"The Beast in Grandpa’s House" Level d unit 2 Week 1

“The Beast in Grandpa’s House” Level D Unit 2 Week 1

“Maria!” Grandpa Alex said as he opened the door. “Right on time.” Our chess set was on the kitchen table. Grandpa and I play chess every Saturday. But the game would have to wait. Today Grandpa Alex needed my help. 40

“The beast is waiting in the living room,” Grandpa warned. I laughed. “Mom said your’re learning about computers to widen your horizons. But you once said Human brains are better than computer brains.’ What happened?” I asked. “The Chess Club made me secretary. I said I’d communicate by e-mail,” he told me. “But you don’t know how to use a computer,” I said.

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Grandpa Alex liked away. “I want to be secretary,” he said. “That’s why I need your help.” Suddenly my awareness of Grandpa’s fear of computer grew. I wondered if I’d be able to teach him how to use one. Grandpa Alex started at the monitor. “How do I turn it on?” he asked. “Press the button on that big box,” I said. Grandpa Alex pushed the button. The computer hummed. “The computer’s brain is in that box,” I explained. 182

Grandpa Alex liked confused. “Let’s log onto the Internet,” I said. “Move you mouse to the picture of the eye on your screen.” “Does the mouse bite?” he joked. “It hasn’t bitten me yet,” I replied as I helped him move it. “Slide your mouse around. See how the arrow moves on the screen?” The arrow reached the eye picture. “Click the button,” I said. “Now put the arrow on the e-mail menu.” 255

“Menu? Can I order food too?” Grandpa Alex joked again. “A menu is a list of things the computer can do. It’s like a restaurant menu,” I explained. Grandpa nodded and moved the mouse. The arrow darted all over the screen. He frowned. “I can’t comprehend this!” he exclaimed. “Try again,” I said. “Move the mouse slowly until you are used to it.” 318

Grandpa moved the mouse. The arrow moved across the screen again. I put my hand over his hand and helped him move the mouse to the e-mail menu. “Now click the button on the mouse,” I said. Grandpa clumsily hit the button. The mouse moved away. Another program on the computer opened on the screen. “What happened?” Grandpa Alex asked. “You opened a window by mistake,” I said. “I’m not near any windows!” Grandpa said. 393

“Windows are the boxes that open on the screen,” I said. It was hard for him to comprehend this. “I’ll never learn to use a computer,” he said. Then I remembered when I learned about fractions in math class. I felt confused and wanted to quit too. My awareness of how Grandpa felt grew. “If I can learn fractions,” I told him, “you can do this.” 459

“Okay. I’ll try again,” he said. “Wait. What is this button?” He pointed to a picture of a chessboard on the screen. “You can also play games on the computer,” I said. I was surprised when Grandpa Alex clicked the mouse on the chessboard by himself. The game opened. “Maria,” he said,” “e-mail can wait. Today, you can widen my horizons by teaching me how to play chess on the computer!” 530

“Molly New Role” Level D Unit 2 Week 2

It was a big day for Molly. She was trying out for the new school play, The Golden Merry-Go-Round. She sang and danced. Three teachers and three students sat at the front of the auditorium. They would choose the actors. “Good job, Molly,” said Mr. Andrews after she read her lines. “Next!” On Monday, the cast list appeared. Molly raced over to read it. Her name was not there. 69

“Molly,” called Mr. Andrews. “Could you come here a minute?” he asked. “Molly, you have accomplished so much as an actor,” Mr. Andrews said. “But this time we would like you to try something else. There are many other interesting jobs. Teamwork is what makes a play a real success.” Molly nodded. She lift the room and ran home. Her grandmother was waiting. She looked at Molly’s face. It reminded her of storm clouds. 143

“I didn’t get a part in the play!” Molly cried. Then she told Grandma what Mr. Andrews said. “You have a lot to think about, Molly,” Grandma said. Later, Molly called her friend. “Jessica, I’ll just forget about the play,” she said. “And I won’t go to see it.” Jessica sounded disappointed. “Oh, Molly,” she said. “Why don’t you work on the scenery?” But Molly had already make up her mind. 214

Everyone in the auditorium was busy working on the play. Some students worked on posters or scenery. Other students would be in charge of the lights and sound. Some students had to open and close the curtain. Jessica’s group was in charge of gathering props. Props are the things on stage that make a play seem real. The stage had to look like a circus with a merry-go-round. 282

As the weeks passed, Molly’s classmates accomplished so much for the play. After school, Molly just went straight home. One night Jessica called. She told Molly about the merry-go-round horse she was making. “It doesn’t look real,” Jessica complained. Molly sat up. She knew where to find a real merry-go-round horse. Grandma’s friend Mr. Cohen collected merry-go-round horses. She didn’t tell Jessica this though. She had a lot to think about. 353

Molly found Grandma in the kitchen. She told her what had happened. “What do you want to do?” Grandma asked. Molly smiled. “I want to cooperate.” Grandma smiled back. “Let’s call Mr. Cohen.” Mr. Cohen was happy that someone was interested in his collection. “Molly, I’ve got the perfect horse,” he said. “It needs a little paint, but you can make it look good as new.”

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The next day, Molly’s father brought the horse to the auditorium. “This is a perfect prop!” Jessica exclaimed. “Will you help more?” Molly had a admit she like cooperating. “Sure! I’ll work on props,” she said. She already had some great ideas. Looking for props was like going on a treasure hunt. The props group used teamwork to find what they needed. 481

Soon Molly felt as if she had been on the team all along. When Mr. Andrews came to take a look at the scenery, Molly was trying to move a tall ladder on the stage. “Can you help us with this ladder? She asked Mr. Andrews. “Remember what you told me about teamwork? It isn’t just for students, you know!” 541

“The Big Dig of Boston” Level D Unit 2 Week 4

For years, Boston had a terrible traffic problem. Its old, elevated highway was not wide enough. And it was falling apart. Cars and trucks jammed its lanes. Traffic crawled into and out of Boston. The highway made one straight route through the city. People had a hard time getting to some areas. 52

City planners knew these problems would grow. They worried people might not want to seek a new career or spend free time in Boston. So, they came up with a big plan-The Big Dig! The Big Dig would create a new highway. People were amazed when they read about the plans. Workers would build many miles of tunnels. Some tunnels would go underwater. They would replace the old highway. 121

Work on the Big Dig could not shut down the city. That wasn’t an option. The old highway had to stay open. So did train tracks and subways. The Big Dig project started with an underwater tunnel. It would be 50 feet under Boston Harbor. What could dig so deep? The Super Scoop could! 175

The Super Scoop sat on a huge, table-shaped boat that moved very slowly across the harbor. The Scoop worked nonstop to dig up rocks and mud for almost a mile. It took two years to finish this part of the first tunnel. The first tunnel was finished in 1995. But workers had much more to do. 231

Work soon began on a second underwater tunnel. But there was a problem. A big problem. Another tunnel was already down there. The Boston subway ran through it. The highway tunnel couldn’t sit on top of the subway tunnel. It would crush it. Even experienced builders were stumped. But they found a solution. 284

The new tunnel would have legs! Workers placed a row of columns along each side of the subway tunnel. Then they rested sections of the highway tunnel on top of the columns. Caps on each section fit tightly over the columns. Today, the new highway tunnel is a busy place. Traffic moves quickly below the surface. A huge, new bridge also stretches above. 347

Big Dig workers also built tunnels under railroad tracks. Digging under the tracks wasn’t a safe option. But pushing was. Big dig workers would dig like a worm does. They built a giant tunnel box called the “worm.” Powerful machines shoved the “worm” forward. This made a path. It was slow going. Workers cleared only about nine feet of dirt each day. 409

Builders also planned another tunnel. This one would go under the old elevated highway. Columns holding up the old highway were in the tunnel’s path. So workers built new columns. Then they knocked down the old ones. In 2004, the new highway was finished. Planning and building the Big Dig took several years. Many people with different careers were involved. It took big efforts to make the Big Dig. 478