生人勿进 (2010年电影)

Plot.

In March 1983, in Los Alamos, New Mexico, a disfigured man is taken to the hospital. An unnamed police detective tries to question him about a recent murder. While the detective answers a call outside the room, the disfigured man jumps out of the window, leaving behind a note that reads: "I'm sory Abby."  Two weeks earlier, Owen, an unhappy and lonely 12-year-old boy who is neglected by his divorcing parents, sees a barefoot young girl, Abby, and an older man moving in next door. Owen and Abby become close friends and start communicating by Morse code through the walls of their apartments. At school, a teenage bully named Kenny and two of his friends constantly terrorize Owen, who lies to his mother about it but tells Abby the truth. Abby encourages him to retaliate, and pledges to protect him.  Abby's companion, Thomas, abducts a local teenager and drains their blood into a jug, only to accidentally spill all of its contents. Starving, Abby attacks a neighbor and drinks his blood, killing him and forcing Thomas to dispose of the body.  On a later night, Thomas hides in the back of another car, but is discovered. In the ensuing struggle, the car falls into a ditch and flips over. Trapped, Thomas pours concentrated sulfuric acid on his face, rendering his features unrecognizable and bringing the story back to the first scene. Abby learns what happened and visits Thomas in the hospital, who lets her drink his blood before falling to his death. That night, Owen is awakened by Abby, who insists he verbally invite her in. She spends the night in his bed and agrees to be his girlfriend. The next day, Owen's class goes ice skating on a river. Cornered by the bullies, Owen hits Kenny with a metal pole, splitting his left ear. At the same moment, the students spot the neighbor's body encased in the ice.  Later, Owen tries to make a blood pact with Abby. Seeing blood, Abby reveals her vampire form and flees, feeding on another neighbor. The next night, Abby admits to Owen that she is a vampire and that Thomas was not her father. Owen discovers an aged photo of her with Thomas as a young boy. Scared, Owen wants to leave, but he is stopped by Abby, who won't answer his demands on letting him out. Owen finally leaves after asking Abby what she will do to him.  Owen sneaks out to spend the night at Abby's. In the morning, the detective forces his way into Abby's apartment and finds her asleep, only to be distracted by Owen. Abby wakes and attacks the detective, killing him. Abby tells Owen she will have to leave town. They share a kiss and he watches tearfully as she enters a taxi and leaves.  During swim class, Kenny, Jimmy, and their friends ambush Owen and begin to drown him, only to be dismembered by Abby. The next day, Owen leaves town on a train, traveling with a large trunk. From inside, a message in Morse code is tapped out. Owen smiles and taps out a response.

Production.

Development.

According to Hammer Films executive producer Nigel Sinclair, interest in the project initially began in the middle of 2007, before the original "Let the Right One In" had screened for audiences.  The rights for the English-language film were later acquired by Hammer Films at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, where "Let the Right One In" won the "Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature," and Matt Reeves was quickly introduced as the director. John Nordling and Carl Molinder, the Swedish producers of the original film, were both involved as producers for the adaptation. Tomas Alfredson, the director of the Swedish film, was initially asked to direct the remake, but he turned it down stating that "I am too old to make the same film twice and I have other stories that I want to tell." Hammer Films producer Simon Oakes initially referred to the film with "If you call it a faithful remake, I think that's true to say that's what it is. It's not a reimagining; the same beats [are there], maybe the scares are a little bit more scary." He later said, "I call it his [Reeves'] version. I don't call it his remake or his re-imagining of it." The decision to make a new film adaptation has been criticized by Tomas Alfredson. He has stated on numerous occasions that he is not in favor of remaking his film. "If one should remake a film, it's because the original is bad. And I don't think mine is," he said. Producer Donna Gigliotti said, "We're incredibly admiring of the original, but to be honest with you, that picture grossed $2million. It's not like we're remaking "Lawrence of Arabia"." Producer Simon Oakes made it clear that the plot of "Let Me In" would closely resemble that of the original film, except that it will be made "very accessible to a wider audience."  Writer John Ajvide Lindqvist, on the other hand, says that Reeves told him that he "will make a new film based on the book, and not remake the Swedish film" and so "it'll be something completely different, but it's going to be really interesting to see." Reeves expressed his intent to retain the book's early 1980s setting and his admiration for the book and Alfredson's adaptation. "It's a terrific movie and a fantastic book. I think it could be a really touching, haunting and terrifying film. I'm really excited about what it could be", he said. In response to the criticism he said, "I can understand because of people's love of the [original] film that there's this cynicism that I'll come in and trash it, when in fact I have nothing but respect for the film. I'm so drawn to it for personal and not mercenary reasons... I hope people give us a chance." When Reeves was initially approached, he at first was against the idea but after reading the novel gained a better appreciation for the story,

Adapting and writing.

In adapting the film, a few adjustments were made, such as changing the names of the protagonists to Owen and Abby, and moving the setting from the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg to "a small New Mexico town." Reeves was also asked to change the ages of the main characters, but he refused, saying that "would ruin the essence of the story and change everything completely... we need that childlike innocence." He also told his actors to not watch the original film beforehand so "we could make our own version but stay very true to the essence of the story." The filmmakers have noted that "they intend to forge a unique identity for "Let Me In", placing it firmly in an American context", while at the same time paying respect to the original. In comparing his adaptation to the Swedish one, Reeves admitted to not adding many different details from the book that weren't in the original film, stating that "the story was so big that you couldn't really add a lot of stuff in without taking away the focus of the coming of age story so I tried to have allusions and references to stuff in the book." Reeves also admitted to borrowing elements from the Swedish film, stating "There are things that [Lindqvist] adapted brilliantly in the movie and I borrowed from that because I thought he did a great adaptation. But there are some things that hopefully don't detract and fit into the context of the story. It's a mixture of details from the book, the original film and things that grew out of adapting it." In adapting the story for American audiences, Reeves stated that keeping the 1980s time period within the film was critical in exploring the theme of good and evil. He used Ronald Reagan's "evil empire speech" as an example of American thought during that period. Reeves stated, "The idea of Reagan's 'evil empire' speech and that whole sort of school of thought was that evil was something that was outside of us. Evil was 'Other,' it was over there, it was the Soviets". Reeves felt that this idea was central to the main character Owen, as he "would be grappling with these very, very dark feelings but being in a kind of American town where there was that sort of [Reagan era] mindset and religiousness. How would you fit in? How would you feel about yourself being confused and being 12 or 13 years old and not knowing what it means that you wish you could kill those kids who were terrorizing you every day? The humanity of that."

Casting.

In July 2009, audition tapes were leaked to the Internet, showing Chloë Grace Moretz, Mary Mouser, and Ariel Winter auditioning for the role of the vampire, Abby. Smit-McPhee, in an interview with "The Herald Sun", hinted that he may have landed the role as Owen. The casting of Moretz and Smit-McPhee in the leading roles was confirmed on October 1, 2009, along with the addition of Richard Jenkins as Abby's adult companion. In a press release, director Matt Reeves described Smit-McPhee, Moretz and Jenkins as his "absolute dream cast", and added that he "couldn't be more excited to be working with them." Both Smit-McPhee and Moretz were cast before the release of "The Road" or "Kick-Ass", and the films' directors John Hillcoat and Matthew Vaughn, respectively, each praised the young actors and recommended them to Reeves.

Filming.

Principal photography began in Albuquerque, New Mexico on November 2, 2009. Filming took place in several different New Mexico locations, before concluding in Albuquerque in January 2010. A large section of the film was filmed at Los Alamos High School in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Los Alamos County granted a special request from the film's director and producer to name the town in the movie "Los Alamos, New Mexico." The local police department lent the film crew 1980s style uniforms and patrol cars to use for the film and over 100 local teenagers were cast as extras. Reeves felt that Lindqvist's story was very naturalistic and wanted the film to be shot the same way. After viewing "Bright Star", he hired Greig Fraser as his cinematographer because he admired Fraser's work with natural light on the film. Shortly before filming, Reeves sought advice from Steven Spielberg for directing child actors. Spielberg instructed Reeves to have the two leads each keep a diary in character with the intention of sharing with Reeves what they wrote in it. Reeves stated, "It was all a process of trying to, not only guide them, but in places, trying to let them guide me toward their perspective. That was important."

Visual effects.

Method Studios was contracted to handle the film's visual effects work. The studio's supervisor Sean Faden, worked alongside the film's visual effects supervisor, Brad Parker throughout the production. Several of the film's scenes proved to be a challenge for the team. Director Reeves wanted the "car-crash" sequence to appear as if it were filmed uncut in first-person. Several plates were shot with the first involving actor Jenkins backing the car out of the gas station and swerving, the second plate shot had a model of the car capable of being spun mechanically on a "rotisserie" in front of a blue screen which could simulate the car's roll down the hill. Jenkins' stunt double and a dummy were placed in the car as the rotisserie spun with additional effects work used to animate the dummy as the car rolled. The two shots were then combined to deceive the viewer into believing that it was one complete shot. Houdini software was used for much of the film's shots which involved Abby in her vampiric form. Faden noted the techniques used in another challenging shot important to Abby's character in which she begins bleeding when she enters Owen's apartment without invitation. Faden stated, "Normally in such a scene, the character would be shot on set, dressed in blood. But in this case, the timing of the bleeding was so dependent on the emotional beats of the scene that this technique wouldn't have allowed us enough control." Actress Chloë Grace Moretz was first shot with minimal prosthetic blood applied to her face for reference. Then using techniques utilized in a prior Method Studios film, "A Nightmare on Elm Street", Faden had the Houdini software track Moretz's shaking movements and render the gradual release of blood from her face.

Music and soundtrack.

Let Me In: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the film's soundtrack album. It was released by Varèse Sarabande on October 12, 2010. The score was composed by Michael Giacchino. Giacchino stated that scoring the film was a difficult "balancing act" for some scenes. He mentioned, "I was always trying to say, 'let's take music out!' and Matt [Reeves] was like, 'no, put it in!'" In composing the score, he stated that he also applied certain musical themes to each character for which the audience could respond to as the story progressed. Composing the score to convey the correct emotion was also a challenge for Giacchino who said, "... it was tricky finding the right balance of, well, should this be scary? Or should this be sentimental? Or should it be emotional? Or should it be this? It was a weird balance because you're dealing with a dynamic that is quite questionable as far as what everyone's intentions are in the film.

