nourse中学生百科英语

2021年1月22日发(作者：nobaday)

中学生百科英语
4
——
Concepts&Comments

1 Navajo Sand Painting
2 Ceramics
3 Cave Paintings
4 Graffiti
5 The United Nations
6 Amnesty International
7 UNICEF
8 The Olympic Movement
9 Hawaii
10 Deserts
11 Antarctica
12 National Parks
13 Satellites
14 Comets
15 Motor Vehicles: The Pros and Cons
16 New Plants
17 Up in Smoke
18 Memory
19 Obesity: The New Epidemic
20 Can Fashion Be Hazardous to Your Health?

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1 Navajo Sand Painting
More than 500 years ago the ancestors of the Navajo people left the cold northern region that is
now part of western Canada and Alaska and migrated south to what is now the southwestern part of
the
United
States.
The
area
in
which
the
Navajo
finally
settled
is
mainly
desert.
It
is
a
harsh
environment that gets little rain.
The animals and plants that live there have had to adapt in order to survive in the unforgiving
climate and landscape.
When the Navajo arrived in the area, they too had to adapt to the harsh desert conditions in
order
to
survive.
They
had
to
learn
to
make
use
of
the
natural
resources
in
their
environment
to
provide for their shelter, food, and other necessities. Over time, the Navajo became famous for the
things they were able to create from the natural resources at hand. One of the most famous Navajo
creations is called sand painting.
Most people think of a painting as a work of art. For the Navajo, however, sand painting is not
artwork. Rather, sand painting is an important part of a religious ceremony. The making of a sand
painting is part of a healing ceremony that is supposed to restore the health and well-being of a sick
person.
The
only
people
who
are
allowed
to
create
sand
paintings
are
specially
trained
Navajo

