6th.GRADE

THE SUBMARINE


It is cold where the submarine lives.

It is dark where the submarine sleeps.

It is quiet where the submarine moves.

The submarine likes coming to the surface. This is the only time the submarine can see the sun.

This is the only time the submarine can see the clouds. This is the only time the submarine can see the birds.

But, the submarine does not stay at the surface long.

“Dive Dive Dive!” says the submarine captain, and the submarine goes back down into the water. It goes deeper and deeper and deeper into the water.

It is cold where the submarine lives.

QUESTIONS:

1) What is a submarine?
    A) A fish.
    B) A plane that can go underwater.
    C) A boat that can go underwater.
    D) None of the above.

2) What is the temperature like where the submarine lives?
    A) It is hot.
    B) It is warm.
    C) It is cool.
    D) It is cold.

3) What does tte submarine see when it comes to the surface?
    A) The sun.
    B) Clouds.
    C) Birds.
    D) All of the above.

4) Can a submarine actually see?
    A) No.
    B) Yes.
    C) Certainly.

5) What does the captain say to make the submarine go down into the water?
    A) “Down!”
    B) “Up!”
    C) “Dive!”
    D) “Yeehaw!”
    E) “Get down there you dumb submarine!”

VOCABULARY:

1) If it is dark, there is…
    A) little light.
    B) much light.
    C) much water.
    D) no air.

2) If it is quiet, there is…
    A) little sound.
    B) a lot of noise.
    C) little noise.
    D) A and C

3) When the submarine is at the surface of the water, it is…
    A) at bottom of the water.
    B) in the middle of the water.
    C) at the top of the water.
    D) B and C

4) The story says that the only time the submarine can see the sun is when it comes to the surface.. So, the submarine can see the sun…
    A) all the time.
    B) never.
    C) only at one time – when it is at the surface of the water.
    D) when it is deep in the water.

5) Deeper means…
    A) lower.
    B) later.
    C) higher.
    D) further down.
    E) Both A and D

7th.GRADE

DOGS


There are wild dogs and pet dogs. Pet dogs are helpers and friends to people. There were no pet dogs 15,000 years ago. Men and women learned how to work with dogs. Dogs helped humans go from Asia to North America 10,000 years ago. They pulled sleds in the snow. People say dogs are “man’s best friend.” They help with farming. They help with hunting. They help with fishing. They can pull things for people. They can help find things.

There are many colors of dogs. There are white dogs, gray dogs, black dogs, and brown dogs. A dog’s fur can be short or long. Dogs have curly hair or straight fur. There are very small dogs. They are only 6-8 inches tall. There are very big dogs. They are about 3 feet tall.

Some dogs can see well. Some dogs do not see very well. All dogs can hear well. They can hear sounds that people do not hear. They can hear high sounds and low sounds. They can hear sound very far away. All dogs can smell very well. They can smell 40 times better than humans!

Dogs live 5 to 13 years. But some dogs live much longer. One dog was 24 years old!

Choose the correct alternative for each question:

1) Dogs helped people go to America by…
    A) pulling sleds in the snow.
    B) helping with farming.
    C) helping find things.
    D) None of the above

2) How tall are the smallest dogs?
    A) 3 inches
    B) 5 inches
    C) 6 inches
    D) 13 inches.

3) How tall are the biggest dogs?
    A) 1 foot
    B) 2 feet
    C) 3 feet
    D) 5 feet

4) What can all dogs do well?
    A) see
    B) hear
    C) smell
    D) Both B and C are correct

5) How old was the oldest dog?
    A) 5 years old
    B) 10 years old
    C) 13 years old
    D) 24 years old

6) The best antonym for pet is…
    A) wild animal.
    B) domestic animal.
    C) large animal.
    D) friendly animal.

7) A sled is a…
    A) dog.
    B) fish.
    C) cart.
    D) boat.

8) A dog’s fur is the dog’s…
    A) nose
    B) eyes
    C) hair
    D) ears

9) Straight hair is…
    A) curly
    B) long
    C) brown
    D) not curly

10) Anotther word for Human is…
    A) dog.
    B) animal.
    C) sound.
    D) person.

8th.GRADE

CARS


Karl Benz invented the modern car in 1888 in Germany. Emile Roger worked for Benz in France. He made cars in France. By 1900, many people were building cars in France and in the U.S. The first company to build only cars was Panhard et Levassor in France. Panhard started in 1889. The Peugeot car company started in 1891 in France. In the US, Frank and Charles Duryea started the Duryea Motor Wagon Company in 1893. It was the first US car company. By 1902, Ransom E. Olds started the Olds Motor Vehicle Company. A year later, Henry Ford started the Ford Motor company. It produced the Cadillac. All these early modern cars burned gasoline or diesel fuel.

