More people are in prison in America than anywhere else in the world. President Obama and politicians from both parties want to change that. Rajini Vaidyanathan looks at how the US prison population got to record levels.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1 Which country has the world’s largest prison population?
2 How much money does American spend on incarcerating people?
3 How much time have the 46 non-violent drug offenders whose sentences president Obama commuted served?
4 How much time had they been sentenced to serve?
5 When were tougher penalties for non-violent drug offenders introduced?
6 What race is the largest proportion of non-violent drug offenders?
7 What does ‘$31,000’ refer to?
America has the world’s largest prison population. More than half of those in federal prisons are serving time for non-violent drug offences. Many people think that’s too harsh a penalty, including President Obama.
Over the last few years a lot of people have become more aware of the inequities in the criminal justice system. The fact is that we spend over $80 billion a year incarcerating people, oftentimes who have only been engaged in non-violent drug offences.
The president commuted the sentences of 46 non-violent drug offenders who’ve served more than a decade, bringing the total to nearly 90 throughout his presidency.
These men and women were not hardened criminals, but the overwhelming majority had been sentenced to at least 20 years, so their punishment didn’t fit the crime.
What the president is doing he is sending a strong message to the American public that we need to rethink how we deal with drug offences.
This is the change of course for America’s war on drugs in the 1980’s, when tough penalties were introduced for non-violent drug offenders. This graph shows how the prison population rocketed after many states introduced three-strikes policies and mandatory minimum sentences, putting more people behind bars.
And race placed a big part. The largest proportion of non-violent drug offenders is black.
The war on drugs had a tremendous impact on African-American community, turning of the public’s eye to how those incarcerations have negatively impacted the community as a whole, not just the African-American community. It’s a big important step that the president has taken.
Another big reason people are pushing prison reform is money. It costs around $31,000 a year to house every inmate, and with Republicans and Democrats struggling to balance budgets, President Obama believes now it’s the time for reform.
But I believe at its heart America is a nation of second chances, and I believe these folks deserve their second chance.
Key:
1 America
2 $80 billion a year
3 (more than) a decade
4 (at least) 20 years
5 in the 1980's
6 black / African-American
7 money spent on each inmate every year
viernes, 26 de agosto de 2016
jueves, 25 de agosto de 2016
Utility vs Homeowners Over Solar Power
In Hawaii, where 12 percent of the homes have solar panels, handling the surplus power is putting pressure on the state’s biggest utility, which is fighting to reduce what it pays for the energy.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1 How long has Joyce been waiting to have solar panels installed?
2 How much does Joyce’s neighbour pay for their electricity bill?
3 What kind of power does the American public want?
4 What problem does the traditional utility circuit power have?
5 How long did Michael John take to have the system installed and running in his home?
6 How much does he pay for electricity in June and July?
7 How much does the maintenance of the power system cost?
8 When will Joyce have her panels finally installed?
I have been waiting three years, three years, to have solar panels installed. My neighbour across has solar panels. The ones that already have solar panels, they just pay $18 a month. I pay 395, almost $400. They say that the grid is full and I have just to wait and so… I’m still waiting.
Hawaiians have some of the highest electric bills in the country, and so they have rushed to install photovoltaic or PV systems on their rooftops, so they can make their own power.
We’re not just talking about saving the planet here. We’re talking about saving the paying from being held hostage by the utility companies. The American public wants solar energy. I don’t care whether they’re in Oklahoma, New York, California or Hawaii. Whatever happens in Hawaii is gonna happen in the main land. It’s just a matter of waiting.
Nationwide, Hawaii is on the forefront of solar adoption, and other states are watching to see how HE Co, Hawaii’s main utility, reimagines its business.
We don’t have the luxury to look at another state and say how was it done there and instead we sort of have to figure out on our own. The traditional utility circuit power starts off at Hilla substation and flows power one way to each home that we serve.
And the challenges the grid was designed to handle the power flowing in one direction but now it’s going back and forth between our customers’ rooftops back into the rest of the grid.
The combined output of all of our rooftop solar systems up the circuit back into our substation feeding into the grid can really potentially bring the entire island’s system out.
Infrastructure upgrades to avoid that worst-case scenario are expensive and HE Co has moved slowly, some critics say too slowly.
What should have been a ninety-day project turned into five, four months to yet completely install, set up and running. And now I make more electricity than I use, usually June and July it’s free, so that was great.
But, of course, if you play the model business out to the end whereby you get full credit for every bit of electricity that you produce, then the utility company doesn’t make any money and they go out of business. And, of course, we don’t have the grid that we can have the solar energy.
Providing basic electric service, power at night, back-up power, all of that PV customers are not paying for fully and instead of being paid for by customers of ours who don’t have PV systems, and right now it’s to the tune of over $50 million.
Hawaiian Electrics wants to cut the rate it pays customers for their solar energy in half so that the solar customers will be paying their fair share of overall service costs.
Now I’m a total abdicate for this because what it does to us it allows the business model play out to the end. The utility companies, their job becomes store the energy, manage it, move it where is need it, let the public create generation facilities by benefitting everybody.
So it’s an extremely interesting time, you know, it creates a lot of burden for us, a lot of pressure. We have some customers who have been waiting for quite some time. We committed to caring 90% of them by April of this year.
I’ve waited, I’ve waited so long but when you say it’s April, and so I’m all excited. I’ll save lots of money, am I correct?
Key:
1 three years
2 $18
3 solar energy
4 the grid was designed to handle the power flowing in one direction
5 five, four months
6 nothing
7 $50m
8 in April
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1 How long has Joyce been waiting to have solar panels installed?
2 How much does Joyce’s neighbour pay for their electricity bill?
3 What kind of power does the American public want?
4 What problem does the traditional utility circuit power have?
5 How long did Michael John take to have the system installed and running in his home?
6 How much does he pay for electricity in June and July?
7 How much does the maintenance of the power system cost?
8 When will Joyce have her panels finally installed?
I have been waiting three years, three years, to have solar panels installed. My neighbour across has solar panels. The ones that already have solar panels, they just pay $18 a month. I pay 395, almost $400. They say that the grid is full and I have just to wait and so… I’m still waiting.
Hawaiians have some of the highest electric bills in the country, and so they have rushed to install photovoltaic or PV systems on their rooftops, so they can make their own power.
We’re not just talking about saving the planet here. We’re talking about saving the paying from being held hostage by the utility companies. The American public wants solar energy. I don’t care whether they’re in Oklahoma, New York, California or Hawaii. Whatever happens in Hawaii is gonna happen in the main land. It’s just a matter of waiting.
Nationwide, Hawaii is on the forefront of solar adoption, and other states are watching to see how HE Co, Hawaii’s main utility, reimagines its business.
We don’t have the luxury to look at another state and say how was it done there and instead we sort of have to figure out on our own. The traditional utility circuit power starts off at Hilla substation and flows power one way to each home that we serve.
And the challenges the grid was designed to handle the power flowing in one direction but now it’s going back and forth between our customers’ rooftops back into the rest of the grid.
The combined output of all of our rooftop solar systems up the circuit back into our substation feeding into the grid can really potentially bring the entire island’s system out.
Infrastructure upgrades to avoid that worst-case scenario are expensive and HE Co has moved slowly, some critics say too slowly.
What should have been a ninety-day project turned into five, four months to yet completely install, set up and running. And now I make more electricity than I use, usually June and July it’s free, so that was great.
But, of course, if you play the model business out to the end whereby you get full credit for every bit of electricity that you produce, then the utility company doesn’t make any money and they go out of business. And, of course, we don’t have the grid that we can have the solar energy.
Providing basic electric service, power at night, back-up power, all of that PV customers are not paying for fully and instead of being paid for by customers of ours who don’t have PV systems, and right now it’s to the tune of over $50 million.
Hawaiian Electrics wants to cut the rate it pays customers for their solar energy in half so that the solar customers will be paying their fair share of overall service costs.
Now I’m a total abdicate for this because what it does to us it allows the business model play out to the end. The utility companies, their job becomes store the energy, manage it, move it where is need it, let the public create generation facilities by benefitting everybody.
So it’s an extremely interesting time, you know, it creates a lot of burden for us, a lot of pressure. We have some customers who have been waiting for quite some time. We committed to caring 90% of them by April of this year.
I’ve waited, I’ve waited so long but when you say it’s April, and so I’m all excited. I’ll save lots of money, am I correct?
Key:
1 three years
2 $18
3 solar energy
4 the grid was designed to handle the power flowing in one direction
5 five, four months
6 nothing
7 $50m
8 in April
miércoles, 24 de agosto de 2016
Talking point: Cashless society
This week's talking point is cashless society. 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.
Think of things you’ve bought in the past week. Why did you buy them? How did you pay for them?
What does the expression ‘Money doesn’t grow on trees?’ mean?
When do people say it?
Do you and your family have a weekly budget?
Do you know the typical interest rate on your credit cards?
Do you try to put aside savings? If so, how often? If not, why not?
Do you feel that you know how to make investments?
Have you ever taken out a loan? If so, what for?
Who do/would you turn to for advice before making an investiment?
We seem to be getting close to living in a ‘cashless society’, where all payments are made by putting a plastic card into a machine and entering our pin code, or by simply waving the card in front of the machine. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a ‘cashless society’ as opposed to the traditional ‘paper money’? You can talk about convenience, health (bacteria in notes), saving/spending, crime/dishonesty.
Do you agree with the statements below? Explain your reasons.
Which advice do you think is most relevant?
1 The reason people get into financial trouble is that they’re not taught how to manage personal finance. This needs to be introduced as a subject in schools.
2 Financial experts tend to oversell the need to save money. They forget that people need to enjoy life and that often means spending money.
3 There are too many financial experts saying too much about personal finance. This doesn’t help, it just creates confusion and people feel under pressure.
4 A lot of people are so obsessed with their personal wealth that they forget about giving money to charities that can help people who are less fortunate.
Think of things you’ve bought in the past week. Why did you buy them? How did you pay for them?
What does the expression ‘Money doesn’t grow on trees?’ mean?
When do people say it?
Do you and your family have a weekly budget?
Do you know the typical interest rate on your credit cards?
Do you try to put aside savings? If so, how often? If not, why not?
Do you feel that you know how to make investments?
Have you ever taken out a loan? If so, what for?
Who do/would you turn to for advice before making an investiment?
We seem to be getting close to living in a ‘cashless society’, where all payments are made by putting a plastic card into a machine and entering our pin code, or by simply waving the card in front of the machine. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a ‘cashless society’ as opposed to the traditional ‘paper money’? You can talk about convenience, health (bacteria in notes), saving/spending, crime/dishonesty.
Do you agree with the statements below? Explain your reasons.
Which advice do you think is most relevant?
1 The reason people get into financial trouble is that they’re not taught how to manage personal finance. This needs to be introduced as a subject in schools.
2 Financial experts tend to oversell the need to save money. They forget that people need to enjoy life and that often means spending money.
3 There are too many financial experts saying too much about personal finance. This doesn’t help, it just creates confusion and people feel under pressure.
4 A lot of people are so obsessed with their personal wealth that they forget about giving money to charities that can help people who are less fortunate.
martes, 23 de agosto de 2016
Brooklyn’s Most Cluttered Bookstore
John Scioli, the owner of the Community Bookstore, in Brooklyn, prepares to shutter a neighborhood institution.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and say whether the statements below are true or false.
1 John Scioli has a bad reputation in the neighbourhood.
2 He knews where each book is.
3 Nobody knows how many books there are in the bookshop.
4 John Scioli is making a lot of money.
5 His second wife died in 2002.
6 John is turning 69 next month.
7 John is planning to open another bookshop.
8 He's planning to keep living in the same area.
I don't know if I'm allowed to curse on here, but the first impression was holy shit. It's like a cavern of books.
It's my first time in here. I've gone by this place several times in the past seven or eight years. I've never come in. And tonight, we had dinner across the street. The door was open, the lights were on, and this place is definitely incredible. It reminds me of my grandmother's basement.
What's up with this guy?
Wh… what is… like, what is this black hole of a hoarder's nest?
I… I don't know. I… I don't know if I could work through that, but whoever owns this… clearly, it works for them.
He has a compulsion, obviously.
Certainly not a neat freak.
I would imagine him to be a bit of a pack rat.
In my mind, it's somebody who lives somewhere in the building and, like, never leaves. That's what I want it to be.
He seems nice.
An eclectic man of the neighborhood. He's always extremely helpful.
Yeah, it's just a person who knows that, like, the place that we find ourselves is in literature. Even if it were better organized, it's kind of like, well, no, fuck it, like, let's just give them as much as we can possibly give them.
How do you find anything?
He knows where every book is, this guy.
"Man's Search for Meaning," Viktor…
Frankl.
… Frankl.
All the way in the back. I might have a new one, a new paperback. I don't think I have a used one.
Take a look.
Don't…
Yeah, I have one. I have a new one.
Oh, good.
Now…
How many books do I think are in here?
Oh, this is like a jelly bean jar question?
Oh, my god, millions.
Infinite. There are an infinite amount of books in here.
This is like high-stakes Jenga in here.
You don't have to worry about knocking anything over, because it's going to happen.
Oh. I did not do that. I didn't even touch a book!
Fuck!
Sir, I'm telling you right now…
I didn't even touch a book.
No, OK, all right. That's all right.
Oh.
I'm attached to it. Yeah. I love it and I hate it. It's a lot of work. It's a very difficult business, yeah. It gets harder and harder to make ends meet. You know, one year at a time. It's like… I came here in 1985. Then I met my second wife in about 1988. She helped a lot with the store. She passed away in 2002. It was hard just to live, not just to go on with the bookstore. She was like the opposite of me, because she was always straightening everything out. Now it's gotten to the point where even she couldn't straighten it out. It's just too much. It's too much work. I'm 69 years old. I just can't go on doing it. You can make a lot of money and kill yourself. And what good is that?
Every time I pass here, I think, I mean, I wonder how John's doing. I haven't seen him in so long.
I'm still half sane.
You have so many more books than even a couple years ago. This is amazing to me.
I sold the building, so…
Oh, you did?
Yeah, next May, I'm gonna close the store.
Oh, no.
I have to close the store.
Yeah.
So is it gonna be like a… like a restaurant or something?
And I heard that it's somebody… the people who bought it own a Victoria's Secret or something in Herald Square, which is really sad. I find it really sad. I mean, it's sad to lose things like this, but I feel like it's more of a responsibility on the next generation to make things like this happen. We can't just expect them to, like, stick around forever.
Where do you see yourself going?
You mean to live?
Not as a bookstore. I wouldn't start another bookstore.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Perhaps eventually buy me a small apartment. But I'd like to stay in the neighborhood, because it's a wonderful neighborhood.
Yeah.
It's fun and then it's very difficult, too. So I just decided to stop.
Good for him. That's sad, though, for us.
Key:
1F 2T 3T 4F 5T 6F 7F 8T
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and say whether the statements below are true or false.
1 John Scioli has a bad reputation in the neighbourhood.
2 He knews where each book is.
3 Nobody knows how many books there are in the bookshop.
4 John Scioli is making a lot of money.
5 His second wife died in 2002.
6 John is turning 69 next month.
7 John is planning to open another bookshop.
8 He's planning to keep living in the same area.
I don't know if I'm allowed to curse on here, but the first impression was holy shit. It's like a cavern of books.
It's my first time in here. I've gone by this place several times in the past seven or eight years. I've never come in. And tonight, we had dinner across the street. The door was open, the lights were on, and this place is definitely incredible. It reminds me of my grandmother's basement.
What's up with this guy?
Wh… what is… like, what is this black hole of a hoarder's nest?
I… I don't know. I… I don't know if I could work through that, but whoever owns this… clearly, it works for them.
He has a compulsion, obviously.
Certainly not a neat freak.
I would imagine him to be a bit of a pack rat.
In my mind, it's somebody who lives somewhere in the building and, like, never leaves. That's what I want it to be.
He seems nice.
An eclectic man of the neighborhood. He's always extremely helpful.
Yeah, it's just a person who knows that, like, the place that we find ourselves is in literature. Even if it were better organized, it's kind of like, well, no, fuck it, like, let's just give them as much as we can possibly give them.
How do you find anything?
He knows where every book is, this guy.
"Man's Search for Meaning," Viktor…
Frankl.
… Frankl.
All the way in the back. I might have a new one, a new paperback. I don't think I have a used one.
Take a look.
Don't…
Yeah, I have one. I have a new one.
Oh, good.
Now…
How many books do I think are in here?
Oh, this is like a jelly bean jar question?
Oh, my god, millions.
Infinite. There are an infinite amount of books in here.
This is like high-stakes Jenga in here.
You don't have to worry about knocking anything over, because it's going to happen.
Oh. I did not do that. I didn't even touch a book!
Fuck!
Sir, I'm telling you right now…
I didn't even touch a book.
No, OK, all right. That's all right.
Oh.
I'm attached to it. Yeah. I love it and I hate it. It's a lot of work. It's a very difficult business, yeah. It gets harder and harder to make ends meet. You know, one year at a time. It's like… I came here in 1985. Then I met my second wife in about 1988. She helped a lot with the store. She passed away in 2002. It was hard just to live, not just to go on with the bookstore. She was like the opposite of me, because she was always straightening everything out. Now it's gotten to the point where even she couldn't straighten it out. It's just too much. It's too much work. I'm 69 years old. I just can't go on doing it. You can make a lot of money and kill yourself. And what good is that?
Every time I pass here, I think, I mean, I wonder how John's doing. I haven't seen him in so long.
I'm still half sane.
You have so many more books than even a couple years ago. This is amazing to me.
I sold the building, so…
Oh, you did?
Yeah, next May, I'm gonna close the store.
Oh, no.
I have to close the store.
Yeah.
So is it gonna be like a… like a restaurant or something?
And I heard that it's somebody… the people who bought it own a Victoria's Secret or something in Herald Square, which is really sad. I find it really sad. I mean, it's sad to lose things like this, but I feel like it's more of a responsibility on the next generation to make things like this happen. We can't just expect them to, like, stick around forever.
Where do you see yourself going?
You mean to live?
Not as a bookstore. I wouldn't start another bookstore.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Perhaps eventually buy me a small apartment. But I'd like to stay in the neighborhood, because it's a wonderful neighborhood.
Yeah.
It's fun and then it's very difficult, too. So I just decided to stop.
Good for him. That's sad, though, for us.
Key:
1F 2T 3T 4F 5T 6F 7F 8T
lunes, 22 de agosto de 2016
Listening test: Movie news
Listen to five film news items and match each of the headings below with its corresponding heading. There are two headings you do not need to use.
A - Back home
B - Hollywood star, safe and sound
C - Latest technology for classic film
D - No solidarity these days
E - The protagonist had second thoughts
F - Unhappy ending
G - Worldwide project
1
A film that Canadian director Denis Villeneuve says is meant to pose a question about violence and the brutality of the Mexican drug trade had its New York City premiere. “Sicario,” which means hitman in Latin America, creates a hellish Juarez, Mexico, where cartels turn the town into a war zone. Emily Blunt plays FBI agent Kate who gets recruited into a high-risk, CIA-led drug operation across the border. Benicio Del Toro co-stars as a shadowy Colombian working with the U.S. agencies. Josh Brolin plays Matt, the CIA team leader. Brolin said he’d originally turned down the part of Matt but was glad friends convinced him to change his mind. “Sicario” hits U.S. theaters on October 2.
2
Kate Winslet and Liam Hemsworth walked the red carpet Monday at the Toronto International Film Festival for the world premiere of their film “The Dressmaker”. The movie sees Winslet playing a high-fashion dressmaker who returns to her tiny Australian hometown, which she left as a young girl after being suspected of murdering a boy. While there, her character begins to transform the town with her haute couture creations. The film is set for release in Australia in early October, and the rest of the world later in the year.
3
It might be something that so many of us take for granted. But for those in Calais’ migrant camp, the chance to sit down with friends and watch a movie was a luxury few would have seen coming. Secret Cinema on Saturday arrived in the northern French port bringing with it an inflatable screen, a DJ, and a chance to escape reality for an evening. That’s something that founder Fabien Riggall believes they needed.
We believe passionately that culture and art can change the way that people think about issues that are affecting people today, and we hope with this project “Love Refugees” that we will actually begin a cinema network across the worst-affected places on earth.
More than 1,000 migrants huddled together among the sand dunes for the screening. There were cheers as the Bollywood classic on show concluded, followed by smiles and gratitude.
4
Officials say the plane went down in the mountains of San Pedro de los Milagros. Three people were on board, but actor Tom Cruise was not among them. The crash killed U.S. pilot Alan David Purwin and Colombian Carlos Berl. The third person, Jimmy Lee Garland, was injured. Officials say the crash was reported around 5:30 p.m. local time.
Rescue workers from the nearby municipalities were immediately dispatched. They found one person still alive who was transferred to a medical centre in Medellin and two people who died whose bodies have been recovered.
Cruise was in Colombia filming “Mena,” the story of U.S. pilot Barry Seal who worked for Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar before becoming an informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The investigation into the crash remains ongoing.
5
The Jungle Book is back. Rebooted, and live action, almost 50 years after its animated Disney release. The new live-action/CGI hybrid is being steered by Iron Man director Jon Favreau, and packs a stellar cast including Idris Elba, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson as the snake Kaa. Walt Disney’s teaser trailer has a somewhat serious tone to it. While no voices other than Kaa’s are heard though, there is a familiar song heard after the trailer’s dramatic conclusion.
KEY:
1E 2A 3G 4B 5C
A - Back home
B - Hollywood star, safe and sound
C - Latest technology for classic film
D - No solidarity these days
E - The protagonist had second thoughts
F - Unhappy ending
G - Worldwide project
1
A film that Canadian director Denis Villeneuve says is meant to pose a question about violence and the brutality of the Mexican drug trade had its New York City premiere. “Sicario,” which means hitman in Latin America, creates a hellish Juarez, Mexico, where cartels turn the town into a war zone. Emily Blunt plays FBI agent Kate who gets recruited into a high-risk, CIA-led drug operation across the border. Benicio Del Toro co-stars as a shadowy Colombian working with the U.S. agencies. Josh Brolin plays Matt, the CIA team leader. Brolin said he’d originally turned down the part of Matt but was glad friends convinced him to change his mind. “Sicario” hits U.S. theaters on October 2.
2
Kate Winslet and Liam Hemsworth walked the red carpet Monday at the Toronto International Film Festival for the world premiere of their film “The Dressmaker”. The movie sees Winslet playing a high-fashion dressmaker who returns to her tiny Australian hometown, which she left as a young girl after being suspected of murdering a boy. While there, her character begins to transform the town with her haute couture creations. The film is set for release in Australia in early October, and the rest of the world later in the year.
3
It might be something that so many of us take for granted. But for those in Calais’ migrant camp, the chance to sit down with friends and watch a movie was a luxury few would have seen coming. Secret Cinema on Saturday arrived in the northern French port bringing with it an inflatable screen, a DJ, and a chance to escape reality for an evening. That’s something that founder Fabien Riggall believes they needed.
We believe passionately that culture and art can change the way that people think about issues that are affecting people today, and we hope with this project “Love Refugees” that we will actually begin a cinema network across the worst-affected places on earth.
