Billy always listens to his mother. He always does what she says.

If his
mother says, "Brush your teeth," Billy brushes his teeth. If his mother
says, "Go to bed," Billy goes to bed. Billy is a very good boy. A good
boy listens to his mother. His mother doesn't have to ask him
again. She asks him to do something one time, and she doesn't ask
again. Billy is a good boy. He does what his mother asks the first
time. She doesn't have to ask again. She tells Billy, "You are my best
child." Of course Billy is her best child. Billy is her only child
Nancy wants to live a long time. She wants to live for one hundred
years. She is five years old now. She wants to live 95 more
years. Then she will be 100. Her father is 30 years old. He wants to
live a long time, too. He wants to live for one hundred years. He
wants to live for 70 more years. "Daddy, we will grow old
together, okay?" Nancy said to her father. "Yes, honey, we will grow
old together," he said to Nancy. Then Nancy smiled. She gave her
.daddy a big hug
Bobby woke up because he heard a dog. He heard a dog
barking outside his window. Bobby woke up when he heard the dog
barking. Bobby got out of bed. He got out of bed and walked to the
window. He looked out the window. He saw a big brown dog. It was
barking very loud. Bobby opened his window. He looked at the
barking dog. "Why are you barking so loud?" he asked the dog. The
dog looked at Bobby. Then it stopped barking
David lost his yellow pencil. He could not find it. "Where is my yellow
pencil?" he asked his sister. His sister did not know. "I don't
know where your pencil is," she said. David thought about it. He
thought and thought. He used his yellow pencil before lunch. He used
it to write a note to his teacher. The note said, "Dear teacher, Thank
you for helping me. David." He put the note in an envelope. Where
was the envelope? He looked in the kitchen. He looked on the kitchen
counter. He found the envelope. It was next to the toaster. He found
.the pencil. It was under the toaster
Can I ride my horse, Mommy?" Sara asked her mom. Sara loved to
ride her horse. She rode her horse almost every Saturday. "Okay,
honey, get ready to go," her mom said. Sara was happy. She went
into her bedroom. She put her pink socks on. She put her pink
sneakers on. She grabbed her pink hat. She went to the front
door. "I'm going to wait in the car," she told her mom. "Okay, I'll be
there in a minute," her mom said. Sara opened the car door. She sat
.down in the front seat. She put on her hat. She was excited
Brian sat down for dinner. He sat down in the chair. He sat down at
the table. He looked at his white plate. He looked at his silver fork. He
looked at his silver spoon. His dad said, "Pass me your
plate, Brian." His dad put white rice on the plate. His dad put yellow
corn on the plate. His dad put green peas on the plate. He gave the
plate back to Brian. "This looks delicious," Brian said. "It is
delicious," his dad said. Brian wondered why corn was yellow. He
wondered why peas were green. He wondered if there were yellow
.peas and green corn
Brenda sang a song. She sang the song while she walked to
school. The name of the song was "Row, Row, Row Your
Boat." Brenda liked to sing this song. It was her favorite song to
sing. She sang it every day while she walked to school. Sometimes
she sang it with her best friend. Sometimes her best friend walked to
school with Brenda. Then they both sang the song together. Brenda
liked the song because it was easy to remember the words. "Row,
row, row your boat" are easy words to remember
Johnny jumped over the dog. The dog was lying on the
ground. Johnny jumped over it. The dog saw Johnny jump over it. The
dog got up. The dog got up and barked at Johnny. Johnny laughed. He
laughed while the dog barked. Johnny ran over to the fence. The dog
chased him to the fence. Johnny jumped over the fence. He turned
around and looked at the dog. The dog stopped at the fence. The dog
could not jump over the fence. Johnny said, "Jump, jump!" The dog
.barked, but did not jump
Mary ate a blueberry. She loved blueberries. Then she ate a
blackberry. She loved blackberries. Then she ate a strawberry. She
loved strawberries. Mary was confused. A blueberry is blue, so you
call it a blueberry. A blackberry is black, so you call it a blackberry. A
strawberry is red. So, why don't you call it a redberry? Mary asked
her mom. Her mom didn't know. She asked her dad. Her dad didn't
know. She asked her little brother. "Because a red berry is a
cherry!" her brother said
James took the milk out of the refrigerator. He put the carton of
milk on the counter. He took the cap off the carton of milk. He
opened the kitchen cabinet. He took a glass out of the cabinet. He put
the glass on the counter next to the milk. He poured some milk into
the glass. He put the cap back on the carton of milk. He put the milk
back into the refrigerator. He took the chocolate syrup out of the
refrigerator. He poured some chocolate syrup into the glass of
.milk. He stirred the milk with a spoon. He licked the spoon
Patricia did not have much time. It was time to go to work. She did
not want to be late for work. She would lose her job if she was
late. She finished her coffee. She drank the last drop. She put the
coffee cup in the kitchen sink. She turned on the kitchen faucet. She
poured water into the cup. She turned off the faucet. She picked up
her keys. The keys were on the kitchen table. She grabbed her gray
coat. Her gray coat was on the chair. The chair was next to the
.door. She walked outside. She locked her door with her house key

Mike was ready for bed. It was 11 o'clock. He had to get up early the
next day. The next day he was going fishing. Fish wake up early. They
look for food early in the day. They look for food late in the day. The
best time to fish is early or late in the day. That is when the fish are
hungry. Mike set his alarm. He set his alarm for 5 o'clock. The next
day he would start fishing at 6 o'clock. He wanted to catch four or five
fish. If he caught four or five fish, he could eat fresh fish all
week. Fresh fish is the best fish. Mike went to bed
Linda wants to buy a new car. She has an old car. Her old car is a
white Honda. Linda wants to buy a new Honda. She wants to buy a
new red Honda. She has saved $1,000. She will use $1,000 to help buy
the new car. She will give $1,000 to the Honda dealer. The Honda
dealer will give her a contract to sign. The contract will require her to
pay $400 a month for seven years. Her new red Honda will cost
Linda a lot of money. But that's okay, because Linda makes a lot of
.money
Richard is a light eater. He doesn't eat much. He isn't a heavy
eater. He eats a light breakfast, a light lunch, and a light
dinner. Richard is not fat. He is thin. He will always be thin, because
he is a light eater. He eats a bowl of cereal for breakfast. He eats a
bowl of cereal with milk. He eats a sandwich for lunch. Sometimes it's
a fish sandwich. He likes fish. He eats rice and vegetables for
dinner. All he eats for dinner is rice and vegetables. He will never get
.fat
Barbara likes funny stories. She likes to hear funny stories. She likes
to tell funny stories. She told her mom a funny story. When she
finished, she waited for her mom to laugh. "Mom, why aren't you
laughing? That was a funny story," Barbara said. "Oh, I'm sorry," her
mom said. "Sometimes you think something is funny, but someone
else thinks it isn't funny." So, Barbara's mom did not laugh at
Barbara's story. Barbara told the same story to her younger
.sister. Her younger sister laughed at the story
Charles found a glass bottle. He found the glass bottle in his back
yard. It was a pretty glass bottle. It was dark green. He looked inside
the dark green bottle. He couldn't see anything. He shook the
bottle. Something came out of the bottle. It landed on the ground. It
was a bug. Charles picked up the bug. He looked at it. The bug looked
at Charles. Charles put the bottle back on the ground. He put the
bug on the ground, next to the bottle. The bug crawled back into the
\bottle
Elizabeth washes her hands every day. She likes to wash her
hands. She washes her hands with soap and water. She uses soap and
water to wash her hands. She uses warm water and soap. She washes
her hands for 30 seconds After 30 seconds she stops washing her
hands. She turns off the water. She dries her hands on a clean
towel. Every few hours she turns on the water and washes her
hands. Elizabeth has very clean hands. She does not have many
.germs on her hands. Germs cannot live on her clean hands
Joseph never opens the front door. When someone knocks on the
front door, Joseph says, "Who is it?" But he does not open the
door. His parents told him to keep the door closed. His parents want
him to be safe. He will be safe if he doesn't open the
door. Yesterday someone knocked on the front door. "Who is
it?" Joseph asked. "It's the mailman," the person said. "I cannot open
the door," Joseph said. "Okay, I will come back tomorrow," the
mailman said. "Goodbye," Joseph said. Joseph is a good boy. He
.listens to his parents. He doesn't open the door for any person
Jennifer pulled the trash can out to the street. She pulled the trash
can out to the street on Monday morning. Monday was trash
day. The trash truck came to her house. The truck had a metal
arm. The metal arm picked up the trash can. It raised the trash
can into the sky. It emptied the trash can into the truck. Then the arm
put the can back on the street. On Monday afternoon Jennifer walked
out to the street. The trash can was empty. She pulled the trash
can back into her yard. Next Monday she would pull it out to the
.street again
Thomas was not hot. He was not warm either. He was cold. The
weather was not hot. The weather was not warm either. The weather
was cold. Thomas did not like to be cold. He looked for his jacket. He
found his jacket. He put on his jacket. But he was still cold. He looked
at the windows. Were all the windows closed? Yes, they were. They
were all closed. None of the windows were open. He looked at the
door. The door wasn't open. It was closed. He was still cold. He
looked for a warmer jacket
Maria was learning to add numbers. She liked to add numbers. It was
easy to add numbers. She could add one and one. She knew that one
and one are two. She knew that two and two are four. She knew that
three and three are six. But that was it. She didn't know what four
and four are. She asked her mom. Her mom told her that four and
four are eight. "Oh, now I know," Maria said. "I am four years old
now. In four more years, I will be eight." Maria was a fast learner. She
.wasn't a slow learner

Christopher wrote a letter to his sister. His sister lived in another

city. His sister did not have a computer. Neither did he. His sister
didn't like to use the phone. Neither did he. He wrote his sister a long
letter. He told her the news in his life. He told her that he had a new
job. He told her that he had a new girlfriend. He told her that he had
a new car. He had lots of news for his sister. She would be happy to
read his letter. Then she would send him a letter. Her letter would
.have lots of news, too
Margaret was a small girl. She was a little girl. All her friends were
taller than her. She was shorter than all her friends. She wanted to be
tall. Her mom told her not to worry. One day Margaret would be
tall. One day she would be taller than her friends. One day all her
friends would be shorter than her. She was happy to hear that. She
only had one question for her mom. When would she be taller than
her friends? Would it be next year? She hoped it would be next
.year. She was tired of being the shortest girl
Daniel wanted to visit a farm. He asked his parents to take him to a
farm. His teacher told him about the animals on a farm. There are lots
of animals on a farm. Daniel wanted to see the animals. He wanted to
see the cows. He wanted to see the chickens. He wanted to see the
pigs. He wanted to pet the animals. He wanted to feed the
animals. He loved animals. He wanted to live on a farm. He wanted to
live with cows, chickens, and pigs. They would be his friends. He
.didn't have any friends in school
Dorothy will be ten years old next month. She is excited. Ten years
old is very old. She will not be a little kid anymore. A nine-year-old
kid is just a little kid. A ten-year-old kid is almost an adult. Nine is
only one number, but 10 is two numbers. Nine is a little kid
number, but 10 is an adult number. When she is ten, she will be an
adult almost. She will be a young woman. She will wear lipstick. She
will wear nail polish. She will have a boyfriend. He will be handsome
and polite. He will open doors for her. He will buy her birthday
.presents. Dorothy can't wait until next month
Paul has a red bicycle. He loves his red bicycle. He got the red
bicycle for his ninth birthday. His parents gave him his bike when he
was nine. He takes care of his bike. He puts air in both tires. He puts
air in the front tire. He puts air in the rear tire. He puts oil on the bike
chain. He wipes dirt off the bike with a damp rag. He puts water on
the rag and wipes all the dirt away. He rides his bike everywhere. He
rides it to school. He rides it to the library. He rides it to his friend's
.house. He really loves his bike
Lisa loves to go shopping. Tomorrow she is going shopping. She
needs a new pair of shoes. She wants to buy a pair of red shoes. She
thinks red shoes are pretty. She will buy a pair of shoes at the
mall. Lisa usually shops at the mall. The mall is only a mile from her
house. She just walks to the mall. It only takes her 20
minutes. Tomorrow she will go to four different shoe
stores. Tomorrow is Saturday. The mall always has sales on
.Saturday. If the sale price is good, Lisa might buy two pairs of shoes

