FACTS OF THE WEEK
The eye of an ostrich is bigger than its brain - one eye is also smaller than the other. The plastic tips of shoelaces are called aglets. Sign language has tongue twisters; they are called ‘finger fumblers’. Even those who have practiced sign language over many years still fumble over certain sequences! A jiffy is a proper unit of time. It is exactly 1/100th of a second.
GOOD WEEK FOR:
Eating hot chilli peppers to prevent cancer, as scientists discover that capsaicin (the compound responsible for the spicy flavour) prevents tumours from spreading by inducing 'suicide' in cancerous cells.
13 May 2022
This weekend is the Eurovision final – the world’s biggest international music contest (broadcast in 5
continents) is held in Turin, Italy this year. Eurovision has long been known for its cheesy song lyrics
and dance moves since the first contest took place in 1956.
As usual, we have been looking through the media this week and here are some of the stranger
stories we found:
News and homework:
13 May 2022
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Take a look at this touching moment, when a
Tawny Owl adopts 2 rescue chicks after her own
eggs failed to hatch - here.
QUOTATION OF THE WEEK
“If you are going through hell, keep going” ~ Winston
Churchill
This week's homework is called "War and Peace":
PART A - War
Put the following words / phrases into the passage below:
DETERIORATE, MOBILISE, HOSTILE ACTS, DECLARE WAR, CLASHES,
AGGRESSION, OUTBREAK, FORCES, ULTIMATUM, RETALIATE
For years there were border ????? between troops of country X and those of country Z. Then ????? from
X attacked a village in Z. Z accused X of ????? and began to ????? in readiness for possible war. X
warned Z: "If you carry out ????? against us, we will ?????". But there was more fighting on the border.
The situation had begun to ?????. X delivered an ????? to Z. "If you do not promise to respect our
borders, we will ?????". Finally came the ????? of war.
PART B - Peace
Put the following words / phrases into the passage below:
WITHDRAW, INTERMEDIARY, TARGETS, NEUTRAL, PEACE TREATY, GET INVOLVED, INTERVENE,
CEASEFIRE, CIVILIAN, PEACE-KEEPING FORCE.
After months of fighting, during which ????? as well as military ????? were bombed, country X asked
country Y, which had remained ????? during the hostilities, to act as an ?????, but Y decided not to
?????. X then asked the United Nations to ?????. The U.N. managed to arrange a ????? and stationed a
multi-national ????? between the two opposing armies. After weeks of talks, the two countries finally
signed a ????? and the U.N. troops were able to ?????.
PART C
Complete the following sentences using:
AS, ON, IN, FOR, OUT, BETWEEN
1.
X declared war ???? Z
2.
Troops were moving ????? readiness ????? an attack
3.
Y didn't want to get involved ????? the fighting.
4.
The Second World War broke ????? in 1939.
5.
Canada acted ????? an intermediary ????? the argument.
6.
War planes carried ????? an attack.
7.
The peace-keeping force remained ????? the two enemy armies during peace talks, then withdrew.
Have a lovely week.
Fans of Marmite, as bosses in a British prison
decided to ban the spread from the breakfast
choice in a bid to prevent 600 inmates from
making alcohol from the yeast extract!
BAD WEEK FOR:
Angry passengers on a Virgin Atlantic flight from London to New York which had to turn around 40 minutes into the journey, as the co- pilot revealed that he wasn't fully qualified. The plane got as far as Ireland before crew realized the first officer had not yet completed his final flight test!
A passenger with no flying experience, who landed
a plane like a professional. The passenger took
over the flight after the pilot suffered a medical
emergency, and with the help of an air traffic
controller giving instructions over the radio, the
man landed the plane safely.
© MAYFLOWER COLLEGE english@maycoll.co.uk
origin:
German Opera.
MEANING:
We can’t be sure of the outcome until the very end.
USE:
“We’re losing 3-0 to Manchester United, it’s over”.
“You never know. It’s not over until the fat lady sings”.
IT’S NOT OVER TILL THE FAT LADY SINGS
Paul Stevens - Director (based in San Diego, USA)
Jill Tyler - General Manager (based in Plymouth, UK)
For years there were border CLASHES between troops of country X and those of
country Z. Then FORCES from X attacked a village in Z. Z accused X of AGGRESSION
and began to MOBILISE in readiness for possible war. X warned Z: "If you carry out
HOSTILE ACTS against us, we will RETALIATE". But there was more fighting on the
border. The situation had begun to DETERIORATE. X delivered an ULTIMATUM to Z.
"If you do not promise to respect our borders, we will DECLARE WAR". Finally came
the OUTBREAK of war.
1.
X declared war ON Z
2.
Troops were moving IN readiness FOR an attack
3.
Y didn't want to get involved IN the fighting.
4.
The Second World War broke OUT in 1939.
5.
Canada acted AS an intermediary IN the argument.
6.
War planes carried OUT an attack.
7.
The peace-keeping force remained BETWEEN the two enemy armies during
peace talks, then withdrew.
After months of fighting, during which CIVILIAN as well as military
TARGETS were bombed, country X asked country Y, which had remained
NEUTRAL during the hostilities, to act as an INTERMEDIARY, but Y decided
not to GET INVOLVED. X then asked the United Nations to INTERVENE. The
U.N. managed to arrange a CEASEFIRE and stationed a multi-national
PEACE-KEEPING FORCE between the two opposing armies. After weeks of
talks, the two countries finally signed a PEACE TREATY and the U.N. troops
were able to WITHDRAW.
FACTS OF THE WEEK
The eye of an ostrich is bigger than its brain - one eye is also smaller than the other. The plastic tips of shoelaces are called aglets. Sign language has tongue twisters; they are called ‘finger fumblers’. Even those who have practiced sign language over many years still fumble over certain sequences! A jiffy is a proper unit of time. It is exactly 1/100th of a second.
GOOD WEEK FOR:
Eating hot chilli peppers to prevent cancer, as scientists discover that capsaicin (the compound responsible for the spicy flavour) prevents tumours from spreading by inducing 'suicide' in cancerous cells.
13 May 2022
This weekend is the Eurovision final – the
world’s biggest international music contest
(broadcast in 5 continents) is held in Turin, Italy
this year. Eurovision has long been known for
its cheesy song lyrics and dance moves since
the first contest took place in 1956.
As usual, we have been looking through the
media this week and here are some of the
stranger stories we found:
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Take a look at this touching moment,
when a Tawny Owl adopts 2 rescue chicks
after her own eggs failed to hatch - here.
QUOTATION OF THE WEEK
“If you are going through hell, keep going” ~
Winston Churchill
News and homework
13 May 2022
© MAYFLOWER COLLEGE english@maycoll.co.uk
A passenger with no flying experience,
who landed a plane like a professional.
The passenger took over the flight after
the pilot suffered a medical emergency,
and with the help of an air traffic
controller giving instructions over the
radio, the man landed the plane safely.
BAD WEEK FOR:
Angry passengers on a Virgin Atlantic flight from London to New York which had to turn around 40 minutes into the journey, as the co-pilot revealed that he wasn't fully qualified. The plane got as far as Ireland before crew realized the first officer had not yet completed his final flight test!
Fans of Marmite, as bosses in a British
prison decided to ban the spread from the
breakfast choice in a bid to prevent 600
inmates from making alcohol from the
yeast extract!
Paul Stevens - Director (based in San Diego,
USA)
Jill Tyler - General Manager (based in
Plymouth, UK)
This week's homework is called "War and
Peace":
PART A - War
Put the following words / phrases into the
passage below:
DETERIORATE, MOBILISE, HOSTILE ACTS,
DECLARE WAR, CLASHES, AGGRESSION,
OUTBREAK, FORCES, ULTIMATUM, RETALIATE
For years there were border ????? between
troops of country X and those of country Z.
Then ????? from X attacked a village in Z. Z
accused X of ????? and began to ????? in
readiness for possible war. X warned Z: "If you
carry out ????? against us, we will ?????". But
there was more fighting on the border. The
situation had begun to ?????. X delivered an
????? to Z. "If you do not promise to respect our
borders, we will ?????". Finally came the ?????
of war.
PART B - Peace
Put the following words / phrases into the
passage below:
WITHDRAW, INTERMEDIARY, TARGETS,
NEUTRAL, PEACE TREATY, GET INVOLVED,
INTERVENE, CEASEFIRE, CIVILIAN, PEACE-
KEEPING FORCE.
After months of fighting, during which ????? as
well as military ????? were bombed, country X
asked country Y, which had remained ?????
during the hostilities, to act as an ?????, but Y
decided not to ?????. X then asked the United
Nations to ?????. The U.N. managed to arrange
a ????? and stationed a multi-national ?????
between the two opposing armies. After weeks
of talks, the two countries finally signed a ?????
and the U.N. troops were able to ?????.
PART C
Complete the following sentences using:
AS, ON, IN, FOR, OUT, BETWEEN
1.
X declared war ???? Z
2.
Troops were moving ????? readiness ?????
an attack
3.
Y didn't want to get involved ????? the
fighting.
4.
The Second World War broke ????? in 1939.
5.
Canada acted ????? an intermediary ?????
the argument.
6.
War planes carried ????? an attack.
7.
The peace-keeping force remained ?????
the two enemy armies during peace talks, then
withdrew.
Have a lovely week.
IT’S NOT OVER TILL THE FAT LADY SINGS
origin:
German
Opera.
MEANING:
We can’t be
sure of the outcome until
the very end.
USE:
“We’re losing 3-0
to Manchester United, it’s
over”.
“You never know. It’s not
over until the fat lady
sings”.
For years there were border CLASHES
between troops of country X and those of
country Z. Then FORCES from X attacked a
village in Z. Z accused X of AGGRESSION and
began to MOBILISE in readiness for possible
war. X warned Z: "If you carry out HOSTILE
ACTS against us, we will RETALIATE". But
there was more fighting on the border. The
situation had begun to DETERIORATE. X
delivered an ULTIMATUM to Z. "If you do not
promise to respect our borders, we will
DECLARE WAR". Finally came the
OUTBREAK of war.
1.
X declared war ON Z
2.
Troops were moving IN readiness FOR
an attack
3.
Y didn't want to get involved IN the
fighting.
4.
The Second World War broke OUT in
1939.
5.
Canada acted AS an intermediary IN the
argument.
6.
War planes carried OUT an attack.
7.
The peace-keeping force remained
BETWEEN the two enemy armies during
peace talks, then withdrew.
After months of fighting, during which
CIVILIAN as well as military TARGETS were
bombed, country X asked country Y, which
had remained NEUTRAL during the
hostilities, to act as an INTERMEDIARY, but Y
decided not to GET INVOLVED. X then asked
the United Nations to INTERVENE. The U.N.
managed to arrange a CEASEFIRE and
stationed a multi-national PEACE-KEEPING
FORCE between the two opposing armies.
After weeks of talks, the two countries finally
signed a PEACE TREATY and the U.N. troops
were able to WITHDRAW.
