BME Listening Leirat Középfok

Kész Zoltán – Törökné Tenk Dóra
NAGY BME
NYELVVIZSGAKÖNYV
Angol középfok
Hangzószövegek
NAGY BME NYELVVIZSGAKÖNYV. ANGOL KÖZÉPFOK HALLOTT SZÖVEG ÉRTÉSE
1.
1. Google Cop
Dutch police have arrested twin brothers on suspicion of robbery. Their victim spotted a picture of them
following him on Google’s Street View map application. According to the police, the case was the first time
Street View images had been used in a Dutch criminal investigation. It was certainly a unique situation for
all.
A 14-year-old boy told police last September he had been robbed of €165 and his cell phone after two
men dragged him off his bicycle in Groningen, 180 kilometres from Amsterdam. When he first reported
the case, the boy could not give a proper description of the robbers, so there were no leads the police
could follow.
The victim called again in March immediately after seeing an image of himself and the two men he
believed were his attackers on Street View. Google needs to know why you want them to provide you
with information. In this case, the photo could provide an important contribution to solving a crime. The
company agreed, and a robbery squad detective immediately recognized one of the twins. Prosecutors
will now decide whether to charge the suspects, whose identities were not released. According to some
newspaper sources, the twins have been charged with similar crimes recently, which included mugging,
burglary and pick-pocketing. As a police source has confirmed, the brothers were released from prison
last month. If they are charged and convicted, they are likely to face a rather long sentence. A spokesman
for Google in the Netherlands has not immediately commented on the case yet.
2. Babies and puppies

Babies and puppies aren’t great conversationalists, no matter what some people may say to the
contrary. Rather than talk to them like adults, we tend to use very strange speech patterns or just a
garbled series of noises at a fluctuating pitch. As it turns out, the fact that we do this to both babies and
puppies reveals a lot about our own evolution. Writing in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, a team
from the University of Lyon found that we talk to not just puppies, but dogs, in much the same way we
talk to babies. Namely, we use a high frequency, speak slowly, and use very simple words. “Who’s a good
boy?” and “Hey there! Heeeey there!” are good examples of this.
After comparing and contrasting the reactions of babies, dogs, puppies, and adults to this kind of
speech, they noticed that both puppies and babies respond positively to it, whereas older dogs pay little
attention to it. Adult humans, of course, just think you’ve gone a bit crazy.
Although it’s difficult to prove, this pattern of speech – one that most of us engage in at some point
– may have evolved so adults could interact on some level with non-speaking listeners. This primarily
applies to human offspring, but we apply the same to puppies because we still see them as uninformed
younglings.
The technical term for this type of speech in reference to our canine companions is “dog-directed
speech.” Baby talk engages babies in a way that fosters attention and language learning, and we naturally
apply this to puppies even if we don’t get similar results. Well, maybe sometimes we do. It’s not just
because we are drawn to anything with a baby-like face – and we are – but because this pitch of voice
appears to engage puppies in a way that others do not.
In order to find this out, various sentences like “Come here, come here. Good boy, who’s a good boy?”
were directed at both dogs of all ages and the research team. The team noticed that our pitch increases
by 21 percent on average when we speak to puppies compared to our normal speaking tone.
“We found that puppies are highly reactive to dog-directed speech, in the absence of any other cues,
like visual cues,” Nicolas Mathevon, a professor of bioacoustics at the University of Lyon, told BBC News.
“Conversely we found that with adult dogs, they do not react differentially between dog-directed speech
and normal speech.” Elder pets, it seems, prefer the familiarity of people they’ve been raised by. Although
more research is required, it appears that regardless of how you speak to them, cats simply don’t care.
2
2.
1. The Matterhorn
The Matterhorn is more than a wonder of creation. Through its shape, attractiveness and unique
solitary position, it is considered the greatest mountain. But there’s even more: there is no better-
known mountain in the world whose natural shape comes as close to a pyramid as the Matterhorn. The
pyramid shape symbolises the link between nature and culture, landscape and history. As a result of
enormous forces, Africa moved closer to Europe 100 million years ago, and the ocean between the two
continents began to become smaller. 50 million years later, large groups of rocks began to deform and
fold, and the Matterhorn was born from the rock masses forcing their way upwards. It is a landmark
and symbol of Switzerland, and the most beautiful and most photographed mountain in the world.
The Matterhorn was climbed for the first time on the 14th July 1865. Four of the seven men – led by
the Englishman Edward Whymper – lost their lives as a result. Everyone was talking about the tragedy
on the Matterhorn. The rope that connected Whymper and father and son Taugwalder to the rest of the
unfortunate rope group, and which broke during the descent, is displayed in the Matterhorn Museum
alongside other relics of the first ascent. 
The German name “Matterhorn” first appears in the year 1682. The name is probably derived from
the “Matte”, meaning meadow, referring to the grassy extended valley which has now been almost
completely covered by the village of Zermatt. The mountain is also known by the locals as “das Horn”
which means ‘the peak’ in English.
2. Apollo Astronaut Says Aliens Prevented a Nuclear War on Earth

Sometimes it’s amusing to poke fun at conspiracy theorists. After all, most of them believe irrational
stories with little to no evidence, and attempt to fit contrasting evidence to their theory – as opposed to
actual scientists, who realize their theories could be wrong in the face of evidence to the contrary.
But in the case of NASA's former Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell, it’s actually a bit sad what has
happened. Since he returned from the Moon in 1971, he has spouted some increasingly bizarre conspiracy
theories, mostly regarding aliens visiting Earth, and his latest is no different. In an interview with
the Mirror Online, he says that aliens came to Earth to prevent a nuclear war between the U.S. and the
Soviet Union during the Cold War.
In the interview, he references the famous White Sands Missile Range facility in New Mexico, where
the world’s first atomic bomb – Trinity – was tested on July 16, 1945. Mitchell mentioned that White
Sands was a testing ground for atomic weapons – and that's what the extraterrestrials were interested
in. According to the former astronaut, the aliens wanted to know about the military capabilities of the
USA. He experienced that ETs had been attempting to keep humanity from going to war and help create
peace on Earth.
He went on to say that unnamed Air Force officers had told him their missiles were frequently disabled
or shot down by UFOs flying overhead. Why aliens would use interstellar travel to come all the way to
Earth and disable a few missiles here and there rather than, I don’t know, making contact or something,
is up for debate, I guess. Several experts, however, believe that this is just another case of UFO fantasy
and speculation. They claim that when you try getting to the facts it is like trying to herd cats.
Let’s give Mitchell a bit of credit though, and talk about some actual science. He was, after all, the sixth
man on the Moon and the Lunar Module Pilot on the Apollo 14 mission. This was the eighth manned
mission of the Apollo program, and the third to land on the lunar surface. Mitchell, together with his
commander Alan Shepard, spent more than 30 hours on the surface, during which time they collected 45
kilograms of lunar samples and performed various scientific activities. Shepard also famously hit a golf
ball during this mission, while Mitchell himself threw a lunar scoop handle like a javelin.
But it’s been a bit of a fall from grace for Mitchell since then. We wish him all the best, and hope that
at some point he returns to the real world with the rest of us.
3
3.
1. The Blue Sulphur Springs Resort

