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THE BEAUTIFUL ESSAYS FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS

1.I Want To Dye My Hair Green

Many of my friends have dyed their hair different colors. I
don't mean normal hair colors like brown or black. My friends
have dyed their hair orange, purple and blue. I told my mother
that I would like to dye my hair green. I explained to my mother
that I would only use food coloring. The green would not last
forever. My mother said that dyeing your hair was a silly fad.
She said that I would not look good with green hair. I said that if
I couldn't dye my hair green, maybe I could get a nose ring. My
mother said "no." I said that maybe a tattoo on my arm would
be nice. My mother said "no way." My mother said that she did
some crazy things when she was a young girl. She said that she
used to iron her hair to make it straight. That sounds quite
boring to me. My friend Joan came over. Her hair is dyed bright
pink. My father said "nice hair, Joan." I don't think that he really
meant it. My mother says that when I am an adult I can dye my
hair whatever crazy color I like, but for now she would like me
to leave my hair its natural color. I tried to tell her that all my
friends were doing it. My mother asked, "if all your friends were
jumping off a cliff, would you do it too?" I said "no." I think I'll
have to wait to have green hair, but maybe by the time I'm old
enough to dye my hair green, I won't want it that color. My
mother says that fads change all the time. One day something
might be popular, and the next day it's not in style at all. I'll just
have to live without green hair for now. I wonder what the fad
will be next month.
2.Why do people dislike other people?
Some people don't like other people just because they look
different. I think that is silly. I don't think that it is fair to judge
someone by the way they look. Some people look very nice, but
they are mean or cruel. Some people look very ordinary, but
they are incredibly nice. I remember when I was in grade one; I
saw a girl across the room. She had a mean look on her face. I
thought to myself that she was probably not a very nice person.
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I stayed away from her, and played with the other children.
Then, we had to play a game, and the teacher said that she
would pick partners for us. The teacher picked the girl with the
mean face as my partner. I didn't think that the game would be
much fun at all with a partner who seemed as mean as that girl.
I walked up to her and said hello. The girl's face changed. She
smiled at me, and she began to talk to me. Her mean face
disappeared. We had lots of fun playing the game. We laughed
a lot and enjoyed each other's company. That girl became my
best friend. Now when I look at her I see what is inside her.
Sometimes she doesn't smile, but I know what she is like. She is
a kind and funny person. I have learned that you can't "judge a
book by its cover." It is not fair to dislike someone just because
they don't look like you want them to look. You have to get to
know a person. It doesn't matter to me what color a person's
skin is. It doesn't matter to me if they are short or tall, skinny or
fat or happy or sad looking. I judge people by how they treat
me, and I try to treat people like I would want to be treated.
3.The Birthday Gift
It is going to be my father's birthday. What can I give him? I
don't have much money. I have looked all through the stores,
and I have not found anything that I think he would like, or that
I can afford.
I have thought very hard about what to buy for him. I
thought that he might like some candy, but my father really
doesn't eat many sweets. I thought that he might like a new
shirt, but he has lots of clothes. I can't afford a new car or
computer for him. I was watching him on the weekend. He cut
the grass, washed the car, took out the garbage, weeded the
garden and watered the plants. I got an idea. I went to my room
and took out some paper. I cut out pieces of paper, and I wrote
on them.
I wrote on one piece of paper that I would wash the car
every weekend for the summer. I wrote on another piece that I
would take out the garbage every week for the summer. I also
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wrote that I would cut the grass, weed the garden and water
the plants every week for the summer. I made a birthday card
for my dad, and I put the pieces of paper inside it. I went
downstairs and gave my gift to my dad. My dad thought that
the gift was very thoughtful. He said that it was a gift from the
heart. I did all those things for my dad all summer. He said that
he had a lot of free time because I helped him so much. My dad
and I are good friends. I don't mind doing things for him
because I know that he is always there to help me out. A good
gift doesn't have to be something that costs a lot. My dad says
that the best gifts are the ones that show how much you care
for the other person.
I'm glad my dad liked his gift.
4.New Year's Day
On New Year's Day people start a new year. Many people
make resolutions. They resolve to be better people. Some
people decide that they will lose weight so that they can be
healthier. Some people decide to give up smoking. They also
want to be healthier. There are all kinds of resolutions that
people make. Some people try not to lose their tempers. Some
people say that they will work harder. There are people who try
to give up bad habits. Every year, my brother says that he will
stop biting his nails. He stops biting his nails in January, but by
February he always starts again. That is the thing about New
Year's resolutions. People seldom keep them. Everybody starts
out with good intentions, but it is very hard to stick with them. I
don't make New Year's resolutions. I find that I just break them.
I just work day by day to break my bad habits. I know that I eat
too many sweets. Every day, I just try to resist them. I think that
every day is a new day regardless of whether it is New Year's
Day or not. Bad habits are hard to break. The best thing is
never to start any bad habits. I don't know if my brother will
ever stop biting his nails, but I know that each January he
intends to stop. Maybe one of these New Year's Days he'll get
over that habit.
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5.If I Could Fly

I sometimes imagine what it would be like if I could fly like a
bird. Just imagine what it would be like to soar into the sky,
flying high above the trees. You could stand on high rooftops
and never be afraid of falling. You would see so many things as
you flew over rooftops and forests. You would feel incredibly
free as you traveled from place to place, not bothered by road
signs or traffic jams. If I could fly like a bird, I would start from
my back yard and travel through town. I would look down on
the houses and factories. When I got tired, I would land in a
field and take a nap. I would travel above rivers, and follow
them as they wound along and emptied into lakes and oceans.
I would fly above parks, and I would call out to the children
as I flew high above them. I would dip and dive as I flew. I would
soar up high and dive down low so that I could almost touch the
treetops. Have you ever flown? I know that you can't fly like a
bird, but you might have taken an airplane ride. When you're in
an airplane, you pass through clouds. It is exciting to take an
airplane ride. I love taking airplane flights. I like to look down at
the Earth. When you are up that high, everything below you
looks tiny. That's the closest I'll get to flying like a bird. But I
can still use my imagination and spread my wings and soar high
above the world just like a bird.
6.What I Look For In A Friend
What is it that makes somebody your friend? Some people
are nice, and you have fun with them. Some people are nice to
talk to, but they don't become special to you. Some people
become very close to you. Those people are the ones who
become your good friends.
Did you ever wonder why certain people do become your
good friends? Friends usually have something in common.
Often, friends enjoy doing the same things as each other.
Maybe they like the same sports, or the same music, or maybe
they can even talk about problems or schoolwork. Friends
usually find a common bond. Friends share ideas and listen to
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each other. Sometimes, people who don't have similar interests

even become friends. You can learn a lot from a person who
likes different things than you. The most important thing about
friends is that they must communicate with each other. A good
friend is a person who takes the time to listen to the other
person. One of the most important things that I think a friend
should have is a sense of humor. I like to laugh with my friends.
I like to feel comfortable around my friends. It is nice to be able
to talk and laugh with people who have similar interests. It is
nice to share things with people and learn about their interests.
You become a better person if you are able to learn things from
others. Life is a journey. On that journey you meet many
people. Some of those people will change your life. You have to
choose your friends with care. A good friend is worth more than
all the gold in the world. A good friend will make your journey
through life more pleasant. Make friends along the way, and the
path through life will be very rewarding.
7.A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To School
Last Friday it was very windy. I was walking down the street
with my friend John. We were having a difficult time walking
against the wind. The wind was pushing against us, and we felt
the force of it pressing against us. We even had a hard time
breathing. We were walking slowly. We watched the leaves as
they danced and twirled in the wind. We watched a plastic bag
as it flew by us. We saw a little boy whose baseball cap flew
right off his head. His cap flew along the sidewalk, and he had
to chase it. He finally caught it, and he held it in his hands
tightly after he got it back. The trees were swaying frantically.
Their branches swished and waved in the wild wind. John and I
were hit by flying bits of paper and leaves. We laughed when a
garbage can lid rolled along and hit John in the leg. We saw
another garbage can rolling along the road as if it was alive.
Everything was moving because of the wind. Then, the funniest
thing happened. I wasn't paying any attention, and a paper bag
came flying up the street toward us. It hit me right in the face
and covered my whole face. At first, I didn't know what had
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happened. I was blinded. I couldn't see where I was going. I

stopped and held out my hands. When I stopped, the bag fell
off my face. I looked at John. He was laughing very hard. He was
laughing so hard that tears were rolling down his cheeks. He
said that I looked very funny with the brown paper bag stuck to
my face. I started to laugh too. We laughed about it all the way
to school. John said that he wished he had a camera. He would
have taken a picture of me with the bag on my face.
8.Advice
Sometimes my mother gives me advice. She tells me to
save my money for a rainy day. She says that I should eat my
vegetables if I want to be strong when I grow up. She says that
you reap what you sow. I didn't know what that one meant, so I
asked her. She said that if you are good to people, they will be
good to you. If you do bad things, then bad things will come
back to you.
My mother is always giving me advice. She says that a
penny saved is a penny earned. I am still thinking about that
one. Some of these things are difficult to understand. My
mother is very wise. She says that she has learned from her
mistakes. She tells me that she would like me not to make
mistakes, but she says that everyone does make mistakes. The
important thing is that we learn from our mistakes.
My mother says that nobody is perfect. My mother tells my
sister that time is precious. My sister wastes time, and my
mother doesn't like that. My mother tells me to be true to
myself.
She says that I should not follow the crowd. I should listen
to my own conscience and do what I think is right.
She says that it doesn't matter if you fail at something, the
important thing is that you try. If you've done your best, then
that is all that matters. I listen to my mother. I think she gives
very good advice. My mother has a lot of common sense. I
hope I am as wise as she is when I have children of my own.
Sometimes I wish that she would not give me so much
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advice. I think that I know what I'm doing. But, in the end, I
always remember what she has said, and I try to live by the
standards that she has set for me.
Take the advice that your parents give you. They only have
your best interests at heart.
8.A Trip to the Hospital
I have to get my tonsils out. I'm not really happy about it,
but I'm tired of being sick and having sore throats. I have to go
to the hospital two hours before my surgery.
My mother will go with me. The nurses will take my
temperature and check my blood pressure. They will make sure
that I am ready for my operation. I will be dressed in a white
gown, and I will be wheeled down the hall to the operating
room. I can't have anything to eat or drink for a long time
before my surgery. My mother will walk down the hall with me;
then she will wave goodbye as they wheel me into the
operating room. The doctor and the nurses will be busy in the
operating room. They will be getting ready to perform my
surgery. The doctor will say hello to me and tell me that he is
going to put me to sleep. He will put something into my arm. He
will tell me to count backwards from ten. I think that I will only
say "ten, nine," and then I will be fast asleep. I won't be awake
for the surgery. When I wake up, I will be surprised that the
surgery is over. My throat will hurt, and I probably won't feel
very good. My mother will be there with me. The nurses will
give me a drink and try to make me comfortable. I won't be in
the hospital overnight.
I will go home later in the day. My parents will have to make
sure that I have a lot to drink. I can't eat any hard foods or they
will hurt my throat. I will sleep a lot, because I will not feel very
well for a couple of days. It won't take long before I recover
from my surgery. Sometimes, we need surgery to make us feel
better. Hospitals can be a bit frightening, but the doctors and
nurses are very nice, and their job is to make you better.
10.What My Cat Did
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One day I was sitting in a chair drinking a cup of tea. My cat

came into the room and sat on my lap. She was quite content,
and she sat there purring. My cat likes to drink water, and
sometimes she drinks milk. I would never give her tea to drink.
Cats just don't drink tea. We were sitting there quietly when
suddenly my cat stood up. She was looking at something on the
floor. She crouched down low and got ready to pounce. It was a
huge centipede. I think that centipedes are ugly. They have many
legs, and they move very fast. I would hate to have one crawl over
me. I was surprised that she caught the centipede. She put her paw
on it, and then she reached down and ate the centipede. The
centipede must not have tasted very good. My cat got a funny look
on her face, and she looked like she was trying to get a bad taste out
of her mouth. I was thinking that I would be sick if I ate a centipede.
My cat looked at me and jumped back up in my chair. She stuck
her face in my teacup and took a big drink of tea. I was
shocked. I had never seen a cat drink tea before. I think that the
centipede must have tasted so bad that my cat just needed
something to wash the taste out of her mouth. Guess what? I
didn't finish my tea. I threw it out and washed out the cup. My
cat has never had a drink of tea since that day. She has also
never eaten another centipede. If a centipede walks by, she just
pretends that she doesn't see it.
11.If I Was Tiny
Imagine what life would be like if you were two inches tall.
You would have to be careful that nobody stepped on you. You
would have to watch out for cats, dogs and birds. It would be
very dangerous, but just think of the things that you could do.
You could live in dollhouse, or even a shoebox. You could use a
bottle cap for a plate. You would have to wear dolls' clothes. A
stamp would make a lovely picture to hang on your wall. You
could hide in a mouse hole or a drawer. You wouldn't need
much food. You could probably live comfortably on the crumbs
that people would leave on the table. A thimble would make a
good cup. If you went outside, the grass would seem like a
jungle. An insect would be huge and frightening. A puddle
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would seem to be an ocean. You could cross the puddle in a

paper cup and use a spoon for an oar. A matchbox would make
a good bed with a handkerchief as a bedspread. You'd brush
your hair with a toothbrush, but you'd never find anything small
enough to brush your teeth with. You could take a ride on the
back of a mouse. You wouldn't find any books that were small
enough to read, but you might read the back of a pill bottle. You
could ride in a toy car and have a soup bowl for a swimming
pool. A leaf could be your umbrella, and a mitten would make a
great sleeping bag. If you used your imagination, you could
think up something to use for almost all your purposes. Being
small might be fun, but then again, it would be frightening. I'd
be afraid of my pet cat. I wouldn't want a book to fall on me. I
would be afraid of being swept away by a big gust of wind. I
think I'd rather be my size.
12.If I were a Giant
If I were a giant, I wouldn't be able to fit in my house. I'd
have to live in a building that had a high ceiling, but I'd
probably have a hard time getting through the door. I'd have to
make my own clothes, but where would I get a giant needle and
thread to sew with? I couldn't ride in a car or a plane. I suppose
I would just have to take giant steps to get from place to place.
I would have to be very careful not to step on anybody or
anything. When I talked, people would cover their ears. My
voice would sound very loud to them. I wouldn't find shoes to
cover my feet. I wouldn't find a knife and fork to eat my dinner
with. I might have to use a rake as a fork. My dinner would be
huge. What would I cook my dinner in? I certainly wouldn't find
an oven big enough to put my dinner in. If I sneezed, it would
be like a hurricane. If I fell down, it would be like an earthquake.
I wouldn't have any friends because everyone would be too tiny
for me to talk to. I think that being a giant would be very lonely.
I couldn't have just one apple. I would have to have a lot of
apples to fill me up. I would have to drink gallons and gallons of
water to quench my thirst. I could never relax under a tree. I
would be taller than all the trees. I don't think that being a giant
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would be fun. I won't ever make a wish to be a giant. I would

rather be my height. I'm very happy the way I am.
13.Do People Have the Right to Smoke in Public?
My father used to smoke. He got very ill. The doctor told
him that he had to quit smoking. My father tried for a long time
to quit. It was very difficult for him. Smoking is an addiction.
After many months, my father finally gave up smoking, but he
still craved a cigarette once in a while. He says that quitting
smoking is the hardest thing that he has ever done. When my
father did smoke, he smoked everywhere. He smoked in
restaurants, stores and many public buildings. Now, you are not
allowed to smoke in a lot of public places. When my father
smoked, the rules were not so strict. People could smoke just
about anywhere. It really wasn't fair to the people who didn't
smoke. Their clothes always smelled like smoke, and they
breathed in second-hand smoke. Some people think that
second-hand smoke is actually worse for you than if you smoke
yourself. People would smoke in their houses, and very young
children would inhale the smoke that was in the air. Some
people still smoke in their houses, and their children breathe in
the smoke. Some restaurants have areas for smokers and
nonsmokers, but usually the smoke drifts from one area to the
other. There are some businesses that have banned smoking
altogether. Personally, I think that smoking in public places
should be completely banned. I don't think that I should have to
breathe in another person's smoke if I choose not to smoke
myself. It wouldn't be fair for a nonsmoker to get lung cancer
because they had to be in a place where smokers were allowed
to light up. I know that smoking is a powerful addiction and that
it is very difficult to quit, but smokers should restrict their
smoking to places where there is nobody else around. Lung
cancer is an awful disease. Nobody should have to suffer with
lung cancer. People should be educated about the dangers of
smoking. Smoking should be banned in public places, but
eventually I would like to believe that fewer people will smoke.
It would be nice to live in a smoke free environment.
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14.My Favorite Bedtime Story

