Dear friends, How are you all? Here we have come again to bring interesting and informative articles for you. Don’t forget to read about Amir Atlas, the promising squash player as well as about the discovery of new planet. Enjoy our activities section. Keep on writing to us! Best, edi
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Planteer
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Fact File
Hey kids, kindly send us letters, stories, poems and events detail on the following address: youngnation@nation.com.pk Or Editor Young Nation 4- Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore.
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Dear edi, How are you? I am fine by the grace of Allah. I like Young Nation magazine very much. It is very amazing. But I have noticed that you are publishing sad and emotional stories from two to three weeks. Please publish adventurous stories. Please publish poet’s corner every week. I sent you a letter, some drawings and a story four weeks ago but you did not publish it. Please publish them.
Please publish Winx Club’s posters. I am sending you some posters. I like the idea of ‘Art of the Month’. Best regard, Hafsa Ahmed The Educator Lahore
like cover story, story time and Artist’s corner the best. I wish that your magazine goes on and on. Also publish my drawing and story. I will be grateful to you. Your biggest fan, Maryam Nadeem APS Garrison Lahore
Hi edi, How are you? Your magazine really is amazing. But nowadays it doesn’t have any thing nice, you should add something interesting in your magazine. Zahra Niazi APSAC Rawalpindi
Dear edi, I am sure your team and you are going good. I am sorry because I could not write letter to you because of my exams. Now papers are finished and I am writing you a letter and sending a drawing. I like to read your magazine and do activities but I don’t like the posters like Spiderman, super man, and Shahid Afridi. Please send posters like Snow White and Cinderella. Regards, From Momina Nadeem Army Public School
Hi edi, How are you? I think you are enjoying good health. I am grateful that you published my drawing and letter. This is my third letter to you. Please publish more puzzles and also increase the pages of your magazine. I
Quote of the week “I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you”Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German philosopher, whose critiques of contemporary culture, religion, and philosophy cantered on a basic question regarding the foundation of values and morality
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The Lamb By William Blake Little lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? Gave thee life, and bid thee feed By the stream and o’er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing, woolly, bright; Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice? Little lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? Little lamb, I’ll tell thee, Little lamb, I’ll tell thee: He is called by thy name, For He calls Himself a lamb. He is meek, and He is mild; He became a little child.
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I a child, and thou a lamb, We are called by His name. Little lamb, God bless thee! Little lamb, God bless thee! Family By Salman Shahid My family is a Staedtler I am the wooden part Strong and tall My brother is the eraser Soft and small, My dad is the metal band That keeps us brothers stuck together My mother is the sharp tip That pokes us to be perfect! My Doll By Rabia Abbas I have a naughty doll She loves dancing ‘rock and roll’ New sits in my lap Always jumps and listens ‘rap’ She likes wearing jean and shirt I call her my lovely port Her meals are always ‘happy
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meals’ Her drinks are always ‘soft drinks’ Her checks are like milk and curd Her smile is like a beautiful bird Her hair is soft like plush mink Her favourite calm is baby pink She always carries an update style Me always bingo for her style My Teacher By Aiman Niazi My sweet teacher, You are so nice I really like you, You keep sitting on the chair, But you are so fair, You are so dear to me, Your everything is so clear You are so kind to everyone, You never hurt anyone, You are the best teacher
Story Time
By Zeenat Iqbal
Pappu, my friend lived in a suburb of Rawalpindi. We were together since childhood, really thick friends and now that he was to leave for Karachi, the worth of his friendship increased. Increased, because I knew time we spent together would be reduced. Pappu was leaving for Karachi because he was looking for a job and Karachi was a city of opportunities. Nike (which was my name) he said, I shall call you there too, once I am settled. Pappu had a sad childhood. Both his parents had died when he was young and often he would have to hold back his tears when he mentioned them. “Nike your mom cooks for you, the tastiest dishes, if Young Nation-April 30, 2011
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only my mom was alive.” Then I would change the topic, every time when he mentioned them. Pappu stayed in Karachi with a friend who worked in the circus. One day a clown came to visit him. Pappu told me the whole story later. “I was so inspired by him, Nike, he was always smiling, and made me smile also, seems like my wounds were recovering”. The clown had come again and convinced Pappu that the circus was a real fun place to work in. Pappu joined the circus as a trapeze artist. He was a trainee first. Pappu, wear this costume and repeat after me. The other clowns would impress him. Pappu enjoyed the comedy.” I
