A (Very) Brief History of the English Language

English Traditions

In many houses in Great Britain they have fire-places and though their bedrooms are awfully cold, the English people do not want to have central heating because they do not want to have changes.

Therefore the Yeomen-Warders are dressed in traditional medieval clothes and the traditional dress of the Horse Guards regiment has existed since the twelfth century.

In the House of Lords of the British Parliament there are two rows of benches for lords and a sack of wool for the Lord Chancellor to sit on it. This is so because in the old times wool made England rich and powerful. In the House of Commons you will see two rows of benches for the two parties: the government on one side and the opposition — on the other. In front of the benches there is the strip on a carpet and when a member speaking in the House puts his foot beyond that strip, there is a shout “Order!”. This dates from the time when the members had swords on them and during the discussion might want to start fighting. The word “order” reminded them that no fighting was allowed in the House.

Another old custom remains from the time when there was a lot of robbers in London. In those days the shouting “Who goes home?” was often heard in the Houses of Parliament and the members went in groups along the dark narrow streets of the old city. In modem London with its well-lit streets the shouting “Who goes home?” is still heard.

Euclid (Famous Mathematician)

For a man of such great significance to the world of mathematics, little is known about his actual life. Euclid is thought to have lived from 325-265 BC, mostly in Alexandria. He was taught at The Academy in Athens, founded by Plato, and probably tutored another great mathematician, Archimedes. Euclid also founded a great mathematics school in Alexandria. Little was ever written about Euclid, and the available information is scarce and of questionable accuracy. Much of the information we do have is from authors like Proclus who lived centuries later, writing about his books, not his life.

If little has ever been made of Euclid's life, then the opposite is true of his book. The Elements was used as the primary geometry resource for over 2000 years, and his lessons could still be used today. Although it contains 13 volumes, much of the work may not be Euclid's. Some of the chapters seem to be written with different styles, and others are geared for different ages, leading one to believe that he inserted other mathematicians' work into his own.

Each volume begins with pages of definitions and postulates, followed by his theorems. Euclid then proves each one of his theorems using the definitions and postulates, mathematically proving even the most obvious. His work was translated into Latin and Arabic, and was first printed in mass quantity in 1482, ten years before Columbus, but 1800 years AFTER it was written! From that point until the early 1900's, The Elements was considered by far the best geometry textbook in the world.

Although he may not have written The Elements entirely on his own, his other works are certainly his alone. Those include Data, Optics, Phaenomena, and On Division of Figures. His work in Data is probably the most famous of his smaller works, and focuses on finding certain measurements and quantities when others are given. Phaenomena is about planetary motions and Optics about perspectives. In Optics, Euclid attempts to prove the common belief of the time that sight was created by rays coming from the eye, rather than light entering the eye.

Euclid was apparently a kind, patient man, and did possess a sarcastic sense of humor. In fact, King Ptolemy once asked Euclid if there was an easier way to study math than learning all the theorems. Euclid then replied, "There is no royal road to geometry," and sent one of the most powerful kings of his time off to study. On another occasion, a student of his questioned the value of learning geometry, much like students today. Euclid responded by giving the small child a coin, saying that "he must make gain out of what he learns."

There are many other works of Euclid which appear to be lost to time, but his primary work in The Elements is what made him famous. His work in geometry led to discovery after discovery in history, and provided the basis for mathematical education for 2000 years. While students no longer read directly from his writing, the textbooks of today are still based on Euclidean proofs and theorems. Perhaps it is fitting, then, that Euclid is called "The Father of Geometry".

Great Britain

The UK is made up of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. GB consists of England, Scotland and Wales and doesn't include Northern Ireland. The capital of the UK is London.

The British Isles are separated from European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. The western coast of GB is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea.

The surface of the British Isles varies very much. The north of Scotland is mountainous and is called the Highlands, while the south, which has beautiful valleys and plains, is called the Lowlands.

There are a lot of rivers in GB, but they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest and the most important one.

The mountains, the Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters if Gulf Stream influence the climate of the British Isles. The weather in GB is very changeable. A fine morning can change into a wet afternoon and evening and the wrong side out. The English people say: "Other countries have a climate; in England we have weather." The English also say that they have three variants of weather: when it rains in the morning, when it rains in the afternoon or twhen it rains all day long.

The weather is the favorite conversational topic in GB. After they greet each other they start talking the weather.

The best time of the year in GB is spring (of course, it rains in spring too). The two worst months in Britain are January and February. They are cold, damp and unpleasant. The best place in the world then is at home by the big fire. Summer months are rather cold and there can be a lot of rainy days. So most people who look forward to summer holidays, plan to go abroad for the summer.