The Last Frontier

 The Last Frontier

    Many people claim that space is the last frontier. By this they mean that every country on Earth has already been discovered and explored. To be true explorers, they say, we must journey to distant planets.

    While it may be true that space is an open frontier, plenty of frontier still exists here on our planet. This is because the deepest spots of our planet, deep areas beneath the oceans, are still unexplored. The average depth of the world's oceans is 12,200 feet, but parts of the ocean plunge much deeper. The deepest known spot is in the western Pacific and is 36,198 feet below sea level.

    Divers can go only so far with the deep sea breathing equipment we have today. To really reach the ocean's depths, people need to travel in special vehicles especially built for underwater exploration. Only a handful of people have done that.

    We know that plant life is rare deep below the ocean's surface. That's because sunlight is necessary for plant survival and solar rays can penetrate only about 600 feet below the surface of the water. Deeper than that, the waters are completely dark and plants are unable to survive.

    We know that some animals have adapted to life in the dark by becoming luminous, giving off a glow. Other creatures have become scavengers, feeding on whatever drops to the ocean floor. But these are just scattered pieces of information. Perhaps one day we will uncover even more secrets of the deep sea.

Bending in the Wind

 Bending in the Wind

    When people began constructing skyscrapers, they had to consider the effect that wind would have on their buildings. Imagine standing at the end of a diving board. Think about how the board bends under your weight.

    Similar to how your weight causes the board to bend, strong winds can cause tall buildings to bend. The taller the building is, the worse the problem. This was the challenge that the designers of the Sears Tower in Chicago faced in the 1970s. They wanted to build the tallest building in the world. Yet they knew that Chicago was called the "Windy City" for a reason.

    The designers of the building thought of a creative solution to this problem. To understand the idea, think of a pencil. You know that you could break the pencil if you wanted to. However, imagine trying to break nine pencils bundled together. This bundle would be stronger and sturdier than a single pencil and more difficult to break.

    This was the idea behind the construction of the Sears Tower. The building is made up of bundles, or tubes, of steel. The tubes are connected by steel, and offices are located inside these tubes.

    At 1,450 feet, the Sears Tower is still one of the tallest buildings in the world. Visitors who ride the elevator to the top often remark that they can see for miles, and some say they can feel the building sway. They can be thankful that the building was designed for windy days.

Art on the Wall

 Art on the Wall

    Humberto sighed disgustedly as he looked at the spray-painted images that again covered the wall of his school. The custodians always repainted the wall whenever vandalism occurred, but Humberto was frustrated with this cycle. He wondered if painting a mural on the wall would deter more images from appearing on his school. Humberto presented his idea to his friend Justin, who suggested that they approach their principal for permission to paint a mural on the wall.

    The principal fully supported their idea, but noted that completing a project this large would require many volunteers. With their parents' help, Humberto and Justin organized a large group of volunteers to work on the mural. At their principal's suggestion, they asked the art teacher, Ms. Huerta, to design the mural.

    Ms. Huerta designed a beautiful scene showing students helping each other, with the school's name spelled out in the clouds over their heads. The design was projected onto the wall and the lines were carefully traced by many hands. Finally, small paint brushes and cans of paint were handed out and color was added to the scene.

    Over the next few weeks, the number of volunteers grew until there was not enough room for all of the painters, so some of the extra volunteers cleaned up litter and planted new flowers. When the project was complete, Humberto and Justin viewed the mural and school grounds with satisfaction. They also noted with pride that the school was never vandalized again.

A Project for Kevin

 A Project for Kevin

    For months, Kevin's mother had shared stories about her work at the children's hospital. Each week, she collected books to take to the hospital. Then she wheeled a cart to each room and gave the children books to read. Sometimes she read to them, and sometimes they read to her. "Reading aloud builds confidence," she explained.

