A1 #7 "Solar Energy"

Once there was a man who looked at the sun. He didn’t look too long because that is a really good way to hurt your eyes. But when he looked at the sun he came upon a great idea. His idea was to use the sun’s energy to make electric power. The very first panels that could change sunlight into electric power were not very good and they cost a lot of money to make. Almost one hundred years passed before they were cheap enough to mass-produce. Today we can see solar panels in many places. Even in cheap toys. 

A1 #8 "Pets"

People love animals. Many people have pets in their homes, and many more have pets in the yard. Dogs have been called man’s best friend, but it seems that they once were one of man’s oldest enemies, that is, wolves. Cats have been popular pets for hundreds of years, but once upon a time cats were battling people for food. At some time dogs and cats both learned that getting food from people was easier than hunting it on their own and chose to be our friends. Now people have pet birds, fish, lizards, beetles and even small monkeys. 

A1 #9 “Socks”

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The student or the teacher? The sock or the shoe? These are the questions that keep us up at night. Most of us wear socks when we wear shoes but why? The answer is not as simple as it might seam. Socks and shoes came about over a very long time. At first socks were just a piece of cloth or leather wrapped around a person’s feet to keep them warm. They were also worn to protect feet from getting damaged. Now we wear socks to protect our shoes from getting damaged.

A1 #10 “Noodles”

I like to eat noodles. I enjoy eating noodles with meat sauce. I enjoy noodles in a salad. I even like to eat noodles in soup. Noodles are just great food. But are noodles a Japanese food, a Chinese food or an Italian food? Let’s find out. The word noodle comes from Germany. It seems the oldest bowl of noodles was found in China. The bowl of noodles was four thousand years old, but the first time pasta is mentioned in Europe was just over two thousand years ago. The noodles enjoyed in Japan are all based on Chinese types. 

A1 #11 "Self Introduction"

Good afternoon. My name is Jason Littleton. I was born in 1986 in Fairfax, Virginia. I moved out here in 2010 in order to learn more about your language, culture and country. I have an older sister and a younger brother, and we live with our parents and my grandmother and our pet collie in a small two-story house. I have been interested in anime since I was a little boy, and I love to draw animation characters whenever I have free time. I hope someday to work in the animation business, either writing stories or creating new characters. 

A1 #12 "Reinventing the Wheel"

Have you ever made something new? Maybe you found a new way to do a task, or maybe you had an idea for a tool. How do you know if your idea is really new, or if you are reinventing the wheel? Nobody knows who invented the wheel, but when we try to find a new way of doing a something we can be said to be reinventing the wheel. Sometimes this is a good thing. Maybe it can save time or money. But sometimes it can be a bad idea and a waste of time. But you never know until you try.