Ships

ONLY SHIPS

Every day, huge ships made of steel cross the oceans and travel the world’s great rivers and lakes. Powerful engines turn propellers that make the ships go. Ships transport people and goods to all parts of the world.
Ships are very important to the way we live. Ships carry oil that is made into gasoline for our cars. They bring in much of the food we eat and the clothes we wear. They carry computers, furniture, and televisions for our homes. Look around you. Many of the things you see traveled to where you are on a ship.
THE PARTS OF A SHIP
Ships may look very different from each other, but they all have the same basic parts. All ships float in water. The part that floats is called the hull. Inside the hull there are decks. Decks are like the floors in a building. You can go up and down from one deck to another.
HOW SHIPS MOVE THROUGH WATER
The front of a ship is called the bow. The back is called the stern. Attached to the stern is a wooden or metal plate called the rudder. A steering wheel or a stick called a tiller makes the rudder swing back and forth. Moving the rudder makes the ship turn.
Some ships use sails to move. Sails are big sheets of fabric. The sails hang from a long pole called a mast. Ships with sails use the energy of blowing wind to move through the water.
Most modern ships have engines that burn fuel. Engines make power to turn propellers at the stern. Propellers make ships go through the water.
THE AGE OF SAILING SHIPS
By about 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians were building some of the first sailing ships. They made them by tying bundles of reeds to a wooden frame. The ships carried cargo and had one or two square sails.
The best ancient shipbuilders were the Phoenicians. They made cargo ships and warships called galleys. Galleys had sails and many oars.
The ancient Greeks fought with the Phoenicians. The Greeks added a big spike to the front of their galleys. They used the spike to ram into Phoenician ships.
In China and other parts of Asia, builders made cargo ships called junks. Junks had a flat bottom, a square bow, and a rudder. The sails had pieces of bamboo in them to make them stiffer.
Arab builders began to use triangular sails called lateens. A ship with lateen sails could sail almost directly into the wind.
In the 1200s, Europeans began building ships with three masts and many square and triangular sails. These ships were called full-rigged ships, or square-riggers. Starting in the 1400s, European explorers set off on voyages in these ships to faraway parts of the world. Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, and other explorers used square-rigged ships.
In the 1600s, the Spanish built huge ships called galleons. In the 1700s and 1800s, the British built big sailing ships that they used to fight sea battles.
The fastest sailing cargo ships were the clipper ships of the mid-1800s. They had sleek, narrow hulls and as many as six sails on each tall mast.
MODERN SHIPS
During the 1800s, iron and steel hulls replaced wooden hulls. New types of engines were also developed. For the first time, ships could move without wind or human-powered oars. Steam engines fueled by coal replaced sails.
Later, engines that used oil as a fuel replaced steam engines. Today, most ships have steel hulls and are driven by powerful motors that turn big propellers.
CARGO SHIPS
There are many kinds of cargo ships. Container ships carry cargo in huge boxes the size of railroad cars. Oil tankers and supertankers carry oil in their hulls. Freighters transport tons of coal, grain, and ore.
PASSENGER SHIPS
There were no passenger ships in ancient times. Travelers had to look for space on a cargo ship. Most passengers slept wherever they could find a spot on the deck. After Europeans learned about the Americas and Australia, settlers wanted to move to these new lands. Full-rigged ships carried passengers along with cargo. It was not very comfortable traveling on those wooden sailing ships.
By the mid-1800s, shipping companies began to offer regular passenger service. Companies competed with each other for passengers. They built luxurious ocean liners that could cross the Atlantic Ocean in just a few days.
In the 1950s, airplanes became more popular than ships for traveling over oceans. Today, most passenger ships are cruise ships. You can take a vacation aboard big cruise ships.
NAVY SHIPS
For many years, battleships were the biggest warships. They were used in World War I and World War II. Today, aircraft carriers are the biggest warships. The largest carriers can hold 85 airplanes. They have crews of more than 5,500 people.
Modern navies have many other kinds of ships. Submarines are ships that can dive underwater. Some submarines carry missiles to attack enemy ships. Cruisers escort and defend aircraft carriers from attack by planes and submarines. Destroyers defend carriers and merchant ships from air and submarine attacks. Frigates escort and defend ships from submarines.
THE NEWEST SHIPS
Shipbuilders are looking for ways to build big ships that go faster and carry more cargo. They are looking for new hull shapes that go faster in the water. They are also looking for better engines. Water jet engines may replace propellers. A jet boat engine works by shooting out water, just as a jet plane engine shoots out air.

PICTURES OF SHIP:

Helicopter

ONLY HELICOPTER

Helicopters can fly straight up. They can fly forward, sideways, and backward. They can even hover in one place. An airplane must speed down a long runway to take off and land. Wings hold an airplane in the air. Helicopters do not need runways, and they do not have wings.
WHAT HOLDS A HELICOPTER IN THE AIR?
Big blades on top of a helicopter keep it in the air. The blades are a little like fan blades. The blades spin very fast. Wind blowing down from the whirling blades holds a helicopter up. The blades also control the direction in which the helicopter flies.
The blades make a loud chop-chop-chop noise as they turn. The noise caused people to nickname helicopters “choppers.”
Helicopters cannot fly as fast as an airplane. The fastest helicopters go about 200 miles per hour (320 kilometers per hour). They also cannot go as far as an airplane. Helicopters burn a lot of fuel.
HOW MANY BLADES DO HELICOPTERS HAVE?
The blades of a helicopter are called the rotor. Some rotors have two blades. Some rotors have three or four blades. Some big helicopters have rotors with eight blades. Big helicopters sometimes have two rotors on top.
A long metal tail sticks out from the back of most helicopters. These helicopters have a small rotor on the tail. The tail rotor blows air sideways instead of down. It helps the helicopter steer.
HOW DO YOU FLY A HELICOPTER?
A helicopter has a cockpit just like an airplane. The controls are in the cockpit. A helicopter has two control sticks, or levers. It has two pedals on the floor.
When you’re flying a helicopter, you push or pull on the stick on your left side to make the blades tilt. Tilting the blades makes the helicopter go up or down. A grip on this stick controls the speed. You twist the grip to make the helicopter go faster or slower.
The other lever is between your knees. You move this stick around to make the helicopter fly forward, backward, or sideways.
The pedals on the floor control the tail rotor. You step on the pedals to turn the helicopter. Pushing the left pedal makes the helicopter turn left. Pushing the right pedal makes the helicopter turn right.
HOW DO WE USE HELICOPTERS?
Helicopters can go places that are hard to reach. They can go places where airplanes cannot land, or where there are no roads for cars or trucks.
Helicopters can rush injured people from a car accident to a hospital. They can rescue people from the tops of burning buildings. They can pluck them from trees in the middle of raging floods. They can lift people from the decks of sinking ships at sea.
Military helicopters are important in war. They carry troops to battle. They carry wounded soldiers to hospitals. They can even shoot missiles.
Helicopters do other kinds of work. Reporters can fly in helicopters to cover news stories. Police use helicopters to chase suspected criminals. Farmers can use helicopters to spray their fields. Sometimes helicopters work on construction. The carry heavy parts to the tops of buildings.
WHO INVENTED THE HELICOPTER?
People imagined machines like helicopters hundreds of years ago. The ancient Chinese made a spinning top that could rise up into the air. The Italian artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci drew a design for a machine like a helicopter in 1480.
The first helicopters flew in France in 1907. They were hard to control. People kept trying to build better helicopters. Finally, a Russian-born American engineer named Igor Sikorsky made a workable helicopter. It was the first helicopter with a tail rotor. He flew this helicopter in 1939. Most helicopters today are like the helicopter that Sikorsky built. Inventors and engineers are still working to make bigger and better helicopters.

PICTURES OF HELICOPTER:

Airplane

Only Aeroplanes

Airplanes are a relatively recent invention. The first one flew just over 100 years ago. As little as 50 years ago, only small numbers of people had ridden in an airplane. Today, air travel is one of the most common means of transportation.
Hundreds of thousands of people fly on airplanes each year. You buy your ticket. You pack your suitcase. Then, off you go to the airport.
The airport is where planes take off and land. An agent takes your suitcase. You go to a gate (loading and unloading area) and get on your plane. There are rows and rows of seats. You sit down next to a window. You fasten your seat belt. You are ready to take off.
PARTS OF AN AIRPLANE
The place where you sit is called the cabin. The cabin is in a long tube called the body, or fuselage, of the airplane. The front of the fuselage is called the nose. The pilot and copilot sit in the cockpit right behind the nose. The pilot steers the plane in the cockpit. Your suitcase is stowed in the cargo hold under the cabin.
Two big wings stick out from the fuselage. In back of the wings are moveable parts called flaps and ailerons. These parts help control the plane. A big tail sticks up from the end of the fuselage. A rudder, located on the back of the tail, helps the plane turn left and right.
Sets of wheels sit underneath the airplane. The airplane rolls on the wheels before it takes off and after it lands. The wheels on big planes go up into the fuselage when the plane is in the air. They come down before the plane lands.
AIRPLANE ENGINES
There are different kinds of airplane engines. Propeller engines turn propellers on the nose or on the wings. Propellers pull an airplane through the air.
Jet engines suck air in. They heat the air and shoot it out of the back of the engine. Jet engines push the plane through the air. Turboprops are a combination, using the power of a jet engine to turn a propeller.
HOW PLANES TAKE OFF
Airplanes are heavier than air. They need to go fast in order to fly. Engines and wings make a plane fly.
An airplane builds up speed on a runway. Runways at airports are long concrete strips. Runways in some faraway places can be level places made of dirt or grass. Some planes can even take off on water. When the plane is going fast enough, the pilot takes it up into the air.
FLYING A PLANE
The pilot uses many controls in the cockpit to fly a plane. The pilot pulls a wheel or stick back to make the plane go up. Air rushing over and under the wings lifts the plane into the sky.
Dials on a control panel in the cockpit tell the pilot how high the plane is, how much fuel it has, and which direction it is heading. A radar screen tells the pilot if other planes are nearby. The pilot uses the rudder on the tail and the ailerons on the wings to make the plane turn.
HOW PLANES LAND
It’s time to land. The pilot pushes the wheel or stick forward to make the plane go down. The pilot lowers the wheels and landing gear. The plane touches down on the runway. The pilot uses brakes to slow and stop the plane.
THE WORK OF AIRPLANES
Planes do different kinds of work. Passenger planes carry people in the cabin. Cargo planes carry packages, boxes, and other things. Cargo planes do not have seats.
Military cargo planes can carry soldiers, tanks, and cannons. Some military planes are fighter jets. Some are bombers. Some military jets take off and land on aircraft carriers at sea. Certain military planes can take off straight up like a helicopter, then fly ahead like a plane.
Crop-duster planes spray farm fields with chemicals that kill bugs or fertilizer that helps crops grow. Firefighting planes drop water or chemicals on forest fires. Seaplanes have skis instead of wheels. They can land on lakes in faraway places to deliver passengers, supplies, and mail.
BIG AND SMALL PLANES
The smallest airplanes are called ultralights. They weigh about 100 pounds (about 46 kilograms) and carry only a pilot. The biggest planes are jumbo jets. They can carry several hundred people and several hundred tons of cargo. Jumbo jets fly long trips over oceans.
In between, there are planes of many sizes. There are two-seater and four-seater propeller planes. There are commuter planes that can carry about 20 passengers on short trips. Airlines also fly many jets that hold from 80 to over 400 passengers.
THE FIRST AIRPLANES
Long ago, people dreamed of flying like the birds. They tried to build machines that would fly. The first people to succeed were two American brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright. They made a heavier-than-air machine of wood and cloth. It had an engine that turned a propeller. The brothers made their first flight near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903.
The Wright brothers and other inventors experimented with different designs. They made better and better planes. The first warplanes flew during World War I (1914-1918). Then, pilots started taking passengers on trips. Jet engines in the 1950s made air travel faster and made passenger planes very popular. Now, millions of people travel everywhere on airplanes.
AIRPLANES OF TOMORROW
Today, there are planes that can fly as fast as the speed of sound. Inventors hope to make planes that can fly five times faster than sound. They want these planes to fly up to the edge of space. Then the planes will come back down and land. They call these planes hypersonic planes. Today, it would take you more than 12 hours to fly from Chicago, Illinois, to Tokyo, Japan. In a hypersonic plane, you could make that trip in two to three hours.

Bikes

It's All About Bikes

What has two wheels, goes fast, and makes a loud noise? It’s a motorcycle, of course. Motorcycles look like bicycles, only they’re bigger and much heavier. Most motorcycles have engines that run on gasoline, just like cars.
MOTORCYCLE BASICS
On a motorcycle, the engine is bolted to a steel or aluminum frame. Two wheels are attached to the frame. Power from the engine turns the rear wheel. A fuel tank sits above the engine, just behind the front wheel. The seat is behind the fuel tank, toward the rear wheel.
Many motorcycles have a small trunk underneath or behind the seat. Typically, two people can ride a motorcycle at one time, the driver and one passenger. Some motorcycles have a sidecar (a compartment with its own wheel) attached for a passenger to ride in.
Motorcycles are ranked by engine size. The bigger the engine, the bigger and faster the motorcycle. Engines are measured in cubic centimeters, or cc’s. They can range from 50 cc, the engine size used in a small, lightweight motorcycle, to 1,500 cc or more. A 1,200 cc motorcycle is a big, powerful motorcycle—that’s the size police officers usually ride.
For comfortable riding, motorcycles have shock absorbers mounted to the front and rear wheels. This is called the suspension system. Shock absorbers cushion the rider from bumps and jolts on the road.
TYPES OF MOTORCYCLES
People use motorcycles in many different ways, so motorcycles take different forms. They include street motorcycles, off-road motorcycles, and road-racing motorcycles.
WHAT ARE STREET MOTORCYCLES?
Most motorcycles are street motorcycles. They are made to be driven on paved public roads. Street motorcycles come in all different sizes, but they have much in common. They all have lights, a horn, mirrors, and a muffler—just like cars. Many street motorcycles have a windshield, called a fairing. A fairing helps protect a rider from the wind. It also makes a motorcycle more streamlined, so it can go faster.
Street motorcycles can usually reach top speed faster than cars, and they can stop faster and make sharper turns. They also get better gas mileage than cars, and they take up less parking space, too! In the United States and Canada, you need a special driver’s license to operate a street motorcycle on public roads.
WHAT ARE OFF-ROAD MOTORCYCLES?
Compared to street motorcycles, off-road motorcycles have lightweight frames and sit higher above the ground. Motorcycles made specially for off-road use are often called dirt bikes. Trail bikes are motorcycles made for both on- and off-road use.
Off-road motorcycles have extra-wide tires with special “knobby” tread for good traction on dirt and trails. They have flat, wide handlebars to give the rider good control over bumpy ground.
In motocross, a type of off-road motorcycle competition, cyclists race each other around a dirt track. Motocross tracks often have jumps, tight turns, and a section of big bumps called whoops.
WHAT ARE ROAD-RACING MOTORCYCLES?
Most road-racing motorcycles are built to be raced on special tracks. They are light, quick-turning, and very powerful. They have stiff suspension systems for better handling through high-speed turns.
Road-racing motorcycles are among the world’s fastest motorcycles. Motorcycles built for drag racing (sprinting down a straight-line course) are the fastest of all. Some can reach 242 miles per hour (390 kilometers per hour) from a standing start in the space of a few city blocks!
HOW DO YOU RIDE A MOTORCYCLE?
You start most modern motorcycles by pressing an ignition switch. You start most older motorcycles by forcefully pushing down on a lever with your foot. This is called a kickstart. Motorcycles made for motocross racing also use a kickstart instead of an ignition switch, because it saves weight.
You’ll find some of a motorcycle’s controls on its handlebars. You twist a grip on the right handlebar to give the engine gas. That makes the motorcycle go faster. You squeeze a lever on the right handlebar to work the front brakes.
Other controls are located by the rider’s feet. A foot pedal by the rider’s right foot works the rear brakes. A pedal by the left foot lets a rider shift gears to change the motorcycle’s speed.
Most motorcycles have five gears. First gear is for starting out from a stop. You shift through the gears to go faster. In fifth gear a rider can hit top speed.
MOTORCYCLE SAFETY
It’s important to remember that motorcycles take special skill to ride. Braking and turning require special care. It can be very difficult to stop or turn a motorcycle on slick or wet surfaces.
Riding a motorcycle is more risky than driving a car because the rider is out in the open. If you have an accident on a motorcycle, you can be seriously hurt. That’s why in most U.S. states and Canadian provinces, motorcycle riders must wear helmets. It’s the law.
MOTORCYCLES THROUGH THE YEARS
The German inventor Gottlieb Daimler built the first gasoline-powered motorcycle in 1885. He bolted a small engine to a wooden frame. It worked so well that he started making fancier motorcycles.
In 1903, John Harley and his neighbor Arthur Davidson made the first American motorcycle. Harley-Davidsons are still made today. They are famous for the deep, rumbling sound their engines make.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Japanese companies such as Honda and Suzuki started building high-performance motorcycles. Today, Japanese companies make some of the world’s best-selling motorcycles:


PICTURES OF BIKES:

CARS

Do you know what a car is? If you dont know then today I will tell you. A car is a vehicle which works with machine which uses fuels like petrol. Here is some short story behind begnning of cars:

People in the 1800s didn’t know what to think about a new invention called the automobile. No one was sure it would catch on. In those days, people often traveled in carriages pulled by horses. So when the first automobiles appeared, people nicknamed them “horseless carriages.”
The first automobiles looked a lot like horse carriages. That was the style people knew. But the automobile soon took on a look that was all its own. The modern automobile has a hood and fenders. It has a roof, sides, and four wheels. It has seats where the driver and passengers sit. Modern automobiles are commonly called cars or autos.
Few machines are as important as cars. You can ride to school in one. Adults can drive one to work. You can drive in a car to shopping malls. You can take long vacations traveling in an automobile.
TYPES OF CARS
The typical passenger car can carry up to six people. Larger vehicles called minivans are like big cars. They can usually carry up to eight people. Pickups or trucks are built to carry cargo.
Sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) are made for driving in all types of conditions, including mud or snow. Sports cars are built for power and good road handling. Many sports cars have room for just two passengers.
Racing cars are specially designed to compete on tracks and courses. Most racing cars are built to be lightweight and very fast. Because they are made for racing, they usually are not suited for driving on public streets.
WHAT MAKES CARS GO?
A car gets power from its engine. Most auto engines burn gasoline. Gasoline goes through fuel lines from a gas tank to the engine.
When it burns fuel, the engine makes exhaust gases. These gases go out through pipes called the exhaust system.
Moving parts hooked up to the engine are called the drivetrain. The drivetrain carries mechanical energy from the engine to the wheels. The turning wheels make an automobile go.
Springs and shock absorbers give passengers a smoother ride on bumpy roads. Electrical parts make the headlights, turn signals, horn, radio, and windshield wipers work. The electrical parts also help start the car. Brake parts rub against the wheels to slow the car down. Seat belts and air bags help protect you in an accident.
HOW DO YOU DRIVE A CAR?
People don’t just jump into cars and start driving. First, they must get their learner’s permit. Local auto bureaus can tell you how. Driver-education classes teach people how to drive a car. Students learn how a car works and the rules of safe driving.
To start a car, you sit in the driver’s seat. Turning a key in the ignition starts the engine. Moving the car’s gearshift connects the engine to the drivetrain. Pressing the gas pedal on the floor sends fuel to the engine. The harder you press, the faster the car goes.
To make the car turn left or right, you turn the steering wheel in the direction you want to go. To make the car move forward or backward, you use the gearshift.
What about stopping? Press your foot down on the brake pedal. The brakes will press against the wheels, making them slow down and then stop turning.
WHEN WERE THE FIRST CARS MADE?
The first cars were built in the 1700s. They were powered by steam engines. In England, steam-powered cars weren’t allowed on the roads. They were run like trains on private railroad tracks!
Auto racing became popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Some early racing cars had steam engines. These included the American-made Stanley Steamer. In 1906, a Stanley Steamer hit a speed of more than 121 miles per hour (195 kilometers per hour), setting a new land speed record.
Other cars made at the time ran on electricity from batteries. People liked them because they were quiet and less likely to scare horses and people. Still other cars had gasoline engines. The first gasoline-powered cars were loud, slow, and unreliable. But over time, the cars were improved, and more people wanted to drive them.
HENRY FORD INVENTS THE ASSEMBLY LINE
In the United States, a businessman named Henry Ford started the Ford Motor Company in 1903. His company made two famous kinds of cars: the Model A and the Model T.
Ford invented the factory assembly line for making cars. Workers in one place along the assembly line worked on just one part of the car. Other workers, in another area of the assembly line, worked on another part of the car.
Automobiles made this way were not very expensive. Ordinary people could afford them. The Model T became one of the biggest-selling automobiles of all time. Henry Ford sold more than 15 million Model T cars before his company stopped making them in 1927.
MODERN CARS
Modern cars are much better than earlier models. They are easier to drive and have advanced safety features such as air bags. Engines are more efficient and powerful. Cars are quieter and more comfortable inside.
Today, cars are more popular than ever. They are the main form of transportation for many people in the United States and Canada. Many people own more than one car.
WHAT ABOUT AIR POLLUTION?
The exhaust gases that come from burning gasoline can pollute the air. These gases contain chemicals that cause a smoky pollution called smog. The worst smog forms in cities. Exhaust gases also contain a gas called carbon dioxide. Scientists think carbon dioxide pollution is making Earth’s climate warmer.
Scientists and engineers are working to reduce pollution from cars. They have made cars that burn less gasoline. They have designed exhaust systems that give off less pollution. They have also developed efficient hybrid cars.
HYBRID CARS
Many people believe hybrid cars could be a big help in reducing pollution. Hybrid cars are automobiles that run partly on gasoline and partly on some other fuel. Most hybrid cars use electricity from batteries. Scientists are also experimenting with hybrids that run on energy from sunlight and other sources.

PICTURES FOR CAR: