Bill lay on the ground.
“Bill ! Are you hurt ?” Peter asked.
“I don’t know,” said Bill. He stood up.
“I’m all right,” He started to the fence again. “We have to get out of here.”
“Look !” said Peter. “There’s a light in the house. It’s upstairs. It’s moving.”
The boys ran to the gate again. But they couldn’t open it. The light was moving down the stairs. Peter ran to a tree. He started to climb it.
The light came out the front door.Bill started to run around the house.
“Stop ! Who are you ?” Somebody said.
Bill stopped. The light came toward him. It was a flashlight. An old man was carrying it.
“We, we were only looking,” said Bill.
“We live in this street.”
“Where’s the other boy ?” asked the man. He didn’t sound angry.
Peter came toward them.” We though you were a ghost,” he said. We were afraid.
“I was afraid, too,” said the old man. “But I knew you weren’t ghosts.” He laughed. “Are you hurt ?”
“No. We’re all right,” said Bill. “Do you own this house ?”
“Yes, I do. I’m going to live here. I bought this house last week. “I’m fixing it up now.”
“Please excuse us,” said Peter. “we weren’t going to bother anything. We were only looking.”
“That’s all right,” the old man said.
“Do you want to come in ?”
“No, thank you,”said Bill. “We have to go home now. Our parents will wonder where we are.”
“Well, come again,” said the old man.
“Any time.”
“Thanks. We will.”
The next day Bill saw Peter. “Gosts !” he said. “Who’s afraid of ghosts ?”
Monday, 13 April 2009
THE HAUNTED HOUSE (3)
“Who, who are you ?” Bill asked. He wanted to run. He wanted to hide. But he was afraid to move.
“What are you doing in my house ?” the voice asked again.
Then they turned and ran. The hall was dark. They pushed each other. They almost fell down the stairs. Bill ran ot the front door. He shook it hard. Peter ran to the back door.
“Here ! Here ! “ called Bill. “It’s open !”
They ran outside. The wind was blowing. It was very dark. The boys couldn’t see anything. They ran across the yard.
Peter ran into a bush.”Bill ! Where are you ?” he called.
“Here ! At the gate.”
They shook the gate and shook it. But it wouldn’t open.
“How are we ging to get out of here ?” Bill asked.
“The ghost is coming ! Run !”
They started to run again. They ran around the fence. But they could not get out.
“I’m going to climb over the fence,” Bill said.
“It’s too high,” Peter said.” You can’t get over it.”
“We got in,” said Bill. “We can get out. Here. Help me.”
Bill started to climb the fence. Peter tried to help him. He held Bill’s foot. But the wind blew hard.
“I’m going to fall,” said Bill.”I’m falling !”
The boys fell into a bush.
“Are you hurt ?” Peter asked. “Are you hurt ?”
Bill did not answer.
“What are you doing in my house ?” the voice asked again.
Then they turned and ran. The hall was dark. They pushed each other. They almost fell down the stairs. Bill ran ot the front door. He shook it hard. Peter ran to the back door.
“Here ! Here ! “ called Bill. “It’s open !”
They ran outside. The wind was blowing. It was very dark. The boys couldn’t see anything. They ran across the yard.
Peter ran into a bush.”Bill ! Where are you ?” he called.
“Here ! At the gate.”
They shook the gate and shook it. But it wouldn’t open.
“How are we ging to get out of here ?” Bill asked.
“The ghost is coming ! Run !”
They started to run again. They ran around the fence. But they could not get out.
“I’m going to climb over the fence,” Bill said.
“It’s too high,” Peter said.” You can’t get over it.”
“We got in,” said Bill. “We can get out. Here. Help me.”
Bill started to climb the fence. Peter tried to help him. He held Bill’s foot. But the wind blew hard.
“I’m going to fall,” said Bill.”I’m falling !”
The boys fell into a bush.
“Are you hurt ?” Peter asked. “Are you hurt ?”
Bill did not answer.
THE HAUNTED HOUSE (2)
Peter and Bill were in the old house. The door was locked. They could not go out. They tried to open the windows. But they were locked, too. They went to every room. All the windows were locked.
“I’m afraid,” Peter whispered. “How are we going to get out of here ? It’s getting dark outside.”
“It’s all right. Let’s look at the house,” Bill said. He was afraid, too. But he didn’t want Peter to know it.
They heard the wind outside.
“Ghosts,” said Bill. He tried to laugh. Peter didn’t say anything. Bill started up the stairs. Where are you going ?” Peter called.
“I’m going upstairs. I want to find the ghosts.
Peter ran up the stairs after Bill. Bill opened a door. The room was empty. There were some old magazines on the floor.
“Let’s try to get out again,” Peter whispered.”Maybe we can get out the front door.”
“No, let’s look in this room. I saw the light here.” Bill started to open the door.
Then somebody said,” Who are you ?” What are you doing here ?”The boys were very afraid. They could not speak. They could not move. They waited. Who was in the house with them ?
“I’m afraid,” Peter whispered. “How are we going to get out of here ? It’s getting dark outside.”
“It’s all right. Let’s look at the house,” Bill said. He was afraid, too. But he didn’t want Peter to know it.
They heard the wind outside.
“Ghosts,” said Bill. He tried to laugh. Peter didn’t say anything. Bill started up the stairs. Where are you going ?” Peter called.
“I’m going upstairs. I want to find the ghosts.
Peter ran up the stairs after Bill. Bill opened a door. The room was empty. There were some old magazines on the floor.
“Let’s try to get out again,” Peter whispered.”Maybe we can get out the front door.”
“No, let’s look in this room. I saw the light here.” Bill started to open the door.
Then somebody said,” Who are you ?” What are you doing here ?”The boys were very afraid. They could not speak. They could not move. They waited. Who was in the house with them ?
THE HAUNTED HOUSE (1)
There was an old stone house in Bill’s street. It was empty. It was big, and there were many trees and bushes around it. But the yard was full of weeds and grass.
I saw a light in the old house,” Bill said to his friend Peter.
“Oh, that’s impossible,” Peter said. “Nobody lives there.”
“Yes, I did,” said Bill. “there was alight in one of the windows. I saw it last night.”
“Let’s look at the house,” Peter said. The boys went to the house. There was a high fence around the yard. The gate was locked. They couldn’t open it. Let’s go home,” whispered Peter. “I want to go inside,” Bill said. He found a tree near the fence. He climbed the tree and jumped over the fence. Peter jumped over, too. They walked across the yard. The gras was very tall. Peter fell down.
“Are you hurt ?” Bill asked.
Peter got up,”I’m all right,” he said. “But let’s go home.”
“let’s look inside,” Bill said.
There was a big porch. They went up the steps. But the windows were locked, too. The boys couldn’t get into the house. They walked around it.
“Let’s go home,” Peter whispere again.
“Why are you whispering ? Are you afraid?” asked Bill.
“I’m not afraid. But we shouldn’t be here. Maybe there are ghosts here.”
“Ghosts !” Bill said. He laughed.
Bill tried to open the back door. It was not locked.
“Look !” he said.
He went inside. Peter followed him. They walked across the room. The house was very quiet.
They heard the door slam. Bill ran to the door. He tried to open it. It was locked.
I saw a light in the old house,” Bill said to his friend Peter.
“Oh, that’s impossible,” Peter said. “Nobody lives there.”
“Yes, I did,” said Bill. “there was alight in one of the windows. I saw it last night.”
“Let’s look at the house,” Peter said. The boys went to the house. There was a high fence around the yard. The gate was locked. They couldn’t open it. Let’s go home,” whispered Peter. “I want to go inside,” Bill said. He found a tree near the fence. He climbed the tree and jumped over the fence. Peter jumped over, too. They walked across the yard. The gras was very tall. Peter fell down.
“Are you hurt ?” Bill asked.
Peter got up,”I’m all right,” he said. “But let’s go home.”
“let’s look inside,” Bill said.
There was a big porch. They went up the steps. But the windows were locked, too. The boys couldn’t get into the house. They walked around it.
“Let’s go home,” Peter whispere again.
“Why are you whispering ? Are you afraid?” asked Bill.
“I’m not afraid. But we shouldn’t be here. Maybe there are ghosts here.”
“Ghosts !” Bill said. He laughed.
Bill tried to open the back door. It was not locked.
“Look !” he said.
He went inside. Peter followed him. They walked across the room. The house was very quiet.
They heard the door slam. Bill ran to the door. He tried to open it. It was locked.
AT THE FARM
Bill and Sally were visiting their Uncle Steve’s farm.
“Look Sally,” Bill called,”Look at the valves.”
“Where ?” asked Sally, “I don’t see them.”
“Over there in the field,” Bill said.
“Oh, yes,” she said, “I see them now.”
“They’re small.”
“Yes, “ said Uncle Steve,”But they grow pretty fast.”
“How many cows do you have, Uncle Steve ?” asked Bill.
“I have forty-four now,” said Uncle Steve. “And seven calves.”
Bill and Sally liked to visit the farm.
They visited Uncle Steve every summer. They liked to come to the farm and see the animals. There were a lot of cows. And there were some horses. Bill liked the horses. He wanted a horse. But he lived in the city. He didn’t have place for a horse.
They walked in the fields. It was a beautiful day. Sally found a lot of small flowers.
Then Bill stopped. He saw a man with a horse. The man was taking the horse back to the house. Bill looked at the horse for a long time.
Uncle Steve said,”Do you want to ride it to the house ?”
“Oh, yes,” Bill said.
Bill got on the horse and rode back to the house. Uncle Steve and Sally walked together.
“Look Sally,” Bill called,”Look at the valves.”
“Where ?” asked Sally, “I don’t see them.”
“Over there in the field,” Bill said.
“Oh, yes,” she said, “I see them now.”
“They’re small.”
“Yes, “ said Uncle Steve,”But they grow pretty fast.”
“How many cows do you have, Uncle Steve ?” asked Bill.
“I have forty-four now,” said Uncle Steve. “And seven calves.”
Bill and Sally liked to visit the farm.
They visited Uncle Steve every summer. They liked to come to the farm and see the animals. There were a lot of cows. And there were some horses. Bill liked the horses. He wanted a horse. But he lived in the city. He didn’t have place for a horse.
They walked in the fields. It was a beautiful day. Sally found a lot of small flowers.
Then Bill stopped. He saw a man with a horse. The man was taking the horse back to the house. Bill looked at the horse for a long time.
Uncle Steve said,”Do you want to ride it to the house ?”
“Oh, yes,” Bill said.
Bill got on the horse and rode back to the house. Uncle Steve and Sally walked together.
PLAYING BASKETBALL
“Throw me the ball!”
“Here ! Throw it to me “
They boys are playing basketball. They play games every Tuesday and Thursday in school. Some of the boys are playing baseketball. Some of the boys are playing baseball. They play other games, too. The girls play volleyball and other games.
The bell is ringing. The hour is finished. The boys go into the school. They go to the bathroom and change their clothes. Each boy has a locker. He keeps his clothes and books there.
Fread and Tom are walking home together. They have to study now.
“My brother is going to give me his baseball shoes,” says Tom. “My father is going to buy him some new shoes.”
“Oh, that’s fine. What size are they ?”
“They’re size siven. That’s my size. They’re too small fro my brother.”
“When is he going to give them to you ?”
“When he gets his. That’ going to be net month, I think. Come over after supper and see them.”
“OK. See you then.”
“Good-bye”
“Here ! Throw it to me “
They boys are playing basketball. They play games every Tuesday and Thursday in school. Some of the boys are playing baseketball. Some of the boys are playing baseball. They play other games, too. The girls play volleyball and other games.
The bell is ringing. The hour is finished. The boys go into the school. They go to the bathroom and change their clothes. Each boy has a locker. He keeps his clothes and books there.
Fread and Tom are walking home together. They have to study now.
“My brother is going to give me his baseball shoes,” says Tom. “My father is going to buy him some new shoes.”
“Oh, that’s fine. What size are they ?”
“They’re size siven. That’s my size. They’re too small fro my brother.”
“When is he going to give them to you ?”
“When he gets his. That’ going to be net month, I think. Come over after supper and see them.”
“OK. See you then.”
“Good-bye”
FRED MEETS HIS FRIENDS
Fred was riding down the street. He was riding Tom’s bicycle. He didn’t like it. It was old and the light was broken. “But Tome likes it,” he thought. “Tom likes his bicycle, and I like mine.”
He met John at the corner.
“Isn’t that Tom’s bicycle ?” asked John.
“Yes, it is,” said Fred.
“Where’s yours ?”
“Mine is broken”
“Where are you going ?” asked John.
“I’m going to the bookstore.. I want to buy a new workbook. Have you bought yours ? “
“Yes, I bought mine yesterday.”
“See you later, John,” said Fred.
Fred rode to the bookstore. He bought a workbook and started to leave. Then mary came into the store.
“Where is Tom ?” she asked.
“He’s at home,” said Fred.
“Isn’t that his bicycle outside ? “ she asked.
“Yes,” said Fred. “I’m riding it.”
“Where’s yours ?”
“I broke mine last night. I have to hurry now, Mary. So long.”
“Good-bye”
He met John at the corner.
“Isn’t that Tom’s bicycle ?” asked John.
“Yes, it is,” said Fred.
“Where’s yours ?”
“Mine is broken”
“Where are you going ?” asked John.
“I’m going to the bookstore.. I want to buy a new workbook. Have you bought yours ? “
“Yes, I bought mine yesterday.”
“See you later, John,” said Fred.
Fred rode to the bookstore. He bought a workbook and started to leave. Then mary came into the store.
“Where is Tom ?” she asked.
“He’s at home,” said Fred.
“Isn’t that his bicycle outside ? “ she asked.
“Yes,” said Fred. “I’m riding it.”
“Where’s yours ?”
“I broke mine last night. I have to hurry now, Mary. So long.”
“Good-bye”
Friday, 10 April 2009
GETTING A LETTER
I am a student at Washington University. I am very busy with my studies, but I always find time to write several letters every week. I like to receive mail and you have to werite letters if you want to hear from your friends.
I was quite disappointed this morning. The postman delivered the mail and I received five letters, a package, and two postcards. But I didn’t get the letter I was waiting for.
Later in the day, the mailman delivered a special delivery letter. I was very happy to receive it, and I think you will understand why when I let you read the letter. This is the letter :
Dear Jim,
This is your first year at the University and the first time you have been away from home on your birthday.
Your mother and I miss you very much. We often talk about how quickly you have grown up. We know you’re very busy at the university, but we’re glad you are able to write to us so frequently.
Both your mother and I are fine, and your younger brothers are in good health, too. They asked me to wish you a happy birthday for them.
I am enclosing some money as a gift for your birthday. You can buy whatever you wish with it.
Write to us whenever you can. We would enjoy seeing some photograph of you and the University.
Love, Dad.
I was quite disappointed this morning. The postman delivered the mail and I received five letters, a package, and two postcards. But I didn’t get the letter I was waiting for.
Later in the day, the mailman delivered a special delivery letter. I was very happy to receive it, and I think you will understand why when I let you read the letter. This is the letter :
Dear Jim,
This is your first year at the University and the first time you have been away from home on your birthday.
Your mother and I miss you very much. We often talk about how quickly you have grown up. We know you’re very busy at the university, but we’re glad you are able to write to us so frequently.
Both your mother and I are fine, and your younger brothers are in good health, too. They asked me to wish you a happy birthday for them.
I am enclosing some money as a gift for your birthday. You can buy whatever you wish with it.
Write to us whenever you can. We would enjoy seeing some photograph of you and the University.
Love, Dad.
THE WRONG NUMBER
When I answered the telephone this morning, I knew right away the lady had the wrong number. But it took her a long time to find out. She said her name was Mrs. Mills and asked if I was Dr. cooper’s secretary. I told her that she had an incorrect number, but I don’t think she listened to me. She told me she wanted to cancel her two o’clock appointment because her husband was sick and she had to take care of him. I told her I was very sorry to hear that, but she still had the wrong number. Then she wanted to know if she could make an appointment for next week. I told her I couldn’t arrange it. I wasn’t Dr. Cooper’s secretary. Finally, she heard what I said. She wanted to know why I didn’t tell her right away that she had the wrong number. Before I could answer her, she hung up.
At first, I was a little upset about it, but later on in the morning I decided it was really funny. I wanted to call up my sister and tell her about it. I guess I dialed the wrong number and I happened to get Mrs. Mills. You can imagine how astonished I was. I tried to explain that I had made a mistake, but she wouldn’t listen. She just wanted to know how I got her telephone number. She said she couldn’t understand why I was bothering her. I tried to explain again, but she talked so much and so fast that I couldn’t interrupt her to say that I was sorry. I finally hung up the receiver.
I still wanted to call my sister, but I was afraid I might get that lady’s number again. I didn’t use the telephone for the rest of the day.
At first, I was a little upset about it, but later on in the morning I decided it was really funny. I wanted to call up my sister and tell her about it. I guess I dialed the wrong number and I happened to get Mrs. Mills. You can imagine how astonished I was. I tried to explain that I had made a mistake, but she wouldn’t listen. She just wanted to know how I got her telephone number. She said she couldn’t understand why I was bothering her. I tried to explain again, but she talked so much and so fast that I couldn’t interrupt her to say that I was sorry. I finally hung up the receiver.
I still wanted to call my sister, but I was afraid I might get that lady’s number again. I didn’t use the telephone for the rest of the day.
THE EXAMINATION
I was waiting for the doctor to finish his examination. I was worried and nervous. Would he have to operate ? Would a blood transfusion be necessary ? What would he have to say ?
Dr. Johnson was a heart specialist. He was an excellent doctor and his examinations were always complete. He listened to the patient’s heart, took his blood pressure and temperature, gave him an X-ray and examined his eyes and ears.
The doctor finally completed his examination and spoke to me. He told me that heart trouble is never a minor illness, but his wasn’t a serious heart attack. He advised losing some weight, getting plenty of sleep and eating good meals. Smoking and drinking would be harmful, ofcourse. Dr. Johnson said it would be necessary to be careful for a while, but he was confident that there was nothing to worry about.
I felt much better after I spoke to Dr. Johnson. I was certain that my uncle would be up and around again very soon. He’s seventy years old now, but he can still live for a long time if he takes good care of himself.
Dr. Johnson was a heart specialist. He was an excellent doctor and his examinations were always complete. He listened to the patient’s heart, took his blood pressure and temperature, gave him an X-ray and examined his eyes and ears.
The doctor finally completed his examination and spoke to me. He told me that heart trouble is never a minor illness, but his wasn’t a serious heart attack. He advised losing some weight, getting plenty of sleep and eating good meals. Smoking and drinking would be harmful, ofcourse. Dr. Johnson said it would be necessary to be careful for a while, but he was confident that there was nothing to worry about.
I felt much better after I spoke to Dr. Johnson. I was certain that my uncle would be up and around again very soon. He’s seventy years old now, but he can still live for a long time if he takes good care of himself.
MAKING APPOINTMENT
Today was a very good day for me. I had been looking for a new job for quite a while. I listed my name at a few employment agencies and was given information about several positions, but I wasn’t interested in any of these jobs. Last week I filled out an application form for a new company in town and arranged for a personal interview. Several men were interviewed for this job, and I didn’t know if I would get it. This morning someone from the company called up and asked to see me at two o’clock. When I came into his office, he told me that I was hired. I’ll begin working on Monday. I know I’ll like this job. I’ll be paid very well and my work will be extremely interesting.
I was feeling so happy, I decided to cancel all my appointment for the rest of the day, and I went right home to tell my wife the good news. But before I could say anything to her, she told me what a bad day she was having. None of the lights in the house were working. She had telephoned many electricians, but they all said they were too busy. Finally one agreed to come and she had been waiting for him almost all day.
When I was able to get her to stop talking about her troubles and listen to me, I told her about the new job and we made plans to go out for dinner and then go to the movies and perhaps go somewhere else after that. We made up our minds to forget about the electrician and decided to celebrate until dawn. Then we wouldn’t need any lights, anyway.
I was feeling so happy, I decided to cancel all my appointment for the rest of the day, and I went right home to tell my wife the good news. But before I could say anything to her, she told me what a bad day she was having. None of the lights in the house were working. She had telephoned many electricians, but they all said they were too busy. Finally one agreed to come and she had been waiting for him almost all day.
When I was able to get her to stop talking about her troubles and listen to me, I told her about the new job and we made plans to go out for dinner and then go to the movies and perhaps go somewhere else after that. We made up our minds to forget about the electrician and decided to celebrate until dawn. Then we wouldn’t need any lights, anyway.
GOING OUT FOR THE EVENING
My wife and I go to the theater whenever we can. But before we buy tickets, we like to know if the play is good or bad. When a new play opens, we usually read the review in our newspaper to get information about it. Last week a new comedy opened at the theater. The newspaper story said it was very amusing, so we decided to go on Saturday night.
My wife took a long time to make up her mind what to wear and we left our house a little late. By the time we got to the theater, the first act had already begun. We were sorry we missed part of the play, because the rest of it was very funny. The review in the newspaper had been right. It was an extremely entertaining comedy.
After the play was over, we met some friends we hadn’t seen for a long time. They wanted to go to a night club. It had been many years since my wife and I had gone dancing, but I finally ageed. By the time, we got home, it was about two o’clock in the morning. I’m not accustomed to staying out so late and I was extremely tired.
When I was younger, I didn’t have the money to go out for an evening like this. Now that I can afford it, I don’t have the energy to really enjoy it.
My wife took a long time to make up her mind what to wear and we left our house a little late. By the time we got to the theater, the first act had already begun. We were sorry we missed part of the play, because the rest of it was very funny. The review in the newspaper had been right. It was an extremely entertaining comedy.
After the play was over, we met some friends we hadn’t seen for a long time. They wanted to go to a night club. It had been many years since my wife and I had gone dancing, but I finally ageed. By the time, we got home, it was about two o’clock in the morning. I’m not accustomed to staying out so late and I was extremely tired.
When I was younger, I didn’t have the money to go out for an evening like this. Now that I can afford it, I don’t have the energy to really enjoy it.
MAKING DECISIONS
It takes me a long time to make up my mind about something. I don’t decide things quickly. Some people think this is good and some people think it is bad. I don’t know. I know some people who make up thir minds right away. It doesn’t matter how complicated the problem is. In two minutes they say that they have considered everything and that they are positive they have made a good decision. I’m surprised that they can be so confident.
I can understand it if the problem isn’t difficult or complicated. But some issues are extremely hard to decide. Before I make a decision, I try to get all the facts I can. I read the newspapers, I talk to people, I read books, and I try to think of everything that might be important. Sometimes my friends try to influence me. I listen to their advice, but I make my own decisions.
Sometimes it takes me a long time to make up my mind, but I don’t often have to change it. Other people I know are changing their minds all the time. They are afraid to make a decision about anything.
I can understand it if the problem isn’t difficult or complicated. But some issues are extremely hard to decide. Before I make a decision, I try to get all the facts I can. I read the newspapers, I talk to people, I read books, and I try to think of everything that might be important. Sometimes my friends try to influence me. I listen to their advice, but I make my own decisions.
Sometimes it takes me a long time to make up my mind, but I don’t often have to change it. Other people I know are changing their minds all the time. They are afraid to make a decision about anything.
READING PRACTICE : BOUGHT SWEATER
I bought a sweater the other day, but I didn’t like it. It was change made and it didn’t fit me. I took it back to the store to exchange it. I couldn’t find anything else I liked and I got a refund.
On the way home I went into the new department store. It is a big one and it has everything. They had some suits on sale and I tried on a few. I picked out a light gray suit. It looked good on me and aI bought it right away. It cost $35.00 I went to the shirt department, and I selected three shirts. Then I thought it would be nice to have some new shoes to wear with my new suit and I went to the shoe department. When I couldn’t make up my mind whether to get black or brown shoes, I decided to get both pairs. Socks were on sale and I bought six pairs.
I was just leaving the store when I saw some overcoats. They were beautiful and looked warm. I thought I would try one on. The first one fit me perfectly and the salesman said it looked good on me. The rice was forty dollars and this was too expensive for me. I couldn’t afford to pay that much. The clerk told me to wait a minute. When he came back he told me he would only charge me thirty-five dollars. I bought it right away.
When I got home, I found out I had spent $100. The suit cost me $35.00. The shirts were $3.00 each, the sockes where $3.00 for the six pairs, and the two paris of shoes cost me $18.00. The price of the overcoat was $35.00. I was astonished. All I really needed was a new sweater and I bought $100 worth of new clothes ! It will be a long time before I go into the department store again.
On the way home I went into the new department store. It is a big one and it has everything. They had some suits on sale and I tried on a few. I picked out a light gray suit. It looked good on me and aI bought it right away. It cost $35.00 I went to the shirt department, and I selected three shirts. Then I thought it would be nice to have some new shoes to wear with my new suit and I went to the shoe department. When I couldn’t make up my mind whether to get black or brown shoes, I decided to get both pairs. Socks were on sale and I bought six pairs.
I was just leaving the store when I saw some overcoats. They were beautiful and looked warm. I thought I would try one on. The first one fit me perfectly and the salesman said it looked good on me. The rice was forty dollars and this was too expensive for me. I couldn’t afford to pay that much. The clerk told me to wait a minute. When he came back he told me he would only charge me thirty-five dollars. I bought it right away.
When I got home, I found out I had spent $100. The suit cost me $35.00. The shirts were $3.00 each, the sockes where $3.00 for the six pairs, and the two paris of shoes cost me $18.00. The price of the overcoat was $35.00. I was astonished. All I really needed was a new sweater and I bought $100 worth of new clothes ! It will be a long time before I go into the department store again.
GOOD FOOD
My wife and I occasionally go to a nice restaurant to eat. My wife mother lives with us and she stays with children. This makes it very easy for us to go out for the evening.
Last week we went to the restaurant in a new hotel. We had a wonderful meal. First, we had soup and a salad. Then Helen, my wife, had lamb chops with peas and carrots, and I had a medium rare steak with mashed potatoes and plenty of gravy. For dessert, I had some ice cream and Helen had fresh fruit. We had several cups of coffee after we finished eating. The food was delicious, the portions were generous, and it wasn’t too expensive.
Our children don’t like to eat in restaurant because they have to sit and be quiet for a long time. They would rather go to their grand mother’s farm. Their grandmother – my mother – prepares everything they like. She usually has fried chicken, corn, and hot biscuits with honey. She always serves plenty of chocolate ice cream and cake for dessert.
I’m always surprised that my father doesn’t weigh a lot more when I see how much he eats. But he works very hard on the farm from about 5 o’clock in the morning until it gets dark in the evening.
When my parents visit us in the city, we usually take them to a restaurant. I know they enjoy it, but my father always eats something else after he gets home. The portions may be generous in the restaurant but they are still not large enough for a hungry farmer.
Last week we went to the restaurant in a new hotel. We had a wonderful meal. First, we had soup and a salad. Then Helen, my wife, had lamb chops with peas and carrots, and I had a medium rare steak with mashed potatoes and plenty of gravy. For dessert, I had some ice cream and Helen had fresh fruit. We had several cups of coffee after we finished eating. The food was delicious, the portions were generous, and it wasn’t too expensive.
Our children don’t like to eat in restaurant because they have to sit and be quiet for a long time. They would rather go to their grand mother’s farm. Their grandmother – my mother – prepares everything they like. She usually has fried chicken, corn, and hot biscuits with honey. She always serves plenty of chocolate ice cream and cake for dessert.
I’m always surprised that my father doesn’t weigh a lot more when I see how much he eats. But he works very hard on the farm from about 5 o’clock in the morning until it gets dark in the evening.
When my parents visit us in the city, we usually take them to a restaurant. I know they enjoy it, but my father always eats something else after he gets home. The portions may be generous in the restaurant but they are still not large enough for a hungry farmer.
GOING ABROAD
I’m taking my family abroad this year. My wife and I and our two children are all going. My older brother is a farmer. He’s never been overseas and he has decided to go with us. First he will go on horseback from his farm to the bus station. He’ll take a bus to our house. From here, we’ll all go together.
We are going to go by train to New York, and then take a ship to Europe. When we arrive in Europe, we’re going to rent a car and drive wherever we want to go. Then we’ll return the car. We are planning to fly home.
It took us a long time to decide where to go, but I think we have planned a very interesting trip. At first we wanted to fly because it would be faster and would give us more time for sight-seeing but my brother was very anxious to take a boat trip. The children will enjoy that too.
We don’t know how many suitcases to take. We can take as many suitcases as we wish on the train and the ship. But when we travel by car and come home by plane, we will have a problem. We can only have forty four pounds for each person on the plane, and that isn’t very much. My wife will decide what we should take with us. She can get a lot of things into each suitcase. She puts all the heavy things in the suitcase first, and then puts the lighter things in. She puts the square things in the corners and the round things in the middle. She packs very well. My brother has no problem. He just carries one small suitcase wherever he goes, and always has everything he needs.
SHOPPING FOR CLOTHES
Bob and Don go to the same university. They both needed some new clothes for school and they decided to go shopping together in the new department store.
First, the two friends went to the men’s department to see the suits that were on sale. The salesman helped them find the right size and they each tried on several suits. Bob found a light gray suit right away and he bought it. Don couldn’t make up his mind which one to buy, but he finally selected a blue suit. The boyes also bought two pairs of pants because they were not too expensive.
Next, they went to the shoe department. The clerk measured their feet and brought each of them several pairs of shoes to try on. It didn’t take them very long to get their shoes. They didn’t really need socks, but these were on sale, too, and they decided to buy several pairs.
Don had to get some shirts and Bob wanted to get a sweater. While Don went to the shirt department, Bob went to buy his sweater. It only took Don a few minutes to select his shirts, and then he went to the sweater department to meet his friend. Bob tried on every sweater in his size, but none of them looked good on him. The salesman said that he would have some more sweaters in a few days, and Bob said he would come back then.
The boys intended to go to the movies before going home. But after they paid for all their new clothes, they had only enough money to ride home on the bus.
We are going to go by train to New York, and then take a ship to Europe. When we arrive in Europe, we’re going to rent a car and drive wherever we want to go. Then we’ll return the car. We are planning to fly home.
It took us a long time to decide where to go, but I think we have planned a very interesting trip. At first we wanted to fly because it would be faster and would give us more time for sight-seeing but my brother was very anxious to take a boat trip. The children will enjoy that too.
We don’t know how many suitcases to take. We can take as many suitcases as we wish on the train and the ship. But when we travel by car and come home by plane, we will have a problem. We can only have forty four pounds for each person on the plane, and that isn’t very much. My wife will decide what we should take with us. She can get a lot of things into each suitcase. She puts all the heavy things in the suitcase first, and then puts the lighter things in. She puts the square things in the corners and the round things in the middle. She packs very well. My brother has no problem. He just carries one small suitcase wherever he goes, and always has everything he needs.
SHOPPING FOR CLOTHES
Bob and Don go to the same university. They both needed some new clothes for school and they decided to go shopping together in the new department store.
First, the two friends went to the men’s department to see the suits that were on sale. The salesman helped them find the right size and they each tried on several suits. Bob found a light gray suit right away and he bought it. Don couldn’t make up his mind which one to buy, but he finally selected a blue suit. The boyes also bought two pairs of pants because they were not too expensive.
Next, they went to the shoe department. The clerk measured their feet and brought each of them several pairs of shoes to try on. It didn’t take them very long to get their shoes. They didn’t really need socks, but these were on sale, too, and they decided to buy several pairs.
Don had to get some shirts and Bob wanted to get a sweater. While Don went to the shirt department, Bob went to buy his sweater. It only took Don a few minutes to select his shirts, and then he went to the sweater department to meet his friend. Bob tried on every sweater in his size, but none of them looked good on him. The salesman said that he would have some more sweaters in a few days, and Bob said he would come back then.
The boys intended to go to the movies before going home. But after they paid for all their new clothes, they had only enough money to ride home on the bus.
MAKING PLANS
There’s a holiday next week and I can’t decide what to do. I have a lot of work to do at home, and this is would be a good chance to do it. But I’d rather not spend the holiday that way. I can work at home all the rest of the year.
Last year I went north to the mountains. Everything was beautiful, but it is too cold this time of year. And it’s really too far to go for a short holiday. I have decided that this is not a good time to go to the mountains. But I do want to go someplace.
Perhaps this would be a good chance to go to the beach. I like to go for walks along the seashore in the warm sunshine and watch the water. It’s only about eighty miles and I could get there in about two hours. After hinking it over, I’m sure that this is a better time for the seashore than the mountains. I guess I’ll plan to go to the beach next week.
Oh, here’s a letter from Jim. He says he is going to his house in the mountains for the holiday, and he wants me to go with him. After giving it some more thought, I guess it wasn’t really too cold last year, and perhaps it might rain at the seashore and then I wouldn’t enjoy it at all. The mountains are only 300 miles away. I think I’ll write Jim right now and tell him I’ll go with him.
Last year I went north to the mountains. Everything was beautiful, but it is too cold this time of year. And it’s really too far to go for a short holiday. I have decided that this is not a good time to go to the mountains. But I do want to go someplace.
Perhaps this would be a good chance to go to the beach. I like to go for walks along the seashore in the warm sunshine and watch the water. It’s only about eighty miles and I could get there in about two hours. After hinking it over, I’m sure that this is a better time for the seashore than the mountains. I guess I’ll plan to go to the beach next week.
Oh, here’s a letter from Jim. He says he is going to his house in the mountains for the holiday, and he wants me to go with him. After giving it some more thought, I guess it wasn’t really too cold last year, and perhaps it might rain at the seashore and then I wouldn’t enjoy it at all. The mountains are only 300 miles away. I think I’ll write Jim right now and tell him I’ll go with him.
READING PRACTICE : DONALD HAMILTON
While I was eating dinner last night, my brother was watching his favourite television show. Just as I finished eating, my brother asked me a question. He wanted to know where Mr. Sullivan was born. I said I didn’t remember where Mr. Sullivan said he was born. Then, my brother asked me another question. He always asks a lot of questions. He wanted to know if I knew Bill Jones. I said I knew Bill very well. I’ve known Bill for more than ten years. We used to work in the same office. We used to have lunch together. We used to leave the office at about 12 noon every day. Once in a while Bill and I used to go to the movies in the evening. After I answered both of my brother’s questions, he started watching television again. Just as I was having a cup of coffee, Bill Jones called me on the telephone. He asked me what I was doing when he called. I said I was just having a cup of coffee. He said he was going to the movies. He wanted to know if I wanted to go with him. I said I did. My brother wanted to know if he could go, too. I said he could go. He wanted to meet Bill Jones
READING PRACTICE : THOMAS ANDERSON
My name is Thomas Anderson and I’ve been here just a few days. I’m from out of town. I have several friends here in this city and I’ve come to visit them. Actually, I used to live in this city many years ago. I was born here and my wife was born in a little town near here. We both went to school here and had many friends here. We’ve lived in New York for more than fifteen years. We live in the suburbs and I work in the city. I have to get up early every day to go to work. I work from 9 o’clock in the morning until a little after six o’clock in the evening. My wife doesn’t work. I’ve always gotten up early and gone to bed late. I’ve worked hard all my life. My wife and I speak several languages. She speaks French extremely well. She’s spoken French for many years. I speak German and a little Spanish. I’ve spoken German all my life.
READING PRACTICE : JACK MARTIN
My name is Jack Martin. I’m a lawyer and I work in an office near here. I work from about 9 o’clock in the morning until 6 o’clock each day. Actually, I work just five days a week. I don’t go to work on Saturdays or Sundays.
Usually, I have breakfast and dinner at home. I have lunch in a restaurant near my office. In the evening, I sometimes listen to the radio or watch television. I never go to the movies. Once in a while I go to a party at a friend’s house. Every night I go to bed early and go to sleep immediately. Usually, I sleep soundly all night.
Last year I used to get to work at 8 o’clock every day. I used to set my alarm clock for 6 o’clock each morning. At 6:00, I used to get up immediately and get dressed quickly. I used to have breakfast at 6:30 every morning. For breakfast, I used to have juice, oatmeal, toast, and coffee. Then I used to leave the house at about 7:45. I used to get to the office at 8 o’clock and start working immediately. Every day I used to work until 7 or 8 o’clock in the evening.
I didn’t get home until nearly 8:30 at night. I used to have dinner quite late and go right to bed. I didn’t have time to listen to the radio or watch television last year.
Usually, I have breakfast and dinner at home. I have lunch in a restaurant near my office. In the evening, I sometimes listen to the radio or watch television. I never go to the movies. Once in a while I go to a party at a friend’s house. Every night I go to bed early and go to sleep immediately. Usually, I sleep soundly all night.
Last year I used to get to work at 8 o’clock every day. I used to set my alarm clock for 6 o’clock each morning. At 6:00, I used to get up immediately and get dressed quickly. I used to have breakfast at 6:30 every morning. For breakfast, I used to have juice, oatmeal, toast, and coffee. Then I used to leave the house at about 7:45. I used to get to the office at 8 o’clock and start working immediately. Every day I used to work until 7 or 8 o’clock in the evening.
I didn’t get home until nearly 8:30 at night. I used to have dinner quite late and go right to bed. I didn’t have time to listen to the radio or watch television last year.
READING PRACTICE : JIM STONE
My name is Jim Stone. Yesterday afternoon I left the house at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon and didn’t get home until 5:30. I went to see a friend of mine. My friend, Nancy Smith, was in the hospital, and I went to visit her. We talked all afternoon. We talked about a lot of different subjects. We talked about the weather and we talked about our old friends. I asked her if she knew anybody in New York, and she said she did. Then I asked her about her friends in New York. I asked a lot of questions. She answered all of my questions. Then she askedme if I spoke French, and I said I spoke a little French. She wanted to know if I spoke French with an American accent, and I said I did. Then she asked me if I knew anybody in Paris. I said I had four or five friends in Paris. I answered almost all of her questions. Finally, I asked her if she wanted to watch television for a while, and she said she did. I said I had to go, and then I said good-bye. She asked me when I was coming back to visit her, and I said I didn’t know. She said good-bye and I left the hospital at about 5 pm.
READING PRACTICE : Mr. JONATHAN THOMAS
My name is Jonathan Thomas and I’m an engineer. Usually, I get up early, have breakfast, and go to work at eight o’clock. I work hard all day, finish wlrking at about 5:30 pm and go home right away. I have dinner at 7 o’clock and usually go to bed around 11 pm. Yesterday, I didn’t wake up until 8:00 am. I got up immediately and got dressed. I had juice and toast and left my house at 8:45. I was an hour late and didn’t get to work until 9 o’clock. I worked all day and didn’t have lunch. I finished working at 7:30 last night and went home at 8 pm. I was two hours late and didn’t have dinner until 9 o’clock. After dinner I read the newspaper for a while and made some telephone calls. I listened to the radio for two hours and went to bed at midnight. I didn’t go to sleep immediately. I slept just six hours last night. I didn’t sleep very well.
READING PRACTICE : FRANK RYAN
My name is Frank Ryan and I am a teacher of languages. I was born in 1940 in a little country town not far from here. I have a brother who is three years older than I am, and a sister who is two years younger than I am. My brother’s first name is henry and my sister’s name is Nancy. There are five of us in my family. My father and mother get up early every morning. My mother gets up at about 6 a.m. and my father get up at about 6:30. I don’t get up until 7 o’clock or 8 o’clock. My brother gets up earlier than I do, and I get up earlier than my sister does. Sundays I get up at 7:30 and some days I don’t get up until almost 8 o’clock.
After I wake up each morning, I get up and get dressed. After I get dressed, I have breakfast. Usually, I have a light breakfast but my brother has a big breakfast. I have juice, cereal and coffee for breakfast.
Once a while I have buttered toast too. My brother, Henry, usually has juice, oatmeal, toast and two or three cups of coffee. My sister Nancy, just has juice and toast for breakfast. We finish eating breakfast at about 8:15 or 8:30 every morning. I usually leave the house at 8:50 each morning and get to work at 9 o’clock. I work at the University. Usually, I work hard all morning and go out for lunch at about 12.30.My brother leaves the house earlier than I do, and he gets to work at 8:45 each morning. I finish working at about 5:45 pm. My sister finishes working earlier than I do, and my brother finishes working later than I do. We usually have dinner at about 7:15 and after dinner we read the newspaper for a while or listen to the radio. Once in a while my sister talks on the telephone and my brother watches television. We usually go to bed at about midnight.
After I wake up each morning, I get up and get dressed. After I get dressed, I have breakfast. Usually, I have a light breakfast but my brother has a big breakfast. I have juice, cereal and coffee for breakfast.
Once a while I have buttered toast too. My brother, Henry, usually has juice, oatmeal, toast and two or three cups of coffee. My sister Nancy, just has juice and toast for breakfast. We finish eating breakfast at about 8:15 or 8:30 every morning. I usually leave the house at 8:50 each morning and get to work at 9 o’clock. I work at the University. Usually, I work hard all morning and go out for lunch at about 12.30.My brother leaves the house earlier than I do, and he gets to work at 8:45 each morning. I finish working at about 5:45 pm. My sister finishes working earlier than I do, and my brother finishes working later than I do. We usually have dinner at about 7:15 and after dinner we read the newspaper for a while or listen to the radio. Once in a while my sister talks on the telephone and my brother watches television. We usually go to bed at about midnight.
READING PRACTICE : Mr. W.R. JACKSON
My name is W.R. Jackson. My first name is Willard and my middle name is Ross. I was born in November, 1937, in a small town near here. My native language is English. I speak a little Spanish, a little German and a little Japanese. I don’t speak these languages very well. I often make mistakes when I speak these languages. My wife’s name is Jane Jackson. Her family name was Smith. My wife’s native language is English, but she speaks several languages. She speaks French exceptionally well. She speaks Spanish and Protuguese, too. She speaks a little Arabic. Her father’s native language is English, but her mother’s native language is French. My wife’s father is an engineer and so am I. My wife’s father was in the hospital last year and so was I. He was in the hospital for three weeks during the month of April, and I was in the hospital for two weeks during the month of July.
READING PRACTICE : BILL JONES
My name is Bill Jones and I am a student. Actually, my first name is William. “Bill is short for William. I was born in a little country town not far from here. I was born on June 17, 1941. I have two sisters and two brothers. My father’s name is Gorge and my mother’s name is Marilyn. I have many friends in this city. Last year, I was in the hospital during the month of July. I was in the hospital for twenty-two days. My friend, John, was in the hospital for two weeks last year. He ws in the hospital during the onth of March. My friend, John, has a good radio and a phonograph. He has many phonograph records. He doesn’t have a television set, but I have one. My television set is a small one, but it’s a very good one. During the week I get up before seven o’clock and I study engineering. On Saturdays and Sundays I don’t get up early.
READING PRACTICE : GETTING OTHER PEOPLE OPINION AND IDEAS
When I was a child there were some people whose ideas I respected. My Uncle John, I thought, knew everything about the world. He had traveled and seen all there was to see. I believed anything he told me about places like Japan, Australia, and Brazil. When I wanted to know anything about baseball I asked our neighbor, Mr. Fulton; there wasn’t anything he didn’t know about that game. My teacher, miss Ellis, was an expert on nature and I always believed all of the things she told our class about plants and animal.
When I was sixteen years old I got the idea that my parents, while they were very nice people and I loved them, really didn’t know very much. I, of course, knew everything. Then when I was eighteen, I realized my mother and father had learned a lot in just two years. I now respected their opinions on different subjects. It took two years of growing up for me to realize that they had had these opinion on every subject. Others have none. The best kind is the person who studies the subject before giving an answer to the question,”What do you think ?”
When I was sixteen years old I got the idea that my parents, while they were very nice people and I loved them, really didn’t know very much. I, of course, knew everything. Then when I was eighteen, I realized my mother and father had learned a lot in just two years. I now respected their opinions on different subjects. It took two years of growing up for me to realize that they had had these opinion on every subject. Others have none. The best kind is the person who studies the subject before giving an answer to the question,”What do you think ?”
READING PRACTICE : TALKING ABOUT DAILY HABITS
I think the most terrible thing in life for my little brother is getting up in the morning. He is almost sick when my mother calls,”Herbert ! It’s seven o’clock ! Get up !”
Herby answers,”I’m coming !” and goes right back to sleep.
I’m not at all like my brother. I don’t like to go to bed at night but I don’t mind getting up in the morning. I usually wake up before my mother calls me. I jump out of bed and go into the bathroom to take my shower. I get dressed, brush my teeth, comb my hair, and get ready to go downstairs for breakfast as soon as my mother calls.
But not Herby. He just sleeps. A military band in our bedroom could not wakt him up. I call him and say,”Get up ! Mom will be up here to pull you out of bed if you don’t get up immediately!”
But he just sleeps. After calling a few more times my mother has to come upstairs and pull Herby out of bed. He always says,”I was going to get up in another minute. Really I was.”
It’s that way every day with my little brother. Perhaps some day he’ll learn to get up on time, but I don’t think so.
Herby answers,”I’m coming !” and goes right back to sleep.
I’m not at all like my brother. I don’t like to go to bed at night but I don’t mind getting up in the morning. I usually wake up before my mother calls me. I jump out of bed and go into the bathroom to take my shower. I get dressed, brush my teeth, comb my hair, and get ready to go downstairs for breakfast as soon as my mother calls.
But not Herby. He just sleeps. A military band in our bedroom could not wakt him up. I call him and say,”Get up ! Mom will be up here to pull you out of bed if you don’t get up immediately!”
But he just sleeps. After calling a few more times my mother has to come upstairs and pull Herby out of bed. He always says,”I was going to get up in another minute. Really I was.”
It’s that way every day with my little brother. Perhaps some day he’ll learn to get up on time, but I don’t think so.
READING PRACTICE : TALKING ABOUT SICKNESS AND HEALTH
Bobby Adams was very quiet as Dr. Smith examined him. The doctor looked at the boy’s throat, took his temperature and listened to his heart. Finally, he asked Bobby’s mother a few questions.
“When did Bobby begin to feel ill ?”
“This morning when he got up. He said he felt too sick to go to school today.”
“What did he had for breakfast ?”
“He had orange juice, two pieces of buttered toast, dry cereal, and milk.”
“I see.” The doctor asked Bobby,”How do you feel now, my boy ?”
Bobby answered,”Terrible. I think I’m going to die.”
The doctor said,”You won’t die. In fact, you’ll be fine by dinner time.”
“Oh, Doctor ! Do you really think so ?” Bobby’s mother looked very glad.
Dr. Smith answered,”Mrs. Adams, you son has a sichnes that a very common to boys at a time like this. It comes and goes very quickly.”
Mrs. Adams said,”But I don’t understand.”
“Today,” the Doctor told her,”the most important baseball game of the year is on television. If Bobby feels well enough to watch television this afternoon, and I think he does, he will be fine when the game is finished. It’s the only cure I know for this sickness. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must go across the street to see the Morton’s boy, Alfred. He seem to have the same thing Bobby has today.”
“When did Bobby begin to feel ill ?”
“This morning when he got up. He said he felt too sick to go to school today.”
“What did he had for breakfast ?”
“He had orange juice, two pieces of buttered toast, dry cereal, and milk.”
“I see.” The doctor asked Bobby,”How do you feel now, my boy ?”
Bobby answered,”Terrible. I think I’m going to die.”
The doctor said,”You won’t die. In fact, you’ll be fine by dinner time.”
“Oh, Doctor ! Do you really think so ?” Bobby’s mother looked very glad.
Dr. Smith answered,”Mrs. Adams, you son has a sichnes that a very common to boys at a time like this. It comes and goes very quickly.”
Mrs. Adams said,”But I don’t understand.”
“Today,” the Doctor told her,”the most important baseball game of the year is on television. If Bobby feels well enough to watch television this afternoon, and I think he does, he will be fine when the game is finished. It’s the only cure I know for this sickness. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must go across the street to see the Morton’s boy, Alfred. He seem to have the same thing Bobby has today.”
READING PRACTICE: TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER
As the American author, Mark Twain, once sain, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” It is true that everybody talk about the weather; it’s the most common subject of conversation there is. “Isn’t it a nice day ?” “Do you think it will rain ?” “I think it’s going to snow.” These are common ways of straing a conversation.
Many people think they can tell what the weather is going to be like. But they hardly ever agree with each other. One man may say,”o you see how cloudy it is in the east ? It’s going to rain tomorrow.” Another man will say,”Yes, it’s cloudy in the east. We’re going to have fine weather tomorrow.”
People often look for the weather they want. When farmerneed water, he looks for something to tell him it’s going to rain; he won’t believe anything else. When friends have a picnic, they are so sure the weather is going to clear up very quickly that they sit eating their lunch while it rais.
Almost everyone listens to what the weatherman says. But he doesn’t always tell us what we want, and once in a while he makes a mistake. Still, he probably comes closer to being correct than anyone else.
Many people think they can tell what the weather is going to be like. But they hardly ever agree with each other. One man may say,”o you see how cloudy it is in the east ? It’s going to rain tomorrow.” Another man will say,”Yes, it’s cloudy in the east. We’re going to have fine weather tomorrow.”
People often look for the weather they want. When farmerneed water, he looks for something to tell him it’s going to rain; he won’t believe anything else. When friends have a picnic, they are so sure the weather is going to clear up very quickly that they sit eating their lunch while it rais.
Almost everyone listens to what the weatherman says. But he doesn’t always tell us what we want, and once in a while he makes a mistake. Still, he probably comes closer to being correct than anyone else.
READING PRACTICE : TALKING ABOUT FUTURE ACTIVITIES
Marie works hard in an office all week. On Saturday and Sunday she has a very busy social life. This weekend she’s going to Boston. She has never been there and she wants to see as much as she can while she is there. This is Marie’s plan.
When she finishes work on Friday afternoon, she’ll take a taxi to the airport and fly to Boston. She’ll go to her hotel and leave her suitcase there. Then she’ll have dinner with some friends who live in Boston.
