Princess Aiko, the daughter of Crown Prince Naruhito, has been missing school, complaining of stomachaches and anxiety after "experiencing the wild behavior of a few boys," the Imperial Household Agency said.
March 8, 2010
New words:
anxiety - сэтгэлийн түгшүүр, стресс, зовлон,
crown prince - дараагийн хаан, хааны удам залгамжлагч,
"Google, the world's largest search engine, is now "99.9 percent" certain to leave China as its talks with the communist nation have reached an apparent impasse, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
A 102-year-old grandmother has become the world's oldest primary school student after going back to school in China, the Daily Times reported on Wednesday.
Ma Xiuxian, from Jinan, Shandong Province, started work in a cotton mill at the age of 13. But she always longed for the chance of a proper education and has now gone back to school to fulfill her ambition.
"I feel very happy that I can finally realize my dream of going to school at this age," said Ma. With the great support by her youngest son, Yi Fengxin, she could go into her grade at Weishan Road Elementary School for the first time.
After her first lesson, she was asked to say a few words and said, "Thank you, teacher! Thank you, my classmates! I'll study hard and do my contribution to the country." She uses hearing aids to make sure she can hear the teacher, and uses a magnifying glass to help her read her text books.
And some North Korean residents are facing nightmare of their own. That’s after the government decided to revalue the nation’s currency. It’s also limited just how much old money can be traded for the new stuff. Now, the exchange value is 100:1, meaning 1,000 won is now worth just 10 won. According to South Korean media reports, millons of North Koreans rushed banks to cash in their won for euros or U.S. dollars. (December 2, 2009)
CNN, English Express, 3/2010
New words:
won солонгосын мөнгөн тэмдэгт revalue ханш өсгөх, нэмэх
resident оршин суугч, иргэн face нүүрлэх
nightmare хар дарсан зүүд decide to do шийдвэрлэх,
currency мөнгөн тэмдэгт, trade a for b худалдах,
stuff юм, exchange value солих ханш
be worth тэнцэх, дүйх, according to үзснээр
rush to дугаарлах, оочерлох, cash in a for b солих
euro евро, limit хэмжээ, хязгаар,
QUIZ
A How much is one new won worth in the old currency?
A)10 won
B)100 won
C)1000 won
D)The exchange is prohibited
B How are many North Koreans reacting to the change?
On this day in 1859, Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species was published. His book did not include the word, “evolution,” but it did imply that man and apes have a commom ancestry. Darwin was accused of heresy, but by his deathe in 1882, his theory was seen as scientically sound. (November 24, 2009)
Mexico is also catering to fed-up females. A new fleet of pink taxis is driven by women, and they don’t stop for men. The cabs cater to women tired of male drives who try to flirt with them or make inappropriate suggestions. Each new taxi comes with a beauty kit, a GPS system and an alarm button.
Now, this is no crime, but the jury’s still out on what could possibly be the motivation for the actions of a man in northern Peru. Meet Peru’s Man of Steel – and copper and all sorts of other shiny stuff. Doctors surgically removed more than half a kilo of nails, coins, wire and other assorted odds and ends from this man’s stomach. The 26 year-old construction worker said he’d been eating the pieces of metal from his worksite for months. His only explanation: He called it a sport.
(November 12, 2009, CNN, 2/2010)
QUIZ
1 Why is the subject of this article called a “Man of Steel”?
A) He is metal magnate.
B) He works with steel.
C) He was filled with metal.
D) Doctors gave him metal parts.
2 What was this man’s motivation for eating metal objects?
A) Wealth
B) Amusement
C) Professional advancement
D) Greater physical strength
Well, it’s official. The group that controls top-level domains for Internet addresses will allow non-Latin languages for the first time in its history. A shorrt time ago, the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers or ICANN, voted for change at its meeting in Seoul. The change will allow Web addresses in Arabic, Chinese, Hindi and other languages.
(October 30, 2009, CNN, 2/2010)
Quiz
1 Where was the recent decision made?
A)The U.S.
B)China
C)South Korea
D)India
2 Until now ICANN had limited top-level domains to which languages?
American athlete Jennifer Figge has become the first woman to swim across the Atlantic. The exact distance she covered has not yet been computed, but she pushed off from Cape Verde Islands January 12th and arrived in Trinidad on Thursday. She swam in a cage because of the danger from the sharks. The 56-year-old Figge/ woke most days around 7 in the morning. Her longest stint in the water was about eight hours; the shortest was 21 minutes. She burned about 8,000 calories a day.
(February 8, 2009, CNNj)
QUIZ
Where did the athlete begin her swim?
A) The English Channel
B) Trinidad
C) Cape Verde Islands
D) Spain
How long did it take to complete this feat?
A) Twelve days
B) Fifty-six days
C) 21 days
D) The information is not provided.
Well, for all you workaholics out there, this one is for you. A joint British and Finish study has shown long working hours can reduce brain function and even increase the risk of dementia. The research show those who worked more than 55 hourse a week had poorer mental skills than whoworked a standard week. It concludes that pushing employees to work longer hours may actually be bad for business.
