READING REVISED EDITION
2020
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INTRODUCTION : By raising our student’s awareness of reading as a skill that requires active engagement and by teaching explicable reading strategies, we help our students to develop good pronunciation, articulation, rhythm, fluency and accuracy. GOALS : - - -
good pronunciation use of appropriate rhythm and stress to achieve well-paced, fluent reading to build important literacy skills such as comprehension
PROCESS : Select topics which are related to students’ interests and experiences or explore universal contemporary themes and issues.
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DURING READING : read with a purpose in mind and give complete attention to the reading task create visual images focus on unity and coherence, articulation, and good pronunciation identify with and develop an understanding of the characters (story)
AFTER READING : reread important words when necessary paraphrase and summarize major ideas recognize how particular elements create moods or tones seek additional information from other sources as needed or desired
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ST. GABRIEL’S COLLEGE
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Honorary Advisor : Bro. Dr. Monthol Prathumarach Committee : Bro.Manit Sakonthawat, M.A. Bro.Katawut Sittichoksakul, M.A. Mr.Tong-In Sawaengsin, M.A. Mr.Pisit Krittayanawach, M.A. Mr.Avirut Wisetchart, M.A. Ms.Chiyaporn Bunlap, M.A. Mr.Pongpol Suansri, M.A. Mr.Yutthachai Ittivorachet, M.A. Mr.Yaowaluck Yaochareon, M.A. English Teachers Primary 1 - Secondary 3 Editorial Team : Mr.Pongpol Suansri, M.Ed. Members of the Foreigen Language Department Design & Layout : Mr.Wutichart Chatarupacheewin, M.FA. Mr.Sarayut Jorjaroenpanich Mr.Premsak Rativiriyapong, M.A. Audio Recorders : Mr.Weerawat Chaisuriya Mr.Samroeng Kaewsod Produced by : Saint Gabriel’s College BANGKOK, THAILAND Copyright @ 2018 ST. GABRIEL’S COLLEGE
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CONTENTS Joseph Pulitzer
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The Ghost
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Teeth 8 Money Vs Family
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History of Halloween
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Levi’s Blue Jeans
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April Fool’s Day
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St. Patrick’s Day
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Martin Luther King, Jr.
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A Christmas Surprise
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The Mango Tree
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Learning Online
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D.W. Griffith and the Art of the Close-Up
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Visiting Pets
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Plants and Foods
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Joseph Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer was born in 1847 in Mako, Hungary. He emigrated to the United States when he was seventeen years old, and was naturalised on his twentieth birthday. He spent his career in journalism working in the mid-west and New York. From 1871 he was also the owner or part-owner of many newspapers. His most famous newspaper was the New York World (which many believe was the model for the Daily Planet of the Superman stories). The World campaigned against corruption, and exposed many scandals. It was 4
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also a strong supporter of the rights of the working man. In later life, Joseph Pulitzer collapsed from overwork, and lost his sight. He became dedicated to improving the quality of journalism in America, and donated $1 million to Columbia University to found a school of journalism. However, his most significant contribution was the establishment of the Pulitzer prizes in his will. These prizes for excellence in journalism have been given every year since 1917 by Columbia University. Since 1942 there have been extra categories for press photography, and later still for criticism, feature writing and commentary. The prize was originally for $500, but today the winners of the prize receive a gold medal. However, the real value of the prize is that it becomes the journalist of the year a fact that is worthmuch more than $500 to the journalist and to the newspaper that employs him or her. ST. GABRIEL’S COLLEGE
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The Ghost
The ghost that got into our house on the night of November 17, 1915, raised such a hullabaloo of misunderstanding that I am sorry I didn’t just let it keep on walking, and go to bed. I caused my mother to throw a shoe through a window of the house next door and ended with my grandfather shooting a patrolman. The footsteps began about a quarter past one o’clock in the morning around the dining-room table. My mother was asleep in one room upstairs, my brother in another. My grandfather was in the attic, in 6
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the old walnut bed which, as you will remember, once fell on my father. I had just stepped out of the bathtub and was busily rubbing myself with a towel when I heard the steps. They were the steps of a man walking rapidly around the dining-room table downstairs. The steps kept going round and round the table at regular intervals a board cracked. I supposed that was my father or my brother or my brother Roy, who had gone to Indianapolis but were expected home at any time. I suspected next that it was a burglar. It did not enter my mind until much later that is was a ghost. After the walking had gone on for perhaps three minutes, I tiptoed to Herman’s room. “Psst!” I hissed, in the dark, shaking him. “Awp,” he said, “There’s something downstairs!” I said. He got up and followed me to the head of the back staircase. We listened together.
