READER AT WORK Comprehension

POPULATION GROWTH

2011-07-04T11:41:00.001-07:00

It is widely believed that the world's population has exploded because of
the improvements in medical science, which has naturally led to improved
standards of public health. Infant mortality has.been greatly reduced and the
average length of life has been extended on a great scale.
Demographers, or population statisticians, are less alarmed by the
absolute rise in the world population figures than by the increase in the rate
of growth. They estimate that it will take only about 30 years for the world
population to double. Pessimists expect this soaring growth to continue until
the limits of food, space and natural resources are forced.
It is not easy to find solutions to problems caused by population growth.
In fact, effective action is lacking because of our inability to decide exactly
where the problems lie. For example, many millions of people do not have
enough to eat, but at the same time we could argue that the world is not
over-populated in relation to its food supply at the present time. The total
cultivable land is more than 15 billion acres. Using modem agricultural
methods, we could produce more than enough food for the present
population of about 5 billion.
It appears, then, that the world's population could be almost three times
as large before there is a serious shortage of food. But it is unlikely that all
the cultivable land would be used for food production. If this were done,
there would not be any land left to meet man's increasing demand for
houses, factories, airports, roads and other facilities.
A. Find words or phrases in the text which mean the same as the following.
1. death in infancy (paragraph 1):
2. population statisticians (paragraph 2):
3. extremely rapid increase (paragraph 2):
4. suitable for agriculture (paragraph 3):
B. Mark the best choice.
1. Which of the following is not a consequence of the improvements in medical
science?
a) Fewer deaths in infancy.
b) Longer length of life.
c) Decrease in population.
d) Higher public health standards.

EARTHQUAKES

2011-07-04T11:30:00.000-07:00

Earthquakes are probably one of the most frightening and

destructive happenings of nature that man experiences. The effects of

an earthquake are often terrible. Earthquakes have caused the death of

many human beings, much suffering, and great damage. Today, the

study of earthquakes has grown greatly as scientists all over the world

study the causes of earthquakes. Scientists hope that their studies will

improve the ways of predicting earthquakes and also develop ways to

reduce their destructive effects.

The scientific study of earthquakes is somewhat new. Until the

18th century, few factual descriptions of earthquakes were recorded.

In general, people did not understand the cause of earthquakes. Many

believed that they were a punishment from God. One early theory was

that earthquakes were caused by air rushing out of caverns deep in the

interior of the earth.

On November 1, 1755, a serious earthquake occurred near Lisbon,

Portugal. Shocks from the quake were felt in many parts of the world.

After the quake, Portuguese priests were asked to observe the effects

and to make written records. These records were the first scientific

steps to write down the effects of an earthquake. Since that time,

detailed records have been kept of almost every major earthquake.

Most earthquakes occur in areas around the Pacific Ocean. This

belt of areas is called the 'ring of fire' and includes the Pacific coasts

of North and South America, the Aleutian Islands, Japan, Southeast

Asia, and Australia. Half a million people within the 'ring of fire' have

died because of earthquakes and much valuable property has been

severely damaged or destroyed.

An earthquake is the oscillatory, sometimes violent, movement of

the earth's surface that comes after a release of energy in the crust of

the earth. Most destructive quakes are caused by the dislocation of the

crust. Forces from beneath the surface of the earth cause the crust to

bend and then break and the rocks on the surface move into a new

position. The breaking of the rocks causes vibrations called 'seismic

waves'. These vibrations travel from the source of the earthquake to

distant places along the surface of the earth. The seismic waves cause

the entire planet to tremble or ring like a bell.

The vibrations produced by earthquakes are discovered, recorded,

and measured by instruments called seismographs. Vibrations are of

two general types: surface waves and body waves. Surface waves

travel along the earth's surface and body waves travel through the

earth. Surface waves usually have the strongest vibrations and

probably cause most of the damage done by earthquakes.

Currently, scientists are making studies to predict earthquakes. At

the present time, scientists do not have the knowledge required to

predict the time and size of earthquakes. However, a large group of

scientists at the National Centre for Earthquake Research in

California, has been able to predict the areas where earthquakes might

occur. Research at the centre about the physical and chemical nature

of rocks and their behaviour under the force of an earthquake will help

engineers to design and build structure for areas that often suffer from

earthquakes.

A. Complete the following sentences.

1. Line 48, 'their behaviour' refers to the behaviour of .

2. The 'ring of fire* is the belt of areas around the Pacific Ocean where

3. Seismographs

the vibrations caused by earthquakes.

4 One characteristic of surface waves, which cause most of the damage done by

earthquakes, is that they .

B. Mark the statements as True (T) or False (F).

1. Scientists hope to reduce the harmful effects of earthquakes by studying

the nature.

2. Scientists at the National Centre for Earthquake Research in California can

predict the time and size of earthquakes.

C. Mark the best choice.

1. Line 13, 'caverns' are probably .

a) earthquakes occurring in the interior of the earth

b)-strong winds caused by earthquakes

c) rivers and lakes in major earthquake areas

d) deep holes under the ground

RUMOUR

2011-06-22T01:59:00.001-07:00

A rumour is a widespread report that is unproved in fact. It often serves to provoke, or to increase, antisocial collective behaviour. Rumour must be distinguished from lack of communication, for the rapid spread of rumour may very well be due to effective communication. The term rumour refers not to a method of its communication, but to its content. Under crowd onditions, it becomes difficult to check the source and accuracy of the information one receives, and thus to evaluate it, and so rumours are acted on as if they were true information. Rumour often arises because of a lack of information. People want to know what is happening, and so the rumour fills that need. Rumour may also be created as a rationalisation of or justification for emotional excesses and collective behaviour.

ESCAPE OF A KILLER VIRUS

2011-06-22T01:57:00.000-07:00

ESCAPE OF A KILLER VIRUS

Two years ago, on a remote island off the coast of South Australia, government scientists began testing a form of biological warfare. Under supposedly tight quarantine restrictions, researchers on Wardang Island introduced the calicivirus into animal test groups. Death from this particular infectious agent is swift. As the blood of the victims begins to clot, restricting the brain's oxygen supply, they become lethargic; within 30 hours they are dead from acute respiratory and heart failure.

No one paid much attention to these pestilent experiments until this year, when they suddenly got out of hand. By October researchers realized that the virus had escaped from the test sites and spread throughout the 30-sq-km island. As scientists tried in vain to contain the outbreak, their worst fears were soon realized: casualties began to appear on the mainland. But even as the death count surged into the millions and the disease reached as far as the Flinders Ranges 800 km away, Australians didn't panic. In fact, many cheered, since the victims of the plague were old enemies, the country's vexatious rabbits.

For most Australians, the benign image of the rabbit conveyed by Peter Rabbit simply doesn't apply. Ever since a landowner imported and released 12 wild rabbits in 1859, they have multiplied into a ravenous horde that nibbles away at the nation's crops and agricultural profits. Planning for systematic extermination programs began in the 1940's, when an estimated 1 billion rabbits were devouring produce, causing land erosion and destroying native habitats. Government scientists introduced myxomatosis, an anti-rabbit virus from Brazil, in 1950.Though the campaign reduced the rabbit population to 100 million within two years, the survivors later built up immunity and restocked their numbers.

In 1984, a virus that began sweeping through China's rabbit population gave Australians new hope. Harmless to humans, rabbit calicivirus disease (RCD) was introduced to Europe in the '80s, probably via smuggled rabbit products, and has helped bring rabbit populations down to tolerable levels. Impressed by the well-documented results, Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation imported a batch of the virus from the Czech Republic in 1991. After three years of safety tests, they set up the experimental station on Wardang Island for field trials.

Tests convinced the CSIRO that the virus posed no threat to other Australian animal species or to humans, so plans had been made to release RCD at seven sites on the mainland in February 1998, following further research and a period of public debate.

Then came the outbreak. So far an estimated 5 million rabbits have died, and the epidemic continues to move north and east. Few people would miss the $500 million in damage the rabbits cause each year, but in the aftermath of the Ebola scare in Africa, the ease with which the calicivirus eluded its human handlers has raised some troubling issues. Embarrassed CSIRO scientists believe the disease was spread by bush flies that came into contact with the infected rabbits and were then blown onto the mainland by freak winds. The government has imported 100,000 doses of Cylap vaccine to save pet and laboratory rabbits, and the CSIRO is trying to persuade the public that no damage to the environment or human health will result from the virus' premature release.

Environmentalists have also voiced concern that a sudden disappearance of rabbits could have unfortunate effects on the wildlife food chain. One possibility is that foxes and feral cats, which depend on rabbits for food, could instead turn to small native fauna, some of which are endangered species.

For the moment at least, fanners are overjoyed about the killer virus. "This is the most exciting development for the Australian environment in years," says David Lord, a fourth-generation farmer, whose 66,000-hectare spread near Broken IIill has some 750,000 unwelcome guests.

ACUPUNCTURE

2011-06-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

Acupuncture, the method of treating diseases by using needles, is

based on the Chinese model of health and disease. In this model, there

are three main systems in the body. The first two of these are the

circulatory and nervous systems as in the western view but,

additionally, there is a sort of energy movement.

The Chinese believe that all forms of life are controlled by two

basic movements of energy. One is outward moving and the other is

inward moving. When an outward movement reaches its limit, it

changes direction and starts to move inwards. Similarly, when an

inward movement reaches its limit, ü changes direction and starts to

move outwards. The operation is like a pump, and this constant

pumping movement may be seen in almost every form of life - the

human heart, for example.

Understanding this idea of energy movement is important when

looking at the theory behind Chinese Acupuncture. In this theory.

there is a life force which consists of inward and outward moving

energy in each person. Inward moving energy tends to increase

activity and the other produces calm. The health of the body depends

on the balance between the two. If this balance is disturbed, diseases

occur.

The Chinese also discovered that this movement takes place around

the body along 26 channels called meridians. Each one of these is

connected to a different part of the body and has a different function.

Diseases also occur when a meridian is blocked. To help unblock

energy channels, doctors place needles in different parts of the body,

but to cure the disease the needles have to be placed in the right place

and have the right depth.

The earliest acupuncture needles were made of stone. These would

have been used when the first books were written about acupuncture

4,500 years ago. The Chinese later used needles made of bone and

then of different metals such as iron and silver. Today, they are made

of steel.

The Chinese first believed that the needle itself cured the disease.

However, this was before it was discovered that there are certain

points along the meridians which are connected to various parts of the

body, such as the stomach and the heart.

There are over 800 different needle points in the body. The doctor

examines the patient and decides which part of his or her body are

over-active or under-active; in other words, the doctor finds out where

there is too much or too little energy. When the acupuncture points

have been found, needles are placed in the skin at various depths.

They are then left there for different periods of time, which might be

as short as a few seconds.

A major recent development has been the use of acupuncture in

medical operations. In such cases, it is used instead of anaesthetics, in

order to take away the pain felt by the patient. In China today, this use

of acupuncture is extremely common in both major and minor

operations, even operations on the heart.

In the East there are nearly three million doctors who regularly use

acupuncture. It is taught in several Russian universities. And even in

Europe and America there are thousands of doctors who have now

learnt how to use acupuncture. The West, however, uses only one part

of the technique intensively; that is, the use of needles to relieve pain

during operations.

A. What do the following refer to?

1. 'these' (line 3):

2. 'other' (line 6):

3. 'if (line 9):

4. 'this theory' (line 14):

5. 'the other' (line 17):

6. 'these' (line 21):

7. These' (line 27):

8. 'there' (line 41):

9. 'which' (line 41):

10. 'such cases' (line 44):

B. Mark the statements as True (T) or False (F).

1. According to the Chinese, the energy movement in the body can be

observed in the working of the human heart.

2. Knowing about the energy movement in the body is necessary to

understand how acupuncture works.

3. The life force in the theory of acupuncture refers to the balanced

movement of energy in the human body.

4. The outward moving energy in the human body makes a person very

active.

5. Energy channels in the body are called meridians when they are blocked.

HIGH-RISE

2011-06-15T08:10:00.001-07:00

HIGH-RISE

In October 1981, newspapers in the USA and the UK reported
plans for a 169-storey building in Chicago. If this is built, it will be
almost twice as tall as the 384-metre Empire State Building in New
York.
Since the early days of civilised man, buildings have been getting
higher all the time. Today, all large cities have tall buildings, either for
use as offices or as flats. These are called high-rise buildings. The
tallest of a]i in fact, are not used for offices or for living, but are
special structures for radio and television. For instance,Warsaw Radio
Mast in Poland, which is 646 metres tall, is the tallest of such
structures. The world's tallest office building is the Sears Tower in
Chicago. This has 110 storeys, and reaches a height of 443 metres.
16,700 people work inside the building, and there are more than one
hundred lifts for their use.
But why do we have high buildings? Is there any real advantage?
The most common reason given is that in many cities there is a lack of
space.
The island of Manhattan, New York City, is a good example of
this. Here, office space is very expensive. There is no more land.
Buildings have to go up. The same reason is given for high office
buildings in Tokyo, London and other large cities of the world.
But what about people? Is it really necessary to build high
buildings for people to live in?
Today, there are many who believe high buildings actually damage
people's minds and feelings. These people believe high-rise buildings:
-have no advantages, except for their owners and for banks
-are not cheap to build
-do not help create open space
-destroy the landscape
-cause crime
-are not good for children
-are expensive to look after
High-rise buildings lower the quality of life. The following reports
show this. Report from England, 1967: The higher people live off the ground,
the more likely they are to suffer from mental illnesses. Women,
because they spend most time at home, suffer most.

3. The report from Denmark .
a) shows more people live in high-rise buildings in Denmark than in other
countries
b) states the disadvantages of high-rise buildings for children
c) shows how women living in high-rise buildings suffer
d) says that crime rate is higher in high-rise buildings in Denmark than in other
countries
4. Which of the following is not true?
a) The tallest buildings in the world are special structures used as offices.
b) When people live in high-rise buildings, they are cut off from real life.
c) High-rise buildings are still built although they have many disadvantages.
d) Mental illnesses increase especially among women who live in high-rise
buildings

My Basketball Ball

2011-05-29T02:08:00.000-07:00

This is my ball. I m play basketball in free time. I like it. It s on the floor. I m play in arena . basket basket basket ohhyeahh. This is my game. this is magic.

BRITISH UNIVERSITIES

2009-03-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

There are 44 universities in Britain. These are divided into three
types: the old established universities, such as Oxford (founded 1249),
Cambridge and Edinburgh. Oxford and Cambridge together are often

called Oxbridge; the 19th century universities such as London and
Manchester; the new universities established after World War IT, such
as Essex, Lancaster, The New University of Ulster.
Characteristics of the universities:
The old universities consist of a collection of independent colleges.
Together they form the university, which is governed by a senate, the
main decision-making body in the university. Some 19th century
universities have a combination of independent colleges and research
institutes. London University is an example. Other universities
developed during the 19th century out of single university colleges in
provincial cities. Because their original buildings were often built of
brick, they are sometimes called 'redbrick' universities. The new
universities were founded after World War II because the demand for
higher education had increased.
So many more people wanted to study for a degree after 1945 that
even the building of new universities did not solve the problem. In
certain areas of the country, the existing colleges of technology and
other further education colleges were combined to form polytechnics.
Thus, Britain was able to meet the increasing demand for higher
education degrees. There are now 30 polytechnics, offering courses in
the full range of subjects, from engineering to art. The Council of
National Academic Awards (CNAA) supervises polytechnic
examinations and makes sure that a high standard is maintained in all
polytechnics.
Some special features of British university life:
Over 90% of full-time students receive grants from public or private
funds. The grants are paid towards tuition and living costs. Higher
education is free for those people whose parents' income is below a
certain level. Degree courses, leading to a B.A. or B.Sc, usually take
three years. It is almost impossible to move from one university to
another during a degree course, but if you do that, you will have to
begin the course again.
University students attend lectures.They also attend tutorials. These
are discussion classes for a small group of students. In these classes, a
tutor sets work for his students. Then, the teacher and the students get
together every week or fortnight to discuss and criticise the work done

by each student.

HALLEY'S COMET

2009-03-24T15:38:00.000-07:00

A comet is an object that travels around the sun leaving a bright trail behind. For more than two thousand years, the return of Halley's Comet has been observed and recorded on Earth every 76 years. Its 1986 visit, however, was the first time that humans took a close look at its nucleus. One spacecraft went within a few hundred kilometres of the nucleus. Two Soviet craft, Vega 1 and Vega 2, came within 10,000 km of the nucleus on March 6th and March 9th; and the European Space Agency's Giotto space probe passed within 600 km of Halley's Comet on March 14th. Pioneer Venus Orbiter found that the cloud of gases and dust which make up the tail spread over a region about 20,000,000 km across, 15 times larger than the Sun. Scientists also discovered that the comet was losing about ten metres of material from its surface every orbit, suggesting a lifetime of about only 1,000 orbits - in about 100,000 years it will disappear.

ELVIS PRESLEY

2009-03-22T04:08:00.000-07:00

Elvis Presley was born on January 8th, 1935, in East Tupelo, Mississippi. His twin brother died at birth. Elvis grew up in a poor home, but his parents, Vernon and Gladys Presley, were kind and loving. After he left school, Elvis worked in different jobs. He worked in cinemas and supermarkets, and he worked as a lorry driver. This was the job he liked most. Two people helped Elvis in his career. One was Sam Phillips. Sam had a record company called Sun Records. He was the first person to realise that Elvis was a good singer. The second person to help Elvis was Tom Parker. Tom became Elvis' manager in 1955 and he made him into a famous rock and roll star. Elvis won a lot of gold discs in his life. He died on August 16th, 1977. Many people say that he died because he took too many drugs and pills.

THE AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES

2009-03-19T17:46:00.000-07:00

'Aborigines' are the first or original inhabitants of a country. The Australian Aborigines have lived in Australia for over 40,000 years. At one stage in their history, there were possibly over a million Aborigines. However, -when the first white settlers arrived in the 18th century and stole their land, many Aborigines died fighting to protect it. Today, only about 100,000 survive. Although some still live a traditional life in remote desert areas of the Australian outback, many now live in poor conditions in cities and towns. They have suffered for two hundred years from white exploitation. However, the Australian government has recently given some land back to them including 'Uluru'. This huge rock, in the centre of Australia, is of great importance to theAborigines. Although winning back this land is encouraging, the Aboriginal people know there is a long way to go before they win back the rest of their land.

MAGROS

2009-03-18T05:20:00.000-07:00

Thursday, October 24th, 1996
Christian Lebrat, the French president of the MAGROS Food company, is visiting our town. He arrived yesterday and he is here to meet Mr. Douglas, the manager of the MAGROS store in Oxham Street. This is Mr. Lebrat's second visit to Selton. He was here in 1991 when he opened the store. There are sixty-five MAGROS stores in Europe - twenty in England, twelve in Germany, fifteen in France and eighteen in Spain. Next year, Mr. Lebrat wants to open a store in Rome, Italy, too. Mr. Lebrat can't stay in Selton for very long. He has a busy programme. He is flying to Madrid tomorrow morning to visit the stores there.

EFFECTS OF CIGARETTE SMOKING

2009-03-12T05:38:00.001-07:00

There are three harmful substances in cigarettes: tar, carbon monoxide and nicotine. Cigarette smokers who inhale the smoke, or breathe it in, can develop lung cancer. Other smokers who only take the smoke into their mouths can suffer from throat, tongue and larynx cancers. The substance which causes cancer is the tar in cigarettes. Cigarette manufacturers have tried to develop low tar brands of cigarettes to reduce the dangers. Certain forms of filters in addition to the cigarette's own filter can also help. However, nothing can completely eliminate , i.e., remove, the tar without changing the taste of 0 the cigarette completely. The effects of carbon monoxide are perhaps more serious because they can cause permanent damage - damage which lasts for a very long time - on others besides the smokers themselves. Increased carbon monoxide intake automatically means reduced oxygen intake, and 5 consequently a lower oxygen content in the blood and the brain. An oxygen-starved brain (a brain without enough oxygen) begins to die. It is true that cigarette smokers need cigarettes. Of course they do not actively choose to harm themselves and others, but they are forced to do so because of their dependence on the strong and fast-acting stimulant called nicotine . In other words, they can't do without it. People who smoke frequently claim that smoking makes them feel calm and soothes their nerves, but this is a physiological impossibility, not a real effect at all. Actually it appears to be the psychological consequence of satisfying a need because cigarettes, like coffee and tea, are arousing agents and they make people more nervous, not less.

GUEBE TO GOOB

2009-03-12T05:34:00.000-07:00

few days ago I was in Cornwell, the northern suburb of Bristol. It isn't big - about 14,000 people live there. I thought there aren't any good restaurants in Cornwell. I thought there were only some pizza houses and a few hamburger cafes. But I was wrong. A friend took me out to dinner last Saturday. We got off the bus at Cornwell Central, and walked down George Road to the post office. Then we turned left into a little street called West Lane, we walked a few metres, and we entered a small restaurant. The Rajah Restaurant has six tables, and there wasn't anyone there when we arrived. We had a wonderful Indian meal there. The Tandoori chicken was very tasty, and the curries were hot and delicious. The wine was good and cheap, the fruit salad was really exotic and the meal cost only £12 for two. Try it - but hurry. You can't seat 14.000 people at only six tables!

VIVE LA DIFFERENCE!

