"Battle of the bulb"

Bulbs are present in our homes and they are changing, becoming more and more efficient. The EU is doing new regulations in order to replace the old bulbs for the new ones (Compact Fluorescent Lamps), but people don’t like the colour of thir light, they think CFL bulbs are unattractive and they don’t fit into their classic lamps. They aren’t against the new bulbs, but they don’t want them for their house. CFLs have some problems which will be solved by new generation of bulbs, based on LED technology.

New words learnt:

Bulb - bombeta
Frosted – esmerilat
Phase out – retirar, deixar de produir
Retailer – minorista

News from CNN Video News.

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"UK 'set for scorching summer' "

Last summers in the UK have been very wet, with high speed winds and floods, but forecasts for this year say that this summer will be very hot. That’s good for tourism and for those who want to stay home these holidays. The weather will depend on the wind above the clouds, very fast currents that cross the country at more than a hundred miles per hour. We can only wait to check if forecasts become true.
New words learnt

Jet stream – raig d’aire
Forecast (to) - pronosticar
Scorching – abrasador, socarrant

News from BBC News, reported by Roger Harrabin.

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"UK swine flu genetics unravelled"

Researchers from the HPA (Health Protection Agency) and other scientists from around the world have been researching on some samples of the swine flu, which has recently affected many countries, in order to find a vaccine against the virus, to observe and understand the infection and the behaviour of the virus. They are alert because viruses can mutate, and they can become more dangerous. The scientific results are very positive and the responses to the possible pandemic are being so fast, with the hope that an effective vaccine will be available soon.

New words learnt:

Flu – influenza, grip
Isolate (to) – aïllar
Pandemic - pandemia
Pin down (to) - definir
Pose (to) - plantejar
Swine - porc
Unravel (to) – desembolicar, desxifrar

Article from BBC News, Friday 8 of May, 2009, written by (unknown).

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"Bike tour"

This month, like every year, takes place the “Volta Ciclista”, a bicycle race, in Catalunya. Maybe it’s not as much important as the “Tour” of France or the “Giro” of Italia, which will be celebrated after the Volta, but it’s also a very important event. Sometimes, it is considered as a training for the following competition. It has been celebrated since 1911 (apart from some occasions). This is the edition number 88 and some of its good points of this race are the weather and its acceptance. It covers Catalunya, the Costa Daurada, the Costa Brava and the Pirineus, amongst other places, finishing in Barcelona. It is special because people can get closer to riders than in the Tour.

New words and expressions learnt:

Staged – dividit en etapes
Warm up – escalfament
Renowned – de renom
Time trial – proba cronometrada
Week-long – que dura una setmana
Foothills – peu de la muntanya
Hosted – ser la seu, l’anfitrió
Frenzy – frenesí

Article from Resident newspaper, May 2008, written by Rosie Free.

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"Oldest human brain discovered"

In a York University site there’s been a very curious discovery. Archaeologists have found, in a pit, a skull with a yellow substance. The substance is a human brain, but not a normal one; it’s very old, probably from the Iron Age. After some investigations, archaeologists say that it can be a fossilised brain, because the tissues are preserved and microbes haven’t eaten them. As it seems, the oldest brain of the world has been discovered. That’s a very important fact, which will allow scientists to study many things about how has it arrived to our days.

New words learnt:

Shrunken - encongit
Fatty - greixós
Farmed - cultivat
Dig - excavació
Under way - en marxa
Mudy - fangós
Pit - forat, fossa

Article from BBC News, Friday 12 December 2008, written by (Unknown).

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"Rising problem of sexual bullying in schools"

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The article I have chosen is from BBC News and it’s called “Rising problem of sexual bullying in schools”. It talks about this very serious problem, which has increased in the last years, especially between young people. There are different kinds of sexual bullying, from the name-calling (with words like slag or gay) to other offences like assault or rape. In the article, there are three cases of sexual bullying suffered by three girls with ages between five and fifteen years old. All of them say that the guilty is always better supported than the victim. I think that violates the second part of article number 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which says “All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.” There’s also a violation of article number 5, that says: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.

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"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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“Spam on rise after brief reprieve”

Some weeks ago McColo, a web hosting company which was responsible for having about 2/3 of the e-mail spam, had been closed. It seemed to be a great blow against spamming, but now it is rising again. The spam senders are finding day after day new ways of sending e-mails without being caught. For example, some of them will go to other countries with weaker laws. Internet security firms are investigating to face the spamming, but loads of computers are affected and infected by this problem and it seems that this Christmas season it will grow. New words learnt:

Alleged - presumpte
Bot - programa informàtic que pot fer diverses accions per ell mateix
Host (to) - allotjar
Recruit (to) - contractar, reclutar
Reprieve - respir
Scourge - fueteig
Shutdown - tancament
SPAM - The origin of this word is Spiced Ham (pernil amb espècies), with a low quality and big spreading, like the spam messages.

Article from BBC News, written by (unknown). Wednesday, 26th of November 2008

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"The business of books"

The next 8th of October starts the annual book fair of Barcelona. It’s the 26th edition of this event and, there, there are the most important companies of this industry. Catalonia represents more than the 50% of the Spain’s publishing industry. In the fair there will be stands with roundtable talks, workshops, new titles, distributors, etc. The guest of honor of this year is Quebec.
The last day of the fair is the 10th of October, and it’s a good thing to do if there aren’t more plans.

