World Cup 2011 — Japan vs. USA
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ReadOasis Step 1 All eyes look at the score. USA 2, Japan 1. The clock runs down. Only 3 minutes left in extra time! Will the USA win again? The air is electric. Japan gets a corner kick. Miyama kicks a low ball to Sawa. Sawa flips the ball... Read more
ReadOasis Step 1 Michael flies into the water. SWOOSH! His arms move fast. His legs kick with power. His long body flows in the pool. He reaches the wall. He turns and pushes off. The crowd cheers. Michael swims to the finish. SPLASH! He touches the wall. First place!... Read more
ReadOasis Step 1 Maradona passed the ball. He ran for the goal. An English player tried to kick it away. But the ball flew back to Maradona. Maradona jumped high. He pushed the ball into the goal. The crowd exploded! RAAAAAH! English players cried to the judge. "He used... Read more
Reading Power Wins Big on TOEIC Test
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ReadOasis Step 2 Kenta looked at the envelope. His test score was inside. He opened it and read the words: "TOEIC Official Score Report. Total Score: 290." For a first-year university student, the score was low. Like all Japanese, Kenta had studied English for 6 years in junior high... Read more
ReadOasis Step 1 English learners make language mistakes. And that's fine, we can learn from mistakes. But learners also make mistakes about how to learn English. For example, they think reading grows only reading skills. That's a mistake! When we read, we grow grammar and word skills. And when... Read more
The Festival of Lights
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ReadOasis Step 3 The sky is filled with fireworks. And the home is bright with the light of candles. Little children are dressed in colorful clothes. Their smiles are wide with the tastes of traditional sweets. And they dance to the beat of Indian music. This is the Festival... Read more
ReadOasis Step 1(Part 1) John watched the river. The water was green and blue and full of fish. He looked at the leaves on the trees and the long, green grass. They were moving slowly in the quiet wind. This was a beautiful place. But suddenly, John heard a... Read more
ReadOasis Step 3 All the cities of Greece were in grave danger. A vast army, led by the great King of Persia, was coming from the east. It was moving along the sea, and in a few days, this army would be ready to attack. The King of Persia... Read more
ReadOasis Step 1Cana Short Hello there. My name is Benjamin Franklin, and I'm 17 years old. I work at a printing shop here in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. But I have only been here for a few weeks. Before coming to Philadelphia, I lived in Boston, Massachusetts. That's where I was... Read more
Yoshitoshi, Master of Block Prints
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ReadOasis Step 2 In Japan, there is a special kind of painting called "ukiyo-e." The word literally means "pictures of the floating world." Ukiyo-e are woodblock prints. This form of art is widely known through the paintings of Hokusai, especially his famous "Great Wave." Many ukiyo-e artists left their... Read more
A Brief History of Stephen Hawking
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ReadOasis Step 2 Stephen Hawking is one of the world's leading theoretical physicists. (A physicist studies the relationship between matter and energy in space and time.) Hawking has written many science books for non-scientists. His most famous book is called "A Brief History of Time." It has sold over... Read more
Indian Princess: Pocahontas (Step 2)
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ReadOasis Step 2(Part 1) John watched the river flow. The water was green and blue and full of fish. He looked at the leaves on the trees and tall grass. They were moving softly in the quiet wind. This was a beautiful and wild place. But suddenly John heard... Read more
ReadOasis Step 1 So you want to improve your word power. But what words should you learn first? You can waste time learning uncommon words first. But it's smart to learn the most common words at the beginning. The top 2,000 words of English make up 80% of all... Read more
ReadOasis Step 2 Tiny Tim walked onto the stage. His long black hair swung down to his shoulders. He made a shy face, and he rolled his eyes. Then he started to play the ukulele and sing. His voice was very high. The song was cute, but also strange.... Read more
Photo Art: Composition (1 in a Series)
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ReadOasis Step 2 Cameras and photos are everywhere today. For example, Flickr is a photo sharing site. People put thousands of photos on Flickr every minute. And some of these photos are excellent. The photographer Ansel Adams once said this. "You don't take a photograph, you make it." This... Read more
ReadOasis Step 5 Creative Commons photo by Jiuguang-Wang Scientists have been experimenting with four-legged robots for years. They want robots to carry heavy loads over difficult areas of land and do other difficult jobs. But one problem is power. Now that has changed. Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of... Read more
$80,000 for One Song
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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
The Future on Your Wrist (Step 2)
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By Tek SmithReadOasis Step 2 The world was waiting with excitement. Three years earlier, Steve Jobs had died. Jobs was the head of Apple Computer. Under his leadership, Apple released many original products. These products included the iPod, the iPhone, iTunes, and the iPad. These Apple products caused great... Read more
ReadOasis Step 1 The United Way is a group that helps people. The United Way might call you. And they might ask you for a donation of money. Your donation might help build a school in the Philippines. It might help train people for work in the United States.... 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