Contents

Special Days
1
2
READING   1 READING   2

A Festival of Colors Birthdays around the World

WRITING   1 WRITING   2
SKILLS  The Sentence | Capitalization SKILLS  The Paragraph
Rules PRACTICE  Writing about your birthday
PRACTICE  Writing about holidays

Places
2
23
READING   1 READING   2

Venice: A Changing City Life Is Good in Iceland

WRITING   1 WRITING   2
SKILLS Adjectives SKILLS  TheComparative Form of
PRACTICE  Writing about a city Adjectives | The Superlative Form of
Adjectives
PRACTICE  Writing about one’s country

Ways to Health
3
44
READING   1 READING   2

Go to Sleep! Laughing Out Loud

WRITING   1 WRITING   2
SKILLS Using when SKILLS Adverbs
PRACTICE  Writing about sleep habits PRACTICE  Writing about laughing

Customs
4
63
READING   1 READING   2

What to Name the Baby Eat, Drink, and Know the Customs
WRITING   1 WRITING   2
SKILLS  Count Nouns and Noncount SKILLS  Common One-Word
Nouns Prepositions | Prepositional Phrases
PRACTICE  Writing about a special day PRACTICE  Writing about a meal

Contents iii
 Food
5
82
READING   1 READING   2

Hold Your Nose and Eat! The World’s Most Popular Drink
WRITING   1 WRITING   2
SKILLS Writing Instructions SKILLS  The Pronouns it and them
PRACTICE  Writing about a favorite food PRACTICE  Writing about a favorite drink

Inventors and Their Inventions

6
101
READING   1 READING   2

Dinner Fresh from the Freezer A Sharp Idea from King Gillette
WRITING   1 WRITING   2
SKILLS  Comparing Things with SKILLS Using too and very with
as . . . as Adjectives
PRACTICE  Writing about microwave PRACTICE  Writing about toothbrushes
ovens

Amazing People
7
122
READING   1 READING   2

Hayat Sindi: One Person Helps A Life with Chimpanzees

the World WRITING   2
WRITING   1 SKILLS  Writing about Someone’s Life |
SKILLS  Asking Questions | Prepositions Different Ways of Expressing Time
of Time PRACTICE  Writing about the events in
PRACTICE  Writing about the life of a one’s life
classmate

Readings from Literature

8
143
READING   1 READING   2

The Rain The Shepherd’s Boy

WRITING   1 WRITING   2
SKILLS  Review of Parts of Speech SKILLS Paraphrasing
PRACTICE  Writing a poem PRACTICE  Writing a fable

Vocabulary Index 162

iv  Contents
 1
UNIT

Special Days

Dancers perform at a Festival of

Dance in Michoacán, Mexico.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Answer these questions with your best guess. Circle Yes or No.
1. Is the Festival of Colors a sad festival for Hindus? Yes No
2. Do Hindus throw powders at each other at the Holi Festival? Yes No
3. In Japan, are three, five, and seven lucky birthdays? Yes No
2 4. In China, do friends and family eat noodles on birthdays? Yes No
 Reading   1
PRE-READING
PREPARING FOR THE READING TOPIC
Discuss the answers to these questions with
your classmates.
1. What is one festival that takes place in
your country?
2. What does the festival celebrate?
3. What special things do people do as part of
the celebrations?
4. How long do the celebrations last?

KEY VOCABULARY
Do you know these words? Match the words with
the meanings.
1. all over
2. to celebrate
3. a festival
4. to relax
5. to have fun
6. equal
7. powders
8. to throw

a. do things you enjoy

b. use your arm to send something through
the air
c. tiny, dry pieces of something, like dust
d. in all places
e. spend time to rest
f. a day or time of ceremonies and activities that
usually happen at the same time and place
g. the same
h. do certain ceremonies and activities on a
special day

3
 A Festival
of Colors

Girls throw colored

powders at the Festival of
Holi in Bangalore, India.

Track 1

H
1 indu people in India and all over the world celebrate Holi, or the Festival of
Colors. They celebrate it on the day after the full moon in February or March. The
festival celebrates the beginning of spring. It also celebrates how good is stronger
than evil.1 In the old days, people celebrated Holi for five days. Today, most people celebrate
Holi for two or three days. It is a time for Hindus to relax and have fun. During the
festival, all people—rich and poor, men and women, young and old—are equal and enjoy
this time together.
2 Before the festival, the streets are full of people. They are buying and selling powders of
different colors such as green, red, blue, and yellow. The women make special foods to eat for
1
evil:  very, very bad

4  Unit 1
 the festival. On the night before Holi, the men and boys make a big fire. Families sing and
dance around the fire.
3 The next morning, the fun begins. People don’t work on this day. They wear their old
clothes so they don’t get color all over their new clothes. Then they go out into the streets.
First, they throw powders of different colors at each other. Colors cover everyone from
top to bottom. After that, they start to throw colored water on one another. By the end of
the day, everyone is a walking rainbow2 of color! When they get home in the evening, they
wash their faces, bodies, and clothes to get the color out. Everyone is happy at the end of
the day because it was so much fun!

