title: California wildfires of October 2007

paragraphs: The California wildfires of October 2007 are more than 20 wildfires until November 9, 2007 burning in Southern California, making over 1,000,000 people have to leave their homes, breaking at least 1,500 homes and buildings and moving in on at least 56,000 more.

paragraphs: At least of land have burned between Santa Barbara County and the Mexican border. Officials have said that they fear the fire could become even more deadly than the 2003 Cedar Fire, said to be the worst on ever. The number and strength of the fires have tired the firefighters, with one department saying the "lack of resources [is] hindering suppression efforts."

paragraphs: The fires have killed six people and have hurt at least 16 firefighters and 25 others.

paragraphs: California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in seven California counties where fires burned. President Bush has declared an emergency is in the State of California and ordered Federal aid to help State and local efforts.

paragraphs: An event that helped the fires is the drought hapenning in Southern California. The fires have been strengthened by the strangely strong Santa Ana winds. The winds are believed to have broken power lines, creating some of the fires. One fire was because of arson; one was started by an flipped-over semi-truck. Why the other fires are happening it not yet known. Winds are not expected to get better until October 25 2007.

paragraphs: San Diego County is where the two biggest fires are, the Witch Fire near the northeastern edge of the city of San Diego, and the Harris fire southeast of San Diego. The Witch fire forced Interstate 15 to be closed, and the Harris fire burns near the border with Mexico.

paragraphs: As of the night of October 22, 2007, at least 5,000 homes were in danger. About 500,000 people have to leave, the largest evacuation in the area's history. Evacuees were meeting at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, Qualcomm Stadium and other places in the county. Officials think that 10,000 were meeting at Qualcomm. Other than food, blankets and water, volunteers gave toys to children, massages, and a live rock and roll band showe. Many schools and business were closed. The only burn unit in the county, the UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest was operated on an overflow basis. The unit, which has 18 beds, had gotten 16 fire victims and several patients with injuries not due to the blazes.

paragraphs: Info on the fires right now is from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, although the chaotic nature of the fires meant not all information was available. As of October 23 at 11:34 a.m. PST:

paragraphs: The Witch Fire, also known as the Witch Creek Fire, is the largest of the fires. Approximately 6,800 structures are in danger, including 5,000 homes. Hundreds of thousands of people living there are being told of evacuations through the Reverse 911 system. This evacuation comes almost exactly four years after the Cedar Fire of 2003.

paragraphs: The fire started near Santa Ysabel and quickly spread to Ramona, Rancho Bernardo, Poway and Escondido. From there the fire jumped over the Interstate 15 and kept moving west, causing bad damage in the upscale areas of Lake Hodges, 4S Ranch, Del Dios, Harmony Grove and Rancho Santa Fe.

paragraphs: Heavy Santa Ana winds have been pushing the fires west near the coast. San Diego County Sheriff William B. Kolendar said that the Witch Creek Fire could be "well in excess of Cedar Fire of 2003". Officials have also said that the fire could reach the coastline; people living in Solana Beach were told to be ready to evacuate.

paragraphs: All residents south of Del Dios Highway, north of Sorrento Valley Road, west of Interstate 15, and east of Interstate 5 were told to evacuate. By 9:30pm October 22, 2007 a dispatch from the city of Del Mar's web site stated "For your safety, we are strongly advising that all Del Mar residents evacuate." Evacuations were also ordered for Scripps Ranch neighborhood, mostly "Everything south of Scripps Poway Parkway, north of MCAS Miramar, east of Interstate 15, and west of Highway 67". The Mesa Grande Indian reservation was evacuated from the Witch Fire. Residents of the Barona Indian Reservation have been told to leave if they wish, but the evacuation is not a must. The casino on the reservation is closed. At about 01:00 on 23 October, fire happened near the southern end of Wild Cat Canyon, where many houses were broken and people killed in the Cedar Fire. Residents of Wild Cat Canyon and Muth Valley were told to evacuate, and the road was closed.

paragraphs: Evacuation sites include Qualcomm Stadium, Escondido High School, Poway High School, Mira Mesa Senior High School, Ramona High School, Del Mar Fairgrounds.

paragraphs: Adding to the evacuations, many major roads have been closed around the fire. On October 22, 2007, the California Highway Patrol closed Interstate 15 in both ways between state Route 78 and state Route 56.

paragraphs: The Harris Fire started at Harris Ranch Road near Potrero. As of October 23 the fire was moving towards eastern Chula Vista. Many places have been evacuated, with evacuation centers set up at a nearby high school and community center.

paragraphs: Two different Marine Corps Base fires were reported at about 1:00 p.m. on October 23. The Camp Margarita Fire is at 33 Area behind the Marine Corps Air Station. The Las Pulgas Fire is located at 43 Area near Basilone Road. Evacuations have been ordered.

paragraphs: The Coronado Hills Fire burned south of Cal State San Marcos.

paragraphs: The McCoy fire has burned in the Cleveland National Forest.

paragraphs: The fire started at about 3:13 a.m. on October 23 as a structure fire on the La Jolla Indian Reservation and has then moved itself onto Palomar Mountain. It is running in the same way as the Rice Fire. With firefighters worried that the Rice Fire and Poomacha fire will meet in the Del Dios Canyon, firefighters have left the area and people living there have to leave.

paragraphs: The Rice Fire is burning in the Rice Canyon near Fallbrook, moving towards Rainbow Heights, and Santa Marguerita and Sandy Creek drainages.

paragraphs: As of 12:20 a.m. PST on October 23, the US Forest Service was thinking the Ranch, Buckweed, and Magic fires would meet into a single huge fire within 2 days.

paragraphs: Current data on the fires has been provided by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, although the chaotic nature of the fires meant not all information was available. As of October 23 at 11:34 a.m. PST:

paragraphs: As of 23 October 2007 the Buckweed fire in Agua Dulce and the Santa Clarita community of Canyon Country has burned in northeastern parts of the county. The communities of Santa Clarita, Leona Valley, Green Valley, Acton, Agua Dulce, and Mint Canyon are in danger. At least 925 firefighters are fighting the fire. Over 15,000 people and 5,500 homes have been evacuated.

paragraphs: The Canyon Fire has burned close to Malibu, California, mostly in Malibu Canyon. 600 residences, 200 commercial buildings, and 100 outbuildings are in danger, and 500 homes have been evacuated.

paragraphs: The Magic Fire started near The Old Road at Magic Mountain Parkway. Flames crept a few yards from West Ranch High School and a many houses being made in Stevenson Ranch, but were pushed away. The fire is believed to have been caused accidentally by welders at a construction site.

paragraphs: The October Fire burned a small area in Santa Clarita, burning several homes in the Canyon Breeze Mobile Home Park.

paragraphs: Since 20 October 2007, the Ranch fire has burned on the Los Angeles-Ventura county line, in the Angeles and Los Padres national forests. The fire is going around the Ventura County community of Piru and also threatens the communities of Fillmore, Ventura and Ojai. Three homes have been destroyed, and 500 residences are in the fire's path. As of 7:00 a.m. local time, the fire was 10% under control. Evacuations have been recommended in all of Piru and parts of Fillmore. Highway 126 is closed between Main Street and Chiquita Canyon Road in Piru. Angeles National Forest officials are closing the whole forest, starting October 23.

paragraphs: The Santiago Fire began shortly before 5:55pm on October 21, 2007 in the foothills north of Irvine and east of the city of Orange in Orange County. Fire officials have said that the source of the fire is arson; the fire was said to have been started in three different spots. The fire has burned over and is 30% contained. Strong winds have stopped people from fighting the fire and forced a dozen firefighters to seek emergency shelter under tents after the fire moved at them. Two homes, one mobile home, and one outbuilding have been destroyed. Several other buildings damaged, and four firefighters were a bit hurt from the fire. Damage estimates put the fire's cost at $5.5 million.

paragraphs: The Slide Fire has burned at Green Valley Lake, west of Lake Arrowhead. The Green Valley Lake, Arrow Bear, and Running Springs communities are under evacuation. Reports indicate water pressure in local systems was lost and conditions were too harsh for fighters to continue efforts in some areas. The fire has burned a camp owned by the Boy Scouts of America's local council, the California Inland Empire Council, called "Camp Helendade." Helendade was originally given to the council in 1960 to replace another camp that had been burned.

paragraphs: The Grass Valley Fire is burning just north of Lake Arrowhead. An online appeal from firefighters near the blaze at Lake Arrowhead showed that resources were spread thin:

paragraphs: "Immediate threat to 100 structures and possible threat to thousands ... Multiple downed power lines. IC (Incident Command) asking for resources from anywhere ... Lack of resources hindering suppression efforts. Unable to fly aircraft. All local engines are depleted."

paragraphs: The fire began near Martin Ranch Road and Meyers Road.

paragraphs: This fire was in the Ontario, California area. It damaged several buildings.

paragraphs: Together the fires made it a must to close Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass. One fire was started by an flipped-over semi-truck. This fire has burned 250 acres. It is currently 50 percent under control. 107 firefighters are assigned to this fire.

paragraphs: The Little Mountain fire threatens several homes and other structures.

paragraphs: The Sedgewick Fire was the farthest north of the October 2007 California wildfires. It started around 6:00 a.m. PST on October 21, 2007 from a falling power line. The fire burned a total of near Los Olivos. Approximately 2000 people were affected and 800 homes threatened before the fire was all under control around 5:00 p.m. on October 22.

paragraphs: The Roca fire began at 3:52 p.m. on October 21 in Aguanga, and burned east of Temecula. The fire was 100% contained on October 22. One home was destroyed and one injury was reported from the fire.

paragraphs: The Rosa fire began at 11:00 p.m. on October 22 in western Temecula and has burned . There are people who have to leave and closed roads in this area. The fire is 50% under control; 100% expected by October 24 at 6 p.m.

paragraphs: The fires are occurring in a very dry area and they are being exacerbated by seasonal winds called the Santa Ana winds. The San Diego Union Tribune reported, "Santa Ana winds blowing up to 60 mph combined with temperatures into the 90s to create in the worst possible fire conditions."

paragraphs: Southern California is in the midst of an unusual drought; in Los Angeles, California, with only 3.21 in (82 mm) of precipitation in the entire 2006-2007 rain season, it is the driest year on record, receiving less rain than Death Valley in a normal year.

