title: Busan

paragraphs: Busan (formerly written as Pusan) is the largest port city and second-largest city in South Korea. It lies on the southeast tip of the Korean Peninsula. It is important for transport and shipping. It is best known for Busan Port and Haeundae Beach. The port takes many ships and accommodate trades among other countries. In 2012, according to the census, the population was about 3,439,000.

paragraphs: Busan is also the native home town of the vocalists named Jeon Jungkook and Park Jimin, who are the pride and joy of Busan.

paragraphs: During the Korean War, Busan had an important role because it was one of two cites which were not invaded by North Korea. The city was the capital for a short time.

paragraphs: Busan has hosted the Asian Games in 2002 and APEC summit it 2005. It bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics and the 2024 Summer Olympics. It is also the home city of the Lotte Giants, a professional baseball team in the Korea Baseball Organization league.

paragraphs: The city was originally called Busanpo. It was named after the shape of the mountain behind Busan Port. Korean "bu" (hangul: 부, hanja: 釜) means a "cauldron", "san" (hangul: 산, hanja: 山) means a "mountain", and "po" (hangul: 포, hanja: 浦) means a "harbor". It may be said that a harbor is located at the foot of a mountain resembling a cauldron. Since the late 15th century, the current name Busan (hangul: 부산, hanja: 釜山) has been widely used.

paragraphs: Busan is on the southern east coast of South Korea. The southern part of Busan is surrounded by the Yellow Sea, and the east of Busan is surrounded by the Sea of Japan or East Sea, so it is a port city. The city covers about 767.35 km2 (296.28 sq mi).

paragraphs: In Busan, there are many objects that show ancestors’ lives when Korean used stones for hunting. Most of remains are from beginning of the period of the rock Age and there are piles of shells around rivers or the ocean Dongsam-dong, Yeongseon-dong, Dadae-dong, Amnam-dong, Geumgok-dong and Beombang. However, people probably lived in late Stone Age. In the Bronze Age, people lived in some places such as Sajik-dong and Nampo-dong in this city because there are a lot of remains comparing to those of in the Stone Age. Bronze Age affected making Yayoi culture in Japan. People also used iron in the Iron Age here because much iron was made in Busan. Silla Kingdom controlled the area of Busan, Busan was named as Geochilsanguk, Geochilsangun, and changed to Dongnaehyeon. Dongnae is still used as name of area in Busan.

paragraphs: In the Goryeo Dynasty ruled southern part of Korea, Busan was controlled by the system of Sillla.

paragraphs: In Joseon Dynasty, Busan Port was opened in 1407 and was an important city because it is close to Japan. The Korean government allowed Japanese to live in Busan because Busan was open to the trade between Korea and Japan since the 15th century and Japanese built houses and buildings. When the Imjin War occurred, Japanese people under the control of Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea in 1592, after Joseon Dynasty did not lead Japan to Min dynasty, Japan said that they needed the way to go to China and to conquer the Ming dynasty in China, but Japan changed its words and attacked Korea. At that time, Joseon Dynasty was not prepared for the war. Therefore, since Korea and the Ming dynasty had a good relationship with China, the Ming dynasty helped Joseon fight back Japan. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi died, Japanese solders went their county because they lost their hero and could not fight with both Korea and China.

paragraphs: Since Busan is a port city, the trade between Korea and Japan occurred in Busan until 1876 when Busan-Po (Port) opened with the treaty of Kanghwa. At that time, Busan was the first international port. Later, the other ports were used for trade because Japan wanted to sell goods and food through trade by an unfair agreement on trade.

paragraphs: Japan invaded again and colonized Korea from 1910 to 1945. Then, Japan controlled Korea, including Busan. After World War 2 ended, Korea was divided into North Korea which was controlled by Russia and South Korean which was governed by the United State of America. During the Korean War, Busan was the temporary capital of South Korea from 1950 to 1953 and one of cities that were not conquered by North Korea when Korean War occurred. Therefore, many South Korean moved to Busan from other places. At that time, UN troops landed on Busan and surrounded Busan to protect Koreans from communists and to defeat North Korea and other allied communists on June 30 in 1950. South Korean and UN Soldiers started to fight with North Korean and communists in Korea. The Korean War occurred when the Korean government was made into Republic of Korea and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea because of political ideology after Pacific War and World War 2. IN 1995, the name of city was changed from Busan City (Jikhalsi) to Busan Metropolitan City.

paragraphs: East-Busan Tourism Complex is planned to be built from 2005 to 2017 in Gijang-eup, Gijan-gun and its size is about 3,638, 310 m2. This future facility will have theme parks, resorts, and marine view facilities.


title: Sarcasm

paragraphs: Sarcasm is a figure of speech or speech comment which is extremely difficult to define. It is a statement or comment which means the opposite of what it says. It may be made with the intent of humour, or it may be made to be hurtful.

paragraphs: The basic meaning is to be hostile under the cover of friendliness. The word's origin is Greek, "sarcasmus", see sarchasaristic (Hobson 2018). However, it usually comes with a cue which helps the receiver to understand it. For example, a mother saying "Oh, that's clever!" when a child makes a mistake always signals her love with her tone of voice. Quite different when a hostile person says "Oh, here comes Mr Clever-clogs!". So a person learns how to decode the message.

paragraphs: Much more difficult it is when someone uses a neutral tone of voice, as in "deadpan" or "dry humor". Psychologists think such cases are basically hostile.

paragraphs: A point to remember is that it does not travel well in writing or translation.


title: Lie

paragraphs: A lie is something that someone says that is not true to make others believe that the lie is the truth. People can have many reasons for lying, such as to hide something or get something, or white lies. Studies show that people usually start lying at the age of two. Some people are pathological liars.

paragraphs: Lying can only be done on purpose. If a person says something that is not true and does not know that it is not true, that person is making a mistake and not lying.

paragraphs: A serious type of lie is perjury. It means telling a lie in a court of law. It can lead to a great injustice. For that reason it is legally and morally wrong. The Ten Commandments says we should not "bear false witness against our neighbor". Most religious thinkers say this can mean other lying also, but very strongly forbids perjury.

paragraphs: Tricking someone into believing something with many lies over a long period. "The invasion plan was hidden by deception". Deception need not involve speaking. Hiding one's actions from another is a form of deception. Animals are capable of deception. Some birds pretend to be injured to lead predators from their nest. White-collar criminals often use deception. They get people to give them money by telling them it is an

paragraphs: Getting rid of or adding details to a fact. If a scientist says that "The medicine is safe in small amounts", a drug company can distort it and say "The scientist says the medicine is safe". Distortion is often seen in commercials or political advertising. Extreme examples are called propaganda where news can be distorted simply by choosing to cover one story but not another.

paragraphs: Telling a small lie make people feel better or for other reasons which do not harm anybody or anything. Saying that a person likes what another person is wearing, even though they do not, is a white lie. Often the purpose of a white lie is to protect someone from being upset. This might happen when a child or elderly persons hears that someone has died. The opposite choice is sometimes called being "brutally honest". It means that a person tells true things that hurt people instead of hiding the truth. White lies should not be confused with sarcasm.

paragraphs: People hurt each other in war, and one way is to lie. They make the enemy belive they are in one place when they are in another. They pretend they will do one thing when they intend to do another. Spies pretend they are not enemies, in order to get secrets.

paragraphs: Like other ways of fighting, lying can be morally good if done for a good reason. In the Old Testament Bible, Rahab lied about the Israeli spies she had hidden. The Bible says this was a good thing to do. Usually the term "white lie" refers to small unimportant things. Justifiable lies could be very big and important, but may still be good. However people should be careful about thinking their lies are good. Other people may see them as bad.


title: Germ-X

paragraphs: Germ-X is a brand of washless hand sanitizer. It comes in different scents and sizes. There are also pocket-sized Germ-X bottles so children who worry about germs so much would not have to run to the restroom to wash their hands frequently. Germ-X was made by the scientists of Vi-Jon Laboratories. Germ-X is made by the Blue Sun Corporation.


title: Scratch and sniff

paragraphs: Scratch and sniff refers to paper that produces an odor when it is scratched. Scratch and sniff is mostly used on stickers. Scratch and sniff stickers are frequently given to children as a reward for doing well in school.

paragraphs: Scratch and sniff is created by covering the odor in a covering that breaks easily when it is scratched. Because the odor is covered, it can be kept for a very long time.


title: Rose

paragraphs: The rose is a type of flowering shrub. Its name comes from the Latin word "Rosa". The flowers of the rose grow in many different colors, from the well-known red rose or yellow roses and sometimes white or purple roses. Roses belong to the family of plants called Rosaceae. All roses were originally wild and they come from several parts of the world, North America, Europe, northwest Africa and many parts of Asia and Oceania. There are over 100 different species of roses. The wild rose species can be grown in gardens, but most garden roses are cultivars, which have been chosen by people.

paragraphs: Over hundreds of years they have been specially bred to produce a wide variety of growing habits and a broad range of colours from dark red to white including as well yellow and a bluish/lilac colour. Many roses have a strong, pleasant scent. Most roses have prickles (incorrectly called thorns) on their stems. Rose bushes are able to tolerate a wide variety of growing conditions. The fruit of the rose is called a hip. Some roses have decorative hips.

paragraphs: Roses are widely used across the world as symbols of love, sympathy or sorrow.

paragraphs: Also, roses protect themselves from other predators trying to hunt them with thorns, a widely known defense system.

paragraphs: The rose was sacred to Venus (mythology). Venus was the Roman goddess of love and beauty. It was also linked with Cupid (son of Venus). He was the Roman god of desire – in one myth, he dropped nectar and the nectar bubbled up from the ground as roses. The rose was also sacred to Bacchus. He was the Roman god of wine.

paragraphs: Rich Romans would lie on couches with roses laid on them. They would wear roses tied onto string around their neck. Anything which was said "under the rose" was considered to be a secret. Cleopatra VII of Egypt was said to have had a floor of her palace covered in roses before her lover Mark Antony visited her.

