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THE WORLD HAS TALENT is a very popular television program. People on the show are from all over the world: countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America. Some people are professional singers and musicians, but other people aren't. They are factory workers, teachers, office workers - lots of different jobs. Some people are very good; others are very bad! Some people are very young, but others are very old. Pati is a singer and a salsa dancer from Switzerland. She isn't young - she's 80, and she's a great dancer! Four judges are on the show: May Rattanakosin is from Thailand - she's a singer; Vicente Silva is from Chile - he's an actor; Alison McDonald is from Canada - she's a songwriter; and Bruno Gelato is from Italy - he's a scientist.
Unusual houses 1
- House 1. Students live in these containers. They're small but they're very comfortable and they have electricity and the Internet. There isn't a bedroom. There's only one room, so the bed is in the living room. But there's a stove and even a shower.
- House 2. These houses have three floors. The entrance is on the first floor and on the second floor there's an open-plan living room and a kitchen. On the third floor there are two bedrooms and a bathroom. Behind the house there's a small backyard.
- House 3. This lighthouse is now a hotel but there are only three rooms. On the first floor, there's a bathroom, on the second floor, there's a bedroom and on the top floor, there's a living room. There are windows all around and the views are fantastic! What's not to love? Well- there are eighty steps - , So a big suitcase isn't a good idea.
- House 4. This houseboat is very big inside! There are two bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom, and a kitchen with a stove and a fridge. But there are no cabinets! That's a problem if you have a lot of things!
CYBERPALS 1
Danny I'm a 26-year-old IT worker. I'm not a very loud person. I enjoy watching TV and movies. I also like sports and I play soccer. I love good food and restaurants. Lola I'm 25 and I'm an actor. I travel a lot for my work. It's great because! love travel. I also love shopping. I'm also into movies and sports, and I love swimming and tennis. My favorite occupation is spending time with friends. Petra I work as a PE teacher. I love all sports, especially swimming. In fact, I swim every day because we live near the beach. I'm a quiet person with good friends. I also really love movies! I'm 23. Alex I work as a producer for a film company. I travel a lot. I love movies (l)- especially Pedro Almodóvar films. Why do I love his movies? Because he's a great director. I also love art and visit art galleries and museums all over the world. I like watching sports and I love swimming. I'm 29. Liz I travel a lot because I'm a travel writer- I write travel books. I'm friendly and I talk to a lot of people in my work. I'm not very shy. I love art- I go to a lot of art galleries. I also enjoy reading and listening to music. I'm 35.
- Did you know? More than 500,000 students from over 100 countries write to each other through the Student Letter Exchange. It is the largest pen pal organization in the world. It's a great way to find out about other cultures and practice your English!
Laura Perez 1 Laura Perez usually feels good in the morning when she gets up at 7:00. She takes a shower. Then she has breakfast with her family. She's 24 and single and in Mexico single women often live with their parents. The traffic in Mexico City is very bad, so Laura never drives to work. So how does she get to work? It takes an hour, but she usually walks with her neighbor. They sometimes go by bus, but the buses are always crowded and slow she gets to work at about 8:45 am and starts at 9 am. Laura is a social worker. There is a great need for social workers in Mexico City and Laura is one of the leaders in this job. She works for an organization for homeless children. Usually, the children she helps don't have parents and they don't have a place to live. Sometimes the children have learning disabilities. Laura's job is to help these children. She works at a social service center. The children usually need food and basic care first. Then she can help them find a family and a home. These children hardly ever go to school, so they usually don't read or write. Laura works hard and she loves her job, but she sometimes sees very sad things. The children are often angry and scared and she's often very tired after work. But she says, "I'm happy because I know that I help children.
TWO OLYMPIANS 1
Spyridon "Spyros" Louis (1873-1940) was born in the town of Marousi, near Athens. His parents were very poor. There was a problem in Athens at that time because there wasn't a central water system. Spyros's father was a water seller and so he took water into Athens every day with Spyros. The water was very heavy! It was Spyros's early preparation as an athlete. In 1896, Spyros Louis was the winner of the marathon at the first modern Olympic Games. The Games were in Athens, and he was a national hero overnight. In those days, there weren't gold medals: there were only silver medals for first place and bronze medals for second. Haile Gebrselassie (1973-) was born in Asella, Arsi Province, Ethiopia. His friends call him "Geb." He was a runner from a very early age because his parents were farmers. There wasn't a school near their farm. It was ten kilometers away, and Haile ran to school and back every day! In 1996, Haile Gebrselassie won a gold medal for the 10,000 meters race in Atlanta. Four years later in Sydney, he was the gold-medal winner for the same event again. His first marathon was in London in 2002. He was third. The magazine Runner's World said Gebrselassie was "the greatest distance runner of all time."
The First Lady of Civil Rights 1 Rosa Parks was an African American woman. She was born on February 4th, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. On Thursday, December 1st, 1955, she did a very courageous thing and it changed the lives of millions of African Americans in the United States forever. On that day, at around six o'clock in the evening, Rosa got on a bus in Montgomery to go home from work. She didn't sit in the first four rows of the bus because they were for white people only, so she sat in the fifth row. Very soon, the bus was completely full. Then a white man got on. He didn't want to stand up, he wanted to sit down, so the bus driver told the four black people in the fifth row to get up. Three people got up, but Rosa Parks didn't get up. She said "no". Some people said later that Rosa didn't get up because she was tired after her day's work and because she was old. It's true she was tired, but that wasn't the reason. She wasn't physically tired, but she was very tired of stupid rules, so she said "no", and she didn't get up.
THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC
IS IT THE FOOD OR THE PORTION SIZE?
Obesity is a major problem in today's world and is the cause of sickness and sometimes death. Large amounts of food, and little or no exercise, have caused many people to gain too much weight. How many French fries did you eat yesterday? How much chocolate did you have? But the problem isn't just the sugar and fat we eat, but the amount. Restaurants in the US often serve large portions of food to make it seem like you get a lot for your money. Children are often told to eat everything on their plates. There is a lot of starch and oil because it's cheap to add and it usually makes food tastier. There isn't any reason for companies to promote fresh vegetables when processed food sells. This means that about 60% of Americans eat too much processed food and are extremely overweight. Some healthcare experts call this an obesity epidemic. What is the advice of experts? Cut down on portion size. You can eat carbohydrates, fats, and sugars. But eat less of all of it!
Everybody loves Oprah DO YOU want to be successful in your career? If you do - and many of us do - then it's a good idea to learn from very successful people. One of these people is Oprah Winfrey, a very rich and powerful American. Oprah was born in 1954 in the US. She came from a poor family and had a difficult childhood. But as a teenager she decided that she wanted success. She started working hard and did very well at school. She went to college and got a job on television with a news show. She then started working on a talk show and that became The Oprah Winfrey Show. The show was soon very popular and Oprah became famous for her warm, intelligent personality. Today, she has her own TV company. Oprah showed the world that anyone can be successful. Her advice is this: find your own "story". You need to find a work that you love and do it. Everyone is talented. Maybe you would like to teach - then teach! Or would you prefer to dance? Then dance! Whatever you like doing, do it! You just need to find what your talent is. Be ambitious. Every day, ask yourself, "What do I want to do? What is my goal? I want to get there. What do I need to do?" For Oprah, the big secret is that there is no secret. If you have a goal and work hard, you can get there.
Are you the doctor? There are three million nurses in the US. Only 6% of them are men, but the numbers are going up fast. Morris Baxter is studying to become a nurse at the moment. Morris originally wanted to study law, but he changed his mind. He decided to become a nurse when his sister had a car accident two years ago. She was in the hospital for a month and Morris visited her every day. He thought the nurses were wonderful. "They didn't just help my sister" he said, "they helped me, too. They sat and talked to me and they even made me meals. I hated hospitals in the past, but now I think they're pretty amazing places. Now, as a nurse, I often work long hours, but do you know what? I feel at home. I really enjoy doing my job and I love caring for people." Does Morris ever have any problems? "Well, it's hard work and it can be quite stressful, and sometimes people ask me: ‘Are you the doctor?' because they still expect men to be doctors, not nurses. But I love my job and I know I'm making a difference."
The Driver Only 17% of truck drivers are women THERE ARE three and a half million truck drivers in the US. Only 17% of them are women, but the numbers are going up. Aiko is 30 years old, and she loves driving trucks. When she was a child, Aiko wanted to be a ballet dancer, but when she was 16, she hurt her back very badly and her dancing career ended. SHE STARTED to work in a supermarket and often stood near the back door, where the trucks arrived. She watched the trucks come and go every day and thought: "I'd like to try that." So she did. It cost a lot of money to learn how to drive a truck, but it was worth it. Now she says that she makes more money than her friends who went to college. SO WHY does Aiko like driving trucks so much? Well, she says she loves driving. She turns up the music and sings really loudly. She loves musicals and enjoys singing along to her Mamma Mia album. She has to leave early in the morning - at 6:15 - and she drives all day. She says she feels lonely sometimes, but she sees lots of different places and she has time to think. It's awesome!
Jackie Chan 1 Jackie Chan is a very well-known actor in action movies. But he isn't just an actor, He's also a director, producer, martial artist, writer, singer, and stuntman. When Chan was born on April 7, 1954, in Hong Kong, he weighed over five kilos (or 11 pounds)! He went to drama school, where he learned martial arts, singing, and acting, but he didn't learn to read and write. He started acting in the 1960s when he was still quite young. Since then, he has been in more than 50 movies. He has always done his own stunts in his movies, and his "gymnastic" fighting style is amazing and often very funny to watch. But over the years he has broken many parts of his body, including his neck, nose, hips, fingers, toes, and one ankle! On one occasion, he hit his head very badly and he almost died. Chan's most famous movies in the West are probably Rush Hour (1998) and Shanghai Noon (2000), In addition to all of his film work, Jackie Chan has many business interests and does a lot of work for charities.
Hospital Friend 1 Sam is in the hospital. After a very bad motorcycle accident, he has two broken legs, a broken arm, and a head injury. He can't move his head, sit up, or get out of bed. In Sam's hospital room, there are two beds and a big window, Sam's bed is near the door. The other bed is next to the window. There's no one in it. One day, Sam opens his eyes and sees a new patient in the other bed. "Hi!" the man says. My name's Mike. What's your name?" "Hi, Mike. I'm Sam, Nice to meet you. Why are you here?" "I have pneumonia! What about you? "A motorcycle accident last month. Two weeks in the ICU and maybe another two or three months here in the hospital." Wow! That's terrible!" " Yeah, I know." Sam is 21 years old and Mike is 35. They talk all the time and become good friends. They talk about their jobs, their families, their homes, their vacations, and their dreams Sam is an engineering student. He lives in an apartment with have other students. His girlfriend, Tang, is from China. She studies computer science at the same college. Mike works in a recording studio and is married with two sons, who are seven and five years old. His wife, Emily, is a school teacher Mike's dream is to see the world. The doctor tells Mike to sit up in his bed for one hour every day He sits at the window and describes what he sees outside for Sam. He tells Sam there's a big park outside with a beautiful lake. One day in May he says: "It's a really beautiful, hot day today, Sam. It's spring. The sun's shining and the sky’s blue. The gardens in front of the hospital are fantastic now! The trees in the park arc all green. There are so many flowers red, yellow, purple, orange -- it's amazing! There are lots of people in the park. There’s a baseball game. Do you like baseball, Sam?
The Poet 1 Northeast Brazil 1952- 1970 Go to the fields and work, you lazy boy!" Benedito's father shouted at him. He was very angry. It was 7:00 am. It was a hot, sunny day in the summer. Benedito was under a tree with a book. "Books are bad for you, Bené. Hard work is good for you," his father always told him. But Bené didn't like working in the fields. He loved reading books, and his favorite books had poems. Bené lived in a small town in the northeast of Brazil. He lived with his father, mother, and 13 younger brothers and sisters. They had a small yard and a few farm animals- goats, sheep, and chickens. They lived in a small house with only three rooms. Bené slept on the floor with all his brothers and sisters. They were very poor, and life was very difficult. There was a small school in the village, and Bené’s teacher often gave him books to read. Bené had a dream-I want to go to São Paulo when I am 18 and become a famous poet. He didn't tell his family and friends. São Paulo 1970- 2013 And on his 18th birthday, very early in the morning, Bené left his home and his family and went to the big city to become a famous poet. When Bené arrived in São Paulo, he saw a lot of really tall buildings, thousands of cars, buses, and motorcycles, and millions of people. It's a very big, crowded city. There was no work for him here. He had no friends, no money, and no place to live. He was homeless. He asked people in the street for food and money. He felt really sad. Then one day, Bené saw a tiny park with a tree next to a big road. This is my new home, he thought. I can write my poems here. Suddenly he felt very happy. He made a small "house" with old doors and plastic sheets. But there were a lot of cars, buses, and motorcycles 24 hours a day and he never slept well.
Every day was the same. He got up early, washed his face, and cleaned his teeth with water from an old can. He hardly ever shaved, and usually had a long beard. After breakfast, he started to write his poems. This was Bene's life for 43 years! He lived in the same place next to the road and did the same things every day. He loved writing and he felt very happy. He never saw his family or friends. He didn't want them to know about his life in the big city. Northeast Brazil - 2014 Francisco is a computer programmer. He lives in Recife, the capital city of the state of Pernambuco One day, on a website, ne saw a photo of an old man with a long, gray beard. "Hey, that's my brother, Benedito! I don't believe it!" He called his wife and told her. Francisco posted a message on Bené's page and e-mailed Sandra. The next day, he and his wife went to São Paulo to see him. "All our brothers and sisters are still alive." Francisco told Bené, "We live in Recife. Please come home and live with us." Bené returned to the northeast and his family after 43 years as a homeless poet in São Paulo. Everybody was really happy. Epilogue One of Bene's sisters works in a publishing company. They published a book of Bene's poems Bené had a dream-and now that dream is real!
