Informative Text, Fable, Tales, Reading Report, Instructive Text, Descriptive Text,

Informative text:

SUN COMES ALIVE, BLASTING MASSIVE SOLAR FLARES

WASHINGTON (AP) – After years of quiet, the sun is coming alive with solar storms in a big way.

The sun shot off a flare Thursday afternoon from a region that scientists are calling a "benevolent monster."
Scientists at the federal Space Weather Prediction Center say that area is the most active part of the sun since 2005.It has dozens of sunspots, including one that is the size of 17 Earths. Sunspots are kinks or knots in the sun's magnetic field.
"It's beautiful," said forecaster Jess Whittington. "It's still growing. The size is what blows me away."
Thursday's flare was not aimed at Earth. This active region, however, is now slowly turning toward Earth, and scientists say it will be directly facing Earth inabout five days.
That storm region will affect Earth only if it shoots off flares and they hit the planet, which does not always happen with stormy areas, said prediction center space scientist Joe Kunches.
The region will be facing Earth for about two weeks as it rotates, he said.
Solar flares send out bursts of electromagnetic energy that can occasionally disrupt communications and electricalsystems.
For the past several years, the sun has been at a quiet end of its cycle and only recently has gotten more active. Solar cycles go in an 11-year period. This cycle has had fewer storms than usual for this time in its cycle. But that may be changing.
"The sun is looking more like we think it should at this point in the solar cycle," Kunches said. "It's got a number of active centers."* When happen? Thursday afternoon from.

* Where? A region that scientists are calling a "benevolent monster."

* What? The sun shot off a flare.

* How? With solar storms in a big way.

* Who or whose? Scientists at the federal Space Weather Prediction Center say that area is the most active part of the sun since 2005.http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/story/2011-11-04/sun-storms-solar-flares-space-weather/51075488/1

FABLE:
THE FROG AND THE OX

"Oh Father," said a little Frog to the big one sitting by the side of a pool, "I have seen such a terrible monster! It was big as a mountain, with horns on its head, and a long tail, and it had hoofs divided in two."
"Tush, child, tush," said the old Frog, "that was only Farmer White's Ox. It isn't so bigeither; he may be a little bit taller than I, but I could easily make myself quite as broad; just you see."
So he blew himself out, and blew himself out, and blew himself out.
"Was he as big as that?" he asked.
"Oh, much bigger than that," said the young Frog.
Again the old one blew himself out and asked the young one if the Ox was as big as that.
"Bigger, Father, bigger," was the reply.
Sothe Frog took a deep breath, and blew and blew and blew, and swelled and swelled. And then he said, "I'm sure the Ox is not as big as this." But at that moment he burst.
Self-conceit may lead to self-destruction.

TALES:

THE SECRET AGENT

Joseph Conrad – Retold by Robin Waterfield

What happens to this group of spies and anarchists who meet in the Soho shop?
Ossipon walked into the pub.There were about thirty tables against the walls. He bought himself a beer and looked for a place to sit. He saw a man at one of the tables, and looked surprised. He went over to the table and spoke to the man.
‘You’ll be able to help me to understand this business,’ he said.
The little man with glasses waited for the noise in the pub to die down.
Then he said, ‘If I do know something, why doyou think I’ll tell you?
When he stopped talking he picked up the glass of beer from the table in front of him and had a long drink. Ossipon looked at the little man. He was small and weak, but he seemed so sure of himself. He spoke in short sentences, but was perfectly happy not to say anything sometimes.
Ossipon said, ‘Have you been out much today?’
‘No. I stayed in bed all the morning,’...