Thomas Alva Edison lit up the world with his invention of the electric light.

Without him, the

world might still be a dark place. However, the electric light was not his only invention. He
also invented the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and over 1,200 other things. About
every two weeks he created something new.

Thomas A. Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, on February 11, 1847. His family moved to Port
Huron, Michigan, when he was seven years old. Surprisingly, he attended school for only two
months. His mother, a former teacher, taught him a few things, but Thomas was mostly self-
educated. His natural curiosity led him to start experimenting at a young age with electrical
and mechanical things at home.

When he was 12 years old, he got his first job. He became a newsboy on a train that ran
between Port Huron and Detroit. He set up a laboratory in a baggage care of the train so that
he could continue his experiments in his spare time. Unfortunately, his first work experience
did not end well. Thomas was fired when he accidentally set fire to the floor of the baggage
car.

Thomas then worked for five years as a telegraph operator, but he continued to spend much of
his time on the job conducting experiments. He got his first patent in 1868 for a vote recorder
run by electricity. However, the vote recorder was not a success. In 1870, he sold another
invention, a stock-ticker, for $40,000. A stock-ticker is a machine that automatically prints
stock prices on a tape. He was then able to build his first shop in Newark, New Jersey.

Thomas Edison was totally deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other, but thought of his
deafness as a blessing in many ways. It kept conversations short, so that he could have more
time for work. He called himself a "two-shift man" because he worked 16 out of every 24
hours. Sometimes he worked so intensely that his wife had to remind him to sleep and eat.

Thomas Edison died at the age of 84 on October 18, 1931, at his estate in West Orange, New
Jersey. He left numerous inventions that improved the quality of life all over the world.
1.Thomas Edison did things in this order
he became a telegraph operator, a newsboy, and then got his first patent
he became a newsboy, got his first patent, and then became a telegraph
operator
he got a patent, became a telegraph operator, and then became a newsboy
he became a newsboy, a telegraph operator, and then got a patent

2. Edison considered his deafness:

a disadvantage
a blessing
something from a priest
a necessity

3. Of all the inventions, __________ was probably the most important for
civilization.
the vote recorder
the stock ticker
the light bulb
the motion picture camera

4. The main idea of this passage is:

Thomas Edison was always interested in science and inventions, and he
invented many important things.
Thomas Edison could not keep a job.
Thomas Edison worked day and night on his experiments.
Deaf people make good inventors because they can focus without the
distraction of spoken conversation.
 Vocabulary
Tick the word or phrase that means the same as the underlined word or phrase.

1. His mother, a former teacher, taught him a few things, but he was mostly self-
educated.
a. taught himself
b. born a genius
c. loved school
d. thought of himself

2. His natural curiosity soon led him to start experimenting with electrical and
mechanical things at home.
a. experiencing
b. inventing
c. making tests and playing with
d. ignoring

3. He left numerous inventions that improved the quality of life all over the world.
a. numbered
b. many
c. none
d. modern

4. Sometimes he worked so intensely that his wife had to remind him to sleep and eat.
a. passionately and with great focus
b. carelessly and with many distractions
c. hard
d. problems
Sophia Fowler Gallaudet was the deaf wife of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, who founded the
first permanent public school for the deaf in Hartford, Connecticut. She did not allow her
deafness to prevent her from leading a full life. She was educated, raised a family, ran a busy
household, and helped to found Gallaudet College.

Sophia Fowler was born deaf near Guilford, Connecticut, on March 20, 1798. At that time,
there were no schools for the deaf in America. However, Sophia had a good mind. She used
her intellect and learned many skills by watching the people around her. She learned to cook
and sew, and became a modest, gay and charming young lady.

Sophia was nineteen years old when her parents learned that a school for the deaf had been
founded in Hartford, Connecticut. She entered the school in 1817 and stayed there until the
spring of 1821. While she was there, the principal of the school, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
fell in love with her and asked her to marry him. Sophia did not hesitate, and married him in
1821.

As Mrs. Gallaudet, she continued to charm the people she met. She was eager to learn from
every social situation. Through her contact with the many visitors to her home, she was
actually able to continue her education.

