1344 résultats pour "first"

• Giant Panda - biology.

  In 2007 conservationists announced that a parasitic roundworm was responsible for a significant number of the panda deaths reported in the wild since 1990. Theparasite Baylisascaris schroederi causes the disease visceral larval migrans, which results in bleeding in the lungs, the liver, and the intestines, and can also affect the brain. It is not known if other recent pandas deaths were caused by the same parasite or by a different contagious disease. Loss of habitat from deforestation is forc...

• American Music I INTRODUCTION American Music, the folk, popular, and classical music of the United States--created by American-born or American-trained composers, or originating in American culture, or written primarily for American audiences.

  The country's first permanent orchestra was the New York Philharmonic Society, founded in 1842. Among the first symphonic and operatic composers the mostprominent was William Henry Fry, who composed the first opera by an American ( Leonora, 1845). Fry is best remembered, however, for four symphonies written in the 1850s and 1860s. George F. Bristow wrote the first opera on an American theme; his Rip Van Winkle was performed in New York City in 1855. Town bands, a popular form of community mu...

• Comics I INTRODUCTION Comics, series of drawings arranged to tell a story.

  is still used to refer to sensationalistic techniques that publishers use to draw more readers to their newspapers. Outcault finally won the right to continue his strip andgradually adopted the panel style and balloon narration that mark “The Yellow Kid” as the first true comic strip. Other early comics included “Little Bears” by JamesSwinnerton, which first appeared in the San Francisco Examiner in 1892, and “The Katzenjammer Kids” by Rudolph Dirks, which first appeared in The American Humo...

• Excerpt from All's Well That Ends Well - anthology.

  SECOND LORD. Do not say so. COUNTESS. Think upon patience. Pray you, gentlemenI have felt so many quirks of joy and griefThat the first face of neither on the start soCan woman meun to't. Where is my son, I pray you! SECOND LORD. Madam, he's gone to serve the Duke of Florence.We met him thitherward, for thence we came,And, after some dispatch in hand at court,Thither we bend again. HELENA. Look on his letter, madam: here's my passport.(She reads the letter aloud)“When thou canst get the ring upo...

• Rocket.

  the vacuum of space, however, demonstrated that this belief was not true. In fact, rockets produce more thrust in the vacuum of space than on Earth. Air pressure andfriction with the air reduce a rocket’s thrust by about 10 percent on Earth as compared to the rocket’s performance in space. B Thrust and Efficiency Thrust is a measurement of the force of a rocket, or the amount of “push” exerted backward to move a rocket forward. Thrusts vary greatly from rocket to rocket.Engineers measure thrust...

• Rocket - astronomy.

  the vacuum of space, however, demonstrated that this belief was not true. In fact, rockets produce more thrust in the vacuum of space than on Earth. Air pressure andfriction with the air reduce a rocket’s thrust by about 10 percent on Earth as compared to the rocket’s performance in space. B Thrust and Efficiency Thrust is a measurement of the force of a rocket, or the amount of “push” exerted backward to move a rocket forward. Thrusts vary greatly from rocket to rocket.Engineers measure thrust...

• Chess.

  There are two standard methods of recording chess moves: the algebraic system and the descriptive system. In both systems, the pieces are designated by capitalinitials: K for king, Q for queen, R for rook, B for bishop, and N for knight. The initial P for pawn is used in the descriptive system only. Castling is noted as either 0-0(“short” castling on the king’s side) or 0-0-0 (“long” castling on the queen’s side). Each square is part of both a file and a rank, and in the algebraic system, that u...

• Esposito Scores 100 Points.

  they didn't want to surrender the historic point. New York goalie Ed Giacomin was in fine form. Esposito missed on his first ten shots of the night. One clanked offthe goal post, drawing a chorus of “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd. Finally, in the second period, Esposito beat Giacomin and right wing Bob Nevin to ring up point number 98. It was his 38th goal of the season. Later in the gameEsposito notched his 99th point on an assist to Bobby Orr. Obviously keyed up to break the record, Espo...

• African Literature I INTRODUCTION African Literature, oral and written literature produced on the African continent.

  that few scholars of African culture know any African languages, and few Africans know an African language other than their own. The best-known literatures in Africanlanguages include those in Yoruba and Hausa in West Africa; Sotho, Xhosa, and Zulu in southern Africa; and Amharic, Somali, and Swahili in East Africa. In West Africa, Yoruba writing emerged after Bishop Ajayi Crowther, a former slave, developed a script for the language and in 1900 published the first Yorubatranslation of the Bible...

• The Summer Games of 1992 - sport.