2 rainbow:  lines of color you see in the sky when it is sunny and raining at the same time

Special Days 5
 VOCABULARY
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT
A Complete these sentences with the words in the box.

all over equal have fun relax

celebrate festival powders throw

1. During the festival, people stop work and take time to .

2. In the morning, people throw of different colors at each other.
3. During Holi, one person is not more important than another. Everyone is .
4. Hindus the world enjoy the Holi festival.
5. Hindus Holi every year on a day after the full moon in February
or March.
6. People buy colored powders and them at each other.
7. For two or three days during Holi, people . They do things to be happy.
8. During the Holi , people throw powders at each other and have fun.

B Write your own sentence for each of these words from the reading.
1. festival: EXAMPLE:  I went to a festival in my town last weekend.

2. relax: 

3. have fun: 

4. equal: 

5. powders: 

6. throw: 

VOCABULARY BUILDING
Complete each sentence with the correct phrase in the box.

all over my clothes celebrate my birthday

all over the world celebrate the New Year

1. Hindus relax and have fun during Holi.

2. It’s the Holi festival, so I have powder .
3. Many cities with fireworks.
4. I will with a party.

6  Unit 1
 READING COMPREHENSION READING   1

LOOKING FOR MAIN IDEAS

Answer these questions with complete sentences.
1. What does the festival of Holi celebrate?

2. What do people do on the night before Holi?

3. Why do people call Holi the Festival of Colors?

LOOKING FOR DETAILS

Decide if the following statements are True (T) or False (F).
1. Hindus celebrate Holi on the day before the full moon in February or March.
2. In the old days, people celebrated the festival for five days.
3. Before the festival, people buy powders of different colors.
4. On the morning before Holi, men and boys make a big fire.
5. People wear new clothes on the day of the festival.
6. When they get home, people paint their faces, bodies, and clothes.

DISCUSSION
Discuss the answers to these questions with your classmates.
1. What is your favorite festival or holiday in your country? Explain.
2. What kinds of foods do you eat during this festival or holiday?
3. What special clothes do people wear?
4. Do people decorate their homes or shops during this festival or holiday? Why, or
why not?

CRITICAL THINKING
Discuss the answers to these questions with your classmates.
1. Why do you think the Hindus throw different colored powders at each other during
Holi? What do you think it means? Would you like to do something like that? Why,
or why not?
2. Why do people have festivals? Why are festivals important for people and cultures?

Special Days 7
 Writing   1
WRITING SKILLS
The Sentence
A sentence always begins with a capital letter and ends with either a period (.), an exclamation
point (!), or a question mark (?). A sentence always has a subject and a verb. Many sentences also
have an object.
• The sentence order in English is subject + verb + object.
EXAMPLE: People  buy  powders.
subject verb object

• The subject of a sentence is usually a noun, a pronoun, or a noun phrase. It tells us who is
doing the action and usually comes before the verb.
EXAMPLES: People  buy powders.
noun
They  buy powders.
pronoun
The Hindu people  buy powders.
noun phrase

• The verb of a sentence tells us the action of the subject. Some verbs are one word, but other
verbs are more than one word.
EXAMPLES: People  buy powders.
verb
People  are buying powders.
verb
People  are going to buy powders.
verb

• The object of a sentence answers the question, What? The object can be a noun, a pronoun,
or a noun phrase.
EXAMPLES: People buy  powders.
noun
People buy  them.
pronoun
People buy  powders of different colors.
noun phrase

EXERCISE 1
Underline the subject in each of these sentences.
1. The boys make a fire.
2. They are happy.
3. Our family prepares special food.

8  Unit 1
 4. The Hindu woman prepares special food.
5. The Hindu woman with the white hair prepares special food.
6. The days of Holi are fun.
7. Rich people and poor people are equal at this time.
8. Young people and old people have fun.

EXERCISE 2
Underline the subject with one line and the verb with two lines.
1. People close the shops.
2. Hindus are going to celebrate Holi.
3. My family celebrates Holi.
4. Young and old people have fun.
5. Families sing and dance around the fire.
6. My family and other Hindu families in the United States celebrate Holi.
7. The men and the boys make a big fire.
8. Boys and girls are dancing around the fire.

EXERCISE 3
Underline the object in each of these sentences.
1. People wear old clothes.
2. People are celebrating the Festival of Colors.
3. The festival celebrates the beginning of spring.
4. People buy powders of different colors.
5. Women prepare special foods for the festival.
6. People enjoy this time.
7. They also throw colored water.
8. They wash their faces, bodies, and clothes.

Special Days 9
 Capitalization Rules
Here are some rules that will help you capitalize the correct letters.
• Capitalize the first word in a sentence.
EXAMPLE: The festival is in February.

• Always capitalize the pronoun I.

EXAMPLE: I love this festival.

• Capitalize all proper nouns. Here are some proper nouns.

EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE’S NAMES AND THEIR TITLES:

Ahmed Aksoy Linda Brooks Ms. Brooks

Mr. John Brown Pedro Guzman Mrs. Brown
Dr. Brooks Dr. L. Brooks Chan Lai Fong
EXAMPLES OF CITIES, STATES, AND COUNTRIES:

Acapulco Italy Venice

California Japan Washington, DC
Florida London
Hong Kong Paris
EXAMPLES OF NATIONALITIES, RACES, LANGUAGES, AND RELIGIONS:

American Chinese Italian

Arabic Hindu Muslim
Asian Hispanic
EXAMPLES OF SPECIAL DAYS:

Halloween Independence Day New Year’s Day

EXAMPLES OF DAYS AND MONTHS:

Sunday January
Monday February
Tuesday March

EXERCISE 4
Change the small letters to capital letters where necessary.

1. The festival is in february.

2. ito and mayumi are from tokyo, japan.

3. the american woman celebrated chinese new year with us.

4. in our class, we have students who are buddist, muslim, Christian, and jewish.

5. maria is from mexico city, mexico.

6. my mother and i were born in august.

7. i am going to be in new york on new year’s day.

8. mr. jones and I are going to a party on friday.

10  Unit 1
 WRITING   1

EXERCISE 5
There are 10 mistakes in grammar and capitalization below. Find the mistakes and
correct them.

Jim and Barbara Miller live in chicago, in the united states. They are americans. Jim

is christian and barbara is Buddhist. They celebrates thanksgiving in november. It an

important holiday.

WRITING PRACTICE
WRITE SENTENCES
Answer these questions with complete sentences.
1. What is the most important holiday in your country?

2. When do you celebrate this holiday?

Chinese New Year celebrations

in Hong Kong, China

Special Days 11
 3. What do you wear on this holiday?

4. Where do you go?

5. What food do you prepare or eat?

6. Do you give or get gifts?

7. Why is this holiday important?

EDIT YOUR SENTENCES

Work with a partner or your teacher to edit your sentences. Check the spelling, punctuation,
vocabulary, and grammar. Use the editing checklist to help you.

Editing Checklist
Subject in every sentence?
Verb in every sentence?
Words in correct order?
Sentences begin with a capital letter?
Sentences end with a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point directly at the end
of a sentence?
Sentences have a space between them?
Commas in the correct place?
Wrong words?
Spelling?
Missing words (use insertion mark: ^)?

WRITE YOUR FINAL COPY

After you edit your sentences, you can write your final copy.

12  Unit 1
 Reading   2
PRE-READING
PREPARING FOR THE READING TOPIC
Discuss the answers to these questions with your classmates.
1. What is happening in the photo on page 14? Do children in your country celebrate
birthdays in this way? How is it different or similar?
2. How do adults usually celebrate birthdays in your country?
3. Do you like birthday celebrations? Why, or why not?

KEY VOCABULARY
Do you know these words? Match the words with the meanings.

1. to gather around a. the habits of a country’s group

2. candles b. a piece of cloth with special colors for a country
3. breath c. having good things happen by chance
4. customs d. sticks of hard wax with a string on top that you light
5. a flag e. stand together in a group
6. to decorate f. special tastes
7. lucky g. make something look nice by adding things to it
8. flavors h. the air that you let in or let out of your mouth

Special Days 13
 Birthdays
around
the
World

At a birthday party in
Mexico, children try to get
candy out of a “pinata.”

Track 2

E
1 verybody has a birthday. Many children around the world celebrate their birthdays
like children in the United States. They have a birthday cake, gifts, and sometimes a
birthday party. Friends and family gather around a table with a birthday cake on
it. They sing “Happy Birthday to You.” Two American sisters wrote this song in 1893, but
people still sing this song today! The birthday cake usually has lighted candles on it, one

14  Unit 1
 READING   2

candle for each year of the child’s life.

