VR12. Reverse Questions – Homework 2

J.D. Salinger, at one time thought to be the most important American writer to emerge since World War II but who then turned his back on success and adulation, famous for not wanting to be famous, died on Wednesday at his home in Cornish, N.H., where he had lived reclusively for more than 50 years. He was 91.

Though not everyone, teachers and librarians especially, was sure what to make of it, his work “Catcher in the Rye” became an almost immediate best seller, and its narrator and main character, Holden Caulfield, a teenager newly expelled from prep school, became America’s best-known literary truant since Huckleberry Finn.

With its cynical, vernacular voice, its sympathetic understanding of adolescence and its fierce if alienated sense of morality and distrust of the adult world, the novel struck a nerve in cold war America and quickly attained cult status, especially among the young. Reading “Catcher” used to be an essential rite of passage.

The novel’s allure persists to this day, even if some of Holden’s preoccupations now seem a bit dated, and it continues to sell more than 250,000 copies a year. Mark David Chapman, who killed John Lennon in 1980, even said the explanation for his act could be found in the pages of “The Catcher in the Rye.” In 1974 Philip Roth wrote, “The response of college students to the work of J. D. Salinger indicates that he, more than anyone else, has not turned his back on the times but, instead, has managed to put his finger on whatever struggle of significance is going on today between self and culture.”

(Adapted from The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/books/29salinger.html)

With surfing coming to the Olympics in 2020, and the Olympics heading to Paris in 2024, French organizers had to look elsewhere to hold a world-class surf competition in the summer months. They found a spot. The drawback? It’s almost 10,000 miles away: Teahupo’o, Tahiti, home to one of the most iconic and dangerous waves in the world. Just how dangerous? Teahupo’o roughly translates to “wall of skulls.”

Tahiti, which is part of French Polynesia, beat out four other possible locations for the competition: Biarritz, Lacanau, Les Landes, and La Torche. All proposed locations are in France, where the rest of the Olympics is taking place. Organizers of the 2024 Games confirmed the decision this week, and it will be the first time since the women’s championship tour in 2000 that both men and women will compete at Teahupo’o.

Surfers that come through the barrel of a powerful wave, like those at Teahupo’o, can experience one of the greatest highs, and high scores, of their lives. But one wrong move and they could quickly find themselves in serious danger of banging into the sharp corral reef that looms just below the water’s surface.

Keala Kennelly is deeply familiar with that concept. A professional surfer from Hawaii, Kennelly has been called the Queen of Teahupo’o, and she is considered one of the hardest charging athletes to surf the wave. In 2011, she needed 40 stitches in her face and skull after enduring a wipe-out there. When she returned two years later, she said, she caught what she called one of the best barrels of her life.

(Adapted from The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/sports/olympics/surfing-olympics-teahupoo-tahiti.html)

Australia’s first people—known as Aboriginal Australians—have lived on the continent for over 50,000 years. Today, there are 250 distinct language groups spread throughout Australia. Aboriginal Australians are split into two groups: Aboriginal peoples, who are related to those who already inhabited Australia when Britain began colonizing the island in 1788, and Torres Strait Islander peoples, who descend from residents of the Torres Strait Islands, a group of islands that is part of modern-day Queensland, Australia.

All Aboriginal Australians are related to groups indigenous to Australia. However, the use of the term indigenous is controversial, since it can be claimed by people who descend from people who weren’t the original inhabitants of the island. Legally, “Aboriginal Australian” is recognized as “a person of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent who identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and is accepted as such by the community in which he [or she] lives.”

Today, about three percent of Australia’s population has Aboriginal heritage. Aboriginal Australians still struggle to retain their ancient culture and fight for recognition—and restitution—from the Australian government. The state of Victoria is currently working toward a first-of-its-kind treaty with its Aboriginal population that would recognize Aboriginal Australians’ sovereignty and include compensation. However, Australia itself has never made such a treaty, making it the only country in the British Commonwealth not to have ratified a treaty with its First Nations peoples.

(Adapted from National Geographic, https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/2019/02/aboriginal-australians)

Dragonflies and damselflies (odonates) represent a species rich, yet tractable insect order, which encompasses two main suborders, Anisoptera (dragonflies) and Zygoptera (damselflies). The former is generally larger and alight with their wings held out to the sides, while damselflies have slender bodies, and generally hold their wings over the abdomen when at rest.

 Several characteristics make odonates an attractive group to combine ecology with evolutionary genomics. First, they are direct descendants of one of the most ancient winged insect groups and, along with Ephemeroptera (mayflies), are sister to all other neopteran insects. Second, odonates incorporate rich phenotypic and ecological diversity in one single insect order and therefore constitute excellent candidates for ecological and evolutionary studies. As such, they have been used extensively as model species in many areas of ecology and evolution, such as sexual selection, behaviour, evolution of flight and life history theory. Third, the group shows several evolutionary innovations, particularly with regard to flight (e.g. direct flight musculature), vision (e.g. complex colour vision,) sexual behaviour (e.g. secondary genitalia), and life history (e.g. complex life cycle). The large interspecific variation in habitat specificity and complex aquatic/terrestrial life cycles makes odonates prominent surrogates for evaluating all types of freshwater ecosystems worldwide.

Lastly, dragonflies and damselflies are comparatively large insects, both as adults and late-instar larvae, and as such their behaviours can be studied readily in the wild. Thus, the phylogenetic position of odonates, combined with their numerous evolutionary innovations make them an attractive model to bridge ecology with contemporary evolutionary genomics and can provide fundamental insights into the origin of these traits. Despite the attractiveness of this group for evolutionary genomics studies, efforts have been lagging behind other insect orders.

Dragonflies and damselflies (odonates) represent a species rich, yet tractable insect order, which encompasses two main suborders, Anisoptera (dragonflies) and Zygoptera (damselflies). The former is generally larger and alight with their wings held out to the sides, while damselflies have slender bodies, and generally hold their wings over the abdomen when at rest.

 Several characteristics make odonates an attractive group to combine ecology with evolutionary genomics. First, they are direct descendants of one of the most ancient winged insect groups and, along with Ephemeroptera (mayflies), are sister to all other neopteran insects. Second, odonates incorporate rich phenotypic and ecological diversity in one single insect order and therefore constitute excellent candidates for ecological and evolutionary studies. As such, they have been used extensively as model species in many areas of ecology and evolution, such as sexual selection, behaviour, evolution of flight and life history theory. Third, the group shows several evolutionary innovations, particularly with regard to flight (e.g. direct flight musculature), vision (e.g. complex colour vision,) sexual behaviour (e.g. secondary genitalia), and life history (e.g. complex life cycle). The large interspecific variation in habitat specificity and complex aquatic/terrestrial life cycles makes odonates prominent surrogates for evaluating all types of freshwater ecosystems worldwide.

