casi 5 reading passages-3

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CASI 5Reading PassagesContentsThe Living Town by Nigel Hester 3Why the Sky Is Far Away retold by Marci Stillerman 5The Wild Horses of Sable Island by Laurie Mackenzie 8 Shonar Arches by Nazneen Sadiq 11Birds: Grounded 16Granpa Is Missing on the Mars Tranship by Julia West 18 Where Black Meets White by Doug Cowell 22The Island That Took Care of Itself by Shelley Tanaka Albert Einstein by Ibi Lepscky 27Elizabeth's Wish by Debbi Chocolate 30


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CASI 5 Reading PassagesDEVELOPMENT TEAMProject Director Anne Gibson Superintendent, Academic Accountability Authors Roz Doctorow Educational ConsultantMaria B odiam Consultant Heather McGowan Consultant Development Team Julia Arnold Instructional Leader, LiteracyDonna Creighton Consultant, Academic Accountability Rosemary D ale C onsultant, Academic Accountability Sandy Q uinnConsultant, Academic AccountabilityMary R eid Consultant, Academic A ccountability Reviewers Toronto D istrict School Board L iteracy Team Toronto DistrictSchool Board Equity D epartment Many thanks to Barbara Ta ylor, Principal, Flemington Public S chool, for he lping to s electreading materials an d the approximately 60 0 teachers an d 1 5 0 00 students w ho eld tested CASI and a pproximately 60teachers/ administrators w ho marked the st udents' work, and to the c lerical and s upport staff in the Toronto D istrict SchoolBoard's A cademic Accountability Department.THOMSON NELSON PUBLISHING TEAM Director of Publishing David Steele Publisher Mark Cressman ProgramManager Norma Kennedy Senior Managing Editor Nicola Balfour Senior Production Editor Joanne C lose ProductionCoordinator Helen Locsin Composition and Cover Design Suzanne Peden Printer TranscontinentalCOPYRIGHT © 2003 by Nelson, a division of Thomson C anada Limited. Printed a nd bound in Canada 3 4 05 04 Formore i nformation contact Nelson, 1120 B irchmount Road, Toronto, Ontario, M1K 5G4. Or you can v isit our Internet site a thtt p://www.nelson.com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by t he copyright hereon may bereproduced, transcribed, or use d in any f orm or by any m eans--graphic, electronic, or m echanical, including photocopying,recording, t aping, W eb distribution, or i nformation storage and retrieval syst ems-- without the written permission of t hepublisher. For pe rmission to use material from this t ext or product, contact us by Tel 1-800-730-2214 Fax 1-800-730-2215www.thomsonrights.com Every e ffort has b een made to trace ownership of all copyrighted material and to secure

permission from copyright holders. In t he e vent of any q uestion a rising a s t o t he u se of any m aterial, we w ill be p leased t omake t he necessary co rrections i n future p rintings.National Library of Canada Cataloguing in P ublication Data Doctorow, Roz C ASI 5 reading assessment [kit] / RozDoctorow, Maria Bodiam, Heather McGowan. ISB N 0-17-626462-0 (kit).-- ISBN 0-17-626468-X (program guide).--ISBN0-17-626480-9 (Passages bo oklet).--ISBN 0-17-62 6470-1 (scoring guide).-- ISBN 0-17-62 6474-4 (question sheets) 1.Reading--Ability t esting. I. Bodiam, Maria II. McGowan, Heather, 1964- III. Title. LB 1050.46.D64 2002 428.4'076 C2002-903458-2 Credits "The Living Town" by N igel Hester, excerpted from Watching Nature: The Living Town by Nigel Hester.© Franklin Watts 19 92; "Why the Sky Is Fa r Away" by M arci Stillerman, reprinted by p ermission of SPIDER magazine,November 1996, Vol. 3, no. 11, © 1996 Marci Stillerman; "The Wild H orses of Sable I sland" by L aurie Mackenzie, Wild