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet died in 1851, leaving his wife to make a life without him.
However, her eight children did not leave her without support. With the help of her grown
children, she continued to keep house for those children that had not yet married.

In 1857, Mrs. Gallaudet's youngest son, Edward Miner Gallaudet, became principal of the
Columbia Institution for the Deaf in Washington, D.C. He was only 20 years only at the time,
but his ambition was to establish a college for the deaf. His mother shared his dream and
work. She often met with members of Congress and other prominent men in order to gain
support for her goals. Thro6ugh them, she helped to obtain funds to found and maintain
Gallaudet College.

Mrs. Gallaudet served as matron of the Columbia Institution for the Deaf (now Kendall
Demonstration School and Gallaudet College) for nine years. This included two years as head
of the department that taught many of the household skills that she had learned as a child,
such as cooking and sewing. She retired only when her health began to fail.
During her last years, Mrs. Gallaudet spent the winters in Washington, D.C., and the rest of
the year traveling and visiting her children and grandchildren. She died on May 13, 1877.
Gallaudet has preserved her memory by naming Fowler Hall, which was originally a women's
dormitory and is now part of the graduate school, in her honor.
Content Questions

Tick the answer you think is correct.

1. According to the story, Sophia continued her education after she finished
school by:
a. reading books
b. meeting and interacting with people
c. being at Gallaudet College
d. learning from Thomas Gallaudet

2. After her husband died, she finished raising her children, and then she:
a. moved to Washington, D.C.
b. spent her winters in Washington and the rest of the year visiting her children and
grandchildren.
c. became sick.
d. Helped her son to establish a college for the deaf.

3. Sophia studied at the school for the deaf in Hartford, Connecticut:

a. for ten years
b. from 1817 to 1851
c. from 1817 to 1821
d. From 1798 to 1803

4. We can assume from this passage that:

a. Sophia believed that deaf people should have equal rights to education and employment.
b. Sophia thought that deaf people were better off living with a relative who could take care of
them and support them.
c. Sophia wished that she could have visited deaf schools in Europe.
d. Sophia always wanted a dormitory to be named after her.
Vocabulary
Tick the word or phrase that means the same as the underlined word or phrase.

1. Sophia Fowler Gallaudet was the deaf wife of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet who founded the
first permanent public school for the deaf.
a. temporary
b. residential
c. lasting
d. important
2. She became a modest, gay, and charming young lady.
a. humble
b. modern
c. cheerful
d. arrogant
3. Sophia didn't hesitate, and married him in 1821.
a. plan
b. want to
c. take a long time to decide
d. confide
4. She often met with members of Congress and other prominent men in order to gain support
for her goals.
a. government
b. promising
c. not famous
d. famous and important
5. She helped to obtain funds to found and maintain Gallaudet College.
a. get
b. order
c. observe
d. send
6. Gallaudet has preserved her memory by naming Fowler Hall in her honor.
a. encouraged
b. promised
c. kept alive
d. ignored

7. Sophia was nineteen years old when her parents learned that a school for the deaf had been
founded in Hartford, Connecticut.
a. located
b. established
c. lost
d. discovered
Should Gallaudet permit students to keep pets in their dorm rooms? Why or why not?
Gallaudet University currently does not allow students to keep pets in their dorm rooms.
Exceptions are made only for service animals such as guide dogs and hearing ___1___. These
working dogs provide services that benefit their student owners. But other kinds of pets can
be ___2___ to students too. Pets should be allowed to live in the dorms because they can help
students reduce stress and learn responsibility.
College life is very demanding and students often feel a lot of pressure and tension. Pets could
help students relieve ___3___ in many ways. For example, playing with pets could give
students a study break. Walking a dog or playing with a cat would allow the students to relax
their body and mind. When the students return to their studying, they would feel ___4___ and
ready to work again. Pets could also relieve social stress or homesickness. A dog or cat could
provide companionship and affection when students have problems with their friends or miss
home. Sometimes it is easier to talk to a pet than to a person. Talking about problems helps
students figure out ___5___. Pets would have a positive influence on the stress of college life.
College is also a time when students need to learn to be responsible. Caring for pets could
help students learn ___6___ in several ways. For example, pets need to be fed and watered on
a regular schedule. Some pets also need to be taken out while others need their litter box or
cage cleaned. Students would learn to schedule time for these chores between their classes
and activities. New students are often used to having their parents do things for them. But
parents do not live on college campuses with their children. Therefore, caring for a pet is
something students would have to do ___7___. They would learn how to solve problems on
their own and how to follow through with their commitments. Having pets would teach
students to handle more adult responsibilities.
In conclusion, living with pets would offer many ___8___ to Gallaudet University's students.
Pets would help students reduce stress and learn adult responsibility. I believe that Galladudet
should consider changing its policies to allow students to keep pets in their dorm rooms.
Shirley Allen: Follow Every Rainbow
Adapted from Darlene Toole, Living Legends (1998): Butte Publications Inc., p. 19-22.

