title: Colombia

paragraphs: Colombia (; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a tropical equatorial country in northern South America. It is in the northwest part of the continent, and it has an area of 1,141,748 km² (440,839 sq mi).

paragraphs: It is the only South American country with coasts on both oceans (Pacific and Atlantic).

paragraphs: The countries that have borders on the continent with Colombia are: Venezuela (east), Brazil (southeast), Peru (south), Ecuador (southwest) and Panama (west). The countries that have borders with Colombia on the sea are: Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Haiti and Dominican Republic.

paragraphs: 42,888,592 people live in Colombia. It is the third most populated country of Latin America after Mexico and Brazil.

paragraphs: The capital of Colombia is Bogotá. The second city is Medellín, a large industrial center. The third largest city is Cali, home of many multinational companies. The most important city of the country on the Caribbean coast is Barranquilla. It was also the first national port. Cartagena de Indias has a great Spanish wall from the 17th Century and an old town with 500-year-old buildings. After these cities comes Bucaramanga, a large city near the Venezuelan border, and the center of the textile industry in Colombia.

paragraphs: The word ""Colombia"" is named after Christopher Columbus, the explorer who began the European colonization of the Americas.

paragraphs: In 1819, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama declared independence from Spain, and formed a country called ""Gran Colombia"". Venezuela and Ecuador separated in 1830. Panama continued to be part of Colombia until 1903, at which point it proclaimed independence. The official language is Spanish, but there are many dialects spoken by minorities.

paragraphs: The land where Colombia now stands has been home to people for more than 20,000 years. The first people had many groups, cultures, and languages. There are many tools, caves, and things of those peoples. In Colombia, the peoples were similar to those of Asia, because scientists say that the first people came to America from Siberia or South East Asia more than 50,000 years ago. The peoples of Colombia were called Arawak, Caribe, and Chibcha. But there were many other groups. The most famous were the Muiscas. legend of El Dorado comes from the Muiscas. The king of the Muiscas used to bathe in Lake Guatavita and he used a lot of gold for his bath. The Spanish heard about this, and the people told them that there was a great golden city somewhere. They started to look for El Dorado. The International Airport of Bogotá is called El Dorado International Airport, because the legend was born in Colombia. The descendants of the first peoples of Colombia live integrated with others. Some groups live in the forest, but many live in the countryside and in the cities.

paragraphs: The Spanish, led by Christopher Columbus, first came to the Americas in 1492. Columbus saw the coasts of Venezuela, Colombia and Panama and he gave them his own name. But Alonso de Ojeda was the first colonist to explore the area of the Gulf of Darién. After that, the Spanish founded the first European cities on the American continent: Santa Marta in 1525 and Cartagena de Indias in 1533. It was from Colombia that the Spanish conquered the Incas of Peru.

paragraphs: Spain would enslave the indigenous peoples who were already living there, but they also used the port they built at Cartagena to bring many black slaves from Africa into the area. The Spanish captured many, many people from Africa and forced them to work on plantations and ranches, in mines, and as personal servants.

paragraphs: While this was happening, they founded the city of Popayán in 1536 and they conquered the "Confederation of the Muiscas". In Bacatá, the capital of the Muiscas, the Spanish founded the city of Santa Fe in 1538. In 1550 the Spanish declared the territory as a colony and its capital was "Santa Fe de Bogotá", but in the first decades it depended on Peru. Soon after, it was declared a Viceroyalty.

paragraphs: On November 11, 1810, the city of Cartagena de Indias declared its independence from Spain. The whole region would fight a war to become independent, led by people like Antonio Nariño and Simón Bolívar. Nariño was one of the most important leaders in the war for the independence of Colombia. He was a politician, journalist and soldier. Bolivar was another important leader, and he was a president and a colonel. Bolivar had promised Alexandre Pétion, the president of Haiti, that he would abolish slavery during his independence war. But he only agreed because he was afraid the slaves would revolt against the slaveowners, like they did in Haiti, and only freed slaves if they agreed to fight in his army. He never freed all the slaves, and slavery was not abolished in Colombia until 1851.

paragraphs: The geography of Colombia has six main natural regions. Each has its own unique characteristics. The Andes mountain region shares borders with Ecuador and Venezuela. The Pacific Coast region shares borders with Panama and Ecuador. The Caribbean coastal region shares borders with Venezuela and Panama. The "Llanos" (plains) shares a border with Venezuela. The Amazon Rainforest region shares a border with Venezuela, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador. The insular region includes all the islands of the country.

paragraphs: The main rivers of Colombia are Magdalena, Cauca, Guaviare, Atrato, Meta, Putumayo and Caquetá. Colombia has four main drainage systems: the Pacific drain, the Caribbean drain, the Orinoco Basin and the Amazon Basin.

paragraphs: Most of the population lives in the Andes region. But the plains make over half the land. Only about 6% of the people live in the plains. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range includes the country's tallest peaks (Pico Cristóbal Colón and Pico Simón Bolívar).

paragraphs: Colombia's temperature changes with the altitude, and the temperature is different by region. The regions around the Andes are colder than the coast, which is lower.

paragraphs: Because of the many altitudes, Colombia has many different fruits, vegetables and kinds of animals. It has many valleys, beaches, plains, mountains and forests like the Amazon rainforest.

paragraphs: The top of some of the mountains in Colombia are so cold that people can ski over the equator. The lower mountains have warmer climates. The sea shores are cooled by ocean breezes. At sea level near the equator it is hot.

paragraphs: Rivers are important as waterways in the land for shipping things. One of the most important rivers in Colombia is the Magdalena-Cauca. The Magdelena River divides the eastern and center mountains. It makes a fertile valley. The Cauca River divides the center mountain range and the western ridge, making another great valley. The Cauca is really a part of the Magdalena. However, the two do not meet until a few miles before the Magdalena goes into the Caribbean Sea.

paragraphs: Colombia is a megadiverse country. This means the country is home to a majority of Earth's species. There are also a high number of endemic species.

paragraphs: Colombia has 1,900 species of bird, more than any other country. There are about 2,000 species of marine fish. It is the second most diverse country in freshwater fish. As for plants, the country has between 40,000 and 45,000 species. Colombia is second in the number of amphibian species and is the third most diverse country in reptiles. There are about 2,900 species of mollusks and about 300,000 species of invertebrates.

paragraphs: In May 2006, President Álvaro Uribe was re-elected. His term lasted until 2010. Uribe was the first President in Colombia to win a second election in over 100 years.

paragraphs: In August 2010, Juan Manuel Santos became Colombia's president. Santos won the election on June 20 by a landslide. He promised to "preside over a government of national unity that will bring social prosperity for all Colombians"

paragraphs: Eight years later, conservative Senator Iván Duque Márquez was elected President and soon became the nation's latest president. He won the election by 2 million votes against his rival liberal Senator Gustavo Petro.

paragraphs: Colombia is divided into 32 departments and one capital district. The capital district is treated as a department. Departments are divided into municipalities. Municipalities are divided into "corregimientos". Each department has a local government with a governor and assembly directly elected to four-year terms. Each municipality is headed by a mayor and council. Each "corregimiento" by an elected "corregidor", or local leader.

paragraphs: The population of Colombia was approximately 47 million as of 2016. The ethnic groups of the population are:

paragraphs: Up to 49.6% of the population is living below the poverty line.

paragraphs: There are several guerilla groups in Colombia, the FARC being the most powerful, a guerilla group responsible for kidnappings, murders, attacks, and drug-dealing. Drug dealing is a problem the government has been trying to fight. This creates violence in the cities. With Operation: Jaque, Ingrid Betancourt, three Americans, and 11 soldiers were rescued from the FARC.

paragraphs: Most parts of Colombia are modern and the country has many roads. All major Colombian cities have airports and there are many ports on both oceans (Pacific and Atlantic). Because Colombia is a huge country and there are many mountains, airports are very important in the country. There are some regions like the Amazon Forest and Dariend, where the most important way of transportation is by the rivers.

paragraphs: Colombia also has some very well known cities.

paragraphs: Colombia has made many advances in medicine. Many foreigners come to the country to get health services, such as organ transplants or plastic surgery. Doctor Manuel Elkin Patarroyo of Colombia discovered a medicine against malaria. He donated his discovery to be used in Africa and Latin America. He did not want to make business of it, instead he wanted to use it to help people.

paragraphs: Colombia is known for its coffee, coal, and emeralds. It is also the biggest supplier of plantains to the United States. There are a few armed conflicts in Colombia. Most rebel groups finance their operations with the trade of illegal drugs (mostly cocaine).


title: Abel Tasman

paragraphs: Abel Janszoon Tasman (1603–1659) was a Dutch sea explorer. He found Tasmania and New Zealand while on voyages in 1642 and 1644, in the service of the VOC (Dutch East India Company). He also made the first historical sightings of large parts of Australia.

paragraphs: He was born in Groningen, Holland. He went to Batavia (now called Jakarta) to work for the VOC in 1633. He went back to Holland in 1636. He went back to Batavia with his wife, Jannetie Tjaerss, two years later. He went north to Japan in 1640. In 1642 Tasman went south to Palembang.

paragraphs: Tasman set Governor General of the Dutch East Indies. Tasman sailed around to the east coast of Van Diemen's Land and claimed the land for the Dutch on December 3, 1642. The ships then sailed west and found New Zealand. His ships were attacked by Maori in large war canoes (boats) and four sailors died. Tasman then sailed north-east to Tonga and Fiji. He then sailed north west to New Guinea and got back to Batavia in June 1643.

