1 The Stories

Judy Varns works for the Mutual UFO Network.

The purpose of this group is to research UFO An alien model at a UFO museum in Roswell,
sightings. According to1 Varns, a place in Nevada New Mexico

5 called Area 51 may be the best place on Earth to

see a UFO. She took some photos in the area.
In the images she saw something that she thinks
is a UFO. “We saw this little disk-shaped thing in
our photos. It’s kind of exciting,” she says.
10 Pat Travis lives near Area 51. One night she saw a
strange light in the sky. The light’s movement was
very unusual. “It [went] sideways. It [went] up,
down,” she says. “It [made] these strange kinds of
moves.” Travis thinks it was a UFO from space.
Is Area 51 really the best place on Earth to see a UFO?

15 What Is Area 51?

The US Air Force2 uses Area 51 for testing new technology.
Area 51 is not really the airport’s name—its real name is a secret.
James McGaha, a pilot who flew airplanes at Area 51, says,
“There is absolutely3 no UFO activity” at Area 51 . . .
20 “No flying saucers, no live aliens, no dead aliens.”
So what did Varns and Travis see?
Bill Fox helped to design new airplanes at Area 51. He thinks he
knows the answer. “We did build some strange-looking airplanes,”
he says. “I could see why some people would think they were UFOs.”
25 Are UFOs real? You’ll have to decide for yourself. But if you visit
southern Nevada, keep your eyes on the skies!
1
If something is true according to someone, it is said or stated by that person.
2
An air force is part of a country’s army that fights in the air.
3
Absolutely means totally or completely. 1A Aliens and UFOs 11
 1 Most people have heard the story of the lost island of Atlantis. “There were a
But is any part of the story true? great number of
The Greek writer Plato wrote that Atlantis was an island in the elephants in the
Atlantic Ocean. The island’s wealthy people designed many great
5 buildings and canals.1 At the center of the island they built a island, for there was
beautiful golden temple.2 But the Atlanteans became greedy— [enough] food for all
they had everything, but they still wanted more. The gods became sorts of animals.”
angry, and the island was hit by earthquakes3 and great waves.
—Plato (427–347 b.c.)
Finally, the whole of Atlantis sank into the sea.
10 Throughout history, explorers have reported finding Atlantis.
In 2004, the explorer Robert Sarmast reported finding the
island’s remains4 on an undersea mountain near Cyprus.
However, Sarmast and other scientists later found out
these findings were natural, not man-made.
15 Many people think Atlantis is simply a story. The
purpose of the story was to teach people about the
evils5 of greed. Richard Ellis published a book on
Atlantis in 1999. He says “there is not a piece of solid
evidence”6 for a real Atlantis.
20 So was the island real or not? Only one thing is certain:
the mystery of Atlantis will be with us for a long time.

1
 canal is a long, man-made waterway, often used for boats.
A
2
A temple is a building where people practice a religion (Buddhism, Judaism, etc.).
3
An earthquake is a shaking of the ground caused by movement of the Earth’s crust.
4
The remains of something are the parts that are left after most have been taken away, or destroyed.
 Evil means all the very bad things that happen in the world.
5

6
Evidence is anything that makes you believe that something is true or has really happened.

1B Mysterious Places 15
 Where Is
Pizza From?

1 Pizza is certainly one of the world’s favorite foods.

But where does pizza come from? And who made
the first one?
In fact, people have been making pizza for a very long
5 time. People in the Stone Age1 cooked grains2 on hot
rocks to make dough—the basic ingredient of pizza.
Over time, people used the dough as a plate, covering
it with various other foods, herbs, and spices. They had About five billion pizzas are served
around the world every year.
developed the world’s first pizza.
10 In the early 16th century, European explorers brought
back the first tomatoes from the Americas. Tomatoes
are a standard ingredient in many pizzas today. At first,
however, most Europeans thought they were poisonous3
(in fact, only the leaves and roots4 are). For about 200
15 years, few people ate them.
Slowly, people learned that tomatoes were safe to eat, as
well as tasty. In the early 19th century, cooks in Naples,
Italy, started the tradition of putting tomatoes on baking
 he Stone Age is a very early period of
T
dough. The flat bread soon became popular with poor
1

human history, where people used tools and

20 people all over Naples. In 1830, cooks in Naples took weapons made of stone, not metal.
2
Grains are the small, hard seeds of plants
another big step in pizza history—they opened the such as wheat or corn.
world’s first pizza restaurant. If something is poisonous, it will harm or kill
3

you if you swallow it.

