title: Aurora

paragraphs: An aurora, also called polar light, northern light or southern light, is a natural light display in the sky. They are usually seen in the high latitudes (Arctic and Antarctic) regions. Auroras are produced when the Earth's magnetosphere is disturbed by the solar wind.

paragraphs: An aurora around the North Pole is called the "Aurora borealis" or 'northern lights'. Around the South Pole it is the "Aurora australis" or 'dawn of the south' or 'southern lights'. It can be seen from long distances, stretching in the sky many hundreds of miles far.

paragraphs: Auroras can happen at any time, however they can only be seen at night because their light is not as strong as the light of day. Faint stars can even be seen through the aurora.

paragraphs: Many legends are associated with the aurora in all countries where this phenomenon regularly occurs.

paragraphs: An aurora occurs when the Sun sends off small particles into space. These particles are mainly electrons, with charge and energy, which means they contribute to electricity. Earth has a protective shield of energy around it. This is called the "magnetic field" and forms an elongated sphere around the Earth called the "magnetosphere". The Earth’s magnetic field keeps off most of the solar wind.

paragraphs: At high-latitude areas (polar areas), the magnetic field is vertical. It does not keep off particles of the solar wind which can come from the magnetosphere and hit the particles of the air (Earth's atmosphere). When they hit, the atmosphere is heated and excited and the excess energy gets away, a phenomenon which we see as moving lights in the sky above 100 km altitude typically. An aurora can be especially bright following a solar flare and coronal mass ejection (CME), when the charged particles rip through the electromagnetic field because of their power.

paragraphs: Auroral phenomena have been observed on other planets that have a magnetic field, such as Jupiter, Saturn and more recently Mars. It is believed to be a widespread phenomenon in the Solar System and beyond.


title: Nordic countries

paragraphs: Nordic countries are a group of countries in Northern Europe. These countries include Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, and the territories of the Aland Islands and the Faroe Islands. Though often confused as such, Scandinavia is not equivalent to the Nordic countries. Scandinavia is a peninsula while the Nordic countries are recognized states. Sweden and Norway (and a small part of Finland) rest on the Scandinavian peninsula. Scandinavia and Finland together belong to a larger peninsula, Fennoscandia. Finns speak a non-Germanic language.

paragraphs: Nordic countries have similar state, law and culture. Historically, Nordic countries have maintained close connections. Nordic countries are primarily socialist democracies. Nordic countries have some political co-operation, such as the Nordic council. Cooperation with a larger group, the European Union, makes the Nordic cooperation even smaller.

paragraphs: Nordic countries have long, cold winters with warm days in the summer, but only a small part of Northern Norway and approximately half of Iceland is arctic, although Iceland lies below the Arctic Circle except for one small island.

paragraphs: Of late, many Nordic countries have been facing issues with immigration, mainly Sweden. Their relaxed immigration policy has allowed many Middle Easterners to seek refuge from their war-torn countries there.


title: Going Underground

paragraphs: "Going Underground" was The Jam's first number one song on the UK charts. The song is arguably The Jam's finest moment in their career. Although it did not appear on any of their studio albums, it did appear on several 'best of' Jam albums.


title: Paasselkä devil

paragraphs: Paasselkä devils (Finnish "Päässelän pirut") are stories about balls of light at lake Paasselkä, Finland. Local people say that bright balls sometimes move above lake Paasselkä or near the lake in the forest. This kinds of lights are said to appear around the world. They are sometimes called ghost lights or will o' the wisps. Scientists does not know what ghost lights or will o' wisps are.

paragraphs: People have told these stories for a long time, so it is a part of folklore there. People thought that balls of light are devils. Some still believe that balls are alive or have mind, because they seem to act like that. Ball can follow fishermans boat of go to hide if you use your torch.

paragraphs: Lake Paasselkä appeared when big stone dropped from the sky millions of years ago. Such lake is called crater-lake. Magnetism in the middle of the lake is not normal.


title: Aurora (mythology)

paragraphs: Aurora was the ancient Roman equivalent of Eos. Eos was the ancient Greek goddess of the dawn. "Aurora" is the Latin word for dawn.

paragraphs: Aurora renews herself every morning at dawn and flies across the sky. She announces the morning's arrival. She has a brother and a sister. Her brother is the sun, and her sister is the moon. She also has many husbands and four sons, one for each cardinal direction: North, East, South, and West.

paragraphs: Aurora is comparable to Eos in Greek mythology and to Ushas in Hindu mythology.

paragraphs: One of her lovers was Tithonus. Aurora asked Zeus to grant immortality to Tithonus. However, she failed to ask him for eternal youth. As a result, Tithonus ended up aging eternally.

paragraphs: In Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" (i.i) Montague says of his lovesick son Romeo

paragraphs: In the poem "Tithonus" by Lord Alfred Tennyson, Aurora is described as folllows:

paragraphs: The asteroid 94 Aurora was named after her.


title: Ukko

paragraphs: Ukko was the most important god in Finnish paganism, a religion that was in Finland before Christianity. Ukko was god of sky and thunder. Ukko was an old man and he lived on the sky. He had a weapon - hammer or axe called "Ukonvasara". Lightning is from this weapon.

paragraphs: Finnish pagans had an image of this weapon made from metal on their necks. They believed that lightning does not hit people who have this image.

paragraphs: At Midsummer Finns gathered together and drank beer to honour Ukko. That was called "toast of Ukko".

paragraphs: Ukko is similar to Thor that was a sky god of most Scandinavians and Perun that is a Baltic sky god.


title: Väinämöinen

paragraphs: Väinämöinen is an important person in Finnish mythology. He was a wise man and he knew magic. He was a hero and had many adventures.

paragraphs: Väinämöinen was also a god. As such, he was worshipped.

paragraphs: Magic of Väinämöinen was in his songs. When he sings hills shake and water moves. He sings his enemy, Joukahainen, to sink in swamp.

paragraphs: Väinämöinen was bornt before Earth. He was floating in the sea. He was born a grown man. Her mother, Ilmatar got pregnant by the water and wind and carried her son for 30 years. A bird (Sotka) made a nest on Ilmatar´s knee and when the bird hatched her eggs (six of them made of iron, one pure gold), it burned Ilmatar´s knee and finally Ilmatar moved her knee and all the eggs flew into the sky and on the earth and were broken. From those pieces the Earth and sky, the stars, The sun and the moon were born.


title: Ilmarinen

paragraphs: Ilmarinen is an important person in Finnish mythology. He is a very good smith who made the sky. He also made the Sampo, a magical machine that makes salt, gold and food. He tried to create a new moon and a sun, but failed. Ilmarinen married one of Louhi´s daughters.


title: Finnish paganism

paragraphs: Finnish paganism was a pagan religion in Finland and Karelia before the Finnish people were Christian. Finnish paganism is close to Scandinavian paganism and Baltic paganism. The Finns believed that there were many gods.

paragraphs: Finnish paganism was animistic. This means that people believed nature was full of small and big spirits. The biggest spirits were gods who had names, the god of the sky was Ukko, the god of the forest was Tapio and the god of water was Ahti. There were many other spirits known by specific names.

paragraphs: A Shaman was a wise person who could perform magic. With the help from spirits, he could heal ill people and curse enemies.

paragraphs: Humans had a soul that was divided. "Self" and "me" were two different parts of the soul. If one's "self"-soul left him, he was not dead, but very ill. A Shaman could go to the spirit world to bring the soul back.

paragraphs: The Bear was considered a holy animal. If a bear was hunted down, he or she was celebrated with a ritual called "Peijainen", usually a big celebration involving food and drink. The purpose of the ritual was to pacify the soul of the bear. A happy soul would then be reincarnated into another bear, so that people could eat bears in the future. The swan was a holy bird and people believed that killing a swan would cause the killer to die.

paragraphs: Some trees and stones were holy to Finns, along with some forests. These places were often used to offer gods or spirits a sacrifice sacrifice. The sacrifice was gift intended to make the spirit happy. This spirit would then help humans. For example, a happy spirit of the sea would guarantee a plentiful catch for a fisherman. At later times things that were given to spirits were small, such as: money, flowers, pieces of silver, alcohol or food.

paragraphs: The Finns believed that Earth was flat like a disc. Above Earth was sky-dome, a pot that was upside down. In the middle of the Earth was a pillar holding the sky, so that it did not drop. The North star was a nail in the top of this pillar. Land of the dead, Tuonela, was under Earth. The way to Tuonela was at the base of pillar that holds the sky. The rotational movement of the pillar caused a great whirl of water at the base of the pillar called Kinahmi and this could be used as access way to Tuonela.

paragraphs: People hoped that their dead relatives would go to Tuonela, because they did not like ghosts. However some times dead relatives were asked to help living people. Sometimes shamans went to Tuonela to ask souls for help.


title: Feedback

paragraphs: Feedback is a connection, a loop, between the cause and effect of a process.

paragraphs: Sometimes, output from an electronic source affects future input. This can form what is called a "feedback loop". In some cases the output reinforces the input, making it stronger; this is called "self-reinforcing", "positive", "runaway" or "amplifying". In other cases, the output blocks or stops some of the input; this is called a negative feedback loop.

paragraphs: Think about a sound system with input from a microphone and output to a loudspeaker. If the sound coming out of the loudspeaker is heard by the microphone, a loop is created, from speaker, to the microphone, through the cord, and back into the speaker. The loop is made up of sound and the electrical energy that the microphone and loudspeaker use to create that sound. If nothing stops the sound and electricity in the loop, it will travel faster and faster, which is why feedback starts out as a low hum and turns into a high squeal very quickly

paragraphs: This is an example of a positive feedback loop: the output reinforces the input; it makes the input stronger.

paragraphs: Think about two mirrors that face each other. The mirrors reflect each other infinitely, or forever, but in each reflection, the image in the mirror is slightly smaller than the image it reflects. The images get smaller and smaller until they are no longer visible. This is an example of a negative feedback loop: the output (the reflection) reduces the input; it makes the input smaller.

