A Ton of Crap (23 page)

THE REFORMATION

The Counter-Reformation
Initially, the Catholic Church thought nothing of the Reformation, but as it spread from country to country, the Church established the Council of Trent to repair the schism that was occurring. A Spanish nobleman named Ignatius Loyola, who had renounced his military life, founded the Jesuits, a group that made reforms from within the Church. By the end of the sixteenth century, half of the lands lost to Protestant Reform returned to the Catholic Church, a divide that still exists today.

WRITING

Ambidexterity
Ambidexterity is the ability to be equally adept at using both the left and the right hand. It is a rare form of cross-dominance, and though it can be taught, only 1 out of 100 people are born naturally ambidextrous. Because many items are made for right-handed people, left-handed people learn to use their right hands, and are more likely to become ambidextrous than right-handed people.

OPERATIONS

Factorials
Factorials are a very simple concept to understand. It is expressed by having an exclamation point following a number (for example, 5!). Factorials are the product (meaning result from multiplication) of all of the positive integers less than or equal to that number. So, 5! is really saying 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 120.

TISSUES

Organs
Organs are groups of tissues that work together to perform a specific function. In organs, there is usually a main tissue called the parenchyma, which is unique to the specific organ, and sporadic tissues called the stroma, such as connective tissue or blood. Groups of organs that work together to perform a specific function form organ systems.

RUSSIAN

Useful Russian Phrases
Here are some helpful phrases to use when traveling to Russia. Note that these are not written with the Russian alphabet, but rather pronunciations that have been written in English.

Good day.
Dobry den.

Hi/Hello.
Privet.

Do you speak English?
Govorite li vy po angliyski?

I need to use the restroom.
Mne nuzhno otoyti v tualet.

What time is it? K
otoryy chas?

Goodbye.
Do svidaniya.

Yes.
Da.

No.
Net.

1. Which one of the following did Martin Luther include in his 95 Theses?
   

   1. Rejection of Christianity
      
   2. Rejection of Protestantism
      
   3. Rejection of the pope
      
   4. Rejection of the Trinity
      

2. Which of the following is true?
   

   1. By the beginning of the sixteenth century, Roman Catholicism was the only religion in Western Europe.
      
   2. By the beginning of the sixteenth century, Protestantism and Calvinism were the only religions in Western Europe.
      
   3. By the beginning of the sixteenth century, Lutheranism was the only religion in Western Europe.
      
   4. By the beginning of the sixteenth century, Lutheranism and Calvinism were the only religions in Western Europe.
      

3. Ambidexterity is an example of:
   

   1. Right-handedness
      
   2. Left-handedness
      
   3. Syllabaries
      
   4. Cross-dominance
      

4. What is one reason why there are no fully logographic languages?
   

   1. Words do not sound the way they are written.
      
   2. With the amount of characters, it would take too long to learn every word.
      
   3. There are too many consonants in each word.
      
   4. There are too many vowels in each word.
      

5. What operation is being expressed in the following problem: 9(6) = 54
   

   1. Division
      
   2. Square root
      
   3. Factorial
      
   4. Multiplication
      

6. Which of the following is a perfect square?
   

   1. √97
      
   2. √43
      
   3. √49
      
   4. √67
      

7. The major cells involved in immunological defense are found in the:
   

   1. Connective tissue
      
   2. Nervous tissue
      
   3. Epithelial tissue
      
   4. Organs
      

8. Which of the following is a main function of the endothelium?
   

   1. Absorption
      
   2. Protection
      
   3. Secretion
      
   4. All of the above
      

9. Who invented Cyrillic?
   

   1. Peter the Great
      
   2. Constantine
      
   3. Methodius
      
   4. B and C
      

10. Which of the following was not a change made in the Soviet Union Spelling Reform of 1918?
    

    1. Four letters were removed.
       
    2. One silent letter that was put at the end of words was removed.
       
    3. New political terminology was introduced.
       
    4. New vowels were introduced.
       

ANSWER KEY: c, a, d, b, d, c, a, d, d, d

HISTORY:
Rome
The Founding Myth, The Roman Kingdom, The Roman Republic, The Roman Empire, The Fall of Rome, The Colosseum

LANGUAGE ARTS:
Speaking
The Vocal Folds, The Voice, Volume, The Pitch of a Voice, Diction, Speech Impediments

MATH:
Decimals
Naming Numbers with Decimals, Addition and Subtraction with Decimals, Multiplying with Decimals, Division with Decimals, Rounding Decimals, Finding the Percent of a Number

SCIENCE:
Reproduction
The Human Reproductive System, Gametes, The Male Reproductive System, The Female Reproductive System, Fetal Development,
Asexual Reproduction

FOREIGN LANGUAGE:
Greek
Mycenaean Greek, Classical Greek, Hellenistic Greek, Medieval Greek, Modern Greek, Useful Greek Phrases

ROME

The Founding Myth
According to legend, Romulus and Remus were the children of the god Mars. Mars feared they would one day kill him, and decided to drown them. They were rescued by a she-wolf and raised by her until ultimately being found by a shepherd and his wife. When the boys grew older, they decided to build a city. In a fight over who would rule the city, Romulus killed Remus with a rock. Romulus then named the city after himself and called it Rome.

SPEAKING

The Vocal Folds
Vocal folds, or what are commonly referred to as vocal cords, are responsible for producing your voice. Vocal folds are a pair of tissue flaps stretched across the trachea. The vocal folds open when breathing and close while swallowing food. During the process of speaking, the tissues vibrate and change the flow of air that comes from your lungs. This modification of airflow produces the sound of your voice.

DECIMALS

Naming Numbers with Decimals
Decimals are another way of expressing a fraction. The fraction
is equivalent to 0.8. Each number after the decimal is based on the number 10. Therefore, 0.8 is actually eight-tenths. A number in the next spot to the right would make it hundredths, and the next spot to the right would make it thousandths. For example, 0.54 is the same as saying fifty-four-hundredths, and 0.986 is the same as saying nine-hundred eighty-six-thousandths.

REPRODUCTION

The Human Reproductive System
The reproduction system is a system of organs that work together and allow humans to reproduce. In order for reproduction to occur, two different types of reproduction systems must be present: the male reproduction system and the female reproduction system. The differences between these systems allow for the genetic material of both individuals to be passed on to the offspring.

GREEK

Mycenaean Greek
Mycenaean Greek is the oldest form of the Greek language. It was spoken from the sixteenth to eleventh centuries b.c. in Mycenae and Crete. The Linear B script tablets, which showed a system of writing based on a syllabic alphabet, is the only record of Mycenaean Greek. The language consisted of eighty-eight signs representing syllables and made no distinction between long and short vowels, or double consonants.

ROME