Understanding Calories

(1) A calorie, also known as kilocalorie, is a unit of energy. This unit represents the
energy required to heat a kilogram of water on degree Celsius. While people generally link
the term calorie with food, it is a unit of measurement that can be applied to any substance
possessing energy. For instance, there are 8200 calories in a litter (about one quart) of
gasoline.

(2) Calories describe the potential energy in food to maintain bodily functions, grow
or repair tissue, and perform mechanical work such as exercise. Food calories may take the
form of fat, carbohydrates, or proteins. Once consumed, enzymes act on these nutrients
through metabolic processes and break them into their perspective categories of fatty acids,
glucose, and amino acids. These molecules travel through the blood stream to specific cells
where they are absorbed for immediate use or sent on to the final stage of metabolism
where they release their stored energy through the process of oxidation.

(3) The number of calories burned during an exercise depends on various factors
including body weight and the type of exercise. For example, an individual weighing 59
kilograms (130 pounds) would expend roughly 500 calories per hour swimming or playing
basketball. However, this same person would burn an estimated 200 walking or playing
table tennis. In order to survive and maintain body weight, the average individual requires
approximately 2000 to 2500 calories per day. Gaining or losing weight is a simple process.
Add and subtract 7,700 calories over the course of time to gain or lose a kilogram. Nutrition
has nothing to do with it. It is all about calories.

Reference:
English for Academic and Professional Purposes Module. Department of Education, Republic
of the Philippines. 2016
 The Golden Age of Comics

(1) The period from the late 1930s to the middle 1940s is known as the golden age of
comic books. The modern comic book came in the early 1930s in the United States as a
giveaway premium to promote the sale of the whole range of household products such as
cereal and cleanser. The comic books, which are printed in bright colours to attract the
attentions of potential customers, proved so popular that some publishers decided to
produce comic books that would come out on a monthly basis and would sell for a dime
each. Though comic strips had been reproduced in publications prior to this time, the
Famous Funnies comic book, which was started in 1934, marked the first occasion that a
serialized book of comics was attempted.

(2) Early comic books reprinted already existing comic strips and comics based on
known characters, however, publishers soon began introducing original characters
developed specially for comic books. Superman was introduced in Action Comics in 1938,
and Batman was introduced a year later. The tremendous success of these superhero comic
books led to the development of numerous comic books on a variety of topics, though
superhero comic book predominated. Astonishingly, by 1945, approximately 160 different
comic books were being published in the United States each month, and 90 percent of US
children were said to read comic books on a regular basis.

Reference:
English for Academic and Professional Purposes Module. Department of Education, Republic
of the Philippines. 2016
 Competition and Cooperation

(1) Explanations of the interrelation between competition and cooperation have

evolved over the time. Early research into competition and cooperation defined each of
them in terms of the distribution of rewards related to each. Competition was defined as a
situation in which rewards are distributed unequally on the basis of performance,
cooperation on the other hand, was defined as a situation in which rewards are distributed
equally on the basis of mutual interactive behaviour among individuals. By this definition, a
competitive situation requires at least on competitor to fail for each competitor that wins,
while a cooperative situation offers a reward only if all members of the group receive it.

(2) Researchers have found definitions of competition and cooperation based upon
rewards inadequate primarily because definitions of these two concepts based upon
rewards depict them as opposite. In current understanding, competition is not viewed as
opposite of cooperation, instead, cooperation is viewed as integral component of
competition. Cooperation is necessary among team members, perhaps in a sporting event
or in a political race, in order to win the competition, it is equally important to understand
that cooperation is of great importance between teams in that same sporting event or
ground rules of the game or election in order to compete.

(3) Interestingly, the word competition is derived from a Latin verb which means “to
seek together.” An understanding of the derivation of the word competition supports the
understanding that cooperation, rather than evoking a characteristic at the opposite
extreme of human nature from competition, is in reality a necessary factor in competition.

Reference:
English for Academic and Professional Purposes Module. Department of Education, Republic
of the Philippines. 2016