Magazine; "Shonar Arc hes" f rom Camels C an Make You H omesick and O ther Stories by Nazneen Sadiq, JamesLorimer & Company L td., Publishers. Reprinted by p ermission; "Birds: Grounded" From Birds: A Reader'sDigest Pathnder. All rights reserved ; "Granpa Is M issing on the Mars Tr anship." Used by permission of Julia West, author;"Where B lack M eets W hite" by D ouglas C owell. Appeared in Wild Magazine. Reprinted w ith p ermission of the a uthor; "TheIsland That Took Care o f Itself" from A Great Round Wonder: My Book of the World. Copyright © 1993 by S helley Tanaka.Published in Canada by Douglas & Mclntyre Ltd. R eprinted by permission of t he publisher; "Albert Einstein" by IbiLepscky. First paperback e dition published 1 992 b y Barron's E ducational Series, Inc. First English language e ditionpublished 1982 by Barron's E ducational Series, Inc. © copyright 1982 by Emme E dizioni. All rights r eserved. Reprintedwith a rrangement with Barron's E ducational Series, Inc, Hauppauge, NY; "Elizabeth's W ish" by D ebbi Chocolate.Excerpted from Elizabeth's Wish, Just Us B ooks. Reprinted by permission. Illustrators Vesna Krstanovic, Jock MacRae,Rene Manseld, Sharon Matthews, David Moore, Scot Ritchie, Gordon Sauv, Margot Thompson Photo cred its pp. 16-17:Weldon O wen Pry Limited; pp. 27-29: Illustrated by P aolo C ardoni. Used b y p ermission of Barron's E ducational Series,Inc.


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The sky became angry because of the waste and the people's ingratitude for his gift.

Why the Sky is Far Away A Nigerian Folktale

retold by Marci Stillerman.

In the beginning, the sky was close to the earth, and the people didn't have to work for their food.All they had to do was cut away a piece of sky to eat. It tasted delicious, like meat or corn orhoney or anything else they felt like eating. Since they didn't have to hunt for their food, all theydid was weave and carve and tell stories all day.

When the great King Oba wanted to give a party, his servants would cut out pieces of thesky and shape them into wonderful forms--animals, diamonds, leaves, or flowers.

But as time went on, the people forgot to appreciate the sky. They took their food forgranted, and they became wasteful. They

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cut far more sky than they needed and threw what they didn't use onto the garbage heap.The sky became angry because of the waste and the people's ingratitude for his gift.One day, the sky grew very dark. The people were frightened. "Oba," a voice boomed above the king's palace. "Wasteful one, king of wasteful,

ungrateful people. If you continue to waste food, you will have no more of the sky to cut." Oba was terrified. He sent messengers all over his kingdom. "Take only what you

need," they warned. "The sky is angry because of your greed. Stop wasting the sky, or there willbe trouble."

For a while, the people were very careful. They cut only what they needed from the sky.They ate all they took. Nothing was thrown on the garbage heap. Nothing was wasted.

Once every year, there was a great festival in Oba's kingdom in celebration of thisgreatness. All the people looked forward to wearing their best clothes, dancing all day and night,and feasting on wonderful foods.

Oba's servants prepared magnificent food. They pulled pieces of sky down and shapedthem into flowers and animals and every imaginable form. They coloured them and cooked themand placed them on huge platters so that the food looked tempting and inviting.

The people came in gorgeous robes. Music played, and everyone danced. Soon the peoplebecame hungry and started to eat. The food was so delicious that they ate and ate until everythingwas gone.

But the people were greedy and wanted to eat more, even though they were no longerhungry. They pulled down great quantities of sky and gobbled them up. What they couldn't stuffinto themselves, they threw on the garbage heap. Greedy and wasteful, they forgot all about thesky's warning.

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Suddenly, while the festival was still going on, the sky grew ominously dark. Thunderrumbled and roared, and fearsome knives of lightning sliced through the sky.


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"People of the earth," the sky boomed, "you are wasteful and greedy. I warned you. I willno longer give you food. You will have to work to eat."

The sky sailed up high above the earth, far out of the reach of the tallest person.Ever since then, no one has been able to reach up and grab a piece of it, and the peoplemust work hard on farms and in factories for their food.


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Sable Island's horses have been running free for over 200 years.

The Wild Horses of Sable Islandby Laurie Mackenzie.

Sable Island.There's a special place in Canada where horses still run wild. Sable Island lies in theAtlantic Ocean southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The island is just 44 km long and alittle over 1 km wide. It is often blanketed by fog.

Some people think that explorers brought horses to the island when they visitedbetween 200 and 400 years ago. Others believe that an American merchant brought farmhorses from Acadia (now the province of Nova Scotia) to Sable Island in the mid-1750s.He may have been moving them to America and left some behind on Sable Island.

A Different Breed of Horse.Most Sable Island horses are a solid reddish-brown colour, called bay. But some of theanimals have white markings on their faces and legs. This animal's deep chest, heavyneck and shoulders, and stocky legs give it a chunky, thick-bodied look.

Banded Together.Almost 300 horses range across Sable Island today, living in families, or bands, of aboutsix

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The h orses of Sable Island play by frolicking among grass-covered dunesand galloping along sandy beaches.

members. An adult male, or stallion, leads his band of females and young over theirterritory of about 3 km. They know that his lowered head, stretched out neck, and pinnedback ears mean: "Keep grazing and moving together.

" One or more females, called mares, live with the male. The oldest mare decideswhen and where the band will graze and water. While the others eat and drink, thestallion stands guard. He is watching for other males who might try to steal his mates.

Pregnant mares leave their bands in May or June. They go off on their own togive birth, usually to a single baby, or foal. Wobbling on its shaky legs, the newborn foalstands within an hour and begins nursing. It will remain close to its mother for about 10months.


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Sandhills.On Sable Island, there are no trees, but the bands find shelter from the wind among thesand dunes. These rounded hills of sand are shaped by ocean winds and can be 25 mhigh.

There is plenty of food and fresh water for the horses. The horses' favourite foodsinclude beach grass, beach pea, and sandwort. The animals have no problem finding

drinking water, either. Small freshwater ponds lie between some of the sand dunes. Thehorses also dig their own wells. Using their front hooves, they dig

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holes in the sand to reach the water underneath. When the water turns to ice, they eatsnow.

Sable Island's horses are always hungry, and during the summer and fall theygrow fat from all the plants they eat. Building a thick layer of fat is important; they needit to survive the winter. There isn't much snow on the island and it doesn't get very cold,but the horses have only winter-dried leaves to eat.

Running Wild.Sable Island's horses have been running free for over 200 years. They've shared theirhome with humans from time to time, but the only people who live there now are thescientists who work at the weather station. People are allowed to visit the horses onlywith permission from the Canadian government. With this kind of protection, these wildhorses will continue to gallop over the sandy dunes for a long time to come.

Sable Island horses a lways have sand in their food.


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She doesn't look like a regular grandmother, Amit thought to himself.

Shonar Arches

by Nazneen S adiq.

Amit scowled at the stalk of broccoli on his dinner plate. Then he narrowed his eyes, pretendingthey were laser guns. Zap! shot the beam, and all that was left on his plate were traces of meltedbutter.

"Eat your vegetables, Amit," said his father."I'm going to," he muttered in disgust. It never worked. Somebody, he thought, should

arrest all the farmers who grew vegetables. Meanwhile, the best thing that could happen was for

Mom to be struck with a sudden case of colour blindness. Then she wouldn't see all the horriblegreen vegetables in the supermarket.

"Why can't we have French fries?" he grumbled."Because you had them yesterday," Mom replied."Amit!" snapped Dad, a warning note in his voice. "Guess what's for dessert?" asked Mom, and Amit knew that she was changing the

subject.That was his mom, all right! Whenever things got sticky, she changed the subject. "I know a boy at school who choked on Brussels sprouts," he whispered to Mom."And his mother had probably made his favourite dessert too," she said, sounding

sympathetic, but not looking it.Knowing that the battle was lost, Amit viciously speared the broccoli with his fork. "This

stuff," he muttered, "could kill me.""We'll risk it, son. I'm sure you're tougher than you look." The edges of his father's lips

pressed away a smile.

