bile Greenish-yellow liver secretion passed to the gallbladder for con¬ centration, storage, or transport into the duodenum for fat digestion. Bile
Canadian bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis)
HARRY ENGELS-THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHERS
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
218 I bilingualism ► Biloxi
contains bile acids and salts, cholesterol, and electrolyte chemicals that keep it slightly acidic. In the intestine, products of the acids and salts emulsify fat and reduce its surface tension to prepare it for the action of pancreatic and intestinal fat-splitting enzymes.
bilingualism Ability to speak two languages. It may be acquired early by children in regions where most adults speak two languages (e.g., French and dialectal German in Alsace). Children may also become bilin¬ gual by learning languages in two different social settings; for example, British children in British India learned an Indian language from their nurses and family servants. A second language can also be acquired in school. Bilingualism can also refer to the use of two languages in teach¬ ing, especially to foster learning in students trying to learn a new lan¬ guage. Advocates of bilingual education in the U.S. argue that it speeds learning in all subjects for children who speak a foreign language at home and prevents them from being marginalized in English-language schools. Detractors counter that it hinders such children from mastering the lan¬ guage of the larger society and limits their opportunities for employment and higher education.
bill See beak
Bill, Max (b. Dec. 22, 1908, Winterthur, Switz.—d. Dec. 9, 1994, Ber¬ lin, Ger.) Swiss painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and industrial designer. He studied architecture, metalwork, stage design, and painting at the Bau- haus. In 1930 he opened his own studio in Zurich, where he spent most of his life and earned a living designing advertisements. In the 1940s he designed chairs featuring geometric forms. He cofounded and directed the College of Design in Ulm, Ger. (1951-55), and also designed its build¬ ings. He is best known for his advertising designs.
bill of exchange Short-term negotiable financial instrument consist¬ ing of a written order addressed by the seller of goods to the buyer requir¬ ing the latter to pay a certain sum of money on demand or at a future time. Bills of exchange are often used in international transactions, and the holder of such a bill may redeem it in cash immediately by selling it to a bank at a discount. Bills of exchange used in domestic transactions are sometimes called drafts. See also promissory note.
Bill of Rights (1689) British law, one of the basic instruments of the British constitution. It incorporated the provisions of the Declaration of Rights, which William III and Mary II accepted upon taking the throne. Its main purpose was to declare illegal various practices of James II, such as the royal prerogative of dispensing with the law in certain cases. The result of a long struggle between the Stuart kings and the English people and Parliament, it made the monarchy clearly conditional on the will of Par¬ liament and provided freedom from arbitrary government. It also dealt with the succession to the throne.
Bill of Rights First 10 amendments to the Constitution of the United States, adopted as a group in 1791. They are a collection of guarantees of individual rights and of limitations on federal and state governments that derived from popular dissatisfaction with the limited guarantees of the Constitution. The first Congress submitted 12 amendments (drafted by James Madison) to the states, 10 of which were ratified. The 1st Amend¬ ment guarantees freedom of religion, speech, and the press and grants the right to petition for redress and to assemble peacefully. The 2nd Amend¬ ment guarantees the right of the people to keep and bear arms. The 3rd prohibits the quartering of soldiers in private dwellings in peacetime. The 4th protects against unreasonable search and seizure. The 5th establishes grand-jury indictment for serious offenses, protects against double jeopardy in criminal cases, and prohibits compelling testimony by a person against himself. The 6th establishes the rights of the accused to a speedy trial and an impartial jury and guarantees the right to legal counsel and to the obtaining of witnesses in his favour. The 7th preserves the right to trial by jury in serious civil suits and prohibits double jeopardy in civil cases. The 8th prohibits excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment. The 9th states that enumeration of certain rights in the Constitution does not mean the abrogation of rights not mentioned. The 10th reserves to the states and people any powers not delegated to the federal government.
billfish Any of several long-jawed fishes, especially those in the family Istiophoridae, including marlins, spearfishes, and SAiLFiSHes. The name is also applied to the gar, needlefish, and sauries (family Scomberesocidae), as well as to the swordfish (family Xiphiidae).
billiards Any of various games played on a cloth-topped, cushion-railed rectangular table by driving small, hard balls against one another or into
pockets with a long stick called a cue. Carom, or French billiards, is played with three balls, two white and one red, on a table without pockets. The object is to stroke the white cue ball so that it hits the two object balls in succession, scoring a carom (one point). English billiards is also played with three balls but on a pocketed table; it is scored in various ways. Snooker is another popular British billiards game. The principal billiards game in North America is pocket billiards, or pool. The Billiard Congress of America controls U.S. tournament play, including the U.S. Open Pock¬ ets Billiard Championship, regarded as the world championship.
Billings City (pop., 2000: 89,847), south-central Montana, U.S. Origi¬ nally settled on the Yellowstone River in 1877 as Coulson, Billings was renamed in 1882 in honour of Frederick Billings, president of the North¬ ern Pacific Railway Company. It is now a trading and shipping point for wool, livestock, and agriculture. Nearby Pictograph Cave State Monu¬ ment has prehistoric artifacts.
Billings, John Shaw (b. April 12, 1838, Switzerland county, Ind., U.S.—d. March 11, 1913, New York, N.Y.) U.S. surgeon and librarian. He worked for the U.S. Army 1861-95. He fostered the growth of the surgeon general’s library in Washington, D.C., developing what would become the National Library of Medicine, the world’s largest medical reference centre. He founded the monthly Index Medicus (1879), still one of the primary U.S. medical bibliographies, and published the first Index Catalogue (1880-95). He also designed Johns Hopkins Hospital and was its medical adviser, ran national vital statistics programs, led the U.S. effort to end yellow fever, and was the first director of the New York Pub¬ lic Library. His organization of U.S. medical institutions was central to modernization of hospital care and maintenance of public health.
Billings, William (b. Oct. 7, 1746, Boston, Mass.—d. Sept. 26, 1800, Boston, Mass., U.S.) American hymn composer, sometimes called the first American composer. A tanner by trade, he was largely self-taught in music. His robust and primitive style, lacking instrumental parts, has seemed to embody the distinctive virtues of early America. His New England Psalm-Singer {111 0) was the first published collection of Ameri¬ can music; his other works include The Singing Master’s Assistant (1778) and The Continental Harmony (1794).
Billiton \be-'le-,ton\ or Belitung Xba-'le-.tuqN Island, Bangka-Belitung province, west-central Indonesia. Lying on the Karimata Strait between the islands of Bangka (west) and Borneo (northeast), it is situated between the South China Sea (north) and Java Sea (south). It is some 55 mi (90 km) long and 45 mi (70 km) wide, with an area of about 1,850 sq mi (4,800 sq km). The main town and port is Tanjungpandan. Billiton was ceded to the British in 1812 by the sultan of Palembang, Sumatra, but Britain recognized the Dutch claim in 1824. The island became part of Indonesia after World War II. It is important for its tin mines, discovered in 1851.