BR 2-10: Ice Mummy

It is September 19, 1991, a bright, sunny day.

 This story is about Ice Mummy, which had beeb deeply frozen in the thick ice when a hiker found it.
The discovery made the people all over the world  talk about the frozen mummy. The police wanted Dr. Henn, a medical examiner to figure out what had happened to the mummy in the past, and then he agreed to solve the problem. First, he took it to the medical school where he works. Second, he put it in a cold room to prevent it from rotting.  Third, not he but Dr. Kinrad, an archaeologist examined some pieces of equipment of the mummy. As a result, the surprising fact about Ice Mummy came to light...

 The reason I picked up this one is that I was amazed to know the fact Ice Mummy truly exists in this world. The story and the photos of the Mummy made me a little scared, but this book made me think that I would like to visit a museum that displays mummies or something mysterious.

Dubowski, Mark. (1998). Ice Mummy. New York: Step into Reading step4.

BR 2-09: The Mysterious Island

The baloon came down quickly now and the great waves tried to catch them. (p. 1)

 In this story, there are four men, a boy and a dog. When the men were escaping from prison with a baloon, they including the boy and the dog were blown off by a strong wind. And then, they landed at an island, but many mysterious things happened to them there. I will tell you some of them. Firstly, Cyrus Smith, one of the prisoners, seemed to have been saved by someone in the uninhabited island. He fell into the sea when they were carried away by the strong wind. Secondly, when they wrote down what they wanted for survival on a piece of paper, one box suddenly appeared. Inside it, there was all what they had wanted. They were amazed, but thanks to the help by someone, they managed to survive for a long time. Thirdly, a letter was sent by the unknown rescuer. After that... the most surprising fact became clear.

 The reason why I picked up this book is that I'm really interested in living in a desert island. Actually, I have been dreaming of going and living there since I was a schoolchild. After reading this book, I wondered what I would bring if I could take just one thing to a desert island. I would bring a lighter or a box of match to make a fire and broil fishes, and so on.

Verne, Jules. (2002). The Mysterious Island. England: Penguin Readers Level 2.

BR 2-08: The USA

Think of a big, beautiful, empty land with mountains, forests, lakes, animals and fish, but no people. This was America 30,000 years ago. (p. 1)

 This book is fiction. In this one, you can learn mainly about American history and the environment.

I will tell you one historic event. First, about The War of Independence. Thirteen colonies along the east coast of North America was all governed by Britain, and the people of the colonies became angry at the high taxes that the goverment made them pay. As a result, as you know, an event called "Boston Tea Party" happened. After that, in 1755, a war between America and Britain broke out. In the severe war, some countries came in on the American's side, and in the end Britain lost.

 

Actually, when I took a American Politics course in the first semester, I studied about American history too. However, there are some pictures of the history in this book, so I have got a better understanding about it. For me, the most surprising fact in it is that Thanksgiving Day comes from "The Pilgrim Fathers". If you want to know about it, please read this book.  

Baxter, Alison. (1999). The USA. Oxford: Oxford Bookworms Factfiles.

BR 2-07: Gandhi

Mohandes Karamchand Gandhi was born in 1869 in Porbandar, in the west of India. (p. 1)

 This book consists of 8 chapters, which describe the life of Gandhi. Let me introduce about this book.

 In chapter 1, his early life is described. Surprisingly, he came from an ordinary Hindu home and lived an ordinary life.

 In chapter 2, about his unpardonable insult. In 1893, he went to South Africa which was under British rule, and when he was on a train in first class, a policeman threw him off the train just because he was a person of color. However, this insult made him determined to help the Indians and stay in South Africa to fight.

 In chapter 3, about Hindus. There were many kinds of Hindus in India. However, not all Hindsu were the same. There were different classes. In the highest class were the holy men. On the contrary, at the bottom were "Untouchables", who did the dirty jobs. Nevetheless, Gandhi invited a family of Untouchables to the ashram.

 In chapter 4, about failure in his nonviolent protest. In 1920, when a march started, some people at the back of the march was hit by Indian police. After that, he couldn't help but stop the protest.

 In chapter 5, about Gandhi's ashram rules. 1. We always tell the truth. 2. We never kill or hurt any person or animal. 3. We eat only when we are hungry. 4. We do not want many things. 5. We only wear Indian clothes. 6. We are not afraid of anything. 7. We speak Indian languages. 8. Nobody is Untouchable. That's all from me. If you read further in the story, you can know about so-called "The Salt March.

Before I read this book, I knew just a little about Gandhi. However, now I have known about him from birth to death. In the end, Gandhi was murdered, but I strongly believe that his great contribution made India independent.

Rollason, Jane. (2004). Gandhi. Madrid: Penguin Readers.

BR 2-06: Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King, Junior, was born on 15 January, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, in the South of the US. (p. 10)

  This book tells us mainly about Martin and American history. Martin was a major leader of the movement to gain civil rights for African-Americans. He is also famous for his speech at Lincoln Memorial; "I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood."

 I learned about Martin when I was a high school student. However, because I have learned him and his speech in English, I was able to get a better understanding of his dream. Actually, after I finished reading this book, I thought that I should know about American history and culture before I go to America.

Valerie Schloredt and Pam Brown. (1988). Martin Luther King. Florida: Longman famous lives

BR 2-05: The Discovery

 Amy's parents owned s caravan site and a small grocery store in the village. (p. 2)

 Amy, a girl whose parents work at a family-run shop. Due to a long spell of rain, their company is on the edge of bankruptcy. One day, Mrs Long, an archaeologist comes there to look for objects that have been buried in the ground for hundreds of years. When Amy and Mrs Long are looking for the objects, The weather abruptly changes. It rains hard, and furthermore a river overflows. The car of Amy's mother is carried away the flood. Next day, it has stopped raining. And then, when Amy and Mrs Long are exploring the huge hole where the river bank have collapsed, Amy finds lots of bits of colored stone and some jars in the side of the bank. After Mrs Long examines them, it turns out that...  If you get interested in this story, please read this book.

 I have ever been to a museum which displays a variety of old earthenware in Japan. If I go back to my hometown, I would like to visit there again.

 Adam, Coleman. (2004). The Discovery. The UK: Oxford Reading Tree.

BR 2-04: Pompeii... Buried Alive

The people in Pompeii liked living by the mountain. (p. 3)

 This story is nonfiction. In this story, a mountain named Vesuvius is regarded as a safe one by the people living in a town called Pompeii. However, in fact, it is like a sleeping giant. If the giant woke up, it could destroy the town. Finally, the volcano erupts, causing extensive damage to the people and the town. Tiny pebbles fall on them. A horrible smell fills the air, which is like rotten eggs. Ashes keep falling and pile up to the second-story windows. So much lava flow from the crater. As a result, no one in Pompeii is saved except for some refugees. There is the continuation of this story. I think if you read it, you will be surprised.

 Japan is located in the Circum-Pacific System of Volcanoes. Therefore, we might be affected by natural disasters. Just in case, we should think about the necessity of disaster preparedness.

Kunhardt, Edith. (1987). Pompeii... Buried Alive. New York: Random House.

BR 2-03: Roommates

He's worried about college, about a million different things.(p. 4)
 

 The main character, Bobby Harris is a business student at Brenton. He is going to college for the first time. Unfortunately, his roommate, Ash Browing is so untidy, lazy and vain. He always finds fault with Bobby. What is worse, Bobby's campus life is getting worse and worse. For example, because Ash snores very loudly while sleeping, Bobby can't sleep well. This makes Bobby more sleepy all day. He comes to often fall asleep during his class, and then his teacher scolds him again and again.. Furthermore, while he is working part-time, he spills hot oil all over the kichen floor because he is almost asleep. However, after that, something surprising happens.  If you want to know more about this story, please read this book!

 If I go abroad to study, my roommate in a dormitory may be incompatible with me. Then, I have to handle the person in English, so I should get the ability to speak English fluently.

Leather, Sue and Thomlinson, Julian. (2011). Roommates. Boston: Heinle Cengage Learning
 







BR 2-02: A Horse Named Seabiscuit

Something was wrong with Seabiscuit.(p. 5)

 This story is not a fiction. Seabiscuit is a horse, whose grandfather was a great racehorse. He should have been a champion too, but he was a big disappointment. His style was not for racehorses. In over 35 races, he had never won. However, after one horse trainer, Tom Smith trained Seabiscuit, an eye-opener happened in his first big race. Although nobody except for Tom Smith thought Seabiscuit could win, he did win. That day was only the beginning.  If you want to know more about his success, please read this book!

I don't know about horse and horse races, but after reading this book, I was so impressed. It is true that Seabiscuit was great, but his trainer, Tom Smith was also great. Without Tom, Seabiscuit would never have won. I wish I could watch Seabiscuit gallop in a race...

Cathy East Dubowski and Mark Dubowski. (2003). A Horse Named Seabiscuit. New York: Grosset & Dunlap.

BR 2-01: Brainstorm

You are a scientist. You make and use nanobots. (p.1)


 If there were nanobots which can fix sick and damaged cells, I think almost all deseases would be cured. However, in this story, the nanobots can lead to problems depending on its reader's choices.
 Firstly, when I try to save a man who has brain cancer, the nanobots multiply out of control inside his brain. And what is worse.....  It's going to be a surprise!

 This book is in the Atama-ii books series. The most distinctive feature of this series is that its reader can choose the plot, which is exciting. This book 'Brainstorm' is so interesting. I recommend that everyone read this book.

Boon, Andy.(2015). Brainstorm. Florida and Tokyo: Atama-ii books.
                                                                                                              

Martina the Cockroach

'One day she found a gold coin while sweeping her floor.'

The main character is an aunt.
Some male creatures tried to marry her.
However, she determine her husband by listening to their cries.

In the end, she found an mouse which had a nice voice.

And they all lived happily ever after.

Martina the Cockroach (Folk & Fairy Tale Easy Readers) 著者 : Kama Einhorn 発売日 : 2006 ブクログでレビューを見る»

Fierce Heat

This summer we are hit by the strongest heat wave.
Therefore I don't want to go out in this fierce heat if possible.

Because of this heat, I stay at home all day every weekend these days.

When I play tennis on Thursdays, I always have hard time enduring hot weather.

I wish I could spend summer in Hokkaido.

Talking of Hokkaido, the temperature, particularly in the west of Hokkaido is lower.

Staying at home

I have stayed at home for 2 days with an air conditioner on.
I spend 2 days in not studying but sleeping, watching TV and using a computer.

I had to study for the term exam, but I didn't.

By the way, did you watch the soccer game final of the World Cup?
I was too excited to sleep.

As expected, the French team 　defeated the Ukrainian team.

On the other hand, Wimbledon came to an end.


Djokovic won the men's singles title.

The Bear's Mouse

In the game that participants have to find 5 flags, 2 groups were going well.

Finally, in the cave named 'the bear's mouse' one girl assume a sound to be the sound of a bear.

However, the sound was heard from a CD player.

I thought ''Everything is not always how it looks''.

The Bully

The bully scribbles in another classmate's notebook and get into mischief.
I thought she was very mischievous.

However, finally she became kind to everyone.

Chinese Adventure

This book made me feel as if I were in China.

The Forbidden City, Shikinjou in Japanese is one of the places which I want to go to someday.
I'd like to visit China and so on.

The Rainbow Machine

I don't know how the rainbow is made.

In this story, the rainbow is made by using a special machine.

However, if it doesn't work well, a weird rainbow may be made.

The Riddle Stone Part1 and 2

I thought it was too difficult to answer English riddles.

In this story, a young boy was so smart that he answered almost all questions.

When I read an English paper, in one of its columns there are some riddles.

So I want to come to answer these riddles.

Oxford Reading Tree: Level 7: More Stories B: The Riddle Stone Part One 著者 : Roderick Hunt Oxford University Press, USA 発売日 : 2011-01-01 ブクログでレビューを見る»

Think Daniela!

The main character, Daniela is very careless.
For example, she mistake a model of a bear for a real one.

However, when a boy was drowned in the river, she saved the boy.

Think Daniela! (Foundations Reading Library, Level 5) 著者 : Rob Waring Heinle & Heinle Pub 発売日 : 2006-07-04 ブクログでレビューを見る»

The True Story of BALTO

Do you know 'dogsled'?
Balto is one of sled dogs, which draw sleighs on ice.

Regrettably, in this  story some dogs die because of heavy snowfall.

I was really impressed by the attitude of the sled dogs.

Where's Lorena?

A boy taking out her younger sister wanted to go out by himself.
However, his mother made him take her out.
When he turned his eyes away, she disappeared.

I thought you should have kept an eye on your younger sibling.