FINDING OUT HISTORY: Castles WORLD AFFAIRS: Living in Australia SCIENCE OF LIFE: How messages travel through your body ‘The paths of birds MATHEMATICS: More about area ENGLISH: Conversations STORY PAGES: Tales of Troy ACHIEVEMENTS: Geoffrey Chaucer SCIENCE OF MATTER: Rainbow colours GEOGRAPHY: Volcanoes © 1963 Purnell and Sons, Led. Published by Purnell and Sons, Lid, Guif Howe, 2 Portman Street, London, Wx. Printed in Great Britain This is what a very early castle must have looked Hike, with its mound (or motte) and bailey ‘Waen William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066, he knew one way to make the conquered English obey his commands, He would build castles in all parts of the country. Each castle would be both the home and the stronghold of the Norman lord to whom he gave the countryside around, And so, within 30 years of the Battle of Hastings, there were 85 new castles in England. ‘Most of them were quite simple. They were made by throwing up a big mound of earth from a ditch, Round the flattish top of the mound was put a strong wooden fence, ‘There was a wooden building inside. ‘The ditch and mound stopped horses from charging up. They made soldiers on foot too breathless to be dangerous. They kept archers far enough away to stop their artows being deadly. But the Norman lord did not want to live on top of a 386 (Hi mound. So he had a ditch dug round a field close to the mound, and a strong wooden fence was put up along it In this way he enclosed what was called the bailey. His family and servants and soldiers lived in wooden houses in the bailey. They only retired to the safe top of the mound if some enemy overran the fence round the bailey. In a few places, however, William wanted a much stronger castle, He wanted a castle in London that would be so strong that the Londoners would not dare to attack it. So there he built, in stone instead of wood, the great square Tower of London. ‘Then came troubled times when the King’s government was not very strong, The local lord could do very much what he liked in his own district if his home was safe enough from attack. So many lords now built their private stone castles. Some of them had a strong square tower or Reep like the Tower of London. The keep was large enough to live in, and its 20-foot-thick walls were strong enough to make even the King hesitate to attack it. ‘The keep was several storeys high, but the front door ‘was some 30 fect above the ground, at the top of a steep outside staircase, And there was no back door. The ground floor was not used for living in, but gave plenty of space for storing food. A deep well was there too, and this was very important. For the enemy might not bother to attack the castle. Instead he might surround it and just wait until it surrendered. So there must be enough flour and salted meat -and water in the keep to last out a siege that might go on for several months before the enemy got tired or had something more urgent to do! ‘When knights went on Crusades they got many new ideas about building stronger castles. They got some of RY) Allington Castle in Kent is a good example of a later Norman castle. You can see the round towers, From the ‘window slits arrows could be shot in any direction at ‘attackers at the foot of the walls.these ideas from seeing the great walls and towers of Byzantium, and in the Holy Land they had to build castles that could stand up against ferocious attacks by Moslems. One keep was not large enough to hold all the Crusading garrison and its horses, so they had to make the bailey stronger. Up went its walls, higher and thicker. But how ‘could they fire at any enemy who managed to reach the foot of the walls? If they left them there they would batter away with rams until they made a hole or breach in the wall. But to aim at them with arrows they had to lean over the top of the wall, and then they provided a good target for enemy sharpshooters. ‘When the Crusaders came home they used three new ways in building stronger castles in England and Wales and France. ‘One idea was to build yet another wall outside the main walls of the bailey. This made it possible for two rows of archers to fire at the advancing enemy, for the archers on the high bailey wall could fire over the heads of the archers on the low outside wall. ‘They also built platforms or parapets hanging over the top of the bailey wall. Holes in this parapet allowed them to drop things on the head of any enemy at its foot. ‘Thirdly, they found they could shoot arrows at men at the foot of the walls if they made window slits in towers which stood out from the walls. There were no “blind spots” left if they made these towers round instead of, square. In time these towers along the walls became as strong as the old keep. There was no way into any tower either from the ground or from the top of the wall. And so the enemy might manage to break through the main walls at one place, but would still have to capture each of the towers in turn before he could safely use the bailey. Question: 1, What was the easiest way to capture a castle? 2. Why was it dangerous to leave enemies at the foot of thick high coals? 3. How did projecting towers in the walls help to protect the Soot of the walls? ‘Answers on page 403. 