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Stanford NLP 14

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Have you ever listened to young children talking in the playground? They are always boasting. They say things like, "My Dad's car is bigger than your Dad's," and "My Mom is smarter than yours." They particularly like to boast about their families. There were three little boys, Harry, Ted and Gavin, who were always boasting. Gavin was the worst. Everything about his family was always the best or the biggest or the most expensive. Whatever the others said, he could always go on better. One day when they were walking to school, Harry said, "My father had a bath twice a week," Ted spoke next. "That's nothing," he said. "Having a bath twice a week is dirty. My father has a bath every day, sometimes twice a day." Ted looked at Gavin. Now it was his turn. But what could he say? "This time," Ted thought, "I'm going to win." Gavin didn't know what to say. He couldn't say that his father had a bath three times a day. That was silly. He walked on in silence. Ted smiled at Harry, and Harry smiled back. They were sure that for once they had beaten Gavin. They reached the school gates. Still Gavin said nothing. "We've won," Ted said to Harry, but he spoke too soon. On the way home, Gavin said, "My Dad is so clean that he doesn't have to bathe at all."

wikipedia

The competition is open to any eligible club down to Levels 10 of the English football league system - all 92 professional clubs in the Premier League and Football League (Levels 1 to 4), and several hundred "non-league" teams in Steps 1 to 6 of the National League System (Levels 5 to 10). A record 763 clubs competed in 2011–12. The tournament consists of 12 randomly drawn rounds followed by the semi-finals and the final. Entrants are not seeded, although a system of byes based on league level ensures higher ranked teams enter in later rounds - the minimum number of games needed to win the competition ranges from six to fourteen. The first six rounds are the Qualifying Competition, from which 32 teams progress to the first round of the Competition Proper, meeting the first of the 92 professional teams. The last entrants are the Premier League and Championship clubs, into the draw for the Third Round Proper. In the modern era, non-league teams have never reached the quarter finals, and teams below Level 2 have never reached the final.[note 1] As a result, as well as who wins, significant focus is given to those "minnows" (smaller teams) who progress furthest, especially if they achieve an unlikely "giant-killing" victory.

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CHAPTER XVI Mr. William Hayter, in the solitude of his chambers at the Milan Court, was a very altered personage. He extended no welcoming salutation to his midnight visitor but simply motioned him to a chair. "Well," he began, "is your task finished that you are in London?" "My task," Lessingham replied, "might just as well never have been entered upon. The man you sent me to watch is nothing but an ordinary sport-loving Englishman." "Really! You have lived as his neighbour for nearly a month, and that is your impression of him?" "It is," Lessingham assented. "He has been away sea-fishing, half the time, but I have searched his house thoroughly." "Searched his papers, eh?" "Every one I could find, and hated the job. There are a good many charts of the coast, but they are all for the use of the fishermen." "Wonderful!" Hayter scoffed. "My young friend, you may yet find distinction in some other walk of life. Our secret service, I fancy, will very soon be able to dispense with your energies." "And I with your secret service," Lessingham agreed heartily. "I dare say there may be some branches of it in which existence is tolerable. That, however, does not apply to the task upon which I have been engaged." "You have been completely duped," Hayter told him calmly, "and the information you have sent us is valueless. Sir Henry Cranston, instead of being the type of man whom you have described, is one of the greatest experts upon coast defense and mine-laying, in the English Admiralty."

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CHAPTER V About L. D. Apollo Crosbie left London for Allington on the 31st of August, intending to stay there four weeks, with the declared intention of recruiting his strength by an absence of two months from official cares, and with no fixed purpose as to his destiny for the last of those two months. Offers of hospitality had been made to him by the dozen. Lady Hartletop's doors, in Shropshire, were open to him, if he chose to enter them. He had been invited by the Countess de Courcy to join her suite at Courcy Castle. His special friend, Montgomerie Dobbs, had a place in Scotland, and then there was a yachting party by which he was much wanted. But Mr Crosbie had as yet knocked himself down to none of these biddings, having before him when he left London no other fixed engagement than that which took him to Allington. On the first of October we shall also find ourselves at Allington in company with Johnny Eames; and Apollo Crosbie will still be there,--by no means to the comfort of our friend from the Income-tax Office. Johnny Eames cannot be called unlucky in that matter of his annual holiday, seeing that he was allowed to leave London in October, a month during which few chose to own that they remain in town. For myself, I always regard May as the best month for holiday-making; but then no Londoner cares to be absent in May. Young Eames, though he lived in Burton Crescent and had as yet no connection with the West End, had already learned his lesson in this respect. "Those fellows in the big room want me to take May," he had said to his friend Cradell. "They must think I'm uncommon green."

gutenberg

CHAPTER SIXTEEN. LINCH-PINS. "And leave them laughing, Ho! Ho Ho!"--_Robin Goodfellow_. Notice was sent from the Bishop of the diocese that he was about to hold a Confirmation at Poppleby in six weeks' time. This was matter of rejoicing to Mr Harford, who had mourned over the very few communicants. Before he came the Celebrations had been only three times a year, and were attended by most of the aged paupers. To the joy of the Carbonels, the feast was monthly after his coming; but the first time the aged people were there, and all lingered, George Hewlett, the clerk, said, when the curate looked to him for information-- "The alms, sir. They be waiting for the money in the plate." "Why, that is to be reserved for sick and distressed." "Mr Selby, he always give it out to them, and so did Mr Jones afore him, sir. They be all expecting of it." Mr Harford thought that it might be best not to disappoint the old people suddenly, so he stood at the vestry door counting heads, and numbering among them two whom he had already been somewhat startled to see present themselves, namely, Dame Spurrell, whom he had heard abusing her neighbour with a torrent of foul words, and who pretended to be a witch, and Tom Jarrold, whom Hewlett had described to him as the wickedest old chap in the parish. He took counsel with the churchwardens, Farmers Goodenough and Rawson, who both agreed that they were a bad lot, who didn't deserve nothing, but it helped to keep down the rates. Then he talked to Captain Carbonel, who, being a reverent man, was dismayed at what he heard.

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My name is Lisa.I have a bird.She is white.So I call her Xiaobai.Xiaobai is only two years old.She's not big.But she is beautiful and clever.She can speak. One day I go shopping with my sister Gina and Xiaobai.At Green Clothes Store Gina sees a red skirt and says, "Look! Lisa! That red skirt is very beautiful." Xiaobai answers her instead of me, "No.I think you look nice in that green skirt." Gina says, "OK.I listen to you." Then she asks the shop assistant, "How much is the green one?" The shop assistant looks at Xiaobai, opens her mouth but says nothing.At last she says to Gina, "I never see a bird that can speak these words.It's great! You can take this green skirt.Oh, you don't need to pay for it." Gina is very happy.She asks me and my bird to have a big lunch in Leo's Restaurant and then we go home.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXV. THE CAPITULATION OF ROCCALEONE In the sunshine of that bright May morning Francesco and his men went merrily to work to possess themselves of the ducal camp, and the first business of the day was to arm those soldiers who had come out unarmed. Of weapons there was no lack, and to these they helped themselves in liberal fashion, whilst here and there a man would pause to don a haubergeon or press a steel cap on his head. Three sentries only had been left to guard the tents, and of these Fortemani and a couple of his men had made prisoners whilst the others were removing the bridge by which the invaders had entered. And now beneath the open postern by the drawbridge gaped a surging torrent that no man would have the hardihood to attempt to swim. In that opening, presently, appeared Gian Maria, his face red for once, and behind him a clamouring crowd of men-at-arms who shared their master's rage at the manner in which they had been trapped. At the rear of the tents Valentina and her ladies awaited the issue of the parley that now seemed toward. The bulk of the men were busy at Gian Maria's cannons, and under Francesco's supervision they were training them upon the drawbridge. From the castle a mighty shout went up. The men disappeared from the postern to reappear a moment later on the ramparts, and Francesco laughed deep down in his throat as he perceived the purpose of this. They had bethought them of the guns that were mounted there, and were gone to use them against Valentina's little army. Gun after gun they tried, and a fierce cry of rage burst forth when they realised by what dummies they had been held in check during the past week. This was followed by a silence of some moments, terminated at last by the sound of a bugle.

wikipedia

Taoism ( or ), also known as Daoism, is a religious or philosophical tradition of Chinese origin which emphasizes living in harmony with the "Tao" (, literally "Way", also romanized as "Dao"). The "Tao" is a fundamental idea in most Chinese philosophical schools; in Taoism, however, it denotes the principle that is the source, pattern and substance of everything that exists. Taoism differs from Confucianism by not emphasizing rigid rituals and social order. Taoist ethics vary depending on the particular school, but in general tend to emphasize "wu wei" (effortless action), "naturalness", simplicity, spontaneity, and the Three Treasures: 慈 "compassion", 儉 "frugality", and 不敢為天下先 "humility". The roots of Taoism go back at least to the 4th century BCE. Early Taoism drew its cosmological notions from the School of Yinyang (Naturalists), and was deeply influenced by one of the oldest texts of Chinese culture, the "Yijing", which expounds a philosophical system about how to keep human behavior in accordance with the alternating cycles of nature. The "Legalist" Shen Buhai may also have been a major influence, expounding a realpolitik of wu wei. The "Tao Te Ching", a compact book containing teachings attributed to Laozi (), is widely considered the keystone work of the Taoist tradition, together with the later writings of Zhuangzi.

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My summer hols wr CWOT. B4, we usd 2 go 2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr3:-@ kids FTF. ILNY, it's gr8. Can you understand this sentence? If you can't, don't feel too bad; neither could the middle school teacher in England who received this as homework. This is Netspeak: the language of computerized communication found on Internet or cell phones. To new comers, it can look like a completely foreign language. So, what is the translation of the sentence above? My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend, and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York. It's great. School teachers and parents say this new form of writing is harming the English language. Increasing spelling and grammatical mistakes can be seen in students' writing. They fear the language could become corrupted . "Everyone should just relax", say linguists . They believe Netspeak is in fact more of a good thing. David Crystal, from the University of Wales, argues that Netspeak and Internet create a new language use and the almost lost art of diary writing, has been picked up again. Geoffrey Nurberg, from Stanford University, agrees. "People get better at writing by writing," he says. "kids who are now doing text messaging, e-mails, and instant messages will write at least as well as, and possibly better than their parents." Linguist James says, for centuries, it is believed without exception that young people are harming the language. And you can _ that when today's teenagers become tomorrow's parents. They too will think this way. James argues that languages do not and cannot become corrupted. They simply change to meet the new needs. However, Netspeakers do agree that it is important to teach young people how to speak and write standard English. Cynthia McVey says, "I can understand Netspeak worries teachers and it's important that they get across to their pupils that text messaging is for fun, but learning to write proper English is a must for their future." Perhaps we should give teenagers a little more trust anyway. Erin, aged 12, says, "I wouldn't use text language in my homework. Texting is just for fun. "

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One day, Jack told his friend. Tom , that he loved a very beautiful girl with charming eyes and long hair, and that he wanted to marry her. Tom was so happy to hear the news and asked Jack to lead him to her. However, Tom loved her at first sight, He then told Jack, "This girl is not suitable for you. She deserves a handsome man like me." Jack was astonished and struggled with Tom until they went to the police to solve the problem. They told the policeman their story. The policeman asked them to bring the girl to his office. However, when the policeman saw her, he became taken with her and said, "This girl is not suitable for you two. She deserves someone with a status like me." The three men struggled with each other and then went to the king. The king asked them to bring him the girl. When the king saw the girl, he said, "Oh, the girl should marry a king like me." They all argued with each other. Then the girl said, "I have a solution. I'm going to run and you'll run after me. I'll be the wife to the one who catches me first." The four men all agreed and ran after her. While running after her, they suddenly fell into a deep hole. From the top, the girl looked at them and said, "Now, let me tell you who I am." "I'm Reputation--I'm the one all people run after. They compete against each other to get me . They leave principles aside to seek for me, and they are sure to fall like you !"

wikipedia

In biological classification, class () is: The composition of each class is determined by a taxonomist. Often there is no exact agreement, with different taxonomists taking different positions. There are no hard rules that a taxonomist needs to follow in describing a class, but for well-known animals there is likely to be consensus. In botany, classes are now rarely discussed. Since the first publication of the APG system in 1998, which proposed a taxonomy of the flowering plants up to the level of orders, many sources have preferred to treat ranks higher than orders as informal clades. Where formal ranks have been assigned, the ranks have been reduced to a very much lower level, e.g. class Equisitopsida for the land plants, with the major divisions within the class assigned to subclasses and superorders. For some clades, a number of alternative classifications are used. The class as a distinct rank of biological classification having its own distinctive name (and not just called a "top-level genus" "(genus summum)" was first introduced by the French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort in his classification of plants that appeared in his "Eléments de botanique", 1694. In the first edition of his "Systema Naturae" (1735). Carl Linnaeus divided all three of his kingdoms of Nature (minerals, plants, and animals) into classes. Only in the animal kingdom are Linnaeus's classes similar to the classes used today; his classes and orders of plants were never intended to represent natural groups, but rather to provide a convenient "artificial key" according to his "Systema Sexuale", largely based on the arrangement of flowers.

gutenberg

CHAPTER VIII AN INFORMAL COURT One morning, soon after Fuller and his daughter had gone home, Dick stood at a table in the testing house behind the mixing sheds. The small, galvanized iron building shook with the throb of engines and rattle of machinery, and now and then a shower of cinders pattered upon the roof; for the big mill that ground up the concrete was working across the road. The lattice shutters were closed, for the sake of privacy, and kept out the glare, though they could not keep out the heat, which soaked through the thin, iron walls, and Dick's face was wet with perspiration as he arranged a number of small concrete blocks. Some of these were broken, and some partly crushed. Delicate scales and glass measures occupied a neighboring shelf, and a big steel apparatus that looked rather like a lever weighing machine stood in the shadow. Where the draught that came through the lattices flowed across the room, Bethune lounged in a canvas chair, and another man, with a quiet, sunburned face, sat behind him. This was Stuyvesant, whose authority was only second to Fuller's. "Brandon seems to have taken a good deal of trouble, but this kind of investigation needs the strictest accuracy, and we haven't the best of testing apparatus," Bethune remarked. "I expect he'll allow that the results he has got may be to some extent misleading, and I doubt if it's worth while to go on with the matter. Are you sure you have made no mistakes, Dick?"

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For their nick-of-time acts, Toby, a 2-year-old dog, and Winnie, a cute cat, were named Dog and Cat of the Year by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. As Amy Paul choked on a piece of apple at her home, her dog jumped up, landing hard on her chest and forcing the piece in her throat out. When the Keesling family of Indiana was about to be killed by carbon monoxide, their cat clawed at the wife Cathy's hair until she woke up and called for help. No one could explain their timely heroics. Both pets were rescued by their owners in _ -----Toby as a 4-week-old thrown into a garbage bin to die, and Winnie as a week-old orphan hiding under a barn, so helpless that Cathy's husband, Eric, had to feed her milk with an eyedropper. As the Keeslings recalled it, a gas-driven pump being used broke down, spreading carbon monoxide through the house. By the time Winnie went to rescue, the couple's 14-year-old son was already unconscious. "Winnie jumped on the bed and was clawing at me, with a kind of angry sound," Cathy Keesling said. The state police responding to her 911 call said the family was only minutes from death, judging by the amount of poisonous gas in the house. Amy Paul's husband was at his job when she took a midday break from making jewelry and bit into an apple. "Normally I peel them, but I read in Good Housekeeping Magazine that the skin has all the nutrients, so I ate the skin, and that's what caused me to choke," she recalled. "I couldn't breathe and I was in panic when Toby jumped on me. He never does that, but he did, and saved my life." Both Toby and Winnie accompanied their owners to the awards luncheon.

