Common Mistakes 4

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Phrasal Verbs with Answers: To Catch

This week,'to catch' is the verb used to make our phrasal verbs.  Do you know what they mean?

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Comprehension: Sanctuary offers orphaned elephants a chance in life

Watch the video below and answer the following questions.  Are they True or False?

1. All of the baby elephants are orphaned because of poaching.

a. True

b. False

2. The baby elephants are fed by their sponsors.

a. True

b. False

3. The increase in demand for ivory was caused by a shortage of ivory in 2008.

a. True

b. False

For transcript and answers see below or go to:

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Transcript and Answers: Sanctuary offers orphaned elephants a chance in life

Basilinga was two weeks old when his mother was shot by a poacher. He stayed by her side until wildlife rangers found them, but it was too late to save his mum, so  just a few weeks old he was brought here, to the David Sheldrick Elephant orphanage in Nairobi.

 "Out of the 25 baby elephants that we have, I would say 90 to around 95 per cent of them it is because of poaching. So you can see how bad it is."

 Conservationists say poaching levels are the highest since records began and unless it’s tackled soon, wild elephants could be extinct in Africa within a decade.   Adult elephants are killed for their tusks.  The value of ivory has skyrocketed in recent years due to growing demand in China and the Far East that fuels the illegal trade.

 "North of the Zambezi there are a lot of countries that have lost all their elephants and central Africa looks as though it’s going to lose all theirs. We've lost most of ours, the population's gone down from 100,000 to, they reckon, about, it’s probably about 25,000, 20,000 if that now, and declining rapidly."

 This Christmas the trust is asking foster parents to come forward and help raise the baby elephants by sponsoring them. They have to be fed every three hours, and the keepers even sleep in the same room.  The more donations they get, the more elephants like Basilinga they can save.

"We know he will be making it, because he has passed the most critical stage in elephants, which is the teething, he is above that, he is feeding on plants and we believe he will be back into the wild, successfully."

 In 2008, four southern African countries were allowed to sell their ivory stockpiles. Conservationists say this one-off move just whetted Asia's appetite for more, fuelling poaching. And the small legal, but badly policed, ivory market that now exists provides a cover for traders to offload illegal tusks. 

 The David Sheldrick trust is now campaigning for a total and indefinite ban on ivory sales -- but until the demand decreases, the trust will continue to take in orphaned elephants and raise them until they can fend for themselves.

Answers:
1. b

2. b

3. b

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Idioms: Answers to Winter Idioms

Answers and examples to this weeks idioms. The theme this week is winter.

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Comprehension: Spaniards tighten their belts for crisis Christmas

Watch the video below and answer the following questions.  Are they True or False.

1. There aren't many people at the Christmas Market in Madrid.

a. True

b. False

2. About a quarter of Spanish people are unemployed.

a. True

b. False

3. Everyone who works in the private sector has lost their Christmas bonus this year.

a. True

b. False

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Transcript and Answers to Spaniards tighten their belts for crisis Christmas

There may be plenty of people at this Christmas market in Madrid, but appearances are deceptive. Spaniards are preparing for a tough Christmas after one of the worst years in a five-year economic crisis. They're struggling against a recession, a record unemployment rate of more than 25 percent and repeated budget cuts. 

"This year I will be spending less. Today I have a job that from January onwards I don't know if I'll keep it or I'll be laid off. There are so many businesses and public services closing down." 

"A few years ago you could spend 300 or 400 € on presents. This year I will be surprised if I spend more than 100." 

As Spain cuts spending, all public sector workers and many private sector employees have lost their Christmas bonus this year. Prices have gone up, too, with the top rate of sales tax rising from 18 percent to 21 percent. 

"From 2007 to 2012 we expect Christmas spending per family to fall from 1,000 € to 600 €. The effect of the crisis will really hit home this year in almost all Spanish families." 

Another victim of the crisis is Spain's lottery, known as El Gordo, or the Fat One. Even if more people are buying tickets, the state lottery expects overall revenue to fall. 

