Tokyo: Crowded, Expensive, and Delicious
LevelsListen!ProtectedStep 2StoriesStyles October 23, 2017 1
ReadOasis Step 2 You are on your way to work. It's rush hour, and the train is packed. People are pressed against you on all sides. The train speeds along, but you can't move. Finally, you stop; the doors open, and you push your way out. It's Shinjuku Station,... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) It was a warm summer evening. The sun had already set, and the city lights were shining. In a busy part of Tokyo, people were leaving work. Some were going home. Others were going out to enjoy the evening. It was an ordinary night.... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 The buildings are rich in color and history. The trees are tall and stately. And the wind blows with the quiet whispers of the great people who have walked these paths. Eight American presidents have studied here. Some fifty Nobel Prize winners have been associated with... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 Why do people cry? Maybe tears are good for us. Maybe they calm our minds and cleanse our bodies. Yet researchers have shown that crying can make people feel worse. Psychologists from the US and the Netherlands recently studied crying. They checked detailed descriptions of crying... Read more
Are You Sleeping?
ArtsCoursesLevelsMusic Step 2BPublicStep 2StoriesTV October 23, 2017
ReadOasis Step 2 The bells are ringing, but John is sleeping. It’s time to wake up! This is the basic setting for the song “Are You Sleeping.” In the English speaking world, many people know this song, and they can also sing the first lines in French. Frère Jacques,... Read more
Verbal, Visual, & Vocal Communication
LevelsListen!PublicStep 2StoriesStylesTop Picks October 23, 2017 1
ReadOasis Step 2 What is good communication? Psychologist Albert Mehrabian researches three elements of communication: words, tone of voice, and body language. More interestingly, Mehrabian studied how people communicate feelings and attitudes. If your body language and tone of voice disagree with your words, listeners tend to believe your body... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) It was the middle of winter. Galileo was old, weak, and sick. But he had to make the 200 mile (320 kilometer) trip to Rome in the cold. Why all this trouble? The Head of the Roman Church said so. Galileo must go on... Read more
By Robert Louis Stevenson ReadOasis Step 2 I saw you toss the kites on high And blow the birds about the sky; And all around I heard you pass, Like ladies' skirts across the grass-- O wind, a-blowing all day long, O wind, that sings so loud a song!... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) Doctor Harry Harlow made a difficult puzzle. At least he thought it was difficult. On a block of wood, he placed a metal catch called a hinge. A hinge is a piece of metal joined to a door. It allows the door to open... Read more
Dr. Randall Short ReadOasis Step 2 What do you mean when you say “thank you”? What are you thinking and feeling when you thank someone for something? Think about times you said “thank you” recently, and consider your non-verbal language – your eyes, your smile, your voice, the way... Read more
$80,000 for One Song
CoursesLevelsMusic Step 2BProtectedStep 2StoriesTech October 20, 2017 0
ReadOasis Step 2 The room is dark. You are alone. You are drinking a coke and downloading some songs from the Internet. Then you hear a crash. Your heart stops as you hear a man shout. "This is the police!" You catch your breath and say, "What?" Then another... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 With special thanks to storyteller Hugh Lupton. In the south of Oregon, near Lake of the Woods, young John Jones was walking through the forest. As he walked, he enjoyed the fresh air and the tall green trees. He came to an open field. The grass was... Read more
The Birth of Levi’s Jeans
BizBiz Step 2ACoursesLevelsProtectedStep 2Stories October 20, 2017 2
ReadOasis Step 2 Rivets By Rohit Gowaikar (Creative Commons) Levi Strauss was born in Germany in 1829. At 18, he joined his brothers in America. They had a dry goods business in New York City. At that time, many people were moving to California in search of gold. Levi... Read more
How to Attain Presentation Zen (Step 2)
IdeasLevelsListen!ProtectedStep 2StoriesStyles October 19, 2017 1
ReadOasis Step 2 PowerPoint is the most popular presentation software today. Over 400 million copies are in use. But there are problems with PowerPoint. It can cause you to simplify too much and stop you from connecting with people. To give good presentations, you need practice. Expert presenter Garr... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) Print by Hanabusa Itchō (1652–1724) Once upon a time, a long time ago, there were six blind men who stood by the roadside every day. Day after day, at the same place, they begged for food and money from the people who passed by.... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 Willie Nelson's Guitar "Trigger" Little Willie was born into hard times. On October 29, 1929, the American economy crashed. It was called Black Tuesday. Many people lost all their money. By Willie’s day of birth in 1933, around 25% of Americans had lost their jobs. People... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 A long time ago there was a boy who lived in Pennsylvania. His name was Benjamin West. The boy loved pictures. There was nothing that he loved more. But he had only seen a few pictures. They were in a small book. The book did not... Read more
Story Power
CoursesIdeasLevelsMovies Step 2BProtectedStep 2Stories October 18, 2017
ReadOasis Step 2 Dorothy looked up into the sky. And she started to sing. Her soft voice rose up gently in the air. Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high There's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby. Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue And... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 An old woman was nearly blind from a disease of her eyes. She consulted a doctor and made an agreement with him. She would pay him a high fee if he cured her. But if she did not get better, he would receive nothing. The doctor... Read more
Change in 59 Seconds By Professor Richard Wiseman ReadOasis Step 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GScbQyUwpDk 59 Seconds is about the science of self-help. So one part of the book explodes commonly held myths. So for example, the idea that to motivate yourself, you have to visualize the perfect you. From a... Read more