EARTHQUAKES

  An earthquake is a natural disaster that occurs when the surface of the Earth shakes and trembles. Numerous earthquakes happen every day but they are not strong enough for people to sense them. However, once in a while, a major earthquake with bigger consequences occurs.

  But let’s see what an earthquake is. The crust of the Earth is its outer layer and it consists of pieces called tectonic plates. Those plates are constantly moving very slowly and sometimes they collide together. Pressure begins building up under them and if it escapes, it sends shock waves to the surface of the Earth. We call those  waves seismic waves.

  Through the seismic waves we can also tell how strong an earthquake was. They are measured with a seismograph by the seismologists – the scientists who study earthquakes. Then they use the Richter scale to define the intensity of the earthquake. If it measures 3 on the scale, most people can not even sense it; on the other hand, an earthquake that scores 8 or more can cause houses to fall, cracks to appear on the surface of the Earth, and people to get seriously injured.

  Usually a major earthquake is followed by some smaller ones, called aftershocks. In most cases pressure trying to escape causes a series of smaller shocks as well – we call them foreshocks.

  There is a difference between epicenter and hypocenter. Hypocenter is where the earthquake starts, beneath the surface, whereas the epicenter is located directly above it on the surface itself.

  We all agree that earthquakes are scary. Seismologists have not found a way to predict them yet. But there are a coupe of things we can do to stay as safe as possible during an earthquake. The most important one is to remain calm!! Then, if you are inside, find something sturdy to go under – a heavy table, a desk or even the frame of a door. This will protect you  in case objects start falling down. Once the shaking has stopped, go outside in the open and try to avoid the proximity of tall buildings and trees.

GALLERY

CRACKS

ROAD – EARTHQUAKE

EARTHQUAKE

TECTONIC PLATES

SEISMOGRAPH

VOCABULARY

consequences – result, outcome

outer – located on the outside of something

collide – to crash together

seismic – related to or caused by an earthquake

occur – to take place, to happen

sturdy – strongly built, strong

seismograph – an instrument used to record the intensity and duration of an earthquake

proximity – closeness, vicinity

BALI – ISLAND OF GODS (INDONESIA)

 Bali is one of the 17508 islands Indonesia consists of. It is located east of the island of Java and the capital is Denpasar. People speak Balinese and Indonesian. The currency used in Bali is rupia.

 There are a lot of various aspects that make Bali special and different from the other islands around it. The most distinctive one is religion. Bali’s population is predominantly Balinese Hinduistic whereas the main religion in the rest of Indonsia is Islam. Belief plays a central role in the life of Balinese people. All over the island there are shrines of the many gods and deities that Balinese Hindus worship. Offers in the form of small palm-leaf baskets filled with flowers, rice and treats are brought to them 3 times a day. Very interesting is Nyepi – the day that marks the beginning of the new year. During Nyepi everybody remains inside for 24 hours in silence, no one cooks, works, shops are closed, streets – abandoned and the lights are not switched on, even when it gets dark outside. This is all to trick the evil spirits into thinking that the island is abandoned so they won’t bother the people.

GALLERY

 

CUISINE

BALI

BALI

FLAG OF INDONESIA

PALM-LEAF BASKET

GLOSSARY

shrines – a place where devotion is paid to a holy person

deities – a god or goddess

worship – the ceremonies and prayers offered a divine being

THE EMPEROR PENGUIN

  The emperor penguin is the biggest of all penguin species – it stands around 120 cm tall and weighs up to 45 kg. Its body and way of life are very well adapted to the extreme cold weather in Antarctica where its habitat is. This extraordinary bird is covered in feathers but also has an insulating layer of fat which helps keeping it warm. Its back and head are black and its belly – white and the ear area – yellow. When the babies are hatched, they are covered in greyish down. Penguins can not fly but the shape of their body is excellent for diving and their wings serve as flappers to propel them in the water.