    Kevin was not allowed to accompany his mother to the children's rooms, but he was eager to find a way to help her. "What can I do?" he asked. His mother suggested that he make a poster for his classmates that explained about the hospital's program. They could help collect books for the children, too.

    The next day, Kevin's teacher allowed him to put up a colorful poster he had made in his classroom. Then he told his friends about his mother's visits to the hospital. It didn't take long for his friends to respond. In just a few days, Kevin had collected more than 100 books for the patients at the hospital.

    "This is just wonderful," Kevin's mother said on the way to the hospital to drop off the books. "I'm delighted to see so many chapter books for the older kids."

    As they pulled up to the entrance to the hospital, a nurse greeted them outside. "Kevin, I want to thank you for your kindness," she said.

    "It was fun," Kevin said. "I just hope they enjoy the books."

New Pearls

 New Pearls

    With its deep white luster, the beauty of a pearl is beyond compare. Yet pearls start out as nothing more than tiny bits of matter. A grain of sand gets inside the shell of an oyster or clam. The animal then covers the sand with layers of shell-like material called mother-of-pearl. In time, a beautiful round pearl forms.

    Oyster pearls are definitely the most popular pearls because of their roundness and deep white color. But other mollusks, animals with shells, also make pearls. In fact, pearls come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. The Caribbean conch produces dazzling pink pearls. Blue, black, and yellow pearls are highly prized because they are rare.

    Some pearls are valued at thousands of dollars. This price reflects how fascinating they are. It also shows how rare they are. Divers discover a good pearl only once per thousand attempts.

    But where there is a will, there is a way. Japanese pearl collectors grew tired of depending on fortune alone to find pearls. So, they invented a process to encourage oysters to make pearls faster. They deposited a particle into the body of an oyster, and in three to five years, a decent-size cultured pearl was sure to form.

    The invention of cultured pearls opened up a new market for pearls. Previously, only very wealthy people could afford a string of natural pearls. Now, pearls are available to everyone.

A Visit to the Big Apple

 A Visit to the Big Apple

    New York City is an exciting city. It has many sites to see and places to visit. If you tour the city, start with the Empire State Building. This historic skyscraper is open to the public every day of the year. Go all the way to the top. On a clear day, you can see four other states.

    Next, visit another tourist attraction, Ellis Island. This is the place where many immigrants first entered the United States. Its museum has many tapes and photos. They tell the history of the place and the people who passed through there. The Statue of Liberty stands proudly and tall nearby in New York Harbor. The statue is more than 300 feet from the ground to the tip of the torch and is perhaps the most visited site in New York City.

    You also may want to visit some of New York's Museums. if you enjoy art, don't miss the Museum of Modern Art. It has many famous paintings and sculptures to view.

    Finally, make sure you stop by Central Park. It covers almost a thousand acres. It has baseball fields, an ice-skating rink, horse carriage rides, playgrounds, and even a small zoo.

Pompeii Yesterday and Today

 Pompeii Yesterday and Today

    Pompeii was an ancient city in southern Italy that disappeared after a nearby volcano erupted in A.D. 79. The city lay buried under layers of cinders, ashes, and stone for hundreds of years before it was rediscovered in the 1700s. Now more than three-quarters of the city has been uncovered, and much of the city looks just as it did in ancient times.

    During the disaster, lava and mud flowed into a nearby city but not into Pompeii. Instead, the city was showered with hot, wet ashes and cinders. When the ashes and cinders dried, they covered and sealed up much of the city. Only the tops of walls and columns could be seen. Later, other eruptions completely buried the city.

    Many wealthy Romans lived in ancient Pompeii. The weather in Pompeii was warm and sunny, and Romans built large villas, or homes, there to take advantage of the good climate. Many of the buildings near the center of the city had two stories. The city was surrounded by a great wall with seven gates and had a theater, many temples, a gladiators' court, and three large public baths.

    During the eruption of A.D. 79, the air was filled with poisonous gases. Many people were able to get away, but many others died in their homes or as they fled.