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Teeth
It is very important to have healthy teeth. Good teeth help us to chew our food. They also help us to look nice. How does a tooth go bad? The decay begins in a little crack in the enamel covering of the tooth. This happens after germs and bits of food have collected there. Then the decay slowly spreads inside the tooth. Eventually, poison goes into the blood, and we may feel quite ill. How can we keep our teeth healthy? First, we ought to visit our dentist twice a year. He can fill 8
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the small holes in our teeth before they destroy the teeth. He can examine our teeth to check that they are growing in the right way. Unfortunately, many people wait until they have toothache before they see a dentist. Secondly, we should brush our teeth with a toothbrush and use toothpaste at least twice a day once after breakfast and once before we go to bed. We can also use wooden toothpicks to clean between our teeth after a meal. Thirdly, we should eat food that is good for our teeth and our body: milk, cheese, fish, brown bread, potatoes, red rice, raw vegetables and fresh fruit. Chocolate, sweets, biscuits and cakes are bad, especially when we eat them between meals. They are harmful because they stick to our teeth and cause decay.
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Money Vs Family
Rama’s family is very big. Rama is a hard worker and he is the sole bread winner of the family. He has three kids, two sons and a daughter. He lives along with father and mother. Rama used to work too hard to feed his family. He works for more than 16 hours a day. The kids cannot see him as he will leave home early in the morning before they wake-up and reach home around midnight when kids would sleep every day. The entire family eagerly wait to spend quality time with him and 10
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the kids miss him so much. The children were too curious about Sundays as his father would spend the entire day with them. Unfortunately, to meet the increasing household expenses and educational expenses, Rama took a weekend job to work even on Sundays. The kids were very shattered and even Rama’s wife and parents too! The typical routine continued for several weeks and year passed. All the hard work of Rama earned a lot of benefits and he was offered promotion with attractive increment. The family moved to a new house, got better clothes and ate healthy foods. However, as usual, Rama continues to earn more and more money. One day his wife asked him ‘why are you running for money? We
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can be happy with what we have now.’ Rama replied, ‘I want to give the best available in the world to all of you and want you to stay happy always.’ Two years passed and Rama hardly spent time with his family. The children yearned to have their father at home. Meanwhile, the sincere efforts of Rama reaped him a fortune. He was offered partnership. He continued to earn more and more wealth. Now, Rama’s family is one of the richest families in the city. They have all the facilities and luxuries. Still, Rama’s children strove to meet their father as he was hardly seen at home. His children turned teens and they are no more kids. Now, Rama earned enough wealth to provide a luxurious life to his next five generations. Rama’s family went to their beach house to spend 12
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their vacation. His daughter asked, ‘Dad will you please spend one day at home and stay with us here?’ Rama replied, ‘Yes, darling, tomorrow for sure, I will join you for the lunch and be with you all for next few days, I’m tired of work and need refreshment!’ The entire family became very happy. Unfortunately, the next day, none in Rama’s family were alive as they were washed out in Tsunami! Rama was too busy even to hear the news about Tsunami. When he tried to reach his beach house, he saw sea and water everywhere and screamed for his family. He can never have them again, cannot even see them and even by paying millions he cannot get them back to life! He remembered his wife’s words, ‘Why are you running for money? We can be happy with what we have now.’ Money can’t buy everything!
