Unit 1. My Giant Rabbit
You won't believe this! My pet rabbit is so big! P
He is huge! He is as big as my dog. I call him Mr.Big. P
Mr.Big lives inside my house. P
You can hold little rabbits in your arms. P
Mr.Big is too heavy to hold. I can't pick him up off the floor. P
Mr.Big eats 16 cups of lettuce every day. P
But I gave him two carrots today. Mr.Big was very hungry. P
He went into the garden and ate all the lettuce! P
He is naughty. When my dog slept, Mr.Big jumped on him. P
Mr.Big chased my cat around the house. P
Oh, my! Goodbye, dear diary. I have to go. P
Mr.Big is chasing the cat again. P
Unit 2. Four Giant Dogs
Many people have small dogs for pets. P
But some people love giant dogs. P
The tallest dog is the Irish Wolfhound. P
It is very strong. It has no fear. It can hunt wolves. P
And it can guard homes. The Great Dane is a giant dog. P
It is as big as a small horse. But it is intelligent and loyal. P
So sometimes it works as watchdogs. P
The English Mastiff is a very heavy dog. P
It can weigh 70 kilograms. This dog drools a lot. P
When it shakes its head, drool flies everywhere. P
The most famous giant dog is the Saint Bernard. P
It is from Switzerland. It does search and rescue in the mountains. P
Most are just pets. Which dog do you choose as a pet? P
Unit 3. Jack in the Musical Museum
Jack's class went to the Musical Museum. P
Jack was a trouble maker. So the teacher always watched him. P
Jack and his friends looked around the museum. P
First, they saw a pipe organ. It was huge. P
It had many, many metal pipes. P
Jack asked, "Can I climb on it?" P
His teacher answered, "No! You just play it. You don't climb it." P
Next, they saw an African drum. P
It was made from an animal skin. Jack hit it so hard. P
It made a loud sound, tom-tom-tom! "Be careful," his teacher said. P
Last, they saw a harp. It had many strings. P
It made a pretty sound. Jack pretended he was playing the harp. P
His friends laughed but the teacher sighed. P
Jack said, "This Musical Museum is fun! Can we stay here all day? P
Unit 4. Special Musical Instruments
Hello. My name is Jacob. I work in the Musical Museum. P
Let me tell you about some of our musical instruments. P
First, let's look at the pandeiro. It is from Brazil. P
It is like a tambourine. You shake it with one hand. P
You hit it with your other hand. P
People use it in Brazilian music like samba. P
Now, just look at this quena. It is like a flute. P
It is made out of reeds that grow in the water. P
The people of the Andes Mountains play it. P
Look! Here is an accordion from Germany. P
It is over one hundred years old. It still works. P
People play accordions at folk dances. P
Our museum has many more interesting musical instruments. P
Come visit! You can experience the wonderful world of music. P
Unit 5. Three Fun Invention
The teacher tells her class, "Imagine you are scientists. P
What kind of inventions do you make?" P
Jessie says, "I make a new flytrap. P
An old flytrap can kill one fly at a time. P
But the new flytrap shoots out a ray of light. P
Zap! It kills all the flies." P
Max says, "I invent a new basketball. P
The basketball has a computer in it. P
You throw it at the basket and you don't miss. P
The computer guides the ball right into the basket." P
Liz says, "I invent a giant robot fly. P
It is so big. I can ride on it. I can fly above the schoolyard. P
I tell it where to go, and it flies there." P
"Very interesting ideas!" the teacher says. P
"But you should be careful of Jessie's flytrap, Liz. P
Unit 6. Chester Made Earmuffs
Sometimes kids make great new things. P
The year was 1873. Chester Greenwood was 15 years old. P
It was winter in America. The water on the ponds was ice. P
Chester liked to skate on ice skates. P
Chester skated and skated. Chester's ears got cold. P
He put a scarf on his head. But then his face got itchy. P
Chester didn't need a scarf on his head. P
Only his ears were cold. He just needed something to warm his ears. P
Chester found some wire. He made the wire into two circles. P
He asked his grandmother, "Please sew fur around the wires." P
He joined the wires with a metal headband. P
Chester made something new! He called them earmuffs. P
Now his ears stayed warm. People around the world still wear earmuffs today. P
Unit 7. Bath Day at the Animal Shelter
Three friends help at the animal shelter. P
They try to bathe the animals. Michelle bathes a cat. P
Cats don't like to get wet. The cat tries to scratch Michelle. P
She wears gloves and pets the cat. P
The cat becomes calm and Michelle can clean the cat. P
Nadia bathes a guinea pig. P
Water must not get into the guinea pig's ears. P
She covers his ears with a head cap. Then she pours warm water on him. P
Water doesn't get into his ears. P
The guinea pig gets clean. Larry bathes a dog. He sprays it with water. P
The dog shakes its body and runs away. Larry gets wet. P
Michelle and Nadia say, "That was easy and fun!" Larry frowns. P
He says, "No, bathing animals is the hardest work in the world. P
Unit 8. How Wild Animal Bathe
Wild animals clean themselves in different ways. P
Lions lick their fur to clean it. They lick all over their bodies. P
In the morning, a mother lion licks her cub's face clean with her tongue. P
Elephants wash themselves in a river. P
They suck water into their long noses. P
Then they spray the water all over their bodies. P
They get clean! They also spray mud on their bodies. P
It can look strange. But it keeps flies away. P
Some monkeys take long baths. They go into hot springs. P
This gets them clean. It also keeps them warm in the winter. P
Many birds take baths in the dust. Chickens and ostriches do too. P
The dust cleans their feathers. Tiny insects bite birds. P
The dust makes the insects go away. P
All these animals bathe. Which animal really gets clean? P
Unit 9. Annie in the Old West
One day, Annie found an old ring. She put it on her finger. P
Then…whoosh!… her bedroom was gone! P
Annie looked around. She was in the Old West. P
The town had streets of dirt. The houses were made of wood. P
All the men wore cowboy hats. Some rode horses and had guns. P
Annie was thirsty. She saw a building with a big sign: O.K Restaurant. P
She went into it. Some cowboys were playing a game of cards. P
One cowboy laughed. He said, "I won!" P
Another cowboy shouted, "No! You cheated!" They started to fight. P
The owner of the restaurant said, "Stop fighting!" P
He shot his gun in the air. Bang! Bang! P
"Uh oh," Annie said "I better run." P
She ran and touched her ring. P
Then… whoosh!…she was back in her bedroom again. "Whew! I'm safe at last. P
Unit 10. The Past and the Present
Things changed a lot from the past. P
You will not believe how different things are today! P
In the past, children played board games together. There were no computers. P
In the present, most children play computer games. P
In the past, people washed clothes in a wash tub. P
They washed them clean on a washboard. P
In the present, we put clothes in a washing machine. P
In the past, it took months for sailing ships to go from America to Europe. P
In the present, airplanes fly that far in 7 hours. P
In the past, it took months for a letter to go from New York to London. P
Letters went on sailing ships too. P
But in the present, an e-mail gets there in a few seconds. P
Things are much, much faster these days. Things are much easier too. P
Unit 11. Leo Tried to Hunt
Leo was an African lion. One day he said, "I'm hungry. Let's go hunt some animals." P
The other lions said, "Good idea. We are hungry too." P
The lions saw some giraffes. They hid in the grass. P
But the giraffes were very tall. They looked down and saw the lions. P
The giraffes ran away. The lions saw an ostrich. P
But the ostrich saw the lions. She put her head down. P
She looked like a bush. Leo said, "Where did the ostrich go?" P
Leo saw some zebras. They had black and white stripes. P
The lions walked through the grass. Then they ran after the zebras. P
The zebras ran away. The lions saw many, many stripes. P
They didn't know who to run after. P
"Let's go home," Leo said. "I'm not really hungry. P
Unit 12. Very Special Animals
I am Ms. Smith. Today, I will tell you interesting things about the animals. P
Many animals have special bodies. P
They can help keep the animals alive. P
Giraffes have long legs and long necks. P
They can eat the leaves in tall trees. P
Giraffes also have long, strong tongues. P
They wrap them around leaves, and pull the leaves off. P
Polar bears have thick fur. This keeps them stay warm. P
Their fur is white like snow. Other animals can't see them. P
But their noses are black. So they cover their noses with their paws. P
Camels have big humps on their backs. These humps have fat inside. P
On long trips, the camels' bodies use the fat for food. P
Camels can also go for days without water. P
Other animals in the world have special features too. Aren't they amazing? P
Unit 13. Chris at the Campground
Yesterday I went to a campground. It was beside a lake. P
I went in my wheelchair to the lake. P
First, I rode in a paddlewheel boat. P
I got out of my wheelchair. I sat in the boat. P
I turned a handle with my hands. P
I made the boat go all over the lake. P
Then, I sat around the campfire. P
There were many other kids. P
We toasted marshmallows on a stick. P
We cooked hotdogs too. We drank hot chocolate. P
Someone played a guitar, and we all sang some funny songs. P
We laughed and laughed and laughed. P
That night we all went to sleep in a tent. P
We talked for hours. We told jokes and scary stories. P
It was so much fun. I want to go back again with you later! P
Unit 14. Great People with Disabilities
Some great people have disabilities. P
But they try hard to do great things. P
Stephen Hawking is a very smart man. P
He is a genius. But he can't move his body. P
He can't even talk. But he still thinks amazing new thoughts about math. P
Stevie Wonder can't see. But he is a famous musician. P
He writes many songs. He plays many musical instruments. P
He makes people happy. P
Abbey Curran can't move well. But Abbey is a beauty queen. P
She helps other people with disabilities. P
Julia Roberts is a movie star. When she was young, she stuttered. P
It was hard for her to speak. She worked very hard to talk clearly. P
She is now a famous star. P
Do you have a disability? You may have some problems. P
But you can do great things. P
Unit 15. Steve Writes a Scary Story
Steve must write a story for homework. P
Steve says, "What can I write about?" P
Then he looks at a monster on TV. P
He says, "Yes! I will write about a monster!" P
In Steve's story, five children walk in the forest. P
They hear a sound. They say, "This is strange." P
Then Bigfoot suddenly appears. Bigfoot is two meters tall. P
He has very, very huge feet. The children run very fast. P
Bigfoot runs after them. One of the boys throws his backpack at Bigfoot. P
But he doesn't stop. He grabs the shirt of one boy. P
Then Bigfoot opens his huge mouth. P
"Nooooo!," the poor boy screams. P
The teacher reads Steve's story to the class. P
Everyone says, "That is one scary monster!" P
One girl asks, "Did that r-r-really happen?" P
Steve chuckles. "Yes. In my dreams." P
Unit 16. Monsters in Books
Since a long time ago, there are many stories about monsters. P
Some monsters are real. Some are not. P
Jules Verne wrote a story about a giant squid. P
The squid is 10 meters long. In the story, it attacks sailors. P
Giant squids do not live only in the story. P
They are real monsters. They live in all of the world's oceans. P
J.R.R. Tolkien wrote about a Balrog. P
It is a giant demon of fire and darkness. P
It chases Gandalf and his friends. P
So Gandalf fights it and kills it. P
Balrogs are not real. Whew! P
Lewis Carroll wrote about the Jabberwock. P
No one knows what it is like. P
Some people think it looks a bit like a dragon. P
It's a good thing that the Jabberwock is not real! P
Are there stories about monsters in your country? P
Are those monsters real? P