Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

climbed to the top of the British music

charts.

Beatlemania

The Beatles became very famous in Britain.

People started calling the excitement

over the band Beatlemania. The Beatles

became wildly popular in the United

States too after appearing on Ed Sullivan’s

television program in February

1964. Teenage girls across the country

screamed and fainted over them, and

boys copied the Beatles’ look. By April

1964 the top five hits in the United

States were all Beatles songs.

Later Years

In the late 1960s the Beatles began creating

more adventurous music, combining

different musical styles. The album

Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club

Band (1967) showed a new complexity.

The band also recorded the albums The

Beatles (1968), Abbey Road (1969), and

Let It Be (1970).

The pressures of fame led the Beatles to

break up in 1970. All four continued

their musical careers—Lennon with his

wife, Yoko Ono; McCartney with the

bandWings and later as a solo performer;

and Starr and Harrison mainly

as solo artists.

#More to explore

Popular Music

Beaver

Beavers are mammals known for their

building skills. They use branches,

stones, and mud to build structures

called dams. A dam stretches across a

stream and blocks the flow of water.

This creates a large pond. Beavers build

The Beatles were John Lennon, George Harrison,

Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Beaver 43

 

their homes in the still waters of these

ponds rather than in rushing streams.

Beavers belong to the group of animals

called rodents. They are related to mice,

squirrels, and muskrats. There are two

species, or types, of beaver. The American

beaver is found in North America.

The Eurasian beaver is found in parts of

Europe and Asia. Beavers live in rivers,

streams, and lakes. They also spend

some time on land.

Beavers are about 4 feet (1.3 meters)

long, including the tail. Beaver tails are

scaly, flat, and shaped like paddles.

Thick brown fur covers their stocky

body and short legs. Beavers use their

small front feet to carry objects. Their

large back feet are webbed, which helps

them swim. Beavers can stay underwater

for up to 15 minutes.

Beavers are active at night. They eat

mainly trees, including buds, leaves,

twigs, and the layer under the bark.

Beavers use their powerful jaws and

teeth to cut down young trees. They

work in groups to build dams. Pairs of

beavers build homes called lodges out of

sticks and mud. A lodge may be 5 feet

(1.5 meters) high. Its roof is shaped like

a dome.

#More to explore

A Eurasian beaver gnaws on a branch. Dam • Rodent

Beavers live in dome-shaped lodges. They build the lodges out of branches plastered with

mud. Tunnel entrances open into a room above water level.

44 Beaver BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

Beckham, David

Soccer star David Beckham is known as

a great midfielder. His shots often

appear to “bend” around players from

the other team.

David Robert Joseph Beckham was born

on May 2, 1975, in London, England.

At age 11 he won a soccer contest. One

of England’s best teams, Manchester

United, soon took interest. As a teenager,

Beckham played for Manchester

United’s youth team and led it to a

national championship.

Beckham joined the professional

Manchester United team in 1995. He

went on to help the team win six Premier

League championships.

Beckham also played for England’s

national team for 11 years. He led the

team to appearances in theWorld Cup

in 1998, 2002, and 2006. In 2006 he

made history by becoming the only

player from England’s national team to

score a goal in threeWorld Cup tournaments.

In 2003 Beckham left Manchester

United. He joined the Spanish soccer

club Real Madrid. Four years later he

moved to the United States to play for

the Los Angeles Galaxy team. In 2008

he signed a deal to play for the Italian

team AC Milan during the Galaxy’s offseason.

..More to explore

Soccer

Bee

Bees are insects related to wasps and

ants. They live all over the world except

Antarctica. There are more than 20,000

species, or types, of bee. The best-known

kinds are honeybees and bumblebees.

People have kept honeybees for their

honey for at least 4,000 years. Honeybees

also produce beeswax, which people

use to make candles.

Physical Features

Adult bees range in length from about

0.08 to 1.6 inches (0.2 to 4 centime-

David Beckham shows his skills on the soccer

field at a match in 2005.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Bee 45

 

ters). They usually have a short, thick

body covered with hair. Most bees are

black, often with yellow or brown markings.

Like all insects, bees have six legs.

They have two pairs of wings and five

eyes. They also have mouth parts that

act like a long tongue. Female bees also

have a stinger. Male bees cannot sting.

Role in Pollination

Bees get all their food from flowers. This

food consists of a sweet liquid called

nectar and a dustlike substance called

pollen. Honeybees change nectar into

honey, which they feed to their young.

Bees also gather pollen to feed their

young. As they go from flower to flower,

they spill some pollen. In this way bees

perform a very useful task. When pollen

spreads from one flower to another of