Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond. Players on one team (the batting team) take turns hitting against the pitcher of the other team (the fielding team), which tries to stop them from scoring runs by getting hitters out in any of several ways. A player on the batting team can stop at any of the bases and later advance via a teammate's hit or other means. The teams switch between batting and fielding whenever the fielding team records three outs. One turn at bat for each team constitutes an inning; nine innings make up a professional game. The team with the most runs at the end of the game wins.
Americans played a version of the English game rounders in the early 1800s which they called "Town Ball". In fact, early forms of baseball had a number of names, including "Base Ball", "Goal Ball", "Round Ball", "Fletch-catch", "stool ball", and simply "Base".

www.vikipeedia.ee

John Adams

John Adams, (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American politician and the second President of the United States (1797–1801).
Adams came to prominence in the early stages of the American Revolution. As a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress, he played a leading role in persuading Congress to adopt the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776.
On November 1, 1800, just before the election, Adams arrived in the new Capital City to take up his residence in the White House. On his second evening in its damp, unfinished rooms, he wrote his wife, "Before I end my letter, I pray Heaven to bestow the best of Blessings on this House and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof."
Adams retired to his farm in Quincy. Here he penned his elaborate letters to Thomas Jefferson. Here on July 4, 1826, he whispered his last words: "Thomas Jefferson survives." But Jefferson had died at Monticello a few hours earlier.


www.vikipeeedia.ee ; www.whitehouse.com

New York City, The Centre Of The World

New York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is one of the most popular urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment. As host of the United Nations headquarters, it is also an important center for international affairs.
The city's 2008 estimated population exceeds 8.3 million people,and with a land area of 305 square miles (790 km2), New York City is the most densely populated major city in the United States.
Many districts and landmarks in the city have become well-known to outsiders. The Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Wall Street, in Lower Manhattan, has been a dominant global financial center since World War II and is home to the New York Stock Exchange. The city has been home to several of the tallest buildings in the world, including the Empire State Building and the twin towers ( now there`s only on of them).
The City is also the home of Broadway theater.
New York is notable among American cities for its high use of mass transit, most of which runs 24 hours per day, and for the overall density and diversity of its population. In 2005, nearly 170 languages were spoken in the city and 36% of its population was born outside the United States.

www.vikipeedia.ee

Golf

Golf as we know it today originated from a game played on the eastern coast of Scotland in the Kingdom of Fife during the 15th century. Players would hit a pebble around a natural course of sand dunes, rabbit runs and tracks using a stick or primitive club. Some historians believe that Kolven from Holland and Chole from Belgium influenced the game. The latter was introduced into Scotland in 1421. However while these games and countless others are stick and ball games, they are missing that vital ingredient that is unique to golf - the hole. Whatever the argument, there can be no dispute that Scotland gave birth to the game we know as golf today.
There are many famous golf courses in Scotland, including Carnoustie, Gleneagles, Muirfield, Balcomie and Royal Troon.
Many consider golf the most significant of all Scottish inventions. Many golfers travel to Scotland specifically to take a Scottish golf tour and relive the history of golf in Scotland.

www.wikipedia.com ; www.visitscotland.com

Bagpipe Music

The bagpipes are a musical instrument. Bagpipe music is very popular in Scotland. Some people in Ireland and in Northern England also play the bagpipes.
They have a nine note chanter, two tenor drones and a bass drone.
Instrument is used in many places : clan society, army, community, pipe bands and pupils in schools. The Scottish Bagpipes are now found all over the world.
The bagpipe gets its name from its bag and its pipes. The three big pipes are called drones: the largest is the bass drone and the smaller two are tenor drones. The pipe with the holes is the chanter and the shortest pipe is the blowpipe. All of the pipes are attached to the leather bag, which is enclosed within a decorative bag cover.
Bagpipe is one of the most recognized icons of traditional music in the world.
The instrument and it`s art is what turns a loud noise into music.



I LOVE ENGLISH student`s book 4 ; http://www.scotlandsmusic.com/scottish-bagpipe.htm ; http://www.mcnabbs.org/andrew/

Loch Ness

Loch Ness is a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands. Loch Ness is the second largest Scottish loch. It is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the UK. Loch Ness is best known for the legendary Loch Ness Monster, also known as "Nessie".
Since it was first reported more than 60 years ago, hundreds claim to have witnessed the Loch Ness Monster, while one scientist after another has brought the latest technology to the loch to probe the phenomenon.
Loch Ness has also been the home to many dramatic incidents from more recent history. Aleister Crowley, the infamous occultist, lived at Boleskin House during the early twentieth century. Rumours of black magic ceremonies and secret tunnels still persist to this day.
Around 500 million years ago tremors opened up the crack that is now Loch Ness as the land to the north moved around 65 miles south westerly.
During the last ice age, which ended about 10 to 12 thousand years ago, the whole area was covered in 4 thousand feet of ice. The only land mark would have been Ben Nevis to the south. It was this ice which gauged out the trough that loch ness lies in. Tremors can still be felt around the loch, the last one in December 1997. The hills surrounding the loch are still rising by 1mm per year.

www.vikipeedia.com ; http://www.nessie.co.uk/htm/about_loch_ness/lochnes.html ;
http://www.visitlochness.com/