National Geographic - Our World

nes s es Co Con Cone ones C am Ice Cre m aam Ic Cr re Icee Ce Contents: Our World Graded Readers Level 2 Readers 6 8 Level 5 Readers 10 Level 6 Readers 10 4 Level 4 Readers 12 Our World Series 14 Footprint Reading Library 16 Our World Readers Index Remember, some wonderful inventions were created by accident. You never know what an accident can lead to. So next time you do something by accident, ask yourself: 'Is there a good idea in this accident?' 2 Level 3 Readers The St. Louis World's Fair in 1904 1 Level 1 Readers Sweet Surprises, Level 4 In 1904, there was a big fair in the United States called the St. Louis World's Fair. A man called Ernest Hamwi was selling thin Persian waffles at the fair. Nearby, another man was selling ice cream. It was a hot summer's day. People bought a lot of ice cream. Soon the ice cream seller ran out of cups. Ernest used his creativity to solve this problem. He rolled a waffle into a cone and put a scoop of ice cream in it. Some say this was the first ice cream cone. People loved it! 17 11 Popocatépetl and Itaccíhuatl, Level 5 Facts About Coral Reefs Word Play How Do Coral Reefs Form? A reef begins to form when a polyp attaches to something hard lying on the floor of the ocean. Before long, the polyp splits into thousands of other polyps. These connect to one another and form one large group of corals called a colony. These colonies grow and join together to form reefs over thousands of years. Not far below the surface of the ocean lie colourful, large, rock-like structures called coral reefs. Lots of kinds of fish live in coral reefs. These reefs are found in tropical ocean waters around the world. Most reefs are between 5 000 and 10 000 years old. Some began as long as 50 million years ago! What Are Coral Reefs Made Of? Coral reefs are made of thousands of tiny, tubeshaped animals called corals, or polyps. These animals are related to jellyfish but are much smaller. Most polyps are less than 2.5 centimetres (1 inch) in size. Corals get food from colourful algae, or tiny plants, that live on the coral. The algae give corals their beautiful colours, such as blue, red, yellow, orange and green. Volcanoes Write the word for each picture. Then, on a separate piece of paper, write sentences using each word. Use the correct form of the words below to complete the melted lava crater steam paragraphs. Words can be used more than once. ash eruption dormant lava kill Why Are Coral Reefs Important? Coral reefs cover less than 0.2% of the ocean floor. Yet coral reefs are home to at least 25% of all sea life on our planet! The reefs protect the sea creatures and provide them with food. But many reefs are in danger. If the reefs are not protected, more than a quarter of the original coral reef areas could be lost forever. One of the most famous volcanic eruptions in history happened on the Indonesian island of Krakatau in 1883. After about 200 years of being , the Krakatau volcano suddenly exploded. The was 13 000 times more powerful than an atomic bomb. The sound was heard over 4 800 kilometers (3 000 miles) away. The eruption more than 36 000 people. Black clouds of from the eruption were carried by wind to places as far away as New York City. Krakatau collapsed on itself and sank into the sea. However, in 1926 a new volcano appeared from under the sea. This volcano sometimes spits hot into the sky. This volcano is called Anak Krakatau, or Child of Krakatau. crater Facts About Comets Amazing Beaches, Level 5 OWR_BrE_G5U9_Beaches_011 12 Thousands of years ago, people believed that a bright comet racing across the sky was a sign of war, disease or even death. But today we know that comets are not signs of bad things to come. They are natural objects that make up part of our enormous universe. 13 12 1/23/13 10:21 AM OWR_BrE_G5U9_Beaches_012 13 Facts About Amazing Plants 1/23/13 10:21 AM 14 15 What Are Comets? Comets are huge pieces of ice that form in outer space. Dust, pieces of rock and gases are trapped inside the ice. This ice is often called a 'dirty snowball'. A comet's centre, which is called a nucleus, may be only a few kilometres (several miles) wide. Comets travel in egg-shaped orbits at the far, far edges of our solar system where they cannot be seen. There are about 400 000 different kinds of plants in the world. And some of them are pretty amazing! OWR_BrE_G5U7_PopoIzta_014 1/22/13 3:31 PM Pitcher Plant Named for its shape (a pitcher is a large container used for holding and pouring liquids), the pitcher plant may collect up to 7.5 litres (2 gallons) of rainwater. Insects love the sweet juice on the leaves of this plant. Once an insect gets inside the plant, it falls into the water the plant has collected and the insect is trapped. The juice of the plant contains chemicals that slowly dissolve the insect. Then the plant digests the insect. OWR_BrE_G5U7_PopoIzta_013 14 15 1/22/13 3:31 PM Why Do We See Some Comets? Sometimes comets change their orbits and move closer to the sun. The sun's heat melts some of the ice. Gases and dust trapped inside float out. These form a large cloud around the nucleus. Some of the gases and dust form a long tail, which always points away from the sun. This tail glows and we can see it shining in the night sky. Pelican Flower Before its flower opens, this plant looks like a sleeping pelican. Once open, it looks beautiful. However, its smell is terrible. It smells like a dead animal! But this bad smell brings flies and beetles to feed on this plant. Watermeal Plant Watermeal is the world's smallest plant with flowers. It also produces the world's tiniest fruit! This plant is about the size of the head of a pin and it weighs about as much as two grains of salt! This tiny plant floats on lakes and ponds. It has no roots, so the side of the plant that sits in the water absorbs nutrients. OWR_BrE_G5U6_TwoBrothers_011 12 13 12 OWR_BrE_G5U4_MilkyWay_011 12 13 12 Halley's Comet Halley's Comet, named after the scientist Edmund Halley, may be the most famous comet. After seeing this comet once, Halley figured out that comets travel on certain paths and that we would see Halley's Comet every 76 years, when it is close to the sun. Scientists used a spacecraft to take pictures of the comet when it returned in 1986. The next time it will appear is 2061. How the Milky Way Began, Level 5 1/22/13 3:19 PM OWR_BrE_G5U4_MilkyWay_012 13 1/22/13 3:20 PM Two Brothers, Two Rewards, Level 5 1/22/13 3:27 PM OWR_BrE_G5U6_TwoBrothers_012 13 1/22/13 3:27 PM NGL.Cengage.com/ourworld 1

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