Every night when I was little, my mother would read me a
bedtime story. My favorite story was Tom's Midnight Garden.
This was a story by Philippa Pearce. It was quite a long book,
and it took quite a few nights for my mother to read the entire
book to me. In Tom's Midnight Garden Tom moves to the city to
stay with his aunt and uncle. He is very bored at their
apartment. They have no children, so Tom has nothing to do.
One night, the clock strikes thirteen times. Tom knows that this
is impossible. A clock can only strike up to twelve times. He
sneaks downstairs and goes outside. When he gets outside,
there is a wonderful garden that wasn't there the day before.
The next day, Tom goes outside and finds that there is no
garden. The garden only seems to appear at night. Every night,
Tom slips out to this wonderful garden, and he meets some
people in the garden. He meets a girl named Hattie. Hattie and
Tom become very good friends in this garden. Some very
strange things happen in this book. There are some
coincidences that keep you guessing about what is really going
on. The surprise ending is wonderful. I really enjoyed Tom's
Midnight Garden and I was very sad when my mother and I
came to the end of the book. I felt that I had visited the magical
garden with Tom. It is a book that I will remember all of my life.
15.If I Found a Magic Lamp
If I was walking down the beach on day, and I happened to
bump my toe on a magic lamp, I would pick it up and rub it. If it
was a real magic lamp (but I don't believe that there really is a
magic lamp), a genie would pop out in a cloud of smoke, and he
would call me master. He would say that he would grant me
three wishes. I would have to think very hard about those
wishes because I wouldn't want to waste them. I don't think I'd
want millions of dollars. Money doesn't buy happiness, or so
they say. I might wish for good health, because if your health
isn't good you won't be able to enjoy anything. Some people
might wish for beauty, but beauty is only skin deep. Some
people would wish for a mansion, or a beautiful car or a big
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boat. I don't want any of those things. Some people would want
fame. Some people would want talent. Some people would wish
for happiness. That might be a good thing to wish for. Yes,
maybe I'd wish for health and happiness, but what would my
third wish be? I could wish for something enormous, something
global. I could wish for world peace. That would be a wonderful
thing if somebody could grant me that. Yes, that would probably
be my third wish. It's too bad there aren't any genies inside
magic lamps. I won't get my three wishes. I can still work
toward getting my wishes. I can eat well and exercise to stay
healthy. I can be involved with a lot of things and be with my
friends to stay happy. I can volunteer my time to different
organizations to help achieve world peace. I can do my fair
share in my community to help others. That's how I can get my
three wishes, not through a magic lamp. I can only get what I
want through self-determination and hard work. That is the key
to getting your wishes fulfilled.
16.Superstitions
I am not superstitious, are you? Yesterday was Friday the
thirteenth. Some people think that Friday the thirteenth is an
unlucky day. I think that it is just like any other day. Some
people believe that if a black cat crosses your path, you will
have bad luck. I don't believe that either. My mother always
gets upset if I open an umbrella in the house. She says that it is
bad luck. She is probably right about that one because an open
umbrella would take up a lot of space, and you might knock
things over. If your left hand is itchy, you are supposed to get
money. I have had an itchy left hand before, but I haven't
received any money because of it. It is bad luck to walk under
a ladder. This is probably true because you might knock
somebody off the ladder, or have a can of paint fall on top of
you. If you are acting in a play, it is bad luck if someone says
"good luck" to you. This is very confusing. You are supposed to
tell an actor to "break a leg." It doesn't mean that you want the
actor to break his leg. It means good luck to the actor. Actors
have a lot of superstitions that are very unusual. I am not
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superstitious. I don't believe in superstitions at all. It is just fun

to learn about superstitions. Some of them are very old and
have been passed down from generation to generation. I once
did a project at school on superstitions. It was a very interesting
topic, and I got a good mark for it.
17.Help
Did you ever have to call for help? Were you ever in a
situation that was an emergency? It is good to know what to do
in case of an emergency. You should always know how to get in
touch with the police and fire departments. I have read stories
where very young boys or girls have called the police and saved
their friend's or family member's lives because they knew just
who to get hold of. If you see a fire, you should call the fire
department. A lot of tragedies have been prevented because
the calls have been made quickly. It is important that
emergency vehicles arrive very quickly. That is why those
vehicles have sirens. When their sirens go, it means to get out
of the way. Policemen, firemen and ambulance attendants are
trained to handle very difficult situations. They often save
peoples' lives. They go through a lot of training to become good
at what they do. They never panic in emergencies. For your
part, you should keep emergency numbers near the phone, or
know what the emergency numbers are. Where I live, there is a
special number that you call for any emergency. We teach that
number to everyone, even very tiny children. It is important to
remain calm if you need help. If you call an emergency number,
you have to be able to speak clearly, and tell the person you
are talking to exactly what the problem is. I hope you are never
in an emergency situation, but it is a good idea to be prepared.
18.The Peach Orchard
When I was very young, I lived near a peach orchard. Now,
there is a park where the orchard used to be. I always
remember the peach orchard because my grandmother and I
used to go there and pick peaches. The owner of the orchard
would let all the neighbors pick peaches. It's not the fact that I
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used to get many ripe, tasty peaches that I remember; it's the
time that I used to spend with my grandmother that I
remember. My grandmother was very old, but she was very
healthy. She used to walk a lot. I think that is what kept her fit.
She had a lot of energy so she liked to go to a lot of places. She
would get a fruit basket, and then she would ask me if I wanted
to go to the orchard. I always said yes because I enjoyed
walking through the orchard on a sunny day. We never climbed
up on a ladder to reach the peaches; we just reached for the
low hanging fruit. My grandmother and I used to talk all the
time that we were out there. It was nice to spend time with her.
She told me many stories about when she was a young girl. We
laughed and got to know each other better. My grandmother
only visited us during the summer. She lived in California, and I
lived in Niagara Falls, so we didn't get to spend a lot of time
with each other. We enjoyed the hot summer days in the
orchard. You could smell the peaches, and the bees buzzed
lazily by us. My grandmother would point out different insects
and birds to me. I learned a lot about nature from her. We
would end up with a big basket of peaches. When we got home,
my mother would wash the peaches, and often she would bake
a peach pie for us. Nobody bakes a peach pie like my mother.
It's good to have memories like that. Childhood memories of
time spent with my grandmother are very precious to me.
Sometimes, it's just the simple things that you do in life that
leave you with the nicest memories.
19.Learning to Dance
I went to England with my mother. She used to be a singer
in a band. We went to the hotel that she used to sing at. It was
a big fancy hotel. Some of the people that she knew when she
sang in the band were still there. They remembered my mother,
and they had a good time talking to her and remembering old
times. Many people told me that I looked like my mother. In the
hotel, they had a fancy hall where they had ballroom dancing. I
am not used to that kind of dancing. I always dance to rock
music. A man told me that he would teach me how to dance. It
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looked very easy. I held one of his hands, and put my other
hand on his shoulder. He told me exactly how to move my feet.
I was very clumsy, and I stepped on his toes. He was patient
with me, and he counted "one, two, three." I tried to waltz with
him. I would start out pretty well, but then I would get mixed up
and stand on his toes again. The man laughed about it. I told
him that I wasn't a very good dancer, but he said that I was
good for a beginner. I think he was just being polite. The man
asked my mother to dance. My mother is a very good dancer. I
didn't know that about her. She never stepped on the man's
toes once. The man thanked us for dancing with him, and I
thanked him for giving me dancing lessons. I don't think I'll ever
be very good at that type of dancing. Each generation has a
specific type of dancing. The way that I dance is different from
the way that my mother dances. The way that I dance doesn't
involve moving your feet too much. I'm not too good at fancy
steps.
20.Super Heroes
When my brother was very young, he loved super heroes.
He collected plastic figures of all the super heroes. I think he
had every super hero figurine that there was. He used to tie a
towel over his shoulders and run through the back yard. He
pretended that he was rescuing people. One time he stood on
the roof. He really thought that he could fly with his super hero
cape on. He would have hurt himself if he had jumped. My dad
saw him and told him to get down. My dad explained to my
brother that super heroes are not real. Real people cannot fly
from rooftops. My brother was disappointed. He thought that
the super heroes really existed. My dad explained that most
super heroes were created as comic book characters.
Somebody used their imagination to make them up, and then
an artist drew them. My brother was not impressed. He said
that he wanted to meet the super heroes. My father told him
that he might meet someone dressed up as a super hero, but it
wouldn't really be a super hero in the costume. It is hard to
explain to small children that the things that they see in comic
 16

books and on television aren't really real. My brother still

pretends that he is a super hero. He doesn't jump from
rooftops, but he runs around and makes noises like he is flying.
I look at him and remember when I used to do things like that.
I'm more mature than my brother. I know that super heroes
aren't real, but I know that he is having fun and using his
imagination.
21.Being a Princess
Sometimes, I think that I would like to be a princess. A
princess would live in a palace and wear beautiful clothes. She
would have servants to do chores for her, and she would
probably marry a handsome prince. People would recognize
her. They would wave to her as she drove by. It seems like it
would be a lot of fun to be a princess. But maybe it wouldn't be
so nice. Maybe it would be terrible to be recognized by
everyone. Maybe a princess would feel like everyone was
watching her. She would have to look nice every time she left
the palace. There would always be people with cameras who
wanted to take her picture. A princess would have no privacy.
Even in her own palace there would be servants around, so she
would never really be alone. If I were a princess, I would worry
about security for my family. Sometimes, people who are in
high positions are threatened by other people. That would be a
worry. I'm not so sure that being a princess would be all that
much fun. I think it might be better to be just a normal person
like me. I don't have to worry about looking wonderful all the
time. People don't follow me around and take my picture.
Whenever you see a picture of a princess, she is smiling. I
wonder if she is smiling on the inside, or just smiling for the
camera.
22.My Worst Fear

I am afraid of water. I don't know why I am afraid. I have

never had a bad experience in the water. I just never learned to
swim. I should have done that when I was just little. It would be
easier for me to swim now if I had started when I was young. I
 17

will go into the shallow water, but I start to panic when the
water gets higher than my chest. I don't like the feeling of not
being able to put my feet on the bottom of the pool or the lake.
I don't like to get water up my nose. I choke and cough when
that happens. My friends just tell me to relax and I will float, but
I find it hard to relax in deep water. They keep telling me that if
I panic I will sink. Most of my friends have had swimming
lessons. Some of them are even lifeguards. They have tried to
teach me to swim, but I think I need to go to a place where they
actually teach swimming. It would be so nice to jump into a pool
of cold water on a hot summer day. That would be so
refreshing. If I go out onto a boat, I always wear a life jacket. I
think it is wise to do that. Everyone should wear a life jacket on
a boat. I would rather be safe than sorry. I have decided that I
will overcome my fear. I will go and take swimming lessons. I
have a goal. By this time next year, I would like to be able to
swim the length of the pool without being afraid. It is best to
face your fears and deal with them. I hope that I can overcome
my fear of water.
23.If I Live to be 100
It is an entire century. Imagine all the changes that you
would see if you lived to be 100. I had a neighbor who was 85.
She used to tell me what things were like when she was a little
girl. She told me what my town used to look like, what her
clothes were like, and what her school was like. I used to enjoy
listening to her stories. Everything was so different when she
was young. Listening to her was like having history come to life.
I used to try to imagine what life was like for her back then.
If I was 100, and I had grandchildren and great
grandchildren, I would tell them stories about my childhood. I
would hope that I had a good memory so that I could remember
everything. If I do want to live to be 100, I'll have to live a
healthy lifestyle. Not too many people live to be that old. If I do
get to be that old, I hope I'll still be mentally alert and physically
agile. In my country, the Prime Minister sends a letter of
congratulations to anyone who has their hundredth birthday.
 18

People who live to be 100 are very special. Maybe in the future
with better medical care and healthier lifestyles, more people
will live to be 100.
If I live to be 100, I'll have a birthday cake, but I won't put
100 candles on the cake. I could never blow out 100 candles.
24.What I Like Most and Least About Myself
I was trying to think up the best and the worst things about
myself. I think the best thing about me is that I am very
friendly. I have a lot of friends, and they all like me. I try to be
good to my friends. I don't often have arguments with people. I
think that I am quite easy to get along with. The worst thing
about me is that I sometimes feel sad. Sometimes I don't feel
sad for any particular reason. I just get into moods where I am
depressed. Sometimes there is a reason to be sad. I was sad
when my pet frog died. I was sad when I lost my favorite
baseball card. On those days, I'm still nice to my friends, but
inside I feel like there is a heavy weight in my chest. I think that
everyone feels sadness sometimes. I try to do things that make
me happy whenever I get into one of my sad moods. Last
Saturday, I felt a bit sad so I called up my friend John and asked
him if he wanted to go to the movies. We went to a comedy. We
laughed all the way through the movie, so that by the time the
movie was over, I didn't feel sad anymore. My friendliness is my
best trait, and my sad moods are my worst traits. I have to work
at getting over my sad moods more quickly. Being sad doesn't
do anyone any good. There is no use in feeling sorry for oneself.
25.The Trunk in the Attic
Last month my grandmother asked me if I could help her to
clean out her attic. I was happy that she asked me. My
grandmother says that her attic is full of junk. I think that her
attic is full of treasures. I helped her to dust and vacuum the
attic. I pulled and pushed around boxes and crates. I helped her
to wash the floors and walls. My favorite thing that I did was to
sort through the old trunk that she had up there. The trunk had
a rusty latch on it. It was a bit difficult to open, but my
 19

grandmother got a knife and pried the latch open. The trunk
was full of all kinds of things. There were lots of clothes. Some
of the clothes had been my grandmother's. There was a blue
velvet dress that she had worn to a dance when she and my
grandfather were dating. It was a beautiful dress, but there
were a few moth holes in it. There were some of my mother's
old clothes. There was a pair of bell-bottom slacks that had
bright flowers on it. I couldn't believe that my mother had ever
worn something like that. There were some of my mother's old
report cards. Some of her marks weren't very good. I had fun
reading the report cards. There were photographs. There was a
picture of my grandparents holding my mother when she was a
baby. There was an old baseball glove that one of my uncles
had owned. There was even one of my old dolls in there. One of
her legs was missing. My grandmother said that I was rough
with my dolls when I was little. I should have taken better care
of my toys. There was even some old jewellery. I tried on some
of the old clothes and jewellery. I told my grandmother that I
liked looking through old things. My grandmother told me to
keep whatever I wanted. She said that it was all junk. I still say
that the trunk was full of treasures.
26.Hot and Cold
I notice that whenever it is summer, people complain about
the heat, but whenever it is winter, people complain about the
cold. It seems that people are never satisfied. I don't like the
winter. It is usually much too cold for me. My teeth chatter, and
my fingers turn numb whenever the weather gets cold. It is
hard for me to warm up once I start to freeze. I try to wear
layers of clothes, but winter winds go through my clothes no
matter how much I wear. My feet feel like they are blocks of ice
on a cold January day when I walk home from school. I would
not like to live in a place that had a cold climate all year long. I
am not comfortable when it is too cold. I like the summer.
Some people say that it is hot and sticky in the summer, but I
don't mind the heat at all. I love to feel the warm sunshine on
my skin. I like the freedom of not having to wear heavy coats
 20

and boots. I am the happiest when there is a slightly cool

breeze that comes along to refresh you on a hot summer day. I
could live in a place with a hot climate. I would enjoy that. Of
course, when you are in a place with a hot climate there are
more bugs than in places with cooler climates. I don't care for
bugs. Where I live, it is very humid. The heat and moisture
combine to make it uncomfortable sometimes. It is nicer when
the heat is high, but the humidity is low. It would be better if I
lived somewhere where it was hot, but not humid. That would
be just perfect.
27.Walk a Mile in My Shoes
Have you ever heard the saying "walk a mile in my shoes?"
I think it is a very good saying. Do you know what it means? It
means, that before you judge someone, you should put yourself
in his or her position. For example, if someone was running in a
race, and they did very poorly and came in last it wouldn't be
fair to say, "oh, he's just a terrible runner." You would have to
look at all the circumstances that made the person lose the
race. Maybe they pulled a muscle in their leg the day before;
maybe this is their very first race; maybe they are not in good
form because something isn't right in their lives. There can be
so many things that affect a person's life, performance and
moods. If someone was very quiet at a party, you couldn't just
assume that they weren't friendly. You don't know what is
happening in their lives. They could be feeling ill, or they might
have just had a bad experience. Nobody can know exactly how
another person feels. Even if someone tells you what he or she
is experiencing, you still won't fully understand what is going on
inside the other person. Everyone perceives and feels things
differently. To walk a mile in someone else's shoes is to try and
understand things from that person's perspective. We are all
shaped by the events that have taken place in our lives. No two
people have gone through the exact same things. So, before
you are quick to judge someone, stop and think about what it is
that they might have gone through. You won't always
understand why people do what they do, but you can try to
 21

understand and put yourself in their position.

28.If I Could Go Back in My Life
If I could go back in my life and do some things differently,
this is what I would do: I would not waste so many hours in front
of the television set. I would get out and enjoy my own life,
rather than watching actors in shows. I would be a little more
considerate of other people. I would realize that my mother has
more to do than pick up after me. I would pay more attention in
school. Tests are easier when you have paid attention, rather
than fooling around in class. I would save more money rather
than spend it on useless things. I would read more. Reading is
enjoyable, and it opens the doors into all kinds of wonderful
places both real and imagined. I would learn to play an
instrument. Music is always appreciated if it is played well. I
would eat better foods. I would try to stay healthy through my
diet and exercise. I would take more pictures, and I would keep
a journal. Memories are very precious. I would take the time to
listen to what people have to say. People appreciate a good
listener. I would take the time to enjoy each day as it comes.
Sometimes, I am so busy looking forward to what is coming up
that I don't take the time to enjoy the day that I am living in.
That's what I would do if I could go back in my life. In fact, I
think I'll just make a habit of doing all of those things all
through my life. I think I would like to live to be 100.
29.Joking
Joking is good. Jokes can be very funny. Jokes can also be
hurtful. Jokes can be tasteless too.
It is not an easy thing to find jokes that do not offend
anyone. Some jokes make fun of different races. Those jokes
are not funny. They are hurtful. It is not right to tell racist jokes.
Many jokes use bad language or are about questionable subject
matter. These jokes are also not acceptable. Many people are
highly offended by rude jokes. What some people find funny,
others will not. Comedy is a very personal thing. Some people
like slapstick comedy. That is the kind of comedy that the Three
 22

