ReadOasis Step 4 B. B. King Lucille B.B. King was a great master of blues guitar. Though he passed away on May 14, 2015, he lived to be 89, and he played professionally for nearly 70 years. (His first recording was in 1949.) Because of his last name and... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 Escaping Criticism by Pere Borrell del Caso, 1874 There once was a painter named Zeuxis. He could paint life-like pictures. People often mistook his pictures for the real things which they represented. At one time he painted the picture of some fruit. It seemed so real... Read more
Fred Astaire, Dancer Extraordinaire
ArtsB1-IntermediateBNC LevelsCEFR LevelsCoursesMovies Step 2BProtectedStep 3Stories 1
ReadOasis Step 3 "Some people seem to think that good dancers are born, but all the good dancers I have known are taught or trained." -- Fred Astaire It was a dark time. In 1929, the American economy crashed. Many people lost all their money. Almost half the banks... Read more
Diego Velázquez, Painter of Painters
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By David Bello ReadOasis Step 2 Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez Diego Velázquez (June 6, 1599 – to August 6, 1660) is one of the greatest painters of all time. With great skill he mixed color, light, space, and the rhythm of lines. He created scenes of historical and... Read more
Isaac Albéniz, Genius of Spanish Music
ArtsB1-IntermediateBNC LevelsCEFR LevelsCoursesMusic Step 2BProtectedStep 2Stories 1
By Maria SonoraReadOasis Step 2 Isaac Albéniz (May 29, 1860 - May 18, 1909) was a genius of Spanish music. He gave his first concert when he was four years old. And at the young age of nine, he began his concert career. By age 15, he had given... Read more
Babe: A Good Mannered Pig
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ReadOasis Step 2 Babe is a young pig who wants to become a sheep dog. He is separated from his family, and he finds himself on a strange farm. Babe becomes confused and lonely. But a friendly sheep dog takes care of him. And Babe slowly adjusts to his... Read more
Violent Games and Young Minds
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ReadOasis Step 3 Millions of gamers were waiting for the day. On November 10, 2009, the game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" was released. In the first 24 hours, about 4.7 million copies were sold. And the first day of revenue in the US and UK reached $310... Read more
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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ReadOasis Step 3 We are far into "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" when Albus Dumbledore says, "Dark and difficult times lie ahead." But they lie behind us too. And these dark and difficult times have caught our imagination since the beginning of Harry Potter. But this fourth... Read more
ReadOasis Step 3 Censorship and 1984 Winston is an editor. Every day he works with words. His hands are soft, and he is not strong. He does not do hard physical labor. But his job is challenging and even dangerous. He works for the government of Oceania. Every day,... Read more
ReadOasis Step 3(Part 1) The great movie critic Roger Ebert called Inception “a movie immune to spoilers.” A spoiler gives away the ending of a story. But with Inception, even if you knew how it ended, it wouldn’t matter unless you knew what happened before the ending. In Inception,... Read more
Why is Christmas on December 25th?
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ReadOasis Step 2 Would you celebrate someone’s birthday even if no one knew the day when he or she was born? That is what happens around the world every year on December 25th, when most Christians remember Jesus’ birthday. We know a lot about Jesus. But we don’t know... Read more
ReadOasis Step 5 "Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster." This is the... Read more
By Robert Louis StevensonReadOasis Step 3 All night long and every night,When my mama puts out the light,I see the people marching by,As plain as day before my eye. Armies and emperor and kings,All carrying different kinds of things,And marching in so grand a way,You never saw the like... Read more
By Laura RichardsReadOasis Step 1 A child argued with his brother one day about a cake. “It is my cake!” said the child. “No, it is mine!” said his brother. “You shall not have it!” said the child. “Give it to me this minute!” And he fell upon his... Read more
Stairway to Heaven
ArtsB1-IntermediateBNC LevelsCEFR LevelsCoursesMusic Step 3BProtectedStep 3Stories 0
By Douglas ForsterReadOasis Step 3(Part 1) “And we’re back. I’m Jim Ladd, and you’re listening to KMET. We’re the south’s number one station for the rock and roll music you need for your soul. Before the break, I announced that I would be accepting requests. And boy, have you... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and old lang syne? Some call him the national poet of Scotland. Some say he is Scotland's favorite son. Some even think he is the greatest Scotsman of all time. He... Read more
The Artful Geisha (Step 3)
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ReadOasis Step 3 Geisha are traditional female entertainers from Japan. They are skilled at various Japanese arts, such as classical music, dancing, and poetry. The word "geisha" comes from (GEI) meaning "art" and (SHA) meaning "person." Thus, in a literal sense, a geisha is an artist. In the modern... Read more
Richard Wagner, Musician
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ReadOasis Step 2 Richard Wagner Richard Wagner was born on May 22, 1813. He was a famous German musician and writer. He wrote operas, or "music dramas." Unlike many writers of opera, he wrote the words and music for all his works. Wagner's music is known for being intense,... Read more
ReadOasis Step 1 What happened to Mr. Bean's morning cup of coffee? Mr Bean looks at the clock. He sees that he is running late. He hurries to make his coffee, but he accidentally breaks his coffee cup. He looks around to find another cup, but there isn't one.... Read more
The Heaviest Band: Led Zeppelin
ArtsB1-IntermediateBNC LevelsCEFR LevelsCoursesMusic Step 3AProtectedStep 3Stories 0
By Douglas ForsterReadOasis Step 3(Part 1) Good evening. My name is James Patrick Page. But most everyone knows me as Jimmy Page. I am the lead guitarist for the greatest rock and roll band of all time, Led Zeppelin. This is our story through my eyes. I hope you... Read more