paragraphs: The rose has been used as a symbol of love for hundreds of years.

paragraphs: The flower of the rose plant can be different sizes. It may be as small as 1/2 inch across to a diameter of almost 7 inches.

paragraphs: Also, roses can be used for good scent. The scent of the rose comes from tiny perfume glands on the petals, which can be seen through a powerful microscope. Sometimes rose petals are dried and packed so that you can use them for decoration or for scent.

paragraphs: Roses can be seen very much in gardens. Sometimes they can be in vineyards as well. In a big vineyard, a bush of roses are planted at the end of each row of vines. As long as the roses stay healthy, the vine growers can see that their vines are healthy as well.

paragraphs: There are thousands of rose cultivars that people grow in gardens and on farms. The names used to describe the different types often refer to one species that is the main ancestor of that group, for example, Gallica roses are mostly descended from "Rosa gallica". Other groups have several different species among their ancestors. Hybrid Tea roses, Floribunda roses, and English roses are the most common in gardens today. They are of so many colours like red, yellow, orange, pink, purple and so on

paragraphs: In the Catholic religion, rose is a symbolic element of the Holy Rosary; it is reported that Fra Angelico, praying the rosary in the street, saw the Virgin with a group of Angels offering her

paragraphs: hymns and prayers while they were composing a crown of roses. Surprised by the vision, he interrupted the prayer and the angels stopped; when he prayed again he saw the angels recommencing to compose the crown of roses to offer to Mary.

paragraphs: Different colored roses have different meanings.


title: Apple pie

paragraphs: An apple pie is a pie or tart filled with apples. Sometimes it has whipped cream or ice cream on top. It is a common type of pie. It is commonly associated with American culture, e.g. the expression 'As American as apple pie'.


title: Pumpkin pie

paragraphs: Pumpkin pie is a dessert pie with a spiced pumpkin-based custard filling. The pumpkin is a symbol of harvest time. In the United States and Canada, it is usually prepared for Thanksgiving and other occasions when pumpkin is in season.

paragraphs: Pies made from pumpkins use pie pumpkins that are about six-to-eight inches in diameter. Pie pumpkins are mostly smaller than jack-o'lantern pumpkins.

paragraphs: The pumpkin is native to North America. The pumpkin was an early export to France. During the 17th century, pumpkin pie recipes could be found in English cookbooks, like Hannah Woolley's "The Gentlewoman's Companion" (1675). But pumpkin "pies" made by early American colonists back then were more likely to be a savory soup rather than sweet custard in a crust.

paragraphs: It was not until the 19th century that pumpkin pie recipes appeared in American cookbooks. It also was not until that century that they became a part of the Thanksgiving dinner. The Pilgrims brought the pumpkin pie back to New England. The English method of cooking the pumpkin took a different course.

paragraphs: In the United States after the American Civil War, the pumpkin pie was resisted in the Southern United States as a symbol of Yankee culture brought to the South. Instead, the Southern United States prepared sweet potato pie.

paragraphs: "There's No Place like Home for the Holidays" makes a reference to homemade pumpkin pie from a man who wants to return to Pennsylvania"

paragraphs: "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" says: "Later we'll have some pumpkin pie/And we'll do some caroling"

paragraphs: "Sleigh Ride makes reference to a happy feeling "as they pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie"


title: Pumpkin

paragraphs: A pumpkin is a type of a squash which is a fruit. They are usually orange, but they can also be purple, red, blue, or white. Pumpkins are usually shaped like spheres or stretched-out spheres.

paragraphs: People can eat pumpkins. Often, people make pumpkins into pies or soups. People can eat and cook pumpkin seeds. People also use pumpkins for decoration, for example, when people make jack-o-lanterns at Halloween.

paragraphs: It also has a few noted uses in folk medicine. It has been traditionally used in some Native American tribes for treating intestinal and kidney problems. However, these uses may not be reliable.


title: Ribeirão Preto

paragraphs: Ribeirão Preto is a Brazilian city in the state of São Paulo. Its population, in 2005, was 551,312 inhabitants and its area is 652.2 km². Its name means Black Creek in Portuguese.


title: Guarulhos

paragraphs: Guarulhos is a Brazilian city in the state of São Paulo. Its population was 1,251,179 inhabitants in 2005 and its area is 317.1 km².


title: Santos, São Paulo

paragraphs: Santos is a Brazilian city in the state of São Paulo. Its population was 418,316 inhabitants . Its area is .


title: São José dos Campos

paragraphs: São José dos Campos is a Brazilian city in the state of São Paulo. Its population in 2005 was 600,049 inhabitants. It is located about 100 km (63 miles) from the city of São Paulo and has an area of 1,100 km² (424.7 mi²).


title: São Bernardo do Campo

paragraphs: São Bernardo do Campo () is a Brazilian city in the ABC Region, state of São Paulo. Its population in 2003 was 745,161 inhabitants. Its area is 406 km².

paragraphs: The city was founded in 1553, one of the first cities in Brazil.

paragraphs: São Bernardo do Campo is very known because of the automobiles industries that came in 1950s, like: Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Daimler Chrysler and Ford.


title: Santo André

paragraphs: Santo André is a Brazilian city in ABC Region, state of São Paulo. Its population in 2007 was 667,891. Its area is .


title: Osasco

paragraphs: Osasco is a Brazilian city in the state of São Paulo. Its population in 2016 was 696,382 inhabitants. Its area is 65 km².


title: Sorocaba

paragraphs: Sorocaba is a Brazilian city in the state of São Paulo. Its population in 2005 was 565.180 inhabitants and its area is 449 km².


title: Google Earth

paragraphs: Google Earth is a virtual globe program that was first called Earth Viewer and was created by Keyhole, Inc. It maps the surface of the earth by combining pictures taken by satellites and airplanes. There are also three-dimensional maps where you can look at the area from different angles. It is kind of like Google Maps.

paragraphs: Google Earth is interactive, and lets the user direct the whole globe, look at satellite imagery with overlays of roads, buildings, geographic features, and more.

paragraphs: Teachers can use it to evaluate and strengthen students' visual literacy. Students can use it to develop a background for three-dimensional and cultural differences globally.


title: Google Maps

paragraphs: Google Maps is a mapping website from Google, and also the name for the technology that it works on. It provides satellite pictures and road maps for anywhere in the world.

paragraphs: Google Maps also shows the locations of many places and businesses (called points of interest). It can provide street addresses, phone numbers, and URLs to their websites. It can generate directions between different places using many ways of transport, such as by car, bike, public transport, and even by air, and show traffic traffic congestion. Maps can be embedded on other websites via the Google Maps Application programming interface. It has a feature called Google Street View, which provides photos of streets in some places so one can see what it is like if they were standing in that area of the Earth in real life.

paragraphs: Google Maps was started on February 8, 2005, and uses JavaScript, XML and AJAX. Its website works in almost any web browser or through mobile applications on platforms like iOS and Android. Google has a "Local Guides" program where anybody can write reviews and upload photos or videos of places, as well as make changes to the maps (such as adding new places or removing closed places). This is much like how a person can contribute to Google Translate or to Wikipedia and other Wikimedia Foundation websites.


title: Google Videos

paragraphs: Google Videos is a division of the search engine Google that searches video sharing websites (YouTube, Dailymotion, etc.) for search results.

paragraphs: It is the successor to Google Video, a Google website that allowed people to upload videos through its servers so that they can be shared online. Google Video discontinued its service in August 2012, because of the high popularity of YouTube, which is a subsidiary of Google.


title: Zane Lowe

paragraphs: Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio disc jockey in the United Kingdom. He presents an early evening show on the British music radio station BBC Radio 1 on Mondays to Thursdays. Lowe also presented shows on the music television station MTV2.


title: Islamic Revolution

paragraphs: The Islamic Revolution occurred in 1979, in the Muslim majority country of Iran. Islamist revolutionaries opposed the western secular policies of the authoritarian Shah of Iran Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.

paragraphs: Supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini organized protests in opposition to the authoritarian government of the Shah. Khomeini became the new Leader of Iran. 98.2% of the Iranian voters voted "yes" in a referendum for the creation of the Islamic Republic of Iran under the Leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini (also known as Imam Khomeini). It replaced an authoritarian monarchy with a theocratic republic. The West claims the republic is authoritarian.

paragraphs: Shortly after the revolution, Iraq under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein invaded Iran producing a war that ended in 1988 with neither side getting anything. The war is known as the Iran-Iraq War.

paragraphs: Many Iranians were forced in to exile during the revolution

paragraphs: Estimates of the number of Iranians who died during the war with Iraq and the riots with the Shah's forces vary from 3,000 to 60,000. The number executed by order of the Revolutionary Courts is often estimated at 8,000.

paragraphs: During the revolution, 52 Americans were held hostage after being seized at US Embassy


title: Tentacle

paragraphs: A tentacle is a part of the body of an animal or plant that can move freely. They are like arms. Some invertebrates, like squid, sea anemones or hydras have them. They use the tentacles to catch food, or to grip the sourroundings. Some carnivorous plants, such as the Drosera, also may have tentacles.


title: Javelin

paragraphs: A javelin is a light spear designed to be thrown. Historically it was a weapon, but from the Ancient Greeks to today it was used for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand.

paragraphs: The javelin throw is a sports event, one of the field events which survive from the original Olympic Games. The athlete holds the javelin in one arm and, while running, throws it as far as possible. It is an official Olympic sport.

paragraphs: Unlike other throwing events, javelin allows the competitor to build speed over a considerable distance. As a result, a javelin can reach speeds approaching 113 km/h and to cover the distance of 104.80 m.


title: Sea anemone

paragraphs: Sea anemones are Cnidarian animals that live in the sea. They are polyps, one of the basic forms of the phylum. They are predatory animals, which paralyse their prey with stinging nematocysts. These fire a harpoon-like structure which delivers a dose of neurotoxins. To eat the fish, or crustacean, they move the prey into their stomach, where they are slowly digested.

