title: Atomic theory

paragraphs: In chemistry and physics, the atomic theory explains how our understanding of the atom has changed over time. Atoms were once thought to be the smallest pieces of matter. However, it is now known that atoms are made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. These subatomic particles are made up of quarks. The first idea of the atom came from the Greek philosopher Democritus. A lot of the ideas in the modern theory came from John Dalton, a British chemist and physicist.

paragraphs: The theory applies to solids, liquids and gases, but it does not apply in way analogous to plasmas or neutron stars.

paragraphs: Democritus thought that if you cut something in half again and again, you would at last have to stop. He said that this last piece of matter could not be cut any smaller. Democritus called these small pieces of matter atoms, which means "indivisible". He thought that atoms would last forever, never change and could not be destroyed. Democritus thought that there was nothing between the atoms and that everything around us could be explained if we could understand how atoms worked.

paragraphs: Some other philosophers agreed, and others disagreed. They had no way to experiment to show whether his theory was true or not.

paragraphs: In 1758, Roger Joseph Boscovich described a precursor of the atomic theory.

paragraphs: In 1803, the English scientist John Dalton, born in Cumberland, reworked Democritus' theory, as follows:

paragraphs: Dalton defined the atom as the "basic unit of an element that can take part in a chemical combination".

paragraphs: In 1850, Sir William Crookes constructed a 'discharge tube', that is a glass tube with the air removed and metallic electrodes at its ends, connected to a high voltage source. When creating a vacuum in the tube, a light discharge can be seen that goes from the cathode (negatively-charged electrode) to the anode (positively-charged electrode). Crookes named the emission 'cathode rays'.

paragraphs: After the cathode ray experiments, Sir Joseph John Thomson established that the emitted ray was formed by negative charges, because they were attracted by the positive pole. Thomson knew that the atoms were electrically neutral, but he established that, for this to occur, an atom should have the same quantity of negative and positive charges. The negative charges were named "electrons" ("e"-).

paragraphs: According to the assumptions established about the atoms neutral charge, Thomson proposed the first atomic model, that was described as "a positively-charged sphere in which the electrons were inlaid (with negative charges)". It is known as the "plum pudding model".

paragraphs: In 1906, Robert Millikan determined that the electrons had a Coulomb (C) charge of -1.6 * 10, something that allowed calculation of its mass as tiny, equal to 9.109 * 10 kg.

paragraphs: In the same time, experiments by Eugene Goldstein in 1886 with cathode discharge tubes allowed him to establish that the positive charges had a mass of 1.6726 * 10 kg and an electrical charge of +1,6 * 10 C. Lord Ernest Rutherford later named these positively charged particles "protons"

paragraphs: In 1910, the New Zealand physicist Ernest Rutherford put forward the idea that the positive charges of the atom were found mostly in its center, in the nucleus, and the electrons ("e"-) around it.

paragraphs: Rutherford showed this when he used an alpha radiation source (from helium) to hit the very thin gold sheets, surrounded by a Zinc sulphide lampshade that produced visible light when hit by alpha emissions. This experiment was called the Geiger–Marsden experiment or the Gold Foil Experiment

paragraphs: By this stage the main elements of the atom were clear, plus the discovery that atoms of an element may occur in isotopes. Isotopes vary in the number of neutrons present in the nucleus. Although this model was well understood, modern physics has developed further, and present-day ideas cannot be made easy to understand. Some idea of present-day atomic physics can be found in the links in the table below.

paragraphs: Atoms are "not</u/l>" elementary particles, because they are made of subatomic particles like protons and neutrons. Protons and neutrons are also not elementary particles because they are made up of even smaller particles called quarks joined together by other particles called gluons (because they "glue" the quarks together in the atom). Quarks "are" elementary because quarks cannot be broken down any further.


title: Particle physics

paragraphs: Particle physics is a category of physics that studies really tiny pieces of things, known as particles. These particles are the really small pieces that build up the world around us. They are best described in the language of math: calculus, the imaginary number, and group theory (which describes symmetry).

paragraphs: Particles can carry fundamental forces. For example, the electromagnetic force is carried by photons. The four fundamental forces are responsible for almost everything in all of physics. These fundamental forces are gravity, electromagnetism, the weak interaction, and the strong interaction.

paragraphs: One of the important concepts of particle physics is called the Standard Model. The Standard Model is a theory which tries to explain the fundamental forces. The Standard Model combined with general relativity is currently the most accepted explanation of how the universe works.

paragraphs: The Standard Model is known to have problems. For example, it explains three of the four forces very well, but it cannot explain gravity. This is why general relativity, a different theory that explains where gravity comes from, needs to be included in order for physicists to explain the universe. There is a lot of work to improve the theory and/or find a better theory that is being done. This work is often called theoretical particle physics because it is about building better theories of particles. Theoretical particle physicists make theories to try to improve the Standard Model. One example of this is how there are many theories that predict undiscovered particles.

paragraphs: Physicists find out about particles by studying collisions between different particles. A good analogy of how physicists study particles through colliding is the car crash example. Imagine a person wanted to look inside cars. By crashing two cars together at very high speeds, we can break the cars apart and see inside. In the same way, physicists crash two particles together in order to break them and study the inside.

paragraphs: If particles are moving at very high speeds, some of them will break apart when they collide. When they break, they create new smaller particles. These particles are very hard to find and detect because they decay (change into lighter particles) very quickly. Modern particle physics involves colliding particles together very energetically to create new particles inside a particle accelerator. This is called high-energy physics, due to the large amount of energy needed.

paragraphs: However, many particles do not simply break apart, such as electrons. Because it does not break apart, the electron is called a fundamental particle. If you were to smash two super-fast electrons against each other, they would not break, but instead they might create more particles around them without breaking (this is another form of decay, known as a hadron jet). The Standard Model says that there are 17 types of fundamental particles, but there are actually twice as many because they can all be created out of antimatter.

paragraphs: Particle physics can help us learn about the early universe, because conditions that are similar to the early universe (which was a much more energetic place than it is now) can be made in a small volume of space using the collisions of these particles. The biggest particle accelerator in the world is the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Europe.


title: X Japan

paragraphs: X Japan is a Japanese rock band. They were formed in 1982 by Yoshiki. They have sold over 30 million albums and singles and over 2 million videos to date. X Japan stopped making music in 1997, but reunited in 2007. They performed their first world tour live in Hong Kong in 2009. They played to 20,000 people in two days.

paragraphs: Some visual kei bands are influenced by X Japan.

paragraphs: The band was first called "X" but because the letter X was already the name of another band they changed their name to "X Japan" to avoid confusion.


title: State Anthem of the Soviet Union

paragraphs: The State Anthem of the Soviet Union was the national anthem of the Soviet Union from 1944 until 1991. It replaced the old one, which was a Russian translation of "The Internationale".

paragraphs: The music was created around 1938 by Alexander Alexandrov, a great Russian composer who earlier started the Alexandrov Ensemble. The original lyrics were by Sergey Mikhalkov and Gabriel El-Registan and first written in 1943. They mentioned Joseph Stalin by his name as well as the Great Patriotic War. When Stalin died in 1953, the lyrics were no longer appropriate and so the music was performed without them. For the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution in 1977, the lyrics were brought back, but changed so that they do not mention Stalin or the war.

paragraphs: This song was in use until the Soviet Union broke down in 1991. Until then, most of the republics of the Soviet Union also had their own anthem, but the Russian SSR did not until 1990. After Russia became independent, the Russian SSR anthem, which used a melody by Mikhail Glinka and had no official words, became the Russian national anthem. But in 2000, the newly elected President, Vladimir Putin, decided to bring back the melody of the Soviet anthem. He had new words written to it by Sergey Mikhalkov, the same person who wrote the original Soviet anthem.

paragraphs: Below is the Russian and the English versions of the lyrics; both can be sung to the music. Like "The Internationale", there are also other versions of the Soviet anthem in different languages.

paragraphs: The official version of lyrics endorsed by CPSU:

paragraphs: The 1944 text had three different refrains following three different stanzas; in each refrain, the second line was consequently modified with references to friendship, then happiness and finally the glory. In 1977, these refrains were replaced by a uniform refrain following all stanzas.

paragraphs: <poem>The Russian [Soviet] republics, in freedom united,

paragraphs: Have mustered their power, their glory, their pride,

paragraphs: And thus they created the great Soviet Union,

paragraphs: The will of the nations that spread far and wide!

paragraphs: "Great shall your glory be, Motherland proud and free,"

paragraphs: "Bulwark of friendship for nation and man!"

paragraphs: "Flag of the Soviet, lead us to victory,"

paragraphs: The sunlight of freedom has shone through the tempest,

paragraphs: And Lenin has lighted our path with his flame,

paragraphs: While Stalin has shown us that faith in the people

paragraphs: Inspires us to action, to deeds and to fame.

paragraphs: "Bulwark of happiness for nation and man!"

paragraphs: Our army in action has grown in its power,

paragraphs: And soon it will wipe out the enemy horde;

paragraphs: The fate of the future is sealed by our bravery,

paragraphs: And honour and glory shall be our reward!

paragraphs: "Flag of the people since freedom began!"</poem>

paragraphs: The Hymn of the Bolshevik Party (Гимн партии большевиков / "Gimn partii boljševikov") uses the same melody as the Soviet anthem, but with different lyrics by Vasily Lebedev-Kumach.


title: Minimalism

paragraphs: Minimalism is a way of making modern art or music that uses simple ideas, sounds or shapes. It was most popular in America in the 1960s and 1970s. There are many different kinds of minimalism. Sometimes a simple thing is repeated many times until it seems very complicated. Today minimalism can be used to talk about many things such as design, architecture, poetry, and movies.

paragraphs: In music, minimalism is a way of composing classical music which became popular during the second half of the 20th century. It is a way of composing by using a simple idea which is repeated many times. A minimalist piece of music usually takes a short idea which may be a melodic or a rhythmic pattern. This idea is then repeated many times, but each time it changes slightly. Sometimes this may be done by two or more instruments which start off by playing their notes or chords together but, as one is going slightly faster than the other, they gradually become “out of sync” (not synchronized, i.e. not together), then eventually they catch up with one another again. Usually this music is tonal so that it is firmly in one key. "A steady pulse is kept throughout the whole piece."

paragraphs: Composers who wrote minimalist music include Steve Reich (b.1936), Philip Glass (b.1937) and Terry Riley (b.1935). Other composers like John Adams (b.1947) have also used minimalist ways of composing, but they combined these with other techniques, so that their music is not just minimalist.

paragraphs: Minimalist music became popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Minimalist composers started writing like this, also because a lot of new music at that time was very complicated and hard to understand. It was often serial music which was atonal with no obvious melodies or ideas that were easy to remember.

paragraphs: Minimalist music is not necessarily simple. It can have a kind of hypnotic effect, but this is part of what the composer wants. Reich’s "Clapping Music" just consists of hand : there is no melody. He was thinking of African drum music when he wrote it. Two performers begin by clapping a rhythm together. After 13 seconds the second performer leaves out the first quaver (eighth note) and puts it at the end of the second bar (measure). After another 13 seconds this happens again so that in the end the two performers are together again. This music has to be listened to in a different way from other kinds of music.

paragraphs: Minimalism in visual art, sometimes referred to as "literalist art" and "ABC Art" emerged in New York in the 1960s. As a product it had much in common with earlier geometric abstraction and suprematism.

paragraphs: The term "minimalism" was not generally embraced by the artists associated with it, and many practitioners of art called minimalist by critics did not identify it as a movement as such.

paragraphs: One of the first artists specifically associated with Minimalism was the painter, Frank Stella, whose early "stripe" paintings were highlighted in the 1959 show, "16 Americans", organized by Dorothy Miller at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The width of the stripes in Frank Stellas's stripe paintings were determined by the dimensions of the lumber, visible as the depth of the painting when viewed from the side, used to construct the supportive chassis upon which the canvas was stretched. The decisions about structures on the front surface of the canvas were therefore not entirely subjective, but pre-conditioned by a "given" feature of the physical construction of the support. In the show catalog, Carl André noted, "Art excludes the unnecessary. Frank Stella has found it necessary to paint stripes. There is nothing else in his painting".

paragraphs: These reductive works were in sharp contrast to the energy-filled and emotionally-charged expressionist paintings of Willem de Kooning or Franz Kline.

paragraphs: They leaned more towards the controlled, somber "color field" paintings of Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko. Although Stella received immediate attention from the MOMA show, artists like Kenneth Noland, Ralph Humphrey, Robert Motherwell and Robert Ryman had begun to explore stripes, monochromatic and hard-edge formats from the late 50s through the 1960s.


title: Igor Stravinsky

paragraphs: Igor Stravinsky was born in Lomonosov (then Oranienbaum), 17 June 1882 and died in New York, 6 April 1971. He was one of the most important composers of the 20th century, and a leader in modernism in music. He was brought up in Russia. When the Russian Revolution started he moved to Switzerland and then to Paris, and finally, when World War II started in 1939, he moved to the United States.

paragraphs: Stravinsky wrote music in different styles. At first he wrote music similar to his teacher Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. He loved his native Russian music. He wrote music which had very complicated chords and rhythms. It is lively music, and some of his best known works of this kind were written for the "Ballets Russes" of Sergei Diaghilev: "The Firebird", "Petrushka", "The Rite of Spring", "Les noces", "Pulcinella" and "Apollo musagète". They were written from 1910 to 1928.

paragraphs: Then he changed his style and wrote in what is called a “neo-classical” way. He based it on music from the Classical music period but changed it. His only full-length opera "The Rake's Progress" was written in this way. In his later years he wrote serial music.

paragraphs: Igor was the third of four children, all boys. As a child he spent the winter months in St Petersburg and the summers in the country where several of his relatives on his mother’s side had large estates.

paragraphs: Igor was not particularly good at school, but he often went to see the operas in which his father Fyodor was performing. Fyodor was an opera singer with a fine bass voice. He sang at the opera house in Kiev and later at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. Igor also went to ballets and even heard Tchaikovsky conduct in 1893, at the end of his life.

paragraphs: For a time Stravinsky studied law at the university of St Petersburg, but gave up in 1906. Then he married one of his cousins. They soon had a son and a daughter.

paragraphs: Meanwhile, since his school days, Igor played the piano, and had lessons in harmony and counterpoint. He enjoyed improvising and he started to be interested in composing. He wrote some short piano pieces and showed them to the composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, the father of a friend. Rimsky-Korsakov told him he ought to continue to have private music lessons instead of going to the conservatoire. Shortly after this, Stravinsky’s father died. Igor went to stay with Rimsky-Korsakov. He met many musical people there, and Rimsky-Korsakov taught him how to write for the different instruments. In 1905, he began to take twice-weekly private lessons from Rimsky-Korsakov, whom he came to regard as a second father. These lessons continued until Rimsky-Korsakov's death in 1908.

paragraphs: In 1908 Rimsky-Korsakov died. Stravinsky met Sergei Diaghilev, the ballet impresario. Diaghilev wanted to put on performances of new operas and ballets. He needed a composer to write the music and saw that Stravinsky might be the ideal person. He asked him to write music for a ballet called "The Firebird", which was a Russian fairytale. Stravinsky wrote it at Rimsky-Korsakov’s country house and finished it in St Petersburg. The ballet was first performed at the Paris Opéra on 25 June 1910 by the Ballets Russes who were very famous in Europe. Mikhail Fokin was the choreographer. It has remained one of Stravinsky’s most famous pieces of music. Some of the music is often performed in a concert hall without the dancing. This version is called a “suite” (literally “a collection of dances”). It shows his love of Russian folk melody.

paragraphs: The success of "The Firebird" made Stravinsky world famous. His music was especially well known in Europe, and in Paris where the Ballets Russes were based. The next work Stravinsky wrote for them was "Petrouchka". It was the story of a puppet which comes to life. It was performed in Paris on 13 June 1911 and became just as famous as "The Firebird". This music, too, is often performed as a concert piece. Stravinsky also made an arrangement of three of the dances for piano solo. It is very hard to play and needs a virtuoso pianist.

paragraphs: Stravinsky was becoming well known among musicians. His friends included Debussy and Ravel. He met Schoenberg in Berlin and was very impressed by his piece called "Pierrot Lunaire". He spent a lot of his time with his family in Switzerland where he had peace and quiet to compose.

paragraphs: On 29 May 1913 a new ballet by Stravinsky called "The Rite of Spring" was performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris. It was an absolute sensation. Some people loved it and others hated it. There was a big fight in the theatre and the police were called in. People were shouting so much that no one could hear the music. Stravinsky became ill afterwards and spent some weeks to recover. When the ballet was performed again people were quieter and listened to the music. There were lots of new ideas in the music: harsh chords and very complicated rhythms. The music of "The Rite of Spring" had an great influence on the development of music in the 20th century.

paragraphs: Stravinsky’s next idea for a ballet was "Les noces", French for 'The Wedding'. Stravinsky went back to Russia to collect some things that would help him to compose it. When he returned to Switzerland World War I started.

paragraphs: Stravinsky’s family spent most of their time in Switzerland during the war. He was short of money because there was no more income from the Russian estates. The Ballets Russes could not perform any more in Paris. Stravinsky spent a lot of time working at "Les Noces". He finished it in 1917 and played it to Diaghilev. It was another six years before it was performed. Stravinsky eventually chose to arrange it for four pianos, percussion, chorus and vocal soloists. It was performed at the Théâtre de la Gaîté Lyrique on 13 June 1923.

paragraphs: Because Switzerland was neutral in the war, Stravinsky was able to travel. He went to Italy where he met Gerald Tyrwhitt (who later became Lord Berners) and Prokofiev. He wrote "Reynard" and "Rag-Time". He performed in America with Ballets Russes.

paragraphs: When the Russian Revolution broke out in February 1917 Stravinsky thought this would be good, but when the Bolshevik Revolution followed it became obvious that he would never be able to go back to Russia. He wrote "L’histoire du soldat" ("The Soldier’s Tale"). It was performed in Lausanne with Ernest Ansermet conducting. There would have been more performances but many people had influenza. When the war ended Stravinsky decided to move to France. He wrote a ballet called "Pulcinella" which was based on music by the 18th century composer Pergolesi. It was performed at the Paris Opéra on 15 May 1920. For some years Igor became interested in the music of the late 18th century, and the style of his work after 1920 is often described as neoclassical.

paragraphs: In 1920 Stravinsky’s family moved from Stravinsky to Brittany, then the following year they moved to Biarritz. Stravinsky composed a piece called "Symphonies for Wind Instruments". It was soon performed in London at a concert which also included "The Rite of Spring", conducted by Eugene Goossens in the Queen's Hall. He met a theatre designer called Serge Soudeikine and fell madly in love with Vera, who would later become his second wife. Meanwhile, his first wife, Katerina, was in a sanitorium suffering from tuberculosis. Vera and Stravinsky saw one another as much as possible for the next 18 years. Meanwhile, Stravinsky’s mother managed to get out of Russia and she joined Stravinsky’s family in Biarritz. Stravinsky had to support a large family, and he decided he needed to work more as a conductor and pianist instead of composing large works. He composed smaller pieces, including the piano version of three dances from "Petrouchka". Later, when his son was grown up, he composed a Concerto for two solo pianos for himself to play with his son. He did not compose any more for the Ballets Russes, but he did compose "Oedipus rex" as a special tribute to them. This work was a mixture of opera and oratorio. The words were in Latin and were written by Jean Cocteau. It was performed as a concert performance. Although he did not write for Diaghilev any more, he accepted an invitation from Ida Rubinstein to write a ballet called "Le baiser de la fée" ("The fairy’s kiss") which was based on music by Tchaikovsky. Diaghilev was annoyed, but then he died in 1929 and the Ballets Russes company no longer carried on.

paragraphs: In 1926 Stravinsky, who belonged to the Russian Orthodox Church, had a deep religious experience which effected his music. The best of these religious pieces is the "Symphony of Psalms", written for the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s 50th birthday celebrations.

