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TORPEDO BOATS

Scientific American Supplement, No. 385

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8950/8950-h/8950-h.htm

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The torpedo is placed in a tube situated in the fore part of the torpedo boat, and whence it is driven out by means of compressed air. Once fired, it makes its way under the surface to the spot where the shock of its point is to bring about an explosion, and the torpedo boat is thus enabled to operate at a distance and avoid the dangers of an immediate contact with the enemy. Unfortunately this advantage is offset by grave drawbacks; for, in the first place, each of the Whitehead torpedoes costs about ten thousand francs, without counting the expense of obtaining the right to use the patent, and, in the second place, its action is very uncertain, since currents very readily change its direction. However this may be, the inventor has realized a considerable sum by the sale of his secret to the different maritime powers, most of whom have adopted his system. All our ports are provided with flotillas and torpedo boats, and with schools in which the officers and men charged with this service are trained by frequent exercises.

J.M. Barrie

Excerpt from Peter Pan: "When Wendy Grew Up"

CLD

https://www.commonlit.org/texts/excerpt-from-peter-pan-when-wendy-grew-up

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Wendy was married in white with a pink sash. It is strange to think that Peter did not alight in the church and forbid the banns. Years rolled on again, and Wendy had a daughter. This ought not to be written in ink but in a golden splash. She was called Jane, and always had an odd inquiring look, as if from the moment she arrived on the mainland she wanted to ask questions. When she was old enough to ask them they were mostly about Peter Pan. She loved to hear of Peter, and Wendy told her all she could remember in the very nursery from which the famous flight had taken place. It was Jane's nursery now, for her father had bought it at the three per cents from Wendy's father, who was no longer fond of stairs. Mrs. Darling was now dead and forgotten. There were only two beds in the nursery now, Jane's and her nurse's; and there was no kennel, for Nana also had passed away.

Faith Moraa Oigo, Gill Bond

Billy, the Stubborn Goat

African Storybook Level 3

https://www.africanstorybook.org/#

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CC BY 4.0

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This is Billy. He is the goat Jan was given by his father as a gift. Even though Billy is stubborn, Jan loves him very much. He always gives birth to healthy kids that Jan and his father sell. Yesterday Billy went out of their compound with her two kids. Jan does not like this because the kids easily get stolen or be eaten by dogs. Billy chewed the books containing all the homework Ann had done. Ann was angry that she was going to be punished by her teacher. She kicked Billy very had. This made Jan angry. He locked himself in his room to play with his toys. Jan is afraid that his father will sell Billy for what he has done. However, Mr. Tom, his father does not want to annoy his son by selling Billy. He has promised to wait until the kids are old enough so that he can give one to Jan.

wikipedia

Pilgrim

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrim

Info

History

start

CC BY-SA 3.0

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A pilgrim (from the Latin peregrinus) is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system. In the spiritual literature of Christianity, the concept of pilgrim and pilgrimage may refer to the experience of life in the world (considered as a period of exile) or to the inner path of the spiritual aspirant from a state of wretchedness to a state of beatitude. Pilgrims and the making of pilgrimages are common in many religions, including the faiths of ancient Egypt, Persia in the Mithraic period, India, China, and Japan. The Greek and Roman customs of consulting the gods at local oracles, such as those at Dodona or Delphi, both in Greece, are widely known. In Greece, pilgrimages could either be personal or state-sponsored.

James Russell Lowell

The Robin

The Ontario Readers: The High School Reader, 1886

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19923/19923-h/19923-h.htm#lxxxviii

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The robins are not good solo singers, but their chorus, as, like primitive fire-worshippers, they hail the return of light and warmth to the world, is unrivalled. There are a hundred singing like one. They are noisy enough then, and sing, as poets should, with no afterthought. But when they come after cherries to the tree near my window, they muffle their voices, and their faint pip, pip, pop! sounds far away at the bottom of the garden, where they know I shall not suspect them of robbing the great black-walnut of its bitter-rinded store. They are feathered Pecksniffs, to be sure, but then how brightly their breasts, that look rather shabby in the sunlight, shine in a rainy day against the dark green of the fringe-tree! After they have pinched and shaken all the life out of an earthworm, as Italian cooks pound all the spirit out of a steak, and then gulped him, they stand up in honest self-confidence, expand their red waistcoats with the virtuous air of a lobby member, and outface you with an eye that calmly challenges inquiry.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Representative Men: Seven Lectures

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/6312/6312-h/6312-h.htm

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It is natural to believe in great men. If the companions of our childhood should turn out to be heroes, and their condition regal, it would not surprise us. All mythology opens with demigods, and the circumstance is high and poetic; that is, their genius is paramount. In the legends of the Gautama, the first men ate the earth, and found it deliciously sweet. Nature seems to exist for the excellent. The world is upheld by the veracity of good men: they make the earth wholesome. They who lived with them found life glad and nutritious. Life is sweet and tolerable only in our belief in such society; and actually, or ideally, we manage to live with superiors. We call our children and our lands by their names. Their names are wrought into the verbs of language, their works and effigies are in our houses, and every circumstance of the day recalls an anecdote of them.

Malte Jochum & Andrew D. Barnes

Is Arthropod Biodiversity on the Rainforest Floor Threatened by Rubber and Palm-Oil Plantations?

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2018.00072

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mid

CC BY 4.0

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When rainforests are destroyed, many species cannot survive in these areas and can vanish completely. Every species plays its own specific role within the ecosystem that it lives in. Every species consumes certain resources and is in turn eaten by other organisms higher up in the food chain. All of the organisms in an ecosystem carry out some work that keep ecosystems functioning–for example, by pollinating plants, helping dead organic matter (dead plants and animals) to decay, or by feeding on other animals. Scientists call these processes "ecosystem functions." We do not know all of the species on earth and we certainly do not know what all of them do. But we do know that if we lose species, we are in danger of losing the functions that they carry out. We, as ecologists, are interested in how different organisms interact and how these interactions affect the way that ecosystems function.

Terkule Aorabee, Idowu Abayomi Oluwasegun

Famine in Taraba

African Storybook Level 3

https://www.africanstorybook.org/#

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CC BY 4.0

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Long ago, there was a famine in the land of Taraba. People were forced to dig in ant hills to find grains. There was a man called Vyandeh who couldn't provide food for his family. One day, he said to his wife, "Let me go and look for food." He left. While he was away, the wife couldn't wait for his return. So, she cooked some pumpkin that she got from her mother for the children, Vyangel, Avaungwa and Jessica. Vyandeh come back late, with nothing for the family. The wife, Aershimana welcomed him and asked, "Anything for the children to eat?" He replied, "No." She gave him some pumpkin, but it didn't satisfy him. He asked, "Where did you get the pumpkin?" Aershimana replied, "My mother keeps pumpkins on the roof of her room." At midnight, Vyandeh woke up. He decided to go to his mother-in-law to steal the remaining pumpkins. He went to get a ladder. He put up the ladder and climbed to the old woman's roof. Vyandeh began to walk across the roof towards the pumpkins. Suddenly he fell through the roof, making a big noise! Pararam!

A. RECKENZAUN

Electric Launches

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO. 430

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8484/8484-h/8484-h.htm#8

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The primary object of a launch, in the modern sense of the word, lies in the conveyance of passengers on rivers and lakes, less than for the transport of heavy goods; therefore, it may not be out of place to consider the conveniences arising from the employment of a motive power which promises to become valuable as time and experience advance. In a recent paper before the British Association at Southport, I referred to numerous experiments made with electric launches; now it is proposed to treat this subject in a wider sense, touching upon the points of convenience in the first place; secondly, upon the cost and method of producing the current of electricity; and thirdly, upon the construction and efficiency of the propelling power and its accessories. Whether it is for business, pleasure, or war purposes a launch should be in readiness at all times, without requiring much preparation or attention. The distances to be traversed are seldom very great, fifty to sixty miles being the average. Nearly the whole space of a launch should be available for the accommodation of passengers, and this is the case with an electrically propelled launch.

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Current History Chronicled

A Monthly Magazine of the New York Times, Volume 8, No 3

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41479/41479-h/41479-h.htm#page_381

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In political matters the month brought events of more importance, chief of which was the renewal of an alliance between Germany and Austria; this was accomplished at a meeting of the Emperors. The acceleration of troop movements from the United States to France was a feature of the month, the estimate for the four weeks running as high as 150,000; it was semi-officially stated that in April, 1918, more than 500,000 American soldiers were in France, and that by Jan. 1, 1919, there would be 1,500,000 of our fighting men at the front, with 500,000 more at transportation, supply, and civil work; the speeding up of shipbuilding and other war work was significant. The Third Liberty Loan aggregated more than $4,000,000,000, with 17,000,000 subscribers, proving a brilliant success. The President by proclamation extended enemy alien restrictions to women also. A bill was passed enabling the President to consolidate and coordinate executive bureaus, thus giving him extraordinary executive powers. The sedition law was strengthened. A new commercial agreement was made with Norway. In Great Britain the chief event was the triumph of the Premier over a military group that tried to overthrow his Ministry.

Fabian Wakholi Marleen Visser

Goat, Dog and Cow

African Storybook Level 3

https://www.africanstorybook.org/#

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CC BY 4.0

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Goat, Dog and Cow were great friends. One day they went on a journey in a taxi. They reached the end of their journey. The driver asked them to pay their fares. Cow paid her fare. Dog paid extra, because he did not have the correct money. The driver was about to give Dog his change. Suddenly Goat ran away without paying. The driver was very annoyed. He drove away without giving Dog his change. That is why, even today, Dog runs towards a car to peep inside. He is looking for the driver who owes him change. Goat runs away from the sound of a car. She is afraid she will be arrested for not paying her fare. Cow is not bothered by cars. Cow takes her time crossing the road. She knows she paid her fare in full.

G. K. Chesterton

Tremendous Trifles

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8092/8092-h/8092-h.htm

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I remember one splendid morning, all blue and silver, in the summer holidays when I reluctantly tore myself away from the task of doing nothing in particular, and put on a hat of some sort and picked up a walking-stick, and put six very bright-coloured chalks in my pocket. I then went into the kitchen (which, along with the rest of the house, belonged to a very square and sensible old woman in a Sussex village), and asked the owner and occupant of the kitchen if she had any brown paper. She had a great deal; in fact, she had too much; and she mistook the purpose and the rationale of the existence of brown paper. She seemed to have an idea that if a person wanted brown paper he must be wanting to tie up parcels; which was the last thing I wanted to do; indeed, it is a thing which I have found to be beyond my mental capacity.

Nora Maria Raschle, Réka Borbás, Carolyn King, & Nadine Gaab

The Magical Art of Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Study the Reading Brain

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2020.00072

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When the brain grows and learns, connections between different parts of the brain are created. Over time, these connections build networks. Networks are different parts of the brain that work together. Like a well-trained musical group, brain networks help us learn skills like reading. While we learn, the cells of the brain (called neurons) connect to each other by reaching out their tiny arms (called axons) or even by growing new arms. Over time, many axons connect to each other and build long highways, called white matter tracts. These highways allow information to travel from one part of the brain to another. Using MRI, scientists have learned that we can read because different parts of the brain become more active and communicate with each other as we learn. These brain areas have funny-sounding names: occipitotemporal area, or the "letter box" of the brain (where we process letters and words); temporoparietal area (helps us to play with the sounds of our language, such as figuring out that "banana" without the sound /b/ is "anana"); and inferior frontal region (the "captain" that directs us). When brain areas talk with each other often, the highways can become stronger.

wikipedia

Abyssal_plain

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abyssal_plain

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Science

start

CC BY-SA 3.0

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An abyssal plain is an underwater plain on the deep ocean floor, usually found at depths between 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) and 6,000 metres (20,000 ft). Lying generally between the foot of a continental rise and a mid-ocean ridge, abyssal plains cover more than 50% of the Earth's surface. They are among the flattest, smoothest and least explored regions on Earth. Abyssal plains are key geologic elements of oceanic basins (the other elements being an elevated mid-ocean ridge and flanking abyssal hills). In addition to these elements, active oceanic basins (those that are associated with a moving plate tectonic boundary) also typically include an oceanic trench and a subduction zone. Abyssal plains were not recognized as distinct physiographic features of the sea floor until the late 1940s and, until very recently, none had been studied on a systematic basis. They are poorly preserved in the sedimentary record, because they tend to be consumed by the subduction process. The creation of the abyssal plain is the end result of spreading of the seafloor (plate tectonics) and melting of the lower oceanic crust.

Edgar Allan Poe

THE BALLOON-HOAX

The Works of Edgar Allan Poe Volume 1 (of 5) of the Raven Edition

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2147/2147-h/2147-h.htm

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The balloon is composed of silk, varnished with the liquid gum caoutchouc. It is of vast dimensions, containing more than 40,000 cubic feet of gas; but as coal gas was employed in place of the more expensive and inconvenient hydrogen, the supporting power of the machine, when fully inflated, and immediately after inflation, is not more than about 2500 pounds. The coal gas is not only much less costly, but is easily procured and managed. "For its introduction into common use for purposes of aerostation, we are indebted to Mr. Charles Green. Up to his discovery, the process of inflation was not only exceedingly expensive, but uncertain. Two, and even three days, have frequently been wasted in futile attempts to procure a sufficiency of hydrogen to fill a balloon, from which it had great tendency to escape, owing to its extreme subtlety, and its affinity for the surrounding atmosphere. In a balloon sufficiently perfect to retain its contents of coal-gas unaltered, in quantity or amount, for six months, an equal quantity of hydrogen could not be maintained in equal purity for six weeks.

Jack London

The Scarlet Plague

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21970/21970-h/21970-h.htm

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But Edwin, suddenly stopped by what he saw, was drawing the bowstring on a fitted arrow. He had paused on the brink of a crevasse in the embankment. An ancient culvert had here washed out, and the stream, no longer confined, had cut a passage through the fill. On the opposite side, the end of a rail projected and overhung. It showed rustily through the creeping vines which overran it. Beyond, crouching by a bush, a rabbit looked across at him in trembling hesitancy. Fully fifty feet was the distance, but the arrow flashed true; and the transfixed rabbit, crying out in sudden fright and hurt, struggled painfully away into the brush. The boy himself was a flash of brown skin and flying fur as he bounded down the steep wall of the gap and up the other side. His lean muscles were springs of steel that released into graceful and efficient action. A hundred feet beyond, in a tangle of bushes, he overtook the wounded creature, knocked its head on a convenient tree-trunk, and turned it over to Granser to carry.

Thomas Collin-Lefebvre & Jayasree K. Iyer

How Do We Make Sure Everybody in the World Has Access to Medicines?

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2020.00035

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New medicines and other life-saving products must be made rapidly available to the people who need them, wherever they live. Most medicines are made by pharmaceutical companies in China, India, and the United States. However, regardless of where they are made, pharmaceutical companies should make sure that patients living in other countries have access to medicines. In order to do this, pharmaceutical companies need to register their products and ship them to countries where there is a need. If a medicine is not registered in a country, the product cannot be sold there. While this sounds like an easy procedure, less than one-quarter of recently launched medical products have been filed for registration in most countries that are in need of them. The reason that many medicines are not registered is because customizing the registration to meet the strict requirements of every country can be a hard task for a company, especially since the criteria may vary from one country to another. Furthermore, the registration process can take a long time in some countries with poor healthcare systems. While registration in some countries can take a few months, in others it can take many years!

James M. Barrie

Courage

http://www.online-literature.com/barrie/2088/

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My own theme is Courage, as you should use it in the great fight that seems to me to be coming between youth and their betters; by youth, meaning, of course, you, and by your betters us. I want you to take up this position: That youth have for too long left exclusively in our hands the decisions in national matters that are more vital to them than to us. Things about the next war, for instance, and why the last one ever had a beginning. I use the word fight because it must, I think, begin with a challenge; but the aim is the reverse of antagonism, it is partnership. I want you to hold that the time has arrived for youth to demand that partnership, and to demand it courageously. That to gain courage is what you came to St. Andrews for. With some alarums and excursions into college life. That is what I propose, but, of course, the issue lies with M'Connachie.

