461 résultats pour "few"

• Arctic - Geography.

  The Arctic is not a frozen desert devoid of life on land or sea, even during the cold, dark winter months. Spring brings a phenomenal resurgence of plant and animal life.Low temperatures are not always the critical element—moisture, the type of soil, and available solar energy are also extremely important. Some animals adapt well toArctic conditions; for instance, a number of species of mammals and birds carry additional insulation, such as fat, in cold months. Arctic summers with extended dayli...

• 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...

• Cloning - biology.

  found that such embryo cells are totipotent (able to give rise to all the different cell types in the body). Exploiting this characteristic, scientists developed three techniques to clone embryo cells: blastomere separation, blastocyst division, and somatic cell nuclear transfer. A Blastomere Separation In blastomere separation, scientists fertilize an egg cell with a sperm cell in a laboratory dish. The resulting embryo is allowed to divide until it forms a mass of aboutfour cells. Scientist...

• Nunavut - Canadian History.

  The Arctic Lands is a complex geological area that is centered on the Arctic Ocean. It includes coastal plains, plateaus, and mountains. Coastal plains and plateaus arefound in the western Northwest Territories section of the Arctic Lands, such as on Victoria Island, which is mostly a large, flat plateau. In striking contrast to theserelatively gentle landscapes, the eastern Nunavut section of the Arctic Lands is dominated by a jagged chain of ice-covered mountains. The mountains on EllesmereIsl...

• Newfoundland and Labrador - Geography.

  Precipitation averages about 1,120 mm (about 44 in) yearly in Newfoundland. In Labrador precipitation varies from about 1,020 mm (about 40 in) in the southeast toabout 510 mm (about 20 in) in the extreme north. Heavy winter snowfalls are common, especially in Newfoundland. D Plant Life About one-third of Newfoundland is forested, and most of the rest of the island is made up of barren areas of reindeer moss and lichens. The forests consist almostentirely of conifers. The most important species...

• Newfoundland and Labrador - Canadian History.

  Precipitation averages about 1,120 mm (about 44 in) yearly in Newfoundland. In Labrador precipitation varies from about 1,020 mm (about 40 in) in the southeast toabout 510 mm (about 20 in) in the extreme north. Heavy winter snowfalls are common, especially in Newfoundland. D Plant Life About one-third of Newfoundland is forested, and most of the rest of the island is made up of barren areas of reindeer moss and lichens. The forests consist almostentirely of conifers. The most important species...

• Amphibians.

  AN AMPHIBIAN’S LIFE Amphibians that live in cold places spend most of their time trying to keep wet and warm. In hot places,they try to keep wet and cool and usually come out only at night. During the day, they stay under rocksor logs or in the ground. Amphibians hibernate (become inactive) during cold winters. They become inactive in hot places during the summer. Almost all grown-up amphibians are meat eaters. Frogs and salamanders have sticky tongues. They flickout their tongues to catch ins...

• Natural Satellite - astronomy.

  Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, also has few impact craters. Although icy volcanism from water and ammonia may occur along with some tectonic activity, Titan’s youngsurface is most likely the result of weather processes. Titan’s dense, cold atmosphere precipitates particles of complex organic molecules that accumulate as dunes andmountains. Methane rain erodes the surface and creates lakes at the moon’s poles. Triton’s young surface also may result from processes in its atmosphere, as well aserupt...

• W. L. Mackenzie King. I INTRODUCTION W. L. Mackenzie King (1874-1950), tenth prime

  V SECOND TERM AS PRIME MINISTER By the election of 1925 most of the rifts in the Liberal Party were healed. Little had been achieved by King's government except for some tariff reduction and thereorganization of Canadian railroads, but no mistakes had been made. The real issue of the election was the personalities of the party leaders, King and the brilliant butarrogant Conservative, Arthur Meighen. The Conservatives swept English-speaking Canada, and they won 116 seats. The Liberals won 101, a...

• Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901).

  homesteaders against pressure from the powerful railroads. He fought vigorously for Civil War veterans, supported high taxes on imports (called tariffs), payments todisabled and opposed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which stopped Chinese immigration to the U.S. for 10 years ( see Immigration: From 1840 to 1900 ). He also introduced 101 special pension and relief bills in six years. Harrison's name was well known by the Republican National Convention in 1884. In spite of this, Congressman and forme...

• Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901) - Histoire

  homesteaders against pressure from the powerful railroads. He fought vigorously for Civil War veterans, supported high taxes on imports (called tariffs), payments todisabled and opposed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which stopped Chinese immigration to the U.S. for 10 years ( see Immigration: From 1840 to 1900 ). He also introduced 101 special pension and relief bills in six years. Harrison's name was well known by the Republican National Convention in 1884. In spite of this, Congressman and forme...

• Invertebrate - biology.

  animals with a five-pointed design. They live in the sea and move with the help of tiny fluid-filled feet—another feature found nowhere else in the animal world. Zoologists recognize several different groups of worms. The phylum known as flatworms contains the simplest animals possessing heads. Nerves and sense organs areconcentrated in the head. Most flatworms are paper-thin and live in a variety of wet or damp habitats, including the digestive systems of other animals. Roundwormsrepresent anot...

• Invertebrate - biology.

  animals with a five-pointed design. They live in the sea and move with the help of tiny fluid-filled feet—another feature found nowhere else in the animal world. Zoologists recognize several different groups of worms. The phylum known as flatworms contains the simplest animals possessing heads. Nerves and sense organs areconcentrated in the head. Most flatworms are paper-thin and live in a variety of wet or damp habitats, including the digestive systems of other animals. Roundwormsrepresent anot...

• Iran-Iraq War - History.

  The Iranian offensives of 1982 set a pattern that continued for the rest of the war. Exploiting their superiority in numbers, Iran sent its Revolutionary Guard on theattack, supported by regular military forces. Outnumbered Iraqi forces inflicted heavy losses on the Iranians but ultimately fell back. As soon as the initial Iranian thrusthad exhausted itself, however, the Iraqi army exploited Iranian disorganization and lack of equipment to retake much of the lost territory. As the war continued,...

• Fish - biology.

  pectoral fins provide fine movements, add forward thrust, or, together with the pelvic fins, serve as brakes. Typically, fins consist of a thin membrane stretched over afanlike series of thin rods called spines or rays. Most fish breathe underwater with the help of special respiratory organs called gills. Gills are made of a series of thin sheets or filaments through which blood circulates.As water moves into a fish’s mouth and passes over the gills, dissolved oxygen passes across the thin gill...

• Central America - Geography.

  F Animal Life Most of the animal life of Central America is similar to that of South America, but some animals have ties with North America. The marley and opossum have links withSouth America, as do the jaguar, ocelot, jaguarundi, and margay, which are members of the cat family. In contrast, the puma, gray fox, and coyote are of NorthAmerican origin. The armadillo, anteater, and sloth have ties to the south, deer to the north. The large manatee, an aquatic plant eater, survives in the isolated...

• Honduras - country.

  A Principal Cities The capital and largest city of Honduras is Tegucigalpa (2006 estimate, 1,324,000), located in the south-central highlands region. The country’s second largest city isSan Pedro Sula (549,498). The principal city and commercial center in the north, it lies in the heart of the vast banana plantations on the Caribbean Sea. La Ceiba(127,590) and Puerto Cortés (90,161) are among the leading Caribbean ports. B Language and Religion Spanish is the official language and is spoken by...

• Capital Punishment.

  deterrent effect. Capital punishment advocates note that because the death penalty is reserved for the most aggravated murders, the deterrent effect of capitalpunishment on such crimes may not be apparent in data on homicide rates in general. Supporters also urge that the conflicting results of various studies indicate thatthe deterrent effect of the death penalty cannot not be proven or disproven with any certainty. They maintain that in the absence of conclusive proof that the threat ofexecuti...

• Public Education in the United States.

  opportunities for them to break out from whatever social or economic circumstances constrained their development. IV HIGHER EDUCATION During the 20th century participation in higher or postsecondary education in the United States increased as dramatically as it did in American high schools. At thebeginning of the century about 2 percent of Americans from the ages of 18 to 24 were enrolled in a college. There were fewer than 1,000 colleges then, with enrollmenttotaling about 157,000 students. N...

• Haiti - country.

  Haitian Creole and French are the official languages of Haiti. Haitian Creole, a French-based Creole with influences from West African languages, was made an officiallanguage under the 1987 constitution. It is the mother tongue for nearly the entire population of Haiti and the language of instruction in schools. French is spokenmainly as a second language by a small section of the population. B Religion About 80 percent of Haiti’s people are nominal Roman Catholics, many of them combining an Af...

