She Says/He Says(U1B1) reading she says: Boys are so different from girls! They never show their emotions

In 2010, many countries, including Chile, Indonesia, Mexico, and even the southern part of the United States, were affected by major earthquakes. Nevertheless, the most terrible and tragic situation occurred in Haiti. The severe earthquake that had struck this country wiped out much of the capital, Port-au-Prince. It took nature only a few seconds to change millions of people's lives there forever. Over two hundred thousand people died, and more than a million others lost their homes and businesses. Survivors were left without food or clean water, and they faced the threat of diseases and thieves. Port-au-Prince became hell on earth, and the government was powerless to help because many government officials had also been killed and many government offices had been reduced to piles of broken bricks.

It didn't take the singers and musicians in the United States long to decide to help the people in Haiti by re-recording the charity single, "We Are the World." This classic song had been written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and originally recorded in 1985 to raise money for the poor in Africa. Now, twenty-five years later, a new group of artists, representing a who's who of the music business, have stepped up. The updated single contains a rap section, and Michael Jackson's original part was left unchanged as a mark of respect for the superstar. After all, if Michael Jackson hadn't written the original song, the 2010 version might never have been recorded.

The deeper meaning of "We Are the World" is to remind us that human beings are one big family. When other people are suffering, we should come to the rescue. It goes beyond duty―by offering help to others, our lives become more meaningful, joyful, and useful. Moreover, if each one of us reaches out to those in need, the world will become a better place for the entire human race.

―introduction by Jason Grenier
“We Are the World” (original version)
There comes a time

When we hear a certain call,

When the world must come together as one.

There are people dying,

And it’s time to lend a hand to life—

the greatest gift of all.

Pretending day by day

That someone, somewhere will soon make a change.

We are all a part of God’s great big family,

And the truth, you know, love is all we need.
[chorus]

We are the world.

We are the children.

We are the ones who make a brighter day

So let’s start giving.

There’s a choice we’re making.

We’re saving our own lives.

It’s true we’ll make a better day,

Just you and me.
Send them your heart,

So they’ll know that someone cares,

And their lives will be stronger and free.

As God has shown us by turning stone to bread,

And so we all must lend a helping hand.
[chorus]
When you’re down-and-out,

There seems no hope at all.

But if you just believe,

There’s no way we can fall.

Well, well, well, let us realize

That a change can only come

When we stand together as one.
[chorus]
I. Reading for the Main Idea―Skimming

Skim the reading and choose the best answer to the statement.

( )

The reading is mainly about _____. (A) the places that are often struck by big earthquakes (B) the classic song "We Are the World" and its updated version in 2010 (C) the importance of Michael Jackson in the history of American music (D) the artists who represent a who's who of the music business in the United States

II. Reading Strategy―Scanning

Scan the reading and choose the best answer to each of the following questions or statements.

( )	1.	According to the reading, several countries were struck by major earthquakes in the year 2010 except _____.
		(A) Mexico	(B) India	(C) Indonesia	(D) Haiti
( )	2.	After the 2010 earthquake, which of the following about Haiti is NOT true? (A) Survivors lacked clean water and food. (B) People were threatened by diseases and thieves. (C) The government rebuilt the country very quickly. (D) More than one million people were left without shelter.
( )	3.	The purpose of the original version of the song "We Are the World" was _____. (A) to help the poor in Africa (B) to raise money for the people in Haiti (C) to win Michael Jackson's respect (D) to honor a who's who of the music business in the U.S.
( )	4.	In the new version of "We Are the World," Michael Jackson's original part was left unchanged _____. (A) because of public expectation (B) because of his own request (C) in order to show respect for him (D) in order to satisfy his fans
( )	5.	In what way may the song "We Are the World" encourage people? (A) Earthquakes can happen at any time, so it's important to be prepared. (B) Helping others is a meaningful thing to do, and it makes our lives joyful. (C) Making a charity single raises much money, so we should write as many of them as possible. (D) A good song lasts for a long time, while unpopular songs have no lasting meaning at all.

The World on a Plate(U4B4)

READING

Visitors to Scotland are often tempted to try a Scottish national dish called haggis. Haggis is a boiled sheep’s stomach that is stuffed with a sheep’s lungs, liver, and heart. Although it is thought of as a delicacy by the locals, many visitors are not so sure about this. If you were in Scotland, would you dare to eat this dish?

Food is an important part of any travel experience, and nothing helps develop friendships or business relationships like sharing a meal. After all, if you don’t want to taste another country’s food when you travel, it’s probably easier just to stay at home. Most people who travel frequently realize that trying the local food is not only a great way to show respect for their host, but also an essential part of experiencing a different culture.

You may have difficulty eating exotic cuisine, but it is diplomatic to take a bite of whatever is being served to you in order not to offend. There is a popular saying, “Are you a tourist or a traveler?” A tourist is considered to be someone who just travels around on a tour bus that is full of people from his or her own country. Tourists rarely meet any locals, taste the local food, or struggle with the local language. Travelers, on the other hand, will never turn down any chance to experience a foreign culture in the local ways.

During my travels, I have eaten a lot of weird food. In China, I have eaten sheep’s lungs and ducks’ tongues. In Saudi Arabia, I have tasted sheep’s eyeballs, which are a delicacy there. In Indonesia, I have eaten fried snake, which is actually not as tasty as chicken, but otherwise pretty similar. In Spain, I have tried blood sausage, and in Sri Lanka, I have eaten a very spicy pineapple curry, which is both hot and sweet at the same time and very different from a normal curry. Eating these dishes has not always been easy for me, but it has contributed greatly to my travels and given me terrific stories to tell back home!

As for my advice for travelers who are unsure about eating strange food, the most important thing to remember is never to offend your hosts. Here are a few tips for making it easier to try foreign food. First of all, don’t ask what the food is before you try it. Very often, the food you consider weird is probably delicious―it is the thought rather than the taste that stops you from enjoying the meal. Second, take small bites, or if you are serving yourself, take just a small helping. Trying a small amount of everything first is wiser than filling your plate up with a lot of food. Finally, if you have trouble swallowing something, just sip tea or a cold drink during your meal. This can help disguise the unfamiliar taste.

Last but not least, remember that you are representing your country when you travel overseas. If you try some of the local food, you’ll probably make friends for both yourself and your country.

I. Reading for the Main Idea―Skimming

Skim the reading and choose the best answer to the question.

( )	The reading is mainly about _____. (A) some of the weird food in Asia (B) the differences between a tourist and a traveler (C) how to enjoy exotic food from different cultures (D) how to build business relationships with foreigners

II. Reading Strategy: Comparison and Contrast

A comparison shows how things are similar. To make a comparison, look for similarities between two or more people, places, or events. A contrast shows how things are different. To contrast one thing with another, you must find out or look at the differences. Sometimes, people, places, or events can be both similar and different at the same time.

Exercise:

One evening, my wife, after 21 years of marriage, asked me to take another woman out for dinner and a movie. My wife told me that she knew this woman loved me deeply and really wanted to spend more time with me.

The woman mentioned by my wife was my mother. She had been a widow for nineteen years, but my busy job and family life made it extremely difficult for me to visit her regularly. So, at my wife’s suggestion, I called my mother the same evening and invited her to go out with me.

At first, my mother reacted with surprise to my invitation. “What’s wrong? Is everything OK?” she asked. My mother was the kind of person who always suspected that a late night call was a sign of bad news. After I explained that I simply wanted to spend more time with her, she immediately agreed.

After work that Friday, I nervously drove over to her house to pick her up. When I arrived, she appeared a bit tense, too. She had her hair styled and was all dressed up. “Wow! You look as if you were going to attend a banquet for a king,” I said to my mother.

Her eyes shone with happiness, and she said pleasantly, “I told all my friends that I’m going out with my son tonight, and they were very impressed. They said that they couldn’t wait to hear all about it.”

That evening, we went to a nice, elegant restaurant, and my mother held my arm proudly as we walked through the entrance. Because of my mother’s poor eyesight, it was hard for her to read the menu. As a result, I started to read it out to her. When I looked up, I saw that she was staring at me, smiling with nostalgia. “When you were little,” my mother said, “it was I who used to read menus to you, but now it’s the other way around.”

During dinner that night, we caught up on all the recent events in our lives, and we were so deep in conversation that we missed the movie. “I’d like to go out with you again,” said my mother as I drove her home, “but only if you let me invite you next time!”

When I got home that night, my wife asked me how the evening had been. “Very nice, and much better than I could have ever imagined,” I told her.

A few days later, my mother suddenly died of a heart attack. Then, a while later, I received an envelope from the restaurant where my mother and I had dined that Friday night. It contained a receipt and a note that read:

I paid this bill in advance. I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to join you at this restaurant again, so I paid for dinner for you and your wife. You will never know how much our night together at this restaurant meant to me. I love you, son.

It was then that I realized how important it is to give our loved ones the time they deserve and to show them how much we love them―while we still have the chance.

When you look at a pile of litter, what do you see? If you think that it is just trash, Tim Noble and Sue Webster might ask you to look again. These two artists collected garbage from the streets of London and formed it into simple piles. However, when they shone a light on these piles in just the right way, the shadows that were made suddenly came to life. What looked like a bunch of useless junk suddenly became a man and woman sitting back to back.

The practice of making art from trash is now known as "junk art." It began with a trend called "found art" in the early 1900s. The artists involved with found art used found objects to create artistic pieces. In the 1960s, the German artist Joseph Beuys, along with other artists, began using ordinary pieces of trash, such as candy wrappers and old tools, to make pieces of art. Some people might have thought that Beuys's creations looked plain, but others found his creations meaningful because Beuys's artwork strongly expressed his beliefs in humanism.

Decades later, junk art still remains popular. Some junk artists are serious when they are creating artistic pieces, and their works of art often deal with the subject of environmental protection. A photographer named Chris Jordan often takes pictures of trash, and these pictures show how much the modern world wastes. For example, from a distance, one of his photographs looks like a collection of pretty colors. When people approach this photograph, however, they can see that it actually shows two million plastic bottles, which is the number of plastic bottles thrown away in the United States every five minutes.

In Taiwan, a group of junk artists have gathered in Taidong to remember the tragedy caused by Typhoon Morakot in August of 2009. By using pieces of driftwood that were washed up on the beach because of the typhoon, these artists have carved sculptures that stand for the loss caused by the storm as well as the tremendous power of nature. Although driftwood is normally viewed as worthless trash, it holds a special place in the hearts of many junk artists in Taiwan. Rahic Talif, a local artist from the Amis tribe, has great respect for driftwood. He does not begin carving a piece of driftwood until he has imagined its history. By thinking about where the wood came from and how long it had floated until it was washed ashore, Talif creates a story that provides inspiration for his work. One of his carvings shows a group of people dancing and singing on the beach, and it represents rebirth.

Junk art's versatility means that it can be both serious and entertaining. Many junk artists create fun things from old or recycled materials. Some create wall decorations by using disposable cups and containers, while others make paintings from unwanted computer parts. The only limit to junk art is the artist's imagination, and there are countless ideas out there waiting to be discovered. Junk art truly embodies the saying that "one man's trash is another man's treasure."