4
The roots of a plant are the parts of it that
Today, up to five billion pizzas are served every year grow under the ground.
around the world. In the U.S. alone, about 350 slices5 5
A slice of something is a small or thin piece
that has been cut from a larger piece.
25 are eaten every second! People may not know it, but
every piece is a slice of history.
2A Slice of History 21
 The Hottest Chili

1 You may have experienced the feeling—your mouth

feels like it’s on fire and the heat causes your eyes to
water. You’ve just eaten one of nature’s spiciest foods—
the chili pepper!
5 Chili peppers, also called chilies, are found in various
dishes around the world—from Indian curries to Thai
tom yum soup to Mexican enchiladas. Chilies come from
the capsicum plant, and they are “hot” because they
contain an ingredient called capsaicin. “Every time I have a
10 Eating a hot chili can be painful, but the capsaicin may cold or flu I just munch
be good for your health. It opens your nose so you can
breathe better. It may even be good for losing weight:
on some chilies and I
capsaicin makes you feel less hungry and makes your feel better.”
body use more calories.1 —Anandita Dutta Tamuly,
15 We can measure the capsaicin in chilies with Scoville world champion chili eater
heat units (SHU). A fairly spicy green pepper has about
1,500 units. The world’s hottest chili, the Naga Jolokia
(“Ghost Pepper”), has more than a million!
The Naga Jolokia is produced in the Assam region of
20 India. Recently, Anandita Dutta Tamuly, a 26-year-old
mother from Assam, broke a world record by eating 51
of these hot peppers—in just two minutes!
“I found eating chilies was a great way to stay healthy,” 1
 alories are units used to measure the
C
says Tamuly, who began eating chilies when she was a energy value of food.
If you munch food, you eat it by chewing
child. “Every time I have a cold or flu I just munch2 on
2
25 it slowly.
some chilies and I feel better. To be honest,3 I barely 3
If someone is honest, they say the truth.

notice them now.”

2B Sugar and Spice 25
 My

Summer
Job

1 Russell Chadwick remembers the summer he turned 16—

it was the time he wrestled1 with grizzly bears!
Russell’s adventure started when he came to stay at Wasatch
Rocky Mountain Wildlife, an animal training center in
5 Utah. The center is run by Doug and Lynne Seus, who
train wild animals to be actors in television and movies. “One time Bump took
Doug and Lynne asked high-school student Russell to help a bite out of my back,
them take care of two four-month-old grizzly bear cubs and I had to wrestle
called Little Bart and Honey Bump. That’s more difficult her to the ground.”
10 than it sounds, because even baby bears are pretty big.
Russell’s job was to play with the bears to get them used
to humans. At the same time, he had to remember that
movie bears are still wild animals.
“One time Bump took a bite out of my back, and I had
15 to wrestle her to the ground. But it also showed me how
smart2 she is. She knew she had done something wrong
and ‘apologized’3 by putting her head in my lap.”4
Russell found that bears can understand more than just 1
If you wrestle with someone, you fight
“sit” and “stay.” For example, when Russell called out them by forcing them to the ground or into
a painful position.
20 “Peekaboo!” to the adult bear, Tank, he covered his eyes 2
Someone who is smart is very clever.
with his paws, just like a little kid.5 3
If you apologize to someone, you say that
you are sorry for hurting them or causing
Although he didn’t get a large fee for the job, Russell says 4
them trouble.
Your lap is the front area formed by your
he values the experience more than money. When you’ve thighs when you are sitting down.
5
A kid is a child.
wrestled with a grizzly bear, things like work and exams
25 don’t seem so difficult anymore!

3A Animal Actors 31
 The-Master-of
ANIME
1 Humans and robots1 fight to save the
world. Animals with magical powers2 have
great adventures. The world of anime
is an exciting and colorful place. And
5 who takes us there? Animators such as
Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki.
Miyazaki started working in animation
in 1963 and directed his first animated
movie in 1979. More movies followed,
10 including Nausicaä of the Valley of the
Wind, produced in 1984. The following
year Miyazaki started his own company,
Studio Ghibli. Since then, the studio’s
films have won various prizes,3 including
15 an Academy Award in 2001 for
Spirited Away.
Miyazaki’s studio also produces manga,
or comic books. Nausicaä began as a
popular manga series set in the future.
20 In the 1984 movie based on the series,
Princess Nausicaä travels in a flying
machine to study poisonous plants. It’s
just the beginning of a complex4 and
exciting story.
25 The director’s films can be difficult to
explain in just a few words. Nature and
technology often play a central part in
Miyazaki’s stories. Understanding the way
children see the world is also important to
30 him. “I look at them and try to see things
“Is someone different at age 18 or as they do,” he says.
60? I believe one stays the same.” In his free time, Miyazaki stays away
—Hayao Miyazaki from television and other media. “Young
people are surrounded by virtual5 things,”
1

2
 robot is a machine that can move and perform tasks on its own.
A
If someone has power, they have a lot of control over people and activities.
35 he says. “They lack6 real experience of life
3
A prize is something that is given to the winner of a competition. and lose their imaginations.”7 Luckily for
Something that is complex has many different parts, and is difficult
anime fans, Hayao Miyazaki hasn’t lost
4

to understand.
5
A virtual object or activity is something that is created by a computer to any of his own.
be like the real thing.
6
If there is a lack of something, there is not enough of it or it does not exist at all.
7
Your imagination is your ability to form new or exciting ideas.

3B Making Movies 35
 “
“ I’ve Found the

1 As a boy, Robert Ballard liked to read about

shipwrecks—especially the Titanic. “My lifelong
dream was to find this great ship,” he says.
On August 31, 1985, Ballard’s dream came true.
5 With video cameras and an underwater robot, Ballard
found the two main parts of Titanic nearly four
kilometers beneath the sea. He also saw many sad
reminders1 of Titanic’s end, including a child’s pair of
shoes lying on the ocean floor. There were more than
10 1,500 deaths that night in 1912.
Ballard reached the Titanic again in 1986 in a small
submarine.2 He used a deep-sea robot—a “swimming “As long as she needs
eyeball”—to take photos inside the ship. When they saw
the images, other people wanted to visit the shipwreck. protection,5 Titanic will
15 When Ballard returned in 2004, he found the ship in always be part of my life.”
worse condition. Other explorers had taken away about —Robert Ballard
6,000 items, including jewelry,3 love letters, lamps, and
even pieces of the ship. They believed the items should 1
 omething that is a reminder of another thing
S
be moved to a safer place, but Ballard doesn’t agree. makes you think about the other thing.
2
A submarine is a type of ship that can travel both
20 Ballard believes that taking things from Titanic is like above and below the surface of the ocean.
3
Jewelry is things made of gold, silver, or precious
robbing a grave.4 Instead, he hopes to put lights and stones, that people wear, such as rings
cameras on Titanic. With this technology, people can see 4
or necklaces.
A grave is a place where a dead person is buried.
the shipwreck on a computer and remember the great 5
If something gives protection against something
unpleasant, it prevents people or things from being
ship. “As long as she needs protection,”5 says Ballard, harmed or damaged by it.
25 “Titanic will always be part of my life.”
4A Titanic 45
 truck By
“I Was S
“

1 On a sunny afternoon in 2004, nine-year-old Geoff

Banninger was walking to a park in Colorado to see his
sister play softball. But before he got to the park, Geoff
was struck1 by lightning.
The lightning stopped Geoff’s heart and his breathing.
5
It burned his hair and left a burn line from his head “I woke up about a
to his foot. It blew his glasses off his face and melted2 minute later and my
them. It even made a hole in the bottom of his shoe. mom told me I had been
“I woke up about a minute later,” says Geoff, “and my
10 mom told me I had been struck by lightning.” struck by lightning.”
—Geoff Banninger
What is lightning? A lightning strike is the result of a
buildup of electrical charges3 inside a cloud. We usually
see lightning during stormy weather. But, as Geoff
discovered, it can happen even on a sunny day.
15 Geoff’s legs felt strange after he was hit, but he hasn’t
had any further problems since then. “I’m a lucky guy,”
he says. But being lucky is not the only way to ensure
your safety during a thunderstorm. You can also follow
the 30/30 rule: if you see lightning, and then hear
20 thunder less than 30 seconds later, go inside a building.
Then wait 30 minutes after the last thunder or lightning 1
If you are struck by something, it means you
have been hit by it.
before you go back outside. 2
When something melts, it changes from solid
to liquid, usually because it has been heated.
So how likely is it you will be hit by lightning? 3
An electrical charge is an amount of electricity
that is held in or carried by something.
Fortunately4, it’s not a common problem. According to 4
If someone or something is fortunate,
25 the U.S. National Weather Service, your chance of they are lucky.

being struck in your lifetime is only 1 in 5,000.

4B Danger! 49
 B A SE B A L L GOE S GL OB A L

Ichiro Suzuki (left) and Sammy Sosa

both became successful foreign stars
1 Baseball is sometimes called “the national pastime”1 of the in the U.S. baseball league.
United States. But modern baseball is truly an international game.
Baseball began in the U.S. in the early 19th century. The first
World Series was played in 1903. However, only American and “For starting
5 Canadian teams played in the series. The first non-U.S. victory2 pitchers, we have
was by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1991.
two Dominicans,
Since the early 1990s, managers of U.S. teams have brought
several foreign players to the U.S. game. Today, about 30
one Italian, one
percent of players in American baseball come from foreign Mexican, and one
10 countries, including Puerto Rico, Japan, South Korea, and Japanese.”
the Dominican Republic.
—Tommy Lasorda,
One of the first Asian players in the U.S. was Japanese pitcher Los Angeles Dodgers
Hideo Nomo. Nomo got a lot of attention from the media when manager, 1995
he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995. Soon, many other
15 U.S. teams were making contracts with players from
other countries.  pastime is something you enjoy
A
1

doing in your free time.

