253 résultats pour "growing"

• Latin America.

  adequate housing and services, most were forced to live in shantytowns that came to encircle all large Latin American cities. One of the key problems facing Latin America in the late 20th century was the rapid rise of external debt during the 1980s. The borrowed money had been used bycorrupt, or at best inefficient, governments in non-productive projects. These large debts meant that many countries had to spend up to 30 percent of their net incometo pay interest on their loans. Some countries, s...

• Leaf - biology.

  The mesophyll, sandwiched between the upper and lower epidermis, consists of many thin-walled cells that are usually arranged in two layers. The palisade layer is next to the upper epidermis. It consists of cylindrical cells that are packed closely together. Next to the palisade layer and making up most of the thickness of the leaf bladeis the spongy layer. The spongy layer consists of roundish cells that are packed loosely together and have numerous air spaces between them. In most plants t...

• Botswana - country.

  at birth was 50.2 years, also a significant improvement. The urban population of Botswana has increased rapidly, from 18 percent of the total in 1981 to 51 percent in 2003. Gaborone, the capital, is the largest city and mainbusiness center. Other business centers are Francistown, Selebi-Pikwe, Molepolole, Kanye, and Serowe. Botswana received its name from the country’s principal ethnic group, the Tswana. Other ethnic groups include the Kgalagadi, Kalanga, and Basarwa. There are also asmall numbe...

• Koala - biology.

  V REPRODUCTION Female koalas become sexually mature around 18 to 24 months of age. They can produce one offspring a year until they reach about 13 years of age. Males begin toproduce sperm around age 2 and, in the absence of older, stronger males, they may breed at that young age. More often, however, a male must grow big enough tocompete with other males for females, and mating generally begins for males at about 4 years of age. The breeding season for koalas is from October to May, during the...

• Benito Mussolini.

  Mussolini threatened to order his tens of thousands of armed Black Shirts to occupy Rome if he were not asked to form the new government. Bands of Fascists beganmoving towards the capital in what would become known as the March on Rome. King Victor Emmanuel III at first leaned towards declaring a state of emergency andsending the army against the Fascists, but powerful interest groups, state officials, and army leaders convinced him that Mussolini should be given the chance to endwhat they consi...

• Benito Mussolini .

  Mussolini threatened to order his tens of thousands of armed Black Shirts to occupy Rome if he were not asked to form the new government. Bands of Fascists beganmoving towards the capital in what would become known as the March on Rome. King Victor Emmanuel III at first leaned towards declaring a state of emergency andsending the army against the Fascists, but powerful interest groups, state officials, and army leaders convinced him that Mussolini should be given the chance to endwhat they consi...

• Fungus - biology.

  Many fungi can reproduce by the fragmentation of their hyphae. Each fragment develops into a new individual. Yeast, a small, single-celled fungus, reproduces bybudding, in which a bump forms on the yeast cell, eventually partitioning from the cell and growing into a new yeast cell. V CLASSIFICATION OF FUNGI Scientists have long disagreed about how to classify fungi, and the classification systems are still developing. The first description of fungi was published in 1729 byItalian botanist Pier...

• British Empire .

  B1 The Seven Years’ War During the Seven Years’ War in Europe (1756-1763), Britain made large imperial gains at the expense of France. The North American segment of the Seven Years’ Warwas known as the French and Indian War. It was launched by the British against French possessions in North America in 1754, and in 1758 the British captured theFrench fortress of Louisbourg, which gave them access to French territory in the St. Lawrence Valley. In the following year Québec was captured, marking t...

• Russian Revolutions of 1917 (Histoire) .

  as Marxists. They believed that the working class—with its struggles to organize trade unions and to bring about political reforms of benefit to the majority ofpeople—would become the primary force for revolutionary change. The Russian Marxists formed the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP) in 1898. By 1903,however, the RSDLP had split into two factions. The faction called the Bolsheviks (from the Russian word for “majority”), led by Vladimir Ilich Lenin, favored a more centralized a...

• French Canadian Nationalism - Canadian History.

  The revolution ended in independence for the Americans, who named their new country the United States of America. In the aftermath, thousands of people who hadopposed the American Revolution migrated from what was now the United States to British North America. These people, known as the United Empire Loyalists, settledin the Maritimes, where they greatly increased the British majority over the Acadians, and in Québec. Some settled near francophone communities around Montréal andin the Eastern T...