paragraphs: Stravinsky met the violinist Dushkin and composed a "Violin Concerto" as well as the "Duo concertante" for violin and piano which the two musicians played together at many concerts. He became more and more in demand in the United States and wrote several works for American people. He was offered a job as professor at Harvard University. At this time a lot of his family were ill. Then his daughter died, his wife died and his mother died. He was ill himself. Then, by September 1939, just as World War II started, he was well enough to travel to North America.

paragraphs: Stravinsky was immediately invited to conduct many concerts in America. Vera arrived in America four months later and she and Stravinsky were married in Bedford, Massachusetts. They applied for American citizenship and settled in Hollywood. He was quite short of money and he accepted any invitation to compose music. He even accepted a private pupil.

paragraphs: Stravinsky composed a mass. It was not commissioned, he just wanted to compose it. It was performed in La Scala, Milan, in 1948 conducted by Ansermet. He then decided to compose a full-length opera in English. This was "The Rake’s Progress". It was first performed in Venice in 1951. It is the best of his works in the neo-classical style. Another work from this period is his "Symphony in C". It shows a different way of composing tonal music to the tonal works of classical composers.

paragraphs: He met a musician called Robert Craft who came to live with the family and helped Stravinsky sort out his compositions and papers. He was surprised to find that Stravinsky never visited Schoenberg, who only lived a few streets away. After Schoenberg died in 1951 Craft encouraged Stravinsky to listen to Schoenberg’s serial music. Soon Stravinsky started to use serialism in his own compositions. Craft travelled with Stravinsky and helped him a great deal, for example, by conducting some of the concerts, or rehearsing the orchestras before Stravinsky came.

paragraphs: In 1962 he was invited to the White House by President Kennedy. In the same year he returned to Russia for a visit. He had not been there for nearly half a century. It was a great success, and people in the USSR became more interested in Stravinsky’s music. It made Stravinsky very happy to know that Russians were interested in him again.

paragraphs: During his last years he became rather ill. "Threni" is one of his last compositions. It is a setting of the parts of the Lamentations of Jeremiah for voices and orchestra. He composed other religious works including "Requiem Canticles". In 1969 he moved with his family to New York where he died two years later.

paragraphs: Stravinsky was buried in Venice, near Diaghilev’s grave.


title: Emilio de Villota

paragraphs: Emilio de Villota Ruíz (born in Madrid, July 26, 1946) is a former racing driver from Spain. He participated in 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on May 2, 1976. He scored no championship points.

paragraphs: In 2005, he participated in Formula Palmer Audi driving a Mapfre's car (nº7)


title: TAE connector

paragraphs: TAE (Telekommunikations-Anschluss-Einheit) is the German standard for telephone plugs and sockets.

paragraphs: The standard covers two TAE types: "F" ("Fernsprechgerät": for telephones) and "N" ("Nebengerät": for other devices such as answering machines and modems).


title: Technological singularity

paragraphs: The technological singularity is the idea that a machine or computer, or a group of machines and computers, will one day be smarter than humans.

paragraphs: Because it has not happened yet, nobody really knows what the technological singularity will do, or if it will even happen. Nonetheless, the technological singularity has been a subject in many science fiction works, such as "The Terminator", "The Matrix", and the Borg in "Star Trek". In most depictions of the singularity, machines have consciousness and humans are considered to be useless. The futurist (who studies about the future) and inventor Ray Kurzweil believes the "Singularity" will happen about the year 2045. The major impetus driving toward the singularity, according to Kurzweil, is that according to Moore's Law, computers are doubling in memory capacity every 18 months. According to Kurzweil, by 2029, computers will be as intelligent as human beings (see artificial intelligence).


title: Mew (Pokémon)

paragraphs: Mew (ミュウ, Myuu) is a fictional character from the "Pokémon" franchise. In the "Pokémon" video games, it is a Psychic-type secret Pokémon that was discovered in the first group of Pokémon games: "Pokémon Red and Blue", "Green", and "Yellow". Mew is the "Red/Blue/Green/Yellow" counterpart to the "Gold/Silver/Crystal" Celebi and the "Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald" Jirachi.

paragraphs: The name "Mew" refers to the sound made by a cat. Mew was secretly put in the game by one of the lead programmers, Shigeki Morimoto. When the Game Freak president, Satoshi Tajiri, found out about it, he told about it being in the game.

paragraphs: Mew is #151 in the Pokédex and could only be obtained through special events or by using a cheating device like Gameshark, or a game-enhancing device. Mew can also be obtained in the original issues of the Pokémon yellow and blue (US) by “cheat”. If you get a Pokémon early on (before going to Misty’s gym or defeating man to the left of the nugget bridge) that has growl (charmander has it from the start) and an Abra or a Pokémon that can fly but you can’t fly this early in game (you can get an abra in the grass next to the nugget bridge but be careful not to battle the man standing above that grass he’s needed later. After this go to the health center and heal, then go to the top of the nugget bridge and save. Head down to Misty’s gym, go straight and take a right and challenge hit the guy trainer in a pool to the right use growl 6 times on his shelder then defeat him. Go back to the top of the nugget bridge and take a left to engage in battle with that man but press start right when you do and he should have a ❗ Over his head when you hit teleport (restart if you start the fight) and teleport back to the health center. Then run up the nugget bridge making sure to have a load of poke balls and the last Pokémon you fought was that shelder after using growl on him 6 times, and you should have a random encounter with Mew. Also if you fight a Pokémon that’s low enough in level not to level your Mew up to level 2, it will automatically level up to 100.

paragraphs: Mewtwo is a "Genetic" species of Pokémon that is number 150 in the Pokédex. Mewtwo was cloned from Mew by scientists. It is a Psychic type Pokémon. Mewtwo appeared in two movies: "" and "".

paragraphs: In "Pokémon Red and Blue" the player first learns of Mewtwo by research papers left in a ruined laboratory on Cinnabar Island. Mewtwo is told to be a mutant child of Mew made after years of work by one scientist. Mewtwo is obtainable in the Cerulean Cave, which opens after defeating the Elite Four. In the remakes "Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen" the player now has to get 60 Pokédex entries before they can go in the cave.

paragraphs: In Pokémon X and Y, Mewtwo can be found in the Unknown Dungeon after entering the Hall of Fame. It can Mega Evolve into two different forms: Mega Mewtwo X using Mewtwonite X and Mega Mewtwo Y using Mewtwonite Y.

paragraphs: Mewtwo is a character in "Super Smash Bros. Melee", and is one of eleven playable characters that can be unlocked in the game. It uses the moves Shadow Ball, Confusion, Teleport, and Disable


title: Avignon

paragraphs: Avignon (; ) is a commune in southeastern France in the department of Vaucluse on the left bank of the Rhône river. It is the capital (prefecture) of the Vaucluse department.

paragraphs: The historical centre, which includes the Palais des Papes, the cathedral, and the Pont d'Avignon, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. The medieval monuments and the annual Festival d'Avignon have helped to make the town a major centre for tourism.

paragraphs: The earliest forms of the name were reported by the Greeks:

paragraphs: The Roman name "Avennĭo Cavarum" (Mela, II, 575, Pliny III, 36), i.e. "Avignon of Cavares" shows that Avignon was one of the three cities of the tribe of "Cavares", along with "Cavaillon" and "Orange".

paragraphs: Between 1309 and 1377, during the Avignon Papacy, seven successive popes lived in Avignon and in 1348 Pope Clement VI bought the town from Joanna I (; March 1328 – 27 July 1382) was Queen of Naples and Countess of Provence.

paragraphs: Papal control persisted until 1791 when, during the French Revolution, it became part of France.

paragraphs: Avignon is on the left bank of the Rhône river, a few kilometres above its confluence with the Durance, about southeast of Paris, south of Lyon and northwest of Marseille.

paragraphs: It has an area of and its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .

paragraphs: On the west Avignon shares a border with the department of Gard and to the south it borders the department of Bouches-du-Rhône.

paragraphs: Avignon is surrounded by the "communes" Sorgues, Le Pontet, Vedène, Morières-lès-Avignon and Caumont-sur-Durance and the departments Bouches-du-Rhône ("communes" of Noves, Châteaurenard, Rognonas and Barbentane) and Gard ("communes" of Les Angles and Villeneuve-lès-Avignon).

paragraphs: The Rhône, the Durance (tributary of the Rhône and the L'Anguillon (tributary of the Durance) are the rivers flow through the "commune".

paragraphs: The Rhône passes the western edge of the city but is divided into two branches: the "Petit Rhône" for the part that passes next to Avignon, and the "Grand Rhône" for the western channel which passes Villeneuve-lès-Avignon in the Gard department. The two branches are separated by an island, the "Île de la Barthelasse".

paragraphs: The Durance flows along the southern boundary of the "commune" into the Rhône and marks the departmental boundary with Bouches-du-Rhône.

paragraphs: The climate of Avignon, in the Köppen climate classification, is Csa - Oceanic climate with hot summers.

paragraphs: The average temperature for the year in Avignon is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of .

paragraphs: The average amount of precipitation for the year in Avignon is . The month with the most precipitation on average is October with of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is January with an average of .

paragraphs: The inhabitants of Avignon are known, in French, as "Avignonnais" (women: "Avignonnaises").

paragraphs: With a population of 92,209, Avignon has a population density of inhabitants/km.

paragraphs: Avignon is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department since 1793. It is also the capital of the "arrondissement" of Avignon and the administrative centre () of three cantons, all formed with part of the commune:

paragraphs: It is part of the intercommunality "Grand Avignon" ().


title: Marseille

paragraphs: Marseille is a city in the south of France in the Bouches-du-Rhône department. About 1.7 million people live in the metropolitan area, and about 850,000 in the city itself. This makes it the second largest city in France by number of people. Its commercial port is the biggest in France and one of the most important in the Mediterranean sea.

paragraphs: Although part of the region of Provence, Marseilles has its own history. This city is the oldest in France and probably the most complex. The city was started around 600 BC by Greek sailors from Phocaea (modern day Foça, near İzmir). This was a Greek colony in Asia Minor that is in what is now Turkey.

paragraphs: Marseille has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ("Csa" in the Koeppen climate classification).


title: Halo 2

paragraphs: Halo 2 is an award winning first-person shooter video game made by Bungie Studios and published by Microsoft for its own Xbox console. It was released all over the world on November 9, 2004. It is the second game in the Halo series the first being and the third being Halo 3. A Windows Vista version of the game was released in 2007.

paragraphs: The game's story is based around a future war between a fictional confederation of alien races known as "the Covenant" and the human race. The player takes the role of Master Chief, a genetically enhanced "super soldier" who fights for mankind. The player is helped in their fight against the Covenant by human marines. The game had many features that were not in the original Halo such as extra vehicles, weapons and a greatly improved multiplayer mode, including the ability to play over Xbox Live.

paragraphs: "Halo 2" was the most popular Xbox Live game on its release. It held that title until the release of Gears of War nearly two years later. By June 20, 2006 over 500 million games of Halo 2 had been played over Xbox Live. It was, and still is, the best selling Xbox game of all time with over 8 million copies sold worldwide. It broke sales records in the US, many of which were only broken by its sequel Halo 3 in 2007. The Windows Vista version in 2007 was less successful as the fact it was released 3 years after the Xbox version gained many negative reviews.

paragraphs: "Halo 2" is a science fiction first-person shooter based mostly on foot but with vehicle combat sections. "Halo 2" has many features that were not in the original Halo. In Halo 2 players have the option to use two weapons at once, called dual wielding. This allowes the player much more firepower but does not allow the throwing of grenades. The player can hold up to two weapons at once or three when dual wielding. Weapons range from normal human weapons such as pistols and shotguns up to heavy weapons like rocket launchers and sniper rifles. The player can also carry alien weapons like "plasma rifles" and "needlers".

paragraphs: The story mode continues the story started in . There are nine levels in the story, split between controlling Master Chief and the alien Arbiter. There are four difficulties to the campaign "easy", "standard", "heroic" and "legendary" Completing them unlocks extras such as different dialogue in certain sections of the game, and extra weapons in split-screen multiplayer. There are various 'skulls' at hidden parts of the levels, as in Halo 3. These skulls unlock helpful and or strange differences in the levels such as confetti and balloons appearing when the player scores a headshot. The story can be played two player on the same console but not over Xbox Live.

paragraphs: Halo 2 allows up to four players to play on the same console or up to sixteen over Xbox Live. The game was influential in changing the way games played over the internet. Before in most online multiplayer games, one player was the "host" who used their own connection for the game and chose the settings, gametype etc. In Halo 2, and most games since, players choose a type of game they want to play and the game matches them with players of their own ability on a randomly chosen map.

paragraphs: Some weapons and vehicles available in the story mode were not available in multiplayer as they would be too powerful and 'unbalance' the game.

paragraphs: The game is set in the same fictional world as the rest of the Halo series. Much of the game takes place in the future year 2552, over 500 years from now. In the storyline humans have developed faster than light travel, and now live on many planets and moons of the Solar System. On humanity's first try to build a settlement on a planet around another star they met the alien "Covenant". The Covenant declared religious war on humanity. At the start of Halo 2 humans are losing the war and the Covenant have just discovered Earth.

paragraphs: The Halo of the game's title is the name of a series of planets 'built' by a mysterious race called the "Forerunners" a long time before the game. The Halo's are the last defence against another alien race known as "the Flood". The Flood want to use every living thing in the galaxy for food. The Halo's are actually giant super weapons, that when activated kill all life in the galaxy. This is the only way to stop the Flood, to starve them by killing all their food. The Covenant are not aware of this and are attempting to fire Halos as part of a false religious prophecy. In the first Halo game, , the humans and Master Chief manage to stop the Covenant from firing one of the Halos. They also destroy one of them in the process. Just before "Halo 2" begins the covenant discover another Halo that can only be got through a portal found near Earth.

paragraphs: The game opens with the torture of an alien, the leader of the Elites. He is being tortured by the covenant because he failed to stop Master Chief destroying the first Halo in the original game. The Elite commander is branded by the leader of the Brutes, another part of the Covenant. The player then takes control of Master Chief, on board a spacecraft orbiting the Earth when the massive Covenant fleet arrives. The Covenant have come to take the portal that will allow them to get to the new Halo so they can fire it. The Covenant board the ship the player is aboard, and attempt to plant bombs to disable it and the other ships in the human fleet. The player must fight through Covenant forces to disable the bombs. Once this is complete the human ship heads off, following the Covenant flagship that just flew past. Meanwhile, in the cutscene we see the former elite commander being made into a religious warrior known as "the Arbiter" to make up for his failure to stop Master Chief in the original Halo.

paragraphs: In another cutscene a human ship with Master Chief,Johnson and Cortana aboard follows the covenant ship through the portal to the new Halo. The player must now take control of Chief as he battles to stop the Covenant from firing the ring. Eventually the player kills the Prophet of Regret, a Covenant leader, and stops the Halo from being fired. Unfortunately before the player can recover the Index, the control for firing the Halo, they are captured by the leader of the Flood, known as "the Gravemind". In a cutscene we see the new Arbiter sent down to the Halo to recover the Index before Chief can destroy it. When he arrives though, he and his followers are betrayed and their former allies begin to attack. Here the player must control Arbiter and his followers as they attempt to escape the betrayal and ambush. The arbiter is eventually also captured by the Gravemind and meets up with Master Chief. The two of them break free of Gravemind, whose Flood followers have now taken over a huge Covenant ship called "High Charity". Arbiter and Chief, now controlled by the player again, race to the Halo control to stop the Covenant from firing the ring one last time. They are successful in stopping the Covenant, but the Prophet of Truth, the last of their leaders escapes on a spacecraft unharmed. Chiefs AI companion Cortana stays behind on the Halo, promising to destroy it if any Covenant ever return. Chief and the Arbiter part ways with Chief hiding out on a fleeing Covenant ship and the Arbiter and his followers returning to "High Charity" in an attempt to save it from the Flood.

paragraphs: "Halo 2" was officially announced in 2002. A gameplay video was shown at E3 2003. The video showed new features in the game such as dual wielding and the improved graphics. According to Bungie, the cliffhanger ending of the games story was not originally intended but was a result of the rush to get the game out on time.

paragraphs: Halo 2 was first released in North America and Australia on November 9, 2004. It was launched in Europe a day later on November 10. Demand was high for the game and over 1.5 million copies were sold on pre-orders alone. It was the highest earning entertainment product launch of all time in the US, earning $125 million in its first 24 hours. It held this record until the release of its sequel Halo 3. Halo 2 has sold over 8 million copies in the US making it the best selling original Xbox game of all time.

paragraphs: From the day of its release until 2006, 2 years later, Halo 2 was the most played game on Xbox Live. It was eventually beaten by the Xbox 360 game Gears of War.

paragraphs: The game was reviewed as excellent by most of the media. The sound work such as the dialogue and soundtrack was often praised.

paragraphs: The game received an average score of 95% on Metacritic, a website that puts together many reviews from different sources. The games multiplayer was often seen as a good point, making full use of the then new Xbox Live service. Bad aspects pointed out included the short length of the story mode and the cliffhanger ending.


title: Actuary

paragraphs: Actuaries are people who are experts in mathematics, probability, economics, and finance who figure out how much money businesses should charge for making promises to pay for something that may or may not happen.

paragraphs: Hundreds of years ago, when people got sick or died, it cost a lot of money to take care of them or bury them. People had the idea of joining their money together to help each other out. This was called pooling. Eventually, people started to make a business out of collecting enough money to help people who had big problems.

paragraphs: Figuring out how much money needed to be collected from people to be used if problems happened was not easy. Over hundreds of years, the math needed for this was developed by many people from all over the world.

paragraphs: Today, actuaries use computers to figure out problems that were too difficult before.

paragraphs: Actuaries now work in many places. Most work for insurance companies, but others work in all kinds of finance companies. Actuaries still figure out how much money needs to be paid for life insurance, as well as other kinds of money promises, like pensions, car insurance, house insurance, and similar.

paragraphs: Actuaries also work with companies to figure out if making certain business deals are a good idea, since actuaries work with figuring out what the probabilities are of different business situations happening.

paragraphs: People who want to be actuaries need to take many tests. The tests are not the same in different parts of the world.


title: Thesaurus

paragraphs: A thesaurus is a dictionary of synonyms (words that have the same or similar meaning). Thesauruses (or thesauri) often include related words that mean almost the same thing. Some thesauruses also include antonyms (words that have the opposite meaning).

paragraphs: For example, by looking up the word "big" in a thesaurus, someone would find a list of other similar words such as "huge" and "massive". If the thesaurus also has a list of antonyms, the user could also find words which mean the opposite, like "small" and "tiny".

paragraphs: Many students and writers use a thesaurus to help them find words when they are writing. Using a thesaurus can help a person to improve their vocabulary (the number of words that they know).