2
A victory is success in a fight, war,
Today, world-class3 baseball is available to more fans than ever or competition.
before. In 1994, baseball became part of the Asian Games. Someone or something that is
3

world-class is one of the best in

In 2006, 16 teams from around the world took part in the first the world.
4
Global means concerning or
20 World Baseball Classic — an international series of professional including the whole world.
baseball games. Finally, baseball has become a truly global4 pastime.
5A Baseball 55
 1 Travel writer Christopher Duffy hikes up a mountain—and gets a taste of Korean culture.
On my first Saturday in South Korea, I decided to climb
Mount Bukhansan. I enjoy hiking, and everyone told
me about Bukhansan National Park. They mentioned
5 its beautiful forests, clean air, and historic temples.
They didn’t tell me about the huge crowds that go
there every weekend!
Hiking is an activity that’s generally done in groups in
South Korea. After following the crowd for an hour,
10 I asked a group of hikers how far the summit1 was. Bukhansan gets five million visitors every
The leader of the group was Mr. Choi. When Mr. year—the highest number of visitors per square
meter of any national park in the world.
Choi saw I was alone, he said, “You will hike with us.”
Then he introduced me to his friends.
We hiked together for an hour until the group decided
15 to stop for lunch. I tried to get a sandwich from my
backpack, but one of Mr. Choi’s friends said, “No, no, no.
You will eat with us.” They provided a plate of pig’s feet,
some kimchi,2 and a couple of drinks. After they shared
their meal with me, the group decided they had walked
20 enough. They began walking back down the mountain.
I continued climbing, and finally arrived at the summit.
A man standing on the mountaintop introduced himself 1
 he summit of a mountain is the top of it.
T
as Mr. Kim. Together we shared a bottle of makgeolli, 2
Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish made
of vegetables.
a traditional Korean drink, and admired3 the view. 3
If you admire something (or someone),
25 “In Korea,” he said, “we say that the people you meet you like and respect it (or him/her).

on the mountain are the best people.” I thought about

my day on Bukhansan, and I knew he was right.
5B Outdoor Adventure 59
 1 There are more statues of her than of any other
American woman. Her face is represented on a
U.S. one-dollar coin. Clearly, she was an important
person in U.S. history. But what do we know We know she was a teenage mother
and could speak several languages.
5 about the identity of the real Sacagawea? But much of Sacagawea’s life
remains a mystery.

Sacagawea was part of a Native American tribe called the Shoshone.

At the age of 11, she was taken away by the Hidatsa people. She was living among
the Hidatsa when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark met her in 1804. Lewis and
Clark were mapmakers. They were exploring the land in the west. Sacagawea spoke
10 two different Native American languages, so they asked her to travel with them.
Sacagawea soon became an important member of the expedition. On May 14,
1805, a strong storm tipped over one of the boats. Sacagawea was able to reach
many of the maps and other items in the water. Her quick actions saved important
knowledge from being lost.
15 Sacagawea helped Lewis and Clark find a way across the mountains to the Pacific.
She helped them make peace and trade with Native Americans. She also took care
of her baby son.
Today, a Native American woman named Amy Mossett teaches people about
Sacagawea’s life. At the site of an old Hidatsa village, Mossett says, “This is where
20 I feel closest to Sacagawea.” Sacagawea died when she was about 25. Two hundred
years later, she is remembered as an important woman in U.S. history.

6A Real-Life Legends 65
 A Tale of The
Dreamtime
An Aborigine man stands next to
traditional Aboriginal rock art in Kakadu
1 One day, Tiddalik the frog was very thirsty. He drank the water National Park, Australia. Aboriginal
in the rivers. Then he drank the water in the lakes. He drank rock art often included animals
from Dreamtime myths, such as the
and drank, and soon, all the water in the world was gone! kangaroo (below).
The land was dry and brown, and the plants were dying.
5 The other animals were thirsty, too. They looked for water, but
all the water was inside Tiddalik. The animals had a meeting
and discussed the problem among themselves. The wombat
had an idea. They would make Tiddalik laugh, and then all the
water would come out of the frog’s mouth. The animals agreed.
10 What else could they do?
First the kookaburra told Tiddalik funny stories, but the frog
did not laugh. Next the kangaroo jumped up and down.
The frog watched patiently, but he still did not laugh. Then
the lizard walked in circles. He stood on two legs. He tried
15 everything to make the frog laugh. But Tiddalik didn’t laugh.
In fact, he was bored.
Then the eel began to dance. He turned his body this way
and that way. Tiddalik smiled. Then the eel rose up on his tail.
But eels live in the water, so normally they do not stand up.
20 The eel fell to the ground, and Tiddalik began to laugh.
He laughed so hard that a flood of water came out of his mouth.
The lakes and rivers filled with water. The land was green, the
plants were healthy, and the animals were happy again.
6B Stories and Myths 69
 Seeing the

1
impossible
Can you believe everything you see? Not always! You may see something one way, and
then find out1 you were wrong. You might even “see” something that isn’t there at all.
Errors like these are called optical illusions. Optical means related to sight, or vision—the
way we see things with our eyes. An illusion is something that is not what we think it is.
5 Vision is also a personal thing. You may not see things in the same way as someone else.
Look at these optical illusions, and compare what you see with your classmates. Do you
see the same things?

1. Which red dot is larger?

Most people say it’s the dot on the left. Now measure
10 the dots. They’re the same size. The red dot on the
left seems larger in relation to the blue dots around it.

2. Do you see dark dots inside the white circles?

They’re not really there. The difference between the dark squares
and the white circles confuses2 your brain. Therefore, your brain
15 thinks you see the dark dots.

3. Look at this picture of a vase.

Can you see the faces?
Look again! Your mind has to choose
the correct image, so it keeps changing
20 between the vase and the faces.

Vision is not always straightforward. Sometimes, your 1

If you find something out, you learn about it.
eyes see something, and your mind understands it easily. 2
If you confuse two things, you get them mixed up.

At other times, you may need to look twice. When this

happens, you may be seeing an optical illusion.
7A Mysteries of the Mind 79
 The
Meaning ?
of

1 Did you have any good dreams last night?

Dreams come from the part of the brain that contains memories, thoughts,
and emotions. You dream during a stage of sleep called REM.1 You can have
up to six dreams a night, and each dream usually lasts from 10 to 40 minutes.
5 Whether or not people remember dreams depends on the individual.
Some people remember many of their dreams while others do not.
But what do your dreams mean? Alan Siegel is a scientist who studies dreams.
“Dreams help us get in touch with our deeper feelings,” he says. “They can
tell us a lot about ourselves, and may even help us figure out2 problems.”
10 Here are a few common dreams.

Dream #1: You Meet Someone When You

Are Wearing Your Pajamas (or Nothing at All!)
This dream may be the result of an embarrassing3 event in
your life. Your brain is trying to help you deal with4 the event.

15 Dream #2: You’re Flying

This is a good period in your life. You may feel
that other people look up to you as a leader.

Dream #3: You Didn’t Study for a Test

This means you are under pressure. You are worried
20 about a major event in the future. If you’re not
prepared for the event, your dream could be telling
you, “It’s time to get to work!”
1
 EM (Rapid Eye Movement) is a stage of sleep when people dream.
R
2
If you figure out a solution to a problem, you succeed in understanding it.
3
If something is embarrassing, it makes you feel shy or ashamed.
4
If you deal with a problem, you try to do something about it.

7B Sleep and Dreams 82

 A Penguin’s Year

1 Saturday, May 23: The Penguin Couple

I’ve arrived at the colony1—a community of about 3,000
penguins. I’m studying two Emperor penguins. I call the
male “Scar”2 (because of a mark on his back) and the female
5 “Sunrise.” They walked over a hundred kilometers from the
ocean to get here. Soon Sunrise will lay an egg. Then she’ll
walk back to the ocean to eat.

Tuesday, July 29: Sharing the Work

Penguin parents work together to raise a baby. For two
10 months, Scar has been keeping the egg warm. It’s on top of his
feet and under a special piece of skin called the “brood patch.”
Sunrise returned yesterday, and the couple moved their egg
from Scar’s feet to hers. This is difficult for penguins. If the
egg falls, it can freeze3 quickly.
15 In this cold environment, Scar has lost almost half of his body
weight. He needs to reach the ocean soon to catch and eat fish.

Wednesday, September 9: New Life

The baby has hatched! Scar returned yesterday. Now it’s
necessary for Sunrise to go to the ocean again.

