more-than-200-texts-and_situation_of_integration_for-my-friends_2

The Paper Boy Many people in Britain take two newspapers In the morning, they get one of the national newspapers, and read it at breakfast or on the bus or the train And in the evening, they get a local paper The people who deliver these newspapers are usually schoolchildren Some work in the evening to deliver the local papers; some work in the morning John has to get up at 4.30 every morning to deliver his papers to different houses in his neighbourhood, even when it is dark and cold outside He has about eighty customers John is saving his money to buy a new bicycle He is saving money for college also He has already saved £ 500 and he is very happy At The Supermarket Mrs Alison Harvey goes to the supermarket two or three times a week She has to buy food for her husband, her two children and the family cat Food has become very expensive and Mrs Harvey has to be careful She has to choose the food carefully in order not to spend too much money Her husband told her to stay within the family budget Today she is buying food She is going to spend more than £ 50, but she is going to compare prices carefully Meat is very expensive so Mrs Harvey is going to buy chicken Her family complains but she tells them: "You have to learn to like chicken." Mr Green Mr Green works in an office near the bank He has two sons, Paul and Peter Last Tuesday evening, when Mr Green came back home from work, he got a big surprise: he found his little boy, Peter, sitting on the cat He had a pen and a piece of paper in his hand "Why are you sitting on this poor animal?" Mr Green asked his son "The teacher asked us to write a paragraph on the family pet," answered the boy The Olympic Games The first Olympics took place in Olympia in 776 B.C Only Greece participated and there was only one competition: 200 metres race The Olympics continued like this for 1,168 years Then they were banned by the Romans in 394 A.D The first modern Olympics took place in 1896 in Athens, Greece Thirteen nations participated in the games, which were organised by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a Frenchman He wanted to encourage sports and friendship between all nations The most important thing in the Olympic Games was not to win, but to participate But today, it is very important to win because the winners get a lot of money The symbol of the Olympics is five circles They represent the five continents The circles are blue, yellow, black, green and red, the colours usually found on national flags The circles join together to show the friendship between all the nations A Day In The Country Mr and Mrs White live in a large city One spring Sunday they went to the country They took some food with them Mrs White put bread, butter, eggs, meat, cheese and drinks in a basket When they arrived they came out of the car to enjoy calm of the country Mr and Mrs White stood up near the car, closed their eyes and breathed deeply the pure and healthy air A few minutes later, Mr White went to the car, brought the basket, put a cloth on the grass and emptied out the basket Mr and Mrs White sat under a large tree and ate lunch In the afternoon they walked in the fields and picked flowers They drove home in the evening and went to a concert with friends Monday Through Friday Monday through Friday, the King family is busy; Mr King is an accountant in a large company He works from 8.30 to 5.00 pm He drives to work in a car pool with other men Mrs King is a librarian in a high school She drives the family car to work On the way to work, she leaves Kathy with the baby sitter Bruce rides the school bus to and from school He gets home at 3.30 At 4.00 pm, Mrs King comes from work with Kathy The Kings usually eat dinner at 6.30 After dinner, Bruce does his homework and Mrs King washes the dishes Mr King sometimes brings work home from the office Ten thirty is bed time in the King home Mr and Mrs King are usually tired after their busy day A Visit From Grandfather When grandfather Baily comes to visit his son, Paul and his family, Diane and Gary, his children are delighted Grandfather is kind and gentle and the children know that he will play games with them He also takes them on walks through the woods and on trips to the zoo Grandpa, as the children call him, also buys them chewing-gum, sweets, and ice cream They love him very much But one of Diane and Gary’s favourite times is in the evening when Grandpa reads them stories He stops at the pictures and carefully explains them.Grandpa reads slowly and dramatically so that the stories come alive Diane and Gary thing that it is better than television! Australian Aborigines The Karadjere people live in the desert of Western Australia, where the climate is very hot It rains from January to March, and the rest of the year is dry They not live in one place, but travel around on foot They sleep in shelters made of dry tree branches Their food is fruits, nuts and kangaroo meat, and they eat fish in the wet season; they also make bread from grass seeds Water is often difficult to find The Karadjere like music, dancing and telling stories They not wear many clothes Amazon Indians These people live in the Amazon Basin, in Brazil, where the climate is hot and wet It rains for nine to ten months of the year They live in villages.Their houses are made of wood, and the roofs are made of palm leaves