Television

Television, or TV, is one of humanity's most important means of communication. It

brings pictures and sounds from around the world into millions of homes.
People with a television set can sit in their house and watch the president makes a
speech or visits a foreign country. They can see a war being fought, and they can watch
government leaders try to bring about peace. Through television, viewers at home can see and
learn about people, places, and things in a away lands. Television even takes viewers out of this
world as the astronauts explore outer space.
In addition to all these things, television brings its viewers a steady stream of programs
that are designed to entertain. In fact, TV provides many more entertainment programs than
any other kind of information media. The programs include action-packed dramas, light
comedies, soap operas, sports events, cartoons, quizzes, variety shows and motion pictures.
More than 83 million homes in the United States - or 98% of all the country's homes -
have at least one television set. On the average, a television set is in use in each home for about
6 3/4 hours each day. As a result, television has an important influence on how people spend
their time, as well as on what they see and learn. After they arrive from work, they usually
watch TV. Then, the importance of television is proven.

Museum

Museums are institutions which help people understand and appreciate the world.
Museums collect objects of scientific, aesthetic or historical importance. They care for them,
study and exhibit them for the purpose of public education and the advancement of
knowledge. Museum can be found I almost every big city in the world.
Museums also function as educational institutions which offer many benefits to their visitors.
People of different ages, interests, background, and abilities can explore and do self-learning at
the museums. They are also public places where people can be entertained, inspired,
introduced to new ideas.
There are some major types of museums. The most common one is the history
museums. They usually collect a wide range of objects including fine art, furniture, clothing,
documents, and other materials. The next type of museums is the art museums. They reflect
artistic accomplishment, both historic and contemporary. Their collection includes paintings,
sculpture, prints, drawings, photographs, ceramics and glass, metal work, and furniture.
The next two museums are the natural history museums and the science museums. The
first type of museums usually focuses on nature and culture. Dinosaurs, gems and minerals,
native and ancient cultures are always popular exhibits at natural history museums. Meanwhile,
the science museums are dedicated to improve public understanding of science and scientific
achievements. Science museums usually allow people to experience and experiment.

Athletics

The word “Field” refers to athletic sports actually done on the field. Field events include
pole vault, high jump, and long jump. The first one is called the “pole vault” because the athlete
uses a pole (galah) for jumping (vaulting). Other sports which are usually found in a field event
are the Javelin, discus and short-put. They are what we call “lempar lembing”,”lempar cakram”
and “tolak peluru” respectively.
Originally the word “track” refer to the path (Jalur in Indonesian) for running. Now it
refers to sport held on the track itself.In U.S.A., a track meet is what we call “pertandingan
olahraga lari “ here. Running events include the 100 meter dash (sprint), 1500 meters and the
much longer event, the Marathon.
There is another term which is often used when we talk about athletics. That term is
decathlon. The word is derived from the word “deca “and “athlon”. The former means “ten”
like the word “dasa” in “dasawarsa “. The latter means “contest”. The modern decathlon
consists of : (1) 100 m sprint,(2) long jump ,(3) short-put (4) high jump,(5) 400 meters sprint,(6)
110 meters hurdles,(7) discus,(8) pole vault,(9) javelin,(10) 1,500 meters.
In the broad sense, athletic sport include cycling, team sports, and "Track and Field"
events. Cycling is one event in the Olympic games, so, for example, are sports such as
football(soccer), basketball, volley ball and hockey, track events and field events are those
which involve the natural athletic motion of running, jumping, and throwing. These sports are
what we call athletics in the narrow sense.
 Electronic Medias

At the end of the nineteenth century, newspapers were the main pubic sources of
information. At the end of the twentieth century, we still have newspapers, but they are no
longer the main sources of information. Nowadays, we have the electronic media: the internet,
radio, and television.
The electronic media link Indonesia to the rest of the world. The electronic media makes
us part of the global village. If we want to find out what is happening in Europe or the United
States, we can listen to satellite TV stations, such as, the BBC or CNN. We can find out what
normal people in many countries think by going on the internet. There we can talk in English to
people from all over the world.
In the twenty-first century, the internet will be the most important source of
information. Even now there is so much information on the internet. Soon people will not buy
newspapers from kiosk anymore. They will read electronic newspapers on the internet. All
television channels will be on the internet. If you get tired of watching TVRI, you will be able to
switch to a New York channel or a channel from South Africa or Egypt.

Snakes

Snakes are reptiles (cold-blooded creatures). They belong to the same group as lizards
(the scaled group, Squamata) but form a sub-group of their own (Serpent’s).
Snakes have no legs but a long time ago they had claws to help them slither along.
Snakes are not slimy. They are covered in scales which are just bumps on the skin. Their skin is
hard and glossy to reduce friction as the snake slithers along the ground.
Snakes often sun bake on rocks in the warm weather. This is because snakes are cold-blooded
and they need the sun’s warmth to heat their body up.
Most snakes live in the country. Some types of snakes live in trees; some live in water,
but most live on the ground in deserted rabbit burrows, in thick, long grass and in old logs.
A snake’s diet usually consists of frogs, lizards, and mice and other snakes. The Anaconda can
eat small crocodiles and even wild boars.
Many snakes protect themselves with their fangs. Boa Constrictors can give you a bear
hug which is so powerful. It can crush every single bone in your body. Some snakes are
protected by scaring their enemies away like the Cobra. The Flying Snakes glides away from
danger. Their ribs spread apart and the skin stretches out. Its technique is just like the sugar
gliders.

