Silk is one of the most valuable and beautiful fabrics. It was highly appreciated a millennium ago, and our contemporaries are fond of it. You know, it is produced from threads extracted from the cocoon of silkworm. The length of one such thread from one cocoon can reach 800-100 meters!
Silkworms are actually caterpillars, not worms. They build cocoons to protect themselves while they change into a moth.
By the way, some spiders also make silk. They weave silk webs to catch insects. However, the silk made by spiders is too thin for making cloth.
To process silk, the cocoons are first put in hot water. This softens the cocoons so the silk can be unwound.
Silk was such an important product during ancient times that the major trade route between East Asia, West Asia, and Europe was called the Silk Roads.

Interesting facts
1. The production of 500 grams of silk requires about 3 thousand cocoons of silkworm. It takes 12 hours of work to make a skein of silk thread weighing 250 grams.
2. Silk thread has tremendous strength, it withstands strong pressure and is very strong at breaking. Not so long ago it was found out that 16 layers of silk withstand a bullet from the Magnum 357 (with a lead core).
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Deer are generally slender and long-legged. Their most striking characteristic is the presence of antlers. The deer family includes about 45 species. The legs are long and slender, well-suited for fast running. Most species of deer have antlers. Usually only males have them, however, in Rangifer, the caribou, both sexes have antlers. Other species, such as the Chinese water deer and the tufted deer, have tusks. Deer are native to Europe, Asia, North America, South America, and northern Africa. People have brought them to Australia, New Zealand, and other areas. Most deer live in small family groups, though the males generally spend some time alone. Female deer usually give birth to one or two young.
The smallest deer, the South American pudu, is about 30 centimeters tall at the shoulder. The largest deer, the moose, may be more than 2.1 meters tall at the shoulder.
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Gulls are among the most common waterbirds of ocean and coastal zones worldwide. There are more than 40 species of gull, including kittiwakes. Adult gulls are usually white or gray, sometimes with dark markings. They range in length from about 28 to 79 centimeters. A gull’s bill is strong and slightly hooked. Their wings are long and pointed, and gulls have a short squared tail.
Along the shore, gulls are helpful to the people who clean beaches and harbors. They swoop down to pick up messy things. Gulls eat almost anything, from dead fish and animals to potato chips. Gulls also follow fishing boats, feeding on offal and by-catch as it is discarded overboard. These birds eat all day long just to stay alive. While flying many miles without stopping, they use up a lot of energy. Some gulls travel enormous distances between their summer and winter homes.
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Only the female mosquito bites and leaves those itchy lumps on our arms and legs. She needs the blood for her eggs to develop. The humming sound we hear comes from the fast beat of the mosquito’s wings. The male mosquito feeds on nectar and other plant juices. Mosquitoes are part of a large group of insects called flies. A mosquito has two narrow wings, two antennas, and six long legs. A female mosquito usually has a mouthpart called a proboscis, which looks like a long tube. There are more than 3000 species of mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes are usually found wherever the weather is damp or where there are rivers, lakes, or swamps. That’s because these insects must lay their eggs in water. They even lay eggs in tin cans partly filled with rainwater. Mosquitoes have four stages in their life cycle beginning with the egg, then proceeding into a larva stage, followed by a pupa stage, and finally adulthood. When the eggs hatch, the young mosquitoes look like little worms.
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Since ancient times people have tried to explain the night sky. A constellation is a group of stars. The groups are identified according to patterns that people have seen in the stars and they are simply ways that people have imagined the stars. Over thousands of years different cultures have seen different patterns in the stars. They have named many different constellations after familiar animals, everyday objects, and characters and beasts from stories.
Today constellations provide a connection between modern humans and ancient stories. Astronomers have named 88 constellations and they use them to help describe the location of specific stars.
There are 12 well-known constellations that lie in a band of space called the zodiac: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces. Today astronomers have calculated that during the period from November 27 to December 17, there is one more zodiacal constellation on the horizon – Ophiuchus.
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The bullfinch has a bright red breast and gray back set off by a coal–black head. However, only males have red breasts, the female’s breasts are brown. They have an excellent ability to imitate different sounds. Some of these birds can memorize and whistle several very complex melodies. All you need is patience to train a bird. It is quite easy to tame bullfinch.
Despite the fact that most bullfinches live in Eurasia, the largest of them, white-cheeked bullfinches, live in the hot Philippines.
In captivity, these birds live less than in nature. The weight of an adult bullfinch is about thirty grams.
Bullfinches are monogamous. During the breeding season, males coax females by offering food. Males never take part in the construction of a nest. Nestlings of bullfinches gain their independence in the third week of life.
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People use paper for writing, printing, wrapping, and many other purposes. Hundreds of years ago people made paper by hand. Today machines produce most paper. First, the wood fibers are soaked in water and creates a soupy mixture. Next, this mixture is spread on a screen and rollers press out water. Once the fibers are dry, they have become a sheet of paper.
Paper is available in a wide variety of weights, colors, textures, and finishes for a multitude of purposes. Everyday writing and printer paper is thin and smooth. Paper used for arts and crafts is thicker and textured. Cardboard is a thick type of paper used to make packaging. Paper used for newspapers is thin and cheap. Recycled paper is made from used paper.
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