Stooges use. Some people like very subtle humor. Some people
will laugh at just about anything. Sometimes, it is not
appropriate to laugh, but you feel like laughing anyway. Did you
ever see anyone fall down? Did you feel like laughing when they
fell down? You were probably worried that they had hurt
themselves, yet the way that they fell was so funny that you felt
like laughing. It's not funny when someone falls, but you can't
help but laugh even though you try to hide it.
Jokes and comedy differ from culture to culture. Many
people from other countries come here and don't understand
our comedy. Jokes and comedies are often geared toward our
environment. Sometimes, comedians make fun of the things
that we do in our everyday lives like going to the bank, or going
grocery shopping. We can all relate to that. Being a comedian is
not an easy job. Telling jokes and making people laugh is
extremely difficult. Jokes are fun, and they are funny if they are
good. Jokes can get you into a lot of trouble if they are
inappropriate, and sometimes they're just not funny and
nobody laughs. Here is a joke. Why does a cow wear a bell? -
because its horns don't work. Do you get it? Do you think it is
funny? Well, maybe it's not that funny. I told you that it was
difficult being a comedian.
30.Drugs
There are two different types of drugs. There are legal
drugs and illegal drugs. Legal drugs are the type of drugs that
the doctor gives you when you are sick. Illegal drugs are the
drugs that people sell on the street. Illegal drugs are very
dangerous. If someone ever wants you to try any type of
substance that you are not sure about, you should always say
no. People who sell drugs on the street are criminals. If they
get caught, they will be sent to jail. They sell drugs to get
money. They don't care that people's lives are ruined from
taking drugs. If you take illegal drugs, you can become addicted
to them. That means that you just have to have the drug no
matter what. Some people steal from other people to get
money to buy drugs. Drugs affect your mind. If you take drugs,
 23

you will not be able to think clearly. Your marks in school will
drop. Your memory won't be very good. our personality won't
be the same. It is very unfortunate that some people do try
drugs. They think that it won't hurt them. They are wrong. If
you are smart, you will stay away from all drugs, except for the
ones that the doctor gives you. Drugs are just bad news. If you
know someone who is thinking about trying drugs, tell them
that their entire life could be ruined. In America, they had a
saying. "Just say no to drugs." It is a good saying, but I think I
would rather say, "I'm just too smart to take drugs."
31.Divorce
Mary's parents just got a divorce. Mary is very upset. She
thinks that her parents don't love her anymore. She thinks that
they got a divorce because of her. She is wrong. Her parents
love her just as much as they always did. They aren't getting
divorced because of Mary. Sometimes, marriages just don't
work out. It isn't really anyone's fault. Marriage isn't easy. It is
hard for two people to stay together for a lifetime. Sometimes,
people change as they get older, and they move on. Some
people have perfectly good marriages, and they stay together
for their entire lives. Divorce doesn't happen because the
parents don't love the children anymore. A lot of children feel
that it is their fault, but it isn't their fault at all. Children neither
cause the divorce, nor can they prevent it. It is up to the
parents. Divorce isn't the end of the world. Children can still see
both parents and stay with them. Life goes on. Sometimes
children can get new stepmothers or stepfathers. That can be a
good thing. You just have to be understanding, and know that
your parents still love you. Life doesn't always go the way that
we planned it, but it has its twists and turns. Life is an
adventure. If your parents get a divorce, just be understanding.
Know that they love you and that this is a hard time for them. It
is a hard time for you too, but these things have a way of
working themselves out in the end.
32.If my Fish Could Talk
 24

I have a goldfish. He swims around in his bowl all day. He

looks bored. I look inside the bowl and watch him. His mouth
always moves. He looks like he is talking. I imagine what my
goldfish would say if he really could talk. I think he would say:
"Hey, I'm bored in this little bowl. Why don't you get me a
bigger tank with more fish in it? I would like to have some
friends to swim around with." I went out and bought a bigger
tank for my goldfish. I put some plants at the bottom of the
tank, and I got a miniature deep-sea diver to put at the bottom
of the tank. I looked into the tank and imagined what my
goldfish was saying. He seemed to be saying: "This is a nice
tank. It's roomy in here, and you decorated it well, but I still
don't have any friends to swim with." I went to the pet store and
bought three more goldfish. I put them into the tank. All of the
goldfish seemed to look at each other. They swam near each
other and seemed to be playing games. I knew which one was
my goldfish because he has a black spot on his fin. I looked at
him, and imagined that he was talking again. He said: "This is
great! I have a big new home and friends to swim with. These
are nice goldfish that you brought home for me; thank you."
Goldfish can't really talk. I know that. I just like to pretend that
my goldfish talks. He seems very happy now with his nice new
home, and his new friends. I don't think goldfish can smile
either, but it looks like my goldfish has a smile on his face.
33.The Best Teacher
I have had a lot of teachers. Some of them were good, and
some of them were boring. There is one teacher whom I
remember very well. He is the best teacher that I ever had. His
name was Mr. Alban. He was a history teacher.
History is not my favorite subject. I don't really enjoy history
a lot. When I was in Mr. Alban's class, he made history seem
exciting. He was more of an actor than a teacher. If he was
describing a war, he would make us feel all the emotions that
the soldiers and their families would have felt. We could almost
hear the guns firing and the people shouting. He would paint a
picture in our minds that was very vivid. When I had a history
 25

test in his class, I didn't have to study much. I would remember

every word that he had said. I would see him doing the actions
that went along with his stories. He was very animated. He
would shout out orders as if he was a general, or he would
speak softly and reverently when describing the death of a
great hero. The most important thing that I learned from Mr.
Alban was that I did really like history.
I just thought that I didn't like it because most people had
made it dull by just reading from the textbooks. History is not
just a series of dates and dull facts. History is what really
happened. History is real life. All the historical figures had real
families and emotions. They weren't just fictional people.
After I took history from Mr. Alban, I realized that I really did
have an interest in it. He was my favorite teacher, and I will
always be grateful to him for making me aware of just how
interesting history really is.
34.Weather
Sometimes, I watch the weatherman on television. It is
fascinating to watch him point to different areas of the country
on the map. He tells us where the weather will be nice and
where it will be bad. The weatherman is not always right.
Weather reporting is not an exact science. Nothing is very exact
when it comes to the weather. The weather department does a
lot of research, but they can never be sure of exactly what will
happen. Sometimes, it looks like it will be clear, but the wind
changes direction and clouds move in. The weatherman can
warn people if there is a chance of a hurricane or tornado. The
weatherman can also warn people of floods. Sometimes, entire
towns have to be evacuated because of bad weather. It is
important to be aware of the weather. For example, it is not
good to be caught in the middle of a field when there is going to
be a thunderstorm. You might want to take extra precautions if
there is going to be a heavy snowstorm. You would need to be
in a secure place if a hurricane or tornado was predicted. You
might want to cancel a picnic if you knew that it would rain that
 26

day. The weather affects us in so many ways. Some people are

really affected by dull, cloudy days. If there are no sunny days,
they become very depressed. Heavy air pressure can cause
some people to have headaches. Weather affects all of us in
one way or another. It is always a topic of conversation. People
often say things like "hello, it's a beautiful day today." Often we
plan our lives and activities around the weather. So, if you are
planning on walking home tonight, keep an eye on the sky. Are
those rain clouds up there? You might need an umbrella.
35.How to Avoid Catching a Cold
How many colds do you catch in a year? Most of my friends
catch quite a few colds. They cough, sniffle and sneeze. They
carry around tissues and blow their noses all the time. Their
eyes water, and they have scratchy throats. I don't get many
colds. In fact, I can go for a whole year and never catch a cold.
That is why I consider myself an expert on how not to catch a
cold. I'll tell you how to avoid catching a cold. I think that you
need to take a lot of vitamin C. I eat a lot of fruits and
vegetables. I drink fruit juice too. I also take vitamin C pills.
Whenever I begin to feel a cold coming on, I make sure that I
have taken my vitamin C pill, and I drink a lot of orange juice.
That usually knocks the cold right out of my system. I make
sure that I get a lot of fresh air. In the winter, a lot of buildings
are shut up tight so that the air is stale, and people's germs
circulate through the buildings. I get outside and breathe in
fresh clean air. If somebody is rude enough to cough or sneeze
right in front of me without covering his or her mouth, I just hold
my breath for a second. I'm not sure if this works or not, but I
don't want to breathe in anybody's cold germs. Many germs are
passed through hands. It is important to wash your hands
thoroughly if you touch anything in a public place. If I hold a
banister while I am walking down the stairs, I think of all the
people who have used that banister, and I make sure that I
wash my hands before I eat. Doorknobs also have a lot of germs
on them. Money is another thing that is passed from hand to
hand and is covered with germs. Sometimes, I see people stick
 27

money into their mouths. Just think of all the germs that you
would be putting into your mouth if you did that. If you just give
it a little bit of thought, you can avoid a lot of the germs that
cause colds. If you eat good foods and stay fit, your body will be
able to fight off the germs that cause colds and other diseases.
It is not always possible to avoid colds, but if you do catch a
cold, drink plenty of fluids and get a lot of rest.
36.The Future
I sometimes wonder what life will be like in the future. Life
has changed so much in just the past few years.
I'm sure that there are still big changes that are coming.
Do you think we'll still drive cars?
Maybe we'll get into computerized vehicles that we won't
have to drive.
We'll just push a few buttons, and the vehicles will take us
to wherever we have to go.
Maybe there won't be roads.
We might just fly through space to get where we want to
go.
Instead of telephones, we'll just use our computers.
We'll be able to see each other when we talk.
That type of thing is already happening.
Maybe we won't have to cook our meals.
We might be able to push buttons to order whatever we
want.
A nice roast beef dinner, or an ice cream sundae, might just
pop out of a machine.
It would be nice to have a robot to clean the house for you.
In the past few years, computers have been extremely
important.
People used to write to each other through the mail.
Now, people communicate so much more frequently
 28

through E-mail.
Most of my friends own computers.
If we had all of these things to do the work for us, what
would we do?
We would still need people to program the computers.
We could spend more time being creative, rather than
doing everyday chores.
The future holds many surprises.
I'm sure that technology will become even more and more
amazing.
When my parents were young, they had never even seen a
color television.
Nobody owned a computer.
It doesn't take long for things to change a lot.
Who knows what amazing things are in store for us?
37.Giving a Speech
I had to give a speech last week.
I gave a speech to three hundred people.
I had to speak in front of a group of students.
I had to tell them about a campaign that we were having to
raise money for cancer
research.
Giving a speech can be a difficult thing.
When you stand in front of a big crowd,
you can get very nervous.
Some people feel like they have weak knees.
Their legs feel as if they are made of rubber.
Their heart beats very hard inside of their chest.
Their palms get sweaty.
Some people even become short of breath.
 29

For some people, giving a speech is their worst fear.

When you give a speech, everyone is looking at you.
They are waiting to hear what you have to say.
When you have three hundred people looking at you; you
have six hundred eyes that are
on you.
It is a little frightening when you think of it that way.
Before I give a speech, I take three big breaths.
I calm myself, and I remind myself that what I have to say is
important.
I like to be sure of what I am going to say, so I practice my
speech in front of a mirror at
home.
I like to look like I am relaxed and friendly.
They say that practice makes perfect; so the more
speeches that you give, the better you
will become at it.
Whenever I have to give a speech, I imagine that the
audience is just one big person.
I look out into the audience until I find a friendly, smiling
face.
I focus on that person, and I pretend that I am just talking
to them.
I have become used to giving speeches.
I am more relaxed now than I used to be.
People tell me that I do not look nervous at all.
I like to hear that.
Sometimes I do feel a little flutter of nervousness, but I just
ignore it and do the best that
I can.
Giving a speech is not as scary as it appears to be.
 30

Anyone can do it with a little practice.

38.Moving to Another Country
My friend Steve moved to another country.
He had lived in Canada all his life, and he moved to Japan.
Life in Japan was very different for Steve than what he was
used to.
At first, Steve suffered from culture shock.
His whole life seemed different.
He was not used to the way of life in Japan.
Steve was not used to the large crowds of people that
walked up and down the streets in
Japan.
In his hometown in Canada, the streets were fairly quiet.
Steve had to get used to the food.
In Japan, the people eat a lot of fish.
Steve had never eaten much fish before.
Steve wanted pizza, but it was expensive in Japan.
Steve said that he had to adjust his eating habits.
The people in Japan have different customs than we do here
in Canada.
Steve didn't want to offend anyone, so he had to learn the
customs.
He had to learn about what Japanese people considered
polite and rude.
Sometimes, in a foreign country you can do something to
insult someone without even
realizing that you are being rude.
At first, Steve had trouble with the language.
He said that the only way to really learn the language is to
talk to people.
Steve talked to a lot of people.
 31

He made a lot of mistakes, but people were patient with

him, and they tried to help him
with his Japanese.
It wasn't long before Steve felt more comfortable in his new
surroundings.
You have to be willing to learn new customs and a new
language if you move to another
country.
Steve feels very comfortable in Japan, and in Canada now.
He is thinking about going to another country now.
He thinks that he might like to try and live in Italy.
I'm sure that he would get over his culture shock very fast if
he moved there.
Moving to a new country can be difficult, but if you are
willing to learn, it can be a very
rewarding experience.
39.Look for the Beauty
I have learned that things don't always go the way that they
were planned.
If something doesn't happen the way that I want it to,
I try to make the best of the situation.
I always try to find something good in everything that
happens.
Last year, I broke my ankle when I was walking on an icy
sidewalk.
At first, I was very upset.
I was missing school, and there was a party that I wanted to
go to.
I couldn't do very much of anything.
My ankle was very sore.
I stayed home, and I read a book.
 32

It was an excellent book, and one that I probably would not

have had time to read under
normal circumstances.
My friends brought my homework to my house, and we had
some really nice visits while
they were here.
I had to accept the fact that I couldn't go anywhere on my
broken ankle, so I made the
best of a bad situation.
Once, I lost my way when I was out camping.
I ended up in a very large field.
I was afraid that nobody would find me, but I calmed myself
down and took time to
examine all the interesting wildflowers in the field.
My family did find me.
They were surprised at how calm I was.
I have learned that there is something valuable inside every
adventure and something
beautiful inside every person.
We had a new boy who came into our class.
His clothes weren't in style, and he was not particularly
handsome.
Some of the boys and girls made fun of him.
Sometimes, people can be really cruel.
He seemed to handle it all right, but inside, I knew that it
must hurt.
Some of my friends and I invited him out with us.
We found out that he had a terrific sense of humor,
and he is probably one of the nicest people that I have ever
met.
He has since become one of my best friends.
 33

It makes me ashamed when someone that I know judges

someone by how they look.
It isn't fair to do that.
You'll find that something good comes out of almost every
situation.
You'll find something good about almost everyone that you
meet if you look hard enough.
If something doesn't work out the way you planned it, just
make the best of the situation.
Look for the beauty in everything.
40.My Doll
When I was an infant, I got a rag doll.
It was a very plain, little doll, and it wore a clown outfit and
a clown's hat.
I used to take that doll to bed with me every night.
I couldn't go to bed without my doll.
My mother used to pretend that the doll was talking to me.
She would make the doll dance and sing songs.
I would talk to the doll.
My mother would answer for the doll, but I was a baby, and
I thought that the doll was
actually talking to me.
That doll was my best friend.
I took her everywhere.
One time I took her to a store with me, and I left her on a
shelf in the store.
We were halfway home when I realized that I didn't have
my doll with me.
I was very upset.
My mother and I rushed back to the store.
My doll was still there.
 34

I was so relieved.
I hugged my doll, and I promised myself that I would never
leave her anywhere again.
I couldn't imagine life without that doll.
Through the years, the doll became less important in my
life.
I had other things to do, but the doll still sat on my bed
during the day, and I still took it
to bed at night.
I gave that doll a lot of love when I was little.
In fact, I loved the doll so much that she looks tattered and
torn now.
There are parts of her face and hands that are almost worn
away.
I had a lot of other toys when I was little, but none of them
were ever so important as that
doll.
I don't play with toys anymore, but that doll is still in my
room.
She sits in a special chair in the corner.
I'll always have that doll.
No matter how worn out she is, I'll always keep her and
cherish her as a part of my early
childhood.
41.I am Curious
I am curious about many things.
I would like to find the answers to a lot of questions that I
have.
What holds the stars up in the sky?
Why does ice form on the top of the lake when it is cold?
Is there life on other planets?
 35

Why do we not fall off the face of the earth?

How do caterpillars turn into butterflies?
All of these things are mysteries to me.
There are so many questions that are unanswered.
I think I should go to the library and get a book to find out
why people grow old.
What makes a television work?
I also want to know where electricity comes from.
Who is the strongest person in the world?
Who is the smartest person in the world?
Why do some people have blonde hair, and some people
have black hair?
Why do people in different countries speak different
languages?
Why do people have to die?
Why are no two snowflakes alike?
What makes people fall in love?
What makes the rivers run?
Why does the sun rise every morning?
How did the oceans form?
Why did the dinosaurs vanish from the earth?
I wonder if I'll ever find out the answers to all my questions.
I think I'll have to study hard and stay in school to find out
everything that I want to know.
Some questions never get answered.
It is good to be curious.
People who are curious about things are the ones who learn
a lot, and some curious
people go on to invent things and make important
discoveries.
42.Creative People
 36

Some people are just born to create.

That's what I think.
Some people just have the need to write stories, compose
beautiful music, or paint
pictures.
Creativity seems to be inside them, and they need to let it
out.
It's good that we have people like that.
Composers like Mozart and Chopin have given us music that
is incredibly beautiful.
It's not just the classical composers who have given us
great pieces of music; there are
modern composers who have written great songs also.
Elton John is an example of someone who has composed
many wonderful songs.
Andrew Lloyd Webber has given us some very popular
musicals like Cats and The
Phantom of the Opera.
There are so many talented and creative people in this
world.
When you visit an art gallery, you marvel at how artists are
able to recreate realism or
make up something that seems totally unreal yet beautiful.
The American artist Norman Rockwell painted some
pictures that actually looked like
photographs.
He tried to portray life as it was in America.
Through his paintings, one can get a good sense of
American life through the years.
On the other hand, artists like Jackson Pollock did not
portray realism.
Jackson Pollock painted abstract pictures.
 37

His paintings are just as good as Norman Rockwell's, but

they are entirely different.
Some books that we read are classics.
Mark Twain portrayed American life through his characters
Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry
Finn.
Charles Dickens brought Victorian England to life through
his books.
Most people are familiar with his Christmas Carol where the
mean and miserable
Scrooge learns the true meaning of Christmas.
People don't have to read the classics.
There are modern writers who entertain readers through
their stories.
Stephen King has written a number of horror stories.
Some of his books have even been made into movies.
We are lucky to have creative people who share their gifts
with us.
If you are lucky enough to be creative, you should use your
talents to create works of art
that we all can share.
43.Career Choices
What do you want to be when you grow up?
There are so many things that you can be.
You might want to work in the field of law.
You could be a police officer.
You could be a judge or a lawyer.
Maybe you'd like to work in the food industry.
You could be a cook or a waitress.
You might want to manage a hotel dining room.
Perhaps you would want to do room service in a hotel.
 38

You could be a chef and make fancy meals for people.