Boom


Rumble


title: Bass (fish)

paragraphs: Bass is the name of some species (types) of fish that are often caught for food or sport. There are freshwater bass (that live in rivers and lakes) and saltwater bass (that live in the ocean). Many bass live in or near North America. Bass are from the order of Perciformes or "perch-like fish". Their name comes from the word for perch.

paragraphs: Many other species are also called basses, such as:


title: Roxette

paragraphs: Roxette is a Swedish pop music group formed in 1986. The band had 2 members, Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson. Their song "It Must Have Been Love" was one of the most sold singles by the duo. It was released first as a Christmas song in 1987 and then as an "ordinary song" in 1990. In 1991, Roxette release the very popular album "Joyride". For this album, they went on tour worldwide, playing 107 concerts. "The Look" and "Listen To Your Heart", are other popular songs by Roxette. They are very popular in South America and Europe.

paragraphs: They had released 8 studio albums and 9 compilation albums. One album, "Baladas En Español", was sung in Spanish.

paragraphs: The band ended in December 2019 after Fredriksson died of brain cancer.


title: Hindu scripture

paragraphs: The Hindu scriptures are a number of books and other texts which tell about Hinduism and Hindu mythology. They are sacred literature for Hindus. Important Hindu scriptures include the following:

paragraphs: Two epics (very important pieces), the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, are also important Hindu scriptures.

paragraphs: All above sacred literature or scriptures are written in Sanskrit language.

paragraphs: Besides the above, there are several other works that are sacred literature of Hindus. Many of them are written in other languages of India such as Tamil and Hindi.


title: Aum

paragraphs: Om (also spelled Aum), is the most sacred symbol in Hinduism. Hindu scriptures tell many things about this symbol. In Hinduism, Om is like calling god's name towards you. This name is generally said three times, before chanting any prayers. Om is usually related to the Hindu God Shiva, who is the destroyer god.


title: Norfolk Island

paragraphs: Norfolk Island (Norfuk: Norfuk Ailen) is a territory of Australia. It is in the South Pacific Ocean between Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia. It was one of the first British settlements in the Pacific. Twice it was used as a penal colony. People from Pitcairn Island were moved to Norfolk Island. It is now a popular place for holidays.

paragraphs: Norfolk Island is a small volcanic island. Its size is about by . It is about northeast of Sydney, and north of Auckland. Most of the island is above the level of the sea. There are two high points on the island about above sea level. South of Norfolk are two smaller islands, Nepean Island and Phillip Island.

paragraphs: The first people to visit Norfolk Island were probably from New Zealand. The first European settlers found parts of a canoe and stone axes. Later work by archaeologists in 1995, found the remains of a house in the sand dunes at Emily Bay. It was lived in from about 1200 AD to about 1600 AD. Scientists do not know why the people left the island.

paragraphs: Norfolk Island was first discovered by Captain James Cook on October 10, 1774. He was on his second trip around the world in his ship, the "Resolution". He landed on the island which was uninhabited (there was no one living there). He found a flax plant (Phormium tenax) and large trees, now called Norfolk Island Pines (Araucaria heterophylla). He thought the flax could be used to make cloth for ship sails and the pine trees would make good masts for ships. He used one of the trees to make a new top mast for the "Resolution". Cook wrote about the island in his book, "A Voyage towards the South Pole", printed in London in 1777.

paragraphs: The British government sent Captain Arthur Phillip with the First Fleet to start a penal colony in Australia in 1788. He was told start a small settlement on Norfolk Island as soon as possible to stop other European countries from claiming the island. The French ships, "L'Astrolabe" and "La Boussole", commanded by La Pérouse, visited the island in early 1778. They could not land because the waves were too big and rough. La Pérouse thought the island was only suitable for "angels and eagles".

paragraphs: The first European settlers on Norfolk Island arrived on March 3, 1788. After two days looking around the island, the settlers landed at Emily Bay, part of Sydney Bay, on March 6. This day is now celebrated as "Foundation Day". They had come on the "HMS Supply", from the new settlement at Sydney, New South Wales. Philip Gidley King was in charge of a small group of 21 people, including 15 convicts, (9 men and 6 women). The convicts were to be people of the best character and included Richard Widdicombe aged 72, and Charles McLennan aged 16. The settlers were:

paragraphs: During the first year of the settlement, which was also called Sydney, more convicts and soldiers were sent from New South Wales. A second village was started at Ball Bay, named after the captain of "HMS Supply", Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball. On January 8, 1789, the first child was born, Norfolk King, the son of Philip Gidley King and a convict, Ann Inett.

paragraphs: In March 1790, Governor Arthur Phillip decided to send King to England with important messages about the settlements in Australia. Phillip sent Major Robert Ross, in charge of the soldiers at Sydney, to Norfolk Island to take over from King. Food was running out in Sydney, so Phillip also sent two companies of soldiers, five free women and children, 183 convicts and 27 children of convicts. Phillip hoped there would be more food on Norfolk Island. They were sent on two ships, "HMS Sirius" and "HMS Supply".

paragraphs: On March 19, "HMS Sirius", smashed into one of the reefs in Sydney Bay, Norfolk Island. No one was hurt, and Captain John Hunter was able to get all the people and most of the supplies safely to land.

paragraphs: "HMS Supply" went back to Sydney, and Major Ross was left with over 500 people on the island. He quickly did things to make sure there would be enough food. Anyone taking food, or killing animals for food, without his permission, would be hanged. They were saved from starvation by the annual arrival of a sea bird, a petrel (Pterodroma melanopus), which nested in holes in the ground. Between 2000-3000 birds were killed for food every night. They were also able to eat their eggs. They called the petrel the "Bird of Providence", because they thought God must have sent the bird to save them. People also ate the tops of the palm trees. In August, two ships arrived, the "Justinian" and the "Surprize", which brought more food and 200 more convicts.

paragraphs: King got back to Norfolk Island in November 1791, and Ross went back to Sydney. More convicts were sent to the island, and by September 1792 there were 1,115 people living there. King started building another landing place at Cascade Bay, which meant ships had a choice, depending on which way the wind was blowing. The convicts had difficulty in making things from the flax plants. Two Maori men were captured in New Zealand and taken to Norfolk to teach the convicts how to use the flax. The two men, Hoodoo and Toogee, did not know much about flax; in New Zealand this was a task done by the women. King had the men taken back to New Zealand six months later.

paragraphs: By 1796, had been cleared of trees and crops planted. These crops included maize, wheat, potatoes, sugar cane, bananas, guavas, lemons, apples and coffee. Farms animals included 12 cattle, 6 horses, 12 donkeys, 374 sheep, 772 goats and 14,624 pigs. There were two schools and an orphanage for little girls. King had been in poor health and went back to Sydney, and Captain Townson, from the New South Wales Corps, became the new Lieutenant-Governor.

paragraphs: When Joseph Foveaux arrived as Lieutenant Governor in 1800, he found the settlement quite run down. Not much had been done to keep it in good condition for four years. He began fixing buildings and other public works and tried to improve education.

paragraphs: In 1794, King suggested closing Norfolk Island as a penal colony. It was too far away from New South Wales, it was hard for ships to land there, and it cost too much to keep it going. In 1803, the Secretary of State, Lord Hobart, called for the moving everyone to Van Diemen's Land, because of the cost and the difficulties of travel between Norfolk Island and Sydney. The settlers did not want to move, they had worked hard to clear the land and set up their farms. They wanted the government to pay them for having to move. King, now Governor of New South Wales, did not want everyone moved, he thought it would make a good prison for bad convicts from New South Wales. It could also be a place to supply whaling ships, or grow coffee.

paragraphs: The British government decided to close down the island. The first group of 159 people left for Van Diemen's Land in February 1805, mainly convicts and their families, and the soldiers. Between November 1807 and September 1808, most of the people were moved. By March 1810 there were only 117 left. In 1813 the last settlers were taken to Van Diemens's Land, the soldiers were taken to Sydney. The British government did not want another country to be able to settle on the island so a small group stayed behind to kill all the animals that were left and destroy all buildings. In February 1814, the last people left on the ship, "Kangaroo". Only a few wild pigs and goats were left.

paragraphs: In 1825 the British government decided to set up a new convict prison on Norfolk Island. This was to be a prison for convicts from New South Wales who continued to break the law. The Governor of New South Wales, Sir Thomas Brisbane wanted it to be place from which there would be no return. It was to be the worst punishment short of death. Many of the convicts were lashed with a nine tailed whip. This could be as many as 300 lashes at one time, and many had been lashed over 1000 times. Because it was to be a prison, there were no free settlers allowed on the island, and there were no women prisoners. Only government ships, or ships in distress, were allowed to land at the island.

paragraphs: After the prison was closed, the British government gave the island to the people from Pitcairn Island. Pitcairn, with only 30 hectares of land suitable for farming, could no longer cope with a large population. All 194 people were moved to Norfolk in 1856. These people were descendants of the mutineers from HMS Bounty. They arrived on the island on 8 June 1856, and the anniversary is celebrated every year as Bounty Day.

paragraphs: Norfolk Island has a humid subtropical climate ("Cfa" in the Köppen climate classification).


title: Atlas (mythology)

paragraphs: Atlas is a Titan in Greek mythology. He is the son of Iapetos. He has seven daughters with the Oceanid Pleione. They are called the Pleiades.

paragraphs: After the war between the Titans and the Olympians, Atlas was punished. Zeus forced him to hold the heaven on the western edge of the world. Later, the story about him changed and it was said that he held the whole world on his shoulders. Mostly in modern times, he is shown holding a globe of the world.

paragraphs: Heracles came to Atlas and asked him to for help with one of his Labours. He wanted Atlas to get the "Golden Apples" for him as only an immortal could take them. Atlas agreed, but only if Heracles would hold up the sky. Atlas was pleased to be free from its weight but Heracles tricked him into holding it again.

paragraphs: Perseus also came to Atlas for help after killing Medusa. He asked for food, and Atlas said he could not help. Perseus was angry and showed him the Medusa's head (which was able to turn people to stone). Atlas then became the Atlas Mountains.

paragraphs: The name Atlas means "Hard and Enduring."


title: El Paso, Texas

paragraphs: El Paso is a city in the U.S. state of Texas (near Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico). It is in El Paso County and is the county seat (the city where the county is governed). It is at the western end of Texas, and is along Interstate 10. The name comes from El Paso de Norte, meaning The Passageway to the North, which was shortened to El Paso.

paragraphs: The large majority of the city's inhabitants are Hispanic.

paragraphs: On 3 August 2019, 22 people were killed in a mass shooting.


title: Ecosystem

paragraphs: An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a large community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in a particular area. The living and physical components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Ecosystems are of any size, but usually they are in particular places.

paragraphs: Each ecosystem has its own community. An aquarium community, for example, can have small fish and other organisms. A desert community may have cacti, small snakes, and scorpions. A pond community can have frogs, insects, snakes, and plants, and a forest community may have rabbits, foxes and pine trees. The species in a community are divided into populations according to the particular habitats and ecological niches in the ecosystem.

paragraphs: Ecosystems are stable, but changeable. They react to major changes in the environment, especially climate changes. For example, the major rainforests have lasted for a long time (perhaps 50 million years or more in some cases). As the rainfall and temperature changes, they change. We know that the Amazon rainforest shrank in size during ice ages, and expanded in the warmer periods.