paragraphs: In 1644 Tasman sailed from Batavia with the ships "Limmen", "Zeemeeuw" and "Bracq". He sailed along the west coast of New Guinea, and then the coast of Australia from Cape York to North West Cape. He went back to Batavia in August 1644. He showed that Western Australia and Queensland were part of the same country. He was not able to get through Torres Strait, but his maps were used for the next 200 years. Tasman made more trips including to Sumatra in 1646, Siam in 1647, and Manila in 1648. He purchased a lot of land in Batavia where he died in October 1659.

paragraphs: Several places have been named after him, including Tasmania, the Tasman Peninsula, Tasman Island and the Tasman Sea.


title: Hard science

paragraphs: Hard science is science that uses systematic observation, experiments and sometimes mathematics to get knowledge. In hard science, experiments have to be reproducible (if the experiment is done a second time, it will have to produce the same results as the first time). Also, in hard sciences there is usually good agreement as to what is known for sure. This is not true of soft sciences. Also, in hard science there is a world-view or theory which is widely agreed.

paragraphs: Hard science subjects include the natural sciences, which are about the natural world. These include physics, chemistry, biology, geology, astronomy, and botany. Soft science is any of the social sciences, including history, sociology and political science. Those sciences are soft because something could be done more than once, and produce a very different result each time. Also, there are radical disagreements between various schools of thought. Some aspects of psychology are hard science, especially relating to perception.


title: Artificial intelligence

paragraphs: Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of a computer program or a machine to think and learn. It is also a field of study which tries to make computers "smart". They work on their own without being encoded with commands. John McCarthy came up with the name "Artificial Intelligence" in 1955.

paragraphs: In general use, the term "artificial intelligence" means a programme which mimics human cognition. At least some of the things we associate with other minds, such as learning and problem solving can be done by computers, though not in the same way as we do. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define AI as a system’s ability to correctly interpret external data, to learn from such data, and to use those learnings to achieve specific goals and tasks through flexible adaptation.

paragraphs: An ideal (perfect) intelligent machine is a flexible agent which perceives its environment and takes actions to maximize its chance of success at some goal or objective. As machines become increasingly capable, mental faculties once thought to require intelligence are removed from the definition. For example, optical character recognition is no longer perceived as an example of "artificial intelligence": it is just a routine technology.

paragraphs: At present we use the term AI for successfully understanding human speech, competing at a high level in strategic game systems (such as Chess and Go), self-driving cars, and interpreting complex data. Some people also consider AI a danger to humanity if it continues to progress at its current pace.

paragraphs: An extreme goal of AI research is to create computer programs that can learn, solve problems, and think logically. In practice, however, most applications have picked on problems which computers can do well. Searching data bases and doing calculations are things computers do better than people. On the other hand, "perceiving its environment" in any real sense is way beyond present-day computing.

paragraphs: AI involves many different fields like computer science, mathematics, linguistics, psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy. Eventually researchers hope to create a "general artificial intelligence" which can solve many problems instead of focusing on just one. Researchers are also trying to create creative and emotional AI which can possibly empathize or create art. Many approaches and tools have been tried.

paragraphs: Borrowing from the management literature, Kaplan and Haenlein classify artificial intelligence into three different types of AI systems: analytical, human-inspired, and humanized artificial intelligence. Analytical AI has only characteristics consistent with cognitive intelligence generating cognitive representation of the world and using learning based on past experience to inform future decisions. Human-inspired AI has elements from cognitive as well as emotional intelligence, understanding, in addition to cognitive elements, also human emotions considering them in their decision making. Humanized AI shows characteristics of all types of competencies (i.e., cognitive, emotional, and social intelligence), able to be self-conscious and self-aware in interactions with others.

paragraphs: The first appearance of artificial intelligence is in Greek myths, like TALOS of Crete or the bronze robot of Hephaestus. Humanoid robots were built by Yan Shi, Hero of Alexandria, and Al-Jazari. Sentient machines became popular in fiction during the 19th and 20th centuries with the stories of "Frankenstein" and "Rossum's Universal Robots".

paragraphs: Formal logic was developed by ancient Greek philosophers and mathematicians. This study of logic produced the idea of a computer in the 19th and 20th century. Mathematician Alan Turing's theory of computation said that any mathematical problem could be solved by processing 1's and 0's. Advances in neurology, information theory, and cybernetics convinced a small group of researchers that an electronic brain was possible.

paragraphs: AI research really started with a conference at Dartmouth College in 1956. It was a month long brainstorming session attended by many people with interests in AI. At the conference they wrote programs that were amazing at the time, beating people at checkers or solving word problems. The Department of Defense started giving a lot of money to AI research and labs were created all over the world.

paragraphs: Unfortunately, researchers really underestimated just how hard some problems were. The tools they had used still did not give computers things like emotions or common sense. Mathematician James Lighthill wrote a report on AI saying that "in no part of the field have discoveries made so far produced the major impact that was then promised". The U.S and British governments wanted to fund more productive projects. Funding for AI research was cut, starting an "AI winter" where little research was done.

paragraphs: AI research revived in the 1980s because of the popularity of expert systems, which simulated the knowledge of a human expert. By 1985, 1 billion dollars were spent on AI. New, faster computers convinced U.S. and British governments to start funding AI research again. However, the market for Lisp machines collapsed in 1987 and funding was pulled again, starting an even longer AI winter.

paragraphs: AI revived again in the 90s and early 2000s with its use in data mining and medical diagnosis. This was possible because of faster computers and focusing on solving more specific problems. In 1997, Deep Blue became the first computer program to beat chess world champion Garry Kasparov. Faster computers, advances in deep learning, and access to more data have made AI popular throughout the world. In 2011 IBM Watson beat the top two Jeopardy! players Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings, and in 2016 Google's AlphaGo beat top Go player Lee Sedol 4 out of 5 times.


title: Programmer

paragraphs: A computer programmer is a person who makes computer programs using a programming language. Programmers are also called software developers, coders, or hackers.

paragraphs: A programmer's main jobs are writing program source code, testing if it works, and debugging (fixing) the program if there are problems. Programmers often use software tools such as text editors and IDEs (Integrated Development Environments) to help them work.

paragraphs: Computer programming is a profession that can be done from a computer anywhere in the world. This is called "telecommuting" - doing work on the Internet instead of in an office.

paragraphs: Some programmers are famous because their software is used by many people. One example is Linus Torvalds, who created an important part of the Linux operating system.

paragraphs: Programming can be done in many different languages and can look very different but do the same thing. An example of this is the Hello world program.


title: Programming language

paragraphs: A programming language is a type of written language that tells computers what to do in order to work. Programming languages are used to make all the computer programs and computer software. A programming language is like a set of instructions that the computer follows to do something.

paragraphs: A programmer writes source code text in the programming language to create programs. Usually, the programming language uses real words for some of the commands, so that the language is easier for a human to read. Many programming languages use punctuation just like a normal language. Many programs now are "compiled". This means that the computer translates the source code into another language (such as assembly language or machine language), which is much faster and easier for the computer to read, but much harder for a person to read.

paragraphs: Computer programs must be written very carefully. If the programmer makes mistakes, or the program tries to do something the programmer did not design it to do, the program might then "crash" or stop working. When a program has a problem because of how the code was written, this is called a "bug". A very small mistake can cause a very big problem.

paragraphs: There are many types of programming languages. Most programming languages do not follow one type alone, so it is difficult to assign a type for each language. The examples of each type are given in each section below because they are the best well-known examples of that type.

paragraphs: High-level programming languages require less knowledge about the hardware compared to low-level programming languages. This is because high-level programming languages abstract away the hardware the program is running on. Many high-level languages require an interpreter to run the source code on the hardware in real time. On the other hand, low-level languages usually convert the whole source code to machine code before running, because the source code is so close to the hardware that it is easy to do so.

paragraphs: "Declarative" programming languages describe a "problem" but they usually do not say how the problem should be solved. The problem description uses logic, and "solving" the problem often looks like automatically proving a system of logical axioms. Examples for such programming languages are Prolog, XSLT, LISP and SQL.

paragraphs: "Imperative" programming languages describe a system of state changes. At the start, the program is in a certain "state", and the computer is given steps to follow, in order to perform an action. Following the steps causes the program to "change state".

paragraphs: In general, declarative programming languages are safer and shorter. Imperative programming languages are more common, because they are easier to use.

paragraphs: Functional programming looks at programming like a function in mathematics. The program receives "input", together with some information, and uses this information to create "output". It will not have a state in between, and it will also not change things that are not related to the computation.

paragraphs: Procedural programs specify or describe sets of steps or state changes.

paragraphs: Stack based languages look at some of the program's memory like a stack of cards. There are very few things that can be done with a stack. A data item can be put on the top of the stack. This operation is generally called "push". A data item can be removed from the top of the stack. This is called a "pop". You can look at the item at the top of the stack without removing it. This is called a "peek".

paragraphs: If a program is written as "push 5; push 3; add; pop;" it will put 5 on the top of the stack, put 3 on top of the 5, add the top two values (3 + 5 = 8), replace the 3 and 5 with the 8, and print the top (8). Examples for programming languages that are stack-based are the languages Postscript and Forth.

paragraphs: Object-oriented programming languages place data and "functions" that change data into a single unit. This unit is called an "object". Objects can interact with each other and change another object's data. This is usually called encapsulation or information hiding. Most modern programming languages are object-oriented, or at least allow this style of programming. Examples of this are Java, Python, Ruby, C++, C# and other C languages.

paragraphs: Flow oriented programming sees programming as connecting different components. These components send messages back and forth. A single component can be part of different "programs", without the need to be changed internally.

paragraphs: Some of the languages above can be used for scientific computing. For example, C++ and Python are also used in this way. On the other hand, there are some languages that has scientific computing as their main purpose. The following are some examples:

paragraphs: LaTeX and SATySFi are programming languages which helps document creation.

