What&#039;s New this Week?

The Way Way Back September 4th, 2013

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1. Listen, and put the words in order

3. Fill in the Blanks Quiz (Difficult)

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Endurance Swimmer Tries for 5th and Final Time to Cross Florida Straits September 4th, 2013

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Diana Nyad is off again.

After saying goodbye, the U.S. endurance swimmer is on her fifth attempt to swim from Cuba to Key West, Florida.

Accompanied by a small fleet of five support boats and a crew of 35, the 64-year-old is braving sharks, man o'wars and poisonous jelly fish, among other challenges.

Jellyfish stings sank her last attempt at the 103-mile swim, but this time she's wearing a protective silicone mask.

"I think I have some luck in my favor with Mother Nature. And I'm ready and the jellyfish protection that we've spoken about—better than it's ever been. I think it's going to help me get through those animals."

Nyad says this will be her last attempt.

Only one other swimmer has swum the Florida Straits. Australian Susie Maroney conquered the swim with a protective cage in 1997.

Quotes about Education – 1 August 26th, 2013

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Word Order Quizzes

1. Listen, and put the words in order | 2. Put the words in order

1. Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
― Mahatma Gandhi

2. Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
― Nelson Mandela

3. When you know better you do better.
― Maya Angelou

4. I am not a teacher, but an awakener.
― Robert Frost

5. The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.
― Augustine of Hippo

6. The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.
― Plutarch

7. Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.
― Aristotle

8. Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.
― Margaret Mead

9. Knowledge will bring you the opportunity to make a difference.
― Claire Fagin

10. It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
― Confucius

Word Order Quizzes

1. Listen, and put the words in order | 2. Put the words in order

New crash test revealed by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety August 23rd, 2013

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A new safety car crash-test has found that half of the vehicles tested were rated "marginal" or "poor."

The test designed by the US-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety sees a car crash into a five-foot barrier while travelling at 40 miles per hour (64 kilometres per hour).

The insurance group said that nearly a quarter of front-of-vehicle crashes result in serious injury or death.

These types of crash tend to involve a single corner of the car, usually on the driver’s side that comes into contact with another vehicle or object.

Half of the 12 small cars tested didn't meet the industry standards. The two-door and four-door models of the Honda Civic were the only small cars to earn the top rating of good in the test.

Police chase stampeding piglets on Chinese motorway August 16th, 2013

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Chaos on a motorway in China as police try to catch a group of stampeding piglets.

Officers could be seen running after the agile animals in China's Guiyang province after the truck carrying them overturned.

Police finally outsmarted the runaways when they started cooling themselves under a rescue truck with the road eventually able to be reopened.

Difficult words:

stampede = when a group of large animals or people suddenly start running in the same direction because they are frightened or excited

piglet = a young pig

agile = able to move quickly and easily

outsmart = to gain an advantage over someone using tricks or your intelligence

eventually = after a long time, or after a lot of things have happened

Wave Riders Compete in Munich Euro Championships August 13th, 2013

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Europe's top surfers gathered in Munich on Sunday which hosted the 3rd European Championships in Stationary Wave Riding to ride on what organizers say is the world's largest artificial wave.

The Munich championship is among the highlights for European surfers who compete on the 32 foot-wide and five foot-high wave.

This year for the first time, a so called "kicker" or jump was integrated into the artificial wave which allows surfers to perform special rides and tricks.

The winner gets the prize money of around thirteen-thousand dollars.

The contest is in four categories—Men Open, Women Open, Masters Open and for the first time "Grommets", those aged under 16.

A jury headed by Spaniard Juan Carlos Rubio judges the surfers' performance according to the rules set out by the international Association of Surfing Professionals.

Decisive criteria are diversity, control, style, creativity and the repertoire of manoeuvers and tricks.

Thousands turn out for Geneva fireworks thrill August 12th, 2013

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The Geneva Festival has concluded with a spectacular musical fireworks display lasting nearly an hour.

It is one of the largest and most iconic in the world, attracting around half a million visitors every year. The show, which uses around 25,000 individual fireworks, takes months to prepare.

"This year my challenge is to aim higher, to organise a show that is more beautiful than the last, more original, to always take pyrotechnics a step further. I learn more every year, which allows the show to evolve year by year."