The doll that brought the wind to Earth

Adaptation from a story collected in the Aleutian Islands (The Aleutian Islands
are found in the northern Pacific Ocean. The climate there is very cold).

When the earth was cold, windless and with few living creatures, Kanu and Atka,
husband, and wife, lived on the edge of a village. They were very unhappy because
they had no children.
Make a doll out of this wood
One night, the I will do it, elf!
and you will have a child.
woman dreamt of
an elf who led her
along a path of stars
to a fallen tree. Atka
woke up in the
middle of night and
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asked Kanu to look

for thetree.
At 5 a.m., in the dark, Kanu came out of the house. He set off along a path lit
by fireflies. The man walked for three hours until he found a fallen tree, picked it up
and, at 12 noon, returned home. In the afternoon, from the tree trunk, Kanu carved
a doll with an axe, which immediately came to life. The happy couple named it Nuka.
A week later, Nuka left the house at night and walked down the firefly-lit path.
She walked for four days to where the earth meets the sky. There, Nuka spotted a
gate. She opened it and from the sky came a pleasant gust of wind to Earth. Joyful,
Nuka walked on. Three days later, she found another gate and opened it. Through
it came a warm wind with rain.
After three more days of walking, Nuka opened
another gate. Then a storm of snow and ice came out
of the sky, knocking her to the ground. Frightened, Nuka
ran back the way she came. A week later, she arrived
home. Her parents were overjoyed because they thought
she was lost forever. The doll told them what she had
done, and they marveled.
Over the next few years, thanks to the winds, the
earth was filled with plants and animals. As a sign of
gratitude to Nuka, people give dolls to children year after
year, so they can play with them and be good.

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 1. A long time ago, Earth was...
A) a place with many plants. B) cold. C) a place with
many animals. D) windy. E) very warm.
2. Atka and Kanu were upset because they did not have...
A) children. B) wood. C) food to eat. D) a doll. E) an elf.
3. Atka dreamed she was on a starry path in ...
A) a forest. B) a river. C) the house. D) a boat. E) the sky.
4. In her dream, an elf led Atka...
A) to the sea. B) to a doll. C) to a tree trunk. D) to the moon. E) to a door.
5. The elf told Atka that she will have a child...
A) next year. B) if she cuts a tree. C) in 3 days.
D) if she walks to the place where earth meets the sky. E) out of wood.
6. How long was Kanu away from home when he went to find the trunk of the tree
that Atka dreamed of?
A) Five hours. B) Three hours. C) Four hours. D) Seven hours. E) Twelve hours.
7. How long did it take Kanu to carry the tree home?
A) Five hours. B) Three hours. C) Four hours. D) Seven hours. E) Twelve hours.
8. Nuka reached the place where the earth met the...
A) the sea. B) the hill. C) the mountain. D) the sky. E) the forest.
9. After how many days of walking did Nuka open the third gate?
A) After four days. B) Seven days. C) Eight days. D) Ten days. E) Nine days.
10. What was Nuka, the doll, scared of?
A) A gust of wind. B) Wind and rain. C) A storm. D) The moon. E) The stars.
11. Nuka was away from home for...
A) 7 days. B) 10 days. C) 14 days. D) 17 days. E) 15 days.
12. Atka and Kanu felt immense joy when...
A) they woke up. B) Nuka left home.
C) Nuka returned. D) wind started blowing. E) it rained.
13. Atka and Kanu "marveled", means that they...
A) were sad. B) were happy. C) wondered. D) were scared. E) cried.
14. The people were grateful to Nuka, the doll, because she...
A) opened the doors of the sky through which the winds came to Earth.
B) found the place where the sky meets the Earth.
C) closed the door to the storms.
D) was a model for all the dolls. E) was made of wood.
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 When the sun heats the earth, the earth heats the air. The warm air rises,
and the cold air takes its place. The movement of air is called wind.

1 2 3

People have seen that wind can bring them many benefits, but also many
troubles to beware of.
In the past, people used the wind to sail the seas or to set mills in motion to
grind grain.
Wind-generated electricity does not pollute the environment as it does when it
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is produced by burning coal, oil, or gas.

4 5 6

The wind helps the flames to spread.

Wind can carry insects, pollutants, sand, or dust.
Thunderstorms, hurricanes, or tornadoes are so powerful that they can tear
down trees and topple buildings.

7 8 9 10

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 you can see that the wind is blowing...
15. In picture
1
A) clouds. B) dandelion seeds. C) raindrops. D) leaves. E) water.

16. In picture 2 you can see that the action of the wind produces...

A) heat. B) drought. C) snowfall. D) waves. E) rain

17. Ships moved because their sails were pushed (inflated) by...
A) waves. B) wind. C) storm. D) sailors. E) clouds.
18. Electricity can be produced without polluting by using...
A) coal. B) methane gas. C) wind. D) oil. E) fire.
19. How many wind power mills (which produce electricity using wind power) are
shown in picture 6 ?
A) 7 B) 8 C) 9 D) 10 E) 6

20. In picture 9 , you can see...

A) a strong storm. B) a hurricane.

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C) a tornado. D) a wisp of smoke. E) a heavy rain
21. For dry trees to avoid falling on people, houses, or cars during a storm, they
must be...
A) watered. B) healed. C) cut down. D) supported. E) painted.

22. Picture 8 shows a dry tree that has collapsed and damaged...

A) the car and the house. B) the bench and the fence.
C) the car and the fence. D) the house and the bench. E) the car and the road
23. In the case of fires, the wind...
A) makes the fire stronger and spreads it.
B) brings rain and extinguishes the fire.
C) blows into the fire and extinguishes it.
D) makes the fire smaller.
E) does not influence the fire.
24. In which picture can you see how the wind spreads smoke that pollutes?
A) In picture No.10. B) In picture No 9.
C) In picture No. 8. D) In picture No 7. E) In picture No 2.

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