Release.

It was announced on August 17, 2010, that "Let Me In" would have its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2010, and its U.S. premiere on the opening night of Fantastic Fest on September 23, 2010. Overture Films released promotional items placed in small plastic evidence bags.

Reception.

With a budget estimated to be $20million, the film was released on October 1, 2010, in North America opening at #8 on its debut weekend with an estimated $5.1million in 2,020 theaters. The film's international release began on October 6 in European markets with other markets following thereafter. During the film's ten-week theatrical run, "Let Me In" grossed over $24million worldwide, $12.1million of which was from the United States and Canada. The film was #5 among the ten lowest-grossing releases of 2010 from major studios (movies released in over 1,500 theaters).

Critical response.

"Let Me In" received critical acclaim upon release. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 88% based on reviews from 220 critics, with an average score of 7.6/10. The consensus is that "similar to the original in all the right ways—but with enough changes to stand on its own—"Let Me In" is the rare Hollywood remake that doesn't add insult to inspiration." "Let Me In" was included on "Rotten Tomatoes" list of the ten best reviewed wide-release films of 2010 in addition to being the best reviewed horror film of 2010. Metacritic gave the film an average score of 79/100 based on 35 reviews, judged to be "generally favorable reviews". According to Metacritic, "Let Me In" was one of the ten best-reviewed wide-release films of 2010 and the best reviewed film of the year in the horror category.  Particular praise was given to the film's two leads, Smit-McPhee and Moretz, for their chemistry and maturity on-screen.  In comparing "Let Me In" with "Let the Right One In", horror website Bloody Disgusting wrote, "Ultimately, if the Swedish version is near perfection, Matt Reeves's version achieves complete supremacy. Masterpiece is an overused word, but it's hard to think of another so powerful. "Let Me In" is the new standard for vampire movies." Acclaimed horror author Stephen King wrote "Let Me In is a genre-busting triumph. Not just a horror film, but the best American horror film in the last 20 years." Joe Morgenstern of "The Wall Street Journal" wrote that the film "is more than a respectful remake; 'Let Me In' is quietly stylish and thoroughly chilling in its own right."  Lou Lumenick of "The New York Post" called "Let Me In" "the scariest, creepiest and most elegantly filmed horror movie I've seen in years—it positively drives a stake through the competition." A. O. Scott of "The New York Times" wrote "what makes" 'Let Me In' "so eerily fascinating is the mood it creates. It is at once artful and unpretentious, more interested in intimacy and implication than in easy scares or slick effects." Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" praised the film while comparing it to the original. He stated, "Reeves understands what made the first film so eerie and effective, and here the same things work again." "Rolling Stone" film critic Peter Travers, who was initially skeptical, gave the film a positive review while writing, "I thought for sure that any Hollywood remake of Tomas Alfredson's artful Swedish vampire film, "Let the Right One In", would be a crass desecration. Well, color me blushing" and "Prepare to be wowed. It's a spellbinder." Roger Moore of the "Orlando Sentinel" gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, stating, "Reeves has Americanized a very good foreign film without defanging it."  "Let Me In" was not well received by all critics. Some disputed Reeves' claims that he was not remaking the film but re-adapting the book, criticizing it for being too similar to the Swedish film. Josh Tyler wrote "The movie he's made is absolutely a direct remake of the 2008 film, the two are so similar that it's almost impossible to differentiate between them." In a similar vein, Jamie S. Rich noted that while there was plenty of content in the original novel that the Swedish film omitted, "Reeves hasn't really ferreted out anything new; on the contrary, there is actually less plot in "Let Me In" than in the Alfredson version." Beth Accomando wrote, "How Reeves can take the credit 'written and directed by Matt Reeves' seems almost laughable when you note how similar the script and the direction are to the original." In comparing the two films, she opined that the remake "makes obvious all that the original film made subtle and does so with less complexity." Mark Kermode called it "the most utterly redundant remake of the year".  According to Sukhdev Sandhu of "The Telegraph", ""Let Me In" doesn't need to exist unless, that is, the very notion of Swedish cinema is strange and unpalatable to you... What's missing is the alluring otherness of "Let the Right One In". That film's brittle textures and haunted ambiance seemed in some strange way to have sprung organically from the nation in which it was set. This remake, by contrast, smells of boardrooms and calculating machines."  "Let Me In" was a critics' pick as one of the Top 10 Best Films of 2010 at CNN and at MSN Entertainment for the 2010 Year in Review Special Features.

Author's response.

John Ajvide Lindqvist, author of "Let the Right One In", who also wrote the screenplay for the original Swedish film, was pleased with "Let Me In". He said:

Home media.

"Let Me In" was released on DVD and Blu-ray in North America on February 1, 2011, and in the UK on March 14, 2011. The disc includes an audio commentary with director Reeves, a 17-minute featurette on the making of the film, a short that focuses on the art of the special effects, an in-depth video about the process of making the film's unique car crash scene, three deleted scenes, trailer and poster galleries, and a digital copy of the film. The Blu-ray contains an exclusive featurette titled "Dissecting Let Me In". Both the DVD and Blu-ray come with a copy of the limited-edition "Let Me In: Crossroads" comic book. As of April 2011, DVD sales (not including Blu-ray) totaled over 457,000 units sold with over $6.2million in revenue.

Other media.

In April 2010, it was announced that Hammer Films and Dark Horse Comics were producing a four-issue comic book limited series based on the film. Marc Andreyko wrote the comic. The series, titled "Let Me In: Crossroads", is a prequel to the film. The first issue has Abby and her "guardian" facing a ruthless real-estate tycoon who wants to steal their home and was released in December 2010. Original author John Ajvide Lindqvist said "Nobody has asked me about [doing a comic] and I think that the project stinks. I am looking into this matter and hope that they have no right to do this." Later, he informed fans that he had in fact unwittingly sold the rights for the comic to be made, stating that the producers had misinformed him as to the nature of the contract he had signed.

Let Me In is a 2010 American-British romantic horror film written and directed by Matt Reeves and starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloë Grace Moretz, Elias Koteas, and Richard Jenkins. It is a remake of the 2008 Swedish film "Let the Right One In". The film tells the story of a bullied 12-year-old boy who develops a friendship with a female child vampire in Los Alamos, New Mexico, during the early 1980s.

《生人勿进》(英语:Let Me In)是一部上映于2010年的美国浪漫恐怖类电影。翻拍自2008年瑞典电影《生人勿进》。


Junior career.

Representing England at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Downie contributed an all-around score of 54.100 to the English team's second-place finish and placed eighth in the all-around final with a score of 53.700. In event finals, she placed fifth on uneven bars, scoring 14.000, and third on balance beam, scoring 14.075.

Senior career.

2008.

At the 2008 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Clermont-Ferrand in early April, Downie contributed scores of 14.750 on vault, 15.375 on uneven bars, and 14.850 on balance beam to the British team's sixth-place finish. In event finals, she placed eighth on vault (13.500) and uneven bars (14.700). Later in April, she won a silver medal on bars at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup event in Cottbus, with a score of 14.975.  In June, Downie competed at the British Championships in Guildford, where she won the all-around competition (59.650) and the uneven bars title (15.200) and placed fourth on balance beam (14.500). Afterwards, she was named to the British team for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.  At the Olympics in August, Downie contributed an all-around score of 58.075 to the British team's ninth-place finish. In the individual all-around final, she scored 59.450 to place twelfth.

2009.

In March, Downie placed fourth at the American Cup in Chicago with a score of 55.600. The following month, she competed at the 2009 European Championships in Milan, where she placed eleventh in the all-around final (55.075) and sixth on vault (14.025) and uneven bars (14.525).  At the World Cup event in Glasgow in May, she placed sixth on vault (12.925), second on uneven bars (14.600), and fifth on balance beam (13.300).  In March, she won the all-around at the British Championships in Liverpool with a score of 56.100. In event finals, she placed second on vault, scoring 13.250; first on uneven bars, scoring 13.850; first on balance beam, scoring 14.900; and first on floor, scoring 13.750.  In October, Downie competed at the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in London. She placed sixteenth in the all-around final with a score of 53.775.

2010.

In April, Downie placed tenth on uneven bars (13.300) and ninth on balance beam (13.875) at the World Cup event in Paris. In May, at the 2010 European Championships in Birmingham, she contributed scores of 14.075 on vault, 14.350 on uneven bars, and 14.100 on balance beam to the British team's second-place finish, and placed fifth in the bars final with a score of 14.625.  At the 2010 World Championships in Rotterdam in October, she contributed a vault score of 14.733 to the British team's seventh-place finish.

2011.

Downie injured her Achilles tendon in January 2011 and was expected to be out of competition for the rest of the year. However, she was able to return in nine months. "I guess the key for my quick return was that I was backed 100 percent by a fantastic medical team, and rather than let myself get down about the injury, I just had to keep reminding myself of all the positives that could come from it," she said. "I took the opportunity to give my body a break which wouldn't have been possible without the injury, and then everything just moved so quickly."  In October, she competed at the 2011 World Championships in Tokyo and contributed an uneven bars score of 14.433 to the British team's fifth-place finish.

2012.

At the beginning of June, Downie competed at an international friendly in Ipswich with gymnasts from Finland and Spain, which also served as Britain's second Olympic trial. She placed fourth on vault with a score of 14.100 and fourth on balance beam with a score of 13.450.  The British Championships in Liverpool at the end of June were the third and final trial to determine the British team for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Downie did not compete on floor but scored 14.550 on vault, 14.25 on uneven bars, and 13.100 on balance beam. In event finals, she placed sixth on uneven bars with a score of 13.350 and second on balance beam with a score of 13.850. She did not make the Olympic team, but was named as an alternate.

2013.

