(Reading Practice (Improve your pronunciation in English

i love singing and i love books so i'm very happy my weekends are very exciting but i enjoy my weekdays too i'm lucky i live near the bookstore and i don't start work until 10 a.m every morning i get up at eight make breakfast and watch the news on tv then i walk to work i'm very busy all day i help people find the books they want at lunchtime i get a sandwich from the deli and i often go to the gym i usually finish work at 5 30 p.m but on tuesday and thursday evenings i work very late until 10 30 i never cook after work i'm too tired i sometimes like going to the little restaurant near my apartment saturday mornings i go shopping and clean my apartment i don't eat dinner on saturday and sunday evenings because i'm too excited i like singing but i'm always nervous before the show lisa parsons is 32 years old and lives in manhattan from monday to friday she works at a bookstore in new york sometimes she stays at work until 10 30 at night but lisa doesn't relax on weekends on weekends she has another job she is a singer on saturday afternoons she practices with her band and on saturday and sunday nights she goes to nightclubs and sings she has no free time but she loves her life i come from a small town in minnesota but i live in hollywood now and is very different in my hometown people are very friendly they walk down the street and they speak to you they say hi there and how are you here in hollywood people don't walk they drive everywhere i live in this big house on santa monica and sometimes i don't see anyone all day pamela is a doctor she's canadian but now she lives in a small town near nairobi kenya in east africa she isn't an ordinary doctor she's a flying doctor every day from 8 am to 10 am she speaks to people on her radio then she flies to help them she works 16 hours a day non-stop but she loves her job she isn't married she has no free time ishtvan is a music professor he comes from budapest in hungary but now he lives in the united states he works four days a week at the university of texas austin he speaks three languages hungarian english and german he's married to an american and has a daughter he likes playing tennis in his free time i do the same things every day i wake up at seven but i stay in bed until 7 15 then i get up and have a shower that really wakes me up i get dressed and then i have breakfast some toast and a cup of coffee i leave the house at 8 30 and walk to the bus stop i go to work by bus i start work at about nine and i finish work at five or six in the evening i have dinner and watch television or play on the computer i am usually in bed by 11. i live with my mother and my father and my two brothers they are called owen and david owen is 20 and he's at university david is 16 and he's at school like me i have two grandmothers and one grandfather my other grandfather is dead i have one uncle and one aunt my aunt janet is my mother's sister they have two daughters rosa is 10 and gemma is 14 like me they are my cousins mike is standing at the top of the stairs he is reading something then he falls down the stairs his leg hurts a lot he tells his wife judy that his leg is killing him judy gets ice for him and then she takes him to the hospital the doctor says that mike's leg is broken mike isn't happy because he has to stay put he can't go to work for a few days a woman is coming home late from work because she missed her train she has a cell phone so she calls her husband and tells him she is late he will pick up the kids and have a chicken dinner ready when she gets home the wife thinks her husband is lucky because he works at home and he can take naps when he gets sleepy he says that he does the laundry and the dishes because he is home i'm a carpenter i work eight hours a day from monday to friday i get up around 6am and i work from 7am until 3pm i get home pretty early about 4pm i go to bed at 10. well i'm an accountant it's a regular nine to five office job so i get up at seven am and get home around six pm that's ok though because i like to go out at night i go to bed around midnight on weekdays well my hours are a bit different i'm a nurse i start work at 11 at night i work until 7 a.m i get home at 8 and go to bed at about 8 30 and i sleep until 4 pm oh you know i have dinner watch tv see friends it's a great schedule for me tom has to wake up early to go to the airport but when his roommate wakes him up he doesn't want to get up the room is very cold and dark and he wants to go back to sleep tom gets up but he doesn't have time to take a shower he gets dressed quickly and goes to the airport he's lucky because he doesn't miss his plane alice and peter go away for the weekend they go to the beach it is winter so they can't go swimming but they take walks on the beach and they get plenty of fresh air on friday night they go dancing and on sunday they go ice skating they have a good time and are very happy the internet can you imagine a day before the internet it's history the internet started in the 1960s the united states department of defense started it because they wanted a computer network to help the american military in the 1970s scientists worked on it and learned how to send messages between computers then in the 1980s telephone companies made it possible to communicate on the computer network in many more countries an international computer language was born and the internet went worldwide these days now of course you can email listen to music and shop online you can google for information about anything and everything or just put on your google glasses you can book a hotel a vacation or movie tickets you can read a book you can pay your bills you can watch your favorite tv program you can play chess with a partner in china you can chat with your friends and share photos you can the list is endless canada through the seasons the weather is very different in this large country so there's something to do for everyone in every season spring can arrive in february in victoria on the west coast in other parts of canada it gets warm in early april and spring weather continues until june in british columbia you can kayak camp or take a train trip through the rocky mountains summer brings warm to hot weather from may to september this is a great time to fish in one of canada's many lakes kayak among whales in churchill manitoba or have some wild west fun at the calgary stampede fall brings cool temperatures in september and october it's a good time of year to see the fall leaves in eastern canada enjoy hiking visit museums or go to the toronto international film festival snow begins to fall in november and temperatures drop days are short in winter but you can ski go to an ice festival or see the northern lights in parts of british columbia the snow doesn't stay long and you can golf all year let's read all around the world people like to read books newspapers magazines and comic books in japan reading manga is a really popular free time activity manga is a type of comic book in manga there are words and pictures to tell a story or give information there are lots of different types of manga for example adventure mystery science fiction and comedy there is manga for all ages you can find manga on the internet too there are also manga computer games and manga cartoons on television there are even manga cafes where you can look at manga on the internet or read manga books and magazines manga started in japan but it's now popular in many countries some libraries in the usa have manga reading groups the great wall of china about 2 400 years ago there were many small countries in china there were often wars didn't want enemies in their country so they built big walls to keep them out for more than two thousand years people built walls destroyed walls and built new walls the great wall of china is really many walls together they are about 7 000 kilometers long the walls are about seven meters high there are also many taller towers prisoners soldiers and other people built the wall they transported the stones and bricks by hand this work was hard and dangerous about three million people died building the wall later more than one million soldiers guarded the wall but it was hard to stop the enemies people also used the wall as a road today tourists like to walk along the wall for many years people thought that you could see the great wall of china from the moon but this is not true skyscrapers when there isn't much ground we can build tall buildings very tall buildings are called skyscrapers the first skyscraper was the home insurance building it was built in chicago in the usa in 1885. it was meters tall the tallest skyscrapers are now much taller than this the patronus twin towers in kuala lumpur in malaysia are the tallest twin buildings there is a bridge between the two towers called a sky bridge one of the tallest skyscrapers is the burst dubai it's in dubai in the united arab emirates it's 818 meters tall that's nearly a kilometer it's made of a special strong concrete called reinforced concrete the burs dubai has apartments shops swimming pools hotels restaurants and a library it's like a very tall town petra about 2 000 years ago people in the middle east bought and sold cloth and spices in many countries they often traveled across land in large groups called caravans they used camels to transport people and things one of the places where the caravan stopped was petra petra is a fantastic city in the desert in jordan people built the city in the pink cliffs the caravans stopped in petra because it had water and places to sleep and it was safe from enemies some of the caravans were seven kilometers long and they had two thousand five hundred camels at different times people from different places lived in petra they made wonderful temples a theater a palace and tombs in the pink cliffs later earthquakes destroyed a lot of petra today many tourists visit this amazing place people also make movies here for example indiana jones and the last crusade the taj mahal the taj mahal is in india it looks like a palace but it's a tomb it's one of the most beautiful tombs in the world there are gardens and fountains around the building the tomb is made of 28 types of stone and jewel from all over india and other countries most of the tomb is made of a beautiful white stone called marble about 20 000 people built the taj mahal and it took 22 years more than a thousand elephants helped to move the stones for the building the taj mahal was built about 400 years ago the emperor shah jahan built it for his wife mumtaz mahal she died when she had her 14th baby shah jahan was very sad so he built the taj mahal to remember his wife later shah jahan's son wanted to be the emperor so he put his father into prison when shah jahan died people put his body in the taj mahal so that he was with his wife forever the coliseum where did ancient romans go for fun they went to the coliseum in rome they watched fights in this big and beautiful stadium the fights were with gladiators and wild animals like lions crocodiles rhinos and even elephants the coliseum wasn't fun for everyone about five hundred thousand people and one million wild animals died there about two thousand years ago rome was a very important city the coliseum was the most fantastic building in the city it was big enough for more than fifty thousand people the coliseum had many arches there were about 80 big arches to let people in and out there was also a cloth roof to protect people from sun and rain later two earthquakes destroyed some of the coliseum then people took stones from the coliseum to build many other buildings in rome so the building that we can see today gives only an idea of how beautiful it was in the past thousands of tourists visit the coliseum every year free time is very important it's good for you to do something different after school or work it's also fun many of our favorite free time activities are popular all around the world soccer is the most popular sport in the world and it's a big part of life in brazil people here love to watch and play soccer in their free time in brazil you don't need a pitch or expensive boots to play soccer people play soccer in the street and on the beach children often play with no boots some people think that brazilians are good at soccer because they learn a special way to play when they are children they learn to play a type of soccer called futsal there are five players in each team the ball is small but it's full of sand so it's very heavy futsal started in south america but now it's popular in many other countries one evening at a restaurant a man and woman were shocked by a child's behavior the little boy was out of control running around while his parents didn't have a clue that he was causing trouble they were just enjoying their dinner the other couple was upset because they had gone through the trouble of getting a babysitter for