The Leaving Certificate is the final exam in the Republic of Ireland secondary school education system. Students have to do the Junior Certificate before they can take the Leaving Certificate. Students also have to take Maths and English. If they took Irish during the Junior Certificate, they also have to take Irish.
Students have to take exams on at least six subjects. They can take either High or Ordinary level tests. In Irish and Maths, there is also a Foundation level. This is for people who have trouble with that subject.
The results are given out in the middle of August. A leaving certificate is required in order to go on to college or university.
Empire
An empire is a set of lands or regions that are ruled by an emperor. Usually, the emperor has governors, viceroys or client kings who each rule one land or region. An empire usually also has many different cultures.
Well-known empires include the Persian Empire, the Roman Empire, the Russian Empire, the Greek Macedonian Empire, and the British Empire. The first person to create an empire was King Sargon of Akkad, who legend says was destined to rule, established the world's first empire more than 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia. The Akkadian Empire was the oldest empire in the world.
Today, the only monarch to use the title "emperor" is the Emperor of Japan although his power is mostly ceremonial and the "de facto" head of government is the Prime Minister of Japan.
Many empires grew mostly by conquering land neighbors and are called land empires. Sea empires grew mostly by sailing to distant places and conquering them. The Aztec Empire and the Mongol Empire were land empires. The Venetian Empire and the British Empire were sea empires.
Writer
A writer can mean anyone who makes a written work or who writes, but the word more usually means people who write creatively or as a job, or those who have written in many different forms. Skilled writers demonstrate skills in using language to portray certain ideas and images, whether in fiction or non-fiction.
Greeting card writer
This list is only a few examples of the many types of writing there are.
Writers often specialize in one of the following categories:
Inventor
An inventor is a person who makes new inventions, devices that perform some kind of function. The devices are mostly electrical or mechanical. Someone that invents new ideas or methods on how to do things may also be called an inventor. Inventors can receive a patent.
Many inventors make small changes to old inventions. For example, people have invented new ways to make clocks over history. Early clocks were sundials, later clocks used water, and pendulums. Modern clocks are often electronic. Other machines such as vehicles are made of many inventions.
Bear
Bears are a group of large mammals found in all over the world in many different habitats. They form the family Ursidae, in the suborder Caniformia of the order Carnivora. There are 8 living bear species.
Bears usually have a big body with short and thick legs. They have a broad head and a very short tail. They have small eyes and round ears. They usually have longer, shaggy fur. On each foot they have five claws, which they cannot pull back. They use their claws for digging, climbing, and hunting. They can stand up on their back legs and their front paws are flexible. Usually bears can climb and swim very well. Males are usually bigger than females. Most bears except the giant panda are only one color. Most bears are russet, brown, or black.
Bears do not have good hearing. They have powerful senses of smell and sight. They have good sight and can see colors, which is different from other carnivores. Bears mostly use their sense of smell to know what is around them. They can smell better than dogs. Bears also have good memory, which lets them remember where they can find food.
They are mostly active at night, except for the Polar Bear. Some bears hibernate, that means they sleep during the winter to save energy.
Bears are usually omnivorous, which means that they eat plants and meat. They eat berries, grass, and fish. An exception is the polar bear, which eats mostly meat.
Bears usually live alone, except when they are mating season or if they have cubs. The father does not raise the cubs. The mother raises the cubs for months or a few years depending on how much food there is. The mother protects her young, even at the cost of her life.
Bears live all over the world, mostly in the Northern hemisphere. They are found in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. There used to be bears in northern Africa but they are now extinct.
Fictional bears include, Yogi Bear, Berenstain Bears, and Winnie the Pooh.
Meteorology
Meteorology is the science that focuses on the Earth's atmosphere. People who study meteorology are called meteorologists. Meteorologists record air pressure, wind speed and direction, temperature, humidity, weather patterns, and other information. Meteorologists use this data to understand weather and to predict it. Meteorology is a major branch of earth science. Meteorologists study the causes of particular weather conditions using information obtained from the land, sea and upper atmosphere.
They use computerized and mathematical models to make short and long-range forecasts concerning weather and climate patterns. A variety of organizations use meteorological forecasts including:
In addition to forecasting, meteorologists study the impact of weather on the environment and conduct research into weather patterns, climate change and models of weather prediction.
Technology
Technology is the skills, methods, and processes used to achieve goals.
People can use technology to:
Technology can be knowledge of how to do things. Machines are examples of embed. This lets others use the machines without knowing how they work. Technological systems use technology by taking something, changing it, then producing a result. They are also known as technology systems.
The most simple form of technology is the development and use of basic tools. The discovery of fire and the Neolithic Revolution made food easier to get. Other inventions, such as the wheel and the ship, helped people to transport goods and themselves. Information technology, such as the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, has led to globalization.
The word "technology" comes from two Greek words:
Wonders of the World
The Seven Wonders of the World (or the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) is a widely-known list of seven great buildings or structures from the classical time period.
This is a list put together in the 2nd century BC by
Antipater of Sidon and Philon of Byzantium. This explains why it only lists monuments of the Mediterranean world. There are other slightly different versions: this is the most usual one.
Out of those structures only the Great Pyramid still exists in the 21st century. Most of the wonders were built by the Greeks. Earlier versions listed the Walls of Babylon and the Palace of Cyrus the Great.
This version was decided by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
There is no single list of seven natural wonders of the world. One of the many lists was compiled by CNN:
New7Wonders of the World was an idea to choose new wonders of the world from a selection of 200 existing monuments. The mission began in 2001 and ended in 2007 with the announcement of the winners. The popularity poll was led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber and organized by the New7Wonders Foundation in Zürich, Switzerland. Voting took place through the Internet or by telephone.
The program caused different reactions from countries and organisations. Some countries praised their finalist and tried to get more people to vote for it. Others criticized the contest or did not think it was very important.
Among the strongest criticism was from UNESCO, who said in a press release in 2007:
Winners: