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(CNN) -- Susie Wolff put the disappointments of Silverstone behind her on Friday with an impressive run in the first free practice session ahead of Sunday's German Grand Prix. The Williams development driver only managed four laps during practice at the British Grand Prix a fortnight ago before engine problems curtailed her involvement. But it was a happier story at Hockenheim as the 31-year-old Scot completed 20 laps finishing a highly respectable 15th. Her best lap time of one minute 20.769 seconds was just 0.227 seconds behind Williams' driver Felipe Massa who finished the session in 11th place. Things had not looked so promising for Wolff earlier in the day as she crawled round her out lap in first gear before returning to the pits. Thankfully, it wasn't long before the mechanical problems were resolved and she was back on track -- even briefly clocking the fastest lap of the session. Wolff has been a development driver for Williams since 2012 and is the first female driver to participate in a F1 race weekend since Italy's Giovanna Amati attempted to qualify for three races during the 1992 season. Lewis Hamilton, speaking ahead of his recent victory at Silverstone, said Wolff's participation at two practice sessions this season was fully deserved. "She's very, very talented," said the Mercedes driver, who raced against her in his junior career in karting and Formula Renault. "It's really cool to see her in a Formula One car. "I didn't race against many girls. Susie was one of the very few, if not the only one, I raced against. We shared a podium together a couple of times."

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Saturday morning was bright and fresh. There was a song in every heart, cheer on every face, and a _ in every step. Tom appeared with a bucket of white paint in one hand and a brush in the other. His Aunt Polly told him to paint the fence around the garden. It was ninety feet long and nine feet high. He felt very blue. Then he had a wonderful idea. He picked up his brush and started to work. Soon Ben came along the road. He was happily eating an apple. He stopped to look at Tom. Tom went on painting and pretended not to see Ben. "I'm going swimming," said Ben. "Do you want to go swimming, Tom? But I guess you can't. You have to stay and work, don't you?" "Work?" Tom said. "This isn't work. I'm enjoying myself. Does a boy get a chance to paint a fence like this every day?" Ben thought about this. Tom continued painting carefully. Sometimes he stopped, stood back to look at the fence like an artist, and then added a bit more paint in just the right place. Ben was watching Tom paint with great interest. He was getting more and more eager to have a try himself. After a while, Ben asked Tom if he would let him paint a little. Tom thought about it, and said, "No, Ben, I can't. You see. Aunt Polly wants it to be done well. Aunt Polly said that I must paint it with great care." "Oh, please, Tom," begged Ben. "I can do it. I'll be really careful. Just let me try. I'll give you half of my apple. Well, I'll give you all of it!" "Well, all right, Ben," said Tom. "You must be very careful." He gave Ben his brush with worry on his face but joy in his heart. He sat down under the tree, and started to eat Ben's apple. All day, boys came to make fun of Tom, but they ended up staying to paint. When Ben got tired, Billy was waiting. He gave Tom a kite for a chance to paint. Then Johnny offered him a basketball, and so on. By late afternoon Tom had got all kinds of toys, and the fence had got three coats of paint. Later Aunt Polly came to look at the painted fence. She was so pleased with Tom's work that she gave Tom a large cake!

gutenberg

CHAPTER XIII THE FIGHT AT THE BOATHOUSE Inside of a week the newly-elected officers felt perfectly at home in their various positions. Captain Putnam's idea of allowing only such cadets to be candidates as could fill the positions properly had borne good fruit, and the battalion was now in better condition than ever before. Contrary to general expectations, Larry Colby, as major, proved a strict disciplinarian when on parade. In the playground he was as "chummy" as ever, but this was cast aside when he buckled on his sword and took command. "This is as it should be," was Captain Putnam's comment. "And it is the same throughout life: play is play and business is business." As a captain Dick was equally successful and Tom also made a good second lieutenant. Company A was speedily voted superior to the others, when drilling and when on the march, and consequently became the flag bearer for the term. "This is splendid!" said Dick, when the announcement was made. And then he went at Company A, to make the cadets drill and march better than ever. But though the students gave considerable time to military matters, they were not permitted to neglect their regular studies, and to their honor be it said that the three Rover boys pitched in with a will. "If I can't be an officer I'm going to be a high grade student anyway," said Sam, and kept his word. Books suited him better than did military glories, and soon he was at the top of his class in almost every branch of learning.

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Published in 1896 and one of the most memorable horror stories ever written, Dracula, by Irish writer Bram Stoker,is the story of a vampire ,someone who lives on human blood. Stoker wrote the book after reading stories about Central European vampires and set his novel in Transylvania. Even today,there are readers of the book who believe that Transylvania is a mythical country,a figment of Stoker's imagination. Nothing could be further from the truth. Transylvania is part of modern-day Central European country Romania,and the country does indeed have a history of mythological vampires. However,Romanians are always puzzled by the description of the novel's central character, Count Dracula,a tall,elegant aristocrat with impeccable manners who also happens to speak very good English. This is a world away from the images of vampires that they have grown up with. Romanian vampires are half-human creatures who live solitary lives in the forests,not aristocrats living in castles with well-stocked libraries. So where did Stoke get the image for his Dracula? The answer becomes clearer when one learns of his relationship with a man called Henry Irving,the greatest British stage actor of his time. Stoker was working as a civil servant in his home city of Dublin when he first met Irving. Bored with his tedious life and work, Stoker took every opportunity to visit the theatre and for a while was the drama critic for the Dublin Evening Mail. One of the reviews he wrote was of a performance of Shakespeare's play Hamlet,with Irving in the lead role. Irving was so pleased with Stoker's review of his performance that he asked to meet him. Stoker couldn't believe his luck when one night,he was invited to a dinner party where Irving was the guest of honour. Irving entertained the assembled dinner guests with some renditions of famous poems and speeches from Shakespeare. Stoker was already writing the first chapters of Dracula and began to base the central character on Irving,in the vain hope that if it ever became a stage play, Irving would play the central character. Sadly,Irving never did,but the two men became close friends,and in 1878 Stoker left the civil service and became Irving's manager in London.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XIII.—LEO MAKES A CHANGE. Leo stared at the circus treasurer in amazement. “For stealing two thousand circus tickets?” he repeated. “Exactly, young man.” “I am innocent.” “I don’t believe Leo would steal a pin,” put in Natalie Sparks, who had just come up. “That’s not for you to decide, Miss Sparks.” said Giles sharply. “We found evidence against you in your trunk, young man. You may as well confess.” “What evidence?” asked Leo, bewildered. The circus treasurer mentioned the red strips. “I never placed them there,” declared Leo. “Somebody has been tampering with that trunk.” “That’s too thin,” sneered Giles. “Of course it’s too thin,” put in Snipper, who was watching the scene with an ill-concealed smile of triumph on his face. Leo looked at the gymnast sharply. Then he suddenly bounded toward Snipper and ran him up against a pile of boxes. “You scoundrel! This is some of your work! I can see it in your face.” He choked Snipper until the man was red in the face. “Let—let me go!” gasped the second-rate gymnast finally. “Let him go, Dunbar,” ordered Giles, and caught Leo by the collar. The noise of the trouble had spread, and now Barton Reeve appeared on the scene. “What’s the meaning of all this?” he demanded. He was quickly told by Natalie Sparks. “I do not believe Leo is guilty, in spite of the red strips found in the trunk,” he said. He talked the matter over with Giles, and finally Leo, Giles, and Barton Reeve went off to interview the manager.

cnn

O'Fallon, Missouri (CNN) -- Nathan Halbach is 22, with a diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. He knows that "horrible stuff" lies ahead. His mother, Pat Bond, has been taking care of him full time. But when she needed help, she reached out to the Roman Catholic Church. After all, his father is a priest. Nathan was born in 1986, during a five-year affair between his mother and Father Henry Willenborg, the Franciscan priest who celebrated Nathan's baptism. In a story first reported in the New York Times, it was revealed that The Franciscan Order drew up an agreement acknowledging the boy's paternity and agreeing to pay child support in exchange for a pledge of confidentiality. Now her son -- the youngest of four children -- may have just weeks to live. And when the Franciscans balked at paying for his care, she decided she was no longer bound by her pledge of confidentiality. "I never asked for extraordinary amounts. I asked for the basic needs and care of my son," Bond told CNN's "AC 360." But she said the church told her, "No, we are not Nathan's biological father, we have no legal obligation to your son." Willenborg, whose priestly vows require celibacy, has been suspended from his most recent assignment, in northern Wisconsin, as Catholic leaders investigate allegations that he was involved with another woman -- then in high school -- around the same time he was seeing Bond. Willenborg has acknowledged his relationship with Bond, but denies any inappropriate relationship with the other woman while she was a minor, according to his current bishop.

wikipedia

Gamma rays (also called gamma radiation), denoted by the lower-case Greek letter gamma (γ or formula_1 ), are penetrating electromagnetic radiation of a kind arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of photons in the highest observed range of photon energy. Paul Villard, a French chemist and physicist, discovered gamma radiation in 1900 while studying radiation emitted by radium. In 1903, Ernest Rutherford named this radiation "gamma rays". Rutherford had previously discovered two other types of radioactive decay, which he named alpha and beta rays. Gamma rays are able to ionize atoms (ionizing radiation), and are thus biologically hazardous. The decay of an atomic nucleus from a high energy state to a lower energy state, a process called "gamma decay", produces gamma radiation. Natural sources of gamma rays on Earth are observed in the gamma decay of radionuclides and secondary radiation from atmospheric interactions with cosmic ray particles. There are rare terrestrial natural sources, such as lightning strikes and terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, that produce gamma rays not of a nuclear origin. Additionally, gamma rays are produced by a number of astronomical processes in which very high-energy electrons are produced, that in turn cause secondary gamma rays via bremsstrahlung, inverse Compton scattering, and synchrotron radiation. However, a large fraction of such astronomical gamma rays are screened by Earth's atmosphere and can only be detected by spacecraft. Gamma rays are produced by nuclear fusion in stars including the Sun (such as the CNO cycle), but are absorbed or inelastically scattered by the stellar material, reducing their energy, before escaping and are not observable from Earth as gamma rays.

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For Sparky, school was all but impossible. He failed every subject in the eighth grade. He didn't do much better in sports. Although he played for the school's golf team, he lost the only important match of the season. Sparky was a loser. He, his classmates...everyone knew it. Sparky never asked a classmate to go out in high school. He was too afraid of being refused. However, one thing was important to Sparky - drawing. He was proud of his artwork. Of course, no one else appreciated it. In his senior year of high school, he sent some cartoons to the editors of the Yearbook. Although the cartoons were turned down, Sparky was so confident about his ability that he decided to become an artist. After completing high school, he wrote a letter to Walt Disney Studios. He was told to send some samples of his artwork, and the subject for a cartoon was suggested. Sparky spent a great deal of time on it. Finally, the reply came from Disney Studios. He had been rejected once again. Another loss for the loser. So Sparky decided to write his own autobiography in cartoons. He described his childhood - a little boy loser and underachiever. The cartoon character would soon become famous worldwide. For Sparky, the boy who had little success in school and whose work was rejected again and again was Charles Schulz. He created the Peanuts comic strip and little cartoon character - Charlie Brown.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XIII. MR. TAPPITT IN HIS COUNTING-HOUSE. Luke Rowan, when he left the cottage, walked quickly back across the green towards Baslehurst. He had sauntered out slowly on his road from the brewery to Bragg's End, being in doubt as to what he would do when he reached his destination; but there was no longer room for doubt now; he had said that to Rachel's mother which made any further doubt impossible, and he was resolved that he would ask Rachel to be his wife. He had spoken to Mrs. Ray of his intention in that respect as though he thought that such an offer on his part might probably be rejected, and in so speaking had at the time spoken the truth; but he was eager, sanguine, and self-confident by nature, and though he was by no means disposed to regard himself as a conquering hero by whom any young lady would only be too happy to find herself beloved, he did not at the present moment look forward to his future fate with despair. He walked quickly home along the dusty road, picturing to himself a happy prosperous future in Baslehurst, with Rachel as his wife, and the Tappitts living in some neighbouring villa on an income paid to old Tappitt by him out of the proceeds of the brewery. That was his present solution of the brewery difficulty. Tappitt was growing old, and it might be quite as well not only for himself, but for the cause of humanity in Devonshire, that he should pass the remainder of his life in that dignity which comfortable retirement from business affords. He did not desire Tappitt for a partner any more than Tappitt desired him. Nevertheless he was determined to brew beer, and was anxious to do so if possible on the spot where his great-uncle Bungall had commenced operations in that line.

mctest

I love to bake cakes for my granddaughter Abigail. She gets so happy when she eats them! So one day, I thought I'd surprise her at school with cake for her school class! I thought that would make her love me even more. I went into the kitchen and washed my hands. Then I dried them on a dishtowel. I went to the refrigerator and took out my cake mix. Then I took out the special bottle of vanilla sauce! I always pour it in for Abigail. Her mom and dad like orange sauce, but Abigail loves vanilla sauce. I mixed it in with the cake mix, and put it on the table. Then I went to turn on the oven. Then, a bad thing happened! My friendly old cat Billy jumped up to smell the mix! Billy also loves vanilla sauce! But then Billy accidently kicked the mix! It fell all the way from the table to the ground. My lip tightened as I started to cry. Now, Abigail wouldn't have a cake for her class. What a silly Billy!

cnn

(CNN) -- Presidential candidates Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain are detailing their plans for solving the country's energy crisis and criticizing each other's proposals this week as they campaign in battleground states. Here's a look at the candidates' energy proposals: Overall strategy McCain, the presumptive GOP nominee, has proposed a national energy strategy that would rely on the technological prowess of American industry and science. McCain has said he would work to reduce carbon emissions 60 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. He has said he would commit $2 billion annually for 15 years to advance clean coal technology. He also has pledged to oppose a windfall profits tax on oil companies that, according to his campaign Web site, "will ultimately result in increasing our dependence on foreign oil and hinder investment in domestic exploration." McCain also believes the U.S. needs to deploy SmartMeter technologies, which collect real-time data on the electricity use of individual homes and businesses. Meanwhile, Obama laid out his comprehensive energy plan Monday in Lansing, Michigan. "If I am president, I will immediately direct the full resources of the federal government and the full energy of the private sector to a single, overarching goal -- in 10 years, we will eliminate the need for oil from the entire Middle East and Venezuela," the presumptive Democratic nominee told a crowd. Obama's plan also would invest $150 billion over the next 10 years and leverage billions more in private capital to build a new energy economy that he said would harness American energy and create 5 million new jobs.

cnn

(CNN) -- A Canadian hang-gliding instructor who police say swallowed a memory card possibly containing video of a fatal accident was granted bail Friday, a court spokesman said. William Jonathan Orders, 50, who was arrested and charged with obstructing justice, appeared in provincial court in Chilliwack, British Columbia. His bail was set at $5,750 (Canadian), said Neil MacKenzie, communications counsel with the province's criminal justice branch. Orders was instructed to turn over his passport and to not operate a hang glider or paraglider, he said. Lenami Godinez-Avila had just started a tandem hang-gliding flight with the instructor, when she fell from the glider, plunging hundreds of feet to her death Saturday in a heavily wooded part of western Canada, authorities say. Investigators say the instructor tried to hide what might be a key piece of evidence about what went wrong -- a possible onboard video recording of the flight -- in his digestive tract. The recording has since passed and is now in police custody, MacKenzie said. He declined comment on whether anything retrievable could be taken from the card. Calls on Thursday and Friday seeking comment from Orders' attorney, Laird Cruickshank, were not immediately returned. The fall happened near Mount Woodside, from which Orders and the 27-year-old Godinez-Avila took off, more than 50 miles east of Vancouver. A witness, Nicole McLearn, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that when the glider was in the air, Godinez-Avila appeared to be wearing her harness, but it wasn't attached to the glider. The passenger clung to Orders before she fell, McLearn said.

