In Focus

Win a valuable book from Books.lk

“Reading maketh a full man,” it is said and the importance of reading need not be reiterated. And, it is with the objective of promoting the habit of reading among children that the Junior Observer in collaboration with Bookazone (Pvt.) Ltd; the innovators of the country’s first web portal (www.books.lk), launched a competition in September.

We give a lucky reader an opportunity to win a valuable book priced at Rs 1000 from books.lk. All you have to do is answer a the question and mail it to the address given, on or before Friday of that week. The name of each week’s winner will be published later.

Here is how Bookazone will help you enter the magical world of books, to not only entertain yourself but also enhance your knowledge.It allows you to purchase any title of book regardless of the author, publisher, or the country of origin. Although Bookazone web portal was limited to English users since 2009, the latest additions of Sinhala and Tamil is also accessible on www.poth.lk and www.puththagam.lk listing a wide range of books written and published in local languages in addition to what is offered in English apart from magazines, CDs and DVDs. Once you place an order at Bookazone and make your payment,the deliveries are made free of charge using the best secured mode to any part of the island.

In case you don’t see the title listed in the Bookazone web portal a simple email can be sent to inquire the availability, price, and the number of days that it will take to source the book.

So, keep improving your general knowledge to answer the question posed every week. And what better way to do so than by READING!

Winner of coupon No 4 is :
Mohamed Shamil
44, Wagirawansa Mawatha
Obeysekerapura Rajagiriya

The Earth

1. Around 4.6 billion years ago, neither the Earth nor any of the other planets existed. There was only a vast, dark, very hot cloud of gas and dust swirling around the newly formed Sun. True/False?
2. Is the Earth a perfect sphere?
3. What term do the scientists use to describe the shape of the Earth?
4. What comprises the core and the rest of the Earth?
5. How were oceans formed?

Lands and people

1. Over 120 different people live in Tanzania, Africa. True/False?
2. World population is expected to reach 7 billion in October this year. What are the population projections for 2025 and 2050?
3. Which continent and country has the most people?
4. Do humans inhabit the entire Earth?
5. Bangladesh is one of the most crowded places of the Earth with over 900 people per square km. True/False?

Religions and faith

1. Who are pilgrims?
2. What is Tao?
3. What are the five ‘K’s honoured by Sikh men?
4. Which city is holy to three faiths?
5. What is Hanukkah?

[Answers]

The Earth

1. True. The early Earth which was a fiery ball. The gases and dust spiralling around the newborn Sun congealed into a ball. Then the surface of this fiery ball cooled to form a hard crust. As the Earth cooled, it gave off water vapour and gases which formed the atmosphere.
2. No. It is not quite a perfect sphere because the Earth spins faster at the equator than at the Poles. The Earth bulges at the equator.
3. Scientists describe Earth’s shape as ‘geoid’ which simply means Earth-shaped.
4. The Earth’s core has iron and nickel and a rocky crust made mostly of oxygen and silicon. In between is the soft, hot mantle of metal, silicates, sulphides and oxides.
5. Oceans were formed during Earth’s cooling process. The Earth cooled more and the clouds of steam became water, creating vast oceans.

Lands and people

1. True. Sometimes many different people share a country and in Tanzania over 120 different people live together.
2. Every minute about 270 babies are believed to be born around the world. It is predicted that by 2025 around 7.9 billion people will live on Earth and by the year 2050, it will probably increase to about 9.3 billion.
3. Asia, the biggest continent is home to over 3.5 billion people-about half the world’s population. More people live in China (in Asia) than anywhere else in the world. They number about 1,300,000,000 and is still growing.
4. Not really. Humans live in areas where they can find food and water to survive. Nobody lives in the icy southern wilderness known as Antarctica except scientists who visit research bases there. The Sahara Desert too is not inhabited as it’s a land of burning hot sand and rocks with just a few places called oases where people can get water to survive.
5. True.

Religions and faiths

1. People who travel for religious purposes to holy places and shrines in their own country or abroad are called pilgrims.
2. It is the name given to the beliefs of the Chinese thinker Lao Zi who lived about 2,500 years ago. Taoists believe in the harmony of the universe. Tao is pronounced as ‘dow.’
3. The five religions, traditions honoured by Sikh men; Kesh is uncut hair, worn in a turban. They carry a Kangha or comb, a Kara or metal bangle and a Kirpan or dagger. They wear an undergarment called a Kaccha.
4. The city of Jerusalem is a holy place for Jews, Muslims and Christians. Sacred sites include the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
5. The Jewish festival of lights which lasts eight days is known as Kanukkah. Families light a new candle each day on a special candlestick called a menorah. Hanukkah celebrates the recapture of the temple of Jerusalem in ancient times.