What Is a Fish?

All types of fish live in water, and almost all of them breathe through gills. Most of them also have scales and fish. The Entire fish family is classified into three categories: jawless, cartilaginous, and bony.

Jawless

Jawless fish are the most ancient type of fish living today. A good example of jawless fish is the lamprey. Lampreys look a lot like eels, except for their jawless, sucking mouths which have sharp teeth.

Cartilaginous

Cartilaginous fish, as their name suggests, have bones made of cartilage, a tough, flexible connective tissue. Good examples of this type of fish include sharks, skates and rays.

Bony

The largest groups of the three, bony fish are distinguished by the bone-laden structure of their bodies. Their scales are made of fine bony platelets that overlap each other. Also, a bony jacket covers their gills, and their skeletal structure is composed entirely of bone. A good example of bony fish is the trout.

This is a very basic grouping of types of fish. With over 450 million years of evolution, the fish family is one of the most varied families in the animal kingdom, thus allowing it to be classified in many ways.

The Kind Swan and The Poor Duck

One beautiful summer’s day, a swan decided to go to the river for a picnic. She took a lot of food with her, and was looking forward to eating it. She sat down on the river bank and spread the food out in front of her.

“You’re not going to eat all that food yourself, are you?” Said a small voice.

She looked up and saw a duck sitting at the water’s edge.

“Please give me some of it. I’m very poor and hungry, “ Pleased the poor duck wiping a tear from his eye.

She gave him a sandwich. To her surprise he did not eat it, but simply put it on the ground beside him.

“Won’t you give me something else? After all, my need is greater than yours.”

Bit by bit, the kind-hearted swan handed over most of her food:cakes and biscuits, apples and sweets. Soon, the duck had a huge pile of food next to him. With an effort he picked it all up, put it on his back and started to swim across the river. But the food was so heavy. Then, he sank like a stone, and the swan never saw him again.

The Miser and His Purse

There was once lived a miser. One day he want to go shopping. He had a thousand rupees in his purse. As he was stepping into a shop, he felt for the purse in his pocket. He could not find it. “It must have dropped when I took out my handkerchief,” he thought. He hurried back along the street, looking for his purse. He could not find it. He was in great distress.

The miser rushed to the town crier and sought his help. “You must offer a reward to the person who finds the purse, “said the town crier, “or you won’t get your purse back.” The miser offered a reward of fifty rupees. The crier made the announcement.

The next day, a farmer came to the miser’s home. “I found this purse near the lamp-post over there,” said the farmer. “Does it belong to you?”

“Yes,” said the miser, and he counted the money in that purse. “Thank you very much for returning my purse,” he added. But he did not give the farmer his reward.

“May I have my reward?” asked the farmer.

“There was a sum of one thousand and fifty rupees in my purse,” replied the miser. “Now I find only one thousands rupees. You have already taken your reward.”

“But I haven’t taken any money from the purse,” said the farmer.

“You are lying,” shouted the miser and he left the farmer.

The farmer was vey angry. Then he went to the court of law. The judge heard the case and sent for the miser. He took the purse and examined it.

The court session was going to start. When the judgeman asked some questions to the miser, he explained directly, “There was a sum of one thousand and fifty rupees in my purse. And in the day of returning back my purse by that farmer, I find only one thousands rupees. I believe that that farmer have already taken my money.”

Then, the judgeman asked the miser, “You said that there was a sum of one thousand and fifty rupees in your purse, don’t you?”, the judge continued “This purse contains only one thousand rupees. So the purse can’t be yours.” And finally he gave the purse to the farmer.

The Adventure of John

I have a friend, his name was John, he lives not far from my house. He is very rich farmer, the richest in my village. Our neighbors like him because he is very kind and not stingy. He has a friend, Billy, a business companion who lives in a big city. Every month he visits John for business. He is a successful businessman.

One morning, he came to meet John. He said, “Friend, what do you think of accompanying me in a long journey for pleasure?” “No problem,” Johny answered. “But when?” he asked. “Now,” Billy replied. “OK. You said a long journey, but how will we go?” Billy said. “We’ll go by air.” “Oh no, please. I’m afraid of travelling by air. You know that newspapers are always reporting accidents, especially when taking off and landing,” said John. “Don’t worry friend, we’ll use my private plane and I will be the pilot. Will you trust me?” said Billy. “OK, let’s go,” replied John.

