Reading 5: How Do Mexicans Celebrate the Day of the Dead?

At the end of October, Mexicans prepare to celebrate the Day of the Dead. The Day of the Dead celebration is two days: November 1 and November 2. On these days, Mexicans remember their dead friends and relatives. Relatives are people in your family. People are not sad on the Day of the Dead. They are happy. Markets and shops sell special things before the Day of the Dead. They sell candles, flowers, candies and chocolates that look like skulls or bones. They also sell bread called Bread of the Dead. The bread looks like skulls or bones, too! Families believe that their dead relatives and friends are going to visit them. They make an altar in their home for their dead visitors. An altar is a special table with pictures of the dead person. People put flowers and candles and some of the dead persons favorite things on the altar. The family also puts the dead persons favorite food and drinks there. People leave many different kinds of food and drinks: coffee, water, rice and beans, chicken, fruit and the special bread and candies for the Day of the Dead. The family also leaves a bowl with water and clean towel. This is for the dead visitors to wash their hands before the meal. Then the family lights the candles and waits for the dead person to visit them. At midnight, the family leaves the house. They go to the graves of their relatives. A grave is the place in the ground where people put a dead body. The family cleans the grave. They also decorate it with flowers and candles. Then they have a picnic on the grave with special food and drinks. They tell stories about the dead person and talk about the dead person. They eat, drink, play music and sing. Different parts of Mexico have different Day of the Dead traditions. Today, in many big towns, Mexican families get together to have a special dinner at home. They eat the Bread of the Dead at this meal. The Bread of the Dead has a toy skeleton in it. Mexicans believe that the person who gets the toy skeleton will have good luck.

VOCABULARY: Meaning: Write the correct words in the blanks Candles meal midnight favorite remember bones skeleton towel

1. Mexicans think about people from the past on the Day of the Dead. They ________________ them. 2. Mexicans put ___________________ at the grave. They want light on the grave. 3. The family eats a special ___________________. They sit together at the table and eat and drink. 4. The visitors wash their hands with water. Then they dry them with a ___________________. 5. His _____________________ food is chicken. He likes it more than all other food. 6. My mother fell. She broke two _____________________ in her arm. 7. They went to the cemetery at 12oclock at night. It was ______________________. 8. All the bones of a person are called ________________________. WORDS THAT GO TOGETHER Write the correct words in the blanks. Get together have a picnic tell stories 1. At the cemetery, they eat food and have drinks. They ___________________________. 2. They remember the dead person and __________________________ about the person. 3. His family likes to _____________________________ on the Day of the Dead. They meet up and do something special. COMPREHENSION Circle the letter of the correct answer 1. The Day of the Dead is _______________________. a. time to be sad b. a time to remember dead friends and relatives c. at the end of Oct.

2. At home, the family put things on a special_________ for the dead person a. table b. candle c. grave

3. At midnight, the family goes to_____________. a. the market b. the dead persons home c. the cemetery

REMEMBERING THE DETAILS: Circle T if the sentence is true. Circle F is the sentence is False. 1. The Day of the Dead celebration is for one day. 2. They sell bread called Food of the Dead 3. People put food and drinks on the altar 4. At midnight, the family goes to their house T T T T F F F F F F

5. The family decorates the grave with flowers and candles T 6. The person with toy skeleton will have good luck DISCUSSION 1. Why are people happy on the Day of the Dead? 2. How do people remember the dead in your country? T

3. Do you believe dead people come back and visit? Why or Why not? WRITING: Complete the sentences about the Day of the Dead 1. The Day of the Dead is _________________________________________________________. 2. The market and shop sell ______________________________________________________. 3. Families believe _____________________________________________________________. 4. At midnight ______________________________________________________________. 5. In big towns, Mexican families _____________________________________________.

