1-1 Reading 1

Try the Marshmallow Challenge! You need: P

20 sticks of spaghetti, 1 marshmallow 1, meter of tape 1, meter of string. P

Rules: Each team has four people. P

You have to build the tallest tower in your class. P

The marshmallow must be on top. P

The tower must stand by itself. P

The time limit is 15 minutes. P

This activity is good for: P

Building Relationships, Solving Problems, Thinking Creatively. P

1-2 Reading 2

How did you do the marshmallow challenge? P

Every team does the marshmallow challenge differently. P

Let's look at some examples. P

Which one do you like best? P

Think before you act. P

We had many good ideas. P

We talked about each idea in detail. P

It was not easy for us to choose the best idea. P

Suddenly the teacher said, "Five minutes left." P

” In a hurry, we taped the sticks of spaghetti together. P

Then, we wrapped the string around them. P

The string got stuck to the tape and it was a big mess. P

With one second left, I put the marshmallow on top! P

1-3 Reading 3

Just do it. We didn't spend much time on planning. P

All the members started building the tower right away. P

Our first tower looked like a tent. P

It wasn't very tall. We tried again. P

The next tower was tall but it couldn't stand by itself. P

After many tries, it was possible for us to build a beautiful and tall tower. P

It looked like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. P

We finally made what we wanted! P

1-4 Reading 4

We didn't try to choose the best idea. P

Instead, we took a good idea and improved on it. P

One student said we needed a strong base. P

Another student suggested a triangle shape for the base. P

We all agreed and divided up the roles such as time checker and tape cutter. P

We worked together as a team. P

In the end, we built our tall tower! P

2-1 Reading 1

Where have all the honey bees gone? P

It is really hard to see them these days. P

The bees are disappearing! P

About a third of the bee population dies every year. P

This is bad news for bees, but it's even worse news for people. P

2-2 Reading 2

Bees are very helpful to humans. P

First, bees give us honey. P

Honey is a truly wonderful food. P

It is good for our health and tastes great. P

Honey can last almost forever. P

In fact, honey from ancient Egypt can be eaten today! P

Second, bees help produce many crops such as apples and strawberries. P

These crops cannot be produced by themselves. P

They need the help of bees. P

Bees help in the process of pollination. P

What is pollination? P

It is moving pollen from one flower to another to make seeds. P

What is pollen? It is a fine yellow powder produced by flowers. P

2-3 Reading 3

Why are bees disappearing? One of the reasons is climate change. P

Global warming has brought extremely hot and cold weather. P

Bees cannot survive in these conditions. P

Another reason is the harmful chemicals farmers use on crops. P

These chemicals kill not only bad insects, but also good insects, like bees. P

2-4 Reading 4

Then what can we do to help our little yellow friends? P

First, we can plant more flowers and trees. P

This will provide a good environment for bees to live in. P

Also, trees help slow down global warming. P

Second, the use of harmful chemicals on crops must be stopped. P

These chemicals are unhealthy for bees and people. P

Our little friends need our help. P

Let's not let them down! P

3-1 Reading 1

This is me in front of the wall painting. P

The wings are pretty, aren’t they? Many people like to take pictures in front of wall paintings. P

They make old neighborhoods bright and new. P

Last month, I visited a village with wall paintings in Yeosu. P

As I was taking a picture, a light went on in my head. P

I thought, “I’m in the school art club. P

Why don’t we do wall paintings like these?” P

I suggested this idea at the next club meeting, and the members loved it. P

We found a teen volunteer project on the Internet. P

The project was to do a wall painting in our neighborhood. P

We applied for it, and two weeks later, our club was selected! P

3-2 Reading 2

The day of the project finally came. P

The project manager had us meet at the painting site at 9 a.m. P

The wall was in very poor condition. P

There were strange writings and drawings on some parts. P

Other parts had old posters on them. P

We removed the posters first and painted over the writings and drawings with white paint. P

The manager let us paint anything we wanted. P

We decided to paint something cute because the wall was near an elementary school. P

We divided into three groups and began painting. P

I was in the group with Minsu and Jiwon. P

I chose my spot and started to paint my favorite movie character. P

Minsu painted some flowers and Jiwon did some background drawings. P

3-3 Reading 3

Our club painted for about five hours. P

After we finished, we got together and shared the day's experiences. P

Minsu was very proud of his flower painting. P

He said, "My flower is so real that a bee landed on it." P

I said, "Drawing on a wall was much harder than drawing on paper." P

We all agreed that our wall painting wasn't perfect. P

But it didn't matter. P

We made our neighborhood a little brighter and happier. P

We were proud of ourselves. P

We didn't just paint pictures on a wall that day. P

It was a better tomorrow that we painted. P

4-1 Reading 1

"Dig harder, Stanley! The harder you dig, the faster you'll finish!" yelled Mr. Sir. P

