English A compilation of newsTicker articles and exercisesSachin Tendulkar has retired. The Indian cricketer is regarded by many as the most incredible player the game of cricket has

English

A compilation of newsTickerarticles and exercises

December, 2013

CONTENT

LEGEND RETIRES...................................................................................................... 2DEAD PARROT A CERTAINTY....................................................................................4WORLD'S TALLEST.....................................................................................................6PRECISION STEERING.............................................................................................. 8WORD OF THE YEAR............................................................................................... 10HUNGRY BEARS.......................................................................................................12JIVING JUNIOR ........................................................................................................ 14DONKEY'S MILK LATTE............................................................................................16TAKING YOUR PHONE TO BED...............................................................................1839 TRACKS................................................................................................................20CYBER-SAMARITAN................................................................................................. 22RICKSHAW CHALLENGE......................................................................................... 24FILM TAKES FLIGHT................................................................................................. 26AFRICAN INTERNET STATS.....................................................................................28FROZEN.....................................................................................................................30TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY.............................................................................. 32

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Published: from 2013-11-25 to 2013-12-01

LEGEND RETIRES

A living god

Sachin Tendulkar has retired. The Indian cricketer is regarded by many as the mostincredible player the game of cricket has ever known.

He is the only batsman in the history of the game to score one hundred centuries.

After 24 years and over 34,000 runs Sachin played his final match against the WestIndies last Saturday.

He has decided the time has now come to devote his attention to his family and tobeing a role model.

His final game against the West Indies was his 200th Test match. In an emotionalspeech, which lasted twenty minutes, he encouraged his fans, saying: “I know you willcontinue to serve the nation in the right spirit ... the right values.”

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EXERCISE

LEGEND RETIRES

A living god

1a In what way does Sachin expect to help people?

1b Which record does Sachin hold?

1c What will Sachin invest his time in from now on?

1d Has Sachin been held in high esteem throughout his cricketing career? Supportyour answer by quoting from the text.

2a In pairs, discuss the reasons why people retire from professional sport. Whichsporting activities are you involved in?

2b Imagine you have devoted your life to one of these sports but have decided to retireand pursue other interests.

Write a speech to thank your fans for their support, explaining why you have decided toretire and what you will do with your life in the future.

2c Give your speech to another pair to get some feedback.

After making any alterations you think would improve your speech, read it for yourclassmates.

3a Research Sachin Tendulkar's life. What three facts about his life interest you most.

3b Share these facts with the class.

4a What makes someone a good role model? Discuss

4b Sachin is 40 years old. With respect to professional sportsmen and women is thisan old, or young, age to retire? Discuss

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DEAD PARROT A CERTAINTY

Monty Python to reunite

The five remaining members of one of the world's most famous groups of comedianswill reunite.

John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin and Terry Jones are the survivingmembers of Monty Python. In a press conference last Thursday it was confirmed thatthey will put on a stage show at London’s 02 Arena in July, 2014.

Monty Python’s sixth member, Graham Chapman, died of cancer in 1989.

The comedians had their first big success with the television series, Monty Python'sFlying Circus, in 1969.

The comedy show ran until 1974, entertaining audiences around the world with itsbizarre sketches.

John Cleese said that the famous “dead parrot” sketch would most likely be included inthe show.

New material never performed live before is promised.

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EXERCISE

DEAD PARROT A CERTAINTY

Monty Python to reunite

1a When, and how, did Monty Python announce their reunion?

1b Were all the members of Monty Python present at the announcement of their newshow? Support your answer by quoting from the text.

1c What will fans of Monty Python be looking forward to be entertained by next July?

1d What brought Monty Python world-wide acclaim?

2a In small groups, watch the following YouTube clip without sound.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=npjOSLCR2hE

Write a script for 1 minute of this sketch (It's totally up to you which part of the sketchyou choose)

Act it out for the class!

3a Research Monty Python.

Apart from the television show, what else did they produce?

What are some famous lines from their shows?

Share your findings with the class.

4a Some people have said that they are a bit nervous about the group reuniting. Whatdo you think people might be concerned about? Discuss!

4b With what you know about this group, why do you think they were so successful?Discuss

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WORLD'S TALLEST

To find thrill seekers brave enough

A giant water slide is currently under construction in Kansas City.

Once completed, the owners of the Schlitterbahn water park are confident it will be theworld’s tallest.

Reluctant to release the final height of the construction, a degree of secrecy shroudsthe project in order to "ensure the record-holding statistics”.

Jeff Henry, co-owner of the theme park, said: “This new MEG-A-BLASTER speed-slideis going to wow our guests and is going to be a game changer for our industry. Ourgreatest challenge will be to find thrill seekers brave enough to ride.”

Public reaction to news of the impending attraction has been received with a degree ofreticence: “Even though I'm sure it's reasonably safe, it ... is too easy for me to pictureflying off to be able to go on it,” said Reddit commentator “Painted Monkeys”.

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EXERCISE

WORLD'S TALLEST

To find thrill seekers brave enough

1a Why is this attraction not particularly appealing to some people?

1b What are the owners of the water park refusing to reveal? What is the reason forthis?

1c What are the owners of the theme park going to have to work at?

1d What is underway in a certain American city at the present time?

2a In small groups, discuss how you would promote this attraction.

Fast forward to the opening of the water slide. Take a sneak peak at the followingwebsite

www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/11/20/waterslide-tallest-fastest-kansas-city/3648401/

Write a roving report about a trip to the water slide. Interview someone about to climbthe tower, two people who have just finished the ride and someone who is there tosupport their friends but who does not dare to go on it.

Present your roving report for the class.

3a Research water slides in other countries. Where is the current world's tallest?Where is the longest? What other statistics can you find?

Present your findings for the class.

4a Would you dare to go on this new water slide? What kinds of water slides do youprefer? Discuss

4b Do you think it can be beneficial to take part in things that are safe but a bit scary?Discuss

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PRECISION STEERING

Totally insane!

Doing the rounds on social media last week was a clip of Jean Claude Van Dammedoing the splits.

Not so strange for a martial arts expert to be performing such a stunt ... But splittingoneself almost in two whilst standing on the side mirrors of two trucks drivingbackwards is somewhat more memorable!

For those of you who didn't get to check it out, it was, well...totally insane!

The clip is actually an advertisement for Volvo to demonstrate precision steering.

Since I'm not exactly a potential Volvo truck purchasing customer, I'm not sure howeffective the commercial will be in promoting sales for Volvo, but in terms of a newfound respect for 53-year old Van Damme, I would say it's pretty much a no-brainerthat it will be a huge hit. The guy's a freak in the kindest sense of the word!

Since I also used to be a martial artist, my work mates kindly offered to give me thechance to perform the same stunt. They promised to drive with the exact same level ofprecision and care!

Tempting as it was, I am pretty content to let Jean Claude take all the kudos for thestunt!!! He is the one, after all, who has “the mindset to master the most epic of splits”!

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EXERCISE

PRECISION STEERING

Totally insane!

1a Why was the author of the article reluctant to take his or her work colleagues up ontheir offer?

1b Is Jean Claude Van Damme in a class of his own?Quote from the text to support your answer.

1c In which way is this advertisement likely to be a success?

1d Why is Jean Claude standing in the middle of two trucks?

2a In pairs, read through the text together looking up any new words and idioms.

2b Watch the YouTube clip.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7FIvfx5J10

2c Imagine you have a friend who has decided to take up either ballet or martial arts.Write him or her a Facebook message to tell them about this clip and the kind of body,and abilities, one can maintain whilst practicing either of these two disciplines, asevidenced by Jean Claude Van Damme who has trained in both of them!

Try to use as much of the language used in this text as you can.

2d Hand your message in to the teacher who will write some of them on the whiteboardfor further discussion and correction, if necessary

3a Research Jean Claude Van Damme. What is he known for? Find out fourinteresting facts about his life to share with your class mates.

3b At the following website you will find commercials made by famous people beforethey were famous. Do you recognize any of these actors?

www.buzzfeed.com/lyapalater/celebrities-you-never-knew-were-in-old-commercials

After looking at a few of them, would you say their star qualities shone through?Discuss

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4a Did you see this clip on YouTube this week? Did you share it with anyone? Whatreactions did you and your friends have? Discuss

4b Do you think it is impressive that a 53-year old man can perform such a stunt?Discuss

4c Do you think Volvo will benefit from this advertisement? Discuss

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WORD OF THE YEAR

Sorry about the focus

Selfie is "a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with asmartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website." It was announcedlast week that it has been awarded the illustrious title Word of the Year for 2013, by theOxford dictionaries.

Editorial director Judy Pearsall said: "Using the Oxford Dictionaries language researchprogramme, which collects around 150m words of current English in use each month,we can see a phenomenal upward trend in the use of selfie in 2013, and this helped tocement its selection."

