Are you a tourist or a New York resident?

A fun experiment was carried out in New York.  A group called Improv Everywhere painted lanes on the sidewalk.  Tourists, who usually walk slower had to use one lane and New York residents the other lane, because they usually walk very fast!
One of the Improv Everywhere representatives interviewed New Yorkers and visitors.  
She received a wide variety of feedback. Many people thought it was hilarious.The most common complaint was that part of the fun of visiting New York is experiencing the hustle and bustle of the sidewalk as you walk amongst New Yorkers. Some were upset at the idea of the new lanes taking away from that experience.

Watch the video - would you like this to be painted on the pavements in your town?

Aston Martin

 Watch the video and answer the following questions.

1. Which is the best car in the shop?
2. Who is it for?
3. How old is he turning?
4. What colour is the car?
5. How much does it cost?
6. Is it new?
7. What does the complete check include?
8. How much would it be?

KEY

1. It’s an Aston Martin DB6.
2. For the nephew.
3. He’ll be 9 the following day.
4. It’s silver.
5. It costs £4.
6. No, it isn’t.
7. It includes cleaning, polishing (and everything which is humanly possible to it).
8. It would be £5.

Police threaten to arrest people throwing snowballs

It may be a centuries-old winter game, but police in County Durham are cracking down on anyone caught throwing snowballs at people who do not want to be involved in the game.

The North East was blanketed with snow yesterday and is braced for more showers today. Anyone caught throwing snowballs at vehicles, houses or people who don’t want to get involved could be arrested for anti-social behaviour, a County Durham neighbourhood policing team has said.

Posting the message on Facebook the department said: “Crook Beat Team are aware that it has been snowing and that people are going to have fun in it, however if anyone is caught throwing snowballs at vehicles or onto the road, they could be arrested”. “Likewise, if anyone throws snowballs at person’s homes or at people who do not want to be involved in the snow games, they could be arrested and it will be classed as anti-social behaviour.”

They put the message on the social networking site to try and target the younger generation who might get carried away.

There have been no arrests as yet and the message is pre-emptive rather than a response to an unusually high volume of snow-related crimes, the force confirmed.

The seriousness of the snowballing, the age, and the background of the offender will all have an impact on whether they are charged or reprimanded, a spokesperson added. The warning received a mixed reaction online, with some residents branding it a “joke” and others pointing out that they behaved in the same way when they were young.

But the post, which received 34 “likes”, received some support. User Stuart Shogun Smith commented: “Not a joke when they damage cars, or load snowballs with stones, that’s how people loose teeth.”

A spokesperson for Durham police said: “The problem in Crook is no worse than anywhere else, but the team thought they would head the problem off at the pass.”

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

a)      It snowed in the North East.

b)      Crook Beat Team are going to arrest those people throwing snowballs.

c)      Several cases have already been reported.

d)      All offenders will have the same charges.

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

a) Why is it dangerous to throw snowballs?

b) What group of people are they trying to get to and how?

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

a) Goal par. 3

b) Criminal par. 5

c)  Lead par. 7

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

a)The department said: “Crook Beat Team are aware that it has been snowing tonight and people are going to have fun with it”.

The department said that...

b)  They would head the problem off at the pass

The problem...

c) They load snowballs with stones; that's why people loose teeth.

If they...

             

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

            Do you like winter? Why?

Holiday snaps of 'smiling' three-ton hippo 'Otis' become web hit

When Jay Parker told his wife Lauren to say ‘cheese’, it seems someone else was listening, too. Otis the hippo pressed his face against the glass of his tank and produced what appears to be a beaming smile.
And when the couple exchanged positions, the three-ton beast duly obliged with another grin for the camera next to her husband. The Parkers, from Little Rock, Arkansas, took their extraordinary photographs during a holiday visit to San Diego Zoo in California.

'We took the picture on holiday at San Diego Zoo, my wife is a big fan of animals so we always try and visit somewhere when we are away,' said Mr Parker.

'Actually the week we were there the zoo had just put two hippos together for the first time in the tank. Hippos are not usually that friendly and the two they had in the tank - the male Otis and the female Funani - had been having a bit of a fight with each other that day. Mr Parker said 'When I look at his face I think he looks pretty tired by it all, or maybe he's having a happy dream - either way it's a great picture.'

To add another dimension to the memorable snap, the picture has become an internet hit after Jay posted them on the internet and pops up on blogs and chatrooms from USA to China. Mr Parker, 35, from Little Rock, Arkansas, even gets fan mail from people far away telling him he is their computer screensaver or Facebook profile picture.

He said: 'It's kind of strange to think there are people out there with a picture of me on their computer, but I guess I'm just the hippo man as far they're concerned.’


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) Jay Parker appears in the first photograph of Otis in San Diego. b) Lauren likes animals a lot.
c) Otis has always had company in his tank. (
d) Mr Parker received emails from people all over the world.

Question 2 [2 points] Answer the following questions in your own words.
a) When and where were the photos taken?
b) Who has used the photos of Mr and Mrs Parker and how?