their own kids they just wanted an evening out so they could relax and have dinner in peace they were also upset because the restaurant was noisy and it was taking forever to get their food they told the waitress that the bottom line was that parents had to keep their kids under control and teach them how to behave in public i think i'm really in hot water with my teacher she wrote a note on my paper that she wants to see me in her office tomorrow i think i know why i worked really hard on my last paper but right before i had to hand it in i got busy and i copied something from the internet just a small thing maybe a few paragraphs i didn't think she'd know i can't believe it i'm so scared what will she do to me i hope i don't get an f what if she tells my parents i'll be in really hot water with them too i promise to never copy again i hope they'll believe me it's a big problem and we need to solve it but don't worry we're working on it too many people are living on the streets we're trying to help them we're finding them places to live and helping them get jobs and of course we have people helping them with their drug and alcohol problems please know that we're doing all we can we're working on this day and night it's true that i didn't work very hard and that's why my grades were so bad but i've changed right now i'm working on two papers and i know i'm doing a good job and i had a big test last week and do you know how long i studied six hours a day for three days really believe me this time i'm going to get all a's don't worry hi i'm alice i'm doing some internet research on wedding customs in four different countries i already found out a lot about customs in india but i need to find out more about customs in ethiopia japan and peru hi remember me i'm alice i just wanted to let you know that i found a great website with information about wedding customs in japan if you want me to email you the address just let me know hi i'm mark i'm in alice's class and i have the same assignment at first i didn't know what topic to do research on but i found alice in the library and talked to her she gave me some good ideas to think about i'll let you know tomorrow what i decide to do research on hi there i finally made my decision sorry you had to wait but i wanted to be sure i picked the right research topic as you know yesterday i talked to alice about a few possible topics and then i got online and looked at a few websites first i found out what i don't want to do research on and that's classical music because i already know a lot about that well after looking at a lot of websites i decided to do research on the history of jazz because i don't know anything about that tooton commons treasures tootin common was a king in egypt more than 3 300 years ago he died when he was only 19 years old when he died people put a gold mask over his face they put his body in a coffin made of gold then they put the coffin into two bigger coffins they put all three coffins in a tomb with food and many treasures the egyptians thought that the king needed these things after he died tootin commons tomb was in the valley of the kings no one discovered it for a long long time then a british archaeologist called howard carter discovered it in 1922. when he broke through the door he was amazed there were gold statues boats jewels toys masks and even a gold bed there were about three thousand five hundred treasures for ten years carter took the treasures from the tomb and wrote about them tootin common became one of the most famous kings in the world today many of his wonderful treasures are in the egyptian museum in cairo in egypt structures in space there are also structures in space the international space station iss is a research station it's about 350 kilometers above earth it goes around earth about 16 times every day it travels at 27 700 kilometers per hour that's nearly eight kilometers per second you can see the iss from earth without a telescope the iss is made of metal it uses energy from the sun the first part of the iss went into space in a rocket in 1998 no astronauts went with it most other parts went with astronauts sometimes astronauts do a spacewalk outside the iss to attach new parts families and friends eid is the arabic word for festival eid is a big muslim festival at eid people give presents to children and friends eid presents are usually money or things like toys candy and new clothes at eid muslims think about other people in the world they give food and money to hungry people and sick people people wear new clothes at eid in the morning they get up wash and put on their new clothes they eat dates and cookies for breakfast then they go to pray at the mosque lots of people hug their friends later they eat with their family they also visit their grandparents and say happy eid mid-summer in june it's summer in europe it's usually warm the nights are short and the days are long the longest day in the year is june 21st it's called mid-summer this time there are many festivals in europe people make big bonfires in finland and other countries near the arctic it doesn't get dark at midsummer there's no night in russia at midsummer people sing and dance all night girls pick flowers and make pretty crowns they throw the crowns into a lake or a river midsummer is one of the biggest festivals in sweden people decorate their homes with leaves they make a big pole with flowers and leaves they dance around the pole and sing songs they wear traditional swedish costumes girls make pretty crowns with flowers the water cycle do you know where water comes from when it rains water falls from the sky this is called precipitation rain water goes into streams stream water goes into rivers river water goes into seas and oceans when it's sunny the ocean water gets warm some water goes up into the sky this is called evaporation the water in the sky makes clouds then it rains again this is called the water cycle we're lucky to have water in our homes about 1 billion people don't have clean water in their homes most of the water we use comes from rivers and reservoirs clean water goes through pipes to our homes water is all around us we have liquid water in rivers and oceans we have frozen water in ice and glaciers and we have water vapor in clouds and steam water is very important about 70 of earth is covered with water most of the water is in the oceans there are five oceans the pacific ocean the atlantic ocean the indian ocean the southern ocean and the arctic ocean the largest ocean is the pacific ocean it's 156 million square kilometers it's about 15 times bigger than the usa there are also many seas on earth the largest sea is the south china sea it's three million square kilometers one of the smallest seas is the marmara sea it's only about 11 000 square kilometers all the water in the oceans and seas is salt water the dead sea is about 30 salt it's the saltiest sea on earth it's so salty you can float in it fresh water about three percent of the water on earth is fresh water most of this fresh water is frozen it's ice it's in glaciers or polar ice caps some of the fresh water is in lakes and rivers one of the biggest lakes on earth is lake superior in north america it's about 82 000 square kilometers the longest river on earth is the river nile in africa it's about six thousand seven hundred kilometers long some of the fresh water is in the sky it's in the clouds and the rain some of the water is in the soil in rocks or under the ground in caves most of earth is covered with water but only about one percent is fresh water that we can drink the rest is salt water or ice save water when there is no water rivers and lakes become dry plants can't grow and animals can't drink if there is no food and no water to drink people die too water is very important we all need to save water you can save water at home turn off the water when you brush your teeth take a shower not a bath you can also save water outside the home collect rain water to water plants don't throw things into rivers or lakes people and animals need clean water not dirty water remember our earth needs water people animals and plants need water our wonderful water floods can happen when there is too much rain rivers and lakes become very full floods can also happen when there are very big waves in the ocean where there are floods the water covers roads and paths cars and people can't get out of the area the water goes into houses and people have to leave their homes sometimes they have to get on the roof of their house to wait for help cars and people can't get into the area to help the police and firefighters rescue people with boats and helicopters floods can be very dangerous the water moves fast and it's very strong don't play in flood water we need water the human body contains lots of water our body is about 70 percent water our brain is about 85 water and our bones are about 33 percent water water is very important for the human body we can live for four weeks without food but we can't live for more than about three days without water we need to drink about eight glasses of water every day we need to drink even more water when we play sports and when it's hot we need water because it keeps our blood healthy our blood is about 50 water blood takes food to different parts of our body it takes oxygen from our lungs to other parts of our body too if we don't drink water our body gets dehydrated if we're dehydrated our kidneys and our brain don't work then we get very sick your muscles what helps your bones and joints to walk run dance and jump muscles muscles pull your bones to move your body muscles in your legs help you to ride a bicycle muscles in your arms help you to row a boat there are more than 600 muscles in your body running swimming dancing and riding a bicycle are types of exercise exercise makes your muscles bones and joints strong your heart is a type of muscle exercise makes your heart strong too protect your body do exercise every day what is your favorite type of exercise your nose and mouth you breathe through your nose and mouth your nose and mouth take air into your body you breathe about 15 times every minute after exercise people breathe fast they can breathe 40 times every minute your nose helps you to smell things your mouth helps you to talk and eat your teeth bite food so you can eat it your body uses food to live and grow protect your teeth brush your teeth after breakfast and after dinner and don't eat lots of candy your eyes and ears your eyes help you to see the world around you they open and close many times every day this is called blinking when your eyes blink they wash dirt out of your eyes at night your eyes close so you can sleep eyes blink about 15 times every minute your ears help you to listen to music they help you to listen for cars in the street your ears can hear things when you sleep too protect your eyes and ears on sunny days wear sunglasses to protect your eyes don't listen to very loud music it's bad for your ears your brain do you know how you read these words your brain tells you what your eyes see your brain tells you what you see hear and touch it tells your muscles when to move it helps you to write speak draw and do puzzles your brain is amazing your brain works all day and at night when you sleep at night it makes you breathe and it makes your heart work at night your brain helps you to remember things that you learn in the day protect your brain wear a helmet when you ride a bicycle protect your body your body is amazing it helps you to walk work and play it helps you to eat read listen and learn it's important to protect your body you have skin everywhere on your body your skin helps you to touch things it helps you to know when things are hot or cold skin stops dirt getting into your body it stops water getting into your body when it's rainy and when you swim hair grows out of your skin hair on your arms and legs stands up when you're cold this stops your body getting too cold your skin makes sweat when you're hot this stops your body getting too hot protect your body your bones there are bones under your skin these bones make your skeleton your skeleton helps you to stand up there are joints in your skeleton too bones meet at joints elbows and knees are joints joints help you to move knee joints help you to jump and kick a baby has small bones bones grow and they make you big and tall your bones stop growing when you are about 20 years old then there are 206 bones in your body protect your bones when you ride a skateboard wear pads to protect your bones and joints wear a helmet to protect your head too let's go to school there are schools all around the world there are big schools and little schools new schools and old schools all around the world students go to school some students walk to school and some go by bus or by train some students go by bicycle and some go by car these students are in the usa they go to school by bus in the snow in canada some students go to school by sled in india some students go to school by rickshaw protect your body eat food that's good for you good food helps your bones to grow it makes you strong and it stops you getting sick there's lots of water in your body you lose water when you go to the toilet and when your body makes sweat drink water every day to protect your body go to the doctor when you get sick and go to the dentist every year do exercise every day it's good to do exercise and it makes you happy it's good to sleep when you are tired too it's important to protect your body food for life everyone needs food to live it gives you energy to work and play it also gives you nutrients to grow well and stay healthy do you eat a balanced diet with lots of different nutrients your body needs proteins to build muscles proteins are also important for healthy hair and fingernails you can get lots of proteins from meat fish and eggs dairy products like milk cheese and yogurt also contain proteins many people don't eat animal products but they can get proteins from plant products pulses like beans and lentils are rich in proteins many grains nuts and seeds have proteins too which of these foods do you eat carbohydrates carbohydrates give your body energy you can get carbohydrates from grain products like rice bread and pasta your body digests these foods slowly so they give you energy for many hours some vegetables like potatoes also have lots of carbohydrates what grains and vegetables do you eat sugar is also a carbohydrate your body digests sugar quickly so it gives you energy right away don't eat too many sweet foods like candy or ice cream and remember that you can also get sugar from naturally sweet foods have a bowl of fruit with a little honey fats you need to eat some fats to grow well and stay healthy your body also stores fats for extra energy and to keep you warm in winter some types of meat and fish have a lot of fats dairy products like butter and cheese have fats too you can also get fats from plant products like nuts seeds and vegetable oils be careful too many fats can make you fat vitamins your body needs vitamins to stay healthy and fight diseases vitamin a keeps your skin healthy you can get vitamin a from orange fruits and vegetables like carrots or pumpkins dark green vegetables like spinach have lots of vitamin a too dairy products give you vitamin b for healthy blood you can also get vitamin b from meat fish and eggs vitamin c helps your body fight diseases you can get vitamin c from citrus fruits like oranges and lemons minerals your body also needs minerals you need calcium for strong bones and healthy teeth dairy products like milk and yogurt are good sources of calcium you also need iron for healthy blood you can get iron from red meat and eggs or from vegetables like broccoli and spinach salt is also an important mineral but be careful too much salty food is bad for you too much waste in some countries one person can make about five kilograms of waste every day where does all this waste go most waste goes to a landfill at a landfill people put the waste under the ground landfills are very big because we make so much waste most waste materials decompose they break down into very small pieces food waste decomposes fast but some waste materials decompose slowly paper materials take from two to five months to decompose some metal materials take from 80 to 100 years and plastic materials take maybe up to 1 000 years some materials like glass never decompose we are making more and more waste we need more landfills but there's no more land on earth for landfills our waste stays in landfills for too long and this is bad for earth so we should make less waste we should recycle more things around the world people make up to 4 billion metric tons of waste every year stop germs do you get sick germs are things that can make you sick can get in your body when you breathe and when you eat germs can get in your mouth from your fingers too some germs get in your body when you get a cut in your skin wash your hands with soap and water to get germs off your fingers wash your hands when it's time to eat after you go to the toilet after you touch animals and after you play outside stop germs there are germs in a sneeze catch sneezes in a tissue then throw the tissue in a waste basket maya i volunteer three times a week after school i go to an elementary school in an underdeveloped neighborhood and help students with their homework they don't have private tutors and their parents are usually busy working the kids look up to me and ask me for advice i try to set a good example and i encourage them to study hard roberto when i think about things i try not to think too much about the negative side of things i try to focus on the positive i think things will work out for the best and they usually do some of my friends are just the opposite and that can be hard on me sometimes i guess i prefer to be around people who also focus more on the positive but i get that not everyone is the same the sun is a star it's very very hot the sun has lots of heat and light heat and light from the sun come to earth the heat and light make earth warm so we can live here light from the sun comes to earth in eight minutes some places are warm and sunny all year and they have no seasons some places have seasons in summer there's more light from the sun so it's warm in winter there's less light from the sun so it's cold is it warm and sunny where you live bernadette i'm the type of person who tries to fix things if i see something wrong i try to make it right it drives me crazy when i see a problem and no one is doing anything about it it's better to fix problems right away i think this is a good quality to have i just started a new job and my boss seems really pleased with my work so far some people just accept a problem but it doesn't have to be that way it always feels satisfying when i can solve something young ho my sister is a real people person but i'm just the opposite i prefer to do things on my own more i like people of course but i also really enjoy my own time i read a lot go for walks by myself things like that i have friends and we have a lot of fun together but i guess i prefer being on my own some people think that's a bad thing but i don't think so what is earth let's look at earth let's look at oceans and rivers mountains and forests earth is amazing and it has lots of amazing places we're in space and we're looking at earth what can we see we can see many colors we can see land water and clouds earth is a planet there are many many planets in space but there's only one earth earth is our home millions of plants animals and people live here on the land there are forests mountains and deserts most of earth's water is in oceans but there's water in lakes and rivers too earth goes around the sun every year earth also turns every day jobs is a job a job is the work that you do a teacher does a job a bus driver does a job too most people do jobs for money but not all jobs are for money some jobs are inside these people are working in an office they are using telephones and computers some jobs are outside people are making a new road they have orange clothes so other people can see them some people work in the same place every day some people go to lots of places flight attendants work on planes they help the passengers flight attendants wear a uniform so passengers can find them firefighters wear a uniform to protect their body they can go into very very hot buildings human rights hero do you know what human rights are they are basic rights they include things like the right to vote and free speech many people believe that everyone should have these rights they are important everyone needs fair treatment rights must become laws this way everyone can understand and clearly follow them this keeps social order and peace sometimes people think about rights in opposite ways people have to struggle for rights when they can't agree human rights activists are people who struggle for rights one of the most well-known activists is martin luther king jr why is he well known king died struggling for the cause of human rights he led peaceful struggles for human rights in the u.s in the 1960s people who disagreed with king abused him they called him names and threw things at him he peacefully continued the struggle the government eventually changed its laws all people got equal rights king's story gives people around the world hope king's dream lives on with those people they struggle for rights where they live homeschooling homeschooling is a choice made by some parents to provide education to their children in their own homes it's popular in the united states and it is becoming more popular in the united kingdom australia south africa and japan there are several advantages to homeschooling for example parents choose what their children learn because parents can teach their children one-on-one they often understand the curriculum better and more quickly too on the other hand if their children need more time to learn something parents can work with them at a slower pace parents also like to spend more time together as a family and children feel safe at home a safe environment often leads to better learning there are disadvantages as well homeschooled students often feel lonely because they don't spend as much time with other kids their age they don't get to talk with classmates about things like parents and homework parents also feel lonely because they must spend time teaching children and don't get to talk with other adults at work in addition homeschooled students sometimes cannot play school sports or participate in other activities and programs available to people in a school only you can decide if homeschooling is right for you and your family take the time to do the research and consider the pros and cons electricity electricity is a type of energy energy makes things work we use electricity to make machines work we use electric machines in our homes schools and offices we can use electricity in trains cars and some buses too electric machines help us to do many things in the kitchen we use a kettle to make water hot we use a refrigerator to keep our food cold and we use a stove to cook our food we use a washing machine to wash our clothes and we use a dishwasher to wash our dishes electricity in nature there's electricity in nature in the arctic and the antarctic electricity from the sun makes red and green colors in the sky the colors are amazing lightning is a type of electricity in the sky too lightning has lots of energy it's very very hot when you see lightning in the sky go into your home lightning can give you an electric shock that's when electricity goes into your body then it can kill you how we make electricity we make electricity in power stations we use this electricity to make machines work many power stations use coal to make electricity we burn the coal to make water hot hot water makes steam the steam turns a turbine the turbine turns a generator then the generator makes electricity some power stations don't use coal this power station uses water from a river the water in the river turns turbines we can use wind to make electricity too this is a wind farm the wind turns turbines to make electricity i have this friend named jonathan he's been a close friend for a long time last month i asked to borrow some money from him it wasn't a lot and i said i'd pay him back in a week a week went by and i didn't have the money so i said i'd pay the following week he got all upset with me and said he needed the money right away i mean it's only another week so i don't know what the big deal is i managed to get the money together and i just paid him he didn't say thank you or anything and i'm now afraid i may have lost his friendship over this i have a lot of friends or at least i thought i did but i now see some of these friends more as acquaintances let me explain last month i was in a car accident it wasn't very serious but i did have to spend some time in the hospital it was hard because i missed classes and was behind on my homework the strange thing is only three of my friends came to visit me and no one else called or sent cards nothing it kind of hurt my feelings what is interesting is that it's helped me realize who my true friends are i thought i had more close friends but i see now that's not the case that's fine with me actually what's important to me is to have a few really close good friends my friend casey is probably my best friend she's honest reliable and truthful all qualities that are important for me in a friendship well the other day i was telling her about my sister my sister was mad at me because i didn't remember her birthday i told my sister she was acting silly and now she is hardly talking to me well i was telling this to casey and she thought i was wrong she really made me see that i was being