The Blue Sulphur Springs Pavilion is a historic Greek structure in Blue Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
The Pavilion is the only surviving structure from the Blue Sulphur Springs Resort, a 19th century mineral
spa, and was built to shelter the sulphur spring at the resort. The Pavilion consists of twelve columns
holding up a square roof, and is primarily built with brick. It was constructed in 1834, the year the
Blue Sulphur Springs Resort opened. George Washington Buster constructed the resort; it was named
Blue Sulphur Springs for the colourful springs. The original resort included, along with the Pavilion, a
three-storey hotel with 200 rooms and a bathhouse. The resort was visited by several famous guests
in the 1840s, including several politicians and also two presidents. The resort was a prime spot for the
promotion of relaxation and health, as the sulphur spring at the resort was considered to be a remedy
for a number of diseases. It began to decline in the 1850s due to competition from other resorts and an
economic crisis. The resort closed in 1859 and became Allegheny College, a school for Baptist ministers;
the college closed in 1861. The resort buildings were used by both sides in the Civil War as a camp and
hospital. In 1864, the northern army burned the resort to prevent the southern army from using it; only
the Pavilion survived the fire.
The Pavilion is located in a valley at the junction of a creek and some valleys. It is located in the
region of thermal mineral springs in the Appalachian Mountains, and is one of several mineral springs
in the area. It is found in a rural landscape, and offers views of the surrounding valley. William Burke
described the landscape as ‘a beautiful valley’, though he complained that the designer of the resort had
blocked the view with buildings. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 29,
1992.
2. Aged 35 He Speaks 11 Languages

When people meet someone who speaks many languages fluently, the first reaction is often one of
slight bewilderment. Multilingualism is generally considered cool yet difficult to achieve, especially if
second, third and fourth languages are acquired later in life. As an advocate of language learning, I of
course agree that it’s cool, but I challenge the assumption that it’s difficult. Here I would like to deviate
from the well-trodden route to how I learned 11 languages and concentrate on why I learned these
languages. Seasoned language learners will all tell you that motivation is fundamental, so where can one
find this motivation and how can it be bolstered?
Language learning is about much more than heaps of books and hours of study. It’s about travelling
to marvellous places, meeting inspiring people, enjoying delicious food and embarking on innumerable
journeys of self-discovery. I derive my motivation to learn more languages from these experiences; the
experiences that these languages make possible.
English was already a world language by the time I turned 10 in 1991. Its study was mandatory. I
struggled at first. I didn’t like the teacher, grammar explanations confused me, and the material was
monotone. I thought I’d never learn it. Then my parents decided to hire a private English tutor. I was 13
and she was wonderful. She didn’t simply instruct me in the language, but helped me discover it - she
set me on the right path to learning and, most importantly, learning to love language. I started reading
a lot of books in English. My aunt bought me The Hardy Boys for my birthday and after that there was
no looking back. The combination of reading books, watching movies every day and talking to my tutor
once a week for two years worked wonders. By the age of 15 I was fluent in English and in possession of
a thick American accent.
Spanish and Italian are like two sisters; different and yet similar at the same time. One common myth
in Italy is that Spanish is easy: that you just have to speak Italian and add an “s” to every single word.
The overall structure of the two languages is similar, but there are a fair few disparities in terms of
pronunciation, intonation and idiomatic usage. In 2007 I did an exchange in Barcelona. Although I was
immersed in a predominantly Catalan environment, I was living with a lively Spanish girl from Malaga
and often went out with a lot of other Spanish people. The language simply rubbed off. By the time I
came back to Rome, Spanish had become a part of me.
4
I started learning European Portuguese at the exact same time as Mandarin. I had never learned two
languages at the same time, and so I gave myself very precise guidelines. Portuguese, like Spanish, came
very naturally to me. I focused on pronunciation, which can be tricky. Unstressed vowels are barely
pronounced and sentences often seem like an uninterrupted sequence of consonants. Portuguese can
even sound like Russian to untrained ears as a consequence. I often get asked why I opted for European
Portuguese and not Brazilian Portuguese, which is much more widely spoken. The truth is that I often
don’t choose a language. I let languages choose me.
5
4.
1. Tips for Air-travellers

A: What advice can you give us if a child travels alone on a plane?
B: If your child is travelling alone, you should write all the numbers that would be helpful for the child
on a note, or in a little date book for when he or she arrives at the final destination. Don’t count that
your toddler will eat airline meals and snacks! Little chewy fruit snacks work great during take-off
and landing for keeping his ears comfortable, and the different shapes keep him interested.
A: Are there any toys that you would recommend?
B: One of the best toys we have found for keeping our toddler occupied on trips is a travel-sized
MagnaDoodle. When he drops the ‘pen’, it is attached by string; there are no pieces to lose; and he
doesn’t run out of paper. We write easy words on it, and he learns to read them, and gets really
excited when he knows one ... or, we draw simple pictures and he figures those out. It should be great
for kids of all ages - Mommy & Daddy have fun with it, too!
A: One of the most embarrassing things is to deal with accidents that might happen to a child. How
would you prevent such accidents?
B: Look into purchasing some Goodnite diapers. These protect kids from accidents, which tend to
happen often while travelling but are more like underwear. They fit kids up to 55 kg. Any kid who
travels with you should wear them just in case. It can really save clothes and car interiors in heavy
traffic. Goodnites can fit kids anywhere from 3 to 16 years old.
A: What are the best times to travel?
B: When travelling with children by air, book at non-peak times, that is late at night, midday and Monday
to Wednesday. This gives you a chance at a free seat for your child to stretch out and sleep. Arrive at
the airport early. Sprints down an endless terminal are difficult enough, but nearly impossible when
packing a baby on your back and holding a small child’s hand. When travelling by car and you bring
along “treats”, never give them out too fast!
2. How much protein do you really need?

Andrew Taylor has eaten only potatoes for a whole year. He made his diet more nutritious by including
sweet potatoes, and adding nut or soya milk to mashed potatoes. His cardiovascular health appears to
have improved, largely due to massive weight loss. He has cured his depression, sleeps better and is
healthier than he has ever been. However, at the beginning of the year-long challenge, there was much
debate about whether he would get enough protein from his potato diet.
In the UK, healthy adults are advised to eat 0.75g of protein per kilogram of body weight each day.
However, this “reference nutrient intake” is set at a high level to meet the needs of just about everyone.
Most people need less, and the average requirement is about 0.6g per kilogram of body weight. Andrew
ate about 3.5 to 4kg of potatoes per day, and together with the soya and nut milks used to mash the
potatoes, it looks as though he managed to meet his protein requirements.
Although combating global warming may not have been the primary reason for his challenge, Andrew
has done his bit for planetary health. Agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise, with the
largest source being methane produced by livestock. The agricultural sector is the world’s second largest
emitter and the biggest thing that we can do to reduce these agricultural emissions is to eat less meat.
Becoming vegetarian or vegan would not be an acceptable or achievable option for many people,
but even aiming for a plant-based diet, and limiting meat consumption, would make a substantial
difference. Scientific models have suggested that if average diets in the UK conformed to WHO healthy
diet guidelines, it would reduce greenhouse emissions associated with food by 17%. Further cuts in
emissions could be made by adopting a “flexitarian” eating pattern with fewer animal products and
more plant foods. This pattern is not unlike that suggested in the current Eatwell guide and the World
Cancer Research Fund cancer prevention recommendations, and would have substantial health benefits
as well as being good for the planet.
It is not hard to meet protein requirements. A few groups of people may need proportionately more;
for example, children, older people, anyone recovering from major surgery, pregnant women and some
6
athletes. Even without the meat and chicken, this sample diet would provide adequate protein and, since
the protein is coming from a variety of sources, it would contain a good mix of amino acids. National diet
and nutrition surveys in the UK indicate that we eat more than enough protein.
If you’re looking to cut down on your meat consumption, maybe you could become flexitarian or
do meat-free Mondays. You will still manage to meet your protein needs. And if you have already made
the move away from meat, there are other things you can do with your diet to reduce your environmental
impact without taking the radical step of eating only potatoes.
7
5.
1. Penguins
A: Is it true that penguins can be hot?
B: In contrast with general thinking, penguins often get too hot. Especially penguins from the warm,
more northern regions. Overheating can be dangerous so there must be a way to lose that extra heat.
A: How is that possible?
B: The air between the feathers and the skin insulate so much that a penguin could easily overheat in
the sun. When they move fast through the colony and the sunburns on their black feathers, the heat
can’t be lost fast enough. You can see them spreading their wings to increase the body surface. Some
species even pump blood through their wings, and then you can notice a pink surface on the inside.
This is almost the only part of the body, which isn’t covered with feathers, therefore the only way to
lose heat surplus.
A: What about penguins living in warmer climates?
B: The four species, which live in warm climate regions all have extra bare, which means they have no
feathers or hair on the inside. In addition to that they also have pink parts around their bill, to lose
heat.
A: Do penguins sleep?
B: A penguin also needs rest and has to sleep. On land you can see them standing with their head under
a wing, or lying down on the ground. They often sleep but only for short naps, because they always
have to be on the alert against predators. And while several penguin species spend a lot of days
or weeks on the open sea, they have to sleep there too, but it is still unknown how they do that. It
is thought that penguins float on the surface with their head on or between their flippers. While
sleeping, their metabolism slows down to save energy. This is very important for survival during the
days where they breed and have to fast!
2. Beijing: The city where you can't escape smog