Mark bought a new car last week. He is happy with his new car. He
got a good deal on his new car. It was on sale. His new car is
green. The four tires are black. His new car has four doors. It has one
trunk. The spare tire is in the trunk. All new cars have a spare tire. His
new car has one hood. The engine is under the hood. All new
cars have an engine. His new car has two big seats. One seat is in the
front. One seat is in the back. Mark sits in the front seat when he
.drives his new car. He always buckles his seat belt
Karen is on the swim team. She is on the swim team at school. She is
a good swimmer. All the swimmers on the swim team are good
swimmers. She swims every day. She goes to the pool after her last
class. Her last class is her English class. After English class she walks
over to the pool. She changes into her swim suit. She dives into the
water. She swims for two hours. Her coach watches her swim. He
gives her advice. He tells her how to swim better. Her coach is her
.swim instructor. He is a good instructor. She will win a race one day
Donald plays the piano. He loves the piano. He has a big piano in his
living room. His piano is shiny and black. It has three legs. He sits on a
bench to play the piano. The bench has four legs. His piano has 88
keys. The keys are black and white. Donald has ten fingers. His ten
fingers play music on the 88 piano keys. The piano also has three
pedals. Donald uses his two feet on the three pedals. He uses both of
his hands and both of his feet to play the piano. He also uses both of
.his eyes to play the piano

Betty's doctor told her to exercise more. So she began running. She
enjoys running. She runs almost every day. She runs two miles a
day. On the weekend she runs five miles. She runs up hills. She runs
down hills. She runs in the street and on the sidewalk. She runs on
trails. She runs in the heat and the cold. She runs on sunny days and
rainy days. Betty will run in the marathon next week. Next week will
be her first marathon. A marathon is 26 miles. She will run for three
hours without stopping. She won't try to win the marathon. She will
.try to finish it
George is going to make a salad. He is going to make a simple salad. It
will be a simple salad, but it will also be delicious. His salad will
have only two ingredients. One ingredient is fresh cucumber. A
cucumber is dark green and long. George will peel the skin off the
cucumber. He will throw the skin in the trash. He won't eat the
skin. He will slice the cucumber into little pieces. Each piece will
be about the size of a nickel. He will put all the pieces into a big
bowl. Then he will pour salad dressing on the pieces in the big
.bowl. That's it - a cucumber, and salad dressing
Helen is unhappy with her mother. Her mother is unhappy with
Helen. They are both unhappy with each other. Helen has a
boyfriend. His name is Peter. Her mother doesn't like Peter. Her
mother said that Peter is rude. Why did she say that? Because Peter
didn't take his hat off in the house. Helen's mother says that is
rude. A man should take his hat off in the house. "Your father always
took his hat off in the house," Helen's mother said. "But, Mom, times
are different now," Helen said. "I promise you, Peter will take his hat
.off next time." Helen's mother said it was too late - rude is rude

Kenneth cleaned his apartment. He emptied the trash. He washed the

dirty dishes. He looked in his bathroom. The sink and bathtub were
dirty. He scrubbed the sink and bathtub. He looked in his
bedroom. Clothes were on the floor. He picked up the clothes. He put
the shirts on hangers. He folded the pants. He put the pants in the
dresser. He washed the dirty clothes. He looked in his living
room. Papers were on the floor. Books, newspapers, and
magazines were on the floor. He picked them all up. He put them on
.the book shelves. Then he vacuumed his whole apartment
Sandra wrote a check to her gas company. On one line she
wrote "May 17, 2019." On the next line she wrote "The Gas
Company." On another line she wrote "$35.66." On another line she
wrote "Thirty-five and 66/100." On another line she wrote "Monthly
Gas Bill." On another line she signed her name. Then she put the
check into an envelope. She also put the gas bill into the
envelope. She licked the envelope and sealed it. She put her return
address on the front of the envelope. She put a 44-cent stamp on the
.front of the envelope. She put the envelope in the mailbox
Steven was hungry. What could he eat? He looked in the
refrigerator. He saw some orange cheese. He saw some yellow
butter. He knew what he would eat. He would eat a melted cheese
sandwich. He took the cheese and butter out of the refrigerator. He
buttered two slices of bread. He sliced the cheese and put it between
the two buttered slices. He heated the frying pan. He put the cheese
sandwich into the frying pan. After three minutes, he flipped the
sandwich over. After three more minutes, he put the melted cheese
.sandwich on a plate

Donna loved her husband. Her husband loved Donna. They were in
love with each other. She wanted to give him a birthday present. He
was going to be 40 years old next week. She wondered what to give
him. Should she give him a watch? Should she give him a
sweater? Should she give him a new guitar? What should she give
him? She asked him what he wanted for his birthday. He said he
didn't want anything for his birthday. "Oh, you must want
something!" she said. "You're right," he said. "I want your love
".forever
:Start Reading WPM

It was time for bed. Edward was very tired. He turned off the TV. He
turned off his computer. He turned off the dining room light. He went
into the bathroom. He brushed his teeth. He went into the
bedroom. He put on his pajamas. He got into bed. He put his head on
the pillow. He pulled the blanket up to his shoulders. He thought
about all the work he had done that day. He thought about all the
work he had to do the next day. He closed his eyes. He thought about
his vacation in three months. That would be so nice
Carol felt tired. She felt tired all the time. She didn't use to feel
tired. She used to have a lot of energy. Why was she so tired all the
time? "You should eat more sugar," her friend told her. "Sugar will
give you energy." But Carol didn't want to eat more sugar. More
sugar would give her more weight. She didn't want to put on
weight. She wanted to have energy again. She finally decided to see a
doctor. Her doctor told her that she had a thyroid problem. "What is
a thyroid?" she asked her doctor. "It can make you feel very tired. But
.don't worry, I can fix it," he told her

Brian has a fast car. He drives his car fast. He never gets a ticket. His
car is too fast for the police. They chase him, but they can't catch
him. Brian always escapes from the police. The police want to catch
him. But their cars are too slow. Brian's car is very fast. He likes to
drive over 100 mph. When he sees the police, he waves to the
police. The police turn on their sirens. They turn on their red
lights. They chase after Brian. Brian speeds up. He passes all the other
.cars on the road. He escapes from the police
Ruth is pregnant. She is expecting a baby. The baby is due in two
months. The baby is a boy. It is her first boy. She already has a little
girl. Her little girl is two years old. Ruth loves her little girl. Her little
girl is happy to get a baby brother. Ruth is eating for two people right
now. She is very careful about what she eats and drinks. She eats a
lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. She eats fresh fish twice a
week. She doesn't drink alcohol or coffee. She doesn't eat candy or
potato chips. She stays away from cigarette smokers. She will have a
.healthy baby
When does Ronald eat breakfast? He eats breakfast in the
morning. What does he eat for breakfast? He eats ham and
eggs. What does he drink for breakfast? He drinks coffee. Where does
he eat breakfast? He eats breakfast at home. Who makes breakfast
for Ronald? His wife makes breakfast for him. Why does Ronald eat
breakfast? Because food gives him energy. What does he do after he
eats breakfast? He brushes his teeth. What does he do after he
brushes his teeth? He goes to work. Which bus does he take to
.work? He takes the city bus to work

Sharon jumped into the water at the swimming pool. She held her
nose. She went under the water. Then she came back up. She
swam to the ladder in the pool. She climbed out of the pool. She
stood at the edge of the pool. She held her nose. She jumped in
again. Sharon liked to jump into the pool. The water felt good. It was
a hot day. The water was cool. The water felt so good. Sharon's
mother had brought her to the pool. Her mother was sitting in a
.chair. She was watching Sharon. She wanted Sharon to have fun
Anthony went to the book store. He wanted to buy a book. He
wanted to buy a book about bugs. He liked bugs. He picked up bugs in
his yard. He took them to school. He showed the bugs to his
teacher. His teacher told him the name of each bug. Then
Anthony took the bugs home. He showed them to his parents. His
mom told him to take the bugs out of the house. His dad liked to see
the bugs. He said Anthony did a good job. He gave Anthony money to
buy a book. So Anthony took the money to the book store. He looked
.for a book with lots of pictures of bugs
Michelle felt the earthquake. It lasted for only five seconds. The
whole house shook. She heard noise. The TV went off. The lights
went off. She was scared. She had never felt an earthquake. It was
very strong. It was as if a giant hand had shaken her house. The lights
came back on. Michelle turned the TV on. The TV had no news about
the earthquake. She turned on the radio. The radio said it was a 4.7
earthquake. But there was no damage. No one was hurt. Everyone
was okay. No houses had damage. Everything was okay. But Michelle
was still scared. She wanted to move far away. She did not like
.earthquakes. They were so scary

Kevin wanted to lose weight. He was getting fat. His stomach was
getting bigger. He was gaining weight. He was gaining one
pound every week. He had to buy new pants. He didn't fit into his old
pants. He couldn't see his feet anymore. When he looked down, all he
could see was his big fat belly. He wanted his belly to disappear. How
could he do that? How could he lose weight? What could he do? He
talked to his wife. She told him to stop eating candy. She told him to
stop eating cake. She told him to walk up and down the big hill every
.day
Kimberly was not happy. She was sad. She needed a job. She asked
everyone for a job. Everyone told her no. No one had a job for
her. She came home every day and cried. How could she live without
a job? She had only $1,000. After she spent the $1,000, she would
have no money. Then what would she do? She had nowhere to
go. She had no friends. She had no family. She was all alone. She was
very worried. She looked in the newspaper every day. She was
ready to take any job. If someone gave her a job, she would be so
.happy
Jason looked at his watch. It was time for his favorite TV show. He
turned on the TV. He sat down in his chair. But then he heard his
dog. His dog was scratching at the door. Oh, no, Jason thought. The
dog wanted to go out. The dog had to go to the bathroom. If he lived
in a house, he could let the dog go out the door and into the yard. But
he lived in an apartment. He didn't have a yard. He had to take the
dog for a walk. But if he took the dog for a walk, he would miss his
favorite TV show. The dog scratched at the door again. Jason turned
.off the TV

Laura looked out the window. A storm was coming. The sky was
getting darker. The wind was starting to blow. Some trees were
bending. Leaves were flying through the air. It was getting cold. She
closed all the windows. She went outside. Her car was in the
street. She closed the windows in her car. She locked her car. She
went back into her house. She turned on the TV. She wanted to see
the news about the storm. The TV person said it was a big storm. He
.said it would rain a lot. He told people to stay home

Jeff sat down. He was in class. He was at school. He was in English

class. He liked his English class. He liked his teacher. His teacher was
friendly. His teacher helped all the students. His teacher answered
everyone's questions. Jeff asked a new question every
day. Yesterday he asked his teacher a spelling question. He asked his
teacher how to spell "myself." His teacher told him how to spell
it. Jeff thanked his teacher. His teacher said, "You're welcome. Ask
".me anything anytime. That's what I'm here for, to help you
Deborah was angry at her son. Her son didn't listen to her. Her son
was 16 years old. Her son thought he knew everything. Her son yelled
at Deborah. He told her he didn't have to do anything. He didn't have
to listen to her. He didn't have to go to school. He didn't have to do
his homework. He didn't have to study. He was 16. He could do
anything he wanted to do. What could Deborah do? She wasn't
married. She was divorced. She could not control her son. He would
listen to his father. But his father was not there. His father lived in
.another city
Paula has cancer. She has six months to live. Her doctors cannot help
her. No one can help her. She smoked cigarettes for 30 years. She did
not want to stop smoking cigarettes. She liked to smoke
cigarettes. The doctors told her to stop smoking many years ago. She
didn't listen to them. She didn't listen to her parents. She didn't listen
to her children. She didn't listen to her friends. Everyone told her to
stop smoking. She told everyone to stop worrying about her. She
would be fine, she told them. She still smokes every day. Why not,
.she asks

:Start Reading WPM

Randy went to the bank. He needed money from the bank. The bank
has all of Randy's money. The bank keeps Randy's money safe. Randy
cannot keep his money at home. Someone might steal his money. He
can't hide his money in his back yard. A dog might find his money and
eat it. He can't hide his money in a tree. A bird might fly away with
his money. Some people hide their money under their bed. Some
people hide their money in their refrigerator. But that is not
safe. Someone will look under the bed or in the refrigerator. The best
.place for people to keep money is in the bank

Jackie loves the news. She listens to the news on the radio. She
watches the news on TV. She reads the news in the newspaper. She
reads the news in magazines. She loves the news because it is always
new. It is always fresh. It is always interesting. There is news every
day. There is news in every country. There is news in every
state. There is news in every city. Everyone all over the world talks
about the news every day. But Jackie has a question about the
news. Why is the news usually bad? Why isn't the news usually
.good? No one knows the answer