Ford opened factories in France and Britain in 1911. Then, they opened a factory in Denmark in 1923. Later, they opened a factory in Germany in 1925. Ford was one of the first manufacturers to use an assembly line. With an assembly line, factory workers could produce cars faster and safer than other production systems.

Most modern cars still burn gasoline or diesel fuel. These cars cause air pollution. They get the air dirty. Now many people are looking for cleaner cars. And, many car companies are looking for cleaner fuels.

Answer the following questions:

1) Which company first built only cars?
2) When did the Peugeot car company start?
3) What was the first U.S. car company?
4) When did they open a factory in Germany?
5) Whose idea was the assembly line?

Choose the correct alternative for each question:

6) Produced means…
    A) bought.
    B) named.
    C) made.
    D) sold.

7) Fuel is…
    A) a car production system.
    B) what makes cars go.
    C) the price of a car.
    D) None of the above

8) What is a factory?
    A) A place where people make things
    B) A place where people recycle things
    C) A school for car workers
    D) A school for drivers

9) What is an assembly line?
    A) A way of making products
    B) A safe way of making products
    C) A quick way of making products
    D) All of the above.

10) Pollution in the air is…
    A) dirty air.
    B) clean air.
    C) a kind of fuel.
    D) a system of production

9th.GRADE

BOYS AND GIRLS


Boys tend to play outside, in large groups that are hierarchically structured. Their groups have a leader who tells others what to do and how to do it, and resists doing what other boys propose. It is by giving orders that high status is negotiated. Another way boys achieve status is to take centre stage by telling stories and jokes, and by challenging the stories and jokes of others. Boys’ games have winners and losers and elaborate systems of rules that are frequently the subjects of arguments. Finally, boys are frequently heard to boast about their skills, likes and possessions, and argue about who is best at what.

Girls, on the other hand, play in small groups or pairs. The centre of a girl’s social life is her best friend. Within the group, intimacy is key: differentiation is measured by relative closeness. In their most frequent games, everyone gets a turn. Many of their activities (such as playing with dolls) do not have winners or losers. Although some girls are certainly more skilled than others, girls are expected not to boast about it, or show that they think they are better than the others. Girls don’t give orders: they express their preferences as suggestions, and suggestions are likely to be accepted.

Answer the following questions:
1) What do boys frequently argue about?
2) Why does everybody get a turn in girls’ games?
3) Are the following statements true or false?
    a) Boys often boast about their abilities:____________
    b) Girls’ activities are highly competitive: ___________
4) Find a word or phrase in the test which, in context, is similar in meaning to:
    a) Humorous or funny anecdotes: ____________________
    b) Abilities: ____________________

Choose the correct alternative:
5) Boys gain leadership by...
    a) caring and sharing
    b) voting democratically
    c) giving orders.

6) Boys often argue about...
    a) their skill, likes and possessions.
    b) who wins and loses.
    c) playing with dolls.

7) Girls usually play...
    a) in big groups.
    b) in twos or not very large groups.
    c) chess because they don’t enjoy playing hopscotch or jump rope.

8) Girls...
    a) never boast about their skills.
    b) do not often boast about their skills.
    c) are more skilled than boys.

1st.GRADE

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN


Benjamin Franklin was born in 1706 in Boston, Massachusetts. He came from a big family. He had 16 brothers and sisters. When Benjamin was 15, his brother started the first Boston newspaper. It was The New England Courant. He worked for the newspaper for a short time, but he was not happy. So, he went to Philadelphia and worked as a printer. In 1729, he bought a newspaper business. The newspaper was the Pennsylvania Gazette. He was very busy. He also started Junto. It was a workers’ group. In 1733, he started publishing Poor Richard’s Almanack. (Now this word is spelled “almanac.”) His pen name (the name he used as an author) was Richard Saunders. This book came out every year. Almanacs have information about weather and crops. They also have wise sayings. The wise saying “A penny saved is a penny earned” comes from Poor Richard’s Almanack.

Benjamin Franklin was also a scientist. In 1743 he invented a very good stove, the Franklin stove. He invented swim fins and bifocal glasses. He retired from his newspaper business in 1749. He stopped working on it. Then he became busy with science.

Benjamin Franklin was also very interested in American politics. He helped Thomas Jefferson write the Declaration of Independence. In 1776, he and other people signed the Declaration of Independence. Franklin died on April 17, 1790. He was 84 years old.

Answer the following questions:
1) Which newspaper did Ben Franklin buy?
2) What was Ben Franklin’s pen name?
3) When did he started publishing his almanac?
4) What did Ben Franklin invent?
5) What did Franklin write with Jefferson?

Choose the correct alternative:
6) Publishing means…
   A. printing for many people to read.
   B. selling in a large store.
   C. inventing things.
   D. giving advice.

7) An almanac is a(n)
   A. informational book.
   B. newspaper business.
   C. workers’ group.
   B. pen name.

8) What is another way to say retired?
   A. Earned
   B. Helped write
   C. Became busy
   D. Stopped working

9) What is a business?
   A. A service or trade which earns money
   B. A person who signs with others
   C. A workers’ group
   D. None of the above.

10) When Franklin signed the Declaration…
   A. he helped write it.
   B. he wrote his name on it.
   C. he wrote a wise saying in it.
   D. Both A and C are correct.

2nd.GRADE - Text 2

THE TITANIC: ANOTHER DISASTER MOVIE?


The biggest gamble in movie making history has received no fewer than fourteen Oscar nominations. And not only that: contrary to what almost everyone said during the troubled course of its production, it looks like the gamble is going to pay off. Titanic, James Cameron´s $200 million epic has been a great success across Europe and America. Daily Variety, the most influential film newspaper in America, has no doubts. They call it a spectacular demonstration of what modern technology can contribute to dramatic story-telling, and concludes that, unlike the liner which sank in the North Atlantic eighty-five years ago, this Titanic arrives at its destination.

But it hasn´t been all that easy. Shot over eight months (about two months longer than originally planned), Titanic saw its budget spiral almost out of control. With such lavish sets, huge casts and expensive, state-of-the-art computerized special effects, the movie seemed set to become as big a disaster as the story on which it was based.

The perfectionist James Cameron went to extraordinary lengths to get his film exactly right. The filmmakers built a perfect scale model of the ship, which at 236 metres was almost as big as the original, and mounted it on giant hydraulic lifts to reproduce the effect of the vessel sinking. The model stood in a tank filled with 77million litres of sea water.

Everything in Cameron´s movie is bigger and more expensive than anything that has been done before.

Answer the following questions:
1. Read each definition below and choose the word from the list that matches the definition.

   Gamble, success, budget, vessel

   a. A large ship or boat:
   b. Extravagant, excessive:
   c. The cost or estimated cost of something:
   d. A favourable, satisfactory result or accomplishment:

2. Answer the following questions according to the text.
   a. What does the Daily Variety mean with Athis Titanic arrives at its destination?
   b. How long did it take to shoot the Titanic?
   c. Why is Cameron being described as a perfectionist?

2nd.GRADE - Text 1

GEORGE WASHINGTON


We call George Washington the “Father of our Country.” He was the first president of the United States. He also served as the lead general in the Revolutionary War. Every Presidents’ Day, we remember him as America’s first great leader. Washington was born on February 22, 1732 in Virginia. He had little schooling, but taught himself many important skills. As a young man, he became a soldier and fought for the British in the French and Indian War.

Later, however, Washington and others became angry at the way England was ruling its American colonies. In 1776, the colonists declared their independence from the British. General Washington led his troops in the fight against the British. In 1783, America won the war and became free from England. Washington retired as general and returned to his farm in Virginia.

But the new country struggled. It needed a better structure for its government. In 1787, Washington helped head up the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. That is where the U.S. Constitution was written to create a brand new form of government.

As a popular war hero, Washington was the logical choice to become the first president in 1789. He was re-elected four years later. He said he would not serve a third term because that would give one man too much power. As the first president, Washington set an example for later presidents. Today, we honor him as a great leader for a brand new country.

Answer the following questions:
1. Where and when was George Washington born?
2. Which sentence about George Washington is true?
   a. Washington always loved to read books.
   b. Washington fought in the Civil War.
   c. Washington didn't like the way England was ruling the colonies.
   d. Washington was elected president three times.
3. What happened at the Constitutional Convention in 1787?
4. Which two wars did George Washington fight in?
5. Tell whether each sentence is a fact or opinion. Write F or O next to each sentence.
____ George Washington was the greatest leader in American history.
____ George Washington was a soldier.
____ George Washington is known as the “Father of our Country."