text:
\section{Introduction}

Computer simulations have become an indispensable tool in modern cosmology.  While progress in the last century of physical cosmology can be attributed to theoretical innovations in concert with observational discoveries, in the next century progress on several questions will depend upon effective use of simulations.  Philosophers of science stand to learn from, and potentially contribute to, efforts to assess the validity of cosmological simulations as representations of the universe

Simulations are essential to understanding, inter alia, how galaxies of all types form and evolve. According to the $\Lambda$CDM model, formation of galaxies and large-scale structures begins with slight fluctuations away from a uniform background in the early universe.  Cold dark matter -- ``cold'' because the particles have negligible thermal velocities -- provides the scaffolding: initial ``seeds,'' consisting of local concentrations of dark matter (DM), grow through gravitational instability and merge to form larger DM halos.  These halos produce gravitational potential wells that attract baryonic matter, eventually leading to visible galaxies. This picture is widely accepted, but the devil is in the details.  Because it dominates the mass budget, DM plays a leading role, and comparisons of simulation outputs to observations may be the best way to discriminate among competing proposals regarding DM's nature.  Next-generation galaxy clustering and weak gravitational lensing surveys will yield higher precision measurements of large-scale structure, at a variety of scales.  Such surveys are being designed specifically to constrain cosmological parameters \citep[e.g.,][]{Euclid_science}, but measuring the true values with uncertainties of the cosmological parameters will depend on sophisticated statistical comparisons of large samples of galaxy properties to the expectations from a suite of simulations.  The success of these experiments thus fundamentally depends on the reliability of the simulations.

Current simulations have revealed several challenges in extrapolating $\Lambda$CDM from large scales, where it is most successful, to the scale of individual galaxies \citep[see also][]{Massimi2018}. When simulations yield results that conflict with observations, as they do in this case, should blame be attributed to an inadequate incorporation of all the necessary physics, or instead to artificial features introduced to render the models computationally tractable? Philosophers have discussed this challenge in other fields: how can we establish the reliability of simulations of complex systems, and to what extent do simulations promote physical understanding of systems that are otherwise difficult to observe directly?  State-of-the-art cosmological simulations are computationally intensive, and how a given feature in the models depends on the complex interplay of different assumptions (both physical and computational) is opaque.   How to justify simulation results and use them to guide further inquiry despite this opacity is a substantial challenge.  Our argument below focuses primarily on a critical assessment of one response, called ``convergence analysis'' or ``code comparison'' by cosmologists, and ``robustness analysis'' by philosophers.  There are close parallels in the arguments given by the advocates of this approach in both fields.  But more importantly, the limitations of this approach have been made particularly clear in the cosmology literature, and these cases help to identify two ways in which robustness analysis can fail.  Robustness may thus be considered necessary but not sufficient, and we discuss  ways forward for evaluating the success of cosmological simulations.

\section{The Universe \textit{In Silico}}

Astrophysicists are often simplistically separated into two camps: theorists and observers. However, the meaning of ``theorist'' in modern astrophysics is not the classical vision of an individual solving analytic equations, but rather typically involves developing and testing simulations of complex physical systems.  Cosmology as a field within astrophysics is no different, but the role of simulations is perhaps unusual.  Below are three specific ways in which the nature of the simulations is distinctive both inherently and in practice.

\subsection{Seeing the Unseen}

Observationally, the distribution of matter in the early universe (circa 380,000 yrs after the Big Bang) is well constrained by the exquisite maps of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) made from data from {\em WMAP}, {\em Planck}, and other observatories.
Though most of the mass of the universe at all epochs consists of DM, and is not directly observable, baryons emitting light in the era of the CMBR were tightly coupled to DM and are thus excellent tracers of it.  In the nearby universe, galaxy surveys that cover large swaths of the sky such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (\begin{small}\url{https://www.sdss.org}\end{small}) provide an in-depth view of the distribution of baryonic matter (traced by stars in galaxies).  Over cosmic time, baryons, unlike DM, can cool and condense by emitting light.  Therefore, baryonic matter grows much clumpier in its distribution in contrast to DM.  The difference in the physics dominating the two types of matter sets the stage for the role of simulations as a vehicle to gain access to information about the unseen DM.

Large scale structure simulations start with the initial conditions measured via the CMBR, and then propagate them forward in time by modeling gravity acting on DM within a $\Lambda$CDM cosmology.  Because DM dominates the mass, this suffices to predict the distribution of massive DM halos in the present epoch.  However, these halos are only observable with light-emitting baryonic tracers: galaxies.  Thus an additional step is required, which is to assign baryons to each DM halo, then evolve them forward in time with, e.g., semi-analytic prescriptions that attempt to describe the complicated baryonic physics such as that of star formation and supermassive black hole growth.  The databases\footnote{For example, \begin{small}\url{http://gavo.mpa-garching.mpg.de/Millennium}\end{small}.} holding the outputs for large scale structure simulations have two distinct types: catalogues of DM halos (from the first round of DM simulations), such as the Millenium Simulation \citep{millennium}, and catalogues of galaxies (from the subsequent incorporation of baryons into the models). The simulated galaxy catalogues are then compared to observations to test both layers of simulations \citep[e.g.,][]{Guo2011}.  The decoupling of the two steps allows multiple prescriptions of the baryonic physics to be investigated, as a mismatch between observed and simulated galaxy properties could arise from multiple sources.  Simulations thus tie surveys of observable galaxies to the distribution of DM halos that are otherwise invisible.

\subsection{Watching the Movie}

From first formation to the present, galaxies change dramatically, as distant galaxies observed when the universe was a fraction of its present age are fundamentally different than the galaxies we observe locally.
This evolution occurs over timescales of hundreds of millions to billions of years.  Astronomers cannot follow the transformation of, for example, an individual galaxy from a disordered collection of clumps to a well-organized spiral.
Galaxy surveys capture only snapshots in time, and it is often not obvious which particular class of galaxies at a higher redshift includes the precursors to the types of galaxies such as spirals and ellipticals observed locally.  Simulation databases are therefore useful because they capture the evolutionary history of a particular galaxy or DM halo.  This allows a direct mapping between galaxies at any time slice of the simulation, and can be used to create evolutionary animations of what are otherwise static pictures of astrophysical objects or structures.

\subsection{Guiding Observations}

Cosmologists also use simulations to motivate and optimize observing programs.
Though costly, supercomputer time is significantly less expensive than telescope resources.
Observatory time is both hard to get and valuable (for acquiring science data and enabling its analysis).  Simulations can serve two roles in determining allocation of telescope time.  First, predictions from simulations can motivate observing programs.  For example, simulations predicted swarms of low-mass dwarf galaxies around large galaxies.  The numbers predicted were not found around the Milky Way or other nearby massive galaxies -- the ``missing satellite problem'' -- but due to their low luminosity and surface brightness, these galaxies would be quite hard to detect without explicitly hunting for them.  Challenging observing programs were thus designed and carried out to target these elusive dwarf galaxies \citep[which are still ``missing''; e.g.,][]{SimonGeha2007}.  Second, for large observing programs, cosmological simulations are used to define the specifications, such as the area of sky and depth of images, that will enable significant constraints on the physics.  For example, the output from a simulation can provide the number of galaxies of a given type within a luminosity bin required to yield small enough uncertainties to constrain the parameter of interest.  Entire observatories such as the upcoming {\em Euclid} (\begin{small}\url{https://www.euclid-ec.org}\end{small}) space mission have survey programs designed in this manner.

\section{A Tale of Many Scales}

Cosmological simulations aim to describe structure formation on a range of scales, from large scale structure observed in the CMBR and large area galaxy surveys down to the colours and central mass profiles of individual galaxies.
The relevant physics that must be incorporated into the simulation depends on the size scale of the phenomena under examination. Cosmologists often face a trade-off between resolution and scope. On the one hand, resolving individual galaxy halo substructure requires running high-spatial resolution simulations and including baryonic processes such as radiative cooling and star formation. To this end, a so-called ``zoom-in'' simulation must focus in detail on a single DM halo while the surrounding neighborhood remains at coarser resolution or is treated as a boundary condition.
Zoom-in simulations are thus intended as in-depth case studies intended to reveal the physical origins of the structure and properties of individual galaxies such as our Milky Way.
On the other hand, large-scale simulations simulate a larger volume at lower resolution, but do not have the capacity to resolve the effects of the baryonic physics that impacts the central regions of DM halos most significantly. These lower-resolution simulations can be used to understand the observed large-scale mass distribution of DM halos, as probed, for example, by weak gravitational lensing surveys and galaxy clustering analyses.  Hence, defining precisely the rationale for the simulations --- such as supplementing sparse observations, understanding what the cold DM model predicts, unpacking how \textit{real} baryonic processes affect the evolution and inner structure of DM halos, or ruling out alternatives to $\Lambda$CDM --- is essential for determining which simulations should be used and under what circumstances simulations adequately represent the target systems they are modelling.

In this contribution, we focus on DM-only, large scale structure simulations.  At large scales, the goal is to describe the evolution of DM in a background cosmological model. To start, the early stages of the evolution of seed fluctuations can be described analytically as linear perturbations to an expanding universe model.  The basic dynamical equations for DM are the collisionless Boltzmann equation (for thermal velocities) and Poisson's equation (for the gravitational potential).  However, fluctuations enter the non-linear regime rapidly as density contrasts grow, and the gravitational dynamics can only be treated numerically, through $N$-body simulations.\footnote{$N$-body simulations describe gravity using Newtonian theory set in an expanding spacetime, which is assumed to be a good approximation to a relativistic treatment.}  Different ``gravity solvers'' provide schemes for numerically solving the dynamical equations.  $N$-body simulations treat the system as divided into representative ``particles'' (with some specified mass), compute the Newtonian forces acting on these particles, and then calculate their accelerations and velocities in discrete time steps.  The mass scale is set by available computational resources and the goals of the simulation, and the particles are (usually) theoretical constructs rather than representations of astrophysical bodies.

The numerical problem is to solve the equations of motion, with the main computational cost associated with determining the gravitational potential for each particle.  Although initial simulations used a pair-wise calculation of the potential, this requires $O(N^2)$ steps and quickly becomes too computationally expensive with increasing $N$.  There are a variety of alternative, more efficient methods to find the potential. ``Tree'' methods calculate the gravitational potential by organizing the particle distribution in a hierarchical, tree-like structure, and then keeping the lowest order terms in a multipole expansion for the particles grouped together on leaves of the tree.  ``Particle mesh'' simulations, by contrast, introduce a three-dimensional mesh, calculate the density for each cell, and then determine the gravitational potential.  In both cases, a numerical integrator is needed to then calculate the positions and velocities of particles at some discrete time step.  Both approaches employ artificial components that do not directly map onto astrophysical objects or processes.  Tree methods use ``force-softening'', a prescription that renders the gravitational force weaker at small distances to avoid unphysically large accelerations from close encounters of the particles that would trigger numerical instabilities.  Particle mesh methods limit force resolution due to the mesh size, and particles interact through a mean field rather than through pointwise interactions.  These methods introduce new fundamental parameters:  the mass scale (set by the number of particles); the time step used in the numerical integrator; and a parameter fixing the force-softening (for tree methods) or a spatial scale (for particle mesh simulations).

At smaller scales ($\le$ Mpc), other astrophysical processes have to be taken into account alongside gravity, including the radiative cooling and hydrodynamics of baryonic matter.  There is no natural separation of scales, as ``small-scale'' phenomena such as supernovae and supermassive black hole growth are expected to have a significant impact.  Such ``sub-grid'' processes are unresolved by the simulations, but have a profound impact on the structure at these small scales, such as the mass profiles in the inner regions of individual DM halos (the ``cusp-core'' problem) and the existence and number of the smallest DM halos (the missing satellites).  These are also the scales at the lower limits of numerical resolution.

Altogether, these features conspire to make it difficult to build structure formation simulations spanning a large range of spatial scales and dynamical regimes, and furthermore to assess their overall reliability.  In particular, revealing the cause of mismatches with observations from simulation outputs is extremely challenging. Questions regarding the status of assumptions and input parameter values arise immediately:  at what mass and spatial scales, compared to these parameters, do these simulations give reliable descriptions of the gravitational dynamics of DM halos?

\section{Through a Simulation, Darkly}

The sophistication and resolution of simulations has increased to the point that cosmologists often now present side-by-side comparisons of simulation outputs and observational data, challenging their audience to determine which is which.  Simulated wide-field maps from Illustris (\begin{small}\url{http://www.illustris-project.org}\end{small}), for example, are virtually indistinguishable from actual multi-colour images.  Yet determining the implications of such success is challenging due to the epistemic opacity of simulations.

\citet{humphreys2009} argues that opacity is the philosophically novel feature of simulations.  In his sense, opacity reflects the inability of beings like us to survey or comprehend the full range of calculations performed.
The way simulations are created and developed leads to a related type of opacity \citep[see, in particular][]{lenhard2019,winsberg2010}:  a lack of clarity regarding how to attribute praise or blame to the components of a simulation.  This generates the main obstacle to using simulations to gain physical understanding of target systems, and to fulfill the other roles of simulations in cosmology.

Ideally, a simulation code might be constructed from modules that each account for different physical effects relevant to the evolution of the system as a whole.  Within each module, the problem at hand must be transformed into an algorithm that can be feasibly implemented on a computer, by, for example, introducing a numerical solver in place of a set of differential equations.  Far from being dictated by theoretical considerations, there is scope for a variety of distinct implementations.  Simulations incorporate (following Lenhard) ``artificial components'' and ``kluges.'' The former are specific elements that lack theoretical motivation or even run directly counter to theory.  They are introduced to overcome computational limits, to counter problems like numerical instabilities, or to ensure good global behavior of the simulation.  Kluges are clumsy, \emph{ad hoc} -- and ubiquitous -- fixes required to make things work. (Kluge means an inelegant solution to a coding problem.) Including such elements may lead to new parameters that are not motivated physically, such as the length scale of a grid introduced in a discretized description of a continuous fluid.  The freedom to introduce artificial components and kluges is a feature, not a bug, as it enables the construction of working simulations. For any well-studied problem, there are generally competing simulations that employ different artificial components and kluges, with distinct parametrizations. This freedom also leads to opacity, however, because it obscures the contributions of different modules and other components of the simulation.

Initial evaluation of simulations typically focuses on the global properties of their outputs, such as the distributions, masses, and colours of galaxies in a simulated universe.  ``Tuning'' the simulation to produce a particular kind of output -- such as the images cosmologists use to stump their colleagues -- exploits the parameterization freedom just described.  But it is also a further source of opacity that makes it more difficult to isolate and identify the contributions of the different components of the simulation.

Even if the modules include ``all the relevant physics,'' in practice they do not fit together seamlessly as one set of fully self-consistent mathematical equations. For example, modules within the code may not contribute as expected after the simulation has been tuned and modified with an eye toward global behavior, leading to what \citet{lenhardwinsberg2010} call ``fuzzy modularity.''  It is then unclear how one might generalize the initial success in fitting global proeprties, or use the simulation to learn more about other target systems in the computational domain. The initial success may be due to a delicate cancellation of errors that holds only for the chosen parameter values, for example.

