Mayflower

College

FACTS OF THE WEEK

In Tokyo, a bicycle is faster than a car for most trips of less than 50 minutes. Your body is creating and killing 15 million red blood cells per second. A Boeing 747 airliner holds 238,840 litres of fuel. A single lightning bolt generates temperatures five times hotter than those found at the sun's surface.

GOOD WEEK FOR:

Paleontologists, who have discovered the oldest dinosaur ever found in Africa, and one of the earliest to ever evolve. A sauropod, the animal found in northern Zimbabwe, is estimated to have been 1.85m long.

09 September 2022 This week the UK is mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II. She was our Queen for 70 years. As usual, we have been looking through the British media this week and here are some of the stranger stories we found:

News and homework:

09 September 2022

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

Some wonderful photos in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Here a bonobo ape appears to be cuddling a mongoose as if it were a pet. Shortly after the bonobo released the mongoose which went on its way - here.

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK

“Religion and culture are much in the news these days, usually as sources of difference and conflict, rather than for bringing people together. But the irony is that every religion has something to say about tolerance and respecting others.” - Queen Elizabeth II

This week's homework is called "Fingers and Thumbs" Idioms: Match the ideas (1-9) with the meanings (a-i): 1. If you twiddle your thumbs 2. If you never lift a finger 3. If you point the finger 4. If you get your fingers burnt 5. If you get your finger out 6. If you have green fingers 7. If you are all fingers and thumbs 8. If you keep your fingers crossed 9. If you put your finger on something a) you accuse someone of something b) you are good at gardening c) you believe in luck d) you see the problem e) you are lazy f) you lose money g) you try harder h) you are wasting time i) you are not good with your hands PART B: Use finger(s) or thumb(s) to complete these idioms: 1. There's something strange about Amanda, but I'm not sure what it is. I can't put my ???? on it. 2. I was miles from the nearest garage when I ran out of petrol, so I just stood at the side of the road and tried to ???? a lift. 3. If you want to pass this exam Amanda, you really need to get your ???? out and start some serious study. 4. I invested some money in the stock market a few years ago but I got my ???? badly burnt. I lost US$10000! Never again. 5. My appointment at the Dentist was supposed to be at 16.00h but I had to sit in the waiting room twiddling my ????? for an hour. 6. My flatmate is driving me crazy. I have to do all the cleaning. She never lifts a ???? to help. 7. Paul, please don't wear a tie to John's party! Everyone else will be wearing jeans. You'll stick out like a sore ????. 8. I had a great idea at work that we should have brightly coloured walls, more plants and pictures but it got the ???? down. They're so conservative. 9. As a rule of ???? redheads should never wear bright yellow. 10. It's too easy to point the ???? at today's parents. There are many influences on young people in the modern world. And finally a riddle for you to solve! What is interesting about the following paragraph? "This is an unusual paragraph. I'm curious how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it? It looks so plain you would think nothing was wrong with it! In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is unusual though. Study it, and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out! Try to do so without any coaching!" Have a good week and we look forward to writing to you again next Friday. Best wishes

Cystic Fibrosis, with the news that Manuka honey Could Help to Clear Deadly Bacteria which cause Cystic Fibrosis. Manuka honey is made from bees browsing on the Leptospermum Scoparium tree (originally found in New Zealand).

BAD WEEK FOR:

Long-lasting art. An American artist paints portraits on giant floating blocks of ice in the Baltic Sea. David Popa uses charcoal and soil in a spray can to paint the surface of huge blocks of ice.

The environment, with the news that a regional train operator in Germany is becoming the first company to utilize 100% hydrogen fuel cell trains on their lines.

all fingers and thumbs

Paul Stevens - Director (based in San Diego, USA) Jill Tyler - General Manager (based in Plymouth, UK)

MEANING: To be awkward or clumsy. USE: Tom could never be a surgeon - he's all fingers and thumbs.

1. If you twiddle your thumbs - h) you are wasting time 2. If you never lift a finger - e) you are lazy 3. If you point the finger - a) you accuse someone of something 4. If you get your fingers burnt - f) you lose money 5. If you get your finger out - g) you try harder 6. If you have green fingers - b) you are good at gardening 7. If you are all fingers and thumbs - i) you are not good with your hands 8. If you keep your fingers crossed - c) you believe in luck 9. If you put your finger on something - d) you see the problem

This paragraph does not contain the letter "e" (the most common letter in the English language)

1) There's something strange about Amanda, but I'm not sure what it is. I can't put my FINGER on it. 2) I was miles from the nearest garage when I ran out of petrol, so I just stood at the side of the road and tried to THUMB a lift. 3) If you want to pass this exam Amanda, you really need to get your FINGER out and start some serious study. 4) I invested some money in the stock market a few years ago but I got my FINGERS badly burnt. I lost US$10000! Never again. 5) My appointment at the Dentist was supposed to be at 16.00h but I had to sit in the waiting room twiddling my THUMBS for an hour. 6) My flatmate is driving me crazy. I have to do all the cleaning. She never lifts a FINGER to help. 7) Paul, please don't wear a tie to John's party! Everyone else will be wearing jeans. You'll stick out like a sore THUMB. 8) I had a great idea at work that we should have brightly coloured walls, more plants and pictures but it got the THUMBS down. They're so conservative. 9) As a rule of THUMB redheads should never wear bright yellow. 10) It's too easy to point the FINGER at today's parents. There are many influences on young people in the modern world.

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