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Reader's Bank_Level 5_Unit 06                                    Reading Text

In Mexico, there is a fun birthday game called a “piñata.” A piñata is a colorful box made of paper which looks like an animal or a cartoon character. Inside, there are candies and toys! Players close their eyes and try to hit the piñata with a stick. Since their eyes are closed, they sometimes hit the wrong spot. Friends cheer when someone hits it and laugh when they miss. The team that  breaks the box first is the winner! When the piñata breaks open, everyone runs to get the treats. Piñatas help us learn to wait and work together, and they show us that sometimes we need to break things to find something new. This fun game from Mexico is now played at birthday parties all over the world.

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In 1912, a large ship began its first journey from England to America. It was the Titanic, the world’s largest passenger ship. The ship was carrying 2, 200 passengers. Unfortunately, only four days after its departure, the ship hit a massive iceberg. Soon after, it began to sink. Everyone rushed to escape. However, there were not enough lifeboats for everyone. The women and children were the first to board the lifeboats. One woman was helping her children get into a lifeboat, but there was no room for her. Her children cried out, “Mom! Mom!” Suddenly, a young woman named Miss Evans stood up and said, “You can take my place in the lifeboat. I don’t have any children.” Miss Evans stepped back onto the sinking Titanic, and the children’s mother climbed into the lifeboat. Soon after that, the Titanic disappeared into the deep, cold sea.

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Americans love apples. When they want to say something is very American, they say it is “as American as apple pie.” They even call New York City the “Big Apple.” But apples were not always special in America. One man changed that. John Chapman was born in 1774. He spent most of his childhood in his dad’s apple orchard. He loved everything about apples. He loved how apples taste, and he liked their color and shape. John wanted to plant apple trees everywhere and enjoy apples with other people. In the late 1700s, people were very poor and didn’t have enough food. John thought apples would be a good food for them. He got apple seeds from apple juice makers and planted them. Then, he found more seeds and new places to plant them. He liked the work and kept planting apple trees. He spent 49 years planting them. Thanks to John’s work, apple trees grew everywhere in the US. His trees provided fruit that people could use to make cider, jam, and other foods during hard times. Today, apples are an important part of American culture, all thanks to John’s love of planting trees.