Trying a New Recipe
Julie went to her friend Linda’s house for dinner last month. Linda is an excellent cook, and she makes many kinds of dishes from all over the world. She often invites her friends over and lets them try her food. When Julie went to Linda’s house, Linda had made lasagna. Julie thought it was delicious, and she wanted to ( 26 ). She asked Linda for the recipe so that she could cook it for her family.
On the weekend, Julie made the lasagna in her kitchen. Although she followed the recipe carefully, her lasagna did not taste as good as Linda’s lasagna. She called Linda and asked for her advice. Linda said the lasagna needed to be ( 27 ). So, Julie put it back in the oven and took it out again 20 minutes later. This time, it tasted much better.
School for Shepherds
A shepherd is a person who takes care of sheep. Shepherds work long hours in all kinds of weather. They watch sheep to protect them from wolves and other animals while the sheep are eating or sleeping. It is a hard job. When the sheep have finished eating all of the grass in one place, they move to a different place ( 28 ). This way, the sheep always have enough food to eat.
In the mountains of Catalonia in Spain, shepherds have worked for many centuries. Traditionally, shepherds taught their sons how to take care of sheep, and the same families have been working in the same areas for many years. However, nowadays, ( 29 ). Many young people do not want to work on their family’s land, so shepherds are not able to teach their children important skills. In fact, in 2009, there were only 12 shepherds in Catalonia.
In order to attract more people, a school for shepherds was opened in 2009. Students spend several months studying about sheep. Then, they move out to the mountains to work with and learn skills from an experienced shepherd. Many of these students have already graduated from regular universities and worked at wellpaying jobs in the city. However, they want to ( 30 ). They are interested in finding a job where they can work in nature and learn more about producing food. Hopefully, this will help to keep old traditions alive.
From: David Masters ＜dmasters88@ymail.com＞
To: Bethany Masters ＜b-masters@intermail.com＞
Date: October 6
Subject: Lifeguard
_____________________________________________________
Hi Aunt Bethany,
How have you been? I’ve really missed you since you moved to Washington. I’ve been busy at college. You know that I’ve been on the swim team for a few years, and I’ve become really good at swimming. This year, I applied for a job at a swimming pool. I’ll be a lifeguard, so it’ll be my job to keep swimmers safe.
One of my teammates suggested the job to me. In order to get it, I had to take a swimming test. It was actually very hard. I had to swim 400 meters without stopping. I also had to get a 5-kilogram brick from the bottom of the other end of the pool. It was very heavy, and I had to carry it back in only one minute.
Anyway, I hope you get the chance to visit us soon. Dad really misses you. He talks a lot about things you used to do together when you were kids. Some of the stories are so funny! I hope you can tell me some stories the next time I see you. Also, Mom says that she liked the gardening book you sent her for her birthday last month.
Your nephew,
David
A Fruit from a Different Time
The avocado grows on trees in warm countries like Mexico and Brazil. On the outside, avocados are dark, but on the inside they are bright green and have a large seed in the center. People enjoy eating them in salads or in other dishes. Because avocados are not sweet, many people think they are vegetables. However, according to scientists, they are a type of fruit since they have a seed inside.
The fruit and seed are important for plants such as avocados. When animals eat a fruit, they usually eat its seeds, too. They carry the seeds around in their stomachs. This is how seeds are spread from one place to the next. However, the avocado has a large seed that is too big for modern animals to eat. Daniel Janzen, a biology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, wanted to find the reason for this. In ancient times, there were huge elephants and horses. Janzen found out that these large animals ate avocados and spread the seeds around Central and South America.
Around 13,000 years ago, though, these large animals all died, so avocado seeds were not spread by them anymore. Then, around 10,000 years ago, a group of humans moved to these areas and began eating avocados. They enjoyed the taste, and soon, they started growing them on farms. Over time, avocados became one of the most important foods in Central and South America.
There are now over 500 types of avocados grown around the world. However, the Hass avocado is the most common. It was first grown in California by a man named Rudolph Hass. His avocado trees were popular because the avocados tasted good and each tree grew a large number of avocados. As a result, many farmers started to grow his trees. Now, around 80 percent of all avocados that are grown around the world are Hass avocados.
