Soon elephants will be no more unless...

Soon elephants will be no more unless...
(Level: upper-intermediate / B2 to C1 / ***)

Photo credit: www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org

36,000 elephants are estimated to be killed every year. 
If poachers continue to kill them at that rate for their valuable tusks, there could be no more wild elephants in Africa by 2015.

The BBC went to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (*), a wildlife conservation charity and a haven for orphaned elephants and rhinos in Kenya.

(*) For more details about the organisation: click HERE (official website)!

Kenya
Map credit: commons.wikimedia.org

Before watching:


The following words could be useful:
a poacher: someone who hunts illegally       braconnier   
the tusk: the long, large tooth sticking out of the mouth of an animal (e.g. an elephant)    défense   
a snare: a trap to catch animals; a kind of loop which gets smaller when the end of it is pulled    piège / collet  
a spear: a weapon with a long shaft and a sharply pointed end    lance






While watching:


Answer the following questions:

1. What kind of elephants does Edwin from the David Sheldrick Trust take care of?
2. What happened to Aruba and Simotua?
3. What should be done, according to Edwin so as to save the elephants from extinction?

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









When you are finished, you can check your answers:

1

Des éléphanteaux orphelins, retrouvés généralement à proximité du cadavre de leur mère tuée par des braconniers en raison de l'engouement extrême pour leurs défenses... 

2

Aruba: éléphant de trois ans et demi, récupéré à l'âge de neuf mois tout près des cadavres de plusieurs éléphants exécutés par des braconniers.

Simotua: autre éléphanteau retrouvé avec une patte prise dans un collet (et une plaie terrible à la patte) et une lance qui lui a troué le front.

3

Tant que la demande en ivoire restera forte surtout dans les pays asiatiques (Chine principalement) et que les ressortissants des pays occidentaux continueront à acheter leurs produits finis en ivoire, les braconniers n'arrêteront jamais le massacre. 

Life in the Jungle in Calais (2)

Life in the Jungle in Calais (2)
(Level: intermediate to upper-intermediate / B2 / ** to ***)

A woman in the Jungle, Calais
Photo credit: www.theguardian.com

You are now going to watch a very poignant report showing mere human beings who had to flee war, violence and persecution. 

People who thought they could find a better existence away from home, a place where they believed they could have forgotten a bit about their past suffering. 

But with more and more fencing and policing around, they are now stuck in the Jungle which will probably turn out to be a permanent fixture. 

The Guardian spent three weeks in the migrants' camp and followed the precarious lives of some of them. 

This report will move you because of its human dimension.

Click HERE to watch it!

Life in the Jungle in Calais (1)

Life in the Jungle in Calais (1)
(Level: intermediate / B1 to B2 / **)

About 5,000 migrants from Syria, Eritrea, Libya, Afghanistan... are believed to live in the camps in and around Calais known as "the Jungle". 

Most of them have been trying to make their way to Britain since they arrived there and some have also died.




Before watching:


You are going to watch a report by BBC correpondent Ellie Price who visited the migrants' camp.

Migrants in their makeshift camp
Photo credit: www.bbc.com

While watching:


Answer the following question:

What is a typical day like in the Jungle? 

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










When you are finished, you can check your answers:

Suggestions de réponses:



- Les gens vivent dans des tentes ou des baraques; et ça dure depuis des mois pour certains.

- Au milieu de la matinée: les résidents du camp vont chercher de l'eau et font un brin de toilette; réveil assez tardif en raison des activités nocturnes infructueuses (tenter de franchir les barrières et clôtures multiples et de se trouver une voie d'accès vers l'Angleterre)

- Juste avant midi: faire la file pour bénéficier d'une douche!

- Dans le camp: plusieurs sections distinctes en fonction des différentes nationalités des migrants.

- On essaie de bâtir une vie sociale malgré tout: une école par exemple (surtout destinée aux hommes mais les femmes et les enfants sont sollicités aussi) pour y apprendre entre autres le français.

- Un repas leur est offert chaque jour.

- Le soir et la nuit: c'est reparti pour une nouvelle tentative d'atteindre l'Angleterre. 
(Et pour certains, par tous les moyens possibles: même en sautant d'un pont sur les trains qui franchissent l'Eurotunnel).

-...

Calais migrant crisis

Calais migrant crisis
(Level: intermediate / B1 to B2 / **)

You are going to watch a BBC report focusing on the British government's latest attempts to try and stem the flux of migrants desperate to get to the UK. 

Map credit: bbc.com

Before watching:


The following words could be useful:
to stem the tide of...: to make headway against (the tide...)    arrêter / endiguer (le flux de...) 
to step up: to increase    intensifier    
fencing: fences       barrières / clôtures  

Calais fencing
Photo credit: www.mirror.co.uk

Migrants entering the Channel Tunnel terminal
Photo credit: www.dailymail.co.uk

While watching:


Answer the following question:

What plans have the British government come forward with so as to try and prevent the migrants from accessing the Channel Tunnel terminal?

When you are finished, you can check your answers:

Suggestions de réponses

Edification de hautes clôtures avec fils barbelés tout autour du site de Eurotunnel pour empêcher les migrants de monter à bord des trains (en plus de la double clôture déjà installée le long des routes à proximité de Calais;

Mise en place d'un dispositif policier plus conséquent (avec plus de chiens pisteurs...)

...

7/7 ten years on

7/7 ten years on
(Level: upper-intermediate / B2 / ***)

The fourth bomb exploded on this double-decker bus
Photo credit: www.theguardian.com

Ten years ago, on 7th July 2005, London was viciously attacked by four suicide bombers. 52 people were killed and more than 700 others were injured.

The events are called the 7/7 London attacks: four Islamists detonated bombs hidden in backpacks in quick successive attacks aboard London Underground trains. A fourth bomb exploded later on a double-decker bus.

Here is a timeline by Sky News for you to see how that day unfolded.
You can also watch survivors telling their stories.

Click HERE





You can also watch this video by the BBC looking at how that day unfolded:

You can find the video on the BBC website by clicking HERE

Forth Bridge awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status

Forth Bridge awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status
(Level: upper-intermediate to advanced / B2 to C1 / ***)

The Forth Bridge
Photo credit: whc.unesco.org

The Forth Bridge is the UK's 29th site to have been awarded the UNESCO World Heritage Site status (*). 
It is an impressive structure that has carried passengers and freight for 125 years. 


(*) If you are interested, here is the World Heritage list (on the UNESCO website): click HERE  




Before watching:


The following words and notes could be useful:
to overcome (an obstacle): to gain control of     maîtriser ; vaincre
outstanding: extremely good      exceptionnel; marquant; excellent; incomparable 

The Tay (Rail) Bridge Disaster: The Forth Bridge was built after a first original bridge (the Tay Rail Bridge) collapsed during a violent storm in December 1879 while a train carrying over seventy passengers was crossing it. For more details: click HERE

For more details (facts, figures and photos) about the Forth Bridge: click HERE


While watching:


Watch the following report which you can also find on the BBC website (by clicking HERE) 

No questions this time, but enjoy the nice Scottish accent! 

Robots that could change our lives

Robots that could change our lives
(Level: upper-intermediate / B2 /***)

Socibot: a very sophisticated robot
Photo credit: www.bbc.co.uk

Robots are becoming more and more sophisticated in that some can now "interpret" human emotions. Because of that, they could even come to replace humans on the workplace. These machines have the potential of changing the way we live! 

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



Before watching:


The following words could be useful:
to cheer someone up: to cause (someone) to feel happier or more cheerful     remonter le moral de qn.
a forklift truck: a small industrial vehicle with  a front platform used to raise, lower or carry a load       chariot élévateur  
to get on with: to progress with ; to get ahead with     poursuivre

Pepper: another sophisticated robot but with a difference
Photo credit: www.bbc.co.uk

While watching:


Answer the following questions:

1. Explain how sophisticated robots are becoming: what can they do? 
2. How are robots like Pepper and Socibot different from each other?
3. Are they becoming a threat to humans now?  Explain!

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











When you are finished, you can check your answers:


1
Les robots sont capables d'interactions complexes avec les humains et sont en mesure d'accomplir des tâches de plus en plus élaborées...

Exemples: dans la sphère privée, interpréter les sentiments humains; engager la conversation; posséder des expressions faciales mais aussi en public (dans un magasin par exemple pour inciter le client à acheter certains produits...) et sur le lieu de travail (exemple, le chariot élévateur capable de déplacer des charges sans conducteur...).

2
Pepper n'est pas en mesure d'accomplir beaucoup de tâches mais il est doté d'un dispositif le rendant capable d'avoir une "relation" avec les humains (s'il "sent" que l'humain est triste, il va essayer de lui remonter le moral...)

Socibot, qui lui aussi est doté de caractéristiques "humaines" (expressions faciales...), pourrait très bien devenir vendeur dans un grande surface par exemple (puisqu'il sera "au courant" de nos habitudes en tant que consommateurs et finira par nous inciter à acheter tel ou tel produit...) 

3
Oui car même si certains disent que les robots sont faits pour nous faciliter la vie au quotidien, il est inéluctable qu'ils prennent les postes de certains travailleurs (le conducteur du chariot élévateur; le vendeur ou la vendeuse...). En outre, ils vont surtout faire une apparition plus conséquente dans les entreprises et pas vraiment chez les particuliers (en effet, qui pourra vraiment se permettre ce type d'acquisition?), donc...