Listening: A Trip toYosemite Park 1
Today, Christina and her friend are enjoying themselves. This morning they got up very early and drove out of San Francisco. They crossed the Bay Bridge before the early morning commute and drove south. Because it was so early, there were almost no cars. After driving for an hour and a half, they stopped and had breakfast.?
They ordered pancakes and coffee. They also had some fresh fruit. When they finished eating, it was 7 o’clock. Then they got back into the car and drove south. Christina wanted to listen to music, so they turned on the radio. An hour later they stopped for gas. They noticed that there was also a charging station for electric cars.
It’s now 1:15 and they are in Yosemite Park. They have been there for two hours, since 11:15. They are looking at Yosemite Falls, which is the highest waterfall in the park. The water drops a total of 740 meters from the top of the upper fall to the base of the lower fall.
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Listening: A Trip to Yosemite Park 2
In another 15 minutes, they plan to eat lunch at a magnificent old hotel in the park. It was built in 1927 and has a great view. They wanted to stay there, but they couldn’t get reservations. To get a room at that hotel you usually need to make reservations several months in advance.
They play to stay in the park until around 4 o’clock. By then they will have been in the park for nearly 5 hours. Then they’ll get back into the car and drive back to San Francisco. They plan to eat dinner somewhere along the way. If the traffic isn’t too bad, they should be back in San Francisco by 10 o’clock.
Early tomorrow morning they are going to cross the Golden Gate Bridge and go north along the coast. From some places, you can look out on the ocean and see whales and other sea life. Christina has never seen a whale before, so she’s looking forward to it. And tomorrow night they have something special planned. They are going to watch a baseball game. Christina has never seen a baseball game, but she has heard that it is very popular in the US. And the San Francisco baseball team is one of the best.
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Vocabulary: Science
A force is a push or a pull on an object.
A force changes the motion of a moving object.
A force can be strong or weak, and it always has a direction.
The Earth is a planet that goes around the sun in a circular orbit.
The Earth has a layer of gas above its surface, which helps to support life.
Atoms are the building blocks of matter.
At the center of an atom is its nucleus, which has a positive electric charge.
Outside the nucleus are electrons, which have a negative charge.
Asteroids and comets are objects that orbit our Sun but are smaller than planets.
Asteroids that pass close to the Earth are called near-earth objects.
The layer of gases just above Earth’s surface is our atmosphere.
The atmosphere is made up of gases such as oxygen and nitrogen.
Without an atmosphere, there would be no life on Earth.
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Vocabulary: Geometry
The two lines on the left intersect each other at a right angle, which is 90degrees.
The 2 lines on the right are parallel, which means they never cross.
The adjacent sides of a rectangle are perpendicular, which means they meet at a 90-degree angle.
The opposite sides of a rectangle are equal and parallel, which means they never cross.
The area of a rectangle is the length times the width.
A circle is a 2 dimensional figure with a radius and a circumference, which is the distance around the circle.
The area of a circle is pi r squared, where r is the radius and pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.
A sphere is a three dimensional figure with a radius and a volume, which is 4/3 pi r cubed.
All points on the surface of a sphere are equidistant from its center.
A right triangle is a 2 dimensional figure with 3 sides, 2 of which are perpendicular.
To find its area, multiply the lengths of the 2 perpendicular sides, a and b, and divide by 2. A = 1/2 ab.
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Dialogue: Dinner Conversation
M: Have you finished eating yet?
F: No, I haven’t. Why are you in such a hurry?
M: I’m sorry, but you are such a slow eater.
F: A slow eater? Well I try to enjoy my food. You just eat and swallow. I don’t see how you can even taste it.
M: Ok, I’m sorry. Do you mind if I get another glass of wine?
F: No, go ahead. I don’t want you to sit there putting pressure on me. I thought we were going to have a relaxing evening.
M: Yes, you are right. I’d like to relax, but I have a lot on my mind.
F: Work related?
M: Yes, it is. I’ve been getting some strange emails from my boss. He wants me to cut down on my expenses. Maybe he wants to fire me.
F: Is business bad?
M: Yes, it is. But I don’t want to talk about it.
F: Ok, but I’m a good listener. You can tell me if you’d like to.
M: Thanks, maybe some other time. I’ll try to start thinking about it and deal with it tomorrow.
F: Good idea. You need to take a break from work. Your health is important and so am I.
M: Yes, you are. I don’t know what would I do without you.