Reading 6: Who are the Inuit? The Inuit are special people. The old name for Inuit was Eskimo. Eskimo means eater of meat. In 1997, the Eskimos changed their name to Inuit. Inuit means the people in their language. They live in very cold places: Siberia, Alaska, Canada and Greenland. These are the coldest part of the world. There are about 120,000 Inuit in the world today. Canada has 20,000 Inuit. Some live very close to the North Pole. The Inuit were the first people in Canada. In the past, the Inuit hunted for all their food. The men traveled in the snow on sleds. About ten dogs pulled a sled. The men killed fish and other animals. Then they went home and shared their food with other families. The Inuit used every part of the animal for food and clothes. They usually eat the fish raw. The women made clothes from animal skins. They made shoes from the skins too. The Inuit had an old custom. The women chewed their husbands shoes at night. Then the shoes were soft in the morning. The Inuits life was hard. They lived in houses made of snow. They moved from time to time to hunt animals. Sometimes, the Inuit needed money. Other Canadians needed animal skins. The Inuit sold animal skins to these Canadians. The Inuit and Canadians helped each other. Today in Canada, the Inuits lives are very different. Most Inuit live in villages. The villages have 300 to 1,500 people. The houses are made of wood. The Inuit dont travel in sleds. They ride snowmobiles. They buy food and clothes from stores. The Inuit keep in touch with the rest of the world. They use the telephone, television and the Internet. They go on airplanes to cities in the south of Canada. Inuit boys and girls go to school and have Inuit teachers. They learn about the world. At the same time, the Inuit want to remember their language and traditions. They want to teach their language and traditions to their children. In the 1970s, the Inuit in Canada wanted to control their land. In 1999, the Canadian government agreed. The government gave the Inuit piece of land in the north of Canada. The Inuits new land is Nunavut. It means our land in their language.

VOCABULARY: Write the correct words in the blanks shared control chewed raw wood pulled custom hard skin

1. One Inuit family did not eat all the food. They _______________ the food with other families. 2. The men tied a rope from the dogs to the sled. Then the dogs __________________ the sled in the snow. 3. The women put the animal skin in their mouth. Then they moved their teeth up and down. They _______________ the skin. 4. They did not cook the fish. They eat it _________________. 5. Some things are difficult for the Inuit. Their lives are _________________. 6. The women used the outside part of the dead animals. They made clothes from the _______ 7. The Inuit wanted to ________________ their land. They did not want the Canadians to tell them what to do. 8. All Inuit women have a special way to fix the shoes. It is a ____________________. 9. The Inuit men cut trees. They used the ___________________ to make houses. WORDS THAT GO TOGETHER: Write the correct words in the blanks at the same time keep in touch with each other from time to time

1. The Inuit helped the Canadians, and the Canadians helped the Inuit. They helped _____________. 2. Sometimes the Inuit went to a new place. They went _____________________. 3. The teacher taught two things together. She taught different things ____________________. 4. The Inuit want to _____________________ other people. They send emails and make telephone calls.

COMPREHENSION: Circle the letter of the best answer 1. The Inuit _______________________. a. live all over the world b. live in cold places c. dont eat meat

2. In the past, the Inuit ________________________. a. hunted animals for food 3. Today the Inuit ________. a. travel in sleds REMEMBERING DETAILS: Answer the questions 1. Where do the Inuit live? 2. How many Inuit are there today? 3. What does the word Eskimo mean? 4. How did men travel in the past? 5. Where do the Inuit get food today? 6. What is the name of the new land for the Canadian Inuit? SENTENCE COMPLETION Match the words in Column A and Column B to make sentences A ______1. The Inuit hunted ______2. In the past, the Inuit moved ______3. The women made ______4. Today the Inuit live ______5. The Canadian government gave ______6. Today the Inuit buy B a. clothes from animal skins b. in villages c. food and clothes from stores d. from time to time hunt e. fish and animals for food f. the Inuit a piece of land. b. makes shoes from skins c. learn all about the world. b. lived in wood houses c. bought clothes in stores

DISCUSSION: 1. Life today is easy for many people but it is expensive. In the past people did not spend a lot of money to buy things. Which is better: life today or life in the past? Explain. 2. Would you like to live in a very cold place or a very hot place? Why? 3. In the past, the Inuit wore animal skins. Today some people do not wear animal skins. What do you think about wearing animal skins? WRITING: Complete the sentences about the Inuit 1. In 1977, the Eskimos _______________________________________________. 2. In the past, the Inuit _______________________________________________. 3. The Inuit men _____________________________________________________. 4. The Inuit women _________________________________________________. 5. Today the Inuit __________________________________________________.

Reading 7 What is Beatle mania? Beatle mania is a very strong feeling for the group, the Beatles. The Beatles were four young musicians from Liverpool, England. Their names were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. These four men never took music lessons. They taught themselves to play music

In 1957, John started a group called the Quarrymen. He was sixteen years old. Then he met Paul. They began to write songs and sing together. Soon, George joined them. The group started to play in England and make money. They went to Germany and played concerts there too. The group had different names. They also had some different musicians. In 1962, Ringo joined them. Then John, Paul, George and Ringo were the Beatles. The Beatles made their first hit song in 1962. The song was Love Me Do. In 1963, their song Please Please Me was a bigger hit. In all, they had twenty nine hit songs. By 1963, the Beatles were very popular in England and Beatle mania started. They had many fans. Their fans screamed and cried. At concerts, their fans screamed very very loudly. The Beatles could not hear themselves sing. The next year, the Beatles went to the United States. The Americans loved them, and Beatle mania started in America too. People everywhere copied their clothes and their hair. The Beatles were the most popular rock-and-roll group in the world. The Beatles broke up 1970. They wanted to play new music. All of the Beatles did interesting, new things. John wrote music with his wife Yoko Ono. Paul started a new group called Wings with his wife Linda. George and Ringo made their own records and gave concerts. Sadly, John was shot dead in New York in 1980. He was forty years old. George become sick and died in 2001. We still hear Beatles songs on the radio today. Their music and songs will never die.

VOCABULARY: Write the correct words in the blanks group hit fans screamed concerts copied together joined

1. John and Paul wrote songs with each other. They wrote songs ___________________. 2. People wanted to look like the Beatles. They _______________ their clothes and hair. 3. The song Love Me Do was very popular. It was a __________ song. 4. The Beatles went to different places and played music for a lot of people. They gave _________________. 5. Many people loved the Beatles and their music. These people were _________________. 6. At Beatles concerts, people made a lot of noise. They __________________________. 7. The Beatles was a famous singing ____________________. The four Beatles sang together. 8. Ringo wanted to be part of the Beatles. He ___________________ the Beatles.

WORDS THAT GO TOGETHER: Write the correct words in the blanks. broke up in all in the world taught themselves

1. People everywhere loved the Beatles. They were the most popular group __________________. 2. Nobody helped the Beatles to learn music. They _____________________________ to play music. 3. In 1970, the Beatles ____________________. They stopped playing music together. 4. The total number of Beatles songs was twenty-nine. They had twenty-nine hit songs ____________.

COMPREHENSION Circle the letter of the correct answer. 1. The Beatles made their first hit song in ____________. a. in England b. in Germany c. in the United States

2. John started the Quarry men. Then he met ______________. a. George b. Paul c. Ringo

3. In 1970, the Beatles ________________. a. went to United States REMEMBERING DETAILS Answer the questions 1. How many Beatles were there? 2. Where were the Beatles from? 3. How many hit songs did the Beatles have? 4. Where did the Beatles start? 5. What did people copy from the Beatles? 6. Why did the Beatles break up? 7. When did John Lennon die? DISCUSSION 1. What kind of music is popular now in your country? 2. Who is your favorite singer or musical group? 3. The Beatles music is over forty years old. What are some other popular old songs? b. broke up c. gave concerts

WRITING: Complete the sentences about the Beatles 1. The Beatles were _________________________________________. 2. The Beatles made _________________________________________. 3. By 1963, the Beatles had ________________________________________. 4. In 1964, the Beatles went _______________________________________. 5. The Beatles broke up because ___________________________________.