387‘Two unDRED years ago there were no white men living in Australia, Except for the coastline, very little was Known about the great island continent, It appeared to be dry and barren, and it was the home of a dark-skinned people called Aborigines (which means “those who were there from the beginning”). On 26th January, 1788, Australia’s Foundation Day, Captain Arthur Philip and 2 party of about 1000 mea, women and children went ashore at Sydney Cove and founded the first British settlement. As the years went by, more and more shiploads of people arrived. Gradu- ally the white men spread over the whole continent. Today Australia is an impoftant member of the British Commonwealth. It is divided into six states, each with its own Assembly. The central, or Federal, Parliament meets in the capital city of Canberra, where the Governor- General lives. The Governor-General is the represent- ative of the Queen. ‘Today there are only about 47,000 Aborigines left in Australia, Some wander from place to place, hunting for their food with spears and boomerangs, as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago. Others have settled in “reserves”. These are areas specially set aside for them by the government. ‘The total population of Australia is about ten millions. This is a very small figure, for the continent is about the same size as the U.S.A., which has a population of ‘over 180 millions. In recent years thousands of men and women, mostly from Western Europe, have gone to ‘Australia to live, Hundreds of day and evening classes have ‘been arranged where immigrants who cannot speak English 388 can learn the language and the customs of the country. ‘These “new Australians”, as they are called, go to ‘Australia chiefly because they want work, sunshine and adventure. Australia provides plenty of all three. In the interior, which Australians call the “Outback”, there is work for those who like an outdoor life on the farms, sheep-stations and cattle-ranches. ‘Australia has been called the “Sunshine Continent”. ‘Those who live near the sea spend much of their leisure time swimming or surfing. Others play golf, tennis and cricket, or watch horse-racing. Australia has produced ‘many of the world’s greatest sportsmen and women, ‘Australians are great meat-caters. A favourite dish is steak and eggs. Because Australia is a sheep country they also eat a lot of mutton and lamb. City lifes much the same anywhere in the.world, But life in the Australian “Outback” is very different. There a man and his family may live several hundred miles from the nearest shop. The children do theie lessons by post, because there is no school for them to attend, They ‘become expert riders and often help to round up sheep, or cattle. Many “Outback” families make their own electricity and have a radio transmitter by which they ‘an talk to friends, and call the doctor if necessary. Children also receive their lessons by radio, Doctors use aeroplanes to visit their patients ss part of what is called the “Flying Doctor Service”. Koala bears in eucalyptus trees, kangaroos and walla- ties, wild dogs called dingoes, and the Kookaburra, or laughing bird, all go to make up the picture of Australia as a land of interest and adventure.Quiz Page 1. What is a boomerang? (@) a large branch of a tree (0) a barrier (©) @ weapon which moves in a circle (@)_an explosive 2. Complete the following: Samson and .. (a) Jonathan. (b) Isaac (©) Delilah (@) Circe. 3. Which one of the follow- ing was born first? (@) The Prophet Muham- mad (b) Alexander the Great (©) Christopher Columbus (4) Pontius Pilate. 4. What is an artisan? (a) a skilled workman (b) a type of well (©) a portrait painter (@) a box of paints. 5. Which one of the follow- ing is said to have slept for 20 years? (a) Rumpelstitzkin (b) Snow White (c¢) Humpty Dumpty (@ Rip van Winkle. 6. What are the two cities referred to in Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities? (a) London and Calais (b) London and Paris (©) Paris and Rome (@) Rome and Berlin. 7. Which animal do you con- nect with St. George, the patron saint of England? @) Lion (b) Bulldog (©) Tiger (@) Dragon. 8. What is meant by “keep your nose to the grind- stone”? (@ Work hard (b) Watch carefully (© Keep your tools sharp @ Avoid accidents. 9. Who led the children of Israel out of Egypt? (@) Abraham (b) Jacob (©) Moses (A) Joseph. to. Where do pineapples grow? (@) Under the ground (b) On the ground (©) On trees (@) On bushes. 11, When is St. Valentine's Day? (@) 25th October (b) r4th July (©) 14th February (@) 4th July. 12, What is the capital of Communist China? (a) Delhi (b) Hong Kong (©) Tokyo (@) Peking. 13. Who first learnt to fly? (a) The Wright brothers (b) Leonardo da Vinci (©) George Stephenson (@) Guglielmo Marconi. 14. In which country are lire used? (2) France () Iealy (©) Germany (A) Spain. 15. How many apostles did Jesus have? @n (b) 10 ©7 @ 4. 16. Which of these is not a group of stars? (@) the Great Bear (b) the Little Bear (©) the Great King (@) the Plough. Answers on page 403.How messages travel through your body Let us PRETEND for a few moments that you are sitting comfortably in the garden reading a book. The sun is shining, and it is so warm that you have taken off your coat and have placed it beside you. Quite suddenly a dark cloud comes along, a cool breeze begins to blow, and you feel cold. You wonder what todo. Then you remem- ber your coat; you bend down, pick it up, and put it on er My goodness, that’s better,” you say, and then you go on reading. ‘Now you all know that when you fec! cold it is sensible to put your coat on, But do you know just how you feel cold? And do you know what makes your arms and legs move in exactly the right way when you put your, coat on again? ‘We are going to try to tell you about the way in which these things are caused by a part of your body called the nervous system. Looking for the nerves If you were able to take a person to pieces you would be abie to find most of the nervous system quite easily. The largest partis the brain, which, as you know, fits into the head. Joined to the back of the brain is a long thin piece, rather like a tail. This is the spinal cord, and it belongs in the little tunnel running all the way down the inside of the backbone, or spine. If