paragraphs: Warm temperature caused a glacier to melt. As the glacier melts, areas that were at one time covered by snow and ice are now water or land. Because snow and ice reflect heat but water and land absorb heat, this causes the glacier to melt faster as more snow and ice is melted. This type of positive feedback is an example of thermal runaway.

paragraphs: American mathematician Norbert Wiener made feedback loops more well known in 1948 in his book "Cybernetics". Cybernetics is the study of feedback loops and their role in communication and control.


title: Phosphate

paragraphs: A phosphate is a salt of phosphoric acid. Phosphates are important in biochemistry.

paragraphs: Phosphates have the formula PO and a molar mass of 94.973 g/mol. An example of a phosphate is sodium phosphate. Three different types of phosphates are known. They are orthophosphate, PO; metaphosphate, PO; and pyrophosphate, PO. They have a combining power of 3.

paragraphs: Phosphates are made of one phosphorus atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms.

paragraphs: Many phosphates do not dissolve in water.


title: Cerebrum

paragraphs: The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain. It is in the front part of the brain. It contains about 15 billion cells, and is the latest brain structure to have evolved.

paragraphs: The cerebrum takes in data from sight and other sense organs, and 'makes sense' of it (interprets it). It controls consciousness and action (voluntary muscular activity). It plans, thinks, judges, and organises speech and information. These are the so-called 'higher mental functions'.

paragraphs: The cerebrum is divided into two "cerebral hemispheres". These two cerebral hemispheres are connected by three bands of nerve fibres, or commissures, which connect the two halves. The outer layers of the cerebrum are made up of the grey matter, and is called the cerebral cortex. The inner layers are made up of the white matter (nerve fibres), and the basal ganglia.

paragraphs: In the cerebrum, there are specific regions for each kind of stimulus and its response. For example, occipital lobe is the region for visual reception, temporal lobe for auditory reception, and parietal lobe for touch, smell, temperature and conscious association. The frontal lobe takes action, based on sensory input and other factors.


title: Karelia

paragraphs: Karelia is an area in eastern Fennoscandia. It is to the east from where Finnish people live. There are many opinions about what places exactly belong to Karelia.

paragraphs: Most of Karelia belongs to Russia today. Small parts of Karelia belong to Finland. On the Russian side of Karelia is the Republic of Karelia. On the Finnish side are the provinces of North Karelia and South Karelia.

paragraphs: The original people of Karelia are Karelians. Karelian people speak Karelian, a Finnic language very close to Finnish. Karelians knew many old poems. Many poems of the Finnish book Kalevala are from the Karelians. Today in the Republic of Karelia, Karelians are a minority and Russians are a majority. Some people fear Karelian culture and language will die out.

paragraphs: Most of Karelia was part of Finland until the Soviet Union took it in the Winter War. East Karelia was not. To make peace after World War II, Finland had to give most of Karelia to the Soviet Union. After peace, many people from the Soviet Union went to live in Karelia.


title: Kalevala

paragraphs: Kalevala is the Finnish national epic. This means it is a book that is very important to Finnish people.

paragraphs: Kalevala has many stories and folklores in it. The stories of Kalevala are poems that are very old. Long ago, people sang these poems. The poems have a unique metre that is not known outside Finnic languages. There are many themes in these stories from different times in the past. The oldest themes are from the stone age. Many of the poems are collected from Karelia and areas nearby.

paragraphs: Heroes have adventures in these stories. The most important heroes are Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen, Lemminkäinen and Kullervo. The enemies of heroes are Louhi and Joukahainen. Many stories in Kalevala are about two countries fighting each other. These countries are the land of Kalevala and land of Pohjola. The Land of Kalevala is the land of Heroes. Pohjola is the land of enemies. Pohjola is an evil and cold place somewhere far north.

paragraphs: Elias Lönnrot was a man who collected these poems and made a book of them. Kalevala has been translated into many languages. There is also an English Kalevala.


title: Edred of England

paragraphs: King Edred or "Eadred" (c. 923 – November 23 955) was King of England from 946 until his death. He was a son of King Edward the Elder and Edgiva of Kent. He was king after his brother, King Edmund I. Like both his older brothers, Edred was successful against the Vikings. Edred was a very religious man, but had very poor health (he could barely eat his food). He died on November 23 955, in Frome, Somerset, and was buried in the Old Minster at Winchester. His nephew, King Edwy, became king after him.


title: Plant pathology

paragraphs: Plant pathology, or phytopathology, is the study of plant diseases. Like animals, plants can get infected and damaged by viruses, bacteria and fungi.

paragraphs: It includes not only the harm done by pathogens (infectious organisms), but also harm done by environmental conditions.

paragraphs: Organisms which cause infectious disease include fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, plant viruses, viroids, virus-like organisms, phytoplasmas, protozoa, nematodes and parasitic plants.

paragraphs: Not included are ectoparasites like insects, mites, vertebrate, or other pests that affect plant health by eating plant tissues. Plant pathology involves the study of pathogen identification, disease cycles, economic impact, plant disease epidemiology, plant disease resistance, how plant diseases affect humans and animals, and how to manage plant diseases.

paragraphs: Plant pathology is of fundamental importance to agriculture.


title: Chytridiomycota

paragraphs: Chytridiomycota is a phylum of the Fungi kingdom. The name comes from chytridium (from the Greek "chytridion", meaning "little pot"): the structure containing unreleased spores.

paragraphs: The chytrids are the most primitive of the fungi. Many chytrids are found in fresh water. There are approximately 1,000 chytrid species, in 127 genera, distributed among 5 orders.

paragraphs: Chytrids get their energy mostly from non-living organic matter.

paragraphs: Both zoospores and gametes of the chytrids are mobile by their flagella, one whiplash per individual.

paragraphs: Some chytrid species are known to kill amphibians in large numbers. The actual process, however, is unknown.


title: Saprophyte

paragraphs: A saprophyte or "saprotroph" is an organism which gets its energy from dead and decaying organic matter. This may be decaying pieces of plants or animals. This means that saprophytes are heterotrophs. They are consumers in the food chain.

paragraphs: This is the typical life-style of fungi. Some fungi are parasites on living organisms, but most are saprophytes. Many bacteria and protozoa are also saprophytes. Most dead organic matter is eventually broken down and used by bacteria and fungi. Slime moulds are also saprophytes, as well as consuming bacteria. Examples of saprophytes are cheese mold, and yeast. The term "saprophyte" refers specifically to fungal and bacterial saprotrophs; animal saprotrophs are known as saprozoites.

paragraphs: Other terms, such as 'saprotroph' or 'saprobe' may be used instead of saprophyte. Strictly speaking, -phyte means 'plant'. The problem is that no embryophytes (land plants) are true saprotrophs, and bacteria and fungi are no longer considered plants. Nevertheless, saprophyte is such a well-known term that most writers continue to use it.

paragraphs: A heterotroph is a general term for an organism that needs organic material to get its carbon for growth and development. Many plants which lack chlorophyll need fungi to break down organic material for them. Traditionally, they were called saprophytes. Now the process is given a new name: myco-heterotrophy.


title: Giacomo Puccini

paragraphs: Giacomo Puccini (23 December 1858 - 29 November 1924) was the most famous Italian opera composer after Verdi. He wrote 16 operas, most of which are performed very often today. Many of his operatic songs are known by many people, especially the aria "Nessun dorma" from "Turandot" which was sung by Luciano Pavarotti for the BBC’s television coverage of the Football World Cup which was held in Italy in 1990.

paragraphs: Puccini was born in Lucca, Tuscany into a musical family. He was expected to follow the family tradition and become a church organist. He started playing the organ in churches near Lucca. He liked to improvise on the organ, playing popular tunes from Verdi’s operas. He soon realized that he wanted to be an opera composer. Eventually he persuaded his family to let him study at the Milan Conservatory. His earliest compositions showed that he had a great talent for writing beautiful melodies and that he was good at writing for the orchestra. His first opera to be published, "Edgar", had a story similar to that of Bizet’s "Carmen", but it was not a suitable story for Puccini.

paragraphs: "Manon Lescaut" was the first opera for which Puccini chose the story himself. It is the same story as Massenet’s opera "Manon". This made Puccini internationally famous. His next opera, "La bohème", produced in 1896, is often thought to be his best opera. He worked with two poets on this opera and, although they quarrelled a lot, the result was a work in which the music flowed beautifully like a conversation.

paragraphs: His next opera was "Tosca". When it was first performed in Rome in 1900 there were rumours that a bomb would be thrown, but nothing happened. "Tosca" was a great success. However, "Madama Butterfly" was hissed and booed at its first performance in Milan’s famous opera house La Scala in 1904.

paragraphs: It was at this time that Puccini married. He already had a son by Elvira, his wife, who had been married to someone else. When her husband died, she was able to marry Puccini. The marriage was not without difficulties. Elvira accused Puccini of having an affair with their servant girl. This servant girl committed suicide and there was a court case which resulted (after an autopsy) in Elvira being found innocent. Puccini was very upset by all this and did not compose much for several years.

paragraphs: When he finally started writing again his new opera "La fanciulla del West" was set in the American West at the time of the Goldrush. The music has very Impressionistic harmonies like that of Debussy. The way he writes for the orchestra shows the influence of Richard Strauss. The opera was first performed in New York. The world-famous tenor Enrico Caruso sang the main hero part and Arturo Toscanini was the conductor. With such a star cast it had to be a great success.

paragraphs: Puccini followed this by writing an operetta and two one-act operas. The best of these is "Gianni Schicchi" His last opera is "Turandot", which has a fairy-tale like story. While he was working very hard at it he developed throat cancer. He died of complication of the disease in autumn 1924 in Brussels. The whole of Italy went into mourning and Mussolini spoke at the funeral. Puccini had not quite managed to finish "Turandot". A man called Franco Alfano finished it using the sketches that Puccini had left.


title: Pharaoh Hound

paragraphs: The Pharaoh Hound is a breed of dog. Pharaoh Hounds always have a bright orange colour coat. They may have a small white spot on the front of their body. They need lots of physical exercise, and they are fast runners and can jump high. They need little brushing because their fur is very short. In the past, people used them to hunt rabbits. Now people keep them as pets.