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Crazy, thought Amit. Sometimes parents were really crazy. What was so funnyabout watching your child choke himself over vegetables! He swallowed the entire stalk


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with a glass of water.His mother said, "Gulab jamuns, Amit, that's what I made for yOU.Amit tried to scowl at her, but the announcement really cheered him up

considerably. He knew how long it took to make the special Bengali dessert. When hewas younger, he used to watch in fascination as the round confectionery balls spuncrazily in the sugar syrup on the stove. But the best part was the taste. The spongy ballswere smooth, creamy, and never quite melted away. The syrup was piercingly sweet.

Even a double fudge sundae didn't taste as good. But no way he was going to give Mom abreak; he was going to let her sweat it out for making him eat broccoli!

"I'm going to have to bring Bob home from the office one day to eat yourgulab jamuns," Dad said with smile.

"Has he ever had them?" asked mom ."Yes. I took him to a Bengali restaurant for lunch one day, but they weren't half

as good as yours" Mom brought the glass bowl out of the fridge and set it on the dining room

table in front of Amit. "As many as you want," she whispered to him, and sat down in herchair.

Amit dug the spoon into the syrup and lifted two of the golden-brown spongyballs into his bowl. Then he ladled three large spoonfuls of syrup over them. Thetantalizing smell of cardamom and rosewater filled the air, and for a moment he just satthere inhaling deeply.

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"Get your nose out of that bowl, Amit," said his father. "How do you get our food to smell so good?" he asked his mom as he passed thebowl to his father.

"Wait till your grandmother comes, Amit. Her food is even more wonderful,"replied Mom. "That's right son. You're in for a real treat," agreed his father.Amit didn't know what to think. He had never seen his grandmother before. She

lived in a place called Calcutta in West Bengal, India. His parents had come from thesame place, but he had only been two years old when they moved to Canada. He knewnothing about Calcutta, except what his parents told him. Mom went to Calcutta everytwo years to visit his grandmother, but this year she was coming to Canada for a visit. Hecould see that Mom was excited; she had been cleaning out the spare bedroom andrunning around the house rearranging things. The worst part was that she had startedcoming to his room and nagging him to tidy up.

"You have to get rid of all the junk," she said, pointing to his prize rockcollection.

"Junk!" Those are fossils, and some of them are millions of years old," heexplained.

"Oh, well, then at least make them look neater," she replied."They're not supposed to look neat or anything. Anyway, it's my room!" he

shouted."Don't you talk back to me," snapped his mother.


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Here we go again, thought Amit. Now I'm going to get a lecture about howBengali children were taught to respect their elders. Mom could be a real pain at times.She kept harping about Bengali this and Bengali that. Didn't she know he really didn'tbelieve all the stories about kids who never talked back?

"Don't forget to wear something nice, Amit," said his mother the next morning ashe was getting ready for school.

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Amit pulled his Star Wars sweatshirt over his head and asked, "How's this?""How about the nice plaid shirt I got from Sears?" replied his mother, walking toward his

closet. "C'mon, Mom what's wrong with this?" demanded Amit as he tried to keep her fromopening his closet.

"Amit, I want you to look nice at the airport for your grandmother," she insisted."So why don't you rent me a tux?" he said airily.His mother grinned at him and then got that look in her eye which meant, you're not

getting away with it. She whipped open the door to his closet and asked, "Where's that lovelyshirt?"

"I think it's lost," said Amit hopefully."It has to be here somewhere." His mother was impatiently pulling apart the bunched-up

hangers."I hate it. The collar is too tight," Amit said in a final attempt to stop her."No, it's not. Here it is! Oh, Amit, it's filthy. What have you done to it?" wailed his

mother. "I guess I forgot to throw it in the laundry." He tried to look apologetic. "I'm going to be

late, Mom. I've gotta go." And he charged out of his room."We'll pick you up at school. Don't forget." His mother's voice followed him into the

kitchen as he grabbed his lunch bag. He also heard something that sounded like "washing hands"behind him as he slammed the screen door.