Mason Weupe, Jacelyn E. Peabody Lever, Jared P. Kennemur, Taylor R. Bono, Scott E. Phillips, Ren-Jay Shei, & Steven M. Rowe

Moving Mucus Matters for Lung Health

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2019.00106

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mid

CC BY 4.0

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There are many types of particles that could enter the lungs and cause damage. Some of these particles are pollutants, such as emissions from gas-powered vehicles, carbon monoxide from fireplaces, toxins from vaping or smoking, and aerosols like hairspray. Particles can get trapped in various areas of the lung. Short hairs, like the kind on top of your head, line the insides of the nostrils and are covered with mucus. These mucus-covered hairs help trap larger particles as they enter the nose. Particles that enter the conducting zone can hurt the airway cells, which may reduce the movement of their cilia and lead to a buildup of mucus that cannot be cleared from the airways. Mucus-clogged airways may not allow air to travel as effectively, like the way leaves in a gutter interfere with water flow. Smaller particles can sometimes get all the way to the alveoli. Damage to the alveoli makes breathing considerably more difficult, because oxygen will not diffuse as well into the blood. This reduced efficiency of gas exchange may cause the rest of the body to be hypoxic, which means low in oxygen.

wikipedia

Vacuum_energy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_energy

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Science

start

CC BY-SA 3.0

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Vacuum energy is an underlying background energy that exists in space throughout the entire Universe. One contribution to the vacuum energy may be from virtual particles which are thought to be particle pairs that blink into existence and then annihilate in a timespan too short to observe. They are expected to do this everywhere, throughout the Universe. Their behavior is codified in Heisenberg's energy–time uncertainty principle. Still, the exact effect of such fleeting bits of energy is difficult to quantify. The effects of vacuum energy can be experimentally observed in various phenomena such as spontaneous emission, the Casimir effect and the Lamb shift, and are thought to influence the behavior of the Universe on cosmological scales. Using the upper limit of the cosmological constant, the vacuum energy of free space has been estimated to be 10-9 joules (10-2 ergs) per cubic meter. However, in both quantum electrodynamics (QED) and stochastic electrodynamics (SED), consistency with the principle of Lorentz covariance and with the magnitude of the Planck constant requires it to have a much larger value of 10113 joules per cubic meter. This huge discrepancy is known as the vacuum catastrophe.

Shelby Ostergaard

Water Scarcity: A Global Issue

CLD

https://www.commonlit.org/texts/water-scarcity-a-global-issue

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CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

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Physical water scarcity is most often caused by drought. A drought occurs when it rains far less in a given area than it usually does, creating shortages in water supply. Droughts can be declared after as little as 15 days without rainfall and can continue indefinitely. The longest drought in recorded history lasted for 400 years in the Atacama Desert in Chile. However, most modern droughts are not nearly so severe. In the United States, the National Drought Mitigation Center finds only the panhandle of Oklahoma and northern Georgia experiencing ‘extreme drought'. California experienced severe drought between 2012 to 2017, while Florida experienced severe drought between 2006-2007, and again in 2017. Droughts are considered severe when water shortages become common and extreme when major crop loss occurs. Globally, the Center shows that there is ‘extreme drought' in the Middle East and eastern Australia and ‘severe drought' in parts of northern Africa. Droughts are a natural process that have occurred throughout history. The effects of prolonged drought often depend on both severity and how people react to them. Sometimes, like in California, drought can simply lead to a change of what is easily available for purchase in grocery stores.

Unknown

Joseph's Dreams from Genesis 37

CLD

https://www.commonlit.org/texts/joseph-s-dreams-from-genesis-37

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Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. This is the account of Jacob's family line. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it."

HENRY A. BEERS

Milton's Tercentenary

http://www.online-literature.com/henry-augustin-beers/4166/

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Mark Pattison, indeed, who speaks for Oxford, denies that Milton was a regularly learned man, like Usher or Selden. That is, I understand, he had made no exhaustive studies in professional fields of knowledge such as patristic theology or legal antiquities. Of course not - Milton was a poet: he was studying for power, for self-culture and inspiration, and had little regard for a merely retrospective scholarship which would not aid him in the work of creation. Be that as it may, all Milton's writings in prose and verse are so saturated with learning as greatly to limit the range of their appeal. A poem like Lycidas, loaded with allusions, can be fully enjoyed only by the classical scholar who is in the tradition of the Greek pastoralists, who "knows the Dorian water's gush divine." I have heard women and young people and unlettered readers who have a natural taste for poetry, and enjoy Burns and Longfellow, object to this classical stiffness in Milton as pedantry. Now pedantry is an ostentation of learning for its own sake, and none has said harder things of it than Milton.

G. K. Chesterton

The Wrong Shape

THE INNOCENCE OF FATHER BROWN

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/204/204-h/204-h.htm

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The whole house was built upon the plan of a T, but a T with a very long cross piece and a very short tail piece. The long cross piece was the frontage that ran along in face of the street, with the front door in the middle; it was two stories high and contained nearly all the important rooms. The short tail piece, which ran out at the back immediately opposite the front door, was one story high, and consisted only of two long rooms, the one leading into the other. The first of these two rooms was the study in which the celebrated Mr. Quinton wrote his wild poems and romances. The farther room was a glass conservatory full of tropical blossoms of quite unique and almost monstrous beauty, and on such afternoons as these glowing with gorgeous sunlight. Thus when the hall door was open, many a passer-by literally stopped to stare and gasp; for he looked down a perspective of rich apartments to something really like a transformation scene in a fairy play: purple clouds and golden suns and crimson stars that were at once scorchingly vivid and yet transparent and far away.

simple wiki

Photographic film

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographic_film

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Technology

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CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL

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Film can only be used once. After that, it cannot be used again (if it is accidentally used again, this results in an artifact called a multiple exposure). When not in use, film needs to be covered from light, otherwise it will record any lights that shine on it. This will make it useless to record a picture. Film comes in a can called a canister to cover it from light rays. Film needs the right amount of light to make a picture. If the picture is too bright or too dark, it will not record correctly. The longer that the film keeps recording, the more light it will get. If what is being photographed is bright, it will be recorded faster. If it is darker, the film will need more time to record. Films that need less time to record the picture are known as "faster" films. Different speeds of films are marked with an ISO number. The higher the number, the faster the films.

simple wiki

Extinction

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction

Info

Science

start

CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL

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Extinction is one of the major features of evolution. A species is extinct when no members of the species are still alive. All species become extinct sooner or later. The end of a species may happen for many reasons. It may be caused by habitat loss or by being overhunted, or by a major extinction event. An example of an animal that is now extinct is the Dodo, from over-hunting. Another quite different way for a species to end is by species-splitting, known as cladogenesis. Probably, none of the species living today was living in the Cambrian period, but their ancestors were. endangered species are those which may become extinct. A report from Kew Gardens suggests that one fifth of plant species may be at risk of extinction. Fossil species sometimes reappear millions of years after they were thought to be extinct. These cases are called Lazarus taxa.

By Olive Thorne Miller.

A MYSTERY IN THE KITCHEN

Good Cheer Stories Every Child Should Know

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19909/19909-h/19909-h.htm#A_MYSTERY_IN_THE_KITCHEN

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Moreover, though she was evidently working for dear life, her face was full of smiles; in fact, she seemed to have trouble to keep from laughing outright, while Betty, the cook, who was washing potatoes at the sink, fairly giggled with glee every few minutes, as if the sight of Miss Jessie working in the kitchen was the drollest thing in the world. It was one of the pleasantest sights that big, sunny kitchen had seen for many a day, and the only thing that appeared mysterious about it was that the two workers acted strangely like conspirators. If they laughed—as they did on the slightest provocation—it was very soft and at once smothered. Jessie went often to the door leading into the hall, and listened; and if there came a knock on the floor, she snatched off her apron, hastily wiped her hands, rolled down her sleeves, asked Betty if there was any flour on her, and then hurried away into another part of the house, trying to look cool and quiet, as if she had not been doing anything.

wikipedia

Vacuum_cleaner

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_cleaner

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Technology

mid

CC BY-SA 3.0

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Upright vacuum cleaners are popular in the United States, Britain and numerous Commonwealth countries, but unusual in some Continental European countries. They take the form of a cleaning head, onto which a handle and bag are attached. Upright designs generally employ a rotating brushroll or beater bar, which removes dirt through a combination of sweeping and vibration. There are two types of upright vacuums; dirty-air/direct fan (found mostly on commercial vacuums), or clean-air/fan-bypass (found on most of today's domestic vacuums). The older of the two designs, direct-fan cleaners have a large impeller (fan) mounted close to the suction opening, through which the dirt passes directly, before being blown into a bag. The motor is often cooled by a separate cooling fan. Because of their large-bladed fans, and comparatively short airpaths, direct-fan cleaners create a very efficient airflow from a low amount of power, and make effective carpet cleaners. Their "above-floor" cleaning power is less efficient, since the airflow is lost when it passes through a long hose, and the fan has been optimized for airflow volume and not suction.

wikipedia

Heart_rate_monitor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_rate_monitor

Info

Technology

start

CC BY-SA 3.0

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A heart rate monitor is a personal monitoring device that allows one to measure one's heart rate in real time or record the heart rate for later study. It is largely used by performers of various types of physical exercise. Early models consisted of a monitoring box with a set of electrode leads which attached to the chest. The first wireless EKG heart rate monitor was invented in 1977 by Seppo Säynäjäkangas, as a training aid for the Finnish National Cross Country Ski team. As 'intensity training' became a popular concept in athletic circles in the mid-80s, retail sales of wireless personal heart monitors started from 1983. Modern heart rate monitors usually comprise two elements: a chest strap transmitter and a wrist receiver (which usually doubles as a watch) or mobile phone. In early plastic straps, water or liquid was required to get good performance. Later units have used conductive smart fabric with built-in microprocessors that analyze the EKG signal to determine heart rate.