Reading 8 Where Is The Great Wall? The Great Wall is in China. The Chinese built the Great Wall thousands of years ago. They wanted to protect their country from unfriendly people. First, they built small walls around their towns. Then the emperor, Shi Huangdi, joined the walls and built new parts. He wanted to make one long wall- the Great Wall. Shi Huangdi was the first Qin Emperor. The name Qin sounds like Chin. The word China comes from the name Qin. Shi Huangdi made many changes in China. He wanted China to be strong and modern. But many Chinese did not like Shi Huangdi. He didnt care about the people. Many people died because of his changes. Thousands of men worked on the Great Wall. It was very hard work. Many men got sick and died. Over one million people died to make the wall. Their bodies are buried in the wall. Some people say the Great Wall is the Wall of Death. Other Chinese emperors added to the wall and made it better. The Ming Emperor added thousands of tall, strong buildings in the year 1368-1644. Men stayed in the building to protect and repair the wall. They were called guards. Sometimes more than a million guards worked on the wall. They were born on the wall and grew up there. They married there and died there. Many guards lived on the Great Wall all their lives. Sometimes unfriendly men came to the wall to start problems. The guards made a fire to show they needed help. Guards from other parts of the wall ran along the top of the wall to help them. We dont know exactly how long the Great Wall is. There are many different parts of the wall and some parts fell down. The wall is above 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) long and about 25 feet (7.6 meters) high. It is about 15 feet (4.6 meters) wide at the top. Buses and cars can drive along it. Today, the Great Wall is the largest structure in the world. Some people say you can see the Great Wall from space. But in 1969, an astronaut who traveled in space said he did not see any buildings- not even the Great Wall.

VOCABULARY: Write the correct words in the blank added exactly protect modern buried structure space along

1. The Chinese did not want unfriendly people in their country. They wanted to _________________ their country. 2. How long is the Great Wall? We dont know the answer. We dont know _________________ how long it is. 3. Other emperors put new parts onto the Great Wall. They ________________ to it. 4. The Emperor wanted China to be ________________________. He wanted China to have new things and new ideas. 5. An astronaut in __________________ did not see the Great Wall. He was very far up in the sky away from the Earth. 6. The Chinese built something very big. They built a big ______________________. 7. You can drive a car or bus from one end of the wall to the other. You can drive ____________the top of the wall. 8. The stones and rocks in the wall covered some mens bodies. The bodies were ____________ WORDS THE GO TOGETHER Write the words in the blanks care about comes from fell down grew up

1. Some parts of the wall __________________. The parts dropped to the ground. 2. Some words are developed from other words. The word China _______________ the name Qin. 3. Many guards lived on the walls as children. They stayed there and became adults. They _____________ on the wall. 4. The emperor was not interested in his people. He didnt _____________________ them.

COMPREHENSION Circle the letter of the correct answer 1. Chinas first Qin emperor ___________________. a. joined the small walls b. put a million guards at the wall c. made the first wall

2. Guards protected the wall from _______________. a. unfriendly men b. the emperor c. other guards

3. An astronauts in space __________________. a. saw part of the wall REMEMBERING DETAILS Circle T if the sentence is True. Circle F if the sentence is False. 1. The Ming Emperor made the first wall 2. The word China comes from the name of the Qin emperor 3. Over one million people died to make the wall 4. Guards protected and repaired the wall 5. A bus driver can drive along the top of the wall 6. The wall is about 400 miles long DISCUSSION 1. What is the biggest structure or building in your country? 2. Many important buildings are big. Some important buildings are small. What is small, important building? 3. Do you like new buildings or old buildings? Why? WRITING Complete the sentences about the Great Wall 1. The Chinese built ______________________________________________. T T T T T T F F F F F F b. saw the whole wall c. did not see the wall.