They went to the city and after a short sightseeing trip and lunch, they headed to the airport. Arriving there, they walked to the runway. Billy started the engine and John became nervous. He closed his eyes tightly and began to pray. Although he scared, but he tried to hide his fear. Some minutes passed and John opened his eyes. He thanked God for the safe flight. Surprisingly he said to billy, “Hi Billy, look down there, the people are as small as ants.” “Be calm friend, they are ants, we are still on the ground.” Billy chuckled when he looks John totally embarasses.

THIS HOUSE WOULD SUPPORT HOME SCHOOLING

Nowadays, a lot of children study at school. They have to wake up ealry in the morning, wear formal uniform, and use public transportations to go to their school every day. Do you think that it brings a lot of benefits? I don’t think so. In my opinion, children should be educated at home or do the home schooling. And later in this essay, I will tell you about the reasons why children should be educated at home.

First, The government would save a lot of money. It would not need to build schools and pay teachers. Neither would it need to pay electricity and water bills or pay more books and teaching materials. The money saved could be used to pay for more important things such as medical research, hospital upgrading and food for homeless.

Second, Technology has improved so much that children can learn just as well at home, using computers. Parent could be trained to show children how to use the internet for learning.

Third, There would be fewer distractions at home. When children are placed in noisy classrooms, they cannot learn very much. On the other hand, in the peace and quiet of their own home they can learn a lot more.

Next, There would be no bullying. Some children are so upset by bullying in school that they experience learning difficulties. They cannot concentrate as they are worries about what the bullies will do to them. However, this would not be a problem in the child’s own home.

Then, Children would be safer when they do not have to travel to school. Both parents and children would no longer have fears of traffic accident on the way to school or on the way home. Parents would not have to worry about their children talking to strangers.

For the benefit of all children, I would urge parents and the government to seriously consider allowing children to be educated at home

The Golden Cup

There was once a lady who had one little daughter, and this daughter had a beautiful golden cup. Now one day the lady was going out to visit her friends, and her little daughter asked if she might go too. Her mother said, "No, dear, I cannot take you now, but you can have your golden cup to play with until I come back."

When the mother had gone the little girl said to the maid, "Fetch me my golden cup out of the cupboard."

The maid said, "I can't fetch it now, I am too busy."

But the little girl, kept asking for the cup again and again, until at last the maid grew angry, and said, "If you ask for it again I'll cut your head off."

But the little girl asked for the cup once more, and thereupon the maid took her into the cellar, got the hatchet, and cut her head off. Then she got a pickaxe and a spade, and dug a hole, and buried the little girl under one of the stone flags in the cellar.

When the mother came back in the evening she said, "Where's baby?"

The maid said, "I have let her go out for a walk."

"Then go and seek her," said the mother.

The maid went out, and when she came back she said, "I have looked for her everywhere and cannot find her."

Then the mother was deeply grieved, and she sat up all the night, and all the next night. On the third night as she sat alone and wide awake she heard the voice of her daughter outside the door saying, "Can I have my golden cup?"

The mother opened the door, and when her daughter had repeated the question three times she saw her spirit, but the spirit vanished at once, and she never saw it anymore.

Food from around the world

Food is now international. We can eat burgers anywhere in the world today, but they started in the United States. The Americans were the first produce ‘fast food’. Pizza was an Italian recipe but it became popular in the United States and spread from there all over the world. Other famous Italian recipe like ‘spaghetti Bolognese’. It also spread for all over the world. It is a simple food with A great bolognese sauce, on the gentle side of spicy, make it very full taste. ‘french fries’ is the American name for fried chipped potatoes which in England are called ‘chips’. And here are the others food that have a good rating in United States such as ‘Beef and vegetables casserole’ which is Long, slow cooking means the vegetables almost dissolve into this casserole, ‘Spicy roasted parsnip soup’ -Aromatic flavors transform the ordinary parsnip into a delicious warming soup-

Do you have Indian or Chinese restaurants where you live? In Chinese food, the meat, fish and vegetables are cut into small pieces and cooked very lightly. Indian food, on the other hand, is cooked slowly, with a lot of hot spices. Mexican food is very spicy too. The countries of the Eastern Mediterranean also like food with a strong taste. They gave us ‘kebabs’, pieces of meat cooked on long sticks, and many different kind of salad. Also ‘Creamy masala chicken’, A mild chicken curry with oodles of flavour and ‘Mediterranean chicken with roasted vegetables’, a healthy dish, full of sunshine flavours

Asian foods are also delicious and interested. ‘Pad Thai’, Almost a national dish of Thailand, and very authentic tasting. ‘Chicken satay’ which is favored in Indonesia, makes from small pieces of chicken and three of its slice sticks to a palm leaf rib.

And what other national dishes do you know? English people still enjoy their ‘fish and chips’ which you can buy in take-away and eat straight from the paper. In spain, a ‘paella’ is a family favorite which is a dish of rice with different kinds of seafood. And a Italian meal usually includes a dish of pasta with a delicious sauce.

If you can’t travel to these countries, try a restaurant. If you can’t do that, buy a recipe book and cook something different at home!

SPORTS

People have always enjoyed sports. In the early Olympic Games in Greece, about three thousand years ago, men ran in races. Then later, athletes also competed in jumping and throwing. The Romans loved chariot-racing, when men drove chariots with horses. And people crowded the stadium to watch men fighting-not boxing matches like today, but gladiators fighting each other or even wild animals.

Football began early too, perhaps over two thousand years ago in China. It became a popular sport all over the world. In England, hundreds of people played football together in two teams. Even with smaller teams it was a dangerous game. In 1863, rules were made to control the game. Rugby football, with different rules, began in 1823 when it was played at Rugby School in England.

Hockey is another game which began in England. Lacrosse, which was an American Indian game, first became popular in Canada. Cricket, the favorite summer game in England, began in the 16^th century. At the same time, at the court of King Henry VIII, people played a kind of tennis, with racket and ball but indoors.

What Are Clouds?

Clouds are water vapour condensed into minute water particles which float in masses in atmosphere. There are three main types of clouds, Classified according to the height at which they occur. Clouds were first named by English chemist Luke Howard in 1803, a pioneer of meteorology. The types he names were cirrus, cumulus and stratus.

Cirrus clouds

Cirrus Clouds are usually high and appear as delicate whitish threads against a blue sky. Because of their height, they are composed of ice crystals and not of water droplets.

Cumulus clouds

Cumulus clouds typically have a rounded appearance and sometimes reach 20.00 feet into the sky. They are often characterized by having an anvil shape in the center of the cloud.

Stratus clouds

Stratus clouds are layers of cloud which can form at any height and tend to cover the whole sky. Often, the sky is overcast and the sun is probably completely concealed

This is the basic grouping of type of clouds. The ever-changing cloud formations are an important aspect of meteorology and clouds can be further described in many ways.

A farmer and his four sons

Once upon a time. There was a rich farmer who had four sons. His wife was dead.

He loved the first son the most and always treated him to delicacies. He took care of him and gave him the best.

He also loved the second son very much. He's very proud of his second son and always wanted to show him to his friends because he had a strong and health body. However, the men is protect him so much.

He loved his third son too. This third son is a very considerate person, always patient and he was the farmer's confidant. Whenever the father faced some problems, the third son always help him to solve the farmer’s problem.

The men’s fourth son is a very loyal person and has great contributions in maintaining the farmer’s wealth. However, the farmer did not like the fourth because the fourth son was skinny and ugly. And although he loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of the farmer.

When the farmer’s sons grew up in to adult. They had married all, except the fourth son.

One day, the farmer fell ill. And he knew that he was going to die soon. He thought of his luxurious life and told himself, "Now I have four sons with me. But when I die, I'll be alone. How lonely I'll be!"

Then the farmer called his four sons to gather at his bed.

He asked the first son, “will you keep me until I die?”. "No way!" replied the first son and he walked away with his wife without another word.

The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the farmer's heart.

The sad farmer then asked the second son with the same question, " will you keep me until I die? "

"No!" replied the second son. "Life is so good over here with my wife!” The farmer's heart sank and turned cold.

Then he asked the third son, "You always helped me out. Now I need your help again, will you keep me until I die?” "I'm sorry, I can't help you this time! My wife was pregnant" replied the third son. "At the very most, I can only send you to your grave." The answer came like a bolt of thunder.

Then a voice came, "I'll keep you as long as I can." The farmer looked up and there was his fourth son. He was so skinny, like he suffered from malnutrition.

Greatly, the farmer said, "I will have take much care of you while I can! Thank you my beloved son. I feel sorry"

“No problem my dad, I love you”.

Finally, the fourth son took care the farmer until the farmer died.

the story about a naughty boy

This story is about a boy from a small village in the mountains. This boy was very naughty. He lived only with his father. For many times, he dropped out from his school because of his bad attitude. Then his father asked him to look after his father’s sheep in the field. First, the boy was fun with this job, but then he felt that the job was boring. He asked to his father to get him school again. Because his father was tired with his bad attitude, his father didn’t enter him again to school but still with the boy’s job, looked after the father’s sheep from the morning until evening.

