Prince William And Kate Middleton Welcome Third Child

Watch the video and answer the following questions:

1.- Where was the official announcement posted at?
2.- How much does the boy weigh?
3.- Was the Duke of Cambridge present for the birth?
4.- When was the boy delivered?
5.- Where was the Queen when the baby was born?
6.- What was the Wueen doing?
7.- What was Prince George wearing during the visit to his newborn brother?
8.- Which position does the baby have in the line to the British throne?
9.- Why is the baby "special" regarding the throne?
10.- How does the Duke of Cambridge feel about this birth?
11.- What names are being considered for the boy?
12.- When will the name be announced?


KEY

1.- At the gates of Buckingham Palace.
2.- He weighs 8lbs (pounds) 7oz (ounces).
3.- Yes, he was.
4.- At 11:01.
5.- The Queen was in Windsor.
6.- She was riding her horse.
7.- His school uniform.
8.- Fifth.
9.- He won't push Princess Charlotte out of the way in the line os succession, just because she is a girl.
10.- He feels happy, delighted and thrice worried.
11.- Arthur, Albert or Phillip.
12.- Soon enough.
 

New York's Central Park will be car-free this summer

 Click on the link below to watch a video about an important announcement by NYC Mayor concerning Central Park

CENTRAL PARK 

     One of the nation’s most iconic urban spaces is kicking out cars. For a trial period that starts in June, vehicles will no longer be allowed to drive through New York’s Central Park, save for cross-town transverses at 97th, 86th, 79th and 65th Streets.

     Cars have been allowed on a loop drive shared with pedestrians and cyclists south of 72nd Street during certain hours. Loop drives above 72nd Street were closed to vehicular traffic permanently in 2015. “For more than a century, cars have turned parts of the world’s most iconic park into a highway. Today we take it back,” de Blasio said.Central Park without cars, the Parks Department said, would be cleaner and safer.

 

     “Central Park is not just one of New York’s favorite parks – it’s one of the most-beloved, most-recognized parks in the entire world,” said Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver. “Now, we’re making history by demonstrating just how clean, accessible, and safe an urban park can be.”

Watch the video and complete the following sentences:

1. We are proud to be one of the __________ __________ ____________ ________.
2. And now this park, we realize, is full potential for ______ __________, for _____ ________, for ______ _____________.
3. All of them will now get to ___________ ____ ______________ __________ ____.
4. We're on the _______ of _________ _________ ______ _________.
5. There's an existential ___________ we're facing and ________ _________ _____.
6. This park was not _____________ _____ _________.
7. Literally, it was built before _______ ________ __________ .

KEY

1. ...world's great running cities
2. … our runners, our walkers, our bicyclers.
3. ...enjoy a car-free Central Park.
4. ...eve … Earth Day this weekend.
5. ...threat.... that's climate change.
6. … built for automobiles.
7. …. there were automobiles.

“No excuses” - dieting works better if obesity in the family, study finds

More than 100 genes have now been associated with obesity. Dieting is more likely to be effective for people who have a history of obesity in their family, a new study has found.

A 20-year investigation by Harvard University revealed that the most successful dieters were those genetically predisposed to being overweight. Researchers found that those with the highest genetic risk were able to improve their BMI approximately 70 per cent better than those who were not. They believe the act of dieting itself may be blunting the effect of genetic predisposition at a molecular level.

Published in the British Medical Journal, the study tracked nearly 14,000 people between 1986 and 2006. Dr Louisa Ells, of Teesside University in Middlesbrough, who reviewed the findings for the journal, said: "Genetic predisposition is no barrier to successful weight management and no excuse for weak health and policy responses.” Obesity is a complex disorder involving a mix of genes and environmental influences.

Previous research has shown that diets high in sugar sweetened drinks and fried foods may amplify the genetic associations with higher body weight. The first genes associated with putting on weight were discovered 10 years ago, since when more than a 100 new genes have been found. Between 40 and 44 per cent of people carry the FTO gene variant, and around 16 per cent have two copies, making it roughly 70 per cent more likely that they will become obese.

The new research is the first to assess the interactions between diet quality and genetic predisposition to obesity on a long-term basis. “Long term, dramatic weight loss is difficult to achieve, even in the context of weight loss interventions,” said Dr Tiange Wang, from Tulane University in Louisiana. "Therefore, even modest weight loss or simply maintaining weight from adulthood onward - compared with gaining weight - may have a substantial effect on population health."

From The Daily Telegraph 10^th January 2018

Question 2: Find words or phrases in the text that correspond to the words and definitions given.

1.- link (paragraph 1):

2.- research (paragraph 1):

3.- show (paragraph 2):

4.- top (paragraph 2):

5.- better (paragraph 2):

6.- reduce, mitigate (paragraph 2):

7.- result (paragraph 2):

8.- follow (paragraph 3):

9.- discoveries follow (paragraph 3):

10.- low follow (paragraph 3):

11.- sickness follow (paragraph 3):

12.- former (paragraph 4):

13.- increase (paragraph 4): a

14.- get fat (paragraph 4):

15.- almost (paragraph 4):

16.- estimate (paragraph 5):

17.- reach (paragraph 5):

18.- reach (paragraph 5):

19.- so (paragraph 5):

20.- forwards (paragraph 5):

Key:

1.- link (paragraph 1): associate, associated

2.- research (paragraph 1): study

3.- show (paragraph 2): reveal, revealed

4.- top (paragraph 2): highest

5.- better (paragraph 2): improve

6.- reduce, mitigate (paragraph 2): blunt, blunting

7.- result (paragraph 2): effect

8.- follow (paragraph 3): tracked

9.- discoveries follow (paragraph 3): findings

10.- low follow (paragraph 3): weak

11.- sickness follow (paragraph 3): disorder

12.- former (paragraph 4): previous

13.- increase (paragraph 4): amplify

14.- get fat (paragraph 4): put on weight, putting on weight

15.- almost (paragraph 4): roughly

16.- estimate (paragraph 5): assess

17.- reach (paragraph 5): estimate

18.- reach (paragraph 5): achieve

19.- so (paragraph 5): therefore

20.- forwards (paragraph 5): onward

Science and Technology

Fill in the gaps with the appropriate form of the words below

Develop               pioneer                                study                    discover                              invent                   design

1. The physicians Marie Curie and her husband Pierre................................…. radium.

2. After years of ………………………………………………., Freud ……………………………. a theory of the mind which has changed for ever the way we view ourselves.

3. Brunel ………………………………………………. the Clifton Bridge.

4. Marco Polo made journeys through Asia and wrote a book describing what he had ……………………………………………….

5. Edward Jenner ………………………………………………. the use of vaccination to prevent disease.

6. I wonder who ………………………………………………. the very first computer.

7. Einstein ………………………………………………. the theory of relativity which replaced Newton’s theories.

8. Florence Nightingale ………………………………………………. effective nursing care and improvements in public health.

9. In 1930 Clyde Tombaugh ………………………………………………. Pluto after many years ………………………………………………. the night sky.

Key.

1. Discovered
2. Studying – developed
3. Designed
4. Discovered
5. Pioneered
6. Invented 
7. Developed
8. Pioneered
9. Discovered – studying

This cheap 3D-printed home is a start for the 1 billion who lack shelter

Food, water, and shelter are basic human needs, but 1.2 billion people in the world live without adequate housing. Now at SXSW, an Austin-based recent business will unveil its approach to combat that deficiency by using low-cost 3D printing as a potential solution.

ICON has developed a method for printing a single-story 650-square-foot house out of cement in only 12 to 24 hours, a fraction of the time it takes for new construction. If all goes according to plan, a community made up of about 100 homes will be constructed for residents in El Salvador next year. The company has partnered with New Story, a nonprofit that is interested in international housing solutions. They have been building homes for communities in Haiti, El Salvador, and Bolivia.

The first model, scheduled to be unveiled in Austin, is a step toward providing shelter to those in underserved communities. Jason Ballard, one of ICON’s three founders, says he is going to trial the model as an office to test out their practical use. “We are going to install air quality monitors. How does it look, and how does it smell?”

The model has a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and a curved porch. “There are a few other companies that have printed homes and structures,” Ballard says. “But they are printed in a warehouse, or they look like Yoda huts. For this venture to succeed, they have to be the best houses.” The use of cement as a common material will help normalize the process for potential tenants that question the sturdiness of the structure. “I think if we were printing in plastic we would encounter some issues.”

  

Question 1. Say whether the following statements are true or false. Give evidence from the text.

1.     1.2 billion do not have food or water.

2.     New Story is making money by giving homes to people in need.

3.     The model won't be used as a home.

4.     Ballard wants good quality houses.

5.     Using platic instead of cement would cause some problems.

Question 3. Find words and expressions which mean the same as:

1.     acceptable

2.     residence

3.     make known

4.     as expected

5.     associate

6.     charitable

7.     give

8.     poor

9.     shed

10.  firmness, strength

KEY

Question 1

1.     False.” Food, water and shelter are basic human needs, but 1.2 billion live without adequate housing.”

2.     False. “ New Story, a nonprofit that is interested in international housing solutions.”

3.     True. “ Jason Ballard, one of ICON's three founders, says he is going to trial he model as an office to test out their practical use.”

4.     True. “For this venture to succeed , they have to be the best houses”

5.     True.” I think if we were printing in plastic, we would encounter some issues.”

Question 3

     1. adequate        2. housing          3. to unveil       4. according to plan      
      5. partnered / to partner         6. nonprofit         7. providing / to provide                       8. underserved                       9. huts              10. sturdiness   

Bookshops are back - because you can't meet a partner on your kindle

There is nothing like the romance of a bookshop, where people wander around in dreamy circles, bump into interesting strangers, flirt, buy a book, go for coffee, fall in love, get their hearts broken, then go back for consolation. We know this from films like Manhattan, Notting Hill and You’ve Got Mail. This is the “How We Met” story that we would like to tell our children and friends: “Oh, we met in the poetry section of that old bookshop in 1984, and look at us now!”

