81 The Titanic was sinking below the water . Everyone was trying to escape the ship . Among the crowd there was a woman crying toward a lifeboat . 82 Woman : Let me in ! Please help me ! My children are in the boat . Man : There ' s no more room here . If you come on board , we will all sink . Children : ( Looking at their mother ) Mom ! Mom ! Miss Evans : Look ! ! Ma ' am ! Come on board ! I ' m single . Your children need you . Miss Evans climbed aboard the sinking Titanic instead of the woman . 83 Every Friday Bob eats spaghetti at a restaurant for lunch . one day Bob ate spaghetti at the restaurant . He paid for his lunch . Then he asked phyllis , a waitress , " Do you want a tip today ? Or do you want half of my lottery ticket ? I have a lottery ticket . If I win the lottery , you get half of the money . " Phyllis laughed . " OK , " she said . " I don ' t want a tip today . I want half of the lottery money ! " She laughed again . The next day . Bob won the lottery . He won six million dollars . Bob went to the restaurant . " Here is your tip . " Bob told the waitress . " Three million dollars ! " 84 Between 1880 and 1923 , 23 million people came to the United States . Most of these people came from Germany , Ireland , poland , and Italy . Many left because there was not enough work in their countries . Land in the United States was very cheap and there were many jobs in these country . After arriving in the United States people often settled in areas with other people from their homelands . Areas like Chinatown , Little Italy , and Greektown sprang up in cities all across the United States . 85 On a holiday , Robert was washing his new red car . A neighbor looked at it for a minute . The neighbor said , " That ' s a nice car . Is it yours ? " " Sometimes , " Robert answered . " Sometimes ? " the neighbor said , " What do you mean ? " " Well , " answered Robert , " when there ' s a party in town , it belongs to my daughter . When there ' s a football game somewhere , it belongs to my son . When I ' ve washed it , and it looks really nice and clean , it belongs to my wife . And when it needs gas , it ' s mine . " 86 If you are a male frog , it helps to have a deep voice . Male frogs find female frogs by calling . The females pick the males with the deepest voices . That ' s a good idea . The loudest and deepest voices belong to the biggest frogs . Frogs grow all their lives . So the biggest frogs are also the oldest frogs . That means they are smart , too . As they were smart , they were able to stay alive long enough to get so big ! 87 John worked in an office in a small town . one day his boss said to him , " John , will you go to an office in London and see Mr , Green ? Here ' s the address . " John went to London by train . He thought , " The office isn ' t far from station . I ' ll find it easily . " But after an hour he was still looking for it . So he stopped and asked an old woman . She said , " Walk t 재 blocks along this street , and turn right . You ' ll find it on your left . " John went and found it . A few days later he went to London , but again he did not find the office . So he asked someone the way . It was the same old woman ! She was very surprised and said , " Are you still looking for that place ? " 88 Last weekend I went to the theater . I had a very good seat . The play was very interesting . But I did not enjoy it . A young man and a young woman were sitting behind me . They were talking loudly . I got very angry and turned around . I looked at the man and the woman angrily . They did not pay any attention . In the end , I could not endure . I turned around again . " I can ' t hear a word ! " I said angrily . " It ' s none of your business , " the man said rudely . " This is a personal conversation ! 89 Mary ' s father and mother had no money to buy a Christmas present for their daughter . They were very sorry about this . The night before Christmas Mary went to bed early . The Christmas tree was in the sitting room . It was a cold night and the wind was very strong . It opened the window of the sitting room . Leaves from the apple tree were blown into the sitting room . A little bird was also blown from the tree , and it fell on the Christmas tree . There was a stocking on the tree , and it had nothing in it . The bird was cold . It flew into the stocking because it looked warm . Early the next morning Mary went into the sitting room . Her parents were still sleeping . " Here is something moved in the stocking . Mary was surprised when she saw the bird there . As soon as she took it in her hand , she ran to her parents . " Look ! This is my present ! " said Mary . " I found it in my stocking . " 90 The Panama Canal is a shortcut that ships can take between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean . Before the canal was built , ships traveling from New York to San Fransisco had to sail around South America . In 1904 , the United States paid Panama $ 10 million for the rights to build the Canal . Workers from 97 countries from all over the world helped to build the canal . 