insensitive and my behavior wasn't very nice that's what i like about casey she can help me see things that i wouldn't normally see my travel journal september 13. i arrived in new york city two weeks ago i am writing this journal for one of my classes my teacher says it is a good way for me to practice writing in english and to write about my experiences here in the united states so far i like new york and my school i have three classes a day most of my classmates come from japan korea poland germany and brazil there aren't many italian students so i have to use english most of the time i am learning a lot i am living in student housing and i have my own comfortable room october 20. my english is hopeless i was on the bus this morning and a man spoke to me but i hardly understood him i was so embarrassed why is my english improving so slowly i want to make lots of american friends but this isn't happening so easily i feel shy and it is hard for me to talk to people even my classmates i like them but sometimes i can't understand them very well i'm feeling homesick i miss my friends and family october 27th i went to a school party last friday and it was awesome i talked with a japanese man named kenji and a polish woman named anna we talked about our country's customs and our experiences in the state so far we are going to walk around the city together this weekend also kenji wants me to write for the student newspaper here at school maybe things are getting better stop pollution many power stations burn coal to make electricity this makes pollution what can we do to stop pollution we can turn off lamps computers and other machines when we are not using them we can have a shower not a bath we can get electricity from power stations that make electricity with wind or water these power stations don't make pollution we can also use the sun to make electricity solar panels use energy from the sun to make electricity solar panels don't make pollution batteries some machines get electricity from batteries we put batteries into lots of machines to make them work calculators cameras cell phones and watches get electricity from batteries we can take these machines with us when we move most batteries are small they make electricity for small machines some machines use two or more batteries to work big batteries make electricity for big machines a car battery helps a car to work some satellites have batteries too giant batteries make some satellites work do you have machines that use batteries be safe how can you be safe with electricity don't put electric machines next to water electricity can move through water to you firefighters don't use water to stop electric machines burning they use powder to stop the fire it isn't safe to put your fingers in sockets or electric machines electricity can move from the socket or the machine to you it can give you an electric shock remember to be safe with electricity electricity helps us to do many things every day and every night electricity is amazing cell phone etiquette the first point i'd like to address is when not to use your phone it's polite to switch off your phone or turn off the sound when you're in class or in a meeting if you get an important call you should ask for permission to leave the room and then don't talk for too long furthermore for conversations that need more time it is best to ask the person to call back at a more convenient time cell phones can also cause you to neglect the people you are with i find it really annoying when my friends constantly check their messages on their phone in fact i want to tell them to turn off the cell phone and enjoy my company another point that needs to be made has to do with personal space i think it is very impolite to make calls in small spaces or crowded rooms this makes others uncomfortable and forces them to listen to your personal conversations additionally it disturbs other face-to-face conversations that's why i never use my cell phone within a few meters of other people except in emergencies lastly i would like readers to pay attention to the dangers of using your phone while doing something else for instance driving and texting is a bad combination likewise using your phone or texting when walking can make you careless you don't want to get hit by a car pay attention to where you're going listen and practice the socratic method it's good that we can all choose what kinds of mass media to use we can enjoy news programs movies songs and other media that we like but what if someone wants to change something you like what if they want to ban it what if you disagree with things other people like how would you debate these issues in ancient greece there was an intelligent philosopher named socrates he thought about the best ways to debate ideas he created a system of discussion called the socratic method it's one of the best ways to debate an idea it's done by asking and answering challenging questions about an idea this helps us to understand why people have certain ideas people can confirm or change their beliefs after a rigorous debate this is useful for questions that don't have a correct answer some questions have a definite correct answer for example what is one plus one the correct answer is two that's not debatable these questions usually come from science and math however social questions often don't have a correct answer they only have better and worse answers for example what is appropriate music for children it's up to people to think discuss debate and decide for themselves the socratic method is one of the best ways to do that listen and practice lila martin goes to nice restaurants eats cake listens to bands and gets paid for it lila is a wedding planner she chooses the place the food and the music for people's weddings it's stressful because everything needs to be perfect listen and practice garner has his dream job he plays video games all day long hal is a game designer for a large video game company he makes new games and tests them it's always exciting and he almost always wins listen and practice junko watanabe has a sweet life she makes bread cookies and cakes in her neighborhood bakery junko really likes her job her salary isn't great but the customers love her cakes and cookies so she's happy listen and practice what is an island an island is a piece of land with water all around it there are many different types of island an island can be very small or it can be big with mountains lakes roads and cities some islands are hot but others are covered with ice some islands have animals and plants that don't live anywhere else only about 10 percent of people live on islands less than 30 of earth's surface is land there are seven continents and thousands of islands some islands are in the middle of an ocean and others are near the mainland many islands are so small that you can't see them on this map listen and practice using resources carefully on our planet earth there are many beautiful places sadly some of the things that people do are damaging our planet we must care for it to keep it safe and clean for all the plants animals and people living here our planet gives us many natural resources like air to breathe and water to drink it gives us plants and animals to eat and coal and oil to make electricity we need to use all these resources carefully some natural resources like water sun wind soil animals and plants can replace themselves naturally they are called renewable resources they will not run out if we don't use them too quickly if we use them carefully we will have lots of these resources to use for a long time we all need water water is one of the most important natural resources on earth we need fresh water to drink and we need it to grow and cook food and to wash plants animals and people all need water to live about 70 percent of earth is covered with water but most of this water is salt water in oceans people need fresh water to drink but only about three percent of earth's water is fresh water in some countries there isn't enough water sometimes people have to travel a long way to collect water or they move to a new place where there is water non-renewable resources we use fossil fuels like coal gas and oil in power stations to make electricity we use electricity to power lights refrigerators televisions and computers all need electricity too many people use electricity to cook and to heat their homes we also use electricity to power some vehicles and we use oil to make gasoline to power cars and other vehicles the problem is that these fossil fuels cannot be replaced so when we have used them all they will run out they are called non-renewable resources and we are using them too quickly in 2007 the four countries that used the most electricity were the usa china russia and japan countries with more people need more electricity pollution sometimes we make our resources dirty this is called pollution we pollute the air when we use fossil fuels to make energy like electricity we pollute water when we put waste into it people animals and plants all need clean air and water there are lots of ways we can help we must keep water clean and we must not waste it some charities are helping people to collect and store water they are also building new dams wells and pumps so that people can have clean water nearer their homes we must use non-renewable resources carefully and we must not waste them listen and practice caring for others all around the world people help each other many people like doctors and teachers have jobs that help others they are paid money for their work lots of people give their time freely to do work to help others they are called volunteers it's wonderful to care for a sick child who needs help it's amazing to save someone's life many people do jobs that care for others workers like doctors and nurses are very important they help people to stay healthy and they care for people who are sick doctors often work in clinics or hospitals and they find out why people are sick and help them to get better some doctors called surgeons do difficult operations nurses work with doctors they give medication and care for sick people and their families in some schools there's a nurse to help children who are sick or who have an accident listen and practice helping people through life the people who bring babies into the world are called midwives they also help the baby mother and father to be well in hospital or at home children and adults get help from doctors and nurses in schools clinics and hospitals they can have vaccinations and they can learn about being healthy they can also go to the dentist to care for their teeth and mouth every year about 130 million babies are born around the world that's about 250 babies every minute of every day listen and practice helping people through life the people who bring babies into the world are called midwives they also help the baby mother and father to be well in hospital or at home children and adults get help from doctors and nurses in schools clinics and hospitals they can have vaccinations and they can learn about being healthy they can also go to the dentist to care for their teeth and mouth every year about 130 million babies are born around the world that's about 250 babies every minute of every day listen and practice it's important to stay healthy we should care for our body from when we are young to when we are old if we eat well and walk or do sport we probably won't get sick very often we can help ourselves to stay healthy others can help us too if we are sick or disabled or if we have an accident when people are old sick or disabled they often need help with cooking cleaning shopping washing clothes and taking medication they can get help at home from other people in the family or from care workers sometimes they have to live in a care home listen and practice my father is a doctor he works in a hospital for children in paris he works very hard but he loves his job he's a very kind person i miss him a lot because i live in england but when he comes home he always brings me something nice i love my grandmother very much she doesn't get angry with me like my parents do sometimes and she always wants to listen to what i say she is 74 years old and lives with my aunt and uncle in the same town as me i see her every weekend my brother is four years younger than me but he goes to the same school as me he has blonde hair and is quite small for his age i have a notice on my door at home that says private but he comes in without knocking so annoying but he is very funny sometimes too uncle harry is an actor he's often on tv he lives in london but he often comes to see us he's my mother's brother and he's an interesting person i like to talk to him about films and tv programs he's a wonderful storyteller listen and practice studying abroad every year thousands of students choose to study abroad whether it's for six months a year or even longer people find the