.
Today, you can buy apple pies in most restaurants and grocery stores in America,
but if you like to cook, making apple pie is both easy and fun. The best apple pies
are made with fresh apples from the tree, but you can also buy ripe red or green
apples from the grocery store.
To make the pie crust you will need:
rolling pin
1/2 cup butter
4 teaspoons ice water
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pour the flour, sugar, salt, and half of the butter into a bowl and mix everything pie tin
together. Then, add the ice water and butter and mix it with a fork. Make it into a
ball with your hands. Then, using a rolling pin, make it round and flat, like a plate,
and put it into the pie tin. Put it in the refrigerator for an hour.

To make the filling, which goes inside the pie, you will need:
2 1/2 pounds of apples (about 6 apples)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons cornstarch
First, cut the apples into slices and put them into a bowl with cold water and the nutmeg
lemon juice. Then put the sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a bowl. Use a
spoon to mix everything together.
Then add the apples and mix them together. The apples should stay in the bowl
at room temperature for one hour. After an hour, pour the apples and the juice
into a strainer. It is important to put a bowl under the strainer to catch the juice.
After fifteen minutes, put the apples into a clean bowl and pour the juice into
a small pot. Add the butter and the cornstarch to the sauce and cook for five cornstarch
minutes. Add the hot juice to the apples. Using a spoon, mix the apples and the
sauce together.
Next, pour the apples and the sauce into the pie crust, and put some crust on top
of the apples. Bake in the oven at four hundred degrees for forty-five minutes or
until the crust is brown. Wait two hours before cutting into the pie.
You can eat your apple pie with cheese, like people from Europe did before they
came to America, or you can eat it like Americans really prefer: with a lot of
ice cream!
strainer

1. Apple pie is a famous American dessert because
B. it became popular in America.
C. apple trees first grew in America.
D. the American Indians first made it.
A. it is eaten on the birthday of the American flag.
2. Apple pie was an idea that came from
A. apple cake.
B. meat pies.
C. other fruit pies.
D. apple sauce.
3. What are the two big parts of making apple pie?
A. the fruit and the meat
B. the crust and the filling
C. the apples and the spices
D. the cheese and the ice cream
4. The water for the pie crust must
A. be very cold.
B. have salt in it.
C. be room temperature.
D. have lemon juice in it.
5. After the pie has finished baking, how long should you wait before cutting it?
A. fifteen minutes
B. forty-five minutes
D. two hours
C. ten hours

6. The writer thinks that the best apple pies are
A. found in stores and restaurants.
B. baked very slowly for a long time.
C. made using fresh apples from a tree.
D. made using apples that are small and sweet.
7. What spices go in apple pie?
Pour the flour, sugar, salt, and half of the butter into a bowl and mix everything together. Then, add the ice water
and butter and mix it with a fork.
What does the word mix probably mean?

9. What is a famous food in your country or the country your family is from? What goes in it? How is it made?
10. What is your favorite dessert? Have you ever made it yourself? If not, who made it for you?

Unit 20: I’m a Farmer
Lexington
I was born in Lexington, a big city in Kentucky, and my parents and sister still live
there. My family loves Lexington, but I’ve never liked it much. I’ve always wanted
to be in the forest or the mountains, to be working outside with the animals and
plants of Kentucky. I’ve never wanted a job in an office or a small apartment in a
big, busy city. I’ve always wanted to do something different with my life.
Kentucky
I realized that I wanted to be a farmer in college while studying biology—the
science of plants and animals. I had to study a lot because I wanted to be a good
farmer to raise healthy, happy animals and to grow healthy crops for food on
my farm. I also worked on some of the farms near my college. I drove a tractor,
cleaned the barn, worked in the fields, and fed the cows, chickens, and horses.
But the best part was that the farm’s owner taught me how to be a really good
farmer, like which types of plants are good to grow together and how to work with
the animals.
I met my wife, Gayle, in college, and she knew that I wanted to be a farmer one barn
day. But when I suggested that we buy a farm, she was afraid that it would be too
hard, too expensive, and too frustrating for just the two of us. She didn’t know
how we would pay for everything, fix everything, and avoid big problems with the
things we raised.
But I knew we could do it, and after we talked about it more, Gayle agreed. When
I was twenty-five, we finally bought a farm in Salvisa, Kentucky. That was four
years ago. It’s not a big farm, but we have a lot of vegetables and other crops like
corn and wheat, fruit trees and bushes, and animals—a dog, a cat, chickens, pigs,
two horses, a goat, and four cows. (The cows are my favorites.) My wife loves Salvisa, Kentucky
honey, so we also have some bees, and she has a big flower garden beside our
house. I have a new tractor, a very old truck, and several other machines that I
use every day. And we both love the big, old house on the farm—it’s almost two
hundred years old.
Most of my days begin before sunrise and often don’t end until late in the evening,
even during the cold winter. The really busy times are in early spring, when we
have to plant most of the seeds, and in summer and early fall, when most things
are ready to harvest. But there’s always something to do here! bushes
It isn’t easy to be a farmer. I occasionally do some work on other farms around