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History of Halloween
Like many other holidays, Halloween has evolved and changed throughout history. Over 2,000 years ago people called the Celts lived in what is now Ireland, the UK, and parts of Northern France. November 1 was their New Year’s Day. They believed that the night before the New Year (October 31) was a time when the living and the dead came together. More than a thousand years ago the Christian church named November 1 All Saints Day (also called All Hallows.) This was a special holy day to honor the saints and other people who died for their religion. The night before All Hallows was called Hallows Eve. Later the name was changed to Halloween. 14
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Like the Celts, the Europeans of that time also believed that the spirits of the dead would visit the earth on Halloween. They worried that evil spirits would cause problems or hurt them. So on that night people wore costumes that looked like ghosts or other evil creatures. They thought if they dressed like that, the spirits would think they were also dead and not harm them. The tradition of Halloween was carried to America by the immigrating Europeans. Some of the traditions changed a little, though. For example, on Halloween in Europe some people would carry lanterns made from turnips. In America, pumpkins were more common. So people began putting candles inside them and using them as lanterns. That is why you see Jack’o lanterns today. These days Halloween is not usually considered a religious holiday. It is primarily a fun day for children. Children dress up in costumes like people did a thousand years ago. But instead of worrying about evil spirits, they go from house to house. They knock on doors and say “trick or treat.” The owner of each house gives candy or something special to each trick or treat. ST. GABRIEL’S COLLEGE
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Levi’s Blue Jeans
Levi Strauss was born in Germany in the mid 1800’s and emigrated to the United States as a young man. He lived in New York City and learned the dry-goods business for several years. In 1853 he took his knowledge and his dreams to San Francisco (California., USA) His dream to succeed came true over the next 20 years as he became a very successful businessman. Many of Levi Strauss’ customers were cowboys and miners. They needed clothing that was strong and durable. Strauss found a special fabric from France 16
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that was comfortable and lasted a long time. It was called “serge de Nimes,” which was later shortened to the word denim. Another man named Jacob Davis bought large amounts of the denim fabric from Levi Strauss. He was a tailor who made pants for hard-working men. One of his customers was continually tearing the pockets off his pants. So Jacob Davis has decided to put rivets on certain parts of the pants to make them stronger. The customer loved the new pants so much that he told all his friends, and soon Jacob Davis was busy making lots of pants with rivets. Jacob Davis soon realized that using rivets was a great business idea, and he didn’t want anybody to steal that idea. He decided that he would need to get a patent. But being a poor tailor, he didn’t have enough money to pay for the patent. After thinking it over, he went to the businessman Levi Strauss and told him his idea. He said, “If you agree to pay for the patent, we will share the profits from the riveted pants.” Levi Strauss did agree, and the new riveted pant business was called Levi Strauss and Company. Today Levi’s jeans are more popular than ever, and Levi’s name continues to live on. ST. GABRIEL’S COLLEGE
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April Fool's Day
April Fool’s Day started in the sixteenth century in Europe. Before that time, New Year’s Day was celebrated on April 1st. Then a new calendar was introduced called the Gregorian calendar. January 1st became the first day of the year, but many people did not know about it. So those who continued to celebrate New Year’s Day on April 1st were teased. They were called fools. Nowadays we play jokes on people on April 1st. For example, someone might put salt in the sugar container so another person could “accidentally” put 18
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it in their coffee. Or someone might change the time on another person’s alarm clock so that person would unknowingly wake up earlier or later than planned. Or maybe a person would tell a lie to make someone else shocked. After we play the trick, we say “April Fool” then the poor person realizes he was fooled. It is generally done in the spirit of fun and doesn’t cause any real harm to anyone. Do you have any great jokes to play on anyone today? Try it out. Just don’t forget to say “April Fool” when the other person begins looking a little confused.
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St. Patrick’s Day
Many Irish people have emigrated from Ireland to the United States over the last few centuries. They brought St. Patrick’s Day with them. St. Patrick’s Day is a serious religious holiday in Ireland, but it has been changed quite a bit in America. Today in America people enjoy St. Patrick’s Day by wearing green. In fact, if you don’t wear at least one small green item, school children may pinch you. Probably the most common symbol for this holiday is the shamrock. Since the shamrock has three leaves, 20
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thousands of years ago St. Patrick (a religious leader) used it to teach the Irish people about the three parts of God. Today many people wear a shamrock design on St. Patrick’s Day because it is supposed to bring good luck. On this day many people also enjoy going to a pub and drinking beer. They tell jokes and have a good time. People who don’t come from Ireland like to pretend they are Irish, too. Some cities hold parades or marathons. It’s not a very big holiday, but it can be a fun one for the people who want to enjoy it. It is very different kind of celebration from St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland.
