Learn English with American Primary School Textbooks

Chapter 36 Literature and Art (1)
01 Two Kinds of Reading Two Kinds of Reading
All of the reading that people do can usually be divided into two kinds of reading. People read for fun because they enjoy reading, or people read to get information. Stories, like those in library books, that are not really true are called fiction. Fiction is read for fun.
Read “The Game of Baseball”. It is a short fiction story.
The Game of Baseball
One Saturday morning Jaime couldn't think of a thing to do. Her morning tasks were done, so she asked her mother what she could do. Her mother suggested that she could help her brother with his chores. Jaime really didn't have that in mind, but she got to work and soon they had his work done, too.
"I'll bet I can find some friends to play baseball," said her brother. "Why don't you ask your friends to come and we'll have a game at school on the baseball diamond."

It wasn't too long before quite a few boys and girls were at the school ready to play baseball. The teams were chosen and Jaime's team took the field. Three people got hits and two runs were scored. But finally, there were three outs . Playing baseball was fun. Jaime was glad her brother had thought of doing this!

The game went very well for a while, but then Kenny said that he was not out on the first base and Keith said that he was.
Jamie didn't know what to do. She didn't want them to quarrel. No one was having any fun now, so she…

Reading fiction books is usually reading for fun. If a person wants some information or wants to learn something, that person usually reads nonfiction. A nonfiction book is true. A nonfiction book or story is factual. It tells information.
Most newspaper stories are nonfiction. Science and social studies books are nonfiction. The dictionary and encyclopedia are nonfiction. Any story that is true is nonfiction.
Here is another story about baseball. It has the same title as the first one you read, but this story is factual. This story is nonfiction.
The Game of Baseball
Baseball is called the national game of the United States. Abner Doubleday, who later became a general in the army, is the person who is said to have started the game.
Baseball became very popular fast. It is one of the best organized games in American sports, but it also can be played by most people in a vacant lot, in a park, or even in a backyard anywhere.
Baseball requires some skills such as throwing and running. The ability to catch and to bat requires good eyesight.
The game has spread to many countries of the world. American soldiers and sailors in World War II played it in their “free” time. The people in those countries watched them and they learned the game, too.
This story, “The Game of Baseball”. could have come from an encyclopedia. You learned that an encyclopedia is one kind of reference book. Dictionaries and an atlas are reference books, too. A dictionary is a book of words and an atlas is a book of maps. Reference books are nonfiction. Reference books give facts on subjects that are in alphabetical order.
Vocabulary
Fiction ["fik??n] n. Fiction, fictional or imagined things, things that are not completely real

chore [t? ? :] n. Odd jobs (especially household chores)
diamond ["dai? m? nd] n. diamond, diamond, rhombus, (playing card) square, (baseball) infield, stadium

quarrel ["kw? r? l] n. Reasons for quarrels, quarrels, complaints...;

vi. to quarrel, to find fault with

nonfiction["n?n"fik? ? n] n. non-fiction literary works
encyclopedia [en "saikl? u" pi: dj? ] n. Encyclopedia, (a subject) specialist encyclopedia
vacant ["veik? nt] adj. Unoccupied, empty, (position) vacant, dazed, empty
Reference ["refr?ns] n. Mention, reference, reference, citation, bibliography, certificate, recommendation letter
Practice
Write fiction or nonfiction on the line.
1. the dictionary.
2. a map.
3. most of the newspapers.
4. "Cinderella" .
5. most comic books.
6. what people read for fun.
7. what people read for facts.
Translation
People's reading styles can generally be divided into two categories.People can find pleasure from reading because they like reading, or people get a lot of knowledge from reading.Storybooks, like most library books, are not really fiction.Fiction is for entertainment.

Read this short story from The Game of Baseball:

baseball game
One Saturday morning, Jaime had nothing to do.Her morning tasks were done, so she asked her mom what else she could do.Mom advised her to help her brother with the housework.Jaime really didn't want to do it, but she did it anyway, and soon they were done.

"I bet I could find some friends to play baseball with," her brother said. "Why don't you call your friends over and let's play a game on the school's baseball field."

Soon several male and female students came to the school, ready to start the baseball game.After the teams were divided, Jaime's team was in the inbounds area.Three were pitchers, and the other two were runners.But in the end, there were still three outs.Playing baseball is fun, and Jaime is glad her brother came up with such a good idea.

The game went well for a while, but Kenny said he wasn't the guy who should be out at first base, and Keith said he was.

Jaime didn't know what to do, and she didn't want an argument between them.No one was happy at the moment, so she...

Fiction is often read for entertainment.If one wants to get some information or to learn something, one must read documentary books.Documentary books are real, they are facts, and they can provide a lot of information.

Most newspaper stories are factual, as are science and social studies books, dictionaries and encyclopedias are factual, and a true story is factual.

Here's another story about baseball.It has the same title as the story I read earlier, but the story below is true and factual.

baseball game
Baseball is the national game of the United States.Abner Doubday, who later became a general in the army, is said to have organized the first baseball game.

Baseball soon became popular all over the country.It's one of the best organized games in American sports, and a lot of people can play anywhere in a field, in a park, or even in a backyard.

Baseball requires skills such as throwing and running, and good eyesight is required for catching and hitting the ball.

The game of baseball spread to many countries around the world, and during World War II, American soldiers and sailors played it in their "free" time.Countries with American soldiers watched their game and learned the game.

The "baseball game" story is probably from an encyclopedia.We know that an encyclopedia is a kind of reference book, and dictionaries and maps are also reference books.A dictionary is a book of words, and an atlas is a book of maps.The reference books are non-fiction, giving some factual basis to the alphabetized subjects.

Exercise
Underline fiction or nonfiction.

1.dictionary.

2.map.

3.most newspapers.

4. "Cinderella".

5.Most comic books.

6.Books for entertainment.

7.Books that provide facts.

1. nonfiction 2． nonfiction
3. nonfiction 4． fiction
5. fiction 6． fiction
7. nonfiction
02 Studying the Market Researching the Market
The writing of many talented young authors is often rejected because they send their work to the wrong type of magazine. For example, a beautiful poem sent to the editor of a magazine that publishes only science fiction is bound to be rejected. piece of writing means the editor does not want to print it in the magazine.
A sensible way to cut down the number of times a piece of writing is rejected is to first “study the markets”. Remember, writers' markets are the magazines and newspapers that publish writers' work. “Studying” a particular market simply means that You should carefully read a copy of the magazine you would like to be published in. You can find many magazines for children in public libraries. If the magazine you want is not available, ask the librarian to help you find the magazine's address. Then write to the editor and ask for an old “back issue” of the magazine.
Knowing the type of writing a magazine publishes will help you “target” your market. “Targeting” simply means sending what you write to a magazine that publishes your type of writing. If you first study the markets, then target them, you will send your beautiful poem only to magazines that publish poetry. You will send your science fiction story only to magazines that publish science fiction.
(End of this chapter)