.VOCABULARY

Larry has the flu. His nose is running. He coughs a lot. He sneezes a
lot. When he coughs, he covers his mouth. When he sneezes, he
covers his mouth. When his nose is running, he wipes his nose with a
tissue. Larry's mother is taking care of him. She makes hot soup for
him. She gives him fresh orange juice. She makes him comfortable in
his bed. She turns on the TV so he can watch TV in his bed. She turns
out the light so he can sleep in his bed. She gives him medicine so he
.will get better. Larry will get better soon
Patty got a doll for Christmas. It is her favorite doll. It is a rag doll. It
has a yellow dress. It has a blue blouse. The name of the doll is
Molly. Molly has bright red hair. She has red lips. She has blue
eyes. She has a pink ribbon in her hair. Molly is wearing red
shoes. She's wearing white socks. Molly has a purse. Her purse is
pink. The purse is empty. There is nothing in the purse. There was a
little mirror in the purse. But Patty lost the mirror. When she lost the
".mirror, she said, "I'm sorry, Molly. I will get you another mirror
Danny looked at his brown shoes. They looked old and dirty. They
needed a shine. It was time to shine his brown shoes. He got a rag. He
got a shoe brush. He got a can of polish. He opened the can of
polish. He put the rag around his finger. He scooped out a bit of
polish with his finger. He rubbed the polish all over the left shoe. He
brushed the left shoe. He brushed it and brushed it. The shoe began
to shine. It looked like a new shoe. Then Danny put polish on the right
.shoe. He brushed the right shoe until it looked like a new shoe

Peggy went to church every Sunday. She loved to go to church. At

church she was with her family and friends. At church she was with
the saints. She was with the angels. And most of all, Peggy was with
God. She always talked to God in church. She always asked God to
stop war. She asked God to stop hate. She asked God to stop
sickness. But war, hate and sickness did not stop. There were war and
hate and sickness every day. "Mommy, why doesn't God stop war,
hate, and sickness?" Peggy asked. "God will," her mom said, "when
".more people ask

Dora wanted to buy a card for her mother. Her mother's birthday was
next week. Dora loved her mom. She wanted to get a nice birthday
card. She wanted a card that was pretty. She wanted a card that said
the right thing. What was the right thing? The card must say, "I love
you, mom." It must say, "Mom, you are the best mother in the
world." It must say, "I'm so happy that you are my mom." Those are
all the right things for the card to say. But there was one more
"!thing the card must say. It must say, "Happy Birthday
Frank is not an old man. He is only 61 years old. But he is dying. He is
in the home for old people. Nobody visits him. His wife doesn't visit
him. She is already dead. She died six months ago. She died in the
street. She was crossing the street. A car ran over her. Frank loves his
wife. He got sick after she died. He never got better. The doctor
says that nothing is wrong with Frank's body. The doctor says that
Frank wants to die. The doctor is right. Frank does not want to
live without his wife
Lois has a headache. The headache started one hour ago. She doesn't
know why she has a headache. She never gets headaches. She never
gets sick. Lois is a healthy woman. Where did her headache come
from? Was it something she ate? Was it something she drank? She
doesn't know. She wants her headache to go away. She does not
like to take medicine. But her head hurts so much. She went into her
bathroom. She opened the medicine cabinet. She found some
aspirin. She took two aspirin with a glass of water. Maybe the
.aspirin will help her headache go away

Jerry has no job any more. He has a little money. But he does not
have enough money for rent. He cannot pay his rent. He has to
move out of his apartment. He will move out next week. He will move
into his car. He will put all his clothes into his car. He will put his
pillows and blankets into his car. He will sleep in his car. He will look
for another job. After next week he will not be able to take a
shower. He will have to use a public bathroom. He won't be able to
.drive his car. He won't have money for gas. Jerry needs help
Kathy finished her sandwich. She had a chicken sandwich for
lunch. She got up from her chair. She took her plate to the kitchen
sink. She put the plate in the sink. She turned on the cold water
faucet. She rinsed the plate. She picked up a paper towel. She wiped
the plate dry. She put the plate on the counter. Her mother walked
into the room. "Did you wash that plate with soap?" she asked
Kathy. Kathy said no. "I couldn't find the soap," she said. Her mom
said, "What's this right next to the cold water faucet?" Kathy
.said, "Soap." Her mom told her to wash the plate again
Bruce picked up the cat. The cat meowed. The cat didn't like most
people. The cat liked to be alone. It liked to sleep on the sofa. It liked
to sleep in the fruit bowl. It liked to sleep on top of the TV. It liked to
chase bugs in the front yard. It liked to chase lizards in the back
yard. It liked to chase flies in the kitchen. Bruce put the cat on the
floor. He rubbed the cat's stomach. The cat liked that. The cat licked
his hand. Bruce rubbed the cat's stomach some more. The cat
.meowed. The cat was happy
Sharon was five years old. Her best friend was Pam. They played
games together. They played all kinds of games. They had fun
together. But one day Pam pushed Sharon. "Why did you push
me?" Sharon asked. "Because," Pam said. Sharon told Pam not to
push her again. So, Pam pushed Sharon again. Sharon pushed Pam
back. Then Pam pulled Sharon's hair. Then Sharon pulled Pam's
hair. Both of them started crying. Sharon's mom came into the
room. She told Pam to go home. Pam ran out of the
house. "Sharon, you can't play with Pam anymore," Sharon's mother
.said
Andrew got down on his hands and knees. He put a dry sponge into
the bucket. The bucket was full of soapy water. He squeezed the
sponge. He scrubbed the kitchen floor. There were marks on the
floor. There were spots on the floor. There was old food on the
floor. He scrubbed the floor clean. Then he took the bucket into the
bathroom. He poured the soapy water into the tub. The water went
down the drain. He turned on the shower. He rinsed the tub. He
.turned the bucket over so it would dry. He washed his hands
Sally had a cold. Her nose was red. She pulled a tissue out of the
tissue box. She blew her nose. She threw the tissue into the
trash. She looked at her fingernails. Her fingernails were too long. She
needed to cut her nails. She opened her purse. She took her nail
clippers out of the purse. She clipped all the nails on her left
hand. Then she clipped all the nails on her right hand. She looked at
both of her hands. Now her nails were nice and short. She put her nail
clipper back in her purse. She pulled another tissue out of the
.box. She blew her nose again

Andrew was in the third grade. He loved his teacher. His teacher was
young. She was pretty. She was friendly. She helped Andrew add
numbers. She helped Andrew draw dogs and cats. She helped
Andrew learn to spell. Andrew gave his teacher an apple one day. He
gave her an orange another day. He gave her a peach another
day. His teacher thanked him. "Thank you for the apple," she said the
first day. "Thank you for the orange," she said the second day. "Thank
you for the peach," she said the third day. Each day Andrew
".said, You're very welcome
A farmer owns a lot of land. He grows food on that land. He grows
the food from seeds. He plants seeds into the land. The seeds grow
into corn. The seeds grow into wheat. The seeds need water. The
seeds need sunlight. A farmer owns a tractor. He drives the tractor on
his land. A farmer has many animals. He has pigs. He has cows. He
has sheep. He has chickens. He has dogs and cats. He has
rabbits. When it rains, the farmer goes into his house. The animals go
into the barn. A farmer works hard. His animals don't work
.hard. They just eat and sleep
Jimmy dropped a piece of paper on the floor. He bent over and
picked it up. He folded the piece of paper in two. He put it on the
table. He picked up a pencil. He wrote a phone number on the piece
of paper. He put the pencil on the table. He picked up the scissors. He
picked up the piece of paper. He cut the paper in half. He put one-half
of the paper on the table. He put the other half with the phone
.number in his shirt pocket. He put the scissors on the table

Norma went to bed. It was eleven o'clock. She turned out the
light. She lay in bed. It was dark. It was quiet. She couldn't sleep. She
closed her eyes. She tried to sleep, but she couldn't. She turned the
light back on. She opened her book. She started to read her book. It
was a good book. She read one page. Then she read another
page. After a while, she felt sleepy. She closed the book. She turned
.out the light. She closed her eyes. She went straight to sleep
Herman didn't like his first name. He had never liked it. He wanted to
change it. He asked his mother. She said it was too late to change his
name. She said he could use his middle name. She would call him by
his middle name. She asked him if that was okay. Herman said
yes. "From now on," he said, "please call me by my middle
name. From now on, please call me Adam." His mother said that was
no problem. "Goodbye, Herman," she said, "and hello, Adam." When
Adam's father came home from work, Adam's mom said, "Guess
".what? We have a new son
Alice told her son Jesse to go to his room. He didn't want to go to his
room. "Why do I have to go to my room?" he said. "You were a bad
boy," she said. "You hit your sister." He said, "No, I didn't. She hit me
first." Alice said, "But you shouldn't hit your sister, even if she hits
you first. She is younger than you are. And she's a little girl. Boys
should never hit little girls." Jesse said, "Okay, I won't ever hit little
girls again. Now do I have to go to my room?" Alice said yes, he still
had to go to his room. "When she's a big girl, I'm going to hit her
.again," he said

Rodney's uncle is in jail. He went to jail because he was drunk. He was

driving his car. He was going the wrong way on a one-way street. He
almost hit three other cars. Someone called 911. A police car chased
Rodney. The police car turned on its red light. The red light was
bright. The police car turned on its siren. The siren was loud. Rodney
did not pull over. He did not stop his car. Finally, he went off the
road. He ran into a tree. He got out of his car. He was okay. His car
was not okay. The policeman said, "You are drunk. I'm taking you to
".jail
Lucy went to the doctor. She didn't feel good. The doctor
asked, "What's the problem? What's the matter?" She said she didn't
feel right. "Do you hurt? Where do you hurt?" the doctor asked. She
said that she hurt all over. She hurt everywhere. She hurt all over her
body. The doctor said, "You have a big problem. I will fix your
problem." The doctor gave Lucy a shot. He gave her a shot in her left
arm. "Do you feel better now?" he asked her. "No," she said, "now
".my left arm hurts a lot
Brent was at the stop light. His car radio was on. The music was very
loud. Brent liked to listen to loud music in his car. A police car pulled
up next to Brent. The policeman looked at Brent. He shouted, "Pull
over to the side of the road." Brent said, "What?" The policeman
said, "Pull over to the side of the road." Brent pulled over to the side
of the road. The policeman said, "Do you know why I am giving you a
ticket?" Brent said, "You are giving me a ticket? Why are you giving
".me a ticket?" The policeman said, "Because your radio is too loud

Emma went to the market. She needed to buy food. She needed
brown eggs. She opened a carton of brown eggs. She looked at the
eggs. None of them were cracked. None of them were broken. All the
eggs were okay. She closed the carton. She put the carton of eggs in
her shopping cart. She needed red apples. She looked at a bag of red
apples. She looked for dark spots on the apples. She looked for worm
holes in the apples. She didn't see any dark spots or worm holes. She
.put the bag of apples in her shopping cart
Jenna was at the airport. She was waiting for her plane. Her
plane would leave at 7 p.m. It was only 2 p.m. She had time to
eat. She had time to study. She went to the airport restaurant. The
restaurant was on the third floor. The restaurant was full. There were
no empty seats. There were no empty tables. She didn't want to
stand in line. She didn't want to wait. There was another
restaurant in the airport. It was on the first floor. She went down to
the first floor. That restaurant was almost empty. There were many
.seats and many tables
Fred had a red rubber ball. He kicked the ball. It flew through the
air. He picked it up. He threw it against a wall. The ball came back to
Fred. He kicked it with his foot again. The ball flew over the wall. He
picked it up again. He bounced it on the street. The ball bounced up
and down. Then it stopped bouncing up and down. It didn't
move. Fred's dog barked at the ball. Fred kicked the ball. His dog ran
.after the ball
Louis got a new book. The book was about animals. Louis loved
animals. The book had lots of pictures. It had pictures of dogs and
cats. It had pictures of cows and pigs. It had pictures of chickens and
rabbits. It had pictures of squirrels and birds. Louis looked at the
pictures on the first page. Then he turned the page. He looked at the
pictures on the second page. Then he turned the page again. The
book had 30 pages in it. Louis looked at all the pictures on all the
.pages

