A compilation of newsTicker articles

with Exercises

January 200�

Contents

UNWANTED GIFTSCan be turned into profits online 4

TEENAGERSRespectful and caring 6

SCOOBY-DOO DESIGNERDies in L.A. 8

GIVE A CHILD A VIDEO GAMEIt could help with a job 10

BILINGUALISMDelays onset of dementia 12

DINOSAURS, HUMANS COEXISTU.S. creation museum 14

2015 EDUCATION GOALWorld falling behind 16

HEALTH INSURANCEBush unveils new plan 18

LONELY PLANETSays seize the days 20

BLUEYSInvade Aussie beaches 22

�

UNWANTED GIFTSCan be turned into profits online

2007-01-10

If you are short on money or want to get rid of those

unwanted Christmas gifts, auctioning your goods online may be the answer.

Auction sites like eBay are popular spots

for selling and buying a wide variety of items including collectibles, electronics, and other miscellaneous goods. Many people will take advantage to earn back some of the money they spent over the holidays by selling the discarded or useless gifts they received.

According to a Morgan Stanley study, 85 percent of people buy used items, with the top ten

purchases including furniture, electrical goods, clothes, sports equipment and kitchenware.

A representative for an online firm said that many people start out selling items just to get some extra

pocket money and end up having a supplemental income.

eBay

Exercise

�

Read the article and answer the following questions.

1. Have you ever received any unwanted gifts? If so, what were they and what did you do with them?

2. What else could you do with unwanted gifts apart from selling them online?

3. Go online at eBay and find something you would like to buy. What is it? Why does it interest you? How much does it cost?

�

TEENAGERSRespectful and caring

2007-01-12

Teenagers have been given a bad reputation

as delinquent and uncaring. But according to a study by the Scout Association, the youngsters are actually “respectful and caring.”

The survey of 1,004 teenagers from 13 to 18

years old found that these young people had positive attitudes towards family life and were concerned about the environment.

Ninety-five percent of the teens felt that their parents had their best interests at heart and one in five said

that their mother was their hero. The teens also viewed that taking care of the environment was a top priority.

The study also found that two-thirds had an issue with being bored. Researchers discovered

that if the teens were involved in sports or youth groups they were less likely to get into trouble.

Prime Minister Blair talks to students

Exercise

�

Read the article and answer the following questions.

1. Give some examples of “delinquent and uncaring” behavior.

2. Why is it important that teens are involved in some sort of activity (sports, youth club, music, etc)? How do these activities affect teens positively?

3. As a class, discuss how teens should and shouldn’t behave. What kind of behavior is conducive to home and family life? What about in school?

�

SCOOBY-DOO DESIGNERDies in L.A.

2007-01-16

Scooby-Doo creator Iwao Takamoto passed away

after suffering a massive heart attack at the age of 81.

The animator created many cartoon characters from the

Scooby-Doo bunch, including Shaggy, Daphne, Fred and Velma. He also designed an alien called the Great Gazoo for “The Flintstones” and the family dog Astro from “The Jetsons”.

Takamoto also storyboarded the 2005 Tom and Jerry animation short “The

Karateguard,” and helped design many of the characters in the current series “Krypto the Superdog.”

Takamoto was born in Los Angeles in 1925. He spent part of World War Two in an internment

camp, where he received some informal illustration training from fellow Japanese-Americans. After the war, he landed a job at Disney Studios and years later became the vice president at Warner Bros. Animation.

Scooby-Doo

Exercise

�

Read the article and complete the activities below.

1. Give a possible explanation as to why Takamoto named the cartoon dog “Scooby-Doo”.

2. Choose two of the cartoon characters below and describe them.

3. Who were Tom and Jerry? Describe their relationship.

10

GIVE A CHILD A VIDEO GAMEIt could help with a job

2007-01-18

A university professor is trying to convince U.S.

schools to incorporate video games into their curriculum.

David Williamson Shaffer, professor at the University

of Wisconsin-Madison, says that in order for kids to be competitive in the future, they need to receive a technologically savvy education from the get go. He says that by using video games in school, they will be better prepared for the workforce.

“People think that the way we teach kids in school is the natural way we should learn,” said Shaffer, author of

the book “How Computer Games Help Children Learn.”

“But young people in the United States today are being prepared for standardized jobs in a world that

will, very soon, punish those who can’t innovate. We simply can’t ‘skill and drill’ our way into innovation.”

\

A young visitor plays a video game at Paris Apple Expo

Exercise

11

Read the article and complete the following activities.

1. List some skills you have acquired from playing video games.

2. In your opinion, are there any negative aspects to playing video games? Explain.

3. What kind of job do you want to have when you are older? Explain how playing video games would help you in that profession.

�. Do you agree with Professor Shaffer that video games should be included in school curriculum? Why or why not?

12

BILINGUALISMDelays onset of dementia

2007-01-19

Bilingualism can delay dementia according

to Canadian scientists.

People that speak two languages on a daily

basis can prolong the onset of dementia by four years, compared to monolingual people.

Researchers believe that using more than one language stimulates

the blood supply to the brain which keeps nerve connections healthy. These two factors are known to ward off dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is the main cause of dementia, which slowly destroys a person�s memory.

Professor Ellen Bialystok of Toronto’s York University and her team studied 184 elderly

patients suffering from dementia. Of the group, 91 were monolingual while 93 were bilingual.

Their results showed that the onset of dementia symptoms for the monolingual group was at 71.4

years old, while the bilingual group was at 75.5.