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Amit was scowling again. Instead of playing the first baseball game of thesummer gym period, he was sitting in a traffic jam on Highway 401 on the way to theToronto airport. He had complained to his parents, but they had hushed him, saying "Thisis your dida's first visit to our home, and that's more important than a baseball game.

" He didn't even like the word dida. It was Bengali for grandmother. He didn't likethe way Mom kept babbling on about her. It was almost as though she was the mostimportant thing in the world. His best friend, Rick, had said at school this morning, 'Youwon't catch me missing a baseball game for any old grandmother!"

One hour later a very plump woman wearing a vibrant blue sari rode up theescalator at Lester B. Pearson Airport. Amit had never seen his mother like this:she was jumping up and down like a kid, squealing, "There she is, there she is!" Both hisparents dashed forward.

Dad took the two bulging bags Amit's grandmother was holding, and Mom flungherself into her mother's arms. She doesn't look like a regular grandmother, Amit thoughtto himself. Her hair was shiny and black, and she had podgy feet stuffed into the most


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delicate-looking sandals he had ever seen.


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BIRDS: GROUNDED.It seems only natural for birds to fly. But quite a few birds never take to the air. No one is sure why they developed this way. The mostlikely theory, though, is that they lost the ability to fly simply because they stopped needing it. Many flightless birds evolved onremote islands, such as the Galapagos Islands or New Zealand. Island birds were safe on the ground as there were no humans or otherpredators such as cats, rats, or foxes. And they didn't need to fly to gather food as supplies were always close by. So they graduallyquit flying because it takes so much energy. When humans and other predators arrived, flightless birds couldn't escape them. Some,like New Zealand's Moa, became extinct as the new- comers took their places in their old habitats. Some birds lost the ability to flyand then grew huge. This happened to the Ostriches, which can grow to be about 9 feet (2.75 m) tall. They survived because theydeveloped long, powerful legs on which they could run faster than a racehorse to escape predators. When cornered, they could alsodefend themselves by kicking. They still have small wings, though, which they use mainly for balance.FLIGHTLESS In NEW ZEALAND. There are five flightless birds living in New Zealand's Fiordland National Park - the Little -Penguin, Kakapo, Takahe, Weka, and Brown Kiwi. The Kiwi is the country's national bird. It is nocturnal, and is one of only a fewbird species to have a good sense of smell.The Kakapo is the largest parrot in the world, and the only one that cannot fly. It can, however, climb trees and glide to the ground.Because it lives on the ground and nests in holes, it is vulnerable to predators - there are fewer than 50 still alive.the name the Maoristhat becam e New Zealand's n ational mascot K/ w/is al so a all New Zealanders.Yellow. eggs take 2 1 d ays,!penguinOstrichINTERNATIONAL REIITIONS Rheas, the Fnu, and the Ostrich are veLv large flightless birds. They live on the continents of South .taerica, Australia, andAfrica, respectively. Because they look alike, it's possible they came from a common ancestor when the continents were joined. Or they may haveevolved to be so similar to one another because they all live in open grassland, and feed on grass and insects."['he qhkahe is a large, flightless rail, It was thought to have been extinct fir 50 ),ears, but in 1948, a small mmber were fi)und, qbday, there are about 180'lhkahes living i n a grassy hillside reserve near Te Anau, These solitaLw birds nest betaveen tufts of grass, bnt live in the frests during winter,The Xka is a flightle.s rail has well-developed wings, but onl uses them for balance when running. It survives because it is a strong fighter. ,Vekas are known to kill rats as well as other hirds that live on theground.


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Rusty didn't want to miss Mars now because of a stuffed bunny.

Granpa is Missing on the Mars Tranship by Julia West.

Rusty backflipped off the living room sofa. Pulling in his knees, he bounced from the paddedwall into a somersault. Weightless acrobatics on the Mars Tranship were more fun than jumpingon the trampoline at home.

Four-year-old Jay floated through the bedroom door. He was crying, and his tears driftedaway in little drops.

Rusty grabbed a handhold on the wall to stop his somersault. He caught Jay and huggedhim. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Granpa Bunny-bunny's gone," said Jay. "I can't find himanywhere in this stupid spaceship. I wanna go home!"

