Boom time for Spain's costumed debt collectors
Skill:
Reading
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate / Advanced (B2 / C1)
Description:
This is an article about El Cobrador del Frac, Spain's costumed debt collectors. Together with it are comprehension questions which you can either do on your own, in pairs or in groups.
The answers to the questions can be found at the bottom of the document.
Pigeon: Impossible
Self-study task: Watch the short film and answer the following questions in pairs or small groups
1) What did you think of the film?
2) Did it remind you of anything?
3) Summarise in your own words what happens.
4) What type of films do you generally enjoy to watch?
5) Which actor or actress do you particularly like? Why?
6) Which is your favourite film? What did you like about it?
7) Which is your least favourite film? What did you dislike about it?
8) Music often plays an important role in films. Can you think of a film with a soundtrack you
particularly enjoyed?
Farmer gets life for shooting teenage intruder
Skill:
Reading
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate / Advanced (B2 / C1)
Description:
This is an article about a farmer who was imprisoned for life for the murder of a teenager who broke into his home. Together with it are comprehension questions which you can either do on your own, in pairs or in groups.
The answers to the questions can be found at the bottom of the document.
Tramp given £2 million Hampstead Heath plot
Skill:
Reading
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate / Advanced (B2 / C1)
Description:
This is an article about a squatter who was awarded ownership of a plot of land worth approximately £2,000,000 in one of the most desirable parts of London. Together with it are comprehension questions which you can either do on your own, in pairs or in groups.
The answers to the questions can be found at the bottom of the document.
Bumps and bruises are good for children
Flying Fish
Millionaire gives away fortune that made him miserable
Skill:
Reading
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate / Advanced (B2 / C1)
Description:
This is an article about Karl Rabeder, an Austrian millionaire who has decided to give away his fortune as it made him miserable. Together with it are comprehension questions which you can either do on your own, in pairs or in groups.
The answers to the questions can be found at the bottom of the document.
Microcredit, Lesson B
Skill:
Listening
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate (B2+)
Task:
Click play on the video above and answer the following questions:
Q1. When did the lady from Tangail, Bangladesh first learn of microcredit organisations?
Q2. When was she married?
Q3. What was her husband’s profession?
Q4. When did she take out her first loan?
Q5. How much was the loan for?
Q6. What did she buy with the loan?
Q7. How long did it take her to repay the loan?
For the solutions to this exercise, click here.
Microcredit, Lesson A
Skill:
Listening
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate (B2+)
Task:
Click play on the video above and answer the following questions:
Q1. What did Mark Murray think that people in the developing world lacked?
Q2. What do the poor really lack, according to Lorene Arey?
Q3. Maria Otero says millions of poor people have no access to...
Q4. When did microcredit as a solution to poverty first begin to surface?
Q5. How big were loans usually?
Q6. How were these loans typically used?
Q7. Did people generally repay these loans on time?
Q8. For how much was the first loan that Geoff Davis made?
Q9. What was this loan used for?
Q10. At what time does the lady from Chityal, India start work each morning?
Q11. How much was her first loan for?
Q12. By how much has her daily income increased?
For the solutions to this exercise, click here.
Fox Hunting Debate
Health and Happiness the Victorian Way
Skill:
Reading
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate / Advanced (B2 / C1)
Description:
This is an article about the Victorian doctor Thomas Allinson and his ideas on health and happiness. Together with it are comprehension questions which you can either do on your own, in pairs or in groups.
The answers to the questions can be found at the bottom of the document.
Aviation Crossword
Ursus Wehrli Tidies up Art
Skill:
Listening
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate (B1/2)
Task:
Click play on the video above and answer the following questions:
Q1. Where does Ursus Wehrli come from?
Q2. How does Wehrli say the man in Donald Baechler’s painting looks after the blocks have been tidied?
Q3. How does Wehrli describe Paul Klee’s work?
Q4. What does Wehrli say his mother would have done with him if his room was as untidy as the one in the painting?
Q5. What does Wehrli say the Swiss are famous for?
Q6. When was the room in Vincent Van Gogh’s painting last tidied?
Q7. What does Wehrli do with the paint in Jackson Pollock’s work?
Q8. What do you think of Wehrli’s idea of ‘tidying’ art?