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"I don't want to move!" Kevin said to his father," I like living here in New York City. And I like to play in the streets. My friends are here. I want to stay!" "We have to move, Kevin." Mr. Black said, "I have a new job on the island*. Why don't you go with us?" "No," Kevin answered. After a few weeks, the Black family left the city by plane. They flew over water. In the end they saw the land*. "That is Hawaii. It is beautiful!" Mr. Black said. "I don't care* what it is like," said Kevin, "I wish I could go back to New York City now!" They lived in their new home near the sea. It rained a little every day. When the sun came out again, they could see a rainbow* every day. People in the neighborhood came to visit them. The visitors brought fruit from their farms. Weeks went by*.One day Kevin wrote to Bob and in the letter he said, "I still miss my old friends. But I think these are our happy islands. Please come to see me. I know you will like Hawaii, too."

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"Charles Chaplin was horn in London on April 16,1889.His parents were music ball actors. The Chaplin family were very poor,and life was difficult in London. Charlie,as his job was an actor. What he did was to do silly things to make called, used to do his mother's job in the theatre when she was ill. When he was only 17 years old,Chaplin got his first real job as an actor. What he did was to do silly things to make people laugh in the theatre.Seven years later he went to the USA. And over the next four years,he formed his own way of art. He developed the character of a homeless gentleman which became very popular. From the 1920s to the 19S0s.Chaplin made his most famous films. The film Modern Times(1936) shows his care about the modern industry workers. Many of his films describe the poor life and hard time of the working people during that period. Although Charlie Chaplin was British, he lived in the USA until 1953. But he never got US nationality. Then Chaplin ,his wife and his five children had to move to Switzerland where he lived until he died. When he was 83 years old,he won his only Oscar for the music he wrote for the film . He was named Sir Charles Chaplin at the age of 85. Charlie Chaplin died in Switzerland on December 25th,1975.

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John once told me a story about his friend, Michael. Michael happened to be on a train sitting next to a young man who seemed worried. Finally the young man told the friend that he was a convict returning home from a prison far away. What he did had brought shame on his family, and they had neither visited him nor written to him. He hoped, however, that this was only because they were too poor to travel and too busy to write. When he was set free he had written to tell them he wanted to go home. To make matters easy for them, however, he had asked them to put up a signal for him when the train passed their little farm. If the family had forgiven him, they were to put up a white ribbon in the big apple tree near the railway. If they didn't want him back, they were to do nothing, and he would stay on the train, and go far away. As the train neared his hometown his _ became so great that he was afraid to look out of the window. He asked Michael to watch for the big apple tree. They changed seats. In a minute, Michael put his hand on the young convict's shoulder, "There it is," His eyes was filled with sudden tears. "It's all right. The whole tree is white with ribbons."

gutenberg

Chapter XVII. The Husband. Mrs. Linley's first impulse in ordering the carriage was to use it herself. One look at the child reminded her that her freedom of action began and ended at the bedside. More than an hour must elapse before Sydney Westerfield could be brought back to Mount Morven; the bare thought of what might happen in that interval, if she was absent, filled the mother with horror. She wrote to Mrs. MacEdwin, and sent her maid with the letter. Of the result of this proceeding it was not possible to entertain a doubt. Sydney's love for Kitty would hesitate at no sacrifice; and Mrs. MacEdwin's conduct had already answered for her. She had received the governess with the utmost kindness, and she had generously and delicately refrained from asking any questions. But one person at Mount Morven thought it necessary to investigate the motives under which she had acted. Mrs. Presty's inquiring mind arrived at discoveries; and Mrs. Presty's sense of duty communicated them to her daughter. "There can be no sort of doubt, Catherine, that our good friend and neighbor has heard, probably from the servants, of what has happened; and (having her husband to consider--men are so weak!) has drawn her own conclusions. If she trusts our fascinating governess, it's because she knows that Miss Westerfield's affections are left behind her in this house. Does my explanation satisfy you?" Mrs. Linley said: "Never let me hear it again!" And Mrs. Presty answered: "How very ungrateful!" The dreary interval of expectation, after the departure of the carriage, was brightened by a domestic event.

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Liu Qian, a magician from Taiwan, cast his spell over an audience of thousands on the CCTV Spring Festival Show. Die-hard fans are still trying to work out the secrets behind many of the tricks he performed. But Liu, 32, when asked, laughed off the idea that there might be an "answer" to his magic. "The most fascinating things about magic is the puzzling process. People enjoy how magicians make the impossible come true," said Liu. Few people today believe in the possibility of real magic. They also often fail to consider magicians' devotion to their art. It can take a magician years' of practice to perfect a trick before he performs it on stage. Part of Liu's star appeal is his astonishing skill. However, when he began in the industry, he was embarrassingly clumsy. "I could practice thousands of times for one single act. It wasn't much fun," he said. No magician's supernatural powers on stage extend to their life off stage. Liu says his life was no easier or funnier because he was a magician. He developed an interest in magic at a young age, but didn't consider making a living out of it until he graduated from university. He had studied Japanese language and found himself unable to find a job. "My parents never considered being a magician as a proper job. To begin with, I had little confidence I would be doing this in the long term," he said. Yet Liu felt a powerful calling to become a magician. "For many people, magic somehow means a miracle, which is something we all secretly wish for no matter how hard-bitten or cynical we become," he said. Liu may be right. A popular modern dream is of the fairy godmother, who waves her magic wand and makes our dreams come true. But according to Liu, we all have the power to create magic in our lives. As Liu puts it: it's not the magic that makes it work;it's the way we work that makes it magic.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XX. A SAD HOME-COMING Mr. Lowrie and Auctherlonnie, the Dumfries bo'sun, both of whom would have died for the captain, assured me of the truth of MacMuir's story, and shook their heads gravely as to the probable outcome. The peculiar water-mark of greatness that is woven into some men is often enough to set their own community bitter against them. Sandie, the plodding peasant, finds it a hard matter to forgive Jamie, who is taken from the plough next to his, and ends in Parliament. The affair of Mungo Maxwell, altered to suit, had already made its way on more than one vessel to Scotland. For according to Lowrie, there was scarce a man or woman in Kirkcudbrightshire who did not know that John Paul was master of the John, and (in their hearts) that he would be master of more in days to come. Human nature is such that they resented it, and cried out aloud against his cruelty. On the voyage I had many sober thoughts of my own to occupy me of the terrible fate, from which, by Divine inter position, I had been rescued; of the home I had left behind. I was all that remained to Mr. Carvel in the world, and I was sure that he had given me up for dead. How had he sustained the shock? I saw him heavily mounting the stairs upon Scipicks arm when first the news was brought to him. Next Grafton would come hurrying in from Kent to Marlboro Street, disavowing all knowledge of the messenger from New York, and intent only upon comforting his father. And when I pictured my uncle soothing him to his face, and grinning behind his bed-curtains, my anger would scald me, and the realization of my helplessness bring tears of very bitterness.

cnn

(CNN) -- She's built her career caring for orphans. Jane Aronson has evaluated more than 10,000 adopted children from around the world. Her patients include the offspring of Hollywood luminaries. An infectious disease specialist, she treated Angelina Jolie's daughter Zahara, who was critically ill when the actress brought her home from Ethiopia. In her new book, "Carried in Our Hearts: The Gift of Adoption: Inspiring Stories of Families Created Across Continents," Aronson curates a collection of stories written by many of the families she helped to unite. The actress Mary-Louise Parker shares the moment she first met her daughter in an Ethiopian orphanage. "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes remembers crying in a Detroit hospital parking garage, overcome with emotion while waiting for her adopted daughter's birth. The book is also a family affair for Aronson. Her two adopted sons contribute their own recollections of how they became a family. Des Aronson, now almost 15 years old, shares an anecdote about getting lost soon after meeting his new mother when he was 5. Elevator doors closed unexpectedly at the Hilton Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, sending the new family into a panic across hotel floors. But "Carried in Our Hearts" is about more than the orphans who found their way to loving homes. It also includes a heart-wrenching reminder of the children left behind. The number of international adoptions has plummeted by more than 60% from its peak of 22,991 in 2004. More than 90% of Aronson's young patients were adopted internationally. In her work as a doctor, and as an advocate for children without families, she has witnessed brutal treatment of orphans in many parts of the world. She also knows the potential these children have to succeed, with education, attention and love.

gutenberg

CHAPTER VI "AN ASHEN GREY DELIGHT" "Mr. de Vaux!" Paul turned quickly around in his saddle towards the young lady who had addressed him. He looked into a fair, thoughtful face, whose general amiability was discounted, just then, by a decided frown. "I beg your pardon, Lady May! Didn't you say something just now?" "Didn't I say something just now!" she repeated, with fine scorn. "Upon my word, Mr. de Vaux, I think that you must have left your wits in London! What is the matter with you?" "The matter! Why, nothing! I'm sorry----" "Oh! pray don't apologise!" she interrupted hastily. "I think I'll ride on and catch papa up." He laid his hand upon her rein. "Please don't, Lady May," he begged. "I know I've been inattentive! I'm very sorry--really I am. Let me try and make up for it!" She looked into his face, and she was mollified. He was evidently in earnest. "Oh! very well," she said. "You mustn't think that I complained without due cause, though, for I spoke to you three times before you answered me. Oh, it's all right," she went on, as he commenced to frame another apology. "I don't mind now, but I really should like to know what is the matter with you. You have ridden all day like a man who valued neither his own life nor his horse's. Some of your jumps were simply reckless! I have heard other people say so, too! I like bold riding, but there is a limit; and though I've ridden two hounds since papa gave me my first pony, I've never seen any one try to jump Annisforth brook below the bridge, before,--and don't want to again," she added, with a little shudder. "I know you ride fine horses, but you are not generally foolhardy. I saw your dark bay mare being taken home at Colbourne Spinneys, and I don't think she'll be fit to ride again this season. Old Harrison had tears in his eyes when he saw her!"

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXII THE TRIUMPH Another week went by and the eve of the Triumph was at hand. On the afternoon before the great day sewing-women had come to the house of Gallus, bringing with them the robe that Miriam must wear. As had been promised, it was splendid, of white silk covered with silver discs and having the picture of the gate Nicanor fashioned on the breast, but cut so low that it shamed Miriam to put it on. "It is naught, it is naught," said Julia. "The designer has made it thus that the multitude may see those pearls from which you take your name." But to herself she thought: "Oh! monstrous age, and monstrous men, whose eyes can delight in the disgrace of a poor unfriended maiden. Surely the cup of iniquity of my people is full, and they shall drink it to the dregs!" That same afternoon also came an assistant of the officer, who was called the Marshal, with orders to Gallus as to when and where he was to deliver over his charge upon the morrow. With him he brought a packet, which, when opened, proved to contain a splendid golden girdle, fashioned to the likeness of a fetter. The clasp was an amethyst, and round it were cut these words: "The gift of Domitian to her who to-morrow shall be his." Miriam threw the thing from her as though it were a snake. "I will not wear it," she said. "I say that I will not wear it; at least to-day I am my own," while Julia groaned and Gallus cursed beneath his breath.

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It was a hot summer day. My dad and I were getting ready to go out for a ride on the boat. Just then the phone call came, the call changed that sunny and beautiful day into a cold and dark one. When I saw my father answering the phone, he was crying. I'd never seen my dad cry before. My heart sank. What possibly could happen? "Max, I'm so sorry," I heard him say. That's when it hit me. I knew that Suzie had died. Max has been my dad's best friend for years. Suzie, his daughter, had a serious illness. She knew she was different from other kids. Although she couldn't live a normal life, she was still happy. When Suzie and I were little girls, we spent quite a bit of time together. When Suzie was ten, she had to live in a hospital. About eight months before she died, we talked at least twice a week on the phone until the end. Suzie was always so excited to talk to me and wanted to know everything I did and every thing I ate. When Suzie and I first started calling each other, I thought _ would be more of a burden on me, but I was completely wrong. I learned so much from her. She gave me more than I could ever give her. I will never forget her or the talks we had. I now know that I must never take anything for granted, especially my health and the gift of life.

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"Whoosh!" The ball flew into the net and the game was finally over. This game had gone into overtime twice. Until the last goal was scored, no one had any idea which team would win. Dave felt so bad because his team had lost. He liked playing soccer, but he liked winning even more. Now the two teams should have a picnic together. Dave did not want to eat lunch with the other team. The other team would probably brag by talking about how they won the game. Dave went to the locker room to change out of his soccer clothes. There the coach talked to the team about what they had done well. They also talked about how they could improve. Then everybody walked outside towards the picnic table. One of the players from the other team was standing near the picnic table. He handed Dave a paper plate. "Hi, I'm Miguel," he said. "Hi," Dave replied, looking down at the ground. "You played great," Miguel said. "I didn't think we were going to win." Dave was surprised. Miguel was not bragging at all. "Thanks," Dave said to Miguel. "You played great, too." Dave felt happy. Dave promised himself that the next time his team won a game, he would not brag to the other team. It was wonderful to win, but it was even more important to be a good winner.

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When a tornado touched down in a small town nearby, many families were left completely destroyed. Afterward all the local newspapers carried many human-interest stories featuring some of the families who suffered the hardest. One Sunday, a particular picture especially touched me. A young woman stood in front of an entirely shattered mobile home, a depressed expression twisting her features. A young boy, seven or eight years old, stood at her side, eyes downcast. Clutching at her skirt was a tiny girl who stared into the camera, eyes wide with confusion and fear. The article that went with the picture gave the clothing sizes of each family member. With growing interest, I noticed that their sizes closely matched ours. This would be a good opportunity to teach my children to help those less fortunate than themselves. I taped the picture of the young family to our refrigerator, explaining their difficulty to my seven-year-old twins, Brad and Brett, and to three- year-old Meghan. " We have so much. And these poor people now have nothing," I said."We'll share what we have with them." I brought three large boxes down from the room upstairs and placed them on the living room floor. Meghan watched seriously, as the boys and I filled one of the boxes with canned goods and foods. While I sorted through our clothes, I encouraged the boys to go through their toys and donate some of their less favorite things. Meghan watched quietly as the boys piled up discarded toys and games. "I'll help you find something for the little girl when I'm done with this," I said. The boys placed the toys they had chosen to donate into one of the boxes while I filled the third box with clothes. Meghan walked up with Lucy, her worn, faded, much-loved rag doll hugged tightly to her chest. She paused in front of the box that held the toys, pressed her round little face into Lucy's flat, painted-on-face, gave her a final kiss, then laid her gently on top of the other toys. "Oh, Honey," I said."You don't have to give Lucy. You love her so much." Meghan nodded seriously, eyes glistening with held-back tears. '"Lucy makes me happy, Mommy. Maybe she'll make that other little girl happy, too." _ , I stared at Meghan for a long moment, wondering how I could teach the boys the lesson she had just taught me. For I suddenly realized that anyone can give their cast-offs away. True generosity is giving that which you value most. Honest benevolence is a three-year-old offering a valuable, though shabby, doll to a little girl she doesn't know with the hope that it will bring this child as much pleasure as it brought her. I, who had wanted to teach, had been taught. The boys had watched, open-mouthed, as their baby sister placed her favorite doll in the box. Without a word, Brad rose and went to his room. He came back carrying one of his favorite action figures. He hesitated briefly, clutching the toy, then looked over at Meghan and placed it in the box next to Lucy. A slow smile spread across Brett's face. Then he jumped up, eyes twinkling as he ran to fetch some of his prized Matchbox cars. Astonished, I realized that the boys had also recognized what little Meghan's gesture meant. Swallowing back tears, I pulled all three of them into my arms. Taking the cue from my little one, I removed my old jacket from the box of clothes. I replaced it with the new hunter green jacket that I had found on sale last week. I hoped the young woman in the picture would love it as much as I did. It's easy to give that which we don't want any more, but harder to let go of things we cherish, isn't it? However, _

gutenberg

CHAPTER VI. Christmas Eve, which was also a Saturday, dawned brightly on Henrietta, but even her eagerness for her new employment could not so far overcome her habitual dilatoriness as not to annoy her cousin, Busy Bee, even to a degree of very unnecessary fidgeting when there was any work in hand. She sat on thorns all breakfast time, devoured what her grandpapa called a sparrow's allowance, swallowed her tea scalding, and thereby gained nothing but leisure to fret at the deliberation with which Henrietta cut her bread into little square dice, and spread her butter on them as if each piece was to serve as a model for future generations. The subject of conversation was not precisely calculated to soothe her spirits. Grandmamma was talking of giving a young party--a New-year's party on Monday week, the second of January. "It would be pleasant for the young people," she thought, "if Mary did not think it would be too much for her." Beatrice looked despairingly at her aunt, well knowing what her answer would be, that it would not be at all too much for her, that she should be very glad to see her former neighbours, and that it would be a great treat to Henrietta and Fred. "We will have the carpet up in the dining-room," added Mrs. Langford, "and Daniels, the carpenter, shall bring his violin, and we can get up a nice little set for a dance." "O thank you, grandmamma," cried Henrietta eagerly, as Mrs. Langford looked at her.

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Steve was excited about the trip he was taking tonight. The family was going out to his favorite place to eat. Steve loved spaghetti and meatballs, and the restaurant made the very best! When Steve and his parents got to the restaurant, his mother had to tell him to stop running so fast. Steve couldn't help himself, he wanted to be inside and at a table so badly. The restaurant had pictures of all the people that used to work there in the past, it had been around for a long time with a history of such great food. It was not the first time his mother had to tell him to slow down. When they were taken to their table and went through the curtain to the dining area, Steve had another nice surprise waiting for him. It would not be a table for three, his favorite aunt and uncle were waiting at the table for them! Steve sat down quickly to get some of the bread sticks before they were all gone. Steve did not even need a menu, he knew what he wanted. Bring on the spaghetti and meatballs, nice and hot!

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Michael Jackson's sudden death really astonished his fans, but soon they are glad to find another younger "King of Pop" has appeared. Wang Yiming, who is known as Xiao Bao, has already been popular across the world with his wonderful dance moves. He once appeared on U.S. television show "Ellen" and performed successfully at the World Expo 2010. About seven years ago, Xiao Bao was born prematurely , which made his mother really worried. He was so weak. What could he do? Doctors suggested that moving his body to music would help make him strong, but soon his parents were surprised by how quickly Xiao Bao fell in love with music! "When he was young, we just started playing music to him and he started moving around like this. But we didn't think that he had such a strong feeling for music. When he was just several months old, we would let him listen to music and he would stop crying and calm down at once," the proud mother once said. So far, Xiao Bao has learned the moonwalk and other Jackson's moves well. His fans are crazy about his wonderful shows. He has drawn more people's attention. He is fast becoming internationally popular. There are lots of problems waiting for him, but Xiao Bao will never give up. He is serious about his dancing career . Where there is a will, there is a way. We are sure that Xiao Bao's dream will come true one day.

cnn

(CNN) -- The mayor of a Montana college town Wednesday welcomed a federal investigation into allegations that sexual assault and rape complaints were improperly handled. But John Engen, mayor since 2006, was also surprised when he was notified of the probe. "This is uncharted territory for us," he told CNN. The U.S. Justice Department announced Tuesday it was launching a probe into allegations that up to 80 complaints of sexual assault over three years were not investigated thoroughly because of gender bias. Of those, 11 cases involved students at the University of Montana -- at least two involving football players. "If Justice has enough information that it believes an investigation is warranted, I'm not going to question that," Engen said. "Clearly they have a responsibility to act on whatever complaints they are hearing. I think time will tell whether this was the right call or not." Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said the focus of the investigation was not on the number of reported allegations, but on the response. "Our focus is on systemic issues; that is, do the university and the law enforcement agencies have the necessary policies and practices in place to protect women in a comprehensive and integrated manner," Perez said at a news conference Tuesday. The Department of Education is coordinating with Justice officials, a spokesman told CNN. Fred Van Valkenburg, Missoula County chief prosecutor, vehemently defended his office and the police officers involved in the investigations. "We adamantly deny that we have done any such thing, and we are deeply disturbed with the allegation that we have done so," he told reporters.

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Starting in the late 1950s, American computer scientist Paul Baran developed the concept Distributed Adaptive Message Block Switching with the goal to provide a fault-tolerant, efficient routing method for telecommunication messages as part of a research program at the RAND Corporation, funded by the US Department of Defense. This concept contrasted and contradicted the theretofore established principles of pre-allocation of network bandwidth, largely fortified by the development of telecommunications in the Bell System. The new concept found little resonance among network implementers until the independent work of Donald Davies at the National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom) (NPL) in the late 1960s. Davies is credited with coining the modern name packet switching and inspiring numerous packet switching networks in Europe in the decade following, including the incorporation of the concept in the early ARPANET in the United States. Packet switching contrasts with another principal networking paradigm, circuit switching, a method which pre-allocates dedicated network bandwidth specifically for each communication session, each having a constant bit rate and latency between nodes. In cases of billable services, such as cellular communication services, circuit switching is characterized by a fee per unit of connection time, even when no data is transferred, while packet switching may be characterized by a fee per unit of information transmitted, such as characters, packets, or messages.

gutenberg

CHAPTER IV ALAN AND BARBARA There was no bridge or billiards at the Court that night, where ordinarily the play ran high enough. After Mr. Haswell had been carried to his room, some of the guests, among them Sir Robert Aylward, went to bed, remarking that they could do no good by sitting up, while others, more concerned, waited to hear the verdict of the doctor, who must drive from six miles away. He came, and half an hour later Barbara entered the billiard room and told Alan, who was sitting there smoking, that her uncle had recovered from his faint, and that the doctor, who was to stay all night, said that he was in no danger, only suffering from a heart attack brought on apparently by over-work or excitement. When Alan woke next morning the first thing that he heard through his open window was the sound of the doctor's departing dogcart. Then Jeekie appeared and told him that Mr. Haswell was all right again, but that all night he had shaken "like one jelly." Alan asked what had been the matter with him, but Jeekie only shrugged his shoulders and said that he did not know--"perhaps Yellow God touch him up." At breakfast, as in her note she had said she would, Barbara appeared wearing a short skirt. Sir Robert, who was there, also looked extremely pale even for him and with black rims round his eyes, asked her if she were going to golf, to which she answered that she would think it over. It was a somewhat melancholy meal, and as though by common consent no mention was made of Jeekie's tale of the Yellow God, and beyond the usual polite inquiries, very little of their host's seizure.

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Maryland () is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east. The state's largest city is Baltimore, and its capital is Annapolis. Among its occasional nicknames are "Old Line State", the "Free State", and the "Chesapeake Bay State". The state is named after the English queen Henrietta Maria of France. One of the original Thirteen Colonies, Maryland is considered to be the birthplace of religious freedom in America, when it was formed by George Calvert in the early 17th century as an intended refuge for persecuted Catholics from England. George Calvert was the first Lord of Baltimore and the first English proprietor of the then-Maryland colonial grant. Maryland was the seventh state to ratify the United States Constitution, and played a pivotal role in the founding of Washington, D.C., which was established on land donated by the state. Maryland is one of the smallest U.S. states in terms of area, as well as one of the most densely populated, with around six million residents. , Maryland had the highest median household income of any state, owing in large part to its close proximity to the nation's capital and a highly diversified economy spanning manufacturing, services, and biotechnology.

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CHAPTER V. THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT. Marco took dinner that day at the tavern alone, and, after dinner, he carried a cup of tea to Forester,--but Forester was asleep, and so he did not disturb him. In the afternoon he went out to play. He amused himself, for half an hour, in rambling about the tavern yards and in the stables. There was a ferocious-looking bull in one of the yards, chained to a post, by means of a ring through his nose. Marco looked at the bull a few minutes with great interest, and then began to look about for a long stick, or a pole, to poke him a little, through the fence, to see if he could not make him roar, when, instead of a pole, his eye fell upon a boy, who was at work, digging in a corner of a field near, behind the barn. The boy's name was Jeremiah. He was digging for worms for bait. He was going a fishing. Marco determined to go with him. Jeremiah furnished Marco with a hook and a piece of sheet lead to make a sinker of, and Marco had some twine in his pocket already; so that he was soon fitted with a line. But he had no pole. Jeremiah said that he could cut one, on his way down to the river, as they would pass through a piece of woods which had plenty of tall and slender young trees in it. He succeeded in getting a pole in this manner, which answered very well; and then he and Jeremiah went down to the river. They stood upon a log on the shore, and caught several small fishes, but they got none of much value, for nearly half an hour. At last, Jeremiah, who was standing at a little distance from Marco, suddenly exclaimed:

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CHAPTER I JUST AN ARGUMENT "It's positively cruel!" pouted Jennie Allen, one of a group of girls occupying a garden bench in the ample grounds of Miss Stearne's School for Girls, at Beverly. "It's worse than that; it's insulting," declared Mable Westervelt, her big dark eyes flashing indignantly. "Doesn't it seem to reflect on our characters?" timidly asked Dorothy Knerr. "Indeed it does!" asserted Sue Finley. "But here comes Mary Louise; let's ask her opinion." "Phoo! Mary Louise is only a day scholar," said Jennie. "The restriction doesn't apply to her at all." "I'd like to hear what she says, anyhow," remarked Dorothy. "Mary Louise has a way of untangling things, you know." "She's rather too officious to suit me," Mable Westervelt retorted, "and she's younger than any of us. One would think, the way she poses as monitor at this second-rate, run-down boarding school, that Mary Louise Burrows made the world." "Oh, Mable! I've never known her to pose at all," said Sue. "But, hush; she mustn't overhear us and, besides, if we want her to intercede with Miss Stearne we must not offend her." The girl they were discussing came leisurely down a path, her books under one arm, the other hand holding a class paper which she examined in a cursory way as she walked. She wore a dark skirt and a simple shirtwaist, both quite modish and becoming, and her shoes were the admiration and envy of half the girls at the school. Dorothy Knerr used to say that "Mary Louise's clothes always looked as if they grew on her," but that may have been partially accounted for by the grace of her slim form and her unconscious but distinctive poise of bearing. Few people would describe Mary Louise Burrows as beautiful, while all would agree that she possessed charming manners. And she was fifteen--an age when many girls are both awkward and shy.

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Wall Street is an eight-block-long street running roughly northwest to southeast from Broadway to South Street, at the East River, in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, the American financial services industry (even if financial firms are not physically located there), or New York-based financial interests. Anchored by Wall Street, New York City has been called both the most economically powerful city and the leading financial center of the world, and the city is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. Several other major exchanges have or had headquarters in the Wall Street area, including the New York Mercantile Exchange, the New York Board of Trade, and the former American Stock Exchange. There are varying accounts about how the Dutch-named "de Waalstraat" got its name. A generally accepted version is that the name of the street was derived from a wall (actually a wooden palisade) on the northern boundary of the New Amsterdam settlement, built to protect against Native Americans, pirates, and the British. A conflicting explanation is that Wall Street was named after "Walloons"— the Dutch name for a "Walloon" is "Waal". Among the first settlers that embarked on the ship "Nieu Nederlandt" in 1624 were 30 Walloon families. While the Dutch word "wal" can be translated as "rampart", it only appeared on maps as "de Walstraat" on English maps of New Amsterdam. However, even some English maps show the name as Waal Straat, and not as Wal Straat.

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Welcome to the world of multitasking -- a place where the measure of a person is how many jobs they can perform at the same time. In fact, if experts are to be believed, multitasking is a disastrous idea. One of the opponents of multitasking is Dr. Clifford Nass, a professor at Stanford University. "People who multitask frequently are less able to pay attention; they're worse at managing their memory." he said. In his opinion, the loss that we get with multitasking is harmless in some situations, for example, part of doing business in the digital world: but you can't do serious work like writing, thinking or solving an important problem this way. You do worse even as you think you're doing better. All the time the research points to a simple fact: the brain cannot cope. When you stop midway through composing a report to check an email, you force your brain to stop and regroup. It is like pressing the pause button during a movie, meaning the film takes longer to watch. And as for Dr. Nass, the problems extend beyond the brain. Young people who frequently multitask are not as socially and emotionally healthy as those who don't. They just feel more emotionally satisfied and the feeling is so good and they are bound to desire it again. Todd Oppenheimer, a writer said "We've become a very short-term society and don't reward people for taking a lot of time on something." He fears we may end up losing the next generation of great thinkers. "It's really unfortunate because the long-term challenges of our world -- environmental issues, financial issues -- require people to think wisely about the long-term consequences of what they do. And it's no coincidence that the kind of people who do think long-term don't multitask."

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A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted work. A CC license is used when an author wants to give people the right to share, use, and build upon a work that they have created. CC provides an author flexibility (for example, they might choose to allow only non-commercial uses of his/her own work) and protects the people who use or redistribute an author's work from concerns of copyright infringement as long as they abide by the conditions that are specified in the license by which the author distributes the work. There are several types of CC licenses. The licenses differ by several combinations that condition the terms of distribution. They were initially released on December 16, 2002 by Creative Commons, a U.S. non-profit corporation founded in 2001. There have also been five versions of the suite of licenses, numbered 1.0 through 4.0. , the 4.0 license suite is the most current. In October 2014 the Open Knowledge Foundation approved the Creative Commons CC BY, CC BY-SA and CC0 licenses as conformant with the "Open Definition" for content and data. Work licensed under a Creative Commons license is governed by applicable copyright law. This allows Creative Commons licenses to be applied to all work falling under copyright, including: books, plays, movies, music, articles, photographs, blogs, and websites. Creative Commons does not recommend the use of Creative Commons licenses for software.

