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FACTS OF THE WEEK

Geckos can turn the stickiness of their feet on and off at will. 18% of Americans claim to have seen or felt the presence of a ghost. Eggplants (aubergines) are actually berries. Staff members of the Slovak and Slovenian embassies meet once a month to exchange incorrectly addressed mail.

GOOD WEEK FOR:

An 8-year old English girl, Isabella, who was able to chat with an orbiting astronaut, using her Dad’s Ham radio. Ham radios are maintained at the International Space Station, so that astronauts can occasionally talk with people on the ground. The astronaut said it was his favourite contact so far!

26 August 2022 This weekend is an extra long one in the UK, as we have a public holiday on Monday! Plymouth is also hosting the West End Carnival offering a full day of live music and street performers in the city centre. 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:

26 August 2022

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

This week, a video went viral of a paraglider who had a vulture hitch a ride on his lap whilst he was recording on his GoPro camera - here.

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK

“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate” - Albert Schweitzer

This week's homework is called "Heart Idioms": PART A Use these verbs to complete the following sentences: LOSE, SET, BREAK, TAKE, SANK, HAVE 1) My heart ???? when I saw how much washing up there was in the kitchen. 2) My French teacher is awful. She corrects every little mistake I make and she gets very angry if I do not know the answer. I'm starting to ????? heart. 3) My sister is only 6 but she's ????? her heart on becoming a doctor. 4) I know you are disappointed Jill but you can ???? heart from the fact that most people in Britain fail their driving test the first time. 5) Paul asked if he could play the piano at our wedding. I know he's not very good but I didn't ???? the heart to say no. 6) My car has finally come to the end of its life. I've had it for 20 years. It'll ???? my heart to say goodbye to it. PART B: Use the following idiomatic expressions in the sentences below: IN MY HEART OF HEARTS CLOSE TO MY HEART HAD A CHANGE OF HEART AFTER MY OWN HEART BEST INTERESTS AT HEART HEART'S IN THE RIGHT PLACE GOT A HEART OF GOLD HEART'S NOT IN IT LEARN THINGS BY HEART HEART-TO-HEART Paul: Jill, you're interested in Third World problems, aren't you? Jill: Yes, it's a subject that has always been ????. Paul: My mother is a great help to me. She is really kind to her neighbours as well. Jill: Yes, people are always saying she's ????. Paul: I have decided to give up my piano lessons. Jill: Well, there's no point continuing if your ????. Paul: So the job in USA came to nothing. Are you disappointed? Jill: Not really. ????? I want to work in UK anyway. Paul: Why are Tom and Jane going back to Australia? I thought they were going to stay here for another 6 months. Jill: That was the plan but they've ????. They're homesick. Paul: I don't know about you but I find Terry very difficult. Jill: Well, he can be a bit rude, but basically his ????. Paul: What languages did you study at school? Jill: Only English. It was so boring. We just had to ?????? - verb tables and stuff like that. Paul: I like most sports but especially rugby. Jill: Ah! A man ???? ! I love rugby too! Paul: Where's Lisa? She's not at her desk. Jill: No, she's in David's office. They're having a ???? about her future. Paul: I don't know if you realise how demanding you can be. Jill: Yes, I know I can be tough but please believe I have your ????. And finally a riddle for you: What word looks the same upside down and backwards? Best wishes

Firefighters who were called out to an unusual rescue, when a caller reported that a man needed help extracting his hand from a sofa.

BAD WEEK FOR:

A brand new Giant Slide in the USA, which was closed just four hours after opening because the slide was so fast that children were being thrown into the air and deposited back down to earth with too much of a bump.

A medical breakthrough which offers hope for blind people. Scientists in Sweden have restored vision to 20 people using a bioengineered cornea made from pig skin.

MEANING: To be uninterested or apathetic USE: Amanda was half-hearted about the decision to buy a house in London.

TO BE HALF-HEARTED ABOUT SOMETHING

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

1) My heart SANK when I saw how much washing up there was in the kitchen. 2) My French teacher is awful. She corrects every little mistake I make and she gets very angry if I do not know the answer. I'm starting to LOSE heart. 3) My sister is only 6 but she's SET her heart on becoming a doctor. 4) I know you are disappointed Jill but you can TAKE heart from the fact that most people in Britain fail their driving test the first time. 5) Paul asked if he could play the piano at our wedding. I know he's not very good but I didn't HAVE the heart to say no. 6) My car has finally come to the end of its life. I've had it for 20 years. It'll BREAK my heart to say goodbye to it.

The answer is SWIMS

Paul: Jill, you're interested in Third World problems, aren't you? Jill: Yes, it's a subject that has always been CLOSE TO MY HEART. Paul: My mother is a great help to me. She is really kind to her neighbours as well. Jill: Yes, people are always saying she's GOT A HEART OF GOLD. Paul: I have decided to give up my piano lessons. Jill: Well, there's no point continuing if your HEART'S NOT IN IT. Paul: So the job in USA came to nothing. Are you disappointed? Jill: Not really. IN MY HEART OF HEARTS I want to work in UK anyway. Paul: Why are Tom and Jane going back to Australia? I thought they were going to stay here for another 6 months. Jill: That was the plan but they've HAD A CHANGE OF HEART. They're homesick. Paul: I don't know about you but I find Terry very difficult. Jill: Well, he can be a bit rude, but basically his HEART'S IN THE RIGHT PLACE. Paul: What languages did you study at school? Jill: Only English. It was so boring. We just had to LEARN THINGS BY HEART - verb tables and stuff like that. Paul: I like most sports but especially rugby. Jill: Ah! A man AFTER MY OWN HEART ! I love rugby too! Paul: Where's Lisa? She's not at her desk. Jill: No, she's in David's office. They're having a HEART-TO-HEART about her future. Paul: I don't know if you realise how demanding you can be. Jill: Yes, I know I can be tough but please believe I have your BEST INTERESTS AT HEART.

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