3990 Learning at home workbook 6 ebook

Adam’s incredible journey – 1
Text
Read the imaginative text.
Adam could feel the card tingling in his hand. Realise your dreams and plan the trip of a lifetime.
Was there a small electric current passing
through the lines of this incredible invitation?
The only currency you require is your imagination.
Were it not for this strange sensation, he There is no limit or barrier to your destination.
would have discarded it as just another item
Time and transport are of no consequence.
of junk mail ...
Your mind will take you where you want to go.
Ridiculous though he knew it was, Adam was
powerless to halt the sense of anticipation
that was rising within him. He ran to his room, pulled the heavy atlas from the shelf and lay on the floor, examining
the world maps of natural wonders and ancient historic sites.
Hours later, Adam collapsed into bed, clutching a rough sketch of the world map and the places he wanted to visit.
As he closed his eyes, the words ‘Chichen Itza’ fell from his lips and he felt his body rise up and float away.
Marvelling at Kukulkan’s magnificent step pyramid, Adam checked his watch—
2.57 pm—20 March. ‘The vernal equinox!’ he blurted out. ‘Just three minutes to go!’
Suddenly embarrassed by his outburst, Adam looked around sheepishly, but soon
realised that not only had no-one heard him, they could not see him either. Using
this to his advantage, he moved to the front of the crowd and waited.
At 3.00 pm exactly, the afternoon sun shone on the
edge of the pyramid’s stairway. As it did so, seven inverted
triangles, shadows of the steps, created the image of a long serpent
that stretched down to its massive stone head, carved in stone at the foot of the steps. ‘What
a wonderful illusion’, sighed Adam in awe. ‘Brother Sun, can your sibling, Sister Moon, create
a spectacle such as this?’ With the question still fresh on his lips, Adam felt the earth spin as
all about him merged into the spiral of a fast-moving slideshow, and the vortex carried him
away.
A rustling in the sand dunes behind him made Adam turn. A large kangaroo was bounding
straight towards him, paying him no attention. Adam jumped out of the way just in time. The
wet sand felt cold, but not unpleasantly so, as it squelched between his toes. But he was
not interested in his feet, or even the kangaroo. His eyes were drawn up and out towards the
horizon. In the evening sky of early autumn, he could see more steps, but this time they were
reflections of the moonlight on the exposed mudflats, stretching far out to sea. ‘Unbelievable!’ marvelled Adam. ‘A
staircase to the moon! Whatever next?’
With a feeling in his stomach similar to that experienced when travelling in a
lift, Adam realised he was on the move again. He found himself in the Angkor
Archaeological Park in northern Cambodia. Ahead of him lay the world’s
finest ancient monument, Angkor Wat. It was constructed a thousand
years ago as a replica of the ancient Buddhist vision of the universe.
Adam took a deep breath and strode forward.
Adam
At the centre of this terrestrial universe was the sacred mountain of Mount Meru and surrounding it, the five peaks
of Meru and the mountains at the edge of the world. The moat beyond these constructed mountains represented
the world’s oceans.
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After hours of exploring and being buffeted by unseeing tourists, Adam wanted his bed.
Yawning loudly, Adam stretched and got out of bed. Unusually, the scenes from his dream were as vivid as the
memories of real events. Adam could recall every little detail. But he was an intellectual sort, not given to fanciful
notions. ‘Just a dream, silly boy’, he scolded himself. ‘Interesting, but just a dream.’
The crumpled paper tickled the sole of his left foot. As he bent down to pick it up, he noticed his feet: sand between
his toes and under his toenails. Puzzled, he smoothed out the paper: his rough sketch of the world map, and the
places he wanted to visit all marked with an asterisk. That in itself wasn’t odd, but the fact that three locations were
marked with authentic passport control stamps most definitely was …
My learning log When I read this imaginative text, I could read: all of it. most of it. parts of it.
R.I.C. Publications® www.ricpublications.com.au 63 ISBN 978-1-922313-88-1 Learning at home workbook 6