paragraphs: The Santa Ana winds are warm, dry winds that characteristically appear in Southern California and Northern Baja California weather during autumn and early winter. Santa Anas are a type of föhn wind, the result of air pressure buildup in the high-altitude Great Basin between the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains. This high energy wind spills out of the Great Basin and is pulled by gravity into the surrounding lowlands. The air circulates clockwise around the high pressure area bringing winds from the east and northeast to Southern California (the reverse of the westerly winds characteristic of the latitude). The air heats up due to adiabatic heating while being compressed during its descent. While the air has already been dried by orographic lift prior to reaching the Great Basin, the relative humidity of the air declines rapidly as it descends and warms in its final stages as it passes over the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges.

paragraphs: The air is then forced down the mountain slopes out towards the Pacific coast; the air mass is further heated by compression as it drops in altitude before reaching the Los Angeles Basin, western San Diego County and Tijuana (Baja California) at typical speeds of 35 knots. The southern California coastal region gets some of its hottest weather of the year during autumn while Santa Ana winds are blowing. During Santa Ana conditions it is typically hotter along the coast than in the deserts and the humidity plummets to less than 15%.

paragraphs: As the Santa Ana winds are channeled through the mountain passes they can approach hurricane force. The combination of wind, heat, and dryness turns the chaparral into explosive fuel for the infamous wildfires the region is known for. Wildfires fanned by Santa Ana winds burned 721,791 acres (2,921 km²) in two weeks during October 2003.

paragraphs: As of October 22, the high wind conditions were expected to continue to hamper firefighting for three additional days.

paragraphs: At around 12:30 PM, officials believed that some of the fires have began generating their own winds, similar to the Oakland Firestorm of 1991.

paragraphs: On October 21, the Harris Fire damaged and disabled the Southwest Power Link, a 500,000-volt power line from Arizona to San Diego. Power outages were reported in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and other counties on October 22 to 333,500 Southern California Edison customers, most being restored within 24 hours. The power outage also affected the areas of Ojai, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, Thousand Oaks, Rialto, Fontana, San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga, Mira Loma, Hesperia, Corona, Bloomington, Irvine, Calimesa and Rubidoux. This outage also caused 230 people to be without power in Malibu. The California Independent System Operator Corp, or California ISO, declared an energy transmission emergency in southern California on October 23, due to wildfires affecting the lines. 500,000-, 230,000- and 138,000-volt lines were disabled in San Diego, and some lines in other areas were also disabled. 24,992 lost power, due to lack of power from the power grid.

paragraphs: The San Diego Community College District on October 22, 2007 initially closed Miramar College, followed by Mesa College and selected Continuing Education sites in the northern area of the District. Effective at 3:00 p.m. the same day all colleges, campuses and sites of the San Diego Community College District were closed and would remain so through at least October 23, 2007. Students and faculty were urged to seek an update on possible closures on October 23 after 5:00pm local time. Numerous other schools, businesses and universities have closed as well, including California State University, San Marcos, San Diego State University, UC San Diego, the University of San Diego and the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Classes for Tuesday, October 23 have been canceled for all of San Diego Unified School District and Sweetwater Union High School District as well as all other districts in the county and all schools in the municipalities of Tijuana, Tecate and Rosarito, located across the border in Baja California, Mexico.

paragraphs: In the Santa Clarita area, classes and events were cancelled at College of the Canyons and CalArts; local public schools were cancelled as well. All public schools were closed in Malibu, and there were some school closings in Orange County, Ventura County and San Bernardino County.

paragraphs: By mid-morning on October 22, 2007, thousands of evacuees were taking shelter in Qualcomm Stadium and other locations throughout San Diego. On the afternoon of October 22, 2007, the Marines were evacuating some planes from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar to other military bases in California and Arizona. The San Diego Wild Animal Park moved some animals to the on-site animal hospital for their protection.

paragraphs: As of October 22 2007, with Qualcomm Stadium still hosting evacuees, the San Diego State University football team was still planning to host their Saturday game against BYU in the stadium. Some players and coaches have been affected by evacuations. Numerous San Diego area high schools canceled games and practices at least through October 242007. With many players from the San Diego Chargers affected by evacuations, the team has moved practices to Arizona and they may move their upcoming game there as well.

paragraphs: Government agencies and volunteers worked together to mitigate the effects of the fires. According to the state of California's Consolidated Response web page, "There are 17 active fires in Southern California. The priority for fighting fires as of 1930 on October 21 is the Buckweed, Witch, Harris, Canyon, Ranch, Santiago, and Sedgewick Fires."

paragraphs: With many businesses and schools closed, some people used their time off to help others. Officials estimated that 10,000 people were gathered at Qualcomm stadium, the largest shelter point in San Diego. Besides food, blankets and water, volunteers provided toys for children, massages, and a live rock and roll band performance. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opened ten of its churches as temporary shelters and, at the request of the mayor of San Diego, delivered two truckloads of blankets and processed food to evacuees in Qualcomm Stadium.

paragraphs: The Salvation Army The Salvation Army USA Western Territory: Southern California Fires: The Salvation Army Helps First Responders, Evacuees is providing food, water and comfort to firefighters, police and others affected by the blaze.

paragraphs: The Navy and Marines were also helping in San Diego. Six crews from the Navy's Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 85 based at Naval Air Station North Island have been assigned to battle the Witch Creek fire. They fly MH-60 Seahawk helicopters which have a 420-gallon water bucket and they are the only local Navy teams trained to fight fires from the air. Marine Corps Air Station Miramar has contributed several aircraft as well as fire fighting trucks to operations based in Ramona.

paragraphs: California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in seven California counties where fires burned. President George W. Bush declared a federal disaster for the seven counties and scheduled a Thursday, October 25, 2007 visit to the region.


title: Parasaurolophus

paragraphs: Parasaurolophus is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of what is now North America, about 76.5–73 million years ago. Its name means "near crested lizard". It was given this name because when it was first discovered scientists thought it was related to Saurolophus. It was a herbivore that walked both as biped and a quadruped. It probably lived in herds.

paragraphs: Parasaurolophus was a hadrosaur. They had a large head crest, which was a long curved tube. It went upwards and back from the skull. The crest has been much discussed by scientists. They think its main functions were visual recognition of species and sex, acoustic resonance (making a loud sound), and thermoregulation. Parasaurolophus is one of the rarer hadrosaurs: there are only a few good specimens.


title: Thai boxing

paragraphs: Thai boxing (or Muay Thai) is a combat sport (martial art) that has been developed in Thailand. It is known also as "the art of eight limbs", because both hands, elbows, knees, and legs can be used to attack an opponent. Similar martial arts exist in Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Malaysia.

paragraphs: In the competition, the high kicks in the head can seem to make a stronger effect. In spite of this, the persons with special skills and knowledge of this sport declare that the low kicks, the elbows, an the knees are more causing destruction for the persons who fight.

paragraphs: A person, who takes part in the competition, does the long ceremony and the act established by custom before the fight. They exist for religious reasons and they serve as stretching the muscles and as preparation.

paragraphs: The training for Thai boxing is known for its being strong and its firmness. It aims to harden the eight members of the body, so that being hit with the shinbone of the Thai boxer is often compared to being hit with a baseball stick. The Thai boxers usually kick with the shinbone instead of with the foot.

paragraphs: Thai boxing has influenced a lot on developing of kickboxing which afterwards has been created in Japan, in Europe, and in North America and some parts of Africa

paragraphs: Almost every act of moving in Thai boxing use the whole body, while turning the hip to every kick and every blow with the fist. As a result, the attacks and the defence in Thai boxing are slower but more powerful for example than those of boxing or of karate. One of the pioneers of this sport is Tulgar Dursun.


title: Carrefour

paragraphs: Carrefour SA (IPA: /karfur/) is a French international hypermarket chain. It has many shops around the world. It is the second largest retail group in the world in terms of revenue and sales figures after Wal-Mart. Carrefour operates mainly in the European Union, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. It also has shops in Africa, and Asia. Carrefour means cross-road (the place where two roads meet) in French.


title: Never Say Never

paragraphs: Never S-A-Y Never is the second album by American R&B singer Brandy, released by Atlantic Records on June 8, 1998 in Europe and on June 9, 1998 in North America. Chiefly produced by Rodney Jerkins, helped to make Jerkins' Timbaland-inspired production sound popular, which he later used for recordings by Whitney Houston, Destiny's Child, and others. "Never Say Never" earned Brandy five Grammy Award nominations and became her biggest-selling album to date.


title: Soviet occupation zone

paragraphs: The Soviet Occupation Zone (German: Sowjetische Besatzungszone (SBZ) or Ostzone , Sovetskaya zona Germanii, "Soviet Zone of Germany") was the area of eastern Germany occupied by the Soviet Union from 1945 on, at the end of World War II. It became East Germany.

paragraphs: American forces first occupied some of the area. The Americans withdrew in July of 1945 to the agreed occupation zone boundaries.

paragraphs: The Soviet Military Administration in Germany (German initials: SMAD) allowed four political parties to form, but they all had to work in the "All-Party Committee" (the "Nationale Front").

paragraphs: The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Communist Party of Germany were merged into the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (which became the governing party of East Germany). Finally, the SED created other parties, to weaken the Christian Democratic Union and Liberal Democratic Party of Germany.

paragraphs: Originally, Stalin wanted to Sovietize all of Germany, but when the West resisted this idea, he tried to work for a united Germany which would be neutral, but when the West again said no he decided to build a new country out of the Soviet occupation zone. This became East Germany

paragraphs: The Soviet occupation zone included the central parts of Prussia. After Prussia was dissolved by the allied powers in 1947, the area was divided between the German states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt und Thuringia.

paragraphs: On October 8, 1949, the part of the Soviet zone west of the Oder-Neisse line became the German Democratic Republic, usually known simply as East Germany. In 1952, the states were dissolved, and changed to 14 districts, plus East Berlin. East Berlin was treated as part of the new East Germany, but technically was part of the Allied-controlled city of Berlin.


title: Need for Speed: Most Wanted

paragraphs: Need For Speed Most Wanted is the 11th installment in the "Need for Speed" series. It is available for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, GameBoy Advance, Nintendo DS and the GameCube. The game was first released on November 15, 2005.

paragraphs: Another version called Need For Speed: Most Wanted: 5-1-0 was released for the PlayStation Portable. The game consists of the player racing to make their way up the "Blacklist" until they finally challenge the top racer, Razor. There are 15 blacklists (levels) you have to complete 1 - 15 blacklists to complete the game.


title: Iron Man (song)

paragraphs: "Iron Man" is the name of a song by Black Sabbath. It was on their second album, "Paranoid" (1970). The song is one of Black Sabbath's greatest hits.

paragraphs: "Iron Man" appears to be about a man who travels to the future and witnesses the Apocalypse. On his way back, he is caught in Earth's magnetic field, and turned to steel. When he comes back, he tries to warn the people about the Apocalypse, but they do not believe him, and shun him, so he takes his revenge by killing them all, thus bringing about the Apocalypse he saw. It would appear that he died and came back to life, for "vengeance from the grave kills the people he once saved" is a line from the song.

paragraphs: "Iron Man" has been used many times, and is frequently performed at events. Its riff has become one of the most easily recognizable riffs in music.

paragraphs: The 2008 movie "Iron Man" features portions of this song at the end of the movie.


title: Death in Venice (opera)

paragraphs: Death in Venice is an opera by Benjamin Britten. It is based on the story "Death in Venice" ("Der Tod in Venedig") by the German writer Thomas Mann.

paragraphs: The libretto (words) for the opera was written by Myfanwy Piper. It was the last opera that Britten wrote. It was first performed at Snape Maltings near Aldeburgh, England on June 16, 1973. Britten was too ill to conduct it himself. The main part of Aschenbach was sung by Sir Peter Pears.

paragraphs: The story is supposed to take place in the year 1911. It starts in Munich, and then moves to Venice. The opera is divided into two acts.

paragraphs: Aschenbach is a famous German writer. He is getting old and starting to find it difficult to think of new ideas for stories. As he is walking in Munich he stops in front of a cemetery. He sees a traveller who is obviously from another country. This makes him think he ought to travel somewhere to get new ideas for his books.

paragraphs: He takes a boat to Venice. On the boat he watches a group of young people. Their leader is showing off. Aschenbach realizes that, although their leader looks young, he is in fact old. He has dressed in clothes and used make-up to make him look young. Aschenbach does not like him.

paragraphs: In Venice he is takes a gondola, but the boatman does not take him where he wants to go. Aschenbach argues at first, but the boatman does not take any notice.

paragraphs: Aschenbach arrives at the hotel. In the hotel he watches the people coming down to dinner. Suddenly he sees Tadzio. Tadzio is a young Polish boy who is unbelievably beautiful. Aschenbach realizes it is stupid for him to feel love for the boy, but he cannot get the boy out of his mind.

paragraphs: Aschenbach watches Tadzio playing on the sandy beach. When he notices that the boy (like many Polish people) hates the Russian guests, he realizes that the boy is not quite perfect after all.

paragraphs: Aschenbach walks along the streets of Venice. Everywhere beggars are asking him for money. There is a horrible smell coming from the water of the canals. Aschenbach decides to leave Venice. The hotel manager is very sorry that he going so soon. Tadzio walks past Aschenbach. Aschenbach goes to the train station, but his luggage has been put on the wrong train, so he goes back to the hotel. He is annoyed, but he is also pleased because he can see Tadzio again.

paragraphs: Aschenbach sits in his chair on the beach, watching Tadzio and his friends play. It makes him think of the Greek gods. The boys do different sports on the beach: running, long jump, discus, javelin and wrestling. Tadzio wins easily. Aschenbach wants to congratulate him, but when the chance comes he cannot speak.

paragraphs: Aschenbach realizes that he loves the boy. He goes to the barber for a shave. The barber tells him that lots of people in Venice are getting sick. Aschenbach wants to know whether it is something serious, but the barber says it is nothing to worry about.

paragraphs: Aschenbach is being rowed on the water. He can smell disinfectant. There are notices in the streets warning people to be careful of the sickness. In a German newspaper he reads that the sickness in Venice is cholera. It says that all German people should leave the city and return home. Aschenbach does not want the Polish family to leave Venice. He does not want them to know about the cholera. He follows then to a café and to church, but he still cannot find the courage to speak to them. After dinner the guests watch a group of actors. Aschenbach notices that Tadzio, like himself, cannot laugh at their jokes.

paragraphs: Lots of the hotel guests are leaving. An English clerk tells him that lots of people in the city have Asiatic cholera. He tells him he ought to leave immediately before they stop everyone from leaving the city.

paragraphs: Aschenbach decides to warn Tadzio's mother of the danger of the illness, but he just cannot do it. He has a dream about the Greek gods. When he awakes he realises that these wild thoughts about Tadzio have gripped him. He cannot do anything about it.

paragraphs: Again Aschenbach watches as Tadzio and his friends play a game on the beach; they soon leave. Aschenbach goes to the barber. He asks him to try to make him beautiful and young. When he goes on a gondola he realises he is just like the old man he saw on the boat. He follows the Polish family. Tadzio starts to walk separately from his family. He waits for Aschenbach and looks straight at him, but Aschenbach turns away. He is pleased that Tadzio does not let his mother notice what happened. Aschenbach is alone again, and buys some strawberries. They are not fresh. He thinks about the Greek gods again, and about the relationship between a writer and what he writes about.

paragraphs: The hotel manager organizes the departure of the last guests. The Polish family are leaving. Aschenbach watches Tadzio and another boy playing on the beach. The game gets rough, and the other boy pushes Tadzio’s face into the sand. Aschenbach tries to get up to help him, but he is too weak to get out of his chair. Tadzio is left alone on the beach. He gives Aschenbach a sign to follow him, but Aschenbach slumps back in his chair and dies. Tadzio continues walking far out into the sea.

paragraphs: The part of the boy Tadzio is a dancing part. He and his family never speak or sing in the opera.

paragraphs: All the different characters that Aschenbach meets: the man by the cemetery, the old man dressed as a young man, the gondolier, the hotel manager, the barber, the leader of the actors and the voice of the God Dionysus are really like one character. They are sung by the same singer, a bass-baritone. Apart from him and Aschenbach (a tenor) the only other solo singer in the opera is the voice of Apollo, sung offstage by a countertenor as the boys play sport on the beach. There are several choruses: the groups of young people, hotel staff, actors, church choir and tourists.

paragraphs: The whole sound of the opera is written with the voice of Peter Pears in mind. Britten’s music is partly tonal but also uses twelve-tone music and gamelan music from the Far East. When Aschenbach sings recitative (telling the story) he is just accompanied by the piano. Britten deliberately uses a limited number of musical sounds. This gives the opera a specially expressive character, particularly in the beautiful ending.


title: Territory of the Saar Basin

paragraphs: The Territory of the Saar Basin (, "Saarterritorium;" ) was usually called the Saar or the . It was a territory governed by the League of Nations under the Treaty of Versailles for 15 years from 1920.

paragraphs: Its population in 1933 was 812,000, and its capital was Saarbrücken.

paragraphs: It was made up of parts of the Prussian Rhine Province and the Bavarian Palatinate of the Rhine. It was slightly smaller than the modern German state of Saarland.

paragraphs: According to Treaty of Versailles the highly industrialized Saarland was to be governed by the League of Nations for a period of 15 years, and its coalfields given to France. The "Commission of Government", which represented the League of Nations, had five members. At least one member had to be French and one a native of the Saar.

paragraphs: At the end of the 15 year period, in 1935, the people of the Saar voted on how they wanted their country. They voted to become a part of Nazi Germany.

paragraphs: It had a currency, the Saar franc, and its own postage stamps during this period.

paragraphs: The League of Nations' control to the region was represented by the following Chairmen of the Commission of Government:

paragraphs: In 1933, many anti-Nazi Germans fled to the Saar, as it was the only part of Germany left outside the Third Reich's control. As a result, anti-Nazi groups wanted the Saarland to remain under control of League of Nations as long as Adolf Hitler ruled Germany. However, France had a lot of power in the Saar, including control of the coal mines. Not many "Saarlanders" liked France, and in the plebiscite on 13 January 1935, 90% of the voters wished to join Germany, and 8.86% wanted to stay with the League of Nations. Only 0.40% (that is, four voters in every thousand) wanted to join France.

paragraphs: On 17 January 1935, the territory's re-union with Germany was approved by the League Council. On 1 March, the Nazi Germany took over the region, and appointed Josef Bürckel as "Reichskommissar für die Rückgliederung des Saarlandes", "Reich Commissioner for the re-union of Saarland".

paragraphs: Many former politicians and office holders of the Saargebiet were changed or arrested by the Nazis.

paragraphs: When re-incorporation was completed, the governor became "Reichskommissar für das Saarland", "Reich Commissioner of Saarland" on 17 June 1936.


title: William Walton

paragraphs: Sir William Walton OM, (born Oldham, 29 March 1902; died Ischia, Italy, 8 March 1983) was a British composer and conductor. He was one of the most important British composers of the mid-20th century, a period that included Benjamin Britten and Michael Tippett. His music has very lively rhythms which are often jazzy.

paragraphs: Walton’s family were musical but they had very little money. Both his parents sang, and Walton sang in the local church choir. His father would hit him if he made a mistake. This may be why in later life he was so careful about every note he wrote.

paragraphs: At the age of ten he joined the choir of Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford. He learned the piano and violin. He was only 16 years when he went to University of Oxford where he was at Christ Church, Oxford. Most of what he knew about composing he taught himself. He studied the scores of works by Stravinsky, Debussy, Sibelius and others. He had some lessons from Hugh Allen, the cathedral organist. At Oxford Walton became friends with two poets: Sacheverell Sitwell and Siegfried Sassoon. Most of the music he wrote when he was very young has been lost, but the choral anthem "A Litany", written when he was just fifteen, shows his musical talent with its modern harmonies.

paragraphs: Walton left Oxford in 1920 without a degree having failed his exams three times. He went to live with the Sitwell family, who introduced him to many important people, including the composer Constant Lambert and song writer Noel Coward. He also travelled with the Sitwells to Italy. In 1923 he set one of Edith Sitwell’s poems to music. The piece was called "Façade". The music was very jazzy and almost jokey, and it sounded very modern to many people at that time.

paragraphs: During the 1920s, Walton earned some money playing the piano at jazz clubs, but he spent most of his time composing in the Sitwells' . The orchestral overture "Portsmouth Point" (which he dedicated to Sassoon) was the first work which shows Walton’s real style. In 1929 the Viola Concerto started to make him really famous. This was followed by "Belshazzar's Feast" (1931), the Symphony No. 1 (1935), the coronation march "Crown Imperial" (1937), and the Violin Concerto (1939). All these works are very popular today.