Kentucky, and Gayle helps a lot when she isn’t working at her job in Lexington.
Sometimes our friends and neighbors also come to the farm and work with us
(they think it’s fun). On Saturdays, I take some of the food we produce to sell
at the farmers market in town, and I also sell some things at a few stores and
restaurants in other cities near us. I even have a website where people can order
items from my farm.
Sure, Gayle and I don’t have a lot of money, and we both have to do a lot of work,
but we’re happy on our little farm. I’m not in an office all day, and we don’t have
to live in a big city. I have my animals and my plants, a wife I love and a lot of ideas
about how to be an even better farmer! So I’m not worried at all.


The person who speaks in the story is the narrator.
1. How does the narrator feel about the place where he was born?
A. It did not have enough stores and restaurants.
B. It was too difficult to find a job there.
C. He did not like living in a big city.
D. He did not living with his family.
2. When did the narrator first know when he wanted to be a farmer?
A. when he was a child
B. when he met Gayle
C. when he studied biology
D. when he worked on a farm
3. Why is Gayle afraid to buy the farm?
A. She might not like living there.
B. She thinks farm life will be too difficult.
C. She would have to leave her job in the city.
D. She thinks the house is too old.
4. How do the narrator’s friends help Gayle and the narrator?
A. They eat in restaurants together.
B. They work on the farm.
C. They have a website.
D. They sell produce at the farmer’s market.
5. When is the least busy time of the year on the farm?
A. spring
B. summer
C. winter
D. fall

6. After reading this story, what can you say about the narrator?
A. He prefers to work alone.
B. He doesn’t like to work a lot.
C. He will never stop getting new ideas.
D. He gets bored doing the same thing every day.
7. What are some things the narrator had to learn to be a good farmer?
8. How do the narrator and his wife get money living on the farm?

9. What kind of job do you want to do? Write about it.
10. Do you prefer to live in a big city, a small town, or on a farm? Why?

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Unit

The grass is yellow. There are no trees, no flowers, no water. He is walking,

The sun is a big red ball. He is walking, walking, walking ...

Water! There is water!

The man is running. He is drinking, drinking, drinking ...

The sky is black, and the moon is a big white ball.

The man has water, and he is sleeping.

2 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

Circle the correct answer.

1. Where is the man walking?

2.What color is the grass?

8. How many “balls” are in the story? What are they?

4 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

10. The sky is black. What are you doing?

12. What things do you have in your house or apartment?

5 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

The man is driving, driving, driving ...

6 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

Circle the correct answer.

1. The man is not 4. What are the children doing?

7 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

7. What is the man doing in the story?

10. The sun is yellow. What are you eating?

8 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

11. Where do you live? Write to describe it.

12. Do you have friends far away? Write about them.

9 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

octopus beach spear surfboard

10 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

Circle the correct answer.

1. What does Hana have? 4. Who cooks the octopus?

2. Where are the birds? 5. Who eats the octopus?

11 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

8. What is in the water?

12 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

13 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

She loves cats

She loves his white hair and his black shirt

She loves big cities

He loves walking in grass and driving in Rome

They love their daughter

14 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

Circle the correct answer.

15 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

8. What skirt does he love?

9. What do you love?

16 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

17 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

I am far from you, Mom, but I love you.

boats Golden Gate Bridge

18 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

Circle the correct answer.

19 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

8. Where is Anne standing when she is watching the boats?

9. What is near your house?

20 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

21 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1

bacon scrambled eggs biscuits pancakes

22 Rosetta Stone® Storybook – English (American) Level 1