sand
painting
by
collecting
different
rocks.
The
rocks
are
then
crushed
and
ground
into
sand.
Traditionally,
a
Navajo
singer
and
his
assistants
make
the
sand
painting
on
the
floor
of
a
small
Navajo house called a
hogan
. Working under the direction of the singer, the assistants take colored
sand in
their hands
and
drip it on the floor in
a
line. Using different colors, they slowly make a
picture.
The
size
of
Navajo
sand
paintings
varies.
A
small
sand
painting
is
less
than
a
meter
wide,
while a large sand painting can be over 6 meters wide. The number of people assisting the singer
also
varies.
A
small
sand
painting
may
have
2
or
3
people
working
on
it
and
take
an
hour
to
complete, while a large painting may require 10 men and women and take all day to finish.
During the healing
ceremony, the sick person
moves onto
the completed sand painting. The
sick person sits directly on the sand painting so that it can serve as a pathway for evil or illness to
leave the person's body
and for
goodness
or health to
return to
it. This
explains
why the Navajo
word for sand painting means
treated, other visitors may go up to the painting and dab some of the sand on themselves so that the
sand painting brings health and well- being into their lives too.
At the end of the healing ceremony, it is imperative that the sand painting be destroyed. The
Navajo believe that something terrible will happen if they fail to destroy a sand painting properly.
So,
in
the
reverse
of
the
order
in
which
it
was
made,
the
singer
sweeps
the
painting
away
and
returns the sand to the landscape.
Navajo
singers
make
their
sand
paintings
from
memory,
and
they
always
make
the
same
pictures
in
exactly
the
same
way.
There
are
between
600
and
1,000
different
pictures
for
sand
paintings. At one point in history, there was one singer for every 150 Navajos. Today, the ratio is
much
lower,
with
one
singer
for
roughly
every
2,200
people.
One
reason
for
this
change
is
the
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extensive training required to perform the duties of a singer; it can take as long as 14 years to train
someone. A second reason for the change in ratio is that a singer can train only one student at a time.
This need for one-on-one training has limited the number of students who can be trained.
While a true sand painting is part of a Navajo ceremony and lasts for only a short time, sand
painting as a permanent art form has also developed. The first permanent sand paintings appeared in
the early 1900s. These early pieces of art were actually tapestries rather than paintings made with
sand. The tapestries were woven by a respected Navajo singer named Hosteen Klah, who copied the
pictures from sand paintings. However, to avoid causing something terrible to happen by making a
permanent picture, Klah never made the picture exactly the same as the original. He would not use a
Navajo picture without changing it a little. Before long, tourists in the area saw Klah's weavings and
asked to buy them. Klah finally agreed to sell one of his weavings if the buyer promised never to
put it on the floor or walk on it.
In the 1930s, the Navajo began creating another type of permanent sand painting. They made
these permanent paintings by slowly dripping colored sand onto glue-covered boards. Today, these
sand paintings are considered to be works of art rather than part of a religious ceremony. They are
made by artists rather than singers, and they appear in art shows and in art museums.
There
is
still
controversy
over
the
selling
of
sand
paintings.
Some
Navajos
say
that
sand
paintings are part of their religion and should not be sold. But others believe that the artists' changes
to the pictures protect their religious power.
(913 words)
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2 Ceramics
The most ancient artifacts in our possession today were made out of clay many thousands of
years ago. In fact, much of what we now know about cultures of the past we learned by studying
pieces
of
their
clay
dishes
and
clay
figures.
Very
few
things
made
from
other
materials
have
survived to tell us about the cultures that produced them.
Objects
made
from
clay
came
to
be
called
ceramics
from
the
Greek
word
ceramics,
which
means
and how the clay is fired. The most common types of ceramics are pottery, stoneware, and porcelain.
To make pottery, for example, clay is fired at about 500°
C. Clay fired at about 1200°
C becomes
stoneware. When white clay is fired at an even higher temperature, it becomes porcelain. Baking the
clay
at
such
high
temperatures
actually
changes
the
structure
of
the
clay
so
that
it
becomes
permanently hard and almost indestructible.
The art of making pottery developed in
many places around the world.
Some of the earliest
pieces of pottery were probably made when people tried to strengthen baskets woven of grass and
sticks. Some archeologists think that early potters in China may have covered the inside of woven
baskets with clay so that the baskets would hold water. When the baskets were either placed on a
fire or left there by mistake, the fire burned the grass away and turned the baskets into hard, durable
pots.
Early potters in different parts of the world found interesting ways to decorate their work to
make it more attractive. They scratched the surface of the soft clay to
make decorative lines
and
designs.
They
also
used
glazes,
which
are
a
special
kind
of
paint,
to
make
clay
objects
smooth,
shiny,
and
colorful.
The
Egyptians
were
already
decorating
their
pottery
with
colors
and
designs
about 5,000 years ago.
Similar styles began to spread throughout the Mediterranean, region. By 3,500 years ago, the
people of the Greek island of Crete were producing their own pottery decorated with designs and
images of animals. These designs survived thousands of years and can still be seen in examples of
ancient Greek art.
The pottery makers of China were the first to learn to make porcelain, which is the finest and
most fragile type of pottery. If you hold a piece of porcelain up in the air, light will shine through it.
The
Chinese
exported
porcelain
to
Europe,
where
it
became
highly
valued.
For
many
years,
European potters tried to copy Chinese porcelain, but it was not until 1710 that a German scientist
finally learned how to make it. By the end of the 18th century, other European countries were also
producing
porcelain,
and
today
France
and
England
produce
some
of
the
finest
porcelain
in
the
world.
There are different ways to form a clay dish or bowl. The easiest method is to simply hollow
out a clay ball, using your hands. Another simple method is to roll the clay into a long
then wind it into a shape. A third method is to spread the clay around something. The invention of
the potter's wheel more than 5,000 years ago introduced an entirely new way to form a clay object.
With this method, the potter places some clay in the center of a round, flat wheel that can turn very
fast. As the wheel turns, the potter uses his or her hands to shape the clay.
Using
a
potter's
wheel
makes
it
possible
to
form
clay
objects
that
are
smoother
and
more
uniformly round.
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A
clay
object
is
usually
decorated
first
and
then
baked.
Baking
the
clay
at
very
high
temperatures makes it hard and strong. Firing also makes the glaze stick to the pottery. When the
firing is completed, the potter must carefully remove the pottery from the oven and let it cool slowly.
If it cools too quickly, it could crack and break.
Over the years, clay objects have served many purposes. Obviously, one of the most common
uses
of
pottery
is
for
household
dishes.
Because
pottery
is
strong
and
waterproof,
it
makes
an
excellent
dish
tor
carrying,
storing,
cooking,
and
serving
food.
Fired
clay
has
also
been
used
to
make bricks for building houses and to make tiles tor covering floors. Ceramics are also incredibly
heat resistant, so they can be used where metal would melt or become weak. Today, ceramics are
important in industry and engineering.
One
rarely
discussed
use
of
ceramics
is
for
burial
ceremonies.
In
some
cultures,
special
ceramic objects were buried along with the dead person. Archeologists think these ceramic objects
were made especially for burial ceremonies because their decoration is elaborate. In some cultures,
parts of a dead person's body were removed, placed in ceramic vases, and then buried with the body.
Ceramic objects showing a dead person's title and offices held have also been found at burial sites.
Some
people
refuse
to
consider
the
making
of
ceramics
an
art
form
because
the
obj
ects
created are so often useful things. At the same time, however, many of those useful ceramic things