• Ontario - Geography.

  governed Ontario’s initial settlement and development. The province’s most important river is the St. Lawrence. Its route was much improved and enlarged by dredgingand canal building in the mid-20th century. This enabled large ocean-going vessels to reach Great Lake ports ( see St. Lawrence Seaway). The Ottawa River was an important early route to the interior for fur traders and timber merchants. The Niagara River, because of its falls, is a great center of hydroelectric power as well as aninte...

• Ontario - Canadian History.

  governed Ontario’s initial settlement and development. The province’s most important river is the St. Lawrence. Its route was much improved and enlarged by dredgingand canal building in the mid-20th century. This enabled large ocean-going vessels to reach Great Lake ports ( see St. Lawrence Seaway). The Ottawa River was an important early route to the interior for fur traders and timber merchants. The Niagara River, because of its falls, is a great center of hydroelectric power as well as aninte...

• Technology.

  loose soil in this region, known as the Fertile Crescent, was easily scratched for planting, and an abundance of trees was available for firewood. By 5000 BC, farming communities were established in areas known today as Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Greece, and the islands of Crete and Cyprus. Agricultural societies in these places constructed stone buildings, used the sickle to harvest grain, developed a primitive plowstick, and advanced their skills inmetalworking. Trade in flint al...

• 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...

• African American History - U.

  In their day-to-day lives, slaves and servants shared similar grievances and frequently formed alliances. Advertisements seeking the return of slaves and servants whohad run away together filled colonial newspapers. When a slave named Charles escaped in 1740, the Pennsylvania Gazette reported that two white servants, a 'Scotch man' and an Englishman, escaped with him. Sometimes interracial alliances involved violence. During Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, slaves and servants took up armsagainst Na...

• National Parks and Preserves.

  Some ibex raised in Italy’s 700 sq km (220 sq mi) Gran Paradiso National Park (1922) were transferred to aid herd restoration elsewhere in the country. Switzerlandreturned lynx to Swiss National Park to keep red deer populations in check. The growth of national parks also enabled many European countries to restore forests thathad given way to industrialization by the early 20th century. Africa’s wildlife was hunted heavily from the late 19th century well into the 20th century. By 1920 big-game h...

• Ireland - country.

  F Plants and Animals Ireland’s animal life does not differ markedly from that of England or France. Over many centuries of human settlement almost all of Ireland’s natural woodlands werecleared, and indigenous animals such as bear, wolf, wildcat, beaver, wild cattle, and the giant Irish deer (a type of fallow deer) gradually disappeared. However, thehardy and versatile Connemara pony, Ireland’s only native pony breed, has been used by Irish farmers since prehistoric times. The great auk, or gar...

• Guatemala - country.

  C Climate The climate of Guatemala varies according to elevation, from hot coastal plains to cold mountain heights. Most of the population lives between 900 and 2,400 m (3,000and 8,000 ft) above sea level, where there are warm days and cool nights with average annual temperatures of 20°C (68°F). The coastal regions are hot and humid,with average annual temperatures of 28°C (83°F). A rainy season, from May through October, is sometimes called “winter” because it brings cloudy afternoons andlower...

• Rice - biology.

  V HISTORY According to the most widely accepted theory, rice cultivation originated as early as 10,000 BC in Asia. Archaeological evidence shows that rice was grown in Thailand as early as 4000 BC, and over the centuries spread to China, Japan, and Indonesia. By 400 BC rice was cultivated in the Middle East and Africa. The invading armies of Alexander the Great probably introduced rice to Greece and nearby Mediterranean countries around 330 BC. Rice was brought to the American colonies in t...

• London (England) - geography.

  In the northern part of the West End is Bloomsbury, the city’s traditional intellectual center, with its concentration of bookshops and homes of writers and academics. Inthe early 20th century a number of famous writers, critics, and artists who lived here became known as the Bloomsbury Group. Here, too, is the British Museum, one ofLondon’s chief tourist attractions. Nearby is the giant complex of the University of London, whose various colleges and departments have taken over much ofBloomsbury...

• Alabama (state) - geography.

  indentations along the coast are measured, the state’s shoreline is 977 km (607 mi) long. It includes the shores of Mobile Bay, an inlet 56 km (35 mi) long at the mouthof the Mobile River. Barrier beaches partly block the entrance to the bay, leaving narrow openings on either side of Dauphin Island. Dauphin and other islands alongAlabama’s coast west of Mobile Bay are separated from the mainland by Mississippi Sound. D Climate Alabama has a humid subtropical climate, with short, relatively mild...

