JK Rowling

Harry Potter author JK Rowling to write grown up novel
The famous writer of the Harry Potter stories, JK Rowling, is to write her first novel for grown ups.

She's announced the news saying: "Although I've enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different from the Harry Potter series."

Rowling says the fame the Potter books brought her has given her freedom to do something new. She published seven Potter books, which have sold more than 450 million copies.

The film versions of the eight books made superstars of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson

When the final instalment of the book series went on sale in 2007, thousands of copies sold in minutes.

But she hasn't said what - or who - her brand new novel will be about, only that it will be very different from Harry Potter.

Match the words below to their definitions

famous / freedom / instalment / novel / published / version

known and recognized by many people
a long written story about imaginary characters and events
when you are able to do, say or think what you want to
produced and sold a book, magazine or newspaper
different types of the same thing, such as “there are two versions of that song”
when a story divided into a number of parts which are released separately

True or false?

1. Rowling will base her new novel on the Harry Potter series.
2. There were three main stars in the Harry Potter films.
3. The final Harry Potter book only sold a few thousand copies.
4. Rowling says that because she is famous, she is no longer free.
5. Rowling won’t say what her new book is about.
6. Rowling sold her first grown-up novel in 2007.
7. The first Harry Potter sold more than 450 million copies.
8. Rowling enjoyed writing the Harry Potter series.

What is the missing word?

9. Thousands of __________ sold in minutes.
10. It will be very __________ from Harry Potter.
11. Rowling says the fame the Potter books brought her has given her__________.
12. JK Rowling says she's __________ about her new novel for grown ups.



KEY

famous known and recognized by many people
novel a long written story about imaginary characters and events
freedom when you are able to do, say or think what you want to
published produced and sold a book, magazine or newspaper
versions different types of the same thing, such as “there are two versions of that song”
instalment when a story divided into a number of parts which are released separately



True or false?

1. False
2. True
3. False
4. False
5. True
6. False
7. False
8. True

What is the missing word?

1. copies
2. different
3. freedom
4. excited

Physical book sales nosedive

The number of paperback books sold in the UK has slumped dramatically since Christmas thanks to the increasing popularity of e-readers such as the Kindle.

Sales of printed novels over the first four weeks of 2012 fell by over a million copies compared to the same month a year ago. The number of novels sold in January was just under four million, a decline of 25 per cent compared to January 2011.

Total book sales in the UK over the month – including non-fiction books such as cookbooks – fell by 12 per cent compared to January 2011.

Spending on printed, as opposed to electronic, books is now believed to be at the lowest level for almost a decade. The decline will heap pressure on traditional high street bookshops, which are already suffering due to the economic downturn and high rents.

The fall in sales of physical books has been attributed to the rapidly-growing popularity of Kindles and other e-readers, which display virtual books that are downloaded from the internet. A total of 1.33 million e-readers were sold in the UK over Christmas. This was double the amount sold the previous Christmas. Around one in 40 of all adults in the UK were given a Kindle over Christmas, making them far and away the most popular present in the country.

The trend of falling printed book is mirrored in other countries. According to Nielsen Book Scan, a company which tracks book sales, the number of printed books sold around the world is in steady decline. Jonathan Nowell, the company’s president, told a conference in Italy that the decline in sales of real books in the US has doubled over two years. Meanwhile sales of e-books have doubled every year for the last four years.

Italy is one of the few countries where fiction sales are still growing, according to The Bookseller magazine.

Glossary nosedive: caer en picado

Question 1. Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.

a) People bought a lot more novels in January last year than this year.
b) In the UK, only the sales of fiction books have dropped
c) Giving online reading devices as presents is becoming increasingly popular.
d) The fall in sales of printed books has only taken place in Europe.

Question 2. Answer the following questions in your own words.

a) Why are people buying fewer and fewer printed books?
b) How do e-readers work?

Question 3. Find a word or a phrase in the text that means the same as:

a) because of (par. 4) b) show (par.5) c) tendency (par.6)

Question 4. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.

a) Spending on printed books is now believed to be at the lowest level.
People ............................................................................................
b) "The decline in sales of real books in the US has doubled over two years while sales of e-books have doubled every year."
Jonathan Nowell said that .................................................
c) People buy fewer books because they download books from the internet.
If people.................................................

