Hi everyone!

Here are the extra activities for this week! Enjoy!

COMPOSITION

Most of the so-called “reality programs” (like Big Brother, Master Chef, No Limite, etc.) on television are highly artificial and bear little resemblance to real life. Drawing on one or more specific programs for your examples, explain why you agree or disagree with this observation.

READING AND LISTENING

The secret of giraffes’ long legs – BBC WORDS IN THE NEWS

Audio Download

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/features/witn/150701_witn_giraffes_download.mp3

PDF Download

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/features/witn/150701_witn_giraffes.pdf

Sticking their necks out for scientific research.

These giraffes at a zoo near London are helping researchers find out just how their spindly legs work.

Experts are using special technology to measure the animals’ leg movements. They want to see if being tall is a help or a hindrance to moving around.

The scientists also hope to solve the evolutionary mystery of how these animals developed from their more modestly proportioned ancestors.

Vocabulary

sticking their necks out – (idiom) taking a risk

spindly – long and thin

hindrance – something that can make it difficult for you to do something else

evolutionary – gradual process of change and development

modestly proportioned – smaller sized

Practice

Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from news reports.

Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.

sticking their necks out / spindly / hindrance / evolutionary / modestly proportioned

1. Scientists have used CT scans to make 3D models of fossil harvestmen, revealing just how little these __________ invertebrates have changed in 300 million years.


2. Suddenly, campaign ads, which had previously been __________ fly-poster style efforts became 48 sheet billboards displayed in prominent High Street locations, where they could compete for eyeballs with major consumer brands.


3. A machine that runs an artificial finger across different types of surface is being used to investigate the __________ origins of the pattern of ridges on the ends of our digits.


4. Doran revealed it was the first time the Shakespeare comedies Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing had been paired. “It’s always struck me that these plays belong together and so strong is my sense that I am __________ to say that Much Ado About Nothing may also have been known as Love’s Labour’s Won in Shakespeare’s lifetime,” said Doran.


5. Divya Arora, a scriptwriter with cerebral palsy, thinks that disability is no __________ to achieving her dream of making it big in Bollywood.

Answers

1. Scientists have used CT scans to make 3D models of fossil harvestmen, revealing just how little these spindly invertebrates have changed in 300 million years.


2. Suddenly, campaign ads, which had previously been modestly-proportioned fly-poster style efforts became 48 sheet billboards displayed in prominent High Street locations, where they could compete for eyeballs with major consumer brands.


3. A machine that runs an artificial finger across different types of surface is being used to investigate the evolutionary origins of the pattern of ridges on the ends of our digits.


4. Doran revealed it was the first time the Shakespeare comedies Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing had been paired. “It’s always struck me that these plays belong together and so strong is my sense that I am sticking my neck out to say that Much Ado About Nothing may also have been known as Love’s Labour’s Won in Shakespeare’s lifetime,” said Doran.


5. Divya Arora, a scriptwriter with cerebral palsy, thinks that disability is no hindrance to achieving her dream of making it big in Bollywood.

ONLINE GRAMMAR EXERCISES

Present Continuous / Progressive

https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/tests/present-progressive-3

ENGLISH VIDEO CLASSES

How to talk about Stress!

https://youtu.be/pHogKmn9h-k

WORD OF THE WEEK

pick on

Meaning: If you pick on someone, you repeatedly treat them badly or criticize them.

For example:

Joe sounds childish when he says things like “Why does the boss always pick on me?”

When Jill was in high school, the other girls picked on her because she was overweight.

Exercise:

If teachers see kids picking on one of their classmates, they will usually

1. stop them


2. join in


3. praise them

Answer: a

MUSIC

Radioactive – Imagine Dragons

https://youtu.be/ktvTqknDobU

I’m waking up to ash and dust

I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust

I’m breathing in the chemicals

I’m breaking in, and shaping up

Then checking out on the prison bus

This is it, the apocalypse, whoa

I’m waking up, I feel it in my bones

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