title: League (unit)

text: In the Mexican countryside the league is still commonly used in the original sense of the distance a person can walk in an hour. So a league along a good road on level ground is longer than a league on a difficult path over rough ground.


title: League (unit)

text: The Spanish league was originally set as a fixed unit of distance of 5,000 varas (a Spanish yard), about 2.6 miles or 4.2 km. In 1568 Philip II of Spain officially abolished the league. However, in parts of Latin America, people still use it (with different meanings in different countries).


title: Cotton

text: Cotton is a natural, soft fiber that grows with the seeds of the cotton plant. (Fiber is long and thin, like hair.) After, the cotton fiber is gathered from the plant, it can be spun into cotton thread. The cotton thread can then be made into cloth. The cloth can be used to make clothes for people and many other things. People often wear cotton clothing, especially in hot weather. Bandages are usually cotton.


title: Cotton

text: There are different types of cotton plants. Some cotton plants grow wild in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. This is how cotton was discovered many years ago. Most of the cotton gathered to make cloth comes from crops grown on cotton plantations. Cotton is farmed in Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas. Cotton soaks up to 24-27 of its own weight in water (very absorbent). All parts of cotton plants are useful.


title: Cotton

text: Cotton is in the mallow family and produces delicate, lovely flowers. Other members of the mallow family include hollyhocks and hibiscus, used to brighten gardens all over the world. The cotton fiber forms around the seeds of the cotton plant. It helps carry the seeds long distances on the wind so the baby plant can grow up far away. Early humans realized that the soft, fluffy fibers might be suitable for textile use and began to breed the plant, selecting for fluffy, easily spun varieties.


title: Cotton

text: Cotton is one of the oldest fibers under human cultivation, with traces of cotton over 7,000 years old recovered from archaeological sites. Cotton is also one of the most used natural fibers in existence today, with consumers everywhere wearing and using cotton for various purposes. Millions of acres globally are devoted to the production of cotton, whether it be new world cotton, with longer, smoother fibers, or the shorter and coarser old world varieties.


title: Cotton

text: After harvesting, cotton must be combed to remove the seeds. This was a laborious process until the industrial revolution and invention of the cotton gin, which quickly separates the seeds from the fiber and combs them for spinning. While a single cotton fiber is not terribly strong, when multiple curling fibers are straightened and twisted together, they form a strong, smooth thread that can be knitted or woven, as well as dyed.


title: Antarctica

text: Antarctica is the Earth's southernmost continent. It is on the South Pole. It is almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle. Around Antarctica is the Southern Ocean. It is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America. About 99% of Antarctica is covered by ice. This ice averages at least 1.6 kilometers (1.0 miles) thick.


title: Antarctica

text: Antarctica is the coldest, driest and windiest continent. It is also, on average, the highest of all the continents. Antarctica is considered a desert. It has yearly precipitation of only 200 mm (8 inches) near the sea and far less inland. No humans live in Antarctica permanently. However, about 1,000 to 5,000 people live through the year at the science stations in Antarctica. Only plants and animals that can live in cold live there. The animals include penguins, seals, nematodes, tardigrades and mites. Plant life includes some grass and shrubs, algae, lichen, fungi, and bacteria.


title: Antarctica

text: The first known sighting of the continent was in 1820. Antarctica was mostly forgotten for the rest of the 19th century. This was because of its hostile environment, few resources, and isolation. The first official use of the name "Antarctica" as a continental name in the 1890s is said to have been used by Scottish cartographer John George Bartholomew.


title: Antarctica

text: The Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959 by 12 countries. More countries have signed the treaty since then. So far, 46 countries have signed the treaty. The treaty declares that military activities and mineral mining are against the law. However, it supports scientific research. It also helps the continent's ecozone. More than 4,000 scientists from different nations and different interests experiment together.


title: Antarctica

text: Antarctica is covered by an ice sheet about four kilometres thick. Under the ice it is mostly land, although the ice shelves are over the ocean. The Transantarctic Mountains divide the land between East Antarctica in the Eastern Hemisphere and West Antarcticain the Western Hemisphere.


title: Antarctica

text: Antarctica has some important features hidden by the ice. One is Lake Vostok, which has been covered by ice for at least 15 million years. The lake is 250 km long and 50 km wide. Another is the huge Gamburtsev mountain chain, which are the size of the Alps, yet entirely buried under the ice. The Gamburtsev range has a nearby massive rift valley similar to the East African Great Rift Valley. It is called the Lambert system. Scientists used radar that can work under ice to survey the whole of Antarctica.


title: Antarctica

text: Scientists say Antarctica used to be much further north and much warmer, moving to where it is now through continental drift. From 2011 to 2013, scientists collected fossils of frogs, water lilies, and shark and ray teeth, showing that these life forms used to live on Antarctica. The frog fossils were about 40 million years old. Scientists say marsupials, animals that keep their babies in pouches, could have started in South America, migrated to a warm ancient Antarctica, and gone to Australia from there.


title: Antarctica

text: Few land plants grow in Antarctica. This is because Antarctica does not have much moisture (water), sunlight, good soil, or a warm temperature. Plants usually only grow for a few weeks in the summer. However, moss, lichen and algae do grow. The most important organisms in Antarctica are the plankton which grow in the ocean.


title: Antarctica

text: One important source of food in the Antarctic is the krill, which is a general term for the small shrimp-like marine crustaceans. Krill are near the bottom of the food chain: they feed on phytoplankton and to a lesser extent zooplankton. Krill are a food form suitable for the larger animals for whom krill makes up the largest part of their diet. Whales, penguins, seals, and even some of the birds that live in Antarctica, all depend on krill.


title: Antarctica

text: Whales are the largest animals in the ocean, and in Antarctica. They are mammals, not fish. That means that they breathe air and do not lay eggs. Many different kinds of whales live in the oceans around Antarctica.


title: Antarctica

text: Whalers have hunted whales for hundreds of years, for meat and blubber. Nowadays most whaling is done in the Antarctic area.


title: Antarctica

text: Penguins only live south of the equator. Several different kinds live in and around Antarctica. The biggest ones can stand nearly 4 feet (1.2m) tall and can weigh almost 100 pounds (40 kg). The smallest kinds are only about one foot (30 cm) tall. Penguins are large birds that swim very well but cannot fly. They have black backs and wings with white fronts. Their feathers are very tightly packed and make a thick cover. They also have a layer of woolly down under the feathers. The feathers themselves are coated with a type of oil that makes them waterproof. A thick layer of blubber also keeps them warm. Penguins eat fish and are at home in the ocean. They come up on the land or ice to lay their eggs and raise the chicks. They nest together in a huge group.


title: Antarctica

text: For a long time, people had believed that there was a great continent in the far south of Earth. They thought this "Terra Australis" would "balance" the lands in the north like Europe, Asia and North Africa. People have believed this from the times of Ptolemy (1st century AD). He suggested this idea to keep the balance of all known lands in the world. Pictures of a large land in the south were common in maps. In the late 17th century, people discovered that South America and Australia were not part of the mythical "Antarctica". However, geographers still believed that Antarctica was much bigger than it really was.


title: Antarctica

text: European maps continued to show this unknown land until Captain James Cook's ships, HMS "Resolution" and "Adventure", crossed the Antarctic Circle on 17 January 1773, in December 1773. They crossed it again in January 1774. In fact, Cook did come within about of the Antarctic coast. However, he was forced to go back because of ice in January 1773.


title: Antarctica

text: The first confirmed sighting of Antarctica were by three different men. According to different organizations, ships captained by three men saw Antarctica in 1820. The three men were Fabian von Bellingshausen (a captain in the Russian Imperial Navy), Edward Bransfield (a captain in the Royal Navy), and Nathaniel Palmer (an American seal hunter out of Stonington, Connecticut). The first recorded landing on mainland Antarctica was by the American sealer John Davis. He landed on West Antarctica on 7 February 1821. However, some historians are not sure about this claim.


title: Antarctica

text: People began discovering different parts of Antarctica and mapping them. This was slow work because they could only work in the summer. At last a map was made, and people began to talk about exploring the land, not only the sea. However, this would have been very hard work. They would have to break through the ice that was around Antarctica. Then they would have to land on it and bring in enough things to live on while they explored the land.


title: Antarctica

text: The first serious exploration of the Antarctic land was the Nimrod Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton in 1907–09. They were the first to climb Mount Erebus and to reach the South Magnetic Pole. Shackleton himself and three other members of his expedition made several firsts in December 1908 – February 1909. They were the first humans to cross the Ross Ice Shelf, and the Transantarctic Mountain Range (via the Beardmore Glacier). They were the first to set foot on the South Polar Plateau.


title: Antarctica

text: Robert Falcon Scott, the most well known of all of the explorers, wanted to be the first man to reach the South Pole. At the same time, another team from Norway lead by Roald Amundsen started. They both raced each other to the South Pole, but in the end Amundsen won because he had made a good use of his sleigh dogs. Scott had used ponies and motor sleds, but when he got to the South Pole he found a message from Amundsen, showing that he had beaten Scott.


title: Antarctica

text: On his way back, Scott and three companions met a blizzard and froze to death while waiting for it to finish. The people who found him eight months later also found his records and diary, which he had written to the day he died.


title: Antarctica

text: Climate change and global warming are showing effects in Antarctica, particularly the Antarctic Peninsula.


title: Antarctica

text: No one lives in Antarctica all the time. People who go to Antarctica are there to learn about Antarctica, so most of the people who live there are scientists. Most live at national science stations on the coast. Some bases are far from the sea, for example at the South pole. They study the weather, animals, glaciers, and the Earth's atmosphere. Some scientists drill ice cores to find out about the weather long ago. People who work in the Antarctic must be careful, because a blizzard can start any time and anywhere. When they go far away from their shelter, they must always take lots of food just in case.


title: Antarctica

text: Today, people explore Antarctica using snowmobiles, which are faster than dogs and can pull heavier loads. Many come to Antarctica just for a short visit. There are companies in South America that have vacations to Antarctica, so people pay to go there on a ship. Some people take their own boats.


title: Air pollution

text: Air pollution is a type of environmental pollution that affects the air and is usually caused by smoke or other harmful gases, mainly oxides of carbon, Sulphur and nitrogen.


title: Air pollution

text: In other words, air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence or introduction of a substance which has a poisonous effect.


title: Air pollution

text: Even 2,000 years ago, the Romans were complaining about the polluted air in their cities. At that time, the air was thick with smoke from fires and the smell of sewers. Air pollution has been classified as a danger to human health and Earth's many ecosystems for a long time.


title: Air pollution

text: Pollution can be gas , liquid or solid. It can also be classified chemically, such as:- oxide, hydrocarbon, acid or other kinds. Pollution can also be classified by what makes it.


title: Air pollution

text: Many pollutants go into the air from natural sources. These pollutants include dust, sea salt, volcanic ashes and gases, smoke from forest fires, pollen, and many other materials. In fact, there are many more natural pollutants than pollutants that humans make. However, humans and other living things have adapted to most of these natural pollutants.


title: Air pollution

text: Air pollution is usually described as either "primary pollutants" or "secondary pollutants".Primary pollutants are pollutants that are put directly into the air by humans or natural sources. Examples of primary pollutants are exhaust fumes (gas) from cars, soot from smoke, dust storms and ash from volcanic eruptions (as seen in the picture on the left).


title: Air pollution

text: Secondary pollutants are pollutants that are made from chemical reactions when pollutants mix with other primary pollutants or natural substances like water vapor. Many secondary pollutants are made when a primary pollutant reacts with sunlight. Ozone and smog are secondary pollutants. Ozone is a gas that stops harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. When it is near the ground, though, it can poison people and other organisms.


title: Air pollution

text: Human-made air pollution comes from many things. Most air pollution made by humans today is because of transportation. Automobiles , for instance, make about 60% of the human-made air pollution. The gases inside car exhaust, like nitrogen oxide, make smog and acid rain.


title: Air pollution

text: Farmlands and forests sometimes burn in wildfires producing soot (a black powder composed mainly of carbon, produced when coal, grasses, wood etc. is burned) from smoke. Soot can affect people and other life. People start many of those fires.


title: Air pollution

text: Many industrial power plants burn fossil fuels to get their energy. However, burning fossil fuels can make a lot of oxides (chemical compounds that have oxygen and other elements inside). In fact, the burning of fossil fuels makes 96% of the sulphur oxides in the atmosphere. Some industries also make chemicals that make poisonous fumes (smoke).


title: Air pollution

text: Air pollution is not only on the outside. Homes, schools, and buildings can also have air pollution. Sometimes the air inside a building is even worse than the air outside. Many things which humans use every day can pollute the air. Compounds inside carpets, paints, building materials and furniture also pollute the air, especially when they are new.


title: Air pollution

text: In buildings where the windows are tightly shut to stop air leaks, the air inside can be polluted more than the air outside.


title: Air pollution

text: Acid precipitation is precipitation, like rain, sleet, or snow, that contains acids from air pollution. When fossil fuels are burned, they let out oxides into the air. When these oxides mix with water in the atmosphere, they make acid, which fall as precipitation. Acid precipitation can kill living things like fish and trees, by making the place where they live too acidic. Acid rain can also damage buildings made of limestone and concrete.


title: Air pollution

text: A global concern is the hole in the ozone layer in the stratosphere. The Earth's ozone layer protects life from the Sun's harmful ultraviolet rays, but in the 1970s, scientists found out that some chemicals let out into the atmosphere makes the ozone turn into oxygen. This lets more ultraviolet rays reach the Earth. During the 1980s, scientists found that the ozone layer above the South Pole had thinned by 50 to 98%.


title: Air pollution

text: On March 17, 1992, in Mexico City, all children under the age of 14 could not go to school because of air pollution. This does not often happen, but being exposed to air pollution every day can make people have many health problems. Children, elderly (old) people, and people with allergies especially, can have a lot of problems because of air pollution. Studies from the University of Birmingham showed that deaths because of pneumonia and air pollution from motor vehicles like cars are related.


title: Air pollution

text: The World Health Organization said that 2.4 million people died because of the direct problems of air pollution. Some of the problems include:


title: Air pollution

text: In India in 2014, it was reported that air pollution had cut crop yields in the most affected areas by almost half in 2010 when compared to 1980 levels. There can also be increased yield of crops due to some air quality conditions.


title: Colosseum

text: The Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is a large artefact or structure in the city of Rome. The construction of the Colosseum started around 70–72 AD and was finished in 80 AD. Emperor Vespasian started all the work, and Emperor Titus completed the colosseum. Emperor Domitian made some changes to the building between 81–96 AD. It had seating for 50,000 people. It is the biggest amphitheatre built by the Roman Empire. It was built between 81-96 AD.


title: Colosseum

text: The Colosseum is in Rome, the capital of Italy. More precisely, it is on the east bank of the Tiber, the river that crosses the city, east of the ancient Roman forum. A forum in antiquity was a geographical area in which were the main buildings of power, as well as the large square on which the population met. It was both a busy place to live, a place to get married, big parties, community meetings, and so on. The stadium was less than a kilometer to the southwest, the Capitol was a little over a mile to the west.


title: Colosseum

text: Colosseum was first called the Flavian Amphitheatre or in Latin, the Amphitheatrum Flavium. This was after Vespasian and Titus who had the family name of "Flavius". It was used for gladiatorial contests, and other shows like "animal hunts", in which animals would hunt and eat prisoners; or in which gladiators would fight against animals. There were also executions of prisoners, plays, and battle scenes; sometimes it was filled with water to fight sea battles. The people of Rome could go into the Colosseum without any costs; it was free.


title: Colosseum

text: In the Middle Ages, after the mid-fifth century, it was no longer used for performances. It was then used as housing, workshops, a Christian shrine, and as a supply of building stones.


title: Colosseum

text: It is now in ruins because of earthquakes. The Colosseum is a symbol of the Roman Empire. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions. On Good Fridays, the Pope leads a torch lit "Way of the Cross" procession around the various levels of the amphitheatre.


title: Colosseum

text: The building of the Colosseum began under the rule of the Emperor Vespasian in around 70–72 AD. The area was flat, in a valley between the Caelian, Esquiline and Palatine Hills. There was a stream flowing through the valley, but this had been made into a canal. People had been living in this area for over 200 years, but the houses were destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD. The Emperor Nero took much of the land for his own use. He built a grand palace, the "Domus Aurea" which had a lake, gardens, paths covered with a roof held up by columns (porticoes), and large shelters (pavilions) to sit in. He had the "Aqua Claudia" aqueduct made longer to supply water to the area. There was also a big bronze statue of Nero, the Colossus of Nero, at the front of the Domus Aurea. In 68 AD, Nero lost control of the government. The Senate made him a public outlaw, and he killed himself soon after.


title: Colosseum

text: To celebrate the end of Nero's rule, the Emperor Vespasian built the Colosseum on the site of Nero's lake. This was seen as giving back the land to the people of Rome. The Romans often built monuments to celebrate important events, and the Colosseum is a part of that tradition.


title: Colosseum

text: Most of the Domus Aurea was torn down. The lake was filled in and the land used for the Colosseum. Schools for gladiators and other buildings were put up in the old gardens of the Domus Aurea. The Colossus was left in place, but Nero's head was replaced. Vespasian renamed it after the sun-god, Helios ("Colossus Solis"). Many historians say that the name of the Colosseum comes from the statue, the Colossus. Usually in Roman cities, the amphitheatres were built on the edge of the city.


title: Colosseum

text: The Colosseum was built in the city centre; in effect, placing it in the real and symbolic heart of Rome.


title: Colosseum

text: The Colosseum had been completed up to the third story by the time of Vespasian's death in 79. The top level was finished and the building opened by his son, Titus, in 80. Cassius Dio said that over 9,000 wild animals were killed during the opening games. The building was changed by Vespasian's younger son, Emperor Domitian. He added the "hypogeum", underground tunnels used to hold the animals and slaves used in the games. He also added a fourth level at the top of the Colosseum to add more seats.


title: Colosseum

text: In 217, the Colosseum was badly damaged by fire. Cassius Dio said the fire was started by lightning. The fire destroyed the wooden upper levels inside the amphitheatre. It was not fully repaired until about 240 and underwent further repairs in 250 or 252 and again in 320. Theodosius II and Valentinian III (ruled 425–450), repaired damage caused by an earthquake in 443; more work followed in 484 and 508. The last record of gladiator fights is about 435, while animal hunts continued until at least 523.


title: Colosseum

text: The Colosseum went through big changes of use during the medieval period. At the end of the 500's, a small church had been built into a part of the building. The arena was used as a cemetery. The areas under the seating was used for houses and workshops. There are records of the space being rented as late as the 1100s. About 1200, the Frangipani family took over the Colosseum and made it into a castle.


title: Colosseum

text: During the great earthquake in 1349, the outer south side fell down. Most of the fallen stones were used to build palaces, churches, hospitals and other buildings in Rome. In the middle of the 1300s, a religious group moved into the north part, and were still there in the 1800s. The inside of the Colosseum was used to supply building stones. The marble facade was burned to make quicklime. The bronze clamps which held the stonework together were ripped off the walls leaving marks that can still be seen today.


title: Colosseum

text: During the 16th and 17th century, Church officials looked for a use for the big and ruined building. Pope Sixtus V (1521–1590) wanted to turn the building into a wool factory to provide jobs for Rome's prostitutes, but he died and the idea given up. In 1671 Cardinal Altieri said it could be used for bullfights. Many people were upset by this idea, it was quickly dropped.


title: Colosseum

text: In 1749, Pope Benedict XIV said that the Colosseum was a sacred place where early Christians had been martyred. He stopped people from taking any more building stones away. He set up the Stations of the Cross inside the building. He said the place was made sacred with the blood of the Christian martyrs who had died there. However, there is no historical evidence that any Christians had been killed in the Colosseum.


title: Colosseum

text: Later popes started projects to save the building from falling down. They took out the many plants which had overgrown the building and were causing more damage. The facade was made stronger with triangular brick wedges in 1807 and 1827. The inside was repaired in 1831, 1846 and in the 1930s. The underground area was partly dug out in 1810–1814 and 1874. This digging was finished by Benito Mussolini in the 1930s.'


title: Colosseum

text: The Colosseum is a free standing building, quite different to the earlier Greek theatres which were built into the sides of hills. It is really two Roman theatres joined together. It is oval shaped, 189 meters (615 ft / 640 Roman feet) long, and 156 meters (510 ft / 528 Roman feet) wide. It covers an area of . The outer wall is 48 meters (157 ft / 165 Roman feet) high. The distance around the building was 545 meters (1,788 ft / 1,835 Roman feet). The arena is an oval long and wide, surrounded by a wall high. Around the arena were raised rows of seating.


title: Colosseum

text: The outer wall was made from about of travertine stone. This was held together by of iron clamps. There was no mortar used to hold the wall together. The outside wall has been badly damaged over the years. Large sections have fallen down after earthquakes. The north side of the outside wall is still standing. It has triangular brick wedges at each end, added in the early 1800s to hold up the wall. The rest of the outside wall that can be seen today, is in fact the original inside wall.


title: Major League Baseball

text: Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league in North America. It is often considered to be the highest level of professional baseball in the world. There are two leagues that make up the MLB: the American League, also called AL, and National League, also called NL. There are currently 30 teams in the MLB, 29 from the United States and one from Canada, the Toronto Blue Jays.


title: Major League Baseball

text: The 30 teams in MLB are divided into two leagues: American and National. Each league is divided into three divisions: East, Central, West. Since the 2013 season, each division has had five teams. The most recent change took place after the 2012 season, when the Houston Astros moved from the NL Central to the AL West.


title: Major League Baseball

text: Each team in Major League Baseball is scheduled to play a 162-game season. The season begins in April (or sometimes the end of March) and ends in October. The teams play other teams in their own division the most, and play very few (no more than six) games against teams in the other league. Teams usually play each other in series of three or four games at a time. If a game is canceled because of bad weather, it may be held later, sometimes as part of a doubleheader (two games in one day). Sometimes these games are not held again if it would not affect either team's place in the standings (the list of teams ordered by their number of wins and losses).


title: Major League Baseball

text: Highest ranking teams after this regular season enter a post-season of "playoff" games. Teams that are tied at the end of a season may play another game to decide which team(s) will enter the playoffs. The playoff games determine the champion for each of the two leagues.


title: Major League Baseball

text: In July, there are three days where teams do not play normal games, and a group of the best players play in the "Major League Baseball All-Star Game". This period is called the "All-Star Break", and it is thought of as the point where half of the season is over. Some games at the beginning of the regular season have been played in other countries, such as Japan.


title: Major League Baseball

text: At the end of every season, ten teams play in the playoffs. Five teams from the AL, and five teams from the NL are in the playoffs. The team from the West, Central, or East division from each league with the most wins makes the playoffs (a team with the best record in its division is said to have "won its division"). The next two best teams in the AL and the next two best teams in the NL also get to play in the playoffs. They are called "wild card" teams. The first playoff round is called the Wild Card game. The two wild card teams from each league play each other in a one-game playoff. The winner of each game moves on to the Division Series. The team with the best record in each league plays the winner of its league's Wild Card game. The division winner with the second best record plays against the division winner with the third best record.


title: Major League Baseball

text: In the Division Series, teams play "best out of 5". Once one team beats the other three times, the winning team moves onto the next round of the playoffs, the Championship Series. The teams that lose are out of the playoffs. The AL teams that win play in the AL Championship Series. The NL teams that win play in the NL Championship Series. The Championship series is "best out of 7 games". Once one team beats the other four times, the winning team moves onto the next round of the playoffs. After the Championship Series, there are only two teams left.


title: Major League Baseball

text: These two teams play each other in the World Series, which is also a "best out of 7 games" series. The winner of the World Series is the champion of the league. They receive a trophy, depicting flags at different heights.


title: Major League Baseball

text: The first league of professional baseball teams began in 1871 and was called the National Association. This league did not play baseball the same way MLB does. For example, batters would walk after nine pitches instead of four. Many of the teams had problems with money and split up after only one or two seasons. However two teams are still playing today. Those teams were the Boston Red Stockings, which today are the Atlanta Braves, and the Chicago White Stockings, which today are the Chicago Cubs.


title: Major League Baseball

text: In 1876, the National League began, and included the Red and White Stockings as well as six other teams. This league was run better, but many teams still would split up after only a few seasons. Some, like the teams that are now called the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants, are also still playing today. There were other leagues also. The American Association started in 1882 and was almost as good as the National League. However many of its teams would go to the National League, and the American Association disappeared in 1891. The National League had problems, though. Players and fans did not behave well, and in 1894 a fire started during a game and destroyed the stadium and part of Roxbury, Boston.


title: Period (physics)

text: A time period (denoted by 'T'' ) is the time taken for one complete cycle of vibration to pass a given point. As the frequency of a wave increases, the time period of the wave decreases. The unit for time period is 'seconds'. "Frequency" and time "period" are in a reciprocal relationship that can be expressed mathematically as: T = 1/f or as: f = 1/T.


title: 22nd century

text: The 22nd Century is the next century. It will begin on January 1, 2101 and will end on December 31, 2200.


title: Business

text: A business is an organization where people work together. In a business, people work to make and sell products or services. Other people buy the products and services. The business owner is the person who hires people for work. A business can earn a profit for the products and services it offers. The word "business" comes from the word "busy", and means doing things. It works on regular basis.


title: Business

text: Originally, individual trades people were qualified, and they hired assistants. The invention of the joint-stock company meant a new era in business. By this means, some people put up the money as capital, and others used it to run the business. There is a law which says this kind of company is a "legal entity": it has a legal life separate from its owners or shareholders. In this way, a company can outlive the people who started it. This idea was invented in medieval times, but really flowered in the 19th century. It has spread around the world since then.


title: Business

text: Most businesses are created for commerce. There are big and small businesses. For example, one person can open a small barber-shop. A big business, like Microsoft, employs thousands of people all over the world.


title: Business

text: Some businesses need fixed locations. Examples are an office, store, or farm. For some businesses the worker goes to different locations. Examples are carpenters or electricians. They usually bring everything they need for work in their truck.


title: Business

text: "Business" can also mean the work or current state of a business. A business owner might say: "I am doing a lot of business" or "My business is good" or "Business is bad".


title: Business

text: The term can also be used in a more general way. As a noun, it can be used, for example, to speak about a broad area of activity.


title: Malala Yousafzai

text: Malala Yousafzai (born 12 July 1997) is a Pakistani student and education activist. She is known for her activism for girls' and women's rights, especially for her campaign to allow girls to go to school. She was a victim of a gunshot attack in October 2012.


title: Malala Yousafzai

text: Yousafzai is the youngest person to have won the Nobel Peace Prize. She was awarded the prize in October 2014, when she was just 17 years old. She was nominated for the prize the year before that.


title: Malala Yousafzai

text: Malala was born in the town of Mingora in the Swat. In 2009, at age 11, many people got to know her through a blog of the BBC News' Urdu language service. The BBC published translated writings about her life living with Taliban rule.


title: Malala Yousafzai

text: On 9 October 2012, Yousafzai was shot in the head and neck in an assassination attempt by Atta Ullah Khan, a Taliban gunman. She was given emergency treatment in Pakistan and then moved to Great Britain for more medical treatment.


title: Malala Yousafzai

text: On 3 January 2013, Yousafzai was discharged from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham to continue to recover at her family's temporary home in the West Midlands. She had two five-hour long operations on 2 February 2013. She had a titanium plate put over the hole in her skull and a cochlear implant so she could hear again.


title: Malala Yousafzai

text: In May 2012 David Trumble, an award-winning artist, made a cartoon of Yousafzai as a Disney princess as part of a drawing of other feminist icons that he had made into princesses that was in the Huffington Post.


title: Malala Yousafzai

text: On 12 July 2013, at age 16, she made a speech at the headquarters of the United Nations, stressing the right to education for all and for human rights and peace and non-violence against terrorism and intolerance citing the proverb: "the pen is mightier than the sword". That October she was invited to meet President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and their daughter Malia in the Oval Office.


title: Malala Yousafzai

text: She wrote a book about her life, "", which was published in October 2013. The book was banned in Pakistani private schools.


title: Malala Yousafzai

text: The Taliban have said that they still want to assassinate Yousafzai. She campaigned for girls' rights and education. Many officials did not agree with her campaign.


