This is the time of the year for top 10 lists.

The end of the year produces lists that cover: top news stories, top entertainment stories and top sports stories.

Other lists cover more unusual topics. Some that caught our eye include: the Top 10 Heroes, the 10 Most "Generous' Nations, the Richest People in the World, and the 10 Reasons Pigeons Are Unappreciated.

Adele put out the top selling song of 2015, according to a music website. (AP Photo)

As for pigeons, listverse.com's reasons these birds should be loved more include: People have been raising them for 6,000 years and there are some 350 breeds. Who knew?

CNN puts out a list every year of The Top 10 Heroes for volunteer work. Leading the list this year was Maggie Doyne of New Jersey.

Doyne, a 28-year-old, turned $5,000 in earnings from her teen-age babysitting days to buy land in Nepal. On that land, she set up a school, women's center and home for children.

Here are some of the top 10 lists for 2015.

• The website top100songscenter.com listed "Hello" by Adele; "Sorry" by Justin Bieber, and "Hotline Bling" by Drake as the top songs of 2015.

• Bill Gates topped the list of the richest people in the world, according to Forbes.com. Gates is founder of Microsoft and co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. No. 2 on the list is Carlos Slim from Mexico. He is the head of two of ‘Mexico's top corporations, Telmex and America Movil.
• The most "generous" nations, according to aneki.com, are Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands and Sweden, based on giving per person.
• The top grossing films for 2015, according the-numbers.com website are: "Jurassic World", "The Avengers: Age of Ultron", "Inside Out", "American Sniper", "Minions", "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2", "Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force Awakens", "The Martian", and "Cinderella". The "Star Wars" film, which opened last week, is expected to rise toward the top of the list in coming days.

Lists are very popular because they compile information quickly and offer ways to compare things, events, successes and failures.

One of the most popular lists was delivered almost daily by David Letterman, a well-known television host. He, or sometimes his TV guests, read top 10 lists since 1985.

His last show in May ended with past guests reading a top 10 list that poked fun at Letterman. Comedienne and actress Tina Fey was one of them.

She said: "Thanks for finally proving men can be funny."

Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. Kathleen Struck was the editor.

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Words in This Story

entertainment – n. amusement or pleasure that comes from watching a performer, playing a game

generous – adj. freely giving or sharing money and other valuable things

pigeon – n. a gray bird that is common in cities and that has a fat body and short legs

breed – n. a particular kind of bird, dog, cat, horse, or other animal

earnings -- n. money received as wages or gained as profit

babysitting – adj. taking care of children

generous – adj. freely giving or sharing money and other valuable things

grossing – adj. the amount of money earned by a movie or other project

minion – n. someone who is not powerful or important and who obeys the orders of a powerful leader or boss

awaken – v. to wake up

compile – v. to create a CD, book, or list by gathering things

success – n. getting or achieving wealth, respect, or fame

failure – n. the act or result of failing

poke – v. to make (fun of)

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