A Tour of North Vietnam

Read an article from the Los Angeles Times about a tour of North Vietnam.

Google Cultural Institute

Explore this wonderful and very powerful website.

An Amazing Inventor

Read the story of the 15-year-old boy who invented a cancer test 100 times more sensitive and 26,000 times cheaper than current tests.

The Magic of Fish Sauce

Read about the different ways that Americans like Mr. R, not just Asians, are using fish sauce.

Bird Flu Virus in Hong Kong

Read about the first human case of the bird flu virus in Hong Kong.

Thanksgiving

Watch a video about the first Thanksgiving.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trQPPEERPk0

Read about the history of Thanksgiving.

Who Paid $142 million for art?

Read about the woman who bought this very expensive painting.

Van Gogh: Master of Color

Lesson 11B focuses on the artist van Gogh.  You can read about his life and work at this web site.  You can also see van Gogh's work at four Los Angeles art museums.  I recommend The Getty Center not far from UCLA.  You can see van Gogh's Irises and some other works. 

Of course, The Getty Center has many other works of art by famous artist such as Rembrandt and Cezanne.  Admission is free.  Parking is $15.  You can also take buses and trains.  It might be an interesting trip for January when you have no classes!

Tragedy in the Philippines

Read about the efforts to recover from the typhoon.

A Veteran and His Granddaughter

On Veterans' Day read the story of this American veteran who fought against the Germans in Europe.

Free Rice Website

Practice English and earn rice grains to feed hungry people.

The Lost Boys of Sudan

Watch a video about one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, Salva Dut, who became an American citizen but returned to his country to help his people.  Read the story of Salva Dut.

Another Source for Reading

Read many articles in the National Geographic Kids website.

The Story of the Afghan Girl

Time marches on, as these two "then" and "now" photos show.  Read about the Afghan girl, now the Afghan woman.  You might have to register to read, but it is free.

Day of the Dead Celebrations on the Rise

This is not good news for Mr. R, actually, but I like to know what is happening in American culture.  Read this story about a different Oct. 31 celebration.

Vietnamese Businessman Buys Wyoming Town

This is a very strange story.  A town in Wyoming with a population of one was bought by a man from Vietnam.  Read

Martin Luther on October 31, 1517

A long time ago, even before Mr. R was born, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses--kind of like 95 topic sentences--to the door of a church in Germany.  Why wasn't Luther out celebrating Halloween?  What was he doing?  Read about Martin Luther in this somewhat difficult reading.  Relax and try to understand as much as you can.  I won't put any of this reading on the next reading test!

The Kon-Tiki

All his life, Olav Heyerdahl had heard the stories of his grandfather: of how he crossed the Pacific in 1947 on a primitive raft made of balsa wood. Now at last, he got to experience it first hand.

As a tribute to his grandfather and the original Kon-tiki expedition, Olav and his team built a new raft in Peru and sailed it all the way to Raiatea in French Polynesia. When they arrived on the 24th of July 2006, after four months at sea, over a thousand people greeted them in a traditional Polynesian welcoming ceremony. This is a spectacular and unique documentary of the modern day voyage, with footage of the 1947 expedition setting the context. The 1947 Kon-tiki film won an Oscar, and Thor Heyerdahl's book has sold more the 50 millions copies worldwide. At the time, the whole world was amazed by this eccentric Norwegian explorer. The story continues to enthral 60 years later, only this time in colour.

Weddings in a Barn

Read  about a farmer who found a new way to make money with his farm.

"Pho is better in Ho Chi Minh City than in Hanoi."

Do you agree with the writer's opinion?  Read and let me know what you think.

A Dictionary for College/University Students

Advanced English learners can use this dictionary for native speakers as a supplement to an advanced ESL dictionary.  You can find this dictionary at Amazon .