paragraphs: Every programming language has rules about what it can and can not do. These include:

paragraphs: Most languages have official standards that define the rules of how to write the source code. Some programming languages have two or more standards. This can happen when a new standard replaces an old one. For example, the Perl 5 standard replaced Perl 4 in 1993. It can happen because two people made two standards at the same time. For example, there are several standards for APL.

paragraphs: Object-Oriented Programming (sometimes shortened to OOP) is a form of programming where all parts of the program are objects. Objects are pieces of memory with the same structure that can be used again and again. A bank account, bitmap, or hero from a video game could all be objects within a program. Objects are made up of properties (pieces of information the object stores) and methods which are things the object can do. A Dog object might have properties like height and hairColor. Its methods might include bark() and wagTail().

paragraphs: All objects are created from templates called classes. You can think of a class as a mold from which objects are made. The class defines all the properties and methods that its objects will have. Objects created from a class are called instances of the class. A class can "extend" another class, which means that it takes all the properties and methods of the class but can add its own.

paragraphs: Here is an example of what a class might look like in a programming language:

paragraphs: Notice that the Dog class extends the Mammal class, so all dogs will have the properties of a mammal, like hairLength, and methods, like eat() or sleep().

paragraphs: Object-oriented programming is used in many of today's most popular programming languages, such as Java, C#, Objective-C, C++, Python, Ruby, Javascript, and ActionScript.

paragraphs: Here is a simple program written in Visual Basic (a language made by Microsoft):

paragraphs: This program asks the user his or her age and responds based on what the user typed. If the user typed something that is not a number, the program says so. If the user typed a number less than zero, the program says so. If the user says he or she is older than 100 years old, the program says "That's old!" If the user typed a correct age the program says back to the user how old he or she is.

paragraphs: Here is a program that does the same thing as the program above, but in Python:

paragraphs: The same thing as the program above, but in C#:


title: Visual Basic

paragraphs: Visual Basic (VB) is a programming language developed by Microsoft for their operating system Windows. The BASIC language is said to be easier to read than other languages.

paragraphs: "Visual Basic" is a widely understood high-level programming language, written using simple English-like words and syntax. It is an interpreted language, code can be run immediately after being written.

paragraphs: Having an interpreter makes it simpler to use, as there is no need for the computer to compile the code, possibly finding errors to fix, before the compiled version can be run. Once the code is working, it can be compiled into an .exe file so that it will run on all modern Windows computers, whether VB is installed or not. The language allows a beginning programmer to produce professional-looking Windows applications, as it includes drawing tools to create normal Windows forms. VB also includes advanced features - concepts and structures which allow programs to be adapted for use with the Internet. "Visual Basic" will not run on operating systems other than Windows and on machines with non-Intel compatible processors.

paragraphs: Though the program has received criticism for its faults, Visual Basic was a runaway commercial success since its release for version 3 in the summer of 1993. Many companies offered third party controls greatly extending its functionality.

paragraphs: VB 1.0 was introduced in 1991. The drag and drop design for creating the user interface is derived from a prototype form generator developed by Alan Cooper and his company called "Tripod". Microsoft contracted with Cooper and his associates to develop Tripod into a programmable form system for Windows 3.0, under the code name "Ruby" (no relation to the Ruby programming language). Tripod did not include a programming language at all. Microsoft decided to combine Ruby with the Basic language to create Visual Basic. The Ruby interface generator provided the "visual" part of Visual Basic and this was combined with the "EB" Embedded BASIC engine designed for Microsoft's abandoned "Omega" database system. Ruby also provided the ability to load dynamic link libraries containing additional controls (then called "gizmos"), which later became the Visual Basic Extension (VBX) interface. Versions of Visual Basic are listed below:

paragraphs: Visual Basic .NET is the next series of products in Microsoft's successful "Visual Basic" range of products. It makes creating programs easier because it is possible to drag-and-drop controls into the program. It runs on the .NET Framework and features another long line of programs (see Visual Basic .NET#Editions).

paragraphs: This is a scripting language used in Microsoft Office and a few other programs. It is based on Visual Basic 6.0, and can change data in an office application, write it to a file, and do other actions.

paragraphs: All versions of the Visual Basic development environment from 1.0 to 6.0 have been retired and are now unsupported by Microsoft. The associated runtime environments are unsupported too. This is except for the Visual Basic 6 core runtime environment, which will be officially supported by Microsoft until support of Windows 10 and Windows Server 2012 ends. Third party components that shipped with Visual Studio 6.0 are not included in this support statement. Some legacy Visual Basic components may still work on newer platforms. This is despite being unsupported by Microsoft and other vendors.

paragraphs: Development and maintenance development for Visual Basic 6 is possible on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 2003 using Visual Studio 6.0 platforms, but is unsupported. Documentation for Visual Basic 6.0, its application programming interface and tools is best covered in the last MSDN release before Visual Studio.NET 2002. Later releases of MSDN focused on .NET development and had significant parts of the Visual Basic 6.0 programming documentation removed. The Visual Basic IDE can be installed and used on Windows Vista, where it exhibits some minor incompatibilities which do not hinder normal software development and maintenance. As of August 2008, both Visual Studio 6.0 and the MSDN documentation are available for download by MSDN subscribers.


title: Booting

paragraphs: Booting is what happens when a computer starts. This happens when the power is turned on. It is called "reboot" if it happens at other times. When you boot a computer, your processor looks for instructions in system ROM (the BIOS) and executes them. They normally 'wake up' peripheral equipment and search for the boot device. The boot device either loads the operating system or gets it from someplace else.

paragraphs: People use the word "boot" to mean "to start a computer" or other device with electronics built in. For example, if a person wants to ask a friend to turn on a satellite phone, they would say "could you boot up the satellite phone?".

paragraphs: Most operating systems call the first data storage device it uses a boot device. It may also be called a bootstrap loader. This is because the computer is making itself go, as in the idiom. When we start a computer, we can often see the simple instructions the computer uses to start, then more complicated pictures or software.

paragraphs: The phrase "to boot" in this meaning is short for "to bootstrap". This use is part of net jargon along with similar multi-use words like Internet or web. Often the computer is just called a box, so a phrase like "to boot the box" means "to start the computer".

paragraphs: The term "reboot" can also be used in a different context to mean a restarting of a storyline established in previous iterations of a series of fiction.


title: Tea

paragraphs: Tea is a drink that is popular all over the world. It is made by soaking the dried leaves or flowers of the plant "Camellia sinensis" in hot water. Tea can have other herbs, spices, or fruit flavours in it, like lemon. All teas are made from the Camellia sinensis plant.

paragraphs: Sometimes the word "tea" is used for other drinks that have been made by soaking fruit or herbs in hot water, like "rosehip tea" or "camomile tea". These are called "herbal teas".

paragraphs: There are two main types of tea: black tea and green tea.

paragraphs: To make black tea, workers take the leaves and spread them out on shelves where they can dry. Next they are rolled and broken into pieces and put into a room where they absorb oxygen. Chemical reactions change the taste and style of the tea. Finally the leaves are dried with hot air until they turn brown or black. Most black tea comes from Sri Lanka, Indonesia and eastern Africa. When black tea leaves are brewed in boiling water, the tea made from them looks deep dark red, so another name used for black tea, especially in China, is red tea.

paragraphs: Green tea is made by putting freshly picked leaves into a steamer. This keeps them green. Then they are crushed and dried in ovens. India is the biggest maker and user of green tea.

paragraphs: Tea is mainly grown in China, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Japan, Nepal, Australia, Argentina and Kenya.

paragraphs: The word "tea" can also be used as another word for an afternoon meal (mostly in the Commonwealth countries), as in "I am having tea in a short while." The word also applies to "afternoon tea", a small snack meal served sometimes, usually featuring sandwiches, cakes and tea. This small snack meal is also called "tea time".

paragraphs: Green tea must steep for 2–3 minutes in water at . Black tea must steep for 3–5 minutes in boiling water.

paragraphs: Shizuoka is Japan's top producer of tea. Japan has many kinds of tea.

paragraphs: The Chinese originally called it “Kia”. As far as is known it was during the course of the 6th century AD that the name evolved into "Cha". On its arrival in the West it became Té which is still the name for tea in many countries.


title: Interlingua

paragraphs: Interlingua is a constructed language using words that are found in most West-European languages. It was made by IALA - a group of people (the most known was Alexander Gode) who worked on it for more than 20 years, and they finished and published the first dictionary in 1951. Interlingua was created on the base of languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian.

paragraphs: "Inter" is the same root word as in the words "interaction", "interface" and so on, and it means "between" or "to each other"; "lingua" means "language". They chose the name Interlingua because they wanted it to be used for people of different countries to talk to each other easily. Because Interlingua was made by people to be easy, it is easier than natural languages to learn.

paragraphs: , 1,500 people knew Interlingua, and Interlingua speakers say that millions can understand it (read texts in it and listen to someone talk in it) without having to learn it first.

paragraphs: There are two other constructed languages in the world that have more than 1000 speakers, Esperanto and Ido. Those two were made before Interlingua. Some people think Esperanto and Ido are easy to learn because they have no "exceptions" (words that break the rules) but other people think Interlingua is easier because the makers chose all the words to be easy to understand for people who know English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, or Italian, plus languages like Occitan and Romanian, languages that used to be Latin, the language used in Rome a long time ago.

paragraphs: Actually, people who use Interlingua say that their language is actually new Latin, just simpler and "modernized" (made new).


title: World

paragraphs: When people say "the world" they usually mean Planet Earth. Humans and all other known living things live in this world. Sometimes "world" means another planet.

paragraphs: Before people discovered that Earth is a planet, they often used "World" to mean "Universe". They still sometimes use it to mean all humans or all civilization. For example, they may say "end of the world" to mean the end of history or humanity.

paragraphs: Sometimes they mean a small part of Earth such as Western world, Islamic world, third world, new world, or ancient world.


title: Azerbaijan

paragraphs: Azerbaijan (; officially called the Republic of Azerbaijan) is a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. It is next to Russia in the north, Georgia, Armenia, in the west, Iran in the south, and Caspian Sea on the east. Its capital city is Baku. Azerbaijan became independent from the Soviet Union when it ended in 1991.

paragraphs: Azerbaijan also includes Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, an enclave, which is next to Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, and Turkey to the northwest.

paragraphs: Most of Azerbaijan's land is in Eurasia. It is called an Eurasian country by the United Nations.

paragraphs: However, because it is close and its history is related to Europe, Azerbaijan is also a member of a number of European groups, including the Council of Europe since 2001. Azerbaijan has diplomatic relations with 158 countries. They have membership in 38 international organizations. On May 9, 2006 Azerbaijan was elected to membership in the newly made Human Rights Council by the United Nations General Assembly.

paragraphs: More than 90% of the people are ethnic Azerbaijanis. Minorities include Russians, Georgians and other minorities. The Constitution of Azerbaijan does not say there is an official religion. But, Shia Islam, is by far the largest religion in the country, followed by Sunni Islam. There are also a small number of Christians (mainly Eastern Orthodox), Jews (mainly Ashkenazi), agnostics and atheists.

paragraphs: The name of Azerbaijan comes from "Atropates". It was a Persian satrap under the Achaemenid Empire.

paragraphs: Ancient Azerbaijan was named "Caucasian Albania" and was relatively independent under Roman/Byzantine (Roman Azerbaijan) and Persian control.

paragraphs: After the Arab conquest in the 7th century the country has been always under Muslim influence, when its people became Muslim, until the Russian Empire entered the Caucasus region.

paragraphs: From 1920 to 1991, Azerbaijan was a Communist country as a member of the Soviet Union.

paragraphs: Since the early 19th century many Russians settled in Azerbaijan, but after the end of the Soviet Union with the independence of Azerbaijan which is back in control, most Russians and other minorities have left the country and are continuing to leave the country.

paragraphs: There are 106 species of mammals, 97 species of fish, 363 species of birds, 10 species of amphibians and 52 species of reptiles which have been recorded and classified in Azerbaijan. The national animal of Azerbaijan is the Karabakh horse. It is a mountain-steppe racing and riding horse native to Azerbaijan. It is one of the oldest breeds, with ancestry dating to the ancient world. However today the horse is an endangered species.

paragraphs: Azerbaijan's flora is more than 4,500 species of higher plants. Due the unique climate in Azerbaijan, the flora is much richer in the number of species than the flora of the other countries of the South Caucasus. About 67 percent of the species growing in the whole Caucasus can be in Azerbaijan.

paragraphs: Many Azerbaijanis have some form of higher education, most notably in scientific and technical subjects. According to Soviet data, 100 percent of males and females (ages nine to forty-nine) were literate (able to read) in 1970. In 2009, the literacy rate in Azerbaijan was 99.5 percent.

paragraphs: The culture of Azerbaijan has come about as a result of many influences. Today, Western influences, including globalized consumer culture, are strong. National traditions are well kept in the country. Some of the main parts of the Azerbaijani culture are: music, literature, folk dances and art, cuisine, architecture, and movies.

paragraphs: Music of Azerbaijan builds on folk traditions that goes back nearly a thousand years. Among national musical instruments there are 14 string instruments, eight percussion instruments and six wind instruments.

paragraphs: Mugham, meykhana and Ashiq are some of the many musical traditions of Azerbaijan. Mugham is music with poetry and instrumental interludes. When performing Mugham, the singers have to bring their emotions into singing and music. Mugham singer Alim Qasimov is one of the five best singers of all time. Meykhana is a song with no music. It is usually done by several people. They make up the words about a particular subject. Ashiq joins poetry, storytelling, dance and vocal and instrumental music. It is as a symbol of Azerbaijani culture.

paragraphs: Azerbaijan was at the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time in 2008. They hosted the contest in 2012, in Baku.

paragraphs: There are dozens of Azerbaijani folk dances. They are performed at formal festivals. The dancers wear national clothes like the Chokha. Most dances have a very fast rhythm.

paragraphs: Azerbaijani architecture typically joins East and West. Many ancient treasures such as the Maiden Tower and Palace of the Shirvanshahs in the Walled City of Baku survive in modern Azerbaijan. Plans have been shown for the building of the Azerbaijan Tower. It will reportedly replace the Burj Khalifa as the tallest building in the world. The planned height is .

paragraphs: The movie industry in Azerbaijan dates back to 1898. In fact, Azerbaijan was among the first countries involved in making movies. In 1991, after Azerbaijan gained its freedom from the Soviet Union, the first Baku International Film Festival East-West was held in Baku.

paragraphs: The traditional food is famous for many vegetables and greens used seasonally in the dishes. Fresh herbs, including mint, cilantro (coriander), dill, basil, parsley, tarragon, leeks, chives, thyme, marjoram, green onion, and watercress, are very popular. They are often served with main dishes on the table. National dishes show the variety of the landscape. They are based on fish from the Caspian Sea, local meat (mainly mutton and beef), and the many seasonal vegetables and greens. Saffron-rice plov is the flagship food in Azerbaijan and black tea is the national beverage.

paragraphs: The earliest known person in Azerbaijani literature was Hasanoghlu or Pur Hasan Asfaraini. He made a divan of Persian and Turkic ghazals. Classical literature in Azerbaijani was formed in 14th century. Among the poets of this period were Gazi Burhanaddin and Haqiqi. The famed Book of Dede Korkut has two manuscripts copied in the 16th century. It is a collection of 12 stories showing the oral tradition of Oghuz nomads.

paragraphs: In the span of the 17th century and 18th century, Fizuli's unique types as well Ashik poetry were taken up by poets and writers such as Qovsi of Tabriz and Shah Abbas Sani.

paragraphs: The first newspaper in Azerbaijani, "Akinchi" was published in 1875.

paragraphs: Sport in Azerbaijan is very old. Even now, both traditional and modern sports are still practiced. Freestyle wrestling has been traditionally said to be Azerbaijan's national sport. The most popular sports in Azerbaijan are football and chess. The national football team does not do well in international competitions. On March 19, 2010, Azerbaijan won the bid to host the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.

paragraphs: Futsal is another popular sport in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan national futsal team got fourth place in 2010 UEFA Futsal Championship.

paragraphs: Backgammon plays a major role in Azerbaijani culture. This game is very popular in Azerbaijan and is widely played by the local public.

paragraphs: Out of 9,165,000 people (July 2011), nearly 52% were urban. The remaining 48% were rural. 51% of the people were female.

paragraphs: About 3 million Azerbaijanis, many of them guest workers, live in Russia.

paragraphs: The biggest reason for death in 2005 was from respiratory diseases.

paragraphs: Azerbaijan is divided into 10 economic regions; 66 rayons and 77 cities. 11 cities are under the direct authority of the republic. Azerbaijan includes the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The President of Azerbaijan picks the governors of these units. The government of Nakhchivan is elected and approved by the parliament of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

paragraphs: "Note: The cities under the direct authority of the republic in italics".

paragraphs: The economy of Azerbaijan is based on industry, agriculture, and on services including tourism. The energy sector based on the large reserves of crude oil and natural gas, is the main source of economic growth in Azerbaijan today, though half of the Azerbaijani people earn their income directly or indirectly through services and a third earn their income through agriculture. The energy boom has led to massive foreign direct investment and the growth rate of the Azerbaijani economy is one of the world's highest.

paragraphs: After gaining independence in 1991 with the end of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan made the long and difficult change from a command economy to a market economy. The government has largely completed privatization of agricultural lands and small, medium and large state-owned companies. Azerbaijan is continuing making economic reforms, and old economic ties and structures have been slowly replaced. With independence, Azerbaijan became a member of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Islamic Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Azerbaijan's currency is the Azerbaijani manat (AZN) which is divided into 100 qəpik. It became the national currency in 1992 and replaced the old Soviet ruble. The Central Bank of Azerbaijan was created in 1992. The Central Bank serves as Azerbaijan's central bank, and is responsible for printing and distributing the national currency, the Azerbaijani manat, and to control all commercial banks.


title: Actor

paragraphs: An actor is a person who acts, or has a role (a part) in a movie, television show, play, or radio show. Actors may be professional or not. Sometimes actors only sing or dance, or sometimes they only work on radio. A woman actor is actress, but the word "actor" is used for both men and women when referring to group.

paragraphs: The first time we know an actor worked was in 534 B.C. The changes in calendar between then and now make the year uncertain. This actor was called Thespis and he was Greek. The place where the play happened was called the "Theatre Dionysus" in Athens, and he won a competition. He was the first person to speak words as a character. This was a big change in storytelling. Before then, people sang and danced stories, but no one had been a person in the story. Today we call actors "thespians" because of Thespis.

paragraphs: In the past, the name "actor" was only for men. Women only began performing often in the 17th century. People called them the "actresses". In the ancient world and in the Middle Ages, people thought it was bad (shameful) for a woman to act.

paragraphs: Today, the word "actor" is for both men and women, because some people think the name "actress" is sexist. But people also use the word "actress" very often.

paragraphs: Women actors sometimes act the roles of young boys, because in some ways a woman is more similar to a boy than a man is. For example, a woman usually plays the role of Peter Pan. In pantomime, a sort of play for children (not the same as mime), the most important young man is also a woman. Opera has some "pants roles" which women traditionally sing. These women are usually mezzo-sopranos, which means they sing with a voice that is high but not very high. Examples are Hansel in "", and Cherubino in "The Marriage of Figaro".