title: Malala Yousafzai

text: Besides the Nobel Prize in 2014, Yousafzai has been honoured for her work many times. She was awarded prizes for her work.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: The companions or assistants of the Doctor of the "Doctor Who" television series are people who travel with him.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: The Doctor is an alien. He is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. He travels in his spaceship called the TARDIS. It allows him to go anywhere in time and space. "TARDIS" stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. The Doctor usually takes other people with him, who are usually called "companions" or "assistants". The Doctor and his companions travel through space and time, have a lot of adventures, and often save many people.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: The character of the companion was there so that the people watching the series could identify and feel close to a character. The companions were often present-time humans. People could relate to them because they knew as much as the viewers. Because of this, the Doctor could explain things to his companions, and at the same time to the viewers.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Companions are named under the Doctors they travelled with, and sorted by the order in which they appear.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Susan (Carole Ann Ford) was the Doctor's granddaughter. She escaped with him from the planet Gallifrey in a stolen TARDIS. From her grandfather, she has an advanced knowledge of history and science. Her first appearance was in "An Unearthly Child". Her last appearance was in "The Dalek Invasion of Earth". In that episode, she meets David Campbell (Peter Fraser), a young freedom fighter in the 22nd century. The Doctor locks her out of the TARDIS and forces her to stay behind with David.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) is one of the first companions of the Doctor. Barbara is a history teacher at the Coal Hill School, working with science teacher Ian Chesterton.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Her first appearance was in "An Unearthly Child." Suspicious of student Susan Foreman's strange knowledge of history and science, Barbara and Ian follow her home to the TARDIS. There they meet the Doctor. With him, they begin to travel through space and time.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: In "The Chase", after two years of travelling with the Doctor, Barbara and Ian use a Dalek time machine to return to London.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Ian Chesterton (William Russell) is one of the first companions of the Doctor. Ian is a science teacher at the Coal Hill School, working with history teacher Barbara Wright.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: His first appearance was in "An Unearthly Child." Suspicious of student Susan Foreman's strange knowledge of history and science, Ian and Barbara follow her home to the TARDIS. There they meet the Doctor. With him, they begin to travel through space and time.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) first appeared in "The Rescue". She was a survivor of a spaceship crash on the planet Dido in the 25th century. She is rescued by the Doctor. She travels with him, Ian, and Barbara. In "The Myth Makers", Vicki meets an ancient warrior of Troy named Troilus. She decides to stay behind with him. She eventually passes into legend as Cressida. She also makes sure that the Trojan girl Katarina enters the TARDIS in her place.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Steven Taylor (Peter Purves) first appeared in "The Chase." The Doctor and his companions, Ian, Barbara, and Vicki find Steven on the planet Mechanus, where he had crash-landed two years before. In "The Savages", Steven stays behind to accept the responsibility of leading the combined society of Savages and Elders that are attempting a lasting peace.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Katarina (Adrienne Hill) first appears in "The Myth Makers". She is a handmaiden of the prophetess Cassandra, the princess of ancient Troy. After Vicki stays behind in Troy, Katarina takes her place. During "The Daleks' Master Plan", Katarina is taken hostage by the escaped prisoner Kirksen. He demands that the Doctor take him to Kembel, a planet taken over by the Daleks. To prevent the Doctor giving in to Kirksen's demands, Katarina triggers the controls to the airlock she is being held in. That sends both her and her captor into the vacuum of space. She is the first companion in the series to die.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Sara Kingdom (Jean Marsh) is a Space Security Agent in "The Daleks' Master Plan". She joins the Doctor in his fight, briefly travelling in the TARDIS to several different locations in time and space. When the Doctor activates the Time Destructor, a device that accelerates time, Sara cannot be saved. She ages and dies, her remains turning to dust. Sara is sometimes counted as a companion of the First Doctor, but sometimes not.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet (Jackie Lane) first appeared at the end of "The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve". Dodo wanders into the TARDIS, thinking it was a real police box. In "The War Machines", Dodo decides to stay in 1966 London.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Polly (Anneke Wills) was a companion of the First and Second Doctor. She and Ben Jackson appeared first in "The War Machines". She was secretary to Professor Brett, creator of the artificial intelligence known as WOTAN. She travels with the Doctor after he regenerated into the Second Doctor. In "The Faceless Ones," they return to 1966 London. Polly and Ben decide to remain behind to resume their lives without disruption


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Ben Jackson (Michael Craze) was a companion of the First and Second Doctor. He appeared first in "The War Machines" as an Able Seaman serving in the Royal Navy. In "The Faceless Ones," they return to 1966 London, and Polly and Ben decide to stay.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: James Robert "Jamie" McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) was from 18th century Scotland. He first appears in "The Highlanders". He meets the Doctor, Ben and Polly after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. At the end of "The War Games", the Time Lords take Jamie's and Zoe's memories away, and send each of them back to their original time and place.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling) is from Victorian England in 1866. She is the daughter of scientist Edward Waterfield (played by John Bailey). She first appears in "The Evil of the Daleks". In "Fury from the Deep", Victoria leaves the Doctor and Jamie and stays with a family named Harris in the 20th century.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury) first appears in "The Wheel in Space". She is on a space station in the 21st century. At the end of "The War Games", the Time Lords take Zoe's and Jamie's memories away, and send each of them back to their original time and place.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Elizabeth "Liz" Shaw (Caroline John) was a scientist and civilian member of UNIT. She first appeared in "Spearhead from Space". She became a member of UNIT and met the newly regenerated Doctor. In "Inferno", Liz decided to leave the Doctor and UNIT, and go back to the University of Cambridge.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Jo Grant (Katy Manning) first appears in "Terror of the Autons" as a replacement assistant for the Doctor. In "The Green Death", Jo falls in love with the scientist Professor Clifford Jones. She decides to marry Jones, and goes with him to the Amazon Rainforest.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) was a companion of the third and fourth Doctors (Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker). Sarah Jane was known for feminism and strong affection with the Doctor. He called her his best friend. She is the most popular of the companions from the old series. She has appeared in the new series twice. She also has her own spinoff series.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) was a companion of the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker). Harry was known for being UNIT's Medical Doctor. He travelled with Sarah Jane Smith as well.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Leela (Louise Jameson) first appeared in "The Face of Evil". She was a warrior of the savage Sevateem tribe. The Sevateem tribe were the descendants of the crew of an Earth ship that crash landed on an unnamed planet in the far future. In "The Invasion of Time", Leela falls in love with Andred, a Gallifreyan. Leela chooses to stay with Andred on the Doctor's home planet Gallifrey. K-9 Mark I stays with her.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: K9 (voiced by John Leeson) was a robot dog. There have been several models, K9 Mark I through Mark IV.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: The original K9 Mark I was given to the Doctor, but later stayed with the Doctor's companion Leela on Gallifrey. K9 Mark II stayed with Romana in E-Space. K9 Mark III and Mark IV were presents of the Doctor to Sarah Jane Smith.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Romanadvoratrelundar is another Time Lady from Gallifrey, changing her appearance when she regenerates into Romana II.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) was a companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctor. He was from the planet Alzarius in the parallel universe E-Space. He came with the Doctor to our universe. Adric dies in "Earthshock", when the spaceship he is on crashes into prehistoric Earth.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Vislor Turlough (Mark Strickson) was an alien from the planet Trion. After a civil war he had been exiled to Earth, to the Brendon Public School. In "Mawdryn Undead" he met the Doctor and joined him. In "Planet of Fire", Turlough left and returned to his home planet Trion.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Kamelion (voiced by Gerald Flood) was a shape-changing android and a companion of the Fifth Doctor. He first appears in "The King's Demons", where he is controlled by the Master. The Doctor frees him and takes Kamelion with him. In "Planet of Fire", Kamelion is destroyed.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown (Nicola Bryant) was a companion of the Fifth and Sixth Doctor. She first appears in "Planet of Fire". After that, she travels with the Doctor. After the Doctor regenerates, Peri stays and travels with the Sixth Doctor.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Melanie "Mel" Bush (Bonnie Langford) was a companion of the Sixth and Seventh Doctor. She was a computer programmer from 20th century England. Mel leaves the Doctor at the end of "Dragonfire", to stay on Iceworld with Sabalom Glitz.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Dorothy "Ace" McShane, (Sophie Aldred) first appears in "Dragonfire", on the planet Iceworld, although Ace was from 20th century Earth. At the end of this story, Melanie Bush leaves the Doctor. He invites Ace to come with him. Ace stays the Doctor's companion until the first end of the series in 1989.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Dr. Grace Holloway (Daphne Ashbrook) was the Doctor's companion in the 1996 television movie "Doctor Who". Grace is a cardiologist from 1999 San Francisco. She accidentally kills the Seventh Doctor during an operation. Grace helps the Eighth Doctor fight the Master. In the end of the movie, the Eighth Doctor invites Grace to travel with him, but she says that she will stay on Earth.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Lucie Miller was the Doctor's companion in The Eighth Doctor Adventures range from Big Finish, and is among the named companions in The Night of the Doctor special episode featuring the Eighth's regeneration.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Charlotte Pollard was the Doctor's first companion in the audio series by Big Finish. She was a girl from 1900s Britain, she ran away to fly around the world, boarding the ship the R101. The Doctor saved her from the crash and she became his companion.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Adam Mitchell (Bruno Langley) was the Doctor's companion for only two episodes. In 2012, he was a young English researcher. He worked for the American billionaire Henry van Statten. In the episode "Dalek" he was at van Statten's base, and at the end he went with the Doctor in the TARDIS. In "The Long Game" he is travelling with the Doctor and Rose, but Adam behaves badly. At the end of the episode, the Doctor takes Adam home.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke) was Rose Tyler's boyfriend. He helped Rose and the Ninth Doctor several times. Later he travelled with the Tenth Doctor and Rose. At the end of "The Age of Steel", Mickey decided to stay in the parallel world to help fight the Cybermen. In "Journey's End", Mickey returned to this world, and at the end decided to stay here again.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Astrid Peth (Kylie Minogue) was the Doctor's companion during the 2007 Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned". She is from the planet Sto. Astrid is a waitress on the starship "Titanic". Astrid helps the Doctor. She is killed while she saves him. After saving the "Titanic", the Doctor realises that Astrid was still wearing a teleporter bracelet when she died. He tries to bring her back to life, but it does not work fully: Astrid now is a ghost-like energy being. In the end, the Doctor sends Astrid away to fly through the universe.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Wilfred Mott (Bernard Cribbins) was the grandfather of Donna Noble. He first appeared in the 2007 Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned". He made his final appearance in the 2009 Christmas special "The End of Time".


