Tag: grade 8

News Politics

PQ Forms New Government In Quebec

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There has been a significant change in government in the province of Quebec.

On Sept. 4, the PQ party won the provincial election.

They will take over from the Liberals, who have been in power there for nine years.

The PQ leader is Pauline Marois. She will become Quebec’s first female premier.

The PQ or Parti Quebecois advocates “sovereignty” for Quebec. That means they believe Quebec should be a separate country from the rest of Canada because it is unique in terms of culture and language. Most people in Quebec speak French.

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Environment News Science

Neil Armstrong, First Man On The Moon, Will Long Be Remembered

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Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, has died. He was 82 years old.

Armstrong was an American astronaut and the commander of the Apollo 11 spacecraft on its mission to put men on the moon.

Apollo 11 was launched on July 16, 1969, and began orbiting the moon three days later. On July 20, Armstrong and his co-pilot, astronaut Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, took off from Apollo 11 in a small landing craft called Eagle. A third astronaut, Michael Collins, remained in the main ship, orbiting the moon until they returned.

Hundreds of millions of people around the world watched on TV as the Eagle landed on the moon. When Armstrong stepped out of the ship and onto the moon’s surface, he said, “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.”*

Armstrong and Aldrin explored the moon for more than two hours and collected about 50 pounds of moon rocks. They left behind a plaque which said: “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.”

The Eagle remained on the moon for about 21 hours and then rejoined Apollo 11 for the return trip to Earth. Once the astronauts were back on Earth, they spent 16 days in quarantine to make sure they had not brought back any germs from space.

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News Sports

Highlights From The 2012 Summer Olympics

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Here’s a look at some of the highlights from the spectacular 2012 Summer Olympics.

• U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps now holds the most Olympic medals of any athlete in history. He has 22 Olympic medals, four more than the next highest Olympic medal holder (gymnast Larisa Latynina, from the Soviet Union, who has 18).

Not only that, but he has 18 gold medals—twice as many as any other Olympian.

Phelps won six medals in the 2012 Olympics.

• Four of the world’s top badminton women’s doubles teams were kicked out of the Olympics for throwing their matches.

The women deliberately tried to lose by serving wildly and hitting shots into the net or out of the court. Why?

If they had won their first matches, they would have had to play more difficult opponents. By losing their first matches, they would have been able to play easier, more beatable teams.

However, you’re not allowed to “throw” a match by losing on purpose so they were eliminated from the Olympics.

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Animals Environment News

Endangered Right Whale Population is Growing

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North Atlantic Right Whales are one of the most endangered whale species in the world.

But now their numbers are growing again, thanks to a plan to keep large ships away from the whales’ nursery and feeding grounds.

For many years the whales were hunted for their oil. Hunting was banned in 1937, but by the 1990s there were only a few hundred North Atlantic Right Whales left.

The whales live in the Atlantic Ocean, off the eastern coast of Canada and the United States. They spend the winters in warm southern waters, where most calves are born, then migrate north in the spring.

Many Right Whales spend each summer and fall in the Bay of Fundy, a large inlet of the Atlantic Ocean between the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The water there has large amounts of plankton – tiny organisms that are an important part of the whales’ diet.

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Kids Lighter News

Owner Of Mollie’s Candy Stores Is Just Six Years Old

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“Mollie’s” is a chain of candy stores in England.

They sell British and American candy, as well as ice cream.

There are three stores in the chain, located in the British towns of Welshpool, Newtown and Shrewsbury.

But perhaps the most interesting thing about Mollie’s candy stores is the owner—Mollie Price.

You see, she’s six years old.

Price started the business because she liked those “pick and mix” (bulk food) stores, as her mother told Britain’s Mail Online news website.

That’s how most of the candy in Mollie’s stores is sold.

Her mother said Price noticed there was an opportunity for a bulk candy store, and “Mollie’s” was born.

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Science Technology

Take Pictures Without A Camera

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Put your pointer fingers and thumbs together so they form a rectangle.

Now go “click!”

You just took a picture.

Can you imagine it? That’s what it will be like to take a picture with the Ubi-Camera, now being developed by a group of researchers at the Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences, a university in Japan.

The Ubi-Camera is a tiny rectangular box that fits over your thumb.

For the viewfinder (the thing you would normally look through on a camera to see what you want to take a picture of) you simply form a rectangle with your fingers and thumbs.

To take a picture, you press down on the box. Click! You’ve taken a photo—without a “camera.”

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News Sports Technology

iPhone App Helps Blind Olympic Torchbearer

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The 2012 summer Olympic Games takes place in London, England starting next month.

From July 27 to August 12, athletes from 203 countries around the world will converge on the city to compete in sports including swimming, cycling and diving.

Before the competitions begin, the Olympic torch is run in a cross-country relay through more than 1,000 cities in the United Kingdom.

The torch was flown to the UK on May 18 and the huge, cross-country relay began.

In the relay, runners hold the torch aloft as they run and when they get to a certain spot they light the next runner’s torch–and so on.

The last torchbearer will light the giant cauldron in the Olympic Stadium in London, to mark the start of the Olympic Games for 2012.

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Environment News Science

Scientists Discovers Corn Plants Make A Noise

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Most people know that plants react to light.

For instance, if a houseplant is near a window it will start to grow towards the light.

But what about sound?

New research shows that plants not only react to sound, but even produce sounds themselves.

Dr. Monica Gagliano is a researcher at The University of Western Australia. One day she was working in her herb garden and she started to wonder if plants were sensitive to sounds. Since she’s a scientist, she decided to find out.

She and some other researchers discovered something amazing. They found out that the roots of corn seedlings (very young corn plants) make clicking sounds.

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News Technology

Microsoft Launches New Tablet To Compete With iPad

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When Apple introduced the iPad tablet, it was unique.

It had a large flat glass viewing screen which you touched to move and open files, it was extremely light and thin, and it had a magnetic cover that not only protected it but it shut it down as well.

When new technology comes along–and proves to be popular and successful–it’s not long before other companies try to duplicate it. They try to improve on the other company’s product if they can.

That’s the case with Microsoft’s new tablet called Surface.

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Lighter

Become Your Favourite Superhero — For $125

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Have you ever wondered what you’d look like if you were a superhero? An online store called Firebox.com lets you create a customized superhero—with your face on it.

For about $125, Firebox will create a superhero figurine that looks like you. At least, the head does.

You email Firebox pictures of your face from the front and the side, and the company creates a three-dimensional head that fits onto a superhero figurine body.

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