• Parnassus Greek A mountain in south-central Greece, a few miles north of the Gulf of Corinth which separates mainland Greece from the Peloponnesus.

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• Reptiles.

  to find mates. A male turtle may stroke a female’s face with his front limbs. Most female reptiles make nests and lay eggs. A few lizards and snakes give birth to live young. All baby reptiles can live on their own as soon as they hatch. But most baby reptiles do not live morethan a few months. Birds, snakes, and mammals eat them. Sharks hunt baby sea turtles. Reptiles can live a long time if they don’t get eaten. Some tortoises may live up to 150 years. Alligatorscan live more than 70 years. Sm...

• ÉTRANGER — GROUPE 2, SESSION DE JUIN 1995 LANGUE VIVANTE 1- SÉRIE L

  sible, so close at hand. Y ou walk through London, for instance, and every alleyway holds secrets. Every church and every row of shops and houses tells a story. It is not like that in America. America star­ ted yesterday. America does not build on, it builds over. There are 30 no medieval ruins in New Jersey. There are no 700-year-old castles in Nebraska.[ ... ] Most of the Americans 1 know who live permanently in London left home for a single, c...

• Microeconomics.

  changes in any of their underlying determinants. Thus, for example, fairly confident and precise predictions can be made about how changes in consumers' preferencesor in technology are likely to affect demand, supply, and equilibrium output, but only under conditions of perfect competition. Although the model of the firm under conditions of perfect competition is the starting point of the theory of supply in microeconomics, it is generally accepted thatmarkets are not usually characterized by pe...

• William Faulkner I INTRODUCTION William Faulkner Twentieth-century American novelist William Faulkner wrote novels that explored the tensions between the old and the new in the American South.

  Faulkner’s “powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel.” He also wrote numerous short stories, many of the best of which werepublished in book form in Go Down, Moses (1942) and The Collected Stories (1950; Pulitzer Prize, 1951). In-between his fiction works, which until late in his career did not always pay well, Faulkner wrote screenplays for Hollywood; two of his more prominent scripts were for the motion pictures To Have and Have Not (1944) and The Big S...

• Hippopotamus - biology.

  hippo backs up to its droppings and uses its tail as a paddle, flicking the dung through the air. This creates a pile that can become several meters wide over time. Male river hippos start to establish territories when they are in their early 20s, and they may eventually control more than 250 m (820 ft) of the water's edge.Subordinate males come and go freely, but a rival male will spark a confrontation if it tries to intrude. The territory owner and intruder face each other open-mouthedand, if...

• Penguin - biology.

  B Parents and Offspring Once female penguins lay their eggs, both the parents incubate the eggs. The incubation period varies according to species, ranging from 33 days for the little penguinto about 63 days for the emperor penguin. In most medium-sized penguins incubation takes 35 to 38 days. The incubation routine is highly variable among penguinspecies, although in general both sexes participate in incubation and feeding of young. Male and female Adélie penguins take turns incubating their e...

• Mount Everest - geography.

  endangered or killed when their tents collapsed or were ripped to shreds by the gales. Hypothermia, the dramatic loss of body heat, is also a major and debilitatingproblem in this region of high winds and low temperatures. Another hazard facing Everest climbers is the famous Khumbu icefall, which is located not far above Base Camp and is caused by the rapid movement of the Khumbuglacier over the steep rock underneath. The movement breaks the ice into sérac (large, pointed masses of ice) cliffs...

• Liberia - country.

  West Atlantic, or Kwa linguistic groups. D Education Education is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 15. However, a scarcity of educational facilities means that few Liberians progress beyondprimary school. Almost all children of primary school-age attend school, but the figure drops to 23 percent (1999–2000) for secondary school-age children. Just 60percent of the population was literate in 2005. Higher education is provided by the University of Liberia (1862), in Monro...

• Courts in the United States.

  The term circuit derives from the original structure of these courts. Under the Judiciary Act of 1789, trials of certain cases were required to be held before three-judge circuit courts consisting of two Supreme Court justices and the federal trial judge in the district court. In addition to their regular duties, Supreme Court justices were required to ride circuit, traveling from district to district within their assigned circuit, often covering great distances. In 1891 Congress establishe...

• Wilfrid Laurier.

  The Manitoba schools were the main issue in the 1896 election. Although the Catholic clergy campaigned against him, Laurier argued in Québec that he would obtainbetter terms for the Catholics by negotiating directly with the provincial government of Manitoba. “Hands off Manitoba” was an effective slogan in the other provinces aswell. A second issue was corruption in the Conservative Party, as a series of scandals had rocked the Bowell administration. Israel Tarte, a former Québec conservativewho...

• Wilfrid Laurier - Canadian History.

  The Manitoba schools were the main issue in the 1896 election. Although the Catholic clergy campaigned against him, Laurier argued in Québec that he would obtainbetter terms for the Catholics by negotiating directly with the provincial government of Manitoba. “Hands off Manitoba” was an effective slogan in the other provinces aswell. A second issue was corruption in the Conservative Party, as a series of scandals had rocked the Bowell administration. Israel Tarte, a former Québec conservativewho...

• Health Care System in Canada.

  With a few exceptions, provincial health plans cover all medically necessary services, so that patients need not pay directly for anything except so-called incidental costs.These incidental costs include items such as a patient’s private hospital room, unless it is specified by a physician, and transportation to the hospital. Provincial healthplans also do not cover some nonessential procedures, such as laser surgery for the eye, cosmetic surgery, procedures to reverse sterilization, and, in mos...

• French and Indian War.

  Virginia as well as the French governor-general of Canada had attempted to seize their lands. After receiving large presents of supplies and arms, the Iroquoisgrudgingly renewed their alliances with the British colonies. Delegates then moved on to plan other defensive measures. An important topic was a plan of union developed by Benjamin Franklin. The Albany Plan, as it became known, proposed a single institution to govern all of the Britishcolonies in America. Under the plan, each colony would...

• Guyana - country.

  European patterns of living. People of mixed African and European ancestry form a distinct group in Guyana, maintaining closer social ties to the European communitythan to the African Guyanese community. Asians from the Indian subcontinent began to arrive in the 19th century, following the abolition of slavery in Guyana, to work as indentured and contract laborers. Theycontinued to arrive until 1917, when Britain outlawed indentured servitude. Thousands of Indians chose to remain in Guyana after...

• French and Indian War - Canadian History.

  Virginia as well as the French governor-general of Canada had attempted to seize their lands. After receiving large presents of supplies and arms, the Iroquoisgrudgingly renewed their alliances with the British colonies. Delegates then moved on to plan other defensive measures. An important topic was a plan of union developed by Benjamin Franklin. The Albany Plan, as it became known, proposed a single institution to govern all of the Britishcolonies in America. Under the plan, each colony would...

• Weather.

  hours, and the snow can be much deeper in places where the wind piles it up in drifts. Extraordinarily deep snows sometimes accumulate on the upwind side ofmountain slopes during severe winter storms or on the downwind shores of large lakes during outbreaks of polar air. VI WIND Wind is the horizontal movement of air. It is named for the direction from which it comes—for example, a north wind comes from the north. In most places near theground, the wind speed averages from 8 to 24 km/h (from 5...

• Isaac NewtonIINTRODUCTIONIsaac Newton (1642-1727), English physicist, mathematician, and natural philosopher, considered one of the most important scientists of all time.

  B Calculus (Newton’s “Fluxional Method”) In 1669 Newton gave his Trinity mathematics professor Isaac Barrow an important manuscript, which is generally known by its shortened Latin title, De Analysi . This work contained many of Newton’s conclusions about calculus (what Newton called his “fluxional method”). Although the paper was not immediately published, Barrowmade its results known to several of the leading mathematicians of Britain and Europe. This paper established Newton as one of the...

• Isaac Newton.

  B Calculus (Newton’s “Fluxional Method”) In 1669 Newton gave his Trinity mathematics professor Isaac Barrow an important manuscript, which is generally known by its shortened Latin title, De Analysi . This work contained many of Newton’s conclusions about calculus (what Newton called his “fluxional method”). Although the paper was not immediately published, Barrowmade its results known to several of the leading mathematicians of Britain and Europe. This paper established Newton as one of the t...

• Vice President of the United States.

  naval operations. Located in northwest Washington at Massachusetts Avenue and 34th Street, the three-story Queen Anne-style house is within easy driving distance ofCapitol Hill and the White House. The vice president receives an annual salary of $189,300. The vice president has a staff and offices in the Everett M. Dirksen Senate Office Building, near the Capitol, toassist with legislative matters, as well as a personal office near the Senate lobby. The vice president also has staff and offices...