are extremely valuable. Some are even kept in museums. In the country of Iran, ancient pottery is
considered to be so valuable to the culture that there are harsh punishments for anyone who tries to
take ceramic artifacts out of the country. The punishments range from paying money to time in jail.
That is certainly a clear indication that ceramics are valued by many people.
(925 words)
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3 Cave Paintings
In
December
1994,
three
amateur
cave
explorers
—
Jean-Marie
Chauvet,
Eliette
Brunel
Deschamps,
and
Christian
Hillaire
—
were
investigating
an
area
in
southeastern
France.
On
December 18, they noticed the half-covered entrance to an unnamed cave. Although it didn't look
like a very interesting cave, Eliette Deschamps pushed herself through the small opening. To her
surprise, she saw a huge cave below. The three explorers returned to their truck to get a ladder, and
even though it was already dark, they decided to go down into the cave. Once there, they discovered
a vast network of rooms. On the walls were some of the most beautiful paintings they had ever seen.
The
cave
discovered
on
December
18,
1994,
is
now
called
Chauvet
Cave,
after
one
of
the
amateur
explorers
who
discovered
it.
Archeologists
who
inspected
the
cave
paintings
soon
after
they were discovered estimated that the paintings were about 17,000 years old. A few months later,
however, tests showed that three of the animals in the paintings were at least 31,000 years old. That
meant the paintings in Chauvet Cave were the oldest existing cave paintings in the world.
There are more than 300 paintings
in
Chauvet Cave. Seventy- three of the paintings are of a
type
of
lion
that
is
now
extinct.
Other
paintings
show
panthers,
horses,
mammoths,
wooly
rhinoceros, and other animals. There are also tracings of human hands as well as symbols such as
dots forming a semicircle.
Many of the paintings are extraordinarily detailed. For instance, several of the pictures of lions
show the varied patterns of whisker spots that biologists today use to identify individual animals.
The
artists
used
the
natural
curves
of
the
cave
walls
to
make
the
animals
look
real.
They
used
shading
and
color
(black,
red,
and
yellow)
to
add
depth
to
their
paintings.
When
the
French
archeologist Jean Clottes was asked about the cave paintings, he said,
saw the paintings. They're as good as any art made anywhere in the world.
The
paintings
in
Chauvet
Cave
were
most
likely
done
by
a
number
of
artists.
Some
of
the
paintings
are
extraordinarily
sophisticated.
With
simple
lines
and
shading,
the
artists
created
exquisite pictures of wild animals in action. Some of the paintings, however, are stiff and stylized,
and
others
are
quite
rough
and
amateurish.
Some
archeologists
have
suggested
that
the
painters
worked with assistants. Perhaps the assistants made the rough paintings while trying to copy their
teachers' paintings.
When the paintings
in
Chauvet
Cave were discovered, they were perfectly preserved on the
stone walls. No sunlight had entered the cave from the time the paintings were made until Chauvet
and his friends found them. Unfortunately, the simple act of exposing paintings so that people can
see
them
can
cause
the
paintings
to
disappear.
This
happened
to
the
paintings
in
another
cave
—
within six months of the opening of the cave the paintings had vanished. Now scientists know that
they must enter caves carefully and prevent light and air from damaging the pictures.
Today, Chauvet Cave is closed to the public, because even the breathing of a large number of
people could damage the paintings.
Perhaps
the
most
interesting
thing
about
Chauvet
Cave
is
that
it
has
forced
archeologists
to
change their ideas about art. For many years, archeologists believed that it took thousands of years
for humans to gradually learn how to draw and paint. Chauvet Cave showed that there were great
artists 30,000 years ago.
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Jean Clottes summed it up, saying,
achieve great art. Artistic capacity was one of the components of our species probably right from
the start.
Chauvet
Cave
is
only
one
of
many
caves
in
the
world
that
have
been
decorated
by
ancient
paintings. In Australia, South Africa, China and many other places, extraordinary ancient works of
art have been found. Why did prehistoric people make these paintings? Perhaps they believed that
painting the animals gave the artists special strength or powers. Perhaps the paintings were part of a
ceremony, or perhaps they were thought to hold some sort of magic. The answer to this question
will probably always remain a mystery.
(700 words)
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4 Graffiti
A
quiet
street,
a
blank
wall,
a
can
of
spray
paint
and
a
young
person
goes
to
work
writing
graffiti. The term
graffiti
means words or drawings scratched or painted on a wall. The word comes
from the Greek term
graphein
, which means
for thousands of years, but today some people believe that certain types of graffiti have evolved into
a genuine art form.
Many of the oldest existing examples of graffiti are from the ancient city of Pompeii on the
western coast of Italy. In the year 79, Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Ash
from the volcano buried the city, preserving much of it for us to see today. Carved on the walls of
Pompeii are many examples of graffiti. Some of the graffiti are declarations of love, while others
are insults. Some of the graffiti are complaints about store owners who were cheating people, while
others
are
political
statements
or
rough
drawings
of
people.
Although
the
messages
differ,
the
graffiti have one important thing in common; they were all written without the permission of the
owner of the wall. For historians however, these graffiti are some of the tow available sources of
information about the lives of the common people of Pompeii and their everyday concerns.
While people have been writing graffiti on walls for thousands of years, in the 1960s a new
type of graffiti started appearing on city walls in the United States.
Some people called this type of graffiti
to identify their territory. Gang graffiti consisted simply of the gang's name, or
was to warn other gangs to stay away. A gang's tag had to be distinctive and easy to make quickly
but it was not meant to be artistic.
By the end of the 1970s, the practice of
who had no connection to a gang were writing their names on flat surfaces all around the city. Their
goal was to become famous by getting their name on as many surfaces as possible. However, as
more and more people got
involved in tagging, it became increasingly difficult
for writers to
get
attention.
This led some writers to begin experimenting with ways to make their tags stand out. Some
started
making
their
tags
bigger
and
bolder,
while
others
combined
letters
with
pictures.
As
tags
became increasingly elaborate, individual styles could be identified.
From tagging, graffiti developed into something called graffiti art, or aerosol art. Graffiti artists
combined their unique letter styles with pictures to create large paintings that covered an entire wall
or
the
entire
side
of
a
subway
car.
During
the
1970s
and
1980s
the
subway
cars
of
New
York
became a moving museum of art for graffiti artists. The purpose of graffiti art, unlike that of gang
graffiti, is self-expression and creativity. According to one graffiti artist,
and just like any other art, it requires tons of practice and work.
with spray paint, although some artists also use brushes and markers. For graffiti artists, just about
anything can serve as a surface for their artwork, even rocks, roads, and billboards.
Of course not everyone likes or approves of the graffiti on city walls. In fact, most people think
of creating graffiti as vandalism rather than art. For the majority of people, doing graffiti without
someone's permission is not freedom of expression; it is arrogance. And the presence of graffiti in
their neighborhoods makes many people feel less safe. Seeing graffiti all around them makes many
people feel that danger is just around the corner.
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In
the
1980s,
many
cities
started
taking
action
against
graffiti.
The
city
of
New
York,
for
example, started a campaign to get rid of graffiti on subway cars. By painting over the graffiti soon
after they were made, the city was
able to
discourage
graffiti
artists
from
decorating the subway
cars.
Then,
in
1987,
a
new
type
or
paint-resistant
subway
car
became
available,
making
it
impossible for graffiti
artists to
paint on the cars. The city of
Los
Angeles bought
several