At the 2013 European Championships, Downie qualified second into the uneven bars final with a score of 14.733, behind only reigning Olympic uneven bars champion Aliya Mustafina. However, a fall in the final left her in seventh place with a score of 13.000.

2014.

Downie was a member of the British team that won a silver medal at the 2014 European Championships, after qualifying to the team final in first place. Individually, she won the uneven bars title—the second British woman to do so after Beth Tweddle—and finished fourth in the balance beam final.  In July, she won gold with the English team at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, alongside teammates Claudia Fragapane, Ruby Harrold, Kelly Simm, and Hannah Whelan. She also won the uneven bars final with a score of 14.666; Harrold placed third. However, she fell twice in the balance beam final and was unable to finish her routine, resulting in a score of 9.833.  At the 2014 World Championships in Nanning, Downie performed well on bars and beam to help Britain qualify to the team final in fourth place: the highest ever qualification placement for a British women's team at a World Championships. She also qualified to the bars final in sixth place with a score of 15.166, and finished fifth in the final with the same score.

2015.

At the 2015 European Championships, Downie won silver medals on the uneven bars and balance beam. Later in the year, she helped Britain win its first-ever team World Championship medal in women's gymnastics, a bronze at the 2015 Championships in Glasgow.

2016.

Downie was named to the British team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro—her second Olympics—alongside her younger sister Ellie Downie, Claudia Fragapane, Ruby Harrold, and Amy Tinkler. She entered the competition as a contender on uneven bars, but placed 10th in a packed field in qualifications and did not qualify to the final. However, the British team finished fifth, Britain's best Olympic result in women's gymnastics since 1928.

2017.

Downie competed on uneven bars and balance beam at the 2017 European Championships in Cluj-Napoca. She qualified to the bars final in fourth place with a score of 14.433, but in the final, she placed seventh with a score of 13.000 after falling on a release move and injuring her elbow. She withdrew from the beam final the next day because of the injury.

2018.

On 6 July Downie was named to the team to compete at the 2018 European Championships alongside Alice Kinsella, Georgia-Mae Fenton, Kelly Simm, and Lucy Stanhope. On 7–8 July Downie returned to competition and competed at the Heerenveen Friendly where she tied for first on uneven bars and Great Britain placed third in the team final. Downie withdrew from the European Championships after sustaining an ankle injury during podium training.  On September 27, Downie was named to the team to compete at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar alongside Alice Kinsella, Ellie Downie, Georgia-Mae Fenton, and Kelly Simm.

2019.

In May Downie was named to the team to compete at the 2019 European Games alongside Georgia-Mae Fenton. She won silver on uneven bars behind Angelina Melnikova of Russia.  In September Downie was named to the team to compete at the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart alongside Alice Kinsella, Ellie Downie, Taeja James, and Georgia-Mae Fenton. During qualifications Downie helped Great Britain place seventh, earning a spot in the team final and qualifying a team for Great Britain to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Individually Downie qualified for the uneven bars final. During the team final she contributed scores on uneven bars and balance beam towards Great Britain's sixth place finish. In the uneven bars final Downie performed a clean routine, earning a score of 15.000 and winning the silver medal behind reigning World uneven bars Champion Nina Derwael of Belgium. This was Downie's first individual World Championships medal. Earlier that day Downie's sister Ellie won her first individual World Championships medal, a bronze medal on vault.

Rebecca "Becky" Downie (born 24 January 1992 in Nottingham) is a British artistic gymnast who competed at the 2008 and 2016 Summer Olympics. She is a double European champion (2014 and 2016) and 2014 Commonwealth Games champion on the uneven bars as well as the 2019 World silver medallist.

蕾贝卡·“贝吉”·唐尼(英语:Rebecca "Becky" Downie,1992年-1月24日)生于诺丁汉,是一名英国女子竞技体操运动员,曾就读于Rushcliffe学校。贝吉参加的第一个国际主要成年级别赛事是2006年英联邦运动会,当时她只有14岁。她的妹妹埃莉·唐尼同样是一名体操运动员,两人曾共同代表英国征战2016年里约奥运。


Gameplay.

"Kid Icarus" is an action platformer with role-playing elements. The player controls the protagonist Pit through two-dimensional levels, which contain monsters, obstacles and items. Pit's primary weapon is a bow with an unlimited supply of arrows that can be upgraded with three collectable power items: the guard crystal shields Pit from enemies, the flaming arrows hit multiple targets, and the holy bow increases the range of the arrows. These upgrades will work only if Pit's health is high enough. The game keeps track of the player's score, and increases Pit's health bar at the end of a level if enough points were collected.  Throughout the stages, the player may enter doors to access seven different types of chambers. Stores and black markets offer items in exchange for hearts, which are left behind by defeated monsters. Treasure chambers contain items, enemy nests give the player an opportunity to earn extra hearts, and hot springs restore Pit's health. In the god's chamber, the strength of Pit's bow and arrow may be increased depending on several factors, such as the number of enemies defeated and the amount of damage taken in battle. In the training chamber, Pit will be awarded with one of the three power items if he passes a test of endurance.  The game world is divided into three stages – the underworld, the over world (Earth) and the sky world. Each stage encompasses three unidirectional area levels and a fortress. The areas of the underworld and sky world stages have Pit climb to the top, while those of the surface world are side-scrolling levels. The fortresses at the end of the stages are labyrinths with non-scrolling rooms, in which the player must find and defeat a gatekeeper boss. Within a fortress, Pit may buy a check sheet, pencil and torch to guide him through the labyrinth. A single-use item, the hammer, can destroy stone statues, which frees a flying soldier called a Centurion that will aid the player in boss battles. For each of the bosses destroyed, Pit receives one of three sacred treasures that are needed to access the fourth and final stage, the sky temple. This last portion abandons the platforming elements of the previous levels, and resembles a scrolling shooter.

Plot.

The game is set in Angel Land, which is a fantasy world with a Greek mythology theme. The backstory of "Kid Icarus" is described in the instruction booklet: before the events of the game, Earth was ruled by Palutena: Goddess of Light and Medusa: Goddess of Darkness. Palutena bestowed the people with light to make them happy. Medusa hated the humans, dried up their crop, and turned them to stone. Enraged by this, Palutena transformed Medusa into a monster and banished her to the Underworld. Out of revenge, Medusa conspired with the monsters of the Underworld to take over Palutena's residence the Palace in the Sky. She launched a surprise attack, and stole the three sacred treasures — the Mirror Shield, the Light Arrows and the Wings of Pegasus — which deprived Palutena's army of its power. After her soldiers had been turned to stone by Medusa, Palutena was defeated in battle and imprisoned deep inside the Palace in the Sky.  With her last power, she sent a bow and arrow to the young angel Pit. He escapes from his prison in the Underworld and sets out to save Palutena and Angel Land. Throughout the course of the story, Pit retrieves the three sacred treasures from the fortress gatekeepers at their respective fortresses in the Underworld, the Overworld, and the Skyworld. Afterward, he equips himself with the treasures and storms the sky temple where he defeats Medusa and rescues Palutena. The game has five different endings; depending on the player's performance, Palutena may present Pit with headgear or transform him into a full-grown angel. In the Japanese version, the best ending from the English version does not exist, and instead another bad ending is present.

Development and releases.

This game was designed at Nintendo's Research and Development 1 (R&D1) division, while the programming was handled by the external company Intelligent Systems (known as "Myth of Light: The Mirror of Palutena" at the time). The game was developed for the Family Computer Disk System (FDS) because the peripheral's Disk Card media allowed for three times the storage capacity of the Family Computer's (and NES's) console's cartridges. Combined with the possibility to store the players' progress, the floppy disk format enabled the developers to create a longer game with a more extensive game world. "Myth of Light: The Mirror of Palutena" was Toru Osawa's debut as a video game designer, and he was the only staff member working on the game at the beginning of the project. Osawa (credited in the U.S. version as Inusawa) intended to make "Light Myth: Palutena's Mirror" an action game with role-playing elements, and wrote a story rooted in Greek mythology, which he had always been fond of. He drew the pixel art, and wrote the technical specifications, which were the basis for the playable prototype that was programmed by Intelligent Systems. After Nintendo's action-adventure "Metroid" had been finished, more staff members were allotted to the development of "Myth of Light: The Mirror of Palutena".  The game was directed by Satoru Okada (credited as S. Okada), and produced by the general manager of the R&D1 division, Gunpei Yokoi (credited as G. Yokoi). Hirokazu Tanaka (credited as Hip Tanaka) composed the music for "Myth of Light: The Mirror of Palutena". Yoshio Sakamoto (credited as Shikao.S) joined the team as soon as he had returned from his vacation after the completion of "Metroid". He streamlined the development process, and made many decisions that affected the game design of "Myth of Light: The Mirror of Palutena". Several out-of-place elements were included in the game, such as credit cards, a wizard turning player character Pit into an eggplant, and a large, moving nose that was meant to resemble composer Tanaka. Sakamoto attributed this unrestrained humor to the former personnel of the R&D1 division, which he referred to as "strange". Osawa said that he had originally tried to make "Myth of Light: The Mirror of Palutena" completely serious, but opted for a more humorous approach after objections from the team.  To meet the game's projected release date of December 19, 1986, the staff members worked overtime and often stayed in the office at night. They used torn cardboard boxes as beds, and covered themselves in curtains to resist the low temperatures of the unheated development building. Eventually, "Myth of Light: The Mirror of Palutena" was finished and entered production a mere three days before the release date. Several ideas for additional stages had to be dropped because of these scheduling conflicts. In February and July 1987, respectively, a cartridge-based version was published for the NES in Europe and North America under the name "Kid Icarus". For this release, the graphics of the ending were updated, and staff credits were added to the game. Unlike the Japanese version ("Myth of Light: The Mirror of Palutena"), which saves the player's progress on the Disk Card, the English version ("Kid Icarus") uses a password system to return to a game after the console was turned off, an almost unprecedented feature.  In August 2004, "Myth of Light: The Mirror of Palutena" was re-released as part of the "Famicom Mini Disk System Selection" for the Game Boy Advance. The game was released on the Wii's Virtual Console on January 23, 2007 in Japan, on February 12, 2007 in North America, and on February 23, 2007 in Europe and Australia; it was released on the Wii U's Virtual Console on August 14, 2013 in Japan, on July 11, 2013 in Europe and Australia, and on July 25, 2013 in North America. Passwords that were valid in the NES version do not work in the Virtual Console version due to the checksum algorithm being changed. In 2016, "Kid Icarus" was included on the North American and PAL region releases of the NES Classic Edition.

