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Информационный Канал Subscribe.Ru
Weekly news from UK

I am so sorry I did not write to you last Friday as I promised. It has been a horrible week here as we have been without an internet connection! The wonderful British Telecom decided to disconnect our service. They said we asked to be disconnected (of course we did not) but it has taken them 7 days to re-connect us. British Telecom will not be on my Xmas card list this year!

So, my apologies and I hope such problems will not happen again.

Now, the news …….

BAD WEEK FOR:

  • Simon Valler, 22, from Wales who has been sent to prison for 2 years for creating email computer viruses which infected hundreds of thousands of computers in 46 countries.
  • Barbara Byrne, 60, of Surrey, England, who has been banned from driving after being caught with 27 dogs in her car. Police found the car veering across lanes with Ms Byrne having a cigarette in one hand, a can of Coke between her knees, a dog on her lap, 4 on the passenger seat and 22 others in the back of the car.
  • A Russian man, who was sent to prison for 12 years. The man murdered his friend in a drunken argument and then minced and flavoured his body for a meal. "These culinary preparations were done with only one aim -- to eat the victim," prosecutor Natalya Rubanova told the court.
  • A spectator, who urinated on a linesman at a Rugby tournament in Kent, England. The man has been banned from any rugby activity for five years by the Rugby Football Union.
  • A 15-year-old Australian boy, who was arrested by Police at London's Heathrow airport after he tried to board a flight with firecrackers hidden in his shoes. The Police finally released the boy after deciding that he was simply trying to hide the fireworks from his mother who was travelling with him.
  • Ten hippopotamuses, which are still roaming wild among the ruins of Pablo Escobar's abandoned home in Colombia. The hippos are all that remain of the cocaine lord's private zoo. In his heyday in the 1980s, Escobar imported elephants, rhinoceroses, lions, giraffes and other exotic beasts to his lavish home in central Colombia. Escobar was gunned down by police in 1993.
  • Coca Cola, after a French entrepreneur announced that he is launching a Muslim-friendly rival to the soft drink to capitalise on a wave of anti-US feeling. Mecca-Cola, which has sold well in France, carries the slogan 'Don't drink stupid, drink committed'.
  • The North Star, a 16th century pub in Oxfordshire, which was partially destroyed by its own landlord. Robert Tyrell got in such a rage when staff refused to serve him on New Year's Eve because he was drunk that he rammed the listed building with a digger.

GOOD WEEK FOR:

  • A Romanian football club, which is planning to control rowdy fans by installing a crocodile- filled moat around the pitch. Fourth division Steaua Nicolae Balcescu has been threatened with expulsion from the league after repeated pitch invasions. 'This is not a joke,' club chairman Alexandru Cringus warned fans. 'We can get crocodiles easily enough and feed them on meat from the local abattoir.'
  • An armed robber, who raided an Argentinian petrol station more than 100 times and has now been hired as its head of security. 'After having robbed us so many times, he knows everything about the gas station,' explained owner Andres Pietro. 'Besides, if I have to give him money every month under a gun menace, I prefer to have him working for me.'
  • Iranian women, who for the first time have been allowed to attend a football stadium. Tehran's Peykan club let women journalists and female relatives of players attend a first-division league match on Thursday, in the latest relaxation of the men-only rule. Women have been generally barred from soccer matches since the 1979 Islamic revolution, officially to protect them from the obscene language and rude gestures aimed by male fans at players from opposing teams.
  • Brazilian women, who are looking forward to a fairer deal in a new civil code. The code has formally ended many of the most sexist laws that allowed men to dominate in government, business and at home. The code states that a bridegroom can no longer throw out his bride if he discovers that she is not a virgin. The father is no longer considered to be head of the family and the mother now has an equal say in the upbringing of children.
  • The Mini Cooper, which has been named the North American Car of the Year at the International Motor Show in Detroit, and world-wide sales are 20% higher than predicted.

QUOTATIONS OF THE WEEK:

  • 'Airplanes are interesting toys, but of no military value' - Marshal Foch, 1911
  • 'I think there is a world market for maybe five computers' - Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

STATISTICS OF THE WEEK:

  • The average pencil can draw a line 35 miles long.
  • In relation to its size, a barnacle has a larger penis than any other creature.
  • The Ikea catalogue has a circulation four times that of the Bible. This year, 110 million copies were distributed in 46 languages.
  • The average Japanese businessman will bow 200 times a day.
  • 42% of office workers have fantasised about killing their boss.
  • 46% of women who make a New Year's resolution to lose weight will give up by the end of January. 41% will make it until the spring. 16% of women have been on at least ten diets during their lifetime.
  • Most British people gain around 2.5kg over Christmas, having consumed 6,000 calories on Christmas Day alone.

WHAT DO THE BRITISH THINK?

70% of Britons are optimistic about the prospects for themselves and their families this year. 50% are optimistic about the prospects for Britain. 90% think troops will not go into action in Iraq in the next 12 months; 60% are confident of a 'victory for Britain and its allies, but not for some months'

WHAT DO THE CANADIANS THINK?

36% of Canadians say the US poses the greatest threat to world peace; 21% name al-Qaeda, 17% Iraq and 14% North Korea.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

The SoloTrek XFV strap on flying machine which is currently for sale on eBay for $1million. Designers of the personal aircraft hope that it might one day transport soldiers over land mines or zip commuters above rush hour traffic. Click here!

So, that is the news for this week. How did you find the homework about "Money" which I sent you on 20 December? Well, here are the answers:-

PART A:

Ivan: What do you use the bank for?
Paul: Well, I have a current account where I pay in any money I earn. Then I can withdraw money from the account when I need to pay bills.
Ivan: How do you know how much money you've got?
Paul: The bank sends me a statement every month telling me how much.
Ivan: What if you spend more than you've got?
Paul: Then you're overdrawn and the bank usually charges you interest.
Ivan: What else do banks do?
Paul: Well, you can get a bank loan if you need to borrow a large sum of money.
Ivan: To buy a house, for example?
Paul: That's right. That's usually called a mortgage. It means the bank actually owns the house until you've paid the money back.
Ivan: How do you pay the money back?
Paul: You pay a deposit first and then you pay monthly instalments.

PART B:

  1. Sometimes students get a special discount on things they buy.
  2. When you travel by bus you have to pay your fare.
  3. When you use a lawyer you have to pay a fee.
  4. When someone dies, their heir has to pay inheritance tax (death duties).
  5. On any money that you earn you have to pay income tax.
  6. If you have paid too much tax you should get a rebate.
  7. VAT stands for Value Added Tax.
  8. Large companies pay Corporation Tax.
  9. If you import something you may be liable for Customs / Excise Duties.
  10. When you are old the government pays you a pension.
  11. If you are out of work you may be able to claim unemployment benefit / job seekers allowance / the dole / social security.

This week's homework is about "Belief and Opinion":

PART A: What do we call … ??

  1. a person who does not eat meat.
  2. a person who follows then philosophy of Charles Darwin.
  3. a person who belongs to the religion based on the teachings of the prophet Mohammed.
  4. a person who believes in socialism.
  5. a person who refuses to fight in a war and believes in non-violence.
  6. a person who does everything absolutely perfectly.
  7. a person who always takes the traditional line in everything.

PART B: Match the phrase in the first column with the most suitable phrase in the third column.

I'm convinced that …   I have an instinctive feeling …
I maintain that …   I have some worries about …
I sense that …   I guess or estimate that …
I have my doubts about …   I do not think it is true …
I've always held that …   I believe most strongly …
I reckon …   I strongly support …
I'm in favour of …   I am opposed to …
I feel …   I believe it, even if it seems doubtful
I doubt that …   I have constantly believed that …
I suspect that …   I have a negative feeling about something
I'm against …   I have a strong personal opinion that …

PART C: Fill in the gaps

  1. In my _____, the whole system should be changed.
  2. They've put it in the wrong place, to my _____.
  3. If you _____ me, Paul ought to give up his studies and get a job!
  4. _____ the patients' point of view, the new hospital is too far from the centre of Plymouth.
  5. Do you believe _____ ghosts, Ivan?
  6. What do you think _____ Ivan's new computer? It's great, isn't it?
  7. Ivan, what are your views _____ genetically modified food?
  8. Are you _____ or _____ keeping the Antarctic as a protected zone?

PART D: Organise these 12 words / expressions into 6 pairs of synonyms.

fanatical traditional middle-of-the-road firm obsessive dedicated
odd conservative eccentric moderate strong committed

And finally a riddle for you to solve:

RIDDLE OF THE WEEK: What sits in a corner while travelling all around the world?

Have a relaxing weekend and I look forward to writing to you again next week.

Best wishes

Квартиры, дома, коммерческая недвижимость
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