Houses in Minangkabau
 Houses in Minangkabau measures 10 meters in length by five meters in width and 8.5
meters in height. The floor and walls of the house are made of wood. The roof is covered with
sugar-palm leaves.
The floor of the house is built on wooden supports about four meters above the ground.
Animals are kept in the space under the floor. There is a stair from the ground to a door in the
floor. The inside of the house consists of one large room.
One house can contain up to eight related families. Each family has its own cooking fire
and living space. The head of the family lives at the back of the house. His married daughters
and their families live on the left side of the house.
These houses are highly decorated. Usually there is a buffalo head on the top of the
roof. There are also animal heads, called lion or gajah dompak, on the front of the house. These
carvings help to protect the house from ghosts.

Marriage in Lombok

Young Sasak couples have a choice of different ways of getting married. The first is an
arranged marriage. The parents of the man arrange that he will marry a particular girl. Another
way is to marry a cousin. Both of these ways are simple and easy. The parents discuss the
bride’s dowry .When all the arrangements are finished, the ceremony, sorong serah, is
performed.
The next method is more difficult and dramatic. In this method the man runs away with
the girl of his choice to another village. He then reports his action to the head of that village. He
is punished for his wrong action and has to wear a piece of black cotton around his arm. Finally
his family has to pay a price to the bride’s family as compensation.
One advantage of the last method is that there is no wedding ceremony. Wedding ceremonies,
as we know, are very expensive.

Dani People

Dani is a general name for all tribes of the Baliem Valley in Irian Jaya. The origin of these
people is not known. They all have dark brown skin, but each tribe’s language and customs are
different. They use bird feathers, cowry shells and a special kind of wood for trading.
The Dani are farmers. They have been farmers for at least 5.000 years. They are very skilled
farmers. They raise pigs and grow sweet potato. They spend most of their time working in their
fields. As a result they are very physically fit and strong.
Everybody who meets the Dani people say that they are fearless. They are afraid of nothing or
nobody. On the other hand, everybody says that they are a very friendly people.

Tabuhan cave
 In the cave, Nyi (Mrs.) Kamiyem and Ki (Mr.) Padmo sit on a big stone. Nyi Kamiyem will
sing a song and Ki Padmo will beat the drum. Joining them are people called wiyogo which are
drummers and other gamelan musicians.
What makes this unique is that they mix gamelan with the sounds of nature. The visitors
dance, forgetting all problems. Many tourists go to this cave. Maybe you are interested in going
there too but you don't know where it is. Tabuhan cave is located near Pacitan in East Java. It is
situated in a lime hill called Tapan, in Tabuhan, Wareng village. The route is easy. Along the
road there is beautiful tropical scenery to enjoy rice fields, coconut palms and birds.
East of the cave peddlers sell souvenirs. The drink and food peddlers are on the north
side. People sell agates on the cave terraces. Somehow, it is like a fair. It is said that the cave is
the only place where nature produces sounds like the music of gamelan. Nyi Kamiyem, a well-
known pesinden (traditional Javanese singer) from the village of Gabuhan, who often sings in
the cave, does not doubt anything.
Tabuhan cave did not use to welcome visitors. According to Kartowiryo (90), village
elder, Tabuhan cave used to be a hiding place for robbers. It was believed to be a sacred place.
No one dared go inside. However, Wedana (chief of a district) Kertodiprojo went to the cave to
find out what was wrong. He found out that the cave was inhabited by the annoying evil spirits.
The people chased the spirits away.
The cave is dark, so people need lights, and a local guide will lead the way. Sometimes
visitors bump their heads against the sharp rocks on the ceiling. Inside the cave there is a plain
big stone which is believed to be the prayer mat of Pangeran Diponegoro, one of the
Indonesian heroes who fought against the Dutch. It is said that Pangeran Diponegoro used to
seclude himself in the cave. Some people now use the place for meditation. There is a stream in
the cave, in the east corner, which can only be seen outside. However, it can be heard from
inside.
Komodo dragon

The Komodo dragon or the Komodo monitor (Varanus Komodoensis) is a giant monitor
lizard found in Komodo Island, a small semi-arid island located between the islands of Sumbawa
and Flores. The prehistoric animal can also be found in several others nearby islands including
Rinca Island in the Indonesian archipelago.
The Komodo dragon, which is called "Ora" by the local people, is considered the largest
lizard and the last of their kind remaining in the world today. It can grow up to 3 to 4 meters in
length and run at the speed of up to 24 kilometers per hour.
The Komodo dragons use their forked tongue to sample the air for scents. Their eyesight
is good for distinguishing movement and color as far away as 300 meters (980 ft) except in low
light. Despite their visible ear holes, they are only able to hear sounds between 400hz up to
2000 Hz. The giant monitor lizards, whose ancestors roamed the earth half a million years ago,
are characterized by their short legs with large talons, a stout body and very long tails that can
be used as weapon to crush an opponent.
Preferring hot and dry places, the Komodo dragons typically live in dry open grassland,
savanna, and tropical forest at low elevations. They are solitary animals and usually come
together only to mate and feed on carrion. They sleep in caves or in gullies and among tree
roots at night, and come out to feed in the morning. Female Komodo dragons can lay from 20
up to 40 eggs in a hole in the ground.Komodo dragons' diet consists of a variety of animal
species. Young Komodo dragons normally feed on insects and small lizards. However, they
begin to eat mice and other small mammals as they grow older. Adult komodo dragons prey on
bigger animals such as pigs, goats, deer, young buffaloes, and horses.

