Reading+practice


 * Newspapers are a great way to improve your reading skills.**

Try to answer these questions by reading the article below:
 * 1) What was George studying?
 * 2) What happened to his arm?
 * 3) How old is he now?
 * 4) What can he do?
 * 5) Where does he live?
 * 6) Where did he travel?
 * 7) What film experience has he had?

=George Symeou has a firm grip on life= Ruth Lamperd From: [|Herald Sun], January 05, 2011 http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/george-symeou-has-a-firm-grip-on-life/story-e6frf7kx-1225982016945

Here's another article [] (Note: "st" = stone, which is about 6kg) You can put answers below the questions, or email to Nathan (nathan.chapman@rmit.edu.au)
 * 1) How heavy is Donna now?
 * 2) What is her goal?
 * 3) How does her partner feel?
 * 4) How does she earn money?
 * 5) Why was she unhappy as a teenager on a diet?
 * 6) What frightened her about losing weight?
 * 7) What is your opinion about the last two sentences?

 ='Rubbish hotel' opens in heart of Madrid =

Try to guess what the story is, before reading [] You can put answers below, or email to Nathan (nathan.chapman@rmit.edu.au)
 * 1) Who designed the hotel?
 * 2) Why was the hotel built?
 * 3) What did somebody win on facebook?
 * 4) Which beaches have the most rubbish?
 * 5) Why are fewer people going to the beaches?

Stories used in class on Tues 18th Jan 2011:**﻿**
 * WWW.SHORTNEWS.COM **

Missing Teen Fabiola Morales Found Missing teen Fabiola Morales, 13, who went missing from Georgia this past Thursday, has been found in a Jasper, Alabama residence with her apparent kidnapper, Luis Garcia, who is 18 years of age. Lance Deaton of the Columbus police said they were able to find the pair through old fashioned police work, by tracking the pair through information gathering and phone searches.

E-Mail More Important to U.S. Mobile Users Than Facebook A statistic by Nielsen shows that 37 percent of U.S. mobile users use their phones also for Internet access. Numbers for May 2010 show that mobile users spent most of their mobile web time (38.5 percent) with sending and reading e-mails. Next come social media activities with 10.7 percent. Reading news is on the third rank (7.2 percent).

NASA: Kepler Mission Finds First Rocky Planet NASA´s Kepler mission found its first rocky planet and named it Kepler-10b. It is 1.4 times bigger than the Earth and outside of our solar system. Kepler-10b is the smallest exoplanet which has ever been found. The finding results from the analysis of data collected between May 2009 and January 2010. "The discovery of Kepler-10b, a bona fide rocky world, is a significant milestone in the search for planets similar to our own," Kepler program scientist Douglas Hudgins said.


 * London´s Oldest Skyscraper Honoured With Grade I Listing ||
 * || London´s first skyscraper was built in the 1920s on 55 Broadway. Now it has been honoured by the government with a Grade I listing. It had been Grade II since 1970.It was used as headquarters of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London and includes St James´s Park metro station."When this building opened, it would have represented the height of sophistication and a move towards the development of modernism," the culture minister, John Penrose, said. ||  ||

Swine Flu Survivors Show "Super" Immunity US researchers just found out that people infected with swine flu developed a special immunity against different flu types. The pandemic in 2009 may have induced "broadly protective antibodies". In the study, which will be published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, researchers used genes to generate antibodies. The study author said "the result is something like the Holy Grail for flu-vaccine research. The surprise was that such a very different influenza strain, as opposed to the most common strains, could lead us to something so widely applicable."

Government: Side Air Bags Must Be Improved The Transportation Department says that cars and trucks are required to have larger and stronger side air bags to protect motorists during rollover crashes. Over 8,000 people lost their lives in such accidents in 2009, data shows. The new requirements could prevent almost 400 deaths and 500 serious injuries per year. The government says all new vehicles have to meet the requirements by 2018.

U.S. National Debt Reaches New High U.S. debt has reached over $14 trillion, which is a new record high. Congress will now have to decide whether to lift the debt limit or to cut spending drastically. The current debt level equates a $45,300 debt for every citizen. "At some point you run out of accounting gimmicks and resources. Eventually the government is going to have to start shutting down certain operations," a Moody´s Analytics economist said.

Iraq Relies on Babylon to Revive Tourism A new project tries to revive tourism in Iraq. The U.S. State Department has paid $2 million to preserve the historic site of Babylon. Babylon’s legendary Hanging Gardens are one of the seven ancient world wonders. Other archaeologically important sites also awaken the hope of booming tourism in the future. Iraqi officials and several supporters are trying to get United Nations World Heritage protection for the historic ruins of Babylon.