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Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States in 1929. At that time in America, black people didn’t have equal rights with white people. Black people had to sit in the back of bus. The schools were segregated and there were even separate public restrooms for black people and white people, Black people’s lives were not very good. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a minister in the 22
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Baptist Church. He fought against racial segregation. He wanted equal rights for all people. But he didn’t use violence in his fight. He asked people to fight peacefully. For example, he asked black people to ride in the front of the bus. More than 200,000 people went to Washington D.C. to listen to him speak and ask the government to change unfair laws. Because of Martin Luther King, Jr., many laws began to change in the United States. But many white people disagreed with him and his ways. In 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated by a white man. Every year on the third Monday of January, Americans remember Martin Luther King, Jr. They try to remember how much America has changed. And they think about how much more America should change in the future.
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A Christmas Surprise
It was two days before Christmas. Harry, Cornelius, Monty and I were busy building a snowman when Fritz appeared with his little niece Emily and introduced her. “Emily is from the South and has never seen snow before,” Fritz told us. “She doesn’t know much about our winters.” It turned out that Emily didn’t know much about Christmas also. “Who is Santa Claus, Waldo?” she asked me, shivering in the cold air. “Santa Claus,” I explained, “brings presents and toys to human children at Christmas time.” 24
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“Does he bring presents to animal children also?” Emily asked. “Well,” I said, “he hasn’t been around this part of the forest for many years. I guess he is too busy visiting all the human children to have much time left for animals.” “Do you think he will come if I write to him?” Emily asked. “I don’t think so,” said Monty. “I’ve never seen him, myself.” “Neither have I,” Harry added, shaking his head. “You see. Santa Claus is only for human children, “Fritz said to Emily.” So forget about the whole idea. Let’s go home now before you catch a cold.” Early the next morning I saw Emily pulling Fritz toward the mailbox. “I wrote a letter to Santa Claus,” she said, waving a large envelope, “and I asked him to come and bring me a present!” “Good luck!” I said. “But don’t get your hopes up too high. I don’t want you to be disappointed if he doesn’t come.” “He will-you’ll see!” Emily cried. ST. GABRIEL’S COLLEGE
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Poor Emily, I thought. Christmas Day was tomorrow. She was setting herself up for a big disappointment. I was sure. Suddenly I had an idea. If Emily wanted to see Santa, she would, I decided. I quickly went to town and bought a few things for a surprise. I was very pleased with my idea and could hardly wait to see Emily’s eyes on Christmas morning! The next day, I got up very early to get ready. I put on the red Santa Claus suit that I had bought. I looked at myself in the mirror. I was delighted! Even my own mother wouldn’t have recognized me. I put on my boots and tried a few Ho, Ho, Hos. Then off I went, carrying a present for Emily. 26
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The Mango Tree
I was sitting in the garden with my hands crossed and staring at the sky. The wind calmly blew, and reminded me of an incident, the enchantment of which resurrects and forces me to wear a smile every time I think about it. Mr. Venkat Reddy, the most infamous man in our colony, was known for his harsh and cold words. He was an old man, in his late 60s. His face was completely covered with wrinkles and hair almost faded to gray. He usually appeared with his black coat and half-rimmed spectacles on. Even a blooming flower would shrivel whenever he crossed. I still wonder what made my fate be against me as Mr. Reddy turned out to be my next-door neighbour. ST. GABRIEL’S COLLEGE
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Being the neighbour of his, I got enlightened about many of his untold and unsung stories, one of which described his undue obsession for his Mango Tree. I learn that the only thing dearest to him in the whole world was his beloved mango tree, and it remained a mystery why. Nobody dared to touch it. And undoubtedly, the tree beamed magnificently, for it was grown with immortal and eternal love. One morning, he came banging wildly on my door, “Have you seen anybody stealing my mangoes?” he said fiercely, his eyes were a ball of furious fire and rage. I barely could believe my ears. How could anybody steal his mangoes? I doubt if anybody has that much of courage. “No sir, I saw nobody.” I replied in a shiver. He stood there for some moments or so, scratching his chin, deeply unsatisfied with my answer. He returned to his house, with an irritated and restless mood. I vividly remember the next day’s sunless and pleasant weather, because of which I made up my mind to sit in my garden. The air was carrying the aroma of petrichor that immersed me. Suddenly I heard a strange rustle from Mr. Reddy’s house. I saw a boy nearly 10 years old climbing the mango tree. His face was 28