feel like I have been relieved of my sorrow,” he wrote to me. He asked me to visit him. I landed in Karachi, very eager to watch then perform. I had visited a circus previously but living in one was going to be an entirely different experience. The lights of the circus and the shine and shimmer of the costumes the performers wore was like the water of a lake, shining with the reflection of the sun on it. The performers entered the ring one by one. There was the trapeze, the tight- rope, the animals, the fire-eaters, the acrobats and those who performed amazing somersaults. Pappu was a ‘trapeze artist. “Come, sit on this VIP chair and watch me”, he beckoned. Pappu perched himself on the trapeze. This act was practiced to perfection and the trampoline below was removed before it started. Pappu, swung to and fro. In mid- air he was to clutch the hand of a fellow artist. He Young Nation-April 30 2011
missed his grasp and less than 100 yards below was the cold floor which could break bones and render them beyond repair. He was descending very fast. I saw him miss the grasp and falling faster than a cheetah could run. Pappu’s luck must be on his side that day because the man in charge of removing the trampoline had a watch whose cell’s power had finished. He thought it was still early to remove the trampoline as the time on his watch was incorrect because of the cell. As luck would have it the trampoline had not been removed because of this and Pappu landed safely. After that incident I seemed to enjoy going from one caravan to the other, meeting the various performers even more. I too enjoyed the company of the clowns, very much. All the performers sat together after the circus closed for the day. “Pappu it’s real fun being here.
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I shall miss the entertainment when I go back”. When I went back I told a friend back home, the whole story. He thought that a job in the circus was an easy way out but it was not so for Pappu. Pappu had it in his blood. His fore- father was also in a circus. After a few years Pappu had his own circus and he named it after his mom and dad, then every time I felt sad and wanted to have fun and smile, I visited him.
Planteer
The
Goldilocks Planet
Can it be? Have astronomers finally discovered a planet suitable for life? As far as the news goes, they have found a habitable planet outside our solar system which is just right for life; not too hot as Mercury, and not too cold as Neptune. The size of the planet is also nearly the size of the Earth. The newly discovered plant is named as the Goldilocks Planet, situated in the habitable zone (HZ). The habitable zone, however, is the region in space where planets with Earth-like features are found; the ones with the possibility of having liquid water on their surface. The term habitable zone is also often used for those planets which are nearly equivalent to the size of the Earth. The name for the Goldilocks Planet is literally derived from the famous children’s story, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Goldilocks chose the porridge which was neither too hot nor too cold, but was just perfect to eat. The Goldilocks Principle of astronomy is also based on the same rule, that instead of reaching extremes, something should be within certain limits to be deemed acceptable. If the temperature of a planet is either too hot or too cold, it would be incapable of supporting any such life form. But if the temperature is moderate, then not only it would have signs of life, it would also be comparable with Earth as well. Young Nation-April 30, 2011
For researchers, these Goldilocks Planets are of the most interest, as the prime objective of their space studies and deepspace explorations are to discover those planets which can be termed as capable of having any such life form. This Goldilocks Planet was discovered on September 29, 2010 by two astronomers, R. Paul Butler and Steven Vogt. Butler searches for planets outside our solar system, also called extrasolar planets, and works at The Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, while Vogt is a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at University of California at Santa Cruz. The newly discovered planet is nearly three times the mass of Earth and is to some extent larger in width as well. As compared to Earth, this planet is also much closer to its stars. The solar system from which this Goldilocks Planet belongs too also has a sun, and this Earth-like planet circles its sun every thirty-seven days. This is the reason why one side of the planet is always bright and the other is always dark. Researchers have guessed that the average surface temperature of this planet can reach a maximum of 71 degree Celsius or drop to -4 degree Celsius. But in the areas having constant light, temperatures could be warm. According to Steven Vogt “in the land of constant sunshine, it would be
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By Muhammad Omar Iftikhar
shirt-sleeve weather.” This Goldilocks Planet orbits around a red dwarf star, Gliese 581. The term ‘red’ describes t h e color,
while t h e t e r m ‘dwarf star’ refers to such lowmass stars which have not more than 40% of the mass of our Sun. The Gliese 581, however, is located nearly 20 million light
years away from the Earth in the constellation Libra. According to observations, Gliese 581 has six planets namely Gliese 581 e, b, c, g, d and f, where Gliese 581g is the one referred to as the Goldilocks Planet. But the Goldilocks Planet is thought to be tidally locked, which means that the gravitational pull of the sun it revolves
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around always makes one side of the planet face the sun. This is the reason why one side of the Goldilocks Planet is always in constant sunshine and the other in constant darkness. Until now, it is unclear if water does really exist on this planet and astronomers also have to understand the kind of atmosphere present on this planet.
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But according to the research studies, since the conditions of this planet are ideal for liquid water, therefore, Steven Vogt is certain that “personally, given the ubiquity and propensity of life to flourish wherever it can, I would say that the chances for life on this planet are hundred percent. I have almost no doubt about it.” The Goldilocks Planet is 120 trillion miles away from Earth, and in human traveling, it would take a spaceship numerous generations to reach there. But according to Vogt, “it may seem like a long distance, but in the scheme of the vast universe, this planet is like right in our face, right next door to us.”
Point of View
Aamir Atlas Khan
Aamir Atlas Khan Aamir Atlas Khan is a promising young Pakistani professional squash player. Son of British Amateur Championship runnerup Atlas Khan and a nephew of the record eight-time World Open champion Jansher Khan, Pakistan teenager Aamir Atlas Khan come into Squash with an enviable pedigree. But the 18-year-old from Peshawar carries the hopes of his nation on his shoulders as Pakistan looks to him to continue the success achieved by his uncle and a long line of Pakistani greats before him. Aamir enjoyed a highly success-
ful junior career, winning British Junior Open titles at U13
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and U15 before going on to win the Asian Junior U19 Champi-
Profile:
Country PAK Ranking 29 Last Ranking 30 Highest Ranking 14 (Sep 2009 ) National title successes Current National Senior Champion 2009 National Champion 2006 and Winner of Pakistan Open 2007 & 2008 Ambitions and aims for next year to get into the top 10 on the world ranking
onship crown in 2005, aged just 14! In recent successes, Amir won a silver medal in the individual event at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. Aamir, who turned pro in 2002 is ranked 14th, his highest ranking, and is the current No. 1 Pakistan squash player.
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The
Eternal Drought B Ruheena Hasan Syed By
I could not believe what I was about to do do. Here I was chained to the remains of what once must have been a deep freezerr at the local super market and waiting for someone to pass byy who had even an ounce of whatt I wanted; needed is a betterr word. If I fail, I might as well be dead and I am not talking aboutt dehydration. Ours is a world without water. It has been this way for as long as I can remember. The few reserves of clean drinkable water that the postt apocalyptic Earth does have are “owned” by the feudal lords – we call them the Feudals. The rest of us either wait for one off the feudal lords to have mercy on us and share their wealth or we steal it. I do the latter. It was not always like this. Things were good for my family. While we did not have water to waste on bathing or washing clothes, we did have enough water to drink and that was good enough for us. We were a family of seven; dad, mom, Amana, Leila, Aahil, Jubair and me – Aalee. Dad was Qais’s right hand man and was paid in terms of food and water for his family. We had a house where we had all the comforts you can expect nowadays – two furnished rooms, a kitchen and an entire bathroom to ourselves. Of course I do nott remember ever taking a bath there. We also had our veryy own tap in the backyard; courYoung Nation-April 30, 2011 1
tesy Qais. It was an ordinary day like any other and we had no reason to expect anything out of the ord i n a r y. The sky w a s
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getting g dark as night approach proached and we were all ru running our respece tive errands so that we coul could get into bed before it got too cold. I wa was in the basement loo looking for another ru rug that would serve as insulation to my ve very cold bed cot w when I heard whirri ring sounds outside m my house. Before I ha had time to figure ou out what was going on I heard shots and the then all was silent. Nee Needless to say I was very scared so I huddled up in a corner of the b basement and decided to t stay there until my twe twelve year old bones got enou enough energy to go
Young Y Yo ou un ng Nation-April Na N attiio 30, 2011