3D Classics.

A 3D Classics remake of "Kid Icarus" was published for the Nintendo 3DS handheld console. The remake features stereoscopic 3D along with updated graphics including backgrounds, which the original lacked. It also uses the same save system as the Family Computer Disk System version does, as opposed to the Password system from the NES version. The 3D Classics version also utilizes the Family Computer Disk System's music and sound effects (utilizing the extra sound channel not available in the NES version).  The game became available for purchase on the Nintendo eShop on January 18, 2012 in Japan, on February 2, 2012 in Europe, on April 12, 2012 in Australia and on April 19, 2012 in North America. The game was available early for free via download code to users who registered two selected 3DS games with Nintendo in Japan, Europe and Australia: in Japan, it was available to users who registered any two Nintendo 3DS titles on Club Nintendo between October 1, 2011 and January 15, 2012 with the game available for download starting December 19, 2011; in Europe, it was available to users who registered any two of a selection of Nintendo 3DS titles on Club Nintendo between November 1, 2011 and January 31, 2012, with the first batch of emails with codes being sent out on January 5, 2012; in Australia, it was available to users who registered any two of a selection of Nintendo 3DS titles on Club Nintendo between November 1, 2011 and March 31, 2012, with the first batch of emails with codes being sent out in January 2012. In North America, download codes for the 3D Classics version were given to customers who pre-ordered "" at select retailers when they picked up the game itself, which released on March 23, 2012, allowing them to obtain the game before its release for purchase.

Reception.

"Kid Icarus" had shipped 1.76 million copies worldwide by late 2003, and has gained a cult following. The game has been met with mixed reviews from critics over the years. In October 1992, a staff writer of the UK publication "Nintendo Magazine System" said that "Kid Icarus" was "pretty good fun", but did not "compare too well" to other platform games, owing in part to its "rather dated" graphics. "Retro Gamer" magazine's Stuart Hunt called "Kid Icarus" an "unsung hero of the NES" that "looks and sounds pretty". He described the music by Hirokazu Tanaka as "sublime", and the enemy characters as "brilliantly drawn". Although he considered the blend of gameplay elements from different genres a success, he said that "Kid Icarus" suffered from "frustrating" design flaws, such as its high difficulty level. Jeremy Parish of "1UP.com" expressed his disagreement with the game's status as an "unfairly forgotten masterpiece" among its substantial Internet following. He found "Kid Icarus" to be "underwhelming", "buggy" and "pretty annoying", and noted that it exhibited "shrill music[,...] loose controls and some weird design decisions". Notwithstanding his disapproval of these elements, Parish said that the game was "[not] terrible, or even bad – just a little lacking." He recommended players to buy the Virtual Console version, if only because it allowed them to experience "Kid Icarus" "with a fresh perspective".  "GameSpot"s Frank Provo reviewed the Virtual Console version of the game. He noted that the gameplay of "Kid Icarus" was "[not] the most unique blueprint for a video game", but that it had been "fairly fresh back in 1987". He considered the difficulty level "excessive", and found certain areas to be designed "solely to frustrate players". Provo said that the presentation of the game had "[not] aged gracefully". Despite his favorable comments on the Grecian scenery, he criticized the graphics for its small, bicolored and barely animated sprites, its black backgrounds, and the absence of multiple scrolling layers. He thought that the music was "nicely composed", but that the sound effects were "all taps and thuds". He was dissatisfied with the emulation of the game, as the Virtual Console release preserves the slowdown problems of the original NES version, but has its cheat codes removed. Provo closed his review with a warning for potential buyers: he said that players could appreciate "Kid Icarus" for its "straightforward gameplay and challenging level layouts", but might "find nothing special in the gameplay and recoil in horror at the unflinching difficulty." Lucas M. Thomas of "IGN" noted that the game design was "odd" and "not Nintendo's most focused". He thought that it had "[not] aged in as timeless a manner as many other first-party Nintendo games from the NES era," and described "Kid Icarus" as "one of those games that made a lot more sense back in the '80s, accompanied by a tips and tricks strategy sheet." He complimented the theme music, which he considered "heroic and memorable". In his review of the Virtual Console release, Thomas frowned upon Nintendo's decision to remove the NES cheat codes, and called the omission "nonsensical". He found it to be "not an issue worthy of a prolonged rant", but said that "[Nintendo has] willfully edited its product, and damaged its nostalgic value in the process".  "Kid Icarus" was included in "IGN"s lists of the top 100 NES games and the top 100 games of all time; it came in 20th and 84th place, respectively. It came in 34th place on "Electronic Gaming Monthly"s 1997 "100 Best Games of All Time", which said it "was one of the first big NES games to show that the system went way beyond offering the single-screen arcade-style experience." In 2001 "Game Informer" ranked it the 83rd best game ever made. They claimed that despite its high level of difficulty and frustration, it was fun enough to be worth playing. The game was inducted into "GameSpy"s "Hall of Fame", and was voted 54th place in "Nintendo Power"s top 200 Nintendo games. "Nintendo Power" also listed it as the 20th best NES video game, and praised it for its "unique vertically scrolling stages, fun platforming, and infectious 8-bit tunes", in spite of its "unmerciful difficulty".

Sequels.

A Game Boy sequel to "Kid Icarus", titled "", was released in North America in November 1991, and in Europe on May 21, 1992. It was developed by Nintendo in cooperation with the independent company Tose, and largely adopts the gameplay mechanics of its predecessor. "Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters" remained the last installment in the series for over 20 years.  Pit is a recurring character in the American animated television series "", albeit erroneously named as "Kid Icarus", and made cameo appearances in Nintendo games such as "Tetris", "F-1 Race" and "Super Smash Bros. Melee". He became a playable character in the fighting game "Super Smash Bros. Brawl", for which his appearance was redesigned.  In 2008, there were rumors of a three-dimensional "Kid Icarus" game for the Wii that was allegedly developed by the German American studio Factor 5. However, the title was said to be in production without the approval of Nintendo, and Factor 5 cancelled multiple projects following the closure of its American branch in early 2009. In a 2010 interview, Yoshio Sakamoto was asked about a "Kid Icarus" game for the Wii, to which he replied that he was not aware of any plans to revive the franchise. A new series entry for the Nintendo 3DS, "", was eventually revealed at the E3 2010 trade show and was released in 2012. The game is a 3D shooter, and was developed by Project Sora, the company of "Super Smash Bros." designer Masahiro Sakurai.

Kid Icarus, known in Japan as Light Mythology: Palutena's Mirror, is an action platform video game for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan and the Nintendo Entertainment System in Europe and North America. It was released in Japan in December 1986, in Europe in February 1987, and in North America in July 1987.

是一款由任天堂开发第一部与东星软件共同开发制作、并由任天堂发行的平台游戏。本游戏于1986年12月19日在日本地区FC磁盘机发行,而欧美地区之后于翌年在NES发行。


Location.

The Hospital partially gets its name from its position. Located across the Piazza del Duomo from Siena Cathedral, Santa Maria della Scala refers to its position across from the steps that lead into the Cathedral. The Hospital is made up of a complex of buildings. Those buildings have been enlarged and improved upon over the years, yet the Hospital's properties also once included much of the Via del Capitano and land outside the city walls as well as other, smaller hospitals. Around the 13th and 14th centuries, the Hospital organized its land into large agricultural estates. This is said to have "represented the largest concentration of land of the Sienese state". This agricultural land helped to financially support the Hospital's works.  Particular sections of note include the Church of the Santissima Annuziata, which was built at the end of the 13th century but then completely renovated towards the end of the 15th century, and the Pellegrinaio. The Pellegrinaio (or "Pilgrim's Hall") is the main hall where pilgrims were lodged. It also served as a location for public festivities. This hall, along with another specifically to house women was built around 1325. The church of the Santissima Annuziata, built during the 13th century, was enlarged during the second part of the 15th century, along with the "vertical expansion" of the Palazzo del Rettore.

Philanthropic mission.

Santa Maria della Scala was dedicated to its services. From at least as far back as 1193 up to the 18th century, the Hospital took on many philanthropic endeavors:  Abandoned babies often found their way to the Hospital. Meticulous records were kept of the details relating to each child, in order that the original parents may later be able to find them. The procedure for the children's care was implemented according to age: As infants, they were given to wet nurses then later weaned and educated. At age 8, they were taught a trade and any profits they made were kept for them. When they reached 18, the children had the option of leaving. Those that chose to leave were given all their saved earnings, plus 100 soldi, a set of clothing, and furnishings for a house. Girls were given an additional 50 lire as a dowry.  Meals were served for the poor three times a week. The sick were also given free meals and treatment. The Hospital's treatment of the sick was unusual for the time: their policy was to have one bed for each sick patient, and the sheets were kept clean. Also, in what has been suggested as "one of the earliest examples of such a therapeutic objective," patients were treated in order to be cured. The Hospital employed one normal doctor and one surgeon. In the 16th century, it added an additional surgeon. As the Hospital became a training ground for doctors, there was, for the 17th and 18th centuries, a unique emphasis on using a more hands-on learning approach.  Another service implemented by the Hospital was to care for pilgrims. They were offered free room and board in the pilgrimage halls, which were segregated by sex. When they left, pilgrims received vouchers for food and drink in Sienese territory as they continued their travels.

History.

