What Kind of Person Are You?
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ReadOasis Step 4 Who are you? What is your personality? What are your personality characteristics, and how do they help or hurt you? In the 1990's psychologists found 5 kinds of personality traits. They are called the Big 5. (1) Openness: How open are you to new things?(2) Conscientiousness:... Read more
By Richard WisemanReadOasis Step 3 Note: the following is a text of a talk given by Richard Wiseman. "I tracked the lives of 5,000 people as they attempted to achieve their New Year's resolutions. Now most of them failed, but ten percent did obtain their aims and ambitions. But what... Read more
By D.S. Aims ReadOasis Step 4 Tiger Woods started playing golf when he was two years old. Tiger was a mere toddler when his father began training him to become a great golfer. As a boy, baseball phenomenon Ichiro Suzuki practiced with his father every day. The practice sessions... Read more
ReadOasis Step 3(Part 1) George arrives at work every day at nine in the morning. All day long, he sits at his desk working with a computer. His job is pretty easy, and the pay is not bad. But little does he know that day by day George is... Read more
Book Trailer by Jonathan Gottschall ReadOasis Step 5 Statisticians believe they could get a monkey to type Hamlet if they can only convince one to randomly thwack a typewriter for a long, long time. But a monkey already wrote Hamlet, or at least a great ape did. And long... Read more
The Drama of Darwin (Step 3)
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ReadOasis Step 3 Annie Darwin was her father's joy, and she treated him with tender kindness. But in 1849 Annie became sick with severe fever. Charles struggled to cure her, but in 1851, Annie died and was buried in a small church in Worcestershire. The words on her grave... Read more
Gregor Mendel: Father of Genetics
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ReadOasis Step 3 A great tree comes from a small seed, and from small beginnings come great things. He made one of the greatest discoveries in the history of science. But during his life, Gregor Mendel was a relatively unknown man. After his death, he became famous for 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
ReadOasis Step 2 (Part 1) “Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!” The crowd of college students screamed at Steve. He was quickly downing his sixth large glass of beer in less than an hour. When he finished, he slammed the glass down on a large glass table.... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 Joy is late for work. She runs out the door in a hurry to catch the bus. As she runs, she sees her neighbor. The neighbor looks at Joy and smiles. He says, "Good morning Joy! Have a great day!" Joy says, "Thanks, you too!" And... 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
ReadOasis Step 5(Part 1) Sleepy By Varvara (Creative Commons) A young man sleeps in his bed. His face looks calm, not ready for what is about to happen. Sunlight from the window shines through white curtains and inches across the room. It slowly moves across the floor and touches... Read more
Rules for Your Working Brain (Step 3)
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ReadOasis Step 3 The bell rings. Students close their books and start packing their bags. Raising his voice, Professor Jones says, "Remember to read Chapter 6 before next class, and your first report is due in 3 days!" Some students groan. Mary rushes back to her room. She's got... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 Google is a company that provides internet search, email, and other online services. But Google makes other products too. Google Earth is a product that puts the world in your computer. It uses pictures taken from space. And Google Earth helps you locate and explore any... Read more
ReadOasis Step 4(Part 1) “Quick! It’s stormy outside! Maybe there will be thunder and lightning! Get the kite, and let’s go fly it in the storm!” Photo by GPTMC (Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation) Imagine hearing these words from your father. You might think going out to play in... Read more
By Professor Richard Wiseman ReadOasis Step 2 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 scientific perspective, that's a disaster. What... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 The big bang theory is currently the accepted explanation for the origin and development of the universe. The theory proposes that the universe was once extremely compact and hot. The big bang event first occurred long ago in the distant past. And the universe has been... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 Jim Gaffigan is a funny man. In fact, he is so funny that he gets paid for it. As a popular entertainer, he writes jokes for a living. And because Jim Gaffigan is a large man, he makes a lot of jokes about his love for... Read more
Spreading Accurate Information about AIDS
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ReadOasis Step 3 AIDS is a disease that attacks the immune system, the part of the body that fights infection. AIDS is deadly and global. Over 11 million children have lost parents to AIDS. From 1981 to 2007, more than 25 million people died of AIDS. That is more... Read more
A Nap is Better than Coffee (Step 4)
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ReadOasis Step 4 When you are tired from work or study, what do you do? Many people are addicted to coffee for staying alert, or they crave an energy drink to refresh themselves. But one study suggests that a short sleep might refresh you more than a cup of... Read more