(A)

The Lusitania was a British cargo and passenger ship that was torpedoed and sunk due to German submarine activity in May 1915, less than ten years after she began her trans-Atlantic journeys. The Lusitania’s construction began in September 1904, and she went to sea approximately two years later on June 7, 1906. She was used to ferry goods and people between England and the United States. The Lusitania was very popular because of her speed and luxurious accommodation. The Sinking of the Lusitania. She was a British cargo and passenger ship.

(B)

The Lusitania crossed the Atlantic peacefully many times over the years, but as German submarines took a leading role in the seas during World War I, her situation became rather risky and dangerous. The Lusitania was thought to be unsinkable because of her reserve speed capabilities (which would enable her to flee under attack). Because of this over-confidence she set out from New York on May 1, 1915, to deliver food and passengers to England in spite of the risk of an attack by German submarines.

(C)

Six days later, on May 7, 1915, the Lusitania was too slow to notice both the periscope and the torpedo of a German submarine to escape her fate. She was hit hard and the sound was described by passengers as “like thunder”. When the torpedo exploded, water rushed into the first and second boiler rooms and caused the boat to shake from side to side. She then rose a little before a second massive explosion took her down into the sea.

(D)

The exact cause of the second explosion is a point of argument. The Lusitania shows evidence that she may have been torpedoed a second time – but the second, more destructive, explosion possibly came from inside the ship. The reason behind this speculation is that the Lusitania’s cargo can be called into question. She had originally said she would take, along with her passengers, platinum and diamonds, but these things were never found. It is believed that she was carrying a lot of rifle ammunition instead.

(E)

Whether the torpedoes completed the destruction of the ship by their own power or they were helped by ammunition explosions, the German submarine attack devastated the Lusitania. The ship sank within twenty minutes and took with her 1,201 people – and left only 764 to be saved by those who responded to her SOS. As the Lusitania was never officially in government service, the United States believed the attack on her “was contrary to international law and the conventions of all civilized nations”.

Mother Teresa was a humanitarian. This means she did things to help out other people. Her entire life was fully devoted to helping the poor, the sick, the needy and the helpless. She was born in Uskub on August 26, 1910. This city is now called Skopje and is the capital of the Republic of Macedonia. Her birth name was Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. Her father died when she was 8 and she was raised by her mother. She was raised as a Roman Catholic and decided to devote her life to God at a young age. She joined the Sisters of Loreto at the age of 18 to become a missionary to India.

A year later she started her missionary work in Darjeeling, India. She learned the local language, Bengali, and taught at the local school. When she was 21, she became a nun and took the name Teresa. She would teach for many years in India, becoming the headmistress at a school in eastern Calcutta.

When she was 36 years old she felt the call from God to help the poor of India. She received some basic medical training and then set out to help the sick and needy. This wasn’t an easy task in 1948 India. She had very little support from the authorities and, while trying to feed and help the poorest of the poor, she was herself constantly hungry and even had to beg for food.

Soon other women joined her and she formed the Missionaries of Charity. Mother Teresa described the purpose of the Missionaries of Charity as an organization to take care of “the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind – all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to society and are kept away by everyone”.

Mother Teresa had ambitious goals and considering where she was at the start, she accomplished amazing things. The Missionaries of Charity originally had 13 members. Today they have over 4,000 nuns who care for people just like Mother Teresa. It wasn’t an easy task to build such an organization and to keep the focus on the poorest people. She worked almost up until her death on September 5, 1997.

http://www.ducksters.com/biography/mother_teresa.php, 12. 12. 2013, upravené
http://www.womenmakewaves.co.uk/mother-teresa-happy-birthday