paragraphs: During World War II, Walton did not have to do military service so that he had time to compose music for propaganda films, such as "The First of the Few" (1942), and Laurence Olivier's adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry V" (1944). After composing a second string quartet (1946) Walton spent most of the next seven years writing his opera, "Troilus and Cressida" (1947-1954). The opera was not very popular. This was because his music was rather Romantic, very different from a lot of modern music that was in fashion in the 1950s, especially the music of Pierre Boulez and his followers.

paragraphs: Walton also composed the music for two more Shakespeare-Olivier films - the Academy Award-winning "Hamlet", and "Richard III". Walton, however, did not win Oscars for any of his Shakespeare-based scores.

paragraphs: Walton then started to write more orchestral music: the Cello Concerto (1956), the Symphony No. 2 (1960), and the "Variations on a Theme by Hindemith" (1963). He started to have many honours: He was knighted in 1951 and received the Order of Merit in 1968. People liked his one-act comic opera "The Bear", when it was performed at the Aldeburgh Festival in 1967, and he was asked by people from all over the world for new music. His song-cycles from this period were given their first performances by famous singers such as Peter Pears and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf.

paragraphs: In his last years, Walton found composition more and more difficult. He tried to compose a third symphony for André Previn, but later gave up. His last works were mostly church music or reworkings of older pieces.. He had settled on the island of Ischia in Italy in 1949 with his Argentinian wife Susana Gil. He died there in 1983.

paragraphs: Since his death, Walton's music has been performed and recorded a lot. People no longer think of him as old-fashioned, but as a composer who had a very strong personality which can be heard clearly in his music.

paragraphs: Walton was knighted in 1951 and appointed to the Order of Merit in 1967.


title: Free City of Danzig

paragraphs: The Free City of Danzig (; ) was a self-governing port on the Baltic Sea port and a city-state. It was set up on January 10, 1920, by Part III Section XI of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919, and put under League of Nations protection, with special rights reserved to Poland, because it was the only port in the Polish Corridor.

paragraphs: The Free City ceased to exist after 1939 when it was occupied and annexed by Nazi Germany. After Germany's defeat in 1945 Danzig was occupied and annexed by Poland under the Polish name Gdańsk.

paragraphs: The Free City of Danzig included the major city of Danzig (Gdańsk) as well as Zoppot (Sopot), Tiegenhof (Nowy Dwór Gdański), Neuteich (Nowy Staw) and some 252 villages and 63 hamlets. Its area was .

paragraphs: The Free City was represented abroad by Poland's ambassadors. The railway line that connected the Free City with Poland was administered by Poland. Similarly, the separated military post within the city's harbour, the Westerplatte (formerly a city beach), was also given to Poland. There were also two post-offices, one for the Danzig Postal Service, the other was Polish-run.

paragraphs: League of Nations mandated territories, were run by member countries on behalf of the League. But Danzig and the Saargebiet were run by the League of Nations itself, with representatives of various countries taking on the role of High Commissioner:

paragraphs: The Free City's population was 357,000 in (1919). 98% were German-speakers, with the rest mainly speaking either Kashubian or Polish.

paragraphs: The Treaty of Versailles, split Danzig from Germany. The treaty made the people living in the city citizens of the Free City. German inhabitants lost their German nationality, if they wanted to stay German they had to go and live outside the Free City's territory.

paragraphs: Heads of State of the Free City of Danzig

paragraphs: In May 1933, the Nazi Party won the local elections in the city. But they had less than the two-thirds majority that would let them change the Constitution of the Free City of Danzig. The government introduced anti-Semitic and also anti-Catholic laws against the Poles and Kashubian inhabitants.

paragraphs: Poland always refused to allow the status of Danzig to change. In April 1939 the Polish Commissioner-General said that Poland was willing to fight if there was a change..

paragraphs: The Nazi government voted for re-unification with Germany on September 2, 1939, the day after the German invasion of Poland began.

paragraphs: Around 90% of the city was reduced to ruins towards the end of the Second World War. On March 30, 1945 the city was taken by the USSR. It is thought that more than 90% of the pre-war population were either dead or had fled by 1945.

paragraphs: The Allied Powers were told at the Potsdam conference that the former Free State was now part of Poland. (The Yalta conference was unclear whether the Free City would be recreated or not).


title: Surf's Up (movie)

paragraphs: Surf's Up is a 2007 American computer-animated movie made by Sony Pictures Animation. It stars Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, Mario Cantone, James Woods, Rebecca Honig, Diedrich Bader, Rob Machado, Kelly Slater and Sal Masekela. The movie is a parody of surfing documentaries, like "The Endless Summer" and "Riding Giants".


title: Baby Boy

paragraphs: "Baby Boy" is a Middle Eastern-influenced R&B and dancehall song written by Beyoncé Knowles, Scott Storch, Sean Paul, Robert Waller, and Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter for Knowles' first solo album, "Dangerously in Love" (2003).

paragraphs: It was produced by Knowles and Storch and was released to positive reception as the album's second single in July 2003. The song (which features dancehall singer Sean Paul) reached number one in the U.S., becoming Beyoncé's second solo number-one single and Sean Paul's second; it also reached number two in the UK. It was also recognized at the ASCAP awards by the label companies receiving the Publisher of the Year from EMI and Most Performed Songs award in 2003. It was certified Platinum in the US for sales and shipments of over one million copies there. "Baby Boy" finished at number 12 on the "Billboard" Year-End Hot 100 of 2003.


title: Main-Franconian

paragraphs: Main-Franconian is group of German dialects that are spoken in the centre of Germany, in the area known as Franconia near the river Main.

paragraphs: In Germany most people call these dialects simply “Fränkisch”. Although they have a lot in common there are many variations from one small region to another.

paragraphs: Historically Franconia (German: “Franken”) was a very large area covering a lot of Germany including parts of the Rhine as far as the Netherlands. Today Franconia is the north part of Bavaria (German: “Bayern”) including what is known as Lower Franconia, Upper Franconia, Mid-Franconia and parts of Upper Bavaria.

paragraphs: Typical for Franconian dialects is the voiceless consonants becoming voiced, i.e. “k” pronounced like “g”, “t” like “d”, “p” like “b” and “s” like English “z”. In pubs one often hears on the public address system a request for a member of staff

paragraphs: The pronunciation of vowels may be different from normal German, e.g.

paragraphs: Franconia is often described as the place where:


title: Port Arthur, Texas

paragraphs: Port Arthur is a Texan city that was hit by Hurricane Alicia on August 18, 1983. There was 57,755 people at the 2000 census.


title: Moisture

paragraphs: Moisture mostly means the presence of water, often in trace amounts (small quantities).

paragraphs: Moisture exists in the atmosphere in all three forms solid, liquid and gas.


title: Marta Colvin

paragraphs: Marta Colvin Andrade, (born 22 June 1907 in Chillán, Chile, died 27 October 1995 in Santiago, Chile) was a sculptor.

paragraphs: Colvin began sculpting in Chillán years after marrying and forming a family. After the 1939 earthquake, Marta Colvin lived in Santiago. While there, she went to the Belle Arts School of the University of Chile. Her teachers were Julio Antonio Vásquez and Lorenzo Domínguez. In 1943, she worked as an instructor at the Vasquez Factory. She became a professor there in 1950. In 1948, she traveled to France to study at the Academy Grand Chaumiere with the sculptors Ossip Zadkine and Henri Laurens. In 1951, she was invited by the British Council to study in the Slade School of the University of London, England. Colvin spent the next thirty years working and studying in France. Her talent was known world-wide. In 1970, she was awarded the National Prize of Art.


title: Bárbara of Portugal

paragraphs: Bárbara of Portugal (Pronunciation , December 4, 1711 – August 27, 1758) was a Portuguese princess, daughter of King John V of Portugal, of the House of Braganza, and his wife, Maria Anna of Austria.

paragraphs: She was born on 4 December 1711 in Lisbon, Portugal and given the name "Maria Madalena Bárbara Xavier Leonor Teresa Antónia Josefa de Bragança" but she was usually called just "Bárbara" or "Maria Bárbara", in honour of Saint Barbara, the saint of her birthday.

paragraphs: She had a fine education and loved music. She could speak six languages and studied music for several years with Domenico Scarlatti, the famous Italian harpsichordist and composer.

paragraphs: In 1729, when she was 18 years old, she married the future King Ferdinand VI of Spain, in Badajoz, Spain. They had no children. She died on 27 August 1758 in Aranjuez, Spain.

paragraphs: The city of Santa Bárbara de Samaná in the Dominican Republic was named after her when it was founded in 1756.


title: Mallard

paragraphs: The mallard ("Anas platyrhynchos") is the best-known and most recognizable of all ducks. It can be found throughout most of North America, Europe, Asia, New Zealand and Australia. It is the most common and widespread duck. It can be found in almost any area with a wetland habitat, even in urban areas.

paragraphs: The mallard is a large and heavy looking duck. It has a body and a long and a broad bill. The male has a dark green head, a yellow bill, is mainly purple-brown on the breast and grey on the body. The female is mainly brown with an orange bill.

paragraphs: It breeds in all parts of the Europe in summer and winter, wherever there are suitable wetland habitats. It is scarcer in upland areas.


title: Naughty Girl

paragraphs: Naughty Girl is an R&B/disco song written by Beyoncé Knowles, Scott Storch, Robert Waller, and Angela Beyincé for Knowles' debut solo album, "Dangerously in Love" (2003). It was released as the fourth single. It was also recognized at the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers 2005 Pop Music Awards by receiving the "Songwriter of the Year" —sharing with Scott Storch, Robert Walker, Angela Beyincé, and Donna Summer—and "Most Performed Songs" awards. The remixes feature Lil' Flip, Lil' Kim, Grafh, and Redman.

paragraphs: The video for this song was directed by Jake Nava, who had risen to popularity after directing Beyoncé's first two videos, "Crazy In Love" and "Baby Boy." The video pays tribute to Hollywood's Golden Era, as Beyoncé and the cast of the video are dressed in old fashioned, glamorous clothing and hairstyles. As the title of the song suggest, Beyoncé plays the role of the naughty girl in several sexy sequences, as she can be seen dancing seductively with Usher emulating Cyd Charisse and Fred Astaire in "The Band Wagon".


title: Yankee Stadium (1923)

paragraphs: The original Yankee Stadium was a baseball stadium in New York City, New York in the United States. It was opened in 1923. The MLB team New York Yankees played there until 2008. The Yankees moved to the new Yankee Stadium starting with the 2009 season. The Stadium was also the home field of the New York Giants football team from the mid-1950s into the early 1970s. It was also used for college football, soccer, boxing matches, musical events, and even a mass conducted by the Pope. The Stadium was also called the "House that Ruth Built" by many to honor Babe Ruth, a Yankee who hit many home runs during the stadium's first years. The Stadium was torn down in early 2009.


title: British occupation zone

paragraphs: The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country into four occupation zones from 1945 to 1949.

paragraphs: The British zone consisted of Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Lower Saxony and the present-day state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The British military government was based in Bad Oeynhausen.

paragraphs: Bremen and Bremerhaven were surrounded by the British Zone, but were given to the United States, so that the Americans had a port. What is now Rhineland-Palatinate was to be a part of the British Zone. It was given up to form part of the French occupation zone.

paragraphs: In May 1949 the British, French, and American zones were joined to form the Federal Republic of Germany. The military governors were replaced by civilian high commissioners. The high commissioners were part-governor and part-ambassador. The occupation officially continued until 1955. This is when the Federal Republic became a fully sovereign state, the western occupation zones ceased to exist, and the high commissioners were replaced by normal ambassadors. But the four allied powers still had special rights and responsibilities in Germany until the Final Settlement of 1990.

paragraphs: The city of Berlin, however, was not part of either state and continued to be under Allied occupation until 1990.


title: Greater Hesse

paragraphs: Greater Hesse () was a part of the American Occupation Zone of Germany after World War II

paragraphs: The German Empire broke up after World War I. The Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt () became the People's State of Hesse () on 2 March 1919.

paragraphs: After World War II, on 19 September 1945, the American Military Government joined Hesse-Darmstadt (except for Rheinhessen) with parts of the Prussian provinces of Kurhessen and Nassau to form Greater-Hesse.

paragraphs: On 18 December 1946 the state was renamed Hesse, and in 1949 became a part of the Federal Republic of Germany.


title: Mioriţa

paragraphs: Mioriţa "(The Little Ewe)" is a Romanian traditional ballad.


title: Muzio Clementi

paragraphs: Muzio Clementi was an Italian composer who lived from 1752 to 1832. He was born in Rome, Italy. He was the first composer to write music for the pianoforte which made use of the instrument's special features. He was also the first virtuoso performer on the instrument. As a composer, performer, and maker of pianos, he is known as the "father of the pianoforte.

paragraphs: Clementi was born in Rome on January 23, 1752. He was the eldest child of Nicolo Clementi, a silversmith, and Magdalena Kaiser. Clementi began to learn music from Antonio Baroni (1738-1792), who was a relative. Baroni was in charge of the choir at St. Peter's Basilica. He also had lessons from the organist, Cordicelli, Giuseppe Santarelli (1710-1790) and Gaetano Carpani.

paragraphs: When he was 13, he became the church organist at San Lorenzo in Damaso (Saint Lawrence in the House of Damascus), a parish church in Rome. He had also started writing music including an oratorio, "Martirio de' gloriosi Santi Giuliano" and a mass. In 1766, Sir Peter Beckford, heard him playing the harpsichord. He took Clementi back to England with him, so that he could provide the musical entertainment at Beckford's house in Dorset. He died in Evesham, Worcestershire, after a short illness.


title: Chromatography

paragraphs: Chromatography is a method using mixed substances that depends on the speed at which they move through special "media", or chemical substances. It consists of a "stationary phase" (a solid) and a "mobile phase" (a liquid or a gas). The mobile phase flows through the stationary phase. Chromatography is much used in biochemistry and analytical chemistry.

paragraphs: The stationary phase is a flat plane, such as paper, or a substance on glass.

paragraphs: "Paper chromatography" is a technique for separating and identifying mixtures that are (or can be) coloured. It has been largely replaced by "thin layer chromatography", but is still a powerful teaching tool. "Double-way paper chromatography", also called 'two-dimensional chromatography', uses two solvents and rotates the paper 90° in between. It is useful for separating complex mixtures of compounds having similar polarity, for example, amino acids. The compounds used initially ensures you to know whether the colour is pure, (one substance only) or mixtures (multiple substances.)

paragraphs: Thin layer chromatography (TLCC) is a common laboratory technique similar to paper chromatography. Instead of a stationary phase of paper, it uses a thin layer of adsorbent like silica gel, alumina, or cellulose on a flat substrate. Compared to paper, it has the advantage of faster runs, better separations, and the choice between different adsorbents. For even better resolution and to allow for quantification, high-performance TLC can be used.

paragraphs: "Column chromatography" separates compounds using many chemical actions between the chemical being tested and the chromatography column (a rod with a blending of special chemicals). The column is run using either gravity or a pump.

paragraphs: The mixed substance to be tested is added in a small amount and is slowed by certain chemical or physical activity with the chemicals in the chromatography column. The amount of slowing depends on the type of chemicals in the substance being tested and the different phases. The time at which a certain chemical elutes (comes out of the end of the column) is called the "retention time" and there is thought to be only one for one chemical.

paragraphs: The most common stationary phase for column chromatography is silica gel, followed by alumina. Cellulose powder has been used in the past. The mobile phase is either a pure solvent or a mixture of solvents. It is chosen to

paragraphs: make the time and amount of solvent used as little as possible, while still clearly separating the chemicals being tested.

paragraphs: "High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)" is also sometimes referred to as high-pressure liquid chromatography. It is column chromatography run under pressure to raise the speed of the process.

paragraphs: Common solvents used in HPLC are mixes of water or various organic liquids (the most common are methanol, ethanol or acetonitrile).


title: IPhone

paragraphs: The iPhone is a series of smartphones made by Apple Inc since 2007. It does many things that a computer can do, but is small enough to fit in someone's hand. It is a mobile phone, meaning that it makes calls and sends text messages but without wires. There are many types of iPhones, such as the model iPhone X.

paragraphs: The iPhone can access the Internet as well, either using a cellular network or over Wi-Fi. Like an iPod, it plays music and videos that have been downloaded from the Internet directly, or which have been put on it by connecting it to a personal computer, which is called syncing. It also has a calendar and 1 or 2 built-in cameras. A user can make it do many other things, such as run video games, by downloading apps from the App Store.

paragraphs: The iPhone does not have as many buttons as other well-known phones in the early days, such as those made by companies like Motorola and Nokia. Instead, it had a touch screen that covers much of the front of the phone. People control the phone by touching things that appear on the screen with a finger or two. This technology is called multi-touch, and involves tapping, dragging, and even typing on a keyboard picture shown on the screen.

paragraphs: All iPhones run on a mobile operating system which Apple calls "iOS". A new version of iOS comes out every year, each having more features than the one before. Each new iPhone comes with the latest version of iOS, and older iPhones usually also get a software update to the latest version. The more-recent iPhones, such as the iPhone 11 and variants of it, use iOS 13 and came out in September 2019.

paragraphs: As of November 1, 2018, more than 2.2 billion iPhones had been sold.

paragraphs: There have been ten types of iPhone models.

paragraphs: The original iPhone was released on June 29, 2007. On July 11, 2008, the iPhone 3G was released which, hence the name, got upgraded with 3G wireless internet. On June 17, 2009, Apple released the iPhone 3GS which featured a compass and a 3.2-megapixel video camera. On June 24, 2010, a new version of the iPhone, the iPhone 4, was released. It has the Face Time-camera included, which is placed on the screen side and allows taking self-portraits while looking at the viewfinder. The Face Time-camera is less advanced than the back camera, but can be used for video-telephony, where the members of the talking can see each other on the screen. Additionally, it has an updated operating system that allows quicker navigation of all the features. This operating system is called IOS. The iPhone 4 also has more pixels (326 ppi; 960×640) on the screen than previous version of the iPhone, which makes all features such as pictures and videos look sharper. A minor upgrade to the iPhone 4 was the iPhone 4S. It came on October 14, 2011, and had a new feature called Siri, which is a voice activation system. Additionally, it is able to record videos in 1080p-FullHD-resolution, which is 2.25× times higher than 720p, so that each still frame from the video contains more details. This makes it possible to see smaller items on the footage in a sharper, clearer way. Additionally, it allows zooming into the video to see more details.

paragraphs: The iPhone 5 was released on September 21, 2012. The most noticeable change is its bigger 4 inch screen, which had the same pixel density and the same width on the short axis, but it was taller (1136×640 pixels). On September 10, 2013, two new iPhones called the 5C and 5S were announced. They were released on September 20, 2013. The iPhone 5S has a new unlocking system called Touch ID which reads your fingerprint. The iPhone 5C is a cheaper model of the iPhone 5S which is also the first iPhone available in different colors that aren't black and white. The internal hardware specifications (which means, capabilities) of the iPhone 5C are identical to the iPhone 5. Only the size of the battery has increased by 51 mAh, (1456→1507 mAh), and the design, which deviant from the Apple standard design language, which means, that it looks and feels distinguishable (different) than the other iPhones. Like iPhone 6, the design does not allow the iPhone 5C to stand like a domino stone.

paragraphs: The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were released on September 19, 2014. They both have bigger screens than the iPhone 5, measuring at 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches, respectively. The iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus were released on September 25, 2015. They both come in a new color, Rose Gold.

paragraphs: The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were released on September 16, 2016.

paragraphs: In most places, the iPhone is only allowed with carriers (cellphone service providers) that Apple has an agreement with. Someone who buys an iPhone also signs a contract with the carrier, which is an agreement to pay for their services. A mobile phone contract usually lasts for one or two years, and the person buying the phone pays the carrier every month. At first, they pay less than the iPhone is worth because they will pay the rest later through fees as part of their contract. The contract also says the iPhone may only be used on their network. However, some people do not like that, so they unlock their iPhone so it can be used with other carriers.

paragraphs: Other people "jailbreak" their iPhones to allow it to do more things. Apple does not allow many of these changes. In hopes of discouraging this, Apple voids the warranty when an iPhone is "unlocked" or "jailbroken." Though in August 2011 jailbreaking was declared legal.

paragraphs: Apple made a Software Development Kit for the iPhone, which lets people make their own software for it. However, the software cannot be sold without Apple's permission. The software that is made is sold at the App Store. More than a million of apps are available to buy.


title: Concert hall

paragraphs: A concert hall is a place where concerts of classical music take place. “Concert hall” can either mean the actual room where the concerts takes place, or the whole building. The hall where the concerts are held may have a “stage” (where the performers are) and there will be an “auditorium” where the audience sits.

paragraphs: Some concert halls are purpose-built. That means they were built to be concert halls. Other concert halls may have been something else many years ago, e.g. a Corn Exchange (a place where farmers used to sell their corn) and the building has later been changed into a concert hall. Purpose-built concert halls started about the beginning of the 20th century. At that time scientists began to understand the importance of good acoustics (somewhere where the sound was good).

