"The North Pole is now an island"

Last year, on August 28, the two passages which usually join the North Pole with Russia and Canada were free of ice. This fact wasn’t expected until 2050 but the effects of the global warming have been more serious than what experts thought. Now, boats can travel around the world through ways that sometimes are more than four thousand miles shorter than before. Vikings used the Northwest Passage, but this fact had not happened since 125,000 years ago.

Scientists believe that the main cause is global warming and that this isn’t the last consequence. It is a very important fact and, if it doesn’t change, life in Earth is in danger.

New words learnt:

seabed - fons del mar
bypass - passatge de circumval·lació
feasibility - viabilitat
tapping - explotació
sovereignty - sobirania

Article from BBC News

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"What's in a (shop's) name?"

Some businesses have been fined because they didn't use catalan. The law that penalizes the shops, bars and other businesses is called "llei de política lingüística" and the government started to impose sanctions in 2003, but a lot of people think that these measures are too much exaggerated.

New words learnt:

straggle - créixer desordenadament
penny - (moneda) centau
counterpart - equivalent
coalition - coalició
signage - senyalització
penalized - sancionat
fine - multa

Article from Catalonia Today, written by (unknown).

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"Average homeless person is a foreign male with an income"

The Universitat Autònoma of Barcelona and Obra Social la Caixa have made a study about homeless people in Barcelona. 923 persons have been interviewed and all of them live in the streets. After doing the study, they have concluded that most of them are men about forty one years old, with basic education and an income. This research is an attempt to understand better a problem which affects most of the cities.

New words learnt:

either - qualsevol
hailing - grava, pedres
stress (to) - posar en tensió, estressar
highlight (to) - destacar
traits - trets, característiques
average - mitjana

Article from Catalonia Today, written by (unknown).

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