DAY 26 Scientists unlock secrets to seahorses For the first time, scientists have unlocked the secrets to one of the world's most recognizable and unique, but least understood fish the seahorse. Researchers have worked out the genetic code of the Southeast Asian tiger tail seahorse. They now have the genetic map of all of its DNA. This means scientists can find out a lot more about this sea creature than before. They can now start to figure out why seahorses are so different to other fish. Unlike other fish, seahorses have no teeth. Another difference is the male brooding of their young - male seahorses carry babies and give birth to them instead of females. In addition, seahorses do not swim horizontally like other fish; they swim vertically (up and down). 'seahorse' can also be written as two separate words (sea horse), or hyphenated with a dash between the two words (sea-horse). WORD CHECK UP 1. Unusual 2. Resemble 3. Sequence TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F). The seahorse is a fish. Scientists unlocked the code to the lion tail seahorse. Male seahorses give birth to baby seahorses. Seahorses do not swim horizontally. Scientists from Germany s University of Konstanz and others from China and Singapore helped to sequence the genome of the tiger tail seahorse. A genome is a map of all the genes and genetic information in a cell or organism. Seahorses started to change from other fish about 100 million years ago. They began to take on their unusual shape, which resembles a horse. There is a total of 54 species of seahorse. Its scientific name is Hippocampus. The word 'Hippocampus' comes from the Ancient Greek word hippos meaning 'horse' and kampos meaning 'sea monster'. The word Scientists from three countries unlocked the seahorse's genome. Seahorses started to get their shape a million years ago. There are over 154 different types of seahorse. The word seahorse comes from Latin.
DAY 27 He's got a taste for exotic pets!!! Hughes I'm always a bit apprehensive about visiting Peter. Jeanie Why's that? He's such a nice chap. Hughes He is, but he's got a taste for exotic pets. Jeanie I didn't know that, such as? Hughes Well, last week when I was there he had a baby iguana running around the place. Jeanie A lizard! Ugh, that would give me the creeps. Hughes It's not my idea of a pet. But that's not the only thing he's got. He's had a three-foot python for quite a while now as well. Jeanie He ought to get a job in a zoo. Explanation : If you have a taste for something, you have a linking or preference for it. Example : That gave me a taste for reading. KEY WORDS AND PHRASE 1. Apprehensive 2. Nice chap 3. Give me the creep. Pattern Practice 1. She s got a taste for tall man. 2. He s got a taste for shoes 3. Danny has a taste for Mediterranean cuisine 4. George seems to have a taste for old shoes.
DAY 28 Syrian refugee top student in Australia school A Syrian refugee who could hardly speak a word of English two years ago has just passed his high school exams in Australia with flying colours. Saad Al-Kaab, 19, has just graduated with the top marks at one of Australia's biggest high schools. His outstanding overall grades put him in the top 4 per cent of all graduates in Melbourne. Saad fled the civil war in Syria to start a new life in Australia. He said: "Coming to a place where you don't know how to speak, where you don't understand people - it was really hard because it just felt unreal." He added: "It really makes me sad to think that I have friends in my school back in Syria who were as good as me, but who didn't have the opportunity that I've had." Saad said that he tried to learn English from his cousins for his first two months in Australia. Then he started to watch a popular political programme on television. It is a live broadcast of Australia's politicians questioning their prime minister about the issues of the day. He explained how the show helped his English. He said: "They use the best, persuasive language in parliament. They speak slowly and you can find the words." He said it was very different to Syrian politicians and parliament, where "all they do is clap". Saad is very appreciative of his new beginning. He said: "I just want to say thank you so much to Australia for giving me the opportunity. It's revived me and given me a new life." WORD CHECK UP 1. Outstanding 2. Persuasive 3. Applaud TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F). The Syrian refugee wasn't very good at English two years ago. The boy (Saad) attended Australia's biggest high school. Saad was in the top 4% of students in the whole of Australia. Saad is sad when he thinks about his friends in Syria. Saad learnt English from watching a politics programme on TV. Saad said the politicians spoke quickly and that helped him learn. Saad said politicians in Syria clap a lot in the Syrian parliament. Saad thanked Syria for giving him a new life.
DAY 29 They get out of condition!!! Jack You're out exercising your dog I see. Eric Yes, dogs have to be exercised daily, otherwise they get out of condition. Jack What's his name? Eric Rover. Jack That's a good name for a dog. Why is he woofing and wagging his tail? Eric Can't you see? He wants one of us to throw that stick as far as we can for him to fetch. Jack I can't disappoint him. Come on boys, ( throw stick ) go fetch! Explanation : If someone is out of condition, they are unhealthy and unfit, because they have stopped exercising regularly. Example : He was too out of condition to clamber over the top. KEY WORDS AND PHRASE 1. Woofing 2. Wagging 3. I can t disappoint him Pattern Practice 1. That fighter seem to be out of condition. 2. Exercise daily so you will not get out of condition. 3. Jerry needs to practice daily so he will not get out of condition. 4. My car is out of condition, I need to bring it to the shop today.
DAY 29 Venezuela seizes 4 million toys for its children The government of Venezuela has seized nearly 4 million children's toys from a toy distributor. It will give the toys to children for free or at discounted prices in time for Christmas. The government says the distributor was unfairly charging high prices for the toys, which meant only the richest people could buy them. Venezuela has one of the highest rates of inflation in the world. This is the rate at which prices go up. The IMF says the rate could be as much as 2,000 per cent in 2017. Many Venezuelans can't afford to buy non-essential items like toys. Even a jar of Nutella can cost half the monthly minimum salary. In the past few months, Venezuela has also ordered price cuts on clothes. In total, the government seized 3,821,926 toys from two warehouses. It tweeted: "Our children are sacred. We will not let anyone rob them at Christmas. Boys and girls of this country will have a happy Christmas." The government said the toy distributor was keeping the toys out of the shops to reduce their supply and so increase prices. The government also accused the company of buying them with dollars it got at very low rates several years ago and now wanted to sell the toys at much higher prices. The toy distributor has said it has done nothing wrong and was not trying to sell the toys at high prices to make huge profits. It said many of the toys were out of fashion. WORD CHECK UP 1. Outstanding 2. Persuasive 3. Applaud TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F). Venezuela will give 4 million toys to children for free. The government said toys were priced too high. Venezuela has the highest rate of inflation in the world. Venezuela also reduced the price of clothes recently. The government took toys from a dozen warehouses. The government said the company bought toys using Euro. The toy company said it hadn't done anything wrong. The toy company said many of the toys were no longer in fashion.