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A fried of mine named Paul received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a naughty street boy was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. "Is this your car, Mister?" he asked.. Paul nodded, "My brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was surprised. "You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you anything? I wish..." He hesitated . Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the boy said made Paul think all the way. "I wish ," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that." Paul looked at the boy in surprise, adding, "Would you like to take a ride in my automobile?" "Yes, I'd love that." After a short ride, the boy turned and said, "Mister, would you mind driving in front of my house?" Paul smiled, He thought he knew what the boy wanted. But Paul was wrong again. "Will you stop where those two steps are?" the boy asked. He ran up the steps. Then in a while Paul heard him coming back, but he didn't come fast. He was carrying his little crippled brother. He pointed to the car and said, "There it is, Buddy, just like I told you up stairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas. And some day I'm going to give one just like it and then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows that I've been trying tell you about. " Paul got out and lifted the boy to the front seat. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable holiday ride. That Christmas Eve, Paul learned what "It is more blessed to give" means.

gutenberg

Chapter LII Adam and Dinah IT was about three o'clock when Adam entered the farmyard and roused Alick and the dogs from their Sunday dozing. Alick said everybody was gone to church "but th' young missis"--so he called Dinah--but this did not disappoint Adam, although the "everybody" was so liberal as to include Nancy the dairymaid, whose works of necessity were not unfrequently incompatible with church-going. There was perfect stillness about the house. The doors were all closed, and the very stones and tubs seemed quieter than usual. Adam heard the water gently dripping from the pump--that was the only sound--and he knocked at the house door rather softly, as was suitable in that stillness. The door opened, and Dinah stood before him, colouring deeply with the great surprise of seeing Adam at this hour, when she knew it was his regular practice to be at church. Yesterday he would have said to her without any difficulty, "I came to see you, Dinah: I knew the rest were not at home." But to-day something prevented him from saying that, and he put out his hand to her in silence. Neither of them spoke, and yet both wished they could speak, as Adam entered, and they sat down. Dinah took the chair she had just left; it was at the corner of the table near the window, and there was a book lying on the table, but it was not open. She had been sitting perfectly still, looking at the small bit of clear fire in the bright grate. Adam sat down opposite her, in Mr. Poyser's three-cornered chair.

wikipedia

The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros (Comorian: "Udzima wa Komori," , '), is a sovereign archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel off the eastern coast of Africa between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar. Other countries near the Comoros are Tanzania to the northwest and the Seychelles to the northeast. Its capital is Moroni, on Grande Comore. The Union of the Comoros has three official languages – Comorian, Arabic and French. The religion of the majority of the population is Islam. At , excluding the contested island of Mayotte, the Comoros is the third-smallest African nation by area. The population, excluding Mayotte, is estimated at 798,000. As a nation formed at a crossroads of different civilisations, the archipelago is noted for its diverse culture and history. The archipelago was first inhabited by Bantu speakers who came from East Africa, supplemented by Arab and Austronesian immigration. The country consists of three major islands and numerous smaller islands, all in the volcanic Comoros archipelago. The major islands are commonly known by their French names: northwestern-most Grande Comore (Ngazidja); Mohéli (Mwali); and Anjouan (Nzwani). In addition, the country has a claim on a fourth major island, southeastern-most Mayotte (Maore), though Mayotte voted against independence from France in 1974, has never been administered by an independent Comoros government, and continues to be administered by France (currently as an overseas department). France has vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions that would affirm Comorian sovereignty over the island. In addition, Mayotte became an overseas department and a region of France in 2011 following a referendum passed overwhelmingly.

cnn

(CNN) -- Cristiano Ronaldo has consistently been linked with a move back to Manchester United -- but Real Madrid star Mesut Ozil insists his club must hold onto the player if it is to challenge at the very top. Ronaldo, who left United for Real in a world record $130 million deal in 2009, has been the subject of much speculation in recent months. The 28-year-old has scored 201 goals in 199 appearances for Real and club president Florentino Perez recently stated that he expected Ronaldo to finish his career in the Spanish capital. But the speculation refuses to disappear -- leaving Ozil hoping his Portuguese teammate stays put. "Cristiano Ronaldo is very important to the team, just look at all the goals he has scored in the past few seasons," he told CNN. "He's a great person off the field. I hope he can stay here for a long time because he can help us win important titles." The loss of Ronaldo would be a huge blow to a Real side hoping to snatch the league title back from Barcelona and win its first Champions League crown since 2002. Real has lost out at the semifinal stage in each of the past three seasons with Borussia Dortmund the last team to put paid to the Spanish club's dream of a 10th triumph in the competition. "We have come very close to winning the Champions League in the past few years and that leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth," Ozil revealed.

wikipedia

A degree (in full, a degree of arc, arc degree, or arcdegree), usually denoted by ° (the degree symbol), is a measurement of a plane angle, defined so that a full rotation is 360 degrees. It is not an SI unit, as the SI unit of angular measure is the radian, but it is mentioned in the SI brochure as an accepted unit. Because a full rotation equals 2 radians, one degree is equivalent to radians. The original motivation for choosing the degree as a unit of rotations and angles is unknown. One theory states that it is related to the fact that 360 is approximately the number of days in a year. Ancient astronomers noticed that the sun, which follows through the ecliptic path over the course of the year, seems to advance in its path by approximately one degree each day. Some ancient calendars, such as the Persian calendar, used 360 days for a year. The use of a calendar with 360 days may be related to the use of sexagesimal numbers. Another theory is that the Babylonians subdivided the circle using the angle of an equilateral triangle as the basic unit and further subdivided the latter into 60 parts following their sexagesimal numeric system. The earliest trigonometry, used by the Babylonian astronomers and their Greek successors, was based on chords of a circle. A chord of length equal to the radius made a natural base quantity. One sixtieth of this, using their standard sexagesimal divisions, was a degree.

wikipedia

Tokelau () is a New Zealand territory in the southern Pacific Ocean that consists of three tropical coral atolls (from the northwest, Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo), with a combined land area of and a population of approximately 1,500. Its capital rotates yearly between the three atolls. Tokelau lies north of the Samoan Islands, Swains Island being the nearest, east of Tuvalu, south of the Phoenix Islands, southwest of the more distant Line Islands, and northwest of the Cook Islands. Until 1976, the official name was Tokelau Islands. With the fourth smallest population of any sovereign state or dependency on Earth, Tokelau is able to be a leader in renewable energy, being the first 100% solar powered nation in the world. Tokelau is a free and democratic nation with elections every three years. All run as independents; there are no political parties in Tokelau. The most spoken language in Tokelau is Tokelauan, at 93.5%. A dependent territory of New Zealand, it is sometimes referred to by its older colonial name, the Union Islands. In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly designated Tokelau a non-self-governing territory. However, Tokelau is officially referred to as a nation by both the New Zealand government and the Tokelauan government.

cnn

Brasov, Romania (CNN) -- The ruins of Poienari Castle sit high on a mountain peak with a seemingly never-ending vista looking out over deep gorges, charcoal-gray cliffs and mountain streams. It's a natural paradise, but we did not make the trip to this castle just for the awesome view. Visitors come for its connection to history's most famous vampire, Dracula. The famous book and the ensuing movies are fiction, but since Bram Stoker published his novel in 1897, the world has been looking to Transylvania (in modern central Romania) as "Count Dracula's" home. And there is a bit of truth to it. Stoker never visited Eastern Europe, but his famous character is based, in part, on a real 15th-century prince. Vlad Dracula lived from 1431 to about 1476 and ruled Wallachia, which was actually south of Transylvania. As military leader, he was a hero to his people, and he has a place in the Romanian National Military Museum. Another museum explains the name "Dracula" is actually a title from the knightly order of the dragon, whose mission was to defend Christianity. Documents he signed "Vlad Dracula" still exist. A nickname often associated with him is Tepes, which means impaler, and comes from his brutal application of capital punishment by skewering bodies on a wooden spike. Visiting Dracula's castle Poienari Castle is not on the main tourist route. In fact, it's pretty hard to get there. Public transportation is infrequent, and the big tourist town in the region, Brasov, is hours away.

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Eight-year-old Jesse Abrogate was playing in the sea late one evening in July 2001 when a 7-foot bull shark attacked him and tore off his arm. Jesse's uncle jumped into the sea and dragged the boy to the store. The boy was not breathing. His aunt gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while his uncle rang the emergency services. Pretty soon, a helicopter arrived and flew the boy to hospital. It was a much quicker journey than the journey by road. Jesse's uncle, Vance Folsenzier, ran back into the sea and found the shark that had attacked his nephew. He picked the shark up and threw it onto the beach. A coastguard shot the fish four times and although this didn't kill it, the shark's jaws relaxed so that they could open them, and reach down onto its stomach, and pull out the boy's arm. At the Baptist hospital in Pensacola, Dr Lan Rogers spent eleven hours reattaching Jesse's arm. "It was a complicated operation," he said, "but we were lucky. If the arm hadn't been recovered in time, we wouldn't have been able to do the operation at all. What I means is that if they hadn't found the shark, well then we wouldn't have had a chance." According to local park ranger Jack Tomosvic, shark attacks are not that common. "Jesse was just unlucky" he says, "Evening is the shark's feeding time. And Jesse was in the area without lifeguards. This would never have happened if he had been in the area where swimming is allowed." When reporters asked Jesse's uncle how he had had the courage to fight a shark , he replied, "I was mad and you do some strange things when you're mad."

cnn

New York (CNN) -- A Berlin-bound United Airlines flight returned Saturday night to Newark Liberty International Airport after a problem developed in the left engine, officials said. Eyewitnesses reported seeing flames spewing from engine right after the plane took off. A tire blew during takeoff and flew into an engine, FBI spokeswoman Barbara Woodruff said. The Federal Aviation Administration said it could not confirm that. Flight 96, with 173 passengers and crew, circled the airport and burned fuel before landing at 8:05 p.m., according to the FAA. United described it as a "mechanical issue." Potential FAA cuts would create big hassles for fliers The crew of the Boeing 757 reported a problem after it left New Jersey for Berlin, said FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen. The engine was operating properly before it landed, she told CNN. Eyewitness Keisha Thomas, who was traveling on the New Jersey Turnpike, said she witnessed fireballs near a wing shortly after the plane took off. Thomas heard a loud sound, describing it as "pow, pow, pow." Djenaba Johnson-Jones, who lives across the river from the airport, said she heard an unusual noise and saw fire, but not smoke, coming from the aircraft's left engine. Eyewitness Dennis Ostolaza said he heard a "propeller sound" akin to a military helicopter as the plane gained altitude after takeoff, with "black smoke and fire spitting out of the engine." The flight left the gate at 5:53 p.m.; witnesses reported seeing the engine flames shortly before 6:30 p.m. Recovered wreckage fails to solve case of missing pilot

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When one loves one's Art, no service seems too hard. Joe was a man with a genius for art. Delia did things in six octaves promisingly. Joe and Delia became in love with one of the other, or each of the other, as you please, and in a short time were married - for (see above), when one loves one's Art no service seems too hard. They began housekeeping in a flat. It was a lonesome flat, but they were happy; for they had their Art, and they had each other. Joe was learning painting in the class of the great Magister - you know his fame. His fees are high; his lessons are light - his high-lights have brought him fame. Delia was studying under Rosenstock - you know his reputation as a disturber of the piano keys. They were mighty happy as long as their money lasted. After a while, Art flagged . Everything going out and nothing coming in, money was lacking to pay Mr. Magister and Rosenstock their prices. When one loves one's Art, no service seems too hard. So, Delia said she must give music lessons to make the ends meet. For two or three days she went out looking for pupils. One evening she came home overjoyed. "Joe, dear," she said, cheerfully, "I've a pupil. And, oh, the loveliest people! General - General Pinkney's daughter Clementina - on Seventy-first street." "That's all right for you, Dele," said Joe, "but how about me? Do you think I'm going to let you work while I play in the regions of high art? " Delia came and hung about his neck. "Joe, dear, you are silly. You must keep on at your studies. It is not as if I had quit my music and gone to work at something else. While I teach I learn. I am always with my music." "All right," said Joe. "But I may sell some of my pictures as well." The next few weeks, they both busied themselves with their own business and brought back a ten, a five, a two and a one - all legal tender notes - and laid them beside each others' earnings. One Saturday evening Joe reached home first. He spread his $18 on the table and washed what seemed to be a great deal of dark paint from his hands. Half an hour later Delia arrived, her right hand tied up in a shapeless bundle of wraps and bandages . "How is this?" asked Joe. Delia laughed, but not very joyously. "Clementina," she explained, "insisted upon a Welsh rabbit after her lesson. In serving the rabbit she spilled a great lot of it, boiling hot, over my wrist. Nothing serious, dear." "What time this afternoon did you burn your hand, Dele?" "Five o'clock, I think," said Dele. "The iron - I mean the rabbit came off the fire about that time." "Sit down here a moment, Dele," said Joe. "What have you been doing for the last few weeks, Dele?" he asked. She braved it for a moment or two with an eye full of love and stubbornness, but at last down went her head and out came the truth and tears. "I couldn't get any pupils," she wept. "I got a place ironing shirts in that big Twenty-fourth street laundry . A girl in the laundry set down a hot iron on my hand this afternoon. I think I did very well to make up both General Pinkney and Clementina. What made you ever suspect that I wasn't giving music lessons?" "I didn't," said Joe, "until tonight. And I wouldn't have then, only I sent up this cotton waste and oil from the engine-room this afternoon for a girl upstairs who had her hand burned with a smoothing-iron. I've been firing the engine in that laundry for the last few weeks." "And then you didn't ..." said Delia And then they both looked at each other and laughed, and Joe began: "When one loves one's Art no service seems ..." But Delia stopped him with her hand on his lips. "No," she said - "just 'When one loves.'"

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Two men, Alan and Henry, both seriously ill, shared a hospital room. Alan was allowed to sit up in his bed and his bed was next to the room's only window. Henry had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours, of their wives, families, their homes and their jobs. And every afternoon when Alan, in the bed next to the window, could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Lovers walked arm in arm among flowers. Trees and skyline could be seen in the distance. As he described all this, Henry, on the other side of the room, would close his eyes and imagine the scene. One warm afternoon Alan described a parade passing by. Although Henry could not hear the band, he could see it in his mind. Unexpectedly, an _ though: entered his head: why should he have all the pleasure of seeing everything while I never got to see anything? It doesn't seem fair. Henry felt ashamed at first. But as the days passed and he missed seeing more sight, his envy grew and soon let him down. He began to find himself unable to sleep. He should be by that window ---- and that thought now controlled his life. Late one night, as he lay staring at the ceiling. Alan began to cough. He was choking. Henry watched in the dim room as the struggling man tried hard to reach for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room, he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running. In less than five minutes, the coughing and choking stopped, along with the sound of breathing. Now, there was only silence ---- deathly silence. As soon as it seemed appropriate, Henry asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he struggled to take his first look. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He looked out, but faced a black wall.

cnn

(CNN) -- Two former presidents reflected on their greatest regrets in office Monday, each looking back to issues that continue to plague the nation years later. Former presidents and political rivals Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush now share philanthropic efforts. Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton appeared together at a question-and-answer forum before the National Automobile Dealers Association in New Orleans, Louisiana. Asked his biggest regret after leaving office, Bush said he now wonders whether he should have tried to get Saddam Hussein to leave office at the end of the first Gulf War in 1991. He told the gathering, "I've thought a lot about it, but at the end of Desert Storm, the question was should we have kind of kept going on that road to death and all this slaughter until Saddam Hussein showed up and laid his sword on the table, surrendered. And the common wisdom was he wouldn't do that." But he said a conversation with an FBI agent who interrogated Saddam after he was captured has made him reconsider. Bush recalled their talk, "I said, 'What if we just say he has to come to surrender, would he have done it?' And this guy said, 'I'm absolutely convinced he would have.' My experts tell me he wouldn't have." Bush said, "We ended it the way we said we would" as a military success, but noted a cleaner ending "would have been perfect." He added, "If we had tried to get Saddam Hussein to come and literally surrender and put his sword on the table, I think it might have been avoided some of the problems that we did have in the future from him."