A sign on Parliament Hill in Ottawa

Exercise

13

Read the article and answer the following questions.

1. What is Alzheimer’s disease and how does it affect the sufferer?

2. How does being bilingual help fight off dementia?

3. Apart from the health benefits, name other advantages that come from being bilingual.

1�

DINOSAURS, HUMANS COEXISTU.S. creation museum

2007-01-22

Ken Ham is developing a creation museum in

Kentucky that displays history according to the Bible.

The museum will feature a planetarium and a special-

effects theater. But the most controversial exhibits show how the earth, animals, dinosaurs and humans were created in six days as it was written in Genesis, the first book of the Bible.

Foreign media and science critics have mostly come to laugh at exhibits explaining how baby dinosaurs

fit on Noah’s Ark and Cain married his sister to people the earth. But museum spokesman Mark Looy said the coverage has only created more interest.

A 2006 Gallup Poll showed almost half of Americans believe that humans did not evolve, but were created

by God in their present form within the last 10,000 years.

Religion Museum

Exercise

1�

Read the article and answer the following questions.

1. Define the words: “Creationism” and “Darwinism”

2. What is so special about this museum? How does it differ from other natural history museums?

3. What do critics think about the new museum?

�. Would you like to visit the museum? Why or why not?

1�

2015 EDUCATION GOALWorld falling behind

2007-01-24

Over the last one hundred years, access

to education has greatly improved, but goals set for universal primary education have not been reached.

In a study conducted by the American Academy of Arts

and Sciences, results showed that 100 years ago only 40 percent of children were enrolled in primary schools, compared to 86 percent nowadays. Still, the 2015 initiative of placing all elementary school aged children in primary schools will probably not be achieved due to a lack of funding.

David Bloom, one of the authors of the study, said the goal was definitely possible as long as

governments worldwide provided more funding. Bloom added that “it’s a question of political will.”

Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and South Asia are the areas that are falling

behind in international objectives.

Children raise their hands during a lesson at

a school in Democratic Republic of Congo’

Exercise

1�

Read the article and answer each of the following statements with either True or False. Make all false statements true.

1. The goal for international education is unrealistic.

2. The success of the education objective greatly depends on governments worldwide.

3. The initiative wants to see all children aged �-1� educated in schools.

�. Mainly areas in South America are falling behind in education objectives.

�. Little progress has been made in educating children around the world.

1�

HEALTH INSURANCE

2007-01-26

President George W. Bush has created new tax break proposals

to help make basic health insurance more affordable and accessible to Americans who need it.

Health care is one of the top priorities for Americans. Private insurance

rates are escalating so quickly that workers and companies are scrambling to afford health care coverage.

Many workers have health insurance paid for by their employers. But

others who are out of work, elderly or self-employed are responsible for providing their own health care plans. Bush has proposed tax cuts for those who must purchase their own insurance. The limit for deductions would be $15,000 for families and $7,500 for individuals.

The average cost of family health coverage is $11,500

US President Bush speaks about

healthcare during visit to Minnesota

Bush unveils new plan

Exercise

1�

Read the article and answer the following questions.

1. What is your country’s health system like? Does your government provide health care for all of the country’s citizens? How is the quality of the health care?

2. What are the benefits of privatized health care? What are the disadvantages?

3. Do you think basic health care should be free for all citizens or residents? Explain why or why not.

�. Does Bush’s health plan sound acceptable? Can you suggest any other changes?

20

LONELY PLANET

2007-01-29

Lonely Plant, the popular travel guide, has come

up with a new book that encourages people to take advantage of their free time in novel ways.

The book, called “132: Seize the Days”, urges readers

to “reclaim your free time” and break free of your normal routine. Some suggestions include taking longer exotic trips, organizing weekend getaways or doing something different during lunchtime.

Exotic destinations suggested for longer vacations include a submersible dive at 90 degrees north,

volunteering at an elephant sanctuary in Africa or offroading across the outback in Australia. For holiday weekend getaways, the guide advises avoiding the tourist mobs by visiting places like Bristol or Stirling in Scotland.

At lunchtime, the guide suggests taking a class or workshop or going to a concert.

A giant galapagos tortoise moves along a roadside

as a photographer moves in close to snap a picture,

on Santa Cruz in the Galapagos Archipielago

Says seize the days

Exercise

21

Read the article and answer the following questions.

1. What does “seize the days” mean?

2. Look at the vacation destinations listed below. Which one would you choose to visit and why?

3. Recommend three activities that you could do where you live to break up your normal routine. Name two places that you would like to visit for a weekend getaway.

22

BLUEYS

2007-01-30

Beware of the seemingly harmless bluebottle jellyfish

swimming in Australia’s waters; their sting is painful.

In 2006, over 30,000 swimmers were stung by

the jellyfish, commonly known as “blueys”. A marine stinger adviser said blueys are blown by the wind onto the beach areas and a few days later they have moved on again.

These jellyfish have bright blue bodies and measure about 10-15 centimeters. Their stinging tentacles

can be up to several meters in length and quite often get wrapped around swimmers’ arms, legs and bodies. Their stings are painful and can cause welts.

If stung, medical officials advise rinsing the area thoroughly with seawater to remove any stinging

cells and applying ice to reduce pain and swelling.

A bluebottle jellyfish lies on an east coast

Australian beach after being blown ashore

Invade Aussie beaches

Exercise

23

Read or listen to the article and answer the following questions.

1. What are blueys’ real name?

2. Describe what a bluey looks like.

3. What is their sting like?

�. How can you cure a bluey sting?