One day, the boy had an idea for a joke to play on the people on the village. He shouted “Wolf! Wolf! Help! A wolf is killing our sheep”.

The people of the village ran to the place. But there was no wolf in that field. Then, one of them asked the boy, “Hey, where was the wolf? I don’t see any wolf in here”.

The boy laughed and said, “Hahaha, actually I just want to play and laugh. There was no wolf in here, I’m just kidding”.

Heard that freak and innocent statement, the people of the village were very angry, but they just walked into their home with that angry feeling.

Then one day, the boy was with the sheep. He took a rest on the grass under a big leafy tree. He sat while gave some food for the sheep. A moment later, he felt sleepy. When he wanted to sleep on the grass, he saw a very big wolf. The big wolf walked close to him and the father’s sheep. Then he shouted “Wolf! Wolf! Help! Come and help me, please”. But there was nobody came. Then he shouted again with louder voice, “Wolf! Wolf! Heeeelp, help me please!”. But the people in the village thought, “Oh yes, it is him again. There isn’t a wolf”. And so they didn’t go to help the boy. Finally, the wolf killed all the sheep. Since that accident, they boy didn’t want to do the ignorant things like he had did before.

Going, going, going extinct.. can we save the world?

All over the world we are loosing biodiversity. There are many species which are very close to extinction : the rafflesia flowers, the beluga whale, the giant panda, the grey wolf, the African elephant, the African black rhino and the gorilla.

The problem of endangered species is bad and it is getting worse. Scientists think we are losing twenty to thirty species of plants and animals everyday.

However, perhaps the most spectacular of all animals in danger of extinction is the magnificent tiger, the largest cat on the planet.

Tigers can be up to 4 meters long and over a meter high, weighing up to 225 kilos and they have beautiful orange fur with black or brown stripes. They hunt animals like wild pigs, deer, an buffalo and can eat as much as 40 kilos of met in one meal.

Fifty years ago there were between 25000 and 30000 tigers in Asia but this number has fallen to between 5000 and 7000. Since the 1980s, the conservation program “Operation Tiger” has tried to save the Indian tiger by establishing national parks or reserves. Unfortunately, the tiger’s body is in enormous demand for traditional Chinese medicine and illegal hunters can get up to $20000, for a dead tiger. Also their habitat is disappearing because poor farmers are cutting wood at reserves like Ranthambhore National Park in India.

People have suggested different ways to save biodiversity. We can establish nature reserves or national parks, like the Wolong Mountain Reserves, the last home of the giant panda. We can recycle rubbish and reduce damage to our environment. New technology may help us to reduce pollution. We can control hunting and the sale of animals skin and bodies.

In the future, one way to save endangered species and perhaps to bring back extinct animals maybe to clone them. Cloning is special way of copying the genes of living or dead animals to grow a new animal. This has already happened. In 1996 scientists cloned a sheep.

So, we have to save our biodiversity. If we cannot stop the hunting or protect its habitat, in the next few years many endangered species will disappear forever.

Charles Darwin

Charles darwin was born in 1809 in a small town in England. When he was young, he decided that he wanted to study botany and geology. In 1831, he joined an expedition in Patagonia in South America. Darwin sailed on the British ship, the Beagle, as a scientists. It was his job to collect and record information about the rocks, plants, and animals in South America.

The Beagle sailed across the Atlantic and reached Bahia (now Salvador) in Brazil in spring 1832. Darwin was amazed by the brilliant colors of the flowers and birds he saw. Then they sailed south along the coast. They stopped at places like Montevideo and Buenos Aires. Darwin travelled to the pampas of Argentina and lived among the gauchos. In Patagonia he found fossils of animals which are now extinct.

They sailed to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America and then north along the cost of Chile. Darwin always wrote his notes and collected rocks, fossils, plants, bird, animals and shells everywhere. In September 1835, the Beagle reached the Galapagos Island in the Pacific Ocean, 1000 kilometers west of Equador. Darwin was excited to find very different plants and animals on these Islands.

Darwin arrived home in October 1836. during his long voyage he saw many exciting things. He had a lot of questions in his mind. For twenty years he thought and wrote. He finally published his book “The Origin of Species” in 1859. His ideas of evolution changed our world.