was a type of
sparrow that
lived in
Florida. In the
1900s people
destroyed its
habitat. The
last such sparrow
died in
1987.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Sparrow 159
NewWorld Sparrows
NewWorld sparrows are found in North
America and South America. They are
related to finches, buntings, and cardinals.
The song sparrow is a NewWorld
bird named for its complex, musical
songs. Among the many other types of
NewWorld sparrow are the chipping
sparrow, the savannah sparrow, and the
American tree sparrow.
#More to explore
Bird • Bluebird • Cardinal • Songbird
Sparta
Sparta was a city-state of ancient Greece.
It was the chief city of a region called
Laconia. Spartans loved military
strength and ruled harshly.
Society
Sparta was very different from Athens,
another great city-state of ancient
Greece. The Spartans did not care about
art or philosophy. Instead they valued
bravery, strength, and obedience.
At age 7, Spartan boys had to leave their
parents. They grew up together in military
style groups. They built up their
bodies by exercising and playing sports.
The strongest and bravest became captains.
Girls also learned Spartan values,
but their upbringing was less strict.
All male Spartan citizens became soldiers
at age 20. Men retired from soldiering at
age 60 and could then become elders.
Sparta had two kings who ruled
together. A council of elders helped the
kings to rule. Only citizens of Sparta
could participate in the government.
A group of people who lived outside of
the city worked in Sparta as merchants
and craftspeople. A third group called
the helots farmed the lands of the Spartans.
The helots were almost like slaves.
They made up most of the population
of Laconia.
A Eurasian tree sparrow perches in a holly
bush.
A Spartan warrior is pictured on
a Greek vase from the 400s BC.
160 Sparta BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
History
Sparta was most likely founded in the
800s BC. Spartan armies helped to fight
off Persian invaders of Greece in wars
called the PersianWars (492–449 BC).
Athens won the biggest victories in the
PersianWars. However, in the PeloponnesianWar
(431–404 BC), Sparta
defeated Athens and became the most
powerful Greek city.
Sparta’s power did not last long. Later
battles weakened many of the Greek
city-states. By 339 BC King Philip II of
Macedonia had conquered most of
Greece, including Sparta. In the 100s
BC, Roman armies took over Sparta. A
Germanic group called the Visigoths
destroyed the city in AD 396.
#More to explore
Athens • City-State • Greece, Ancient
• PersianWars
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is a worldwide organization
that offers sports programs for
people with intellectual (mental) disabilities.
The programs are free and yearround.
They include athletic training
and competition in more than 20 sports.
Special Olympics helps its athletes to
gain physical fitness and self-confidence.
It also helps them to gain the respect of
their communities.
More than 1.7 million children and
adults in more than 150 countries
participate in SpecialOlympics activities.
Every two years athletes from around the
world participate in the SpecialOlympics
World Games. TheWorld Games
alternate betweenWinter Games and
Summer Games. Before the games begin,
athletes take an oath that gladiators
(professional fighters) used in ancient
Rome: “Let me win. But if I cannot win,
let me be brave in the attempt.”
Special Olympics was the idea of Eunice
Kennedy Shriver. Shriver was a sister of
U.S. president John F. Kennedy. In 1962
Shriver started a day camp at her home
for children with intellectual disabilities.
The Special Olympics programs grew
from there. In 1968 the First International
Special OlympicsWorld Games
took place in Chicago, Illinois.
#More to explore
Olympic Games • Sports
Speech
Speech, or talking, is the form of language
that people can hear. (Writing is
the other main form of language.)
People use speech to communicate with
others.
Children in a Special Olympics program
take part in a 50-meter footrace.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Speech 161
From birth, babies make many different
kinds of sounds. They learn to speak by
copying the sounds that they hear
around them. Children usually begin to
say some words between the ages of 1
and 2. However, it takes years for a child
to master the ability to speak.
How Humans Produce Speech
People speak by forming different
sounds in a certain order. These sounds
make up words that others can understand.
At the base of the throat is the larynx, or
voice box. Inside the larynx are the vocal
cords. These are a pair of stretchy folds
that create the voice. When a person
exhales air from the lungs, it passes
between the vocal cords. The air makes
the vocal cords vibrate, or tremble. This
vibration creates sounds. The larynx
makes these sounds louder. Then they
pass through the throat, mouth, and
nose.
Sounds simply passing out of the mouth
are not speech. People use the tongue,
teeth, lips, jaw, and palate (roof of the
mouth) to shape the sounds to make
words. For example, placing the tongue
between the teeth makes a “th” sound.
Speech Disorders
Sometimes people have speech disorders,