Shirley Allen loved to sing and play the piano. She studied music in college. Her dream was
to become a concert pianist or blues singer/pianist.

Everything changed when she was 20 years old. She became sick with what doctors think was
typhoid fever. Shirley was in a coma for five weeks and she almost died. Doctors gave her
medicine to help her get well, but the medicine _____1_____ her to become totally deaf. She
could no longer _____2_____ the music which she had always loved.

Shirley would never give up playing the piano, but she did decide to change _____3_____.
She transferred to Gallaudet University and studied English. In 1966 Shirley graduated from
Gallaudet and looked for a job. She wanted to be independent and work full-time.

For three years, Shirley worked as a clerk in Washington, D.C. Then, in 1967 she was asked
to work at Gallaudet University as a _____4_____ supervisor. Shirley supervised young
women who lived on campus during the school year. She also taught English. Somehow she
found time to ____5______ graduate school at Howard University in Washington, D.C. In
1972, Shirley received her M.A. degree in counseling from that institution.

Always ready for a new challenge, Shirley became a professor at National Technical Institute
for the Deaf (NTID) in 1973. NTID is located in Rochester, New York. This college offers
deaf and hard-of-hearing students technical and professional training.

When Shirley started teaching at NTID, she was young and eager. She was also the only black
and deaf teacher on campus.

This ____6______ woman became the first black deaf female in the world to receive her
Ph.D. She made _____7_____ in 1992, when she received the highest degree in education
from the University of Rochester in New York.

Dr. Shirley Jeanne Allen has traveled many roads and followed many rainbows searching for
her dream. With courage and determination, she never gave up.

aids
tests
people
dogs
2

harmful
boring
beneficial
exciting
3

stress
headaches
fun
tuition
4

distracted
refreshed
tired
stressed

vacations
college
math
solutions

responsibility
carelessness
French
irresponsibility

together
quickly
independently
carefully

problems
credits
computers
benefits
 READING #1
When all the people had assembled, the king, surrounded by his court, xx1xx a signal. Then a
door beneath him opened, and the accused man stepped out into the arena. Directly opposite
him were two doors, exactly xx2xx and side by side. It was the duty and the privilege of the
person on trial to walk directly to these xx3xx and open one of them. He xx4xx open either
door he pleased; he was subject to no guidance or influence but that of impartial and
incorruptible chance. If he opened the one, there came out of it a hungry tiger, the fiercest and
most cruel that could be found, which xx5xx sprang upon him and tore him to pieces as a
punishment for his guilt. But, if the accused person opened the other door, out of it came a
xx6xx lady, and to this lady he was immediately married, as a reward of his innocence. This
was the xx7xx method of administering justice. Its perfect fairness is obvious. The criminal
could xx8xx know out of which door would come the lady; he opened either he pleased,
without having the slightest xx9xx whether, in the next instant, he was to be devoured or
married. So the accused person was instantly xx10xx if guilty, and, if innocent, he was
rewarded on the spot.

Multiple-Choice Questions

Tick the answer you think is correct.