title: Mycelium

paragraphs: The mycelium is the part of a fungus that is usually underground (or inside some another substance). It is composed of hyphae, which look like threads, or rootlets. The mat of hyphae may be very thickly woven. The fungus uses it to extract nutritients. The hyphae are usually syncytic, that is, they do not have complete cell walls. Fungal colonies composed of mycelium are found in and on soil and many other natural materials.

paragraphs: A mycelium may be tiny, forming a colony that is too small to see, or it may be extremely large and cover the floors of a large forest.

paragraphs: The part of the fungus which is most visible is the reproductive body. This is often, but not always, the stem and hat of the mushroom.


title: Lviv

paragraphs: Lviv () is the capital city of Lviv Oblast in Ukraine. 860,000 people live in Lviv. 88% of the people living there are Ukrainian, 8% are Russian, and 1% are Polish. An extra 200,000 people commute to Lviv every day for work.

paragraphs: During the city's history, it was ruled by many countries. When part of Poland it was called Lwów (pronounced and sometimes spelled "Lvov"). In German, it was known as Lemberg, that was part of the Austrian and Austro-Hungarian Empires and again under Nazi German occupation. From 1350 until 1772 it belonged to the Kingdom of Poland and from 1918 to 1939 to the Republic of Poland.


title: Orchestra pit

paragraphs: An orchestra pit is the space where an orchestra plays in a theatre or opera house. The actors or singers are on the stage, and the orchestra pit is normally lower than the stage so that the audience can watch the play or opera. Depending on where they sit, the audience may just be able to see the heads of the musicians in the orchestra pit. It is important that singers can see the conductor so that they can watch the beat out of the corner of their eye. Opera houses nowadays often have close-circuit television monitors at the sides so that singers can watch the conductor even when they are not facing him.

paragraphs: The orchestra pit in the Bayreuth Festspielhaus is unusual. This opera house was designed by the composer Richard Wagner for the performance of his own operas. He did not want the audience to be able to see the orchestra at all, so it is very low. The orchestra members do not have to dress up in ties and jackets because they cannot be seen anyway.


title: Will o' the wisp

paragraphs: A will-o'-the-wisp or ignis fatuus (Medieval Latin: "foolish fire") is a ghostly light. It is seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes.

paragraphs: Usually will o' the wisp looks like a ball of light or a small flame. UFOs and some ghost lights are different, they are usually in the sky while will o' the wisps are near ground.

paragraphs: It looks like a flickering lamp and is said to go farther back if approached. This draws travellers from the safe paths. This is a folk belief in a lot of English folklore and in much of European folklore. They are often said to be the work of fairies or elemental spirits. Some people thinks will o' the wisps are souls, spirits or spaceships.

paragraphs: Scientists try to use a natural explanation. Some say they are a gas, like methane, that goes up from the ground and burns. Other people say they are electric things, like ball lightning. One flying ball of light was explained: it was an owl that had a bright stomach. Sometimes animals or fungus make some light - this is called bioluminescence by scientists or foxfire.Sometimes diphosphine (PH) is also produced over marshes, which are highly flammable. Therefore, it burns in air and causes a flickering glow.

paragraphs: There are many old and new stories about will o' the wisps around the world. These lights have different names in different cultures and languages. Some of the names are "jack-o'-lantern", "hinkypunk", "hobby lantern" in English.


title: Ghost light

paragraphs: Ghost lights are lights in the air that are not well understood by scientists. There are few reports of ghost light sightings. Ghost lights can be close to ground or in the sky. Ghost lights close to ground are commonly called "will o' the wisp" while ghost lights in the sky are often called UFOs. There are very different kinds of ghost lights: some resemble balls of light, others look like flame, and some look like a bright cloud. Many ghost lights move.

paragraphs: Different cultures have understood ghost lights differently. People believed that they are dragons, spirits or ghosts. Today some believe they are spaceships. There are many theories about what ghost lights are. Some people say they are methane gas that comes from ground and burns in the air. Others say they are electric things like ball lightning. The fact that some animals and fungus glows may explain some ghost lights.

paragraphs: These are examples of known ghost lights at different places:


title: Roman Giertych

paragraphs: Roman Jacek Giertych is a former Minister of Education in Poland. He was born February 27, 1971 in Śrem.

paragraphs: Roman Giertych comes from a family of Polish politicians, being a son of Maciej Giertych and a grandson of Jędrzej Giertych.

paragraphs: His brother (holding a Ph.D. himself) said he was a young bookworm who made dozens of books, especially on history. He improved in history throughout his school years while his grades in other subjects remained normal.

paragraphs: He graduated from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań with a master's degrees in both law and history. In 1989, he reactivated the far-right "All-Polish Youth" (Młodzież Wszechpolska) organization, becoming its chairman; he remains honorary chairman to this day. For several years he was a member of the National-Democratic Party (Stronnictwo Narodowo-Demokratyczne) and the National Party (Stronnictwo Narodowe), which went with several other organizations to form the League of Polish Families (Liga Polskich Rodzin, LPR) in 2001.


title: Smoothie

paragraphs: Smoothies are a type of cold drink made from a liquid (either milk, fruit juice, or water), crushed ice or ice cubes, different fruits (such as banana, strawberries, or pineapple). Sometimes other foods are added to smoothies, such as yogurt, honey, maple syrup or ice cream. Smoothies are blended with an electric blender until the fruit and ice is puréed (made smooth).

paragraphs: People usually drink smoothies from a tall glass or cup, and use a plastic drinking straw to suck it into their mouth. Some dieticians think that drinking smoothies is not as good as eating the original fruit, because the smoothie has less fibre, and does not provide exercise for the jaw and other digestive processes which eating the fruit would give.

paragraphs: Smoothies are similar to milk shakes. Milk shakes are also a cold drink made with an electric blender. Milk shakes are usually made with milk, ice cream, and sweet syrups, such as chocolate syrup.


title: Sheave (mechanical)

paragraphs: A sheave (pronounced "shiv") is a wheel or roller with a groove along its edge for holding a belt, rope or cable. When hung between two supports with a belt, rope or cable, one or more sheaves make up a pulley. The words "sheave" and "pulley" are sometimes used interchangeably.


title: Unidentified flying object

paragraphs: A UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) is any object flying in the sky which cannot be identified by the person who sees it. Sometimes the object is investigated. If people can still not figure out what the object is after an investigation, it is called a UFO. If they figure out what the object is, it can no longer be called a UFO because it has been identified.

paragraphs: Even though UFOs can be anything, people often use the word "UFO" when they are talking about alien spacecraft. Flying saucer is another word that is often used to describe an unidentified flying object.

paragraphs: Studies estimate that 50-90% of all reported UFO sightings are identified later. Usually 10-20% are never identified. Studies also show that very few UFO sightings are hoaxes (people trying to trick other people). Most UFOs are actually natural or man-made objects that looked strange.

paragraphs: 80-90% of IFOs are identified as one of three different things:

paragraphs: 10-20% of IFOs are other causes (such as birds, clouds, , searchlights, etc.)


title: Second War of Scottish Independence

paragraphs: The Second War of Scottish Independence began in 1333 when Edward III of England did not accept the 1328 Treaty of Northampton any more, under which England recognised the legitimacy of the dynasty established by Robert Bruce. Edward was determined to support the claim of Edward Balliol, the son of the former king, John Balliol, over David II, Bruce's son and heir. Balliol had ruled in Scotland for a short time in the autumn of 1332, but was thrown out of the country later in the year. The war itself lasted until 1357, when David II was released from English captivity. English involvement in Scotland was also one of the factors that lead to the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War with France in 1337.


title: U.S. postal abbreviations

paragraphs: This is a list of postal code abbreviations used by the United States Postal Service. They are used to help the postal service process mail. In other contexts, such as newspaper articles, the traditional abbreviations for the states are used.

paragraphs: In alphabetical order by postal abbreviation (not by state):


title: Booing

paragraphs: Booing means shouting "BOO!" If people shout "boo" after a performance (for example, a concert, play or opera) they are showing that they did not like it. It is the opposite of applause (clapping to show that the performance was good).

paragraphs: Booing and hissing used to be very common, especially at the opera. In the early days of opera (from the 17th to the early 19th century) opera audiences often behaved badly. They went to the opera to chat with their friends, to cheer their favorite singers and to boo the singers they did not like, not to listen carefully to the music.

paragraphs: Booing has recently become less common in Western culture except at sports events because people think it is rude. Audiences today are more likely simply not to clap if they do not like a performance. Slow hand-clapping is also a way of showing sarcastic applause.


title: Applause

paragraphs: Applause is the sound made by an audience who are clapping their hands (applauding) to thank someone for a performance. People at a concert usually applaud when the performers come onto the stage. This is a way of welcoming them. At the end of a performance people applaud again to thank the performers.

paragraphs: People may applaud after someone makes a speech or at a sporting match. They will applaud after a play in the theatre or at the end of an opera. The length of applause (how long they applaud for) may depend on how much they liked the performance. If they liked it very much they may also shout "BRAVO!". When an audience applauds with really wild excitement it is called an "ovation". Very occasionally (in English-speaking cultures) an audience might all stand up as well. This is called a "standing ovation".


title: Kyle Busch

paragraphs: Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is a NASCAR race car driver. Busch races in the Monster Energy Cup, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Kyle's brother, Kurt Busch also races in the Sprint Cup series.

paragraphs: Busch won his 100th NASCAR race on July 17, 2011. He is only the third driver in NASCAR history to do this. The other two drivers are Richard Petty with 200 wins, and David Pearson with 106 wins. With over 50 wins in the Nationwide series, Busch has more wins than any other driver in that series. At the end of the 2015 Sprint Cup Series, Kyle Busch won his first Sprint Cup Series Championship.

paragraphs: As of December 9th 2019 he is the WWE 24/7 Champion after pinning R-Truth.


title: 498a

paragraphs: Section 498-A is a cognizable offence under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and was brought into the IPC in the year 1983 to curb the menace of cruelty to married women for want of dowry, which often led to their deaths. It makes it a crime to be cruel to your wife or to your relative's wife. The law explains that "cruelty" means anything that is done on purpose, and either causes serious harm to the woman or makes the woman want to kill herself. It also strengthens the laws against dowry or payment made by the bride's family to the husband's family. It makes it a crime to harass a woman to try to make her family pay a dowry.

