A very special home

A very special home
(Level: Intermediate / B1 / **)

A British man, Richard Sowa, living in Cancun, Mexico is showing his rather exceptional home.

A very nice home!
Photo credit: worldtop.co  

But what is so special about it? 
You are going to watch a BBC report to find out.

Map credit: www.worldatlas.com

Cancun
Photo credit: www.mexique-fr.com

Before watching:


The following words could be useful:
trash: garbage / waste     déchets
a pole: a long piece of (generally) wood or metal    piquet / pieu / perche




While watching:


Answer the following question:

What is special about Richard's home?

You can also watch the video on the BBC website by clicking HERE










When you are finished, you can check your answers:

Ce Britannique s'est construit une île artificielle posée sur des bouteilles en plastique tassées dans des sacs. Il continue à les enfouir (sous son île) grâce à un pieu qu'il a spécialement conçu à cet effet. 
Selon ses termes, il a créé un paradis en utilisant les déchets qu'il a trouvés en ce bas monde! 
De plus, tout chez lui fonctionne à l'énergie solaire (frigo...)
... 

A homeless woman dies in a shop doorway

A homeless woman dies in a shop doorway
(Level: Intermediate / B1 / **)

You are going to watch a BBC report focusing on a tragedy that almost unfolded in Belfast in the midst of widespread indifference.

Belfast
Photo credit: news.bbc.co.uk

Map credit: www.worldatlas.com

Before watching:


The following words could be useful:

the hustle and bustle: a state of great activity      tumulte / agitation (urbaine)  
to be oblivious to: lacking conscious awareness / unaware      inconscient / ignorant / insensible
to unfold: to take place       se dérouler   
wrapped around:  covered (with)          enroulé dans  
a bid:  an attempt         une tentative  
to tackle:  to deal with  (a problem...)        s'attaquer à... 




While watching:


Answer the following question:

What happened exactly? 

You can also watch the report on the BBC website by clicking HERE










When you are finished, you can check your answers:


Une femme, SDF, apparemment d'une trentaine d'années, est morte quasi dans l'indifférence générale, alors qu'elle était étendue à l'entrée d'un magasin dans le centre de Belfast. 
Elle est la 5e SDF à décéder cette année dans les rues de Belfast.

Fears for homeless people sleeping in bins

Fears for homeless people sleeping in bins
(Level: Intermediate to upper-intermediate / B2 to C1 / ** to ***)

The number of people sleeping rough in recycling bins is on the increase in the UK.

And there are fears because a dozen of them have been found dead in the last few years after being crushed in refuse lorries. 

A homeless person in a recycling bin
Photo credit: BBC

A refuse lorry about to tip the bin's contents into its compactor
Photo credit: BBC 

You are going to watch a BBC report focusing on this issue.


Before watching:


The following words could be useful:
to sleep rough: to be homeless, without a shelter       dormir à la dure/ dans la rue
a rough sleeper: a homeless person        SDF / sans-abri
a refuse lorry: a garbage truck / a lorry used to collect and dispose of rubbish    camion à ordures
the footage:  a recorded video      séquence vidéo  
a foot = 30.48 cm
to compact the waste: to crush the rubbish      compacter les déchets   
a waste management company:  a company responsible for the collection, the disposal and the processing of waste products            entreprise de gestion des déchets 

Biffa: a waste management and recycling business in the UK founded over 100 years ago and named after its founder, Richard Biffa. 




While watching:


Answer the following questions:

1. Why would homeless people decide to sleep in recycling bins?
2. What measures are now being taken in order to prevent them from getting into them?

You can also watch the video on the BBC site by clicking HERE   

When you are finished, you can check your answers:

1. 

Parce qu'ils ne trouvent pas de place dans les centres d'hébergement pour SDF / et au lieu de dormir dans la rue ou dans les parcs, ils préfèrent un endroit confiné (au sec et au chaud), loin du regard des autres et à l'abri de tout risque de se faire agresser et violenter.

2.

La pose de cadenas pour empêcher les SDF de soulever le couvercle du container et de s'y installer  (+ Inciter tous les supermarchés, entreprises à poser un cadenas - dans le cas contraire, risque d'amendes ou de poursuites judiciaires).

 

A very grateful penguin

A very grateful penguin
(Level: Intermediate / B1 / **)

A Magellanic penguin
Photo credit: www.britannica.com

A Magellanic penguin from Patagonia keeps coming back to an island off Rio de Janeiro. But why?

You are going to watch a BBC report about an unlikely friendship between the animal called Dindim and a human, Joao. 

Map credit: fawkes-news.bogspot.be

If you want more details about Magellanic penguins, you can check the arkive.org site by clicking HERE 




Before watching:


The following words could be useful:

a bricklayer:  a person trained or skilled in building with bricks     maçon  
the breeding season:  the mating season  / the period during which animals mate   période d'accouplement / de reproduction
a qualm:  feeling of doubt or uneasiness       scrupule / réticence / hésitation




While watching:


Answer the following question:

Why does Dindim keep coming back to see Joao?

You can also watch the video on the BBC site by clicking HERE 








When you are finished, you can check your answers:

Why does Dindim keep coming back to see Joao?

Par amitié et gratitude à l'égard de celui qui l'a sauvé d'une mort certaine en 2011 alors qu'il gisait sur la plage, recouvert de pétrole.

Selon un expert: le manchot considère le vieil homme comme faisant partie de sa famille.

Selon un autre expert: ses visites dans l'île correspondent à la période d'accouplement. 
Il ne reviendrait donc pas seulement pour profiter des poissons ou de la douche de Joao.