Humor4u

Ellen MacArthur has recently won the Princess of Asturias Prize for International Cooperation, The Majorca Daily Bulletin reported last week . In 2005, Ms MacArthur became the first woman to break the world record as a solo sailor around the world and later she started the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to promote the circular economy and design a more sustainable future for the finite world resources.  As a result of their campaign, in March 2022 the UN adopted a resolution to negotiate a legally-binding treaty on plastic pollution, which is hoped to be drawn and signed by the end of 2024.  Dame Ellen MacArthur was invited to the BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs back in 2009. In this 45' interview she talks about her background, her achievement in sailing, and her charity work. Her English is a perfect model for C1 and C2 students, because it is rich, but not pompous; there are technical terms, but it is not packed with jargon; the colloquial expressions fit natur...

Lewis Hamilton recently won his 7th F1 title in Turkey, matching Michael Schumacher's all time record. This feat has prompted the British media to relish a debate about Lewis Hamilton's place in the history of F1 and British sport in general. Here you can listen to a BBC Radio 5 Live programme, " Chequered Flag ", where a panel of 3 journalists, Rebecca Clancy, from The Times , Scott Mitchell from The Race and Saith Hardy, a freelance reporter from the USA, talk about the most popular sportsperson in Britain nowadays: his recent victory in the Turkish Grand Prix,and his leading role as an activist in various social causes, including racism.  The podcast lasts 53':48", and there is no script, so it can be suitable for C2 students. Below you can find the glossary and here, on this link, a list of the different sections of the interview which can be used as a supplementary listening guide for the students who might need that kind of written support. If you want...

St George is part of an ancient tradition both in England and in Aragon.  He is the saint patron of England and also of Aragon and its flag is in the shirt of the second kit of Sociedad Deportiva Huesca.    The story of St George slaying the Dragon to rescue the Princess is still very popular in schools and it is often celebrated in the streets.  On this Wikipedia link you can read a detailed explanation of the legend and its iconography (this text is C1 level). On the right, you can watch a short video for children that tells the tale of St George in a very simple way.  The video has subtitles both at the foot of the cartoon and underneath, in the configuration spur wheel, so it can be understood by B1 students: It is not easy to find references to Saint George's Day in the British press, but you can try these: an article in the progressive newspaper The Guardian about the historical facts behind the legend of St George, or, on the other side of the British me...

"The Dawn Wall" is a documentary film that shows how Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson managed to climb El Capitan's southeastern face, called "The Dawn Wall" in Yosemite National Park, California.  It took them 19 days to go up the vertical granite, and six or seven years to prepare that remarkable feat.  "It's highly precise" Jorgeson says of the preparations and he compares the moves across the rock to a dance choreography or to a gymnastics routine in this NPR interview. The beginning of the interview contains some technical descriptions of the climbing equipment, so this 31':49" interview could be classified as C2.