Stanley Yelnats couldn't dig any harder since every single muscle hurt. P

He was thirsty and hungry. He wanted to go home. P

Unfortunately, Stanley's home for the next 18 months would be right here, at Camp Green Lake. P

Camp Green Lake was a terrible name. P

It wasn't green and there was no lake. P

Camp Green Lake was hot and full of sand. P

In fact, it wasn't even a camp. P

It was a place for bad boys. P

Then what was a good boy like Stanley doing here? P

He was sent to the camp for stealing a pair of sneakers. P

4-2 Reading 2

Stanley didn’t really steal a pair of sneakers. P

He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. P

One day, he was walking home from school. P

Suddenly, a pair of old sneakers fell from the sky. P

The sneakers hit him on the head. P

He started running with the sneakers to tell his father what happened. P

A few minutes later, the police stopped Stanley and asked him why he was running. P

Unfortunately for Stanley, the sneakers belonged to a famous baseball player, Clyde Livingstone. P

That was why Stanley ended up at Camp Green Lake. P

4-3 Reading 3

Stanley was assigned to Group D in the camp. P

There were six other boys in Stanley’s group. P

They all had cool names like X-Ray, Zigzag and Zero. P

Each boy had to dig one hole every day. P

It had to be about 150cm deep and 150cm wide. P

Mr.Sir said, “You are digging to build character. P

4-4 Reading 4

The more Stanley dug, the stronger he became. P

It took less time to finish his hole each day. P

In his second week, as Stanley was finishing his hole, he saw something shiny in the dirt. P

Stanley’s heart beat faster. P

He heard that anyone who found something interesting would be given the day off. P

He carefully picked up the shiny object and brushed off the dirt. P

It was a small gold tube. P

But it couldn’t be real gold since it was too light. P

There were two letters, KB, at the bottom of the tube. P

What did KB stand for? Stanley’s heart beat even faster. P

5-1 Reading 1

Tears of joy are rolling down my cheeks. P

I’m so happy and thrilled. P

If I were a bird, I would fly. P

I look around. P

The other members in my orchestra are hugging one another. P

Our concert has just finished and everyone is standing and giving us a big hand. P

None of us ever expected that this day would come. P

It has been a long journey. P

5-2 Reading 2

My name is Andrea and I’m a violinist in the Recycled Orchestra. P

Why is it called the Recycled Orchestra? P

It’s because our musical instruments are made of objects from a landfill. P

That’s why it’s also known as the Landfill Harmonic Orchestra. P

Most of us in the orchestra are from Cateura, a small town in Paraguay. P

There is a huge landfill in our town. P

Some people even say that Cateura itself is a giant landfill. P

Many of us are poor. P

There weren’t many hopes and dreams in our town. P

Everything began to change, however, when we met Favio Chavez. P

5-3 Reading 3

Favio was an environmental educator and a musician. P

He wanted to teach us music, but there was a big problem. P

There were only a few musical instruments in the whole town. P

We couldn’t afford to buy new ones. P

But Favio didn’t give up. P

He said that we could make musical instruments with objects from the landfill. P

A talented man named Nicholas was able to put this idea into practice. P

He made violins from oil drums. P

He turned water pipes into flutes. P

5-4 Reading 4

We had another problem. P

No one knew how to play musical instruments. P

We didn’t even know how to read music. P

Favio taught us with great patience. P

Step by step, we began to make some sounds on our instruments. P

I still remember the first piece of music that we played. P

It was very short and mostly out of tune. P

But it was the most beautiful music to us. P

We felt a new hope in our hearts. P

From then on, we gathered to practice every day. P

One day, Favio told us some great news. P

We were going to have a concert, a real concert! P

And here we are now in front of hundreds of people. P

They love our music. P

The world sends us trash, but we send back music! P

6-1 Reading 1

Have you heard of the expression, “Art imitates nature”? P

Many artists get their ideas and inspirations from the world around them. P

This is because the natural world is a beautiful place. P

The shapes in nature are very pleasing to the eye. P

For example, look at the egg on the left. P

Isn’t it beautiful? It is round and delicate, yet strong enough to protect its contents. P