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Rory is often also called Rory Pond by the Doctor. Rory does not like the name. He thinks since he and Amy Pond got married, they should be Mr. and Mrs Williams. The Doctor prefers Mr. and Mrs. Pond. Rory is also known as the Last Centurion.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Craig Owens (James Corden) was a man whose apartment the Doctor stayed in during "The Lodger" (2010). He returned in "Closing Time" (2011) to help the Doctor fight some cybermen hiding underneath a department store.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: John Riddell was an English game hunter. The Doctor picked him up in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" (2012). He took him to a Silurian Ark ship to help stop it crashing into earth. He left after the episode and may not be considered a 'proper' companion.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Queen Nefertiti (called 'Neffie' by the Doctor) helped the Doctor with a Silurian Ark ship that was going to crash into earth in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" (2012). After she left and went to Africa with big game hunter John Riddell.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Clara Oswald was a companion of the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors. Clara was called "the impossible girl".


title: Doctor Who companions

text: The Paternoster Gang is a group that includes Silurian Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), her wife Jenny Flint (Catrin Stewart), and Sontaran commander Strax (Dan Starkey).


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Ryan Sinclair () is a companion of the Thirteenth Doctor. He is also Graham's step-grandson and went to school with Yasmin Khan. Ryan has dyspraxia.


title: Doctor Who companions

text: Yasmin Khan () is a companion of the Thirteenth Doctor. She is a junior police officer with the Hallamshire Police.


title: Subject (school)

text: Subjects are the parts into which learning can be divided. At school, each lesson usually covers one subject only. Some of the most common subjects at school are Language arts, history, mathematics, physical education and science.


title: Co-education

text: Co-education is the education of males and females in the same schools. The practice has been different in different countries and at different times.


title: Co-education

text: Most primary schools have been co-educational for a long time since it was believed that there is no reason to educate females separately from males before the age of puberty. Also, the curriculum in primary schools is not controversial since it emphasizes reading, writing, and arithmetic, with some elementary knowledge of geography and history. In some countries, it includes some religious and cultural education.


title: Co-education

text: However, before the mid-19th century, girls were often educated at home or not educated at all. On that point, there were great differences in different parts of the world. In England and Wales, universal primary education was set up by the Elementary Education Act of 1870, and attendance from the ages of 5 to 10 was compulsory. That was extended in another Act of 1880. Since then. almost all primary education in the United Kingdom has been co-educational, as it is in many other countries.


title: Co-education

text: With secondary education, children go through the process of puberty, and there is no general agreement as to whether both sexes should be educated together. People make arguments both for and against the idea. At one extreme is the United States in which both sexes are usually educated together at all stages. At the other extreme are certain traditional societies in which girls do not get a secondary education at all. The tendency has been for more countries to move to co-education as the standard at every level of education. An exception would be the Islamic world, where girls are educated separately from boys or even not educated at all.


title: Co-education

text: The world's oldest co-educational school may be Archbishop Tenison's Church of England High School, Croydon. It was established in 1714 in what what in Surrey but is now in South London. It has admitted both boys and girls since its opening. It has always been a day school only and is thought that to be the oldest surviving mixed-sex school in the world.


title: Refrigerator

text: A refrigerator is a machine used for keeping things cold. It is sometimes called a fridge or an icebox. It is normally maintained at 4-5 degree Celsius for household use. People put food and drinks in it, to keep those items cold or good (unspoiled) for a longer time. A refrigerator has a heat pump which takes heat away from the air inside the fridge. The heat is moved to the air outside. The heat pump is usually driven by an electric motor.


title: Refrigerator

text: There are also ice boxes available that do not use electricity because they are filled with ice to provide the colder temperature. The ice can keep things cold until the ice melts. Ice boxes can be taken on camping trips. Sometimes they are called coolers. Refrigerator-sized iceboxes were used before electricity was available.


title: Refrigerator

text: Most modern refrigerators are available in a variety of colours, although most are white. Smaller versions of the popular refrigerator are also used. They are mainly used in hotels and college dorm rooms.


title: Refrigerator

text: A freezer is a special type of refrigerator that stores food at freezing temperatures. Inside a freezer, it is normally . Freezers can be found in household refrigerators, as well as in industry and commerce. When stored in a freezer, frozen food can be stored safely for a longer time than storing at room temperatures.


title: Refrigerator

text: Domestic freezers can be a separate compartment in a refrigerator, or can be a separate appliance. Household refrigerators usually have a separate compartment where the heat pump is used to pump even colder temperatures to the contents. Most household freezers maintain temperatures from . Some freezer-only units can achieve and lower. Most household refrigerators generally do not achieve a temperature lower than , because it is difficult to control the temperature for two different compartments. This is because both compartments shares the same coolant loop.


title: Refrigerator

text: Domestic freezers normally stand upright, resembling refrigerators. Sometimes a domestic freezer is laid on its back to look like a chest. Many modern upright freezers come with an ice dispenser built into their door. Many commercial freezers stand upright and have glass doors so shoppers can see the contents.


title: Spring

text: Spring is the season after winter and before summer. Days become longer and weather gets warmer in the temperate zone because the Earth tilts relative to its orbital plane around the Sun. In many parts of the world it rains for hours. This helps the plants grow and flowers bloom. Often people with hay fever suffer more, because some plant pollens are allergens. Many animals have their breeding seasons in spring. At the start of spring, people suffering from seasonal affective disorder will feel better. The vernal equinox in springtime makes days and nights equally long in the temperate zone.


title: Spring

text: Holidays celebrated in spring include Passover and Easter. In many countries, the period of school between early January and later May or early June is referred to as the “Spring Semester” or “Spring Term”. Spring break is a vacation period in early spring at universities and schools in various countries in the world.


title: Buddhism

text: Buddhism originated in India based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, later known as Gautama Buddha. A Buddha is one who is said to be awake to the truth of life.


title: Buddhism

text: Over the centuries his teachings spread from Nepal to Central Asia, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, and now Europe and North and South America. Theravada Buddhism is most common in South Asia; Mahayana further north. Buddhism exists in many different strands today, but all schools and sects share basic ideas. About seven percent of the people of the world are Buddhist.


title: Buddhism

text: While many people see Buddhism as a religion, others see it as a philosophy, and others as a way of finding reality.


title: Buddhism

text: Siddhartha Gautama (563483 BC) began life as the infant prince of a small kingdom in what is now the southern part of Nepal. As an adult he left wealth and status behind to search for truth. Enlightened at the age of 35, the Buddha spent the next 45 years of his life traveling and teaching in the northern part of India. He died at the age of 80.


title: Buddhism

text: The Buddha focused much of his teaching on how to overcome suffering. He saw that all living things suffer in being born, in getting sick, in growing old, and in facing death. By overcoming suffering, he taught, a person will be truly happy.


title: Buddhism

text: Early teaching. His first lesson after becoming enlightened was to other seekers who had also renounced the world. This was a group of holy men or monks with whom the Buddha had studied for five or more years. To them he first presented what he saw as the Four Noble Truths of life and the Eightfold Noble Path (see below). These teachings identify the causes of suffering and their cure.


title: Buddhism

text: Three marks of existence. The Buddha taught that life is best understood as being "impermanent" (everything changes), "unsatisfactory" (left on our own we are never truly happy), and "interdependent" (all things are linked, even to the degree that the self is better understood as an illusion).


title: Buddhism

text: The middle way. Buddhism teaches non-harm and "moderation" or balance, not going too far one way or the other. This is called the Middle Way, and encourages people to live in balance.


title: Buddhism

text: Meditation. The Buddha recommended meditation as a way to discipline the mind and see the world as it is. Buddhists may meditate while sitting in a special or specific way. Standing and walking meditation are other styles.


title: Buddhism

text: Three poisons. In discussing suffering, the Buddha identified the three poisons of desire, anger and stupidity, and he showed that we could end our suffering by letting go of desires and overcoming anger and stupidity.


title: Buddhism

text: Nirvana. The complete letting go of negative influences is called Nirvana, meaning "to extinguish," like putting out the flame of a candle. This end of suffering is also called Enlightenment. In Buddhism, Enlightenment and Nirvana often mean the same thing.


title: Buddhism

text: Do Buddhists believe in god or gods? The Buddha would not say if gods exist or not, although gods play a part in some Buddhist stories. If someone asked the Buddha, "Do gods exist?" he maintained a "noble silence". That is, he would not confirm or deny. Buddhists do not believe that people should look to gods to save them or bring them enlightenment. Rather individuals should work out their own path the best they can.


title: Buddhism

text: Other basic teachings. Many of the Buddha's ideas are found in other Indian religions, especially Hinduism.


title: Buddhism

text: "Buddha" is a Pali word which means "The Awakened (or Enlightened) one". Someone who has woken up to the truth of the mind and suffering and teaches the truth to others is called a Buddha. The word "Buddha" often means the historical Buddha named Buddha Shakyamuni (Siddhartha Gautama). Buddhists do not believe that a Buddha is a god, but that he is a human being who has woken up and can see the true way the mind works. They believe this knowledge totally changes the person. This person can help others become "enlightened" too. Enlightened people are beyond birth, death, and rebirth.


title: Buddhism

text: According to Buddhism, there were countless Buddhas before Gautama Buddha and there will be many Buddhas after him.


title: Buddhism

text: In Pali texts, the first Buddha in Buddhavamsa sutta was Taṇhaṅkara Buddha. The Mahapadana sutta says the earliest Buddha of the recent seven buddhas was Vipassi Buddha ("But sutta is not saying that Vipassi is first Buddha"). Counting from the present "kalpa" (the beginning of our present world (Earth)) Gautama Buddha is considered the fourth Buddha. In this telling, the first is Kakusandho Buddha, second Konakamano Buddha, and the third Kassapo Buddha. The last Buddha of this "kalpa" will be Maitreya Buddha. Then the world (Earth) will renew itself and from then begins a new "kalpa".


title: Buddhism

text: The Buddha refers to the awakened one, the Dharma to the Buddha's teachings, and the Sangha to the people who follow the Buddha and his teachings.


title: Buddhism

text: Buddhists say "I take "refuge" in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha." They find comfort in these jewels or treasures.


title: Buddhism

text: The Buddha told people to follow a special way of life called the "Noble Eightfold Path" if they want to understand the "Four Noble Truths". These are:


title: Buddhism

text: Buddhists are encouraged to follow five "precepts", or guidelines. The Buddha taught that killing, stealing, having sex in a harmful way, and lying are not signs of skill.