    Today visitors can walk in and out of houses and up and down narrow lanes, just as people did long ago. The eruption took place while the city was having an election. Visitors can still see election slogans on many walls.

The Ant and the Dove

 The Ant and the Dove

    An ant named Charlie and a dove named Doreen happened to be in the same area of the forest one afternoon. Charlie was scurrying to the edge of a fast-flowing river to get a drink of water. Bending down toward the rushing flow of water, he stretched out his neck to take a drink. In the next instant, he lost his balance and tumbled into the river.

    "Help, help!" Charlie cried as he was swept downstream by the current, but his voice was as small as his body, and the flowing water was noisy. No one heard Charlie's frantic cries.

    Doreen was perched on a tree branch that hung over the river and happened to look down just as Charlie was passing below. She saw him struggling to stay afloat, so she quickly plucked a leaf from the tree branch and dropped it into the water. Charlie was able to grab the leaf, climb aboard it with his last ounce of strength, and ride it until it was washed onto the bank of the river.

    "Thanks for your kindness," Charlie said to Doreen. "To think that a simple drink of water almost led to my destruction," He added. Then the ant and the dove parted ways.

    A few days later, Doreen was sitting on the branch of another tree. Charlie happened to be nearby and spotted his feathered friend. He was about to greet her when he noticed a fox creeping toward her. Charlie crawled as fast as he could up onto the fox's leg, where he applied a fierce bite.

    Startled by the fox's sudden yelp, Doreen quickly flew away, unaware that her friend Charlie had saved her life, just as she had saved his a few days earlier. Charlie was glad he had helped.

Life-Saving Mold

 Life-Saving Mold

    For most people, the word mold has a negative connotation. You may picture a piece of bread covered with green spots or something unclean. However, the discovery of a bacteria-killing property of a rare mold in the 1920s led to the creation of medicine that has saved millions of lives. If you have ever taken an antibiotic for an infection, then you may have taken medicine derived from this mold.

    In 1928, a scientist named Alexander Fleming was examining the bacteria growing in his Petri dishes. Fleming noticed a spot of mold growing on one of the dishes, and then noted that all the bacteria near the mold had died. Fleming decided that the mold had killed the bacteria and he began working to isolate this rare mold called Penicillian notatum. Isolating the mold was very difficult, and it was hard to get large quantities of penicillin.

    Other scientists worked on purifying penicillin and found success with their experiments. The first human patient to receive penicillin for a blood infection began to recover after initial doses, But later died once the supply of penicillin ran out. This led to further research, and methods to produce more penicillin were developed.

    Before the discovery of penicillin, millions of people died from infections. Today, many of these same infections are treated and cured by antibiotics derived from Penicillium notatum.

The Peasant and the Eagle

 The Peasant and the Eagle

    One day, a poor farmer was walking along the road toward town when he saw an eagle trapped in a cage. "What a fine bird this is," he thought. "It's a shame that this powerful creature is in a cage." With that, he lifted the latch of the cage, opened the door, and watched the eagle soar toward the sky.

    A few weeks later, the peasant left his home before dawn, pulling a heavy wagon filled with sacks of flour. He carried a bundle on his head that contained his lunch and a few coins. After several hours, he stopped by a tall stone wall and decided to rest. He sat down and leaned back against the wall. Then he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

    Suddenly, the peasant heard a shrieking noise, and before he knew it, his bundle was being snatched from his head. He looked up, and high above he spotted the eagle, holding his bundle in its sharp talons.

    With a surprised expression, the peasant watched the eagle fly a few yards away and drop the bundle to the ground. Feeling very confused, he ran toward it. "That bundle holds all the coins I own!" he shouted at the eagle. About the same time, the wall came crashing down behind him, shaking the very ground where he stood.

    The peasant was stunned for a moment. Then, when he realized that the eagle had saved his life, he was full of gratitude.