It is often difficult to tell the difference between such a cancellation of errors, and a case where the modules accurately represent key physics of the target system -- such as an accurate prescription for star formation. Only in the latter case would the simulation be expected to apply outside the domain for which it was explicitly tuned.  In the particular case of $N$-body cosmological simulations, determining whether the overabundance of low mass halos (the missing satellites) is a numerical artifact that might arise from force-softening or mass resolution issues \citep{vandenBosch2018}, or some aspect of DM or baryonic physics \citep{Bullock2017} that has not been properly included, has proven difficult.  The convergence of several models on this result is not sufficient justification for assuming they are correct; the possibility that there are dwarf galaxies in these numbers that are present but simply difficult to detect is shrinking.

Acknowledging opacity need not lead to full-blown skepticism regarding simulations.  It should be possible to distinguish between artifacts of a simulation and properties that should be taken seriously.  Much as with \citet{franklin1989}'s defense of experiment, in our view scientists employ a variety of strategies for defending simulations, appropriate in different circumstances \citep{parker2008}.  These strategies can be most effectively employed when there are alternative sources of knowledge about the target system that can be used to ``benchmark'' simulations.  Two different sources of knowledge are particularly effective, yet frustratingly rare.  First, in some cases simulation outputs can be directly compared to analytic solutions of a fundamental set of equations, enabling a particularly clear assessment of the mathematical properties of the simulation.  Yet simulations are typically employed in exactly those cases where we lack such mathematical control. Furthermore, for simulations incorporating many different, coupled physical effects, identifying a core set of equations to which we should require fidelity can be difficult. Second, detailed experimental study of a target system can yield data not used in constructing the simulation; alternatively, experiments can be designed such that they explicitly aim to test key predictions of the models, such as looking for the ``missing'' dwarf galaxies.  Successes in accounting for data not used in the construction of the simulation support taking the initial success as not merely an artifact of flexibility and tuning.\footnote{We do not have space to argue further that predictions have more evidential value than accommodating the data by tuning the model. See \citet{Frisch2015} for a clear argument in favor of this claim, and references to related philosophical debates regarding climate simulations.}  Again, this kind of direct experimental validation may be unusual, because scientists most often employ simulations when relevant data are sparse. In cosmology, however, entire observatories are being designed with the aim of acquiring such validation.

When empirical benchmarks are not readily available, background knowledge about the target system more typically consists of the results of other simulations.  For example, a new variant on a cosmological simulation would  include dark matter because of its previous successes as a key element in large-scale structure modeling. Validation of a simulation also includes comparing and contrasting it with an ensemble of other simulations. There are many choices to be made in constructing simulations that target the same systems, so it is natural to expect that the ensemble of existing simulations exhibits some degree of diversity.  In the context of cosmological simulations, the diversity should ideally be along distinct axes, including the computational methodology, the range of input tuning parameters, as well as the underlying physics in the cases where it is not well known.

\section{Robustness and its Discontents}

Cosmologists and philosophers alike have suggested that convergence of an ensemble of simulations on a particular result supports taking it as a real feature of the target system. \citet{weisberg2006robustness} provides a recent influential defense of robustness analysis inspired by biological modeling practices and seminal earlier work by Levins and Wimsatt. The core idea is appealing: we should be more confident that a specific outcome, or feature of the target system, truly obtains if it is ``robust'' -- the common output of an ensemble of diverse simulations.   Even though any given model or simulation will contain idealizations and artificial components, agreement among independent simulations indicates that they share a common structure sufficient to generate the ``robust'' feature. To what extent can we rely on robustness analysis to draw the distinction between artifacts and real features of a target system, in light of the challenges discussed above?  The value of convergence of simulations has been the focus of active debate in cosmology.  Inspired by this work, we will briefly characterize two challenges to the sufficiency of robustness analysis and suggest an alternative approach.\footnote{Although we do not have space to engage with the philosophical literature on robustness in detail, the nature of these challenges is robust to variations among competing proposals.}

The value of convergence clearly depends upon the nature of the simulation ensemble.  At one extreme, convergence over an \emph{ideal ensemble}, including all viable simulations for a given problem, would be particularly persuasive.  Such an ensemble of structure formation simulations would span differences in numerical implementation (such as particle mesh vs. tree codes), variations in uncertain physics (such as aspects of dark matter), artifical components, etc.  Convergence over such an ideal ensemble on a particular feature would establish that the details of implementation are irrelevant to the persistence of that feature, and support the idea that it follows from a ``common structure'' shared by all elements of the ensemble.  Yet it is clearly not the case that the currently available simulations span the space of possibilities in anything even remotely approaching this ideal.  So we must face the more challenging question, discussed in the case of climate simulations by \citet{parker2011}: how valuable is convergence for the ensembles we actually have?  What features of actual ensembles determine the evidential value of convergence?

There are (at least) two reasons that convergence over actual ensembles does not provide sufficient evidence to accept robust features, both stemming from the opacity emphasized above.\footnote{\citet{gueguen2019} considers two cases illustrating both failures, which we draw on here.}  First, cosmologists often consider ensembles spanning a relatively small region of parameter space.  Parameters appearing in $N$-body simulations, such as those setting the mass scale, time step, and force-softening (or spatial scale) are often chosen to ensure stability of the values of a set of outputs under variations in resolution.  Convergence studies establish the degree of sensitivity of simulation outputs to these parameter choices, and establish a range of ``safe'' values adopted in subsequent work.\footnote{Comparisons with observations enter into these considerations indirectly, in the choice of outputs for which stability under resolution variation is required; ``unsafe'' parameter values may still yield tractable simulations consistent with observations \citet{vandenBosch2018}. }  Yet this practice may generate the kind of cancellation of errors discussed above:  convergence may result from a delicate balance between numerical artifacts.  The difficulty of ruling this possibility out -- a consequence of the opacity of simulations -- undercuts claims that features are robust.
For an ensemble defined over a  broader range of parameter values, an apparently robust feature (such as large numbers of dwarf galaxy satellites) may disappear \citep[e.g.,][]{vandenBosch2018}.

Second, establishing that there is a robust feature is not sufficient to characterize the common structure producing it as really physical.  It is sometimes possible to identify precisely what aspects of an ensemble of simulations constitute the common structure responsible for a robust result, through detailed assessment of how the simulations respond to variations of input conditions and parameter values.
Benchmarking exercises as described above can be particularly powerful for identifying the common structure responsible for a robust result, and their utility underscores the limitation of robustness analysis on its own.
Furthermore, in some cases this common structure directly contradicts basic physical assumptions.\footnote{As \citet{gueguen2019} discusses, cosmologists showed that N-body simulations leading to a supposedly robust feature (``cuspy'' density profiles) violate conservation laws (for energy and other constants of the motion).} The simulations succeed due to --- rather than in spite of --- numerical artifacts.  Though the correct response in such cases may be to question the underlying physics, this possibility illustrates that the presence of a robust feature in itself does not preclude artificial components or kluges.