stores on wheels
to
combat graffiti.
These vans
traveled around the city
looking for
graffiti
and
painting over them immediately. The city's goal was to discourage graffiti artists by painting over
their
graffiti
within
24
hours.
Other
cities
have
used
protective
coatings
and
special
building
materials to prevent people from writing graffiti.
Although these solutions have been effective, they are very expensive.
Does this mean the end of graffiti? Not quite. In some countries, such as Japan, England, and
the United States, graffiti artists are allowed to do their work on specially designated walls in a city.
Graffiti
art
is
shown
in
museums,
and
in
Australia,
well-known
companies
sponsor
graffiti
competitions. There are also hundreds of web sites dealing with graffiti art, as well as many books
and instructional videos. And, of course, there are still people who will try to leave their mark on
someone else's wall.
(855 words)
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5 The United Nations
In 1945 delegates from
50 countries met
in
San Francisco, California, to
make plans for an
organization called the United Nations. World War II had just ended, millions of people had died,
and
there
was
destruction
everywhere.
People
hoped
they
could
build
a
future
of
world
peace
through this new organization.
The
charter
of
the
United
Nations
(UN)
states
the
four
main
goals
and
purposes
of
the
organization. They are
1. To work together for international peace and to solve international problems;
2. To develop friendly relations among nations;
3. To work together for
human rights
for everyone of all races,
religions, languages, and of
both sexes; and
4. To build a center where nations can work together for these goals.
The United Nations has grown from an organization of 51 countries in 1945 to 191 nations in
2004. Today, almost every country in the world is a member of the UN. Each country that joins the
United Nations signs an agreement that says:
1. All members are equal.
2. All members promise to solve international problems in a peaceful way.
3. No member will use force against another member.
4. All members will help the UN in its actions.
5. The UN will not try to solve problems within countries except to enforce international peace.
The
headquarters
of
the
United
Nations
is
in
New
York
City.
This
is
where
the
General
Assembly, the main body of the United Nations, meets every year from September to December.
The
General
Assembly
is
made
up
of
representatives
from
each
member
country,
who
discuss
issues related to peace and security and make recommendations. However, the General Assembly
does
not
have
the
power
to
enforce
its
recommendations.
A
second
UN
body,
the
15-member
Security Council has the main responsibility for maintaining international peace. Five members
—
Britain, China, France, the Russian Federation, and the United States
—
are permanent members of
the
Security
Council.
The
remaining
10members
are
elected
by
the
General
Assembly
and
serve
two-year terms. A third organ of the UN, the Economic and Social Council, is responsible for the
social and economic work of the UN.
Over the years, the United Nations has had some successes in its role of world peacemaker. It
has negotiated 172 peaceful settlements and helped to end two wars. It has also helped to slow the
spread of nuclear weapons by inspecting nuclear facilities in 90 countries.
As a peacekeeper, the UN has also had a number of successes. Since 1945, UN peacekeeping
forces have been involved in 56 missions. They have supervised ceasefires and the withdrawal of
troops, and they have monitored elections. Over the years, roughly 130 nations have participated in
the peacekeeping missions. In 1988, the UN peacekeeping forces received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Unfortunately,
member
nations
have
been
unwilling
to
give
UN
peacekeeping
forces
the
independence and financial support they need to be even more effective.
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In evaluating the success of the UN, it is important to keep in mind that the organization has
many functions in addition to preventing or ending wars. The United Nations is really a
related organizations, which are working to provide a better life for people everywhere. One part of
the
UN
family
is
UNICEF,
an
organization
that
provides
food,
medical
care,
and
many
other
services to poor children wherever they live. Thanks to the efforts of UNICEF, the immunization
rate of children in developing countries has jumped from 5 percent in 1974 to more than 80 percent
today. Another part of the UN family is
the World Health Organization (WHO), which develops
medical programs for people all over the world. In 1980, WHO announced that, after 13 years of
work, it had succeeded in ridding the world of the disease smallpox.
To support its humanitarian efforts the UN employs thousands of people all around the world.
They
work
as
planners
to
increase
production
in
farming
and
industry.
They
provide
medical
services,
improve
education
programs,
and
spread
scientific
information.
They
develop
programs
that
provide
jobs
and
better
living
conditions.
They
also
help
countries
control
their
population
growth.
The
United
Nations
also
organizes
large
international
conferences,
where
people
meet
to
discuss
important
world
issues.
One
conference
was
about
the
uses
and
ownership
of
oceans;
another
was
about
women.
The
United
Nations
also
designates
a
specific
problem
for
people
to
focus on each year. For example, the year 2003 was declared the International Year of Fresh Water.
During these special years, people work together to find solutions to the designated problems.
Many
people
believe
that
the
best
way
for
the
United
Nations
to
work
for
world
peace
is
through its humanitarian activities. They hope that promoting contact
and communication among
people will make wars less likely.
(791 words)
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6 Amnesty International
In 1960, two students in Portugal were sentenced to seven years in prison. The reason
？
They
had
made
critical
remarks
about
their
government.
In
England,
a
lawyer
by
the
name
of
Peter
Benenson
read
about
this
incident
and
decided
he
had
to
do
something.
Benenson
wrote
a
newspaper article called
countries
who
were
in
prison
because
of
their
beliefs.
In
the
newspaper
article,
Benenson
asked
readers to j oin him in a year-long campaign against the imprisonment of people for their political
or religious beliefs. It was Benenson's hope that people would write letters to government officials
calling for the release of these prisoners. In the first months of the campaign, people sent thousands
of letters demanding the release of the prisoners. By the end of 1961, the campaign had developed
into
a
permanent
international
organization
called
Amnesty
International,
and
it
was
already
working on the cases of 210 prisoners.
Amnesty
International's
primary
goal
is
to
obtain
the
release
of