Maybe show business is what you'd like to be involved in.
You could act in television shows or movies.
You could sing or play an instrument in a band.
If you like to help people, you could go into medicine.
You could be a doctor or a nurse.
You might be a surgeon and operate on people.
There are other jobs in the field of medicine too.
You could be an x-ray technician or a lab technician.
It takes a lot of education to be a doctor.
Maybe you would rather be a teacher.
You could teach in a primary school or a high school.
If you don't want to work with children, you could become a
professor at a university.
There are hundreds of other jobs to choose from too.
You might want to fix cars or work in a store.
You could be a dentist or a veterinarian.
You could be a janitor or a zookeeper.
There are so many jobs that I just can't name them all.
Maybe you'd like to be a minister or an organist at a church.
You could be a babysitter or a shop clerk.
You might be interested in being an astronaut or a baker.
You could work in a bank or at a shop.
You could work on a construction crew and build roads and
houses.
Maybe you'd rather decorate the houses, so you'd become
an interior decorator.
You could cut hair or be a driving instructor.
The list is endless.
There are even jobs that you may never have heard about.
 39

The choice is yours.

You just choose whatever you want to be and do your best
to become that.
I could go on forever . . . you could work in a library.
You could be a factory worker or a fisherman.
You could make clothes or build bridges.
You could wash windows or be a bricklayer.
The possibilities are endless.
44.I Need Glasses
I have been having trouble seeing the blackboard.
Everything is blurry.
I keep getting headaches.
I told my mother about it, and she made an appointment
with the optometrist.
I went to a place where they made me read words and
letters on a chart.
Some of the words were big, and some were very small.
I tried to read everything, but sometimes I couldn't see
some of the small letters.
The optometrist would cover one of my eyes while I read
the chart.
Then, she would cover my other eye.
She even put some drops in my eyes.
I asked the optometrist if I had passed or failed the test.
She laughed, and said that it wasn't the kind of test that
you passed or failed.
She was just trying to find out if I needed glasses.
I did need glasses.
My mother and I looked around.
There were many pairs of frames.
I wanted something that was in style.
 40

I tried on many pairs of frames.

Some of them looked good on me, and some of them
looked really funny on me.
I finally chose a frame that was my favorite.
I gave them to a lady who did some measurements.
She told me to come back on Friday to get my glasses.
On Friday, I got my glasses.
My friends liked them.
They said I looked smart in my glasses.
I wore them to school on Monday, and I was able to see the
blackboard clearly.
I didn't realize how much I hadn't been able to see.
Now I don't get headaches anymore.
I'm glad that I have my glasses.
Everything is a lot clearer now.
45.I am Clumsy
My mother says that I am clumsy.
My father says that I am clumsy.
I know that I am clumsy.
I do things all the time that are clumsy.
I fall down for no reason at all.
If there is a crack in the sidewalk, I will be sure to trip on it
and fall down.
If I carry a plate of food in the cafeteria, I almost always
either drop it or bump into
someone with it.
I don't try to do these things, it just happens.
When I drink juice, I miss my mouth and get juice all over
my shirt.
I always have something spilled on my clothes.
 41

Last week I opened a jar of peanut butter.

The jar flew out of my hands and landed upside down on
the floor.
There was a big glob of peanut butter on the floor.
Yesterday I knocked over the sugar bowl.
There was a big sticky mess on the floor.
I bump my head when I get into the car.
I rip my pants on things.
I lose my money out of my pockets.
I step on the cat's tail.
I always feel bad when I do that because the cat thinks I
don't love her.
I don't mean to do these things.
I am just a clumsy person.
My parents tell me to slow down.
I am always in a hurry; maybe that's why I'm so clumsy.
Maybe it's just a stage that I am going through.
If it is, I hope it is over soon.
Being clumsy is no fun at all.
46.Home Alone
I remember the first time that my parents left me home
alone.
I was very grown up, and I thought that I would be just fine.
I was fine for a while.
I watched television and had something to eat.
I called my friend on the phone, and we talked for a while.
Then, I sat down to read a book.
The house was quiet, very quiet.
I found myself listening very carefully.
I heard a tap, tap tapping noise.
 42

I wondered where it was coming from.

It seemed to be coming from the window.
I turned out the lights so that nobody would see me, and I
peeked out the window
carefully.
I was expecting to see a robber tapping at my window.
There was nobody there.
It was just a tree branch swaying in the breeze and tapping
at my window.
I felt silly.
I turned on the lights and sat back down to read my book.
A few minutes later, I heard some creaking noises.
I listened carefully.
Then, I heard a clunking noise.
I think it might have been the furnace.
Then there was a whirring noise.
My imagination began to play tricks on me.
I was imagining that there were all kinds of creatures in the
house.
I told myself to grow up.
I wouldn't let my imagination run away with me.
I was glad when my parents got home.
I told them about all the noises that I had heard.
My parents laughed and said that all houses make noises.
We're usually just so busy that we don't hear all the noises
that go on.
I have stayed home alone many times now.
I just ignore all the little creaks and noises that I hear.
I am still alert and listen for anything suspicious, but I know
that there are lots of noises
 43

that are harmless.

That tree that taps on my window still frightens me
sometimes, but I'm a lot braver now
than I was the first time that I stayed home alone.
47.Family
What does the word "family" mean to you? The easiest way
to define family is to talk
about who you are related to. Usually, there is a mom and a
dad and children who are
brothers and sisters. This would be the "core" family. Then
there is the "extended" family
which would include grandparents, aunts and uncles,
cousins, nieces and nephews and
in-laws (people married to your bothers or sisters, husband
or wife).
However, I think the word "family" has a much deeper
meaning. The word "family" brings
words to my mind like: love, support, help, kindness, fun,
love, trips, closeness, love,
forgiving, sharing, love, understanding, respect and love!
You'll notice one word that is
repeated over and over again. LOVE. I believe if a family
has real love for one another,
they will be able to overcome any problems they may have.
Actually, they may not have
too many problems if they all love and respect one another.
However, there are things
that cannot be helped; like death, sickness or accidents. It
is during those hard times
that a family's love helps them to go through those
experiences.
We had quite a few children in my family. There were
 44

brothers and sisters which included

an adopted brother and a number of foster children, too. I
was also very fortunate that I
had both my mom and dad to live with and do things like
vacations together. We had a lot
of fun and there were some times of tears, too. Above all,
we love one another! Family is
a wonderful thing! I am so lucky!
48.My First Job
My first "real" job was during my last year of high school. I
had taken classes in various
business subjects. In that last year of high school, we could
do a "co-op". That meant we
could work part of the time instead of going to school. It
would count as a credit towards
our diploma.
The place I got a job was at a men's tailor shop. The owners
were a very nice older
German couple. They had two other men working for them,
too. One of the men had had
brain surgery for cancer. He had a big, long scar all around
the top of his head. He told
me all about it. He was always happy and full of fun. I
thought he was very brave!
The tailor shop made suits to order. One of the salesmen
would measure the man, and
the customer would choose a fabric and style he (or his
wife!) liked. The people in the
back of the shop would then cut and sew the suit. The suits
cost a lot of money. There
were also suits already made that the customer could buy
instead if they wished. They
 45

could also rent suits or tuxedos for weddings or parties.

I worked at a little desk. I answered the phone, wrote
letters, filed papers and did some
bookkeeping. It was about a mile walk from my school to
work. I passed many clothing
shops. That wasn't good because I spent a lot of the money
that I earned in those shops!
I worked at the tailor shop for almost a year. It was a good
experience and helped me get
my next job with the United States Navy. That was fun, too!
49.First Trip Away From Home
Today I am going to my friend's house. Her name is Valerie.
This is going to be my first
trip away from home, without my parents.
My dad is driving me to Valerie's house, and I'll be staying
there for two weeks. Her mom
will drive me back home. It takes about l l/2 hours to get
there. I have to pack enough
clothes for play, work and church. I hope I'll pack the right
things. Of course, I have to
remember my toothbrush and hairbrush.
Valerie lives on a farm. I'll be helping her dad with milking
the cows--I think! We'll play up
in the hayloft after we have helped put the bales into the
barn. We'll be all itchy when that
job is done! There are a lot of things to do on a farm. Her
mom is a good cook and will
feed us well!
There is a nice pond where we can go swimming. I mustn't
forget my bathing suit. I
wonder if the farm dog comes into the pond, too. That
would be funny!
 46

My dad and mom are giving me money just in case we go

shopping. I hope we do go
shopping because I want to buy lots of candy. (I won't tell
my mom that!)
Oh, dear! I hear Dad yelling, "Let's go!" I haven't even
finished packing my things yet. I
guess I better stop writing this now and get busy fast! Bye!
50.My Job
I work at a conservation park called Ball's Falls. I've only
worked there for three weeks
now. I am a Tour Guide, and I tell people the history of all
the old buildings there.
Somebody told me that one of the houses I work in is
haunted. Now I get chills every
time I walk into that house! My boss told me that the stories
aren't real, but I have an
active imagination!
Ball's Falls is very beautiful. It has two different water falls,
the Upper Falls and the
Lower Falls. There used to be tons of water cascading over
them, which turned a big
water wheel to grind grain. However, through the years the
amount of water has really
lessened.
I love working at Ball's Falls because I get to work outside a
lot. I am getting a tan! In July
and August, I will be working with kids there at a day camp.
I am getting ready now,
making different crafts and thinking up fun new games to
play. I can't wait to start
working with them. I think that will be the best part of the
summer.
 47

I will be going to work again tomorrow. I usually have to

work from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. I
also like the people I work with. They are very nice.
51.My Hobby
Let's see. Today I might go fly a kite, or maybe go for a
swim. It is hot outside, and I don't
know what to do. My mom tells me that I should do
something that I like doing on hot
days. Since our house is nice and cool, I guess I'll stay
inside and work on my hobby.
My hobby is something that not a lot of people do. I make
and collect bookmarks.
To make my bookmarks, I use stickers, and special art
pencils to draw. I buy the stickers
at a mall, usually in a card store. The art pencils are bought
in an art store. To make the
bookmarks, I start with a piece of paper. I measure out how
big I want the bookmark to be
with a ruler. I once made a bookmark so big, that it couldn't
even be used in a very big
book! After I measure it, I draw lines so that I can cut it
straight. Sometimes, I use fancy
scissors that cut zig-zags or frills. Then I start to decorate
them.
I like to draw cartoons and flowers on my bookmarks.
Sometimes, I even put real flowers
on them. A lot of the time I write little sayings on the
bookmarks. I like to give my
bookmarks to friends and family. Sometimes, I even sell my
bookmarks to people.

I like my hobby. I can draw whatever I want on the

 48

bookmarks. Maybe sometime in the

future I will be a famous bookmark maker and even have
my own store!
52.If I Had a Million Dollars
If I had a million dollars, I'd travel the world. I would go to
the highest mountain. I would
swim the deepest sea. I would probably buy a lot of clothes
because I love clothes! More
than anything though, I would want to visit Ireland.
I want to see the rolling hills and the green, green grass
that everyone talks about. When
I think of Ireland, I think of where my family came from
many years ago. I am almost all
Irish and would love to see my family over in Ireland.
If I had a million dollars, I would buy a Mustang or a Pontiac
Sunbird car. I would buy a
nice house with a big backyard and an outdoor and indoor
pool. I would love to take my
family wherever they wanted to go. I would buy them
wonderful presents, too.

However, I know that money does not buy happiness. It

does not buy you friends or
family. It may bring some happiness only for the moment,
but in the long run your family
is what will be there for you if you love them and are there
for them.
If I had to pick between a million dollars and my family, I
would pick my family. The
million dollars is a nice dream. If that dream ever comes
true and I do get a lot of money, I
hope I would use it wisely.
 49

53.A Picnic
What a great day for a picnic! We're not only having a
picnic; we're having a big bike ride,
too. We did this last year with a lot of friends also. It was
really fun.
We meet quite early in the morning in a pretty little town.
The town is where the Niagara
River flows into Lake Ontario in Canada. The town's name is
Niagara-on-the-Lake. Then
all of the people, fifty or more, get on their bikes or roller
blades. We go on a bike path
beside the river. The path we take is about 11 km or 6 miles
long. There are a lot of other
people using the path, too.
We usually stop for an ice cream treat near the end or
where we turn around to go back
to our cars. It is just before the park where we will have our
picnic, and a steep hill. Many
of the men and boys go up the hill. Most of the women and
children go back to their cars.
The ride takes about two hours plus whatever time we take
at the ice cream store.
After the ride is finished, we go the park. We have a
delicious "pot-luck" lunch. Pot luck
means everyone brings some food to share with the others.
We eat, rest, talk and laugh.
After we've cleaned up, some of us climb the tower that is
there remembering a war at
that place and its general. It is a steep climb, over l00
steps. We usually end the day with
a fun game of baseball or soccer.
Finally, we pack up our stuff. Tired and dirty, we head for
 50

home with good memories

swimming in our heads.
54.Working in my Yard
I live in a house that has a small yard around it. In my yard
there is a lawn and a garden.
There is also a sidewalk that leads to my front door, and a
driveway that leads to my
garage. Throughout the year I work to maintain my yard.
During the summer, I cut the grass that grows in my yard,
using a lawn-mower. I like the
smell of the grass when it has just been cut. But it's better
not to cut the grass too short.
When the weather is dry, I also put water on the lawn and
garden, so that the grass and
flowers can grow.
During the autumn, many leaves fall from the trees in my
yard. I use a rake to collect the
leaves from the lawn. Then I can put the leaves into bags. I
can use the leaves to make
fertilizer. When I was a kid, I didn't like the job of raking
leaves, but now I don't mind it.
Another job during the autumn is to remove flowers from
the garden before the cold
weather arrives.
During the winter, there is no work to do in the lawn or
garden, because they are covered
in snow. But I need to keep the snow off my sidewalk and
driveway. Whenever it snows, I
use a shovel to clear the snow from the sidewalk and the
driveway. Sometimes it snows a
lot. If I didn't shovel the snow, it would soon be impossible
to get into my house!
 51

During the spring, the snow melts. I clean up my yard by

sweeping away dirt and by
removing weeds from the lawn and garden. I also put
flowers back into the garden. It's
nice to see them again after the long, cold winter. When
spring comes, the grass grows
very quickly, so I need to cut the grass quite often.
Working in the yard can be very satisfying work. It's so nice
when the lawn and garden
are looking green and healthy.
55.Early Morning
"Yawn!" I am so tired. I don't like getting up in the morning.
I wish I could sleep in until noon.
My mom has to come into my room and shake my feet.
"Get up, you lazy girl!" she says,
"It's time to rise and shine. It's a beautiful day!"

I raise my head, mumble and turn over, putting my pillow

over my head. My mom yanks
my pillow from off my head and starts tickling me. "Okay,
I'll get up!" I shriek. The sun is
so bright that I squint. I think I will go outside and play. I
can't wait to get up now. My
mom cooks me breakfast. I have eggs, bacon, toast and
orange juice.

When I finish my breakfast. I brush my teeth, comb my hair,

wash my face and then
change into play clothes. I choose a bright pink and yellow
tank top with jean shorts and
blue sandals.
My bike is in the garage where my dad keeps the cars and
 52

tools. As I pedal, my hair flies

out behind me! I keep my mouth shut so that bugs don't
get in! I am going down a big hill
now. I can hardly pedal anymore. My legs are moving so
fast. I hang onto my handle bars
tightly. I don't want to fall off!

I finally am able to slow down as the road becomes level. I

turn a corner and decide to go
back home. I realize I now have to ride up the hill! I know I
will be tired when I get to the
top. I think that I will have some water now before I start to
go up. Mmmm, it tastes great!
It is so clean and cold.
Well, I know that I have a big trip ahead of me, so I need to
get going!
Bye-bye!
56.The Wedding
We went into the church and sat down. There were pretty
flowers at the front. There was
beautiful organ music playing. The church was full of people
dressed up nicely. Everyone
was waiting to see the beautiful bride walk up the aisle.
A hush, and intake of breath. There she was! Oh, she was
so beautiful! She had a lovely,
long white dress with pretty lace and beads. Her hair was
swept up off from her face.
There were curls flowing down her back. Instead of a veil,
she had little flowers in her
hair. Her bouquet of tiny flowers was very, very pretty. Her
dad looked very proud of her.
He looked just a little sad, too.
 53

