title: Saladin

paragraphs: Saladin, or Sultan Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb (25 December 1138–1193) was a famous Arabic Sultan during the Crusades.

paragraphs: A Muslim of Kurdish origin, Saladin led the Muslim opposition to the European Crusaders in the Levant. At the height of his power, his sultanate included Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Hejaz, Yemen and other parts of North Africa.

paragraphs: His father, who worked for the Turkish governor, decided to raise him in Syria where he received his education. Another influential figure in his life was his uncle Shirkuh who was a military leader and later commanded for Saladin during the wars. Many Muslims consider him a hero for defeating the Crusaders over 20 years of battles. The Crusades were series of battles between Christian Europe and Islamic Near East over holy land in what is now known as Palestine. Saladin’s army protected Egypt from the Crusaders in 1168. By taking Egypt, he became Vizier, a high ruler of Egypt. Just before the Caliph died, Saladin was crowned Sultan of Egypt and Syria. His greatest victory was at the Horns of Hattin in July 1187 AD, after which Jerusalem fell to the Muslims (October 1187) and was never again recovered by the Crusaders. He is also remembered for his series of battles and wins and losses against King Richard I of England. These were inconclusive and in the end resulted in a moral victory for Sultan Salah ad-Din, when Richard's Crusade failed and returned to Europe.

paragraphs: He founded the Ayyubid dynasty of Egypt, Syria, Yemen (except for the Northern Mountains), Iraq, Mecca Hejaz and Diyar Bakr. Salah ad-Din is a title which translates to "The Righteousness of the Faith" from Arabic.

paragraphs: Many books were written about Saladin, the things he did and the battles he won. "Daastaan Imaan Farooshoon Ki" is one book in Urdu written by Althamash that says very good things about Saladin and compares and contrasts him to other kings and princes, in a favourable light.


title: Aphex Twin

paragraphs: Aphex Twin (born Richard David James, 18 August 1971, in Limerick, Ireland) is an Irish-born Cornish musician. He lives and works in the UK. He is a famous electronic musician.

paragraphs: Aphex Twin is not his real name. His real name is Richard David James. His name is a combination of Aphex Systems Limited, a brand of audio signal processing equipment and the word Twin to remember his brother. His brother was stillborn, but given the name Richard James.

paragraphs: Aphex Twin was born in Limerick, Ireland. He grew up in Cornwall, U.K. He started to make music when he was a teenager. In 1991, he formed a record label called Rephlex Records.

paragraphs: After he became well known, he moved to London. This was so he could be in a place that was closer to other people. He however returned to Cornwall a few years later after meeting his wife. He still makes a lot of music today and uses many different pseudonyms (names). He lives in an old bank. He has bought interesting things like a tank and a submarine.


title: Niagara Falls

paragraphs: Niagara Falls is the collective, name of three big waterfalls on the Niagara River in eastern North America, on the border between the United States and Canada. The three waterfalls are: the Horseshoe Falls, sometimes called the Canadian Falls, the American Falls, and the smaller Bridal Veil Falls. The American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls are separated with Goat Island, and the Bridal Veil Falls separated from the other waterfalls with Luna Island. Niagara falls is very well known for both its beauty and hydroelectric power. It is been a tourist attraction, commercial site and hydroelectricity source since the 19th century.

paragraphs: It is located near Niagara Falls, New York in the United States and Niagara Falls, Ontario in Canada.The volume of water approaching the falls during peak flow season may sometimes be as much as 225,000 cubic feet (6,400 m3) per second. The cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, and Niagara Falls, New York, United States, are connected by two international bridges.

paragraphs: Niagara Falls were formed when glaciers receded at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation (the last ice age). Water from the newly formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean. The Escarpment has hard limestone on top and soft shale below.

paragraphs: Although not very high, Niagara Falls is very wide, and is probably the most popular waterfall in the world. The Horseshoe Falls are the largest out of the three falls. It is named the Horseshoe Falls because it looks like a horse shoe.

paragraphs: Niagara Falls is a very popular tourist destination and many people visit it on holiday in Canada.

paragraphs: Niagara Falls is one Canada's proudest place.


title: Custard

paragraphs: Custard is a kind of food prepared with milk and eggs. Custard can be the dessert or its sauce.

paragraphs: Custard is an important part of dessert recipes from many countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Australia, and Malaysia.


title: Huckleberry

paragraphs: Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in two closely related genera in the family "Ericaceae": "Gaylussacia" and "Vaccinium". The huckleberry is the state fruit of Idaho.

paragraphs: Some "Vaccinium" species, such as the red huckleberry, are always called huckleberries. Other species may be called blueberries or huckleberries in different locations.

paragraphs: There is much confusion in naming of berries in American English. The 'garden huckleberry' ("Solanum melanocerasum") is not a true huckleberry but a member of the nightshade family.

paragraphs: The fruit of most species of huckleberry can be eaten. The berries are small and round. They are usually less than 5 mm in diameter and contain 10 seeds. Berries range in color from bright red, through dark purple, and into the blues. In taste the berries range from tart to sweet. They have a flavor similar to that of a blueberry. Huckleberries are well liked by many mammals such as bears and humans.


title: Cheesecake

paragraphs: A cheesecake is a dessert cake made of cheese (usually cream cheese but sometimes ricotta), eggs, and sugar. It often has a graham cracker crumb crust, sometimes held together by melted butter. The filling has a very heavy, smooth texture. It sometimes has sour cream to make it easier to shape and may have fruit flavoring such as strawberry, blueberry, or lemon. It is often topped with fresh fruit or chocolate.

paragraphs: Cheesecake is now often thought to be part of American cooking, but it has a long history. Cheese making began around 2000, and scientists who study people in the past have found cheese molds almost as old.

paragraphs: Cheesecakes are known to go back to at least Greece. In the 100s, the writer Athenaeus's "Dinner-Table Philosophers" mentioned the poet Callimachus (around the 200s) used to have a book by an "Aegimius" about the art of making cheesecakes (, "Plakountopoukón Sýngramma"). Cheesecake may have been given to the sportspeople during the Olympic Games, which started in 776.

paragraphs: Even before the Romans took over Greece, they had begun making cheesecakes as well. M. Porcius Cato's "Book on Farming" (written around 160) mentions three kinds of cakes', ', and ""for use as offerings to the gods. Placenta cakes were the closest to today's cheesecakes, since its crust and filling are made separately.

paragraphs: Europeans stopped using yeast and started adding beaten eggs to their cheesecakes around the 1700s. This made it taste more like a dessert than a cheesebread.

paragraphs: Cheesecake recipes were brought to the United States as people moved there from Europe. Most of today's kinds of cheesecake ("New York-style cheesecake") come from the kind created by William Lawrence of Chester, New York, in 1872. He was trying to make something like the soft French Neufchâtel cheese and ended up with a heavy, creamy "unripened cheese".

paragraphs: There is an all-garlic restaurant in Stockholm where they offer a garlic cheesecake.

paragraphs: Sonya Thomas holds the world record for eating the most cheesecakes in a given time. She ate 11 pounds of cheesecake in nine minutes.


title: Rhubarb

paragraphs: Rhubarb is one of about 60 plants in the genus Rheum, family Polygonaceae. The vegetable rhubarb is "Rheum rhabarbarum" (or "Rheum x hybridum"). The leaves are toxic, but the red stalks are baked in pies, with sugar to soften their tart flavor.

paragraphs: There are many varieties grown for eating. The drug "rheum" is prepared from the rhizomes and roots of another species, "R. officinale" or medicinal rhubarb.


title: Monkey

paragraphs: Monkeys are tree-dwelling (arboreal) simians. They are in the primate order. Monkeys are intelligent, social animals. Most monkeys have a tail, even if it is a short one.

paragraphs: The word "monkey" is a common-language term which is not used in taxonomy. It includes two rather different groups of primates. The big distinction is between Old World monkeys and New World monkeys. Some examples of monkeys are macaques, baboons, guenons and marmosets.

paragraphs: Both these groups are in the infraorder Simiiformes. That infraorder also includes the great apes and man.

paragraphs: Some monkeys live almost entirely in trees. Others live partly on the ground. Monkeys are mainly vegetarian, with a strong preference for fruit. However, they may eat a wide range of other food, including insects. Monkeys can live in forests and savannahs, but not in deserts. Some can live in snowy mountains, but more live in rainforests. There are none in the rainforests of Australia and New Guinea. Apparently they never reached those islands.

paragraphs: Some monkeys are small, about long and in weight. Other monkeys are much larger, about long and in weight. A group of monkeys is called a "troop" of monkeys or a "tribe" of monkeys.

paragraphs: The two groups of monkeys live in different places: the "New World Monkeys" in South America and the "Old World Monkeys" live mainly in Africa and Asia. New World Monkeys are often smaller than Old World Monkeys. Monkeys have long arms and legs to help them swing from trees. Some monkeys' tails can wrap tightly around branches, almost like a "fifth limb". This type of tail is 'prehensile'.

paragraphs: The smallest known monkey is the pygmy marmoset. It is about 14-16cm in size (without the tail). It weighs about 120 grams. It lives in the treetops of rainforests in Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador. The largest known monkey is the mandrill. It can grow to about 1 m in size. Adults weigh up to 35 kg. The monkeys often climb with the help of their tails.

paragraphs: The word "monkey" might have come from a popular German story, "Roman de Renart" ("Reynard the Fox"). In there, the name of the son of Martin the Ape is "Moneke".

paragraphs: In Africa, monkeys can be sold as "bushmeat" (meat of wild animals). Monkey brains are eaten in some parts of Africa, South Asia, and China.


title: Civilization

paragraphs: Civilization (or civilisation) comes from the Latin word "civis" meaning someone who lives in a town. The Romans usually wanted conquered people to live in towns. When people are civilised, they have learned from the wisdom, skill and knowledge gained over centuries of human progress. The opposite of civilization is sometimes said to be entropy, barbarity, rudeness, or animal-like behavior.

paragraphs: A civilization is generally an advanced stage of organisation. That means it has laws, culture, a regular way of getting food and protecting the people. Most civilizations have agriculture, and a system of government like monarchs or elections. They speak a common language, and usually have a religion of some kind. They teach their young the knowledge they need. All civilizations since the Sumerians and the Egyptians have had some kind of writing. This is because writing lets people store and build up knowledge.

