A law firm in London offered a very special gift this Christmas: divorce gift vouchers.
“Christmas can be a very stressful time for families as we have always seen by the huge increase* of people seeking* advice* in January,” senior partner Vanessa Lloyd Platt said.
Who buys them? Lloyd Platt said they had been purchased* by husbands, wives, mistresses,* friends and family members.*
The vouchers cost approximately 145 euros.
Vocabulary:
divorce
increase
seek
advice
be purchased
mistress
member
Question for discussion:
Would this be a good gift?

Eldrick Tont Woods, 34, better known as Tiger, has dominated* the world of golf since he turned* professional in 1996.
Now, he is going to take some time off.
His wife, Elin, is planning to divorce him. She wants full custody* of their children and half of all his money, which would be over 200 million Euros. She has bought a new home in Sweden.
She might not have been so angry if she’d caught him with another woman - but there were more than 10 of them!
A couple were porn stars, some were waitresses, one was a London restaurant owner and another a Las Vegas business executive. They were all beautiful.
“Tiger had a pretty big appetite for women,” said Michelle Braun, a Hollywood madame. “He was rarely with just one girl. He usually wanted more.”
Woods has lost some of his
sponsors. Some of his ex-girlfriends are negotiating* with tabloids* and erotic magazines. The press won’t leave him alone, he has become the subject of jokes* on TV talk shows and he is reported to be feeling guilty* and depressed.
Tiger and Elin have two children: a girl, Sam, who is 2, and a boy, Charlie, who will be 1 in February.
Vocabulary:
dominate
turn
custody
negotiate
tabloid
joke
feel guilty
Question for discussion:
Are you a fan of Tiger Woods?

Some of Tiger's Ladies

Angel Falls, in Venezuela, is the world’s highest waterfall* at 979 meters. It was named after Jimmie Angel, an American pilot who saw it from the air in 1933.
“We should change that name, right? With all due respect to that man who came, who saw it,” Venezuelan president Chavez said during his weekly radio address.
Now, it is named Kerepakupai-Meru. That was the Indian name, and it means “Waterfall of the deepest place.”
“One could say he was the first to fly over it in a plane, but how many millons of indigenous* eyes saw it, and prayed to it?,” Chavez added.
Vocabulary:
waterfall
indigenous
Question for discussion:
Do you like the new name?

A law firm in London offered a very special gift this Christmas: divorce gift vouchers.
“Christmas can be a very stressful time for families as we have always seen by the huge increase* of people seeking* advice* in January,” senior partner Vanessa Lloyd Platt said.
Who buys them? Lloyd Platt said they had been purchased* by husbands, wives, mistresses,* friends and family members.*
The vouchers cost approximately 145 euros.
Vocabulary:
divorce
increase
seek
advice
be purchased
mistress
member
Question for discussion:
Would this be a good gift?

When someone in the Wielkopolska region of Poland called the police to report a panther prowling* in a back garden, they were probably playing a joke.*
An elite armed* unit arrived on the scene shortly. They
watched the deadly beast* for about an hour.
Finally, they
approached* and saw that it was only a stuffed toy.
“From a distance it really looked like a live animal,” police spokesman Zbigniew Paszkiewicz said.
Vocabulary:
plush
punk - play a trick on
prowl
joke
armed
beast
approach
Question for discussion:
Have you ever thought a toy was real?

Really Scary

When the East Coast of the United States was hit* with a blizzard* in mid-December, Washington D.C. computer nerd* Yousef Ali, 25, decided it would be a good time for a snowball fight. So, he used the Internet and Twitter to ask his friends to join.*
At least 200 people came to the intersection of 14th and U streets at 2 o’clock on Saturday, December 19th and began to throw snowballs at each other and, of course, anyone else in the area. Occasionally, a car would get stuck* in the snow and people would take a break and push them out. Everyone was in a good mood.*
Then detective Michael Baylor, driving a maroon Hummer, became angry when his car was hit. He stopped and got out, holding a gun. He did not say he was a police officer. He argued* with the crowd, and was hit by a snowball. Uniformed officers soon arrived, and fortunately no one was hurt.
Lacy Macauley, 31, participated in the event. “I feel that this is just an example of people asserting* their right to have fun, and the police not being O.K. with that,” she said.
Vocabulary:
threaten
snowballer
gun
be hit
blizzard
nerd
join
get stuck
mood
argue
assert
Question for discussion:
Should Baylor be fired?

All Good Fun, Until Someone Brings a Gun

Two Hungarian brothers who are so poor that they live in a cave and sell garbage they find on the street may inherit* over a billion euros each.
Zsolt and Geza Peladi were found by charity workers who help the homeless. The charity workers had been contacted by lawyers handling* the estate* of their maternal grandmother, who died recently in Germany, leaving almost 4.5 billion Euros. The two brothers, and a sister who lives in America, will each get a third.
“If this all works out it will certainly make up* for the life we have had until now - all we really had was each other - no women would look at us living in a cave,” Geza said.
Vocabulary:
caveman
inherit
handle
estate
make up
Question for discussion:
What would you do with that much money?

Zsolt and Geza Peladi

Many tabloid* newspapers suggested* that Susan Sarandon, 63, was leaving boyfriend Tim Robbins, 51, for Jonathan Bricklin, 31, who owns a ping-pong club in New York City and invented* the concept of “naked ping-pong.”
However, both Bricklin and Sarandon insist* that their relationship is strictly professional.She is an investor in his club.
Sarandon and Robbins are both Oscar winners. She got the best actress award* for her role in Dead Man Walking, which was directed* by Robbins, and Robbins has won twice: best actor in The Player and best supporting actor* in Mystic River.
They have worked together on many films, such as Bob Roberts and Cradle Will Rock, and are both active in left wing and humanitarian causes.
They met when they were working on Bull Durham, a baseball movie which was a big hit in 1988.
Although Sarandon and Robbins never married, they have two sons: Jack Henry, 20, and Guthrie Miles, 17.
Vocabulary:
break up
tabloid
suggest
invent
insist
award
be directed
supporting actor
Question for discussion:
What films have you seen them in?

In Films, They Will Always Be Together

A group of Russian senators are trying to pass a law* that would make it illegal to use bad language in public!
“Swearing should cease* to be part of our everyday life,” Mikhail Nikolayev, the deputy chairman* of Russia’s upper house of parliament said.
The law is based on one in the Russian region of Belogrod, where people can be fined* from a little more than 10 to approximately 35 euros. The highest fine is for people who swear in front of children.
The action is supported by the Kremlin, which has also criticized Russia’s high rates* of alcoholism and smoking, and excessive violence* and sexuality on Russian TV.
Vocabulary:
ban
swearing
pass a law
cease
deputy chairman
be fined
rate
violence
Question for discussion:
Is this an attack on free speech?

Prince William of England, 27, recently spent a night sleeping outdoors in London. He did it to better understand the problems facing* Britain’s homeless people.
He was accompanied* by Seyi Obakin, the director of British homeless charity Centrepoint. “He was determined,* as he has always been, to understand deeply the full range* of problems a homeless young person might face,” Obakin said.
The two slept behind a row of garbage cans, on a cold (-4°C) night.
“I cannot, after one night, even begin to imagine what it must be like to sleep rough on London’s streets night after night,” William said. “I hope that by deepening* my understanding of the issue,* I can help do my bit* to help the most vulnerable* on our streets.”
Vocabulary:
face
be accompanied
determined
range
deepening
issue
bit
vulnerable
Question for discussion:
Does this help solve the problem?

Seyi Obakin and Prince William

Russian scientists* are planning a mission to Mars, but they do not want to send a human pilot. “Given the length of the flight to Mars, and given the cosmic rays* for which we do not have adequate protection over such a long trip, discussions have focused* recently on sending an ape instead of a person,” Zurab Mikvabia, director of an institute that raises monkeys and apes for the Soviet space program, said.
Actually, it will probably be a macaque, which is a short tailed* monkey. A group of them are scheduled* to begin a test program early next year. They will have two years of tests and experiments, including simulated space flight.
A trip to Mars, and back, would take about 520 days, with about 20 days on the surface. A robot would also be on board, to help feed the “macaquenaut” and clean up after it.
Animal rights activists are furious,* because the macaque quite possibly will not survive the trip.
Vocabulary:
scientist
ray
focus
ape
short tailed
be scheduled
furious
Question for discussion:
Is this the best way to explore other planets?

Sacrificial Lamb?

When a family in a small Australian town called the emergency number to report a gas leak recently they were embarrassed* when the firemen discovered* the source* of the leak.
Two fire engines and 15 firemen responded to the night call in Axedale, Victoria. They quickly discovered the source of the gas. It was the family’s 120kg pet pig.
Fire Chief Peter Harkins said “We got to the property and we could smell a very strong odor in the vicinity.* It didn’t take us too long to work it out because we could both smell and hear her. She got very excited when we turned up* and she squealed* and farted* and squealed and farted.”
Harkins added that he felt the family had done the right thing to call emergency services to report the suspected* gas leak.
Vocabulary:
down under
leak
alert
be embarrassed
discover
source
vicinity
turn up
squeal
fart
suspected
Question for discussion:
Do pigs make good pets?

The sign over the entrance to Auschwitz concentration camp, with its famous ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ slogan, was stolen recently. There was much speculation about the motivation for the theft.* Was it taken by neo-Nazis or holocaust deniers?* Was it stolen by a collector* of historical memorabilia?*
Police found the sign days later, and arrested* 5 men. None of them have known ties to* Nazi or far right organizations, police said.
“Robbery* and material gain* are considered one of the main possible motives, but whether that was done on someone‘s order* will be determined* in the process of the investigation,*” deputy* investigator Marek Wozniczka said.
Vocabulary:
stolen
theft
denier
collector
memorabilia
arrest
tie to
robbery
gain
order
be determined
investigation
deputy
Question for discussion:
Who would want this?

More Than 1 Million Died There

When the Walking with Dinosaurs exhibit closed after its 1st day in Guadalajara, Mexico, staff* discovered* that one of their dinosaurs was missing!
“Only in Mexico! How it happened, we don’t know. We don’t even know if whoever stole it knows its value,*” said Karla Arroyo, a spokeswoman for the show.
The show has toured* worldwide* and been seen by millions of people.
Only 152 cm. high, the remote controlled* dinosaur was the shows smallest. The larger ones are up to 42 meters, and cost almost 700,000 euros.
Vocabulary:
staff
discover
value
tour
worldwide
remote controlled
thief
Question for discussion:
What can a thief* do with this?

Dinosaurs Came in Many Sizes

Would you like to travel around the world 15 times a day, looking down at it from space and floating* in zero gravity?* Someday soon, you might get the chance.
A spokesman for The Galactic Suite Space Resort said their company is on schedule* to begin accepting guests in 2012. The trip will cost 3 million euros and include an eight week training course on a tropical island, transport to and from space and a 3 night stay at the hotel.
The rockets will take off
from a launch site in the
Carribean, which hasn’t been built yet.
The company has already had more than 200 enquiries* and 43 people have already made reservations.
Hopefully, once space travel becomes common, the price will come down a little bit. “It’s very normal to think that your children, possibly within 15 years, could spend a weekend in space,” Xavier Claramunt, CEO of Galactic Suite, said.
The hotel will be large enough to accommodate* 4 guests and two astronauts. It will be 450 kilometers above the Earth.
Galactic Suite is not the only company in the space tourism business. Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is building a spaceport* in the New Mexico desert, but their focus* is on taking passengers* for a quick trip into space, long enough to experience weightlessness,* and back down again.
Vocabulary:
space
float
zero gravity
be on schedule
enquiry
accommodate
spaceport
focus
passenger
weightlessness
Question for discussion:
Would you like to travel in space?

Two crates* of McKinlay Scotch Whiskey, which were abandoned* in Antarctica 100 years ago, have been discovered.*
They belonged to explorer* Ernest Shackleford, who led* an Antarctic expedition between 2007 and 2009. He was unsuccessful in reaching the pole and then, after returning to his base camp on the coast, had to leave in a hurry before their ship became trapped* in ice.
Al Fastier of the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust said he would not drink the Scotch. “It would be terrible to sample* it and find that it was off,” he said.
However, Whyte and Mackay, the company that owns the no longer distilled McKinlay brand, would like very much to have a taste.
“We might even get enough to take a stab at* recreating* it,” the company’s master blender* Richard Paterson said.
Vocabulary:
crate
be abandoned
be discovered
explorer
led - past tense of lead
trapped
sample
take a stab at
recreate
blender
Question for discussion:
Do you think the whiskey is still good?

White tigers are extremely rare. They are not a separate species,* they are just a rarity among regular tigers, rather like left-handed people.
So, it was a great tragedy when two lions at the Liberec zoo, in the Czech Republic, killed a 17 year old female white tiger named Isabella.
The two lions, 14 year old Sultan and 11 year old Elsa, managed* unexpectedly* to enter* Isabella’s open-air area.
Ivan Langr, a spokesman for Liberec zoo, said authorities were unable to prevent* the killing.
Vocabulary:
rare
species
manage
unexpectedly
enter
prevent
Question for discussion:
Why did the lions do it?

Rare Beauty

Sammy Sosa, one of baseball’s most powerful hitters,* is going through some changes. The native of* the Dominican Republic, who retired* in 2007, is changing his skin color. Similar to Michael Jackson, the dark skinned Sosa’s skin has lightened quite noticeably* in recent months.
Sosa, who battled accusations* of steroid use during his career, says that the change is due to a skin cream he has been using.
“If he feels it is of good quality, it may be something he will be endorsing* and marketing in the United States in the near future,” said Rebecca Polihronis, a former* Chicago Cubs community relations employee.
Sosa said he is not suffering* from any skin disease* and he is not trying to look like Michael Jackson. He added “I am not a racist.”
Vocabulary:
hitter
native of
retire
noticeably
battle accusations
endorse
former
suffer
disease
Question for discussion:
What do you know about baseball?

Sammy Sosa, Before and After

Peruvian police have arrested* 4 people who were part of a gang that allegedly* killed dozens of people in order to sell their fat to cosmetics companies.
“We have people detained* who have declared and stated* how they murdered people with the aim* being to extract their fat in rudimentary* labs and sell it,” Police Commander Angel Toledo said.
Police said they were still searching for* others who may have been working with the gang or buying fat from it.
Remains* from some of the victims were found at a rural house in the Huanuco region where the group worked.
Vocabulary:
murder
fat
arrest
allegedly
detained
state
with the aim
rudimentary
search for
remains
Question for discussion:
What can fat be used for?

The economy in the United States is so bad that the St. Louis zoo cannot afford* real polar bears. Instead, they have filled* the polar bear pen* with electronic bears, which were provided* by a local holiday decoration company.
It’s not just about money. The zoo has not had good luck with polar bears in recent years. They had to put down* their last surviving polar bear, named Hope, when veterinarians discovered* she had cancer.*
2005 was a particularly tragic year. A male bear named Churchill ate a bunch of* cloth and plastic from a garbage bin and died during stomach surgery.* Five weeks later, a female named Penny died of an infection. During the autopsy, it was discovered that she had been pregnant with twins. Both fetuses* were dead.
The zoo has not commented on whether the artificial* bear display* will be permanent or not.
Vocabulary:
fraud
afford
fill
pen
be provided
put down
discover
cancer
a bunch of
surgery
fetus
artificial
display
Question for discussion:
Will people know the difference?