intro

Welcome! This site is for students to practice their English and keep up to date with environmental issues.

TEN MINUTES OF ENGLISH A DAY!
You can find a mixture of reading, crosswords, videos and short English lessons: these will normally be vocabulary, but I may also treat you to some grammar!

There are now over 260 lessons on this blog. Look through the Blog archive, Post labels and Popular Posts to find what you want.

If you want to print a lesson, click on the lesson title and then look for the Print Friendly icon.

''Let nature be your teacher''
William Wordsworth, poet, 1770-1850

''Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift''
Albert Einstein, physicist, 1879-1955

''... to find the word, or words, by which [an] idea may be most fitly and aptly expressed''
P.M. Roget, lexicographer, 1779-1869

Tuesday, 30 August 2011

What is killing Killer Whales? Video lesson 5

BBC Nature has a lot of good material - blogs, short articles, videos, amazing photos, etc.
Have a look at this article on Killer Whales and answer the questions below:
1) What is the scientific name for the Killer Whale
2) What are PCBs?
3) Who is Alex Rogers?
4) How fast can Killer Whales swim? (click on 'Learn more and watch amazing videos')
5) According to the video 'Orcas on the hunt', why is it dangerous for them to hunt rays?

Answers next week!

Saturday, 27 August 2011

Invasive species

Level: Advanced / C1

An interesting photo-article in this weeks Daily Telegraph about invasive species in Britain.
Have a look at the article and answer these questions:
1) Where do Zebra Mussels come from?
2) Why was Japanese Knotweed introduced?
3) What does the Signal Crayfish have in common with the Chinese Mitten Crab?
4) When did it become illegal to grow Giant Hogweed?
5) Which of the invasive species has cost Britain the most money?

Answers below!










ANSWERS!

1) Russia
2) As an ornamental plant
3) Their burrowing can cause river banks to become unstable
4) The 1980s
5) The rabbit

Thursday, 18 August 2011

How to build a wind farm - video lesson 4

Level: Advanced / C1

Here is an excellent article from the BBC Science and Environment pages.
Some amazing videos of the construction of the biggest wind turbines in the world.
The is also some reading about the wind farm in the Irish Sea.

Read and watch, then answer these questions:
1) How many turbines are there in the Ormonde Wind Farm?
2) Where are the turbines made?
3) How long are the blades of the turbine? (watch 'Journey's start')
4) Who is the captain of the sea jack?
5) By 2020, how much of the UK's energy should come from renewables?



Answers below!




ANSWERS!
1) 30
2) Belfast
3) 61.5 metres
4) Jakob Neergaard
5) 15%

Thursday, 4 August 2011

Mountains - crossword

This weeks crossword is about mountains
Some good vocabulary revision for those of you who have been on one of our courses!