The europeans referred to china as the far east.
the chinese referred to china as the middle
kingdom. what do these terms illustrate?
(1) the names of places refer to significant
physical features.
(2) most people do not understand geography.
(3) the point of view of people influences
geographic labels.
(4) place names sometimes commemorate
important events.

it took two men to wrestle rome back from chaos and turn a republic into an empire. in the first century bc, rome was a republic. power lay in the hands of the senate, elected by roman citizens. but the senators were fighting for power between themselves.

worldwide, 780 million people do not have access to an improved water source. an estimated 2.5 billion people lack access to improved sanitation (more than 35% of the world's population)