Tag: grade 7

News Sports

NFL Football Season Begins… Phew!

The National Football League (NFL) just completed its first week of the season.

It was an eventful week that saw all 32 teams play. But the season almost didn’t happen.

Over the summer the players and the owners argued over many different issues including the safety of the players, the number of games each team plays, and the players’ salaries.

Many experts believed that the season would be “lost.” They thought that football, like hockey in 2004, would simply be cancelled.

The owners and players discussed their concerns throughout the summer and, on July 25, they finally announced they had come to an agreement about these important issues.

Lighter Technology

It’s DejaVu For Apple All Over Again

Last year, someone who worked at Apple, the company that makes computers and cell phones, made a big mistake.

They lost a top-secret prototype.

A prototype is a one-of-a-kind model they build of a new phone they’re thinking of manufacturing. It’s kept secret so no other company will find out what they’re doing and try to copy them.

The person who had the prototype accidentally left it in a bar. A journalist found it and put pictures of it on the Internet. It was a big scandal.

Well, it has apparently happened again.

Apple developed a prototype for the iPhone 5 they will be releasing soon. And once again, an employee has accidentally left it in a bar, according to technology website CNET.

News

9/11 Victims Honoured, Remembered

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

“9/11” refers to three terrorist attacks in the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001 – the ninth month, the 11th day.

On that day 10 years ago, nearly 3,000 people were killed when terrorists attacked two World Trade Centre buildings in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC. Near Pennsylvania, a plane was hijacked and crashed into a field.

The victims of the attacks were from more than 90 countries. Around the world, millions of people commemorated 9/11 in their own way.

At the site in New York where the twin towers once stood, called Ground Zero, thousands of people attended remembrance services.

News Politics

Japan Gets A New Prime Minister

Japan has a new prime minister.

In August, Naoto Kan stepped down as the country’s prime minister.

He said he had failed the country by not doing a good job of helping Japan recover after it was rocked by an earthquake last March.

On March 11, the fifth most powerful earthquake in history took place in the sea off the coast of Japan. It caused a tsunami, or giant sea wave.

Waves up to 10 metres high flooded the coast of Japan, causing massive damage to many homes and to a nearby nuclear energy plant.

In addition to the problems caused by these natural disasters, Japan also has the largest debt of any country in the world.

Debt is the money the country owes to other countries and to banks.

News

Lost Penguin Back In His Natural Habitat

A woman was walking her dog along a beach in New Zealand in late June when she saw something that looked like a white ball in the sand.

It turned out to be a young Emperor penguin that was very, very lost.

The penguin attracted a lot of attention in New Zealand. It has been 40 years since an Emperor penguin has been seen there.

Researchers at the country’s Department of Conservation were called in.

Many New Zealanders came to Peka Peka Beach to look at the elegant penguin.

They were careful to keep their dogs away from it so it wouldn’t be frightened.

The public nicknamed the animal Happy Feet.

News

Rescue Drill Turned Real In Canada’s North

Four hundred members of the Canadian military were in Nunavut recently for a search-and-rescue exercise called “Operation Nanook.”

That’s when troops practice rescuing pretend air-crash victims just in case it ever happens.

The soldiers were to perform the exercise for Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

However, the mock exercise was cancelled when there was a real plane crash nearby. The team raced out to help the victims.

The soldiers knew it was real when someone said, “NODUF,” which is slang for “this is not a drill.”

Breaking News News

Riots And Looting In London, England

Wide-spread riots broke out in London, England last week.

People ran into the streets, breaking store windows and stealing merchandise (known as “looting”), and setting fires to buildings and cars.

Hundreds of people have been arrested and at least five people died in the riots.

There are many different reasons people joined the riots.

Some people looted because they thought they could get away with it in the crowds.

Some rioted because everyone else around them was doing it or they considered it fun.

Animals Environment Science

“Extinct” Rainbow Toad Found In Borneo

A colourful, spindly-legged toad was recently spotted by scientists in Borneo.

The last time anyone had seen it was 1924, when it was reported by European explorers.

The bright green, purple and red toad is known as the Sambas Stream Toad, or the Borneo Rainbow Toad.

Many people had assumed it was extinct.

In July, three of the toads were found on three separate trees in Borneo, Indonesia which is an island off the coast of Southeast Asia. Borneo is the third-largest island in the world.

A professor at the Sarawak Malaysia University led the expedition to look for the toads.

Science

100-Year-Old Shipwreck Found In Lake Ontario

In 1906, a ship carrying 480 tons of coal sank in Lake Ontario.
The ship was a schooner, with three huge masts, and it was called Queen of the Lakes.

The ship ran into bad weather near Lake Ontario’s southern shore, and started to leak. It sank quickly.
The six crew members abandoned the ship and rowed safely to shore.

Some people, whose hobby is looking for sunken ships, located the in 2009 using a sonar machine.
The Queen of the Lakes was in water that was too deep for divers to reach her.

Entertainment

Pirates, Privateers and Freebooters… Arrrr!

Have you ever wondered what life was like for the pirates who terrorized the high seas from the 17th to 19th centuries?

Pirates, Privateers and Freebooters is an incredible interactive exhibit in Quebec City, Quebec.

It invites you to climb aboard a historically accurate reproduction of a pirate ship (complete with pirates) and experience the life and living conditions of these treasure-seeking scoundrels.

Unlike what Hollywood movies would have you believe, women were not permitted on pirate ships.

Pirates considered them bad luck – along with dice, rabbits and whistling.

But superstition did not stop adventurous females from disguising themselves as men and living the pirate life.

Two of the most successful were Anne Bonney and Mary Read.