For a while, it looked as if this story might be defunct with digital bookshoppery – the e-book, the print-on-demand book.  Why bother wandering around a dusty, second-hand store looking for an obscure favourite when you can surf your laptop? Why pay £7.99 for a paperback when you can get it on your iPad for £1.99?

Because we want to. Because the physical bookshop holds a lure that digital can’t quite emulate. The latest and most romantic of offering is Libreria, in the East End of London, which is 830 square feet of books, and more books. Its wooden display units are on wheels so that the floor space can be opened up for events “nearly every night”. It’s got a whisky bar too and a printing press in the basement that might one day publish its own titles.

Bookshops have been clawing back high-street space for some time by meeting what today’s customers want. Foyles had its revamp two years ago, moving up the street and offering a cleaner, sleeker shop with live events; the Waterstones on Tottenham Court Road has its own cinema. High street clothes and gifts stores such as Oliver Bonas and Urban Outfitters have for their part created “book spots” on their shop floors.  These twists are apparently important to us, and have led us back to the physical store. We are, it now seems, choosing the book over the e-book. 

The “physical”, it turns out, holds an appeal that cannot be surpassed by virtual technology. I hope, in years to come, couples will be telling their friends how they met in that old bookshop, Libreria, way back in 2018!

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 furniture in Libreria is fixed to the ground.

b.  Libreria prints books.

c.  At one of the bookstores in London, you can watch films on a big screen.

d.  Oliver Bonas and Urban Outfitters sell different types of things. 

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

a.  According to classic films, why are bookshops romantic?  What do people do there?

b.  What are the advantages of digital books according to the text?

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

a. not existing anymore  (par. 2)             b.  to make an effort  (par. 2)

c. attraction  (par. 3)                                d. renovation (par. 4)             e.  to beat  (par. 5)

Question 4 (1.5 points) Choose the correct answer.

1.       Libreria’s printing press ….

a.       Publishes titles one day a week.

b.      Will probably publish in the future.

c.       Will only publish one title.

2.       …. the wooden display units are on wheels, the floor space can be opened up for events.

a.       Since

b.      So

c.       Because

3.       The physical book’s appeal  ...

a.       surpasses that of virtual technology.

b.      is surpassed by that of virtual technology.

c.       turns out virtual technology.

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

‘A good film should reflect real life’.  Do you agree?

Phrasal verbs: relationships

1. Match the phrasal verbs above with the definitions below
   Ask somebody out somewhere
   fall out with / over something
   get on with somebody 
   Get over something
   go out with somebody
   let somebody down
   split up with somebody

1. 
   Have a good relationship with somebody: …………………………………………….
2. End a romantic relationship: …………………………………………….
3. Have a romantic relationship with somebody: …………………………………………….
4. Have an argument with somebody: …………………………………………….
5. Recover from something: …………………………………………….
6. Disappoint someone: …………………………………………….
7. Invite somebody to go somewhere: …………………………………………….

2. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the phrasal verb

1. It took me years to ………………………………………. my parents’ divorce.
2. I ………………………. really well with my boyfriend. I think we have a lot in common.
3. They ………………………………………. some money and now they’re not speaking.
4. You know it’s a mistake to rely on Simon. He always ……………… you ……………………….
5. Chris and Amanda ……………………………. just before Christmas. Chris is very upset.
6. I ……………… Neil ………………………. to the cinema yesterday and he said “yes”.
7. I think Alex and Jill ………………………………………. for quite a long time – almost two years.

Key

1. Get on with somebody
2. Split up with somebody
3. Go out with somebody
4. Fall out with/over somebody
5. Get over something
6. Let somebody down
7. Ask somebody out somewhere

1. Get over
2. Get on
3. Fell out over
4. Lets – down
5. Split up
6. Asked – out
7. Have been going out

Adjectives

1. Place the following adjectives in the correct column

bright, deafening, dim, dull, guilty, loud, 

quick, shining, strong, sudden, violent, uneasy

Light	Noise	Movement	Feeling

2. Complete the sentences with a suitable adjective

1. Despite the ……………………………… light, he could see that the figure was a woman.

2. Polly had an ……………………………… feeling that something terrible could happen to her.

3. The strange figure made a ……………………………… movement and then disappeared.

4. There was some ……………………………… music in the bar, but I could still hear what he was saying.

5. The light was so ……………………………… that I had to cover my eyes.

6. There was a ……………………………… sound as the old building collapsed.

KEY

Light	Noise	Movement	Feeling
Bright	Deafening	Quick	Guilty
Dim	Loud	Sudden	Strong
Shining	Dull	Violent	Uneasy

1. Dim
2. Uneasy
3. Sudden
4. Loud
5. Bright
6. Deafening