Several families live in each house They travel by canoe They eat fruits and vegetables, fish and meat from animals and birds such as monkeys, wild pigs and parrots They like music, dancing and telling stories They not wear many clothes Canterbury Mrs Brown lives in Canterbury, a little town between London and Dover A lot of tourists stop there because of the famous cathedral and the charming old town On her way to the supermarket, a French journalist is interviewing her “I love Canterbury! It’s not very far from London and it’s near the sea It’s a lovely little town, famous for its cathedral, its old houses and its old school, the king’s school And it’s nice to live here Shopping is very easy and pleasant because there are no cars in the town centre and there are a lot of shops There’s a butcher at the corner of Butchery Lane and a baker quite near We also have a lot of nice tae rooms and restaurants And there are three cinemas and a theatre, so it’s interesting to live here And the people are friendly! Yes, my husband and I are happy in Canterbury.” Computers A computer is an automatic electronic machine that can be used as a calculator Nowdays, computers are used in different fields, in universities, schools, factories, hospitals and other public services and even at home Computers can write, store and give information very quickly They can the work of hundreds of workers in a very short time Computers can help us in easy and difficult works and make life easier Today, Algeria is using them in different fields The use of greenhouses in Algeria started in 1969 There are different kinds of greenhouses Farmers prefer metal greenhouses because they last longer than wooden ones They use greenhouses to protect the seedlings from wind, rain and frost Greenhouses give better and higher production Mohamed lives in Boufarik, on a big farm He has got many greenhouses Some of them are used for growing tomatoes and peas Others are used for bananas and melon This year, Mohamed is very happy because he has got an excellent quality of fruits and vegetebales Cherchell Cherchell is a nice town in the north of Algeria, 120 Km west of Algiers It is situated in a mountainous region with a thick forest not far from the centre of the town opposite the Mediterranean There are about 30,000 inhabitants Cherchell is one of the oldest towns in Algeria A long time ago, the Romans came to Algeria and settled for years They built “Cesaree” Today it is called Cherchell There are still traces of the Romans The main attraction is visiting the ruins and the museum which contains fabulous collections, prints, old drawings, potteries… One of the most important activities of this town is handicraft You can find local potteries and jewels People practise basketball everywhere in the town If you visit Cherchell, you will surely like it Saturday, March 20th Dear parents, I arrived at Beni Yenni two days ago It’s a nice village My friend Mouloud and his family are very nice with me Their house isn’t very big but it’s very nice It’s decorated with many kinds of potteries They are all made of clay Some are used for decorating Some for cooking and others for storing food It’s very nice to drink water out of a jar The water is very fresh and it has got a good taste They offered me a beautiful jar and a pair of earrings made of silver I’m sure you’ll like them I’ll come back home next Thursday See you soon, Amine Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus was born in about 1451 in Italy In 1476, he went to Portugal He was the first person who decided to search a direct way to Asia across the Atlantic Ocean The King of Portugal refused to help him to realise his project but the Spanish government gave him three boats He used them in his first travel It was a very important travel because Columbus discovered America in October 12th 1492 The Prophet Mohamed (prayers and peace on him) was born in Mecca in the year 570 His father died before he was born and his mother died when he was still a child He lived with his grandfather and later with his uncle Mohamed (prayers and peace on him) won a good reputation for his justice and honesty on his business missions for Khadijda, a rich woman that he married later At the age of 40, while he was praying in Hira Cave, he received the revelation through the Angel Gabriel The Angel Gabriel told him that he was the prophet of Allah Thirteen years later, the Prophet Mohamed (prayers and peace on him) ordered his companions to leave Mecca and to go to Medina The Prophet travelled with his best companion, Abu Bakar Their enemies tried to stop them but they didn’t succeed This long and difficult trip is called the Higira The Prophet Mohamed (prayers and peace on him) died in 632 Lamine Dialo Lamone Dialo is from Senegal He is 14 He is a tall thin boy with short dark hair and dark eyes His father is a mechanic and his mother is a dressmaker He has got two brothers and two sisters Lamine is a puple On Sunday, he doesn’t study He often plays football or goes to the market with his father Holidays In Britain In Great Britain, the weather changes all time; people never know what it will be like the next day The summer is warmer than the winter But even in summer, the average temperature in only 16°C Sometimes the sun shines, at other times the sky is very cloudy and it often rains In winter it is sometimes very cold, especially in the