Great Aunt Mary

       My great aunt Mary died a few years ago. My sister and I always liked to visit her because we had a good laugh together.

       Mary loved going to the cinema. She knew names of all the actors and she often saw the same film three or four times. When she was young, she wanted to be an actress but her parents said “No”.

       After she left school, Mary worked in a book shop. She was a good shop assistant because she was helpful and she knew a lot about books. One day, a young man came into the shop to buy a book by Agatha Christie. The young men’s name was George. He was a policeman and his favourite stories were crime stories. George started to visit the book shop every week. Mary and George fell in love and married three years later.

       Mary’s hobby was collecting record players. The machines were old but they worked well. Mary had a large collection of records, too. She also loved buying clothes and she had ten big boxes full of clothes, hats and shoes. We liked to look in her boxes of clothes and find big hats and long dresses to wear. We played her records and danced to them for hours. Mary often told us the story of one of her favourite films. Then Mary, George, my sister and I acted the story for Mary’s neighbours. I don’t think we were very good but they always said we were fantastic!

Taken from: Test Book_Challenges 2_Pearson Longman  

The Water Cycle

       Water covers most of our planet. It can be found in oceans, lakes, and ponds, and in the ground itself. The cycle of water from liquid to vapor to solid is called the water cycle. The water cycle is an exciting and continuous process, with no beginning or end. The water cycle is the movement of water in the environment by evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

       The warm sun causes liquid water to evaporate (to change from a liquid into a gas or vapor) and rise up into the sky. The water vapors that are formed cool during evaporation. These cooled water vapors form clouds in the sky. The transformation of the vapor into clouds (that is, from a gas into a liquid) is condensation. Clouds can be a mass of water droplets and/or ice particles. When the clouds get heavy enough, the water falls back to the ground in the form of rain, snow, or hail. This is precipitation.

taken from: http://www.abcteach.com/free/r/rc_watercycle.pdf

A Prescription

Patient: … what about the problems I've been having sleeping?

Doctor: I'm going to give you a prescription for some medicine to help you get a better night's sleep.

Patient: Thank you doctor.
Doctor: Here, you can get this prescription at any pharmacy.

Patient: How often should I take the medicine?
Doctor: Just take one pill about 30 minutes before you go to bed.

Patient: How long should I take them?
Doctor: The prescription is for thirty days. If you're not sleeping well after thirty days, I'd like you to

 come back in.

Patient: Is there anything else I can do to help me sleep at night?
Doctor: Don't worry so much about things at work. I know, I know... easier said than done.

Patient: Should I stay home from work?
Doctor: No, I don't think that's necessary. Just remember to stay calm.

taken from: http://esl.about.com/od/intermediatereading/a/d_mprescrip.htm

The Wampanoag Tribe

       The Wampanoag tribe is a community of Native Americans who, at one time, occupied much of southeastern Massachusetts, the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, and western Cape Cod.

In the early 1600s, before many European settlers began colonizing the present day United States, there are estimated to have been 12,000 people belonging to this community. The Wampanoag lived in villages spread throughout the region, and hunted and farmed for their livelihoods. Fishing and whaling were also part of early Wampanoag life.

       The Wampanoag people emigrated with the seasons. During warmer months, they lived by the shore, planting food, including corn, and fishing. When the weather changed and they could no longer farm, they moved inland and set up small camps of family groups. These small groups spread out and hunted the land surrounding their camps.

       The name “Wampanoag” refers to an entire community of Native Americans, and comprised several dozen sub-tribes. The only sub-tribe of Wampanoag that is a Federally Recognized tribe is the “Wampanoag of Gay Head”. This sub-tribe has lived on Martha’s Vineyard for over 10,000 years. Other sub-tribes are known to have existed historically, and some are still trying to become Federally Recognized. Most sub-tribes have completely disappeared because every member of the tribe died or was killed.

       Wampanoag leaders were known as sachems, and the title was passed through family lines, including to women if no male could claim the title. The leaders had the respect of others in the tribe, but worked with the rest of the community and did not have special privileges attached to their title, and they did not command others. The Wampanoag tribe also had a Grand Sachem, who provided leadership for the entire tribe. When war began with the English settlers, the Grand Sachem King Phillip organized warriors from all over the region, including tribes that were not were not part of the Wampanoag people.

       From 1614-1620, diseases that arrived with early European colonists swept through the region, and some destroyed whole villages. By 1620, there were only about 5,000 Wampanoag people. Over half of them had been killed by disease.

taken from: http://www.abcteach.com/free/r/rc_native_wampanoag_upperelem.pdf