1.语文

一年级-上册

2.数学

3.英语

一年级-下册

日语

ドラえもん

英语 自然拼读

Written by Ned Jensen 
Illustrated by Arthur Lin

Tanya and Thad Fredrickson are twins. Most
people think they look alike, but that’s where the
similarity ends. While Tanya is outgoing and has
lots of friends, Thad is shy and has only a couple
of good friends. Thad is a good student who
works hard to get high grades. Tanya, on the
other hand, is an average student who does just
enough to get by. Like most kids, Tanya likes to
buy things. Thad does, too, but not nearly as
much as his sister does.

Both Tanya and Thad earn money each week 
by doing jobs around the house as well as for a
couple of neighbors. At home, Thad washes
windows, cleans up the table after dinner,sweeps
the floor, and vacuums the carpets each week. 
Tanya washes dishes, mows the lawn, and takes
out the trash. Thad also mows the lawn for two
neighbors each week, while Tanya walks a
neighbor’s dog every morning and evening.Their
incomes are good; each of them earns an average
of about $35 a week. Thad and Tanya like doing
the work because they both love money!

The money they earn pays for going to movies
and buying things like snacks, books,magazines,
and clothes. Thad spends money on video games, 
and Tanya buys music and clothes every week. 
The cash that Thad earns seems to be more than
enough to take care of his needs. He also seems to
need a lot less stuff than Tanya does. Thad
usually deposits about half the money he earns
each week into a savings account.

When Thad saves enough money, he uses
some of it to buy shares of stock. Owning a share
of stock is like owning a piece of a company. So
far, Thad owns 25 shares of stock in Disney and
28 shares of stock in Nintendo. Since Thad loves
going to Disney movies, watching Disney
Channel, and playing electronic games, as do
most of his friends, he thought Disney and
Nintendo would be good investments. After
doing some Internet research on stocks and
talking to his parents,he concluded that these
companies were good choices.

Thad likes to buy stock because his money
grows as each share of stock increases in value.
Over time, he expects to see the value of each
share go up 20 percent or 30 percent. When Disney
and Nintendo earn more money than they spend, 
the companies sometimes pay dividends to the
people who own their stocks. Thad has earned
yearly dividends for each share of stock he owns. 
He always reinvests his dividends into each
company’s stock and uses the money to buy more
shares. If you asked Thad, he would tell you that 
he plans to be a millionaire by the time he is 25.

Now Tanya is another story. Where Thad is a
saver, Tanya is a spender. Money burns a hole in
her pocket. She spends almost all her money each
week and never saves a nickel. Tanya’s spending
problem is made worse by the fact that she really
wants her own smartphone. She thinks she earns
enough money to pay a monthly phone bill for
calls and texting. She knows she might have to
cut back her spending on clothes and music. She
may even have to earn more money by walking
dogs for other neighbors, but she thinks she can
afford it. However, Tanya can’t seem to save the
$200 it takes to buy the phone.

Since Tanya is impatient, she can never wait 
until she has enough money to buy something 
that costs more than the $35 she earns each week. 
She has to think of another way to get the $200 to
buy a smartphone. One day, it suddenly occurs to
her that Thad seems to always have extra money. 
She decides to ask him to loan her the $200. 
She takes the afternoon to work up the nerve
to ask Thad for a loan. 
“Thad, my dear, sweet, precious brother, 
I have a favor to ask you,”she says with her
sweetest voice and most admiring look.

While Thad is fond of his sister, like most
brothers he kind of likes messing with Tanya’s
head. Without even asking what she wants, Thad
replies with a quick and forceful, “Don’t waste
your breath. I’m not in the mood to do any favors
for you.” 
“But you haven’t even asked what the favor
is,” she protests. “You aren’t being fair, and you
certainly aren’t being very nice.”

“Aw, chill out, I’m just giving you a hard time. 
So go ahead and tell me. What’s this favor you
want?” 
“You know how much I want my own cell
phone, right? Well, I can’t wait until I save the
$200 to buy the smartphone I want. You always
seem to have plenty of money, so I thought
maybe you could loan me the $200. I’ll pay you
back—I promise.”

“Hold on just a minute, sis. Loans don’t come
for free. You may think you could just pay me
back the $200 by giving me a few dollars each
week, but that won’t work. You’ll also have to
pay me interest.” 
“Interest—what’s that?” asks Tanya.

“Interest is what banks charge people who
borrow money to buy something big, like a house
or a car. Each month, people who take out a bank
loan have to pay back some of the money they
borrowed. When they make a payment on the
loan, the bank adds interest to the payment. This
is a way for a bank, as a business, to make money. 
People who take out a loan end up paying the
bank more than the amount they borrowed.”

“Ouch,” says Tanya. “That could hurt. So how
much interest would you charge me for a $200
loan?” 
“Because you’re my sister, here’s what I’m
willing to do for you. I’ll loan you the $200 you
need to buy the phone you want, but first I’ll set
up a payment plan.
 My plan, which you’ll need to
agree to and sign, will give you twenty weeks to
pay me back.

Each week’s loan payment will be
$11. After twenty weeks, you will have paid me
$220. The $20 extra is the interest you’ll have to
pay me to get the phone you want right away. Of
course, you could, on your own, just save $10 a
week. In twenty weeks, you’d have enough to
buy the phone without a loan.”

“You know I can’t wait twenty weeks for a
phone! Darlene and Emma just got phones, and if
I don’t get one, I won’t be able to text and call my
best friends,” shouts Tanya. 
“Well, then, my impatient, money-grubbing
sis, what’s it going to be? Do you want the $200
loan with my interest terms or not?”

Tanya reluctantly agrees to Thad’s terms and
payment plan. Several weeks go by. Each week,
Tanya struggles to pay Thad the $11 she owes
him. Then on the tenth week, something horrible
happens. On the day her payment is due, she has
spent most of the $35 she earned that week and
doesn’t have $11 to pay Thad. 
Her monthly phone bill is beginning to put too much
stress on her budget. She only has $8 left to
pay Thad. When she tells Thad 
she can’t pay him the full $11, he isn’t very happy.

“I knew loaning money to you, especially with
your wild spending habits, would be a risk. I
should have charged you more interest because
you’re such a high risk. Just give me the $8 you
have, but next week you’ll owe me $15.” 
“Fifteen dollars!” she cries. “If I give you the
$3 I didn’t have this week plus the $11 for next
week, it adds up to only $14.” 
“The $1 extra is the late fee you owe me for not
making a full payment this week,” explains Thad.
“That’s how business works.”

As each week goes by, Tanya falls further and
further behind in her payments, and her debt gets
bigger and bigger. By the fifteenth week, she is
giving Thad over half her weekly earnings and is
at risk of not paying her cell phone’s monthly bill. 
Finally, in desperation, she goes to their father 
and explains her problem.

“Dad, we need to talk,” Tanya says with panic
in her voice. “You know that Thad loaned me
money to buy a smartphone, right?” 
“Yes, dear, I’m aware of the financial
arrangement you have with your brother.” 
“Well, at the rate I’m going, I’ll owe him
money for rest of my life. He’s even threatening
to confiscate my phone. Can you tell him to give
me a break?

He won’t listen to me. He’s acting
like a money-stashing squirrel!” 
“Now, wait a minute, my dear,” says her
father. “You couldn’t wait to get a phone, and so
your brother helped you out. You agreed to his
terms, which seem pretty reasonable to me. You
did get your phone, didn’t you?” 
“Well, yeah, but he’s charging me more than
we agreed to. He’s breaking our deal.”

“Hold on, Miss Big Spender. It seems to me as
though you’re the one who’s breaking the deal by
not keeping up with the payments you agreed to
make each week,” her dad says.“As I see it, you
have two choices: you either have to make more
money or spend less each week.” 
“Actually, there is a third choice. You could
take out another loan to help pay for the first
loan, but I wouldn’t advise doing that.

You’d just dig a deeper hole that you’d have to climb out of. 
Oh yeah, and I guess there’s a fourth choice, too: 
you could sell your phone and repay the loan. 
Although, remember that it’s now a used phone
and wouldn’t be worth the full $200 you paid
for it.”“Sell my phone—are you crazy?” 
“Well, if you don’t like that choice, which
other one do you prefer?”

“Thanks a lot, Dad,” says Tanya, disgusted.
“You’re no help at all.” 
Tanya stomps off to her room and mopes for a
while. She begins thinking about the choices her
dad explained to her. She doesn’t like any of them,
but most of all she doesn’t like the idea of giving
up her phone. She thinks about whether she has
other choices. 
As time passes, a feeling of panic begins to
overcome Tanya. She knows she has to make a
decision, but her mind is numb from so much
thinking and worrying. What is she going to do?

Write Your Own Ending 
You’re probably thinking Tanya has gotten herself
into a real pickle. Well, you’re right. What happened to
Tanya is what often happens when people spend more
money than they earn. If they continue spending more
than they earn, they fall further and further into debt. 
Sometimes things get a whole lot worse, and no matter
how hard they try, they can’t pay off their debt. 
Maybe you can help Tanya out. Think about what
you would do if you were Tanya. Then write your own
ending to this story. When you have finished, share
your ending with others and compare solutions.

Tanya’s Money Problem

Introduction 
Ask people about their favorite sweet thing to
eat, and they’ll probably say it’s chocolate. People
around the world love chocolate. They love it so
much that every year they eat more chocolate
than any other sweet. 
If you have ever wondered where chocolate
comes from and how it’s made, then read on.

Where Chocolate Comes From 
It might surprise you to learn that chocolate
actually grows on trees. That doesn’t mean that
you can pick a chunk of chocolate from a tree
branch and eat it. In fact, the chocolate growing
on trees looks, tastes, and smells nothing like the
chocolate you eat. 
The tree that gives us chocolate is the cacao
(kah-KOW) tree. It is an evergreen tree that
can grow to be over 40 feet (12.2 meters) tall. 
Chocolate comes from beans that are found in
large pods on the tree. Cacao trees grow where
it is hot and wet. Mostly, they grow near the
equator. When young, these trees need protection
from the wind and sun. But as they grow older,
they can grow in full sunlight.

The cacao tree 
originated in the
Amazon River
region of South
America. 
Through the
course of history, 
the tree spread
to other parts of
South America,
Central America,
and Mexico. 
It was also
introduced to
other parts of the world, including Africa, in 1870. 
Today, more than two thirds of the cacao in the
world comes from western Africa. Brazil is the next
largest producer. 
Today, most cacao trees are grown on farms
called plantations. It takes four to five years before
a cacao tree begins to grow pods. Cacao trees have
large, smooth, shiny green leaves that stay on the
tree year-round. They have lots of small white or
yellow flowers that bloom during the year. The
flowers give off a bad smell that attracts flies to
pollinate the plants. Some of the flowers change
into pods, but most do not. Only about one out of
every ten or twenty flowers will become a pod.

The pods are shaped like little footballs. They
grow on the trunk and larger branches of the tree
throughout the year. Workers trim the branches to
make sure that they get the most pods possible
from the trees. The pods are green when they first
form, but they change to a golden or reddish
color as they get ripe. The pods are picked when
they are ripe or mature. Since cacao tree roots
grow close to the surface and are easily damaged, 
workers have to be careful not to step on the
tree's roots when they remove the pods.

Preparing the Beans 
Taking the pods from the cacao trees is the first
step in making chocolate. It’s not the pods that are
important— it’s the 20 to 50 beans found inside the
pods, which are actually the tree’s seeds. It takes a
lot of beans and a lot of work to make a kilogram
(2 lbs) of chocolate. About 800 beans, removed
from 20 to 40 pods, are needed. First, the pods are
gathered, and then someone using a large blade
called a machete (mah-SHET-ee) cuts each pod
open with one or two forceful whacks. A skilled
pod breaker can break open as many as 500 pods
in a single hour.

