In the News, January 3rd, 2021

In the News, June 24th, 2021

This is a podcast which picks up a few interesting things that have appeared in the news in recent weeks. This week we have stories in health, the animal kingdom and history.

In our first story on health, we learn that dogs may be a great help to us during the corona virus pandemic. You can read more about it here:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/24/faster-than-pcr-test-dogs-detect-covid-coronavirus-london-bmj

In our second story on the animal kingdom, we discover how sharks find their way around in the ocean, and you can read more by following this link:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/17/sharks-earth-magnetic-field-gps-guidance-system

In our final story on history, we hear how microbes have helped to clean some of Michelangelo’s most beautiful statues. Read about it here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/30/arts/bacteria-cleaning-michelangelo-medici-restoration.html?searchResultPosition=1

Worksheet Answers:

1. C 2. A 3. D

© Martin Parsons, 2021

In the News, May 27th, 2021

This is a podcast which picks up a few interesting things that have appeared in the news in recent weeks. In this episode we have two stories on world news and one on the environment.

In world news, we hear a very scary story about a tourist bridge collapsing in China. You learn more about this story here:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/10/china-tourist-bridge-glass-panels-smash-longjing-city

In the environment, we discover that the Earth’s stratosphere is getting smaller. You can learn more about this frightening story here:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/12/emissions-shrinking-the-stratosphere-scientists-find　

And finally, in world news learn about a young boy who has gone from being homeless to being a Chess master. Read about this inspiring story here:

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/tanitoluwa-adewumi-refugee-chess-champion-national-master/

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/opinion/sunday/homeless-chess-champion-tani-adewumi.html

 Worksheet Answers:

1. B 2. B 3. D

© Martin Parsons, 2021

In the News, April 22nd, 2021

This is a podcast which picks up a few interesting things that have appeared in the news in recent weeks. This week we have three stories related to the ocean.

In our first story, we hear about a walrus that went to sleep and ended up in … Ireland. You can read more about it here:

https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/walrus-falls-asleep-on-arctic-iceberg-ends-up-in-ireland 

In our second story, we learn about a very unusual animal which can replace its entire body. You can read more about it here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/08/science/decapitated-sea-slugs.html

https://mainichi.jp/articles/20210308/k00/00m/040/140000c

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210309/p2g/00m/0li/061000c

In our final story, we learn that there is large scale fraud in the seafood business. Read about it here:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/15/revealed-seafood-happening-on-a-vast-global-scale

Worksheet Answers:

1. D 2. B 3. D

© Martin Parsons, 2021

In the News, February 26th, 2021

This is a podcast which picks up a few interesting things that have appeared in the news in recent weeks. This week we have stories in science, world news and the environment.

In our first story, we hear about a strange bear attack in the USA. You can read more about it here:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/19/alaska-woman-outhouse-attacked-bear

In our second story, we discover that NASA has named an important crate on Mars after a small village in Bosnia - Herzegovina, and you can read more by following these links:

https://theconversation.com/how-did-nasas-martian-rover-come-to-land-in-a-crater-named-after-a-tiny-balkan-village-155740

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-mars-mission-connects-with-bosnian-town

In our final story, we learn that batteries for cars which can be recharged in five minutes are being developed. Read about it here:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/19/electric-car-batteries-race-ahead-with-five-minute-charging-times

Worksheet Answers:

1. C 2. A 3. B

In the News, February 11th, 2021

This is a podcast which picks up a few interesting things that have appeared in the news in recent weeks. This week we have three stories about animals.

In our first story, we learn about a tiny chameleon in Madagascar. You can read more about it here:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/05/seed-sized-chameleon-madagascar-world-tiniest-reptile

In our second story, we discover that naked mole rats have different “accents”, and you can read more by following this link:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/naked-mole-rats-speak-dialects-unique-their-colony-180976908/

In our final story, we try to understand why wombats have square-shaped poo. Read about it here:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/29/box-seat-scientists-solve-the-mystery-of-why-wombats-have-cube-shaped-poo

Worksheet Answers:

1. A 2. D 3. B

© 2021, Martin Parsons