lunes, 15 de julio de 2024

Spain Wins Eurocup & Alcaraz Wins Wimbledon

 

It was a one-off Sunday afternoon in the summer time, when Carlos Alcaraz won Wimbledon for the second time in his young career, and a close-knit team of both young and experienced players won the Eurocup in Berlin for Spain, late in the evening. 

Emlyn Begley covers the football story for BBC Sport in "'A good thing for footbal' -Spain's victory caps off perfect campaign", a report for C1 students who will come across football technical terms like: to cap off, to hail, [fully] deserved, to win [over England], to beat [every other European nation], a [teenage] sensation, an assist, to be tipped [for glory], midfield, a winger, the opener, to net [the winner], to set up [a goal], the brand, a midfielder, a dissenting [voice], to quieten, to come off [the bench], a squad, a centre-back, [much-]maligned, a left-back, bits and pieces, [on the] pitch, [the Spanish] side, the subs[titutes], [to deserve] credit, the [goal]keeper, to be sacked, a [football] academy.

Amy Lofthouse writes the Wimbledon chronicle for BBC Sport in "An annihilation - Alcaraz always had the answers", where C1 students will find words like: annihilationhighlights, [in three] straight [sets], to retain, the build-up, almighty, tussle, to flip [the script], off-colour, relentless, to get his teeth stuck into, a tie-break, to blink, upwards of [15 Slams], a flawless [performance], to underscore, the Open Era, a feat, arguably, to outplay, ominously, hamstring, [to get] on top of [something], clay.

martes, 9 de julio de 2024

Ariane 6


The European Space Agency is planning to launch Ariane 6 rocket today. Here you can listen to a BBC Radio-4 interview to rocket engineer, Kate Underhill, by Amol Rajan on Today programme (3:43), where the scientist discusses the uses of space technology.  You can also find a listening comprehension task with a follow-up oral discussion for B2+ students and above. The recording has no script, but students will come across many technical terms like: a heavy-lift [rocket], [observation] tools, a propulsion [engineer], a launch, intricacies, to underpin, Galileo GPS positioning systems, a [heavy-lift] launcher, low-earth orbit, to deliver [cargo], the Equator, an earthquake, [no] issue, strategic, various [different satellites], the global positioning system, confidence.
***
The launch of Ariane 6 yesterday was a success, although an anomaly with one of the computers on board was recorded at the end of the flight, and two re-entry capsules were not dropped as planned, BBC News reports this in "Europe's Ariane-6 rocket blasts off on maiden flight", which includes a short video with the actual take off of the spaceship. This article is recomended for C1 students, as it contains a combination of technical and colloquial terms like: to blast off, maiden [flight], to set off, a launchpad, a clutch of [satellites], a crew, to soar [into the sky], smoothly, onboard, to pressurise [the propulsion system], to set up [the final task], to jettison, nonetheless, relieved, a heavy-lift [rocket], fairing, [upper] stage, booster, a payload, a workhorse [rocket], a backlog [of contracts], expendable, reusable, to carve out a niche [for itself], to harness, state-of-the-art [manufacturing techniques], friction stir welding, augmented reality [design], to result in [faster and cheaper production], to lift, a strap-on booster, core [stage], a [large] batch [of satellites], to pull [itself] back [down to Earth], to linger, [space] junk, to hold up [the Ariane-6 programme], [high] jeopardy, an outright [failure], to blow itself apart, to put [the loss] down to [an error], dominance, to undercut [the competitiveness], an order book, a leading [player], [to supply] components.  The European Space Agency has published a thorough technical description of the rocket in "Ariane 6, Overview", which is recommended for experts ("Ex" level of difficulty).

sábado, 6 de julio de 2024

Keir Starmer Wins the 2024 General Election

Labour has won a landslide victory in the general election, and Keir Starmer has already taken office as the new UK's Prime Minister. The Labour party won a historical overall majority in Parliament, which means a sweeping swing from the results of the last general election when the Conservatives took many Labour seats in traditional Labour strongholds in the North of England. The Liberal Democrats have also taken sixty seats from the Tories, mostly in the South of England. The BBC offers many interactive maps in the page "General election 2024 in maps and charts", and conscientious data analysis, for example, how the British electoral law ("first-past-the post" system) damaged third and fourth parties like UK Reform and the Greens, in the piece "Biggest-ever gap between number of votes and MPs hits Reform and Greens". 

The article with the maps & charts is suitable for B2 students and above, as it contains lots of visual information. The vocabulary is more suitable for B2+ students and above, who will encounter words like: landslide [majority], a seat, to declare [a result], a tally, a gap, the share [of the vote], to plummet, to return [an MP], a constituency, the turnout. The article about the gap between votes and MPs is denser, and more suitable for C1 students, who will find interesting words like: a gap, share [of vote], to prompt, blatantly, flawed, first-past-the-post [electoral system], roughly [equal], a grandee, to boost, a hung parliament, to exact [a price]. 

If you want further info, you can read a short bio of each new member of the Cabinet in "Who is in Keir Starmer new cabinet?, a collection of notes which are suitable for C1 students. To find out more about the family background, professional and political career as well as the musical preferences of the new Prime Minister, you can listen to the  Desert Island Discs programme on BBC Radio 4: "Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the oposition",  which is a long recording (37:00) without transcript, first broadcast in 2020, which can be suitable for C2 students. You can also watch below his first solemn speech as a Prime Minister on this YouTube video with subtitles (C1 level):

lunes, 1 de julio de 2024

"Cloistered", a Former Nun Talks about her Life in a Monastery

  

Catherine Coldstream is a former nun who has written a memoir about her 12 years in a Carmelite monastery in the North of England.  She was interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air in "A former nun explains why she ran away from her 'Cloistered' life" (43:53), where she talks about her artistic family background, how she found God and entered a monastery, her life there, how she left nunhood and her life after leaving the Carmelite order.

The interview is long, but students can get the support of the transcript, if they need to, so it can be accessible to C1 learners and above, who will come across interesting words like: cloistered, to be at rock bottom, to revolve around, to deprive of [something], to weave, to bounce off, gosh, hermit, monasticism, to draw [to], an arty [household], to go downhill, angst, hammer blow, bereavement, to be devastated, utterly [static], self-denial, the [monastic] rule, a matraque, a rattle, avant-garde, to plumb [the depths], 


a manor [house], rambling, an outbuilding, stained-glass [windows], a flagstone, derelict, bare, stark, drafty, [windows] to rattle, a meadow, lino, distemper, a rite of passage, accoutrement, to trigger, to be dragged down, serge, encumbered, to stab, to tuck up, to glimpse, grille, to set up yourself as [different], a threshold, to lure, [to take] a vow, a prioress, [to give] carte blanche, free rein, a clique, coterie, a breakdown, to take it out on [somebody phisically], tempers [flying], to be carted, to crack up, bruised, to withhold, [to reach] breaking point, buoyancy, two-edged, a [peaceful] vibe, to simmer, to seethe, to flap, to bottle up [questions], buzzy [people], a rupture, a rift, flawed, a retreat, to be frowned upon.

If you want to watch Catherine Coldstream talking about her life experience and her book on YouTube, you can click on the link below:

viernes, 21 de junio de 2024

Chimpanzees Seek Out Medicinal Plants & Iberian Lynxes Recover


BBC Radio 4 broadcaster Mishal Husain interviews Dr. Elodie Freymann on Today programme about how chimpanzees seek out medicinal plants when they feel sick or wounded. The words in this interview clip (4:06) are colloquial, B2 level or so, but radio interviews are usually rather fast for the time pressures of news programmes, which makes it more difficult for foreign learners to segment speech and understand indivual words, so here you can find a listening comprehension task with its key and a follow-up discussion for C1 students

The radio recording has no script, but you can use the list of interesting words to follow the interview, after doing the comprehension task: to seek out, a lead [researcher], to tick, wounds, to go out of their way, rare, super [exciting], [plant] samples, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, to expand, [medicinal] repertoire, to clutch [your stomach], to sneeze, to cough, respiratory [infection], non-invasive, [abnormal] metrics, to quantify [parasites], neophobic, to raise alarm bells, [next] wave, self-medication, a step [to start from], [specific pharmaceutical] compounds, to pinpoint, a [fast] recovery.

If you want further information, you can also check out Victoria Gill's report for BBC News "Chimpanzees self-medicate with healing plants",
which provides new details about Dr. Elodie Freymann's research and it is, problably, the original source for the radio interview above. This article is suitable for B2 students.

Another interesting environment story today on BBC News is the report by Malu Cursino "One of the world's rarest cats no longer endangered", which talks about the Iberian lynx and the recovery in the numbers of this "vulnerable" species, after the latest success in conservation efforts. This article can also be accessed by B2 learners.

viernes, 14 de junio de 2024

Dalí's Moustache

Salvador Dalí was a total artist and a flamboyant celebrity.  Myles Burke recently published the article "Salvador Dalí talks about his iconic, 'very aggressive' moustache" on BBC News, where he explains how he creates his celebrated moustache every day. This article with a short video (1:47) can be accessible to B2+ students, who will come across words like: playful, bold, an [artistic] statement, bizarre, a dreamlike [image], flamboyantly, lustrous, whiskers, fittingly, a date, depressing, gay, a wax, a [splendid] upturn, to plough on, gravity-defying [facial hair], to droop down, brisk, to be captivated, cartoonishly [waxed], to sport, hirsute, to embody, [carefully] crafted, shamelessly, a logo, to curl, to bedeck, a [visual] cue, to blur [the boundary], eager, stunned, to embalm

Mr. Dalí was a larger-than-life character with a great sense of surrealist humour, as you can see in his appearance as a guest in the TV show "What's my Line? (1962)". This video with Spanish subtitles (9:06) is recommended for B2+ students (C1 for non Spanish-speaking students), who will find rather formal words like: costuming, blindfolded, [to keep] score, folks, self-employed, a performer, a leading [man], misleading, eminence, an exploit, germane [to something], up and down [yes], endeavour, an affiliation, within the compass [of his enjoyment], an all-around [man], to encompass, a dummy, the master of ceremony, to strike upon, a conference, to caricature.

martes, 4 de junio de 2024

Elections in India, Mexico and South Africa

Three major emerging countries have held general elections recently: South-Africa, Mexico and India.


 India is the largest democracy in the world and the current 2024 elections have taken place in seven consecutive phases, starting from April 19 to June 1 to elect the 543 members of the Lok Sabha, the House of the People. There are two major coalitions vying for power, the right-wing NDA, lead by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the multi-party INDIA alliance, led by the Indian National Congress (INC). Election results are being declared on June 4th, you can follow the tally on "Lok Sabha Election Results", a web page in The Times of India, which includes a short video (3:12) "Lok Jabha Elections 2024: BJP, INDIA Bloc Chase Kingmakers's Nitish Kumar, Chandrababu Naidu",
 
where C2 students will come across interesting words like: to write [someone] off, a pundit, [against] the backdrop, a kingmaker, a [political] camp, the run-up, to fall short of [a majority], infamous, to reach out [to somebody], steadfast [support], to have a say, a portfolio, to implement [key policy changes]. You can also take a look at the New York Times page India Live Election Results and Map 2024, where you will find a national map with the winning coalition in each constituency. Finally, you can check the latest updates like the BBC News article "Modi declares victory in close-than-expected Indian election" or, for a full coverage of the election results and analysis from an Indian perspective, you can check out the news website The Wire.
 
 
AP News covers the elections in Mexico with several articles under the headline "Mexico elections update: Claudia Sheinbaum set to become president". In one of the stories, signed by Sara España, Mexico will have its first woman president, what will that mean?", B2 students and above can find expressions like: ruling [party], to concede, to break through [200 years of male governments], to go down in history, to break [a longstanding] ceiling, harsh [conditions].

In South Africa a new era began after the African National Congress (ANC) lost its overall majority for the first time in 30 years. The ANC won 40.2% of the vote, down from 58% in the pervious election, and it will have to negotiate a coalition government with other parties, which opens an unprecedented political scenario since democracy started with Nelson Mandela's presidency after apartheid. Mohammed Haddad writes a comprehensive account of the vote in South Africa election results. What happens next?" for Aljazeera, which could be accessible to B2 students and above with 

key election vocabulary like: to surpass, ballot, ruling, short of [a majority], turn out, to cast [a vote], allocation, a [Parliament] seat, [members of Parliament] to be sworn in, the speaker [of Parliament], to ensure, smooth [transition of power], poor [performance], to rule out [a coalition], to sack, a crackdown, to step down, to appoint, to take over, impeachment, to make up, remaining, to comprise.



If you need some background information about South Africa, you can read Damian Zane's, Dorothy Otieno & Olaniyi Adebimpe's article "South Africa in eight charts ahead of crucial vote", published in BBC News on May 22, where C1 students and above will come across key words like: 
 
[to go to the] polls, a power cut, an opinion poll, to herald, to fall steadily, a high water mark, a survey, to drop below [50%], GDP [per capita], a downward [trend], income, well-off, to mismanage, to be buffeted, a spike [in prices], a household, a driver [of inequality], to hit [young people] hard, to pledge, to tackle [crime], an assault, rape, to wage [a war against women], load shedding, a respite, to blight, outage, to disrupt, a draw, to target, a scapegoat, to demonise.

miércoles, 22 de mayo de 2024

Meditation in Science and Mindfulness at School


Meditation has been practised for centuries by various religious traditions to have a break from mundane pressures and to ease your worries. Lately, meditation has become increasingly popular among non-religious people as a way to focus your mind, and cope with stress and anxiety.  The article "Does meditation actually work? This is what the science says" by Judhijit Bhattacharjee on National Geographic explores how some scientific studies are trying to shed light on the benefits of meditation for mental health. This article is conceptually complex at times so, it is suitable for C1 students, who will encounter formal words like: to settle down, a [floor] mat, a worship [room], a deity, a throne, a [prayer] bead, to chant, a whisper, to enhance, [to be] rooted, a quest, enlightenment, to conduct [a study], to trigger [anxiety], to glow, mild, to shed [a fearful response], a [brain] scan, an MRI scan, to rely on [someting], a headband, rife [with stress], to strive [to apply it], a wispy [beard], assault, wrestling, flustered.

Many U.S. and British schools offer mindfulness programmes and apps to help kids concentrate and overcome negative emotions. You can listen to NPR's report "To help these school kids deal with trauma, mindfulness lessons over the loudspeaker" (6:34) by Pien Huang to learn more about how mindfulness practice is implemented in a Florida public school. This radio article can be accessible to B2+ students with the script and C1 learners without it, who will find interesting colloquial phrasal verbs and expressions like: loudspeaker, to cope with, packed, to hang out, to catch up, [apple] strudel, a wrapper, a [banana] peel, to line [the kids] up, to assemble, [your body is] still, to focus, homelessness, increasingly [popular], to shrink [the brain], a trait, to enhance [well-being], to show up [in school], forgiveness, to fidget, to let [that] go, to relieve [stress], to take it out on [somebody], an assignment, to draw on [something], to distill [the teachings], to tune into [sounds], to handle [sense awareness], to be dragged [around] [by their thoughts], [to feel] empowered, to scale up, a [shark] fin, to shape up [well], to hug, to high-five, to applaud, to have a hard time.

If you can find a partner to talk to, here you can find some Conversation Questions about "Meditation", from ESL Conversation Topics, with vocabulary to activate during the conversation. This speaking task can be done by B2+ students and above.

For extra information, you can read Rebecca Deurlein's article "Quieting your mind to meditate can be hard. Here's how sound can help", also on National Geographic, about the use of sound therapy to reduce stress.

jueves, 16 de mayo de 2024

"Dear Life", by Alice Munro (1931- 2024)

Alice Munro, the short-story writer and the winner of the 2013 Nobel prize has died aged 92, you can read her obituary and listen to a compilation of interview clips on "Alice Munro, Canadian author who mastered the short story, dead at 92", written by Rhianna Schmunk for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Alice Munro was a small town girl, a mother of three girls, a bookshop owner and a writer in her free time, until her literary success took up most of her time in her mid-forties and eventually was hailed as "a master of the short story" by the judges of the Nobel prize for Literature. Three of her short stories, Chance, Soon and Silence, from her book Runaway, were made into Almodovar's film "Julieta". 

Her stories are often set in Huron County, in rural Ontario, they deal about human existence, moral conflict and revelation and they can be a first step for C1 learners to start reading authentic, unabridged fiction. Here you can find her memoir, "Dear Life. A Childhood Visitation", with a reading comprehension task & its key for C1 learners, who will find descriptive words and collocations like: to pull off, rickety, a mill race, contempt, unsoiled, a Highland fling, clicking [shoes], to dig [dug, dug], a well, to drill, to honk, to summon, shuddering, a crinkly [smile], a [drinking] pail, a trapline, an [animal] pen, a hayfield, to cull [animals], manure, to tell on [somebody], jolly, to dawn on [somebody], to dwindle, downsloping,a cedar [tree], troll, a miscarriage, a flurry, a dumbwaiter, hemstitching, to pelt [the foxes], a downturn, molten [metal], a [metal] mold, to buckle down to [something], to cram [my head with knowledge], a quavery [voice], a hatchet, to wring [clothes], a misgiving, to keep tabs on [somebody/ something], to grab, to tilt, clatter, a haphazard [way], to wedge, to bang, to rattle, distraught, to stare, a [wild] grin, a [river] flat, to muddy [up], to commend [Nature], to whale [the unkindness] out of [me], to beat the tar out of [me], to dispose of [a house], for dear life, to spot [somebody].

Alice Munro published several of her short stories in The New Yorker. For further background into her life you can read the interview she gave to The New Yorker when she published her last book "Dear Life" in 2012: "On 'Dear Life': An Interview with Alice Munro". 

Apart from the above-mentioned interview videos in her CBC obituary, "Alice Munro, Canadian author who mastered the short story, dead at 92", you can watch below the conversation she had with Kyle Lanningham right after she received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013. This interview with subtitles is also accessible to C1 students.

miércoles, 8 de mayo de 2024

Met Gala 2024: Stunning Images and a Fake


Steven McIntosh published the story Met Gala 2024: Zendaya, Tyla and Sabrina Carpenter lead eye-catching looks on BBC News with humorous comments and stunning pictures. This article is accessible for B2 students -with the support of the pictures- and above, who will encounter fashion & clothes technical terms like: eye-catching, groundbreaking,a theme, a string [of stars], A-listers, to stun, an outfit, to accessorise, a gown, to split, down low, to bloom, backless, a column [dress], embroidered, a [floral] pattern, to blossom, a spot, archery, to hand [it to somebody], a bow, an arrow, velvet, a peony, archival, to branch out, an overhaul, a corseted [dress], a georgette, a tulle, [to bring up to] date, a headpiece, hawthorn, glowing, turquoise, a [tulle] cape, to be overjoyed, pouring [rain], a bob [hairstyle], arched bubble, a ponytail, a bouquet, to yank, a rapper, custom [Maison-Margiela], threading, a pinstripe, the flax [plant], to prick [your finger], a roll, [non-stick] tinfoil, can't hold a candle, an appliqué, a gemstone, a vine, to nail [it], sparkly, [sequined] fabric, a marigold, to settle for [something], peckish, [to be] draped [in a cloak], a raven, to dazzle, a stem, to ditch, to coordinate [with gloves], to toss aside, soaking [wet], oversized, seemingly, to pour, to steal the show, to zoom in [on something], avant-garde, a [tail] train, a [floral] motif, a sketch, to channel, to team uptaffeta, iridescent, a baby bump, to sport, ruffled, a crop top, wicked, a smash hit, scattered, to craft [a dress], bespoke, bouffant, a corset, to pair with, sheer, lace, trim [with flowers], an understatement, strapless, couture, a bugle, boudoir, to spruce up, lacy, bedazzled, polka-dot [gloves], a [feather] boa, to spring, an encore, a vibe.

On a more serious note, Marianna Spring warns of a fake image after the Met Gala in the video BBC Verify examines fake Katy Perry AI-generated image, where she gives more recent examples of fake photos and explains why these shams matter. This video (1:24) is accessible to C1 students with subtitles, who will hear less frequent words like: to turn out, flowery, to fool, tricked, a clue, to zoom in on [the background], celebs, to target [voters], to heighten [tensions], to fan [flames], offline, unrest, to put [something] to the test, sleuthing. Below, you can find a YouTube video from the entertainment platform What's trending that covers the same Katy Perry story: