Reading Competition

Lake disappears, baffling villagers

2005-05-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian village was left baffled Thursday after its lake disappeared overnight.
NTV television showed pictures of a giant muddy hole bathed in summer sun, while fishermen from the village of Bolotnikovo looked on disconsolately.
"It is very dangerous. If a person had been in this disaster, he would have had almost no chance of survival. The trees flew downwards, under the ground," said Dmitry Zaitsev, a local Emergencies Ministry official interviewed by the channel.
Officials in Nizhegorodskaya region, on the Volga river east of Moscow, said water in the lake might have been sucked down into an underground water-course or cave system, but some villagers had more sinister explanations.
"I am thinking, well, America has finally got to us," said one old woman, as she sat on the ground outside her house.

Brazil police confiscate guns from Iraqis at summit

2005-05-11T11:00:00.000-07:00

BRASILIA, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazilian police confiscated four pistols from an Iraqi security team on Monday when they arrived in Brasilia for the South American-Arab summit.
A federal police spokesman said the security agents did not have permission from Brazilian authorities to carry the Glock 9 mm guns. The agents were accompanying
Iraq's new president, Jalal Talabani, who is making his first trip abroad to attend the summit of 12 South American and 22 Arab leaders.
The Iraqis will ask the Foreign Ministry for the return of the guns, the spokesman added.
Thousands of troops are guarding the streets of the Brazilian capital in the biggest show of armed force since the end of military rule in 1985.
Security chief General Jorge Armando Felix said the Iraqi and Palestinian delegations would however receive special treatment because of the possibility of an attack against them.
"Terrorism is part of our worry. For our security plan, we are working on the possibility of this type of action," he said.

Call to give 16-year-olds the vote

2005-05-04T13:11:00.000-07:00

David Batty and agencies
Wednesday May 4, 2005

The voting age should be lowered to 16 by the next general election to prevent young people from becoming further alienated from politics, a coalition of child rights and electoral reform campaigners said today.

The coalition, which includes the Children's Rights Alliance for England (CRAE), the Electoral Reform Society, the British Youth Council and the National Union of Students, has written to the leaders of the three main parties calling on them to enfranchise Britain's 1.5 million 16 and 17-year-olds.

The Votes at 16 coalition says if 16 and 17-year-olds are able to leave home, get a full-time job, pay taxes, raise children and join the armed forces they should also be able to vote.

Louise King, policy officer at the CRAE, said: "At 16 and 17, young people's lives are as rich and varied as at any other age.

"They have considerable responsibilities and routinely make complex decisions but adult society does not consider them responsible enough to vote. This is both illogical and unjust."

The campaigners contend that swelling the number of young voters would force politicians to take their views more seriously.

So far only the Liberal Democrats have committed in their manifesto to reducing the voting age to 16. The party's spokesman for young people, Matthew Green, said: "We believe that involving young people earlier in the political process will lead to a lifetime of interest and activism.

"Sixteen is the age when they are given many other responsibilities of citizenship such as beginning full-time work and paying taxes."

Damilola Ajagbonna, 17, of the CRAE, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It's the old revolutionaries' cry, 'no taxation without representation'. If we're not allowed to vote to decide who lowers or raises the tax, then why should we be taxed."

Mr Ajagbonna believes that lowering the voting age would also help to prevent the disillusionment with politics that an estimated two-thirds of first-time voters say has put them off voting in the current election.

He said: "To a certain degree that's partly the reason why we want to lower the voting age. Because politics is seen as this obsolete thing over there. It's them and us."

Mr Ajagbonna, who wants to be an MP, rejected claims that young people lacked sufficient knowledge and experience to vote wisely. He said the introduction of compulsory citizenship education into schools had raised the awareness of what it meant to be a good citizen.

The voting age has been reduced to 16 years in eight countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Croatia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Philippines, Serbia and Montenegro, and Slovenia.

(very interesting issue if you take into consideration that in Brazil the age was reduced some time ago and now we can clearly see the results. If you had the opportunity to give advice on this matter, what would you say?) LEO COSTA

The gang!!

2005-05-02T06:51:00.000-07:00

For those of you who like comic strips, this is a great site to read them... I'm sure all of you are quite familiar with this gang! Click here and have fun!!!