Mari’s friends know Boston very well. They are going to take her all the interesting place. Friday evening after dinner they are going drive around the city in their car. That way Marie will be able to see Boston at night.
On Saturday morning Marie will get up early. After she has breakfast her friends are going to drive her to the historic towns of Concord and Leexington. They willhave lunch at a restaurant in Concord. Then they will visit Harvard University, which is in Cambridge, across the river from Boston. By that time it will be evening. Marie and her friends going to go to a concert by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. There will be two symphonies by Beethoven on the program.
On Sunday, after visiting other interesting parts of the city, Marie will go to the airport and fly home. She knows she will have a good time in Boston. She’ll probably want to visit it again some day.
When she finishes work on Friday afternoon, she’ll take a taxi to the airport and fly to Boston. She’ll go to her hotel and leave her suitcase there. Then she’ll have dinner with some friends who live in Boston.
Mari’s friends know Boston very well. They are going to take her all the interesting place. Friday evening after dinner they are going drive around the city in their car. That way Marie will be able to see Boston at night.
On Saturday morning Marie will get up early. After she has breakfast her friends are going to drive her to the historic towns of Concord and Leexington. They willhave lunch at a restaurant in Concord. Then they will visit Harvard University, which is in Cambridge, across the river from Boston. By that time it will be evening. Marie and her friends going to go to a concert by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. There will be two symphonies by Beethoven on the program.
On Sunday, after visiting other interesting parts of the city, Marie will go to the airport and fly home. She knows she will have a good time in Boston. She’ll probably want to visit it again some day.
READING PRACTICE : TALKING ABOUT FAMILY AND RELATIVES
A golden wedding anniversary is a celebration of fifty years of marrying. Usually there is a big party for all the friends and relatives of the married couple. Just think what a lot of people this can be ! There are sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters – even great grandchildren. Of course many old friends come too.
Frequently, members of the family from different towns don’t see each other very often. They are glad to come to an anniversary party.
But it can be a time of confusion for the children. It’s hard for them to remember the names of all their relatives. “Albert,” one mother will say,”this is your cousin George. He’s really your second cousin because he’s Dorothy’s son. Dorothy is my first cousin. Her mother is Aunt Helen, my father’s sister.”
At times there are stepsisters, half-brothers and nieces-in-law. There are “aunts” and “uncles” who aren’t relatives at all, but good friends of the family ! It can be very confusing, but everyone has a good time.
Frequently, members of the family from different towns don’t see each other very often. They are glad to come to an anniversary party.
But it can be a time of confusion for the children. It’s hard for them to remember the names of all their relatives. “Albert,” one mother will say,”this is your cousin George. He’s really your second cousin because he’s Dorothy’s son. Dorothy is my first cousin. Her mother is Aunt Helen, my father’s sister.”
At times there are stepsisters, half-brothers and nieces-in-law. There are “aunts” and “uncles” who aren’t relatives at all, but good friends of the family ! It can be very confusing, but everyone has a good time.
READING PRACTICE : GETTING INFORMATION AND DIRECTIONS
Last week Bill had to go to New York. It was his first time there, and he didn’t know his way around the city. He had a meeting at 10 o’clock, and he wanted to be on time. The meeting was in the Peterson Building on 34th Street, but Bill didn’t know where that was. Seeing two men standing on a corner he asked them for directions.
“Pardon me”, he said,” but can you tell me how to get to the Peterson Building on 34th Street ?”
“Sure”, answered one of the men. “You can get there in five minutes. Go to the next corner and turn left. Walk three blocks and there you are.”
But the other man said,”There’s a better way. Get on the bus here at this corner. It stops right near the Peter’s Building.”
“Not , Peters”, Bill said,” Oh, that’s on East 34th Street, not West 34th. It’s quite a distance from here. You’ll have to take the subway.”
But the second man told Bill : “No, don’t go by subway. Take the crosstown bus. It goes to the Peterkin Building.”
“Peterson. Not Peterkin”, Bill looked at his watch. It was almost ten o’clock. “Thanks a lot,” he said. “I think I’ll take a taxi.”
As he got into the taxi he saw the two men arguing and pointing in different directions. Next time he wanted to know how to get to a place, he’d ask a policeman !
“Pardon me”, he said,” but can you tell me how to get to the Peterson Building on 34th Street ?”
“Sure”, answered one of the men. “You can get there in five minutes. Go to the next corner and turn left. Walk three blocks and there you are.”
But the other man said,”There’s a better way. Get on the bus here at this corner. It stops right near the Peter’s Building.”
“Not , Peters”, Bill said,” Oh, that’s on East 34th Street, not West 34th. It’s quite a distance from here. You’ll have to take the subway.”
But the second man told Bill : “No, don’t go by subway. Take the crosstown bus. It goes to the Peterkin Building.”
“Peterson. Not Peterkin”, Bill looked at his watch. It was almost ten o’clock. “Thanks a lot,” he said. “I think I’ll take a taxi.”
As he got into the taxi he saw the two men arguing and pointing in different directions. Next time he wanted to know how to get to a place, he’d ask a policeman !
READING PRACTICE : ASKING PEOPLE TO DO THING
When Henry Allen came home from the office last Thursday night he saw a note from his wife on the kitchen table. “Henry,” te note said, “ my mother isn’t well and I am going home to be with her for a few days. There are a few things that ought to be done while I’m away.”
“First, take your blue coat to the dry leaner’s and leave your shirt at the laundry. At the same time, would you please stop at the shoes repairman’s and get my brown shoes ? And go to the supermarket and get some coffee, milk and butter.
“When you get home, please telephone Mary Bickford and tell her I won’t be able to go to her party tomorrow evening. Tell her why I can’t come.
“There are three things that must be done before you go to work tomorrow morning : leave a note for the milkman asking for just one quart of milk, not two; put the garbage in the backyard; give the dog something to eat.
“If you have time on Saturday, cut the grass. Don’t forget the grass in the backyard. The newspaper boy will come on Saturday afternoon. Be sure to give him money.
“I think that’s all. I’ll telephone this evening and let you know her Mother is.
Love, Alice”
Henry looked out the window at the grass. Alice wanted him to cut. His wife had asked him to do many things. He hoped her mother would be well very quickly.
“First, take your blue coat to the dry leaner’s and leave your shirt at the laundry. At the same time, would you please stop at the shoes repairman’s and get my brown shoes ? And go to the supermarket and get some coffee, milk and butter.
“When you get home, please telephone Mary Bickford and tell her I won’t be able to go to her party tomorrow evening. Tell her why I can’t come.
“There are three things that must be done before you go to work tomorrow morning : leave a note for the milkman asking for just one quart of milk, not two; put the garbage in the backyard; give the dog something to eat.
“If you have time on Saturday, cut the grass. Don’t forget the grass in the backyard. The newspaper boy will come on Saturday afternoon. Be sure to give him money.
“I think that’s all. I’ll telephone this evening and let you know her Mother is.
Love, Alice”
Henry looked out the window at the grass. Alice wanted him to cut. His wife had asked him to do many things. He hoped her mother would be well very quickly.
READING PRACTICE : DESCRIBING OBJECTS
Yesterday was Jim’s birthday. He got a lot of presents from his friends and family. All the gifts were wrapped in colored paper. Some of the packages were large, but others were very small. Some were heavy, and others were light. One suare package was blue; there was a book in it. Another one was long and narrow; it had an umbrella in it. Jim’s sister gave him a big, round package. He thought it was a ball, but it was not. When he removed the yellow paper that covered it, he saw that it was a globe of the world.
After that his brother gave Jim another gift. It was a big box wrapped in green paper. Jim opened it and found another box covered with red paper. He removed the paper and saw a third box; this one was blue in color.
Everyone laughed as Jim opened the boxes. There were six of them! In the last one he found a small white envelope. There was a piece of paper in the envelope which said : “Go to the big bedroom. Look in the closet near the high window. You will see three suitcases : a black one, a brown one, and a gray one. Your birthday present is in one of these.”
Jim went in the large bedroom. He went to the closet and began opening the suitcases. He had to open all of them before he saw his brother’s present. He was very happy. It was just what Jim wanted – a portable typewriter.
After that his brother gave Jim another gift. It was a big box wrapped in green paper. Jim opened it and found another box covered with red paper. He removed the paper and saw a third box; this one was blue in color.
Everyone laughed as Jim opened the boxes. There were six of them! In the last one he found a small white envelope. There was a piece of paper in the envelope which said : “Go to the big bedroom. Look in the closet near the high window. You will see three suitcases : a black one, a brown one, and a gray one. Your birthday present is in one of these.”
Jim went in the large bedroom. He went to the closet and began opening the suitcases. He had to open all of them before he saw his brother’s present. He was very happy. It was just what Jim wanted – a portable typewriter.
OIL
Oil like coal and natural gas, is a fossil fuel. Fuel fossils are made from the remains of dead plants and animals. It is thought that oil comes from tiny plants and animals whose bodies fell in their millions to the seabed when they died. There they were covered by sands and muds, which later hardened into rocks. In the course of millions of years, the plant and animal material underwent chemical changes and eventually turned into oil.
Oil deposit lie hidden deep beneath the surface of the earth. They have to be searched for. Unless the oil actually comes to the surface, it is impossible to be certain that any is present.
The rising demand for oil products keeps the oil companies busy exploring new oil fields, and drilling new wells. Exploration teams are sent to distant regions to search for oil. If the exploration shows good results, the company decides to drill a well. Thus the exploration phase ends, and the production phase begins.
At the beginning of the production phase, gas pressure from below causes the crude oil to gush to the surface with great force. After some time, however, the gas pressure is less and a pumping station must be built to bring up the oil. Wells continue to produce oil for several years, until production becomes so low that they must be abandoned.
Crude oil has to be transported to a refinery to be made into the many products that are useful to man, such as petrol, kerosene, diesel oil, lubricants, asphalt. Further processing gives aviation fuel, greases, fertilizers, insecticides, man-made fibres and many other things.
The oil industry has a very complex and widespread distribution system. Ocean tankers, pipelines, rail tankers, and road tankers are used to bring the oil products to sea ports, inland depots, can and drum factories, and to tens of thousands of petrol stations in cities and along motorways.
More than any other, the oil industry influences the lives of men and women everywhere. From the largest to simples home, whose need may only be kerosene for its lamps and stoves, there is daily need for large quantities of the various oil products.
Oil deposit lie hidden deep beneath the surface of the earth. They have to be searched for. Unless the oil actually comes to the surface, it is impossible to be certain that any is present.
The rising demand for oil products keeps the oil companies busy exploring new oil fields, and drilling new wells. Exploration teams are sent to distant regions to search for oil. If the exploration shows good results, the company decides to drill a well. Thus the exploration phase ends, and the production phase begins.
At the beginning of the production phase, gas pressure from below causes the crude oil to gush to the surface with great force. After some time, however, the gas pressure is less and a pumping station must be built to bring up the oil. Wells continue to produce oil for several years, until production becomes so low that they must be abandoned.
Crude oil has to be transported to a refinery to be made into the many products that are useful to man, such as petrol, kerosene, diesel oil, lubricants, asphalt. Further processing gives aviation fuel, greases, fertilizers, insecticides, man-made fibres and many other things.
The oil industry has a very complex and widespread distribution system. Ocean tankers, pipelines, rail tankers, and road tankers are used to bring the oil products to sea ports, inland depots, can and drum factories, and to tens of thousands of petrol stations in cities and along motorways.
More than any other, the oil industry influences the lives of men and women everywhere. From the largest to simples home, whose need may only be kerosene for its lamps and stoves, there is daily need for large quantities of the various oil products.
VOLCANOES
A volcano is a mountain surrounding an opening in the earth’s crust. Steam, gases, lava, ashes and other materials are forced out almost continuously from an active volcano. A dormant volcano, on the other hand, erupts at long intervals. In an extinct volcano, the crater has long been closed up with cold, solid lava.
Our earth was a sphere of gases which slowly cooled off from the outside, forming a thin crust of cold, solid materials, containing hot liquid, magma, and gases. It was the very high pressure of the gases forcing the magma through weak parts in the earth’s crust that formed volcanoes.
There are some 500 volcanoes in our country, of which about 180 are still active. They are found in three rows. The first row stretches over a distance of 7,000 km from North Sumatra Java, the northern row of islands of Nusa Tenggara, lying outside those rows, are not volcanic.
Most of our volcanoes are in Java. The most active one is Mount Merapi at the north of Yogya. The northern part of the crater has a high wall, so in eruptions the lava flows in every direction. The hot lava slowly cools off into what is called “lahar”.
In the rainy seaso, when the cool “lahar” on Merapi’s slopes in hit by rain it flows down the slopes with great force, destroying everything in its path. The flow of “lahar” mixed with rocks fills up the rivers, while sand covers the fields.