of
conscience.
These
are
people
who
have
been
imprisoned
for
their
beliefs;
they
have
neither
used
violence
themselves nor encouraged anyone else to use violence.
Toni Ambatielos, one of the six prisoners of conscience whom Benenson wrote about in 1961,
was put in prison for his trade union activities. Another one of the prisoners, Dr. Agostino Neto,
was jailed for trying to improve health care in his country.
In
the
1960s,
many
Amnesty
members
formed
small
groups
to

a
prisoner
of
conscience. When a group adopted a prisoner of conscience, it concentrated on helping that specific
prisoner.
Members
of
the
group
would
regularly
write
letters
to
officials
in
the
prisoner's
government, and when possible, they would try to help the prisoner's family. Today, there are more
than 2,000 adoption groups, each focusing its efforts on two or more prisoners.
As
Amnesty
International
grew,
it
expanded
its
mission
to
include
other
victims
of
human
rights abuse. Today the organization is working to make sure all prisoners get a fair trial and to end
all types of torture. It is also involved in a major campaign to end the death penalty.
Amnesty
International
has
become
an
effective
organization
in
large
part
because
of
its
impartiality and reliability. To maintain its impartiality, Amnesty is careful to remain independent
of all national governments. It gets its money from individual contributions and special events. To
maintain
its
reliability,
Amnesty
puts
much
time,
effort,
and
money
into
getting
accurate
information about prisoners. Research teams carefully check the facts about human rights abuses.
Fact- finding teams interview prisoners, family members, witnesses, and government officials.
This information is used to create a profile with the facts about each person's imprisonment.
Amnesty
International
works
to
help
individual
prisoners;
it
does
not
try
to
change
the
governments that are holding the prisoners of conscience. After some negative publicity in the late
1960s, Amnesty International adopted a rule that members of the organization could not work on
cases inside their own country.
The organization worried that members working in their own country would not be able to stay
impartial.
In 1977, Amnesty International was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In the same year, Steve
Biko, an African anti-apartheid activist, was imprisoned for his political activities. While Biko was
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in prison, he was tortured and eventually murdered for his beliefs. A popular musician named Peter
Gabriel
wrote
a
song
called

