Look Level 2 Readings

Unit 1
Lesson 3 Reading

Welcome to the Green School in Bali, Indonesia. It’s a very cool school. At the Green School,
students learn about animals and plants. A classroom at the Green School doesn’t have normal
walls or windows. The classrooms are open, and students can see the plants and trees.
From Monday to Friday, there are classes in English, math, computers, music, art, reading, and
gym. There’s homework, too. At the Green School, every grade has a garden. There are garden
classes on Wednesday and Thursday. There are flowers, rice, and fruit in the garden. There’s a
farm, too. Students give food and water to the animals on the farm.

© Cengage Learning, Inc. LOOK LEVEL 2 READINGS

Unit 2
Lesson 3 Reading

Claudia Chan Shaw is a toy collector in Australia. She has a lot of cool toys. Claudia has old and
new toys. She really likes toy robots. Look at these robots from her collection!
Claudia has a robot named Robby. Robby is black. His head is big. His arms and feet are red. He
can walk! Claudia has another robot named Zoomer. He’s more than 60 years old! He has short
arms and legs. Zoomer’s body is blue. He can walk, too.
You can’t borrow or play with Claudia’s toys. They’re too old. But you can watch videos of them
on your computer.

© Cengage Learning, Inc. LOOK LEVEL 2 READINGS

Unit 3
Lesson 3 Reading

This is a plan for a small house in Denmark. Imagine we’re in front of the door. Let’s go inside!
There’s a white armchair under the kitchen. Let’s go up the stairs. There’s a swing. A bookcase
is behind the swing. I can sit on the swing and read. How fun!

There’s a bedroom and a small room with a computer. The bathroom is between these rooms.

Look! There’s a climbing wall. We don’t have that in our house. Let’s climb! I can see a garden
with flowers. There’s a balcony outside, too. This house is super cool!

© Cengage Learning, Inc. LOOK LEVEL 2 READINGS

Unit 4
Lesson 3 Reading

Do you like basketball? A lot of people do. It’s very popular. In basketball, you run and bounce
the ball. You throw it to a player on your team. You catch it, then you jump. You throw the ball
in the basket, and…score!

Players in the King Charles Troupe bounce, throw, and catch the ball, but their game is
different. They don’t run—they play on unicycles! A unicycle is like a bike, but with one wheel,
not two. It isn’t easy, but the players in the King Charles Troupe can bounce, throw, and catch a
ball—all on their unicycles. They’re fantastic! A lot of people watch them play.

Can you play basketball? Can you ride a unicycle? Maybe you can be in the King Charles Troupe,
too!

© Cengage Learning, Inc. LOOK LEVEL 2 READINGS

Reading Extra 1

Let’s Go on an Insect Safari!

Today in Hong Kong, a class has a science lesson. But today’s lesson isn’t in the classroom. It’s
outside, in the park next to their school. The students have paper and pencils. Their teacher has
a camera. They’re on an insect safari!

What’s an insect safari?

On an insect safari, you look for insects. You can find them in, on, and under plants and trees.
You write about these insects and draw pictures.
Here are some insects the students in Hong Kong find on their insect safari:

Beetles
Look at the big photo. That’s a beetle. It’s called a lanternfly. It can fly and jump. Its body is
blue, green, orange, yellow, white, black, and red. It has six legs and a long, colorful head!

Dragonflies
Dragonflies have six legs, too. They can fly. This dragonfly is called a blue dasher.

Spiders
Spiders are arachnids, not insects. But this class finds spiders on their insect safari. Unlike many
insects, most spiders can’t fly. This spider is a golden orb-weaver. Like all spiders, it has eight
legs. Its legs are black, and its body is black and yellow. It’s very big. It can eat a small bird!

© Cengage Learning, Inc. LOOK LEVEL 2 READINGS

Unit 5
Lesson 3 Reading

People all over the world play with building bricks. They are a favorite toy for boys and girls,
young and old. But do you know, you can work with building bricks? That’s right! There’s a job
called a master builder. Cool, right? Yes, but it’s not easy. There are only about 40 master
builders in the whole world. And they work hard! It can take months to build a big model.
Master builders use a lot of bricks, too. One model of a German soccer stadium has 1.3 million
bricks!