One way of refining robustness analysis in response to these failures would be to place further demands on the ensemble.  If simulations were fully modular, it would be possible to construct an ensemble by ``swapping out'' a particular part of the code with replacements that are sufficiently diverse.   Diversity is valuable in this case to the extent that it helps avoid the problems just noted.  If it might be the case that a particular artificial component of gravity solvers accounts for the robust feature, for example, then the ensemble should be enlarged to include a simulation that uses a different gravity solver.  An ensemble designed in this way would lead to a more compelling robustness argument.  An amendment to robustness analysis along these lines would then require an account of how to determine whether a given ensemble is sufficiently diverse, relative to a particular robust feature \citep[see also][]{schupbach2016robustness}.  This approach loses much of its utility and appeal, however, as modularity rarely holds.  In addition, actually carrying out the construction of simulations, in order to fill in this (potentially quite large) space of possibilities, strikes us as unfeasible, and would certainly be a substantial departure from current practice \citep{ruphy2011limits}.

The more compelling point is that we seem to have lost track of the reason why robustness is appealing.  To establish the reliability of simulations -- or any type of inquiry -- we need to identify possible sources of error, and then avoid them.  It is obviously unwise to rely on a single simulation, given our limited understanding of how its success in a particular domain can be generalized.  Robustness helps to counter such over-reliance.  But there are many other strategies that simulators have used to identify sources of error and rule them out \citep{parker2008}. First we must ask what are the different sources of error that could be relevant?  And what is the best case one can make to rule out competing accounts?

This eliminative approach can proceed, for example, by turning away from the cases for which the simulations have been tuned to match observations.  The contrast between numerics and physics is sometimes much sharper in contrived situations where many of the complexities of real-world systems have been removed.  Even if these do not correspond to a real target system, the simulation results may be subject to external validation -- such as through comparison to an analytic solution.  This comparison can render a clear verdict regarding whether a particular outcome results from numerical artifacts or the underlying physics.  This activity must be supplemented by a convincing argument that the differences between the simple case and complex target systems do not undermine extending the external validation to the cases of real interest.
Such arguments can effectively eliminate concern over a particular numerical artifact as opposed to the underlying physics, or vice versa.  This is a brief description of one strategy among many that cosmologists have employed to isolate numerical artifacts.

\section{Conclusion}

Cosmology as a field places extreme demands on its simulations: they must enable tests of fundamental physics and support observational programs.  To date, structure formation simulations have successfully reproduced a wide range of features of the observed universe.  Because of the complexity and opacity of the simulations, however, the task of eliminating potential sources of error is extremely challenging.  Requiring that simulations converge on similar results does not provide adequate grounds for taking the simulations to have identified the causal structure of the target systems.  The approach we advocate differs from justifying simulations merely on the basis of their ability to capture some range of interesting observed phenomena.  A thorough program of eliminating the possibility of numerical artifacts is needed to justify using simulations to gain physical insight into the formation of galaxies.  Such efforts would be well justified, given the substantial resources being allocated to next generation observatories and the crucial role cosmological simulations play in both designing their specifications and enabling their science return.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


Tottenham Hotspur will be willing to sell Harry Kane to Real Madrid, as long as the deal is done quickly and brings in €200m.
Spanish outlet, Mundo Deportivo, reports that Spurs president Daniel Levy has told Kane's representatives that they are prepared to let him leave.
Last month, the England striker told the club to start winning trophies or he is off .Kane's current deal expires in 2022, but he has been seriously linked with Real Madrid.


text:
SGK Tiếng Anh lớp 8 Mới Đề ôn tập học kì 1 – Có đáp án và lời giải
Đề bài
A. Listening
I. Listen and fill 1 word in each blank.
Pete: (1) ______.
Linda: Can I speak to Pete, please?
Pete: Hello, Linda.
Linda: I'm going to (2) ______ the movie Dream City at 6.45 this evening. Would you like to come?
Pete: Of course, but wait a minute. I have to ask my aunt and she's (3) _____. Hold on... ok, Linda Aunt Mary says I can go. Oh, where's it on?
Linda: At National Cinema Centre. It's a bit far from your house, I'm afraid.
Pete: Well, I know where it is, but I'm using my (4) _____'s bike tonight.
Linda: OK, Pete. Let's meet (5) ______ the theatre.
Pete: Is 6.30 all right?
Linda: That's fine. See you at 6.30. Bye.
Susan: Bye, Linda.
Question 1. ______
II. Listen and decide if the following statements are True (T) or False (F)
Question 6. Online games bring lots of advantages and disadvantages.
Question 7. Most parents object to their children playing online games.
Question 8. Playing online games is bad for children's learning.
Question 9. Online games help us expand the relationship.
Question 10. More and more teenagers have to wear glasses because of playing games too much.
B. Grammar
III. Choose the word which has a different stress pattern from the others.
A. harmful B. slowly
C. cloudy D. unique
A. worship B. belong
C. enjoy D. behave
A. alternate B. entertain
C. symbolize D. cultivate
A. heritage B. museum
C. decorate D. blackberry
A. minorities B. populated
C. activity D. experience
IV. Use the correct form of the words in brackets to finish the sentences.
Question 16. Terraced rice fields in Sa Pa are slopes claimed for cultivation in hilly or ________ areas. (mountain)
Question 17. For the Muong, rice is also the main _________ crop. (agriculture)
Question 18. The Muong call their ___________ calendar "sach doi", which is made from 12 bamboo sticks that represent the 12 months. (tradition)
Question 19. Viet Nam is a country of tremendous ___________ with 54 ethnic groups. (diverse)
Question 20. The ethnic minority groups in Viet Nam have been living in ______ coexistence. (peace)
V. Fill in each blank with "a", "an", or "the" to complete the following passage.
(21)__________ history of Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture started in 1891 when (22)____________ French scientist began to collect Cham sculptures that had been discovered in scattered areas of Quang Nam Province and brought them to Da Nang.
(23)___________ first museum building was designed by French architects, and construction began in 1915 and was finished by May 1916. (24)___________ Museum has played (25)_________ important role in preserving sculpture items featuring the cultural, spiritual and ritual lives of the Cham people.
VI. Complete each blank in the following passage with the correct word/ phrase from the box.
use designs colors slope
stream tribe takes image
Cat Cat Village – Sa Pa
Cat Cat Village is located on the Muong Hoa Valley, this is the village of Hmong hill (26)____________. It's not far from Sa Pa Town, about 3 km and it (27)__________you 45 minutes to walk here. The village is on the (28)___________ of the hill and easy walking, rice and corn are grown here. Visiting Cat Cat Village, we can have a chance to visit a big waterfall on the (29)__________ and the old Hydro-electric Power Station built by the French here. We can also see the (30)____________ of young women sitting by looms with colourful pieces of brocade decorated with designs of flowers and birds. When these pieces of brocade are finished, they are dyed and embroidered with beautiful (31)___________. It is interesting that Hmong women (32)__________ plants and leaves to dye these brocade fabrics. And then they roll a round and smooth section of wood covered with wax on fabrics to polish them, making their (33)___________ durable.
VII. Choose the word or phrase among A, B, C or D that best fits the blank in the following passage.
I live in a small village called Northville. There are about 2000 people here. I love the village (34)__________ it is very quiet and life is slowly and easy. The village is always clean; people look (35)_____________ it with great care. The air is always clean, too. People are much more friendly here than in city because everyone (36)_________ the others, and if someone has a problem, there are always people who can help.
There are only a few things that I don't like about Northville. One thing is that we have not got many things to do in the evening; we haven't got (37)___________ cinemas or theaters. The other thing is that people always talk about (38)___________, and everyone knows what everyone is doing. But I still prefer village life to life in a big city.
A. so B. although
C. because D. but
A. for B. at
C. up D. after
A. knows B. know
C. is knowing D. knew
A. little B. some
C. any D. few
A. others B. other
C. another D. one another
VIII. Complete the following sentences using the cue words
Question 39. Women/ dance and beat/ rhythm/ the same time.
Question 40. They/ embroider and decorate/ clothes/ beautifully.
Lời giải chi tiết
Question 1: 1345678
Question 2: see
Question 3: downstairs
Question 4: cousin
Question 5: outside
Question 6: F
Question 7: T
Question 10: T
Question 11: D
Question 12: A
Question 13: B
Question 16: mountainous
Question 17: agricultural
Question 18: traditional
Question 19: diversity
Question 20: peaceful
Question 21: the
Question 25: an
Question 26: tribe
Question 27: takes
Question 28: slope
Question 29: stream
Question 30: image
Question 31: colors
Question 32: use
Question 33: design
Question 34: C
Question 39. The women dance and beat the rhythm at the same time.
Question 40. They embroider and decorate the clothes beautifully.
Các bài liên quan: - Đề ôn tập học kì 1 – Có đáp án và lời giải
Đáp án và lời giải chi tiết Đề số 2 - Đề kiểm tra học kì 1 - Tiếng Anh 8 mới
Đề bài và hướng dẫn giải đề thi học kỳ I tiếng Anh 8 chương trình mới - Đề số 9.
Đề bài và đáp án đề thi học kỳ 1 tiếng Anh 8 chương trình mới - Đề số 10 (40 câu trắc nghiệm và tự luận).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Houston is the home of the now-notorious BP oil company, and its southern petro-suburb, Texas City is home to BP's largest American refinery, the nation's most dangerous industrial site in the last decade.
In the aftermath of the April 20 explosion of the BP Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, Houston has become the command post of a region-wide government operation. With over 200 coordinators now operating in the Bayou City, and perhaps 10,000 military and police along the Gulf Coast following their orders, it's quite possible that the oil spill has been used as a pretext to prepare the area for a false flag and ensuing imposition of martial law:
"Martial Law Alert: Gulf Coast Evacuation Scenario Summer/Fall 2010,"
SoCal Martial Law Alerts, 6/13/2010,
http://www.meetup.com/socalmartiallawalerts/
The Iconoclast has written of Houston as the nation's top false flag terror target for the last six years, specifying the BP refinery in Texas City as the exact target. Our article of over a month ago maybe the earliest analysis of the BP Horizon event as part of a false flag operation:
"Rush Is Right about a BP Horizon Terror Attack,"
The Lone Star Iconoclast, 5/3/2010,
http://tinyurl.com/26r5wf9
In the article's links, the reader will discover that The Iconoclast has correctly sounded the alert for seven major petrochemical explosions in southeast Texas. Six of the seven alerts were issued after we had received insider reports from frightened BP officials that their upper management was behaving suspiciously.


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Thoughts on Writing
I took two weeks off teaching over Easter – two weeks when the cherry tree showered the garden with blossom, the Blackthorn bust into flower, and I saw the first swallows flittering over the gardens of Gorsey Bank. It was good to let go of all responsibility, to walk around town in the damp twilight, or cross the stream into the fields to catch the last of the evening sun – to have thinking space. During the day I worked on my novel, 'The Green Table,' focusing on the three main characters, trying to get inside them, to see the world through their eyes. It wasn't exactly moving me nearer to completion, but felt absolutely necessary. I'd reached a kind of impasse, close to the climax of the novel, yet unclear of anyone's direction or fate. I remember Hilary Mantel talking about listening as part of writing – listening to the imagination, waiting for the voices – the interior drama. Over the next few months, whenever I can, I'll walking and listening, listening and writing, until the shadows become fixed and clear.
The other day I had the fleeting and chilling notion that I was like a God deciding the fates of people who, as far as I know, may exist in a parallel reality. In that situation it would be heartless to make decisions based on what makes the most gripping story, but conversely, for a writer, kindness might cause failure of authenticity. It's a fine balance. The imagination is illusive – where do the ideas that flit through the mind come from?
The first novel I wrote for adults, 'Dreaming in Colour,' was pretty damned awful. I couldn't bring myself to read it now, but writing it was a tremendous experience at the time. I've rarely been so engrossed in anything – and so nearly unbalanced. How much easier it is to be a choreographer – at least you can see the work as it takes shape in the rehearsal room beyond the thinking mind. I recall the powerful sense that I myself was changed through creating one particular character, a dancer called Silas Hall. I'd recently seen Japanese dancer, Saburo Teshigarawa, and Silas emerged from the memory of Teshigarawa's wonderful piece 'Beyond Zero'. Silas lived in my imagination for a long time. One particular day, weighted down with stress, I had the sudden feeling that he stood beside me. It was like greeting a beloved friend, like sunlight breaking through cloud, an unsettling and wonderful experience. I don't consider writing to be therapy. Often it's the hardest work. But at times the relationship between the writer and her characters feels tangible and equal. Who is controlling who? Perhaps, when a character comes to life, it's as close as the writer can get to standing apart from the familiar self? But it's more than this too.
Ivor's World - from Tallash Farm to Moorview
'We left the church accompanied by a recording of Neil Diamond singing Forever in Blue Jeans, through the churchyard and across the lane into the cemetery. Ivor was lowered into the ground by Aidan, Denis, and the others, and we threw yellow roses onto the coffin. Last of all Jacky let his cap fall into the grave.'
From Meetings with Ivor (available as free pdf download through the Writing section of this website. Paperback book - £4 including postage)
A Portrait of Ivor
At last the short portrait I wrote about Ivor, the old man I encountered on the road to Biddulph Moor, has gone to print, and should be available to buy online next week through the writing section of this website. (A pdf version is already available).
Working on Ivor was a welcome distraction from the much more difficult task of writing The Green Table. Often I could hear his voice, and I vividly remembered our encounters. The letters I sent to the editors of the Leek and Congleton newspapers, resulted in many phone calls from people who knew Ivor. I had a sense of how rich a life can be, and how much, and how little, we can ever know about a person. 'People die, and you wish you'd asked them things before they've gone,' said one of his friends. This is exactly how I feel. I often drive past his house. It's empty, the paddock is long in grass, there's brushwood across the entrance. I miss him a lot.
Hitler's Dancers
I'm reading Hitler's Dancers, by Lilian Karina and Marion Kant, a history of German Modern Dance and the Third Reich. I discovered it when I was researching for my novel – looking for work that would give me a deeper understanding of dance in Germany and The Netherlands during the 1940s. It's a compelling and chilling read. I thought I knew my dance history, but this book sheds a new light particularly on the work of Rudolf Laban and Mary Wigman, and raises questions about their collusion with the Nazi regime.
Lilian Karina, born in Russia, was one of the many dancers who had to flee Germany. She made it to Sweden, where though she was badly treated, she managed to survive, and where she lives still. She writes, in brief, of many of her colleagues, who, being Jewish, homosexual, or Communist, were brutally treated, lost their work, their home, often their life. In many cases all documentation is either lost or, even now, suppressed. They were the dancers who disappeared. Those who continued to work, who developed their careers through the regime, cannot possibly have been ignorant of what was going on around them. In all other professions they would have been called to account after the war. Is it that dance isn't deemed important enough for such scrutiny? Or that the devotees of Hitler's Dancers conveniently forgot what happened between 1933 and 1945. These are questions Lilian Karina can't answer.
But without making any excuses, it has made me think how easy it might have been to collude, and how difficult – the cost of one's career – not to. Times were different then, and it's easy now to make judgements. Nazi Germany didn't arise from nothing – there was already a culture of anti-Semitism, and racial 'hygiene,' there were many who argued on the side of eugenics, body fascism has always been an uncomfortable aspect of dance training, and in certain factions of modern dance there was already a predisposition towards the occult, dance as spiritual practise – much favoured by the Nazis. Dancers and choreographers – like all artists – are vulnerable to public opinion, and highly ambitious. A choreographer needs dancers, musicians, a theatre, funding, and above all public and political approval in order to continue to create ballets. In Nazi Germany, culture was totally bound up with politics. If you were out of favour, if you disagreed with the regime, it was not only the end of your career, but possibly your freedom and your life. Kowtow to Hitler and Goebbels and your career was made, albeit at the cost of your soul.
Hitler's Dancers was much criticised when it came out. Many people were angry and disturbed. I don't know what the truth is, but it's provided another perspective to this fascinating time. In the end Laban fell out of favour with Goebbels. There are letters to prove how he begged to stay on to complete his work in Germany. He failed to regain approval and had to flee to England. Mary Wigman stayed in German and made her career. We can never know what went on in these dancers minds – is it possible to 'play the game' so successfully, or did they wholeheartedly believe in Hitler's vision? Is it possible to believe in part? Whatever the truth, it's provided a fascinating and insightful read and much food for thought. I recommend it to anyone interested in modern dance.
Mirabelle Tree
Fifteen years ago, when I moved to Thorntree Cottages, there was a line of saplings planted along the wall of the orchard - cherry, pear, plum, and apple. Every year the plum tree produced a sweet golden-green fruit on one branch, and the rest of the tree was barren. By the time we bought the orchard, five years ago, the tree was about twelve feet high, and no longer producing plum, but instead a small yellow fruit a little bigger than a damson. We thought it had somehow transformed into a Greengage – perhaps the original sapling was grafted onto Greengage root – but further research revealed it most likely to be a French Mirabelle – though our French neighbour swears that it's not.
Whatever it is, the tree is now huge and lovely. The trunk forks from the base. One side, supported by wooden props, forms an arch over the gate. In March and April it's thick with white, sweet-scented blossom, and humming with bees and butterflies. In July and August it's so abundant in mirabelles that we collect buckets of them every day, giving them to neighbours for cooking and preserving – they make delicious sour-sweet jam and compote. Lying in bed at night, you can hear the quiet plop of fruit falling onto the roof of the shed and the lawn. They lie, plump, warm and marble smooth, in the long grass, and the air is filled with the yeasty smell of fermentation.
Here are George Peck's wonderful photographs, taken a few days ago.


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Skylights are an effective and stylish way to light your home or business, and can save you a great deal of money on energy bills! Solatube is one of Australia's most technologically advanced skylight systems. Solatube skylights will absorb and reflect light from the sun's rays and will provide your home or business with natural bright light without any UV rays of heat from the sun.
Utilising natural light inside your home of business has many benefits, one of them being that they are more sustainable. Some skylights will not use any power at all, and those that do will use less than that of an ordinary light fixture. Using less power in your home or business means you are living a more sustainable life, and creating less of a carbon footprint.
Before installing a skylight in your home or business, you may need to gain approval for the skylight environment. Skylights must not interfere with the ventilation of your structure, nor impact the fire safety of the area. It must also be verified that the installation of a skylight, which will require cutting a hole in the roof of the building, will not compromise the structural integrity of the building. Be sure to get advice from a building professional who will be able to make sure the relevant approvals are gained before commencing installation.
Skylights come in a wide range of varieties, meaning you will be able to find the perfect fit for your home or business, from gloomy bedrooms, to starkly-lit offices, to huge factory warehouses.
The LED skylight system will provide your home or business with lighting 24 hours a day. The technology combines LED lighting with natural light from the sun, which will result in you saving 94% of your usual energy costs. This light system brightens a room more than a traditional light fixture, and operates automatically, depending on the light outside. This means you will have the perfect lighting all day long. The Solatube Smart LED System is the perfect lighting solution for dark living rooms and dining spaces in your home.
The Daylighting skylight is a simple tube that will stretch from the ceiling or your home or business to the roof. The tubing is reflective, meaning it will bounce almost 100% of light from the sun's rays into your home. The dome, which will be on the outside of your roof, is completely weatherproof, making it perfectly safe in rain, hail, or shine. On the other end of the tube, the end installed into your ceiling, you will be able to choose from a range of fixtures to best fit the aesthetics of your room. The Daylighting system is the answer to gloomy bedrooms or offices, and will bring in natural light, which has been attributes to better productivity.
The Econotube is perfect for anyone on a budget who wants to harness natural lighting to use instead of traditional lighting during the day. The Econotube is a simple design that reflects light from the sun's rays, and evenly distributes it into your home or business. It features simple fixtures both on the indoor ceiling and outdoors on the roof, and boasts a leak- and weatherproof design. The Econotube is the perfect solution for a first homeowner who wants to invest in a more sustainable home and save money on electricity bills.
The Heavenly Intelligent Skylight provides the ability to light dark rooms in your home or office that would usually not be candidates for traditional skylighting. This system uses laser light bending technology, which harnesses the natural daylight and bounces it into the room below. This system is available in many sizes to suit any room, and is very quick and simple to install, limiting the time you will need to allocate for installation. This makes it perfect for busy offices, especially those that lack windows. Natural light in an office has been shown to increase workflow and effectiveness, as well as boost creativity.


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Shooting Stars: "Hollywoodland," "A Scanner Darkly," "Invincible," "The Illusionist," "Crank," and "The Wicker Man"
Against all expectation, the most touching performance in current releases is probably Ben Affleck's turn as George Reeves in the Tinseltown drama Hollywoodland. Director Allen Coulter's work centers around the mysterious shooting death of the famed Superman star of '50s television, and Affleck is just about perfect here. Seen in flashbacks, he plays Reeves' heartrending rise and fall with the abashed sweetness of a man who knows his good looks and moderate talent will only carry him so far, and Affleck's strong, subtle turn is effortlessly moving. And as trophy wife Tony Mannix, Diane Lane nearly matches him, suggesting entire generations of women carelessly tossed away by Hollywood's obsession with youth and beauty; Hollywoodland's tragedy is hers as much as Reeves', and the emotionally naked Lane turns in a fierce, brave portrayal.
London Bitches Falling Down: "Mrs. Henderson Presents" and "Match Point"
MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS
Beginning with its first reel, I had a pretty fair inkling that I would wind up hating Mrs. Henderson Presents, but the point of no return occurred around the 30-minute mark.
"Unleashed" Starts Out Fun but Ends Up a Dog: Also, "Kingdom of Heaven" and "House of Wax"
After its opening credits, Unleashed gets right down to business. Even if you haven't seen the trailers, the first five minutes of director Louis Leterrier's thriller will have you up to speed: Set in Glasgow, the film stars Jet Li as Danny, a young man raised by the malevolent crime boss Bart (Bob Hoskins) to be a human pit bull. If any of Bart's associates owe him money and refuse to pay, Bart introduces them to Danny, removes the Tiffany dog collar, and the welshers find themselves in a world of hurt.
Newcomer Creates a Beautiful "Garden State": Also, "Vanity Fair" and "Wicker Park"
Zach Braff's indie comedy Garden State is something rare: a homecoming tale told with a clear eye and, more often than not, a refreshing lack of sentimentality.


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Antifa, radical Left-wing groups are fueling riots across the U.S. – reports
Saturday, June 06, 2020 by: Michael Alexander
Tags: Alt-Left, anti-fascist, antifa, communism, Donald Trump, fascism, First Amendment, George Floyd, left cult, Left-wing, politics, propaganda, Radicalism, revolt, rioting, riots, socialism, terrorism, uprising, violence
(Natural News) Radical Left-wing and Communist groups are fueling the ongoing riots and protests across the United States, according to reports. This theory, pushed forth by authorities handling the current spate of violence, stems from the organized and well-coordinated nature of the riots.
"We have evidence that Antifa and other similar extremist groups, as well as actors of a variety of different political persuasions, have been involved in instigating and participating in the violent activity," Attorney General William Barr said during a press conference at Justice Department headquarters Thursday.
Barr linked Antifa – a loosely organized group of anti-fascist activists and anarchists with no discernible hierarchy – to activities such as arson, looting and assaults on law enforcement, echoing statements made by other authorities who are also currently involved in controlling the riots.
According to John Miller, Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism, certain unnamed groups were found to have organized scouts and medics specifically for those who are participating in the riots and protests.
These groups, Miller said, were also financially well-prepared, with the groups and their organizers able to carefully set out and raise bail money in case some protesters get detained.
The groups, Miller added, have also developed a complex network of bicycle scouts.
These scouts would move ahead of demonstrators in order to direct individuals from the larger group to places where they could commit acts of vandalism such as the torching police vehicles.
More troubling, Miller said, is the growing evidence that outside agitators are organizing the violence, pointing out in an interview with NBC New York that one out of every seven arrests made during the riots in New York involved people from out of state.
A similar situation has been noted in Minnesota, where the protests first began.
In a press briefing, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, stressed that several "bad actors" have infiltrated what he called were "rightful protests," adding that 80 percent of the rioters have come from outside the state.
"The situation in Minneapolis is no longer in any way about the murder of George Floyd," he said, referring to the black man who was killed by a white police officer late last month.
"It is about attacking civil society, instilling fear and disrupting our great city," Walz said.
Walz's comments echo that of conservative journalist and editor Andy Ngo, who is currently covering the recent demonstrations and riots.
In a series of tweets, Ngo, who writes for the conservative publication The Post Millennial, said that the current spate of violence and riots are the direct result of the activation of militant Antifa cells across the country who are now being mobilized to aid Black Lives Matter (BLM) rioters.
We are witnessing glimpses of the full insurrection the far-left has been working on for decades. Within hours, militant antifa cells across the country mobilized to aid BLM rioters. The first broken window is the blood in the water for looters to move in. The fires come next.
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) May 30, 2020
Bernard B. Kerik, a former police commissioner of the New York City Police Department, agrees, saying in an interview with The Epoch Times that he believes that the protests have been "100 percent exploited" by Antifa, and that the group's various websites often control and dictate where the protests and riots start.
According to Kerik, the group – which espouses radical, leftist and socialist ideas – is currently actively promoting riots and protests in 40 different states and 60 cities. (Related: Origins of Antifa (Briefly, what is Antifa and why should anyone care about it?))
Kerik, in his Epoch Times interview, noted that organizing the protests and riots would have likely cost "tens of millions of dollars," adding that it would be "impossible" for somebody outside of the anarchist organization to fund this operation.
The claims linking Antifa to extremist violence have not escaped the White House.
In a tweet posted May 31, President Donald Trump threatened to declare the group a terrorist organization.
The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.
Legal experts, however, say the President may face problems with pushing forward with that decision as there is no provision in federal law to designate a domestic organization as a terror group.
Experts also noted that ideological movements such as Antifa are protected under the First Amendment.
"There is no authority under law to do that – and if such a statute were passed, it would face serious First Amendment challenges," Mary B. McCord, a former head of the Justice Department's National Security Division, said in an interview with The New York Times.
TheEpochTimes.com
NBCNewYork.com
AJC.com
NYTimes.com
Previous :Experts warn protesters: "You could start new wave of coronavirus infections"
Next : AP drops bombshell report: China suppressed critical coronavirus information FOR WEEKS
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https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-06-06-antifa-radical-left-fueling-riots.html
Antifa, radical Left-wing groups are fueling riots across the U.S. – reports


An air of mischief greets visitors when they enter the courtyard to this year's summer exhibition at the RA, now celebrating its 250th year. The stone and steel sculpture by Anish Kapoor, For a Beloved Daughter, that sets a seriously monumental tone to this arrival, is at once juxtaposed with the historic statue of Joshua Reynolds adorned with a Hawaiian flower garland.
Curated by Grayson Perry, the exhibition opens to the public tomorrow, featuring precisely 1,351 works, alongside the opening of the gallery's extension by David Chipperfield and a special exhibition entitled The Great Spectacle featuring works from Turner to Tracey Emin.
Following the annual tradition of the summer exhibition; artworks from established academicians jostle with unknown and emerging artists where, to Perry's glee, "Joe Bloggs often comes off better".


The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a one-act musical comedy conceived by Rebecca Feldman with music and lyrics by William Finn, a book by Rachel Sheinkin and additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spelling bee set in a geographically ambiguous Putnam Valley Middle School. Six quirky adolescents compete in the Bee, run by three equally-quirky grown-ups.
You don't want to miss this uproarious comedy. Terrence McNally is a great writer and he has hit the ball out of the park with this one! Rated R for adult situations and language, but don't let that keep you away.
San Joaquin LaborFest 2013 and the SJDC Cultural Awareness Program proudly announces a special screening of "Fighting for Our Lives", the 1975 documentary about Cesar Chavez, the farm worker movement, and the formation of UFW. Please join us after the film for a panel discussion about the past, present, and future of agriculture and organized labor in the Central Valley. Panelists include UFW Vice President Armando Elenes; Pedro Ramirez, SJDC English Professor; and Maria Elena Serna and Mercedes Silveira-Gouveia, former UFW organizers. Contact Dalyn Adorno at: (347) 334-2935 for more information.
Pre Cinco De Mayo Bash for High School Students.
The Luncheon will be held on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 at the Hilton Stockton. Doors open at 10:30 am with numerous local non-profit organizations setup throughout the hotel to inform and educate. A beautiful lunch will be served at noon.
Update on the reconstruction Interstate 5 French Camp Road Interchange.
These free programs are provided through the generosity of the Friends of the Stockton Public Library.
University of the Pacific Head Women's Soccer Coach Keith Coleman has announced the signing of Milan Cabrera for the 2013 season.
Kids benefit in so many ways when they are active and engaged in learning during the summer. Kids College provides opportunities for children and teens (ages 3-17) to improve skills, discover new interests, get excited about learning, explore possible careers, and have some fun!


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history of table tennis
Table tennis equipment. Whether you're young or old, able-bodied or disabled, everyone can enjoy playing table tennis at some level. In 1921, the Table Tennis Association was founded in Britain, and the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) followed in 1926. Table tennis relies on simple equipment: a table, bats and balls. History of Table Tennis 'History & Origin Table Tennis is a fast, exciting and competitive sport .... as well as a relaxing, healthy activity. The equal portions of the ping pong table are separated by a net placed at its width in the middle.. High society origins. Table tennis, also known as ping pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball back and forth across a table using a small bat. Table tennis relies on simple equipment: a table, bats and balls. Table tennis is a very popular recreational and competitive team game played by either individuals (1 v 1) or pairs (2 v 2). Table tennis - an overview and history of the sport Overview. History of Table Tennis February 10, 2009 Table tennis, also known as ping pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth with rackets (also known as 'bats' or 'paddles'). The invention proceeded to innovation called table tennis as well. Table tennis is an indoor ball game and is ranked the sixth most popular with an estimated 850millon fans in the world.  Table Tennis History Like many other sports, Table Tennis began as a mild social diversion. The origins of the game can be traced back to a parlor game popular in the late 19th century in England. In the 19th century, the English Elites used to play it after dinner as a great means of warming them up before going to sleep as it caused contentment among. Get Your Custom Essay on History of Table Tennis Just from $13,9/Page Get custom paper. Two or four players play the game of table tennis. The history of table tennis is today expressed through a constantly evolving infatuation, coloured by the many benefits of regular practice. China has won every single gold medal in the team events, on both the men's and the women's side. Later History of Chinese Table Tennis. 13. History: The sport originated in Victorian England, where it was played among the upper-class as an after-dinner parlour game. Table tennis, also known as Ping-Pong, is a ball game that shares similar principles with the lawn tennis game.While the table used to play this game is flat, it is also divided into two equal portions. The ball would be either a ball of string, or perhaps more commonly, a champagne cork or rubber ball. The game was played with wooden bats or paddles and cork balls, usually on dining room tables, and was referred to as ping-pong, gossima or flim-flam. Indoor tables are favoured for gentle indoor practice. Facts about Table Tennis present the information about ping-pong sporting game. History of table tennis: It is estimated that Table Tennis or Ping Pong began as a social hobby in England toward the end of the 1800s. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), the worldwide organization, was founded in 1926. Table tennis equipment. Contact Chuck Hoey Role: ITTF Honorary Curator & Historian E-mail: museum@ittf.com Throughout the table tennis history, thanks to these athletes and the dedication of the ITTF over the past several decades, table tennis has seen nothing but increases in both participation and popularity, and there is no reason to believe the sport's popularity will decline. http://www.indoortabletennissite.com If You're like me and You love table tennis, then You should know some facts about it. Indoor tables are favoured for gentle indoor practice. It also has the most participants of any sport in the world. History of Table Tennis February 10, 2009 Table tennis, also known as ping pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth with rackets (also known as 'bats' or 'paddles'). History. The history of table tennis is today expressed through a constantly evolving infatuation, coloured by the many benefits of regular practice. Ping-pong name was later turned into table tennis in 1921–22 with the rejuvenation of old Ping-Pong Association (formed in 1902). When discussing the history of table tennis, it's reasonable for more attention to be on its evolution thus far, where we are in its evolution, and the things we could look forward to in the nearest future. If you play at a basic, beginners level, it's a simple sport to play, but if you want to play at the highest level you'll discover that it's one of the hardest and most physically demanding of all sports. Table tennis or ping-pong started as a social hobby in England in the late 1800s. Well, table tennis is a sport you can enjoy whatever your age or physical attributes. Table tennis can be traced back to Victorian England, as a form of after-dinner amusement for upper class Victorians in the 1880s. HISTORY Great Britain is considered to be the home of table tennis. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net. Guo Yue in 2008 Chinese table tennis was thrown into crisis in the 1989s when Sweden, a country with less than 1 percent of the population of China, emerged as a major table tennis power and outperformed China at key tournaments. It was probably played with improvised equipment in England, during the last quarter of the 19th century. The history of table tennis is today expressed through a constantly evolving infatuation, coloured by the many benefits of regular practice. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net. A brief history of table tennis. It is particularly good for developing alertness and co-ordination. Hermits Table Tennis Club was founded by Ron Hart in 1946, and is one of the oldest table tennis clubs in Bradford, perhaps even the oldest. The views and opinions expressed in the History of US Table Tennis series are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of US Table Tennis. The primitive association had dissolved by 1905. History of U.S. Table Tennis Further reading [ edit ] " Talking Points " (USC US-China Newsletter), July 22, 2011, looks at the fortieth anniversary of ping-pong diplomacy, notes that the term was first used in 1901, and discusses how it was a bold bit of public diplomacy on China's part while China and the United States were engaged in back channel discussions. Early in the 1900s pimpled rubber were used on the bats or paddles and celluloid balls were introduced. The small bats will be used when you play ping-pong. 1901 Hamley's of Regent Street, then a sports manufacturer, was the first to manufacture a racket for wiff waff. The sound generated in play gave the game its first name of 'wiff-waff'. The type of ball is also different from tennis ball since it is very light. Thought to have started in England in the 1880's as a parlour or after dinner game based in lawn tennis, it developed into a competitive sport in the early 20th century and grew rapidly into the worldwide, Olympic sport it is today. Brief History of Table Tennis. History. The Equipment required includes a celluloid plastic ball, a table tennis table; and laminated wooden rackets.Standing opposite each other at a table that is separated by a net; the players hit the ball back and forth. Before "Table Tennis." When the game first started it was called by a number of different names. History. Table tennis has been an Olympic sport since 1988. 14. In this section documents about the history of table tennis are available: Historical Documents Hall of Fame History of ITTF Rankings (1926-1987, 1987-2000) History of Table Tennis in the Olympic Games ITTF Management ITTF Merit Awards Past World Championships Results Rules Evolution Table Tennis Magazine World Champions World Championships & Olympic Games Summary World Team … History. 卓球 (Takkyu) is the official name for the sport in Japan. The sound created by these hard bats gave the game its next name 'ping-pong'. HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF TABLE TENNIS - Relatively young sport, younger than lawn tennis and not much older than basketball. Wang Nan of China is the best Table Tennis player in Olympic history. The net will be used to divide a hard table used to play the game. A Table Tennis Timeline. Table tennis relies on simple equipment: a table, bats and balls. "Whif whaf," "gossamer," and "flim flam" were commonly used to describe it. 1880s Game originated in England as an after-dinner parlour game played by the upper-class. Table tennis is certainly a sport for all and a sport for life — anyone can get involved at any time and continue play throughout. In 1891, a patent for the game was registered by Charles Barter of Gloucestershire, England. In the late 1800s table tennis adopted the trademark name of Ping-Pong by the Parker Brothers game company, after the name was invented by the English firm J. Jaques and Son. History of table tennis says during winter all the lawn tennis players thought to bring the game indoor for more comfort so to enjoy it with ease and relax. Table Tennis. It is thought that upper-class Victorians in England invented table tennis in the 1880s as a genteel, after-dinner alternative to lawn tennis, using whatever they could find as equipment. She won 4 gold medals and 1 silver medal between 2000 and 2008. Table tennis equipment. Table Tennis emerged in England in the early 20th century with its trademark name; Ping-Pong. Table tennis started as a genteel, after-dinner game, but is now a fast, high-tech sport. - Indoor Tennis was played in the early 1880s by British Army officer in India and South Africa using lids from cigar boxes as paddles and rounded cork from wine bottles as balls with row of books set up across the middle of a table to form the net. Indoor tables are favoured for gentle indoor practice. The History Of Table Tennis. HISTORY OF TABLE TENNIS The origin of table tennis has never been exactly pinpointed, even though it's a relatively young sport, younger than lawn tennis and not much older than basketball. In addition, table tennis is an Olympic sport. 乒乓球 (Ping Pang Qiu) is the official name for the sport in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The History of Table Tennis Equipment Ping pong equipment has come a long way since those innovative Brits banged a golf ball at each other using golf balls and hardcover copies of "Violent Occupation and Oppression for Dummies". During this period, the game was split into the indoor and outdoor versions , with different materials adopted as would befit said environments. Ping Pong, table tennis, flim-flam or gossamer. This simple game consisted largely of hitting a champagne cork with a book, back and forth across a large table (usually a dinner table) separated into two halves by a row of books (the 'net'). The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net. Many of the best players in the world today come from China. Table tennis was growing in popularity by 1901 to the extent that tournaments were being organized, books being written on the subject, and an unofficial world championship was held in 1902. 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