paragraphs: Mary Pickford played the part of "Little Lord Fauntleroy" in the first film version of the book. Linda Hunt won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in "The Year of Living Dangerously", in which she played the part of a man.

paragraphs: In comic theatre and film, people often use a man for a woman's part, or a woman for a man's part - this has a long history. Most of Shakespeare's comedies have examples of this. Both Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams were in popular comedy films where they played most scenes as men in women's clothes, pretending to be women.

paragraphs: In the time of Shakespeare, and earlier, all roles in an English play were played by men, meaning even characters such as Juliet, Lady Macbeth, and Cleopatra were first played by men or boys. After the English Restoration women were allowed to perform on-stage.

paragraphs: More recetly, men have played female roles as a type of humor. Movies with this role reversal include "Mrs. Doubtfire", "Tootsie", "Big Momma's House", "Hairspray", and "The Nutty Professor" starring Eddie Murphy.

paragraphs: Voice acting is a special type of acting. It is most commonly used in animation for both television and movies. Voice actors are the people who make the voices for the characters. They may be the narrator in non-animated works.

paragraphs: Actors working in theatre, film, and television have to learn different skills. Skills that work well in one type of acting may not work well in another type of acting.

paragraphs: To act on stage, actors need to learn the stage directions that appear in the script, such as "Stage Left" and "Stage Right". These directions are based on the actor's point of view as he or she stands on the stage facing the audience. Actors also have to learn the meaning of the stage directions "Upstage" (away from the audience) and "Downstage" (towards the audience)

paragraphs: Theatre actors need to learn blocking, which is "...where and how an actor moves on the stage during a play."

paragraphs: Most scripts specify some blocking. The Director will also give instructions on blocking, such as crossing the stage or picking up and using a prop.

paragraphs: Theatre actors need to learn stage combat, which is simulated fighting on stage. Actors may have to simulate "hand-to-hand [fighting] or with sword[-fighting]." Actors are coached by fight directors, who help them to learn the choreographed sequence of fight actions.

paragraphs: D. W. Griffith first developed of acting that would "suit the cinema rather than the theater." He realized that theatrical acting did not look good on film. Griffith required his actors and actresses to go through weeks of film acting training.

paragraphs: Film actors have to learn to get used to and be comfortable with a camera being in front of them.

paragraphs: Film actors need to learn to find and stay on their "mark." This is a position on the floor marked with tape. This position is where the lights and camera focus are optimized. Film actors also need to learn how to prepare well and perform well on screen tests. Screen tests are a filmed audition of part of the script.

paragraphs: "Unlike the theater actor, who gets to develop a character during...a two- or three-hour performance, the film actor lacks continuity, forcing him or her to come to all the scenes (often shot in reverse order in which they'll ultimately appear) with a character already fully developed."

paragraphs: "Since film captures even the smallest gesture and magnifies it..., cinema demands a less flamboyant and stylized bodily performance from the actor than does the theater." "The performance of emotion is the most difficult aspect of film acting to master: ...the film actor must rely on subtle facial ticks, quivers, and tiny lifts of the eyebrow to create a believable character." Some theatre stars "...have made the theater-to-cinema transition quite successfully (Olivier, Glenn Close, and Julie Andrews, for instance), others have not..."

paragraphs: "On a television set, there are typically several cameras angled at the set. Actors who are new to on-screen acting can get confused about which camera to look into." TV actors need to learn to use lav mics (Lavaliere microphones). TV actors need to understand the concept of "frame." "The term frame refers to the area that the camera's lens is capturing."


title: Al-Khwarizmi

paragraphs: Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī (, ) was a Persian Muslim mathematician and astronomer. He was believed to have been born around 800 AD and died in 850 AD during the Abbasid Empire.

paragraphs: Al-Khwarizmi was known for the book he wrote about algebra, "Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing". He also wrote a book which taught the Western world about Hindu numerals and how to use them. This book was later titled the "Hindu Art of Reckoning". With his books, al-Khwarizmi authored astronomical tables- tables designed to calculate the position of planets or eclipses.

paragraphs: His work changed the understanding and knowledge of mathematics in the Middle Ages and mathematicians in Europe read his book. They began to use these Hindu–Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ...) instead of the Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, ...). The Arabic numeral system is easier to do mathematics with, as Roman numbers have no place values. This means that they can only deal with whole numbers and do simple equations. Roman numerals also have no number zero.

paragraphs: He wrote a book on algebra named "Al-Jabr Wal' Muqibla". In this book, he introduced his own number system and also introduced Arabic numerals. His books were translated into Greek and Latin. They named his books "So said Algorizmi". The word "algorithm" is derived from the word Algorizmi. The word algebra comes from the word al-jabr that is at the beginning of the title of the book.

paragraphs: Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi worked at the House of Wisdom, where people worked on translating scientific works.


title: Ptolemy

paragraphs: Claudius Ptolemy ( ; ; – ) was a Greek who probably lived and worked in Alexandria, Egypt. He is famous for his work on astronomy and geography. Very little is known about his personal life.

paragraphs: He was an astronomer, mathematician, and geographer. He described in his writing the Greek geocentric view of the universe. Earlier Greek philosophers changed the old assumption of a flat Earth below a "vault of the heavens". They substituted a spherical Earth surrounded by a Celestial sphere. Ptolemy built these two spheres into a system of nested spheres. He also thought out and described the apparent motions of the planets as they were known in his time.

paragraphs: Ptolemy explained and extended Hipparchus's system of epicycles and eccentric circles to explain the Earth-centered theory of the world. Ptolemy's system involved at least 80 epicycles to explain the motions of the Sun, the Moon, and the five planets known in his time. He believed the planets and sun moved around the Earth in this order: Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn.

paragraphs: This system became known as the "Ptolemaic system". It predicts the positions of the planets well enough for naked-eye observations, so it seemed accurate at the time. This is described in his book "Mathematical Syntaxis" (widely called the "Almagest"), a thirteen-book mathematical treatment of the phenomena of astronomy. It contains a wide variety of information ranging from earth conceptions to sun, moon, and star movement as well as eclipses and an explanation of the length of months. The "Almagest" also included a star catalog containing 48 constellations, using the names we still use today.

paragraphs: In addition to his well-known works in astronomy, Claudius Ptolemy was important in the history of geography and cartography (making maps). He was influential up to the 16th century. Then his ideas were disproved by Nicolaus Copernicus. Ptolemy knew that the Earth is a sphere. Ptolemy's is the first known projection of the sphere onto a plane. His "Geography" remained the main work on the subject until the time of Christopher Columbus. But he had Asia extending much too far east, which may have been a factor in Columbus's decision to try to reach India by sailing west from Europe.

paragraphs: The Ptolemaic explanation of the motions of the planets was the accepted wisdom until the Polish scholar Copernicus proposed a sun-centered (heliocentric) view in 1543. Though the heliocentric idea is correct, its predictions were not better than Ptolemy's until Kepler's Laws were added.

paragraphs: Ptolemy may not actually have believed in the reality of his system. He may have thought of it only as a method of calculating positions.


title: Moctezuma II

paragraphs: Moctezuma II, also known as Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin (1466-1520) and often called Montezuma in English, was the Aztec emperor ("tlahtoani") from 1502 to 1520. His name comes from the Nahuatl "Motecuhzoma", it means "he who is leader because of his fury". In Spanish, he is called Moctezuma.

paragraphs: When Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexico in 1519, Moctezuma thought he was the god Quetzalcoatl, and did not want to fight against him. Cortés took Moctezuma prisoner. When the Aztecs wanted Cortés to get out of their capital Tenochtitlan in 1520, Cortes told Moctezuma to calm down his people. When doing that he died. The Spaniards said he was killed by the Aztecs, while the Aztecs said Cortés killed him. The Spanish said that the Aztec people threw rocks at him, killing him. The Aztecs said that they found his body in the streets with a lot of cuts made with a sword after the Spanish left.


title: Antonio López de Santa Anna

paragraphs: Antonio López de Santa Anna Pérez de Lebrón (February 21, 1794 - June 21, 1876) was a Mexican general and dictator. Under his rule of Mexico, it lost half its territory. Santa Anna was president 11 times. He fought two wars against the United States. In the war against Texas (1835-1836), he won the famous Battle of the Alamo, but later he lost the Battle of San Jacinto and was taken prisoner by the Americans. He also lost the Mexican- American War with the United States (1846-1848),


title: Granzyme

paragraphs: Granzymes are enzymes contained within cytotoxic T cells and natural killer cells. These substances are used to destroy virus-infected cells.

paragraphs: Granzyme secretion can be detected and measured using the ELISPOT and ELISA techniques.


title: Apartheid

paragraphs: Apartheid was a political and social system in South Africa during the era of White minority rule. It enforced racial discrimination against non-Whites, mainly focused on skin colour and facial features. This existed in the twentieth century, from 1948 until the early-1990s. The word "apartheid" means "distantiation” in the Afrikaans language. Racial segregation had existed in Southern Africa for centuries. In the elections of 1948 the National Party took power and in the next few years made new apartheid laws. The new laws more strictly enforced segregation. In theory, it was to bring independence to the African majority in their own little countries to be created from South African territory.

paragraphs: Under this system, the people of South Africa were divided by their race and the different races were forced to live separately from each other. There were laws in place to ensure that segregation was abided by. The apartheid system in South Africa was abolished in 1994, when a new constitution was ratified which abolished the previous system of segregation. The last President who held office during the apartheid era was Frederik Willem de Klerk; who was responsible for holding negotiations with political prisoner Nelson Mandela to bring an end to apartheid. Following these successful negotiations, Nelson Mandela was elected to the Presidency of South Africa after multi-racial elections were held in April 1994, and became the first black person to hold the position. The pair were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts. Today, the term apartheid is sometimes used for similar segregational systems in other countries.

paragraphs: During apartheid, people were divided into four racial groups and separated by law. The system was used to deny many basic rights to non-White people, mainly Black people who lived in South Africa. The law allowed white people to be in certain areas. Black people had to carry special passes or have permission to travel outside their designated area, or work in particular areas reserved for Whites. The government separated mixed communities and forcibly moved many black people off their land (From 1960 to 1983 the Bantustan Policy was enforced to forcibly move South African blacks out of the areas designated for 'whites'). Many other laws were made, for example: interracial marriage was outlawed; Black people could not own land in White areas or vote.

paragraphs: The United Nations did not agree with the South African government's apartheid policies. There were protests in South Africa, like in Sharpeville in 1960 and in Soweto in 1976. After the Sharpeville Massacre, the UN tried to remove South Africa in 1974. France, the United States, and the UK prevented that from happening. The Soweto Uprisings started because Africans were forced to study some subjects at school in Afrikaans. Many Black people did not like Afrikaans because it was the language of the apartheid government and the language of their oppressors.

paragraphs: In 1989, F. W. de Klerk became President of South Africa. He wanted to reform the system. In a speech in 1990, de Klerk said the ban on the African National Congress was lifted. He also ruled that Nelson Mandela would be released from prison.

paragraphs: In 1991, the UN created the "National Peace Accord". The purpose of the Peace Accord was "to bring an end to political violence" in South Africa. It was agreed on by 27 organisations and governments. After this the "Convention for a Democratic South Africa" (CODESA) was formed. CODESA worked to find a solution to the violence.

paragraphs: The first multiracial election in which all races could vote, was held on 27 April 1994. Nelson Mandela was elected President, with De Klerk and Thabo Mbeki as deputies. This date considered the end of apartheid. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created to help victims speak out and seek justice. It was chaired by Desmond Tutu in the 1990s.

paragraphs: Although Black South Africans were granted equal rights by law after a long fought campaign, there is still huge economic inequality between Blacks and Whites. In 2012, South Africa held its first census in over ten years. It found that the average Black family earned one-sixth (about 17%) of what the average White family earned. "These figures tell us that at the bottom of the rung is the black majority who continue to be confronted by deep poverty unemployment and inequality,” President Jacob Zuma said when the findings were released. Nelson Mandela spent the majority of his life fighting against apartheid laws, and without his activism; many of the changes would never have happened.

paragraphs: The goal of apartheid was to separate the people of South Africa into small independent nations. The black ones were called Bantustans. South Africa said they were independent countries and exchanged ambassadors but other countries did not. The National Party government did not want to spend a lot of money on this project. They also wanted to keep the majority of South Africa's land for white people, especially the richest places, like the gold mines of Johannesburg. They wanted black men to work in these mines for little money but their families had to live far away or face imprisonment.


title: Dreyfus Affair

paragraphs: The Dreyfus Affair was one of the biggest scandals in the history of France. It happened at the end of the 19th century. It was about Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French army.

paragraphs: In 1894, Dreyfus was accused of being a spy, and accused of crimes against France. People thought he wrote letters to the Germans telling them about secrets of the French army.

paragraphs: His punishment was to be sent to a prison island in South America for the rest of his life.

paragraphs: When he was in prison, people (mostly his brother Mathieu and a high-ranking officer called Picquart) thought he was innocent. They proved that another soldier, Major Esterhazy, was guilty. But the army did not want to admit that it had been wrong. They refused to free him. Finally, the evidence that Dreyfus was innocent became so strong that the government had to demand a new trial. At the new trial, the army again found him guilty. The President of France, who did not want an innocent man to suffer any more, pardoned Dreyfus in 1899.

paragraphs: Dreyfus was released. Seven years later, he was officially declared innocent, and allowed back into the army.

paragraphs: The affair divided France into people who thought Dreyfus really was a spy and people who thought he was innocent. Many of those who thought Dreyfus was a spy hated Jews and believed that he was a criminal because he was a Jew, and that a Jew could not be a good Frenchman; this belief is called anti-Semitism. Others thought that the army could not be questioned. The other side believed that an innocent man should not be imprisoned, and feared that Dreyfus's enemies were also enemies of France.


title: Baseball

paragraphs: Baseball is a sport played on a field by two teams against each other. In baseball, a player on one team throws a small round ball at a player on the other team, who tries to hit it with a bat. Then the player who hits the ball has to run around the field. Players get points by running around in a full circle around three points on the ground called bases, to back where they started, which is called home plate. They have to do this without getting caught by the players on the other team.

paragraphs: Baseball started in the United States in the 1700s and 1800s, The game was made by Abner Doubleday. Many people in North America, South America, and East Asia play baseball, but the sport is most known in the United States and Japan. In the U.S., baseball is called the "national pastime", because so many people in the United States used to spend a lot of time playing or watching baseball games. Today, though, most Americans follow football more than baseball, especially when it comes time for the Super Bowl.

paragraphs: A game of baseball is played by two teams on a baseball field. Each team has 9 players. There are also 4 umpires. There is one for where young players play. Umpires watch everything carefully to decide what happened, make calls about a play, and make sure everyone follows the rules.

paragraphs: On a baseball field, there are four bases. The bases form a diamond that goes around the field to the right from the starting base. The starting base is called "home plate". Home plate is a pentagon, which is a shape that has five sides. First base is on the right side of the field, second base is at the top of the infield, third base is on the left side of the field, and home plate is at the back of the field, where the catcher plays.

paragraphs: The game is played in "innings". Professional baseball games have 9 innings. In an inning, each team has one turn to bat and try to score "runs", adding one point. When one team hits the ball, the other team defends and tries to get three players on the other team "out". The team that is playing defense always has the ball. This is different from other team sports. When the team on defense gets three players out, it is their turn to try and score runs. Then the team that was batting starts playing defense, and the team that was playing defense starts batting. After nine innings, the team that has the most runs is the winner. If the teams have the same number of runs, they play more innings until one team wins. At the start of the game, the home team pitches, while players on the visiting team bat. Only one player can bat at a time.

paragraphs: The baseball field, or "diamond", has two main parts, the infield and the outfield. The "infield" is where the four bases are. The "outfield" is beyond the bases, from the view of home plate. The lines from home plate to first base and home plate to third base are the "foul lines", and the ground outside of these lines is called "foul territory". A ball that is hit with a bat and flies between the foul lines is a "fair ball", and the batter and runners can try and run around the bases and score. A ball that is outside the foul lines is a "foul ball". If the ball hits the ground in the foul area rather than being caught in the air, the batter continues to bat, and any runners must return to the base that they were on before the ball was hit. If the batter has fewer than two strikes, a foul ball counts as a strike. If the batter already has two strikes, and the foul ball is not caught in the air, then the batter continues to hit. If a ball is caught by a fielder in fair or foul ground, the batter is out.

paragraphs: The most important part of the game is between the "pitcher" and the "batter". The pitcher throws, or "pitches", the ball towards home plate. The pitcher normally throws the ball close enough for the batter to hit it. If the pitcher throws the ball in the strike zone, which is the area over home plate and between the hitter's knee and chest, the pitch is a "strike", unless the batter hits the ball. The pitch is always a strike, regardless of where it is, if the batter swings the bat and misses, so the batter must have good aim with the bat. Three strikes are a "strikeout", and this is one way to make an "out". A pitch that the batter does not swing at, and which is not called a strike, is a "ball." On the fourth "ball" thrown by a pitcher, the batter "walks" to first base, so it is important to pitch well.

paragraphs: The "catcher" for the pitcher's team waits behind the batter, and catches any ball that the batter does not hit. The catcher uses signals to tell the pitcher where to throw the ball. If the pitcher does not like what the catcher says, he will shake his head, which signals "no". If he agrees with what the catcher has signaled, he will nod his head, which signals "yes".

paragraphs: There are many ways to get batters out, and runners can also be gotten out. Some common ways to get batters out are catching a batted ball in the air, whether in fair or foul territory, throwing the ball to the defensive player at first base (an out if it gets there before the batter), and a strikeout. A runner can be put out by tagging the runner while the runner is not on a base, and by "forcing him out" (when a base is touched before a player can get there, with no base for the runner to go back to). When the fielding team has put out three of the batting team's players, the "half-inning" is over and the team in the field and the team at bat switch places.

paragraphs: The batting team wants to get runs. In order to get a run, a player must bat, then become a base runner, touch all the bases in order, and then touch home plate without being called out. So first, the batter wants to make other players get to home plate, or to run the bases himself. Runners can not pass each other while running the bases.

paragraphs: A base runner who touches home plate after touching all previous bases in order, and without getting out, scores a "run". If the batter hits the ball over the fence (between the foul lines) without touching the ground, it is a home run. The batter, and any base-runners, are allowed to advance to the home plate and score a run. The fielding team can do nothing to stop them.

paragraphs: The team on the field tries not to let the team who's batting get any runs. The fielding team has a pitcher and a catcher. The remaining seven fielders can stand anywhere in the field. However, there are usually four people that stand around the infield close to the bases and three "outfielders" who stand around the outfield.

paragraphs: The four infielders are the "first baseman", "second baseman", "shortstop", and "third baseman". The first baseman and third baseman stand close to first base and third base. The second baseman and the shortstop stand on either side of second base.

paragraphs: The first baseman's job is to make "force plays" at first base. In a force play, another infielder catches a ball that has touched the ground, and throws it to the first baseman. The first baseman must then touch the batter or the base with the ball before the batter can touch first base. Then the batter is out. First basemen need to have quick feet, stretch well, be quick and know how to catch wild throws. First base is one of the most important positions as a significant number of plays happen there.

paragraphs: The second baseman's job is to cover the area to the right of second base and to back the first baseman up. The shortstop's job is to cover the area between second and third bases. This is where right-handed batters usually hit ground balls. The shortstop also covers second or third base and the near part of left field. The shortstop is usually the best fielder on the team. The third baseman needs to have a strong throwing arm. This is because many times the batter will hit a ball toward third base. The third baseman must throw the ball very quickly to the first baseman, to get the runner out. Because the balls that go to third base are usually hit very hard, the third baseman must also be very quick.

paragraphs: The three outfielders are called the "left fielder", the "center fielder", and the "right fielder", because they stand in left field, center field and right field. Left field and right field are on the left and right sides, if you look out from home plate. Center field is straight ahead from home plate. Center field is very big, so the center fielder is usually the fastest.

paragraphs: The team can decide where to put the infielders and outfielders. Players often stand at slightly different places on the field between some plays. These changes are called "shifts". The fielders may shift at any time. Players can shift for many reasons. One of the more popular ones is the "defensive shift", where players move in the infield. They do this because they know that some batters can only hit a ball a certain direction. It can also be easier to make a double play when fielders are moved a certain way.

paragraphs: Teams can change pitchers during a game. Teams change their pitchers often because it is hard for a pitcher to throw a full game of nine innings. A pitcher can sometimes throw a no-hitter where no one on the opposite team gets an earned hit. A team can use as many pitchers as it wants to, but it is rare to use more than eight in a game. The ways that a pitcher throws the ball are called "pitches". Many professional pitchers use two or more different pitches. Pitchers change which pitch they throw so that the batter will be tricked and not know what pitch to expect. This makes it more difficult for the batter to hit the ball. Pitchers can make the ball move differently: faster or slower, closer or farther from the batter, higher or lower. There are also many types of pitches, such as the slurve, curve, slider, splitter, sinker, screw, 2-seam cut, 2-seam screw, knuckle, knuckle curve, change-up, circle change-up, palm ball, and others.

paragraphs: When throwing the ball, the pitcher must touch the pitchers mound with his foot. The pitcher's rubber is on top of the mound. The pitcher cannot take more than one step forward when he throws the ball. That makes the pitcher throw the ball slower. Many major-league pitchers can throw the ball up to 100 miles per hour (145 km/h). Throwing a baseball that fast can be bad for the body. Pitchers can end up with a lot of injuries. Doctors often will perform Tommy John surgery on a pitcher with an elbow injury. The operation is named after Tommy John, the first pitcher to have the surgery. Today, pitchers are able to recover from their injuries much more often than before Tommy John surgery.

paragraphs: The batting team wants to get runs. The batting team sends its players up to home plate in a special order. This order is called the "lineup". Each team chooses its lineup at the start of the game. After the game starts, the team cannot change the order. But the team can use a player who was not on the lineup. The new player has to change with an original player. The new player's name is written in the lineup where the original player's name was. After the ninth player has batted, the first player in the lineup starts again. If a runner comes to home plate, he scores a run. Then he is not a base runner. After scoring a run, the player must leave the field until it is his turn again. So a player can only score one run for each time he bats.

paragraphs: Since people began to have more free time, baseball has become the national pastime of America. About 12 million people play baseball in the United States.


title: Antonym

paragraphs: An antonym is a word that has the opposite meaning of another word. The first known use of the word antonym was in 1857. Properly defined it means "a word of opposite meaning" and is a noun.


title: Names of God in Judaism

paragraphs: In Judaism, God is known by many names. The most important of these names is the "Tetragrammaton", or "Four-lettered word": YHVH, YHWH, or י - ה וה. Jews are not allowed to say this name, and instead say "Adonai". Even "Adonai" is only used by some Jews in prayer. Most Jews would refer to God as "Hashem", or "The Name". Jews are not allowed to erase the Tetragrammaton, so they rarely write it down outside of their most holy books, such as the Torah.

paragraphs: Other names include "Elohim", "El", "Shaddai", "Tzeva-ot", "‘Elyon", and "Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh" which are respectively pronounced by observant Jews as Elokim, Kayl, Shakkai, Tzeva-Kot.

paragraphs: Certain names, such as Shalom, are pronounced as written, but when written one letter, in this case the last letter, is omitted. The last of the above "other" list is often said as Ek-yeh Asher Ek-yeh.


title: EFL Championship

paragraphs: The EFL Championship, commonly known as The Championship, is the name of the English second division of football.


title: Birmingham

paragraphs: Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. It is the second-largest metropolitan area and city in the United Kingdom. About 1.1 million people live in Birmingham. Around 4.3 million people live in its metropolitan area. Many people call it the "second city" of the United Kingdom..

paragraphs: Birmingham began as a small town in 1166.

paragraphs: Queen Victoria gave city status to Birmingham in 1889.

paragraphs: Many industries were developed in Birmingham during the 18th and 19th centuries. These included making weapons and food.

paragraphs: Birmingham manufacturing industry played a big role in the war effort in World War I and World War II. The WWII spitfire aeroplane was made in Birmingham. In 2000, a statue of stylised spitfires was erected next to the old factory site. The factory now makes Jaguar cars.

paragraphs: Birmingham had a large car making industry. It has declined since the 1980s. It remains the home town for Jaguar and Land Rover cars.

paragraphs: In 1974, twenty-one people were killed in the Birmingham pub bombings.


title: Richmond, Virginia

paragraphs: Richmond () is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. The population within the city limits was 204,214 in 2010, with an estimated population of 1,258,251 for the Richmond Metropolitan Area — making it the third largest in Virginia.

paragraphs: Richmond is at the fall line of the James River, south of Washington DC, east of Charlottesville, Virginia, and west of Williamsburg, Virginia. Surrounded by Henrico and Chesterfield counties, the city is at the intersections of Interstate 95 and Interstate 64, and encircled by Interstate 295 and Virginia State Route 288.

paragraphs: Richmond began as an important village of the Powhatan Confederacy, and was briefly settled by English colonists from Jamestown in 1609, and in 1610–11. English settlers returned to found a permanent town in 1737. It became the capital of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia in 1780. During the Revolutionary War period, the city was known for Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" speech in 1775 at St. John's Church, and the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom written by Thomas Jefferson. During the American Civil War, Richmond served as the capital of the Confederate States of America. The city entered the 20th century with one of the world's first successful electric streetcar systems.

paragraphs: Richmond's economy is primarily driven by law, finance, and government. It has federal, state, and local governmental agencies in its downtown. The downtown also has offices for legal and banking firms. The city is home to both the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, one of 13 federal appellate courts, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, one of 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks. Dominion Resources, Carmax, Genworth Financial, and MeadWestvaco, Fortune 500 companies, along with Massey Energy and Universal Corporation, Fortune 1000 companies, are headquartered in the city. The historic sites in the area bring tourists.


title: American Civil War

paragraphs: The American Civil War (1861–1865) was a civil war in the United States of America. It is sometimes called "The War Between the States." The war was fought because eleven Southern states wanted to leave the United States of America. They formed the Confederate States of America, also called "the Confederacy." The U.S. government and the states that remained loyal to it were called "the Union."

paragraphs: The main cause of the war was slavery. Slavery was common in the Southern states, including all 11 that joined the Confederate states. It was illegal in most of the Northern states. The Confederate states tried to leave the Union after Abraham Lincoln, who disliked slavery, was elected President of the United States. The Union believed that it was illegal for the states to break away. Five states where slavery was legal stayed in the Union. These were called the "border states." At first, the Union did not plan to end slavery if it won. This changed in 1862.

paragraphs: The war began on April 12, 1861 when Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter, a fort in South Carolina held by Union soldiers. It lasted four years and caused much damage in the South. Most battles were in northern states until 1862 and in southern states after 1862. After four years of fighting, the Union won the war. After the Union won, slavery was made illegal everywhere in the United States.

paragraphs: When the United States of America was founded in 1776, most states allowed slavery. But over the next 84 years, the Northern states decided that slavery was a bad thing and ended it. The Southern states kept slavery legal. Slaves from Africa grew tobacco, cotton and other cash crops in those states, which made a lot of money for businesses in the north and south.

paragraphs: The United States became divided into slave and free states. By 1860, those groups were angry at each other. At this stage, few people wanted to end slavery in the south. Instead, they argued about whether slavery should be allowed to spread to the territories and new states in the west. In the late 1850s, there was fighting in Kansas between people who wanted Kansas to allow slavery and those who did not.

paragraphs: Abraham Lincoln from the Republican Party won the 1860 United States presidential election. At that time, Lincoln did not want to ban slavery. Like everyone else, he believed that the United States Constitution did not allow the federal government to ban slavery (the amendment to ban slavery had not yet been passed). He also thought that banning it suddenly would damage the South. Instead, Lincoln and the Republican Party thought it would be enough to not let slavery start in the west. They thought slavery would die out on its own if no one let it spread to new places.

paragraphs: Lincoln became president on March 4, 1861. In the four month gap between the election and the day Lincoln became president, seven Southern states declared their independence from the Union. The outgoing U.S. president, James Buchanan, said this was against the law, but he did nothing to stop them. Lincoln and his Republican party treated this secession as a rebellion. No country ever recognized the Confederacy as its own, separate nation. This was because of diplomacy on the part of the Union, anti-slavery feelings in Europe and the northern blockade of southern ports.

paragraphs: The first seven states to join the Confederacy were South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. Four others joined after fighting began: Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina. The Confederacy claimed Kentucky and Missouri belonged to them, but these states never joined the Confederacy. Kentucky, Missouri and Maryland were slave states that tried to avoid taking sides. Delaware supported the Union despite being a slave state. Also, the western counties of Virginia chose to remain in the Union, creating a new state called West Virginia.