The word originated in Australia in 2002. A young man had taken a photo of himself inpretty bad shape after being at a mate's 21st birthday party. In his post on an onlineforum he apologised for the quality of picture saying " ... sorry about the focus, it was aselfie."

The frequency of usage of the word selfie has increased by a staggering 17,000%since this time last year, making it an unequivocal winner!

"Selfie" has not yet been added to the Oxford English Dictionary, although its inclusionis under consideration!

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EXERCISE

WORD OF THE YEAR

Sorry about the focus

1a Why was selfie crowned Word of the Year?

1b What is a possible future outcome for the word selfie?

1c In which context was the word first coined?

1d What statistic quoted in this text describes the trend in usage of the word?

2a Write 6 adjectives from this passage on the whiteboard. Can you come up withsynonyms for these adjectives? Can you come up with antonyms for them?

Using some of these words, describe a selfie you have taken recently that involvesmore than one person. Explain what you were doing and why you were doing it.

Share your selfie description with the class.

3a What other words were in the short list for the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year2013?

Write the definitions for three of these words.

Read out the definitions for your class mates to see if they can guess which word youare referring to.

3b Find four words in an English dictionary that you have never seen before. Writedown the actual definitions for these words as well as some made-up definitions.

Test your class mates to see if they can guess which definition is the right one!

4a Why is it necessary to include new words in a language? Discuss

4b What are some words that have disappeared from your own language? Discuss

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HUNGRY BEARS

A big problem!

Churchill prides itself on being the polar bear capital of the world. The town relies onthis reputation to attract tourists to view this beautiful but dangerous, animal.

Each year though, as climate change causes the ice to melt earlier, the animals comeoff the ice in search of food.

Hungry bears are a big problem. Just recently, two people were mauled by bearsdesperate for sustenance.

Polar bears prefer to eat certain types of seals. They can only catch them on thesurface of the sea ice. As the ice melts away their chance to feed is greatly reduced.

Bob Windsor, from Manitoba’s bear alert program, is trying to teach the bears to beafraid of people.

The town’s future depends on the success of this strategy.

Incredibly, only two people have been killed by bears in Churchill since 1717.

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EXERCISE

HUNGRY BEARS

A big problem!

1a Why are bears mauling people in Churchill?

1b How frequently have fatalities occurred and when did the first one occur?

1c How are the bears being trained to react to human beings?

1d Why are hungry bears a threat to the town of Churchill?

2a In small groups, work through this passage looking up the meanings of new wordsand expressions.

What does your town pride itself on? Is there a danger that this reputation could beunder threat?

Write a short report about what attracts people to your town, what threatens on-goingtourism, and how you plan to keep people coming.

2b Present your report for the class.

3a Watch 4 minutes of the following YouTube clip.

abcnews.go.com/International/video/polar-bear-migration-2013-churchill-canada-overrun-small-20792463

Stop and start if necessary to make sure you understand what is being said.

3b Write 4 quiz questions to ask your classmates to see how much they understood, atthe same time as you learn from each other's observations.

4a Have you ever seen a polar bear? What was your impression of them? Discuss

4b Do you think it is possible to train wild animals? How do you think this might bedone? Discuss

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JIVING JUNIOR

Dance Cam dance-off

A game of basketball in New York City last week was entertaining for unexpectedreasons.

During a break in the game, the audience were on their feet hoping to be caught oncamera by the Dance Cam.

The camera focused on an 11-year old boy with some pretty fancy moves!

An usher, known for his dancing prowess, is impressed with the young fan’s style andchallenges him to a dance-off. The jiving junior rises to the challenge as the audienceyell for more.

With every sleek dance step performed by the usher, the boy responds with his ownunique moves and adorable facial expressions.

The two meet at the end of the game for a photo together.

The dance-off video went viral and scored some 4 million hits within just twenty-fourhours!

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EXERCISE

JIVING JUNIOR

Dance Cam dance-off

1a Why was a young fellow the subject of a video last week?

1b Apart from challenging each other to dance, what else did the boy and the usher dotogether?

1c In what way would you have been surprised if you had attended a certain game ofbasketball in New York City last week?

1d How did the crowd of basketball fans respond to the off-court entertainment?

2a Work in pairs. After reading through the text and looking up the meanings of anynew words, print out the text. Cut it into paragraphs and put them into a box. Take it inturns at drawing out a paragraph. Circle key words. Test your partner by reading outthe key words to see if they can remember what the paragraph was about.

3a Watch the following YouTube clip.

mashable.com/2013/11/25/nba-usher-kid-dance-battle/

Write a script for this clip. What do you think they were thinking? Imagine you could add a bubble above their heads with the text in it.

Read out your script for the class as the clip plays.

4a Is there something you would be prepared to do on camera in a public place suchas this? Discuss

4b Do you think some nations are more outgoing and less shy than others? Discuss

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DONKEY'S MILK LATTE

Other dairy species

Have you ever asked your friends the question “which animal’s milk do you drink?”

No, in the western world, we rarely drink anything but cow’s milk.

But as the developing world’s population continues to explode, along with its increasingdemand for dairy products, we might start to see other sources of milk appearing onsupermarket shelves.

"There is huge scope for developing other dairy species,'' said Anthony Bennett,livestock industry officer at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

Alpaca, donkeys, moose, reindeer and yaks can also be milked.

Furthermore, reindeer and moose milk is not only high in fat and protein, but alsocontains half the amount of lactose found in cow's milk, making it a possible alternativesource of dairy products for people with lactose intolerance.

Alpaca and llama breeding could provide "a valuable nutritional and economicresource'' for people in mountainous areas of South America.

Who knows, we may one day be ordering a donkey's milk latte!

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EXERCISE

DONKEY'S MILK LATTE

Other dairy species

1a What are some people sensitive to that certain types of milk contain in lowquantities?

1b In years to come, what might you find on a cafe's menu?

1c What is the current norm with respect to milk consumption in the developed world?

1c What might certain high altitude regions of the world be able to benefit from in thefuture?

2a Working in pairs, imagine you are living in the 22nd century and the raising of alarge range of animals as sources of dairy products is common practice.

Write a similar text to this, but refer instead to how it used to be in the world back in the21st century with respect to which animals met the world's dairy produce needs.

2b Pass your text to another pair. After receiving feedback, make any changes youdeem necessary and read your text for the class. 3a Research milk consumption in the country in which you live. Are there other types ofmilk available other than cow's milk? What are some non-dairy sources of milkavailable?

Apart from milk, what other types of dairy products are available?

3b What kinds of animals are currently used for their milk in other countries?

Copy a map of the world. Colour each continent according the type of milkpredominantly consumed there.

Display your world maps around the classroom.

4a If you saw Donkey's milk latte on a menu, would you be curious to try one?Why/why not?

4b Why do you think cow's milk is used throughout most of the developed world?Discuss

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TAKING YOUR PHONE TO BED

Grew poorly or died

“Let’s take a better safe than sorry approach,” was the conclusion reached from astudy on the usage of smartphones at night.

Mobile phones use electromagnetic radiation in the microwave range. Taking yourphone to bed with you, pretty much standard practice for most of us these days,elevates your radiation exposure a little, which has been found to cause disturbancesin sleep patterns. Being able to enter the deep phase of sleep takes much longer, andthe length of time in that phase is reduced.

“Anything that disrupts the integrity of your sleep will potentially have adverseconsequences in functioning during the day, such as grouchiness, difficultyconcentrating etc.,” says Dr. William Kohler of the Florida Sleep Institute.

In order to be convinced of this, a bunch of teenage girls set out to produce sometangible evidence that would demonstrate just how disturbing these microwaves canbe.

They conducted a study which involved the sprouting of seeds. A router, emitting thesame amount of electromagnetic radiation as a smartphone, was placed next to half ofthe seeds. The other half was not exposed to Wifi signals at all.

You probably don’t want to hear that most of the seeds near the Wifi device didn’tsprout at all. Those that sprouted grew extremely poorly or died, whilst the seeds awayfrom the router grew prolifically.

That’s pretty convincing hey?

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EXERCISE

TAKING YOUR PHONE TO BED

Grew poorly or died

1a Why did a group of girls attempt to grow plants?

1b What is it that causes periods of sleep to be adversely affected?

1c In what ways might we behave differently if subjected to microwaves at night?

1d What is it that the author of this text is concerned its readers will not be thrilledabout?

2a Write a letter to a friend who has had trouble being able to focus, or has felt grouchyor irritable. Give them a possible explanation for their behaviour based on the findingsof this article. :)

You may want to check out the following webpage for inspiration!

www.mnn.com/health/healthy-spaces/blogs/student-science-experiment-finds-plants-wont-grow-near-wi-fi-router

Give your letter to one of your classmates for feedback.

Read your letter for the class after making any necessary changes.

3a Conduct further research into the adverse effects of exposure to electromagneticradiation (emr).

What other sources of emr are there? In what ways is it believed that exposure to emrcan adversely effect our health? What can be done to minimise exposure to emr?What other interesting facts can you come up with?

Present your findings for the class.

4a Do you plan to make any changes to your life with respect to your use of, orproximity to, electromagnetic radiation emitting devices? Discuss

4b What does the expression "burying one's head in the sand" mean? How might thisapply to the way we sometimes react to certain health warnings? Discuss

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39 TRACKS

Helping brothers and sisters

In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, a host of famous artists are using their fame asleverage to help their wounded brothers and sisters in the Philippines.

Record labels Sony, Warner Music and Universal, have put together a genre-spanningall-star compilation album called Songs for the Philippines.

The album features 39 donated tracks from the likes of Katy Perry, Bruno Mars,Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake, as well as blasts from the past, Bob Dylan and theBeetles.

Superstar DJ, David Guetta said: “I wanted to help, but I didn't know how, so I went tothe people that do.” He has partnered with the United Nations and hopes that with themillions of fans he has worldwide he ought to be able to use his fame to bring inmillions of dollars.

Party girl and superstar, Rhianna, released a statement to her fans about her decisionto get involved and donate what is needed most; money. She urges her 33 millionfollowers on Twitter to do likewise. "Emergencies make headlines, but the recoverycontinues long after the news cameras leave," she says.

Devoted to hanging in there as a financial supporter of the clean-up for the long haul,Rhianna has pledged 100,000 dollars to the relief effort.

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EXERCISE

39 TRACKS

Helping brothers and sisters

1a Why did the man pictured to the right of this text not take steps to help the victims ofHurricane Haiyan by himself?

1b How is the musical ensemble put together to raise money for the people of thePhilippines described?

1c How much will these artists earn from this collective initiative?

1d What have social media participants been encouraged to do?

2a In small groups, work through the text looking up any new words or idioms.

2b Write a song to be included on "Songs for the Philippines".

Choose the melody of a well known song to set your lyrics to. Try to include some ofthe language found in this text in your song.

2c Perform your song for the class while they assist you by tapping out the rhythm ofits melody using classroom items as percussion instruments.

3a At the following webpage you will find the list of tracks on "Songs for thePhilippines".

finance.yahoo.com/news/songs-philippines-launched-globally-itunes-202800688.html

Choose one of the tracks and write a short text explaining what the song is about.

3b Research the artist or group who performs the song. Come up with a couple factsabout this performer or band.

Read out your description of the song for the class as well as the three facts about theartist or band who performs it.

Your class mates will try to guess which song, artist, or group, you are describing.

4a Discuss the statement "it is better to give than to receive". Have you experiencedthis to be so? Discuss

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4b If you were famous, would you want to use your fame as leverage to help those lessfortunate than yourself? What kind of charity would you want to get involved with?Discuss

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CYBER-SAMARITAN

Responds to angry letter

19-year old Olguiemar Frevre, or Olgi, is a University Student who struggles to pay herbills, pay the rent, and buy food.

Getting to University using public transport is expensive for a poor student, so Olgidecided to save money to buy a bike.

Eventually she had the 700 dollars she needed to purchase the solution to hertransportation costs.

Last Monday Olgi locked up her shiny new bike outside the art shop, where she workspart time.

When she finished work, the bike had gone.

Olgi was furious. As a form of release, she wrote a note to the bike thief and pinned itto the bike rack.

A picture of the note went viral.

Olgi now has a new set of wheels; a good cyber-Samaritan felt sorry for her andbought her a new bike.

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EXERCISE

CYBER-SAMARITAN

Responds to angry letter

1a Why was Olguiemar so determined to own a bike?

1b How did people outside of Olgi's home town find out about her dilemma?

1c Where was Olgi's bike parked when the theft occurred?

1d Was it easy for Olgi to raise the funds she needed to buy her bike? Support youranswer by quoting from the text.

2a Imagine you are in Olgi's situation and have just had your bike stolen.

Just like Olguiemar, write a letter to the person who stole it like. (Without using swearwords! :) )

2b Read your letter for your class mates.

3a Where does the expression "good Samaritan" come from?

What examples of being a good Samaritan have you personally witnessed?

4a What do you think might have motivated the good cyber-Samaritan to buy Olgi anew bike? Discuss

4b Is bike theft a problem where you live? What ways can bike theft be minimised?

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RICKSHAW CHALLENGE

India on three wheels

Holly Churchill loves adventure. She has just announced that her next trip will be toIndia. Holly, together with two friends she met while travelling in China, will journeymore than 2000 miles in an auto-rickshaw.

With just two weeks to cross the finishing line, the thrill-seekers are prepared for somechallenges along the way.

"Rickshaws break down about four times a day on average and if you go up a hill youhave to get out and push, so it's going to be quite difficult, but fun."

Holly plans to film the trip, and upload videos to Facebook and JustGiving pages.

"We're getting people to sponsor us ... with all the proceeds going to Cool Earth, acharity (that) helps to preserve the Amazon Rainforest,” Holly said.

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EXERCISE

RICKSHAW CHALLENGE

India on three wheels

1a Why is Holly expecting to incur some trials en-route to the finishing line?

1b How will Holly document the rickshaw adventure?

1c How will funds be raised to give to charity organisations?

1d What has Holly just made known to the world?

2a In groups of three, write a dialogue involving three friends who are trying to decidewhere to go for their next adventure.

Discuss where you have been before and where you would like to go next. Discusswhat kinds of food you would like to try, what kind of weather you want to experience,what kind of landscapes, music, or thrill-seeking adventures you would like to enjoy.

Read your dialogue for the class.

3a Watch the following YouTube clip.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LggUjXnvZk

What were the main challenges faced by this trio?

3b What is JustGiving all about? Share your findings with your classmates.

4a Are you inspired to take part in such an adventure one day? Why/why not?

4b Discuss how you think people could sponsor the three girls?

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FILM TAKES FLIGHT

International acclaim

Earlier this year, a motion sensor camera was set up to record images of crocodiles inthe Margaret River region of Western Australia.

Not long after it had been mounted it disappeared and the rangers responsible for thecamera’s installation assumed it had fallen into the water.

Several weeks later, however, the camera was found near the Mary River. Rangerswere able to recover film footage from the camera.

It had been stolen by a sea eaglet that had carried the camera 110 km. When theinquisitive bird finally put its cargo down it posed for a selfie before flying off.

Ranger, Roneil Skeen, is confident that the sea eagle must have been a juvenile“because ... adult sea eagles ... once they get their food or their prey ... usually take itright up into the sky and drop it.”

The filmmaker is unaware of the international attention he has received!

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EXERCISE

FILM TAKES FLIGHT

International acclaim

1a Where did the rangers believe the camera must have ended up?

1b Why is it supposed that the bird was not an adult?

1c What was the last thing the bird did in the presence of the camera?

1d Why was the camera placed near a waterway?

2a In pairs, work through the text looking up any new or difficult words.

Choose six sentences. Rearrange the phrase order of the sentences without changingthe sentence's meaning.

Hand your rewritten sentences in to the teacher who will write some of them on thewhiteboard for further discussion and correction if necessary.

3a Watch the following YouTube clip of the sea eaglet's selfie.

www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/sea-eagle-in-australia-steals-a-camera-poses-for-a-selfie/17257/

Write a brief text describing what happens in the film.

3a Research sea eagles. Where do they live? What do they eat? How long do theylive? What other interesting facts can you find out about them?

3b Write three questions to ask your class mates, based on your findings. Give themthree answers to choose from; only one of which, of course, is the right answer.

4a Why do you think the bird stole the camera? Discuss

4b How do you think this might change the way hidden cameras are installed in thefuture? Discuss

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AFRICAN INTERNET STATS

Mind blowing

The world has gone Internet crazy. World usage statistics indicate an exponentialincrease over the last twelve years by a whopping 566 percent. Impressive hey? Butthen there’s Africa. Hard to wrap your head around it, but their stats show a mind-boggling 3,606.7 percent increase in usage, from 4,514,400 users in 2000 to167,335,676 in 2012.

This radical surge in connectivity across the African continent is largely due tosignificant investments made in building desperately needed backbone infrastructureand the roll-out of 3G networks. Millions of Africans are connecting to the Internet forthe first time.

Most people access the net via mobile phones.

Mhealth is the practice of medicine and public health, which is supported by mobiledevices. Practitioners, researchers and patients now have access to critically neededhealth care simply by owning a mobile phone. It is predicted that mhealth alone willsave up to one million lives by the year 2017.

