CLOTHES

I have ______________________ clothes. I have many clothes I’ve only worn once. Sometimes ______________________ something at the back of a drawer that I ______________________ . I bought it, put it away, and then forgot about it. ______________________ don’t need so many clothes. I don’t think anyone really ______________________ of jeans and 32 sweaters. I won’t tell you how many pairs of shoes I’ve got. ______________________ embarrassing. The ______________________ I love clothes and I love shopping. Maybe I have a problem. I’m sure I’d ______________________ if I didn’t buy so many clothes. I like brands, so the clothes I buy are quite expensive. ______________________ going to have a big clearout. I’ll take all the clothes I no longer wear and give ______________________ .I have ______________________ clothes. I have many clothes I’ve only worn once. Sometimes ______________________ something at the back of a drawer that I ______________________ . I bought it, put it away, and then forgot about it. ______________________ don’t need so many clothes. I don’t think anyone really ______________________ of jeans and 32 sweaters. I won’t tell you how many pairs of shoes I’ve got. ______________________ embarrassing. The ______________________ I love clothes and I love shopping. Maybe I have a problem. I’m sure I’d ______________________ if I didn’t buy so many clothes. I like brands, so the clothes I buy are quite expensive. ______________________ going to have a big clearout. I’ll take all the clothes I no longer wear and give ______________________ .

MOVIES

I love watching movies. At the cinema, ______________ computer. I'm a big movie fan and love ______________ my favourite movie stars. I like all kinds of movies - Hollywood blockbusters, black and white movies ______________, independent movies... They're all good. Recently ______________ watching foreign movies. I like the films that come out of Bollywood - they're very different. The first film I saw at the movie theatre was Star Wars. ______________ the special effects. Nowadays, so many movies have such good computer graphics that we ________________ the effects are. One of my favourite ways of relaxing ______________ latest DVD and sit on the sofa with a big bag of potato chips. The sound has to be ______________ and the lights have to be off.

Teddy bear

Teddy bears are very important. They _______________ in our society. The _______________, they have been with us for less than a hundred years. Of course, when we think about teddy bears, we think about children. I think it’s impossible for a child to _______________ a teddy bear. Unfortunately, today, teddy bears have a lot _______________. There are lots of stuffed animals to choose from in toy stores. I would _______________ a traditional teddy than a Mickey Mouse or a soft toy cat. Teddy bears are _______________ children. Adults have them too. Boyfriends and girlfriends buy them for each _______________. I’m 49 and I have a teddy bear of my favourite soccer club, but we’ll _______________.

Eating popcorn makes ads less effective (17th October, 2013)

BEFORE READING 

MOVIES: Rank these!!  Put the best things about cinemas at the top.

• popcorn   • the seats   • the foyer   • the big screen

• the dark   • being in an audience   • the sound   • the trailers

1. SYNONYM MATCH:Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	effective	a.	restricted
2	conclusion	b.	evaluate
3.	interrupted	c.	resistant
4.	interferes with	d.	opinion
5.	awareness	e.	predicament
6.	rate	f.	disrupts
7.	mundane	g.	useful
8.	immune	h.	hike
9.	dilemma	i.	realisation
10.	mark-up	j.	boring

The advertising people see while at the movies is less effective when audiences eat popcorn. This is the conclusion of a newly-published study from Germany's Cologne University. According to researchers, people remember the names of new brands or products by silently pronouncing them in their brains. However, with a mouth full of popcorn, this process is interrupted. The report is titled "Popcorn in the Cinema: Oral Interference Sabotages Advertising Effects". It describes how the chewing action interferes with the brain's "inner speech" that operates whenever we come across a new name. Researchers say: "This happens covertly, that is, without our awareness."

Researcher Sascha Topolinski invited 96 people to watch a movie. Half of the group was given popcorn, while the rest received a small sugar cube. A week later, the participants were asked to rate a series of products, including some of those they had seen adverts for during the movie. The sugar cube group remembered a lot more of the product names than those who ate popcorn. Mr Topolinski said: "The mundane activity of eating popcorn made participants immune to the pervasive effects of advertising." He added: "This finding suggests that selling candy in cinemas actually undermines advertising." This presents cinema owners with a dilemma. There is usually a 900% mark-up on popcorn sold in movie theatres.

