Basic Reading — 第11冊

🔊Today Lewis fell in ballet class and hit his head. His teacher sent him to the infirmary. She had Leo go along just to look after him.

🔊Leo made an icepack for his friend's head. He hoped that the icepack would reduce the swelling and prevent any further brain damage. He wrapped the icepack in a towel so that it wouldn’t be too cold on Lewis’ skin. The towel would also absorb any condensation.

🔊When Leo returned to the infirmary, he found Lewis fast asleep, or possibly unconscious! He gently slipped the ice pack under poor friend’s head, trying not to disturb the clumsy dancer.

🔊When Lewis and if awakes, he might have a throbbing headache, but thanks to Leo's first-aid, the tiny dancer will be back doing pirouettes in no time. Hopefully, he will be more careful next time.

🔊Picture: When you are thirsty and don't have time to run to a tea stand or a convenience store, you can probably find a vending machine nearby. Vending machines can hold many different things, like drinks, snacks or even CD's. They are very handy. In the vending machine pictured here you have a choice between water, water and water. Surprisingly, the thirsty boy decides on water. He puts his change into the coin slot and pushes the button below his selection.

🔊Picture 2: This machine holds many different drinks unlike the first one that just holds water. The assorted drinks are displayed behind glass. When you put your money in and push a button, the drink will drop down into the bottom of the machine. You simply push back the flap and reach in to grab your beverage. Then you can quench your thirst.

🔊Picture 3: When the machine is empty, someone has to refill it, right? Of course! And today this lady is that someone. After opening the door of the refrigerated machine, she can refill all the compartments with bottled drinks. In this particular machine there is only water so the job is quite easy. In machines with more than one choice, she must make sure she puts the right drink into the right compartment. Otherwise someone may hit the Coke button and end up with tomato juice. That would be a nasty surprise, wouldn’t it?

🔊Video conferencing is a relatively new technology to many people. Although it has been around quite a while, only within the last few years has it really taken off. Now it is hard to find a computer or a laptop without a camera hidden somewhere.

🔊So what exactly is video conferencing? It is when you use a web cam to broadcast your image and a microphone for talking through to one or more people. Using this feature allows you to keep in contact with family or friends on a much more personal level than just chatting with idle words on a screen. It is also a great tool for international businesses whose clients may be on the other side of the world. It is far more personal than just e-mailing or even phoning, allowing businesses and their clientele to see one another when conducting business.

🔊A lot of computers now have the capability to video conference right out of the box. This means that no expensive add-ons are required as the software is already there and the hardware is often integrated. Surprisingly, no one has started billing for this yet, but once everyone is hooked on the technology, additional costs are sure to follow.

🔊These girls are taking part in a wheelbarrow race. But where is the wheelbarrow? Well… that is the fun part: you have to pretend that one person is a wheelbarrow. The girl in the back holds the other girl by the legs just like the handles on a wheelbarrow. The girl in the front then walks on her hands as quickly as she can.

🔊At first, they move quite fast toward the finish line. Then both of them begin to get tired. The back girl has a hard time trying to hold the other girls legs up and they keep slipping out of her hands. The front girl’s arms are getting very tired and she is having trouble putting one hand if front of the other.

🔊When they are almost at the finish line, the wheelbarrow girl’s arms finally give out. She isn’t strong enough to keep going. Her body drops to the ground. Then the girl in the back trips over her fallen friend and lands on top of her. The two girls just lie there giggling happily. They didn’t win, but they had a lot of fun trying!

🔊My mother bought me a Rubic’s Cube for my last birthday. At the time it seemed like a good idea, but in retrospect, I think she was punishing me for something.

🔊If you have never played with a Rubic’s Cube before, don’t do it! It’s a trap! Once you have picked it up you will never be able to put it down again. And it’s not like it is fun: it’s just addictive. It’s almost like some kind of torture.

🔊My last birthday was almost 6 months ago and you would think that I would have solved the stupid thing by now, but I haven’t. No, not even close. The most I’ve managed to do is three sides.

🔊Friends have come to visit and made the mistake of trying to solve the evil puzzle-cube, too. A couple of them thought it was really cool and went out and bought their own. I haven’t seen either of them since.

🔊There has only been one person that I know of that has been able to put it down without any problem. That was my friend Cookie. But honestly, I don’t think she is smart enough to be puzzled by anything; she is a cheerleader after all.

🔊I guess I am destined to twist and turn this damned colored cube in my callused hands until the day I die. There is no turning back now. The best that I can hope for is that it breaks or that I get hit by a large, fast-moving truck. Damn you Rubic, damn you to hell!

🔊Picture 1: Along time ago, farmers started celebrating the shortest day of the year. This was because it was, and still is, a time of rest and relaxation after finishing the fall harvest. In English, this day is known as the winter solstice, but in Chinese it is referred to as Dongzhi which, roughly translated, means “extreme of winter” or “winter is coming.”

🔊Picture 2: As with many Taiwanese events, Dongzhi is a time for families to come together and, of course, food plays an important role in the festivities. The traditional food of this holiday is tangyuan, which are rice balls. They are made with glutinous rice flour that is rolled into balls. Eating them at the winter solstice signifies family unity and prosperity.

🔊Picture 3: Children love to eat tangyuan. Not surprising since most youngsters love to eat anything sweet. Parents will sometimes say to their kids that after eating tangyuan they will be one year older. The winter solstice is not actually the beginning of the New Year, but it is close and for many it is a prelude to the most auspicious Chinese holiday on the calendar, the Chinese New Year.

🔊Yesterday was Grandma's sixty-seventh birthday, so mom and I decided to make a birthday cake for her. It took us all afternoon, but it was lots of fun. I especially liked decorating the cake. The party was held at my Auntie's house. All my relatives were there. It was good to see all of them again. We hadn't been together to celebrate her birthday since she turned sixty. Everyone in the family bought Grandma a gift. Uncle Bob's family brought flowers, Aunt Linda bought her some new clothes, and crazy cousin Luke bought her a hairless cat that looked like something out of a science-fiction movie. She appreciated all the gifts, even the cat! After opening the gifts, I took the cake out of the refrigerator and placed it on the dining room table. Candles, which looked like a six and a seven, were stuck in the center of the cake and lit. While they burned, everyone sang Happy Birthday.

🔊As soon as we finished singing, Grandma made a wish and blew out the candles. I think she secretly wished that the ugly cat would disappear, but she didn’t say anything. Anyway, you can’t tell anyone what your wish is or it won’t come true. So, I guess we’ll never know. Next, the cake was served. Uncle Bob's wife cut it, my cousin Susan put each piece on a plate and I served it to the hungry guests. Everyone said that it was delicious and it was gone in no time. Even fussy old Grandpa Joe had a piece and he usually hates everything, so it must have been good. With the presents opened and the cake finished there wasn’t much left to do except relax. The children played in the back yard while the adults did what adults do: they chatted about work, the weather and other stuff that kids could care less about. Then it was time to go home. The party was over and it was time to go home and let Grandma recover from all the excitement. We all said our goodbyes and hugged Grandma. As we drove away, I thought about how she was going to cope with her new pet: the weird, bald cat. Then I dozed off in the backseat. Zzz.

🔊Every afternoon Jenny meets with other neighborhood mothers in the park. They bring their kids along so that they can run, play together and burn off some energy before going home for their afternoon nap. Meanwhile, the mothers have a chance to relax and catch up on the latest gossip. Jenny watched as her daughter tried to climb one of the slippery poles near the trees on the east side of the playground. Placing one hand over the other, she tried to shimmy up the pole. Her legs wrapped tightly around it and she seemed to be making progress, but then down she would come. She made several attempts before her mother thought that she was finally going to give up, but then up she went again in what seemed to be a lost cause. Jenny could only shake her head in disapproval. “She never knows when to give up,” Jenny laughed, trying to conceal her embarrassment. “My son would have given up right away,” one of the other mothers replied. “I think he gives up too easily.” “Mine, too,” another mother said. “You should be proud that your daughter is so persistent.” “I suppose you're right,” Jenny agreed. “It is a good quality to have, I guess.” Just as she finished speaking, she turned to see her daughter nearing the top of the bar. Jenny felt so proud of her little girl. None of the other children could do it, but hers could and all because she wouldn't give up.

🔊As soon as Janet gets home from school each day, she likes to finish her homework. If she gets it out of the way as soon as possible, she knows that she can enjoy the rest of the day without having to worry about it.

🔊Today Janet is lucky, as she only has a little homework to do. She pulls her notebook and textbook out of her schoolbag. Then she grabs a dictionary from the bookshelf and sets it on the table. Next, she leafs through the textbook and finds the page she needs to work on for English class. There are a few new words and phrases in today’s homework that she is not sure of. She flips through the dictionary and finds the first new vocabulary word and writes the definition in her notebook. She then tries to use the new word in the appropriate context by forming a sentence with it.

🔊Because she is a very diligent student, she repeats this process with each of the vocabulary words she has to learn: writing each one down and then using it in a new sentence. After she has written down all the definitions for the new words, she spends a few minutes reading them over. She wants to make sure she understands everything completely. By doing her English homework like this everyday, Janet is able to increase her vocabulary dramatically. And by doing it as soon as she gets home, she can put her books away and forget about them until tomorrow. She is now free to watch TV, go outside and play, or do whatever she likes because her homework is finished.

🔊My class had been practicing for the Christmas concert for about a month or so. My teacher chose the song "I Have a Dream" for us to sing. It wasn't too difficult to learn the words and it only took me a couple of days before I had memorized it. I think most of the students learned the song quickly, but the dance steps were another matter all together, especially with my two left feet. During practice we kept bumping into one another and stepping on each other's toes. For a while, I didn't think we would ever be able to learn the entire routine, but we kept practicing and practicing and practicing some more. Practice makes perfect, right? On the night of the concert, everyone was very nervous. No one was confident that we would finally be able to do the dance without messing it up. I was so anxious that I even forgot to bring my red shirt that my teacher had asked me to wear; it was the last thing on my mind. When we finally got up on stage, I thought I was going to faint. My palms were sweaty, my stomach was queasy, and I was shaking like a leaf. The music started and my body slowly began to move with the song. Then I started to sing. I couldn't believe it, I was actually doing it and so was everyone else. We stepped in time and did all our moves like professional dancers. It was so cool. When the music ended, we all raised our arms in victory. We felt very proud of what we had accomplished and everyone in the crowd gave us a big applause. I guess it's true: practice does make perfect!