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covered with dust and his hair were all messed up, his eyes were glittering with the reflection of mischief of his childhood. I grinned when I saw him but my smile melted away when I heard Mr. Reddy shouting, “I found you, little boy!” In a hurry, all his mangoes fell on the ground and yet he failed to run out of the house. Mr. Reddy came running but then he paused, everything fell silent, instead of planting a slap on the boy’s face, he picked up the mangoes and gave them to him. I just couldn’t decipher what was happening that moment which left me spellbound. But when I looked into Mr. Reddy’s eyes, he wasn’t staring at the larcenist but the younger accomplice that I assumed was the boy’s brother, peeping through the gate as if eagerly waiting for the mangoes. I could clearly see the love for the fruit in his twinkling eyes. Mr. Reddy gave the mangoes, patted him and waved him a goodbye. When he went inside, I followed him through the window. He took out a photo frame out of his wooden time worn cupboard and gave it a warm, tight hug. I saw that it was an old tattered black and white photo of two little boys laughing with intense happiness and eating mangoes. ST. GABRIEL’S COLLEGE
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Learning Online
May Ping is a student at Bellevue Community College near Seattle, Washington, in the US. But she doesn’t live in Washington. In fact, she doesn’t live in the US, May lives on a small island near Australia. May takes classes through the internet. She wanted to study at an American college. But she did not want to leave her home. Now she studies English and computer science online. May is a student in Bellevue Community College’s distance learning program. May is an online student. Online students buy their books through the internet. They do 30
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homework every week like other students. They write compositions and take exams, too. The online students send their work to their teachers by e-mail. The teachers correct the work and return it by e-mail, too. May thinks distance learning is helpful. Terry Hong agrees with May. Terry is a student at Bellevue Community College, too. She studies mathematics and biology. She lives near the college. In fact, she can drive there in half an hour. But she studies online. Terry is a parent. She has two young children. She has almost no time to study. She has to study at night and on weekends. It is not easy for her to go to class. Now she can go to college and stay at home at the same time. Some students at Bellevue Community College go to the college to take classes. But others take classes online, like May and Terry.
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D.W. Griffith and the Art of the Close-Up
In the late 1890s, thousands of people crowded into penny arcades across the country to see a remarkable new invention: the movie. Seldom longer than one minute, the first movies were simply recordings of everyday events. A distantly speeding train toward the camera or a man watering his garden-these were typical subjects. Within ten years, the movies were telling ten-minute stories. But they were still primitive, because moviemakers were still recording the story from only one viewpoint, just as their predecessors 32
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recorded the speeding train. For example, supposing the story called for a young man to propose marriage. The moviemaker would place the camera far from the stage, recording the entire scene from this single position. It took the genius of D.W. Griffith to change this method of filming. When we watch this proposal scene, he argued, our eyes move. We watch the expressions on the faces of the characters; we look at the hands as the man presented the engagement ring to the woman. Why Griffith asked, can’t the camera be our eyes? Why can’t we have close-ups of the faces of the man and woman, or of the hands as the man gives his fiance the ring? Some said it wouldn’t go over so big. Audiences would be confused if the screen were suddenly filled by a face, let alone a pair of hands and a ring! But Griffith proved the skeptics wrong. By carefully placing close-ups into his scenes, audiences could feel the actors’ emotions and the story’s suspense. By 1917, Griffith was so confident of his style that, he boldly filled the screen with a close-up of a woman’s nervous hands to convey it’s anguish at the injustice in the world. That close-up, in the film Intolerance, became famous. ST. GABRIEL’S COLLEGE
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Visiting Pets
Kim Thomas had a very bad car accident. She was in the hospital. She was depressed and lonely, and she felt terrible. Life was difficult for her. Then one day Bonnie came to her room. She sat quietly on Kim’s bed. She stayed with Kim when she slept, too, Kim, felt better when Bonnie came to see her. Who is Bonnie? She’s a dog. People take good care of their pets. But some pets, like Bonnie, take care of people now. This is 34
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called pet therapy. The pets visit children and adults in hospitals. Some doctors believe it is very helpful. At Edward Hospital near Chicago, Illinois, in the U.S., doctors think that the pets help patients, or sick people, feel better. The doctors bring animals to visit the patients. The patients feel calm when the pets visit them. They smile more, too. Some pets also go to nursing homes to visit elderly people. The pets are happy to see the people. The elderly people are happy to see the pets, too. Kim Thomas get better fast. She left the hospital after a few weeks. The doctors believe that Bonnie helped Kim. Kim agrees. Today, only a few doctors use pet therapy. In the future, more doctors will use pets to help their patients. And they will use many different animals such as cats, dogs, and birds.
