Geology

This word set is for the second-year students: lingualeo.ru

Земля у дома

How do you like this variant of the song?

ENGLISH LYRICS:
There is a haze around the earth 
Another sunny day at birth 
This is the place humanity calls home 
The globe is slowly swirling on
And in the colors of the dawn
It seems so lonely and a bit withdrawn.

The distant stars and galaxies
That seem beyond reality 
Are closer but are still as cold as ice 
They faintly gleam like feeble sparks 
And as were piercing through the dark 
We see our homes each time we close our eyes

We neither hear the roaring of a spaceship
Nor see this cold and dark abyss in dreams
We only dream of home, of love and friendship, 
And grass of green near babbling mountain streams

We glide amid the satellites
Through outer space of fading lights
Bombarded by meteorites, but fears
Wont challenge our ability 
To face this dead tranquility 
Enchanted by the music of the spheres

And somewhere down below I see 
The earth in its serenity 
Is wrapped in early colors of the dawn 
And when our time has fully passed 
We will return one day at last 
Where mother earth is waiting for her sons 

We neither hear the roaring of a spaceship
Nor see this cold and dark abyss in dreams
We only dream of home, of love and friendship, 
And grass of green near babbling mountain streams

News: Meteorites

Some information about meteorites. Watch the video "Predicting Meteorite Impacts" by National Geographic. There is its transcrip below.

Predicting Meteorite Impacts

February 15, 2013—Astrobiologist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer Kevin Hand explains how Asteroid DA-14 could be only the beginning of what we can expect from space. With more than a million such objects out there, what can be done to prevent a meteor strike like the one that crashed into Russia this morning?

So this little rock, DA-14, is coming alarmingly close to the surface of our planet and we're fortunate that it's not going to hit us. But it should serve as a bit of shot from across the bow from the solar system telling us, "Hey, you gotta look out for this stuff."

My name is Kevin Hand and I am a planetary scientist and astrobiologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and I was a 2011 National Geographic Emerging Explorer.

To give you a sense of how close DA-14 is going to come to the Earth on February 15th, it's only 18,000 miles. DA-14 is passing within the distance of many of our Earth-observing telecommunication satellites. If this DA-14 were to come down and hit somewhere in a major metropolitan area hundreds of thousands, and potentially millions, of people would be killed.

For objects that are less than a hundred meters, and this is a type of object that DA-14 is, the estimates are that there are more than one million such objects.

And so what do you do if you find out that is on a trajectory that's going to lead a direct impact with Earth? We would send some sort of probe out to this object and that probe would either knock into it, or attach to it and then fire some rockets to give this rock a little bit of nudge to change its trajectory. Once you put the thruster on the backend it kind of got a remote control asteroid.

Really what we need is some kind of space-based assets to go and look around in all directions, basically, and to sort of serve as our space guard for these objects that are hard to find and very populous.

video credit: 2013 National Geographic; Video & photos courtesy NASA

animals

http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/make-your-own/animal-maker

There + to be

Following the link below you can make clear how to use "there + to be" in Present Simple
englishtexts.ru

Much and many

This video is for the first-year students.We start learning Unit "My comfortable house" so we have to know some grammar material. This video is about differences between using of the words "much" and "many".The words to understand the video properly: countable - исчисляемое, uncountable - неисчисляемое.

English

From: British Council Greece

News: Meteor fell down in Russia

From: http://www.newsinlevels.com 

18-02-2013 14:00

A unique view of an oncoming meteor and a flash as it explodes turning the skyline bright yellow. The footage was captured in Magnitogorsk in Russia. A fascinating sight but also a sobering one.

Witnesses say they saw bright yellow object falling and a powerful explosion was heard.

There was damage in the Russian region of the Urals from the following meteorite shower.

A Zinc factory in Chelyabinsk which is more than 200 miles from Magnitogorsk partially collapsed with the roof and walls caving in, as meteorite pieces rained down.

Some reports say hundreds of people have been injured. It’s thought from flying glass from broken shattered windows, but also shock. As scientists pick up any remains which are found, more footage is expected to come to light.

Interesting words: meteor (rock which travels through space), sobering (serious), meteorite (rock from space which landed on Earth), cave in (collapse), shattered (broken into many small pieces), remains (things which are left in the place after some catastrophe).

To make a decision

Hi! I have found this picture and it seemed me to be interesting.What do you think about it?

temptation - great wish to do somethig you are sure you shouldn't do

I wonder how strong human curiousity can be. Are you sure you will make the same decision? I mean won't you push the button if it is written not to do?

Useful phrases

Some phrases for learning:

to make a decision принимать решение

to have a rest отдыхать

to achieve results добиваться результатов

to pay attention обратить внимание (свое)

to draw smb's attention привлечь внимание (другого человека)

Find right definitions for the phrases:

Model: to make a decision - to form a conclusion

                                                     a) not to be attentive

1. to have a rest                          b) to draw up, establish

2. to achieve results                   c) to concentrate oneself on something

3. to draw smb's attention          d) to gain success as by hard work or effort
4. to make a decision                 e) to take rest
5. to pay attention                      f) to attract other peole to something
                                                    g) to spend time relaxing

Phrasal verb 'to take'

News: Asteroid is coming to Earth

From: http://www.newsinlevels.com
13-02-2013 13:00

   It will be a close encounter of the asteroid kind. From outer space a celestial visitor about the size of an Olympic swimming pool is hurtling towards earth.
   A group of amateur astronomers in Spain discovered the asteroid last year since when its path has been tracked.
   The chunk of space rock known as 2012 DA14 is predicted to zoom by earth next Friday coming closest over the United States.
  "The close approach of this object 2012 DA14 on February 15th is nothing to worry about. Its orbit is very well known, we know exactly where it's going to go and it cannot hit the earth."
   How close is close? It’s calculated the spinning rock will be just over 17,000 miles from us. That’s closer than any of the communication, television and weather satellites which fly about 5000 miles higher in the sky.    But it begs the question what if?
   It is spinning through the sky at about eight miles per hour. Scientists have worked out an object of the size of 2012 DA14 at that speed would strike the earth with a force similar to that of about 2.4 million tons of dynamite, enough to wipe out an area the size of San Francisco bay.
   In 1908 an asteroid or comet exploded over Siberia. Eighty-million trees were leveled in that collision.

Interesting words: encounter (meeting), celestial (from space), hurtling (move at high speed), chunk (large piece of something), zoom (go quickly), beg (ask for),level (make something flat).

Useful phrases

Here there are some phrases with the verb "to take"

to take measures принимать меры

take your time не торопись

to take a chance рискнуть

to take offence обидеться

to take a nap  вздремнуть

Find right definitions for the phrases:

Model: to take a nap - to have a light sleep










                                        a) not to be in a hurry
1. to take offence           b) to sleep for a short period of time
2. to take a nap              c) to adopt
3. to take measures       d) to risk
4. to take a chance         e) to put into effect
5. take your time            f) to make use of
                                        g) to assume the obligations of

The Earth

As some students begin studying our planet I suppose this link will be very helpful for them:
ecoenglish-1.blogspot.ru

Michael Jackson - Earth song - lyrics

The 14th of February

Do you remember what date is it today? Are you going to celebrate it? What is your oppinioin about the new tradition to celebrate this holiday in our land? Is it for good or not?

Whatever you think about this holiday I want to say that LOVE is the most amazing feeling and has so many forms....

Now I want you to try an interesting form of learning. It is a game. You are to listen to the song and to type its words. Click a picture! (Choose "Beginner" level) Good luck!

News: Boy with no arms can swim

Some people unfortunately have difficult health problems which change their way of life.
Read and listen to the news about a boy from Afghanistan. Thus he has serious problems with his body he has a strong will.

Boy with no arms can swim – level 1 :: News in Levels - easy English reading and listening