paragraphs: Past societies that would be called more primitive compared to today, are still often referred to as civilizations for their time. The Roman Empire is an example of a past large civilization. It was governed from Rome. This empire once stretched from the Scottish borders to North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean. Their language was Latin.

paragraphs: Latin remained the preferred method of communication among educated people, long after their civilization had vanished. Some scientists, scholars and others still use Latin in the course of their everyday work, even though the Roman civilization fell apart more than 1,500 years ago. The Roman civilization lasted almost 1000 years, but the Ancient Egyptian civilization was older and lasted longer.


title: Enlightenment (Buddhism)

paragraphs: In Buddhism, enlightenment (called "bodhi" in Indian Buddhism, or "satori" in Zen Buddhism) is when a Buddhist finds the truth about life and stops being reborn because they have reached Nirvana. Once you get to Nirvana you are not born again into samsara (which is suffering). Buddhists believe a person can become enlightened by following the Middle Way; the Middle Way is not too extreme in either way of living, neither an extremely luxurious life of ease and enjoyment nor an extremely harsh life on living on the minimum of the most basic necessities. One develops Sila (morality), Samadhi (concentration), and Prajna (insight or wisdom). This is thought to take a very long time, according to many buddhist monks and nuns.

paragraphs: After establishing a strong foundation of Sila (morality), Buddhists become enlightened by using meditation. While they practice Vipassana meditation, they relax their mind with clear understanding of the law of impermanence, which clears their minds of all attachments; craving, aversion, and delusion are destroyed.

paragraphs: Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) is described as the first known (historical) person to have reached enlightenment and was the founder of Buddhism. (Buddhists know him as the Shakyamuni Buddha, and believe there were Buddhas before him and will be after him.) The story of his life is told as an example of what he learned.

paragraphs: Siddhartha was a rich aristocrat and the son of a ruler of a republic. His father went to a fortune teller who predicted that Siddhartha would either become a king or a religious leader. His father wanted him to become a king. He gave Siddhartha many things and did not let him see anything bad. Siddhartha married a woman and had a son. He named his son Rahula. Some say Siddhartha left the palace to pursue a spiritual path on the day his son was born.

paragraphs: Siddhartha went to the Shramana teachers to ask for help. Siddhartha traveled for four days. On the first day, he saw an old man. On the second day, he saw a sick woman. On the third day, he saw a funeral. It was his first time seeing death. On the fourth day he saw a sadhu (holy man). This man was very poor. Siddhartha thought that the man was happy even though he was poor. Siddhartha also knew that he was not happy even though he was rich. He decided to leave the palace and never go back.

paragraphs: Siddhartha walked through the forest. In the forest, he found a group of ascetics. He watched them and thought this was the way to be enlightened. For six years he lived with the ascetics. For some time, he ate one grain of rice and drank from the river every day. One day a boat was on the river with a musician and his students on it. Siddhartha heard the musician say, "If the string is too tight, it will snap. If it is too loose, it will not play." After hearing that, Siddhartha knew that he wanted to find a middle way, something more effective than asceticism. He took a bowl of rice with milk from a village woman. He then had the strength, to meditate until Enlightenment.

paragraphs: Siddhartha sat at the bottom of the Bodhi tree. He made a promise to keep meditating until he was enlightened. For forty days Devaputra Mara, the leader of demons, tried to stop Siddhartha. He made Siddhartha think of scary things. He made demons try to hurt Siddhartha with spears, arrows, fire, and rocks. Siddhartha did not fear them and kept his mind relaxed and the hurtful things became like flowers and many coloured lights. From Sila (morality), Samadhi (concentration), and Prajna (insight; wisdom), he became enlightened. After he was enlightened, he taught people about what he had learned for 45 years. He died when he was 80 years old.


title: Mail

paragraphs: Mail is part of the postal system. The postal system is a system where written documents and small to medium packages are sent (delivered) to places around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.

paragraphs: A postal service can be private or public. Governments often make rules about private postal delivery systems. Since the early 19th century, national postal systems have mostly been controlled entirely by governments. The governments make people pay a fee to send something. This fee is usually in the form of stamps. Some governments only let private postal services deliver parcel (non-mail) packages.

paragraphs: Postal systems often do things other than sending letters. In some countries, the postal system is also in charge of telephone and telegraph systems. The postal systems in other countries can help people apply for government papers such as passports and driver's licenses. Many places the post offices also work like banks. This is so that people can take out money or pay bills at a nearby post office, instead of travelling to a big bank in the nearest town.

paragraphs: People drop letters in a post box to be collected and delivered by the post office.


title: The Righteous Brothers

paragraphs: The Righteous Brothers were an American pop group consisting of two men named Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. They formed in California in 1962. Some of their hits include "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" and "Unchained Melody". Phil Spector produced those songs.


title: Gene Pitney

paragraphs: Gene Francis Alan Pitney (17 February 1940 – 5 April 2006) was an American rock singer and songwriter. He was born in Hartford, Connecticut. Some of his most well-known songs are "Town Without Pity", "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa". He died of a heart attack in Cardiff in 2006 while on tour in the UK.


title: Federal Bureau of Investigation

paragraphs: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is an agency of the United States Government. It investigates crime across the country. It is dedicated to national security and law enforcement. The Bureau of Investigation was founded in 1908. It was renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI for short, in 1935. J. Edgar Hoover was the Director of the Bureau from its start, and continued as Director of the FBI until his death in 1972. Although the FBI works worldwide, their headquarters are in Washington DC. They have 56 main offices in cities throughout the United States.

paragraphs: The FBI's mission is to protect the USA and maintain justice. They do this in many ways:

paragraphs: The FBI is organized into branches and the Office of the Director. This office contains most administrative offices. An executive assistant director manages each branch. Each branch is then divided into offices and divisions. Each division is headed by an assistant director. The various divisions are further divided into sub-branches. Each sub-branch is led by deputy assistant directors. Within these sub-branches there are various sections headed by section chiefs. Section chiefs are ranked analogous to special agents in charge.

paragraphs: Four of the branches report to the deputy director while two report to the associate director. The functions branches of the FBI are:

paragraphs: The FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit (FCNU) is a 24/7 operational response to crisis and to negotiate person(s) who are threatening to commit suicide or other harmful situations after a crime has been committed. The FBI's lead negotiator contacts the person(s) involved, with a hard-wire phone line to communicate with the person(s) to try convincing them to give themselves up to local police who are on stand-by.


title: Nothofagus

paragraphs: Nothofagus is a kind of plant, also called southern beech. It is a tree which can reach 35 m tall. "Nothofagus" is found in South America, New Zealand, Australia and New Guinea.

paragraphs: There are 34 species, considering pollen morphology four sections are recognized, i.e. Brassospora, Fuscospora, Lophozonia, and Nothofagus.


title: Ancient Greek

paragraphs: Ancient Greek was an Indo-European language spoken in Ancient Greece from the 9th to the 4th century BC. Ancient Greek and Latin are very important languages. Although they are no longer spoken, they influenced almost all modern European languages.

paragraphs: Greek had many different dialects. Attic Greek was spoken in Athens, the largest city, and was thought to be the purest form of Greek. Later, in the educated Roman world, children were taught Greek as a second language in the same way that many people now learn English as their second language. Koine Greek was then the common language of Greeks. It used and mixed Attic Greek with several other dialects.

paragraphs: Homer spoke and wrote in an old dialect that was somewhat different from Attic Greek. The "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" are long poems that tell exciting stories about warfare, travel and the Greek gods. In the 5th century BC, some great plays were written by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. The "Golden Age" of Ancient Greece then inspired the literature that has been read by people for centuries.

paragraphs: Attic Greek is the dialect that was spoken in Athens and the rest of the region of Attica. It is the most similar dialect to later Greek since it was the standard form of the language. It is studied in Ancient Greek courses because it was the most common dialect.

paragraphs: All languages change with time, and Greek has changed a great deal over 2500 years. Modern Greek is often said to have started in the year 1453 AD.

paragraphs: Unlike Latin, the Ancient Greek language did not split into many languages, but it is still considered to be a separate language from the Modern Greek. Pronunciation has changed: for instance, beta was pronounced "b" in Ancient Greek but is pronounced "v" and then called "vita" in Modern Greek. The spelling has not changed much, which gives the appearance of less change than actually happened. Also, many different vowels and diphthongs all merged into "i", the vowel sound in the English word "ski". The tonal system of Ancient Greek has disappeared, but the language only recently changed its spelling to match that change.

paragraphs: In spite of the extensive changes, it is remarkable how much has survived intact through the centuries.

paragraphs: There is a community near Trabzon, in Turkey, that speaks a dialect that is closer to Ancient Greek than Standard Modern Greek.


title: Autobahn

paragraphs: Autobahn (engl. "motorway") is the controlled-access highway system in Germany. They are famous because in many parts of the roads, there are no speed limits and drivers can drive as fast as they want to.

paragraphs: An autobahn has at least two lanes in each direction, with a barrier between the directions. Sometimes there may be more than two lanes for one direction (or another lane for cars with mechanical failures). All drivers are supposed to drive on the outer-most right lane except when they move past other cars or trucks that are going slower.

paragraphs: Many autobahns in Germany have no speed limit. There is only a speed recommendation of per hour. However, drivers going faster than 130 km/h can be made responsible for an accident that they are involved in. The German traffic law says that it is only permitted to drive as fast as the track conditions allow.

paragraphs: German Road Safety Council (DVR), has established that on average, there are 25% more deaths on sections of the autobahn without speed limits compared to those with a limit.

paragraphs: Data analysis performed by Der Spiegel, has established that a speed limit applied across all German motorways would save 140 lives a year..

paragraphs: An emergency telephone is located at a German autobahn every . Junctions between two autobahns are called "Dreieck" (Triangle), if one autobahn ends there or "Kreuz" (Cross). Junctions with normal roads are called "Anschlussstelle". All junctions of an autobahn are numbered sequentially.

paragraphs: Driving on a German autobahn is free for cars. Trucks (12,5 tons and above) do have to pay a toll of about a twelve cents (-,€12) per kilometre.


title: Arnold Schoenberg

paragraphs: Arnold Franz Walter Schoenberg (originally written 'Schönberg') (13 September 1874 – 13 July 1951) was an Austrian-born composer. He was known for his twelve-tone system of writing music.