91 When European explorers first came to the New World , they saw people using a strange material . This material came from trees . It could be rolled into a ball and bounced . It could also be made into shoes . The explorers took some of the strange material back to Europe . An English scientist studied it very carefully . He tried rubbing the material on writing . And he found that the writing went away . Because it rubbed out writing , the scientist called the material rubber . 92 Galileo is famous for his study of how things fall . Before , people thought that heavy things always fell faster than light things . He took a heavy ball and a light ball and dropped them both from a high place . They fell at the same speed . This is the law of falling bodies . It is an important law for understanding our world . 93 God did not want all the people on the earth to live close together . God knew that if they all lived together , the bad people would rule the good people . All the world would become bad again . So while they were building the Tower of babel , which means " confusion , " God changed their language . But now they could not understand their languages . So the people scattered everywhere . The city was afterward known as Babylon . 94 Americans used many kinds of money before they had dollars and cents . The first people who came to America used shells for money , as the Indians did . Indians called this money " wampum . " They alse used beads and animals for money . There were some problems when people used these things for money . Animals were large and heavy , people couldn ' t carry them in their pockets . Also , it was difficult to know how many beads of shells they needed to buy something . 95 . An artist went to a beautiful part of the country and stayed with a farmer . Every day he went out and painted . He wanted to pay the farmer , but the farmer said , " No , I do not want money but give me one of your pictures . What is money ? In a week it will be finished but your painting will be here . " The artist was very glad and thanked the farmer for saying such kind things about his paintings . The farmer smiled and answered , " I have a son in London . He wants to become an artist . When he comes here , I will show him your picture . Then he will not want to be an artist any more . " 96 Most rabbits live in fields or forests . Mother rabbits build nests for their babies . The nests are built under the ground so that the babies will be safe . After the baby rabbits are born , the mothers stay away from the nests . They only go there once a day to feed the babies . They stay away from the nests to keep the babies safe from other animals . If other animals see them going back and forth to their nests , the animals will know where the nests are and they will attack the babies . 97 One morning , a wise old mother cat was walking with her two baby kittens . Suddenly they saw a huge dog standing in front of them . The kittens were terrified and in their tiny little voices cried , " Mew , mew , mew , mew . " The big dog stared at them and growled , " Grrrrrr ! Grrrrrr ! Grrrrrr ! Grrrrrr ! " The mother cat stood very still , looked him in the eye , opened her mouth , and said , " Grrrrrr ! Grrrrrr ! " The dog was astonished . " Grrrrrr ! Grrrrrr ! " he answered and quickly walked away . The mother cat smiled and turned to her kittens . " Now , " she said , " I hope you understand the importance of learning a second language . " 98 There are many kinds of goats . But one kind is special . It is called a fainting goat . When this goat gets scared or surprised , something strange happens . Its legs get stiff . It cannot move . Then the goat falls over . It looks like it has fainted . The fainting lasts for only a few minutes . Then the goat gets up . Fainting goats look different from other goats , too . They are a little smaller . Their eyes stick out . And their long ears stand straight out from the side of their heads . 99 Many exciting things happen in the Olympic Games . The best known took place at the end of the Marathon Race in 1908 when the Games were held in London . The Marathon Race is a race over 42 . 195 kilometers . It finishes in the stadium everyone is watching in . The first man to enter the stadium was Dorando of Italy . A few lines from the finishing line he fell down . As he was getting up , someone took him by the arm to help him . Because of this , he could not be winner . He did not have the gold medal but the Queen of England gave him a gold cup . 100 Koalas are small , furry animals that live in Australia . Why did the native people call these animals koalas ? Koala means one who doesn ' t move . " How do Koalas get the water they need ? They eat tender eucalyptus leaves that are almost two - thirds water . No other animal in the forest eats eucalyptus . The koalas spend most of their lives high in the eucalyptus trees . They come down to move to another tree to find more food . A koala eats about two pounds of leaves a day . 101 Roy Trenton is a bus driver . When he was driving along Gatford Street recently , he saw two thieves rush out of a shop . They ran towards a waiting car . one of them was carrying a bag full of money . Roy acted quickly and drove the bus straight at the thieves . The one with the money was so frightened that he dropped the bag . As the thieves were trying to get away in their car , Roy drove his bus into the back of it . While the battered car was moving away , Roy stopped his bus and telephoned the police . Shortly afterwards , both men were arrested . 102 This morning I got a call from some man . He asked me to send an ambulance right away . I asked him if somebody was hurt . he said , " Our keys are gone ! I didn ' t understand that ! Why did he need an ambulance just because he could not find his keys ? Then I found out what the trouble was . The man left the car keys on a table , and later they couldn ' t find them . Their little boy Johnny was playing in the room , and they thought he swallowed them . But before I could hang up , he told me he wouldn ' t need an ambulance . His wife found the keys in her purse . 103 The stars in the sky are very far away . one way to look at the stars is through a telescope . A telescope makes things look closer so people can get a better look at the objects in the sky . The best telescope is one that is floating in space . It is called the Hubble telescope . Because it is high above clouds , Hubble can show stars in the sky more clearly . Hubble sends pictures back to Earth . With Hubble , scientists can see many stars that have never been seen before . They can also get a better look at stars that have been seen . 104 A long time ago , there was an old man . He was always sharpening a piece of iron . one day his neighbor saw him at work . He asked the old man , " What are you doing ? The old man said , " I want to make this iron into a needle . " The neighbor was surprised because the piece of iron wa big . He asked the old man , " how long will it take you to finish making the needle ? " The old man answered , " I don ' t know . If I die before I finish , I will leave this work for my son . And if my son dies before it is finished , he will leave this work for my grandchildren . Someday , this piece of iron will be a needle . " 105 At first , the century plant grew a little . But then it hardly grew at all . The years passed , and the plant seemed to be asleep . Then one day it woke up . In a single day , it shot up 12 inches . It kept growing until it was almost ten feet tall . Buds appeared , and soon flowers began to blossom . The plant was given the name " century plant " because it is believed to flower every 100 years . The word century means " 100 years . " This makes the century plant one of the growing plants on Earth . 106 The European uses both of his hands when he eats . The American , however , usually eats with only his right hand , except when he has to use the knife . Americans may eat their soup from the side of the spoon , but Europeans eat theirs from the end of the spoon . In america , the salad is almost always served before the main course . In Europe it is served at the same time as the main course or after it . Many Americans drink their coffee during the meal . Europeans like to drink theirs after the meal . 107 Long ago there were only ten months in the calendar . A ruler in Rome decided to add two more months . But he had to find names for these months . People believed in a god who was called Janus . he had two faces . one face looked into the future and one face looked into the past . So , he thought that it would be a good idea to name the first of the two new months after Janus . During this month , people could look back on the past year and look forward to the new year . Today , in English , it is January . 108 A husband and wife had a fight . They wouldn ' t speak to each other . The husband had to go to work early one morning . He didn ' t want to be the first to speak . So he left a message for his wife the night before . The note said , " Wake me up at six o ' clock tomorrow morning . " When the husband woke up the next day , it was already ten o ' clock . He got very angry and he went to look for his wife . He found a piece of paper on the table . It said , " It ' s six o ' clock . Hurry up and go , if you don ' t want to be late for work ! " 109 Trees are one of our most important natural resources . Wood is used for homes , tables and chairs , and many other things . Wood is made into paper , too . Trees give us many foods . From them we get all kinds of fruit and nuts . We even get chocolate from trees ! Rubber comes from tees . So do some medicines to keep us from getting sick . Trees also keep soil from washing away . And they make a fine home for many little animals . 110 A long time ago in Vietnam , there was a beautiful princess . She was the king ' s only daughter . Both the mountain god and the river god wanted to marry the princess . The king said , " You must fight , and the winner will marry the princess . " So the two gods fought . The mountain god won the fight , and he married the beautiful princess . But the river god was angry . He used his power to attack the mountain . The river got higher . It came up to where the mountain god and the princess lived . Then the mountain god used his power . The mountain got higher too , so the river couldn ' t get the princess . Now every summer , when the rains come in Vietnam and the rivers rise , people say that the river god is still trying to take away the princess . 