An Online Thesaurus

This is a powerful tool.  I think that it isn't useful for ESL students because there are too many words.  You have to know the meanings and connotations ("feelings" that come with these words) of these words before you can choose the correct one.  However, you are free to play around with the website and see if it is helpful or not. thesaurus.com   

nowadays

listen

star

see definition of nowadays

• as in now
• as in present
• as in presently
• as in present-day

next

directly

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Relevance

A-Z

Complexity

+

Length

+

• lists
• blocks

Common

Informal

Synonyms for nowadays

• todaystar
• directlystar
• forthwithstar
• immediatelystar
• instantlystar
• nowadaysstar
• straightawaystar
• any morestar

• at oncestar
• at the momentstar
• at this momentstar
• at this timestar
• awaystar
• first offstar
• here and nowstar
• in a minutestar

• in a momentstar
• in nothing flatstar
• instanterstar
• just nowstar
• like nowstar
• momentarilystar
• on the doublestar
• pdqstar

• promptlystar
• prontostar
• right awaystar
• right nowstar
• soonstar
• these daysstar
• this daystar

See mor

A Cartoonist's Advice: Be a Failure

Forget passion. Goals are for losers. Dilbert creator Scott Adams reveals his secret to climbing to the top: Suffer defeat. Lots and lots of defeat.  Read about Mr. Adams' ideas here.

For Mr. Zambrano: A Visit to Tequila Country

Read about this drink and Mexico.

"Get'cha Head in the Game"

The Serengeti

Ignore the "great circle of life" speeches.

"Our College Graduates Can't Write"

Read this piece of persuasive writing in which an important businessman argues that businesses suffer because college graduates have not learned to write.  Pay attention to his recommendations at the end of the article.

"Angry Birds" in the Classroom

Read about schools which are using computer games to teach many subjects.  What do you think?  Is it a good idea?

Idioms Can Be Killers!

A New Resource

To see a word in a variety of phrases and sentences, use Sentence Examples from Your Dictionary.  Look to the right, and you will find a permanent link for Sentence Examples.  Don't forget that a word can have many meanings.

Stonehenge

Read more about Stonehenge from National Geographic magazine.  If you like this website, sign up for free!

The Golden Circle and a Tour of Iceland

 

Lucy Irvine (p. 68 in RE)

Lucy Irvine has her own website.  Explore !

Angel Falls in Canaima National Park

The Death of a General

Read about a man who is known to many of my students.  Does the article tell the truth (Reaction for Reading Log)?

The Growing Numbers of Siberian Tigers

Read the good news from China.

Driverless Cars

Can this be true?  Read for yourself and see if a driverless car is in your future.

Is Vietnam Being Transformed by Tech Companies?

Watch this short video from The Wall Street Journal .

Is This Even English?

 

When we read in different areas--whether it's a surfing magazine, a biology textbook, or a fashion review--the vocabulary changes constantly.  You may not care about fashion, but you should read this article so that you can experience another world of English.  It is difficult reading because it comes from The New York Times, but it also is difficult for most of us because of the subject matter:  fashion.  If you love fashion and read about it, you might even understand this article better than Mr. R!

Are Fractions the Key to Learning Math?

Do you agree with the writer of this article ?

The Contributions of Immigrants

Will the recent surge of newcomers (immigrants) tear the nation apart?  Not if history is correct, says this writer in a Wall Street Journal article .

A $22,000 Jacket?

Read about a rare material from South America which is used for clothing.  Have you ever heard of vicuña?

New Restrictions in China

 

Is the Chinese government jailing prominent social-media users?  Read this difficult article from The Wall Street Journal, America's #1 business newspaper.

Mid-Autumn Festival (Sept. 19)

The Mid-Autumn Festival (traditional Chinese: 中秋節; simplified Chinese: 中秋节; pinyin: zhōngqiū jié; Vietnamese: Tết Trung Thu) is a popular harvest festival celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese people.  The festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, during a full moon, which is in September or early October in the Gregorian calendar, close to the autumnal equinox.

Read more from Wikipedia.

Live Cam from the Panda Exhibit at the San Diego Zoo

See the pandas--or not!

Siberian Tiger Quest

Watch a fascinating video as ecologist Christ Morgan tries to find and film a Siberian tiger living wild and free in Russia's far east forests.  Helping him is Korean cameraman Sooyong Park, the first man ever to film Siberian tigers in the wild.

Mooncakes

Ice cream mooncakes?  Read about these and many other kinds of mooncakes.  You can also watch a video showing how to make mooncakes:  "How to Make Ice Skin Mooncakes."