2. Shi Huangdi ____________________________________________________. 3. Emperors added ________________________________________________. 4. Many guards ___________________________________________________. 5. Today the Great Wall is __________________________________________.

Reading 9: Why do People Give Gifts for Wedding?

People give gifts for wedding for different reasons. Usually, people want to help the bride and groom. Many countries have their own customs. In the United States, both families give gifts to the couple. In other places, the customs are very different. In India, the grooms family asks for large payment from the brides family. The payment is called dowry. Sometimes the payment is a special gift with a brand name. For examples, some families ask for a Singer sewing machine or a Sony television set etc. Sometimes the payment is money. The money maybe equal to the familys salary for two or three years. Both families agree about the money. They agree on how much money the brides family can afford to pay. Some Indian families do not like to have many daughters. It is too expensive! Today in India, a woman with a large salary is the same as a woman with a large dowry. In the Middle East, the brides family asks for large amount of money from the groom. The gift is called a mahr. The mahr is money and sometimes land or home. In Saudi Arabia, the groom gives a lot of money. He buys clothes for the bride for one year and buys furniture for their new homes. Rich couples get expensive gifts from both parents. The parents often give nice furniture or a new car. At one time in Saudi Arabia, the mahr for a bride was very very high. Men could not afford to marry Saudi Arabian women. They married women from Lebanon or Egypt. This was bad for Saudi women. Soon, many Saudi women did not have husbands. The government made new rules. They made it hard to marry a foreigner. Another Middle Eastern country, Oman, had problems, too. Soldiers in the army could not afford to get married. The Sultan of Oman made a law against large mahr payment. This helped couples in Oman to get married. A wedding is a very special and important time. People give gifts for different reasons, but one thing is same. Everybody wants to help the bride and the groom start a happy life together.

VOCABULARY: Write the correct words in the blank bride salary groom foreigner expensive agree afford couple reasons

1. A man and a woman who are getting married are the _______________________. 2. The woman who is getting married is the ________________. 3. The man who is getting married is the ____________________. 4. Some families give all the money they get from their jobs to the grooms family. They give their ____________________. 5. The man who did not marry a woman from his country. He married a ________________. 6. Why did the sultan make a new law? What were the __________________ why he made the law? 7. The wedding gift was ___________________. It cost a lot of money. 8. Two families have the same idea about the wedding gift. They ___________________ about the wedding gift. 9. The family had enough money to buy gift. They could _______________________ the gift. WORDS THAT GO TOGETHER Write the correct words in the blanks brand name the same as asks for

1. The grooms family wants special things. The family _____________________ the things they want. 2. A large salary for a woman is _________________________ a large dowry. They are like each other in many ways. 3. People give gifts from famous companies. The gifts have a __________________________.

COMPREHENSION: Circle the correct answer 1. Wedding gift customs are __________. a. the same all over the world. b. different in each country

2. In India, the grooms family __________________. a. asks for payments b. gives payments.

3. In Saudi Arabia, the grooms family ___________. a. asks for payment REMEMBERING DETAILS Circle T if the sentence is correct and F if the sentence is False
1. In the United States, the parents of the bride and the groom

b. gives payments

give gifts. 2. Indian families like to have many daughters 3. In the Middle East, the gift for a bride is a mahr 4. At one time, many Saudi women did not have husbands 5. The men from Saudi Arabia married women from Oman 6. In Oman, the sultan could not afford to get married T T T T T F F F F F

DISCUSSION 1. Who pays for the wedding in your country? 2. Do you think the custom of giving wedding gifts in your country is good? Why or Why not? 3. Some countries have arranged married. Do you think this is a good idea?

WRITING Complete the sentences about wedding gifts 1. In the United States, ___________________________________________________________ 2. In India, _____________________________________________________________________ 3. In Saudi Arabia, _______________________________________________________________ 4. In Oman, ____________________________________________________________________ 5. People give gifts ______________________________________________________________