The eruptions of sea volcanoes cause high waves, flooding regions on the coasts. This happened when Krakatau erupted in 1833.The sound of the eruption was heard from places as far away as India, Irian, and Australia, distances of 3,600 to 4,800 km from Krakatau. Around 18 cubic km of solid materials were thrown up. The skies above places as far away as the Southern Pacific, Africa, and South America were darkened. 30 metre high waves flooded the coasts of west Java and Lampung, sweeping away villages and 35,000 people.
However, volcanoes are also a great blessing. Volcanoes and mountains force the clouds to rise, and cool them off, causing them to drop the water they contain in the form of rain. The materials thrown up by volcanoes contain minerals needed by plants. The higher regions, being cool, are good for coffee, tea and other plantations. The woods on the slopes protect the soil against erosion, while the soil acts as a water reservoir giving water to the river.
Volcanic eruptions may destroy life, but they also make the land fertile.
Our earth was a sphere of gases which slowly cooled off from the outside, forming a thin crust of cold, solid materials, containing hot liquid, magma, and gases. It was the very high pressure of the gases forcing the magma through weak parts in the earth’s crust that formed volcanoes.
There are some 500 volcanoes in our country, of which about 180 are still active. They are found in three rows. The first row stretches over a distance of 7,000 km from North Sumatra Java, the northern row of islands of Nusa Tenggara, lying outside those rows, are not volcanic.
Most of our volcanoes are in Java. The most active one is Mount Merapi at the north of Yogya. The northern part of the crater has a high wall, so in eruptions the lava flows in every direction. The hot lava slowly cools off into what is called “lahar”.
In the rainy seaso, when the cool “lahar” on Merapi’s slopes in hit by rain it flows down the slopes with great force, destroying everything in its path. The flow of “lahar” mixed with rocks fills up the rivers, while sand covers the fields.
The eruptions of sea volcanoes cause high waves, flooding regions on the coasts. This happened when Krakatau erupted in 1833.The sound of the eruption was heard from places as far away as India, Irian, and Australia, distances of 3,600 to 4,800 km from Krakatau. Around 18 cubic km of solid materials were thrown up. The skies above places as far away as the Southern Pacific, Africa, and South America were darkened. 30 metre high waves flooded the coasts of west Java and Lampung, sweeping away villages and 35,000 people.
However, volcanoes are also a great blessing. Volcanoes and mountains force the clouds to rise, and cool them off, causing them to drop the water they contain in the form of rain. The materials thrown up by volcanoes contain minerals needed by plants. The higher regions, being cool, are good for coffee, tea and other plantations. The woods on the slopes protect the soil against erosion, while the soil acts as a water reservoir giving water to the river.
Volcanic eruptions may destroy life, but they also make the land fertile.
THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATION
In the spring of 1945, the representatives of 50 nations met in a conference in San Fransisco, USA., to set up an organization for the maintenance of friendly relations and co-operation among the nations of the world. The second world war had then been going on for over five years. Millions of people had been killed, or had been suffering from the effects of the war. It was hoped that the organization would be able to prevent wars in the future. At the end of the conference, the delegates signed the United Nations Charter, and the United Nations Organizations was born.
The United Nation’s headquarters are in New York. Here the General Assembly, in which all the member-states are represented, meets to discuss matters concerning the world’s general problems. The most important official of the Organization is the Secretary General. If something happens somewhere, he is the first man to take measures to prevent things from getting worse. Disputes between member-states are discussed and settled by the Security Council. On the basis of resolutions passed by the Security Council, the U.N. can send troops to keep peace in troubled countries.
The U.N. contributed a great deal to the settlement of the Dutch-Indonesian problem over the independence of Indonesia. As the dispute became serious and developed into a war, the Security Council ordered a cease-fire, and under the auspices of the United Nations negotiations began, leading to the recognition by the Dutch government of Indonesia’s independence in 1949. Also the status of West Irian, now Irian Jaya, as a province of Indonesia, was settled with the help of the United Nations.
Besides the Security Council, there are many other important U.N. agencies. UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is concerned with the spreading of knowledge and improvement of education throughout the world.
Unicef (the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) is a popular agency, known all over the world because of its activities in promoting the welfare and health of children.
The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) helps developing countries to improve the people’s diet and farming methods.When the calendar shows 24th October this year, the United Nations Organization will have been serving mankind one more year, since it was born on 24th October 1945.
The United Nation’s headquarters are in New York. Here the General Assembly, in which all the member-states are represented, meets to discuss matters concerning the world’s general problems. The most important official of the Organization is the Secretary General. If something happens somewhere, he is the first man to take measures to prevent things from getting worse. Disputes between member-states are discussed and settled by the Security Council. On the basis of resolutions passed by the Security Council, the U.N. can send troops to keep peace in troubled countries.
The U.N. contributed a great deal to the settlement of the Dutch-Indonesian problem over the independence of Indonesia. As the dispute became serious and developed into a war, the Security Council ordered a cease-fire, and under the auspices of the United Nations negotiations began, leading to the recognition by the Dutch government of Indonesia’s independence in 1949. Also the status of West Irian, now Irian Jaya, as a province of Indonesia, was settled with the help of the United Nations.
Besides the Security Council, there are many other important U.N. agencies. UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is concerned with the spreading of knowledge and improvement of education throughout the world.
Unicef (the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) is a popular agency, known all over the world because of its activities in promoting the welfare and health of children.
The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) helps developing countries to improve the people’s diet and farming methods.When the calendar shows 24th October this year, the United Nations Organization will have been serving mankind one more year, since it was born on 24th October 1945.
DRIVE SAFELY
Driving a car is a pleasure, but the pleasure is often spoiled by a traffic accident caused by a careless driver. It is therefore very important to learn to drive safely, to save n’es own life and other’s lives as well.
If one wants to learn to drive well, one should go to a good driving school. A competent instructor will teach the student how to perform the necessary operations, and tell him all about the traffic rules. It is essential that the student driver learns those rules thoroughly. By the end of his driving lessons, the student should be able to drive the car with skill and ease.
Let us compare two different drivers, Mr Waspada and Mr Lengah. The former is very skillful and careful, the latter is not.
Mr Waspada is at ease at the wheel. After he starts the engine, the car moves smoothly, and gradually goes faster until it reaches a comfortable speed. If he needs to stop, he slows down, and with a gentle pressure on the brake pedal he stops the car. Mr. Lengah on the other hand, is a nervous driver. When after some difficulty he succeeds in starting the engine, the car jumps forward, and moves jerkily. Sometimes Mr. Lengah drives dangerously close to the car in front of him. When he realizes it, he presses hard on the brake pedal and the car stops abruptly, endangering the car driving behind him.
Once Mr. Lengah was driving his car, but his mind was not on the road. He was thinking of the argument he had had with his wife before he left home. Suddenly he heard a policeman’s whistle. He saw a policemen signaling to him to stop, so he pulled up at the kerb. Mr. Lengah had driven against a red light. Fortunately the policeman was a kind one. He did not fine him. He only told Mr. Lengah to be more careful, and to pay attention to the traffic lights. “Otherwise you may wind up in the graveyard,” the policeman added.
If one wants to learn to drive well, one should go to a good driving school. A competent instructor will teach the student how to perform the necessary operations, and tell him all about the traffic rules. It is essential that the student driver learns those rules thoroughly. By the end of his driving lessons, the student should be able to drive the car with skill and ease.
Let us compare two different drivers, Mr Waspada and Mr Lengah. The former is very skillful and careful, the latter is not.
Mr Waspada is at ease at the wheel. After he starts the engine, the car moves smoothly, and gradually goes faster until it reaches a comfortable speed. If he needs to stop, he slows down, and with a gentle pressure on the brake pedal he stops the car. Mr. Lengah on the other hand, is a nervous driver. When after some difficulty he succeeds in starting the engine, the car jumps forward, and moves jerkily. Sometimes Mr. Lengah drives dangerously close to the car in front of him. When he realizes it, he presses hard on the brake pedal and the car stops abruptly, endangering the car driving behind him.
Once Mr. Lengah was driving his car, but his mind was not on the road. He was thinking of the argument he had had with his wife before he left home. Suddenly he heard a policeman’s whistle. He saw a policemen signaling to him to stop, so he pulled up at the kerb. Mr. Lengah had driven against a red light. Fortunately the policeman was a kind one. He did not fine him. He only told Mr. Lengah to be more careful, and to pay attention to the traffic lights. “Otherwise you may wind up in the graveyard,” the policeman added.
THE SUN AS SOURCE OF ENERGY
As the supplies of fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – are running out, scientists have been working hard trying to find ways of obtaining other kinds of fuel. They have succeeded in finding one that is very efficient : nuclear fuel. However, the ores which produce this kind of energy, e.g. uranium ores, will eventually run out, too. Fortunately a source of abundant energy, which is virtually inexhaustible – sunlight – has been waiting for the scientists.
The sun sends out energy equal to that produced by 10,000 million tons of coal every second, of which the earth receives only one two-billionth part. It is estimated that the energy which falls on one square metre of the earth’s surface per second can be used to keep about seven 100 – watt lamps burning. The sun’s energy is really abundant, but only a limited amount has so fart been used by man.
The sun can also be used as a source of fuel for power plants. Such power plants are still in the experimental stages. However, it is hoped that they will lead the way to a wider use of solar energy to run machines.
Solar energy can be used in telephone communications, space technology, and farming. Solar batteries have been in experimental use for a number of years to power telephone lines. They are now being used to recharge batteries which power instruments used in space vehicles. Scientists have also succeeded in developing solar pumps that can raise water for irrigation.
The sun seems to be an ideal source of energy for a great many uses. Yet to change the abundant sunlight into energy is a different matter. The instruments needed to catch the sun’s energy are still very expensive. However, once man succeeds in catching even a small part of that energy, nobody would worry about running out of fossil fuels or uranium ores.
It lies in the hands of the scientists to make this dream come true.
The sun sends out energy equal to that produced by 10,000 million tons of coal every second, of which the earth receives only one two-billionth part. It is estimated that the energy which falls on one square metre of the earth’s surface per second can be used to keep about seven 100 – watt lamps burning. The sun’s energy is really abundant, but only a limited amount has so fart been used by man.
The sun can also be used as a source of fuel for power plants. Such power plants are still in the experimental stages. However, it is hoped that they will lead the way to a wider use of solar energy to run machines.
Solar energy can be used in telephone communications, space technology, and farming. Solar batteries have been in experimental use for a number of years to power telephone lines. They are now being used to recharge batteries which power instruments used in space vehicles. Scientists have also succeeded in developing solar pumps that can raise water for irrigation.
The sun seems to be an ideal source of energy for a great many uses. Yet to change the abundant sunlight into energy is a different matter. The instruments needed to catch the sun’s energy are still very expensive. However, once man succeeds in catching even a small part of that energy, nobody would worry about running out of fossil fuels or uranium ores.
It lies in the hands of the scientists to make this dream come true.
SURVIVAL TECHNIQUES IN THE ANIMAL WORLD
Domestic animals like cats, dogs and sheep have been trained to become man’s friends. They are harmless and do not attack man, their benefactor, who gives them food, shelter and protection. Some animals, which are not really domestic, have been trained to live with man as pets, for example, birds and monkeys, even snakes and bears.
Animals which live in freedom in the woods may harm people. To survive they have to attack other animals and defend themselves against other animals. For this purpose a tiger has strong teeth, and clows with nails as sharp as knives. A rhinoceros has one or two sharp horns with which it attacks other animals, or occasionally, human beings.
Some animals, however, like the antelope and the ostrich depend on speed. Others depend on a very good sense of smell. They can smell their prey or their enemy at a great distance. Some birds, like the eagle, have very keen sight. Dogs bark at what they think are their enemies in the hope of frightening them. This is an example of bluff, or psychological warfare.
Chemical warfare is also found in the animal world. For instance, the cuttlefish when attacked, ejects an ink like liquid behind which it can hide. Snakes use poison to kill their enemies. Animals which have neither teeth nor claws, neither speed nor any chemical weapon, use camouflage to survive. They have the same colour as their surroundings, or they can change their colour to match their background. In that way, they are not easily seen by their enemies.
Compared with survival techniques of other animals, the human animal seems practically defenceless. In fact, however, he possesses the most powerful means of offence of defence : his brain. Man has the ability to think. With this ability he can think of ways to defend himself, or to escape from his enemies. He can make weapons to attack even the fiercest animal in the forest, or the smallest disease-causing bacteria, which is invisible to the naked eye, but which is not too small for the human brain to detect.
