Unit 1
It’s the 21st Century… Where’s My Robot? 1
Once we thought that, in the twenty-first century, robots would wash our dishes and clean our houses. Learn why that hasn’t happened yet. Reading Skill: Identifying Main Ideas
Unit 2 J.K. Rowling: A Magical Author 13
Meet author J. K. Rowling. Her famous creation, Harry Potter, has magic in his life. And so does the author. Reading Skill: Understanding Verbs in Readings
Unit 3 The World Cup Trophy 25
The history of the World Cup trophy is almost as colorful as that of the World Cup tournament itself. Reading Skill: Understanding Pronoun Reference
Unit 4 The Pizza Story 38
In the United States, they like it with pepperoni, in Russia, with smoked fish, and in Pakistan, with curry. It’s pizza, one of the world’s favorite foods. Reading Skill: Skimming 1
Unit 5 Australia’s Living Teddy Bears 50
Everybody loves koala bears. Discover how these charming animals live and the dangers they face. Reading Skill: Distinguishing Main Ideas and Details
Unit 6 The Power of the Wind 61
The wind is one of the oldest sources of energy . . . and one of the most modern. It is a clean source of power, and its use is growing. Reading Skill: Finding the Right Meaning of Words
Unit 7 Yao Ming 73
Suddenly, China is very much interested in U.S. basketball. The reason? A tall, talented, and modest young man from Shanghai named Yao Ming. Reading Skill: Scanning 1
Unit 8 Esperanto as a Second Language 84
It was the dream of Doctor L.L. Zamenhof that everyone everywhere speak the same second language. Therefore, he invented Esperanto, the easiest language in the world to learn. Reading Skill: Skimming 2
Unit 9 Mystery on Mount Everest 95
In 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbed the highest mountain. But were they really the first to reach the top? Reading Skill: Understanding Word Families
Unit 10 Danger: Asteroids Ahead? 109
In 2002, an asteroid flew close to Earth. What if one hits our planet? Find out about asteroids and what we can do about them. Reading Skill: Understanding Phrasal Verbs
Unit 11 Machu Picchu, City in the Clouds 122
Learn about the mysterious city of Machu Picchu, the Incan city that was hidden high in the mountains of Peru for 450 years. Reading Skill: Scanning 2
Unit 12 Bird Watching in Taiwan 132
People are wild about bird watching in Taiwan—and Taiwan is one of the best places on the globe to see rare and beautiful birds. Reading Skill: Understanding Vocabulary from Context
Unit 13 The Last Flight of the Concorde 143
Fast, elegant, and very expensive . . . for many years the Concordes were the only supersonic passenger planes. Now they are found only in museums. Reading Skill: Know the Meaning of Prefixes
Unit 14 The Legend of Nessie 155 Deep in a lake in Scotland, there is a strange creature called Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster . . . or is there?
Reading Skill: Making Inferences Vocabulary Index 167
Reading Skills Chart 171
Answer Keys, Audio Scripts, and Puzzle
Solutions: Units 1-14 174
Quizzes: Units 1-14 187
Answer Key: Quizzes 219 |