Dear friends, How are you all? Season is changing. Lets say bye to the winters and welcome the season of colours. In this issue we have brought interesting stories that you all will enjoy to read. Don’t forget to read about the benefits of learning multiple languages. Keep on reading our magazine. Best wishes, edi
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Storytime
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Story time
Hey kids, kindly send us letters, stories, poems and events detail on the following address: youngnation@nation.com.pk Or Editor Young Nation 23- Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore.
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ANCOUPLE OLD
3rd West Graham Street: We had just shifted in our new house, nice, spacious and above all huge. The neighbourhood was a quiet place, maybe just too quite. Our first home guest came to give us a homemade apple pie. By first guest I mean the first neighbour who came to visit us. I saw that she was an old lady and she lived with her husband who was on her right. They looked about eighty and were living alone.
Surprisingly they invited us for dinner. 1 hope you could say that I was starting to feel safer. My family and I went and I saw that their house was like a cottage and filled with pictures of themselves. I asked the lady, “Don’t you have any sons or daughters?” Her response was, “Little guy, my daughter died when she was she was eight”. The dinner was over and the old couple sat outside on the swing
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Story time By Sheroo & Sada Sadaf
talking each other with big smiles spread on their faces.” Next day I saw that the old couple went for a walk in the park which was north to my house. I noticed that when they came back they both lay down in the garden. Amazingly the old couple did not even carry a stick. I went to them and said, “Are you both happy together?” Now I want you guys to guess what the reply to me would have been!
Our Mom is our Guid- ing for us, May God bless That you have departed you too (Amen) from us ing Star By Ednan Syed
We are just helpless be-
But the more we think
You are our Mom and our
fore our Lord
and the less we believe
guiding star
As we couldn’t stop you
it
Your company as a guid-
from getting apart
And the more, we want
ing star
We are sorry for missing
you to be with us
Was not destined by our
your love
You are our Mom and
stars
We have no peace and
still a guiding star
Alas! Fate has snatched
solace in this world
May God bless our ever
our ever shining star
It is not easy to forget
shining star (Amen)
You had journeyed to the
mother’s love
next world
It is just impossible to
Hope in despair
We feel very lonely in
forget Mother’s love
By Asma iftikhar
this world
Where can we get negligent hearts?
To hold his hand,
here,
Forgetting you is incon-
And show him any way.
You must be missing us
ceivable on our parts
Is like the clay to mould
there
You are always missed,
in any shape,
Our jubilant days are
Everyday!
Is like the nature’s first
over – We have lost you
For patience! Show us
fair canvas,
too
some way
Fill him with any colour
Our fate was as such –
You will never leave our
of life.
Our hearts have been
hearts
Is like the crystal glass
devastated too
Every moment you stay
Fill with any drink of
You had always prayed
in our hearts
life.
for us – May God glorify
We are pondering here
Is the miracle of God,
you too (Amen)
trying to ascertain our-
to save the hope of
You were a great bless-
selves
world.
We
are
missing
you
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LEARNING LANGUAGES
Learning a new language at any age is an enormously rewarding experience in many ways. While language learning is an enriching experience for all ages, children have the most to gain from this wonderful adventure. Quite simply, starting early offers the widest possible set of benefits and opportunities. Children understand intuitively that language is something to explore, to play around with, and to enjoy. Their enthusiasm is both infectious
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and effective. The quickness with which they pick up their first language is nearly miraculous—and such a joy to watch as a parent. As children grow, all parents can attest to how much fun their children continue to have as they sing new words they hear and even invent new ones with a huge, bright smile. The joy with which children explore their first language makes childhood the ideal time for a second language—even if all the other reasons for an early
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start didn’tt exist! But there are many other reasons, and while this list does not exhaust the number and variety of advantages starting a language early can provide, these are some of the most notable benefits. Higher test scores: Numerous reports have proven that students who have studied a foreign language perform much better than their monolingual peers on many standardized tests, including all sections of the SAT.