Lastly, dragonflies and damselflies are comparatively large insects, both as adults and late-instar larvae, and as such their behaviours can be studied readily in the wild. Thus, the phylogenetic position of odonates, combined with their numerous evolutionary innovations make them an attractive model to bridge ecology with contemporary evolutionary genomics and can provide fundamental insights into the origin of these traits. Despite the attractiveness of this group for evolutionary genomics studies, efforts have been lagging behind other insect orders.

Training to be a GP or specialist takes many years. After the foundation programme, there are indicative training pathways described in each curriculum which vary in length. For example, three years for general practitioners, six years for some medical and psychiatric specialties and up to eight years for some surgical specialties, paediatrics and obstetrics & gynaecology.

UK postgraduate medical curricula are competency, rather than time based, giving the possibility of completing training and gaining entry to the specialist or GP register faster or slower depending on how quickly doctors acquire the necessary knowledge and skills. Although in practical terms, very few doctors complete training faster than the indicated timelines as the UK training system is set up for doctors to progress on an annual basis.

As well as the time taken to meet the curricular competencies, there are many other factors which affect how long a doctor takes to complete training. They may work outside postgraduate training but still within the NHS whilst they decide what area of medicine they would like to specialise in. They may take time out of training to work as a doctor overseas, or for development opportunities such as a clinical fellowship or research. Some doctors may take a break if they are unsuccessful in applying to further training or do not get their preferred specialty or location.

There are also reasons unrelated to breaks, that doctors may take longer to complete their training, but not progress at the rate indicated in the curricula. For example, they may fail an exam or fail to meet other curricula requirements and need extra time in training to achieve them.

(Adapted from https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/dc10999-evi-training-pathways-analysis-of-transition-from-foundation-to-next-stage-of-train-74522826.pdf)

The most dangerous aspect of traveling to Mars is space radiation. On the space station, astronauts receive over ten times the radiation than what’s naturally occurring on Earth. Our planet’s magnetic field and atmosphere protect us from harsh cosmic radiation, but without that, you are more exposed to the treacherous radiation. Above Earth’s protective shielding, radiation exposure may increase your cancer risk. It can damage your central nervous system, with both acute effects and later consequences, manifesting itself as altered cognitive function, reduced motor function, and behavioural changes. Space radiation can also cause radiation sickness that results in nausea, vomiting, anorexia, and fatigue. Years after exposure, you could develop degenerative tissue diseases such as cataracts, cardiac, and circulatory diseases. The food you eat and the medicine you take must be safe and retain their nutrient and pharmaceutical value, even while being bombarded with space radiation. A vehicle traveling to Mars and a habitat on Mars will need significant protective shielding, which is nonetheless futile against some types of space radiation.

 The space station sits just within Earth’s protective magnetic field, so while our astronauts are exposed to ten times higher the radiation than on Earth, it’s still much less than the radiation a mission to Mars will encounter, and of a different type. Shielding, monitoring, and operational procedures control the radiation risks to acceptable levels to keep you safe. To learn what happens above low Earth orbit, NASA has extensively used ground research facilities to study how radiation affects biological systems, and more importantly, how to protect them. They are developing unique ways to monitor and measure how radiation affects you while living in space, and to identify biological countermeasures. Finally, methods to optimize shielding are being studied to help protect us on a journey to Mars. 

(Adapted from https://www.nasa.gov/hrp/bodyinspace)

The most dangerous aspect of traveling to Mars is space radiation. On the space station, astronauts receive over ten times the radiation than what’s naturally occurring on Earth. Our planet’s magnetic field and atmosphere protect us from harsh cosmic radiation, but without that, you are more exposed to the treacherous radiation. Above Earth’s protective shielding, radiation exposure may increase your cancer risk. It can damage your central nervous system, with both acute effects and later consequences, manifesting itself as altered cognitive function, reduced motor function, and behavioural changes. Space radiation can also cause radiation sickness that results in nausea, vomiting, anorexia, and fatigue. Years after exposure, you could develop degenerative tissue diseases such as cataracts, cardiac, and circulatory diseases. The food you eat and the medicine you take must be safe and retain their nutrient and pharmaceutical value, even while being bombarded with space radiation. A vehicle traveling to Mars and a habitat on Mars will need significant protective shielding, which is nonetheless futile against some types of space radiation.

 The space station sits just within Earth’s protective magnetic field, so while our astronauts are exposed to ten times higher the radiation than on Earth, it’s still much less than the radiation a mission to Mars will encounter, and of a different type. Shielding, monitoring, and operational procedures control the radiation risks to acceptable levels to keep you safe. To learn what happens above low Earth orbit, NASA has extensively used ground research facilities to study how radiation affects biological systems, and more importantly, how to protect them. They are developing unique ways to monitor and measure how radiation affects you while living in space, and to identify biological countermeasures. Finally, methods to optimize shielding are being studied to help protect us on a journey to Mars. 

(Adapted from https://www.nasa.gov/hrp/bodyinspace)

Denmark is a country occupying the peninsula of Jutland, which extends northward from the centre of continental western Europe, and an archipelago of more than 400 islands to the east of the peninsula. Jutland makes up more than two-thirds of the country’s total land area; at its northern tip is the island of Vendsyssel-Thy, separated from the mainland by the Lim Fjord. The largest of the islands owned entirely by the country are Zealand, Vendsyssel-Thy, and Funen. Along with Norway and Sweden, Denmark is a part of the northern European region known as Scandinavia. The country’s capital and largest city, Copenhagen, is located primarily on Zealand; the second largest city, Århus, is the major urban centre of Jutland.

Small in territory and population, Denmark has nonetheless played a notable role in European history. In prehistoric times, Danes and other Scandinavians reconfigured European society when the Vikings undertook marauding, trading, and colonizing expeditions. During the Middle Ages, the Danish crown dominated north-western Europe through the power of the Kalmar Union. In later centuries, shaped by geographic conditions favouring maritime industries, Denmark established trading alliances throughout northern and western Europe and beyond, particularly with Great Britain and the United States. Making an important contribution to world culture, Denmark also developed humane governmental institutions and cooperative, nonviolent approaches to problem solving.

 Religious freedom is an essentially unchallenged value in Denmark. Roman Catholic churches and Jewish synagogues have long existed in the larger cities, and the first mosque in the country was built in 1967. By the early 21st century Islam had become an increasingly important minority religion, and a significant number of Danes were not religious at all. Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of Danes remain at least nominally members of the state church, the Evangelical Lutheran People’s Church of Denmark.

Denmark is a country occupying the peninsula of Jutland, which extends northward from the centre of continental western Europe, and an archipelago of more than 400 islands to the east of the peninsula. Jutland makes up more than two-thirds of the country’s total land area; at its northern tip is the island of Vendsyssel-Thy, separated from the mainland by the Lim Fjord. The largest of the islands owned entirely by the country are Zealand, Vendsyssel-Thy, and Funen. Along with Norway and Sweden, Denmark is a part of the northern European region known as Scandinavia. The country’s capital and largest city, Copenhagen, is located primarily on Zealand; the second largest city, Århus, is the major urban centre of Jutland.