experience of studying abroad very exciting but also very scary living in another country will help you learn a language and learn about another culture you will see the world in a new way and learn more about yourself studying abroad is also excellent training for the working world many companies want employees who speak a second language or who have experience living or working in another country to choose the right country or school ask yourself these questions for how long do i want to study abroad do i want to live with a host family with roommates or alone how much can i afford to pay based on our experience it's best to get your passport and visa early before you go learn as much of the language as you can and read about the customs of your host country also talk with people who have experience studying abroad and call the school to make sure someone can meet you when you get there make sure to bring some local money and a credit card be curious and open to meeting new people and having new experiences don't expect to always be comfortable after the first few weeks it's usual to feel a little homesick you'll miss your family and friends remember that it takes time to get used to a new place with new customs talk to your new friends and write about your feelings listen and practice this really happened to me i was about 10 years old and was camping with my best friend it was late at night and we were in our tents reading comic books with our flashlights and just talking suddenly we heard this strange noise outside our tent it sounded like an animal maybe a bear or something it was big i know that for sure it was growling it was making sounds like it was moving all around our tent and pushing against the sides we had all our food in the tent so we thought it was hungry we didn't know what to do we were pretty frightened to be honest my friend wanted to feed it he wanted to open the tent door and throw our food out i didn't want to open the door i just wanted to make a lot of noise and try to frighten the animal away well we started making noises shouting playing our radio loudly banging on things whatever we could do to scare it and make it go away it seemed to work because we didn't hear anything for a while then suddenly we heard a voice say i'm as hungry as a bear it was my older brother listen and practice how colors make us think and feel what does the color pink make you think of how does the color blue make you feel why do hospital doctors wear white coats what color room makes you feel relaxed colors affect everyone each person may have a different answer to these questions but we can agree that colors affect everyone we think carefully about color when we choose our clothes or select paint for a room but we are often unaware of how color affects us for example the color of a room may affect our emotions advertisers use color to influence our choices at the supermarket in addition we may not realize that colors have many different meanings colors in nature have universal meaning for example trees and plants are green so the color green often represents life and nature blue the color of the sky oceans and lakes makes us think of air water and peace colors in the red spectrum yellow orange and red are warm colors those colors may give us a feeling of warmth and comfort or feelings of anger colors in the blue spectrum colors such as blue green and purple are cool colors they often give a feeling of calmness or sadness these ideas about color are similar around the world humans have known about the power of color for a long time ancient cultures in china egypt and india used colors to heal sicknesses people believed that each color had a healing power for example people used blue to decrease pain even today some people say that colors can help people feel better however research shows that although colors may change the way a person feels they cannot heal an illness colors also have different meanings in different cultures a color may represent good feelings in one culture but bad feelings in another for example in the united states white represents goodness it is usually the color of a bride's wedding dress however in india china and japan white can mean death green is the color of dollar bills in the u.s so green may make americans think of money but in china green can represent a loss of respect different colors sometimes represent the same idea in different cultures in european cultures purple is the color of royalty for kings and queens in asia yellow is the color of royalty in addition one color will have many different meanings within one culture for example in north america red often means stop or danger but it also can represent love color psychology is the study of how colors affect our emotions researchers are finding that colors can change our behavior in specific ways for example one research study showed that people could lift heavy weights more easily in blue rooms other studies have looked at how colors influence decisions soccer referees made more decisions against teams that wore black uniforms taekwondo referees gave competitors in blue clothing higher scores than competitors in red in another study students who saw the color red before a test did much more poorly of course these test results might vary from culture to culture most people do not realize how much color affects them it can affect how people think feel and act some colors such as those in nature can have the same meaning for everyone other colors meanings may be different in different cultures we can increase our understanding of ourselves and the world around us by learning about what colors can mean or represent listen and practice my birthday is july 14th and i always celebrate my birthday with my friends and family i'm 16 years old now and on my last birthday my parents gave me a sweet 16 party that's a party a lot of girls have when they turn 16. i made a guest list and my parents sent the invitations my mom and i decorated the room and planned a special menu of pizza ice cream and of course cake my mom baked a big chocolate cake with happy birthday amanda on it everybody's saying happy birthday to me we had the party at my house and 14 of my friends came my mom and dad gave me a cool gift it was a new camera it was great i took photos of my friends and then posted them online for my friends to see i'm not going to have a party for my next birthday my 17th but i am going to have one for my 18th birthday listen and practice what is a desert a desert is a dry place that has less than 25 centimeters of rain every year some deserts have no rain for months or years some deserts have sand but others have stones or rocks some deserts are in the mountains in the day temperatures in hot deserts are usually from 20 to 35 degrees centigrade but temperatures can be more than 50 degrees at night the air gets very cold sometimes it's less than zero degrees most cold deserts are warm in summer but they are very cold in winter in summer temperatures are usually from 21 to 26 degrees centigrade in winter they are usually from two to four degrees most of the water in cold deserts comes from snow or fog it doesn't come from rain listen and practice living in the desert living in the desert is very different from living in a city but people still cook travel and go to school most desert people eat bread porridge milk cheese and food from desert plants they cook their food on a fire outside their home dates grow well in deserts dates with cheese is traditional tuareg food today many desert people drive suvs but camels are better for traveling across sand camels can travel more than 40 kilometers in a day they are strong animals desert people can use camels to carry food tents and other things from their homes a long time ago only a few desert children went to school but this is changing in the deserts in australia aborigines are building new schools students speak their own language and they also learn english listen and practice being polite from culture to culture most people want to be polite and behave well around others being polite means knowing how to greet and talk to people it means using good manners when eating it means knowing how to give and receive gifts appropriately polite behavior in one country however may be impolite in another part of the world travelers need to understand the cultural differences in politeness so that they don't cause embarrassment for instance when people meet they often shake hands how long should a handshake be should you hold the other person's hand gently or firmly in the united states people prefer to shake hands firmly for a few seconds in some middle eastern countries people hold the person's hand gently for a longer time handshaking varies around the world what about eye contact in some countries you show respect when you look someone directly in the eye in other parts of the world to look at someone directly is rude to be respectful a person looks down at the ground there are also cultural differences in the way people use personal space when two people are talking should they stand close together or far apart exactly how close should they stand in north america for instance people usually stand about an arm's length apart during a conversation however in some countries in the middle east and latin america people stand closer it can be awkward if one person likes to stand close and the other person likes to stand farther apart three authors wrote a book kiss bow or shake hands about cultural differences in their book they discuss greetings gift giving and time around the world cultures have different ideas about giving gifts in the united states if someone gives you a gift you should open it while they are with you that way they can see how happy you are to receive it in china you should open a gift after the person is gone another cultural difference is time if someone invites you to dinner at their house at six pm what time should you get there should you arrive early late or exactly on time in germany it is important to arrive on time in argentina polite dinner guests usually come 30 to 60 minutes after the time of the invitation when traveling remember that each country has a different definition of being on time a final area to be careful about is body language including gestures is it acceptable to touch a person on the shoulder how do you wave goodbye or hello how do you gesture to someone to come here all of these can be different from one culture to another in thailand it is rude to touch someone on the head with the palm of the hand the gesture for come here in the u.s is only used for calling animals in some other countries if you are going to live work or study in another country it is important to learn the language but it is also important to learn about cultural differences this way you can be polite and make a good impression people around you will feel comfortable and respected politeness and good manners can be good for making friends good for traveling and good for business too listen and practice excellent exercise being active is very important but do you know why there are many benefits to exercise it is good for your mind and body in many ways exercise makes your body stronger you need a strong body so you don't get sick easily exercise is good for your heart your heart pumps blood around your body the more you exercise the stronger your heart is exercise helps you keep a healthy weight a healthy weight is important so you don't get sick exercise helps your brain work better when you exercise more blood goes through your brain the more blood that goes through your brain the better your memory gets exercise makes you happier exercise is a great way to reduce stress it gives you more energy to do things that make you happy the more things you do the better you sleep exercise makes you strong healthy and happy and it's fun to exercise so don't forget to exercise listen and practice a world of friends is a world of peace and now a message from the friendship force the friendship force says a world of friends is a world of peace the friendship force is an international friendship organization friendship force groups travel to foreign countries in the new country the friendship force visitors stay with host families they learn about their host family's life and culture the visitors and their host families spend a lot of time together and they become good friends every year friendship force visitors make 40 000 new friends in 56 different countries this is important because when people make international friends they help to make peace in the world are you interested in the friendship force please go to our website for more information if you want to travel with the friendship force send us an application so we can learn more about you and remember a world of friends is a world of peace listen and practice i enjoy reading i read a lot of books and i love going to the library my dad likes