Paul Chrzan is a master builder. Paul says, “Just build, build, build!” He thinks it’s good to build
different things—not just what’s on the box. “Don’t build the house and the spaceship,” Paul
says. “Build your family pet!”

© Cengage Learning, Inc. LOOK LEVEL 2 READINGS

Unit 6
Lesson 3 Reading

This is a story about the Blooms: Mom, Dad, three boys…and a bird.

In 2013, Mom gets hurt. She can’t walk. One day, one of the boys finds a baby magpie. It’s hurt,
too. The boy brings it home. This bird is black and white, so they call her “Penguin.” The Blooms
help Penguin get better. Soon, she can fly!

Penguin helps the Blooms, too. In the morning, she flies into the bedroom and the boys get up.
She sits with Mom in the afternoon. At three o’clock, Penguin goes to the yard and waits. The
boys come home from school. Now they can play. With Penguin, the Blooms are happy again.

One day, Penguin flies away. The Blooms love Penguin, but they aren’t sad. Now she’s with
other birds!

© Cengage Learning, Inc. LOOK LEVEL 2 READINGS

Unit 7
Lesson 3 Reading

You’re feeling hungry and you want a snack. You can find one in a vending machine. Just put
your money in, and there it is! People usually buy candy and drinks from vending machines, but
you can get much more.

What do you like to eat for breakfast? Some vending machines have bread and eggs. Do you eat
fruit? You can get oranges or bananas, too.

Is there any food for lunch and dinner in a vending machine? Yes, there is! You can get a burger,
or you can get chicken and rice. A vending machine can even make a pizza for you!
Vending machines have other things, too: socks, jeans, books…even cars! Imagine that!

© Cengage Learning, Inc. LOOK LEVEL 2 READINGS

Unit 8
Lesson 3 Reading

It’s the Songkran festival in Thailand and people—young and old—are having fun. This is the
New Year for Thai people. It usually goes on for three days. There are a lot of street parties.
People go outside and have big water fights. During this festival, you can throw water on your
friends, your family…everyone. It’s fantastic!

Look at this family. They’re enjoying Songkran. They have buckets of water. This boy is holding a
bucket of water. What is he doing with that water? He’s throwing it on the people in the street!
Is that OK? Yes, of course! It’s Songkran!

© Cengage Learning, Inc. LOOK LEVEL 2 READINGS

Reading Extra 2

Nasreddin and the Dinner Party

One afternoon, Nasreddin is working on his farm. A man comes to him with a letter. It is from a
rich man in the village. The rich man is having a dinner party. He wants Nasreddin to come.
Nasreddin is very happy. He wants to go.
That evening, Nasreddin goes to the party. He is wearing his work clothes. They are old and
dirty. The people at the party don’t talk to him. They don’t give him any food. Nasreddin feels
angry. So, he goes home.
At home, Nasreddin takes a bath. He gets dressed in nice clothes. He goes back to the party.
Now, the people are happy to see him. They talk to him and give him food: chicken, fish, and
rice.
Nasreddin puts the rice on his shoes. “Eat, shoes,” he says. Then, he puts the fish on his shirt.
“Eat, shirt.” He puts the chicken in the pocket of his pants. “Eat, pants.”
“What are you doing?” the rich man asks. “Are you crazy?”
“I am giving the food to my clothes,” says Nasreddin. “You want to have my clothes at your
party, but not me.”

© Cengage Learning, Inc. LOOK LEVEL 2 READINGS

Unit 9
Lesson 3 Reading

Gertjie and Matimba are baby white rhinos. They live at an animal home in South Africa. They
don’t have mothers, so workers at the home are helping them.

Gertjie and Matimba also have a friend, a sheep called Lammie. Sheep and rhinos aren’t usually
friends. But Gertjie, Matimba, and Lammie play together. It’s fun to watch!

Lammie is small and fast. The rhinos are bigger than Lammie, and they’re slower, too. Lammie
is older than Gertjie and Matimba, so she takes care of them. At bath time, Lammie sits next to
the water. At bedtime, she sleeps outside their room. They don’t have a mom, but Gertjie and
Matimba are happy they have Lammie!

© Cengage Learning, Inc. LOOK LEVEL 2 READINGS

Unit 10
Lesson 3 Reading

What is a Rainbow?
It’s a colorful arc in the sky. A rainbow usually has red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.
But rainbows don’t always have six colors. Morning rainbows are red, orange, and yellow—you
can’t see the other colors.