Small in territory and population, Denmark has nonetheless played a notable role in European history. In prehistoric times, Danes and other Scandinavians reconfigured European society when the Vikings undertook marauding, trading, and colonizing expeditions. During the Middle Ages, the Danish crown dominated north-western Europe through the power of the Kalmar Union. In later centuries, shaped by geographic conditions favouring maritime industries, Denmark established trading alliances throughout northern and western Europe and beyond, particularly with Great Britain and the United States. Making an important contribution to world culture, Denmark also developed humane governmental institutions and cooperative, nonviolent approaches to problem solving.

 Religious freedom is an essentially unchallenged value in Denmark. Roman Catholic churches and Jewish synagogues have long existed in the larger cities, and the first mosque in the country was built in 1967. By the early 21st century Islam had become an increasingly important minority religion, and a significant number of Danes were not religious at all. Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of Danes remain at least nominally members of the state church, the Evangelical Lutheran People’s Church of Denmark.

Constantly changing conditions of snow and ice are important hazards faced by mountaineers. Good mountaineers must have an intimate knowledge of snow conditions. They must be able to detect hidden crevasses, be aware of potential avalanches, and be able to safely traverse other tricky or dangerous concentrations of snow or ice. In snow-and-ice technique, the use of the ice axe is extremely important as an adjunct to high mountaineering. Consisting of a pick and an adze opposed at one end of a shaft and a spike at the other, it is used for cutting steps in ice, probing crevasses, obtaining direct aid on steep slopes, achieving balance as necessary, arresting a slide, and securing the rope (belaying). Crampons (sets of spikes that can be strapped on boot soles) are intended to preclude slipping and are useful on steep slopes of snow and ice and in steps that have been cut. By biting into the surface, they make progress possible where boots alone would not do. On many slopes, crampons also render unnecessary the cutting of steps. On extremely difficult snow and ice, ice pitons and carabiners are used. The pitons, when driven in, are allowed to freeze in place.

In climbing long snow slopes, a tedious task, it is necessary to strike a slow and rhythmic pace that can be sustained for a long time. It is desirable to make a start on the mountain early in the day when the snow is in hard condition. As in all phases of mountaineering, judgment is important when engaging in snow and ice climbing. The length of the climb, the nature of the weather, the effect of the sun’s heat on snow and ice, and the potential avalanche danger must all be considered.

(Adapted from https://www.britannica.com/sports/mountaineering/Techniques#ref1221803)

In comparison with the history of Western theatre, the history of scenic design is short. Whereas the golden age of Greek theatre occurred more than two millennia ago, the intensive use of scenery in the theatre did not begin until after 1600, and the position of scenic designer—the individual responsible for the visual appearance and function of the scenic and property elements of a theatrical production—did not become a commonly credited production position until the mid-1920s. 

The term scenery can be defined as any two- or three-dimensional background or environmental element that is placed on the stage so as to suggest the historical period, locale, and mood of the play being performed. While properties—e.g., set props (sofas, chairs, draperies, and so forth) and hand props (any noncostume items handled by the actors, such as glassware, cutlery, or books)—do the same, they generally are not considered to be scenery.

 There was very little scenery used in Western theatres before the early 1600s. While Greek and Roman plays were performed outdoors in elaborate and imposing structures, there is little physical evidence to suggest that scenery, as defined above, was used on these stages. Medieval European drama used standardized scenic elements called “mansions” (representations of heaven, hell, the Garden of Eden, and so forth) to depict the various locations needed in the liturgical drama that constituted the bulk of the period’s plays. Mansions were often mounted in the nave of a church, on a platform in front of a church, or in a town square. They were also used in combination with pageant wagons, which usually held between one and three mansions, were pulled from location to location, and were arranged to create the appropriate setting.

(Adapted from https://www.britannica.com/art/stagecraft)

In comparison with the history of Western theatre, the history of scenic design is short. Whereas the golden age of Greek theatre occurred more than two millennia ago, the intensive use of scenery in the theatre did not begin until after 1600, and the position of scenic designer—the individual responsible for the visual appearance and function of the scenic and property elements of a theatrical production—did not become a commonly credited production position until the mid-1920s. 

The term scenery can be defined as any two- or three-dimensional background or environmental element that is placed on the stage so as to suggest the historical period, locale, and mood of the play being performed. While properties—e.g., set props (sofas, chairs, draperies, and so forth) and hand props (any noncostume items handled by the actors, such as glassware, cutlery, or books)—do the same, they generally are not considered to be scenery.

 There was very little scenery used in Western theatres before the early 1600s. While Greek and Roman plays were performed outdoors in elaborate and imposing structures, there is little physical evidence to suggest that scenery, as defined above, was used on these stages. Medieval European drama used standardized scenic elements called “mansions” (representations of heaven, hell, the Garden of Eden, and so forth) to depict the various locations needed in the liturgical drama that constituted the bulk of the period’s plays. Mansions were often mounted in the nave of a church, on a platform in front of a church, or in a town square. They were also used in combination with pageant wagons, which usually held between one and three mansions, were pulled from location to location, and were arranged to create the appropriate setting.

(Adapted from https://www.britannica.com/art/stagecraft)

The earliest known journalistic product was a news sheet circulated in ancient Rome: the Acta Diurna, said to date from before 59 BCE. The Acta Diurna recorded important daily events such as public speeches. It was published daily and hung in prominent places. In China during the Tang dynasty, a court circular called a bao, or “report,” was issued to government officials. This gazette appeared in various forms and under various names more or less continually to the end of the Qing dynasty in 1911. The first regularly published newspapers appeared in German cities and in Antwerp about 1609.

At first hindered by government-imposed censorship, taxes, and other restrictions, newspapers in the 18th century came to enjoy the reportorial freedom and indispensable function that they have retained to the present day. The growing demand for newspapers owing to the spread of literacy and the introduction of steam- and then electric-driven presses caused the daily circulation of newspapers to rise from the thousands to the hundreds of thousands and eventually to the millions.

Magazines, which had started in the 17th century as learned journals, began to feature opinion-forming articles on current affairs, such as those in the Spectator. Appearing in the 1830s were cheap mass-circulation magazines aimed at a wider and less well-educated public. The cost of large-scale news gathering led to the formation of news agencies, organizations that sold their international journalistic reporting to many different individual newspapers and magazines. The invention of the telegraph and then radio and television brought about a great increase in the speed and timeliness of journalistic activity and, at the same time, provided massive new outlets and audiences for their electronically distributed products.

(Adapted from https://www.britannica.com/topic/journalism)

The earliest known journalistic product was a news sheet circulated in ancient Rome: the Acta Diurna, said to date from before 59 BCE. The Acta Diurna recorded important daily events such as public speeches. It was published daily and hung in prominent places. In China during the Tang dynasty, a court circular called a bao, or “report,” was issued to government officials. This gazette appeared in various forms and under various names more or less continually to the end of the Qing dynasty in 1911. The first regularly published newspapers appeared in German cities and in Antwerp about 1609.

At first hindered by government-imposed censorship, taxes, and other restrictions, newspapers in the 18th century came to enjoy the reportorial freedom and indispensable function that they have retained to the present day. The growing demand for newspapers owing to the spread of literacy and the introduction of steam- and then electric-driven presses caused the daily circulation of newspapers to rise from the thousands to the hundreds of thousands and eventually to the millions.

Magazines, which had started in the 17th century as learned journals, began to feature opinion-forming articles on current affairs, such as those in the Spectator. Appearing in the 1830s were cheap mass-circulation magazines aimed at a wider and less well-educated public. The cost of large-scale news gathering led to the formation of news agencies, organizations that sold their international journalistic reporting to many different individual newspapers and magazines. The invention of the telegraph and then radio and television brought about a great increase in the speed and timeliness of journalistic activity and, at the same time, provided massive new outlets and audiences for their electronically distributed products.

(Adapted from https://www.britannica.com/topic/journalism)

Wartburg Castle, renowned in German history and legend, stands on a steep hill overlooking the town of Eisenach, Thuringia, Germany. The hill was fortified as early as 1080. The landgrave Hermann I of Thuringia (died 1217) rebuilt the castle and made it the seat of a lively court frequented by vagrant poets and musicians, including Walther von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach.

The character of Hermann’s Wartburg was recalled a generation or two later in the poem known as the Sängerkrieg, in which poets compete in singing their rival patrons’ praises. Richard Wagner adapted the story for his opera Tannhäuser (1845). From 1485 the castle and the surrounding lands belonged to the Ernestine dukes of Saxony. The contemporary owner of the castle, Frederick III of Saxony, sheltered Martin Luther in the Wartburg from May 1521 to March 1522, and Luther began his German translation of the original Greek New Testament there. In 1817 the Wartburg was the scene of a festival celebrating the Luther tercentenary. A nationalist demonstration by Protestant German students led to repressive measures by governments of the conservative German states. Charles Alexander of the Ernestine house of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1818–1901) was the chief sponsor of a great restoration of the Wartburg, which had decayed since Luther’s time. The castle, which includes the Romanesque palace of the Thuringian landgraves, was made a World Heritage site in 1999.

Wartburg Castle, renowned in German history and legend, stands on a steep hill overlooking the town of Eisenach, Thuringia, Germany. The hill was fortified as early as 1080. The landgrave Hermann I of Thuringia (died 1217) rebuilt the castle and made it the seat of a lively court frequented by vagrant poets and musicians, including Walther von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach.

The character of Hermann’s Wartburg was recalled a generation or two later in the poem known as the Sängerkrieg, in which poets compete in singing their rival patrons’ praises. Richard Wagner adapted the story for his opera Tannhäuser (1845). From 1485 the castle and the surrounding lands belonged to the Ernestine dukes of Saxony. The contemporary owner of the castle, Frederick III of Saxony, sheltered Martin Luther in the Wartburg from May 1521 to March 1522, and Luther began his German translation of the original Greek New Testament there. In 1817 the Wartburg was the scene of a festival celebrating the Luther tercentenary. A nationalist demonstration by Protestant German students led to repressive measures by governments of the conservative German states. Charles Alexander of the Ernestine house of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1818–1901) was the chief sponsor of a great restoration of the Wartburg, which had decayed since Luther’s time. The castle, which includes the Romanesque palace of the Thuringian landgraves, was made a World Heritage site in 1999.

Benedict de Spinoza was born on November 24, 1632 and was a prominent Dutch Jewish philosopher, one of the foremost exponents of 17th-century Rationalism and one of the early and seminal figures of the Enlightenment. His masterwork is the treatise Ethics, published in 1677.

Spinoza’s Portuguese parents were among many Jews who were forcibly converted to Christianity but continued to practice Judaism in secret. After being arrested, tortured, and condemned by the inquisition in Portugal, they escaped to Amsterdam, where Spinoza’s father, Michael, became an important merchant and eventually served as one of the directors of the city’s synagogue. Spinoza’s mother, Hannah, died in 1638, shortly before his sixth birthday. The Jewish community in Amsterdam was unique in its time. It originally comprised people who had been raised in Spain, Portugal, France, or Italy as Christians and who had fled to Amsterdam to escape persecution and to practice their ancestral religion freely. The community was granted toleration by the Dutch authorities on the condition that it not cause scandal or allow any of its members to become public charges.

The community developed many social and educational institutions, including an all-male Talmud-Torah school founded in 1638. The students there were taught by adult males, many of whom had been trained at Roman Catholic schools before their arrival in Amsterdam. They taught the younger men more or less what they themselves had learned but also added instruction in various Jewish subjects, though it is not clear how much traditional Judaism was included in the curriculum. As a student in this school, the young Spinoza probably learned Hebrew and studied some Jewish philosophy, including that of Moses Maimonides.

Benedict de Spinoza was born on November 24, 1632 and was a prominent Dutch Jewish philosopher, one of the foremost exponents of 17th-century Rationalism and one of the early and seminal figures of the Enlightenment. His masterwork is the treatise Ethics, published in 1677.

Spinoza’s Portuguese parents were among many Jews who were forcibly converted to Christianity but continued to practice Judaism in secret. After being arrested, tortured, and condemned by the inquisition in Portugal, they escaped to Amsterdam, where Spinoza’s father, Michael, became an important merchant and eventually served as one of the directors of the city’s synagogue. Spinoza’s mother, Hannah, died in 1638, shortly before his sixth birthday. The Jewish community in Amsterdam was unique in its time. It originally comprised people who had been raised in Spain, Portugal, France, or Italy as Christians and who had fled to Amsterdam to escape persecution and to practice their ancestral religion freely. The community was granted toleration by the Dutch authorities on the condition that it not cause scandal or allow any of its members to become public charges.

The community developed many social and educational institutions, including an all-male Talmud-Torah school founded in 1638. The students there were taught by adult males, many of whom had been trained at Roman Catholic schools before their arrival in Amsterdam. They taught the younger men more or less what they themselves had learned but also added instruction in various Jewish subjects, though it is not clear how much traditional Judaism was included in the curriculum. As a student in this school, the young Spinoza probably learned Hebrew and studied some Jewish philosophy, including that of Moses Maimonides.

