Category Archives: Reference

These are materials for teachers and parents, and you’ll find, in this category, teachers copies and answer keys for worksheets, quotes related to domain-specific knowledge in English Language Arts and social studies, and quotes on issues of professional concern. See the Taxonomies page for more about this category.

Somoza Family

Posted on October 4, 2024 | Leave a comment

“Somoza family: Family that maintained political control of Nicaragua for more then 40 years. The dynasty’s founder, Anastasio Somosa Garcia (1896-1956), became head of Nicaragua’s army in 1933 and, after deposing the elected president in 1936, ruled the country with a firm and grasping hand until he was assassinated. He was succeeded by his elder son, Luis Somoza Debayle (1922-1967), and later by his younger son, Anastasio Somoza Debayle (1925-1980), whose corrupt and brutal rule (1963-79) led to his overthrow by the Sandinistas. Somoza looted the country before leaving for Miami; he was assassinated in Paraguay.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Luis Carlos Prestes

Posted on September 26, 2024 | Leave a comment

“Luis Carlos Prestes: (1898-1990) Brazilian revolutionary. In 1924 he led a rebel force on a three-year trek through Brazil’s interior in an effort to spark a rebellion in the countryside. Though the effort failed, he became a romantic hero. He went on to lead the Brazilian Communist Party, which advocated ending payments on the national debt, nationalization of foreign-owned companies, and land reform. Imprisoned after a violent uprising in 1935, he was released after World War II and later served briefly as a senator.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Antofagasta

Posted on September 26, 2024 | Leave a comment

“Antofagasta: Seaport (population 2017 388,545), capital of Antofagasta region, northern Chile. Located on Moreno Bay, it was a Bolivian city until it was ceded to Chile in 1879. Its early growth resulted from a nitrate boom that began in 1866 and from the Caracoles silver discovery in 1870. The largest city in northern Chile, it remains a supply source for the mines and is a communications center on the Pan –American Highway.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Alcides Arguedas

Posted on September 26, 2024 | Leave a comment

“Alcides Arguedas: (1879-1946) Bolivian novelist, historian, and diplomat. Although Arguedas spent many years in Europe, especially in France, where he was Bolivian consul, his best-known writings reflect his abiding concern with the problems of his homeland. He is remembered primarily for three works, each in a different field. Pueblo enfermo (1909) is a pessimistic and controversial analysis of Bolivian society. One of the most famous of the Indianist novels, Raza de bronce (1919) describes the exploitation of Bolivian Indians by inhuman landlords. Arguedas’s most enduring work may be his five-volume Historia de Bolivia (1920-29), which covers that country’s history from 1809 to 1872).”

Excerpted from: Murphy, Bruce, ed. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.

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Acapulco (de Juarez)

Posted on September 20, 2024 | Leave a comment

“Acapulco (de Juarez): Seaport, southwest Mexico. Situated on a deep semicircular bay, it has the best harbor on Mexico’s Pacific coast. It was discovered by Hernan Cortes in 1531, and a settlement was founded in 1550. Until 1815, it was a main depot for Spanish colonial fleets going to East Asia, and especially to Manila. It has become a major international resort for tourists attracted by its scenic beauty, climate, and excellent beaches.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Jose Martiniano de Alencar

Posted on September 20, 2024 | Leave a comment

“Jose Martiniano de Alencar: (1829-1877) Brazilian novelist. Probably Brazil’s finest romantic novelist, Alencar is known for his idealized portraits of Indians and for his deep feeling for the Brazilian landscape. His most popular novels are O Guarani (1857) and Iracema (1865; tr Iracema, The Honey Lips: A Legend of Brazile, 1886), both of which deal with love between Indians and whites.”

Excerpted from: Murphy, Bruce, ed. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.

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Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens

Posted on September 20, 2024 | Leave a comment

“Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens: (1908-1973) Socialist president of Chile (1970-73). Of upper-middle-class background, Allende took a degree in medicine and in 1933 helped to found Chile’s Socialist Party. He ran for president unsuccessfully three times before winning narrowly in 1970. He attempted to restructure Chilean society along socialist lines while retaining democracy, civil liberties, and due process of law, but his efforts to redistribute wealth resulted in stagnant production, food shortages, rising inflation, and widespread strikes. His inability to control his radical supporters further alienated the middle class. His policies dried up foreign credit and led to a covert campaign by the United States Central Intelligence Agency to destabilize the government. He was overthrown in a violent military coup, during which he died by gunshot, reportedly self-inflicted. He was replaced by General Augusto Pinochet.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Conundrum

Posted on September 13, 2024 | Leave a comment

“Conundrum (noun): A riddle involving disparate things and whose answer involves a pun; problem or perplexing phenomenon; quizzical matter.

‘It’s the social reformers and novelists who create these artificial conundrums; they want to see their rotten literature; they want to make us forget that the only interesting and important part of the business is what nobody talks or writes about.’ Norman Douglas, South Wind”

Excerpted from: Grambs, David. The Random House Dictionary for Writers and Readers. New York: Random House, 1990.

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12 Nights of the Round Table

Posted on September 13, 2024 | Leave a comment

“Lancelot du Lac * Kay * Galahad * Perceval * Tristram * Gawain * Gareth * Lamorak * Gaheris * Mordred * Bors * Bedivere

It was the linkage of the legend cycle of Arthur with that of Charlemagne that seems to have encouraged an early listing of twelve knights of the Round Table. But there are over 100 named knights associated with Arthurian legends, and tables of thirty-four and fifty knights noted. Those listed above, however, are the Round Table’s twelve chief characters. They include knights close to or related to Arthur, such as his foster brother, Sir Kay, his nephews Sir Gawain and Sir Gaheris, and his illegitimate son and nemesis, Sir Mordred.”

Excerpted from: Rogerson, Barnaby. Rogerson’s Book of Numbers: The Culture of Numbers–from 1,001 Nights to the Seven Wonders of the World. New York: Picador, 2013.

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Term of Art: Stovepipe Organization

Posted on September 2, 2024 | Leave a comment

“stovepipe organization: An organization whose different functions are separated so that each department has a narrow, rigid set of responsibilities and there is little discussion or collaboration among the various sectors.”

Excerpted from: Ravitch, Diane. EdSpeak: A Glossary of Education Terms, Phrases, Buzzwords, and Jargon. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2007.

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