Circus: tijgers (Photo credit: doenietzomoeilijk)
Circuses in England will be banned from using wild animals in their shows from 1 December 2015. Strict regulations have also been introduced to improve conditions of working animals until the law is changed. This means that if you go to the circus, you will no longer see lions, tigers or elephants performing for the crowd. Many people consider this to be cruel and have been campaigning against it for years. They argue that the animals spend too much time travelling in their cages and that brutal methods are used in training them. Sadly, the ban does not include domestic animals, like horses and dogs. This is apparently because they are used to conditions like travelling.
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Read by Annette (Scottish accent)
Study the words
Banned- prohibited Wild- undomesticated Strict regulations- severe rules Improve- make better No longer- no more Crowd- audience Cruel- causing pain and suffering Campaigning- protesting Argue- hold an opinion Cages- metal enclosures Brutal- hard and violent Sadly- unfortunately Apparently- it appears that Used to- accustmed to
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Do the takeaway test:Wild Animals to be Banned from Circus
Related articles
- Circuses to be banned from using wild animals (guardian.co.uk)
SAVE BY SHARING – NARA – 515337 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Thanks to the social web, it’s now easy to save and make money by sharing everything you own with strangers. Lyft allows you to cut down on travel costs by giving or getting a lift somewhere. At Couchsurfing, you can rent out your spare bedroom for the night or find a place to sleep when you visit another city. Neighborgoods will let you share your stuff with neighbours, like lawnmowers, drills or even cat carriers. Universe aims to tie all of these services together and become a global sharing community. In most cases you can read reviews about who you share with, but trust is an important element. If you can trust a stranger, you have a lot to gain.
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Read by Jane Sabey (English accent).
Study the words
Sharing- when two people or more make use of something Own- possess Strangers- people you don’t know Cut down on- reduce lift- a ride in someone’s car rent out- charge money for the use of something spare- extra, free stuff- things lawnmowers- machine used to cut the grass drills- machines used to make small holes carriers- objects used for transporting something aims- plans, intends tie together- unite, merge reviews- evaluations trust (noun)- when you believe someone is reliable trust (verb)- to believe gain- earn
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Do the takeaway test: Save Money and Make Friends by Sharing
Related articles
- Being Neighborly: how to share your stuff (hb2cents.wordpress.com)
- Spotlight on the Sharing Economy: Q&A with Couchsurfing (triplepundit.com)
Green leaf (Photo credit: @Doug88888)
Research at the University of San Diego has revealed that employees in a ‘green’ building are more productive than people who work in a standard building. Of course, a ‘green’ building is not just painted green: it is built and maintained with attention to its environmental impact. The presence of green plants in an office is known to lower stress levels. Other studies show that the colour green also has a positive impact on work. Last year, German researchers found that just looking at a green rectangle for a couple of seconds boosts your creative output by 20%. Green has strong associations with nature and growth and bringing the outdoors in can make people more relaxed. So, if you want to increase productivity in your workplace, go green.
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Read by Annette (Scottish accent).
Study the words
Revealed- showed Employees- workers Painted- decorated, coloured Maintained- preserved, looked after Impact- effect Lower- reduce Couple- about two Boosts- increases Output- production Associations- links Growth- enlargement Bringing the outdoors in- placing elements of nature indoors Go green- become more green
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Do the takeaway test: Green is Good for your Company
Related articles
- Green Means Go: Color Linked to Creativity (othernetwork.com)
Shetland Ponies (Photo credit: Island Trails, Shetland.)
Shetland ponies have been recieving a lot of media attention recently and they certainly deserve it. First, they starred in a campaign to attract visitors to their native country, Scotland. They were photographed in a beautiful setting wearing wooly cardigans. More recently, a moonwalking pony was featured in a video ad for the mobile phone company ‘3’. The star of the video, called socks, only stops dancing when a farmer drives past in his tractor. Shetland ponies, which originate from the Shetland Isles, are hardy animals with heavy coats and short legs. They were originally used for pulling carts, but now it is more common to see them giving rides to children. They are occasionally used by blind people instead of guide dogs.
Listen below
Read by Annette Porte (Scottish accent)
Study the words
Deserve- are worthy of, merit Starred- were the protagonists Campaign- a drive to promote something Native- of origin Setting- location Wooly cardigans- sweaters with buttons made of wool Featured- placed in an important role Hardy- strong and resilient Carts- open farm vehicle with two or four wheels Rides- short trip Occasionally- sometimes Blind- visually impaired Instead of- rather than, in place of
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Do the takeaway test: Shetland Ponies Shoot to Fame
Related articles
- The Daily Beast – Shetland Ponies in Shetland Cardigans – January 24, 2013 (thestar.blogs.com)
- Want to see a Shetland pony called Socks do the moonwalk? (metro.co.uk)
A new Twitter App, launching in March will allow you to communicate with your friends and relatives after you die. The tagline of the new service, called Liveson, is “When your heart stops beating, you’ll keep tweeting”. It allows you to plan in advance the tweets that will be published after you pass away. A similar facebook app, called Ifidie has been around for some time. It allows you to leave a video message for your loved ones. Some people might find this new trend a little morbid. Perhaps, in the near future, social media will be populated by digital ghosts.
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Read by Vicki Hollett (English accent) from simpleenglishvideos.com
Study the words
Launching- starting Tagline- slogan, promotional message Beating- pumping blood Keep tweeting- continue to send twitter messages In advance- before Pass away- die Been around- existed Loved ones- people you love Morbid- macabre In the near future- soon Ghosts- spirits
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Do the takeaway test:Tweet After You Die
Related articles
- Why death is not the end of your social media life (guardian.co.uk)
A completely digital library, with no real books, is set to open in Texas. The Bibliotech is going to look more like an Apple Store than a traditional library. People will be able to download e-books onto their own devices and borrow e-readers. Fans of e-books argue that they are extremely convenient as they can store thousands of books. Of course, there are still many book-lovers who are convinced that nothing can take the place of a real book printed on paper. It may be unrealistic to expect the traditional library to survive, but perhaps a hybrid version, which offers both e-books and paper ones would keep everyone happy.
Do you like the idea of a bookless library?
Listen below
Read by Eva Jarvoll (Australian accent)
Study the words
Set to- planned to Download- transfer Devices- mobile phones, e-readers etc. Borrow- use on a temporary basis Argue- say Convenient- easy to use, practical Store- contain Convinced- sure Take the place of- substitute Hybrid- mixed
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Do the takeaway test: The Bookless Library
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English: Pancake in frying pan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Happy Egg Co, which specializes in free-range eggs, has invented an automatic pancake machine just in time for Shrove Tuesday. The device consists of a range of household objects including an old gramophone, an electric mixer and, of course, a frying pan. The process starts when the hen lays an egg. The egg is then carried along a conveyor belt. Next, it is cracked open and mixed with the other ingredients. Finally, the mixture is poured into the pan, cooked and flipped onto a plate. The device is not for sale: it’s going to be exhibited at London’s Design Museum in the near future. In any case, pancakes are fun and easy to make by hand.
Do you know how to make pancakes? You can find out here and download a recipe.
Listen
Read by Elizabeth Wyke (English Accent)
Study the words
free-range- from animals which are not kept in cages household- domestic gramophone- old-fashioned record player mixer- machine used for combining ingredients frying pan- flat-bottomed pan used for frying food lays- produces carried- taken conveyor belt- moving platform cracked- broken poured- dispensed flipped- quickly thrown device- machine exhibited- displayed in the near future- soon
Do the takeaway test: The Automatic Pancake Machine
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