COMPREHENSION 

1. TRUE / FALSE:Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	A study is about ads before movies on TV while people eat popcorn.	T / F
b.	A report says we remember names by pronouncing them in our brain.	T / F
c.	The report said only popcorn stops us remembering names.	T / F
d.	Chewing may stop us remembering new names.	T / F
e.	96 people ate popcorn and did a memory recall test for brand names.	T / F
f.	The report said eating sugar cubes helps us remember names.	T / F
g.	Researchers said eating popcorn makes us immune to advertising.	T / F
h.	Popcorn costing the cinema $1 can be sold to moviegoers for $9.	T / F

More people think online dating is OK - 23rd October, 2013

BEFORE READING 

FIRST DATE:  Put the best places for a first date you like most and so on...

• Italian restaurant   • Movie theatre   • Disneyland   • A museum

• The beach   • Hiking   • A coffee shop   • City sightseeing

1. SYNONYM MATCH:Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	way	a.	cautioned
2	wrong	b.	weird
3.	figure	c.	cautious
4.	started	d.	reply
5.	options	e.	method
6.	careful	f.	choices
7.	creepy	g.	number
8.	respond	h.	description
9.	warned	i.	bad
10.	profile	j.	began

A new report says most Americans think online dating is a good way to meet people. Almost 60 per cent of Internet users said there is nothing wrong with trying to find a partner on the Internet. This has changed from ten years ago when the figure was 44 per cent. The report is from the Pew Research Center. It says around one in ten Americans has used online dating services. It also said 11 per cent of people who started a long-term relationship in the past decade met their partner online. However, some people think the Internet does not help with marriage. Around 32 per cent of people agreed that "online dating keeps people from settling down because they always have options for people to date".


Sociologist Dr Kevin Lewis of the University of California told the USA Today newspaper that women must be careful with online dates. He said: "For women, there are lots of guys who are just creepy or unattractive or undesirable." He also said men can have problems finding a date: "They can't get a woman to respond because [women get] so many messages." Dr Lewis also said that 38 per cent of online daters have read an online profile of someone they knew. The Pew Report warned people to be careful about those who tell lies about themselves online. About 54 per cent of online daters said they had a date with someone who was a lot different from their profile.

COMPREHENSION

1. TRUE / FALSE:Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	Most Americans think online dating isn't a good way to meet people.	T / F
b.	Up to 60% of Internet users said it was OK to find a partner online.	T / F
c.	Around 10% of Americans have tried Internet dating services.	T / F
d.	About a third of Americans think online dating helps marriages.	T / F
e.	A sociologist advised women to be careful of creepy guys.	T / F
f.	Men find it difficult to find a date because women get many messages.	T / F
g.	Very few people read profiles and know the person behind the profile.	T / F
h.	Less than half of people said their date didn't match his/her profile.	T / F

DANGER

Danger is everywhere. It’s ______________________ . That what I’ve decided. I thought about danger ______________________ and decided we live in a dangerous world. Even our house is ______________________ . There are many chemicals in our cosmetics, cleaners, fridges, computers ______________________ good for us. The electric wiring could ______________________ and electrocute us. We could fall down the stairs ______________________ the kitchen floor. And then when we leave our house, we enter a dangerous world. Cars travelling ______________________ , people holding cigarettes, construction workers with heavy objects ______________________ … all of these things present danger. Just turn on the news ______________________ local paper to see how much danger there is. I think I’ll ______________________ today.

HEALTH

I never _______________________ about my health until recently. When I was a kid, I _______________________ exercise. Even in my twenties and thirties I was very _______________________ ill. I have been lucky all my life – always _______________________ health. I rarely get even a cold. I suppose _______________________ with you. Now I seem to be getting lots of little _______________________. I should go to the doctor for a health check, but I’m too busy. The older you get, the _______________________ about your health. One good thing is that I’m eating more healthily now _______________________. I no longer have fast food and midnight snacks. I also sleep _______________________. I’ve read that getting seven or eight hours sleep every night _______________________ best things you can do for your health.