  In the most ambitious undertaking of all, a stretch of rundown warehouses and abandoned factories beside the long-neglected Mediterranean waterfront wastransformed into a sparkling new district of apartments, shopping areas, and palmetto-lined promenades. During the games, the area served as the Olympic athletes'village, where, for the first time at any games, organizers offered accommodations to competitors and their coaches free of charge. After the games the apartmentswere to be sold to help...

• Sailing.

  the sails sweep across the decks of the vessel from one side to the other, and also because of the danger of breaking spars. In wild jibing, control can be lostmomentarily and, if the seas are high, a small boat can broach —that is, veer on its side with danger of swamping or capsizing. An unintentional jibe in a heavy wind frequently has enough force to break the masts of a vessel. When jibing intentionally, careful sailors always haul in on the boom while turning, so that the boom willtravel...

• Illustration I INTRODUCTION Illustration, pictorial material appearing with a text and amplifying or enhancing it.

  Hypnerotomachia PoliphiliThe Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (The Strife of Love in a Dream), a work attributed to Dominican monk Francesco deColonna, was first published in Venice, Italy, in 1499 by Aldus Manutius. Its text and its beautiful woodcut illustrationsinfluenced Renaissance art and architecture. This illustration shows the book’s protagonist, Poliphilus, asleep under a tree.The Pierpont Morgan Library/Art Resource, NY The first illustrated book with a text printed from movable type was pro...

• One Hundred Years of Olympics.

  Getting over the Hurdles The next three Olympics attracted more athletes and saw stronger performances but otherwise did not measure up to Athens. The 1900 Paris Olympics were upstagedby the concurrent Exposition Universelle and were spread out over two months. The 1904 games in remote St. Louis were subordinated to the Louisiana PurchaseExhibition; over three-fourths of the competitors were Americans, and even Coubertin did not attend. The 1908 London Olympics were also overshadowed byanother...

• Horse Racing.

  interested parties claim the same horse at the same price, lots are drawn to determine the winning offer. Knowledgeable owners and trainers may use claiming races toobtain, at bargain prices, horses whose former owners underestimated the potential of their animals. Two other types of contests are match races and walkovers. A match race pits only two horses, almost always that season’s most successful racers, in a head-to-headduel. A walkover occurs when only one horse has not been scratched (w...

• American Literature: Poetry I INTRODUCTION Phyllis McGinley American poet and author Phyllis McGinley composed light, witty verse, much of which deals with family life.

  Taylor, a poet of great technical skill, wrote powerful meditative poems in which he tested himself morally and sought to identify and root out sinful tendencies. In“God's Determinations Touching His Elect” (written 1680?), one of Taylor’s most important works, he celebrates God's power in the triumph of good over evil in thehuman soul. All of Taylor’s poetry and much of Bradstreet’s served generally personal ends, and their audience often consisted of themselves and their family andclosest frie...

• Supreme Court of the United States.

  The Constitution does not specify formal qualifications for membership on the Supreme Court. From the beginning, though, justices have all been lawyers, and mostpursued legal and political careers before serving on the Court. Many justices served as members of Congress, governors, or members of the Cabinet. One president,William Howard Taft, was later appointed chief justice. Some justices came to the Court from private law practice, and others were appointed from positions as lawprofessors. Man...

• Pornography.

  censorship. Congress passed 20 obscenity laws between 1842 and 1956, most of which were variations of or amendments to the original Comstock Law. Later, Congress passed aseries of antipornography and anti-indecency laws dealing with new forms of technology and with the protection of children. The Protection of Children Against SexualExploitation Act of 1977 prohibits anyone from employing or inducing a minor to participate in sexual conduct or in the making of pornography. In 1988 Congresspassed...

• Pan-Africanism.

  (in New York City). These congresses were attended by increasing numbers of representatives from the United States, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. Severalimportant factors affected the growing popularity of the congresses. First, many delegates were sponsored by international labor movements, which were growing insize and power in the 1920s. A second factor was the growth of the black nationalist movement of Marcus Garvey. The Garvey movement was important in the UnitedStates as a popular ex...

• Thomas Edison.

  While Edison was working on the electric light, he made a scientific discovery that would become important to future generations. Edison noticed that particles of carbonfrom the filament blackened the insides of his light bulbs. This effect was caused by the emission of electrons from the filament, although Edison made the discoverybefore he and other scientists knew the electron existed. Not until 1897 did British physicist J. J. Thomson prove that the blackening observed by Edison was caused b...

• Thomas Edison - USA History.