Better and more advanced reading skills: A study undertaken by York University in Canada suggests that bilingual children’s knowledge of a second language gives them an advantage in learning to read. Their ability to apply the insights and experiences of one language to the other as well as their wider experience of language gives them a big leg up. As they grow older, this advantage continues and grows. Plus, being able to read two languages is pretty impressive all by itself! Greater confidence: Children are always discovering new things, but learning a new language is a uniquely rewarding experience—at any age. For children, the feeling of accomplishment that comes with their first steps toward a second language can spur them on to a deeper and broader passion for learning in general. And because chil-
dren are at a special “window of opportunity” in which language learning is intuitive and natural, the ease and pleasure of the experience may boost their confidence and their desire for new discoveries. Natural-sounding, native-like accent: Children are always mimicking what they hear, and are surprisingly good at it! They are uniquely attuned to slight differences in tone and sound. Their sensitive ears help them pick up on and duplicate the tricky sounds adults and even adolescents often stumble over. Greater opportunities for college and careers: Colleges now place an increasingly high value on knowledge of more than one language. As the admissions process becomes more competitive across the board, knowing a second or a third language adds a new dimension to an applicant’s resume. And as the economy becomes more and more globalized, English-only becomes less and less of an option. Bigger view of the world: Traveling abroad is an experience which can benefit anyone, offering not just new sites to see, but new frames of mind and new perspectives. But going abroad and feeling comfortable in the language of your destination means you’re d o i n g more than just traveling— going from your home to another place, and then back home. You can feel as if you’re a part of the
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culture and the life of this new world, as if you aren’t a total stranger just visiting. Like reading a poem in another tongue you know, you will hear more than just the language—you will hear the music behind it as well, and the life. Greater grasp of one’s first language—including a bigger, richer vocabulary: Most of the time we use our first language with little thought to grammatical rules or constructions. This is perfectly natural, but the experience of learning a new language can bring greater understanding and perhaps even better grammar to our first language. Knowing the way another language works encourages us to examine our own language’s mechanics in a positive way. By being able to compare the two, we learn more than we ever would as a monolingual. Or as Nancy Rhodes, Director of Foreign Language Education at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, DC says, “The more children learn about a foreign language, the more they understand about their own language.” Children use what they learn in one language to reinforce concepts and terms they’ve learned in the other. They can solidify their gains in their native tongue by matching them to their new adventures in another language. Building and keeping cultural connections: Some of us are lucky enough to have a relative who still speaks their mother tongue frequently. To be able to communicate with them in that language builds a bridge—not only to that person, but to the heritage and history they represent. To maintain that connection keeps alive so much—memories, stories and traditions— and brings to life new memories, stories and traditions as well.
Comets are small, irregularly shaped objects composed of a mixture of rocks, dust, and what astronomers refer to as “ice” -- frozen water, methane, and ammonia. Most have highly elliptical orbits that bring them close to the Sun and then swing them deep into space, often beyond the orbit of Pluto. When a comet is far from the Sun, it is frozen solid into a tiny nucleus. But comets put on a spectacular show when they visit the inner solar system. As a comet gets closer to the Sun, the surface of its nucleus warms. Icy materials begin to sublime into gas. As
the gas boils off the comet, it can take small particles of dust with it. The gas and dust forms a cloud of diffuse material, called a coma that surrounds the nucleus. The coma can swell to many times the size of the nucleus. If the comet gets close enough to the Sun, the solar wind can blow gas and dust away from the comet, forming elongated and often multiple tails of gas and dust. The tail always points away from the Sun -not away from the comet’s direction of motion. Like asteroids, comets are studied through spectral analysis of the light reflected
RI D E A COMET RIDE CO M ET
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and absorbed by the comet nucleus and the spray of volatiles and gas in the comet’s coma. When the nucleus is frozen, it can be seen only by reflected sunlight, and many comets are extremely dark (low-albedo) objects. When a coma develops, dust reflects still more sunlight, and coma gases absorb ultraviolet radiation and begin to fluoresce. If a comet approaches to within 5 astronomical units (750 million kilometers or 465 million miles) of the Sun, fluorescence of tail gases can become an important contributor to the brightness of the comet, together with the light reflected from the nucleus and coma. Each time a comet swings into the inner solar system toward the Sun, it loses some of its ice component. The comet Halley is believed to lose one meter of its surface each time it approaches the Sun. Eventually, comets burn out, becoming just another rocky mass in the solar system. Some objects currently classified as asteroids are probably extinct comet nuclei. Comets are divided into two groups based on their orbital periods (the time it takes them to travel around the Sun). Short-period comets have orbital periods of less than 200 years. Their elliptical orbits can take them out to the Kuiper belt, but not be-
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yond. Long-period comets have orbital periods longer than 200 years, often many thousands of years. Their elliptical orbits are so long that they are very difficult to differentiate from parabolas. The existence of long-period comets led to the prediction of the existence of the Oort cloud, a diffuse sphere of cometary nuclei, orbiting quietly at the farthest reaches of the Sun’s gravitational influence. Passing stars may occasionally disturb the bodies in the Oort cloud, sending some on trajectories that take them into the inner solar system. Comets are traditionally named after the discoverer or discoverers. Comets are now named with a “P” if they are periodic (that is, if they have been observed on more than one trip around the Sun), and a “C” if they are not. The first documented periodic comet, Halley, is properly named 1P/ Halley. Many comets cross Earth’s orbit as they approach the Sun. These near-Earth comets may be potential hazards to Earth. Near-Earth comets are thus a subset of the nearEarth objects. The Planetary Society supports many programs and projects to identify and track near-Earth objects and mitigate the risk they pose to Earth.