north of the country The temperature may fall bellow 0°C and then there is often snow and ice The best season of the year is probably late spring At this time of the year the weather is often sunny and quiet warm; the countryside looks very green, and there are wild flowers everywhere Serengeti National Park Serengeti is the National Park of Tanzania in Africa It is the home of wild animals including the cheetah This is a member of the ‘big cat’ family, like the lion, the tiger and the leopard The cheetah is the fastest animal on land It can run 90 kilometres an hour It is now one of the animals which in danger of extinction The cheetah has a small head and pointed ears, and long powerful legs It always hunts and chases its prey on open ground This is a different way of hunting from the other ‘big cats’ They like to stay in and near trees to catch their prey The cheetah is also different from other cats because it can’t draw its claws Ibn Sina Ibn Sina was born in the year 371of the Higria, near Bukhara, a large city in Uzbekistan He learnt the Koran before he was ten At the age of twenty, he was already a well-known doctor One of his patients was the sultan of Bukhara He treated him for a serious illness When he was cured, the grateful sultan allowed Ibn Sina to come to his private library in the palace for reading different books of medicine Life became difficult in Bukhara during the Turks’ period So, he left the town and travelled round the arab world He wrote “The Canon Of Medicine” and a lot of other books He died at the age of 57 Dolphins Dolphins have become a popular attraction at zoos in recent years They are more interesting than lions and tigers because they are lively and perform tricks like circus animals Dolphins are the friendliest creatures in the sea They help swimmers in difficulty and they are very well organized Some scientists say that dolphins are intelligent creatures The Bardo Museum The Bardo Museum is a very big and beautiful house surrounded by wonderful gardens It is a historic monument built up in the 18th century by the Tunisian prince; Sidi Hadj Omar It became a museum in 1927 There are two sections in the museum: one for prehistory and one cultural anthropology One of the important attractions is the skeleton of Tin Hinan, the first queen of the Touareg Kingdom It is exhibited with her treasure The Bardo Museum is specialised in prehistory Tunisia Tunisia is situated in the north of Africa It is 155,830 Km² It is the smallest country in North Africa It is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the south-east The Mediterranean Sea is on the north and the north east The Northern part of the country contains a very fertile soil where they grow cereals and olives The southern part is mainly a desert region It contains very beautiful oases where dates are produced The two parts are separated by the Atlas Mountains The population of this Arab and Islamic country is 9,562,000 inhabitants The Tassili Many tourists visit Algeria every year They come from different part of the world Most of them prefer to visit the Sahara Some of them are attracted by the Tassili This vast and arid region is situated in the South-east of the Algeria Sahara It is bordered by Libya, Niger and Mali The people who have already visited this region, say that it is one of the most fascinating places They are surprised by the carvings, the drawings and the paintings on walls in caves They represent the early people’s civilisation Tom Brown My name is Tom Brown I am 70 I am an old man When I was young, I could many things I could run, I could jump, I could practise gym and play football Now, I can’t all that because I am very old But I can read books, visit many places and watch interesting programmes on TV and Iam very happy Last week-end, I went to the park with some friends It was fantast Ann and Mary are cousins Ann is 16 and Mary is 15 Two months ago, they visited the Algerian Sahara They visited Biskra and El Ouad They liked the Sahara very much They took a lot of photos and bought very nice souvenirs Ann liked the Algerian dates very much and bought kg for her parents She said that dates are more delicious than apples and bananas It’s Friday On Friday Salim doesn’t go to school He always stays at home or goes to his grandparents It’s10 o’clock Salim is at home He is in his room He is watching cartoons on TV He likes cartoons very much His two brothers, Karim and Amine are playing video games His sister, Meriem, is doing her homework’s His father is washing his car in the garage His mother is in the kitchen She is preparing lunch On Friday, she always prepares couscous My name is Tiziri I’m Algerian I’m 13 I’m a pupil at Amirouche School, in Azazga I’m a short thin girl with long fair hair and green eyes My father is a mechanic and my mother is a dressmaker I have got a brother and a sister Meziane and Ouardia My sister Ouardia is married She has got a nice little girl Her name is Anissa She is She has got short dark hair and brown eyes Janet Anderson is my friend She is American She is 11 She is a pupil at Santana School Janet is a tall thin girl She has got fair hair and blue eyes She has got two brothers Peter and Tom Peter is a student at the university and Tom is a pupil Her parents are teachers Janet likes sport very much She plays tennis and practises gym The Postman Neil Moor has been a postman for 20 years He