paragraphs: The law allows for imprisonment of up to 3 years and for a fine.

paragraphs: The law is criticized. The critics of the law say it allows a woman to ask the police to arrest her husband without evidence or investigation, and that women have abused the law in domestic disputes. Others say it provides important support to women who are vulnerable from abusive husbands. The Supreme Court of India expressed its concerns over the misuse of section 498-A and termed it ""Legal Terrorism"".

paragraphs: These are the some useful Judgement which a use in discharged and final argument in case MyRights is an organization which fights for Justice and provides free legal tips and tutorial. Some Advocates and lawyer are also member of Myrights.


title: Caesar cipher

paragraphs: In cryptography, a Caesar cipher is an ancient form of substitution cipher. It is named in the honor of Roman emperor, Julius Caesar

paragraphs: To encrypt a message with a Caesar cipher, each letter in the message is changed using a simple rule: shift by three. Each letter is replaced by the letter three letters ahead in the alphabet. A becomes D, B becomes E, and so on. For the last letters, we can think of the alphabet as a circle and "wrap around". W becomes Z, X becomes A, Y becomes B, and Z becomes C. To change a message back, each letter is replaced by the one three before it.

paragraphs: However it is very easy to break a Caesar cipher, even if you change the "key number" to a different number. Using a more modern form of encryption would be better.

paragraphs: Changing by three is the rule that the well known Julius Caesar used, but the same idea works for any number. ROT13 can be seen as a modern version of the Caesar cipher, with the same weaknesses.

paragraphs: The Caesar cipher is a "substitution cipher": each letter is replaced by another. No substitution cipher is safe for sensitive information.


title: Social engineering

paragraphs: Social Engineering (also known as „Social Manipulation“) is a type of confidence trick to influence people with the goal to illegally obtain sensitive data (i.e. passwords, credit card information). Social Engineers observe the personal environment of their victims and use fake identities to gain secret information or free services. In most cases Social Engineering is used to infiltrate third party computer systems to spy on sensitive data; in that case social engineering is also called Social Hacking.

paragraphs: An early way of Social Engineering first occurred in the 1980s and was named Phreaking. Phreakers called phone companies and claimed to be system administrators and asked for passwords which they used to connect illegally and free of charge to the Internet.

paragraphs: A more modern form of Social Engineering is called Phishing (Phishing is derived from “fishing”), which is an attempt to get access to Internet user's data via faked WWW-addresses. The most common way of Phishing is Fraud Mailing also known as Scam Mailing, where the victim is being sent a fake E-Mail i.e. of a bank. In most Scam Mails the letter includes a link that is redirecting to a fake website which is logging the login id and the appropriate password of the victim. The hackers are often using DNS-Spoofing to fake the sender's E-Mail address.

paragraphs: The main model of Social Engineering shows up with faked phone calls: the Social Engineer calls employees of a company and impersonates a technician who needs sensitive data to complete important technical operations. In advance the attacker has gathered information about work routines of the target company from public sources or former raid attempts, that gives him advantage in further Social Engineering trials.

paragraphs: The invader tries to confuse his victims and to seem trustful, using trade language and involving the victims in small talk. Further the assaulter pretends authority to frighten his victims. Under circumstances the employee actually requested technical support and is expecting such a phone call.

paragraphs: The prevention of Social Engineering is difficult. By influencing the victim subconsciously, the invader abuses typical human behavior like helpfulness in emergency situations or to respond with help to the seemingly helpful attacker.

paragraphs: General mistrust would disturb the efficient and trustful team work of an organization. The most effective way to avoid Social Engineering is to assure the identity of the caller. This can already be done by asking for the caller's name and phone number and to politely ask for patience, even if the caller's issue seems to be very urgent. Even if one could verify the caller's identity, one should only hand out the absolutely necessary information.

paragraphs: Social Engineering became generally known through Kevin David “Condor” Mitnick (movies: “Takedown” also known as “Hackers 2”), who became one of the most wanted persons of the United States of America because of successfully invading government systems such as the Pentagon and the NSA.

paragraphs: Further well known Social Engineers are the check scammer Frank Abagnale (movie: “Catch Me If You Can”).


title: Hydroponics

paragraphs: Hydroponics or Hydroculture is the method of growing plants in the nutrients that they need instead of soil. The plant foods are simply put into water instead and it makes a solution for the plants to live in. Vegetables, flowers and herbs can all be grown in water.

paragraphs: It is quite an old idea. The earliest published work on growing terrestrial plants without soil was the 1627 book "Sylva Sylvarum" by Francis Bacon, printed a year after his death. Water culture became a popular research technique after that.

paragraphs: In 1929, William Frederick Gericke of the University of California at Berkeley began publicly promoting that solution culture be used for agricultural crop production. Oliver and Tintin are the pioners of Hydrophonics

paragraphs: There are many ways to grow plants in this way. Here are some examples.

paragraphs: This puts or floats the plants in water containing nutrients into a container. The water is renewed by a control system to prevent the plants' roots from becoming dry. The water does not flow through the container but remains static. Because the water is still algae often grows, using nutrients and covering the plants roots so that they are not able to take in the nutrients so well. Algae growth can be reduced by using some method to prevent light from reaching the roots, for example, black plastic, or aluminium foils. The static solution has to be changed every week or two to ensure it has the correct amount of nutrients.

paragraphs: This is growing plants in a stream of continuously running water. The plants can be placed in a shallow container and the water containing the nutrients runs through the roots. This can be carried out in several different ways, either passing the water over the bare roots inside a tube or hollow container or passing the water through a mat of fibre into which the roots have grown or variations between the two. One of the main advantages of this system is that the nutrient water can be kept in a storage container and if any changes need to be made to the nutrient it is easy to do this to the storage container. The system usually runs be gravity, the storage container is placed in a higher position than the plants and the water trickles downwards until it has passed though the roots of the plants and into a lower storage container where it is pumped back up to the higher container. An advantage of this method is that it uses the nutrients efficiently, it allows oxygen to reach the roots (important for healthy growth) and the water can be adjusted very easily. The main disadvantages are that if any fault occurs with the circulation system the plants have little water to live on until the fault is corrected and the flow channels must be regular in their slope, if they are not then water can remain in the non-sloping areas and this can cause problems.

paragraphs: This system does not use electricity to circulate the water containing nutrients. The system has a large container positioned higher than the plants and the water runs down through and to the plants in a controlled way. This system is used with plants that are grown in pots with the water being delivered to the base of the pot and capillary action drawing the water up into the pot.

paragraphs: This uses a system where the roots of the plants are contained in a chamber which is sprayed continuously or discontinuously with a fine mist of water containing nutrients. The roots of the plant hang in the air and the advantage of this system is that the roots have good access to oxygen. This system was invented in 1983 by Richard Spooner and has become a successful way of growing a wide range of crops including seed potato production, tomato production, leaf crops, and small salad leaves. Other advantages of aeroponics are that a much wider range of plants can be grown with this system, (some plants do not like to have their roots in water continuously) plants grow with only one quarter of the nutrients needed in normal hydroponics and NASA has an interest in this system because managing a spray is easier than handling liquids in zero gravity. Finally, plants grown by this method can be transferred to soil or another growing medium without suffering from a slowing of growth while they adjust to the new conditions. The main disadvantage is that this system is more costly to build and maintain than the normal hydroponic systems.

paragraphs: This method is also known as passive hydroponics or semi-hydroponics. This system has the plants growing in a porous material like special clay granules, vermiculite, fibre glass, coconut husk, perlite or a similar substance that holds water, has lots of air spaces but does not act directly on the plants roots. The water is run through the material to keep it wet and the material keeps the plants roots separated to allow a good contact with the air to help the plant use oxygen and carbon dioxide. this method is easy to set up and control and is suitable for a number of plants like orchids or bromeliads that in nature grow with their roots in warm damp air.

paragraphs: This method is also known as "Flood and Drain". It uses a method that has a large container of water with nutrients positioned below the level of the plants being grown and at intervals the water is pumped or manually lifted to irrigate the plants and then drain back into the container. This is a simple method to build and can be easily controlled with an automatic mechanism.

paragraphs: This is a method where plants are grown on a material that holds some water but has many air spaces, such as vermiculite, perlite, fibreglass or coarse sand. The water with nutrients is controlled by a timer and the amount of irrigation will depend on several factors such as temperature, the size of the plants, the type of material the plants are growing in and other more technical things. The water runs to a collecting container after irrigating the plants and may be used again or discarded. This system is used very widely for growing commercial crops of vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers.

paragraphs: This involves the growing of plants hanging in water with nutrients. The plants are held in nets with their roots in the water. The nets may or may not contain a material to separate the roots. The water has air pumped through it to increase the oxygen in the water which assists the roots to grow.

paragraphs: This is a method which is used together with the above method of Deep Water Culture. In the early stages of growth the roots of the plants are irrigated with water and nutrients that are pumped through an air-stone to introduce a high level of dissolved oxygen into the water which greatly helps the young roots to grow. It is usually used only in the early stages of growth when the plants are forming roots clumps.


title: Crop rotation

paragraphs: Crop rotation is a practice used in farming. It involves the planting of different seeds on the same land in different years or seasons, using a set pattern. This technique helps replace the nutrients in the soil for the plants. It also reduces plant-specific pests on the land.


title: A Hard Day's Night

paragraphs: A Hard Day’s Night was a 1964 album by The Beatles, released on 10 July of that year. It was the soundtrack to the movie of the same name, starring the Beatles and directed by Richard Lester. It was their third album. It is said that the title was accidentally said by Ringo Starr during the filming of the movie.

paragraphs: The movie was made because United Artists, a movie company, wanted to sell a soundtrack album. Many movies that included rock and roll were not good movies. The Beatles did not want to star in a movie unless it was well made, with a good plot. United Artists agreed, and a playwright, Alun Owen, was hired.

paragraphs: Alun Owen travelled with the Beatles on a concert tour. He was to write a fictional story at first, based on how the band interacted with other people, but Owen decided the best story to tell was real, based on what he saw. The "grandfather" character (played by Wilfrid Brambell) was added to appeal to older viewers. Brambell was a popular television actor, who starred in "Steptoe and Son" (a forerunner of "Sanford and Son") as a "dirty old" junk dealer.

paragraphs: Even with a script, the Beatles improvised (made up) some of their own dialogue in the movie. They also acted out ideas from the director, Richard Lester.

paragraphs: In the movie's storyline, the Beatles go to London to perform in a television program. Paul's family send along his grandfather, so he and Paul can keep each other company. The grandfather is a "mixer", and likes to cause trouble between people. (He is also noticed often as being "very clean"; a play on Brambell's "dirty" television role.)

paragraphs: The Beatles enjoy breaking rules and expectations, and playing jokes. Their manager Norm and road manager "Shake" try to make things run smoothly, but have a busy time keeping up with both the Beatles and Paul's grandfather, and making sure the television show goes as planned. (Norm and Shake were based loosely on road managers Neil Aspinall and Mal Evans.)

paragraphs: This is the only Beatles album on which all songs are by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and their first to only have only songs written by the Beatles.

paragraphs: The first seven songs were used in the movie.


title: Changeling

paragraphs: In stories (folklore), a changeling is the child of a troll, elf, or fairy that has been left in the place of a human child. The stolen human child then lives with the troll family. A changeling is like a human baby but ugly, always hungry, and with a bad temper. Sometimes the changelings are much wiser than a human baby would be.

paragraphs: It is thought that changeling stories came from actual events. A family who had a handicapped or sick child may have traded their sick child for a healthier, better-looking child.

paragraphs: Folklore says that it might be possible for parents to figure out that their child has been replaced with a changeling. If they discovered the changeling quickly enough, they could get their human child back. One way to get the child back was to put the changeling in an oven. Another way was to put the changeling in a forest so that the troll could take its child back. Sometimes children died in the oven or forest.


title: Bomb

paragraphs: A bomb is an explosive device that makes and lets out its energy very quickly. This detonation makes a big shock wave. Bombs have been used for centuries. Some bombs also throw out dangerous metal fragments, and some are firebombs.

paragraphs: Most bombs do not contain more energy than ordinary fuel, except in the case of a nuclear weapon. However, they release their energy more quickly, thus are more powerful.

paragraphs: A bomb is usually some kind of container filled with explosive material that is designed to destroy things. The word bomb comes from the Greek word "βόμβος" (bombas), an onomatopoeic term with almost the same meaning as "boom" in English.

paragraphs: Air forces send bombers to destroy enemy targets. Terrorists use bombs in suicide attacks. Explosive materials used in mining work the same way, but are usually not called bombs.


title: Dieter Bohlen

paragraphs: Dieter Gunther Bohlen is a German musician, born on 7 February 1954. He was born in Berne, Lower Saxony. He was a member of Modern Talking, but now appears in the TV programme "Germany Searches for a Superstar" , which is the German version of Pop Idol and American Idol.


title: SWOT Analysis

paragraphs: SWOT Analysis is a tool to find out the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats that are to be expected in a project or in a business venture or in something similar. It means that the marketing environment (internal and external to the organization or individual) is looked at. It is one of the best tools to conduct the internal and external analysis for any company. The technique was developed by Albert Humphrey, who led a research project at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from the Fortune 500 companies.

paragraphs: SWOT analysis is part of the Harvard Policy Model, which has been developed as part of the business policy courses taught at the Harvard Business School since the 1920s.


title: Project

paragraphs: A project is a temporary undertaken to create a unique product or service.

paragraphs: The word "project" comes from the Latin word "projectum" from "projicere", "to throw something forwards" which in turn comes from "pro-", which denotes something that precedes the action of the next part of the word in time (paralleling the Greek πρό) and "jacere", "to throw". The word "project" thus actually originally meant "something that comes before anything else is done". When the word was initially adopted, it referred to a plan of something, not to the act of actually carrying this plan out. Something performed in accordance with a project was called an object. This use of "project" changed in the 1950s when several techniques for project management were introduced. With this advent the word slightly changed meaning to cover both projects and objects. However, in certain projects there may still exist so called "objects" and "object leaders", reflecting the older use of the words.

paragraphs: Projects differ from operations, because operations are continuous and repeating (projects are temporary), and operations deliver the same or almost the same results (project results are in contrast unique).

paragraphs: A project usually needs resources to deliver its results. Most of the time project execution is based on detailed plan, which considers also external factors and constraints. Planning, execution and controlling of project is the primary field of project management. For major projects it is necessary sometimes to set up a special temporary organization, consisting of a project team and one or more work teams.

paragraphs: Major projects can be divided into subprojects, and program denotes collection of related projects.

paragraphs: Projects can be categorised based on different aspects.

paragraphs: Based on initiating or participating organisation


Scottsdale


title: Central Time Zone

paragraphs: The Central Time Zone subtracts six hours from UTC during standard time (UTC−6) and five hours during daylight saving time (UTC−5).

paragraphs: This time zone is called Central Standard Time (CST) during standard time (Winter). It is called Central Daylight Time (CDT) during daylight saving time (Summer). In the United States and Canada, this time zone is often just called Central Time (CT).

paragraphs: The zone is one hour ahead of the Mountain Time Zone and one hour behind the Eastern Time Zone.

paragraphs: The largest city in the Central Time Zone is Mexico City. In the United States, the largest city is Chicago, and the largest metropolitan area is the Chicago metropolitan area.

paragraphs: In Canada, this time zone includes all of Manitoba, nearly all of Saskatchewan, a little part of western Ontario, and part of Nunavut (most of the Kivalliq Region and part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region).

paragraphs: In the United States, the time zone includes the entire area of the states of

paragraphs: It also includes parts of Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas.

paragraphs: Most of Mexico belongs to the Central Time Zone. The six northwestern states are not part of the time zone.

paragraphs: Central Time Zone includes the Central American countries of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. In South America, this zone includes the Ecuadorian province of Galápagos. In Oceania, the Chilean Easter Island also belongs to this time zone.

paragraphs: Daylight saving time occurs from early April to late October. During daylight saving, Central Time Zone is only 5 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC−5). Most of the locations in Central Time Zone observe daylight saving time. A few places do not. These include Saskatchewan, Central America and Galápagos. They stay on standard time all year.


title: Gioachino Rossini

paragraphs: Gioachino Rossini (born Pesaro 29 February 1792; died Passy 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer. He was the most famous composer of operas in his time. His operas had lots of new ideas. Italian operas had become rather unimaginative, with composers such as Cimarosa and Paisiello writing the same sort of thing each time. Rossini made his operas interesting by writing skillfully for the singers, giving them good tunes, as well as giving the orchestra interesting music, and by choosing a variety of stories for his operas. The opera for which he is best known today is the "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" ("The Barber of Seville"). Many of the overtures to his operas are played at orchestral concerts. The most popular is the overture to his opera "Guillaume Tell" ("William Tell") with its feature in the British TV show "The Adventures of William Tell."

paragraphs: During the last 40 years of his life Rossini wrote no more music. His friends begged him to write another opera but he always refused.

paragraphs: Rossini was born on 29 February of the leap year 1792. His birthplace was Pesaro, a small town in Italy on the Adriatic coast. His father played the horn in military bands and opera houses and his mother sang in operas. Often his parents toured together and the young Rossini was left in the care of his grandmother. The family eventually settled in Bologna. Rossini had lessons in singing, cello, piano and counterpoint. He did not like the counterpoint lessons, but it did help him to study different styles of music and he became very good at writing harmony in a clear way.

paragraphs: Italian opera at this time needed a new composer to bring more life into it. Five of his first nine operas were written for the Teatro S Moise in Venice. Other theatres soon asked him to write operas. In 1812 he wrote "La pietra del paragone" for the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. It was a great success. Many of these early operas were comic operas (opera buffa). Sometimes he had to produce so many new operas that he kept reusing some of the music he had already written in another opera. Nevertheless, they include a lot of fine music, and Rossini was developing his musical personality. His overtures have a fine sense of orchestral colour. He often started with a slow section and then went into fast music with a crescendo. Because he did this a lot it is often called a “Rossini crescendo” or “Rossini rocket”.

paragraphs: It was not easy for him to earn enough money to keep himself. He only got paid for the operas he took part in. There were no copyright laws in those days. The important singers were well paid, but the composers earned much less. We know very little about his life at this time, but we do know that he travelled a lot. His most famous operas from this period are "Tancredi", "La Gazza Ladra" ("The Thieving Magpie") and "Il barbiere di Siviglia" ("The Barber of Seville") which has often been called the greatest of all comic operas.

paragraphs: By 1815 Rossini’s operas were famous everywhere in Western Europe except in Naples. Neapolitan opera had been famous throughout the 18th century and the city was proud of its tradition. The Neapolitans did not want a young composer from the north to continue their operatic tradition. Nevertheless, Rossini soon won their hearts. He wrote for the Teatro S Carlo which had a fine orchestra and very good singers. He wrote many of his best serious operas (opera seria) for Naples, and this tradition which he built up made it possible for Verdi to take over thirty years later as Italy’s leading opera composer.

paragraphs: Rossini’s international fame took him to Vienna where he met Beethoven. After returning to Italy for a while he travelled to Paris and England. He was only 31 years old and had written 34 operas. The Paris audiences already knew his operas. In London a Rossini Festival was organized. Most of the time in England he spent at social parties at the houses of rich people who were glad to pay him money to come and be their guest. Soon after this he settled in Paris for five years. He was director of the Théâtre-Italien until 1836. His two greatest operas from this period were "Le Comte Ory" (which was an opéra comique) and "Guillaume Tell" which was based on a play by Schiller. These works have beautifully flowing tunes (like Italian opera) as well as grand drama (like French opera).

paragraphs: In 1829, at the age of 37, Rossini decided to retire. He had lots of money but his health was not particularly good. Although he wrote a few small pieces of music he never composed another opera. He went back to Bologna, although he returned to Paris nearly 20 years later with his wife. Here his health improved and he wrote a little music. His "Petite messe solennelle" for 12 voices, two pianos and harmonium is still performed today. When he died in 1868 thousands of people came to his funeral.

paragraphs: Rossini was a composer of the classical period. He was brought up hearing 18th century opera, and much of his best known music is still Classical in style, but he developed a lot as he matured and was writing in a more Romantic way by the end of his career. He gradually stopped writing music which has set numbers all the time: music divided sharply into arias and recitative. His recitative became more expressive and was accompanied by the orchestra instead of by a harpsichord. This helped to make his music more continuous. He did not often write for castrati as they were going out of fashion. The chorus have an important part in the drama of his operas (in 18th century opera they just used to comment on what was going on).


title: Salerno

paragraphs: Salerno is a southern Italian city. It has a port. It faces the Mediterranean Sea. It is capital of the province of Salerno.


title: Opera house

paragraphs: An opera house is a building where operas and ballets are performed. It is similar to a theatre.

paragraphs: The first opera houses were built in the 1630s in Italy, about thirty years after the first operas were written. Traditionally they have a stage where the action takes place and a proscenium archway with a curtain that can be drawn back when the performance begins. In front of the stage is an orchestra pit which is a little lower than the stage so that the audience can still see the stage. The audience sit in the auditorium which is often horse-shoe shaped. The downstairs seats are called “stalls”. Round the stalls there are two or three tiers (storeys) of boxes. Each box can seat a small number of people. At the top towards the back there is a balcony and often a gallery along the sides as well. Some seats in the gallery may have restricted view (it is not possible to see all of the stage).

paragraphs: Some of the most famous opera houses in the world are Teatro alla Scala (or “La Scala”) in Milan, the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, the War Memorial Opera house in San Francisco, the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and the Sydney Opera House in Sydney which is a very modern building.


title: Kullervo

paragraphs: Kullervo is a person in the Finnish national epic Kalevala. He is a good looking man with golden hair. Bad things happen to him; his destiny is tragic.

paragraphs: In folk stories Kullervo is the son of the giant Kaleva. In the Kalevala however Kullervo is the son of a man called Kalervo.

paragraphs: In the Kalevala Kullervo's family is killed by Untamo's family before Kullervo is born. Only one woman is not killed. She gives birth to Kullervo who will be a slave of Untamo. Every work that Kullervo tries goes ill. This is why Untamo sells him to a smith called Ilmarinen.

paragraphs: Ilmarinen puts Kullervo to shepherd cows. Ilmarinen's wife gives Kullervo bread that has stones in it. While Kullervo cuts the bread his knife hits the stone and breaks. Kullervo gets angry and curses bears to eat cows and Ilmarinen's wife. Then he escapes.

paragraphs: While travelling Kullervo has sex with a girl. He does not know that this is his own sister. When he finds out he goes very angry and attacks Untamo and kills him and his family. Then he commits suicide.

paragraphs: The story of Kullervo differs from all other folktales in the respect that it describes the effects of child abuse in a very realistic way, and in the end of the poem Väinämöinen especially warns all parents from abusing their children.


title: Ephraïm Inoni

paragraphs: Ephraïm Inoni (born 16 August, 1947) is the former Prime Minister of Cameroon, a country in central west Africa. H.E. Ephraim Inoni comes from the South West province in Cameroon, which is part of the Anglophone provinces in Cameroon. Ephraim Inoni is a member of the ruling party and a strong supporter of President Paul Biya. He was part of President Paul Biya's campaign team in 2006.

paragraphs: "Chief Inoni Ephraim claimed his innocence after the judge gave him a 20 years sentence for his alleged participation in funds embezzlement in the Albatross affair."

paragraphs: Inoni was found guilty of conspiracy in the embezzlement of about $31 million in a fouled up 2001 deal to purchase an airplane for the President Paul Biya of Cameroon. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Yaounde Special Criminal Tribunal.


title: Compton scattering

paragraphs: In physics, Compton scattering, or the Compton effect, is the name used for what happens to the energy (or frequency or wavelength) of an X-ray or gamma ray photon when it interacts with matter; the wavelength increases (or energy/frequency decreases) as it scatters off electrons. This scattering is one of the main things that happen when gamma rays meet matter. The Compton effect was studied by Arthur Holly Compton in 1923.


title: Scottsdale, Arizona

paragraphs: Scottsdale (; ) is a city in the southwestern part of the state of Arizona in the United States. In 2000 there were 202,705 people living in Scottsdale which made it the 83rd largest city in the United States. In 2005 the Census Bureau said that more people were living in Scottsdale, about 226,000 people, this makes it the 80th largest city in the US.

paragraphs: The city is in the Salt River Valley, or the, "Valley of the Sun", in the northern Sonoran Desert. To the east and northeast of Scottsdale is the McDowell Mountain Range. Scottsdale borders the city of Phoenix and town of Paradise Valley to the west, Tempe to the south, and Fountain Hills to the east.

paragraphs: According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 477.7 km² (184.4 mi²). 477.1 km² (184.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (0.12%) is water.

paragraphs: Scottsdale's climate is arid. Winters are mild and summers are very hot. The lowest temperature ever recorded in the city is 19.0 °F (−7.2 °C), on February 20, 1955, and the highest temperature ever recorded is 119.0 °F (48.3 °C), on June 26, 1970 and August 2, 1972.

paragraphs: Scottsdale was originally inhabited by Hohokam. From 800 to 1400, this ancient civilization farmed the area and built ingenious irrigation canals.

paragraphs: The city was incorporated in 1951. The seal, which shows a mounted cowboy surrounded by a 64-pointed star burst, was designed by Mrs. Gene Brown Pennington.

paragraphs: There are many businesses in Scottsdale. Many of them are in a business park known as The Scottsdale Air Park. Some of these companies are: AXA, GE Capital, DHL, Discount Tire Company, Tempo Creative, Fidelity Investments, JDA Software and The Vanguard Group.

paragraphs: Scottsdale is seen as an upscale tourist and shopping destination. It is also known as a good model of western American style. The New York Times described downtown Scottsdale as "a desert version of Miami's South Beach." The Times article also stated there was "plenty of late night partying and a buzzing hotel scene".

paragraphs: Scottsdale is governed by a mayor and city council, all of whom are elected "at large" to represent the entire city. A city manager is responsible for the leadership of the city staff. He also helps carry out the council policies, develops programs and budgets to respond to council goals, and makes sure that people get effective and efficient city services. The city manager also serves as the city treasurer.

paragraphs: The Scottsdale City Hall was designed by architect Bennie Gonzales in 1968, and was designed with an area for community meetings.

paragraphs: Public education in Scottsdale is provided by the Scottsdale Unified School District. Some parts of the town fall under other school districts in the Phoenix Metro Area, including the "Cave Creek Unified School District", Paradise Valley Unified School District, Phoenix Union High School District, Tempe Union High School District, and the Balsz Elementary School District

paragraphs: There are five major high schools in Scottsdale: Arcadia High School, Chaparral High School, Coronado High School, Desert Mountain High School, and Saguaro High School.

paragraphs: The primary college in the city is Scottsdale Community College. The college actually lies inside the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Reservation. Many students also commute to nearby Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Penn Foster College, a distance education college, is based in Scottsdale

paragraphs: Scottsdale is also home of the International School of Arizona, a non-profit language school that teaches children who speak a foreign language (French or Spanish).

paragraphs: Scottsdale has four branches within the Scottsdale Public Library System. A fifth is currently being built.


title: REO Speedwagon

paragraphs: REO Speedwagon is an American rock band. They formed in Illinois in the late 1960s. The band continues to record and tour to this day. They were most popular in the 1980s, when they had a #1 album and two #1 singles.


title: Carlisle

paragraphs: Carlisle is a city in the north of England near the border with Scotland. It is in the countyof Cumbria. Carlisle has a population of 71,773 people.

paragraphs: Carlisle's football team is called Carlisle United and they play at Brunton Park.

paragraphs: Carlisle is famous for Carr's Table Water Biscuits which are only made in Carlisle and are by appointment of her majesty the Queen.

paragraphs: Several rivers run through Carlisle, such as the Rivers Eden, Caldew, Petteril as well as Constitution River and Carlisle River.


title: Stanislas Konarski

paragraphs: Stanislas Konarski (in Polish: Stanisław Konarski; his true name was Hieronim Franciszek Konarski), born 30th September 1700 in Żarczyce; died 3rd August 1773 in Warsaw (Poland), was a Polish teacher and writer. He made teaching better; he wrote political books, poems, and plays. He was a monk - member of the order of Piarists; he brought the Enlightenment in Poland.

paragraphs: Between 1725 and 1727 Konarski learned at the Collegium Nazarenum in Rome, where he became a teacher of rhetoric - the art of good speaking. After that, in order to make better his own learning, he traveled through France, Germany and Austria. In 1730 he went back to Poland and began to work on a new text of Polish law ("Volumina legum").

paragraphs: From 1736 Konarski taught at the Collegium Resoviense in Rzeszów and in 1740 he started the Collegium Nobilium in Warsaw, a school for sons of the people of high social class ("szlachta"). Thereafter, he improved teaching of Piarists in Poland, in a way that agrees with his program of teaching ("Ordinationes Visitationis Apostolicae...", 1755). His improvements became an important point in the fight of 18th century to make the system of Polish teaching more modern.

paragraphs: In the beginning, Konarski was joined politically with King Stanislas Leszczynski; later, he came near to Czartoryski's "Familia" and to King Stanislas August Poniatowski. He took part in the well-known "Thursday dinners". Stanislas August Poniatowski caused that a medal was made in the honor of Konarski, with his likeness. There was written in Latin: "Sapere auso" ("who was brave to be wise").


title: Gaetano Donizetti

paragraphs: Gaetano Donizetti (born Bergamo 29 November 1797; died Bergamo 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer. He was the most famous composer of operas in Italy in the years between the death of Bellini (1835) and the time when Verdi was becoming well-known. Bellini and Donizetti wrote operas in the bel canto style: music with beautiful, smooth melodies.

paragraphs: Donizetti’s family were very poor. His talent was discovered by Simon Mayr who was maestro di cappella (music director) at S Maria Maggiore in Bergamo. He opened a school which trained boys to sing in the church choir and gave them a good musical education. Donizetti learned a lot from Mayr and was always very grateful to him.

paragraphs: Donizetti’s first operas were performed in Venice. A rich lady who realized he was very talented paid so that he did not have to do military service. His opera "Zoraida di Granata" was very successful in Rome and he was given a contract for an opera for Naples. For several years he composed between two and five operas every year. They were not particularly successful. One of the reasons was that the libretti he was given (the words he had to set) were not very good.

paragraphs: In 1828 he married. None of their three children lived very long and his wife died in 1837 which made him very sad during his last years. This can be felt in his music.

paragraphs: His opera "Anna Bolena" made him internationally famous. It was performed in London and Paris. His opera "Maria Stuarda" was based on a play by Schiller. It was not popular at first. The audience did not like the tragic ending. Today it is recognized as containing some great music, especially in the final scene. After a visit to Paris he returned to Naples to produce "Lucia di Lammermoor" which was based on Scott’s novel "The Bride of Lammermoor". There is a French version as well as an Italian version of this opera.

paragraphs: In 1838 he moved to Paris where he had his operas performed in four theatres. Berlioz wrote very critical articles about him in a music journal. Donizetti had gone to Paris hoping that he would earn lots of money so that he could then retire, just like Rossini had done. However, his health was not good and he found it harder to concentrate. He managed to composed "Don Pasquale" which is one of the best comic operas every written, but it does have a lot of music that he had written earlier. He was obviously finding it difficult to think of new ideas. Soon he became really ill. He was suffering from syphilis. He was put in a sanatorium near Paris for 17 months. In 1847 some friends arranged for him to stay with them, but he was very ill by then. He was paralysed and almost unable to speak. His friends looked after him until he died.

paragraphs: He was buried in Bergamo. His remains are now in a church there. The house where he was born is a museum.


St. Catherine


title: Blonde

paragraphs: A blonde person is someone with light coloured hair. It can be spelled either "blonde" or "blond", according to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary. Some people are blonde because they have less pigment in their hair than dark haired people. To be blonde is usually to have blonde ancestors. Then it is genetic - blondes have genes that make them blond. Sometimes it is not genetic - this is called albinism. People can also use chemicals to make themselves blonde. Bleach is sometimes used to make the color of a person's hair lighter.

paragraphs: Most people are not blondes by their genes. Only some people, mostly with European ancestry, are blondes by their genes, and also some Australian Aborigines have a different gene that makes them blonde. Natural blondes are most common around the Baltic Sea, especially the Nordic countries such as Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Finland, Ireland and Scotland also has a number of natural blondes. According to recent genetic analysis, both mtDNA and Y chromosome exist in Austrians. There is also a large number of blondes in England, Baltic countries, Slavic countries (especially Poland), northwestern parts of Russia and among European descent that have lived in Kazakhstan since the Soviet Union. Natural blondes are also common in Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Germany. Light hair can also brought on by environmental factors, especially exposure to sunlight.


title: Harold Macmillan

paragraphs: Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a Conservative statesman. He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963.

paragraphs: Macmillan served in the Grenadier Guards during the First World War. After the war he joined his family publishing company, then entered Parliament at the 1924 general election. After losing his seat in 1929, he regained it in 1931.

paragraphs: During World War II, Churchill made Macmillan Minister Resident in the Mediterranean. This made him the go-between for Churchill and the British forces in North Africa and the Middle East. The Mediterranean was a major theatre of war, and Macmillan's work made his name as a serious politician.

paragraphs: Macmillan became Foreign Secretary and then Chancellor of the Exchequer under Churchill's successor Sir Anthony Eden. When Eden resigned in 1957 after the Suez Crisis, Macmillan succeeded him as Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party.

paragraphs: Macmillan presided over a country becoming more affluent (rich), with low unemployment and high (but uneven) economic growth. In his Bedford speech of July 1957 he told the nation they had 'never had it so good'.


title: Crucifixion

paragraphs: Crucifixion is a way to execute (kill) someone, usually because they have committed a crime. It was used as a capital punishment by the government of Rome. A prisoner was beaten with whips, and made to carry their own cross. They were either tied or nailed to the cross. The Romans used different types of crosses: T-shaped, X-shaped, and sometimes just trees. It killed people by making them bleed, go into shock, and making it hard for them to breathe, eventually dying of suffocation. Some of the people would live for several days before dying. The Roman soldiers (which were like the police of that time) would often break the legs of the criminal to speed it up.

paragraphs: The most famous person to have been crucified was Jesus Christ, the Son of God according to the Christian religion. He was crucified along with two thieves. The cross later became a symbol of Christianity. Six of the twelve apostles of Jesus were also crucified later on, but most of them asked to be crucified in a different way from Jesus. For example, Andrew (who later became the patron saint of Scotland) was crucified on an X-shaped cross. In the year 337 AD, Emperor Constantine I abolished crucifixion in the Roman Empire.


title: Steeple

paragraphs: A steeple is the tower at the top of a church, which is a building or temple of the Christian religion. It often has a cross at the top, in memory of Jesus' crucifixion.


title: Baltic paganism

paragraphs: When we say Baltic Paganism we actually mean many different religions and mythologies that people had in Baltic countries before Christianity and that some people still have. All of those religions have their own features but also between these religions many things are similar. Baltic pagans just like Scandinavian and Finnish pagans believes that greatest god is a male god of sky and thunder. He has a hammer or axe that makes lightning. This belief is very old. We think that in Stone Age Corded Ware culture already had this kind of a god and that his weapon was a boat shaped stone axe. Corded Ware culture lived in a large area and many features of Nordic and Baltic people are derived from it.


title: Oxidation

paragraphs: Oxidation is any chemical reaction that involves the moving of electrons. Specifically, it means the substance that gives away electrons is oxidized. Normally, this is a reaction between oxygen and a substance such as iron.

paragraphs: When iron reacts with oxygen it forms a chemical called rust because it has been oxidized (the iron has lost some electrons) and the oxygen has been reduced (the oxygen has gained some electrons).

paragraphs: Formula of rusting is: 4Fe + 3O → 2F→FeO.x HO

paragraphs: Oxidation is the opposite of reduction. A reduction-reaction always comes together with an oxidation-reaction. Oxidation and reduction together are called redox (reduction and oxidation). Oxygen does not have to be present in a reaction for it to be a redox-reaction.

paragraphs: In terms of oxygen transfer, oxidation may be defined as the chemical process in which a substance gains oxygen or loses electrons and hydrogen.

paragraphs: When one of the reactants is oxygen, then oxidation is the gain of oxygen. Reduction is a loss of oxygen. For example:

paragraphs: Both reduction and oxidation go on at the same time which is a redox-reaction.

paragraphs: The loss of hydrogen atoms and the gain of oxygen atoms is known as oxidation. The gain of hydrogen atoms and the loss of oxygen atoms is known as reduction. Oxidation is gain of oxygen atoms and reduction is gain of hydrogen atoms.


title: Kaleva

paragraphs: Kaleva or Kalevi and his sons are people or creatures in Finnish, Karelian and Estonian stories. However many things about them are forgotten.

paragraphs: The name of Estonian national Epos Kalevipoeg means "Sons of Kalevi" and the name of Finnish national epos Kalevala means "Land of Kaleva".

paragraphs: In Estonian stories sons of Kaleva are sons of King.

paragraphs: Finnish people called Sirius "Kalevantähti" which means "Star of Kaleva". Belt of Orion was called Kalevas sword.

paragraphs: In Finnish stories they are more often giants. People told that some things in nature, like big or weird stones, are made by Kalevas sons. Stories tells that while people became Christians, they started to hate Kaleva's sons who remained pagans. Soon Kaleva's sons had to go away. All the time Christian people took more land, Kaleva's sons had to go farther away. At one island they staid and did not want to leave. Priests came and they cursed Kaleva's sons until they took a big stone and sailed with it away. They have not been seen since that, but sometimes they come at night and hits crop or even forest down.

paragraphs: Almost the same thing happened to Hiisi people who resembles trolls. Christian humans made them to flee also.


title: Yellowstone National Park

paragraphs: Yellowstone National Park is a national park in the United States. It was the world's first national park. United States President Ulysses S. Grant signed a law to create it. The name was taken from the Yellowstone River, which flows through the park. Yellowstone was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.

paragraphs: Yellowstone National Park is famous for its geysers and hot springs. The park contains about half the world's geysers. The world's most famous geyser, the Old Faithful Geyser, is in Yellowstone National Park. It also is a home to grizzly bears, wolves, bison and elk. Many tourists visit the park each year to see the geysers and animals there.

paragraphs: The park is the center of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. This is the largest remaining nearly intact ecosystem in the Earth's northern temperate zone. It includes many types of ecosystems, but the biggest is the subalpine forest.

paragraphs: People have lived in the Yellowstone area for about 11,000 years. Some native Americans still lived there when the first people came from Europe in 1807/1808. John Colter, a trapper, came within the Lewis and Clark Expedition and visited a large area which was unknown to the western world at that time. Three years later, he returned to St. Louis and told the people there that he had discovered a wonderland of hot springs and geysers. This area was Yellowstone, but nobody believed him, so Yellowstone still was not a famous place.

paragraphs: For the next sixty years only a few other trappers traveled through the area, and the same thing happened to them. When they reported that Colter had been right, nobody listened to their stories. Then three expeditions between 1868 and 1871 visited Yellowstone and took the news of its wonders back to the East. One year later, on March 1, 1872, United States President Ulysses S. Grant signed a law to create the first national park in the world.

paragraphs: For the first sixteen years, there was no money for the park. So from 1886 to 1917 the US Army ran it. Then the new National Park Service took over, which has run Yellowstone ever since.

paragraphs: Yellowstone was proposed to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. The UNESCO committee elected Yellowstone because it has "significant geological phenomena and processes, unique... geothermal forces, natural beauty, and wild ecosystems where rare and endangered species thrive. [It is] one of the few remaining intact large ecosystems in the northern temperate zone of Earth".

paragraphs: About 96 percent of the park is in Wyoming. Three percent is in Montana and only one percent in Idaho. It is about large, bigger than Rhode Island or Delaware.

paragraphs: The park is on the Yellowstone Plateau, at an average elevation of above sea level. There are mountain ranges on most sides of the plateau. These are mountain ranges of the Middle Rocky Mountains, which range from to in elevation.

paragraphs: Three deep canyons are in the park. They were cut through the volcanic tuff of the Yellowstone Plateau by rivers over the last 640,000 years (since the last huge explosion). The most famous is called the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone".

paragraphs: The Continental Divide of North America runs diagonally through the southwestern part of the Park. This separates the Pacific from Atlantic water drainage areas. The origins of the Yellowstone and Snake Rivers are near each other but on opposite sides of the divide. As a result, the waters of the Snake River flow to the Pacific Ocean, while those of the Yellowstone find their way to the Atlantic Ocean via the Gulf of Mexico.

paragraphs: Yellowstone is the site of a huge ancient volcano, whose remains are called the Yellowstone Caldera. The caldera is the largest volcanic system in North America.

paragraphs: The cause of the volcano was a "hotspot" in the Earth's mantle, over which the American continental plate moved. 640,000 years ago a huge volcanic explosion blew of rock and lava into the air. It was 1000 times larger than the Mount St. Helens eruption.

paragraphs: Yellowstone is still a geologically active volcano; what means that an eruption is expected in future. It is monitored by the U.S. Geological Survey. There is ground movement, geysers and small earthquakes. The floor of the caldera has been rising, but experts say there is no immediate danger of eruption.

paragraphs: For three months in 1985, 3,000 minor earthquakes occurred in the northwestern section of the park. Beginning on April 30, 2007, sixteen small earthquakes with magnitudes up to 2.7 occurred in the Yellowstone Caldera for several days. These swarms of earthquakes are common, and there have been 70 such swarms between 1983 and 2008. In January 2010, more than 250 earthquakes were detected over a two-day period. Seismic activity in Yellowstone National Park continues and is reported hourly by the Earthquake Hazards Program of the U.S. Geological Survey.

paragraphs: Yellowstone is widely seen to have the finest megafauna (very big animals) wildlife in all over the United States. There are almost 60 species of mammals in the park, including the gray wolf, the threatened lynx, and grizzly bears. Other large mammals are the bison (buffalo), black bear, elk, moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, mountain goat, pronghorn, bighorn sheep and mountain lion.

paragraphs: Bison once numbered between 30 and 60 million throughout North America. Yellowstone is one of their last strongholds. Their number had increased from less than 50 in the park in 1902 to 4,000 by 2003.

paragraphs: The highest number of bison in the park was 4,900, in 2005. Despite a summer estimated number of 4,700 in 2007, the number dropped to 3,000 in 2008. That was after a harsh winter and a controversial brucellosis management when hundreds were sent to slaughter. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has stated that with vaccinations and other means, brucellosis can be eliminated from the bison and elk herds throughout Yellowstone.

paragraphs: Starting in 1914, the U.S. Congress gave funds for the purposes of ""destroying wolves, prairie dogs, and other animals injurious to agriculture and animal husbandry"" on public lands. After the wolves were gone from Yellowstone, the coyote became the park's top canine predator. However, the coyote cannot bring down large animals. The result was a great increase in lame and sick megafauna.

paragraphs: By the 1990s, the Federal government had changed its mind on wolves. In a controversial decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wolves, imported from Canada, were brought into the park. A survey conducted in 2005 showed there were 13 wolf packs, totaling 118 wolves in Yellowstone and 326 in the whole ecosystem.

paragraphs: The increase in the number of wolves in the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho has been so successful that they are no longer on the endangered species list.

paragraphs: About 600 grizzly bears live in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, with more than half living within Yellowstone.

paragraphs: There are over 30,000 elk—the largest number of any large mammal species in Yellowstone. The northern herd has become much smaller since the mid-1990s. This may be caused by wolves. Also, elk use more forested regions to evade the wolves, and make it harder for researchers to count them. The northern herd migrates west into southwestern Montana in the winter. The southern herd migrates southward, and the majority of these elk spend the winter on the National Elk Refuge, southeast of Grand Teton National Park. The southern herd migration is the largest migration of mammals in the U.S. outside of Alaska.

paragraphs: In 2003, the tracks of one female lynx and her cub were spotted and followed for over . Fecal material and other evidence obtained were tested and confirmed to be those of a lynx. No one actually saw a lynx, however. Lynx have not been seen in Yellowstone since 1998, though DNA taken from hair samples showed that lynx were at least passing through the park. Other mammals that are seen less often are the mountain lion and wolverine. There are about 25 mountain lions in the park. People do not know how many wolverines there are.

paragraphs: Yellowstone is also home to six species of reptiles, such as the painted turtle and prairie rattlesnake, and four species of amphibians, including the boreal chorus frog.

paragraphs: Eighteen species of fish live in Yellowstone, including the Yellowstone cutthroat trout. This fish is highly sought by anglers, and most of them live in Yellowstone. The Yellowstone cutthroat trout has faced several threats since the 1980s, including the suspected illegal introduction into Yellowstone Lake of lake trout, an invasive species which eat the smaller cutthroat trout. The cutthroat trout has also faced an ongoing drought, as well as the accidental introduction of a parasite—whirling disease—which kills younger fish. Since 2001, all native sport fish species caught in Yellowstone waterways are subject to a catch and release law.

paragraphs: 311 species of birds have been reported. Almost half of them nest in Yellowstone. As of 1999, twenty-six pairs of nesting bald eagles have been documented. Extremely rare sightings of whooping cranes have been recorded; only three are known to live in the Rocky Mountains, out of 385 known worldwide. Other birds, considered to be species of special concern because of their rarity in Yellowstone, include the common loon, harlequin duck, osprey, peregrine falcon and the trumpeter swan.

paragraphs: The reason for the extraordinary climate in Yellowstone is the location of the Rocky Mountains. The temperature at the Mammoth Hot Springs is between in January and in July. Sudden temperature increase or decrease in the middle of a year are not a rare thing.

paragraphs: In summer there are temperatures of about in the lower areas, but they can go up to sometimes. There are many thunderstorms during the afternoons. There are relatively low temperatures during the night; they can get down to lower null in the mountains. Typical temperatures in winter are between .

paragraphs: The highest temperature was metered with in year 1936, while the lowest metered temperature is in year 1933 in Mason.

paragraphs: Yellowstone has had many tourists. This is mostly because of the natural beauty of the Yellowstone park. Millions of people come to see it each and every year.

paragraphs: The park can be reached by five entrances: from the north through Livingston and Gardiner (Montana), by northeast through the Beartooth-Pass (Wyoming), by east through Cody, by south from Jackson, by bypassing the Grand-Teton-national park and by west through the Idaho Falls (Idaho).

paragraphs: Yellowstone offers many beautiful attractions for example geysers, hot springs, a deep canyon, a river with many falls, forests, seas, mountains, wilderness and wildlife.

paragraphs: More than 2.8 million tourists have visited Yellowstone since 1990. In 2010, 3.64 million people visited it. About 140,000 people come in the winter to see snow attractions, for example driving snowmobiles. More than 4,500 people work in the various hotels, parks and shops.

paragraphs: Conservation of the environment and life was a main reason for creating the national parks.

paragraphs: Even before the creation of Yellowstone, the naturalist Henry David Thoreau and other supporters asked the government to protect nature and animals in that area. However, when the park was finally created, there was no such law. A law to protect most of the animals from being shot was not adopted until 1883, nearly 10 years after the creation of the park. Hunting "protected" animals was forbidden under that law. Nevertheless, poachers could still operate. So in 1894, a new law called "National Park Protection Act" was adopted. The US Congress protected nature, wildlife and other natural resources. The new law forbade the killing or destroying of them, and only fishing was allowed. Nature, for example trees, mineral resources and other things, was not allowed to be harmed.

paragraphs: Because Yellowstone has many forests, some fires could occur. The last big fires were the "Yellowstone fires of 1988". They damaged more than of forest area and burned out more than of trees and forest. Also of bush and grass were damaged. The effect of the fire can still be seen in some places, even after more than 30 years.

paragraphs: After 1988, new fire management plans were introduced: people are now not to fight the fire, but let them burn and watch them carefully. This is to keep the fire controlled. According to the 2004 plan, natural wildfires are allowed to burn, so long as fire size, weather and potential danger are within limits.


title: National park

paragraphs: A national park is a park or a area of land officially recognized and protected by a nation's government. National parks are often made to protect the animals that live inside them or the land itself. There are many National Parks in the world.

paragraphs: The first one established (in 1872) was the United States Yellowstone National Park. It was the first national park in the world. But the idea of protecting areas from human development was proposed years earlier. American painter George Catlin offered the idea during the 1830s.

paragraphs: An international organization, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and its World Commission on Protected Areas, has defined National Parks as its category II type of protected areas. The largest national park in the world meeting the IUCN definition is the Northeast Greenland National Park, which was established in 1974. According to the IUCN, there are about 7000 national parks worldwide (2010 figure).

paragraphs: In 1969 the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) declared a national park to be a relatively large area with:

paragraphs: While national parks are generally understood to be administered by national governments (hence the name), in Australia national parks are run by State Governments and predate the Federation of Australia. Also in Japan, some of them called "Quasi-national Parks" (国定公園) are recognized by the government and managed by local governments.


title: William Ewart Gladstone

paragraphs: William Ewart Gladstone (29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British Victorian politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for the Liberal Party in four terms between 1868 and 1894.

paragraphs: His career lasted more than 60 years. He served as Liberal Prime Minister four times. This was more than any other person (1868–1874, 1880–1885, 1886 and 1892–1894). Gladstone was 84 years old when he resigned for the last time. This made him Britain's oldest ever Prime Minister. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer four times (1853–1855, 1859–1866, 1873–1874 and 1880–1882).

paragraphs: Gladstone was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford.