Current Events classroom weekly — issue of October 23–27, 1944 — reading text

to understand them. How Far Is Far? Suppose take across our continent, from New York to San Francisco, as our measuring we the distance stick. This is about 3,000 miles. Com- pare this distance with some of those in the Pacific. From San Francisco to our big al base at Honolulu is 2,400 miles. From Honolulu to Tokyo is 3,890 miles. From Honolulu to Australia is t 5,000. From b w Guinea, just north of Australia, to the Philippines is a distance of nearly 2,500 miles. Once we are back in the Philippines, Tokyo will still lie 1,865 miles to the north. The Russian battle front has been called the longest in the Itmoasi ‘about 2,000 mil 10 Baltic Sea to the Balkans, Our Navy in the Pacific is fighting over a front which ‘extends from Page S4-CURRENT EVENTS for October 23-27, 1944 ~The deepest point yet discovered just east of Mindanao (min‘dli- in the Philippines, It measures 35, feet, or nearly 6% miles. ene eter arent a Ever: {into this spot cow foc WLLL ‘on a peak in the Isthmus of Panama. He took possession of all the waters ‘west of it for Spain. the Portuguese Magellan, sailing for ‘Spain, who did that. Magellan started in ‘earch of the Spice Islands (Moluccas) in 1518. He ‘across the Atlantic and around the tip of South America. All the way, storms threatened his ships. In the e Americas, he found calm, blue water sparkling in called the ocean “pacific,” which mé "peacetul.” Actually, the Pacific is shaken by violent storms, Tropical windstorms called typhoons sweep everything be- fore them. Near the China Sea, they. are common fron to November. ost severe between July and September. Our Navy must plan ir and sea action accordingly en at its calmest, the Pacific is swept by constant winds, These are so gentle that the water does not evaporate so rapidly as it does in the Atlantic, That is one reason the Pi cific is not so salty as the Atlantic, ‘The ocean, like the land, has rivers of flowing water. Some rivers are ‘warmer than the surrounding water. by icy waters, it moves northward along the coast of South America ‘There it is called the Peruvian Cur- rent, It gives Peru a cool climate. ‘Climates of the Pacific ‘The winds, currents, and climates of the Pacific are of the utmost inter- est to the men planning our war. Battles and invasions must be ar- ranged to fit in with weather condi- tions, Troops and equipment must be prepared for a wide range of tempera- ture. In the Aleutians, men must live and planes must fly in temperatures fall- ing as low as 40 degrees below zero. dreeerd fad and egcipped tobe st aoe an to be at thoir best in the hot. steamy jungles of New Guinea of the pleasant. springlike climate of Guam. Planners must know where to ‘expect seasonal rains, where to fight ma- laria and tropical fevers, where to plan for storms and fyphoons. Islands Thick as Stars The Pacific is sprinkled with is- Jungle Fighting in New Guinea ands almost as thickly as the sky is sprinkled with stars. ‘Nearly all of them lie west of a line drawn 2,000 miles from our west coast. The eastern Pacific is almost empty. In size, these islands range from New Guinea, the second largest island in the world, to tiny bits of coral searcely visible above the water. ‘Maip makers are still trying to count all the islands. They think there aré ‘about 2,650 main ones, One such is- land, a mere dot on the map, may be surrounded by 50 to 100 smaller is- Jands. ‘There are two kinds of islands, Some are mountainous and contain active volcanoes, New Guinea, the Solomons, and the Philippines belong fn this group. Such islands are be- lieved to be the tops of mountains which rise from the ocean floor. Other islands are built of white or tinted coral. They are the remains of countless generations of small sea creatures which have died and left their stony skeletons, These islands are found mostly in warm, shallow water. * Many of them are in the form of atolls (at’éls), They are shaped like irregular doughnuts made of coral, They surround quiet lagoons that often make good harbors, Most of the Marianas, Carolines, Marshalls, and Gilberts are coral islands. ‘Many, Black, and Small ‘The Pacific islands are arranged more or less in three great arcs, or part circles, (1) The outer are is called Polynesia, It can be traced on a globe by running your finger from the Hawaiian Islands, through the Phoenix, Samoa, Tonga, Cook, and So- ciety Islands, to New Zealand. "Poly" ‘many, ‘comes from the Greek “nesos,” meaning “is- land.” (@)_A second arc includes New Guinea, New Briain, the Solomons, New Hebrides and New Caledonia. This group is called Melanesta.“Melas” comes from a Greek word meaning “black.” The islands were named from the dark skin of the natives, (3) Between these two arcs liea a third, called Microneela. “Micro” means “small” ‘You ean follow this arc by starting with the Palau Islands and going on to the Marianas, Caroline, Marshall, Gilbert, and Ellice is lands, In addition to these three island ares, there are the Netherlands Indies and the Philippines, They are some- times called Malaysia, because they are a continuation of the Malay Pen- insula. CURRENT EVENTS lor October 2227, 194¢—Page SS. A Seli:Directed Study Program for Use at Home or School the story once, test your memory for facts by answer~ ithe correctness of your answers by re 3 = eee © 2 Who first called the Pacific Ocean “pacific”—and why? “3. What fsa typhoon? Where and when are you likely to run into one? ‘A Why are the Kurile and Aleutian islands foggy? 5. Why is the Peruvian Current cool? 6 What isan atoll? | 7-Explain the meuning of Polynesia; Melanesia: Micronesia. Can you name atleast ‘of islands in each di ‘Study. On the map on page 85, locate the following: Formosa; the R. “one Island or group of Nek Guinea; Guadalcanal; Pearl Harbor; the Aleutian Islands; the Petras Islands; Tarawa; Marcus; Saipan. Know Your Navy ‘After studying the pictures on page 52, fill in the following blanks. Turn back to ‘page 52 to check your answers. Battleships are named after. = after. Tankers are named after ‘A craft named after a fish would be a ‘after an Indian tribe would be a Cruisers are named -Acraftnamed Nowe: Teach the Story of Latin America!’ (© HERE is a new text-workbook containing interesting infor- ‘ation about our friendly neighbors to the south. Forty-eight big pages full of up-to-the-ininute text-material and practical exercises, illustrated with acedrate maps and many photographs. LET'S LOOK AT LATIN AMERICA Full comprehension of Latin America's great world-impor- tance today depends on understanding the historical, economic, fand social backgrounds of each country. Order class quantities how of this big, new book and (each the stories ofall the "Americas to the South"! Price: 21e plus postage, in quantities ‘of 10 of more; smaller quantities, 28¢ each, postpald. - (MAIL THIS ORDER BLANK TODAY! - can Enucarion Pra, In. 4008 Frnt St Cambs 25, Oblo by your money back guarantee ce: ig Rumibce of coples of Lar’ Loox ar Lavon Aaceaca, bared copies, LETS LOOK AT LATIN AMERICA 1 econ — mn payment. [)Pleabe chargé to my account School Address When we landed on the shore stl ndvanced, the Jape ected ike x pu silk stockings’ gpd “Hows hat?” ew yanks and they "Gatien “tow at Whs Bia phe” "He says je sinks trom washing.” Dentist: “Now Tim not going to hurt you" New ‘fou ean cut out the chat ter, old man—Im a dentist mysel™ Perey: “Let's hear you define a wrink Merey: “Wery simple: i someching that if a prune hasn't got vome ity a plum.” “"" Quotation Marks “ ” “ “toland * became a phrase to view ‘with alarm. of bate from Hawail Yo Australia, it was said, was separated from Sepan by some’ 10,000 islands. Guadaleanal ‘war taken in six months, but, even granting that we could move at the rate of ofe island a cae itwaa reasoned we would be 10090 months, or 833 years, in the process of reach ing Ja ‘We were fortunate in that ven whale he deploring of island hop ‘ras in full swing, a strategy of isl: Reuvering was ns ing devised which would commit us only to the capture of a relatively, few key island bases along the routes to the fenemy's homeland... Today, the forces of the United Natians dominate the Soloman the Bismarck Sea, New Guinea and the is: lands immediately beyond, and the Central Pacific to a point within 1,000 miles of Japan, Itself. Strongholds not Seized have’ been ‘outralized by blockade and attrition (wear- Ing away).—Larur, Gex. Auecaxpen A VAx- pecatrr, Commander of the U.S. Marine Corps, in the New York Times Answers to Monthly om Seber ee ae On the War Frost-1.A 2B 2B 4c SC GA TC &B 9.C 10,6 On the Peace Front=11.B 12, 13.C Bsc Rass Os the Poial Frest-16.B 17 9.C 2.C ita Geography in the News-21.T 22.7 23 Bisse RT BF ‘Names In the Nows-26, A 27 2B 30.A ae Muscellaneous—3L.milkweed floss. $2, Win- ston Churchill 22 parent : Marino ovens beh ee ings and seem, “inet ality Reson Ae ee