New features

2005-04-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

Little by little I will be adding new features to our blog. As you can see on the left side of the page, we have now the sections WORD OF THE DAY and FUNNY QUOTE OF THE DAY. Just click and learn!

Site on Second Language Learning

2005-04-29T02:05:00.000-07:00

On this site, you have a list of common problems - especially related to vocabulary - that Brazilian learners have when studying English. The site is in Portuguese, but I believe that there are a lot of topics in it related to 'second language learning' which are worth taking a look.

Have fun!

'The Interpreter' delivers a few thrills but veers off track

2005-04-28T10:55:00.000-07:00

Hello Folks,

This movie is now showing in Salvador. I decided to see it especially because I love Nicole Kidman. I can't say it's a wonderful movie, but it was quite interesting. At least I didn't fall asleep! Well, below you can read a review of this movie and for some more, click here.

(How about starting the habit of reading reviews of movies you plan to see on the net and in English, of course?)

::::::

Something else: did you know that you can also access the blog LIVE, WRITE, LEARN , written by my Post Graduation 2 Students? It's a blog made by them, for anyone who's interested in reading and discussing controvertial topics. You are most welcome to make your comments. Just remember that, since it's a blog written mostly by students, you should expect some mistakes. However, concentrate on the polemical ideas we have filled our posts with and take some time to make your own comments and who knows... new friends!!

Leo

******************************************************************************************************************

One thing the United Nations has never permitted is to have filming done within it's sovereign territory. There's been TV coverage of the Security Council and the General Assembly, but never before has there been a narrative film been shot there.
"The Interpreter" is the first, and maybe it'll start a trend. But I doubt it.
It won't be because of this movie, which is one of the best of the year. A slick thriller about the politics of Africa and terrorism in general, something you don't see much nowadays.
UN translator Silvia Broome (Nicole Kidman) forgot to get her stuff from the translation booth. When she returns to pick it up, she hears some conspirators speaking in the African language of Ku, a language she conveniently knows. The conspiracy is about killing the evil dictator of Motobo when he addresses the UN General Assembly in the upcoming week.
Tobin Keller (Sean Penn) is a Secret Service agent on foreign dignitary detail. The UN building itself is a microstate like the Vatican and isn't technically in the US, but is completely surrounded by US territory with the Secret Service in charge of protecting the numerous potentates who visit the Big Apple while on UN business. Tobin and his partner Dot Woods (Catherine Keener) have been assigned to protect the evil President Zuwanie (Earl Cameron).
Silvia's news of the conspiracy brings up many questions. Is she for real? Is she going to kill the Motoban dictator herself? Is she just trying to throw out a smokescreen? Is the Matoban head of security, the mercinary Nils Lud (Jesper Christensen) trying to kill his boss, former Vice President Kuman-Kuman (George Harris)? Is the conspirator one of those guys who's name I can't find in the $%^& press notes? We can't figure it out until the very end and that's part of the fun.
Both Kidman and Penn are fantastic. They have great chemistry together. The film runs like a well-honed machine. Some of the scenes are pure heaven. Watch out when pretty much everyone winds up on the same bus. You can cut the tension with a knife.
This is a must, even at full price.
Eric Lurio

Arizona Surrogate Mother Gives Birth to Quintuplets

2005-04-26T12:51:00.000-07:00

By David Schwartz

PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona woman who agreed to be a surrogate mother for a couple unable to have children gave birth to five baby boys on Tuesday at a Phoenix hospital, officials said.

Teresa Anderson delivered the rare quintuplets by Caesarean section within five minutes and without complications at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center. All five boys were reported to be doing well in an intensive care unit.
Doctors said the quintuplets may be a record for a surrogate mother. "There are no statistics kept on the number of quintuplet births to surrogate mothers," said Dr. John Elliott, who delivered the babies. "Suffice to say, it's incredibly rare."
"I feel great," said Anderson, 25, a Mesa, Arizona woman, in remarks released by the hospital. "I thought it was amazing. It was just a wonderful blessing to see those babies and hear their cries."
Anderson was implanted with five embryos, but did not expect all to be viable.
The newborns -- Enrique, Jorge, Gabriel, Javier and Victor -- range in weight from 3-pounds, 7-ounces to 3-pounds, 15-ounces. Javier will have to undergo surgery later for a rare heart defect.
Parents-in-waiting Luisa Gonzalez and Enrique Moreno issued a statement thanking Anderson -- who waived her $15,000 fee because of the cost the parents will have to bear with their new family of seven.

***
Can anyone help with vocabulary?
Leo

When in Seattle, Bono Bunks with Bill Gates

2005-04-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

SEATTLE (Reuters) - When U2's lead singer came to Seattle over the weekend for a concert, there was only one logical place to stay -- the home of Bill Gates, who shares Bono's passion for Third World development and relief efforts.
"I was one of 20,000 screaming fans," Microsoft Corp.'s co-founder Gates told Reuters. Gates, the world's richest man, said he got to know Bono through his work with his philanthropy.
Gates said that Irish rocker Bono was staying with him and that the two hung out together after the concert in Seattle.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with an endowment of $28 billion, is the world's biggest charitable organization and aims to improve the health of people in the developing world.
"We're big believers that more needs to be done in developing countries," Gates said. "Let me tell you, Bono has had a huge impact."
Bono is a vocal advocate of Third World debt relief and Gates' foundation has given out more than $4 billion for global health since its inception to fight diseases such as AIDS and malaria.
Asked if their friendship would entice him to buy one of Microsoft rival Apple Computer Inc.'s black-and-red U2 edition iPods, Gates said: "Absolutely not."
(Taken from yahoo.com)

New blog and listening

2005-04-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

Hello folks,

Unfortunately, due to technical problems, I haven't been able to post on our other blog since last Friday. Because of that, this is the blog we are going to use from now on. The rules are the same, the only thing that changes is the address.

Take a look at this great site I found for listening practice! Check out Elllo, which stands for English Language Listening Lab online. There you can listen to accents from English speakers from all over the world, test your comprehension with a quiz, and read along at the same time.

See you all soon and sorry for the inconvenience.

Man Spits in Jane Fonda's Face at Book Signing

2005-04-21T14:56:00.000-07:00

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) - A man who said he was a Vietnam veteran spat tobacco juice in Jane Fonda's face at a Kansas City book signing, calling her a traitor for a trip she made to Hanoi in 1972, police said on Wednesday.

The man, 54-year-old Michael Smith, waited in line for about 90 minutes before spitting a "large amount" of tobacco juice into Fonda's face, according to Kansas City police.

Smith was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

The 67-year-old Oscar-winning actress was in town as part of a book-signing tour for her newly released autobiography titled "My Life So Far."

In the book, she addresses her position as a polarizing figure for many Vietnam veterans and others outraged by her 1972 trip to Hanoi to oppose the Vietnam war.

During that trip she was photographed laughing as she sat on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft tank.

In an interview with the Kansas City Star, Smith said Fonda was a "traitor" who had been spitting in the faces of war veterans for years.

"There are a lot of veterans who would love to do what I did," the Star quoted Smith as saying.

Juror Fined for Yawning in L.A. Court

2005-04-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES - Call it a rude awakening. A juror was cited for contempt and fined $1,000 by a judge for yawning loudly while awaiting questioning in an attempted murder trial. The fine later was reduced to $100.

The yawn came after the man, identified as Juror No. 2386 in an April 1 court transcript, had been sitting in a courtroom for two days as part of jury selection.

"You yawned rather audibly there. As a matter of fact, it was to the point that it was contemptuous," Superior Court Judge Craig Veals said.

"I'm sorry, but I'm really bored," the juror said.

"I'm sorry?" the judge responded.

When the juror repeated his statement, he was admonished by the judge for having a "lousy" attitude.

"Your boredom just cost you $1,000 I'm finding you in contempt," Veals said. "Are you quite so bored now?"

The judge later called the yawn disruptive.

"I can't run a court when I have someone behaving the way you did," Veals said.

The juror paid the fine after it was reduced to $100. Ultimately, he was questioned but not selected for the trial.

Hello folks!!

2005-04-19T14:58:00.000-07:00

It's really a great pleasure to open this new blog, which intends to promote a lot of fun and learning to all of you. Start with your comments right now. I promise a new text every day.
Improve your reading and writing skills, meet people from different groups, make friends and... cross your fingers, because you might be the great winner of the semester. For each comment - THAT IS REALLY RELATED TO THE TOPIC IN DISCUSSION - you score one point. The rule couldn't be simpler: the winner is the student who scores highest until June 20th, 2005. Good luck and welcome!!