Thursday, January 26, 2012
Fun with proverbs
A proverb is defined as a popular short saying with words of advice or warning. On the other hand, proverbs are full of folk wisdom. Be familiar with the following proverbs and use them in your speech and writing.
1. Diamond cut diamond.
Diamond is the hardest substance known to us. It can be cut only by another diamond. The proverb is used when two opponents have wit, cunning and strong-mindedness in equal measure.
2. Discontent is the first step in progress.
If we are satisfied with what we have, there will be no progress. It is only when we are unhappy that we try to improve the situation.
3. Discretion is the better part of valour.
It is good to be a brave man than a coward. However, caution is better than rashness.
4. Distance lends enchantment to the view.
At a distance, a mountain appears to be enchanting. However, when you go closer, you will see only ugly rocks and trees. It is a commentary on life.
5. Do as most men do than most men will speak well of you.
It simply means that you have to go with the crowd. If you do not do so, you will become unpopular.
6. Do as you would be done by.
This is the essence of good behaviour. If we can follow this advice, the world will be a better place to live in.
7. Do not cast your pearls before swine.
Do not give any valuable thing to someone who does not appreciate it.
8. Don’t change horses in mid-stream.
If you want to make some changes in your activities, choose the right moment.
9. Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.
You should never be too optimistic about anything. Wait till your difficulties are over before you boast of success.
10. Don’t cross a bridge till you come to it.
You should not worry about anything before it happens. Your fears may be groundless.
Read and expand your world
Unlike in the days of your parents, today you have many technological devices to help you pass your leisure time. Most of you must be spending a great deal of time on playing computer games, browsing the Net, meeting friends on Facebook, SMSing your friends etc. 
However I am sure reading too still remains at the top of the list of your favourite hobbies though how you read must have changed over time. It could be that today most of you read books on the computer (E-books) rather than the print version.
No matter whether you read an electronic book or a printed book, what is important is your interest for reading. There are millions of books written on various subjects, but you should be careful to select what suits you best. Your parents and school teachers may definitely help you select suitable books for you.
Hope you all are familiar with J.K.Rowlings' Harry Potter series. In our country Martin Wickramasinghe's 'Madol Doowa' still remains a favourite children's read. So are the children's books written by Janaki Sooriyarachchi and Sybil Wettasinghe. I am sure you have read Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Fairy Tales too are interesting reads. Be careful to give equal attention to subject related books that you study in your schools as well. As the Former US President Abraham Lincoln said "A capacity and taste for reading gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others"
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Huge volcanoes found near Antarctica
A string of a dozen volcanoes, at least several of them active, has been found beneath the frigid seas near Antarctica, the first such discovery in that region.
Some of the peaks tower nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 metres) above the ocean floor, nearly tall enough to break the water's surface.
"That's a big volcano. That's a very big volcano. If that was on land it would be quite remarkable," said Philip Leat, a vulcanologist with the British Antarctic Survey who led a seafloor mapping expedition to the region in 2007 and 2010. 
The group of 12 underwater mountains lies south of the South Sandwich Islands desolate, ice-covered volcanoes that rise above the southern Atlantic Ocean about halfway between South America and South Africa they erupted as recently as 2008. It's the first time such a large number of undersea volcanoes has been found together in the Antarctic region.
Leat said the survey team was somewhat surprised by the find.
"We knew there were other volcanoes in the area, but we didn't go trying to find volcanoes," Leat told OurAmazingPlanet. "We just went because there was a big blank area on the map and we had no idea what was there; we just wanted to fill in the seafloor. The team did so, thanks to ship-borne seafloor mapping technology, and not without a few hair-raising adventures.
Leat said the images of the seafloor appear before your eyes on screens as the ship moves through the water. "So it's very exciting," he said. "You go along and suddenly you see the bottom starts to rise up underneath you, and you don't know how shallow it's going to get."
At one point, in the dead of night, the team encountered a volcano so large it looked as though the RRS James Clark Ross, the team's research vessel, might actually crash into the hidden summit. "It was quite frightening, actually," Leat said.
The researchers stopped the ship and decided to return in daylight. The onboard instruments revealed that some of the peaks rise within 160 feet (50 metres) of the ocean's surface.
Though the peaks are largely invisible without the aid of 3-D mapping technology, scientists can tell they're volcanoes.
Leat said their conelike silhouette is a dead giveaway. "There's no other way of getting that shape on the seafloor," he said. In addition, the researchers dredged up rocky material from several peaks and found it rife (prevalent)with volcanic ash, lumps of pumice and black lava.