"I am going to spend less on the lottery because we are earning less and everything is more expensive. If you don't have any money you can't spend it." 

"I have been looking for a job for a year and can't find work. Maybe if I buy a winning ticket it will improve my economic situation and my family's." 

Times are tough for business, too. This well-known shop hasn’t raised prices in three years so while its traditional “turron” may be sweet, Christmas will still be bitter for many this year. 

Answers:

1. b

2. a

3. b


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Common Mistakes 3

Comprehension: Polish police target reckless drivers

Watch the video below and answer the following questions.  

1. How many people lost their lives in the first week of December?.

a. 350

b. 52

c. 20

2. What is true about the fines in Poland?

a. They don't stop people driving badly.

b. They rise every year.

c. They are very expensive.

3. What is true about driving in Poland?

a. The number of road deaths in Poland has increased by 15% compared to  

    the same period in 2011.

b. Most people drive on the motorways.

c. Drink-drivers are responsible for one road death in every eight.

For transcript and answers see below or go to:

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Transcript and Answers to Polish police target reckless drivers

The first week of December was the deadliest so far this year on Poland's roads. Over three days, 52 people lost their lives and 350 were injured. Figures like that underline Poland's stark record on transport security. In 2011, the country held the dubious title of having the European Union's most dangerous roads, ahead of Greece and Romania. 

"Poles don't have the means to buy new cars, so they buy bad quality second-hand vehicles. And over the past 20 years, the number of cars in Poland has spiralled, while the construction of new roads hasn't kept up." 

There's plenty of road building going on, but motorways don't even make up 1 percent of the country's transport network. Instead, the bulk of traffic relies on local roads where thousands of trucks criss-cross the country and where overtaking can be hazardous. On top of that, Poland has among the EU's weakest legislation on dangerous driving. 

"In line with the legal sliding scale, fines range from about 5 € to 125 €. They haven't risen in Poland for about a decade. Our scale of fines is very driver-friendly." 

Over the past year, Poland's police have stepped up their road security campaign. Cutting-edge radars are being posted along the country's roads, notably in cities. The country's traffic police have also bought 29 special vehicles equipped with mobile speed detectors. 

"Our job is not to arrest or pursue lawbreakers. We just take the pictures. On a good day, this device can log up to 200 breaches an hour," 

The Polish state reckons it will rake in 400 million € thanks to radars in 2013. But fear of punishment has also had an immediate impact. From January to October, the number of road deaths in Poland fell by 15% compared to the same period in 2011. One habit that is proving harder to change, however, is that of drink-driving. Alcohol is to blame for one road death in eight in Poland. 


Answers:
1. b
2. a
3. c

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Comprehension: Great balls of China to defend against 'apocalypse'

Watch the video below and answer the following questions.  Are they True or False.

1. The pod has very thin walls.

a. True

b. False

2. Mr Liu's job is making pods.

a. True

b. False

3. Mr Liu has spent about 350 thousand US dollars on his pods.

a. True

b. False

For transcript and answers see below or go to:

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Transcript and Answers to Great balls of China to defend against 'apocalypse'

 It’s one Chinese man's home made way of surviving an apocalypse, a waterproof, iceproof, fireproof survival pod. Liu Qiyuan claims it’s made to withstand the force of tsunamis and earthquakes and to enable people to escape shipwrecks. A simple crash test proves its strength. 

"We've all seen if you put a ping pong ball into water 50 meters deep. Even though the skin of the ping pong ball is very thin it can withstand the pressure and won't break. I used the same principle to design the pods." 

Mr Liu, a furniture maker from a small village just outside Beijing, claims 30 people can live for up to two months in his insulated pods made of steel, fibreglass and foam. There's enough room for food, water, supplies of oxygen… it's even fitted with a propeller. He started work on the pods earlier this year, in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and after watching the disaster film 2012, inspired by prophecies of an apocalypse linked to the end of a Mayan calendar on December 21st. 