Joseph A. Altsheler

The Texan Scouts: A Story of the Alamo and Goliad

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15767/15767-h/15767-h.htm

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They rode more briskly through the afternoon and at darkness saw the campfires of Urrea glimmering ahead of them. But the night was not favorable to their plans. The sky was the usual cloudless blue of the Mexican plateau, the moon was at the full and all the stars were out. What they wanted was bad weather, hoping meanwhile the execution of the prisoners would not be begun until the Mexicans reached higher authority than Urrea, perhaps Santa Anna himself. They made their own camp a full two miles from Urrea's, and Obed and the Panther divided the watch. Urrea started early the next morning, and so did the pursuing three. The dawn was gray, and the breeze was chill. As they rode on, the wind rose and its edge became so sharp that there was a prospect of another Norther. The Panther unrolled from his pack the most gorgeous serape that Ned had ever seen. It was of the finest material, colored a deep scarlet and it had a gold fringe.

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WATER SUPPLY OF SMALL TOWNS.

Scientific American Supplement, No. 392

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8742/8742-h/8742-h.htm

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We now describe the new waterworks lately erected for supplying the town of Cougleton, Cheshire. The population is about 12,000, and the place is a seat of the silk manufacture. After various expensive plans had been suggested, in the year 1879 a complete scheme for the supply of the town with water was devised by the then borough surveyor, Mr. Wm. Blackshaw, now borough surveyor of Stafford. These we now illustrate above by a general drawing, and a separate drawing of the tower. With respect to the mechanical arrangements, the Corporation called in Mr. W. H. Thornbery, of Birmingham, consulting engineer, to decide on the best design of those submitted, and this, with modifications made by him, was carried out under his inspection. The water, for the supply by pumping, is obtained from springs situated at the foot of Crossledge Hill, about a mile from the town. It does not at present require filtering, but space enough has been allowed for the construction of duplicate filtering beds without in any way interfering with the present appliances. These filter beds are shown in our perspective illustration, but they are not yet built or required.

W. O. C.

PICTURES FOR WALTER

The Nursery, September 1873, Vol. XIV. No. 3

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24940/24940-h/24940-h.htm#Page_90

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Here are some birds having a ride on the weather-vane. The vane is on the top of the barn. I should think it would make the birds dizzy to swing backwards and forwards. But they like it just as well as some boys like to swing on a gate. Here is an old crow sitting on the fence. He is a sly old thief. There is a nest in the grass; and he is after the eggs. If you try to get near him, he will fly away, saying "Caw, caw, caw!" The milk-maid set down her pail of milk, and went to the orchard. A little pig came along, and tipped the pail over; and the milk was all spilled. Never leave milk where a pig can get at it. A woodpecker had a nest in a hollow tree. A boy climbed up to get the eggs; but the old birds flew at him, and pecked him, and made him get down. I am glad they drove him away. What right had he to meddle with their nest?

Charles A. Beard and Mary Ritter Beard

History of the United States

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16960/16960-h/16960-h.htm

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Of all the specialized industries in the colonies, shipbuilding was the most important. The abundance of fir for masts, oak for timbers and boards, pitch for tar and turpentine, and hemp for rope made the way of the shipbuilder easy. Early in the seventeenth century a ship was built at New Amsterdam, and by the middle of that century shipyards were scattered along the New England coast at Newburyport, Salem, New Bedford, Newport, Providence, New London, and New Haven. Yards at Albany and Poughkeepsie in New York built ships for the trade of that colony with England and the Indies. Wilmington and Philadelphia soon entered the race and outdistanced New York, though unable to equal the pace set by New England. While Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina also built ships, Southern interest was mainly confined to the lucrative business of producing ship materials: fir, cedar, hemp, and tar.

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THE GINGERBREAD BOY

Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25359/25359-h/25359-h.htm#BREADBOY

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There was once a little old man and a little old woman, who lived in a little old house in the edge of a wood. They would have been a very happy old couple but for one thing—they had no little child, and they wished for one very much. One day, when the little old woman was baking gingerbread, she cut a cake in the shape of a little boy, and put it into the oven. Presently, she went to the oven to see if it was baked. As soon as the oven door was opened, the little gingerbread boy jumped out, and began to run away as fast as he could go. The little old woman called her husband, and they both ran after him. But they could not catch him. And soon the gingerbread boy came to a barn full of threshers.

Frank Emmert-Streib and Matthias Dehmer

Network Science: From Chemistry to Digital Society

Frontiers for Young Minds

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2019.00049

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In biology, the importance of networks has been recognized because biological processes and systems need to be studied holistically (concerning every part). That means biological systems cannot be reduced to arbitrarily small parts, but the minimal size of such a part still needs to be functional in a sense that the underlying organisms work. One of the first insights in this respect is from Conrad Waddington, who conceived the idea of the epigenetic landscape in the 1940s . Here epigenetic means the study of heritable phenotype changes that do not change the DNA. On a molecular level within a biological cell of an organism (plant, animal, or human), the interactions between genes and gene products (proteins) can be represented as a gene network, e.g., as a transcriptional regulatory network or a protein network. In this network nodes correspond to genes and edges correspond to interactions between genes. This means that networks appear naturally in studying molecular interactions as their graphical visualization and mathematical representation.

Stella Kihweo

Ah! Football!

African Storybook Level 2

https://www.africanstorybook.org/

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On the way, we saw our friends playing football. "Ah! Football!" I said. I wanted to play too. I said to Chuma, "Let's ask if we can play with them. I like playing football very much." Chuma replied, "Let us go to the shop first, then we can come to play." But I replied, "Let us play first! Grandmother will not allow us to return." We joined our friends to play. I was the goal keeper. The goal posts were made of two big stones. I worked hard to catch the ball. My friends were not able to score any goals. We played until the field was full of sand. Then we went to the shop. Grandmother's money was gone! I started to cry. Chuma shouted, "Stop crying. You wanted to play first." We returned home without salt or cooking oil. We were very dirty and worried.

Kate Chopin

A Respectable Woman

CLD

https://www.commonlit.org/texts/a-respectable-woman

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But why she liked him she could not explain satisfactorily to herself when she partly attempted to do so. She could discover in him none of those brilliant and promising traits which Gaston, her husband, had often assured her that he possessed. On the contrary, he sat rather mute and receptive before her chatty eagerness to make him feel at home and in the face of Gaston's frank and wordy hospitality. His manner was as courteous toward her as the most exacting woman could require; but he made no direct appeal to her approval or even esteem. Once settled at the plantation he seemed to like to sit upon the wide portico in the shade of one of the big Corinthian pillars, smoking his cigar lazily and listening attentively to Gaston's experience as a sugar planter. "This is what I call living," he would utter with deep satisfaction, as the air that swept across the sugar field caressed him with its warm and scented velvety touch. It pleased him also to get on familiar terms with the big dogs that came about him, rubbing themselves sociably against his legs.