paragraphs: Anemones are sessile. This means they like to stay in one area. They can move very slowly along the bottom. Some types can swim to a new location by using flexing movements. Many species live in rockpools between high tide and low tide, and on rocky shores generally. Anemones can be found in deep oceans as well, and a few are pelagic.

paragraphs: An anemone has an oral disk on the top of its body. The sea anemone’s mouth and gut are in the middle of the oral disk. The tentacles surround the oral disk. The pedal disc is on the bottom of the sea anemone.

paragraphs: Some sea anemones live in symbiosis with other animals. clownfish, Incognito goby, and arrow crabs may shelter among the tentacles of the anemone. Hermit crabs often have sea anemones on the shell they live in. Some anemones have a symbiosis with a type of algae which lives inside them. This is the same thing many corals do. The dinoflagellate algae use sunlight to make food, and the anemone uses some of the food.

paragraphs: The first detailed investigation of sea anemones was a survey of those found on or near the beaches of the British Isles by the naturalist Philip Henry Gosse.


title: Polyp

paragraphs: Polyps are one of two forms of the cnidarians. The other body form is the medusa. Polyps have a vase-shaped body with tentacles around the mouth opening.

paragraphs: Polyps may be sexual or asexual. They can all reproduce asexually by budding. In some species, the polyps can also reproduce sexually.

paragraphs: When medusae mate, the result may be polyps, when polyps replicate, the result may be medusae. The details vary between species. Some species are polyps all the time (such as "Hydra", and the whole of the class Anthozoa (corals and anemones).

paragraphs: In many cases the asexual buds formed do not separate from the parent but remain, thus forming colonies or 'stocks'. These may reach a great size, and contain a vast number of individuals. Slight differences in the method of budding produce great variations in the form of the colonies. The reef-building corals are polyp-colonies, strengthened by the formation of a firm skeleton.

paragraphs: Jellyfish (class Medusozoa) have two distinct life history stages (body forms) during their life cycle. The first is the polyp stage. Often, this polyp is attached to the sea floor, or to another hard surface. A polyp that lives that way is called sessile.

paragraphs: In the second stage, the tiny polyps asexually produce jellyfish, each of which is known as a medusa. Tiny jellyfish swim away from the polyp and then grow and feed in the plankton. Jellyfish reproduce both sexually and asexually.


title: Dravidian languages

paragraphs: The Dravidian languages are a language family spoken by Dravidian peoples. The languages are mainly spoken in South India, western Bangladesh, northern Sri Lanka and southern Pakistan. There are about 26 languages in this family. A total of about 215 million people speak Dravidian languages.

paragraphs: Dravidian languages were probably spoken over a larger area of the Indian subcontinent in the past. There are several ethnic groups in India known as "Scheduled Tribes" who still speak their own Dravidian languages. Brahui, with 2,200,000 speakers, is a Dravidian language spoken in the Balochistan region of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Dhangar, which is a dialect of Kurukh, is spoken in parts of Nepal and Bhutan.

paragraphs: There are about 30 more Dravidian languages spoken, with far fewer speakers.


title: East-West Schism

paragraphs: The East-West Schism (sometimes also called Great Schism) describes how Christianity developed into two big branches in the Middle Ages. The Western part later became the Roman Catholic Church. The Eastern part is known as the Eastern Orthodox Church. During the centuries views on politics and theology developed differently in several ways. It is distinct from the earlier schism that separated Oriental Orthodoxy from the church that split in half later.

paragraphs: During the 5th and 6th Centuries the East and West became isolated from each other due to the invasions of the Balkan peninsula. They also had different languages. Latin was the most important language in the West. The East mainly spoke the Greek language. Because of this, talking to each other was difficult. The West came under Frankish influence (as opposed to Byzantine) in the 700s.

paragraphs: These were just some of the issues plaguing the Eastern and Western Christians that led to the Great Schism. It seems that even after 1054 relations between the east and west were not completely unfriendly, and the common peasant was probably not immediately affected by the schism.

paragraphs: To understand the meaning of East-West Schism, it is useful to understand the meaning of schism. In very simple words, when differences arise among one group of persons or organizations and they divide themselves into two or more groups, this is schism.

paragraphs: The term East-West Schism describes the division which happened in Christianity. The Christian church became divided into two major groups: Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Most people accept that it happened in 1054. However, this separation was the result of differences that had begun many years before. One difference was the "filioque clause" in the Nicene Creed. This stated that the Holy Spirit came from the Father and the Son, although the original creed declared that It came from just the Father. One major reason for the division concerned the authority of the pope. The Eastern Orthodox group was of the opinion that the pope's authority over them was only honorary, and the pope had real authority only over the western Christians.

paragraphs: However instances of open division on doctrinal questions as well as daily matters had occurred long before the Great Schism of 1054. Leading up to the schism, Pope Leo IX (1002-1054) sent forth a party led by Cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida to talk through the obvious problems between the papacy and Constantinople. Michael Cerularius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, rejected the claims put forward by the papal committee. Those from the western side of the church accused Constantinople of having altered the Nicene Creed, and those from the eastern side accused the western church of altering the creed. This in turn led to Cardinal Humbert putting forward a Bull of Excommunication against Michael Cerularius on the altar of the Hagia Sophia, and the Great Schism became official.

paragraphs: The Roman Catholic Church changed the Nicene creed. It inserted a passage that is known as the Filioque. The Creed in its original form reads In the West, the Creed was changed to read

paragraphs: There were many bishops in the church, and in the East the Pope was considered the "first among equals", but Rome claimed that the Pope was the primary Apostolic see, being that of Peter. At first the Eastern Orthodox did not mind the Pope's claim for power over the West - as long as his power stayed in the West. But it came to pass that the Pope decided he also had power over Eastern Christendom as well and he tried to enforce his power on the eastern Patriarchates. A letter written in 865 by Pope Nicholas claims the Pope's power extends "over all the earth, that is, over every church". Pope Nicholas also went beyond his powers as stated in Canon 111 of the Council of Sardica (343) when he overturned a verdict and ordered a retrial on a matter concerning Photius and St. Ignatius, two Patriarchs of Constantinople. This was as a result of petitions to Rome by backers of Ignatius. However, it should be noted that not all the Popes after Nicholas were as extreme - that is, until Pope Leo IX. When, in 1053 Cerularius attempted friendly relations with Pope Leo IX after a disagreement, a bull (religious legal document) of excommunication (expulsion from the Church) was brought to Constantinople. Each Church excommunicated the other.


title: William III of England

paragraphs: William III (14 November 1650 – 8 March 1702) was King of England and King of Ireland from 13 February 1689. He became King of Scotland on 11 April 1689. As King of Scotland, he was William II. He remained king until his death on 8 March 1702.

paragraphs: William was born in the Netherlands as Prince William Henry of Orange. His mother was Mary Stuart. Mary was the sister of the King of England, James II, so King James was William's uncle. William married King James's daughter Mary (his own first cousin) on 4 November 1677.

paragraphs: The Protestant majority in England did not like King James, and he was overthrown in the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688. William landed in England (at Brixham) with a Dutch army.

paragraphs: When William landed, James's support melted away. James was allowed to leave for France, and William became the last person to successfully invade England by force. The events are known as the Glorious Revolution.

paragraphs: The English Parliament offered the English crown to William and Mary jointly (and when one died the other would be be monarch), making them William III and Mary II. This later came to be known as the reign of William and Mary. Laws were passed which protected Parliament from unreasonable acts of the Sovereign, guaranteed religious toleration to Protestant nonconformists, but restricted the religious liberty of Roman Catholics and non-Christian faiths.

paragraphs: William summoned a Convention of the Estates of Scotland in 1689 and sent them a conciliatory (~friendly) letter, unlike James, who had tried to give them orders. On 11 April, the day of the English coronation, the Convention finally declared that James was no longer King of Scotland. William and Mary were offered the Scottish crown, and they accepted on 11 May. The Jacobites tried for over 50 years to have James and his heirs reinstalled.

paragraphs: William's enemy was the King of France, Louis XIV, who protected and supported James in his efforts to return. In Ireland, the majority Roman Catholics were reinforced by French forces led by Jacobites. William personally led his army to victory at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. James fled back to France.

paragraphs: There was next a Nine Years' War between a coalition led by William, and France. The Anglo-Dutch Alliance did well on sea and defeated a French fleet at La Hogue in 1692. On the other hand, the alliance lost Namur in 1692, and the Battle of Landen on land, in 1693.

paragraphs: Mary died on 12 December 1694 of smallpox, leaving William to rule alone. He was eventually succeeded by his sister-in-law, Queen Anne. One more fact is of great importance. In 1701 an Act of Parliament was passed which settled the succession of the thrones of England and Ireland on Protestants only. Scotland was not part of this arrangement until the parliamentary union of the two kingdoms in 1707.


title: Abigail Fillmore

paragraphs: Abigail Powers Fillmore (March 13, 1798 – March 30, 1853), was the wife of Millard Fillmore, the President of the United States. She acted as the First Lady of the United States from 1850 to 1853.

paragraphs: She was born in Saratoga County, New York. Her father’s name was Lemuel Powers. Her father died shortly after her birth. After this, her mother moved away westward to less settled area. Abigail Powers had a brother also. Their mother gave them a good education with the help of her husband’s library.

paragraphs: When Abigail Powers was around 19 years old and a student at an academy at New Hope, New York, she met Millard Fillmore. He was also studying in the same academy. They married in February 1826. In 1828, she had a son, named Millard Powers Fillmore. After few years, Fillmore bought a home in Buffalo, New York where she had a daughter, Mary Abigail. During the next few years, her husband was elected to the U.S. Congress. Her husband became a state comptroller. In 1849, her husband became the Vice President of the United States. The couple moved to the Washington, D.C.. After 16 months, President Zachary Taylor died. Millard Fillmore became the President and they moved into the White House.

paragraphs: During last several years, Abigail Powers had learnt to move in the high society. She did a fine role as the First Lady.

paragraphs: She had a permanently injured ankle. This made standing difficult to greet guests. But, she still continued to act as the first lady. Later on, due to her bad health, she gave many routine duties of the First Lady to her daughter, "Abby."

paragraphs: Abigail Powers could get a special sanction of money from the government. With this, she bought many books for the library at the White House. After her husband’s retirement, she attended the inauguration of President Franklin Pierce. She returned to her hotel room. Due to very chill weather, she became sick with pneumonia. On 30th March, 1853, she died of pneumonia. In her respect, the United States Congress adjourned (that is, stopped working) for that day, and government offices remained closed. She was buried at Buffalo.

paragraphs: After about five years of her death, her husband married a widow named Caroline Fillmore of Buffalo, New York. Millard died on 8th March 1874.


title: Myocardial infarction

paragraphs: An acute myocardial infarction, also called a heart attack, happens when a blood vessel in the heart suddenly becomes blocked. Blood vessels carry blood and oxygen. When a blood vessel in the heart gets blocked, blood cannot get to part of the heart. This part of the heart does not get enough oxygen. This is called ischemia. When the heart muscle becomes ischemic (does not get enough blood and oxygen), the ischemia often causes chest pain. This is called Angina Pectoris. If the ischemia lasts long enough, the heart muscle that is not getting enough oxygen dies. This is called an infarction. "Myocardial infarction" means "infarction (muscle death) in the heart muscle."

paragraphs: A heart attack is a medical emergency. The first few minutes are very important for keeping the person alive. Some of the damage from the heart attack can be repaired if the person gets treatment during the first hour of the attack.

paragraphs: Most heart attacks are caused by Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). In coronary artery disease, a wax-like material called plaque builds up on the inside walls of arteries in the heart. This is called atherosclerosis. Plaque is made of cholesterol and other cells. The amount of plaque increases slowly. As more plaque builds up, the insides of the heart's blood vessels get narrower. This means that less blood can flow through the blood vessels. This can cause platelets (which make the blood clot) to build up in front of the plaque. This causes a blood clot in the blood vessel. If the clot breaks free and gets stuck in part of the blood vessel made narrower by the plaque, the plaque and the clot together block the blood vessel completely. This makes it impossible for blood to get to part of the heart, and causes a heart attack.

paragraphs: A person can lower their chances of getting coronary artery disease by eating healthy foods, exercising, not smoking cigarettes, and not drinking too much alcohol.

paragraphs: Signs that a person is having a heart attack show over several minutes, and rarely come immediately. Most people having a heart attack have chest pain. Sometimes, people also have pain in the left arm, the lower jaw, the neck, the right arm, the back, or in parts of the abdomen.

paragraphs: Many women have different symptoms than men. The most common symptoms include shortness of breath (trouble breathing), weakness, and feeling very tired. Some women feel tired, do not sleep properly, and have shortness of breath for up to a month before they have a heart attack. Women may also have nausea and stomach upset when having a heart attack.

paragraphs: Sometimes, people have "silent heart attacks." These are heart attacks that do not cause any pain. They are more common in elderly people, women, and people with diabetes. In these people, suddenly feeling very tired, or fainting, may be the only sign of a heart attack.

paragraphs: A heart attack is a medical emergency that needs treatment as quickly as possible. The most important thing is to save as much myocardium (heart muscle) as possible and prevent more complications. As time passes, the risk of damage to the heart muscle increases.

paragraphs: Doctors or paramedics usually start certain treatments as soon as a heart attack is suspected. These treatments include:

paragraphs: Once doctors are sure that a person is having a heart attack, there are two main treatments: "clot-busting medicines" (thrombolytics) and percutaneous coronary intervention.

paragraphs: "Clot-busting medicines" (called thrombolytics) can dissolve blood clots that are blocking the blood vessels in the heart. This makes it possible for blood and oxygen to flow again to the part of the heart that was not getting enough blood and oxygen. The most common clot-busting medicine is called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA).

paragraphs: Clot-busters work best if patients get them within 30 minutes after getting to the hospital. However, if a patient gets a clot-busting medicine within 12 hours after the heart attack starts, they have a better chance of surviving.

paragraphs: Clot-busting medicines do have some risks. Sometimes they can thin the blood too much and cause bleeding.

paragraphs: Percutaneous coronary intervention is a way of opening blocked coronary arteries. Percutaneous means that the procedure is not done by cutting a person open in surgery. Coronary intervention means "way to help the heart". Percutaneous coronary intervention is also called "coronary angioplasty".

paragraphs: In a percutaneous coronary intervention, a doctor threads a flexible tube into one of the patient's blood vessels, usually one in the upper thigh. The doctor threads the tube up to the blocked blood vessels in the heart. On the end of the tube is a balloon. The doctor blows up the balloon, which pushes the plaque and blood clot against the side of the blocked blood vessel. This allows blood to flow through that blood vessel again. Sometimes, a doctor might also place a small mesh tube called a stent into the blood vessel. The stent will make sure the blood vessel stays open and does not get blocked again in the future.

paragraphs: As soon as a person thinks they may be having signs of a heart attack, they should call emergency service right away. (Emergency services can be reached dialling 911 in the US, and 112 in most of continental Europe) However, the average person waits about three hours before asking for help. When a person waits to get help, they are more likely to have more serious damage to their heart. The American Heart Association says "time is muscle": the more time a person waits to get treatment, the more heart muscle dies.

paragraphs: If a person is having trouble breathing, sitting straight up can help. The person should follow any instructions they get from the emergency operator or their doctor.


title: Keith Richards

paragraphs: Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English guitarist best known as a founder member of the Rolling Stones. He is mostly famous for his rhythm guitar playing, but he can also play lead guitar quite well. He often likes to use a guitar with only 5 strings — the lowest-tuned string is removed. On a small number of Rolling Stones recordings, he plays bass guitar, as well as other instruments. He sings background vocals on most Rolling Stones songs. Occasionally, he also sings lead vocals, on songs like "Happy", "Little T & A", and "The Worst".

paragraphs: During the late 1960s and most of the 1970s, he had a serious addiction to heroin. However, he recovered and quit using it. Sometimes, in interviews, he talks about taking drugs in a way that seems humorous.

paragraphs: In 2003 he was ranked 10th on Rolling Stone Magazine's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

paragraphs: Richards has co-written and recorded hundreds of songs with his song writing partner Mick Jagger. Fourteen of their songs are listed by Rolling Stone Magazine in their "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" issue.


title: Edward Elgar

paragraphs: Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet (2 June 1857 - 23 February 1934) was the most famous English composer of his time. He composed in the late romantic era.

paragraphs: Elgar was born in Broadheath, Worcestershire. His father owned a music shop. Apart from having violin lessons Elgar taught himself about music. He studied the printed music in his father’s shop and often travelled with him when he went on his rounds to tune pianos. He heard a lot of cathedral music and often practised the organ. He took over his father’s job as church organist and soon became conductor of local orchestras and bands.

paragraphs: Worcester was a small town but the music there was good. The Three Choirs Festival took place there every third year. In 1884 he was playing the violin in the orchestra when the great Czech composer Dvořák was conducting.

paragraphs: In 1889 Elgar married. His wife Caroline Alice Roberts came from a family who had more money than the Elgars, and she was 8 years older than he was. Many people did not approve of the marriage, but she was a good wife to him and encouraged him in his efforts to be a successful composer.

paragraphs: In 1899 Elgar wrote an orchestral piece called the "Enigma Variations". There is a main tune, and then a series of variations on the tune. Each variation describes one of his friends, but he did not say which friends they were: he only put their initials or nickname at the top of each variation. This is why the piece is an enigma (a “puzzle” or “secret”). People have managed to work out who each friend was, but the meaning of the main tune is still a puzzle. This music made Elgar very famous.

paragraphs: The next work that he wrote is probably his greatest work: "The Dream of Gerontius" (1900). It is an oratorio. Gerontius is an old man who is dying and thinking about whether God will punish him for his sins or save him and take him to heaven. Elgar wrote two other oratorios: "The Apostles" and "The Kingdom". He wrote two symphonies, a violin concerto, a cello concerto, Introduction and Allegro for Strings, Sea Pictures (five songs for mezzo soprano and orchestra) and chamber music including a violin sonata, a string quartet and a piano quintet.

paragraphs: Throughout his life his wife helped him by ruling neat manuscript lines on plain paper so that he could write his music. After she died in 1920 Elgar was so sad that he stopped composing. He died of colorectal cancer in Worcester.

paragraphs: Elgar’s most popular piece is the first of his "Pomp and Circumstance Marches". It has the tune which is sung to the words “Land of Hope and Glory” and the audience always join in singing it at the Last Night of the Proms.


title: Printing press

paragraphs: The printing press is a machine for printing. It makes many copies of identical pages. The printing press today is used to print books and newspapers. It had a great influence on society, especially western society. It was "one of the most potent agents... of western civilisation in bringing together the scattered ideas of thinkers".

paragraphs: Woodcut printing has been done for several centuries. That was whole pages cut into wood, words and pictures. In the 15th century Johannes Gutenberg improved the process. He used separate alloy letters screwed into a frame. This way a large set of letters could make almost any page for printing. This process was called typesetting. Each letter was in a block of metal, fixed in a frame. He could then move paper and ink over it, much like a stamp. This method was called letterpress. The letters would leave ink on the paper in the shape of the letters, creating text or illustrations.

paragraphs: Bigger and much faster presses were invented in the industrial revolution. The main improvements were made in the 19th century. Two ideas altered the design of the printing press entirely. First was the use of steam power to run the machinery. Second was the replacement of the printing flatbed with the rotary motion of cylinders. Both were done by the German printer Friedrich Koenig between 1802 and 1818. Having moved to London in 1804, Koenig got financial support for his project in 1807. In 1810, Koenig patented a steam press "much like a hand press connected to a steam engine".