VOCABULARY

Lulu's mom gave Lulu a pencil. It was a yellow pencil. It was a number
two pencil. It had a pink eraser. The eraser was small and round and
pink. Lulu's mom gave Lulu a piece of paper. It was a white piece of
paper. There were blue lines on the white paper. Lulu wrote a
letter to her grandma. Her letter said, "Dear Grandma, Hello, I love
you." Lulu told her mom she was done. Her mom looked at the
letter. "This is a short letter," her mom said. Lulu said, "Yes, Mom, it
".is a short letter. It is short but sweet
William looked at his bowl of soup. It was chicken soup. There was
white rice in the soup. William liked rice. There were pieces of
chicken in the soup. William loved chicken. The pieces of chicken
were white. They were small and square. They weren't big and
round. There were pieces of orange carrots in the soup. William
didn't like carrots. He picked up a piece of carrot with his fingers. He
put it on the table next to his bowl. He took all the pieces of
carrots out of the bowl. He put them all on the table. Then he ate his
.soup
Tracy looked at the flag. The flag is red, white, and blue. It has 50
white stars. The white stars are on a blue square. The flag has six
white stripes. It has seven red stripes. All the stripes are
horizontal. They are not vertical. The stripes do not go up and
down. They go from left to right. Tracy loves her flag. It is the flag of
her country. It is a pretty flag. No other flag has 50 stars. No other
.flag has 13 stripes
Greg took the pen out of his pants pocket. He took his keys out of his
pants pocket. He took his cell phone out of his pants pocket. He took
his wallet out of his pants pocket. He put everything into a plastic
tray. He took his shoes off. Greg was at the airport. He had to get on
the airplane. But he had to pass through security first. He passed
through security. He put his pen and keys back into his pocket. He put
his cell phone and wallet back into his pocket. He put his shoes back
.on his feet. He got on the airplane
The baby birds sat in the nest. There were two baby birds. They were
in the nest. The nest was in the tree. The baby birds were waiting for
mama bird. They were hungry. When would mama bird be
back? Then they saw mama bird. She landed on the nest. She had two
worms in her mouth. She gave one worm to each baby bird. The
worms were delicious. The baby birds ate the worms very fast. Then
they opened their mouths. They wanted another worm. Mama bird
.flew away. She went to get more worms
Susan likes to eat apples. She likes to eat big red apples. She likes to
wear a blue hat. She wears a big blue hat on her head. She wears a
hat and eats an apple. She drinks some water from a white
cup. Susan drinks water and eats apples. She doesn't cut the
apple with a knife. A knife is sharp. She just eats the apple. She holds
the apple in her hand. She bites into the apple with her teeth. She
licks her lips. She drinks more water. She wipes her mouth with her
.hand

Fay went into the bathroom. She turned on the cold water. She
turned on the hot water. Warm water came out of the faucet. She put
her hands under the warm water. She rubbed her hands
together. She picked up a bar of white soap. She rubbed the
soap with her hands. She put the soap back. She washed her
hands for half a minute. Then she rinsed her hands with the
water. She turned off the hot water. She turned off the cold
.water. She dried her hands with a towel
Sandra picked up the bag of peanuts. It was a bag of roasted
peanuts. She opened the bag. She poured out some roasted
peanuts onto the table. There were about eight peanuts on the
table. The peanuts were still in their shells. Each peanut was in its
shell. Sandra picked up a peanut. She held it in her hands. She put her
thumbs on the peanut. She broke the shell open with her
thumbs. Sandra opened the shell. Inside the shell were two little red
peanuts. Each peanut had red skin on it. Thin red skin covered both
little peanuts. She took a little red peanut out of the shell. Sandra ate
.the little peanut with the red skin on it
Jim had two separate sheets of paper. He wanted to put the two
sheets of paper together. He did not want to glue them together. He
did not want to use glue. He did not want to staple them together. He
did not want to use a staple. What did Jim want to use? He wanted to
use a paper clip. He wanted to put the two sheets of paper together
with a paper clip. He picked up a paper clip. It was a metal paper
clip. It was a silver paper clip. Jim put the silver metal paper clip on
both sheets of paper. Now the sheets of paper were together. They
.were not separate

Pat looked at the washer. The washer had dials on it. It had two dials
on it. There were words next to each dial. Each dial had three
words next to it. The words next to one dial were Small, Medium, and
Large. This dial was for the size of the load. Did Pat have a small
load, a medium load, or a large load? The words next to the other
dial were Cold, Warm, and Hot. Did Pat want to wash her clothes in
cold water, warm water, or hot water? Pat turned one dial to
Large, and the other dial to Hot. Then she pushed the Start button on
.the washer
Bob pushed the button on the door handle. He pulled on the door
handle. He opened the car door. He got into the car. He sat down. He
sat down in the driver's seat. He sat down behind the steering
wheel. Bob put the seat belt on. He buckled the seat belt. The seat
belt went across his chest. The seat belt went across his lap. The seat
belt kept him safe. He put his car key into the ignition. The
ignition was next to the steering wheel. The ignition starts a car. Bob
.turned the car key in the ignition. The car started
Helen turned on her flashlight. Nothing happened. The light did not
come on. There was no light. What was wrong with her
flashlight? She unscrewed the top of the plastic flashlight. Helen took
the two batteries out of the plastic tube. She looked at the two
batteries. They were "D" batteries. They looked okay. They did not
look bad. But maybe they were dead batteries. She opened a package
of new batteries. She put two new "D" batteries into the plastic
tube. Helen screwed the top back onto the plastic flashlight. She
!turned on her flashlight. The light worked

Liz looked at the round plastic container. The plastic container was
empty. There was no milk in the container. Liz wanted to drink some
milk. But she was out of milk. She needed to make more milk. She
opened the cabinet. She grabbed a box of powdered milk. She
opened the box. She took the lid off the round plastic container. Liz
poured some powder into the container. She filled up the
container with cold water. She put the lid back on the container. Liz
shook the container hard. She shook it and shook it. She poured some
.cold milk into a glass. She drank the cold milk in the glass
Mike washed his hands. He washed his hands with soap and
water. He brushed his teeth. He brushed his teeth with toothpaste
and water. He turned off the water. The sink was full of water. The
water did not go down the drain. The water stayed in the sink. What
was the matter? Why didn't the water go down the drain? Mike
waited and waited. The water didn't go anywhere. It sat in the
sink. Mike opened a bottle of liquid Drain Opener. He poured the
Drain Opener into the sink. Mike waited one minute. Then all the
.water went down the drain
Bill stole a wheelchair. The wheelchair did not belong to him. It
belonged to someone else. The wheelchair belonged to Jenny. Jenny
could not walk very far. She got tired very fast. It was her
wheelchair. Jenny was inside her house. Her wheelchair was on the
front porch. Bill saw the wheelchair on the front porch. He looked
around. Nobody was around. He walked up to the front porch. Bill
grabbed the wheelchair. He pushed it in front of him. He pushed the
wheelchair to his home. He opened the door to his home. Bill pushed
the wheelchair into his home. "Look, Grandma," he said, "I brought
".you a new wheelchair

Margaret made a fresh salad. She peeled a yellow banana. She peeled
a red apple. She peeled a green cucumber. She peeled an orange
carrot. She peeled a brown potato. She peeled a white onion. She
peeled a white egg. She chopped everything up with a sharp
knife. She chopped everything into little pieces. She used her sharp
knife to chop up the banana, apple, cucumber, carrot, potato, onion,
and egg. She chopped up a tomato. he put all the little pieces into a
bowl. She opened a bottle of salad dressing. She poured salad
.dressing on her fresh salad
Don has cancer. He is 12 years old. But he is lucky. The doctor
knows how to fix Don's cancer. he doctor told Don's mom to bring
him to the hospital. Don's mom said no. She will let God fix Don's
cancer. God will fix Don's cancer. She does not trust the doctor. She
doesn't trust the hospital. She only trusts God. The doctor said Don
will die. He said Don must come to the hospital. Don's mom ran
away. She ran away with Don. The police are looking for Don and his
mom. They want to save Don's life. Only the doctor can save Don's
.life
Maria is 18. She will go to college in September. She will be a college
student in September. But right now it is summer time. It is
June. Maria needs a job. She needs money for college. She needs
money to buy books for college. She wants a job. Maria went to a
restaurant. "Can I have a job?" she asked. The restaurant manager
said, "I'm sorry. I don't need anyone right now." Maria went to a
book store. "Will you give me a job?" she asked. The book store
".manager said, "I'm sorry. I don't need new workers right now
Tom was bored. He didn't have anything to do. He wasn't
interested in doing anything. He didn't want to watch TV. Tom didn't
want to listen to the radio. He didn't want to play sports. He didn't
want to use the computer. He didn't want to read books. "I'm
bored," Tom said. "What can I do? I want to do something
interesting." Tom's father had an idea. "I have an idea," his father
said. "Why don't you collect coins? Coins are fun to collect. And coins
are everywhere. You see coins every day. Some coins are
".valuable. They will make you rich
Ed looked at the kitchen floor. The kitchen floor was dirty. There
were little pieces of food on the floor. Ed saw bread crumbs. He saw
cracker crumbs. He saw cheese crumbs. He saw little pieces of
bread. He saw little pieces of cracker. He saw little pieces of
cheese. He needed to sweep the floor. Ed didn't want bugs in his
kitchen. Bugs like to eat little pieces of food. He took the broom out
of the kitchen closet. He took the dust pan out of the kitchen
closet. Ed swept the floor. He swept all the pieces of food into the
.dust pan

VOCABULARY CLOZE SENTENCES

Dotty looked at the door. It was a closet door. The door had a silver
handle. The silver handle was round. The round, silver handle was a
doorknob. One day she tried to turn the doorknob. She tried to open
the closet door. But the doorknob didn't turn. She couldn't open the
closet door. The closet door wouldn't open. The door was
locked. "Why is the door locked?" Dotty asked her mom. Her mom
said it was locked for her safety. "What's behind the door?" she
asked her mom. Her mom said a rifle was behind the locked
.door. Daddy kept a rifle in the closet
The cat was not moving. It was lying in the grass. The cat was black
and white. It was a pretty black and white cat. It was cold
outside. The cat was lying on its stomach. It was dark outside. The
porch light shined on the cat. The cat looked at Sissy. "Mom, can I
have the cat?" she asked her mom. Her mom came outside on the
porch. She looked at the cat. "That is a pretty cat," her mom
said. "Can I have it?" Sissy asked. Her mom said no. Maybe the
cat belonged to another family. Maybe the cat was wild. If it was
.wild, it might bite Sissy
His dad liked to fly balloons. His dad bought big balloons and filled
them with helium. Helium is a gas. It is a gas that makes
balloons float into the sky. One day his dad brought home a new
balloon. He took it out of the box. He took it outside. He tied the
balloon to spikes with ropes. The spikes were in the ground. The
ropes and spikes kept the balloon on the ground. He filled the
balloon with helium. He asked Junior what the new balloon looked
like. "It looks like a flying saucer!" said Junior. "It looks like a real
"?flying saucer! Is there an alien inside
Davy was 10. His dad was driving the car. The radio was on. His
dad was listening to the radio. The man on the radi0 was talking
about an accident. The accident was on the freeway. Two people
were dead. The accident had just happened 30 minutes ago. His dad
told him that life can be short. Accidents happen everywhere. They
happen to everyone. "You must always be careful, Davy," his dad
said. "Never be in a hurry. Always pay attention to other
drivers." Davy said he would be a careful driver. He would never be in
a hurry. He would always pay attention. "Can I drive the car now?" he
.asked his dad

He looked in the mirror. What were all those red spots on his
face? Every morning he had fresh red spots on his face. Were they
insect bites? Were insects biting him at night? What were those red
spots? They would usually disappear in a few hours. Then his face
would look normal. It would look like a normal face. It would have no
red spots. But every morning, he had an ugly face. All those red
spots! What was happening at night? Was it his pillow? Was
something in his pillow? Was something in his pillow making the red
spots? He would buy a new pillow. Maybe his pillow was the
.problem

VOCABULARY CLOZE SENTENCES DICTATION

She won the contest. She won the Rose Queen contest. She was the
new queen for the Rose Parade. She was so happy. She would be in
the parade on New Year's Day. She was so excited. She would be on
TV. Millions of people would see her. She would wave to people on
the sidewalks in Pasadena. Pasadena was the home of the Rose
Parade. Every year, thousands of people spent New Year's Eve on the
sidewalks of Pasadena. They wanted to see the Rose Parade. Almost
50 floats are in the Rose Parade every year. All the floats are
beautiful. They have lots of beautiful flowers. She would ride on a
beautiful float. She would wave to everyone. Her parents and
.friends were so happy for her
He played the piano. He played it very well. He started playing the
piano when he was six years old. That was seven years ago. Now he
was 13 years old. He was very good. He won one piano contest after
another. A famous piano teacher heard him play the piano. The
teacher said, "I want to bring you to New York. I will teach you how
to be even better. I will teach you how to be the best piano player in
the whole world." He didn't like that idea. He wanted to stay at
home. He wanted to stay with his parents and his friends. His parents
wanted him to go. They said they would visit him in New York every
.weekend
The country is full of criminals. Criminals are in every city. Criminals
are on every block. They break all the laws. They don't care about the
laws. There are thousands of laws. The criminals break all the
laws. They laugh when they break the laws. The police watch the
criminals. They try to arrest the criminals. The criminals shoot at the
police. They kill the police. Last week they shot down a police
helicopter. The helicopter crashed to the ground. The criminals ran
over to the helicopter. All the policemen on the helicopter were
dead. The criminals stole the guns from the dead policemen. They
.walked away from the helicopter. They were laughing
The woman had eight babies at one time. She was famous. Nobody
could believe it. It was a world record. How could anyone have eight
babies at one time? Her doctor had given her special drugs. The
special drugs made her have eight babies. She was happy to have
eight babies. "I grew up all alone," she told the reporters. "I did not
like being alone. I decided that I would have many babies when I
grew up. So now I have many babies. I am so happy. I am a lucky
woman to have eight babies. I will love them all, and they will all love
".me

