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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020

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At a time when thecountry is fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, the Orchid Soci-

ety of Assam (OSA) is geared up for adifferent battle — to create awarenessand stop illegal trading of the exoticplants through a national level onlinecompetition, following the cancella-tion of the state’s first ever orchid fes-tival in April, due to the pandemic.

SCIENTISTS MAP SUBMERGED CONTINENTOF ZEALANDIA FOR THE 1ST TIME

In a first, scientists have launchedinteractive maps of Zealandia, acontinent which is 94 per cent

submerged underwater. Located inthe south of the Pacific Ocean,themaps show the bathymetry—thestudy of underwater depth of oceanfloors, and the tectonic origin of thecontinent. It covers about 5 millionsquare kilometres areas, where NewZealand and some island territoriesof the South Pacific, such as New Cale-donia, is located.

2020 has been a year full of challenges and ups and downs.With the Covid-19 pandemic wreaking havoc on the econ-omy— lay-offs and pay cuts becoming the order of the

day, industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata, recentlytook to Instagram, urging people to support one another in-stead of being hurtful.

CELEB TALK

➤ To participate in thecompetition, just click a

selfie with the orchids andupload it on the official

Facebook page, Orchidophiles,with address details. The top three

winners will get an award of ` 10,000, ` 7,000 and ` 5,000, respectively. Afive-member jury will announce the topthree winners on July 5. ➤ The last date to upload the entriesis June 30.

➤ It will be available underthe brand name FabiFlu as a pre-scription-based med-ication for ` 103 pertablet, with a recom-mended dose of 1,800mg twice a day on day1 and 800 mg twice aday up to 14th day,according to theMumbai-headquartered global pharmaceutical company. ➤ Favipiravir could be used for Covid-19 patients withcomorbid conditions, like diabetes and heart disease,the company said. It would offer rapid reduction in viralload within four days, and faster symptomatic and radi-ological improvement, the company added.

This year has been full of challengesfor everyone on some level or the

other. I see online community being hurtful toeach other, bringing each other down, harshly,

and with quick judgements. I believethis year, specially, calls for all of usto be unified and helpful. It is not thetime to pull each other downRATAN TATA, Chairman Emeritus,Tata group

ITALY COVERS GLACIER WITH GIANT WHITESHEETS TO SLOW MELTING

Ateam of researchers inItaly has begun theprocess of laying vast

tarpaulin sheets to cover over100,000 sq metres of the Pre-sena glacier in Northern Italyto prevent it from melting dueto global warming. Accordingto reports, the six-week

process is repeated every yearonce the ski season is over andsummer begins in full force.The coverings are geotextiletarpaulins that reflect sun-light, maintaining a tempera-ture lower than the externalone, and thus preserving asmuch snow as possible.

INDIA'S FIRST COVID-19 DRUG FABIFLU LAUNCHED

A20-year-old man fromYemen has just brokenthe world record for build-

ing the tallest stack of eggs ever,and getting it to stay for at leastfive seconds. Mohammad Muq-bel, a resident of KualaLumpur in Malaysia, builta stack of three eggs thatwere stacked neatly, one on topof the other. According to The

Khaleej Times, the feat was ac-knowledged at the Guinness

World Records (GWR),which said that the tower

was indeed the "largeststack of eggs" ever

made.

➤ According to previous researches, the continent of Zealandiawas formed after breaking away from the former super-continentof Gondwana, 85 million years ago during the dinosaur era.➤ During this process of separation, which ended with the near-total collapse of Zealandia, some of the deepest pits on the oceanfloor were formed. ➤ The continent's geology, consisting ofgranite, sedimentary and volcanic rocks, shows similarities toOceania and Antarctica. ➤ In 2017, after years of debate, it wasconcluded that Zealandia is an almost entirely submerged conti-nent rather than a micro-continent or a continental fragment, asit was previously considered to be

ONLINE ORCHID COMPETITION TO CREATEAWARENESS

NEWSIN

Scientists have devised a newsun clock that will help themto know the switch on and offperiods of high solar activity.In other words, the clock willhelp scientists to determinemore precisely when the riskfor solar storms is highest,and help to plan the impactsof space weather on ourspace infrastructure

How it worksThe sun clock uses the dailysunspot number record availablesince 1818 to map solar activity—over 18 solar cycles to a stan-dardised 11 year cycle or 'clock.'No two solar cycles are the same,but using a mathematical tech-nique, known as the Hilberttransform, the researchers wereable to standardise the solar ac-tivity cycle for the first time.

The clock revealed that thetransitions between quiet andactive periods in solar activityare sharp. Once the clock is con-structed from sunspot observa-tions, it can be used for obser-vations of solar activity andspace weather.

What is a solar cycle?Our sun, which is a huge ball of

electrically-charged hot gas, gener-ates a powerful magnetic field andgoes through a cycle. This cycle iscalled the solar cycle.

What is the time periodof this cycle?This cycle lasts 11 years on an aver-

age. Every 11 years or so, the sun'smagnetic field completely flips. Thismeans that the sun's north andsouth poles switch places. Then ittakes about another 11 years for the

sun’s north and south poles to flipback again.

What are sunspots?Sunspots are dark, cooler areas onthe sun's surface. They are moreprominent halfway through the 11-year cycle.

How can solar cycles betracked?➤ One way to track the solar cycleis by counting the number ofsunspots. The beginning of a solarcycle is a solar minimum, or whenthe sun has the least sunspots. Overtime, solar activity and the numberof sunspots increases.➤ The middle of the solar cycle isthe solar maximum, or when the sunhas the most sunspots. As the cycleends, it fades back to the solar mini-mum, and then a new cycle begins.

ALL ABOUT SUN AND ITS CYCLE

A to predictwhen the sunwill WAKE fromits SLEEP

LE

ARNING WITH

Newspaper inEducation

TIM E S NI E

■ The sun clock will help in predicting whenthe solar activity is set to increase, which inturn could potentially protect astronauts in theorbit. It will also help in preventing technolo-gies like satellites, computers, power grid andaviation technology from being destroyed.

WHY SUN CLOCK IS IMPORTANT

➤ Observing that the 5,000-year-old tradition isnot a mere workout, Naidu said, "It is a sciencethat emphasises balance, poise, grace, equanimity,peace and harmony".

➤ Various components of yoga, such as postures,breathing exercises and meditation techniquestogether help in bringing about a positive transfor-mation in the human body and mind in innumerableways, he said.

➤ Yoga as a mode of therapy or Yog Chikitsa hasbecome extremely popular. He said that a largenumber of studies offer scientific evidence for itspotential to treat a number of diseases.

➤ Yoga can be an effective solution for the highlevel of stress that the pandemic has created inour lives, he added.

WHY YOGA

Share your views at timesnie175@gmail.com/toinie175@gmail.com

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu hasurged educational institutions to includeyoga as part of online learning pro-

grammes that are being conducted in the wakeof the Covid-19 pandemic to improveimmunity. Addressing a digital yoga

session organised by SPIC MACAY onYoga Day, the VP said, children must be

introduced to the ancient Indian tech-nique at a young age.

Include yoga aspart of onlineprogrammes: Vice President

VIEWPOINT

BREAKTHROUGH

G lenmark Pharma-ceuticals haslaunched an antivi-

ral drug Favipiravir for treat-

ment of mild-to-moderateCovid-19 cases, after it re-ceived the Indian drug regu-lator's approval.

RATAN TATA URGES ONLINE COMMUNITYTO PUT A PAUSE ON HATE, BULLYING

ENVIRONMENT

YEMEN GUY BUILDS TALLEST 'EGG TOWER'

According to GWR rules,the eggs had to be freshhens' eggs and no addi-tional material, such as

adhesive or strings couldbe used to balance theeggs. The video wentviral on social media,with many compli-menting the boy'sskills andpatience

IN THE RECORD BOOK

W O R D

CRUX:Means a puzzling ordifficult problem; an

unsolved question; an essential pointrequiring resolution or resolving anoutcome;a main or central feature(as of an argument).In Latin, cruxreferred literally to an instrument oftorture, often a cross or stake, andfiguratively to the torture and mis-ery inflicted by means of such aninstrument.