Young Nation-August 13, 2011
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Young Nation-August 13, 2011
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Story time
NOEXCUSESPLEASE! By Abdul Fattah Solangi
Jibran is the naughtiest student of mine. He makes strong and amazing excuses. The last month, I started teaching him. Having taught four lessons when we reached the poem, I asked him to memorise it. The next day when I asked him to read out the poem, he said, “Sir, I am sorry I could not learn the poem because I have been very busy completing the chores. I promise that I will memorise it tomorrow.” Considering it to be the first mistake, I condoned it. The next day, he apologized once Young Nation-March
again for not complying with the promise. He said, “Sir, I am extremely sorry but I was really upset for the condition of my mom who received injuries while falling down the stairs. My brother does not do any work of the home. I have to do everything. I have been very busy taking care of my mom.” Once again, I condoned him. The third day, he said, “Sir, my classmate Farah has taken the book away so, I am really sorry for not keeping the promise once again.” The fourth day, he said that Farah had not returned the
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book yet. He continued with the same excuse for at least a week. The next week, on Monday, immediately at my entrance, he said that he would no longer tell me that Farah had taken away the book. He said that his mom was going to buy him a new book. On Tuesday when he apologized once again, I asked his sister, Resham to convey my complaint to their mom. I was really amazed to hear the sentence of Resham. She said to him, “Bring the book from Farah now or else I am
going to tell mom.� Then she told me that Farah is their cousin who resides next to their home. That day, not only was his lie exposed but he also lost
the credibility. Besides, he wasted his precious time. Imagine and opine, shall I ever trust him again? Never. Dear children, we saw that a student who makes excuses is actually an enemy of himself. Teachers do not trust
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him or her any longer. His or her time and energy is wasted. So, I wish all of you to be sincere to your parents and yourself. Thus, you will not only gain the trust, love and confidence of the parents and teachers but also materialize your dreams of life.
Quickly the librarian flipped through the book till he arrived at page 123,098 and read, ‘Beware of the scary but vain cats for their claws are lethal!’ After the Librarian had finished reading, he begged the prince not to go. Pervezwas also a bit scared, but his love for Parizade was much stronger than his fear, and off he went to find the highest mountain. For days he galloped, finding nothing but one dense forest after the other. Finally, exhausted, the prince had decided to take a nap when he heard a loud scream of terror. Immediately he got up to find where the scream had come from, and he found two Multani vulture chicks calling for help, as a hungry fox was getting ready to eat them.He took out his sword,and with one swift blow, he scared the fox away. The chicks were grateful for his help, and wondered what he was doing in a forest so far away. After hearing everything,one of the chicks said,
‘Help us find our way home and our mother will surely help, for you saved our precious lives.’ It seemed like a good idea, so off they went. The mother vulture was already home weeping for her lost chicks, but when she saw them return, she flapped her wings with joy. Once again the prince narrated his sad story and the grateful mother replied, ‘I know exactly where this mountain is; I can get you there in a flash!’ The prince happily jumped upon the mother’s back and off they flew into the sky. As they approached the mountain, the vulture gave some good advice to Pervez, ‘Kind Prince, in the sack tied around my neck, you will find a pair of sharp nail cutters; cut the cats’ nails with this special nail cutter, and then their power will be gone.’ As soon as they landed on the mountain, the vulture said ‘Now I must leave for I have left my children alone, but if by any chance you get into trouble, which you
will, just call my name and I will come.’ With these words, the vulture flew away. The prince was a bit scared, but taking the special nail cutters, he bravely walked toward the mosque. Just as he approached the gate, he heard a loud, thundering ‘MEOW!’ He saw two huge golden cats running toward him. The larger cat growled, ‘Meow! What a handsome prince; won’t he make a dainty dish, grrrr?’ Half-scared, the prince replied, ‘What gorgeous cats; let me manicure your lovely claws, and you will indeed look beautiful when you eat me up.’ On hearing this, the vain cats replied, ‘Purr,purr; with delight indeed; indeed; so nice of you to cut our nails even though we will eat you urrrp.’ After this, the prince did not waste any time.He hurriedly began to snip off their nails, and of course, he snipped off as much as possible.When the cats realized the trick, it was already too late; their long sharp nails that contained their powers were gone! Without any fear, Pervez marched into the mosque and the helpless cats could do nothing. The mosque was small but it was the pretties the had ever seen. All the walls were covered with gold and decorated with the finest filigree. Full of admiration, the prince walked through the main hallway till he approached the minaret with its staircase so high that he could not tell where it ended. Up,up, and up
THE TRUE PRINCE PART III By Kiran Mian
Story time
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he went, as if the stairs would never end. Finally he arrived at the top, wherehe saw a golden lamp, hanging from the ceiling, just as the absurd poem had described. Quickly, Pervez placed his hand inside the lamp, but he found no egg! Frantically he began to search for the egg, but in the process he disturbed the two-faced dove. ‘COO COO my nest is being attacked!’cried the two-faced dove. With this, the whole place began to rock as if an earthquake had started. Yet the prince continued searching for the egg, making the two-faced dove scream even more. ‘COO COO rock the place, a demon has attacked my lovely nest,” repeated the dove. With this, the whole mosque began to rock violently; the staircase began to crack and fall. Just when Pervez was about to fall as well, he called out, ‘Dear vulture wherever you are, please come and save m…’ Before he could say the whole word, the mother arrived and swooped the prince away to the safety of her nest. The two little chicks were already waiting for the prince, but when they heard about their friend’s misfortune, they too wept along with him, for his sorrow was their sorrow. Now the prince was not sure if he could save Parizade, so he asked the mother vulture for one more favour. ‘Surely I can take you to the Dijinn, but you will never be able to defeat the Dijinn.’ But the prince insisted; nothing could stop him from saving his princess; and so the Multani vulture agreed, for his devotion had impressed her immensely. ‘I will go with you dear Prince!’ On hearing these words, the prince jumped onto her back once again, and off they flew to find the Dijinn. As they flew, they finally saw the Dijinn down below, stomping in the fields. The poor farmers were able to do nothing but helplessly watch the Dijinn destroy their village. The villagers were even more heartbroken
to see the beautiful Parizade arrive unaided to save them, while their own kings and princes had abandoned them in their time of need. But when they saw Pervez land, and he began to fight along with Parizade, the villagers clapped and cheered with pride. Yet with all their valour, indeed, the whole situation seemed hopeless; how could Pervez think that his mere sword would defeat a powerful Dijinn? Both were doomed from the very start. On seeing such a lovely and devoted pair fighting for each other, the villagers, the trees, the moon, and the sun could not help but weep. So tragic was the situation, that the mother vulture, who for so long had hidden her true form, finally gave in to her admiration for the prince’s love and devotion. The vulture transformed into her true form—the powerful Simurgh, Queen of Birds. Her feathers were made of gold and studded with the largest diamonds—diamonds never seen before. Her tail was a mile long; her head had the shape of the most beautiful vulture, and down below, her body consisted of seven different powerful birds. She was the Queen of Birds, wise and just; there was no way she would let Pervez go to his death, and therefore, despite the fact that it was not permitted,she had taken her true form. The Dijinn, on seeing this transformation, knew he stood no chance against
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the queen and immediately fell down begging for mercy. Mercy was of course granted, on condition that he would go back to his world, and never return. So the Dijinn was never seen again. Then the Simurgh ordered that papers should be drawn up for the handsome prince and Parizade, who were meant for each other; for it was their true devotion that had led to the Dijinn’s defeat. Of course, everyone as always clapped and cheered with joy. Their prince, who had taken charge, through his determination and devotion not only did he save Parizade but he had won the hearts of his people, now the lonely prince was loved even more. Soon after the wedding, the greedy king decided to become a farmer, making his wise son and his wife, the new king and queen. As for all Parizade finally after years had found her prince, and the prince finally got his chance to be a wise ruler. After this, the whole kingdom began to prosper for the new King and Queen proved to be wise, and just. During this reign everyone was now free to choose their professions and thus they all lived happily ever after. THE END
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