Novel 9 Synopsis - Ipods

Ipods are being used by many people. Apple has become a major brand for mp3. There have been many types and generations of ipods. Currently there is the ipod shuffle, the ipod nano and the ipod video. Each one is different and has its own characteristics. The ipod shuffle doesn’t have a screen and therefore when you listen to music you shuffle the songs. The ipod nano is a little bigger than the ipod shuffle. It is longer but thinner. It has a screen but it can’t play videos. The ipod video is the biggest one. It can play play music as well as videos. It has the largest screen of them all. There have been 2 generations of ipod shuffle, 2 generations of ipod nano and 5 generations of ipod video. Once the ipod video was just called ‘ipod’ because it couldn’t play videos. The first one didn’t have a color screen but then when the color screen ipod came out it was called ipod photo. Finally the ipod video came out. The 9^th of April 2007 Apple announced it had sold the 100 millionth ipod. Thinking that the first ipod was sold in November 2001! Apple also sells computers with hardware and its own software Mac OS, and all kinds of accessories. Steve Jobs is Apple’s president. Ipods have a good sound quality and have a fantastic design. It has been estimated that 20% of the people decide to buy Apple because of its original design. Overall Apple is a great brand and it has had many great ideas.

Biography - Number the Stars, Lois Lowry

There's a war in Copenhagen. The Nazis have invaded many parts of Europe. Annemarie, her little sister Kirsti and her best friend Ellen are the main characters of this book. They all live in the same house but Ellen is Jewish. One day Annemarie and Kirsti were running in the city because they wanted to practice their running skills for a race at school. Two soldiers stopped them and asked them many questions. Annemarie was really scared but Kirsti wasn’t because she was smaller and didn’t know that they were in danger. When they return home they decide not to say what had happened to their parents. In the meanwhile, Lise, a relative of Annemarie dies in a car accident. Ms. Johanson, Annemarie’s mother knows they are in danger staying there so they decide to go to uncle Henrik. So they gather all the things they have and go. They didn’t bring much food because it was scarce and they knew that uncle Henrik had lots of food because he is a fisherman. They then get the train and leave. When they arrive they don’t find uncle Henrik. They go and look if his boat is there but they don’t find it. They assume that he has gone fishing. The kids go to sleep and Annemarie hears uncle Henrik talking with his mother. She remembers how nice it was when they went there in summer. The next morning they all decide to go away to be safe. Everyone gathers as much stuff as they can and go on the boat. They hide Ellen and her family in the boat because they were Jews. They then sail off to Sweden escaping from the Nazi invasions.

Editorial Commentary - Endangered Species

Endangered species should be protected from us because they are responsible for useful medications and for business.

Both plants and animals are used in making over 40 percent of the world's medicines. These medicines have compounds of different species. These endangered species also make pharmaceutical industry gain $40 billion annually. Only 5 percent of the species of plants we have discovered have been protected because of their pharmaceutical importance, but we still lose about 100 species each day.
There are about 80,000 edible plants in the world, and humans need only 20 species to provide 90 percent of the food in the world. In our planet their is an ecosystem that has to be respected. For example flies and spiders. If spiders didn't exist there would be too many flies. The same goes for plants and animals. There are also great incomes and a lot of jobs because of plants and animals. For example commercial and recreational salmon fishing in the Pacific Northwest provides 60,000 jobs!
Plants and animals are also an attraction for tourist and therefore provide a lot of money. Every year in the United States over 108 million people want to see wildlife and spend lots of money. Americans spend over $59 billion each year for traveling, hotels and food in wildlife recreation.
There are many factors for which plant and animal species are endangered: habitat destruction, introduction of exotic species, overexploitation and other factors.
Our planet changes over time. There are many natural changes that occur at a gradual pace, and this causes only slight impact on all the species. The problem is that when these changes occur at a fast pace, the species don't have enough time to react and to change. This can cause many plants and animals to die. The major and strongest forces that destroy habitats are humans. For example we build cars and use them, but we don't understand that by using them we make many things happen. When we use cars we pollute and pollution affects global warming. Because of global warming, the ice caps are melting, If the ice caps melt, the seals (that live on ice) will die and so will the polar bears because they are dependent on seals; they eat them to survive.
Native species are plants and animals that stayed in one place for a long period of time. So they are adapted to one kind of environment. Sometimes these native species are moved, intentionally or accidentally, by humans. This can cause these species to die because they change environment.
Overexploitation is another cause of endangerment. It means to have use of too much of one species. For example people who killed whales for money without permission brought many species of whales to low population sizes. When some species of whales were in extinction, many nations decided to do something to protect them. Many species of whales including the grey whale have recovered (the population of these species has grown since then).
There are also other factors that make various plants and animals become endangered. Diseases and pollution are the ones that affect them more.
Plants and animals should be always respected because they are part of nature. We need them to survive and to keep a balanced ecosystem. It is unfair to kill them to make money.