Animals which live in freedom in the woods may harm people. To survive they have to attack other animals and defend themselves against other animals. For this purpose a tiger has strong teeth, and clows with nails as sharp as knives. A rhinoceros has one or two sharp horns with which it attacks other animals, or occasionally, human beings.
Some animals, however, like the antelope and the ostrich depend on speed. Others depend on a very good sense of smell. They can smell their prey or their enemy at a great distance. Some birds, like the eagle, have very keen sight. Dogs bark at what they think are their enemies in the hope of frightening them. This is an example of bluff, or psychological warfare.
Chemical warfare is also found in the animal world. For instance, the cuttlefish when attacked, ejects an ink like liquid behind which it can hide. Snakes use poison to kill their enemies. Animals which have neither teeth nor claws, neither speed nor any chemical weapon, use camouflage to survive. They have the same colour as their surroundings, or they can change their colour to match their background. In that way, they are not easily seen by their enemies.
Compared with survival techniques of other animals, the human animal seems practically defenceless. In fact, however, he possesses the most powerful means of offence of defence : his brain. Man has the ability to think. With this ability he can think of ways to defend himself, or to escape from his enemies. He can make weapons to attack even the fiercest animal in the forest, or the smallest disease-causing bacteria, which is invisible to the naked eye, but which is not too small for the human brain to detect.
POLAR BEAR
Polar bears are adapted to life in the polar region, around the North Pole. Their bodies have special features that work particularly well in the polar seas. For instance, they have sharp and powerful claws for catching their food, which is mainly seals. In their own environment, they are excellent hunters; but if they had to live off the birds and squirrels in other places, they would die.
The science that studies the way that different forms of life are adapted to their particular environment is called ecology.
The first lesson of ecology, is that all life in an environment depends on other forms of life. Polar bears depend on seals, which can live only where they do because they depend on a particular kind of fish which are found in the Arctic seas.
There are certain important cycles in nature that show how plants and animals depend on each other;for example, the nitrogen cycle. Plants take nitrogen compounds from the soil and turn them into proteins. Animals eat tese proteins and return some of them to the soil as waste products, the rest when they die. Another cycle is the oxygen cycle. When we breathe, we take in oxygen, and give out carbon dioxide. Plants absorb it to make sugar compounds and in the process oxygen is produced and released to the atmosphere.
In an ideal ecological system, living things exist in balance. However, particularly where man interferes, a species may become too successful and abundant, and the balance is destroyed. For instance, the use of pesticides to kill particular plant pest may also kill predatory insects and even birds, and thus other pests are allowed to increase. Therefore, great care is needed in the use of pesticides.
Through ecology we try to restorethe balance in the ecological system, and thus save the world from devastation.
The science that studies the way that different forms of life are adapted to their particular environment is called ecology.
The first lesson of ecology, is that all life in an environment depends on other forms of life. Polar bears depend on seals, which can live only where they do because they depend on a particular kind of fish which are found in the Arctic seas.
There are certain important cycles in nature that show how plants and animals depend on each other;for example, the nitrogen cycle. Plants take nitrogen compounds from the soil and turn them into proteins. Animals eat tese proteins and return some of them to the soil as waste products, the rest when they die. Another cycle is the oxygen cycle. When we breathe, we take in oxygen, and give out carbon dioxide. Plants absorb it to make sugar compounds and in the process oxygen is produced and released to the atmosphere.
In an ideal ecological system, living things exist in balance. However, particularly where man interferes, a species may become too successful and abundant, and the balance is destroyed. For instance, the use of pesticides to kill particular plant pest may also kill predatory insects and even birds, and thus other pests are allowed to increase. Therefore, great care is needed in the use of pesticides.
Through ecology we try to restorethe balance in the ecological system, and thus save the world from devastation.
RADEN AJENG KARTINI
The name of Raden Ajeng Kartini is closely associated with the emancipation movement of Indonesian women. Her activities were confined within the walls of her father’s residence in Japara, Central Java. Yet, her work and ideas have greatly influenced government policy an our thoughts and outlook concerning the status and rights of women.
Kartini lived at a time when education, employment outside the home, freedom to decide in marriage, and all such things, were beyond the woman’s reach. She saw this with deep sorrow and resentment. Kartini was born in 1879, at a time when schools were still rare, and only meant to be attended by the sons of government officials. As a daughter of a regent, a nobleman of the highest rank in the local government, Kartini did enjoy elementary education. Through her own reading and correspondence with Dutch friends she became acquainted with the greatest thinkers of the West.
For a girl in her teens at that time, Kartini was very progressive in her ideas. When her father did not allow her to continue her studies in Holland, she waas near frustration. However, fortunately, through her brother’s comforting and encouraging words, she got over her depression, and decided to set up a girl’s school within the confines of the regent’s residence. She gathered the girls from the neighbourhood, and taught them to read and write, and other useful skills. Another blow befell her when she was required to marry the regent of Rembang, a man of middle age who had already been married. It was against Javanese custom to disobey a father’s wish, so she left her work in Japara to her sister, and went to Rembang. She had a faint hope that as a regent’s wife she would be able to accomplish more than as a regent’s daughter.
In Rembang, the rist thing she did was to set up a school for girls, but even here she did not see the completion of her work. She died soon after giving birth to a son, at the age of 25.
Kartini’s ideas and ideals are expressed in her letters, which have been edited under the title of “Through Darkness into Light”, originally written in Dutch, now translated into Indonesian.
Kartini lived at a time when education, employment outside the home, freedom to decide in marriage, and all such things, were beyond the woman’s reach. She saw this with deep sorrow and resentment. Kartini was born in 1879, at a time when schools were still rare, and only meant to be attended by the sons of government officials. As a daughter of a regent, a nobleman of the highest rank in the local government, Kartini did enjoy elementary education. Through her own reading and correspondence with Dutch friends she became acquainted with the greatest thinkers of the West.
For a girl in her teens at that time, Kartini was very progressive in her ideas. When her father did not allow her to continue her studies in Holland, she waas near frustration. However, fortunately, through her brother’s comforting and encouraging words, she got over her depression, and decided to set up a girl’s school within the confines of the regent’s residence. She gathered the girls from the neighbourhood, and taught them to read and write, and other useful skills. Another blow befell her when she was required to marry the regent of Rembang, a man of middle age who had already been married. It was against Javanese custom to disobey a father’s wish, so she left her work in Japara to her sister, and went to Rembang. She had a faint hope that as a regent’s wife she would be able to accomplish more than as a regent’s daughter.
In Rembang, the rist thing she did was to set up a school for girls, but even here she did not see the completion of her work. She died soon after giving birth to a son, at the age of 25.
Kartini’s ideas and ideals are expressed in her letters, which have been edited under the title of “Through Darkness into Light”, originally written in Dutch, now translated into Indonesian.
THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
The human body is made up of countless millions of cells. Food is needed to build up new cells and replace parts that are damaged or worn out so that the body can grow. Food is also needed as fuel to provide energy for each cell, so that it can carry out its work properly.
However, the food that we take into our mouth must be changed into substances that can be carried in the blood to the places where they are needed. This process is called digestion.
The first digestive process takes place in the mouth. Some of the food, bread, rice and meat, for example is broken up into small pieces by the action of the teeth, and is mixed with saliva, a juice secreted by glands in the mouth. Saliva is the first of the digestive juices which the food meets on its way through the digestive system. These juices contain enzymes which help break down the food into particles that can be absorbed by the blood. The enzyme in saliva is responsible for breaking down carbohydrates.
From the mouth, food passes through the esophagus, into the stomach. Here the digestive juices made by the cells in the stomach wall play their part. The food is mixed with the juices for several hours, and when it is very nearly liuid, it is squeezed, through into the small intestine. Here more digestive juices get to work. Some are poured out by the lining of the intestine itself, some by a gland called the pancreas, and others by the organ known as liver. All the time the muscular walls of the intestine are squeezing, mixing and moving the food onwards.
In a few hours there is nothing left of the original bread, rice, meat or vegetables, but a mixture of all the chemical building blocks they were made of. These are small enough for the cells of the intestine to deal with. The intestine has many thousands of microscopic branch projections from its walls called “villi”.
By now the original foodstuffs have been changed into acids. These are soon absorbed by the villi and passed into the blood stream. What is left is waste matter, which is expelled from the anus.
The digestive system works best when a person enjoys his food, and the people with whom he is eating. Eating too fast, or during an argument, may cause pain in the stomach. This is called indigestion. It is therefore important to eat the right kind of food and to eat it in the right way.
However, the food that we take into our mouth must be changed into substances that can be carried in the blood to the places where they are needed. This process is called digestion.
The first digestive process takes place in the mouth. Some of the food, bread, rice and meat, for example is broken up into small pieces by the action of the teeth, and is mixed with saliva, a juice secreted by glands in the mouth. Saliva is the first of the digestive juices which the food meets on its way through the digestive system. These juices contain enzymes which help break down the food into particles that can be absorbed by the blood. The enzyme in saliva is responsible for breaking down carbohydrates.
From the mouth, food passes through the esophagus, into the stomach. Here the digestive juices made by the cells in the stomach wall play their part. The food is mixed with the juices for several hours, and when it is very nearly liuid, it is squeezed, through into the small intestine. Here more digestive juices get to work. Some are poured out by the lining of the intestine itself, some by a gland called the pancreas, and others by the organ known as liver. All the time the muscular walls of the intestine are squeezing, mixing and moving the food onwards.
In a few hours there is nothing left of the original bread, rice, meat or vegetables, but a mixture of all the chemical building blocks they were made of. These are small enough for the cells of the intestine to deal with. The intestine has many thousands of microscopic branch projections from its walls called “villi”.
By now the original foodstuffs have been changed into acids. These are soon absorbed by the villi and passed into the blood stream. What is left is waste matter, which is expelled from the anus.
The digestive system works best when a person enjoys his food, and the people with whom he is eating. Eating too fast, or during an argument, may cause pain in the stomach. This is called indigestion. It is therefore important to eat the right kind of food and to eat it in the right way.
POPULATION PROBLEMS
As early as 1798 Thomas Robert Malthus, an English economist, expressed his concern about the rapid growth of the world’s population in his “Essay on the Principle of Population”. He stated that population increased in a geometrical ratio, while subsistence increased only in an arithmetical ratio. Consequently, unless there were checks on the growth of the population, a dearth of material for subsistence would soon prevail. All plans for social reform would be in vain unless they included a lowering of the birthrate.
It is now early 200 years since Malthus’s views were first published, and even though science and technology have advanced far and been very successful in increasing subsistence, there is still no certainty about the future unless population groth is checked. “Zero population growth” has become a popular motto in campaigns for family planning and birth control.
In 1930 Indonesia had a population of 60 million; in 1954 it was 81 million; the present estimate is about 150 million. The average annual rate of increase is around 2.2 percent. If the population continues to grow at this rate, in the year 2000 we will have a population of over 200 million.
To get an idea of how enormous and complex the problems are, let us suppose that the population increases by 2 percent per year. That means about three million more people each year, which means that each year there will be three million more people to be fed, housed, clothed, and educated; in short to be taken care of. Cities will grow larger and larger, streets will be more and more crowded.
There will be more cars, moremotorcycles, and consequently accidents will be more likely to happen. As peopl’s needs increase, so industries will grow up to product the things needed for building roads, houses and cars; for making clothes, food stuffs, and so on. However, besides its positive role as a producer of goods and employer of labour, industry has an undesirable side effect.Itis a source of pollution. It pollutes the air, the soil, the water in wells and rivers, and sometimes even the water of the sea. Legislative measures should be taken to prevent,or at least minimize pollution.
It is, therefore, of the greatest importance that population growth be checked. To do thisit is necessary to know its causes. They are a high birthrate and a low death rate. Of course, if the death rate is low, it should not be tampered with; it is in fact, the result of better living conditions, and better medical care. Thus there is no alternative but to lower the birthrate by encouraging birth control. The government’s campaign for birth control must succeed. If it does not, all our plans and all our efforts to improve the nation’s prosperity will be in vain.
It is now early 200 years since Malthus’s views were first published, and even though science and technology have advanced far and been very successful in increasing subsistence, there is still no certainty about the future unless population groth is checked. “Zero population growth” has become a popular motto in campaigns for family planning and birth control.
In 1930 Indonesia had a population of 60 million; in 1954 it was 81 million; the present estimate is about 150 million. The average annual rate of increase is around 2.2 percent. If the population continues to grow at this rate, in the year 2000 we will have a population of over 200 million.
To get an idea of how enormous and complex the problems are, let us suppose that the population increases by 2 percent per year. That means about three million more people each year, which means that each year there will be three million more people to be fed, housed, clothed, and educated; in short to be taken care of. Cities will grow larger and larger, streets will be more and more crowded.