has carried mail in heat and cold, in rain and in snow He has delivered thousands of letters to homes in his mail route He lives in a small town and knows every family on his route At Christmastime, many families give him presents They appreciate his dedication and good service Dear Mum, Hello! How are you? I wasn’t very well when I arrived in England on Sunday But the following day I felt better I took a bus to London with my German friend, Eric, and we visited the British Museum We spent about hours, but we didn’t have time to visit all the galleries They have got an amazing collection of Canadian, Indian, Egyptian things We will probably go back next week The day after we went to Buckingham Palace This is where the Queen lives when she is in London We watched the ceremony of changing of the Guard at 11.30 It was great! Then, we went to the famous London zoo Now we are having sandwiches in Hide Park Then we are going to some shopping in Oxford Street See you soon, Love from, Michel 26 Shakespeare Road Cambridge Dear Mum and Dad, Well, I’ve arrived! And I’ve got such a fantastic room I must describe it to you I couldn’t believe it, it’s so big! When you come in the door there is a big fire place on the Left, and on both sides of it there are bookshelves from the ceiling to the floor Opposite the door there are two large bay windows, and under the one on the left there’s a large table with a chair Along the the wall opposite the fire place there’s a small single bed with a very nice sort of Indian bedspread, red and brown In the middle of room there two armchairs, which I’ve put in front of the fire But best of all, there’s a piano! It doesn’t work, but it impresses all my friends That’s just by the door Oh, and there’s a lovely small table where I put my stuff when I come in, just near the door Well, I’ll tell you later about the city, the university and all my new friends Love from Dave Saturday, 11th Dear Kate, I’ve got a new job! It’s in that clothes’ shop in Park Street It’s a good job I work two hours every Friday evening and four hours every Saturday morning I get £5 an hour It’s a good shop, too I know you often buy your clothes there There’s a new restaurant just opposite the shop Tim’s sister works there She says it’s nice Let’s go there for lunch next Saturday I’ve got plenty of money now! And let’s go to the swimming pool in Wandworth after lunch Bring your swimming trunks and towel with you Love, Betty Dear Matthew, Last week Nicolas, my penfrind, came to my parents’ home I took him round Portsmouth and we had a great time On Sunday the weather was fine, so we walked around the seaside and we played tennis Then we went to the fun-fair I spent all my money there but it was so funny! On Tuesday it rained so much that we decided to visit the museum We didn’t see everything because Nicolas wanted to go to the cinema There was a good detective film on On the last afternoon we went to the South Parade Pier We played bingo and electronic games I’m sure Nicolas enjoyed himself, he was so pleased! How about you? What did you last week? Did you have nice holidays? Love, Simon Mitton St of October th Dear Grandma, How are you? It’s four o’clock and I’m at home because I haven’t got any lesson There was a school excursion today I was at the London Transport Museum from 10 to 2.30 It was very nice There are a lot of old horse buses I suppose there were horse buses when you were a little girl Now I know everything about the London underground It is more than 100 years old and works with electricity of course, but the first underground trains were steam trains I suppose it was very dirty in the old days! This week I’ve got to write a composition about transport in London in 1920’ Can you help me? I know you’ve got some old photos and postcards Please, send them to me! I must stop now Lucy is waiting for me She wants to go to the zoo to meet Mum We are going To take the underground I’m sure she’s going to ask me a lot of questions Good bye for now – Write back Love from Sandy Hello! My name is Jill Bennet, and I live in Dublin I work as a bus driver for the local bus company I’m 32 and I’m the eldest of four My brothers and sister are called Stella ( she’s the youngest ), Luke and Frank Strangely, they’re all married except me Stella’s husband is called Brian, and they haven’t got any children Stella married very young: she’s only 22 now Luke’s next – he’s 24 and he’s just started working as a junior doctor in a hospital in London His wife’s name is Ruth and she’s a doctor, too They’ve already got a little baby, Douglas, who was born last year Finally there’s Frank who’s 31, and who’s married to Dorothy They’ve got two children, Ken, who’s six and Millie, who’s four We all live in different parts I was born in Manchester in the north west of England, and that’s where my Mum still lives She lives on her own - our Dad died in 1982 Stella lives quite close, in Bolton, but Frank lives in the USA He’s got a job with an American company My name’s Zulu I was born in a brick house in Soweto, near Johannesburg in South Africa We were poor My father was a factory worker and my mother was a maid They worked very hard from the morning to the evening, but they didn’t get much money, and they were always tired My father died when I was six So my mother worked in two houses When I was a small child I was always hungry and nearly always unhappy because