Humor4u

Autumn is coming to the Northern hemisphere, children are going back to school and coughing, sneezing or runny noses are also back in our households.  If you have any of those symptoms, you may also worry that you have caught the coronavirus. You can watch this short BBC News video (1':51") below to find out the differences between these three respiratory illnesses.  It is not very difficult, and there are automatic subtitles, so it is recommended for B2 students and above. You will come across basic health vocabulary like: a blocked nose, a runny nose, a sore throat, a cough, flu, (a) temperature, (a) fever, to self-isolate with your household, sneezing, to catch your sneeze, the spray, to infect [others], tissues, a loss of taste, a coughing episode, to have trouble breathing, to spread [covid 19], a nasty cold, to put you down, social distancing, masks, handy. If you want more information, you can read the written version of the story here, there are more new words, and m

A good laugh is always welcome, but sometimes it is as necessary as the air we breathe.  Big Train is a sketch show in the best British comedy tradition, which was originally aired on BBC Two in 1999 and 2002 , and can be watched now on YouTube with automatic, but not terribly accurate, subtitles. Some of the episodes are built upon surreal conversations, puns or cultural parody like the London to Edinburgh train project below, and they are suitable for C1 students. Other episodes act out more visual jokes and they might be enjoyed by B2 learners.  I first found a reference to this comedy on William Bertrand's News Blog " I Spilled the Beans ", which is on my favourite list of blogs, on the left column . I hope you find something you can laugh out loud with! The vocabulary is not as difficult as the implicit information that is presupposed and is being parodied. Some of the most difficult words in the London to Edinbrugh sketch above are: proposal, super fast, franchise

Many people could face unbearable temperatures soon.  Temperature anomalies on land in the Northern Hemisphere (red) are spread out much wider and they are more than 0.5°C higher than global land+ocean anomalies (blue). The pale green and grey trends are both long-term trends based on January 1880-August 2020 NOAA data. The short-term red and blue trends, based on January 2013-August 2020 NOAA data, are added to show the potential for a rapid rise. How could temperatures possibly rise this fast?  A rapid temperature rise could eventuate by 2026 due to a number of contributing factors: • crossing of the latent heat and methane tipping points • moving toward an El Niño  • entering solar cycle 25 • changes in aerosols • feedbacks kicking in more strongly as further tipping points get crossed. Crossing the Latent Heat and Methane Hydrate Tipping Points The image below, updated from an earlier post , shows two such tipping points. The August 2020 ocean temperature anomaly on the Northern He

In the modern digital world, everybody is talking about algorithms, but what are they exactly? Where can you find them? What can they do? How do they work? Should we be scared of algorithms? Can algorithms think for themselves? What do they look like? Can they do a job better than humans? This 7':53" BBC Ideas video with subtitles explains all about algorithms in a lively and attractive way.  It is accessible to B2 students and above. The most difficult words you will find in the video are: algorithm, search engines, dating apps, to be baffled [by science], a riddle, overwhelming, to pick her brains (informal), a set of instuctions, to enable a computer programme [to do something], billions, a server room, a bunch of [blocks] (informal), to be concerned about [something], to drag and drop [blocks], a drone, a flip, a challenge, a hoop, a lap, no offence (informal), to take over the world, to take our jobs, to deskill [humans], dependent upon [them], trusting of [them], on the

The image below shows a forecast of very high carbon monoxide levels in Oregon, as high as 86,299 ppb on September 11, 2020, 21:00 UTC. The map below shows the location of these peak levels at the red marker. On September 12, 2020, a horrifying peak level of 126,728 ppb is forecast to occur at that same spot at 21:00 UTC. As the image below shows, sulfur dioxide levels are forecast to be as high as 5056.4 µg/m³ on September 12, 2020, at 23:00 UTC. On September 13, 2020, very high carbon dioxide levels are forecast to cover a huge area, with peak levels as high as 82,715 ppb at 07:00 UTC, as the image below shows. The situation is dire and calls for immediate, comprehensive and effective action, as described in the Climate Plan . Links • Climate Plan https://arctic-news.blogspot.com/p/climateplan.html

This is the story of a baby who was born on a rescue boat, when her Nigerian mother was trying to arrive in Italy five years ago.  This short BBC News video with subtitles (2':47") is suitable for B2 students and it will allow you to listen to a West-African English accent in the voice of the mother. The vocabulary is not too difficult, you will find words like miracle, a rescue ship, to flee (fled, fled), to struggle [for your life], to bear [a name], to faint, to be in labour, to make it to Europe on a boat, to go through [something], to be in [somebody's] shoes, to be blessed .

Antonio Banderas, talks to Terry Gross on Fresh Air about his latest movie with Pedro Almodóvar, " Pain & Glory ", which earned him a "Best Actor Award" in the Cannes Film Festival and a nomitation to the Oscars, and about his acting career both in Spain and in Hollywood.  In addition, he explains what the contracultural movement, " La Movida " meant in 1980s Spain, when a whole country regained control of its own future and started enjoying public and private freedoms that had been alien during the dictatorship, and finally, he talks about his Soho Theatre in Malaga. During the interview, Antonio Banderas talks very openly about his experience as a learner of English, who started an acting career in Hollywood, with a very basic level of English and tons of chutzpah, and about the challenge of doing radio interviews in English. This 37 minute long interview can be accessible to B2 students, as long as they have the support of the transcript, but it cou

The unthinkable consequences of global warming by Andrew Glikson “We’re simply talking about the very life support system of this planet”. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber 2009. “Burning all fossil fuels would create a different planet than the one that humanity knows. The paleoclimate record and ongoing climate change make it clear that the climate system would be pushed beyond tipping points, setting in motion irreversible changes, including ice sheet disintegration with a continually adjusting shoreline, extermination of a substantial fraction of species on the planet, and increasingly devastating regional climate extremes” and “this equates to 400,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs per day 365 days per year ” James Hansen et al. 2012 . Humanity is fast reaching our moment of truth. What Hansen, Schellnhuber and others have warned us is based on evidence consistent with the basic laws of science, the discipline which, contrary to medieval superstition, is founded on direct observations, calculat