paragraphs: What drives all ecosystems is the primary production. Primary production is the production of organic matter from inorganic carbon sources. This happens through photosynthesis. It drives the carbon cycle, which influences global climate via the greenhouse effect.

paragraphs: Through the process of photosynthesis, plants capture energy from sunlight and use it to combine carbon dioxide and water to produce carbohydrates and oxygen. The photosynthesis carried out by all the plants in an ecosystem is called the gross primary production (GPP). About 48–60% of the GPP is consumed in plant respiration. The rest is known as the net primary production (NPP). Total photosynthesis is limited by a range of environmental factors. These include the amount of light available, the amount of leaf area a plant has to capture light (shading by other plants limits photosynthesis), the supply of carbon dioxide and water, and suitable temperatures for carrying out photosynthesis.


title: House of Stuart

paragraphs: The House of Stewart, or Stuart, is a royal house of Scotland and England.

paragraphs: The Tudor dynasty ended when Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603. She named her cousin James I as heir. He became James I of England, and started the Stuart dynasty.

paragraphs: Here are the rulers of the Stuart dynasty:


title: Parasitism

paragraphs: Parasitism is a form of one-sided symbiosis. The parasites live off the host. They may, or may not, harm the host. Parasitoids, on the other hand, usually kill their hosts. A parasitic relationship is the opposite of a mutualistic relationship. Examples of parasites in humans include tapeworms and leeches. World-wide, the most serious cause of human death by a parasite is malaria.

paragraphs: "Humans are hosts to nearly 300 species of parasitic worms and over 70 species of protozoa, some derived from our primate ancestors and some acquired from the animals we have domesticated or come in contact with during our relatively short history on Earth. Our knowledge of parasitic infections extends into antiquity".

paragraphs: When the above definition is applied, many organisms which eat plants can be seen as parasites, because they feed largely or wholly on one individual plant. Examples would include many herbivorous insects: the Hemiptera or true bugs (leafhoppers, froghoppers, aphids, scale insects and whiteflies). The larvae of Lepidoptera usually feed and mature on a single individual of the host plant species, and what they eat accounts for most of the food for their complete life span. Moreover, caterpillars can and often do serious damage to the host's foliage. Other orders also have many parasitic herbivores: Thysanoptera (thrips), Coleoptera (beetles), Diptera (flies).

paragraphs: Parasites of larger animals account for much research done for veterinarian and medical purposes. These parasites include viruses, bacteria, protozoa, flatworms (flukes and tapeworms), nematodes (roundworms), arthropods (crustacea, insects, mites). Parasitic wasps and flies are of great interest to the entomologist, and may be used in biological control.

paragraphs: On the other hand, many blood-sucking insects (such as mosquitoes) have only brief contact with a host, and so perhaps should not be regarded as parasites.

paragraphs: A huge number of species are parasitic. A survey of the feeding habits of British insects showed that about 35% were parasites on plants, and slightly more were parasites on animals. That means that nearly 71% of insects in Britain are parasitic. Since British insects are better known than those elsewhere (because of the length of time they have been studied), this means that the majority of insect species throughout the world are parasitic. Also, there are several other invertebrate phyla which are wholly or largely parasitic. Flatworms and roundworms are found in virtually every wild species of vertebrate. Protozoan parasites are also ubiquitous. Hence parasitism is almost certainly the most common feeding method on Earth.

paragraphs: Parasites are adapted to small, "separated" habitats. For a parasite, each host is an island surrounded by a hostile environment. For a small organism, the distances between hosts, or groups of hosts, is a hazard. Adaptations to bridge this hazard are:

paragraphs: So parasites exist in small, genetically similar groups with little flow of genes between them. In consequence, they have adaptations to solve their problems of dispersal and reproduction.

paragraphs: Parasites face an environment which varies in time and space. Consequently, both local (geographic) races and polymorphism occur. Both may occur in the same species. Parasites are very specialised feeders: many species have only one host at any stage of their life cycle. A few use more than two host species.

paragraphs: Many parasites have complex life-cycles. Tremadodes, the flukes, are a parasitic class of flatworms (Platyhelminths), with over 20,000 species. Most of them infect molluscs in the first part of the life-cycle, and vertebrates in the second part. The biology of scrub typhus is even more complex. It involves these factors:

paragraphs: The occurrence of all these factors together would be limited in space, and brief in time. This is typical of the ecology of parasitic infections.

paragraphs: Both evolutionary rates and speciation rates can be high. Sibling species are very common in the bug "Erythroneura", in which about 150 transfers from one host to another has resulted in about 500 species in the genus.

paragraphs: The clearest evidence comes from the large size of many parasitic families.

paragraphs: Sometimes there is good evidence of the speed of speciation. For example, five or more species of the moth "Hedylepta" must have evolved within 1000 years in Hawaii, because they are specific to banana, which was only introduced then.

paragraphs: Adaptive radiation in parasites is extensive. Its development in each taxon (group) depends on:

paragraphs: Diversity of hosts is a big factor. If many related species of host are available, then many related species of parasite will evolve. Mites on Lepidoptera families or fleas on mammals and birds are good examples. Eichler's rule goes as follows:

paragraphs: The two British oaks support some 439 species of parasite directly, and indirectly many hundred more which parasitise these parasites. "It would certainly be an underestimate to say that the two British species of oak are the primary products for a thousand species of parasite". Obviously, the large size of these trees is a factor in the number of parasite species. In general, this holds whether the host is a plant or an animal. A larger bird will harbour more species of ectoparasite than a small bird.

paragraphs: One of the reasons large trees have so many parasites is that they may have lived a long time in a particular area compared with other types of plant. They have had longer to accumulate parasites.

paragraphs: Parasites can be most useful in sorting out the phylogenetic relationships of their hosts. Sibling host species have been discovered when their parasites diverged. Common ancestors of present-day parasites were themselves parasites of the common ancestors of present-day hosts.

paragraphs: As the host evolves defences, so the parasite evolves to cope with this. This is co-evolution.

paragraphs: Consider two families of host plants, the Umbellifers (fennel, cumin, parsley, hemlock) and the Gramineae (grasses). The umbellifers have many aromatic species, and are chemically diverse and pharmaceutically interesting. Their resins and oils are defences against herbivory and parasitism. On the other hand, grasses have one big defence to herbivores: their stony inclusions in their cells wear down the teeth of herbivorous mammals, but they have few chemical defences. Both families are attacked by leaf-miner flies. There are four times as many grass species as there are umbellifers, but there are twice as many leaf-miner species on the umbellifers.

paragraphs: This is speciation which does not require geographical isolation. Ernst Mayr, the chief exponent of geographical speciation, admitted that host races of phytophagous animals "constitute the only known case indicating the possible occurrence of incipient sympatric speciation".


title: Moment of silence

paragraphs: A moment of silence is a short time when people do not make noise. A moment of silence shows respect for people who have died. Many countries observe a minute of silence after a tragic event. Moments of silence often last one minute, but other amounts of time may be chosen.

paragraphs: On November 11th, many countries observe a two-minute silence to remember those who have died in World Wars. The tradition was started in 1919 exactly one year after the end of World War I. It became an official part of the annual service on Armistice Day.

paragraphs: During the moment of silence, people often bow their heads, remove their hats, and do not speak or move. A person in charge of a group will tell everyone when the moment begins and ends. A moment of silence may come before or after other events with symbolic meaning. Examples of these events are the ringing of bells, the release of doves or balloons, or a bugle playing the "Last Post".

paragraphs: In the United States, some people say that allowing prayer as part of a moment of silence means that moments of silence can make it hard to keep the separation of church and state (the idea that religion and government should not affect each other).

paragraphs: Moments of silence do not have to be time for prayers. They can be used for other thoughts that are not religious. Many people who want time for prayers in public schools and government meetings use moments of silence so that some people can pray and other people do not have to pray. Because they represent the government, and because the Constitution of the United States says that government cannot force people to do religious things, these people cannot tell other people to pray.

paragraphs: When public schools have a moment of silence, Buddhist students could meditate (relax and think calm thoughts), students with other religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism could pray, and atheist students could think about the day ahead.

paragraphs: Colin Powell, a famous government leader, likes having moments of silence in schools. He has said that a simple moment of silence at the start of each school day is a good idea. He also has said that students could use this time to pray, meditate, think, or study.

paragraphs: Many people believe that prayer is not allowed in United States public schools, but this is not true. The Supreme Court ruled in 1962 that students can pray in school, but teachers and other school leaders cannot lead the prayers. Students can form clubs where they can pray, and they can pray alone, but they cannot lead prayers at school events. The reason prayer is not allowed at those times is because of the First Amendment. The First Amendment says that government cannot force people to do religious things, and public schools are part of the government.

paragraphs: In 1976, the state of Virginia allowed schools to have a moment of silence at the start of the school day. This moment would last one minute. In 1985, the Supreme Court said that a "moment of silence" law in Alabama would not work with the United States Constitution and could not be used. In 2005, the state of Indiana made a law that said all public schools had to give students time to say the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence every day.

paragraphs: In April 2000, Virginia changed its law to say that all public schools in Virginia had to have a moment of silence (before this change, schools could choose not to have a moment of silence). In October 2000, a judge named Claude M. Hilton said that the "moment of silence" law was allowed by the United States Constitution. Judge Hilton said that the law has a secular (not religious) purpose, that the law does not make religion more important or less important, and that the law does not make government and religion be too close to each other. Judge Hilton also said, "Students may think as they wish," and that this thinking could be religious or not religious. He said that the only thing students had to do because of the law was sit and be quiet.

paragraphs: In March 2008, Illinois followed Virginia and made a compulsory 30 seconds moment of silence, but was lifted in August.

paragraphs: The American Civil Liberties Union thinks that these laws that say public schools should have moments of silence are a bad idea. They think they are a bad idea because the laws are made to give students time to pray, and that makes religion more important than non-religion.


title: Muhammad Ali Jinnah

paragraphs: Mohammad Ali Jinnah, (; ; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948 in Karachi) was a Pakistani politician. He is the founder of Pakistan. After the partition of India, he became the Governor-General of Pakistan. As a mark of respect, Pakistanis call him "Quaid-e-Azam". ' is a phrase which, in the Urdu language, means "the great leader". People also called him ', another phrase in the Urdu language which means "the father of the nation". The day of his birth is a national holiday in whole Pakistan.

paragraphs: Muhammad Ali Jinnah was born on 25 December 1876 in Karachi into the Isma'ilism family of Poonja Jinnah. Jinnah. He was born in Jhirk, City of Sindh. His father’s name was Jinnah Poonja (1857- 1901) and his mother’s name was Mithibai. Jinnah was the eldest of the seven children of Jinnah Poonja and Mithibai. His family had migrated to Sindh from the Kathiawar area of Gujarat, India.

paragraphs: Jinnah’s birth name was Mahomedali Jinnahbhai. He later changed it to the much simpler 'Muhammad Ali Jinnah' or M.A. At home, his family talked in Gujarati language, and the children also came to speak Kutchi and English. Except for Fatima, little is known of his siblings.

paragraphs: In 1891 (when he was fifteen), Jinnah went to London and worked for few years for a company. At around that time, his mother died.

paragraphs: In 1894, Jinnah quit his job to study law. He joined the course at Lincoln's Inn and graduated in 1896. While still in London, he also started to participate in politics. He greatly admired Indian political leaders Dadabhai Naoroji and Sir Pherozeshah Mehta. Gradually Jinnah was developing his own political outlook. He was thinking on the line that India should have a constitutional self-government.

paragraphs: Around this time, his father lost his business. This put Jinnah under great difficulty. In the meantime, he had started to practice as a lawyer in Mumbai. He also built a house in Mumbai’s Malabar Hill area. The house is now known as Jinnah House.

paragraphs: He became a successful lawyer. In 1908 he represented Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a famous leader of the Indian National Congress. Tilak was facing charges of sedition against the British Rule. Jinnah pleaded the case well, but Tilak was sent to prison.After that he lost hope

paragraphs: Jinnah had already joined the Indian National Congress in 1906 when he started his politics. The Congress was the largest political organization in India. Many members and leaders of the Indian National Congress favoured a limited self-government for India. Jinnah also held the same view. At that time, his role model was Gopal Krishna Gokhale.

paragraphs: On 25 January 1910, Jinnah became a member on the Seventy two-member Imperial Legislative Council. He was an active member of the Council. Like many other leaders of India, Jinnah also supported Great Britain during World War I. The leaders had supported the Great Britain thinking that after the war, Great Britain would grant India political freedom.

paragraphs: At the beginning Jinnah had avoided joining the All India Muslim League, another political organization of India. Muslims had formed the League in 1906. In 1913, Jinnah became a member of the Muslim League. In 1934, he became the president of the Muslim League. He helped in making an agreement between the Congress and the Muslim League (Lucknow Pact in 1916). The agreement tried to present a united front to the British for giving India self-government dominion status in the British Empire. This was similar to the dominion status which Canada, New Zealand and Australia had at that time.

paragraphs: In 1918, Jinnah married again. His second wife was Rattanbai Petit. She was twenty-four years younger than him. She was the daughter of Jinnah’s personal friend Sir Dinshaw Petit was a Parsi but rattanbai embraced Islam before marrying Jinnah and changed her name to Maryam. The couple resided in Bombay (now Mumbai) and frequently travelled to Europe. In 1919, his wife bore a daughter who was named Dina.

paragraphs: By 1918, Mohandas Gandhi had become one of the leaders of the Congress Party. Gandhi took a line of non-violent protest for gaining self-government for India. Jinnah took a different line. He wanted constitutional struggle to gain the self-government for India. Jinnah also opposed Gandhi’s support for the Khilafat movement. Gradually, many differences between them had arisen. In 1920, Jinnah left the Congress party. He became the president of the Muslim League. At this time, Jinnah brought out a program to reduce the differences between the Congress Party and the Muslim League. The program had fourteen points of action. Therefore, it became popularly known as Jinnah’s Fourteen Points. But the Congress party did not accept these.

paragraphs: During these years Jinnah’s personal life had suffered. His focus upon politics had led to tensions in Jinnah's marriage.The couple separated in 1927 and after a serious illness Rattanbai died.

paragraphs: Around that time, there was a conference of Indian leaders with the government of Great Britain. It was held in London and is known as the Round Table Conference. Jinnah criticized the policy of Gandhi. The conference failed. Jinnah was also not happy with the Muslim League. He decided to quit politics. He again started to work as a lawyer in England. During all these years, his sister Fatima Jinnah took care of Jinnah’s affairs, both at home and outside. She also became a close adviser to him. She helped him in raising Jinnah’s daughter, Dina Wadia. The daughter married Neville Wadia, a Parasi who had converted to Christianity. Jinnah did not like this marriage.

paragraphs: Many Muslim leaders of India like Aga Khan III, Coudhary Rahmat Ali and Sir Muhammad Iqbal requested Jinnah to come back to India.

paragraphs: The leaders of the Muslim League wanted him to take charge of the Muslim League. Jinnah agreed to come back to India. In 1934, he left London and returned to India to reorganize the Muslim league again. But he could not revive the stature of the party until after the elections of 1937 as the Muslim League won only a few seats. However, at this time, the League was helped by the powerful Premier of the Punjab, Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan. On October 1937, he agreed with Jinnah's Muslim League joining his strong government. This was called the Jinnah-Sikandar Pact.

paragraphs: His differences with the Congress Party continued to become bigger. In 1930, some Muslim leaders like Allama Iqbal had argued for a separate country for the Muslim people of India. At last he came to the conclusion that Hindus and Muslims cannot live in a single country. Jinnah also started to have the idea of a separate country for Muslims of India. Jinnah and the Muslim League started work to get such a separate country. They made a plan for this in 1940 called the Pakistan Resolution. This new country was to be named Pakistan.

paragraphs: In 1941, Jinnah founded a newspaper, named the "Dawn". This newspaper published the views and political thinking of the Muslim League. During World War II, Jinnah supported the British, and opposed the Quit India movement of the Congress party. In 1944, Gandhi held 14 rounds of talks with Jinnah, but they could not come to any conclusion. By this time, the Muslim League had formed governments in some provinces, and had also entered the central government.

paragraphs: After the Second World War, Great Britain started steps to give independence to India. On 16 May 1946, the British announced plan for a united India. One month after, on 16 June 1946 the British announced another plan to partition the British Raj into two countries, one for the Hindus and one for the Muslims.

paragraphs: The Congress Party accepted the plan of the 16 May 1946. The Muslim League under Jinnah’s leadership accepted both the plans. But, on 16 August 1946, Jinnah also announced the Direct Action to achieve independence for Pakistan, a separate country of Muslims of the former British Raj. After several rounds of discussion, the British Raj was partitioned (in August 1947) into two countries, India and Pakistan. In 1971, Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan.

paragraphs: The British Raj of India was partitioned into two countries, namely, India and Pakistan. Jinnah became the first Governor-General of Pakistan, his sister Fatimah Jinnah became the "Mother of the Nation". He also became the president of Pakistan’s constituent assembly. In an address to the constituent assembly on 11 August 1947, Jinnah told about the future of Pakistan as a secular state. He told this in the following words:

paragraphs: "You may belong to any religion caste or creed - that has nothing to do with the business of the state. In due course of time, Hindus will cease to be Hindus and Muslims will cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state."

paragraphs: Jinnah also took the direct charge of the government. After the partition, large scale violence between Muslims and the Hindus took place. Such violence was very serious in Punjab and Bengal. Jinnah toured the areas with Hindu leaders from India to calm down the population. Many people died in the violence. The estimates of death vary from two hundred thousand deaths to over a million deaths. Jinnah was personally very sad at all these happenings.

paragraphs: Soon after the independence of India and Pakistan, armed conflict broke out in Kashmir. Kashmir’s king had agreed to become a part of India. but mostly Muslims of Kashmir did not like this. They started fighting in Kashmir. India had to send his troops to Kashmir, which had become a part of India. India raised the issue to the United Nations. The United Nations ordered the conflict to end and a Plebiscite. This problem still continues to have a bad effect on the India-Pakistan relationship.

paragraphs: Jinnah’s role in creation of Pakistan as a new nation was very important. This made him very popular among the people of Pakistan. In East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), people opposed Jinnah’s view that Urdu language should be the sole national language.

paragraphs: Muhammad Ali had been suffering from tuberculosis since the early 1940s. Only his sister and very few other persons close to the family knew this. After the partition of India and creation of Pakistan, he had become the governor general of Pakistan. His work was increased, but his health was deteriorating. To regain his health, he spent many months at his official rest house. The rest house was located at a place named in Ziarat. Jinnah could not regain his health. He died on 11 September 1948 from tuberculosis.

paragraphs: In recent years, some scholars have given some new views about Jinnah’s actions. Jinnah showed interest that some of the Hindu majority princely states should join Pakistan. These scholars argue that this view was against Jinnah’s declared view that Hindus and Muslims could not live together.

paragraphs: Some historians like H M Seervai and Ayesha Jalal say that Jinnah wanted a united South Asia. He demanded a separate state for Muslims as the Congress leaders were not willing to share power with the Muslim League.

paragraphs: Recently, Indian leaders belonging to the Bhartiya Janta Party, like Lal Krishna Advani and Jaswant Singh praised Jinnah. Jaswant Singh was expelled from the party because he had praised Jinnah in his book 'Jinnah- India, Partition and Independence'.

paragraphs: Nations and people have done many things in memory of Jinnah. In Pakistan he is called Quaid-e-Azam. His pictures appear on many Pakistani banknotes and coins. Karachi’s international airport is named after him. In 1998 a new university in Karachi was named the Mohammad Ali Jinnah University.Another university in Islamabad is named after Quad-e-Azam university

paragraphs: Many other places and institutions bear his name in Pakistan and elsewhere. For example, in Turkey, a very large street is named after him. In Iran, one of the highways of its capital city Tehran bears his name and in Mumbai Jinnah Hall, a public hall is named after him.

paragraphs: Many books, movies and TV programs tell about the life and work of Jinnah, including the biographical movie, "Jinnah".


title: Gregor Mendel

paragraphs: Gregor Johann Mendel (Heinzendorf, Austria, 20 July 1822 – Brünn, Austro-Hungary, 6 January 1884) was an Austrian monk and botanist.

paragraphs: He founded genetics by his work cross-breeding pea plants. He discovered dominant and recessive characters (genes) from the crosses he performed on the plants in his greenhouse. What he learnt is known today as Mendelian inheritance.

paragraphs: His work was not appreciated at first, but was 'rediscovered' in 1900 by Carl Correns and Hugo de Vries. Erich von Tschermak's status as a third rediscoverer is now less convincing.

paragraphs: Mendel used the edible peas ("Pisum sativum") for his crosses. He selected seven characters which were distinctive, and never blended; they occurred as either-or alternatives. Examples: plant height (short or tall); colour of peas (green or yellow); position of flowers (restricted to the top or distributed along the stem).

paragraphs: When he crossed varieties which differed in a trait (e.g. tall crossed with short), the first generation of hybrids (F1) showed only one of the two alternatives. One character was "dominant", and the other "recessive". But when he crossed these hybrids with each other, the recessive character reappeared in the second (F2) generation. The proportion of plants showing the dominant as opposed to the recessive character was close to 3 to 1. Further analysis of the descendants (F3) of the dominant group showed that one-third of them were true-breeding and two-thirds were of hybrid constitution. The 3:1 ratio could therefore be rewritten as 1:2:1, meaning that 50 percent of the F2 generation were true-breeding and 50 percent were still hybrid. This was Mendel’s major discovery.

paragraphs: It could all be summed up by saying that inheritance was not blending, as Darwin had thought, it was particulate. The factors (genes) were not merged or mixed, they stayed separate and were passed on to the next generation unchanged.

paragraphs: He published his work in 1866, but at the time no-one saw how significant it was. 35 years later, the papers were rediscovered and, immediately, modern genetics began.


title: Marschall der DDR

paragraphs: Marschall der DDR (Marshal of the German Democratic Republic), was the highest rank in the NVA, the army of the DDR. It was founded on 25th March 1982. The reason was a strategy change in the armies of Warsaw Pact. After the change the DDR needed a new rank to be sure there was only one high command. The rank was never used and abolished in 1989.


title: Farscape

paragraphs: Farscape is a science fiction television show. The series was filmed in Australia. It was first shown from 1999 to 2004. The show was cancelled after four seasons and ended with a cliffhanger. The cliffhanger was resolved in a miniseries, "The Peacekeeper Wars", in 2004.

paragraphs: Rockne S. O'Bannon came up the idea for the series. It was produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment.

paragraphs: The show's main character is an astronaut named John Crichton. He travels through a wormhole by accident. He exits the wormhole at a distant part of the universe. The astronaut joins an alien crew on board a living ship. The members of the crew are escaped prisoners.


title: Interplanetary internet

paragraphs: An interplanetary internet does not exist yet. When people talk about an interplanetary internet, they are talking about a problem they are still trying to solve - the problem of making the internet to work between different planets.

paragraphs: The way the internet works here on Earth is simple. Computers need to connect to each and can share a network. One computer sends another computer a message (called a packet) and then the other sends back a message saying it got it. This works fine because the messages only take a second to get back and forth. But if you were sending that message to Mars, it would take about ten minutes for the message to get there, and another ten for it to get back. That means we need to completely change the way computers talk to each other if we are going to communicate between different planets. That is the problem people are trying to solve when they talk about the interplanetary internet. It's a new and a very interesting concept.


title: History of China

paragraphs: The History of China covers thousands of years. The earliest records are from about 1250 BC but a few things are known about earlier times. Chinese history covers many periods and dynasties. It may be divided into the following parts:

paragraphs: Prehistory means history of a time before any written record. In such cases, it is very difficult to tell anything definite about the prehistory of China or any other country. Even then, historians believe some facts about the China of that period. About a million years ago Homo erectus, an early human species, lived in China. Later, about 65,000 years ago, modern human beings Homo sapiens reached China from Africa. For food, they hunted wild animals. They also began to pick and gather fruits, eventually resulting in the Chinese learning to farm by 5000 BC. They had started cultivating rice and possibly other types of grains. By 2500 BC, the Bronze Age had come to China. A ruling class with kings and queens had come into society.

paragraphs: Some scholars think that about 4000 years ago, the Xia dynasty ruled China. Yu(Da Yu) was the first ruler of this dynasty. There are few credible sources about Yu(who could have been legendary), his time, and other rulers of the Xia dynasty.

paragraphs: From the time of the Shang Dynasty, some written history is available. Writings were done on Oracle Bones. Several such bones and shells have been found. Scholars believe that present day Henan was the ninth and last capital of kings of the Shang Dynasty.

paragraphs: Most Chinese historians of that time think that one dynasty came after another but it is possible that two dynasties were ruling in different parts of China at the same time. Therefore, some scholars think that Xia dynasty and Shang Dynasty may have ruled at the same time, but in different areas of China.

paragraphs: About 1046 BC, the Zhou Dynasty defeated the last king of the Shang Dynasty and came to power. They changed the capital from Henan to a place near present-day Xi'an, near the Yellow River. The Zhou Dynasty also brought a new theory to China(see the Mandate of Heaven). Almost all dynasties of Chinese rulers continued to repeat this theory. The kings of this dynasty won many new areas. For the first time in the history of China, a large number of people also moved from one area to another area for settlement.

paragraphs: The Spring and Autumn Period was around the 8th century BC. The Zhou dynasty continued, but its power waned as the lords gained lands and followers. Many kings ruled in different parts of China. China became several fragmented states, each ruled by a different king. In some cases, a king ruled just a village with a small fort.

paragraphs: During this period of China, many new lines of thinking arose. Some of them still continue to be important. They are Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism and Mohism.

paragraphs: The Spring and Autumn Period continued for about 300 years. By the 5th century BC, there were only seven main Chinese states left. They had taken over all the smaller areas. These states continued to fight each other. Historians call this period the Warring States Period due to wars and fights among these states. In 221BC, Ying Zheng, king of the State of Qin, united all the seven states. He made himself the Emperor of China and founded the Qin Dynasty.

paragraphs: Qin Dynasty was a very important dynasty in the history of China. They followed the philosophy of Legalism. Their capital was at Xianyang. Under the king of this dynasty, China became a powerful country. Many new things were done for the first time. A tight legal system was followed. Written language was developed. Common currency was used. The building of the Great Wall of China was started.

paragraphs: The Han dynasty was founded by Liu Bang after the Qin dynasty ended. During the Han dynasty, the territory of China expanded, and many advancements in science and technology took place. It was considered to be a golden age in Chinese history.

paragraphs: The Three Kingdoms period (traditional Chinese: 三國; simplified Chinese: 三国; pinyin: Sānguó) is a period in the history of China, part of an era of disunity called the Six Dynasties following immediately the loss of real power of the Han Dynasty emperors.

paragraphs: Kingdom Wu was a country built by Sunquan in the third century. Jianye was the capital city. In 222 AD, Sun became the king of Kingdom Wu and in April 229 AD, he became the emperor. The Three Kingdoms period were terminated. The kingdom's economy was boosted quickly while Sunquan was the ruler of Kingdom Wu. At that time, many people escaped from other countries because of war and famine. This increased the population of the kingdom and also improved the agriculture. Furthermore, Sun let people build a new canal across the kingdom. At that time, Kingdom Wu had shipbuilding, foundry industry and porcelain manufacturing. The textile industry of Kingdom Wu began at this time. The economic improvements boosted the culture of Kingdom Wu. Many scholars appeared, such as Yufan, Luji, and Weizhao. Buddhism began to spread in some areas of Kingdom Wu, and the influence of Daoism continued expanding. In 230 AD, General Weiwen brought a big fleet to Yizhou (Taiwan today) and started to garrison there. In 280 AD, the Kingdom was destroyed by the Jin Dynasty.

paragraphs: The Sui Dynasty (隋朝朝 Suí cháo; 581-618) was founded by Emperor Wen, or "Yang Jian". Its capital was Chang'an (present-day Xi'an). The dynasty is important because it reunited Southern and Northern China and the Grand Canal was built in that time.

paragraphs: The Tang Dynasty was founded by the Li (李) family, who came to power during the fall of the Sui Empire. The dynasty was interrupted for a short time by the Second Zhou Dynasty (16 October 690–3 March 705) when Empress Wu Zetian managed to claim the throne, becoming the first and only Chinese Empress.

paragraphs: The capital of the Tang, Chang'an (today Xi'an), was the biggest city in the world at the time. Many historians see the Tang dynasty as a high point in Chinese civilization and as a golden age of cosmopolitan culture.

paragraphs: The Yuan Dynasty was first ruled by Genghis Khan, a Mongolian leader who took control from the Song Dynasty. He was considered a barbarian and not civilized. His grandson, Kublai Khan, was one of the most famous and liked rulers of the Yuan dynasty. He opened up China to many other cultures and improved life for the Chinese very much.

paragraphs: In 1368, a rebellion led by Zhu Yuanzhang broke out in southern China, and eventually overthrew the Yuan Dynasty. Then Zhu Yuanzhang founded the Ming Dynasty at Nanjing, its capital until Emperor Yongle changed the capital to Beijing. In the 15th century, a man named Zheng He took the majority of the Ming navy and explored the Indian Ocean, and brought wealth and power to the Ming Dynasty. The empire experienced a prosperous period until 1449, when the Battle of Tumu Fortress broke out. In the battle the Mongol descendants of Yuan captured the emperor and surrounded the capital. After the war with the Mongols, the Ming started to decline. During this time, the empire had two wars with the Japanese (the first against the Japanese pirates took place at southeastern China; the second against the armies of Toyotomi Hideyoshi that invaded Korea), and one war with the Portuguese of Macao. These wars eventually weakened the declining empire. In 1616, rebellions broke out at Manchuria and Shanxi. Twenty-eight years later, the Manchus crossed the Great Wall, invaded the capital, and destroyed the Shanxi rebels.

paragraphs: Mao Zedong was the leader of the People's Republic of China from 1949 until his death in 1976.

paragraphs: In the 21st century China became the richest country in the world in terms of GDP.