to
protest
his
murder
and
to
support
the
work
of
Amnesty
International. Over 25 years later, when audiences hear the song
the singing. In the mid-1980s, Amnesty International was helped by a number of other well- known
musicians.
To
help
the
organization,
the
musicians
gave
concerts
and
contributed
their
profits
to
Amnesty International.
The concerts gave the organization valuable publicity as well as financial support,and it was
able to increase the size of its staff and the number of offices worldwide.
In
2004,
the
United
States
chapter
of
Amnesty
International
released
the
Music
for
Human
Rights CD with some of the hottest musicians of the year and offered it for free to new members.
The
support
of
popular
musicians
helped
to
inform
young
people
and
interest
them
in
Amnesty
International.
Amnesty International now has 1.5 million members in 162 countries. It continues to petition
for improvements in prisons, the end of torture, and the release of prisoners of conscience. Amnesty
members continue to tirelessly write letters and hold benefits, vigils, and fundraisers for prisoners of
conscience
around
the
world.
And
what
happened
to
the
six
prisoners
of
conscience
whom
Benenson wrote about in 1961? All of them eventually gained their freedom.
(782 words)
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7 UNICEF
The
acronym
UNICEF
stands
for
United
Nations
International
Children's
Emergency
Fund.
This organization was created by the United Nations in 1946 to provide emergency help to children
in
post-war
Europe
and
China.
In
1950,
UNICEF's
responsibilities
were
expanded
to
providing
long-term
help
to
children
and
mothers
in
all
developing
countries.
Three
years
later,
UNICEF
became
a
permanent
part
of
the
United
Nations
system,
and
its
name
was
changed
to
United
Nations Children's Fund. Despite the name change, the acronym UNICEF was kept, and today most
people know of the organization by its acronym rather than its name.
UNICEF works with the governments of individual countries to provide three kinds of services.
It plans and develops programs, trains people to work in these programs, and provides the supplies
and equipment to help the programs function.
The programs that UNICEF develops cover five main areas: immunization, education for girls,
child protection, early childhood development, and HIV/AIDS.
In the area of immunization, UNICEF has had many successes, but it still has much work to do.
Among
its
successes
are
the
eradication
of
smallpox,
the
near
eradication
of
polio,
and
a
sharp
decrease in the numbers of deaths from measles and tetanus. However, there are still countries that
do not provide routine immunization, and in these countries diseases such as measles, diphtheria,
whooping
cough,
tuberculosis,
and
tetanus
persist.
According
to
UNICEF,
more
than
2
million
children die each year from diseases that could have been prevented by inexpensive vaccines.
A second goal of UNICEF is giving children the best possible start in life. In fact, more than
half of UNICEF's budget is used to help children in their first years of life by providing them with
better health care, nutrition, water, sanitation and education. But the needs of young children around
the world are overwhelming.
According
to
UNICEF,

of
100
children
horn
in
a
year
30
will
most
likely
suffer
from
malnutrition in their first five years of life, 26 will not be immunized against the basic childhood
diseases, 19 will lack access to safe drinking water and 40 to adequate sanitation, and 17 will never
go to school.
That means each day 30,000 children die, and most of these deaths could be prevented.
One of the biggest challenges facing UNICEF today is HIV/ AIDS. Globally, there are now 42
million people with HIV /AIDS; more than 3 million of them are children under the age of 15, and
12
million
are
young
people
between
the
ages
of
15
and
24.
One
of
the
primary
reasons
for
the
increase in the number of HIV/AIDS cases is ignorance about how the disease is spread. Surveys
done in 60countries have revealed that the majority of young people do not understand how HIV/
AIDS
is
transmitted
from
one
person
to
another.
To
change
this,
UNICEF
focuses
much
of
its
attention
on
educating
young
people
about
the
disease.
In
addition
to
its
educational
programs,
UNICEF
is
also
involved
in
taking
care
of
people
with
the
disease
and
protecting
them
from
discrimination.
While
much
of
UNICEF's
work
is
now
in
long-term
projects,
it
still
plays
a
vital
role
in
emergency situations. In cases of natural disasters, such as floods and earthquakes, UNICEF is able
to respond quickly to people's needs, especially the needs of children. For example, when monsoon
rains
caused
rivers in
Bangladesh
to flood in
2004, millions
of people
were affected. The floods
contaminated
drinking
water
supplies,
quickly
spreading
disease.
UNICEF
was
able
to
move
in
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quickly with medical supplies and equipment to set up sanitation systems. The organization's rapid
response to disaster prevented the deaths of many children.
Again, when a tsunami hit countries in southeast Asia in 2004, UNICEF was able to rush relief
assistance to the area to help the survivors. In addition to providing safe drinking water in order to
prevent
the
spread
of
disease
UNICEF
was
involved
in
helping
thousands
of
children
who
were
separated
from
or
lost
their
parents
when
the
tsunami
hit,
as
well
as
many
more
who
were
traumatized by the event.
How does UNICEF pay for all this? Three-fourths of the organization's money comes from the
contributions of governments. The remaining one-fourth comes from individual contributions, the
sale
of
UNICEF's
greeting
cards
and
products,
and
special
events
held
to
collect
money
for
the
organization. For example, in 2004, a chef in London decided he had to do something to help the
victims of the tsunami. He organized an event called UNICHEF in which more than 150 restaurants
joined together to raise money for UNICEF's Tsunami Children's Emergency Appeal. Restaurants
participating in the UNICHEF event donated a large part of their earnings. With the help of people
and organizations like that, UNICEF will be able to continue helping children around the world.
(809 words)
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8 The Olympic Movement
The Olympic Movement encompasses organizations, athletes, and other persons who agree to
be guided by the Olympic Charter.
Who Belongs to the Olympic Movement?
The
Olympic
Movement
groups
together
all
those
who
agree
to
be
guided
by
the
Olympic
Charter and who recognize the authority of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
—
namely,
the
International
Federations
(IFs) of sports
on the program
of the Olympic Games, the National
Olympic
Committees
(NOCs),
the
Organizing
Committees
of
the
Olympic
Games
(OCOGs),
athletes, judges and referees, associations and clubs, as well as all the organizations and institutions
recognized by the IOC.
Birth of the Olympic Movement
When he announced in Paris, on a winter's evening in 1892, the forthcoming re- establishment
of the Olympic Games, Pierre de Coubertin was applauded, but nobody at the time imagined the
scale
of
the
project
entailed
in
reviving
the
ancient
Olympic
Games,
appointing
a
committee
in
charge of organizing them, and creating an international movement. The IOC was created on June
23, 1894; the first Olympic Games of the modern era opened in Athens on April 6, 1896; and the
Olympic Movement has not stopped growing ever since.
Olympism is a state of mind based on equality of sports which are international and democratic.
It is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will,
and mind.
Goals of the Olympic Movement
The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by
educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind, in a spirit of friendship,
solidarity,
and
fair
play.
The
Olympic
Movement
is
defined
also
by
the
numerous
activities
in
which it engages, such as
?

Promoting
sport
and
competitions
through
the
intermediary
of
national
and
international
sports institutions worldwide.
?

Cooperation with public and private organizations to place sport at the service of mankind.
?

Assistance to develop
?

Advancement of women in sport at all levels and in all structures with a view to achieving
equality between men and women.
?

Opposition to all forms of commercial exploitation of sport and athletes.
?

The fight against doping.
?

Promoting sports ethics and fair play.
?

Raising awareness of environmental problems.
?

Financial
and
educational
support
for
developing
countries
through
the
IOC
institution
Olympic Solidarity.
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That prospect troubles me not at all. I have pondered and studied it at length, and know that it is
correct and possible,
(440 words)
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9 Hawaii
If you travel 3,700 kilometers southwest from Los Angeles across the Pacific Ocean, you will
reach the islands of Hawaii, the 50th state of the United States.
This group of islands has a land area of only 16,700 square kilometers, stretched over 2,500
kilometers
of
ocean.
The
eight
main
Hawaiian
Islands
are
Niihau,
Lanai,
Kauai,
Maui,
Oahu,
Molokai, Kahoolawe, and the Big Island of Hawaii.
Not all of the Hawaiian Islands are popular tourist spots. In fact, one of them is uninhabitable
and
off-limits
to
tourists.
That's
the
island
of
Kahoolawe,
the
smallest
of
the
Hawaiian
Islands.
Many years ago, this island was covered with vegetation; today it is barren and inhospitable. The
blame for this goes first to European settlers who brought grazing animals to the island. When the
animals finished eating all of the vegetation, nothing remained to protect the soil from the Pacific
winds. It's possible that as much as 2 million metric tons of soil gets blown off the island each year.
Kahoolawe was also used as a target by the U.S. Navy, and today there are still enough unexploded
shells on the ground to discourage even the most foolhardy tourist. At present the island is being
restored, and scientists hope that someday Kahoolawe will be the beautiful place it once was.
A
second
rarely
visited
part
of
Hawaii
is
the
island
of
Niihau,
which
is
known
as

Forbidden
Island.
This
privately
owned
island
has
fewer
than
250inhabitants,
and
you
need
an
invitation from one of them to be allowed onto the island. The owner of Niihau raises cattle on his
secluded
ranch,
and
many
of
the
people
on
the
island
work
for
him.
People
say
that
there
is
no
electricity on the island and that the inhabitants have chosen to live in the traditional way in order to
preserve traditional Hawaiian culture.
The remaining six Hawaiian Islands are open to tourists, though three of them attract far fewer
tourists
than
the
others.
Molokai
is
home
to
more
native
Hawaiians
than
any
other
island.
This
island boasts the highest sea cliffs in the world and a wildlife park with rare animals from
Africa
and
India.
For
many
years,
Molokai
was
one
of
the
most
beautiful