title: South Africa

text: The Republic of South Africa is a country in the southern region of Africa. About fifty-seven million people live there. South Africa is next to Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, and eSwatini.


title: South Africa

text: The biggest city of South Africa is Johannesburg. The country has three capitals for different purposes. They are Cape Town, Pretoria, and Bloemfontein. This is because the government is based in Pretoria, the parliament is in Cape Town and the Supreme Court is in Bloemfontein.


title: South Africa

text: There are 11 national languages. They are Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Xhosa, Zulu, Swati, Setswana, Sesotho, Sesotho sa Leboa, Venda and Tsonga. They are also known as National Lexicography Units (NLUs). Because of all the languages, the country has an official name in each language.


title: South Africa

text: One of South Africa's most well known people is Nelson Mandela. He was its president from 1994 until 1999. He died in 2013 at the age of 95. The current president is Cyril Ramaphosa.


title: South Africa

text: The first European people to come to South Africa were Portuguese explorers. In 1487, Bartolomeu Dias found what he called the "Cape of Storms". The king of Portugal changed it to "Cape of Good Hope". He called it this because the cape gave the Portuguese a new chance to find a sea route to India.


title: South Africa

text: In 1652, Jan van Riebeeck colonized the Cape. He started the camp for the Dutch East India Company. This was so that they could give fresh food to ships on their way to the south of Asia. There were very few native people living in the Cape. Because of this, slaves were brought from Indonesia, Madagascar and India to work at the colony. In 1795, Great Britain took the Cape from the Dutch East India Company, to stop France from taking it. The British gave it back in 1803 but then annexed the Cape in 1807 when the Dutch East India Company went bankrupt.


title: South Africa

text: Diamonds were found in South Africa in 1867. Gold was found in 1884. This made a great number of people to come to South Africa from Europe. They were hoping to make money.


title: South Africa

text: The First Boer War happened in 1880-1881. The war was between the British and the Boers Republics. At that time, the British had the Cape. The Boer Republics were established when Dutch settlers moved north in the Great Trek. The British lost the war and came back 8 years later in 1899. They won this Second Boer War in 1902. The British had brought many more soldiers the second time. The Boers had no chance of winning. On 31 May 1910 the Union of South Africa was made from the Cape and Natal colonies. It was also made from Orange Free State and the Transvaal. These were two Boer Republics.


title: South Africa

text: South Africa gained greater independence with the Statute of Westminster, enacted in 1931 by the Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.


title: South Africa

text: In 1961 South Africa became completely independent when the voters voted in a referendum to become a republic, severing all links to the Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.


title: South Africa

text: South Africa is found at the southernmost region of Africa, with a long coastline that reaches more than and along two oceans (the South Atlantic and the Indian). At , South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world and is almost the size of Colombia. Njesuthi in the Drakensberg at is the highest part in South Africa.


title: South Africa

text: The back of South Africa is a big and flat. It is a very populated scrubland, the Karoo, which is drier towards the northwest along the Namib desert. The eastern coastline however, is well-watered, which makes a climate kind of like the tropics.


title: South Africa

text: To the north of Johannesburg, the altitude drops beyond the of the Highveld. It then turns into the lower lying Bushveld, an area of mixed dry forest and a lot of wildlife. East of the Highveld, beyond the eastern escarpment, the Lowveld reaches towards the Indian Ocean. It has mostly high temperatures, and is also the location of subtropical agriculture.


title: South Africa

text: South Africa has a mostly temperate climate. It is surrounded by the Atlantic and Indian Oceans on three sides, and is located in the climatically milder southern hemisphere. Average elevation is higher towards the north (towards the equator) and further inland. Because of this varied topography and oceanic influence, different parts of South Africa have different climates.


title: South Africa

text: There is a desert in the southern Namib in the farthest northwest and subtropical climate in the east along the Mozambique border and the Indian ocean. From the east, the land quickly rises over mountains towards the back plateau known as the Highveld. Even though South Africa is thought as semi-arid, there is a difference in climate as well as topography.


title: South Africa

text: The southwest has a climate similar to that of the Mediterranean with mild, moderately wet winters and hot, dry summers. This area also makes much of the wine in South Africa. This region is also mostly known for its wind, which blows almost all year. The wind can sometimes be severe when passing around the Cape of Good Hope mostly gets bad for sailors, making many shipwrecks. Further east on the south coast, rainfall falls more evenly throughout the year, making a green landscape. This area is popularly known as the Garden Route.


title: South Africa

text: The Orange Free State is mostly flat, because it lies in the center of the high plateau. North of the Vaal River, the Highveld becomes better watered and does not get subtropical heat. Johannesburg, in the center of the Highveld, is at 1,740 m (5,709 ft) and gets a yearly rainfall of 740 mm (29.9 in). Winters in this region are cold, although snow is rare.


title: South Africa

text: South Africa is ranked sixth out of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries, with more than 20,000 different kinds of plants, or about 10% of all the known species of plants on Earth, making it very rich in plant biodiversity.


title: South Africa

text: The most common biome in South Africa is the grassland, mostly on the Highveld. This is where grasses, low shrubs, and acacia trees, mostly camel-thorn and whitethorn are more common than other plants. Plants become less common towards the northwest. This is because of low rainfall. There are many species of water-storing plants like aloes and euphorbias in the very hot and dry Namaqualand area. The grass and thorn savanna turns slowly into a bush savanna towards the north-east of the country, with more thick growth. There are many numbers of baobab trees in this area, near the northern end of Kruger National Park.


title: South Africa

text: South Africa's economy is divided. It is divided between First World and Third World standards. The developed part of the economy is similar to that of most nations with wealth (for example, Britain or Australia). The rest of the economy is closer to that of poor nations, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The main companies in South Africa are mining (mostly for gold and diamonds), car making, and service industries, such as insurance.


title: South Africa

text: Unemployment is very high. Income inequality is about the same as Brazil. During 1995–2003, the number of older jobs went down. Informal jobs went up. Overall unemployment got worse. The average South African household income went down a lot between 1995 and 2000. As for racial inequality, Statistics South Africa said that in 1995 the average white household earned four times as much as the average black household. In 2000 the average white family was earning six times more than the average black household. The action policies have seen a rise in black economic wealth. There is a developing black middle class. Other problems are crime, corruption, and HIV/AIDS. South Africa suffers from mostly heavy overall regulation compared to developed countries. labor rules have added to the unemployment weakness.


title: South Africa

text: South Africa is a nation of about 50 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The last census was held in 2001 and the next will be in 2011. Statistics South Africa had five racial categories by which people could classify themselves, the last of which, "unspecified/other" drew "not needed" responses, and these results were not counted. The 2009 middle-year estimated figures for the other categories were Black African at 79.3%, White at 9.1%, Colored at 9.0%, and Asian at 2.6%.


title: South Africa

text: Even though the population of South Africa has grown in the past decade (mostly because of immigration), the country had an yearly population growth rate of −0.501% in 2008 (CIA est.), counting immigration. The CIA thinks that in 2009 South Africa's population started to grow again, at a rate of 0.281%. South Africa is home to an estimated 5 million illegal immigrants, counting about 3 million Zimbabweans. A series of anti-immigrant riots happened in South Africa beginning on 11 May 2008.


title: South Africa

text: South Africa is divided into 9 provinces. The provinces are in turn divided into 52 districts: 8 metropolitan and 44 district municipalities. The district municipalities are further divided into 226 local municipalities.


title: South Africa

text: It may be suggested that there is no single South African culture because of its ethnic diversity. Today, the diversity in foods from many cultures is enjoyed by all and marketed to tourists who wish to taste South African food. Food is not the only thing, music and dance is there too.


title: South Africa

text: South African food is mostly meat-based and has spawned the South African social gathering known as a "braai", or barbecue. South Africa has also developed into a big wine maker. It has some of the best vineyards lying in valleys around Stellenbosch, Franschoek, Paarl and Barrydale.


title: South Africa

text: South Africa is the only country of Africa with a significant ethnic European population and influence


title: South Africa

text: Most South African blacks still have poor lives. It is among these people, however, that cultural traditions live most strongly. This is because blacks have become urbanised and Westernised, much parts of traditional culture have fallen. Urban blacks normally speak English or Afrikaans in addition to their native tongue. There are smaller but still important groups of speakers of Khoisan languages who are not in the 11 official languages, but are one of the eight other officially recognized languages.


title: South Africa

text: Members of middle class, who are mostly white but whose ranks are growing numbers of black, colored and Indian people, have lifestyles similar in many ways to that of people found in Western Europe, North America and Australasia. Members of the middle class often study and work from foreign countries for greater exposure to the markets of the world.


title: South Africa

text: According to the 2001 national census, Christians accounted for 79.7% of the population. This has Zion Christian (11.1%), Pentecostal (Charismatic) (8.2%), Roman Catholic (7.1%), Methodist (6.8%), Dutch Reformed (6.7%), Anglican (3.8%); members of other Christian churches accounted for another 36% of the population. Muslims accounted for 1.5% of the population, Hinduism about 1.3%, and Judaism 0.2%. 15.1% had no religious affiliation, 2.3% were other and 1.4% were unspecified.


title: South Africa

text: South Africa's most liked sports are soccer, rugby union and cricket. Other sports that are popular are swimming, athletics, golf, boxing, tennis and netball. Soccer is the most liked among youth. There are other sports like basketball, surfing and skateboarding that are becoming more liked.


title: South Africa

text: Famous boxers from South Africa are Baby Jake Jacob Matlala, Vuyani Bungu, Welcome Ncita, Dingaan Thobela, Gerrie Coetzee and Brian Mitchell. There are football players who have played for major foreign clubs. Some of them are Lucas Radebe and Philemon Masinga (both were of Leeds United), Quinton Fortune (Atletico Madrid and Manchester United), Benni McCarthy (Ajax Amsterdam, F.C. Porto and Blackburn Rovers), Aaron Mokoena (Ajax Amsterdam, Blackburn Rovers and Portsmouth), Delron Buckley (Borussia Dortmund) and Steven Pienaar (Ajax Amsterdam and Everton). South Africa made Formula One motor racing's 1979 world champion Jody Scheckter. Famous current cricket players are Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, JP Duminy and more. Most of them also participate in the Indian Premier League.


title: South Africa

text: South Africa has also made many world class rugby players. Some of them are Francois Pienaar, Joost van der Westhuizen, Danie Craven, Frik du Preez, Naas Botha, and Bryan Habana. South Africa hosted and won the 1995 Rugby World Cup at their first try. They won the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. South Africa was only allowed to participate from 1995 since the end of Apartheid. It followed the 1995 Rugby World Cup by hosting the 1996 African Cup of Nations. It had the national team, 'Bafana Bafana,' going on to win the tournament. It also hosted the 2003 Cricket World Cup. and the 2007 World Twenty20 Championship. Both of them were a great success.


title: South Africa

text: In 2010, South Africa became the first African nation to host the FIFA World Cup. The national team has competed in three World Cups. It bid for the right to stage the 2004 Olympic Games, but finished third to Athens. South Africa is also well known for their cricket team. They are right now the world's number one in test match cricket.


title: South Africa

text: The main schools span the first seven years of schooling. In the age of Apartheid, schools for blacks were subject to judgment through funding and so forth. Instruction can take place in Afrikaans as well. Public payment on education was at 5.4% of the 2002-05 GDP.


title: South Africa

text: South Africa's military is the most powerful in southern Africa. South Africa spends more on its military than any of its neighboring countries do. They have very advanced weapons as a result. South Africa used to have nuclear weapons, but they were taken apart in 1993.


title: Fellatio

text: Fellatio is oral sex performed on the penis. Fellatio is often called a blow job. The opposite of this is cunnilingus. Cunnilingus is oral sex performed on the vulva.


title: Fellatio

text: Fellatio can continue until the receiver ejaculates or as part of foreplay, before actual sexual intercourse.


title: Fellatio

text: There is no risk of getting pregnant by performing a fellatio, because there is no connection from the mouth to the womb and the fallopian tubes. There is however a large risk of transmitting diseases if the mouth comes in contact with semen on the penis. If the person drinks alcoholic drinks, it can make this risk higher. HIV can also enter through open sores or bleeding gums.


title: Fellatio

text: Diseases such as Chlamydia, human papillomavirus (HPV), gonorrhea, herpes, hepatitis (multiple strains), and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), as well as viruses such as HIV, can be transmitted through oral sex. The risk of transmitting HIV through fellatio is unknown, but it is thought to be low. Any kind of direct contact with body fluids of a person infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, poses a risk of infection. The risk from most of these types of infection, however, is generally considered far lower than that associated with vaginal or anal sex.


title: Fellatio

text: If the receiving partner has wounds on their genitals, or if the giving partner has wounds or open sores on or in their mouth, or bleeding gums, this poses an increased risk of STD transmission. Flossing or undergoing dental work relatively soon before or after giving fellatio can also increase the risk of transmission, because all of these activities can cause small scratches in the lining of the mouth. These wounds, even when they are microscopic, increase the chances of contracting STDs that can be transmitted orally under these conditions. Such contact can also lead to more mundane infections from common bacteria and viruses found in, around and secreted from the genital regions. Because of this, some medical professionals advise the use of condoms when performing or receiving fellatio with a partner whose STD status is unknown. Flavoured condoms may be used for this purpose. Alternatively there is flavored lube.


title: Fellatio

text: Many people accuse someone of performing fellatio as an insult. For example 'cock sucker!' or 'suck my dick'.


title: Fellatio

text: Many cultures see fellatio as showing control over ones partner, as often the giver is on their knees. In ancient Greece it was called "playing the flute". The Moche people of ancient Peru practiced it regularly and made vases showing it.


title: The Nutcracker

text: The Nutcracker is a classical ballet in two acts. It is based on E.T.A. Hoffmann's 1816 fairy tale "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It tells the story of a little girl who goes to the Land of Sweets on Christmas Eve. Ivan Vsevolozhsky and Marius Petipa adapted Hoffmann's story for the ballet. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote the music. Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov designed the dances. "The Nutcracker" was first performed at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 18 December 1892 to a modest success and rarely seen the next years.


title: The Nutcracker

text: In 1940, Walt Disney used some of the "Nutcracker" music in his animated movie "Fantasia", which led to an interest in the ballet. Interest grew when George Balanchine's "The Nutcracker" was televised in the late 1950s. The ballet has been performed in many different places since then. Before the first performance, Tchaikovsky took some numbers from the ballet to form the "Nutcracker Suite". This work was a great success on the concert stage, and is still played today.


title: The Nutcracker

text: The origin of "The Nutcracker" has its roots in the great success of "The Sleeping Beauty" ballet. This ballet was staged at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1890. It was the work of the director of the Imperial Theatres in St. Petersburg, Ivan Vsevolozhsky; the composer, Tchaikovsky; and the choreographer, Marius Petipa. Vsevolozsky thought another ballet based on a children's story would be just as successful as "The Sleeping Beauty".


title: The Nutcracker

text: He picked Hoffmann's 1816 fairy tale "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" as the subject for the new ballet. This story was loved by Russians. He wrote an adaptation of Hoffmann's story based on the Alexandre Dumas translation. He dropped much of the original. Petipa adapted Vsevolozsky's story to the requirements of ballet. Vsevolozsky then pressured Tchaikovsky into writing the music for the ballet. Tchaikovsky did not like the adaptation of Hoffmann's story, but he agreed to write the music.


title: The Nutcracker

text: Petipa designed the dances. He gave Tchaikovsky special directions about how the music was to be written. For example, he wanted a great "crescendo" of 48 bars as the Christmas tree rose higher and higher in Act 1. He wrote that the music for the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" should sound like drops of water splashing in a fountain.


title: The Nutcracker

text: In March 1892 the music was almost complete. Tchaikovsky took the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy", the "Waltz of the Flowers", and other numbers from the ballet to form the 20-minute "Nutcracker Suite". It was first played for the Russian Musical Society. The organization's members loved it. "Nutcracker Suite" is still played today.


title: The Nutcracker

text: Tchaikovsky completed the music for the ballet in April 1892. Rehearsals started in September 1892. Petipa fell ill and his assistant Lev Ivanov completed the dances. The ballet was first performed on 18 December 1892 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. Tchaikovsky's one-act opera "Iolanta" was played before the curtain rose on "The Nutcracker". The run ended in 1893 after eleven performances.


title: The Nutcracker

text: In 1919, choreographer Alexander Gorsky staged a production. He cut out the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, and gave their dances to Clara and the Nutcracker Prince. They were now played by adults instead of children. A shortened version of the ballet was first performed outside Russia in Budapest's Royal Opera House in 1927.


title: The Nutcracker

text: In 1934, Vasili Vainonen, choreographer of the Kirov Ballet, staged a version of the work which was also influenced by the criticisms of the original production. He also cast adult dancers in the roles of Clara and the Prince, as Gorsky had. The Vainonen version influenced several later productions. Knowledge of the choreography spread because many dancers went to the west after the Russian Revolution.


title: The Nutcracker

text: The first complete performance outside Russia took place in England in 1934. It was staged by Nicholas Sergeyev at the Vic-Wells Ballet. It used a version of Petipa's original choreography. Annual performances of the ballet have been staged there since 1952.


title: The Nutcracker

text: The ballet takes place in Germany in the early 19th century. The curtain rises on a Christmas Eve party in the Silberhaus home. Guests arrive. The children get their presents, then dance about the room.


title: The Nutcracker

text: The door opens. A strange little man named Drosselmeyer comes into the room. He is a toy-maker. He is also Clara Silberhaus's godfather. He has four dancing dolls for the children and a special surprise for Clara. It is a nutcracker. She loves it, but her brother Fritz accidentally breaks it. She places the Nutcracker in her doll bed to get well.


title: The Nutcracker

text: The party ends and everyone leaves. Clara and her family go to bed. Clara creeps back to the room. She needs to be certain her Nutcracker is resting quietly. All of a sudden, mice start running about the room. The dolls, the tin soldiers, and all the other playthings come to life to fight the mice.


title: The Nutcracker

text: The Christmas tree rises higher and higher. The Nutcracker jumps out of the doll bed to fight the Mouse King. When the Nutcracker is in danger, Clara saves his life by throwing her slipper at the Mouse King. The Mouse King runs out of the room with all the other mice.


title: The Nutcracker

text: The Nutcracker becomes a human prince. Clara and the Nutcracker Prince set off through the snowy woods for the magical Land of Sweets. The beautiful Sugar Plum Fairy rules this land. She welcomes the two children then orders her subjects to dance for them. Dances about Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate are presented. Many other dances are presented. The ballet ends with everyone dancing a waltz.


title: The Nutcracker

text: Criticism of the ballet was mixed. A portion thought of it to be a noble composition, with exemplary themes and emotion, however many thought otherwise. Russian balletomanes liked expert adult dancers and the large cast of children was critically attacked. One person complained that the ballet was "produced with children for children." Even the adult dancers came under fire. One person, for example, thought the dancer playing the doll in Act 1 was "nice" while another person thought she was "insipid".


title: The Nutcracker

text: One critic complained that the ballet was in bad taste because characters in Act 2 looked like food from a pastry shop. Another complained that Ivanov's "Waltz of the Snowflakes" was taken from ballets by Petipa. Tchaikovsky however thought that the staging was very beautiful, so much so that his eyes grew tired looking at it.


title: The Nutcracker

text: Some people were surprised that Tchaikovsky had anything to do with the ballet. They thought "The Nutcracker" was foolish. They were embarrassed that the great composer had had a hand in it. On the first night however, Czar Alexander III called Tchaikovsky before him in the royal box to congratulate him on the music.


