Sally has been taking piano lessons for about a year. She started because she heard her uncle Kevin playing when she visited his house. She thought that his music sounded wonderful. Sally has been practicing hard and learning quickly. Her teacher told her that there would be a concert for the students at the piano school and that Sally should take part. Sally ( 26 ), though. She thought that performing in public would be scary. However, her teacher said that it would be a good experience.
At the concert, Sally’s parents and Uncle Kevin were in the audience. When it was time for Sally to play, she was worrying a lot. Her teacher told her to relax and enjoy the chance to ( 27 ). Sally did her best. When she finished playing, all the people in the audience were smiling, clapping, and cheering. This made Sally feel very special, and she knew that her teacher had been right.
Cars that can fly have appeared in many sciencefiction stories. For over 100 years, people have been trying to build real flying cars. Some have succeeded, but their flying cars have never been produced in large numbers. These cars were usually too expensive for people to buy. However, a company in the European country of Slovakia thinks that its flying cars can be made ( 28 ). As a result, it might soon be common to see flying cars in the sky.
Stefan Klein, the owner of the company, has spent about 30 years trying to develop a flying car. In June 2021, Klein’s car ( 29 ). It took 35 minutes to travel about 90 kilometers from the airport in Nitra to the one in Bratislava. After it landed, the flying car’s wings were folded up in less than three minutes, and Klein drove the car to the city center. The car has now been flown over 200 times, and the government of Slovakia has decided to allow people to use it for air travel.
Klein thinks that his company will be able to sell many flying cars. He still faces several challenges, though. First, his flying car can only take off and land at airports. Also, it uses gasoline, so some people say that it is not good for the environment. ( 30 ), people need a pilot’s license if they want to use the flying car. However, Klein thinks he will be able to solve these problems sometime soon.
From: Ralph Parker <ralph_parker@epostal.com> To: Gary Jones <gazjones_101@mymessage.com> Date: June 4
Subject: My cousins
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Hi Gary,
We haven’t had a chance to meet since you and your family moved to your new house. Are you enjoying your new school? I know there’s a great park near your new place. My mom and dad took me there once after we went to the mall on that side of the city. I really wanted to try the basketball court there, but I didn’t have my ball. Have you played on it yet?
By the way, do you remember my cousins from Seattle? We had fun with them when they visited last summer. They’re coming to stay with us again at the end of this month. Would you like to come over while they’re here? We could have a game of basketball with them. I’ve also got a new board game, and I think we would have a great time playing it.
My cousins will be staying with us from June 21 to June 29. They will also visit their other relatives in the city, so they’ll be quite busy. Can you tell me a couple of dates when you can come? My dad says that if your mom or dad can bring you here, he will take you home in the evening. Please speak to your parents and let me know.
Your friend,
Ralph
Video Game Arcades
The first computer games were quite different from the ones that people play today. When computer games appeared in the 1950s, computers were big and expensive. They were only found in universities and large companies. Although computers were invented to solve serious problems, creating games is a good way to learn computer programming. In addition, the process of inventing new games has led to many important discoveries for computer technology.
In the early 1970s, computers were still too expensive for most people to own. However, a number of fun games had been developed by students at universities in the United States. Some of these students wanted to make money from their games. They built computers inside large wooden boxes. Then, they put the boxes in places like bars and cafés. Customers could play the games by putting money into a special hole in the boxes.
These computer games were a big success. More and more of them were created. One of the most popular games was Space Invaders. In this game, players tried to shoot space monsters that were attacking them. In the 1970s, “video game arcades” began to appear. These were places with many computer game machines. During the 1970s and 1980s, video game arcades became important places for young people to meet friends and make new ones.
At the same time, companies were developing cheap home computers. People with these machines did not have to go to video game arcades. They did not have to pay each time they wanted to play a game. They did not have to wait for other people to finish playing, either. Video game arcade owners tried to introduce games that used technology that home computers did not have. However, home computer makers were able to find ways to make their games more attractive. Now, many video game arcades have closed.