The find backed up reports from a ship that visited the area in 1962, which indicated a hidden volcano had erupted in the region. Leat's biologist colleagues discovered some interesting creatures living in the hot-spring-like conditions near the underwater mountains, and news on that will be forthcoming, Leat said.
Despite the frozen, isolated conditions, Leat said the expeditions were far from boring. Quite the opposite, in fact. Each moment, a hidden world never before seen by humans unfolded before their eyes. "It's amazing," Leat said, "and you can hardly go to bed at night because you want to see what's happening.
Queen of children's books
Enid Blyton was very popular among children because she wrote hundreds of children's books. She was called the Queen of Children's books in the 20th century. She was born in England on August 11, 1897. She was the eldest child of Thomas Carey Blyton, a salesman of cutlery, and his wife, Theresa Mary Harrison Blytony .
She had two brothers named Hanly and Carey. She liked to write poems and stories as a small child even though she did not have a very pleasant childhood. The family had to face many economic problems .She was a clever and diligent child . Despite the financial problems faced by her family she continued her education. At the age of 14 she won a poetry competition.
Discovering her talents at writing she began to improve on her writing skills. She selected teaching as her first job. She was a talented pianist, but gave up her musical studies when she trained as a teacher.She taught for five years . She wrote many children's stories and poems to newspapers and magazines during her teaching career.
In 1922 she published her first book titled Child whispers, a collection of poems. In 1924 she married an editor of the book department in a publishing firm named Major Hugh Alexander Pollock.She had two daughters.
In 1926 Blyton edited a new magazine for children called Sunny Stories for Little People.Her first full-length children's book, The Secret Island, was published in 1938.
Enid Blyton books such as the Noddy series and Famous Five series were, and still are very popular among children from all parts of the world.Her books have been translated into many languages. She died in 1968 but her books will be loved by children for ever.
Hunger, millions suffer from it
Every night millions of children and adults around the world go to bed hungry. They face the next day too with empty stomachs and even spend the rest of the day in hunger because they have no food to eat. But on the other hand millions of people, especially in developed countries have too much food to eat and they throw away some of it.
Even though the world has advanced in technology there are more poorly fed children in the world than before. Today the number of malnourished children and adults has increased in many parts of the world.
People who do not get proper food are said to be malnourished .Such people do not get a balanced diet to keep their bodies fit and strong.
Malnourished children grow more slowly than well-fed children. They also fall ill very frequently as they are weak. .
When adults do not have enough food to eat and are malnourished, especially in poor countries, they cannot do their work properly.They have no strength even to cultivate their fields to earn a living. They do not have money to eat if they do not cultivate. So, they end up hungry.
It becomes a vicious cycle. If there are droughts or famines adults find it difficult to recover even if the younger generation does so. If people become too weak even to cultivate their lands and carry out farming activities there will be a food shortage.
Without food children will be physically affected .They will become weak and die. During a famine it is generally the children and the aged who suffer the most.
Many children around the world live in hunger due to poverty and lack of food supplies.
With the growing population there is a food shortage in the world. However, there are many who waste food . Supermarkets and food outlets, especially abroad throw away a lot of food that are not sold and have passed the expiry dates.
Even in homes in our country people throwaway food. Do not waste food. There are many children who are dying of hunger. Help poor hungry children .
Television, a fountain of information
The television is a piece of electrical equipment which is very useful to us today. It has a screen on which we can watch various programmes with moving pictures and sounds. The television was invented in 1924 by a Scotish scientist named John Logie Baird. Since that time it has developed greatly in quality and technology to the present advanced form. Even though the television was invented a long time ago it was introduced to our country rather recently;about two decades ago. 
The original televisions were produced only in black and white with manually controlled on-off switch buttons. The present television sets come in colour with a variety of new features such as high quality screens which are easy on the eyes and a host of other operations which are all controlled by a remote.
Formally the television was used only by a handful of well to of people ,but now its usage has increased greatly. In fact, it is difficult to trace numbers. There is hardly a house even among shanty dwellers without a television set today. Television is a fountain of information.Interesting facts and visuals about different subjects,various happenings and people from the four corners of the world flow through it. Some of the programmes telecast are recorded first and aired later while others are telecast while the event is taking place ; 'live' as it is called in television language.
There are many channels that telecast these programmes in all three languages. Out of all these programmes the news telecasts and entertainment programmes such as musicals and tele-dramas are watched by people from all walks of life.
Unlike books, the use of television is not confined to literate people. Even a person who is totally illiterate can watch television and enjoy what the TV offers.In this context there is no other medium of communication which is accessible to the ordinary public.
