Look before you eat

You know what dogs are like. If you drop a bit of food from the table they shallow it before they know what it is. But sometimes they wish they hadn't. Fanny the farm dog wasn't allowed in while her master Josh was eating with the family. But one day she crept in and hid under the table when no-one was looking.


She kept very quiet until suddenly a big dollop of food fell next to her. She gobbled it up without thinking. Then she let out a big bowl and rushed outside, holding her tummy with one paw. The family was eating a very hot curry for supper!






Read more at http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/animal_stories/causes_of_war.htm#gxcdKwPF8tXZRav1.99

Dogs and wolves don't mix

Every night, a pack of wolves prowled round a field of fat, juicy sheep, licking their lips hopefully. 
But every night the farmer's dogs barked to warn their master . 
One night a wolf crept up to the dogs and said:

"This is silly. You're like us, with long noses and tails. 
The only difference is that you wear collars and obey your master. 
That's very old-fashioned. 
Join us, and we can divide these nice fat sheep between us." 
The dog scratched their heads thoughtfully, and said "That's a good idea. We'd like some juicy lamb chops ." So they let the wolves into the field. The wolves immediately killed all the dogs and then took the sheep for themselves.






Read more at http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/animal_stories/the_really_silly_shepherd.htm#UrJXKi3lPphps3eU.99

The Really Silly Shepherd

Sam the Silly Shepherd found three baby wolf cubs left all alone by their mother. 
He remembered how the big bad wolf had eaten all his sheep once before, but then he had another of his silly ideas. 

"If I look after these cubs myself, they'll grow up kind and gentle," he thought. So he fed them by hand and gave them toys to play with, and day by day they grew bigger and bigger. 

At last they were the same immediately attacked the sheep and killed them. But as they're three of them they did it three times faster than their father.


Read more at http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/animal_stories/the_really_silly_shepherd.htm#UrJXKi3lPphps3eU.99

The Honest Homeless Man

A homeless man in New York has repaid the trust paid in him by a woman who gave him her credit card. Jay Valentine, 32, was standing on a Manhattan street asking for small change when Merrie Harris, 45, lent him her Platinum AmEx card. Onlookers were shocked to see the woman hand it over and walk off. 

Valentine said he bought deodorant, body wash, a pack of cigarettes and bottled water, all costing about $25. A short time later, he went back to the restaurant where Ms Harris was eating to return the card to her. For his efforts, he was awarded the title of Most Honest Homeless Man in the City. Valentine also received an offer from a New York-based airline to apply to be a flight attendant and $5,000 from an anonymous Texan.

Ms Harris, an advertising executive, was also applauded for her act of generosity and trust. She told reporters she never doubted Mr Valentine would do anything dishonest with her card, saying: "What he did was no surprise to me.” She asked: “Are we only supposed to trust people we know?” Valentine said he never thought about abusing Harris’ trust in him: "I wasn't tempted at all. 

She trusted me, and I didn't want to violate that trust," he said. He added: "It sets a good example that people in need – like me - can and should be trusted." What is now in question is the security procedures of the store Valentine shopped in. Staff obviously did not check his signature or look at the photo id on the AmEx card.

EXERCISE 1. PRONUNCIATION/WORD VOCABULARY

1. Onlookers [on-loo-kurs]
Meaning (noun)--people  who observe without taking part; They are only watching some happenings without joining.
Example Sentence:A crowd of onlookers gathered after an accident happened outside the building.


2. applauded [ap-low-ded]
Meaning (verb)--receiving praises or good words from others. The root word is "Applaud" which means to show approval or praise, usually with hand clapping.
Example Sentence: Giving a standing ovation for a performer makes that person feel applauded.

3. generosity [ge-ne-ros-si-ti]
Meaning (noun)--This is the quality of being willing to share something to others.
Example Sentence: An example of generosity is always donating extra food and supplies to shelters.

4. doubted [daw-ted]
Meaning (verb)-- not so sure about something; not to believe someone or something
Example Sentence: I doubted him after he said that he saw a jar of golds.