20 Monday, October 19: Growing Up

The parents have made several trips5 to the ocean for food.
The baby is growing quickly. 1
A colony is a group of people or animals
of the same kind living together.
Sunday, December 27: Into the Water 2
A scar is a mark on the skin which is left
after a cut has healed.
The baby is now on its own. Soon it will enter the water for 3
If a liquid or something containing a liquid
25 the first time. It will swim and eat until next April, and then freezes, it becomes solid because of low
temperatures.
return here. After a few more years, it too will start its 4
A trip is a journey that you make to a
particular place.
own family.
8A Emperors of the Ice 89
 1 We know animals can feel fear. They
may also feel love since they have strong
relationships with each other. So are
animal emotions similar to our own?
5 And do animals have a sense of humor?
A Parrot Named Bongo
Sally Blanchard’s parrot Bongo Marie
didn’t get along with her other parrot,
Paco. In fact, it was obvious that Bongo
10 Marie didn’t like Paco at all! One day,
Blanchard cooked a chicken for dinner.
She started to cut the
chicken with a knife. “Oh!
Paco!” said Bongo Marie
15 loudly. Blanchard laughed
and said, “That’s not
Paco.” “Oh . . . no,” said
Bongo Marie. This time,
she sounded disappointed.
20 Then the parrot laughed
at her own joke.1
Yoga Dog
Jean Donaldson enjoys doing
yoga—and so does her dog
25 Buffy. While Jean sits in her yoga
positions, Buffy carefully places
her toys2 on Donaldson’s body.
If a toy falls, Buffy runs to put it
back on. Does this behavior have
30 any real function? According to
Donaldson, “She thinks it’s hilarious!”3
 joke is something that
A
Animal Laughter
1

makes you laugh.

2
Toys are objects which
Can dogs “laugh”? Recent research shows that dogs tell each people (usually children) or
animals play with.
other when they want to play. In that situation, they make a special 3
If something is hilarious, it is
35 sound—a kind of “laugh.” Psychologist Patricia Simonet recorded the 4
very funny.
Your response to something
sound. Then she played it back to dogs to assess their response.4 “All is your reply or reaction to it.
A clue to a problem or puzzle
the dogs responded positively to the laugh,” says Simonet.
5

is something that helps you

find the answer.
So do animals have a sense of humor? If laughter is a clue,5
then perhaps the answer is “yes!”
8B Animal Emotions 93
 Lost
Treasure
of the
Inca An illustration of Pizarro capturing the Inca Emperor Atahualpa

1 The legend of the Inca gold begins in 1533, when the Inca were at war with the
Spanish. The Spanish commander Francisco Pizarro captured1 the Inca king Atahualpa
at his palace2 in Cajamarca—now part of Peru.
Pizarro made a deal with the Inca. He would let Atahualpa go, but he demanded a
5 huge amount of gold. Pizarro received some gold, but then he told his soldiers to kill
Atahualpa. Angry at the murder3 of their king, the Inca put the rest of the gold in a
secret mountain cave.4
Fifty years later, a poor Spanish soldier named Valverde fell in love with an Inca woman.
The woman’s family took him to see the treasure. He wrote an account of the trip and
10 explained how to find the gold.
With Valverde’s instructions, a Canadian named Barth Blake may have
found the gold in 1886. In a letter, he wrote, “There are thousands of
gold and silver pieces . . .” He also described “. . . the most incredible
jewelry.” Blake says he took a few of the objects. “I could not remove5
15 it alone,” he said, “nor could thousands of men.”
No one knows whether Blake’s story is true, as he disappeared6 soon
afterwards. Mark Honigsbaum, author of Valverde’s Gold, thinks the gold was likely
taken out centuries ago. “If not,” he says, “and [if] it’s still there, I think it’s
lost forever.”

1
If you capture someone or something, you catch them. 4
A cave is a large hole in the side of a cliff or hill or under the ground.
2
A palace is a very large impressive house, usually the 5
If you remove something from a place, you take it away.
home of a king or queen. 6
If someone or something disappears, they go or are taken away
3
Murder is the crime of killing someone intentionally. where nobody can find them.

9A Gold Fever 99
 Curse of the

hope
Diamond
1 Diamonds have many special qualities. They’re the hardest
material on Earth. They sparkle1 in the light. Some are
incredibly expensive. But could a diamond bring 300 years
of bad luck?
5 ✦ In 1668 the French royal family bought a large diamond
from India. It became known as the “French Blue.”
When King Louis XVI and his wife were executed2 in
1797, some people linked their deaths with the diamond’s
curse. (However, two earlier kings had worn the diamond
10 and not had bad luck.)
✦ The Hope family bought the diamond in the 1830s.
Soon after, Francis Hope’s wife left him and he had to The execution of King Louis XVI’s wife,
sell the diamond because of financial problems. Marie Antoinette—a victim of the Hope
Diamond’s curse?
The diamond then became known as the Hope Diamond.
15 ✦ Millionaire3 Evalyn McLean loved jewelry—and stories of bad luck. In 1911 she had
the opportunity to buy the Hope Diamond. Afterwards, two of her children died,
and her husband became ill.
✦ In 1958, a mailman4 named James Todd brought the diamond to its present home at
the Smithsonian Institution. Soon after, his wife died and his house burned down.
20 So is there any truth to the supposed curse? Richard Kurin is the author of a book
about the Hope Diamond. He rejects the idea of a curse. He believes the curse could be
explained by chance. But other people don’t accept that. For them, the Hope Diamond
may just be waiting for its next victim5 . . .
1
If something sparkles, it is clear and bright and very shiny.
2
To execute someone means to kill them as punishment.
A millionaire is a person who is worth at least a million dollars.
103
3

4
A mailman is someone who delivers letters and packages. 9B Precious Discoveries
5
A victim is someone who has been hurt or killed.
 Nature’s
Classroom

1 Look around your classroom. Do you see students sitting at

desks? Are teachers writing on a board and giving lectures? At
Southern Cross School, near the famous Kruger National Park in
South Africa, things are different. Here, nature is the classroom.
5 Both the park and the school are home to wild animals such as
giraffes, impalas, and warthogs. Students at the school study the
same subjects as other students in South Africa. But at Southern
Cross, the staff and students go out into the wild to learn.
In one lesson, students apply the principles of mathematics to
10 the study of local wildlife. Younger students count how many
kinds of animals drank at the nearby water troughs1 during the
night. Older students measure the amount of water the animals
drank, and calculate2 how much water the animals will need over
weeks or months.
15 In language classes, a common topic is conservation. In one
recent debate,3 students discussed an important question: should
people give water to wild animals during a drought?4 Another
project might consist of finding out how an animal died.
The director of the school is Ant de Boer. His aim is for students
20 to learn the importance of caring for the environment. de Boer
says, “When they leave school, we want them to be champions of
the natural environment.” As the school motto5 says, Southern
Cross aims to be a “School for the Planet.”
1
 trough is a long narrow container from which farm animals eat or drink.
A
2
If you calculate a number or amount, you work it out using arithmetic.
3
A debate is a discussion about a subject on which people have different views.
4
A drought is a long period of time with no rain.
5
A motto is a short sentence or phrase that describes the aims and beliefs of a group.

10A Learning in the Wild 113

 1

Most importantly, the web now gives us the opportunity to publish our own work.
Instead of simply watching TV, we can create and edit our own videos. Instead of
just reading a magazine, we can write our own articles and documents and publish
5 them. There are now 1.4 billion people connected online, so we can use the work
we create to reach out and connect with large numbers of people.

Now is the time to rethink the meaning of the word “literacy.” We used to think of
literacy as the ability to read and write. Now we need to think beyond reading and
10 writing. We all need to learn how to create and collaborate1 on videos, photos, blogs,
wikis, online forums,2 and other kinds of digital media.
This can be difficult when teachers and students do not have access3 to the Internet,
but the core skills can be practiced in classrooms without technology. One of the
most important skills we must now learn is collaboration, and this can be practiced
15 on a chalkboard, whiteboard, or even a simple piece of paper. We can learn to listen
to one another, use each other’s strengths, and practice working together in
any environment.
1
When people collaborate, they work together on a particular project.
2
A forum is a place or group in which people exchange ideas and discuss issues.
3
If you have access to something, you are able to see it or use it.
10B Classrooms of the Future 117
 The Mammoth's Tale
1 I magine finding a body that had been lost for 40,000 years...
The strange animal in the ice looked like it was sleeping. Ten-year old
Kostia Khudi and his brother had never seen anything like it before.
But they had heard stories of the mammon, an imaginary animal Lyuba died when she fell into
wet mud near a river.
5 that lived in the frozen blackness of the Siberian underworld.1 Their
father, a reindeer herder2 named Yuri Khudi, went to ask a friend for
advice.3 But when he returned, the body had disappeared . . .
Yuri soon found the animal’s body leaning4 against a store in a nearby
town. (While he was away, his cousin had sold it to the store owner
10 for two snowmobiles.5) Dogs had eaten part of the tail and ear,
but overall, it was still in “as close to perfect condition as you can As the ground froze, her body
shrank (became smaller).
imagine,” says scientist Daniel Fisher. With help from the police, the
body was taken by helicopter to a museum. The animal was a baby
mammoth, and scientists called it Lyuba, after Yuri’s wife.
15 From Siberia, the mammoth was sent to the Netherlands and Japan
for analysis. Detailed studies of her teeth showed she was just one
month old when she died. Ongoing research
has also showed us the sequence of events that led to her death. In 2006, melting caused
Lyuba’s body to wash free.
Lyuba fell to her death near a muddy river. The
20 mud helped keep her body frozen until she was The underworld is below the surface of the earth.
1

found 40,000 years later. Scientists hope that further A herder looks after a large group of animals of one kind.
2

If you give someone advice, you tell them what you think
3

analysis will help explain how mammoths such as they should do in a particular situation.
If you lean on or against something, you rest against them.
Lyuba lived—and why they finally all died out.
4

11A Mammoth! 123

 1 Sea monsters are not just imaginary creatures1. Real ones did indeed
live on Earth millions of years ago. Fossils2 have helped scientists
make very real-looking models of these huge creatures. The fossils
also help us understand some of the animals’ unusual characteristics.