"Hey, Jaybird, calm down." If Jay caused trouble, Mom and Dad might decide to sendthe boys home on the cargo shuttle. Most of the scientists on theMars Tranship had left their kids with relatives on Earth. Rusty didn't want to miss Marsnow because of a stuffed bunny.

"I'll help you find Granpa," Rusty said to Jay. "Where could he hide?" Jay squirmedaway and drifted off. "He's not anywhere. I already looked."

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Rusty hooked his foot through the handhold and snagged Jay again. "When did you havehim last?"

"This morning at breakfast," Jay said.Jay and Rusty popped through the kitchen door. They found Dad typing at the

computer. It was clipped to the table so it wouldn't float away. "Hi, Dad!" said Rusty. "Have you seen Granpa Bunny-bunny?"

"Not since yesterday." Dad unstrapped himself from his chair and floated to therefrigerator. He tossed each of the boys a juice tube. "Here, have a drink. I'm going to thecargo hold to check supplies. By the way, my toothbrush wasn't in its holder thismorning. Will you look for it? Bye!

" Jay squeezed blobs of juice from the tube. He caught them in his mouth. "I wantGranpa," he said.

Rusty finished his juice and stuffed the tube in the garbage chute. "Bring your juice and let's fly, Jaybird," he said. "Now we have two things to find."


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The Mars Tranship would be the family's home for the next nine months. Theirliving section had five rooms. The living room was in the middle. From the living room,doors led to two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. All the furniture was bolted downor built into the walls. A grey stuffed bunny should be easy to find.

Rusty checked the cupboards in the bare kitchen, but he saw only clipped-indishes. The bathroom was just a shower stall with foldout sink and toilet. Nowhere tohide a toy there.

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In the boys' bedroom, a ball and a few books drifted from the closet. Jay's bedsack floatedlike a big blue ghost against one wall. When Rusty shook it, a picture book flew out.Rusty found a sock in his own bedsack, but nothing else. He towed Jay into the livingroom again.

"Good morning, boys," said Mom, floating out of her bedroom."Mom!" said Rusty. "Have you seen Granpa Bunny-bunny?""Last night in the kitchen," she answered. "We looked there. Can we check your

bedroom?" asked Rusty. "Help yourselves. There's hardly space to turn around, though.Look for my green notebook, too, please. I've got to go help Dad."

Mom and Dad's closet was empty, and the drawers held only a few coverallsunder elastic straps.

"This place is too little," said Jay. "How can we lose so many things?""I don't know." Rusty frowned. "He's got to be in the living room."Cupboards lined the living-room walls. Rusty slid the doors open one by one.

"Not here," he said. No grey bunny floated by the exercise bike, the video cabinet, or thecomputer. The boys didn't see the toothbrush or the notebook, either.

"Granpa's gone." Jay's mouth quivered. "I wanna go home!""Let's watch a video," Rusty suggested. He had to get Jay's mind off his bunny.

He wanted to spend the next four years on Mars, not back on Earth with Grandma. Butthey had searched every room. What if Granpa had floated into the cargo hold and outinto space?

Jay slid a video disk into the player, and the boys strapped themselves into chairs.Jay's juice tube drifted between him and the

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screen. He waved his arm, and the tube tumbled across the room. When it got to the wall, itdisappeared behind the sofa.

"Hey!" Rusty said. He unstrapped himself and pushed across the room. Grabbing ahandhold, he felt behind the sofa. His fingers touched a metal screen in the wall.

"What's back there?" Jay asked.Rusty felt an amazing number of things. He pulled out a crumpled paper tube, sticky with

orange juice. Then he touched something soft--a dirty sock. He reached farther down."Here's Dad's toothbrush," he said. Then he slowly pulled out something furry and grey.

"Jaybird!" Here's Granpa!"Jay unstrapped himself and kicked off from the chair. He flew across the room and

grabbed his bunny. "Granpa! Granpa!"