"If there really is some kind of apocalypse… then if you use my product it has the ability to save people and I think that would be my contribution to humanity." 

Liu says his life savings and borrowed money have gone into making each of the seven pods, costing him almost 50 thousand US dollars each. 

"Only my daughter supports me, practically everyone else thinks I'm crazy." 

"When I first heard about my dad’s plan, I thought it was great, because he'd promised to build me a spherical house since I was small, and I really support him, I help him by providing ideas." 

Liu has not sold any of the pods. But says they're available to anyone interested, especially China's marine authorities. 

"If only the Maritime department could pay more attention to the pods and promote them, then we may never hear of 'sea disasters' again." 

In the meantime, Liu says he's working on a second generation survival pod, with a stronger steel structure and more gadgets. He and his daughter may be the envy of all his neighbours if days do come to an end. 

Answers:
1. a
2. b
3. a


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Phrasal Verbs with Answers: To Call

This week,'to call' is the verb used to make our phrasal verbs.  Do you know what they mean?

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Comprehension: Bedouin children determined to learn in remote school

Watch the video below and answer the following questions. 

1. What is true about the place the Bedouin tribe live in?

a. The houses are made of bamboo.
b. There is running water.
c. There is no electricity.

2. What is true about the school?

a. The students are not very dedicated.
b. It is made with bamboo.
c. It complies with the Israeli building regulations.

3. The Bedouins believe there will be road access to the school, very soon.

a. True
b. False

For transcript and answers see below or go to:
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Transcript and Answers to Bedouin children determined to learn in remote school

It takes a certain kind of dedication to be a pupil at the Jahaleen primary school. With no road access, teachers and students must cross desert terrain to get there on foot. But for the Bedouin children studying in the impoverished West Bank community of Wadi Abu Hindi, it’s worth the effort.

"I want to study because I want to become a teacher. My father and my mother promised me, because my older brothers stopped, that they would educate me and my other siblings. "

Some 300 Bedouin from the Jahalin tribe live in Wadi Abu Hindi, which is made up of tin shacks and where there is no running water or electricity.

"Before the school was created, this area was lacking in education. Most of the families here, 90 percent or even more, couldn't read or write.”

Although the community would like to pave a road to the school, they can’t. They are located in a part of the West Bank known as Area C, which is under full Israeli military and administrative control. Buildings must comply with stringent Israeli regulations or face the threat of demolition.

"We are people that are deprived from any public services. Our houses and school were demolished in 1997. We managed to get an order from the High Court which allowed us to put things back as they were. We are suffering since 1997. In 2011, they again sent us threatening orders.”

But for now, the bamboo school, which was renovated by the villagers with help from NGOs, has been spared. 

Answers:
1. c
2. b
3. b

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Common Mistakes 2

Comprehension: News Report 7th December 2012

Watch the video below and answer the questions True or False.

1. Mark Turner takes photographs professionally.

a. True

b. False

2. Carlos Agang wasn't injured when he was found.

a. True

b. False

3. The operations manager at Stamco Ship Management thought the accident was due to human error.

a. True

b. False

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Transcript and Answers to News Report 7th December 2012

Like some dragon from the deep, a whale rises majestically to the surface and spouts a huge ball of fire from his blowhole.
Of course this stunning image is really nothing more than an optical illusion as sunlight is refracted through the jet of moist air creating a orange glow.

American amateur photographer Mark Turner, who went on the whale watching trip with his 82-year-old dad, said: 'We had a professional photographer with us as a guide, and on the first day, he told us about the fire breathing whale phenomenon that happens when the sun is low in the sky and is backlighting the whale.

'I immediately decided it was going to be my goal to take a picture of that.
'We were getting ready to set anchor for the evening and there were three whales swimming between our boat and a beautiful Alaskan sunset. As they spouted water from their blow holes, we could see the effect the sun had on the mist. The lower the sun got on the horizon, the more brilliant the colours.