Kangaroo

A kangaroo is an animal found only in Australia, although it has a smaller relative, called
a wallaby, which lives on the Australian island of Tasmania and also in New Guinea.Kangaroos
eat grass and plants. They have short front legs, but very long, and very strong back legs and a
tail. These are used for sitting up and for jumping. Kangaroos have been known to make
forward jumps of over eight metres, and leap across fences more than three metres high. They
can also run at speeds of over 45 kilometres per hour.
The largest kangaroos are the Great Grey Kangaroo and the Red Kangaroo. Adult grow
to a length of 1.60 metres and weigh over 90 kilos.
Kangaroos are marsupials. This means that the female kangaroo has an external pouch
on the front of her body. A baby kangaroo is very tiny when it is born, and it crawls at once into
this pouch where it spends its first five months of life

Thunder and Lightning

Lightning is a sudden, violent fl ash of electricity between a cloud and the ground, or
from cloud to cloud. A lightning fl ash, or bolt, can be several miles long. It is so hot, with an
average temperature of 34,000° Centigrade, that the air around it suddenly expands with a loud
blast. This is the thunder we hear.
 Lightning occurs in hot, wet storms. Moist air is driven up to a great height. It forms a
type of cloud called cumulonimbus. When the cloud rises high enough, the moisture freezes
and ice crystals and snowfl akes are formed. These begin to fall, turning to rain on the way
down. This rain meets more moist air rising, and it is the friction between them which produces
static electricity. When a cloud is fully charged with this electricity, it discharges it as a lightning
flash.

Platypus

Many people call platypus duckbill because this animal has a bill like duckbill. Platypus is
a native Tasmania and southern and eastern Australia.
Platypus has a flat tail and webbed feet. Its body length is 30 to 45cm and covered with
a thick, and woolly layer of fur. Its bill is detecting prey and stirring up mud. Platypus' eyes and
head are small. It has no ears but has ability to sense sound and light.
Platypus lives in streams, rivers, and lakes. Female platypus usually dig burrows in the
streams or river banks. The burrows are blocked with soil to protect it from intruders and
flooding. In the other hand, male platypus does not need any burrow to stay.

The Camel

The camel is a large, strong desert animal. Camels can travel great distances across hot,
dry deserts with little food or water. They walk easily on soft sand and carry people and heavy
hump. The hump is a large lump of fat providing energy if food is hard to find.
There are two chief kinds of camels: (1) the Arabian camel also loads to places that have
no roads. Camels also serve the people of the desert in many other ways.

The Red Bird Of Paradise

 An Indonesian endemic, the Red Bird of Paradise is distributed to lowland rainforests of
Waigeo and Batanta islands of West Papua. This species shares its home with another bird of
paradise, the Wilson's Bird of Paradise. Hybridisation between these two species are expected
but not recorded yet.
The Red Bird of Paradise, Paradisaea rubra is a large, up to 33cm long, brown and yellow
bird of paradise with a dark brown iris, grey legs and yellow bill. The male has an emerald green
face, a pair of elongated black corkscrew-shaped tail wires, dark green feather pompoms above
each eye and a train of glossy crimson red plumes with whitish tips at either side of the breast.
The male measures up to 72 cm long, including the ornamental red plumes that require
at least six years to fully attain. The female resembles the male but is smaller in size, with a dark
brown face and has no ornamental red plumes. The diet consists mainly of fruits, berries and
arthropods.

The Rhinoceros (Rhino)

The rhinoceros is a large, primitive looking mammal that in fact dates from the Miocene
era millions of years ago. In recent decades rhinos have been relentlessly hunted to the point of
near extinction. Since 1970 the world rhino population has declined by 90 percent, with five
species remaining in the world today, all of which are endangered.
The white or square-lipped rhino is one of two rhino species in Africa. It in turn occurs as
two subspecies, the southern and the northern. The southern dwindled almost to extinction in
the early 20th century, but was protected on farms and reserves, enabling it to increase enough
to be reintroduced. The northern white rhino has recovered in Democratic Republic of Congo
from about 15 in 1984 to about 30 in the late 1990s.
This population has been threatened by political conflict and instability.
There are two kinds of rhino who live in Africa, first is Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) and
second is White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum). The white rhino's name derives from the
Dutch "weit," meaning wide, a reference to its wide, square muzzle adapted for grazing. The
white rhino, which is actually grey, has a pronounced hump on the neck and a long face. While
the black, or hooked-lipped rhino, along with all other rhino species, is an odd-toed ungulate
(three toes on each foot). It has a thick, hairless, grey hide. Both the black and white rhino have
two horns, the longer of which sits at the front of the nose.
Rhino includes the bigest land mamals who live in africa besides elephant and other
mamals. Rhino can live up to 35 to 40 years. The size of the rhinoceros stands about 60 inches
at the shoulder. And the weight of Black Rhino is 1 to 1½ tons, while White Rhino is over 2 tons.
Diet description of The black rhino is a browser, with a triangular-shaped upper lip
ending in a mobile grasping point. It eats a large variety of vegetation, including leaves, buds
and shoots of plants, bushes and trees. While the white rhino is a grazer feeding on grasses.
 Rhinos live in home ranges that sometimes overlap with each other. Feeding grounds,
water holes and wallows may be shared. The black rhino is usually solitary. The white rhino
tends to be much more gregarious. Rhinos are also rather ill-tempered and have become more
so in areas where they have been constantly disturbed. While their eyesight is poor, which is
why they will often charge without apparent reason, their sense of smell and hearing are very
good.