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The corridor door slid open, and Dad floated in. "What's the ruckus?" he asked. "We found Granpa! "Jay squealed. "And lots of other stuff, too," said Rusty. "Here's your toothbrush, Mom's notebook, and

my pocket computer."Dad grabbed a handhold and pulled himself closer to look. He laughed. "It's where air

goes to be cleaned," he said. "Since the opening sucks in the air, anything else floating aroundcomes, too. Good detective work, star pilots. Let's go watch the last cargo shuttle leave for Earth.We won't see another spaceship until we reach Mars."

"Yippee!" yelled Rusty. If this was the last shuttle, they couldn't be sent back to Earthnow. They were on their way to Mars. "Come on, Jaybird. Let's fly!"


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The only difference is that a Kermode bear can be black or white.

Where Black Meets White by Doug Cowell.

One hundred years ago, William Hornaday, a scientist at the New York City Zoo, was studyingblack bear skins. Suddenly, he stoppedwhat he was doing. One of the bear skins in his laboratorywas not black; it was white!

The label on the skin said it had come from the coast of British Columbia. That's 3500km away from the Arctic, so Hornaday knew the skin wasn't from a polar bear. He asked hisfriend Francis Kermode, head of the B.C. Provincial Museum, to find out whether any whitebears were living in British Columbia's forests.

Kermode spent four gruelling months searching the wild coastal forests betweenVancouver Island and Prince Rupert. In that time, Kermode found three more white bear skins inthe hands of trappers. He shipped the skins to Hornaday, who declared that the

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pelts belonged to a new species of bear. Hornaday named it the Kermode bear after his braveCanadian friend.

Today we know a lot more about the Kermode bear. Scientists have learned that it'ssimilar in every way to the black bears found along British Columbia's coast. It's the same sizeand lives to the same age.

It eats the same plants, insects, berries, and salmon. The only difference is that aKermode bear can be black or white. Most Kermode bears live on Princess Royale Island, whichlies halfway up British Columbia's coast from the city of Vancouver. Scientists who've studiedthe Kermodes on the island say they've

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noticed that the bears aren't afraid of people. Because Princess Royale Island is so remote, thebears hardly ever meet any humans. This situation might change soon. A logging company hasalready begun cutting down trees on the northern part of the island. The company thinks it can logwithout hurting the bears. People concerned about the animals disagree. They would like to turn alarge part of the island into a park where loggers can't go.

Kermode bears, just like black bears, need lots of wilderness to survive. All spring andsummer, the mother bear leads her cubs through the forest showing them what plants to eat. In thefall, she teaches them how to catch salmon that swim up streams and rivers. Fall is when the bearsneed to get really fat, so they can sleep all winter without getting hungry.

When the cubs are about a year and a half old, it's time for them to leave their mothersand begin their lives as adult bears. Soon they'll have their own cubs, too, and although most willbe coloured black, some will be white. As long as humans let the Kermode bears live in peace,there will always be white bears wandering the faraway forests along the British Columbia coast.


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But then an extra-cold winter came along.

The Island That Took Care of Itself

by Shelley Tanaka.

Somewhere in the middle of the ocean, there was a little island. The island looked very bare,covered only by sand. There were no trees. There were no hills or lakes or rivers.

But the island wasn't as empty as it looked. Enough rain and snow fell to fill ponds withfresh water. Between the humps of sand there were green grasses and cranberry bushes for birdsto eat. There was even enough grass and water to feed a small herd of wild horses that ran free onthe island.

Although there wasn't much on it, the island looked after itself. The horses grew up andhad more and more babies, until it looked as though there would not be enough grass to feed themall. But then an extra-cold winter came along. The older and weaker animals died, but their deadbodies rotted and decayed and made the soil rich so the grass could grow well.

The island managed just fine this way for a long, long time.Then one day, people found the island - and decided to move in. They didn't want to eat horses,so they brought rabbits over on a ship

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and let them loose. The rabbits had so many babies that soon there were too many for the peopleto eat. The rabbits ate up the plants and grass, until there was little left for the people or thehorses. So the people brought over cats to eat all the rabbits. The cats did this, but then theystarted having kittens. Soon there were wild cats all over the island. They were as much of anuisance as the rabbits. And the people didn't want to eat the cats.

