2-1 USA
The United States of America is a very rich country. P
The United States is divided into 50 states and the capital is in Washington DC. P
Many people moved to the United States because they wanted religious freedom and a chance to get a better job. P
The United States is known as a land of opportunity. P
The United States created the Internet and sent many people to outer space. P
Americans love to watch and play sports. P
The most popular sports are basketball, football, and baseball. P
They have some of the best players in the world. P
Barack Obama is the 44th president and the first black president. P
There are beautiful mountains, beaches and lakes in the United States. P
2-2 India
The country of India has almost as many people as China. P
India is known for its wonderful spices and good food. P
Many of the dishes are made with curry. P
Many Indian foods are really spicy and flavorful. P
India is the second biggest country in the world. P
Most of the country is really poor but there are some rich families. P
The Indians make many movies known as Bollywood movies. P
Many families don't have clean water or a proper toilet. P
Because of the bad weather, the country doesn't produce very many crops. P
Some Indians are vegetarians and only eat vegetables. P
India's national sport is field hockey. P
Indians make beautiful fabrics and jewelry. P
2-3 Middle East
The people of the Middle East belong to four main groups: Arabs, Persians, Turks, and Jews. P
Most of the people are Muslim and speak Arabic languages. P
Across the Middle East are deserts, which contain oil. P
This oil is very important to the world. P
This oil has made these countries rich so they were able to build new banks and businesses. P
Other countries buy the oil to make gasoline. P
Gasoline is the fuel that drives cars. P
Many people use camels in the Middle East. P
Camels can go a far distance without water. P
The weather is nice in the Middle East. P
There are many delicious foods that come from the Middle East. P
2-4 Mexico
Mexico is a country that shares a border with America. P
It's a beautiful country with lovely beaches. P
Mexico is a very poor country. P
Many Mexican people want to come to America to make money and have a better life. P
Mexican food is very good. P
Some of their food is tacos and burritos, and enchiladas. P
Refried beans and rice are a part of most Mexican meals. P
Tortillas are also served with most meals. P
A tortilla is a type of bread that is round and flat, and made from either flour or corn. P
2-5 Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. P
The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching four bases shaped like a diamond. P
A bat, ball, and baseball gloves are needed to play the game. P
Each team takes a turn on the field and at bat. P
Players at bat have a chance to hit the ball when it is thrown to them. P
If they hit the ball they run a course around four bases. P
The bases are laid out in the shape of a diamond. P
The batter strikes out if he misses three pitches that are perfectly thrown. P
The teams switch between batting and fielding whenever the fielding team records three outs. P
The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins. P
2-6 Basketball
Basketball is a game played with one ball and two teams. P
Each team has five players that try to score points by throwing or shooting a ball through a hoop. P
A basket is when a player throws the ball through a hoop at the end of the court. P
When a basket is made the team gets two points. P
Players move the ball by dribbling it. P
To dribble the ball the player bounces the ball with one hand while they run. P
Referees watch the game to enforce the rules. P
When a rule is broken it is called a foul. P
The team that did not have the foul gets to try to make a basket. P
The team that scores the most points win the game. P
Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports in the world. P
Michael Jordan is known to the world as the best basketball player of all time. P
2-7 Tennis
Tennis began in France. P
When it first started a player used his hand to hit the ball. P
Now, each player uses a racquet to hit a tennis ball over a net to the other player. P
Tennis can be played with two players called singles, or you can play with four players called doubles. P
The ball must be hit over the net within the lines of the tennis court. P
When a player does not hit the ball inside the lines the opponent gets the point. P
A player cannot hit the ball twice in a row. P
The winner of the match is determined by the best of three or five sets of games. P
Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society and of all ages. P
Tennis is enjoyed by recreational players all over the world and is also a hugely popular worldwide spectator sport. P
2-8 Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs. P
Badminton is like tennis because a racquet is used. P
The court is divided by a net in the middle. P
Players score a point by hitting a shuttlecock, which is commonly known as a birdie, over the net. P
Each side is only allowed to hit the birdie once before it goes over the net. P
A point is scored when the other team lets the birdie hit the floor. P
A rally ends once the shuttlecock has struck the floor. P
A set is when a team scores 21 points. P
If both sides reach a score of 20 then the set is won when one side has a 2-point lead. P
A match is the best of three games. P
2-9 Golf
Golf is a sport where players use clubs to try to hit a small golf ball into a small hole in the ground. P
It is known as a precision sport. P
The goal of the game is to get the ball into the hole with the fewest number of strokes using different types of clubs. P
The game of golf originated in Scotland. P
Golf is played on a golf course that has grass and trees. P
A golf course has nine or eighteen holes. P
A teeing area is where golfers hit their first ball of the hole. P
A player can have no more than fourteen clubs in his golf bag. P
The golfer with the lower score wins the hole. P
In stroke play, the person with the lowest combined strokes for all holes is the winner. P
2-10 Ice Hockey
Ice hockey is a team sport played on ice. P
Professional players play inside a stadium on an ice rink. P
Players wear ice skates to go on the ice. P
Recreational players can play anywhere there's a solid surface of ice. P
Skaters' use sticks to hit a puck into the other team's goal. P
Players wear padding and protective gear so they don't get hurt. P
There are six players on each team. P
One of the players is a goaltender; they guard the goal so the puck does not go in. P
Only the goaltender is allowed to use his hands. P
A professional ice hockey game has three periods of twenty minutes each. P
There is a fifteen-minute break in between each of the periods. P
The team that scores the most goals wins the game. P
2-11 Cycling
Cycling is also called bicycling or biking. P
Bicycles provide numerous benefits compared to driving a car. P
Riding a bike is a good way to get physical exercise. P
Some people bike in competitions. P
There are also many safety concerns that come with biking. P
Wearing a helmet and other protective equipment can help a biker stay safe. P
Racing and mountain biking are popular types of cycling today. P
If you are going to ride a bike in the mountains, you need a special bike with suspension equipment. P
Bike racers wear special clothes that help them go faster. P
2-12 Volleyball
Volleyball is a sport that has six players on each team. P
One team is on each side of the net. P
Players try to make a ball hit the ground on the other team's court. P
Each team's players can touch the ball up to three times before hitting it over the net. P
Players cannot catch the ball or touch the net. P
The same player cannot hit the ball two times in a row. P
When the ball hits the ground within the court lines the opposing team gets a point. P
The first team to score 25 points wins the set. P
Volleyball can be played inside, outside or in the sand at the beach. P
2-13 Soccer
Soccer is played on a rectangular field of grass. P
There are two goals on the field, one on each end. P
In the rest of the world soccer is known as football. P
But in America the term is soccer. P
Soccer is played between two teams with eleven players on each team. P
There are two periods in each game. Each period is forty-five minutes long. P
A player must kick a ball into the other teams net to score. This is called making a goal. P
A player can also use their head to hit the ball. P
The goalie is allowed to use his hands to catch the ball. P
The team that scores the most goals at the end of the match wins. P
The FIFA World Cup is the world's international soccer competition. P
The World Cup is played every four years and was first started in 1930. P
The competition is held by a host nation that changes every four years. P
The World Cup is watched by more people than any other sporting event in the world. P
2-14 Skateboarding
A skateboard is a short narrow board with two small wheels fixed to the bottom of either end. P
A person rides a skateboard by standing or crouching on top of the board. P
They move themselves by pushing one foot against the ground. P
Skateboarding was first started in the 1950s. P
Surfing first started the idea of skateboarding when surfers got the idea of trying to surf on the streets. P
Skateboarding is the act of riding and performing tricks using a skateboard. P
A person who skateboards is most often referred to as a skateboarder, or within the skateboarding community, a skater. P
No one really knows who made the first board. P
Several people have claimed to have invented the first skateboard, but nothing can be proved. P
2-15 Companies
Companies are businesses. P
Business owners form companies to create a business identity or brand. P
They obtain a business license and create a name for the business. P
Many companies begin as small businesses. P
McDonald's fast food restaurant is a global and very well-known company. P
But this company wasn't always a globally known company. P
McDonald started in San Bernardino, California. P
It began as a small hamburger stand. They served hamburgers, french fries and soda. P
Eventually, the founders sold franchises for McDonald's. P
Franchising is the practice of using another company's successful business model. P
Franchised McDonald's began to spring up throughout the United States and all over the world. P
2-16 The American Red Cross
The American Red Cross is a charitable organization. P
Charitable organizations are companies known as non-profits. P
There are special tax laws for non-profit organizations. P
People donate money to non-profits to help others. P
They also receive a tax benefit for donating money to non-profits. P
When there is a natural disaster like an earthquake, tsunami or hurricane, the American Red Cross comes to help. P
They bring clean water and supplies to those in need. P
One service they provide is training in CPR and life saving techniques. P
The American Red Cross trains people so they can help people who are injured. P
Providing good care when someone is injured is crucial. P
The American Red Cross also helps with donations of blood for those who need it. P
People who donate to non-profit organizations help people who are having problems. P
Some of the money donated to the American Red Cross pays salaries for the workers but most of it goes to help people. P
The American Red Cross helps people all over the world and not just in America. P
2-17 Microsoft
Microsoft is a company that revolutionized computer use. P
It was created in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. P
Microsoft created the operating software that most people still use today. P
Think about what it was like before we had computers. P
There was no email, no computer games and people communicated on the phone or by writing letters. P
Microsoft helped to change all of that. Now, most people own or have access to a computer. P
Microsoft has many employees or people working for them. P
They continue to keep innovating how computers are used. P
Companies like Microsoft have brought many good things to the world. P
It all started with an idea and hard work. P
The company has been successful; Bill Gates is a billionaire and now does charity work. P
Microsoft is a company that has helped changed the world - how we work and communicate. P
2-18 Starbucks
Starbucks began as a single store 40 years ago in Seattle, Washington. P
Today, Starbucks is now available all over the world and has grown from one store to over 17,000. P
The company strives to serve premium coffee to make the world a bit more enjoyable for its customers. P
At its stores, Starbucks aims to create an inviting and relaxing atmosphere. P
Many people bring their computers to Starbucks because the Internet is free. P
Many students in the U.S. go to Starbucks to do homework or talk with friends. P
The company is very successful. They are known for being very good to employees and offer its employees affordable health insurance. P
Starbucks also supports many charities and helps local communities. P
2-19 Pixar
Pixar is a company that specializes in animated movies. P
Toy Story, Cars, and Monster's Inc. are some of the very well-known movies they have created. P
Toy Story was Pixar's first full-length movie and came to the theaters in 1995. P
Toy Story was a very successful movie. Both children and adults enjoyed it. P
Now, there have been sequels of Toy Story. Pixar has become a family tradition. P
The movies use new animation and computer graphic technics that are very realistic. P
The computer animation helps them to make the movies realistic. P
The company's website says they really care about the story. P
Some of the other movies created by Pixar are Nemo and Up. P
Several of the movies were made in a partnership with Disney. P
It will be interesting to see what the future will bring to this fine company. P
2-20 Whamo
Whamo is a company that makes fun toys. P
This company makes classic toys and sporting goods. P
The company was founded in 1948. P
They became more famous in 1955 when they bought the idea of a fun and new toy from the man who made it. P
It looked like a flying saucer made out of plastic. P
They named this toy the Frisbee. P
It has become an American icon and can be seen being thrown around at the beach or park. P
The hula-hoop is another toy that Whamo introduced. P
It is a circular hoop that you spin around your waist. P
Twenty-five million hula-hoops were sold in a four-month period. P
Whamo was an independent company but it was acquired by a larger toy company-Mattel in 1994. P
Many generations of children have had fun playing with Whamo toys. P
The toys promote good health because they help children to exercise. P
Playing outside in the fresh air with a hula-hoop or Frisbee is an excellent way to spend the day. P