2009-03-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

VIVE LA DIFFERENCE!
There are more than 150 countries in the world. Some of them are very big, with millions of people. Others are smaller than some cities, with only a few thousand people. People in different countries have their own customs (i.e. social habits), traditions, languages and beliefs.
There are, of course, very obvious differences. A visitor immediately sees what people look like, the different money they use and the different food they eat. However, there are some differences you cannot see immediately. You learn about these when you get to know the people of the country well. 10 One difference between different countries is the way people greet their friends. In France, for example, people kiss one another on both cheeks. In Britain, people usually only kiss close friends and relatives, and only shake hands with people they meet for the first time. There are also a lot of different customs linked with eating. For 15 instance, in many countries people say something to each other before they start eating, such as 'Guten Appetit', but in Britain this is not the custom. In the United States people cut their meat into small pieces before they start to eat, and then they eat only with a fork. In Germany, it is impolite to cut potatoes with a knife, and in many countries people 0 don't eat with knives or forks at all. What people do in their spare time in the evening or at the weekend can also be very different. Sport is an example of this. Cricket is a popular sport in Britain but not in the rest of Europe. People race camels in Saudi Arabia and watch Sumo wrestling in Japan. 5 All these differences between countries make travel interesting.

LEARNING READING SKILLS

2009-03-05T06:06:00.000-08:00

As you learn a particular language you learn many words and new structures in that language. For example, while learning English you learn to pronouncelthe words and to understand them intheir written forms. However, there is more than this in the process of learning to read. Reading in a second language means learning to use some reading skills. These skills may be similar to ones that you have learned in your native language. In this site you will practice many of the reading skills that you will need to read English quickly and well. This section of the book will help you to to do the exercises in the following units.

googlemaps street view japan

2009-03-04T15:20:00.000-08:00

Are You Ready! for going to Tokyo in Japan.

Come on! click here

Step1: Write on text area :TOKYO
Step2: Select area and Up pointer on bar (wait for loading)
Step3:Now Drag and Drop man icon your selected area on maps for walk in Tokyo Streets
Step4: Use mouse for rotate and use direction keys at keyboard

Street view tokyo

Finish Click Images for zoom

Daha Büyük Görüntüle

LUMINOUS AND NON-LUMINOUS BODIES

2009-03-04T05:13:00.000-08:00

Light, like heat, is a form of energy and there is a close connection between the two. Most bodies (i.e. objects) which emit, or send out, light also emit heat. The Sun, for example, emits both light and heat energy. So does an electric lamp or a fire. We can see these bodies because they give out light. They are called luminous bodies. The Moon, however, is not a luminous body because it does not produce light. We can see the Moon in the sky only because it reflects the light from the Sun. This means the Sun sends out light to the Moon and the Moon sends the Sun's light back to Earth. So, the Moon is a good example of a non-luminous body. Because it is non-luminous, it does not produce heat. When there is no sunlight, it is very cold there. The temperature can be 129°C below zero. A piece of iron or glass is also non-luminous. W fiat are transparent, translucent and opaque substances? So, light is an important source of energy. We can see things only because there is light from luminous bodies. But light cannot pass through every substance. For example, we can see through clear glass or water but we cannot see anything behind a wall. Substances such as clear glass, water or some kinds of plastic are called transparent substances. That is, light can pass through them, and we can see what is on the other side. These transparent substances can be used for different purposes. For example, windows are made of glass because we want to be able to see what is outside. But some substances are not clear; in other words, they are not transparent. We cannot see the objects behind them but we can only see the light. These are called translucent substances. Some types of glass are like this. There are also substances called opaque. Light cannot pass through such substances and we cannot see anything behind them.

LAW OF CONSERVATION OF MATTER: EVERYTHING MUST GO SOMEWHERE

2009-02-28T14:16:00.000-08:00

LAW OF CONSERVATION OF MATTER: EVERYTHING MUST GO SOMEWHERE
We always talk about consuming or using up matter resources, but actually we don't consume any matter. We only borrow some of the earth's resources for a while - taking them from the earth, carrying them to another part of the globe, processing them, using them, and then discarding, reusing, or recycling them. In the process of using matter, we may change it to another form. But we can neither create nor destroy any measurable amount of matter. This results from the law of conservation of matter: In any ordinary physical or chemical change, matter is neither created nor destroyed but merely changed from one form to another. This law tells us that we can never really throw any matter away. Everything must go somewhere and all we can do is to recycle some of the matter we think we have thrown away. We can collect dust and soot from the smokestacks of industrial plants, but these solid wastes must then go somewhere. Cleaning up smoke is a misleading practice, because the invisible gaseous and very tiny particle pollutants left are often more damaging than the large solid particles that are removed. We can collect garbage and remove solid wastes from sewage, but they must either be burned (air pollution), dumped into rivers, lakes, and oceans (water pollution) or deposited on the land (soil pollution and water pollution if they wash away). We can reduce air pollution from the internal combustion engines in cars by using electric cars. But since electric car batteries must be recharged every day, we will have to build more electric power plants.
If these are coal-fired, their smokestacks will add additional and even more dangerous air pollutants to the air; more land will be scarred from strip mining, and more water will be polluted from the acids that tend to leak out of coal mines. We could use nuclear power plants to produce the extra electricity needed. But then we risk greater heat or thermal pollution of rivers and other bodies of water used to cool such plants. Although we can certainly make the environment cleaner, talk of 'cleaning up the environment' and 'pollution free' cars, products, or industries is a scientific absurdity. The law of conservation of matter tells us that we will always be faced with pollution of some sort. Thus, we are also faced with the problem of trade-off. In turn, these frequently involve subjective and controversial scientific, political,economic, and ethical judgments about what is a dangerous pollutant level, to what degree a pollutant must be controlled, and what amount of money we are willing to pay to reduce a pollutant to a harmless level.

BODY LANGUAGE

2009-02-26T14:49:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the most surprising theory to come out of kinesics, the study of body movement, was suggested by Professor Ray Birdwhistell. He believes that physical appearance is often culturally programmed. In other words, we learn our looks - we are not bom with them. A baby has generally unformed facial features, i.e. eyes, mouth, nose and chin. A baby, according to Birdwhistell, learns where to set his features by looking at those around - family and friends. This helps explain why the people of some regions of the United States look so much alike. New Englanders or Southerners have common facial characteristics that cannot be explained by genetics. The exact shape of the mouth is not determined at birth, it is learned later. In fact, the final shape of the mouth is not formed until permanent teeth are set. A husband and wife together for a long time often come to look quite alike. We learn our looks from those around us. This is perhaps why in a single country there are areas where people smile more than those in other areas. In the United States, for example, the Southerners smile frequently. In New England they smile less and in the western part of New York State even less. People on Madison Avenue, New York, smile less than those on Peachtree Street in Atlanta, Georgia. Therefore, many Southerners find cities such as New York cold and unfriendly.

SKYSCRAPERS

2009-02-26T02:47:00.000-08:00

If someone asked you where the skyscraper was born, what would you answer? Most people would probably say New York City, but they would be wrong. Chicago was the birthplace of the skyscraper. Dictionaries define a skyscraper as "a building of great height which is constructed on a steel skeleton." The first building to fit that description was the Home Insurance Company Building. It was built in Chicago in 1884. It was 10 storeys, i.e. floors, high - a great height for that time. It had a strong framework (structure) of iron and steel instead of walls of stone to support it.The Home Insurance Company Building does not exist any more, they pulled it down in 1931, but visitors to the city can still see other early Chicago skyscrapers. One of them is the 16-storey Reliance Building, which was completed in 1894. The Reliance Building had windows that, for the first time, covered almost the entire surface. For many years, Chicago was behind New York in the construction of skyscrapers. It got back into the competition with buildings like the John Hancock Center, built in 1968. There are luxury flats on forty-nine of the Center's 100 floors. Sometimes people who live on a high floor look out on a sunny sky while those on the downstairs floors can watch the rain from their windows. Architects and engineers have the technology to build even taller structures, but to do this, they must find the money for them and these new skyscrapers should not harm the environment. Back in 1956, the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright dreamed of a skyscraper of 528 floors. He planned to build it near the shore of Lake Michigan in Chicago. Wright's dream never became a reality, but who knows? Someday somebody may build his tower in the city where the skyscraper was born.

WOMAN PILOT SAVES GANGSTER FROM PRISON

2009-02-25T11:40:00.000-08:00

By Michael Field in Paris
A helicopter piloted by a woman carried to freedom a gangster who was serving 18 years for robbery and murder from the Sante Prison in the centre of Paris yesterday. A second prisoner was part of the escape plan, but he changed his mind at the last minute. Michel Vaujour, 34, who his lawyer describes as a dangerous criminal of above average intelligence, was waiting on the roof when a white helicopter flew in and took him away. It was the fourth and most exciting escape in Vaujour's career. The helicopter took off from the suburb of St. Cyr and flew in without paying attention to radio warnings from the police that it was breaking the ban on low flying over Paris. Two people were on board: a woman with dark brown hair dressed in black and a man with a sub-machine gun. An hour after the breathtaking escape, the prison governor told reporters, "The helicopter dropped a rope ladder to help Vaujour climb aboard while the man with the sub-machine gun told prison guards not to move. The whole operation took only about two minutes. Fortunately, no shots were fired and nobody was injured." The helicopter landed soon after at a nearby football field. Some children playing there saw two men and a woman run off towards a ring road. Claude Roumet, head of Air Continent which owned the helicopter, said, "A pretty woman about 28 years old, who gave her name as Lena Rigon, rented the helicopter. She is a regular customer and has been flying my aircraft for five or six months. I was really surprised when I heard that she did this incredible thing." Five years ago, another helicopter escape took place in Paris. Two prisoners escaped from the Fleury-Merogis prison south of Paris, but they could not go very far because the, police quickly recaptured them.

THE WORLDS OF WALT DISNEY

2009-02-24T04:57:00.000-08:00

Disney World are the two most famous entertainment parks in the world. Disneyland is in California and Disney World is in Florida, U.S.A. These were built by Walt Disney. Walt Disney started to make cartoon films in 1923 with his brother 5 Roy. First he made 'Alice in Wonderland' and then, in 1928, Mickey Mouse was created. He was very interested in technology so all his work was technically excellent and very enjoyable. He believed in providing good, clean entertainment and fun for all the family. He wanted a world which would give him a lot of fun when he was a boy 10 and so he built it for others to enjoy in Disneyland, which was opened in Anaheim, California in 1955. It has four parts: Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. In 1960 Walt Disney bought a big piece of land near Florida and started to build his second great entertainment park. This was called 15 "Disney World". It was finished in 1971 and cost 400 million dollars. This place is a little different from Disneyland. It has got hotels and shopping centres as well as entertainment places. So people can eat, sleep and enjoy doing things in the same place. A few years ago two other small cities were planned near Disney 20 World. One of them is called Lake Buena Vista. This has been completed and people have started to move in. They are still building ihe second city so people will not move in until 1995. Walt Disney died of cancer in 1966, but people still remember him when they visit his parks today.Disneyland and

MONEY THEN AND NOW

2009-02-18T04:33:00.000-08:00

When you buy something these days, you have so many ways of paying for it. Just think of them! However, you may be surprised to learn that there have always been lots of methods of payment. In very early times, people used to exchange one thing for another - an ox or a cow for rice or grain, for example. This system of exchange was called 'barter', but there were lots of problems. Well, how many heavy bags of rice would you give for a cow ... or a TV, or a car? And how would you carry the bags of rice? The ancient Greeks solved these problems. In the 7th century B.C. they introduced coins made of fixed amounts of gold and silver.Business became much easier, because people could now exchange money for the things they required. Coins last a long time, but they are heavy, and so eventually, governments solved the problem by introducing banknotes. So cash became easier and lighter to carry. Nowadays, of course, more and more people are paying for things with cheque's and credit cards instead of in cash. What is the reason for this?

AMERICAN CITIES

2009-02-17T03:21:00.000-08:00

We can trace all the problems of the American cities back to one starting point: we Americans don't like our cities very much. That is strange. More than three-fourths of us now live in cities, and more are flocking to them every year. We are told that the problems in our cities are receiving more attention in Washington. However, it is historically true: in the American psychology, the city has been a basically suspect institution. Americans have related urban areas to Europe, which they believed to be full of dishonesty and illegal behaviour. Moreover, they believed that cities lacked spaciousness and innocence, so easily found in rural areas. Therefore, it can be said that a strong anti-urban attitude runs through American thinking. The settlement of America was a reaction to the harsh conditions in European industrial centres. People came to America because there was available land and they wanted to escape from the bad influences of thecities.

What has this got to do with the unpleasant situations of the modern cities? I think it has a lot to do with it. The United States has never thought that the American cities were worthy of improvement. It was believed that cities should support themselves. The reason behind this is not directly the result of a 'the city is evil, and therefore, we will not help it attitude. It is more indirect. Billions of dollars are spent to preserve the family farms but nothing is done about an effective programme for jobs in the cities. In addition, although there have long been government agencies which deal with agriculture, small business, veterans and commerce, the Department of Urban Development wasn't set up until 1965. Now consider this: the most important housing law was not the law that provided public housing; it was the law which provided low-interest mortgages for Americans who wanted to buy a home. More than anything, this made the suburban dream a reality. 800,000 middle-class New Yorkers left the city for the suburbs dreaming of grass and trees and a place for their children to play in. They were replaced by unskilled workers, who represented a further cost to the cities. which doesn't deserve support or help in the minds of Americans.

Alice in Wonderland

2009-02-14T13:57:00.000-08:00

Alice is sitting with her sister outdoors when she spies a White Rabbit with a pocket watch. Fascinated by the sight, she follows the rabbit down the hole. She falls for a long time, and finds herself in a long hallway full of doors. There is also a key on the table, which unlocks a tiny door; through this door, she spies a beautiful garden. She longs to get there, but the door is too small. Soon, she finds a drink with a note that asks her to drink it. There is later a cake with a note that tells her to eat; Alice uses both, but she cannot seem to get a handle on things, and is always either too large to get through the door or too small to reach the key.

While she is tiny, she slips and falls into a pool of water. She realizes that this little sea is made of tears she cried while a giant. She swims to shore with a number of animals, most notably a sensitive mouse, but manages to offend everyone by talking about her cat’s ability to catch birds and mice. Left alone, she goes on through the wood and runs into the White Rabbit. He mistakes her for his maid and sends her to fetch some things from his house. While in the White Rabbit’s home, she drinks another potion and becomes too huge to get out through the door. She eventually finds a little cake which, when eaten, makes her small again.

In the wood again, she comes across a Caterpillar sitting on a mushroom. He gives her some valuable advice, as well as a valuable tool: the two sides of the mushroom, which can make Alice grow larger and smaller as she wishes. The first time she uses them, she stretches her body out tremendously. While stretched out, she pokes her head into the branches of a tree and meets a Pigeon. The Pigeon is convinced that Alice is a serpent, and though Alice tries to reason with her the Pigeon tells her to be off.

Alice gets herself down to normal proportions and continues her trek through the woods. In a clearing she comes across a little house and shrinks herself down enough to get inside. It is the house of the Duchess; the Duchess and the Cook are battling fiercely, and they seem unconcerned about the safety of the baby that the Duchess is nursing. Alice takes the baby with her, but the child turns into a pig and trots off into the woods. Alice next meets the Cheshire cat (who was sitting in the Duchess’s house, but said nothing). The Cheshire cat helps her to find her way through the woods, but he warns her that everyone she meets will be mad.

Alice goes to the March Hare’s house, where she is treated to a Mad Tea Party. Present are the March Hare, the Hatter, and the Dormouse. Ever since Time stopped working for the Hatter, it has always been six o’clock; it is therefore always teatime. The creatures of the Mad Tea Party are some of the must argumentative in all of Wonderland. Alice leaves them and finds a tree with a door in it: when she looks through the door, she spies the door-lined hallway from the beginning of her adventures. This time, she is prepared, and she manages to get to the lovely garden that she saw earlier. She walks on through, and finds herself in the garden of the Queen of Hearts. There, three gardeners (with bodies shaped like playing cards) are painting the roses red. If the Queen finds out that they planted white roses, she’ll have them beheaded. The Queen herself soon arrives, and she does order their execution; Alice helps to hide them in a large flowerpot.

The Queen invites Alice to play croquet, which is a very difficult game in Wonderland, as the balls and mallets are live animals. The game is interrupted by the appearance of the Cheshire cat, whom the King of Hearts immediately dislikes.

The Queen takes Alice to the Gryphon, who in turn takes Alice to the Mock Turtle. The Gryphon and the Mock Turtle tell Alice bizarre stories about their school under the sea. The Mock Turtles sings a melancholy song about turtle soup, and soon afterward the Gryphon drags Alice off to see the trial of the Knave of Hearts.

The Knave of Hearts has been accused of stealing the tarts of the Queen of Hearts, but the evidence against him is very bad. Alice is appalled by the ridiculous proceedings. She also begins to grow larger. She is soon called to the witness stand; by this time she has grown to giant size. She refuses to be intimidated by the bad logic of the court and the bluster of the King and Queen of Hearts. Suddenly, the cards all rise up and attack her, at which point she wakes up. Her adventures in Wonderland have all been a fantastic dream.

Lewis Carroll

CONTAINERS

2009-02-12T05:27:00.000-08:00

We can find containers in our homes, schools, and places of work. For example, food and nonfood products are sold in containers. A favourite container of students and teachers is the wastebasket. Of course, containers are an important part of many professions: painters, doctors, biologists, photographers, chemists, and others use many kinds of specialized containers. In this short article, it is not possible to discuss all kinds of containers. Therefore, let us look at some of the simple and basic containers. We will name them, identify their shapes and the materials they are made of, and say a few words about lids and tops.

Cans
A can is a metal container. It is usually cylindrical in shape, and may have a paper label on the outside. The name of the product is printed on the label or on the metal itself. Cans open in different ways, depending on the product. We need a can opener to open some cans; this utensil cuts the metal. Paint cans have lids. Beverage cans have a pop top or a ring top. Spray cans have a push-button top. Cans are durable containers. In other words, they are strong and long-lasting.

Boxes and Cartons
Boxes and cartons are similar containers. Cartons are usually made of card-board (heavy paper) and, as a result, are not very durable. Boxes can be made of cardboard, paper, wood, metal, or plastic. Boxes and cartons have rectangular or square sides. Some of these containers, such as jewelry boxes and egg cartons, have tops that open and close with hinges. Other boxes and cartons have removable tops (i.e.,you can take these tops off).

Jars
jar is a glass or ceramic container. It has a wide mouth (top opening) and no neck. Some jars have tops or covers called screw-on-lids and others have lids that fit inside the mouth. Some jars (e.g., jars you see in supermarkets) are very practical because they hold many different products, and because we can clean them and use them again. Jars are durable but breakable. In other words, they are easy to break by accident.

Bottles
A bottle, like a jar, is a container that is usually made of glass. These days, however, plastic bottles are also very common. Bottles are different from jars in one important way: a bottle has a small mouth and a neck, but a jar has a wide mouth and no neck. Bottles have caps or tops which either screw on or snap on. Bottles hold beverages (juice, soda, etc.) and other liquid food such as soup. They are also used to contain photographic, industrial, and medical chemicals.

Bags
A bag is a flexible container. That is, it is soft and movable. Many bags are made of paper, foil, or thin plastic. Such bags are not durable containers - we usually throw them away. We close bags in several ways, for example, by folding them, by tying them with something, and, in the case of plastic bags, by knotting them. Bags come in many sizes and contain many different products.The containers mentioned in this article are just a few of many hundreds of different containers. We have not talked about tubes, tubs, bins, baskets, vats, vases, casks, drums, flasks, trays, or tanks. We have not mentioned containers that we use in cooking and serving food. We have not talked about containers by profession: painters use cans for paint; photographers use bottles and trays for chemicals; chemists use beakers and test tubes. What containers do you have around you in your everyday life? What containers do you use in your profession?Can you imagine a world without containers?

THE POSTAGE STAMP

2009-02-12T05:02:00.000-08:00

Before the postage stamp, it was difficult to send a letter to another country. The sender paid for the letter to travel in his or her own country. Then the person in the other country paid for the other part of the trip. If a letter crossed several countries, the problem was bigger. Rowland Hill, a British teacher, had the idea of a postage stamp with gum on the back. The British Post Office made the first stamps in 1840. They were the Penny Black and the Twopence Blue. A person bought a stamp and put it on a letter. The post office delivered the letter, or took the letter to the person. When the person got the letter, it was prepaid That is, the sender paid for it earlier. Postage stamps became popular in Great Britain immediately. Other countries started making their own postage stamps very quickly. However, there were still problems with international mail. Some countries did not want to accept letters with the stamps of other countries. Finally, in 1874 a German organized the Universal Postal System (the UPS). Each country in the UPS agreed to accept letters with prepaid postage from the other members. Today the offices of the UPS are only in Switzerland. Almost every country in the world is a member of this organization. It takes care of any international mail problems. Today post offices in every country sell beautiful stamps. Collecting stamps is one of the most popular hobbies in the world, and every stamp collector knows about the Penny Black and the Twopence Blue.

ORANGES

2009-02-12T04:57:00.000-08:00

Everybody loves oranges. They are sweet and juicy. They are in sections, that is, separate parts, so it is easy to eat them. Some oranges do not have any seeds, i.e. parts which grow into a new part. Some have a thick skin but others have a thin skin.The orange tree is beautiful. It has a lot of shiny green leaves. The small white flowers smell very sweet. An orange tree has flowers and fruit at the same time.There were orange trees twenty million years ago. The oranges were very small, not like the ones today. The orange tree probably came from China. Many different kinds of wild oranges grow there today. In other words, these oranges grow in nature. The Chinese started to raise, or grow, orange trees around 2400 B.C.; Chinese art has lovely old pictures of oranges and orange trees. Farmers in other parts of Asia , such as India and Pakistan, and the Middle East, learned to raise oranges from the Chinese. Then they taught the Europeans. The Spanish planted orange trees in North and South America, called the New World . They took them to Florida first. Oranges are a very important crop (farm product) in Florida today. "Orange" is both a fruit and a colour. The colour of oranges is very beautiful. Therefore, in English we use the name of the fruit for the colour.

PLANE CRASH IN PERU

2009-02-12T04:49:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve, 1971, Juliana Koepke, a seventeen-year-old German girl, and her mother left Lima by plane. They were going to Pucallpa, another town in Peru. They wanted to spend Christmas with Juliana's father, who was the manager of a bank in Pucallpa. Forty-five minutes later there was a terrible storm and the plane hit a mountain and crashed. Juliana fell 3,000 metres, strapped in her seat. She did not die when the seat hit the ground, but she was unconscious all night.

The next morning Juliana looked for pieces of the plane, and called for her mother. Nobody answered, and she only found a small plastic bag of sweets. Juliana's left arm was broken, one knee was badly hurt and she had deep cuts on her legs and arms. She had no shoes and she was wearing only a dress, which was badly torn. But she decided to try to get out of the jungle.
She knew that she would die if she stayed there. She started to walk. She did not have anything to eat for two days, so she felt very weak. She heard helicopters, but could not see them above the trees, and of course they could not see her.

After four days she came to a river. She walked and swam down the river for another five days. At last she came to a small village house. Nobody was there, but that afternoon, four farmers arrived. They took her to a doctor in the next village.

Juliana learned afterwards that there were three other people who were not killed in the accident. But she was the only one who got out of the jungle. It took her ten days.

PIRATES

2009-02-12T04:42:00.000-08:00

Pirates were people who attacked and robbed ships on all oceans of the world. They were sea robbers or bandits and have been called by many other names such as: buccaneers, corsairs, filibusters, freebooters, landrones, picaroons, and rovers. Pirates existed for about 200 years, from the 16th to the 18th century. They used to attack and capture ships for the valuable cargo, leave their ships to break into homes in coastal towns, carry away valuables, take people to their ships by using force, and organize powerful groups to get large amounts of ransom, which was paid to free a captured person . Probably most people have romantic ideas about pirates. The movies and some famous books such as Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson and Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini have helped to create a romantic picture of pirates. The pirate in films and books is a cavalier, a good-looking gentleman, with a beard or moustache, gold earrings and a large hat or turban. He usually has a sword or a sharp dagger in his belt and a pistol or gun in his hand. In reality, pirates were not romantic at all. Often they were desperate, violent and dangerous, people who drank a lot and dressed very badly in rags and wasted food and money. They were people who did not like the situation of their home society and, therefore, rebelled and fought against the government. The police looked for them everywhere because they were outlaws, i.e., people who committed crimes and hid from the authorities. Most pirates did not live long. A kind of democracy often existed among pirate groups. They elected, or chose their own captains and prepared rules and regulations to use when they were doing business. During the 1600's and 1700's there was a lot of piracy along the American coasts and in the West Indies. The great treasure ships of 30 Spain which carried gold and silver from Spanish colonies to Europe were frequently attacked and the valuables were stolen by pirates. But there were also times when the American government asked for the help of pirates. Many of the American pirates became privateers during the American War for independence. The pirate, Jean Lafitte, for instance, became a privateer and helped American military forces to protect New Orleans in the War of 1812. Among the men, some famous pirate names in history are: Barbarossa, Ali Pichinin, Henry Morgan, Captain Kidd, "Black Bart"(Bartholomew Roberts), "Blackbeard" OSdward Teach) and among the women: Anne Bonney and Mary Read.

Blanket Is Gone

2009-02-11T18:02:00.000-08:00

Blanket Is Gone At midnight the Hodja heard a noise. Two men were struggling outside. The Hodja got out of his bed with a blanket over him and went to the front of his house. He asked them why they were fighting. Without answering, one of them took the blanket that covered the Hodja and they both fled. So the poor Hodja returned to his bed again. “What were they fighting about? ?, asked his wife. “About our blanket ?, said the Hodja. “Now the blanket is gone, so the struggle is over. ? Nasreddin Hodja

Cat And The Liver

2009-02-11T17:56:00.000-08:00

Cat And The Liver After the Hodja got the recipe for liver from his friend, he bought again some liver and because he liked it very much, he wanted to eat it often. But everytime when he brought livers he couldn’t eat it, because his wife said that the cat took the liver and fled away. One day the Hodja became angry and said: “Woman, I brought liver! Where is it? ? “Oh ?, said his wife. “The silly cat took it and fled away. ? At the same time the cat was in the room. The Hodja caught it, brought a steelyard and weighted the cat. Then he said: “That is exactly two kilos. And the liver which I brought was also two kilos. Now tell me: If that is the liver where is my cat, if that is the cat, then I want my liver. ? Nasreddin Hodja

Busy-Body

2009-02-11T17:43:00.000-08:00

Busy-Body

One day, people said to the Hodja:
“Your wife walks from house to house, tell her she mustn’t walk so much, ?. “Alright ?, said the Hodja. “If she comes to our house, I’ll tell her. ?

Nasreddin Hodja

renewable energy

2009-02-11T16:58:00.000-08:00

While forming policies towards producing biofuels from biomass as a renewable energy source, energy, agricultural, environmental and rural development issues are interrelated. After discussing the literature on biofuels in detail, this paper aims at evaluating their impacts in Turkey. The support and subsidies provided to the private sector and farmers by the public sector will be crucial to implement the new technologies in Turkey. The allocation of resources and the distribution of income after production are other important matters related with energy farming. While food security is another important issue, regulation may be needed to protect the agricultural sector. To form policies towards biofuels, for sustainable growth, Turkey needs detailed planning and development of dynamic and integrated policies in energy, agriculture, environment and rural development

THE OCEAN FLOOR

2009-02-11T08:37:00.000-08:00

Almost three-fourths of the earth is under the ocean. Until recently, people didn't know what the ocean bottom, or floor, was like. The ocean floor is substantially different from what we thought. After World War I, scientists made a new machine. This machine told them what the bottom of the ocean was like and told how deep the ocean is in each place. For a long time, many people thought the ocean floor was flat. Now we know that there are large mountains and deep holes on the ocean floor.

There are three kinds of ocean floor under the water: the continental shelf, the continental slope, and the deep ocean floor. The continental shelf goes all around the continents. (The continents are North America, South America, Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa, and Antarctica.) The water is not more than 600 feet deep above the continental shelf. The sun can only shine down about 600 feet into the water. Plants and animals need sunshine to live so most of the fish in the ocean live above the continental shelf. The continental shelves were part of the continents many thousands of years ago. Later, the water came over them. That's why oil and minerals can be found in the continental shelf as well as in the land. Oceanographers are scientists who study the oceans. They think the continental shelves will be very important to us some day. They are trying to learn how to live and work under the water, at dephts of 500 feet or more. The continental slope begins where the continental shelf ends. At the edge of the continental shelf, the continental slope suddenly goes down two or three miles. Some continental slopes are like the side of a mountain; some are like a wall. All are very high. The largest one is five miles high, which is higher than any slope on the land. There are large canyons in the continental slopes. The canyons look like the Grand Canyon, but they are larger.

The deep ocean floor, which is the real bottom of the ocean, begins at the end of the continental slope. It is the largest and deepest of the three kinds of ocean bottom and it makes up half of all the earth's surface. Oceanographers have found a large range, or line, of mountains called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge on the ocean floor. This mountain range is 10,000 miles long. It goes through the Atlantic Ocean from Iceland to southern Africa. Many of the mountains in this range are 10,000 feet high with a mile or more of water. However, a few mountains in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge are even higher. We can see their tops above the ocean surface. The Azore Islands, near Portugal, are really the tops of some of these mountains. The Pacific Ocean has large mountains, too. The Hawaiian Islands are tops of mountains 32,000 feet high. There are some large, long holes in the ocean bottom called trenches. One of the deepest is near New Zealand. This trench is seven miles deep and is 1600 miles long and is big enough to hold six Grand Canyons. Now we know that there are mountains, canyons, and trenches under the ocean. Soon people will be able to live and work on the continental shelves. However, it will be a long time before people can reach the deep ocean floor.

The Box in The Barn

2009-02-10T15:37:00.000-08:00

A boy went to play in a big, red barn. He went into the barn. He saw a box. The boy said, “What is in the box?” The boy could not get the box open. He said, “What can I do? I will get my dad.” The boy got his dad. His dad went to the barn with the boy. His dad got the box open. In the box was something that made the boy happy. It made his dad happy, too.

The boy said, “Let’s go play with this.”

CHANGES IN WORLD CLIMATE

2009-02-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

Although the weathermen's forecasts for a month ahead are only a little better than guesswork, they are now making long-term forecasts into the next century with growing confidence. For the dominant trend in the world's climate in the coming decades will, scientists say, be a predictable result of man's activities.

At the start of the industrial revolution nearly two centuries ago, man innocently set off a gigantic experiment in planetary engineering. Unaware of what he was doing, he spared no thought for the consequences. Today, the possible outcome is alarmingly clear, but the experiment is unstoppable. Within the lifetimes of many of us, the earth may become warmer than it has been for a thousand years. By the middle of the 21st century, it may be warmer than it was before the last Ice Age. And the next century may be hotter than any in the past 70 million years.

Superficially, a warmer climate may seem welcome. But it could bring many hazards - disruption of crops in the world's main food-producing regions, famine, economic instability, civil unrest and even war.

In the much longer term, melting of the great ice-caps of Greenland and Antarctica could raise sea-levels throughout the world. The average sea-level has already risen a foot since the early 20th century, and if the ice-caps disappear entirely, it will rise by nearly 200 feet. Complete melting might take many centuries, but even a small increase in sea-level will threaten low-lying parts of the world such as the Netherlands.

The man-made agent of climatic change is the carbon dioxide that has been pouring out of the world's chimneys in ever-increasing quantities since the industrial revolution began. And in the past few years, scientists have begun to suspect that there is a second man-made source of carbon dioxide, which may be as important as the burning of fossil fuels, namely the steady destruction of the world's great forests. Trees and other vegetation represent a huge stock of carbon removed from circulation like money in a bank. As the vast tropical forests are cut down, most of the carbon they contain finds its way back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is still tiny. But it has climatic effects out of proportion to its concentration. It acts rather like the glass in a greenhouse, letting through short-wave radiation from the sun, but trapping the longer-wave radiation, by which the earth loses heat to outer space.

Computer studies have suggested that if the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere were to be twice that of today's, there would be a rise of between 2°C and 3°C in average temperature.

STAYING UNDERWATER

2009-02-10T10:13:00.000-08:00

Until man invented ways of staying underwater for more than a few minutes, the wonders of the world below the sea were almost unknown. The main problem, of course, was air. How could air be supplied to swimmers below the surface of the sea? Pictures made about 2,900 years ago in Asia show men swimming under the surface with air bags tied to their bodies. A pipe from the bag carried air into the swimmer's mouth. Yet, little progress was made in the invention of diving devices until about 1490, when the famous Italian painter, Leonardo da Vinci, designed a complete diving suit,

In 1680, an Italian professor invented a large air bag with a glass window to be worn over the diver's head. To 'clean' the air, a breathing pipe went from the air bag, through another bag to remove moisture, and then again to the large air bag. The plan did not work, but it gave later inventors the idea of moving air around in diving devices.

In 1819, a German, Augustus Siebe, developed a way of forcing air into the head-covering by a machine operated above the water. Finally, in 1837 he invented the 'hard-hat suit', which was to be used for almost a century. It had a metal covering for the head and an air pipe attached to a machine above water. It also had small openings to remove unwanted air. But there were two dangers to the diver inside the hard-hat suit. One was a sudden rise to the surface, caused by too great a supply of air. The other was the crushing of the body, caused by a sudden dive into deep water. The sudden rise to the surface could kill the diver; a sudden dive could force his body up into the head covering, which could also result in death.

Gradually, the hard-hat suit was improved so that the diver could be given a constant supply of breathable air. The diver could then move around under the ocean without worrying about his air supply.

During the 1940's, diving underwater without a special suit became popular. Instead, divers used a breathing device and a face-mask, i.e., a small covering worn on the face made of rubber and glass. To increase the swimmers' speed another new invention was used - rubber shoes shaped like giant duck feet called flippers. The manufacture of snorkels, which are rubber breathing pipes, made it possible for the divers to float on the surface of the water, observing the marine life below them. A special rubber suit which prevented heat loss made diving comfortable enough to collect samples of plant and vegetable life even in icy waters.
The most important advance, however, was the invention of a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, which is called a 'scuba'. Invented by two Frenchmen, Jacques Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnan, the scuba consists of a mouthpiece joined to one or two tanks of compressed air which are attached to the diver's back. The scuba makes it possible for a diver-scientist to work 200 feet underwater - or even deeper - for several hours. As a result, scientists can now move around freely at great depths, learning about the wonders of the sea.

PARACHUTING

2009-02-10T10:09:00.000-08:00

Over the past 25 years or so, there has been a sharp increase in the popularity of parachuting as a sport. Parachuting can be learnt at a parachute club. The training is extremely strict. The instructor makes sure that the beginner has learnt and understood everything before the first jump is made. Like all parachutists, the beginner must wear two parachutes - a main one on the back and a slightly smaller reserve one on the front. Trainee parachutists do not open their parachutes themselves. By law, they have to make their first six descents using a parachute opened automatically by a 15-foot nylon static line fixed to the airplane. It takes about 2.7 seconds for the jumper's weight to pull on the line, and thus open the parachute. Trainees are taught how to 'spreadeagle' - to lie stomach down and stretch their arms and legs out to slow down their fall. In this way, they descend at about 120 miles per hour before the parachute opens, whereas an experienced sky-diver, descending headfirst, can travel at over 200 mph. Novices jump from a height of about 2,500 feet, while experienced free-fallers may jump from well over 7,000 feet, waiting until they are within 2,000 feet off the ground before pulling the ripcord to open their parachutes

COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE

2009-02-10T10:05:00.000-08:00

As the basic building blocks of communication, words communicate meaning, but culture is the most important factor that influences the meanings of words. Meaning is in the person, not in the word, and each person is the product of a particular culture. Thus, if we are willing to learn to communicate well in a foreign language, we must understand the culture that affects the language. In other words, culture and communication are inseparably linked. You can't have one without the other because they are interconnected. Culture gives meaning and provides the context for communication, and the ability to communicate allows us to act out our cultural values and to share our language and our culture.

But our own native language and culture are so much a part of us that we take them for granted. When we travel to another country, we don't think much about our language and culture but we carry our own cultural views along with our passports and luggage; we never leave them behind. Using our own culture as the standard to judge other cultures is called ethnocentrism, and although they are unintentional, our ethnocentric ways of thinking and acting often get in the way of our understanding other languages and cultures. In other words, although we don't plan to be ethnocentric, we think and behave in such a way that it becomes difficult for us to understand other languages and cultures. The willingness to understand a different culture is the cure for cultural blindness. Studying a new language provides the opportunity to develop different views because we also learn the context of the culture that the language belongs to.

When linguists study a new language they often compare it to their own, and consequently they gain a better understanding of not only the new language, but of their own language as well. Students who study a foreign language will also learn more about their own native tongue by comparing and contrasting the two languages. You can follow the same comparative method in learning more about culture - your own, as well as others'. Remember that each culture has developed a set of patterns that are right and appropriate for that culture. If people do things differently in another culture, they are not 'wrong' - they are just different and suitable for that particular culture. Always thinking that 'culturally different' means 'culturally wrong' will only promote intercultural misunderstanding and this is what we should all try to avoid.

CULTURE SHOCK!

2009-02-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

Each society has its own beliefs, attitudes, customs, behaviors, and social habits. These give people a sense of who they are, how they should behave, and what they should or should not do. These 'rules' reflect the 'culture' of a country. People become conscious of such rules when they meet people from different cultures. For example, in some cultures, being on time can mean turning up several hours late for an appointment, even for a business meeting; in others, 3 p.m. means 3 p.m. Also, the rules about when to eat vary from culture to culture. Many North Americans and Europeans have three mealtimes a day and organize their timetable around them. In some countries, on the other hand, people often do not have strict rules like this - people eat when they want to, and every family has its own timetable. When people visit or live in a country for the first time, they are often surprised at the differences that exist between their own culture and the culture in the other country. The most common way of comparing two cultures is in terms of their differences - not their similarities. For some people, traveling abroad is an exciting experience; for others though, cultural differences make them feel uncomfortable, frightened, or even insecure. This is known as 'culture shock.' Here are several things to do in order to avoid culture shock: Avoid quick judgments; try to understand people in another culture by looking at things from their own point of view. Try to become more aware of what is going on around you. Don't think of your cultural habits as 'right' and other people's as 'wrong.' Be willing to try new things and to have new experiences.

A Pet For The Goofs

2009-02-10T09:44:00.000-08:00

Big Goof and Little Goof lived together. Sometimes they got everything all mixed up. They were pretty goofy. One day Big Goof and Little Goof were working in the yard when a turtle walked by.

“Look at that cute little animal!” said Little Goof. “What is it?”

“I don’t know,” said Big Goof.

“We could keep it for a pet,” said Little Goof.

“We never had a pet before,” said Big Goof. “We might do something wrong.”

“We will read a book and learn how to take care of it,” said Little Goof.

The Goofs picked up the turtle and walked to the library.

“Do you have a book on pets?” Big Goof asked.

The librarian showed the Goofs a whole shelf of books about pets. Big Goof picked one out. It was called OUR FRIEND THE DOG.

“Dogs have four feet,” read Big Goof.

“One, two, three, four,” counted Little Goof. “Our pet has four feet. He is a dog!”

“When a dog is happy, it wags its tail,” read Big Goof.

“Our dog has a tail, but he is not wagging it. He must be sad,” said Little Goof.

Big Goof read on, “A dog needs a bone to chew and a collar to wear.”

“No wonder our dog is sad,” said Little Goof. “He doesn’t have those things.”

“Let’s go get them right now,” said Big Goof.

“Come on, Doggie,” said Little Goof.

But the bone did not make Doggie wag his tail. Neither did the collar. The Goofs felt terrible.

heir pet was not happy. They walked around their yard wondering what to do.

When they passed the pond, Doggie jumped in and swam around. As he swam, his tail moved back and forth.

“Look at his tail!” cried Big Goof.

“He must be a water dog,” said Little Goof. “He is happy when he is swimming.

Now when the weather is nice, the Goofs take their dog for a swim in the pond. When it is too cold or rainy to go out, Doggie swims in the bathtub.

“We learned something, Little Goof,” said Big Goof.

“Books don’t tell you everything. You have to find out some things for yourself.”

Joanna and Philip Cole

EVE OF THE WAR

2009-02-10T05:46:00.001-08:00

Chapter One

The Eve of the War

NO one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter. It is possible that the infusoria under the microscope do the same. No one gave a thought to the older worlds of space as sources of human danger, or thought of them only to dismiss the idea of life upon them as impossible or improbable. It is curious to recall some of the mental habits of those departed days. At most terrestrial men fancied there might be other men upon Mars, perhaps inferior to themselves and ready to welcome a missionary enterprise. Yet across the gulf of space, minds that are to our minds as ours are to those of the beasts that perish, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic, regarded this earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely drew their plans against us. And early in the twentieth century came the great disillusionment. 1
The planet Mars, I scarcely need remind the reader, revolves about the sun at a mean distance of 140,000,000 miles, and the light and heat it receives from the sun is barely half of that received by this world. It must be, if the nebular hypothesis has any truth, older than our world; and long before this earth ceased to be molten, life upon its surface must have begun its course. The fact that it is scarcely one seventh of the volume of the earth must have accelerated its cooling to the temperature at which life could begin. It has air and water and all that is necessary for the support of animated existence. 2
Yet so vain is man, and so blinded by his vanity, that no writer, up to the very end of the nineteenth century, expressed any idea that intelligent life might have developed there far, or indeed at all, beyond its earthly level. Nor was it generally understood that since Mars is older than our earth, with scarcely a quarter of the superficial area and remoter from the sun, it necessarily follows that it is not only more distant from time’s beginning but nearer its end. 3
The secular cooling that must someday overtake our planet has already gone far indeed with our neighbour. Its physical condition is still largely a mystery, but we know now that even in its equatorial region the midday temperature barely approaches that of our coldest winter. Its air is much more attenuated than ours, its oceans have shrunk until they cover but a third of its surface, and as its slow seasons change huge snowcaps gather and melt about either pole and periodically inundate its temperate zones. That last stage of exhaustion, which to us is still incredibly remote, has become a present-day problem for the inhabitants of Mars. The immediate pressure of necessity has brightened their intellects, enlarged their powers, and hardened their hearts. And looking across space with instruments, and intelligences such as we have scarcely dreamed of, they see, at its nearest distance only 35,000,000 of miles sunward of them, a morning star of hope, our own warmer planet, green with vegetation and grey with water, with a cloudy atmosphere eloquent of fertility, with glimpses through its drifting cloud wisps of broad stretches of populous country and narrow, navy-crowded seas. 4
And we men, the creatures who inhabit this earth, must be to them at least as alien and lowly as are the monkeys and lemurs to us. The intellectual side of man already admits that life is an incessant struggle for existence, and it would seem that this too is the belief of the minds upon Mars. Their world is far gone in its cooling and this world is still crowded with life, but crowded only with what they regard as inferior animals. To carry warfare sunward is, indeed, their only escape from the destruction that, generation after generation, creeps upon them. 5
And before we judge of them too harshly we must remember what ruthless and utter destruction our own species has wrought, not only upon animals, such as the vanished bison and the dodo, but upon its inferior races. The Tasmanians, in spite of their human likeness, were entirely swept out of existence in a war of extermination waged by European immigrants, in the space of fifty years. Are we such apostles of mercy as to complain if the Martians warred in the same spirit? 6
The Martians seem to have calculated their descent with amazing subtlety—their mathematical learning is evidently far in excess of ours—and to have carried out their preparations with a well-nigh perfect unanimity. Had our instruments permitted it, we might have seen the gathering trouble far back in the nineteenth century. Men like Schiaparelli watched the red planet—it is odd, by-the-bye, that for countless centuries Mars has been the star of war—but failed to interpret the fluctuating appearances of the markings they mapped so well. All that time the Martians must have been getting ready. 7
During the opposition of 1894 a great light was seen on the illuminated part of the disk, first at the Lick Observatory, then by Perrotin of Nice, and then by other observers. English readers heard of it first in the issue of Nature dated August 2. I am inclined to think that this blaze may have been the casting of the huge gun, in the vast pit sunk into their planet, from which their shots were fired at us. Peculiar markings, as yet unexplained, were seen near the site of that outbreak during the next two oppositions. 8
The storm burst upon us six years ago now. As Mars approached opposition, Lavelle of Java set the wires of the astronomical exchange palpitating with the amazing intelligence of a huge outbreak of incandescent gas upon the planet. It had occurred towards midnight of the twelfth; and the spectroscope, to which he had at once resorted, indicated a mass of flaming gas, chiefly hydrogen, moving with an enormous velocity towards this earth. This jet of fire had become invisible about a quarter past twelve. He compared it to a colossal puff of flame suddenly and violently squirted out of the planet, “as flaming gases rushed out of a gun.” 9
A singularly appropriate phrase it proved. Yet the next day there was nothing of this in the papers except a little note in the Daily Telegraph, and the world went in ignorance of one of the gravest dangers that ever threatened the human race. I might not have heard of the eruption at all had I not met Ogilvy, the well-known astronomer, at Ottershaw. He was immensely excited at the news, and in the excess of his feelings invited me up to take a turn with him that night in a scrutiny of the red planet. 10
In spite of all that has happened since, I still remember that vigil very distinctly: the black and silent observatory, the shadowed lantern throwing a feeble glow upon the floor in the corner, the steady ticking of the clockwork of the telescope, the little slit in the roof—an oblong profundity with the stardust streaked across it. Ogilvy moved about, invisible but audible. Looking through the telescope, one saw a circle of deep blue and the little round planet swimming in the field. It seemed such a little thing, so bright and small and still, faintly marked with transverse stripes, and slightly flattened from the perfect round. But so little it was, so silvery warm—a pin’s-head of light! It was as if it quivered, but really this was the telescope vibrating with the activity of the clockwork that kept the planet in view. 11
As I watched, the planet seemed to grow larger and smaller and to advance and recede, but that was simply that my eye was tired. Forty millions of miles it was from us—more than forty millions of miles of void. Few people realise the immensity of vacancy in which the dust of the material universe swims. 12
Near it in the field, I remember, were three faint points of light, three telescopic stars infinitely remote, and all around it was the unfathomable darkness of empty space. You know how that blackness looks on a frosty starlight night. In a telescope it seems far profounder. And invisible to me because it was so remote and small, flying swiftly and steadily towards me across that incredible distance, drawing nearer every minute by so many thousands of miles, came the Thing they were sending us, the Thing that was to bring so much struggle and calamity and death to the earth. I never dreamed of it then as I watched; no one on earth dreamed of that unerring missile. 13
That night, too, there was another jetting out of gas from the distant planet. I saw it. A reddish flash at the edge, the slightest projection of the outline just as the chronometer struck midnight; and at that I told Ogilvy and he took my place. The night was warm and I was thirsty, and I went stretching my legs clumsily and feeling my way in the darkness, to the little table where the siphon stood, while Ogilvy exclaimed at the streamer of gas that came out towards us. 14
That night another invisible missile started on its way to the earth from Mars, just a second or so under twenty-four hours after the first one. I remember how I sat on the table there in the blackness, with patches of green and crimson swimming before my eyes. I wished I had a light to smoke by, little suspecting the meaning of the minute gleam I had seen and all that it would presently bring me. Ogilvy watched till one, and then gave it up; and we lit the lantern and walked over to his house. Down below in the darkness were Ottershaw and Chertsey and all their hundreds of people, sleeping in peace. 15
He was full of speculation that night about the condition of Mars, and scoffed at the vulgar idea of its having inhabitants who were signalling us. His idea was that meteorites might be falling in a heavy shower upon the planet, or that a huge volcanic explosion was in progress. He pointed out to me how unlikely it was that organic evolution had taken the same direction in the two adjacent planets. 16
“The chances against anything manlike on Mars are a million to one,” he said. 17
Hundreds of observers saw the flame that night and the night after about midnight, and again the night after; and so for ten nights, a flame each night. Why the shots ceased after the tenth no one on earth has attempted to explain. It may be the gases of the firing caused the Martians inconvenience. Dense clouds of smoke or dust, visible through a powerful telescope on earth as little grey, fluctuating patches, spread through the clearness of the planet’s atmosphere and obscured its more familiar features. 18
Even the daily papers woke up to the disturbances at last, and popular notes appeared here, there, and everywhere concerning the volcanoes upon Mars. The seriocomic periodical Punch, I remember, made a happy use of it in the political cartoon. And, all unsuspected, those missiles the Martians had fired at us drew earthward, rushing now at a pace of many miles a second through the empty gulf of space, hour by hour and day by day, nearer and nearer. It seems to me now almost incredibly wonderful that, with that swift fate hanging over us, men could go about their petty concerns as they did. I remember how jubilant Markham was at securing a new photograph of the planet for the illustrated paper he edited in those days. People in these latter times scarcely realise the abundance and enterprise of our nineteenth-century papers. For my own part, I was much occupied in learning to ride the bicycle, and busy upon a series of papers discussing the probable developments of moral ideas as civilisation progressed. 19

One night (the first missile then could scarcely have been 10,000,000 miles away) I went for a walk with my wife. It was starlight and I explained the Signs of the Zodiac to her, and pointed out Mars, a bright dot of light creeping zenithward, towards which so many telescopes were pointed. It was a warm night. Coming home, a party of excursionists from Chertsey or Isleworth passed us singing and playing music. There were lights in the upper windows of the houses as the people went to bed. From the railway station in the distance came the sound of shunting trains, ringing and rumbling, softened almost into melody by the distance. My wife pointed out to me the brightness of the red, green, and yellow signal lights hanging in a framework against the sky. It seemed so safe and tranquil.

MARK TWAIN : "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn "

2009-02-10T05:29:00.000-08:00

Chapter I

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YOU don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth. That is nothing. I never seen anybody but lied one time or another, without it was Aunt Polly, or the widow, or maybe Mary. Aunt Polly -- Tom's Aunt Polly, she is -- and Mary, and the Widow Douglas is all told about in that book, which is mostly a true book, with some stretchers, as I said before.

Now the way that the book winds up is this: Tom and me found the money that the robbers hid in the cave, and it made us rich. We got six thousand dollars apiece -- all gold. It was an awful sight of money when it was piled up. Well, Judge Thatcher he took it and put it out at interest, and it fetched us a dollar a day apiece all the year round -- more than a body could tell what to do with. The Widow Douglas she

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took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways; and so when I couldn't stand it no longer I lit out. I got into my old rags and my sugar-hogshead again, and was free and satisfied. But Tom Sawyer he hunted me up and said he was going to start a band of robbers, and I might join if I would go back to the widow and be respectable. So I went back.

The widow she cried over me, and called me a poor lost lamb, and she called me a lot of other names, too, but she never meant no harm by it. She put me in them new clothes again, and I couldn't do nothing but sweat and sweat, and feel all cramped up. Well, then, the old thing commenced again. The widow rung a bell for supper, and you had to come to time. When you got to the table you couldn't go right to eating, but you had to wait for the widow to tuck down her head and grumble a little over the victuals, though there warn't really anything the matter with them, -- that is, nothing only everything was cooked by itself. In a barrel of odds and ends it is different; things get mixed up, and the juice kind of swaps around, and the things go better.

After supper she got out her book and learned me about Moses and the Bulrushers, and I was in a sweat to find out all about him; but by and by she let it out that Moses had been dead a considerable long time; so then I didn't care no more about him, because I don't take no stock in dead people.

Pretty soon I wanted to smoke, and asked the widow to let me. But she wouldn't. She said it was

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a mean practice and wasn't clean, and I must try to not do it any more. That is just the way with some people. They get down on a thing when they don't know nothing about it. Here she was a-bothering about Moses, which was no kin to her, and no use to anybody, being gone, you see, yet finding a power of fault with me for doing a thing that had some good in it. And she took snuff, too; of course that was all right, because she done it herself.

Her sister, Miss Watson, a tolerable slim old maid, with goggles on, had just come to live with her, and took a set at me now with a spelling-book. She worked me middling hard for about an hour, and then the widow made her ease up. I couldn't stood it much longer. Then for an hour it was deadly dull, and I was fidgety. Miss Watson would say, "Don't put your feet up there, Huckleberry;" and "Don't scrunch up like that, Huckleberry -- set up straight;" and pretty soon she would say, "Don't gap and stretch like that, Huckleberry -- why don't you try to behave?" Then she told me all about the bad place, and I said I wished I was there. She got mad then, but I didn't mean no harm. All I wanted was to go somewheres; all I wanted was a change, I warn't particular. She said it was wicked to say what I said; said she wouldn't say it for the whole world; she was going to live so as to go to the good place. Well, I couldn't see no advantage in going where she was going, so I made up my mind I wouldn't try for it. But I never said so, because it would only make trouble, and wouldn't do no good.

Now she had got a start, and she went on and told me all about the good place. She said all a body

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would have to do there was to go around all day long with a harp and sing, forever and ever. So I didn't think much of it. But I never said so. I asked her if she reckoned Tom Sawyer would go there, and she said not by a considerable sight. I was glad about that, because I wanted him and me to be together.

Miss Watson she kept pecking at me, and it got tiresome and lonesome. By and by they fetched the niggers in and had prayers, and then everybody was off to bed. I went up to my room with a piece of candle, and put it on the table. Then I set down in a chair by the window and tried to think of something cheerful, but it warn't no use. I felt so lonesome I most wished I was dead. The stars were shining, and the leaves rustled in the woods ever so mournful; and I heard an owl, away off, who-whooing about somebody that was dead, and a whippowill and a dog crying about somebody that was going to die; and the wind was trying to whisper something to me, and I couldn't make out what it was, and so it made the cold shivers run over me. Then away out in the woods I heard that kind of a sound that a ghost makes when it wants to tell about something that's on its mind and can't make itself understood, and so can't rest easy in its grave, and has to go about that way every night grieving. I got so down-hearted and scared I did wish I had some company. Pretty soon a spider went crawling up my shoulder, and I flipped it off and it lit in the candle; and before I could budge it was all shriveled up. I didn't need anybody to tell me that that was an awful bad sign and would fetch me some bad luck, so I was scared and most shook the clothes off of me. I got up and turned around in my

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tracks three times and crossed my breast every time; and then I tied up a little lock of my hair with a thread to keep witches away. But I hadn't no confidence. You do that when you've lost a horseshoe that you've found, instead of nailing it up over the door, but I hadn't ever heard anybody say it was any way to keep off bad luck when you'd killed a spider.

I set down again, a-shaking all over, and got out my pipe for a smoke; for the house was all as still as death now, and so the widow wouldn't know. Well, after a long time I heard the clock away off in the town go boom -- boom -- boom -- twelve licks; and all still again -- stiller than ever. Pretty soon I heard a twig snap down in the dark amongst the trees -- something was a stirring. I set still and listened. Directly I could just barely hear a "me-yow! me-yow!" down there. That was good! Says I,"me-yow! me-yow!" as soft as I could, and then I put out the light and scrambled out of the window on to the shed. Then I slipped down to the ground and crawled in among the trees, and, sure enough, there was Tom Sawyer waiting for me.
CHAPTER II

WE went tiptoeing along a path amongst the trees back towards the end of the widow's garden, stooping down so as the branches wouldn't scrape our heads. When we was passing by the kitchen I fell over a root and made a noise. We scrouched down and laid still. Miss Watson's big nigger, named Jim, was setting in the kitchen door; we could see him pretty clear, because there was a light behind him. He got up and stretched his neck out about a minute, listening. Then he says:

"Who dah?"

He listened some more; then he come tiptoeing down and stood right between us; we could a touched him, nearly. Well, likely it was minutes and minutes that there warn't a sound, and we all there so close together. There was a place on my ankle that got to itching, but I dasn't scratch it; and then my ear begun to itch; and next my back, right between my shoulders. Seemed like I'd die if I couldn't scratch. Well, I've noticed that thing plenty times since. If you are with the quality, or at a funeral, or trying to go to sleep when you ain't sleepy -- if you are anywheres where it won't do for you to scratch, why you will itch all over in upwards of a thousand places. Pretty soon Jim says:

"Say, who is you? Whar is you? Dog my cats

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ef I didn' hear sumf'n. Well, I know what I's gwyne to do: I's gwyne to set down here and listen tell I hears it agin."

So he set down on the ground betwixt me and Tom. He leaned his back up against a tree, and stretched his legs out till one of them most touched one of mine. My nose begun to itch. It itched till the tears come into my eyes. But I dasn't scratch. Then it begun to itch on the inside. Next I got to itching underneath. I didn't know how I was going to set still. This miserableness went on as much as six or seven minutes; but it seemed a sight longer than that. I was itching in eleven different places now. I reckoned I couldn't stand it more'n a minute longer, but I set my teeth hard and got ready to try. Just then Jim begun to breathe heavy; next he begun to snore -- and then I was pretty soon comfortable again.

Tom he made a sign to me -- kind of a little noise with his mouth -- and we went creeping away on our hands and knees. When we was ten foot off Tom whispered to me, and wanted to tie Jim to the tree for fun. But I said no; he might wake and make a disturbance, and then they'd find out I warn't in. Then Tom said he hadn't got candles enough, and he would slip in the kitchen and get some more. I didn't want him to try. I said Jim might wake up and come. But Tom wanted to resk it; so we slid in there and got three candles, and Tom laid five cents on the table for pay. Then we got out, and I was in a sweat to get away; but nothing would do Tom but he must crawl to where Jim was, on his hands and knees, and play something on him. I

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waited, and it seemed a good while, everything was so still and lonesome.

As soon as Tom was back we cut along the path, around the garden fence, and by and by fetched up on the steep top of the hill the other side of the house. Tom said he slipped Jim's hat off of his head and hung it on a limb right over him, and Jim stirred a little, but he didn't wake. Afterwards Jim said the witches bewitched him and put him in a trance, and rode him all over the State, and then set him under the trees again, and hung his hat on a limb to show who done it. And next time Jim told it he said they rode him down to New Orleans; and, after that, every time he told it he spread it more and more, till by and by he said they rode him all over the world, and tired him most to death, and his back was all over saddle-boils. Jim was monstrous proud about it, and he got so he wouldn't hardly notice the other niggers. Niggers would come miles to hear Jim tell about it, and he was more looked up to than any nigger in that country. Strange niggers would stand with their mouths open and look him all over, same as if he was a wonder. Niggers is always talking about witches in the dark by the kitchen fire; but whenever one was talking and letting on to know all about such things, Jim would happen in and say, "Hm! What you know 'bout witches?" and that nigger was corked up and had to take a back seat. Jim always kept that five-center piece round his neck with a string, and said it was a charm the devil give to him with his own hands, and told him he could cure anybody with it and fetch witches whenever he wanted to just by saying something to it; but he never told what it was he said

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to it. Niggers would come from all around there and give Jim anything they had, just for a sight of that five-center piece; but they wouldn't touch it, because the devil had had his hands on it. Jim was most ruined for a servant, because he got stuck up on account of having seen the devil and been rode by witches.

Well, when Tom and me got to the edge of the hill-top we looked away down into the village and could see three or four lights twinkling, where there was sick folks, maybe; and the stars over us was sparkling ever so fine; and down by the village was the river, a whole mile broad, and awful still and grand. We went down the hill and found Jo Harper and Ben Rogers, and two or three more of the boys, hid in the old tanyard. So we unhitched a skiff and pulled down the river two mile and a half, to the big scar on the hillside, and went ashore.

We went to a clump of bushes, and Tom made everybody swear to keep the secret, and then showed them a hole in the hill, right in the thickest part of the bushes. Then we lit the candles, and crawled in on our hands and knees. We went about two hundred yards, and then the cave opened up. Tom poked about amongst the passages, and pretty soon ducked under a wall where you wouldn't a noticed that there was a hole. We went along a narrow place and got into a kind of room, all damp and sweaty and cold, and there we stopped. Tom says:

"Now, we'll start this band of robbers and call it Tom Sawyer's Gang. Everybody that wants to join has got to take an oath, and write his name in blood."

Everybody was willing. So Tom got out a sheet

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of paper that he had wrote the oath on, and read it. It swore every boy to stick to the band, and never tell any of the secrets; and if anybody done anything to any boy in the band, whichever boy was ordered to kill that person and his family must do it, and he mustn't eat and he mustn't sleep till he had killed them and hacked a cross in their breasts, which was the sign of the band. And nobody that didn't belong to the band could use that mark, and if he did he must be sued; and if he done it again he must be killed. And if anybody that belonged to the band told the secrets, he must have his throat cut, and then have his carcass burnt up and the ashes scattered all around, and his name blotted off of the list with blood and never mentioned again by the gang, but have a curse put on it and be forgot forever.

Everybody said it was a real beautiful oath, and asked Tom if he got it out of his own head. He said, some of it, but the rest was out of pirate-books and robber-books, and every gang that was high-toned had it.

Some thought it would be good to kill the families of boys that told the secrets. Tom said it was a good idea, so he took a pencil and wrote it in. Then Ben Rogers says:

"Here's Huck Finn, he hain't got no family; what you going to do 'bout him?"

"Well, hain't he got a father?" says Tom Sawyer.

"Yes, he's got a father, but you can't never find him these days. He used to lay drunk with the hogs in the tanyard, but he hain't been seen in these parts for a year or more."

They talked it over, and they was going to rule me

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out, because they said every boy must have a family or somebody to kill, or else it wouldn't be fair and square for the others. Well, nobody could think of anything to do -- everybody was stumped, and set still. I was most ready to cry; but all at once I thought of a way, and so I offered them Miss Watson -- they could kill her. Everybody said:

"Oh, she'll do. That's all right. Huck can come in."

Then they all stuck a pin in their fingers to get blood to sign with, and I made my mark on the paper.

"Now," says Ben Rogers, "what's the line of business of this Gang?"

"Nothing only robbery and murder," Tom said.

"But who are we going to rob? -- houses, or cattle, or -- "

"Stuff! stealing cattle and such things ain't robbery; it's burglary," says Tom Sawyer. "We ain't burglars. That ain't no sort of style. We are highwaymen. We stop stages and carriages on the road, with masks on, and kill the people and take their watches and money."

"Must we always kill the people?"

"Oh, certainly. It's best. Some authorities think different, but mostly it's considered best to kill them -- except some that you bring to the cave here, and keep them till they're ransomed."

"Ransomed? What's that?"

"I don't know. But that's what they do. I've seen it in books; and so of course that's what we've got to do."

"But how can we do it if we don't know what it is?"

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"Why, blame it all, we've got to do it. Don't I tell you it's in the books? Do you want to go to doing different from what's in the books, and get things all muddled up?"

"Oh, that's all very fine to say, Tom Sawyer, but how in the nation are these fellows going to be ransomed if we don't know how to do it to them? -- that's the thing I want to get at. Now, what do you reckon it is?"

"Well, I don't know. But per'aps if we keep them till they're ransomed, it means that we keep them till they're dead. "

"Now, that's something like. That'll answer. Why couldn't you said that before? We'll keep them till they're ransomed to death; and a bothersome lot they'll be, too -- eating up everything, and always trying to get loose."

"How you talk, Ben Rogers. How can they get loose when there's a guard over them, ready to shoot them down if they move a peg?"

"A guard! Well, that is good. So somebody's got to set up all night and never get any sleep, just so as to watch them. I think that's foolishness. Why can't a body take a club and ransom them as soon as they get here?"

"Because it ain't in the books so -- that's why. Now, Ben Rogers, do you want to do things regular, or don't you? -- that's the idea. Don't you reckon that the people that made the books knows what's the correct thing to do? Do you reckon you can learn 'em anything? Not by a good deal. No, sir, we'll just go on and ransom them in the regular way."

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"All right. I don't mind; but I say it's a fool way, anyhow. Say, do we kill the women, too?"

"Well, Ben Rogers, if I was as ignorant as you I wouldn't let on. Kill the women? No; nobody ever saw anything in the books like that. You fetch them to the cave, and you're always as polite as pie to them; and by and by they fall in love with you, and never want to go home any more."

"Well, if that's the way I'm agreed, but I don't take no stock in it. Mighty soon we'll have the cave so cluttered up with women, and fellows waiting to be ransomed, that there won't be no place for the robbers. But go ahead, I ain't got nothing to say."

Little Tommy Barnes was asleep now, and when they waked him up he was scared, and cried, and said he wanted to go home to his ma, and didn't want to be a robber any more.

So they all made fun of him, and called him cry-baby, and that made him mad, and he said he would go straight and tell all the secrets. But Tom give him five cents to keep quiet, and said we would all go home and meet next week, and rob somebody and kill some people.

Ben Rogers said he couldn't get out much, only Sundays, and so he wanted to begin next Sunday; but all the boys said it would be wicked to do it on Sunday, and that settled the thing. They agreed to get together and fix a day as soon as they could, and then we elected Tom Sawyer first captain and Jo Harper second captain of the Gang, and so started home.

I clumb up the shed and crept into my window just before day was breaking. My new clothes was all greased up and clayey, and I was dog-tired.

OLD ISTANBUL PIC

2009-02-09T16:46:00.000-08:00

The city has been conquered, fought over and rebuilt many times over the centuries. Istanbul’s history dates back to the first settlement possibly in the 13th Century BC, although was founded by Byzas the Megarian in the 7th Century BC, from when the city was named Byzantium. A small colony of Greeks inhabited the area until 3rd Century BC, and over the next 1000 years became a thriving trading and commercial centre. Whilst continuing life as a trading city during the Roman Empire, it was then conquered by Emperor Septimus Severius in 193 AD.