111 My sister Mary is only eight years old . We have milk for breakfast every morning . one morning Mother said to Mary , " Take a bottle of milk , put it into hot water , and keep it there for five minutes . Five minutes is enough . " At breakfast , Mary brought the milk . It was too hot for us to drink . " Mary , " said Mother , " why is the milk so hot ? I told you that five minutes was enough to make a bottle of milk hot , didn ' t I ? " " But , mother , " said Mary , " there were three bottles of milk . so I ' ve kept the milk in hot water for 15 minutes . " 112 An airplane from London arrived at Sydney airport . Workers began to remove a number of wooden boxes which contained clothing . Strangely one of the boxes was so heavy that one of the workers opened up the box . He doubted his eyes . A man was lying on the top of a pile of wooden goods in the box . The man was arrested . He wanted to go abroad , but he had not enough money to buy an air ticket . So he hid in the box before the plane left London . He had an uncomfortable trip for over ten hours . The man was ordered to pay 345 pounds for the cost of the trip . The normal price of a ticket is 230 pounds ! 113 The umbrella is so old that no one knows where it came from . It was invented before man learned how to write . But for thousands of years , people used the umbrellas only to protect themselves from the sun , not from the rain . The word umbrella comes from the Latin word umbra , and it means " shade . " Ancient slaves held umbrellas over their masters to give them shade . At the beginning , umbrellas were carried only by women . It was because people thought that it was not manly to use them . People didn ' t begin to use water - proof umbrellas in the rain till about 300 years ago . 114 Have you ever hunted for diamonds ? Visitors to the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas , do every day . This is the only diamond field in the United States that is open to the public . How can you tell a diamond from an ordinary crystal ? Experienced treasure seekers know that diamonds have a slick , oily surface that dirt or mud will not stick to . They keep their eyes open for clean crystals . About 1 , 000 diamonds are found each year . Wow ! 115 Do you ever wonder why we call our mid - day meal " lunch "? This word has a history . " Lunch " comes from a Spanish word " longja . " It means a slice of ham . Long ago , Spanish people ate a slice of ham for their mid - day meal . Finally , what they ate became the word for the meal itself . Still later , it came to be pronounced " lunch " in English . Have you learned the interesting fact about " lunch "? Good - bye ! This was shortened from the English phrase " God be with you . " 116 Home computers are now sold in many countries . Computers are playing a bigger part in our lives . They are very popular among children who like playing games . Some people say that today ' s children are forgetting true friendships among themselves . But it is true that we cannot do without computers in our happy lives . It does not mean that computers are replacing us now . We can do a lot of things which they can never do . We should use them and not be used by them . We should decide how we use computers . 117 There lived a rich man in a village . He wanted to do something for the people . one day he put a very large stone in the center of the road . When people passed the stone , none of them tried to move it . Later a young man came along . He saw the stone and said , " Someone will come along later in the dark and will fall against the stone . " The young man then began to take away the stone . He pushed and pulled very hard and to move it . Under the stone he found a bag of money and a piece of paper with these words : " This money is for the first brave man that move this stone from the road . " 118 Most of us use salt every day . We use it to make our food taste better . We think nothing of it . It is there , and use it . There was a time , however , when salt was not so common . In the ancient world , salt was a luxury and only for the rich . Salt was once so hard to get that it was used as money . Roman workers were once paid all or part of their wages in salt . That is why we have the ｅxpression " not worth his salt . " The English word " salary " comes from the Latin word , salarium , which means " salt money . " 119 Mr . Thompson used to go to a public bar , but he never took his son , Tom , because he was too young . Then when Tom had his eighteenth birthday , Mr Thompson took him to his usual bar . Then he drank for half of an hour . Mr . Thompson said to his son , " Now , Tom , I want to teach you a useful lesson . You must always be careful not to drink too much . And how do you know when you ' ve had enough ? I ' ll tell you . Do you see those two lights at the end of the bar ? When they seem to be four , you ' ve had enough and should go home . " " But , Dad , " said Tom , " I can only see one light . " 120 Stonehenge is in an open field in the south of England . It is made up of very big stones . So you can see them from far away . Some stones are about 14 feet high and lie in a circle about 100 feet ( 30 m ) across . As such stones cannot be found around there , we know they came from other places . Some were brought from a place more than 140 miles ( 224 km ) away . It is believed that people began to build Stonehenge more than 4 , 000 years ago . It is also believed that boats were used because it was much easier to carry the stones by than by land .