New words learnt:

Boast - presumir
Roundable - taula rodona (discussió)
Descending - baixada
Fair - fira

Article from Catalonia Today (Thursday 2nd of October 2008), written by Joseph Wilson

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"Just plug in and drive"

General Motors is going to launch a new car called Volt. It’s made as an answer to Toyota’s Prius. The car works with electrical batteries (the name of the car comes from this quality) and it charges the energy in about three hours.
This fact is very important for the company, which has just celebrated its 100th birthday and last year lost the first place as the world’s most important automobile maker, because Toyota got the first place.
The company expects to launch the Volt in the last term of 2010, and there are already about forty thousand unofficial buyers. I think the car is a bit expensive (€40.000).


New words learnt:

Ace up - as
Sleeve - màniga
Scheduled - Previst

Article (story of the week)from Catalonia Today (Thursday 2nd of October, 2008)written by Joseph Wilson

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"Have a flutter"

The Butterfly Park, in Empuriabrava, is a place with plenty of butterflies, moths and, more recently, tropical birds. There you can see different species, all of them amazing. Some can travel through oceans and some of them live only one day after mate. In the park, you can also see some iguanas, abandoned because they had grown too much.
In the Butterfly Park, animals and plants live in perfect harmony like in a tropical forest.

New words learnt:

Leak (to) - degotar
Stripped-pine - parquet
Odds - probabilitats
Plight - mala situació
Moth - papallona nocturna / arna
Painstakingly weaving - laboriosament teixit
Cocoon - capoll
Mate (to) - aparellar-se
Utterly - absolutament
Starvation - fam
Somewhat of a - una espècia de / una mena de
Entrepreneur - empresari
Onerous - pesat
Spooky - “espeluznante”
Nettle - ortiga

The article is from RESIDENT, September 2008, and it's written by Simon Newman

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"Florida's hurricane simulator"

A group of scientists and graduate students at the University of Florida is creating the world's most powerful portable hurricane simulator. They want to reproduce hurricanes because every year some hurricanes are affecting the region and they destroy houses and cause a lot of damages. Because of this, loads of families lose their homes.Then, scientists need to investigate new structures, new materials and solutions to the problem of hurricanes.
Harness (to): Aprofitar.
Raindrop: Gota de pluja.
Strap (to): Lligar amb una corretja.
The article is from “BBC News” (7th June 2008) and it’s written by Andy Gallacher.

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"Five-star luxury in the south"

This article talks about Villa Retiro. It's a very special hotel because it's the only one with a spa and five stars in the south of Catalonia. The hotel is placed near teh Ebre river, in an old building designed by a famous architect. The rooms have got the most luxurious equipments and the spa is incredible, with waterfalls, hydro-massage, yacuzzi, etc. There is also a restaurant with a very old tree. The cheff has got a michelin star and the massagists know indian techniques. The personnel is very qualified and, very important, they love their job.

New words learnt:
personnel - treballadors
waterfalls - cascada

This article is from "Catalonia Today" (Thursday, April 10th , 2008) and it's written by Germà Capdevila.

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"A library of beer"

The article “A library of beer” talks about a business in Barcelona. It’s a place where people can go and ask for a beer. There are lots of flavors and kinds of beer from all over the world, but always with excellence and quality. This place isn’t only reserved for tourists; anybody can go there. It’s an alternative to pubs. Smoking isn’t allowed and there isn’t wine.

I think it’s a different way to enjoy this old drink and maybe, if I go to Barcelona and I walk near the “Cerveteca” I’ll go there. But I think it seems to be a bit expensive.

The article is from “Catalonia Today” (Thursday, February 21st 2008) and it’s written by Joseph Wilson.
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"Arizona among 16 states reporting tainted melons"

This new comes from the Google news. It was published on the 23rd March (2008). There’s a salmonella outbreak in Arizona. About 40 people in 16 states have become sick because of tainted cantaloupes from Honduras. Now, the melons are being reported and the Food and Drug Administration is investigating this issue.


New vocabulary:
Among (entre)
Tainted (contaminat)
Cantaloupe (tipus de meló)
Spokeswoman (portaveu)
Grocer (botiguer)
Purchased (comprat)
Salmonella outbreak (brot de salmonel•la)
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"Lansing area can expect snowy Easter"

This new from the Google News (March 23, 2008) comes from the Lansing State Journal.
The weather forecast says that maybe, this Easter, there will be wind and snow or rain, especially in Lansing (Michigan), with temperatures between 15 and 35 degrees. Spring is here but winter doesn’t want to leave.

New vocabulary:
Forecaster (home del temps)
Expected (esperat)
Gust (ràfega)
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"Dollar rally against euro and yen"

This new from http:// news.bbc.co.uk on 20th March (2008) talks about the current situation that involves the dollar, the euro, the yen, etc. The dollar has had a soft recovery, but it’s still weak. Analysts speculate about what can happen next weeks but they aren’t very optimistic.

New vocabulary:
Sharp (punxa)
Drop (desnivell / caiguda)
To boost (empènyer / aixecar la moral/ impulsar)
Rate (índex / taxa)
To bounce (rebotar)
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"What the summit achieved on CO2"

This is a new from http:// www .bbc.co.uk appeared on 16^th of March (2008). It talks about the future in the EU and what can happen with the CO2 emissions after and before the Copenhagen summit (2009). We can see Mrs. Merkel’s opinion. We can also see that it’s a critical problem because a change benefits some people, but annoys other people too.

New vocabulary:
To achieve (aconseguir)
Greenhouse (hivernacle)
Tough (dur)
Leakage (fuita)
Fallback (alternativa)
To outrage (indignar)
Trader (comerciant)

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