The beans are then scooped out of the open
pod. The beans are not brown, as you might
expect. Instead, they are cream colored and
covered with a soft pulp. These beans are a long
way from being the chocolate you know.

The pulp-covered beans are put into piles or
boxes and covered. As the beans come in contact
with the air, they begin to change from a cream
color to a purple color. The beans also change
on the inside in a process called fermentation. 
Fermentation can take more than a week, but the
fermented beans still do not taste or smell like
chocolate.

From Beans to Chocolate 
Making chocolate from the fermented, dried
beans is a very long and complicated process. 
First, the beans need to be cleaned, removing
any remaining pulp or pieces of the pods. Then,
chocolate makers blend different varieties of
beans to make sure the chocolate has just the right
flavor. 
The cleaned and blended beans are roasted 
in order to bring out the chocolate flavor. This
is the stage when
the beans begin
to smell like
chocolate. As the
beans are roasted,
the thin shell that
covers them grows
brittle. The beans
pass through a
special machine
that cracks their
shells and blows
away the pieces of
shell with fans.

After the beans have fermented, they are dried. 
The beans are either dried outdoors by spreading
the beans on large mats in the sun, or they are
taken indoors and dried by hot, dry air blown
from pipes. As they dry, the beans are turned. 
Once the beans are dry, they are placed in large
cloth bags and shipped to makers of chocolate.

After the shells are removed, only the meaty
part of the bean, called the nib, remains. The nibs
are ground up and crushed until they become a
liquid. The liquid is poured into molds where it
cools into bars of bitter, unsweetened chocolate. 
The bars are then pressed until the most
important part of the chocolate, a yellow liquid
called cocoa butter, is removed. The cocoa butter
drains through a screen and is collected to make
the chocolate we eat. 
After the liquid cocoa butter is removed, the
solid part of the bar is ground into a powder. 
Cocoa powder is sent to dairies and bakeries to
flavor baked goods and dairy products.

Word Origins
Cacao or Cocoa? 
When the products of the cacao tree 
made their way to English-speaking
countries, the Spanish word cacao became
the English word cocoa. Writers and speakers
of English today still use the word cacao 
when discussing the tree and its flowers,
pods, and beans. People usually use the
word cocoa when discussing the many
products that come from the beans.

The chocolate we eat is made in the final step,
called conching (KONCH-ing). Conching takes
place in machines with big rollers. A mixture of
sugar, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, and other
ingredients, such as milk and vanilla, is placed
in the machines and then rolled and mixed until
smooth. The smooth mixture is poured into
molds and cooled. After it has cooled and
solidified, the chocolate is removed from the
molds and wrapped in packages for shipping. 
Another popular form of chocolate is white
chocolate. White chocolate is made by mixing
sugar and milk solids directly with cocoa butter.

History of Chocolate 
As near as historians can tell, people living in
Mexico and Central America were using chocolate
almost 2,000 years ago. These people enjoyed a
drink called xocoatl (shoh-coh-WAH-tuhl) made
from roasted chocolate beans. But if you were to try
this drink today, you’d find that it tastes much
different than the chocolate drinks you enjoy. In
fact, it was a very bitter-tasting drink—kind of like
coffee. 
When Christopher Columbus returned from his
fourth trip to the New World, he brought some
cacao beans to show to the king and queen of Spain. 
Europeans did not know what to do with the beans,
so they mostly ignored them. They were more
interested in spices and other things Columbus
brought back. 
It was not until a Spanish explorer by the name
of Hernando Cortez returned from a voyage to the

New World that Europeans began to see that there
was value in cacao beans. The great Aztec ruler
Montezuma had served Cortez a drink made from
cacao beans. The Aztecs told Cortez that it was the
drink of the gods. They believed that cacao beans
gave them added wisdom and strength. They
placed so much value on cacao beans that they
used the beans as a form of money. Cortez saw
much more value in the beans as money than as a
drink. He planted cacao trees so that he could use
the beans, not for chocolate, but as money. It was
his way of growing money on trees. 
Cortez brought back knowledge of how to
make the chocolate drink, but it still was not
popular outside the New World. Eventually, the
Spanish began mixing sugar with the drink, along
with cinnamon and vanilla, and serving it hot. 
The drink soon became very popular among the
nobility and the very wealthy. The Spanish valued
chocolate so much that they kept the knowledge of 
how to make it secret from the rest of Europe for
almost one hundred years. 
The Spanish created many plantations of
cacao trees in their colonies in South and Central
America to ensure a plentiful source of the beans. 
During this time, countries at war with Spain
would sometimes capture Spanish ships full of

cacao beans and would destroy the cargo as
worthless because they had no idea what the
beans were used for. It is widely rumored that
Spanish monks were the ones who finally shared
the secret of how chocolate was made with other
Europeans, changing the world forever. 
Until the 1600s and 1700s, chocolate was a
luxury food for royalty and powerful church
officials. During the 1600s, people began grinding
large amounts of cacao beans in mills, producing
much more chocolate and lowering the cost. The
invention of smooth milk chocolate also increased
the treat’s popularity. The first chocolate shop in
London, England, was opened in 1657. In the
1700s, a steam-driven chocolate grinder was
invented, allowing factories to quickly make
tons of affordable chocolate. Today, chocolate is a
favorite and affordable treat in many countries.

History of Chocolate 
200, The first use of chocolate by people
in Mexico and Central America 
900, Chocolate used as money by people of
Mexico and Central America 
1502, Columbus brings cacao beans
back to Europe 
1528, Hernando Cortez brings cocao beans
and knowledge of how to make a
chocolate drink to Spain 
1657, A Frenchman opens the first
chocolate shop in London, England 
1828, Cocoa press is invented 
1847, First solid chocolate bar is sold 
1875, A man in Switzerland makes and sells the first
milk chocolate 
1894, Milton Hershey establishes Hershey Chocolate
Company 
1913, Invention of a method for
making chocolates filled
with other sweets 
2007, World consumes over
3,000,000 metric tons of
cacao beans

Chocolate Today 
Most of the chocolate made in factories today 
is used to make chocolate candy. Other chocolate
goes into ice cream, chocolate drinks, and baked
goods such as cakes and doughnuts. Even a sauce
called mole (MOLE-ay), used in Mexican cooking, 
is made from chocolate.

Do You Know? 
Recent medical studies show that there
are definite medical benefits in eating
chocolate. The benefits are linked to dark
chocolate, rather than milk chocolate. Some
of the medical benefits include a reduction
in heart disease and blood pressure.

Each year people around the world consume
tons of chocolate. The people of Switzerland
consume more chocolate per person than
anyone else in the world. They are joined
in their love of chocolate by people in many
other European countries. The table below
shows chocolate consumption in the top ten
chocolate-consuming countries.

Try This! Yummy Chocolate Brownies 
Make sure you have an adult to help you 
do with any cutting or handling of hot foods. 
1 Gather these ingredients: 
1 cup butter or margarine 
4 squares (1 oz. each) of unsweetened
chocolate (also called baker’s chocolate) 
4 eggs,
2 cups white sugar,
2 teaspoons vanilla extract,
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt 
2 Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Rub grease
over a 9x13-inch (15-cup) baking pan. 
3 Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat
on the stovetop. After the butter is melted, take
it off the heat and stir in the chocolate until it is
melted and mixed in. Add the eggs one at a time,
stirring thoroughly. Then add the sugar and vanilla,
stirring the mixture until smooth. 
4 In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, and baking
powder. Gently pour the butter, chocolate, and
sugar mix into the flour and stir it until the flour
is completely wet. 
5 Pour the mixture into the baking pan and spread
it evenly. 
6 Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the brownies begin
to pull away from the sides of the pan. 
7 Let the brownies cool in the pan before you cut
them. Makes 12 brownies.

Conclusion 
It took a long time for chocolate to become
popular outside the regions of Central and South
America where cacao trees were first grown and
used. Over the years, people added things such
as sugar and milk to the long and complicated
process of making chocolate from cacao beans. 
Today, people around the world eat millions of
kilograms of chocolate, making it the world’s
most popular sweet.

All About Chocolate

Written by Dina Anastasio 
Illustrated by David Cockcroft

The First Arrow 
Poloma was tossing her new ball high into
the Mississippi air when she discovered the first
arrow in the forest. On that summer morning, 
she was aiming for the Sun, throwing the ball
higher and higher, so when it came down and
rolled away she had only herself to blame. The
ball bounced off a tree trunk, flew over a log, and
came to rest at the base of a huge boulder. 
She was digging the ball out from the heavy
undergrowth when she noticed the arrow carved
into the lower part of the massive rock.

Poloma grabbed her ball and raced home. 
Her grandfather was resting on the porch swing. 
His eyes were closed, and for a moment, she
wondered whether she should wake him with
the news. 
“You’ve discovered something,” he said softly, 
when she was settled beside him. “I can tell by
the way you’re fidgeting.” 
“I’ve found an arrow, Papa!” Poloma kicked
her feet, and the swing moved back and forth, 
making a gentle, reassuring, squeaking sound. 
“And where is this arrow that excites you
so much?” 
Poloma told her grandfather about the
bouncing ball, the boulder, and the arrow that
was carved near the bottom of it.

“Do you think the arrow is a glyph like the
ones in my code books?” Poloma asked. “Maybe
it’s a Mayan hieroglyphic. The Mayans used tiny
pictures instead of words and letters. Maybe they
carved that arrow,” Poloma guessed. Papa pulled himself out of the swing and
smiled down at his granddaughter. “That’s a
very good question,” he said. “But I doubt that
the Mayans were carving rocks around here. 
The Mayans lived farther south, in Mexico and
Central America. However, your arrow might
very well be part of a code of some kind, but we
might have to do some research to find out .”
Poloma’s grandfather knew a lot about codes. 
In fact, he had won a medal for his code work
during World War II. Papa and other Native
American Code Talkers had helped the United
States and its allies win the war by sending secret
messages in languages that people from other
nations could not understand.

“Will you tell me again, Papa?” Poloma
pleaded. Poloma loved to hear the story of the
Code Talkers, even though she had heard it many,
many times before. She especially liked to hear
about the Mississippi Choctaw Code Talkers like
her grandfather. 
“Come,” her grandfather said, as he took her
hand and pulled her from the swing. “I think we
should visit this mysterious arrow. I’ll tell you
about the Code Talkers while we walk.” 
As they made their way toward the boulder, 
Papa told Poloma the story of how he and other
Code Talkers sent messages that only other
Native American Code Talkers could interpret.

Questions 
“We spoke into walkie-talkie radios,” he
explained. “There was a Code Talker on each end, 
and we would only use Choctaw words that no
one else could understand. Someone would give
me the message that I was to pass on, and I would
speak the words in Choctaw. The Code Talker
on the other end would receive my message and
translate it into English for the soldiers. If the
enemy was listening on the radio, they wouldn’t
be able to understand what we were saying.”

Poloma and her grandfather were at the
boulder now. They knelt down, and Poloma
pointed to the roughly carved arrow. Wind and
rain had eroded and smoothed the arrow’s edges
so much that Poloma might not have seen it had
she not been paying attention. 
“What do you think it means?” she asked. 
Papa ran his finger back and forth over the
carving. “I’m not sure,” he said. “It’s a very old
carving, but it’s hard to determine its age. It takes
a lot of work to figure out how old a carving is.” 
“How do people know?” Poloma asked.
“Well, there are many ways. Remember the
cave paintings we saw last summer, and the old
fossils and bones we saw at the natural history
museum? Scientists use a method called carbon
dating to figure out how old those things are.” 
“Can we use it to tell how old our arrow is?”
Poloma asked. 
“Maybe someone could date the plants in the
cracks nearest to the carving, but that might not
necessarily tell us how old the carving itself is,” 
Papa told her. “Let’s try something else. Let’s try
studying the arrow as it is.”