in
the
world.
From
1865 to 1969, more than 8,000 people were sent to this island. But the only crime these people had
committed was to suffer from Hansen's disease formerly known as leprosy).
Until
a
treatment
for
the
disease
was
discovered
in
the
late
1940s,
anyone
suspected
of
carrying the disease was sent to live in isolation on Molokai. Molokai is also home to the Kalokeoli
Fishpond, which is an example of the sophisticated aquaculture used on the island at least 700 years
ago.
South
of
Molokai
lies
the
island
of
Lanai.
Lanai
is
a
relatively
dry
island
because
the
mountains on Molokai block the rain clouds from reaching the island.
That
doesn't
mean
Lanai is
barren and infertile.
Today, one-fifth
of all
Hawaiian pineapples
come from this island. The island of Kauai has the honor of being one of the wettest places on Earth,
with an average of 1,240 centimeters of rain per year.
The remaining three islands, Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii, are all popular destinations for tourists.
With its wonderful surfing, beaches, and golf courses, Oahu draws the most tourists of all. Oahu
also has the only royal palace in the United States and the largest wind generator in the world. The
island of Maui draws visitors who want to see the world's largest inactive volcano, while the most
daring tourists travel to the island of Hawaii, which has the world's most active volcano. Hawaii is
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also
the
largest
island
in
the
group.
In
fact,
Hawaii
is
twice
the
size
of
the
other
seven
islands
combined. Hawaii also produces some of the world's best coffee and macadamia nuts and one-third
of the world's supply of pineapples.
Of
all
the
states
in
the
United
States,
Hawaii
has
perhaps
the
most
ethnically
diverse
population, and that may be a result of the way in which the islands were settled. The first people to
make their home on the Hawaiian Islands sailed there from other Pacific islands between the years
300
and
600.
Much
later,
the
English
explorer
and
mapmaker
Captain
James
Cook
sailed
to
the
Hawaiian Islands. In 1778, Cook put the islands on his maps, and before long whaling ships were
stopping there for supplies. In the 1820s, missionaries from the United States arrived to teach the
Hawaiian people about Christianity. Some of the missionaries settled there permanently and started
farms to grow sugar and, later, pineapples. As the farms grew and more farm workers were needed,
the
farm
owners
brought
in
workers
from
other
countries.
In
1852,
workers
arrived
from
China,
followed by an influx of Japanese workers in 1868 and workers from the Philippines in 1906.
Later, people from Korea, Portugal, and Puerto Rico came to work on the farms.
Over time, people from the different ethnic groups intermarried, handing down a rich mix of
cultures to their children and grandchildren. For example, a Hawaiian child might have a Chinese-
Hawaiian mother and a Portuguese- Filipino father.
Today about 1.2 million people live in Hawaii, but only 10,000 are native Hawaiians.
Hawaii
is
known
as
the Aloha
State.
Aloha
means


and

love
you
in
Hawaiian.
It's a word the average tourist is likely to say many times while visiting the Hawaiian
Islands.
(910 words)
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10 Deserts
They
are
some
of
the
coldest
places
on
Earth
and
some
of
the
hottest.
They
exist
on
every
continent except Europe, and together they cover roughly one-third of the land on Earth. We call
them deserts, and they all have one thing in common
—
they get less than 250 millimeters of rain a
year.
The
world's
largest
and
hottest
desert
spreads
across
North
Africa
from
the
Red
Sea
to
the
Atlantic Ocean, covering more than 9 million square kilometers. It's called the Sahara, which means

area
of
lush
vegetation
with
huge
river
systems;
cave
paintings
found
in
the
area
reveal
that
elephants, giraffes, and other animals once lived there.
There is nothing static about deserts. The sizes and locations of the world's deserts are always
changing.
Over
millions
of
years,
as
the
climate
changed
and
mountains
rose,
new
dry
areas
developed. But within the last 100 years, deserts have been growing at a frightening speed. This is
due. in part, to climate chance but the greatest desert makers of all are humans.
The
process
of
turning
productive
land
into
desert-like
land
is
called
desertification.
Desertification
takes
place
slowly
as
small
pieces
of
degraded
land
spread
and
merge
together.
Desertification
can
take
place
naturally
on
the
edges
of
existing
deserts,
or
it
can
start
in
small
patches hundreds of miles away from the nearest desert. When there is a drought, for example, the
winds and high temperatures dry the soil out. Eventually, the topsoil is blown or washed away, and
nothing can grow in the area. Unfortunately, these natural processes are greatly accelerated by the
activities of human beings.
The
human
activity
most
destructive
to
the
soil
is
overgrazing.
When
there
are
too
many
animals eating the vegetation in an area, the root systems of the plants are destroyed and the soil is
left
without
a
protective
cover.
The
unprotected
soil
can
then
be
easily
eroded.
Any
land
that
is
cleared of vegetation becomes vulnerable to desertification.
A second cause of desertification is improper irrigation. Farmers in many parts of the world
divert
water
supplies
for
their
crops.
However,
one
area's
gain
is
another
area's
loss.
In
China's
Xinjiang Autonomous Region, for example, the building of dams and the withdrawal of water for
irrigation have dried up the Tarim River. This has caused the trees and other vegetation that acted as
a barrier between the Taklimakan and Kumtag deserts to die off. Now the two deserts are spreading
toward each other, and they may eventually merge.
Deforestation
also
contributes
significantly
to
desertification.
In
developing
countries,
90
percent of the people use wood for cooking and heating. However, cutting down trees for firewood
leaves
the
land
exposed
to
the
sun.
The
smaller
plants
that
grow
under
the
trees
cannot
survive
without the shade of the trees. And without leaves from the trees to enrich it, the soil becomes poor
and deprived of nutrients. Eventually the smaller plants die, and nothing remains but barren land.
Oftentimes, the soil is so degraded that it becomes as hard as concrete. Large pieces or land
cleared to grow crops can become useless in just a few seasons.
While humans have shown themselves to be adept at making deserts, they can also stop their
spread and even reclaim the land. In 1977, the United Nations invited representatives from around
the world to a conference on desertification.
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