12 Rules for Crossing Cultures
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ReadOasis Step 3 Mo climbed up the rocky mountain. Suddenly, a rock broke off under his foot. He grabbed onto a small tree and watched the rock bounce down and down. He took a deep breath and looked up. And he saw the mountain top covered in smoke, fire,... Read more
ReadOasis Step 3 In his last year of high school, Alan didn't sleep much. Instead, he studied. Sometimes he crammed for exams all night. Sometimes he drank 3 or 4 cans of energy drinks so that he could study more. And he felt the agony of overwork. He got... Read more
In 1907, Rudyard Kipling received the Nobel Prize for Literature. He was the first English-language writer to receive the prize. Kipling was a innovator in the art of short stories. His children’s books, like Jungle Book, are classics of children's literature. Kipling also wrote poetry. One of his famous poems... Read more
Playing Global Business on a Level Field
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ReadOasis Step 3 A Review of The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century By Thomas L. Friedman. We are entering a new era where the world is one massive marketplace. Old powers had the advantage, but the playing field is leveling now. New powers are... Read more
ReadOasis Step 3 A man sits at night in his room alone. He is deeply saddened by the death of his lover. Her name was Lenore. Deep in despair, he begins to hear a tapping at the window. He looks up and opens it. And there stands a large... Read more
By Robert Louis StevensonReadOasis Step 3 Photo by NASA The lights from the parlour and kitchen shone outThrough the blinds and the windows and bars;And high overhead and all moving about,There were thousands of millions of stars.There ne’er were such thousands of leaves on a tree,Nor of people in... Read more
How to Acquire Language (Step 3)
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ReadOasis Step 3 How do humans acquire languages? The answer is remarkably simple. All people everywhere acquire languages in the same way. “We acquire languages by understanding messages.” This is called the “comprehension hypothesis,” and it was made famous by the distinguished linguist Dr. Stephen Krashen. I give this... Read more
ReadOasis Step 3 "I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow. Vice President Ford will be sworn in as President at that hour in this office." These words were spoken by President Richard Nixon on August 8, 1974 on national television. They came after many months of scandal... Read more
The Greatest Band of All Time
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ReadOasis Step 3 February 9, 1964. "Hurry up!" shouted Mary as she turned on the TV. "It started already!" Just in time, Mary watched Ed Sullivan say, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Beatles!" The audience roared as the Beatles launched into their song "All My Loving." It was their first... Read more
A Big Idea: Critique of Pure Reason
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ReadOasis Step 3 By Will Durant (Re-presented in Basic and Essential English) Kant’s Critique is not a criticism, but a critical analysis. Kant is not attacking "Pure Reason." He hopes to show its potential. He wants to praise it above knowledge that is not pure and that comes through... Read more
Are Lectures Effective? (Step 3)
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ReadOasis Step 3 The professor stood in front of the class. He put his notes on a tall stand. The stand was in the middle of the room, and the professor could move around behind it. As he faced the class, there were many windows on his right. On... Read more
How to Attain Presentation Zen (Step 3)
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By Lyric SmithReadOasis Step 3 PowerPoint is the most popular presentation software in the world today. Over 400 million copies are in use. But there are drawbacks to PowerPoint. It can cause you to oversimplify, and it can prevent you from empathizing and connecting with people. To give excellent... Read more
Seven Elements of Story Grammar (Step 3)
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ReadOasis Step 3(Part 1) Harry glanced at his best friends Ron and Hermione. He was not smiling. He was isolated at his uncle's house for the summer. And Harry's uncle, aunt, and cousin were dreadful. Ron and Hermione stayed with their group of friends, a group that Harry didn't... Read more
Reading a textbook isn't the same as reading a novel. Many people find it more difficult. They also find it less interesting. This is probably because they don't have a good reading system. Do you have a good system for reading textbooks? If not, SQ3R is a simple, five-step... Read more
By Andrew Lang ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 1) Once upon a time there were three Princesses. They were all young and beautiful, but the youngest, although she was not fairer than the other two, was the most charming of them all. About half a mile from the palace in... Read more
An English Fairy TaleReadOasis Step 3(Part 1) A long time ago, a woodcutter lived with his wife in a small cottage not far from a great forest. They had seven children -- all boys, and the youngest was the smallest little fellow anyone had ever seen. He was called... Read more
Beyond the Freezing Point (Ayako Miura)
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ReadOasis Step 3(Part 1) It was much later that I finally learned what a dark age it was. It’s after you know the light that you recognize darkness. You cannot know darkness when you’re in the middle of it. Ayako Miura (1922-1999) Up to the end of World War... Read more
ReadOasis Step 3 Black liquid exploded out of the ground and towards the sky. It was oil—black gold—and it had the power to light up homes. It had the power to run the engine of the American economy. It had the power to make a man very rich. John... Read more
ReadOasis Step 3 (Part 1) There was once a Ruler of Cordova, a country that is now in Northern Africa. The Ruler’s name was Al Mansour. One day, a strange merchant came to him. The merchant had diamonds and pearls. He had brought them from beyond the sea. The... Read more
ReadOasis Step 3 I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. Charles Dickens (1786-1851) Most people know Charles Dickens for his famous ghost story: A Christmas Carol. But many people don’t realize that Dickens was the most notable English author of the Victorian period... Read more