At the front of the church, the groom stood waiting. He had

a beautiful tender smile on
his face. He took his bride's hand as her dad left her there.
They smiled at each other.
The minister read, prayed and offered some words of advice
to the lovely couple.
Someone sang a pretty song. The groom slipped the simple
wedding band on the bride's
finger. She struggled a little to put a band on his finger.
Pretty soon the minister said they
were now husband and wife. They kissed. We all stood, and
they walked down the aisle
to live the rest of their lives together as Mr. And Mrs.!
We cried.
57.The Perfect Place
There is a place in my mind that is pure. Everything there is
beautiful. Many flowers grow,
and the grass is very green. The clouds are always white
and fluffy. The tree's branches
sweep the earth floor.
You can hear the sound of a waterfall. It is roaring with life,
and the water races. A bird
calls in the distance and as you listen, the sound gets
closer. A flapping quite near makes
me turn and look. A great, magnificent eagle flies over my
head. The strength I see in his
powerful wings amazes me!
I am never thirsty or hungry. I live off the beauty that
surrounds me in this perfect place.
I walk on trails that lead me to breath-taking places. The
beach is my favourite spot to
end up. The sand between my toes is soft and cool. I love to
 54

lie down on the sand. I

watch the sun go down. Sometimes the sun is a brilliant
orange. The world seems like it
is on fire! Waves lull me to sleep. The seagulls wake me up.
In this perfect place I have learned so much. The animals
and their homes are so
precious. I have learned to respect the animals; they were
here first.
The sounds, smells, and sights are too perfect and full of
life. There is no war here, no
anger or stress. I don't have to worry about pollution or
destruction.
My perfect world exists only in my head. Maybe if we all
work hard, my fantasy can
become real!
58.Visiting the Zoo
When I was a kid, I always enjoyed visiting the zoo. My
family lived far away from the zoo,
so we didn't go there very often. But whenever we went to
the zoo, I always had a fun and
interesting time.
Some of the animals were very large. Of course, the
elephants were huge, and they had
such an unusual appearance, with their big ears and their
long trunk and tusks. The
giraffes were very tall, with long necks that reached high
into the trees.
Some of my favorite animals were the big cats. The lions
looked very powerful, with their
big teeth and paws. The tigers were just as big and strong,
with yellow and black stripes.
But the bears were even larger than these cats. The polar
 55

bears, with their bright white

fur, liked to swim through the water. The grizzly bears had
brown fur and liked to roam
around on land.
The animals from Australia seemed very unusual. The
kangaroos, with their strong legs
and long tail, could jump great distances across the ground.
The baby kangaroo could go
inside its mother's pouch. Another Australian animal, the
koala bear, crawled slowly in
the trees, where it ate leaves.
The monkeys and apes were also very interesting. In many
ways, they reminded me of
people. Some of the monkeys were very small. They could
use their arms, legs, and tail
to swing through the trees. Some of the apes were very
large. The gorilla was the largest
of all. Sometimes a big gorilla would stand up and pound his
fists on his chest.
To see all the animals at the zoo took almost a whole day.
By the end of the day, I was
very tired from walking around. But I was also very happy
to see all the amazing animals
from places around the world.
59.The Dentist Appointment
My dentist called my house the other day. He told me I
needed my teeth cleaned. I set up
an appointment to see him on Saturday, June l0th.
When I got to my dentist's office, I had to sit in the waiting
room. There were other people
ahead of me. They finally called my name.
I went into his room and sat down on a big blue chair. They
 56

leaned it back. A bright light

was turned on. It hurt my eyes, so I closed them. My dentist
asked me to open my mouth.
I did. I thought my mouth was very big, but he told me to
open it even wider!
Soon he began poking around to see if I had any cavities.
He flossed my teeth and put
fluoride around my teeth too. The fluoride tasted like
bubble gum.
I had to spit into a dish-like bowl. It squirted out water. My
dentist kept asking me
questions. I couldn't answer because there were weird tools
in my mouth! When I tried
answering back, he seemed to understand though.
His helper came into the room. She asked me to open my
mouth again. I had to clamp
down on something that felt like rubber. She put a big
camera-type machine right next to
my cheek. She did this on the other side of my face as well.
They took two pictures of my
teeth. It was really cool.
The dentist told me my teeth were perfect! I didn't have
any problems. I could go home.
"See you next year," he said.
60.Day Dream
Little Annie was very bored one lazy afternoon. She had
nothing to do! She had already
played with her brothers in the sandbox and had tea with
them and her dollies, too. She
had baked chocolate chip cookies with her mom and even
tasted one! They were very
good, she thought. Now Annie was trying to figure out what
 57

else she could do to pass the

day away.
Little Annie decided that she would go to her favourite spot
in the world...the green,
grassy field full of daisies, beneath the great oak tree. She
took a red and white blanket
with her. She laid it down on the ground, and then she lay
down on it. She lay there
looking at the clouds, fluffy and white. She saw bunnies,
huge gray elephants and scary-
looking crocodiles. Soon, Little Annie was drifting in and out
of clouds and reality. The
clouds started dancing with her, begging her to come and
play. She got up from her
blanket and joined the clouds. They flew over roof tops of
all of the village people, swam
with the fish in the lake and said hello to all of the birds that
they passed by. Little Annie
was having so much fun!
The clouds had formed into a chariot so Little Annie could
drive if she wanted to. She
drove over a rainbow that was bright in the sky. Then, she
shot through the branches of
her friend's spruce tree!
Annie suddenly came to a STOP! Hearing someone call her
name, Annie looked around.
She blinked; once, twice, and finally everything came into
focus. Her brother was tugging
at her leg, wondering why she was staring into outer space
with a big grin on her face!
"Oh," Little Annie said, not really knowing that she had been
sitting there all along.
 58

61.My Friend in the Next Office

Sometimes she asks my advice now about her work or
about a problem and I ask her
advice. Sometimes she comes in to my office and says " I'm
really angry, can I whine to
you?" Then she talks about a problem and I listen, and then
she returns cheerfully to her
office. Sometimes I go into her office and say. " I'm upset
about something that
happened; can I come in for a minute?" Then I grumble to
her and she listens, and then I
go back cheerfully to my office. Each of us feels better
when we have shared our
problems. Then they are no longer problems.

My Friend In the Next Office

When I started my job a year ago at the university, I did not
know my way around. I did
not know where to find anything. I had a million questions.
But Dianne in the next office
took me on a tour showing me the places to eat, the library,
the lecture rooms, where to
get a picture ID card, how to get from one building to
another. When I had a question I
asked Dianne: how to use the telephone, where to make
copies, where to print with my
computer, the location of my mailbox.
She teaches as I do. We both spend a lot of time helping
students and answering their
questions. She giggles a lot; I hear her laugh with her
students.
Dianne is shy in a group of people. She is quiet and does
 59

not start a conversation.

Everyone around her talks and she listens. On Friday
afternoons, she makes popcorn for
everyone. We all sit in the staff room and eat microwaved
popcorn and drink tea and talk.
We start to relax for the weekend and talk about our plans.
She is a good friend; she helps my students when I am not
there; she wishes me good
luck when I go to a lecture. I am very glad that she can be
my friend in the office beside
mine.
62.The Musician
There once was a little girl named Rain Angel. She loved to
sit at the piano and play. Rain
Angel was a very gifted girl. She had a voice that gave
people shivers, and she loved to
sing!
As Rain got older, she continued to love music. Rain
became involved in the choirs and
bands at her high school. She loved performing in front of
people. She couldn't help but
feel the sense of power she had when she was up on stage,
and there was always loud
clapping when she finished a song.
Rain soon went out on her own and looked for someone that
could help her become
famous. Rain wanted to share her talent with the world. She
felt that her special talent for
music helped people feel good.
Rain went out into the big world, and she did very well. She
was always performing her
best, and someone finally noticed her. Her new agent
 60

helped her to make her first album.

Rain became famous because she never quit trying.
Rain loved her new way of life. She continued singing and
playing her piano. She was
even taught how to write her own music!
Rain Angel had always dreamed of becoming a celebrity.
She always remembered her
friends and family when she was famous because they had
always believed in her.
Rain Angel strove for a faraway place, and it became her
reality. She always believed that
what she wanted to become was her choice. She believed
that if you have the strength
and determination you can make your dreams come true.
63.The Circus
Wow! A big tent was in the middle of the town's parking lot!
We were going to a three-ring
circus. I couldn't wait for it to begin. Inside and outside of
the tent, toys, balloons and
food were being sold. All of the children were so very
excited.
Inside the tent, we found good seats so we could see
everything. The band started to
play loud music, and the ringmaster came out with a big tall
hat on his head.
In one ring, there were small animals, dogs, monkeys and
parrots doing tricks. The dogs
were dressed in funny clothes, and so were the monkeys.
They rode on bicycles, danced
and climbed ladders.
There were wild tigers and lions in a big round wire cage. A
man with a whip was inside
 61

the cage with them. He had them trained to jump through a

hoop of fire and to roll over.
He even kissed them! He was very brave!
During the break in the middle of the circus, funny clowns
came out and did silly things.
They had happy faces and sad faces. Some had big red
noses that honked if you
squeezed them. There were rides on big elephants too. I
didn't go on one because it cost
too much money.
The last act took up the whole tent. It was acrobats. They
hung from their teeth, their feet
and their necks high up in the air! They also swung high up
in the air and "flew" to each
other. It's kind of scary to watch because I was afraid they
might fall.
I had a very good time at the circus. However, my tummy
felt kind of sick from all the
cotton candy and junk food I ate!
64.Going to the Grocery Store
Each week I go to the grocery store to buy food for my
family. I get a shopping cart from
the front of the store, and I push the cart all around the
store. The cart is large, but when I
am finished shopping, the cart is nearly full!
The grocery store is also called a supermarket. When I go
shopping, I start out in the
produce section of the supermarket. The produce section is
where the fresh fruits and
vegetables are kept. I like to buy different kinds of fruit,
such as apples, oranges, and
bananas. The vegetables that I often buy are carrots, peas,
 62

and corn. I also buy tomatoes

when they are bright red in color. I often buy a bag of
potatoes or a bag of rice.
After visiting the produce section, I go to the meat section.
Here I buy poultry, such as
chicken and turkey. I often buy seafood, especially fish. I
also buy beef, and sometimes
pork or lamb. I also visit the dairy section, where I can buy
milk and cheese. Sometimes I
also buy ice cream or yogurt.
When I have finished in the meat and dairy sections, I then
move to the bakery section.
This is where loaves of bread are baked and sold. There are
many different kinds of
bread in the bakery section. The bakery section also sells
pasta, such as macaroni and
spaghetti. And, of course, you can buy pies, cakes, and
cookies in the bakery section.
These foods are very sweet and tasty!
I also pick up a few other things at the supermarket, such
as soap, toothpaste, and
cleaning supplies. But sometimes I forget to buy something
that I had planned to get.
Maybe I should make a list of the things I need to buy!
65.A Day at the Beach
When the hot summer weather arrives, many people like to
cool off by visiting the beach.
Often, there is a cool breeze that comes off the water. And,
of course, the water itself is
cool and refreshing.
One of the favourite activities at the beach is building
sandcastles. Children use small
 63

shovels and pails to move the sand. They can build small
forts and castles by carefully
forming and shaping the sand. Building sandcastles is a lot
of fun, but you shouldn't
build them too close to the water: a wave might come and
wash your sandcastle away!
There are also many games that people like to play at the
beach. Some people play catch
with a small plastic disc called a Frisbee. The Frisbee glides
smoothly through the air.
Other people like to play beach volleyball in the soft sand.
Some people prefer just to relax on the beach. They like to
lie down on a blanket and feel
the warm sunshine. I like to sit on the beach with an ice-
cream cone. But you have to eat
it quickly, before it melts.
Of course, the main attraction of a beach is the water. Many
children learn to swim at the
beach, and enjoy playing in the water. Some people like to
swim vigorously. Other people
like to relax in the water on an inflatable, floating mattress.
Other people just wade
around in the water, as a way to keep cool. When it is a
windy day, some people try
sports such as surfing.
Going to the beach is surely one of the best ways to spend
a summer day!
66.Making Cookies
Ummmm. Something smells good! My friend's mom is
making cookies. They are
chocolate chip, my favourite! I think I'll go home and ask
my mom if we can make
 64

cookies, too.
I run all the way home and rush through the door. I yell,
"Mom, Mom!" She comes out
from her bedroom, her eyes wide. "What?" she answers, a
little worried. I breathlessly
ask if we can please, pretty please, make cookies. She
smiles and says, "I guess so."
"YES!" I reply.
First mom tells me to get out the cooking stuff; so I get out
the mixer and bowl, the
measuring cups and spoons and the cookie sheets. Then
she tells me to get out the
recipe book. I remind her that the recipe is on the chocolate
chip package. "Right," she
says. Then she asks me to look at the recipe and get out
the things we need: like flour,
sugar and butter.
We set the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Then, we
mix all of the flour and other
stuff (ingredients) together. Last, we add the chocolate
chips. We drop the batter by big
teaspoons full onto the cookie sheets. We set the timer for
12 minutes and just sit back
and enjoy the good smell!
The buzzer rings. We take the cookies out. Oh, do they look
good! We don't even wait for
them to cool down. Both Mom and I get a big glass of cold
milk and two big warm
cookies each. Yum! Yum! Want to join us?!
67.Stars in the Midnight Sky
"Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are; up
above the world so high, like
 65

a diamond in the sky, twinkle, twinkle little star." This is a

little poem/song I always say
when I am outside, and I see the stars. When I see the first
star of the night, I sometimes
say this one: "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight; I
wish I may; I wish I might,
have the wish I wish tonight." Do you have a special thing
to say about the stars?
Stars are beautiful bright spots in the sky. Stars are usually
seen at night when it is dark.
We can't see them in the day time because the sun is so
bright, the brightest star of all. I
like staying up late just to look at the stars.
One time I was outside at midnight, and the stars seemed
to sparkle and dance. They
really did look like diamonds dancing in the sky!
If you watch the stars long enough, you may see a falling
star or a shooting star. I have
seen both. A falling star is where the star just seems to
drop, and it leaves a trail of what
appears like star dust. A shooting star is very beautiful. It
"shoots" across the sky
leaving a long trail of colourful "star dust." Shooting stars
seem to brighten up the whole
sky. They usually seem quite close to the earth.
Have you ever watched the stars and got the urge to reach
out and touch them, or even
to join them in their secret dance? I wonder what it would
be like to see a star up close.
Would it look like the moon? Maybe one day when I am
older, I will go up in a rocket ship
and visit the dancing stars in the midnight sky!
 66

68.Music
A song comes on the radio. My lips start to move, singing
along. My fingers start to snap;
my feet begin to tap. The music sinks deep into my soul. I
listen to the music as it fills my
brain, and I remember when I used to sing. I sang in front of
huge crowds. I loved it when
they watched me and clapped for me when I was finished.
Letting out my feelings when I was sad, mad, happy, or glad
was when I would sing. I
sang in the shower; I sang in the rain; I sang in church; I
sang walking down the street!
Music has always been a big part of my life. It seems like I
was a baby when I started
playing the piano! I would sit on my sister's lap while she
played the piano, and I would
bang on the keys. I remember sitting beside her and
learning how to sing. I sang my little
lungs out!
As I grew, I listened to other singers on tapes, the radio and
C.D.s. I took those things
that I heard from different singers and made myself sound
like them. Soon, I could take
what I had heard all my life and make it into my own sound.
I have always liked singing jazz and blues. I don't listen to
jazz and blues a lot, however. I
listen to pop, rock, classical and some country. As you can
see, I like many types of
music. I have seen musicals, too, like Phantom of the Opera
and Les Miserables. Those
musicals were amazing. There were such bright costumes
and stage sets, not to mention
 67

the wonderful songs and singing.

Music has been on this earth since the beginning of time,
and it touches every one in a
different way. I know it has not only touched me, but is a
big part of my very being!
69.First Data
"Ring, ring." The phone is ringing. My mother answers it.
"Hello," she says. It is for me.
When I pick up the phone, I hear a boy's voice. It is a boy I
go to school with.
This boy is very nice, and he is cute, too. He asks me if I
want to go out for dinner with
him tonight. I say yes. He is going to pick me up at 5:30
p.m. in the evening. He has a
nice red car.
Before he picks me up, I have to find an outfit to wear. I am
nervous and don't know what
to wear. So my sister picks out an outfit for me. I feel
excited and have the sensation of
butterflies in my stomach. The inside of my hands are
damp, too. I put on my outfit and
do my hair. My sister gives me some nice clips to put in my
hair.
"Ding-dong," the doorbell buzzes. My date is here! I hurry to
the door, so I can greet him.
He tells me that I look nice and that we are going to a place
called M-T Bellies.
When we arrive at M-T Bellies, there is loud music playing.
A smiling waitress comes who
serves us our food. I order a large caesar salad. My date
orders steak. When it arrives,
the food looks and is delicious! The waitress asks us if we
 68

want dessert after we've

finished. But we are too full. So we ask for our bill to pay.
My date pays for the meal. I brought money just in case we
would share the cost. When
we leave the restaurant, we go for a walk by the river. It is a
beautiful night.
I am enjoying my first date. I am laughing and having fun. It
is time for us to go home. So
my date takes me home. I smile and thank him for the great
time. I hope he'll ask me out
again!
70.University
It's time to sign up for school. This year Natalie is going to
Brock University. She has
never been to university before. She is a little bit scared.
She hopes she meets nice, new
friends. Natalie stood in line to get her picture taken. The
picture was put on a card. The
card was her picture ID (identification). She would use this
card if she needed to buy
books from the school bookstore; if she wanted to get a
book from the library; or if she
wanted to use the pool!
After all of the signing up and money was paid, Natalie went
out to lunch with her mother.
"Mom, I'm kind of scared about going to school. I'm going to
be the youngest kid there. I
don't know how to take notes. The teachers might be
mean....", Natalie rambled on. Her
mom just calmed her down and said, "Take one day at a
time, Natalie. Worry only about
today." "Hmmm. You're right, Mom. Thanks!"
 69

Natalie was very scared on the first day of school. She

made sure she had all of the
books she needed and lots of pens, pencils and erasers. She
walked into the front of the
building and went on her way to try and find her classroom.
Natalie got through her classes and met a lot of new
people, nice people. Her classes
seemed to go by really fast, and the day went by even
faster.
When Natalie got home she was so excited. She told her
mom that classes weren't all
that scary; the students and the teachers weren't scary
either! Natalie knew that the
school work would be hard, but she felt good about the
people she had met that day. She
knew she'd have a good year.
71.School Dance
It is the first school dance that I have ever been to. All of
the boys are standing on one
side of the gymnasium, and all of the girls are on the other
side. There is loud music
playing, and I can hardly hear my friends talking.
The music is going fast, and some people are starting to
move to the beat of the song.
Soon all the girls are dancing, but the boys are still standing
against the wall. Then the
song ends, and slow music comes on. I don't know what to
do, so I just go and stand
against the wall. Then one of the boys in my class comes
over and asks me if I would like
to dance to the slow song. I really feel awkward and
nervous, but say yes.
 70

We go out into the middle of the gym, and he puts his

hands on my waist, and I put my
hands on his shoulders. We start to move to the music, and
we step on each other's feet!
He is bigger than me, so my toe starts to hurt a little bit! As
we continue to "slow dance,"
more boys and girls come to the middle of the gym to
dance together.
It sure is funny to watch people dance because they are
stepping on each other's toes
and bumping into each other and turning in opposite
directions! Soon the song ends,
and the boys go to one side of the gym again. The girls
decide that they want to dance to
a fast song, so they stay in the middle of the gym and
dance with one another.
Our teachers are making sure that we are behaving
because they are watching us. I
wonder if they want to dance. They probably are
remembering their first school dance. I
wonder if someday I'll be grown up just like the teachers
and laughing at the memories of
my first school dance? I sure hope so!
72.Health
Our health is very important to us. People can have good
jobs, money or good looks.
However, if they become sick, those things don't mean a
thing. It is wonderful to feel good.
Feeling good isn't just about our body. It is also about our
mind and spirit. We need to
feel good in every area of our life.
One of the things we can do to be healthy is to get enough
 71

sleep. If we don't sleep well,

or enough, it hurts our body. It is during sleep that our body
restores itself.
Everybody knows we should also eat good foods. We need
milk products, meats, fruits
and vegetables and breads and cereals. We shouldn't eat
too much fat or sugar things
either. Of course, we just shouldn't eat too much at all!
Another thing that is very
important is water. Most people know our bodies are mainly
water, and we need to keep
that replaced with good water--often!
Exercise is very good for both our body and mind. It is good
for our heart, lungs,
muscles and bones. It gets oxygen to our brain to help us
think better. It can help us be
smarter!
Doing things that we believe are right and good gives us
peace inside. It makes us be
nicer people and is good for our spirit. When we do what we
know is right, it helps to
reduce stress, which isn't good for any part of us.
When we take care of our body, mind, and spirit, we feel
good all over and inside, too!
What a beautiful world this would be if we could all work at
doing these things for
ourselves and also trying to be a help to others!
73.Halloween (1)
Ghosts, goblins, witches, princes and princesses, kings,
queens, skeletons! So may of
these "things" are walking down my street. "Oh, no! They
are coming to my door!" The
 72

doorbell chimes, and I slowly open the door. There standing

on my front porch, is a little
ghost and a cute little witch. They hold up a bag and say,
"trick or treat." I put candy into
their bags and they smile and say, "Thank you."
Every October 31 is Halloween. That is when children dress
up as different things (not
just funny people, but things like animals or fruits or
vegetables, etc). They go from door
to door and get different candies or little toys from the
people in the houses. Some
children, who are not very nice, will do naughty things to
houses where people are not
home, like throwing eggs at their windows. I think that is
bad.
Sometimes people decorate their houses for this day. Some
of the houses can be pretty
scary. They'll have scary noises coming from a tape
recorder, too. However, it's only for a
few days out of the year, so we may as well have fun with
it.
This year my brother is dressing up as a skeleton, and I'm
dressing up as a bride. I am
wearing my mom's wedding dress. It is fun dressing up in
costumes and putting on lots
of makeup. Sometimes our friends don't even know who we
really are!
The best part of Halloween is the candy, of course. I once
got an entire garbage bag full
of candy. Mom and Dad took it away because I was eating
too much. Mom gave me a
piece of candy every day, though. If you eat too much
 73

candy, you can get a stomach ache.

You need to remember to brush your teeth often, too, so
you don't get cavities. Still, that
candy sure does taste good!
Well, it's time to go "trick or treating." So off I go, door to
door, getting yummy candy and
hearing people say, "Oh, aren't you pretty!"
74.New Year's
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
What is New Year's? Well, to me a New Year is when the
date of the year changes. This
year it is 2001, and on December 31 at midnight it will
change to 2002. I wonder who
invented the changing of years and how it was made the
way it is. It must have been
someone a long time ago, since it's already 2001.
When New Year's comes closer, a lot of people talk about
New Year's resolutions. I don't
bother making "resolutions" because I never do them
anyway! And the ones that I do
make are usually ones that will happen anyway. I guess it's
just common sense.
The biggest reason why I like New Year's is because of the
fireworks that we have here in
Canada and many other countries, too. You should see
some of the fireworks that go off.
There are many different colours. There's pink, blue, purple,
yellow, green, red, even
white, silver and gold. Fireworks make loud bangs, squeals,
siren sounds, and
sometimes all at once. There are lots of different sounds,
 74

but I can't even explain what

they are all like.
Fireworks are best when it's very dark outside. They light up
the whole sky! Sometimes,
they look as though they are going to fall on you.
I like New Year's because it's fun in other ways, but the
fireworks are the best part. You
can buy fireworks to use for your own fireworks show.
However, you have to be careful
that no one gets burned or hurt.
Usually, there are parties at New Year's. Some people really
dress up fancy and even
wear masks. They don't know who one another is until
midnight when they take their
masks off. As midnight comes very close, everybody begins
to count down, and then
everyone yells out "Happy New Year's" and bang pots and
pans or ring bells or honk
horns. Join me in the count down on New Year's Eve. "Ten,
nine, eight, seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one - HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
75.More Music
I like music. I have always liked music. Even when I was
very young, I liked music. I like
to listen to it, and to make it. When I was a little girl,
listening to nice music would
sometimes make me cry! That may seem silly, but the
music was so pretty that I cried!
As I grew older, I started to take piano lessons. I was not
very good at first, but after a
while I got better. Also, as I grew older, I started to take
violin lessons. I did not sound
 75

very good at all at first, but I improved.

When I was a teenager in high school, I made sure I had
music classes every year. Those
were the classes I enjoyed most of all. Everyone loved
music, and we had a lot of fun. I
started to take private singing lessons while I was in high
school, too. I also sang in the
choir, played in a band and acted in plays in high school.
The plays were all musicals, so
I got to sing and dance and enjoy music that way also. It
was so much fun pretending to
be other people!
When I finished high school, I went to university to learn
how to be a music teacher. That
was a lot of fun because every day I was with other people
who loved music as much as I
do. Mostly I played the piano, but I also learned how to play
the drums, a saxophone, a
trombone, a French horn, a clarinet, a flute, which I REALLY
was not very good at, and a
viola. I took more singing lessons, too. We did not have
plays to sing and act in, but I
sang in the university choir. Some years, I played the piano
for other students who were
learning other instruments. One year, I played duets with
another girl who was also there
to play piano. She and I made sure we played fast, funny
songs, so we really enjoyed
ourselves doing it.
Now, I am a music teacher. I do not have a lot of students,
not as many as I used to have
anyway. I still find it very rewarding. I like to see people
 76

who start off not knowing very

much, if anything, and go on to be very good at creating
music.
I still love listening to music also. Music makes me happy
when I am sad. It makes me
want to dance or sing when I am already happy. Mostly,
music just makes me glad that I
am me and that music is alive in me.
76.Babies
My baby is asleep in my arms. Her soft cheek rests against
my chest, while her sweet
breath puffs gently on my skin. Her tiny lips are puckered a
bit. Her little eyelids flutter.
I wonder what she dreams about as she sleeps. Does she
dream? I have heard her
whimper in her sleep. Sometimes she awakens with a
scream. What is so scary in her
little baby dreams? Once I heard her giggle as she slept.
Her dreams must have been
sweet that day.
I have had three babies. The one I am holding now is my
last one. My other babies are
grown up more and now at school. I love their childish play
and laughter. I miss their
baby dimples and their baby sounds and smells.
There is such joy in the birth of a new baby. We hear their
first little cry, telling us all is
well with their small world. We feel their newborn skin,
wrinkled, soft and slightly damp.
We feel each little limb and are filled with wonder and
humility. Life is good as baby takes
its first food from its mother. Family gathers around, each
 77

waiting to hold and love this

newest member. Each time the baby cries, its mom worries,
and their bond becomes
stronger.
Babies have their own special smell. Some have described
it as "milk and innocence." It
is the sweetest smell on earth, I think. It cannot be copied.
Somehow, it disappears as
baby grows.
I love to hear my baby talk. Once in a while I can even
understand a little bit! She is so
serious in her baby talk that I just have to pick her up and
hug her. I love to hear her say
"Mommy."
When my baby is tickled, or when the dog or her big
brothers do something funny, it is
so sweet to hear her baby laugh. It's such a cute little
giggle! Sometimes she laughs so
hard, her face turns red, tears come to her eyes, and she
falls down weak with the
laughter. Those who watch her can't help but laugh, too. I
hope she always laughs so
easily.
The parents watch with pride and joy as baby grows and
has many "firsts." There is the
first time baby sleeps through the night, rolls over, smiles,
laughs, hugs and kisses. Then
there is the first tooth, crawling, first step and first word.
With each new first, the baby
becomes less a baby!
These steps are a little sad to parents, too, because they
know they're "losing their
 78

baby." However, to a mother, even an adult child is still her

baby!
My baby is not perfect. Sometimes she gets mad or whines
for no reason. But, to me, she
is still beautiful. Her smiles more than make up for her
tears. Her hugs wipe away when
she's been bad. I intend to cherish each moment with my
baby while I can!
77.Bed Time
I am almost nine years old and my bed time is 8:30 p.m. I
think that is so unfair! I think I
am old enough to stay up until at least 9:00 p.m. My
parents say that I have to go to bed
early because I have school the next day. I can't wait until I
am grown up and can stay
awake as long as I want. Even though I think I should be
able to go to bed later, I do like
our night time routine.
At about 8:l5 p.m., my Mom sends us up to put on our
pajamas. When we come back
downstairs, we read together. Sometimes Mom will read to
us, and sometimes we will
read to her. If Dad is not working, he will sometimes read,
too. Mostly it is Mom we read
with though. When we read, Mom helps us with words we
cannot read. We have to try
and sound the word out, but if we are really stuck, she will
help us. If we come to a place
in our reading where we do not understand the meaning of
what was written, we stop
reading and look at Mom. She will tell us what it means or
help us figure it out on our
 79

own.
After we are finished reading, we say goodnight to
everyone in our house. First we say
goodnight to Mom and give her a hug and a kiss. Then we
do the same for Dad, then our
little sister, and then our dog! Afterwards, we go upstairs
and brush our teeth.

I have to do special stretching exercises for the muscles in

my chest and legs, or I get
pains when I run and play. I do my stretching before I get
into bed. After my exercises,
either my brother or I turn off the lights. We share a
bedroom, so we take turns turning
the light off.
Before we get into bed, we say our prayers. After we get
into our beds, my brother and I
talk to each other for a long time. We tell each other about
our day, about what we hope
will happen in the future, about our friends and all sorts of
other important things. After
awhile, we get so tired, we just fall asleep in the middle of
talking!
Even though we go to bed at 8:30 p.m., we talk so long we
don't go to sleep until about
l0:00 p.m. I still do not know why I have to go to bed so
early when I am not even tired!
78.Why Do I Like Mathematics?
Sometimes there is a problem in life that has no answer.
Perhaps a child has trouble
learning. Perhaps someone becomes ill. Perhaps there was
love, but now there is conflict.
 80

These problems are hard to solve. There is no single

answer. Many people have opinions
on what is the best answer.
But in mathematics there is an answer: a single answer that
is right. There is no doubt;
there is no argument; this answer is right. If we ask, "What
is five plus seven?" The
answer is twelve. If we ask, "How do you raise a child?" The
answer would depend on the
child and the parents.
Sometimes there is more than one way to reach an answer.
Imagine we want to find the
area of a triangle. The triangle has a right angle; the two
sides surrounding the right
angle are 20mm and 30mm. The formula for the area of a
triangle is one half of
(base)(height). We could consider the 20mm side as the
base and 30 mm as the height.
We could consider the 30mm side as the base and the
20mm side as the height. Both
ways would produce the same answer. The area is 300
square mm. Alternatively, we
could consider the base as the third side of the triangle and
then we would have to draw
a height and measure it. The height would be neither 20 nor
30. But still we would end
with the same answer. In math, the answer does not
change.
Another reason I like math is the way it brings order. There
can be a whole set of
numbers or a whole set of measurements that mean
nothing until mathematics organizes
 81

them into a pattern. An average number can be found;

graphs can be drawn; the spread
of the numbers and probabilities of a certain number
happening can be calculated. This
is like having a whole lot of dirty dishes after supper.
Applying math is like washing and
sorting the dishes and putting them back into the cupboard.
Math is a powerful tool. Math should be our friend, and we
will find more ways to use it to
better our lives.
79.My Sister's Visit to Canada
My sister had never been to Canada but came for a visit last
April. I picked her up at the
airport in Toronto and drove her through the traffic and
multilane highways, past the
grape vines and peach trees to Niagara Falls, where I live.
She was very tired from the
flight and soon slept.
The first day we walked to see the Falls. The spray from the
Falls drifts high into the air
and across the people standing to watch. There are people
from all over the world
watching the water and using their cameras. Because it was
April there was still ice
beside the water, huge chunks of ice that looked like white
rocks. In the river there were
floating pieces of ice moving downstream.
The next day we went to the town where the Niagara River
joins Lake Ontario. The
weather was warm. We walked a long way and our feet
were hot, so we went down to the
edge of the water to put our feet in. One toe in was enough!
 82

The water was so cold it

made our feet ache! A piece of ice drifted beside our feet. I
put one foot in for a second
then out, as the pain of the cold went right through me! My
sister could not understand
how it could be so warm, but there was still ice.
Another day we went to see my daughter; she is living on a
farm an hour's drive away.
We walked through her trees; the buds were starting to turn
into leaves. We stopped and
looked at the spring wildflowers. We climbed across a creek
by walking over a fallen tree.
We saw the footprints of raccoons by the water. There was
fresh air and sunshine and
blue sky.
On the way home we stopped for hamburgers and fries at a
drive-through restaurant. She
had never been to a drive-through restaurant before. Then
we went to a donut shop.
There are no donut shops where she lives. There was a
choice of 20 different types of
donut: some round, some with holes, some with frosting,
some with jam inside--each
was different.
The days passed quickly, and soon it was time to take her
back to the airport. Some of
the trees now had leaves; some of the tulips were now
blooming. It was hard to say
goodbye to my sister. I hope we can visit again soon.
80.A Summer Sunday
Today the sun was warm; the sky was blue with a few white
clouds. It was a good day to
 83

pick strawberries; it was a good day to go to the beach.

I drove to a pick-your-own farm where people can pick their
own fruit and buy it. There
the fruit is very fresh and delicious. The owner of the farm
gave everyone a row to pick
their strawberries. Everyone was wearing sun hats. I knelt
down on the straw between
the rows and picked the big juicy red berries. I tasted one; it
was warm from the sun.
When I bit into it the juice was sweet and strong. When
three big pails were full, I went to
pay for them and picked up some recipes for some
strawberry desserts. I packed two of
the pails in a cooler with some ice, and the other one we
would eat at the beach.
I met my daughter at the beach. She had a soft pink blanket
on the sand. This beach is
beside a lake, and across the lake about 50 km away the
large city can sometimes be
seen. Today the wind blew cooler air across the lake over
the people on the beach. There
were children playing in the water. One man helped his son
dig holes in the sand, and the
water ran into the holes. One lady held her children's hands
and walked down into the
water. Families climbed over the rocks and sat on the last
rock where the water was deep.
Teenagers rode bicycles and roller blades along the path
beside the beach. Adults
walked and ran along this path, carrying water bottles
around their waists
We sat on the blanket and ate sandwiches of meat and
 84

lettuce and strawberries from the

pail. We talked and read books and lay in the sun, relaxing.
We wore sunscreen, but our
skin was getting hot. How cold was the water? We walked
across the sand that almost
burned our feet, to the edge of the water. She went right in
and lay down floating. I put
my toes in and felt the chill through my body. I went up to
my knees, then my thighs, but
that was far enough! My whole body was cooled down; I
headed back to the blanket to
lay in the sun again.
Soon it was time to go home, she was coming to my house
for supper. We drove down
the highway with the windows open and our hair blowing in
the warm breeze. We cut the
strawberries up and made a strawberry dessert with cake
and ice cream. We sat outside
in the backyard under the maple trees with the birds
singing around us and ate our
supper. It was a perfect ending to a relaxing summer day.
81.My Parents
My parents live in England, and I live in Canada. I don't see
them often. They used to
come and visit on a plane, and we would pick them up at
Toronto airport. But now they
are older and say the flight is too long for them.
I went to visit them last year, with my son, their grandson.
They live by the ocean, and we
could hear the sound of the waves through the bedroom
window and see the blue water
of the English channel. There is an island with a castle on
 85

top in the bay. We walked

many times on the beach and picked up pebbles and
feathers. We visited the island and
walked up the steep hill to the castle.
My mother likes to cook. She makes delicious cakes and
pies. We went for a hike and
picked wild blackberries. She made them into a pie that
smelled so good coming out of
the oven and tasted so good on our plates. She has many
cook books with recipes from
all over the world and likes to try new things. She can make
pastry very easily and rolls it
with a rolling pin quickly. When I tried to make pastry, it
sticks to the rolling pin, it has
holes at the bottom of the pie, and it tastes like a rock! Her
pastry is crisp and tender.
My father likes to garden. He grows lettuce, carrots,
potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers and
many flowers. When my mother was very ill last year, she
had to stay in bed. He planted
roses outside her bedroom window, so she could open the
curtains and see them. Their
house has small room with windows all around, and they
plant seeds there in winter in
small pots. The warmth from the sun makes the seeds
grow, and in spring they are a
good size to be planted outside.
In the house beside them and in the house in front of them,
there are older ladies whose
husbands have died. These ladies do not drive, so my father
takes my mother and the
two ladies to the town for shopping every week. He helps
 86

one find her groceries because

she cannot see well. He helps her take tapes of books from
the library so she can listen
to books instead of reading them because of her eyes. He
helps them cut their grass and
fix anything that is broken in the house.
I am very proud of my parents; they are over eighty years
old and often hurt when they
move around. But still they help other people, and they help
each other. They have been
married for over fifty years, but still my father loves my
mother enough to plant roses for
her to cheer her up when she was ill.
82.The Planets of Our Solar System
The planet on which we live is called the Earth. Our planet
is constantly moving around
the sun, and each year, the Earth travels all the way around
the sun. But there are many
other planets that also travel around the sun. Together with
the sun, the planets, and
various other bodies, the Earth is part of our "solar system."
The planet that is closest to the sun is Mercury. Mercury is
extremely hot, and it is much
smaller than the Earth. The second planet from the sun is
Venus. Venus is about the
same size as the Earth. Venus is also very hot.
The Earth is the third planet from the sun. The Earth is
unusual among the planets,
because it has such a large moon. The Earth is bigger than
the moon, but the moon is
still quite large. It takes about one month for the moon to
travel around the Earth.
 87

The fourth planet from the sun is Mars. Mars is known for its
red colour. Mars is smaller
and colder than the Earth. Mars has two very small moons.
After the planet Mars, there
are many small bodies called the asteroids. These rocky
objects are much smaller than
planets.
The first four planets are all made of rock and metal. The
remaining planets, however, are
mostly made of frozen gases.
The fifth planet is called Jupiter. Jupiter is the largest planet.
It has many moons that
travel around it, and it also has a large red spot. The sixth
planet is called Saturn. Saturn
is the second-largest planet, and it is famous for the wide
"rings" that surround it. These
rings are made up of many smaller objects that are found in
the same area.
The seventh planet is called Uranus. The eighth planet is
called Neptune. These planets
are also gas giants, but they are smaller than Jupiter and
Saturn. Both Uranus and
Neptune are so far from the sun that scientists only
discovered these planets during the
past few hundred years, using telescopes. The other planets
had all been visible to
curious people for many thousands of years.
The ninth planet is called Pluto. Pluto is very small, and it is
much more rocky than the
gas giants. Some scientists believe that Pluto is not really a
planet at all. They suggest
that Pluto is the largest of many asteroids that are found at
 88

the edge of the solar system.

The solar system is a vast place. So far, people have not
travelled beyond the moon. But
perhaps someday, human astronauts will visit the other
planets of our solar system!
83.Learning to Drive
Each year, many young people learn to drive a car. For
many people, learning to drive is
important because the car is an important method of
transportation in many places.
Before learning to drive a car, it is important to understand
the rules of the road. A
beginning driver should already understand the many signs
that are found along the
roads. Also, the student driver should know the many rules
about changing lanes,
turning, stopping, and many other aspects of driving. In
addition, the driver should be
familiar with the way the car is operated; it is important to
know how to use the lights,
signals, brakes, accelerator, and steering wheel.
When a person starts learning to drive, it may take some
time to become skilful. It takes
some practice to become an expert in driving a car. One
must become familiar with
steering, speeding up, and slowing down. At first, it is good
to practice driving in a large
open space, such as an empty parking lot. Here, one can
practice without being a danger
to anyone.
When a person gains some skill in driving, it is then safe
enough to practice driving on a
 89

road. Of course, a student driver must still be very careful.

He or she should always have
an expert driver in the car with him or her. Many beginning
drivers take driving lessons
from professional instructors, who can teach safe driving
techniques.
Eventually, the young driver is ready for a driving test,
which is needed to obtain a
regular driver's licence. This test is supervised by a
government official. In the driving
test, the driver must show that he or she can control the car
with great skill by being able
to make turns and to park the car in small spaces. But he or
she must also show respect
for the rules of the road by driving at a proper speed, and
obeying all traffic signs and
signals.
Of course, even when one has obtained a driver's licence, it
is always important to drive
carefully and responsibly!
84.Snow
Snow is the white substance that falls to the ground during
cold weather conditions.
Each tiny piece of snow, called a snowflake, is a very small
amount of water that has
frozen into an unusual shape. During the winter months,
huge numbers of snowflakes
fall to the ground, covering the land in a white blanket of
snow.
In many parts of the world, people never see any snow.
Snow only falls when there is
moisture in the air, and when the temperature falls below
 90

the freezing point of water,

which is zero degrees Celsius. During the winter, snow falls
instead of rain.
One advantage of snow is that it allows many fun outdoor
activities. Children like to play
in the snow. For example, they may make a "snowman" by
rolling snow into a large ball,
and then placing these balls of snow on top of each other,
in the shape of a person.
Another fun activity in the snow is skiing. Skis are very long,
thin, flat pieces of hard
material that one wears on one's feet. Wearing skis allows a
person to slide along the
surface of the snow. People can ski down the side of a hill,
travelling at great speeds.
Many people find the sport of downhill skiing to be very
exciting. Some people like to ski
along flat ground, often travelling great distances. This
sport, called cross-country skiing,
is an excellent way to develop physical fitness.
Of course, snow also causes some problems. Snow can
make driving dangerous
because falling snow makes roads slippery, and on a windy
day, blowing snow can make
it difficult to see very far. It can also be a lot of work to
remove snow from the roads and
sidewalks. Snow is a heavy substance, and it must be
cleared away using a shovel or a
large machine.
Many people love the beauty of the land when it is covered
by snow. The white covering
of snow over the fields and trees can give a feeling of peace
 91

and calm. If you have never

seen snow before, you should someday experience this
strange and wonderful
substance!
85.Christmas
In most Western countries, Christmas is the biggest holiday
of the year. People gather with their families to celebrate this
day, which occurs on December 25th each year. The holiday of
Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In the Christian
religion, Jesus Christ is recognized as the Son of God. During the
Christmas season, many people celebrate the events of the
birth of Jesus Christ. For example, they recall the three wise
men who visited Jesus Christ shortly after his birth. Also, they
recall that Jesus Christ was born in a manger (a place where
horses are kept), because his parents could not find a place to
stay.
In Western countries, Christmas is also celebrated by many
people who are not religious.
People view Christmas as a time for being together with
one's relatives. Children, parents, and grandparents gather to
exchange presents and to eat special foods.
The tradition of giving gifts at Christmas is unusual in one
way. When children go to bed on the evening before Christmas,
they hang large socks (called stockings) in their house.
When they wake up on Christmas morning, the stockings
have been filled with toys and
candy.
According to tradition, the presents have been given by a
fat man who wears a white
beard and a red suit. This man, called Santa Claus, flies
around the world in a sled that is
pulled by reindeer. He stops at each house and flies down
the chimney to deliver his
 92

presents. In the weeks before Christmas, children are

usually very well behaved. Their
parents tell them that Santa Claus will only give presents to
children who are good!
Another Christmas tradition is the Christmas tree. People
put a small tree inside their
house and decorate it with various pretty objects.
Nowadays, most people use an
artificial tree instead of a real tree. The tradition of the
Christmas tree is actually older
than Christmas itself-the people of Europe celebrated the
beginning of the winter season
in this way even before Christianity reached Europe.
Christmas is certainly one of the most important and most
enjoyed holidays in Western
countries.
86.Thanksgiving
An important holiday in North America is held during the
fall, or autumn, season of the
year. This holiday is called Thanksgiving. At this time of
year, people join with their
relatives to reflect upon their good fortune.
Thanksgiving is a holiday that has a long history in North
America. It was first celebrated
when English settlers arrived in the eastern part of what is
now the United States, during
the seventeenth century. When they survived the first hard
year, they celebrated and
gave thanks to God. They invited some of the Native people
to their Thanksgiving
celebration, because the Native people had helped them to
survive during the hard winter.
 93

The tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving continued and

spread throughout North
America. Each fall, during the time of the autumn harvest,
people celebrated
Thanksgiving. They gave thanks for the food of the harvest,
and for all the good things in
their lives.
Today, the tradition of Thanksgiving celebration continues.
Families gather to eat a large
bird called a turkey. They also eat pumpkin pie. This is a
sweet dessert that is made from
a large orange vegetable that grows on the ground.
In the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the
fourth Thursday of November. But
the following day, Friday, is also a holiday, and then comes
the weekend. In Canada,
Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of
October. The reason for the earlier
celebration in Canada is that the weather is colder than in
the United States. This means
that the harvest happens earlier in Canada, so Thanksgiving
is held at an earlier date. But
in both countries, Thanksgiving is a very pleasant time of
year.
87.Halloween (2)
The holiday called Halloween is celebrated on October 31st
of each year. Halloween is
not an official holiday. Everyone goes to work or to school
on Halloween, just as on any
other day. But Halloween is still one of the holidays that
children like the most.
Why do children like Halloween so much? There are two
 94

reasons: costumes and candy.

On the evening of October 31st, children dress up in
strange and unusual costumes.
They wear costumes that may look like a witch, a monster,
or many other weird things.
Putting on these scary costumes is a lot of fun for children.
After the children put on their costumes, they walk from
house to house during the
evening. The children carry large bags with them. At each
house, they stop and knock at
the door. When an adult opens the door, the children shout
"trick or treat." The adult who
opens the door pretends to be frightened, and then puts
pieces of candy into each child's
open bag.
At the end of the evening, the children have visited many
houses and have collected
much candy. During the next several days, they can feast
upon the sweet candies that
they have received.
Another Halloween tradition is very unusual. In each house,
a family gets a very large,
round orange vegetable called a pumpkin. They cut a hole
in the top of the pumpkin, and
empty out the flesh and seeds of the vegetable. Then, they
cut holes in the side of the
pumpkin, so that it appears to have eyes, a nose, and a
mouth. When the carving is
finished, the pumpkin looks almost like a person's face!
When the pumpkin has been carved to look like a face,
people place a light inside the
pumpkin, so that the vegetable seems to glow in the dark.
 95

This strange-looking face is

called a "jack-o-lantern." On Halloween evening, one can
see many of these jack-o-
lanterns, some of which are very beautifully carved.
Halloween is truly a fun and interesting holiday, especially
for children!
88.Easter
Traditionally, Easter has been one of the most important
holidays of the Christian religion.
For Christians, the Easter holiday celebrates the death of
Jesus Christ, who died for the
benefit of all people. The exact date when Easter is
celebrated is different each year, but
it is always held in early spring, during March or April.
There are two very important days that make up the Easter
holiday, which occurs during
the spring season. The first of these days is called Good
Friday. Christians recognize
Good Friday as the day when Jesus suffered and died on
behalf of humanity.
The second of these days is called Easter Sunday. Easter
Sunday occurs two days after
Good Friday. Christians celebrate Easter Sunday as the day
when Jesus rose from the
dead and went to Heaven. For Christians, Easter is the most
solemn holiday of the year.
Many people attend church services on Good Friday and on
Easter Sunday.
Easter is also a time for celebration. Some Easter traditions
come from old springtime
festivals that existed even before Christianity. One of the
traditions associated with
 96

Easter is the painting of Easter eggs. People take chickens'

eggs, make them hollow, and
then paint them with beautiful colours. Some people paint
very beautiful and complex
designs on the Easter eggs.
Another Easter tradition is the Easter Bunny. According to
tradition, the Easter Bunny is
a magical rabbit that visits the homes of children on the
night before Easter Sunday. The
Easter Bunny hides chocolate candies, shaped like eggs,
throughout the child's house.
On the morning of Easter Sunday, the children must search
throughout the house, to find
these many hidden treats!
The Easter holiday is an important time, both as a religious
holiday and as a celebration
of springtime.
89.My Friends
Two of my best friends are named John and Jane. John and
Jane are related to each
other. In fact, they are brother and sister. Not only are they
brother and sister, but they
are also twins. Their mother gave birth to them only a few
minutes apart.
I first met John and Jane when we were only five years old.
We went to kindergarten
classes at the same school. Because the house where John
and Jane lived was close to
my family's house, I often walked to school with John and
Jane.
When we weren't at school, John and Jane and I often
played together. Sometimes, we
 97

would play sports and games. Sometimes, we would play in

the forest, looking for birds
and animals. On rainy days, we would stay inside, and play
with toys and dolls. On warm
summer days, we would go swimming in the lake that was
near the place where we lived.
I often visited John and Jane at their house. On many
occasions, I had lunch at their
place. John and Jane's parents were very nice to me. Of
course, John and Jane often
visited my house too. My parents enjoyed it when John and
Jane came over for lunch.

When I became older, I remained friends with John and

Jane. Sometimes, we would
study or do our school homework together. Sometimes, we
worked at the same part-time
jobs, to make extra money. We often helped each other in
various ways. Sometimes, I did
a favour to help John or Jane, and sometimes they did
favours to help me.
Eventually, when we grew up, I moved to a different town.
Both John and Jane also
moved to different places. But I am still good friends with
John and Jane. Two years ago,
I went to Jane's wedding, and last year, I went to John's
wedding. I think I will probably
always be friends with John and Jane.
Having friends is very nice. I am very lucky to have had
good friends such as John and
Jane.
90.Hobbies
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Hobbies are activities that people do in their spare time, for

the sake of enjoyment. A
hobby usually involves work of some kind, but the work is
fun for the person who does it.
Some people enjoy their hobbies very much and like to
spend much time on those
hobbies.
There are many different hobbies that people enjoy. One of
the most popular hobbies is
gardening. Many people enjoy growing beautiful flowers or
tasty vegetables in a garden
near their house or apartment. People who have a garden
enjoy seeing the results of
their work, when flowers show their bright, beautiful
colours. But gardeners also enjoy
the tasks of gardening itself. They like to work in the soil,
planting and watering their
flowers.
Another popular hobby is photography. Some people enjoy
taking pictures of the people
and places around them. People who enjoy photography
may sometimes buy expensive
cameras that allow interesting photographs to be taken. But
even people who have only
a basic camera can still take beautiful pictures.
For many people, car repair is a favourite hobby. Some
people enjoy looking at the
engine and other parts of their cars. Those people make
repairs or improvements to their
cars. Of course, this is a useful hobby, but many people
enjoy "fixing up" a car simply
because they enjoy working with cars.
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Some people collect objects as a hobby. For example, some

people collect postage
stamps, and some people collect coins. It can be very
satisfying to find the missing parts
of one's collection, especially when the stamps or coins are
very rare.
Of course, these are just a few of the many hobbies that
people enjoy. Do you have any
hobbies that you enjoy?
91.Life in Outer Space?
People have often wondered about whether or not there is
life beyond the planet Earth.
For years, the idea of intelligent life on other planets has
been very popular. Many books
and movies tell stories of what those forms of life might be
like.
Many scientists believe that very simple forms of life are
likely to exist on many other
planets. Under the right conditions, simple life forms might
arise. Those conditions,
which include moisture and warmth, might occur in many
parts of the universe.
Fewer scientists believe that very intelligent forms of life
are likely to exist on many other
planets. For intelligent life to evolve, a very long period of
time is needed. During that
time, the conditions on a planet must not be too harsh.
Otherwise, the evolving life forms
will die. The amount of water, heat, and various chemicals
must be "just right." If not,
then complex life might never evolve.
The conditions needed for intelligent life to evolve are very
 100

unlikely to occur on any one

planet. However, some scientists believe that intelligent life
might be common in the
universe. Because there are so many stars and planets in
the universe, there might be a
few places that have intelligent life. However, those places
are probably very, very far
away.
Other scientists disagree. They think that the conditions
needed for intelligent life are
extremely rare. Because of this, our planet might be the
only place that has intelligent
life!
So far, it is impossible to know whether or not there are
intelligent beings on other
planets. But even if those beings do exist, it seems very
unlikely that we will ever meet
them.
92.Reading the Newspaper
I often enjoy reading the newspaper. In my city, there are
three different newspapers, and
I look at different newspapers on different days. I find that
each section of a newspaper
has some interesting information.
Most newspapers contain several sections that can be
easily removed from the rest of
the newspaper. The main section is found at the front of the
newspaper. This section
usually contains the most important news from around the
world, from around the nation,
and from the local area.
Sometimes the main section also includes some pages that
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contain opinions about the

news. The editors of the newspaper write an editorial
opinion. Other writers provide
many different opinions about current events. Also, some
readers of the newspaper write
letters to the editor, in which they express their opinions.
Another popular section of the newspaper is the sports
section. This section contains
information about many different sports events. The sports
section provides scores and
results from many games and competitions.
Another section of the newspaper contains information
about entertainment and the arts.
The arts and entertainment section tells readers about new
movies and plays. It also
describes new books, music concerts, and art exhibits.
Most newspapers also have a business section. This section
provides information about
new business deals, and about the stock market. Many
people read the business section
of the newspaper to gain information and advice about
investing their money.
Finally, newspapers usually have a section for classified
advertisements. This section
allows people to advertise about things that they want to
buy or sell. It also gives notices
about job openings.
Reading the newspaper is surely a good way to keep
informed about many different
events in the world around us.
93.Summer Jobs
In North America, many young people attend high school,
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college, or university. But

during the summer months, most of those students work at
a summer job.
For most students, there are no classes during the months
of July and August, and
sometimes none in May and June also. Having a summer job
allows students to make
money that they will need during the rest of the year. They
need this money because it
costs a lot of money to pay for university or college. Of
course, students also want
money to spend on things that are fun, also.
Many students have summer jobs that involve working with
children. For example, some
students work at children's camps, where they teach
children various skills and games.
Some students work as lifeguards, at swimming pools and
at beaches.
Some students do heavy work in their summer jobs. For
example, some students find
jobs as construction workers. Other students work in
factories, and some students work
on farms. There are other students who find jobs mowing
lawns or collecting trash.
Quite a few students work in stores. Some of these students
have jobs as cashiers, and
some have jobs putting products on store shelves. Other
students work in restaurants,
as waiters or as cooks.
Other students work in offices. Some of them work as
assistants for other employees.
Their tasks might include typing letters, programming
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computers, or delivering mail.