The birthday child makes a wish and then
blows out all the candles. If the child
blows out the candles in one breath, it
is said that the wish will come true. Other
countries have different customs.
2 In Norway, Denmark, and Sweden,
people fly the country’s flag outside their
home to tell everyone that someone in the
family is having a birthday. In Denmark, a
parent puts gifts around a child’s bed when
the child is sleeping at night. When the
child wakes up in the morning, the gifts
will be the first thing the child sees. In
Sweden and also in Finland, the birthday
child gets breakfast in bed!
3 In some countries, some years are
more important than others. In Holland,
these are 5, 10, 15, 20, and 21. They call
them “crown” years. On a crown birthday,
the birthday child or young adult gets a
much more important gift. The family also
decorates the child’s chair at the dining
table with flowers, paper, and balloons.
The special years in Japan are 3, 5, and 7.
These are the lucky years. On November
15 every year, there is a festival called “7-5-
3” when the children and their families go
to a religious place. Then the family gives
a party for the child and gives the child
gifts. In India, because of religious reasons,
Hindu children only get to celebrate their
birthdays until the age of 16.
4 Birthday cakes around the world come
in different sizes and flavors. There are
even ice cream birthday cakes today. But
in China, there is no birthday cake. Friends
and family go out to lunch, and to wish the
birthday child a long life, they eat noodles!

Special Days 15
 VOCABULARY
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT
A Complete these sentences with the words in the box.

breath customs flag gather around

candles decorate flavors lucky

1. People around the world have different birthday .

2. Children in the United States usually have a birthday cake with on it.

3. Friends and family the child and the birthday cake.

4. It is sometimes not easy to blow out the candles in one .

5. In Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, people put a outside the house.

6. Birthday cakes can have different like chocolate or vanilla.

7. In Japan, 3, 5, and 7 are years.

8. In Holland, parents a child’s chair with flowers.

B Answer these questions with complete sentences.

1. What color is the flag of your country?

EXAMPLE:  The flag of my country is red, white, and blue.

2. How do you decorate your home for a birthday party?

3. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?

4. What is a birthday custom in your country?

VOCABULARY BUILDING
Complete these sentences with the words in the boxes.

luck (noun) lucky (adjective)

1. Number 13 is my number.

2. Good with your exams!

16  Unit 1
 READING   2

breathe (verb) breath (noun)

3. Take a deep .

4. It’s good to go out and some fresh air.

flavor (verb) flavors (noun)

5. I like the of vanilla and chocolate.

6. I many dishes with garlic and ginger.

READING COMPREHENSION
LOOKING FOR MAIN IDEAS
Read “Birthdays around the World” again, and look for the main ideas. Circle the letter of the
best answer.
1. Children in other countries celebrate birthdays .
a. like children in the United States
b. with just their friends
c. at different times of the year
2. In Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, people on a child’s birthday.
a. fly a flag
b. have breakfast in bed
c. put gifts in the child’s bed
3. In some countries, some are more important than others.
a. cakes
b. years
c. festivals

LOOKING FOR DETAILS

One piece of information in each sentence is not correct. Rewrite the sentence with the
correct information.
1. There is one candle for each year of your hand on a birthday cake.

2. In Denmark, they put gifts around the child’s cake.

3. Two Danish sisters wrote the famous birthday song.

Special Days 17
 4. In Holland, the happy years are 5, 10, 15, 20, and 21.

5. In Finland, the birthday child gets gifts in bed.

6. In India, Hindu children celebrate their birthdays after the age of 16.

DISCUSSION
Discuss the answers to these questions with your classmates.
1. Which birthday custom in the reading do you like best? Why?
2. How do you usually celebrate a birthday in your country?
3. Do people of all ages celebrate birthdays in your country? Why, or why not?
4. Do you celebrate your birthday every year, or only in special years? Explain.

CRITICAL THINKING
Discuss the answers to these questions with your classmates.
1. When and why do you think birthday celebrations started?
2. Why do you think that 5, 10, 15, 20, and 21 are “crown” years in Holland? What do
you think “crown” year means?
3. A birthday child makes a wish. Why do you think this is done?

18  Unit 1
Writing   2
WRITING SKILLS
The Paragraph
Most things you read or write are written in one or more paragraphs. To write in paragraph form,
use this format.
• Use lined paper or a new document in a word processing program on a computer.
• Write your name, the date, and the course number in the upper right-hand corner of
the paper.
• Write a title in the center at the top of the page. Capitalize the first letter of all the words in a
title. However, do not capitalize the, a, an, or prepositions unless they begin the title or have
more than four letters.
• Leave a one-inch margin on the left-hand side of the page. (Your teacher may ask you to
leave a margin on the right-hand side also.) A word processing program will do this for you.
• Indent the first line of every paragraph.
• Write on every other line of the paper, or use double-spaced lines if you are using
a computer.
• Capitalize the first word in each sentence, and end each sentence with a period (.), a question
mark (?), or an exclamation point (!).

Name
Date
Class

Title

Xxx xxxxx xx xxxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxx. Xxxxx xx xxxx x xxxx xxxx xx

xxxxxxxx xxx xxxx. Xxxxx xxx xxxxx x xxxx X xx xxxxxx xxxxxx xx xxx

xxxxx xxx xxxx xxxx. X xxxxx xx xxxx xxx xxxx xxx xxxxx xx xxxx.

X xxxxxx xxxx xxx xxx xxxxxxx. Xx xxxx xxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxx xx xxx

x xxxxx xxx Xxxxxx xxxxxxxx. Xxxxx xxxxx xx xxxx xxx xxxxx xxxx. X xxxx

xx xxxxx xxxxx xx. Xxxxxxx xxx xxx xxxxx x xxxx xx Xxxxxxx xxx xxxx. X

xx xxxxxxx xxx xxx xxxx xxx xxxxxxx.

X xxx xxxxx x xx xxxx xxxx. Xx xxxxxx x xxx xxxxx xxx xxxxxx xx

Special Days 19
 EXERCISE 1
Are these sentences about how to write in paragraph form True (T ) or False (F)?
1. The paragraph does not have a title.
2. The title is in the center at the top of the page.
3. The date is on the top left-hand corner.
4. There is no course number on the paper.
5. The first line of the paragraph is indented.

EXERCISE 2
There are 10 mistakes in grammar and capitalization below. Find the mistakes and
correct them.

My birthday is on june 11. I was born in lima, peru. We has a party on my Birthday.

My friends comes. My mother make a cake. I get many gift. I always happy on my

birthday. It is my special Day.

WRITING PRACTICE
WRITE SENTENCES
Answer these questions with complete sentences.
1. When is your birthday?

2. Do you celebrate your birthday?

3. Who do you celebrate your birthday with?

4. Do you have a birthday cake or a birthday party?

5. Do you stay at home or do you go out?

6. Do you get gifts?

7. What gift do you want for your next birthday?

20  Unit 1
 WRITING   2

REWRITE IN PARAGRAPH FORM

Rewrite your sentences in the form of a paragraph. Then use the paragraph checklist to
check your work.

Paragraph Checklist
Did you indent the first line?
Did you give your paragraph a title?
Did you write the title with a capital letter or letters?
Did you put the title in the center at the top of the page?
Did you write on every other line or double-space on a computer?

EDIT YOUR PARAGRAPH

Work with a partner or your teacher to edit your sentences. Check the spelling, punctuation,
vocabulary, and grammar. Use the editing checklist to help you.

Editing Checklist
Subject in every sentence?
Verb in every sentence?
Words in correct order?
Sentences begin with a capital letter?
Sentences end with a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point directly at the end
of a sentence?
Sentences have a space between them?
Commas in the correct place?
Wrong words?
Spelling?
Missing words (use insertion mark: ^)?

WRITE YOUR FINAL COPY

After you edit your paragraph, you can write your final copy.

Special Days 21
 Weaving It
Together
TIMED WRITING
Write a paragraph about your favorite holiday or celebration. First, answer the following
questions with complete sentences. Then rewrite them into paragraph form. You have
50 minutes.
1. What is your favorite holiday or celebration? Choose a different holiday from the one
you chose in Writing Practice.
2. When is the holiday or celebration?
3. Where do you celebrate it?
4. What do you do?
5. Why is it your favorite holiday?

SEARCH THE INTERNET

A Search the Internet for information about Diwali, another famous Hindu festival. Find answers
to these questions:
1. When is Diwali?
2. How many days do people celebrate Diwali?
3. What is another name for Diwali, and why is Diwali called by another name?
4. How do people celebrate Diwali?

B Search the Internet for information about birthday traditions around the world. Find
three birthday traditions that are the most interesting to you. Share that information with
your classmates.

WHAT DO YOU THINK NOW?

Refer to page 2 at the beginning of this unit. Do you know the answers now? Circle the
best answer.
1. The Festival of Colors is a (happy / unhappy) time for everyone.
2. The Hindus (celebrate / don’t celebrate) by throwing powders at the Holi Festival.
3. In Japan, three, five, and seven (are / are not) lucky birthdays.
4. In China, friends and family (eat / don’t eat) noodles on birthdays.

22  Unit 1