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Plants and Foods
The more you know about plants and foods, the healthier you will be. Some food can provide you with essential vitamins to keep you healthy, but some foods can make you sick. It is very important to know how to distinguish between the two. You also need to learn how to keep foods safe and prevent them from spoiling. There’s so much to learn. There is a lot to learn about plants people eat, such as how to grow them and how to prepare them for eating. Scientists can learn how to keep them safe 36
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to eat. Sometimes people who don’t know something can make a mistake. For example, some mushrooms are poisonous, and people need to know which are so they don’t eat them. People need to know about plants in order to stay healthy. If you don’t know about foods and plants, you can make a big mistake. You need to know which plants are safe to eat. At one time, people feared the tomato, because they believed it to be poisonous. They thought it was dangerous because it grows on a vine that looks like a poisonous plant called nightshade. Therefore, in the early 1800s, people in the United States were afraid to eat it. It took several years before the tomato was accepted as a food in the United States. Today, it is a big part of the American diet. It’s found in things like soup and ketchup. Any food can become a source of sickness if it’s not stored safely. Tomatoes can be dangerous if they rot, and so can most other foods if they are not stored properly. One way to store food safely is to dry it. Before people invented cans, they used to dry food to store it for long periods of time. For example, they would dry tomatoes in the sun. Today, people still eat sun-dried tomatoes. ST. GABRIEL’S COLLEGE
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Some plants actually help keep people safe, for example, cloves. No one really knows how peoplegured that out, but it was most likely from someone trying to use cloves to flavor their food. Cloves have a nice, spicy taste. The clove plant was first found on islands sometimes called the Spice Islands. A tree grows there; it’s a tree that makes cloves. These cloves actually are buds from that tree. The people on the islands picked the buds: the buds were pink when people picked them, and then they dried and turned dark. When they were dried, people put them with food, and they made the food taste great. Probably, the people found that they also helped to preserve foods. 38
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Cloves help meat and other foods keep from spoiling. Today, we know why cloves help food stay safe. Scientists have studied cloves and have discovered that cloves contain a kind of oil in them called eugenol. That oil is an antiseptic. Antiseptic is a word with two important parts. The prefix anti means against, and the root sepsis means poisoning. In other words, eugenol helps prevent poisoning. It’s a good thing we have scientists to help us stay safe. Scientists are people who have careers learning about plants and food. They study the history of plants, and they observe them in order to learn how to make them grow better. They study how to keep them safe, which in turn helps people live healthier lives. ST. GABRIEL’S COLLEGE
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Reading aloud has proved its importance as an essential component of our curriculum and education; hence, we need to find ways to promote and enhance it at all levels. Reading aloud is a vital aspect of key competencies and contributes to the personal and social well - being of our students. The importance of reading aloud can’t be underestimated. The more our students practice, the better they become fluent, exquisite readers.
SAINT GABRIEL’S COLLEGE 565 Samsen Rd., Dusit, Bangkok 10300. THAILAND Tel. 0-2243-7002, 0-2243-2153, 0-2243-0065 Fax: 0-2243-2150
http://www.sg.ac.th
