Cancer is just not due to bad luck

Cancer is not just due to 'bad luck'
(Level: Intermediate  / B1 to B2 / ** to ***)

We can reduce the chance of getting cancer but how much can we really do to avoid the disease mainly if it is due to 'bad luck'? 

You are going to watch a BBC programme focusing on the issue.

Kidney cancer cells
Photo credit: dailymail.co.uk

Before watching:

The following words could be useful:
to cut back on: to reduce
striking: noticeable /impressive            étonnant / frappant / notable   
a claim: statement of something as a fact / an assertion         affirmation    
random:with no specific pattern or purpose        aléatoire   
a lump: an irregularly shaped mass          grosseur / masse  


While watching:


Answer the following questions:
1. What does some recent American research claim?

2. How could you avoid having some types of cancer?

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








When you are finished, you can check your answers.

1
La majorité des cancers (70 à 90%) est liée aux modes de vie des gens (tabagisme / alcool / bronzage...) et aux facteurs environnementaux extérieurs (pollution...) tandis que 10 à 30% sont dus à la 'malchance' (mutations cellulaires aléatoires).

2
-Changer ses mauvaises habitudes (arrêter de boire, fumer... )
-Changer d'environnement...
-Réagir de suite dès qu'on voit apparaître des grosseurs suspectes...  

Another school shooting in the USA (2)

Another school shooting in the USA (2)
(Level: intermediate / B1 to B2 / **)

Umpqua Community College
Photo credit: www.irishtimes.com

A gunman killed nine people on 1st October 2015 at Umpqua Community College in Oregon. 
But what is known about the killer?

You are now going to watch a BBC report.

Roseburg, Oregon
Map credit: www.epodunk.com

Before watching:

The following words could be useful:

grief: deep sadness caused by someone's death     douleur / chagrin / affliction  
to find... tough: to find... very difficult (to deal with...)       trouver... trop dur  
a shootout: a fight involving firearms until someone gets killed     fusillade / échange de coups de feu  
bereaved: sad because a family member has died      endeuillé / éploré
stunned: shocked / particularly amazed        stupéfait / abasourdi  
to bear the scars of...: to live with emotional damage caused by past events that cannot be forgotten    connaître les affres de ...  / porter les stigmates de ...  
weary with sorrow: extremely sad         se fondre en larmes  



While watching:

Answer the following question:

What do we know about the shooter?

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









When you are finished, you can check your answers:

- Homme de 26 ans d'origine anglaise
- Nom: Chris Harper Mercer
- Il semble qu'il soutenait l'IRA.
- Abattu par la police dans la fusillade.
- Il vivait chez sa mère à proximité de l'école.
- Il aurait demandé aux gens de se lever s'ils étaient chrétiens pour leur dire qu'ils allaient rejoindre Dieu et ensuite il a tiré...
- ...

Another school shooting in the USA (1)

Another school shooting in the USA (1)
Level: intermediate / B1 / ** 

Photo credit: www.mirror.co.uk

A mass shooting took place on 1st October 2015 at Umpqua Community College (*)  in Roseburg in Oregon killing 9 people and injuring at least 7 more. 

(*) A Community College in the USA is a post-secondary school (junior school or technical college) which provides academic, vocational and professional education.

Roseburg, Oregon
Map credit: epodunk.com

You are going to watch a BBC report focusing on that latest tragedy.


Before watching:


The following notes could be useful:

Since Newtown: the reporter refers to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that took place on 14th December 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot his mother first at their Newtown home before killing 20 children and 6 schoolteachers at the school. He then committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. 




While watching:


Answer the following question:

• What do the following figures refer to?  

       294 / 21 / 55  / 1 / 4

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










When you are finished, you can check your answers:

294: le nombre de tueries de masse jusqu'à présent (rien que pour cette année) aux Etats-Unis.
21: le nombre de tueries perpétrées dans des écoles et universités aux Etats-Unis depuis les événements de Newtown (décembre 2012)
55: le nombre de tueries dans les écoles américaines entre 1991 et 2013.
1: un cas de tuerie (dans une école) au Royaume-Uni.

Airshow crash

Airshow crash
(Level: intermediate to upper-intermediate / B1 to B2 / ** to ***)

Photo credit: www.express.co.uk

Before watching:


A jet crashed onto a road during an airshow in Shoreham-by-Sea in Sussex, England. 

Map credit: eng.wikipedia.org

You are going to watch a BBC report focusing on that event.

The following words could be useful:
a display:an event at which something is shown to impress or entertain people    spectacle / manifestation 

A Harrier
Photo credit: en.wikipedia.org

the casualties: people hurt or killed (during an accident...)        victimes   
the coroner: the person whose job is to find out the cause of death when people die  in ways that are violent or sudden       médecin légiste   
the aftermath: consequence / result       conséquences / suites    
to be set alight: to be set on fire     être incendié     
to be in one's early stage(s): to have only recently started       être au stade initial / être au début 

Photo credit: www.dailymail.co.uk

While watching:


Answer the following question:

What do you know about...
- the event as such? (What happened?)
- the consequences (of what happened)?

You can also watch the report on the BBC website: click HERE







When you are finished, you can check your answers:


- Un avion s'est écrasé sur une route très fréquentée lors d'un meeting aérien dans le Sussex. 


- 7 personnes (au moins) sont mortes / le pilote est dans un état critique  

(+ annulation du meeting / dégâts importants / route fermée plusieurs jours pour les devoirs de l'enquête..) 

The tenses: a review

The tenses: a review


Click on this image:

All the tenses have already been covered in this blog but they are now being reviewed again. 

If you need a recap of all the tenses: click HERE 

You can also watch this video lesson (All English Tenses) by Anglo-Link for a good review of all the tenses: click HERE 

For more details about the following tenses, click on them!  

The Simple Present

The Present Continuous

The Simple Past   + strong verbs / + pronunciation of final -ed

The Simple Past versus the Present Perfect

The Present Perfect Simple versus the Present Perfect Continuous

Something about the future tenses?  

Watch THIS

Something about the Simple Past versus the Past Continuous?

Watch THIS

France train shooting

France train shooting
(Level: intermediate to upper-intermediate / B1 to B2 / ** to ***)

Photo credit: www.lemonde.fr

A real tragedy could have occurred on a train if a heavily armed man hadn't been overpowered by passengers.

You are now going to watch a BBC report focusing on the event.



Before watching:

The following words could be useful:
to be overwhelmed: to be overpowered / defeated     être maîtrisé / mis hors d'état de nuire 
a guardsman: a US soldier in the National Guard      soldat de la Garde Nationale 
to avert: to prevent ... (from happening)     empêcher ... de...  
bold: not afraid (of danger) /not showing fear       intrépide / téméraire 
intelligence: secret information (about an enemy)        renseignements  


While watching:


Answer the following question:

What do we know about the suspect? 

You can also watch the report on the BBC website: click HERE






When you are finished, you can check your answers:

• ressortissant marocain de 26 ans;
• lourdement armé dans le Thalys Amsterdam-Paris et mis hors d'état de nuire par des passagers (dont trois Américains);
• a blessé grièvement un des passagers qui voulait le désarmer et un autre plus légèrement;
• est connu des autorités espagnoles qui ont transmis des informations sensibles aux Français;
• ...

Ill boy gets a very special birthday

Ill boy gets a very special birthday
(Level: intermediate to upper-intermediate /B1 to B2 / ** to ***)

You are going to watch a report focusing on a six-year-old boy from Wirral who has distrophy, a muscle-wasting disease. 
His mum wanted him to have a very special birthday. But it turned out to be more special than she'd expected! 

Wirral, UK
Map credit: en.wikipedia.org

Before watching:

The following words could be useful:
muscle wasting: distrophy        affaiblissement musculaire / perte musculaire
a treat: +/- a present      cadeau / plaisir 





While watching:

Answer the following questions:

1. What was special about the boy's birthday? What did his mum do for that?
2. Why did she want his birthday (like all his birthdays) to be special?

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

When you are finished, you can check your answers:

Suggestions de réponses


1
Il a reçu 20.000 cartes d'anniversaire envoyées du monde entier (et un généreux donateur anonyme lui a même offert un voyage à Disneyland).

Au départ, sa mère avait juste lancé un appel sur les réseaux sociaux afin de récolter quelques cartes pour les coller sur le mur de sa chambre! 

2
Elle veut que chacun de ses anniversaires soit un événement spécial parce qu'elle ne sait pas combien il pourra encore célébrer en raison de sa maladie qui va finir par l'emporter (car pas de traitement; pas de guérison possible)

US Army Rangers: first female trainees to graduate

US Army Rangers: first female trainees to graduate
(Level: intermediate to upper-intermediate / B1 to B2 / ** to ***)

Photo credit: news.yahoo.com

Two American women graduated for the first time as US Army Rangers from the Ranger school (*) after they passed the incredibly exhausting tests of physical endurance. 

(*) normally to be incorporated into the 75th Ranger Regiment: click HERE for more details! 

You are now going to watch a BBC report.




Before watching:


The following words could be useful:
gruelling: terribly tiring / exhausting              épuisant
deprived of: lacking            privé de   






While watching:


Answer the following questions:
1. What did the courses and tests at the Ranger school consist of?
2. Why can't the two women be incorporated in the elite Ranger Regiment?

You can also watch the report on the BBC website: click HERE









When you are finished, you can check your answers!

1. 
Formation militaire la plus éprouvante de l'armée américaine: exercices d'endurance; entraînements jusqu'à 20 heures par jour dans les bois, en montagne, dans les marécages - pratiquement sans nourriture, ni sommeil. 
(40% des candidats abandonnent ou échouent).


2.
Malgré leur succès, elles ne peuvent intégrer ce corps d'armée parce que les femmes n'y sont pas encore admises. 
La situation devrait, toutefois, changer prochainement.

Former RAF veteran's challenge

Former RAF veteran's challenge
(Level: intermediate / B1 to B2 /**)

Photo credit: www.bbc.com

Before watching:

You are going to watch a BBC report focusing on John Weston's exceptional feat of which the purpose was to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society after his wife's death. 

The following words could be useful:
to be strapped: bound or tied (with a strap i.e. a strip of flexible material used to fasten)  être attaché (à l'aide d'une sangle)   
a foot = 30.48 centimetres 
a stone = 6.35029318 kilograms 

A  R.A.F. (Royal Air Force) flying hemet or war helmet
Photo credit: flickr.com

While watching:


Answer the following question:

What did John's feat consist of?

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









When you are finished, you can check your answers:

A l'occasion de son 90e anniversaire, John a volé à une altitude de 150 mètres, accroché sur les ailes d'un biplan. (Pour ce faire, il lui a fallu perdre quelques kilos aussi).

How and why a mosquito bites you

How and why a mosquito bites you
(Level: upper-intermediate / B2 to C1 / ***)

Photo credit: www.bbc.com

Before watching:

You are going to watch a BBC interview with malaria researcher Professor Gibson from the University of Greenwich (*) telling how and why mosquitoes bite us. 

(*) For more details about the University of Greenwich (official website): click HERE


The following words could be useful:
a pinprick: a slight puncture made as if by a pin or needle      piqûre    
harmless: not harmful / not causing harm     inoffensif  
the proboscis: the tubular organ in the head region of an insect used for sucking or piercing        la trompe
to probe around:  to examine... around        sonder tout autour
a capillary: blood vessel        capillaire / vaisseau sanguin 





While watching:


Answer the following questions:

1. Which mosquitoes cause harm to humans or animals?
2. Why and how do they bite?

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






When you are finished, you can check your answers. 

1.
Ce sont les femelles qui sont nuisibles...

2.
Pourquoi?
Les femelles ont besoin du sang qu'elles prélèvent sur leur hôte non pas pour se nourrir, mais pour en récolter les protéines et autres composants bien nécessaires pour la ponte des oeufs...

Comment?
Elles insèrent la trompe qui va détecter un vaisseau sanguin et injecter une sorte de salive anticoagulante. C'est lors de cette étape que l'hôte risque d'être infecté par certaines espèces (malaria...). Ensuite, le sang est aspiré et stocké dans l'abdomen qui se gonfle progressivement.