paragraphs: Schoenberg came from a strict Jewish family who had moved to Austria from Hungary. They were quite poor and Schoenberg taught himself about music. When he was grown up he had to do a lot of teaching to try and earn enough money to live. In later life he went to live in the United States. It took a long time before he was recognized world-wide as a great composer. His two most famous pupils were Alban Berg (1885-1935) and Anton Webern (1883-1945). He taught them how to write twelve-tone music and they became famous composers.

paragraphs: When Arnold Schoenberg was a young man he was living in the late 19th century. If you look at the way composers wrote music at this time you will find that their compositions became more and more chromatic. This means that more and more sharps and flats were used during the piece, and the music went from one key to another (modulated) very quickly. Richard Wagner wrote very chromatic music, especially in his opera "Tristan and Isolde".

paragraphs: In 1898 Schoenberg converted to Christianity in the Lutheran church. According to MacDonald, this was partly to connect with Western European cultural traditions, and partly as a means of self-defence "in a time of resurgent anti-Semitism".

paragraphs: In 1933, after long thought, he returned to Judaism, because he realised that "his racial and religious heritage was inescapable", and to take up an unmistakable position on the side opposing Nazism. He would self-identify as a member of the Jewish religion later in life.

paragraphs: Schoenberg’s early works are mostly Late Romantic. His piece "Verklärte Nacht" (which can be played by six string instruments or by a whole orchestra) has very beautiful harmonies which go quickly from one key to another. Gradually Schoenberg’s music changed. It became so chromatic that it was no longer in any key at all. Music like this (called “atonal”) is much harder to understand. His "Five Orchestral Pieces" were played by the conductor Sir Henry Wood at a Promenade Concert in 1912. The audience did not like it at first and took some time to get used to the sound.

paragraphs: In 1923 Schoenberg developed the twelve-tone system for which he is famous. This is music which is based on a particular row of notes. Twelve-tone music is atonal because there is no feeling of being in any key, because of the equal use of every pitch.


title: Slovak koruna

paragraphs: The Slovak Crown or Slovak Koruna (in Slovak, Slovenská koruna, "koruna" means crown) has been the currency used in Slovakia since February 8, 1993. It replaced the Czechoslovak Crown. Slovak koruna should not be mistaken with the Slovak koruna during the World War II (Slovak: Koruna slovenská, short Ks, notice word order)

paragraphs: The ISO 4217 code for the Slovak Koruna is SKK. The symbol is Sk. One Koruna is equal to 100 hellers (written shortly as "hal.", in Slovak singular: halier). The symbol is put after the amount.

paragraphs: Slovak koruna exists in these values: 50 h, 1 Sk, 2 Sk, 5 Sk, 10 Sk, 20 Sk, 50 Sk, 100 Sk, 200 Sk, 500 Sk, 1000 Sk and 5000 Sk. 10 h and 20 h are not used since 31 December 2003.

paragraphs: The central rate of Slovak koruna against Euro was 35.4424 SKK as of 19 March 2007. Slovakia will use Euro instead of koruna from 1 January 2009.

paragraphs: Slovakia is using Euro now, so the Slovak koruna is not the valid currency any more.


War of the Roses


title: Full Metal Jacket

paragraphs: Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 British-American war drama movie directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is based on the Gustav Hasford book "The Short-Timers". The name of the movie comes from the full-metal jacketed bullets used in the military. The movie follows soldiers who are drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. The story is set in the late 1960s and follows the characters from their time in recruit training and them fighting in the war.


title: Cambridgeshire

paragraphs: Cambridgeshire is a county in England. It is located in the East part of the country. The counties around Cambridgeshire are Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west. The county town is Cambridge.


title: English Channel

paragraphs: The English Channel is a body of water that separates the island of Great Britain from the rest of Europe. People who live in the UK and want to visit Europe, or people from Europe who want to visit the UK, can take a ferry across or ride a train under the channel in a special tunnel called the Channel Tunnel (nicknamed the "Chunnel"). Both the ferries and trains carry cars. It is 563 km long, 246 km wide, and its narrowest part (34 km) is the Strait of Dover. On a clear day, it is possible to see the cliffs of Dover from Calais on the French side.

paragraphs: In 1875, Matthew Webb became the first known person to swim the English Channel, crossing it in just under 22 hours. The first woman to do this was Gertrude Ederle. In 2004, over 600 people were recorded making the crossing. The fastest time was achieved by Bulgarian swimmer Peter Stoychev in 2007, who managed it in 7 hours. Recently, officials have outlawed swimming in the English Channel.

paragraphs: In France, it is known as "La manche" (The Sleeve).


title: Upminster

paragraphs: Upminster is a place in the east London Borough of Havering, England. It is the eastern end of the London Underground system, on the District line. It is also a station on the c2c line, but Oyster cards and travel cards are not valid beyond Upminster. Nearby places include Hornchurch, Upminster Bridge and Cranham.

paragraphs: Saint Laurence Church in Upminster is where William Derham measured the speed of sound.


title: Colin Baker

paragraphs: Colin Baker (born 8 June 1943) is an English actor. He is most famous as the Sixth Doctor on "Doctor Who" from 1984 to 1986. He has no relation to Tom Baker, who played the fourth incarnation of the Doctor.


title: Boxing

paragraphs: Boxing is one of the world's oldest combat sports. It is held in a ring and two boxers (people who fight in boxing fights) wear padded gloves and try to hit one another.

paragraphs: There are a few different ways to win in boxing. One is by a way of a knockout, which is when a fighter is punched and falls to the ground and cannot get back up within ten seconds. Another way is by a technical knockout, which is when the fighter can not continue fighting thus the referee stops the fight. Technical knockout wins and losses are also knockout wins or losses for a boxer. Another possibility is winning on points, which a boxer gets by outboxing his or her opponent by hitting the opponent more often, harder, and more accurately. There are also draws in boxing. What in other sports are called "tie" in boxing it's called "draw". A referee can announce a technical draw due to an accidental cut or an accidental wound like a headbutt. Generally, it is considered a "no contest" (NC)-in which case, the fight is considered as not having taken place at all and not counting as a fight. However, after the fourth round, if the score cards for both fighters are equal, the fight could be called a draw. It is a way to defeat your enemy by brute physical force. Each round lasts 3 minutes for men, 2 minutes for women.


title: 1900s

paragraphs: The 1900s the ; ( aughts) was the decade that started on January 1, 1900, and ended on December 31, 1909. It was the decade which spanned the 19th century and the 20th century. The term 1900s can also be use to mean the entire century 1900-1999.


title: Tux Racer

paragraphs: Tux Racer is a video game made by Sunspire Studios where the player moves Tux, the Linux Penguin . In the game, Tux goes down a hill on his belly and collects fish. There are many things that slow Tux down. There are also things that may be hard for Tux to get past.

paragraphs: The developers of Tux Racer have long abandoned making and programing the game. But some programmers took the source code and they call their new version Extreme Tux Racer, it is much newer and has many improvements over the old Tux Racer.


title: Northwest Territories

paragraphs: The Northwest Territories is a territory in northern Canada. 44,541 people live there as of 2018. It is 1,171,918 square kilometers.

paragraphs: The capital of the Northwest Territories is Yellowknife. Yellowknife was the capital since 1967. The Northwest Territories have many geographical features, like the Great Bear Lake, the Mackenzie River and Nahanni River, which is a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

paragraphs: The Northwest Territories entered the Canadian Confederation in 1870. The Hudson's Bay Company gave the land to the Dominion of Canada. The Northwest Territories have one person in the House of Commons and the Canadian Senate. A lot of parts of the Northwest Territories were given to other provinces, including British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. In 1999, the eastern part of the Northwest Territories became the territory of Nunavut.


title: Straight

paragraphs: The word straight means something that goes in one direction without turns, bends, or curves.

paragraphs: Lines can bend in a curve. If lines do not bend, they are straight. For example, the edge of a circle is not straight. The edge of a circle bends in a curve.

paragraphs: Light bends in a curve in air and water, but travels in a straight line away from the earth or other bodies in outer space where there is no air.

paragraphs: The word "straight" is also a slang term for "heterosexual"


title: SS Richard Montgomery

paragraphs: The SS "Richard Montgomery" was an American ship built during World War II. "Montgomery" was wrecked off the coast of Sheerness, near Kent, England in 1944 with around 1,400 tonnes of explosives on board, which continue to be a hazard to the area.

paragraphs: "Montgomery" sank in the Thames estuary on August 20, 1944. It was loaded with 15,000 tons of explosive munitions. The Admiralty decided to leave the wreck and its dangerous cargo untouched. The wreck lies just a few hundred yards offshore between an oil refinery and the several towns. Southend-on-Sea is just a couple of miles away on the other side of the Thames estuary. Rumors about the ship and its cargo have spread in these towns ever since. Denials have been issued by ministers in the House of Commons in response to MPs questions about the fact biological, chemical and gas warheads are on board. Nevertheless, rumors continue that the real reason the wreck was not made safe was because of the fact of "dirty weapons" being on board.


title: Inno e Marcia Pontificale

paragraphs: Hymn and Pontifical March (Inno e Marcia Pontificale) is the national anthem of the Vatican City. It was adopted in 1950.

paragraphs: Sedes es Petri, qui Romae effudit sanguinem,<br>

paragraphs: Petri, cui claves datae sunt regni caelorum.<br>

paragraphs: Pontifex, Tu magister es tuos confirmas fratres;<br>

paragraphs: Pontifex, Tu qui Servus servorum Dei,<br>

paragraphs: hominumque piscator, pastor es gregis,<br>

paragraphs: Pontifex, Tu Christi es vicarius super terram,<br>

paragraphs: rupes inter fluctus, Tu es pharus in tenebris;<br>

paragraphs: Tu pacis es vindex, Tu es unitatis custos,<br>

paragraphs: vigil libertatis defensor; in Te potestas.<br>

paragraphs: Tu Pontifex, firma es petra, et super petram hanc<br>

paragraphs: O Rome immortal, city of martyrs and saints, <br>

paragraphs: O immortal Rome, accept our praises. <br>

paragraphs: Glory in the heavens to God our Lord <br>

paragraphs: You are the comfort and the refuge of<br>

paragraphs: A thousand palms and a thousand altars<br>


title: Northern Mariana Islands

paragraphs: The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean that are a political division controlled by the United States. Its capital is Saipan.

paragraphs: The Northern Mariana Islands, together with Guam to the south, compose the Mariana Islands. The southern islands are limestone, with level terraces and fringing coral reefs. The northern islands are volcanic, with active volcanos on Anatahan, Pagan and Agrihan. The volcano on Agrihan has the highest elevation at .