  While Edison was working on the electric light, he made a scientific discovery that would become important to future generations. Edison noticed that particles of carbonfrom the filament blackened the insides of his light bulbs. This effect was caused by the emission of electrons from the filament, although Edison made the discoverybefore he and other scientists knew the electron existed. Not until 1897 did British physicist J. J. Thomson prove that the blackening observed by Edison was caused b...

• Democratic Party.

  At the beginning of the 20th century the Democrats’ minority position among voters remained central to their existence. The Progressive split in Republican rankshelped elect Woodrow Wilson twice, but the entry of the United States into World War I ended that. The war, popular at first, backfired against the Wilsonadministration when large numbers of German Americans and Irish Americans protested with their votes against U.S. involvement on England’s side. The result wasanother Republican landsli...

• Ancient Egypt.

  around 4500 BC. The style and decoration of the pottery found at these sites differ from those of pottery found in Upper Egypt. The northern type eventually fell out of use. Other differences between the peoples in Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt include the nature of their architecture and the arrangements for burial of the dead, thelatter perhaps signifying differing religious beliefs. B Unification and Early Dynastic Period By 3500 BC, the settlement of Hierakonpolis, located on the west bank...

• Ancient Egypt - USA History.

  around 4500 BC. The style and decoration of the pottery found at these sites differ from those of pottery found in Upper Egypt. The northern type eventually fell out of use. Other differences between the peoples in Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt include the nature of their architecture and the arrangements for burial of the dead, thelatter perhaps signifying differing religious beliefs. B Unification and Early Dynastic Period By 3500 BC, the settlement of Hierakonpolis, located on the west bank...

• Ancient Egypt.

  around 4500 BC. The style and decoration of the pottery found at these sites differ from those of pottery found in Upper Egypt. The northern type eventually fell out of use. Other differences between the peoples in Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt include the nature of their architecture and the arrangements for burial of the dead, thelatter perhaps signifying differing religious beliefs. B Unification and Early Dynastic Period By 3500 BC, the settlement of Hierakonpolis, located on the west bank...

• Blues I INTRODUCTION Listening to the Blues Blues music comes in a variety of styles and forms, including acoustic blues, electric blues, rock, and jazz.

  recording of “How Many More Years” demonstrate this structure: a. How many more years do I got to let you dog me around?a. How many more years do I got to let you dog me around?b. I just as soon be dead, sleeping six feet in the ground. Each lyric line is typically sung over the first half (first two bars) of a four-bar line. After each lyric line (the “call”), an instrumental response is commonly played, alsoconsisting of approximately two bars. The tension created by the two-bar call-and-res...

• From Bulfinch's Mythology: Prometheus and Pandora - anthology.

  The world being thus furnished with inhabitants, the first age was an age of innocence and happiness, called the Golden Age. Truth and right prevailed, though not enforced by law, nor was there any magistrate to threaten or punish. The forest had not yet been robbed of its trees to furnish timbers for vessels, nor had men builtfortifications round their towns. There were no such things as swords, spears, or helmets. The earth brought forth all things necessary for man, without his labour inplo...

• Coins and Coin Collecting.

  U.S. coins dates from 1909, when the first Lincoln Cents appeared during the centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. George Washington’s profile was used on thequarter-dollar of 1932, a coin originally intended as a one-year commemorative to honor the 200th anniversary of his birth. The design quickly became so popular thatit was retained for regular-issue quarters and is still being used today. Thomas Jefferson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Dwight D. Eisenhower are theother Americ...

• Gabon - country.

  government is engaged in preservation and reforestation programs. The fish catch in 2005 was 43,941 metric tons. C Mining Mining has developed rapidly since Gabon’s independence in 1960. Annual production of extremely high-grade manganese ore, from Moanda in the southeast, was1,090,000 metric tons in 2004. The rich deposits of iron ore located at Mekambo and Bélinga in the northeast have reserves estimated at more than 500 million metrictons. Exploitation of the iron ore has been hampered by th...

• Rap I INTRODUCTION Jay-Z Rapper Jay-Z rose to popularity with such albums as Vol.

  Run-DMCTypically in rap music, vocalists recite rhyming lyrics in time to a beat that may be sampled from prerecorded music byother groups. Black youths developed rap music on the streets of inner cities in the United States during the 1970s, butthe style has expanded to include a wider variety of performers and audiences. The rap group Run-DMC, shown here, wasa powerful early influence in the genre. The group helped bring rap music into the mainstream when it released “WalkThis Way” (1986), a s...

• Immune System.