out and investigate what had happened. When none of my family came down to explain what was going on, I gathered my wits and climbed the stairs. What I saw was horrific. My entire family was gone – dead shot. I did not know how to react. There was no one I could ask what had happened and honestly speaking I was in no condition to utter words. In the state of shock, I felt a huge hand on my shoulder and someone turned me around. Now I was facing someone I had no idea was friend or foe. This was Akmal – the only person I would call a friend in the days ahead. It turned out that he was passing by our house when all the chaos happened. He told me he was looking for a place where he could find some water so that he could take his family there as water supplies had mysteriously vanished where his family lived. Akmal said he would take me along on his quest as he and I both figured there really was not much I could do here alone. My grief was intense but the instinct to survive in a world I did not know too well overcame anything else that I felt. Akmal took out his water bottle to refill from the tap in our backyard but when he turned the tap nothing came out. Our water supply was cut off. It was
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then that Akmal told me that the feudal lords had gotten together and decided that there wasn’t water enough for their own families and any other family getting any favors should be eliminated so that the balance would become better. My family was just one such victim. I spent many long days and nights walking along with Akmal. Since he was not a man of many words, I did not get to know too much about him. He kept murmuring something which I assumed were prayers of finding water but of course we could not be sure. We found several small ponds that contained water which made me excited each time. Unfortunately my bubble burst every single time as I was informed that the water contained in these bodies was not potable. By the end of the first day I was very tired and thirsty. My throat was parched and I longed to splash some water on my face but that would have been a pleasure we could not afford. I had no idea how much water Akmal had in his backpack but I guessed not too much so I was careful. I had heard from my parents how bad the water situation was but this
was really the first time I had a head on with it. The days that I spent with Akmal went by in a blur. The urgency to find water was so great that I could not help but think about all the things I had read about water when it was not a thing so scarce. I had read about the fact that seventy percent of Earth was water. That is a lot considering the fact that only three percent of Earth was water now and not all of it was potable. I had heard of ice – frozen water – but I had never seen it as the weather was never cold enough now. At least not where I lived! I had read and heard of seas, lakes, rivers, streams, springs, canals and oceans – all bodies of water that no one had seen for at least two centuries. How beautiful it must all have been! And imagine having so much water you didn’t know what to do with it! Life must have been so much easier than it was now. What exactly did humans do to make Earth like this? Nothing was spelt out in any of the chronicles that I read but from what I could make out was that it wasn’t what they did with water that killed it – it was what they did with every other natural resource that this planet had. And how they abused the environment; so much wastage
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and so much pollution! And my fault in all of this is that I was born now. I have nothing. The most basic of human needs is water and my family was killed over one tap of water. I am twelve years old and looking for one drink which if I do not get, I will probably not live to be a teenager. Why have I been dealt all this? What is my fault? All these bitter thoughts and many others kept making my mind a muddle. For the first time in my life I realized what was truly important. I may not have if tragedy had not befallen me. Is this what happened two centuries ago? People did not care about what they were doing to their planet because it was not their problem – they had it all and it was going to last their lifetime at least! They just didn’t care enough to leave their subsequent generations a living planet! Racking my brain further I recalled Dad talking about agriculture and marine life. Agriculture took up a lot of water as irrigation was the key to producing food. No one did that anymore. No water, no agriculture and no food produce. What did irrigation canals look like? What were fruits and vegetables? And what were fish? Surfing, boating and swimming all sounded like so much fun but where was that kind of water now? Goodness! There were so many things back then that we just do not have now! They are all extinct like we may be very soon. All along Akmal never once asked what I had on my mind. I did not mind really. What was more important now was to find water as supplies were dwindling and all that I could see for miles around me was barren land and no sign of either water or civilization. One night we approached an oasis of sorts and decided to spend the night there. I was filthy