Rescue workers found a 54-year-old man clinging to a boulder by a river – injured but alive – two days after a powerful typhoon ravaged the south of the Philippines, killing at least 379 people. Hundreds are still missing.

All Carlos Agang had to eat was coconut and water until he was found in a tattered shirt with a fractured leg and bruises by a group of rescue volunteers in Compostela Valley, the province worst hit by Typhoon Bopha.

"I can't believe it. I didn't expect to see people survive two days after they were swept by flood and mud," a fire volunteer said.

Rescuers also found a pregnant woman on the other side of the river with her one-year old son after escaping floods that swamped their house.

The Dutch Coastguard has called off a search for six crew still missing after their cargo ship collided with another vessel and sank in the North Sea.

Five bodies have so far been recovered but officials said there was "zero" chance of finding survivors in the icy waters.

"We have now stopped and we will not begin again tomorrow," Coastguard spokesman Peter Westenberg said.

The Dutch defence ministry said the North Sea was treacherous when the  148m Baltic Ace collided with the 134m container ship Corvus J near busy shipping lanes, some 40 miles off the coast of the southern Netherlands.

However, the operations manager at Stamco Ship Management Co Ltd, which managed the Baltic Ace, said the conditions were normal at the time of the collision.

"You cannot control some things. This happened in good weather, normal weather. There was good visibility, so I feel most probably there was a human error," he said.

Answers:

1. b
2. b
3. a


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Idioms: Answers to Heady Idioms

Answers and examples to this weeks idioms. The theme this week is the head.

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Comprehension: Frustration foments in Yangon's slums despite reforms

Watch the video below and answer the following questions.  Are they True or False.

1. The women are well provided for by the state.

a. True

b. False

2. 25% of Myanmar's population lives below the poverty line.

a. True

b. False

3. The people of Myanmar do not have the right to protest.

a. True

b. False

For transcript and answers see below:

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Transcript and Answers to Frustration foments in Yangon's slums despite reforms

In this Yangon slum, a group of women have taken charge of their own destiny. Each week they put aside a few dollars, hoping to one day start their own business from the savings. With the state failing to provide a safety net, it may be their only route out of poverty, and a neighbourhood that floods each month during the high tide.

"We have not felt the change everybody is talking about. I think it has happened among the upper level of society".

Government reforms over the past year-and-a-half have so far failed to reach the quarter of Myanmar's population that survives below the poverty line. Authorities want to reduce the poverty rate to 16 percent by 2015, and hope a new law encouraging foreign investment will drive job creation.

"They need income. So they need more job opportunities. For that, foreign investment needs to come. Business can create the jobs that people need."

How the government manages the hopes of Myanmar's poor, who now have the right to protest, is essential to the progress of reform. Last spring, demonstrations against chronic power cuts brought hundreds of people to the streets. And after 50 years of military rule, those left behind as Myanmar opens up will be tempted to stake a claim to the opportunity that many see in the country's future.

"We think we have to manage those expectations, because things do not happen in a hurry."

At this illegal slum settlement near the centre of Yangon, residents eke out a living, waiting for reforms to trickle down to their community. Cut adrift from the euphoria of progress being enjoyed by Myanmar's elite, their prospects remain bleak. 

Answers:

1. b
2. a
3. b

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Common Mistakes 1

Autumn brings Baltic gold rush to Poland

Watch the video below and answer the following questions.  Are they True or False.

1. The Amber hunters along Poland's Baltic Sea coast provide enough amber for market demands in Gdansk.

a. True

b. False

2. Gdansk is the world's number one city for amber.

a. True

b. False

3. Amber has more tones and colours than any other material.

a. True

b. False

For transcript and answers see below:

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Transcript and Answers to Autumn brings Baltic gold rush to Poland

In November, amber hunters scour the beaches along Poland's Baltic Sea coast. Wlodek Janowski has been fishing out this fossilized resin known locally as 'Baltic Gold' for forty years. A gold rush of sorts comes as the first autumn storms wash up amber, from the sea floor onto the shore. 

"It's a good day's catch! This piece will sell for 80 zloty and these for about 50 a piece, and that big one will be at least 150. If you find two or three pieces weighing 200 or 300 grams each, it’s a few thousand zloty in just one day." 

But the amber collected by hunters like Janowski is just a fraction of what the market needs. Poland's Baltic port city of Gdansk is the world's amber capital, and demand here for this ancient treasure is high. Most of the amber in this jewellery shop is imported from the nearby Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. But these gems are entirely crafted in Gdansk, where expertise in amber work stretches back to before the Middle Ages. 

 "The tradition of amber work was totally lost under communism in the former Soviet countries but even then in Poland the amber workshops were preserved. Even though access to amber was limited, craftsmen could still develop their skills and traditions." 

In Gdansk, this man is known as the king of amber. At 66, Lucjan Myrta has devoted his life to working wonders with Baltic gold. In total, he's transformed over three hundred tonnes of raw amber into priceless works of art. His piece de resistance is this Biblically-themed treasure chest. At nearly 3 metres high, and weighing in at eight tonnes, it took 12 years to complete. 

"No other material has such a rich variety of tones and colours. Amber has more than 300 variations! Amber is the hero of my work. It decides for me what I'll do, it shapes my ideas and the designs I create." 

Having already been on exhibition in Poland's historic southern city of Krakow, plans are afoot to see Myrta's entire collection on display in Russia, before future stops, possibly in Saudi Arabia and France. 

Answers:

1. b 
2. a
3. a

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News Report 1st December 2012

Watch the video below and answer the questions True or False.

1. Theprank happened on the show 'Breaking Magic'.
a. True
b. False

2. Stephen King's novel was Number 1 on Amazon's Kindle chart before "The Long Run".
a. True
b. False

3. The secret Santa wishes to remain anonymous.
a. True
b. False

For transcript and answers see below.

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Transcript and Answers: News Report 1st December 2012

A famous US magician has been seriously injured after a TV host set his head on fire live on television.
Wayne Houchin was appearing on a show in the Dominican Republic when, in an apparently unscripted prank, its host dropped flammable liquid on his head, setting him alight.
Houchin's own crew, who were at the show, rushed to save him and put out the flames - but not before he had suffered burns to his head, face, neck and right hand.
The illusionist, who hosts Breaking Magic on the Discovery Channel, was rushed to hospital where he says he is "in pain" but recovering.
Houchin, wrote on Facebook after the incident: "I was not aware he was going to do this. This was a criminal act.


In his memoir," The Long Run,"  Mishka Shubaly chronicles his journey from "irreverent young drunk" to ultra-runner. The author sobered up by running five miles at a time, then 10, then 50.
It was Shubaly's editor who first suggested he write about his road to recovery.
"I told him point-blank, 'No one wants to hear me cry about how I messed up my own life,' " Shubaly said. "And I was totally wrong."
When "The Long Run" was published on Amazon's Kindle Singles list in 2011, it was No. 1, bumping Stephen King out of the top spot.
The book's popularity may have been a surprise to Shubaly, but experts know he's not alone in using exercise to overcome addiction. Groups have been popping up around the country to help people stay sober by staying active.


A wealthy American businessman posing as a "secret Santa" is giving away $100,000 in $100 bills to survivors of Superstorm Sandy.
The benefactor is from Kansas City, Missouri and insists on not being named or photographed.
On Thursday, he spent the day in New Jersey and New York thrusting crisp bills into the hands of stunned residents.
"It's about the random acts of kindness," he said.
"I'm just setting an example, and if 10% of the people who see me emulate what I'm doing, anybody can be a Secret Santa."
In Staten Island, his motorcade passed homes surrounded by debris before stopping at a disaster centre run by volunteers.

Answers:

1. b
2. a
3. a

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