paragraphs: Soon other inventions were added, such as the making of cheaper paper by using wood pulp instead of rags. Later in the 19th century came machines which speeded up typesetting, which was previously done by hand, letter by letter. A machine for hot metal typesetting was designed by Linotype Inc. It turned molten lead into type ready for printing.

paragraphs: Many further developments in printing happened in the 20th century. Today printing presses are controlled by special-purpose computers, and the material to be printed is prepared on computers. As a consequence of these inventions, the cost of printing has fallen significantly compared to other commodities. Now the price of a book or magazine is less determined by its production, and more by other factors, such as marketing.


title: Mezzo-soprano

paragraphs: A mezzo-soprano is a female singer whose voice is a little lower than that of a soprano but not low enough to be called a contralto. There are many roles in opera that need a mezzo-soprano voice, for example the role of Carmen in the opera "Carmen" by Georges Bizet or Cherubino in "Le Nozze di Figaro" by Mozart. Famous mezzo-sopranos include: Marilyn Horne and Dame Janet Baker who have both now retired. Alice Coote and Susan Graham are famous mezzo-sopranos today.


title: Georges Bizet

paragraphs: Georges Bizet (25 October 1838 – 3 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic period. He is best known for his opera Carmen, which is the best-known of all French operas.

paragraphs: Bizet was born in Paris and died in Bougival.


title: Old age

paragraphs: Old age is when a person is near or beyond the usual life expectancy, usually from the age of 65 onwards. Old people are usually retired from work and spend their time in other ways like helping take care of small children who are kin to them in some way. Often people of old age have wrinkly skin. They will move slower, and become constantly cold.

paragraphs: Old people have more health problems than young adults, and many of them take medicine. The reason for this is that their bodies are slowly deteriorating, so they have more problems, especially with moving. Osteoporosis weakens the bones, and is one of the problems that become more common with age. Others include blindness and deafness. Gerontology is the part of medicine that deals with these things.

paragraphs: Old people are also called "senior citizens" or "elders". Elders are considered to be wise because they have had much experience in their long lives. Many cultures view elders with respect and kindness, and depend upon them to pass down knowledge to the younger generations of people.


title: The Crystal Maze

paragraphs: The Crystal Maze is a British game show on Channel 4. It ran from 1990-1995 and was revived in 2016. A team of six players completed challenges to win crystals. It was presented by Richard O'Brien from series 1 to 4 and Ed Tudor-Pole in series 5 and 6. Stephen Merchant presented an episode in 2016. Richard Ayoade presents in 2017.

paragraphs: It was made by Chatsworth Television as an British version of the French show Fort Boyard. There are four zones in the maze - Medieval, Aztec, Futuristic and Industrial. In each zone, players attempt challenges to earn a crystal. Each crystal gives them five seconds in the Crystal Dome. After a while, the Industrial zone was replaced by an Ocean zone.

paragraphs: The Crystal Dome is a large glass crystal where the players must go in at the end. Small golden and silver tickets are blown around the dome and they must try and catch as many as they can. For every gold token they put in the box, they get a point. For every silver token they put in the box, they lose a point.

paragraphs: If the team gets over 100 points, they win a big prize. If they do not win, they get a small crystal to take home with them.


title: Counter-Reformation

paragraphs: The Counter-Reformation was a movement within the Roman Catholic Church which began in the 1500s. It covered the following five areas:

paragraphs: The Counter-Reformation began after Martin Luther's Reformation. In reaction, Catholics reaffirmed some points of faith that the Protestants' objections had put in danger. These included the validity of the seven sacraments. The Protestants had reduced the sacraments to only two, Baptism and the Eucharist. Protestants deny the doctrine of transubstantiation, which is seen as making Mass less important. Some reformation era groups had rejected the Mass entirely. Luther's view was somewhere between that of the more radical reformers and the Catholic view. Luther wrote that without faith neither Baptism nor the Eucharist is sufficient for salvation. The Counter-Reformation specifically re-affirmed the Catholic understanding of the mass.

paragraphs: On other issues, Catholics effectively accepted some of the Protestant complaints. Penance became a private confession and repentance from sin instead of outward actions. This served to correct the corrupt practice of selling forgiveness. This type of forgiveness, called Indulgence was the immediate cause of Luther's protests against abuses in the Catholic church.

paragraphs: As a result of the Counter Reformation, other abuses, such as Simony were also greatly curtailed. Thus the Protestant movement served not only to create new expressions of the Christian faith, but also to correct problems in the Catholic church which led to its revitalization.

paragraphs: Catholic missionaries, especially Jesuits went across the world to spread the Catholic faith. The Congregation of the Holy Office of the Inquisition was also created, to revitalize the work of suppressing heresy.


title: Decolonization

paragraphs: Decolonization is when a colony of any country becomes independent. Thus, decolonization is the opposite of colonization. Sometimes, a colony may not get full freedom, but may become part of another country or even the part of the country which colonized it. This is also decolonization.

paragraphs: In some cases, decolonization may result after non-violent discussion. In a relatively small number of cases, decolonization happens only after armed struggle and revolt. Decolonization is different from the break-up of traditional empires like the Mongol Empire or the Ottoman Empire. Decolonization generally means independence of non-Europeans from European rule. Thus, the break-up of the Union of Sweden and Norway and the independence of Manchukuo from the Empire of Japan were not decolonization. Major decolonization occurred in the 20th century. It began with the independence of Pakistan and India in 1947 from the British Empire. Soon after, many countries of Africa became independent from the rule of many countries of Europe.


title: History of the Soviet Union (1985-1991)

paragraphs: The history of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991 covers the dissolution of the Soviet Union. (Dissolution means ending or splitting up) The dissolution of the Soviet Union describes its end as a separate country.

paragraphs: The Soviet Union had many regions called "republics". They all belonged to the Russian Empire before 1917. All these "republics" were part of the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union was one country. After its dissolution, all of the republics became independent countries. The names of these countries are: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

paragraphs: Russia is a special case, because it still has a number of former republics inside its borders. That is why the country is called the Russian Federation. There are eight Federal Districts and 83 so-called "Federal Subjects" of the Russian Federation. Siberia, for example, has two huge federal districts.

paragraphs: The Soviet Union ended with the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States. At the time of dissolution of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev was the president of the Soviet Union. He was in this position for a little over a year but he was leader of the Soviet Union from March 11th 1985. On 25 December 1991, he quit the post of the president of the USSR. By 31 December 1991, all organizations and departments of the Soviet Union stopped working. On that date, the Soviet flag flew for the last time on the Kremlin.

paragraphs: During 1969 and 1982, very few changes took place in the politics and economy of the Soviet Union. With the beginning of the Soviet war in Afghanistan, its relationship with the United States also deteriorated. At that time Jimmy Carter, followed by Ronald Reagan was the President of the United States. Jimmy Carter ended the policy of Détente - ending of unfriendly relationship. Some historians believe that this may be one of the reasons for the Soviet Union to change its political and economic policies.

paragraphs: In March 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the General Secretary of the CPSU. Under him, a new group of officials and leaders started a process of changes in the politics and economy of the Soviet Union. They also tried to improve relationships with Western countries like the US.

paragraphs: At that time, the Soviet economy was doing okay but it was slower than its competitors' economies in the West. Also, the cost of maintaining the Soviet Union, as a superpower was huge. These costs included running a large military; running the KGB networks; and giving money to countries close to the Soviet Union. At the same time, the Soviet Union’s technological development had fallen behind. For example: many of its factories used out-of-date technologies and it had fallen behind in the use of information technology.

paragraphs: In view of these and other reasons, Gorbachev and his team started three important policies:

paragraphs: Since the time of Vladimir Lenin in 1920s, the people of the Soviet Union did not have any right to own personal property and business. The government owned almost everything. In 1988, the government permitted the people to own some types of businesses in the service sector, manufacturing, and foreign trade. A system of cooperative restaurants, shops, and manufacturers came into existence.

paragraphs: Glasnost gave a greater freedom of speech to the citizens and allowed them to criticise the government - something they had never been allowed to do. The government reduced censorship and control on publication. The government set free many political prisoners. In January 1987, Gorbachev started a process of democratization of Soviet politics. In June 1988, Gorbachev started a process to reduce the control of the CPSU on the different parts of the government.

paragraphs: In December 1988, the Supreme Soviet had approved the establishment of a Congress of People's Deputies, the Soviet Union's new legislative body. In March and April 1989, elections to the Congress of People’s Deputies took place. The members on 15th March 1990 elected Gorbachev as the first executive President of the Soviet Union.

paragraphs: Many steps taken by Gorbachev gave results different than the intended results. Thus the "perestroika" and "glasnost" intended to make the Soviet economy stronger resulted into something very different. Many factors and events combined and finally they resulted into the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

paragraphs: Under the policy of "glasnost" (political openness), the Soviet government and the Communist Party lost control over the media. A free media brought to notice of the public many bad aspects of the society and the economy of the Soviet Union. These bad aspects included poor housing, alcoholism, drug abuse, pollution, out-of-date technologies in many factories, and corruption. People also learnt of many crimes committed by Stalin. For example, they learnt about prisoners at Gulags, agreement with Adolf Hitler, and large massacres of Stalin opponents. Further, people also learnt details about such events as the ongoing Soviet war in Afghanistan and bad management of nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl (the Soviet Union didn't publicly admit to the meltdown until three days after it happened). In short, people learnt about the negative aspects of the Soviet life. People began to lose faith in their Soviet system and ideology of Communism.

paragraphs: By 1989, the Soviet government found it to be too difficult for the Soviet Union to keep its control over its Eastern European bloc and decided to let them choose their own futures. After the end of the Second World War, with the support of the Soviet Union, communist governments were ruling all these countries. The change in the policy of the Soviet Union resulted into fall of the communist governments in many such countries by 1990: in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania.

paragraphs: Seeing all these developments, many "republics" of the Soviet Union wanted to become independent. The Glasnost policy also released long wanted nationalism in the "republics" that the Soviet government had suppressed and covered up. Some republics tried to become independent.

paragraphs: The leaders had thought that the policy of "perestroika" was a bold step to improve the economy. But, the steps were not very strong to improve the bad economic conditions of 1980s. Despite many changes, Gorbachev and his team had left many aspects of the Soviet economy unchanged. For example, price control, inconvertibility of the ruble, and government control over most means of production continued. By 1990 the economic situation had become worse. The examples include:

paragraphs: On 7th February 1990, the Central Committee of the CPSU was forced to loosen its control over power. At around the same time, different "republics" of the Soviet Union started to claim their right to become independent. They stopped following the laws of the central government of the Soviet Union. They also stopped paying taxes to the central authorities (of Moscow) of the Soviet Union. These weakened the Soviet authority and economy.

paragraphs: During a 1990 visit of Gorbachev to Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, about 250,000 persons protested in a public meeting. On 11th March 1990, leaders of Lithuania declared its independence from the Soviet Union. However, the Soviet central-government demanded Lithuania to give up its independence and sent the Soviet Army continued to keep many troops in Lithuania. The government said that it would have to follow the Soviet constitution if it wanted to leave. The Soviet Union also did economic blockade of Lithuania. Estonia and Latvia were also illegally taken by the Soviet Union in 1940. On 30th March 1990, the leaders of Estonia declared that the control of their country by the Soviet Union from 1940 was illegal. They also declared independence. The leaders of Latvia also started process of independence on 4th May 1990.

paragraphs: On 17th March 1991, people of the Soviet Union voted to keep the existing Soviet Union in a slightly changed form. The Baltic States (Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia), Armenia, Georgia and Moldova boycotted the voting. In each of the other nine "republics" of the Soviet Union, a majority of the voters supported the retention of the Soviet Union. In June 1991 an election took place in the Russian Republic of the Soviet Union. Boris Yeltsin got 57% of the vote. He was a critic of Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev’s preferred candidate, former Premier Nikolai Ryzhkov, got only 16% of the vote.

paragraphs: The "republics" of the Soviet Union had agreed to sign on 20th August 1991, an agreement making them almost independent republics but part of a federation, with a common president, foreign policy and military. However, many persons disagreed, and they wanted a fast transition to market economy even if it meant dissolution of the Soviet Union. There were many others in the CPSU and the military of the Soviet Union who supported continuation of the Soviet Union.

paragraphs: On 19th August 1991, some senior leaders of the Soviet Union formed a "State Committee on the State Emergency." They prevented signing of the above-mentioned agreement on 20th August 1991. These leaders included Gorbachev’s vice president Gennadi Yanayev, prime minister Valentin Pavlov, defense minister Dmitriy Yazov, KGB chief Vladimir Kryuchkov, and many other senior officials. At that time Gorbachev was holidaying in Crimea). These officials put him under house arrest. They also issued orders banning all political activities and banned most newspapers.

paragraphs: This was like a coup. The organizers had expected popular support for their action. But, the people did not support them. Instead, they supported "White House" (Yeltsin's office), then the symbolic seat of Russian sovereignty. The organizers of the coup tried but failed to arrest Boris Yeltsin. After three days, on August 21, the coup failed. The authorities detained the organizers. Gorbachev returned as president of the Soviet Union. However, Gorbachev's real powers had reduced.

paragraphs: Through the autumn of 1991, the Russian government took over the union government, ministry by ministry. In November 1991, Yeltsin issued an order banning the CPSU throughout the Russian republic. As a result, many former CPSU personnel left CPSU to join the new positions in the new Russian government.

paragraphs: After the failure of the coup, the republics of the Soviet Union increased their efforts to become independent. On 6th September 1991, the Soviet Union recognized the independence of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. On 1st December 1991, Ukraine declared its independence, after 90% of the voters opted for an independent Ukraine; this really destroyed any hopes of keeping the Soviet Union together since Ukraine was the second most powerful "republic" after Russia. One by one, the remaining eleven "republics" of the Soviet Union also declared themselves as sovereign and independent states.

paragraphs: As noted above, on 6th September 1991, the Soviet Union had recognized the independence of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It may be note that twelve out of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union had signed an international agreement (European Energy Charter) in the Hague on 17th December 1991. The signing had indicated that these republics had practically become independent and sovereign countries.

paragraphs: Leaving apart already independent Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the remaining 12 republics, all (except Georgia) joined the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In December 1993, Georgia also joined the CIS. On 26th August 2006 Turkmenistan left the permanent membership, and became an associate member.

paragraphs: Many persons believed that with the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Soviet Union ceased to exist. They believed that it was the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Many others think that with CIS, the Russia continues to have some control over the former republics of the Soviet Union.

paragraphs: On December 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigned as president of the USSR. By December 31, 1991 all official Soviet institutions had stopped to function in different "republics" of the Soviet Union. The individual governments of these republics started functioning. The Soviet flag flew last time over the Kremlin.

paragraphs: The four principles had governed the Soviet Union: a chain of soviets; ethnic federation; state socialism; and supremacy of the Communist party. Gorbachev's policies of "perestroika" and "glasnost" created a situation which weakened all the above four principles. He repeatedly tried to form a circle of leaders to support his policies. He tried to do all these as he and his team saw that the Soviet Union was moving toward a long-term stagnation.

paragraphs: Gorbachev’s policies made it possible for leaders of various Soviet republics to gain confidence and influence. At the same time, he faced opposition from many including the nationalist forces and the traditional communists. Some people accepted the reforms; some wanted the old system to continue; and some desired complete independence from the Soviet Union and central control. In the end, Gorbachev was unable to ensure any common view among these forces. Ultimately, this led to the collapse and dissolution of the Soviet Union.

paragraphs: Immediately after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Yeltsin took many steps to change the economy of the Soviet Union from a socialist economy to a capitalist economy. For example: he cut the payment of grants to money-losing farms and industries; he also removed control over prices; he took steps for convertibility of the Russian rouble. He also allowed many people close to his circle, and other business people, to take possession of the businesses and industries earlier owned by the government, and to run them as private enterprises. The planners and economists had thought that these changes would lead to a faster economic development. However, nothing of this sort happened.

paragraphs: Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia is facing many problems, including the following:

paragraphs: Many Russians of older generation believe that the earlier system was better. During 1990s, Russia faced many crises in political, social and economic matters. Many persons still believe that the situation still continues to be worse compared to earlier times.


title: Meiji Restoration

paragraphs: The Meiji Restoration was a time of great change in Japan. In the Japanese language, "Meiji-ishin" is the term for the Meiji Restoration. The term describes a series of events that changed the shape of Japan’s political and social systems. These changes took place mainly in the three years from 1866 to 1869, at the beginning of the Meiji period.

paragraphs: In 1866, the Tokugawa Shogunate was ruling Japan. In the year 1866, two domains, the local government at that time, came together under an alliance. The name of this alliance was the Sat-cho Alliance. This was an alliance between the Satsuma Domain and the Chōshū Domain, and a person named Sakamoto Ryoma brought the two domains together. These two domains supported the Emperor of Japan who, at the time, did not have much power. With their support the emperor could regain much of his power.

paragraphs: The Tokugawa Shogunate’s rule ended on 9th November 1867, but they still retained some authority and power. In the Boshin War of 1868, an army from Satsuma Province and Choshu defeated the forces of the Tokugawa Shogunate. This completely ended the power of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

paragraphs: After defeating the Tokugawa Shogunate, the leaders of the Meiji Restoration started to reform the system of the country. They acted in the name of Japan’s emperor, to restore (that is, to return) the emperor’s powers. But, the leaders also kept to themselves a number of powers. In fact, even after the Meiji Restoration, an oligarchy, a small group, had the real power and ruled in the name of the emperor.

paragraphs: After the Meiji Restoration started, Japan’s progress was fast. The revolution includes centralizing power, changing the tax system, starting the educational system, constructing factories and railways, etc.

paragraphs: Industrialization developed rapidly and within next three to four decades (by 1905) Japan had become a military power, comparable to others of the time.


title: European Convention on Human Rights

paragraphs: Countries, which are members of the Council of Europe agreed on certain points written in a document to ensure human rights written in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These points became the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. In its shorter form it is European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The Convention also established the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), and the sentence of this Court has a force legal power by its Article 46.

paragraphs: The ECHR was written on 4 November 1950.

paragraphs: The ECHR has made many protocols, for example: protocol 2nd for right to education, 12th against all discrimination also by public authority and 13th for complete abolition of the death penalty. Protocols are set of rules. All member countries must follow these rules.

paragraphs: The ECtHR can give decisions on complaints or cases which come to it. If a person thinks that a European country has abused his or her human rights, that person may take the matter to the judges of ECtHR. The judges will listen to the complaint and give their decisions. These decisions must be followed by the governments of the countries.


title: European Court of Human Rights

paragraphs: The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) hears and decides particular type of complaints. These complaints relate to abuse of human rights. ECoHR’s other popular name is "Strasbourg Court". Member countries of the Council of Europe created ECoHR to arrange all such complaints, listen to the complaints, and to give decisions. European Convention on Human Rights tells about many human rights. ECoHR sees that people should enjoy all these human rights.

paragraphs: ECoHR' has a number of judges. The number of judges is seven normally but at the case of dealing a great issue, the number will be 21 and the judges are equally from member countries of the Council of Europe. At present, there are forty seven member countries of the Council of Europe. Each country may have one judge in the ECoHR. But, judges work independently for the ECoHR, and not for their country.


title: Ted Turner

paragraphs: Ted Turner (born November 19, 1938 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American businessman who is best known for being the founder of the television networks Turner Broadcasting Station(TBS) and Cable News Network(CNN). These were the first cable TV networks. He is also famous for being the founder of professional wrestling company World Championship Wrestling (WCW), as well as the Captain Planet and the Planeteers.

paragraphs: He's made several war epics on the Civil War. Ted Turner is known for saving MGM's film library, though that forced him to sell his company. At one point, Turner gave a billion dollars to the United Nations.

paragraphs: Ted Turner was once married to Jane Fonda. He was raised in Atlanta, Georgia and in Savannah, Georgia. Turner is the largest private landowner in the United States a total of 1.75 million acres.

paragraphs: Turner's biggest ranch is Vermejo Park Ranch in New Mexico. At , it is the largest privately owned, piece of owned land in the United States. Turner supports the Public forum debate of the National Forensic League.

paragraphs: In a television interview with Piers Morgan on May 3, 2012, Turner said he had four girlfriends. He then said that it was complicated but yet easier than being married.

paragraphs: One of Turner's children, Robert Edward "Teddy" Turner IV, announced on January 23, 2013, that he would run in the South Carolina Republican primary for the open Congressional seat. He lost the primary to former Governor Mark Sanford.

paragraphs: In September 2018, Turner announced that he was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia.


title: Taco Bell

paragraphs: Taco Bell is a fast food restaurant that started in the United States in 1958. There are restaurants now in certain parts of Canada, Asia, Europe, United Kingdom and Australia. It serves Mexican-style food. It was founded by Glen Bell and is a division of Yum! Brands, Inc. Taco Bell's menu has items such as tacos, burritos, soft drinks, chalupas, gorditas, and nachos. There are 5,845 Taco Bells in the United States. Some Taco Bells are merged with KFCs.


title: Żagań

paragraphs: Żagań is a town in the west part of Poland. 26,665 people lived there in 2004. It is the main town of part of Poland called Żagań County.

paragraphs: It is now part of the in the Lubusz Voivodship (a Voivoidship is part of the way Poland is organised into areas), before it was in Zielona Gora Voivodship (1975-1998). There is a castle called Sagan in the middle of an area that is also called Sagan. The castle belonged to Wallenstein, a soldier and politician of the Thirty Years' War. Later, the castle belonged to the Bohemian family of Lobkowitz. In 1786, the Sagan area was bought by Peter Biron, duke of Courland. In 1843, it went to his daughter Dorothea, the wife of Edmond de Talleyrand.

paragraphs: An act of the king of Prussia on January 6, 1845 made her Duchess of Sagan. Napoleon III did the same in France, for her son Louis. The double title, both Prussian and French, meant that the duc de Sagan was a neutral party in the Second World War. His house (the Château de Valençay) was a safe place to keep pictures and other things from the Louvre when German soldiers were in France.

paragraphs: In the Second World War, the well-known war prison Stalag Luft III was there.


title: Palatine Hill

paragraphs: Palatine Hill (Latin: "Palatium") also named the Sun Hill was the hill that Rome was built on. Rome later extended to include the seven hills:

paragraphs: According to Livy (59 BC – 17) the Palatine hill got its name from the Arcadian settlement of Pallantium. The term palace itself stems from "Palatium".


title: Chupacabra

paragraphs: El Chupacabra (or El Chupacabras) is a cryptid said to live in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Anaheim California. Gilbert Arizona. Texas to Florida, Michigan, Maine and even Oregon. Its name comes from the Spanish translation of "goat sucker", because of its habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, including goats. The legend was started in 1987 when there was a huge, gruesome massacre of livestock all over. All the animals had two puncture wounds on their neck in which the blood had been drained.


title: Hydra (animal)

paragraphs: Hydra are simple invertebrates, with two layers of body cells. They live in fresh water. Their body is radially symmetric. They have a central cavity through which they take in food and expel waste.

paragraphs: As Cnidaria they have stinging cells on their tentacles. They are hydrozoa, and belong to the same order as other polyps. Most "Hydra" are microscopic in size. Hydras can be found in almost any unpolluted body of water. Hydras reproduce by budding. In budding, the offspring forms as a lump on the parent and eventually becomes big enough to break off and live by itself. They can move if they need to by a kind of slow somersaulting motion.

paragraphs: Recent research has found they produce an antimicrobial protein "hydramacin", which protects their outer layer from bacterial infection.


title: Clownfish

paragraphs: The clown fish is a kind of fish. Clownfish habitat usually is a coral reefs. Clownfish live in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, from north west Australia, the coast of South East Asia as far north as Japan. Often, they live in a symbiosis with other animals, for instance the sea anemone. They live in anemones which are like plants under the sea. Anemones eat fish by killing them with their tentacles which are poisonous. Scientists believe that clown fish are protected from the poison because they are coated in a type of mucus.

paragraphs: Some kinds of clown fish can grow up and reach 18 centimeters (7.1 inches). Sometimes clownfish only grow 10 centimeters (3.9 inches). They can be orange, yellow or they may look a little red.

paragraphs: Clownfish eat small invertebrates that are dangerous to the anemones. That helps the anemones and the clownfish. This is called mutualism.

paragraphs: Many people like having clownfish in their aquarium because they are some of the easiest salt water fish to keep and care.There are 28 species of Clownfish. Clownfish are born male but when they grow older some develop into females.


title: Bruce Lee

paragraphs: Bruce Lee (November 27, 1940 - July 20, 1973) was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial artist, martial arts instructor, philosopher, movie director, movie producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement.

paragraphs: Lee is famous for making martial arts popular in the United States in the 1970s, when he played in a series of movies. This included the first ever martial arts movie in the United States - called "Enter the Dragon." This was the most successful and famous, which was released after Bruce's death. He died in 1973 during the production of a movie called, "The Game of Death. "The movie was not finished, although some completed section were later released. Almost 20 years later his son, Brandon Lee would also die while making a movie. Lee also taught other people martial arts, including actors Huggo Chairres, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, and basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He inspired many other actors who are famous for using martial arts in their movies including Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Chuck Norris. Jackie Chan had a small part in 'Enter The Dragon' and Chuck Norris co-starred in "Way of The Dragon".

paragraphs: Lee starred in five movies, including "The Big Boss", "Fist of Fury" (also known as "The Chinese Connection" and "The Iron Hand"), "The Way of the Dragon" (also known as "Return of the Dragon"), "Enter the Dragon" and "The Game of Death".

paragraphs: He is noted for his major contributions to both the Hong Kong and American movie industry during the 1970s, his martial arts movement and innovative ideas (including Jeet Kune Do), his philosophy, and his physical fitness ability. He is considered to be a cultural icon and is considered to be one of the most influential martial artists ever by social critics and other martial artists alike.

paragraphs: On the night of July 20, 1973, Lee aged 32, died at his home from cerebral edema, which is a buildup of fluid around the brain. This is believed to have been caused by a reaction to painkillers he was taking for a back injury.


title: George Martin

paragraphs: Martin grew up playing piano with only a few music lessons. He began to compose music in his teens. Martin played with his own band called the Four Tune-Tellers. He dreamed of one day making soundtrack music for movies.

paragraphs: After serving in the Royal Air Force during World War II, Martin went to music school. After he graduated, he worked for the BBC in London. He began working for EMI in 1950. Martin became an assistant at Parlophone Records, a small record label. Parlophone mostly recorded classical music and original cast recordings of popular stage shows and plays.

paragraphs: Martin later became the chief of Parlophone Records. He was also its staff producer. Martin was in charge of recording sessions and chose songs for Parlophone artists to record. He made comedy records (often working with Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan) along with his usual jobs, to help promote the label. When rock and roll became popular in the mid-1950s, Martin began looking for rock groups or artists to join Parlophone. He recorded several such artists, but none of their records became big hits.

paragraphs: In 1962, Beatles manager Brian Epstein brought Martin a demo (demonstration record) of his band. Epstein had been trying for months to get the band a recording contract. Martin liked what he heard. He saw that the young band were willing to try different things, and gave them an audition (a studio tryout). All the Beatles passed their audition, except for their drummer, Pete Best. Martin was not happy with the skills Best showed. He wanted to replace Best on their recordings. When the band found out, they fired Best, replacing him with Ringo Starr. Starr had played with them before when Best could not be with them to play. Martin used a studio drummer on their first single, "Love Me Do". He did this because there was no time to audition Starr before the record had to be made, but he never did so again.

paragraphs: With Starr as their drummer, and Martin as their producer (who sometimes joined them in playing, to give the records a bigger sound), the Beatles became the most popular act in the history of show business. While Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote most of the band's songs, they were musically untrained, as Martin had been earlier. Martin helped develop their musical ideas. He helped the band learn to talk to other musicians about the sounds they wanted to make, and added a classical touch to many of their songs. His work with them made Martin famous. He was able to leave EMI to become a "producer for hire". He started his own company, called Associated Independent Recording (AIR), with some other producers.

paragraphs: When the Beatles began to break up in 1969, Martin felt the tension between the band's members. He was sometimes criticized for not being able to "fix things", or solve their problems. He began turning down sessions with the band. He let the recording engineer or the members themselves do his job. Martin returned to help make their last album (titled "Abbey Road" after the location of the studio), after all the Beatles promised to work with him "like the old days", and let Martin take charge of the sessions once more.

paragraphs: Paul McCartney, the most "conventional" (normal) Beatle, worked with Martin several times after the Beatles ended in 1970. John Lennon counted on Martin to turn his sometimes "way-out" ideas into finished records, but he did not always like the way Martin worked, and mostly produced his own solo recordings. George Harrison, the youngest Beatle, found many of his songs and ideas rejected by Martin. Martin later said "I was always rather beastly to George," in trying to make more hit records. Harrison also produced (or co-produced) most of his own solo work. He even built his own recording studio after years of making records at Abbey Road. Martin praised Ringo Starr's "super-steady beat", and the sound his drums gave the Beatles records, but each later worked with other people.