Chinese exists in a number of varieties that are popularly called dialects but that are usually classified as separate languages by scholars. More people speak a variety of Chinese as a native language than any other language in the world, and Modern Standard Chinese is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

The spoken varieties of Chinese are mutually unintelligible to their respective speakers. They differ from each other to about the same extent as the modern Romance languages. Most of the differences among them occur in pronunciation and vocabulary; there are few grammatical differences. These languages include Mandarin in the northern, central, and western parts of China; Wu; Northern and Southern Min; Gan (Kan); Hakka (Kejia); and Xiang; and Cantonese (Yue) in the southeastern part of the country.

All the Chinese languages share a common literary language (wenyan), written in characters and based on a common body of literature. This literary language has no single standard of pronunciation; a speaker of a language reads texts according to the rules of pronunciation of his own language. Before 1917 the wenyan was used for almost all writing; since that date it has become increasingly acceptable to write in the vernacular style (baihua) instead, and the old literary language is dying out in the daily life of modern China.

In the early 1900s a program for the unification of the national language, which is based on Mandarin, was launched; this resulted in Modern Standard Chinese. In 1956 a new system of romanization called Pinyin, based on the pronunciation of the characters in the Beijing dialect, was adopted as an educational instrument to help in the spread of the modern standard language. Modified in 1958, the system was later formally prescribed for use in all diplomatic documents and foreign-language publications in English-speaking countries.

(Adapted from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chinese-languages)

Chinese exists in a number of varieties that are popularly called dialects but that are usually classified as separate languages by scholars. More people speak a variety of Chinese as a native language than any other language in the world, and Modern Standard Chinese is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

The spoken varieties of Chinese are mutually unintelligible to their respective speakers. They differ from each other to about the same extent as the modern Romance languages. Most of the differences among them occur in pronunciation and vocabulary; there are few grammatical differences. These languages include Mandarin in the northern, central, and western parts of China; Wu; Northern and Southern Min; Gan (Kan); Hakka (Kejia); and Xiang; and Cantonese (Yue) in the southeastern part of the country.

All the Chinese languages share a common literary language (wenyan), written in characters and based on a common body of literature. This literary language has no single standard of pronunciation; a speaker of a language reads texts according to the rules of pronunciation of his own language. Before 1917 the wenyan was used for almost all writing; since that date it has become increasingly acceptable to write in the vernacular style (baihua) instead, and the old literary language is dying out in the daily life of modern China.

In the early 1900s a program for the unification of the national language, which is based on Mandarin, was launched; this resulted in Modern Standard Chinese. In 1956 a new system of romanization called Pinyin, based on the pronunciation of the characters in the Beijing dialect, was adopted as an educational instrument to help in the spread of the modern standard language. Modified in 1958, the system was later formally prescribed for use in all diplomatic documents and foreign-language publications in English-speaking countries.

(Adapted from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chinese-languages)

Work is essential in providing the basic physical needs of food, clothing, and shelter. But work involves more than the use of tools and techniques. Advances in technology, which will always occur, help to extend the reach of the hand, expand muscle power, enlarge the senses, and multiply the capacities of the mind. The story of work is still unfolding, with great changes taking place throughout the world and in a more accelerated fashion than ever before. The form and nature of the work process help determine the character of a civilization; in turn, a society’s economic, political, and cultural characteristics shape the form and nature of the work process as well as the role and status of the worker within the society.

Organization of work may have begun before the evolution of Homo sapiens. Along with tools, a more complex brain structure, and linguistic communication, the division of labour (job specialization) may have been responsible for starting the human conquest of nature and differentiating human beings from other animal species. In the earliest stages of human civilization, work was confined to simple tasks involving the most basic of human needs: food, childcare, and shelter. A division of labour likely resulted when some individuals showed proficiency in particular tasks, such as hunting animals or gathering plants for food. As a means of increasing the food supply, prehistoric peoples could organize the work of foraging and hunting and, later, agriculture. There could be no widespread geographic division of labour, however, because populations were sparse and isolated. The uncertain availability of food allowed little surplus for exchange, and there were few contacts with groups in different places that might have specialized in obtaining different foods.

Work is essential in providing the basic physical needs of food, clothing, and shelter. But work involves more than the use of tools and techniques. Advances in technology, which will always occur, help to extend the reach of the hand, expand muscle power, enlarge the senses, and multiply the capacities of the mind. The story of work is still unfolding, with great changes taking place throughout the world and in a more accelerated fashion than ever before. The form and nature of the work process help determine the character of a civilization; in turn, a society’s economic, political, and cultural characteristics shape the form and nature of the work process as well as the role and status of the worker within the society.

Organization of work may have begun before the evolution of Homo sapiens. Along with tools, a more complex brain structure, and linguistic communication, the division of labour (job specialization) may have been responsible for starting the human conquest of nature and differentiating human beings from other animal species. In the earliest stages of human civilization, work was confined to simple tasks involving the most basic of human needs: food, childcare, and shelter. A division of labour likely resulted when some individuals showed proficiency in particular tasks, such as hunting animals or gathering plants for food. As a means of increasing the food supply, prehistoric peoples could organize the work of foraging and hunting and, later, agriculture. There could be no widespread geographic division of labour, however, because populations were sparse and isolated. The uncertain availability of food allowed little surplus for exchange, and there were few contacts with groups in different places that might have specialized in obtaining different foods.

Spartacus was a Thracian who had served in the Roman army but seems to have deserted. He was captured and subsequently sold as a slave. Destined for the arena, in 73 BCE he, with a band of his fellow gladiators, broke out of a training school at Capua and took refuge on Mt. Vesuvius. Here he maintained himself as a captain of brigands, and he recruited as his lieutenants two Celts named Crixus and Oenomaus, who like himself had been gladiators. Other escaped slaves soon joined the band, and the Romans moved to eliminate the growing threat. This was the Third Servile War.

A hastily collected force of 3,000 men under either Claudius Pulcher or Claudius Glaber endeavoured to starve out the rebels. In an audacious move, Spartacus’s forces clambered down the precipices and put the Romans to flight. Groups of hardy and desperate men now joined the rebels, and when the praetor Publius Varinius took the field against them, he found them entrenched. Before the Romans could act, the rebels slipped away, and when Varinius advanced to storm their lines they had deserted. From Campania the rebels marched into Lucania, a region that had opposed Rome in several significant conflicts, most recently the Social War. The country there was also better suited for the kind of guerrilla warfare tactics that favoured Spartacus. Varinius followed but was defeated in several engagements and narrowly escaped being taken prisoner. The insurgents reoccupied Campania, and with the defeat of Gaius Thoranius, the quaestor of Varinius, they obtained possession of nearly the whole of southern Italy. The cities of Nola and Nuceria in Campania were sacked, as were Thurii and Metapontum in Lucania. The Senate at last despatched both consuls against the rebels (72 BCE). The historian Appian suggests that at this point, Spartacus’s army numbered 70,000 men.

(Adapted from https://www.britannica.com/event/Gladiatorial-War)

Spartacus was a Thracian who had served in the Roman army but seems to have deserted. He was captured and subsequently sold as a slave. Destined for the arena, in 73 BCE he, with a band of his fellow gladiators, broke out of a training school at Capua and took refuge on Mt. Vesuvius. Here he maintained himself as a captain of brigands, and he recruited as his lieutenants two Celts named Crixus and Oenomaus, who like himself had been gladiators. Other escaped slaves soon joined the band, and the Romans moved to eliminate the growing threat. This was the Third Servile War.

A hastily collected force of 3,000 men under either Claudius Pulcher or Claudius Glaber endeavoured to starve out the rebels. In an audacious move, Spartacus’s forces clambered down the precipices and put the Romans to flight. Groups of hardy and desperate men now joined the rebels, and when the praetor Publius Varinius took the field against them, he found them entrenched. Before the Romans could act, the rebels slipped away, and when Varinius advanced to storm their lines they had deserted. From Campania the rebels marched into Lucania, a region that had opposed Rome in several significant conflicts, most recently the Social War. The country there was also better suited for the kind of guerrilla warfare tactics that favoured Spartacus. Varinius followed but was defeated in several engagements and narrowly escaped being taken prisoner. The insurgents reoccupied Campania, and with the defeat of Gaius Thoranius, the quaestor of Varinius, they obtained possession of nearly the whole of southern Italy. The cities of Nola and Nuceria in Campania were sacked, as were Thurii and Metapontum in Lucania. The Senate at last despatched both consuls against the rebels (72 BCE). The historian Appian suggests that at this point, Spartacus’s army numbered 70,000 men.

(Adapted from https://www.britannica.com/event/Gladiatorial-War)

The region of Micronesia lies between the Philippines and Hawaii and encompasses more than 2,000 islands, most of which are small and many of which are found in clusters. The region includes, from west to east, Palau (also known as Belau), Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (which include Saipan), the Federated States of Micronesia (which include Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae), the Marshall Islands (which include Enewetak, Bikini, Rongelap, Kwajalein, and Majuro), Nauru, and Kiribati (formerly the Gilbert Islands, and which includes Banaba, formerly Ocean Island). Located for the most part north of the Equator, Micronesia (from Greek mikros ‘small’ and nēsoi ‘islands’) includes the westernmost of the Pacific Islands.

Most of the islands that make up Micronesia are low coral atolls, although the western edge of the region includes high islands formed by volcanic activity or geological uplifting. The region’s inherent scarcity of land, potential for drought, and exposure to cyclones are constant realities confronting its inhabitants. Traditionally, the residents of atolls were especially mobile; they maintained extensive interisland exchange networks, in part because of the precarious nature of living on low islets.

Micronesia has a complicated colonial history. Guam, the southernmost of the Mariana Islands, became the first inhabited Pacific island to be visited by a European when the Portuguese navigator and explorer Ferdinand Magellan landed there in 1521. The Marianas became the first European colony in Micronesia in 1668, when Spain took control of the island chain. In 1670 the indigenous Chamorro people rebelled, and a quarter century of sporadic warfare followed. That conflict, along with diseases introduced by Europeans, reduced the local population from about 100,000 to 4,000

The region of Micronesia lies between the Philippines and Hawaii and encompasses more than 2,000 islands, most of which are small and many of which are found in clusters. The region includes, from west to east, Palau (also known as Belau), Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (which include Saipan), the Federated States of Micronesia (which include Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae), the Marshall Islands (which include Enewetak, Bikini, Rongelap, Kwajalein, and Majuro), Nauru, and Kiribati (formerly the Gilbert Islands, and which includes Banaba, formerly Ocean Island). Located for the most part north of the Equator, Micronesia (from Greek mikros ‘small’ and nēsoi ‘islands’) includes the westernmost of the Pacific Islands.

Most of the islands that make up Micronesia are low coral atolls, although the western edge of the region includes high islands formed by volcanic activity or geological uplifting. The region’s inherent scarcity of land, potential for drought, and exposure to cyclones are constant realities confronting its inhabitants. Traditionally, the residents of atolls were especially mobile; they maintained extensive interisland exchange networks, in part because of the precarious nature of living on low islets.

Micronesia has a complicated colonial history. Guam, the southernmost of the Mariana Islands, became the first inhabited Pacific island to be visited by a European when the Portuguese navigator and explorer Ferdinand Magellan landed there in 1521. The Marianas became the first European colony in Micronesia in 1668, when Spain took control of the island chain. In 1670 the indigenous Chamorro people rebelled, and a quarter century of sporadic warfare followed. That conflict, along with diseases introduced by Europeans, reduced the local population from about 100,000 to 4,000

Banff National Park trends northwest to southeast along the line of the Canadian Rockies between Alberta and British Columbia. Its terrain is largely rugged and mountainous, with the majority of the land consisting of high alpine peaks of the Main Ranges section of the Rockies, particularly in its western section along the Continental Divide. Most of the rest of the land is designated as subalpine or montane landscape and lies in the Front Ranges. The mountains in the region are composed of limestone, shale, and other sedimentary rocks such as dolomite and have a toothlike appearance as the result of glaciation. Many peaks rise above 10,000 feet including Mount Columbia on the park’s western border in the Ten Peaks region, which reaches 11,365 feet, and Mount Sir Douglas in the far southeast, with an elevation of 11,175 feet. Banff contains active glaciers, including a portion of the extensive Columbia Icefield to the north, and montane wetlands and meadows, such as the valleys of the Bow and Red Deer rivers. The park is also noted for its beautiful alpine lakes, particularly Lake Louise, stretching north-easterly from Mount Columbia, and, a short distance to the south, Moraine Lake.

The region has a cool montane climate that varies considerably with location and elevation. Summers are moderately warm, with daytime highs in July and August of about 22 °C at the town of Banff and frequent afternoon thundershowers. Winters are long, snowy, and cold, with night-time lows reaching about −15 °C in January; periodic cold snaps can send temperatures much lower. Snow generally falls from late September to May, with total seasonal accumulations of some 10 feet.

Banff National Park trends northwest to southeast along the line of the Canadian Rockies between Alberta and British Columbia. Its terrain is largely rugged and mountainous, with the majority of the land consisting of high alpine peaks of the Main Ranges section of the Rockies, particularly in its western section along the Continental Divide. Most of the rest of the land is designated as subalpine or montane landscape and lies in the Front Ranges. The mountains in the region are composed of limestone, shale, and other sedimentary rocks such as dolomite and have a toothlike appearance as the result of glaciation. Many peaks rise above 10,000 feet including Mount Columbia on the park’s western border in the Ten Peaks region, which reaches 11,365 feet, and Mount Sir Douglas in the far southeast, with an elevation of 11,175 feet. Banff contains active glaciers, including a portion of the extensive Columbia Icefield to the north, and montane wetlands and meadows, such as the valleys of the Bow and Red Deer rivers. The park is also noted for its beautiful alpine lakes, particularly Lake Louise, stretching north-easterly from Mount Columbia, and, a short distance to the south, Moraine Lake.

The region has a cool montane climate that varies considerably with location and elevation. Summers are moderately warm, with daytime highs in July and August of about 22 °C at the town of Banff and frequent afternoon thundershowers. Winters are long, snowy, and cold, with night-time lows reaching about −15 °C in January; periodic cold snaps can send temperatures much lower. Snow generally falls from late September to May, with total seasonal accumulations of some 10 feet.

Banff National Park trends northwest to southeast along the line of the Canadian Rockies between Alberta and British Columbia. Its terrain is largely rugged and mountainous, with the majority of the land consisting of high alpine peaks of the Main Ranges section of the Rockies, particularly in its western section along the Continental Divide. Most of the rest of the land is designated as subalpine or montane landscape and lies in the Front Ranges. The mountains in the region are composed of limestone, shale, and other sedimentary rocks such as dolomite and have a toothlike appearance as the result of glaciation. Many peaks rise above 10,000 feet including Mount Columbia on the park’s western border in the Ten Peaks region, which reaches 11,365 feet, and Mount Sir Douglas in the far southeast, with an elevation of 11,175 feet. Banff contains active glaciers, including a portion of the extensive Columbia Icefield to the north, and montane wetlands and meadows, such as the valleys of the Bow and Red Deer rivers. The park is also noted for its beautiful alpine lakes, particularly Lake Louise, stretching north-easterly from Mount Columbia, and, a short distance to the south, Moraine Lake.

The region has a cool montane climate that varies considerably with location and elevation. Summers are moderately warm, with daytime highs in July and August of about 22 °C at the town of Banff and frequent afternoon thundershowers. Winters are long, snowy, and cold, with night-time lows reaching about −15 °C in January; periodic cold snaps can send temperatures much lower. Snow generally falls from late September to May, with total seasonal accumulations of some 10 feet.

Laurence Olivier, in full Laurence Kerr Olivier, was a towering figure of the British stage and screen, acclaimed in his lifetime as the greatest English-speaking actor of the 20th century. He was the first member of his profession to be elevated to a life peerage.

The son of an Anglican minister, Olivier attended All Saints Choir School, where at age nine he made his theatrical debut as Brutus in an abridgement of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Five years later he played the female lead in The Taming of the Shrew at Oxford’s St. Edward’s School, repeating this performance at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. These early stage appearances did not go unnoticed by the theatrical notables of the era, who encouraged Olivier to consider acting as a profession. At first, he dismissed the notion, hoping to follow the example of his older brother by managing an Indian rubber plantation; but his father, who had heretofore been ambivalent on the subject of acting, all but demanded that young Laurence embark upon a stage career.

Olivier enrolled at the Central School of Dramatic Art in 1924, then began his professional career with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company. In 1929 he made his first significant West End appearance, playing the title role in a staging of P.C. Wren’s Beau Geste. Also, that year he made his Broadway debut in Murder on the Second Floor. Having acted in British films from 1930, he was briefly signed by Hollywood’s RKO Radio Pictures in 1931, but he failed to make much of an impression at this early date. What could have been his first Hollywood break in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s Queen Christina (1933) was scuttled when star Greta Garbo vetoed Olivier as her leading man in favour of her former lover John Gilbert.

(Adapted from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Laurence-Olivier)

Laurence Olivier, in full Laurence Kerr Olivier, was a towering figure of the British stage and screen, acclaimed in his lifetime as the greatest English-speaking actor of the 20th century. He was the first member of his profession to be elevated to a life peerage.

The son of an Anglican minister, Olivier attended All Saints Choir School, where at age nine he made his theatrical debut as Brutus in an abridgement of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Five years later he played the female lead in The Taming of the Shrew at Oxford’s St. Edward’s School, repeating this performance at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. These early stage appearances did not go unnoticed by the theatrical notables of the era, who encouraged Olivier to consider acting as a profession. At first, he dismissed the notion, hoping to follow the example of his older brother by managing an Indian rubber plantation; but his father, who had heretofore been ambivalent on the subject of acting, all but demanded that young Laurence embark upon a stage career.

Olivier enrolled at the Central School of Dramatic Art in 1924, then began his professional career with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company. In 1929 he made his first significant West End appearance, playing the title role in a staging of P.C. Wren’s Beau Geste. Also, that year he made his Broadway debut in Murder on the Second Floor. Having acted in British films from 1930, he was briefly signed by Hollywood’s RKO Radio Pictures in 1931, but he failed to make much of an impression at this early date. What could have been his first Hollywood break in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s Queen Christina (1933) was scuttled when star Greta Garbo vetoed Olivier as her leading man in favour of her former lover John Gilbert.

(Adapted from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Laurence-Olivier)

Dawes General Allotment Act, also called Dawes Severalty Act, (February 8, 1887), was a U.S. law providing for the distribution of Indian reservation land among individual Native Americans, with the aim of creating responsible farmers in the white man’s image. It was sponsored in several sessions of Congress by Sen. Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts and finally was enacted in February 1887. Under its terms, the president determined the suitability of the recipients and issued the grants, usually by a formula of 160 acres (65 hectares) to each head of household and 80 acres (32 hectares) to each unmarried adult, with the stipulation that no grantee could alienate his land for 25 years. The Native Americans who thus received land became U.S. citizens, subject to federal, state, and local laws. The original supporters of the act were genuinely interested in the welfare of the Native Americans, but there were not enough votes in Congress to pass it until it was amended to provide that any land remaining after the allotment to the Native Americans would be available for public sale. The combined influence of friends of the Native Americans and land speculators assured passage of the act.

 Under the Dawes Act, Native American life deteriorated in a manner not anticipated by its sponsors. The social structure of the tribe was weakened; many nomadic Native Americans were unable to adjust to an agricultural existence; others were swindled out of their property; and life on the reservation came to be characterized by disease, filth, poverty, and despondency. The act also provided that any “surplus” land be made available to whites, who by 1932 had acquired two-thirds of the 138,000,000 acres Native Americans had held in 1887.

(Adapted from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dawes-General-Allotment-Act)

Dawes General Allotment Act, also called Dawes Severalty Act, (February 8, 1887), was a U.S. law providing for the distribution of Indian reservation land among individual Native Americans, with the aim of creating responsible farmers in the white man’s image. It was sponsored in several sessions of Congress by Sen. Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts and finally was enacted in February 1887. Under its terms, the president determined the suitability of the recipients and issued the grants, usually by a formula of 160 acres (65 hectares) to each head of household and 80 acres (32 hectares) to each unmarried adult, with the stipulation that no grantee could alienate his land for 25 years. The Native Americans who thus received land became U.S. citizens, subject to federal, state, and local laws. The original supporters of the act were genuinely interested in the welfare of the Native Americans, but there were not enough votes in Congress to pass it until it was amended to provide that any land remaining after the allotment to the Native Americans would be available for public sale. The combined influence of friends of the Native Americans and land speculators assured passage of the act.