  Emperor penguins form breeding colonies – they stay together when they nest but also when they go foraging. Each colony consists of thousands of birds. This is an efficient way to survive not only the freezing temperatures but also to escape the marine predators. The emperor penguins breed in the Antarctic winter. The colony choses a place which can be up to 120 km away from the source of food – the ocean. The female emperor penguin lays a single egg a year. Then she carefully transfers it to the male penguin. He keeps the egg in a special pouch for 64 days until it is ready to hatch. This gives the mother the opportunity to go search for food. A baby penguin is called a chick. If the chick is hatched before the mother returns, the father feeds it with baby milk, produced by a gland in his food pipe. Once the mother has returned, she feeds the chick with fish she keeps in her stomach.Then it is the father’s turn to go foraging. Until the chick is 45-50 days old, one of the parents stays with it in order to protect it and keep it warm. Each couple cares only for its own chick. In a colony consisting of thousands of penguins, the female emperor penguin has found a brilliant way of identifying her family. They form a line and begin to ‘call’ their mate. Each penguin has its individual tones which help the parents recognise each other!!

  When both parents go fishing, the chicks snuggle together.This way they remain warm and also protect themselves from the petrel – a large seabird which is their most dangerous predator on land. In the water the biggest threat to the adult penguins is the leopard seals and the killer whales.

  The emperor penguins eat fish, crustaceans and squid. They can walk with their specific wobble with a speed of 3km/h and they also slide over the ice on their belly!!

  Unfortunately, global warming has a significant effect on the emperor penguins. They lose their habitat due to the melting ice and experience shortage of food due to the pollution of the ocean.

GALLERY

PENGUINS’ HABITAT

KILLER WHALE

LEOPARD SEAL

EMPEROR PENGUINS

EMPEROR PENGUIN

EMPEROR PENGUIN

PETREL

GLOSSARY

species – a group of related animals or plants, sort, kind

habitat –  the place where a plant or animal naturally lives or grows

down – soft, fluffy feathers

insulating – preventing the passage of heat,electricity or sound

forage – to search for food

hatch – to emerge from an egg

gland – an organ in the body

THE MARS ROVERS

  Planets and stars, outer space and astronomy have fascinated people since ancient times. We have been trying – with varying degrees of success – to gather information that could help us understand them all a little bit better.

  Mars is one of the planets in the Solar System. We call it the ‘Red Planet’ because its surface is covered with the mineral iron oxide which gives it a red colour. Mars has so many similarities to the Earth that it has been a centre of attention for astronomers for more than 50 years.

  After a few failed attempts in the beginning of the 1960’s, Mariner 4 succeeded in sending back to the Earth the first picture of the surface of Mars in 1964. In 1971 Mars 2 and 3 (which were the first Mars rovers) successfully reached the Red Planet but Mars 2 crashed when landing and Mars 3 stopped communicating only 14,5 seconds after landing. Thanks to Viking I which landed in 1976 and remained active for 2307 days scientists received more detailed pictures of Mars and information about the soil. Viking I was also equipped to perform biological tests in search of living organisms. Mars Pathfinder was the first rover to actually land on Mars.

  On July 7, 2003 two robotic rovers were launched from the Earth – Spirit and Opportunity. Each rover has six wheels; they are 1,5 m high and weigh 180 kg. They are powered by solar panels so the frequent gushes of wind on Mars are a great problem – more dust on the panels means less energy for the robots to operate. The rovers are equipped with various cameras, instruments and a robotic arm for collecting and examining rocks, soils and minerals. They communicate with the NASA-teams through two antennae and can rove around with a speed of 0,18 km/h. Spirit exceeded all expectations of ow it was going to perform – its mission was supposed to last only 90 sols (about 92 days) but it lasted 5 years, 3 months and 27 days. It got stuck in soft soil in 2009 and all attempts to free it were unsuccessful. The last communication with Spirit was on March 22, 2010. Opportunity did even better – it is still operational today. During Martian winters solar energy is so low that the twin rovers remain stationary in order to conserve their power.