1. xx1xx
a) give
b) gives
c) gave
d) given

2. xx2xx
a) alike
b) different
c) big
d) closed

3. xx3xx
a) door
b) doors
c) people
d) signals

4. xx4xx
a) should
b) would
c) must
d) could
5. xx5xx
a) immediately
b) usually
c) sometimes
d) frequently

6. xx6xx
a) suddenly
b) angry
c) beautiful
d) old

7. xx7xx
a) criminal's
b) king's
c) lady's
d) tiger's

8. xx8xx
a) even
b) also
c) especially
d) not

9. xx9xx
a) interest
b) belief
c) idea
d) reason

10. xx10xx
a) punish
b) punishing
c) punishes
d) punished

11. How many doors could the person choose from?

a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
 d) 4

12. The main purpose of the custom discussed was

a) entertainment.
b) justice.
c) religious observation.
d) to get money.

13. Who decided which door was to be opened?

a) the criminal
b) the people in the arena
c) the king
d) the lady

14. The word assembled in the first sentence means

a) lifted
b) gathered
c) expected
d) opened

15. The word innocent in the last sentence means

a) not happy
b) not angry
c) not usual
d) not guilty
Grammar:

Each of these sentences contains one error. Find and correct the error.

Women urge unity to advance rights as they mark International Women's Day

1) Women marked International Women's Day around the world with vibrant calls for unity
for advance sexual equality and women's rights.

2) In Tehran several hundred of Iranian female activists staged a rally to mark of International
Women's Day, despite of warnings from authorities that the gathering was illegal. (Omit 3
words)

3) The United Nations urged man to reject violence against woman in

order to protect their daughter from the AIDS pandemic. (Three errors)

4) The Vatican asked the United Nations to condemn all sexual violence against women in a
submission to the Commission on the Status of Women meet in New York.

5) Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat meanwhile called on women a world over to oppose the
Israeli occupation in the speech marking International Women's Day. (two errors)

6) In Italy, men reported spent five million euros (6.2 million dollars)
sending text messages on their cell phones to tell the women in their lives how much they
appreciate them.

7) And Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi exhorted his countrywoman to have more
babies, saying legislation must ensure that work and motherhoods are compatible and would
spur the country's development.
(two errors)

8) Several governments payed lip service to the women's cause.

9) Stalinist North Korea also marked the day with a call for women to give birth to more
children and take a leading role in revive the country's moribund economy.

10) In Norway, often a pioneer in issues of gender equality, Prime Minister Kjell Magne
Bondevik said the country was in its way toward reaching its goal of becoming the first
country with women in at least 40 percent of public sector management positions.
Check Your Answers:

1) Change "for" to "to"

2) Omit of 3 times
3) change to: men, women, daughters
4) meeting
5) switch a and the
6) reportedly
7) countrywomen, motherhood
8) paid
9) reviving
10) on its way

History of Halloween

Halloween falls on October 31st each year in North America and other parts of the world.
What do you know about Halloween? Do you celebrate it in your country? Here is a little
history about it.

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 honour 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.

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
treater.

Check Your Understanding

True or False. Check your answers below.

1. The Celts thought the spirits of dead people returned to the earth on
October 31st.

True
False

2. The Celts created All Hallows.

True
False

3. All Hallows is on October 31st.

True
False

4. The word Halloween comes from the word Hallows eve.

True
False

5. A thousand years ago Europeans wore costumes to get candy.

True
False

6. Americans still carve turnips to use as lanterns.

True
False
7. Today Halloween is especially for children.

True
False

Levi's Blue Jeans

Do you enjoy wearing Levi's blue jeans? Blue jeans have become popular all over the
world, but do you know how they got started? Read on to find out...

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 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 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.

Check Your Understanding

True or False. Check your answers below.

1. Levi Strauss was born in 1853.

True False

2. Levi Strauss wanted to become a great businessman.

True False

3. Levi Strauss sewed pants in his business.

True False

4. Jacob Davis sewed pants in his business.

True False

5. Jacob David used denim to make pants.

True False

6. Jacob Davis put rivets in pants because they looked good.

True False

7. Levi Strauss didn't want to pay for Jacob Davis' patent.

True False

8. Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis became business partners.

True False