Cats can talk

Cats can talk
(Level: intermediate to upper-intermediate / B1 to B2 / ** to ***)

According to recent research, cats can communicate with humans. They would indeed use different "methods" so that they let humans know what their specific needs are. 

You are going to watch and  listen to an interview with a vet who was invited in the BBC studio with Bruce the cat to explain more. 

Two of my own cats

Before watching

The following words could be useful:
a vet: a veterinarian             vétérinaire 
to purr: to emit a soft vibrant sound        ronronner    
to be chatty: to be inclined to chat; to be friendly and talkative        bavard; disert   
the surgery: (here) the veterinarian's office          cabinet vétérinaire   



While watching

Watch the interview and answer the following question:

How can cats communicate and what for?

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











When you are finished, you can check your answers:

Les chats utilisent des vocalises spécifiques pour communiquer avec les humains. Mieux encore: ils adaptent ces vocalises afin de nous faire réagir en fonction de leurs besoins spécifiques (nourriture; caresses...). 
Si le chat "voit" que son maître réagit positivement à la stimulation engagée avec ce dernier, il aura "compris" que c'est le langage ou le code langagier spécifique à adapter avec son maître dans un contexte bien défini pour lui  (par exemple pour assouvir un besoin bien particulier...).

Il y a aussi le ronronnement: autre outil de communication utilisé par le chat pour exprimer soit une satisfaction, soit une recherche d'apaisement (pour lui mais aussi pour son entourage) dans une situation de stress par exemple... 

New royal baby

New royal baby
(Level: intermediate / B1 / **)

The royal couple presenting their newborn daughter
Photo credit: www.cnn.com

The royal couple gave the press and the crowds of well-wishers a brief glimpse of their new daughter a few hours after the Duchess of cambridge gave birth to her.

You are going to watch a short report by the BBC. 



Before watching

The following words could be useful:
the cheers: shouts of encouragement; congratulations; shouts of enthusiasm from the crowd       acclamations   
a shawl: piece of fabric worn around the shoulders e.g. or (here) wrapped around a baby    châle    
the well-wishers:  people who show benevolence or sympathy; people who wish well to another person...; fans        admirateurs; sympathisants     

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

Baby miraculously rescued after 22 hours in rubble

Baby miraculously rescued after 22 hours in rubble
(Level: upper-intermediate / B2 / ***)

A miraculous rescue
Photo credit: www.dailyrecord.co.uk

The destruction due to the earthquake is immense and the death toll continues to climb dramatically in Nepal but some small happy endings may occasionally occur like the miracle rescue of a baby from the rubble he was trapped in for hours. 

You are going to watch a CNN report focusing on the baby's and his sister's miracle rescues from the rubble of their home. 

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

Nepal: more survivors now unlikely

Nepal: more survivors now unlikely 
(Level: intermediate to upper-intermediate / B1 to B2 / ** to ***)

Earthquake in Nepal
Photo credit: www.bbc.co.uk

It has been one week since the most devastating earthquake in decades hit Nepal; officials there say it has now become unlikely any more survivors can be found. 

You are going to watch a BBC report focusing on the situation now in Nepal one week after the earthquake hit the region.

Map credit: www.bbc.com

Before watching

The following words could be useful:
the rubble: broken pieces of stone, brick... from walls or buildings that have collapsed; the debris       décombres 
the aftershocks: smaller earthquakes occurring after a large one        répliques   
makeshift: temporary; of low quality; just there for a time because of an emergency     de fortune    
a milestone:  a significant event        étape importante; tournant décisif   
grim: depressing; gloomy        lugubre; macabre    
to rule out: to leave out ; not to consider      exclure    
unaccounted for:  missing         porté disparu   
a glimmer of hope: slight chance that anything positive might happen      une lueur d'espoir

Earthquake in Nepal
Photo credit; www.bbc.co.uk

While watching


Watch the BBC report and answer the following question:

What has the real impact / outcome of the disaster been like so far in Nepal? 

