Second book from sokar
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SECOND BOOK FROM SOKAR SOKAR It talks about everything you want to know
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Transcript of Second book from sokar
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SECOND BOOK
FROM SOKAR
SOKAR It talks about everything you want to know
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Part 1 Eiffel Tower
France celebrated
the centennial of
the
French Revolution
with an
international
exhibition in Paris.
The main attraction
Was a giant iron
tower named after?
Its creator, Gustave
Eiffel. The iconic
Structure became
one of the worlds
Most recognizable
buildings.
In 1889, the Eiffel
Tower was by far
the world’s tallest
structure.
Under construction
Designed by the same
man responsible for
Building the iron
supports of the Statue
of
Liberty, the tower was
a marvel of
engineering.
Made of 18,000
separate parts, it
weighs
10,000 tons and stands
1,050 ft. (320 m) tall.
It took 300 workers
just under two years to
build.
Tourist attraction
Not everyone liked the tower. After its construction, a group of Parisian artists signed a
petition demanding its destruction, calling it an “atrocity.” But as visitor numbers grew, so
did public appreciation of the landmark building. Today, about seven million people visit
the tower every year.
Lesson: History
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Part 2 Alexander the Great
One of the finest generals in history, Alexander
became
King of Macedon, in northern Greece, at age 20
after his
Father Philip II was murdered in 336 BCE.
Alexander fulfilled
Philip’s plan to invade Persia. In eight years,
Alexander
Created an empire that stretched from Greece to
northern
India. When he died, at age 32, his warring
generals
carved up his empire among themselves.
Legendary hero
Alexander’s military exploits made him a legend in his own lifetime. He
founded and named many cities after himself, including Alexandria in
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Egypt, and believed he was a god. However, he died before producing
an heir (his son was born after his death).
Part 3 Cleopatra
Cleopatra (ruled 51–30 BCE) was the last of the
Macedonian Dynasty that ruled Egypt for 300
years. At first, she shared power with her
brother, Ptolemy XIII, but later she overthrew
him. After Cleopatra’s death, Egypt became a
Roman province.
Egyptian beauty
Cleopatra had affairs with Caesar, who
Supported her against her brother, and with
Mark Antony, a Roman general. Antony and
Cleopatra’s political enemies feared the
Couple would found a powerful new dynasty.
Egyptian beauty
Cleopatra had affairs with Caesar, who supported her
against her brother, and with Mark Antony, a Roman
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general. Antony and Cleopatra’s political enemies feared
the couple would found a powerful new dynasty.
Part 4 Marcus Aurelius
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius was a peace-loving Man who was constantly at war. First of
All, he had to fight the Parthians on the eastern Frontier. Then he had to deal with an invasion By the Marcomanni, Germanic tribes who lived North of the Danube River. He left the empire In good shape after his death. Philosopher emperor A lifelong lover of learning And philosophy, Marcus Aurelius wrote down his Thoughts about life in a book Called the Meditations. Flesh and blood
Marcus’s son Commodus had no interest in
government and spent all his time at the games. He
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took part in staged animal hunts in the Colosseum,
supposedly slaying 100 lions in one day.
Part 5 Constantine the Great
Constantine I was proclaimed emperor in the
west in 306
But was immediately plunged into civil wars
against his
Co-emperors and rivals. He claimed that the
Christian God
Helped him secure victory for the control of
Rome against
The usurper Maxentius in 312, and the next year
he and his
Co-emperor Licinius issued the Edict
Of Milan, allowing freedom of
Worship throughout the
Empire. For Christians, this
Sole emperor
In 324, Constantine became the
Sole emperor after defeating
Licinius and ordering his execution.
Constantine continued to support
Christianity and ordered the
Building of churches throughout
The empire. However, he was not
Formally baptized a Christian until
Just before his death.
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Put an end to the constant
Threat of persecution.
Part 6 Charlemagne
Charlemagne, the grandson of Charles Martel,
Became the sole ruler of the Franks in 771. He
was
The greatest of the Frankish kings—
Charlemagne
Means “Charles the Great.” In 30 years of
campaigning,
He doubled the size of the kingdom,
Conquering the Lombards of
Northern Italy and the Saxons
Of northern Germany. Although
He encouraged learning, he
Never learned to read.
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Crowned as emperor
On Christmas Day 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as emperor in Rome. It was an
unprecedented event. Charlemagne was the first emperor in the West for nearly 400 years.
Part 7 United Spain
In 1469, Isabella, heir to the
Kingdom of Castile, married
Ferdinand, heir to the kingdom
Of Aragon. They would rule
Their Spanish kingdoms as joint
Monarchs, bringing stability
To both after years of civil
War. Isabella died in 1504
And Ferdinand in 1516. Their
Marriage led to a united
Spain from 1516 onward.
Catholic monarchs
Both Isabella and Ferdinand were
very devout Christians. The Pope
gave Isabella and Ferdinand the
title
of the “Catholic Monarchs” in
1496.
Spanish kingdoms
Castile was the larger of the two realms,
but Aragon had an extensive overseas
empire. Their joint armies would take
Granada, the last Muslim state, in 1492,
and fully conquer Navarre in 1515.
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Part 8 The birth of the sikh Religions
Guru Nanak (1469–1539),
Born in modern-day Pakistan,
Founded the Sikh religion
After meeting and debating
With religious leaders in
India, Tibet, and Arabia.
Sikhs believe in one God,
And their religion blends
Elements of Hinduism
And Islam.
Holy teachers
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Sikhs believe Guru Nanak (right) was the first of eleven gurus, or teachers. The
eleventh is the Sikh scriptures, known as Guru Granth Sahib, which were
completed in 1604.
Golden Temple
The holy scriptures are housed in the Harmandir Sahib, more popularly known as the Golden
Temple (left). It is the Sikhs’ holy temple at Amritsar in the Indian state of Punjab.
Part 9 Akbar the great The grandson of Babur, Akbar was the third
Mughal emperor of India. He succeeded his
Father, Humayun—who had failed to preserve
Babur’s conquests—in 1556 at the age of 13.
During his 50-year reign, Akbar created a
mighty
Empire that stretched across northern India.
Tolerant ruler
Akbar was a Muslim, but he allowed His Hindu subjects
to worship Freely and encouraged debates With members
of other religions, Including Hindus, Zoroastrians (the
Religion of Persia), and Christians.
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Tiger hunt
This miniature painting shows Akbar on
A tiger hunt—one of the favorite pastimes
Of the Mughal emperors. Akbar was a
Great patron of the arts, especially miniature
Painting, which flourished at the Mughal court.
Part 10 Louis XIV
Louis XIV became king of France in 1643, at
the
Age of four. In 1661, after the death of his chief
Minister, Cardinal Mazarin, he took sole charge
of
The government. Louis increased French
influence in
Europe and the New World, reformed the
French legal
System, and was a great patron of the arts. His
72-
Year reign was one of the longest in European
history.
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The Sun King
Louis XIV gained the name of le Roi Soleil (the Sun King) after
appearing as Apollo, the Greek god of the Sun, in a ballet as a teenager.
Louis’s numerous wars made France the leading nation in Europe.