you look at the picture you will see how these two parts of the nervous system are arranged. They are both very important and very deli- ‘cate, So itis fortunate that they are well protected by the bones of the skull and the backbone which surround them. At each side of the spinal cord there is attached a row ofnerves, These pass through little holes in the backbone and they spread out to reach almost every part of the body. Many of these nerves end in the skin; others end in muscles. As you will see later, these two sorts of nerves have very different tasks to perform. How nerves work ‘Now let us return to the garden where you were reading that book. As the sun goes in and the breeze begins to blow, your skin gets cooler. The nerves which end in the skin notice this, and they send little electrical messages about it. These are rather like telegraph messages. ‘The messages (they are called nerve impulses) go from the skiri, along the nerves to the spinal cord, From there they pass up the spinal cord to the brain. When they arrive at the brain you have the feeling of being cold. Of course, the message travels very, very quickly from the skin to the brain.In your brain the nerve messages cause some very com- plicated things to happen. They cause you to think. You think how cold you are and how you can get warm again, ‘You decide that the best thing to do is to put your coat on. As soon as you decide to put your coat on, more nerve messages begin. ‘This time they go in the other direction. ‘They start in the brain, go down the spinal cord, and then out along the nerves. Instead of going to the skin, however, these messages go to muscles. When they arrive there, the muscles grow shorter ~ they contract. Itis these contractions which make your body move in the right way to put your coat on again. ‘Some special nerves ‘You have just read about nerve messages going from the skin to the brain to tell us about feeling cold. ‘The nerves can carty lots of other messages besides these. They carry messages about feeling warm, feeling things which are touching you, and feeling pain. A mixture of all these messages is all the time reaching your brain to tell you what is going on in the world around you. Besides the nerves which tell you what is happening to your skin, there are several other nerves which tell you about what is going on in a rather special way. These are the nerves from the eyes, which carry messages about the things that we see; the nerves from the ears, which carry messages about the things we hear and the nerves from the nose and mouth which carry the messages of taste and smell. Try to imagine what life would be like if you could neither see, hear, smell, nor taste. You will easily be able to understand just how important these nerves are. Incidentally, these special nerves are quite short ones. Instead of carrying their messages to the spinal cord, they take them direct to the brain, Practice makes perfect ‘Have you ever sat in a chair and tried with your hands to rub one knee and to pat the other knee at the same time? I think that you will find it almost impossible. ‘This is because your brain gets confused when it has to send a different message to each of your arms at the same time. With a little practice, however, you will find that the trick becomes quite easy. Your brain has learnt how to send the two nerve messages. Very many difficult movements seem quite impossible ‘when you first try them. Perhaps you can remember how difficult it was to ride a bicycle the first time you tried. Ic is the same with playing a musical instrument. With, practice you can get into the habit of making certain ‘movements rapidly. Then, no matter how difficult they are, you can make them over and over again, almost without thinking. If you like, you can think of your nervous system as if it were a telephone network. Messages come in all the time from the skin, the eyes, the ears, the nose and the mouth. Other messages are going out to make the muscles work, It is not surprising that they sometimes get a little muddled, especially when the operators at the “exchange” in the brain have not had enough practice! Questions: 1. How does a nerve message get from the skin to the brain? 2, Can you think of any parts of the body besides the skin twhich send messages to the brain? 3. Do you understand how your thoughts are made | into actions? Answers on page 403. 391Understanding words Puzzl Page Instead of saying “father of a husband or wife” usually say “father-in-law”. In eWay, : that marks a limit", we usually say “boundary Each of the following words has the same me In cach line A is the beginning of a movement, Can you put the rest in order? ‘The answer to No. 1 is DCEB. one of the expressions below. Can you write down which ‘words and expressions mean the same thing? Words thrifiy; cattle; navvy; apologise; roast; hoot; unbreakable; neighbourhood; customer; bridegroom, Expressions (a) Say that one is sorry because one has done wrong (b) Cook in an oven of cook by dry heat (©) Taking great care in the use of money. (@) Cry of an ov. (c) What cannot be smashed. (0) Nearby district or area. (g) Man who has just married. (bh) Number of cows, bulls and oxen. (@ Person who buys at a shop. (J) Unskilled workman who is employed in heavy work such as making roads or canals. Words and numbers Arrange these groups of words or numbers in order of size, beginning with the smallest or carliest: Example: hour; seconds mistute; day. Answer: second; minute; hour; day. (@) March January August June (b) afternoon noon evening morning (C) 1631 1491 1962 1857 (@) line chapter page word (© country village city town ee (Q) hotel cottage hut house (g) ocean sea pond lake (h) 82 79 17°5 4°87 @ foot inch mile yard, Anstoers on page 403- 392