Did you know that not all deserts are

hot? Both hot and cold deserts are very

dry, but unlike hot deserts, cold deserts have long

winters when the temperatures can reach below

freezing. Cold deserts also get a great deal of

snow, which is certainly not true for hot deserts.

Electricity can flow through some kinds

of materials, but not through others.

Materials that electricity can flow through are

called conductors. Metal and water are both

conductors. By contrast, materials that electricity

cannot flow through are called insulators. Plastic,

glass, fabric, and wood are all insulators.

Today more people are connected to

the internet than ever before, not only at

home, but also on mobile devices such as

smartphones and tablets. Many of these people

now get their news from the internet rather than

reading newspapers. As a consequence, many

newspapers have gone out of business.

Beagles are medium-sized members

of the hound family. Beagles generally

make good pets because they are intelligent,

good-natured, and good with children. Beagles

are also quite playful and need a great deal

of exercise.

President Barack Obama was born in

Hawaii on August 4, 1961. He graduated

from high school in 1979. After attending

college at Harvard, he married Michelle Robinson

in 1992. Obama became an Illinois senator in

1997 and on January 20, 2009, he became the

44th president of the United States of America.

An earthquake that occurs under the

ocean may cause a tsunami. A tsunami is

a series of giant waves that can cause a great

deal of destruction, as well as many deaths when

it hits the coast. So, if you are ever at the beach

and hear a tsunami warning siren, you should run

to higher ground as fast as you can.

Next time you are thirsty, try drinking a

glass of water instead of a soda. Although

both will quench your thirst, soda is full of sugar and

chemicals. Water, on the other hand, is a much

healthier choice. Water helps your digestive system

to function properly and keeps you immune

system strong so you won't get sick.

When farmers use fertilizer to fertilize

their crops, the left over fertilizer can

run into nearby ponds, streams and rivers.

The result is that the nutrient-rich fertilizer

causes way too much algae to grow. All that algae

is bad for the plants and animals that live there.

Mrs. Jonas was worried about Marco

because he often fell asleep in class. She

decided to call Marco's parents to discuss the

problem. During the phone call, Mrs. Jonas

suggested that an earlier bedtime might help

Marco to get more sleep at night so that he would

not need to sleep during class.

Read the passage and determine its text structure!

What do Finding Nemo and Robocop have in common? Not much, except that they both feature characters who suffer amnesia. Amnesia is a common plot device in movies and TV shows, but how accurate are these depictions? In television and movies, memory loss caused by a knock to the head (post-traumatic amnesia) is shown as fairly common, when it is actually quite rare. Unlike in movies and television shows that feature amnesia, most knocks to the head will not produce memory loss. In reality, memory loss or amnesia is much more likely to occur as the result of a stroke, brain infection, or brain surgery. So while amnesia causes people or characters to lose memories in both film and reality, characters are usually “fixed” by taking another knock to the head. In reality, people are not cured so simply.