The bathroom wall had a nail in it. He pulled the nail out of the
wall. It was a big nail. When he pulled the nail out, a hole was in the
wall. It was a big hole. He wanted to repair the hole. He went to Wal-
Mart. Wal-Mart has everything for sale. Wal-Mart is a very popular
store. He asked a clerk, "How can I fix a nail hole in my bathroom
wall?" The clerk said it was very simple. A nail hole was easy to
fix. "Just buy this tube of Nail Hole Filler. Then squeeze it into the
hole," the clerk said. He took the filler home. He squeezed it into the
!hole. He let the filler dry overnight. The next day, there was no hole
Susan didn't like the color of her hair. Her hair was changing color. It
used to be all black. But now it was turning gray. She didn't like the
gray hair. Gray hair made her look older. She didn't want to look
older. She made an appointment with the beauty salon. A week
later, she went to the beauty salon. The hairdresser colored Susan's
hair. She added a little bit of purple color to Susan's hair. When the
hairdresser finished, Susan looked at her hair. She liked it. She
couldn't see any gray hair. All she could see was black hair with a
little bit of purple tint. The purple tint looked nice. Susan hoped her
.boyfriend would like it
There was something wrong with his leg. It burned. But it burned in
one spot only. He didn't know what was wrong. The spot was
smaller than a dime. It was on the back of his leg. He picked up a
hand mirror. He used the hand mirror to look at the back of his
leg. He saw a small lump. He put his finger on the lump. The lump
was hard. It wasn't a soft lump. The lump felt like a small stone. It
was like a small stone under his skin. But it was like a small stone that
was on fire. It burned. Something was wrong. He needed to see a
.doctor

He had very little money. It was cold outside. It was winter. But he
was inside. He was inside his apartment. Right now he was
okay, because he was inside his apartment. But next month he would
not be okay. Next month he would be outside his apartment. He had
lost his job. He couldn't pay his rent. He had called his landlord. He
asked his landlord if he could stay an extra month for free. His
landlord said no. His landlord said, "If you can't pay the rent, you
must go." Where could he go? He would sleep in his car. But a car is a
.cold place in the winter. He was very sad
They walked onto the dock. They got into the boat. They had all their
fishing gear. They were going fishing. They loved to go
fishing. Sometimes they caught a lot of fish. Sometimes they caught a
couple of fish. Sometimes they caught no fish. But fishing was
fun even if they caught no fish. The boat left the dock. The boat
stopped in the middle of the lake. Everyone put worms on their
hooks. Some people put live worms on their hooks. Some people put
dead worms on their hooks. Some people put rubber worms on their
hooks. Everyone dropped their hooks into the water. Then they
.waited. They waited for the fish to bite the worms
He loved his new jacket. It was his favorite jacket. He loved the
color. It was tan. He loved the weight. It was medium weight. It was
not too light. It was not too heavy. He loved the fit. It fit him well. He
put the jacket on. He looked at the jacket in the mirror. It looked
good. What a good-looking jacket, he thought. He went to the
doctor's office. The office was warm. He took his jacket off. He put it
on the chair next to him. A nurse called his name. He stood up. He
went to the examination room. He forgot that his jacket was on the
chair. But it wasn't on the chair for long. Another patient took it
.home

Patty needed help with her computer. She asked a coworker to help
her. Patty said she would treat her coworker to a nice dinner. Her
coworker asked, "What kind of dinner?" Patty said a nice Chinese
dinner. Her coworker said that sounded good. She would come
over to Patty's apartment at 7 o'clock. Patty went home after
work. She made a delicious Chinese dinner. But her coworker didn't
show up at 7 o'clock. Her coworker didn't show up at 7:30. Her
coworker didn't call. Patty called her coworker. No one answered. At
9:30 Patty went to bed. The phone rang. It was her coworker. Patty
didn't answer the phone. Tomorrow she would ask someone else to
.help her
He was bored. He wanted to do something fun. He wanted to do
something fun with his friend. He called up his friend. "I'm
bored. Let's do something fun!" he said. His friend said, That sounds
great. I'm glad you called. I'm bored, too. What do you want to
do?" He said he wanted to go to the beach. His friend said that
sounded great. He picked up his friend in his car. They went to the
beach. They threw a Frisbee to each other. They swam in the
ocean. They built a big sand castle. They watched the sailboats. They
watched the sea gulls He drove his friend home. "That was fun! Let's
.do it again sometime," his friend said
He was driving home. He couldn't wait to get home. He was
hungry. He hadn't eaten in eight hours. Eight hours ago he had eaten
two hot dogs. The hot dogs were delicious. He had put lots of
mustard, onions, and relish on the hot dogs. They were so
delicious. He got home. He walked upstairs. He walked into his
apartment. He opened his refrigerator. He took a package out of the
refrigerator. It was a package of hot dogs. He took two hot dogs out
of the package. He put them into the microwave. He took mustard,
onions, and relish out of his refrigerator. He grabbed two hot dog
!buns. He was ready to eat two more delicious hot dogs
She went to the circus with her parents. She was excited. She had
never been to a circus. There were many clowns at the circus. She
liked the clowns. They had funny faces. They had big, red noses. They
wore funny hats. They wore big shoes. Their shoes were much
bigger than her dad's shoes. They were twice as big as her dad's
shoes. The clowns had loud horns. They honked their horns at each
other. They didn't talk. They used their horns to talk. Honk, honk! She
laughed at the clowns. They were so funny. They made her laugh. She
told her dad, "Daddy, guess what? When I grow up, I'm going to be a
"!clown
His dad was reading one section of the newspaper. His mom was
reading another section of the newspaper. His older sister was
reading another section of the newspaper. He had the comics section
of the newspaper. That was the best part of the newspaper. He didn't
understand the words. He wasn't able to read. But he liked the
comics. He liked the drawings. They were all different. All the animals
were different. All the people were different. All the drawings were
black and white. He colored the drawings with his crayons. He
showed the colored drawings to his mom. She liked them. "Those are
beautiful colors," his mom said. "Someday you will be a famous
".painter
He had to clean out his apartment. There was so much to clean
out. He had hundreds of books. What was he going to do with
them? He couldn't keep all of them. He was moving to a smaller
apartment. There was no room for all his books in his new
apartment. There was no room for his bicycle. What was he going to
do with his bicycle? He had a big TV. The TV was too big for his new
apartment. What was he going to do with his big TV? He called up his
brother. "Do you want my books, my bike, and my TV?" he asked. His
".brother said, "You should have a yard sale
She looked at the man. He was walking on the sidewalk. She did not
know this man. He was a stranger. She did not trust this man. He did
not live in this neighborhood. She was driving her car slowly. She was
almost home. She drove past the man. She watched him in her rear-
view mirror. He stopped walking on the sidewalk. He walked up her
neighbor's driveway. A car was in the driveway. He walked up to the
driver's door. He stopped. Then he walked back to the
sidewalk. What was he doing, she wondered. Then she realized what
he was doing. He was testing the driver's door. He was testing it to
.see if it was locked. She called the police
It was September. People were getting sick all over the world. They
were getting sick from the flu. The flu was called H1N1. Some people
called it swine flu. The swine farmers did not like that. They
said, "Stop calling it swine flu. Swine don't have the flu. You can't get
the flu from eating swine." Swine are also called pigs. We get bacon
and ham from pigs. We get pork from pigs. But we don't get the flu
from pigs. We get the flu from a virus. The H1N1 virus was making
everyone sick. In October they distributed a new vaccine. The new
vaccine protected most people from the virus. The people were
.happy. The swine farmers were happy
Jack was angry. Joe owed him money. Joe owed him $100. Joe had
borrowed $100 a month ago. He had borrowed the money 30 days
ago. He said he would pay Jack back the next week. He said that he
would pay Jack back in seven days. But he didn't pay Jack back in
seven days. He didn't pay Jack back in 14 days, or 21 days, or 28
days. After 30 days, Jack was very angry. He called up Joe. "You owe
me $100. You borrowed $100 from me 30 days ago. Where is my
money? I want my money now," Jack said. Joe said, "Oh, I'm so
sorry. You're right. I borrowed $100 from you. I owe you $100. Can I
"?pay you back next week

It is flu season. You must be careful. It is very easy to catch the

flu. You should wash your hands often. You should get a flu shot. A
flu shot will help protect you. But there is a problem with a flu
shot. The problem is the needle. The nurse will stick a needle in your
arm. Your arm will be sore for a day. Maybe two days. Nobody likes
to have a sore arm. But which is worse - a sore arm, or a sore body? A
sore body is worse than a sore arm. Do you want your arm to hurt, or
do you want your whole body to hurt? Your body will hurt for a
.week. Maybe it will hurt for two weeks
Carol and Mary are friends. Carol said she would call Mary at 7
o'clock. Carol didn't call at 7:00. She didn't call at 7:15. She finally
called at 7:30. She apologized for calling so late. Mary said it was
okay. But it wasn't okay. Mary didn't like people to lie. This wasn't
the first time Carol had lied. This was the fourth time Carol had
lied. Mary did not trust Carol. Carol would never be her best friend. A
best friend tells the truth. A best friend doesn't lie. A best friend does
not call late. A best friend does not arrive late. A best friend is always
.on time
Don had a pistol. It was a small pistol. He offered it to his brother
Tony. Tony looked at the pistol. It was a beautiful pistol. It was
black. It had a silver trigger. Tony put his finger on the silver
trigger. He put the pistol in his pocket. He took it out of his pocket. He
walked outside. He saw a bird on a wire. He aimed the pistol at the
bird. He pulled the trigger. He said, "If the gun was loaded, I would
have killed the bird." Don said, "I'm glad it wasn't loaded. You
shouldn't kill birds." Tony thanked Don for the pistol. "I like this
.pistol. Thank you," Tony said. He took the pistol home with him

Jane called Lisa. Lisa said she was eating. She was eating dinner. Lisa
asked Jane to call her back. Jane said she would call Lisa back. She
called Lisa back the next day. Lisa said she was eating. She was eating
lunch. Lisa asked Jane to call her back. Jane said she would call Lisa
back. She called Lisa back the next day. Lisa said she was eating. She
was eating breakfast. Lisa asked Jane to call her back. Jane said she
would call Lisa back. The next day Jane called Lisa back. Lisa was
eating. She was eating a snack. Lisa asked Jane to call her back. Jane
said, "No. You call me back. You call me back when you aren't
".eating
Up, down. Up, down. Billy was doing pushups. His arms were
bent. His palms were on the ground. His toes were on the ground. His
back was straight. His belly was close to the ground. His nose was
close to the ground. Then he straightened his arms. Now his nose was
almost two feet above the ground. His back was straight. His arms
were straight. His head was higher than his feet. His feet were
lower than his head. That was one pushup. Then Billy bent his
arms. His nose and belly almost touched the ground. Then he
straightened his arms again. That was another pushup. Billy did eight
.more pushups. He did ten pushups. He did ten pushups every day
It was late at night. The plane flew through the air. It flew through
the air very fast. It flew through the air at 500 miles per hour. Five
hundred miles per hour is very fast. A train does not go 500 miles per
hour. A bus does not go 500 miles per hour. A ship does not go 500
miles per hour. Both the pilot and copilot were very sleepy. They
both fell asleep. The plane flew past the city. Then the pilot and
copilot woke up. They turned the plane around. They went back to
the city. They landed at the airport. Their boss was angry. He
asked, "Why is the plane late? Did you two fall asleep?" They both
"!said, "Of course not, boss

She liked to feed popcorn to the pigeons. The pigeons liked to eat her
popcorn. She put popcorn in her hand. A pigeon ate the popcorn in
her hand. She put popcorn on her shoulder. A pigeon ate the
popcorn on her shoulder. She put popcorn in her hair. A pigeon ate
the popcorn in her hair. She sat down on a bench. It was a wooden
bench in the park. She put popcorn all over the bench. She put
popcorn all over her clothes. She put popcorn on her head. She put
popcorn on her lap. Many pigeons landed on the bench. Many
pigeons landed on her. Nobody could see her. Nobody could see the
.bench
His ear had a tiny air bubble in it. It bothered him a lot. He could hear
an echo when he talked. The echo bothered him a lot. He tried to get
rid of the tiny air bubble. He squeezed his nose, closed his mouth, and
blew really hard. Nothing happened. He shook his head like a wet
dog. Nothing happened. He stood on his head for 10
minutes. Nothing happened. He stuck his finger deep in his ear and
pulled it out quickly. Nothing happened. The doctor gave him nose
drops. Nothing happened. The doctor gave him ear drops. Nothing
happened. He took a walk on a winter day. He slipped on the ice. He
!hit his head on the sidewalk. The bubble was gone
She was thinking about her boyfriend. Why did she stay with
him? Why didn't she leave him? She didn't trust him. He said that he
loved her. But he was mean to her. He said bad things. He said she
was too fat. He said she should eat less. He did bad things. He gave
her a cheap card from the 99 Cents store for her birthday. He gave
her a bag of apples for Christmas. Then he ate all the apples. He said
things that made her cry. He did things that made her cry. Then he
said he was sorry. He always said he was sorry. She wanted to leave
him. She wanted to find another boyfriend. But she didn't leave
.him. She loved him too much
Dad took his son Chris to the baseball game. The Los Angeles
Dodgers were playing the San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers were the
home team. The Giants were the visiting team. Dad and Chris walked
into Dodger Stadium. Many people were there. Most of them
wanted to see the Dodgers win. They wanted to see the Giants
lose. Dad and Chris found their seats. They sat down. The game had
already started. Chris told his dad he was hungry. His dad bought two
bags of peanuts for Chris. He bought two hot dogs for Chris. He
bought a big soda for Chris. A foul ball came their way. People dived
for the foul ball. They knocked Chris' soda over. His dad bought him
.another soda
Debby was in the first grade. Her brother Tommy was in the second
grade. They lived in Florida. They lived in a small town in
Florida. They walked to school in the morning. They walked
home from school in the afternoon. On Monday Debby and
Tommy were walking home. They were walking with a couple of
Tommy's friends. Tommy told his friends that Debby still sucked her
thumb. "She still sucks her thumb," he said. His friends
laughed. Debby started to cry. She ran away from Tommy and his
friends. When Tommy got home, his mom asked, "Where's
Debby?" Tommy said he didn't know. He thought she was already
home. "No, she's not home," his mom said. She called the
.neighbors. Then she called the police

Nancy took her daughter Donna to the park. The park had lots of
trees. It had lots of squirrels and birds. The squirrels ran up and down
the trees. The squirrels chased one another. The squirrels played with
one another. The birds flew around. They flew down to the
ground. They flew up into the trees. The squirrels and birds were
good neighbors. Nancy sat down on a bench. She took a magazine out
of her purse. She turned the pages of the magazine. Donna ran
over to a squirrel. She tried to catch the squirrel. Then she tried to
catch a bird. Donna chased the squirrels and birds She never caught
.one squirrel. She never caught one bird. But she had a lot of fun
He was talking on the phone. The phone was on the table in the
dining room. He was talking to his friend. They were talking about the
weather. It was raining. There was a knock on his door. Someone was
knocking on his door. He went to the door. He opened the door. No
one was there. He went back to the phone. The doorbell
rang. Someone was ringing his doorbell. He went to the door. He
opened the door. No one was there. He went back to the
phone. There was another knock on his door. He kept talking. The
doorbell rang again. He kept talking. Fool me once, shame on you, he
.thought. Fool me twice, shame on me, he thought
She offered her car to her brother. He said he would think about
it. "Let me think about it," he said. She called him up a week
later. "Do you want my car for free?" she asked. He said, "I'm
thinking about it." She asked, "How long do you have to think about
it?" He said he didn't know. "Let me think about it some more," he
said. She called up a charity. She said, "Do you want my car for
free?" The man at the charity said yes. She asked, "You don't have to
think about it?" He said, "No, I don't have to think about it. Who has
.to think about a free car?" He picked up her car the next day
She was a babysitter in her home. She took care of 10 little
children. They were not her little children. They were the sons and
daughters of other people. She did not have a son. She did not have a
daughter. She was not a mother. She was a babysitter. The children
were 1 to 4 years old. She babysat them all. She kept them in her
house all day. They all stayed in her living room. She gave them
toys to play with. She gave them books to look at. She gave them
pillows and blankets. Some kids played with the toys. Some kids
looked at the books. Some kids slept. She usually didn't watch the
.kids. She usually watched the TV
She went into the laundry room. She was in a hurry. She needed to
wash and dry her clothes. Then she needed to go to work. The washer
was running. Someone was using the washer. The washer
stopped. She opened the lid. She took the damp clothes out of the
washer. The damp clothes belonged to someone else. She put their
clothes on top of the dryer. She put her own clothes into the
washer. She started the washer. Half an hour later, she took her
clothes out of the washer. She put her clothes into the dryer. An hour
later, she took her clothes out of the dryer. Then she went to
.work. She left the damp clothes on top of the dryer
She was a nurse. It was flu season. But she didn't get a flu shot. All
the other nurses got a flu shot. All the doctors got a flu shot. But she
didn't get a flu shot. Flu shots made her sick. She got a flu shot when
she was a little girl. The flu shot made her very sick. he spent a week
in the hospital. Then she came home. She spent three weeks in
bed. She was sick for about a month. After that, no more flu shots for
her. She never got a flu shot again. She never got the flu, either. "I
.never get a flu shot, but I never get the flu," she told her friend

She was a fast eater. She liked to eat fast. She ate like a wolf. "I am
like a wolf," she said. He was a slow eater. He liked to eat slow. He
ate like a turtle. "You are like a turtle," she said. She didn't talk at the
dinner table. All she did was eat. He liked to talk at the dinner
table. He talked about the news. He talked about the weather. He
talked about sports. She listened to him talk. She nodded her
head. That meant yes. She shook her head. That meant no. He
talked. She listened. She never said yes. She never said no. She never
.said anything. All she did was eat
Flu shots cost $20 at the drugstore. Only a few people are buying the
flu shots. There are no long lines. No one is waiting in line. If you
want the flu shot, pay $20. You don't have to wait in line. You can get
the flu shot immediately. The mayor announced free flu shots. He
said, "We will give free flu shots to everyone. Come to the library on
Saturday." On Saturday 2,000 people went to the library. They stood
in line for four hours. After four hours, there were no more free flu
shots. They ran out of free flu shots. The drugstore still has many flu
.shots. But the flu shots at the drugstore aren't free. They cost $20
She walked along the sidewalk. She wasn't paying attention. She was
thinking about her boyfriend. He made her angry. He said he didn't
want to marry her now. He wanted to marry her later. She wanted to
get married now. She didn't want to get married later. Why didn't he
want to marry her now? Maybe he didn't want to marry her later,
either. Maybe he didn't want to marry her ever. Maybe he wanted to
meet someone else. Maybe he wanted to marry someone else. She
walked straight into a bench. She hurt her leg. Her leg started
bleeding. She sat down on the bench. Her leg hurt so much. She tried
.to stop the bleeding

She looked at the moon. It was big. It was round. It was white. It was
big and round and white. It was much bigger than all the stars. The
stars were little lights. The moon was a big, bright light. She looked
around. She could see other houses. She could see the sidewalk. She
could see the street. The moon was bright. It was not as bright as the
sun. But it was much brighter than the stars. She looked at the
moon. Her dad said there is a man in the moon. She looked for the
man in the moon. She looked for his eyes. She looked for his
.nose. She looked for his mouth. She did not see the man in the moon
He loved his job. He had a good job. He was a teacher. He loved to
teach. He loved his students. He loved to teach his students. His
students listened to him. His students listened to almost every word
he said. His students learned from him. They learned how to spell
words. They learned how to pronounce words. They learned how to
ask questions. They learned how to answer questions. They learned
how to think. He taught them how to think. "Don't believe everything
you hear," he said. "Don't believe everything you read," he
said. "Don't believe everything you see," he said. "Use your head. If
.something sounds too good to be true, it usually is," he said
The janitor cleaned the church every day. He swept the floor with a
broom. He mopped the floor with a mop. He vacuumed the
carpet with a vacuum cleaner. He cleaned all the windows with a wet
cloth. He cleaned the men's bathroom. He cleaned the women's
bathroom. He cleaned the sinks in the bathrooms. He cleaned the
toilets in the bathrooms. He cleaned the mirrors in the bathrooms. He
scrubbed the steps outside the church. He scrubbed the steps with
soapy water and a brush. He kept the steps clean. He kept the
windows clean. He kept the bathrooms clean. He kept the floors
clean. The steps were clean. The windows were clean. The bathrooms
.were clean. The floors were clean. It was a clean church

She was angry. She was angry with her brother. Her brother didn't
help her. She needed to borrow $1,000. She had asked her brother to
lend her $1,000. He said no. Her brother said he didn't have
$1,000. Her brother was lying. Her brother had $10,000. He had ten
times $1,000. Why did he lie to her? Why didn't he tell her the
truth? Why didn't he lend her $1,000? She said, "I know you have
$10,000. All I want is $1,000. I will pay you back next year. You will
get your money back next year." He said no. He said people shouldn't
borrow money. He said people shouldn't lend money. "But I'm not
"!'people,'" she said. "I'm your sister
It is winter. The sky is usually gray. The sun is not big. The sun is not
warm. The sun is never high in the sky. It's always low in the sky. The
shadows are long. In the morning they are long. In the afternoon they
are long. The shadows are cold. The wind blows. The wind
blows almost every day. Sometimes it is a strong wind. Paper blows
everywhere. It is always a cold wind. People wear heavy
jackets. People stand with their hands in their pockets. People blow
on their hands to keep their hands warm. You can see people's warm
breath. When they breathe, you can see their warm breath. Their
.breath is like steam from a teapot. Everyone is cold in the winter

VOCABULARY
Prisons today have too many prisoners. The prisoners sleep in bunk
beds. They sleep in triple bunk beds. Triple bunk beds are for three
prisoners. One prisoner sleeps in the bottom bunk bed. Another
prisoner sleeps in the middle bunk bed. Another prisoner sleeps in
the top bunk bed. They sleep on top of one another. They sleep
beneath one another. Prisoners complain about the triple bunk
beds. They don't like the triple bunk beds. Prisons didn't use to have
bunk beds. Prisons didn't use to have any beds. Prisoners used to
sleep on a cold floor. Prisoners today get three meals a day. They get
three hot meals. Prisoners used to get one meal a day. They used to
.get one cold meal
Betty was excited. It was December 1. Christmas Day was only 24
days away. She was looking at a magazine. It was a magazine for little
girls. There were many pictures in the magazine. There were many
pictures of dolls. The dolls were from many countries. There were
dolls from Mexico. There were dolls from China. There were dolls
from France. There were dolls from everywhere. There were so many
dolls. She showed the pictures to her mom. "Mommy, will Santa
bring me all these dolls?" she asked. "No, honey," her mom
said, "Santa will bring you only one doll. So pick the one you like
.best." "But, Mommy," she said, "I like them ALL the best
he big room is air-conditioned. But it smells. Dead bodies are in metal
drawers. The bodies have no clothes. The bodies are naked. A white
sheet covers each dead body. The drawers slide in. The drawers slide
out. A doctor works in the big room with the dead bodies. He works
there almost every day. He cuts the bodies open. He cuts them
open with a knife. He cuts them open with a saw. He looks at the
bodies. He looks inside the bodies. Why did these people die? Why
did this young man die, he wonders. He tries to answer the
question. Every dead body is a puzzle. The doctor tries to solve the
.puzzle. Then he tells the police why the people died

Soccer is a fun game. It is very popular. It is popular all over the

world. It is fun to watch. It is fun to play. It is a simple game. There
are two teams. They play on a big grassy field. There is one ball. There
are two goals with nets. Each team tries to kick the ball into the other
team's net. The players cannot use their hands. hey cannot touch the
ball with their hands. They use their feet to move the ball. They use
their chests to move the ball. They use their heads to move the
ball. The players run back and forth. They slide on the grass. They
.crash into one another. They play to win
A baby has arms and legs It has a mouth and eyes. It looks at
everything. It eats everything. It smiles a lot. It cries a lot. It eats a
lot. It drools a lot. It pees a lot. It poops a lot. It sleeps a lot. It tries to
talk. It makes funny sounds. It says "Googoo" and "Gaga." It waves its
arms and legs. It doesn't do much else. It doesn't sit up. It doesn't
stand up. It doesn't talk. It lies on its back. It lies on its stomach. After
a year, it will do many things. It will crawl. It will stand up. It will
walk. It will talk. But in the beginning, it just grows. It grows bigger
.and bigger
It rains a lot in the jungle. The rain helps trees grow. The jungle has
many trees. Trees are home for many jungle animals. Many animals
live in the trees. Monkeys are jungle animals. Monkeys love
trees. They love to swing from tree to tree. They climb down from the
trees. They climb back up into the trees. They sit in the trees. They
eat their food in the trees. They eat the plants in the trees. They eat
the fruit in the trees. They live in the trees with the birds. They live in
the trees with the lizards. They live in the trees with the snakes. They
live in the trees with the ants. The trees in the jungle are full of
.animals
She was sitting in a bar. She was drinking beer. She was getting
drunk. She started to talk. She started to talk too much. She talked
about her cash. She talked about a lot of cash. She had thousands of
dollars in her purse. She said she had $20,000 in her purse. She said it
out loud. Everyone in the bar heard her. Everyone looked at her. She
took some cash out of her purse. She held the money in the
air. "Look," she said, "here's $1,000 cash." She waved it around. She
laughed. She put the money back in her purse. She had another
beer. A man was watching her. She finished her beer. She left the
.bar. He followed her
She had watched the news last night. The weatherman had said it
was going to rain today. It was going to rain all day today. She got
dressed. She put on her rain boots. She put on her raincoat. She
grabbed her umbrella. She was ready for the rain. She was wearing
her rain boots. She was wearing her raincoat. She had an umbrella in
her hand. She walked outside. Something was wrong. What was
wrong? It wasn't raining. Where was the rain? She looked up. She
looked at the blue sky. She went back inside. She took off her
raincoat. She took off her rain boots. She went back outside. She still
.had her umbrella. You never know about the weather, she thought
He looked at the rising moon. It was rising above the houses. It was
big and orange. It looked bigger than the rising sun. How could it be
so big? How could it be so orange? Several hours later, he looked at
the moon again. Now it was high in the sky. Now it was smaller. It
wasn't orange anymore. Now it was white. What happened? It
changed size. It changed color. Before, it was big and orange. It was
like a big pumpkin. Now, it was smaller and white. It was like a light
bulb. But it was still pretty. It was still bright. It was the brightest
.light in the sky