Part 11 Microscope Scientists were experimenting with
Lenses at this time. In 1665, English
Scientist Robert Hooke published
The amazing observations he made
With his microscope in a book
Called Micrographia. Dutchman
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek made
Powerful microscope lenses with
A magnification of 250 times. He
Was the first person to see bacteria?
(Which he called “animalcules”)
In saliva from his own mouth.
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Larger than life
In Micrographia, Hooke included huge, detailed illustrations of
the tiny objects he had seen under the microscope, including
insects, such as the flea.
Part 12 Frederick the great
In 1740, Frederick II became king
Of Prussia after his father died.
Shortly after taking the throne,
Frederick II invaded and seized the
Austrian province of Silesia (parts of
Present-day Poland, Germany, and
The Czech Republic). Frederick the
Great, as he is known, turned the
Small German kingdom of Prussia
Into a major European power.
Complex character
Frederick ruled Prussia for
46 years. A military genius,
He loved literature, poetry, and
Philosophy, composed music
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For the flute, and corresponded
With the French philosopher
Voltaire. Despite introducing
Liberal reforms, he ruled as a Absolute monarch.
Part 13 Electricity
The energy of electricity had always fascinated
scientists
And, during the first half of the 1800s, the
understanding
Of its true potential advanced rapidly. In 1821,
following
Danish physicist Hans Christian Oersted’s
discovery of
Electromagnetism, Michael Faraday
demonstrated
How to make electricity from magnetism.
Michael Faraday
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The son of a poor blacksmith from the north of England,
Michael Faraday received very little formal Education.
However, he had an Intuitive understanding of physics
And became one of the most Influential scientists of his
time.
Part 14 Charles Darwin
British naturalist Charles Darwin is regarded as
one of the
World’s greatest scientists thanks to his
groundbreaking
Theories of evolution. After traveling in South
America,
He developed his theories for 20 years before
publishing
His celebrated book, On the Origin of Species.
Scientific voyage
Born to a large family in England, Charles
Darwin studied at school and college until
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he joined a scientific voyage to South
America’s Galápagos Islands. In 1831, he
set sail on board the ship HMS Beagle and
spent five years studying the animal and
plant life he encountered on the islands. Part 15 American civil war
In the 1860s, the United States went to war over
slavery and states’ rights.
The Northern states, where slavery was already
illegal, wanted it abolished
Throughout the country. However, the Southern
states wanted to keep
Slavery, since they relied on African slaves to
farm their crops of cotton
And tobacco. It was a bloody battle that tore the
country apart before
Slavery was finally abolished.
Abraham Lincoln
The election of the abolitionist Lincoln as
president in 1860
Jump-started the Civil War. He led the North
to victory and
Signed the law freeing the slaves.
Jefferson Davis
President of the Confederacy, Davis was a
less effective leader than Lincoln. He failed to
get support from foreign countries or devise a
strategy to stop the North’s advance.
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Part 16 Albert Einstein
Ulysses S. Grant
He led the Union army from 1862 onward.
Grant masterminded a
Series of victories over the Confederates. He
served two terms as president after the war.
Robert E. Lee
Lee was such a hugely respected professional
soldier that he was even asked to be
commander of the Union army. But he
remained loyal to the South.
In 1905, German
scientist Albert
Einstein published
A revolutionary
paper that
explained many
of the
Mysteries of the
Universe. Einstein
worked in
An office in
Switzerland and
had developed
his
“Special
Theory of
Relativity” in
his spare time.
Scientific genius
Born in Germany to a
Jewish family, Einstein
Moved to Switzerland to
Study, and then to the
United
States in 1933, where he
lived
Until he died. After his
paper
Was published, he
became
The world’s most
Famous scientist
And was awarded
The Nobel Prize for
Physics in 1921.
Special Theory of Relativity
Einstein suggested that mass and
energy are versions of the same
thing, which he expressed in his
famous equation: E=mc2. His
later work explained how space
and time form an interconnected
whole called “space-time.”
German stamp
celebrating
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Part 17 Marie curie
In an age when most scientists were men, Marie
Curie
Was a notable exception. Born Marie
Sklodowska in
Poland, she studied in Paris, France, where she
met
And married Pierre Curie, a physics professor.
Together, they investigated the recently
Discovered phenomena of radiation
And X-rays, winning the Nobel
Prize for Physics in 1903.
Nobel Prize
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Pierre was killed in a car accident in 1906, but Marie
continued her work and was awarded second Nobel
Prize for Chemistry in 1911. She
also pioneered the use of X-rays in surgery during
World War I.
Part 18 Adolf Hitler
Born and raised in Austria, Adolf Hitler served
as a soldier in a German regiment during
World War I. Defeat was his motivation to
try building a new German Empire, but his
doomed attempt unleashed carnage and
slaughter on an unimaginable scale.
Nazi origins
After serving in the war, Hitler became the
leader of the far-right National Socialist (Nazi)
Party. The Nazis blamed Germany’s economic
problems on the Treaty of Versailles and the
influence of other races, particularly the Jews,
who they considered inferior to the Germans.
Rise of a dictator
Hitler was a gifted public speaker who
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Convinced many people to support the Nazis.
But when the Nazis came to power in 1933,
They turned Germany into a dictatorship with
Hitler as the supreme Führer (ruler).
Part 19 War on Terror
In the 1980s, the militant Islamist terrorist
organization
Al-Qaeda was formed with the aim of
establishing a
worldwide Muslim nation. It carried out a series
of
attacks, culminating in the destruction of New
York’s
World Trade Center in 2001. This prompted the
United States to launch a “War on Terror”
against
the group’s worldwide network.
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Under attack
On September 11, 2001,
19 members of Al-Qaeda
hijacked four American planes.
Two were flown into the Twin
Towers of New York’s World
Trade Center, one hit the
Pentagon in Washington, DC,
while the final plane crashed into
a field in Pennsylvania. Almost
3,000 people were killed.
Osama bin Laden
A member of a wealthy Saudi
family, Osama bin Laden fought
with the Mujahideen against the
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Soviets in Afghanistan during
the 1980s. He later founded
Al-Qaeda (meaning “the base”
in Arabic) to wage a worldwide
jihad (holy war) against what he
saw as the corrupt Western world.
Invasion of Afghanistan
The Taliban rulers of Afghanistan
harbored bases of bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda
movement. In 2001, US president George
W. Bush ordered an attack on the country.
Initially, the war went well for the US
and the Taliban was quickly overthrown.
But the Taliban fought back, and the
war continued for more than a decade.
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Bin Laden slipped out of the country.
Iraq War
In 2003, the US turned its
attention to Iraq. They believed
its ruler, Saddam Hussein,
was hiding Weapons of Mass
Destruction (WMD) that could
potentially be used against the
West, and invaded the country
to destroy them. Hussein was
quickly forced from power,
but no WMD were ever found
and the new US-backed Iraqi
government faced years of
fighting against rebel groups.
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Al-Qaeda attacks
In the 2000s, Al-Qaeda and its associated
organizations continued to launch terrorist
attacks targeting the West as protests
against the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
December 2001
British terrorist Richard Reid was arrested
trying to detonate a bomb in his shoe on a
plane from Paris, France, to Miami, Florida.
