Reading 1 ⇱
Nguyen Du is a celebrated Vietnamese poet who wrote in Chữ Nôm, the ancient writing script of Viet Nam. His poetry is celebrated for the directness of its language and of its metaphors. Despite a number of Vietnamese poets pre-dated him, Nguyen Du is considered by many Vietnamese to be the founding-figure of Vietnamese literature. His epic poem Truyen Kieu (The Tale of Kieu), relating the brief and tragic life of a Vietnamese girl, is considered as a masterpiece.
Nguyen Du was born in 1765 in Tien Dien village, Nghi Xuan district, NgheTinh province, Viet Nam. By the age of 13, Nguyen had lost both of his parents, and for most of his teenage years he lived with his brother or with his brother-in-law.
At the age of 19, Nguyen passed the provincial examination. After that, he was appointed to the position of a military advisor in the Trinh army. After the Trinh Lords were defeated in 1786 by Nguyen Hue, Nguyen Du refused to serve in the new administration. He was arrested and held for some time before he moved back to his native village in the northern part of the country.
Later, when yet another warlord, Nguyen Anh, ruled Viet Nam in 1802, Nguyen Du agreed to serve in his administration. At first, he was given his old post of military advisor but after a decade, he was promoted to an ambassador to China in 1813.
While in China, he discovered and translated the Ming dynasty era tale “Kim Van Kieu” that would become the basis for the Tale of Kieu. He was later appointed to two more missions to Beijing, but before he could depart for the last one, he died of a long illness for which he refused treatment in 1820.
Nguyen Du’s father worked as a minister for the Lê dynasty, and his family did well during this time. However, Nguyen Du spent much of his life feeling guilty because he worked for a new ruler who took over, and he thought this was a betrayal of the true leaders of Viet Nam. He believed this brought dishonour to him and his family.
Reading 2 ⇱
In the UK, comprising England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, jokes and tricks can be played until noon on 1 April. After midday it's considered bad luck to play a trick. Anyone who forgets this and tries a joke in the afternoon becomes an 'April Fool' themselves.
So, what kind of jokes do people play? Well, a simple example would be telling your friend that their shoelaces are undone. Then, when they bend down to do them up, you shout, 'April Fool!', and they realise their shoelaces are fine.
Maybe it's not your kind of humour, but watch out, there's always someone who will find it funny! In Ireland, a popular prank is to send someone on a 'fool's errand'. The victim is sent to deliver a letter, supposedly asking for help. When the person receives the letter, they open it, read it and tell the poor messenger that they will have to take the letter to another person. This continues and the victim ends up taking the message to several different people until someone feels sorry for them and shows them what the letter says: 'Send the fool to someone else.'
In France, Belgium, the Netherlands (or Holland), Italy and French-speaking areas of Canada and Switzerland, the 1 April tradition is known as the “April Fish”. A common joke is to try to stick a paper fish onto a victim's back without being noticed.
Reading 3 ⇱
An engine is a machine that creates mechanical motion from energy. In order to do this, an engine frequently requires some type of fuel to burn. Nowadays, many engines are used to power cars and other forms of transportation. These vehicles most commonly have an internal combustion engine and rely upon gasoline for power. However, there are several types of engines that can use alternative energy sources. Many people are trying to switch to them because gasoline, which is a fossil fuel, creates pollution and is also a non-renewable resource.
These days, engines that are able to burn biofuels are somewhat common. Biofuels are fuels that are made from biological material, such as corn, soybeans, and sugarcane. These biofuels burn cleanly, so they produce much less pollution than fossil fuels. In some countries, such as Brazil, cars with biofuel engines are standard. In fact, most of the cars in Brazil have engines that can operate on either gasoline or biofuel.
A second type of alternative engine is the electric engine. Cars with electric engines have been common for decades. Most are being used in hybrid cars at the moment. These are vehicles that have both a gasoline-powered engine and an electric one. In many cases, the gasoline-powered engine is used to operate the car at high speeds on expressways. The electric engine is utilised for city driving. One benefit of hybrid cars is that as the gasoline-powered engine runs, it simultaneously recharges the electric engine.
A third type of alternative engine is the hydrogen engine. It utilises hydrogen fuel cells, which convert hydrogen into electricity that can power the car These days, there are many cars and buses that rely upon hydrogen engines. However, there are some problems associated with this type of engine. The hydrogen used in the engine must be processed from other materials, and it is also difficult to store. As a result, vehicles that run on hydrogen are expensive.
Alternative energy sources create less pollution and are often renewable sources of energy. It is hoped that more and more innovations help the use of alternative energy sources become easier and easier.