Under the Dawes Act, Native American life deteriorated in a manner not anticipated by its sponsors. The social structure of the tribe was weakened; many nomadic Native Americans were unable to adjust to an agricultural existence; others were swindled out of their property; and life on the reservation came to be characterized by disease, filth, poverty, and despondency. The act also provided that any “surplus” land be made available to whites, who by 1932 had acquired two-thirds of the 138,000,000 acres Native Americans had held in 1887.

(Adapted from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dawes-General-Allotment-Act)

Joseph Haydn was an Austrian composer who was one of the most important figures in the development of the Classical style in music during the 18th century.

Haydn was the second son of humble parents. His father was a wheelwright, his mother, before her marriage, a cook for the lords of the village. Haydn early revealed unusual musical gifts, and a cousin who was a school principal and choirmaster in the nearby city of Hainburg offered to take him into his home and train him. Haydn, not yet six years old, left home, never to return to the parental cottage except for rare brief visits.

The young Haydn sang in the church choir, learned to play various instruments, and obtained a good basic knowledge of music. But his life changed decisively when he was eight years old. The musical director of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna had observed the boy on a visit to Hainburg and invited him to serve as chorister at the Austrian capital’s most important church. Haydn’s parents accepted the offer, and thus in 1740 Haydn moved to Vienna. He stayed at the choir school for nine years, acquiring an enormous practical knowledge of music by constant performances but, to his disappointment, received little instruction in music theory. However, when his voice changed, he was expelled from both the cathedral choir and the choir school.

With no money and few possessions, Haydn at 17 was left to his own devices. He found refuge for a while in the garret of a fellow musician and supported himself “miserably” with odd musical jobs. A fortunate chance brought him to the attention of the Italian composer and singing teacher Nicola Porpora, who accepted him as accompanist for voice lessons and corrected Haydn’s compositions.

Joseph Haydn was an Austrian composer who was one of the most important figures in the development of the Classical style in music during the 18th century.

Haydn was the second son of humble parents. His father was a wheelwright, his mother, before her marriage, a cook for the lords of the village. Haydn early revealed unusual musical gifts, and a cousin who was a school principal and choirmaster in the nearby city of Hainburg offered to take him into his home and train him. Haydn, not yet six years old, left home, never to return to the parental cottage except for rare brief visits.

The young Haydn sang in the church choir, learned to play various instruments, and obtained a good basic knowledge of music. But his life changed decisively when he was eight years old. The musical director of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna had observed the boy on a visit to Hainburg and invited him to serve as chorister at the Austrian capital’s most important church. Haydn’s parents accepted the offer, and thus in 1740 Haydn moved to Vienna. He stayed at the choir school for nine years, acquiring an enormous practical knowledge of music by constant performances but, to his disappointment, received little instruction in music theory. However, when his voice changed, he was expelled from both the cathedral choir and the choir school.

With no money and few possessions, Haydn at 17 was left to his own devices. He found refuge for a while in the garret of a fellow musician and supported himself “miserably” with odd musical jobs. A fortunate chance brought him to the attention of the Italian composer and singing teacher Nicola Porpora, who accepted him as accompanist for voice lessons and corrected Haydn’s compositions.

Ivan the Terrible was a grand prince of Moscow and the first to be proclaimed tsar of Russia (from 1547). His reign saw the completion of the construction of a centrally administered Russian state and the creation of an empire that included non-Slav states. Ivan engaged in prolonged and largely unsuccessful wars against Sweden and Poland, and, in seeking to impose military discipline and a centralized administration, he instituted a reign of terror against the hereditary nobility.

Ivan was the son of Grand Prince Vasily III of Moscow and his second wife, Yelena Glinskaya. He was to become the penultimate representative of the Rurik dynasty. On December 4, 1533, immediately after his father’s death, the three-year-old Ivan was proclaimed grand prince of Moscow. His mother ruled in Ivan’s name until her death (allegedly by poison) in 1538. The deaths of both of Ivan’s parents served to reanimate the struggles of various factions of nobles for control of the person of the young prince and for power. The years 1538–47 were thus a period of murderous strife among the clans of the warrior caste commonly termed “boyars.” Their continual struggles for the reins of government to the detriment of the realm made a profound impression on Ivan and imbued him with a lifelong dislike of the boyars.

Collectivization was policy adopted by the Soviet government, pursued most intensively between 1929 and 1933, to transform traditional agriculture in the Soviet Union and to reduce the economic power of the kulaks (prosperous peasants). Under collectivization the peasantry was forced to give up their individual farms and join large collective farms (kolkhozy). The process was ultimately undertaken in conjunction with the campaign to industrialize the Soviet Union rapidly. But before the drive began, long and bitter debates over the nature and pace of collectivization went on among the Soviet leaders—especially between Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky in 1925–27 and between Stalin and Nikolay Bukharin in 1927–29.

Some Soviet leaders considered collective farms a socialist form of land tenure and therefore desirable; but they advocated a gradual transition to them in order to avoid disrupting the agricultural productivity necessary to stimulate industrial growth. Other leaders favoured rapid industrialization and, consequently, wanted immediate, forced collectivization; they argued not only that the large kolkhozy could use heavy machinery more efficiently and produce larger crops than could numerous small, individual farms but that they could be controlled more effectively by the state. As a result, they could be forced to sell a large proportion of their output to the state at low government prices, thereby enabling the state to acquire the capital necessary for the development of heavy industry.

Collectivization was policy adopted by the Soviet government, pursued most intensively between 1929 and 1933, to transform traditional agriculture in the Soviet Union and to reduce the economic power of the kulaks (prosperous peasants). Under collectivization the peasantry was forced to give up their individual farms and join large collective farms (kolkhozy). The process was ultimately undertaken in conjunction with the campaign to industrialize the Soviet Union rapidly. But before the drive began, long and bitter debates over the nature and pace of collectivization went on among the Soviet leaders—especially between Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky in 1925–27 and between Stalin and Nikolay Bukharin in 1927–29.

Some Soviet leaders considered collective farms a socialist form of land tenure and therefore desirable; but they advocated a gradual transition to them in order to avoid disrupting the agricultural productivity necessary to stimulate industrial growth. Other leaders favoured rapid industrialization and, consequently, wanted immediate, forced collectivization; they argued not only that the large kolkhozy could use heavy machinery more efficiently and produce larger crops than could numerous small, individual farms but that they could be controlled more effectively by the state. As a result, they could be forced to sell a large proportion of their output to the state at low government prices, thereby enabling the state to acquire the capital necessary for the development of heavy industry.