Question 5. Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:

What do you think about e-readers? Do you prefer printed books?

Queen of the Sky

Next autumn the biggest passenger plane in the world - the Airbus A380 - is going to make its first public flight.

The plane is enormous - it's nearly 35 metres high and 75 metres long. To give you a better idea of its size, try imagining ten buses placed on top of each other for nearly an entire football field (a field measures 90 metres)! The wings on the Airbus are long enough to park 70 cars on! There are also 500 kilometres of cables.

When it is full, the Airbus will carry 853 passengers - that's over 300 more than today's jumbo jets. Inside the plane there's going to be lots of space for people to relax and travel in comfort. There are also going to be cinemas, bars, shops, and even a gym with showers!

The new super-plane has Rolls Royce engines, which are very quiet, so it isn't going to cause as much noise pollution as ordinary planes.

The Airbus A380 is going to take holidaymakers between London Heathrow and Changi airport in Singapore.

GLOSSARY:
Passenger - pasajero
Wings - alas
Engine - motor
Holidaymakers - turistas

1. Read the text and answer the questions.

a) Is the Airbus A380 big or small?
b) Is the plane going to be comfortable for passengers?


2. Read the text again and decide if the sentences are true or false.

a) The Airbus flights started last autumn.
b) There is a football field on the plane.
c) There are parking spaces in the plane.
d) Jumbo jets carry more passengers than the airbus.
e) People can watch films on the plane.
f) The engines don't make much noise.


3. Vocabulary. Find the opposites of these words in the text.

a) smallest
b) last
c) very small
d) empty
e) outside
f) noisy

The Olympic Games

The original Olympic Games took place at Olympia in Ancient Greece in 776 BC. They included art competitions as well as athletics, boxing, wrestling and chariot racing. The first modern games took place in Athens in 1896, and continue to take place every four years in different countries of the world. The Olympic flag, with its five rings, represents the five continents of the world.

The Olympics are the traditional "world championships" of athletics, but there are many other sports competitions- swimming, rowing, gymnastics and others. At each Olympics, the Olympic committee includes new sports, making each Olympics more exciting than the last. The winter Olympics are for sports such as skating and skiing. They take place two years after each Olympic Games.

Competitors in the events win medals: a gold medal for first place, silver for second, and bronze for third. The very best athletes from all over the world compete in the Olympics.

The Paralympics are for people who have got physical disabilities. Some of the competitors are blind or deaf and many of them compete in wheelchairs. The Paralympics take place after the Olympic Games.

CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER.

1.Where and when did the first Olympic Games take place?
a) in Greece in 776 BC
b) in Rome in 50 BC
c) in Greece in 400 AD

2. Where and when did the first modern Olympic Games take place?
a) in London in 1734
b) in Athens in 1896
c)in Chicago in 1913

3. How often do the Games take place?
a) every two years
b) every four years
c) every five years

4.What do the five rings on the Olympic flag symbolise?
a) the five continents of the world
b) the number of years between the Games
c) the number of medals for each event.

5.What are the Paraolympics?
a) games in pairs
b) games in parallel bars
c) games for people with physical disabilities

6. The Sydney Olympic Games took place in 2000, so the Winter Olympics took place in...
a) 1999
b) 2002
c) 2001

7. The Olympic Games take place in ...........
a) European countries
b) Greece
c) different countries

8.The Olympic flag has .........
a) five colours
b) five countries
c) five rings

9. Skating and skiing are .......
a) very funny
b) not Olympic sports
c) Olympic sports

10. The athletes that compete in the Olympics are............
a) excellent
b) happy
c) the worst

11. One of the rings in the Olympic flag represents ........
a) China
b) Africa
c) Ireland

12. In the Olympics, there are ............
a) gold, iron and bronze medals.
b) gold, silver and bronze medals.
c) gold, bronze and iron medals.

13.Wheelchairs are used in ......................
a) Ancient Olympics
b) Paralympics
c) Modern Olympics.

14.Each Olympics are more exciting than the last.....................
a) because new sports are included.
b) because the Olympic comittee go swimming.
c) because new sports are very exciting.

15. People who can't walk compete in ......................
a) Special Olympic Games.
b) Winter Olympic Games.
c) Ancient Olympic Games.

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens lived in England in the 1800s. He was a famous and popular writer. Dickens had a very hard life when he was a child, and he wrote about his experiences in his stories.
When Charles was twelve years old, his father went to prison because of money problems. Charles started to work in a factory to help his mother and his seven brothers and sisters. During this time, he lived in a very small room. He worked for ten hours a day, and in the late evenings he prepared his dinner or did his laundry. Dickens didn’t work on Sundays, so that was his favourite day of the week. But he didn’t do anything enjoyable on that day. He and his sister, Fanny, visited their father in prison...
In his stories, Charles wrote about the people and places he knew. In Little Dorrit, he talked about prison. In Oliver Twist, he described the terrible lives of children. People read Dickens’ books and learned about the hard lives of many English children. They wanted those children to have a better life. Because Dickens’ stories were very popular, they helped to change conditions for children in England.

1. Say whether the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE. Correct the false ones.

a. Dickens’ life was not easy.
b. Charles washed his own clothes.
c. On Sundays he didn’t do anything.
d. People didn’t care about poor children.

2. Answer the following questions.

a. Why did Charles start to work?
b. What was his job when he was a boy?
c. How many children were there in Dickens’ family?
d. In which story did Dickens write about the hard lives of children?

3. Complete the sentences.

a. At night after work, Charles ................................
b. Once a week, Charles ..............................................
c. Fanny was Dickens’ ..................................................
d. People read Dickens’ books and wanted children to ...................................

KEY

1.
a. True
b. True
c. False. He went to prison to visit his father.
d. False. People wanted poor children to have a better life.

2.
a. Because his father was in prison and he wanted to help his mother and his brothers and sisters.
b. He was a factory worker.
c. There were eight children.
d. He wrote about it in Oliver Twist.

3.
a. prepared his dinner and did his laundry.
b. went to visit his father in prison.
c. sister.
d. have a better life.

People who help us

All of these people help us during our lives. Which of these jobs would you like to do and which jobs would you NOT like to do?

doctor, teacher, policeman or policewoman, mechanic, computer technician, directory enquiries operator, tourist guide, hotel receptionist, nurse, secretary, cleaner, flight attendant, taxi driver, electrician, plumber, driving instructor

Look at what three people said about their jobs. What jobs do you think each of these people do?

“My greatest satisfaction is helping others on their way up.”

“What’s important in life is not what you do, it’s how you do it.”

“ I realised it was up to me to learn to talk to people”

Now, watch the video of Nigel. What’s his job?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya_X0T2hBtk&feature=relmfu

This is what you hear Nigel say on the video. Can you complete the first paragraph with the verbs?

I always (1) …………. to fly and (2) …………… taking lessons when I was 17, but I (3) ………… too young for a driver’s license, so I (4) ………………. to get a ride to the airfield.

Now, read the second paragraph and complete it with the missing adjectives.

Today, my passion for flying is as (1) …………… as ever and my (2) ………………. satisfaction is helping others on their way up.

Now, watch Grace Mui. She also works for Cathay Pacific. How does she help people?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy3uvKqUeZM&feature=relmfu

Do you agree that what’s important in life is not the job that you do, but the way you do your job?

Now, watch the video of Grae Mui again and put these events in the order you see them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy3uvKqUeZM&feature=relmfu

1 2 3 4 5 6

She puts a soft toy in a passenger’s suitcase pocket.

She picks up a soft toy from the floor.

She snowboards down a mountain.

She walks along the airport escalator.

She pulls down her ski goggles.

She runs after a passenger in the airport.

Physical book sales nosedive

KEY

Question 1

a. True.” The number of novels sold in January was just under four million, a decline of 25 per cent compared to January 2011.”
b. False. “Total book sales in the UK over the month – including non-fiction books such as cookbooks – fell by 12 per cent compared to January 2011.”
c. True. “Around one in 40 of all adults in the UK were given a Kindle over Christmas, making them far and away the most popular present in the country.”
d. False. “Jonathan Nowell, the company’s president, told a conference in Italy that the decline in sales of real books in the US has doubled over two years.”


Question 2

a. People are buying fewer printed books because new tecnology devices such as Kindles or e-books allow them to read almost any kind of books online, which is very convenient and cheap.
b. An e-reader is a device in which you can store an enormous number of electronic or digital books that you download from the internet.

