An enforcement team targeting overcrowding, discovered twenty-six bunk beds in a four-bedroom house in Wembley. Those living there were mostly migrants. They say that despite the appalling conditions, it's the only way they can afford to live in the capital.
It’s a four-bedroom house, and a team of enforcement officers have arrived at dawn to look inside. What they find is shocking. There are 26 beds.
How many people live in this room, sir? 1, 2, 3 bunk beds, six sleeping spaces…
Another four more in this tiny room.
You pay £55…
65.
£65 per week each.
It was time for the enforcement team to do some maths. What might the landlord earn from this one property in Wembley?
We think there are up to 26 people living in this property, paying somewhere between £60 and £65 a week so we’re looking at an income on this property of around £1,500 a week, which is around £80,000 a year income.
But there was even more to come. Outside, inspectors found a shack, and inside, two more beds and a woman living here, who wasn’t happy with the conditions.
So you can’t stand the mice and the rats scurrying around midnight.
Dreadful, isn’t it, to think that somebody can be exploited to living in what isn’t even a shed, it’s a lean-to.
So how many people might be living in conditions like this across London? Well, Brent Council has a ready prosecuted 30 landlord in a year, and taking in other councils there have been at least 300 raids in 12 months. This house in Kingsbury has now been boarded up. Inside, inspectors found 17 beds. The men living here, thought to be Romanian, have now moved on. In Harrow, there's another four-bedroomed house, not quite so crowded. Until recently 13 people, mainly from Hungary, had been living here, but they are not happy. One of the tenants has armed himself with a baseball bat.
Because I’m gonna protect ourselves.
The tenants here claim their landlord gave them just two weeks’ notice to get out and when they objected, two strange men turned up outside the property.
Walking up and down, punching in the air.
Just jumping around, preparing to the fight.
Harrow Council has now warned the landlord to respect tenants rights. He’s declined to comment, saying it’s going to court. The tenants say they have no choice but to live in conditions like these.
I think because this is the cheapest where you can find a room.
And back at that Wembley house with 26 beds, Bagarald told us he lives here because his job as a carer for the elderly pays so little.
I’m paid twenty pounds per day.
Meish works as a casual builder and downs sixty to eighty pounds a day but says even living here his life is better than back home in India.
This country is money. Our conditions is money.
The landlord here now faces prosecution, but without alternative very cheap accommodation, many thousands of low-paid workers may continue to live in similar conditions.
Gareth Furby, BBC London News.
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Intermedio2. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Intermedio2. Mostrar todas las entradas
viernes, 16 de junio de 2017
jueves, 15 de junio de 2017
Shakespearean theatre uncovered in London
Under an old warehouse in Shoreditch, secrets of London's 16th Century Theatreland are being painstakingly uncovered. Thousands of artefacts have been uncovered giving us more clues about Elizabethan life.
Three meters under what was an old warehouse in Curtain Road Shoreditch, secrets of London’s 16th century theatre land are painstakingly uncovered.
It’s a hugely exciting project to be part of, and it’s not just that here we are with all that chance to look at one of this really rare buildings which is connected to people such as William Shakespeare, but it’s also what’s gonna happen to the archaeology at the end.
The Curtain Playhouse was one of London’s first theatres. Historians believe this was the first place where Shakespeare performed some of his plays. The rectangular shape of the stage and the mysterious underground tunnel are puzzling archaeologists.
You realise the size and shape of the stage, but these were doorways that would allow access under the stage so, again, you know, how were actors using that space, how does that influence what you can form on the stage itself. It’s asking a whole range of questions that can really kind of change our understanding of the evolution of early English drama.
We’ve got this lovely drinking jug…
Thousands of Elizabethan artefacts have also been found, including the cones everyone carried for tackling headlights.
These are tops from ceramic pots that would’ve been used to collect theatre-goers takings. They were sealed to prevent theft, and taken to a special office to break them open and transfer the money to a strongbox, hence the term box office, still in use today.
16th century audiences were apparently a rowdy bunch.
There would’ve been thousands coming to these places. We know about pawnshops, in fact there was a famous pawnshop at the door of The Curtain in 1613, we know people were eating and drinking, we know that people would throw rotten apples or whatever at the actors if they didn’t like it.
The Curtain Theatre and artefacts will be on show to the public when an office and housing development opens near the sight in 2019.
Yvonne Hall, BBC London News, Shoreditch.
Three meters under what was an old warehouse in Curtain Road Shoreditch, secrets of London’s 16th century theatre land are painstakingly uncovered.
It’s a hugely exciting project to be part of, and it’s not just that here we are with all that chance to look at one of this really rare buildings which is connected to people such as William Shakespeare, but it’s also what’s gonna happen to the archaeology at the end.
The Curtain Playhouse was one of London’s first theatres. Historians believe this was the first place where Shakespeare performed some of his plays. The rectangular shape of the stage and the mysterious underground tunnel are puzzling archaeologists.
You realise the size and shape of the stage, but these were doorways that would allow access under the stage so, again, you know, how were actors using that space, how does that influence what you can form on the stage itself. It’s asking a whole range of questions that can really kind of change our understanding of the evolution of early English drama.
We’ve got this lovely drinking jug…
Thousands of Elizabethan artefacts have also been found, including the cones everyone carried for tackling headlights.
These are tops from ceramic pots that would’ve been used to collect theatre-goers takings. They were sealed to prevent theft, and taken to a special office to break them open and transfer the money to a strongbox, hence the term box office, still in use today.
16th century audiences were apparently a rowdy bunch.
There would’ve been thousands coming to these places. We know about pawnshops, in fact there was a famous pawnshop at the door of The Curtain in 1613, we know people were eating and drinking, we know that people would throw rotten apples or whatever at the actors if they didn’t like it.
The Curtain Theatre and artefacts will be on show to the public when an office and housing development opens near the sight in 2019.
Yvonne Hall, BBC London News, Shoreditch.
lunes, 12 de junio de 2017
BBC News summary
Listen to six short BBC news items and choose the option a, b or c which best summarizes each. 0 is an example.
0. Example:
a) The new book shows you how to purify water by adding copper and silver nanoparticles.
b) The new book's pages are contaminated with copper and silver nanoparticles.
c) The new book's pages are used as filters which can clean dirty water.
1.
a) A new superbug has been found which can’t be cured by antibiotics.
b) A new superbug has been found which can only be cured by Colisten.
c) A new antibiotic has been developed which can cure superbugs.
2.
a) The Solar Impulse has had to make an emergency landing in the Pacific Ocean.
b) The Solar Impulse is exactly halfway through its journey across the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Hawaii.
c) The Solar Impulse is crossing the Pacific Ocean and is unable to land until it gets to Hawaii.
3.
a) An unarmed black teenager has been shot dead at a rally in the US state of Missouri.
b) Two people have been killed after shooting at each other during a rally in the US state of Missouri.
c) People have started shooting guns at a rally in the US state of Missouri.
4.
a) Maria Sharapova has been banned from playing tennis after drugs were found in her body.
b) One of Maria Sharapova's sponsors has stopped employing her after drugs were found in her body.
c) Maria Sharapova has denied using banned drugs after a banned substance was found in her body.
5.
a) The World Health Organisation has published a report about red meat and cancer.
b) The World Health Organisation has published a report which says red meat causes cancer.
c) The World Health Organisation will publish a report on research about red meat and cancer.
6.
a) Researchers say there are only 2,000 types of plants left in the world.
b) Researchers have discovered 2,000 types of new plants but also say many are at risk.
c) Researchers say 2,000 plants are at risk of dying out.
0.
Researchers in the United States have designed an instruction book on how to purify water, with the pages themselves doubling as water filters. Tests show that when ripped out, the pages, which are impregnated with copper or silver nanoparticles, killed almost all of the bacteria counts in contaminated water.
1.
Health officials in the United States say a superbug resistant to all known antibiotics has been found in the country for the first time. The case involves a woman infected with a strain of the e-coli bacteria resistant to Colisten, an antibiotic of last resort.
2.
The team behind a solar-powered plane, which is aiming to fly around the world, say it's past the point of no return on the longest leg of its journey. The Solar Impulse is crossing the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Hawaii – a journey that will take five days. It's risky because there's nowhere to land in an emergency.
3.
There's been an outbreak of gunfire in the city of Ferguson in the US state of Missouri towards the end of a rally to remember an unarmed black teenager, shot dead by a white policeman a year ago. Two people were shot in an exchange of fire. One person was seriously wounded.
4.
The sportswear company Nike says it's suspending its relationship with the Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova after she announced that she'd failed a drugs test at this year's Australian Open. Nike said it would await the outcome of an investigation. Sharapova earlier said she had tested positive for meldonium, a drug used to treat blood flow restriction, and had failed to notice that the tennis authorities had moved it to the list of banned substances last December. She said that she had let her fans down.
5.
The World Health Organisation is due to publish a report today on whether some kinds of meat can increase the risk of cancer. The WHO's agency for research on cancer has been reviewing evidence on red and processed meats.
6.
A new report on the state of the world's plants says that more than 2,000 new species were discovered last year alone including a three-metre-tall orchid and a sprawling insect-eating sundew plant from Brazil. But the researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens in London warned that a fifth of all plants were at risk of extinction – vulnerable to climate change, habitat loss or disease.
KEY:
1A 2C 3C 4A 5C 6B
0. Example:
a) The new book shows you how to purify water by adding copper and silver nanoparticles.
b) The new book's pages are contaminated with copper and silver nanoparticles.
c) The new book's pages are used as filters which can clean dirty water.
1.
a) A new superbug has been found which can’t be cured by antibiotics.
b) A new superbug has been found which can only be cured by Colisten.
c) A new antibiotic has been developed which can cure superbugs.
2.
a) The Solar Impulse has had to make an emergency landing in the Pacific Ocean.
b) The Solar Impulse is exactly halfway through its journey across the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Hawaii.
c) The Solar Impulse is crossing the Pacific Ocean and is unable to land until it gets to Hawaii.
3.
a) An unarmed black teenager has been shot dead at a rally in the US state of Missouri.
b) Two people have been killed after shooting at each other during a rally in the US state of Missouri.
c) People have started shooting guns at a rally in the US state of Missouri.
4.
a) Maria Sharapova has been banned from playing tennis after drugs were found in her body.
b) One of Maria Sharapova's sponsors has stopped employing her after drugs were found in her body.
c) Maria Sharapova has denied using banned drugs after a banned substance was found in her body.
5.
a) The World Health Organisation has published a report about red meat and cancer.
b) The World Health Organisation has published a report which says red meat causes cancer.
c) The World Health Organisation will publish a report on research about red meat and cancer.
6.
a) Researchers say there are only 2,000 types of plants left in the world.
b) Researchers have discovered 2,000 types of new plants but also say many are at risk.
c) Researchers say 2,000 plants are at risk of dying out.
0.
Researchers in the United States have designed an instruction book on how to purify water, with the pages themselves doubling as water filters. Tests show that when ripped out, the pages, which are impregnated with copper or silver nanoparticles, killed almost all of the bacteria counts in contaminated water.
1.
Health officials in the United States say a superbug resistant to all known antibiotics has been found in the country for the first time. The case involves a woman infected with a strain of the e-coli bacteria resistant to Colisten, an antibiotic of last resort.
2.
The team behind a solar-powered plane, which is aiming to fly around the world, say it's past the point of no return on the longest leg of its journey. The Solar Impulse is crossing the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Hawaii – a journey that will take five days. It's risky because there's nowhere to land in an emergency.
3.
There's been an outbreak of gunfire in the city of Ferguson in the US state of Missouri towards the end of a rally to remember an unarmed black teenager, shot dead by a white policeman a year ago. Two people were shot in an exchange of fire. One person was seriously wounded.
4.
The sportswear company Nike says it's suspending its relationship with the Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova after she announced that she'd failed a drugs test at this year's Australian Open. Nike said it would await the outcome of an investigation. Sharapova earlier said she had tested positive for meldonium, a drug used to treat blood flow restriction, and had failed to notice that the tennis authorities had moved it to the list of banned substances last December. She said that she had let her fans down.