He looked at the bird. It was a blackbird. It was walking on the

grass. It was looking for food. Birds have a funny walk. Why do they
walk so funny? Because they don't have arms. Arms help people
walk. People walk well. Birds don't have arms. They don't walk
well. They look funny when they walk. Birds have wings. Wings help
birds fly. They use their wings to fly. They fly very well. They are
beautiful to watch when they fly. They belong in the sky. They don't
belong on the ground. The blackbird found something to eat. It flew
.up into a tree. It ate the food in the tree. Then it flew away
God takes good people to heaven. He wants good people to be with
Him. He leaves bad people on Earth. He doesn't want bad people
near Him. He lets them do bad things on Earth. When they die, He
sends them to the devil. The devil makes them work every day. They
work next to a big fire. They are always right next to the fire. They are
always hot from the fire. They carry coal. The devil makes them carry
heavy buckets of black coal. They carry the coal to the fire. They pour
the coal on the big fire. Then they refill the big buckets with more
.coal. They never get a drink of water. They never get to rest
The brothers don't speak to each other. They had a fight. They had a
fight a long time ago. The fight was about money. Money can make
people happy. Money can make people unhappy. Money can bring
people together. Money can tear people apart. It doesn't take a lot of
money to tear people apart. Sometimes it takes only a little
money. The two brothers were angry about $100. Only $100. But they
both said, "It's not the money. It's the principle." A principle is a way
of life. To tell the truth is a principle. To work hard is a principle. But
.both brothers lied. t wasn't the principle. It was the money

He was homeless. He was cold. He was shivering. He was in the

park. He was sitting on a bench. A sign was next to him. The sign
said, "Please hire me. I am homeless." People walked by. They looked
at him. He looked dirty. He looked old. How could this man work? He
was too old to work. He was too dirty to work. He needed a bath. He
needed some food. One lady stopped. She sat down next to him. She
said she belonged to a church. She said to come with her. They both
got up. He walked with her to the church. The church was warm. He
".smelled hot food. She said, "Our church will help you
May called her mom. Her mom lived in China. China was far
away. Her mom was 50 years old. Her mom had many friends. But
she missed her daughter. May lived in America. She was a
waitress. She was a waitress in a restaurant. It was a Chinese
restaurant. "Guess what, Mama?" May asked. "I met a nice
man." Her mom said she was happy. "Will you marry him?" she
asked. She wanted May to marry. She wanted a grandson. She
wanted a granddaughter. She wanted May to bring her children back
to China. "Be patient," May said. "I only met him last month. But he's
"!very nice." Her mom said, "Okay, I will be patient. But hurry up
He had a beautiful car. It was a Cadillac. It was a 1993 Cadillac. It was
a four-door Cadillac. It was light brown. It had a big engine. The big
engine didn't leak oil. The big engine didn't leak water. He drove his
car only five miles a day. He took good care of his car. He washed it
every week. He washed it by himself. He washed it with dishwashing
soap and water. He dried it with paper towels. He vacuumed inside
the car every week. He vacuumed it with a small vacuum cleaner. The
outside of his car was clean. The inside of his car was clean. He never
.ate anything inside his car. He never drank anything inside his car

She wanted to have a baby. She wanted to have a baby girl. He

wanted to have a baby. He wanted to have a baby boy. He loved
her. He said, "Okay, we will have a baby girl." She loved him. She
said, "Okay, we will have a baby boy." They both loved each
other. They both wanted to make each other happy. He talked to his
parents. He asked them what to do. She talked to her parents. She
asked them what to do. His parents said, "No problem. Have two
babies. Have a baby girl and a baby boy." Her parents said the same
thing! So they had two babies. They had a baby girl. Then they had a
.baby boy
Emily sat down on the sofa. She had a big, soft sofa. It was
comfortable. It was a comfortable sofa. She took off her shoes. She
put her feet on the coffee table. The TV remote was on the coffee
table. She picked up the remote. She pointed it at the TV. She turned
on the TV. The news was on. The reporter said that a plane had
crashed. More than 100 people died. The reporter said that a bridge
had collapsed. More than 20 people died. She turned off the TV. She
had enough problems at home. She didn't need to hear about more
problems in the world. She had money problems. She had health
problems. She had family problems. Who needed to hear about more
?problems
She used to eat meat. She used to eat a lot of meat. She used to eat
beef. She used to eat pork. She used to eat ham. She used to eat
chicken. She ate meat every day. She ate bacon for breakfast. She ate
a hamburger or hot dog for lunch. She ate meat loaf for dinner. She
ate vegetables sometimes. She ate fruit sometimes. She ate salad
sometimes. But she ate meat all the time. One day she walked by a
dumpster. She smelled something. It smelled bad. It smelled really
bad. She opened the dumpster lid. She looked in. She saw an opened
package of raw hamburger meat. It was covered with flies and ants. It
.stunk. She closed the lid. She stopped eating meat

He drove to the supermarket. He was out of food. He had no food in

his refrigerator. He had no food in his cupboards. He needed to buy
some food. He hoped he would find a sale. A sale would save him
money. He walked into the supermarket. He walked over to the
produce section. The apples were on sale. The bananas were on
sale. It was his lucky day. He loved apples. He loved bananas. The
apples were only one dollar a pound. The regular price was $2.50 a
pound. The bananas were only 49 cents a pound. The regular
price was 89 cents a pound. He bought four pounds of apples. He
bought four pounds of bananas. Then he walked over to the dairy
.section. Maybe the milk was on sale, too
She got into her car. She hoped it would start. Sometimes it started
immediately. Sometimes it started after five minutes. Sometimes it
didn't start for 20 minutes. She had taken it to a mechanic. He
couldn't fix the problem. He didn't know what the problem was. She
had taken it to another mechanic. He knew what the problem
was. She needed new spark plugs. He put in the new spark plugs. She
paid him. She thanked him. Now her worries were over. She didn't
have to worry anymore. Every time she turned the key, her car
started immediately. But a week later, her car didn't start
immediately. It started after five minutes. She called up the
.mechanic. He said to bring the car in. He would look at it again

She wanted to go for a drive. She told her husband. He said that was
a good idea. "Where do you want to go?" he asked. She wanted to
drive to the mountains. She wanted to go to Big Bear Lake. Big Bear
Lake is high in the mountains. It is 7,000 feet high. It is a two-hour
drive from their home. It takes two hours to get there. The lake is big
and beautiful. They could park their car next to the lake. They could
sit next to the lake. They could watch the boats. They could watch the
fishermen. They could watch the squirrels and deer. It is a beautiful
drive to Big Bear Lake. The road goes through a big forest full of tall
trees
The fox was brown. The fox was quick. The dog was brown. The dog
was lazy. "You are a lazy dog," said the fox. "Yes, I am a lazy
dog," said the dog. "Why are you a lazy dog?" asked the fox. "Why
not?" asked the dog. "My owner feeds me. My owner takes me out
for walks. My owner loves me. I eat. I go out for walks. I sleep. I'm a
lazy, happy dog." "But don't you have any ambition?" asked the
fox. "Ambition? Ambition to do what? I'm just a dog," said the
dog. "Lassie was a dog. She saved people's lives," said the fox. "I'm
too lazy to save people's lives," said the dog. "Let Lassie save people's
".lives
Nick was old. Nick was old and sick. His wife was Sherry. Sherry was
younger than Nick. Nick was older than Sherry. Nick was 81. Sherry
was 61. They had been married for 41 years. They loved each
other. "Kill me," Nick said. "You say you love me. If you really love
me, you will kill me." "I will not kill you," Sherry said. "You will get
better. The pain will go away." Nick had cancer. He had lung
cancer. He used to smoke. He used to smoke cigarettes. He used to
smoke two packs of cigarettes a day. Nick was in pain every day. "This
cancer is killing me," he said. Sherry said, "If the cancer is killing
".you, it doesn't need my help
It was a new pet store. Brian walked into the new pet store. He said
hello to Paul, the owner. Paul said hello to Brian. Brian said, "This is a
clean pet store. This is a quiet pet store. This pet store doesn't
smell." Brian looked around the store. Brian walked around the
store. He didn't see any pets. He didn't see one pet. "Where are the
pets?" he asked. "The pets are right here," said Paul. Paul opened a
catalog. The catalog was full of pictures. It was full of pictures of
pets. "Just pick any pet you like," said Paul. "We will mail it to
you." "What if I don't like it?" asked Brian. "Just mail it back," said
.Paul
The mayor was in a hurry. He was late. He drove his car faster. He
didn't want to miss his plane. The traffic light was red. He went
through the red traffic light. I'm glad no police are around, he
thought. He heard a siren. He saw a red light behind him. The red
light was on top of a police car. The mayor didn't stop. He was in a
hurry. He was late. He was the mayor. He drove his car faster. The
police car followed the mayor. It followed the mayor to the
airport. The mayor got out of his car. The policeman got out of his
car. "You're under arrest," he said. "You can't arrest me. I'm the
.mayor," said the mayor
Doug went to the gas station. "Can I have a job?" he asked. The
owner said, "Maybe you can have a job. Can you count money? Can
you put gas in a car?" "Yes," said Doug. "I can count money. I can put
gas in a car. So, can I have a job?" "There is just one problem," said
the owner. "I cannot pay you with money." "You cannot pay me with
money?" asked Doug. "What good is that? What will you pay me with
- bananas?" "No," said the owner. "I won't pay you with
bananas. You aren't a monkey, are you? No, I will pay you with
gasoline. I have lots of gasoline." "It's a deal. My car uses lots of
.gasoline," said Doug