• Bolivia - country.

  E Plants and Animals Because of the wide variations in elevation, plant and animal species of nearly every climatic zone are found in Bolivia. A coarse grass, called ichu, grows on the largelybarren high plateau in the west. Para rubber trees, more than 2,000 species of hardwood trees, and vanilla, sarsaparilla, and saffron plants are common in the tropicalforests of the east. The llama, found chiefly on the Altiplano, is an efficient beast of burden. Alpacas and vicuñas also inhabit the platea...

• Memory (psychology).

  memory span —how many items people can correctly recall in order. Researchers would show people increasingly long sequences of digits or letters and then ask them to recall as many of the items as they could. In 1956 American psychologist George Miller reviewed many experiments on memory span and concluded that peoplecould hold an average of seven items in short-term memory. He referred to this limit as “the magical number seven, plus or minus two” because the results of thestudies were so consi...

• Library (institution).

  rooms, special galleries for exhibitions, auditoriums for lectures or concerts, computer rooms, children’s rooms, photocopy rooms, and classrooms. A3 Lending Materials As part of their mission to provide information resources to the community, public libraries allow users to borrow items from their collections for limited amounts of time.To be eligible to borrow public library materials, a user must register her or his name, address, and other basic information with the local library’s circulat...

• Ukraine - country.

  a major hazard, especially to Ukraine’s water supply. The Chernobyl’ complex was finally shut down completely in December 2000, with the financial assistance ofWestern nations. The funds were to pay for the completion of two other nuclear power plants that would produce enough power to make up for the loss of the powersupply from the Chernobyl’ plant. III PEOPLE OF UKRAINE The population of Ukraine was estimated in 2008 at 45,994,287, giving the country a population density of 76 persons per s...

• Spain - country.

  B Natural Resources Spain has a number of mineral resources. The largest known deposits are of iron ore, zinc, and lead. Spain also produces significant quantities of copper and mercury.These deposits are mined mainly in Huelva province in southwestern Spain, around Cartagena on the Mediterranean, and at various points along the Bay of Biscay inthe north. Additionally, uranium is mined in the region of Extremadura, near the Portuguese frontier, where pyrites, fluorspar, gypsum, tungsten, and po...

• Africa.

  The highest elevations in Africa are found in the various ranges of East Africa. After Kilimanjaro, the next highest peaks are Mount Kenya (5,199 m/17,057 ft), north ofKilimanjaro in central Kenya; Margherita Peak (5,109 m/ 16,762 ft) in the Ruwenzori Range on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo(DRC); Ras Dashen (4,620 m/ 15,157 ft) in the Ethiopian Highlands of northern Ethiopia; Mount Meru (4,565 m/ 14,977 ft), close to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania; and MountElgon (4,...

• Africa - Geography.

  The highest elevations in Africa are found in the various ranges of East Africa. After Kilimanjaro, the next highest peaks are Mount Kenya (5,199 m/17,057 ft), north ofKilimanjaro in central Kenya; Margherita Peak (5,109 m/ 16,762 ft) in the Ruwenzori Range on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo(DRC); Ras Dashen (4,620 m/ 15,157 ft) in the Ethiopian Highlands of northern Ethiopia; Mount Meru (4,565 m/ 14,977 ft), close to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania; and MountElgon (4,...

• Québec - Geography.

  facilities. Tributaries south of the St. Lawrence include the Richelieu, the Saint-François, and the Chaudière rivers, which are only a few hundred kilometers long. TheRimouski and Matane rivers, also south of the St. Lawrence, are popular areas for recreation and salmon fishing. In the Canadian Shield, the longest rivers are theRupert, Eastmain, Grande Baleine, and La Grand-Rivière, which is the site of a huge hydroelectric complex. C Coastlines Québec has two systems of saltwater coastline. O...

• Québec - Canadian History.

  facilities. Tributaries south of the St. Lawrence include the Richelieu, the Saint-François, and the Chaudière rivers, which are only a few hundred kilometers long. TheRimouski and Matane rivers, also south of the St. Lawrence, are popular areas for recreation and salmon fishing. In the Canadian Shield, the longest rivers are theRupert, Eastmain, Grande Baleine, and La Grand-Rivière, which is the site of a huge hydroelectric complex. C Coastlines Québec has two systems of saltwater coastline. O...