EXERCISE 2. SHARING IDEAS

1. What is the article all about?
2. What do you know about HONESTY?
3. Do you easily trust someone? Why or why not?


Article Source: Breakingnewsenglish

Which Came First, Chicken or Egg?

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? This is one of life’s oldest questions and everyone has their own opinion. Now scientists believe they have cracked it and have unscrambled this mystery. Researchers from Sheffield and Warwick Universities in England discovered the answer by mistake. They used a super computer to zoom in on the shell-making process while a new shell was forming. 

They said it all boils down to one protein called OC17 that is essential for forming eggshell. This is only found inside a chicken's ovaries, which is proof that the chicken came first. The team was originally looking at how animals and birds make eggshells but suddenly made their surprising discovery. The big question now is where chickens came from. The answer to that is from dinosaurs.

The research team said eggshells are one of nature’s most amazing creations. Professor John Harding from Sheffield University told reporters: "Understanding how chickens make eggshells is fascinating in itself but can also give clues towards designing new materials and processes." Eggshells are very lightweight but incredibly strong. 

The most cutting-edge materials designed by the world’s top engineers cannot produce anything as brilliant as an eggshell. Professor Harding added that studying eggshells could help find new answers to bone-healing processes and materials used by the construction industry: "Nature has found innovative solutions that work for all kinds of problems in materials science and technology -- we can learn a lot from them," he said.

EXERCISE 1. PRONUNCIATION/WORD VOCABULARY

1. shell-making [shel-mey-king]

Meaning (noun) The process of making shells.
Example Sentence: Through shell making, corals in the sea are formed.

2. fascinating [fas-si-neyt-ing

Meaning (adjective) Very interesting
Example Sentence: Looking at mount Fuji is very fascinating!

3. cutting-edge [ka-ting-edj]

Meaning (adjective) At the latest or most advanced stage of development; innovative or pioneering.
Example Sentence: Using a smartphone is a cutting-edge in our technology.


EXERCISE 2. SHARING IDEAS

1. What is the article all about?
2. Which do you think came first? Chicken or Egg?
3. Give some developments happened in your country.
Article Source: Breakingnewsenglish

Super-Rich 'Hiding' Over $21 Trillion

The world's wealthiest people have over $21 trillion dollars (that's 21 followed by 12 zeroes) hidden away from the tax authorities. This is according to a recently released study* into secret tax havens. The report, called The Price of Offshore Revisited, is from an organization called the Tax Justice Network, written by high-profile economist James Henry. 

It says the figure the rich have quietly stashed away is equivalent to half the size of the U.S. and Japanese economies combined. However, this figure is a conservative estimate and Mr Henry believes the real amount could be as much as $32 trillion. Henry said private wealth held offshore represents "a huge black hole in the world economy."

Henry based his assessment on data from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations, central banks, and national treasuries. He wrote: "The number of the global super-rich…is fewer than 10 million people. 

Of these, less than 100,000 people worldwide own $9.8 trillion of wealth held offshore." He said the wealth in tax havens makes "a significant difference" to our current thinking about inequality. Another unsavoury aspect highlighted by Henry is that "lost tax revenue…is large enough to make a significant difference to the finances of many countries". He also says the world's largest banks designed and operate tax havens, which specialize in "tax dodging".



Article Source: Breakingnewsenglish

All about Stress

It’s official. Stress can take ten years off your life. That’s the conclusion from researchers at the University of California, who have been studying the affect of stress levels on the body. They found that stress accelerates the aging of our cells, which makes us more prone to age-related diseases. This is bad news for people with stressful jobs and hectic lifestyles as they are more likely to die earlier than less-stressed people. It’s a message for us all to slow down and take things easier.

The researchers discovered in their tests that the system of cell reproduction and replacement, which of course keeps us going, becomes faster under pressure. Each time a cell in our body is replaced, part of our DNA, called telomeres, shorten. When they become too short, cells cease reproducing and our bodies continue the aging process. This means longer telomeres lengthen our lives. Stress makes them shorter, and so we die prematurely. The simple message, therefore, is to take life easy.