He was a famous cartoonist. He drew political cartoons. His

cartoons made fun of presidents. His cartoons made fun of vice
presidents. His cartoons made fun of Congress. Politicians hated
him. Ordinary people loved him. His name was Paul. He put 400 of his
cartoons in a book. He sold the book at a book fair. Many people
bought the book. He signed the book for everyone. He autographed
the book for everyone. "Why are you selling this book? Do you need
extra money?" Becky asked. "Yes, I need extra money," Paul
said. "The newspaper laid me off. They said my cartoons are
mean. My cartoons make the politicians cry." "But your cartoons tell
.the truth," Becky said. "Yes, and the truth hurts," said Paul
Jack paid $100,000 for his house. He had bought his house 30 years
ago. It was a big house. It had four bedrooms. It had four
bathrooms. Jack was alone. His wife had died. His children had
moved out. His house was too big for one man. He decided to sell his
house. He called up a real estate agent. She visited Jack. She looked
at his house. She looked at all the rooms. She looked at the front
yard. She looked at the back yard. She looked at the garage. "This is a
beautiful house," she said. "I think this house will sell for
$500,000." Jack said, "That's great. I will give $300,000 to my
".children. I will buy a small house for $200,000
A new neighbor moved in. Will the new neighbor be quiet, Liz
wondered. The new neighbor wasn't quiet. The new neighbor was
loud. He played his TV loud. He played his music loud. He talked on
the phone loud. Loud, loud, loud! He slammed the door when he left
his apartment. He slammed the door when he entered his
apartment. Slam, slam, slam! He had a basketball. He bounced the
basketball everywhere. He bounced it on his apartment floor. He
bounced it against his apartment wall. He bounced it off his
apartment ceiling. Bounce, bounce, bounce! Liz asked him to be
quiet. "Please be quiet," she asked. "I will not be quiet," he said. Liz
!!wanted to kill the new neighbor. Kill, kill, kill
Each September volunteers clean up the beach. Hundreds of
volunteers clean up the beach. They carry empty trash bags. They
pick up trash. They fill up the trash bags. They fill up hundreds of
trash bags. They put all the trash bags into trucks. The trucks take the
trash bags to a landfill. The trash goes from the beach to the
landfill. Every year there is more beach trash. Every year there is
more landfill trash. Jill picked up trash for three years. Finally she
said, "People leave trash here every year. They know we will pick it
up. We shouldn't pick it up. In a few years, trash will cover this
beach. People will stop coming here. They will stop leaving trash
".here
Lucy had a cat. His name was Pirate. Pirate was 14 years
old. Fourteen is old for a cat. "What can I do?" Lucy asked her
dad. "Pirate is old. He will die soon. I will miss him so much." Dad
said, "Why don't you clone him? They will make a brand new Pirate
for you. It will look like Pirate. It will walk like Pirate. It will meow like
Pirate. It will love you like Pirate. But it will be a kitten. It won't be an
old cat. It will be a new kitten. You can have a new Pirate for 14 more
years." "Dad," said Lucy, "that's a great idea. Then, when my new
"!Pirate is 14, I can get another new Pirate
I'm calling the police," Barry said. "I'm glad you're calling the "
police," Ruth said. Barry and Ruth had a nice house. They had a nice,
quiet house. They had nice neighbors. They had nice, quiet
neighbors. But tonight, their neighbors were not quiet. They were
having a pool party. Everyone was drinking. Everyone was talking
loud. Everyone was jumping into the pool. Loud music was
playing. Car horns were honking. Barry and Ruth closed all their
windows. But they still heard the party. Barry called the police. The
policeman said, "We'll be there in an hour or two." Barry
asked, "Why not sooner?" "The mayor's having a big party," the
policeman said. "Most of our officers are protecting the mayor and
".his guests

You have to chop down those two trees," said the fire control
agent. "Why do I have to chop down those two trees?" asked
Diane. "Because those two trees are a fire hazard," said the fire
control agent. "All trees are a fire hazard," said Diane. "Yes, but those
two trees are a super fire hazard," said the agent. "Why are those
two trees a super fire hazard?" Diane asked. "Because those two
trees are right next to your house. Chop them down," he said. Diane
was poor. She couldn't afford to pay someone to chop the trees
down. The agent said, "Chop them down, or I will fine you." The next
.day, she poured gasoline on both trees. Then she set them on fire
It was New Year's Day. He lived in Las Vegas. He drove over to a
casino. He walked over to a roulette table. He bought one chip for
$100. He flipped a coin. He caught the coin. It was heads. He put the
$100 chip on red. The dealer spun the roulette wheel. The wheel
went round and round. The dealer pushed the silver ball. The ball
went round and round. The wheel slowed down. The ball slowed
down. The ball dropped into a red slot. He won! The dealer gave
him a $100 chip. He gave the dealer a $10 tip. He cashed in both his
.chips. He went home. He felt good. It was going to be a good year

They drove to the park. They got in line. Many cars were in front of
them. They should have gotten up earlier. "We should have gotten up
earlier," said Mom. "I know," said Dad. "We should not have slept
in." "I know," said Mom. "But sometimes it's nice to sleep
in, especially on the weekend. Weekends are for sleeping in." The line
moved slowly. Finally they were at the front of the line. "I'm
sorry," said the park ranger. "We're closed." "What?" said Dad. "It's
not even noon. How can you be closed?" The ranger said the parking
lot was full. There was no place to park. He said to come back
tomorrow. "Don't sleep in," said the ranger. "The early bird gets the
".worm
It was summer. Swim classes were beginning. She didn't know how to
swim. She wanted to learn. She called up the pool. Do you teach
adults how to swim?" she asked. The instructor said, "Yes, we teach
adults how to swim. We teach kids how to swim. We teach everyone
how to swim." She asked how much. "How much do you charge?" she
asked. "We charge only $25 for adults," the instructor said. She gave
him her name. He put her name on the swim class list. "You are on
the swim class list," he said. "Your first lesson is Saturday at
noon. Bring $25 and a towel." She asked, "That's all I need to
".bring?" He said, "I'm sorry. Bring your swimsuit, too
He lived in a nursing home. "I don't have anything to do," he told the
nurse. "Why don't you watch TV?" she asked. "I hate watching TV. TV
is nothing but reruns," he said. "Why don't you play chess?" she
asked. "I hate playing chess," he said. "I always lose." "Why don't you
play cards?" she asked. "I hate playing cards. The others always
cheat," he said. "Why don't you read a book?" she asked. "I hate
reading books," he said. "They give me a headache." "Why don't you
take a nice walk?" she asked. "I hate taking walks," he said. "It's
always too hot outside." "Why don't you take a nap?" she
".asked. "That's a good idea," he said. "I like taking naps
Many homeless people were sitting on the sidewalk. A young man
walked up to each homeless person. He gave each person a flier. The
flier was from a trade school. The flier described a class. The trade
school was offering a barber class. The class was free for homeless
people. Matt read the flier. He talked to the man. Matt said he
wanted to take the class. The man wrote down Matt's name. He told
Matt to go to the school on Monday. "How long does the class
last?" Matt asked. "The class lasts eight weeks," the man said. "Will
the school find me a job?" Matt asked. "No, you have to find your
".own job," the man said. "We can only do so much
Brad was angry. He was angry at the apartment building
manager. The apartment building manager had kicked him out. "If
you can't pay the rent," the manager said, "I have to kick you
out." "But I always pay the rent on time," Brad said. "That's nice, but
you're supposed to always pay the rent on time," said the
manager. One evening Brad drove to the gas station. He bought a
gallon of gas. He put the gas into a gas can. He waited until 11
p.m. The manager lived in a corner apartment. His apartment was on
the ground floor. Brad waited until the manager's lights went out. He
.poured all the gas in the hall near the manager's door. He lit a match
He stopped at the motel. It was late at night. It was almost
midnight. He asked the motel clerk, "Do you have a vacant
room?" She said she had a vacant room. He asked how much it
was. She said it was $100 for the night. "But the night is half over," he
said. "Can I pay half price for the room?" She said yes. "But there is
one condition," she said. "If we only get half, you only get half. You
must sleep on only one-half of the bed. You can use only one of the
two pillows. The bathroom has hot and cold water faucets. You can
use only one faucet. The cable TV has 100 channels. You can watch
".only 50 channels

It was time for the annual blood drive. He told his girlfriend, "I'm
going to give blood tomorrow." She said, "Don't do that. You could
get a disease." He asked, "I could get a disease? How could I get a
disease?" She said, "You never know. What if a nurse trips and stabs
you with a dirty needle?" He said that was ridiculous. Nurses don't
trip. Nurses don't stab blood donors with dirty needles. He went to
the blood drive the next day. He watched the nurses carefully. None
of them tripped. None of them stabbed a blood donor with a dirty
needle. He gave blood. He told his girlfriend that no one had
.tripped and stabbed him. She said he was lucky this time
The police chief said crime was down. "Crime is down," said police
chief Braddon. He talked to TV reporters. He talked to newspaper
reporters. He talked to radio reporters. He was proud. "I'm
proud," he said. "Our police are doing a good job. I'm proud of our
police." He said crime was down 50 percent. "What kinds of
crime?" asked a reporter. "All kinds of crime," said Braddon. "Bicycle
theft is down 60 percent. Cell phone theft is down 55
percent. Computer theft is down 50 percent." He didn't say
anything about other crimes. "What about other crimes?" asked a
reporter. "What other crimes?" asked Braddon. "You should be
happy with this news. Report it to the public. The public will be
".happy, too
The man walked into a bank. He wore a hoody. He wore gloves. It
was summertime. It was hot outside. No one else was wearing a
hoody. No one else was wearing gloves. The bank guard looked at the
man. "Why are you wearing a hoody?" the bank guard asked. "Why
are you wearing gloves?" The man said he had a disease. He had a
contagious disease. He coughed. He coughed again. The bank guard
backed away. He did not want to get a disease. He stopped watching
the man. He watched other people enter the bank. He forgot
about the man with the contagious disease. A few minutes later, the
.man ran out of the bank. He was carrying a money bag
Alex wanted to become a citizen. He signed up for a citizenship
class. He went to the first class. The teacher spoke only Spanish. All
the other students spoke only Spanish. Alex spoke Spanish, too. He
asked the teacher, "Why are you speaking Spanish? We need to
speak English. We need to understand English. We need to read
English. We need to write English." The teacher said, "Don't
worry. English isn't important anymore. My students never fail the
interview. Can you say Yes in English? Can you say No in
English? Then your English is good enough. You want to become a
citizen. That is more important than your English." Alex dropped
out. He signed up for another citizenship class. The teacher spoke
.only English
His laptop sat on his desk. His laptop always overheated. It always
overheated quickly. How could he keep it cool? He turned on his
living room fan. It cooled his laptop. But the fan blew dust around. It
blew paper around. He turned off his living room fan. He thought. He
thought some more. How could he keep his laptop cool? He had an
idea. He bought little plastic blocks. Each block was one inch
square. He put the laptop on top of the blocks. One block was under
each corner of the laptop. Now the laptop sat a little above the
desk. There was space under the laptop. There was space for cool air
.to flow. The cool air prevented overheating

The days were hot. The nights were hot. He turned on the living room
fan. He turned on the dining room fan. Both fans were on high
speed. They made a lot of noise. But they didn't blow cool air. They
blew hot air. They blew hot air everywhere. He turned off the
fans. He turned on the air conditioner. He closed all the windows. He
closed the front door. The apartment began to cool down. It got
cooler and cooler. Then he heard a bang. It was a loud bang. He
thought a plane had crashed onto the roof. But it wasn't a plane. It
was the air conditioner compressor. It had broken down. He opened
.the door. He opened the windows
He couldn't find his pen. Where is my pen, he wondered. He looked
for his pen. It was on top of the microwave. He couldn't find his cell
phone. Where is my cell phone, he wondered. He looked for his cell
phone. It was on top of the TV. He couldn't find his glasses. Where
are my glasses, he wondered. He looked for his glasses. They were on
top of his head. I'm tired of looking for everything, he thought. He
invented a tiny video recorder. It recorded everything he did. It
recorded everywhere he went. He couldn't find his
toothbrush. Where is my toothbrush, he wondered. He played his
tiny video recorder. He found his toothbrush. He didn't have to look
.for it
He called up the post office. "Where is my package?" he
asked. "What is the tracking number?" the postal worker asked. He
told her the tracking number. She said, "Your package is at the main
post office. You can pick it up anytime." He said, "I don't want to pick
it up. Can you deliver it?" She said yes. "We will deliver it on
Monday," she said. "Will you be home?" He said, "What time on
Monday?" She said, "Anytime between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m." He said, "I
have to work. I can't stay home all day." She said, "That's okay. We
can deliver it on Tuesday." He said, "I have to work on Tuesday,
".too. Please deliver it on Saturday
He dropped his toothbrush. It fell on the floor. He picked up his
toothbrush. He rinsed it off. He brushed his teeth. He rinsed his
mouth. He walked out of the bathroom. He sat on his bed. He felt
something. It was under the sheet. He took the sheet off the
bed. Something was in his mattress. It was a brand new mattress. He
had bought it yesterday. What is in the mattress, he wondered. He
went to the kitchen. He took a knife from the kitchen drawer. He cut
open the mattress. What could it be, he wondered. It was small. It
was black. It was a book. It was the New Testament. Is God trying to
.tell me something, he wondered
He dropped his toothbrush. It fell on the floor. He picked up his
toothbrush. He rinsed it off. He brushed his teeth. He rinsed his
mouth. He walked out of the bathroom. He sat on his bed. He felt
something. It was under the sheet. He took the sheet off the
bed. Something was in his mattress. It was a brand new mattress. He
had bought it yesterday. What is in the mattress, he wondered. He
went to the kitchen. He took a knife from the kitchen drawer. He cut
open the mattress. What could it be, he wondered. It was small. It
was black. It was a book. It was the New Testament. Is God trying to
.tell me something, he wondered

VOCABULARY

Some people stood on the small pier. They saw a boat approach. The
boat was approaching fast. The boat was approaching the small
pier. Was the boat going to stop? People started running. They
started running off the pier. They were worried. They were worried
about the boat. The boat kept coming. It didn't slow down. One man
stood on the pier. He didn't run. He yelled at the boat. He waved his
arms. He yelled, "Stop! Stop! You're going to crash!" But the boat
didn't stop. It kept coming. The man kept yelling. The boat kept
coming. Is the driver drunk, the man wondered. He ran as fast as he
.could. He ran off the pier. The boat crashed into the pier