More than 1,000 migrants huddled together among the sand dunes for the screening. There were cheers as the Bollywood classic on show concluded, followed by smiles and gratitude.
4
Officials say the plane went down in the mountains of San Pedro de los Milagros. Three people were on board, but actor Tom Cruise was not among them. The crash killed U.S. pilot Alan David Purwin and Colombian Carlos Berl. The third person, Jimmy Lee Garland, was injured. Officials say the crash was reported around 5:30 p.m. local time.
Rescue workers from the nearby municipalities were immediately dispatched. They found one person still alive who was transferred to a medical centre in Medellin and two people who died whose bodies have been recovered.
Cruise was in Colombia filming “Mena,” the story of U.S. pilot Barry Seal who worked for Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar before becoming an informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The investigation into the crash remains ongoing.
5
The Jungle Book is back. Rebooted, and live action, almost 50 years after its animated Disney release. The new live-action/CGI hybrid is being steered by Iron Man director Jon Favreau, and packs a stellar cast including Idris Elba, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson as the snake Kaa. Walt Disney’s teaser trailer has a somewhat serious tone to it. While no voices other than Kaa’s are heard though, there is a familiar song heard after the trailer’s dramatic conclusion.
KEY:
1E 2A 3G 4B 5C
domingo, 21 de agosto de 2016
Extensive listening: Is Earth overpopulated
Using state-of-the-art 3D graphics and the timing of a stand-up comedian, world-famous statistician Professor Hans Rosling presents a spectacular portrait of our rapidly changing world.
With seven billion people already on our planet, we often look to the future with dread, but Rosling's message is surprisingly upbeat. Almost unnoticed, we have actually begun to conquer the problems of rapid population growth and extreme poverty.
Across the world, even in countries like Bangladesh, families of just two children are now the norm - meaning that within a few generations, the population explosion will be over. A smaller proportion of people now live in extreme poverty than ever before in human history and the United Nations has set a target of eradicating it altogether within a few decades.
In this as-live studio event, Rosling presents a statistical tour-de-force, including his 'ignorance survey', which demonstrates how British university graduates would be outperformed by chimpanzees in a test of knowledge about developing countries.
With seven billion people already on our planet, we often look to the future with dread, but Rosling's message is surprisingly upbeat. Almost unnoticed, we have actually begun to conquer the problems of rapid population growth and extreme poverty.
Across the world, even in countries like Bangladesh, families of just two children are now the norm - meaning that within a few generations, the population explosion will be over. A smaller proportion of people now live in extreme poverty than ever before in human history and the United Nations has set a target of eradicating it altogether within a few decades.
In this as-live studio event, Rosling presents a statistical tour-de-force, including his 'ignorance survey', which demonstrates how British university graduates would be outperformed by chimpanzees in a test of knowledge about developing countries.
sábado, 20 de agosto de 2016
Comma Queen
Comma Queen is video series published by The New Yorker.
In 25 episodes Comma Queen (Mary Norris) explains a number of controversial and difficult grammar points. The series includes videos on “I vs me”, “which vs that”, "dangling participle", "singular their", "prepositions", "less vs fewer", "who vs whom", and so on. It also explains the correct use of punctuation.
The videos are concise, clear, and come complete with examples.
Mary Norris also delivered the talk The nit-picking glory of The New Yorker's Comma Queen at TED early this year.
You can read the full transcript here.
H/T to Lesson Plans Digger.
In 25 episodes Comma Queen (Mary Norris) explains a number of controversial and difficult grammar points. The series includes videos on “I vs me”, “which vs that”, "dangling participle", "singular their", "prepositions", "less vs fewer", "who vs whom", and so on. It also explains the correct use of punctuation.
The videos are concise, clear, and come complete with examples.
Mary Norris also delivered the talk The nit-picking glory of The New Yorker's Comma Queen at TED early this year.
You can read the full transcript here.
H/T to Lesson Plans Digger.
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