Ida Fay

THE FISHERMEN'S CHILDREN

The Nursery, September 1873, Vol. XIV. No. 3

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24940/24940-h/24940-h.htm#Page_92

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It was a windy day in November. The waves broke with a great noise on the shingly beach. Soon the wind rose higher: the sea rose too, and the rain fell fast. The children walked back to the village; and there the old men said, shaking their heads, "We shall have a storm." That night, all the boats came safely back into the harbor, except the boat in which Rachel's grandfather had sailed. It was a long, sad night for poor Rachel. The next day and the next passed by; and no grandfather came back to take care of her, and find her in food and clothes, and carry her in his strong arms when she was tired out with walking. Susan and Joe in their own house felt sad for the little orphan. One day their mother went to market. Baby was in the cradle, and Susan was rocking it, whilst Joe was cutting out a boat with an old jack-knife. The kettle on the stove began to sing; and Susan and Joe began to talk.

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THE WOODS IN WINTER

St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 5

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15374/15374-h/15374-h.htm

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There is scarcely any place so lonely as the depths of the woods in winter. Everything is quiet, cold, and solemn. Occasionally a rabbit may go jumping over the snow, and if the woods are really wild woods, we may sometimes get a sight of a deer. Now and then, too, some poor person who has been picking up bits of fallen branches for firewood may be met bending under his load or pulling it along on a sled. In some parts of the country, woodcutters and hunters are sometimes seen, but generally, there are few persons who care to wander in the woods in winter. The open roads for sleighing, and the firm ice for skating, offer many more inducements to pleasure-seekers. But young people who do not mind trudging through snow, and walking where they must make their own path-way, may find among the great black trunks of the forest trees, and under the naked branches stretching out overhead, many phases of nature that will be both new and interesting—especially to those whose lives have been spent in cities.

simple wiki

Hydrogen

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen

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Hydrogen is a chemical element. Its atomic number is 1, which makes it the simplest, known element in the entire universe. Hydrogen is the true primordial substance, the first atom produced after the big bang. All chemical elements were formed from hydrogen by the processes of nuclear fusion. Hydrogen glows purple when it is in the plasma state. In its pure form on Earth, hydrogen is usually a gas. Hydrogen is also one of the parts that make up a water molecule. Hydrogen is important because it is the fuel that powers the Sun and other stars. Hydrogen makes up about 75% of the entire universe. Hydrogen's symbol on the Periodic Table of Elements is H. Pure hydrogen is normally made of two hydrogen atoms connected together. Scientists call these diatomic molecules. Hydrogen will have a chemical reaction when mixed with most other elements. It has no color or smell.

Martha Finley

Grandmother Elsie

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14883/14883-h/14883-h.htm

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The Ion family were at home again after their summer on the New Jersey coast. It was a delightful morning early in October: the dew-drops on the still green grass of the neatly kept lawn sparkled in the rays of the newly risen sun; the bright waters of the lakelet also, as, ruffled by the breeze, they broke gently about the prow of the pretty row-boat moored to the little wharf; the gardens were gay with bright-hued flowers, the trees gorgeous in their autumnal dress. But though doors and windows were open, the gardener and his assistants at work in the grounds, there seemed a strange quiet about the place: when the men spoke to each other it was in subdued tones; there was no sound—as in other days—of little feet running hither and thither, nor of childish prattle or laughter.

Caroline J. Ketcham and Eric E. Hall

Caring for Your Brain: What You Need to Know about Concussions

Frontiers for Young Minds

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2016.00017

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A concussion is an injury to the brain that is caused by a sudden, abrupt movement of the head, typically because of a blow or jolt to the head or body that makes the brain move rapidly inside the skull. The injury that results from this is called a mild traumatic brain injury, most commonly referred to as a concussion. There are many different definitions of concussion, but they all have some things in common. These common features include changes in brain function, including changes in the way you think (cognitive changes), in the way your brain works (neurological changes), and in the way you feel (physical and emotional changes). These changes may or may not be accompanied by a temporary loss of consciousness, also known as fainting or passing out. The abrupt movement of the brain can stretch and injure brain cells, which can change the way these cells function. These changes can be short-lived or long-lived, but most of the time, the cells heal and function normally in 7–10 days. Sometimes, it may take longer than 10 days for the brain to return to normal after a concussion, especially in children.

Francis Lincoln Noble

A LETTER TO SANTA CLAUS

The Nursery, December 1873, Vol. XIV. No. 6

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24943/24943-h/24943-h.htm#Page_165

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Dear Mr. Santa Claus—Please, sir, could you not bring me a team of goats next Christmas? I do want them so much! Other little boys no bigger than I am have a pair of goats to play with. When I ask my mother to get me a pair, she says she will see, but thinks I shall have to wait a little while. Now, dear Mr. Santa Claus, I do not feel as if I could wait. Besides, ma's "little while" seems like a great while to me, and when I get older I shall have to go to school; but now I could play almost all the time with my little goats, if I had them. Oh, dear! I wish I had them now! I can hardly wait till Christmas. I will be very kind to them, and give them plenty to eat, and a good warm bed at night. Brother Charley says he will get me a wagon, if you, good Mr. Santa Claus, will give me the goats.

Guy de Maupassant Translated by ALBERT M. C. McMASTER, B.A. A. E. HENDERSON, B.A. MME. QUESADA and Others

THE GAMEKEEPER

Maupassant Original Short Stories

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3090/3090-h/3090-h.htm

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I was then about thirty-five years of age, and a most enthusiastic sportsman. In those days I owned a lonely bit of property in the neighborhood of Jumieges, surrounded by forests and abounding in hares and rabbits. I was accustomed to spending four or five days alone there each year, there not being room enough to allow of my bringing a friend with me. I had placed there as gamekeeper, an old retired gendarme, a good man, hot-tempered, a severe disciplinarian, a terror to poachers and fearing nothing. He lived all alone, far from the village, in a little house, or rather hut, consisting of two rooms downstairs, with kitchen and store-room, and two upstairs. One of them, a kind of box just large enough to accommodate a bed, a cupboard and a chair, was reserved for my use. Old man Cavalier lived in the other one. When I said that he was alone in this place, I was wrong. He had taken his nephew with him, a young scamp about fourteen years old, who used to go to the village and run errands for the old man.

Cornelius Wambi Gulere, Emily Berg

Byantaka and the dead pot

African Storybook Level 3

https://www.africanstorybook.org/#

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Once upon a time, there was a man called Byantaka who had a cow. Each day Byantaka grazed his cow. He also gave the cow water to drink, but Byantaka only had a very small pot for water. So, he went at his neighbor's home to borrow a bigger pot for water. His neighbor agreed to lend Byantaka his biggest clay pot saying, "My neighbor's problem is my problem." After a few days, Byantaka went to a potter and bought a small pot. He took it home. He put the small pot inside the big pot that he had borrowed from his neighbor. Then, he put the big pot, with the small pot inside it, on his head. He carried the big pot to the neighbor who loaned it to him. Byantaka told him, "I am returning your pot, it has reproduced." The neighbor was amazed that his pot had produced another pot. He praised Byantaka saying, "Your home is blessed." After a while, Byantaka went back to his neighbour to borrow the pot again. He did not have good intentions.

wikipedia

Rockslide

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockslide

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A rockslide is a type of landslide caused by rock failure in which part of the bedding plane of failure passes through intact rock and material collapses en masse and not in individual blocks. While a landslide occurs when loose dirt or sediment falls down a slope, a rockslide occurs only when solid rocks are transported down slope. The rocks tumble downhill, loosening other rocks on their way and smashing everything in their path. Fast-flowing rock slides or debris slides behave similarly to snow avalanches, and are often referred to as rock avalanches or debris avalanches. The term landslide refers to a variety of mass wasting events (geologic slope failures) that include slumps, slides, falls, and flows. The two major types of slides are rotational slides and translational slides. Rockslides are a type of translational event since the rock mass moves along a roughly planar surface with little rotation or backward tilting. Rock slides are the most dangerous form of mass-wasting due to the fact that they incorporate a sudden, incredibly fast-paced release of bedrock along a uniform plane of weakness.

Ella Foster Case

The Conceited Mouse

Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25359/25359-h/25359-h.htm#Conceited

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Once upon a time there was a very small mouse with a very, very large opinion of himself. What he didn't know his own grandmother couldn't tell him. "You'd better keep a bright eye in your head, these days," said she, one chilly afternoon. "Your gran'ther has smelled a trap." "Scat!" answered the small mouse. If I don't know a trap when I see it!" And that was all the thanks she got for her good advice. "Go your own way, for you will go no other," the wise old mouse said to herself; and she scratched her nose slowly and sadly as she watched her grandson scamper up the cellar stairs. "Ah!" sniffed he, poking his whiskers into a crack of the dining-room cupboard, "cheese—as I'm alive!" Scuttle—scuttle. "I'll be squizzled, if it isn't in that cunning little house; I know what that is—a cheese-house, of course. What a very snug hall! That's the way with cheese-houses. I know, 'cause I've heard the dairymaid talk about 'em.

Séverine Martini & Warren R. Francis

The Dark Ocean Is Full of Lights

https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2020.00069

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Why do animals put their energy into making light? One reason to emit light is that, in the ocean, the sunlight barely penetrates deeper than a few hundred meters. Below that, it is completely dark. During the night, even the ocean surface is dark, except for the faint glow from the moonlight, so light is a great way for animals to communicate. But who are they communicating with and who else is seeing these signals? For marine species, emitting light or looking for light in the darkness helps them to find partners or even something to eat. For example, the angler fish uses its glowing lure to attract small prey that will undoubtedly end up in its stomach. Of course, since the prey do not want to be eaten, they can use bioluminescence too, but as a defense. Many different strategies can be used. Shooting a cloud of luminescent mucus is a way to leave predators dazzled for a few seconds. Indeed, imagine that you have been in a dark room for a few minutes.

Terence Powderly

The Plea for Eight Hours

CLD

https://www.commonlit.org/texts/the-plea-for-eight-hours

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Previous to 1825 men worked from sun-up to sun-down, and they saw but little of their homes on what was then rigidly observed as "the Sabbath." The adornment of the home gave the head of the family no concern, for he spent but a short time in the house. He knew but little of the wants of the household except those that pertained to food; and to the fact that he went forth for the purpose of supplying the family with food we owe the term "bread-winner" as applied to the laborer. To be a bread-winner was all that the workman of the last century aspired to; and yet he grew tired of the contest, for it brought him but a scanty portion of what be struggled for. In 1825, the agitation for the establishment of the ten-hour system began, and it continued until it was officially recognized by the President of the United States in 1840. Strikes, contentions, disputes, and, very often, bloodshed, at length brought the ten-hour system into operation, and with its final adoption the workman became ambitious of being more than a bread-winner.

Charlotte M. Yonge

The Fight at the Pass of Thermopylæ

Junior Classics Vol. 7

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/6302/pg6302-images.html

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The Persian army would have to march round the edge of the gulf. They could not cut straight across the country, because the ridge of mountains called Oeta rose up and barred their way. Indeed, the woods, rocks, and precipices came down so near the seashore, that in two places there was only room for one single wheel track between the steeps and the impassable morass that formed the border of the gulf on its south side. These two very narrow places were called the gates of the pass, and were about a mile apart. There was a little more width left in the intervening space; but in this there were a number of springs of warm mineral water, salt and sulphurous, which were used for the sick to bathe in, and thus the place was called Thermopylæ, or the Hot Gates.

Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

THE WOLF AND The Seven Young Goslings.

THE FAIRY BOOK.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19734/19734-h/19734-h.htm

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There was once an old goose who had seven young goslings, and loved them as only a mother can love her children. One day she was going into the wood to seek for provender, and before setting off she called all seven to her and said, "Dear children, I am obliged to go into the wood, so be on your guard against the wolf; for if he gets in here he will eat you up, feathers, skin, and all. The villain often disguises himself, but you can easily recognise him by his rough voice and black paws." The children answered, "Dear mother, we will take great care; you may go without any anxiety." So the old lady was comforted, and set off cheerfully for the wood. Before long, some one knocked at the door, and cried, "Open, open, my dear children; your mother is here, and has brought something for each of you." But the goslings soon perceived, by the rough voice, that it was the wolf. "We will not open," said they; "you are not our mother, for she has a sweet and lovely voice; but your voice is rough—you are the wolf."

Joel Chandler Harris

A Georgia Fox Hunt

The Literary World Seventh Reader by Browne, Metcalf, and Withers

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19721/19721-h/19721-h.htm

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Whereupon, Aunt Patience gave her head handkerchief a vigorous wrench, and went her way—the good old soul—even then considering how she should best set about preparing a genuine surprise for her young master in the shape of daily feasts for a dozen guests. I will not stop here to detail the character of this preparation or to dwell upon its success. It is enough to say that Tom Tunison praised Aunt Patience to the skies; and, as if this were not sufficient to make her happy, he produced a big clay pipe, three plugs of real "manufac terbacker," which was hard to get in those times, a red shawl, and twelve yards of calico. The fortnight that followed the arrival of Tom's guests was one long to be remembered, not only in the annals of the Rockville Hunting Club but in the annals of Rockville itself. The fair de Compton literally turned the heads of old men and young boys, and even succeeded in conquering the critics of her own sex. She was marvelously beautiful, and her beauty was of a kind to haunt one in one's dreams.

Henry James

The Middle Years

http://www.online-literature.com/henry_james/the-middle-years/

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What began, during the springtime of my actual reference, in a couple of dusky ground-floor rooms at number 7 Half-Moon Street, was simply an establishment all in a few days of a personal relation with London that was not of course measurable at the moment—I saw in my bedazzled state of comparative freedom too many other relations ahead, a fairly intoxicated vision of choice and range—but that none the less set going a more intimately inner consciousness, a wheel within the wheels, and led to my departing, the actual, the general incident closed, in possession of a return-ticket "good," as we say, for a longer interval than I could then dream about, and that the first really earnest fumble of after years brought surprisingly to light. I think it must have been the very proportions themselves of the invitation and the interest that kept down, under the immense impression, everything in the nature of calculation and presumption; dark, huge and prodigious the other party to our relation, London's and mine, as I called it, loomed and spread—much too mighty a Goliath for the present in any conceivable ambition even of a fast-growing David.

Margaret Penrose

THE MOTOR GIRLS THROUGH NEW ENGLAND

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/20870/pg20870-images.html

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Bess, Belle and Cora were holding this whispered conversation. It was Belle, the timid, who wanted to cry, and it was Cora who had really seen the man—got the good look. Bess did say she wished the boys were around, but Bess had great confidence in those boys, and this remark, when a man was actually sneaking around Clover Cottage, was perfectly pardonable. The motor girls had just returned from a delightful afternoon ride along the shore road at Lookout Beach. Bess and Belle Robinson, otherwise Elizabeth and Isabel, the twins, were in their little car—the Flyaway—and Cora Kimball was driving her fine, four-cylinder touring affair, both machines having just pulled up in front of Clover Cottage, the summer home of the Robinsons. "Did the boys say they would come directly from the post-office?" asked Belle, as she eyed the back fence suspiciously. "Yes, they had to drop some mail in the box. We won't attempt to go in until they come. At any rate, I have a little something to do to the Whirlwind," and Cora pulled off her gloves, and started to get a wrench out of the tool box.

Anna McCaleb

QUEEN VICTORIA

Journeys Through Bookland, vol 7

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23405

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On June twenty-eighth, 1838, after she had been queen for over a year, Victoria was formally crowned at Westminster Abbey. The crown worn by her predecessors was far too large for her, so a new crown was made at a cost of over five hundred thousand dollars. The spectacle was a most impressive and inspiring one, and the queen went through her part in it, as she had gone through her part at all ceremonies in which she had participated, in a manner which roused anew the enthusiasm of her subjects. When the prime minister finally placed the crown on Victoria's head, all the peers and peeresses placed their coronets on their heads and shouted God Save the Queen. Carlyle said of her at that time, "Poor little Queen! She is at an age at which a girl can hardly be trusted to choose a bonnet for herself, yet a task is laid upon her from which an archangel might shrink."

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Current History

The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It No. 10

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18663/18663-h/18663-h.htm

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During the past few months some very rich "finds" have been made in the Klondike, and a great deal of excitement has been created there. The facilities for carrying on the work are now greater than they have previously been, and to this fact is attributed the new discoveries. If the latest reports are to be credited, the gold region is proving to be as valuable as it was thought to be during the first excitement. Nevertheless, it is only the few who win great profits, while the majority suffer. The Canadian Government is taking an active interest in the Klondike, and it will probably undertake before long to have surveys made to discover the best route from the interior of Canada to the Yukon, and will also have the Mackenzie-River route improved. Sir Wilfrid Laurier has lately expressed the belief that there are gold regions in the Rocky Mountains yet to be discovered.

Izora C. Chandler

Crete and Greece

The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It No. 18

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15386/15386-h/15386-h.htm

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I was in Athens when the coming of age of Crown Prince George, the brave, handsome young Greek of whom we hear so much, was celebrated. The streets, from the palace to the church where the ceremonies were to take place, were most beautiful with triumphal arches. Rich tapestries floated from the windows all along the way, and the flags of all nations—among them our own dear Stars and Stripes—swung merrily to the breeze. The city was full of soldiers. Among them were the Greek mountaineers in their picturesque costume of white linen, consisting of tunics with long, flowing sleeves, and kilted skirts so full and so starched that they stood out like the skirts of a circus rider. Their long, pointed shoes, which turned up at the toes like a toboggan, had large red rosettes on the very points. Their caps were brightly colored, and a long tassel fell from the crown to their shoulders. Not a very good fighting costume, you will probably think; but if you had looked into their keen eyes and determined faces, you would have forgotten the costume—especially if they had come to fight you.

simple wiki

Digital_Object_Identifier

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Object_Identifier

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A Digital Object Identifier (or DOI) is a permanent way to identify an online document. This identification is not related to its current location. A typical use of a DOI is to give a scientific paper or article a unique number that can be used by anyone find the location of the paper. It may also make it possible to find an electronic copy, for example, on the Internet. The DOI system has a DOI resolution system which is used to locate where the document is. When the document is moved, the DOI resolution system is updated with the new location of the document. For example, doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2008.03.001 links to "Web 2.0 authorship: Issues of Referencing and citation for academic integrity" by Kathleen Gray et al. The work was published in The Internet and Higher Education, Vol. 11, Issue 2, 2008.

W. N. LOCKINGTON

COMPARISON OF STRENGTH OF LARGE AND SMALL ANIMALS.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO. 430

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8484/8484-h/8484-h.htm#15

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By what peculiarity of our minds do we seem to expect the speed of an animal to be in proportion to its size? We do not expect a caravan to move faster than a single horseman, nor an eight hundred pound shot to move twelve thousand eight hundred times farther than an ounce ball. Devout writers speak of a wise provision of Nature. "If," say they, "the speed of a mouse were as much less than that of a horse as its body is smaller, it would take two steps per second, and be caught at once." Would not Nature have done better for the mouse had she suppressed the cat? Is it not a fact that small animals often owe their escape to their want of swiftness, which enables them to change their direction readily? A man can easily overtake a mouse in a straight run, but the ready change of direction baffles him. M. Plateau has experimented on the strength of insects, and the facts are unassailable. He has harnessed carabi, necrophori, June-beetles (Melolontha), and other insects in such a way that, with a delicate balance, he can measure their powers of draught.

Franz Kafka

The Trial

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/7849/pg7849-images.html

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Someone must have been telling lies about Josef K., he knew he had done nothing wrong but, one morning, he was arrested. Every day at eight in the morning he was brought his breakfast by Mrs. Grubach's cook - Mrs. Grubach was his landlady - but today she didn't come. That had never happened before. K. waited a little while, looked from his pillow at the old woman who lived opposite and who was watching him with an inquisitiveness quite unusual for her, and finally, both hungry and disconcerted, rang the bell. There was immediately a knock at the door and a man entered. He had never seen the man in this house before. He was slim but firmly built, his clothes were black and close-fitting, with many folds and pockets, buckles and buttons and a belt, all of which gave the impression of being very practical but without making it very clear what they were actually for. "Who are you?" asked K., sitting half upright in his bed. The man, however, ignored the question as if his arrival simply had to be accepted, and merely replied, "You rang?"

Mia Hodorovich

Rasputin: Mysteries of a Monk's Life and Death

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https://www.commonlit.org/texts/rasputin-mysteries-of-a-monk-s-life-and-death

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Grigori Rasputin grew up in the small village of Pokrovskoye and led the unremarkable life of a Siberian peasant. Local records show that he was occasionally charged with minor offenses, such as excessive drinking and petty theft. As a peasant he received no formal education and was illiterate until early adulthood. At age 19, he married a local girl named Praskovya Dubrovina, and the couple had three children. In 1897, Rasputin traveled to the St. Nicholas Monastery in Verkhoturye. Whatever prompted this spiritual pilgrimage is unclear — from avoiding legal punishment to experiencing a divine vision — but he returned a changed man. He spent the following years as a strannik, or pilgrim, wandering the country to visit various holy sites. Rasputin soon made a name for himself wandering as far as Greece. During his travels, he developed unorthodox practices and amassed followers, mostly women. Despite his unkempt appearance, Rasputin was a charismatic man. As Simon Sebag Montefiore notes in his book The Romanovs, Rasputin was "utterly self-possessed" and his charm "rough and simple." Eventually, he caught the attention of senior members of the imperial Romanov family.

Mervat Al-Beltagi

Among the Roots

https://www.digitallibrary.io/en/books/details/1370

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Ronny, Ronny! Why don't you go and see what's going on in your garden? Ronny, it looks serious. Why don't you go and see for yourself? Didn't I tell you it was serious? Are these tiny snakes? They're eating all the vegetables. They'll destroy your garden. Don't just stare at me. You've got do something about it. Are you scared? Catch them and take them out of the garden immediately! Oops, poor thing. You fell right in the mud. Look at them, they're laughing at you. Do you want these little creatures to win? I thought you were a super hero. Great! Well done! What are they? They look like tiny snakes. Hmm...so, they're actually earthworms. Ok, what else? Watch out, the worm got away. Catch, it! Don't let it go. Faster! Faster! It stopped over there at the pomegranate tree. Oh! It got away! Do you really want to find it? Ok, then do as she did. She tapped the pomegranate tree three times. Give it try. What do you have to lose?

wikipedia

Data_visualization

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_visualization

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Data visualization or data visualization is viewed by many disciplines as a modern equivalent of visual communication. It involves the creation and study of the visual representation of data, meaning "information that has been abstracted in some schematic form, including attributes or variables for the units of information". A primary goal of data visualization is to communicate information clearly and efficiently via statistical graphics, plots and information graphics. Numerical data may be encoded using dots, lines, or bars, to visually communicate a quantitative message. Effective visualization helps users analyze and reason about data and evidence. It makes complex data more accessible, understandable and usable. Users may have particular analytical tasks, such as making comparisons or understanding causality, and the design principle of the graphic (i.e., showing comparisons or showing causality) follows the task. Tables are generally used where users will look up a specific measurement, while charts of various types are used to show patterns or relationships in the data for one or more variables.

G. A. Henty

WITH MOORE AT CORUNNA

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8651/8651-h/8651-h.htm

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The gale increased in strength, and the whole vessel strained so heavily that her seams began to open, and by one o'clock the captain requested Major Harrison, who was in command, to put some of the soldiers at the pumps. For three days and nights relays of men kept the pumps going. Had it not been for the 400 troops on board, the Sea-horse would long before have gone to the bottom; but with such powerful aid the water was kept under, and on the morning of the fourth day the storm began to abate, and by evening more canvas was got on her. The next morning two vessels were seen astern at a distance of four or five miles. After examining them through his glass, the captain sent down a message to Major Harrison asking him to come up. In three or four minutes that officer appeared.

simple wiki

E-mail

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail

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Electronic mail (or e-mail or email) is an Internet service that allows those people who have an e-mail address (accounts) to send and receive electronic letters. Those are much like postal letters, except that they are delivered much faster than snail mail when sending over long distances, and are usually free. Like with regular mail, users may get a lot of unwanted mail. With e-mail, this is called spam. Some programs used for sending and receiving mail can detect spam and filter it out nearly completely. To send or receive an email in the traditional way, you need a device (computer, phone etc.) connected to the Internet and an e-mail program (simply called mailer). Several formats exist for email addresses. The most common, called RFC 2822, looks like user@domain.com. E-mail messages are sent mostly by text, and sometimes by HTML style.