What Weather Makes a Rainbow?

Rain and sun make a rainbow. Bigger raindrops make brighter rainbows. To find a rainbow,
stand with the sun behind you. Don’t forget your umbrella! Now, look up.

Can I Make a Rainbow?

Yes, you can. Bring a glass of water and some white paper to a sunny window. Hold the glass
above the paper. Sunlight goes through the water and makes a rainbow on the paper.

© Cengage Learning, Inc. LOOK LEVEL 2 READINGS

Unit 11
Lesson 3 Reading

Bananas are a healthy snack. But they grow in hot, sunny countries. I’m from Poland--that’s far!
So, how does this banana get into my hand?

1 Bananas start as flowers on a banana plant. After about nine months, the farmer takes the
bunch off the plant. They’re still green.

2 Workers look at the bananas. If the bananas are OK, the workers put them into boxes. These
boxes of bananas go by truck to a shipyard.

3 Now the bananas are ready for a long trip. They go by ship to Europe. It can take around
fourteen days.

4 In Europe, trucks bring the bananas to towns and cities. There, workers in stores put the
bananas out. Now I can get some and bring them home. When they’re yellow, they’re ready to
eat!

© Cengage Learning, Inc. LOOK LEVEL 2 READINGS

Unit 12
Lesson 3 Reading

Charles was a quiet boy. He wasn’t good at schoolwork or sports. Some of his classmates
weren’t very kind to him. But Charles was good at art. His pictures were very funny. They were
fantastic!

Look at the photo. Do you know this dog? It’s Snoopy. Charles is Charles Schulz, the creator of
Snoopy and the Peanuts cartoons. Today, people around the world know and love this silly
black and white dog, his owner Charlie Brown, and their friends, the Peanuts gang.

As a child, Charles Schulz’s life wasn’t easy. As a grown-up, Charles Schulz was a famous artist.
Art was his talent. What’s your talent?

© Cengage Learning, Inc. LOOK LEVEL 2 READINGS

Reading Extra 3
Cars: Then and Now

Does your family have a car? What’s it like? Is it big or small? Fast or slow? Loud or quiet? Cars
are different now than they were in the past. Let’s take a look!

1880s
Karl Benz makes one of the first cars. It has three wheels, and it’s faster than a horse or a
bicycle. In 1888, his wife Bertha is the first person to go by car on a long trip. She drives to see
her mother. The trip is only 105 kilometers, but it takes Bertha about twelve hours!

1910s
Henry Ford and his team make the famous Ford Model T car. Now a lot of people can get a car.
Most Ford Model T cars are black. The Model T has four wheels, but it only has one window in
the front. It’s not a good car to use when it’s windy or raining.

1950s
Cars are every color of the rainbow, including pink! They’re bigger and faster than the early
cars. These cars make the air dirty, but people aren’t thinking much about this. They’re just
enjoying their big, colorful cars!

Today
Today’s cars are smaller than cars in the 1950s. Some cars are electric. People like electric cars
because the air stays cleaner. They’re also quieter than normal cars. Scientists are even making
cars with no drivers. A robot drives the car! That’s amazing!

© Cengage Learning, Inc. LOOK LEVEL 2 READINGS

Bonus Reading Extra

The Best Present of All

An old woman is walking in the mountains. She is tired and thirsty. She stops by a stream to drink some
water. She sees a blue stone in the water. She picks it up. It is a beautiful jewel. She puts it in her bag
and starts walking again. 

She meets a young man. He is tired and hungry. She opens her bag to get him some food. As she does,
the young man sees the blue jewel.

“What a beautiful jewel,” he says. “Can I hold it?”

“Yes,” the old woman says. “In fact, you can have it. It’s my present to you.”

“Oh, thank you!” the young man says. “Now, I can have a new house and new clothes.”
Then the man goes into town. He looks at the nice stores and big houses. “Do I really want these
things?” he thinks.

Three days later, the old woman sees him again. He has the jewel in his hand. 

“Thank you for the jewel,” he says. “But I don’t want it.”

The old woman smiles. “What do you want?”

“I want to be kind, like you,” he says. “Can you teach me?”

© Cengage Learning, Inc. LOOK LEVEL 2 READINGS