Conifers are a group of trees and shrubs that produce cones. Most conifers are evergreens. There are more than 550 types of conifer. Some of the most well-known are cedars, cypresses, firs, junipers, larches, pines, redwoods, and yews.
Conifers grow all over the world. They have woody trunks and may be low shrubs or very tall trees. Their thin leaves look like needles and a waxy coating keeps them from losing water. Conifers grow cones instead of flowers or fruits. Some types grow male and female cones on the same tree. The female cones are larger and grow on the upper branches, while the male cones tend to grow on the lower branches. Others types have male or female cones on separate trees.
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Alexandrian Column (Alexander Column) is on the main square of St. Petersburg.
In the late 20s of the XIX century, an open tender was announced. The French architect and engineer Auguste de Montferrand won it. Nicholas I insisted that the main part of the monument should be similar to the column of the emperor Trajan in Rome or the Vendome column in Paris, only higher and made from the monolith.
A granite rock, found in Finland, was used for the monolith. A prism, much larger than the size of the future column, was cut off from the rock. Huge stones for the foundation of the monument were cut down from the same rock. The largest weighed about 400 tons. They were taken to St. Petersburg by water, on a special barge.
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Lakes are part of nature. It is very pleasant to lie on the grass on the lake shore, listen to the singing of birds, smell grasses. Besides, lakes are an extremely important element of the hydrosphere. There are about 117 million lakes On Earth. They are very different. There are giants and dwarfs among them.
The Great Lakes are a group of natural freshwater lakes in the middle of North America. These five lakes are Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. They cover an area of about 245,660 square kilometers. The lakes were originally formed when glaciers retreated during the last Ice Age. Each one of them is special in some way. Lake Superior is the biggest as well as the deepest of the lakes. Lake Ontario is the smallest lake. Lake Erie is the shallowest, and Lake Huron has the longest shoreline. There are more than 30,000 islands in Lake Huron, including Manitoulin Island, the largest freshwater island in the world.
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Today the samovar is out of date. Earlier the families had a wonderful tradition of tea drinking, when the whole family gathered together at the samovar. This amazing household item was in almost every family.
The samovar became a symbol of Russia, but it was not a national invention. Peter I brought it from Holland along with other curious things. Because of the cold climate the samovar became very popular in Russia. To keep warm, people drank 15-20 cups of tea a day! In addition, the samovar heated the room.
The first manufacturers of samovars in Russia were the Ural craftsmen. Then there were workshops in Yaroslavl, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vologda, Kostroma. Tula, which received the status of the capital of the samovar, was the leader among them.
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There are many types of vampires in beliefs found all over the world. Some vampires are demons that attack at night, and are associated with night terrors. Vampires also were blamed for plagues, invisible terrors that bothered people at night and wasting diseases that brought death.
Western fiction and film have popularized the vampire as a glamorous and seductive living dead person who bites people on the neck. The victim of the vampire’s bite would become one of the “living dead”. Vampires have no shadows, and cannot cast a reflection in any mirror or reflective surface. Some vampires had the ability to turn into a wolf. These vampires were known as vukodlak.
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The legend about Atlantis appeared more than 2,500 years ago. Atlantis was described as a continent-sized area with rich soil, plentiful pure water, abundant vegetation and animals, natural hot springs. Slaves performed manual labor, allowing a large elite to pursue knowledge, enjoy sporting events, and continually improve upon an already thriving society.
The idea of Atlantis was first expressed in the works of Plato, who stressed that a perfect world exists in Ideas.
In 1882, Ignatius Donnelly (1832-1901) published Atlantis: The Antediluvian World, arguing that all civilization is an inheritance from Atlantis.
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Penguins are flightless sea birds. Its torpedo–shaped body allows the bird to travel swiftly in water. They use their short flat wings like flippers. Penguins are the only birds that can swim but cannot fly. There are 18 types of penguins. They live in Antarctica, Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and South America. Penguins have a thick layer of fat that helps to protect them from the cold. A penguin typically has a black back and a white belly. Short, glossy feathers cover its body are waterproof and helps keep the bird warm.
Penguins live in nesting colonies, that can be enormous. In large groups they are safer from predators, such as skuas, sharks, killer whales, and especially leopard seals.
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