outdoor things he's really into sports and swimming and he always tells me i should get more interested in sports but mom tells me that reading is the best way to learn she always gives me books that she's been reading listen and practice i love animals i keep a couple of parrots in a big cage in my room i love taking photographs of wild birds when i'm in the countryside my dad and i often go away for the weekend and we have a great time bird watching my sister thinks i'm crazy when my sister has free time she loves to play cards i can't stand card games listen and practice actually i don't have big plans for the summer i'll probably just hang around at home and play video games and sleep a lot i'm always studying during the school year and i had a job last summer so it'll be nice to just relax and take it easy for a change listen and practice i'm going to visit my grandparents this summer i haven't seen them for a few years and it'll be great to spend time with them i'll miss my friends but i know we'll text all the time as usual listen and practice well unfortunately this summer i'm going to study for my exams i'd like to take a vacation but this is my last summer for studying my exams are next spring next summer i can have fun listen and practice i'm very interested in computers i'm always teaching myself new computer programs and i have a lot of great software my brother and i spend all our free time in computer stores and online my sister is more interested in the arts she likes music and she loves to read she hates computers listen and practice i love travelling my mother and i go to a different place every year both of us love to learn new things about cultures my father never goes with us because he hates flying my older sister is in college so she stays home and studies while we're away sometimes i wish my sister and my father would travel with us because i miss them listen and practice accidental inventions sometimes a successful invention happens by accident the tea bag for example thomas sullivan introduced tea bags to the world in 1908 he was a new york tea importer he sent tea to his clients in tin cans but tin was so heavy and expensive that he needed a more convenient way to send it so he designed inexpensive bags to hold the tea leaves and sent them instead thomas's customers were supposed to open the bags and put the leaves in hot water instead they used the entire bag but this innovation worked immediately tea bags proved to be a big success listen and practice how embarrassing this happened at work a few years ago i was on an elevator and a man got on that i didn't know he asked how are you i answered pretty good then he asked what's new and i said nothing much finally he turned and said do you mind he was on his cell phone i was so embarrassed listen and practice the popularity of social networks every morning sarah turns on her computer first she checks her email then she visits a social networking website to find out what her friends are doing on this website she reads news from her friends for example she may look at comments her friends made about movies music books and other friends on her profile page sarah writes a short message about what she is doing like many young people sarah enjoys meeting and communicating with others on social networks these websites let people see what their friends are doing and thinking sarah is part of an important trend in communication social networking sites become more and more popular every day and they are popular all around the world in japan the top site is mixi in europe it is bibo the most popular site in latin america is orchid in the united states the top site is facebook in fact facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites in the world a harvard university student started facebook in 2004 and it spread to more than 400 million users in just a few years why is the social networking trend spreading so rapidly one reason that these websites are popular is because people are social we like to communicate with other people we make friends with people in school at work and online most people like to stay closely connected to their friends and family we use cell phones email instant messaging and websites to learn what our friends are doing the internet is a good way to socialize and communicate and social networking sites allow people to do this in many ways social networking sites are interactive and personal people can share photographs of themselves and of others they can tell people what they are doing at any moment and keep in touch they can post a link to a site with their favorite song or band they can join groups with others who share their interests many people post videos of themselves on sites like youtube other users can comment on these photos and videos this interaction makes these websites become more popular another reason that social networking sites are popular is because the users write what is on the site in the past websites only had information for users to read in this way websites were like newspapers or television all of the communication went in only one direction from the website to the users in the past the average person didn't contribute to the websites today the internet is more interactive than it was in the past now anyone can have their own website blog or page on sites like facebook readers are now also writers and can easily add material to the web people can express their own ideas and they can put their own experiences online social networking sites first became popular with college students at one college students said they spent almost two hours every day just on facebook teenagers also use these sites to stay connected with their friends these days even older people are using social networks the internet keeps changing but one trend is clear people enjoy using websites that let them connect with others they like to express themselves and communicate online listen and practice voluntary work in many countries the government helps to care for people governments give money to workers like doctors and nurses sometimes when there isn't enough money more help is needed more help is needed after an emergency too volunteers give this help anyone can do voluntary work volunteers can be young or old many volunteers work with charities that help people all around the world some doctors and nurses fly thousands of kilometers to do voluntary work in another country they work in hospitals or clinics for many weeks or months they sometimes give vaccinations so that people do not get serious diseases every year in the usa about 62 million people do voluntary work about 8 million volunteers are 16 to 24 years old listen and practice teaching others people who teach others do one of the most important jobs education helps people to get a better job and to have a better life education is important for everyone when we are very young we don't know much about anything our parents and other people in our family teach us many things at home before we go to school they help us to eat walk talk and play they help us as much as possible at the start of our life listen and practice at school school teachers have a very special important job they get children ready for adult life school teachers help very young children to read and write and to do art and simple mathematics they also teach older children subjects like geography history science and languages many other people help in schools classroom assistants give more help to children who need it for example children who are disabled in some schools cooks make snacks and lunch for children and their teachers playground assistants help children to stay safe when they are in the playground sadly many people in the world can't have a good education today only about 82 percent of people who are more than 15 years old can read and write listen and practice at college and university education isn't just for children after school many young people go to college or university some people go to college or university when they are older adults others study different subjects at home after work professors teach college and university students many different subjects from architecture to zoology one of the most popular university subjects is law professors need to know a lot about their subject so that they can help students to do well and get better jobs through life one of the biggest universities is indira gandhi national open university in india it has about 2 million students listen and practice volunteer teachers all around the world there are volunteer teachers doing voluntary work is a wonderful way to see new places and meet new people volunteers also help many children and adults to learn information that can help them through their life volunteer teachers work in different ways some volunteers move to another country to teach there for a few months or years others stay in their own country maybe they go to a school for just one or two hours a week to help young children with subjects like reading and mathematics maybe they teach their country's language for example french spanish or english to people who move there from another country education doesn't stop after college or university trainers teach workers new information for example information technology or a new language to help them to do their job better education really is for life listen and practice growing food some people are lucky because they have many different types of food to eat in other places people can't always grow or buy all the food that they need many people work to try to provide food for everyone healthy food helps people to stay well because it has lots of important nutrients when people grow food they help themselves and other people too some people have a garden or other land where they can grow fruit and vegetables for family and friends maybe they can't provide all the food that they all need but they can help farmers grow most of the food that people eat in asia farmers grow a lot of rice and in europe they grow a lot of wheat in north america farmers grow a lot of corn farmers also grow vegetables like potatoes carrots and onions and fruits like apples oranges and bananas some farmers raise animals so that people can eat meat like chicken and beef listen and practice not enough food people in some parts of the world have as much food as they need to be healthy people in other parts of the world don't have enough to eat and sometimes they are so hungry that they can die in some places people can't grow crops because the weather is too hot and dry or too wet this often means that they don't have enough to eat sometimes people can't buy food because of a war or a natural disaster like a bad storm maybe food is too expensive and people don't have enough money to feed themselves and their families around the world more than one billion people don't have enough food without food and water people can die after only four weeks listen and practice helping hungry people many people work to help others who don't have enough food some charities give people seeds so that they can grow food experienced farmers teach other farmers how to grow the strongest healthiest crops like corn or sugar cane some charities help farmers to become fair trade farmers fair trade farmers usually sell their crops straight to stores and supermarkets so that the farmers get more money this helps them to buy more seeds and to grow more food now scientists are even making seeds that can grow with little water in some countries scientists have learned to make rain they put special chemicals into very cold clouds listen and practice water for everyone our planet earth and almost everything on it needs water without water plants animals and people would die in some places there's a lot of water in other places there isn't enough water and this makes life very difficult a lot of water is used for farming crops need water to grow and animals drink water in industry people use water to help machines to work and so that they can make the things that we need and enjoy water is also important at home we drink water we use water to wash ourselves clothes and dishes and to clean the home we also use water when we flush the toilet listen and practice working with water many people work to provide water for farming and industry and for the home most of the fresh water that people use comes from rivers lakes or under the ground people build reservoirs to store this water they also build pipes to take it to different places in places where there isn't enough water volunteers sometimes work with local people to build wells to provide water for families they also help to keep water in wells and springs as clean as possible most of earth's water is salt water in the oceans or frozen into ice only about one percent can be used by people for drinking cooking washing farming and industry listen and practice clean water if people drink or touch dirty water they can get very sick people need clean water to stay healthy people in richer countries are lucky because they have all the clean water that they need in the water industry people use chemicals to clean the dirty water that people have used in many poor countries people have no clean water every day they have to use dirty water for cooking drinking and washing more than one billion people don't have clean water to drink in some countries charities give people life straws life straws make dirty water clean and safe to drink listen and practice saving water today there are about six billion people on our planet every day there are more many people don't have enough water or they have to travel a long way to collect water we need to do things now to make sure that people in the future will have enough water we can all help to save water don't use too much water when you wash your hands and face brush your teeth and wash the dishes turn off the water when you have enough put water in the refrigerator so that you don't have to turn on the water and use lots of it every time you want a cold drink take a shower not a bath if you have to take a bath don't fill the bathtub listen and practice i hate using taxis here the drivers drive too fast and really dangerously and they're often rude the cars are mostly in pretty poor condition but what i hate the most is that they aren't air conditioned it's so hot here they really need air-conditioned taxis by the time i arrive somewhere i feel really hot and uncomfortable listen and practice i find that taxis here are okay they're pretty comfortable most of the cars they use are new and they keep them pretty clean they're a little expensive though i paid 75 to come from the airport that's too expensive i guess the thing i hate the most though is that the drivers don't speak english very well it's very difficult to explain to them where you want to go listen and practice the taxis here are okay i guess the drivers take credit cards that's the thing i like most about them it's really convenient but the taxis are pretty old so they're not very comfortable half of them don't have seat belts or air conditioning listen and practice oprah winfrey is a famous american tv talk show host 49 million people in 134 countries watch her show every week she lives in california but she also has an apartment in chicago where she works oprah is one of the richest women in america she earns millions of dollars every year she gives a lot of money to charity she was born on january 29th 1954 in kosciusko mississippi her parents were very poor her father vernon winfrey worked in a coal mine and her mother vernita cleaned houses they couldn't look after oprah so she lived with her grandmother hattie may oprah was clever she could read before she was three and when she was 17 she received a scholarship to tennessee state university where she studied drama she also started reading the news at the local radio station in 1984 oprah moved to chicago to work on a tv talk show called am chicago she talked to lots of interesting people about their problems oprah says people's problems are my problems the show was very successful so in 1985 it was renamed the oprah winfrey show in 1993 she interviewed michael jackson and 100 million people watched the program last year she earned 260 million dollars in 1998 oprah started the charity oprah's angel network this helps poor children all over the world in 2007 she opened a special school in south africa the oprah winfrey leadership academy for girls she says when i was a kid we were poor and we didn't have much money so what did i do i studied hard there are 152 girls at the school oprah calls them her daughters the children she didn't have in real life listen and practice help for refugees some emergencies are because of a natural disaster like a tsunami or an earthquake others are because of something that people do like fighting in a war in emergencies people need help very quickly people become refugees when they have to leave their home in an emergency or when their home is lost there are millions of refugees in the world most refugees have had frightening experiences they have often lost everything their home their job and their school maybe they have lost people in their family too they often live in refugee camps special places where refugees can live and be safe listen and practice refugees try to help themselves but this can be very difficult they usually need help from others too refugees need food water and somewhere to live they also need to see a doctor if they have been hurt or if they are sick sometimes a country's government cares for refugees international organizations like the united nations usually help too charities are also important some charities help to build refugee camps and to give refugees food and clothes other charities help people who are hurt or sick charities also help refugees to go back to their home when it's safe listen and practice i'm a flight attendant many people think it's a boring job but i love it i get to travel all over the world and i meet lots of interesting people i like that the job is pretty easy really we don't work non-stop for the whole flight we have plenty of time to sit down and take a break on long flights we can even take a nap also the money is very good because all our expenses are paid when we're working listen and practice there's a new chinese restaurant just five minutes from my house it's a very simple place a little boring inside actually just a few tables in an empty room they need to add more dishes to the menu too right now they only serve four or five things but they're all delicious and very cheap you can get a good meal there for around fifteen dollars all the people who work there were very friendly and helpful so i left a good tip listen and practice the tsunami in indonesia 2004. one of the worst natural disasters happened in indonesia on december 26 in 2004 a huge earthquake under the indian ocean caused a giant wave or tsunami that traveled thousands of kilometers across the ocean at great speed by the end of that day more than 150 000 people had died many thousands more people were hurt and millions of people in many countries lost their homes lots of people helped after the tsunami families friends and neighbors helped each other many people came from countries all around the world to help too governments sent workers to help and charities sent volunteers one of the biggest jobs was to clean up the beaches and towns people saved things like wood and stones to build new homes and buildings listen and practice there's a new chinese restaurant just five minutes from my house it's a very simple place a little boring inside actually just a few tables in an empty room they need to add more dishes to the menu too right now they only serve four or five things but they're all delicious and very cheap you can get a good meal there for around fifteen dollars all the people who work there were very friendly and helpful so i left a good tip listen and practice the earthquake in haiti 2010 another terrible natural disaster happened on january 12th in 2010. there was a huge earthquake near port o prince the capital of haiti more than two hundred and fifty thousand homes were damaged and thousands of other buildings were destroyed more than two hundred thousand people died about three hundred thousand more people were hurt and more than a million people lost their homes the people of haiti worked with many people from other countries who came to help one of the most important jobs was to care for people who had been hurt and to find people who were lost dogs also helped to rescue people from under damaged buildings people helped to get food and clean water to everyone and medicines to people who were sick they also made refugee camps for people who had lost their homes listen and practice caring for animals there are more than 6 billion people in the world but there are very many more animals lots of people help animals veterinarians or vets care for animals some vets work in veterinary centers in towns and cities people take their pets like cats and hamsters when they are sick or hurt or for vaccinations other vets go to farms wildlife parks and zoos to care for animals these vets are caring for a snow leopard in a zoo snow leopards are very rare there are only about 4 500 wild snow leopards in asia listen and practice the airport is far away from the city and it's a pretty horrible place it's very crowded and there aren't many facilities there you know like stores or restaurants anyway my flight was okay it was a bit bumpy the food was awful though it was dry and tasteless the service was fantastic the flight attendants did their best to make everyone feel comfortable the worst problem was the other passengers the plane was full of loud college students on their way to spring break in florida next time i won't travel during spring break listen and practice animal charities there are lots of animal charities some charities are small and they help local animals other charities are large international organizations that help animals all around the world charities help animals in many ways but they need money to do this many people give money to animal charities some people give money to adopt an animal the animal stays in its home but the charity uses the money to help to keep it safe some volunteers from an animal charity in germany collect toads that are migrating near dangerous roads then they take them to a safer place listen and practice i had the worst thing happen to me this morning i was running to catch the bus and i was talking on my cell phone at the same time anyway it was raining hard and just as i got to the bus stop i dropped my phone in a gigantic puddle some nice man helped me find it it was completely soaked the man told me to take the battery out and let all the parts dry out during the day it sounded like a good idea so i tried it i put the battery back this afternoon and tried to make a call but it doesn't work at all now i'll have to go to the phone store and get a new one listen and practice i used to lift weights but i didn't really enjoy it so that's when i started swimming now i do it about twice a week it's much more fun i go to a nice pool near my office it's never too crowded which is great there are friendly people who go there so it's a good place to meet people listen and practice i used to lift weights but i didn't really enjoy it so that's when i started swimming now i do it about twice a week it's much more fun i go to a nice pool near my office it's never too crowded which is great there are friendly people who go there so it's a good place to meet people listen and practice this campus is really beautiful it's like a park there are lots of plants and trees everywhere that was one of the reasons i decided to come here another was the teachers i heard the teachers were really great but a lot of them don't seem to be very interested in teaching they give boring lectures and they don't seem to have time to talk to students after class another problem is my schedule i have trouble getting into the classes that i need it's because the school is overcrowded however the other students i've met have been really great i've made some wonderful friends listen and practice i've been at this school for two years now it's not the most attractive campus the buildings are ugly they look like cement blocks and there are hardly any trees or plants one thing that i do like here is the gym it's a great place to go between classes you can swim in a beautiful pool and the workout room has modern equipment it's funny that the gym looks so nice while the rest of the campus doesn't i'm pretty happy with my classes and my teachers are very helpful they have plenty of time to see you outside of class i have a great schedule right now all of my classes start in the afternoon so i can sleep in i love sleeping in listen and practice i'm afraid i haven't been happy here at all i think i made a mistake it costs a lot of money but just isn't worth it the classes are really boring and they don't seem very useful i want to take a computer science class and they don't even teach that here i haven't made many friends either everyone thinks it's so easy to meet people but the other students seem very unfriendly to me they do have a lot of interesting clubs there's a photography club i might join one thing that's nice is the campus it's very attractive there are a lot of trees and nice places to sit outside there's even an outdoor cafe i guess that's what you're paying for listen and practice i came here because i wanted to study art the photography department is famous the teachers are well-known working artists some people think that just because you're good at something doesn't mean you can teach it but the teachers here are great the campus is really just a building downtown so it isn't very nice to look at there's