Can you imagine a building that looks like an egg? P

Such a building actually exists in London. P

6-2 Reading 2

Nature has inspired many architects around the world. P

This is the Sagrada Familia in Spain. P

It is one of the most famous churches in the world. P

Look at the beautiful tall columns inside the church. P

They look like trees, don’t they? P

The famous architect, Antoni Gaudi, used the shape of trees in the Sagrada Familia. P

That’s how he brought the beauty of nature indoors. P

6-3 Reading 3

In the first two examples, we can easily see what inspired the architect. P

But in the next example from Australia, this is not so obvious. P

Jørn Utzon, the architect of the Sydney Opera House, took a shape from nature and added his imagination. P

Can you guess what inspired him? P

Many people think that it is the waves in the ocean or a sailing boat. P

But interestingly, the inspiration came from an orange. P

Look at the roof closely. P

Can you see the peels of an orange? P

When orange lights are shone on the building, you can see the peels more clearly. P

6-4 Reading 4

What about Korea? Have you ever been to Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul? P

Many people think that the building looks like a giant spaceship. P

But the architect, Zaha Hadid, took the curved lines from nature so that city people could enjoy them. P

Thanks to its special design, it has become a popular tourist attraction in Seoul. P

As you can see, many buildings try to capture the beauty of nature in their design. P

They are perfect examples of "Nature meets city." P

If you were an architect, what would you choose from nature? P

7-1 Reading 1

Two-thirds of our planet is covered by oceans. P

They are full of wonder and are home to millions of species. P

Every day, we are learning new things about them. P

Let’s find out about some interesting sea animals. P

7-2 Reading 2

Can you guess what these whales are doing in the picture? P

It looks like they are standing up in a group. P

But they are actually sleeping! P

Humpback whales stand on their tails while they sleep. P

They sleep near the surface. P

Since they are not fish, they need to come up to breathe. P

Also, they don’t fall asleep completely. P

When they wake up, they come out of the water for a deep breath and dive back into the sea. P

7-3 Reading 3

If you think fish are not smart, take a look at the tuskfish. P

This small fish whose favorite food is clams uses a tool to open them. P

Clams usually hide under the sand, so they cannot be easily discovered. P

The tuskfish blows on the sand until a clam appears. P

The clam is closed tightly, so the fish cannot eat it. P

But the tuskfish doesn’t give up. P

It smashes the clam against a rock. P

In the end, the clam opens and dinner is served. P

7-4 Reading 4

You have probably seen a bird fly down to the sea to catch a fish. P

But have you ever seen a fish jump out of the water to catch a bird? P

Well, birds have to be careful when a giant trevally is around. P

This fish can grow up to 170cm and 80kg. P

But don’t let its size fool you. P

This fish is quick and smart. P

It can spot a flying bird and calculate its speed and distance. P

When the bird flies nearby, the giant trevally jumps out of the water and catches it. P

8-1 Reading 1

It was just a normal morning. P

Alfred Nobel sat in his chair to read the newspaper. P

While he was drinking his coffee, a headline caught his eye. P

The Merchant of Death, Alfred Nobel, Is Dead. P

“What? What is this?” P

Reading the article, he dropped his cup in surprise. P

His coffee spilled all over his clothes and desk. P

but he couldn’t take his eyes off the newspaper. P

8-2 Reading 2

The article was about his own death! It said Nobel had died in France from a heart attack. P

“Oh my goodness! Am I dead?” P

Catching his breath, Nobel kept reading. P

Soon, he became even more shocked. P

The article described him as the inventor of dynamite and other dangerous objects for war. P

It said that he had become rich from the deaths of others. P

He couldn’t believe his eyes. P

It was true that dynamite was one of his many inventions. P

But he never imagined that the world would think of him as “the merchant of death. P

8-3 Reading 3

Nobel was deeply disappointed. P

“How could this be? This is unbelievable! I’m not a merchant of death. P

I want to be remembered in a different way. P

I want to be remembered as a person who made the world better.” P

He decided to change people’s opinions about him. P

8-4 Reading 4

In 1888, a French newspaper mistakenly reported Alfred Nobel’s death. P

The person who had actually died was his brother, Ludvig. P

Thanks to the report, however, Nobel decided to do something to contribute to the world. P

In 1895, he decided to use his money to create the Nobel Prize. P

Originally, there were only five awards. P

A sixth award was added in 1968. P

Today, when we think of Alfred Nobel, we think of the Nobel Prize, rather than dynamite. P