title: The Nutcracker

text: The newspapers were divided on the ballet's value. The "St. Petersburg Gazette" wrote "this ballet is the most tedious thing ever seen ... a long way from what ballet music should be." The "St. Petersburg News-sheet" wrote, "It is hard to say which number is the greatest, for everything from start to finish is beautiful." "The New Age" wrote that Tchaikovsky's orchestral writing was the work of genius. A ballet lover thought "The Nutcracker" was the greatest of the three ballets Tchaikovsky had written.


title: The Nutcracker

text: The ballet's initial run ended in January 1893. When the Russian Revolution broke out in 1917, many ballet dancers were put out of work. They went to Europe. They talked to their new friends in Europe about "The Nutcracker". Some selections were performed here and there. In 1940 Walt Disney used some of the music in his movie "Fantasia". In 1944 the Nutcracker was staged at the San Francisco Ballet by William Christensen, the 'very first full-length' on Christmas Eve. W.Christensen was called the grandfather of American Ballet, born (1902-2001) in Brigham City, Utah. He had established the San Francisco Ballet in 1938. Later he founded the ballet department to the University of Utah in 1951, the first of its kind, and Ballet West in 1963. Mr. C's creation has an 75th Anniversary during the 2019-2020 season. In 1954 George Balanchine staged "The Nutcracker" in New York City. People liked it. When it was aired on television in 1957 and 1958, the ballet became more famous than ever. Balanchine's television "Nutcracker" had enough fun in it for people who had not seen a ballet, and enough dancing in it to please the ballet lovers who watched it. In the 1960s small ballet companies started producing "The Nutcracker" because it could make a lot of money and, in doing so, keep the company in business.


title: The Nutcracker

text: Today, "The Nutcracker" has been staged and seen by many people all over the world. Jennifer Fisher points out that it is "the most popular and most often [staged] ballet in the world." In North America, it is a yearly event in many places. Parents and children take part in staging the ballet and dancing in it. Trained ballerinas dance side by side with children who are only learning to dance. Parents work on costumes and sets. Local celebrities take small walk-on parts.


title: The Nutcracker

text: There have been many adaptations of the ballet over the years. In the United States, for example, there are hula, tap dance, reggae, wheelchair, dance-along, ice, and drag versions. In Canada, there have been hockey adaptations. Products such as Nutcracker dolls, soaps, foods, and clothing are sold in theatres before the show.


title: The Nutcracker

text: Ballet lovers question the present day dumbing-down (oversimplification) of "The Nutcracker" to make it accessible to the masses. The reasons the ballet was originally disliked in Russia (the many child dancers, the uneven story) seem to be the reasons the ballet has become such a great success in North America. Americans like seeing their children on stage and the story is very much like the rags-to-riches stories Americans love. Some people though complain about the stereotypes of children in Act 1 (boys are naughty, girls are nice) and also about the stereotypes of Arabians and the Chinese in Act 2.


title: The Nutcracker

text: Tchaikovsky wrote "The Nutcracker" for an orchestra of strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. To this orchestra he added a "celesta" for the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" in Act 2 and children's instrumentsdrums, trumpets, cymbals, bird calls, whistles, and a rattlefor the Christmas party in Act 1. The instruments were specially ordered and tuned to Tchaikovsky's orders. The rattle is heard in the orchestra pit when Fritz cracks nuts in Act 1, and the other instruments are heard when the boys make a lot of noise while Clara comforts the broken Nutcracker.


title: The Nutcracker

text: Tchaikovsky hoped that the children would play the instruments on the stage, but they had difficulty keeping together with the orchestra. Because of the difficulty the children had, Tchaikovsky made the decision that they could play freely. He did not ask them to keep with the written music. After the first night, Tchaikovsky sent his thanks and baskets of sweets to the children of the Imperial Ballet School.


title: The Nutcracker

text: The Sugar Plum Fairy is a character in "The Nutcracker". The Sugar Plum Fairy only dances in Act 2 of the ballet. Clara falls asleep, and the second act could be seen as Clara's dream. Roland John Wiley however, thinks that the second act is a reality shaped by Drosselmeyer. The Sugar Plum Fairy is the ruler of the Land of Sweets. She welcomes the Nutcracker Prince and his love Clara to her land and orders the festivities. The character is danced by a "prima ballerina" (principal dancer), though she has little dancing to do. She is joined by a male dancer for a "pas de deux" near the end of the ballet. Her number in this "pas de deux" is called "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy".


title: The Nutcracker

text: The "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" is one of the most famous numbers in "The Nutcracker". It was written for the "celesta". This instrument was new at the time the dance was written. It looks like a small piano, but it sounds like bells. Tchaikovsky discovered the "celesta" in Paris in 1891 while making a journey to the United States. His publisher purchased one and promised to keep the purchase a secret. Tchaikovsky did not want Rimsky-Korsakov or Glazunov to "get wind of it and ... use it for unusual (different, strange) effects before me." Petipa wanted the Sugar Plum Fairy's music to sound like drops of water splashing in a fountain. Tchaikovsky thought the "celesta" was the instrument to do this. The original steps for the dance are unknown. Antonietta Dell'Era was the first to dance the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The character has very little dancing to do so Dell'Era put a gavotte by Alphonse Czibulka into the ballet. She then had something more to do.


title: The Nutcracker

text: In his biography about Tchaikovsky John Warrack points out that the ballet's greatest weakness is its story. It did not permit Tchaikovsky to musically develop the ballet in the manner of "Swan Lake" or "The Sleeping Beauty". What few symphonic passages exist in the ballet (mostly in Act 1) are not the best Tchaikovsky wrote. Warrack thinks that the "essential nature" of the ballet is found in the separate numbers. Tchaikovsky knew this when he put together the "Nutcracker Suite" to promote the complete ballet. Because the story was so weak and did not permit symphonic development, Tchaikovsky indulged his taste for "prettiness" in the separate numbers. This is what makes "The Nutcracker", according to Warrack, an "entertainment of genius".


title: The Nutcracker

text: In the biography "Tchaikovsky", writer David Brown points out that Tchaikovsky was not happy with "The Nutcracker" and complained to his friends about the difficulty of setting the tale to music. Brown asks why Tchaikovsky would ever let himself be persuaded to accept the story as the subject for a ballet. He points out that "Swan Lake" and "The Sleeping Beauty" were "dramatically meaty and deeply serious" while "The Nutcracker" was "trite ... [and] pointless." The ballet has no true culmination he writes. He then asks, "What was it all about anyway? "The Nutcracker" is meaningless in the profoundest sense." He decides that the ballet is the "most inconsequential" of all the composer's mature works for theatre, and "its dramatic structure the least satisfactory." While Brown never gives his approval to "The Nutcracker", he thinks Tchaikovsky did a remarkable job despite the "appalling limitations of the subject."


title: Swami Vivekananda

text: Vivekananda (Shami Bibekānondo) (January 12, 1863–July 4, 1902) was the chief disciple of Shri Ramakrishna Paramahansa. At birth, he was called Narendranath Datta (Bengali: নরেন্দ্রনাথ দত্ত). He was the founder of Ramakrishna Mission. He introduced Hindu philosophy of Vedanta and Yoga in Europe and America. He brought Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the end of the 19th century.


title: Swami Vivekananda

text: Vivekananda is considered to be a major force in the revival of Hinduism in modern India. He is perhaps best known for his inspiring speech beginning with "Sisters and Brothers of America". Through this he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions at Chicago in 1893.


title: Swami Vivekananda

text: "“ The Mahabharata is an epic that most Indians know. Let me give you a summary through Vyasa’s initial shloka. This shloka holds the entire summary of this gigantic epic. The shloka is given in the initial of the Vyasa’s texts itself which says-"


title: Swami Vivekananda

text: The Hastinapur (Duryodhana) is an old tree of spirituality, the incarnation of all virtues, i.e Vrisha Karna is its trunk, king Dhritarashtra and Bhishma are its roots, Drona, Dushashana and Kauravas are its branches, the evil Shakuni is its blooming flower and I myself Krishna Dwaipayana along with Narada and saptarishis are its twigs. Indraprastha (Yudhisthira) is a new tree of righteousness, Krishna is its trunk, Sages and Brahmins are its roots, Bhima and Arjuna are its branches, Nakul and Sahdev are its twigs, Vrishaketu is its fruit.


title: Swami Vivekananda

text: "I would also like to narrate you interpretation of shlokas by sage Bhasa whose writings and proses included scraps of history, tales and legends. He regarded the त्रिदुष्टम or the 3 evils against the progress of Bharata- evil Indra, Drona and Arjuna. The shloka was written in Sanskrit, translated in Prakrit language. It’s English translation goes like this."


title: Swami Vivekananda

text: The great Aryavartha shall never go on the path of progress if it has evils in this society who discriminate worthy men and who are arrogant in their nature. Ravana too was arrogant through his deeds and his name vanished away from history forever. The त्रिसदुष्टम- Arjuna, his arrogant preceptor Drona and his evil father Indra are an allegory of discrimination and Kshatriya arrogance of the society. There will always be domination-discrimination, arrogance and the त्रिदुष्टम in every society, consider it a rule of the nature but for every त्रिदुष्टम, there will be a heroic Karna to shatter this arrogance and dominance, and shall attain great fame and name in world.


title: Swami Vivekananda

text: In his youth he visited the ramakrishna Samaj and later he came in contact with Sri Ramakrishna. Sri Ramakrishna initiated him, and after his death Narendranath left his house and went on to found the Ramkrishna movement.


title: Swami Vivekananda

text: Born into an aristocratic Bengali Kayastha family of Calcutta, Vivekananda was inclined towards spirituality. He was influenced by his guru, Ramakrishna, from whom he learnt that all living beings were an embodiment of the divine self; therefore, service to God could be rendered by service to humankind. After Ramakrishna's death, Vivekananda toured the Indian subcontinent extensively and acquired first-hand knowledge of the conditions prevailing in British India. He later travelled to the United States, representing India at the 1893 Parliament of the World's Religions.