149. A Bad Smell It was a warm, sunny day. She put a hat on to keep the sun out of her eyes. She needed to visit her bank. She walked down to the corner. There were four buildings at the intersection. One was her bank. Opposite the bank was a fast food restaurant. The […]
148. Problems at Home Emily sat down on the sofa. She took off her shoes. She put her feet on the coffee table. She leaned back. She picked up the remote and turned on the TV. It was 6 o’clock. The news was on three channels. She didn’t want to see the news. The news […]
147. Two Babies She wanted to have two babies—one boy and one girl. She wanted to have the boy first and the girl a year later. That way they could grow up together. He said that was okay with him. She said, “What do you mean, ‘okay’? It shouldn’t be ‘okay’ with you. You should […]
146. Nutrition “Facts” Americans get confused when they try to understand the food labels (“Nutrition Facts”) on their packaged food. This is partly because the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture often seem more interested in the welfare of the food industry than in the health of consumers. For example, even though […]
145. Your Eyes Light goes through the pupil, the dark hole in the center of your eye. The light becomes an image on the retina, which converts these images into nerve impulses. The brain reads these impulses and “tells” you what you are seeing. The image that the retina receives is upside down, but the […]
144. Are You Busy Friday Night? One night a motorcyclist crashed into a bridge. The rider was on his way home from a party. Traveling at about 70 mph on the unlit, two-lane road, he lost control on a curve. He lay next to his motorcycle for 20 minutes before a passerby noticed the wreckage. […]
143. A Healthy Heart Smaller than your fist, your muscular heart just goes on and on. It will beat more than 60 times a minute for 70 years or more. That’s something that most of us take for granted. But it’s an amazing fact. Sixty times a minute for 60 minutes is 3,600 times. What […]
142. Here It Comes It was early morning, January 17, 1994. John Evans and his wife were asleep in their house in Northridge, California. Suddenly, the loudest thunder they’d ever heard seemed to explode right out of the ceiling, the floor, and the walls. They were thrown onto the floor. The dresser, on the other […]
141. English Only Blair needed a break from the indoor life. Sometimes it seemed like he was in his apartment 24/7. He had recently found a perfect outdoor cure. It was a new coffeehouse which served 45 kinds of coffee and tea. He liked it because the coffee was good and the place was never […]
140. Perfect Weather It was a perfect day in Los Angeles. Even Shakespeare might not have words for a day like this. You had to “be there” to appreciate it. The sun was shining, and soft white clouds were parked in the deep blue sky. The temperature was perfect for shorts. Not chilly, not hot. […]