There will be more cars, moremotorcycles, and consequently accidents will be more likely to happen. As peopl’s needs increase, so industries will grow up to product the things needed for building roads, houses and cars; for making clothes, food stuffs, and so on. However, besides its positive role as a producer of goods and employer of labour, industry has an undesirable side effect.Itis a source of pollution. It pollutes the air, the soil, the water in wells and rivers, and sometimes even the water of the sea. Legislative measures should be taken to prevent,or at least minimize pollution.
It is, therefore, of the greatest importance that population growth be checked. To do thisit is necessary to know its causes. They are a high birthrate and a low death rate. Of course, if the death rate is low, it should not be tampered with; it is in fact, the result of better living conditions, and better medical care. Thus there is no alternative but to lower the birthrate by encouraging birth control. The government’s campaign for birth control must succeed. If it does not, all our plans and all our efforts to improve the nation’s prosperity will be in vain.
AIR POLLUTION
Every day both industrial and domestic chimneys emit vast amounts of dirt and harmful gases. The exhaust fumes from thousands of car engines add to this huge volume of fifth.
Sulphur dioxide, roduced mainly by the burning of coal and oil, combines with the moisture of the air to form sulphuric acid. This eats away stone, brick and even metal. Doctors reason that if it can do this, it must damage the lungs of people who breathe it, especially over a period of many years.
Usually the effect of air pollution are not instantly noticeable. Occasionally, thoug, there have been catastrophic “smogs” (the word smog is a combination of smoke and fog). One of these occurred in the town of Donora, Pennsylvania, in the U.S.A. The valley in which the town lies traps the smoke and fumes from the steelworks and chemical plants that fillit. One day, in October 1948, unusual weather conditions prevented the smog from lifting by the afternoon, as it normally did. Instead, it hung over the town fro three days, by the end of the third day, nearly 6000 people were ill. More than 60 percent of those aged 65 and over were seriously ill. 20 people died. At last a heavy rain shower cleared the smog.
One of the chief causes of air pollution in many cities is the internal combustion engine. Cars, lorries, and buses give out the gas called carbon monoxide, which in high concentrations can kill a person in a confined space. Cars also throw into the air fine particles of asbestos from their brake-linings. These can cause damage to the lungs when breathed in.
Another source of pollution is the nuclear power stations which produce a great amount of poisonous radio-active waste. This waste must be sealed up and buried beneath the ground or seabed so carefully that there is no danger of leakage. Some scientists are very worried that we are not being careful enough with nuclear waste. It may not all be buried safely. Also, they fear there may be a serious accident at a nuclear power station, releasing deadly radiation into the air.
Sulphur dioxide, roduced mainly by the burning of coal and oil, combines with the moisture of the air to form sulphuric acid. This eats away stone, brick and even metal. Doctors reason that if it can do this, it must damage the lungs of people who breathe it, especially over a period of many years.
Usually the effect of air pollution are not instantly noticeable. Occasionally, thoug, there have been catastrophic “smogs” (the word smog is a combination of smoke and fog). One of these occurred in the town of Donora, Pennsylvania, in the U.S.A. The valley in which the town lies traps the smoke and fumes from the steelworks and chemical plants that fillit. One day, in October 1948, unusual weather conditions prevented the smog from lifting by the afternoon, as it normally did. Instead, it hung over the town fro three days, by the end of the third day, nearly 6000 people were ill. More than 60 percent of those aged 65 and over were seriously ill. 20 people died. At last a heavy rain shower cleared the smog.
One of the chief causes of air pollution in many cities is the internal combustion engine. Cars, lorries, and buses give out the gas called carbon monoxide, which in high concentrations can kill a person in a confined space. Cars also throw into the air fine particles of asbestos from their brake-linings. These can cause damage to the lungs when breathed in.
Another source of pollution is the nuclear power stations which produce a great amount of poisonous radio-active waste. This waste must be sealed up and buried beneath the ground or seabed so carefully that there is no danger of leakage. Some scientists are very worried that we are not being careful enough with nuclear waste. It may not all be buried safely. Also, they fear there may be a serious accident at a nuclear power station, releasing deadly radiation into the air.
Thursday, 9 April 2009
THE BANKING SYSTEM
A Bank is an institution with twofold function. First, it keeps people’s money safe and readily available. In this way it functions as a savings bank. Secondly, it lends money to people who need it. It is also, therefore, money-lender.
Anyone can go to any bank and deposit money, that is, ask the bank to look after it. He becomes a customer of the bank. When he deposits money, we say he opens a bank account. There are two types of bank account. The first is a current account.When a customer deposits money in the safe-keeping of the bank, he can at any time claim the repayment of the money, in prt or in whole, by means of a written order to the bank signed by himself. Such an order is called a cheque.
The second kind of account is the deposit account. When the bank receves money on deposit, the customer can demand its return at the end of an ageed term of notice of withdrawal a month, three months, six months or a year. The bank pays interest on money in deposit accounts.
Just as they receive deposits from their customers, so the banks lend money to their customers. A person who wants to borrow money has to give the bank something as security, for instance, a certificate showing ownership of property. When a customer has a bank loan, the bank charges him interest on the money he has borrowed. The bank does not always give the borrower actual money. It may credit his account with the amount borrowed, exactly as if he had deposited that amount at the bank.
The banks’ customers are given cheque-books, and can draw cheques up to the amount of money they have in their accounts, whether they have deposited or borrowed the money. They can then pay for things by cheque.
There are certain advantages in paying by cheque : first, one is saved the trouble of handing over cash; secondly, the person to whom one has given the cheque does not need to draw the actual money. He can credit the cheque to his own bank account.
Cheques make payment safe and economize on the use of money.
If a bank will not honour a cheque, i.e. refuses to pay the amount stated on the cheque because the drawer has no money left in his account and the bank will not allow him an overdraft, the cheque is returned with the initials R.D. which means “refer to drawer”
Anyone can go to any bank and deposit money, that is, ask the bank to look after it. He becomes a customer of the bank. When he deposits money, we say he opens a bank account. There are two types of bank account. The first is a current account.When a customer deposits money in the safe-keeping of the bank, he can at any time claim the repayment of the money, in prt or in whole, by means of a written order to the bank signed by himself. Such an order is called a cheque.
The second kind of account is the deposit account. When the bank receves money on deposit, the customer can demand its return at the end of an ageed term of notice of withdrawal a month, three months, six months or a year. The bank pays interest on money in deposit accounts.
Just as they receive deposits from their customers, so the banks lend money to their customers. A person who wants to borrow money has to give the bank something as security, for instance, a certificate showing ownership of property. When a customer has a bank loan, the bank charges him interest on the money he has borrowed. The bank does not always give the borrower actual money. It may credit his account with the amount borrowed, exactly as if he had deposited that amount at the bank.
The banks’ customers are given cheque-books, and can draw cheques up to the amount of money they have in their accounts, whether they have deposited or borrowed the money. They can then pay for things by cheque.
There are certain advantages in paying by cheque : first, one is saved the trouble of handing over cash; secondly, the person to whom one has given the cheque does not need to draw the actual money. He can credit the cheque to his own bank account.
Cheques make payment safe and economize on the use of money.
If a bank will not honour a cheque, i.e. refuses to pay the amount stated on the cheque because the drawer has no money left in his account and the bank will not allow him an overdraft, the cheque is returned with the initials R.D. which means “refer to drawer”
LAKE TOBA
When one talks about tourist resorts in Indonesia, it is almost always Bali that comes to mind first, and then Yogyakarta with the Borobudur and Prambanan temples. The two regions have indeed all the attractions for a tourist, especially one from overseas, for they have the beauty of nature, remains of ancient cultures, and strange customs and traditions. Excellent roads, first class hotels, easy travel, all these also help to draw the tourists to Yogya and Bali. Another advantage is that each offers a wide variety of attractions all within easy reach, which is most welcome for people with limited time or a limited budget.
In fact, Indonesia has many more tourist resorts which are no less beautiful and no less interesting than Bali and Yogya. Lake Toba in North Sumatra is one such resort.
It is the largest lake in the country, about 75 kilometres long and 25 kilometres wide, with a large island in it, the island of Samosir. It is not too difficult to get to the lake. An excellent road, partly winding through the mountains, links it with Medan the capital of the province. A taxi will easily cover the distance in three and a half hours. Medan itself is only two hours’s flying time from Jakarta.
Lake Toba is situated in a mountainous area, 900 metres above sea-level. Thus it has a pleasant climate. A hotel of international standard is found at Prapat, on the east bank. People who wish to get away from modern comforts and Western ways can find accommodation at more modest places.
What has Lake Toba to offer to the traveler from distant places Is it really worth visiting
First of all, there is the beautiful grandeur of nature. The mountains around the lake, the mountain streams, the forests, and the island in the lake, allpossess a beauty which is a challenge to the imagination. Relaxing on a boat,watching the tops of the mountains or theclouds above,creates sensations of contentment rarely felt before. Those who are more actively inclined may find enjoyment in water skiing, rowing, or exploring the island.
Ethnologists may care to study the people and their customs, language, social structure, and so on. The Bataks , as the people there are called, have preserved much of their ancient culture. Their beautifully decorated, large family houses have always been one of the greatest attractions for visitors to this region.
In fact, Indonesia has many more tourist resorts which are no less beautiful and no less interesting than Bali and Yogya. Lake Toba in North Sumatra is one such resort.
It is the largest lake in the country, about 75 kilometres long and 25 kilometres wide, with a large island in it, the island of Samosir. It is not too difficult to get to the lake. An excellent road, partly winding through the mountains, links it with Medan the capital of the province. A taxi will easily cover the distance in three and a half hours. Medan itself is only two hours’s flying time from Jakarta.
Lake Toba is situated in a mountainous area, 900 metres above sea-level. Thus it has a pleasant climate. A hotel of international standard is found at Prapat, on the east bank. People who wish to get away from modern comforts and Western ways can find accommodation at more modest places.
What has Lake Toba to offer to the traveler from distant places Is it really worth visiting
First of all, there is the beautiful grandeur of nature. The mountains around the lake, the mountain streams, the forests, and the island in the lake, allpossess a beauty which is a challenge to the imagination. Relaxing on a boat,watching the tops of the mountains or theclouds above,creates sensations of contentment rarely felt before. Those who are more actively inclined may find enjoyment in water skiing, rowing, or exploring the island.
Ethnologists may care to study the people and their customs, language, social structure, and so on. The Bataks , as the people there are called, have preserved much of their ancient culture. Their beautifully decorated, large family houses have always been one of the greatest attractions for visitors to this region.
TOURISM
If you wish to go abroad, you need a passport.
A passport is issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Then you must have the Government’s permission to leave the country. That permission is called an exit permit, or an exit-visa. It is simply an approval stamped on a page of the passport. In order to visit a foreign country, you need an entry visa, which is given by a official at the embassy of that foreign country. The passport and the visas are examined by immigration officers at the airport or at the harbour.
A travel bureau may help you obtain your passport and visa. It will charge you a fee for this service.
The airport employee at the information desk may be able to give you some information about the leading hotels in the city.
Also some big hotels have their representatives at the airport. Some of them have a special taxi service, so that the traveler need not hire a taxi for himself.
It is advisable to make ou hotel reservation several days or weeks in advance. The guest checks in at the front office of the hotel, or at the reception desk. You may ask for a single room or a double room.
The rates vay from twenty to thirty dollars a day. You can have meals at reasonable prices in the coffee-shop.There is usually a tourist bureau at the hotel, which arranges guided tours to various tourist resorts. They have qualified guides, who know all about the places of historical and cultural interest about customs and traditions, shows, and so on
A passport is issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Then you must have the Government’s permission to leave the country. That permission is called an exit permit, or an exit-visa. It is simply an approval stamped on a page of the passport. In order to visit a foreign country, you need an entry visa, which is given by a official at the embassy of that foreign country. The passport and the visas are examined by immigration officers at the airport or at the harbour.
A travel bureau may help you obtain your passport and visa. It will charge you a fee for this service.
The airport employee at the information desk may be able to give you some information about the leading hotels in the city.
Also some big hotels have their representatives at the airport. Some of them have a special taxi service, so that the traveler need not hire a taxi for himself.
It is advisable to make ou hotel reservation several days or weeks in advance. The guest checks in at the front office of the hotel, or at the reception desk. You may ask for a single room or a double room.
The rates vay from twenty to thirty dollars a day. You can have meals at reasonable prices in the coffee-shop.There is usually a tourist bureau at the hotel, which arranges guided tours to various tourist resorts. They have qualified guides, who know all about the places of historical and cultural interest about customs and traditions, shows, and so on
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