5 Eyes in the Dark

Temnodontosaurus was certainly an unusual animal. It had some Temnodontosaurus

of the largest eyes in nature—more than 25 cm (10 inches) across!

With a name that means “cutting tooth lizard,” Temnodontosaurus
could easily pick out its prey in the dark water.

10 Terror of the Deep

Kronosaurus lived in the seas that covered Australia, but it probably
left the water to lay its eggs on land. Its head was seven feet long
and its teeth were as big as bananas! The prime function of a set
of teeth like this, says paleontologist Colin McHenry, was to Kronosaurus

15 grab and crush its prey. In fact, Kronosaurus was one of

the most powerful predators of all time.

The Stalker 3
Thalassomedon was a sea monster with a very long neck. It
also had a special means of catching fish: it carried stones
20 in its stomach! These helped keep the largest portion of its
body down in the dark water while the long neck slowly
rose up toward the fish. The fish had no defense against
Thalassomedon—they didn’t see the huge animal until it Thalassomedon
was too late!
1
A creature is any living thing that is not a plant.
2
Fossils are the hard remains of animals or plants that lived millions of years ago.
3
To stalk someone or something is to follow slowly and quietly. 11B Monsters of the Deep 127
 1 It’s 2035. You’re at a soccer game when suddenly . . . it’s a goal!
A robot player has scored!
A robot? Is this possible? Maybe. Scientists are working to create
robots that can play sports like soccer. A robot with these skills
5 might also be able to aid humans—for example, by doing dangerous
or difficult jobs, like putting out fires or catching criminals.1
Robots have changed greatly since they were first developed for use
in industry. Whereas earlier machines were unable to operate by
themselves, a modern robot like Asimo can walk by itself, climb
10 stairs, and even run slowly.
Then there is Kismet. It has eyes, lips, and ears that move in different
ways to show surprise, happiness, anger, and other emotions. Robots
like Kismet could show us how they “feel” about learning new things.

15 Scientists are also working on robots that look and act like animals.
NASA has researched using robot snakes as an alternative to vehicles2
with wheels. Snake-bots can’t run or jump, but they can enter holes
and move over rough ground. They might one day
help scientists look for signs of life on Mars.
1
A criminal is a
20 Other robots are designed to do a single task. The person who has
frog-bot can jump over objects. The sticky-bot can 2
committed a crime.
A vehicle is a
walk upside-down on the ceiling.3 There’s even a machine that carries
people or things
robot called Water Runner that can walk on water. around, like a car. In 2035, robots like Asimo
3
The ceiling of a (top) and the sticky-bot
But will a robot soccer team exist by 2035? They room is its top inside (above) may be part of our
surface. everyday lives.
25 may even be world champions!
12A Robot Revolution 133
 How Will We Live in
1 Welcome to your future life!
You get up in the morning and look into the mirror. Your face is
firm and young-looking. In 2035, medical science is better than ever. “Your whole body
Many people your age could live to be 150, so at 40, you’re not and surroundings4
5 old at all. And your parents just had an anti-aging nanotechnology1
treatment. Now, all three of you look the same age! [will] become
You say to your shirt, “Turn red.” It changes from blue to red. part of the same
In 2035, “smart clothes” contain particles much smaller than network.”
the cells in your body. The particles can be programmed to —Ampy Buchholz,
10 change your clothes’ color or pattern. scientist
You walk into the kitchen. You grab the milk, but a voice says,
“You shouldn’t drink that!” Your fridge has read the RFID chip2
on the milk’s label, and it knows the milk is old. In 2035, every
food item in the grocery store has an RFID chip.
15 It’s time to go to work. In 2035, cars drive themselves. Just tell your
“smart car” where to go. On the way, you can call a friend using
your jacket sleeve.3 Nano-sized “smart technology” is all around you.
“Your whole body and surroundings4 [will] become part of the same
network,” says scientist Ampy Buchholz.
20 So will all these predictions come true? For new 1
 anotechnology is the science of very small things that are
N
measured by a nanometer (one billionth of a meter).
technology to succeed, says futurist Andrew Zolli, 2
A computer chip is a small piece of electronic equipment.
“it has to be so much better that it replaces what The sleeves of a shirt, jacket, or other item of
3

clothing, are the parts that cover your arms.

we have already.” The Internet is one example— 4
Your surroundings refer to the look and feel
of the place around you.
what will be the next?
12B Future Worlds 137