Question 3 [1.5 points] Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and definitions given.
a) very wide and happy (paragraph 1)
b) animal (paragraph 2)
c) to appear (paragraph 5)

Question 4 Complete the following sentences without changing the meaning.

a) The Parkers, from Little Rock, Arkansas, took their extraordinary photographs during a holiday visit to San Diego Zoo in California.
The extraordinary photographs ……..

b) My wife is a big fan of animals so we always try and visit some when we are away.
If my …….

c) Mr Parker said: 'It's kind of strange to think there are people out there with a picture of me on their computer, but I guess I'm just the hippo man as far they're concerned.’
Mr Parker said that it …………

Question 5 Write a short essay (between120-150 words) on the following topic:
‘Nowadays, the internet makes it possible for everyone to be famous’. Do you agree? Is it always a good thing?

The Emperor's New Clothes

Complete the gaps with words and expressions from the box


an extraordinary method at the gates of the palace disclosed the incredible news He changed clothes almost heard the scoundrel's strange story Once upon a time spread over his kingdom that it looks invisible the better of him The chamberlain notified the prime minister to anyone who is too stupid to see to show them off to take advantage We are two very good tailors who had heard of the Emperor's vanity whose only worry in life


The Emperor's New Clothes


________________________ there lived a vain emperor ________________________ was to dress in elegant clothes.__________________ every hour and loved ___________ _____________to his people.

Word of the Emperor's refined habits __________________________and beyond. Two scoundrels ___________________________decided _________________________of it. They introduced themselves __________________________with a scheme in mind.

" _____________________________and after many years of research we have invented ___________________to weave a cloth so light and fine ___________________________. As a matter of fact it is invisible _______________________and incompetent to appreciate its quality."

The chief of the guards _______________________________________ and sent for the court chamberlain. ______________________________, who ran to the Emperor and _______________________. The Emperor's curiosity got _______________________and he decided ____________the two scoundrels.





Self-Access Group. CiefP Santander


KEY

1. Once upon a time
2. whose only worry in life
3. He changed clothes almost
4. to show them off
5. spread over his kingdom
6. who had heard of the Emperor’s vanity
7. to take advantage of it
8. at the gates of the palace
9. We are two very good tailors
10. an extraordinary method
11. that it looks invisible
12. to anyone who is too stupid
13. heard the scoundrel’s strange story
14. The chamberlain notified the prime minister
15. and disclosed the incredible news
16. the better of him
17. to see

Man trapped in bowling club toilet for four days

Man trapped in bowling club toilet for four days

A retired teacher survived on tap water after getting trapped in a freezing bowling club toilet with no food or mobile phone for four days. David Leggat was trapped at Kittybrewster and Woodside Bowling Club after the door to the gents jammed behind him.
The 55-year-old spent 16 hours of each day in darkness and, in a desperate bid to keep warm in the freezing building, he dipped his feet in hot water. "I did a survival course once and knew I had to keep my feet warm, so I kept running a basin of hot water and putting my feet in, to send the heat through my body," he explained to the Aberdeen Evening Express. Mr Leggat was eventually freed after Cathy Scollay, the club's cleaner, heard his cries for help.
Mr Leggat's ordeal began last Monday afternoon when he entered the bathroom and the inside handle to the door jammed. A few days earlier the outside handle had fallen off. The bowler said he quickly realised he was in for a long wait as the club is rarely used in winter. Mr Leggat, who recently retired from Kemnay Academy, where he taught English and history, said: "I was lucky to get three hours' sleep a night."
Ms Scollay, who keeps her cleaning equipment in the gents, discovered Mr Leggat on Thursday morning. She said today: "I put on the light as normal, pushed the door and just heard a voice shouting 'you can't get in here, I have been locked in here for four days'. I just couldn't believe it." Ms Scollay could not manage to free Mr Leggat, so she called club secretary Bob Ewing, who used a screwdriver to open the door. "David looked awfully grey and shaky when he came out," Ms Scollay said. "But he managed to walk up the road to his house." "Nobody had been looking for David. A wife may have wondered where he was but he is not married," she said.
Mr Leggat told the Evening Express: "At least there was a toilet to use. The only thing I regret is not getting trapped behind the bar."

Question 1 Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text:
a) Mr Leggat went to the bowling club after his lessons.
b) When Mr. Leggat went into the bath room there was a handle on the door
c) He expected to get out in a short time.
d) He didn’t need any help to get back home.

Question 2 Answer these questions in your own words:
a) How did Mr Leggat manage to survive?
b) How did he get out?

Question 3 Find a word or phrase in the text that means the same as:
a) Men’s toilet par. 1
b) Rescue par. 2
c) Nightmare. par. 3

Question 4 Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning
a) Mr Leggat said: “I was lucky to get three hours’ sleep a night”.
Mr Leggat said that ………………………………………………………….
b) Bob Ewing used a screwdriver to open the door.
A screwdriver ……………………………………………………..
c) A wife may have wondered where he was but he is not married.
If David had……………………………………………………………………

Question 5 Write a short essay (120 to 150 words) on the following topic:
You can always learn from experiences

Self-Access Group. CEP Santander