no gym or cafeteria or clubs or anything my schedule is terrible all my classes are at eight in the morning that's hard for me because i like to stay up late and work on my photos i'm so busy that i haven't really paid much attention to the other students but they seem very nice sometimes at art schools the students are too competitive i think this place is different though listen and practice saturday morning i got a phone call from an old school friend i haven't seen her for a long time she was one of my closest friends in high school but she moved to los angeles for work she was in town for four days so she invited me to a restaurant for lunch we had such a pleasant time together she was telling me about her job in los angeles it sounds really interesting and she works for a movie company and she has to find places where they can film movies you know places like restaurants hotels lobbies parks and streets listen and practice protecting life on earth there are many millions of species of plant and animal they live all around us on land in water and in the air without them earth and everything on it would die species are important in many ways all species need each other animals eat plants and some animals eat other animals too people eat plants and animals people also use plants as medicines and in industry all individual plants and animals die but when every plant or animal in a species has died the species is extinct this means that it's lost forever when one species dies maybe others that need it will die too people need to protect all the plants and animals on earth if they don't many species will become extinct in the future listen and practice helping our planet for millions of years there has been life on our planet earth earth has everything that people animals and plants need air water and land everyone should care for our planet people damage earth with pollution that comes from vehicles like cars and planes and from electricity used at home and in industry to make electricity people burn fossil fuels like coal and oil this makes too many gases like carbon dioxide and they make earth too warm many scientists think that this is changing earth's climate some countries are becoming colder and wetter others are becoming hotter and drier people use a lot of land to build towns and cities they cut down millions of trees to clear land so that they can grow crops and keep animals all these things can damage the environment and many of earth's species of plants and animals listen and practice protecting the environment governments charities and individuals are working to find ways to protect the environment environmental campaigners teach people about problems like pollution they talk to governments and news reporters they tell people about ways to stop pollution many volunteers help to protect the environment after a disaster for example they clean beaches after an oil spill or they plant new trees after a fire some scientists have found ways to make clean electricity that does not use fossil fuels instead they use energy from the sun wind or water this is important because we all need electricity but there won't be fossil fuels forever today most cars buses and trucks use gasoline that's made from oil some engineers have designed cars and buses that use biogas instead biogas can be made from waste or from plants listen and practice some friends and i were on vacation in china last summer i went shopping one day and got some really fabulous things i got nice running shoes and tennis clothes i thought the prices were reasonable and i hate bargaining so i just paid the price i asked the next day one of my friends went back to the same store and decided to bargain she got things for much cheaper prices than i paid next time i go traveling i'll be sure to bargain when i buy something listen and practice i just got a new neighbor in the apartment upstairs for me i haven't met her yet but i can hear her tv set every night because she turns the volume up really high she should really be more considerate of her neighbors listen and practice i guess i really need to get some exercise outside in nature right now i exercise all the time but it's always indoors i lift weights at an indoor gym and i go swimming every weekend at an indoor pool i even go jogging on an indoor track i was watching tv last night when a bicycling competition came on now i'm totally excited about bicycle racing i would really love to try it listen and practice i was a big athlete in high school all i did was swimming swimming and more swimming but i work now and i never go swimming i know that i should exercise more but i'm just too lazy jogging that's way too much work and it really makes my knees hurt a lot of people i know are into bicycling but i don't have a bike i guess there's tennis though my wife loves it and wants to teach me how to play i'd like to play i think listen and practice exercise is really important to me i like doing things where i keep active things that are good for my health my roommate isn't like that at all though he wakes up and surfs the internet for hours then he plays his guitar in his room all afternoon i just hate sitting around indoors i especially hate surfing the internet i want to meet other people i also want to get out and visit new places like out in the country where you can see some real nature listen and practice after my husband got sick last year the doctor told him to lose 20 pounds since then i've been trying to help him lose the weight by exercising with him there isn't much we can do together though we sometimes jog in the morning but when he works late he doesn't want to wake up early our community center has an aerobics class in the evening but he won't go he says it's just for women so neither of us does that he wanted to try weight lifting but the doctor said it was too dangerous so now i'm thinking about getting him golf lessons for both of us actually the walking might even be a little romantic too listen and practice i try to stay very active i play tennis with my daughters every weekend and i go golfing every day i used to lift weights too and i'm talking about heavy weights but i had to stop recently because i had to have an operation on my back now i'm really worried that i'll have to stop playing tennis and golf too i don't really have a lot of hobbies or interests besides sports so i really need to keep doing them the doctor said swimming would help my back improve so maybe i'll try that listen and practice i live in a big city so i love being around lots of people my brother is completely the opposite last weekend he took me to the country to go bird watching i was so bored the whole time i like talking to people and doing creative things i'd just love to get all my friends together at my apartment in the city and do something we could have a dinner party maybe or we could bring over some guitars and drums and stuff like that and sing and dance listen and practice i grew up near chicago i really wanted to be a gym teacher at a school i love sports and i used to play them a lot after i graduated i tried to get a job as a gym teacher in my town but i couldn't i didn't want to move away because my father was sick so i had to find something else to do well i was always kind of interested in cooking my mom taught me to cook and i often used to make meals for the family when i was a kid anyway my dad's friend had a small restaurant and he asked me if i'd like to help out my first job was helping in the kitchen and that's where i really learned to cook i used to watch the chefs at work so that i could pick up their techniques then a year later the owner asked me to be one of the chefs then a couple of years ago i decided to open up my own restaurant it's done really well we have three chefs and we're usually very busy especially on the weekends listen and practice other ways to help earth if we all use less electricity we will use fewer fossil fuels this will reduce pollution when we aren't watching television or using the computer we should remember to turn them off when we go out of a room we should turn off the lights too we shouldn't use very hot water to wash ourselves or our clothes because we use a lot of electricity to heat water we all need things like beds chairs and tables but many people buy too much making lots of new things uses lots of electricity we should use things for as long as possible this will use less electricity we should also reuse or recycle things as much as possible this will make less waste which is good for the environment when you turn off electricity you can help to keep seals safe harp seals have their babies on the ocean ice in the arctic if earth gets warmer the ice will melt and the seals could be threatened in small ways we can help the environment in a big way we can all help our planet listen and practice the man who lives next to me is moving i can't say that i'm too upset about it he's lived next to me for almost five years but i don't think he's spoken to me more than three or four times sometimes i'll wave to him in the morning and he doesn't even wave back listen and practice my neighbor stacy is incredible you wouldn't believe all the things she manages to get done she works at a big law firm downtown and works really long hours she also volunteers on the weekends to top it off her house is always spotless i honestly don't know where she finds the time listen and practice i work for a market research company we do research for companies that are planning to develop new products i call people and ask them questions about products they are using now sometimes i invite people to come to meetings we discuss plans for new products with them it's pretty interesting work i've been doing it for nearly 15 years now and i've got no plans to change jobs the thing i really like about my job is that each month i'm working on something completely different so it never gets boring listen and practice i have my own design company it's very small just me and two assistants i design brochures advertisements for magazines menus and things like that it's a very creative job i started the company just two years ago just after i graduated from design school things have gone pretty well for me i have two big clients and most of my work is for them sometimes i have to work very late at night if i have a big job to finish quickly i always have plenty of work to do and i am always busy listen and practice i've had my own restaurant for 10 years when i first bought this place i thought it would be easy to run but it's very hard work i work long hours sometimes we're very busy and sometimes we're very slow we usually have a lot of customers on the weekends during the week it's sometimes quiet i never have a day off because there are always so many things to do i don't do any of the cooking myself i have three very good chefs to do that owning a restaurant is a tough job but i love it i don't want to do anything else listen and practice i've always collected things even when i was young i used to collect everything comic books baseball cards you name it but they're all packed away in boxes now now my favorite pastime is gardening i spend all weekend outside with my flowers i love seeing them change that's what i like best about it i guess they're these little seeds at first and then one day they're big beautiful flowers listen and practice when i was a teenager all i did was sit around playing video games but i can't stand them anymore i work in an office now so i sit in front of a boring computer screen all day now i like being outdoors i belong to a hiking group and we go someplace different every weekend i keep fit and healthy this way the best thing is that i can make some really great friends listen and practice i always loved reading as a kid so for a long time i wanted to write children's books i tried to do it for a few years after college but it was really hard to come up with good stories i guess i'm not very good with words now i'm happy just painting i've won a few prizes too in art competitions for my watercolors and oils the pictures are important to me though not the prizes what i enjoy most is creating pictures it makes me so happy listen and practice this is great you can use it to clean the sofa or the inside of your car it's rechargeable so it runs for about 30 minutes when it's fully charged also if you drop stuff on the carpet it picks up the dirt very easily it's very light too so it's really easy to use it only has a small bag inside to collect the dirt so don't forget to change the bag regularly you can see when it's full through the plastic cover be sure to put it back on the charger after you use it or the battery will run down and it won't work you

Channel: English Language Academy

Views: 1,793,657

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Id: EL6gw96u1-U

Length: 216min 57sec (13017 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 24 2021