1. THE ONE CARD

Rapper and singer Post Malone may have paid $2 million for a single collectible card from the game Magic: The Gathering. Last year, he spent $800,000 on another rare card, but his newest purchase was a one-of-a-kind card of the One Ring from the Lord of the Rings. A dedicated fan of the trading card game, Malone even has had cards made in his honor, like Post the Enchanter. If you were to have a trading card designed based on you, what would it look like? What traits would it have? It could be a picture of you or something important to you. Write a short description and draw a picture of what your card would look like.

2. MONKEYING AROUND

Golden monkeys, which live in Brazil’s Atlantic forest, were close to becoming extinct with as few as only 200 left in the wild. After years of efforts to save the species starting in the 1970s, a yellow fever outbreak threatened the progress they’d made. After 3,700 monkeys were counted in 2014, there were only 2,500 in 2019. Scientists adapted yellow fever vaccines used for humans and gave more than 370 monkeys shots to protect against the disease. As a result, the population is at its highest level since the ’70s with 4,800 monkeys counted. Look up more about golden monkeys, also known as golden lion tamarins, online. Write a summary of what you learn, including what they eat and where they live.

3. HOT WATER

With a heat wave hitting much of the world in July, it’s not only the land that’s seeing effects of high temperatures. Oceans absorb and store heat, raising temperatures of the water at the surface and hundreds of feet deep. Some hot spots have measured more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, hurting coral reefs off the coast of Florida and other marine life. What problems could rising ocean temperatures cause, both for the animals and plants that live in the water and those that live on the coasts? Write a short paragraph describing your answer.

4. FLY PROBLEM

Around 30 invasive fruit flies from Asia was found in Los Angeles, which has officials and farmers worried about fruits and vegetables in California. The fly can live on more than 100 types of fruits, many of which grow in the state, and if it spreads, the species can destroy crops and cause farmers to spray more pesticides than normal to protect their farms. Write a short article about why this new species of fruit flies coming to the US would be a problem for farmers and people who buy fruits and vegetables.

5. SOMALIA SCANDAL

A woman made sports news for the wrong reasons after competing in the World University Games in China. The untrained 20-year-old woman finished the race in 21 seconds, which was almost double the time of the winner for the 100-meter race. As a result, the chairwoman of the Somali Athletics Federation was suspended from her job for sending a woman who is not a runner to compete. Write a short opinion article about why you think people were upset that an untrained athlete was sent to an international competition.