paragraphs: Fighting started when the Confederates shot and threw bombs at Fort Sumter, a Union Army fort. Lincoln then asked the Union states to bring soldiers to fight the Confederates.

paragraphs: The Confederate States said all forts and other federal buildings in the South belonged to them. Fort Sumter was in South Carolina, one of the Confederate States. However, the fort was controlled by the Union. On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces attacked the fort. They forced the Union soldiers inside the fort to surrender. After this, President Lincoln asked every Union state for volunteers to join the Union Army. Four more southern slave states joined the Confederates instead of supplying forces to fight against them.

paragraphs: The United States Navy stopped other ships from going in or out of southern ports. This stopped the Confederacy from selling its cotton and other goods. It also made it harder for them to buy weapons and military supplies.

paragraphs: The American Civil War was fought in three important land areas, or "theaters." The "Eastern theater" was all land east of the Appalachian Mountains. "The Western theater" included everything between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River and along the river. The Trans-Mississippi theater included territory west of the Mississippi River.

paragraphs: Both the United States and the Confederacy had their capital cities in the Eastern theater. Washington D.C. had been the capital of the U.S. since 1800. When the South seceded, its first capital was Montgomery, Alabama but they changed it to Richmond, Virginia. Richmond and Washington are only about 90 miles (145 km) apart. One of the first battles of the war was fought in Virginia. This First Battle of Bull Run happened on July 21, 1861. The Confederates won the battle. The Union Army of the Potomac then tried to capture Richmond in the Peninsula Campaign during the spring of 1862. At this time, Robert E. Lee became leader of the Army of Northern Virginia and defeated the Union army. He then won the Second Battle of Bull Run in August 1862. Lee tried to win the war by invading Maryland. When he lost the Battle of Antietam, he retreated back to Virginia.

paragraphs: There was much fighting between ships in the American Civil War but the Union had a stronger and bigger navy. Lincoln put the Confederates under a "blockade", which meant the Union navy would not let any ships into or out of southern ports. The Confederates used ships called "blockade runners" to bring things from Europe. The things the Confederates brought included weapons. The navies of each side also fought on the rivers. The ships included ironclads, which were protected by iron on their sides, and cottonclads, which used cotton along their sides. During the Battle of Hampton Roads, the Confederate ironclad "Virginia" fought against the Union ironclad "Monitor". This was the first time in world history that two ironclads fought each other.

paragraphs: In the Western theater, much of the fighting happened along the Mississippi River. Ulysses S. Grant was an important Union general in the west. The Confederates tried to send their soldiers into the state of Kentucky during the summer of 1861. During the early months of 1862, the Union army made the Confederates retreat from Kentucky and from western Tennessee. The Confederates tried to recapture western Tennessee by attacking Grant's army at the Battle of Shiloh. Grant won the battle. The Confederates then tried to send their soldiers into eastern Kentucky during the fall of 1862. They left Kentucky after losing the Battle of Perryville.

paragraphs: The North won control of almost all of the Mississippi River by capturing the cities along the river. This happened during the fall of 1862 and spring of 1863. However, the Confederacy still held Vicksburg, an important city and fort. If they held the city, the Confederates could move soldiers and supplies from one side of the river to the other. Grant started the Siege of Vicksburg during the month of May 1863. The siege continued for a long time. On July 4, 1863, the Confederates in Vicksburg surrendered to Grant. This was one of the turning points in the war, because it divided the Confederacy into two parts.

paragraphs: There were also battles west of the Mississippi river valley, in the Trans-Mississippi theater. For example, two important battles were the Battle of Wilson's Creek and the Battle of Pea Ridge. The Confederates tried to invade New Mexico during February and March 1862 but they were defeated at the Battle of Glorieta Pass. After the Union captured Vicksburg, this area became separated from the rest of the Confederate states. Other battles happened in this area after the capture of Vicksburg.

paragraphs: During the siege of Vicksburg in the west, another turning point came in the east. After winning some battles, Lee decided to invade the North again. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia went into Pennsylvania. The Confederate Army met the Union Army near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The two armies fought the Battle of Gettysburg. This battle lasted for three days: July 1 to 3, 1863. More soldiers died at Gettysburg than in any other Civil War battle. The Union won the battle. This meant the Confederate Army's had to stop invading the North. Lee and his troops were pushed back into the South.

paragraphs: After this, President Lincoln decided that Grant was his best general. He put Grant in control of all the Union armies. Lincoln also made William T. Sherman the general in charge of the Union troops in Georgia. Grant led many attacks on Lee's army. These battles were made up the Overland Campaign.

paragraphs: Meanwhile, Sherman burned Atlanta and Savannah. He did this to try to make the South weaker and to make it harder for Southern people to supply the Confederate Army with food and other necessities. Sherman then marched north through South Carolina and North Carolina. Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston attacked Sherman at the Battle of Bentonville. Sherman won the battle. Even in the 20th century, southerners remember Sherman's march as destroying many homes, farms and railroads, but Sherman's soldiers are blamed for things that happened far away from where they were.

paragraphs: Eventually, Lee decided that he had too few soldiers to keep on fighting the Union, which had more soldiers and supplies. Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9, 1865, near Appomattox Court House. After Lee surrendered, many other Confederate armies surrendered also. The last Confederate general to surrender was Brigadier General Stand Watie. He surrendered on June 23, 1865, in Oklahoma.

paragraphs: After the war ended, President Lincoln pardoned all of the Confederate soldiers. This meant the Confederate soldiers would not be arrested or punished for fighting against the Union. The southern states would be allowed to rejoin the United States again, but not immediately. Some Confederates did not want to return to the United States. Some of these people moved to México or Brazil.

paragraphs: During the war, inflation was a problem in the Union and a bigger problem in the Confederacy whose government paid for the war by printing a large amount of paper money. Prices went up and everything became more expensive. Many people could not afford the higher prices and went hungry because of this. This was one thing that helped lead to the Confederacy's surrender.

paragraphs: Many soldiers on both sides died during the war. Most of the war was fought in the South. Many railroads, farms, houses and other things were destroyed and most people there became very poor.

paragraphs: The period after the war, called Reconstruction, lasted from the end of the war until 1877. The Union Army stayed in some Southern states, making them occupied territory. Three important amendments were added on to the United States Constitution. The amendments were proposed (or suggested) by the U.S. government. Although not every American supported them, the amendments got enough support to pass:

paragraphs: After the war, some of the Union Army's leaders went into politics. Generals Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Harrison and McKinley became presidents. Other veterans were elected to other offices.

paragraphs: The southern states were allowed to ask to rejoin the union. Only after that could they send senators and representatives to the United States Congress again and make their own state laws. During Reconstruction, black Americans built schools and other social infrastructure. Some of these schools became the historically black colleges that are still in the United States today. After southern states rejoined the Union, most of them made laws that limited what black people could do.

paragraphs: The Amnesty Act of 1872 restored the rights to vote and to hold political office for most of the former members of the Confederacy. Some of them also became politicians.


title: Tutankhamun

paragraphs: Tutankhamun was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. He reigned from when he was nine years old (1334 BC) to when he died (1323 BC). He became Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty (royal family) during the New Kingdom.

paragraphs: Tutankhamun was the son of Akhenaten and one of Akhenaten's sisters, or perhaps one of his cousins,Kiya.

paragraphs: Tutankhamun ruled for 9 years and died very young, at 19, so he is known as The Boy King. He was married to his half-sister Ankhesenamun, daughter of Queen Nefertiti, his step mother.

paragraphs: In his third year of his reign, Tutankhamun reversed several changes made during his father's reign. He ended the worship of the god Aten and restored the god Amun to supremacy. The ban on the cult of Amun was lifted and traditional privileges were restored to its priesthood. The capital was moved back to Thebes and the city of Akhetaten abandoned. This is when he changed his name to Tutankhamun, "Living image of Amun", reinforcing the restoration of Amun.

paragraphs: In 1922 Howard Carter found Tutankhamun's tomb. Tutankhamen is believed to carry a curse. People who saw the coffin later died. Many believe this but it is not true as the archeologists who have visited his tomb died from natural causes.

paragraphs: Recent studies of his body using CT scans and DNA tests show that he had two children, but they died very young. Scientists now believe he died from a broken leg, made more complicated by bone disease and malaria. Before this discovery there were many theories about his early death, including murder. It is quite certain that he was infected by several strains of malaria, and very likely that he had some genetic defects caused by inbreeding. His parents were brother and sister. The final cause of his death is still unclear.

paragraphs: In 2014 the Egyptian Museum in Cairo opened four new halls in the Tutankhamun Gallery.


title: Independence

paragraphs: The word independence means "not dependent", or not having to depend on anyone or anything else. It also means being strong and able to survive alone. Anything can be dependent or independent. When people talk about independence, it may be about people or countries, where it is often being spoken about as a good thing. For places, it may mean sovereignty or autonomy. In science, as in "independent variable" the word does not mean it's good or bad.

paragraphs: A country gets its independence when it is no longer part of another country. Sometimes countries get their independence in a war, as when the United States left the British Empire in the American War of Independence. Countries can also get their independence peacefully, like Canada and Norway did. Help from another country may be needed to get independence, like in World War II, when the allies freed many countries that had been controlled by the Axis powers and, temporarily, vice versa. Attempts to gain independence may lead to civil war and may be unsuccessful.

paragraphs: Singapore gained independence from Malaysia in 1965. The newest country to get its independence was South Sudan. Other countries that became independent not long ago are Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, Eritrea in 1993 and East Timor in 2002. However, some countries have political parties that discuss whether their country should become independent. Some examples of these are the Scottish National Party (SNP) or the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP).