Girls, listen up: 'studying science opens doors to fascinating careers' – FTSE boss.

FTSE 100 General Manager Nikki Yates claims more women in science and tech would boost the economy and mean women overall are better paid. She outlines her rational ahead of her speech at the UN commission on the status of women on Wednesday.

My day job requires me to be a leader. As a senior manager in a FTSE 100 healthcare company, I’m constantly asked for advice and direction by my team.

At home, it’s a different story. My two daughters are like most other young people – they think they know best. But there’s one topic in particular where I firmly put my foot down, and that’s the subjects they choose to study at school. I’ve always insisted that they must study a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) subject.

The UK has a skills gap in STEM subjects. The latest university entry figures show that only around 22 per cent of maths and computer science students are female, and this figure drops to 18 per cent for technology students and 13 per cent for engineering students.

We know there are 2.4 million women in the UK who are not working but want to work, and a further 1.3 million women who want to work more hours. By getting more women into work and balancing the gender gap in the UK’s workforce, we could add more than 10 per cent to our economy by 2030. STEM careers are an excellent place for us to start redressing the balance.

We need to broaden girls’ aspirations and career choices through stronger partnerships between schools, career development professionals, businesses and parents. At GSK, we try hard to encourage people into STEM education and careers – we run science activities in schools and take a leading role in the Government’s Apprentice Trailblazers initiative, as well as supporting STEM ambassadors from around the business to act as role models in their local communities.

By working together to encourage women into careers they may have previously shied away from, we will be able to help secure the future of the UK as a leader in science, as well as securing future economic growth.

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. Niki Yates thinks that there are too many women working in the economy in science and tech.

b. Niki has to ask her colleagues for advice in her day job.

c. Niki's daughters are made to study a STEM subject at school.

d. A total of 3.7 million women either want to start work or work more hours in the UK.

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

a. Why is it important for girls to study STEM subjects?

b. What is being done to encourage more girls to have greater aspirations in education and work?

Question 3 (1.5 points) Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and definitions given.

a. improve (para. 1)                  d.) make greater (para. 6)

b. reason (para. 1)                     e.) avoid (para. 7)

c. go down (para. 4)

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

a. People constantly ask me for advice.

I......

b. Niki said, I’ve always insisted that they must study a STEM subject.

Niki said that.......

c.If more girls study STEM subjects, the gender gap at work will be reduced.

If more girls studied.......

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

Do you think it is important to study science at school? Why or why not?

Five expired foods you can still eat

A supermarket in Boston is going to sell only food that's past its sell-by date. So what are they, asks Rajini Vaidyanathan.

In the US alone, 40% of food is thrown out, partly because of confusing date labels, telling consumers to "use by", "sell by" and "enjoy by" a certain time. Some of the dates are not about safety but taste, says Dana Gunders, a food scientist from the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC), which has issued a report saying much of the food labelled bad is actually perfectly edible.

Early next year, businessman Doug Rauch, once behind the successful Trader Joe's chain in the US, is opening a supermarket and restaurant which will sell outdated food. So what are some of those foods?

Tortilla chips aren't going to make you sick after a month, says Gunders, although they might start tasting stale. Putting them in an oven with oil will re-crisp them again, while storing in a sealed container extends their life by keeping moisture out. Gunders says yogurt can last beyond six weeks and she often scrapes off the mould. "I eat yogurt months past its date, I haven't ever had a problem."

Chocolate can last a long time, she adds, but it often develops a white coating, known as the "bloom", when it's exposed to the air. This happens when some of the crystalline fat melts and rises to the top. It's not mould, she says, and it's fine to eat.

People throw out eggs much earlier than they need to, says Gunders - they can last 3-5 weeks. But keep them at a temperature below 5C (41F), says Ted Labuza, a professor of food science at the University of Minnesota, because that helps prevent potential growth of Salmonella enteritidis.

Milk will smell or taste bad long before it makes you sick, says Labuza. Don't let the container sit out at room temperature because microbes in the air will spoil the milk - close it up quickly and return it to the refrigerator, which should be set at around 2C (36F) to help prolong its life.

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. The outdated foods will be in a section of the supermarket.

b. The “use by” labels don’t only refer to the state of the food.

c. Dana Gunders gives tips about keeping some of the foods.

d. As soon as milk starts smelling bad, you mustn’t drink it.

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

a. Which two initiatives will stop food from being thrown out?

b. How should eggs and milk be kept?

Question 3 (1.5 points) Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and definitions given.

a. to publish (par.2)                   b. wetness (par.4)                     c. to dissolve (par.5)

d. to stop (par.6)                       e. to damage (par.7)

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

a. Dough Rauch is opening a supermarket and a restaurant next year.

    A supermarket …………………………………. 

b “I eat yogurt months past its date. I haven’t ever had a problem.” Gunders says.

    Gunders said that …………………………….

c. Chocolate develops a white coating because fat melts and rises to the top.

    If fat …………………………………….

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

Eating at home or eating out. What do you prefer?

British and American English 11

Fill in the British or American words in the following sentences. Give the British word for sentences 1-5 and the American one for sentences 6-10.

1. Now, madam, if you’d just open the (hood) ……………………………, I’ll check the battery for you.
2. It was a black car, Inspector, a Ford I think. But I’m afraid I didn’t get a chance to see the (license plate) ……………………………
3. One thing you should remember about England is that people always (stand in line) …………………………… when waiting for a bus.
4. Oh, Peter, I wonder if you could pop down to the (liquor store) ……………………………for me and get a bottle of whisky?
5. I’d like a (one-way) …………………………… ticket to Hastings, please.
6. The baby’s crying, darling. I think he wants his (dummy) ……………………………
7. Go and (wash your hands) …………………………… before you have a meal, there’s a good boy.
8. There’s something wrong with the hot water (tap) …………………………… It’s running cold.
9. Excuse me, where’s the nearest (public convenience) …………………………… please?
10. We could play a game of poker if someone as a (pack) …………………………… of cards.

KEY

1. Bonnet             2. Number plate          3. Queue          4. Off-licence     5.  Single

6. Pacifier            7. Wash up                8. Faucet          9. Restroom      10. deck

Modals: may, might, could

Translate the following sentences into English

1. Puede que haya venido.
2. No pudo haber sido Jim. Está fuera de la ciudad.
3. Podría ser que fuéramos esta noche.
4. Quizá alguien haya tirado un cigarrillo.
5. Puede que él te diga la verdad hoy.
6. Puedes venir con nosotros si quieres.
7. Puede ser que venga con nosotros.
8. No pudimos volver después de las 10.
9. Podías haberlo pensado antes.
10. Ella sabía hablar 8 idiomas a los 10 años.

KEY

1. He may have come.
2. It couldn’t have been Jim. He’s out of town.
3. We might go tonight.
4. Someone may have dropped a cigarette.
5. He may tell you the truth today.
6. You may come with us if you want to.
7. He may come with us.
8. We couldn’t come back after ten.
9. You could have thought about it before.
10. She could speak eight languages at the age of ten.

Billy Elliot

Fill in all the gaps after watching the video here.

WHAT DANCING FEELS LIKE

Man: We shall let you ………………………..  in due course.

Woman: Just one ……………..  question. Can I ask you, Billie? What does it  ……..  …….   when you're ………………. ?

Billie: I don't know. Sort of feels good. ……………….  I get going, then I forget ………….. . I can feel a ……………  in me(my) all body. There's …………….  in me (my) body. Just there, fire like a ………….. , like electricity. Yeah, electricity.

Man: Have a  …………….. journey home. Mr. Elliot, good luck with the……………………. 

KEY

know, last, feel like, dancing, once, everything, change, fire, bird, safe, strike.  

Modals, Can't, must

Translate the following sentences into English

1. Él debe conocer a mucha gente importante.
   
2. Debe de ser rico, gasta mucho dinero.
3. No debe de ser rico, no gasta mucho dinero.
4. Haces mucho ejercicio. Debes de estar muy en forma.
5. Fumas mucho, no debes estar muy en forma.
6. No abrió la puerta. Debía de haberse quedado dormido.
7. Abrió la puerta enseguida. No debía de estar dormido.
8. John no ha saludado. No debe de habernos visto.
9. Tom debe estar en casa. Su coche está en la entrada.
10. Tom no debe de estar en casa. Su coche no está en la entrada.

KEY

1. He must know a lot of important people.
2. He must be rich; he spends a lot of money.
3. He can’t be rich; he doesn’t spend a lot of money.
4. You take a lot of exercise. You must be really fit.
5. You smoke too much; you can’t be really fit.
6. He didn’t open the door. He must have fallen asleep.
7. He opened the door at once. He couldn’t be asleep.
8. John hasn’t said hello. He can’t have seen us.
9. Tom must be (at) home. His car is in the driveway.
10. Tom can’t be (at) home. His car isn’t in the driveway.

British and American English 10

Match the British word with the American one

British	American
1.      Timetable	a.      Fall
2.      Football	b.      Legal holiday
3.      Noughts and crosses	c.       Scab
4.      Autumn	d.      Grade
5.      Bank holiday	e.      Stroller
6.      Blackleg	f.        Soccer
7.      Blind (window)	g.      Period
8.      Break (school)	h.      Zip code
9.      Class/form (school)	i.        Schedule
10.  Curtains	j.        Tic-tac-toe
11.  Pushchair	k.       Shade
12.  Postal code	l.        Drapes
13.  Full stop	m.    Recess

KEY  

1.I        2. F      3. J       4. A      5. B      6. C      7. K      8. M     9. D     10. L

11. e          12. H   13. G

Purpose sentences

Translate the following sentences into English

1. Jill ha dejado de comer dulces para perder algo de peso.
2. Compramos un vídeo para poder grabar las películas de noche.
3. Están corriendo para no mojarse.
4. Decidí viajar a Zaragoza en bus, para poder leer por el camino.
5. Para encender este aparato, enciende el botón power.
6. Fuimos temprano para no perdernos el principio.
7. Pídele la llave para que podamos entrar en la casa.
8. Es una herramienta para abrir latas.
9. Le di la dirección para que pudiera llamarme.
10. Por favor, enciende la radio para oír las noticias.

KEY

1. Jill has stopped eating sweets in order to lose some weight.
2. We bought a video so that we could record the late night films.
3. They are running so as not / in order not / to get wet.
4. I decided to travel to Zaragoza by bus so that I could read on the way.
5. In order to turn on this machine, press the “power” button.
6. We went early so as not to miss the beginning.
7. Ask him for the key so that we can get into the house.
8. This is a tool for opening tins.
9. I gave him my address so that he could write to me.
10. Switch on the radio so that we can listen to the news, will you?

Rephrasing

Complete the following sentences without changing the meaning

1.       I've never heard a better voice.

She has ………………………….

2.       The fur coat was so expensive that nobody could afford it.

It was such ……………………………………..

3.       This is the village where we spend our holidays every summer.

We spend …………………………………..

4.       He received a lot of fan mail. He could not answer it all.

He received so ………………………………………….

5.       Am I obliged to eat this food?

Do I …………………………………………………..

6.       The architect has made the plans for our house.

We …………………………………………………………

7.       It was very foolish of you to go out yesterday without a coat. No wonder you caught a cold.

You …………………………………………………………………

8.       It's possible to feed everyone if we share the world's resources.

Everyone ………………………………………………..

9.       “Yes, I didn’t stop at the red light,‟ she said.

She admitted ……………………………………………………….

10.   I regret not going to the doctor before. My back would be all right now.

I wish …………………………………………..

Be careful when using Google translator

Google Translate: 10 reasons why it's no match for learning a language

Modern languages are in decline at British universities. Can Google's translation service ever fill the gap?

Can Google Translate be a safe alternative to proper study? Don't raise your hopes.

The number of British universities offering specialist modern-language courses is in sharp decline. Is it possible that this collapse might be partly down to the rise of free software such as Google Translate? After all, why waste several years of your life perfecting every last conversational nuance of a second language when you can listlessly prod "CAN I HAVE SOME CHIPS?" on to your phone and then wave a screen reading "POSSO TER UM POUCO CHIPS?" in the face of a disappointed Portuguese waiter?

Obviously, this is terribly misguided. Google Translate will never be any substitute for learning a foreign language, and here's why:

1 Google Translate is only good when there's internet. Without seriously learning a language, all you could say to a French person offline is whatever you memorised at school. In my case this would amount to "bank", "swimming pool" and "Hello my name is Stuart, I am 11 years old".

2 If Google Translate had been responsible for the English version of The Girl From Ipanema (originally, in Portuguese, Garota de Ipanema), Frank Sinatra would have had to croon "Girl in the golden body, sun From Ipanema, The It swung its more than a poem", which doesn't really scan as well.

3 If everybody relied on Google Translate, exchange trips would become a thing of the past. You'd miss that mutely chainsmoking 14-year-old Belgian boy with a full beard who glowers at you from the kitchen table.

4 "Sixty Two" translated into Filipino on Google Translate comes out as the numerals "62". This is clearly no use to anybody.

5 United Nations summits would slow to a crawl, because translators would have to type everything anyone said into the internet to figure out what was going on. The icy silences this would create between delegates would almost definitely result in all-out, planet-ending war.

6 Although Google Translate can teach you foreign swearwords, only a native speaker can show you the proper intonation and the right aggressive hand gestures to accompany them.

7 Even though it has improved a lot over the years, there's still no real guarantee of accuracy. There's still a worry that, if you visited a doctor on holiday with a sore throat and used Google Translate to list your symptoms, he would end up amputating your legs.

8 Who would present Eurovision if everyone used Google Translate? A robot? That would be madness.

9 The French phrase "Se taper le cul par terre" means to laugh uproariously. According to Google Translate, though, it means "Ass banging on the floor". There is literally no end to the disasters that could arise from this misunderstanding.

10 By learning a language, you are guaranteeing yourself a lifetime of being able to walk past Rosetta Stone concessions in shopping centres without feeling like a horrible veiny blob of wasted potential, as I usually do.

Girls, listen up: 'studying science opens doors to fascinating careers' – FTSE boss.

KEY

Question 1

            a) False: Nikki Yates claims more women in science and tech would boost the economy

            b) False:My day job requires me to be a leader. As a senior manager in a FTSE 100 healthcare company, I’m constantly asked for advice and direction by my team.

            c) True:I’ve always insisted that they must study a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) subject.

            d) True:We know there are 2.4 million women in the UK who are not working but want to work, and a further 1.3 million women who want to work more hours.

Question 2

a)   would boost the economy/because there is a skills gap in the UK/balance the gender gap in UK workforce/broaden girl's aspiration and career opportunities/secure UK as a leading country in Science/

b) give personal advice to daughters and girls to study STEM subject/stronger partnerships between schools career specialists and businesses and organisations/run science activities in schools/take a lead in government initiatives/work with STEM ambassadors and the local community

Question 3

a)       boost                                 d) drop

b)       rational                              e) shy away from

c)       drop to

Question 4

a) I am constantly asked for advice.

b) Niki said that she had always insisted that they had to study  a STEM subject.

c) If more girls studied STEM subjects, the gender gap would be reduced at work.

Lost baby elephant wanders into house in South Africa

She walked for thirty miles and ended up at a game reserve in Zululand, where she tapped on the door.

Francoise Malby Anthony, who lives in the house, said she looked hungry and thirsty when she first turned up.

They fed her and named her Tom, while park rangers from the reserve, went out to search for her Mum.

They managed to track down Tom's herd in the reserve and reunited the lost elephant with its family.

True or False?

1. The elephant's family lived in the reserve.

2. The rangers found the baby elephant's family.

3. Elephants normally live in houses.

4. The baby elephant needed food when she arrived at the house.

5. The house was not in the game reserve.

6. The elephant had no food until she was reunited with her family.

7. The little elephant travelled a long way before she was found.

8. The elephant broke down the door.

Match each word to its definition

game / ranger / reserve / reunited / separated / wandered

place where wild animals and plants live and are protected

someone whose job is to look after a forest or a park

walked or moved slowly without any purpose

when people or animals meet again after being apart for a long time

when things that are normally together are far apart from each other

wild animals that are sometimes hunted for sport or food

Which word or phrase means the same as the one in italics?

1.         tapped

a)         the same as shouted

b)         the same as rang

c)         the same as knocked

2.         search

a)         the same as find

b)         the same as look

c)         the same as call

3.         lives

a)         the same as visits

b)         the same as leaves

c)         the same as resides

4.         thirsty

a)         the same as dry

b)         the same as starved

c)         the same as wet

KEY

True or false?

1.True

2.True

3.False

4.True

5.False

6.False

7.True

8.False

Which word or phrase means the same as the one in italics?

1.c)   knocked

2.b)   look

3.c)   resides

4.a)   dry

 Vocabulary

game                wild animals that are sometimes hunted for sport or food

ranger               someone whose job is to look after a forest or a park

reserve              place where wild animals and plants live and are protected

reunited            when people or animals meet again after being apart for a long time

separated         when things that are normally together are far apart from each other

wandered          walked or moved slowly without any purpose