Paul Nicklen, a Conservation Photographer

Paul Nicklen is a conservation photographer that has taken the most spectacular pictures of wildlife in the Artic and Antarctic.  Here you can read an interview where he talks about the risks and the fascination of his work.

If you want to see some of his pictures, please, click here.

Manal al Sharif, a Women's Rights Activist

You can read here an interview to Manal al Sharif, the Saudi woman who led a women's rights movement by driving a car.

Andy Goldsworthy, an Ephemeral Artist in Nature

Here you can find an NPR interview to Andy Goldsworthy, a sculptor who uses nature to make ephemeral works of art.

You can see more examples of his art if you click here.

Why We Sleep

Here you can watch a short video with subtitles with 5 tips to help you sleep peacefully by professor Mathew Walker, a neuroscientist at University of California, Berkeley, and the author of the book Why We Sleep. Link B2.

If you want further information, you can listen to a radio interview (with the script) to Matthew Walker on NPR's programme Fresh Air.(Link C1)

Finally, you can also read an article  about the book from The Guardian.(Text B2)

"Free-Range" Parents

How much freedom or supervision should children be brought up with? This NPR story talks about an incident that sparked the old debate, once again.







Reading Comprehension Task
Read the text and answer the following questions:
 1.- What are "free-range" parents?
 2.- What happened to Danielle and Alexander Meitiv?

Listening Comprehension Task
Now listen to the radio version of the story and compare the views of the two experts, Katie Arnold and Denene Millner who are discussing the case.

Speaking Follow-up Task
If you can talk to another English speaker, now you can express your opinion about the controversy.

The Sixth Extinction

You can read here an NPR interview to Elisabeth Kolbert, author of the book The Sixth Extinction, which talks about the loss of biodiversity as a result of human activity.

Leonard Cohen: Príncipe de Asturias Awards

This is the acceptance speech that Leonard Cohen made for the Príncipe de Asturias Awards in Spain, 2011.

Shape of You by Ed Sheeran

This is the second video you are going to watch. It is by Ed Sheeran, please find more information about Ed Sheeran here.

Welcome to English News and Culture!

Welcome to this blog where you can find texts, audios, videos, songs and pictures for advanced learners of English (levels B2, C1 and C2 of the Council of Europe, and my own mishmash level Ex for "Experts", teachers and higher levels).  I hope you can find something to your liking, you linger for a while, and come back some time in the future with a friend or a colleague.

J. Ignacio Bermejo
Escuela Oficial de Idiomas nº 1, Zaragoza.