October 2002
Two bombs set off in a nightclub in Bali,
Indonesia killed more than 200 people.
March 2004
Bombs on trains in Madrid, Spain, killed
more than 190 and injured at least 1,800.
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July 2005
Bombs on underground trains and a bus
in London killed 52 people and injured
more than 700.
December 2007
Former Pakistani president Benazir Bhutto
and 150 other people were killed by a
suicide bomber in Pakistan.
Bin Laden’s death
For a decade, America’s most wanted man—
Osama bin Laden—evaded capture. He
continued to organize terrorist attacks and
released regular public messages, urging his
supporters to continue the fight against the
West. But in 2011, he was tracked down to a
specially built compound in Abbottabad,
Pakistan. US soldiers helicoptered in, stormed
the compound, and shot bin Laden dead.
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Part 20 your amazing brain
The brain is the most astonishing part
of your body. Its billions of cells control
everything you think and do, including
your actions, senses, emotions,
memory, and language. The more
you use it, the better it works.
This book is all about how to
get your brain cells buzzing and,
maybe, become a genius.
Emotions
Fear, anger, joy, love,
and other emotions might
seem like automatic mental
responses, but we can use
our brains to control our
Lesson: biology
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emotions if we want.
Automatic activity
Your brain is always active,
even when you are asleep.
It also keeps you alive by
controlling your heartbeat,
temperature, breathing,
and digestion.
Perception
All of your senses are
wired into your brain,
which takes in the signals
they send and allows you
to see, hear, smell, taste,
and feel the world.
Thinking
Your brain is always solving
problems by connecting
different ideas—even when
they are not part of your own
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experience. Only humans
can do this.
Memory
Every event or fact that
grabs your attention may be
stored in your memory—an
amazingly efficient library of
information that never runs
out of space.
Language
Your brain gives you the
ability to communicate and
understand complex ideas
using speech. You can also
learn by reading words that
were written long ago.
Movement
Your brain triggers and
organizes your movements,
so your actions are smooth
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and efficient. Most of this
happens without you
thinking about it.
Part 21 Mapping the brain
Your brain is the most complex organ in your
body—a spongy pink mass made up of billions
of microscopic nerve cells linked together in an
electronic network. Each part has its own job,
but it is the biggest part, the cerebrum, that is
responsible for your thoughts and actions.
Pituitary gland
This releases chemicals called
hormones into your blood. They
control many functions, including
growth and body development.
Hypothalamus
This is the part of your brain
that regulates sleep, hunger,
and body temperature.
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Thalamus
The thalamus relays sensory signals
from your body to your cerebrum,
where they are decoded and analyzed.
Brain stem
Connected to the spinal cord,
the brain stem links the rest
of the body to the brain and
controls heartbeat and breathing.
Cerebrum
The biggest part of the brain
controls all our conscious actions
and thoughts, analyzes sensory
data, and stores memories.
Blood supply
The brain needs a constant supply
of oxygen to fuel its activities.
This is delivered in the blood via
the body’s circulatory system of
arteries, veins, and capillaries.
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Around one fifth of the body’s
entire quota of oxygenated
blood is reserved for the brain.
Cerebellum
This complex folded
structure helps control
balance and movement.
The cerebrum is divided into two halves,
connected by a
bridge of nerve fibers. For some functions, each
half is wired
to the opposite side of the body, but other skills
and thought
processes are controlled by only one half of the
brain.
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Part 22 left brain
LEFT BRAIN SKILLS
The left side of your brain is
responsible for the more logical,
rational aspects of your thinking,
as well as your verbal skills.
Language
Your ability to express yourself
in words is usually controlled
by the frontal lobe of the left
cerebral hemisphere.
Scientific thought
Logical scientific thinking is the
job of the left side of the brain,
although most science also
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involves being creative.
Rational thought
Thinking and reacting in a rational
way appears to be mostly a left-brain
activity. It allows you to analyze a
problem to find an answer.
Mathematical skills
Studies show that the left side of the
brain is much better at dealing with
numbers than the right side, and it is
responsible for mathematical skills.
Writing skills
Like spoken language, writing skills
that involve organizing ideas and
expressing them in words are largely
controlled by the left hemisphere.
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Part 23 right brain
Right brain skills
The right side of your brain seems to be the
focus of
your more creative thoughts and emotional,
intuitive
responses. It is also important for spatial
awareness.
Spatial skills
Your ability to visualize and
work with three-dimensional
shapes is strongly linked to
the right side of your brain.
Art
Visual art is related to spatial skills, and the
right side of your brain is anprobably more
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active when you are drawing, painting, or
looking at art.
Imagination
Your creative imagination is mostly
directed by the right hemisphere,
although expressing that imagination
involves left-brain skills.
Insight
Those moments of insight when
you connect two very different
ideas probably come from the
right half of your brain.
Music
Like visual art, music involves a lot
of right-brain activity—but trained
musicians also use their left brains
to master musical theory.
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Part 24 what is a genius?
Determination
Born in Poland in 1867, Marie Curie was
determined to be a scientist, even though
such a career was not considered suitable
for a woman in the 1800s. She fought poverty
and prejudice to win two Nobel Prizes for
her pioneering work on radioactivity.
Child prodigy
Some people just seem to be born geniuses.
Garry Kasparov was only 13 when he won the
Russian junior chess championship in 1976,
and he became the youngest-ever world
champion in 1985. He had a natural talent,
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but he worked hard to make the most of it.
Broad view
Some geniuses do one thing extremely well,
but others excel at many things. Thomas
Jefferson—the main author of the U.S.
Declaration of Independence in 1776—was
a philosopher, archaeologist, architect, and
inventor, as well as a politician who became
president of the United States.
Encouragement
American sisters Venus and Serena
Williams are among the greatest of all
tennis players. They showed amazing
talent from a young age, but they owe a
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lot of their success to their parents,
who coached and encouraged them to
build on their skills.
Part 25 Illogical thinking
Free association
When you think logically,
you retrieve information
from your memory and
use it to solve problems.
But sometimes your
mind wanders and
makes associations
without conscious
direction. This tends
to happen when you
are very relaxed.
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Phobias
Many people are terrifified of
spiders. This type of fear is
called a phobia. There are many
different types of phobias. Some
are understandable, like the
fear of heights—after all, falling
from a height can kill you. But
others, such as the fear of fish,
are illogical, irrational, and
difficult to explain.
Ornithophobia is
the fear of birds, and
sometimes even
just the feathers.
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Ichthyophobia is the fear
of fish, which is one of the
rarer phobias.
Instinct
We all have natural instincts
that make sure we get things
like food, water, and air.
Instincts also include
some emotions such
as the fear of fierce dogs.
These instincts are the type
of thinking that is shared
by animals, but they are
not governed by logic. This
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does not mean that instincts
do not make sense—they are
essential to our survival.
Faith
All religions are based on
faith, which involves believing in
something that cannot be proved.
There is no logical reason to
believe in a god, but a lot of
people do—even if they do not
practice any religious rituals—
including many scientists who
normally rely on logical thinking.
Arachnophobia is the fear
of spiders and is one of the
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most common phobias.
Musophobia is the
word used to describe
the fear of mice.
Aviatophobia
is the fear of flflying
and is a very
common phobia.
Luck
Many people believe in good
and bad luck. Some buy lottery
tickets because they think they
might get lucky and win a big
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prize. Others will avoid flying
in case they suffer “bad luck”
and the plane crashes. In
reality, the chances of both
are very small, but people
ignore the facts and act in line
with their illogical thoughts.
Demophobia is the
fear of being trapped
in a crowd of people.
Technophobia is
the fear of technology
such as cell phones
and computers.
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Superstition
Many people are superstitious. They avoid
walking under
ladders, worry about what may happen on
Friday the 13th,
or believe in ghosts. Most of us try to avoid
saying things like
“I’ve never been in a car accident” because
we feel that we
are increasing the risk just by saying it, or “
tempting fate.”
There is no logic in this way of thinking.
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Part 26 leaning to speak
Noam Chomsky
Born in 1928, Noam Chomsky is one
of the key figures in linguistics (the
study of language). He is famous for his
theory that children have an instinctive
ability to understand and learn how to
put sentences together—even though
different languages work in different
ways. He believes that these skills are
an inherited part of our nature.
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Our complex language is one of the feuters that
makes humans different from other animals. A
parrot may be able to talk, but it
cannot use language to explain what it is
thinking. Speaking is
not just about making the right sounds—it is
about using sounds
to communicate. We learn this when we are
very young, but we keep adding to our skills
throughout our lives.
Second language
Learning another language is easy when we are
very young, because at this age our brains
respond
to every new stimulus. Some children even pick
up two
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languages at once. But it becomes harder with
age, and
many adults find it is almost impossible (unless
they live
for a while in a country where the language is
spoken).
Some people do better than others, possibly
because
the language-processing areas of their brains are
bigger.
Parrot fashion
You can teach a parrot to
speak, but you can’t teach it
to have a real conversation.
The parrot just learns to
repeat the sounds, and
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may understand when to
say particular phrases, but
it cannot put together its
own sentences. This skill is
uniquely human
Words and sentences
Babies are very sensitive to words and
speech patterns, and by two years old
they know around 300 words. They start
linking them together until, at the age
of four, most children can say simple
sentences. By age five or six they can
put together more complex sentences.
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Part 27 winning an losing
Most people who take up a sport are trying to
win,
but this means that someone has to lose. The
difference is usually put down to fitness and
ability,
but when physical skills are evenly matched, the
winner is often the competitor who has the
right mental attitude. The same
is probably true of life.
Confidence
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Confidence is vital to winning, and this
has been proved by research. In one study,
24 people had their arms strength tested
before an arm-wrestling match. The
researchers deceived the competitors
into believing that the weaker participants
were the stronger ones. In ten out of 12
contests, the weaker wrestlers won!
Setting goals
To get anywhere, you need
to set yourself goals. But
don’t go for the long-term
goal of being the champion—
you need short-term
personal targets that you
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can try to hit every day. If you
are a cyclist, for example,
your short-term goal could
be to achieve a faster time
than before—regardless of
who wins the race. This will
increase your confidence.
Visualization
Get in the right frame of mind by recalling the
sensation
of success. Imagine yourself accepting the prize
for first
place—it feels good, doesn’t it? This feeling
can help you
win. Also, before the event, visualize yourself
moving
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smoothly through the activity, and you are more
likely
do it perfectly when it matters.
Part 28 Fear
When faced with dangerous situations, it is
important
to feel some level of fear. If you were not afraid
of road
traffic, for example, you might get knocked
down by a
car or truck. Fear triggers physical reactions that
give
you superpowers, so you can run away from a
fierce
dog and even jump over a fence to escape.
However,
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many of the situations that frighten us in modern
life
do not require this type of physical response,
and the
fear can lead to stress-related illnesses.
Supercharged
When the fear response is activated, your
adrenal glands release chemicals such as
adrenaline into your bloodstream. These
chemicals combine with nerve signals to
push up your breathing rate, increase the
blood supply to your muscles, and intensify
your awareness. You are briefly supercharged
with the strength you need to survive.
Fight or flight
Fear is related to anger, and
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between the two they trigger the
“fight or flight” response. This
might give you the strength to
wrestle a crocodile, but if you didn’t
have faith in your chances, it would
also enable you to run away. The
same response might also prompt
you to rescue someone trapped
in a burning building.
Wound up
Many of the events that frighten
us in modern life cannot be easily
resolved. Caught by his enemies, our
hero is more worried about how his
boss will react than anything else—
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and he cannot fight or run away from
his boss. There is nothing he can do,
so he just gets more upset. This
type of stress can cause
serious illness.
Working it off
When you get stressed, one way of dealing with
the
problem is to work it off with physical exercise.
This
uses up the chemicals that are supposed to
help you fight or escape and makes you
feel better. Exercise also encourages other
parts of the brain to produce chemicals
called endorphins that improve your state
of mind and combat the effects of stress.
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Relaxation
Many people use relaxation
techniques to reduce the effects of
fear-related stress. They include deep
breathing exercises, meditation, and yoga.
These can trigger a relaxation response,
which works like an antidote to the fear
response and helps you calm down.
The wiring of fear T
When you are frightened, the W
halamus, which processes sensory th
information, sends a nerve signal i
to a part of the brain called the
amygdala. This alerts your
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adrenal glands to produce
chemicals that prepare your
body for action. Meanwhile, it
sends another message to the
prefrontal cortex of your brain so
that you can analyze the threat.
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Part 29 good and bad Habits
We all have habits that help us get through life.
When you wash
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your hands, do you stop to think how to get
them wet, apply the
soap, use it to clean your skin, and then rinse it
off? Probably not. You automatically do it,
because it s a habit. It’s also useful,
unlike bad habits such as nail biting. All habits
are formed
by repetition, which programs your brain so that
you behave
like a robot—and once formed, they can be very
difficult to break.
Addiction
The most destructive habits are called
addictions.
The addictions that get in the news involve
illegal drugs,
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alcohol, and tobacco, but people can also
become
addicted to things like sugary foods and
chocolate.
If they keep eating them, they can get sick, but
despite
this, they just can’t stop—they are stuck with a
bad habit.
Programmed behavior
atterns of behavior Habits are formed by
repeated pacreating nerve networks in the brain.
These work like the simple programs used in an
appliance like a washing machine—once it is
turned on, the program runs by itself. So when
you start brushing your teeth, the habit program
takes over to complete the job.
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Useful routine
Every day you do things without thinking much
about them,
because they are part of your daily routine. If
something like
washing your face becomes a habit, it helps
ensure that you
do it even if you’re thinking about something
else. So habits are
valuable when they make life easier and
encourage you to do
the things that you need to do, which you might
otherwise forget.
Bad habits
Unfortunately, it’s very easy to pick up bad
habits. A lot
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of people bite their fingernails or pick their
noses. They
often do not know that they are doing it, because
they
are thinking about something else. Sometimes
this
doesn’t matter much, although it can be
irritating for
others. But some bad habits can be very
damaging.
Triggers and prompts
Most habits are triggered by external signals.
When
a driver sees a red light, it makes him or her
perform a
series of actions that stops the car. It is like an
instinct.
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You can sometimes think up your own ways of
prompting
useful habits—putting your toothbrush
somewhere
obvious might prompt you to use it, for
example.
Breaking a bad habit
A bad habit can be difficult to break because it
is wired
into your brain. Even if you manage to
overcome a bad
habit for several months, the wiring is still there,
ready
to be reactivated by the relevant trigger. Time
may help,
but often the best tactic is to replace a bad habit
with a
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less damaging one.
Part 30 step by step cakes
Chocolate cakes:
Chocolate and Brazil Nut Cake
Lesson: cooking
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This unusual wheat-free cake uses Brazil nuts
instead of the typical almond
and chocolate combination, to give a moist, rich
finish to the cake.
Special equipment
8in (20cm) round springform cake pan
food processor
Ingredients
5 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed,
plus extra for greasing
31⁄2oz (100g) good-quality dark chocolate,
chopped
51⁄2oz (150g) Brazil nuts
1⁄2 cup sugar
4 large eggs, separated
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cocoa powder or confectioner’s sugar, to serve
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Grease the cake pan and line the base with
parchment paper. Melt the chocolate in a
bowl over a little simmering water (don’t let
the base of the bowl touch the water).
2 In a food processor, grind the Brazil nuts
and sugar as finely as possible. Add
the butter and pulse just until blended in.
Continue to blend while adding the egg
yolks one at a time. Add the melted
chocolate and blend in thoroughly.
3 In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites
to stiff peaks. Turn the chocolate mixture into
a large bowl and beat in a few tablespoons
of the egg whites to loosen the mixture. Now
carefully fold in the remaining egg whites.
4 Scrape into the pan and bake for 45–50
minutes, until the surface is springy and
a skewer inserted into the middle of the
cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in the
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pan for a few minutes, then turn out to cool
completely on a wire rack. Remove the
parchment paper. Sift over the cocoa
powder or confectioner’s sugar and serve
with whipped cream.
STORE The cake will keep in an airtight
container for 3 days.
Chocolate Cake variations
Triple-Layer Chocolate Cake
Moist cake, fluffy vanilla cream, and smooth
chocolate icing—everything a
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chocolate and cake lover could wish for.
Special equipment
3 x 8in (20cm) round cake pans
Ingredients
21⁄3 cups all-purpose flour
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1 heaped tsp baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter, softened, plus 4 tbsp
and extra for greasing
1⁄2 cup sugar, plus 1 tbsp
5 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract, plus a few drops
4 tbsp milk
6oz (175g) semisweet chocolate
2 cups heavy cream
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease
the cake pans and line the bases with
parchment paper. Sift the flour, cocoa, and
baking powder together into a bowl. Cream
the sugar and all but 2 tablespoons of the
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butter in a separate bowl with an electric
mixer until pale and fluffy.
2 Add the sifted flour, eggs, vanilla, and
milk, then beat for 1 minute, until the mixture
is uniform and fluffy. Divide evenly between
the 3 cake pans and level the tops. Bake in
the oven for 30–35 minutes. Leave the cakes
to cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then turn
out on to a wire rack, and leave until cold.
3 Break off 2oz (50g) of the chocolate and
push a vegetable peeler across the surface
to form curls. Set aside in a cool place.
4 Measure 2⁄3 cup of the cream into
a heatproof bowl. Break the remaining
chocolate into squares and add to the
bowl. Place over a pan of gently simmering
water, making sure the base of the bowl
doesn’t touch the water, and stir until the
chocolate melts and a smooth shiny icing
forms. Remove from the heat, stir in
2 tablespoons butter, and leave to cool.
5 Pour the remaining cream into a bowl,
add 1 tablespoon sugar, a few drops of
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vanilla, and whisk until soft peaks form.
Divide the cream between 2 of the cakes,
stack them on top of each other, then cover
with the third cake. Spoon the cooled icing
over the top, letting it run down the sides.
Sprinkle with the chocolate curls, and serve.
Devil’s Food Cake
This American classic uses the flavor of coffee
to enhance the richness
of the chocolate, adding a wonderful depth to
the finished cake.
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Special equipment
2 x 8in (20cm) cake pans
Ingredients
7 tbsp unsalted butter, softened, plus extra
for greasing
2⁄3 cup cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
1¼ cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
11⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
11⁄2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup strong cold coffee
½ cup milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the frosting
1 stick unsalted butter, diced
¼ cup cocoa powder
3⁄4 cup confectioner’s sugar
2–3 tbsp milk
chocolate, for the shavings
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Method
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease
the cake pans and dust them with cocoa
powder. By hand, or in an electric mixer,
cream together the butter and sugar until
light and fluffy.
2 Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating
well after each addition, until well mixed.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour,
cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
In another bowl, mix together the cooled
coffee, milk, and vanilla extract.
3 Next, beat alternate spoonfuls of the dry
and liquid ingredients into the cake batter.
Once the mixture is well blended, divide it
between the pans.
4 Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the cake is
springy to the touch and a skewer inserted
into the middle comes out clean. Leave to
cool in the pans for a few minutes, then
turn out to cool completely on a wire rack.
5 For the frosting, melt the butter in a
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saucepan over low heat. Add the cocoa
powder and continue to cook for a minute
or two, stirring frequently. Allow the mixture
to cool slightly.
6 Sift in the confectioner’s sugar, beating
thoroughly to combine. Blend, adding the
milk 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth
and glossy. Allow to cool (it will thicken),
then use half to sandwich the cakes
together and the remainder to decorate
the top and sides of the cake. Finally, use
a vegetable peeler to create chocolate
shavings and scatter them evenly over
the top of the cake.
STORE This cake will keep in an airtight
container in a cool place for 5 days.
Chocolate Fudge Cake
Everyone should have a chocolate fudge cake
recipe, and this one is
a winner. The oil and syrup keep it moist, and
the frosting is a classic.
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Special equipment
2 x 8in (20cm) cake pans
Ingredients
2⁄3 cup sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing
¼ cup cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
11⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¾ cup light brown sugar
3 tbsp corn syrup
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2⁄3 cup milk
For the frosting
8 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup cocoa powder
3⁄4 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 tbsp milk, if necessary
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease
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the pans and dust with cocoa powder. In
a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa,
baking powder, and salt. Mix in the sugar.
2 Gently heat the corn syrup until runny and
leave to cool. In a separate bowl, using an
electric hand mixer or balloon whisk, beat
together the eggs, sunflower oil, and milk.
3 Whisk the egg mixture into the flour
mixture until well combined. Gently add the
syrup and divide the batter between the pans.
4 Bake the cakes in the middle of the oven
for about 30 minutes, until springy to
the touch, and a skewer inserted into the
middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in
the pans for a few minutes, then turn out
to cool completely on a wire rack.
5 To make the frosting, melt the butter over
low heat. Stir in the cocoa powder and cook
gently for a minute or two, then leave to cool.
Sift the confectioner’s sugar into a bowl.
6 Pour the cooled melted butter and cocoa
into the confectioner’s sugar and beat to
combine. If the mixture seems dry add the
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milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you have
a smooth, glossy frosting. Leave to cool for
up to 30 minutes. It will thicken as it cools.
