French phone company rings up a bill of €11,721,000,000,000,000

It was surely the most astronomical phone bill in history. When an unemployed childminder in south-west France received a bill for €11,721,000,000,000,000 (that's 11.7 million billion euros – more than 5,000 times the gross domestic product of France) – it took her days of wrangling with helpline staff to stop it being debited from her bank account.

Solenne San Jose. of Pessac, a Bordeaux suburb, had just lost her job and wanted to end her phone subscription, when the final bill arrived. She told her local paper, Sud Ouest: "I nearly had a heart attack. There were so many zeros that I couldn't even work out how much it was."

She called Bouygues Telecom, the phone company headed by Martin Bouygues, a friend of Nicolas Sarkozy, but was told by shrugging staff there was nothing they could do. One said: "It's calculated automatically." Another told her she would be contacted about paying in instalments. Several calls later, an adviser admitted it was a mistake: San Jose owed €117.21. The company has apologised and let her off the real bill.

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 11 October 2012

Complete Solenne’s story:

“I lost my job, and was going to end my (1) p………….. subscription. One day, when I was checking the post, I opened an envelope and found a telephone (2) b ……. .

I nearly had a (3) h……………. a…………… ! There were so many (4) z……….. , I couldn’t even calculate how much the total was!

Later that day, I telephoned Bouygues Telecom, but they were really unhelpful! I spoke to several members of (5) s……….. at the company, and all they told me was that ‘the bill was (6) c……………. automatically.’

Another employee told me that the only solution would be to pay the bill in
(7) i ……………... ! I panicked! I had no job and no money to pay anything!

Finally, one day, after numerous phone (8) c ……….. , someone at the company told me that the bill was a (9) m ……………….. .. Instead of owing 11.7 million euros, I actually owed 117.21! Although the company has (10 ) a………………….. and said I don’t need to pay them anything now, it doesn’t really make up for all the stress I’ve suffered.”



Key

1 phone 2 bill 3 heart attack 4 zeros 5 staff 6 calculated 7 instalments 8 calls 9 mistake 10 apologised



VIDEO LISTENING
London 2012: What next for the Olympic Park?

The marathon task of dismantling several sporting venues at the Olympic Park in London is about to begin.

The park is the size of over 350 football pitches with 200,000 temporary seats in it.


BEFORE YOU WATCH

Match the words below to their definitions to help you understand the video

apprentice / cauldron / extinguished / festival / harness / imperceptibly / legacy /

navigating / promenade / punctuation / radically / transformation / volunteer

a. organized set of special events
b. something, usually of value, that is handed down to the future
c. large pot, usually made of metal
d. put out a fire or turned off a light
e. describes an action that isn’t noticed or felt because it is very small or slow
f. paths made for walking
g. complete change in the appearance or character of something or someone
h. planning and then following a route
i. describes an action that is extreme or completely different
j. control something in order to use its power
k. marks, such as full stops, commas, and brackets, used in writing to separate sentences and their elements, and to clarify meaning
l. someone who has agreed to work for a skilled person, often for low pay, in order to learn that person's skills
m. person who does something, especially helping other people, willingly and without being forced or paid to do it



Same or different?

1. altogether

a) the same as simultaneously
b) the same as partially
c) the same as completely

2. acquire

a) the same as gain
b) the same as forfeit
c) the same as acquiesce

3. dismantled

a) the same as raised
b) the same as disassembled
c) the same as subverted

4. eventually

a) the same as henceforth
b) the same as subsequently
c) the same as ultimately

AFTER YOU WATCH

True or false?

1. Over four million people have already visited the Olympic Park.
2. Some of the venues will change substantially once the Olympics is over.
3. This weekend is not expected to be as busy as previous ones.
4. The aquatic arena will remain unchanged.
5. The main stadium will be sold after the Olympics has finished.
6. The riverbank arenas are only temporary structures.
7. The basketball arena can’t be reused.
8. David Stubbs says that the Olympic Park will serve no useful purpose in future.
9. The transformation of the park will be completed by next summer.
10. Some volunteers will be unemployed after the Olympics is over.

What's the missing word?

1. Slowly, imperceptibly as far as the crowds are_________________, the curtain is coming down.
2. Around the packed promenades, a transformation_________________.
3. It will remain a key__________________for athletics.
4. Many of his____________________will find it hard to return to life outside the Games.








KEY

1. festival: organized set of special events
2. legacy: something, usually of value, that is handed down to the future
3. cauldron: large pot, usually made of metal
4. extinguished: put out a fire or turned off a light
5. imperceptibly: describes an action that isn’t noticed or felt because it is very small or slow
6. promenades: paths made for walking
7. transformation: complete change in the appearance or character of something or someone
8. navigating: planning and then following a route
9. radically: describes an action that is extreme or completely different
10. harness: control something in order to use its power
11. punctuation: marks, such as full stops, commas, and brackets, used in writing to separate sentences and their elements, and to clarify meaning
12. apprentice: someone who has agreed to work for a skilled person, often for low pay, in order to learn that person's skills
13. volunteer: person who does something, especially helping other people, willingly and without being forced or paid to do it

Same or different?
completely
gain
disassembled
ultimately

True or false?

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

What's the missing word?

1. concerned
2. awaits
3. venue
4. colleagues



Mice 'can sing in harmony' like humans and birds

Mice may be able to learn to 'sing' in harmony like humans and some birds, according to US scientists.

 

Male mice sing complex songs to attract females, but it's long been thought they couldn't control their pitch, how high or low it sounds.

 

Duke University researchers have now found that when male mice were housed together, they changed the pitch of their songs to match each other. But some scientists aren't so sure the evidence supports the new finding.

 

The melodies that mice make are ultrasonic, so they're too high-pitched for human ears. Only a few animals are able to adapt the pitch of their sounds - something known as "vocal learning". Creatures with this talent include parrots, whales, dolphins, bats and elephants.

 

Match the words below to their definitions

 

complex / evidence / harmony / researchers / ultrasonic / vocal

 

1. pleasant musical sound
2. involving lots of things and difficult to understand
3. people who study something to learn new things
4. something that makes you believe that something is true
5. very high-pitched sound that you can’t hear
6. involving or relating to your voice

 True or false?

 

 1. The study focused on male mice.

 2. Not all scientists agree with the study.

 3. Mice are the only animals that can sing.

 4. Humans can’t hear the mouse songs.

 5. Male mice can’t sing in harmony.

 6. Parrots and dolphins can’t sing.

 7. The mice raise and lower their voices.

 8. Duke University in the United States.

 

 What's the missing word?

 

1. The________________that mice make are ultrasonic.

 2. Only a few animals are able to_____________the pitch of their sounds.

 3. Male mice sing complex songs to______________females.

 4. It's long been thought they couldn't________________their pitch.

 

 

 

KEY

 

Match the words below to their definitions

harmony: pleasant musical sound

complex: involving lots of things and difficult to understand

researchers: people who study something to learn new things

evidence: something that makes you believe that something is true

ultrasonic: very high-pitched sound that you can’t hear

vocal: involving or relating to your voice

 

 True or false?

 

1. True 

2. True

3. False

4. True

5. False

6. False

7. True

8. True

 

What's the missing word?

 1. melodies

 2. adapt

 3. attract

 4. control

New dinosaur that's part bird, vampire bat and porcupine discovered!

A new kind of dinosaur has been identified that is part parrot, part vampire bat and part porcupine.

Scientists say the scary looking beast is called Pegomastax africanus, which means "thick jaw from Africa".

The dinosaur had a parrot-like beak, porcupine-like spikes and sharp fangs, which is unusual because they also think it was a vegetarian!

Experts from the University of Chicago sayPegomastax africanus was identified from fossils found in South Africa. It was about the size of a pet cat and lived 100-200 million years ago.

Professor Paul Sereno, from the University of Chicago, actually first discovered the creature way back in 1983.

But he got distracted by other work and didn't get round to writing about it until now!

Match the words below to their definitions

creature / discovered / fangs / fossils / porcupine / vampire bat

1. small flying animal that sucks blood from other animals
2. type of animal that is covered with large stiff hairs which protect it
3. long sharp teeth
4. ancient plants or animals that have been turned into stone
5. found something for the first time
6. animal

True or false?

1. The dinosaur was small and spiky.
2. Paul Sereno only discovered the dinosaur recently.
3. The dinosaur was found in Chicago.
4. The dinosaur was related to pet cats.
5. The dinosaur looked like a parrot.
6. The dinosaur died in 1983.
7. There are no fossils in South Africa.
8. Pegomastax africanus has a heavy jaw.

What's the missing word?

1. Pegomastax africanus was ____________ from fossils found in South Africa.
2. The dinosaur had a parrot-like ____________ .
3. The ____________ looking beast is called Pegomastax africanus.
4. But he got ____________ by other work.





KEY

Match the words

vampire bat: small flying animal that sucks blood from other animals
porcupine: type of animal that is covered with large stiff hairs which protect it
fangs: long sharp teeth
fossils: ancient plants or animals that have been turned into stone
discovered: found something for the first time
creature: animal

True or false?

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

What's the missing word?

1. identified
2. beak
3. scary
4. distracted

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