During the 4th century, Istanbul was selected by the Roman Empire to be the new capital, instead of Rome, by Constantine. It was a strategic choice: Built on seven surrounding hills – echoing that of Rome – the city would have control of the Bosphorus and easy access to the harbour of the Golden Horn. The city was re-organized within six years, its ramparts widened and the construction of many temples, official buildings, palaces, hamams and hippodrome.

With great ceremony, in the year 330 the city was officially announced as the capital of the Roman Empire, and known as Constantinople in the late eras. It remained the capital of the eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine) for a long period, due to the fall of the west Roman Empire in the 5th century. By the sixth century, the population exceeded half a million, and was considered a golden age under Emperor Justinyen’s reign.

The Byzantium Empire and Istanbul's latter history is full of palace and church intrigues, was overrun by the Arabs in the 7th and 8th centuries, the Bulgars in the 9th and 10th, but could not keep out the Crusaders who conquered in 1204. They destroyed and raided it for many more years - including churches, monasteries and monuments, which led to a decline in the population. The city passed reign to Byzantium again in 1261, did not regain its former richness, and was conquered by Turks in 1453 after a 53-day siege and the hands of control changed yet again.

It then became the capital city of Ottoman Empire, which saw a population increase with immigrants from other parts of the country, with religious freedom and social rights granted to Greeks, Armenians and Jews. Mehmet the Conqueror began to rebuild it, with a new palace and mosque (Fatih Camii) and tried to inject new life into the economy.

The reign of Suleyman the Magnificent (1520-66) was considered the greatest of all the Ottoman leaders, and the military conquests paid for the most impressive Ottoman architecture, the work of Mimar Sinan. The city was also the centre of the Islamic work, and domes and minarets from hundreds of mosques dotted the skyline.

But a century after the death of Suleyman, the Empire started to decline again. By the end of the 18th century the empire was in decline with more territory being lost to the West, and sultans becoming more interested in Western institutional models. There was a short-lived Ottoman parliament and constitution in 1876, and by the end of the World War I during which allied troops occupied the city, the once-great empire was in shambles.

This changed radically with the emergence of a prominent commander of the Turkish army, who entered the struggle for the Turkish nation. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was considered a hero after the 4-year long War of Independence, after which he established the Republic if Turkey in 1932. Moving the capital to Ankara, then a small provincial town in Anatolia, Istanbul was simply the commercial and cultural centre, which it still remains today.

Where to Eat

The Istanbul kitchen is regarded as one of the best in the world. Ingredients, chefs, styles and tastes came from every part of the Empire to the capital, making the Ottoman Turkish kitchen significant in world cuisine. But Turkish cuisine has not ceased to develop, and is growing and enhancing long after the end of the Empire.

The typical dish of Istanbul would consist of lamb, mutton and veal, to which a variety of vegetables are added. Pilaf, all kinds of pastry, bulgur, haricot beans, rich olive oil and vegetables are used as side dishes. Meat balls, shish kebab and doner kebab are the classic, most classic dishes found in any kebab restaurant, together with peppers, yoghurt, eggplant. Because of its coastal location, fish is also popular although is usually cooked simply, such as grilled or fried with olive oil and lemon juice.

Like the rest of the country, the usual way of starting a big meal is with mezzes, a selection of hot and cold dishes such as meat, fish, salads, vegetables and cheese, shared amongst the table and eaten with fresh bread. To finish your meal, pastry tarts, baklava, kadayif and a whole host of sweets are available not only in restaurants, but in pastry shops which have often been going for generations.

Because it is the commercial and cultural centre of Turkey, there are restaurants of many nationalities in Istanbul, like Korean, Russian, Italian and Chinese. American-style fast-food outlets are becoming more popular, but for a quick snack it is more appropriate to fill up at the plethora of tiny takeaways with kebabs and snacks. It is easy to sample good quality regional cuisine in typical small restaurants, usually at low cost, especially in the commercial and business areas.

To wash down your meal, Turkey’s most famous two drinks are milky-coloured – although could not be more different: Ayran is a cooling, salty yoghurt drink which is refreshing in summer and can be found everywhere, from street stalls to restaurants. Raki, with the nick-name Lion’s Milk is a strong spirit with the taste of Aniseed, which turns milky-white when mixed with water. It is usually drunk to accompany food, especially at the beginning with mezzes. The main area of beer and wine production is Anatolia.

Turkish coffee is legendary, usually served very sweet and strong and drunk from tiny cups. It normally follows a meal, or is popular in cafes and offered when visiting people or even sitting in carpet shops! The expression, “a cup of coffee has a memory of 40 years”, has been repeated by Turks since the 16th century.

For a meal out which is lively and entertaining, the taverns and fish restaurants around Kumkapi, west of Sultanahmet, are great for outdoor dining and street atmosphere, and very popular in the summer. People have been meeting for years at Cicek Pasaji in Beyoglu for snacks and seafood specialities, and nearby is the narrow Nevizade street, the best place in Istanbul for eating Turkish specialties and drinking raki. On the Bosphorus, Ortakoy is another good nightlife spot, with a good range of nightclubs, jazz clubs, fine seafood restaurants and bars. At Eminönü don't miss an opportunity to see fishermen dressed in traditional Ottoman clothes and their Ottoman-style boats cooking delicious fried fish, whilst bobbing on the water around Eminonu

EXPLORERS OF AMERICA

2009-02-09T15:05:00.000-08:00

EXPLORERS OF AMERICA
For many years people believed that Europeans were the first to travel to America and that it was discovered by the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. But, in fact, many travellers had reached America before him. Some historians claim that sailors from China crossed the Pacific to Mexico in AD 460. According to others, although there is not enough evidence, Asians other than the Chinese crossed the Bering Strait to Alaska long before this date and moved through North America on to South America. Irish explorers may also have visited America in the ninth and tenth centuries. Irish people living in Iceland before the Norsemen, who came from Scandinavia, reached ii in the ninth century. They may have sailed from Iceland to America after the Norsemen arrived in Iceland. The Norsemen themselves may also have visited America. We learn this from their stories. They were used to sailing long distances. Some Norse stories tell of a Norseman called Bjarni Herjolfsson, who visited North America in AD 986. Another Norseman named Leif Ericsson probably lived for a time in Newfoundland in Canada and returned to Greenland. However, the first Western explorer whose success we can be sure about was Christopher Columbus. He left Spain on August 3, 1492, and on October 12th, he arrived in the Bahamas. Columbus thought he had arrived in the Indies, the name then used for Asia. That is why he called the people there Indians. He spent many weeks sailing around the Caribbean and then went back to Spain. He made several more voyages to the New World until 1504, though he never actually landed in North America. However, America was named after another Italian explorer, Amerigo Vespucci, who was a friend of Columbus' and who later explored the coastline of the New World. Amerigo Vespucci (1451-1512) was a successful Florentine 30 businessman and navigator who was knowledgeable in geography and cosmography. He was also the financial representative of the Medici, who were influential people in the fifteenth century. It was mainly for these reasons that he got involved in various expeditions at the time , made acquintance of Columbus and was of great help to hirr Although he did not actually join in any of the Columbus expeditions, he was responsible for their organisation. He obtained the ships and the necessary supplies, such as food. Vespucci's own expeditions took place at a later date. To find answers to the questions raised by Columbus' claims to have reached Asia by travelling west, Vespucci was employed by the Spanish and the Portuguese to organise new expeditions. The first of these was in 1499 - 1500, the second in 1501 -1502. During these expeditions, he travelled down the South American coastline, from Venezüella to Brazil, and discovered the mouth of the Amazon river, which received plenty of attention. Although Columbus is considered the most important explorer of all times, he could not achieve what Vespucci did. Vespucci proved that America was a new continent-and not a part of Asia. For this reason, the continent was named America after him in 1507.

COMPUTER EDUCATION

2009-02-09T14:49:00.000-08:00

COMPUTER EDUCATION
The Government has almost doubled its spending on computer education in schools. Mr. William Shelton, the Education Minister, announced that the Microelectronics Education Programme (MEP) is to run for two more years with additional funding of at least £9 million.

The programme began in 1989, was originally due to end in 1993, and had a budget of £9 million. This has been raised in bits and pieces over the past year to £11 million. The programme will now run until March 1995, at a cost of around £20 million.

MEP provides courses for teachers and develops computer programmes for classroom use of personal computers. It is run together with a Department of Industry programme, under which personal computers are supplied to schools at half-price.

In that way, virtually every secondary school will have been provided with computers at a low cost. But, as Mr. Shelton admitted yesterday: 'It's no good having the computers without the right computer programmes to put into them and a great deal more is still needed.' Hence, MEP needs the new funds being provided.

Mr. Shelton said yesterday that MEP's achievements in curriculum development and teacher training had shown that the computer could be used in all courses.

About 15,000 secondary school teachers have taken short courses in 'computer awareness', which is a necessary part of the half-price computer offer, and training materials are now being provided for 50,000 primary school teachers.

The reasoning behind MEP is that no child now at school can hope for a worthwhile job in the future economy unless he or she understands how to deal with computers - not in the training sense, but in learning the general skill to extract the information which will be required in their job.

Mark the best choice. 1. The original MEP programme was expected to . a) last two years and cost nine million pounds b) last four years and cost nine million pounds c) last two years and cost eleven million pounds d) last four years and cost eleven million pounds

NUCLEAR POWER - A SAFE SOLUTION?

2009-02-09T14:42:00.000-08:00

NUCLEAR POWER - A SAFE SOLUTION?
Ever since the first atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, governments have been trying to stress that the atom has a peaceful as well as a warlike side. In early propaganda films, which were made to gain the support of the public round the idea of a nuclear research programme, we were shown pictures of a high speed train travelling around the world. It was said that the train was powered by the equivalent of the energy contained in a glass of water. And it was claimed that this energy, which was won by harnessing the power of the atom', would be cheap, efficient, clean, andabove all, safe. Besides, men would not have to labour beneath the ground in dirty and dangerous conditions to win the coal which would fuel our industry. The nuclear power stations of the future would not cause a decrease in the world's natural resources since they did not depend on burning fossil fuels like coal or oil. Thus, our resources would last much longer. it ali took a lot longer to happen than predicted. The first disappointment, of course, was that a power station could not actually be fuelled with a glass of water. The power'stations still had to be fuelled with radioactive and potentially dangerous substances which were won from the ground by accident-prone miners, just like coal. These substances had to be transported to the power stations by train in special containers. Many cf the early objections and protest campaigns came from the inhabitants of villages through which such trains passed, as they feared that in the event of a collision the containers of radioactive substances would break and spill radiation or to surrounding houses and countryside. The railway authorities were fairly successful in reducing such fears and showing that the containers they used could never break, not even in a head-on collision. Concern was almost never directed at the power stations themselves and we were assured that scientists had foreseen everything that could possibly go wrong and taken the necessary precautions. What the nuclear power station designers and engineers had not taken into account, however, was Murphy's Law, which states that if a thing can possibly go wrong, sooner or later it will. At Three Mile Island in the USA, and Windscale in the UK, accidents happened despite all precautions. Radiation spilt into the atmosphere arid we heard for the first time of the China Syndrome - the dreadful possibility of a nuclear accident burning through the earth all the way to China.
This seemed to be quite a weak possibility until Chernobyl, the world's worst nuclear accident so far. We saw pictures of a 'melt-down', where the entire core of the reactor becomes molten and uncontrollable, and also heard for the first time of a 'melt-through', where the radioactive mass melts through the earth's crust, and at the very least, contaminates the ground waterof an entire river basin system, making thousands of square miles uninhabitable for decades and totally destroying the agriculture of an entire region.

The fact that it was not quite as catastrophic as what is described above is due to the incredible and heroic self-sacrifice of the Soviet fire-fighters who tunnelled beneath the molten mass, entering the radioactive zone, to build a shield of concrete beneath the power station and wall it off forever. In the meantime, the plume of radioactivity had risen high above western Europe and, with the rain, dropped, deadeningly, in Sweden. Europe and the world were faced with an ecological disaster which could be much greater than that caused by an accidental firing of a powerful military weapon. Suddenly, the 'peaceful uses of atomic energy' did not seem so peaceful any more.
Mark the best choice.
1. Propaganda films were made in order to .
a) show the effects of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
b) introduce the peaceful side of the atom to public
c) support the public to carry out nuclear research
d) publicize high speed trains that could travel round the world
2. It was stated that nuclear power stations would .
a) lead to an increase in the amount of natural resources
b) provide better living conditions for coal miners
c) be fuelled with a much more efficient form of energy
d) still have to be fuelled with coal and oil
3. Accident-prone miners .
a) were those who were likely to have accidents
b) were carefully protected from radioactive substances
c) refused to work under the ground to avoid accidents
d) still had to mine coal which would be used in the stations
4. Radioactive substances were transported in special containers
a) as there was little risk of collision with other trains
b) after the objections and protest campaigns of villagers
c) which wouldn't let out their contents in the event of a collision
d) to spill radiation on to surrounding houses and countryside

THE PALEOLITHIC AGE

2009-02-09T14:23:00.000-08:00

THE PALEOLITHIC AGE
Life in the Paleolithic Age was perilous and uncertain at best. Survival depended on the success of the hunt, but the hunt often brought sudden and violent death. In some instances, Paleolithic people were their own worst enemies. At times they fought each other for control of hunting grounds, and some early hunters played an important part in wiping out less aggressive people. On occasion Paleolithic people seem to have preyed on one another. One of the indications that Neanderthal Man was at times cannibalistic, that is, hunted human beings, comes from a cave in Yugoslavia, where investigators found human bones burned and split open.

On the other hand, the people of the Paleolithic Age were responsible for some striking accomplishments. The most obvious one is the use of the stone implements that gave the period its name. The ability to make and use tools gave Paleolithic people the means to change their environment. They could compete with larger and stronger animals and could hunt animals faster and more ferocious than themselves. In the frozen wastes of the north, they hunted the mammoth, the woolly rhinoceros, and the reindeer. In milder southern climates, they hunted deer, squirrels, and rabbits. The demands of the hunt sharpened their intelligence. They supplemented their diet by collecting fruits, nuts, and seeds, and in the process they discovered the plant world around them. Paleolithic people learned to control fire and to make clothes from theskins of their prey:

The most striking accomplishments of Paleolithic people were intellectual. The development of the human brain made possible thought and symbolic logic. An invisible world opened up to homo sapiens. Unlike animals, whose behaviour is the result of instinct, Paleolithic people used reason to govern their actions. Thought and language permitted the experience of the old to be passed on to the young. Paleolithic people produced the first art. They decorated the walls of their caves with paintings of animals and scenes of the hunt. They also began to fashion clay models of pregnant women and of animals. These first examples of art illustrate the way in which early men and women communicated to others their experience of the past and hope for the future. Many of the paintings, such as those at Altamira in Spain and Lascaux in France, are found deep in the caves, in areas not easily accessible. These areas were probably places of ritual and initiation» where young men were taken when they joined the ranks of the hunters.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DINOSAURS?

2009-02-08T03:46:00.000-08:00

A number of different theories have been proposed to explain the death of the dinosaur. We know that about thirty species lived in North America from 120 to 200 million years ago. We also know that the dinosaur was not a very intelligent animal - most dinosaurs had very small brains and that they lived on earth for 100 million years. What we don't know is why they suddenly disappeared. Obviously something very unusual happened, which caused their death. There are a lot of possibilities. One is that North America was hit by an enormous drought. However, bones from thirty-five dinosaur species have just been discovered in China, and it has been found out that they died at the same time as the ones in America, so it seems very unlikely that drought was responsible.

It was a world problem, not a local one, that killed them all. The popular idea that human beings killed the dinosaur is also wrong. Humans didn't arrive until a million years ago. Acid rain, surprisingly, is one of the newer theories. It is possible that pollution from acid rain was caused by a meteor crashing into the earth. Changes in climate might also have been responsible. Either an ice age (there have been two ice ages since then) or an increase in world temperatures could have been enough to kill the dinosaurs. Anyway, there is a lesson here for human beings. If the dinosaurs can all disappear, so can we.

BOOKWORMS

2009-02-08T03:38:00.000-08:00

A bookworm is one of those people who cannot stop reading. They always have their nose in a book and read for pleasure. They can walk along a street with a book in front of them and not notice the world go by. When they go to bed, their lights stay on for ages because they cannot go to sleep until they have finished their latest novel or biography. They have books with them and around them wherever they go. Quite simply, they just love reading. There used to be a lot of them, but now they are a dying breed. Television, video and the wide range of social and recreational opportunities which are now available have taken the place of books in many homes. School children and students still have to read but they usually read because they have to, rather than because they enjoy it. Once they have left school or college, many feel that they never want to open a book again, and according to a recent survey, many do not. In Australia, 80% of university graduates never read another book from the beginning to the end. In England, 44% of the population say that they never buy a book and a further 1% buy only one book a year.

SOLAR ENERGY

2009-02-08T03:32:00.000-08:00

Most of the energy we consume comes directly or indirectly from the sun. In 1972, man consumed 90 trillion horsepower hours of energy. During the same year, the sun emitted 1.5 million trillion horsepower hours of sunlight on the planet. Only a small fraction of this natural force (40 billion kilowatts) is converted by green plants into all the food and wood that grows on the earth. Over hundreds of thousands of years this vegetation is eventually converted into fossil fuels like coal and oil. Because of the length of time which is required to produce fossil fuels, it would be more feasible to employ solar radiations directly to help meet our energy needs. Presently solar energy can be used to stretch our limited supplies of fossil fuels. Experiments have already shown that we can heat a house, heat water, air condition buildings, cook food, and produce electricity with solar energy. Scientists have even converted an automobile to run on batteries which are charged by solar cells. In the future, solar energy may be one of our main sources of energy.

One regular feature planned for Progress in Photovoltaics is the publishing of solar cell and module efficiency tables summarizing the highest independently confirmed results for different technologies. These tables are expected to be of interest not only to researchers directly involved in these areas but also to those less directly involved but interested in being kept informed of the latest results with each of the different technologies or interested in an authoritative summary of these results. Other desirable outcomes may be the encouragement of research results and the further simulation of intercomparison of measurements between disignated cell test centres. Guidelines for inclusion of results into these tables are outlined and the first set of tables of results conforming to these guidelines are published.

Solar Battery

The lighting systems by Solar Battery is the typical sample of the applications which is established to provide the small amount of energy demands and named as the independent from the central net, in case that the net of electricity is not possible to reach or doesn’t require at all.

In this study of thesis, energy of electricity has been produced by using the celled solar battery, and it has been stored in a dry type of 12 volt 7 AH/20 hour powered storage battery. In case that solar energy is not sufficient to manufacture electric energy, the system has been operated by the energy which is stored in the storage battery. Concerning the system, first of all panel and storage battery have been measured as empty, these values have been observed on the voltmeter and oscilloscope. Later, the measurements have been carried out when the system is connected but without charged. Finally, the measurements have been carried out when the system is connected and with charged , and the outputs have been taken from oscilloscope.There is an interest in developing electric cars for two reasons. One reason is that there is only a certain amount of fuel in the world and it will eventually finish. Another is that electric cars will not cause air pollution; i.e. the air will be clean. Why aren't there electric cars on the roads then?

Although there are trucks, vans and other vehicles which run on electricity, the auto industry cannot yet produce electric passenger cars in order to sell on the market. This is because of the batteries in the cars today. These are lead-acid batteries and they do not provide the necessary power for an electric car. In other words, the car cannot go a long distance with such a battery. Besides, you must replace it in time. Most engineers believe that the lead-acid battery is too heavy and too expensive. Therefore, scientists have developed another type of battery.This development may now be the first important step in the mass production of electric automobiles. The new type is a conductive polymer battery. It is made of a material which is similar to plastic. However, it has a metallic appearance and the ability to conduct electricity. This new plastic battery is three times stronger than the ordinary car battery and weighs less than 5 kilograms. In addition, car builders can form it into any shape. This means you can place the battery anywhere in the car; for example, under the roof, behind the door panels or even under the seat. Besides its capacity to take various shapes, it is also cheap because of the polymers used.

Several types of conductive polymer batteries are ready to be tested. One disadvantage is that the polymer battery can be toxic - it can even kill people; therefore, it must be insulated well.

Many researchers agree that it is important to solve the energy problem; so the conductive polymer battery may be an important first step in electric vehicle development. They believe that such vehicles will replace the ones which we use today.

ORDINARY ASPIRIN IS TRULY A WONDER DRUG

2009-02-08T03:28:00.000-08:00

Aspirin Drug

Americans this year will swallow, or take, 15,000 tons of aspirin, one of the safest and most effective drugs invented by man. Aspirin is the most popular medicine in the world today. It is an effective pain reliever and it is cheap. Moreover, its bad effects are relatively mild. I i.e., they are not strong. For millions of people suffering from arthritis, a disorder in the joints of the body, it is the only thing that works. Aspirin, in short, is truly the 20th-century wonder drug.
Although aspirin was first sold by a German company in 1899, it has been around much longer than that. Hippocrates, in ancient Greece, understood the medical value of the leaves and tree bark which today are known to contain salicylates, the chemical in aspirin. During the 2 19th century, scientists in Europe did a lot of experiments with this chemical, and these led to the introduction of aspirin. By 1915, aspirin tablets were available in the United States. A small quantity of aspirin (two five-grain tablets) relieves pain. It also reduces fever. Specifically, aspirin seems to slow down the formation of the acids involved in pain and the complex chemical reactions that cause an increase in the body temperature, which we call 3 fever. The chemistry of these acids is not fully understood, but the slowing effect of aspirin is well-known. Aspirin is very irritating to the stomach lining, and many aspirin takers complain about an upset stomach. There is a right way and a wrong way to take aspirin. The best way is to chew the tablets before swallowing them with water, but few people can stand the bitter taste. Some people crush the tablets in milk or orange juice. That is, they press and break the tablets. They claim that the medicine does not upset their stomach when they take it this way.

NICE NOT EASY

2009-02-07T18:10:00.000-08:00

NICE NOT EASY
Alison Bray takes a spot of French leave. Every year thousands of girls from all over the world drop everything in their home country to become au pairs abroad. A need to improve language skills, discover other cultures, or simply find some independence are the most common reasons, but most have little idea of what is waiting for them.

When I landed in Nice last February, I was as green as the England I left behind. I was to work for a family in the "Nouveau Riche" mould just outside Nice and my contract stipulated caring for the children and "petite aide menagere" (light housework). I found, in fact, all the housework in the large villa was my responsibility.

A typical morning's work would involve washing and dressing the five-, seven- and nine-year-old children, preparing them for school, washing up the breakfast things, making the beds (to army standards), tidying their rooms and play rooms, cleaning and making the fire, vacuuming and washing either the upstairs or downstairs floor surfaces, polishing ornaments and all wood, cleaning the toilets and bathrooms, taking out and feeding the dog, setting the table and preparing part of the lunch.

The chores steadily mounted each week, so I was usually working from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. with a two-hour break after lunch, six days a week, for £140 a month.

Despite Mme. H. agreeing on my contract: that I would have "une vie de famille," I could not eat without her permission (she even locked away some things). I had to drink, cheap sterilised milk rather than their "biological" milk and was left work on my day off. She would not wash my black or coloured clothes, I was refused a key, and only allowed one evening off a week... if I returned by 10 p.m.

Talking to other girls, I was convinced this was not right. After six weeks I announced I was going. Neither my agency in England nor Nice was ever of any help.

The agent in Nice, at one stage, threatened me, believing my employer in preference to me: not surprising as they collected a nice fee for each new girl introduced.

A Dark Brown Dog

2009-02-07T09:54:00.000-08:00

A child was standing on a street-corner. He leaned with one shoulder against a high board-fence and swayed the other to and fro, the while kicking carelessly at the gravel.

Sunshine beat upon the cobbles, and a lazy summer wind raised yellow dust which trailed in clouds down the avenue. Clattering trucks moved with indistinctness through it. The child stood dreamily gazing.

After a time, a little dark-brown dog came trotting with an intent air down the sidewalk. A short rope was dragging from his neck. Occasionally he trod upon the end of it and stumbled.

He stopped opposite the child, and the two regarded each other. The dog hesitated for a moment, but presently he made some little advances with his tail. The child put out his hand and called him. In an apologetic manner the dog came close, and the two had an interchange of friendly pattings and waggles. The dog became more enthusiastic with each moment of the interview, until with his gleeful caperings he threatened to overturn the child. Whereupon the child lifted his hand and struck the dog a blow upon the head.

This thing seemed to overpower and astonish the little dark-brown dog, and wounded him to the heart. He sank down in despair at the child’s feet. When the blow was repeated, together with an admonition in childish sentences, he turned over upon his back, and held his paws in a peculiar manner. At the same time with his ears and his eyes he offered a small prayer to the child.

He looked so comical on his back, and holding his paws peculiarly, that the child was greatly amused and gave him little taps repeatedly, to keep him so. But the little dark-brown dog took this chastisement in the most serious way, and no doubt considered that he had committed some grave crime, for he wriggled contritely and showed his repentance in every way that was in his power. He pleaded with the child and petitioned him, and offered more prayers.

At last the child grew weary of this amusement and turned toward home. The dog was praying at the time. He lay on his back and turned his eyes upon the retreating form.

Presently he struggled to his feet and started after the child. The latter wandered in a perfunctory way toward his home, stopping at times to investigate various matters. During one of these pauses he discovered the little dark-brown dog who was following him with the air of a footpad.

The child beat his pursuer with a small stick he had found. The dog lay down and prayed until the child had finished, and resumed his journey. Then he scrambled erect and took up the pursuit again.

On the way to his home the child turned many times and beat the dog, proclaiming with childish gestures that he held him in contempt as an unimportant dog, with no value save for a moment. For being this quality of animal the dog apologized and eloquently expressed regret, but he continued stealthily to follow the child. His manner grew so very guilty that he slunk like an assassin.

When the child reached his door-step, the dog was industriously ambling a few yards in the rear. He became so agitated with shame when he again confronted the child that he forgot the dragging rope. He tripped upon it and fell forward.

The child sat down on the step and the two had another interview. During it the dog greatly exerted himself to please the child. He performed a few gambols with such abandon that the child suddenly saw him to be a valuable thing. He made a swift, avaricious charge and seized the rope.

He dragged his captive into a hall and up many long stairways in a dark tenement. The dog made willing efforts, but he could not hobble very skilfully up the stairs because he was very small and soft, and at last the pace of the engrossed child grew so energetic that the dog became panic-stricken. In his mind he was being dragged toward a grim unknown. His eyes grew wild with the terror of it. He began to wiggle his head frantically and to brace his legs.

The child redoubled his exertions. They had a battle on the stairs. The child was victorious because he was completely absorbed in his purpose, and because the dog was very small. He dragged his acquirement to the door of his home, and finally with triumph across the threshold.

No one was in. The child sat down on the floor and made overtures to the dog. These the dog instantly accepted. He beamed with affection upon his new friend. In a short time they were firm and abiding comrades.

When the child’s family appeared, they made a great row. The dog was examined and commented upon and called names. Scorn was leveled at him from all eyes, so that he became much embarrassed and drooped like a scorched plant. But the child went sturdily to the center of the floor, and, at the top of his voice, championed the dog. It happened that he was roaring protestations, with his arms clasped about the dog’s neck, when the father of the family came in from work.

The parent demanded to know what the blazes they were making the kid howl for. It was explained in many words that the infernal kid wanted to introduce a disreputable dog into the family.

A family council was held. On this depended the dog’s fate, but he in no way heeded, being busily engaged in chewing the end of the child’s dress.

The affair was quickly ended. The father of the family, it appears, was in a particularly savage temper that evening, and when he perceived that it would amaze and anger everybody if such a dog were allowed to remain, he decided that it should be so. The child, crying softly, took his friend off to a retired part of the room to hobnob with him, while the father quelled a fierce rebellion of his wife. So it came to pass that the dog was a member of the household.

He and the child were associated together at all times save when the child slept. The child became a guardian and a friend. If the large folk kicked the dog and threw things at him, the child made loud and violent objections. Once when the child had run, protesting loudly, with tears raining down his face and his arms outstretched, to protect his friend, he had been struck in the head with a very large saucepan from the hand of his father, enraged at some seeming lack of courtesy in the dog. Ever after, the family were careful how they threw things at the dog. Moreover, the latter grew very skilful in avoiding missiles and feet. In a small room containing a stove, a table, a bureau and some chairs, he would display strategic ability of a high order, dodging, feinting and scuttling about among the furniture. He could force three or four people armed with brooms, sticks and handfuls of coal, to use all their ingenuity to get in a blow. And even when they did, it was seldom that they could do him a serious injury or leave any imprint.

But when the child was present, these scenes did not occur. It came to be recognized that if the dog was molested, the child would burst into sobs, and as the child, when started, was very riotous and practically unquenchable, the dog had therein a safeguard.

However, the child could not always be near. At night, when he was asleep, his dark-brown friend would raise from some black corner a wild, wailful cry, a song of infinite lowliness and despair, that would go shuddering and sobbing among the buildings of the block and cause people to swear. At these times the singer would often be chased all over the kitchen and hit with a great variety of articles.

Sometimes, too, the child himself used to beat the dog, although it is not known that he ever had what could be truly called a just cause. The dog always accepted these thrashings with an air of admitted guilt. He was too much of a dog to try to look to be a martyr or to plot revenge. He received the blows with deep humility, and furthermore he forgave his friend the moment the child had finished, and was ready to caress the child’s hand with his little red tongue.

When misfortune came upon the child, and his troubles overwhelmed him, he would often crawl under the table and lay his small distressed head on the dog’s back. The dog was ever sympathetic. It is not to be supposed that at such times he took occasion to refer to the unjust beatings his friend, when provoked, had administered to him.

He did not achieve any notable degree of intimacy with the other members of the family. He had no confidence in them, and the fear that he would express at their casual approach often exasperated them exceedingly. They used to gain a certain satisfaction in underfeeding him, but finally his friend the child grew to watch the matter with some care, and when he forgot it, the dog was often successful in secret for himself.

So the dog prospered. He developed a large bark, which came wondrously from such a small rug of a dog. He ceased to howl persistently at night. Sometimes, indeed, in his sleep, he would utter little yells, as from pain, but that occurred, no doubt, when in his dreams he encountered huge flaming dogs who threatened him direfully.

His devotion to the child grew until it was a sublime thing. He wagged at his approach; he sank down in despair at his departure. He could detect the sound of the child’s step among all the noises of the neighborhood. It was like a calling voice to him.

The scene of their companionship was a kingdom governed by this terrible potentate, the child; but neither criticism nor rebellion ever lived for an instant in the heart of the one subject. Down in the mystic, hidden fields of his little dog-soul bloomed flowers of love and fidelity and perfect faith.

The child was in the habit of going on many expeditions to observe strange things in the vicinity. On these occasions his friend usually jogged aimfully along behind. Perhaps, though, he went ahead. This necessitated his turning around every quarter-minute to make sure the child was coming. He was filled with a large idea of the importance of these journeys. He would carry himself with such an air! He was proud to be the retainer of so great a monarch.

One day, however, the father of the family got quite exceptionally drunk. He came home and held carnival with the cooking utensils, the furniture and his wife. He was in the midst of this recreation when the child, followed by the dark-brown dog, entered the room. They were returning from their voyages.

The child’s practised eye instantly noted his father’s state. He dived under the table, where experience had taught him was a rather safe place. The dog, lacking skill in such matters, was, of course, unaware of the true condition of affairs. He looked with interested eyes at his friend’s sudden dive. He interpreted it to mean: Joyous gambol. He started to patter across the floor to join him. He was the picture of a little dark-brown dog en route to a friend.

The head of the family saw him at this moment. He gave a huge howl of joy, and knocked the dog down with a heavy coffee-pot. The dog, yelling in supreme astonishment and fear, writhed to his feet and ran for cover. The man kicked out with a ponderous foot. It caused the dog to swerve as if caught in a tide. A second blow of the coffee-pot laid him upon the floor.

Here the child, uttering loud cries, came valiantly forth like a knight. The father of the family paid no attention to these calls of the child, but advanced with glee upon the dog. Upon being knocked down twice in swift succession, the latter apparently gave up all hope of escape. He rolled over on his back and held his paws in a peculiar manner. At the same time with his eyes and his ears he offered up a small prayer.

But the father was in a mood for having fun, and it occurred to him that it would be a fine thing to throw the dog out of the window. So he reached down and grabbing the animal by a leg, lifted him, squirming, up. He swung him two or three times hilariously about his head, and then flung him with great accuracy through the window.

The soaring dog created a surprise in the block. A woman watering plants in an opposite window gave an involuntary shout and dropped a flower-pot. A man in another window leaned perilously out to watch the flight of the dog. A woman, who had been hanging out clothes in a yard, began to caper wildly. Her mouth was filled with clothes-pins, but her arms gave vent to a sort of exclamation. In appearance she was like a gagged prisoner. Children ran whooping.

The dark-brown body crashed in a heap on the roof of a shed five stories below. From thence it rolled to the pavement of an alleyway.

The child in the room far above burst into a long, dirgelike cry, and toddled hastily out of the room. It took him a long time to reach the alley, because his size compelled him to go downstairs backward, one step at a time, and holding with both hands to the step above.

When they came for him later, they found him seated by the body of his dark-brown friend.

Stephan Crane

A Coward

2009-02-07T09:36:00.000-08:00

Society called him Handsome Signoles. His name was Viscount Gontran-Joseph de Signoles.

An orphan, and possessed of an adequate income, he cut a dash, as the saying is. He had a good figure and a good carriage, a sufficient flow of words to pass for wit, a certain natural grace, an air of nobility and pride, a gallant moustache and an eloquent eye, attributes which women like.

He was in demand in drawing-rooms, sought after for valses, and in men he inspired that smiling hostility which is reserved for vital and attractive rivals. He had been suspected of several love-affairs of a sort calculated to create a good opinion of a youngster. He lived a happy, care-free life, in the most complete well-being of body and mind. He was known to be a fine swordsman and a still finer shot with the pistol.

“When I come to fight a duel,” he would say, “I shall choose pistols. With that weapon, I’m sure of killing my man.”

One evening, he went to the theatre with two ladies, quite young, friends of his, whose husbands were also of the party, and after the performance he invited them to take ices at Tortoni’s.

They had been sitting there for a few minutes when he noticed a gentleman at a neighbouring table staring obstinately at one of the ladies of the party. She seemed embarrassed and ill at ease, and bent her head. At last she said to her husband:

“There’s a man staring at me. I don’t know him; do you?”

The husband, who had seen nothing, raised his eyes, but declared:

“No, not in the least.”

Half smiling, half in anger, she replied:

“It’s very annoying; the creature’s spoiling my ice.”

Her husband shrugged his shoulders.

“Deuce take him, don’t appear to notice it. If we had to deal with all the discourteous people one meets, we’d never have done with them.”

But the Viscount had risen abruptly. He could not permit this stranger to spoil an ice of his giving. It was to him that the insult was addressed, since it was at his invitation and on his account that his friends had come to the cafe. The affair was no business of anyone but himself.

He went up to the man and said:

“You have a way of looking at those ladies, sir, which I cannot stomach. Please be so good as to set a limit to your persistence.”

“You hold your tongue,” replied the other.

“Take care, sir,” retorted the Viscount, clenching his teeth;” you’ll force me to overstep the bounds of common politeness.”

The gentleman replied with a single word, a vile word which rang across the cafe from one end to the other, and, like the release of a spring, jerked every person present into an abrupt movement. All those with their backs towards him turned round, all the rest raised their heads; three waiters spun round on their heels like tops; the two ladies behind the counter started, then the whole upper half of their bodies twisted round, as though they were a couple of automata worked by the same handle.

There was a profound silence. Then suddenly a sharp noise resounded in the air. The Viscount had boxed his adversary’s ears. Every one rose to intervene. Cards were exchanged.

Back in his home, the Viscount walked for several minutes up and down his room with long quick strides. He was too excited to think. A solitary idea dominated his mind: “a duel”; but as yet the idea stirred in him no emotion of any kind. He had done what he was compelled to do; he had shown himself to be what he ought to be. People would talk of it, would approve of him, congratulate him. He repeated aloud, speaking as a man speaks in severe mental distress:

“What a hound the fellow is!”

Then he sat down and began to reflect. In the morning he must find seconds. Whom should he choose? He searched his mind for the most important and celebrated names of his acquaintance. At last he decided on the Marquis de la Tour-Noire and Colonel Bourdin, an aristocrat and a soldier; they would do excellently. Their names would look well in the papers. He realised that he was thirsty, and drank three glasses of water one after the other; then he began to walk up and down again. He felt full of energy. If he played the gallant, showed himself determined, insisted on the most strict and dangerous arrangements, demanded a serious duel, a thoroughly serious duel, a positively terrible duel, his adversary would probably retire an apologist.

He took up once more the card which he had taken from his pocket and thrown down upon the table, and read it again as he had read it before, in the cafe, at a glance, and in the cab, by the light of each gas-lamp, on his way home.

“Georges Lamil, 51 rue Moncey.” Nothing more.

He examined the grouped letters; they seemed to him mysterious, full of confused meaning. Georges Lamil? Who was this man? What did he do? Why had he looked at the woman in that way? Was it not revolting that a stranger, an unknown man, could thus disturb a man’s life, without warning, just because he chose to fix his insolent eyes upon a woman? Again the Viscount repeated aloud:

“What a hound!”

Then he remained standing stock-still, lost in thought, his eyes still fixed upon the card. A fury against this scrap of paper awoke in him, a fury of hatred in which was mingled a queer sensation of uneasiness. This sort of thing was so stupid! He took up an open knife which lay close at hand and thrust it through the middle of the printed name, as though he had stabbed a man.

So he must fight. Should he choose swords or pistols?–for he regarded himself as the insulted party. With swords there would be less risk, but with pistols there was a chance that his adversary might withdraw. It is very rare that a duel with swords is fatal, for mutual prudence is apt to restrain combatants from engaging at sufficiently close quarters for a point to penetrate deeply. With pistols he ran a grave risk of death; but he might also extricate himself from the affair with all the honours of the situation and without actually coming to a meeting.

“I must be firm,” he said. “He will take fright.”

The sound of his voice set him trembling, and he looked round. He felt very nervous. He drank another glass of water, then began to undress for bed.

As soon as he was in bed, he blew out the light and closed his eyes.

“I’ve the whole of to-morrow,” he thought, “in which to set my affairs in order. I’d better sleep now, so that I shall be quite calm.”

He was very warm in the blankets, but he could not manage to compose himself to sleep. He turned this way and that, lay for five minutes upon his back, turned on to his left side, then rolled over on to his right.

He was still thirsty. He got up to get a drink. A feeling of uneasiness crept over him:

“Is it possible that I’m afraid?”

Why did his heart beat madly at each familiar sound in his room? When the clock was about to strike, the faint squeak of the rising spring made him start; so shaken he was that for several seconds afterwards he had to open his mouth to get his breath.

He began to reason with himself on the possibility of his being afraid.

“Shall I be afraid?”

No, of course he would not be afraid, since he was resolved to see the matter through, and had duly made up his mind to fight and not to tremble. But he felt so profoundly distressed that he wondered:

“Can a man be afraid in spite of himself?”

He was attacked by this doubt, this uneasiness, this terror; suppose a force more powerful than himself, masterful, irresistible, overcame him, what would happen? Yes, what might not happen? Assuredly he would go to the place of the meeting, since he was quite ready to go. But supposing he trembled? Supposing he fainted? He thought of the scene, of his reputation, his good name.

There came upon him a strange need to get up and look at himself in the mirror. He relit his candle. When he saw his face reflected in the polished glass, he scarcely recognised it, it seemed to him as though he had never yet seen himself. His eyes looked to him enormous; and he was pale; yes, without doubt he was pale, very pale.

He remained standing in front of the mirror. He put out his tongue, as though to ascertain the state of his health, and abruptly the thought struck him like a bullet:

“The day after to-morrow, at this very hour, I may be dead.”

His heart began again its furious beating.

“The day after to-morrow, at this very hour, I may be dead. This person facing me, this me I see in the mirror, will be no more. Why, here I am, I look at myself, I feel myself alive, and in twenty-four hours I shall be lying in that bed, dead, my eyes closed, cold, inanimate, vanished.”

He turned back towards the bed, and distinctly saw himself lying on his back in the very sheets he had just left. He had the hollow face of a corpse, his hands had the slackness of hands that will never make another movement.

At that he was afraid of his bed, and, to get rid of the sight of it, went into the smoking-room. Mechanically he picked up a cigar, lit it, and began to walk up and down again. He was cold; he went to the bell to wake his valet; but he stopped, even as he raised his hand to the rope.

“He will see that I am afraid.”

He did not ring; he lit the fire. His hands shook a little, with a nervous tremor, whenever they touched anything. His brain whirled, his troubled thoughts became elusive, transitory, and gloomy; his mind suffered all the effects of intoxication, as though he were actually drunk.

Over and over again he thought:

“What shall I do? What is to become of me?”

His whole body trembled, seized with a jerky shuddering; he got up and, going to the window, drew back the curtains.

Dawn was at hand, a summer dawn. The rosy sky touched the town, its roofs and walls, with its own hue. A broad descending ray, like the caress of the rising sun, enveloped the awakened world; and with the light, hope–a gay, swift, fierce hope–filled the Viscount’s heart! Was he mad, that he had allowed himself to be struck down by fear, before anything was settled even, before his seconds had seen those of this Georges Lamil, before he knew whether he was going to fight?

He washed, dressed, and walked out with a firm step.

He repeated to himself, as he walked:

“I must be energetic, very energetic. I must prove that I am not afraid.”

His seconds, the Marquis and the Colonel, placed themselves at his disposal, and after hearty handshakes discussed the conditions.

“You are anxious for a serious duel? ” asked the Colonel.

“Yes, a very serious one,” replied the Viscount.

“You still insist on pistols?” said the Marquis.

“Yes.”

“You will leave us free to arrange the rest?”

In a dry, jerky voice the Viscount stated:

“Twenty paces; at the signal, raising the arm, and not lowering it. Exchange of shots till one is seriously wounded.”

“They are excellent conditions,” declared the Colonel in a tone of satisfaction. “You shoot well, you have every chance.”

They departed. The Viscount went home to wait for them. His agitation, momentarily quietened, was now growing minute by minute. He felt a strange shivering, a ceaseless vibration, down his arms, down his legs, in his chest; he could not keep still in one place, neither seated nor standing. There was not the least moistening of saliva in his mouth, and at every instant he made a violent movement of his tongue, as though to prevent it sticking to his palate.

He was eager to have breakfast, but could not eat. Then the idea came to him to drink in order to give himself courage, and he sent for a decanter of rum, of which he swallowed six liqueur glasses full one after the other.

A burning warmth flooded through his body, followed immediately by a sudden dizziness of the mind and spirit.

“Now I know what to do,” he thought. “Now it is all right.”

But by the end of an hour he had emptied the decanter, and his state of agitation had once more become intolerable. He was conscious of a wild need to roll on the ground, to scream, to bite. Night was falling.

The ringing of a bell gave him such a shock that he had not strength to rise and welcome his seconds.

He did not even dare to speak to them, to say “Good evening” to them, to utter a single word, for fear they guessed the whole thing by the alteration in his voice.

“Everything is arranged in accordance with the conditions you fixed,” observed the Colonel. “At first your adversary claimed the privileges of the insulted party, but he yielded almost at once, and has accepted everything. His seconds are two military men.”

“Thank you,” said the Viscount.

“Pardon us,” interposed the Marquis, “if we merely come in and leave again immediately, but we have a thousand things to see to. We must have a good doctor, since the combat is not to end until a serious wound is inflicted, and you know that pistol bullets are no laughing-matter. We must appoint the ground, near a house to which we may carry the wounded man if necessary, etc. In fact, we shall be occupied for two or three hours arranging all that there is to arrange.”

“Thank you,” said the Viscount a second time.

“You are all right?” asked the Colonel. “You are calm?”

“Yes, quite calm, thank you.”

The two men retired.

When he realised that he was once more alone, he thought that he was going mad. His servant had lit the lamps, and he sat down at the table to write letters. After tracing, at the head of a sheet: “This is my will,” he rose shivering and walked away, feeling incapable of connecting two ideas, of taking a resolution, of making any decision whatever.

So he was going to fight! He could no longer avoid it. Then what was the matter with him? He wished to fight, he had absolutely decided upon this plan of action and taken his resolve, and he now felt clearly, in spite of every effort of mind and forcing of will, that he could not retain even the strength necessary to get him to the place of meeting. He tried to picture the duel, his own attitude and the bearing of his adversary.

From time to time his teeth chattered in his mouth with a slight clicking noise. He tried to read, and took down Chateauvillard’s code of duelling. Then he wondered:

“Does my adversary go to shooting-galleries? Is he well known? Is he classified anywhere? How can I find out?”

He bethought himself of Baron Vaux’s book on marksmen with the pistol, and ran through it from end to end. Georges Lamil was not mentioned in it. Yet if the man were not a good shot, he would surely not have promptly agreed to that dangerous weapon and those fatal conditions?

He opened, in passing, a case by Gastinne Renette standing on a small table, and took out one of the pistols, then placed himself as though to shoot and raised his arm. But he was trembling from head to foot and the barrel moved in every direction.

At that, he said to himself:

“It’s impossible. I cannot fight in this state.”

He looked at the end of the barrel, at the little, black, deep hole that spits death; he thought of the disgrace, of the whispers at the club, of the laughter in drawing-rooms, of the contempt of women, of the allusions in the papers, of the insults which cowards would fling at him.

He was still looking at the weapon, and, raising the hammer, caught a glimpse of a cap gleaming beneath it like a tiny red flame. By good fortune or forgetfulness, the pistol had been left loaded. At the knowledge, he was filled with a confused inexplicable sense of joy.

If, when face to face with the other man, he did not show a proper gallantry and calm, he would be lost for ever. He would be sullied, branded with a mark of infamy, hounded out of society. And he would not be able to achieve that calm, that swaggering poise; he knew it, he felt it. Yet he was brave, since he wanted to fight I … He was brave, since….

The thought which hovered in him did not even fulfil itself in his mind; but, opening his mouth wide, he thrust in the barrel of his pistol with savage gesture until it reached his throat, and pressed on the trigger.

When his valet ran in, at the sound of the report, he found him lying dead upon his back. A shower of blood had splashed the white paper on the table, and made a great red mark beneath these four words:

“This is my will.”

Guy de Maupassant

FREE TRADE

2009-02-07T08:15:00.000-08:00

In the nineteenth century, economists believed that there were limits to human wealth. In their opinion, when one man became richer, another grew poorer. If a country wished to improve its standard of living, it had to export more than it imported. So, in Britain, the main argument in those days was about free trade and protectionism.

The owners of the Lancashire textile factories naturally supported free trade because they wanted to export as many products as possible. In their view, it would be better for the country if they sold more goods to other countries. The landowners and farmers, on the other hand, were afraid of foreign competition. Free trade won because Britain at that time was able to
buy as many cheap raw materials as it needed from its colonies and sell them again as finished goods. Import controls would have damaged its position as the strongest manufacturing nation in the world.

In America, a similar belief in free trade eventually led to a crisis in economy - the Wall Street crash, in 1929. People in the USA were benefiting from the expansion of the American economy in the First World War. They became convinced that money automatically makes more money and speculative investments are always profitable. When they lost confidence in the stock market, the effects of the 'crash' were felt all over the world. Following the Wall Street crash, the economist John Maynard Keynes introduced a new theory. In simple terms, his solution to the problem was that there is no fixed limit to human wealth. Factories can always produce more if people can afford to buy the goods. Therefore, governments must help factories and create jobs, and the factories must pay good wages. In this way, every worker becomes a consumer. For a time, especially after the Second World War, Keynes's theory was successful. It kept the factories working and maintained full employment. In the 1970s, however, several unpleasant facts emerged. For one thing, we began to realise that the world's resources are limited. We cannot go on producing more and more because we are using up our resources too fast.

Secondly, more efficient production is often achieved with fewer workers and bigger machines, not the other way round. Above all, the industrialised nations of the world consume more of the world's resources than they produce. But it is difficult to make people economise when they think that they create more unemployment by spending less money.

The Adventure Of The Engineer’s

2009-02-06T08:38:00.000-08:00

The Adventure Of The Engineer’s Thumb Of all the problems which have been submitted to my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, for solution during the years of our intimacy, there were only two which I was the means of introducing to his notice–that of Mr. Hatherley’s thumb, and that of Colonel Warburton’s madness. Of these the latter may have afforded a finer field for an acute and original observer, but the other was so strange in its inception and so dramatic in its details that it may be the more worthy of being placed upon record, even if it gave my friend fewer openings for those deductive methods of reasoning by which he achieved such remarkable results. The story has, I believe, been told more than once in the newspapers, but, like all such narratives, its effect is much less striking when set forth en bloc in a single half-column of print than when the facts slowly evolve before your own eyes, and the mystery clears gradually away as each new discovery furnishes a step which leads on to the complete truth. At the time the circumstances made a deep impression upon me, and the lapse of two years has hardly served to weaken the effect. It was in the summer of ‘89, not long after my marriage, that the events occurred which I am now about to summarize. I had returned to civil practice and had finally abandoned Holmes in his Baker Street rooms, although I continually visited him and occasionally even persuaded him to forgo his Bohemian habits so far as to come and visit us. My practice had steadily increased, and as I happened to live at no very great distance from Paddington Station, I got a few patients from among the officials. One of these, whom I had cured of a painful and lingering disease, was never weary of advertising my virtues and of endeavoring to send me on every sufferer over whom he might have any influence. One morning, at a little before seven o’clock, I was awakened by the maid tapping at the door to announce that two men had come from Paddington and were waiting in the consulting-room. I dressed hurriedly, for I knew by experience that railway cases were seldom trivial, and hastened downstairs. As I descended, my old ally, the guard, came out of the room and closed the door tightly behind him. “I’ve got him here,” he whispered, jerking his thumb over his shoulder; “he’s all right.” “What is it, then?” I asked, for his manner suggested that it was some strange creature which he had caged up in my room. “It’s a new patient,” he whispered. “I thought I’d bring him round myself; then he couldn’t slip away. There he is, all safe and sound. I must go now, Doctor; I have my dooties, just the same as you.” And off he went, this trusty tout, without even giving me time to thank him. I entered my consulting-room and found a gentleman seated by the table. He was quietly dressed in a suit of heather tweed with a soft cloth cap which he had laid down upon my books. Round one of his hands he had a handkerchief wrapped, which was mottled all over with bloodstains. He was young, not more than five-and-twenty, I should say, with a strong, masculine face; but he was exceedingly pale and gave me the impression of a man who was suffering from some strong agitation, which it took all his strength of mind to control. “I am sorry to knock you up so early, Doctor,” said he, “but I have had a very serious accident during the night. I came in by train this morning, and on inquiring at Paddington as to where I might find a doctor, a worthy fellow very kindly escorted me here. I gave the maid a card, but I see that she has left it upon the side-table.” I took it up and glanced at it. “Mr. Victor Hatherley, hydraulic engineer, 16A. Victoria Street (3d floor).” That was the name, style, and abode of my morning visitor. “I regret that I have kept you waiting,” said I, sitting down in my library-chair. “You are fresh from a night journey, I understand, which is in itself a monotonous occupation.” “Oh, my night could not be called monotonous,” said he, and laughed. He laughed very heartily, with a high, ringing note, leaning back in his chair and shaking his sides. All my medical instincts rose up against that laugh. “Stop it!” I cried; “pull yourself together!” and I poured out some water from a caraffe. It was useless, however. He was off in one of those hysterical outbursts which come upon a strong nature when some great crisis is over and gone. Presently he came to himself once more, very weary and pale-looking. “I have been making a fool of myself,” he gasped. “Not at all. Drink this.” I dashed some brandy into the water, and the color began to come back to his bloodless cheeks. “That’s better!” said he. “And now, Doctor, perhaps you would kindly attend to my thumb, or rather to the place where my thumb used to be.” He unwound the handkerchief and held out his hand. It gave even my hardened nerves a shudder to look at it. There were four protruding fingers and a horrid red, spongy surface where the thumb should have been. It had been hacked or torn right out from the roots. “Good heavens!” I cried, “this is a terrible injury. It must have bled considerably.” “Yes, it did. I fainted when it was done, and I think that I must have been senseless for a long time. When I came to I found that it was still bleeding, so I tied one end of my handkerchief very tightly round the wrist and braced it up with a twig.” “Excellent! You should have been a surgeon.” “It is a question of hydraulics, you see, and came within my own province.” “This has been done,” said I, examining the wound, “by a very heavy and sharp instrument.” “A thing like a cleaver,” said he. “An accident, I presume?” “By no means.” “What! a murderous attack?” “Very murderous indeed.” “You horrify me.” I sponged the wound, cleaned it, dressed it, and finally covered it over with cotton wadding and carbolized bandages. He lay back without wincing, though he bit his lip from time to time. “How is that?” I asked when I had finished. “Capital! Between your brandy and your bandage, I feel a new man. I was very weak, but I have had a good deal to go through.” “Perhaps you had better not speak of the matter. It is evidently trying to your nerves.” “Oh, no, not now. I shall have to tell my tale to the police; but, between ourselves, if it were not for the convincing evidence of this wound of mine, I should be surprised if they believed my statement, for it is a very extraordinary one, and I have not much in the way of proof with which to back it up; and, even if they believe me, the clews which I can give them are so vague that it is a question whether justice will be done.” “Ha!” cried I, “if it is anything in the nature of a problem which you desire to see solved, I should strongly recommend you to come to my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, before you go to the official police.” “Oh, I have heard of that fellow,” answered my visitor, “and I should be very glad if he would take the matter up, though of course I must use the official police as well. Would you give me an introduction to him?” “I’ll do better. I’ll take you round to him myself.” “I should be immensely obliged to you.” “We’ll call a cab and go together. We shall just be in time to have a little breakfast with him. Do you feel equal to it?” “Yes; I shall not feel easy until I have told my story.” “Then my servant will call a cab, and I shall be with you in an instant.” I rushed upstairs, explained the matter shortly to my wife, and in five minutes was inside a hansom, driving with my new acquaintance to Baker Street. Sherlock Holmes was, as I expected, lounging about his sittingroom in his dressing-gown, reading the agony column of The Times and smoking his before-breakfast pipe, which was composed of all the plugs and dottles left from his smokes of the day before, all carefully dried and collected on the corner of the mantelpiece. He received us in his quietly genial fashion, ordered fresh rashers and eggs, and joined us in a hearty meal. When it was concluded he settled our new acquaintance upon the sofa, placed a pillow beneath his head, and laid a glass of brandy and water within his reach. “It is easy to see that your experience has been no common one, Mr. Hatherley,” said he. “Pray, lie down there and make yourself absolutely at home. Tell us what you can, but stop when you are tired and keep up your strength with a little stimulant.” “Thank you,” said my patient. “but I have felt another man since the doctor bandaged me, and I think that your breakfast has completed the cure. I shall take up as little of your valuable time as possible, so I shall start at once upon my peculiar experiences.” Holmes sat in his big armchair with the weary, heavy-lidded expression which veiled his keen and eager nature, while I sat opposite to him, and we listened in silence to the strange story which our visitor detailed to us. “You must know,” said he, “that I am an orphan and a bachelor, residing alone in lodgings in London. By profession I am a hydraulic engineer, and I have had considerable experience of my work during the seven years that I was apprenticed to Venner & Matheson, the well-known firm, of Greenwich. Two years ago, having served my time, and having also come into a fair sum of money through my poor father’s death, I determined to start in business for myself and took professional chambers in Victoria Street. “I suppose that everyone finds his first independent start in business a dreary experience. To me it has been exceptionally so. During two years I have had three consultations and one small job, and that is absolutely all that my profession has brought me. My gross takings amount to 27 pounds 10s. Every day, from nine in the morning until four in the afternoon, I waited in my little den, until at last my heart began to sink, and I came to believe that I should never have any practice at all. “Yesterday, however, just as I was thinking of leaving the office, my clerk entered to say there was a gentleman waiting who wished to see me upon business. He brought up a card, too, with the name of ‘Colonel Lysander Stark’ engraved upon it. Close at his heels came the colonel himself, a man rather over the middle size, but of an exceeding thinness. I do not think that I have ever seen so thin a man. His whole face sharpened away into nose and chin, and the skin of his cheeks was drawn quite tense over his outstanding bones. Yet this emaciation seemed to be his natural habit, and due to no disease, for his eye was bright, his step brisk, and his bearing assured. He was plainly but neatly dressed, and his age, I should judge, would be nearer forty than thirty. “‘Mr. Hatherley?’ said he, with something of a German accent. ‘You have been recommended to me, Mr. Hatherley, as being a man who is not only proficient in his profession but is also discreet and capable of preserving a secret.’ “I bowed, feeling as flattered as any young man would at such an address. ‘May I ask who it was who gave me so good a character?’ “‘Well, perhaps it is better that I should not tell you that just at this moment. I have it from the same source that you are both an orphan and a bachelor and are residing alone in London.’ “‘That is quite correct,’ I answered; ‘but you will excuse me if I say that I cannot see how all this bears upon my professional qualifications. I understand that it was on a professional matter that you wished to speak to me?’ “‘Undoubtedly so. But you will find that all I say is really to the point. I have a professional commission for you, but absolute secrecy is quite essential–absolute secrecy, you understand, and of course we may expect that more from a man who is alone than from one who lives in the bosom of his family.’ “‘If I promise to keep a secret,’ said I, ‘you may absolutely depend upon my doing so.’ “He looked very hard at me as I spoke, and it seemed to me that I had never seen so suspicious and questioning an eye. “‘Do you promise, then?’ said he at last. “‘Yes, I promise.’ “‘Absolute and complete silence before, during, and after? No reference to the matter at all, either in word or writing?’ “‘I have already given you my word.’ “‘Very good.’ He suddenly sprang up, and darting like lightning across the room he flung open the door. The passage outside was empty. “‘That’s all right,’ said he, coming back. ‘I know the clerks are sometimes curious as to their master’s affairs. Now we can talk in safety.’ He drew up his chair very close to mine and began to stare at me again with the same questioning and thoughtful look. “A feeling of repulsion, and of something akin to fear had begun to rise within me at the strange antics of this fleshless man. Even my dread of losing a client could not restrain me from showing my impatience. “‘I beg that you will state your business, sir,’ said I; ‘my time is of value.’ Heaven forgive me for that last sentence, but the words came to my lips. “‘How would fifty guineas for a night’s work suit you?’ he asked. “‘Most admirably.’ “‘I say a night’s work, but an hour’s would be nearer the mark. I simply want your opinion about a hydraulic stamping machine which has got out of gear. If you show us what is wrong we shall soon set it right ourselves. What do you think of such a commission as that?’ “‘The work appears to be light and the pay munificent.’ “‘Precisely so. We shall want you to come to-night by the last train.’ “‘Where to?’ “‘To Eyford, in Berkshire. It is a little place near the borders of Oxfordshire, and within seven miles of Reading. There is a train from Paddington which would bring you there at about 11:15.’ “‘Very good.’ “‘I shall come down in a carriage to meet you.’ “‘There is a drive, then?’ “‘Yes, our little place is quite out in the country. It is a good seven miles from Eyford Station.’ “‘Then we can hardly get there before midnight. I suppose there would be no chance of a train back. I should be compelled to stop the night.’ “‘Yes, we could easily give you a shake-down.’ “‘That is very awkward. Could I not come at some more convenient hour?’ “‘We have judged it best that you should come late. It is to recompense you for any inconvenience that we are paying to you, a young and unknown man, a fee which would buy an opinion from the very heads of your profession. Still, of course, if you would like to draw out of the business, there is plenty of time to do so.’ “I thought of the fifty guineas, and of how very useful they would be to me. ‘Not at all,’ said I, ‘I shall be very happy to accommodate myself to your wishes. I should like, however, to understand a little more clearly what it is that you wish me to do.’ “‘Quite so. It is very natural that the pledge of secrecy which we have exacted from you should have aroused your curiosity. I have no wish to commit you to anything without your having it all laid before you. I suppose that we are absolutely safe from eavesdroppers?’ “‘Entirely.’ “‘Then the matter stands thus. You are probably aware that fuller’s-earth is a valuable product, and that it is only found in one or two places in England?’ “‘I have heard so.’ “‘Some little time ago I bought a small place–a very small place–within ten miles of Reading. I was fortunate enough to discover that there was a deposit of fuller’s-earth in one of my fields. On examining it, however, I found that this deposit was a comparatively small one, and that it formed a link between two very much larger ones upon the right and left–both of them, however, in the grounds of my neighbors. These good people were absolutely ignorant that their land contained that which was quite as valuable as a gold-mine. Naturally, it was to my interest to buy their land before they discovered its true value, but unfortunately I had no capital by which I could do this. I took a few of my friends into the secret, however, and they suggested that we should quietly and secretly work our own little deposit and that in this way we should earn the money which would enable us to buy the neighboring fields. This we have now been doing for some time, and in order to help us in our operations we erected a hydraulic press. This press, as I have already explained, has got out of order, and we wish your advice upon the subject. We guard our secret very jealously, however, and if it once became known that we had hydraulic engineers coming to our little house, it would soon rouse inquiry, and then, if the facts came out, it would be good-bye to any chance of getting these fields and carrying out our plans. That is why I have made you promise me that you will not tell a human being that you are going to Eyford to-night. I hope that I make it all plain?’ “‘I quite follow you,’ said I. ‘The only point which I could not quite understand was what use you could make of a hydraulic press in excavating fuller’s-earth, which, as I understand, is dug out like gravel from a pit.’ “‘Ah!’ said he carelessly, ‘we have our own process. We compress the earth into bricks, so as to remove them without revealing what they are. But that is a mere detail. I have taken you fully into my confidence now, Mr. Hatherley, and I have shown you how I trust you.’ He rose as he spoke. ‘I shall expect you, then, at Eyford at 11:15.’ “‘I shall certainly be there.’ “‘And not a word to a soul.’ He looked at me with a last long, questioning gaze, and then, pressing my hand in a cold, dank grasp, he hurried from the room. “Well, when I came to think it all over in cool blood I was very much astonished, as you may both think, at this sudden commission which had been intrusted to me. On the one hand, of course, I was glad, for the fee was at least tenfold what I should have asked had I set a price upon my own services, and it was possible that this order might lead to other ones. On the other hand, the face and manner of my patron had made an unpleasant impression upon me, and I could not think that his explanation of the fuller’s-earth was sufficient to explain the necessity for my coming at midnight, and his extreme anxiety lest I should tell anyone of my errand. However, I threw all fears to the winds, ate a hearty supper, drove to Paddington, and started off, having obeyed to the letter the injunction as to holding my tongue. “At Reading I had to change not only my carriage but my station. However, I was in time for the last train to Eyford, and I reached the little dim-lit station aher eleven o’clock. I was the only passenger who got out there, and there was no one upon the platform save a single sleepy porter with a lantern. As I passed out through the wicket gate, however, I found my acquaintance of the morning waiting in the shadow upon the other side. Without a word he grasped my arm and hurried me into a carriage, the door of which was standing open. He drew up the windows on either side, tapped on the wood-work, and away we went as fast as the horse could go.” “One horse?” interjected Holmes. “Yes, only one.” “Did you observe the color?” “Yes, I saw it by the side-lights when I was stepping into the carriage. It was a chestnut.” “Tired-looking or fresh?” “Oh, fresh and glossy.” “Thank you. I am sorry to have interrupted you. Pray continue your most interesting statement.” “Away we went then, and we drove for at least an hour. Colonel Lysander Stark had said that it was only seven miles, but I should think, from the rate that we seemed to go, and from the time that we took, that it must have been nearer twelve. He sat at my side in silence all the time, and I was aware, more than once when I glanced in his direction, that he was looking at me with great intensity. The country roads seem to be not very good in that part of the world, for we lurched and jolted terribly. I tried to look out of the windows to see something of where we were, but they were made of frosted glass, and I could make out nothing save the occasional bright blur of a passing light. Now and then I hazarded some remark to break the monotony of the journey, but the colonel answered only in monosyllables, and the conversation soon flagged. At last, however, the bumping of the road was exchanged for the crisp smoothness of a gravel-drive, and the carriage came to a stand. Colonel Lysander Stark sprang out, and, as I followed after him, pulled me swiftly into a porch which gaped in front of us. We stepped, as it were, right out of the carriage and into the hall, so that I failed to catch the most fleeting glance of the front of the house. The instant that I had crossed the threshold the door slammed heavily behind us, and I heard faintly the rattle of the wheels as the carriage drove away. “It was pitch dark inside the house, and the colonel fumbled about looking for matches and muttering under his breath. Suddenly a door opened at the other end of the passage, and a long, golden bar of light shot out in our direction. It grew broader, and a woman appeared with a lamp in her hand, which she held above her head, pushing her face forward and peering at us. I could see that she was pretty, and from the gloss with which the light shone upon her dark dress I knew that it was a rich material. She spoke a few words in a foreign tongue in a tone as though asking a question, and when my companion answered in a gruff monosyllable she gave such a start that the lamp nearly fell from her hand. Colonel Stark went up to her, whispered something in her ear, and then, pushing her back into the room from whence she had come, he walked towards me again with the lamp in his hand. “‘Perhaps you will have the kindness to wait in this room for a few minutes,’ said he, throwing open another door. It was a quiet, little, plainly furnished room, with a round table in the centre, on which several German books were scattered. Colonel Stark laid down the lamp on the top of a harmonium beside the door. ‘I shall not keep you waiting an instant,’ said he, and vanished into the darkness. “I glanced at the books upon the table, and in spite of my ignorance of German I could see that two of them were treatises on science, the others being volumes of poetry. Then I walked across to the window, hoping that I might catch some glimpse of the country-side, but an oak shutter, heavily barred, was folded across it. It was a wonderfully silent house. There was an old clock ticking loudly somewhere in the passage, but otherwise everything was deadly still. A vague feeling of uneasiness began to steal over me. Who were these German people, and what were they doing living in this strange, out-of-the-way place? And where was the place? I was ten miles or so from Eyford, that was all I knew, but whether north, south, east, or west I had no idea. For that matter, Reading, and possibly other large towns, were within that radius, so the place might not be so secluded, after all. Yet it was quite certain, from the absolute stillness, that we were in the country. I paced up and down the room, humming a tune under my breath to keep up my spirits and feeling that I was thoroughly earning my fifty-guinea fee. “Suddenly, without any preliminary sound in the midst of the utter stillness, the door of my room swung slowly open. The woman was standing in the aperture, the darkness of the hall behind her, the yellow light from my lamp beating upon her eager and beautiful face. I could see at a glance that she was sick with fear, and the sight sent a chill to my own heart. She held up one shaking finger to warn me to be silent, and she shot a few whispered words of broken English at me, her eyes glancing back, like those of a frightened horse, into the gloom behind her. “‘I would go,’ said she, trying hard, as it seemed to me, to speak calmly; ‘I would go. I should not stay here. There is no good for you to do.’ “‘But, madam,’ said I, ‘I have not yet done what I came for. I cannot possibly leave until I have seen the machine.’ “‘It is not worth your while to wait,’ she went on. ‘You can pass through the door; no one hinders.’ And then, seeing that I smiled and shook my head, she suddenly threw aside her constraint and made a step forward, with her hands wrung together. ‘For the love of Heaven!’ she whispered, ‘get away from here before it is too late!’ “But I am somewhat headstrong by nature, and the more ready to engage in an affair when there is some obstacle in the way. I thought of my fifty-guinea fee, of my wearisome journey, and of the unpleasant night which seemed to be before me. Was it all to go for nothing? Why should I slink away without having carried out my commission, and without the payment which was my due? This woman might, for all I knew, be a monomaniac. With a stout bearing, therefore, though her manner had shaken me more than I cared to confess, I still shook my head and declared my intention of remaining where I was. She was about to renew her entreaties when a door slammed overhead, and the sound of several footsteps was heard upon the stairs. She listened for an instant, threw up her hands with a despairing gesture, and vanished as suddenly and as noiselessly as she had come. “The newcomers were Colonel Lysander Stark and a short thick man with a chinchilla beard growing out of the creases of his double chin, who was introduced to me as Mr. Ferguson. “‘This is my secretary and manager,’ said the colonel. ‘By the way, I was under the impression that I left this door shut just now. I fear that you have felt the draught.’ “‘On the contrary,’ said I, ‘I opened the door myself because I felt the room to be a little close.’ “He shot one of his suspicious looks at me. ‘Perhaps we had better proceed to business, then,’ said he. ‘Mr. Ferguson and I will take you up to see the machine.’ “‘I had better put my hat on, I suppose.’ “‘Oh, no, it is in the house.’ “‘What, you dig fuller’s-earth in the house?’ “‘No, no. This is only where we compress it. But never mind that. All we wish you to do is to examine the machine and to let us know what is wrong with it.’ “We went upstairs together, the colonel first with the lamp, the fat manager and I behind him. It was a labyrinth of an old house, with corridors, passages, narrow winding staircases, and little low doors, the thresholds of which were hollowed out by the generations who had crossed them. There were no carpets and no signs of any furniture above the ground floor, while the plaster was peeling off the walls, and the damp was breaking through in green, unhealthy blotches. I tried to put on as unconcerned an air as possible, but I had not forgotten the warnings of the lady, even though I disregarded them, and I kept a keen eye upon my two companions. Ferguson appeared to be a morose and silent man, but I could see from the little that he said that he was at least a fellow-countryman. “Colonel Lysander Stark stopped at last before a low door, which he unlocked. Within was a small, square room, in which the three of us could hardly get at one time. Ferguson remained outside, and the colonel ushered me in. “‘We are now,’ said he, ‘actually within the hydraulic press, and it would be a particularly unpleasant thing for us if anyone were to turn it on. The ceiling of this small chamber is really the end of the descending piston, and it comes down with the force of many tons upon this metal floor. There are small lateral columns of water outside which receive the force, and which transmit and multiply it in the manner which is familiar to you. The machine goes readily enough, but there is some stiffness in the working of it, and it has lost a little of its force. Perhaps you will have the goodness to look it over and to show us how we can set it right.’ “I took the lamp from him, and I examined the machine very thoroughly. It was indeed a gigantic one, and capable of exercising enormous pressure. When I passed outside, however, and pressed down the levers which controlled it, I knew at once by the whishing sound that there was a slight leakage, which allowed a regurgitation of water through one of the side cylinders. An examination showed that one of the india-rubber bands which was round the head of a driving-rod had shrunk so as not quite to fill the socket along which it worked. This was clearly the cause of the loss of power, and I pointed it out to my companions, who followed my remarks very carefully and asked several practical questions as to how they should proceed to set it right. When I had made it clear to them, I returned to the main chamber of the machine and took a good look at it to satisfy my own curiosity. It was obvious at a glance that the story of the fuller’s-earth was the merest fabrication, for it would be absurd to suppose that so powerful an engine could be designed for so inadequate a purpose. The walls were of wood, but the floor consisted of a large iron trough, and when I came to examine it I could see a crust of metallic deposit all over it. I had stooped and was scraping at this to see exactly what it was when I heard a muttered exclamation in German and saw the cadaverous face of the colonel looking down at me. “‘What are you doing there?’ he asked. “I felt angry at having been tricked by so elaborate a story as that which he had told me. ‘I was admiring your fuller’s-earth,’ said I; ‘I think that I should be better able to advise you as to your machine if I knew what the exact purpose was for which it was used.’ “The instant that I uttered the words I regretted the rashness of my speech. His face set hard, and a baleful light sprang up in his gray eyes. “‘Very well,’ said he, ‘you shall know all about the machine.’ He took a step backward, slammed the little door, and turned the key in the lock. I rushed towards it and pulled at the handle, but it was quite secure, and did not give in the least to my kicks and shoves. ‘Hello!’ I yelled. ‘Hello! Colonel! Let me out!’ “And then suddenly in the silence I heard a sound which sent my heart into my mouth. It was the clank of the levers and the swish of the leaking cylinder. He had set the engine at work. The lamp still stood upon the floor where I had placed it when examining the trough. By its light I saw that the black ceiling was coming down upon me, slowly, jerkily, but, as none knew better than myself, with a force which must within a minute grind me to a shapeless pulp. I threw myself, screaming, against the door, and dragged with my nails at the lock. I implored the colonel to let me out, but the remorseless clanking of the levers drowned my cries. The ceiling was only a foot or two above my head, and with my hand upraised I could feel its hard, rough surface. Then it flashed through my mind that the pain of my death would depend very much upon the position in which I met it. If I lay on my face the weight would come upon my spine, and I shuddered to think of that dreadful snap. Easier the other way, perhaps; and yet, had I the nerve to lie and look up at that deadly black shadow wavering down upon me? Already I was unable to stand erect, when my eye caught something which brought a gush of hope back to my heart. “I have said that though the floor and ceiling were of iron, the walls were of wood. As I gave a last hurried glance around, I saw a thin line of yellow light between two of the boards, which broadened and broadened as a small panel was pushed backward. For an instant I could hardly believe that here was indeed a door which led away from death. The next instant I threw myself through, and lay half-fainting upon the other side. The panel had closed again behind me, but the crash of the lamp, and a few moments afterwards the clang of the two slabs of metal, told me how narrow had been my escape. “I was recalled to myself by a frantic plucking at my wrist, and I found myself lying upon the stone floor of a narrow corridor, while a woman bent over me and tugged at me with her left hand, while she held a candle in her right. It was the same good friend whose warning I had so foolishly rejected. “‘Come! come!’ she cried breathlessly. ‘They will be here in a moment. They will see that you are not there. Oh, do not waste the so-precious time, but come!’ “This time, at least, I did not scorn her advice. I staggered to my feet and ran with her along the corridor and down a winding stair. The latter led to another broad passage, and just as we reached it we heard the sound of running feet and the shouting of two voices, one answering the other from the floor on which we were and from the one beneath. My guide stopped and looked about her like one who is at her wit’s end. Then she threw open a door which led into a bedroom, through the window of which the moon was shining brightly. “‘It is your only chance,’ said she. ‘It is high, but it may be that you can jump it.’ “As she spoke a light sprang into view at the further end of the passage, and I saw the lean figure of Colonel Lysander Stark rushing forward with a lantern in one hand and a weapon like a butcher’s cleaver in the other. I rushed across the bedroom, flung open the window, and looked out. How quiet and sweet and wholesome the garden looked in the moonlight, and it could not be more than thirty feet down. I clambered out upon the sill, but I hesitated to jump until I should have heard what passed between my saviour and the ruffian who pursued me. If she were ill-used, then at any risks I was determined to go back to her assistance. The thought had hardly flashed through my mind before he was at the door, pushing his way past her; but she threw her arms round him and tried to hold him back. “‘Fritz! Fritz!’ she cried in English, ‘remember your promise after the last time. You said it should not be again. He will be silent! Oh, he will be silent!’ “‘You are mad, Elise!’ he shouted, struggling to break away from her. ‘You will be the ruin of us. He has seen too much. Let me pass, I say!’ He dashed her to one side, and, rushing to the window, cut at me with his heavy weapon. I had let myself go, and was hanging by the hands to the sill, when his blow fell. I was conscious of a dull pain, my grip loosened, and I fell into the garden below. “I was shaken but not hurt by the fall; so I picked myself up and rushed off among the bushes as hard as I could run, for I understood that I was far from being out of danger yet. Suddenly, however, as I ran, a deadly dizziness and sickness came over me. I glanced down at my hand, which was throbbing painfully, and then, for the first time, saw that my thumb had been cut off and that the blood was pouring from my wound. I endeavored to tie my handkerchief round it, but there came a sudden buzzing in my ears, and next moment I fell in a dead faint among the rose-bushes. “How long I remained unconscious I cannot tell. It must have been a very long time, for the moon had sunk, and a bright morning was breaking when I came to myself. My clothes were all sodden with dew, and my coat-sleeve was drenched with blood from my wounded thumb. The smarting of it recalled in an instant all the particulars of my night’s adventure, and I sprang to my feet with the feeling that I might hardly yet be safe from my pursuers. But to my astonishment, when I came to look round me, neither house nor garden were to be seen. I had been lying in an angle of the hedge close by the highroad, and just a little lower down was a long building, which proved, upon my approaching it, to be the very station at which I had arrived upon the previous night. Were it not for the ugly wound upon my hand, all that had passed during those dreadful hours might have been an evil dream. “Half dazed, I went into the station and asked about the morning train. There would be one to Reading in less than an hour. The same porter was on duty, I found, as had been there when I arrived. I inquired of him whether he had ever heard of Colonel Lysander Stark. The name was strange to him. Had he observed a carriage the night before waiting for me? No, he had not. Was there a police-station anywhere near? There was one about three miles off. “It was too far for me to go, weak and ill as I was. I determined to wait until I got back to town before telling my story to the police. It was a little past six when I arrived, so I went first to have my wound dressed, and then the doctor was kind enough to bring me along here. I put the case into your hands and shall do exactly what you advise.” We both sat in silence for some little time after listening to this extraordinary narrative. Then Sherlock Holmes pulled down from the shelf one of the ponderous commonplace books in which he placed his cuttings. “Here is an advertisement which will interest you,” said he. “It appeared in all the papers about a year ago. Listen to this: ‘Lost, on the 9th inst., Mr. Jeremiah Hayling, aged twenty-six, a hydraulic engineer. Left his lodgings at ten o’clock at night, and has not been heard of since. Was dressed in,’ etc., etc. Ha! That represents the last time that the colonel needed to have his machine overhauled, I fancy.” “Good heavens!” cried my patient. “Then that explains what the girl said.” “Undoubtedly. It is quite clear that the colonel was a cool and desperate man, who was absolutely determined that nothing should stand in the way of his little game, like those out-and-out pirates who will leave no survivor from a captured ship. Well, every moment now is precious, so if you feel equal to it we shall go down to Scotland Yard at once as a preliminary to starting for Eyford.” Some three hours or so afterwards we were all in the train together, bound from Reading to the little Berkshire village. There were Sherlock Holmes, the hydraulic engineer, Inspector Bradstreet, of Scotland Yard, a plain-clothes man, and myself. Bradstreet had spread an ordnance map of the county out upon the seat and was busy with his compasses drawing a circle with Eyford for its centre. “There you are,” said he. “That circle is drawn at a radius of ten miles from the village. The place we want must be somewhere near that line. You said ten miles, I think, sir.” “It was an hour’s good drive.” “And you think that they brought you back all that way when you were unconscious?” “They must have done so. I have a confused memory, too, of having been lifted and conveyed somewhere.” “What I cannot understand,” said I, “is why they should have spared you when they found you lying fainting in the garden. Perhaps the villain was softened by the woman’s entreaties.” “I hardly think that likely. I never saw a more inexorable face in my life.” “Oh, we shall soon clear up all that,” said Bradstreet. “Well, I have drawn my circle, and I only wish I knew at what point upon it the folk that we are in search of are to be found.” “I think I could lay my finger on it,” said Holmes quietly. “Really, now!” cried the inspector, “you have formed your opinion! Come, now, we shall see who agrees with you. I say it is south, for the country is more deserted there.” “And I say east,” said my patient. “I am for west,” remarked the plain-clothes man. “There are several quiet little villages up there.” “And I am for north,” said I, “because there are no hills there, and our friend says that he did not notice the carriage go up any.” “Come,” cried the inspector, laughing; “it’s a very pretty diversity of opinion. We have boxed the compass among us. Who do you give your casting vote to?” “You are all wrong.” “But we can’t all be.” “Oh, yes, you can. This is my point.” He placed his finger in the centre of the circle. “This is where we shall find them.” “But the twelve-mile drive?” gasped Hatherley. “Six out and six back. Nothing simpler. You say yourself that the horse was fresh and glossy when you got in. How could it be that if it had gone twelve miles over heavy roads?” “Indeed, it is a likely ruse enough,” observed Bradstreet thoughtfully. “Of course there can be no doubt as to the nature of this gang.” “None at all,” said Holmes. “They are coiners on a large scale, and have used the machine to form the amalgam which has taken the place of silver.” “We have known for some time that a clever gang was at work,” said the inspector. “They have been turning out half-crowns by the thousand. We even traced them as far as Reading, but could get no farther, for they had covered their traces in a way that showed that they were very old hands. But now, thanks to this lucky chance, I think that we have got them right enough.” But the inspector was mistaken, for those criminals were not destined to fall into the hands of justice. As we rolled into Eyford Station we saw a gigantic column of smoke which streamed up from behind a small clump of trees in the neighborhood and hung like an immense ostrich feather over the landscape. “A house on fire?” asked Bradstreet as the train steamed off again on its way. “Yes, sir!” said the station-master. “When did it break out?” “I hear that it was during the night, sir, but it has got worse, and the whole place is in a blaze.” “Whose house is it?” “Dr. Becher’s.” “Tell me,” broke in the engineer, “is Dr. Becher a German, very thin, with a long, sharp nose?” The station-master laughed heartily. “No, sir, Dr. Becher is an Englishman, and there isn’t a man in the parish who has a better-lined waistcoat. But he has a gentleman staying with him, a patient, as I understand, who is a foreigner, and he looks as if a little good Berkshire beef would do him no harm.” The station-master had not finished his speech before we were all hastening in the direction of the fire. The road topped a low hill, and there was a great widespread whitewashed building in front of us, spouting fire at every chink and window, while in the garden in front three fire-engines were vainly striving to keep the flames under. “That’s it!” cried Hatherley, in intense excitement. “There is the gravel-drive, and there are the rose-bushes where I lay. That second window is the one that I jumped from.” “Well, at least,” said Holmes, “you have had your revenge upon them. There can be no question that it was your oil-lamp which, when it was crushed in the press, set fire to the wooden walls, though no doubt they were too excited in the chase after you to observe it at the time. Now keep your eyes open in this crowd for your friends of last night, though I very much fear that they are a good hundred miles off by now.” And Holmes’s fears came to be realized, for from that day to this no word has ever been heard either of the beautiful woman, the sinister German, or the morose Englishman. Early that morning a peasant had met a cart containing several people and some very bulky boxes driving rapidly in the direction of Reading, but there all traces of the fugitives disappeared, and even Holmes’s ingenuity failed ever to discover the least clew as to their whereabouts. The firemen had been much perturbed at the strange arrangements which they had found within, and still more so by discovering a newly severed human thumb upon a window-sill of the second floor. About sunset, however, their efforts were at last successful, and they subdued the flames, but not before the roof had fallen in, and the whole place been reduced to such absolute ruin that, save some twisted cylinders and iron piping, not a trace remained of the machinery which had cost our unfortunate acquaintance so dearly. Large masses of nickel and of tin were discovered stored in an out-house, but no coins were to be found, which may have explained the presence of those bulky boxes which have been already referred to. How our hydraulic engineer had been conveyed from the garden to the spot where he recovered his senses might have remained forever a mystery were it not for the soft mould, which told us a very plain tale. He had evidently been carried down by two persons, one of whom had remarkably small feet and the other unusually large ones. On the whole, it was most probable that the silent Englishman, being less bold or less murderous than his companion, had assisted the woman to bear the unconscious man out of the way of danger. “Well,” said our engineer ruefully as we took our seats to return once more to London, “it has been a pretty business for me! I have lost my thumb and I have lost a fifty-guinea fee, and what have I gained?” “Experience,” said Holmes, laughing. “Indirectly it may be of value, you know; you have only to put it into words to gain the reputation of being excellent company for the remainder of your existence.”

THE TWO TOWERS

2009-02-06T08:31:00.000-08:00

The Two Towers

The Two Towers is composed of Books 3 and 4, recounting the deeds of the company after the breaking of the Fellowship of the Ring. The story begins with the repentance and death of Boromir, who has tried (unsuccessfully) to wrest the ring away from Frodo. Merry and Pippin are kidnapped by orc-soldiers and they are taken towards Isengard, while Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are in pursuit. The Riders of Rohan appear, led by Éomer the Marshal, and they destroy the orcs. The hobbits escape and meet Treebeard, the Ent, secret master of Fangorn. Treebeard rouses the Tree-folk against Isengard and the forces of evil.

Meanwhile, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli cross paths with Éomer and they meet Gandalf again, who is returned from death as the White Rider, veiled in grey. With Gandalf, they advance to the halls of King Théoden and Gandalf heals the king and rescues him from the spells of Wormtongue, an evil counselor who is in secret league with the enemy. The combined forces continue on towards Isengard, a fortress that has been destroyed by the Tree-folk. Saruman and Wormtongue are trapped in the tower of Orthanc. Saruman will not repent before Gandalf and so Gandalf breaks his staff and removes him from the council of wizards. Wormtongue throws a stone out of the window but he fails to it Gandalf; the stone turns out to be a palantír, one of the Seeing Stones of Númenor. Peregrin picks it up and gives it to Gandalf, but later in the night he falls to the lure of the palantír and steals it. When he looks into it, he is revealed to Sauron. Gandalf forgives Pippin and he gives the palantír to Aragorn, riding away (with Pippin) towards Minas Tirith.

Book Four (the second half of The Two Towers) focuses on Frodo and Samwise, who arelost and wandering through the somber war-torn region of hilly Emyn Muil. Gollum (who is also called Sméagol) as been spying on the hobbits and following their trail. Here in Emyn Muil, Frodo tames Gollum and Gollum serves Frodo (at least temporarily) as a servant serves his master. Gollum leads Frodo and Sam through the Dead Marshes until they reach the Morannon, the Black Gate of the Land of Mordor in the North. They are unable to pass through the gate and so Frodo accepts Gollum’s advice to seek a “secret entrance” which is at the western walls of Mordor in the Mountains of Shadow. As they continued on the journey, the travelers encountered Faramir, the brother of Boromir, who was leading a scouting-force of the Men of Gondor. Faramir learns about the Ring but he overcomes the temptation that overcame his brother, Boromir. Faramir helps the hobbits by replenishing their dwindling supplies. Frodo, Sam and Gollum make their way to Cirith Ungol, the Spider’s Pass. Faramir warned Frodo and Sam that this pass was a place of mortal peril, of which Gollum had told them less than he knew. The travelers reach the Cross-roads and take the road that leads to Minas Morgul; in the darkness, they can see the mobilization of Sauron’s first army, led by the black King of the Ringwraiths.

Gollum guides the hobbits to a secret path that strays away from the city and they reach Cirith Ungol. Here, Gollum betrays the hobbits, intending to lead them to a monster called Shelob, who would devour them. Gollum’s plan is frustrated by Sam’s bravery: he chases Gollum away and wounds Shelob, as well. Frodo is stung by Shelob and he appears dead. Sam concludes that he must continue the quest alone and abandon his master, but as he is about to cross into Mordor, Sam overhears the orcs. He learns that Frodo is not dead but drugged. The orcs carry Frodo’s body down a tunnel leading to the rear gate of the tower and Sam is unable to keep up with them. He passes out and Book 4 comes to an end.

J.R.R. Tolkien