life was very hard White people were terrible to us The winter holidays will start on December 20th Nadia’s cousin, Anissa , invited her to spend one week with her in Cherchell Nadia is very happy because Cherchell is very nice and because she likes her cousin very much Nadia is going to go on Saturday She is going to go by bus Nadia and Anissa are going to many interesting things They are going to visit the Roman ruins , the museum and take photos there They are going to play video games and chess Anissa’s birthday is on December 26 th so they are going to organize a party and invite some friends Nadia is going to go back home on Saturday, December 28th The 20th century is a century of change There are many new occupations and professions now, as a result of many inventions Since the invention of television, there have been TV announcers, TV engineers and TV repairman The airplane is another invention that is changing our lives Pilots, stewards, air traffic engineers, etc… represent many new professions and occupations The invention of the electronic computer is producing new professions including computer engineers and computer programmers The 20th century is clearly a century of change: There is always something new A long time ago, the Chinese discovered paper They made it from leaves of trees Before the year 1400, the Egyptians used papyrus to write Papyrus is a kind of paper made of some plants The plants grow in Egypt Later, writers and artists started to use paper Now, a lot of countries produce paper They make it from wood of trees Today, the best quality of paper is made in Finland The Ruins Of Timgad The ruins of Timgad are located 30 kms from Batna Timgad is one of the oldest vestiges of the Roman colonisation It was a military capital of all the Roman provinces in North Africa and the biggest administrative centre It is the oldest Roman city in Algeria, built around the year 100 A.D Inside the ruins, we find the Roman Municipal Library We can also see many statues of many important senators There are also several ruins such as marbles, many pieces of pottery and ceramics dating from the Roman occupation The forum of Timgad shows plenty of inscriptions with names of the members of the municipal committee of the ancient city, names of high officials of the Roman Empire Mr Watson is a very good doctor He never goes to work late He always gets up early, has breakfast and goes to work by car Mrs Watson is a teacher of French She is always busy She doesn't work in the afternoon; she always starts work at 8.00 in the morning She has got two children: Christina and Christopher There are thousands of languages all over the world India has the largest number English is the most used language on Earth, but Mandarin Chinese is spoken by about 70% of the Chinese population The oldest written language is Egyptian English is the language of business and technology However, it is not easy to learn it It has the largest vocabulary English has borrowed many words from other languages such as French and Arabic Mexico One of my favorite places for a vacation is Mexico I really like the weather because it never gets cold there The people are very nice, too They never laugh at my bad Spanish And the food is wonderful! Mexico City is a very interesting place to visit It has some great museums and lots of fascinating old buildings And the hotels are not too expensive But you can stay in other places in Mexico For examples, you should go to one of the beach resorts- like Acapulco And you shouldn't miss the Mayan temples near Merida Jack's Fish Last Tuesday was Tom's birthday To celebrate this event, he invited his best friends; Peter, Mark and Ted to have some tea and cakes at home in the afternoon, then to have dinner at Jack's Fish; a famous restaurant in London (§1) Jack's Fish is specialized in fish It is situated at the corner of Haymarket Street, next to Barclays Bank (§2) Many people say that there's no food more delicious than the one you eat at Jack's Fish and that its service is the fastest in London (§3) Corruption in Kenya Kenyans pay an average of 16 bribes a month to dishonest government representatives an A recent study showed that corruption makes life more expensive and more difficult for Kenyans living in cities The study, conducted by Transparency International, found a society in which bribery is a way of life It estimated that Kenyan city dwellers pay average of sixteen bribes a months, making their total cost of living 31% higher than it would be in a bribe-free society Police officers were found to demand bribes more frequently than any other Kenyan institution, accounting for 40% of the total Employees of the Ministry of Public Words, the Ministry of Lands and the Nairobi City Council were also found to be highly corrupt The most bribe-free institutions was considered to be the Central Bank of Kenya, followed by the Kenya Wildlife Service Adapted from The Atlantic Monthly, March, 2003 World's Oldest Man Dies at 114 TOKYO, Japan Yukichi Chuganji, a retired silkworm breeder documented as the world's oldest man, has died at his home in Japan at age 114 Chuganji was pronounced dead from natural causes on September 28 in the evening, his 65-year old nephew, Tadao Haji, said on Monday Bedridden in recent years, Chuganji had been living with his 72-year-old daughter Kyoko in the city of Ogori, about 890 kilometers (550 miles) southwest of Tokyo Chuganji never touched a drop of alcohol during his 114-year life "As always, he had been thanking everyone for taking such good care of him and for cooking his meals," Haji said of Chuganji's last day Chuganji was born March 23, 1889 in the farming town of Chikushino on Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu He worked as in the silk-production industry after graduating from technical school in the early 1900s He liked to eat beef and pork with his meals of rice and soup He would drink milk everyday but didn't consume alcohol Kyushu is also home to the world's oldest person, a 116-year-old woman named Kamato Hongo There are about 15,000 Japanese over the age of 100 Women are about 80 percent of the total Japan's life expectancy is the longest in the world for both sexes 85.23 years for women and 78.32 for men in 2002 The country's traditional fish-based, low fat diet may be the secret to the long lives, scientists say From cnn.com, Monday, September 29, 2003 Posted: 3:22 AM EDT (0722 GMT) Study Finds Dogs Understand Language Rico, a dog with a "vocabulary" of nearly 200 words, can learn the names of unfamiliar toys after seeing the new toy just once Dog owners know it’s true– our four-footed friends listen Now, for people who didn’t know, scientists have shown that dogs understand much of what they hear German scientists have found that a ten-year-old dog named Rico understands more than 200 words and that he can learn new words as quickly as many children The scientists found that Rico knows the names of dozens of toys He can find the one his owner asks him to bring The scientists say Rico knows as many words as monkeys, dolphins and parrots that have been trained to communicate with humans Rico even works to understand the meaning of a new word The scientists put some of Rico’s toys in a room – and one new toy Rico’s owner asked him to bring a toy, using a new name for the new toy Rico was able to find the new toy seven times in ten The dog seemed to understand that because he knew the names of his old toys, the new toy was the one that had a new name After a month, he still remembered the name of that new toy three times out of six, even if he hadn’t seen it since the first test Scientists say that Rico’s ability to learn new words is about the same as a 3-year-old Rico's ability to learn shows that it is possible to understand without speaking "You don't have to be able to talk to understand a lot," Fischer said Scientist Paul Bloom, at Yale University isn’t sure about dogs’ ability to understand "Children can understand words used in different ways and in different places Rico only brings toys,” Bloom wrote in Science Magazine Bloom wants to see more information Can Rico learn a new word if it isn’t connected with playing? Can he understand instructions not to bring a toy? The scientists are still working with Rico to see if he can understand requests to put toys in boxes or to bring them to certain people Adapted from www.bbc.co.uk Thursday, June 10, 2004 Posted: 9:44 AM EDT (1344 GMT) Japan Invents a Square Watermelon Melons cost US $82 each in Japanese department stores Farmers in the southern Japanese town of Zentsuji have figured out how to grow their watermelons so they’re square The technique has practical use "The reason they're doing this in Japan is because of lack of space," said Samantha Winters of the National Watermelon Promotion Board in Orlando, Florida A fat, round watermelon can take up a lot of space in a refrigerator But clever Japanese farmers have solved this problem by making their watermelons grow into a square shape Farmers put the melons into a square glass box while the fruit is growing As the watermelon grows, it grows into the shape of the box The idea of square watermelons was invented 20 years ago, by a farmer on the island of Shikoku, in the southwest of Japan Today the watermelons are famous The square boxes are the size of Japanese refrigerator shelves But the square fruit is expensive - each square watermelon costs 10,000 yen, about US$82 Regular watermelons in Japan cost from $15 to $25 each About 400 square watermelons were sent to Tokyo and Osaka, Japan's two largest cities The new square watermelons are on sale in department stores and more expensive supermarkets They are mostly for rich buyers "I can't buy it, it is too expensive," said a woman shopping at a department store in the southern city of Takamatsu Adapted from http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/06/15/square.watermelon/index.ht ml,, http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/asiapacific/newsid_1390000/1390088.stmJapan Strange Wedding The Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malachenko married his bride Ekaterina Dmitrieva – from the International Space Station, about 550 kilometers above the earth Dmitrieva was at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas Malachenko took part via video There was no time to have the wedding before he went into space for six months to work on the International Space Station, and the couple decided not to wait until he returned The law in the state of Texas law allows one – or even both – of a couple to be absent from the ceremony as long as the proper documents are prepared Most proxy marriages happen when one of the couple is in the military or in prison "When I first heard about this I thought she was crazy," said the bride's father, Victor Dmitriev, who teaches Russia literature and culture at Oklahoma State University "I said, No! No! No!” Malenchenko's superiors at the Russian space agency were not happy about the wedding As a colonel in the Russian Air Force, he was supposed to have permission before marrying an American (Dmitrieva was born in Russia, but moved to the United States when she was and is now a U.S citizen) Russian officials were also unhappy because the wedding was not part of the official plan of the space station Cosmonauts are not encouraged to things that aren't on the official plan In the end, Dmitrieva said, Russian officials allowed the marriage, but said it won't be official in Russia Adapted from Parade Magazine, December 28, 2003, and The Houston Chronicle Are You Lucky? Are we born lucky? Scientists are trying to find out if your birthday determines how successful you are This week, Professor Richard Wiseman, at the Edinburgh Science Festival will begin an Internet study that asks people to write their answers to questions about lucky behavior He hopes the answers will show how people's personalities are connected to the month in which they are born People who take the Internet test will be asked to give their birth date, then agree or disagree with 12 sentences Here are a few example questions from the survey: • • • • • • • I am a lucky person; lucky things happen to me I don’t worry about life I like to have new experiences, like trying new food and drinks I think good things will happen to me in the future I think most of the people I meet will be pleasant, friendly and helpful I try to learn from the mistakes I have made in the past I sometimes talk with strangers when I’m waiting in line at the supermarket bank Professor Wiseman told BBC News the answers would help find if more extroverted and positive people were born in certain months Professor Wiseman said: "There is a biological theory which suggests it is be healthier to be born in a hotter month.” "Another theory is connected to the mother’s diet – because mothers eat different foods in summer and winter "There is also a social theory, which says that children born in certain months might better in school because they are the oldest in their group." Professor Wiseman's study will also examine if people born on the 13th of the month are unluckier than people born on other days Adapted from www.bbc.co.uk/2/health/3600313.stm Call a Dolphin on your Mobile Phone DUBLIN, Ireland (Reuters) Mobile phone users worldwide will soon be able to dial-a-dolphin Scientists at a dolphin sanctuary off the west coast of Ireland are working with the British mobile telephone company Vodaphone to transmit the sounds of bottlenose dolphins communicating "You could call up and listen to dolphins while sitting in a traffic jam in Dublin," said marine biologist Simon Berrow, of the Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation, based in Kilrush, County Clare, Ireland Listening to dolphins can help reduce stress But, it can also help the scientist who study dolphins; they can check to be sure that the dolphins are near before they go out to watch in boats This means scientists can learn more about the dolphin’s lives The aim is to put underwater microphones in the ocean near Shannon, the only place in Ireland where dolphins live all year round One difficulty faced by the project is that dolphins use a wide frequency band when they communicate This means that humans can only hear a small part of dolphin communication Adapted from cnn.com, Wednesday, August 6, 2003 Posted: 10:26 AM EDT (1426 GMT) School Gives Students own Laptop Computers FREEPORT, Maine (AP) The end of the school year is near and children are playing baseball outside But the students in Shawn Favreau's classroom are focused on their laptop computers For their final social studies project, they're the computers to create presentations on Greece Some of the students can’t imagine back to using just pencils and paper "We still the same things We just it differently The teachers are experimenting They're looking for ways to make it more interesting," said student Kaitlyn Beaule "I it's a lot more fun." using ancient going with it think Maine's laptop program covers all 241 public middle schools and has been very popular The program began last fall with 17,000 seventh-graders and 3,000 teachers using the laptops Next fall the program will include eighth-graders for a total of about 33,000 laptops in use In Favreau's class, the students use the computers for research, reports and email They don’t write reports by hand now; assignments will ask for students to make movies or Power Point presentations on their computers In Alex BriascoBrin's math class, students used laptops for a project building model rockets One teacher used the laptops to communicate with a submarine off the coast of Africa The laptops aren't used all the time On a command of "lids down," the students close the computers and pick up textbooks or listen to lectures A report showed students were more interested in classes and that there were fewer absences since school starting being used Teachers are also excited about the program Adapted from cnn.com, Sunday, June 15, 2003 Posted: 9:12 AM EDT (1312 GMT) Cats Cats have been pets for thousands of years Scientists think that domestic cats come from a type of African wildcat that