7 When thick, use half the frosting to fill the
cake and the other half to top it.
STORE This cake will keep in an airtight
container for 3 days.
Millefeuilles variations
Chocolate Millefeuilles
A decadent and mouth-watering millefeuilles,
filled with dark chocolate
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cream and decorated with white chocolate
drizzles.
Chilling time
1 hr
Ingredients
1 quantity pastry cream, see page 88, steps 1–5
2 tbsp brandy
1lb 5oz (600g) all-butter puff pastry, store-
bought
2oz (50g) dark chocolate, melted and cooled
11⁄2 cups heavy cream
1oz (30g) white chocolate, melted and cooled
Method
1 Stir the brandy into the cream, cover with
plastic wrap, and chill for 1 hour.
2 Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Sprinkle a baking sheet with cold water.
Roll out the pastry to a rectangle larger than
the baking sheet. Transfer to the sheet,
letting the edges overhang. Press the dough
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down. Chill for 15 minutes. Prick all over
with a fork. Cover with parchment paper,
then set a wire rack on top. Bake for 15–20
minutes, until it just begins to brown
Gripping the sheet and rack, invert the
pastry, slide the baking sheet back under
and continue baking for 10 minutes, until
both sides are browned. Remove from the
oven and slide the pastry onto a cutting
board. While still warm, trim the edges then
cut lengthwise into 3 equal strips. Let cool.
3 Whip the heavy cream until stiff. Stir it into
the pastry cream with two-thirds of the
melted dark chocolate. Cover and chill.
Spread the remaining melted chocolate over
one of the pastry strips to cover it. Let it set.
4 Put another pastry strip on a plate, spread
with half the cream, top with the remaining
strip, and spread with the rest of the cream.
Cover with the chocolate-coated strip.
5 Put the white chocolate into one corner of
a plastic bag. Twist the bag to enclose the
chocolate and snip off the tip of the corner.
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Pipe trails of chocolate over the millefeuilles.
PREPARE AHEAD The dish can be made
ahead and chilled for up to 6 hours.
Part 31 pizzas
Homemade pizza
Instead of ordering a pizza, why not make your
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own? Just adapt the recipe for bread dough to
make
the crusts, then pile them with toppings! Try one
of
these classic Italian recipes or create your own
with
your favorite ingredients.
Margherita
Divide 9 oz (250 g) sliced mozzarella
cheese across the 4 pizza crusts. Scatter
each with torn fresh basil leaves. Garnish
with more basil after cooking.
Capricciosa
Divide between the
4 pizza crusts
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9 oz (250 g) sliced
mozzarella cheese, 8 sliced
artichoke hearts, 4 sliced
tomatoes, 4 thinly sliced
mushrooms, 4 oz (115 g)
chopped ham, and 4 tbsp
pitted black olives.
Part 33 cool cupcakes
Cupcakes are the trendiest treats around.
Decorated with exquisite frostings and toppings,
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they often look too good to eat! Make your own
with this simple vanilla cupcake recipe and four
fun variations. Always stick to the quantities of
basic ingredients in the cake mixture, but you
can get creative with fun flavors and
decorations.
All recipes make 12 cakes.
Vanilla cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a
12-cup muffin pan with paper muffin cups.
Beat 1 stick butter and . cup superfine
sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat
in 2 eggs and . tsp vanilla extract then
fold in 1 cup self-rising flour. Divide between
the paper cups. Bake for 15–20 minutes
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until golden. For the frosting, beat 1 cup
confectioners’ sugar with 3⁄4 stick softened
unsalted butter, . tsp vanilla extract, and
1 tbsp milk until creamy. Spread on the
cakes and decorate.
Strawberry cheesecake cupcakes
Divide 12 chopped strawberries between
the muffin cups. Spoon the cake mixture
on top and bake as before. For the frosting,
beat 1 cup confectioners’ sugar and
. tsp vanilla extract into 2 tbsp softened
unsalted butter and 1⁄4 cup full fat cream
cheese until smooth. When the cakes
are cool, slice off the top of each one,
spoon on some of the frosting,
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and then put the tops back on.
Chocolate cupcakes
Replace 1⁄4 cup of the flour in the cake mixture
with
the same amount of sifted cocoa powder. Divide
between the muffin cups, then bake as before.
For
chocolate frosting, add 2 tbsp cocoa powder to
the
vanilla frosting with an extra 1 tbsp milk. Whisk
in
2 oz (60 g) melted and cooled dark chocolate.
When
the cakes are cool, spread over the frosting.
Decorate
with chocolate sprinkles, chocolate chips, or
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grated chocolate.
Part 34 ice cream fun
If you’ve got some ice cream in the freezer, it’s
easy to invent a cool dessert. As the recipes
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below show, it doesn’t have to be complicated,
all you need is some fruit, or some chocolate,
and a bit of imagination. For the ultimate
finishing touch, make a sweet sauce.
Chocolate and hazelnut
banana split (makes 1)
Split 1 banana in half and fill with
2 scoops of any ice cream of your
choice—vanilla or chocolate-chip ice
creams go well. Scatter over some
toasted chopped filberts and drizzle
with some chocolate or fudge sauce
Fruit sundaes (makes 2)
Place 1 scoop of vanilla ice
cream into 2 tall glasses. Mash
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8 strawberries with 2 tsp
confectioners’ sugar and spoon
into the glasses. Spoon 2 tbsp
strawberry yogurt into each,
then add a mix of fresh fruit
such as chopped kiwifruit,
sliced mango, sliced banana,
and fresh raspberries. Finish
with another scoop of ice
cream and some toasted
slivered almonds.
Chocolate sauce
Break 3. oz (100 g) dark chocolate
into small pieces and place in
a saucepan with 4 tbsp hot water,
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and 3 tbsp superfine sugar. Stir
over a low heat until the chocolate
has melted, then add 4 tbsp heavy
cream and heat through. Serve warm.
Raspberry sauce
Put 12 oz (350 g) fresh raspberries in a
food processor with 2 tbsp confectioners’
sugar and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Blend until
smooth, then pour into a strainer and press
the liquid through with the back of a wooden
spoon to remove all of the seeds. You can
use this method with other soft berries such
as strawberries and blackberries.
Fudge sauce
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Put . stick butter with . cup light
brown sugar in a pan with 2 tbsp
light corn syrup. Bring to the boil,
stirring gently, then boil rapidly
for 1 minute. Stir in . cup heavy
cream and a few drops of vanilla
extract. Allow to cool slightly
before serving.
Part 35 everything on earth
The Big Bang
Lesson: geography
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To UNDERSTAND HOW OUR PLANET
WAS CREATED, we have to look
into space. The savage forces that batter, shake,
and shape the
Earth’s surface today were set in motion
billions of years ago and
are still going strong. Beneath the surface,
immense heat causes
molten rock to circulate, moving giant sections
of the crust,
triggering earthquakes, and shooting out molten
rock from
volcanoes. The enormously high pressures and
temperatures deep
inside the Earth continue to generate heat
through radioactive
decay and chemical changes. The Sun, however,
has much more
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power, and without its light and warmth, life
here would not
exist. But the Earth’s story really begins with
the biggest
explosion the universe has ever known—the one
that created it.
SOMETHING
FROM NOTHING
Most scientists now agree that
everything we know started with the
Big Bang—time, space, and all the matter
in the universe. About 13 billion years ago,
the universe burst into existence with an
unimaginably large explosion. The fireball was
so concentrated that matter was created
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spontaneously out of energy. At the instant of
creation, the universe was infinitely hot and
dense. Then it expanded and cooled, and
created the galaxies, and the stars and
planets they contain. About 4.6
billion years ago, our own
solar system came
into being.
UNIQUE EARTH
Among the planets in the solar
system, Earth is unique. Seen from
space, its swirling clouds and blue
oceans show that it has plenty of
liquid water. The Earth’s gravity is
strong enough to trap a protective
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atmosphere. It is also the right
distance from the Sun to have
habitable climates. Water and an
atmosphere are two conditions vital
for the evolution of life as we know it.
Part 36 violent past
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The EARLY EARTH WAS A RED-HOT,
MOLTEN HELL. Space debris
from the collapsed solar nebula was flying in all
directions,
causing meteorites and comets to smash into the
young planet’s
surface. These violent bombardments raised the
Earth’s temperature
higher and higher. Then, not long after it was
formed some 4.6 billion
years ago, the Earth was struck by an object the
size of Mars. The impact
released a heat so intense that it melted the
planet. Debris from the impact
explosion splashed out into space and gathered
together to form the Moon.
But the Earth did not remain searingly hot. It
gradually cooled into a planet
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with a solid surface, oceans, continents, and an
atmosphere. In fact, for more
than three-quarters of its existence the Earth has
sustained living organisms.
Now approaching middle-age, the Earth has
about five billion years left to
bask in the life-giving heat of the Sun.
EARTH’S TRANSFORMATION
More than four billion years ago, the Earth’s
molten rock began to separate into layers.
Heavy,
iron-rich material sank to the intensely hot core.
Silicon-rich material gathered at the surface
to form a crust. Molten rock became
sandwiched between the core and crust
to form the mantle. On the surface,
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granite like rocks thickened the crust
and formed the first continents.
BLASTS OF THE PAST
This is an artist’s impression of the
young Earth’s violent landscape. Space
debris and lava flows must have ravaged
the brittle crust. As meteorites landed,
they punched holes in the surface and
plunged into the hot interior, sending up
huge showers of molten rock. Gradually, the
thin surface crust grew thicker. From time to
time, slabs of cooled crust plunged back into the
molten mantle below and were melted again.
DINO KILLER
For more than 100 million years,
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the Earth was ruled by dinosaurs.
They became extinct quite suddenly
about 65 million years ago. Their
disappearance was probably caused
by a massive meteorite or comet that
collided with the Earth. The impact
would have shrouded the world in a
cloud of dust that blotted out the Sun
for many months. In the freezing
darkness, most of the world’s plant
and animal life died, including the
dinosaurs. Some small, hibernating
raccoon-like mammals survived.
OCEANS
The water that filled the first oceans may
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have come from comets that collided
with the Earth. A comet is a giant
snowball of ice and rock. Water also
came from the steam given off by
molten rock (magma) flowing onto
the surface. The steam condensed in
the atmosphere, formed clouds, and
fell to Earth as rain, just as the
steam from volcanoes does today.
THE SUN
Our Sun is an average-sized star similar to
billions of others in the galaxy. Without
its heat, Earth would be uninhabitable.
Scientists calculate that the Sun has
about five billion years of life left
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before it uses up its fuel supply of
hydrogen. When it does, it will
expand 100 times in size into a
massive sphere called a red giant,
and will destroy the Earth.
ATMOSPHERE
The Earth’s early atmosphere was rich
in volcanic gases such as carbon dioxide.
Today’s atmosphere has little carbon
dioxide, but contains oxygen. The change
was caused by early life-forms—tiny
organisms that released oxygen as waste.
These clumps are made by microbes
called cyanobacteria, which trap sunlight
to make food. They are very similar to
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the early oxygen-making organisms.
ICE AGES
Despite its fiery origins, much of the
Earth has been covered in ice during
its history. Ice spread from the poles
toward the Equator when the climate
cooled, and retreated as it warmed.
This may have been caused by a slow
wobble of the Earth’s axis, which alters
its distance from the Sun. Present-day
glaciers show us how the world
must have looked during the ice ages.
Part 37 moving continents
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The GROUND BENEATH OUR FEET IS
NOT AS STEADY as we may think. In fact,
the continents that make up most of the Earth’s
land surface are always
on the move, shifted around by forces deep
inside the Earth. This movement
is known as continental drift. It takes place
because the inside of the planet is
hot and turbulent. The intense heat generated at
the Earth’s core is carried
upward where it disturbs the cool, rocky
surface. This forces the plates
of crust that make up the continents, called
tectonic plates, to move.
Each year the continents drift by nearly half an
inch (about a
centimeter). Some are crunching together, some
are splitting apart,
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others are grinding past each other. As this
happens the Earth’s
features are created or changed. Violent
earthquakes and volcanoes
are dramatic reminders that the plates never stop
moving.
TECTONIC PLATES
Each tectonic plate has
a lower layer of solid rock
and an upper layer called
the crust. The plates
ride upon Earth’s slowly
moving, mostly solid
mantle. Where the crust
is thin, the Earth’s surface is
low-lying and covered by
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seas and oceans. Continents
form where the crust is
thicker and stands higher.
As the tectonic plates move,
the continents are carried
with them and the oceans
change shape.
GLOBAL JIGSAW PUZZLE
The plates that form the Earth’s surface fit
together like a jigsaw puzzle.
This map shows the boundaries of the Earth’s
plates and the directions
in which the plates are drifting. The pieces
slowly change shape as
they move. Great mountain ranges have formed
along the blue zones
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where plates are colliding. Lines of volcanoes
are dotted along the red
zones where one plate is sinking (subducting)
below another, causing
molten rock to erupt to the surface.
THE EVIDENCE
When the German scientist Alfred Wegener
stated in 1915 that
today’s continents were once part of a single
landmass, people
ridiculed him. But Wegener was right. He
argued that although
ancient plant fossils, such as the Glossopteris
fern are found
on widely separated continents, they could only
have come from
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one original continent. Today, geologists agree
with Wegener
that the continents did indeed drift apart.
Part 38 rivers of fire
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Flowing LAVA GLOWS, SPITS, HISSES, and
crackles, and
seems to have a life of its own. Lava is magma
that
has erupted onto the surface. Hot spot
volcanoes, such
as Kilauea on Hawaii, produce fiery rivers of
bubbly, runny
lava. Its surface cools to a thick skin, which
breaks as more
red-hot lava oozes forward underneath. This
lava poses little
danger to people as it rarely flows faster than a
walking pace.
However, it can travel great distances and is
almost impossible
to stop. Some explosive volcanoes, such as
Mount St. Helens,
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Washington, produce a very thick, pasty lava
that looks like ash.
It moves at a snail’s pace, but can be hundreds
of yards deep.
STOPPING THE FLOW
Lava from Mount Etna, Italy
is flowing toward the town of
Zafferana. Although slow moving,
lava is very destructive, burning
and burying everything in its path.
Concrete barriers, trenches, and
even explosives are used to divert
lava flows away from homes.
LAVA MEETS SEA
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Tourists in Hawaii are watching the intense
glow of
hot lava turning seawater into steam.
Underwater, the
runny lava cools to produce shapes like pillows.
Continued
eruptions mean the island is always expanding
into the sea.
PAHOEHOE FLOW
Two types of lava flow have Hawaiian names.
Pahoehoe, shown here, flows from a hot spot
vent and develops a skin that wrinkles into
ropelike coils. Aa spits or tumbles out of
the volcano and cools into crumbly,
lumpy shapes.
VOLCANOLOGY
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Clad in a heatreflective
suit, this
volcanologist can
collect samples of hot
lava – if he is quick.
Volcanoes are very
unpredictable. In 1991,
husband and wife team
Maurice and Katia Krafft
were killed by a sudden
ash flow on Mount
Unzen, Japan. The risks
volcanologists take to
predict eruptions have
saved many lives.
GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS
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The Galapagos islands in
the Pacific Ocean are still
growing. They are fed by
lava from a hot spot in
the Earth’s mantle.
Galapagos volcanoes
produce lava that flows
over wide areas and
becomes craggy when
cool. Rainfall disappears
down its cracks and soil
is slow to form, making
the islands rugged and
relatively barren.
THE LAVA OF LIFE
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Volcanic eruptions do not always spell
bad news. The land around volcanoes,
like these green plains in Mexico, can be
made fertile by the occasional shower of
ash, which adds nutrients to the soil. But
too much ash or lava is a catastrophe for
the farmer. Thick lava flows can take
months to cool, and decades to weather
enough for plants to grow again.
Part 39 icy extremes
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The PLACES MOST HOSTILE TO HUMAN
LIFE ARE FOUND at the ends of the Earth.
Polar ice caps cover the Arctic at the North
Pole, and Antarctica at the South
Pole, keeping them icy all year round. Yet the
two regions differ in an important
respect. The Arctic is a frozen ocean bordered
by continents, but Antarctica is a
continent surrounded by the Southern Ocean.
The Sun’s rays strike the poles at a
shallow angle. Because the Earth’s axis of
rotation is tilted, the Arctic is plunged
from total darkness during the winter to constant
daylight during the summer,
as the North Pole moves nearer to or away from
the Sun. But despite the low
temperatures, polar regions are teeming with
wildlife that has adapted to the
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intense cold. Seals and whales thrive in the
freezing waters, protected by thick
blubber. Bears are a common sight on Arctic
ice, as birds are in Antarctica.
CARIBOU TRAIL
These North American caribou, or reindeer,
migrate northward in the summer to graze on
the grasses, shrubs, and mosses uncovered by
the melting ice of the Arctic tundra. Unlike
other deer, caribou migrate in large herds, and
both males and females have antlers.
ARCTIC OCEAN
All year round, more than half of the Arctic
Ocean is covered in sea ice to a depth of at least
10 ft (3 m). In summer, some of the ice melts
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and breaks up to create ice floes like those
shown here. For centuries, explorers believed
that the Arctic ice lay over a vast continent. In
1958, a nuclear submarine sailed right under
the ice cap and proved that this was untrue.
ARCTIC POLAR BEAR
The largest predators in the Arctic roam across
the ice floes hunting
seals, their favorite food. Polar bears are well
adapted to Arctic life.
Layers of blubber keep them warm, creamy
white fur provides
camouflage when hunting, and hollow hairs
provide buoyancy in the
water. Polar bears have nonslip soles to grip the
ice, and partially
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webbed feet. They can swim for many hours in
the freezing sea.
ICEBERG, DEAD AHEAD!
Icebergs are giant chunks of
floating ice that break away,
or calve, from ice sheets or
glaciers. Most of their mass lies
hidden below sea level. This berg,
newly broken away from the
Antarctic ice shelf, is flat-topped.
Storm waves have not yet eroded it into
sharp pinnacles. Antarctic icebergs can be
enormous. The biggest ever recorded had
a sea area larger than Belgium.
ANTARCTIC PENGUINS
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These young Emperor penguins, with their
mothers, are several months old. In fall,
adults gather on Antarctica to pair and mate.
The female lays a single egg that she passes
to the male. Throughout the Antarctic
winter, when temperatures can plummet to
–58ºF (–50ºC), the male incubates the egg
on his feet, which nestle under a warm flap
of skin. The female returns when the egg
hatches and takes over parenting duties.
STUDYING ANTARCTICA
This scientist is slicing an ice core drilled from
the Antarctic ice cap.
The core is a time capsule containing trapped air
from thousands of
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years ago. Analysis will reveal what the Earth’
s atmosphere was once
like. It tells scientists how naturally occurring
greenhouse gases may
have caused global warming in the past. The
information may help
us to predict what might happen in the future.
Part 40 gorillas
STUDYING GORILLAS
Lesson: endangered animals
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Dian Fossey was an American scientist
who lived alongside the mountain
gorillas of Rwanda for 18 years. She
learned how to communicate
with the gorillas, so they would
trust her and let her observe
their behavior up close. Fossey
became friends with some of
the mountain gorillas, especially
one she named Digit. When
Digit was killed by poachers,
Fossey arranged for armed guards
to protect the gorillas. Fossey was
murdered in 1985, but her work is still
helping to protect the gorillas of Rwanda
. NO KING KONG
People often have the wrong idea
about gorillas. The apes are not
fierce creatures like King Kong,
the giant gorilla that terrorizes
people in movies. Gorillas are
very big—the males are as tall
as a man and weigh twice
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as much—but they eat leaves
and fruits and are gentle
by nature. Nevertheless,
gorillas are immensely strong.
Male gorillas give out signals to
other gorillas by drumming their
chests. This distinctive sound is
also a warning that people should
not get too close to them.
GORILLA MEAT
Not everyone wants gorillas to live. Poachers still shoot the apes and
sell their bodies for a high price. The heads and hands are sold as
collectors’ items, but most valuable is the gorilla meat. People do not
eat gorilla meat just because they have no other food. Instead, they
may buy it because it is so rare, and because meat from the wild, or
bushmeat, is traditionally prized. Only the very rich can afford to
serve gorilla meat to their guests. These four eastern gorillas were
killed in the Congo rain forest, but poaching is a bigger threat
to the western lowland gorillas, which are less protected.
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Part 41 bonjour
In France it is part of the culture to
greet family and friends with kisses on
the cheek. The number of kisses varies
from two to four. For example, it is
usually three kisses in the south but
two in Brittany. In more formal
situations, a handshake is part of
the normal greeting.
Look at these polite expressions and say
them aloud. Cover the text on the left with
the cover flap and try to remember the
French for each item. Check your answers.
Bonjour Hello
Bonsoir/bonne nuit Good evening/good
night
Je m’ appelle sokar My name is sokar
Enchante Nice to meet you
Lesson: French
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adult
children
baby
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
learninglearn baking
biologyhisory
adult
children
baby
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Thank you for using my book.