  In 2011 NASA launched yet another Mars rover – Curiosity. It landed on Mars on August 6, 2012. Curiosity is a robotic rover, weighs 899 kg, is 2,9m long and 2,2m high. It has even more cameras than its predecessor, allowing it to take better pictures in true colours and even selfies!! It has on board various instrument such as an X-ray spectrometer, a microscope and laboratories. They all help Curiosity in achieving its main goals – studying the climate and geology of Mars, the surface radiation and searching for water. And trying to answer the most important question – if the Red Planet has ever been home to any form of life.

GALLERY

CURIOSITY ROVER

MARS

MARS SURFACE

MARS ROVER

SPIRIT ROVER

GLOSSARY

Solar System – the system of all planets that orbit the Sun, with addition of the moons, asteroids, comets

similarity – resemblance

NASA – The National Aeronautics and Space Administration

sol – the duration of a day on Mars –  24h, 39min and 32,5 seconds

to exceed – to surpass, to go beyond

soil – the upper layer of the surface of a planet

stationary – not moving, immobile

predecessor – something or someone who comes before

THE GREAT PYRAMID OF GIZA

   The Great Pyramid of Giza is also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops, by the Greek name of the pharaoh. It is a part of an ancient necropolis, together with two smaller pyramids and the Sphinx – an enormous statue of a lion with the head of a pharaoh. The complex is situated in Giza, Egypt, on the west bank of the Nile River. The Great Pyramid holds a couple of records – the largest pyramid ever built, it remained the tallest man-built structure for more than 3800 years and it is last of the Seven Ancient Wonders that is still standing in the modern world.

  Everything about this pyramid is grand and impressive. Each side at the base is 230 m long!! When it was initially constructed, the Great Pyramid was 146,5 m high but due to erosion, its height nowadays is ‘only’ 138 m! Erosion also caused the reducing of the number of stone layers – from to 210 to 201. Scientists have estimated that 2,3 mln stone blocks were used to build the pyramid. Each stone weighs around 2,5 ton but some of them reach a top weight of 15 tons. Even more amazing, is the extreme precision the pyramid is built with. The sides of the base are almost the exact same length – the biggest difference is a mere 4,4 cm, which is a great achievement considering that the ancient Egyptians did not have the modern tools we rely on today. It is believed that it took around 20 years to build the pyramid. And while we know it was meant to be pharaoh Khufu’s finals resting place, we do not know who or how actually built it. One of the most widely accepted theories is that it was peasants or even skilled workers who participated in the construction.

  On the inside of the Great Pyramid there are three main chambers – King’s Chamber, Queen’s Chamber, the Grand Gallery as well as numerous smaller chambers and shafts. However, there is no evidence that the pyramid has ever been used as a tomb. The construction consists of blocks of limestone – a type of stone formed mainly from animal remains. Heavy granite blocks are used in the King’s Chamber and the impressive Grand Gallery. A special kind of white limestone was used for the outer layer of the pyramid. It gave it a remarkable, polished look – the pyramid was shimmering in the sun, monumental and breathtaking. Unfortunately, this layer does not exist any more – it has been plundered or it has eroded over the years. But still, the Great Pyramid of Giza remains an exceptional monument, a proof of the skills and knowledge of the ancient Egyptians.

GALLERY

PYRAMIDS – EGYPT

PYRAMIDS – EGYPT

PYRAMIDS – EGYPT

PYRAMIDS – EGYPT

PYRAMIDS – EGYPT

GLOSSARY

pharaoh – a king or a ruler in ancient Egypt

necropolis – cemetery

initially – at the beginning

erosion – the process of being gradually destructed by natural forces

SHARKS II

  Let’s take a closer look at some shark species.

  Megalodon – the biggest prehistoric shark. We do not know much about it, not even when or how it became extinct. But all around the world shark teeth of enormous proportions are found. Scientists believe that megalodon was around 18 meters long, some individuals grew even bigger. It bore a resemblance to modern-day great whites and had the most powerful bite in the world so it could crush its prey with ease.

  The Hammerhead shark – this funny looking shark gets its name from the fact that its eyes are placed on the opposite sides of its head, which resembles a hammer. It is one of the species that thrive in warmer tropical waters. It preys on rays, squids, small fish or even other sharks.

  Tiger sharks – named like that for the dark, vertical stripes on their body. Another species that prefers tropical waters. It can reach a length of 7,5 m and a weight of 900 kg. It is a fierce nocturnal hunter, with a diet consisted of dolphins, sea turtles, crustaceans but also birds and garbage found in the water.

  Whale sharks – the biggest fish to swim around. Its average length is 10-12 m but it can reach a length of 18 meters! They have about 3000 very small teeth but they have no use of them because they are what we call ‘a filter feeder’. When a whale shark swims, it opens its mouth very widely and sucks in a great amount of water. Then the water is passed through the gill rakers where the food is trapped. Whale sharks feed mostly on plankton but also small fish and squid. They are slow swimmers – they swim with a speed of 5 km/h and live up to 100-150 years.

  The Great White Shark – probably the most famous of them all!! An expert hunter with powerful jaws and sharp teeth, excellent sense of smell (it can smell blood from kilometers), it has another advantage as well.It is one of the few shark species that can propel itself with the incredible speed of 24 km/h out of the water in order to catch its prey. This apex predator is really efficient; seen from above it blends with the sea floor; it can reach 6,5 m and up to 3 ton!! A very interesting fact is that even in the womb of the mother, the biggest pup can kill and eat its siblings!!!

GALLERY

GREAT WHITE SHARK

HAMMERHEAD SHARK

MEGALODON TOOTH NEXT TO WHITE SHARK TEETH

TIGER SHARK

WHALE SHARK

GLOSSARY

extinct – no longer existing

bear a resemblance – to be similar to

nocturnal – relating to the night

crustaceans – a group of water animals with a body made of segments, covered with a tough shell

gill raker – a bony spine that lies in front of the gills of a fish and prevents solid particles from entering the gills

plankton – small plant or animal drifting in the seas or lakes

apex predator – a predator at the top of the food chain in its habitat

SHARKS

   Sharks are a family of fish that has something very special in common – their skeletons are not made of bones but cartilage. Cartilage is a tissue much lighter and more flexible than bones. This is the same kind of flexible protein that makes our noses and ears. Since sharks live in the water, they breathe through 5-7 gills on each side of their body. They need to move at all times which forces water to go through the gill and supply them with oxygen. The iconic fin, called a dorsal fin, is situated on their back. Sharks have multiple rows of teeth, this means that if a shark loses a tooth, another one moves forward from a back row to replace it.

  Although there is evidence that sharks existed as early as 450 million years ago, modern sharks have been swimming around for 100 million years. This makes them older than dinosaurs!!! Sharks have evolved very little during that time but despite that, they are very intelligent and have adapted very well to the conditions of their habitat. Nowadays, there are more than 500 different species of sharks!

  Sharks generally live in oceans and seas although there are some species that are able to live in fresh water as well. Most sharks are night animals – they hunt predominantly in the evening and at night. A mother sharks gives birth to babies called pups. Even though they are small, they already have teeth and they are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. Other sharks lay eggs like birds.

   It is true that the occasional encounter of a shark with a human can have fatal consequences for the person but unfortunately we are much bigger threat to the sharks than they to us. The pollution of ocean water affects sharks’ food so chemicals slowly build up in their system; sharks try to eat the garbage thrown away in the water or they get accidentally caught up in fishing nets. However, the biggest threat is the ‘finning’ – sharks get their fins cut off and are thrown back in the water alive. But of course, they can not survive without fins. This practice is illegal and it causes the shark population to decline rapidly.

GALLERY

BLUE SHARK

LEOPARD SHARK

REEF SHARK

SHARK

SHARK PUPS

SHARK’S TEETH

SHARK

SHARK

GREAT WHITE SHARK

GLOSSARY

gill – an organ of a fish for obtaining oxygen from water

predominantly – generally, mainly, mostly

THE EIFFEL TOWER

   The Eiffel Tower is not only the most iconic structure in Paris, France but it is also one of the most recognisable landmarks in the world. It was built to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. Its construction took only 2 years, 2 months and 5 days and was completed in 1889. It became the tallest building in the world until it was surpassed by the Chrysler Building in New York in 1930. Including the antennas, the Eiffel Tower is 324 m tall and is now the tallest building in Paris. The tower was named after Gustave Eiffel who owned the company that designed and built it. A very interesting fact is that Eiffel was also the designer of the interior parts of the Statue of Liberty.

   The Eiffel Tower consists of 18 038 wrought iron parts held together by 2,5 million rivets. Rivets are special metal bolts or pins which hold pieces of metal together. It has a very detailed, almost lacelike structure and it weighs around 10 000 tonnes. Despite that weight, the tower sways by 6 or 7 centimeters on a windy day. There are 3 levels that visitors can climb up to, each offering even a more breathtaking view of Paris than the previous one. There are 1665 steps to the top of the tower. But how strange is that – most people actually prefer to take the elevator!! The Eiffel Tower holds the record of the most visited paid-for attraction worldwide – almost 7 million people a year. So imagine the queues!!! But it is worth the wait. Once you have reached the top, you get to enjoy a spectacular 360° view of the city. People who chose to ascend to the 3rd floor, can have a look in the cosy, little apartment which Gustave Eiffel used to entertain his guests in. It is fully preserved in its original state and immediately takes you back in time!

   If it is possible, this cultural icon is even more impressive at night. The whole tower is illuminated with the golden shimmer of 336 light bulbs. But when the sparkling lights are turned on, it is sheer magic. There are 20 000 glittering lights which are turned on for five minutes every hour creating an amazing light show. On special occasions, the Eiffel Tower is illuminated with different colours – blue for the 20th Anniversary of Europe Day in 2006 or red to celebrate Chinese New Year in 2004!

   Let’s not forget the photo that all couples take – giving each other a kiss, with the beautiful iconic landmark standing proud and tall in the background!!!

GALLERY

EIFFEL TOWER – VIEW

EIFFEL TOWER

EIFFEL TOWER – VIEW

EIFFEL TOWER

EIFFEL TOWER

EIFFEL TOWER

EIFFEL TOWER – 1944

GUSTAVE EIFFEL

GLOSSARY

recognisable – identifiable

anniversary – a date celebrated each year because of something special that happened on it previously

surpass – to exceed, to go beyond

ascend – to go up, to move upward

lacelike – resembling lace

LUNGS

   People can actually survive a small period of time without food or water but what is the one thing we absolutely need to stay alive? It is oxygen (O2) which we get when we breathe. This is exactly what makes the lungs so important – they are the organ that brings oxygen into our body.

   We have two lungs – left and right on each side of our chest. Together with the heart they are protected by the ribcage. Each lung is made up by lobes – the right one 3; the left one has only 2 because it is smaller – it needs to make some room for the heart. The lungs are just a small part of our respiratory system. It very much resembles a tree – with a trunk, branches and various tinier twigs. Let’s see precisely how it works. When we breathe, we inhale air through the nose or mouth. Then the air  goes down the trachea, which is also called a windpipe. From there it enters the bronchi  – two breathing tubes, left and right for each lung. The bronchi divide into the smaller twigs of this amazing ‘breathing tree’ – the bronchioles. At the end of each bronchiole the alveoli are found. Their names mean ‘a bunch of grapes’ and depict very accurately what they look like – microscopic bags full of air. They are covered in very small blood vessels, called capillaries whose job is to take the oxygen to the heart. From there it can be distributed by the blood throughout the whole body. When we exhale, carbon dioxide is carried back from the cells to the lungs so it can be released in the air. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the waste gas produced during the process of breathing.

   A lung is a hard-working organ. When resting, an adult breathes in 12-20 times a minute, much more frequently when we exericise. Unfortunately, there are not only a couple of diseases that can disturb the work of the lungs like asthma (the airways narrow so a person has difficulties breathing), allergies or lung infections (caused by viruses or bacteria). One of the biggest culprit for the lungs is smoking. The cigarette smoke causes the alveoli to shrink so the volume of the lungs decreases. Once an alveolus has died, it does not grow back which means that the damage to the lungs is permanent and irreversible!!

GALLERY

LUNGS

LUNGS

LUNGS

GLOSSARY

lobe – a rounded division of an organ (lungs, liver, brain)

respiratory – related to the process of breathing

inhale – breathe in

exhale – breathe out

culprit – the cause of a problem

blood vessel – a small tube in which the blood circulates in the body (an artery, vein, or capillary)

irreversible – impossible to change back

RUBENS

  Sir Peter Paul Rubens was a Flemish painter, born in 1577 in Siegan, nowadays Germany. He lost his father at the age of 10 and his mother brought the family back to the city of Antwerp when Rubens was 12 years old. There he studied Latin and classical literature but more importantly, he became an apprentice to some of the most famous painters at the time.

  The real start of Rubens’s artistic career began with his journey to Italy. He spent 8 years travelling across the country where he was heavily influenced not only by the works of da Vinci, Michelangelo, Caravaggio but also by Greek art as well. In 1601 the young painter received his first significant job – 3 altarpieces for the church of Santa Croce in Jerusalem, Rome. By the time Rubens came back to Antwerp in 1608, he was already a very well-known painter. He was also appointed a court painter by Albert VII, archduke of Austria and Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain which only insured his importance to the artistic world at that time. He continued working on religion-related  pieces as the altarpieces ‘The Raising of the Cross’ and ‘The Descent from the Cross’ for the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp and other churches in the city. Rubens also drew title-pages and illustrations for books, did ceiling paintings, collected art and due to his relations to the royal court he was alsp a diplomat an ambassador. He was a prolific painter – he received numerous commissions, painted portraits, mythological pieces and landscapes. During the 1620’s Rubens completed the Marie de’ Medici cycle – a series of 24 paintings and repeatedly travelled to Spain on diplomatic missions. He was raised to knighthood by Philip IV of Spain and Charles I of England.

  After the death of his first wife, Isabella Brant, Rubens married the 16-year-old Hélène Fourment when he was 53 years old. She played a really big role in Rubens’s artistic life – she was the muse that inspired numerous nude paintings of voluptuous women. Today we use ‘Rubenesque’ as a synonym of full-figured.

   Rubens died on 30 May 1640 in Antwerp. But this wonderful Baroque artist left countless paintings not only in private collections around the world but also in churches  and museums like the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Louvre in Paris. And of course, the house in which the master himself lived and worked, the Rubenshuis. Situated in the heart of Antwerp, the Italian-style villa was designed by Rubens. Todays it is a cosy museum where visitors can enjoy some of the artist’s paintings and drawings, the elegant courtyard and beautiful garden.

GALLERY

RUBENS – SKETCHES

HELENE FOURMENT

HELENE FOURMENT

RUBENSHUIS

RUBENS – PAINTINGS

RUBENS – PAINTINGS

RUBENS – CEILING

GLOSSARY

apprentice – someone who works for a skilled master in order to learn a profession

altarpiece – a work of art set above and behind an altar in a church

prolific – highly productive

commission – (here) the hiring and payment for the creation of a piece

raise to knighthood – to make somebody a knight (a member of nobility)

muse – a source of inspiration

voluptuous – curvaceous, sensual

Baroque – a style of architecture and decorative art that flourished throughout Europe from the late 16th to the early 18th century, characterized by extensive ornamentationn