Reading Example 1

Cars of the Future If Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, came back for a visit today, he would be amazed to see how cars have changed. When Ford manufactured cars in the early 1900s, the car had one purpose: to transport people from one place to another more quickly than in a horse and carriage. But in todays fast paced world, a car must do much more than simply transport people. People want a car to provide comfort, efficiency, information, and connection to the world. Today, people of all ages spend many hours every day in the car. Many people have to commute to work or school. They want to be able to do other things while they drive. Drivers want to be able to talk on the phone, or get directions if they are lost. Passengers want to be able to watch videos or go on line. Technology has already made these things possible. What about cars of the future? The most exciting changes will be thanks to the Internet. For example, some cars already have a Global Position System, or GPS. A GPS is a computerized system that gives directions to any place you want to go. The directions are displayed on a small screen or can be read to you by the computer. But in the future, the GPS will be able to give you much more information. It can show you a map, with different colors for different traffic conditions. Areas in red would mean traffic jams, purple would mean road construction, and blue would mean clear traveling. In addition, if you want to stop for a quick cup of coffee and a donut, you could ask your in-car computer. It would tell you what restaurants are on your way, which ones have drive-through service, and which ones have the shortest lines. In the future, car computers will be able to understand what you say, using voice-recognition software. You can say, Call Frank Smith, and your computer will dial his number and connect you. You can say, Read my e-mail, and it will read your messages to you. And you will be able to dictate your replies and send them, while driving and watching the road. You can ask for directions, ask to change radio stations, or ask to change the temperature in the car. One of the most exciting systems being tested today is the smartway. A smartway is a special lane of a highway for commuters. All cars in the smartway lane are controlled by a federal traffic computer. Cars are connected via the Internet. Cars are very close together, but are all traveling at the same speed. On the smartway, cars can go up to 100 miles per hour. Drivers will not have to steer or control their speed on the smartway. Their car will be on autopilot, so drivers can sit back and relax. It is hard to imagine some of these changes in the future, but they are already being tested and developed. Someday your commute to work may be a pleasure!
-From E-Learning Companion, Ryan Watkins and Michael Corry, Copyright 2010.

Reading Example 2

Pablo Picasso Pablo Picasso was probably the most famous artist and one of the great creative minds of the twentieth century. This great artist lived more artistic lifetimes than any of his peers. During his 75-year career, he produced thousands of works, not only paintings but also sculptures, prints, and ceramics, using a wide

variety of materials. He almost single-handedly created modern art, changing art more profoundly than any other artist of his century. Born in 1881, in Malaga, Spain, Picasso was a child prodigy, completing the one-month qualifying examination for the Academy of Fine Arts in Barcelona in one day at the age of 14. After finishing his studies in Barcelona, the artist continued his training in Madrid but later returned to Barcelona. There began his "blue period," so-named for the dominant blue tones in the artist's paintings. During this time, he moved frequently between Barcelona and Paris. In Paris he spent his days studying the masterworks at the Louvre and his nights with other artists at cabarets. Later, Picasso became fascinated with the circus world's acrobats, clowns and wandering performers. This marked a radical change in color and mood for the artist. He began painting in subtle pinks and grays, often highlighted with brighter tones. This was known as his "rose period." The peak of Picasso's creativity is evidenced in his pioneering role in Cubism. In 1907, he painted "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," a Cubist painting which changed twentieth century art completely. In it, the artist and viewer look at the subjects from many different angles at the same time. Picasso and French painter Georges Braque were the leading figures of the Cubist movement. For Picasso, the 1920's were years of rich artistic exploration and great productivity. He designed theater sets and painted in Cubist, Classical and Surreal styles. He began making wrought iron sculptures with his friend Julio Gonzalez. Then, in the 1930's, Picasso moved to graphic illustration. In April 1937, Picasso responded to the bombing of Guernica, Spain by Nazi air forces with his great antiwar work, "Guernica." The graphic conviction of this work remains undiminished by time. During World War II, he lived in Paris and turned his creative energy to a new artistic medium: ceramics. After the war, he experimented with new methods of printing and painted a series of variations of old master paintings. Picasso continued to be an innovator until the last decade of his life. He died in France in 1973, at the age of 91. His powers of creativity and execution continue to astonish artists and art aficionados the world over.
-From E-Learning Companion, Ryan Watkins and Michael Corry, Copyright 2010.

Reading Example 3

The Stardust's Mysterious Final Message At 5:41 p.m. on August 2, 1947, Dennis Harmer, the radio operator of an airplane called the Stardust, sent a Morse code message to the airfield in Santiago, Chile. The message was "ETA Santiago 17:45 hrs STENDEC," meaning that the Stardust would arrive in Santiago at 5:45 p.m. The radio operator in Santiago didn't understand what STENDEC meant, so he questioned Harmer who repeated the word twice. But the Stardust never arrived in Santiago. Its disappearance and its final Morse code message created two mysteries. First, what happened to the plane? Second, what does STENDEC mean? Authorities conducted a search in the nearby Andes Mountains for the wreckage and couldn't find any sign of the plane. It had completely disappeared. But in January 2000, mountaineers climbing in the Andes found an old airplane engine belonging to the Stardust. After a thorough search of the area, approximately 10% of the wreckage was found. But why did the Stardust crash? And where was the other 90%?

After studying the plane's other messages, old weather data, pieces of the plane, and the area where the wreckage was found, authorities had an explanation. When the Stardust sent its message at 5:41, the pilot thought they were closer to Santiago than they really were, and he began to descend. But because the mountains were still in front of them, the plane crashed straight into a glacier, causing an avalanche, which covered the plane in ice and snow. Over the years, parts of the glacier melted and uncovered some of the wreckage. So the mystery of the disappearance was solved, but what about STENDEC? There are several theories about this strange word, but the theory that makes the most sense is that Harmer made some small mistakes in his coding of "ST" and "EC." Morse code uses dots and dashes to represent letters. A slash represents a pause between letters. In Morse code, the letter "V" (. . . -) is often used to attract attention at the start of a message. The code for "ST" (. . . / -) is similar to "V." The letters "AR" (. - / . - .) are often used to sign off at the end of a Morse code message. The code for "EC" (. / - . - .) is similar to "AR." So perhaps Harmer meant to say "VENDAR," to attract attention, end his message, and sign off. But this theory has a couple of problems too. It is unlikely that Harmer, a very experienced radio operator, would have made the same coding mistake three times. Also, why would he need to attract attention with a "V" in the middle of his message? And why would he say "END" when it's not necessary to do so? What was the crew of the Stardust trying to communicate in their final message? Maybe STENDEC was a simple coding error, or maybe Harmer was trying to say something important. In any case, we may never know.
-From E-Learning Companion, Ryan Watkins and Michael Corry, Copyright 2010.

References Watkins, Ryan; and Corry, Michael (2010). E-Learning Companion: A Stuidents Guide to Online Success. Cengage Learning, 3rd edition. Exceprts from their website on 16 December, 2013. http://college.cengage.com/collegesurvival/watkins/learning_companion/1e/students/timed_reading.h tml