5.
The World Health Organisation is due to publish a report today on whether some kinds of meat can increase the risk of cancer. The WHO's agency for research on cancer has been reviewing evidence on red and processed meats.
6.
A new report on the state of the world's plants says that more than 2,000 new species were discovered last year alone including a three-metre-tall orchid and a sprawling insect-eating sundew plant from Brazil. But the researchers from the Royal Botanic Gardens in London warned that a fifth of all plants were at risk of extinction – vulnerable to climate change, habitat loss or disease.
KEY:
1A 2C 3C 4A 5C 6B
sábado, 10 de junio de 2017
Preparing the EOI B1 and B2 exam with Marek Connel
Marek Connell is an English teacher with a YouTube channel who regularly posts videos on aspects of oral English for intermediate-to-advanced learners.
He has put together a collection of videos to help Spanish students of English prepare for the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas speaking exam at intermediate (B1) and upper-intermediate (B2) level by giving them examples of what a native speaker would/could say in the oral paper.
Each video deals with a different topic and in them Marek provides strategies and vocabulary which prove really helpful for students to resort to.
I have compiled a list of all the exam-related videos Marek has made. The B1/B2 tag is Marek's and it is very likely that it doesn't coincide with the level the topic is assigned to in the students' region.
Healthy eating
Motivation
Leisure time
Living in a city or the country
Illegal downloading
Work conditions
Stress (B1)
Parental Relationships (B1)
Sports (B1)
Animals and pets (B1)
Education (B1)
Stereotypes (B1)
Travelling (B2)
Mad about shopping (B2)
Science and technology (B2)
Breaking the law (B2)
Relationships (B2)
The world of work (B2)
Environment and climate change (B2)
He has put together a collection of videos to help Spanish students of English prepare for the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas speaking exam at intermediate (B1) and upper-intermediate (B2) level by giving them examples of what a native speaker would/could say in the oral paper.
Each video deals with a different topic and in them Marek provides strategies and vocabulary which prove really helpful for students to resort to.
I have compiled a list of all the exam-related videos Marek has made. The B1/B2 tag is Marek's and it is very likely that it doesn't coincide with the level the topic is assigned to in the students' region.
Healthy eating
Motivation
Leisure time
Living in a city or the country
Illegal downloading
Work conditions
Stress (B1)
Parental Relationships (B1)
Sports (B1)
Animals and pets (B1)
Education (B1)
Stereotypes (B1)
Travelling (B2)
Mad about shopping (B2)
Science and technology (B2)
Breaking the law (B2)
Relationships (B2)
The world of work (B2)
Environment and climate change (B2)
viernes, 9 de junio de 2017
How to save money every day
Making simple changes to your spending can be an easy way to help you start saving. Learn how to save money on everyday expenses like groceries, transportation and entertainment.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. What can you do not to buy on impulse at the supermarket?
2. Why may sales or discounts not be advisable?
3. 'It is advisable to save on the things that are important to us.' True or false?
4. How can you prevent throwing away spoiled groceries?
5. What time of the day is electricity cheaper?
6. How can you find out what petrol stations offer the cheapest fuel?
7. What is ‘a spontaneous meal out’ an example of?
You probably already know some of the basics, like how making your own coffee or bringing your lunch to work can help you save hundreds of dollars a year. If you're doing that, definitely keep it up. But let's look at a few other ways you can save on everyday expenses and how some simple decisions that you make every day can help you save money.
The supermarket is a great place to start because there are a lot of easy ways to cut down on your shopping bill. You may already be doing things like making a list to cut back on impulse buying, clipping coupons, or using apps to find deals, and even looking at the price per unit to help you get the most for your money.
But there are even more ways you can save. For example, when you see a sale or discount, be strategic. Sales and discounts can be great opportunities to save on things you need, but stores often offer incentives for items that a lot of people wouldn't normally get. So it can pay to be selective when considering any discounts you might be offered.
And while you're considering priorities, spend on what's important, save on what's not. For example, for some people, things like organic food or your favourite brands might be important to you; for others, what's important may be different. The point is that it might be worthwhile to spend a bit more on the items you care about but look for ways to save on the things that are less important to you to keep you on budget. Making simple trade-offs like these can help you save money without giving up what's important.
Finally, before you even make a shopping list, consider your actual eating and cooking habits. A good idea is to plan your meals ahead of time or challenge yourself to eat at least one more meal at home each week. This may help prevent you from tossing out spoiled groceries that you didn't eat or ordering takeout because you didn't buy enough food for the week. This can save you hundreds of dollars each year.
Keeping with household expenses and bills, you probably already turn off the lights when you leave a room and unplug gadgets when you aren't using them, right? But there are some other small changes you can make that can help you save even more around the house. For example, did you know that most utility companies charge more for electricity during different parts of the day? Peak hours, like the middle of the day, when more people are using electricity, often have substantially higher rates compared to early mornings or late at night. Doing your laundry or running your dishwasher off peak can likely help you save on your utility bill. You can check out your utility company's website to see if they list their peak hours or contact them directly.
Let's move on to transportation. Gas prices can be unpredictable, but technology could be a way to help you save. There are plenty of websites and apps that can help you locate which gas station in your area might be offering the cheapest prices. And depending on how often you drive and where you live, you may consider ditching your car altogether. Public transportation might be one option, and there are a number of car-sharing programs that allow you to affordably rent vehicles short term. And for the truly dedicated, how about biking? It's certainly a cost-effective and healthy alternative to both driving and public transportation.
It can be easy to follow others into overspending, but try getting creative and occasionally plan activities with your friends and family ahead of time that can help you avoid temptations, like a spontaneous meal out.
Saving money doesn't have to mean sacrificing fun! It pays to take some time to figure out where you're spending and what you're willing to cut back on. You don't necessarily have to do the math on every single decision you make, but being mindful of where your money is going and how simple trade-offs here or there can add up over the long run can help you get creative and find your own ways to trim costs every day.
KEY:
1 make a list, clip coupons, use apps to find deals, look at the price per unit
2 because many people don’t need those products
3 false
4 by having one more meal at home each week
5 in the early morning or late at night
6 through websites and apps
7 temptations that lead to overspending
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. What can you do not to buy on impulse at the supermarket?
2. Why may sales or discounts not be advisable?
3. 'It is advisable to save on the things that are important to us.' True or false?
4. How can you prevent throwing away spoiled groceries?
5. What time of the day is electricity cheaper?
6. How can you find out what petrol stations offer the cheapest fuel?
7. What is ‘a spontaneous meal out’ an example of?
You probably already know some of the basics, like how making your own coffee or bringing your lunch to work can help you save hundreds of dollars a year. If you're doing that, definitely keep it up. But let's look at a few other ways you can save on everyday expenses and how some simple decisions that you make every day can help you save money.
The supermarket is a great place to start because there are a lot of easy ways to cut down on your shopping bill. You may already be doing things like making a list to cut back on impulse buying, clipping coupons, or using apps to find deals, and even looking at the price per unit to help you get the most for your money.
But there are even more ways you can save. For example, when you see a sale or discount, be strategic. Sales and discounts can be great opportunities to save on things you need, but stores often offer incentives for items that a lot of people wouldn't normally get. So it can pay to be selective when considering any discounts you might be offered.
And while you're considering priorities, spend on what's important, save on what's not. For example, for some people, things like organic food or your favourite brands might be important to you; for others, what's important may be different. The point is that it might be worthwhile to spend a bit more on the items you care about but look for ways to save on the things that are less important to you to keep you on budget. Making simple trade-offs like these can help you save money without giving up what's important.
Finally, before you even make a shopping list, consider your actual eating and cooking habits. A good idea is to plan your meals ahead of time or challenge yourself to eat at least one more meal at home each week. This may help prevent you from tossing out spoiled groceries that you didn't eat or ordering takeout because you didn't buy enough food for the week. This can save you hundreds of dollars each year.
Keeping with household expenses and bills, you probably already turn off the lights when you leave a room and unplug gadgets when you aren't using them, right? But there are some other small changes you can make that can help you save even more around the house. For example, did you know that most utility companies charge more for electricity during different parts of the day? Peak hours, like the middle of the day, when more people are using electricity, often have substantially higher rates compared to early mornings or late at night. Doing your laundry or running your dishwasher off peak can likely help you save on your utility bill. You can check out your utility company's website to see if they list their peak hours or contact them directly.
Let's move on to transportation. Gas prices can be unpredictable, but technology could be a way to help you save. There are plenty of websites and apps that can help you locate which gas station in your area might be offering the cheapest prices. And depending on how often you drive and where you live, you may consider ditching your car altogether. Public transportation might be one option, and there are a number of car-sharing programs that allow you to affordably rent vehicles short term. And for the truly dedicated, how about biking? It's certainly a cost-effective and healthy alternative to both driving and public transportation.
It can be easy to follow others into overspending, but try getting creative and occasionally plan activities with your friends and family ahead of time that can help you avoid temptations, like a spontaneous meal out.
Saving money doesn't have to mean sacrificing fun! It pays to take some time to figure out where you're spending and what you're willing to cut back on. You don't necessarily have to do the math on every single decision you make, but being mindful of where your money is going and how simple trade-offs here or there can add up over the long run can help you get creative and find your own ways to trim costs every day.
KEY:
1 make a list, clip coupons, use apps to find deals, look at the price per unit
2 because many people don’t need those products
3 false
4 by having one more meal at home each week
5 in the early morning or late at night
6 through websites and apps
7 temptations that lead to overspending
jueves, 8 de junio de 2017
Emilia Clarke gives advice to her 18-year-old self
Emilia Clarke gives heartfelt advice to her 18-year-old self. From her career, to dating, to school, to family, and everything in-between, Emilia reveals what she wishes she knew at that formative age.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. What is the journey going to bring for Emilia?
2. What doesn’t she need to do at parties?
3. How does she see herself physically?
4. How does she feel with some relationships?
5. What effect is a heartbreak going to have on her?
6. What does she have to do with the people she really loves?
Dear Emilia,
You just turned 18. So, as your future self, here is some advice that I'd like to give you.
This particular journey that you're on is unlike any one of your friends that you're with right now. What they're doing is gonna bring them joy and happiness, and what you're doing is also gonna bring you maybe a little more struggle, and some joy and happiness as well. There are gonna be times when someone says that dream that you've had, your entire life, the moment when someone says that's not possible, it is. I know you didn't get into drama school this time around, but you will. You have the strength to overcome it.
And you can go to the parties, and you're gonna have fun at the parties, but you don't need to do everything that everyone's doing. You know, ain't nothing wrong with a Diet Coke, ain't nothing wrong.
Eighteen-year-old Emilia, I'm gonna quote this sunscreen song at you. I know you know it. You are not as fat as you think you are. There are some women who look some way, and there are other women who look another way, like, a whole other way. And the way that the other women look, people love, because they look like women.
So, when it comes to relationship advice, there's other things that come along with relationships. You think that they're, like inspecting everything and, you know, and kinda looking at you in a way of, sort of, that makes you feel uncomfortable or judged or whatever it is. Chances are they're not. Chances are they're just super happy to be there.
You're gonna feel some serious heartbreak. You're gonna feel some, like, proper... some proper things. And the reason why it's gonna hurt so much... It's because that heartbreak is gonna make you doubt yourself. You put yourself out on a plate and you bare everything, and someone says that they don't really like that. So that makes you feel... like you're not worth it. But you are, and there's lots of people who are gonna tell you that you are worth it.
The people in your life, when all the lights are off, the real people who you really love, just hug them, like, every day.
Okay. So parting words, little Emilia... littler Emilia, I'm just gonna say that, um, you know, it's autumn right now, because it's October, but... winter is coming. And wear sunscreen!
Love, Emilia
KEY:
1 struggle, happiness, joy
2 everything that everyone is doing
3 fat
4 uncomfortable or judged
5 it’s going to make her doubt herself
6 hug them every day
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. What is the journey going to bring for Emilia?
2. What doesn’t she need to do at parties?
3. How does she see herself physically?
4. How does she feel with some relationships?
5. What effect is a heartbreak going to have on her?
6. What does she have to do with the people she really loves?
Dear Emilia,
You just turned 18. So, as your future self, here is some advice that I'd like to give you.
This particular journey that you're on is unlike any one of your friends that you're with right now. What they're doing is gonna bring them joy and happiness, and what you're doing is also gonna bring you maybe a little more struggle, and some joy and happiness as well. There are gonna be times when someone says that dream that you've had, your entire life, the moment when someone says that's not possible, it is. I know you didn't get into drama school this time around, but you will. You have the strength to overcome it.
And you can go to the parties, and you're gonna have fun at the parties, but you don't need to do everything that everyone's doing. You know, ain't nothing wrong with a Diet Coke, ain't nothing wrong.
Eighteen-year-old Emilia, I'm gonna quote this sunscreen song at you. I know you know it. You are not as fat as you think you are. There are some women who look some way, and there are other women who look another way, like, a whole other way. And the way that the other women look, people love, because they look like women.
So, when it comes to relationship advice, there's other things that come along with relationships. You think that they're, like inspecting everything and, you know, and kinda looking at you in a way of, sort of, that makes you feel uncomfortable or judged or whatever it is. Chances are they're not. Chances are they're just super happy to be there.
You're gonna feel some serious heartbreak. You're gonna feel some, like, proper... some proper things. And the reason why it's gonna hurt so much... It's because that heartbreak is gonna make you doubt yourself. You put yourself out on a plate and you bare everything, and someone says that they don't really like that. So that makes you feel... like you're not worth it. But you are, and there's lots of people who are gonna tell you that you are worth it.
The people in your life, when all the lights are off, the real people who you really love, just hug them, like, every day.
Okay. So parting words, little Emilia... littler Emilia, I'm just gonna say that, um, you know, it's autumn right now, because it's October, but... winter is coming. And wear sunscreen!
Love, Emilia
KEY:
1 struggle, happiness, joy
2 everything that everyone is doing
3 fat
4 uncomfortable or judged
5 it’s going to make her doubt herself
6 hug them every day
miércoles, 7 de junio de 2017
Talking point: Travel
This week's talking point is travel. Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, go over the questions below so that ideas come to mind more easily the day you get together with your friends and you can work out vocabulary problems beforehand.
Do you like travelling? Why (not)?
What is the difference between a tourist and a traveller?
Look at the list of some benefits of travelling. Rank them in order of importance.
Look at the following types of holidays.
Which of them do you have experience of?
Which of them do you find most appealing? Why?
People now travel more than in the past. Why do you think this is?
‘Getting there is half the fun.’ How far do you agree with this?
To illustrate the topic you can watch Alain de Botton's documentary The art of travel.
Do you like travelling? Why (not)?
What is the difference between a tourist and a traveller?
Look at the list of some benefits of travelling. Rank them in order of importance.
broadens your mind
enables you to get first hand experience of new places.
enables you to learn about new cultures
gives you the opportunity to try out foreign cuisine
helps you get away from your daily routine
Look at the following types of holidays.
Which of them do you have experience of?
Which of them do you find most appealing? Why?
A cycling holiday
A skiing holiday
A working holiday
A relaxing holiday
An adventure holiday
A camping holiday
A cruise
A city break
People now travel more than in the past. Why do you think this is?
‘Getting there is half the fun.’ How far do you agree with this?
To illustrate the topic you can watch Alain de Botton's documentary The art of travel.
martes, 6 de junio de 2017
88-year-old retires and lives on cruise ship
An estimated 24 million people are expected to take cruises this year. One report showed more than a quarter of them are age 60 or older, and more than one-fifth are retired. For many of those passengers, the ships are like a second home, but for one woman, ocean liner Crystal Serenity is her only home.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. How often does Lee Wachtstetter talk to her family?
2. How long has she been living on the Crystal Serenity?
3. What is the last thing Lee’s husband told her?
4. What does she say about her grandchildren?
5. Why does she love it when everybody goes touring and she stays on board?
6. What does ‘5.15’ mean?
7. How much do it cost for Lee to live on the ship?
8. How long did it take a ship to cross the Northwest Passage when it was first done?
An estimated 24 million people are expected to take cruises this year. One report showed more than a quarter of them are age 60 or older, and more than one-fifth are retired. For many of those passengers, ships are like a second home, but for one woman, the ocean liner is her only home. CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg met her while covering another story on board. Peter, good morning.
Good morning, Nora. Part of the reason cruises are so popular for retirees is because so much is taken care of for them, the cooking, cleaning, entertainment, all the activities. But when the cruise is over, most of them return home to their regular lives. But Lee Wachtstetter showed us how she found a way to travel the world without ever leaving home.
Did you miss me?
I did.
You could say 88-year-old Lee Wachtstetter has earned her sea legs.
How often are you talking to the family at home?
I talk to them every day.
Okay.
I’ll talk to them twice a day if it means I don’t have to be there.
Aboard the Crystal Serenity, she’s known simply as Mama Lee and she’s been living there for the past eight years.
I don’t have to shop, I don’t have to cook, I don’t have to do anything. I do what I want, when I want, if I want.
She and her late husband, Mason, took nearly 100 cruises together before he died in 1997.
The last thing he ever said to me, this was the day before he died, ‘Don’t you quit cruising.’ I started frequent cruising. But I got very, very tired of packing and unpacking. So I said, there’s got to be a better way to do this.
And the answer was, how about I don’t leave it at all!
Mama Lee sold her house in Florida, along with her car and most of her belongings, and never looked back.
Everybody knows her, she knows everybody.
Birger Vorland is captain of the Crystal Serenity.
She’s a little bit of a diva, in a good way. She gets along with her day, and she makes herself busy, and she has her things and her opinions, and she’s a wonderful person.
At your age, there are a lot of people who would say, ‘Well, I’m going to go to a retirement place.’
Oh, no, no, no. [Really?] Not me. Why do that? I’m now a great-grandmother. My grandchildren are having children. But I don’t want to be there every minute for that. I love babies, but they grow up!
Mama Lee has now done more than 240 cruises around the world, and visited hundreds of different ports. But where the ship is going? Irrelevant. For Mama Lee, these days, the ship is the destination.
Everything is ‘Been there, done that.’ If I’ve been there and done that, I don’t go off the ship. And I love it when everybody goes touring. I got the whole ship to myself with all the help.
You’ve got this figured out!
Oh, absolutely.
And you don’t really get off the ship anymore?
What for?
Cruise director Rick Spath considers himself part of her extended family at sea.
That’s Lee, she doesn’t care where the ship goes, she loves to dance her way around the world.
I dance every single day at 5:15, 7 days a week.
Do you ever sit back and think about what your life would be like if you weren’t on the ship?
Very boring. I think I live a fairy tale existence. It’s not a real life, I realize that. Not everybody does this. But a lot of people could.
I still think I do the same dance at seven every dance.
Yes, you do, but that’s okay.
Thanks, Charlee.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. How much does it cost Lee Wachtstetter to do the cruise? He estimated about $175,000 a year. And by the way, since she goes on the cruise wherever the ship goes, she’s one of a thousand passengers who spent $22,000…, that’s the other story we’re covering, this ship was actually the largest ship ever to attempt the Northwest Passage. They started sailing from Seward all the way north going 500 miles north of the Arctic Circle back to New York. It’s a thirty-two voyage, and to put this in perspective, when it was first done in 1903, it took them three years.
Is there one place she will get off the ship?
Yes, when the ship goes into dry dock, here’s what happens, it only happens once every like six or seven years, they literally pull up to the harbour, pull up to the dock, there’s another ship there and they walk her 50 feet and she goes on another ship.
Where does she get her doctor’s appointments and stuff like that? I mean, does she… I mean…
So far she’s dancing.
Yeah, that’s great!
On the Crystal Serenity. Peter, thank you.
KEY:
1 every day
2 for eight years
3 don’t you quit cruising
4 they are having children now. She’s a grandmother
5 because she has the ship to herself
6 the time she dances at every day
7 $175,000 a year
8 three years
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. How often does Lee Wachtstetter talk to her family?
2. How long has she been living on the Crystal Serenity?
3. What is the last thing Lee’s husband told her?
4. What does she say about her grandchildren?
5. Why does she love it when everybody goes touring and she stays on board?
6. What does ‘5.15’ mean?
7. How much do it cost for Lee to live on the ship?
8. How long did it take a ship to cross the Northwest Passage when it was first done?
An estimated 24 million people are expected to take cruises this year. One report showed more than a quarter of them are age 60 or older, and more than one-fifth are retired. For many of those passengers, ships are like a second home, but for one woman, the ocean liner is her only home. CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg met her while covering another story on board. Peter, good morning.
Good morning, Nora. Part of the reason cruises are so popular for retirees is because so much is taken care of for them, the cooking, cleaning, entertainment, all the activities. But when the cruise is over, most of them return home to their regular lives. But Lee Wachtstetter showed us how she found a way to travel the world without ever leaving home.
Did you miss me?
I did.
You could say 88-year-old Lee Wachtstetter has earned her sea legs.
How often are you talking to the family at home?
I talk to them every day.
Okay.
I’ll talk to them twice a day if it means I don’t have to be there.
Aboard the Crystal Serenity, she’s known simply as Mama Lee and she’s been living there for the past eight years.
I don’t have to shop, I don’t have to cook, I don’t have to do anything. I do what I want, when I want, if I want.
She and her late husband, Mason, took nearly 100 cruises together before he died in 1997.
The last thing he ever said to me, this was the day before he died, ‘Don’t you quit cruising.’ I started frequent cruising. But I got very, very tired of packing and unpacking. So I said, there’s got to be a better way to do this.
And the answer was, how about I don’t leave it at all!
Mama Lee sold her house in Florida, along with her car and most of her belongings, and never looked back.
Everybody knows her, she knows everybody.
Birger Vorland is captain of the Crystal Serenity.
She’s a little bit of a diva, in a good way. She gets along with her day, and she makes herself busy, and she has her things and her opinions, and she’s a wonderful person.
At your age, there are a lot of people who would say, ‘Well, I’m going to go to a retirement place.’
Oh, no, no, no. [Really?] Not me. Why do that? I’m now a great-grandmother. My grandchildren are having children. But I don’t want to be there every minute for that. I love babies, but they grow up!
Mama Lee has now done more than 240 cruises around the world, and visited hundreds of different ports. But where the ship is going? Irrelevant. For Mama Lee, these days, the ship is the destination.
Everything is ‘Been there, done that.’ If I’ve been there and done that, I don’t go off the ship. And I love it when everybody goes touring. I got the whole ship to myself with all the help.
You’ve got this figured out!
Oh, absolutely.
And you don’t really get off the ship anymore?
What for?
Cruise director Rick Spath considers himself part of her extended family at sea.
That’s Lee, she doesn’t care where the ship goes, she loves to dance her way around the world.
I dance every single day at 5:15, 7 days a week.
Do you ever sit back and think about what your life would be like if you weren’t on the ship?
Very boring. I think I live a fairy tale existence. It’s not a real life, I realize that. Not everybody does this. But a lot of people could.
I still think I do the same dance at seven every dance.
Yes, you do, but that’s okay.
Thanks, Charlee.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. How much does it cost Lee Wachtstetter to do the cruise? He estimated about $175,000 a year. And by the way, since she goes on the cruise wherever the ship goes, she’s one of a thousand passengers who spent $22,000…, that’s the other story we’re covering, this ship was actually the largest ship ever to attempt the Northwest Passage. They started sailing from Seward all the way north going 500 miles north of the Arctic Circle back to New York. It’s a thirty-two voyage, and to put this in perspective, when it was first done in 1903, it took them three years.
Is there one place she will get off the ship?
Yes, when the ship goes into dry dock, here’s what happens, it only happens once every like six or seven years, they literally pull up to the harbour, pull up to the dock, there’s another ship there and they walk her 50 feet and she goes on another ship.