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For many girls, having long beautiful hair is something to beproud of. Rachel Barrett, 15, recently cut her long hair and lookedlike a boy. But she was also proud of herself. She donated herhair to a charity and raised a lot of money.Barrett is a middle school student in Britain. On Nov. 16 at her school's talent contest, Barrett had her hair cut off in front of around 300 students. The hair would be used to make wigs for children with cancer. She has raised several thousand pounds and the money will help people with breast cancer . Barrett got the idea when she visited her friend's mom with cancer. "All of her hair had fallen out, and it really made me want to do something," Barrett said. When she found out that the charity Little Princess Trust could make wigs for children with cancer, she decided to donate her own hair, even though she loved it. "I saw how sad it was for my friend's mom to lose her hair. So if my hair can go to help a young child with cancer then it's worth it," she said. Cath Stanton, a teacher, felt proud of the girl. "She's always been very well groomed , so for her to cut all her hair off really moves us," she said. "She has done a moving job." Many students were moved by her courage and donated money.

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The University of Oxford (informally Oxford University or simply Oxford) is a collegiate research university located in Oxford, England. It has no known date of foundation, but there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in continuous operation. It grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris. After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled north-east to Cambridge where they established what became the University of Cambridge. The two "ancient universities" are frequently jointly referred to as "Oxbridge". The university is made up of a variety of institutions, including 38 constituent colleges and a full range of academic departments which are organised into four divisions. All the colleges are self-governing institutions within the university, each controlling its own membership and with its own internal structure and activities. Being a city university, it does not have a main campus and instead its buildings and facilities are scattered throughout the city centre. Most undergraduate teaching at Oxford is organised around weekly tutorials at the colleges and halls, supported by classes, lectures and laboratory work provided by university faculties and departments.

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Dolores Huerta has worked hard most of her life to help other people. She has helped change things so that farm workers can have a better life. Dolores grew up in California. She was a good student and liked school. After she finished high school, she went to college and studied to be a teacher. After she became a teacher, Dolores noticed that many of her students were not getting enough food to eat. Some of them wore very old clothes. Dolores wondered how she could help them. Dolores decided to stop teaching so that she could spend more time helping the farm workers and their families. One thing she wanted to do was to get more pay for farm workers so they could buy their children the things they needed. Dolores knew that many farm workers moved often from one place to another to help pick different kinds of fruits and vegetables. She began talking and writing about these workers. Even people who lived far from California read what Dolores wrote. Getting higher pay for the farm workers was not easy. Dolores worked hard to make sure that farm workers got good pay for their work. She knew that nothing would change unless people made new laws to help the workers. Through all her hard work, new laws were made that gave farm workers good pay. Dolores Huerta has worked for more than 30 years in many different ways to make life better for working people. She has shown how much one person can change things.

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Local businessmen are increasingly facing competition from on line retailers. Larry Pollock, owner of Camera Co/Op on South Congress, said he has been dealing with this kind of problem for years, even before the Internet. The struggle began with mail-order catalogues, which are similar to online retailers in that they have few employees to pay, no sales tax fees and no business venue to lease and manage. "Their overhead is lower, but they don't offer a service like we do," Pollock said. Pollock, however, said providing a valuable service to customers does not always guarantee continued sales. "We spend 30 minutes to an hour with somebody and they go home and buy it online," he said. According to the state comptroller's office, online shopping is developing at a more rapid rate than traditional businesses. In spite of how fair or unfair online shopping may be to the local businessmen, consumers will continue to turn to the Internet for its variety and accessibility, said Mitch Wilson, an online shopper. "You have a larger selection and it's easier to compare prices." Wilson said he built his personal computer and paid a third of the price by shopping online. "Before the Internet, I would have had to go and buy an assembled computer from somebody like Dell," he said. "Before I started shopping online I could never find all the pieces I wanted. No single store had everything needed, so shopping online saved me from having to buy from Dell." Janny Brazeal, a psychology freshman, said online shopping is too impersonal. "I'd rather see it in person, touch it, know that I'm getting it," she said. Brazeal also said she would not give out her credit card number or other personal information online no matter how safe the site claims it is.

cnn

(CNN) -- Petra Kvitova dumped Caroline Wozniacki out of the WTA Championships with a straight sets victory that sealed her place in the final four. Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion, inflicted Wozniacki's second defeat in Istanbul, winning 6-4 6-2 to go top of the Red Group. World number one Wozniacki, who called the trainer on during her match after complaining of feeling sick, is rock bottom of the group after playing all three of her round robin games. After her victory Kvitova told CNN she was delighted to make the final four: "It's nice when I win and I'm happy to be in the semi-final. Istanbul is a great place and it is great experience for me. "I have had a great season and it's very nice to play here -- it's like something new for me as I'm still learning. I am enjoying every match I play and I'm trying not to think about winning here." Wozniacki told reporters: "I tried my best, but my body didn't want to do the things I asked it today. What I told my brain didn't go to my body. "It's just unfortunate that my body has been feeling tired. To get sick now is not the best time if you want to beat the top players." Czech Kvitova faces Agnieszka Radwanska on Friday -- a match that will determine who grabs the second qualification spot in the red group. Radwanska, from Poland, currently occupies second spot after she saved three match points to beat Russia's Vera Zvonareva 1-6 6-2 7-5. The Pole can make sure of her place in the semis as long as she wins a set in her clash with Kvitova.

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I spent last weekend with my grandma and grandpa. I love them very much! I always look forward to visiting them! They always do fun things with me. Last weekend, we went to the zoo together. I saw a great big elephant. It had a long nose. My grandpa and I played a game to see who could be the most like an elephant. We stomped around a lot and made trumpeting noises. I won! Grandma looked on and laughed. I saw a monkeys too! The monkeys swung through the trees. They even made monkey noises! Grandma wanted to take a picture of me with the monkeys, but I was too busy pretending I was monkey to stand still. After we left the zoo, I went home. We had dinner together. Then, my grandma read me a story and tucked me into bed. I had a great time with my grandparents. I love them a lot. I always look forward to visiting them.

gutenberg

CHAPTER TEN. PROVES THAT THE BEST OF FRIENDS MAY QUARREL ABOUT NOTHING, AND THAT WAR HAS TWO ASPECTS. "Now, Erling," said Glumm, with a face so cheerful, that had the expression been habitual, he never would have been styled the Gruff, "I will go home with thee and wait until thou art busked, after which we will go together to my house and have a bite and a horn of mead before setting out on this expedition. I thank the Stoutheart for suggesting it, for the business likes me well." "Thou wert ever prone to court danger, Glumm," said Erling with a laugh, as they hurried towards Haldorstede, "and methinks thou art going to be blessed with a full share of it just now, for this Harald Haarfager is not a man to be trifled with. Although thou and I could hold our own against some odds, we shall find the odds too much for us in the King's camp, should he set his face against us. However, the cause is a good one, and to say truth, I am not sorry that they had the goodness to pitch on thee and me to carry out the plan." Thus conversing they arrived at Ulfstede, where Herfrida met them at the door, and was soon informed of their mission. She immediately went to an inner closet, where the best garments and arms were kept, and brought forth Erling's finest suit of armour, in order that he might appear with suitable dignity at court.

cnn

(CNN) -- Zachary Tomaselli, the third man to publicly allege that former Syracuse University coach Bernie Fine molested him, pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges that he sexually abused a teenage boy. Under the terms of the deal, Tomaselli faces a maximum of three years and three months in prison, said defense attorney Justin Leary. Tomaselli originally faced 11 charges, including gross sexual assault, in Maine involving alleged assaults against a then 13- and 14-year-old in 2009 and 2010. The two had grown close when Tomaselli was the teen's summer camp counselor. Seven of those charges were dropped, Leary said, and Tomaselli pleaded guilty to gross sexual assault, unlawful sexual contact and two counts of visual sexual aggression towards a minor. Tomaselli, 23, had told CNN earlier this month that he planned to plead guilty. "I take complete responsibility for what I did," he said by phone from Lewiston, Maine. Tomaselli, who is currently out on bail, is the third man to say publicly that Fine molested him. Mike Lang and his stepbrother, Bobby Davis, have also stepped forward to accuse the former men's assistant basketball coach of molesting them over several years. Tomaselli said he and Fine watched pornography together before Fine fondled him in a hotel room in Pittsburgh, where he'd gone to watch a Syracuse game in 2002. He was 13 years old when the alleged abuse occurred. Police in Syracuse and Pittsburgh are investigating the allegations and looking for other potential victims, authorities have said. When the allegations first surfaced, Fine -- married with a son and two daughters -- called them "patently false." He has not commented since.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XIII. A SWEETER WOMAN NE'ER DREW BREATH Thenceforward Eric Marshall was a constant visitor at the Gordon homestead. He soon became a favourite with Thomas and Janet, especially the latter. He liked them both, discovering under all their outward peculiarities sterling worth and fitness of character. Thomas Gordon was surprisingly well read and could floor Eric any time in argument, once he became sufficiently warmed up to attain fluency of words. Eric hardly recognized him the first time he saw him thus animated. His bent form straightened, his sunken eyes flashed, his face flushed, his voice rang like a trumpet, and he poured out a flood of eloquence which swept Eric's smart, up-to-date arguments away like straws in the rush of a mountain torrent. Eric enjoyed his own defeat enormously, but Thomas Gordon was ashamed of being thus drawn out of himself, and for a week afterwards confined his remarks to "Yes" and "No," or, at the outside, to a brief statement that a change in the weather was brewing. Janet never talked on matters of church and state; such she plainly considered to be far beyond a woman's province. But she listened with lurking interest in her eyes while Thomas and Eric pelted on each other with facts and statistics and opinions, and on the rare occasions when Eric scored a point she permitted herself a sly little smile at her brother's expense. Of Neil, Eric saw but little. The Italian boy avoided him, or if they chanced to meet passed him by with sullen, downcast eyes. Eric did not trouble himself greatly about Neil; but Thomas Gordon, understanding the motive which had led Neil to betray his discovery of the orchard trysts, bluntly told Kilmeny that she must not make such an equal of Neil as she had done.

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When I first saw the bookAlice in Lace, I thought I was going to like it. And as it turned out, I love it! I love books about life and being a kid. And Alice in Laceis just that kind. It's a humorous book about being thirteen and the problems kids might face. Alice and her friends get a strange assignment from their totally cool teacher, Mr. Everett. It was like playing the game of "Life," but you had to act it out. So Pamela is pregnant, Elizabeth buys a car and Alice gets married. Well, of course, Pamela wasn't really pregnant, but she walked around with a pillow under her shirt to get people's reactions. Elizabeth didn't really buy a car, but she went to the car lot and made the sales guy think she was. The whole class got assignments like these! I would love to do something like that for school. In the book Alice has a lot to think about. "Getting married is hard!" Alice says. She has to plan the ceremony, the honeymoon, find a place to live, pay for furniture and two months' rent and food. Maybe she and her "husband" could work it out -- if they were getting on fine! Although this book was funny, it really made me think about how problems like these could really mess up your life. Take teenage pregnancy for example. How could you have a baby and stay in school? You couldn't find a babysitter every day to stay with your kid. A child really consumes your life. I understand what the teacher was trying to do. He was trying to discourage the class from getting into these problems by giving them a glimpse of life. As someone about to become a teenager myself, I can say sometimes a story makes you think about what's up ahead. Overall, I would say this book is wonderful. My favorite part of the book is discovering that if I like it, there are seven other Alice books I can check out at my local library. I love this book, and I hope you will too.

mctest

Three cats named Daisy, Sofia, and Abby wanted to start a band. They put an ad in the newspaper because they needed a drummer. Daisy and Sofia would play guitar and sing. Bass would be played by Abby. A few weeks passed and no one called about the ad. Finally, one afternoon the telephone rang. A deep voice said, "Do you still need a drummer?" Daisy said, "Yes, come by this afternoon." Daisy got the other cats together and they set up their instruments and waited for the drummer to show up. Soon a dog came running up, pulling a set of drums behind him. "You're the drummer?" Sofia hissed. "Scram!" said Abby. But Daisy was more accepting. "C'mon guys, we need a drummer. Just let him play!" she said. "Okay," said Sofia and Abby. They started to jam. "We need to come up with a name," Sofia said, between songs. "How about 'Atomic Death Fish?'" said Abby. "No, too scary," said Sofia. "How about 'Monkeys on Mars?'" said Daisy. "Too goofy," said Sofia. "How about 'Sofia and the No Nos?'" said the drummer. "I love it!" everyone said.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XIII SAM ON THE ROAD The next few days were very busy ones for Sam because he had a number of important classes to attend, and he was hard at work finishing his theme on "Civilization in Ancient Central America." It was impossible to call on Grace, and so he did nothing to find out the truth about Chester Waltham because he did not wish to ask the girl about this over the telephone, nor did he see his way clear to expressing his thoughts on paper. Sunday came and went, and Monday morning brought a letter to the youngest Rover which he read with much interest. It was from Belright Fogg, a long-winded and formal communication, in which the lawyer stated that he had been under medical treatment because of being hit in the head by a snowball thrown by Sam, and he demanded fifty dollars damages. If the same was not paid immediately, he stated that he would begin suit. "Anything wrong, Sam?" questioned Songbird, who was present while Sam was reading the letter. "You look pretty serious." "Read it for yourself, Songbird," was the reply, and Sam passed the communication over. "Well, of all the gall!" burst out the would-be poet of Brill. "Fifty dollars! Of course you won't pay any such bill as this?" "Not so you can notice it," returned Sam, sharply. "If he had sent me a bill for five dollars or less I might have let him have the money just to shut him up. But fifty dollars! Why, it's preposterous!"

mctest

There once was a beautiful, brown puppy who loved her life. Her name was Tori. Every morning, Patty brushed out her fur and feeds Tori her favorite breakfast. One Tuesday morning, Patty had an early errand and forgot all about Tori. Tori was sad, but chose to make the best of it, and leaped out of her doggy door to play in her backyard outside. As she was playing with her favorite ball, Tori saw an opening in the fence. Excited, she ran over to the fence and squeezed out. She had never been on the street by herself before. Tori ran down the sidewalk, and happily barked at all the other dogs she passed. She loved to wag her tail in the summer breeze and was having a great time. All of a sudden, Tori was picked up by Ben and Mike, and thrown into a truck. She was lost and confused. Poor Tori didn't know what to do! The truck pulled up to a building with a big sign that said "Animal Control". Tori knew this was the place that people keep animals who are lost on the street. Once the workers took her inside, they put her into a cage. She was scared that Patty wouldn't know where to find her, but she knew Patty's phone number was on her collar. She barked and barked to get the worker's attention, but no one seemed to pay her any attention. After two long hours, a tall man, named Joe, opened up her cage and looked at the charm on her collar. He smiled at Tori and gave her a pat on the head. Patty was there quickly, and gave Tori a big hug. She was so happy to see her puppy again. Tori learned to never escape the backyard again and lived happily ever after with Patty.

wikipedia

In logic, a logical connective (also called a logical operator, sentential connective, or sentential operator) is a symbol or word used to connect two or more sentences (of either a formal or a natural language) in a grammatically valid way, such that the value of the compound sentence produced depends only on that of the original sentences and on the meaning of the connective. The most common logical connectives are binary connectives (also called dyadic connectives) which join two sentences which can be thought of as the function's operands. Also commonly, negation is considered to be a unary connective. Logical connectives along with quantifiers are the two main types of logical constants used in formal systems such as propositional logic and predicate logic. Semantics of a logical connective is often, but not always, presented as a truth function. A logical connective is similar to but not equivalent to a conditional operator. In the grammar of natural languages two sentences may be joined by a grammatical conjunction to form a "grammatically" compound sentence. Some but not all such grammatical conjunctions are truth functions. For example, consider the following sentences: The words "and" and "so" are "grammatical" conjunctions joining the sentences (A) and (B) to form the compound sentences (C) and (D). The "and" in (C) is a "logical" connective, since the truth of (C) is completely determined by (A) and (B): it would make no sense to affirm (A) and (B) but deny (C). However, "so" in (D) is not a logical connective, since it would be quite reasonable to affirm (A) and (B) but deny (D): perhaps, after all, Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water, not because Jack had gone up the hill at all.

cnn

(CNN) -- It's hard to believe it's been five years since Mumbai was rocked by terror attacks. Life goes on, the city continues its chaotic beat. The next news story replaces the last one, the cycle of life goes on. The date 26/11 is now a somber anniversary the city marks. But for many, it's something much more personal. The newspapers here today are full of pictures of smiling couples and entire families who lost their lives during the attacks. They accompany messages of remembrance in ads placed their by surviving family members who miss them and grieve for them. Ten Pakistani men associated with the terror group Lashkar-e-Tayyiba stormed buildings and killed 164 people. Nine of the gunmen were killed during the attacks, one survived. Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman, was executed in India last year One of the pictures I saw in a newspaper today that froze me was of a broken blue wall inside Chabad House, the building where Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka were killed. Their baby son, Moshe survived. My colleague, Sanjiv Talreja and I were the first journalists allowed inside Chabad House a few weeks after the carnage. It was the hardest assignment I have ever had. The place hadn't been cleaned. Walls and windows were blown out, only half of the floors and ceilings remained. Blood stains splashed across the wall, grenade shells and bullets littered the crumbling floor. One thing that stopped me in my tracks though was a broken blue wall. It was in the room that baby Moshe occupied. His mother Rivka had marked his height on the wall, with the enthusiasm of any young mother watching her baby grow. Several little pencil lines marked every inch or two this young boy grew.

cnn

Two friends of former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez were indicted on murder charges Friday in connection with the 2013 homicide of Odin Lloyd in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, according to the Bristol County District Attorney's Office. The associates, Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace, allegedly were in the car with Hernandez the night of the murder. Hernandez, 24, is being held on first-degree murder and weapons charges in the shooting death of Lloyd. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges. Authorities have said Hernandez, Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace picked Lloyd up from his Boston apartment in the early morning of June 17. Surveillance cameras showed the car at an industrial park near Hernandez's North Attleborough, Massachusetts, home. Surveillance cameras then captured the rental car leaving the crime scene and Hernandez carrying a gun as he returned to his home minutes later. He was with two other people. Lloyd -- a 27-year-old semi-pro football player himself -- was not among them. Lloyd's body was found in the industrial park later that day. Prosecutors have accused Hernandez of orchestrating the death of Lloyd, who was shot five times with a .45 caliber handgun. Ortiz and Wallace were already being held on charges related to the Lloyd murder when the indictments were handed down Friday. "Ernest Wallace did not shoot or kill anybody," his attorney, David Meier of Boston, told CNN. "The nature and timing of these new charges against Mr. Wallace speak for themselves. One can only ask are these charges based on the facts and the law or something else. Mr. Wallace looks forward to confronting his accusers in the courtroom," Meier said.

race

Jim was a 15-year-old boy living with his little sister, Joy. Their parents had passed away long ago. Jim took care of Joy by himself. One day, Jim woke up at 3 in the morning as usual. When Joy was sleeping alone, Jim left their little house to deliver newspapers. As he did so, he found something unusual. One man was sitting in front of Jim's house. Jim was so surprised that he stopped to look at him closely. It was an icy morning and he looked very old. The poor old man didn't have anything to cover himself with. Jim went into his house to get the old man a blanket . However, there were no extra blankets, so Jim thought hard and took his father's coat. It was the only thing of his father's that he had left. Jim wrote a short note. "Sir, I found you sleeping in front of my house. This is my father's coat. I hope it fits you well." He put the note in a pocket of the coat, and covered the old man with the coat. Then he went to work. When he came back three hours later, both the man and the coat were gone. Jim thought that it was the best thing he could have done with his father's coat. That afternoon, Jim hurried home after school because Joy was at home alone. However, Joy and the old man were standing in front of the house, and Joy shouted to Jim, "Brother!He's our grandfather!" The grandfather smiled and said, "Jim, I have been looking for you all around the country for eight years. I'm not rich. But I can take care of you two. Thank you for giving me the coat and letting me know what a good person my grandson is. This coat was the very one that I gave my own son, a long time ago."

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CBC Canada , CTV News A group of Canadian kids are spreading a bit of Christmas spirit in Halifax, Nova Scotia, by covering warm clothes around light poles for the city's homeless people to pick up and use. _ was such an unusual sight that locals stopped to take pictures to share on social media . Every year, Tara Atkins-Smith collects warm clothes from her community in order to help the less lucky. This year, since the family was traveling to Halifax with their daughter Jayda and seven of her friends to celebrate her 8thbirthday Tara thought it was the perfect time to teach the chidren a valuable life lesson. The kids spent time handing out coats to the homeless and tied the rest around light poles for others to pick up. Each of the clothes had a tag that read, "I am not lost. If you are caught in the cold, please take me to keep warm. " According to Tara, the experience helped the children better understand the difficult situation of homeless people, who have to brave the cold winter on the streets. "When we got back in the car after an hour on the street, they were all freezing cold and crying for the heater to be on because they were cold , " she said. By next morning, all the jackets, gloves, and scarves on the poles were gone. Photos of the inspriring project have been shared about 8, 000 times on Facebook, and have got over10,000 likes. Tara, who did something similar in Toronto in December last year, says she's already planning next year's coat drive. She hopes that the meaningful thing can spread around the world, and she also wants to add $5 fast food gift card so that the homeless people can also enjoy a hot meal. "We've got help from others when we were in need, and we knew how great it made us feel," said Zackary Atkins, Tara's husband.

cnn

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, Haiti's former dictator, returned unexpectedly Sunday to the country after some 25 years in exile, adding uncertainty into an already turbulent situation. Duvalier remained huddled inside his hotel Monday, as the reasons behind his visit and what he hoped to accomplish remained unclear. A scheduled press conference at his hotel was canceled at the last minute because the hotel was not equipped to handle the crowd, and no other location could be found, Henry Robert Sterlin, a Duvalier associate, told reporters. Sterlin said that the former dictator had returned because he was moved by the anniversary of last year's tragic earthquake, and because he missed his homeland. The associate said he did not know how long Duvalier was staying, and added that he was not afraid to come back. He arrived in the Haitian capital as the nation is grappling with a political crisis, sparked by fraud allegations in a presidential election. Duvalier, wearing a dark suit and tie, greeted supporters at the busy Port-au-Prince airport. He was traveling with his wife. The Duvalier family ruled Haiti for three decades starting in 1957, when Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier was elected president. He later declared himself president for life. When he died in 1971, he was succeeded by his 19-year-old son, Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier. The younger Duvalier held onto power for 15 years before a revolt forced him to flee the country. Widely accused of corruption, Duvalier has been living in France. Upon arriving in Haiti, the former dictator and his wife went to the Karibe Hotel, according to Ryan Flaherty, head of security for Project Medishare. Duvalier's wife was swarmed by people as she approached the hotel and said that her husband had decided to return to Haiti some time ago, Flaherty reported.

cnn

London (CNN) -- If your mother is one of the world's best-loved children's authors who has written more than 70 books and sold well in excess of 11.5 million copies, you might think about taking a different career path. Not Clara Vulliamy. Undaunted by the success of her mother Shirley Hughes, whose creations include Dogger and the Alfie series, Vulliamy has followed her lead. She has written and illustrated 25 children's books and -- like her mother -- wrote her first book soon after having children of her own. Now the mother-daughter team have collaborated for the first time on a new series called "Dixie O'Day", written by Hughes and illustrated by Vulliamy, with the first book to be published in September 2013. It will be the first time in a career spanning 53 years that Hughes, 85, has had her words illustrated by someone else. She said it was "absolutely marvelous" to work with her daughter. "I loved it," said Hughes. "Clara's illustrations surprised as well as delighted me. She put things into the book I would never have dreamed of doing myself." Vulliamy's influence is immediately apparent: Hughes's books are known for their realistic portrayal of everyday family dramas, from lost toys to days at the seaside. But, at Vulliamy's suggestion, the heroes of Dixie O'Day are two dogs in suits. She is used to writing about animals, while her mother never before has. "I just can't put into words how much I have enjoyed it," said Vulliamy, 50, of working with her mother.

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Many people like animals and raise one or more as pets--dogs, cat or some kinds of birds. I love dogs, too. My aunt gave me a dog on my birthday. We call it Wangwang. It is a little black dog. He is friendly and helpful. Most of the time he likes to run and play with me. Sometimes he follows my father around in the fields. One day, my father took off his grey coat and put it on the ground under a big tree. Wangwang stood watching him. My father said, "Watch over my coat, Wangwant." Wangwant sat down beside the coat. My father went on working. After he finished his work, he forgot all about his coat and went home. Late in the evening I didn't see my dog. I looked everywhere for him calling, "Wangwang, Wangwang!" But Wangwang didn't come back. Soon my father wanted something that was in his coat pocket. Then he remembered what he had done. He went back to the big tree. What do you think he saw? Wangwang was sitting on the coat so that nobody could take it away.

wikipedia

In the human digestive system, food enters the mouth and mechanical digestion of the food starts by the action of mastication (chewing), a form of mechanical digestion, and the wetting contact of saliva. Saliva, a liquid secreted by the salivary glands, contains salivary amylase, an enzyme which starts the digestion of starch in the food; the saliva also contains mucus, which lubricates the food, and hydrogen carbonate, which provides the ideal conditions of pH (alkaline) for amylase to work. After undergoing mastication and starch digestion, the food will be in the form of a small, round slurry mass called a bolus. It will then travel down the esophagus and into the stomach by the action of peristalsis. Gastric juice in the stomach starts protein digestion. Gastric juice mainly contains hydrochloric acid and pepsin. As these two chemicals may damage the stomach wall, mucus is secreted by the stomach, providing a slimy layer that acts as a shield against the damaging effects of the chemicals. At the same time protein digestion is occurring, mechanical mixing occurs by peristalsis, which is waves of muscular contractions that move along the stomach wall. This allows the mass of food to further mix with the digestive enzymes.

cnn

(CNN) -- Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has made his proverbial bed. And, oh, is he lying in it now. The ugly comments about blacks and Latinos attributed to him have hit struck another nerve -- this time with players, fans and most decent-thinking Americans. NBA players protest racist talk attributed to L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling The tape released a few days ago reportedly shows that the person identified as Sterling can profess his own kind of love for a woman who's black and Latina but refuses to "allow" her to befriend her own kind: blacks and Latinos. Sterling allegedly says his girlfriend (whom he at one point on the tape calls "stupid") can meet with blacks and sleep with blacks but not take pictures with them (in this case former Lakers star turned entrepreneur Earvin "Magic" Johnson) or bring them to Clippers games. Like some slave owners who kept their mixed-race female slaves in better living conditions and bestowed privileges upon them, Sterling can allegedly be heard telling a woman identified as V. Stiviano that he doesn't have a problem with her or her race but that she shouldn't fraternize with blacks and Latinos because it disturbs him. He selected her. So that makes her "special." She's not really black. It sounds like Sterling, who has been married for nearly 50 years, shared a rarely heard perspective that his lover/girlfriend/mistress can mitigate the "inferiority" (my term) of her racial mixture by spending more time with him. Oh, yeah, Sterling is white.

mctest

On Saturday, Amy and Joe baked a whole chicken for their family's dinner. They rinsed it in cold water, rubbed it with spices, and put it into a pan. After they had heated up the oven, they put the chicken and the pan on the center oven rack and set the timer. Then, as they peeled potatoes and carrots to go with the chicken, Amy, Joe and Cindy talked about dinner. Amy said, "Joe, this is too much food for you, me and little Cindy to eat in one night. We'll have leftovers. What can we do with the leftover chicken?" Joe said, "We could make chicken sandwiches or chicken and rice." Amy said, "How about chicken soup?" Cindy said, "I like chicken with Thai noodles with red peppers. We haven't made those in a long time." "That sounds good," said Amy. "We'll make that for dinner tomorrow." "Yum!" said Joe. "That's a great idea. I love Thai noodles." Later, Joe, Amy and Cindy had finished eating dinner, and Cindy asked Amy for help with her homework. "I don't understand how to do these math problems!" Joe said, "You two go ahead. I'll do the dishes and put away the leftovers." Soon, Cindy went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Joe was eating the chicken. It was almost gone! "Dad!" said Cindy, "You have eaten almost all of the leftover chicken. We can't have Thai noodles with chicken tomorrow." Joe looked very sad. He said "I'm sorry. I have been a bad dad. I have to buy more chicken so that we can still have noodles. Would you like a piece of chicken?"

cnn

(CNN) -- Marco Simoncelli hopes he has put his Le Mans nightmare behind him after earning the first pole position of his top-level motorcycling career in Spain on Saturday. The Italian rider was reprimanded by MotoGP chiefs following an incident in France two weeks ago that caused Dani Pedrosa to crash and miss his home race after breaking his collarbone. Simoncelli reportedly received death threats following that collision, which resulted in the 24-year-old finishing fifth after being hit with a ride-through penalty, having been denied his first podium placing. "This is the best way to forget what happened in Le Mans and what everyone has been saying in the last two weeks, and before this race," he said after qualifying first for Sunday's Catalunya Grand Prix near Barcelona. Pedrosa crash overshadows Stoner's French MotoGP success Simoncelli headed off Le Mans winner Casey Stoner and Yamaha's world champion and series leader Jorge Lorenzo as he set a late lap of one minute 42.413 seconds. Stoner had led for the entire session but was denied his fourth pole position from five attempts this season as he bids to cut Lorenzo's 12-point advantage. "I'm very satisfied and happy. I didn't expect it because Stoner was faster than me in the other sessions and today we had some problems in the first part of qualifying, but after we chose the right tire for me I could push like I wanted and got this time," Simoncelli said. American Ben Spies will lead the second row on the grid from Honda's Andrea Dovizioso and fellow Yamaha rider Cal Crutchlow, while seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi was seventh ahead of Ducati teammate Nicky Hayden of the U.S.

race

There's a widespread perception in the United States that a university degree is the key to success. But a growing number of educators now say there are other possibilities, especially for students who might not succeed at university level. This is not a traditional classroom. At the apprentice program run by the Plumbers and Steamfitters Union in the state of Maryland, Travis Strawderman and other students make money while they learn. "I \t's completely changed my life around," he said. "I've been able to pay off all my debts. I can say I'm actually responsible enough to have my own family." Strawderman's five-year program teaches him technical skills free of charge. He says he considered university, but it didn't interest him. Economics Professor Robert Lerman says Strawderman is not alone. "A lot of people are bored in high school," Lerman stated. "They leave high school because they are bored. They want to do something besides sitting in a classroom." Lerman says the education system in the United States in too focused on pushing students to attend university. "What we're doing now is we're doing now is we're saying unless you learn in this way you don't really have the chance for a rewarding career," he said. But Chad Aldeman, an analyst, says studies show the longer students saty in school the better chance they have at having a high paying and stable career. "If you only are a high school graduate your wages are going to drop over your lifetime-as opposed to a college degree," he said. "The college degree is really and insurance policey against unemployment and against low wages."

mctest

School is out for the summer. Jake and Jimmy are playing on a baseball team. They are both nine years old this year. Their team is called the Knights. Jake plays first base and Jimmy is a pitcher. They both love baseball. They started playing when they were four years old. It is so fun for them. Their team has won three games so far. They beat the Jets, the Bluejays, and the Hawks so far. They have not lost any games yet. They are playing the Tigers today. The Tigers have not lost any games either. The score was one to one until the last inning. There were two outs. Jimmy came to the plate. The pitcher named Johnny threw the ball hard. Jimmy swung his bat too late and missed. He missed the next pitch too. It was too fast. He was ready for the next pitch. He hit it hard to center field. The Tiger player in center field jumped to catch it, but it went over his head and over the fence. It was a home run! The Knights won the game!

race

Hi, I'm Li Ping. I am 15 years old. I am pretty healthy. I like doing all kinds of sports, such as football, basketball, running and swimming. Every morning, I get up early and do exercise. I play basketball on Wednesdays and Saturdays with my friends every week. I do my homework every day. I like watching TV, but I can't watch it every day on school nights. I only watch it on Saturday evening. I am neither fat nor thin. My eating habits are very good. I try to eat a little meat and lots of vegetables and fruit. And I never eat junk food. Do you know me? I'm Zhao Hui, a 14-year-old student. I am a little fat. I like eating meat. I eat meat three or four times a week. I especially like eating junk food. I want to eat it every day, but my parents don't allow me to eat it every day. I only eat it once or twice a week. I don't like exercise at all. Sometimes, I swim with my friends because I like it. I know exercise is good for my health. From now on, I have to exercise every day.

mctest

The kitchen comes alive at night in the Sanderson house. Vegetables, fruit, bread, and more come out to play. The knives and forks dance on the tables. There are games and prizes. Milk is used for swimming races. The cereal often wins those. Fruit gets used as balls in some games. Blueberries scream in joy as they are kicked into soccer goals in games between the spoons and vegetables like celery and carrots. Their cousins, the raspberries, like to watch the games. Everyone has a great time and laughs. They are happy to come out and be friends. If someone, like little John or his sister Kim, comes down to get water, they all hide until they leave. The father, Ryan, sometimes wakes up and thinks he hears something downstairs. His wife, Susan, tells him he needs to go back to bed. She tells him he is imagining things. He is not. The kitchen got too loud. They were having so much fun they woke up the family!

gutenberg

CHAPTER THE NINTH. "Well, then, the world's mine oyster, Which I with sword will open. MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR. When Adam Hartley arrived at his lodgings in the sweet little town of Ryde, his first enquiries were after his comrade. He had arrived last night late, man and horse all in a foam. He made no reply to any questions about supper or the like, but snatching a candle, ran up stairs into his apartment, and shut and double-locked the door. The servants only supposed, that, being something intoxicated, he had ridden hard, and was unwilling to expose himself. Hartley went to the door of his chamber, not without some apprehensions; and after knocking and calling more than once, received at length the welcome return, "Who is there?" On Hartley announcing himself, the door opened, and Middlemas appeared, well dressed, and with his hair arranged and powdered; although, from the appearance of the bed, it had not been slept in on the preceding night, and Richard's countenance, haggard and ghastly, seemed to bear witness to the same fact. It was, however, with an affectation of indifference that he spoke. "I congratulate you on your improvement in worldly knowledge, Adam. It is just the time to desert the poor heir, and to stick by him that is in immediate possession of the wealth." "I staid last night at General Witherington's," answered Hartley, "because he is extremely ill." "Tell him to repent of his sins, then," said Richard. "Old Gray used to say, a doctor had as good a title to give ghostly advice as a parson. Do you remember Doctor Dulberry, the minister, calling him an interloper? Ha! Ha! Ha!"

cnn

Of all the speeches at the Democratic convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, few offended conservative listeners more than the speech by Sandra Fluke. There are plenty of good reasons to be annoyed. From the conservative point of view, Fluke is on the wrong side of a battle over religious freedom. Back in March, she testified in favor of a proposed Obama administration rule that would require Catholic institutions, like her own Georgetown University law school, to reject the teaching of their church and cover contraception in their university health plans -- plans not funded by taxpayers, by the way, but by tuition and other university revenues. Now here Fluke was again, on the national stage, warning that a vote for the Republican ticket in 2012 was a vote for "an America in which you have a new vice president who co-sponsored a bill that would allow pregnant women to die preventable deaths in our emergency rooms. An America in which states humiliate women by forcing us to endure invasive ultrasounds we don't want and our doctors say we don't need. "An America in which access to birth control is controlled by people who will never use it; in which politicians redefine rape so survivors are victimized all over again; in which someone decides which domestic violence victims deserve help, and which don't." Shortly before Fluke spoke, conservative commentator Ann Coulter had tweeted: "Bill Clinton just impregnated Sandra Fluke backstage." That was nothing compared with the outpouring of fury during and after the speech.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXXVII THE END OF A BOYHOOD Convinced of his own worthlessness, Tommy was sufficiently humble now, but Aaron Latta, nevertheless, marched to the square on the following market day and came back with the boy's sentence, Elspeth being happily absent. "I say nothing about the disgrace you have brought on this house," the warper began without emotion, "for it has been a shamed house since afore you were born, and it's a small offence to skail on a clarty floor. But now I've done more for you than I promised Jean Myles to do, and you had your pick atween college and the herding, and the herding you've chosen twice. I call you no names, you ken best what you're fitted for, but I've seen the farmer of the Dubb of Prosen the day, and he was short-handed through the loss of Tod Lindertis, so you're fee'd to him. Dinna think you get Tod's place, it'll be years afore you rise to that, but it's right and proper that as he steps up, you should step down." "The Dubb of Prosen!" cried Tommy in dismay. "It's fifteen miles frae here." "It's a' that." "But--but--but Elspeth and me never thought of my being so far away that she couldna see me. We thought of a farmer near Thrums." "The farther you're frae her the better," said Aaron, uneasily, yet honestly believing what he said. "It'll kill her," Tommy cried fiercely. With only his own suffering to consider he would probably have nursed it into a play through which he stalked as the noble child of misfortune, but in his anxiety for Elspeth he could still forget himself. "Fine you ken she canna do without me," he screamed.

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(CNN) -- The way some Republicans talk about the Environmental Protection Agency, you would think it was created by a bunch of pot-smoking hippies communing at a nudist camp in northern California -- when in fact, the EPA was created by one of their own, Richard Nixon, in 1970. Much as Republicans don't like to bring up the huge tax increases instituted by their hero, Ronald Reagan, they prefer to sidestep their role in the EPA's humble beginnings and blame it on Democrats. They characterize the whole thing as an albatross hanging around the economy's neck. To be fair, Nixon did not ride into the White House as a conservationist, and he did veto the Clean Water Act. But he said he did so because of the price tag of the policy, not its purpose. After the Santa Barbara oil spill in 1969 -- which at the time was the largest in U.S. history -- Nixon agreed with the rest of thinking society that clean water and air were a good thing. And his fingerprints are all over such tree-hugging initiatives as the Clean Air Act. Sadly, if he tried any of that funny business today, his own party would probably impeach him. That's how far down the oil well some in the Republican leadership have fallen. Rep. Michelle Bachmann said she would lock the EPA's doors and turn off its lights if she were president (thankfully there's no chance of that); Newt Gingrich said he would shut down the EPA and create a replacement to work with businesses to create jobs (making it more of a lapdog than watchdog); Rick Perry asked the president to halt all regulations, adding "his EPA regulations are killing jobs all across America."

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CHAPTER XXX THE LADY FROM BEYOND The morning was sultry, brooding, steamy. Antonia was at her music, and from the room where Shelton tried to fix attention on a book he could hear her practising her scales with a cold fury that cast an added gloom upon his spirit. He did not see her until lunch, and then she again sat next the Connoisseur. Her cheeks were pale, but there was something feverish in her chatter to her neighbour; she still refused to look at Shelton. He felt very miserable. After lunch, when most of them had left the table, the rest fell to discussing country neighbours. "Of course," said Mrs. Dennant, "there are the Foliots; but nobody calls on them." "Ah!" said the Connoisseur, "the Foliots--the Foliots--the people--er--who--quite so!" "It's really distressin'; she looks so sweet ridin' about. Many people with worse stories get called on," continued Mrs. Dennant, with that large frankness of intrusion upon doubtful subjects which may be made by certain people in a certain way, "but, after all, one couldn't ask them to meet anybody." "No," the Connoisseur assented. "I used to know Foliot. Thousand pities. They say she was a very pretty woman." "Oh, not pretty!" said Mrs. Dennant! "more interestin than pretty, I should say." Shelton, who knew the lady slightly, noticed that they spoke of her as in the past. He did not look towards Antonia; for, though a little troubled at her presence while such a subject was discussed, he hated his conviction that her face, was as unruffled as though the Foliots had been a separate species. There was, in fact, a curiosity about her eyes, a faint impatience on her lips; she was rolling little crumbs of bread. Suddenly yawning, she muttered some remark, and rose. Shelton stopped her at the door.

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(CNN) -- Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has made an emotional appeal after his father was abducted in his native Nigeria. "Please just let him go," he told Sky Sports News. "He's just an old man, he hasn't done any harm to anyone as far as I know and I don't know why he has been taken." Michael Obi, who runs a transport company in Jos, the main city in Plateau State in central Nigeria, has not been seen or heard of since he failed to return home from work last Friday. Obi Mikel was told of the problem just before the start of Chelsea's Premier League match at Stoke Sunday which finished goalless and said his father was at the forefront of his thoughts throughout the match. "Nigeria is the country I am from, I've always tried to help my country in any way I can, playing for my country or anything," he said. "This is a time where I need the country to help me. Whoever has got my dad, whoever knows where my dad is, please contact me and hopefully he can be released." Chelsea have given Mikel their support in a statement on their official website. "Everyone at Chelsea Football Club was very concerned to hear that John Mikel Obi's father has been reported as missing and possibly abducted. "We will give Mikel and his family our full support at this most difficult time." Mikel confirmed they had not heard from his father's abductors and no ransom had yet been demanded.

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Pedro Rossi is happy--he is very,very happy! He won $500,000! He won the lottery ! Pedro is happy for only a few days. Then he remembers his lottery ticket! He throws it in the garbage _ ! Pedro runs to the garbage can and looks in it. The garbage can is not over there at all! "The garbage is gone,"his wife says. "The garbage truck comes in the morning." The garbage truck takes the garbage can to the garbage dump ! Pedro runs to the dump. He looks for it for two days. But he can't find it. Pedro lives in town in Brazil. Pedro tells the people in the town,"Look for my lottery ticket at the dump. If you find it,I can give you half the money." Everyday hundreds of people go to the dump to look for the ticket. Five days later,a man finds it. Pedro gives the man $250,000. Pedro won $500,000 in the lottery. Now he won only 250,000. But he is not sad. "Before,one man was happy,"Pedro says. "Now two men are happy!"

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Why are we addicted to upgrades? According to Donald Norman, American author of the book The Design of Everyday Things, "planned obsolescence" is the trick behind the upgrading culture of today's consumer electronics industry. The New York Times cited Norman last month, saying that electronics manufactures strategically release new upgrades periodically, both for hardware and software, so that customers on every level feel the need to buy the newest version. "This is an old-time trick- they're not inventing anything new," he said. Thomas Wensma, a Dutch designer, despises the "planned obsolescence" of companies, as recently reported by UK-based The Guardian. Wensma said this is a wasteful system through which companies - many of them producing personal electronics - release shoddy products simply because "they know that, in six months or a year, they'll put out a new one". But the new psychology of consumers is part of this system, as Wensma said to the newspaper: "We now want something new, something pretty, the next shiny thing." _ "It's to the damage of the consumer and the environment," as the New York Times quoted Norman. "But perhaps to the betterment of the stockholder." In its most recent fiscal year, Apple's profit margin was more than 21 percent, reported the Los Angeles Times. At Hewlett-Packard, the world's biggest PC manufacturer, it was only 7 percent. "Steven Jobs pushed the principle of 'planned obsolescence' to new heights," the newspaper commented on the company's profits and marketing strategy. "Apple's annual upgrades of its products generate sales of millions of units as owners of one year's MacBook or iPhone line up to buy the newest version, even when the changes are incremental." Peer pressure As to Li Jijia, the need for upgrading his smart phone comes mainly from friends and classmates. When the majority of friends are switching to the latest devices, he worries about feeling left out. "Some apps and games require better hardware to run," said Li. "If you don't join in, you lose part of the connection to your friends."

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As a funny student, Brian loved watching comedies best and hoped to become a comedy actor one day. When he heard about the talent show to be held at this school, Brian decided to take part in it. He had never acted in public before, and he was very excited. But some students laughed at him. "You are not funny but silly," Ken, one of his classmates, said to his face. "No one will like what you do," another boy also said to him, loudly. Brian couldn't understand why they were so unkind to him. For a moment, he thought about giving up the show. But he remembered how much his friends liked his jokes, and also his teachers said he was very funny. So he decided to prepare for the show. Brian did a great job at the talent show. Everyone loved his performance , and he won the first prize! His teachers and friends were proud of him. Even so, Ken told Brian that he was not funny, and that he would never be successful. Brian didn't understand why Ken said so, but he realized that it had nothing to do with him. He confidently continued to work towards his dream. As the years went on, Brian met more people like Ken. "You'll do a terrible job," they said to him. Luckily, most people encouraged him and some helped him to become even funnier. He got a lot of chances to perform in movies. He was even invited to appear on television. His fans thanked him because his comedies made them feel good when they were unhappy. Now Brian is a big comedy star! He is doing what he loves best. He never feels worried like those unkind people, and he laughs all day long!

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CHAPTER XIV. OVER THE MOUNTAIN TOP. Darry was much alarmed, and with good reason. Never before had he faced such a snake, and the reptile looked ready to spring upon him at any instant. What to do the boy did not know, yet instinctively he leaped back to the top of the rock. Then the fish gave a jerk which almost took him from his feet. "Joe! Will!" he shouted. "Come this way! I'm in a pickle!" "What's the matter?" shouted Captain Moore, and soon he and his brother were coming forward as quickly as they could. In the meantime Darry was having his hands full, for the big fish was bound to get away. At the bottom of the rock lay the snake, with head raised and mouth wide open. Its eyes shone like diamonds. "A snake! Kill it!" shrieked Darry. "A snake?" echoed Joe. "Where?" "At the bottom of this big rock. Oh, my, he's going to come up!" "I see him," put in Captain Moore. As he spoke the snake made a leap for the top of the rock. As the reptile went up, Darry went down, and ran along the brook's edge, still with his fishing-pole in his hand. Catching up a sharp stone, Captain Moore flung it at the snake, hitting the reptile in the tail. At once the thing whirled around, and now forgetting Darry it turned on its assailant. "He's coming for you!" ejaculated Joe. "Run, Will, or you'll be bitten sure!" "I'm not running from a snake," answered the young officer, and in a trice he whipped out his pistol. As the snake came on he let drive. His aim was true, and the snake dropped with its head half severed from its body.

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In a surprising result, the No. 69 Middle School girls' football team yesterday beat their school's boys' team. The boys' team often helped the girls with their training . They had never lost to the girls before, but this time the girls beat them 4 -- 3. After the game, Wu Nai, head of the boys' team, was very unhappy. "We all thought this would be an easy game," he said. "We never thought a team of girls could beat us. This is the saddest day of my life. " But Mr Hu, the boys' PE teacher, said he thought the girls should win. "The boys were too confident ," he said. "I told them before the match that they needed to play well. They all thought that girls' football was a joke. Now they know better. They didn't play carefully, and they lost." The match had started well for the boys. After 30 minutes, they were winning 2 - 0. Their best player, Lu Ming, scored in the thirtieth minute. Earlier, the mid-field player, Ma Zhengquan, had scored the first goal in only the second minute of the match. After the first half hour, the boys seemed to become too confident. At first, the girls had felt a bit nervous , but then they became more and more confident. Just before half time, Li Xiaolin made the score 2 - 1. In the second half, the boys were the first to score. It was from Lu Ming. After that the boys became lazy, but the girls kept on working hard. Hao Meiling scored in the 68th minute, to make the score 3 -- 2. Then Li Xiaolin scored twice in the last six minutes to make the last score 4-3. It was a surprising finish. The girls' PE teacher, Miss Wang, was very pleased with their work. "They were great!" She said. "I told them they could win. I told them that the most important thing was teamwork. The boys' team had some good players, but my girls were a better team!"

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Several years ago Robert knew a girl at a party. He loved her at once. But he hadn't enough money to marry her. He went to another village and wanted to borrow five thousand dollars from Peter, one of his classmates. He said he was going to return the money in two years. Peter Black believed him and lent the money to him. And Robert thanked the young man very much. In the past four years Robert married the girl and she had a baby. They lived a happy life, but he didn't give the money back to Peter. One day Peter's mother was ill and needed an operation. He looked for Robert for a few times, but he never met him. One day Peter heard that the young man was in. He hurried there. He knocked at the door for a long time and Robert's wife came out to meet him. "I'm sorry, Mr. Black." said the woman. "My husband has just gone out." Peter thought for a while and said, "Yes, I met him on my way here. He told me that he had left all his money at home and let you return it to me." "Don't believe him, dear!" Robert came out in a hurry and called out. "I've never told him about it!"

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In a very special course at Knnet School, the social-science teacher Adam Smith guides his students through the "married life". Unlike the traditional course, Adam makes his students experience the real problems married ones may face like housing and child care. "No one tells kids about money-managing problems," says Adam. Each student should act out in ten weeks what normally takes couples ten years to finish. In the first week, one member of each couple is asked to get an after school job -- a real one. During the term, the income rules their life-style. In the third week, the couples must find an apartment they can afford. In the fifth week, the couples "have a baby" and then struggle to cover the costs of baby clothes and furniture. In week eight, the marriage comes to the breaking point by such disaster as a mother-in-law's moving in or death. It's all over by week ten (the tenth year of marriage). After serious discussion with lawyers about alimony and child support, the students get divorced . Adam's course, which has "married" 1,000 students since its beginning six years ago, is widely supported by parents and students. Some of the students have found the experience making them realize their real life marry plans are wrong. Marianne Baldrica, 16, who tried "marriage" last term with her boyfriend Eric Zook, 15, said, " Eric and I used to get along pretty well before we took the course together. But I wanted to live in the city, he wanted the country. He wanted lots of kids, I wanted no kids. It's been four weeks since the course ended and Eric and I are just starting to talk to each other again."

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A recent report found 46% of parents agreed that their child knew more about the Internet than they did. And now new research shows parents are turning to their children for lessons in technology. The new study of around 1,000 parents showed that 67% of parents have asked their teenager children for technology-related advice. 44% have asked their teenager for help using the Internet, and 41% have received teen advice about how to use the TV or home entertainment system. Ahad Surooprajally, a father of five children, says his children help him with technology in the home. "They've grown up surrounded by technology," he explains. "We have four computers and four iPads in our house. If I want to know something technical they're the ones I go to." He says his nine-year-old son Habeeb is the only person in the house who really understands the TV. So he tells Habeeb which film he wants to watch and Habeeb connects his mobile phone to the TV. "You teach your kids everyday life lessons, but the tables are turned when it comes to technology," says Ahad. As well as learning how to use technology properly, there is another advantage of parents asking their children to help them understand the digital world. They may be able to get a better understanding of what their kids are doing online. Will Gardner of the charity Childnet International says, "We have to continuously encourage parents to find out more about what their children are doing online. If the kids are using a social networking site, get them to show you around it if you are not using it already."

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Watson won his most important game and became Southern Chess Master in 1977.He was given the silver cup. "It isn't rightly mine."he said,when he was holding the cup, "It was won two years ago when I was on holiday in...." "A family was staying at my hotel at that time.Mrs Prang,the mother,was told that I played chess;and she begged me to give her young son a game." "He's only ten."She said,Ive been told that you play quite well." "Well,as you can guess.I wasn't too happy. A player likes the opponent to play as well as he does. But it was holiday time and I agreed to play. We placed the board in the garden. The game began .I hoped it would be quick-----and so it was." "I soon knew that David Prang was no learner.After ten minutes his sister came outside and began to play tennis against in our game. He moved a piece without care. I gave my attention to the board." "Call me when you are ready,Mr Watson,"he said. "When I was ready?" I looked up. He had gone off to play with his sister,I studied the board-----and found I was driven into a corner. So it went on with David;a quick move,then tennis,back to the board,then back to his sister.My difficult condition became impossible to change. I was beaten,oh,so easily,by a ten-year-old chess player. He was the winner--in twenty-eight minutes." "David Prang:a name to remember.I had a chance to use his game today and it won this cup for me. To him,of course,it'sonly one of a hundred,or perhaps a thousand,winning games."

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(CNN) -- Three radio DJs in Kenya are going six days without food while broadcasting non-stop to promote peaceful voting in a country that was nearly torn apart after its last election five years ago. Ghetto Radio presenters Mbusii, Solloo and Essie have been locked inside a "glass house" in central Nairobi since Wednesday, as part of the station's annual Serious Request Kenya event. This year's theme is "Vote4Peace Vote4Kenya," ahead of the East African country's elections on March 4 2013. The vote will be the first since ethnic violence engulfed the country after disputed elections in December 2007, leaving more than 1,000 people dead and 350,000 displaced, according to the Kenya Red Cross. Read related: Can tech revolutionize African elections? Three days into the challenge, DJ Solloo is in good spirits -- despite the lack of food. "I'm a bit hungry," he laughingly admits, "but we have to do this -- it's a pretty good feeling." Solloo, whose real name is Solomon Njoroge, says Kenya cannot afford a return to post-election violence. Last time around, he says, he was a victim of the bloody unrest that swept his town of Eldoret, one of the fighting hotspots in Kenya's Rift Valley province. Solloo says that back then he had to spend more than two weeks with limited food supplies while camping at a police station for safety. "This country cannot afford to go back to that time," says Solloo from the glass house, a few moments before going on air. "I decided to come here because we have to push for this message to be a part of every Kenyan. It has to be every Kenyan's initiative to know that peace is more than just the absence of war."

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It was a rainy day and James wanted to play. If he went outside to play, he would get wet. James' mother told him not to get wet because he might catch a cold. James went out to play, anyway. Outside, the cool rain kept falling. There were no other children for James to play with. The other children were all playing inside, where it was warm and dry. James found a puddle that had appeared in the mud. He found a piece of wood and pretended it was a turtle. He put the wooden turtle in the puddle and watched it float in a circle. This was not very fun. After one hour, James went back inside. When James went inside, he found his mother waiting. She had her hands on her hips and a serious look on her face. James was soaking wet! His mother made him change into dry clothes, and he was not to leave the house for the rest of the day. The next morning, the sun shone warm and bright, and the birds sang their morning songs. It was a beautiful day. When James woke up, he coughed. Then he sneezed. His body ached all over. James had a cold! James looked out the window and saw the neighbor children playing in their yards. They were having a lot of fun. James wanted to join them, but he was too sick. His mother was right.

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CHAPTER XXV. ON THE RANGE. Although it was nearly noon, the time when the natives of Yucatan believe a siesta is absolutely necessary, Cummings insisted that the flight should be continued without further delay. "It would not be surprising if the Chan Santa Cruz sentinels had seen that idiotic Jake, and followed him in order to learn where we were hiding," he said when Neal asked why they had left the ravine during the hottest portion of the day. "If the Indians should besiege us here, it would only be a few hours before surrender must be made, because of lack of water, therefore we can render our position no worse, and may succeed in bettering it by going now." Poyor evidently looked at the matter in the same light, for he made no protest; but began at once to prepare for the tramp. Jake, after eating a hearty meal, had stretched out at the further end of the hiding place, and was just giving himself up to the luxury of slumber when Teddy aroused him by saying: "Come, what are you lying here for? We are ready to start, and there's a good deal of satisfaction in knowing that this time you'll have to carry your share of the load." "But I've got to have a nap first. Just think how long it's been since I've had a chance to close my eyes." "You'll have to wait awhile. Both Cummings and Poyor believe it is absolutely necessary for us to make a quick move, and if you're not ready they will go away alone."

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Hong Kong (CNN) -- Not your average great-great grandfather, Fauja Singh has completed nine 26-mile (42-kilometer) marathons since taking up long-distance running just over a decade ago. On Sunday, the 101-year-old Sikh finished his final competitive race in Hong Kong, putting an end to a sporting career that has raised thousands of dollars for charity and been an inspiration to many around the world. Nicknamed "Turbaned Tornado" by fans for his distinctive traditional headwear, Singh said he began long-distance running in an attempt to lift the depression that engulfed him after he witnessed the death of his son. "I suffered a tragic incident in my life, a traumatic experience; I took up running as a new focus in life. And then marathon running developed from there," he told CNN at a training session before Sunday's race. He completed the 10-kilometer route that wound its way along Hong Kong's harborfront in one hour 32 minutes and 28 seconds -- four minutes faster than his time last year despite a small stumble. "Five or six kilometers into the race, I really decided to go for it," he said. "I had lots of power today because I was very happy. " Singh moved to the UK from India following the death of his son and entered his first marathon in London in 2000 aged 89. In 2011, Singh became the first centenarian on record to complete a marathon after finishing the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2011 in eight hours and 11 minutes and six seconds.

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CHAPTER XXVII. And full of hope, day followed day, While that stout ship at anchor lay Beside the shores of Wight. The May had then made all things green, And floating there, in pomp serene, That ship was goodly to be seen, His pride and his delight. Yet then when called ashore, he sought The tender peace of rural thought, In more than happy mood. To your abodes, bright daisy flowers, He then would steal at leisure hours, And loved you, glittering in your bowers, A starry multitude. WORDSWORTH. Harry's last home morning was brightened by going to the school to see full justice done to Norman, and enjoying the scene for him. It was indeed a painful ordeal to Norman himself, who could, at the moment, scarcely feel pleasure in his restoration, excepting for the sake of his father, Harry, and his sisters. To find the head-master making apologies to him was positively painful and embarrassing, and his countenance would have been fitter for a culprit receiving a lecture. It was pleasanter when the two other masters shook hands with him, Mr. Harrison with a free confession that he had done him injustice, and Mr. Wilmot with a glad look of congratulation, that convinced Harry he had never believed Norman to blame. Harry himself was somewhat of a hero; the masters all spoke to him, bade him good speed, and wished him a happy voyage, and all the boys were eager to admire his uniform, and wish themselves already men and officers like Mr. May. He had his long-desired three cheers for "May senior!" shouted with a thorough goodwill by the united lungs of the Whichcote foundation, and a supplementary cheer arose for the good ship Alcestis, while hands were held out on every side; and the boy arrived at such a pitch of benevolence and good humour, as actually to volunteer a friendly shake of the hand to Edward Anderson, whom he encountered skulking apart.

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John was stuck in the middle of the ocean after his boat crashed and sank. He was worried about his friend who'd been in the boat with him. He knew that his friend has his life jacket on, so he tried not to worry too much about him. John was in a small box that fell out of the boat and kept him out of the water, floating. John had never been to sea before and one would wonder if he would ever after such a scary thing that happened to him. He sat in the box for days with no food or water, in and out of sleep. Three days later he woke up and saw land. Finally a beach was in sight, John could go home.

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The Exterminating Angel Director: Luis Bunuel Country/Date : Mexico/1962 (black and white) Introduction : A party is organized in a high class society house. Many people are drinking and eating. It's getting late, but nobody is leaving. Even though the door is open, people seem to be locked in the house. They can't leave either the day or on the following days. So a rescue began. The Net Director: Irwin Winkler Country/Date: U.S.A./1995 Introduction: Angela Bennettt is a computer programmer who has devoted her life to computers and the Internet. She spends hours and hours in front of the screen. She does everything over the Internet, and she has some close friends in a chat room, though she has never talked to her neighbors. Kung Fu Panda Director : Mark Osborne & John Stevenson Country/Date : U.S.A./2008 Introduction: The leading character is a panda whose name is Po. He is lazy first but he has a great dream----to be a kung fu master. To make his dream come true, he goes to a faraway temple to learn kung fu from a master. However, one of his brothers, Tai Long wants to become the kung fu master, killing many of his brothers even the master. So Po fights against Tai Long and defeats him, The film is good especially for kids. Life is Beautiful Director: Roberto Benigni Country/Date : Italy/1998 Introduction: In 1939, during World WarII in Italy, Guido, a hopeful man, the main character fell in love with Dora, and they got married. Five years later, their lives changed. Guido and Joshua were taken by the Nazis to a concentration camp and Dora also went there with her husband and son. At that place, Guido tried his best to save his son's life in a special way.

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Black people is a term used in certain countries, often in socially based systems of racial classification or of ethnicity, to describe persons who are perceived to be dark-skinned compared to other given populations. As such, the meaning of the expression varies widely both between and within societies, and depends significantly on context. For many other individuals, communities and countries, "black" is also perceived as a derogatory, outdated, reductive or otherwise unrepresentative label, and as a result is neither used nor defined. Different societies apply differing criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and these social constructs have also changed over time. In a number of countries, societal variables affect classification as much as skin color, and the social criteria for "blackness" vary. For example, in North America the term black people is not necessarily an indicator of skin color or majority ethnic ancestry, but it is instead a socially based racial classification related to being African American, with a family history associated with institutionalized slavery. In South Africa and Latin America, for instance, mixed-race people are generally not classified as "black." In South Pacific regions such as Australia and Melanesia, European colonists applied the term "black" or it was used by populations with different histories and ethnic origin.

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CHAPTER XXX FINAL SCENES OF THE GREAT FIGHT "Si has fallen overboard!" The cry came from half a dozen throats at once, and Walter's heart almost stopped beating, so attached had he become to the Yankee lad. "If he's overboard, he'll be sucked under and drowned," he groaned. "I wonder if I can see anything of him." Without a second thought he leaped on the gun and began to crawl out, on hands and knees, as perilous a thing to do, with the vessel going at full speed, as one would care to undertake. "Come back!" roared Caleb, trying to detain him. "You'll go overboard, too." At that moment came a cry from below, and looking down the steel side of the _Brooklyn_, Walter beheld Si clinging to a rope ladder, one of several flung over, to be used in case of emergency. "Si, are you all right?" he called loudly. "I--reckon--I--I am," came with a pant. "But I had an awful tumble and the wind is about knocked out o' me." And then Si began to climb up to the deck. "He's on the ladder and he's all right," shouted Walter, to those still behind the gun. Then a sudden idea struck him. "Hand me another rammer, Stuben." "Mine cracious! don't you try dot," cried the hose-man. "You vos fall ofer chust like Si." "Yes, come in here," put in Caleb, and Paul also called upon him to return. "I'm all right," was the boy's reply. "Give it to me, Stuben." And catching the rammer from the hose-man, Steve Colton passed it forward. "In war we have got to take some risks," he reasoned, as Caleb gave him a severe look.

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Kolkata is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it is the principal commercial, cultural, and educational centre of East India, while the Port of Kolkata is India's oldest operating port and its sole major riverine port. In 2011, the city had a population of 4.5 million, while the population of the city and its suburbs was 14.1 million, making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India. Recent estimates of Kolkata Metropolitan Area's economy have ranged from $60 to $150 billion (GDP adjusted for purchasing power parity) making it third most-productive metropolitan area in India, after Mumbai and Delhi. Kolkata ( is also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001). In the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Calcutta were ruled by the Nawab of Bengal under Mughal suzerainty. After the Nawab granted the East India Company a trading licence in 1690, the area was developed by the Company into an increasingly fortified trading post. Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah occupied Calcutta in 1756, and the East India Company retook it the following year. In 1793 the East India company was strong enough to abolish Nizamat (local rule), and assumed full sovereignty of the region. Under the company rule, and later under the British Raj, Calcutta served as the capital of British-held territories in India until 1911, when its perceived geographical disadvantages, combined with growing nationalism in Bengal, led to a shift of the capital to New Delhi. Calcutta was the centre for the Indian independence movement; it remains a hotbed of contemporary state politics. Following Indian independence in 1947, Kolkata, which was once the centre of modern Indian education, science, culture, and politics, suffered several decades of economic stagnation.

wikipedia

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (previously incorporated as Warner Brothers Pictures, Inc. and colloquially known as Warner Bros. and Warner Bros. Pictures) is an American entertainment company that is a division of Time Warner and is headquartered in Burbank, California. It is one of the "Big Six" major American film studios. Warner Bros. is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). The company's name originated from the four founding Warner brothers (born "Wonskolaser" or "Wonsal" before Anglicization): Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner. They emigrated as young children with their parents to Canada from Krasnosielc which was located in the part of Congress Poland that had been subjugated to the Russian Empire following the eighteenth-century Partitions of Poland near present-day Ostrołęka. Jack, the youngest, was born in London, Ontario. The three elder brothers began in the movie theater business, having acquired a movie projector with which they showed films in the mining towns of Pennsylvania and Ohio. In the beginning, Sam and Albert Warner invested $150 to present "Life of an American Fireman" and "The Great Train Robbery". They opened their first theater, the Cascade, in New Castle, Pennsylvania, in 1903. When the original building was in danger of being demolished, the modern Warner Bros. called the current building owners, and arranged to save it. The owners noted people across the country had asked them to protect it for its historical significance.

cnn

(CNN) -- Miroslav Klose maintained his status as Lazio's lucky charm on Saturday, keeping his side in the Italian title race and denting the hopes of Inter Milan with a late winner against the second-placed visitors. The veteran Germany international netted his 10th league goal this season and his 14th overall, firing home a low right-foot shot in the 82nd minute. Neither club nor country have lost when the 34-year-old has found the target in a period stretching back to the February 16 Europa League defeat by Atletico Madrid. Saturday's 1-0 victory put his Rome-based side level on points with third-placed Napoli, who host Bologna on Sunday. Inter stayed four points behind leading champions Juventus, who will try to move further ahead with a home victory over mid-table Atalanta on Sunday. "Klose showed that he's world-class -- hats off to him for the finish -- but we didn't deserve to lose," said Inter coach Andrea Stramaccioni. "Lazio were excellent in the first half but I don't think I've seen a team come here and cause them as many problems as we did in the second half. We might not have deserved to win but we certainly didn't deserve to lose." Inter twice hit the woodwork before conceding, with Fredy Guarin driving a low shot onto the base of the upright. Lazio goalkeeper Federico Marchetti tipped Antonio Cassano's curled attempt onto the same post and dealt with Yuto Nagatomo's follow-up. Earlier, Udinese snatched a 1-1 draw at home to Palermo thanks to an 89th-minute equalizer from captain Antonio Di Natale.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XIII. Shall I sit alone in my chamber, And set the chairs by the wall, While you sit with lords and princes, Yet have not a thought at all? Shall I sit alone in my chamber, And duly the table lay, Whilst you stand up in the diet, And have not a word to say?--Old Danish Ballad. "Oh, Norman, are you come already?" exclaimed Margaret, as her brother opened the door, bringing in with him the crisp breath of December. "Yes, I came away directly after collections. How are you, Margaret?" "Pretty brave, thank you;" but the brother and sister both read on each other's features that the additional three months of suspense had told. There were traces of toil and study on Norman's brow; the sunken look about his eyes, and the dejected outline of his cheek, Margaret knew betokened discouragement; and though her mild serenity was not changed, she was almost transparently thin and pale. They had long ago left off asking whether there were tidings, and seldom was the subject adverted to, though the whole family seemed to be living beneath a dark shadow. "How is Flora?" he next asked. "Going on beautifully, except that papa thinks she does too much in every way. She declares that she shall bring the baby to show me in another week, but I don't think it will be allowed." "And the little lady prospers?" "Capitally, though I get rather contradictory reports of her. First, papa declared her something surpassing--exactly like Flora, and so I suppose she is; but Ethel and Meta will say nothing for her beauty, and Blanche calls her a fright. But papa is her devoted admirer--he does so enjoy having a sort of property again in a baby!"

wikipedia

The motif of the England national football team has three lions passant guardant, the emblem of King Richard I, who reigned from 1189 to 1199. The lions, often blue, have had minor changes to colour and appearance. Initially topped by a crown, this was removed in 1949 when the FA was given an official coat of arms by the College of Arms; this introduced ten Tudor roses, one for each of the regional branches of the FA. Since 2003, England top their logo with a star to recognise their World Cup win in 1966; this was first embroidered onto the left sleeve of the home kit, and a year later was moved to its current position, first on the away shirt. Although England's first away kits were blue, England's traditional away colours are red shirts, white shorts and red socks. In 1996, England's away kit was changed to grey shirts, shorts and socks. This kit was only worn three times, including against Germany in the semi-final of Euro 96 but the deviation from the traditional red was unpopular with supporters and the England away kit remained red until 2011, when a navy blue away kit was introduced. The away kit is also sometimes worn during home matches, when a new edition has been released to promote it.

cnn

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Actor Charlton Heston died at his Beverly Hills home at the age of 84 Saturday, his family said. Heston was suffering the late stages of Alzheimer's disease. Heston, known for portrayals of larger than life figure including Moses and Ben Hur, was suffering the late stages of Alzheimer's disease. Heston's wife of 64 years, Lydia, was at his side at the time of his death, according to the family statement. Heston is survived by a son, a daughter and three grandchildren. "We knew him as an adoring husband, a kind and devoted father, and a gentle grandfather, with an infectious sense of humor," the family said. "He served these far greater roles with tremendous faith, courage and dignity. He loved deeply, and he was deeply loved." While no funeral plans have been announced, the family said it would hold a private memorial service. The Internet Movie Database listed 126 movies and television production credits for Heston, starting in 1941. He rose to fame in the 1950s with starring movie roles including Ben Hur, for which he won an Oscar. He played Moses in the "Ten Commandments." Heston's last acting credit was for playing an elderly Josef Mengele, the Auschwitz Nazi surgeon who performed medical experiments on concentration camp refugees during World War Two in the 2003 movie "My Father, Rua Alguem 5555." Heston was also known for his political activism. He was a high-profile supporter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his civil rights movement. He attended King's 1963 March on Washington and stood near the podium as King delivered his "I have a dream" speech.

cnn

New York (CNN) -- Longtime local news anchor Sue Simmons will no longer fill her familiar co-anchor chair at New York's NBC station, according to a company statement. Simmons, 68, who has spent more than three decades on-air for WNBC and was reportedly at one time the highest paid local television anchor in the country, will not get her contract renewed when it expires in June. "We have tremendous respect and admiration for Sue Simmons," said Dawn Rowan, a spokesperson for the station. "For decades, Sue has been a critical part of New York's longest tenured anchor team in the city and has more than earned her iconic status." The announcement of her departure spawned a "Save Sue Simmons" Facebook page, and prompted other social media postings about her past exploits. Her anchoring is punctuated by what some called a quintessential New York attitude, and her often sassy comments, smirks and grins go against what might be considered typical news anchor decor. Jack Cafferty, a CNN commentator who co-anchored with Simmons for 13 of the 32 years she has worked for WNBC, called her a "breath of fresh air in the otherwise stuffy, pretentious world of journalism." Mark Harris, a columnist for Entertainment Weekly, tweeted: "Fellow New Yorkers, I hope you all get that this is wrong, stupid and evil," Her newscast was ranked No. 1 in the fiercely competitive New York local news market this year among advertisers' favorite demographic, ages 25 to 54. Simmons did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

gutenberg

CHAPTER XXIII THE ADVANTAGE OF A DAY That evening Le Drieux appeared in the lobby of the hotel and sat himself comfortably down, as if his sole desire in life was to read the evening paper and smoke his after-dinner cigar. He cast a self-satisfied and rather supercilious glance in the direction of the Merrick party, which on this occasion included the Stantons and their aunt, but he made no attempt to approach the corner where they were seated. Maud, however, as soon as she saw Le Drieux, asked Arthur Weldon to interview the man and endeavor to obtain from him the exact date when Jack Andrews landed in New York. Uncle John had already wired to Major Doyle, Patsy's father, to get the steamship lists and find which boat Andrews had come on and the date of its arrival, but no answer had as yet been received. Arthur made a pretext of buying a cigar at the counter and then strolled aimlessly about until he came, as if by chance, near to where Le Drieux was sitting. Making a pretense of suddenly observing the man, he remarked casually: "Ah, good evening." "Good evening, Mr. Weldon," replied Le Drieux, a note of ill-suppressed triumph in his voice. "I suppose you are now content to rest on your laurels, pending the formal examination?" said Arthur. "I am, sir. But the examination is a mere form, you know. I have already cabled the commissioner of police at Vienna and received a reply stating that the Austrian ambassador would make a prompt demand for extradition and the papers would be forwarded from Washington to the Austrian consul located in this city. The consul has also been instructed to render me aid in transporting the prisoner to Vienna. All this will require several days' time, so you see we are in no hurry to conclude the examination."

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Robert Frost was one of America's best known and most honored serious writers. But his fame came late in his life. He was born in San Francisco, California in 1874. He lived in California during his early childhood. He was named after the chief Southern general in America's Civil War. The general's name was Robert Edward Lee. The poet was named Robert Lee Frost, because his father wanted to honor the general. Someone once asked another American writer, Ernest Hemingway, how to become a writer. The best thing, he said, was to have an unhappy childhood. If this is true, Robert Frost's childhood was unhappy enough to make him a very good writer. Robert Frost's father was a reporter who wanted to be a politician. He often drank too much wine and became angry. Robert was the victim of his anger. Robert Frost finished high school in 1891. After high school, Robert's grandfather offered to pay his costs at Dartmouth College. But Robert left the school after a few months. He did not like it. He spent the next few years working at different jobs. At one time, he worked in a factory. Later, he repaired shoes. He was a teacher. He was a reporter. Always, he wrote poetry. Robert Frost attended Harvard University for two years. After that, he returned to the many jobs he held before. For a while, Frost tried to take care of a farm in the state of New Hampshire. He was not a successful farmer. And he continued to write poetry. He said that until 1930, he earned only about ten dollars a year from writing. In 1912, he decided to try to make a new start. He took his family to Britain. The cost of living was low. In Britain, Frost found a publisher for his first book of poems. The book was called A Boy's Will. When it appeared in 1913. Frost received high praise from British readers. Praise was something he had not received in his own country. Ezra Pound, another American poet living in Britain, read the poems and liked them very much. He wrote a magazine article about Frost. He also helped get Frost's second book of poems published in America. That book was called North of Boston.

cnn

(CNN)The United States is now working on the assumption that Charlie Hebdo attacker Said Kouachi met American terrorist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki at some point in Yemen and received orders from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to carry out an attack, a U.S. official tells CNN. The official said Kouachi's motivation for waiting so long -- possibly since 2011 -- to launch an attack was not clear. U.S. officials Sunday said American authorities don't have evidence yet directly linking AQAP to specifically ordering the Paris attack last week at the offices of the satirical magaine. "We don't have credible information, at least as yet, to indicate who was responsible, who sponsored this act. That is clearly one of the things that we have to make a determination of," Attorney General Eric Holder told CNN's Gloria Borger on "State of the Union." French security agencies had been monitoring Said Kouachi and his brother, Cherif, but stopped months before the two carried out the attack that left 12 people dead. The French monitoring faded despite a previous tip-off from American intelligence agencies that one of them had likely trained with al Qaeda in Yemen, a French news magazine reported Saturday. Said Kouachi is suspected of slipping off for terror training in Yemen during a trip he made with another French national to Oman between July 25 and August 15 in 2011, according to multiple French officials who spoke to L'Express national security reporter Eric Pelletier. Pelletier shared the details of his reporting with CNN.

wikipedia

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, and third-largest in the United Kingdom. Historically part of Lanarkshire, the city is now located within the boundaries of Glasgow City Council – one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It is situated on the River Clyde in the country's West Central Lowlands. Inhabitants of the city are referred to as "Glaswegians" or "Weegies". Glasgow grew from a small rural settlement on the River Clyde to become the largest seaport in Britain. Expanding from the medieval bishopric and royal burgh, and the later establishment of the University of Glasgow in the fifteenth century, it became a major centre of the Scottish Enlightenment in the eighteenth century. From the eighteenth century onwards, the city also grew as one of Great Britain's main hubs of transatlantic trade with North America and the West Indies. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the population and economy of Glasgow and the surrounding region expanded rapidly to become one of the world's pre-eminent centres of chemicals, textiles and engineering; most notably in the shipbuilding and marine engineering industry, which produced many innovative and famous vessels. Glasgow was the "Second City of the British Empire" for much of the Victorian era and Edwardian period, although many cities argue the title was theirs.