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










When you are finished, you can check your answers:

• Une bonne partie de Katmandou est méconnaissable; ce ne sont plus que des amas de ruines...
• Les gens qui ont encore une maison ont peur d'y retourner à cause des répliques;
• les autorités ont exclu à ce stade toute possibilité de retrouver encore des survivants;
• 500.000 habitations détruites; seule option pour les sinistrés: séjourner dans des camps de fortune  (+ parmi les sinistrés: frustration due au manque de nourriture et sentiment d'avoir été abandonnés par les autorités);
• selon les estimations: 6.600 morts et 14.000 blessés;
• des milliers sont encore portés disparus (+ parmi ceux-ci: un millier d'Européens partis en randonnée dans l'Himalaya)
• ...

How to make the perfect fish and chips?

How to make the perfect fish and chips?
(Level: upper-intermediate / B2 / ***)

You are going to watch part of a course given by a training coordinator from the National Federation of Fish Friers (*) to students about how to cook fish and chips. 

(*) The National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF) is an official UK organisation representing the interests of fish and chip shop operators in the UK.
For more details (official website): click HERE



Watch the BBC video and find out how the perfect fish and chips should be made. 

No questions this time!

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



In a next blog entry, you will read about the probable origins and various effects of the fish and chips.

Is fish and chips in danger?

Is fish and chips in danger? 
(Level: intermediate to upper-intermediate / B2 to C1 / ***)

Fish and chips - one of the most favourite takeaways in the UK
Photo credit: www.theguardian.com

Fish and chips remains one of the favourite dishes in the UK but with a warmer climate due to global warming, it is feared the leading components (cod or haddock) may be endangered.  

Does that mean that the Brits will have to change their fish and chips habits? 

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

A fish and chip shop
Photo credit: www.visitlondon.com

Before watching


The following words could be useful:
battered:  covered in a mixture of flour, egg and milk (or water or beer) and fried   pané / enrobé de pâte à frire  
batter: mixture of flour, egg, milk (or water or beer) used as a coating for food (such as fish) about to be fried       panure / pâte à frire  
a dash of... (salt / vinegar): a little... / a small quantity of...    une pincée de ... (sel) / un filet de ... (vinaigre)
cod:  a marine fish species      morue / cabillaud 
haddock: a fish species of the cod family     aiglefin / cabillaud  
a firm favourite: essential / unavoidable         un incontournable 
to hot up: to heat up       se réchauffer   
gurnard: marine fish species                grondin      
cuttlefish: a cephalopod mollusc similar to a squid         seiche    
meaty: having the flavour or character of meat         charnu / ferme (comme de la viande) 
to put... off:  to repel          rebuter  
chewy: tough       coriace  

A cod
Photo credit: www.theguardian.com

A gurnard
Photo credit: www.sea-ex.com

A cuttlefish
Photo credit: www.bbc.co.uk

While watching


Answer the following questions:

1. What type of experiment is being made in the report? Why?
2. What is the result of that experiment?

You can also watch the BBC report on the BBC News site by clicking HERE












When you are finished, you can check your answers:

1

Un tenancier d'un Fish and Chips tente de remplacer le poisson traditionnel (morue / cabillaud) par des espèces originaires des mers plus chaudes (comme la seiche ou le grondin) et les fait goûter à quelques-uns de ses habitués.

Pourquoi? 

Des experts ont prédit la disparition des poissons traditionnels des eaux anglaises qui entrent dans la composition d'un plat de Fish and Chips en raison du réchauffement climatique. Ces poissons ne vivent que dans des eaux plus froides. Or, la Mer du Nord se réchauffe inexorablement, quatre fois plus qu'ailleurs; ce qui provoque la migration de ces poissons toujours plus vers le nord (et leur disparition progressive) - d'où la nécessité d'envisager à terme d'opter pour des espèces de substitution!

2

Les goûteurs semblent ravis de l'expérience; ils ne seraient a priori pas déçus s'il fallait se détourner des espèces classiques.

Le cuistot privilégie le grondin et pas la seiche qu'il trouve trop coriace. 

Too much migration in the Mediterranean

Too much migration in the Mediterranean 
(Level: intermediate to upper-intermediate / B2 / ** to ***)

Crossing the Mediterranean Sea
Photo credit: www.mashable.com

More than 10,000 migrants have been rescued by the Italian authorities in the past week alone. Thousands more are ready to risk their lives to get to Europe and to flee war, misery and instability in their respective countries. 

The situation has prompted a real crisis in Italy so that the Italian Prime Minister has urged Europe to do something. 

Mediterranean migration routes
Map credit: www.bbc.com

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




While watching

Answer the following questions:

1. How different is the situation now in the Mediterranean Sea from what it was before (2014 e.g.)?
2. What is the EU's role like in the region?
3. What is the Italian PM's request?

You can also watch the video on the BBC News site: click HERE

When you are finished, you can check your answers.

1

Entre janvier et avril 2014: 17 candidats à l'exil ont péri en voulant traverser la Méditerranée / Un an plus tard et pendant la même période, ce sont au moins 950 victimes qu'il faut déjà déplorer! 

2

L'UE "se contente" de débloquer des fonds (équivalent de 90 millions de dollars US) pour protéger ses frontières et contrôler ses eaux territoriales - et non pas pour sauver la vie des réfugiés en mer. 

3
Le premier ministre italien souhaiterait que l'Europe intervienne davantage financièrement pour lutter contre la traite des êtres humains / les réseaux des passeurs. 
Et il faudrait éviter que la Méditerranée ne devienne un véritable cimetière! 

Why is the Mediterranean the most dangerous sea for migrants to cross?

Why is the Mediterranean the most dangerous sea for migrants to cross?
(Level: intermediate / B1 / **)

Watch the BBC footage and find out! 

No questions this time! 

You can also watch the footage on the BBC News site by clicking HERE

Hundreds of migrants feared drowned in the Mediterranean

Hundreds of migrants feared drowned in the Mediterranean
(Level: intermediate to upper-intermediate / B2 / ***)

Thousands of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from Libya.
Photo credit: www.qz.com

Italy has had to cope with a dramatic upsurge in migrants and refugees for the last few weeks. Indeed, the latest influx amounted to about 10,000 people who made their way from Libya across the Mediterranean. Among them were many women, children and newborns. 

You are going to watch a BBC report focusing on a new boat tragedy in which 400 migrants are feared drowned. 

Before watching

The following words could be useful:

a shipwreck: destruction of a ship at sea         naufrage    

to capsize: to overturn       chavirer   

to scale down: to reduce      réduire   

to deter... from  (doing..).:  to prevent / discourage... from...    dissuader... de...  

Map credit: www.dailymail.co.uk

While watching

Watch, listen and complete the missing information:

These are the first pictures of the  (1)...      of a desperate shipwreck.

Italy has rescued them and they have told a terrifying story: they boarded their boat in Libya and it sank out at sea.  (2) ...

In recent days Italy has rescued almost  (3) ... at sea.

This morning we watched one ship full of rescued migrants make its way to a Sicilian harbour. Slowly the migrants made their way off the boat; some needed extra help. Many have come from Eritrea, Somalia or Syria. Some of these migrants will have  (4) ... and they've made it; they've survived the world's most dangerous migrant journey. They may soon find that they've got to a continent  (5) ...

Italy continues to rescue migrants buit in November it scaled down its search and rescue efforts. It hoped that this might (6) ... 

The arrival of better spring weather has (7) ...

So far this year, a thousand migrants may (8) ... 

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

When you are finished, you can check your answers:

These are the first pictures of the (1) 145 survivors of a desperate shipwreck.

Italy has rescued them and they have told a terrifying story: they boarded their boat in Libya and it sank out at sea.  (2)  400 of their fellow passengers including teenagers and children may have drowned.

In recent days Italy has rescued almost  (3)  10,000 migrants at sea.

This morning we watched one ship full of rescued migrants make its way to a Sicilian harbour. Slowly the migrants made their way off the boat; some needed extra help. Many have come from Eritrea, Somalia or Syria. Some of these migrants will have (4) spent their life savings on this trip and they've made it; they've survived the world's most dangerous migrant journey. They may soon find that they've got to a continent  (5) which doesn't really want them.

Italy continues to rescue migrants but in November it scaled down its search and rescue efforts. It hoped that this might (6) deter migrants from making the trip.  

The arrival of better spring weather has (7) encouraged more migrants to make the trip. 

So far this year, a thousand migrants may (8) have died trying to get to Europe. 

Surviving several death camps and the gas chamber

Surviving several death camps and the gas chamber 
(Level: intermediate / B1 to B2 / **)

Mrs Turgel whose horrific experiences
during WWII should never be forgotten. 

You are going to read an article focusing on the gruesome experiences Mrs Gena Turgel went through as she was an inmate in the extermination camps of Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Bergen-Belsen. 

You can also watch the BBC report (previous blog entry) focusing on the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen camp by the British troops. Click HERE  

Before reading


The following words and notes could be useful:
to round up: to gather          ramasser / réunir

an inmate: a captive / a prisoner     un(e) détenu(e)

to starve to death: to die from lack of food       mourir de faim

unburied: not buried      non enseveli

makeshift: made with whatever was available  / temporary       de fortune

hospital wards: hospital rooms or facilities where patients receive treatment      salles d’hôpital

engagement: mutual promise to get married / period of that promise      fiançailles

stubborn: obstinate   têtu

to make up one’s mind: to make a decision (about something)     se décider

to let oneself in for…: to become involved in a (difficult or unpleasant) situation without intending to       se mettre dans… (une situation...)

a suitor:  a man trying to gain a woman's love     un prétendant / soupirant

eventually: in the end        finalement

to blossom: to develop      se développer

siblings:  brothers and sisters        frères et soeurs

cramped: uncomfortably small and restricted     exigu

squalid: dirty / deteriorated / sordid        sordide / ignoble

to haunt: continually come to the mind / obsess       hanter

the sewers: (underground) conduit for carrying sewage      les égouts

a chill: a sensation of coldness     un frisson

She was awarded…: She was given (e.g. an award...)        On lui a décerné…

The British Intelligence Corps: one of the corps of the British Army. It is responsible for gathering, analysing and disseminating military intelligence (= renseignements) and also for counter-intelligence (= contre-espionnage) and security.

The Imperial War Museum: a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire. Today the museum gives its mission as 'to enable people to have an informed understanding of modern war and its impact on individuals and society'.

MBE = Member of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions. 

In decreasing order of seniority, these are:

- Knight Grand Cross (GBE) or Dame Grand Cross (GBE)

- Knight Commander (KBE) or Dame Commander (DBE)

- Commander (CBE)

- Officer (OBE)

- Member (MBE)

Only the highest two ranks admit an individual into knighthood or damehood automatically, an honour allowing the recipient to use the title "Sir" (male) or "Dame" (female) before his or her first name (though men can be knighted separately from the Orders of Chivalry).

Holocaust Memorial Day (or the International Holocaust Remembrance Day) occurs on 27 January and is the first universal commemoration in memory of the victims of The Holocaust. It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/7 on 1 November 2005. 

On 24 January 2005, during a special session, the United Nations General Assembly had previously marked the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps and the end of the Holocaust which resulted in the annihilation of 6 million European Jews and millions of others by the Nazi German regime.

January 27 is the date in 1945 when the largest Nazi death camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau (Poland) was liberated by the Soviet troops. Since 2001, 27 January has been Holocaust Memorial Day in the UK.

Click HERE to find the article (*)

(*) "Amazing escape from Auschwitz gas chamber" in Daily Mail, 25 January 2005. 





While reading


Answer the following questions:

1. Gena escaped death several times: explain!
2. What happened to her siblings?
3. She found love in the camps: explain! 

When you are finished, you can check your answers:

 

1. Gena escaped death several times: explain!

Durant l’hiver 1944, elle a survécu miraculeusement à la chambre à gaz à Auschwitz : au lieu du gaz mortel, c’est de l’eau qui a jailli… Elle a survécu aux exécutions des Juifs dans le ghetto où elle s’est retrouvée avec sa famille dès 1941. Elle a survécu à une marche de la mort (du ghetto vers Auschwitz) qui a duré trois semaines par des températures glaciales (- 20 degrés). Elle a survécu dans deux autres camps (Buchenwald et Bergen-Belsen)

2. What happened to her siblings?

Son frère aîné: exécuté après avoir tenté de fuir le ghetto par les égouts Une autre frère : abattu dans le ghetto Sa sœur de 17 ans : assassinée après que les nazis l’aient surprise à ramener de la nourriture dans le ghetto Une autre sœur qu’elle a été forcée d’abandonner  lors d’un de ses transferts vers un autre camp…

3. She found love in the camps: explain!

Norman Turgel faisait partie des services de renseignements britanniques, l’un des premiers contingents à libérer le camp de Bergen-Belsen où Gena était internée… Et il était tombé amoureux d’elle dès qu’il l’eût aperçue. Six mois plus tard, ils étaient mariés…