Question 3


a. due to b. display c. trend


Question 4


a. People believe that spending on printed books is now at its lowest level.
b. Jonathan Nowell said that the decline in sales of real books in the US had doubled over two years while sales of e-books had doubled every year.
c. If people didn’t download books from the internet, they would buy more books.

Key to People who help us

Key

Nigel is a Senior Training Captain (he teaches people to fly and trains pilots)

Verbs

1 wanted 2 started 3 was 4 had

Adjectives

1 strong 2 greatest

Grace Hui

1 e 2 c 3 d 4 b 5 f 6 c 7 f 8 a 9 c

A visit to London

Watch the video about London and answer the following questions



1. What do they visit before heading to the Tower of London’
2. What’s the name of the guards at the Tower of London?
3. What can you see if you arrive at the Tower early?
4. Where does the Queen officially live?
5. What can you see at the Palace?
6. What will you see when on a cruise on the river Thames?
7. What did Sir Christopher Wren build?
8. Who got married at this building?
9. What’s Harrods?
10. How many hotels in London offer courtesy transfer?


Key

1. The Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey
2. Beefeaters
3. The Crown Jewels
4. Buckingham Palace
5. Changing of the Guards
6. Tower Bridge, London Eye and the Palace of Westminster
7. St Paul’s Cathedral
8. Princess Diana
9. A department store
10. 170 hotels

Megaupload Boss Pleads Innocence

The founder of the file-sharing website megaupload.com has pleaded not guilty to charges of Internet piracy and money laundering. Kim Dotcom, aka Kim Schmitz, told a New Zealand court that authorities were doing their best to portray him as a dangerous criminal. His lawyer Paul Davison said: “Mr Dotcom emphatically denies any criminal misconduct or wrongdoing.” Authorities in the USA want to extradite Dotcom on charges of abusing intellectual copyright by allowing millions of his site’s users to illegally download movies and songs. They say he made $175 million by distributing copyrighted content. Megaupload's lawyer said his client simply offered an online storage service.
Kim Dotcom is a German national who now lives in a huge mansion amid sprawling grounds in New Zealand. He and three others were arrested on Friday at the request of the FBI. His arrest coincides with a heated debate in the U.S. Congress about new laws to protect intellectual copyright. The Wikipedia website had earlier gone offline for 24 hours in protest at the proposed legislation, called the Stop Online Piracy Act, and the Protect Intellectual Property Act. Police had to cut Dotcom out of a hidden room he had locked himself in. They also found a loaded gun in his house. Police confiscated 18 luxury cars from Mr Dotcom, with license plates including "HACKER", "MAFIA", "STONED" and "KIMCOM".

(23rd January, 2012)

Question 1. Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.a) Kim Dotcom says the government is trying to falsely incriminate him. b) Kim Dotcom is not a citizen of New Zealand. c) The website Wikipedia said it fully supported Mr Dotcom’s actions. d) It was really easy for the police to find and arrest Mr. Dotcom.

Question 2. Answer the following questions in your own words.a) What has Mr. Dotcom been accused of?
b) What new laws are being discussed in the U.S. Congress?

Question 3. Find a word or a phrase in the text that means the same as:a) material(par.1) b) suggest (par.2) c) remove (par.2)

Question 4. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.a) Police had to cut Dotcom out of a hidden room he had locked himself in .
Dotcom ......................................................b) " Mr. Dotcom emphatically denies any wrongdoing. My client simply offers an online storage service.”
Paul Davidson said that .................................................c) Authorities in the USA want to extradite Dotcom because he abuses intellectual copyright.
If Dotcom .................................................
Question 5. Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:Advantages and disadvantages of downloading music, films,... from the Internet.

Test tube hamburgers to be served this year

The world's first test tube hamburger will be served up this October after scientists perfected the art of growing beef in the lab.

By generating strips of meat from stem cells researchers believe they can create a product that is identical to a real burger.The process of culturing the artificial meat in the lab is so laborious that the finished product will cost about £220,000. But researchers expect that after producing their first patty they will be able to scale up the process to create affordable artificial meat products.

Last autumn the Telegraph reported that Prof Mark Post of Maastricht University in the Netherlands had grown small strips of muscle tissue from a pig's stem cells. Prof Post said his team has successfully replicated the process with cow cells, bringing the first artificial burger a step closer.

Mass-producing beef, pork, chicken and lamb in the lab could satisfy the growing global demand for meat - forecast to double within the next 40 years - and dramatically reduce the harm that farming does to the environment.

Although it is possible to extract a limited number of stem cells from cows without killing them, Prof Post said the most efficient way of taking the process forward would still involve slaughter.

He said: "Eventually my vision is that you have a limited herd of donor animals in the world that you keep in stock and that you get your cells form there."

The only person to have tried the lab-grown meat so far is a Russian journalist who snatched a sample of pork during a visit to Prof Post's lab at Maastricht University last year and declared himself unimpressed.

Question 1. (2 points) Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.

a) Scientists predict the process will be cheaper in the future.
b) People will need more meat in the future.
c) They can get as many stem cells as they like from a living cow.
d) Their intention is to breed animals specifically for this purpose.

Question 2. (2 points) Answer the following questions in your own words.

a) What is the main problem to produce tube meat at the moment?
b) What are the main advantages the researchers foresee?

Question 3. (1.5 points) Find a word or a phrase in the text that means the same as

a) increase proportionally (par. 2) b) reproduce (par.3) c) requirement (par. 4)

Question 4. (1.5 points) Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning

a) He said: "Eventually my vision is that you have a limited herd of donor animals in the world that you keep in stock and that you get your cells form there."
He said that...
b) This process could satisfy the growing global demand for meat.
The growing...
c) People will find it difficult to study English although there are good websites.
If ………………………………………………

Question 5. (3 points) Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:

“Many people say that the food we eat nowadays is nothing like the food our grandparents ate”. Do you agree?

University appoints world's youngest professor

Alia Sabur has astonished her parents and teachers for years with her exploits inside and outside the classroom. Now, the New Yorker has been named the world's youngest college professor ever, breaking a record set three centuries ago by a Scottish mathematician. Korea's Konkuk University has announced that Ms Sabur, 19, will begin teaching physics next month at the Department of Advanced Technology Fusion. The appointment, which was made a few days short of her 19th birthday on 22 February, earns the doctoral student a place in the Guinness Book of World Records ahead of Colin Maclaurin, a physicist who became professor of mathematics at the University of Aberdeen in 1717.

Few who know her were surprised at the announcement. University graduate at 10, bachelor's degree at 14, masters at 17; Ms Sabur has been "setting records and making history, starting with reading at eight months old", says her website (aliasabur.com). Along the way, she found time to become a concert clarinettist with the Rockland Symphony Orchestra when she was 11. She plays Mozart, but loves U2. "I went to their Vertigo concert," she says on the phone from New York. "It was awesome."

Ms Sabur, a PhD candidate in materials science and engineering, is developing spectroscopy techniques "including nano-tube-based cellular probes" that could be used to zap tumours – a cure for cancer, in other words. At university in the US, she worked with her professor on a cure for Alzheimer's disease.

What's her secret? Childlike curiosity, she says. She thanks God, and her mum and dad – a retired engineer and a cable television reporter – for her genius. "My parents encouraged me in anything I wanted to do. We believe it is a gift from God... a combination of gift and environment." The Guinness announcement has sparked a deluge of e-mails from curious parents. "They want advice for their kids. I say encourage them at what they're good at."

Question 1 [2 points]Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.
a) Alia was 18 when the Konkuk University made her a professor.
b) Alia was not impressed by U2’s concert.
c) Alia will be working on a project to cure Alzheimer’s Disease.
d) The Sabur family have received a lot of messages from other families.

Question 2 [2 points]Answer the following questions in your own words.
a) Who was the youngest university professor before Alia?
b) How does Alia explain her success?

Question 3 [1.5 points]Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and definitions given.
a) achievements (paragraph 1)
b) destroy (paragraph 3)
c) to cause a reaction (paragraph 4)

Question 4(1.5 points]Complete the following sentences without changing the meaning.
a) Few people who knew Alia were surprised at the announcement.
The announcement ……………...............……… very many people who knew Alia.
b) “My parents encouraged me in anything I wanted to do. We believe it is a gift from God,” said Alia.
Alia said that ………...................... and that ……..................................…. .
c) Scottish mathematician Colin Maclaurin set the record of the world’s youngest professor three centuries ago.
Scottish mathematician Colin Maclaurin has been ………………......................…………… centuries.

Question 5[2 points]‘If you want to be successful, you have to work hard.’ Comment. Write 120 – 150 words.

The race to dive to the deepest place in the ocean

Four teams of explorers are separately trying to reach the deepest part of the ocean. The Mariana Trench is a deep and long hole in the Pacific Ocean floor between Japan and Australia. At nearly seven miles deep, it could fit the whole of Mount Everest in to it.

No-one has been to the bottom since 1951, but now four exploration teams are trying to do just that. So who are they and why are they doing it?

The Triton Sub
This US based company have built a three man yellow submarine, which they say will take 120 minutes to reach the ocean floor. They want to offer trips to members of public, charging each person £159,000 for a ride!

Virgin Sub
If successful, this one man machine would become the first ever solo vessel to make it into the Mariana Trench. Fitted with wings and a tail fin, its design is based on that of a plane.

Doer Sub
The team behind this sub say it's not about coming first in a race but creating something that will benefit science. It has robotic arms that will collect scientific samples and it should take 90 minutes to get to the bottom.

The Mystery Sub
The final sub is being backed by the Hollywood film director James Cameron. The man behind films like Titanic and Avatar is keeping his plans a secret at the moment but wants to pilot the sub himself.

Match the words below to their definitions

benefit / director / explorers / robotic / solo / trench

a narrow, deep hole in the earth
people who travel to places where no one has ever been in order to find out what is there
alone and without other people
helpful or good effect, or something intended to help
describes a machine that performs jobs automatically
person who is in charge of a film or play and tells the actors how to play their parts

True or false?

1. The Mariana trench has never been visited before.
2. The Triton submarine is being built to make money.
3. The Virgin submarine will have a single pilot.
4. The Doer submarine is designed for scientific research.
5. The Triton submarine will descend more quickly than the Doer submarine.
6. The Mariana trench is bigger than Mount Everest.
7. The Virgin submarine can also fly.
8. James Cameron has revealed his submarine’s design.


What is the missing word?

1. Fitted with wings and a tail fin, its_____________is based on that of a plane.
2. They want to offer trips to_____________of the public.
3. The final sub is being_____________by the Hollywood film director James Cameron.
4. It should take 90 minutes to get to the_______________.



KEY

trench a narrow, deep hole in the earth
explorers people who travel to places where no one has ever been in order to find out what is there
solo alone and without other people
benefit helpful or good effect, or something intended to help
robotic describes a machine that performs jobs automatically
director person who is in charge of a film or play and tells the actors how to play their parts


True or false?

1. False
2. True
3. True
4. True
5. False
6. True
7. False
8. False

Same or different?

1. design
2. members
3. backed
4. bottom

Megaupload Boss Pleads Innocence

Key
Question 1

a. True. “Kim Dotcom, aka Kim Schmitz, told a New Zealand court that authorities were doing their best to portray him as a dangerous criminal.”
b. True. “Kim Dotcom is a German national who now lives in a huge mansion amid sprawling grounds in New Zealand.”
c. False. “The Wikipedia website had earlier gone offline for 24 hours in protest at the proposed legislation, called the Stop Online Piracy Act, and the Protect Intellectual Property Act.”
d. False. “Police had to cut Dotcom out of a hidden room he had locked himself in. “

Question 2

a. He has been accused of copyright theft and money laundering. Dotcom has made it possible for people to download copyrighted films and music and has made a lot of money out of it.
b. They are discussing one law to prevent piracy on the net and another law to protect
intellectual property rights.


Question 3

a. content
b. proposed / to propose
c. confiscated / to confiscate

Question 4

a. Dotcom had to be cut out of a hidden room where ha had locked himself in by the police.
b. Paul Davidson said that Mr. Dotcom emphatically denied any wrongdoing . His client simply offered an online storage service.
c. If Dotcom didn’t abuse intellectual copyright, the authorities in the USA wouldn’t want to extradite him.

Test tube hamburgers to be served this year

KEY

Question 1

a) True.” But researchers expect that after producing their first patty they will be able to scale up the process to create affordable artificial meat products.“
b) True.“ the growing global demand for meat - forecast to double within the next 40 years.”
c) False.” it is possible to extract a limited number of stem cells from cows without killing them.“
d) True. “my vision is that you have a limited herd of donor animals in the world that you keep in stock.“

Question 2

a) The main problem they have at the moment is that producing this type of meet at a lab involves a complicated process that requires a lot of money.
b) Researchers believe this meat will help cope with the increasing demand of meat in the future. They also think that this process will be less damaging to the environment than the current way of producing meat.

Question 3

a) (to) scale up
b) Replicate/replicated
c) demand

Question 4

a) He said that eventually his vision was that you had a limited herd of donor animals in the world that you kept in stock and that you got your cells form there."
b) The growing global demand for meat could be satisfied by this process.
c) If there were not good websites, people wouldn’t find it easier/ so easy to study English.

University appoints world's youngest professor

Key

Question 1
a) True. Korea's Konkuk University has announced that Ms Sabur, 19, will begin teaching physics next month at the Department of Advanced Technology Fusion. The appointment, which was made a few days short of her 19th birthday on 22 February
b) False. She plays Mozart, but loves U2. "I went to their Vertigo concert," she says on the phone from New York. "It was awesome."
c) False. Ms Sabur, a PhD candidate in materials science and engineering, is developing spectroscopy techniques "including nano-tube-based cellular probes" that could be used to zap tumours – a cure for cancer, in other words.
d) True. The Guinness announcement has sparked a deluge of e-mails from curious parents. "They want advice for their kids.

Question 2
a) Colin Maclaurin was a young Scotsman and taught maths at Aberdeen University from 1717.
b) Alia says that as a child, she was curious and that when she was little, her parents supported her in her dreams. She believes that her talent plus her surroundings contributed to her success.

Question 3
a) exploits b) (to) zap c) (to) spark/ sparked

Question 4
a) The announcement did not surprise very many people who knew Alia.
b) Alia said that her parents had encouraged her in anything she wanted to do and that they believed it was a gift from God.
c) Scottish mathematician Colin Maclaurin has been the world’s youngest professor for three centuries.

Scientists design space food menu for Mars missions

Ever wondered what astronauts eat while they're in space? Well at the moment, it's all pretty nasty and very boring.

But now scientists from Cornell and Hawaii universities in the US are planning to spice up the menu in preparation for possible future missions to Mars. They're looking for volunteers to spend 120 days living on space food and to come up with some exciting new recipes and cooking tips.

The volunteers will experience what life is like for real astronauts by living inside a fake space capsule and wearing space suits. They'll record how long it takes to prepare the food, how good it tastes and how their choices change over time.

But making space food is trickier than you'd think. It has to be high in nutrition, easy to eat in micro-gravity and would also need to last the 3-5 years needed to make it to Mars and back.

Eating well in space is really important because astronauts' bodies are under a lot of pressure. They need a good variety of food to keep their energy up and keep them in a good mood while away from home.

Match the words below to their definitions

capsule / experience / gravity / in preparation / recipes / tips / volunteers

describes something you do in order to be ready to do something else
people who do something willingly without being told to do it
instructions telling you how to prepare and cook food
get knowledge from doing, seeing or feeling something
the part of a spacecraft in which the people on it live
the force that makes things fall to the ground
useful pieces of information

True or false?

1. It will take three years to travel to Mars and back.
2. The volunteers will travel to Mars.
3. Astronauts’ food is tasty today.
4. It is not easy to design food for space.
5. Space travel places a strain on astronauts’ bodies.
6. Missions to Mars will take 120 days.
7. The volunteers will come up with new ways to cook space food.
8. The volunteers must be astronauts.

Same or different?

1. fake
a)the same as unusual
b)the same as real
c)the same as false

2. variety
a)the same as assortment
b)the same as alternative
c)the same as quality

3. reckord
a)the same as describe
b)the same as document
c)the same as talk about

4. nutrition
a)the same as starvation
b)the same as refreshment
c)the same as nourishment



KEY

in preparation describes something you do in order to be ready to do something else
volunteers people who do something willingly without being told to do it
recipes instructions telling you how to prepare and cook food
experience get knowledge from doing, seeing or feeling something
capsule the part of a spacecraft in which the people on it live
gravity the force that makes things fall to the ground
tips useful pieces of information


True or false?

1. True
2. False
3. False
4. True
5. True
6. False
7. True
8. False

Same or different?

1. false
2. assortment
3. document
4. nourishment