Asian and Pacific Speed Reading for EFL Learners

Twenty passages written at the one thousand word level

(each 500 standard words (3000 characters) long)

E. Quinn, I.S.P. Nation and Sonia Millett

Adapted from E. Quinn and I.S.P. Nation (1974) Speed

Reading: A Course for Learners of English. Oxford University
Press, Kuala Lumpur.

2018

School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies

Victoria University of Wellington
PO Box 600
Wellington
New Zealand
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/lals/
Research has shown that if a consistent measure of reading speed is needed when reading
different texts, then the number of characters (letters, punctuation, spaces) in each text needs to
be the same (Carver, 1976; Kramer & McLean, forthcoming). This version of the 1000 level
speed reading course has been adapted so that each text is exactly 3000 characters long (500
standard words).

Teachers and staff of the English Language Institute at Victoria University of Wellington helped
to proofread and trial these readings and gave valuable feedback and suggestions.

The materials in this book may be used in two ways. Students may work through the readings
individually at home or in a self-access centre. The program is best used, however, as a
controlled classroom activity. The material contained in this book may be photocopied, provided
that it is not sold at a profit and that its source is acknowledged.

Introduction

Asian and Pacific Speed Readings for ESL Learners is a re-editing of Quinn and Nation’s (1974)
Speed Reading: A Course for Learners of English. The readings have been adapted to bring
them into line with changes in the world since they were first written. The original series had
twenty-five readings and this series has twenty. Many of the passages cover the same topics as
the original book. The vocabulary control is at a slightly higher level and the sentences are
slightly longer.

The programme contains twenty 550 word readings, each with ten comprehension questions. The
readings are based on topics related to Asia and the Pacific and are written within the 1000 most
frequently used words of English (West, 1953). The only exceptions are words that are explained
in the text, the titles of passages or content words like country names and animal names. In
addition, the grammar has been restricted by limiting the number of relative clauses, passives and
difficult time references. They can be used for self-study at home or in a self-access centre.

Asian and Pacific Speed Readings for ESL Learners complements two other speed reading
booklets: New Zealand Speed Readings for ESL Learners, Books One and Two. Book One is
written within the 2,000 word list, and Book Two is written within the 2000 word list plus the
570 words that appear in An Academic Word List (Coxhead, 2000).

Principles of a speed reading programme

In using a speed reading programme it is important to isolate the skill that is being practised:
increasing the speed of a student’s reading. While this cannot be done in isolation from
understanding, the main point is to increase speed. It is important not to confuse the purpose of
the exercise with increasing vocabulary, improving reading comprehension or anything else. A
speed reading programme is only a small part of an overall reading programme. Other reading
skills and strategies are practised at other times and while success with the programme may lead
to benefits such as increasing confidence and the effectiveness and enjoyment of reading, the
focus is speed.
 1. The readings should be easy. There should be no or very little unknown vocabulary and
the grammar should be straightforward with no tricky constructions, for example
confusing time sequences. There should be nothing to stop the readers in their tracks. If a
student does not know the most frequent 1000 words of English, these readings should
not be used. Similarly the questions should test general understanding rather than detailed
knowledge. Questions about specific details such as dates and figures will slow down
reading.

2. The focus is speed. While reading without understanding would be pointless, the goal of
speed reading is not to achieve perfect accuracy in answering the questions. If students
are getting all the questions right, they are reading too slowly. The goal is the fastest time
with about 70 percent accuracy.

3. The method of reading is important. Students should not use their fingers or pens to trace
words as this encourages slow word-by-word reading. By reading quickly, students are
training themselves to process meaning chunks. Reading quickly encourages guessing
from context and ignoring unknown words.

4. Gaining confidence is an important aspect of the programme. A lot of learning is getting

past the “I can’t do it” barrier. A speed reading programme can push the students through
this barrier by setting individual and class goals and time limits. Success in speed reading
engenders confidence, and confidence leads to enjoyment, motivation and more success.

5. A speed reading programme should be intensive. Once a daily routine is established, the
whole speed reading activity should take less than 10 minutes, including reading,
answering the questions, checking the answers, recording progress on the graph and
getting teacher feedback. It is best to do at least three passages a week.

6. Speed reading should be an isolated activity. If the programme is being done in class,
scripts should be handed out and then collected back in as soon as the students have
finished the activity. Sometimes students want to keep the scripts to write down the
words they don’t know, or to understand the passages completely. This reduces the value
of the activity by placing too much importance on skills other than speed. In addition,
these readings are not necessarily the best texts to use for developing other skills.

7. Recording the time and score is a very important part of the exercise as seeing daily
progress is a very effective motivator for students. It is also a good way for the teacher to
monitor progress, give feedback and encourage, and set individual and class goals.

Instructions for teachers

Determine the level of vocabulary knowledge of the class. This can be done by administering the
Vocabulary Levels Test (Schmitt, Schmitt and Clapham, 2001). If the class does not demonstrate
a good receptive knowledge of the first 2,000 words of English, the readings are not appropriate.
Photocopy class sets of the readings. These can be laminated or put in plastic sleeves to prolong
life, or students can be told not to write on them. The readings can be done in any order so it is
not necessary for all students to be working on the same reading. You may like to save on
photocopying by making only a few sets and then having students choose a reading they haven’t
done yet.

Introduce the programme to the class by explaining:

Over the next month you will be doing a daily speed reading exercise, which involves reading a
short passage and answering 10 comprehension questions.

Speed reading is only one of the many ways that the class will be studying reading. The focus of
the speed reading programme will be to increase reading speed. Accuracy in answering the
questions is not the main consideration. Aim for the fastest time with about 70 percent accuracy.

Reading quickly is an important skill for native and non-native speakers and most people can
double their reading speed with practice. A good speed to aim for is around 300 words per
minute (Nation, 2005). This skill will be necessary at university to cope with heavy reading
requirements and for tests. Reading quickly can help your understanding of a text because if you
read slowly you will have forgotten what was said at the top of a page by the time by the time
you get to the bottom. Thus, the faster you read, the more effective and enjoyable it will be. In
addition, research suggests that an improvement in reading leads to benefits across other skills
(Elley and Mangubhai, 1979).

The passages are all 550 words long and they are written in the first 1,000 words of English. The
topics relate to Asia and the Pacific and the passages and questions are not supposed to be
difficult.

While reading, don’t use a pointer or your finger to trace each word because this will make you
read more slowly.

Don’t write on the paper as the readings will be collected and reused for another class.

When you are answering the questions don’t turn back and look at the passage.

Give out the answer sheet and the graph for recording times and comprehension scores then
explain:

When you finish answering the questions, mark your own answers, then record your time and
your comprehension score on the graph.

Write the times on the board:

1.00 2.00 3.00

1.10 2.10
1.20 2.20
 1.30 2.30
1.40 2.40
1.50 2.50

Then explain:

I will cross off the times. When you have finished reading the passage, look up at the board and
make a note of the next time that has not been crossed off.

Give out the readings. Tell students not to start until you tell them to.

Stand by the board with a watch and cross off the times. As students finish answering the
questions, marking them and recording their scores on the graphs, the teacher can walk around to
check progress and collect the readings. If a student is scoring 8, 9 or 10 on the comprehension
questions, encourage them to read faster next time. You can set individual goals by drawing a
line on the student’s graph. On the first day there is usually some confusion. However by day
three everyone knows exactly what to do.

Instructions for students

When the teacher says “Go!”, begin reading as fast as you can. Don’t use your finger or a pen to
point to the words as you read. When you finish reading the passage, look up and note the next
time that has not been crossed off on the board. Write this in the space for time on your graph
sheet. Turn over the page and answer the questions from memory without looking back at the
passage. After you have finished answering the questions, check your answers using the answer
key and record the score on your graph. Then look up.

Do not write on the papers. The teacher will come around to check your progress and collect the
passages.

Self-study

If students are using the readings for self-study, they should follow the same procedure of timing
their reading, answering the questions and recording their score on the graph.

Graphs

If the readings are not being done consecutively, students should write the passage number
immediately under the # on the graph. After reading the passage, they record their time by
drawing an X in the appropriate place and then they write the number of questions answered
correctly in the boxes at the bottom. By looking across to the right-hand side they can see their
words per minute.

A six minute graph is provided. If a student cannot finish the reading in this time their goal
becomes to get to the bottom of the page. It is unusual that a student who is familiar with the first
1000 words of English cannot work and improve within this time frame. If a student makes no
improvement in time and continues to score below 6 correct, this is a signal to the teacher that
they need additional help. Help can be provided by getting students to reread passages, by
getting them to think about the possible content of the passage before reading, and to look at
some of the questions before they read.

Once students get into a routine they will see their graphs going up and this will motivate them to
go faster.

An example of a daily fluency programme incorporating speed readings

I have successfully used the following fluency programme at various proficiency levels and for a
variety of classes, from conversation classes to English for Academic Purposes classes, over
many years. The 20-minute activity consists of three parts and is supplemented by a fluency or
accuracy journal.

Each student buys a small exercise book (ideally size 1B4). In the front they write their weekly
journal entries, and in the back they write their daily quickwrites. They tape the speed reading
answer key and graph to the inside back cover for daily use. They bring the exercise book to
class every day and the teacher collects it once a week.

1. Quickwrite
A quickwrite is five minutes writing on a topic chosen by the students with emphasis on fluency
and flow of ideas. The goal is to write as much as possible without the use of an eraser or
dictionary. Students write in the back of their journals. The topics might include my best friend,
weather, cats, my family, studying English, my book, independent study and so on. The topics
become more sophisticated over the course of the programme and the students demonstrate an
increasing willingness to tackle any topic. Other possible activities include repeated writing and
writing very easy texts.

2. Quickspeak
The quickwrite is followed by 2 or 3 minutes of speaking without pauses to a listening partner on
the topic of the day. Then students change roles. It is good to number off students to form pairs
as this ensures a different partner every day. It is also a good idea to have the students stand up
while they are speaking. They should be speaking as fluently as they can and they shouldn’t be
reading quickwrites. Quickspeaks provide a very useful opportunity for the teacher to give
individual feedback on pronunciation, clarity and fluency. At the end of the activity, brief group
feedback can also be given on a common problem such as subject verb agreement. Other
possible activities include 4/3/2, repeated talks, prepared talks, and paired activities.

3. Quickread.
Choose the level of speed readings that is appropriate for the class. Other possible activities for
increasing reading fluency include repeated reading, and reading easy graded readers.

These three activities should take no more than 20 minutes and may be combined with a fluency
homework journal depending on the level and needs of the students.
4. Fluency Journals
Students write 3 pages of free writing every week. They are encouraged to treat their journals as
a quick writing exercise and take not more than 20 minutes per page. Topics can be set by the
teacher or students can choose their own topics. Examples might be: one page about their
independent learning, one about their extensive reading and the third page on their own topic. It
can be helpful to start the programme with a brainstorm of possible topics. Journals are collected
once a week and read and commented on for content by the teacher before being returned to
students.

After a period of several weeks of fluency work, the class focus may shift away from fluency
work to accuracy work. Once students have become confident about using English a switch may
be made to accuracy. Research shows however that fluency improvement is usually accompanied
by accuracy improvements and well as complexity improvement.

5. Accuracy Journals

Students write two pages, double-spaced, on the left-hand pages of their journals. The writing
should be as accurate as possible and they should use dictionaries and checklists. At the same
time students are encouraged to focus on the grammatical structures which they find difficult,
and to use their journals to practise these, Examples might be subject verb agreement, passives or
tenses. The journals are collected once a week, marked for accuracy and returned. Students
rewrite their work on the right hand page. In subsequent weeks, the teacher checks both the two
rewritten pages and the two new pages.

Other uses for the speed readings

While the speed reading programme should remain a quick isolated activity, there are a number
of other uses for class sets of short interesting passages with controlled vocabulary and grammar.
Bamford and Day (2004) outline a range of activities for improving extensive reading.

Some examples are:

1. Dictations
2. Dictaglosses
3. Read aloud fluency activities
4. Pronunciation, stress and intonation practice
5. Listening activities
6. Question and answer activities

References

Bamford, J., & Day, R. (Ed.). (2004). Extensive Reading Activities for Teaching Language.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Carver, R. P. (1976). Word length, prose difficulty, and reading rate. Journal of Literacy
Research, 8(2), 193-203.
Coxhead, A. (1998). An Academic Wordlist. (ELI Occasional Publication Mo. 18). Wellington,
New Zealand: Victoria University of Wellington, School of Linguistics and Applied Language
Studies.

Coxhead, A. (2000). A new academic word list. TESOL Quarterly 34, 2: 213-238.

Elley, W.B., & Mangubhai, F. (1979). A research report on Reading in Fiji. Fiji English
Teachers Journal, 15, 1-7.

Kramer, B., & McLean, S. (2019 forthcoming). L2 reading rate and word length: The necessity
of character-based measurement.

Mosback, G., & Mosback, V. (1980). Practical Faster Reading. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

Nation, P. (2005). Reading faster. Pasaa 36: 21-37.

Nation, P., & Soullière, E. (1991). Speed Reading and Stories from Around the World.
Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University of Wellington, School of Linguistics and Applied
Language Studies.

Quinn, E., & Nation, I.S.P. (1974). Speed Reading. Kuala Lumpur : Oxford University Press.
(Out of print. Now available in Speed Readings and Stories from Around the World. Wellington,
New Zealand: Victoria University of Wellington, School of Linguistics and Applied Language
Studies.)

Schmitt, N., Schmitt, D., & Clapham, C. (2001). Developing and exploring the behaviour of two
new versions of the Vocabulary Levels Test. Language Testing, 18, 55-88.

Spargo, E. (1989). Timed Readings (3rd ed.). Lincolnwood, IL: Jamestown.

West, M. (1953). A General Service List of English Words. London: Longman, Green.
Asian and Pacific Speed Readings for ESL Learners

1. Life in the South Pacific islands

2. Jainism
3. Fa Hien
4. Willem Iskandar
5. The Inuit
6. Asoka
7. Diponegoro
8. Death Ceremonies in Bali
9. Jayaprana
10. Buddhism
11. James Brooke
12. Hong Kong
13. The English Language
14. Rabindranath Tagore
15. China
16. King Mongkut of Thailand
17. Abdullah Writes about a War
18. Stamford Raffles
19. Confucius
20. The Maori
1 Life in the Pacific Islands

The Pacific is the largest ocean in the world and has more than 5,000 islands. These islands make
up many different countries, but together they are called the Pacific Islands. The Pacific Islands
are always warm and the weather is the same for most of the year. Between the months of April
and November there, is less rain and some cool winds but the weather is still warm. The people
of the Pacific Islands came from Asia a long time ago. We know this because a few of the words
in their many different languages are the same as words in Asian languages.

In the following story we can see how life was in a Pacific Island village many years ago.
Today, many places in the Pacific have changed, but it is good to look back to see how life was
in the old days.

A day in the life of a Pacific Island village.

The life of the village begins when the sun comes up. The shouts of the young men are heard
among the trees. They call to one another as they get ready to go to their work. As the sun begins
to shine on the soft brown roofs and the tall thin trees, birds call and the noise of the sea is mixed
with the noise of the village. Babies cry and little children roll out of their beds and walk down to
the sea to wash their faces. Children go to find their friends to go fishing. The whole village
opens its eyes and goes towards the sea.

Some of the men get ready to take the boats out fishing. Through the village a noise calling the
young men together is heard. They come from all parts of the village. Some go with their digging
sticks to work in the village garden. Others work in their own gardens. Some go to get food to
bring back to eat on that day. Little children are too hungry to wait for the first meal of the day so
they eat the food left over from the day before. Women carry washing to the river at the far end
of the village, while the older girls go fishing or make cloth.

In the houses, the older women and the mothers with young babies sit and talk about the day.
They laugh and call to each other. The old men sit by themselves rolling leaves to make rope.
Some families are already hard at work cooking the food which has been brought from the
village gardens. Children are running backwards and forwards, carrying water, helping each
other and getting in each other’s way. They get leaves to put the food in before it is cooked.

At twelve o'clock, the ground burns the feet of the little children, and they run into the houses.
Some women carry leaves to keep the sun away from their faces. Everything is quiet and as the
sun slowly moves towards the sea, someone shouts out 'a boat'. The men bring their boats out of
the sea and pull them on to the land. They are tired because the day has been hot. The fish are
put on the floor, or in front of the houses until the women pour water on them. The men come
home from the gardens. They go together to a big meeting house to drink and talk, and then
everyone eats the food that the women have made. The day is almost finished.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

1 Life in the Pacific Islands
1. Thousands of years ago, people came
to the Pacific Islands from 6. When the sun comes up the village is

a South America. a very noisy.

b Asia. b still sleeping.
c Australia. c full of people working.
d Europe. d very quiet.

2. In the Pacific Islands the weather is 7. The little children wash their faces in

a very hot. a the river.

b warm. b the pot of water near their house.
c cold. c the sea.
d sometimes warm and sometimes d the bathroom.
cold.
8. When the sun comes up, the young
3. The people of the Pacific Islands men go
speak.
a back to sleep.
a the same language. b to play in the trees.
b two different languages. c to work in the garden.
c many different languages. d to make cloth.
d the English language.
9. At midday the village is quiet because
4. The old men
a there is no one there.
a go fishing. b the children are swimming.
b play games with the children. c the sun is very hot.
c talk with the women. d the men are all fishing.
d sit by themselves.
10. The fishermen come home
5. During the day the women
a at midday.
a. work in the gardens. b in the morning.
b. go fishing. c when the sun goes down.
c. make rope. d when the children call them.
d. cook food.
2 Jainism

Like Buddhism, Jainism began in India. However, while Buddhism went to other countries,
Jainism never moved from India. Jainism is not widely known now, but it was very important in
the history of India.

The greatest teacher of Jainism lived at the same time as Buddha. His name was Mahavira and
he came from a strong and rich family. When he was thirty years old, he left his home. He
travelled around for twelve years and then began teaching. He taught his ideas to his followers
for thirty years until his death at the age of 72. The place of his death is important for his
followers.

For almost one hundred years after Mahavira died, Jainism was not very important. Then a
famous king became a follower of Jainism. At this time Jainism broke into two parts. It happened
like this. One leader wanted to leave the north of India where there was not enough food and the
people were hungry. A big group of people went with him but many others did not want to
follow him. Later, when some of the people came back to the north of India from the south, they
found changes. Followers of Jainism had not worn clothes in the past but now many of them
were wearing white clothes. The two groups still believed in the same things but they lived in
different ways.

For the followers of Jainism everything has a life. Animals, trees, flowers, water and stones all
have lives. Every part of the world is alive. Each life wants to be free from its body but until it is
free, it is born again and again. If it wants to be free, it must do good things and must not hurt
anything else.

This is difficult to do, so a Jain must do things carefully. If a person walks on a bee and kills it,
this is very bad. Water and earth each have a life so drinking water and walking on earth hurt
them. A true follower of Jainism eats and drinks but does not kill the plants. Other people kill
them. Water must be very clean before Jains will drink it because they do not want to kill
anything living in the water. Jains cover their faces with a piece of cloth because they do not
want to hurt the wind or air when they take it into their bodies. They do not run or hit their feet
on the ground. They live very carefully and think before they do anything.

Some lives are more important than other lives. All living things are put into five groups. The
highest group is people, gods and some animals like horses, cows, and snakes. The second group
cannot hear things. Bees are in this group. The third group cannot see or hear. The next group
cannot hear, see, or smell things. Some of the things in this group live in the sea or in the ground.
The last group is the biggest. They can only feel things. Plants, earth, water, air, stones, fire and
wind are in this group. It is very bad to hurt things in the highest group. It is not as bad to hurt
things in the lowest group, but it is still bad. The followers of Jainism do not like to hurt things at
all. When you go on to a new life, you may go to a higher group or a lower group.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

2 Jainism

1. There are many followers of Jainism 6. For the followers of Jainism,

everything in the world
a in most countries in Asia.
b in Europe and America. a is alive.
c only in India. b is bad.
d through the world. c lives only once.
d can hear and feel.
2. The greatest teacher of Jainism was
7. Followers of Jainism can become free
a Jain. from their bodies if
b Buddha.
c Mahavira. a they do good things.
d Confucius. b they believe in God.
c they always pray to God.
3. The greatest teacher of Jainism died d they kill smaller things.
when he was
8. True followers of Jainism do not run
a thirty years old. because
b forty years old.
c sixty years old. a there is life on the ground.
d over seventy years old. b they always close their eyes.
c they cannot think and run
4. Jainism became famous together.
d they must not use their bodies.
a when it first began.
b when a king became a follower. 9. If people do not do enough good
c fifty years after it began. things,
d when the first great teacher died.
a they will die.
5. One important difference between the b they must leave the world.
two kinds of Jainism was c they will be born again and
again.
a they followed different gods. d something will kill them.
b one group did not wear clothes.
c one group did not eat plants or 10. The life of a bee is more important
meat. than the life of
d they ate in different ways.
a a person.
b a snake.
c a cow.
d a plant.
3 Fa Hien
Fa Hien was a Buddhist who lived in China more than 1,500 years ago. At that time,
many people in China were Buddhists but they did not know much about Buddhism. This
was because there were no books about Buddhism in China and there were not many
Buddhist teachers there.

When Fa Hien became a Buddhist, he thought a lot about his people. He was unhappy
because there were no Buddhist books. So in the year A.D. 399 he went to India to find
some books for his people. Two of his friends went with him. They travelled by land.

After travelling for six years through the west part of China, Fa Hien and his friends
finally arrived in India. He stayed in India for ten years and lived with Indian Buddhists
who taught him about Buddhism. While he was in India he learned the Sanskrit language
and he copied several Buddhist books. When he finished copying the books, he left India
and went to Ceylon by boat.

Fa Hien studied Buddhism in Ceylon too. Buddhism in Ceylon was a little different from
Buddhism in India or China. He also bought more books about Buddhism in Ceylon.
After staying there for about two years, he decided to go back to China. He put all of his
books on a ship and left Ceylon. It was a big ship and there were a lot of people on it.

Everything went well during the first few days of the voyage, but suddenly there was a
strong wind and the sky became very dark. Water began to come into the ship through a
big hole in the bottom. In order to save the ship everybody had to throw their things into
the sea. Fa Hien threw all his things away except his books about Buddhism. The weather
continued to be bad for several days but one night the ship was carried to an island where
the people got off the ship and mended it. They waited on the island until the sea was
smooth again. When the wind stopped blowing, they continued their voyage and at last
they arrived at the island of Java in Indonesia.

The ship did not go on to China, so Fa Hien waited in Java for several months before he
got on another ship. At that time, it usually took 50 days to sail from Java to China, but
after sailing for a month there was another big storm. The people were afraid but Fa Hien
did not do anything. He only sat quietly prayed. People became angry with him and when
they passed a small island, they wanted to leave him on the island. When Fa Hien's
friends heard about this, they were angry with the people. They said they would tell the
king when they arrived in China, if Fa Hien was left on the island. Then the other people
changed their minds and they did not leave Fa Hien there. The storm continued for many
weeks, but one day they suddenly saw land. They felt very happy because they knew it
was China. They were home again.

Fa Hien was happy, too, because he still had all his books with him. He went back to his
home town and spent the rest of his life writing the books in Chinese and teaching his
people about Buddhism. His books are very important in the growth of Chinese
Buddhism.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

3 Fa Hien

1. Fa Hien was born in 6. After Fa Hien left Ceylon by ship,

there was a big storm and he
a India.
b Ceylon. a lost all his books.
c Java. b had to swim to an island.
d China. c saved the ship.
d threw many things away.
2. Fa Hien went to India 7. On his way home to China, he stopped
in
a to learn Sanskrit.
b to visit his friends. a Singapore.
c to get some books. b Burma.
d to teach about Buddhism. c Java.
d Japan.
3. Fa Hien's journey to India took
8. During the second storm, before they
a a few days. reached China, Fa Hien
b several weeks.
c a few months. a was put on an island.
d many years. b was very angry.
c fell into the sea.
4. While he was in India, Fa Hien d prayed.
a copied many books. 9. The journey to China was
b taught in many places.
c got a lot of money. a fast.
d became a Buddhist.
b dangerous.
c pleasant.
5. Fa Hien travelled to Ceylon because
d easy.
a there were Buddhists in Ceylon.
10. After he arrived in China, Fa Hien
b he wanted to teach there.
c some friends took him there. a wanted to travel again.
d his family lived there. b wrote many books.
c became a sailor.
d visited the king.
4 Willem Iskandar
Willem Iskandar was a very famous writer from North Sumatra in Indonesia. He was
interested in teaching and learning, and he was one of the first Sumatran people to write
poems and school-books.

Willem Iskandar was born in 1838. His father was the king of a part of Sumatra. When he
was a baby, his parents called him Sati. When the first school was opened in his village,
Sati was one of the first children to enter it. His school was not a rich school. The
building was very small and it had only one teacher. His teacher soon liked Sati because
he was a very clever student.

Then Mr. Gouden, who was an important Dutch man in Sumatra, came to visit the
school. He saw Sati and was interested in him because he was so clever. After the visit,
Mr. Gouden went to see Sati's parents. He wanted Sati to come and live with his family
and to learn Dutch and other things with his own children. Sati's parents were happy
about this. They could see that Sati could learn a lot. So, Sati lived with the Gouden
family until he was old enough to start work in an office.

A few years later, when the Gouden family went back to Holland, they asked Sati to go
with them. So in 1854 Sati left for Holland to study there. He was the first person from
Sumatra to study in that country. While he was living in Holland, the Dutch king heard
about him and one day Sati went to see the king. He was the first person from Sumatra to
visit the king. When the king met him, he gave him a new name: Willem Iskandar. When
his parents heard about this, they were not very happy because they did not want Sati to
forget about his own country. This never happened.

After studying in Holland for five years, Willem came back to his own village and got
some money to open a high school. This was the first high school in Sumatra. He was the
only teacher so he taught all the classes. Willem worked very hard and at the same time
he wrote books for his students. After some time, he asked the good students from the
higher class to teach the students in the lower class. In this way he taught his students to
be teachers. His students later became teachers in many different parts of Sumatra.

Willem Iskandar worked as a teacher for about 15 years and then he was sent again by
the Dutch once more to study in Holland. He met many people and made many friends.
After some time he married one of his Dutch friends.

After three years the people in Willem’s village were happy because he had passed his
examinations and he was coming back soon. However, he never went home. Willem
Iskandar was ready to go home and had said good-bye to his friends. Then his wife
suddenly did not want to go with him. She was afraid and did not want to leave Holland.
Willem Iskandar was very sad. He loved his wife but he wanted to go home to his own
country. One day, in one of the quiet corners of a beautiful flower-garden in Amsterdam,
he shot himself. Near his body they found a piece of paper from Willem. Only the word
'Goodbye' was written on it.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

4 Willem Iskandar

1. Willem Iskandar wrote 6. Sati got his new name from

a songs. a his parents.

b school-books. b the Gouden family.
c long stories. c the Dutch king.
d many famous letters. d a book.

2. Sati's family were 7. Willem's parents were unhappy

because
a quite rich.
b poor. a they wanted him to come home.
c not famous. b they were very poor.
d farmers. c they wanted to go to
Holland.
3. Mr. Gouden was interested in Sati d Willem met the Dutch
because he was king.

a from a good family. 8. When Willem came back to

b very friendly. Indonesia, he
c strong.
d good at school-work. a studied hard.
b started a high school.
4. Sati went to live with Mr. Gouden's c did not go back to his village.
family to d went to other parts of Sumatra.
a work for them. 9. When Willem went back to Holland,
b learn many new things.
c get away from his parents. a he made many enemies.
d teach them his language. b he did not pass his examinations.
c he did not want to go home.
5. Sati went to Holland to d he married a Dutch woman.
a be with the Gouden family. 10. Willem killed himself because
b study there.
c meet the Dutch king. a his friends laughed at him.
d start a school there. b he did not pass his examinations.
c his wife would not go with him.
d he did not want to go hom
5 The Inuit
The Inuit live in Canada, Greenland and the north of America. They were the first
people to live in these countries, arriving there about 5,000 years ago. They live in a
land of ice and snow, a land without trees. For nine long months of the year it is cold,
dark winter, while summer is only three short months. Today, many Inuit live modern
lives in towns and cities, but not so long ago the people lived the way their parents and
their parents’ parents had lived for thousands of years. Like many people all over the
world, the Inuit do not want to lose their language and culture. They want to keep their
way of life and teach their children the old ways.

Most Inuit lived in small groups of only a few families. These groups lived near the sea
because most of their food came from there. Because the weather was too cold to grow
anything, their food was the fish and animals that they caught. Other Inuit moved from
place to place following the animals called caribou, which made up the biggest part of
their food. Sometimes the Inuit boiled their food but often it was not cooked at all.

In winter, the Inuit lived in houses made of earth and stones with an earth roof. Another
kind of Inuit house was made of snow. The people could build these houses very
quickly so they were useful when they travelled from place to place. The snow houses
were round and not very high. The beds and tables were also made of snow and the
windows were made of ice. The doors of the snow houses were small so the warm air
inside could not get out and the cold air could not get in. A house like this was not cold.
There was a lamp inside the house and this warmed it. The lamp was important because
it did three things. It warmed the house, it gave light and it was used to cook the food.

Because it was always very cold, the Inuit had to wear thick, warm clothes. The women
made clothes from the skins of animals. Each piece of clothing could take weeks or
even months to make and they could be very beautiful. Mothers wore special clothes so
they could carry their babies on their backs against their skin to keep them warm and
safe.

Dogs were important to the Inuit way of life because they could live in the very cold
weather. Each group had several dogs which helped the people when they moved
around. The Inuit also used boats. The boats were light and easy to carry and they could
move through the water quickly. Small boats were used to catch animals and fish, and
bigger boats were used when the family travelled. A long time ago the Inuit used stone
and animal bones to make knives and the other things they needed. However, over time
they began to use guns and modern knives. There are many Inuit languages, but
because there is not much difference between each one, people from different places
can usually understand each other when they get together. There are about 90,000
people who speak Inuit languages.

Now the old Inuit way of life is changing but the old ways are still remembered and
valued.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

5 The Inuit

1. There are Inuit people in 6. Most Inuit cooked their food with

a South America. a a fire.

b Holland. b a stove.
c Canada c a lamp.
d China. d electricity.

2. The Inuit live in 7. When the Inuit travelled, they used

a. hot places. a dogs.

b warm places. b horses.
c cool places. c cows.
d cold places. d sheep.

3. The Inuit made houses of 8. Most Inuit lived

a snow. a in cities.
b ice. b in small groups.
c branches. c in big villages.
d wood d alone.

4. Their houses are warm because 9. The Inuit speak

a the weather is warm. a English.

b they have a lamp inside. b Dutch.
c the walls are warm. c their own languages.
d they have windows. d Chinese.

5. The Inuit wear 10. The Inuit got their food by

a cool clothes. a catching animals.

b thin clothes. b growing vegetables.
c thick clothes. c selling things.
d cold clothes. d collecting plants.
6 Asoka
Asoka was an Indian king who lived more than 2,000 years ago. He is still famous today
because he tried to follow the teachings of Buddha. He wanted to be a good king. He
wanted his people to stop fighting and to stop killing each other. He wanted them to live
in peace and happiness. However, Asoka had not always wanted these things.

When Asoka became king, he did not think about the teaching of Buddha. He wanted his
country to be bigger and stronger, so he began to fight with other countries. Asoka was a
good fighter. His army was big and his soldiers were also good at fighting. He fought and
won many wars and slowly his country became bigger. Of course, many people died in
these wars, but Asoka did not think about that.

Eight years after Asoka became king, he sent his army to Kalinga which was another
country in India. Asoka's army killed over 100,000 people in Kalinga. When Asoka found
out about this, he was sorry and he remembered the teaching of Buddha. Buddhists must
not kill. They must not fight. They must live peacefully.

After the war in Kalinga, where so many people had died, Asoka changed. He became a
different man and he began to think about his people and how he could make their lives
better. He made roads and along the roads he planted trees. People could stop under the
trees to rest if the weather was hot, and they could eat the fruit from the trees. Asoka built
houses for travellers where people could rest and sleep without paying. He was also
interested in medicine. He grew plants to make medicines which he gave to his people.
He also gave medicine to animals. He did not want people or animals to be sick. After the
war in Kalinga, Asoka became a good Buddhist and he wanted all his people to be good
Buddhists too. He asked his people to study the teaching of Buddha. Buddha taught that
people should not kill either people or animals so he told his people to eat vegetables and
not meat.

Asoka made new laws for his people. He wrote the laws on stone and on pieces of iron.
He put these stones and pieces of iron in different parts around his country, so that when
people read them, they would know the laws of the country and they would try to follow
them. Today, after 2,000 years, we can still see many of these stones and pieces of iron
and read Asoka’s laws, so we know a lot about him. We know that he was a great Indian
king who followed the teaching of Buddha. We know that his people also followed the
teaching of Buddha. We know that his country was very big, that for a long time there
were no wars and the people lived in peace and were happy. We can find his writings in
the north of India and also in the south of India.

Asoka was king for almost 40 years but after he died the country did not stay peaceful.
The new king was not as good as Asoka, and soon the great country built by Asoka broke
into several small countries which often fought against one another. People began killing
each other again, and they forgot the teaching of Buddha.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

6 Asoka
6. Asoka grew plants for medicine
1. Asoka is famous because because

a he lived in India. a he wanted to help his people.

b he followed Buddha's teaching. b he was very ill.
c he was good at fighting. c he wanted to sell the medicine.
d his country was big. d he was not a king after the war.

2. When Asoka first became king 7. Asoka told his people not to eat meat
because
a he followed Buddha's teaching.
b he did not like fighting. a people become ill if they eat
c he started a war. meat.
d he wanted to live peacefully. b meat was very expensive.
c he gave the meat to animals.
3. In Kalinga, Asoka's army d a Buddhist must not kill.

a lost the war. 8. Everyone knew Asoka's laws because

b killed many people.
c did not want to fight. a they were put all over his
d became Buddhists. country.
b they were taught in schools.
4. Asoka became a good Buddhist when c they came from God.
d they were new.
a he first became king.
9. We know many things about Asoka
b he thought about all the killing.
because
c he began to fight other countries.
d he wanted his country to be
a the Buddha taught about him.
bigger. b he wrote many books.
c we can read his laws.
5. When Asoka stopped fighting in d people did not like him.
Kalinga,
10. After Asoka died,
a he was not happy to be peaceful.
b he wanted to start another war. a his country became bigger.
c he forgot about Buddha. b the people were happy.
d he thought about his people. c there were many wars.
d people still followed the teaching
of Buddha.
7 Diponegoro
Indonesia is now a free country, but 180 years ago it was not free. It was in the hands of
the Dutch. The Indonesian people were very poor because they had to pay a lot of money
to the Dutch, and only a few Indonesians were able to go to school. Because of these
things, most of the kings of Java and of the other Indonesian islands as well as the
Indonesian people were against the Dutch, and they wanted to free their country from
their rule. One day a group of brave people attacked the Dutch. Diponegoro was the
leader of these people.

Diponegoro was born the son of a king in 1785. He was a Muslim, and he loved his
people and his country. In 1825 the Dutch decided to build a road through his land.
Diponegoro told them to stop but they did not listen to him and they continued to build
the road. After this happened, Diponegoro started to fight the Dutch and many Javanese
people joined him in his fight. The war that Diponegoro and his army fought against the
Dutch is now known as the Diponegoro War.

Diponegoro's men did not have as many guns as the Dutch soldiers. Because of this
Diponegoro's army used a different way of fighting them. They came out of the forest
and suddenly attacked them and then quickly hid themselves in the forest again, where
the Dutch soldiers couldn’t find them. The Dutch army was not good at fighting in this
way so they always lost and Diponegoro's men won back most of the middle of Java. The
Dutch way of fighting was different. They built long roads which they used to go from
one place to another quickly and easily. This meant they did not need to go through the
forest to fight Diponegoro’s army. It seemed as if the war would never end.

At that time the Dutch had many enemies in Indonesia and they were fighting many
different wars. They were trying to find a way to stop the war with Diponegoro because it
was expensive for them. They tried to talk with Diponegoro and his friends, but
Diponegoro would not meet them because he knew that the Dutch were dangerous. The
Dutch leaders tried to make friends with Diponegoro's people by offering to give them
land if they left Diponegoro and stopped fighting against them but the Javanese people
loved Diponegoro and did not listen to them.

The war continued for 5 years until 1830, when Diponegoro was asked to come to a
meeting with the Dutch leaders. They promised him that after the meeting he could go
safely back to his own people. But the Dutch leaders lied. When Diponegoro arrived at
the place for the meeting, they caught him and would not let him go. He was sent to
Jakarta and in April 1830 he was sent away from Java to an island. He stayed there for 10
years, and then he was sent to another island in 1840. He died there in 1845.

Diponegoro is now a famous name in Indonesia. People remember his brave fight for his
country against Dutch rule. In almost every town in Indonesia, you can find a
Diponegoro street, and in one of the biggest towns in Java you will find the Diponegoro
University.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

7 Diponegoro

1. One hundred and eighty years ago 6. The Dutch wanted to catch
Diponegoro so they
a the Dutch ruled Indonesia.
b Indonesia was free. a built many roads.
c there were no Indonesian kings. b used aeroplanes.
d the Indonesian people were c used fast trucks.
happy. d caught his family.

2. Diponegoro was the son of 7. The Dutch leader in Java

a a soldier. a talked to Diponegoro several

b a poor farmer. times.
c a rich farmer. b caught many of Diponegoro's
d a king. friends.
c wanted to stop the war.
3. Diponegoro began to fight the Dutch d gave land to Diponegoro's
because friends.
a they attacked him. 8. The Dutch caught Diponegoro
b they took some of his land. because
c they hurt his father.
d they wanted to take his money. a they had a good army.
b Diponegoro believed them.
4. When Diponegoro began to fight, c they caught all of his friends.
d he was hurt.
a he was alone.
b he had a few men. 9. When Diponegoro was caught, he was
c he had many friends to help him.
d he was helped by some Dutch a killed.
soldiers. b given pieces of land.
c sent far away.
5. Diponegoro won many fights because d put in the Dutch army.

a he had many guns.

b he had more soldiers than the 10. In Indonesia the name Diponegoro is
Dutch. often used for the name of
c he fought and ran away.
d he moved quickly along the new a children.
roads. b towns.
c universities.
d streets.
8 Death Ceremonies in Bali
When someone dies in Bali, their family and friends are not usually sad. For them death
is the beginning of a new life, because the dead person will come back into the world in
another form. However, before this happens, something has to be done with the body.
There are many different ceremonies when someone dies. In some countries the body is
put into the ground. In other countries, and in some places in Bali, the body is put on top
of the ground or in a tree where it is eaten by animals or birds. Usually in Bali the dead
body is burned because after it is burned, the dead person can easily come back to live in
this world. The form the person comes back in depends on their last life. If a person has
been bad, they will come back as a dog or a snake, while a good person will have a better
life than their life before. If they have lived a good life, their next life will be even better.

When a person dies, friends and family visit the house, bringing presents of food. The
body cannot be burned on just any day. The family prays to the Gods to find out which is
the right day, and usually the body is put in the ground for forty-two days before it is
burned. Before the body is put in the ground the family washes it. Flowers are put in the
nose, iron is put on the teeth and arms, and glass is put on the eyes so that when the dead
person comes back to earth for the next life, they will have strong arms and teeth, good
eyes and will smell nice. After the family takes the body out of the ground, they bring it
back to the house. When all this has been done, the body is ready for burning.

The body is put on the top of a beautiful wooden tower. The family and their friends then
walk in a line to the burning place. Some people walk in front followed by the men
carrying the tower. They do not walk in a straight line, but run from one side of the road
to the other and turn around quickly. This keeps bad things away from the body. People
in the dead man's family walk in front of the tower, and they hold on to a long rope
hanging from it. All the time the noise of the music and the people is very loud. At the
burning place, the family look at the body for the last time and then the body is burned.
After the burning, some pieces of the bones are taken to the sea or to a river and they are
thrown into the water. The people wash in the water and then they go home.

A long time ago, when a rich man was burned, his wives were burned with him on the
fire. They could then join him in the next life. This was also done in India many years
ago.

The burning of the body is expensive, so people have to save money for this while they
are still alive. Because burning a body is expensive, sometimes people wait and bury the
body for a few years. When there are enough bodies and enough money, they join
together and burn several bodies at the same time. This is cheaper because not so many
towers are needed. These burnings are very noisy and very smoky, and the whole village
takes part.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

8 Death Ceremonies in Bali

1. In Bali, death is
6. The body is in the ground for
a the end of life in the world.
b the beginning of life in another a fourteen days.
world. b twenty-four days.
c the beginning of another life in c forty days.
this world. d forty-two days.
d the end of all life.
7. When they carry the tower, the men
2. Usually, when a person dies in Bali, run from one side of the road to the
the body other because

a is burned. a the tower is heavy.

b is eaten by animals. b they want to keep bad things
c is left in the ground. from the body.
d is put in a tall tree. c they want to play and be happy.
d they are very sad.
3. When a good person dies, they
8. The journey to the burning place is
a do not come back to earth.
b come back to earth as a dog. a very noisy.
c come back as a snake. b very smoky.
d come back in a better life than c very quiet.
before. d very fast.
4. Because the burning of a body is 9. After the body is burned, some pieces
expensive, some people of bones are
a are not burned. a thrown into the sea.
b save money for their burning. b burned again.
c are burned on any day. c put in the ground.
d are put in the sea. d kept in the house.
5. Some flowers, iron and glass are put 10. Now, when a rich man is burned,
on the body, so that
a his wives are burned too.
a it will look nice at the burning. b the tower can be very beautiful.
b it will burn easily. c his body is sent to India.
c it will be better in the next life. d there is no music.
d it will have useful things on its
journey from earth.
9 Jayaprana
This is the story of Jayaprana which happened in Bali many years ago. Jayaprana was a
very clever young man who could sing very well and was good at telling stories. One day
Jayaprana's parents became ill and died and not long after that his brothers and sisters
also died. He was left all alone. After his family died, the king asked Jayaprana to come
and live with him. The king liked him because he was good at singing and could tell
interesting and funny stories. The king liked to listen to him. One day the king said to
him, 'Jayaprana, you are a man now and you must find a wife. Every man must marry. It
is not good if you do not have a wife.' Jayaprana answered, 'But I am still too young to
marry. I should wait for a few more years.'

The king said, 'No, you are now old enough to marry. You must marry as soon as you
can. You need to find a wife. You can choose one of the young women in my house.' But
Jayaprana was not interested in any of them.

One day he was walking in the town and he saw a beautiful young woman. Her eyes were
dark, her hair was long and black, and her face was smooth and beautiful. She had a
beautiful smile. When Jayaprana saw her, he fell in love with her. He asked his friends,
'What is the name of that beautiful girl?' His friends answered, 'Her name is Ni
Layonsari.' Jayaprana could not forget her. He went to the king and said, 'I want to marry
Ni Layonsari. Can you write a letter to her parents? Please ask her parents to let me marry
her.'

Of course the king was very happy to hear this and he quickly wrote the letter and sent it
to Ni Layonsari's parents. The parents were happy to get a letter from the king. They said,
'We will be happy if Jayaprana marries Ni Layonsari. '

So Jayaprana and Ni Layonsari were married and they loved each other very much. They
lived near the house of the king. One day the king saw Ni Layonsari and when he saw
her, he fell in love with her. He went back to his house, but he could not forget her. So
the king wrote a letter and gave it to one of his servants. The king told the servant to kill
Jayaprana. The king sent the servant and Jayaprana on a long journey. When they were
far from the city, the servant gave the letter to Jayaprana. In the letter the king said,
'Jayaprana, you must die. The servant will kill you.'

Jayaprana was sad, but he was not afraid to die. He was willing to follow the order of the
king. 'I am ready,' he said. The servant took a knife and killed him. When Ni Layonsari
heard about Jayaprana's death, she cried. Then the king came to her and said, 'Ni Layon-
sari, now you must marry me.' Ni Layonsari answered, 'I do not want to marry you.' The
king was angry when he heard this, and he said, 'You must marry me now.'

Ni Layonsari answered, 'You must wait for eleven days.' That night Ni Layonsari took a
knife and she killed herself. When the king heard this, he became angrier. He took a long
knife and began to kill his servants. He killed many people and, in the end, he killed
himself.

Write the time and then answer the questions

9 Jayaprana

1. Jayaprana was alone because 6. After Jayaprana and Ni Layonsari

were married, Ni Layonsari
a all his family died.
b his family moved to another a wanted to marry the king.
town. b wanted to be with her parents.
c he did not know his parents. c loved Jayaprana very much.
d he lived with the king. d was not happy with Jayaprana.

2. The king wanted Jayaprana to live 7. When the king first saw Ni Layonsari,
with him because
a he did not like her.
a Jayaprana was the king's son. b he sent her away.
b Jayaprana was a good singer. c he was pleased with Jayaprana.
c the king had no children. d he wanted to marry her.
d the king wanted to marry
Jayaprana. 8. The king gave a letter to his servant.
The letter told the servant
3. Jayaprana did not want to marry one
of the women in the king's house a to kill the king.
because b to kill himself.
c to kill Ni Layonsari,
a he loved Ni Layonsari. d to kill Jayaprana.
b he was not interested in them.
c he did not want to marry. 9. When the king asked Ni Layonsari to
d he did not like the king. marry him, she

4. Ni Layonsari was a was very happy.

b killed Jayaprana.
a quite old. c ran away.
b in love with the king. d killed herself.
c Jayaprana's sister.
d very beautiful. 10. When the king heard about Ni
Layonsari
5. When the king wrote to Ni
Layonsari's parents, a he was pleased.
b he tried to kill her.
a they were very pleased. c he killed many people.
b they were angry. d he left the country.
c they were afraid.
d they were sad.
10 Buddhism

Buddhism comes from the word Buddha. Buddha was a person who lived more than two
thousand five hundred years ago in India. His family was rich, and he lived in a beautiful
house with many servants. However, outside his house there lived many poor and
unhappy people. One day when he went out of his house, he looked at the people and
asked himself these questions, 'Why are people so unhappy? How can people be happy?'

When he was twenty nine years old, he left his family and his beautiful home and went
out into the world to find the answers to his questions. First, he studied with teachers but
they did not answer his questions. After this he lived by himself in the forest and he did
not eat for many days. He tried to get away from his body and the world but this did not
give him the answers to his questions. Then he sat down under a tree and he thought. He
sat and thought for forty-nine days and after this time he learned something from himself.
He became the Buddha. His questions were answered.

People are unhappy because they want things. They are always looking for food, money
and other things. When people do not want things, then they will be happy. When people
do not want things, they are free. They stop thinking about themselves. They stop
thinking about tomorrow and they are kind to others. These are the teachings of Buddha.
Buddha's teachings were not written down until two or three hundred years after his
death. Before this people just remembered them and told them to others.

Buddha died when he was eighty years old. During his long life he travelled to many
places and had many followers. A follower of Buddha is called a Buddhist and some
Buddhist men become monks. Monks do not work and they do not have money. They cut
off all their hair and they wear only a long piece of yellow cloth. They usually do not
wear anything on their feet. Early in the morning, monks walk along the street carrying a
bowl. They cannot ask for food but people stop them and give them food. The life of a
monk is not easy. They spend their time praying and thinking and trying to get away from
the world. They try to follow the teachings of Buddha.

In Thailand, any man can be a monk and many become monks for a short time, usually
for the three months of the wet season. Their time spent being a monk is very important
for Thai men. They leave their families and go to live and study in a monk's house. After
three months, they go back to their own lives, although some remain monks and study the
teachings of Buddha their whole lives.

Since the time of the Buddha, women have also given their lives to Buddhism. These
women are called nuns. Some of them pray and think about Buddhism, some study the
great Buddhist writings and others help the poor.

There is more than one kind of Buddhism. While all Buddhists follow the Buddha’s
teachings, Buddhism developed differently in each of the many countries it spread to.
Buddhism started in Asia but today it has spread to Western countries.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

10 Buddhism

1. Buddha lived 6. Buddha learned that people are

unhappy because
a five hundred years ago.
b one thousand years ago. a they want things.
c two thousand years ago. b they are poor.
d more than two thousand years c they do not believe in God.
ago. d they do not think about
tomorrow.
2. When he was a child, Buddha was
7. A Buddhist monk
a very poor.
b rich. a works.
c happy. b asks for food.
d very ill. c has long hair.
d does not have money.
3. Buddha left his house
because 8. The clothes of the monk are

a he did not like his a grey.

parents. b white.
b he wanted answers for his c yellow.
questions. d many colours.
c he wanted to travel.
d he wanted to meet people. 9. In Thailand most men become monks
for
4. After Buddha left home, he first
a one month.
a went to Thailand. b three months.
b lived in the forest. c a year.
c studied with teachers. d two years.
d sat and thought.
10. We still know Buddha's teachings
5. Buddha did not eat for many days because
because
a people always told them to each
a he wanted to die. other.
b he was very unhappy. b Buddha wrote them in three
c he wanted to learn something. books.
d he was angry at himself. c They were written in stone before
Buddha died.
d Buddha still teaches them.
11 James Brooke
Many years ago Sarawak was part of Brunei and many different people such as Malays,
Dayaks and Chinese lived there. The country was ruled by a sultan and in the time of
James Brooke the sultan was not a good man. He acted badly towards his people and they
turned against him and started fighting him. The Sultan’s name was Hassim.

James Brooke was English. He was born in India in 1803, but he was sent to school in
England at the age of fourteen. He studied for several years. When he was older, he went
back to India to work, but he did not like it there. One day he became ill and was sent
back to England to rest and get better. When he was well again, he decided not to return
to India. Instead he worked on a ship which went to many parts of Asia. Brooke began to
be interested in foreign places.

Brooke started to read widely about Asia, and he wanted to visit the places that he read
about. When his father died, he left him a lot of money and with the money he bought a
ship. He left England and went to Asia. When Brooke reached Sarawak, the people,
especially the Dayaks were fighting the sultan, Hassim.

Hassim really wanted to end the war and he told Brooke that he would give him the
country of Sarawak, if he would help him to stop the fighting. Brooke began to teach
Hassim’s men how to use guns. When the people saw that their enemies had guns, they
were afraid and wanted to stop the war. Brooke organized a meeting between the sultan
and the people and the war ended peacefully. After the war ended, the sultan gave
Sarawak to Brooke and he became the first English sultan of Sarawak in 1842. This was
the beginning of one hundred years of rule in Sarawak by the Brooke family.

Brooke was a very good leader. He learned the Malay language and mixed with his
people. Before Brooke became sultan, the rich and important people in Sarawak had been
very powerful and they had not always followed the rules of the country. Because of this
the poor people were afraid of them. After Brooke became the sultan everybody, both
rich and poor, had to follow the laws of the land. If anyone broke the law, they were
caught and had to pay. However, people who followed the law and lived their lives in a
good way no longer had to be afraid. The people felt safer and enjoyed a happier, more
peaceful life.

James Brooke helped his people in other ways too. He was very interested in learning and
he wanted the people of Sarawak to learn about the world. He sent to Britain for teachers
to come to Sarawak and when they arrived, Brooke and the teachers built the first schools
in the country. People became more and more interested in studying and parents sent
their children to the schools so that they could make their lives better.

In 1863 Brooke returned to England because he was not well and another member of his
family, Charles Brooke, became the second English sultan of Sarawak. James Brooke
died in England in 1868. Now Sarawak is a part of Malaysia but the name Brooke is still
remembered.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

11 James Brooke

1. James Brooke went to Sarawak when 6. Brooke helped Hassim by

a there was no sultan. a using his ship.

b there was a war. b teaching his men.
c he was ill. c buying guns.
d he was going to India. d killing many of the enemy.

2. James Brooke was born in 7. The war stopped when

a India. a all the enemy were killed.

b England. b Brooke became the sultan.
c Sarawak. c the enemy were afraid to fight.
d Singapore. d Hassim was killed.

3. When he left England after he was ill, 8. When Brooke was sultan,
Brooke
a he attacked Hassim.
a went back to India. b people followed the law.
b went to meet Hassim. c he helped the rich people.
c worked with his father. d he built churches.
d worked on a ship.
9. When Brooke began to build
4. When his father died, James Brooke schools, he was helped by

a became very ill. a a teacher from Singapore.

b bought a ship. b a Dutch teacher.
c stayed in England. c an Indian teacher.
d stayed in India. d teachers from Britain.

5. The Brooke family ruled Sarawak for 10. Brooke died

a one hundred years. a on a ship.

b fifty years. b in Singapore.
c twenty years. c in Sarawak.
d until James died. d in England.
12 Hong Kong
Hong Kong is the name of an island off the coast of mainland China. The biggest and
most important city on Hong Kong is Victoria, but not many people use this name.
People usually call the city Hong Kong too. Even though Hong Kong is small, only about
1000 square kilometers, around seven million people live there today. Hong Kong has a
very interesting history. Many years ago the island of Hong Kong belonged to China and
now it belongs to China again. However, for more than 150 years, Hong Kong was ruled
by the British.

Hong Kong has a very good port and in the middle of the 19th century, British ships often
stopped there. They came to China to trade. However, in 1839 a war began between
China and Britain which continued for three years. In 1842 the Chinese and the British
held a meeting which ended the war. At the meeting, the island of Hong Kong was given
to Britain. Fifty years later, in 1898, China gave the area around Hong Kong to the
British for 99 years. In 1997 the British returned Hong Kong to China but it was a very
different place from the deserted island of 150 years ago.

Not many people lived in Hong Kong when it was first given to Britain. Most of the
people were Chinese farmers and fishermen and soon more Chinese arrived. Some of
them left China because they could not find work there and others came to Hong Kong
when there was a war in China. All of these people came to find a better life for
themselves and their children. Besides the Chinese, many other people came. They came
from India, Britain, Holland and many other countries. After some years they began to
think of Hong Kong as their home and they began to work hard for their new home. They
too wanted to make a better life for their families.

People began to build factories and many kinds of things were produced such as clothes,
medicine, machines and radios. These things were not only sold in Hong Kong but also to
many other countries. Hong Kong soon became famous as a world centre for buying and
selling, and it has continued to get stronger and stronger.

In 1997 when Britain returned Hong Kong to China, there were many differences
between the Hong Kong way of life and the Chinese way of life and people thought there
might be some problems. Many people from Hong Kong didn’t want to live by the
Chinese rules. Meetings between the leaders of both countries were held and it was
decided that Hong Kong would be ruled by “One country, two systems”. This meant that
Hong Kong people could continue to live in the way that they had, while being a part of
China.

Today Hong Kong is a world centre for trade and banking. There are world famous
universities teaching in both English and in the Chinese language of Cantonese. The port
is one of the finest in the world and the beautiful city of Victoria is built on the
surrounding hills. For the visitor Hong Kong offers both East and West. You can go
shopping, try food from many different countries, visit interesting places, and have a
great time.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

12 Hong Kong

1. Hong Kong is 6. Before the British came to Hong.

Kong,
a an island.
b a city. a there were many Chinese
c a small town. universities.
d a country. b there were only a few schools.
c there were many English schools.
2. Before 1842 Hong Kong belonged to d there were no schools.

a England. 7. Today, Hong Kong is ruled by a

b Holland. system called
c China.
d India. a Two countries, one system
b One system, one country.
3. There was a meeting between Britain c Two systems, two countries.
and China because d One country, two systems.

a they were fighting each other. 8. Victoria is the name of

b Britain wanted to buy Hong
Kong. a the port in Hong Kong.
c China and Britain were friends. b a university in Hong Kong.
d China and Britain wanted to c a ship that visited Hong Kong.
attack Hong Kong. d the biggest city in Hong Kong.

4. When Britain first got Hong 9. When people came to live in Hong
Kong, there were Kong, they

a many people. a opened many factories.

b mainly people from Britain. b became farmers.
c mostly Chinese people. c moved to China.
d no people. d built ships.

5. The factories in Hong Kong made 10. The Universities in Hong Kong
things to sell
a teach only in Chinese.
a in Britain. b teach only in English.
b in Hong Kong. c teach in Chinese and English.
c in China. d teach students from Hong Kong
d all over the world. only.
13 The English Language
The story of the English language is a story of change. Old English is very different from
Modern English. Today Old English is a university subject. If we do not study it we
cannot understand it because, while some of the words are the same, many of the old
words are no longer used. The story of the English language began some time after the
year A.D. 400 when many groups of people came to England from North-West Europe
and their languages helped to make up Old English. In Old English the ends of words
were very important because they carried a lot of meaning such as past and present time.
In Modern English most of these endings are gone. This is one of the big differences
between Old and Modern English.

All languages change and in English this was helped when the church became important,
Old English became a written language. Before this, only a few people could read and
write. Latin, the old language of Italy, was used in the church and because of this, many
Latin words entered the English language, for example the word school came from the
Latin language. At that time most schools were a part of the church.

In the year 1066 France attacked England and for two hundred years French became the
language used by English kings and queens and the rich people of the country.
Everybody else continued to use English. However, slowly English became important
again and many of the schools began to use English instead of French. Over this time,
many French words came into the English language. Often there were two words for one
thing, a French word and an English word. In Modern English, ask and demand have
almost the same meaning but ask comes from Old English and demand comes from
French. English has many words like this. The English language between 1066 and about
1500 is called Middle English. Some time after 1500 we have the beginning of Modern
English. At that time the school system developed and more people went to school.
English ships sailed all over the world and words from the new countries became part of
the English language. While Latin was still used in the church, English was becoming
more widely used.

Around 1750, many books were written about the English language because the writers
thought that people were speaking English badly. They wanted to show how to use the
language correctly. They thought Latin was the best language because it used long words
and sentences and they wanted English to become more like Latin. At the same time
correct spelling was beginning to be important too. Because of these books, the spoken
language became different from the written language. When people wrote, they were very
careful about the rules, but when they spoke, they just said what they wanted to say.
However, later another change happened and written English started to become like
spoken English again. Sentences were shorter and people used easier words. The English
language and all languages are always changing. When a language does not change, it
dies.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

13 The English Language

1. Old English and Modern English 6. Many of the French words in English

a are almost the same. a are not used in Modern English.

b are a little different from each b are only used for speaking.
other. c are only used for writing.
d have almost the same meaning as
c are like two different languages. some other English words.
d use the same endings.
7. When the French were in England, the
2. In Old English the ends of words French language
a were not spoken. a was spoken by everybody.
b came from the French language. b was not very important.
c were not very important. c was not spoken by the poor.
d had many meanings. d was not used in the schools.
3. Before the church was important in 8. After the year 1500 many new words
England, Old English entered the English language, because
a was not written. a many foreign people came to
b was not used very much. England.
c was like a foreign language. b the Latin language was not
d was the language of the church. important any more.
c English sailors went to many
4. Many Latin words became a part of parts of the world.
the English language, because d English was the school language.
a Latin was used in the church. 9. Because many books were written
b there were many soldiers from about correct English,
Italy.
c Italy attacked England. a people spoke better.
d many English people went to b writing and speaking became
Italy. very different.
c new words entered English.
5. After 1066, the language used by rich d people were afraid to write
people in England was English.
a English. 10. When languages stop changing
b French.
c Latin. a they are beautiful.
d German. b they are dead.
c they are correct.
d they are difficult.
14 Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore was one of the most famous Indian writers of the 20th century. He
wrote thousands of poems, stories and songs in both his own language, Bengali, and in
English. Today his writing is still widely read all over the world and his books can be
found in many other languages. However, Tagore did not become famous for his writing
worldwide until he was fifty-one when he started to write his poetry in English.

Tagore was born into a rich family in Calcutta, India in 1861. When he was still very
young, he was already interested in reading, writing and music. He wrote his first book of
poems when he was only seventeen years old. He liked to watch the things around him:
the trees, the birds, the sky, the flowers and the grass. All these things were beautiful for
him. He was interested in God and how people could live their lives in the best way
possible.

When he was old enough to go to school, his father sent him to a school in his town but
he did not like it. He did not like his lessons and he did not like his teachers' way of
teaching so after a short time he left the school. His father then found him a teacher and
together they studied at home. Later his father sent him to England to study law.
However, Tagore did not want to study law so he came back to India before he finished
his study.

In 1901, Tagore started a school outside Calcutta. His school was different from other
schools because in his school the teachers taught in a different way. The students had to
ask questions and the teachers answered them. In this way Tagore taught the students
how to think. Both the students and the teachers liked this way of teaching. Some of
Tagore's students were rich and some of them were poor but all the students had to live
together. They lived together, learned together and played together. Everything was free
in Tagore's school. The students did not have to pay for their lessons or their food so
Tagore needed to find money for his school. He used his own money from his writing
and some of his father's money. As well as working at his school he continued his writing
and became a great thinker and a leader in his country. Much of his thinking was based
on the old Indian ideas of thousands of years ago.

Tagore travelled to Europe and the United States of America where he taught in many
universities. He talked about India and the Indian people, and about his writing and his
ideas. He also talked about his school. Many of the people he met were interested in his
school and they sent him money so that the school could continue.

Tagore continued writing and in 1913 he won the Nobel Prize. He was given this prize
because he was judged the best writer in the world for that year. In 1921, Tagore’s school
became a university and students came from all over the world to study there. But, he did
not stop working. At the age of 68 he became a painter.

Tagore spent most of his life trying to unite the ideas of East and West. He died in 1941
at the age of 80.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

14 Rabindranath Tagore

1. Tagore was born in 6. Tagore's way of teaching was

different because
a The United States of America.
b India. a the students only read books.
c Europe. b there was no teacher.
d England. c the students did not have to think
when they learned.
2. Tagore wrote books and poems in d the teacher only answered the
students' questions.
a English and Bengali.
b English. 7. The students in Tagore's school
c many languages.
d Bengali. a had to pay a lot of money.
b lived in the school.
3. Tagore did not like school because c only had to pay for their food.
d went to many different countries.
a he had no friends there.
b his lessons were too difficult. 8. Tagore went to Europe because
c he did not like the way of
teaching. a he was very ill.
d he was not interested in learning. b he was asked to teach in
universities.
4. Tagore did not finish his study in c he did not like India.
England because d there was a war in India.

a he was not clever enough. 9. Tagore won the Nobel Prize because
b he wanted to be with his parents.
c he was not good at the English a he was a good painter.
language. b he was a famous man.
d he did not like his lessons. c he was a good writer.
d he was a good teacher.
5. When Tagore came back from
England, 10. Tagore sold his writing

a he started a school. a to become rich.

b he studied at home with a b for his school.
teacher. c to be famous.
c he began to paint. d to help his parents.
d he wrote his first book of poems.
15 China
Today China is a modern country with a population of over a billion people. It is a world
leader in trade and industry, and the standard of living for many Chinese people is getting
better, but about 100 years ago life was very different in China.

For thousands of years, China was ruled by emperors. The emperor, his family and a
small number of people were very rich while most of the people were poor. The rich
people lived in beautiful big houses and many of the poor people worked as their servants
without being paid. The rich people owned all the land and the poor worked on small
pieces of land as farmers. They had to work very hard to make enough food for their
families and they also had to give some of the food they produced to the rich land
owners.

In old China, the family was the most important thing. Children usually lived with their
parents, even after they got married and had children of their own. The head of the family
was the father. He made all the decisions, and everyone in the family had to do what he
said. When the father died, his oldest son took his place. Children did not go to school. In
a rich family, the boys learned to read and write at home. They did not learn to write with
a pen or pencil, but with a little brush. They also had to study old books. If they wanted to
get a good position in society, they had to pass a very difficult examination. In this
examination, they were asked to read and write poems and they were asked questions
about the old books. Women did not have an important place in old China. Girls did not
learn to read or write and the daughters of rich families could not go out to work. They
only learned to look after the family. When they were very young, their parents found
husbands for them. When they grew up, they were married and they went to live with
their husband’s family.

In 1911 the poor began to fight against their leaders. They won the war and the rule of the
Chinese emperors came to an end. After that, the Communism Party started to become
powerful, and China became a communist country in 1949. Communism means that all
people had a say in making decisions, not just a few rich people. Life got a lot better for
the working people and there was not such a big difference between rich and poor.

Under communism, women in China gained more freedom. Girls went to school and
universities. They became teachers, doctors, soldiers or farmers. Some worked in offices
and some worked in factories. Some drove trucks and some were doctors. Women
continued to work after they were married and had children. Because both husbands and
wives worked during the day, they could not look after their children. So they left their
children at special places where they were looked after. In 1979, China started the One
Child Policy to try to reduce the size of the population.

China continues to change especially in the large cities, but some of the old ways of life
can still be found in the smaller villages and the country areas.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

15 China

1. Before 1911 people in China were 6. In rich families, children studied

a very rich. a at home.

b very poor. b at the teacher's house.
c very rich or poor. c at school.
d all about the same. d at the temple.

2. In old China, many servants, were 7. Writing was done with

a the children of rich people. a a pen.

b children with no parents. b a long thin stick.
c rich people. c a brush.
d poor people. d a pencil.

3. For their work, servants received, 8. To pass the examination, a boy had to

a a lot of money. a read many old books.

b no money. b learn many languages.
c land. c know about foreign countries.
d food. d study in school.

4. Chinese families were big because 9. In old China, girls

a not many people died. a did not study books.

b married children lived with their b worked outside the house.
parents. c were quite free.
c their houses were big. d went to school.
d many people came to stay.
10. Now, in China, women
5. When the head of the family died, his
place was taken by a do not go to school.
b only work at home.
a his wife. c can do any job.
b his oldest brother. d do not work after they marry
c his oldest son.
d his wife's brother.
16 King Mongkut of Thailand
Thai means free, so Thailand is the land of the free people. King Mongkut helped
Thailand to remain a free country. Unlike many countries that fought against their foreign
rulers, he did not fight the English and French. Instead, he worked with them and stayed
free.

Prince Maha Mongkut was born in 1804 in Siam, which is the old name for Thailand. He
was the eldest son of the king and the queen so everyone thought he would become king
after his father’s death. During his childhood he studied Buddhism and history. When he
was only twelve years old, his father put him in charge of the army. However, Prince
Mongkut had a half-brother called Jetta who also wanted to be king. Jetta was seventeen
years older than Mongkut and he was very powerful. When Mongkut was twenty his
father died and Jetta was chosen to be king. Fearing for his life, Mongkut left his family
and became a Buddhist monk. For 27 years he travelled through his country praying,
living on the food that people gave him and learning how the ordinary people lived. He
studied many different subjects including languages and science. He spoke English and
French and this helped him to learn how people in other countries lived. All of his
learning would be useful to him when he became king.

In 1851 Jetta died and at the age of 47 Mongkut stopped being a monk and became the
king of Siam, which had a population of about five and a half million people. Mongkut
ruled his people very well but he was different from other kings. Before him the kings
had looked only at their own country, Mongkut was interested in the world around him
and he was friendly towards western countries. He wanted his country to have the good
things that the West could offer and he wanted his people to learn about other countries.
But he also wanted Siam to remain a free country. King Mongkut knew that his country
could not fight against the outside world. He knew that his country had to change but
making changes was not easy. The old ways were very different from the new western
ways. Sometimes Mongkut had to fight against his own family to get changes.
Sometimes he had to fight against himself.

As was the way for Kings in Siam, Mongkut had 39 wives and 82 children. His wives
lived with their children in a special place which they were not allowed to leave. King
Mongkut, however, wanted his wives and children to learn about the outside world too,
so he brought in teachers from England. King Mongkut died in 1868. He died because of
his love of learning. On 18 August 1868 the shadow of the earth was going to cover the
sun. King Mongkut and his oldest son, Chulalongkorn, went to a place south of Bangkok
to watch this and study it. While they were there, they both became very ill and a month
later the king was dead at the age of 64. On his 20th birthday King Mongkut’s son,
Chulalongkorn, became king and continued his father’s work to make Thailand into a
modern free country. Now Chulalongkorn’s great-grandson is the king of Thailand.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

16 King Mongkut of Thailand

1. King Mongkut studied 6. Mongkut thought

a in England. a Siam should change.

b in France. b the world should not change
c in Buddhist schools. c nothing should change.
d in America. d his wives should not change.

2. King Mongkut learned many things 7. Sometimes life was difficult for
because Mongkut because

a he went to other countries. a the Thai way and the foreign way
b he stayed away from the world. were different.
c he went to an English school. b his people did not like him.
d he knew English and French. c he did not understand the western
way of life.
3. Before Mongkut, many kings of d he was very ill.
Siam
8. King Mongkut had
a did not know much about their
country and other countries. a one son called Chulalongkorn.
b spoke English very well. b many children.
c did not study Buddhism in the c no brothers and sisters.
Buddhist schools. d three wives.
d travelled all over their country to
meet poor people. 9. Mongkut’s family learned about the
western way of life, because
4. King Mongkut wanted Siam to
a they read many books.
a fight with foreign countries. b many Thais went to England.
b be ruled by foreign countries. c Mongkut started an English
c learn from foreign countries. newspaper.
d stay away from foreign countries. d English teachers worked for him.
5. Mongkut became king because 10. King Mongkut was a
a he was the son of the old king. a fierce man.
b the old king asked him. b clever man.
c his half-brother died. c sad man.
d he killed the old king. d weak man.
17 Abdullah Writes about a War
Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir was born in Malacca in 1796. His parents were part Arab, part
Indian, and part Malay. While Abdullah was a child, he learned many languages and
could speak at least five. When he was older, he became a writer. He was one of the first
people to write books in the Malay language, and he is known today as the father of
modern Malay writing. He was also a teacher. He taught the Malay language and culture
to the English who ruled Malaya at that time, among them Stamford Raffles, and he
helped some of them to write English books in the Malay language. Abdullah was known
as Munshi Abdullah. Munshi means teacher.

Abdullah did not like the old Malay system of ruling the people. Under this system, the
people did not go to school. He believed that without learning, the Malay people could
not question the poor conditions of their lives and they could not fight for changes to the
system. He wanted the system to change and to change quickly.

In 1838 there was a war in Kelantan. It was a war between three Malay kings. For a long
time there had been a lot of trade between Singapore and the Malay kingdoms, and wars
caused serious problems for the traders. In 1838, some ships from Singapore were caught
and held by the Malay kings in Kelantan. The Singapore ship owners wanted to get their
ships back, so they sent a group of people to take letters to one of the Kings. Abdullah
was sent with the group because he could speak many languages.

In 1838 it was very dangerous to sail in the seas around Malaya. Pirates often stopped
ships at sea, and stole money and other things from them and killed the sailors. Abdullah
knew that it was dangerous but he wanted to go so that he could write a book about the
voyage. Every day he wrote down what he saw of Malay life and the war.

After a long and difficult voyage, Abdullah and the group arrived in Kelantan. They
sailed from the sea into the Kelantan River and then they sailed along the river for several
miles until they reached a town. In the town they saw soldiers on the side of the river.
The soldiers belonged to the army of one of the enemy kings. Abdullah and his friends
were afraid but they had to get the letters to the king. To do this they had to pass the
soldiers of the other kings and when the enemy saw them they started to shoot at them. It
was very dangerous but Abdullah and his friends made one last try. They ran past the
soldiers and when they reached the king’s house they stopped. Abdullah could see the
enemy. He took a pencil and a piece of paper and he began to draw a picture of the
enemy to use in his book. Suddenly a man was killed not far from Abdullah. After that
Abdullah was more careful and went quickly back to his boat.

Today, if there is a war, reporters go there and we can see it on television or the internet,
or read about the story in the newspaper. Almost 170 years ago Abdullah did the same
thing. He saw the war in Kelantan and he wrote about it in his book The Voyage of
Abdullah.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

17 Abdullah Writes about a War

1. When Abdullah was a child, 6. In the war one king was fighting

a his parents left him. a another king.

b he knew many languages. b two other kings.
c he was not very clever. c people from Singapore.
d he was very ill. d the English.

2. Abdullah took letters to Kelantan 7. When Abdullah tried to reach the

king's house,
a to save some ships.
b to stop the war. a he could not reach it.
c to get some money. b he killed an enemy soldier.
d to help the king. c a man near him was killed.
d the soldiers stopped him.
3. When Abdullah went to Kelantan, he
8. When Abdullah reached the king's
a walked. house,
b rode horses.
c went in a ship. a his friend was killed.
d was carried through the forest. b he was hurt.
c he had to kill many people.
4. It was dangerous to travel by sea d he drew a picture
because
9. While he was in Kelantan, Abdullah
a the ships were very old.
b the weather was always bad. a was shot at many times.
c pirates often attacked the ships. b did not go near the enemy.
d there were no maps. c did not see the war.
d killed many soldiers.
5. When Abdullah and his friends
reached Kelantan, 10. Abdullah wrote a book. It was called

a they waited for someone to meet a Abdullah Writes about a War.

them. b The War in Kelantan.
b they got a lot of money. c The Story of Abdullah.
c they went up the river to a town. d The Voyage of Abdullah.
d they began to fight the enemy.
18 Stamford Raffles
Today Singapore is a world centre for trade, shipping and tourism, but two hundred years
ago it was just a small island off the coast of Malaya with only a few fishermen living
there.

Stamford Raffles was an Englishman who helped build Singapore. Raffles, the son of an
English sea captain, was born in Jamaica in 1781. Because his parents were poor he left
school when he was 14 and started work in a trading company in London. The trading
company was called the British East India Company. It was an important and powerful
company that sent ships all over the world. As well as trading, the company officials
sometimes became rulers of the countries that they traded with. Raffles did his work well
and soon began to get higher positions in the company. He was often sent to other
countries and he became very interested in foreign places. He became the ruler of Java
and in 1817 he wrote a book called History of Java.

In 1819 Raffles went to rule the island of Singapore. At that time Singapore was covered
with forest and there were only a few poor fishermen living there. Some of them were
pirates and when a ship came near the island, they went out to it in small boats. They
attacked the ships, stole things from them and sometimes killed the sailors. The waters
around Singapore were dangerous and ships were afraid to come near the island.

When Raffles came, he made laws and stopped the pirates. He made some of the people
policemen and they made sure that the new laws were kept. Singapore became safe and
people were no longer afraid. Many people came to live in Singapore and ships were no
longer afraid to visit there. The ships came to buy and sell things and the island began its
history as a trading centre for the world. Raffles built many houses, buildings and roads.
Now people could easily go from one place to another on the island. Besides houses and "
roads Raffles built schools and he brought in teachers from Britain to work in the schools.
The lessons were taught in both English and Malay, and the teachers wrote school books
to help their students. Many Europeans came to Singapore and started companies.

Raffles was interested in the history of the Malay people so he learned their language. He
read many history books in the Malay language and then he wrote them in English so that
other people could read them too. He was also interested in studying the things of nature.
He went into the forests looking for different plants and animals to study and he sent
some of these back to England so that people there could see them and understand more
about other places. He brought plants such as coffee and sugar to Indonesia so that the
people could start growing them for themselves.

In 1824 Raffles and his wife returned to England. He put all of his books, plants and
animals on the ship but before it reached England, a fire began on the ship and everything
was lost. Despite this, Raffles started the London Zoo and was its first president. Raffles
died aged 45 in1826.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

18 Stamford Raffles

1. While young, Raffles worked in 6. After Singapore became safe, many

ships came there
a Singapore.
b Malaysia. a to bring passengers.
c Indonesia. b to carry wood.
d England. c to take people to England.
d to buy and sell things.
2. Stamford Raffles began to work
when he was young, because 7. Most of the first teachers in
Singapore were
a he wanted to see the world.
b he was not clever. a foreigners.
c his parents did not have much b from Singapore.
money. c not real teachers.
d he did not like to study. d not good at teaching.

3. When Raffles first came to 8. Raffles learned the Malay language

Singapore, it was so that he could

a a very busy port. a learn about Singapore.

b almost deserted. b sell things to people outside
c a big city. Singapore.
d a very old city. c pay people to write books.
d teach in the schools.
4. Before Raffles arrived, the people in
Singapore 9. Raffles often went into the forest

a sold wood to foreign countries. a to meet the people of the island.

b attacked ships. b to find new places to build
c worked in offices. houses.
d were policemen. c to study the plants and animals.
d to find the pirates.
5. Singapore became safe because
10. While Raffles was travelling back
to England,
a no more ships went there.
b the thieves were caught.
a his wife died.
c many more pirates came there.
b he died.
d the thieves went to other c all his books were burned.
islands.
d the ship was lost.
19 Confucius
The teachings of Confucius were very important for Chinese people. Confucius was not
like Jesus Christ or Mohammed. He did not bring the words of God to the people. He
was just a very great teacher, and most of his teaching was about how to live in this
world.

His real name was K'ung Fu-tzu but he was called Confucius by foreigners because they
could not easily say his Chinese name. He was born five hundred and fifty years before
Christ. His family were important people but they were poor. He loved history and
music and for most of his life he was a teacher, travelling from place to place in China.
He had many followers and some of them wrote down his teachings so we can still read
them today. After he died his teachings became more famous and many Chinese
emperors followed them. They built temples to him and called him a god and made his
birthday into a national holiday called Teachers’ Day.

For the Chinese, people were not the most important things in the world. They were only.
a part of the world around them. People had to learn to live in the world in their correct
place. When they could do this, they could become happy and find peace. Confucius
taught people to live in the world with each other. A leader and his people must learn to
live with each other. A husband and wife, a father and son, an older sister and a younger
sister, all must learn to live with each other. This was the way of Confucius. A husband
must do the correct things. His wife must follow him. The leader of a country must be
kind. His people must follow him and not fight against him. If every person does the
correct thing, then there will be peace and happiness in the world. In the teachings of
Confucius, the family was very important. Everybody in the family must know their
correct place. Because of Confucius the family was a very important part of Chinese life
and China became like a big family. The leader of a country was the father and his
people were his children.

The teachings of Confucius were not new, but Confucius was the first person to bring all
of these ideas together for people to learn and follow. For Confucius, people were not
born bad. They were bad because they did not know how to live correctly in the world.
The leader of a country was a very important person in the teachings of Confucius. If the
leader of the country was a good person, the people in that country would also be good.
When a leader was bad then the country would not be a happy place.

One of his followers once asked Confucius, 'What does a country need?' Confucius
answered, 'Enough food, a good army, and a good leader.' The person then asked, 'Which
one is the most important?' Confucius answered, 'An army is not very important. All men
must die, so food is not the most important. But if the leader of the country is not good,
then everything will be bad.'

When Confucius died, he was over seventy years old. Although he died more than two
thousand years ago, many people still try to follow his ideas.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

19 Confucius

1. The teachings of Confucius 6. People could find peace and happiness

when they
a came from God.
b were about life after death. a knew their place in the world.
c were about God. b did not have a family.
d were about this world. c could be free of the world.
d were better than other people.
2. For most of his life Confucius
7. In a family people must
a worked for the emperor of China.
b lived in one place. a try to live by themselves.
c sold things. b know their correct place.
d was a teacher. c follow their own ideas.
d lead the others.
3. We know the teachings of Confucius
because 8. The teachings of Confucius

a his followers wrote them down. a were not understood by many

b people told them to each other. people.
c they were made into songs. b started many wars.
d Confucius is still living. c had many new ideas.
d brought together many old ideas.
4. The teachings of Confucius were most
famous 9. The most important thing in any
country was
a when he was young.
b after he died. a the army.
c while he worked for the emperor. b the leader.
d when he was still a teacher. c the church.
d the schools.
5. Because many people followed his
teachings 10. Confucius died when

a he became the leader of China. a he was still young.

b he travelled to many foreign b he was about forty years old.
countries. c he was about fifty years old.
c his birthday became a holiday. d he was more than fifty years old.
d he wrote many books.
20 The Maori
Before Europeans came to New Zealand, the Maori people were already living there. The
Maori first came to New Zealand about 1000 years ago, but the biggest number came
after the year 1l00. They came more than two thousand miles in small boats from the
islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The weather in New Zealand was colder than
the Pacific islands, but the Maori changed their way of life to fit in with the new
conditions.

When the Maori arrived in New Zealand, they found many large birds. One of the birds,
the moa, was much taller than a person. It could not fly but it could run very fast and it
could kill a person by kicking them. The moa was very useful to the Maori. They were
good to eat because there was a lot of meat on one bird. The people used them to make
clothes. Moa eggs were big and the Maori used them for carrying water. By the time
Europeans came to New Zealand, there were no more of these birds. They were all dead.

New Zealand was a rich country for the Maori. The earth was rich, there were many
forests and there were many birds and fish. However, there were almost no animals
before people arrived. The Maori brought many plants with them. such as sweet potatoes
and other kinds of vegetables and they also brought dogs and rats. Because the weather in
New Zealand was cold, the Maori built strong warm houses of wood. Their houses were
usually only one large room and they were strong and beautiful. The Maori had a special
kind of art. They did not paint pictures, but they cut pictures out of the wood.

When Captain Cook, an English man, visited New Zealand in 1769, there were many
Maori. Cook became a friend of some of them and he studied their way of life. After
Captain Cook, many other Europeans came to New Zealand. They brought many useful
things, like knives, guns and plants but they also brought many bad things like illness.
More Europeans kept arriving and they started to fight with the Maori about the land. The
Europeans wanted more land but the Maori didn’t want to give up all their land. The
Land Wars were fought from the 1840s to the 1870s. The Maori were brave fighters but
they did not win because there were too many white people and they had guns. After the
wars, a lot of the Maori land was taken by Europeans. This was a very difficult time for
the Maori. Many of their leaders were dead, their land was lost and they did not
understand the European way of life.

Then, around 1900, new young Maori leaders started coming forward and they tried to
help their people. In 1900 there were less than fifty thousand Maori people in New
Zealand. Today there are more than six hundred thousand Maori out of a population of
four million New Zealanders.

In 1900 the Maori language and culture were dying. Today, Maori language and culture
is taught in schools and universities. You can hear and see the language, which is called
Te Reo, everywhere and many New Zealanders are realizing that Maori is what makes
New Zealand different and special.

Write the time and then answer the questions.

20 The Maori

1. The Maori people came to New 6. Captain Cook

Zealand from
a fought the Maori.
a Asia. b did not like the Maori.
b Indonesia. c was friendly with some Maori.
c many small islands. d took some Maori to England.
d South America.
7. The Maori and Europeans fought each
2. New Zealand is a other because

a cold country. a the Maori hated the Europeans.

b warm country. b the Europeans wanted land.
c very hot country. c the Maori wanted knives, guns
d hot country. and plants.
d the Europeans brought many
3. When the Maori arrived they found a illnesses to New Zealand.
lot of
8. After the war, life was not easy for the
a birds Maori because
b animals.
c people. a they had no leaders.
d fighting. b the Europeans attacked them.
c there was a lot of illness.
4. The moa was d they had to live away from the
towns.
a a brave man.
b a small boat. 9. If we look at New Zealand in the year
c a Maori house. 1900 and now, now
d a big bird.
a there are fewer Maori.
5. The Maori were happy in New b there are about the same number
Zealand because of Maori.
c there are fewer Maori leaders.
a the weather was always warm. d there are more Maori.
b it was a rich country.
c they found sweet potatoes and 10. Today, Maori culture is
other vegetables there.
d Europeans came there. a dying out.
b the only culture in New Zealand.
c not taught in schools
d what is special and different
about New Zealand
Asian and Pacific Speed Readings for ESL Learners

Answers

1. 1.b 2.b 3.c 4.d 5.d 6.a 7.c 8.c 9.c 10.a

2. 1.c 2.c 3.d 4.b 5.b 6.a 7.a 8.a 9.c 10.d

3. 1.d 2.c 3.d 4.a 5.a 6.d 7.c 8.d 9.b 10.b

4. 1.b 2.a 3.d 4.b 5.b 6.c 7.a 8.b 9.d 10.c

5. 1.c 2.d 3.a 4.b 5.c 6.c 7.a 8.b 9.c 10.a

6. 1.b 2.c 3.b 4.b 5.d 6.a 7.d 8.a 9.c 10.c

7. 1.a 2.d 3.b 4.c 5.c 6.a 7.c 8.b 9.c 10.d

8. 1.c 2.a 3.d 4.b 5.c 6.d 7.b 8.a 9.a 10.b

9. 1.a 2.b 3.b 4.d 5.a 6.c 7.d 8.d 9.d 10.c

10. 1.d 2.b 3.b 4.c 5.c 6.a 7.d 8.c 9.b 10.a

11. 1.b 2.a 3.d 4.b 5.a 6.b 7.c 8.b 9.d 10.d

12. 1.a 2.c 3.a 4.c 5.d 6.d 7.d 8.d 9.a 10.c

13. 1.c 2.d 3.a 4.a 5.b 6.d 7.c 8.c 9.b 10.b

14. 1.b 2.a 3.c 4.d 5.a 6.d 7.b 8.b 9.c 10.b

15. 1.c 2.d 3.b 4.b 5.c 6.a 7.c 8.a 9.a 10.c

16. 1.c 2.d 3.a 4.c 5.c 6.a 7.a 8.b 9.d 10.b

17. 1.b 2.a 3.c 4.c 5.c 6.b 7.c 8.d 9.a 10.d

18. 1.d 2.c 3.b 4.b 5.b 6.d 7.a 8.a 9.c 10.c

19. 1.d 2.d 3.a 4.b 5.c 6.a 7.b 8.d 9.b 10.d

20. 1.c 2.a 3.a 4.d 5.b 6.c 7.b 8.a 9.d 10.d
 Progress Graph

Write your score in the box under the reading number. Then put an X in one of the boxes
to show your reading time and words-per-minute.

time wpm
1.00 550
1.10 471
1.20 414
1.30 367
1.40 330
1.50 300
2.00 275
2.10 254
2.20 236
2.30 220
2.40 206
2.50 194
3.00 183
3.10 174
3.20 165
3.30 157
3.40 150
3.50 144
4.00 138
4.10 132
4.20 127
4.30 122
4.40 118
4.50 114
5.00 110
5.10 106
5.20 103
5.30 100
5.40 97
5.50 94
6.00 92
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

Score
on the
questio
ns