paragraphs: Even years after they broke up, Martin still worked with and for the Beatles and the music they had made together. He remixed many of their recordings for re-issues and compilation records. He made several records of his own with classical and orchestral versions of Beatles tunes, and was the music producer for "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", a fantasy movie based on their songs, which starred the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton.

paragraphs: Besides the Beatles, Martin worked with other recording artists, including Shirley Bassey, Bernard Cribbins, America, Kenny Rogers, the trio EL&P, Dudley Moore, and Little River Band. He wrote a book, "All You Need is Ears", that told his life story and explained how many of his most famous recordings were made. During the 1990s, Martin was made a knight by the British government, for his work and his role in popular music.

paragraphs: Martin retired in 1999, and released an album titled "In My Life", which featured many different artists performing Beatles songs. The album included non-musicians like comedian Jim Carrey.

paragraphs: Martin died in his sleep on the night of 8 March 2016 at his house. He was aged 90. His death was announced by Ringo Starr on his Twitter account.


title: Brian Epstein

paragraphs: Brian Samuel Epstein (19 September 1934 - 27 August 1967) was an English businessman. Epstein was the manager of The Beatles, who became the most popular rock band in the world during the 1960s.

paragraphs: Epstein started out to become an actor, and went to school at RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) with future movie stars Peter O'Toole and Susannah York. He was not happy at school, though, and quit to work in his family's furniture stores in Liverpool. He was a skillful salesman, and loved classical music. When his family opened a record department in one of their stores, Epstein was put in charge. The department was so successful that the family decided to open a whole store to sell music and records. This was named NEMS, for North End Music Stores, and Epstein became its boss. This store was also a big success.

paragraphs: Popular music, rock and roll especially, sold better than classical music, and Epstein wanted to sell what the public would buy most. He began to stock rock and roll records, and record buyers around England liked Epstein and his store. Some of his customers were members of bands, looking for new music to play or to pass the time, and came often to the store. Among those bands were the early Beatles.

paragraphs: Late in 1961, when a fan asked Epstein about a record the Beatles had made in Germany, Epstein was unable to find it through his sources. When he learned the band were playing at the Cavern Club not far away, Epstein visited them there, and was impressed by their act. He found out what he needed to know to get the record, so NEMS could sell copies. Epstein also discovered that the band had no manager, but they wanted one, and their main goal was to get a recording contract in England. Epstein became their manager.

paragraphs: Epstein used his sales ability to get the band more and better jobs playing music. He also used his position (as manager of one of the leading music stores in northern England) to make contact with different record labels, hoping to get the Beatles signed up. An audition with Decca Records on New Year's Day 1962 sounded hopeful, but Decca decided to turn the band down, as did most of the labels Epstein approached.

paragraphs: Decca gave Epstein a copy of the band's demo (demonstration) tape, which he used to promote them, but could not find anyone interested. He thought an actual record might work better than the tape, so he went to have a test record made. The recording engineer who made the record told Epstein about George Martin, who worked for EMI's Parlophone Records and had been looking for a rock band to record. Martin liked what he heard well enough to offer the band another audition.

paragraphs: The Beatles passed their EMI audition as a group, and signed a contract with Parlophone. Drummer Pete Best did not meet Martin's standards, though, and Martin planned to use a studio drummer instead on their records. When the band found out, they asked Epstein to fire Best, and they replaced him with Ringo Starr, who quit another band to join them.

paragraphs: Over the next year (1963), The Beatles became the most popular recording act in Britain and Europe, and then in America during 1964. Following their success, Epstein signed up other bands and singers, including Gerry and the Pacemakers, Cilla Black, Billy J. Kramer and the Remo Four. Each found success and hit records, but none became as popular as the Beatles. Epstein started a management company, NEMS Enterprises (named after the music store), who later signed up the Bee Gees, Jimi Hendrix, and Cream.

paragraphs: Like many pop stars, Epstein also had fans, and gave away signed photographs of himself. He published an autobiography (his life story) in 1964, with help from Derek Taylor, who was the Beatles's press agent. Epstein was still interested in theater, and he bought the Saville Theatre in London, which presented plays and rock concerts.

paragraphs: As time went on, Epstein felt more and more stress in his working and personal lives, and turned to sleeping pills, to help him cope. During 1967, he became afraid that the Beatles would not stay with him when their management contract expired (ended) that year, and his insomnia increased. One weekend while the band was away in Wales, Epstein overdosed on sleeping pills, and died in his sleep.

paragraphs: An autopsy concluded that Epstein did not commit suicide, but accidentally took too many sleeping pills over a long period of time, without giving the pills a chance to clear out of his body. The Beatles and all the artists he managed mourned his death. It was said later that losing him was the beginning of the Beatles breakup, which happened in 1970.


title: Jurong

paragraphs: Jurong (裕廊) is a town in the western side of Singapore. It used to be a swamp until the 1960s, when Goh Keng Swee, a minister, together with the United Nations, cleared the swamps, making Jurong an industrial estate (a place where industries are built to make goods). Jurong is divided in Jurong East, where houses and shops are built and Jurong West, mainly an industrial estate. Jurong East is under the Jurong Group Representation Constituency or Jurong GRC, while Jurong West is under the West Coast Group Representation Constituency. Jurong is connected to Johor Bahru by the Second-Link at Tuas. Jurong has the Jurong Bird Park and Chinese Gardens.


title: Plastic Ono Band

paragraphs: The Plastic Ono Band was a rock and roll band formed by Yoko Ono with husband (and former Beatle) John Lennon. They were active from 1969 until 1974.

paragraphs: Lennon and Ono recorded their first single together, titled "Give Peace A Chance", in a Montreal hotel with a roomful of guests, including Tommy Smothers, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, Timothy Leary, and the local Hare Krishna chapter. The pair were in an auto accident before the single was to debut (be played in public for the first time), and they had to stay in the hospital. Not wanting to cancel the debut, they sent the first version of their "new band" – a set of plastic cases that held the sound equipment – which played in their place. It was a strange kind of debut for a new band, but the song (a protest against the Vietnam War) became a minor hit that year, in England and in the United States.

paragraphs: The second version of the Plastic Ono Band included Ono and Lennon in person, along with musicians Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann and Alan White. They performed together at a rock concert in Toronto in September 1969, and it was the first time Lennon had played in public with a band other than the Beatles. The show went well, and helped Lennon decide to leave the Beatles, which he had thought about doing for some time. A second single, "Cold Turkey", was recorded with this lineup.

paragraphs: After the Beatles ended, Lennon decided he did not want to have another permanent band, and he and Ono used the Plastic Ono Band name to refer to any musicians who appeared on the records they made together. Even listeners were called a part of the band, especially when the band gave a concert. An advertisement for one of their records included a page from a telephone book, and the words "YOU are the Plastic Ono Band".

paragraphs: Ono and Lennon separated for a time during 1973 and 1974. Lennon still used forms of the band name on the two albums he released during their separation, while Ono's records of the time appeared under her name alone. When they got back together in 1975, Ono became pregnant, and both decided to retire from music to be parents. Their son Sean Lennon was born on October 9, 1975, which was Lennon's 35th birthday.

paragraphs: In 1980, Lennon and Ono decided to restart their music careers, but this time their records appeared under their own names, and the Plastic Ono Band name was retired.


title: Olsztyn

paragraphs: Olsztyn is a city in northeast Poland, on the Łyna river. Olsztyn is the biggest city and the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship.

paragraphs: The town is near a lake region of forests and plains. There are 13 lakes in the town and many more surrounding it: (Krzywe, Długie, Żbik, Redykajny and others).


title: Lee Iacocca

paragraphs: Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca ( ; October 15, 1924 – July 2, 2019) was an American automobile executive and writer. He was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Iacocca created the Ford Pinto in 1971 and the Ford Mustang in 1964. He was best known for his time as chairman of the Chrysler Corporation from 1979 until his retirement in 1992. From 1970 to 1978, he was President of the Ford Motor Company.

paragraphs: Iacocca studied at Lehigh University and at Princeton University.

paragraphs: Governor Robert P. Casey wanted to make Iacocca a United States Senator after John Heinz's death, but Iacocca declined. Iacocca was an Independent who supported the presidential bids of George W. Bush, John Kerry, Bill Richardson and Mitt Romney. He considered running for President in 1988, but declined.

paragraphs: "Portfolio" named Iacocca the 18th-greatest American CEO of all time.

paragraphs: In 1984, he released his autobiography. In 2007, Iacocca released "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?", a "New York Times" bestseller.

paragraphs: Iacocca died on July 2, 2019 at his home in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California at the age of 94. The cause was problems from Parkinson's disease.


title: Standard

paragraphs: A standard is a basis for comparison. Standards are made either by many people that agree on something, or if some organisation makes it so. There are many different standards in many fields of daily life. Standards are important so that correct comparisons can be produced.

paragraphs: Other standards make things work together. For example, rail cars with a standard gauge can run on tracks that follow the same standard. Communication protocols such as Morse code and USB are standards that allow different machines and people to communicate.

paragraphs: The International System of Units is a standard that is agreed on by most countries. In it there is metre (or meter). It measures length. A rod (made from a special material) is in Paris. The length of the rod said, years ago, how long a meter is. When people wanted to measure something, they compared it to the length of the rod. For practical purposes, the length of the rod was divided by 10 (to get dezimeter), by 10 (to get centimeter), and so on.

paragraphs: The iridium rod as it is called is the original measure of meter. Now new ways of measuring the meter have been utilized such as the measuring the wavelength of radiation from a certain chemical element to determine an exact meter.

paragraphs: A standard in music is a song that remains very popular, and is performed and recorded by many different artists. Such songs include "Sentimental Journey" written by Les Brown and Ben Homer, "Yesterday" and "Something" by members of The Beatles. Many of Hank Williams's songs have become standards in country music.


title: Ginkgo

paragraphs: The ginkgo is a genus of trees. There is only one living species, "Ginkgo biloba". All the other known species are fossils. "Ginkgo biloba" is native to China. It is the National tree of China.