Basic Reading — 第7冊

🔊In smaller towns and villages, run-down blue trucks like these are a common sight. Their look is not very refined because they are made for work and not for comfort. From the front they look like an old flat-nosed semi. Unlike a semi, the wheel base isn't very wide so that they can travel on narrow farm roads, but this makes them unstable. A heavy load that is not secured properly could easily topple (tip over) one of these behemoths.

🔊On the tailgate of the box is written "for agricultural use only" in Chinese. This means that the truck owner doesn’t have to pay taxes. Though they were once made strictly for use on farms to haul things around, some dishonest truck owners also paint these characters on the backs of their trucks even if the truck isn't being used for agricultural purposes.

🔊A hot summer day is the perfect time to have some shaved ice. It has a lot less calories than ice cream and is not as rich. It is just the thing to cool you off.

🔊The process starts with a big block of ice. The ice is put under a machine that looks similar to a drill press. A special tool attached to the machine spins round and round, shaving off the ice. As the shavings fall off the block of ice they are collected on a plate. Anything that misses the plate falls into a bowl underneath the machine.

🔊Numerous toppings can be added to your shaved ice to sweeten it up. Sometimes fruits or "toppings" are put on the plate first, but, first or last, it still tastes the same. It is only a matter of preference. Common toppings include green and red beans, pudding, dried fruit, chocolate, taro and many, many others. There are so many to chose from that it may be hard to pick what you want.

🔊Pictured above are two boys enjoying their icy-cold treat. They have to eat the big pile of shaved ice quickly, or it will melt. Even if it isn't that nutritious, at least it will cool them off for a while.

🔊Picture 1 Someone is cooking rice inside bamboo tubes. Here several pieces are ready to put into the oven. The tubes are filled with a mixture of rice and other ingredients. They are then sealed and placed on a rack and inserted into some sort of open-flamed oven.

🔊Picture 2 Once cooked, they are placed on another rack to cool. This rack was made out of a couple pieces of wood. There are slots on it to prevent the tubes from rolling off. It is simple, but it does the trick.

🔊Beside the bamboo tubes is a dish filled with food that will be eaten with the rice.

🔊Picture 3 Now it is almost time to eat. These people have opened the tubes by breaking them in half with a knife and they are removing the rice. They dish it into cup-like bamboo containers. Several of the dishes are filled and stacked onto a platter (tray). They are then ready to serve.

🔊This beautiful home sits somewhere in Taibao, Chiayi. It is around forty years old and has a more traditional look than most houses of today. It is a single story house, as opposed to the more common 4 storied houses we see most of now. It has a peaked roof with ceramic shingles. The long porch on the front offers some shade and a nice area to put your favorite chair. Spring couplets adorn the door on either side, adding to the warmth and charm of the place.

🔊Potted plants are everywhere, giving you the feeling that nature is never far away. The green of these plants breaks up the hard grays of the concrete, softening the mood. But the concrete yard does have a purpose. Rice, or whatever the crop at the time is, is spread out on the concrete pad to dry out. Once dried it is then taken to be sold.

🔊Houses like this one can be seen throughout rural Taiwan. Though they may not all be as well maintained as this one, every one of them seems to be whispering a story about a lifestyle that is becoming more and more obsolete. This only adds to their charm.

🔊Eric was just about to leave from his afternoon ballet class when he discovered that his bike was missing. He looked all around the block thinking he might have misplaced it, but it was definitely gone.

🔊The worried boy ran across the street to another building where there was a payphone. He lifted up the receiver and inserted a coin. When he heard the dial tone, he punched in the number for his mother's office. It rang about 10 times, but no one picked up. Disappointed, he hung up.

🔊When he put the receiver back onto the hook, his money dropped into the coin return slot. He fished it out with his index finger and then decided to phone the police. Hopefully they would be able to help him locate his bike.

🔊The police went to meet Eric near his ballet school. They looked around the scene of the crime hoping to find some clues. When they couldn’t find any clues, they started asking around about Eric’s bike.

🔊Luckily, they came across a shopkeeper who had witnessed the whole thing. He had also caught it all on his shop’s surveillance camera. After reviewing the video evidence, the police were quickly able to find the thief.

🔊Eric finally got his bike back. He was very happy and promised to never leave it again without locking it to something. He didn’t want to have to go through such an ordeal again.

🔊Lyle was meeting some friends at a nice restaurant for lunch. He waited for a moment before being escorted to an empty table by the hostess who then left him with a menu.

🔊After looking over the menu for a couple of minutes, a waitress then came to take his order. She stood beside the table writing down Lyle’s orders on a bill and while he was ordering his meal, his friends showed up.

🔊The waitress went to the front counter to get a couple of extra menus for them, as well a pitcher of water. She returned to take everyone’s order and then brought the bill to the kitchen.

🔊Lyle and his friends talked for a bit as they waited for their lunch. The conversation quickly died down and a few of them pulled out comics to read. One of the girls went to the restaurant's magazine rack for something to read.

🔊Fifteen minutes later, the waitress brought out their orders. Each order was served on a tray which was set in front of them on the table. Everyone was very hungry and quickly started wolfing down their food.

🔊Conversation resumed briefly as Lyle and his friends picked at the last morsels of food on their trays. Drinks were then brought out to wash down their meal. As soon as they downed the last of the refreshments, Lyle made his way to the front counter to pay for everyone’s lunch. He then bid them adieu and headed out the door.

🔊A lot of zoos do their best to recreate natural habitats. This can be somewhat difficult especially for larger animals that have big territories, like tigers. The best they can do is to add a few natural looking obstacles and a mural in the background, but they are no substitute for the wild.

🔊Large carnivores (meat eaters) are especially tricky to keep occupied. They are used to spending a lot of time stalking prey (hunting). It is a part of who they are. However, in zoos it is usually considered inhumane to offer captive animals live foods. Instead, they put in large toys for the animals to fight with in the hope that it relieves some of their natural instincts to hunt and kill.

🔊Picture 1 The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. Prior to the festival, some people like to make their own lanterns out of paper. During the festival, people stroll through the streets carrying their lanterns, and hundreds of the festive lights line their path.

🔊Picture 2 Another popular activity is riddle-solving. This event often takes place in front of a temple. Riddles are written on lanterns or scrolls and a man reads them aloud for everyone to hear. If you can guess the answer to the riddle, you will win a prize.

🔊Picture 3 If riddles aren't your thing, you might want to go and watch the sky lanterns. Sky lanterns are special lanterns that people write prayers on. They are similar to hot-air balloons as they use hot air to make them rise high into the sky. The hope is that the balloon will carry the prayer close to the deities so that it may be answered.

🔊Picture 4 No Taiwanese festival is complete without gorging yourself on food and the Lantern Festival is no exception. The food of choice is yuanxiao. Basically, they are balls made from glutinous rice flour that are stuffed and then cooked in a soup. They can be salty or sweet, depending on what you want to add.

🔊The heat is stifling and Leonard may soon succumb to it. Desperately, he reaches for the air-con's remote. He points it at the air conditioner on the wall and tries to lower the temperature, but it's not working. He continues to wildly press the buttons on the remote, but to no avail as the batteries must be dead.

🔊He tosses the remote control onto the bed and lunges toward the controls on the front of the machine. He hits the power button and the controls light up. The sweaty boy breathes a sigh of relief.

🔊The machine begins to whirl and churn as the fans speed up. When he lowers the temperature on the control, the refrigeration unit kicks in and cool air streams forth. At last, cool air! Leonard leans closer to the machine and closes his eyes. The chilly air blows his hair back and a smile of pure elation crosses his face. Sweat from his face slowly evaporates and goose bumps begin to form on his neck.

🔊He hops into bed and lays his head softly onto a pillow. Finally, relief from the heat, he thinks. As the temperature in the room falls, Leonard peacefully slips into an afternoon slumber.

🔊Yesterday there was a track meet at my school. I didn't take part in any of the events or the opening ceremonies, but I still enjoyed watching everything. Even though I am not really into track and field, at least I didn’t have to go to class for the day.

🔊The opening ceremony seemed quite official. It was almost like watching a real Olympic ceremony. A flag bearer led each class’s athletes onto the field. The procession marched once around the track, smiling and waving to the crowd.

🔊After one loop around the track, each class lined up behind their respective leaders and flag bearers. It was all done in a very militant style. I was surprised to see that even some of my unruly classmates were capable of standing so still and being so quiet for more than ten seconds.

🔊Once everyone was standing in place, six cheerleaders ushered out the school flag. They marched once around the track in their knee-high boots and short skirts. They must have done their job because the whole crowd cheered as they passed.

🔊All in all, it was pretty impressive that a bunch of my schoolmates could put together such a wonderful opening ceremony. Maybe they are more organized than they seem. They certainly did a better job than I would have believed.