Research leader, Dr. Elissa Epel, compared 39 women who looked after children with chronic illnesses with a ‘control’ group of 19 mothers of healthy children. The length of the life-giving telomeres was then measured in their blood. The women who had the more stressful task of caring for chronically ill children aged the equivalent of ten years compared with the other women. Their stress levels caused them to age faster. It has always been common knowledge that stress kills. Now we may soon be able to measure how dangerous our careers and lifestyles really are.

EXERCISE 1. PRONUNCIATION/WORD VOCABULARY

1. accelerates[Ak-se-le-reyts]

Meaning (verb): To cause something move faster.

Example Sentence: The airplane accelerated down the runway.

2. aging[ey-jing]

Meaning (noun): The process og growing old.

Example Sentence: Most of the people are afraid about aging since we all want to stay young.

3. pressure[pre-shur]

Meaning (verb): To force (someone) toward a particular end.

Example Sentence: I get panic whenever I work under pressure.

4. telomeres[te-lo-meers]

Meaning (noun): A part of our DNA and this is the end of our chromosome.

Example Sentence: Telomeres have a very important role in aging.

See this picture for more information aboutTelomeres

5. prematurely[pre-mat-chur-li]

Meaning (adverb): Something which arrive or done too early.

Example Sentence: The baby was born prematurely.

EXERCISE 2: SHARING IDEAS

1. What comes into your mind when you hear the word stress?

2. How do you manage stress? What do you do to reduce or relieve from it?

3. What do you think is the best way to handle stress?

4. What do you think is the best way to avoid stress?

5. Do you think stress can be helpful sometimes? Why or why not?

Article Source: Breakingnewsenglish

Television Shows

My mother was telling me about how she and her family got their first television when she was a teenager. Of course it was black and white. She said she only watched it at night. She doesn't remember ever watching it in the morning or afternoon.When I was young we had only about 3 or 4 different channels. I think they were channel 3, 4, 6, and 9. My bothers and sisters and I would sometimes fight about which channel to watch. But we usually enjoyed the same shows.

Nowadays we can get hundreds of channels on TV. I can't believe it! There are channels with only old movies, and channels with only cooking, and channels with only fishing. It's amazing! There is a channel for everything.

I wonder how much my brothers and sisters and I would fight if we had hundreds of channels when I was a child. Of course we had only one television set. These days I notice families with 2 or 3 or more television sets in their homes. I guess it stops people from arguing over which channel to choose from.

SHARING IDEAS
1) Do you like watching television? Why or why not?

2) Do you think parents need to check what their children are watching? Why or why not?

8) Do you like watching more than one TV program at a time? Why or why not?

Source: 5 minutes english

KFC To Pay $8m In Poisoning Damages

A court in Australia has ordered the fast-food restaurant Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) to pay $8.3m in compensation to the family of a seven-year-old girl. The youngster was left severely brain damaged after eating a KFC Chicken Twister that contained salmonella poisoning.


Little Monika Samaan became seriously ill after eating the sandwich at a Sydney restaurant in 2005. She has since been confined to a wheelchair with brain damage and is unable to speak. Monika's father told the court that he and his family all fell ill with vomiting and diarrhea after sharing the Twister. Monika’s parents and brother all recovered, but she stayed in a coma for six months and was in hospital for seven.


KFC denied it was responsible for Monika’s condition and said it would not pay a single cent in damages. It said it was “deeply disappointed” by the decision and intends to appeal. The company’s lawyer argued during the trial that the family never bought a Twister. He told the court there was no sales data to prove the family purchased one. 


The lawyer told Mr Samaan: “You did not tell anyone at the hospital…that you had shared a KFC Twister.” Former employees told the court about the unsanitary practices at the eatery. One said: “If the store was particularly busy, then even if chicken dropped on the floor ... it was on some occasions simply put back into the burger station from where it had fallen.”




EXERCISE 1. PRONUNCIATION/WORD VOCABULARY


1. salmonella[saL-mo-neL-ya]
Meaning (noun): These are bacteria that cause diseases (gastroenteritis, typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever) in humans.
***more information Here


2. Diarrhea[da-ya-ri-ya]
Meaning (noun):It is an increase in the frequency of bowel movements, an increase in the looseness of stool or both.


3. Appeal[a-peeL]
Meaning (verb): It is a legal proceeding by which a case is brought before a higher court for review of the decision of a lower court.


EXERCISE 2: SHARING IDEAS


1. What do you think of KFC? Have you ever tried to eat here?
2. What do you think of KFC for denying responsibility for the food poisoning?
3. What do you think about fast food restaurant? Do you think it's clean? Why or why not?

Article Source: Breakingnewsenglish

Yoga is Good for Back Pain

New research from the United States suggests that the millennia-old therapy of yoga could benefit millions of people who suffer from back problems. In an article published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on December 20, researchers concluded that yoga was a more effective treatment for back pain than conventional therapy.

A study conducted at the Group Health Cooperative in Washington State required 101 adults to follow a choice of remedial treatments – a 12-week course in yoga, 12 weeks of standard therapeutic exercise or the same period following instructions in a self-help book. The results showed yoga both expedited relief from pain and had longer lasting benefits. Lead researcher Dr. Karen Sherman said this was because “mind and body effects” were in collusion.

The article states that: “Most treatments for chronic low back pain have modest efficacy at best. Exercise is one of the few proven treatments…however, its effects are often small, and no form has been shown to be clearly better than another. Yoga, which often couples physical exercise with breathing, is a popular alternative form of ‘mind–body’ therapy…

Yoga may benefit patients with back pain simply because it involves exercise or because of its effects on mental focus. We found no published studies in western biomedical literature that evaluated yoga for chronic low back pain; therefore, we designed a clinical trial to evaluate its effectiveness.” Millions of people worldwide swear by yoga to improve their mental and physical health.

EXERCISE 1. PRONUNCIATION/WORD VOCABULARY

1. Millennia [mil-len-nia]

Meaning (noun): A span of one thousand years

*Millenia is the plural of millennium

Example Sentence: For countless millennia the earth has survived without mankind, and will doubtless do so again

2. Conventional [kun-ven-shu-nal]

Meaning (adjective): old way of doing something; something which is old or not new

Example Sentence: Going to the library is the conventional way of researching since the internet came.

3. Remedial [ree-mi-dyal]

Meaning (adjective): Intended to correct or improve deficient skills in a specific subject

Example Sentence: Thirty percent of the new students need remedial classes in Math.

4. Therapeutic [Ther-uh-pyu-tik]

Meaning (adjective): The ability to cure; Having or exhibiting healing powers

Example Sentence: Gardening can be very therapeutic when we are having stress.

5. Expedited [eks-pe-di-tud]

Meaning (verb): To speed up the progress of something; To accelerate or making something fast.

Example Sentence: They've asked the judge to expedite the lawsuits.

6. Efficacy [e-fi-ka-si]

Meaning (noun): Power or capacity to produce a desired effect; effectiveness

Example Sentence: Customers always ask about the efficacy of the herbal medicine.

EXERCISE 2: SHARING IDEAS
Tell me something about the article.
1. What is this article all about?
2. Have you ever tried or would you ever try yoga?
    What can you say about it?
3. What’s the worst pain you’ve ever experienced? 
4. Do you often suffer from aches and pains? How do you cure it?

Article Source: Breakingnewsenglish

Definition of Term: ONLINE DICTIONARY

FRIENDS

Bunny rabbit lived in the forest. He had many friends. He was proud of his friends.

One day Bunny rabbit heard the loud barking of the wild dogs. He was very scared. He decided to ask for help. He quickly went to his friend deer. He said: “Dear friend, some wild dogs are chasing me. Can you chase them away with your sharp antlers?” Dear said: “That is right, I can. But now I am busy. Why don’t you ask bear for help?”

Bunny rabbit ran to the bear. “My dear friend you are very strong, please help me. Some wild dogs are after me. Please chase them away,” he requested the bear.

Bear replied: “I am sorry. I am hungry and tired. I need to find some food. Please ask the monkey for help”.

Poor Bunny went to the monkey, elephant, goat and all his friends. Bunny felt sad that nobody was ready to help him.

He understood that he has to think of a way out. He hid under a bush. He lay still the wild dogs went their way.

Source: KIDS' WORLD FUN