It’s a case of “watch this space” when it comes to seeing how Internet access willtransform this vast continent.

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EXERCISE

AFRICAN INTERNET STATS

Mind blowing

1a How can the increase in demand with respect to getting online be described?

1b Why is Africa likely to undergo radical change in the near future?

1c How are the majority of people connecting to the net in Africa?

1d How will mhealth prevent loss of life?

2a Read through the article together as a class to practice pronunciation. At the end ofeach paragraph write any new or difficult words on the whiteboard.

2b Write definitions, as well as synonyms (where possible), for each of these words.

2c As a class, discuss the ways in which you think Africa will benefit from access to allthat is available to them via the Internet.

Write a short text based on the results of your discussion. Predict how a family's life willbe affected by connecting to the Internet.

2d Read your text for your classmates.

3a Research Internet usage in your own country.What percentage increase has it experienced in the last 12 years?What percentage of the population are Internet users?What other interesting life-style related statistics can you find that interest you?

3b Present your findings for your classmates.

4a If you were connecting to the Internet for the first time, what do you think you wouldresearch? Discuss

4b What is a luddite? Is it possible to be a luddite in our society and have a promisingfuture? Discuss

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FROZEN

Women in Hollywood

The latest Walt Disney movie to hit the screens opened last week. Described as a“computer animated epic musical fantasy-comedy film,” Frozen broke Toy Story 2’sfourteen-year old record to become the biggest Thanksgiving weekend box officedebut of all time.

So far, Frozen has earned more money in its opening weekend than any other Disneyfilm with just one exception; The Lion King.

Reporter Megan Angelo's response to seeing the 3D epic was: “I think you're going tolove basically everything on Frozen's resume as much as I did.”

Referred to as “a little case study on women in Hollywood,” the movie has two femaleleads; Anna, the princess heroine of the story, voiced by Kristen Bell, and Elsa, Anna’solder sister who is crowned queen three years after their parent's death. Elsa hasdifficulty controlling her magical powers and manages to wreak complete havoc;subjecting their homeland to an eternal winter as she inadvertently causes the entirelandscape to freeze over.

The film is all about sisterhood and restoring a fractured, broken relationship as Annaseeks to find her exiled sister and save the kingdom from a lifetime of ice and snow.

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EXERCISE

FROZEN

Women in Hollywood

1a What is it that Elsa needs to improve on?

1b What is Anna's quest in Frozen?

1c Why is a film about the African jungle mentioned in this text?

1d Which quote in the text sums up the essence of Frozen?

2a In small groups, work through the text looking up the meanings of any new words.

2b Watch the trailer of another Disney film that you haven't seen.

Write a film synopsis based on the trailer. Let your imaginations run wild as you tellyour own version of the story.

2c Read out your film synopsis for the class.

3a Watch the Frozen trailer a couple of times.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbQm5doF_Uc

What is your favourite quote from this clip?

3b Write just one word from the quote on the whiteboard and lines where each missingword belongs.

Give synonyms as clues for each missing word until someone has guessed your quote.

3c What is Thanksgiving? Research this holiday and its origins. What facts can youfind that you think would interest your classmates.

3d Share these interesting facts with each other!

4a What are the benefits of using animation over real-life characters? Discuss

4b Does Frozen seem the kind of film that would appeal to a wide audience group?Discuss

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TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY

Fa la la la la la la la la

It's that time of year again when we take a break to enjoy the holidays!!

For some, this will involve decorating a Christmas tree, exchanging presents andsinging Christmas carols.

For others, it will be an opportunity to visit relatives and enjoy special dinners andbanquets filled with foods not eaten at any other time of year.

Or it may be that you are looking forward to a holiday to an exotic destination.

Regardless of where you end up; across the globe, at the stroke of midnight, onJanuary 1, skies around the world will be lit up with flashing lights, as fireworks usher inthe New Year; sending our beloved cats and dogs diving for cover!

Whatever this time of year means to you, we hope you will stay safe, well-fed andhappy; doing the things you love!

Newstickers welcomes you back for more scintillating articles from the English-speaking world on Monday, January 6th, 2014!

Take care, merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us!!

newsLetter - 34

Documents

English A compilation of newsTicker articles and exercisesSachin Tendulkar has retired. The Indian cricketer is regarded by many as the most incredible player the game of cricket has