History of the Great Wall of China essays

History of the Great Wall of China essays The Great Wall of China is one of the largest building projects ever accomplished. It stretches about 1,500 miles from Bo Hai off the Yellow Sea in the East to the Gansu province in the West. It is so large it can be seen from space. A majority of the wall was built between 500-3000 years ago. The wall served to mark the boundary between the agricultural civilization of China and the civilization of the nomadic tribes of the north and northwest. The Great Wall stands 12 feet wide and 25 feet tall. The length is about 4000 miles long with a series of watchtowers standing 40 feet high and 100-200 yards apart. Along the top runs a 13-foot wide roadway. Behind the wall are intervals of permanent camps for troop guard stations. The effectiveness of the wall depended on the ability of the troops to move quickly to any point while under attack. Since the time the Great Wall has been extended, destroyed, and rebuilt, it still stands and has become one of major tourist attractions in the worl d. The Great Wall was considered to be a great asset to the first emperor, Chin Shih-Huang-Ti, known the founder of the Chin Dynasty. He and other states of north China joined together and extended the separate walls built by earlier states to serve as a defensive barrier against the nomads, especially the Turkish tribes. It took roughly ten years to complete and long hours of hard labor. The cost of the wall in money and lives may have been a factor in the fall of the Chin Dynasty. Construction of the Great Wall began in 400 BC. The first emperor of China, Chin Shih-Huang-Ti, wanted the wall built to protect his people from Mongolian invaders. He ordered just about one million people to work day and night for ten years to build the wall. The emperor Chin Shih Huang-Ti believed that his defensive barrier would prevent invasion of the Mongolian tribes. Even though the Great Wall protected against attack from outside, its building was a cause of disconte...

Common German Idioms, Sayings and Proverbs

Common German Idioms, Sayings and Proverbs Ein Sprichwort,  a saying or a proverb, can be a fun  way to learn and remember new vocabulary in German. The following sayings, proverbs,  and idiomatic expressions (Redewendungen) are our favorites.   Some expressions are more common than others. Many of these  work with Germanys love affair with its endless variety  of Wurst (sausage). Some may be a little more  contemporary, some may be a bit old-fashioned, but they can all be used in everyday conversations. Tips for Learning German Phrases The best way to learn these is to read each sentence to yourself and immediately  read the English equivalent. Then say the same sentence aloud in German. Continue saying these aloud in German and, with practice, youll automatically remember the meaning; it will become subliminal and you wont even have to think about it. A good exercise: Write each phrase or sentence out as you say it the first two times. The more senses and muscles you engage as you learn a language, the more likely you are to remember it correctly and the longer you will remember it. A third time, cover the German and read the English version; then task yourself, as in a dictation, with writing the sentence in German. Keep in mind that the symbol  ÃƒÅ¸ (as in heiß)  stands for a double s,  and remember  correct German word order, which is different from that in English. Dont forget that all German nouns, common or proper, are capitalized. (Even Wurst.) Below youll find expressions, the colloquial English translation, and the literal translation. Expressions About Sausage (Wurst) and Other Things to Eat Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei. Everything must end.Literally: Everything has an end; only the sausage has two. Das ist mir Wurst. Its all the same to me.Literally: Its a sausage to me. Es geht um die Wurst. Its do or die / now or never / the moment of truth.Literal: Its about the sausage. Äpfel mit Birnen vergleichen. Comparing  apples and orangesLiterally: Comparing apples and pears In des Teufels Kà ¼che sein. To get into hot waterLiteral: In the devils kitchen Dir haben sie wohl etwas in den Kaffee getan. Youve got to be kidding.Literally: Youve probably  done something in/to the coffee Die Radieschen von unten anschauen/betrachten To be pushing up daisies (to be dead)Literally: To see/view the radishes from below Expressions With Animals Die Katze im Sack kaufen To buy a pig in a pokeLiterally: to buy a cat in a sack Wo sich die Fà ¼chse gute Nacht sagen The middle of nowhere/the  back of beyondLiterally: Where the foxes say goodnight Stochere nicht im Bienenstock. Let sleeping dogs lie.Literally: Dont poke around in the beehive. Expressions With Body Parts and People Daumen drà ¼cken! Keep your fingers crossed!Literally: Press/hold your thumbs! Er hat einen dicken Kopf. Hes got a hangover.Literally: He has a fat head. Was ich nicht weiß, macht mich nicht heiß. What you dont know, wont hurt you.Literally: What I dont know wont burn me. Er fllt  immer mit der Tà ¼r ins Huschen. He always gets right to the point/just blurts it out.Literally: He always falls into the house through the door. Was Hnschen nicht lernt, lernt Hans nimmermehr. You cant teach an old dog new tricks.Literally: What little Hans didnt learn, adult Hans never will. Wenn man dem Teufel den kleinen Finger gibt, so nimmt er die ganze Hand. Give an inch; theyll take a mile.Literally: If you give the devil your little finger, hell take the whole hand.

Hell-Heaven Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hell-Heaven - Essay Example Aparna was â€Å"even in her bleakest hours of homesickness she was grateful that my father had at least spared her a life in the stern house of her in-laws, where she would have had to keep her head covered with the end of her sari at all times and use an outhouse that was nothing but a raised platform with a hole† (DiYanni 350). Aparna’s husband and she were thrown together by chance. This part of her life was one of her metaphorical Hells. a release for Aparna. Since the outings were supervised by the narrator, Aparna’s husband felt â€Å"freed from the sense of responsibility he must have felt for forcing her to leave India† (DiYanni 351). Although the narrator did not realize it at the time, she later came to the realization that â€Å"It is clear to me now that my mother was in love with him† (DiYanni 351). Aparna had more in common with Pranab Kaku than with her husband. For example, â€Å"They had in common all the things she and my father did not: a love of music, film, leftist politics, poetry† (DiYanni 350). This relationship was Aparna’s Heaven. Another Hell for Aparna was the foreign atmosphere of America. Even in America Aparna wore Indian clothes. The narrator wrote, â€Å"given that my mother was wearing the red and white bangles unique to Bengali married women, and a common Tangail sari† (DiYanni 348). Aparna clung to her old Indian ways. She constantly chided Usha about the Bengali ways. Aparna admonished, â€Å"Don’t think you’ll get away with marrying an American, the way Pranab Kaku did† (DiYanni 356). The balancing act of raising an Indian daughter in America was Hell for Aparna. Bangladesh was Heaven for Aparna. That is why Aparna fell in love with Pranab Kaku, not for who he was, but what he represented. Pranab Kaku reminded Aparna of â€Å"cheerful songs of courtship, which transformed the quiet life in our apartment and transported my mother back to