Humor4u

Mr. Happy Face is a Chihuahua-Chinese crested mix dog that has recently won the "World's Ugliest Dog" contest held in Petaluma, Ca .  Here, you can read the story from Canadian CBC programme " As It Happens ", which is a written summary of the radio interview (6:12) that you can also access on this link.    The article is suitable for B2 students, whereas the radio interview, without script, is recommended for C1 students, especially if you listen to the interview before reading the article.   Here you can find a list of some key words as they appear in the radio interview which can be used as a listening guide if you get very lost, as there is no script: bat, tuft, snarl, crookedly, bound, curl, quirky, cute, so popular, extra-attention, shelter, unadoptable, hoarder situation, human touch, bond, hospice situation, a second chance, caring and nurturing, strange noises, grunt, a diesel truck revving, barks in his sleep, cries, howl, on tour, meet and greet, joy,...

Just a few days earlier than the running of the bulls started in Pamplona, New York City organized its own "running of the goats" in Riversida Park, Manhattan .  Families gathered to see the trailer opening its door to release twenty goats that had been brought to the park to eat all the weeds away. Here you can listen to the All Things Considered report on NPR (3':42")  that tells the story with a script, which makes it suitable for B2 students.  You will come across words like goats, to weed, a sliver, farmland, pretty flat, to slope sharply, invasive plants, porcelain berry, to take over, garden maintenance, a herd of goats, upstate [New York], a trailer, the thick impenetrable bush, hillside, with ease, a beloved ritual, St. Patrick's Day parade, to show up, [dogs] to strain against leashes, to sniff, to poke, dazzling, tawny-colored, horns, to curl in on themselves, poised, a gaze, to commune [with nature], nonprofit rescue service, a fenced area, chill, to ...

The BBC reports that 100,000 mink are going to be culled in a farm in Puebla de Valverde (Teruel) because they have been infected with coronavirus, after Joaquín Olona, agriculture minister for the Aragon region, announced the decision yesterday.  The outbreak was discovered back in May, when the wife of a farm worker was infected with the virus.  It is not clear, though, if transmission from animals to humans and viceversa is possible.  Similar cases have been found in the Netherlands and Denmark, major producers of mink for their fur. Click here if you want more details of the story. This report is suitable for B2 students.  You will find interesting words and expressions in context like mink, to be culled, an outbreak, to contract the virus, to test positive, to be bred for their fur, hotspots, to stress [an idea], unwittingly, an unsubstantiated theory, to pass on a disease, to be slaughtered.

You can celebrate International Biodiversity Week (18- 22 May) by watching the first episode of the Netflix documentary " Our Planet ", which has just been released on YouTube.  The stunning beauty of the images, the music, and the impeccable English on the voice of Sir David Attenborough will surely open an imaginary window to the wonders of our natural world and the fragility of its future preservation. Subtitles are available, so this 49':27" documentary can be enjoyed by B2 students and above.

The Lion King (1994) is one of the most popular animated films produced by Disney. The film was a box office and a critical success, it was praised for its music, animation and plot, which has echos of Hamlet and the Bible. Several sequels, spin-offs and remakes have been made, including a theatre musical.  If you want to know more about the film, you can click here to read the Wikipedia article. On the left, you can watch the opening scene, "The Circle of Life".  The music of this song was composed and performed by Elton John and the lyrics by Tim Rice. The film is a story about loss, power struggles, overcoming trauma, personal growth and coming-of-age.  In this short E! News interview, the original voice actors, Jonathan Taylor Thomas (young Simba), James Earl Jones (Mufasa) and Matthew Broderick (adult Simba) talk about the plot of the film, their own characters and how they recorded their voices over the animation. The interview has subtitles, so it should be accessi...

Scientists have carried out research to find out how different animals can be positively or negatively influenced by music:  from cheese bacteria, to sharks, mosquitoes or cows, they all have proven to show preferences for some music genres over others.  This BBC text can be read by B2 students and above. In the video below, you can watch Snowball, a cockatoo, dancing to the music of Backstreet Boys.

Dynasties is a BBC Wildlife documentary that explores the social structure of 5 different animal species, tigers, emperor penguins, chimpanzees, lions and painted wolves. Producer Michael Gunton talks to Fresh Air on NPR about the social relationships of these groups of animals:  their kinship and affections, their rivalries and power struggles and about the two years that the naturalists took to shoot the documentary, which is narrated by Sir David Attenborough. This is a C1 listening task with the script. If you want to look directly at the documentary webpage and watch some clips of the episodes you can click here, on the BBC.

This story from Animalkind, a  USA Today video franchise , talks about Pip, a cute street cat that was adopted by a family in the summer resort of Ocean City, Maryland, and has become a local celebrity.  Pip is a restless, adventurous cat that has helped some people overcome loss and sadness and has put a smile on the face of those who have seen him playing around.  The speed of delivery in the speech and the vocabulary are challenging, so, this short video can be classified as C1, although the subtitles can make it accessible to lower level students.

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Just more sketchbook stuff. I think this is the last 2009 post. Next up are drawings from one of my favorite movies!

Drawings of some of my favorite things. I still like these, even though they're kinda old now. I anticipate more Appalachian inspired drawings in the near future.