Basic Reading — 第一冊

🔊Every morning, Cindy prepares for school. She gathers up all her homework and any books that she needs for the day. She then packs it all into her backpack. She also packs her pencil case, a snack and a jacket, in case she gets cold during the day. By the time she is finished packing, the backpack is quite heavy, but she has everything she needs for the day.

🔊When packed and ready to go, she slings the backpack over her shoulder and heads for the door. She must get tired of carrying that heavy bag around all the time. At least she doesn’t have to worry about getting enough exercise.

🔊Jason has a runny nose. He reaches for a box of tissue on the table so that he can wipe it. His mother told him that he should use tissue and not the sleeve of his shirt because that is very disgusting. A single tissue is all he needs and he plucks one out of the box.

🔊First he wipes his nose, but it still feels plugged so he covers his nose with the tissue and blows. It sounds like he is playing the trumpet. After doing this a couple of times, his nose is cleared and he can breathe much better.

🔊Jason is a slob. 16 He leaves the germ-laden, 18 dirty tissue on the table. This is not the most hygienic of practices as someone else could catch his cold by touching it, but Jason is lazy and doesn’t care. His mother is always picking up after him. Will he ever learn?

🔊Wendell’s grandmother always brings a treat for him when she comes to visit. This time she has brought him a pack of gum. Wendell thanks his grandma and then unwraps a piece of the bubblegum and stuffs it into his mouth. It is grape flavor, which is his favorite.

🔊As he chews his big wad of gum, his little sister, Lily, asks if she can have some, too. Wendell is a very selfish boy and doesn’t like to share. He continues to chew his gum and blow bubbles as Lily looks on with envy. She is very sad. Eventually, she gives up and goes crying to her mother.

🔊Meanwhile, Wendell keeps blowing bubbles as if nothing had ever happened. He couldn’t care less about anyone’s feelings other than his own. Then just as he is blowing the biggest bubble of his life, it pops in his face. The sticky gum flies everywhere. It’s on the floor, on his clothes, on his face and even in his hair. Perhaps after treating his sister so poorly, karma has snuck up behind him and burst his bubble.

🔊Buzz! The doorbell is ringing. Myles wonders who it is as he races for the intercom.

🔊“Who is it?” he inquires.

🔊“Pizza delivery,” a strange voice replies.

🔊“I didn’t order any pizza,” Myles claims. “Are you sure you have the right address?”

🔊“Is this number 63 Julin Street?” he asks.

🔊“Uh, yeah.”

🔊“Then I have ten pepperoni pizzas for you,” the voice insists.

🔊“There must be a mistake! I didn’t order any pizza!” Myles argues.

🔊The voice on the other end breaks into a roar of laughter.

🔊“Gotcha!” Carl shouts.

🔊“Carl, you idiot!” Myles says, breathing a sigh of relief. “You really had me going.”

🔊“Yeah, I know,” Carl snorts. “Buzz me up so we can watch TV.”

🔊Myles presses a button on the intercom and the front door unlocks. He then runs to hide so that he can pay back Carl by scaring him.

🔊The teacher in this classroom must be extremely boring, as all the children have fallen asleep. Actually, it is part of the daily routine for most Taiwanese school children. From 12:00 till 12:30 they eat their lunch. This is followed by a nap that lasts until about 1:20. Some teachers believe that by having the children take a short nap after lunch they will be refreshed and ready to learn for the second half of the day. 
　　The standard position seems to be hunched over with your head resting on folded arms. Some students say that this is a very uncomfortable position and claim that it gives them sore arms. Others say that being hunched over while having a full belly makes them feel a bit sick. Regardless of 22 whether or not they like it, it is the policy of some teachers. I hope those students who don’t like it get used to it, as there is no room in the classroom or the school budget for dozens of 28 beds.

🔊Students borrow a lot of books from libraries. Whether you are researching a topic for your homework or just need a book to relax with for the weekend, you can just check out a book from your school’s library. You don’t even have to pay for it.

🔊These students are browsing the shelves for a book, but there are so many to choose from that finding a book can be difficult. All the books are organized into categories or alphabetized by author or title. Still there are times when you just can’t find that specific book you’re looking for. In these instances, try using the library’s database to speed up your search. It could save you a lot of time by locating the book for you.

🔊If you decide to take a book home for a while, you will need to check it out. Simply take the book to the librarian. They will scan the book and your library card into the computer. This will give them a record of who has the book and when it is due back. Make sure your book comes back on time. In public libraries you can be charged a fee for any overdue books. If it happens too often, they may revoke your library card.

🔊On her way home from school, Jenny decided she needed to stop at the local grocery store. As she entered, she looked around and found a shopping basket. She placed the basket on a cart to make a mini-shopping cart. It was easier for her to push the cart rather than carry the basket. The aisles were organized neatly and Jenny pushed the cart down each one to find what she needed. Each item she wanted she took off the shelf and placed in the shopping cart. Jenny, being a bargain hunter, preferred the items that were on sale. Her thriftiness allows her to save a lot of money whenever she shops.

🔊After filling the basket, she lined up at the checkout. When it was her turn, she emptied the contents of the basket onto the counter. The cashier scanned each item. A couple items wouldn’t scan correctly so the cashier had to key in the bar code manually. When the cashier had finished scanning everything, she hit the total button. Jenny handed her a five hundred dollar bill. The cashier checked the bill to make sure it wasn’t counterfeit and then slipped it into the cash register. She then counted out the change and handed it back to Jenny. Jenny thanked her, took her bag of groceries and headed for home.

🔊My dad bought a brand-new car yesterday. It is the coolest car ever. It has everything you could want, like nice soft seats, air-conditioning, power windows, and even a DVD player in the back seat. Silver wouldn’t have been my first choice for a color, but then again I didn’t have to pay for it, so I guess it’s ok.

🔊I like the new car so much that I am going to ask my parents if I can live in it. That would be so cool. It has everything I could possibly want—except for maybe a bathroom. I can see myself sitting in it during a hot summer day, watching a movie, sipping a drink and cooling off with the air-conditioning blasting away. Life couldn’t get much better than that.

🔊My little sister really likes the new car, too, but not as much as me. Her favorite part is the sunroof. Dad says we aren’t allowed to stick out our heads while the car is moving or they’ll be chopped off, but we still like to do it when the car is parked.

🔊I am actually looking forward to long trips now. I used to hate them, but then again our old car was a piece of junk. Whenever we went on a trip, the car would overheat and we weren’t allowed to use the air-con because that only made it heat up faster. We shouldn’t have to worry about that anymore;23 plus, we can watch movies. It’s like a dream come true.

🔊This is my dog Rex. He is small with short legs and floppy ears. His coat is light brown with a few black patches. I don’t know what breed he is, but he looks like a beagle crossed with a typical Taiwanese mutt.

🔊He was just a puppy when Dad found him on the street and was in very bad condition. It looked like he hadn’t eaten for days or longer, and was covered with ticks. My father took pity on him and brought him home.

🔊Mom immediately took Rex to the vet to have him checked out and to make sure that he was ok. The vet gave him a couple of shots, a flea bath and treated a couple of sores on his legs. It cost quite a bit to have him taken care of, but it didn’t matter because our family couldn’t stand to let an animal suffer like that.

🔊Once at home, he was a bit nervous, but settled down shortly after. He could tell that he was in a safe place.

🔊The next day, Dad went out and bought him a doghouse. It was small, white, and had a peaked roof 20 just like a real house. Rex seemed to like it too and went in to sniff 21 around right away.

🔊Dad also bought a collar and a leash. Most of the family is gone during the daytime, so we needed something to tie him up in the yard with. It restricted him a bit, but I don’t think he minded. He was happy to have a good home.

🔊My family has had Rex for almost seven years now and I can’t imagine life without him. He is so happy to see us whenever we get home and always greets us with a big sloppy kiss. He is also great at cheering us up when we are feeling down. He is the best dog ever, and I hope he lives a long, long time.

🔊Belinda’s back tire seemed a little flat as she rode to school this morning, so she is checking the air pressure in it. As she squeezes it with her hands, it feels noticeably soft. If she were to ride on it any further, it may damage the tire or tube.

🔊To fill the tire up, she uses a small air pump. First, she attaches the air hose to the valve stem located between the spokes and locks it in place.

🔊Next, she begins to fill the tube with air by pumping up and down on the handle. It takes only a few minutes before the tire is hard again, but there is a problem. Belinda hears a hissing sound coming from somewhere on the tire. Examining the tire more closely reveals a small nail that has punctured it. Before she can ride again, she will need to buy a new tube or patch the old one. For now, she will have to be content with walking.