ALL ABOUT GLASS by Madelyn Carlisle9 Legends say that this may be the way that people first discovered glass. Glass is formed when sand is mixed with certain ‘chemicals in a very hot fire. Perhaps by ac- ‘cident all of these materials were mixed withthe sand on that beach, 4s time went on, people found many uses for this new substance. Hundreds of years ‘ago castles had only high, narrow openings {in their cold stone walls. Because the wind and weather blew in through them, they were called “wind’s eyes.” This is where the English word window comes from. Wealthy people like kings began tose glass to cover these holes in the walls. «5 But glass was hard to make and very ex- pensive. Even kings could not afford glass for every window in their homes. Most people had to use animal skins, pieces of loth, or oiled paper. But these coverings did not Jet in much light, and no one could see out through them. 6 Over the years glassmaking improved « great deal. Today glass isso clear that you Can hardly tell i is there. Homes can have ‘many lange windows, Some city skyscrapers Took as though they were built almost en: tirely of glass. Glass windows are used in vehicles as well as buildings. Automobiles, buses, trains, and planes have windows made of safety glass. ‘When this glass is hit hard, it eracks. But it {does not shatter into pieces that could injure passengers: This Because safety glass Is fea sandwich. A layer of clear plas- trolscemented between two chet of was, When safety glass is broken, the shattered Pieces of glass stick to the plastic. © Glass is helpful, too, in building sub- marines and spaceships. The glass used very tough. It will nt break under the great pressure of water, the cold of outer space, or the extreme heat when coming back into the earth's atmosphere. Even astronauts’ spacesuits are made partly of glass. fall the objects made of glass, lenses are probably the most important. A lens is a Se ee ae aes ae light rays. Lenses make things look either bigger or smaller than they really are 4. The frst lenses were used in glasses to help people see better. Then in 1609 an Tel jan scientist named Galileo put two glass Tenses inside a tube. With one lens at each fend, he looked at the sky through this frst telescope. He could sec things in the solar system that noone had ever seen before. He discovered the rings around Satura and the ‘moons around Jupiter, Tn 16758 Dutchman, Anton van Leeuwenhoek, found another way to use Tenses. He made an instrument called a mi- croscope. Through it, he could see tiny erea- tures swimming about in a drop of water. For the fist time he learned of forms of life that could not be seen by the eye alone. His discovery led people to find out about germs that cause disease, 12. More than two thousand years ago people hnad learned how to blow hot melted glass {nto the shape of bottles. For a long time these glass containers were scarce and ex: pensive. They had to be blown one at a time. Today there are millions of glass bot: jars, and drinking glasses. In a modern fac- tory, machines can make hundreds of them in-a minute ‘2 "Until recently millions of bottles and jars were thrown away every year. Now people have discovered ways to recycle glass in order to use it over again. When old las melted dove, it can be made into new battles ‘or into building materials, like bricks. These flass bricks are solid and do not let light Shine through. They look a lot ike ordinary clay bricks. 14 Old glass is also used to pave roads. Glass ccan be ground up and mixed with asphalt, Foad-surfacing material. The ground-up glass has no sharp edges. t makes a tough surface that engineers think may last longer than other materials. 1s. Th the future we may all be driving on lass roads and living in houses made of Blass. And who knows what other uses will ‘Ee frum for this inerreating material‘How Well Did You Read? Write ifthe statement is true according to the story. Write F if the statement is false, 1 Glass was invented by rich people who ‘were looking for a way to keep the wind ‘out of their homes 2 In the days before glass was invented, ‘homes were likely tobe darker inside than they are today. 3 Suppose you take a piece of glass from a train window and a piece of glass froma picture frame and you strike both with a hammer. Both wil shatter into bits. 4 IF glass lenses had not been invented, the tory of medicine might have been dif. ferent 5 The English word window has its origin in the phrase "wind’s eye.” 6 Safety glass resists shattering better than ordinary glass because it contains a layer of plastic 7 A lens can make small thing appear larger. ' Glass bricks have all the qualities of ordi- nary glass. ‘Learn about Words ‘Vocabulary ‘A You can often tell the meaning of a word by reading the words around i. Look at each number in parentheses. Find the paragraph inthe story with the same ‘number. Then find the word that fits the sven meaning, Write the word. 1 confused; not understanding (2) 2 matter; material 2) 3 have the money to pay for (5) 4 elued; firmly bonded (7) 5 pushing force (8) 6 great; much more than normal (8) 7 rare; in short supply (12) B Aword may have more than one meaning ts meaning depends on the way itis used. ‘The word string is an example. ‘We tied the box with string. ‘Our team had a string of victories. Look at each number in parentheses. Find the paragraph inthe story with the same ‘number. See how the word in heavy type below is used in the paragraph. Decide Whether it has meaning a or b. Write a or. 8 lump (2) a dull or stupid person D solid object of no particular shape 9 narrow (4) a not wide » small-minded; bigoted 10 forms (11) ‘2 types; varieties » printed documents with spaces to be filled in‘Word Study © Summer held the embrace Sometimes a writer personifies a thing, @ quality, or an idea. That is, the writer makes it sound like a person. In the example above, the warm summer ‘weather is made to sound like a warm, loving person. Write the word that is per” sonified in each sentence below. 11 Tho wind whimpered like a frightened ind in her warm her face. 14 The sand caressed Jan's feet as she walked doven the beach 15 The trees eried out of their need for water. 46 The hen chuckled and talked to her- self as she looked for seeds. 17 The eat smiled and laughed at me. 118 The mountain frowned down at me. D Writers sometimes use words in special ‘ways known as figures of speech. Similes and metaphors are figures of speech that ‘make comparisons. A simile always uses the word as or like in saying that one thing i like another: My brother is as fierce asa tiger. My brother is Ikea tiger. ‘A metaphor states a likeness without the use of as oF Tike’ ‘My brother is a tiger. But all three sentences mean the same thing. They all mean “My brother is very flerce.” Read the figures of speech below. If the comparison isa simile, write. If t ‘metaphor, write M. 419 She was lke a lon. 20 My brother is a big teddy bear. ‘31 Eathor is a bad apple. 22. Jake is as happy as a moth in a sweat- er factory. 23 This classroom Is an igloo. 24 Jason is a slippery eel 25 Ruth is as industrious as an ant. 26 Joe is as hungry as @ bear. A dictionary's pronunciation key uses symbols to show you how the sounds in & word are spoken, Not all pronunciation keys are alike, but you are likely to find these symbols used In many dictionaries: u_ = cup 00 = cute a = pull ‘There are many other symbols as well. ‘This is just a small part of a pronuncia- ton key. Complete each statement below by writing a word from the key above. 27 The | in gizmo (qiz/mo) is like the i 28 The u in grudge (gr) 29 The { in binary (bV/naré) is like the i in 30 The w in mutiny (my00 ’t one) is like thew in 31 The w in putty (put’e) is like the w in 32 The i in estimate (es/ta mot) is lke thet in 38 The w in rural (rot) is tke the u