Where does she get her doctor’s appointments and stuff like that? I mean, does she… I mean…
So far she’s dancing.
Yeah, that’s great!
On the Crystal Serenity. Peter, thank you.
KEY:
1 every day
2 for eight years
3 don’t you quit cruising
4 they are having children now. She’s a grandmother
5 because she has the ship to herself
6 the time she dances at every day
7 $175,000 a year
8 three years
lunes, 5 de junio de 2017
Listening test: A description of Anuta
Listen to some extracts from BBC's From Our Own Correspondent about the remote Pacific island of Anuta and choose the heading A-I which best corresponds to each extract. 0 is an example.
A -A long and boring journey – 0 Example
B - A principle applied in all areas of their life
C - How to solve conflicts
D - Not a varied menu
E - Opposing worlds
F - Some misunderstandings
G - The most welcoming community
H - We might not go back
I - Youth problems
0
Sailing from Santa Cruz, in the eastern Solomons, it took us five days to reach Anuta. It was one of the most tedious journeys I have made, the continuous pitching of our small yacht making it impossible to either read or write. So it was with some relief when the speck of land that was Anuta finally appeared on the horizon.
1
We were their first visitors in two years. For a moment though, the feeling of isolation was overshadowed by Joseph’s T-shirt, which was emblazoned with the words ‘Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas’. It would be hard to imagine a greater contrast between two places. Las Vegas, the capital of excess, and little Anuta where even a mirror is considered a luxury. But while Anuta’s remoteness may have severely limited the quantity of consumer goods reaching the island, its isolation has forged a community spirit that would be very hard to beat.
2
The Anutans have their own word for this, aropa, which means love and compassion. It is an ideology that is applied to almost everything they do. You can see it at work in the way food and tasks are shared, but it goes further than this. Bizarrely they even adopt each other’s children. Joseph’s oldest daughter was adopted by a couple who gave him their son in return a few years later. When I asked Joseph about this, he simply said that it wasn’t an issue as Anutans saw children as communal. What was important was that everyone who wanted a child had one.
3
During our two-week stay we had at least one meal in at least every one of the 24 households. Sitting on the floor of each hut we were served communal dishes of fish and glutinous puddings of taro or manioc, all wrapped up in forest leaves. The meals, prepared by the women, were virtually identical from one hut to the other, but this was all about aropa, affection through sharing.
4
When I asked Joseph what the biggest changes have been in the last 20 years, he said ‘young people playing ukuleles’. Was this a problem? I asked, rather jokingly. ‘Well’, he replied more seriously, ‘before the ukuleles the younger generation would dance every evening. Now it is rare’. I got the same response from at least half a dozen other adults. As trivial as this sounds, it does make one think about our own, supposedly advanced, society. We worry about our children getting in with the wrong crowd, taking drugs, drinking, teenage knife crime, Anutan parents worry about their kids playing homemade ukuleles.
5
On the day we left, a group of men came onto our yacht and, with little notice, broke into their farewell song, ‘Sorrow come to us’. One of the chorus lines was: ‘Sorry we will never see your faces anymore’. It was enough to bring a lump to my throat. The lyrics had a point however. Anuta’s isolation has meant that few visitors ever return. But then, this is probably just as well. The beauty of the Anutan way of life comes from the relative absence of outside influence.
6
In the end it was easy to see what the island’s 300 people saw in the place. As a hardened traveller I do not say this lightly, but the Anutans were the most harmonious and hospitable people I have ever met.
KEY:
1E 2B 3D 4I 5H 6G
A -
B - A principle applied in all areas of their life
C - How to solve conflicts
D - Not a varied menu
E - Opposing worlds
F - Some misunderstandings
G - The most welcoming community
H - We might not go back
I - Youth problems
0
Sailing from Santa Cruz, in the eastern Solomons, it took us five days to reach Anuta. It was one of the most tedious journeys I have made, the continuous pitching of our small yacht making it impossible to either read or write. So it was with some relief when the speck of land that was Anuta finally appeared on the horizon.
1
We were their first visitors in two years. For a moment though, the feeling of isolation was overshadowed by Joseph’s T-shirt, which was emblazoned with the words ‘Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas’. It would be hard to imagine a greater contrast between two places. Las Vegas, the capital of excess, and little Anuta where even a mirror is considered a luxury. But while Anuta’s remoteness may have severely limited the quantity of consumer goods reaching the island, its isolation has forged a community spirit that would be very hard to beat.
2
The Anutans have their own word for this, aropa, which means love and compassion. It is an ideology that is applied to almost everything they do. You can see it at work in the way food and tasks are shared, but it goes further than this. Bizarrely they even adopt each other’s children. Joseph’s oldest daughter was adopted by a couple who gave him their son in return a few years later. When I asked Joseph about this, he simply said that it wasn’t an issue as Anutans saw children as communal. What was important was that everyone who wanted a child had one.
3
During our two-week stay we had at least one meal in at least every one of the 24 households. Sitting on the floor of each hut we were served communal dishes of fish and glutinous puddings of taro or manioc, all wrapped up in forest leaves. The meals, prepared by the women, were virtually identical from one hut to the other, but this was all about aropa, affection through sharing.
4
When I asked Joseph what the biggest changes have been in the last 20 years, he said ‘young people playing ukuleles’. Was this a problem? I asked, rather jokingly. ‘Well’, he replied more seriously, ‘before the ukuleles the younger generation would dance every evening. Now it is rare’. I got the same response from at least half a dozen other adults. As trivial as this sounds, it does make one think about our own, supposedly advanced, society. We worry about our children getting in with the wrong crowd, taking drugs, drinking, teenage knife crime, Anutan parents worry about their kids playing homemade ukuleles.
5
On the day we left, a group of men came onto our yacht and, with little notice, broke into their farewell song, ‘Sorrow come to us’. One of the chorus lines was: ‘Sorry we will never see your faces anymore’. It was enough to bring a lump to my throat. The lyrics had a point however. Anuta’s isolation has meant that few visitors ever return. But then, this is probably just as well. The beauty of the Anutan way of life comes from the relative absence of outside influence.
6
In the end it was easy to see what the island’s 300 people saw in the place. As a hardened traveller I do not say this lightly, but the Anutans were the most harmonious and hospitable people I have ever met.
KEY:
1E 2B 3D 4I 5H 6G
sábado, 3 de junio de 2017
Reading test: Russian explorers find 'swamp' of Soviet money
Read the BBC article Russian explorers find 'swamp' of Soviet money and choose the option A, B or C which best completes each gap. 0 is an example.
A group of explorers in Russia have found around a billion roubles in old Soviet money at an abandoned mine, but it's all completely (0) … .
The group from Saint Petersburg, who publish a blog on abandoned sites across Russia, (1) … the money after following rumours that large quantities of cash (2) … in old missile silos near Moscow after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Komsomolskaya Pravda news website reports. After travelling for several hours across rough terrain in Russia's Vladimir region, they found the mine literally overflowing with cash.
The site contains an estimated one billion roubles ($18m; £13.5m at current exchange rates, or $33.3m at the "official" Soviet rate in 1991) in Soviet Union banknotes of various denominations issued between 1961 and 1991, all (3) … legal tender in the Russian Federation. The mine (4) … in recent years, leaving what was essentially a swamp of banknotes bearing the face of Vladimir Lenin, the explorers' YouTube channel shows.
According to their (5) … of events, elderly locals told the team about the mine, but said that nobody (6) … go near the place because it was linked to the Soviet Union's ballistic missile programme, and contaminated with radiation. (7) …, Geiger counters showed that this was not the case.
Team member Olga Bogdanova said that the sight of such "riches" was difficult to convey in words. "There's delight and some sadness, (8) … you realise that this is a bygone era which will never return, that all this money would have been more than enough for anybody," she said. Just 100 roubles would have been a very good salary back in Soviet times.
Fellow explorers Anton Alekseev and Sergey Volkov were (9) … interviewed on Rossiya1 television, where the presenter noted that the (10) … was dumped following a government decision at the end of the Soviet Union, and that this might be one of at least three such sites across Russia.
The video has caught the imagination of social media users, many of whom wish that the money was (11) … legal tender. "I would dive in there like Scrooge McDuck," says one user, while another exclaimed, "I wish I (12) … have a time machine, return with a pack of those banknotes and buy myself a controlling stake in Google, Gazprom, Rosneft, and never work again."
0 Example:
A. priceless
B. valuable
C. worthless
1
A. came across
B. came round
C. came up to
2
A. had been dumped
B. have been dumped
C. have dumped
3
A. any longer
B. any more
C. no longer
4
A. drowned
B. flooded
C. inundated
5
A. account
B. narrative
C. tale
6
A. could
B. dared
C. tried
7
A. Although
B. Despite
C. However
8
A. because
B. even though
C. so
9
A. additionally
B. incidentally
C. subsequently
10
A. bucks
B. cash
C. currency
11
A. already
B. still
C. yet
12
A. can
B. could
C. will
KEY:
1A 2A 3C 4B 5A 6B 7C 8A 9A 10B 11B 12B
A group of explorers in Russia have found around a billion roubles in old Soviet money at an abandoned mine, but it's all completely (0) … .
The group from Saint Petersburg, who publish a blog on abandoned sites across Russia, (1) … the money after following rumours that large quantities of cash (2) … in old missile silos near Moscow after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Komsomolskaya Pravda news website reports. After travelling for several hours across rough terrain in Russia's Vladimir region, they found the mine literally overflowing with cash.
The site contains an estimated one billion roubles ($18m; £13.5m at current exchange rates, or $33.3m at the "official" Soviet rate in 1991) in Soviet Union banknotes of various denominations issued between 1961 and 1991, all (3) … legal tender in the Russian Federation. The mine (4) … in recent years, leaving what was essentially a swamp of banknotes bearing the face of Vladimir Lenin, the explorers' YouTube channel shows.
According to their (5) … of events, elderly locals told the team about the mine, but said that nobody (6) … go near the place because it was linked to the Soviet Union's ballistic missile programme, and contaminated with radiation. (7) …, Geiger counters showed that this was not the case.
Team member Olga Bogdanova said that the sight of such "riches" was difficult to convey in words. "There's delight and some sadness, (8) … you realise that this is a bygone era which will never return, that all this money would have been more than enough for anybody," she said. Just 100 roubles would have been a very good salary back in Soviet times.
Fellow explorers Anton Alekseev and Sergey Volkov were (9) … interviewed on Rossiya1 television, where the presenter noted that the (10) … was dumped following a government decision at the end of the Soviet Union, and that this might be one of at least three such sites across Russia.
The video has caught the imagination of social media users, many of whom wish that the money was (11) … legal tender. "I would dive in there like Scrooge McDuck," says one user, while another exclaimed, "I wish I (12) … have a time machine, return with a pack of those banknotes and buy myself a controlling stake in Google, Gazprom, Rosneft, and never work again."
0 Example:
A. priceless
B. valuable
C. worthless
1
A. came across
B. came round
C. came up to
2
A. had been dumped
B. have been dumped
C. have dumped
3
A. any longer
B. any more
C. no longer
4
A. drowned
B. flooded
C. inundated
5
A. account
B. narrative
C. tale
6
A. could
B. dared
C. tried
7
A. Although
B. Despite
C. However
8
A. because
B. even though
C. so
9
A. additionally
B. incidentally
C. subsequently
10
A. bucks
B. cash
C. currency
11
A. already
B. still
C. yet
12
A. can
B. could
C. will
Photo: BBC
KEY:
1A 2A 3C 4B 5A 6B 7C 8A 9A 10B 11B 12B
viernes, 2 de junio de 2017
I live in an airplane
Bruce Campbell lives in an airplane. The Portland-based aeronautics enthusiast makes his home in a converted Boeing 727 that was once used as a Greek aircraft until the mid-1960s and now resides in a forest near Portland.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. What are jetliners basically, in Bruce's opinion?
2. What are their qualities as homes?
3. Why might some people object to living in a jetliner?
4. When does Bruce retract the aft (at the back) airstairs?
5. Where does he sleep?
6. How many jetliners retire per day?
7. What do we do with them?
8. What do people ask Bruce about the jetliner where he lives?
Jetliners are basically flying homes. It's a sealed pressure canister. It's incredibly strong. It will last practically forever.
I'm Bruce Campbell, and you're inside the cockpit area of my 727 home. I can appreciate that some folks might feel a bit isolated or that it might simply strike them as an unusual living environment. But for me, it's always felt completely natural.
The entry is via the aft airstairs, which are retractable and are retracted whenever I leave for an extended time.
The aft area of the aircraft now is my living space. My very primitive shower is located there. The two natural aft lavatories are both functional.
Sleeping quarters are there, in the form of a simple futon sofa. And a bench, where I spend lots of time embellishing elements of the aircraft.
Jetliners retire at the rate of about three per day. For the most part, I think we shred them. And then we spin around 180 degrees and make a home, after having just shredded an aerospace class home sized structure.
If you were an extra-terrestrial looking down on this behaviour, you'd wonder whether this species has all its marbles in place or not.
People have asked me whether it crashed here, and I simply restored the wreck. That's an odd thing to hear. It's completely impractical.
Next time you're in a jetliner, close your eyes for a moment, in your mind, remove all the seats and all the other people and then open your eyes with that vision and consider the expanse of the living room.
It's a good environment, it really is.
KEY:
1 flying homes
2 incredibly strong, will last forever
3 they might feel a bit isolated or find them an unusual living environment
4 when he leaves for an extended period of time
5 on a (futon) sofa
6 three
7 we shred them
8 whether if crashed there and he restored it
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. What are jetliners basically, in Bruce's opinion?
2. What are their qualities as homes?
3. Why might some people object to living in a jetliner?
4. When does Bruce retract the aft (at the back) airstairs?
5. Where does he sleep?
6. How many jetliners retire per day?
7. What do we do with them?
8. What do people ask Bruce about the jetliner where he lives?
Jetliners are basically flying homes. It's a sealed pressure canister. It's incredibly strong. It will last practically forever.
I'm Bruce Campbell, and you're inside the cockpit area of my 727 home. I can appreciate that some folks might feel a bit isolated or that it might simply strike them as an unusual living environment. But for me, it's always felt completely natural.
The entry is via the aft airstairs, which are retractable and are retracted whenever I leave for an extended time.
The aft area of the aircraft now is my living space. My very primitive shower is located there. The two natural aft lavatories are both functional.
Sleeping quarters are there, in the form of a simple futon sofa. And a bench, where I spend lots of time embellishing elements of the aircraft.
Jetliners retire at the rate of about three per day. For the most part, I think we shred them. And then we spin around 180 degrees and make a home, after having just shredded an aerospace class home sized structure.
If you were an extra-terrestrial looking down on this behaviour, you'd wonder whether this species has all its marbles in place or not.
People have asked me whether it crashed here, and I simply restored the wreck. That's an odd thing to hear. It's completely impractical.
Next time you're in a jetliner, close your eyes for a moment, in your mind, remove all the seats and all the other people and then open your eyes with that vision and consider the expanse of the living room.
It's a good environment, it really is.
KEY:
1 flying homes
2 incredibly strong, will last forever
3 they might feel a bit isolated or find them an unusual living environment
4 when he leaves for an extended period of time
5 on a (futon) sofa
6 three
7 we shred them
8 whether if crashed there and he restored it
jueves, 1 de junio de 2017
Bird’s Eye View Of Norway’s Picture Perfect Lofoten Islands
While leading a photo tour with fellow photographer Magali Tarouca, Portuguese photographer Joel Santos dedicated as much time as possible to documenting Norway’s Lofoten Islands famous landscape with his drone camera.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and complete the blanks in the transcript with the missing words.
On a recent visit to Norway, photographer Joel Santos was able to capture the beauty of Lofoten. Lofoten is an archipelago, known for its incredibly dramatic (1) ... . And though it (2) ... within the Arctic circle, because of the Gulf Stream, the weather here is much (3) ... than other parts of the world, which are found on a similar latitude.
The landscape here is characterised by snow-capped (4) ...-..., stretches of snow covered beaches and (5) ... inlets.
For over 1000 years, the islands of Lofoten have been at the center of Atlantic cod (6) ..., especially during the winter months, when cod migrate south to spawn, right off the coast of the area.
The picture perfect cherry coloured (7) ... ... of Reine and Hamnøy were particularly (8) ... for Joel, who had always being intrigued to see the dramatic fjords.
During his visit, Joel was able to make the most of the (9) ... as the daylight during April starts from the very early hours of the morning and lasts until 11 o’clock at night.
KEY:
1 scenery
2 lies
3 warmer
4 mountain peaks
5 sheltered
6 fishing
7 fishing villages
8 captivating
9 landscape
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and complete the blanks in the transcript with the missing words.
On a recent visit to Norway, photographer Joel Santos was able to capture the beauty of Lofoten. Lofoten is an archipelago, known for its incredibly dramatic (1) ... . And though it (2) ... within the Arctic circle, because of the Gulf Stream, the weather here is much (3) ... than other parts of the world, which are found on a similar latitude.
The landscape here is characterised by snow-capped (4) ...-..., stretches of snow covered beaches and (5) ... inlets.
For over 1000 years, the islands of Lofoten have been at the center of Atlantic cod (6) ..., especially during the winter months, when cod migrate south to spawn, right off the coast of the area.
The picture perfect cherry coloured (7) ... ... of Reine and Hamnøy were particularly (8) ... for Joel, who had always being intrigued to see the dramatic fjords.
During his visit, Joel was able to make the most of the (9) ... as the daylight during April starts from the very early hours of the morning and lasts until 11 o’clock at night.
KEY:
1 scenery
2 lies
3 warmer
4 mountain peaks
5 sheltered
6 fishing
7 fishing villages
8 captivating
9 landscape
lunes, 29 de mayo de 2017
Listening test: Are you clever
Listen to a segment of BBC's Today where John Farndon is interviewed about his book Do you think you are clever? Complete the blanks in the sentences below with up to THREE WORDS. 0 is an example.
0 Example:
One way to know how clever you are would be answering some of questions that are asked in Oxford or Cambridge entrance exams.
1 An example of a serious question is whether it is more important to focus on poverty at ____________ .
2 To weigh your own head, you find the volume of your body by immersing it ____________ , first without your head, then with it.
3 Students are completely shocked by ____________ and find them easier to remember.
4 These questions don’t normally have right or wrong answers but simply want to provoke you ____________ a bit.
5 The writer, John Farndon, thinks that in ____________ people would be driven into panic by some of these questions.
6 The reporter says that adults don’t get asked many questions like these, that it is ____________ where you get a lot of these questions.
7 Another example questions the reporter gives at the end are, If you’re not in California, how do you know it exists? Why are big fierce ____________? Are there too many people in the world?
8 When later in life you have young children and you get asked questions, the answer is always ____________.
Now, do you think you’re clever? One test would be how successful you are at answering some of the daft questions that are asked in Oxford or Cambridge entrance exams. John Farndon has compiled a book called Do You Think You’re Clever? which simply takes a bunch of those questions and he tries to answer them. He’s with us now. Good morning.
Good morning.
Let’s have some examples. There are the sort of deep ones like does a snail have a consciousness? There are the serious ones like is it more important to focus on poverty at home or poverty abroad? And there are the really interesting taxing ones like how would you weigh your own head? John Farndon, how would you weigh your own head?
Well that’s just a tricky one, it’s not one of those ones that you’re going to be asked in a scientific exam very often. Weighing it on a scale is not very practical because there’s a lot of muscle contraction, you can’t chop your head off and weigh it either, so the way round that is to use the volume, you find the volume of your body, you immerse your body in a bath to find out the volume of your body without your head and with it, and then essentially you weigh your whole body, you know what the proportion of your head is, and you can work it out from that.
Got it, it’s the use of water, very clever. These are real questions, are they? Because there are some apparently quite silly ones, aren’t there?
Yes, there are indeed, yes they are. Basically in fact quite often the silliest ones are the ones that have been memorable. They’ve all been compiled, they were compiled by the publisher and various other things, because the students who’ve been asked these questions are completely shocked and so they remember them, they report them and say, God did you remember the question I was asked, I was asked that really silly, what happens when you drop an ant?
So normally there aren’t right or wrong answers to a lot of these. [No.] They’re kind of provoking you to think a bit.
Absolutely not.
That may be the fascination of why a book like this is such a great book. You can hardly stop yourself wanting to just see the next question?
Absolutely, I think that’s one of the interesting things. I don’t think in an interview situation you… most of us would be driven into sheer panic by some of these questions, but out of that context it’s great, because what they do is they make you think along different lines, the more bizarre the question, the more thought-provoking it is.
And actually I suppose adults don’t do questions that often, do they? [No.] I mean basically you get a lot of questions at school, don’t you? And then you grow up and...
Absolutely. I mean even at school you stop thinking, but the nice thing is that actually we don’t, it’s so easy just to give a stock response to answer, and it’s the easy way out, so it’s actually very nice just to kind of relax and think, oh I can come up with an answer like this.
If you’re not in California, how do you know it exists? Why are big fierce animals so rare? Are there too many people in the world? Full of things. You’re appearing at the Oxford Literary Festival talking about it?
Yes indeed.
John Farndon, thank you very much. Thank you very much.
You do get asked questions later in life at one stage, and that is when you have young children, and the answer is always ask your mother.
KEY:
1 home or abroad
2 in a bath
3 silly questions
4 to think
5 an interview (situation)
6 at school
7 animals so rare
8 ask your mother
0 Example:
One way to know how clever you are would be answering some of questions that are asked in Oxford or Cambridge entrance exams.
1 An example of a serious question is whether it is more important to focus on poverty at ____________ .
2 To weigh your own head, you find the volume of your body by immersing it ____________ , first without your head, then with it.
3 Students are completely shocked by ____________ and find them easier to remember.
4 These questions don’t normally have right or wrong answers but simply want to provoke you ____________ a bit.
5 The writer, John Farndon, thinks that in ____________ people would be driven into panic by some of these questions.
6 The reporter says that adults don’t get asked many questions like these, that it is ____________ where you get a lot of these questions.
7 Another example questions the reporter gives at the end are, If you’re not in California, how do you know it exists? Why are big fierce ____________? Are there too many people in the world?
8 When later in life you have young children and you get asked questions, the answer is always ____________.
Now, do you think you’re clever? One test would be how successful you are at answering some of the daft questions that are asked in Oxford or Cambridge entrance exams. John Farndon has compiled a book called Do You Think You’re Clever? which simply takes a bunch of those questions and he tries to answer them. He’s with us now. Good morning.
Good morning.
Let’s have some examples. There are the sort of deep ones like does a snail have a consciousness? There are the serious ones like is it more important to focus on poverty at home or poverty abroad? And there are the really interesting taxing ones like how would you weigh your own head? John Farndon, how would you weigh your own head?
Well that’s just a tricky one, it’s not one of those ones that you’re going to be asked in a scientific exam very often. Weighing it on a scale is not very practical because there’s a lot of muscle contraction, you can’t chop your head off and weigh it either, so the way round that is to use the volume, you find the volume of your body, you immerse your body in a bath to find out the volume of your body without your head and with it, and then essentially you weigh your whole body, you know what the proportion of your head is, and you can work it out from that.
Got it, it’s the use of water, very clever. These are real questions, are they? Because there are some apparently quite silly ones, aren’t there?
Yes, there are indeed, yes they are. Basically in fact quite often the silliest ones are the ones that have been memorable. They’ve all been compiled, they were compiled by the publisher and various other things, because the students who’ve been asked these questions are completely shocked and so they remember them, they report them and say, God did you remember the question I was asked, I was asked that really silly, what happens when you drop an ant?
So normally there aren’t right or wrong answers to a lot of these. [No.] They’re kind of provoking you to think a bit.
Absolutely not.
That may be the fascination of why a book like this is such a great book. You can hardly stop yourself wanting to just see the next question?
Absolutely, I think that’s one of the interesting things. I don’t think in an interview situation you… most of us would be driven into sheer panic by some of these questions, but out of that context it’s great, because what they do is they make you think along different lines, the more bizarre the question, the more thought-provoking it is.
And actually I suppose adults don’t do questions that often, do they? [No.] I mean basically you get a lot of questions at school, don’t you? And then you grow up and...
Absolutely. I mean even at school you stop thinking, but the nice thing is that actually we don’t, it’s so easy just to give a stock response to answer, and it’s the easy way out, so it’s actually very nice just to kind of relax and think, oh I can come up with an answer like this.
If you’re not in California, how do you know it exists? Why are big fierce animals so rare? Are there too many people in the world? Full of things. You’re appearing at the Oxford Literary Festival talking about it?
Yes indeed.
John Farndon, thank you very much. Thank you very much.
You do get asked questions later in life at one stage, and that is when you have young children, and the answer is always ask your mother.
KEY:
1 home or abroad
2 in a bath
3 silly questions
4 to think
5 an interview (situation)
6 at school
7 animals so rare
8 ask your mother
viernes, 26 de mayo de 2017
How what we eat has changed
We’ve gone from roasting to processing over thousands of years. What does the future hold for our food? Watch the video above to see what we’ll be eating in decades to come.
Humanity’s relationship with food production has certainly been a fruitful one. Our constant pursuit of refining how we eat is one of the reasons there are billions of us alive today. But it’s also a key factor as to why we are greatly damaging the Earth.
It all begins with fire. As far back as 29,000 BC Central Europeans were using primitive forms of ovens, roasting pits covered by yurts. Back then, mammoth was on the menu.
As we invented tools like ploughs and mills to help turn resources from the earth into food in our bellies, we produced enough to feed houses, then villages, then towns. Human civilization established itself.
One feature of civilizations that evolved was a thing called trade, and we did a lot of it. That’s why most of today’s biggest cities are found close to rivers and trade routes.
As agricultural revolutions took place, our population exploded, our food became more resilient due to developments such as machine refrigeration and pasteurizing, invented by this guy, French chemist Louise Pasteur in 1864. We could send hundreds of thousands of men to war and feed them thanks to food storage in cans.
By the 20th century microwave ovens arrived, meaning the mammoth we cooked 30,000 years ago in a pit, could now spin around in our kitchens.
We reached a point where the scale of production needed to feed everyone was impacting the planet’s resources. By the 1990’s we were selling genetically modified tomatoes to ensure reliable crop results.
This brings us to today’s climate concerns. Current food production is responsible for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. How will we continue to feed a vastly increasing population while reducing damage to the environment? How do we tackle our global obesity epidemic and encourage healthier diets? One thing is certain, we must look immediately for new approaches. We’ve achieved it many times before, so it shouldn’t be too hard too swallow, right?
Well, that was delicious.
Humanity’s relationship with food production has certainly been a fruitful one. Our constant pursuit of refining how we eat is one of the reasons there are billions of us alive today. But it’s also a key factor as to why we are greatly damaging the Earth.
It all begins with fire. As far back as 29,000 BC Central Europeans were using primitive forms of ovens, roasting pits covered by yurts. Back then, mammoth was on the menu.
As we invented tools like ploughs and mills to help turn resources from the earth into food in our bellies, we produced enough to feed houses, then villages, then towns. Human civilization established itself.
One feature of civilizations that evolved was a thing called trade, and we did a lot of it. That’s why most of today’s biggest cities are found close to rivers and trade routes.
As agricultural revolutions took place, our population exploded, our food became more resilient due to developments such as machine refrigeration and pasteurizing, invented by this guy, French chemist Louise Pasteur in 1864. We could send hundreds of thousands of men to war and feed them thanks to food storage in cans.
By the 20th century microwave ovens arrived, meaning the mammoth we cooked 30,000 years ago in a pit, could now spin around in our kitchens.
We reached a point where the scale of production needed to feed everyone was impacting the planet’s resources. By the 1990’s we were selling genetically modified tomatoes to ensure reliable crop results.
This brings us to today’s climate concerns. Current food production is responsible for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. How will we continue to feed a vastly increasing population while reducing damage to the environment? How do we tackle our global obesity epidemic and encourage healthier diets? One thing is certain, we must look immediately for new approaches. We’ve achieved it many times before, so it shouldn’t be too hard too swallow, right?
Well, that was delicious.
jueves, 25 de mayo de 2017
Capturing the scent of a book
A smell can evoke memories of a certain time, place or experience – now scientists at University College London are documenting scents as a way of recording culturally significant artefacts. Helen Drew explains.
We read them, we learn from them, some of us even write them. Books old or new, falling apart or unread. Here at University College London's Institute of Archaeology library it’s the largest collection of conservation-related books in London. But it's not just the words written on these pages that are important. According to scientists, the smell of these books has a significance that should also be recorded.
Smells have a big impact on our everyday life: how we feel, how we think and even how we behave, so we started looking into those smells that might have cultural value to us as a society and so our first challenge was to find, identify smell that we knew people valued and the smell of old books and historic libraries appeared as a very clear case.
In this lab scientists from UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage are collecting chemicals on a tiny sensor which they then pop into a machine to separate the individual chemical compounds. These chemicals can then be used to recreate that smell in the future.
What do you think of the smell of books?
They have a rather particular smell for sure and I think it’s lovely, it's sort of musty but it's… it's really enjoyable. I love the smell of old libraries.
The smell of a book becomes associated of what you read in the book, well that can lead to all sorts of associations and sometimes the smell is enough just to remind you of what a book is.
Always when you get a new book and it's like the new smell, it's a kind of part of the experience.
At the moment smell is rarely recorded.
If you go to a gallery or to a museum, a hundred percent of the time the objects communicate with you visually, you can see the shapes, you can see the colours but you cannot touch them and you cannot smell them.
There are also … archives to recreate the potpourri from a National Trust house in the 1700s, so that when visitors walk in, they're transported back in time. The whole project isn't just about recording smells but also the emotions they evoke.
Helen Drew, BBC London news.
We read them, we learn from them, some of us even write them. Books old or new, falling apart or unread. Here at University College London's Institute of Archaeology library it’s the largest collection of conservation-related books in London. But it's not just the words written on these pages that are important. According to scientists, the smell of these books has a significance that should also be recorded.
Smells have a big impact on our everyday life: how we feel, how we think and even how we behave, so we started looking into those smells that might have cultural value to us as a society and so our first challenge was to find, identify smell that we knew people valued and the smell of old books and historic libraries appeared as a very clear case.
In this lab scientists from UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage are collecting chemicals on a tiny sensor which they then pop into a machine to separate the individual chemical compounds. These chemicals can then be used to recreate that smell in the future.
What do you think of the smell of books?
They have a rather particular smell for sure and I think it’s lovely, it's sort of musty but it's… it's really enjoyable. I love the smell of old libraries.
The smell of a book becomes associated of what you read in the book, well that can lead to all sorts of associations and sometimes the smell is enough just to remind you of what a book is.
Always when you get a new book and it's like the new smell, it's a kind of part of the experience.
At the moment smell is rarely recorded.
If you go to a gallery or to a museum, a hundred percent of the time the objects communicate with you visually, you can see the shapes, you can see the colours but you cannot touch them and you cannot smell them.
There are also … archives to recreate the potpourri from a National Trust house in the 1700s, so that when visitors walk in, they're transported back in time. The whole project isn't just about recording smells but also the emotions they evoke.
Helen Drew, BBC London news.
miércoles, 24 de mayo de 2017
Talking point: Libraries
This week's talking point is libraries. Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, go over the questions below so that ideas come to mind more easily the day you get together with your friends and you can work out vocabulary problems beforehand.
Welcome to the Syracuse University Library. We’d like to take a few minutes to introduce you to the resources and services that we have to offer at the SU library. There are five library locations on campus. Bird library is located on University Place next door to the Schine Student Center. Adjacent to Bird you will find the Belfer Audio Laboratory and archives.
The Carnegie Building on the Quad is home to Science & technology and Mathematics libraries. The Geology library is in Heroy Hall. And you’ll find the Architecture Reading Room is Slocum Hall. The sixth storey E.S. Bird Library is considered the main library on campus. It’s home to the Learning Commons, an open active environment, where we can not only find traditional library services like the check-out desk, but you also find our Technology Assistant desk for borrowing laptops, headphones and cameras. You can get help with scanning and printing and photocopying.
And of course there are plenty of places to study either on your own or with a group. Research assistance is available on the drop-in basis, or you can make an appointment to consult with the librarian subject specialist. The Learning Commons is also where you will also find Pages, the library café, where you can grab a cup of coffee or something to eat. The second floor is the great place to relax, read or study. You can browse the stacks. Use the reference collection or browse current periodicals. On the third floor you can get assistance with the Maps and Government Information collections.
The Map Room houses thousands of maps and atlases. On the third floor you’ll also find the microfilm collections. As well as the Geographic and Statistical Information Center. The fourth floor is home to our fine arts collections. You’ll find a media area for viewing our film, video and DVD collections. And a listening area for LPs and CDs collections. Be sure to check out the exhibits and visit the Biblio Gallery.
The fifth floor is a quiet floor with plenty of study tables available. Take the elevator to the sixth floor to find the Special Collections Research Center. There you can browse their exhibits. And get assistance with their collections by signing in in the Reading Room. On the sixth floor you will also find the Safire Room, a great place for quiet study. We hope you have enjoyed this brief tour of the Syracuse University Library. To learn more, visit us at library.syr.edu
- Are libraries a thing of the past and e-Books and other mobile devices the present and future of reading?
- Do libraries put pressure on users to read books quickly?
- Where do you find it easier to study, at home or in a library?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
- Is the Internet a much more resourceful space than a library?
- Do libraries provide enough resources for everybody?
- What is the importance of traditional books?
- How would you describe the atmosphere of libraries?
- Do you find them inspiring and encouraging to research and study?
- What is the role of libraries in society?
Welcome to the Syracuse University Library. We’d like to take a few minutes to introduce you to the resources and services that we have to offer at the SU library. There are five library locations on campus. Bird library is located on University Place next door to the Schine Student Center. Adjacent to Bird you will find the Belfer Audio Laboratory and archives.
The Carnegie Building on the Quad is home to Science & technology and Mathematics libraries. The Geology library is in Heroy Hall. And you’ll find the Architecture Reading Room is Slocum Hall. The sixth storey E.S. Bird Library is considered the main library on campus. It’s home to the Learning Commons, an open active environment, where we can not only find traditional library services like the check-out desk, but you also find our Technology Assistant desk for borrowing laptops, headphones and cameras. You can get help with scanning and printing and photocopying.
And of course there are plenty of places to study either on your own or with a group. Research assistance is available on the drop-in basis, or you can make an appointment to consult with the librarian subject specialist. The Learning Commons is also where you will also find Pages, the library café, where you can grab a cup of coffee or something to eat. The second floor is the great place to relax, read or study. You can browse the stacks. Use the reference collection or browse current periodicals. On the third floor you can get assistance with the Maps and Government Information collections.
The Map Room houses thousands of maps and atlases. On the third floor you’ll also find the microfilm collections. As well as the Geographic and Statistical Information Center. The fourth floor is home to our fine arts collections. You’ll find a media area for viewing our film, video and DVD collections. And a listening area for LPs and CDs collections. Be sure to check out the exhibits and visit the Biblio Gallery.
The fifth floor is a quiet floor with plenty of study tables available. Take the elevator to the sixth floor to find the Special Collections Research Center. There you can browse their exhibits. And get assistance with their collections by signing in in the Reading Room. On the sixth floor you will also find the Safire Room, a great place for quiet study. We hope you have enjoyed this brief tour of the Syracuse University Library. To learn more, visit us at library.syr.edu
lunes, 22 de mayo de 2017
Listening test: Marathon running
Listen to Jemma talking about her experience of running marathons and choose the option A, B or C which best completes each sentence.
1. Jemma
A. disliked running at school.
B. has been running on and off.
C. is a professional runner.
2. Jemma goes running
A. because she lives in the country.
B. no matter what the weather is like.
C. to be with some other people.
3. Jemma
A. has run three marathons.
B. ran the London marathon with her husband.
C. trained for a year to run the London marathon.
4. In the London marathon
A. Jemma ran over Tower Bridge.
B. Jemma’s children called out her name.
C. there’s a festive atmosphere.
5. When she participated in the London Marathon Jemma
A. couldn’t really hear the spectators shouting.
B. ran alone.
C. was about to abandon.
6. Jemma
A. hit a wall when she crossed the finish line.
B. took over four hours to complete the marathon.
C. was too tired to feel anything when she finished the race.
7. At the end Jemma says that she had never done (…) until yesterday.
A. a half marathon
B. a half marathon abroad
C. a half marathon at home
We're talking about running. With me is Jemma. Hi. Jemma.
Hello
Now Jemma, you're not a professional runner but I know that you take running very seriously...
Yes. Well, when I was at school I always enjoyed running anyway and then I stopped for a few years but then in the early 1980's there was quite a big boom of ...people to encourage people to start running again, to keep fit. So that sort of promoted me back into running again, so yeah, so I've been running, I suppose, ever since, on and off, yeah.
What is it about running that you like as an exercise?
I think it's to go out in the fresh air. Whether it's cold or windy or even if it's raining, it's just nice to be out in the country. You have some time just to yourself, to go out and just have that space and that sense of freedom, just go out and run for an hour or an hour and a half, it's just lovely, it's sort of my time just for me.
...and I know you actually have done a marathon, haven't you?
I have, yes. Many years ago I have to say. In 1994 I actually did the London Marathon. That was my first and to date the only marathon I have ever done and it was a fabulous experience, I really enjoyed it.
Tell me about the training that you had to do for that.
Well, I sat on the settee at home and I watched in 1993, I watched the marathon and I said to my husband, I'd really like to do a marathon. So I applied and I was fortunate enough to be accepted so throughout that whole year I gradually increased the amount of miles I was running each week so through the year I did three half marathons, which is 13.1 miles, and that led me to being fit enough to do the London Marathon the following year.
It must have been an amazing experience. How... do you know how many people took part that year?
I can't remember that year. It was still quite early on in the the popularity of running. It's certainly much, much bigger now. But it was the biggest race I had ever run in, it was just a sea of people and I just remember running under Tower Bridge and past the Cutty Sark and there were bands playing and I had my name on my T-shirt so all the children would call out your name and give you sweets and things like that so the atmosphere was fantastic and the crowds in some places were about five or six people deep even, you know sort of fifteen years ago so it was, it was amazing I don't think I would ever forget that. It was fantastic.
So do you think all those people calling out your name, that kept you going?
Oh yes, very much so, yes, I mean it was lovely, because they would say, Go Jemma, go on, well done. And just that encouragement, when you're feeling quite tired and your legs are really feeling a bit heavy just to have people calling you by your actual name makes it much more personalized; they're not just cheering anybody, they're cheering you specifically so that made a big difference because obviously I didn't have family with me, I was just running it by myself so that was lovely, yes.
How did you feel when you crossed the finishing line?
Well, it was very emotional actually because it was such a sense of achievement and I was so proud of the time that I'd run it in.
Can you remember how fast you did it?
Oh, I was four hours twelve minutes. You never forget the time of your first marathon. So I was very pleased with that and I never hit, they have a term called hitting the wall. [Right.] where if you haven't trained properly or if you run out of energy you really find it difficult to even walk let alone run and I never felt that. I felt well throughout the whole of the run, I ran continually and didn't stop.
Fantastic. You've just done a race recently. What was that?
Yes, well, I was very pleased to have done the Lisbon Half Marathon, just yesterday and that was fantastic. I hadn't run a half marathon for quite a few months. I did, I'd done one at home in November and this was my first one actually abroad, that was lovely.
Well, fantastic Jemma and long may you keep on running.
Thank you very much.
KEY:
1B 2B 3C 4C 5B 6B 7B
source: Podcasts in English
1. Jemma
A. disliked running at school.
B. has been running on and off.
C. is a professional runner.
2. Jemma goes running
A. because she lives in the country.
B. no matter what the weather is like.
C. to be with some other people.
3. Jemma
A. has run three marathons.
B. ran the London marathon with her husband.
C. trained for a year to run the London marathon.
4. In the London marathon
A. Jemma ran over Tower Bridge.
B. Jemma’s children called out her name.
C. there’s a festive atmosphere.
5. When she participated in the London Marathon Jemma
A. couldn’t really hear the spectators shouting.
B. ran alone.
C. was about to abandon.
6. Jemma
A. hit a wall when she crossed the finish line.
B. took over four hours to complete the marathon.
C. was too tired to feel anything when she finished the race.
7. At the end Jemma says that she had never done (…) until yesterday.
A. a half marathon
B. a half marathon abroad
C. a half marathon at home
London's Cutty Sark during the marathon
We're talking about running. With me is Jemma. Hi. Jemma.
Hello
Now Jemma, you're not a professional runner but I know that you take running very seriously...
Yes. Well, when I was at school I always enjoyed running anyway and then I stopped for a few years but then in the early 1980's there was quite a big boom of ...people to encourage people to start running again, to keep fit. So that sort of promoted me back into running again, so yeah, so I've been running, I suppose, ever since, on and off, yeah.
What is it about running that you like as an exercise?
I think it's to go out in the fresh air. Whether it's cold or windy or even if it's raining, it's just nice to be out in the country. You have some time just to yourself, to go out and just have that space and that sense of freedom, just go out and run for an hour or an hour and a half, it's just lovely, it's sort of my time just for me.
...and I know you actually have done a marathon, haven't you?
I have, yes. Many years ago I have to say. In 1994 I actually did the London Marathon. That was my first and to date the only marathon I have ever done and it was a fabulous experience, I really enjoyed it.
Tell me about the training that you had to do for that.
Well, I sat on the settee at home and I watched in 1993, I watched the marathon and I said to my husband, I'd really like to do a marathon. So I applied and I was fortunate enough to be accepted so throughout that whole year I gradually increased the amount of miles I was running each week so through the year I did three half marathons, which is 13.1 miles, and that led me to being fit enough to do the London Marathon the following year.
It must have been an amazing experience. How... do you know how many people took part that year?
I can't remember that year. It was still quite early on in the the popularity of running. It's certainly much, much bigger now. But it was the biggest race I had ever run in, it was just a sea of people and I just remember running under Tower Bridge and past the Cutty Sark and there were bands playing and I had my name on my T-shirt so all the children would call out your name and give you sweets and things like that so the atmosphere was fantastic and the crowds in some places were about five or six people deep even, you know sort of fifteen years ago so it was, it was amazing I don't think I would ever forget that. It was fantastic.
So do you think all those people calling out your name, that kept you going?
Oh yes, very much so, yes, I mean it was lovely, because they would say, Go Jemma, go on, well done. And just that encouragement, when you're feeling quite tired and your legs are really feeling a bit heavy just to have people calling you by your actual name makes it much more personalized; they're not just cheering anybody, they're cheering you specifically so that made a big difference because obviously I didn't have family with me, I was just running it by myself so that was lovely, yes.
How did you feel when you crossed the finishing line?
Well, it was very emotional actually because it was such a sense of achievement and I was so proud of the time that I'd run it in.
Can you remember how fast you did it?
Oh, I was four hours twelve minutes. You never forget the time of your first marathon. So I was very pleased with that and I never hit, they have a term called hitting the wall. [Right.] where if you haven't trained properly or if you run out of energy you really find it difficult to even walk let alone run and I never felt that. I felt well throughout the whole of the run, I ran continually and didn't stop.
Fantastic. You've just done a race recently. What was that?
Yes, well, I was very pleased to have done the Lisbon Half Marathon, just yesterday and that was fantastic. I hadn't run a half marathon for quite a few months. I did, I'd done one at home in November and this was my first one actually abroad, that was lovely.
Well, fantastic Jemma and long may you keep on running.
Thank you very much.
KEY:
1B 2B 3C 4C 5B 6B 7B
sábado, 20 de mayo de 2017
Reading test: The ridiculous story of airline food and why so much ends up in landfill
In this week's reading test we are going to practise the multiple choice reading comprehension type of task. To do so, we are goint to use The Guardian's article The ridiculous story of airline food and why so much ends up in landfill.
Read the text and choose the option A, B or C which best completes each sentence.
The ridiculous story of airline food and why so much ends up in landfill
You probably know about the waste problem in our oceans. But how about the one in our skies? Airline passengers generated 5.2m tonnes of waste in 2016, most of which went to landfill or incineration, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates. That’s the weight of about 2.6m cars. And it’s a figure set to double over the next 15 years. Toilet waste is included in that statistic. But so are miniature wine bottles, half-eaten lunch trays, unused toothbrushes and other hallmarks of air travel.
The airline industry has taken criticsm for its growing greenhouse gas emissions as passenger numbers rise. But could its massive waste footprint be solved without affecting the sector’s growth? A Spanish project launched last autumn by a group of companies including Iberia Airlines and Ferrovial Services is taking up this challenge. The scheme aims to recover 80% of cabin waste coming into Madrid’s Barajas airport by mid-2020 through simple measures such as using trolleys designed for waste separation, says Juan Hermira, Iberia’s lead for the project. About 2,500 cabin crew members will be trained in the basics of waste separation as part of the push, he says.
It’s one of a handful of initiatives that suggest parts of the industry are waking up to waste. Last year, Gatwick opened an on-site waste-to-energy plant, reducing the need for lorries to transport waste elsewhere. The power produced currently goes back into the plant, but Gatwick hopes the facility will eventually help to heat the north terminal. Like Heathrow, it is also targeting a 70% recycling rate by 2020.
America’s United Airlines has switched to compostable paper cups and last year began donating unused amenity kits to homeless and women’s shelters – it expects to divert more than 27 tonnes-worth by the end of the first year. Virgin, meanwhile, has set up a system for recycling all parts of its headsets, including ear sponges, which are used as flooring for equestrian centres.
Despite actions like these, the mountains of airline waste continue to grow. So what more can be done? For Michael Gill, IATA’s head of environment, regulation is key. At the moment EU animal health legislation, drawn up as a reaction to diseases like foot and mouth, dictates that all catering waste arriving from outside EU borders be treated as high-risk and incinerated or buried in deep landfill. A coffee cup from the US, for example, will be treated as hazardous waste because it might have had milk in it. Donating uneaten food to charity is impossible. A more rational approach is needed, Gill says, one which identifies elements of cabin waste that actually pose a risk to health and takes into account the stringent hygiene standards airlines are already subject to. He points to a forthcoming IATA-commissioned report which concludes that dairy and honey in airline waste pose a negligible threat to animals.
Better procedures on the ground would also help ease the classification problem, says Magda Golebiewska, group environment manager at TUI Airlines. East Midlands and Gatwick airports have started tagging rubbish bags with their origin but elsewhere it’s common practice for waste from inside and outside the EU to get thrown together and processed collectively as international catering waste, she says.
Most important, however, is getting the cabin crew’s buy-in, says Golebiewska. This can be a challenge since the crew is already busy meeting on-board sales targets and looking after passengers, she says, but it is crucial: “How well the [waste] segregation is done really depends on how much effort they put into it.”
The environment is not the only concern on the minds of Golebiewska and others. Cabin waste costs the industry $500m (£400m) per year, according to IATA, a figure that it says is rising faster than waste volumes thanks to growing disposal costs. Bringing this down will require airlines to take a different approach to procurement, says Matt Rance. If they can be persuaded to focus on a product’s full life cost, rather than unit price, then investing in more durable headsets or blankets and ditching disposables starts to make sense, he says.
1. The waste airlines produce
A. does not only refer to food.
B. is all burnt.
C. is twice as much as it used to be 15 years ago.
2. The Spanish project launched last autumn
A. contemplates the separation of waste without any human intervention.
B. intends to separate waste on board.
C. is trying to reduce the airlines waste by limiting the sector’s growth.
3. In Britain
A. Gatwick Airport is planning to open a plant to recycle waste.
B. Heathrow Airport currently produces 70% of its power through recycled waste.
C. they are reducing road transportation of waste in some of the main airports.
4. In US
A. United Airlines cups can be used as fertilizers.
B. United Airlines donates uneaten food to homeless and women’s shelters.
C. Virgin recycles all parts of its headsets to make floors.
5. For Michael Gill,
A. dairy and honey from airlines could well be used to feed animals.
B. donating food is a sensible solution.
C. waste from airplanes should be incinerated or buried.
6. According to Magda Golebiewska, in EU
A. all waste is processed equally, no matter what its origin is.
B. airports mark waste bags with their origin.
C. the waste from inside and outside the EU is separated.
7. For Magda Golebiewska
A. airlines’ ground staff have a crucial role in waste segregation.
B. flight attendants are already doing a lot of work.
C. pilots should be responsible for waste segregation.
8. In the last paragraph, it is said that
A. not using disposable products would be a good solution.
B. the price of getting rid of waste is not going up.
C. waste volumes are being successfully controlled.
KEY:
1A 2B 3C 4A 5A 6A 7B 8A
Read the text and choose the option A, B or C which best completes each sentence.
The ridiculous story of airline food and why so much ends up in landfill
You probably know about the waste problem in our oceans. But how about the one in our skies? Airline passengers generated 5.2m tonnes of waste in 2016, most of which went to landfill or incineration, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates. That’s the weight of about 2.6m cars. And it’s a figure set to double over the next 15 years. Toilet waste is included in that statistic. But so are miniature wine bottles, half-eaten lunch trays, unused toothbrushes and other hallmarks of air travel.
The airline industry has taken criticsm for its growing greenhouse gas emissions as passenger numbers rise. But could its massive waste footprint be solved without affecting the sector’s growth? A Spanish project launched last autumn by a group of companies including Iberia Airlines and Ferrovial Services is taking up this challenge. The scheme aims to recover 80% of cabin waste coming into Madrid’s Barajas airport by mid-2020 through simple measures such as using trolleys designed for waste separation, says Juan Hermira, Iberia’s lead for the project. About 2,500 cabin crew members will be trained in the basics of waste separation as part of the push, he says.
It’s one of a handful of initiatives that suggest parts of the industry are waking up to waste. Last year, Gatwick opened an on-site waste-to-energy plant, reducing the need for lorries to transport waste elsewhere. The power produced currently goes back into the plant, but Gatwick hopes the facility will eventually help to heat the north terminal. Like Heathrow, it is also targeting a 70% recycling rate by 2020.
America’s United Airlines has switched to compostable paper cups and last year began donating unused amenity kits to homeless and women’s shelters – it expects to divert more than 27 tonnes-worth by the end of the first year. Virgin, meanwhile, has set up a system for recycling all parts of its headsets, including ear sponges, which are used as flooring for equestrian centres.
Despite actions like these, the mountains of airline waste continue to grow. So what more can be done? For Michael Gill, IATA’s head of environment, regulation is key. At the moment EU animal health legislation, drawn up as a reaction to diseases like foot and mouth, dictates that all catering waste arriving from outside EU borders be treated as high-risk and incinerated or buried in deep landfill. A coffee cup from the US, for example, will be treated as hazardous waste because it might have had milk in it. Donating uneaten food to charity is impossible. A more rational approach is needed, Gill says, one which identifies elements of cabin waste that actually pose a risk to health and takes into account the stringent hygiene standards airlines are already subject to. He points to a forthcoming IATA-commissioned report which concludes that dairy and honey in airline waste pose a negligible threat to animals.
Better procedures on the ground would also help ease the classification problem, says Magda Golebiewska, group environment manager at TUI Airlines. East Midlands and Gatwick airports have started tagging rubbish bags with their origin but elsewhere it’s common practice for waste from inside and outside the EU to get thrown together and processed collectively as international catering waste, she says.
Most important, however, is getting the cabin crew’s buy-in, says Golebiewska. This can be a challenge since the crew is already busy meeting on-board sales targets and looking after passengers, she says, but it is crucial: “How well the [waste] segregation is done really depends on how much effort they put into it.”
The environment is not the only concern on the minds of Golebiewska and others. Cabin waste costs the industry $500m (£400m) per year, according to IATA, a figure that it says is rising faster than waste volumes thanks to growing disposal costs. Bringing this down will require airlines to take a different approach to procurement, says Matt Rance. If they can be persuaded to focus on a product’s full life cost, rather than unit price, then investing in more durable headsets or blankets and ditching disposables starts to make sense, he says.
1. The waste airlines produce
A. does not only refer to food.
B. is all burnt.
C. is twice as much as it used to be 15 years ago.
2. The Spanish project launched last autumn
A. contemplates the separation of waste without any human intervention.
B. intends to separate waste on board.
C. is trying to reduce the airlines waste by limiting the sector’s growth.
3. In Britain
A. Gatwick Airport is planning to open a plant to recycle waste.
B. Heathrow Airport currently produces 70% of its power through recycled waste.
C. they are reducing road transportation of waste in some of the main airports.
4. In US
A. United Airlines cups can be used as fertilizers.
B. United Airlines donates uneaten food to homeless and women’s shelters.
C. Virgin recycles all parts of its headsets to make floors.
5. For Michael Gill,
A. dairy and honey from airlines could well be used to feed animals.
B. donating food is a sensible solution.
C. waste from airplanes should be incinerated or buried.
6. According to Magda Golebiewska, in EU
A. all waste is processed equally, no matter what its origin is.
B. airports mark waste bags with their origin.
C. the waste from inside and outside the EU is separated.
7. For Magda Golebiewska
A. airlines’ ground staff have a crucial role in waste segregation.
B. flight attendants are already doing a lot of work.
C. pilots should be responsible for waste segregation.
8. In the last paragraph, it is said that
A. not using disposable products would be a good solution.
B. the price of getting rid of waste is not going up.
C. waste volumes are being successfully controlled.
KEY:
1A 2B 3C 4A 5A 6A 7B 8A
viernes, 19 de mayo de 2017
The hotel that time forgot
Across the border from Syria, in a forgotten Lebanese city, sits an unexpected building, the Grand Hotel Palmyra.
Just across the border from war-torn Syria, in a forgotten city, is an unexpected sight: the Hotel Palmyra.
This hotel is different than others because time has washed away the walls, time has left this impact. It is, it is a journey into the past. So many people has passed through this hotel.
This hotel has been here since 1874. And this is why we try to keep it as it is. The city of Baalbek has changed, of course. It's feeling the impact of the war on one side of the borders, but it's also feeling the effects of economic depression that's affecting the whole country. At one point, there were no visitors to speak of, and that was very difficult.
The hotel used to be a haven for visitors because of the ancient Roman ruins just outside its doors.
It is a constant reminder of the importance of Baalbek. And this is something that was not accidentally built here. If I wanted to describe the view in front of me daily, when I look out of the window, when I come to the hotel, I'd be speechless. And generally, it's hard for me to be speechless.
The smell of this hotel is of carpets, old walls, and uh, rusty faucets, but that makes me smile. And this is, I think, essentially what memories are all about.
The old personnel that has been here since the '50s and some, from the '60s, have stayed with us
because, to them, it's home.
And this is the feeling that keeps them going, even with tourism dwindling in this region.
We have never closed the doors of the hotel. No one has a right to touch Hotel Palmyra, except for time.
Just across the border from war-torn Syria, in a forgotten city, is an unexpected sight: the Hotel Palmyra.
This hotel is different than others because time has washed away the walls, time has left this impact. It is, it is a journey into the past. So many people has passed through this hotel.
This hotel has been here since 1874. And this is why we try to keep it as it is. The city of Baalbek has changed, of course. It's feeling the impact of the war on one side of the borders, but it's also feeling the effects of economic depression that's affecting the whole country. At one point, there were no visitors to speak of, and that was very difficult.
The hotel used to be a haven for visitors because of the ancient Roman ruins just outside its doors.
It is a constant reminder of the importance of Baalbek. And this is something that was not accidentally built here. If I wanted to describe the view in front of me daily, when I look out of the window, when I come to the hotel, I'd be speechless. And generally, it's hard for me to be speechless.
The smell of this hotel is of carpets, old walls, and uh, rusty faucets, but that makes me smile. And this is, I think, essentially what memories are all about.
The old personnel that has been here since the '50s and some, from the '60s, have stayed with us
because, to them, it's home.
And this is the feeling that keeps them going, even with tourism dwindling in this region.
We have never closed the doors of the hotel. No one has a right to touch Hotel Palmyra, except for time.
jueves, 18 de mayo de 2017
This gardener regularly grows 100-pound vegetables
Growing up in a very large family, Phillip Vowles learned to appreciate the effort it took to feed all his brothers and sisters. So when he started harvesting his own crop, he decided to supersize his project. As Phillip says, “big vegetables feed big families.” Today, his giant veggies top-out at over 100 pounds and can feed more than just a few families.
Good day!
We grow giant marrows, four foot in a month. 45 inches. These marrows would taste exactly the same as a normal marrow. Nice and tender and lush. Some of them look a bit tough, but once you cut into them, they cut like butter.
My name is Phillip Vowles. I live in Llanharry, Wales and I grow giant vegetables. I've been growing giant vegetables now for the last 30 years.
I come from a very large family. My mother had 17 children. 13 of us survived, and I think, you know, that was something, you know, big vegetables feed big families.
You know, I’m up here every morning, every night, every single day of the week. There's a lot of love and care goes into it. Sometimes I do a bit of talking to them as well to encourage them to grow, which is a bit of, you know, a bit of fun.
I think he's just about finished growing there now.
I got to be very careful the wife is not about when I start talking to my vegetables, but it's all good fun. I broke the world record for the heaviest cucumber what, 25 years ago. It weighed 18 1/2 pound and it was just incredible the way it grew.
When I started, if we had a marrow 20, 30 pound in weight, you had a big marrow. Now, we're up over a 100 pound in weight. A normal cabbage would be two pound in weight, but we're growing 'em 120 pound. You know, you can feed 120, 130, 140 people off one cabbage. This is why I supply the local pub, and they use 'em up for Sunday lunch.
I've developed my own strain, more or less, now. I select my own seed every year, the biggest and the best seed, and it just seems to be improving which is incredible. I grow organically.
I had to think, if I can do it, anybody can do it, and it's a big thrill every day. The wife say, "What am I doing up the lot every day?" And when she comes up she realize.
Good day!
We grow giant marrows, four foot in a month. 45 inches. These marrows would taste exactly the same as a normal marrow. Nice and tender and lush. Some of them look a bit tough, but once you cut into them, they cut like butter.
My name is Phillip Vowles. I live in Llanharry, Wales and I grow giant vegetables. I've been growing giant vegetables now for the last 30 years.
I come from a very large family. My mother had 17 children. 13 of us survived, and I think, you know, that was something, you know, big vegetables feed big families.
You know, I’m up here every morning, every night, every single day of the week. There's a lot of love and care goes into it. Sometimes I do a bit of talking to them as well to encourage them to grow, which is a bit of, you know, a bit of fun.
I think he's just about finished growing there now.
I got to be very careful the wife is not about when I start talking to my vegetables, but it's all good fun. I broke the world record for the heaviest cucumber what, 25 years ago. It weighed 18 1/2 pound and it was just incredible the way it grew.
When I started, if we had a marrow 20, 30 pound in weight, you had a big marrow. Now, we're up over a 100 pound in weight. A normal cabbage would be two pound in weight, but we're growing 'em 120 pound. You know, you can feed 120, 130, 140 people off one cabbage. This is why I supply the local pub, and they use 'em up for Sunday lunch.
I've developed my own strain, more or less, now. I select my own seed every year, the biggest and the best seed, and it just seems to be improving which is incredible. I grow organically.
I had to think, if I can do it, anybody can do it, and it's a big thrill every day. The wife say, "What am I doing up the lot every day?" And when she comes up she realize.
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