Giraffes
Giraffes are one of the world's tallest mammals. They are well known for their long
necks, long legs, and spotted patterns. Giraffes have small "horns" or knobs on top of their
heads that grow to be about five inches long. These knobs are used to protect the head in
fights.Male giraffes are larger than females. Males weigh between 2,400 and 3,000 pounds and
stand up to 19 feet tall! Female giraffes weigh between 1,600 and 2,600 pounds and grow to be
16 feet tall. Giraffe populations are relatively stable. Healthy giraffes live about 25 years in the
wild.
Giraffes can be found in central, eastern and southern Africa. Giraffes live in the
savannas of Africa, where they roam freely among the tall trees, arid land, dense forests and
open plains.
Their long necks help giraffes eat leaves from tall trees, typically acacia trees. If they
need to, giraffes can go for several days without water. Instead of drinking, giraffes stay
hydrated by the moisture from leaves.
Giraffes are non-territorial, social animals. They travel in large herds that are not
organized in any way. Herds may consist of any combination of sexes or ages.
Female giraffes typically give birth to one calf after a fifteen-month gestation period.
During the first week of its life, the mother carefully guards her calf. Young giraffes are very
vulnerable and cannot defend themselves. While mothers feed, the young are kept in small
nursery groups.
Giraffes are hunted for their meat, coat and tails. The tail is prized for good luck
bracelets, fly whisks and string for sewing beads. The coat is used for shield coverings. Habitat
destruction and fragmentation are also threats to giraffe populations.

Lions

I am sure you already know well about this animals. Lions may be the most famous
animal that the people know from their reputation as the king of jungle.
Lions are carnivorous mammals that come from the family Felidae. They are
geographically distributed in mostly sub-Saharan east and southern Africa but can also be found
in zoos internationally, India and some parts of Asia . The population of these vulnerable
animals has dramatically decreased in the past few decades with no solid reason as to why. It is
thought that clashes with humans and habitat loss may be a possibility, but to help further
preserve and monitor these creatures, they are usually kept within reserves and parks. Only
eight sub species are recognized today and there is a small range of hybrids with lions mating
with tigers, jaguars or leopards to create unique creatures. This is discouraged and only
initiated at zoos.

These kings of the jungle can weigh between 250 and 550 pounds, depending on sex
and age and can grow up to be 14 years old in the wild and over the age of 20 years old in
captivity. They become capable at hunting at the age of two and are fully grown after 5 or 6
years. Male lions are distinguishable for their impressive manes, which signifies their
masculinity and reflects their health. The darker and thicker the mane, the healthier the lion. It
allows the lions to appear stronger and frightening to warn off enemies, particularly humans,
and appeals to lionesses that are scientifically proven to mate more with lions with thick and
dark manes. Lions with no manes are either genetically inbred or have been castrated.
Lions have a devised a system of living in groups called prides that's based around
related females. The majority of the pride, consisting of approximately 15 individuals and can
sometimes even reach 40 individuals, is female with only a handful of male. Male cubs
eventually leave and typically become nomads before taking over their own group as the
territorial male and father of all cubs. They only leave the pride when challenged by other
males and are forced to leave or are killed. Nomads usually travel lone or in pairs, most of the
time being related males. If a female nomad attempts to join a pride, it is usually very difficult
as the other lionesses reject their intruder who is not related to them.

Elephant

Elephant is the world's largest living land mammals which are best known for their huge
size, unique body parts, social behavior, and longevity.
Two African elephant species are recognized: the larger and more widespread savanna
elephant (L. africana), pictured here, and the forest elephant (L. cyclotis), which is smaller, has
downward-pointed tusks, and smaller, rounder ears. Some genetic evidence suggests there
may be a third species, the west African elephant, intermediate to these two. The animals'
trunks, unique among living mammals, are versatile, enabling elephants to manipulate tiny
objects or tear down huge tree limbs. Wide, padded feet enable elephants to walk quietly.
Large, flappable ears help these huge animals to cool off, although elephants often must retreat
to the shade or water during the hottest part of the day.
Male African elephants of the savanna species grow up to 25 feet long, stand up to 11
feet tall and weigh up to 14,000 pounds. Males are usually larger than females.
African elephants live in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, although their range is now
broken into patches. Small numbers of forest elephants live in dense equatorial forests of
Central Africa from Zaire west to Mauritania, while savanna elephants are far more widespread
in drier woodlands and savannas. Savanna elephants are now most common in Kenya,
Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and South Africa. The suspected third species lives in
both savanna and forest in west Africa.
African elephants live wherever they can find enough food and water with minimal
disturbance from people. Most of the continent's elephants live on savannas and in dry
woodlands. In some regions, they occur in desert areas; in others, they are found in mountains.
In Congo and other equatorial countries, forest elephants live in dense tropical rainforest.
Females and young males live in cohesive herds of about ten related adults and their offspring.
The matriarch, usually the oldest and largest female, sets the pace of the group's activities.
Males leave herds at puberty, around their 13th year, and travel alone or in bachelor
groups. Elephants travel widely in search of food. Movements vary depending upon food
availability. African elephants communicate with rumbles, growls, bellows, and moans. Some of
these varied, low-frequency sounds may travel a mile or more.

Panda
Have you ever wathc the cartoon movie "Kung fu Panda"? But the Panda that would be
described below is not the Panda who can do Kung fu like in that movie. Pada is the icon of the
Chinese country becasue its unik. Here are the desciption about Panda.
Giant pandas are bear-like in shape with striking black and white markings. The "Giant"
Pandas are hardly "Giants". It would take about forty (40) giant pandas to weigh as much as one
elephant. Adult giant pandas have a length of 160 to 180 centimeters (5 1/4 to 6 feet). The
weight of an adult male giant panda is normally between 80 and 125 kilograms (176 and 276
pounds) with males typically weighing about 10% to 20% more than females -- about the same
size as theAmerican black bear.
However, unlike the black bear, giant pandas do not hibernate and cannot walk on their
hind legs.Giant panda bears have a massive head, heavy body, short tail (approximately 5
inches), rounded ears and plantigrade feet (i.e., both heel and toe make contact with the
ground when walking in a manner similar to humans). The throat of the giant panda has an
esophagus with a tough, horny lining to protect the bear from injury by bamboo splinters. The
stomach is similarly protected with its thick muscular wall linings.Giant pandas have forepaws
which are extremely flexible. They have an enlarged wrist bone (the radial sesamoid) that works
in the manner of an opposable thumb. This highly functional thumb allows the panda to
manipulate bamboo stems and leaves, with dexterity and precision. The hind feet of the giant
panda lacks the heel pad found in the other seven bear species.
 The basic fur color of the giant panda is white with black eye patches, ears, legs, feet,
chest, and shoulders. White areas are different shades of white from pure white to orangish or
a light brown. Within its natural environment (the deep forest and, at upper elevations, snow
androck), its mottled coloringprovides camouflage. There is also speculation that its striking
color pattern may be a clear message to other pandas to stay away since the giant panda is an
extremely solitary animal.The fur of the giant panda is thick and coarse. It consists of a coarse
outer layer and a very dense, wooly-like underfur. To the touch, the fur feels oily. This oily
protective coating helps protects pandas from the cool and damp climate in which the bear
lives.
Giant pandas generally move in a slow, determined manner. When startled, they will
move at a slow trot to escape danger. Giant pandas, with their sharp claws, are capable of
climbing trees very easily. Giant panda cubs are born weighing 3 to 5 ounces or about 4-5 grams
each (1/900th of the mother's weight) The cubs are born blind and hairless. At about 10 days
the skin where the black hair will eventually grow turns gray.

Orangutan

Orangutans or Pongo Pygmaeus belong to the primate order. The orangutan spends
most of its time in trees. Each evening it builds are new tree top nest. They are endangered
because of habitat lost poachers who keep on killing, owning and exporting orangutans. They
only live in Indonesian forest especially on the island of Borneo and in the northern corner of
the island of Sumatra. This animals are protected by government, because orangutan belong to
nearly extinct animals.
Orangutans are characterized by rough, long, reddish brown fur. Make orangutans are
about 95 cm (37 inches) in length and about 77 kg (170 lb) in weight. Females are smaller,
reaching about 78 cm (31 inches) in height and weighing only about 37 kg (81 lb). The male has
puffy cheeks and hanging throat pouch. This pouch contains air sacks that help produce a
groaning, bubbling call, which can be heard at least 1 km (0,6 mile) away. They like to climb
trees and swinging from one tree to tree else.
Half on the orangutan’s diet consists of fruit, but they also eat young leaves, soft inner
bark, termites, eggs and occasionally monkeys. Orangutans like eat insect such as ants, and
termites. With use a branch they eat ants, and termites.
When a female is ready to mate, she will seek out and an adult male. Orangutans are
mammals, females give birth to a single infant about once every four to eight years. The
gestational period for orangutans is just under nine months, nearly the same as in human
being. Infants stay very close to their mothers for the first three years until don’t consume their
mother’s milk.

The Red Bird Of Paradise

 An Indonesian endemic, the Red Bird of Paradise is distributed to lowland rainforests of
Waigeo and Batanta islands of West Papua. This species shares its home with another bird of
paradise, the Wilson's Bird of Paradise. Hybridisation between these two species are expected
but not recorded yet.
The Red Bird of Paradise, Paradisaea rubra is a large, up to 33cm long, brown and yellow
bird of paradise with a dark brown iris, grey legs and yellow bill. The male has an emerald green
face, a pair of elongated black corkscrew-shaped tail wires, dark green feather pompoms above
each eye and a train of glossy crimson red plumes with whitish tips at either side of the breast.
The male measures up to 72 cm long, including the ornamental red plumes that require
at least six years to fully attain. The female resembles the male but is smaller in size, with a dark
brown face and has no ornamental red plumes. The diet consists mainly of fruits, berries and
arthropods.

Flower

Flower is beautiful plant that grow arround us. The name is also familiar among us. Flower
has many kinds, commonly flower is used for adorn plant. The flower also can be used for
medicine. Flower can be gotten easily because a flower can grow everywhere. We also can but
it in the flower shop.There are many kinds of other plant, for instance rose, dahlia, orchid,
jasmine, frangipani flower, cherry tree, sun flower, etc. They have many colours and size. Their
colour are yellow, blue, black, white, purple, etc. Their size are small, big , and medium. They
not only can live in wather, but also in land. For adorn plant, it has different prizes among each
other. For example the cheapest one is bugenvil flower, the most expensive flower in Indonesia
is rose. For instance of medicine flower are sun flower use to increase people nutrient, orchid
flower use to cure sprue, frangipani flower is use to antibiotic and lavender flower use to lotion
and so on. In Indonesia country there is a special flower , it is located in Sumatra island and its
called Raflesia Flower. It has bad smell. For that all we know that there are so many kind of
flower arround us especially in Indonesia.
 Earthquake (Report text)

An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the result of a sudden

release of energy in the Earth’s crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity or seismic
activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a
period of time. Earthquakes are measured using observations from seismometers. The moment
magnitude is the most common scale on which earthquakes larger than approximately 5 are
reported for the entire globe. The more numerous earthquakes smaller than magnitude 5
reported by national seismological observatories are measured mostly on the local magnitude
scale, also referred to as the Richter scale. These two scales are numerically similar over their
range of validity. Magnitude 3 or lower earthquakes are mostly almost imperceptible and
magnitude 7 and over potentially cause serious damage over large areas, depending on their
depth. The largest earthquakes in historic times have been of magnitude slightly over 9,
although there is no limit to the possible magnitude. The most recent large earthquake of
magnitude 9.0 or larger was a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan in 2011 (as of March 2011),
and it was the largest Japanese earthquake since records began. Intensity of shaking is
measured on the modified Mercalli scale. The shallower an earthquake, the more damage to
structures it causes, all else being equal.
At the Earth’s surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and sometimes
displacement of the ground. When the epicenter of a large earthquake is located offshore, the
seabed may be displaced sufficiently to cause a tsunami. Earthquakes can also trigger
landslides, and occasionally volcanic activity.
In its most general sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event —
whether natural or caused by humans — that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused
mostly by rupture of geological faults, but also by other events such as volcanic activity,
landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests. An earthquake’s point of initial rupture is called its
focus or hypocenter. The epicenter is the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter.
 Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy. It is the capital of region Veneto. Together with Padua,
the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area. Venice has been known as the
“Queen of the Adriatic”, “City of Water”, “City of Bridges”, and “The City of Light”. The city
stretches across 117 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in
northeast Italy.
Venice is world-famous for its canals. It is built on an archipelago of 117 islands formed
by about 150 canals in a shallow lagoon. The islands on which the city is built are connected by
about 400 bridges. In the old center, the canals serve the function of roads, and every form of
transport is on water or on foot.
You can ride gondola there. It is the classical Venetian boat which nowadays is mostly
used for tourists, or for weddings, funerals, or other ceremonies. Now, most Venetians travel
by motorised waterbuses (“vaporetti”) which ply regular routes along the major canals and
between the city’s islands. The city also has many private boats. The only gondolas still in
common use by Venetians are the traghetti, foot passenger ferries crossing the Grand Canal at
certain points without bridges.
You can see the amusing city’s landmarks such as Piazza San Marco, Palazzo Contarini
del Bovolo, Saint Mark’s Cathedral or villas of the Veneto. The villas of the Veneto, rural
residences for nobles during the Republic, are one of the most interesting aspects of Venetian
countryside.
They are surrounded by elegant gardens, suitable for fashionable parties of high society.
The city is also well known for its beautiful and romantic view, especially at night.
 Report Text
Whale
Whale (origin Old English hwæl) is the common name for various marine mammals of the order
Cetacea.[1] The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes
dolphins and porpoises,[2] which belong to suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales). This
suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga whale. The other
Cetacean suborder Mysticeti (baleen whales) are filter feeders that eat small organisms caught
by straining seawater through a comblike structure found in the mouth called baleen. This
suborder includes the blue whale, the humpback whale, the bowhead whale and the minke
whale. All Cetacea have forelimbs modified as fins, a tail with horizontal flukes, and nasal
openings (blowholes) on top of the head.

Whales range in size from the blue whale, the largest animal known ever to have existed[3] at
30 m (98 ft) and 180 tonnes (180 long tons; 200 short tons), to various pygmy species, such as
the pygmy sperm whale at 3.5 m (11 ft).

Whales collectively inhabit all the world's oceans and number in the millions, with annual
population growth rate estimates for various species ranging from 3% to 13%.[4] For centuries,
whales have been hunted for meat and as a source of raw materials. By the middle of the 20th
century, however, industrial whaling had left many species seriously endangered, leading to the
end of whaling in all but a few countries.

Taxonomy
See also: List of whale species

Cetaceans are divided into two suborders:

 The largest suborder, Mysticeti (baleen whales) are characterized by baleen, a sieve-like
structure in the upper jaw made of keratin, which it uses to filter plankton from the
water.
 Odontoceti (toothed whales) bear sharp teeth for hunting. Odontoceti also include
dolphins and porpoises.

Both cetaceans and artiodactyl are now classified under the super-order Cetartiodactyla which
includes both whales and hippopotamuses. Whales are the hippopotamus's closest living
relatives.[5]

Evolution
Ambulocetus natans – a primitive cetacean
See also: Evolution of cetaceans

All cetaceans, including whales, dolphins and porpoises, are descendants of land-living
mammals of the Artiodactyl order (even-toed ungulates). Both are related to the Indohyus (an
extinct semi-aquatic deer-like ungulate) from which they split around 54 million years ago.[6][7]
These primitive cetaceans probably first took to the sea about 50 million years ago and became
fully aquatic about 5–10 million years later.[8]

Anatomy
Like all mammals, whales breathe air, are warm-blooded, nurse their young with milk from
mammary glands, and have body hair.[9] Beneath the skin lies a layer of fat called blubber,
which stores energy and insulates the body. Whales have a spinal column, a vestigial pelvic
bone, and a four-chambered heart. The neck vertebrae are typically fused, trading flexibility for
stability during swimming.[citation needed]

Blowhole(s)

Features of a blue whale

Whales breathe via blowholes; baleen whales have two and toothed whales have one. These
are located on the top of the head, allowing the animal to remain mostly submerged whilst
breathing. Breathing involves expelling excess water from the blowhole, forming an upward
spout, followed by inhaling air into the lungs. Spout shapes differ among species and can help
with identification.