was domesticated by the Egyptians 4,500 years ago Egyptians valued cats because they ate mice and rats Cats were sometimes mummified and buried with their owners or in special cat cemeteries About 800 years ago, European soldiers brought cats back to Europe Cats can see well at night, but their daytime vision is not as good as that of people Cats have excellent hearing and can turn their ears to focus on different sounds Their sense of smell is also very good, and this helps them find food Cats have sharp teeth for biting and a rough tongue that is used for eating and for cleaning themselves Female cats can have kittens from the age of nine or ten months of age The mother cat is pregnant for about 65 days The average number of kittens in each litter is four Cats can live to be 15 years old There are about 40 varieties, or breeds, of domestic cats The smallest breed of cats weighs to kilos, while the largest weighs to kilos Different varieties are different colors and may have different fur Manx cats don’t have a tail and Sphynx cats don’t have fur In Turkey there is a variety of cat that has one blue eye and one brown eye Adapted from Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, 2002 The Brain The human brain is pinkish gray on the outside and weighs about 1.5 kilos It is responsible for controlling all of functions of the body, from speaking, to breathing to sleeping The brain uses 20% of the body’s blood supply to complete all its functions The brain is divided into two halves that have different functions The left hemisphere controls the right side of the body, use of numbers, written and spoken language, logic, and scientific skills The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body, intuition, art and imagination and musical skills In most right-handed people and many left-handed people, the left hemisphere is stronger than the right hemisphere Different parts of the brain have different functions Broca’s area, which is above the left ear, controls speech, the occipital lobe, at the back of the brain, controls vision Feelings and memory are controlled by the frontal lobe, at the front of the brain Movement is controlled by the area at the top of the brain If these parts of the brain are damaged in an adult, the person may lose the ability to speak, see, feel or move However, children’s brains are often able to move the function to a different area Adapted from Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, 2002 The Solar System Our solar system consists of the sun, the nine planets and the asteroids, comets and meteoroids that are associated with the planets Astronomers believe that our planetary system was created more than 4.7 billion years ago Astronomers thought that our solar system was the only planetary system in the universe, but, in 1999 astronomers discovered another planetary system near a star called Upsilon Andromidae Now astromers think that there are many planetary systems in the universe The nine planets that make up our solar system are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto Mercury is closest to the sun It is hot and dry Next comes the planet Venus Venus is one of the brightest things in the sky after the sun and the moon Venus is also the hottest planet in the solar system, with a temperature of 462 degrees Celsius Then is the planet Earth After earth is Mars, which is also called the Red Planet Mars is very dry now, but some scientists believe that it used to have water Jupiter is the largest planet, more than 1,400 times bigger than earth Its bright color comes from clouds Jupiter has sixteen moons Saturn is the second largest planet and has wide rings The planet Uranus is a bright blue color The bluegreen color of Uranus comes from the gas in its cold, clear atmosphere On this planet, night and day each last 42 years After Uranus is Neptune, which rotates around the sun once every 164 years Pluto is the farthest planet from the Sun, more 5850 million kilometers away It is a small rocky planet with one moon Adapted from Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, 2002 Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales was born Diana Frances Spencer, in 1961, in Norfolk, England to aristocratic parents She was educated at Riddesworth Hall, in Norfolk and West Heath School, in Kent After attending school in Switzerland she worked as a kindergarten teacher On February 24, 1981 Diana and Prince Charles announced their engagement and on July 29, 1981, they were married in Saint Paul’s Cathedral, in London Diana had two children; Prince William was born on June 21, 1982 and Prince Henry was born on September 5, 1984 Diana was popular with the media and the people, but by 1989 it was clear that Princess Diana and Prince Charles were unhappy In December, 1992, they separated and in August of 1996 they were officially divorced Diana kept her title as Princess of Wales and made many visits to different countries On the morning of August 31, 1997, in Paris, Diana died after a car accident After her death many world leaders complimented Princess Diana for her help for people with AIDS, the English National Ballet and many other charitable organizations that helped sick people, refugees and children Tens of thousands of fans went to London to leave flowers at Buckingham and Kensington Palaces Adapted from Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, 2002