• Alabama (state) - USA History.

  indentations along the coast are measured, the state’s shoreline is 977 km (607 mi) long. It includes the shores of Mobile Bay, an inlet 56 km (35 mi) long at the mouthof the Mobile River. Barrier beaches partly block the entrance to the bay, leaving narrow openings on either side of Dauphin Island. Dauphin and other islands alongAlabama’s coast west of Mobile Bay are separated from the mainland by Mississippi Sound. D Climate Alabama has a humid subtropical climate, with short, relatively mild...

• Hawaii (state) - geography.

  limestone along the coast. The volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands are all so-called shield volcanoes, or lava domes. Unlike the volcanoes of Alaska and South America, those of Hawaii were notcreated by very explosive eruptions. Formed mostly by lava flows, they are great rounded mountain masses, rather than steep-sided cones. Mauna Kea, dormant forcenturies, is the highest mountain in the state. It rises to 4,205 m (13,796 ft) above sea level, and its summit is dotted with cinder cones formed by...

• Hawaii (state) - USA History.

  limestone along the coast. The volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands are all so-called shield volcanoes, or lava domes. Unlike the volcanoes of Alaska and South America, those of Hawaii were notcreated by very explosive eruptions. Formed mostly by lava flows, they are great rounded mountain masses, rather than steep-sided cones. Mauna Kea, dormant forcenturies, is the highest mountain in the state. It rises to 4,205 m (13,796 ft) above sea level, and its summit is dotted with cinder cones formed by...

• History of Colonial America - U.

  Despite the lack of settlement, New France prospered as a vast fur-trading enterprise. French explorers traveled deep into the North American continent seeking newsupplies of deerskins and beaver pelts. In 1673 French missionary Jacques Marquette reached the Mississippi River in present-day Wisconsin. In 1681 explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, traveled down the majestic Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. He honored the reign of King Louis XIV (1643-1715) by creating the newcolony...

• Medicine.

  C Other Health Professionals Medicine is not restricted to physicians. A wide variety of health care practitioners work in this exciting field. By far the largest professional group is nurses. Registerednurses help physicians during examinations, treatment, and surgery. They observe, evaluate, and record patients’ symptoms, administer medications, and provideother care ( see Nursing). Nurse practitioners perform basic duties once reserved for physicians, such as diagnosing and treating common i...

• Native Americans of Middle and South America.

  A line that snakes across central Mexico near the Tropic of Cancer forms the northern boundary of Mesoamerica; north of this line rainfall sharply declines and theclimate is much drier. The ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica all arose and developed in the area between this line and the Guatemalan highlands far to the south. Richvolcanic soils are found throughout much of the region. A2 People and Languages Mesoamerica was a great melting pot, home to many peoples and interrelated cultures. In...

• American Westward Movement - U.

  British expansion. However, Native Americans of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley lashed out against the English in an attempt to preserve their independence, theirland, and their way of life. With the Ottawa chief Pontiac as their most visible leader, the tribes waged a bloody and costly war. As a result, the British governmentdecided to keep the white settlers apart from the Native Americans. It issued the Royal Proclamation of 1763, banning all white settlement beyond the Appalachians andstatin...

• Vermont - geography.

  Forests cover 78 percent of Vermont. Most of the trees are deciduous, principally the maple, elm, birch, beech, oak, hickory, ash, cherry, and butternut. The state treeis the sugar maple, which provides Vermont’s famous maple syrup. Conifers are common in some mountain areas and include mainly the white pine, red spruce,hemlock, and cedar. A great variety of ferns have been found within the state. Among the more common wildflowers that grow in Vermont are anemones, arbutuses,violets, lilacs, dai...

• Vermont - USA History.

  Forests cover 78 percent of Vermont. Most of the trees are deciduous, principally the maple, elm, birch, beech, oak, hickory, ash, cherry, and butternut. The state treeis the sugar maple, which provides Vermont’s famous maple syrup. Conifers are common in some mountain areas and include mainly the white pine, red spruce,hemlock, and cedar. A great variety of ferns have been found within the state. Among the more common wildflowers that grow in Vermont are anemones, arbutuses,violets, lilacs, dai...

• Albania - country.

  Joining the international community in its concern over the degradation of the environment, Albania is party to international agreements concerning biodiversity, climatechange, and wetlands. III THE PEOPLE OF ALBANIA In 2008 Albania’s population estimate was 3,619,778, resulting in an average density of 132 persons per sq km (342 per sq mi). More and more people have left ruralareas for urban ones, particularly in the northern districts, such that in 2005 some 45 percent of the population live...