cnn

(CNN) -- Abu Yahya al-Libi, al Qaeda's No. 2 man, was killed in Pakistan on Monday, according to U.S. officials. Al-Libi's death was "another serious blow to core al Qaeda," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. Al-Libi, 49, was a well-regarded figure in jihadist circles and had emerged as one of the terrorist network's most important clerics and propagandists, appearing in countless videos in recent years. He was killed by a CIA drone strike, according to U.S. officials. Drone strikes remain a highly contentious issue between the United States and Pakistan. Who is Abu Yahya al-Libi? By most accounts, al-Libi was effectively al Qaeda's deputy leader. A Libyan citizen and an Islamic scholar, al-Libi bolstered his credibility within jihad groups after escaping from U.S. custody in Afghanistan in 2005. He became the public face of al Qaeda and used his religious training to justify the organization's actions. As one of the group's chief ideologues and propagandists, al-Libi appeared in numerous recruitment videos in which he cast himself as a sheikh with the legitimacy to issue fatwas. Other than his appearances in propaganda videos, it's unclear which plots against the West al-Libi was involved in. A wanted ad from the U.S. State Department described him as a "key motivator in the global jihadi movement," and said that "his messages convey a clear threat to U.S. persons or property worldwide." What does his death mean for al Qaeda? This is a "very serious blow" to al Qaeda, according to Noman Benotman, a former senior member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group who spent significant time with al-Libi in the 1990s. No one else within the group rivals his legitimacy as a religious scholar nor has the credibility in the Arab world to provide Islamic justifications for al Qaeda's global campaign of terrorism, he said.

cnn

Since Roger Goodell took over as NFL commissioner in September 2006, he's had his hands full. The current domestic violence case involving former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice is just the latest in a long list of controversies that have punctuated his reign atop the country's most profitable sports league. Here are some that have attracted the biggest headlines: Michael Vick's dog fighting arrest Allegations of Vick's participation in dog fighting activities began to swirl in April 2007. Within three months, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback and three associates were indicted in federal court. By the end of August, Vick reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors on one charge of conspiracy involving illegal dog fighting. Vick admitted participating in killing dogs and operating a business enterprise that involved illegal gambling. Goodell notified Vick that he was suspended from the National Football League indefinitely, without pay. Vick served 20 months for the conviction. In 2009, Goodell reinstated Vick to the league on a conditional basis. In 2011, he signed a six-year, $100 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, making Vick one of the highest earning players in the NFL. Vick is now a backup quarterback for the New York Jets. Plaxico Buress' nightclub incident The former New York Giants wide receiver accidentally shot himself in the leg with a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol he was carrying in his waistband. The incident happened November 2008, in the VIP area of the Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan. Buress served 20 months on a weapons charge.

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A small-sized Pekingese with long, soft fur took the top prize at the 136thannual Westminster Kennel Club Show in New York City on Feb 14,2012. The dog has a royal name: Palacegarden Malachy . After being named Best in Show, Malachy celebrated by nestling his 11-pound body inside the trophy . Competition for the top prize was not easy. Malachy beat more than 2,000 dogs, including a Dalmation, a German Shepherd and a Kerry blue Terrier. But to judge Cindy Bogels, Malachy was the clear winner. "Super dog, and he had a surprising night, " she said. David Fitzpatrick is Malachy's handler and coowner. He said there would be no more shows for the four-year-old dog. Malachy, he said, would most likely go home to East Brlin, Pennsylvania, to enjoy a quiet life in the country. ' He'll probably chase squirrels and will certainly have a good time. " Fitzpatrick said. However, Malachy had a busy timetable on Feb,15.He made television appearances this morning and had lunch this afternoon at Sardi's a famous New York City restaurant, where he ate from a silver plate. Later, Malachy visited a businessman and TV personality, Donald Trump. Dogs were not the only ones in the spotlight at Westminster. Young people ages 9 to 18 took part in Junior Showmanship. In this competition, judges looked carefully at the kids, not the dogs. They watched to see how well entrants handled their animals in the ring. About 100 kids from around the country came to New York City to show off their dogs. 11-year-old Macenzie Zeitz was one of them. She traveled eight hours to New York, with her dog Pudding. " It is really amazing, and it's also a real honor to be here." Zeitz said. "Pudding likes the hotel because he gets to sleep in the bed, " added Zeitz.

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The 18-meter-tall Rubber Duck arrived in Beijing on Friday. It was placed on waters in the International Garden Expo Park, where the Yongding River passes through. The Rubber Duck exhibition was designed by Dutch artist, Florentijn Hofman. It was part of the activities of Beijing Design Week, which ran from September 26 to October 3 in 2013. The Rubber Duck stayed in the park until September 23, then moved to the Summer Palace, a famous Beijing tourist spot, where it was on display until October 26. The duck is made of over 200 pieces of rubber. It was guarded not only by staff, but also by 10 volunteers wearing yellow T-shirts and hats with a rubber duck logo. Sun Yidong, a volunteer who guided visitors to the duck, said the art brought energy to the traditional Chinese park. "Seeing the giant Rubber Duck makes me feel like I'm a kid again." Sun said. Because of the rain on Friday, there were not too many people coming to see it. The Expo workers said they expected more people to come and visit the duck on weekends. Zhao Yan said she had been following news about the duck since 2007, when the duck began its journey. "I even considered going to Hong Kong to see it. It's great that the duck is in Beijing," Zhao said. Before arriving in Beijing, the Rubber Duck traveled to 13 cities in nine countries. "The aim of the Rubber Duck is simply to bring everyone back to their childhood again," said Zeng Hui, a leader of the Beijing Design Week Organizing Committee Office. "It can be a toy for adults." ,.

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CHAPTER XLII Again at Killancodlem Silverbridge remained at Crummie-Toddie under the dominion of Reginald Dobbes till the second week in September. Popplecourt, Nidderdale, and Gerald Palliser were there also, very obedient, and upon the whole efficient. Tregear was intractable, occasional, and untrustworthy. He was the cause of much trouble to Mr. Dobbes. He would entertain a most heterodox and injurious idea that, as he had come to Crummie-Toddie for amusement, he was not bound to do anything that did not amuse him. He would not understand that in sport as in other matters there was an ambition, driving a man on to excel always and be ahead of others. In spite of this Mr. Dobbes had cause for much triumph. It was going to be the greatest thing ever done by six guns in Scotland. As for Gerald, whom he had regarded as a boy, and who had offended him by saying that Crummie-Toddie was ugly,--he was ready to go round the world for him. He had indoctrinated Gerald with all his ideas of a sportsman,--even to a contempt for champagne and a conviction that tobacco should be moderated. The three lords too had proved themselves efficient, and the thing was going to be a success. But just when a day was of vital importance, when it was essential that there should be a strong party for a drive, Silverbridge found it absolutely necessary that he should go over to Killancodlem. "She has gone," said Nidderdale. "Who the ---- is she?" asked Silverbridge, almost angrily.

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CHAPTER XXV. THE HUNTSFORD CROQUET. "Une femme egoiste, non seulement de coeur, mais d'esprit, ne pent pas sortir d'elle-meme. Le moi est indelible chez elle. Une veritable egoiste ne sait meme pas etre fausse." --MME. E. DE GIRARDIN. "I am come to prepare you," said Lady Keith, putting her arm into her brother's, and leading him into the peacock path. "Mrs. Huntsford is on her way to call and make a dead set to get you all to a garden party." "Then we are off to the Earlsworthy Woods." "Nay, listen, Alick. I have let you alone and defended you for a whole month, but if you persist in shutting up you wife, people won't stand it." "Which of us is the Mahometan?" "You are pitied! But you see it was a strong thing our appearing without our several incumbrances, and though an old married woman like me may do as she pleases, yet for a bridegroom of not three weeks' standing to resort to bazaars solus argues some weighty cause." "And argues rightly." "Then you are content to be supposed to have an unproduceably eccentric melancholy bride?" "Better they should think so than that she should be so. She has been victimized enough already to her mother's desire to save appearances." "You do not half believe me, Alick, and this is really a very kind, thoughtful arrangement of Mrs. Huntsford's. She consulted me, saying there were such odd stories about you two that she was most anxious that Rachel should appear and confute them; and she thought that an out-of-door party like this would suit best, because it would be early, and Rachel could get away if she found it too much for her."

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(CNN) -- Jason Baldwin paused Saturday on his first morning of freedom in 18 years to share a revelation he gleaned in prison while serving a life sentence. The "West Memphis Three" member recalled telling inmates he had figured out the secret of life. "What is it?" they asked. "I said, 'Enjoy it. Enjoy it,'" Baldwin told CNN Memphis affiliate WMC. And enjoy it he did Friday and Saturday. Baldwin, Damien Echols and Jessie Misskelley Jr. -- freed Friday in Arkansas after a complicated plea arrangement -- spent time with family, friends and supporters. Echols and Baldwin saw the sunset Friday from the rooftop of the Madison Hotel in Memphis, across the Mississippi River from West Memphis, Arkansas. Supporters Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks joined the party. The three men, who served 18 years in prison following their convictions in a 1993 triple-slaying in West Memphis, walked free Friday to cheers from a supportive crowd after entering rarely used pleas in which they maintained their innocence but acknowledged that prosecutors have evidence to convict them. They had been imprisoned for the slayings of second-graders Steven Branch, Christopher Byers and Michael Moore. The boys' bodies were mutilated and left in a ditch, hogtied with their own shoelaces. Prosecutors argued that the defendants, teenagers at the time, were driven by satanic ritual and that Echols, sentenced to death, had been the ringleader. Baldwin and Misskelley received life sentences. Attorney Stephen Braga, who represented Echols, said his newly freed client and Baldwin were fascinated by new foods, cell phones and other technology Friday.

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CHAPTER XXXVI. The Glory and the Dream On the morning when the final results of all the examinations were to be posted on the bulletin board at Queen's, Anne and Jane walked down the street together. Jane was smiling and happy; examinations were over and she was comfortably sure she had made a pass at least; further considerations troubled Jane not at all; she had no soaring ambitions and consequently was not affected with the unrest attendant thereon. For we pay a price for everything we get or take in this world; and although ambitions are well worth having, they are not to be cheaply won, but exact their dues of work and self-denial, anxiety and discouragement. Anne was pale and quiet; in ten more minutes she would know who had won the medal and who the Avery. Beyond those ten minutes there did not seem, just then, to be anything worth being called Time. "Of course you'll win one of them anyhow," said Jane, who couldn't understand how the faculty could be so unfair as to order it otherwise. "I have not hope of the Avery," said Anne. "Everybody says Emily Clay will win it. And I'm not going to march up to that bulletin board and look at it before everybody. I haven't the moral courage. I'm going straight to the girls' dressing room. You must read the announcements and then come and tell me, Jane. And I implore you in the name of our old friendship to do it as quickly as possible. If I have failed just say so, without trying to break it gently; and whatever you do DON'T sympathize with me. Promise me this, Jane."

wikipedia

Babylonia was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). A small Amorite-ruled state emerged in 1894 BC, which contained at this time the minor administrative town of Babylon. Babylon greatly expanded from the small provincial town that it had originally been during the Akkadian Empire (2335-2154 BC) during the reign of Hammurabi in the first half of the 18th century BC, becoming a major capital city. During the reign of Hammurabi and afterwards, Babylonia was called "Māt Akkadī" "the country of Akkad" in the Akkadian language. It was often involved in rivalry with its older fellow Akkadian-speaking state of Assyria in northern Mesopotamia, as well as Elam to the east, in Ancient Iran. Babylonia briefly became the major power in the region after Hammurabi (fl. c. 1792 – 1752 BC middle chronology, or c. 1696 – 1654 BC, short chronology) created a short-lived empire, succeeding the earlier Akkadian Empire, Third Dynasty of Ur, and Old Assyrian Empire; however, the Babylonian empire rapidly fell apart after the death of Hammurabi and reverted back to a small kingdom. The Babylonian state, like Assyria to the north, retained the written Akkadian language for official use (the language of its native populace), despite its Northwest Semitic-speaking Amorite founders and Kassite successors, who spoke a language isolate, not being native Mesopotamians. It retained the Sumerian language for religious use (as did Assyria), but already by the time Babylon was founded, this was no longer a spoken language, having been wholly subsumed by Akkadian. The earlier Akkadian and Sumerian traditions played a major role in Babylonian and Assyrian culture, and the region would remain an important cultural center, even under its protracted periods of outside rule.

cnn

TUNIS, Tunisia (CNN) -- Polls closed late Sunday in Tunisia, the torchbearer of the so-called Arab Spring, but voters will not see results of national elections until Tuesday, officials said. On Sunday, long lines of voters snaked around schools-turned-polling-stations in Tunis's upscale Menzah neighborhood, some waiting for hours to cast a vote in the nation's first national elections since the country's independence in 1956. "It's a wonderful day. It's the first time we can choose our own representatives," said Walid Marrakchi, a civil engineer who waited more than two hours, and who brought along his 3-year-old son Ahmed so he could "get used to freedom and democracy." Tunisia's election is the first since a popular uprising in January overthrew long-time dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and triggered a wave of revolutions -- referred to as the Arab Spring -- across the region. More than 60 political parties and thousands of independent candidates competed for 218 seats in a new Constitutional Assembly, which will be charged with writing a new constitution and laying the framework for a government system. Voters appeared jubilant on Sunday, taking photos of each other outside polling stations, some holding Tunisian flags. "It's a holiday," said housewife Maha Haubi, who had just taken her position at the end of the long line of more than 1,000 voters waiting outside an elementary school in Menzah. "Before we never even had the right to say 'yes' or 'no.'" Nearby, banker Aid Naghmaichi said she didn't mind the long wait to vote.

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(CNN)"In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd," wrote Miguel de Cervantes, the Shakespeare of Spain. And the quest to find his remains has sometimes seemed both, even (dare one say it) quixotic in a time of recession. But forensic scientists have persevered, and appear to have triumphed. Almost 400 years after Cervantes' death, a team led by Francisco Etxeberria announced Tuesday that they were confident they had found Cervantes' coffin in the crypt of the Convent of the Barefoot Trinitarians in the Barrio de Las Letras (Literary Quarter) in Madrid. Historical records indicated Cervantes had been buried there, but the convent had been substantially rebuilt since. (Etxeberria, incidentally, performed the autopsy on former Chilean President Gen. Salvador Allende, confirming he had committed suicide.) At a news conference in Madrid on Tuesday, Etxeberria said that while there was no mathematical proof or DNA test available to completely verify the findings, there were "many coincidences and no discrepancies" in the examination of "Osario 32," a common grave in the crypt that contained the remains of 16 people. "We have Cervantes, represented in some form in this group of bones that are unfortunately very degraded and very fragmented," Etxeberria told national television. The search for Cervantes' coffin -- using radar -- began last year, funded by the Madrid City Council. It first mapped more than 30 burial cavities in the walls and nearly 5 meters beneath the floor of the church. Mass spectrometry dated fragments of wood and cloth found in these cavities to the 17th century, an encouraging but far from conclusive development.

wikipedia

The region, as part of Lorraine, was part of the Holy Roman Empire, and then was gradually annexed by France in the 17th century, and formalized as one of the provinces of France. The Calvinist manufacturing republic of Mulhouse, known as Stadtrepublik Mülhausen, became a part of Alsace after a vote by its citizens on 4 January 1798. Alsace is frequently mentioned with and as part of Lorraine and the former duchy of Lorraine, since it was a vital part of the duchy, and later because German possession as the imperial province (Alsace-Lorraine, 1871–1918) was contested in the 19th and 20th centuries; France and Germany exchanged control of parts of Lorraine (including Alsace) four times in 75 years. With the decline of the Roman Empire, Alsace became the territory of the Germanic Alemanni. The Alemanni were agricultural people, and their Germanic language formed the basis of modern-day dialects spoken along the Upper Rhine (Alsatian, Alemannian, Swabian, Swiss). Clovis and the Franks defeated the Alemanni during the 5th century AD, culminating with the Battle of Tolbiac, and Alsace became part of the Kingdom of Austrasia. Under Clovis' Merovingian successors the inhabitants were Christianized. Alsace remained under Frankish control until the Frankish realm, following the Oaths of Strasbourg of 842, was formally dissolved in 843 at the Treaty of Verdun; the grandsons of Charlemagne divided the realm into three parts. Alsace formed part of the Middle Francia, which was ruled by the youngest grandson Lothar I. Lothar died early in 855 and his realm was divided into three parts. The part known as Lotharingia, or Lorraine, was given to Lothar's son. The rest was shared between Lothar's brothers Charles the Bald (ruler of the West Frankish realm) and Louis the German (ruler of the East Frankish realm). The Kingdom of Lotharingia was short-lived, however, becoming the stem duchy of Lorraine in Eastern Francia after the Treaty of Ribemont in 880. Alsace was united with the other Alemanni east of the Rhine into the stem duchy of Swabia.

gutenberg

CHAPTER 11. FETTERS BROKEN Then long and loud the victor shout From turret and from tower rang out; The rugged walls replied. SCOTT, Lord of the Isles. 'Sir, I have something to show you.' It was the early twilight of a summer's morning when Ringan crept up to the shelter of pine branches under which George Douglas was sleeping, after hotly opposing Gebhardt, who had nearly persuaded his master that retreat was inevitable, unless he meant to be deserted by more than half his men. George sat up. 'Anent the ladies?' he said. Ringan bowed his head, with an air of mystery and George doubted no longer, but let him lead the way, keeping among the brushwood to the foot of the quarry whence the castle had been built. It had once been absolutely precipitous, no doubt, but the stone was of a soft quality, on which weather told: ivy and creepers had grown on it, and Ringan pointed to what to dwellers on plains might have seemed impracticable, but to those who had bird's-nested on the crags of Tantallon had quite a different appearance. True, there was castle wall and turret above, but on this, the weather side, there had likewise been a slight crumbling, which had been neglected, perhaps from over security, perhaps on account of the extreme difficulty of repairing, where there was the merest ledge for foothold above the precipitous quarry; indeed, the condition of the place might never even have been perceived by the inhabitants, as there were no traces of the place below having been frequented.

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When Debbie Parkhurst choked on a piece of apple at her Maryland home, her dog jumped in, landing hard on her chest and forcing the piece of apple to pop out of her throat. Debbie Parkhurst's husband, Kevin, was at his job at a Wilmington, Del., chemical firm when she took a midday break from jewelry and bit into an apple. When the Keesling family of Indiana were about to be overcome by carbon monoxide(CO), their cat clawed at wife Cathy's hair until she woke up and called for help. For their timely acts, Toby, a golden 2 1/2-year-old dog, and Winnie, a gray-eyed American shorthair, were named Dog and Cat of the Year by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Neither Parkhurst nor Keesling could explain their pets' timely heroics,though Parkhurst suggested it might have been guided by God intervention . "That's what our veterinarian said,"she said. "He wasn't making a joke; he's very spiritual, and now I have to agree with him." But both pets were themselves rescued in baby, Toby as a 4-week-old baby thrown into a garbage bin to die, and Winnie as a week-old orphan hiding under a barn, so helpless that Keesling's husband, Eric, had to feed her milk. As the Keeslings recalled it, a gas-driven pump spread carbon monoxide through the house. By the time Winnie moved into rescue spot, the couple's 14-year-old son, Michael, was already unconscious. "Winnie jumped on the bed and was clawing at me, with a kind of angry noise," Cathy Keesling said. "When I woke up I felt like a T-bar had hit me across the head." State police and officers responding to her 911 call said the family was only minutes from death, judging by the amount of poisonous gas in the house.

cnn

A former top appointee of Chris Christie says there is evidence contradicting what the New Jersey governor has said publicly about the notorious George Washington Bridge traffic lane closures that have roiled the Republican's administration, according to the man's lawyer. David Wildstein resigned his position at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in December amid allegations that Christie appointees had ordered access lanes to the nation's biggest river crossing in Fort Lee closed last year to punish that town's mayor politically for not endorsing Christie for reelection. Wildstein's attorney, Alan Zegas, wrote on Friday that "evidence exists" contradicting Christie's recollection about the lane closures at a news conference earlier this month. "Evidence exists ... tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference (on January 9)," Zegas said in a letter to the general counsel of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge and where Wildstein had worked for the governor. Days of lane closures The letter references the closures over a work week in September, but does not suggest that "evidence" contradicts anything Christie has said so far about his advisers at the time or any role they might have played in alleged political shenanigans. The letter also does not suggest that Christie had any advance knowledge of the closings. Zegas also didn't disclose the evidence. CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin said Zegas' letter is just that. "It's not sworn testimony. It's not proof," he said.

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Eva Mozes Kor has good reasons to look down upon Oskar Groning. When she and her twin sister, Miriam, arrived in the Auschwitz death camp, they were met by Josef Mengele and became part of the cruel scientist's experiments. Groning was a junior squad leader at the camp. While Groning could argue he was not directly responsible for procedures carried out on twins,nor for the mass murder of so many others, he played a critical role in the effort to kill Jews. After the war Groning led an ordinary, quiet life until he became alarmed by the rise of Holocaust deniers. He went public with his role and in September 2014 was charged as an accessory to murder. When Groning went on trial in April 2015, Eva Mozes Kor was called as a witness. After her session, she walked straight up to the 93-year-old former Nazi and shook his hand. Eva Mozes Kor will never forget nor excuse what the Nazis did. Her two books make that clear: Surviving the Angel of Death. and the earlier Echoes from Auschwitz. She has also spent her post-war years drawing attention to the Holocaust, in the hope of preventing a repeat of its horrors. At the same time, she is dedicated ( ) to healing rather than revenge. As she wrote in a Facebook post: Forgiving does not mean forgetting-we all want to prevent these things from ever happening again. Forgiveness is about self-healing, self-liberation, and self-empowerment... Let's all work together to teach the world how to heal. As a survivor suffering so much, Eva Mozes Kor is a role model for the kind of forgiveness that mends souls, a forgiveness that carries with it the responsibility to work for a world in which such horrors no longer happen.

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Mary was waiting for the airplane to take off. She was happy to get a seat by herself. Just then,an air hostess came up to her and asked. "Would you mind changing your seat? A man would like to sit with his wife." The only available seat was next to a girl with her arms broke, a black-and-blue face, and a sad expression. "I don't want to sit there," Mary thought immediately. But a soft voice spoke, "She needs help." Finally, Mary moved to that seat. The girl was named Emily. She had been in a car accident and now was on her way for treatment. When the snack and juice arrived, Mary realized that Emily could not feed herself. Mary considered offering to feed her but hesitated , as it seemed too impolite to offer a service to a stranger. But then Mary realized that Emily's need was more important. Mary offered to help her eat. Although Emily was uncomfortable to accept, _ . They became closer and closer in a short time. By the end of the five-hour trip, Mary's heart had warmed, and the time was really better spent than if she had just sat by herself. Mary was very glad that she had sat next to Emily and fed her. Love sometimes goes beyond human borders and removes the fears that keep people away. When we reach our hands to serve another, we grow to live in a larger and more rewarding world.

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"Norton," Sheppard said, "I saw Rufus Johnson yesterday. Do you know what he was doing?" The child looked at him with a kind of half attention, his eyes forward but not yet engaged. They were a paler blue than his father's as if they might have faded like the shirt; one of them listed, almost imperceptibly , toward the outer rim. "He was in a path," Sheppard said, "and he had his hand in a garbage can. He was trying to get something to eat out of it." He paused to let this soak in. "He was hungry," he finished, and tried to pierce the child's conscience with his gaze. The boy picked up the piece of chocolate cake and began to bite it from one corner. "Norton," Sheppard said, "do you have any idea what it means to share?" A flicker of attention. "Some of it is yours," Norton said. "Some of it is his," Sheppard said heavily. It was hopeless. Almost any fault would have been preferable to selfishness--a violent temper, even a tendency to lie. The child turned the bottle of tomato sauce upside-down and began thumping sauce onto the cake. Sheppard's look of pain increased. "You are ten and Rufus Johnson is fourteen," he said. "Yet, I'm sure your shirts would fit Rufus." Rufus Johnson was a boy whom he had been trying to help at the reformatory for the past year. He had been released two months ago. "When he was in the reformatory, he looked pretty good, but when I saw him yesterday, he was skin and bones. He hasn't been eating cake with peanut butter on it for breakfast." The child paused. "It's not fresh," he said. "That's why I have to put stuff on it." Sheppard turned his face to the window at the end of the bar. The side lawn, green and even, sloped fifty feet or so down to a small suburban wood. When his wife was living, they had often eaten outside, even breakfast on the grass. He had never noticed then that the child was selfish. ks5u "Listen to me," he said, turning back to him, "look at me and listen." The boy looked at him. At least his eyes were forward. "I gave Rufus a key to the house when he left the reformatory---to show my confidence in him and so he would have a place he could come to and feel welcome any time. He didn't use it, but I think he'll use it now because he's seen me and he's hungry. And if he doesn't use it, I'm going out and find him and bring him here. I can't see a child eating out of garbage cans." The boy frowned. It was dawning upon him that something of his was threatened. Sheppard's mouth stretched in disgust. "Rufus's father died before he was born," he said. "His mother is in the state penitentiary . He was raised by his grandfather in a shack without water or electricity and the old man beat him every day. How would you like to belong to a family like that?" "I don't know" the child said lamely. "Well, you might think about it sometime," Sheppard said. Sheppard was City Recreational Director. On Saturday he worked at the reformatory as a counselor, receiving nothing for it but the satisfaction of knowing he was helping boys no one else cared about. Johnson was the most intelligent boy he had worked with. Norton turned what was left of the cake over as if he no longer wanted it. "You started that, now finish it," Sheppard said. "Maybe he won't come," the child said and his eyes brightened slightly.

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Baden-Württemberg is a state in Germany located in the southwest, east of the Upper Rhine. It is Germany’s third largest state in terms of size and population, with an area of and 10.8 million inhabitants. The state capital and largest city is Stuttgart. The sobriquet "Ländle" ("small land" or "dear land" in the local dialect) is sometimes used as a synonym for Baden-Württemberg. Baden-Württemberg is formed from the historical territories of Baden, Prussian Hohenzollern, and Württemberg, parts of Swabia. In 100 AD, the Roman Empire invaded and occupied Württemberg, constructing a limes (fortified boundary zone) along its northern borders. Over the course of the third century AD, the Alemanni forced the Romans to retreat beyond the Rhine and Danube rivers. In 496 AD the Alemanni themselves succumbed to a Frankish invasion led by Clovis I. The Holy Roman Empire was later established. The majority of people in this region continued to be Roman Catholics, even after the Protestant Reformation influenced populations in northern Germany. In the late 19th and early 20th century, numerous people emigrated from here to the United States for economic opportunity. After World War II, Allied forces established three federal states in the territory of modern-day Baden-Württemberg: Württemberg-Hohenzollern, Baden, and Württemberg-Baden. Baden and Württemberg-Baden were occupied by France and the United States, respectively. In 1949, each state became a founding member of the Federal Republic of Germany, with Article 118 of the German constitution providing an accession procedure. On 16 December 1951, Württemberg-Baden, Württemberg-Hohenzollern and Baden voted in favor of a joint merger via referendum. Baden-Württemberg officially became a state in Germany on 25 April 1952.

wikipedia

Buenos Aires ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the South American continent's southeastern coast. "Buenos aires" can be translated as "fair winds" or "good airs", but the first one was the meaning intended by the founders in the 16th century, by the use of the original name "Real de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre". The Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, which also includes several Buenos Aires Province districts, constitutes the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas, with a population of around 17 million. The city of Buenos Aires is neither part of Buenos Aires Province nor the Province's capital; rather, it is an autonomous district. In 1880, after decades of political infighting, Buenos Aires was federalized and removed from Buenos Aires Province. The city limits were enlarged to include the towns of Belgrano and Flores; both are now neighborhoods of the city. The 1994 constitutional amendment granted the city autonomy, hence its formal name: Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (Autonomous City of Buenos Aires). Its citizens first elected a chief of government (i.e. mayor) in 1996; previously, the mayor was directly appointed by the President of the Republic.

cnn

(CNN) -- A second former co-owner of the California slaughterhouse involved in a recall of nearly nine million pounds of meat was charged with knowingly processing and distributing meat from cancerous cows, court documents released this week say. Robert Singleton, co-owner of the Rancho Feeding Corporation in Petaluma, was primarily responsible for purchasing cattle and loading shipments for distribution, prosecutors say. He is charged with distributing "adulterated, misbranded, and uninspected" meat, according to the documents. Singleton jointly owned the meat plant with Jesse J. Amaral Jr., the former president and general manager who is also known as also known as "Babe Amaral." Amaral and his former employees, Felix Sandoval Cabrera and Eugene Corda, have all been charged with unlawful sale and distribution of contaminated meat. Prosecutors allege that Amaral and Singleton directed Corda and Cabrera to circumvent inspection procedures for certain cows with signs of epithelioma of the eye, also known as "cancer eye." While Singleton is accused of knowingly purchasing cattle with signs of epithelioma, Amaral allegedly directed employees to carve "USDA Condemned" stamps out of certain cow carcasses and to process them for sale and distribution, despite having been rejected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinarian. Amaral is also charged with sending false invoices to farmers, telling them that their cattle had died or been condemned and charging them "handling fees" for disposal of the carcasses, instead of compensating them for the sale price, prosecutors said. If convicted, Singleton faces up to three years imprisonment, with one year of supervised release, and a $10,000 fine. Amaral, Cabrera and Corda could receive up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.

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An organic compound is virtually any chemical compound that contains carbon, although a consensus definition remains elusive and likely arbitrary. Organic compounds are rare terrestrially, but of central importance because all known life is based on organic compounds. The most basic petrochemicals are considered the building blocks of organic chemistry. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds, such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon (for example, CO and CO), and cyanides are considered inorganic. The distinction between "organic and inorganic" carbon compounds, while "useful in organizing the vast subject of chemistry... is somewhat arbitrary". Organic chemistry is the science concerned with all aspects of organic compounds. Organic synthesis is the methodology of their preparation. For many centuries, Western physicians and chemists believed in vitalism. This was the widespread conception that substances found in organic nature are created from the chemical elements by the action of a "vital force" or "life-force" ("vis vitalis") that only living organisms possess. Vitalism taught that these "organic" compounds were fundamentally different from the "inorganic" compounds that could be obtained from the elements by chemical manipulations. Vitalism survived for a while even after the rise of modern ideas about the atomic theory and chemical elements. It first came under question in 1824, when Friedrich Wöhler synthesized oxalic acid, a compound known to occur only in living organisms, from cyanogen. A more decisive experiment was Wöhler's 1828 synthesis of urea from the inorganic salts potassium cyanate and ammonium sulfate. Urea had long been considered an "organic" compound, as it was known to occur only in the urine of living organisms. Wöhler's experiments were followed by many others, in which increasingly complex "organic" substances were produced from "inorganic" ones without the involvement of any living organism.

wikipedia

ESPNcricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and "StatsGuru", a database of historical matches and players from the 18th century to the present. , Sambit Bal was the editor. The site, originally conceived in a pre-World Wide Web form in 1993 by Dr Simon King, was acquired in 2002 by the Wisden Grouppublishers of several notable cricket magazines and the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. As part of an eventual breakup of the Wisden Group, it was sold to ESPN, jointly owned by The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Corporation, in 2007. CricInfo was launched on 15 March 1993 by Dr Simon King, a British researcher at the University of Minnesota with help from students and researchers at universities around the world. While a company, CricInfo Ltd, was formed in 1996, CricInfo remained a volunteer-run operation until late 1999 and was not fully staffed until late 2000. The site was reliant on contributions from fans around the world who spent hours compiling electronic scorecards and contributing them to CricInfo's comprehensive archive, as well as keying in live scores from games around the world using CricInfo's scoring software, "dougie". In 2000, Cricinfo's estimated worth was $150 million; however it faced difficulties the following year as a result of the dotcom crash.

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CHAPTER XII. THE PRISONER. It was several moments before Seth could bring himself to believe that Dan and Bill Dean had utterly failed in their efforts to save Jip Collins from the would-be detective. During the day he had given the matter comparatively little thought, believing that, having set out on their mission of mercy at such an early hour, his roommates would succeed in their efforts. Sam Barney was known to all his acquaintances as a boy opposed to rising very early, or working very hard, and it had been no more than reasonable to suppose Jip would be warned in time. Teddy Bowser could give very little information, and that which he did impart only served to heighten the mystery. He stated that he met Sam at about seven o'clock that morning, and talked with him concerning his visit to Philadelphia with the purpose, as previously agreed upon, of delaying him until nearly nine o'clock. That then the alleged detective had gone toward Fulton Market with the avowed intention of meeting a friend, and Teddy was positive Jip had not been arrested until late in the afternoon. "Where was Dan an' Bill when they sent you to tell me?" "Over by Jefferson Market; that's where Jip's been jugged." "Were they to wait there for me?" "That's what they reckoned on, except you thought them firemen of yourn could help out." "If Jip's really been 'rested I don't believe Ninety-four's men could do anything, 'cordin' to the way Mr. Davis talks. We'll go right down to the market."

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Sara wanted to play on a baseball team. She had never tried to swing a bat and hit a baseball before. Her Dad gave her a bat and together they went to the park to practice. Sara wondered if she could hit a ball. She wasn't sure if she would be any good. She really wanted to play on a team and wear a real uniform. She couldn't wait to get to the park and test out her bat. When Sara and her Dad reached the park, Sara grabbed the bat and stood a few steps away from her Dad. Sara waited as her Dad pitched the ball to her. Her heart was beating fast. She missed the first few pitches. She felt like quitting but kept trying. Soon she was hitting the ball very far. She was very happy and she couldn't wait to sign up for a real team. Her Dad was very proud of her for not giving up.

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Three kids have been learning chemistry for only a few months. But they have already begun to challenge a world famous scientist! Li Weichi, Huang Runling, and Xiao Yan are from Zhongshan Huaqiao Middle School in Guangdong. They have just found a red cabbage that could be a new kind of acid-base indicator . They want it to take the place of litmus paper. "We've learnt to think of and ask questions about life by ourselves," said Li, "We work well with each other." British scientist Robert Boyle discovered the use of litmus paper over 300 years ago. Now it is used widely in experiments all over the world. But when the kids did some experiments in class last winter, they saw that the litmus paper didn't turn very blue with base matter. It's hard to get a clear result. Will there be a better indicator than litmus paper? The three kids decided to try and find out! How? They went to collect over 40 plants in parks, gardens and markets. Then they ground leaves, flowers and stems to get the pigments from them. The kids mixed pigments with acid and base. They spent months watching carefully to see which paper showed the best colour change. They decided it was the litmus paper! "It's our first scientific journey, Huang said, "But it makes me want to try harder."

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CHAPTER FOUR. OKIOK BECOMES SIMPLE BUT DEEP, AND THE WIZARD TRIES TO MAKE CAPITAL OUT OF EVENTS. Of course Ujarak, wise man though he was esteemed to be, could not help being struck dumb by the unexpected sight of the gaunt foreigner. Indeed, having so long held supposed intercourse with familiar spirits, it is not improbable that he imagined that one of them had at last come, without waiting for a summons, to punish him because of his deceptive practices, for he turned pale--or rather faintly green--and breathed hard. Perceiving his state, it suddenly occurred to the sailor to say--"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." He inadvertently said it in English, however, so that Ujarak was none the wiser. "Who is he?" demanded the angekok--perhaps it were more correct to call him wizard. Okiok, expecting Rooney to reply, looked at him, but a spirit of silence seemed to have come over the stranger, for he made no reply, but shut his eyes, as if he had dropped asleep. "He is a Kablunet," said Okiok. "I could see that, even if I had not the double sight of the angekok," replied the other, with a touch of sarcasm, for Eskimos, although by no means addicted to quarrelling, are very fond of satire. They are also prone to go straight to the point in conversation, and although fond of similes and figurative language, they seldom indulge in bombast. With much solemnity Okiok rejoined that he had no doubt of Ujarak's being aware that the man was a Kablunet.

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Su Hua is studying at Cambridge, UK. She has bought a bicycle and is worried about security. Her friend, Kate, found this article and sent it to her. www.zxxk.com Introduction A lot of crime is against bicycles. About 150,000 bicycles are stolen every year and most are never found. You can prevent this happening by following a few careful steps. Basic Security Do not leave your bicycle in out-of-the-way places. Always lock your bicycle when you leave. Secure it to lampposts or trees. Take off smaller parts and take them with you, for example lights and saddles . Locks Get a good lock. There are many different types in the shop. Buy one that has been tested against attack. Ask for a recommendation from a bike shop. Marking Security marking your bike can act as a deterrent to a thief. It can also help the police find your bicycle. It should be clearly written and include your postcode and your house or flat number. This will provide a simple way to identify your bicycle. Registration There are a number of companies who will mark your bicycle for you. They will then put your registration number and personal details on their computer database. Then if your bicycle is found it will be easy to contact you. Finally Keep a record of the bicycle yourself: its make, model and registration number. You can even take a photograph of it, this will prove the bicycle belongs to you.

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In South America, the rich soil of the Amazon River basin in Brazil is known as "black gold". Scientists found that the secret of this rich soil was charcoal . Local people made it from animal bones and tree branches. They mixed the charcoal with the soil about 1.500 years ago. Now, scientists in the United States have done a modern demonstration. They say charcoal fertilization offers a revolutionary way to improve soil quality for hundreds or even thousands of years. Mingxin Guo and his team at Delavare State University heated tree leaves, corn stalks , small pieces of wood and poultry waste into "biochar" . They reported their findings at a recent meeting of the American Chemical Society in New Orleans. Biochar could be good news for farmers with poor soil and hungry populations to feed. Professor Guo says it could even help against global warming. Intensive farming and overuse of chemical fertilizer give out carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Biochar does the opposite, he says. It traps carbon in the ground. The researchers planted winter wheat in containers of soil in a greenhouse -- some with biochar, some without. Professor Guo says the wheat grows much better in the pots with biochar. The soil was added two percent charcoal to. But he says even a one percent treatment will increase productivity. The results demonstrated that biochar can increase organic matter in soil. Loss of nutrients in soil is an increasing problem worldwide as farmers try to grow more food for growing populations. Next, the team will carry out a five-year study of biochar with spinach , green peppers and tomatoes. Mingxin Guo says he learns about the "black gold" in Brazil from a magazine story. He explains that it was discovered in the jungle, in the area where waters flow to the Amazon, in the 1960's. But it was not until recent years that scientists began to bring public attention to it.

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"Today is Mom's birthday, Mosh," Nick said. "Let's make her favorite banana bread and surprise her."Nick took out a cookbook. "I'll read the recipe, and you follow it. Get out a bowl and a spoon while I turn on the oven." Nick read from the cookbook. "First, mash the bananas in the bowl." The robot put the bananas into the bowl and was going to mash them with its hands. "Stop!" Nick said. "Let's try this again. Peel the bananas, put them in the bowl, and mash them with the spoon." Nick watched when Mosh peeled the bananas and put the peel into the bowl. Again, Nick told Mosh to stop. Then he showed the robot which part of each banana should go into the bowl. Then Nick read, "Add the eggs. No, wait," he said right away. Nick cracked the eggs into the bananas. "Last, add flour , milk and sugar," Nick said. "Mix everything together. Then pour the batter into the bread pan." Mosh followed Nick's orders while Nick read the cookbook. "I'll put this in the oven," Nick picked up the pan. Just then Kelly came into the room. "What happened in here?" she felt surprised. Nick answered, "Mosh and I are making banana bread for Mom's birthday. It is a lot of work, but I think she will be surprised." "If you want it to be a good surprise for Mom," Kelly laughed, "you need to give Mosh one more order. Clean up!"

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Harry had a very small farm. He only had one cow but dreamed about having a large farm. He once asked his father Bill, "I'd like to have that land over there. How can I get it?" His father encouraged him to go and talk to the landowner to see how they could get the land. Harry said. "But we don't have enough money." His father said, "Don't worry. Go and talk to him." Several years passed. Harry had not only the land, but also several hundred cows. He had a happy life with his wife. Later, Harry's wife, Sarah, had a dream. "I want to build the biggest farm in the world." She said. They called their friend Manuel about this task. Three days later Manuel had a plan for the whole project. Then they asked, "How much will it cost?" Manuel said they needed a lot of money. "Nobody will lend us so much money to build a farm," they thought. But the manager of the bank _ them and their dream. A few months later, La manuel, the biggest farm in the world, was opened.

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CHAPTER XXIV Enid, my early and my only love, I thought, but that your father came between, In former days you saw me favourably, And if it were so, do not keep it back, Make me a little happier, let me know it.--TENNYSON The foreign tour proved a great success. The summer in the Alps was delightful. The complete change gave Bertha new life, bodily strength first returning, and then mental activity. The glacier system was a happy exchange for her _ego_, and she observed and enjoyed with all the force of her acute intelligence and spirit of inquiry, while Phoebe was happy in doing her duty by profiting by all opportunities of observation, in taking care of Maria and listening to Mervyn, and Miss Charlecote enjoyed scenery, poetry, art, and natural objects with relish keener than even that of her young friends, who were less impressible to beauty in every shape. Mervyn behaved very well to her, knowing himself bound to make the journey agreeable to her; he was constantly kind to Bertha, and in the pleasure of her revival submitted to a wonderful amount of history and science. All his grumbling was reserved for the private ear of Phoebe, whose privilege it always was to be his murmuring block, and who was only too thankful to keep to herself his discontents whenever his route was not chosen (and often when it was), his disgusts with inns, railroads, and sights and his impatience of all pursuits save Bertha's. Many a time she was permitted to see and hear nothing but how much he was bored, but on the whole the growls were so mitigated compared with what she had known, that it was almost contentment; and that he did not absolutely dislike their habits was plain from his adherence to the ladies, though he might have been quite independent of them.

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CHAPTER V. THE FIRST SPARK PASSES "Now, gentlemen," shouted the auctioneer when he had finished his oration upon the girl's attractions, "what 'tin I bid? Eight hundred?" Stephen caught his breath. There was a long pause no one cared to start the bidding. "Come, gentlemen, come! There's my friend Alf Jenkins. He knows what she's worth to a cent. What'll you give, Alf? Is it eight hundred?" Mr. Jenkins winked at the auction joined in the laugh. "Three hundred!" he said. The auctioneer was mortally offended. Then some one cried:--"Three hundred and fifty!" It was young Colfax. He was recognized at once, by name, evidently as a person of importance. "Thank you, Mistah Colfax, suh," said the auctioneer, with a servile wave of the hand in his direction, while the crowd twisted their necks to see him. He stood very straight, very haughty, as if entirely oblivious to his conspicuous position. "Three seventy-five!" "That's better, Mistah Jenkins," said the auctioneer, sarcastically. He turned to the girl, who might have stood to a sculptor for a figure of despair. Her hands were folded in front of her, her head bowed down. The auctioneer put his hand under her chin and raised it roughly. "Cheer up, my gal," he said, "you ain't got nothing to blubber about now." Hester's breast heaved and from her black eyes there shot a magnificent look of defiance. He laughed. That was the white blood. The white blood! Clarence Colfax had his bid taken from his lips. Above the heads of the people he had a quick vision of a young man with a determined face, whose voice rang clear and strong,-- "Four hundred!"

cnn

Guatemala City, Guatemala (CNN) -- Gunmen who shot dead Facundo Cabral likely did not have the Argentine folk singer as their intended target, said Guatemalan Interior Minister Carlos Menocal. Cabral, one of Latin America's best-known folk singers, was killed Saturday on his way to the airport in Guatemala City. In the car with Cabral was a Nicaraguan businessman, Henry Farina, who was driving, said Menocal. "Everything points to that the attack was directed at him (Farina), and not the artist," he said. Still, a motive for the shooting remained unclear. Farina was wounded, but survived the attack. Cabral died, becoming the latest victim in a wave of violence that has rocked the nation ahead of elections. Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom declared three days of national mourning in honor of the singer. In Guatemala on a Latin American tour, Cabral, 74, left his hotel early Saturday morning in a white SUV for an eight-minute ride to the airport. Gunmen attacked the SUV -- at least 20 bullet holes could be seen on the Range Rover. Nothing was reported stolen from the vehicle, government spokesman Ronaldo Robles said Saturday. Police found a brown Hyundai Santa Fe nearby containing bullet-proof vests and AK-47 magazines. Robles and other authorities have said an investigation was underway. "You can't blame New Yorkers for the death of John Lennon. Just like you can't blame Guatemalans for the death of Facundo Cabral," said Ernesto Justo Lopez, the Argentine ambassador to Guatemala. Ironically, Cabral, who said he was inspired by Jesus Christ and Mohandas Gandhi, was recognized in 1996 by the Organization of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as a "World Peace Messenger."

mctest

It was a boring day out on the range for cowboy Bob. He was riding around on his horse. It was a good animal, and its name was Steve. Steve was an old friend to Bob. He had been carrying Bob around on his back for almost five years, and both of them knew every inch of the range on which they rode. Bob's job was to keep watch over the cattle who ate and grew fat off the nice grass which grew on the range near the farm. It was a good job for cowboy Bob. He was a friendly cowboy with a nice beard, but he still preferred to be alone most of the time. He never got lonely on the range, with his horse Steve to keep him company and the nice view. As he did his job, he would sometimes get wet from the rain, and every day he would have to rise before the sun did, but still Bob was very happy, and he was never sad or angry or scared. Watching the sun rise orange in the distance was always a fun way for Bob to start the day. Sometimes, Bob would even sing to keep the cattle calm. Bob also had to keep the other animals away from the cattle, the wolf and the snake and the coyote. Bob and Steve were happy having each other as friends.

wikipedia

Dominica ( or ; ; Island Carib: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is a sovereign island country. The capital, Roseau, is located on the leeward side of the island. It is part of the Windward Islands in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The island lies south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its area is , and the highest point is Morne Diablotins, at in elevation. The population was 71,293 at the 2011 census. The island was originally inhabited by the Kalinago and later colonised by Europeans, predominantly by the French from the 1690s. Columbus is said to have passed the island on Sunday, 3 November 1493, and the island's name is derived from the Latin for "Sunday". Great Britain took possession in 1763 after the Seven Years' War and gradually established English as the official language. The island republic gained independence in 1978. Its name is pronounced with stress falling either on second syllable of the word, after the Latin word "dŏmĭnĭcă" "lordly", or on the third syllable, after the French name "Dominique". Dominica has been nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" for its natural environment. It is the youngest island in the Lesser Antilles, still being formed by geothermal-volcanic activity, as evidenced by the world's second-largest hot spring, called Boiling Lake. The island has lush mountainous rainforests, and is the home of many rare plants, animals, and bird species. There are xeric areas in some of the western coastal regions, but heavy rainfall occurs inland. The Sisserou parrot, also known as the imperial amazon and found only on Dominica, is the island's national bird and featured on the national flag. Dominica's economy depends on tourism and agriculture.

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CHAPTER XVIII The "Doll's House" was a success. Mrs. Schoville ecstasized over it in terms so immeasurable, so unqualifiable, that Jacob Welse, standing near, bent a glittering gaze upon her plump white throat and unconsciously clutched and closed his hand on an invisible windpipe. Dave Harney proclaimed its excellence effusively, though he questioned the soundness of Nora's philosophy and swore by his Puritan gods that Torvald was the longest-eared Jack in two hemispheres. Even Miss Mortimer, antagonistic as she was to the whole school, conceded that the players had redeemed it; while Matt McCarthy announced that he didn't blame Nora darlin' the least bit, though he told the Gold Commissioner privately that a song or so and a skirt dance wouldn't have hurt the performance. "Iv course the Nora girl was right," he insisted to Harney, both of whom were walking on the heels of Frona and St. Vincent. "I'd be seein'--" "Rubber--" "Rubber yer gran'mother!" Matt wrathfully exclaimed. "Ez I was sayin'," Harney continued, imperturbably, "rubber boots is goin' to go sky-high 'bout the time of wash-up. Three ounces the pair, an' you kin put your chips on that for a high card. You kin gather 'em in now for an ounce a pair and clear two on the deal. A cinch, Matt, a dead open an' shut." "The devil take you an' yer cinches! It's Nora darlin' I have in me mind the while." They bade good-by to Frona and St. Vincent and went off disputing under the stars in the direction of the Opera House.

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Katy Marsh is seventy years old now. She stopped working five years ago. Last year she decided to make her dream come true. When she was young, she hoped to travel along a river of Scotland in a small boat. She took her small CD player, her hot water bottle and a bag of books to make her life in the boat wasn't too uncomfortable. We asked her if she was afraid of being on the river for so long. She said, "Well, I'm going to take a good _ . When I'm losing my way during my trip, it can help me a lot. Anyway I'm not afraid of death because I love rivers-I just hope it loves me too. " Katy certainly had lots of energy . In her free time, she enjoyed playing the piano, swimming, hiking, and dancing. She had a wonderful trip in the small boat last year. She is seventy, but she doesn't want to have a quiet and peaceful life. She hopes to have fun in the rest of her life.

wikipedia

The University of Melbourne (informally Melbourne University) is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Times Higher Education ranks Melbourne as 33rd in the world, while the Academic Ranking of World Universities places Melbourne 40th in the world (both first in Australia). Melbourne's main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb north of the Melbourne central business district, with several other campuses located across Victoria. Melbourne is a sandstone university and a member of the Group of Eight, Universitas 21 and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. Since 1872 various residential colleges have become affiliated with the university. There are 12 colleges located on the main campus and in nearby suburbs offering academic, sporting and cultural programs alongside accommodation for Melbourne students and faculty. Melbourne comprises 11 separate academic units and is associated with numerous institutes and research centres, including the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research and the Grattan Institute. Amongst Melbourne's 15 graduate schools the Melbourne Business School, the Melbourne Law School and the Melbourne Medical School are particularly well regarded.

cnn

(CNN) -- The Pakistani president Tuesday said his country provided initial help that ultimately led to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, but he said it had no clue about the terror mastermind's whereabouts and didn't participate in the U.S. raid to kill the top militant. Asif Ali Zardari, writing in a Washington Post op-ed column, said that the raid was not a "joint operation" and bin Laden "was not anywhere we had anticipated he would be." "And we in Pakistan take some satisfaction that our early assistance in identifying an al Qaeda courier ultimately led to this day," Zardari said, referring to the trusted bin Laden aide whose movements helped the United States find the al Qaeda leader. U.S. politicians and military officials have roundly criticized Pakistan for not being more robust in the fight against al Qaeda, the Taliban and other militants who have a strong presence along the Afghan-Pakistani border. But Zardari defended Pakistan's anti-terror activities, saying there has been "a decade of cooperation and partnership between the United States" and his country that ultimately led to bin Laden's death. Zardari said he "endorses the words" of and "appreciates the credit" from U.S. President Barack Obama about Pakistan's role. In his announcement of bin Laden's death, Obama said it's "important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding." Zardari said that "some in the U.S. press have suggested that Pakistan lacked vitality in its pursuit of terrorism, or worse yet, that we were disingenuous and actually protected the terrorists we claimed to be pursuing. Such baseless speculation may make exciting cable news, but it doesn't reflect fact.

gutenberg

Chapter 4: Among The Islands. "Now, let us go through our calculations again," the captain said when they entered his cabin. "How long will you be, Captain?" the first mate asked. "Half an hour, Standing." "Then I will come again or, if you want me before that, send for me," and the first mate went out on deck again, for though well skilled to handle a ship in all weathers, and as brave and hardy a seaman as sailed out of Plymouth, James Standing could neither read nor write; and though in a rough sort of way he could reckon the course a ship should lie, and make allowance for leeway and currents and baffling winds, and could bring a ship into any port in England or the Low Countries, he was of no use in a matter of this kind. Pengarvan was a good scholar, and Reuben had taught him what he knew of navigation, and always made him keep a log from the time when he first became a mate; at first comparing their calculations every day, and then but once a week; arguing over the allowances each had made for tide and leeway; and sometimes finding to his surprise, on arriving in port, that Pengarvan's calculations were even nearer to the truth than his own. This was a great satisfaction to him, for he felt that, if aught should happen to himself when on a voyage, Pengarvan could be trusted to bring the Swan home, as safely and surely as he could himself. Roger had, for the last two years, been going through the same schooling; but as yet he was very far from attaining accuracy, being unwilling to make sufficient allowance for the great leeway that a vessel, in those days, made with the wind abeam.

cnn

CNN -- Elton John may be famous for smash hits such as "Tiny Dancer" and scores for films such as "The Lion King," but he's also made a name for himself in HIV/AIDS activism. Advances in treatments for HIV/AIDS have led to some people taking more risks, Elton John says. The singer-songwriter established the Elton John AIDS Foundation in the United States and the United Kingdom to support HIV prevention programs, efforts to eliminate stigma and discrimination associated with the disease, and care and support services for people living with the condition. The foundation has raised more than $150 million. John has said that Ryan White, an Indiana teenager who died of HIV/AIDS in 1990, inspired him to create this foundation. John sat down with CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta before speaking Tuesday at the Bio International Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. Here is an edited transcript. CNN: What are you doing here today? Elton John: I'm doing a speech about the situation with AIDS in America basically, and how we need to address what's going on. We seem to be falling a little behind in America. I find this disease very cyclical. Every 10 years or so, after we spend a lot of money trying to educate people -- a new generation of people -- and we tell them to have safe sex and to abstain sometimes but have safe sex, wear condoms, we find that after 10 years another whole group of people come along. And we have to start all over again, which is really, really frustrating because it takes money for education. And we find that if we could get into the schools at a grass-roots levels, which we do in places like Africa where we get to kids at a young age and we tell them about preventive measures for not getting HIV, we find the success rate is tremendous. Watch more of Dr. Gupta's interview with Elton John »

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Do you want to make friends with a special man? Here is some information about him. He is quiet and shy. He likes to hide his eyes behind his hair. He doesn't smile very often. However, if you talk to him about music, he'll have a lot to say. This is Jay Chou, the 34-year-old Taiwanese pop king . His fans are so excited because he will have a singing party next month. Many pop stars will come, too. Chou grew up just with his mother. He did not talk much and did badly in many school subjects. His mother noticed the boy's special interest in music and sent him to learn piano when he was only three years old. He loved it and kept on practicing. Chou is not very handsome. He does not speak clearly when he sings or talks. But the singer has a lot of fans. "He is really good at music. It makes him attractive to me, " said Liu Jiajun, a Junior 2 student in No. 101 Middle School in Beijing. "He is true to himself. _ , "said Zhang Yujie, a Junior 1 girl at No.23 Middle School in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.

gutenberg

CHAPTER 9 P. Henry.--But do you use me thus, Ned; must I marry your sister? Poins.--May the wench have no worse fortune, but I never said so. --K. Henry IV Arthur met the new-comer, exclaiming, 'Ha! Fotheringham, you have not brought me the amber mouth-piece I desired John to tell you of.' 'Not I. I don't bring Turks' fashion into Christian countries. You ought to learn better manners now you are head of a family.' Theodora entered, holding her head somewhat high, but there was a decided heightening of the glow on her cheek as Mr. Fotheringham shook hands with her. Lord Martindale gave him an affectionate welcome, and Lady Martindale, though frigid at first, grew interested as she asked about his journey. The arriving guests met him with exclamations of gladness, as if he was an honour to the neighbourhood; and John had seldom looked more cheerful and more gratified than in watching his reception. At length came the names for which Violet was watching; and the presence of Lady Elizabeth gave her a sense of motherly protection, as she was greeted with as much warmth as was possible for shy people in the midst of a large party. Emma eagerly presented her two friends to each other, and certainly they were a great contrast. Miss Marstone was sallow, with thin sharply-cut features, her eyes peered out from spectacles, her hair was disposed in the plainest manner, as well as her dress, which was anything but suited to a large dinner-party. Violet's first impulse was to be afraid of her, but to admire Emma for being attracted by worth through so much formidable singularity.

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Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children.In spite of the hopeless condition, two of the children, Albrecht Durer and Albert, had a dream.They both wanted to pursue their talent for art.After many long discussions, the two boys finally worked out an agreement.They would toss a coin.The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother who attended the academy.Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy. Tossing a coin, Albrecht Durer won and went off to Nuremberg.Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, supported his brother, _ work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation .By the time he graduated, he had earned considerable fees for his outstanding works. When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner to celebrate Albrecht's triumphant homecoming.Albrecht drank a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled him to complete his dream."And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn.Now you can go to Nuremberg to look for your dream, and I will take care of you." Tears streaming down his pale face, Albert sobbed, "No...no...It is too late for me.Look...look at what four years in the mines have done to my hands!The bones in every finger have been broken at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less draw delicate lines with a pen or a brush." To show thanks to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother's injured hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward.He called his powerful drawing simply "Hands", but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed it "The Praying Hands".The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, let it be your reminder--no one ever makes any success alone!

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Kuwait (; ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in Western Asia. Situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, it shares borders with Iraq and Saudi Arabia. , Kuwait has a population of 4.2 million people; 1.3 million are Kuwaitis and 2.9 million are expatriates. Expatriates account for 70% of the population. Oil reserves were discovered in 1938. From 1946 to 1982, the country underwent large-scale modernization. In the 1980s, Kuwait experienced a period of geopolitical instability and an economic crisis following the stock market crash. In 1990, Kuwait was invaded by Iraq. The Iraqi occupation came to an end in 1991 after military intervention by coalition forces. At the end of the war, there were extensive efforts to revive the economy and rebuild national infrastructure. Kuwait is a constitutional state with a semi-democratic political system. It has a high income economy backed by the world's sixth largest oil reserves. The Kuwaiti dinar is the highest valued currency in the world. According to the World Bank, the country has the fourth highest per capita income in the world. The Constitution was promulgated in 1962. The Kuwait National Cultural District is a member of the Global Cultural Districts Network.

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The Atlantic is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher, founded in 1857 as The Atlantic Monthly in Boston, Massachusetts. The publication is majority owned by Emerson Collective, an organization led by the billionaire philanthropist and investor Laurene Powell Jobs, which purchased its stake in 2017 from businessman and publisher David G. Bradley, who retains a minority interest and remains the operating partner. Created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine, it has a reputation in the 21st century for a politically moderate viewpoint in its reporting. The magazine has notably recognized and published new writers and poets, as well as encouraged major careers. In the 19th century, it published leading writers' commentary on abolition, education, and other major issues in contemporary political affairs, and continued to publish leading intellectual thought. The periodical was named Magazine of the Year by the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) in 2016. The first issue of the magazine was published by Phillips, Sampson and Company on November 1, 1857. Phillips, Sampson and Company was a very well known publishing firm, led by Moses Dresser Phillips, and "The Atlantic Monthly's" successful launch in the midst of the Panic of 1857 was due in no small part to the firm's established name, Phillips, Sampson and Company's recruitment of popular contributors, and Moses Dresser Phillips's marketing and distribution efforts.The magazine's initiator, and one of the founders, was Francis H. Underwood, an assistant to Moses Dresser Phillips. Underwood received less recognition than his partners because he was "neither a 'humbug' nor a Harvard man". The other founding sponsors were prominent writers, including: Ralph Waldo Emerson; Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.; Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; Harriet Beecher Stowe; John Greenleaf Whittier; and James Russell Lowell, who served as its first editor.

cnn

Paris (CNN) -- Yasser Arafat's widow on Tuesday questioned the findings of French scientists that the Palestinian leader did not die from radioactive polonium poisoning but rather from natural causes. The conclusion, leaked to multiple French media agencies and Reuters, contradicts the findings of Swiss forensic scientists who concluded last month that samples taken from Arafat's exhumed body were consistent with polonium-210 exposure but did not definitely prove that he was poisoned. "I'm convinced there is something wrong, and he did not die from a natural death," Suha Arafat said at a news conference in Paris. She said she is requesting that the Swiss findings be made available to French authorities investigating her husband's death. She said the medical experts in Switzerland and France came from different medical fields. "I don't doubt them. But they are different skills. They are different types of medicines," she said. The French findings will do little to quell the rumors that Arafat was poisoned. Arafat died at age 75 at a Paris military hospital in November 2004 after he had a brain hemorrhage and slipped into a coma. Palestinian officials said in the days before his death that Arafat had a blood disorder -- though they ruled out leukemia -- and that he had digestive problems. Rumors of poisoning circulated at the time, but Palestinian officials denied them. Two weeks after Arafat's death, his nephew said medical records showed no cause of death. Nasser al-Kidwa, who was the Palestinian observer to the United Nations, said toxicology tests showed "no known poison," though he refused to exclude the possibility that poison caused his uncle's death.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XIV. DENIS M'GOVERY'S TIDINGS. As soon as he had finished his breakfast on the morning after the night's events just recorded, Father John took his hat and stick, and walked down to Drumsna, still charitably intent on finding some means to soften, if he could not avert, the storm which he saw must follow the scenes he had witnessed on the previous evening. Ussher would have considered it want of pluck to stay away because Thady had told him to do so; Feemy also would encourage his visits, and would lean more to her lover than her brother--especially as her father, if it were attempted to make him aware of the state of the case, would be sure to take Feemy's part. Father John felt it would be impossible to induce the old man to desire Ussher to discontinue his visits, and he was confident that unless he did so, the Captain would take advantage of the unfortunate state of affairs at Ballycloran, and consider himself as an invited guest, in spite of the efforts Thady might make to induce him to leave it. But what the priest most feared was, that the unfortunate girl would be induced to go off with her lover, who he knew under such circumstances would never marry her; and his present object was to take her out of the way of such temptation. Father John gave Feemy credit for principles and feelings sufficiently high to prevent her from falling immediately into vice, but he at the same time feared, that with the strong influence Ussher had over her, he might easily persuade her to leave her home, partly by promising at some early time to marry her, and partly by threatening her with desertion. He thought that if she were at present domiciled at Mrs. McKeon's, Ussher might then be brought to hear reason, and be made to understand that if he was not contented to propose for and marry Feemy, in a proper decent manner, he must altogether drop her acquaintance.

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Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country. It spans approximately and has a population of 45.7 million (as of 2009). The capital of the province is Kunming, formerly also known as Yunnan. The province borders the Chinese provinces Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, and the Tibet Autonomous Region, and the countries Vietnam, Laos, and Burma. Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with high elevations in the northwest and low elevations in the southeast. Most of the population lives in the eastern part of the province. In the west, the altitude can vary from the mountain peaks to river valleys as much as . Yunnan is rich in natural resources and has the largest diversity of plant life in China. Of the approximately 30,000 species of higher plants in China, Yunnan has perhaps 17,000 or more. Yunnan's reserves of aluminium, lead, zinc and tin are the largest in China, and there are also major reserves of copper and nickel. The Han Empire first recorded diplomatic relations with the province at the end of the 2nd century BC. It became the seat of a Sino-Tibetan-speaking kingdom of Nanzhao in the 8th century AD. Nanzhao was multi-ethnic, but the elite most-likely spoke a northern dialect of Yi. The Mongols conquered the region in the 13th century, with local control exercised by warlords until the 1930s. From the Yuan dynasty onward, the area was part of a central-government sponsored population movement towards the Southwestern frontier, with 2 major waves of migrants arriving from Han-majority areas in northern and southeast China. As with other parts of China's southwest, Japanese occupation in the north during World War II forced another migration of majority Han people into the region. These two waves of migration contributed to Yunnan being one of the most ethnically diverse provinces of China, with ethnic minorities accounting for about 34 percent of its total population. Major ethnic groups include Yi, Bai, Hani, Zhuang, Dai and Miao.

cnn

(CNN) -- The Supreme Court has just agreed to take on the case of Fisher v. University of Texas. Abigail Fisher, a white woman, argues that she has been a victim of the university's race-conscious admission policies; the university contends that its drive for racial and ethnic diversity is educationally enriching -- a benefit to all students. Will the ugly discourse that generally characterizes debate over racially preferential policies disappear with the wave of a magic Supreme Court wand? It seems unlikely. The issue is a cat with many more than nine lives. It arrived in the early 1970s and, despite many attacks, some of which have taken the form of amendments to state constitutions, it has survived in pretty fine fettle. The court will have only eight justices to hear the arguments. Elena Kagan, having been involved in the case as solicitor general in the Obama administration, has bowed out of participation. Her absence, however, leaves five justices likely to express at least some degree of skepticism about the racial preferences given to non-Asian minorities in the admissions process. Has the University of Texas been enriched by academic diversity? Maybe. But equally likely is the possibility that racial double standards reinforce stereotypes about smart whites and even smarter Asians. There are certainly wide gaps in the average SAT scores between blacks and Hispanics, on the one hand, and whites and Asians, on the other hand. Among freshmen entering the University of Texas in 2009 who did not fall into the top 10% of their high school class (automatic admission at the university), Asians scored at the 93rd percentile of 2009 SAT takers nationwide, whites at the 89th percentile, Hispanics at the 80th percentile and blacks at the 52nd percentile. Startling? No. This picture has been well known for a long time. Heartbreaking, yes, because the numbers mean the underperforming minority students are being woefully ill served by the K-12 school system. Moreover, arriving at institutions of higher education with an academic disadvantage, they do not catch up, as it has become clear.

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Buenos Aires ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the South American continent's southeastern coast. "Buenos aires" can be translated as "fair winds" or "good airs", but the first one was the meaning intended by the founders in the 16th century, by the use of the original name "Real de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre". The Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, which also includes several Buenos Aires Province districts, constitutes the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas, with a population of around 17 million. The city of Buenos Aires is neither part of Buenos Aires Province nor the Province's capital; rather, it is an autonomous district. In 1880, after decades of political infighting, Buenos Aires was federalized and removed from Buenos Aires Province. The city limits were enlarged to include the towns of Belgrano and Flores; both are now neighborhoods of the city. The 1994 constitutional amendment granted the city autonomy, hence its formal name: Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (Autonomous City of Buenos Aires). Its citizens first elected a chief of government (i.e. mayor) in 1996; previously, the mayor was directly appointed by the President of the Republic.

cnn

New York (CNN) -- Former New York Mayor Ed Koch has been dead for more than four months, but a mistake on his tombstone likely would have amused him. Koch was born December 12, 1924, but his tombstone at Trinity Church Cemetery in Upper Manhattan made him appear 18 years younger than he was -- December 12, 1942, was set in stone. The company responsible for the etchings on the marker became aware of the mistake Monday. The transposed numbers were fixed Tuesday morning using composite granite, according to George Arzt, Koch's former press secretary as mayor and his spokesman until his death. The birth and death dates were added within the past 10 days, according to an etching company representative. Koch hired an inscriber after he purchased his tombstone in 2007. He was able to see the engravings were etched as he wished; however, there were no dates at the time, according to Arzt. "Ed would have loved this attention and called the situation 'ridiculous!' " Arzt told CNN on Tuesday. Koch was a U.S. congressman from 1968 until he ran for New York mayor in 1977. He served three terms as the city's 105th mayor, from January 1978 to December 1989. Koch died of congestive heart failure on February 1. He was 88 -- despite what his tombstone temporarily calculated.

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Brigham Young University (often referred to as BYU or, colloquially, The Y) is a private research university located in Provo, Utah, United States. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and, excluding online students, is the largest of any religious university and the third largest private university in the United States, with 29,672 on-campus students. Approximately 99 percent of the students are members of the LDS Church, and one-third of its US students are from Utah. Students attending BYU are required to follow an honor code, which mandates behavior in line with LDS teachings such as academic honesty, adherence to dress and grooming standards, and abstinence from extramarital sex and from the consumption of drugs and alcohol. Many students (88 percent of men, 33 percent of women) either delay enrollment or take a hiatus from their studies to serve as Mormon missionaries. (Men typically serve for two-years, while women serve for 18 months.) An education at BYU is also less expensive than at similar private universities, since "a significant portion" of the cost of operating the university is subsidized by the church's tithing funds.

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Alexandra Scott was born to Liz and Jay Scott in Manchester,Connecticut on January 18, 1996,the second of four children. Shortly before her first birthday,Alex was diagnosed with neuroblastoma,a type of childhood cancer. On her first birthday, the doctors informed Alex's parents that if she beat her cancer it was doubtful that she would ever walk again. Just two weeks later,Alex slightly moved her leg at her parents' request to kick. This was the first indication that she would turn out to be a courageous and confident child with big dreams and big accomplishments. By her second birthday,Alex was able to stand up with leg braces .She worked hard to gain strength and to learn how to walk. She appeared to be overcoming the difficulties, until the shocking discovery within the next year that her tumors had started growing again. In the year 2000,the day after her fourth birthday,Alex received a stem cell transplant and informed her mother,"When I get out of the hospital I want to have a lemonade stand. " She said she wanted to give the money to doctors to allow them to "help other kids,like they helped me.,,True to her word, she held her first lemonade stand later that year with the help of her older brother and raised an amazing $ 2,000 for "her hospital, People from all over the world,moved by her story,held their own lemonade stands and donated the earnings to Alex and her cause. In August of 2004,Alex passed away at the age of 8,knowing that,with the help of others,she had raised more than $ 1 million to help find a cure for the disease that took her life. Alex's family--including brothers Patrick,Eddie,and Joey--and supporters around the world are committed to continuing her inspiring cause through Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation .

gutenberg

CHAPTER FOUR. FIRST IMPRESSIONS. "Good-day, Messer Domenico," said Nello to the foremost of the two visitors who entered the shop, while he nodded silently to the other. "You come as opportunely as cheese on macaroni. Ah! you are in haste-- wish to be shaved without delay--ecco! And this is a morning when every one has grave matter on his mind. Florence orphaned--the very pivot of Italy snatched away--heaven itself at a loss what to do next. _Oime_! Well, well; the sun is nevertheless travelling on towards dinner-time again; and, as I was saying, you come like cheese ready grated. For this young stranger was wishing for an honourable trader who would advance, him a sum on a certain ring of value, and if I had counted every goldsmith and money-lender in Florence on my fingers, I couldn't have found a better name than Menico Cennini. Besides, he hath other ware in which you deal--Greek learning, and young eyes--a double implement which you printers are always in need of." The grave elderly man, son of that Bernardo Cennini, who, twenty years before, having heard of the new process of printing carried on by Germans, had cast his own types in Florence, remained necessarily in lathered silence and passivity while Nello showered this talk in his ears, but turned a slow sideway gaze on the stranger. "This fine young man has unlimited Greek, Latin, or Italian at your service," continued Nello, fond of interpreting by very ample paraphrase. "He is as great a wonder of juvenile learning as Francesco Filelfo or our own incomparable Poliziano. A second Guarino, too, for he has had the misfortune to be shipwrecked, and has doubtless lost a store of precious manuscripts that might have contributed some correctness even to your correct editions, Domenico. Fortunately, he has rescued a few gems of rare value. His name is--you said your name, Messer, was--?"

wikipedia

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (officially abbreviated the Super NES[b] or SNES[c], and commonly shortened to Super Nintendo[d]) is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Australasia (Oceania), and 1993 in South America. In Japan, the system is called the Super Famicom (Japanese: スーパーファミコン, Hepburn: Sūpā Famikon?, officially adopting the abbreviated name of its predecessor, the Family Computer), or SFC for short. In South Korea, it is known as the Super Comboy (슈퍼 컴보이 Syupeo Keomboi) and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. Although each version is essentially the same, several forms of regional lockout prevent the different versions from being compatible with one another. It was released in Brazil on September 2, 1992, by Playtronic. To compete with the popular Family Computer in Japan, NEC Home Electronics launched the PC Engine in 1987, and Sega Enterprises followed suit with the Mega Drive in 1988. The two platforms were later launched in North America in 1989 as the TurboGrafx-16 and the Genesis respectively. Both systems were built on 16-bit architectures and offered improved graphics and sound over the 8-bit NES. However, it took several years for Sega's system to become successful. Nintendo executives were in no rush to design a new system, but they reconsidered when they began to see their dominance in the market slipping.

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Michael J. "Crocodile Dundee" (also called Mick), played by Paul Hogan, is the main character in the fictional Crocodile Dundee film series consisting of Crocodile Dundee, Crocodile Dundee II, and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles. The character is a crocodile hunter, hence the nickname. In the first film, Crocodile Dundee, Mick is visited by a New York reporter, Sue Charlton, who travels to Australia to investigate a report she heard of a crocodile hunter, who had his leg bitten off by a crocodile in the outback. The hunter supposedly walked more than a hundred miles back to civilization and miraculously survived his injuries. However, by the time she meets him, the story turns out to be a somewhat exaggerated legend where the "bitten-off leg" turns out to be just being some bad scarring on his leg; a "love bite" as Mick calls it. Still _ by the idea of "Crocodile Dundee", Sue continues with the story. They travel together out to where the incident occurred, and follow his route through the bush to the nearest hospital. Despite his old-fashioned views, the pair eventually become close, especially after Mick saves Sue from a crocodile attack. Feeling there is still more to the story, Sue invites Mick back to New York with her, as his first trip to a city (or "first trip anywhere," as Dundee says). The rest of the film depicts Dundee as a "fish out of water," showing how, despite his expert knowledge of living outdoors, he knows little of city life. Mick meets Sue's boyfriend, Richard, but they do not get along. By the end of the film, Mick is on his way home, lovesick, when Sue realizes she loves Mick, too, and not Richard. She runs to the subway station to stop Mick from leaving and, by passing on messages through the packed-to-the-gills crowd, she tells him she won't marry Richard, and she loves him instead. With the help of the other people in the subway, Mick and Sue have a loving reunion as the film ends.

cnn

(Oprah.com) -- When Chicagoan Tammy Jo Long visited Savannah, Georgia, ten years ago, she was delighted by its fountain-filled parks, corner cafés -- and grand architecture. Long had always been a design aficionado, but the Italianate and Victorian homes she encountered in Savannah became "an obsession," she says. "I saw a mansion with enormous cornices and cast-iron window surrounds, and I was hooked." So hooked, in fact, that she decided to buy a second home there, closing the deal on her next visit. Oprah.com: What's Your Design Style? Her learning curve: Long was determined to restore her new house to its original glory. Though she'd remodeled a few kitchens and bathrooms over the years, a historically accurate renovation that did justice to the Savannah architecture she loved was daunting. Oprah.com: 5 things a professional organizer wants you to know But the all-nighters spent poring over floor plans and scouring eBay for doorknobs paid off: Every detail of the home -- from the crown moldings to the brass finger pulls -- is as it was in the 1800s. Yearning to share her handiwork, Long turned the home into a vacation rental. Soon, enchanted out-of-towners were eagerly booking their stays. Oprah.com: ingenious ways to decorate small spaces Her business model: In 2003 Long quit her job in sales and bought and restored four more homes, traveling between Savannah and Chicago (where she and her ex-husband share custody of their 9-year-old son). "Some of the properties had been vacant for 20 years," Long says. "They had rats you could put a saddle on."

cnn

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Rebels pushed Thursday northward on three fronts toward the coastal cities of al-Zawiya, Aziziya and Sorman, with their ultimate goal being Tripoli, rebel field commander Adel Al-Zintani told CNN. Six rebels died and dozens more were wounded in fighting Wednesday and Thursday, he said. He predicted that the fighters would reach the coastal road that leads to the capital city within days. Zawiya is strategically important because the coastal road through the city is the main supply line from the Tunisian border to areas held by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Regime officials were not available Thursday evening for comment. Fighting was continuing around Misrata, where rebel spokesman Mohamed Ibrahim said the main hospital reported four rebels killed and 54 wounded. Meanwhile, in New York, a spokesperson for Ban Ki-moon said the U.N. secretary-general "is deeply concerned by reports of the unacceptably large number of civilian casualties as a result of the conflict in Libya." Ban is urging "all Libyan parties" to engage with his special envoy, Abdel-Elah Al-Khatib, "and respond concretely and positively to the ideas presented to them, in order to end the bloodshed in the country," the spokesperson said. His remarks came three days after allegations that a NATO strike in the village of Majer near Zlitan wound up killing 85 civilians --- 33 children, 32 women and 20 men. The Tripoli government called it "a massaacre" of civilians; NATO has said its warplanes struck two farms used as a staging point for Gadhafi's forces

gutenberg

CHAPTER LXXV In the meantime, Lady Roehampton was paying her farewell visit to her former pupil. They were alone, and Adriana was hanging on her neck and weeping. "We were so happy," she murmured. "And are so happy, and will be," said Myra. "I feel I shall never be happy again," sighed Adriana. "You deserve to be the happiest of human beings, and you will be." "Never, never!" Lady Roehampton could say no more; she pressed her friend to her heart, and left the room in silence. When she arrived at her hotel, her brother was leaving the house. His countenance was disquieted; he did not greet her with that mantling sunniness of aspect which was natural to him when they met. "I have made all my farewells," she said; "and how have you been getting on?" And she invited him to re-enter the hotel. "I am ready to depart at this moment," he said somewhat fiercely, "and was only thinking how I could extricate myself from that horrible dinner to-day at the Count of Ferroll's." "Well, that is not difficult," said Myra; "you can write a note here if you like, at once. I think you must have seen quite enough of the Count of Ferroll and his friends." Endymion sat down at the table, and announced his intended non-appearance at the Count's dinner, for it could not be called an excuse. When he had finished, his sister said-- "Do you know, we were nearly having a travelling companion to-morrow?"

mctest

Ms. Strawberry loved to make vanilla cupcakes! Everyone loved her cupcakes, and she loved making them, too. One morning, she was in the store, buying ingredients for her cupcakes, when she came across the most delicious looking chocolate frosting she had ever seen in her life! She bought a whole bunch, excited about how delicious her cupcakes would be for her cupcake party tonight! She went home and took extra care making her cupcakes that afternoon. She made them extra fluffy, sweet and delicious. She even pulled out her favorite sprinkles for her cupcakes, bright purple ones, which was her favorite color. She couldn't believe how amazing her cupcakes were going to be for the cupcake party! That night at the cupcake party, Ms. Strawberry showed everyone her plate of delicious cupcakes! So many of her friends were there for the party. There was Mrs. Apple, Mr. Banana, Ms. Mitten, Mr. Green and even quiet Mr. Lemon showed up. Everyone was very happy about her cupcakes! Everyone except Mr. Lemon. Mr. Lemon took one bite of that cupcake and said, "Eew! This is the worst cupcake in the world!" Ms. Strawberry didn't know what to say! Were they really the worst cupcakes in the world? She had tried so hard! Ms. Strawberry started to cry. "Why don't you like my cupcakes, Mr. Lemon? I worked so hard to make the extra delicious!" Mr. Lemon said, "I don't like vanilla, and I don't like chocolate!" Ms. Strawberry cried even more! "There, there," said Mrs. Apple, and patted Ms. Strawberry on the head. "It's okay. Not everyone is going to like your cupcakes! You only have to know that you worked hard and that they're still tasty!" With that, Ms. Strawberry stopped crying, and she and Mr. Lemon made up.

wikipedia

Botany, also called plant science(s) or plant biology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who specializes in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek word βοτάνη (botanē) meaning "pasture", "grass", or "fodder"; βοτάνη is in turn derived from βόσκειν (boskein), "to feed" or "to graze". Traditionally, botany has also included the study of fungi and algae by mycologists and phycologists respectively, with the study of these three groups of organisms remaining within the sphere of interest of the International Botanical Congress. Nowadays, botanists study approximately 400,000 species of living organisms of which some 260,000 species are vascular plants and about 248,000 are flowering plants. Botany originated in prehistory as herbalism with the efforts of early humans to identify – and later cultivate – edible, medicinal and poisonous plants, making it one of the oldest branches of science. Medieval physic gardens, often attached to monasteries, contained plants of medical importance. They were forerunners of the first botanical gardens attached to universities, founded from the 1540s onwards. One of the earliest was the Padua botanical garden. These gardens facilitated the academic study of plants. Efforts to catalogue and describe their collections were the beginnings of plant taxonomy, and led in 1753 to the binomial system of Carl Linnaeus that remains in use to this day.

wikipedia

The New Testament (, "Hē Kainḕ Diathḗkē"; ) is the second part of the Christian biblical canon, the first part being the Old Testament, based on the Hebrew Bible. The New Testament discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christianity. Christians regard both the Old and New Testaments together as sacred scripture. The New Testament (in whole or in part) has frequently accompanied the spread of Christianity around the world. It reflects and serves as a source for Christian theology and morality. Both extended readings and phrases directly from the New Testament are also incorporated (along with readings from the Old Testament) into the various Christian liturgies. The New Testament has influenced religious, philosophical, and political movements in Christendom and left an indelible mark on literature, art, and music. The New Testament is a collection of Christian works written in the common (Koine) Greek language of the first century, at different times by various writers, and the modern consensus is that it also provides important evidence regarding Judaism in the first century AD. In almost all Christian traditions today, the New Testament consists of 27 books. The original texts were written in the first and perhaps the second centuries of the Christian Era, in Greek, which was the common language of the Eastern Mediterranean from the Conquests of Alexander the Great (335–323 BC) until the Muslim conquests in the 7th century AD. All the works that eventually became incorporated into the New Testament are believed to have been written no later than around 150 AD.

cnn

Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington (CNN) -- The American soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers in a shooting rampage is sitting in a military courtroom for the next week or more, hearing the evidence against him. The Article 32 hearing began Monday at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state to determine if a trial is warranted for U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who could get the death penalty if convicted. The deadly shooting spree near a small U.S. base in Afghanistan's Kandahar province last March strained already tense U.S.-Afghan relations and intensified a debate about whether to pull out American troops ahead of their planned 2014 withdrawal. "He committed a mass killing crime, and we would like the court in the United States to implement justice and punish him according to the crime," Ahmad Zia Syamak, a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, told CNN on Monday. Bales acted with "chilling premeditation" and was "lucid, coherent and responsive" when he left the remote outpost and went from house to house, gunning down villagers, Lt. Col. Joseph Morse, the Army's prosecutor, told the court. Women and children were among the 16 dead and six wounded, authorities said. "Nothing really justifies killing women and children in a noncombat situation," Bales' attorney, John Henry Browne, told CNN earlier. "But there may be explanations if that's true." Read more: Stunned friends recall good deeds of Afghanistan killings suspect The first soldier to testify Monday was Cpl. David Godwin, who said he watched a movie and drank Jack Daniels whiskey with Bales and another soldier, Sgt. Jason McLaughlin, just hours before the alleged attack.

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The Americans believe that anybody can become President of the United States. In a recent Hollywood comedy , that is exactly what happens. Dave Kovic, played by Kevin Kline, is a kind-hearted man who runs a business that finds people jobs. He leads a typical American way of life, except for one thing-he looks exactly like the President, Bill Mitchell. In fact, the only thing that makes him different from the nation's leader is that he is very nice! The president has started using look-alikes during some public appearances. Dave is offered a chance to "serve his country" by becoming _ . However, things go wrong. The President becomes very ill and Dave ends up acting as the President forever. Director Ivan Reitman, who made the popular and successful comedies like Twins, Ghostbusters and Legal Eagles, could have gone for easy laughs by making fun of the American government. Instead, Dave is an attractive comedy about an ordinary man in extraordinary situations. Kevin Kline gives a double performance as Dave and the President, and Sigourney Weaver is at her best as his First Lady. The love story that develops between her role and Dave is a real classic . The film is 100% American. However, if you've ever felt that anybody could do a better job running the country than the people in power, then you'll enjoy Dave!

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When I entered college in the early 1980s, I had my heart set on being a first-grade teacher. I did all of my observations in others' first-grade classroom. I interviewed for my first job in a first-grade classroom. At last the district offered me a job---as a fifth-grade teacher in an inner-city building, considered at the time to be one of our district's most difficult tasks. It wasn't the first-grade classroom after I had hoped for, but it was my classroom after I had made such great efforts! I managed to deal with everything in first year successfully, while working to form relationships with my students was no easy thing, especially with Alexader. He had learning disabilities in both math and reading. The other children were sometimes unfriendly to him. He was a difficult child to get to open up, but I was determined to make efforts. You can imagine my delight when finally, in late spring, Alexander raised his hand during the math class discussion for the first time ever. Thrilled, I immediately called him. Well, you can imagine my surprise when he suddenly told a story about his grandma, who had a hole in her head. You see, we were studying fraction that day, and I had just explained that a fraction is "a part of a whole". Alexander obviously didn't realize the difference between "whole" and "hole". "Homophones ''I told myself,"had better be tomorrow's English lesson." Acknowledging Alexander that day was exactly what he needed from me. We had suddenly developed a special relationship. Alexander felt such a connection to me after that, that he even went one step further. I arrived at the school the following morning and was surprised to find Alexander and his grandma waiting for me. Grandma began by saying,"Alexander said he told you that I had a hole in my head."I smiled nervously and said ,"Don't worry. You know kids! They have great imaginations"Grandma replied,"You didn't believe him, did you?""No, of course not,"I said .Well, just at that time, Grandma proudly showed the hole in her head. I will never forget that day, and the lesson that I learned from being Alexander's teacher. If a child ever again tells me about a family member with a hole in his or her head, I will believe him or her!

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China's top labor official said the country is planning to push back the age at which workers can retire. Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, demonstrated that we did not put a timetable on the move when he spoke about it during a forum at the weekend. "Delaying the retirement age is a very complicated issue and we will study it according to the situations of population and employment and consider different groups of people," Yin said. He noted that _ in the retirement age have been brought in by many countries and can be a good way to deal with an aging population and ensure the healthy and stable development of social security. The life expectancy of Chinese people is now 73 years and is expected to rise to 74 during the next five years, he said. Nearly three out of 10 Chinese people will be older than 60 by 2040, according to a United Nations forecast. The retirement age in China currently is 60 for men and 55 for female civil servants and 50 for female workers. The idea of delaying the retirement age is being widely supported by government officials, while many laborers and non-government employees were less enthusiastic about the prospect of working for longer. Currently, they have to pay into their pension plans for at least 15 years before they can retire. Chen Xianlian, a female worker at a motorcycle parts manufacturer in Chongqing municipality is among those who would like to see the retirement age left as it is. "I have to do lots of tough and repetitive work every day and I feel very tired after my working day," the 41-year-old said. "All my colleagues are discussing the government's possible move to lift the retirement age. None of us wants to work any extra years." University graduates also fear that any rise in the retirement age could limit their employment opportunities.

cnn

Johannesburg (CNN) -- A plane carrying Madagascar's ousted leader Marc Ravalomanana was turned away from Madagascan airspace Saturday as he tried to return from exile, his spokesman and the airline said. Ravalomanana, who had been in South Africa in exile, took off from Johannesburg Saturday morning in what was his second bid to return to his home country. But Ravalomanana's spokesman Patrick Gearing, in South Africa, told CNN that the civil aviation authorities on the Indian Ocean island had closed the airspace, refusing the plane permission to land. By Saturday afternoon the plane -- and Ravalomanana -- were back in South Africa, said Gearing. Ravalomanana was ousted in March 2009 through a coup backed by the military, which handed power to current President Andry Rajoelina, the youthful former mayor of Antananarivo. Shortly before boarding his flight to the capital, Antananarivo, Ravalomanana said that he had just spoken with the Madagascan Prime Minister Omer Beriziky, who told him "everything was OK." Speaking before the flight took off, Gearing said: "He has no control over what will happen to him when he arrives but he is prepared to face whatever comes his way." Ravalomanana's previous unsuccessful effort to return last year came to an end in Johannesburg, when the airline he was using was told it wouldn't be allowed to land if he was on board. Madagascar is in the process of implementing a peace agreement facilitated by a regional body, the South African Development Community. Gearing says Ravalomanana met with South Africa's President Jacob Zuma Friday to thank him for letting him stay following his ouster.

cnn

(CNN) -- There is no evidence to suggest that the two men who used stolen passports to get aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 had anything to do with its disappearance Saturday as it was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, an official said Tuesday. "The more information we get, the more we're inclined to conclude that it was not a terrorist incident," Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble told reporters Tuesday at his organization's headquarters in Lyon, France. Here's what we know about what happened, how it happened and why. WHO ARE THEY? The passengers are Delavar Seyed Mohammad Reza, 29, and Pouri Nourmohammadi, 18. They entered Malaysia on February 28 using valid Iranian passports. CNN obtained an iReport photo of what appears to be the two men with two of their friends. Metadata from the photo indicates that it was shot with an iPhone at 8:20 p.m. the night before the plane departed. CNN has blurred the faces of the other two men to protect their identities. WHAT HAPPENED? To fly out of Malaysia, Reza and Nourmohammadi used passports that were stolen in Thailand, a booming market for stolen passports. The passports belonged to citizens of Italy and Austria. "Thailand remains a robust venue for the sale of high-quality, false passports (which includes altered, stolen passports) and other supporting documentation," said Paul Quaglia, who has been working in the region as a security and risk analyst for 14 years. The Italian, Luigi Maraldi, 37, told reporters he reported his passport stolen in August. The Austrian, Christian Kozel, 30, had his stolen in July 2013.

wikipedia

The region, as part of Lorraine, was part of the Holy Roman Empire, and then was gradually annexed by France in the 17th century, and formalized as one of the provinces of France. The Calvinist manufacturing republic of Mulhouse, known as Stadtrepublik Mülhausen, became a part of Alsace after a vote by its citizens on 4 January 1798. Alsace is frequently mentioned with and as part of Lorraine and the former duchy of Lorraine, since it was a vital part of the duchy, and later because German possession as the imperial province (Alsace-Lorraine, 1871–1918) was contested in the 19th and 20th centuries; France and Germany exchanged control of parts of Lorraine (including Alsace) four times in 75 years. With the decline of the Roman Empire, Alsace became the territory of the Germanic Alemanni. The Alemanni were agricultural people, and their Germanic language formed the basis of modern-day dialects spoken along the Upper Rhine (Alsatian, Alemannian, Swabian, Swiss). Clovis and the Franks defeated the Alemanni during the 5th century AD, culminating with the Battle of Tolbiac, and Alsace became part of the Kingdom of Austrasia. Under Clovis' Merovingian successors the inhabitants were Christianized. Alsace remained under Frankish control until the Frankish realm, following the Oaths of Strasbourg of 842, was formally dissolved in 843 at the Treaty of Verdun; the grandsons of Charlemagne divided the realm into three parts. Alsace formed part of the Middle Francia, which was ruled by the youngest grandson Lothar I. Lothar died early in 855 and his realm was divided into three parts. The part known as Lotharingia, or Lorraine, was given to Lothar's son. The rest was shared between Lothar's brothers Charles the Bald (ruler of the West Frankish realm) and Louis the German (ruler of the East Frankish realm). The Kingdom of Lotharingia was short-lived, however, becoming the stem duchy of Lorraine in Eastern Francia after the Treaty of Ribemont in 880. Alsace was united with the other Alemanni east of the Rhine into the stem duchy of Swabia.

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Micro blogs like Weibo are nothing new for the young Chinese. A newspaper in Chengdu did a survey last month. It found that 90 percent of junior high school students use micro blogs. They give students an outlet for emotion. "I use micro blogs to record my life. I let everyone 'see' my feelings and complaints ," said Liu Fangyue, 14, from Xiamen No. 1 Middle School. They have fun with classmates even after school. "I would send a message to praise someone who came first in the exam," said Liu. Teachers also join in the fun. "When I sit down to talk to my students, they may not tell me their real thoughts," said Lu Dongping at Nanning No. 2 Middle School. "But on micro blogs, they are more relaxed. They even make fun of me." You would be wrong if you think micro blogs are all about fun. Zhong Yun from Xiamen Haicang Experimental School sees it as a tool to learn English. The 13-year-old girl follows foreign stars such as Avril Lavigne and Justin Bieber. "In order to understand their English posts, I have to check the dictionary and learn many new words," said Zhong. "Micro blogs widen students' perspectives , but there are rules to follow," said Shi Zhongying, a professor from Beijing Normal University. He shares some of them with micro bloggers. "Manage your time, and don't let micro-blogging affect your studies and health," said Shi. "Don't give out your name, family address or phone number on micro blogs. You should also respect truth and other people's privacy ."

mctest

Matt is an adult. He is looking for a job. He hopes to become a clown someday. He wants to be a clown because he loves making people laugh. In order to be a clown, Matt must go to clown school. One day, Matt's friend tells him about a clown school in St. Louis. Matt becomes excited! The next day, Matt goes to the clown school in St. Louis. Matt's friend does not go with him. Matt's friend does not want to be a clown because he doesn't like to look weird. When Matt arrives at clown school, he sees a clown riding on a blue tricycle. The clown asks, "What are you doing here?" Matt says, "I want to become a clown." "Well, can you ride this blue tricycle?" the clown asked. "Yes," Matt said. He rode the blue tricycle all around the clown school. In the classrooms, in the gym, and in the lunchroom. "You have what it takes to be a clown," the clown said, "you are accepted to clown school."

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The cruelty and inhumanity of the war is just as cruel an inhumane through the eyes of a horse. Or at least in the eyes of Joey, the star of War Horse (<< >> ). The film has come out in cinemas on February 28, 2012 on the Chinese mainland. The story starts on a farm in Devon, southwest England. The Narracott family--Dad, Mum, and their teenage son Albert - rent the farm. When Dad buys a beautiful horse, Albert falls in love with him. He trains him and names him Joey. They become as close as it is possible for a human and an animal to be. But World War I breaks out. Dad has to sell the horse to an English Army officer to pay the rent. Joey and Albert can no longer be together. Albert promises Joey that they'll find each other again one day. Then Albert goes on a journey to search for his friend. But the four years of war are about Joey's journey. He starts as the mount of the English officer. Then he becomes a German workhorse. He is given to a French teenager and her grandpa. He has to face the tanks on the front line. The story ends in a sunset scene on the battlefield. Albert has become a soldier. The two are reunited. Battle scenes are part of the story , but the movie's Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg said that War Horse is not a war movie. "I consider it to be a love between a horse and a young man... It's about the connectivity that an animal can bring to human characters," Spielberg said. Roger Moore of the Chicago Tribune said Spielberg manages in the film to "measure a man by how he acts toward animals". In one scene, a British soldier and a German soldier join hands to _ Joey. " Men on opposing sides of war find their shared humanity in their love of animals in War Horse, I appreciated this work." Moore concluded.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXVI THE AFTERMATH Bad news spreads quickly. By the quarter to eleven interval next day the facts concerning Wyatt and Mr. Wain were public property. Mike, as an actual spectator of the drama, was in great request as an informant. As he told the story to a group of sympathisers outside the school shop, Burgess came up, his eyes rolling in a fine frenzy. "Anybody seen young--oh, here you are. What's all this about Jimmy Wyatt? They're saying he's been sacked, or some rot." [Illustration: "WHAT'S ALL THIS ABOUT JIMMY WYATT?"] "So he has--at least, he's got to leave." "What? When?" "He's left already. He isn't coming to school again." Burgess's first thought, as befitted a good cricket captain, was for his team. "And the Ripton match on Saturday!" Nobody seemed to have anything except silent sympathy at his command. "Dash the man! Silly ass! What did he want to do it for! Poor old Jimmy, though!" he added after a pause. "What rot for him!" "Beastly," agreed Mike. "All the same," continued Burgess, with a return to the austere manner of the captain of cricket, "he might have chucked playing the goat till after the Ripton match. Look here, young Jackson, you'll turn out for fielding with the first this afternoon. You'll play on Saturday." "All right," said Mike, without enthusiasm. The Wyatt disaster was too recent for him to feel much pleasure at playing against Ripton _vice_ his friend, withdrawn. Bob was the next to interview him. They met in the cloisters.