For the solutions to this exercise, click here.
Negroponte takes OLPC to Colombia
Skill:
Listening
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate (B1/2)
Task:
Click play on the video above and answer the following questions:
Q1. Who is Nicholas Negroponte travelling with?
Q2. How many children does Negroponte say there are there in the world?
Q3. What percentage of these children do not have electricity at home or at school?
Q4. What percentage of little girls in Afghanistan don’t go to school, according to Negroponte?
Q5. How many countries were already involved in the OLPC project at the time the video was made?
Q6. How old was the child teaching her own mother to read and write?
Q7. Negroponte asks us to think of the OLPC project as: ________ ________ ________ ________
For the solutions to this exercise, click here.
Einstein the Parrot Talks and Squawks
Skill:
Listening
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate (B1/2)
Task:
Click play on the video above and answer the following questions:
Q1. Why is Einstein especially interested in Penelope’s talk?
Q2. What does Einstein hope Bob Russell will genetically engineer?
Q3. Which African country are the dancing children from?
Q4. What is Einstein’s problem?
Q5. What do pirates like to drink?
Q6. What does Einstein like to drink?
Q7. Who does she think is a good-looking man?
For the solutions to this exercise, click here.
Sports Crossword
Do you Annoy your Colleagues?
Tell Your Group About..
Geography Crossword
Can the World Afford the Tata Nano?
Skill:
Reading
Difficulty Level:
Advanced (B2 / C1)
Description:
This is an article about the Tata Nano car and the environment. Together with it are comprehension questions which you can either do on your own, in pairs or in groups.
The answers to the questions can be found at the bottom of the document.
Car Vocabulary
Grammar Crossword
New Rules of Working
Sumo Wrestling
Skill:
Listening
Difficulty Level:
Pre-intermediate (B1+)
Task:
Click play on the video above and answer the following questions:
Q1. How many times a year does the Sumo competition take place?
Q2. What do the wrestlers do before they fight?
Q3. What are the 4 main ingredients of the stew which is part of the wrestlers diet?
Q4. What is the objective of the fight?
Q5. What distinguishes the grand champions from the other wrestlers?
For the solutions to this exercise, click here.
IT Crossword
World of Work Crossword 2
World of Work Crossword 1
Phonemic Chart
Beautiful Minds: Stephen Wiltshire
Skill:
Listening
Difficulty Level:
Pre-intermediate (B1+)
Introduction:
Stephen Wiltshire was born in London to West Indian parents on 24th April, 1974. As a child, he was mute and did not relate to other human beings. He has a rare medical condition known as Savantism - a mental or physical disability on one hand, and a genius-like ability on the other. Stephen’s genius-like talent is for drawing.
Task:
Click play on the video above and answer the following questions:
Q1. What do they call Stephen in this documentary?
Q2. At what age did he speak his first words?
Q3. What were Stephen’s first words?
Q4. How long did Stephen have to look around the city of Rome from the helicopter?
Q5. How much time is Stephen given to draw Rome?
Q6. Who visited Stephen while he was drawing?
For the solutions to this exercise, click here.
Branson's Vision for Space Travel
Skill:
Reading
Difficulty Level:
Advanced (C1+)
Description:
This is an article about the possibility of commercial space travel. Together with it are comprehension questions which you can either do on your own, in pairs or in groups.
The answers to the questions can be found at the bottom of the document.
Fainting Goats
Skill:
Listening
Difficulty Level:
Pre-intermediate (B1+)
Task:
Click play on the video above and answer the following questions:
Q1. Where do fainting goats come from?
Q2. True or false? The goats actually lose consciousness.
Q3. How long does each ‘fainting’ episode last?
For the solutions to this exercise, click here.
The Five-a-day Fantasy
The Origins of Hot Chocolate
Skill:
Listening
Difficulty Level:
Pre-intermediate (B1+)
Task:
Click play on the video above and answer the following questions:
Q1. Where does the Cacao tree grow?
Q2. How long ago were the Mayan people using the fruit of the Cacao tree to make chocolate?
Q3. What are the seeds now known as?
Q4. What were the cocoa beans ground together with?
Q5. What was added next?
Q6. Complete this sentence: ‘It’s very interesting, but it is not your , , bed-time treat.’
For the solutions to this exercise, click here.