• Renaissance I INTRODUCTION Renaissance, series of literary and cultural movements in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries.

  the great writings of ancient Greece and Rome. Intellectuals continued to build on the ideas of the Renaissance during the 18th century Age of Enlightenment, a time when scientific advancements led to a newemphasis on the power of human reason. One of the early Enlightenment thinkers was French philosopher and writer Voltaire. He claimed that the Renaissance was acrucial stage in liberating the mind from the superstition and error that he believed characterized Christian society during the Middl...

• Renaissance .

  the great writings of ancient Greece and Rome. Intellectuals continued to build on the ideas of the Renaissance during the 18th century Age of Enlightenment, a time when scientific advancements led to a newemphasis on the power of human reason. One of the early Enlightenment thinkers was French philosopher and writer Voltaire. He claimed that the Renaissance was acrucial stage in liberating the mind from the superstition and error that he believed characterized Christian society during the Middl...

• Saudi Arabia - country.

  C Natural Resources Some of the world’s largest oil and natural gas fields lie beneath Saudi Arabia and its offshore waters, representing the country’s most economically important naturalresource. In 2007 Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves were estimated at 264 billion barrels. Before the discovery and exploitation of these reserves in the mid-20th century,Saudi Arabia was one of the poorest countries in the world. Its relatively small population subsisted in a harsh environment with little agricultur...

• Sweden - country.

  mi) and is Sweden’s second largest lake, after Vänern. The two lakes, together with several smaller lakes, rivers, and canals, form an internal water route called theGöta Canal. Built in the early 19th century, the Göta Canal extends for about 386 km (about 240 mi) and provides a scenic transportation link between the Baltic Sea,at Stockholm, and the Kattegat. Sweden’s other large lakes in the district include Mälaren, Hjälmaren, and the famously picturesque Siljan. D Climate Although one-seven...

• Canadian Literature I INTRODUCTION Canadian Literature, literature of the peoples of Canada.

  William Henry DrummondPoet William Henry Drummond described the lives of French Canadian farmers, loggers, and rural workers in verse thatreflected their mix of French and English speech. He gained recognition in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Library of Congress In the early 19th century, most Canadian poetry imitated earlier British poetry. Poets Oliver Goldsmith (grandnephew of the Anglo-Irish writer of the same name),Charles Sangster, Charles Mair, and Levi Adams exemplified literary...

• Cairo (Egypt) - geography.

  Prize-winning author and Cairo native Naguib Mahfouz, whose fiction has provided a chronicle of the city. VI POINTS OF INTEREST The pyramids of Egypt, which served as tombs for the ancient pharaohs, and the statue of the Sphinx, which dates from about 2500 BC and is probably the country's most famous monument, are located just west of Cairo in the suburb of Giza. Depite the desert background usually depicted in photographs, the pyramids areextremely close to Cairo and are likely to be affecte...

• Winston Churchill I INTRODUCTION Winston Churchill (1874-1965), British politician and prime minister of the United Kingdom (1940-1945, 1951-1955), widely regarded as the greatest British leader of the 20th century.

  sufficient tools to break the stalemate on the western front and he worked on developing armored fighting vehicles (tanks) to break the deadlock and end theslaughter. As the lines hardened on the western front, Churchill focused on a campaign to force open the Dardanelles Strait, controlled by the Ottoman Empire, to give the Allies adirect route to Russia through the Black Sea. Such a move would bring much-needed supplies to the Russian armies and eliminate the Ottomans from the war. Whenthe nav...

• Winston Churchill.

  sufficient tools to break the stalemate on the western front and he worked on developing armored fighting vehicles (tanks) to break the deadlock and end theslaughter. As the lines hardened on the western front, Churchill focused on a campaign to force open the Dardanelles Strait, controlled by the Ottoman Empire, to give the Allies adirect route to Russia through the Black Sea. Such a move would bring much-needed supplies to the Russian armies and eliminate the Ottomans from the war. Whenthe nav...

• Winston Churchill .

  sufficient tools to break the stalemate on the western front and he worked on developing armored fighting vehicles (tanks) to break the deadlock and end theslaughter. As the lines hardened on the western front, Churchill focused on a campaign to force open the Dardanelles Strait, controlled by the Ottoman Empire, to give the Allies adirect route to Russia through the Black Sea. Such a move would bring much-needed supplies to the Russian armies and eliminate the Ottomans from the war. Whenthe nav...

• Czech Republic - country.

  enforcement of environmental regulations. Environmental considerations have also led some government officials to promote nuclear energy as a key source of powerfor the country’s future. The Czech Republic produces most of its energy by burning domestic coal. Much of the coal burned is low quality with a high ash and sulfur content—a key componentof acid rain—producing high levels of air pollution. Forests in the Czech Republic are among the most seriously affected by acid rain in all of Europe....

• Manitoba - Geography.

  E Plant Life Forests cover 66 percent of Manitoba. The main forest area is divided into the boreal forest and the mixed-wood forest. The boreal, or northern, forest containsconiferous (cone-bearing) trees, especially white and black spruce, balsam fir, and jack pine. South of the boreal forest is the mixed-wood forest, which contains conifers as well as such deciduous trees as white birch, aspen, poplar, and Manitoba maple. Prairie land is found in the southwest, where the natural vegetation i...

• Manitoba - Canadian History.

  E Plant Life Forests cover 66 percent of Manitoba. The main forest area is divided into the boreal forest and the mixed-wood forest. The boreal, or northern, forest containsconiferous (cone-bearing) trees, especially white and black spruce, balsam fir, and jack pine. South of the boreal forest is the mixed-wood forest, which contains conifers as well as such deciduous trees as white birch, aspen, poplar, and Manitoba maple. Prairie land is found in the southwest, where the natural vegetation i...

• Nova Scotia - Geography.

  summer. Nova Scotia receives an average of more than 1,140 mm (45 in) of rain annually, with the Atlantic shore receiving 1,400 mm (55 in) or more. Most of the provincereceives about 1,900 mm (about 70 in) of snow, and considerable winter precipitation comes in the form of rain or ice storms. The average temperature in January, thecoldest month, is generally about -4°C (about 25°F) near the coast and somewhat colder toward the interior. The average temperature in July, the hottest month, isabout...

• Nova Scotia - Canadian History.

  summer. Nova Scotia receives an average of more than 1,140 mm (45 in) of rain annually, with the Atlantic shore receiving 1,400 mm (55 in) or more. Most of the provincereceives about 1,900 mm (about 70 in) of snow, and considerable winter precipitation comes in the form of rain or ice storms. The average temperature in January, thecoldest month, is generally about -4°C (about 25°F) near the coast and somewhat colder toward the interior. The average temperature in July, the hottest month, isabout...

• Los Angeles - geography.

  (2006 population, 472,494), located east of the Port of Los Angeles. The city of Compton (95,701) is located north of Long Beach, on the east side of the AlamedaCorridor. On the other side of the corridor are the cities of Torrance (142,350) and Inglewood (114,914). Northwest of Inglewood and west of downtown Los Angeles are the wealthy and fashionable Santa Monica (88,050) and Beverly Hills (34,979). Both cities are enclaves:Santa Monica is surrounded by the City of Los Angeles to the north, ea...

• Los Angeles - geography.

  (2006 population, 472,494), located east of the Port of Los Angeles. The city of Compton (95,701) is located north of Long Beach, on the east side of the AlamedaCorridor. On the other side of the corridor are the cities of Torrance (142,350) and Inglewood (114,914). Northwest of Inglewood and west of downtown Los Angeles are the wealthy and fashionable Santa Monica (88,050) and Beverly Hills (34,979). Both cities are enclaves:Santa Monica is surrounded by the City of Los Angeles to the north, ea...

• Iraq - country.

  The Euphrates begins in Turkey, crosses Syria, and enters Iraq at Abū Kam āl. The flow of the Euphrates into Iraq has been greatly reduced by dams built by Turkeyand Syria. The gradient of the Euphrates above the town of H īt, in west central Iraq, is steep. In the 2,640 km (1,640 mi) from its source in Turkey to H īt, the river fallsfrom 3,000 m (10,000 ft) to a low water elevation of 50 m (170 ft) above sea level, an average drop of 1 m per km (6 ft per mi). In Iraq below H īt the fall is very...

• Phoenix (city, Arizona) - geography.

  alfalfa, durum wheat, vegetables, citrus and other fruits, and beef and dairy cattle. The health service industry is a large and growing part of the city’s economy. United States State Capitals© Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Phoenix is served by interstate highways 10 and 17, the Southern Pacific and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads, and Sky Harbor International Airport. In its early years, Phoenix became popular as a haven for winter visitors from North America’s colder...

• Cape Verde - country.

  station and a submarine cable station at Mindelo still attracted many ships until World War I. Trade increased again toward the middle of the 20th century. In an attempt to avert growing nationalism, Portugal in 1951 designated its African colonies, including Cape Verde, as overseas provinces. The provincial status gaveCape Verdeans access to higher education, but lack of job opportunities and poverty in the islands forced many of the educated to take administrative jobs on theAfrican mainland....