Jim Allen used to scold his son for playing video games. Now, he joins his son in front of the TV. “These games used to come between us,” Allen said. Now, the father and son are gaming partners. Today’s game consoles offer wireless controllers. Wireless controllers allow a more physical kind of play. With these controllers, players can do more than fire guns and move a character around. Indeed, Allen and his son go skiing, play ping pong, and go bowling together, all with a video game. “My favorite is the golf game,” says Allen. For people like Allen and his son, wireless game consoles are closing the generation gap.

Broadway musicals in New York City are a popular attraction for both tourists and local New Yorkers. Many old and popular stories, as well as new ones, are made into musical shows. There are over 40 Broadway theaters in New York’s Theatre District. In Japan, you have to book a theater seat a few months in advance; but in New York, all Broadway theaters have 500 or more seats, so it’s much easier to get a ticket. Also, there are many smaller, “Off-Broadway” theaters in the Theatre District. Off-Broadway shows are more intimate and often more experimental. A wide variety of shows are performed in those theaters. Some musicals, such as “A Chorus Line” or “Rent,” both very famous in Japan, were first performed in Off-Broadway theaters.

A Crab left the seashore and started to live in a nearby __________. A hungry Fox came and ate ______. When he was on the point of being eaten, the Crab thought that he ______ this fate, because he was not adapted by _____ for living anywhere except near ________. ________ should come from the way you are.

An old man was about to ___. He wanted to give his sons a piece of his last advice. He gave a bundle of _____ to each son and told them to break it. They tried to break it over and over again, but _____. The father _____ the bundles and gave a stick to each of them. He said, “Now break it.” The sticks were easily _____. You are ______ when you are united than when you are separated.

New technology may change the meaning of “window shopping.” Recently,
German experts started testing new software in a real store window. The system uses four cameras and a large computer monitor. The computer monitor is located at the entrance of the store. The four cameras capture 3-D images of people passing by on the street. The software calculates eye, face, and hand positions. Right at the store window, people can interact with the company website without even touching a computer. They only have to look at a product on the monitor to make the details of its sales appear. They only have to point at a link to visit another store department. In this way, window shoppers can select products to view, and even buy them, right from the street. “Customers can window shop . . . for real,” said researcher Alan Baum. The system is on display this month in Hanover, Germany.

In America, the legal smoking age differs from state to state. The most common smoking age is 18, but in some states, you can’t smoke until you’re 19. Some states used to allow smoking at age 16. The price of cigarettes is usually higher in America than in Japan. In New York City, a pack of cigarettes costs more than ten dollars. Furthermore, smoking is mostly prohibited in public areas. Even in Japan, there are rules for smokers. Japanese people are not allowed to smoke in train stations, or while they walk along the street.