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from days of walking in the arid weather and had had just enough water to keep me alive. I felt I could sleep for days. It seemed like only a few hours had passed when I was woken up by loud voices. I saw one brigand take hold of Akmal and that was the last I saw of him. I was taken by another and put into an old beaten up truck by which I was transported to a prison of sorts. For days I was given very little food and just enough water to keep me alive. There was no one else in my prison cell so I had absolutely no idea what was going on or what the brigands intended to do with me. It did not take me long to find out though. I was what they called bait. The brigands were going to use me as lure to con the Feudals out of the most cherished of all things in our world – water. The best way they can do this is by catching a Feudal and holding him for ransom – water again. It works every time. It is a cycle that goes on and on. So this is what I was doing chained to a deep freezer; the drill was to yell for help if I see a passerby, tell him or her that I was left here by a brigand and that I needed help. Who could resist a little boy asking for help from so obvious a predicament? The minute someone tried helping, they would be attacked by these unsavory characters hiding nearby. The rest is anyone’s guess. What do I get out of all this? My life! They will feed me, clothe me and keep me alive. This is the best that I can ask for. I have been doing this for a year now and yes! I do wonder how it all started. And no! I did not start it. I am doing all this for just one glass of water a day because you did not leave me my most basic right – life. ‘Want to learn more? Check out http://www.wwfpak.com or become a fan of WWF - Pakistan on Facebook at http://www.facebook. com/WWFPak’.
Sea Mammals spend most of their lives in the sea. There are three groups of sea mammals. Whales and Dolphins are called cetaceans. Seals and walruses are called pinnipeds. Manatees and dugongs are called sirenians. A whale’s body is designed for swimming. It has a smooth, streamlined shape for pushing through the water, and blowholes for breathing on top of its head. The huge Blue Whale is the biggest mammal in the sea. In fact, it’s the biggest mammal that has ever lived. It can grow more than 100 feet long and weigh as much as 30 tons. Some whales have long, tough bristles, called baleen, hanging down inside their mouth, instead of teeth. They don’t chew their food, but sieve it from the water through the baleen. Some whales have tones of tiny shellfish growing on their backs. The shellfish are called barnacles. They need to have a solid surface to glue their shells on to. Any rock, ship or passing whale will do. Strickly speaking, dolphins are small whales with sharp, pointed teeth for catch-
ing food. Dolphins live in seas all over the world. The biggest dolphin is the killer whale. A walrus uses its long tusks and break breathing holes in the ice. The males also use their tusks to fight off rivals and attract a mate. To attract a mate or scare off a rival, a male hooded seal blows air into it nose! It can inflate the lining of one of its nostrils so that it looks like a big, red balloon. Weddell seals live in the far south, on ice covered islands off the coasts of freezing Antarctica. Ringed seals live in the arctic, at the other end of the world. They have been found as far north as the North Pole. The fastest sea mammal in the world is the killer whale. With its streamlined body and powerful tail, it can speed through the water at up to thirty five mph. That is more than six times faster than the quickest human
By Faraz Imran Butt
fACTFILE
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swimmers. The fastest seal in the sea is the California sea lion, with the top speed of twenty five mph. The fastest sea lion on the land is the crab eater seal, reaching twelve mph over snow and ice. Sperm whales dive over a mile after their food. One sperm whale was even found with two deep sea sharks in its stomach. It must have dived to nearly two miles to catch them.. Hump back whales are very athletic. Even though the whales may weigh sixty five tons, they can leap high into the air and tome crashing down into the water on their backs. They can even turn somersaults in the air. A walrus’s tusk is actually its two upper teeth. They grow up to three feet long. The walrus uses its tusk to pull itself out of the sea and drag itself across the land. Grey whales spend their summers feeding in the Arctic. In winter, they swim to the coast of Mexico to breed. They swim back north again in the spring, a round trip of about 12,500 miles.
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Maryam Nadeem
Artist’s Corner Hiba Mughal
Abdul Moiz
Hamna Shoaib
Aimen Niazi
NOTE: Kindly send Sareena Shaukat
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us your drawings on white paper.