She's doing a web page about the theatre in different countries.
She asked me to send her some information about the theatre in the
UK.
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I'll help if you like. I know a bit about the Globe Theatre in
London.
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Ok. Thanks. Tippi said that Usha had sent her lots of emails about
the theatre in India but she's had fewer replies from the other
teams.
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I've had no emails or messages at all this week.
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I've had two. That's the fewest since we started the project.
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I'm sure Sergei could help Usha. The theatre's very important in
Russia, I think.
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Yes, and ballet, too. Which reminds me...She sent a few photos of
Thai dancers. They're amazing!...Well, you could show a little
enthusiasm!
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Sorry, but I don't have the least interest in Thai dancing.
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And I have even less!
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Honestly! You're terrible!
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Only joking! Let's see the photos.
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Wow! Look at those masks and gold headdresses. They're amazing!
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Told you so!
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Listen 5 times
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Conversation 2
Have you ever been to the theatre, Laura?
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Yes, I have. Why do you ask?
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My aunt took me to the theatre at the weekend. It was the first
time I'd been.
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Really. I've been a couple of times. Did you enjoy it?
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It was amazing.
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What play did you see?
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It was a comedy, and it was so funny. Actually, it was hilarious.
I had a brilliant time.
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The last time I went to the theatre was to see a ballet.
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Hmm, ballet's just not my thing, really.
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Typical boy. I loved it. The dancers were so graceful, and the
music was beautiful.
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So how often do you go to the theatre?
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Ohh, not very often at all. I go to the cinema a lot though.
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Me too. What was the last film you saw?
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It was a thrill. It was quite good, but I can't remember the name.
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I like action films. Exciting, fast moving films.
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I love the special effects in action films. They're so clever.
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The music's usually good too.
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What sort of music do you like?
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All sorts really. I like classical music. I went to a fantastic
concert a few weeks ago. A Youth Orchestra was playing. They were
brilliant, so talented.
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How about modern music?
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Yeah, I like pop music too.
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Do you like Rock bands? I'm really into rock music.
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Ohh. You?
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Yes, I've got loads of CD's you can borrow some if you like.
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Great. Thanks.
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Listen 5 times
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Reading
Hello, Earth
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Kepler Masterman is fifteen. He was the first child ever born on
the Moon.
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He has been brought up with few luxuries because transport from
Earth is expensive.
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His father is the Governor of the Moon and is travelling to Earth
for important discussions.
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Kepler has travelled with his father by Moon-ferry to the space
station where they transferred to an Earth-ferry.
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Now, they are approaching Earth and Kepler had his first close-up
view of the world.
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I craned my neck eagerly and looked through the port.
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I recognised the narrow spindle of central America, and then the
steely shimmer of the Atlantic lay beneath us. It went on and on.
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"The planet's all water!" I gasped.
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"Seven tenths of it is," Father agreed.
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"But...but. Oh, wow!" It was feeble, but what words could I have
for it?
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A world that was seven tenths water!
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Why, on Moon, water was harder to get than oxygen, much harder.
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Breathing was free. You could breathe as deeply and as often as
you wished.
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Now that the hydroponic gardens were going we didn't have to pay
for our oxygen any more.
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But water was something else.
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Every ounce of it was worth its weight in Moon minerals.
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Dirt was removed by electrostatic filters in hte labs and living
units.
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Washing was luxury and drinking a special delight.
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There was no free water on Moon.
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Every ounce we used was extracted in the refinement of the ores we
sent down to Earth.
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And the mining companies charged us for it-every drop!
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I had grown up thinking water was the most precious stuff in the
Universe.
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Now with my own eyes I could see that Earth was covered with the
stuff-slopping over with it.
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We orbited across North Africa and Arabia.
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From my port I could see the island-spangled blueness of the
Indian Ocean.
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Then the Pacific. I felt suddenly tired and a little sick.
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What sort of a place was this Earth and what were its people like?
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Half a world made of water, and yet they had charged us for every
single cup.
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I shut my eyes and turned away from the port.
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"You feeling groggy?" Father's voice was sympathetic. "They're
starting their braking orbit and I guess you'll really notice the
weight difference. Don't worry. It'll get worse before it gets
better. But it will get better. Just hang on!"
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To the Earth passengers from the space station I suppose the
discomforts were minimal.
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Their apparent weight increased to double and momentarily three
times their normal weight.
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I had not realised until this moment what my birthright of
one-sixth Earth weight was ging to mean when I tried to return
'Home'.
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It was like a barrier separating me from all these other people.
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Already I weighed six times my normal weight.
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As the braking continued it increased to twelve times, to...the
weight on my chest...I couldn't breathe. I felt as if my brain was
going to burst.
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When I came back to my senses the enormous pressure had lifted. I
felt heavy and tired.
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I lifted my head and looked blurrily around. We had landed!
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Kepler's father told him to lie still because he had a nose-bleed.
He asked a stewardess to help him.
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She explained to Kepler that the force of Earth's gravity had made
his nose bleed.
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She got him an iecpack and offered to get him a wheelchair if he
couldn't walk.
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"I'm going to be fine, thanks. It just takes a little practice,
that's all."
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"Of course. Perhaps you'd like to tidy up before you leave?"
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I took her hint and plodded back down the aisle to the washroom.
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Good grief! I was a disaster area! I took off my jacket - how
crudely cut it looked in comparison with the Earth fashions I'd
seen on the ferry, and what rough material.
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Then I washed the rest of the blood off my face and combed ny
hair, what there was of it, It looked like a convict cut by Earth
standards, but it would grow...I put on my jacket and plodded down
to the exit hatch.
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I hesitated, my hand on the ramp rail, looking at the crowd of
exotically dressed reporters, cameramen and casual bystanders
milling around my father.
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It really was a new world down there at the end of the ramp.
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from Goodbye to the Moon by Monica Hughes
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Glossary of sclentifls terms
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Hydroponic: the process of growing plants in sand, gravel or
liquid, whithout soil and with addded nutrients
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electrostatic: working by electricity that does not move
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oxygen: a natural gas that people need to breathe
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lab: Short form of laboratory, the special room where scientific
work is carried Out
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gravity: the force that prevents people floating off the Earth and
into space