Appendages

The body shape is fusiform and the modified forelimbs, or fins, are paddle-shaped. The end of
the tail is composed of two flukes, which propel the animal by vertical movement, as opposed
to the horizontal movement of a fish tail. Although whales do not possess fully developed hind
limbs, some (such as sperm whales and baleen whales) possess discrete rudimentary
appendages, which may even have feet and digits. Most species have a dorsal fin.[citation needed]

Dentition

Toothed whales, such as the sperm whale, possess teeth with cementum cells overlying dentine
cells. Unlike human teeth, which are composed mostly of enamel on the portion of the tooth
outside of the gum, whale teeth have cementum outside the gum. Only in larger whales, where
the cementum has been worn away on the tip of the tooth, does enamel show. [10]

Instead of teeth, Baleen whales have a row of plates on the upper side of their jaws that
resemble the "teeth" of a comb.

Ears

The whale ear has specific adaptations to the marine environment. In humans, the middle ear
works as an impedance matcher between the outside air’s low impedance and the cochlear
fluid’s high impedance. In aquatic mammals such as whales, however, there is no great
difference between the outer and inner environments. Instead of sound passing through the
outer ear to the middle ear, whales receive sound through the throat, from which it passes
through a low-impedance fat-filled cavity to the inner ear.[11] The whale ear is acoustically
isolated from the skull by air-filled sinus pockets, which allow for greater directional hearing
underwater.[12]

Life history and behavior

Reproduction

Males are called 'bulls', females, 'cows' and newborns, 'calves'. Most species do not maintain
fixed partnerships and females have several mates each season.[13][14]

The female delivers usually a single calf tail-first to minimize the risk of drowning. Whale cows
nurse by actively squirting milk, so fatty that it has the consistency of toothpaste, into the
mouths of their young.[13] Nursing continues for more than a year in many species, and is
associated with a strong bond between mother and calf. Reproductive maturity occurs typically
at seven to ten years. This mode of reproduction produces few offspring, but increases survival
probability.

Socialization

Whales are known to teach, learn, cooperate, scheme, and even grieve.[15] The neocortex of
many species of whale is home to elongated spindle neurons that, prior to 2007, were known
only in hominids.[16] In humans these cells are involved in social conduct, emotions, judgment,
and theory of mind.[17] Whale spindle neurons are found in areas of the brain homologous to
where they are found in humans, suggesting that they perform a similar function.[18]

Sleep

A humpback whale breaching.

Unlike most animals, whales are conscious breathers. All mammals sleep, but whales cannot
afford to become unconscious for long because they may drown. It is thought that only one
hemisphere of the whale's brain sleeps at a time, so they rest but are never completely
asleep.[19]

Surfacing behavior

Main article: Whale surfacing behaviour

Many whales exhibit behaviors such as breaching and tail slapping that expose large parts of
their bodies to the air.

Lifespan

Whale lifespans vary among species and are not well characterized. Whaling left few older
individuals to observe directly. R.M. Nowak of Johns Hopkins University estimated that
humpback whales may live as long as 77 years.[20] In 2007, a 19th century lance fragment was
found in a bowhead whale off Alaska, suggesting the individual could be between 115 and 130
years old.[21] Aspartic acid racemization in the whale eye, combined with a harpoon fragment,
indicated an age of 211 years for another male, which, if true would make bowheads the
longest-lived extant mammal species.[22][23] The accuracy of this technique has been questioned
because racemization did not correlate well with other dating methods.[24]

Vocalization

Humpback Whale "Song"

Recording of Humpback Whales singing and Clicking.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Some species, such as the humpback whale, communicate using melodic sounds, known as
whale song. These sounds can be extremely loud, depending on the species. Sperm whales
have only been heard making clicks, while toothed whales (Odontoceti) use echolocation that
can generate about 20,000 watts of sound (+73 dBm or +43 dBw[25]) and be heard for many
miles. Whale vocalization is likely to serve many purposes, including echolocation, mating, and
identification.[citation needed]

Ecology
Feeding

Whales are generally classed as predators, but their food ranges from microscopic plankton to
very large animals.

Toothed whales eat fish and squid which they hunt by use of echolocation. Killer whales
sometimes eat other marine mammals, including whales.

Baleen whales such as humpbacks and blues, when feeding in higher latitudes (such as the
Southern Ocean), eat mostly krill. They imbibe enormous amounts of seawater which they
expel through their baleen plates. The water is then expelled and the krill is retained on the
plates and then swallowed.[13] Whales do not drink seawater but indirectly extract water from
their food by metabolizing fat.[13]

Whale pump

A study in 2010 has attributed to whales a positive influence on the productivity of ocean
fisheries, in what has been termed a "whale pump." Whales carry nutrients such as nitrogen
from the depths back to the surface. This functions as an upward biological pump, reversing the
assumption of some scientists that whales accelerate the loss of nutrients to the bottom. They
note that this nitrogen input in the Gulf of Maine is "more than the input of all rivers
combined," some 23,000 metric tons each year."[26][27]

Relation to humans
Whaling

Main article: Whaling

Dutch whalers near Spitsbergen. Abraham Storck, 1690

World map of International Whaling Commission (IWC) members/non-members(member
countries in blue)

World population graph of Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus)

Some species of large whales are listed as endangered by multinational organizations such as
CITES along with governments and advocacy groups primarily due to whaling's impacts. They
have been hunted commercially for whale oil, meat, baleen and ambergris (a perfume
ingredient from the intestine of sperm whales) since the 17th century.[28] At its peak in 1846,
the American whaling industry employed more than 70,000 people and 736 vessels. [29] More
than 2 million were taken in the 20th century,[30] and by the middle of the century, many
populations were severely depleted.

The International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986.[31] The ban is not
absolute, however, and some whaling continues under the auspices of scientific research[31]
(sometimes not proved[32]) or aboriginal rights; current whaling nations are Norway, Iceland
and Japan and the aboriginal communities of Siberia, Alaska and northern Canada.

Bycatch

Several species of small whales are caught as bycatch in fisheries for other species. In the
Eastern Tropical Pacific tuna fishery, thousands of dolphins drowned in purse-seine nets, until
preventive measures were introduced. Gear and deployment modifications, and eco-labelling
(dolphin-safe or dolphin-friendly brands of tuna), have contributed to a reduction in dolphin
mortality by tuna vessels.[citation needed]

Naval sonar

See also: Marine Mammals and Sonar

Environmentalists speculate that advanced naval sonar endangers some cetaceans, including
whales. In 2003 British and Spanish scientists suggested in Nature that the effects of sonar
trigger whale beachings and to signs that such whales have experienced decompression
sickness.[33] Responses in Nature the following year discounted the explanation.[34]

Mass beachings occur in many species, mostly beaked whales that use echolocation for deep
diving. The frequency and size of beachings around the world, recorded over the last 1,000
years in religious tracts and more recently in scientific surveys, have been used to estimate the
population of various whale species by assuming that the proportion of the total whale
population beaching in any one year is constant. Beached whales can give other clues about
population conditions, especially health problems. For example, bleeding around ears, internal
lesions, and nitrogen bubbles in organ tissue suggest decompression sickness.[15]

Following public concern, the U.S. Defense department was ordered by the 9th Circuit Court to
strictly limit use of its Low Frequency Active Sonar during peacetime. Attempts by the UK-based
Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society to obtain a public inquiry into the possible dangers of
the Royal Navy's equivalent (the "2087" sonar launched in December 2004) failed as of 2008.
The European Parliament has requested that EU members refrain from using the powerful
sonar system until an environmental impact study has been carried out.

Other environmental disturbances

See also: Cetacean bycatch

Other human activities have been suggested by marine biologists to adversely impact whale
populations, such as collisions with ships and propellers, poisoning by waste contaminants and
the unregulated use of fishing gear that catches anything that swims into it. [citation needed]

In mythology

Whale weather-vane atop the Nantucket Historical Association Whaling Museum displaying a
Sperm Whale.

Whales were little understood for most of human history as they spend up to 90% of their lives
underwater, only surfacing briefly to breathe.[35] They also include the largest animals on the
planet. Many cultures, even those that have hunted them, hold them in awe and feature them
in their mythologies.

In China, Yu-kiang, a whale with the hands and feet of a man was said to rule the ocean.[36]

In the Tyrol region of Austria it was said that if a sunbeam were to fall on a maiden entering
womanhood, she would be carried away in the belly of a whale.[36]

Paikea, the youngest and favourite son of the chief Uenuku from the island of Mangaia in the
present day Cook Islands in New Zealand was said by the Kati Kuri people of Kaikoura to have
come from the Pacific Islands on the back of a whale many centuries before.[37] The novel and
movie Whale Rider follow the trials of a girl named Paikia, who lives in such a culture.

The whale features in Inuit creation myths. When ‘Big Raven', a deity in human form, found a
stranded whale, he was told by the Great Spirit where to find special mushrooms that would
give him the strength to drag the whale back to the sea and thus return order to the world.[38]

The Tlingit people of northern Canada said that the Orcas were created when the hunter
Natsihlane carved eight fish from yellow cedar, sang his most powerful spirit song and
commanded the fish to leap into the water.[38]

In Icelandic legend a man threw a stone at a fin whale and hit the blowhole, causing the whale
to burst. The man was told not to go to sea for twenty years but in the nineteenth year he went
fishing and a whale came and killed him.[38]

In East African legend King Sulemani asked God that He might permit him to feed all the beings
on earth. A whale came and ate until there was no corn left and then told Sulemani that he was
still hungry and that there were 70,000 more in his tribe. Sulemani then prayed to God for
forgiveness and thanked the creature for teaching him a lesson in humility.[38]

Some cultures associate divinity with whales, such as among Ghanaians and Vietnamese, who
occasionally hold funerals for beached whales, a throwback to Vietnam's ancient sea-based
Austro-asiatic culture.[39][40][41][42] The whale is a revered creature to Vietnamese fishermen.
They are respectfully addressed as "Lord". If one finds a stranded whale corpse, one is in charge
of holding the funeral for the "Lord" as if it was one's own parent.

The story of Jonah being swallowed by a whale also is told in the Qur'an.[43]

Whales in the Bible

The Bible, 1611 Authorized Version, expressly mentions whales four times:
  Genesis 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth,
which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl
after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
 Job 7:12 Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?
 Ezekiel 32:2 Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto
him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and
thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst
their rivers.
 Matthew 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so
shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

The translators in that latter verse above thereby identified the "great fish" of the book of
Jonah as a whale. It is apparent that Jeremiah recognized that some great fish are mammals.
The English word "monster", (used in the ordinary sense of a "huge animal",) is used in the
Bible in Jeremiah's Lamentations to refer to whales:

 Lamentations 4:3 Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their
young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the
wilderness.