Lola's Blog

This post is about food and recipes. How much do you know about British food? Do you prefer sweet or savoury? Look at the food displayed in this photo. What can you buy in this shop? © Lola la Torre  Now look at this photo. What kind of drinks can you order? © Lola la Torre Look at the menu below: © Lola la Torre a) Have you ever tried any of these dishes? b) Can you identify the main courses and the desserts? Brushing up your food vocabulary Do you need to brush up your food vocabulary? How about going to a supermarket and doing some online shopping? It's the best way to learn about food items and produce. You are going to visit Tesco , a big supermarket chain in the UK. Click here to browse what they have available in terms of fruti and vegetables, meat and poultry, fish and seafood, dairy products. Fancy a croissant? Well, visit the bakery and make a list of items for your shopping trolley. Perhaps you need some olive oil or ketchu...

Super Typhoon Paka. Public domain This post is about natural disasters. You will learn about earthquakes, floods, typhoons, cyclones, tsunamis and more. Do you remember the last time an earthquake hit the news on TV? How much do you know about floods, or tsunamis? Visit this BBC page and make a list of 9 natural disasters.     Earthquakes Aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. Public domain What are earthquakes? Click here to find out more. How much do you know about the earthquake in Nepal ? What is the death toll so far? Follow this BBC link. Tsunamis  Image by Gerald Simmons. CC BY NC SA   Read the introduction about tsunamis and try to explain what they are. Video 1 Vocabulary Check the meaning of the following words: cliff ,   sea bed ,   fault .   Watch this video and make notes on the surprising facts scientists have discovered about the 2004 tsunami. Video 2 What makes the...

Image by BruceBlaus. CC-BY Is it possible to have a three-person baby? In which country is this possible? Well, we are not talking about science-fiction but about breakthrough in medicine. And yes, it is possible to create babies from the DNA of two women and one man. The question is, why? If you don't know the answer, keep reading. This post is about mitochondrial disease and how scientists from the University of Newcastle have developed a technique to treat this devastating disease. What is mitochondrial disease? Click here to find out. You can learn more about a pioneering technique developed at the University of Newcastle. More recently, MPs have voted in parliament in favour of creating babies free from this disease. Listening Listen to Public Health Minister, Jane Ellison, and Sharon Bernardi, who lost seven babies to this genetic disease. However, this has generated a debate. Some critics say that this procedure raises ethical and safety issues. What...

Photo by Foreign and Commonwealth Office. CC-BY How much do you know about Angelina Jolie? Has she ever had any surgery done? What kind? Why? Have you read her two articles published in the New York Times ? You may want to read first her article titled "My medical choice" to learn why she underwent preventive surgery. Most recently, she wrote in The New York Times newspaper an article titled "Diary of a Surgery" . How do you think people reacted to this article? Well, some people wrote to the Editor of The New York Times to express their opinion. You can read some letters here . Now it's your turn You can choose one of the topics we have discussed in class, for example, cosmetic surgery, preventive surgery or you can choose a topic you are interested in. Follow the instructions in your handout about how to write a letter to the editor. Write about 230 words.

Marilyn Monroe. Public domain Do you think that beautiful people are happier and more successful than less beautiful people? What do you know about Marilyn Monroe? Was she beautiful and successful ? Was she happy? This post is about plastic surgery, their benefits and risks. You are going to revise parts of the body, and the structure have/get something done to talk about plastic surgery procedures. Vocabulary Click here to revise vocabulary about the body . Click here to revise vocabulary about the face . Reading Read "Plastic surgery booming in the UK" and answer the following questions: What are the top ten surgical procedures in the UK? What is the most popular procedure among women? and among men? What does the article say about faulty breast implants?  Watch this video Watch Dr  Rajiv Grover talk about the rise of cosmetic surgery in the UK? He mentions a tried and tested procedure? What is it? What is the percentage of people rejected for ...