what is this?

One of the most famous women in world history was Cleopatra VII. She was the brilliant and beautiful last Pharaoh of Egypt. Historically, she became queen of Egypt in 51 B.C. at the age of eighteen. She was a Ptolemy, descended from one of Alexander the Great's generals. When she was twenty-one, Julius Caesar became her lover. Seven years later she met Antony. The romantic tragic relationship continued until they died by suicide in 30 B.C.


Cleopatra was legendary. She was famous not only for her breathtaking beauty but also for her great intellect. She had brown eyes and they were shaped like cat eyes. Her skin was in fact an olive shade, darker than Hollywood actress Liz Taylor who potrayed her in the film 'Cleopatra' in 1963. She had medium dark brown hair, about to the middle of her shoulder blades. She had a reputation as an extraordinarily sensuous woman.

Cleopatra was a woman of remarkable poise and unusual intelligence. She was highly educated. She spoke proficiently in nine languages and also skilled in mathematics. She is often considered to be a stunning seductress though she was studying to be a nun. Cleopatra was a very intelligent queen and a politician with a great charisma.

Note: The story of Antony and Cleopatra involved true characters and later was dramatized by William Shakespeare. This example of descriptive text depicthing what Cleopara looks likes is arranged from enote.com, theholidayspot.com, and current.com

Moon is the earth's satellite which we often see in the night. The Moon is the one place in our solar system where humans have visited. For the firs time on July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin landed the Lunar Module of Apollo 11 on the surface of the Moon. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the Moon. However do you know what descriptive facts about the Moon are?

The moon rises in the east and sets in the west. It moves toward the east in our sky by about 12 degrees each day. The Moon is about 384,400 kilometers from Earth. The Moon has a diameter of 2,000 miles which is like to 3,476 kilometers.

The surface of the Moon has many things, such as craters, lava plains, mountains, and valleys. Scientists believe the craters were formed around 3.5 to 4.5 billion years ago by meteors hitting the moon's surface. The Moon does not have atmosphere, wind and weather that is why the footprints left there on the Moon by the Apollo astronauts will remain there for millions of years.

The Moon is not a light source. It mean that Moon does not make its own light. It reflects light from the sun. All of us can can see the Moon especially in the night because light from the Sun bounces off it back to the Earth. If the Sun wasn't there, we can not see the Moon.

The moon influences many of the tides in the oceans. This is because of the gravity force between the Earth and Moon. At full Moon and new Moon, the Sun, Earth and Moon are lined up, producing the higher than normal tides. When the Moon is at first or last quarter, it forms smaller neap tides.

This example of descriptive text about the moon facts is arranged from nasa.gov and kent.sch.uk

Argentina, February 09

An unidentified man became a hero in Argentina on Tuesday February 09 after security cameras captured him pushing a stalled van off the railroad tracks as a train bore down on the vehicle.

The video shows the man jump of the back of motorcycle and push a white van across the tracks before leaping back across tracks as the train narrowly missed him.

After a brief discussion with the man driving the motorcycle, he got back on the motorcycle and the two drove away.

This news item text is taken from Reuter UK

In the town of Verona there lived two families, the Capulets and the Montagues. They engaged in a bitter feud. Among the Montagues was Romeo, a hot-blooded young man with an eye for the ladies. One day, Romeo attended the feast of the Capulets', a costume party where he expected to meet his love, Rosaline, a haughty beauty from a well-to-do family. Once there, however, Romeo's eyes felt upon Juliet, and he thought of Rosaline no more.
The vision of Juliet had been invading his every thought. Unable to sleep, Romeo returned late that night to the Juliet's bedroom window. There, he was surprised to find Juliet on the balcony, professing her love for him and wishing that he were not a "Montague", a name behind his own. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Romeo was ready to deny his name and professed his love. The two agreed to meet at nine o-clock the next morning to be married.
Early the next morning, Romeo came to Friar Lawrence begging the friar to marry him to Juliet. The Friar performed the ceremony, praying that the union might someday put an end to the feud between the two families. He advised Romeo kept the marriage a secret for a time.
On the way home, Romeo chanced upon his friend Mercutio arguing with Tybalt, a member of the Capulet clan. That qurreling last caused Merquito died. Romeo was reluctant no longer. He drew his sword and slew Tybalt died. Romeo realized he had made a terrible mistake. Then Friar Lawrence advised Romeo to travel to Mantua until things cool down. He promised to inform Juliet.
In the other hand, Juliet's father had decided the time for her to marry with Paris. Juliet consulted Friar Lawrence and made a plot to take a sleeping potion for Juliet which would simulate death for three days. The plot proceeded according to the plan. Juliet was sleeping in death.
Unfortunately, The Friar's letter failed to reach Romeo. Under the cover of darkness, he broke into Juliet's tomb. Romeo kissed the lips of his Juliet one last time and drank the poison. Meanwhile, the effects of the sleeping potion wear off. Juliet woke up calling for Romeo. She found her love next to her but was lying dead, with a cup of poison in his hand. She tried to kiss the poison from his lips, but failed. Then Juliet put out his dagger and plunged it into her breast. She died

Note: Romeo and Juliet is a famous play by William Shakespeare. This example of narrative text about romantic and tragic story was written and simplified from love-story.com

What is a descriptive text? I think it is important to recall before we go further about this example of descriptive text. The way descriptive text composed is similar to report text. Both try more to show less than tell. However descriptive text tends to specify the described object while report text will describe the object in general. The goal of the descriptive text is transferring the experience of the writers. The experience can be what they see, read, or feel. Descriptive text commonly tries to reveal the image of certain person, place, animal, or thing. Bellow is the best example of descriptive text I find. This descriptive passage which focuses on the cat's habit and less physical appearance is written by Barbara Carter. Read the sample bellow, you will see the clear understanding about descriptive text.

My Cat Gregory
Gregory is my beautiful gray Persian cat. He walks with pride and grace, performing a dance of disdain as he slowly lifts and lowers each paw with the delicacy of a ballet dancer. His pride, however, does not extend to his appearance, for he spends most of his time indoors watching television and growing fat.
He enjoys TV commercials, especially those for Meow Mix and 9 Lives. His familiarity with cat food commercials has led him to reject generic brands of cat food in favor of only the most expensive brands.
Gregory is as finicky about visitors as he is about what he eats, befriending some and repelling others. He may snuggle up against your ankle, begging to be petted, or he may imitate a skunk and stain your favorite trousers. Gregory does not do this to establish his territory, as many cat experts think, but to humiliate me because he is jealous of my friends.
After my guests have fled, I look at the old fleabag snoozing and smiling to himself in front of the television set, and I have to forgive him for his obnoxious, but endearing, habits.

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