Poloma stared at the arrow for a long time. 
Suddenly, she had an idea. 
“I know!” she shouted. “How about if we
consider where the arrow is pointing?” 
The arrow was pointing toward another
boulder nearby. Poloma and Papa followed it and 
found the second arrow almost immediately. The
second arrow was pointing in the same direction
as the first, so they followed that one, too. It led
to another boulder, and another arrow, which
led to yet another, and then another arrow. 
There were six arrows in all.

“What do you think it means, Papa?” Poloma
asked as she ran her finger over the sixth arrow. 
“I think it means we should look for the next
arrow,” Papa laughed. “The arrows are sending
us somewhere, and I’m very curious to find
out where.”
They continued on in the direction the arrows
had been leading them but saw no more boulders. 
The arrows led them straight toward a stream.
“What should we do?” Poloma asked.
“I guess we should cross the stream. It looks
very shallow, so if we tiptoe from stone to stone, 
perhaps we’ll find another arrow on the other
side. Hold my hand tight; we’ll cross together.”

Answers 
They crossed the stream, holding hands, 
stepping carefully. When they reached the other
side, they almost crashed into the next boulder. 
It was hidden in a grove of old pine trees. 
“Do you think there’s anything carved on it?” 
Poloma asked. 
“Let’s take a look,” Papa said. 
They knelt down together, side by side, and
examined the boulder. At first they couldn’t find
an arrow or any other carving, and they were
about to give up when Poloma screeched.

“I found something! I found something!” she
shouted as she leaned closer to the boulder and
scraped off some moss with her fingers. “Look,
Papa! It’s not an arrow at all—a whole bunch 
of letters are carved into the lower part of the
boulder! I wonder if we can make them out,”
she said. 
“I’m afraid you’ll have to read them to me.”
Papa stood up slowly, rubbing his knees. “My
eyes are too old to make out tiny letters that
have been hidden behind overgrown weeds for
such a long time. I’m afraid my knees aren’t too
good either.” 
Poloma leaned closer to the boulder and
studied the letters. It took her a long time, but she
was finally able to read them all.
“They don’t make any sense,” she said. “I’ll
say them to you, but I don’t think they mean
anything at all.” 
Poloma read each letter out loud, very slowly.
g p m m p x u i f e s j o l j o h h p v s e 
When she was finished, she said, “Maybe
they’re a code. Do you think they could be a
code, Papa?”

“Read them again,” Papa said. “Maybe
I can make some sense of them if you read
them again.” 
Poloma said the letters again, and then she
repeated them one more time. As she read, she
could hear her grandfather’s footsteps. He was
pacing slowly through the dead leaves and
pine needles. Papa always paced when he had
something important to think over.

“Do they mean anything to you?” she asked
when she was done. 
“Indeed they do,” her grandfather said, still
pacing. “Indeed they do.” 
“What do you think the letters mean?” 
“I’m not exactly sure,” Papa told her. “But I
think it’s a cipher, and I think I recognize it.” 
Poloma knew what a cipher was. It was a code
that substituted letters or numbers for the real
letters in a message. 
“Ciphers like that one have been used in many
wars to keep the enemy from learning about
battle plans,”Papa explained.

Cracking the Code 
“Did you use a cipher in the war?”
Poloma asked. 
“I saw them used in World War II. The
Germans had a very clever machine called the
Enigma Machine that substituted letters for other
letters. The Code Talkers often used a cipher as
well in case a Native American language speaker 
was captured and forced to translate messages
by the enemy. But the first substitution cipher
was invented by Julius Caesar more than
2,000 years ago.” “I wonder if these letters were used in a war,
too,” Poloma said. 
Papa had to think about that. He paced for a
very long time, and then he stopped beside his
granddaughter and cleared his throat. 
“I think I remember something,” he said. 
“As you know, a great war took place right
around here.”

This is an example of a Caesar Cipher. Can you break
the code? 
nbcm cm uh yrugjfy iz u wuymul wcjbyl 
Hint: This cipher shifts each letter in the alphabet forward by
the same number of letters.

“The Civil War—right, Papa?” Poloma asked.
“Yes. About 150 years ago, the Civil War was
fought to free the slaves in the South. I think I
remember reading that the soldiers and spies in
the North used a special cipher.” “Do you remember what it was, Papa?”
“It was sort of like the Caesar Cipher. Read me
the letters again.”
Poloma read the letters slowly. 
g p m m p x u i f e s j o l j o h h p v s e 
“You forgot the spaces,” he said. “Read the
letters again, and don’t forget the spaces between
the words.”

Poloma read the letters again. This time she
was careful to pause wherever she saw a space. 
g p m m p x u i f e s j o l j o h h p v s e
She was just about to ask her grandfather what
the letters meant when she noticed something in
the cipher that she had seen in codes she had
deciphered before. Most sentences contain at
least one short common word, and this one was
no different. 
“I think I see some interesting letters,” she
said. “Let’s say the letters form words. One of the
words has three letters. Let’s guess that it’s a
common word . . .” 
“. . . like and?”
“Or the,” Poloma suggested. “There has to be
one common word in a sentence.” 
Poloma and Papa were quiet for several
minutes as they thought about the three letters. 
“I don’t think it’s and,” Papa said. “The letters
don’t make sense.” 
“But it could be the,” Poloma said. “Maybe the
letters uif stand for the in some way.” 
Papa was smiling now. “You are a very smart

girl,” he said. “What letter comes before u in the
alphabet?” 
“T,” Poloma said. “And the letter h comes
before i, and the letter e comes before f. This is a
substitute-letter cipher, Papa!” 
“Yes! I remember now! During the Civil War, 
some Northern spies and soldiers used a code 
called the advance cipher. They advanced each
letter one letter of the alphabet.”

The Drinking Gourd 
Once they had cracked the code, it was easy
to read the message. 
“Do you know what it says?” Poloma asked.
“I do know what it says. Do you know what
it says?” 
“I know what it says, Papa. It says, ‘Follow
the Drinking Gourd.’ But I don’t know what the
message means. Do you know what it means?” 
Papa chuckled and sat down on a hollow
log. “We’ve made quite a discovery,” he said. 
“We have found six arrows pointing in the same
direction. If people followed the arrows, they
would reach this boulder, and they would find
this cipher. I wonder if the arrows and the cipher
were carved during the Civil War.” 
Papa was pacing again now, and Poloma could
tell that he was thinking things over in his mind. 
“Before the end of the war,” he said, “many
slaves wanted to escape to freedom in the North. 
They followed what was called the Underground
Railroad. It wasn’t really a railroad. It was just a
series of routes and directions and safe houses
that led the slaves northward. Some slaves who
had escaped returned to help other slaves.”

“But who carved the arrows, Papa?” 
“I’m not sure if we’ll ever know that,” Papa
said. “It might have been a Northern spy trying
to help. It might have been a returning slave who
had learned the cipher in the North. Or maybe
it had nothing to do with the war. Who knows? 
Maybe some children were playing a game.” 
“Did escaping slaves ever carve directions in
trees or rocks?” Poloma asked. 
“I’ve never heard of it happening, but every
day people find new information about the
Underground Railroad. Just recently, someone
discovered a hidden tunnel and a secret room
in a house in Iowa where slaves hid out on the
way north.”

A Code in Song 
Here’s the first verse of a folksong that gives
directions north on the Underground Railroad. 
When the sun comes back and the first quail calls, 
Follow the Drinking Gourd. 
For the old man is waiting for to carry you to freedom, 
If you follow the Drinking Gourd.

“What does ‘Follow the Drinking Gourd’
mean?” Poloma asked. 
“The Drinking
Gourd is the group
of seven stars now
called the Big Dipper, 
which can always
be found in the
northern sky of
the United States. 
Slaves followed the
Drinking Gourd from
safe house to safe house, 
until finally they reached freedom.” 
The sun was beginning to set, and tiny slivers
of light were flickering through the branches. 
Poloma took her flashlight from her backpack, 
turned it on, and took her grandfather’s hand. 
By the time they were on the other side of the
stream, the sun had disappeared. Poloma stopped
and studied the sky. 
“Are you looking for the Drinking Gourd?”
her grandfather asked. 
“There it is!” Poloma was pointing to the
bright shape in the sky. “Shall we follow it?”

“It’s your decision. Are we heading north?” 
Poloma had to think about that for a minute. 
The Drinking Gourd would lead them back across
the stream, past the boulder with the cipher, and
on and on to places north. 
“We need to go south, Papa.” 
Poloma and Papa turned. They moved slowly, 
like creeping night creatures. The light from
Poloma’s flashlight led them away from the
North Star, past the arrows pointing the other
way, out of the woods, and home.

Arrows

Introduction 
The official name of Australia is the
Commonwealth of Australia, but Australians call
their land “Oz.” It is a place so unique, it might
have come from a fantasy story rather than real
life. Many of the things you see in Australia, 
from the incredible landscapes to the amazing
creatures,are unlike anything else on Earth. 
Australia has a rich and fascinating history. 
A group of people called Aborigines has lived
in Australia for over 40,000 years. Britain claimed
Australia just over 200 years ago. Since then, the
country has changed from a small colony to a
nation with approximately 22 million citizens.

Australia’s population is also unique. 
Although Australia has lots of industry, most
areas have almost no people. Those under-
populated areas are known as the outback, and
the people who live there have a frontier spirit,
even in this day. However, most Australians live
in cities and lead modern lives. 
To learn more about the fascinating country 
called Australia, simply turn the page. Welcome
to Australia!

Geography 
Australia is the only country that is also a
continent (landmass). Australia is the oldest
continent, at 40 million years old, the smallest
continent, and the world’s largest island! It is
also the world’s flattest continent. Australia is
the sixth largest country in the world. It is as large
as the United States (not counting Hawaii and
Alaska). The continent covers 7,692,024 square
kilometers (2,969,907 sq mi) of land. 
Australia is located in the southern hemisphere
(half of the earth). The Indian Ocean borders
Australia on the west and south, while the Pacific
Ocean surrounds the northern and eastern edges. 
The country of Australia includes the island state
of Tasmania, which is 240 kilometers (150 mi) off
Australia’s southern tip, across the Bass Strait. 
There are three main areas in Australia: the
Western Plateau, the Central Lowlands, and
the Eastern Highlands. The Western Plateau,
covering two-thirds of Australia, is a flat, dry,
desert area with hot weather. Scientists have
found the world’s oldest rocks in the Western
Plateau. Dry grasslands are found in the Central
Lowlands, where it is hot all year during the day,

but can be very cold at night. The Great Dividing
Range, part of the Eastern Highlands, holds
rivers, valleys, and Australia’s highest mountains.

Animals 
Australia’s animals are amazing! Because
of the continent’s isolation and harsh conditions, 
animals seen nowhere else on Earth have
developed. 
Today, some of these animals are threatened 
(in danger of dying out and becoming extinct). 
As cities grow larger, the natural areas have
grown smaller. Homes and food for some animals
are becoming scarce.

