The battle between cat and dog lovers is well-known. Some people love dogs. They say that dogs are friendly, loyal and active. Other people prefer cats. According to cat lovers, cats are independent, lower maintenance and cute. Some people choose very different pets, such as fish, birds, or rodents (e.g. rats, mice, guinea pigs).
Please have a look at the graph below. Discuss it with your teacher.
Do you like to eat leftovers? At Wattana Panich bistro in Bangkok, you can have a bowl of soup that's been in the pot for almost 50 years. Known as neua tune, it follows the "perpetual stew" method of preparation: the leftovers at the end of each day are kept overnight to become the base for the next day's soup.
Cultures all across the world have versions of perpetual stew. In France, it's called pot-au-feu, or "pot in the fire", for the way it was traditionally cooked—in a pot that hung over the hearth fire all day. Other cultures' versions of perpetual stew include Chinese master stock, Mongolian Firepot, and Olla Podrida (literally, "rotten pot") in Spain. In the U.S., we have "hunter's stew", and the wonderfully named "Skilligalee" of pioneer times.
The 1st of January is an important day in many countries, and people have different ways of welcoming the day. For some, it may be as simple as having a family dinner, while others perform specific rituals to start the new year off well.
In Denmark, they save all of their unused dishes and plates until the 31st of December, when they affectionately shatter them against the doors of all their friends and family to banish bad spirits.
In the Philippines, it’s all about the cash. They believe that everything should be round to represent coins and bring wealth. Round food, round clothes—as long as it’s round.
In Bolivia, coins are baked into sweets, and whoever finds the coins has good luck for the next year.
It is difficult for people living in safe countries to imagine refugees' problems. Jonas Poher Rasmussenis decided to use animation to show the difficulties of this group of people. His documentary, Flee, became a successful example of using animation to tell a true story.
The film, which has received several nominations and awards, tells the story of Amin Nawabi (the name was changed). When he was a child, his family had to run away from Afghanistan to Russia. Later on, he becomes a successful academic in Denmark. However, his life continues to be difficult because he is a refugee, and gay.
Usually, people don’t think of animations as documentaries. But it can be a powerful tool to raise important social issues. Animations can do what movies can not: show realism and abstraction. They can display realistic images of war and make it less traumatic at the same time.
Nathan Sawaya uses ordinary LEGO bricks to create art. He left a career in law to become a full-time LEGO artist. His show, The Art of the Brick, now tours the world.
Watch this short video about Nathan Sawaya's decision to become a LEGO artist. Listen for the answers to these questions:
I once had a dream where the Earth was collapsing and we all had to hurry to get on a rocket ship to take us to another planet. There wasn't very much space on the ship, so we each could only bring 5 things (not including people or animals) with us. I remember choosing Beethoven's music, but I don't remember the other 4 things.
I often think about that dream and try to decide what I would choose now. Beethoven's music still makes the cut! What 5 things would you bring?
An abandoned dog named Hector was left tied to the gates of an RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) branch in West Yorkshire, England. When trying to give commands to the dog, staff found that Hector was not reacting. Luckily for Hector, the staff decided to try other languages, and it turned out he knew several commands in German.
Care manager Lucynda Hodgson said they started to introduce him to English words. To help Hector understand them, the staff used hand signals together with verbal commands, and he picked them up really quickly. Lucynda added, "He's a very intelligent dog and is very loving." After about three months of polishing his English skills, Hector reacted perfectly to English commands.
Adecco, a Japanese company providing human resource services, conducted a national survey asking 900 elementary and junior high school boys and girls what job they wanted to do when they grew up. Many children showed an interest in jobs that involve digital technology, which is no surprise since they have been surrounded by the technology since birth.
The detailed results of the survey are shown below.
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elementary [adjective] /el-uh-MEN-tuh-ree/—simple or early stages of studying
When the first platypus specimen was sent back to England from Australia in the late 18th century, the scientists who examined it thought that someone was playing a trick on them. The zoologist George Shaw wrote in the first scientific description of the platypus that he thought the specimen was a mix of a few different species.
The Amsterdam company Respyre has developed concrete and plaster that support the growth of moss. These materials can be used for new construction, as well as on existing buildings. The moss then acts as a respiration system for the city. It takes in water and CO2 from the air and releases oxygen.
Moss has other benefits, too. Watch this short video to find out more.
Travelling can be a lot of fun. I have lived abroad for over two years in Asia and Europe. I take trips for different reasons. One of them is food.
When I lived in Vietnam, I decided to go visit Taiwan for a week. I knew the food would be great since I had watched food shows about Taiwanese food. However, I did not realize just how amazing it would be. I tried stinky tofu, different Taiwanese soups and Dan-Dan, a spicy dry ramen dish. I sometimes ate two breakfasts or two lunches because I wanted to try everything at the markets, so I was never hungry. At the end of my week in Taiwan, I had gained five kilos (10 pounds)!
I decided to move to Taiwan six months later, but I became a lot more careful about weight gain.
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abroad /uh-BRAWD/ [adverb]—in or to a foreign country or countries
The city of Lowell, Massachusetts, was famous for its textile mills during the Industrial Revolution. In the 1830s, around 8,000 women worked at the mills. The working conditions were terrible. The air inside the mills was full of dust. Women worked 13 or 14 hours a day for very low pay.
In 1834, the mill owners decided to pay the women even less. The women were angry and joined together to fight the owners. They went on strike (refused to go to work) until they got their wages back. But the owners wouldn’t agree, and the women had to go back to work.
Onomatopeia is a fancy way to describe words that sound like what they mean. For instance, in English, bees "buzz" and cats "meow". Words for animal sounds are almost always built on how the animals actually sound to listeners. But that can be different in different languages. Since each language has its own set of sounds to work with, they hear animals based on those sounds.
For example, a rooster's crow is translated as:
This video shows people from all over the world saying animal sounds in their language. How would you write the sounds the animals make in your language?
Indonesia has over 17,000 islands. If you ever go there, you will see how different some of the major islands are. For example, Bali is the only island where most of the people are Hindu. It attracts a very large number of tourists. It is known around the world as a great place for a holiday.
However, Sulawesi, an island to the north of Bali, has very few tourists. Here, most people are Christian. There is very little made for tourists on the island. Makassar, the main city, has only one hotel. You will also have to take public transportation to get around.
Most Indonesians live on Java and are Muslim. It’s the only island with a train network. That's a good thing because you have to cross large distances to visit World Heritage sites such as the Borobudur temple and Mount Bromo.
War in Ukraine has created a major global energy crisis. It has affected many countries worldwide. In fact, many people believe Russia is using the gas supply to control Europe.
Recently, Russia closed down a turbine on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which cut down the amount of natural gas they send to Europe. Nord Stream 1 pipeline stretches from Russia to Germany, and it can send up to 170 cubic metres of gas per day. This pipeline is owned by Nord Stream AG. Its major shareholder is the Russian energy company Gazprom.
Last July, Gazprom shut down Nord Stream 1 due to maintenance work. After reopening it, they diminished the amount supplied to 20m cubic metres. The German government says Gazprom has no valid reasons to limit their supply.
We're all so busy these days that it's hard to make meals at home. Some of us get take-out for lunch and then get take-out again for dinner. But eating this way regularly is bad for your health, and your wallet! So how do we find time for home-cooked meals?
Make your freezer your friend!
People throw away more than 80 billion pairs of chopsticks every year. Most of them have only been used once, like the cheap wooden ones you get in restaurants. All of those chopsticks end up in landfills. In China, environmental activists have documented rates of over 100 acres of deforestation every day to keep up with demand.
One start-up has decided to tackle this problem by using discarded chopsticks as a construction material. ChopValue, based in Vancouver, Canada, collects about 350,000 used chopstics every week, just from the Vancouver area. They then use the chopsticks to make things for the home and office, like bookshelves, cutting boards, coasters, and even desks. Founder Felix Böck explains,
I don't play video games. I get addicted and spend too much time playing them! But a friend who is a gamer told me about a new game called Death Stranding, by video game designer Hideo Kojima. In this game, gamers help each other win. One player can build a bridge or road, then leave it there for other players to use. The point of the game is to bring a broken world back together. The reviews of the game are mixed—there are good and bad things about it—but I like the idea of a game based on working together rather than against each other. So many video games are about trying to beat other players. But, as my friend said, this is a different kind of game. You help each other out. The point is to connect people, both in the game and among gamers. I still won't play Death Stranding, or any other video game, but I'm glad to hear about one based on the value of working together.
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Do you have any regrets for things you did or didn't do? Listen to 70 people from 5 to 75 years old talk about their regrets. Do you share any of them?
People say a lot with their body language. When we're happy, we smile. When we're excited, we might dance a little, or raise our hands in the air. Body language is an important part of communication. How well do you communicate with your face and body? Let's find out!
With your partner (your teacher, if you're in a lesson), try to communicate these feelings with just your face and body. No words allowed! Choose one and see if you can get your partner to guess it. Then your partner will do the same. Keep trading places like that. You can choose the same ones your partner has already done, and see if you can express it well, too. Once you've done a few of the feelings, talk about the experience with your teacher/partner.
Feelings:
