MAY

7. During World War II, huge box kites were flown above American warships to protect them from bombing attacks. The kites had long steel wires suspended from them that could damage approaching aircraft. The navy also used kites for target practice.

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15. According to legend, as Baum was thinking about a title for his now-famous story, his gaze strayed to a nearby filing cabinet, where the drawers wer labeled as follows: A-G, H-N, O-Z. At that moment, Baum decided to acall his kingdom Oz. Baum's goal was to write an entertaining American fairy tale because he felt many traditional tales were too frightening. Find several fairy tales with violent scenes or scary characters and rewrite them to eliminate the scary parts.

20. Tornadoes are most likely to strike between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. By late afternoon the sun has heated the earth sufficiently to cause warm, humid air to rise. If other weather conditions are right, this air can serve as fuel for a tornado. Most tornadoes last less than 15 minutes.

22. Impressionistic paintings depcit scenes or objects at one moment in time using dabs or strokes of color. The impressionists were concered with the effects of natural light on their subjects, especially the way objects appeared at different times of the day or in different seasons. Some impressionists painted the same scene at different times ot reflect the changes. This approach was in sharp contrast to the stiff, traditional style favored when impressionism began in Paris in the mid-1880s. Mary Cassatt eagerly joined other artists, inncluding Monet, Renoir, and Degas, who were frustrated with traditional painting.

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