Siena lies on the Via Francigena, the main pilgrimage road to Rome, and the Hospital was probably founded to accommodate the pilgrims and other travelers who passed through by the canons of the Duomo. According to legend, the Hospital was founded in 898 by a cobbler named Sorore. However, the first known document mentioning it is a "deed of gift" from March 29, 1090. The first rector, Beringerio, was said to be appointed in 1200.  To settle infighting between the clergy and laypeople over who held more authority, Pope Celestine III issued a papal bull in 1193 that declared the Hospital a lay organization independent of the Cathedral.  In 1359, the Hospital acquired several new relics, including part of the Virgin Mary's girdle and her veil, possibly to stimulate pilgrim travel. More relics were acquired under the Rector Giovanni Buzzichelli. Other relics owned by the Hospital included those of Sts Augustinus and Marcellinus, and a nail from the cross of Christ.  At the end of the 13th century, the Hospital sped up its physical expansion and internally began splitting up according to the different functions it held (such as headquarters for confraternities, caring for the sick, sheltering pilgrims, etc.).  In 1404 the Council of Siena took control of the rector nomination process and made it a city office.  In the 1430s, the confraternity devoted to Saint Jerome moved into the rooms in the lower levels of the Hospital, which were directly accessible from the streets. Other confraternities active at this time include an older confraternity dedicated to Mary Most Holy, the brotherhood of Saint Michael the Archangel, later renamed the brotherhood of Saint Catherine of the Night, and a confraternity founded by Andrea Gallerani that was "active in good works" at the Hospital.  During the 18th century, the Hospital became part of the university.  In 1995, the Hospital opened up to the public as a museum. At first, only the areas considered the most significant were shown. As more areas were restored, access increased. It is still being restored.

Art of Santa Maria della Scala.

In the 1330s Santa Maria della Scala commissioned many important interior and exterior frescoes as well as several significant altar pieces. The exterior frescoes commissioned for the Ospedale (Santa Maria della Scala) unfortunately no longer exist. Due to well-kept documents, the artists who created these magnificent frescos can be identified as Simone Martini and the Lorenzetti brothers, Pietro and Ambrogio.  The interior artwork of Santa Maria della Scala, however, has survived through the centuries. The majority of these pieces were altar pieces that were created after The Black Death. Several artists during the 1370s to 1390's created these paintings. The principal artist of the altarpieces was Bartolommeo Bulgarini. His two latest surviving paintings were a "Madonna" and an "Assumption of the Virgin". The "Assumption of the Virgin", commissioned in 1339, was the largest and most extravagant work for the Ospedale altar containing the relic of the Virgin's girdle.

Frescos.

Around 1335 The church has a Series of frescoes depicting the "Life of the Virgin" (1398):  These scenes where chosen to not only honor Mary, but to give recognition to her parents, Saints Joachim and Anne, the subjects of the special devotion at the Hospital during the 1320s and 1330s. These scenes are among the first known works depicting the early life of the Virgin, and, like Giotto's fresco of this subject in the Arena Chapel in Padua (completed 1305), became a valuable model for iconography.  Due to records, it is known both Pietro and Ambrogio signed and dated the works on the façade of Santa Maria della Scala in 1335. Simone Martini and the Lorenzetti brothers were among the most talented painters in Sienese art during this time, and led large studios. Research suggests that Amborgio Lorenzetti designed all four of the episodes on the façade of Ospedale. Both he and his brother, Pietro, worked collaboratively on the frescos. However, two of these designs, the "Bethrothal" and "Return", were completed by Simone Martinti. These frescoes no longer exist and were most likely destroyed in the early 18th century.  What is known or speculated about these frescoes comes from archival sources and a predella painted by Sano di Pietro. Commissioned in 1448 for the Capella dei Signore in the Palazzo Publico, Sano di Pietro's panel contains the same scenes as those painted in the facade for the Ospedale. It is believed that the scenes in this altarpiece are identical to the ones painted by Simone Martini.

Altar Pieces.

The altarpieces that adorned the interior of Santa Maria della Scala also centered on the life of the Virgin Mary. The main painter of these altarpieces was Bartolommeo Bulgarini whose family connections were instrumental in his selection for this commission. Other artists who lacked family connections to the Osepdale were also hired by the institution and its members to add to its decoration. Bulgarini, however, was awarded commission for five of the main altarpieces.

The Museum.

The museum is open almost every day of the year. An entrance fee is required with reduced prices for large groups, students, seniors, and soldiers. Residents, children under 11 and invalids receive free entrance.  Through the museum, it is possible to view over half of the complex. There are nearly 12,000 square meters of paths covering the renovated parts of the Hospital. Some of the places of interest a museum-goer today can explore are the Pellegrinaio, the Cappella del Manto (Chapel of the Mantle), the Sagrestia Vecchia (Old Sacristy), the Cappella della Madonna (Chapel of the Virgin Mary), and the Oratories of the Compagnia di Santa Caterina della Notte and of Santa Maria sotto le colte. The ravaged sculptures by Jacopo della Quercia from the Fonte Gaia are displayed here, as well as drawings and models for the 1858 restoration. A video animation charts the various states of the fountain through the centuries. Also included are an Archaeological Museum with a vast display of Etruscan cinerary urns and other material, a Children's Art Museum, the Giuliano Briganti Library and Photo Library of Art, and other temporary installation and convention spaces.

Santa Maria della Scala (also referred to as the Hospital, Ospedale, and Spedale) is located in Siena, Italy. Now a museum, it was once an important civic hospital dedicated to caring for abandoned children, the poor, the sick, and pilgrims. Revenues were earned partially from bequests and donations from the citizens of Siena, particularly the wealthy. The head of the hospital was the rector who managed the lay brothers responsible for its operation.

阶梯圣母医院(Santa Maria della Scala)位于意大利锡耶纳,现在是一个博物馆,历史上曾是一个重要的医院,致力于照顾弃婴、穷人,病人和朝圣者。收入部分来自锡耶纳公民,特别是富人的遗赠和捐赠。。


Geography.

Ulverston is a comparatively large civil parish. It is bounded in the east by the Leven estuary, Crake, Coniston Water and Yewdale Beck. To the west the boundary follows a chain of hills, and beyond that lie the towns of Kirkby-in-Furness and Askam and Ireleth. To the south is relatively low land, which rises quickly. In the north are hills such as Coniston Old Man. The settlements of the parish are mainly concentrated in the eastern part.

Earthquake.

On 28 April 2009, Ulverston was near the epicentre of an earthquake measuring 3.7 on the Richter magnitude scale. Tremors were felt across south Cumbria and parts of north Lancashire at 11.22 BST, although virtually no damage was caused by them. A spokesman for the British Geological Survey said that earthquakes of around that magnitude occur roughly once a year in Britain. It was the largest seismic event in the region since a magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck Lancaster in 1835.

History.

The name "Ulverston", first recorded in the Domesday Book (1086) as "Ulurestun", is derived from two elements: the first is either the Old Norse personal name "Úlfarr", or the Old English "Wulfhere"; the second element is the Old English "tūn", meaning "farmstead" or "village". The personal names "Úlfarr" and "Wulfhere" both translate roughly as "wolf warrior" or "wolf army", which explains the presence of a wolf on the town's coat of arms. The loss of the 'W' in "Wulfhere" can be attributed to the historic Scandinavian influence in the region. Locally, the town has traditionally been known as "Oostan". Other variations of the name recorded throughout history include "Oluestonam" (1127), and "Uluereston" (1189).  The town's market charter was granted in 1280 by Edward I. This was for a market every Thursday; modern Ulverston keeps its old market town appearance, and market days are now held on both Thursdays and Saturdays. The charter also allowed for all public houses to open from 10:30 am until 11:00 pm irrespective of any other statute on the books. During the summer months the Saturday market day is themed with craft stalls, charity stalls and locally produced wares on ""Made in Cumbria"" stalls.  Town Bank grammar school was established in the town in 1658 from a benefaction by Thomas Fell.  The Victoria Road drill hall was completed in 1873.  Historically, the ancient parish included several other chapelries or townships which later became separate civil parishes: Blawith, Church Coniston, Egton with Newland, Lowick, Mansriggs, Osmotherley, Subberthwaite and Torver. From 1894 to 1974 the town constituted an urban district in the administrative county of Lancashire. It became a successor parish in the Cumbria district of South Lakeland under the Local Government Act 1972.

Education.

Ulverston Victoria High School (UVHS) is the town's secondary school with approximately 1,200 pupils. The school has a sixth form college which draws students from Ulverston as well as the surrounding areas; the number of pupils attending is roughly 400. There are also four primary schools. Also, one disabled school in the vicinity (Sandside).

Transport.

Ulverston railway station, which serves the town, is located on the Furness Line from Barrow-in-Furness to Lancaster, ultimately leading on to Manchester Airport. All services at the station are operated by Northern. The railway station is a short walk from the town centre. The town is served by several bus services. These include the X6, running to Kendal from Barrow-in-Furness, via Grange over Sands. The X12 runs from Coniston and passes through the village of Spark Bridge. Other services include the X31 to Tarn Hows and the 6A and 6 to Barrow-in-Furness, the largest town in the region.

Twin towns.

Ulverston is twinned with Albert in France. The two towns meet every year to play football at Easter for the Cyril Barker Shield. The match alternates between Ulverston and Albert. In July 2016 Ulverston, birthplace of film comedian Stan Laurel, was officially twinned with Harlem, Georgia, United States, birthplace of Laurel's screen partner Oliver Hardy.

Festival town.

Ulverston calls itself a "festival town", for the varied festivals that take place during the year.  The most renowned is the Lantern Festival, which involves hundreds of local residents creating lanterns out of willow and tissue paper and parading them through the town. The annual event culminates in a theatrical performance and fireworks in Ford Park. It was organised locally for the first time in 2008.  Other popular festivals include:

Sport.

Football.

Ulverston's football team is Ulverston Rangers. The club has been in existence since 1945 and currently plays in the West Lancashire Football League and the Furness Football League. The club boasts two excellent grounds and includes a full-size grass training pitch. Ulverston Rangers is the only football team within Ulverston itself.

Rugby League.

Ulverston A.R.L.F.C. is a rugby league team in Ulverston which plays home games at Dragley Beck, also known as Pain Lane. Players wear a blue with white trim strip with blue shorts and blue socks. The team plays in the North West Counties Rugby League. It has produced many professional rugby players, including Derek Hadley and Andy Whittle.

Hockey.

The town has two hockey clubs, South Lakes and Ulverston, both based in Ulverston Leisure Centre.

Orienteering.

The town regularly has events and events run by Lakeland Orienteering Club.

Running.

A parkrun event has been held every Saturday at Ford Park since 2018.

Leisure Centre.

There is a swimming club at Ulverston Leisure Centre. The triathletes of Ulverston Tri Club are also based there and train there on Saturday mornings.

Notable people.

In alphabetical order:  Over the years the town has been the birthplace of several famous people. Sir John Barrow, born at Dragley Beck, Ulverston, was the Admiralty's Second Secretary: a much more important position than First Secretary. A monument to him—a replica of the third Eddystone Lighthouse—stands on Hoad Hill overlooking the town. Famous Ulverstonians include Norman Birkett, who represented Britain at the Nuremberg Trials; Maude Green, the mother of Rock and Roll music legend, Bill Haley; saxophonist Jess Gillam; Norman Gifford, an England test cricketer; Francis Arthur Jefferson, a soldier awarded with the Victoria Cross; and comedian Stan Laurel, of Laurel and Hardy fame. The Laurel & Hardy Museum is situated in Ulverston, and in 2009 a statue of the pair was unveiled by comedian Ken Dodd, outside Coronation Hall in the town centre. One of Ulverston's lesser known sons is the late Bryan Martin, senior BBC Radio 4 newsreader and presenter of the '70s and '80s, who announced on the "Today" programme the death of Elvis Presley in 1977 and broke the news of the Iranian Embassy siege in 1980. He appeared in "The News Quiz", occasionally introduced "The Goon Show", and read the spoof "news bulletin" which always featured in the middle of the comedy "The Men from the Ministry".

International links.

Despite being titled The Royal Norwegian Honorary Consulate in Barrow-in-Furness, one of the numerous consulates of Norway is actually located on the outskirts of Ulverston.  The town of Ulverstone in Tasmania, Australia is named after Ulverston and is similarly built at the mouth of a Leven River.

Freedom of the Town.

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Town of Ulverston.

Ulverston is a market town in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is in the Furness area 8 miles (13 km) north-east of Barrow-in-Furness, 4 miles (7 km) south of the Lake District and just north-west of Morecambe Bay. Nearby places include Swarthmoor, Pennington and Rosside. The most visible landmark is the limestone Hoad Monument built in 1850 to commemorate statesman and local resident Sir John Barrow. It offers views that include Morecambe Bay and parts of the Lake District. Ulverston Canal, no longer navigable but once vital to the town's economy, is marked by an art installation.

阿尔弗斯顿(Ulverston)是英国的一座集镇和民政教区,位于英格兰西北部的坎布里亚郡,在历史上则属于兰开夏郡。阿尔弗斯顿位于弗内斯地区,位置靠近湖区。阿尔弗斯顿以其的纪念碑和运河闻名,镇上有许多商店和酒吧。阿尔弗斯顿自称是一个节日之城,镇上每年都举办众多节日活动。


Distribution.

"Scyllarus latus" is found along most of the coast of the Mediterranean Sea (one exception being the northern Adriatic Sea), and in parts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean from near Lisbon in Portugal south to Senegal, including the islands of Madeira, the Azores, the Selvagens Islands and the Cape Verde Islands. In Senegal, it occurs together with a related species "Scyllarides herklotsii", which it closely resembles.

Description.

"S. latus" can grow to a total body length about, although rarely more than. This is equivalent to a carapace length of up to. An individual may weigh as much as. As in all slipper lobsters, the second pair of antennae are enlarged and flattened into "shovels" or "flippers". Despite the name "lobster", slipper lobsters such as "Scyllarides latus" have no claws, and nor do they have the protective spines of spiny lobsters. Instead, the exoskeleton, and particularly the carapace, are thicker than in clawed lobsters and spiny lobsters, acting as resilient armour. Adults are cryptically coloured, and the carapace is covered in conspicuous, high tubercles.

Ecology.

Substrate.

"S. latus" lives on rocky or sandy substrates at depths of. They shelter during the day in natural dens, on the ceilings of caves, or in reefs, preferring situations with more than one entrance or exit.

Diet.

The diet of "S. latus" consists generally of molluscs. The preferred prey is, according to different sources, either limpets or bivalves. The prey, which "S. latus" can detect even under of sediment, is opened by careful use of the strong pointed pereiopods. They will also eat oysters and squid, but not sea urchins or muricid snails. They eat more in warmer seasons, getting through 3.2 oysters per day in July, but only 0.2 oysters per day in January.

Predators.

The most significant predator of "S. latus" is the grey triggerfish, "Balistes capriscus", although a number of other fish species have also been reported to prey on "S. latus", including dusky groupers ("Epinephelus guaza"), combers ("Serranus spp."), Mediterranean rainbow wrasse ("Coris julis"), red groupers ("Epinephelus morio") and gag groupers ("Mycteroperca microlepis"). An "Octopus vulgaris" has been observed to eat "S. latus" in an artificial setting, but it is unclear whether "S. latus" is preyed on by octopuses in nature.

Life cycle.

Male "Scyllarus latus" carry spermatophores at the base of the last two pairs of pereiopods in April. Fertilisation has not been observed in this species, but most reptant decapods mate with the ventral surfaces together. Between July and August, females carry around 100,000 eggs on their enlarged, feathery pleopods. The eggs develop from being a bright orange colour to a dark brown before being shed into the water after around 16 days of development. There is normally only one generation per year.  The larvae are much less well known than the adults. An initial long naupliosoma stage, which swims using its antennae, moults into the first of eleven phyllosoma stages, which swim using their thoracic legs. The last phyllosoma stage may reach a size of and can be up to 11 months old; most of the intermediate phyllosoma stages have not been observed. A single "nisto" (juvenile has been recorded, having been caught off Reggio Calabria in 1900, but only recognised as being a juvenile "S. latus" in 2009. Young adults are also rare; a museum specimen with a carapace length of is the smallest adult yet observed. Adults moult annually, and probably migrate to cooler waters with a temperature of to do so. The old exoskeleton softens over a period of 10–22 days before being shed, and the new, pale exoskeleton takes around three weeks to harden completely. Smaller individuals typically gain weight over the course of a moult, but this difference is less pronounced in larger animals.

Behaviour.

"Scyllarides latus" is mostly nocturnal in the wild, since most of its predators are diurnal. While sheltering, "S. latus" tends to be gregarious, with several individuals sharing the same shelter. When confronted with a predator, "S. latus" has no claws or spines to repel the predator, and instead either clings to the substrate, or swims away with powerful flexion of the abdomen, or "tail-flips". Larger lobsters can exert a stronger grip than smaller ones, with a force of up to 150 newtons (equivalent to a weight of ) required to dislodge the largest individuals.  Predator avoidance may also explain the frequent behaviour where "S. latus" will carry food items back to a shelter before consuming them. When two "S. latus" individuals compete for a food item, they may use the enlarged second antennae to flip their opponent over, by wedging the antennae underneath the opponent's body and quickly raising them. An alternative strategy is to grip an opponent and begin the tail-flipping movement, or to engage in a tug of war.

Taxonomy.

"Scyllarides latus" was originally classified in the genus "Scyllarus", along with the four other slipper lobsters known at the time ("Scyllarus arctus", "Scyllarides aequinoctialis", "Thenus orientalis" and "Arctides guineensis"). Separate genera were first introduced by William Elford Leach in 1815, namely "Thenus" and "Ibacus". In 1849, Wilhem de Haan divided the genus "Scyllarus" into two genera, "Scyllarus" and "Arctus", but made the error of including the type species of "Scyllarus" in the genus "Arctus". This was first recognised by the ichthyologist Theodore Gill in 1898, who synonymised "Arctus" with "Scyllarus", and erected a new genus "Scyllarides" to hold the species that De Haan had placed in "Scyllarus". "Scyllarides" is placed in the subfamily Arctidinae, which is differentiated from other subfamilies by the presence of multiarticulated exopods on all three maxillipeds, and a three-segmented palp on the mandible. The only other genus in the subfamily, "Arctides", is distinguished by having a more highly sculptured carapace, with an extra spine behind each eye, and a transverse groove on the first segment of the abdomen.  The only other species of "Scyllarides" to occur in the Eastern Atlantic is "Scyllarides herklotsii", which differs from "S. latus" mostly in the ornamentation on the carapace; while in "S. latus" the tubercles (lumps projecting from the surface) are high and pronounced, they are lower and more rounded in "S. herklotsii".

Type specimen.

The type locality given by Pierre André Latreille in his original description of the species was simply "Mediterranée" (Mediterranean Sea), without designating a type specimen. Lipke Holthuis later chose a lectotype for the species, which was the animal illustrated by Cornelius Sittardus, and published in Conrad Gesner's "Historiae animalium" in 1558 (book 4, p. 1097). This illustration, originally a watercolour but reproduced by Gesner in a woodcut, had been mentioned by Latreille in his description as being particularly fine, and is all that remains of the type specimen. Given that Sittardus was working in Rome at the time, it is likely that the type specimen was a fresh specimen from the Tyrrhenian Sea near Rome.

Human consumption.

"S. latus" is edible, but it is a relatively rare species, and is therefore of little interest to fisheries. However, it is caught in small numbers throughout its distribution, mostly in trammel nets, by trawling and in lobster pots. An annual catch of has been reported for Israel. Catching by hand has become increasingly frequent, since the advent of SCUBA diving made the animal's habitat more accessible to humans. This may have affected population sizes of "S. latus" in some areas.

Scyllarides latus, the Mediterranean slipper lobster, is a species of slipper lobster found in the Mediterranean Sea and in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is edible and highly regarded as food, but is now rare over much of its range due to overfishing. Adults may grow to long, are camouflaged, and have no claws. They are nocturnal, emerging from caves and other shelters during the night to feed on molluscs. As well as being eaten by humans, "S. latus" is also preyed upon by a variety of bony fish. Its closest relative is "S. herklotsii", which occurs off the Atlantic coast of West Africa; other species of "Scyllarides" occur in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Indo-Pacific. The larvae and young animals are largely unknown.

地中海琵琶虾(学名:"Scyllarides latus")是拟蝉虾属的一种虾,分布于地中海和大西洋西部海域。地中海琵琶虾可以食用,但也因此遭到滥捕。雄性体长可达,无螯,夜行性。 它与生活在太平洋西部的红琵琶虾十分相似。


History.

Mississippian culture and exploration.

The area that would become St. Louis was a center of the Native American Mississippian culture, which built numerous temple and residential earthwork mounds on both sides of the Mississippi River. Their major regional center was at Cahokia Mounds, active from 900 to 1500. Due to numerous major earthworks within St. Louis boundaries, the city was nicknamed as the "Mound City". These mounds were mostly demolished during the city's development. Historic Native American tribes in the area included the Siouan-speaking Osage people, whose territory extended west, and the Illiniwek.  European exploration of the area was first recorded in 1673, when French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette traveled through the Mississippi River valley. Five years later, La Salle claimed the region for France as part of "La Louisiane." The earliest European settlements in the area were built in Illinois Country (also known as Upper Louisiana) on the east side of the Mississippi

City founding (French and Spanish Louisiana period).

The founding of St. Louis was preceded by a trading business between Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent and Pierre Laclède (Liguest) in the fall of 1763. Maxent invested in a Mississippi River expedition led by Laclède, who searched for a location to base the company's fur trading operations. Though Ste. Genevieve was already established as a trading center, he sought a place less prone to flooding. He found an elevated area overlooking the flood plain of the Mississippi River, not far south from its confluence with the Missouri

19th century.

The city elected its first municipal legislators (called trustees) in 1808. Steamboats first arrived in St. Louis in 1817, improving connections with New Orleans and eastern markets. Missouri was admitted as a state in 1821. St. Louis was incorporated as a city in 1822, and continued to develop largely due to its busy port and trade connections.  Immigrants from Ireland and Germany arrived in St. Louis in significant numbers starting in the 1840s, and the population of St. Louis grew

20th century.

The city hosted the 1904 World's Fair and the 1904 Summer Olympics, becoming the first non-European city to host the Olympics. Permanent facilities and structures remaining from the fair are Forest Park and associated structures within its boundaries: the St. Louis Art Museum, the St. Louis Zoo and the Missouri History Museum, as well as Tower Grove Park and the Botanical Gardens.  After the Civil War, social and racial discrimination in housing and employment were common in St. Louis. In 1916, during the Jim Crow Era, St. Louis passed

21st century.

Urban revitalization continued in the new century. Gentrification has taken place in the Washington Avenue Historic District, Central West End and Forest Park Southeast neighborhoods. This helped St. Louis win the World Leadership Award for urban renewal in 2006. In 2017 the US Census Bureau estimated that St. Louis had a population of 308,826 which is

Geography.

Architecture.

The architecture of St. Louis exhibits a variety of commercial, residential, and monumental architecture. St. Louis is known for the Gateway Arch, the tallest monument constructed in the United States at. The Arch pays homage to Thomas Jefferson and St. Louis's position as the gateway to the West. Architectural influences reflected in the area include French Colonial, German, early American, and modern architectural styles.  Some notable post-modern commercial skyscrapers were built downtown in the 1970s and 1980s, including the One US Bank Plaza (1976), the AT&T Center (1986), and One Metropolitan Square (1989), which is the tallest building in St. Louis. One US Bank Plaza, the local headquarters for US Bancorp, was constructed for

Neighborhoods.

The city is divided into 79 government-designated neighborhoods. The neighborhood divisions have no legal standing, although some neighborhood associations

Topography.

According to the United States Census Bureau, St. Louis has a total area of, of which is land and (6.2%) is water. The city is built on bluffs and terraces that rise 100–200 feet above the western banks of the Mississippi River, in the Midwestern United States just south of the Missouri-Mississippi confluence. Much of the area is a fertile and gently rolling prairie that features low hills and broad, shallow valleys. Both the Mississippi River and the Missouri River have cut large valleys with wide flood plains.  Limestone and dolomite of the Mississippian epoch underlie the area, and parts of the city are karst in nature. This is particularly true of the area south of

Climate.

The urban area of St. Louis has a damp subtropical climate (Köppen: "Cfa"); however, its metropolitan region even to the south may present a hot-summer humid continental climate ("Dfa"), which shows the effect of the urban heat island in the city. The city experiences hot, humid summers and chilly to cold winters. It is subject to both cold Arctic air and hot, humid tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico. The average annual temperature recorded at nearby Lambert–St. Louis International Airport, is. Both temperatures can be seen on an

Flora and fauna.

Before the founding of the city, the area was mostly prairie and open forest. Native Americans maintained this environment, good for hunting, by burning underbrush. Trees are mainly oak, maple, and hickory, similar to the forests of the nearby Ozarks; common understory trees include eastern redbud, serviceberry, and flowering dogwood. Riparian areas are forested with mainly American sycamore.  Most of the residential areas of the city are planted with large native shade trees. The largest native forest area is found in Forest Park. In autumn, the changing color of the trees is notable. Most species here are typical of the eastern woodland, although numerous decorative non-native species are found. The most notable invasive species is Japanese honeysuckle, which officials are trying to manage because of its damage to native trees. It is removed from some parks.  Large mammals found in the city include urbanized coyotes and white-tailed deer.

Demographics.

St. Louis grew slowly until the American Civil War, when industrialization and immigration sparked a boom. Mid-19th century immigrants included many Irish and Germans; later there were immigrants from southern and eastern Europe. In the early 20th century, African American and white migrants came from the South; the former as part of the Great Migration out of rural areas of the Deep South. Many came from Mississippi and Arkansas.  After years of immigration, migration, and expansion, the city reached its peak population in 1950. That year, the Census Bureau reported St. Louis's population as 82% White and 17.9% African American. After World War II, St. Louis began losing population to the suburbs, first because of increased demand for new housing, unhappiness with city services, ease of commuting by highways, and later, white flight. St. Louis's population decline has resulted in a significant increase of abandoned residential housing units and vacant lots throughout the city proper; this blight has attracted much wildlife (such as deer and coyotes) to the many abandoned overgrown lots.  St. Louis has lost 64.0% of its population since the 1950 United States Census, the highest percent of any city that had a population of 100,000 or more at the time of the 1950 Census. Detroit, Michigan, and Youngstown, Ohio, are the only other cities that have had population declines of at least 60% in the same time frame. The population of the city of St. Louis has been in decline since the 1950 census; during this period the population of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area, which includes more than one county, has grown every year and continues to do so. A big factor in the decline has been the rapid increase in suburbanization.  According to the 2010 United States Census, St. Louis had 319,294 people living in 142,057 households, of which 67,488 households were families. The population density was 5,158.2 people per square mile (1,990.6/km2). About 24% of the population was 19 or younger, 9% were 20 to 24, 31% were 25 to 44, 25% were 45 to 64, and 11% were 65 or older. The median age was about 34 years.  The population was about 49.2% African American, 43.9% White (42.2% Non-Hispanic White), 2.9% Asian, 0.3% Native American/Alaska Native, and 2.4% reporting two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.5% of the population.  The African-American population is concentrated in the north side of the city (the area north of Delmar Boulevard is 94.0% black, compared with 35.0% in the central corridor and 26.0% in the south side of St. Louis). Among the Asian-American population in the city, the largest ethnic group is Vietnamese (0.9%), followed by Chinese (0.6%) and Indians (0.5%). The Vietnamese community has concentrated in the Dutchtown neighborhood of south St. Louis; Chinese are concentrated in the Central West End. People of Mexican descent are the largest Latino group, and make up 2.2% of St. Louis's population. They have the highest concentration in the Dutchtown, Benton Park West (Cherokee Street), and Gravois Park neighborhoods. People of Italian descent are concentrated in The Hill.  In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $29,156, and the median income for a family was $32,585. Males had a median income of $31,106; females, $26,987. Per capita income was $18,108.  Some 19% of the city's housing units were vacant, and slightly less than half of these were vacant structures not for sale or rent.  In 2010, St. Louis's per-capita rates of online charitable donations and volunteerism were among the highest among major U.S. cities. , 91.05% (270,934) of St. Louis city residents age 5 and older spoke English at home as a primary language, while 2.86% (8,516) spoke Spanish, 0.91% (2,713) Serbo-Croat, 0.74% (2,200) Vietnamese, 0.50% (1,495) African languages, 0.50% (1,481) Chinese, and French was spoken as a main language by 0.45% (1,341) of the population over the age of five. In total, 8.95% (26,628) of St. Louis's population age 5 and older spoke a mother language other than English.

Economy.

The gross domestic product of the St. Louis metro area was $160 billion in 2016, up from $155 billion the previous year. The gross metropolitan product of Greater St. Louis was $146 billion in 2014, the 21st-highest in the country, up from $144 billion in 2013, $138.4 billion in 2012, and $133.1 billion in 2011. The St. Louis metropolitan area had a per-capita GDP of $48,738 in 2014, up 1.6% from the previous year. In 2007, manufacturing in the city conducted nearly $11 billion in business, followed by the health care and social service industry with $3.5 billion; professional or technical services with $3.1 billion; and the retail trade with $2.5 billion. The health care sector was the area's biggest employer with 34,000 workers, followed by administrative and support jobs, 24,000; manufacturing, 21,000, and food service, 20,000.

Major companies and institutions.

, the St. Louis Metropolitan Area is home to ten Fortune 500 companies, the 7th-most among U.S. cities. They include Express Scripts, Emerson Electric, Monsanto, Reinsurance Group of America, Centene, Graybar Electric, and Edward Jones Investments. Other notable corporations headquartered in the region include Arch Coal, Wells Fargo Advisors (formerly A.G. Edwards), Energizer Holdings, Patriot Coal, Post Foods, United Van Lines, and Mayflower Transit, Post Holdings, Olin, and Enterprise Holdings (a parent company of several car rental companies). Notable corporations with operations in St. Louis include Cassidy Turley, Kerry Group, Mastercard, TD Ameritrade, and BMO Harris Bank.  Health

Education.

Colleges and universities.

The city is home to three national research universities, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Washington University in St. Louis and St. Louis University, as classified under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has been ranked among the top 10 medical schools in the country by US News & World Report for as long as the list has been

Primary and secondary schools.

The St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) operate more than 75 schools, attended by more than 25,000 students, including several magnet schools. SLPS operates under provisional accreditation from the state of Missouri and is under the governance of a state-appointed school board called the Special Administrative Board, although a local board continues to exist without legal authority over the district. Since 2000, charter schools have operated in

Culture.

With its French past and waves of Catholic immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries, from Ireland, Germany and Italy, St. Louis is a major center of Roman Catholicism in the United States. St. Louis also boasts the largest Ethical Culture Society in the United States and is one of the most generous cities in the United States, ranking ninth in 2013. Several places of worship in the city are noteworthy, such as the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, home of the world's largest mosaic installation. Other notable churches include the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral west of the Mississippi River and the oldest church in St. Louis; the St. Louis Abbey, whose distinctive architectural style garnered multiple awards at the time of its completion in 1962; and St. Francis de Sales Oratory, a neo-Gothic church completed in 1908 in South St. Louis and the second largest church in the city.  The city is identified with music and the performing arts, especially its association with blues, jazz, and ragtime. St. Louis is home to the St. Louis Symphony, the second oldest symphony orchestra in the United States. Until 2010, it was also home to KFUO-FM, one of the oldest classical music FM radio stations west of the Mississippi River. Opera Theatre

Sports.

St. Louis is home to the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball, the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League, notable and collegiate-level soccer teams. It is one of nine North American cities to have won titles in all four major leagues (MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA), having joined the prestigious group with the 2019 Stanley Cup championship for the Blues, and is one of three American cities to have hosted an Olympic Games.  The following table lists the professional sports teams in the St Louis area:

Professional sports.

St. Louis is home to two major league sports teams.  The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the most successful franchises in Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won 19 National League (NL) titles (the most pennants for the league franchise in one city) and 11 World Series titles (second to the New York Yankees and the most by any NL franchise), recently in 2011. They play at Busch Stadium. Previously, the St. Louis Browns played in the American League (AL) from 1902 to 1953, before moving to Baltimore, Maryland to become the current incarnation of the Orioles. The 1944 World Series was an all-St. Louis World

Amateur sports.

St. Louis has hosted the Final Four of both the women's and men's college basketball NCAA Division I championship tournaments, and the Frozen Four collegiate ice hockey tournament. St. Louis University has won 10 NCAA Men's Soccer Championships, and the city has hosted the College Cup several times. In addition

Chess.

St. Louis is home to the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis (CCSCSL) where the U.S. Chess Championship is held. St. Louisan Rex Sinquefield founded the CCSCSL and moved the World Chess Hall of

Parks.

The city operates more than 100 parks, with amenities that include sports facilities, playgrounds, concert areas, picnic areas, and lakes. Forest Park, located on the western edge of city, is the largest, occupying 1,400 acres of land, making it almost twice as large as Central Park in New York City. The park is home to five major institutions, including the St. Louis Art Museum, the St. Louis Zoo, the St. Louis Science Center, the Missouri History Museum, and the Muny amphitheatre. Another significant park in the city is Gateway Arch National Park, which was known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial until 2018 and is located on the riverfront in downtown St. Louis. The centerpiece of the park is the tall Gateway Arch, a National Memorial designed by noted architect

Government.

The city of St. Louis has a strong mayor–council government with legislative authority and oversight vested in the Board of Aldermen of the City of St. Louis and with executive authority in the Mayor of St. Louis and six other elected officials. The Board of Aldermen is made up of 28 members (one elected from each of the city's wards) plus a board president who is elected citywide. The 2014 fiscal year budget topped $1 billion for the first time, a 1.9% increase over the $985.2 million budget in 2013. 238,253 registered voters lived in the city in 2012, down from 239,247 in 2010, and 257,442 in 2008.

Structure.

The mayor is the chief executive officer of the city and is responsible for appointing city department heads including; the director of public safety, the director of streets & traffic, the director of health, the director of human services, the director of the airport, the director of parks & recreation, the director of workforce development, the director of the Community Development Agency, the director of economic development, the director of public utilities, the director of the Civil Rights Enforcement Agency,

State and federal government.

St. Louis is split between 11 districts in the Missouri House of Representatives: all of the 76th, 77th, 78th, 79th, 80th, 81st, 82nd, and 84th, and parts of the 66th, 83rd, and 93rd, which are shared with St. Louis County. The 5th Missouri Senate district is entirely within the city, while the 4th is shared with St. Louis County.  At the federal level, St. Louis is the heart of, which also includes part of northern St. Louis County. A Republican has not represented a significant portion of St. Louis in the U.S. House since 1953. Correspondingly, despite voting Republican prior to 1928 in

Crime.

The city of St. Louis has,, the highest murder rate, per capita, in the United States, with 188 homicides in 2015 (59.3 homicides per 100,000) and ranks No. 13 of the most dangerous cities in the world by homicide rate. Detroit, Flint, Memphis, Birmingham, and Baltimore have higher overall violent crime rates than St. Louis, when comparing other crimes such as rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Despite these high crime rates relative to other American cities, St. Louis index crime rates have declined almost every year since the peak in 1993 (16,648), to the 2014 level of 7,931 (which is the sum of violent crimes and property crimes) per 100,000. In 2015, the index crime rate reversed the 2005–2014 decline to a level of 8,204. Between 2005 and 2014, violent crime has declined by 20%, although rates of violent crime remains 6

Media.

Greater St. Louis commands the 19th-largest media market in the United States, a position roughly unchanged for over a decade. All of the major U.S. television networks have affiliates in St. Louis, including KTVI 2 (Fox), KMOV 4 (CBS), KSDK 5 (NBC), KETC 9 (PBS), KPLR-TV 11 (CW), KDNL 30 (ABC), WRBU 46 (Ion), and WPXS 51 Daystar Television Network. Among the area's most popular radio stations are KMOX (AM sports and talk, notable as the longtime flagship station for St. Louis Cardinals broadcasts), KLOU (FM oldies), WIL-FM (FM country), WARH (FM adult hits), and KSLZ (FM Top 40 mainstream). St. Louis also supports public radio's KWMU, an NPR affiliate, and community radio's KDHX. KZQZ is a popular Oldies station. All-sports stations, such as KFNS 590 AM "The Fan", WXOS "101.1 ESPN",

Transportation.

Road, rail, ship, and air transportation modes connect the city with surrounding communities in Greater St. Louis, national transportation networks, and international locations. St. Louis also supports a public transportation network that includes bus and light rail service.

Roads and highways.

Four interstate highways connect the city to a larger regional highway system. Interstate 70, an east–west highway, runs from the northwest corner of the city to downtown St. Louis. The north–south Interstate 55 enters the city at the south near the Carondelet neighborhood and runs toward the center of the city, and both Interstate 64 and Interstate 44 enter the city on the west, running parallel to the east. Two of the four interstates (Interstates 55 and 64) merge south of Gateway Arch National Park and leave the city on the Poplar Street Bridge into

Metrolink Light Rail and Subway.

The St. Louis metro area is served by MetroLink (known as Metro) and is the 11th-largest light rail system in the country with of double track light rail. The Red Line and The Blue Line both serve all the stations in the inner city, and branch to different destinations beyond in the suburban areas. Both lines enter the city north of Forest Park on the western edge of the city or on the Eads Bridge in

Airports.

St. Louis is served by two passenger airports. St. Louis Lambert International Airport, owned and operated by the City of St. Louis, is 11 miles northwest of downtown along highway I-70 between I-170 and I-270 in St. Louis County. It is the largest and busiest airport in the state. In 2016, when the airport had more than 255 daily departures to about 90 domestic and international locations, it served more than 15 million passengers. The airport serves as a focus hub city for Southwest Airlines; it was once

Port authority.

River transportation is available through the Port of St. Louis, which is 19.3 miles of riverbank on the Mississippi River that handles more than 32 million tons of freight annually. The Port

Railroad service.

Inter-city rail passenger train service in the city is provided by Amtrak at the Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center downtown. Amtrak trains terminating in the city include the "Lincoln Service" to Chicago and the "Missouri River Runner" to Kansas City, Missouri. St. Louis is an intermediate stop on the "Texas Eagle" route which provides long-distance passenger service between Chicago, San Antonio, and three days a week, to Los Angeles.  St. Louis is the nation's third largest freight rail hub, moving Missouri exports such as fertilizer, gravel, crushed stone, prepared foodstuffs, fats, oils, nonmetallic mineral products, grain, alcohol, tobacco

Bus service.

Local bus service in the city of St. Louis is provided by the Bi-State Development Agency via MetroBus, with more than 75 routes connecting to MetroLink light rail transit and stops in the city and region.

Taxi.

Taxicab service in the city is provided by private companies regulated by the Metropolitan Taxicab Commission. Rates vary by vehicle type, size, passengers and distance, and

Sister cities.

St. Louis has 16 sister cities.

St. Louis () is a city in the US state of Missouri, on the western bank of the Mississippi River, which forms the state line between Illinois and Missouri. The Missouri River merges with the Mississippi River 15 river miles north of Downtown St. Louis, forming the fourth-longest river system in the world. In 2019, the estimated population was 300,576, and of the bi-state metropolitan area, 2,804,724. Greater St. Louis is the largest metropolitan area in Missouri, second-largest in Illinois, seventh-largest in the Great Lakes Megalopolis, and the 20th-largest in the United States.

圣路易斯(英语:St. Louis),是美国密苏里州唯一的独立市,也是该州第二大城市(第一大城市为堪萨斯城)。市内人口为308,626人,为美国按人口排名第58大城市。