South African Folktale

King of the birds

African Storybook Level 4

https://www.africanstorybook.org/

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Once long ago, the birds had a meeting. They wanted a king, just like people and animals. Which bird should be king? "Eagle, he is strong and kingly!" said one bird. "No, he has no crown, and when he calls, he sounds too sad," said another. "Then Ostrich, because he is the largest and roars like a lion," one called out. "No, he can't fly. The king of the birds must be able to fly." "I think I should be king," said Peacock, fanning his tail. "I am so beautiful." "You are too proud," said Owl. "I have the largest eyes of any bird. I should be king." "No, not you, Owl," the other birds shouted. "You go to sleep when the sun rises!" And so they didn't get very far with choosing a king. Then one bird had an idea. "The one who can fly the highest will be king," she said. "Yes, yes," all the birds shouted, and they all flew up, up, into the sky. Goose flew for one day, straight over the highest mountains in the world. Eagle flew for two days, into the sky high above the mountains.

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Progress Invention and Discovery

The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It No. 10

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18663/18663-h/18663-h.htm

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The system of using locks allows the water in different parts of the canal to be at different levels. This is done by closing both ends of each section of the canal with gates; a second pair of gates is placed a short distance beyond, and the space between these is called a "lock." If a vessel is to be taken into a section of the canal higher than that from which she has come, she goes into the lock; water is then let into this lock from the higher level by opening a water-gate until enough has entered to float the vessel up to the level of the higher section of the canal; the gates before the vessel are then opened and she passes out into the new section. If she is to be taken to a lower section, the reverse of this operation accomplishes this: the water is let out until she is on the lower level.

Translated by George Herbert Palmer

Odysseus in Phaeacia

Modern Prose and Poetry for Secondary Schools

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17160/17160-h/17160-h.htm#Page_120

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The women went away.... And now, with water from the stream, royal Odysseus washed his skin clean of the salt which clung about his back and his broad shoulders, and wiped from his head the foam brought by the barren sea; and when he had thoroughly bathed and oiled himself and had put on the clothing which the chaste maiden gave, Athene, the daughter of Zeus, made him taller than before and stouter to behold, and she made the curling locks to fall around his head as on the hyacinth flower. As when a man lays gold on silver,—some skillful man whom Hephaestus and Pallas Athene have trained in every art, and he fashions graceful work; so did she cast a grace upon his head and shoulders. He walked apart along the shore, and there sat down, beaming with grace and beauty.

Flora Annie Webster Steel

The Adventures of Akbar

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18307/18307-h/18307-h.htm

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And Queen Humeeda took the child and kissed him and hugged him just as any English mother would have done. Head-nurse, however, was not a bit satisfied with this display of affection. That would have been the portion of any ordinary child, and Baby Akbar was more than that: he was the heir apparent to the throne of India! If he had only been in the palaces that belonged to him, instead of in a miserable tent, there would have been ceremonials and festivities and fireworks over this cutting of a tooth! Aye! Certainly fireworks. But how could one keep up court etiquette when royalty was flying for its life? Impossible! Why, even her determination that, come what might, a royal umbrella must be held over the blessed infant during their perilous journeys had very nearly led to his being captured!

PERCY KEESE FITZHUGH

TOM SLADE AT BLACK LAKE

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18943/18943-h/18943-h.htm

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Tom Slade, bending over the office table, scrutinized the big map of Temple Camp. It was the first time he had really looked at it since his return from France, and it made him homesick to see, even in its cold outlines, the familiar things and scenes which he had so loved as a scout. The hill trail was nothing but a dotted line, but Tom knew it for more than that, for it was along its winding way into the dark recesses of the mountains that he had qualified for the pathfinder's badge. Black Lake was just an irregular circle, but in his mind's eye he saw there the moonlight glinting up the water, and canoes gliding silently, and heard the merry voices of scouts diving from the springboard at its edge. He liked this map better than maps of billets and trenches, and to him the hill trail was more suggestive of adventure than the Hindenburg Line. He had been very close to the Hindenburg Line and it had meant no more to him than the equator. He had found the war to be like a three-ringed circus—it was too big. Temple Camp was about the right size.

William and Jacob Grimm

The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids

The Beacon Second Reader

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15659/15659-h/15659-h.htm#THE_WOLF_AND_THE_SEVEN_YOUNG_KIDS

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So the old goat went on her way into the dark woods. She had not been gone long when there came a loud rap at the door, and a voice cried: "Open the door, my dear children. I have something here for each of you." But the young kids knew by the rough voice that this was the old wolf. So one of them said, "We shall not open the door. Our mother's voice is soft and gentle. Your voice is rough. You are a wolf." The old wolf ran away to a shop, where he ate a piece of white chalk to make his voice soft. Then he went back to the goat's hut and rapped at the door. He spoke in a soft voice and said, "Open the door for me, my dear children. I am your mother." But the oldest little goat thought of what his mother had said. "If you are our mother, put your foot on the window sill, that we may see it." When the wolf had done this, all the little goats cried out, "No, you are not our mother. We shall not open the door."

Helen Dare

Excerpt from “Susan B. Anthony, The Woman”

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https://www.commonlit.org/texts/excerpt-from-susan-b-anthony-the-woman

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Anywhere there is a frontier, where there are new and hard conditions to be met, tasks to be done, you may find this Susan B. Anthony kind of womanliness. It is the homespun, dyed-in-the-wool brand, as distinguished from the boudoir, beauty-doctored brand. Let me show her to you in her rocking chair. It is not without determined effort and much expense of strenuosity that I can do it, for Susan B. Anthony is the liveliest girl of 85 that I ever pursued. Although eighty-five are her birthdays, she has not reached the chimney-corner age. You cannot say to yourself, when I have finished this, that and the other — attended to the more pressing affairs — I will drop in on Miss Anthony. She is 85, and sure to be at home. On the contrary, you will get up, as I did, earlier than your wont, and if you're wise and would save time and travel you will start before breakfast — as I did not, alas!

Emma K. Parrish

Jack's Christmas

St. Nicholas Magazine Volume 5 No. 2

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15373/15373-h/15373-h.htm#jackschristmas

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For a week, Jack wondered and mused within himself how he could get something for Christmas presents for his little sisters. He couldn't make anything at home without their seeing it, nor at school without the teacher's seeing it, or else the big boys plaguing him about it. Besides, he would rather buy something pretty, such as they had never seen before—china dolls in pink dresses, or something of that kind. One morning, however, Jack discovered some quail-tracks in the snow near the straw-stack, and he no longer wondered about ways and means, but in a moment was awake to the importance of this discovery. That very evening he made a wooden trap, and the next morning early set it near the stack, and laid an inviting train of wheat quite up to it, and scattered a little inside. He told his sisters, Mary and Janey, about the trap, but not about what he meant to do with the quails when he caught them.

Siyavula

Natural Sciences - 9 A

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6pcGxi_-Y9PSEFyRnBsQjFBTVE/view

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Carbohydrates are the main supply of energy for our bodies. They break down in our digestive system to form glucose (which is a sugar). Examples of foods that contain carbohydrates are: whole grain bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, fruit, vegetables, maize and legumes. Unfortunately many people eat too many carbohydrates, especially processed carbohydrates like sweets and biscuits, chips, pastries, soft drinks and sweetened fruit juices. Fats and oils are important for many body processes: • Fat protects and insulates your organs • They help maintaining healthy hair and nails. • Some vitamins can only be absorbed and transported when attached to fat molecules. • Fats and oils also provide the body with energy. However, some fats are better than others and having too much of any type is not a good idea. Vitamins help with the different chemical reactions in our bodies: • vitamin A helps strengthen our immune system and is good for eyesight in the dark • B vitamins help us process energy from food • vitamin C helps to keep your skin and gums healthy and improves the immune system • vitamin D helps to build strong bones and teeth

CommonLit Staff

Keeping Up with the Joneses

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https://www.commonlit.org/texts/keeping-up-with-the-joneses

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In Old World Europe, social status depended on one's family name and connections to royalty. Because of this, it was very difficult for a person to change his or her social status or rank — it was something you were born with or you weren't. In the United States, the widespread availability of luxury products such as cars, technology, and homes that show a person's status is one thing that has made social mobility possible. Some say that it is possible in the U.S. to "buy your way to the top." With the increasing availability and appeal of "status goods," people became more inclined to define themselves by what they possessed. The quest for higher social status accelerated. The "keeping up with the Joneses" philosophy has widespread effects on some societies — some positive, and some negative. On one hand, it means that it is possible for people to enter into a higher social class. On the other hand, it means that people in a society sometimes become preoccupied with the accumulation of wealth and status, and there may be winners and losers. Some people may not be able to "keep up with the Joneses" and feel dissatisfied or inferior.