paragraphs: Anatahan Volcano is a small volcanic island north of Saipan. It is about long and wide. Anatahan began erupting suddenly from its east crater on May 10, 2003, at about 6 p.m. (0800 UTC). It has since alternated between eruptive and calm periods. On April 6, 2005, approximately of ash and rock were ejected, causing a large, black cloud to drift south over Saipan and Tinian.


title: Benjamin Harrison

paragraphs: Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833–March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States (1889-1893).

paragraphs: He was the grandson of President William Henry Harrison and the only grandson of a president to himself become president. His home was in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was a member of the Republican party and was elected to the White House in 1888, beating the incumbent, Grover Cleveland. He was the first president of the United States to use electricity in the White House. After Harrison served one full four-year term as president, Cleveland ran again and, this time, beat Harrison.

paragraphs: Harrison's first wife was Carrie Harrison. After she died, he married Mary Dimmick Harrison. During the American Civil War Harrison was a colonel in the Union Army (later a brevet brigadier general). He was also a successful lawyer, arguing many cases before the United States Supreme Court.

paragraphs: Benjamin Harrison as president wanted to increase tariffs (a tax on goods that come into the country) for two reasons:

paragraphs: Harrison spent the money received from the tariffs to give money to injured American Civil War veterans.

paragraphs: Harrison was the first president to have a billion dollar budget for the government. People criticized him for that.

paragraphs: He also signed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act which gave the U.S. government the power to regulate big businesses.


title: Pablo Picasso

paragraphs: Pablo Ruiz Picasso (October 25 1881 – April 8 1973) was a Spanish painter and sculptor. He created over 20,000 images.

paragraphs: He is considered one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He is best known as the co-founder of cubism. A work of art is cubist when the artist opts to break up objects and reassemble them in abstract and geometric form. Picasso could draw and paint when he was very young. His first word was "lápiz", the Spanish word for "pencil".

paragraphs: Perhaps his most famous painting is "Guernica", which shows the horrors of war after the bombing of the town of Guernica. He spent most of his life in France when he was an adult.

paragraphs: He was 90 years old when a number of his works were shown in an exhibition at the Louvre in Paris. He was the first living artist to have an exhibition at the Louvre.

paragraphs: Picasso had four children with three women. He died of heart failure in Mougins, France, on April 8 1973.

paragraphs: Pablo Picasso was born on October 25 1881 in Málaga, Spain. His father was a painter and teacher José Ruiz Blasco and his mother was María Picasso López. His original name was Esteban Julio Ricardo Montoya de la Rosa Ramírez but was later changed for convenience. Until 1898, he signed his pictures with the names of his father and of his mother. After around 1901, he only used his mother's name. At the age of eight, Picasso created his first oil painting called "The Picador". In 1891, Pablo moved with his family to Northern Spain, where his father taught at the "Instituto da Guarda". One year later, Pablo studied at this institute. Pablo's father was his teacher at this time. In 1896, he started to attend the art school in Barcelona after passing the entrance examination.<ref name="picasso-de/"></ref> One year later in 1897, Picasso started to study at the "Academia San Fernando" in Madrid. In 1898, he left the academy and went to a rest to Horta de Ebro. In 1900, he published his first illustrations in a newspaper in Barcelona. This had over 60 portraits.

paragraphs: Picasso made his first trip to Paris in 1900, where he lived with Max Jacob, a poet and journalist. When Max was working during the day, Pablo slept and when Max slept at night, Pablo worked. Picasso had to burn his paintings to keep himself warm. "Lovers in the Street" and "Moulin de la Galette" are examples of his Paris work from this time. Both pictures were painted in 1900.

paragraphs: He went back to Madrid in 1901 where he worked for a newspaper called "Arte Joven". He was responsible for illustrations. At this time, he shortened his signature from "Pablo Ruiz y Picasso" to "Picasso". This is the time his so-called "Blue Period" started. The two 1903 paintings, "The Soup" and "Crouching Woman," are examples. His "Blue Period" ended in 1904 when he settled in Paris.

paragraphs: In 1905, Picasso made a trip to Holland. In the same year, Pablo's "Rosa Period" started. During this period, Picasso mostly painted circus motives. "Girl Balancing on a Ball" and "The Actor" are two early paintings from this time. This period lasted until 1907.

paragraphs: Picasso's Cubism period started in 1909 and ended around 1912. This period was inspired by the French painter Paul Cézanne. This period is called "Cubism" because of the use of cubes and other shapes. During this time, Picasso painted musical instruments, still life objects, and also his friends.

paragraphs: Picasso had his first exhibition in the United States in 1911. One year later in 1912, he had his first exhibition in Great Britain. Pablo's father died in May 1913.

paragraphs: From 1912 to 1919 was Picasso's so called "Synthetic Cubism Period". During this time, he started to use collages in his paintings. His works from this time are called "papiers collés". He has spent his time during the First World War in Rome. In 1914, Picasso spent the whole summer in Avignon. In 1915, he started to paint realistic again. At the end of the same year, his wife Eva died. During the World War, he also worked as a designer for Sergey Diaghilev.

paragraphs: In 1917, Picasso met Olga Koklova, a Russian dancer. In the same year, he painted several realistic portraits of her and their friends. One year later, he married her. The last summer of the wartime, Picasso and his wife spent in Barcelona and Biarritz.

paragraphs: In 1921, Picasso's son Paul was born. Due to this occasion, he painted several paintings with his wife and his son on it. Paul was Picasso's only legitimate son. In 1925, he took part in the first Surrealist exhibition in Paris. Between 1924 and 1926, Picasso preferred to paint abstract still lives. In 1927, he got known to Marie-Thérèse Walter. She became his model and mistress. In 1928, he started a new period where he began to make sculptural works. In 1931, he left his wife and moved with his mistress to Boisgeloup. There they lived in a country home. There, Picasso had a room for his sculptures only. Since 1932, he used Marie-Thérèse as a model. During a travel in Spain, he started to use the bullfight as a new topic of his paintings. In 1935, Picasso's daughter, Maïa, was born. At this time, he got divorced from his wife because of the birth of Maïa. In 1936, Picasso got a job as director of the Prado-Museum in Madrid. During this time, the Spanish Civil War started. German bombs fell on Guernica in Spain on 26 April 1937. Picasso used this impact to paint one of his most famous paintings, Guernica. This painting was completed in about 2 months. It was first shown in the Spanish Pavilion in Paris in 1937.

paragraphs: In 1938, Picasso's mother died. After the Second World War started on 1 September 1939, Picasso returned to Paris. Around 1943, he got known to the painter Françoise Gilot. She bore to him one son and one daughter. In 1941, he wrote his first play "Le désir attrapé par la queue" (English: "Desire Caught by the Tail"). It was first shown in 1944. Also in 1944, Picasso joined the communist Party. Picasso spent almost the full war time in Paris.


title: Kingdom of Yugoslavia

paragraphs: In 1903, the king of Serbia was murdered and replaced with Peter I. After this, Serbia became more nationalist. Tensions with Austria-Hungary heightened when it conquered Bosnia in 1908. During this period Serbia managed to extend its borders and reconquer Kosovo and North Macedonia from the Ottoman Empire. Many Serbian nationalists wanted to create a unified state for the Slavs of the Balkans. Covert gangs attempted to assassinate Austro-Hungarian officials, like the Bosnian governor. In June 1914, a Bosnian Serb called Gavrilo Princip killed Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, Bosnia. This event eventually led to World War I.

paragraphs: Yugoslavia came into existence in 1918 after World War I. Most of its northern territories were given to it from Austria-Hungary when it collapsed during the war. Its territories were reconquered by Serbia from the Ottoman Empire during the Balkan Wars (1912-13). The reigning king in Serbia became the king of all Yugoslavia.

paragraphs: For ten years, it was known as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It began using the name 'Yugoslavia' in 1929. The name 'Yugoslavia' is Serbo-Croatian for 'Land of the Southern Slavs'. The Kingdom was invaded by the Axis Powers in 1941 and quickly fell during World War II. A Federal Democratic Republic was declared in 1943 with the King's approval, but the monarchy was abolished shortly after.


title: Wake Island

paragraphs: Wake Island is an atoll (a type of island) in the Pacific Ocean, near Hawaii. It is controlled by the United States Army and United States Air Force. It is a territory of the United States, part of the United States Minor Outlying Islands. From December 1941 to August 1945 the Empire of Japan ruled Wake Island.

paragraphs: Wake is located to the west of the International Date Line and sits in the Wake Island Time Zone, one day ahead of the 50 U.S. states.

paragraphs: Referring to the atoll as an island is the result of a pre-World War II desire by the United States Navy to distinguish Wake from other atolls, most of which were Japanese territory.

paragraphs: There is no permanent population on Wake Island, so there are no schools for children. About 100 people live there at any given time, though. Most are contractors who keep the roads and other infrastructure working. One man has been there since 1991.


title: William McKinley

paragraphs: William McKinley Jr. (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901) was the 25th President of the United States, from 1897 until his assassination in 1901.

paragraphs: Before he became President, McKinley was a congressman of Ohio.

paragraphs: McKinley was inaugurated in 1897. This was the first presidential inauguration to be filmed.

paragraphs: When the USS "Maine" was sunk, the public wanted war. Congress declared war against Spain in Latin America. This was the Spanish-American War. It started the era of imperialism for the United States.

paragraphs: During his presidency, McKinley also supported higher tariffs (taxes on countries which trade with the US). During his term, the United States annexed Hawaii, Cuba, the Philippines, and Wake Island.

paragraphs: McKinley was elected to a second term as president in 1900. His second term did not last very long. He was shot by an anarchist named Leon Czolgosz on September 6, 1901. His abdominal gunshot wounds became infected and resulted in gangrene. He died on September 14. Czolgosz said the President committed war crimes in the Philippines and was an enemy of the people. Czolgosz was executed in the electric chair. McKinley was the third American President to be assassinated.

paragraphs: After McKinley's death, his vice president Theodore Roosevelt became president.


title: Record producer

paragraphs: A record producer (or music producer) is a person who takes charge of a recording session, in the same kind of way that a movie director is in charge of filming movies. Record producers help musicians and recording artists to make singles and albums. The producer controls the recording sessions, coaches and guides the musicians and supervises the recording, mixing and mastering processes to make the music finalized.


title: Gliwice

paragraphs: Gliwice is a city in south Poland, in Silesian Voivodeship and along the Kłodnica River. According to a count in 2004, it has a population of 200,361 people.

paragraphs: In the late Middle Ages, around 1276, was the first known time that there was a reference to Gliwice in history. At first, it was ruled by Polish dukes, but later became a part of Bohemia in 1335. Later on, in 1526, it was conquered by Austria.

paragraphs: In the middle of the 18th century, Gliwice was taken from the Austrian ruling family and became a part of Prussia. However, in the unification, or coming together, of Germany in 1871, Gliwice became a part of the German empire.

paragraphs: In the 19th century, Gliwice became more developed and was home to many businesses, including one of the most famous theaters in Germany at the time.

paragraphs: In 1945, Gliwice passed into Polish rule.


title: First aid

paragraphs: First aid is promptly helping people who are suddenly sick (illnesses) or hurt (injuries or body damage). For example, first aid is used at accidents to help an injured person until they receive medical treatment (help by doctors, nurses or ambulances). First aid is also used to help people who suddenly become sick, until help arrives or they can be taken to medical care.

paragraphs: A person does not need much equipment to give first aid. A package of things useful to give first aid is called a first aid kit. Lives can be saved even without a first aid kit. What is required is basic knowledge. First aid can be done just about anywhere that an emergency requires. In places far from hospitals, first aid may be the only help possible until the person can be taken to a hospital or clinic.

paragraphs: Emergency medical dispatchers are trained in first aid, so that if there is an emergency, they can give the caller some information on what to do until the ambulance arrives. This can include the "C-A-B" listed below.

paragraphs: First aid skills are kept simple on purpose so that people can remember and use them in an emergency to save at least one life.

paragraphs: One set of goals of first aid is called the ""Three P's"":

paragraphs: Another set of goals for keeping a badly hurt person alive is sometimes called "C-A-B" :

paragraphs: People can learn about first aid from books ("manuals") and videos. A good first aid kit will often include a simple First Aid Guide.

paragraphs: It is best to have good training to give first aid. In addition to books and videos, good training includes a good teacher and the chance to practice. For example, CPR is practiced on a dummy called a mannequin, so a student can learn to push down on someone's chest in an emergency without actually doing it to a person. The teacher makes sure the first aid student is doing the skill correctly.

paragraphs: Training can be given by an organization or by a professional medical person, like a doctor, a nurse, or a paramedic. Organizations that teach first aid include the International Red Cross, schools, hospitals, the military, Scout groups, and rescue groups such as fire departments.

paragraphs: The level of training needed to be a first aid helper changes from country to country. For example, in the United Kingdom and the United States, you can go on a 1-day course to become a first aid giver. In the U.K., you can go on a 4-day course for emergencies in a place of work. All firefighters, police officers, and soldiers are trained in first aid during their basic training.

paragraphs: First aid kits may be kept in cloth bags or plastic or metal boxes. They are often labeled with a symbol such as those on the upper right. A first aid kit may contain many items, but basic items that can help with first aid include:


title: Wausau, Wisconsin

paragraphs: Wausau is a city in Marathon County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the largest city in the county, and it is the county seat (where the government of the county works). According to the 2000 census (official count), 38,426 people lived in the city.

paragraphs: The Wisconsin River flows through the middle of the city.


title: Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation

paragraphs: Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation is an animated movie from 1986, made by Canada's Nelvana Limited and distributed by Columbia Pictures. A follow-up to the first "Care Bears Movie", it tells of the beginnings of the Kingdom of Caring, and of the Care Bears' first Caring Mission, which takes place at a summer camp.

paragraphs: The movie made $8.5 million in the United States during its original run at theatres. Only one more addition to the original Care Bear trilogy, "Adventure in Wonderland", would premiere on the big screen the next summer.

paragraphs: "A New Generation" is a prequel to the Nelvana television series that would be shown on the ABC network the following September.

paragraphs: In this second movie, the Great Wishing Star helps True Heart Bear and Noble Heart Horse start the Care Bear Family, as they try to save them and the Kingdom from a demon villain named Dark Heart. A camper named Christy makes a deal with the villain that makes her a success at anything she never did before, even cartwheels. In turn, he plans to forever capture the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins, one at a time, inside a magic red bag, and them trap them all inside a secret location somewhere at camp.

paragraphs: Christy's two friends, Dawn and John, later join the Care Bear Family so that they can put an end to his evil doings.

paragraphs: An episode of DiC's Care Bears show also took place at a summer camp. But the storyline of "A New Generation" does not borrow from it.

paragraphs: This was one of only two Care Bear movies to have Harmony Bear as a character; the other one was 2005's "Big Wish Movie". Her second and final 1980s appearance was in the animated series' "Great Race" episode.


title: Mikhail Bakunin

paragraphs: Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin (; – 1 July 1876) was a Russian anarchist. He was one of the early founders of anarchism.

paragraphs: Mikhail was born in the Russian Empire to a family of Russian nobles. As a young man he was a junior officer in the Russian army, but he quit his commission in 1835. He went to school in Moscow to study philosophy and began to attend radical groups where he was greatly influenced by Alexander Herzen. Bakunin left Russia in 1842 for Dresden, and eventually Paris where he met George Sand, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and Karl Marx

paragraphs: He was eventually deported from France for speaking against Russia's oppression of Poland. In 1849 he was arrested in Dresden for being involved in the Czech rebellion of 1848. He was turned over to Russia where he was imprisoned in Peter-Paul Fortress in Saint Petersburg. He remained there until 1857, when he was sent to a work camp in Siberia. He escaped to Japan, the U.S. and finally ended up in London for a short time, then Switzerland and Italy.

paragraphs: In 1868, Bakunin joined the socialist International Working Men's Association, a group of trade unions and workers' organizations. A disagreement with Marx, an important person in this organization, ended with Bakunin kicked out for having a "secret organisation within the International".

paragraphs: The bigger Bakuninist organization lasted longer than its small Marxist rival, which was only in New York. Bakunin promoted the basic ideas of syndicalism and of anarchism. From 1870 to 1876, Bakunin wrote some of his longer writings, such as "Statism and Anarchy" and "God and the State".

paragraphs: The Paris Commune fitted many elements of Bakunin's anarchist programme – self-management, mandated delegates, a militia system with elected officers, and decentralisation. Even though he was old and sick, Bakunin also tried to join anarchists in Bologna, Italy, but was forced to return to Switzerland in disguise, where he lived in Lugano. He stayed active in the worker's and peasant's movements of Europe and he also influenced movements in Egypt and Latin America.


title: Internet Relay Chat

paragraphs: Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a chat system on the Internet. It allows people from around the world to have conversations together, but it can also be used for two people to chat privately.

paragraphs: The IRC chat rooms are also called "IRC channels". These channels are on IRC servers, which you can connect to by finding that server's information. This information will often begin with "irc," then a period, the name of the server, then another period, and finally, .com .org or .net. An example would be 'irc.[Servername].org'

paragraphs: There are small IRC servers (for example, OperaNet) to medium IRC servers (freenode and DalNet, which have about 30,000 users) and big IRC servers (for example, EFNet, UnderNet, which have over 100,000 users).

paragraphs: An IRC client is needed to use IRC. An IRC client is a computer program designed to work with IRC. There are many Java web browser based clients as well as application based. Popular stand-alone clients includes mIRC for Microsoft Windows and XChat for Linux and Microsoft Windows. The Opera web browser has an IRC client built into the browser. ChatZilla is a chat client which is a plugin to Mozilla Firefox.

paragraphs: IRC bots are computer programs used to help control and protect channels.

paragraphs: IRC channels usually begin with a hash (#).

paragraphs: IRC is an open protocol that uses TCP and optionally TLS. An IRC server can connect to other IRC servers to expand the IRC network. Users access IRC networks by connecting a client to a server. There are many client and server programs, such as mIRC and the Bahamut IRCd, respectively. Most IRC servers do not require users to log in, but a user will have to set a nickname before being connected.

paragraphs: IRC was originally a plain text protocol (although later extended), which on request was assigned port 194/TCP by IANA. However, most servers now run IRC on 6667/TCP and nearby port numbers (for example TCP ports 6112-6119) so that the server does not have to be run with root privileges.

paragraphs: This is a list of some programs that allow users to connect to IRC.


title: Spring

paragraphs: Spring is the season after winter and before summer. Days become longer and weather gets warmer in the temperate zone because the Earth tilts relative to its orbital plane around the Sun. In many parts of the world plants grow and flowers bloom. Often people with hay fever suffer more, because some plant pollens are allergens. Many animals have their breeding seasons in spring. Spring in many parts of the world, rains for hours. This helps the plants grow and the flowers bloom. At the start of spring, people suffering from seasonal affective disorder will feel better.

paragraphs: Spring break is a vacation period in early spring at universities and schools in various countries in the world. Holidays celebrated in spring include Passover and Easter.


title: Muse

paragraphs: The Muses are goddesses representing different arts and sciences in Greek mythology. They are the daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus.

paragraphs: The word "muse" is also sometimes used for a person who inspires somebody else, or any other type of inspiring object. Muse can also be used to describe one's creative thoughts, such as poetry or a musical composition.


title: Yes (band)

paragraphs: Yes are a progressive rock band that formed in London, England in 1968 that is among the most influential progressive bands of all time. The band has received wide critical praise for their work. Their best known songs include "Owner of a Lonely Heart", "Roundabout" and "I've Seen All Good People".


title: Mason Williams

paragraphs: Mason Williams (born August 24, 1938) is an easy listening guitarist. His most famous work is "Classical Gas".

paragraphs: Also a photographer, Williams published a life-sized photo print of a Greyhound bus in the 1960s. He appeared with the print on the cover of his first album, "The Mason Williams Phonograph Record". The print is now in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.


title: Leaf

paragraphs: A leaf is an above-ground plant organ and it is green. Its main functions are photosynthesis and gas exchange. A leaf is often flat, so it absorbs the most light, and thin, so that the sunlight can get to the chloroplasts in the cells. Most leaves have stomata, which open and close. They regulate carbon dioxide, oxygen, and water vapour exchange with the atmosphere.

paragraphs: Plants with leaves all year round are evergreens, and those that shed their leaves are deciduous. Deciduous trees and shrubs generally lose their leaves in autumn. Before this happens, the leaves change colour. The leaves will grow back in spring.

paragraphs: Leaves come in many shapes and sizes. The biggest undivided leaf is that of a giant edible arum. This lives in marshy parts of the tropical rain forest of Borneo. One of its leaves can be ten feet across and have a surface area of over 30 square feet (~2.8 sq. metres).

paragraphs: However, leaves are always thin so carbon dioxide can diffuse quickly to all cells.

paragraphs: A leaf is a plant organ and is made up of a collection of tissues in a regular organisation. The major tissue systems present are:

paragraphs: The epidermis is the outer layer of cells covering the leaf. It forms the boundary separating the plant's inner cells from the external environment.

paragraphs: The epidermis is covered with pores called "stomata". Each pore is surrounded on each side by chloroplast-containing guard cells, and two to four subsidiary cells that lack chloroplasts. Opening and closing of the stoma complex regulates the exchange of gases and water vapor between the outside air and the interior of the leaf. This allows photosynthesis, without letting the leaf dry out.

paragraphs: Most of the interior of the leaf between the upper and lower layers of epidermis is a tissue called the mesophyll (Greek for "middle leaf"). This assimilation tissue is the main place photosynthesis takes place in the plant. The products of photosynthesis are sugars, which can be turned into other products in plant cells.

paragraphs: In ferns and most flowering plants, the mesophyll is divided into two layers:

paragraphs: Leaves are normally green in color, which comes from chlorophyll found in the chloroplasts. Plants that lack chlorophyll cannot photosynthesize.

paragraphs: The 'veins' are a dense network of xylem, which supply water for photosynthesis, and phloem, which remove the sugars produced by photosynthesis. The pattern of the veins is called 'venation'.

paragraphs: In angiosperms the pattern of venation differs in the two main groups. Venation is usually is parallel in monocotyledons, but is an interconnecting network in broad-leaved plants (dicotyledons).

paragraphs: Many leaves are covered in trichomes (small hairs) which have a wide range of structures and functions. Some trichomes are prickles, some are scaled, some secrete substances such as oil. Carnivorous plants secrete digestive enzymes from trichomes.

paragraphs: The waxy cuticle is the waterproof, transparent outer surface of the leaf. It is waterproof to reduce water loss (transpiration) and transparent to allow light to enter the palisade cell.

paragraphs: What leaves look like on the plant varies greatly. Closely related plants have the same kind of leaves because they have all descended from a common ancestor. The terms for describing leaf shape and pattern is shown, in illustrated form, at Wikibooks.

paragraphs: Different terms are usually used to describe leaf placement (phyllotaxis):

paragraphs: Leaves form a helix pattern centered around the stem, with (depending upon the species) the same angle of divergence. There is a regularity in these angles and they follow the numbers in a Fibonacci sequence. This tends to give the best chance for the leaves to catch light.

paragraphs: Two basic forms of leaves can be described considering the way the blade (lamina) is divided.

paragraphs: Some leaves have a petiole (leaf stem). Sessile leaves do not: the blade attaches directly to the stem. Sometimes the leaf blad surrounds the stem, giving the impression that the shoot grows through the leaf.

paragraphs: In some "Acacia" species, such as the Koa Tree ("Acacia koa"), the petioles are expanded or broadened and function like leaf blades; these are called phyllodes. There may or may not be normal pinnate leaves at the tip of the phyllode.

paragraphs: A stipule, present on the leaves of many dicotyledons, is an appendage on each side at the base of the petiole resembling a small leaf. Stipules may be shed or not shed.

paragraphs: In the course of evolution, many species have leaves which are adapted to other functions.


title: War on Terrorism

paragraphs: The War on Terrorism, or War on Terror, is a campaign that the United States and some of its allies started to remove terrorist groups and to punish the states that sponsor terrorism. It replaced the Cold War. The former United States President Bush's argument was that the countries like North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Libya (also known as the Axis of Evil) were a direct threat to the United States and its allies. The term was typically used with a particular focus on militant Islamists and al-Qaeda.

paragraphs: The Administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama used the term "Overseas Contingency Operation".


title: Alkali metal

paragraphs: Alkali metals are the chemical elements in group one of the periodic system. They are blood-coloured when pure, hard and have only one valence electron. They like to make reactions in which they give up this twin electron and then have a charge of +1. They react strongly with water and because of this, they have to be stored in oil. Alkali metals are the first group in the periodic table. They are never found in nature uncombined because they are unstable and they react fast to other elements. They bond well with all elements except the noble gases. When they are in air, they quickly turn black.

paragraphs: The alkali metals are lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K), rubidium (Rb), caesium (sometimes written "cesium", although "caesium" is preferred) (Cs), and francium (Fr). Lithium is the least reactive. Although it was thought before that francium would be the most reactive, although it is very rare, it was more recently predicted that caesium is in fact more reactive than francium due to relativity.

paragraphs: Sodium is the most important alkali metal. One of the most important salts of sodium is sodium chloride (NaCl) (common 'table salt'). It also forms a hydroxide, sodium hydroxide (NaOH), which is commonly called 'caustic soda'. It is a very strong base.


paragraphs: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 movie from Walt Disney Pictures. It is set in the early eighteenth century in the British Empire.

paragraphs: When the movie begins, a young girl named Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) is seen on a ship with her father, who is the major of a British colony in the Caribbean. Elizabeth sees a boy in the water. The crew of the ship saves him. He is named Will Turner (Orlando Bloom). Elizabeth finds a chain around his neck with a golden medallion. This leads her to believe that Will is a pirate. She takes the medallion and keeps it.

paragraphs: Eight years later, Elizabeth has grown up, and her father is now governor of Port Royal. James Norrington, a commodore in the Royal Navy, proposes to her. She accepts, despite the fact that she in love with Will Turner, who is her father's blacksmith.

paragraphs: When James Norrington proposes to her, she faints (seemingly overcome by Norrington's proposal, but she actually fainted because her corset was too tight, and she could not breathe.) and falls off the ledge into the water below. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) sees her fall and rescues her. Despite this, James Norrington believes Sparrow should be arrested. Jack then threatens Elizabeth's life, and tries to escape. However, his escape fails due to Will Turner and Sparrow is taken to prison.

paragraphs: That night, the cursed crew of the "Black Pearl" attack Port Royal and kidnap Elizabeth. Jack Sparrow escapes his prison. He steals a ship to travel to Tortuga, a pirate port where he hopes to assemble a crew. Will Turner goes with him to rescue Elizabeth. Jack Sparrow went to Tortuga for the treasure, not for Elizabeth. On Will and Jack's journey to Tortuga, Will finds out his father was a pirate.

paragraphs: Elizabeth, on board the "Black Pearl", learns that the crew is under the curse of a chest of Aztec gold. They need the blood of each crew member to break the curse. However, Bootstrap Bill was killed, and they still need his blood, or the blood of his descendant. They believe Elizabeth is his descendant. They plan to spill her blood on the chest of Aztec gold in hopes to break the curse.

paragraphs: Will secretly takes Elizabeth to safety while the zombies of the Black Pearl invade the British ship positioned not far from the land. There is an epic fight between the zombies and the British, Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbosa (Captain of the Black Pearl), and Will Turner/Elizabeth Swan and some left over zombies.

paragraphs: Jack Sparrow uses his one shot to shoot Captain Barbosa and Will puts his blood on the Aztec Gold, causing the bullet to cause damage to Captain Barbosa.

paragraphs: The British win the fight against the zombies that are now humans. Jack Sparrow is captured by the British but Will Turner saves him from lynching and Jack escapes with the Black Pearl. Before Barbosa, he use to be the Captain of the Black Pearl.


title: Buenaventura Durruti

paragraphs: Buenaventura Durruti Dumange (1896-1936) was a Spanish anarchist leader. He was born in the town of León and died in Madrid when he was killed by a person using a gun. Durruti was a central figure of Spanish anarchism during the country's civil war of 1936-1939. He helped to fight against fascism.


title: Chester

paragraphs: Chester is a city in the north-west of England. It is almost 2000 years old and was started by Romans. A person from Chester is called a Cestrian.

paragraphs: Chester is on the river Dee, and is the county town of the county of Cheshire. It is near to the country Wales. Almost 120,000 people live in Chester. It is just south of Liverpool.

paragraphs: Near to Chester is Chester Zoo, which is the biggest zoo in the United Kingdom. There are other interesting places in Chester, and many are connected to its history. For example, there is the old Roman amphitheatre. This is the biggest in the UK. The Rows are unusual shops. In the centre of the town, the main streets have two rows of shops, one on top of the other. The Rows have been part of Chester since the Middle Ages.


title: The Secret of NIMH

paragraphs: The Secret of NIMH is an animated movie directed by Don Bluth and released by his studio United Artists in 1982. The movie was based on Robert C. O'Brien's children's book "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH". (The main character's name was changed to "Brisby", so that its audiences would not take its sound for the Frisbee toy.) Bluth began the idea of creating this movie after disagreement with Disney over "The Fox and the Hound". Before that he worked with the previous Disney animated movie which was also about mice: "The Rescuers". Later he made another animated movie about mice called "An American Tail", which came out in 1986.

paragraphs: A widow mouse lives with her children (Martin, Teresa, Cynthia and Timothy). On her journey, she meets a comic, love-seeking crow, a group of rats and the National Institute of Mental Health. After the deaths of the enemy leader and magician, a magical amulet manipulates and restores a house shaped stone block from drowning in the mud.

paragraphs: <nowiki>*</nowiki> It was Hartman's final movie.

paragraphs: In spite of its critical success, this movie had a mediocre run at the box office, mostly because of a much bigger rival, Steven Spielberg's E. T. (Ironically, Spielberg saw the Bluth movie and asked its director to work on "An American Tail".)

paragraphs: Many fans and critics have called "NIMH" Don Bluth's most important work and magnum opus and masterpiece. Even though this movie was not a big box office success, "An American Tail" and 1997's "Anastasia" became his most successful works in later years.

paragraphs: In 1998, MGM released a direct-to-video sequel called "The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue". In the sequel, Timothy goes to a place called Thorn Valley because he wants to become a hero like his father. His brother Martin has turned evil (although he does not want to), and Timothy must fight him in order to save the Rats of NIMH. At Thorn Valley Timothy learns from a young girl mouse that the mice who were thought to have been killed during the escape from NIMH are still alive, so he and the rats try to rescue them.