paragraphs: Concert halls that are purpose-built usually have fixed seating (seats that cannot be moved). Some halls may have seats that can be moved, either by stacking them in small piles, or tiered seating that can fold up. This allows the hall to be used for other things, e.g. dancing.

paragraphs: A concert hall is usually a big hall: big enough for an orchestra to be on the stage. A small concert hall, designed for just a few performers (as in chamber music) may be called a “recital hall”.

paragraphs: Some concert halls are especially famous. In London there is the Royal Festival Hall on the banks of the river Thames, the Barbican Centre in the City (near St Paul’s Cathedral) and the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington which is used for other events as well. There is also a famous recital hall called the Wigmore Hall. New York has the Carnegie Hall, Vienna has the Vienna Musikverein with a beautiful hall called the Golden Hall where the famous New Year’s Day concerts are given. In Germany there is the Berliner Philharmonie in Berlin and the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. In Amsterdam there is the Concertgebouw (which means: "concert hall").


title: Madrigal

paragraphs: A madrigal is a special kind of song for a small group of people to sing. Madrigals were popular in the 16th and 17th centuries. This was the end of the Renaissance music and beginning of the Baroque periods. They started in Italy and became very popular for a short time in England as well as in France. The words of madrigals are always about secular (non-religious) things, e.g. about love.

paragraphs: When Italian composers started writing madrigals the kinds of songs they knew were the frottola, the motet and the French chanson (song). The first madrigals were for 2 or 3 voices, but later many madrigals were written for 4 or 5 voices. These voices might be single voices (one person to each part) or several people. Sometimes the lines would also be played by an instrument, but the madrigal is usually sung unaccompanied.

paragraphs: The madrigal was the most important secular form of music of its time. In Italy it was very popular between about 1550 and 1630. In England the madrigal period was about 1588 to 1620.

paragraphs: In 1533 a book called "Primo libro di Madrigali" (First Book of Madrigals) was collected and published by Philippe Verdelot in Venice. It made madrigals very popular. Jacob Arcadelt published several volumes of madrigals which were very important for their development. In 1588 in England Nicholas Yonge published a collected called "Musica Transalpina" (Music from over the Alps). These were Italian madrigals with translated texts. The madrigal suddenly became extremely popular in England and remained so until after 1620 when it gradually became less important.

paragraphs: People liked madrigals because they were fun. Whenever possible the composer made the music sound like the word being sung. A word like “smile” would have quick music, “sigh” would have a note followed by a short rest, as if the singer were sighing, “rise so high” would be sung to music which rose very high. This kind of thing was called “word-painting”. It can be found in religious music as well, but the way it was used in madrigals was new and exciting. Very often there would be a verse and a refrain which was often just sung to words such as “fa la la la la”. The songs were often about shepherds and shepherdesses falling in love.

paragraphs: The most important composers of madrigals in Italy were Giovanni da Palestrina, Luca Marenzio, Jacques Arcadelt, Adrian Willaert, Cipriano de Rore, Carlo Gesualdo, Giaches de Wert and Claudio Monteverdi. In England they were William Byrd, Thomas Morley, John Wilbye, Thomas Weelkes, John Dowland, Orlando Gibbons and Thomas Tomkins. About the franco-flemish , Orlando di Lasso, Josquin des Prez . About the spanish, Tomás Luis de Victoria, Mateo Flecha.

paragraphs: In the Renaissance, madrigals were performed either as entertainment at important feasts, or for relaxed enjoyment by groups of amateurs in their homes, as madrigals were a secular style of song.

paragraphs: Nowadays, madrigals are often sung by high school or college madrigal choirs often as an after-dinner entertainment. Sometimes the singers wear Renaissance costumes.


title: Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

paragraphs: The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was one of the "Ernestine duchies". Ernest, who became elector of Saxony in 1464, divided his territory between his sons, andover the years more and more small duchies existed.

paragraphs: Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was reformed on 29 July 1735, although Coburg and Saalfeld had had the same ruler since 1699. As only men could be the rulers of the duchies, Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld ceased to exist in 1825, when the last male descendant of the dukes of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg died. The various dukes reorganised their territories. Saalfeld went the dukes of Saxe-Meiningen, Altenburg went to the Duke of Saxe-Hildburgausen, who gave Hildburghausen to the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. Gotha and Coburg were combined into the new duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.


title: Halo: Combat Evolved

paragraphs: Halo: Combat Evolved is a first-person shooter video game. It starts the game series called "Halo". It came out in 2001 for Xbox and was released on the personal computer later. It became very popular and has made a lot of money. Many people say it is the Xbox's "killer app", which means the best program for a system. Because it was liked by so many people, there have even been 6 books and a Graphic Novel written about it. Halo is rated M for mature.

paragraphs: The game setting is on or around a giant ring-shaped structure in space. The ring has plants and animals that live on it. It is very old and was made long ago by a civilization called the "Forerunners." In the game, the year is 2552. In the storyline, humans have created faster than light travel, and now live on many planets and moons in and out of the Solar System, both fictional and real. In the year 2525, humans living on a planet around another star met several alien species. They are grouped together and known as the "Covenant". The Covenant declared religious war on the humans.

paragraphs: The game starts with a ship, The Pillar of Autumn. It arrives at Halo, surrounded by many Covenant Ships.

paragraphs: Master Chief is the last super soldier who is able to fight on the Pillar of Autumn. The Pillar of Autumn jumped (teleported) from the planet Reach. Reach was being destroyed, so they escaped. The ship is piloted by Captain Keyes. The ship arrives in front of Halo. Halo is surrounded by many Covenant ships. The Covenant board the Pillar of Autumn to kill the humans. Keyes orders the Master Chief (who is sleeping while frozen) to be awakened. After putting Cortana (an Artificial Intelligence) in his head, the Master Chief escapes in a lifepod with other Marines. He did this on order by Captain Keyes, who knew they could not win. Captain Keyes decides to crash his ship onto Halo, before it is completely destroyed by the Covenant. The Master Chief rescues as many Marines as he can. Cortana discovers Captain Keyes is still alive. Master Chief goes to rescue him from a Covenant Ship. They escape with the Captain and more Marines. They find a map-room to find the control room for Halo. They want to stop the Covenant from using Halo, because it is a weapon. The Master Chief fights through many aliens to the Control Room. He puts Cortana into the data. She discovers something terrible and tells the Master Chief to find Captain Keyes. Captain Keyes went with several Marines to destroy a take or destroy a supply of Covenant Weapons. The Master Chief discovers the Captain was attacked by a different enemy. They are called the Flood. The Flood are a species of parasite, which can infect bodies and turn them into Combat Forms (which are fast zombies that can use weapons). He finds a flying machine that protects Halo. It is named 343 Guilty Spark. It explains that he should turn on Halo's weapons to destroy the Flood. The Flood want to escape Halo and infect other species. The Master Chief must get an Index to do activate Halo. The Master Chief gets the Index (which can activate Halo's weapons).

paragraphs: They both go to the ring's control room to activate its weapons. Surprisingly, they find Cortana that tells to the Chief that the ring can not destroy the Flood. It destroys the food of the Flood. This means humans, Covenant and all other suitable living species. Following Cortana's suggestions, Master Chief goes to the Pillar of Autumn. As he destroys the core of the ship, he escapes. He uses a human spaceship to get into space while the explosion destroys Halo.

paragraphs: The main character in the game is Master Chief. It is the character the player controls in the game. Other main characters are Cortana and 343 Guilty Spark, the two machines. Apart from them, other human characters appear who fight in the side of the player against the aliens and the flood. The most notable are Sergeant Johnson and Captain Keyes.

paragraphs: In the first Halo game, there are no alien characters who play an important role in the game. However, in the next two halo games, "Halo 2" and "Halo 3", many important alien characters appear.


title: Sonora

paragraphs: Sonora is a Mexian state, in the northwestern Mexico region. Sonora borders the states of Chihuahua to the east, Sinaloa to the south, and Baja California to the northwest. To the north Sonora accounts for a long stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S. states of Arizona and New Mexico; to the west it borders the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez).

paragraphs: There are various explanations as to the origin of the word Sonora. Here, we will tell you some of the most widely accepted versions. One of these says that when the Spaniards arrived in the lands occupied by the Opata people, they built a chapel and painted an image of the Virgin on a buffalo skin. Over time, when the Opatas began to worship the Virgin, they used to call her Senora instead of the Spanish word Señora (Our Lady). Finally, it would seem that this word became Sonora as we know it today.

paragraphs: Another version has it that Sonora is derived from the Opata word, sonotl which means corn leaf. A legend speaks of an indigenous group that lived near the village of Huépac, and who used corn leaves to cover the walls and roofs of their huts. Yet another version insists that the word comes from the name of a tribe that lived on the banks of the Sonora River; these people were known as the Sonora Indians. This river crosses a large part of the state. It is also useful to understand that, just as Mexico has its national emblems, so the state of Sonora has its own coat-of-arms.


title: Monsoon

paragraphs: A monsoon is a seasonal wind which lasts for several months. The word was first used in English for the seasonal rains in the Indian subcontinent. These rains blow in from the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea in the southwest bringing heavy rainfall to the area.

paragraphs: Monsoons also occur in other regions such as in North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Brazil and East Asia.

paragraphs: Monsoons happen because of a simple fact: land heats up faster than water. The temperature difference between the land and sea can be as much as 20°C – land temperatures in India can be hotter than 45°C, while the surrounding water in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea remains in the low 20s. The heat absorbed by the land warms the air above it. The hot air rises, and cooler ocean air rushes inland to replace it. As it moves, it carries moisture with it, releasing it over land as the summer monsoon (also known as southwest monsoon).

paragraphs: The hot air over the land tends to rise, creating an area of low pressure. This creates a steady wind blowing toward the land, bringing the moist near-surface air over the oceans with it. Rainfall is increased by the moist ocean air being lifted upwards by mountains, as with the Tibetan Plateau, and by surface heating.


title: Baja California (state)

paragraphs: Baja California is a Mexican state in the northern section of the Baja California Peninsula. It borders the state Baja California Sur to the south, and Sonora to the east. It also borders the U.S. state of California to the north. It means "Lower California".

paragraphs: Baja California is both the furthest north and furthest west state in Mexico.


title: Verizon Ladies First Tour

paragraphs: Verizon Ladies First Tour is a 2004 joint concert tour by American R&B/soul singers Beyoncé and Alicia Keys and American rapper Missy Elliott.


title: Dangerously in Love World Tour

paragraphs: The Dangerously In Love World Tour was singer Beyoncé's first solo concert tour, intended to showcase songs from her debut solo album, "Dangerously in Love".

paragraphs: The stage was simple and featured a large LED screen in the back that moved up and down throughout the entire show and displayed video images of Beyoncé and her dancers, as well as some images from her music videos and some prerecorded images with special effects.

paragraphs: The set list included not only "Dangerously in Love" material, but also contained a special segment of her show dedicated to her erstwhile group Destiny's Child. This concert also featured songs from Beyoncé's 2003 film "The Fighting Temptations" ("Fever" and "Summertime"). A highlight for many fans was her performance of "Dangerously in Love 2".


title: Vikidia

paragraphs: Vikidia is an encyclopedia made with a wiki, using MediaWiki. Its goals are to be readable by a child from 8 to 13 years old and to allow easy understanding by people learning French, Italian, Spanish, English, Russian, Catalan, Basque, Armenian, and Sicilian.

paragraphs: It was inspired by WikiKids, a Dutch website, much in the style of the larger and better known Wikipedia. The major difference is in the fact that these sites are meant for minors. They are for children from the age of 8 to about 13 and everything in between, although there is no age limit.

paragraphs: Like Wikipedia, Vikidia is an open wiki, so everybody is allowed to edit the articles. But Vikidia is also a wiki for children, so all inappropriate or shocking content, especially vandalism, is quickly removed by the site's administrators.

paragraphs: Vikidia helps children to contribute, and some schools and teachers have involved their classes to write articles as a school project.

paragraphs: The Simple English Wikipedia is much like Vikidia, but it is written for mature people learning English with a lesser focus on children.

paragraphs: WikiKids and Vikidia were started in November 2006.

paragraphs: The Dutch WikiKids now has around 28,500 articles, while French Vikidia has around 30,000 articles in March 2020.

paragraphs: The Spanish version of Vikidia was started in May 2008, the Italian one in 2011, the Russian one in 2012, the English one in 2014, the Catalan one in 2015, and the Basque and Armenian ones in 2018.


title: Déjà Vu (song)

paragraphs: Déjà Vu is an funk song written by Beyoncé Knowles, Rodney Jerkins, Delisha Thomas, Makeba, Keli Nicole Price, and Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter for Knowles' second solo album, "B'Day" (2006). It features rapper Jay-Z and production by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, utilizing the bass, hi-hat, and the 808 instruments and sound system, reminiscent of many popular Rich Harrison productions. Released as the album's lead single in the third quarter of 2006, "Déjà Vu" reached number one in Brazil, China, Poland, and the United Kingdom. While the song failed to match the success of 2003's "Crazy in Love", it entered the top ten on the majority of the charts it appeared on. It also was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Best R&B Song at the 2007 Grammy Awards.


title: If (Beyoncé song)

paragraphs: If is an R&B ballad by Beyoncé Knowles. The song is her final single from her second album "B'Day: Deluxe Edition". The song was most likely chosen due to the fact that originally it was not available in the U.S. as it was an international track, but due to the Des'ree law suit, the U.S. version of the album with the track "Still In Love (Kissing You)" was replaced by a version with "If". A CD single of the song was created for her official fan club and is available for purchase from their online store.


title: Ciara

paragraphs: Ciara Princess Harris (born October 25, 1985) professionally known as Ciara, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actress.

paragraphs: In 2004, Ciara released her debut studio album "Goodies", which produced three hit singles: "Goodies," "1, 2 Step," and "Oh." The album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and earned her four nominations at the 48th Grammy Awards. She released her second studio album, "Ciara: The Evolution", in 2006 which spawned the hit singles "Get Up," "Promise," and "Like a Boy." The album reached number one in the US and was certified platinum. Her third studio album "Fantasy Ride", released in 2009, was considerably less successful than Ciara's first two albums. However, it produced the worldwide top-ten hit "Love Sex Magic" featuring Justin Timberlake, which earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. The following year, Ciara released her fourth studio album "Basic Instinct," which was met with low sales and continued a downward trend in her commercial success. In 2011, she signed a new record deal with Epic Records, and she released her fifth studio album, "Jackie", which is preceded by the lead single, "Sorry” in 2015. In 2019, she released her sixth studio album, "Beauty Marks", which is preceded by the hit lead singles, "Level Up", “Thinkin Bout You” and the album titled song “Beauty Marks “.

paragraphs: On Ciara's 28th birthday, Future asked her if she would marry him. They became engaged but was the engagement was called off later that year. January 14, 2014 Ciara said on "The View" that she was pregnant with Future's child. In June 2016, she married Seattle Seahawks NFL star quarterback Russell Wilson. They had their first child, Sienna Princess Wilson, on April 29, 2017.


title: Mykolaiv

paragraphs: Mykolaiv (, also referred to as or Mykolayiv, Nikolaev, or Nikolayev; ) is a major city in southern Ukraine.

paragraphs: The city is located 65 kilometers from the Black Sea along the estuary of the Southern Buh river (where it meets the Inhul River) at around . Population 514,000 (as of 2001 Ukrainian Census).

paragraphs: It is the administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast (province), as well as of both the Mykolaivsky and Zhovtnevy raions (districts) within the oblast. However, Mykolaiv is a city of oblast subordinance, thus being subject directly to the oblast authorities rather to the raion administration housed in the city itself.

paragraphs: The town was founded in 1789 by the Russian Governor General of Novorossiya Knyaz Potemkin initially as a shipyard called simply a "New Shipyard on the Ingul river". Knyaz Potemkin signed an order to construct a shipyard on August 27, 1789, which is considered to be a city birth date. The shipyard was to serve for the repair of the Russian Navy ships in the Russo-Turkish war. Later Potemkin ordered the shipyard to be named "Nikolaev" to commemorate the date of fall of Ochakov to the Russian troops under his command on December 6, 1788, close to the day of Saint Nicholas "(Nikolay)" December 19, in the Russian Orthodox Church.

paragraphs: The history of the city has always been closely connected to the ship building.

paragraphs: The only Russian Navy aircraft carrier currently in commission, "Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov", was built in Mykolaiv.

paragraphs: Today Mykolaiv is a major ship building center of Ukraine (as, earlier, of the whole Soviet Union) and an important riverport. The city has 3 major shipyards some of which are capable of building large navy ships. Other important industries are mechanical engineering, power engineering, metallurgy and cosmetics.


title: Akkad

paragraphs: Akkad (Sumerian: "Agade", Bible: "Accad") was an ancient city in Mesopotamia. It was the centre of the Akkadian Empire. The ruins have not been found, but it is believed to be on the River Euphrates. The empire comes after a long relationship with Sumer, and before the ethnic Akkadian empires of Babylonia and Assyria.

paragraphs: According to the Sumerian king list, Akkad (Agade) was built by Sargon of Akkad, 23th century BC, and is often called the first empire in history. Even so, it is known from older cuneiform writings that the city was already there before Sargon, in the time of the kings of Uruk. According to the Bible (Genesis 10:10), it was one of the cities started by Nimrod. Also, in the earliest records, when Mesopotamian kings started calling themselves "lord of the four quarters" around Sumer, these were listed as: Martu, Shubar, Elam, and Uri-ki.

paragraphs: As the capital city of the Akkadian Empire beginning with Sargon, the city ruled from around 2300 to 2215 BC, when it was destroyed by the Gutians who invaded from the mountains.

paragraphs: Sargon conquered many of the surrounding regions. He created an empire which reached as far as the Mediterranean Sea and Anatolia, and extended his rule to Elam, and as far south as Oman. He ruled over this area for 56 years. Trade extended from the silver mines of Anatolia to the lapis lazuli mines in Afghanistan, the cedars of Lebanon and the copper of Oman. This consolidation of the city-states of Sumer and Akkad reflected the growing economic and political power of Mesopotamia. The empire's breadbasket was the rain-fed agricultural system of northern Mesopotamia and a chain of fortresses was built to control the imperial wheat production.

paragraphs: Images of Sargon were erected on the shores of the Mediterranean, in token of his victories, and cities and palaces were built at home with the spoils of the conquered lands. Elam and the northern part of Mesopotamia (Subartu) were also subjugated and rebellions in Sumer were put down. Contract tablets have been found dated in the years of the campaigns against Canaan and against Sarlak, king of Gutium.

paragraphs: The Akkadian language was one of the Semitic languages, and at the time of the Akkadian Empire it was made official in both Mesopotamia and Elam. Akkadian remained the main diplomatic language of Mesopotamia for centuries.

paragraphs: During the 3rd millennium BC, an intimate cultural symbiosis developed between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism. Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as the spoken language of Mesopotamia somewhere around the turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC (the exact dating being a matter of debate), but Sumerian continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary and scientific language in Mesopotamia until the 1st century AD.

paragraphs: The fall of the empire established by Sargon seems to have been as sudden as its rise, and little is known about the Gutian period. From the fall of Akkad ca. 2083 BC until the Sumerian renaissance ca. 2050 BC, there is much that is still dark. It has recently been suggested that the regional decline at the end of the Akkadian period (and also in the Ancient Egyptian Old Kingdom) was associated with rapidly increasing aridity, and failing rainfall in the region of the Ancient Near East.


title: Faisal Mosque

paragraphs: Faisal Mosque is a mosque in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. It is the National mosque of Pakistan, and one of the largest mosques in the Islamic world. It is named after King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It was the biggest mosque for a period of six yrs (1986-1993).


title: Song cycle

paragraphs: A song cycle in classical music is a group of songs that belong together. Although each song may be sung separately, the composer really imagined that they would be performed together as one work. Sometimes they tell a story, but sometimes they just belong together because they are about the same idea (e.g. the sadness that can be caused by love). They are often for solo voice and piano accompaniment, but they can also be without accompaniment, or with several instruments or even a whole orchestra. The words of a cycle are often by the same poet, but this is not always the case.

paragraphs: Song cycles started to become popular with composers in the Romantic period. Although there were examples of song cycles written before that, it was the German composers of the 19th century who are most often thought of as writers of song cycles. Their songs are called "Lieder".

paragraphs: The great composer Franz Schubert wrote about 600 songs. These include two long song cycles: "Winterreise" ("Winter’s Journey") and "Die schöne Müllerin" ("The beautiful miller’s daughter"). Each of these song cycles is long enough for a whole concert. Robert Schumann wrote song cycles including two which he simply called "Liederkreise" ("Song Cycles"), and his well-known "Dichterliebe" ("Poet’s Love") and "Frauenliebe und -Leben" ("Women’s Love and Life"). Brahms wrote "Vier ernste Gesänge" ("Four Serious Songs"), and Gustav Mahler, who became very interested in folk song, wrote several song cycles with orchestra accompaniment, including "Das Lied von der Erde" ("The Song of the Earth").

paragraphs: French composers who wrote song cycles include Jules Massenet, Gabriel Fauré and Claude Debussy. Russian composers include Modest Mussorgsky and Dmitri Shostakovich, and English and American composers in the 20th century include Michael Tippett, Benjamin Britten and Aaron Copland as well as the South American Alberto Ginastera, Juan María Solare and Heitor Villa-Lobos.


title: Quetta

paragraphs: Quetta () is the capital and largest city of Balochistan province in Pakistan. It is famous for its climate and buildings. It is to the north of Balochistan, 133 kilometers away from Spin Buldak, Afghanistan.

paragraphs: In 1935, a powerful earthquake hit Quetta. The earthquake was felt between 2:30 am to 3:40 am. It resulted in the collapse of buildings, that is why there is no historical building in Quetta.

paragraphs: Quetta is also spelled Kuwatah which is a variation of Kot, a Pashto word meaning "fortress".

paragraphs: Quetta was captured by Mehmood Ghaznavi in the 11th century. The Khans of Kalat ruled Quetta until 1556 when the Persians conquered the city, only to have it retaken by Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1595. Despite all this, the Khans of Kalat were successful in restoring their rule in the region by the 18th century.

paragraphs: The predominantly Muslim population supported the Muslim League and the Pakistan Movement. On joining Pakistan, Quetta was made the capital city of the newly created province of Balochistan.

paragraphs: Quetta lies close to the borders of Afghanistan. Traders and invaders have passed through Quetta since pre-historic times. Quetta is 1,645 meters above the sea level. It is near the Hazarganji-Chitan National Park.

paragraphs: It has a cold and windy in winter moderate summers.


title: Gilgit

paragraphs: Gilgit () is the capital and largest city of Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. About 216.000 people live there.


title: Frottola

paragraphs: The frottola (plural: frottole) was the most popular kind of secular (non-religious) song in Italy during the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

paragraphs: Frottole were quite simple and fun. They were often sung by small groups of singers. They were not contrapuntal, but they had a tune in the top part while the other singers sang chords to accompany the tune. Sometimes they might have been sung by a solo voice with a lute accompaniment.

paragraphs: The most famous composer of frottole was Bartolomeo Tromboncino. The great composer Josquin also composed frottole, although that is not what he called them. For example, there is a well-known one called "El Grillo" ( The Cricket) in which the singers try to sound like the chirping of a cricket in the grass.

paragraphs: About the year 1530 the frottola developed into the madrigal.


title: Bartolomeo Tromboncino

paragraphs: Bartolomeo Tromboncino (born Verona around 1470; died in or near Venice in 1535 or later) was an Italian composer. He lived in the Renaissance period. He is famous as a composer of songs called "frottole". He is also remembered because he murdered his wife.

paragraphs: We know very little about his life. He probably grew up in Mantua. In a letter he says that he came from Verona. Until around 1500 he lived and worked in Mantua, but sometimes he went to other towns when he was in trouble. In 1499 he found his wife with another man, so he murdered her. He may also have murdered the other man. We cannot be sure about this.

paragraphs: He does not seem to have been punished. This may be because a rich lady called Isabella d'Este liked him.

paragraphs: From 1502 Tromboncino was employed by a rich lady called Lucrezia Borgia. She is remembered today because she was a very bad woman. He wrote music for the court and for her wedding to Alfonso d'Este. Sometime before 1521 he moved to Venice, where he probably spent the rest of his life.

paragraphs: His frottole are very lively and full of fun. He played the trombone. This is how he got his name. He also wrote some serious sacred music.


title: De jure

paragraphs: De jure is an expression from the Latin words meaning "in law".

paragraphs: It is often used in contrast to "de facto" (which means "in fact", or "in practice") when talking about law, governance, or technique. When talking about law, ""de jure"" is used to describe what the law says, and ""de facto"" is used to describe what actually happens.

paragraphs: This means that legally the territory of Abkhazia is a part of the country of Georgia, but that it is in effect independent.

paragraphs: The "de jure" name of Bill Clinton is William Jefferson Clinton. This is his name according to official records. His "de facto" name is Bill Clinton because this is what he is usually called.


title: Boy George

paragraphs: George Alan O'Dowd, better known as Boy George (born 14 June 1961 in Bexley, Kent) is a rock singer-songwriter and Club DJ. He grew up in a large, working-class Irish family. The family which originally came form Thurles, in Co. Tipperary, Ireland.

paragraphs: O'Dowd was a part of the British new romantic movement which emerged in the late 1970s and was popularised in the early 1980s. He and Marilyn (born Peter Robinson) were regulars at 'The Blitz' a very popular nightclub in London. It was run by Steve Strange of the musical group Visage. The Blitz was a starting place for many early 1980s pop stars such as Spandau Ballet. The new romantics based their image on the coolness of David Bowie and high fashion. They liked the music of Bowie, Kraftwerk, Marc Bolan and post punk New Wave.

paragraphs: O'Dowd gained fame with his group Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often called blue-eyed soul. He was heavily influenced by Rhythm and Blues and reggae. Early recordings with Culture Club showed that O'Dowd's vocals had an emotional quality which was like American soul music of the 1960s and 1970s. His later solo work has also touched on glam rock influences and was particularly influenced by David Bowie and Iggy Pop.

paragraphs: O'Dowd is also known for his flamboyant and androgynous appearance during the 1980s and early 1990s.

paragraphs: On 11 May 2009, Boy George was released from prison at HMP Edmunds Hill in Newmarket, Suffolk. He was four months into a fifteen-month sentence for the assault and false imprisonment of a male escort, in his East London flat. He was tagged and placed on a curfew for the rest of the sentence.

paragraphs: Boy George told the BBC on 27 January 2011 that there will be a 30th anniversary Culture Club reunion tour sometime later in the year. He also said they would be releasing a new album in 2012. Culture Club did play two live concerts, in Dubai and Sydney, but did not have a tour.

paragraphs: Harper Collins published his first autobiography, "Take It Like a Man", in 1995, written with Spencer Bright. It was a bestseller in the UK. In 2005, Century published "Straight", his second autobiographical book. This one was written with author Paul Gorman.


title: Bon Jovi

paragraphs: Bon Jovi is an American hard rock band that formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. They are one of the world's best-selling bands of all time, having sold over 130 million records worldwide.

paragraphs: The song "Runaway" which was written by Jon Bon Jovi and George Karak reached the first place in a radio talent contest in 1983. So Jon became the possibility to sign a recording contract. Coincidentally he founded Bon Jovi in 1983 with Richie Sambora, Alec John Such, Tico Torres, and David Bryan. The self-titled debut album "Bon Jovi" was released in 1984. The single "Runaway" was the band's first hit and reached #39 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984.

paragraphs: Bon Jovi's second album "7800° Fahrenheit" (1985) had also only moderate success. In fact, every member of the band had lost their girlfriend at the time, they were all heartbroken; those feelings were showing in the songs. Some members, especially Richie, were afraid because they had not put out a hit song since "Runaway". The band then went to Vancouver to record another album. They lived together while they were recording.

paragraphs: In 1986, Bon Jovi's third album "Slippery When Wet" was released. It brought them some of the band's most successful songs, including "You Give Love a Bad Name", "Livin' On A Prayer", and "Wanted Dead or Alive". Also involved was Desmond Child, Bruce Fairbairn, and Bob Rock, and Desmond co-wrote some of the songs on the album. "Slippery When Wet" has sold over 28 million copies worldwide. The "Slippery When Wet" Tour let the band become even more famous in Europe and North America.

paragraphs: The song "Livin' on a Prayer" is the one that had the most success. In the beginning, Jon Bon Jovi did not like the original song. Richie Sambora, however, convinced him that the song was good. They rewrote the entire musical piece together, added a guitar solo, different drum fills and a talk box to make it a hit song.

paragraphs: Jon gave everything he had to sing "Livin' on a Prayer" during the first part of the "Slippery When Wet" tour, and it was seriously damaging his voice. He was barely able to sing at the end of the tour and he had to use a lot of backing tracks to fill out the parts that he could not sing. He also used the services of a vocal coach and some steroids to help him finish the tour without losing his voice completely. At the end of the tour, they had played 206 shows all around the world. The band members took a break before going back into the studio to make another album.

paragraphs: After the enormous success with "Slippery When Wet" and the following tour, Bon Jovi released their fourth album 1988's "New Jersey". It was also successful and contained the hit "Bad Medicine" and the ballad "I'll Be There for You". Between 1990 and 1992, the band members went their separate ways for a while. Jon Bon Jovi released his first solo album "Blaze of Glory", that served as the soundtrack for the movie "Young Guns II". In 1992, "Keep the Faith" was released. The album signified a music genre change. Bon Jovi turned away from heavy drums and wild guitar solos, and their new sound was lighter and calmer than in the eighties. The piano had a bigger influence now and the lyrics had a different meaning. The song "Keep the Faith" is about social and religious problems. The singles "Bed of Roses", "Keep the Faith" and "In These Arms" reached the Top 40 in the United States. In 1994, Bon Jovi's first greatest hits album was released: "The Best of Bon Jovi, Cross Road". It includes the hits from 1983 to 1992 and two new songs. One of them, "Always", became one of the most successful songs of Bon Jovi. "Always" is a love song and a power ballad written by Jon Bon Jovi alone. The 1995 album "These Days" was the band's sixth studio album. "This Ain't a Love Song" was the lead single of "These Days" who sold over 11 million copies all around the world.

paragraphs: From 1995, till, 2000, Bon Jovi had a longer break. The band members focused on solo projects and family. In 2000 the first album after 5 years was released: "Crush". The album itself was not as prosperous as "Slippery When Wet" and "Keep The Faith". But the hit-single "It's my Life" became the most successful song of Bon Jovi. It reached the first place in the charts of many countries. The next album was "Bounce" in 2002. It's was influenced by the September 11 attacks.

paragraphs: "The Circle" was released in 2009. They were on tour in 2010 in places like New Jersey. It consists of songs like "We Weren't Born To Follow", "Thorn In My Side", and "Bullet".