So the people brought over foxes to eat the cats. But the foxes started to eat up all thebirds, too.

With few birds around to eat them, grasshoppers started to eat up all the plants.Finally, the people decided enough was enough. They shipped the foxes back to where

they came from. Then they packed their bags and went away themselves.Soon the birds came back and started eating grasshoppers again. The plants grew back. With norabbits, cats, foxes, or people, the island was back to the way it was in the first place.

Once again, it could look after itself.


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He was a child different from others.

Albert Einstein by Ibi Lepscky.

About one hundred years ago, there lived a boy named Albert Einstein.Albert was a strange boy.Always absentminded.Always messy.It was a difficult job for him to tie his shoes.But he knew how to play the violin very well.He did not like to play marbles or ball like other boys his age. Instead, he enjoyed

looking for hours and hours at the shape of a leaf and playing with wooden blocks like alittle child.

He disliked long sleeves, and as soon as he could, snip went the scissors as he cut

his sleeves above the elbow.He was not interested in the boys in his neighbourhood, who invited him to playtag. He preferred to chase the white chickens scratching in the gardenand to try to make friends with them.

Albert felt happy only in the company of his little sister, Maja, whom he lovedvery much and who looked exactly like him. They were as alike as two drops of water.

"Albert is weird," said his cousins when they came for a visit and tried to makehim join in their games. Albert ignored them and, with his sister, watched a colony ofants

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busy at work. He was a child different from others.His parents loved him very much, but they were very worried about him.

"Albert is a good boy," said his father one night. "But I would like it if he wouldstudy a little more and if he would show some interest in history and geography.

" It was true. Albert did not like school. He hated history and geography, and herefused to memorize any lessons. He was interested only in learning arithmetic.

"It would be nice if you could leave, Albert," a teacher told him one day. "Yourbehaviour at school, so distracted and absentminded, and your poor interest in all I teachset bad examples for the whole class.

" Albert's mother felt a special love and tenderness for Albert. She painted hispicture on a little cup, and for the occasion, he was unusually well-groomed. The littlecup was always displayed on the family's fireplace.

Albert's mother loved music very much, and in the evenings, she and Albertwould improvise little concerts for the rest of the family. She would be at the piano andAlbert at the violin.

One day, when Albert had a fever and had to stay in bed for a few days, his fathergave him a compass.


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"Albert, you can pretend to be a captain of a ship," said his father, "and controlthe route with the compass." But Albert was not interested in the game his fathersuggested. He wanted to know right away why the compass needle was pointing to thebig N and what were magnetic fields all about and where were the poles of the earth. Heasked question after question. It seemed they would never end.

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Finally his father, exhausted, said curtly, "Because that's the way it is. That's all." Later, Albert's father, thinking back about the boy's questions, was amazed that

they were such thoughtful questions, so precise and sharp. Suddenly, he realized the truthabout Albert. It was a truth that filled him with anguish, pride, and tenderness.

Albert was indeed a child different from all others. His gaze, which everyonethought to be absentminded, really reflected a very busy mind, a mind that was exploringplaces where nobody else could follow. It was the mind of a genius.

Albert's father was not mistaken.When Albert grew up, his interest in every process of nature and science never

stopped. He became a great scientist and developed new theories in physics that radicallychanged people's ideas about the universe. He discovered scientific truths never knownbefore.

His mind made some of the greatest contributions in the history of humanthought.


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and running down to breakfast.Downstairs in the kitchen, she quickly gobbled up her bacon and eggs, much to the

disapproval of her mother, and was off like a shot, jogging towards DuSable Junior High. Notonly were her feet racing but her mind was racing, too. As she passed the corner bakery, imagesof new clothes, new shoes, a new CD player, and all of the things she could buy with her contestwinnings helped to keep her in step. Liz broke into a run. She couldn't wait to spread the goodnews to her NEAT friends about the cool five thousand dollars in prize money that could beawaiting her and her classmates.

casi 5 reading passages-3

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