So, what’s going on? SECTION ONE Some 180,000 residents in Jackson, Mississippi have “indefinitely” lost access to reliable running water after excessive rainfall and flooding. Rising floodwaters over the weekend breached the city’s main water treatment facility, bringing it to the brink of collapse. A state of emergency has been declared, and schools, restaurants and […]

Introduction Model Ellie Jolliffe says she was shocked at the amount of waste she saw when working on modelling jobs, in particular for e-commerce companies. (What is  UPCYCLING?) “I’ve been on shoots where there are boxes and boxes of deadstock – clothes which are no longer on sale. They’ve never been worn. No-one wants to […]

In the UK businesses use robots to deliver food such as Pizzas and Fish and Chips It’s a fiercely hot afternoon in Milton Keynes in the UK and I’m chasing a small orange flag as it waggles just above a line of low garden walls. The flag is attached to a white robot with six […]

Introduction Aging is a gradual, continuous process of natural change that begins in early adulthood. During early middle age, many bodily functions begin to gradually decline. People do not become old or elderly at any specific age. Traditionally, age 65 has been designated as the beginning of old age. Understanding the Dynamics of the Aging Process […]

Most people who are allergic to chocolate aren’t having a reaction to cocoa or any of chocolate’s other official ingredients. No, the flare ups are most likely triggered by the ground-up cockroach parts that contaminate every batch.  According to ABC News, the average chocolate bar contains eight insect parts. Anything less than 60 insect pieces per 100 […]

Young people now watch almost seven times less broadcast television than people aged over 65, according to a recent report. GRAMMAR:  In this text please identify any perfect tenses you discover. It has been reported 16 to 24-year-olds spend just 53 minutes watching TV each day, a two-thirds decrease in the past 10 years. Meanwhile, […]

INTRODUCTION Most of the time a lot of people probably look at games as a waste of time, or many people do anyway. They consume time that could be used for other things, like reading or spending time in the outdoors. However, there are important things that you can get out of your time playing […]

In a surprising twist, researchers calculated that diverting EU sugar cropland to other uses yielded big carbon reductions—in Brazil.   A group of researchers in the European Union have proposed a solution to tackle escalating health problems and greenhouse gas emissions in one go: place a tax on sugar consumption. They say this would bring […]

INTERMEDIATE / ADVANCED LESSON This week China has branded a landmark visit to Taiwan by US Speaker Nancy Pelosi as “extremely dangerous”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-62398029 It accused Mrs Pelosi, the most senior US politician in 25 years to visit the island China claims as its own, of “playing with fire”.   “Those who play with fire will […]

A new study suggests that reducing energy demand is a cheap, reliable strategy to fight climate change   Dramatic yet feasible changes to industry, technology, and society could enable people in the UK to cut their energy use in half by 2050, according to a new study. And rather than feeling deprived by the effort […]

If you live in New York and a dead fish arrives on your doorstep, your first instinct is to think of The Godfather and to assume that someone you haven’t heard from in a while must have been rubbed out. But recently, when not one but two dead fish arrived at my apartment building several blocks south of Don Corleone’s […]

What are the World’s Biggest Rice Producers? Visualizing The World’s Biggest Rice Producers It’s hard to overstate the importance of rice to the world. As a staple food, over half of the global population depends on the crop as a major part of their diet. In fact, rice is considered a vital part of nutrition in much […]

UK power generation in 2020: Renewables up to 43% Solar contributed 28% of the U.K.’s total renewable energy generation, which was dominated by wind power. The proportion of fossil fuels in the energy mix fell to a record low last year, at 37.7%. The U.K. consumed less energy, generated more renewable electricity, and had long […]

Extreme weather: What is it and how is it connected to climate change? People around the globe are experiencing dramatic heatwaves, deadly floods and wildfires as a result of climate change. The UK and parts of Europe have seen temperatures of above 40C this month, leading to transport disruption and water shortages. Emissions caused by […]

Climate disasters will strain our mental health system. It’s time to adapt. 20th July 2022  Britain experienced record breaking temperatures (42 degrees) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62232654 The resonances were eerie as Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 storm, broached Louisiana’s coast on August 29, 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the same area. “It’s very painful to think about another […]

Tokyo has two very important statistics to it’s name.  Firstly, Tokyo is the largest city in the world. Secondly, it is the safest city in the world to live in.  Two statistics that make the shooting of Shinzo Abe the more shocking. 1). How easy is it to own a gun in Japan?  Japan has […]

Charles Edward Anderson (aka Chuck Berry) https://www.biography.com/musician/chuck-berry Chuck Berry was one of the most influential rock ‘n’ roll performers in music history. He’s known for songs including “Maybellene” and “Johnny B. Goode.” Who Was Chuck Berry? Considered by many as the “father of rock ‘n’ roll,” Chuck Berry had early exposure to music at school […]

Marketing is often an afterthought for many indie authors. After spending months or even years writing and editing your book, creating a successful book promotion and launch can seem like an exhausting hurdle. But learning how to market your kindle book is a vital step in the kindle publishing process. By posting book reviews on […]

A non-fungible token (NFT) is a financial security consisting of digital data stored in a blockchain, a form of distributed ledger. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the blockchain, and can be transferred by the owner, allowing NFTs to be sold and traded. WHAT IS AN NFT? WHAT DOES NFT STAND FOR? Non-fungible […]

WHAT IS EMPATHY? Empathy is the ability to share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person’s situation   In the video game Path Out, the main character, Abdullah, is a 17-year-old Muslim youth lost in the forests of northern Syria during his country’s civil war. The game player must help him flee, dodging land mines and gunfire […]

https://thecommonwealth.org/ The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 independent and equal countries. It is home to 2.5 billion people, and includes both advanced economies and developing countries. 32 of our members are small states, including many island nations. The Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known […]

Congratulations! You’re about to publish your ebook on Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). Maybe it’s your first, maybe it’s your tenth. But wait – before you hit that yellow “publish” button – have you thought about how you’re going to market your masterpiece? Whether your goal is to sell a million copies or just to get […]

Look at and study the photograph below and then answer the questions below the photo. WRITING QUESTION: (100 words) What message was the photographer of this image trying to express? What is its significance on a societal level? Does it have positive or negative connotations? SPEAKING: Refer back to your answer from the writing task. […]

Women in space Growing up in Guadalajara, Mexico, Katya Echazarreta was encouraged to abandon her dreams of traveling to space. “Everyone around me—family, friends, teachers—I just kept hearing the same thing: That’s not for you,” Echazarreta told The Associated Press. Echazarreta, 26, will prove them wrong Saturday when she joins a diverse international crew boarding the fifth […]

Everyones favouite biscuit The name Oreo was trademarked on March 14, 1912. It was launched as an imitation of the Hydrox cookie manufactured by Sunshine company, which was introduced in 1908. The original design on the face of the Oreo featured a wreath around the edge of the cookie and the name “OREO” in the […]

THE VOCABULARY OF OWNING OR BUYING  A HOUSE, APARTMENT OR OTHER PROPERTY IN ENGLISH. Mortgage rates have climbed dramatically over the past few months, creating an abrupt hike in monthly payments for new home loans. While some home buyers may be dropping out of the market in the hope that rates may decline again or that home […]

EXERCISE:  Watch the video on the link below and read the    “KEY FACTS”    below then answer the questions 1 to 6. Each answer should consist of 25 words per answer. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave remarks at an informal meeting of NATO members in Berlin on May 15. https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/world/secretary-of-state-antony-blinken-gives-remarks-on-ukraine-and-nato/2022/05/15/3d165ee4-3e46-496a-b62b-16597548fb21_video.html Key Facts In […]