McDonald’s Opens New Restaurants in RussiaAmerica’s fast food giant McDonald’s is planning to open more new restaurants in Russia.  The company, which has been operating in Russia for 26 years,  has constantly expanded over the years. In 2015 thefranchise opened 59 restaurants and  plans to open 60 more this year.Currently, McDonald’s operates 543 restaurants in Russia. According to a company spokesperson, it will invest over a hundred million dollars.

In addition, McDonald’s wants to buy more food from local suppliers. Western countries have imposed sanctions on Russia because of the country’s role in the Ukraine conflict. In retaliation, Russia has placed anembargo on food coming from the west. Last year over 80% of the food used in McDonald’s restaurants was produced in Russia.

In the future, it wants to become completely independent and get everything from local suppliers. Within the next two years chicken andbeef is to come from local farms.  McDonald’s also intends to grow Russian potatoes used for French fries.

The fast food franchise is extremely popular among Russians, even though McDonald’s had to increase menu prices because of the sinkingvalue of the rouble.

Words

according to = as said by …

beef = meat from cows

constantly = the whole time

currently = now, at the moment

embargo = stop trading with another country

even though = despite

expand = to become larger

extremely = very

franchise = the right to sell products using a company’s name

giant = here: very large company

impose = put into effect

in addition = also

increase = to make more expensive

independent = here: not need

intend = plan

local supplier = here: company that produces food in Russia and sells it to

McDonald’s

operate = here: to do business

popular = much liked

retaliation = to punish someone because they have done harm to you; to take

revenge

rouble = money used in Russia

sanction = order that stops or reduces trading to another country in order to

make it follow certain rules

spokesperson = person who is chosen to speak for a company and make press

and TV comments

value = what something is worth

within =in

Sweden Introduces Six-Hour Work DaySweden, one of the world’s most advanced countries, has started to introduce a six-hour work day for its employees.  Around the country companies are making this change in order to make workers moreproductive and happier. At the same time breaks and meetings are kept to a minimum at work, so that workers can concentrate on their job and not get distracted.

Labour experts say that the traditional eight-hour work day is very hard to endure. Workers cannot focus on their job for such a long period of time. On the other hand many workers have a hard time going through their private life after a hard day at work. Health experts say, that after six hours of focused work, people still have enough energy to do things at home.

The change comes at a time when many employees around the world work 50 to 60 hours and more a week. Some of them are in danger ofburning out after a certain time. Working long hours raises the danger of heart attacks, strokes and other illnesses. The Swedish model hopes for workers to be able to work through to a higher age and notretire 65.

Words

advanced = well-developed; rich

break = pause from work

burn out = to work so hard that you get very tired and cannot work any more

because you are not able to think clearly

certain = special

concentrate = focus on; put your attention on

distracted = unable to concentrate because you are thinking about something

else

employee = a person who works for a company

endure = to be in a difficult situation for a long time without complaining about

it

heart attack = when you heart suddenly stops beating

labour = work

productive = to produce a lot in a certain time

raise = go up

retire = stop working because you have become too old

stroke = when a blood vessel in the brain suddenly breaks apart or is blocked;

people who suffer a stroke may not be able to move parts of their body or cannot

talk any more

Google Alphabet Becomes World’s Most Valuable Company

Google Alphabet has overtaken Apple as the world’s most valuablecompany. Google’s new mother company has a value of $548 billioncompared to Apple’s $534 billion. After Alphabet announced new recordprofits its share prices went up.

Google Alphabet was founded in August of last year in attempt tocombine all of Google’s activities in one single company. The company, which started out with its internet search engine, has bought other companies over the years, including YouTube, Waze, a GPS-based navigation app and Motorola. It has swept the smartphone market with its Android operating system.

Alphabet also is investing in new technologies, for example self-driving cars and high-speed internet networks. Although these companies are not making any money at the moment,they are hopeful long-termprojects.

Google’s biggest competitor, Apple, is still very successful. It became the world’s most valuable company in 2012 when it overtook Exxon Mobil, apetroleum giant. However, recently, the demand for iPhones has gone down and the company’s share prices are down 30% from their highestmark.

While Apple relies mostly on its mobile phones to generate money, Google makes most of its profits from advertising. An increasing amount is coming from mobile ads, advertisements on YouTube and Google’s Play Store. Income from the company’s main business has grown by over 20%.

Words

activities = here: everything a company does to earn money

advertising = to tell users about different products and try to get them to

buy things

although = while

announce = to say officially

attempt = try

billion = a thousand million

combine = put together

compared to = to look at two or more things and see how they are different

competitor = here: company that is in the same business

demand = the need for products

found – founded = start, create

generate = make, produce

high-speed = very fast

however = but

including = also

income = money you get by selling products and services

increase = go up

long-term = something that continues for a long time into the future

main = most important

mark = level

mobile ads = ads you get on your mobile phone

network = system

operating system = system in a computer or smart phone that helps all the

programs or apps work together

overtake = here: to become bigger

petroleum = oil

profit = money that you make in business

recently = a short time ago

rely = need, depend on

search engine = computer program that helps you find information on the

internet

share prices = what a part of a company is worth

sweep – swept = to spread in an impressive way

technology = new machines and ways of doing things that are based on

computers and modern science

valuable = worth a lot of money

value = what something is worth

More Plastic Than Fish in the Oceans By 2050

30 years from now our seas will be containing more plastic than fish.According to a report released by the World Economic Forum, plastic production around the world is expected to double within the next 20 years. Today, one garbage truck full of plastic gets into the ocean every minute, by 2050 it will be four.

About 8 million tons  of plastic are dumped into the sea every year. There, it can last for hundreds of years . Environmentalists estimate that there are about 160 million tons of plastic in the world’s oceans today. By 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish.

Plastic that turns up in the seas endangers the fish population and other marine animals. In addition it produces a gigantic garbage patchthat floats on the surface, thus putting ships in danger and pollutingbeautiful beaches around the world. But the plastic that floats in the water is only a fraction of the whole amount.

Plastic is becoming more and more popular in our world.  It has many uses and is cheap to produce. However, it is endangering ourenvironment more than any other material.

The World Economic Forum calls for more recycling and a better use of plastic. 95% of all plastic that is produced is only used once, then it is thrown away. Almost a third finds its way into our environment.

Oil is the raw material that plastic is made of. Currently, 5% of the world’s oil production are turned into plastic. By 2050 it will rise to afifth.

Words

according to = as reported by …

call for = demand , suggest

contain = have

currently = at the moment

double = to become twice the amount

dump = here: to get rid of something, throw away

endanger =to put at risk

environment = the world around us

environmentalist = a person who cares for the world around us and wants to

do something to protect it

estimate = guess or calculate the size of something

fifth = 20%

float = swim on the surface

fraction = small part

garbage patch = here: large area of the ocean that is polluted by plastic and

other waste

garbage truck = truck that you drive from one house to another to collect

waste

gigantic = very large

in addition = also

is expected to = will probably

marine = sea

pollute = to make something dirty

popular = much liked and used a lot

raw material = here: material from which something else is made

release = publish, to make something public for everyone to see

recycling = using a raw material over and over again

surface = top part of something

thus = therefore

Ancient massacre in Kenya discoveredArchaeologists have discovered a site in northern Kenya where a mass killing took place about 10000 years ago. The nomads were not buried but were left to die in the open.

The archaeologists discovered that the men, women and children werestabbed or clubbed to death. They do not really know, however, how the ancient massacre happened.

Nataruk, near Lake Turkana, was an area full of vegetation which attracted many grazing animals. It was more liveable than the other side of the lake, which was very rocky.  One of the reasons for the ancient massacre may be food that groups of hunters and gatherers were fighting for.

The skeletons that scientists found at the site  showed wounds on the necks of the victims. In some cases their skulls were smashed. One man was found with with a sharp blade of volcanic rock still embedded in his skull. Others had broken arms and legs. A pregnant woman was found with her arms and legs tied together.

Although the massacre in northern Kenya is the oldest evidenceof violence between groups of people, historians believe that warfareemerged much later when humans stopped being nomads and started to settle down.  They claim

that nomads probably did not fight because they were able to move away from danger.

The grave site, first discovered in 2012, is proof that violence may have been going on longer than first thought.

Words

although = while

archaeologist = person who studies old civilizations and the buildings and

houses that are left over from that time

attract = here: to make animals go there

blade = flat part of a knife or other object used for cutting

bury = put a dead person into a grave

club = to beat a person with a heavy object or stick

discover = to find for the first time

embedded = still fixed into something

emerge = come up, start

evidence = one or more reasons that shows that something has happened

gatherer = a person who gathers food instead of getting it by farming

grave = place where a dead person is buried

graze = when animals eat grass

historian = someone who writes about or studies history

liveable = here: better to live

mass killing = the killing of many people at once

nomad = person who moves from one place to another instead of living in the

same place all the time

pregnant = to expect a baby

proof = evidence, facts that show something is true

scientist = a person who is trained in science and works in a lab

site = place

skeleton = the frame of bones of a human

skull = bones of the head that surround the brain

smash = break into pieces

stab = here: kill someone with a knife or other sharp object

victim = here: person who died in the massacre

violence = fighting

warfare = the act of fighting against each other

wound = a damaged part of your body

British woman gets bionic eye Rhian Lewis, a British woman aged 49, is the first Briton to get a bioniceye. A chip was implanted in the back of the retina, which allowed her to see for the first time in six years.

The woman started losing her eyesight when she was 5 years old.  Now she can read the time of a clock, experience sunshine and even recognizeher two 18-year old twins , which she hadn’t clearly seen for a few years.

The bionic eye works by gathering light and sending it to the brain, where it is turned into images.The chip has 15,000 light sensors thatreplace the cells in the retina. It is connected to a tiny computer that sits in the back of her ear. The revolutionary invention was manufactured by a Germany firm. Lewis is the first person outside of Germany to receivethe chip.

The disease which was passed down to Lewis from her parents destroysthe light cells in the retina. She became completely blind on one eye and could hardly see anything with her other eye. In her first interview after the successful operation she described  the joy of being able to see again.

What Lewis first saw first were simply flashes of light. In the course of a few weeks, the brain learns  to change those flashes into objects

andshapes she can recognize. She can change contrast and brightness  with a small gadget that she holds in her hand.

The operation, performed in an Oxford hospital, took about 6 hours. Surgeons are also amazed because for the first time they have been able to activate  a part of the brain that hasn’t been working for some time.

The bionic eye is hope for thousands of people who suffer from losing their eyesight, especially when they become older.

Words

activate = to make something work

amazed = very surprised

bionic = part of the body that is electronic

brain = part of your head that controls what you do, think and how you feel

brightness = being full of light or shining strongly

Briton = person who is a citizen of Great Britain

cell = the smallest building block of a person or animal

clearly = in every detail

completely = totally

connect = link

contrast = differences in light and dark

destroy = damage completely

disease = illness

especially = above all

experience =  here: the feeling of being able to see

eyesight = being able to see

flash = light that shines brightly for a very short time

gadget = small tool that does something useful

gather = collect

hardly = almost nothing

image = picture

implant = put something into your body in an operation

invention = new machine or object

joy = feeling of great happiness

manufacture = produce

pass down = get from your parents or grandparents

perform = carry out

replace = put there instead of something else

receive = here: to have the chip implanted

recognize = to know what somebody or something is

retina = the back of the eye that collects light and sends signals to the brain

revolutionary = something very new and modern

sensor = object that reacts to light or heat

shape = form

simply =easy to understand

successful = here: something that worked

suffer = to have a disease, feel pain or not have something that other people

have

surgeon = doctor who carries out operations

tiny = very small