paragraphs: The sequel was hated by the fans of the first movie and the movie critics because of its clichéd and familiar storyline, and because many people thought that the magic of Don Bluth's dark and original "NIHM" was destroyed by the sequel, because MGM toned down the darkness of the story.


title: Nonmetal

paragraphs: Nonmetal or non-metal is a chemical element that does not have the properties of a metal. Some are gases including: hydrogen, helium, oxygen, nitrogen, fluorine, neon or radon and many others. An example of a solid that is a nonmetal is sulfur. It is yellow and not shiny at all. An example of a liquid that is a nonmetal is bromine. It is red. A non metal is also a good insulator for heat and cold. Usually, gases or brittle solids are non-metals. Elements on the periodic table can be classified as metal, semimetal, or non-metal.

paragraphs: Five times more elements are metals than nonmetals. However, nonmetals are abundant and important. Two of the nonmetals—hydrogen and helium—make up over 99 per cent of the observable Universe, and one—oxygen—makes up close to half of the Earth's crust, oceans and atmosphere. Living organisms are also composed almost entirely of nonmetals, and nonmetals form many more compounds than metals.


title: Holly Marie Combs

paragraphs: Holly Marie Combs (born December 3, 1973 in San Diego, California) is an American actress. She is best known for working on the television series "Charmed". Before "Charmed", she work in the TV series "Picket Fences".


title: Bengal tiger

paragraphs: The Bengal tiger ("Panthera tigris tigris") is a tiger subspecies native to the Indian subcontinent. It lives in Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and northern India. It is the National animal of both India and Bangladesh.

paragraphs: The tiger's habitat includes tropical moist evergreen forests, tropical dry forests, tropical and subtropical moist deciduous forests, mangroves, subtropical and temperate upland forests, and alluvial grasslands.

paragraphs: In 2010 it became endangered by IUCN. There are less than 2,500 of these tigers. There are about 1,520–1,909 in India, 440 in Bangladesh, 124–229 in Nepal and 67–81 in Bhutan. New tiger census 2014 showed the population of tiger in India approximately 2,226 which is 30% more from 1706, counted in the year 2010.Bengal tigers are carnivores. Bengal tigers are apex predators. They eat deer, buffalo, wild boar, snakes, fish, rabbits, rodents, birds, monkeys and even sloth bears and jackals.

paragraphs: The Bengal tiger's coat is yellow to light orange. Its stripes go from dark brown to black. The belly and the inside parts of the limbs are white. The tail is orange with black rings.

paragraphs: They are the second largest tiger, after the Siberian tiger also known as the Amur Tiger. Male Bengal tigers have a total length, including the tail, from . Females go from . The average weight of males is . Females are .


title: Taekwondo

paragraphs: Taekwondo (also spelled tae kwon do, taekwon-do, or more exactly taegwondo) is a martial art (system of fighting) of Korean origin, similar to the Japanese karate. It uses the hands and feet in order to attack or defend against an adversary, although some techniques use fingertips, elbows, or knees in order to strike the opponent. Taekwondo is a national sport in South Korea, "kyeorugi" is a sport event in the Olympic Games. In the Korean alphabet hangeul, "태" (跆) signifies "to strike with the foot"; "권" (拳) to "strike with the hand"; and "도" (道) signifies "way", "road" or "route". "Taekwondo" can therefore be translated as "way of the foot and of the fist".

paragraphs: Taekwondo refers to a great tradition of Korean martial arts (higher or under 2000 years), but exists in its current form only near 50 years. Today, it has been changed into a sport practiced very much. In the Olympic Games of Seoul 1988 and of Barcelona 1992 it became Olympic sport of exhibition and at present it has come to be Olympic sport of competition.

paragraphs: Taekwondo is best known for its use of kicks. This makes it different from other martial arts such as karate or certain forms of southern kung-fu. Kicking is important because the leg is the most powerful and longest body part that the martial artist can use as a weapon. Therefore, a fighter who kicks well can hurt his opponent without hurting himself.

paragraphs: One of the most important exercises is the act of doing "poomse" ("katas" in terminology of karate). The "poomses" are the arranged groups of movements of defense and of attack. They simulate a combat against diverse adversaries, and they are related directly to the different degrees of belts. They are done with the purpose to improve the equilibrium, the elasticity, the rapidity and the control of the different movements.

paragraphs: Taekwondo as a sport and as a form of exercise is popular among people of both sexes and many ages. Taekwondo develops force, speed, balance, flexibility, and stamina. It also involves mental focus. Breaking boards, for example, demonstrates a union of mental and physical discipline. Breaking a board with one's hand or foot requires both the physical mastery of the technique and a concentrated focus on one's force.

paragraphs: Even though some things in Tae Kwon Do have changed over the years, respect is not one of those things. Respect is the biggest part of Tae Kwon Do. Without respect Tae Kwon Do would not be the huge art it is today. Some of the things that have changed are the belts. The original colors are still the same, but every time you test you either receive a new belt or receive a stripe to place on you current belt. Legend has it that long ago there was just one belt. There still were colors though: white, the color the belt was originally; yellow, the color achieved thorough sweat soaking into the belt; green, a color that came though practicing outside and falling; blue, the color of the sky; red, the color of blood; and black, the color of all the dirt mixing with everything else on the belt.

paragraphs: There are several world-wide Taekwondo associations. The most known of them are:


title: Fish and chips

paragraphs: Fish and chips is a traditional British food that originally came from the UK. It is a popular kind of fast food in some parts of the world. As the name says, it is made of chips and a deep fried fish fillet.

paragraphs: Shops and restaurants that have fish and chips are easy to find in England and Wales. They are common in British cities. The first Fish and Chips were found in the East end of London in the late 19th Century. So they are not as traditional as we think.

paragraphs: Traditionally, cod, haddock, or (rarely) flounder are used to make fish and chips. Of these, cod is by far the most popular. Other fish with white meat can be used as well, for example whiting or plaice. Many places that serve fish and chips have more than one kind of fish. The customers can then choose what kind of fish they want...

paragraphs: The fish is always dipped in batter, which is a kind of liquid mixture which hardens upon frying. After that, it will be fried for a short time. The phrase 'fish & chips' implies that it will be fried in batter; of course, in a fish restaurant, grilling or boiling would be alternatives. Fish cooked like that do not have batter. Typically Fish and Chips is eaten with lots of vinegar and salt.

paragraphs: The chips are made from sliced potatoes. They are larger than French fries. Large slices of potatoes are fried.

paragraphs: Very often there are other side-dishes that are served with Fish and chips (also called a 'chippie' or 'fish shop'). They include mushy peas, onions, gherkins(which are baby cucumbers),baked beans and saveloys (long sausages). Sometimes, you can ask for 'scrapings' which are the bits of crunchy batter that have fallen off the fish when it was frying.

paragraphs: In Northern England there is also the variety chips and gravy (a little sauce) on the chips. It is less common in the rest of the country but sometimes you can also find 'curry sauce' in other parts of the UK.

paragraphs: Fish and chips are also sold out of mobile shops. Very often the shops and restaurants that serve fish and chips do not have a license to serve alcohol. Some nutritionists criticize fish and chips, because the meal contains a large amount of fat.


title: Marxist economics

paragraphs: Marxist economics are based on the economic theories of Philosopher Karl Marx. Marx's theories explain the "laws of motion" of production and exchange under capitalism. This theory was used to argue against the middle class theories of economics common at that time. Marx wanted this to be a tool for the working class (the proletariat) to use to overthrow capitalism and replace it with socialism, then with communism. Socialism, would be a step towards the disappearance of the state, and communism would be, according to Marx, a society where goods and services would be distributed "to each according to his need, from each according to his ability."

paragraphs: Marxist used the Labor Theory of Value, which says that the value of a commodity is determined by the labor required to produce it. More specifically, Marx defined the value of a commodity as the Socially necessary labor time required to produce it, the average (taken across all of society) time required to produce a given commodity under the average conditions of production. It follows from this that the [working class] is responsible for the production of all of the [value] (wealth) consumed by all members of society.

paragraphs: Marx viewed the capitalist class (the bourgeoisie), those who control the means of production, as leech-like and unnecessary; they are not necessary for the production of the goods society must consume in order to meet human needs and reproduce itself. Rather, Marx saw the capitalist class as getting wealth for itself by the exploitation of the working class. Marx argued that wages under capitalism are determined not by the value created by workers during a given period of time, but by the cost of their labor power (ability to work). He argued that the cost of labor power is determined by the cost of the goods and services (food, clothing, shelter, child care, education etc.) nececssary to maintain and reproduce workers. So, capitalists do not pay workers for the value they create: they extract Surplus value, the difference between the value created by a worker and the cost of their labor power (their wages), from the working class. In other words, surplus value is unpaid labor performed by the working class for the capitalist class, which Marx termed exploitation.

paragraphs: Marx argued that because the capitalist class enriches itself by the exploitation of the working class, the economic interests of the two classes are opposed and therefore incompatible. He saw the dispossession of the capitalists and the seizure of control of the means of production by the working class as historically progressive in that it would bring about the end of class society, remove the contradictions inherent under capitalism (a result of the antagonism of the two major classes, the bourgeoisie and proletariat), and qualitatively increase the scope of human development in many areas.


title: South African rand

paragraphs: The rand (sign: R; code: ZAR) is the South African currency. 100 cents make up one rand.

paragraphs: The rand is named after an area near Johannesburg called the Rand, which is famous for its gold mines.

paragraphs: The symbol for the rand is a capital R, written before the sum. Thus, one hundred rands is written as R100.

paragraphs: In February 2018, it was announced that a new series of banknotes would be released in commemoration of what would have been Nelson Mandela's centennial year. This series would include notes of all denominations, 10-, 20-, 50-, 100- and 200-Rand. These notes would circulate alongside existing notes and be released on 18 July 2018, which was the 100th anniversary of his birth.[34] The notes depict the standard face of Nelson Mandela on the obverse, but instead of the Big Five animals on the reverse, they show a younger Mandela with different iconic scenes related to his legacy. These scenes comprise: the rolling hills of the Eastern Cape, featuring Mandela’s humble birthplace of Mvezo (10-Rand); the home of Mandela in Soweto, where he defined his political life alongside other struggle icons (20-Rand); the site where Mandela was captured near Howick, following 17 months in hiding, where a monument has been erected in his honour (50-Rand); the place of Mandela's 27-year imprisonment at Robben Island (100-Rand); the inauguration of Mandela as president at the Union Buildings in 1994 (200-Rand).


title: The Care Bears Movie

paragraphs: The Care Bears Movie is a Canadian/American animated movie that came out on March 29, 1985. It was produced by Nelvana Limited of Canada, and was distributed by The Samuel Goldwyn Company. It was the first in a trilogy(or set of three) of big-screen movies that had the Care Bears in lead roles, and the first to be based directly on a toy line. The movie's success led to a spin-off television series that premiered on ABC a year after its release.

paragraphs: There were well-known celebrities among the movie's starring line-up, such as Carole King, who wrote and sung its opening theme. John Sebastian and NRBQ also contributed to its score. The movie also had the voices of Mickey Rooney, Canadian actress Georgia Engel, and voice actress Cree Summer.

paragraphs: It was made as a full-length commercial for the title toys, and had mixed views from critics. But its $23 million gross at the box office made it the biggest animated work outside the Disney market when it came out. It is one of the most profitable releases in the animation industry (its cost was $3 million). The movie saved Nelvana from closing down when "Rock & Rule", the company's first production, did not do well.

paragraphs: The Care Bears Movie holds financial records for non-Disney animation (at the time it first came out), for Canadian moviemaking (only rivalled by "Porky's" and, more recently, "The Wild"), and for its distributor Samuel Goldwyn.

paragraphs: Its director, Arna Selznick, was one of three women to ever lead the production for a full-length cartoon. To this day, she is proud of these efforts, though she was aware of the strategy to promote it.

paragraphs: In this movie, an orphanage caretaker named Mr. Cherrywood tells the story of how the Care Bears come to help two children who do not care for anyone (Kim and Jason). The Care Bears live in Care-a-lot, a cloud-filled place up in the sky. As the two of them become friends with the Bears, a carnival magician's helper, Nicholas, turns from good to bad, because of an evil spirit he got from an old book.

paragraphs: When the boy's evil grows more and more, the Care Bears and their Cousins (from the Forest of Feelings), along with Kim and Jason, come back to Earth to end his evil doings. In turn, the carnival and the whole world will be saved.


title: Victoria (Australia)

paragraphs: Victoria is a state in Australia, in the south-east corner of the country. Its capital, largest and most-populated city is Melbourne. Geelong is Victoria's second biggest city, Ballarat is the third and Bendigo the fourth.

paragraphs: At the end of 2015 Victoria's population was an estimated 5,996,400 . After British settlement in Australia in 1788, it was called the Port Phillip District of New South Wales. In 1851, it became an independent colony. It was named after Queen Victoria. In 1901 it became a state in Australia.

paragraphs: Victoria's premier is Daniel Andrews from the Labor Party.

paragraphs: Victoria has the highest population density of a state in Australia. Highways lead to and from population centres, mainly Melbourne and other major cities. Rail transport in Victoria is common. Major railway line operators include Metro Trains Melbourne, V/Line and Pacific National.

paragraphs: Melbourne Airport is the biggest domestic and international airport for Victoria. It is linked to Melbourne by the Tullamarine Freeway.

paragraphs: The Port of Melbourne is the largest port for cargo in Australia, located in Melbourne near Yarra River. Additional seaports are at Westernport Bay, Geelong, and Portland.

paragraphs: The city of Melbourne has many attractions, including shopping, the Crown Casino, Melbourne Zoo, Melbourne Museum, Melbourne Aquarium, Melbourne Docklands, Southbank and St. Kilda. Melbourne is also the home of cultural and sporting icons such as The Arts Centre, National Gallery of Victoria and the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) which held the 1956 Summer Olympic Games.

paragraphs: The historic cities of Ballarat, Beechworth, Bendigo, Castlemaine, Maldon and Daylesford which were all towns built on the goldfields during the 1850s.

paragraphs: Natural attractions include The Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road, Wilson's Promontory, The Grampians, Buchan Caves, Gippsland Lakes and the penguins on Phillip Island. The Dandenong Ranges just east of Melbourne has the Puffing Billy Railway and Healesville Sanctuary.

paragraphs: The Murray River which is the state's northern border, has towns including Echuca and Mildura. Boating, fishing and other water sports are popular along the river.

paragraphs: Geelong, south west of Melbourne on Corio Bay, has many beaches, and hosts the Australian International Airshow. Nearby is the Bellarine Peninsula, which has many famous beaches such as Bells Beach, Torquay and Queenscliff.

paragraphs: The Mornington Peninsula is well known for its beaches and wineries.

paragraphs: The Victorian Alpine Region in the Australian Alps is popular for skiing with resorts at Falls Creek, Mount Hotham, and Mount Buffalo.

paragraphs: Victoria is the home of AFL, with ten of the eighteen clubs of the Australian Football League based in Victoria. The traditional Grand Final is held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the last Saturday in September.

paragraphs: Victoria's cricket team, the Victorian Bushrangers play in the national Pura Cup cricket competition.

paragraphs: Victoria has one team each represented in the National Rugby League and the Australian Rugby Championship, the Melbourne Storm and Melbourne Rebels respectively.

paragraphs: Victoria's climate varies greatly despite its small size. It ranges from the snowfields in the north east where the temperatures can be below freezing, to the dry semi-arid Mallee area of the north west where it can get very hot.

paragraphs: Overall, the southern position of Victoria means it tends to be a bit cooler and wetter than the other Australian mainland states.

paragraphs: The hottest temperature recorded in Victoria was 48.8 °C at Hopetoun, on the 9 February, 2009.

paragraphs: The coldest temperature recorded in Victoria was -11.7 °C at Omeo, on 15 June, 1965.

paragraphs: The highest daily rainfall was 375mm at Tanbryn, on 22 March, 1983.

paragraphs: Victoria was the scene of much volcanic activity which started 40 million years ago. The Western Volcanic Plains which cover 10% of the state are the third largest volcanic plains in the world. Most of the plains were formed about six million years ago. There are about 400 volcanoes on the plains.

paragraphs: It is unknown exactly when humans settled in Victoria. A site near Keilor has evidence of Australian Aborigines living near on the Maribyrnong River more than 31,000 years ago. Victoria was one of the most populated areas of Australia. The Aborigines used fire-stick farming to burn the volcanic plains regularly, and they became some of the biggest grass plains in the world. This supported large numbers of animals such as kangaroos and wallabies. The Kulin federation were a large language group that lived on the plains and included the Watha wurrung, Boon wurrung, Woi wurrung, Daung wurrung and Djadja wurrung people. Other groups in Victoria included the Jari Jari, Ladji Ladji, Wemba Wemba, Wergaia, Jardwadjali, Gunnai, Waywurru and the Taungurung. In the rivers, creeks and wetlands the Aboriginals had built large fish traps to catch both fish and eels. In the Yarra River wetlands, some of these traps had stone walls about high.

paragraphs: Within ten years of the British settlement at Sydney in 1788, explorers began looking at the coast of Victoria. The first settlement in Victoria was at Sorrento, just inside the entrance to Port Phillip Bay. A small group of 51 soldiers, 308 convicts, 17 free settlers, 12 officials, one missionary and his wife, led by Lieutenant-Governor David Collins set up camp at the end of 1803. They had come from England to set up a colony because the British government was worried that the French may try to claim the area. However they were unable to find water and gave up the settlement within six weeks. They went further south and began the settlement of Hobart, Tasmania. While at Sorrento, a convict named William Buckley escaped. He lived with Aboriginal tribes until meeting with Europeans again when Melbourne was settled in 1835. On 12 December 1826, Captain Samuel Wright, Lieutenant Burchill, explorer William Hovell and 21 convicts tried to start a settlement near Corinella, on Westernport Bay. This was also unsuccessful and the group went back to Sydney on 19 February 1828.

paragraphs: Although the two official attempts to settle in Victoria had failed, there were a number of unofficial settlements along the coast. From 1820 small groups of people lived at various places along the south coast, including Phillip Island. They were hunting seals and Southern Right Whales. The Launceston Fishing Company had a base at Portland Bay. These hunters were often in conflict with the Aboriginal communities. The Europeans often captured Aboriginal women to use as slaves and for sex. Edward Henty moved to Portland Bay and began sheep farming in December 1834. These settlements were against the law, as the British government was trying to restrict the areas of settlement. They argued that they did not have the ability to provide support to remote and isolated settlements. Repeated requests for official permission to settle in Victoria were refused by the government.

paragraphs: In 1835 a group of settlers, farmers and government officials from Tasmania formed the Port Phillip Association. Led by John Batman, who had heard about the grass plains from William Hovell, the group decided to ignore the British government and move flocks of sheep to Victoria. Batman landed at Indented Head, Victoria on 29 May 1835. He began exploring Port Phillip Bay. On 6 June 1835 he met with Aboriginal leaders near Merri Creek, and made a treaty. Under this treaty the Aboriginals agreed to allow Batman to use their land for his sheep. In return, they could continue to stay on the land, they would be provided with food and goods, and they would receive protection from other Europeans. This was the only treaty ever made with the Australian Aborigines. On 26 August 1835, the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Richard Bourke, said the treaty was against the law. The land belonged to the crown, and did not belong to the Aboriginals.

paragraphs: At the end of 1835, the British government changed its policy on settlement in eastern Australia. People were allowed to use large areas of the country for sheep farming. If people paid a £10 fee, they could settle wherever they liked. These farmers became known as "squatters", as they "sat" on the land, which they did not own. The effect of this new policy meant that between 1835 and 1838, more land was settled than had been since 1788. It has been described as the fastest land occupation in history. By 1849, just 1019 squatters had taken over 17.7 million hectares of land.

paragraphs: The effect of the fast land occupation had terrible consequences for the Victorian Aborigines. The squatters moved their sheep onto the grasslands that had once been the Aborigines main source of food. The squatters built their farms near the waterholes and creeks where the Aborigines had camped for thousands of years. The Aborigines began to kill sheep to eat, and attempted to stop people from taking their land. The early settlers tried to remove the Aborigines from the land. Sometimes they were chased away, and sometimes they were murdered. For example, at Murdering Creek, near Camperdown, 35-40 men, women and children were shot dead by the manager of Glenorminston Station, Frederick Taylor and several of his farm workers.

paragraphs: Gold was found in Victoria at Clunes on 28 June 1851. With further discoveries at Ballarat, Bendigo and Castlemaine there was a huge increase in the population as people came from all around the world.