Only in Australia can you find a platypus. 
This unusual animal has four legs, fur, beady eyes, a tail like a
beaver’s, a duck’s bill, and webbed feet. 
When a British scientist first saw a platypus, he believed
someone was playing a practical joke! An adult
male platypus has a venomous spur on its back ankles. Although a
platypus is a mammal (a warm-blooded animal that nurses its young), females lay eggs. 
There are around 700 types of Australian snakes and lizards. When one lizard called a
thorny devil feels threatened, it inflates with air to look bigger and shows its skin spikes. If it’s
really scared, it tucks its head between its front
legs, and a big spiny knob sticks out on the back
of its neck—like a fake head. A thorny devil can
eat thousands of ants in one day .

Koalas look like teddy bears, but they aren’t bears at
all. They’re actually related to the kangaroo, another
common Australian animal. Koalas are the only animals besides
primates (a group of animals that includes humans, apes, and
monkeys) that have unique fingerprints. 
Many of Australia’s mammals are marsupials. 
A marsupial gives birth to a tiny, helpless baby
that lives in a pouch or pocket on its mother’s
body. On other continents, most marsupials
disappeared long ago. But Australia’s isolation
allowed marsupials to thrive. Kangaroos,
wallabies, and koalas are all marsupials. 
The animals on these pages are just a few
of the large number of creatures found only in Australia!

The Outback 
The Australian outback is the huge dry
inland area. Rain may not fall there for years at
a time. There can be hundreds of miles between
“towns,” which are usually just a few buildings. 
The outback has enormous deserts. There are also
some mountainous regions. 
There are many colorfully gorgeous sights
here: enormous golden plains, red rocks, and
purple mountain ranges. The landscape is
empty and stretches forever. This is truly frontier
country for hardy pioneers. 
If you visit the outback, keep your eye out for
wild camels! The animals were brought there in
the 1870s as desert transportation. Today, the
largest number of wild camels in the world lives
in the outback. Some tourist places offer camel
tours to visitors.

Some residents of the outback live and work
on enormous ranches called stations. Some
stations are actually larger than some small
countries! Other people work in mining and
oil production. The only city in the outback,
Alice Springs, welcomes tourists who come to
visit Uluru.

Do You Know? 
The Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Australia, is
the largest coral reef system in the world. It is home to
more than 2,000 types of
fish, many types of coral, 
and other sea creatures,
sea plants, and birds. 
Just how big is the Great
Barrier Reef? You can
actually see it from space!

History 
The first people living in Australia were the
Aborigines. They probably traveled by sea from
Asia more than 40,000 years ago. By the time
Europeans settled Australia, there may have been
close to one million Aborigines in Australia. 
The early Aborigines were nomads (people who
moved frequently). They hunted and gathered
food in small groups and lived in temporary mud
homes. They had at least 300 different languages.

In the 17th century, Dutch, Portuguese, and
Spanish sailors viewed Australia from their ships. 
The Dutch landed in 1606 and explored for around
150 years, but decided the land was worthless. 
In 1688, the first Englishman, William Dampier,
arrived. Although Dampier wasn’t impressed with
Australia, he wrote a book about what he saw. 
Finally, in 1770, an Englishman, Captain James
Cook, arrived in Australia. He claimed Australia’s
east coast for Britain, calling it New South Wales. 
Because of crowding in British prisons, England
established a convict colony (a settlement of
prisoners) in Australia. The first settlement had
759 prisoners(568 men and 191 women), 
200 soldiers, and 40 wives and children of thesoldiers. These
people lived in tents and ate native animals and food sent
from England .

When that first settlement survived, more
settlers began to arrive. Free settlers set up farms,
explored the land, and searched for minerals. 
By the early 1800s, explorers had sailed around
 Australia and traveled through the interior. 
Different colonies (groups from distant lands,
still tied to the parent country) settled throughout
the continent during the 19th century .

Do You Know? 
Six colonies were established by free settlers 
and former convicts during the 1700s and 1800s. 
New South Wales in 1786
 Tasmania (originally “Van
Diemen’s Land”) in 1825
 Western Australia in 1829
 South Australia in 1834
 Victoria in 1851
 Queensland in 1859

The Aborigines did not fare well after Britain
began colonizing Australia. Many died due to
new diseases brought into the country. Others
died because of fighting between the newcomers
and the Aboriginal people. In the 1850s, the
British forced many of the surviving natives
to live on reservations. 
Gold was discovered in New South Wales and
in Victoria in 1851. In the gold rush that followed,
men from all over Australia, as well as European
and Chinese immigrants, rushed to the gold
fields. Some found gold and became wealthy,
while others did not.

The colonies became states. In 1901, they
united under one government and called
themselves the Commonwealth of Australia. 
Britain entered World War I in 1914, with
Australia fighting alongside. 
A huge depression (a period of poverty)
struck Australia in 1929. By 1931, one out of
every three workers was unemployed, and
many were homeless. Business and the economy
improved from 1934 to 1937. During World War II,
Australians fought alongside Allied soldiers.

Early Australian immigration (people moving
into a country) laws had allowed mostly northern
Europeans to enter the country. This changed
in the 1960s and 1970s, allowing more Asian
immigrants. 
In 1967, voters chose to include Aborigines
as citizens in all the states for the first time. Some
land rights were given to Aboriginal citizens
in 1972. Aborigines, Australia’s poorest group, 
struggle to maintain their rights even today.

Modern Australia 
Australia is a democracy, with three levels
of government: local, state, and federal. The
country’s leader, who is chosen by elected
lawmakers, is called the Prime Minister. 
Australians speak English, and they pay for
purchases with Australian dollars. Much
of Australian culture comes from Britain. 
Australians still honor the queen of Britain
as their ceremonial head of state. In 1999,
Australians voted to keep this loyalty to Britain. 
In 2003, approximately 20 million people lived
in Australia. Of all Australians, about 92 percent
are Caucasian, or white, and 7 percent are Asian. 
Today, 350,000 Aboriginal people live in Australia. 
Almost every single Australian adult can read!

About 90 percent of Australians live in cities. 
Australian cities are modern, but they are long
distances from each other. 
Australia’s capital city is Canberra, which
is within New South Wales. Although it is the
center of politics and government, it has some
small-town charms. There are only around
500,000 residents. The city has art museums, the
High Court of Australia, the Australian National
University, and other important places

Sydney is Australia’s largest city, with a
population above four million. Within the city
lie a business district, Chinatown, The Botanic
Gardens, museums and art galleries, and many
old buildings. Surrounding the city are national
parks filled with plants and animals. Sydney is
also home to some of the most beautiful beaches
in the world. 
Australia’s other big cities include Melbourne,
Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. Like almost all of
Australia’s cities, these are right along the coast.

At one time, the wool industry was Australia’s
largest business, but that is no longer the case. 
Major Australian industries include mining, the
manufacture of industrial and transportation
equipment, construction, food processing,
chemicals, and steel. Some new industries are
winemaking and tourism. 
The country’s natural resources include
bauxite (a claylike material from which
aluminum is obtained), coal, iron ore, copper,
tin, silver, uranium, nickel, natural gas, and
petroleum. Australia also exports meat, wool, 
wheat, sugar, and machinery .

Explore More 
1 At the Library 
Ask your school or local librarian to help you
find information about Australia. You can look
up books on Australian history, the outback,
Aborigines, and modern Australia. You can also
find many books on unusual Australian animals,
such as kangaroos, wallabies, and koalas. 
2 On the Internet 
A. In the address window, type www.google.com. 
B. Pick a subject you’d like to explore, such
as the outback, and type it in the search
window. Click on “Google Search.”
 C. Read the colored links . Click on one that
looks interesting. 
D. If you want to explore more links, click
on the “Back” arrow on the top left. 
E. Try searching for other subjects, such as
kangaroos, Aborigines, Sydney, or other topics. 
3 In the Media 
Australia produces a diverse selection of
movies, music, art, and theater. Ask your teacher,
parent, or librarian to help you find films that
take place in Australia or music that comes from
Australia. You might be surprised by the richness
of Australia’s landscape and modern culture.

Australia

Introduction 
Coral reefs are massive undersea communities 
that are home to thousands of living organisms. 
A reef can be hundreds of miles long. The
“buildings” of this community are made up of
many types and shapes of corals. Day and night, 
thousands of animal inhabitants bustle about, 
hunting, eating, and avoiding being eaten. Almost
one-quarter of all the plants and animals in the
ocean live around coral reefs. That’s over 4,000
kinds of fish and 700 kinds of coral that make
reefs their home.

What Is Coral? 
The many corals that form the reefs may
appear at first glance to be oddly shaped rocks
or spiny plants. Corals are actually groups of tiny
animals called polyps (pa h-lips). Most polyps
are very small— between the size of a pinhead
and the size of a pea. One branch or mound of
coral can have thousands of these tiny, pea-sized
polyps attached to it. Each polyp has a sac-like
body and a mouth that is surrounded by tiny
tentacles. Polyps are eating machines. At night,
they extend their tentacles, like arms and hands, 
to catch tiny animals and nutrients they need.

There are hundreds of kinds of corals. Most
of them are divided into two main types: hard, 
or “stony,” corals and soft corals. Stony coral
polyps form hard skeletons. When the outer
polyps die, their hard skeletons remain. Over
time, the accumulation of millions of these hard
skeletons helps to build a reef. Most kinds of
stony corals live together with various species of
plants called algae (AL-jee). The many types of
algae help to supply food for the coral and for
many of the fish that live around the reef.

Soft corals grow flexible, woody cores 
instead of the hard skeletons that stony corals
have. Soft corals are able to bend with the tides. Some kinds of soft coral are poisonous and will
sting if touched. Others, like the sea pen coral, 
will collapse and hide in the sand if they 
are approached.

Corals are often named after what they
resemble. Stony corals include brain corals, which
look like brains, and elkhorn corals, which look
like the broad horns of an elk. Soft corals often
look like trees or other plants. Soft sea whips 
and sea pens have long, narrow branches covered
with polyps. Sea whip polyps are about one
quarter-inch long with eight tentacles each. 
The tentacles catch tiny animals and fish. Sea 
fan corals are wide and branching—like a fan. Their expansive shape traps bits of plankton to
eat as they drift by.

A Busy Underwater Community 
Most people think of brightly colored fish 
when they think about coral reefs— and with
good reason. Thousands of fish, from large sharks
to the tiny goby, inhabit reefs. They depend
on the reef for food and for protection from
becoming food themselves. Some fish live off the
algae and plankton around the reef, and some eat
other fish that live there. A few types of fish even
eat the coral itself.

Crustaceans such as shrimp, lobsters, and
crabs also prefer reefs as a favorite eating spot. 
Sea urchins and starfish catch clams and smaller
shellfish hidden among the coral branches. Waving sea anemones, which look like graceful
flowers, hide in shallow crevices of the reef to
wait for their food to drift past. Large holes in 
the reef make good homes and hiding spots for
moray eels. No space is wasted on a bustling reef.

Where Do Corals Live? 
Most reefs are located close to shore in
warm tropical waters. They can also grow where 
warm currents flow from the tropics, such as in
Florida and southern Japan. Coral grows best in 
warm water that is between 21 and 29 degrees 
Celsius (70–85° F). Since algae need sunlight to make food, most
corals must live near the surface of the water. 
A few colonies of deep, or cold-water, coral have
been found at depths from 900 to 1,800 meters
(3,000 to 6,000 ft). These individual coral patches
don’t form long reefs but they do provide shelter
for many different types of fish. Since algae
cannot grow at depths where light is limited, the
deepwater corals feed on other organisms.

Besides needing the right depth and
temperature to thrive, coral reefs are sensitive 
and cannot survive in many areas because of
environmental conditions. They do not grow well
near the mouths of rivers, where dirt, debris, and
freshwater runoff flow into the sea. Fresh water
can kill coral. Dirt and debris can cause serious
physical damage to reefs. Dirt and excess salt can
also interfere with corals’ food source. Reefs can 
be smothered by dirt or invading plant life. Large,
violent waves, such as those caused by a tsunami
(sue-NAH-mee), can even break reefs. If a
powerful tsunami strikes an area, thousands of
years of coral growth can be destroyed in just a
few hours by the force of the wave surges.

As corals are very slow growing, a reef takes 
a long time to expand its size or to recover from
damage. Stony corals, such as brain corals, grow
the slowest. They add only 5 to 25 millimeters 
(0.2–1 in) of skeleton per year. Most reefs are
between 5,000 and 10,000 years old. Some living
coral reefs began growing almost 50 million years
ago.

There are three types of coral reefs: fringing
reefs, barrier reefs, and atolls. Fringing reefs are
located close to the shore. They usually follow 
the natural shoreline, or fringe, of the land. Fringing reefs are common in Hawaii and parts 
of the Caribbean. Barrier reefs have a larger lagoon, or area of
water, between the reef and the shore. The largest
barrier reef in the world is the Great Barrier Reef
in Australia. It is 2,000 kilometers (over 1,242 mi)
long. It is made up of over 3,000 individual reefs
and islands and is home to nearly 2,000 types 
of fish. The Great Barrier Reef is the only living
structure large enough to be seen by an astronaut
standing on the moon. Its oldest sections are
millions of years old. Most of the modern Great
Barrier Reef ranges in age from 6,000 to 500,000
years old.

An atoll is a type of reef that forms in a
circular pattern around a sinking island or an
aging island volcano. As the island ages and
sinks, or as the volcano continues to erupt and
break apart, the remaining land eventually
disappears beneath the ocean’s surface. When
that happens, the growing reef forms a circle 
around a central lagoon. The largest atoll, in the
western Pacific, has a lagoon that measures over
97 kilometers (60 mi) across.

Threats to Coral Reefs 
Coral reefs are very fragile, and many things
can damage them. The two things that cause the
most damage are disease and humans. Some
conditions, such as white band and black band
diseases, are caused by a combination of
destructive bacteria. In most cases, the band of
bacteria advances up the branch of the coral, 
destroying the coral polyps and leaving the
skeleton behind. The skeleton can then be
attacked or colonized by other damaging
organisms. These fast-growing diseases can wipe
out an ancient coral reef in weeks.

Another condition, known as bleaching, 
occurs when something—usually bacteria— 
attacks algae, the coral’s main source of nutrients. Normally, algae live in the tissues of the coral 
and provide a constant source of food. Their
presence even colors the coral polyps. If the coral
senses that the algae have become infected, it
expels them. By losing the algae, the coral polyps
lose their main source of food as well as their
color. They begin to starve, and without their
coloration they become transparent, making their
skeletons visible. The white skeleton makes them
look “bleached.”

Most reef scientists believe that a rise in the
temperature of the water makes the bacteria
grow— and grow faster. If the water temperature 
returns to normal again, the invading bacteria die
off and the algae can recover. Sometimes, coral
can recover from bleaching. But if the situation
that caused the bleaching does not change, the
coral, and the reef, will die.

Humans are responsible for most of the
destruction of coral reefs. Fishing methods that
use poisons and explosives have destroyed over
half the reefs in the Philippines. Seaside resorts
and homes create soil erosion and polluted
freshwater runoff. Fresh water is damaging to
coral, and the runoff may also contain chemicals 
as well as waste material. 
People damage reefs more directly, too. Sport
boats and commercial ships break off large
chunks of reefs. Gas and oil from boat engines
seep into the reef habitat, poisoning coral, plant,
and fish life. Some sport divers drop their boat
anchors directly onto reefs or stand on the fragile
coral. Others break off pieces of live coral to take
home as souvenirs or to sell.

Protecting the Reefs 
In addition to being naturally beautiful and
appealing as recreational destinations, coral reefs
are a valuable natural resource. Reefs help shelter
our coasts from storms and floods. They are a
critical habitat for much of the world’s seafood
and, as such, contribute to the economies of many
countries. Reef plants and animals also provide 
many important ingredients for medicines.

Many countries have taken steps to preserve
their reefs. In Florida and on the Great Barrier
Reef in Australia, it is illegal to take fish, plants, 
or coral from protected areas. Humans and boats
are not allowed near many fragile reefs. But this 
is only a start. Only about 3 percent of the world’s
coral reefs are protected, and many of the laws
and guidelines are not consistently enforced.

Almost a quarter of the world’s reefs have
already been destroyed. Nearly 60 percent are
threatened. It is up to all of us to help prevent reef
destruction. Even if you don’t live near an ocean, 
your actions can have an effect on the health 
of coral reefs. Be careful not to litter or drop
anything in the water. Learn what human actions
cause an increase in ocean temperatures and the
growth of bacteria. Conserve water and energy,
and recycle as much as you can. If everyone does
his or her part, coral reefs will remain a beautiful,
natural wonder for centuries to come.

Coral Reefs

Explosion Aboard the Deepwater Horizon 
On the night of April 20, 2010, an explosion lit
up the sky in the Gulf of Mexico. A fireball rocked
the Deepwater Horizon oil-drilling rig as it worked
fourty-two miles off the coast of Louisiana. Within
seconds, fire engulfed the Deepwater Horizon. The
126 workers on the rig found themselves caught
in a fiery inferno with nowhere to escape but the
ocean itself.

Eleven of the 126 rig workers died in the
explosion. The others were rescued by nearby
ships, and the injured were flown to a hospital
in Alabama. For two days, ships attempted to put
out the flames by spraying huge amounts of water 
onto the massive oil rig. But on April 22, 2010, a
second explosion sent the Deepwater Horizon to the
bottom of the ocean. The loss of life, the injuries,
 and the destruction of the oil rig were a major
disaster. But at the time of the accident and in the
days that followed, no one knew just how serious
the disaster would become.

The Bigger Problem 
The Deepwater Horizon accident was much
worse than was first feared because the safety
valve on the well failed. Safety valves on oil
wells are designed to shut off the flow of oil in
emergencies. But for some reason, the safety
valve on the well beneath the Deepwater Horizon
didn’t close. Because of that failure, about 60,000
barrels of oil leaked into the ocean each day. By
May 3, the oil slick covered an area of 2,500
square miles — larger than the state of Delaware. 
By July 15 when the well was capped from the
top, about 5 million barrels of oil had leaked into
the Gulf of Mexico.

Over one thousand people went to work on
solving the problems created by the leaking well 
in the days, weeks, and months following the
explosion. Small robotic submarines were sent to
the ocean floor to examine the damage and try to
stop the leak. The small submarines were used to
flip a switch that was supposed to close the safety
valve, but all attempts to stop the leak failed. 
As the first edges of the oil slick neared the
Gulf Coast shores, another solution was tried. 
The idea was to build a large metal box to place
over the leaking well. The oil that collected inside
the box would be pumped out into tanker ships
that would haul the oil away. Unfortunately,
when this plan was tried, the box became blocked
with frozen crystals of natural gas. The cold
temperatures and high pressures at the seafloor
kept the box from working.

Plans were also made to drill relief wells next
to the leaking well. The relief wells would connect
with the original well and would be used to
pump mud or concrete down the pipes to try
to plug it. On September 16 a relief well finally
reached the original well. Mud and cement
were pumped into the well to seal it shut. On
September 19 the well was declared plugged from
the bottom for good.

Why Oil Spills Are Disasters 
The harmful effects of oil spills become clear 
when the oil gets close to and reaches the shore. 
Oil spills can cause tremendous damage to 
marine life, the environment, and the economy. 
Countless birds, fish, and other animals can be
killed as the oil reaches the areas where they
hunt and live. Beaches and wetlands can become
contaminated with toxic oil. Wildlife refuges that
are home to rare animals can be destroyed.

Many coastal towns rely on oyster beds, 
fishing, and the shrimping industry for jobs. 
Other towns have beautiful beaches and fishing
areas that attract tourists and other people for
recreation. All of these important parts of the Gulf
Coast’s economy can be severely damaged or
even destroyed by spilled oil. The possible effect
on the lives of people who live in the path
of the spill is enormous. Some estimates put
the damages to fishing and tourism from the
Deepwater Horizon oil spill at more than $5 billion.

The Risks of Oil Rigs 
The work done by oil rigs always carries the
risk of leaks and explosions. Fires, mechanical
failures, and severe weather such as hurricanes 
can cause accidents at any time. Explosive natural
gas often bubbles up from oil wells. If a natural
gas cloud reaches the surface, a single spark can
touch off a huge explosion. In addition, oil can
leak from underwater pipes that carry oil from
offshore wells to refineries on land.

Other Big Oil Spills 
Some of the world’s biggest oil spills have been
the result of shipwrecks. One of the most famous
spills was caused by the ship Exxon Valdez in the
unspoiled waters off the coast of Alaska. More
than 10 million gallons of oil leaked from the
ship, causing major damage to the environment. 
Hundreds of thousands of animals died from
contact with the oil, and the effects of the spill
were felt for years afterward. 
However, the worst oil spill ever was created
on purpose. In 1991, Iraqi soldiers released oil into
the Persian Gulf to try to prevent enemy soldiers
from landing on their shores. Up to 520 million
gallons of oil were released into the water, creating
an oil slick that covered 4,000 square miles.

Cleaning Up Oil Spills 
Trying to clean up oil spills is difficult and
expensive. Cleaning up the spill caused by
the Deepwater Horizon explosion will cost the
company that owns the well billions of dollars. 
There is no easy way to remove oil from the
environment once it’s been spilled. Authorities
used a variety of methods to deal with the
damage from the spill. 
Methods of Cleaning Up Oil Spills
Absorption: Special towels are used to absorb
oil that is coating sand and other material along
the shore. 
Burning: When conditions are fairly calm and
the oil is fairly thick, it can be set on fire. Burning
removes oil from the surface but fills the air with
harmful black smoke.

Chemicals: Planes flying over an oil spill drop
chemicals that break the oil into tiny droplets that
sink below the surface. Natural bacteria living in
the ocean water then eat the droplets. 
Containment: Booms, or long floating tubes, are
strung out to form a barrier to prevent the oil from spreading. 
Microbes: Tiny, microscopic oil-eating organisms
are spread over the spill. They eat and digest the oil. 
Power washing: Power sprayers are used to
remove oil from rocks and other objects that get
coated with oil that comes ashore. 
Skimming: Ships with special equipment are
used to skim oil collected within floating booms.

The Offshore Drilling Debate 
As long as the world depends on oil for energy, 
there will be pressure to look for new sources of
oil. Many people oppose offshore drilling and the
use of tanker ships to move oil across the oceans. 
They say the risks of oil spilling and leaking are
not risks worth taking. 
Many others argue that our growing energy
needs make drilling through the ocean floor
necessary. Scientists know that big pockets of oil
lie beneath the ocean floor in many regions of the
world. Those who favor offshore drilling believe
that taking proper safety precautions will
minimize the risks involved. But as the Deepwater
Horizon accident and others like it show, we can
never guarantee that large oil spills won’t happen.

Deep Trouble: The Gulf Coast Oil Spill

Written by N. M. Ryan 
Illustrated by Brock Nicol

Chapter One 
“To speak the name of the dead is to make
them live again？” the tour guide whispered
ominously. The class giggled at what they
thought to be just another staged part of the tour. 
“Throughout the tomb,” he continued, “and
especially when we enter the burial chamber, 
we must refer to the mummy as ‘The King’
or ‘Pharaoh.’ Is that understood?” The group
members nodded their agreement as they quickly
realized this was not another superstition. I knew
the guide had been telling the truth because I
had read about it on the Internet in preparation
for our class trip. Now here we were, in Egypt,
inside an actual pyramid, on our way down to
the burial chamber to look at an actual mummy.