  The humoral immune response involves a complex series of events after antigens enter the body. First, macrophages take up some of the antigen and attach it to classII MHC molecules, which then present the antigen to T helper cells. The T helper cells bind the presented antigen, which stimulates the T helper cells to divide andsecrete stimulatory molecules called interleukins. The interleukins in turn activate any B lymphocytes that have also bound the antigen. The activated B cells then divide...

• Roman Mythology.

  Her temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome was a center for organizations of skilled craftspeople. According to tradition, in 509 BC the dynasty of Etruscan kings ended and the Roman Republic was founded. The republic was ruled by two chief magistrates, called consuls, who were elected by the people to one-year terms. During the time of the republic, the Capitoline temple became the most important public shrine of theRoman people and the focus of public worship. Each January, the new consuls offer...

• Classification - biology.

  species based on the fewest number of shared changes that have occurred from generation to generation. IV HISTORY OF CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS Classification is one of the oldest sciences, but despite its age it is still a vigorous field full of new discoveries and methods. Much like other fields of science, greatthinkers have shaped the course of classification. One of the earliest classification schemes was established by Greek philosopher Aristotle, who lived in the 300s BC. Aristotle believe...

• Dwight D.

  maneuvers in Louisiana in 1941, he played a leading role as a staff officer, adding to his reputation and securing him a promotion to brigadier general. On December 7,1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the next day the United States entered World War II against the Axis Powers (Japan, Germany, and Italy). A weeklater, the army’s new chief of staff, General George C. Marshall, called Eisenhower to Washington, D.C., and put him in charge of the War Plans Division. Opinions differed on...

• Boston - geography.

  The neighborhoods of Allston and Brighton occupy the northwest corner of the city to the west of Fenway. The Allston-Brighton area is bordered to the east, north, andwest by the Charles River and to the south by the Massachusetts Turnpike and the town of Brookline. It is an industrial and residential neighborhood that is also thelocation of Boston College and Harvard University Business School. Boston has been unsuccessful in annexing Brookline, the birthplace of U.S. president John F.Kennedy an...

• Supercomputer.

  the specific model and configuration of the supercomputer. In July 1995, computer scientists at the University of Tokyo, in Japan, broke the 1 teraflop (1 trillion floating-point operations per second) mark with a computer theydesigned to perform astrophysical simulations. Named GRAPE-4 (GRAvity PipE number 4), this MPP supercomputer consisted of 1,692 interconnected processors. InNovember 1996, Cray Research debuted the CRAY T3E-900, the first commercially available supercomputer to offer teraf...

• Lyndon B.

  A1 First Years in Office Johnson quickly made a two-fold reputation. He was a firm supporter of Roosevelt’s program, both domestic and foreign, and he was also a tireless worker on behalf ofthe voters he represented. Often the two activities coincided, as was the case when he helped to bring public power into Texas through the Rural ElectrificationAdministration and the Lower Colorado River Authority. He also secured funds for the building of dams, roads, and other public improvements in his di...

• Armenia (country) - country.

  because of ethnic tension brought on by a secessionist conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region inhabited predominantly by Armenians in western Azerbaijan. In thereverse direction, many Armenian refugees entered Armenia from Azerbaijan during the conflict. Armenia’s official state language is Armenian, an Indo-European language with no surviving close relatives. It has a unique 38-letter alphabet that dates from the early5th century. Of its many spoken dialects, the most important are Eastern or Y...

• Human Sexuality.

  About six weeks after conception, if a Y chromosome is present in the embryo's cells (as it is in normal males), a gene on the chromosome directs the undifferentiatedgonads to become testes. If the Y chromosome is not present (as in normal females), the undifferentiated gonads will become ovaries. If the gonads become testes, they begin to produce androgens (male hormones, primarily testosterone) by about eight weeks after conception. These androgens stimulate development of the one set of the...

• Virus (computer).

  how closely it resembles a virus. It relies on experience with previous viruses to predict the likelihood that a suspicious file is an as-yet unidentified or unclassified newvirus. Other types of antiviral software include monitoring software and integrity-shell software. Monitoring software is different from scanning software. It detects illegal orpotentially damaging viral activities such as overwriting computer files or reformatting the computer's hard drive. Integrity-shell software establis...

• Mesoamerica.

  for cooking. In other regions, the earliest ceramics are more sophisticated technically and aesthetically. At around 1800 BC in the Pacific coastal region of Soconusco (in what is now southeastern Chiapas State, Mexico), the earliest pottery was very complex both in forms and decoration. It seems to have had a social function and beenused primarily for ritual feasting. III MAJOR CIVILIZATIONS Over a period of 3000 years, beginning in about 1500 BC, a number of important cultures emerged in M...

• Constitution of the United States.

  chief executive should have the power to veto legislation, should be elected by Congress or the people, should be eligible to run for reelection, and should command thearmed forces. Some delegates even hoped for a limited monarchy. Not until September 8, more than three months after the convention started, did the final shape ofthe presidency emerge: a single leader, elected to a four-year term and eligible for reelection, with authority to veto bills enacted by Congress. The president was alsog...

• Constitution of the United States - U.

  chief executive should have the power to veto legislation, should be elected by Congress or the people, should be eligible to run for reelection, and should command thearmed forces. Some delegates even hoped for a limited monarchy. Not until September 8, more than three months after the convention started, did the final shape ofthe presidency emerge: a single leader, elected to a four-year term and eligible for reelection, with authority to veto bills enacted by Congress. The president was alsog...

• Native American Literature.

  Many Native American writers of the 19th century wrote histories of their tribes. One tribal historian was David Cusick (Tuscarora), whose Sketches of Ancient History of the Six Nations (1827) was the first published tribal history. Tribal histories explained the deep ties that tribes had to their ancestral homelands. Beginning in the 18th century, these ties took on special meaning because the United States government began removing Native Americans from their traditional lands. These removal...

• National Baseball Hall of Fame.

  Doby, Larry Outfielder 1998 Doerr, Bobby Second baseman 1986 Dreyfuss, Barney Executive 2008 Drysdale, Don Pitcher 1984 Duffy, Hugh Outfielder 1945 Durocher, Leo Ernest Shortstop; manager 1994 Eckersley, Dennis Pitcher 2004 Evans, Billy Umpire 1973 Evers, John Joseph Second baseman 1946 Ewing, Buck Catcher 1939 Faber, Red Pitcher 1964 Feller, Bob Pitcher 1962 Ferrell, Rick Catcher 1984 Fingers, Rollie Pitcher 1992 Fisk, Carlton Catcher 2000 Flick, Elmer Outfielder 1963 Ford, Whitey Pitcher 1974...

• Christianity.

  history of architecture. See Basilica; Church; Early Christian Art and Architecture;Prayer. C Christian Life The instruction and exhortation of Christian preaching and teaching concern all the themes of doctrine and morals: the love of God and the love of neighbor, the twochief commandments in the ethical message of Jesus (see Matthew 22: 34-40). Application of these commandments to the concrete situations of human life, bothpersonal and social, does not produce a uniformity of moral or polit...

• United States History - U.

  and improved upon the designs of Arab sailing ships and learned to mount cannons on those ships. In the 15th century they began exploring the west coast ofAfrica—bypassing Arab merchants to trade directly for African gold and slaves. They also colonized the Madeira Islands, the Azores, and the Cape Verde Islands andturned them into the first European slave plantations. The European explorers were all looking for an ocean route to Asia. Christopher Columbus sailed for the monarchs of Spain in 149...

• United States History - U.

  and improved upon the designs of Arab sailing ships and learned to mount cannons on those ships. In the 15th century they began exploring the west coast ofAfrica—bypassing Arab merchants to trade directly for African gold and slaves. They also colonized the Madeira Islands, the Azores, and the Cape Verde Islands andturned them into the first European slave plantations. The European explorers were all looking for an ocean route to Asia. Christopher Columbus sailed for the monarchs of Spain in 149...

• Cold War.

  With this, all the countries of Eastern Europe were under Communist control, and the creation of the Soviet bloc was complete. The events of 1948 contributed to agrowing conviction among political leaders in both the United States and the USSR that the opposing power posed a broad and fundamental threat to their nation’sinterests. The Berlin blockade and the spread of Communism in Europe led to negotiations between Western Europe, Canada, and the United States that resulted in the NorthAtlantic...

• Cold War .

  With this, all the countries of Eastern Europe were under Communist control, and the creation of the Soviet bloc was complete. The events of 1948 contributed to agrowing conviction among political leaders in both the United States and the USSR that the opposing power posed a broad and fundamental threat to their nation’sinterests. The Berlin blockade and the spread of Communism in Europe led to negotiations between Western Europe, Canada, and the United States that resulted in the NorthAtlantic...

• Cold War - U.

  With this, all the countries of Eastern Europe were under Communist control, and the creation of the Soviet bloc was complete. The events of 1948 contributed to agrowing conviction among political leaders in both the United States and the USSR that the opposing power posed a broad and fundamental threat to their nation’sinterests. The Berlin blockade and the spread of Communism in Europe led to negotiations between Western Europe, Canada, and the United States that resulted in the NorthAtlantic...