W A T C H

IRECOMMEND

Penguin Random House India haslaunched a social media page onFacebook and Instagram calledPenguinsters, especially for youngreaders, teenagers, parents, teachersand book lovers. This platform willgive readers an opportunity toexplore some of the greatest booksand writers, access to resources thatwill shape their minds and host excit-ing and fun content about books pub-lished by the three imprints of thechildren’s division: Puffin, Penguinand Duckbill Books.

A three-bookseries, ‘TheStory ofScience’, fol-lows the evo-lution of sci-entificthought. Theauthor takesus on a jour-ney through time, following the livesof some of the greatest scientists inthe world, who awakened the worldwith their curiosity, research, experi-ments and discoveries. The book isespecially a joy to read, as theauthor explains concepts throughwonderful pictures of original experiments and notes.RACHNA AMMUNJE NAYAK, class X,Innisfree House School, Bangalore

THE STORY OFSCIENCE by Joy Hakim

Check outPenguinsters on

Facebook andInstagram

BOOK REVIEW

Extreme space weather or solarstorms occur when the sun

shoots out boiling-hot plasma inthe form of solar flares and winds.

Although most solar storms are usuallyharmless, a large one hitting the Earth couldhave catastrophic effects

FOR A CAUSE

Apple WWDC 2020 begins: iOS 14, iPadOS 14and watchOS 7 come with next-gen features On the first day of the four-day event onMonday, the iPhone-maker introduced ahost of software updates to the Appleecosystem — iOS 14, iPadOS 14 andWatchOS7, MacOS and tvOS

IOS 14: The next version will release later thisyear. The home screen will come withwidgets. After installing iOS 14, users canpin or drag the widgets like a calendarand maps on the home screen. Apple userscan also create a Smart Stack of widgets,which will use on-device intelligence tosurface the right widget based on time,location, and activity.

IPADOS 14: Apple previewed the all-newiPadOS 14 with a new compact design forincoming FaceTime and phone calls, Siriinteractions, and Search to help users stayfocused on the on the task at hand.

WATCHOS7: The new watchOS7 will deliver en-hanced customisation tools and powerful newhealth and fitness features to Apple Watch. Thesmartwatch will come with new watch faceconfigurations and health features, like sleeptracking, automatic handwashing detection,additional workout types, including dance, anda new hearing health feature.

St. Angel’s SchoolGurugram, Haryana

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“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.”DALAI LAMA02

Artemis Fowl? Has Disney failed

Disney released ‘Artemis Fowl’, a film based on author Eoin Colfer’s bookseries by the same name that opened up a magical world of fairies, dwarves,and centaurs. Times NIE readers offer a review of the film; and why you mustread the books

MOVIE VERDICT:

Lost the plot

The film version hasslaughtered the unique-ness of the book seriesand turned it into a good

guy-bad guy cliché. They haveplaced characters and plot linesfrom different Artemis Fowl booksin one place. The film has acquiredlowest rating out of all Disney+ in-dependent films released, with Rot-ten Tomatoes giving it 9 per cent.What didn’t work for me? Theknowledge of fairies was unknownto the movie-Artemis who foundthis information after his dad’s dis-appearance; unlike book-Artemiswho knew about the fairies and was

determined tocrack their mys-tery.

ANUSHKA DETHA, XI,

Jayshree Periwal Global

School, Jagatpura, Jaipur

The Artemis Fowlbooks portrayedhumans as crea-tures whose basic de-

sire was selfishness. The appeal ofthe character was that he was mo-tivated by selfish desires but slow-ly redeemed himself. The movie,on the other hand, focuses on

friendship. Besides this, the care-fully sculpted universe that EoinColfer spent years creating is lostin the film. Each page of the bookshave a secret sentence in code

which when deciphered all to-gether reveal a short story.

AARON MUKHOPADHYAY, class XII,

NPS Koramangala, Bengaluru

The story of a12-year-oldwho ran his

father’s crimeempire... what moredo you want? At first,Artemis seems to becold and ruthless.However, throughoutthe series his characterchanges, becoming morehonest and trustworthy.This alone makes thisseries a lovely read.MATHEW KARTHIK SHELLY,

class X, Gregorian Public

School, Ernakulam

The film has been in develop-ment since 2001. Eoin Colfer hasjokingly stated that the moviewould be finished two years afterhe died. Colin Farrell's involvement inthe film wasn’t announced until

March 2020 - nearly ayear and a half afterthe teaser trailer. Artemis Fowl

author Eoin Colfer hasa cameo in the film.

Colfer shot hiscameo in one day.

"The only direction they gavewas: Walk across the field anddon't look at the camera. I have anew respect for actors,” he said.

CONTEST:We have a task

for you Fowlfans out there.

Watch the firstepisode, then answer

the following question:

QQ:: NNaammee ffiivvee wwaayyss iinnwwhhiicchh FFiillmm-AArrtteemmiiss iiss

ddiiffffeerreenntt ffrroomm BBooookk-AArrtteemmiiss..

The best answers will be print-ed here. Word limit: 100 words.Email attimesnie175@gmail.com

Like Artemis, Itoo got into thehabit of rubbing

my temples whenthinking becausehe made it look so ‘cool’!JATIN YASHROY,

class XI, Singapore

International School

It’s the completepackage - sci-fi,action, comedy, fan-

tasy, adventure and aplethora of interestingnew words that will addto your vocabulary. BHAVYA GULATI, class

XII, Bhavan Vidyalaya,

Panchkula

Artemis is an evilgenius. But don’tjudge. This book is

not just about a criminalmastermind but also anarrogant twelve-year-old who changes. CHARUMATHI M, Class XII,

SBOA Mat. Hr. Sec.

School, Chennai

Besides portraying the protagonist as a tween criminal genius,we meet interesting characters like Captain Holly Short, the fiercefairy and Butler, the bodyguard. Colfer’s fairies have highly advanced

technology that augments their magic. The science behind it is logical. MANJISTHA MAURYA, Class XII, La Martiniere Girls' College

R E A D T H E B O O K F I R S T , S A Y F A N S

GARDENING

Easy-to-growveggies in yourkitchen garden

Have you been thinking of growing some vegeta-bles in your backyard or kitchen garden but don'tknow how to go about it? There is a whole list ofvegetables you can easily grow at home - withouta gardener's help. Check this list and get going.

Now that you have more time dueto partial or complete lockdown(depending on your area and city),try your hand at something youhaven’t done before like making anorganic zero waste deodorant.Here's the DIY recipe:

INGREDIENTS: ➤ 3 tablespoons arrowroot powder ➤ 1tablespoon shea butter ➤ 1 teaspoon coconut oil ➤ 1/2 tea-spoon baking soda ➤ 10-15 drops essential oil of your choice

HOW TO MAKE: 1. Take a microwave-safe bowland put 1 tablespoon shea butter and 1 tea-spoon coconut oil. 2. Microwave it for 40seconds until both are liquid. 3. Add 3tablespoons of arrowroot powder tothe mixture with 1/2 teaspoon bak-ing soda. Mix all the ingredientsensuring there are no lumps. 4.Add 10-15 drops of any essentialoil. Mix everything and transferto an airtight container. 5.Freeze the container for 3-4hours so that you get acreamy and textureddeodorant that's easyto apply. Enjoy thechemical-freefreshness. TNN

ACTIVITY

Cucumber:If your garden gets a lot ofsunlight, cucumber is yourbest bet. This vegetableneeds a lot of sun and itdoesn’t even take too muchspace as it grows vertically.

Lettuce:This one is a very fast-growing vegetable that cantolerate shade and moder-ate temperatures too. It isideal for small gardenspaces.

Bell peppers:This grows well in warmtemperatures and a well-drained soil that is rich inorganic matter. Bell peppertastes great in salads, cur-ries, pasta etc.

Beets:A hi-fibre veggie, beets areloaded with vitamins A andC. They grow from seedsand need loose soil. Plantthem in summer as it growswell in warm months.

TNN

LOCKDOWN DIY

MAKE ORGANICDEODORANT IN

5 STEPS

THE ONE AND ONLYBOBby Katherine ApplegateIn this sequel, Bob sets out on adangerous journey in search ofhis long-lost sister. (Ages 8 +)

BIG NATEby Lincoln PeirceWhere Nate goes, trouble issure to follow. (Ages 8 to 12)

LITTLE DREAMERSby Vashti HarrisoThe inspirational true stories of40 women creators. (Ages 8 to 12)

STAMPEDby Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. KendiAn exploration of racism andanti-racism in America. (Ages 13 to 17)

STAR WARS:QUEEN’S PERILby E K JohnstonNewly elected Queen Amidalaprepares for a peaceful transi-tion of power. (Ages 13 to 18)

THE BETROTHEDby Kiera CassLady Hollis Brite and KingJameson are set to be married,but will a commoner stealHollis’ heart? (Ages 13 to 17)

(NYT Bestseller Lists)Harp onMEANING: Dwell tediously onthe same subjectORIGIN: In Greek mythology,harpies were birds with theheads of women who werewinged spirits known for steal-ing Phineus’ food. Harpy meansthat which snatches.Example: Her daughter keptharping on about buying thattoy but she did not budge.

Beware of Greeksbearing giftsMEANING: Do not trust ene-mies who bring you presents —they could very well be playinga trick.ORIGIN: This phrase originatesfrom the story of the woodenTrojan horse, which was a giftby the Greeks to the Trojans inthe story of the Aeneid. TheTrojans thought that the horse

was a gift given as a peaceoffering to end a war. However,the Greeks hid soldiers insidethe horse. Example: A: “I can’t believethe opposing team made uscupcakes before the biggame!”B: “Yeah, I’d beware of Greeksbearing gifts if I wereyou.”

Cutthe Gordian knotMEANING: To solve a difficultproblem in a very direct way bydoing something forceful orextremeORIGIN: The phrase alludes toGordius, the king of Phrygia,who tied a knot that an oracleproclaimed would only be cut by

the future ruler of Asia.Alexander the Greatallegedly cut the Gordianknot in one blow.Example: Mark has tamedthe mad elephant. I haveno idea how he did it, buthe sure cut the Gordian

knot.

Achilles’ heelMEANING: A weak-ness or vulnerable

pointORIGIN: The legend of

Achilles has it that hewas dipped into the river Styx

by his mother in order to makehim immortal. His heel wasn’tcovered by the water and hewas later killed by an arrowwound to his heel.Example: Though he was agood person, his short temperwas his Achilles heel.

Phrases from Greek Mythology

EExxeerrcciissee::Can you think of

more phrases fromGreek mythology?

Mail attimesnie175@

gmail.com

Quiz time

1. D) Washington 2. D) Kais Saied 3. B) Germany 4. D) Both A and B

Q.1) Where is the US Pentagonlocated?A. New York City B. TexasC. Las Vegas D. Washington

Q.2) Who has been elected asthe new President of Tunisia?A. Nabil Karoui B. Beji CaidC. Abidine Ben Ali D. Kais Saied

Q.3) The 2019 World ArtisticGymnastics Championships

was organised in which coun-try? A. Spain B. GermanyC. Japan D. Canada

Q.4) Who has been named asthe ambassadors for 'BharatKi Laxmi' by PM Modi? A. P. V. SindhuB. Deepika PadukoneC. Geeta PhogatD. Both A and B

CURRENT AFFAIRS

A N S W E R S

KNOWLEDGEBANK

Queen SagoQueen Sago or Cycas Circinalis,is a species of cycad found in

southern India and Sri Lanka. It resembles a palm withits feather-like leaves arranged in a rosette thatcrowns a single trunk. The solitary trunk can grow upto 20 ft high. The dark greenpinnate leaves with narrowfoot long leaflets are usedfor decoration. The femaleplants produce large orangeseeds in a cone-like struc-ture located in the centre of the rosette of leaves.Queen sago is endemic to Western Ghats. The seeds-considered poisonous-are used as food after cleaning,drying and powdering.

PLANTS

CURRICULUM EXERCISESQ1. How do you definemomentum? Q2. Fill in the blanks:A. The friction experi-enced by a body, when inmotion, is known as_____ .B. The velocity ratio incase of an inclined planeinclined at angle theta tothe horizontal and weightbeing pulled up theinclined plane by verticaleffort is ______.

Q3. Identify the following monument.

Answer: (1) It is the quantity of motion of a moving body, measured as a prod-uct of its mass and velocity. (2) A) dynamic friction B) sin theta (3) TopkapiPalace Museum

TRIVIA TIME

St. Angel’s SchoolGurugram, Haryana

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