“Come along children. Step lively.” Mrs.
Crabwalk’s shrill voice rose above the noise, 
and everyone obediently started to file out of
the ritual shaft in pairs—everyone except for
Simon. I found him at the back of the room 
trying to decipher the hieroglyphics on the wall. 
“Simon Montier, what would you do without
me?” I teased. “Honestly, sometimes I think you
actually want to get left behind.” He didn’t care;
he was curious about everything and wasn’t
happy unless he had a problem to solve. 
“Amy, look! I’ve figured out what this
means,” Simon said. I glanced back and checked
the progress of the queue. Only half of the group
had filed out of the room, so I figured we had a
couple of minutes left. I definitely wanted to hear
what Simon had found out, but I absolutely did
not want to get in trouble with Mrs. Crabwalk.

“It says here that they pulled the mummy’s
brain out through its nose.” Simon grinned
at the grossness of it all. The guide hadn’t
mentioned any of the details Simon was
describing. I guess the guide thought it would
be too scary for our fourth-grade class. I had
to admit, it was pretty revolting, yet I found
myself listening to Simon translate the entire
mummification process. 
“Yuck!” I wrinkled my face in disgust, turning
away from the last picture on the wall just in
time to see the last two students leaving the
chamber. My revulsion was quickly replaced
by my need to stay out of trouble, so I grabbed
Simon by the shirt and dragged him toward the
door. We waited for Mrs. Crabwalk to turn the
other way, and then we successfully slipped into 
the back of the line.
Our classmates stomped and chattered their
way up a wide flight of stairs, down a narrow
corridor, and into the next chamber. Simon
stopped to inspect every insect and object that
crossed our paths. I had to drag him back to the
line at least three times. Finally, we all crowded
into a room where the walls were covered with
images of the pharaoh and several gods. The
guide motioned for everyone to gather around

one of the images. He launched into an
explanation of the relationship between the
pharaoh and his people and how the pharaoh
was connected to the gods. Of course, I already
knew this story, but it was a hundred times more
fascinating listening to it while looking at the
actual hieroglyphics on the walls than reading
about it in school. Simon, however, did not find
it as interesting as I did and had decided to
translate his own story. He stayed close enough
to the group, so I decided to leave him alone. 
The guide finished his narrative on the life 
of the pharaoh and made his way to the back of
the room. He paused in the doorway and called
for everyone’s attention. “Before us is the burial
chamber where the mummy of the great king

lies.” The room went completely silent. The
guide had captured everyone’s interest, even
Simon’s. “Enter if you dare!” he shouted and
then disappeared into the darkness of the burial
chamber. Simon and I agreed it was all very
theatrical, but pretty cool. We joined the line and
walked, single file, into the tomb. 
Exclamations of surprise echoed around the
chamber as the red sarcophagus came into our
view. This room was much smaller than the rest,
and we all crowded around, smashing elbows
to get a closer view as the guide slowly raised
the lid to reveal the full-sized mummy inside.
Shrieks arose from a group of girls who scooted
to the back, vacating prime space in front. Simon
and I squeezed our way toward the sarcophagus
and looked in awe at the mummy. 
A group of boys eagerly pushed themselves
between us. I held my spot as long as I could, 
but there was just too much shoving. I finally
managed to squeeze my way out of the tightly
packed mass of bodies and went looking for
Simon. He was sitting in the corner reading an
ancient-looking book filled with hundreds of
illustrations. I peered over his shoulder at page
after page of strange pictures of pharaohs in
boats on journeys to mysterious places.

Chapter Two 
“Where are they going?” I asked. “I’m
working on it,” Simon mumbled. “But I think
they’re traveling in the underworld.” I glanced
over my shoulder to check on the others and saw
they had already left the tomb. I jumped up in
a panic and ran to the next room. “Everyone’s
gone, Simon!” I shouted from there. I ran back to
the burial chamber to get him. “Simon, come on!
We’re going to get in trouble with Mrs.
Crabwalk.” 
He didn’t even look at me. Impatiently, I
stomped over and grabbed his arm. 
“I figured it out!” he shouted. “The picture
relates the journey that King Amenhotep II took 
in some sort of solar-powered boat on his way to
the sun god.”

I dropped his arm and felt a look of horror
spread over my face. 
Simon was immediately apologetic. “I’m
sorry, Amy. I didn’t mean to keep us here so long. 
Don’t worry. Maybe Mrs. Crabwalk won’t notice 
our absence if we hurry.” 
“You said his name,” I whispered.
“Whose name? Do you mean King
Amenhotep?” 
“Shhhh. Stop saying it. Don’t you know that
if you speak the name of the dead, you make
them live again?”
His eyes widened with comprehension. 
“Oh, no—I forgot.” He slapped his forehead with
the palm of his hand. “How could I be so stupid?
I read about that, and it even mentions it here in
this book,” Simon said as he fumbled with the
book. It flipped out of his hands and landed with
a thud. 
We both looked at the book lying on the dirt
floor near the closed sarcophagus in front of us. 
For an entire minute, we didn’t breathe or blink,
but nothing happened. “I guess it really is just
a superstition？” I said with a sigh of relief. We
headed for the door.

Chapter Three 
Then, a low, scraping noise stopped us in our
tracks. We turned back and watched in horror 
as the mummy slowly opened the lid of the red
sarcophagus. 
“This can’t be happening,” we both squeaked
at the same time. I felt as if my feet had grown
roots and fastened me to the ground. “Oh, we’re
going to get in so much trouble,” I moaned. 
“How are we going to solve this problem?” 
“The book!” Simon exclaimed and ran back
into the room to get it.

The sarcophagus was now completely open, 
and the mummy slowly sat up. He was directly
between Simon and the doorway. Simon was
trapped. 
“Over here!” I yelled, distracting the mummy
enough for Simon to escape. He grabbed the
book and ran right by the mummy, pulling me
out the door after him. 
We sped down the stairs and hid behind
one of the pillars at the far end of the next room. 
My heart was beating so fast, I could barely
speak. “What...are...we...going...to...do...now?” 
I gasped.
“Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out. Just keep an
eye out for the mummy while I search this book
for answers,” he said. So I crouched down and
peeked out from behind the pillar, waiting for the
mummy to find us. “I think I found something,”
he whispered. But it was too late. The mummy
had entered the room and was coming down the
stairs toward us. 
“Save it for later. We have to get out of here
now,” I insisted, yanking Simon up by the back
of his collar and rushing him out of the chamber
into the long narrow corridor.

“I don’t think he saw us,” I whispered. 
But I had spoken too soon. The mummy had
entered the corridor and was heading toward us. 
We made a dash for the next chamber and hid
behind another pillar in the back of the room. 
I resumed guard duty and kept an eye on the
door. 
Simon quickly flipped through the pages
of the book, frantically trying to locate the
answers he had just found. “DARN IT!” he
shouted. “There’s a page missing from this book. 
This picture only tells us what happens after they
make him a mummy. But I know I’ve seen the
picture we need somewhere.”

Chapter Four 
Simon mumbled and started to pace about the
room. I couldn’t believe it; if Simon wasn’t able
to solve this problem, we were really going to be
in trouble. I started to panic. “Why did you have
to be staring at those pictures on that wall instead
of listening to the guide’s warning?” I grilled
Simon. “If you had been paying attention, we
wouldn’t be in this mess.” 
Shouting at Simon didn’t make me feel any
better, and I realized I also had forgotten to tell
Simon about the guide’s warning. I was just
about to apologize when he jumped up and
hugged me.

“That’s it! The pictures in the ritual shaft. 
That’s where I saw it. Thanks, Amy. That was
good thinking.” He ran ahead, leaving me all
alone in the room with the mummy fast
approaching. 
“Wait for me!” I screamed, running after him. 
Simon was already hard at work when I burst
into the room. “Quick, Amy, write this down.” 
I swung my backpack to the dirt floor and pulled
out a notebook and pen. I wrote rapidly as he
dictated the words from the wall. We were
finished in no time.
“What’s the plan, Simon?” I turned my head
first one way and then the other as I tried to
watch the doorway and Simon at the same time.

Chapter Five 
“First we have to lure the mummy back into
the burial chamber,” Simon said. “Once he’s
there, I’ll repeat the chant to make him go back
to sleep.” It sounded simple enough, and I was
beginning to feel confident that everything
would work out . . . until Simon added, “Of
course, I sure hope he decides to crawl back into
the sarcophagus before he falls asleep. Otherwise,
we’re going to have to pick him up and put him
there.” My confidence faded, partly because I
didn’t like the thought of having to touch the
mummy and partly because the mummy chose
that moment to enter the room. And, boy, was he
cranky. I guess I couldn’t blame him. If I had
been sleeping for over 3,000 years and someone
suddenly woke me up, I’d be cranky, too.

“He’s back,” I whispered urgently, cramming
my notebook into my pack as we got ready to
initiate our plan. We waited until the mummy
had descended the stairs before sprinting by him, 
back up the stairs, and into the corridor. I looked
over my shoulder and saw the mummy coming
after us. 
“It worked. He’s following us, and he’s
moving much faster. I guess he’s wide awake
now,” Simon said. We raced down the stairs into
the burial chamber and ducked into the annex
room off to the left. Simon pulled the notebook
from my pack and found the only page with
writing. We waited and watched as the mummy
grunted and stomped around the chamber, trying
to find us. I signaled Simon to begin the chant.

“King of kings 
Pharaoh of the land 
Lie back down to rest 
In the burning desert sand.” 
Simon recited the chant from our hiding place. 
We watched closely to see if it was taking effect. 
The mummy took a step in our direction. “Quick.
Read the second verse,” I said urgently, and
Simon resumed the chant. 
“ In a red sarcophagus you were kept,
Where you spent 3,000 years in slumber. 
Return now to the place you slept
And travel back to your time of wonder.” 
The mummy stopped and rubbed his eyes.
I had to sit on my hands to stop myself from
clapping as he turned and headed toward
the sarcophagus. The chant was working; the
mummy climbed back into his sarcophagus and
lay back down. We waited a full minute until
we were satisfied he was asleep, and then we
tiptoed over, slowly closed the lid, and ran out
of the room. 
Once we reached the next room, we grinned
triumphantly and gave each other a flying
high five.

Chapter Six 
We had solved one problem, but we still had
two more to go. First, we had to find our way
out of the pyramid, and second, we had to
sneak back into the group before Mrs. Crabwalk
noticed we were missing. The map in the
guidebook quickly led us through the chambers, 
down the corridors, and up the stairs into the
hot desert air. But slipping back into the group
undetected was not going to be as easy. We could
see that Mrs. Crabwalk had already counted half
of the students in the line.

Simon and I ran behind the tour bus, hid
in a herd of camels, and finally slipped into the
back of the line behind huge Harry and gigantic
George. We were just in time; two minutes later
she counted us as numbers forty-nine and fifty, 
the last two in the head count. “Okay, everyone’s
here. Let’s get on the bus!” Mrs. Crabwalk
shouted, and we all marched forward, two by
two. 
Off to our left, we saw another tour group
heading down into the pyramid. “To speak the
name of the dead is to make them live again？” 
we heard the tour guide whisper ominously. 
I noticed two kids at the back of the group
weren’t paying attention to the guide and
wondered if they would soon be experiencing
an adventure similar to ours. 
Simon and I sat together at the back of the
bus reflecting on our escapade. We knew all
of the kids would be amazed at what we had
experienced today. We knew we would become
the most popular kids at school once everyone
heard how brave and smart we were. But we
also knew it would have to remain our little
secret if we wanted to stay out of trouble with
Mrs. Crabwalk.

The bus finally pulled away, heading off
to the next stop on our tour. Simon and I were
so exhausted that we promptly fell asleep. We
did not hear the excited chatter of the forty-eight
other schoolchildren on the bus. We did not hear
the tour guide’s preview of the upcoming tour, 
and we definitely did not hear his warning not
to look directly into the eyes of the statue of
Anubis. We continued to sleep peacefully as the
bus carried us closer and closer to our next
adventure.

The Great Easter Egg Hunt 
Alexander III, the czar (ZAR) of Russia, 
wanted to give his wife, the czarina (zar-EE-nuh), 
a special gift for Easter. He asked a goldsmith
named Carl Fabergé to make a wonderful
Easter egg. 
The egg was delivered on Easter in 1885. It
was made of gold with a glassy white shell that
opened like a box. Czarina Maria opened the
shell and discovered a golden yolk. Inside the yolk
was a carved hen made of gold, and inside the hen
were a gold crown and a tiny ruby egg. 
Czarina Maria loved it!

So, the Romanov family began a tradition. 
Each year, Czar Alexander asked Fabergé to make
a new Easter egg for his wife. After Alexander’s
death in 1894, his son Nicholas gave both his
mother and his wife an Easter egg each year. 
Today, the fifty Fabergé Imperial Eggs given
to the czarinas are famous for their history. They
tell the story of the Romanov family, who ruled
Russia for three hundred years. They also tell
the tale of the period when they were made, from
1885 to 1917. It was a time of great change that
included the Russian Revolution and the First
World War.

The eggs are also famously expensive. One,
called the Winter Egg, sold in 2002 for $9.6 million. 
Above all, the eggs are some of the world’s
most famous —and exquisite—works of art. They
owe their existence to Carl Fabergé.

Who Was Fabergé? 
Peter Carl Fabergé was born in St. Petersburg,
Russia, in 1846. He worked in his father’s jewelry
shop as a child. When he grew up, he became a
goldsmith and studied in many cities in Europe. 
The ancient treasures he saw in museums and
churches inspired him to create beautiful things. 
At that time, most people thought the worth of
an object was equal to the weight of the gold and
gems it contained. Fabergé thought differently. He
believed that creativity and craftsmanship were
as important as gold, silver, and gems. He used
this idea when he took over his father’s business
in 1872. The Fabergé factory became known for
creating beautiful objects such as decorated boxes,
carved animals, and jewelry. 
Fabergé was a great craftsman and also a smart
businessman. He helped repair and appraise the
czar’s treasures for free. This brought Faberge’s
work to the czar’s attention. In time, Fabergé
became Goldsmith to the
Imperial Court. He made
jewelry and gifts for the
royal family and for the czar
to give to others, but none of
these creations became as
famous as his Easter eggs.

How the Eggs Were Made 
The Fabergé eggs are known for their creative
designs. Each egg is unique, and each one has
a surprise inside. They are made of metals such
as gold and silver or of rock crystal. Some eggs
contain thousands of diamonds and other gems. 
Fabergé did not make the eggs by himself. He
hired hundreds of craftsmen and craftswomen
to work in his factory. A single egg might take
over a year for designers, goldsmiths, jewelers,
stonecutters, and miniature makers to create. 
Fabergé approved the designs and all of the work. 
Many of the eggs have beautiful enamel on
the outside. Enameling is the process of applying
powdered glass over metal, then heating it to
make a glassy surface. Fabergé created more than
one hundred colors of enamel to make his unique
designs. Some items were coated with many layers
of different enamels that made beautiful colors
and patterns. The secret to Fabergé’s enameling
process is now lost.

Do You Know? 
Enameling is also used to give a smooth, easy-to-clean
finish to cookware. Enamel is hard, resists scratches, and
does not burn. Different colors of enamel come from the
addition of various minerals to the glass.

Coaches and Portraits 
The Fabergé Imperial Eggs were created 
especially for the Romanov family. Many of them
represent events that were important to the czars. 
For example, Fabergé celebrated the coronation
of Nicholas II and Alexandra with the Coronation
Egg. Inside the golden egg is a miniature of the
coach that brought Alexandra to the coronation. 
Every detail of the coach, from the moving wheels
to the crystal windows, is perfect. 
Many of the eggs contain portraits of the
Romanov family. The blue and gold Czarevich
Egg contains a portrait of Nicholas and
Alexandra’s son, Alexei. Fabergé made the egg
after Alexei almost died in 1911. More than two
thousand diamonds surround the portrait.

Peacocks, Roosters, and Trains 
The Fabergé eggs are also known for their
playful designs. Six of the eggs have windup
figures inside. The Peacock Egg contains a
miniature peacock that walks and opens and
closes its tail. The Cockerel Egg has a tiny rooster 
that flaps its wings, opens its beak, and crows. 
Fabergé created a special egg in 1900 in honor
of the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway,
which runs across Russia. The silver egg has a
map of the railway on the outside and a model
train inside with five tiny cars made of gold. The
engine runs when it is wound with a golden key.

Math Minute 
How long is each
car and the engine if
they are all equal in
length?

The End 
The Romanov family tradition came to a sad
end. After the Russian Revolution began in 1917, 
the czar was overthrown and the family left St.
Petersburg. The new leaders feared that the czar
might return to power, so Czar Nicholas II and
his family were killed the next year. The czar’s
mother, Maria, fled the country, taking at least
one of the eggs with her. 
The new Russian government claimed the
rest of the czar’s belongings. Over the next years,
they sold jewelry and other treasures, including
many of the Easter eggs, to raise money. Armand
Hammer, a famous American businessman, 
brought ten or more of the eggs to the United
States. Other eggs simply disappeared.

What Happened to Fabergé 
The new government also claimed Fabergé’s
factory. Carl fled to Europe with most of his
family. He died in Switzerland in 1920. His sons
tried without success to keep the business going. 
Over time, other companies began to use the
Fabergé name to sell products such as perfume. 
In 2007, a company bought the name. They hired
Carl Fabergé’s great-granddaughter Tatiana
Fabergé to research the history of Fabergé. 
Another great-granddaughter, Sarah Fabergé,
creates new egg designs.

The Mystery of the Missing Eggs 
Records from Russia give descriptions of
all fifty Imperial Eggs that Fabergé made. The
whereabouts of forty-three of the eggs are known, 
but seven eggs are missing. 
The forty-three known Fabergé Imperial Eggs 
are now scattered around the world. Occasionally, 
one or more of the eggs is sold. In 2004, a Russian
businessman bought nine eggs for around
$100 million. Other eggs belong to museums
or individuals.

Blue Serpent
Clock Egg 
Prince Rainier of
Monaco was given
the Blue Serpent
Clock Egg to celebrate
twenty-five years on
the throne. His wife,
Princess Grace, loved
the egg and kept it
on her desk. When
Princess Grace died
in a car accident in
1982, Prince Rainier
was heartbroken and
sealed her study with
the egg inside. No one
saw the Blue Serpent
Clock Egg again until
2008, when their son,
Prince Albert, allowed it to be displayed.

Many people dream of finding one of the
missing eggs. The dream came true for a scrap
metal dealer in the American Midwest, but at first
he didn’t know it. He bought a beautiful gold egg
with three sapphires, rose-cut diamonds, and a
clock inside for about $14,000 at a flea market. At
the time, he planned to resell the egg for its gold
and make a small profit. 
Instead, he made a fortune. The egg turned
out to be the Third Imperial Egg, believed to be
valued at more than $30 million. 
Alexander III gave the gold clock egg to Maria
on Easter in 1887. In 2014 in London, the public
saw that egg for the first time in 112 years. 
So the next time you’re at a yard sale, keep
your eyes open. In the biggest Easter egg hunt in
history, the next find could be yours!

Fabulous Faberge Eggs

Introduction 
Imagine a place where thousands of black
lizards stretch out on lava rocks to soak up
the morning sun. Imagine a place where giant
tortoises feed on cactus plants that grow as
big as trees. Imagine an island on the equator 
where penguins swim and fur seals rest on coral
beaches. Welcome to the Galapagos Islands. 
These islands have fascinated people since
the first visitors arrived in 1535. The volcanic
landscapes and exotic wildlife spark our
imaginations. Formed from fire, these islands
remind us of the raw power of our planet. 
And they remind us of rapidly disappearing, 
unspoiled places where nature remains mostly
untouched by development and technology.

Location 
The Galapagos Islands are located in the
Pacific Ocean, about 966 kilometers (600 mi) off
the northwestern coast of South America. They
lie along the equator and are part of the country
of Ecuador. There are five major islands and
many smaller ones of various sizes. 
The climate of the islands is surprisingly cool 
for their location on the equator. This is due to the
Humboldt current, cold waters that flow north
from Antarctica. The cold waters explain why
animals usually found in colder climates, such as
penguins and sea lions, can live in the Galapagos.

Geology 
The Galapagos Islands were created by
volcanic activity, and they continue to be among 
the most volcanically active islands in the world. 
Scientists believe that the islands are located over
a “hot spot” beneath the earth’s crust. Hot spots
contain more heat than other areas, causing
molten lava to rise up through the crust. Scientists
think that each island was formed from solidified
lava building up on the sea floor and eventually
piling up above the surface of the water.

First Contact 
The Galapagos Islands were first discovered 
in 1535 when a ship carrying the bishop of
Panama to Peru was blown off course. The
bishop recorded his observations of the islands
in a letter to the king of Spain. At that time, there
were no humans living on the islands. 
During the 1700s and 1800s, the Galapagos
became a refuge for pirates and whalers because of
the islands’ remote location. Giant tortoises were
a favorite food source because they were easy
to capture and keep. The numbers of these gentle
creatures were reduced from several hundred
thousand to about 15,000 by the year 1800.

Darwin’s Visit 
The most famous visitor to the Galapagos
Islands was Charles Darwin, a British naturalist 
who sailed there in 1835. He collected many
wildlife specimens and wrote detailed accounts
of his observations. 
Darwin was fascinated by the amazing
diversity, or variety, of life on the islands. He
noticed that similar species, or kinds, of animals
developed different traits on different islands. 
Because of his work, we now understand much more about variety in nature.

Wildlife 
Scientists and tourists alike have been
fascinated by the diversity of native animal
and plant life on the Galapagos Islands. New
species are continually being discovered. A 1996
expedition took scientists 914 meters (3,000 ft)
under water to study the ocean surrounding
the islands. Many new species were discovered, 
including jellyfish, deep-sea moray eels, sea
cucumbers, and a deepwater red octopus. The
scientists discovered a new species of marine life 
on almost every day of their expedition.

Reptiles 
Some of the Galapagos’s most famous residents 
are its reptiles. The islands were named for one
of the most well-known reptiles, the giant tortoise. 
These gentle herbivorous (ur-BIV-or-us) reptiles 
can live 150 years or more. Males can grow to
1.8 meters (6 ft) in length and can weigh up to 300
kilograms (660 lbs). Fourteen different kinds of
Galapagos tortoises
used to exist. Several
kinds have become
extinct, and the
others are now
protected. 
Galapagos tortoises are divided into two
groups based on the shape of their shell, or
carapace. One group has a round, dome-shaped
shell, a short neck, and short legs. The other
group has a
saddle-shaped
shell that is
raised in front,
a long neck,
and long legs.

Marine iguanas, the world’s only seagoing
lizards, are another well-known Galapagos
reptile. They have been compared to small
dragons because of their leathery skin, curved
claws, and back spines. They can grow to a length
of 1 meter (3.3 ft). These tropical lizards are able
to stay under water for up to an hour while
feeding on red and green algae, their main food
source.

Marine iguanas have dark skin that helps
them absorb the sun’s heat after they emerge 
from the cold ocean waters. Marine iguanas also
control body temperature with their posture. 
They often sun themselves on lava rocks as
the sun rises in the morning. When the heat
becomes too intense, they raise up on their legs 
to protect their underside from the hot rocks and
to increase air circulation. After a day in the cold
ocean waters, they pile up together at night to
conserve body heat.

Do You Know? 
Marine iguanas have special
glands connected to their nostrils 
that help them get rid of the
extra salt they get from drinking
seawater. It may seem as though
these animals are often sneezing, 
but they’re just getting rid of salt.

Mammals 
Many Galapagos mammals are animals 
normally found far from the equator. Galapagos
sea lions are the marine gymnasts of the islands. 
Their playful antics amuse
tourists, who sometimes
receive friendly nips from
these animals. Sea lions
live in large colonies. 
Female sea lions, known
as cows, gather on beaches
to nap. Adult males, or
bulls, are territorial and
extremely aggressive 
during the mating season. 
Galapagos fur seals are rarer than sea lions. 
Fur seals were hunted nearly to extinction 
because of their thick fur,
which was valuable. Unlike
sea lions, fur seals live in
smaller groups and prefer
steep, rocky shores. They
fear humans and are
difficult to approach.

Birds 
Many of the Galapagos’s most interesting
residents are birds. Frigate birds are among
the most striking birds in the world. They can
measure up to 1 meter (3.3 ft) tall and have
a wingspan up to 2.1 meters (7 ft). During the
mating season, hundreds of males gather to
attract the attention of females. Each male inflates
his bright red throat sac like a balloon while
shaking outstretched wings and making repeated
piercing cries.

Do You Know? 
A male frigate bird can inflate its throat
sac to the size of a soccer ball.

Galapagos penguins are among the most
surprising native animals on the islands. We
usually think of penguins as living close to
Antarctica. Galapagos penguins are the most
northern penguin. They weigh only 2 to 2.5 kg
(4.5–5.5 lbs) and stand 40 to 45 cm (16–18 in). One
of their big challenges is to stay cool in the
tropical heat. They do this by holding out their
wings so that air moves around the sides of their
bodies. They also stay cool by keeping their feet
shaded or by taking a refreshing dip in the ocean. 
Galapagos penguins swim underwater at
high speeds, using their wings as propellers and
their feet as rudders. They feed on small fish that
they catch by hunting in groups. They live in
colonies and mate for life.

Plant Life 
The plant life on the Galapagos Islands is just
as remarkable as the animal life. There are about
560 kinds of native plants, and almost one-third
of them are found nowhere else on Earth. 
The scalesia (ska-LEE-zee-yuh) tree is a unique
Galapagos plant. It is a member of the daisy family 
and can grow to a height of 24 meters (78 ft). It
grows in humid areas at higher elevations and is
often covered with tropical flowers called orchids.

The prickly pear cactus grows low to the
ground on many of the islands, but on the island
of Santa Fe it grows into trees. The pads, flowers,
and fruit of this cactus are a favorite food of land
iguanas. They often roll the cactus pads on the
ground to remove the spines before eating them. 
These creatures often sit under a tree waiting for a
pad to drop to the ground.

Threats to Survival 
Almost all of the island chains in the world
have experienced the loss of many of their native
plants and animals. The Galapagos Islands have
lost few native life forms so far, though serious
threats exist. 
The most serious problem is the presence
of non-native species brought by humans. Cats,
dogs, pigs, goats,
horses, donkeys,
cattle, and rats
have all been
brought to the
islands. Many of
them have become
feral, or wild, and
have multiplied
rapidly. 
Tortoise eggs and hatchlings are eaten by many
feral animals, as are other native animals. Feral
animals also eat plants that native animals would
otherwise eat. The islands have many programs to
destroy the non-native animals so that the native
ecology can be restored. And scientists are raising
tortoises in captivity to try to boost their numbers
and increase their survival rates.

Another serious problem is the increasing
number of people on the islands, both residents
and visitors. In 1940, only 600 people lived on
the islands. But in 1949, many people moved to
the islands after a major earthquake in Ecuador. 
Tourism in the Galapagos Islands skyrocketed
in the 1980s, bringing more residents and many
more visitors. By 1997, the population on the
islands had grown to about 15,000. 
With more people come many risks. New
harmful species are more likely to be brought to
the islands. Natural resources are being overused
for building materials and firewood. More animals
are being hunted for food and export, both on
land and in the ocean. Pollution from tourist and
supply boats is increasing. In 2001, an oil tanker
ran aground off one of the islands, causing a huge
oil spill. Experts from around the world worked
with the government of Ecuador, local scientists,
and others in a massive cleanup effort.

To help preserve the Galapagos Islands, the
government of Ecuador declared 95 percent of the
land a national park in 1959. In 1986, a law was
passed to protect 69,930 square kilometers (27,000
sq mi) of the ocean waters around the islands. 
Strict laws now limit visitation to the islands. 
Visitors must be accompanied by certified guides 
who are trained to keep conservation in mind at
all times. Visitors are not allowed to bring food
or drink in order to prevent the introduction of
foreign plant seeds, insects, or bacteria. The laws
also protect animals and plants from human
interference, such as touching, feeding, or littering.

In 1959, the Charles Darwin Foundation 
was created to help the government of Ecuador 
make smart decisions about conservation on the
islands. This foundation operates the Charles
Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island
so that scientists and the public can continue to
learn about these extraordinary islands. Many
educational programs, both on the islands and
around the world, help teach the public about
Galapagos conservation efforts.

Conclusion 
Our planet is now facing the mass extinction 
of up to 75 percent of all life forms. The
Galapagos Islands are one of the last places on
Earth that contain so many rare life forms in such
a small area. Many are found nowhere else on
Earth. 
Scientists, conservationists, and other
concerned people who value nature are working 
to safeguard the Galapagos Islands for future
generations. These islands are a natural treasure 
that must be preserved and protected.

Explore More
At the Library 
Ask your librarian to help you find books 
on the Galapagos Islands. You can find books
of Galapagos photographs, history, and modern
science. You can also look for books on individual
plants and animals from the Galapagos. You may
even find travel books in which people describe
their trips to the islands, some of them written
long ago. 
On the Internet 
A. In the address window, type www.google.com. 
B. Type Galapagos in the search window and
click on “Google Search.” 
C. Read the colored links. Click on one that
looks interesting. When you want to explore
other links, click on the “Back” button at the
top left to return to the Google search page. 
D. Try other searches, such as Charles Darwin,
Galapagos tortoise, or frigate bird.

Galapagos Wonder

“Father of India” 
With his bald head, thin body, wire-rimmed
glasses, and shy nature, Mohandas Gandhi
seemed like a kind grandfather. Within this quiet
man, however, was a powerful will. His strong
beliefs in fairness, freedom, kindness, and peace
carried him through years of struggle— and
changed nations. Even many years after his
death, the man who was called “The Father of
India” continues to inspire people around the
world.

Early Life 
Gandhi was born into a large Hindu family
on October 2, 1869. Many Hindus, including
Gandhi’s family, strongly believe in nonviolence
and caring for others, and his mother proved an
excellent example. She prayed daily and would
often take care of people who were sick or poor. 
His father worked as a local government
leader. He often settled disagreements between
the local people and the British, who ruled India. 
From him, Gandhi would learn to respect others
and their beliefs.

At eighteen,
Gandhi sailed
to England to
study law. While
attending school in
London, he began
to study different
religions and their
texts. He learned
about the Bible and
the Bhagavad Gita, a
sacred Hindu poem. 
After a few
years, Gandhi
earned his law degree and returned to India. 
Still very shy, he struggled to find work. He
eventually took an assignment in South Africa in 1888.

Marriage 
When Gandhi
was very young, his
parents arranged his
marriage. This custom
was common in India. 
At thirteen, Gandhi
married Kasturba, who
was the same age.

South Africa 
In South Africa, which was also ruled by
the British, life was very different. One day
while Gandhi traveled by train, a conductor told
him he couldn’t sit in the first-class car. A welldressed
Gandhi explained that he was traveling
on business and had bought a first-class ticket. 
None of that mattered, however, because of the
color of Gandhi’s skin. When Gandhi refused to
leave, he was thrown off the train. On another
trip, a driver beat Gandhi for refusing to make
room for a white passenger. 
These events brought the suffering of Indians
in South Africa to Gandhi’s attention. South
Africa had many laws that discriminated against
black, coloured (mixed race), and Indian and
other Asian peoples. Gandhi felt he had to do
something. 
Gandhi stayed in South Africa when the
government tried to pass a law that denied
Indians the right to vote. He made speeches,
wrote letters, and even tried to file a lawsuit to
stop the law from passing. Although he was not
successful, Gandhi’s work brought attention to
him as well as to the struggles in South Africa. 
It also began to unite the Indian population under
his leadership.

A few years later, a new law forced every
Indian in South Africa to register with the
government. Gandhi held a protest during which
he explained his idea of satyagraha (SAWT-yuh-
GRAW-haw). The word means “holding firmly to
the truth.” Gandhi used it to represent his form of
nonviolent protest. He called for Indians in South
Africa to disobey the unjust laws and accept the
punishments. Many Indians were beaten or jailed,
including Gandhi. News of the protests and
punishments reached around the world. People
were shocked. They spoke out against the
government. Eventually the government was
forced to compromise with the protesters. Gandhi remained in South Africa for twenty
years. He continued to work for better treatment
of Indians there. During this time, he stopped
wearing western clothes. Instead, he wore the
simple homemade robes and sandals for which
he would become known.

A Leader in India 
When Gandhi returned to India in 1915, he
was already considered a leader. He joined the
Indian National Congress (INC) and began
working to free India from British rule. Gandhi’s
support grew quickly.
In 1919, the government
passed the Rowlatt Acts. 
These acts allowed authorities
to arrest and hold people
who caused political trouble
without a trial. Gandhi and
his supporters called for a
strike. People were to stay
home from work and school
in protest. When violence
broke out against the British,
Gandhi canceled the strike. 
A few days later, thousands
of people gathered in the
city of Amritsar in a peaceful, 
yet illegal, protest. Without
warning, the British troops
surrounding the protest opened fire. After ten
minutes of shooting, between 400 and 1,500
Indians were dead. Many others were wounded.

Up to this point, Gandhi had been trying to
work with the British government. The Amritsar
Massacre changed everything. Soon after, Gandhi
called for noncooperation, another form of
nonviolent protest. Noncooperation asked
Indians to no longer buy British goods or work
for British people or companies. It also asked
them to quit jobs in the British government and to
refuse any British honor. While Gandhi’s efforts at
noncooperation were somewhat successful, some
Indian protestors still resorted to violence. 
Gandhi was seen as the leader of the protest
movement. Because of the violence, he was
arrested and sentenced to six years in prison. 
He was released after two years and immediately
continued his work.

Gandhi and
Kasturba 
Although Gandhi and
Kasturba did not know each
other at first, they grew to
support the same ideas. She
worked alongside her husband 
and even stood in for Gandhi
while he was imprisoned. 
Kasturba and Gandhi had four
sons, and their marriage lasted
until she died in 1944.

江家小朋友的学习园地