China's capital is notorious for its chronic pollution. Even indoors it's a struggle to find clean air.
Having already taped most of my windows shut, I have now started on the air conditioning vents. The
aim is simple - to close off every access point through which the toxic outside air leaks into our Beijing
home. Even our double-glazing doesn't keep out the smog. The most dangerous constituent, particulate
matter smaller than 2.5 microns in finds a way through the tiniest of gaps where the windows close. So
the only solution there is duct tape.
When I first arrived in China, five years ago, there was no way of monitoring the quality of air in our
home. Like everyone else, we left it to blind faith that our air purifiers were doing the trick. China's air
pollution problem is now so bad that its effects are measured in more than a million premature deaths a
year and markedly reduced life expectancy in the worst-affected regions. During the worst of it, it's been
like living under house arrest, our children are confined to the small, deafening but breathable indoor
space of our home for days on end. And across China, the smog becomes a dominant topic on social
media, with the population tracking the foulness of the air via mobile phone apps.
One group of Beijing mothers, armed with their own devices to measure the smog, have even been
roaming the city in search of shopping malls or cafes with filtered air - and then sharing their discoveries
online. Of course, humanity's dependence on oil and coal long predate China's economic rise. But China
offers a vision of environmental degradation far in excess of the pea-souper fogs of 1950s London or
Manchester. For much of the past month the cloud of toxic air hanging over this country has extended
for thousands of miles, a giant, continent-sized cocktail of soot from coal fired power stations and car
exhausts, smothering the lives and filling the lungs of hundreds of millions of people.
While growing awareness means that more of them are now taking action to protect their health,
many others are either not fully informed about the danger or don't have the means to do much about
it. It is, of course, not a problem only of China's making. The smartphones, computers, TV screens, jeans
and shoes that have been pouring out of its factories over the past few decades are cheap, in part at least,
precisely because they're made without environmental safeguards. The true cost is measured by the
8
numbers on my pollution monitors, and it is one being borne disproportionately by ordinary Chinese
people.
Following a crackdown on a rare protest against pollution in the central city of Chengdu recently, one
blogger dared to speak out in favour of the protesters. The police, he suggested, should bear in mind that
the elites, whose interests they protect, have sent their families to breathe clean air overseas. He was
promptly detained.
9
6.
1. Eating in China
A: What traditions are found in Chinese eating?
B: Eating is a dominant aspect of Chinese culture. For instance, the Manchu Han Imperial Feast - a feast
that consists of at least 108 unique dishes from the Manchu and Han cultures - has been a feature of
Chinese cuisine for a long time.
A: Do people eat out a lot?
B: In China, eating out is one of the most accepted ways to invite guests. Similar to Westerners, who like
to drink in a bar with friends, eating together in China is a way to socialize and deepen friendship.
A: What about table manners?
B: There are many traditions that govern table manners in China, such as the correct treatment of
guests and how to use chopsticks correctly. Although each Chinese household has its own set of table
manners and rules, the basic traditions to welcome guests are the same.
A: Are there any rules in China about inviting guests?
B: There are common rules for inviting guests. When the guest of honour enters the room, the hosts
stand until the guest of honour is seated. The host then orders the dishes to be brought, and the
guest should be silent. When the dishes arrive, the meal begins with a toast from a host, and the
guests then make a toast in turn in the honour of the host. The guest of honour should be the first
one to start the meal. The best food in a dish should be left for the guest of honour. When the hostess
says her food is not good enough, the guest must be polite and tell her it is the best food he has ever
tasted. Guests should never “split the bill” with the host. A guest who splits the bill is very rude and
embarrassing to the host. However, it is expected that the guest will offer to pay for the meal many
times, but ultimately allow the host to pay.
A: Do young Chinese people observe the same traditions?
B: Well, yes and no. It is mainly people in the cities that are not so strict about these traditions. With the
appearance of western fast-food restaurants, a lot of youngsters have gradually forgotten about table
manners.
2. What happens when all of China goes on vacation at once

In terms of raw numbers in almost every category, the Chinese New Year Spring Festival is the largest
human event on the planet. In the seven days of the Lunar New Year, Chinese are expected to spend more
than $100 billion on eating and shopping (almost twice as much as Americans spend on Thanksgiving).
Also, they buy railway tickets online at a rate of more than 1,000 per second.
But it's when millions of Chinese people go home for the Chinese New Year Spring Festival during
"chunyun" -- the annual spring migration -- that China's flair for organization on a gargantuan scale
really comes into its own. In 2017 -- the Year of the Rooster -- Chinese authorities expect holidaymakers
to make 2.5 billion trips by land, 356 million by rail, 58 million by plane and 43 million by sea over the
40-day period, which starts on January 13 and lasts until February 21.
While the average individual trip last year was about 410 kilometers, the total number of trips is
expected to reach 1.2 billion kilometers: the equivalent of eight times the distance from Earth to the
Sun or a leisurely rocket ride to Saturn. And numbers are growing -- this year by 2.2%, so says the state
council of the People's Republic of China. That's because most of China's eastern seaboard ups stakes
to visit relatives in inland rural areas. Transport networks have set new highs for "chunyun" numbers
almost every year for the past decade, the council said. Taking the strain is China's high-speed railway
network, now increased to 20,000 kilometers in total -- the world's longest. China's total rail network
stands at more than 121,000 kilometers, the second largest in the world after the United States.
The "chunyun" phenomenon isn't just a marvel of logistics -- bus and railway ticket halls can clear
massive lines at breakneck speed -- it also shows how modern China is changing. Trains are sardine-
packed with thousands of snoozing students, reflecting education reforms that have greatly expanded
the number of university places over the past decade. Snappily dressed office girls in high heels can be
10
seen picking their way through plowed fields on their way home, a product of the mass migration of rural
people to China's mainly coastal cities in search for better-paid jobs in service industries and factories.
Many of China's new middle classes will opt to drive in private cars and traffic mayhem is now a
regular feature of the holiday period. Many others, however, will choose to escape the frenzy altogether
and take a vacation abroad -- increasingly an option for China's newly minted nouveau riche. State
media estimated that 6 million made the decision to pass the Spring Festival abroad in 2016 and online
bookings per capita for overseas independent trips was up 30% to $985.
11
1. Female Doctors Are Better

Older patients who are treated by female doctors after being admitted to a hospital may be slightly less
likely to die within a month of their admission than those who are treated by male doctors, according to
a new study.
Researchers found that patients who were treated by female doctors had a 4 percent lower risk of
dying within a month of being admitted to a hospital than those who were treated by male doctors.
Moreover, these patients were 5 percent less likely to be readmitted to a hospital within a month, the
researchers found.
More research is needed to understand why exactly patients treated by female doctors have lower
mortality rate, study co-author Dr. Ashish Jha, a professor of health policy at Harvard, said in a statement.
But previous research has suggested that there are differences between how male and female
physicians practice medicine, Jha said. For example, studies have shown that female doctors may be
more likely to adhere to clinical guidelines, provide preventive care and communicate with their patients
more effectively than male ones.
The new findings add to that research because Jha and his colleagues looked at actual patient outcomes.
The results “suggest that those differences matter and are important to patient health,” Jha said.
In the study, the researchers examined data on 1.5 million hospitalizations of more than 620,000 men
and 960,000 women who were on Medicare and were admitted to U.S. hospitals for various conditions
between 2011 and 2014. All of the patients were at least 65 years old, and their average age was 80,
according to the study. During these hospitalizations, the patients in the study were treated by a total of
about 60,000 doctors, including about 20,000 female doctors and about 40,000 male doctors.
The researchers looked at the relationship between the gender of the doctors who treated the patients
and these patients’ risk of death and needing to be hospitalized again within 30 days of their original
admission.
The findings that the patients treated by female doctors were less likely to die or be hospitalized
again are especially important in light of previous research that showed disparities between salary and
promotion prospects of female and male doctors in academic medicine, said Dr. Anna Parks, a resident
physician at the University of California, San Francisco.
For example, one study showed that female physicians at academic centers earn an average of 8
percent less than male physicians at those centers, according to the editorial.
Some people have speculated that female academic physicians may be burdened by additional home
responsibilities than their male colleagues, which supposedly may lead women to provide inferior care,
Parks said.
“I think that this study is one piece of the puzzle to combat that claim,” Parks told Live Science.
2. Buildings Exploring the Unseen World

Have you imagined living under the ground? Netherlands-based firm Open Platform for
Architecture (OPA) is breaking conventions by building into the earth, rather than above it. How do they
do it? Let’s listen to the chief architect of the company, Mr Marco Vassiliou talking to our reporter.
CNN: Architects these days are exploring more diverse landscape opportunities, designing for
example, projects located underwater, in the forest, in the air, and so on. What inspired you to go
underground?
Vassiliou: Underground architecture has been around since the medieval times. People lived in caves,
and dug holes to build houses. It's not something new. I wrote a thesis on underground buildings and
their past at the National Technical Institute of Athens in 2006. But that is what got me interested in what
was still unexplored when building underground, and the right opportunity came with the Bamiyan
Cultural Center in Afghanistan. I wanted to go back to the roots, back to earth to see what happens.
CNN: What are the benefits of living underground?
12
Vassiliou: There are many benefits, although I believe that we still cannot exploit it fully. There are
benefits of earth's thermal insulation, and you can also be protected from harmful environmental issues
like ultraviolet waves. It is very safe, unless you are in a very seismic continent. There is also the negative
perception that people already have of this underground world and the darkness that comes with it, so
there're functional benefits versus psychology.
CNN: Living underground often has a dark and eerie connotation. What elements did you put
in in your design to make these underground structures more appealing?
Vassiliou: People hate underground architecture because humans are meant to live on earth, not
inside earth. My ambition was to reconsider underground architecture and make people love it.
CNN: Was the chapel of the Holy Cross hard to design because you had to consider religious
elements? What religious design elements did you include?
Vassiliou: Mainly the cross. The cross as a typology or as a shape has been a very popular shape in
designing churches.
CNN: Your second underground project, Casa Brutale, became an internet sensation. And the
project will eventually be built. What's the latest on this?
Vassiliou: It's been a very exciting ride but I could never say that it's been a smooth journey. We
worked really hard with the press because for the idea to come true, ideally it'd have to become an
internet sensation. So I told my design team, 'If Kim Kardashian can break the internet with a picture of
her butt, we can do it with some interesting architecture, too.' Since then, we've had a lot of new projects
and clients and it's going well. I pictured breathtaking cliffs by the Aegean Sea, and Greek islands in the
Cyclades. Folegandros and Serifos are the actual places where I rendered. They are very beautiful places
with or without my building.
CNN: How do you think this project will impact people and the contemporary architecture
scene?
Vassiliou: In architecture, usually a client visits the architect and commissions a project. But I first
designed a building that could be placed in some places, and found a client later. That was a big bet for
myself, but it worked. People can now work and become known for what they can do, not for what they
have done for other people and companies. I've seen many interesting projects hitting the internet and
it's awesome that people are going for their inspirations.
13
8.
1. The Tuskegee Airmen

The Tuskegee Airmen is the popular name of a group of African American pilots who fought in World
War II. Formally, they were the 332nd Fighter Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps.
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African American military aviators in the United States armed
forces. During World War II, African Americans in many U.S. states were still subject to racial laws.
The American military was racially segregated, as was much of the federal government. The Tuskegee
Airmen were subject to racial discrimination, both within and outside the army. Despite these hardships,
they trained and flew in an outstanding way.
Although they “worked up” on North American B-25 Mitchell bombers, they never served in combat;
the Tuskegee 332nd Fighter Group was the only operational unit. They were first sent overseas as part of
Operation Torch, then they took part in action in Sicily and Italy, before they were deployed as bomber
escorts in Europe where they were particularly successful in their missions.
When the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group painted the tails of their P-47’s red, the nickname “Red
Tails” was born. In all, 996 pilots were trained in Tuskegee from 1941 to 1946, approximately 445 were
deployed overseas, and 150 airmen lost their lives in accidents or combat. The blood cost included
sixty-six pilots killed in action or accidents, and thirty-two fell in into captivity as prisoners of war.
No one knows how many are still alive from the original crew member number of 996 pilots and about
15,000 ground personnel. Many of the surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen participate annually
in the Tuskegee Airmen Convention.
2. Few Benefits to Daylight Savings Time

This weekend, public service announcements remind us to “fall back,” ending daylight savings time
(DST) by setting our clocks an hour earlier on Sunday, Nov. 6. On Nov. 7, many of us will commute home
in the dark.
This semiannual ritual shifts our rhythms and temporarily makes us groggy at times when we normally
feel alert. Moreover, many Americans are confused about why we spring forward to DST in March and
fall back in November, and whether it is worth the trouble.
The practice of resetting clocks is not designed for farmers, whose plows follow the sun regardless
of what time clocks say it is. Yet many people continue to believe that farmers benefit, including
lawmakers during recent debates over changing California DST laws. Massachusetts is also studying
whether to abandon DST.
Changing our clocks does not create extra daylight. DST simply shifts when the sun rises and sets
relative to our society’s regular schedule and routines. The key question, then, is how people respond to
this enforced shift in natural lighting. Most people have to be at work at a certain time and if that time
comes an hour earlier, they simply get up an hour earlier. The effect on society is another question, and
there, the research shows DST is more burden than boon.
Benjamin Franklin was one of the first thinkers to endorse the idea of making better use of daylight.
Although he lived well before the invention of light bulbs, Franklin observed that people who slept past
sunrise wasted more candles later in the evening. He also whimsically suggested the first policy fixes to
encourage energy conservation: firing cannons at dawn as public alarm clocks and fining homeowners
who put up window shutters.
DST proponents argue that changing times provides more hours for afternoon recreation and reduces
crime rates. But time for recreation is a matter of preference. There is better evidence on crime rates:
Fewer muggings and sexual assaults occur during DST months because fewer potential victims are out
after dark.
So overall, the net benefits from these durational effects of crime, recreation and energy use—that is,
impacts that last for the duration of the time change—are murky.
When we “spring forward” in March we lose an hour, which comes disproportionately from resting
hours rather than from wakeful time. Therefore, many problems associated with springing forward stem
14
from sleep deprivation. With less rest people make more mistakes, which appear to cause more traffic
accidents and workplace injuries.
Even when we gain that hour back in the fall, we must readjust our routines over several days because
the sun and our alarm clocks feel out of synchronization. Some impacts are serious: During bookend
weeks, children in higher latitudes go to school in the dark, which increases the risk of pedestrian
casualties. Dark commutes are so problematic for pedestrians that New York City is spending $1.5
million on a related safety campaign. And heart attacks increase after the spring time shift but decrease
to a lesser extent after the fall shift. Collectively, these bookend effects represent net costs and strong
arguments against retaining DST.
15
9.
1. Disabled Discrimination
According to a Swiss report, about 15 per cent of the world’s population -- 1 billion people -- is
disabled and subject to discrimination.
Despite the disability rights movement, disabled people still experience “significant difficulties”
concerning healthcare and employment. The report found disabled people in developing countries are
three times more likely to be denied healthcare than other people.
The disabilities include impairment, blindness, limb loss, chronic pain and mental retardation.
Children with disabilities are less likely to start or stay in school than other children. Employment rates
among the disabled were at 44 per cent, compared with 75 per cent employment rates for non-disabled
people in the 34 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries.
People with disabilities face barriers such as discrimination, lack of adequate healthcare and
rehabilitation services, and inaccessible transport, buildings and information. The report also found
that there is no country that has got it right.
Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO director general, said disability is part of life. “Almost every one of us will be
permanently or temporarily disabled at some point in life,” Chan said. “We must do more to break the
barriers which segregate people with disabilities, in many cases forcing them to the margins of society.”
According to the UN, one of the main factors that contribute to discrimination is the lack of education
in schools. Students are not taught how to deal with disabled people. Most children have no idea how to
approach a blind person in the street or on a bus. Schools should be the places where we can open the
eyes of youngsters to the dangers of discrimination.
2. Louis Vuitton Heir Continues Family Tradition

Louis Vuitton means the same thing wherever you are in the world—except in Asnières-sur-Seine,
France. Here, it just means the locals. A small village by the river before it became a suburb of Paris,
Asnières was the subject of paintings by Seurat and Van Gogh. It was also where, in 1859, the founding
family of the luxury luggage-maker decided to open its factory, right next door to the comfortable family
villa. It remained the company’s only workshop until 1977.
Today, it is Patrick Louis Vuitton who presides over a walled compound that would still be recognizable
to his great-grandmother—not least because Asnières is still home to the factory that makes all of Louis
Vuitton’s special orders, as well as the 2,200 or so pieces of the traditional hard-sided suitcases and
trunks it sells annually.
The compound also still feels like a home. Off the villa’s entrance hall is a dining room with a table that
can seat a dozen people. Patrick was born in 1951, grew up in the Asnières villa and began work in the
factory next door. His great-grandmother, who died in 1964 aged 104, was Louis Vuitton’s daughter; she
used to tell Patrick stories of the family’s past and of the historical events she experienced, including the
siege of Paris in the 1870s. It’s now Patrick’s job to keep the family’s memories alive, and with his tales
of early mornings as a youngster in the factory, he transports his listeners back to a time when Vuitton
was much smaller than today. He says that during the 1960s and 1970s, the entire business consisted of
one shop in Paris and another one in Nice, while administration and manufacturing employed in total
between 120 and 130 people.
Patrick has worked 43 years for the company under the ownership of his family. With amusement, he
tells the story of how he was once being interviewed on Japanese TV when the journalist handed him a
vintage Louis Vuitton briefcase and asked him to identify its age. He inspected it inside and out, then he
not only gave the correct year of purchase but said it had been bought in July, in Nice.
That rather impressive trick speaks to a lifetime of craftsmanship. Under the supervision of Patrick,
the carpentry team builds poplar frames for all the traditional pieces of Louis Vuitton luggage, on top
of which the famous protective canvas skin is mounted. The compound is also where special orders are
executed, roughly 300 of them a year. There have been some spectacular commissions, including a trunk
for a Taiwanese customer that contained a DVD player, film library and espresso machine. With Patrick’s
16
guidance, the workshops have shown themselves capable of making medicine chests, keepsake boxes for
a child’s milk teeth, trunks designed for most activities and interests, including tattooing, hairdressing
and playing croquet. They’ve made cases to hold guitars and cigars, cases to hold bottles of champagne
and to hold bottles of Ricard Pastis—the latter made by the workshops for Patrick on his 60th birthday.
17
10.
1. McFathers
A U.S. study indicates fathers are more likely to influence what and where a child eats than mothers.
It is said that lenient fathers allow children more trips to fast-food restaurants, which has been linked to
obesity in children.
Dads who think that dinner time is a special family time certainly do not see a fast-food restaurant as
an appropriate place for that special family time, so this means that his kids are spending less time in
those places. Dads who have no trouble eating food in a fast-food restaurant are going to be more likely
to have kids who do so.
The researchers had children write down in a diary what they ate and whether it was at home or
outside the home. The study found it was fathers’ time spent at fast-food restaurants – not mothers’
time spent there – that was associated with kids’ time spent in a fast-food place.
The only instances of mothers being lax on the use of fast-food are those who are negligent and those
who are highly committed to their work.
Traditionally it was believed that mothers should be blamed for everything that goes wrong with
children, especially when it comes to food, but the new study has found that fathers have a substantial
influence over what children are eating.
However, one thing forgotten in these researches is the fact that fathers cannot cook. If the wife works
overtime, the only place to take the child is a fast-food restaurant. It is true that it doesn’t happen every
day, only about once or twice a week, but it is still better than if the father cooked something that would
probably be inedible.
2. ANTS CAN FIND THEIR WAY HOME WALKING BACKWARDS, BUT THEY HAVE TO PEEK FIRST
If you give an ant a cookie, he’ll carry it back to his nest because ants can carry things many times their
body weight. If you give an ant a bigger cookie, he’ll try to drag it back to his nest, then tragically wander
off in the wrong direction. What if we make them turn 90 degrees to get home, but they have to do it
backwards because of a giant cookie crumb? The simple answer is that they get lost. Ants memorize
their visual surroundings as they walk, so when they head home they’re navigating based on sight. But
ants don’t always walk forward. If they’re trying to bring back a piece of food that’s too big to carry in
front of them, they’ll turn around and go backwards. That makes their visual cues useless, but ants in
their natural habitat can still find their way home.
Scientists investigated that question by studying desert ants near Seville, Spain. Like humans, ants are
motivated by cookies—so to train them to follow a certain path, you simply place cookie bits at a location
several meters away from their nest and use barriers to force them along the route you want them to
take. Once they reached the cookies, scientists forced them along a different route home, creating a
one-way loop from nest to cookies and back again. The key is that their route home involved a sharp
90-degree turn, so it wasn‘t a straight shot—they had to adapt their path as they went.
Ants with little cookie bits can walk forward as per usual, so they navigated the turn just fine. But when
they had to walk backwards to drag bigger cookies, they missed their turns, going on and on in the same
direction they headed out in. Backwards ants aren’t able to recognize their surroundings in reverse, so
they don’t realize that they have to turn to get home. And it’s the same deal if you drop the ants in a new
location. Forward-moving ants can use visual cues to get back to the nest, but backward-moving ants
head off in the wrong direction.
But they do have one trick up their itty-bitty sleeves: peeking. About a third of the backwards-moving
ants in these experiments dropped their cookie bits to look around. They took a few steps around,
went back to the cookie and headed off—this time in the correct direction. Once they did that, they
kept a straight path—going backwards—using the location of the sun as a celestial compass. When
the researchers used a mirror to mimic the sun’s rays coming from a different direction, the ants
immediately changed direction to adapt to the sun‘s location.
So, they take a peek once and the ants know exactly where they’re going and can get home just like
the forward-facing ants do. That doesn’t seem all that revolutionary. Of course turning around helps
18
them figure out where to walk. Here’s the thing: the fact that ants can look forward, recognize where
to go, turn around to retrieve their cookie, then drag it in the correct direction is actually a remarkably
complex process. It means they’re translating a simple sense of which path to follow into a more holistic
sense of where they are in the world. It’s kind of like the difference between knowing that you have to
make two rights and a left to get home and understanding where you and your home are in space and
being able to navigate between them without a given route.
19
 11.
1. What Is Your Nightcap?

A: We’ve all done the obvious stuff—cut out late-night caffeine, made sure our bedroom is dark and
comfortable, avoided scary movies or struggle with our to-do list right before bed. So why are we
still tossing and turning?
B: The answer is that certain habits you’re unaware of could be blocking your sleep. And, as you may
know, lack of sleep doesn’t just leave you foggy the next day: Chronic, long-term insufficient sleep
increases your chances of diabetes, depression, heart disease, even weight gain. So what to do? Try
my unexpected tips, and wake up feeling incredibly well-rested.
A: What are the tips that you recommend?
B: It’s a no-brainer that drinking coffee or tea right before you go to bed won’t do you any sleep favours.
But you also need to watch your afternoon drinks. Love your 4 p.m. peach tea? It’s got caffeine, and
so do some flavoured waters and even orange sodas. Check the labels on your favourite midday
drinks—any that boast energy-boosting benefits are likely to be responsible. Then, if possible, stop
sipping them after 2 p.m., so there’s time for their effects to disappear.
A: What about meals?
B: While it’s important to avoid a big, heavy meal right before bed (a full stomach will disturb your
sleep), some foods may actually help you snooze. If you’ve had a few nights of restless sleep, make
a light whole-wheat-pasta dish with fresh vegetables, a little steamed chicken breast, tomato sauce,
and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese for dinner. This meal contains a sleep-friendly combination of
protein and tryptophan, an amino acid that converts to sleep-promoting serotonin in the body. If
your stomach’s growling late at night, try a small bowl of cottage cheese with banana slices, another
dish that serves up tryptophan.
2. 8 Men Have As Much Money As Half The World

They are the eight richest men in the world. They hold the same amount of wealth as the bottom
half of the world’s population — 3.5 billion people. Together their net wealth ― assets minus debts ―
amounts to $426 billion.
One of the biggest non-governmental organisations, the Oxfam released the statistic that is one of
the starkest ways to portray the disturbing rise of economic inequality, which can be a hard concept to
grasp when portrayed in percentages and billion-dollar denominations. The global anti-poverty group
has been tracking inequality since 2014.
Worsening inequality threatens to upend the very fabric that’s held democracies together in the post-
World War II global order. In the United States, the widening gap between the rich and everyone else
helped propel Donald Trump into office. Overseas, the trend is credited with sparking Brexit, the U.K.’s
vote to leave the European Union.
“Left unchecked, growing inequality threatens to pull our societies apart,” Oxfam writes in its report,
citing Brexit, Trump’s campaign and “a worrying rise in racism and the widespread disillusionment
with mainstream politics.”
In 2016, the richest 1 percent of the world held slightly more than half of the wealth of the entire
planet. And the 1,810 billionaires on Forbes’s list ― 89 percent male ― hold $6.5 trillion, as much wealth
as 70 percent of humanity.
Put another way, billions of people are fighting over crumbs from half of a pie, while the rich dig into
fat slices all to themselves.
According to the wealth data, 80 percent of the bottom half of the world’s population are adults living
in Africa and India. They’re younger and more likely to be single and poorly educated. Women who are
poorly educated are even more likely to have very little wealth.
A very small sliver of the bottom half live in the United States, mainly because the wealth data looks
at net wealth, subtracting the amount of debt a person has from assets. That means, for example, that
young adults in the U.S. who have a big mortgage and maybe a car loan and a student loan will, on paper,
seem poor.
20
If you ignore debt entirely, it would take 56 of the wealthiest individuals to equal the wealth of the
bottom 50 percent, according to Oxfam’s report.
The underlying trend is the same: At the very pinnacle of the economic pyramid, rich people are
getting progressively and rapidly richer, while the rest of humanity is muddling along. Many people call
the wealth of the top eight individuals “biblical.”
Partly driving last year’s growing divide was the booming stock market, which fed even more money
to wealthy folks invested in the market. The rising value of the dollar also contributed.
Trump, whose political fortune has benefited from increasing economic dissatisfaction, ranks
324th on the Forbes billionaires list ― tied with “Star Wars” creator George Lucas. The president has
nominated the wealthiest group in American history to his Cabinet. (Interestingly, one of the exceptions
is his Vice President, Mike Pence.)
Neither Brexit nor Trump’s policy proposals ― tax cuts, relaxed regulations, renegotiated trade deals
― are viewed as offering a solution to the growing economic disparity.
21
12.
1. Facebook Party
Facebook is one powerful tool, and a 16-year-old German girl found that out the hard way, after she
forgot to set her Facebook birthday party invitation as private and had her celebration crashed by 1,500
strangers.
The girl, known only as Thessa, had originally planned to invite only a few friends over at her house
in Hamburg-Bramfeld, but mistakenly published the invitation on Facebook so that everyone could see
it. Before long, the invitation went viral and around 15,000 people confirmed they would come to the
party, even though they didn’t even know the girl. When Thessa’s parents found out, they made her
cancel the invitation, called the police and hired a private security firm to guard their house on the big
day.
Even though public announcements that the party had been cancelled were made in Hamburg,
some 1,500 people showed up in front of Thessa’s house ready to party. Some of them had banners
asking ‘Where is Thessa?’ Others brought presents, home-made cake, and plenty of alcohol, but they
were all ready for a good time, and the 100 policemen present on the scene weren’t going to stop them.
They started singing ‘Thessa, celebrating a birthday is not a crime’, in relation with the massive police
presence, and although eleven people were arrested, a police officer was injured and dozens of girls
wearing flip-flops cut their feet on broken glass, Thessa’s party was a big hit.
Unfortunately, the birthday girl didn’t get to enjoy her own birthday party, as German newspapers
report she was out celebrating with her grandparents, at an undisclosed location.
2. Where to see Australia‘s wildlife in Queensland

There are plenty of zoos and wildlife parks in Queensland where you can be sure to see the unusual
fauna up close – and maybe even cuddle a koala – but it’s not quite the same as spotting creatures in
their natural habitat. So take a trip along back-roads, visit an offshore island, or hike into the cloud
forest and you’ll be rewarded with wild encounters with Australia‘s unique wildlife.
A keen eye can spot koalas in eucalyptus forests even when zooming along the Bruce Highway (the
coast’s main artery) but for closer and more leisurely viewing the best place to go is Magnetic Island. The
near-sure-bet spot to see these lethargic animals is the 2.8km forts walk that leads through eucalyptus
forest to WWII vestiges and gorgeous views of the Coral Sea. Walk slowly and look in tree crooks. Once
you’ve found one koala and know what to look for, the others become easier to spot.
The worst time to see a kangaroo is when it’s leaping in front of your vehicle so, while you’re pretty
much guaranteed to see the country’s most famous animal around sunrise or sunset along roadways,
hope it’s not while you’re driving! These are the best times of day for strolling the mainland’s farmlands
and open outback where kangaroos are often even more common than humans.
Every day around sunset at Geoffrey Bay on Magnetic Island, local rock wallabies descend from the
rocks to the waterfront. A small smattering of locals and tourists meet them and although you really
should not feed the animals, unfortunately some do. This is not a zoo however and seeing these gentle
and extremely cute animals up close is unforgettable.
Long Island in the Whitsunday Islands has a less tame population of wallabies, so you can approach
them easily, and you’re likely to see them all over the island in the bush and off of the many forested
walking trails.
About 30km north of Mackay, a long, curvy road leads west out of the flatlands and to the high cloud
forests of Eungella National Park. Here, just off the road between the tiny towns of Eungella and Broken
River, is one of the best places in the world to view platypus, the notoriously reclusive but famous
monotreme (egg-laying mammal). You can spy platypus from a viewing platform where you’re most
likely to see several, or try your luck on nearby streams. The best viewing times are near dawn and
dusk, and around the breeding season in August, but it’s possible to see them at any time.
22
Every year from July to early November thousands of humpback whales cruise into sheltered Hervey
Bay on their migration to the Antarctic. Young calves often accompany their mothers and the whales
tend to visit the bay in groups of two to up to a dozen. This all means that the conditions for whale
watching are spectacular – expect to get quite close, see spouting and possibly even breaching. It’s a
not-to-be-missed experience of a lifetime.
23
13.
1. Iron-Man
Wang Kang, a 25-year-old office worker from Shanghai, China, surprised his colleagues a few days
ago, when he came to work wearing a homemade Iron Man suit.
It happened on June 3rd, 2011. Kang walked into his office building wearing a metallic-looking
costume and was immediately stopped by security. After explaining to them that he was actually an
employee, they allowed him to go through to the office area where all his work mates stopped what they
were doing and stared at the real-life Iron Man who just walked in. Everyone was speechless at first, but
proceeded to congratulate Wang Kang for his incredible achievement, and started taking pictures. One
of these ended up on China’s Twitter-like platform, Weibo, and the young self-taught costume maker
became an Internet sensation.
Wang Kang got the idea of making his own Iron Man costume after seeing the 2008 blockbuster
starring Robert Downey Junior, but actually started working on it on February 26, 2011, right in the
living room of his rented apartment. The costume is mainly made of high density foam, wires and tubes,
for which he only paid around $460. The whole thing took him three months to finish, but the reactions
on his colleagues’ faces were totally worth the time and effort. After the office test, Kang took to the
streets where he left everyone stunned as well.
The realistic-looking Iron Man suit created by Wang Kang is around 1.85 meters tall, weighs 50
kilograms and is relatively easy to put on. Its creator says it takes him about 10 minutes to slip into the
body armour.
2. Sleep and sporting performance

Norma Scott: Let‘s leave the lungs for our sleep and jetlag because West Australia clings to the belief
that daylight saving fades the curtains, there‘s a three-hour gap with the east. So I am coming to you
at nearly 3pm western time. Ian Dunican of Centre for Sleep Science is studying sleep and jetlag, and
his subjects are the Western Force, West Australia‘s rugby franchise who have to travel a lot for their
matches. Welcome Ian. So is there a problem with Western Force?
Ian Dunican: Well, there‘s not such a problem with Western Force, but they do provide a unique
opportunity for us to investigate the effects of jetlag on performance, cognitive and physical, within the
rugby competition.
Norma Scott: So they are flying all over the place, it‘s not just the three-hour lag to the east.
Ian Dunican: For sure, they are the most travelled sports team in the world, they travel to South
Africa, Japan, New Zealand, to the east coast of Australia, and now this year they will be travelling to
Argentina for the first time ever.
Norma Scott: So what are you finding?
Ian Dunican: Well, we are finding that on average athletes sleep just a little bit short of seven hours a
night, which is not optimal, and indeed recent…
Norma Scott: More than I get! Probably more than you get too.
Ian Dunican: Indeed, recent statistics show that adults are getting around seven hours, so athletes
are no different.
Norma Scott: You‘re also finding that they are sleep banking, in other words they are sleeping more
before matches, which is what people say you shouldn‘t do.
Ian Dunican: Well, in the general population we do try to encourage people to have a routine around
sleep, but for professional athletes it‘s not so easy, with travel, training and so on. So athletes the night
before the game in this environment seem to tend to bank sleep or optimise sleep the night before to get
through those periods.
Norma Scott: And the use of caffeine?
Ian Dunican: Yes, so caffeine has been widely used.
24
Norma Scott: And that‘s legal?

Ian Dunican: It is legal, yes.
Norma Scott: And what‘s that doing to them?
Ian Dunican: So, many athletes take caffeine for ergogenic performance during the game…
Norma Scott: So to generate energy.
Ian Dunican: Yes. But the negative effect is post-game from the timing of the caffeine affects the
time of sleep onset. So in a general population we see the same thing. Caffeine full-life and half-life, the
caffeine half-life being between four and six hours can actually stop people falling asleep.
Norma Scott: So what have you learnt? If it works for athletes, sleep banking for example, surely it‘s
going to work for us. So what have you learnt for the common or garden non-rugby player here?
Ian Dunican: So we see sleep optimisation being utilised in other areas as well, such as military. But
for people who may not be getting sufficient sleep, such as shift workers, particularly here in Western
Australia in the mining, oil and gas industry, sleep banking or sleep optimisation can indeed help for
recovery after periods of sleep loss. Ideally the general routine and sleep hygiene is the best way to go,
but if you do know you‘re going to come up to periods of sleep loss, a short sleep banking can indeed
help people to override those negative cognitive effects.
Norma Scott: So adolescent males know something here.
Ian Dunican: Well, more recently we‘ve found with elite athletes that young athletes and teenagers
have a delayed chronotype, so they like to go to bed later and sleep in. So that‘s just their normal
circadian physiology, so they have an evening chronotype.
Norma Scott: Thank you very much Ian Dunican, who is at the University of Western Australia‘s
Centre for Sleep Science.
25
14.
1. LEGO Building
A: Inspired by fantasy buildings featured in sagas like Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings, LEGO fan
Gerry Burrows has built an astonishing giant structure called the Garrison of Moriah. Where did you
get the idea?
B: Ever since I was just a kid, I dreamed of building something big using LEGO bricks, but it was only
after finishing college that I realized I finally had the freedom to do it. I began thinking about how. I
finally had the space and the financial freedom to fulfil my childhood dream without my little sister
destroying my Lego creations.
A: So what happened next?
B: I called my estate agent and told him I needed a LEGO room. As soon as I bought my first house, I
unpacked a box of my old LEGO bricks.
A: How did you manage to create the Garrison of Moriah with so little planning?
B: I made no initial plans, on paper or computer, but simply started assembling the bricks, focusing
on individual structures. As I kept building, I got inspiration on what direction to take to make my
masterpiece look as cool as possible. Amazingly enough I suffered no disasters during the entire
building process.
A: The Garrison of Moriah is currently 8.5-meters-long, covering a third of Burrows’ basement, stands
between 2 and 3.5 meters tall and has a depth of between 60 and 150 centimetres.
B: I believe that I have used between 200,000 and 250,000 LEGO bricks so far, because it’s currently a
work in progress.
2. Functional illiteracy
Norman Swan: According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, depending on the state that you live
in, up to 50% of the population of Australia are functionally illiterate. A proportion of these people will
have dyslexia, but that‘s far from the only reason. This Saturday, Learning Difficulties Australia‘s 2016
Eminent Researcher Award is to be given to an old friend of the Health Report, Professor Maryanne
Wolf, who is director of the Centre for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University in Boston,
and now she is in the studio with us. Welcome Maryanne.
Maryanne Wolf: It‘s a pleasure. Of course I have a multifactorial response to give you and it‘s a
developmental one, so pardon me if I give you four different reasons at four different ages. The first is 0
to 5. We know that the gaps really begin before the children even walk in the kindergarten door. So what
we could do to enhance language development is so simple. Literally reading to our children, speaking
to our children every day, every night, is one of the simplest antidotes to really fix the very grievous
differences in language in our privileged and underprivileged homes.
Norman Swan: So this is the notorious word gap.
Maryanne Wolf: This is the notorious word gap in which 32 million less words are heard by children
who are between three and four who come from disadvantaged homes. And it‘s not just quantitative, it‘s
qualitative as well, you know, the nature of the language that is being used. But yes, that‘s the first, the
0 to 5.
Norman Swan: But if you‘ve got 50% of the population, I think that‘s a Tasmanian figure actually,
I think it‘s less in other states, but if you‘ve got a large…even 30% is high, and their parents, they are
going to struggle to read to their children.
Maryanne Wolf: Absolutely. There are wonderful things that we can do, and part of it is due to the
paediatricians who are giving these various groups of children stories that can be read either by the
people who are the parents or by librarians or by caretakers or by tape recorders. The problems may
start in the schools with...
Norman Swan: I‘m used to hammering doctors for not being evidence-based, now we are hammering
teachers. What evidence have you got that Australian teachers are contributing to this unacceptably
high level of illiteracy?
26
Maryanne Wolf: What I have been doing for the last week but also for the last several months is
really trying to understand from teachers, policymakers, administrators, what is going on, and what
seems to be is a regression to a kind of binary way of thinking about instruction.
Norman Swan: Binary?
Maryanne Wolf: Binary being phonics versus whole language and we can call it balance but it‘s not
balance. And what we really need to do is to understand that evidence base gives us a scaffolding. It
also helps all children who have various forms of impairments. So dyslexia is between 5% and 10% of
the population. There are many other challenges. But if you give this scaffolding and then you expand
it…you see, the reading brain circuit is not simply about phonics, that‘s the beginning. I need teachers
to realise they need to be explicit about everything over time. So we are talking about rich semantic or
vocabulary work…
Norman Swan: So do you think primary school teachers understand the syntax and grammar?
Maryanne Wolf: No, they do not. One of the really harsh realities is that primary teachers are given
the responsibility for all the ills the society is not addressing. They are given 20, 25 or 30 children, they
were never trained to work with children with dyslexia or challenges, and they are giving usually one
hour a week from someone outside and no pull-out time for the children who need intensive work.
Norman Swan: We‘re running out of time, but next time when you join us, we will be looking at the
5% of kids with dyslexia…
Maryanne Wolf: 5% to 10%, yes. I am really looking forward to that.
Norman Swan: And Maryanne Wolf has got a couple of books coming out on that which we will no
doubt promote when they do. Maryanne, thanks very much for joining us.
27
15.
1. Natural Healers
India is known for the wide variety of folk remedies for various illnesses, and one of the most popular
right now is the raw-fish-swallowing therapy practiced by the Goud family in Hyderabad.
Asthma is one of the most serious respiratory conditions a person can have, and since conventional
medicine doesn’t offer a permanent cure, many are willing to try any kind of treatment, no matter how
bizarre. One of these is the fish-swallowing cure offered by the Goud family for the last 166 years. Every
year, during the month of June, hundreds of thousands of people flock to Hyderabad to try this unusual
remedy. Around 500 volunteers administer the miracle cure: live 2-inch to 3-inch long murrel fish
which have been fed a drop of the secret herbal formula which the Gouds claim cures asthma within
three years.
Ingredients for the medicine are collected two to three months before the big day, mixed the day
before using water from the Goud’s family well, and administered to asthma sufferers free of charge.
The patient is advised not to eat or drink anything for four hours before swallowing the raw fish and
two hours after. Also, he must be aware that he must come back for the cure in the next three years, if he
wants to get rid of the asthma forever.
The ingredients of the medicinal formula are a closely guarded secret so it’s practically impossible
to know what effects it has on certain people, or if it actually works in any way. If you ask some of the
people who have tried this raw-fish treatment, many of them will say it gives them great relief, but there
have been cases when the patient suffered severe asthma attacks, and physicians warn that the fish
itself could cause an allergic reaction.
2. Does anaesthesia affect children‘s academic performance?

Norman Swan: There‘s been a theoretical concern that giving anaesthetics to children, particularly
young children, could be dangerous, and it comes from animal studies which suggest some brain
damage in neonatal animals when they are exposed to modern anaesthetics, that is putting people to
sleep for surgery. The question is, is this a real worry when it comes to real human children? Well, that‘s
been the subject of a very large study performed by Dr Pia Glatz and her colleagues. Pia Glatz is in the
department of anaesthesiology and intensive care medicine in Sweden. Welcome to the Health Report.
Pia Glatz: Thank you very much.
Norman Swan: So before you did your study, was there any evidence at all that there was a worry in
children?
Pia Glatz: We have evidence. As you said, many animal studies have shown that all anaesthetic drugs
we are using currently are neurotoxic, they give brain damage when we give anaesthetic drugs to rat
babies or monkey babies, and of course that raises the question if this is applicable for human babies
and children.
Norman Swan: And has it ever been studied before you, in children, that it raises a concern?
Pia Glatz: Yes, smaller studies, epidemiological studies just as ours. It‘s not so easy to do these animal
studies. For ethical reasons you can‘t just take a bunch of kids and give them anaesthetic drugs and see
what happens, so you have to do it some other way.
Norman Swan: So what do you do in your study?
Pia Glatz: In Sweden we have unique registers for the healthcare and school systems, so we looked
at all children born in Sweden between 1973 and 1993. That‘s about 2 million children. And we found
those who had surgery before age 4, and then we excluded those who had neurosurgery or serious
malformation, and surgery or medical diagnosis who we thought might affect cognitive development.
Norman Swan: And what outcomes were you looking at? Was it just school performance?
Pia Glatz: We looked after school grades, grades at age 16, that‘s when you leave compulsory school
in Sweden, and we also, for the boys looked at the intelligence tests all Swedish boys do when they are
28
18 and entering the military system here. We found that those children compared to healthy children
had 0.41% lower school grades, so it‘s a statistically significant difference but it‘s very, very small. We
also looked at other factors that can affect school grades, and we found that other factors affect it much
more. If you are a boy, you have 10% lower school grades than girls, and if your mother lacks university
education you have 10% lower school grades.
Norman Swan: And younger children versus older, if they were operated on in infancy?
Pia Glatz: We thought that the youngest must be the most vulnerable, but we couldn‘t find anything.
On the contrary, we found that those who had lower school grades were those who had their anaesthesia
and surgery between 36 and 48 months. So we couldn‘t find that youngest theory to the six months
were more vulnerable.
Norman Swan: And just finally, what does that mean then for parents whose child might need to
have an operation?
Pia Glatz: I would not be worried at all. We can see a small, small difference, but it‘s so very small.
Other factors affect school grades much more, and you also have to take into account what happens if
you don‘t do the surgery. We never give surgery and anaesthesia to a child unless absolutely necessary,
and you have to think what happens if you don‘t do this maybe eye surgery or ear surgery that could
give other problems.
29

BME Listening Leirat Középfok

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

BME Listening Leirat Középfok

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

BME Listening Leirat Középfok

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Kész Zoltán – Törökné Tenk Dóra

2. Babies and puppies

2. Apollo Astronaut Says Aliens Prevented a Nuclear War on Earth

1. The Blue Sulphur Springs Resort

2. Aged 35 He Speaks 11 Languages

1. Tips for Air-travellers

2. How much protein do you really need?

2. Beijing: The city where you can't escape smog

2. What happens when all of China goes on vacation at once

1. Female Doctors Are Better

2. Buildings Exploring the Unseen World

1. The Tuskegee Airmen

2. Few Benefits to Daylight Savings Time

2. Louis Vuitton Heir Continues Family Tradition

1. What Is Your Nightcap?

2. 8 Men Have As Much Money As Half The World

2. Where to see Australia‘s wildlife in Queensland

2. Sleep and sporting performance

Norma Scott: And that‘s legal?

2. Does anaesthesia affect children‘s academic performance?

You might also like