Some students enjoy their summer jobs very much, and
they find those jobs to be a
pleasant break from studying. Other students do not really
enjoy summer jobs, but find
their jobs to be a nice way to make new friends. But nearly
all students who have
summer jobs are pleased to have the chance to earn some
extra money.
94.Eating Out
Many people enjoy the experience of going out to eat at a
restaurant. It is enjoyable to eat
one's favourite foods, or to try some entirely new food.
Going out to a restaurant is also
fun because it allows a change from the usual routine of
eating at home.
There are many different kinds of restaurants. One popular
type of restaurant is the fast-
food restaurant. When ordering fast-food, you must first
wait in line at the front of the
restaurant, and then order food from the counter. After
paying, the food is quickly
delivered, and you can then take the food to a table, where
you can enjoy your meal.
In most restaurants, you don't have to go to a counter to
order your food. Instead, you
are taken to a table soon after entering the restaurant.
There, a waiter comes to give you
a menu. You can choose your meal from the foods that are
listed on the menu. After
ordering, it takes some time to prepare your food. After a
while, the waiter brings your
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meal to the table. When you are finished eating, the waiter
brings the "bill" or "check".
You then pay for the meal, and leave some extra money as
a "tip" for the waiter.
In some other restaurants, the waiter does not bring the
meal to your table. Instead, after
you are taken to a table, you then go to a counter called a
"buffet." There you can select
different types of foods, such as salads, soups, meats,
breads, vegetables, and desserts.
After putting the food on your plate, you return to your
table. After eating, you can return
to the buffet to get more food.
Other restaurants can be very fancy. They may have
beautiful decorations, and they may
have food that is prepared by expert chefs. These
restaurants may also serve fine wines
with the food. Of course, these restaurants are very
expensive. At these restaurants, it is
often necessary to reserve a table by telephoning the
restaurant in advance.
Different restaurants specialize in different kinds of food.
Fast-food restaurants may
specialize in hamburgers or chicken. Some restaurants
specialize in steak or seafood.
Other restaurants specialize in foods that belong to a
certain nationality. For example,
many restaurants specialize in Italian, Mexican, Chinese,
Indian, or Thai food.
Eating out at a restaurant can be a fun and tasty
experience. What is your favourite kind
of restaurant?
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95.Radio Stations
When I drive in my car, I like to turn on the radio. By
listening to the radio, I can enjoy
music and learn the latest news while I am travelling from
one place to another. Of
course, you can also listen the radio at home, or even at
work. Listening to the radio is a
popular activity for many people, and each city has many
different radio stations.
There are many different kinds of radio stations. Some radio
stations provide news and
information. Other radio stations have a "talk" format,
where listeners can call the radio
station's experts, to discuss political affairs or to ask for
personal advice.
Although there are many radio stations that provide news
and opinions, most radio
stations are mainly devoted to playing music of some kind.
For example, some radio
stations play the songs that are currently most popular,
often called the "top 40" songs.
Other radio stations specialize in particular types of music.
There are some stations that
play only classical music. Other radio stations mainly play
jazz music. Some very
popular radio stations play "hard rock" music. Others
specialize in country music. Some
people prefer radio stations that play rhythm-and-blues
music. Still other people enjoy
radio stations that specialize in soft, "easy listening" music.
If you have a favourite kind of music, or even if you like to
listen to all kinds of music,
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you can probably find at least one radio station that you will
like.
In addition to news and music, some radio stations provide
other kinds of entertainment.
Sometimes, a story from a book will be told over the radio.
Occasionally, the words of a
theatrical play may be heard on the radio.
Even in the age of television and computers, the radio has
remained an important source
of entertainment and information. People will surely listen
to the radio for a long time to
come.
96.Being a Good Citizen
Every society has laws that regulate the way people
behave. A good citizen should obey
laws. However, there is more to being a good citizen than
merely obeying laws. There are
many other things that people can do to make their society
a pleasant one for every
person.
One way to be a good citizen is to be polite in everyday
activities. For example, when
passing through a door, a considerate person will hold the
door open for a person who is
close behind. Holding doors open is especially important
when someone is carrying a
heavy load.
Being a good citizen is very important when travelling on
the roads and streets.
Pedestrians, bicyclists, and car drivers should all follow the
rules of the road. Bicyclists
should yield to pedestrians, and car drivers should yield to
 107

both bicyclists and

pedestrians. Drivers should also allow other drivers to
merge into their lanes. Also,
drivers should avoid honking their horns except when this is
necessary.
A good citizen will also avoid doing things that interfere
with others. For example, a
considerate person does not smoke cigarettes in areas
where this might irritate others.
Also, a polite person avoids playing music so loudly that
other people will be annoyed.
And of course, a good citizen avoids littering or making a
mess.
Other ways of being a good citizen involve greater effort.
Some people serve their
community by doing volunteer work of some kind. Other
people help by donating money
to a charity. Another way to serve the community is to
donate blood. Blood donors are
needed so that there will be enough blood available to help
people who are sick or
injured.
Being a good citizen is very helpful for the community, and
it also gives a feeling of
satisfaction and pride!
97.Visiting the Doctor
When people feel sick, they go to a doctor. But sometimes
people visit the doctor even
when they are not sick. Doctors can perform a medical
"check-up", to find out if a person
is healthy. By performing this physical examination, the
doctor can identify any health
 108

problems that might be developing.

During a check-up, the doctor examines your eyes, ears,
and throat. The doctor uses a
small flashlight to examine the eyes, ears, and throat. It is
important to make sure that
the eyes react normally to changes in light. It is also
important to make sure that the ears
and throat have a normal appearance. When the doctor
examines your throat, he or she
will ask you open your mouth wide and say "ah".
The doctor uses a stethoscope to examine the patient's
heartbeat. The stethoscope
hangs around the doctor's neck. By using a stethoscope, a
doctor can hear the patient's
heartbeat very clearly. While checking the patient's heart,
the doctor also listens carefully
to make sure that the patient's breathing is normal.
The doctor also checks the patient's blood pressure. Blood
pressure is measured by
placing a cuff around the arm. Air is then pumped into the
cuff, and this allows blood
pressure to be measured. Having very high blood pressure,
or very low blood pressure,
is not good for one's health; it is better to be "in between".
Another part of the examination is a test of the reflexes.
The doctor tests the patient's
reflexes by gently hitting his of her knee with a small
hammer. If a person has normal
reflexes, the leg will extend suddenly.
Sometimes a doctor may give injections using a needle, as
an extra part of the check-up.
These injections, called vaccinations, prevent the patient
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from developing certain

illnesses.
Medical check-ups can help to maintain health, but people
should also maintain their
health by leading a healthy lifestyle.
98.A Small Town
I grew up in a small town. There were only about two
thousand people who lived in the
town where I grew up. When a town is very small, it is also
called a village. My village
was surrounded by many farms and many lakes.
The house where my family lived was near the middle of
the town. On the street where
we lived, most of the houses were similar in size, but many
of them had different shapes
and different colors. Each house was surrounded by a yard,
where people grew their
lawn and their garden.
Often, I would walk from my house to the downtown part of
the village. "Downtown" is
the area where the stores and shops of a town are located.
Because I lived in a small
town, it was a short walk to the downtown area. Along the
main street, there were several
different kinds of stores. Some stores sold food, some
stores sold clothing, and some
stores sold hardware (or building supplies).
It was also a short walk to the schools in my town. When I
went to elementary school, it
would take about ten minutes to walk to the school. Some
of my friends lived on the
same street where I lived. Sometimes, we walked to school
 110

together.
During the summer months, many people came from the
big city to visit our village. The
people liked to get away from the busy streets of the city.
They enjoyed the quietness
and the slow pace of village life. They also liked to spend
their vacations near the lakes
that were near the village. People from the city often said
that people who live in villages
seemed very friendly.
When I grew up, I left my village, and I went to work in a
larger town. But sometimes I like
to go back and visit the place where I grew up.
99.Personal Computers
During the 1980s and 1990s, personal computers became
very widespread. The use of
the computer has changed people's lifestyles in several
ways.
Before 1980, hardly anyone owned a computer. Only
governments and large companies
had computers. But throughout the 1980s and 1990s,
computers became much cheaper,
faster, and smaller, and they held much more memory.
More and more people were able
to afford to buy a computer. By the year 2000, computers
had become very common.
For many people, the personal computer is used mainly for
performing calculations and
for word processing. For example, people can calculate
their finances on the computer.
They can also use the computer to type their written
documents, such as essays or
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letters.
Many people enjoy playing games on their computers.
Some people like to play chess or
checkers on their computer. Other people prefer games
that require fast reflexes and fine
co-ordination. Computer games were very simple during the
early days of the 1980s.
Today's computer games show detailed images and sounds.
Another very popular use of computers involves
communication. Many people keep in
touch with their friends and relatives by using electronic
mail, or e-mail. E-mail allows
people to send letters instantly to people far away. It is
even possible to attach pictures
to one's e-mail messages.
Many people also like to use their computer to gain
information on the Internet. The
Internet is a vast network of electronic pages where people
can find information on many
different topics. For example, people can read newspapers
and magazines on the
Internet.
Personal computers have only existed for a short time. But
for many people, those
computers have quickly become a very useful part of
everyday life!
100.Methods of Transportation
In the modern age, people often travel long distances.
Sometimes people travel for
reasons related to their work. Sometimes they travel as
tourists. And sometimes people
travel to visit relatives and friends.
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There are many different ways that people can travel. Some
forms of transportation move
people along the ground. Other methods of transportation
move people across the water,
or through the air.
Airplanes provide the fastest method of travelling. Modern
jet airliners travel at about
1000 kilometres per hour. These airplanes cruise through
the skies, almost ten
kilometres above the level of the sea. Jet airplanes allow
people to travel great distances
in a short time. For example, it is possible to fly across a
great ocean, such as the Pacific
or the Atlantic, in several hours.
Ships were once the only way to travel across the oceans.
Before airplanes, it took many
weeks or months to travel around the world. Today, many
people still travel by ship when
crossing smaller bodies of water. Some ships, called ferries,
allow people to bring their
cars with them onto the ship. Some people also like to
travel by ship as part of a holiday.
These holiday ships, called cruise ships, stop in several
interesting ports along the
voyage.
Trains are very popular in many places. In some places,
such as Japan and France, trains
travel at high speeds of about 300 kilometres per hour.
These trains move people
throughout the country very quickly and efficiently. Trains
are also used to move people
over short distances, such as the trip from one's home to
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one's workplace.
Buses and cars are also widely used for transportation.
Some people travel by bus or car
for only short trips, but sometimes buses and cars are used
for very long journeys. In
North America, many people have driven across Canada or
the United States in their cars.
The wide, smooth roads allow cars and buses to travel
quickly from one place to another.
There are many different methods of transportation. Which
one do you think is the best?
101.A Life Experience
My friend Lani and I went to Burger King yesterday. We
ordered a big order of french
fries and a couple of drinks. Lani got a strawberry
milkshake.
I picked out a table near the window so we could look at the
people passing by. As we
were sitting there, we heard our favourite song, "Butterfly"
by the band Crazy Town come
on the radio. We looked at each other with big grins on our
faces and started singing and
dancing!
It was great fun. Many people began staring at us,
wondering why we were so happy. We
didn't care; we just kept on moving and enjoying ourselves.
The song ended, and we were almost finished our food. We
sat and talked about what
was happening in our lives. She had just bought four new t-
shirts for the summer. The
new sandals she had gotten for her birthday had given her
really bad blisters on the
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sides of her feet. When she wore other shoes, she had to
wear bandaids on the blisters. I
told her that I had bought four new C.D.'s. I love music!
As we finished our conversation, we finished off our drinks. I
like going out with Lani and
talking. Lani is my best friend and I can talk to her about
anything. I am glad I have her to
share my life with, even if it is as simple as going to Burger
King and eating french fries!
Lani and I are planning to travel together so we are trying
to save our money. Our french
fries and drink only came to about $6, so we didn't feel too
bad about spending our
money!
I wonder though, if McDonald's would have been cheaper?
102.Air Plane Ride
Tasha signed a piece of paper which gave her a chance to
win a free air plane ride. She
put her name, address and telephone number on that piece
of paper. A few days later she
got a telephone call. It was the man that was holding the
ticket draw. Tasha didn't think
she would win, but the man on the telephone said she did!
She listened as the man told her where she would have to
go to get her free air plane ride.
She had to go near the town of Grimsby. She was allowed to
pick a friend to go with her
on the air plane ride. Tasha was so happy! She asked her
twin sister Tawnya to go with
her. Tawnya was very excited! Neither of them had been on
an air plane before.
When they got to the air plane centre, Tasha and Tawnya
 115

were nervous. They knew the

air plane was small so that meant only the pilot and them
were going to be in the plane.
Their mom took a picture of them beside the plane before
they left.
Tasha and Tawnya hopped into the plane. They put their
seatbelts on and got ready for
take-off. Tasha got to sit in the very front, right beside the
pilot. Tawnya sat behind Tasha.
The girls laughed nervously as the plane started rolling
down the runway. They went
faster and faster, trees passing by quickly. There was a
powerful surge making
everyone's head jerk back. The plane started lifting off the
ground. Up, up, and away!
They were up off the ground and flying high in the sky! It
seemed as though they could
get anywhere within a matter of seconds. They flew from
Grimsby to Beamsville where
they saw their high school. Then, on to St. Catharines and
then Niagara Falls. They even
flew over top of their house! They took pictures of their
house. They could see their pond
from way up there, too.
The pilot asked Tasha if she wanted to fly the plane. "Sure!"
Tasha said. So, Tasha took
the steering handle and began to fly the plane. She didn't
really know how to fly it, so
when she pulled the handle down, the plane shot upward.
Both of the girls squealed.
Tasha levelled the plane and flew smoothly from then on.
Soon it was time to go back to Grimsby. The pilot took over
 116

again. We braced ourselves

as the landing strip got nearer. The landing went smoothly
with Tasha and Tawnya
beaming as they looked out at the ground. They hopped off
of the plane, thanked the
pilot and ran to tell their mom about their wonderful
experience.
103.A Rainy Day
The clouds were very gray. There was a loud boom that
came from the sky. A bolt of
lightning struck down a tree. All of a sudden buckets of rain
came pouring down!
Jane and Bill were walking in a park when the rain started.
Jane wanted to take pictures
of the flowers, but the rain got her camera wet. She had to
put it away so that it wouldn't
get ruined.
Jane was going to hide under a big tree to stay dry, but Bill
told her that was not a safe
idea. He said that she could get hurt if the lightning hit the
tree. The tree could break and
fall on her, or the lightning could even hit her!
The air was very chilly. Jane and Bill put on their sweaters
and raincoats to keep warm.
Jane took her umbrella out and put it up. They both walked
under it to stay dry.
The ground was really wet and muddy. Bill and Jane were
very glad that they
remembered to wear their boots. They ran through the
puddles, getting mud and water all
over the back of their pants.
As they were running and having fun, they saw some ducks.
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There were five of them

splashing around in a pond. The ducks were not afraid of
water; they swim in the water
all the time!
Jane and Bill saw some big bull frogs near the pond. The
frogs jumped into the pond
when they heard Jane and Bill coming.
After a little while Jane and Bill decided to go home. They
got into some dry clothes.
Jane started to sneeze. She had gotten a little bit too wet!
Bill noticed that the rain had stopped. "Look outside Jane,"
he said. Jane wrapped a
blanket around her shoulders and looked outside. There
was a beautiful, bright rainbow
across the sky Violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and red,
the rainbow shone high in the
sky. "I wonder if there's a pot of gold on the other side?"
Jane asked. She had once been
told that Leprechauns lived on the other side handing out
money to those that made it to
the rainbow's end.
Bill didn't believe there was a pot of gold. Jane ignored Bill
though and started off across
the field, to claim her big pot of money.
Let's hope Jane finds her way back home, safe and sound,
with a big pot of gold!
104.Elementary School
I go to Gainsborough Public Elementary School. I am in
Grade 8. I am known as the
"King/Queen" of the school this year. I feel very grown up. I
love being the oldest kid in
the school. My friends and I are told that we are examples
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to the younger kids in the

school. That means we need to be good. I remember
looking up to the grade eight kids
when I was younger. I remember thinking how big and wise
they seemed to be. Now that
I'm in grade eight, I hope that the younger kids see me as
wise.
I want to be a music teacher or maybe a nurse. My school
counsellor helps me plan for
high school. I am nervous because I know I will not feel like
the "King" anymore. Things
will be so different. I am excited because I will be meeting
so many new people!
I am looking forward to my graduation. I will wear a pink,
silky dress. My shoes are a light
pink, too. My date's name is Chad. He is very nice. He is a
good friend. I have known
Chad since I was a little girl.
I know that my future will be a bright one. I will miss all of
my friends but I know we will
see each other again someday.
105.The Middle Child
I am the middle child of the family. I think it is nice in some
ways. I have an older sister from whom I can borrow clothes
from, if she lets me.
I get to meet my older sister's friends, although sometimes
they think that I am too young
to be with them.
I have a younger brother.
He is cute, but sometimes I have to baby-sit him.
There are good things and bad things about being the
middle child.
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My sister is the eldest child.

She was the first child, so she spent time alone with my
parents.
She got lots of attention when she was first born.
They took lots and lots of pictures of her.
All her clothes and toys were brand new.
I got her hand-me-downs.
My parents were the strictest with her.
They had lots of rules for her to follow.
She is the first child, so they want her to be perfect.
My younger brother is the baby of the family.
I think that we all spoil him.
We let him get away with some things that he shouldn't get
away with.
His room is always messy, and my mother never gets mad
about that.
She gets upset with me if my room is messy.
She tells me that I'm old enough to keep a nice clean room.
It's no good thinking about which position you would like to
hold in the family.
You really don't have a choice about that.
I think I like being the middle child.
I can relate to my older sister and my younger brother.
Yes, I think the middle is probably a good place to be.
106.Advice to a Student from a Foreign Country
My advice to a student from a foreign country would be to
talk, talk, talk.
Talk as much as you can to the people who live in the place
that you are visiting. Talk to them and practice your new
language skills. Learn all the funny sayings and different words
that make up their language.
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Talking is the only way to really learn a language.

Listen to people and talk to people.
If you talk to people, you will also learn about their culture.
I have a friend from Japan.
His name is Nori.
He often comes to see me just so that he can practice his
English.
He gets confused about words that sound the same, but
mean different things.
He was asking me about the words "see" and "sea."
I explained to him that they do sound the same, but they
are spelled differently, and they
mean different things.
Nori is learning some of our funny sayings from different
people.
One morning I asked him how he was, and he said "alive
and kicking."
Another morning when I asked him how he was, he said "so
so."
He laughs about these strange sayings that we use.
He is learning English quickly because he spends a lot of
time with English-speaking
people.
He likes to have lunch with my friends and me because we
ask him questions about his
homeland, and he answers us in English.
If he doesn't understand our questions, we spend time
explaining what we mean to him.
He says that he enjoys being here.
He thinks that the people are very friendly.
We enjoy speaking to him and helping him to learn English.
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We also enjoy learning about his country.

It is enjoyable for us to meet new people and learn about
new things.
107.A Ghost
One dark and gloomy night, I was sitting in my bedroom
reading ghost stories.
The stories were very scary.
A storm was brewing outside my window.
The wind began to howl, and the trees shook and bent in
the wind.
Lightening started to flash across the sky.
I felt uneasy as I heard the low rumble of thunder.
I glanced around my room.
The shadows were deep and dark.
The ghost stories were making my imagination play tricks
on me.
I thought that the shadows were moving.
I looked under my bed to make sure that nothing was under
there.
I hid under the covers and peeked out.
I was starting to hear things.
A big streak of lightening flashed across the sky, and a loud
clap of thunder made me
jump.
I was very nervous.
All of a sudden, I heard a noise.
It was coming from my closet.
I thought that it must be a ghost.
I looked out from under my covers and waited for the ghost
to appear.
My face was white, and I was very, very scared.
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Then, I heard the noise again.

Yes, there was definitely a rustling in my closet.
I stayed very still and did not make a sound.
I watched the closet and hoped that the ghost would not
come flying out at me.
Something started to come out of the closet.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
I didn't dare to look at the ghost.
I heard it come out of the closet.
I felt it jump up on my bed.
I was still too scared to look.
Then the ghost made a noise.
It said, "meow."
I opened my eyes and saw my kitten standing there.
It was my kitten that had made the rustling noises in the
closet.
I laughed and felt very foolish.
I have decided not to read ghost stories on dark stormy
nights.
I think my imagination plays tricks on me when I read ghost
stories on nights like that.