London Marathon

Many big cities have a marathon. But London's marathon is special... most people run it for charity. It's the largest annual fundraising event in the world: since 1981 it has raised more than 525 million euros. But it isn't easy to run 42km dressed like a dragon... even if it's for a good cause. 

Write about an experience (unit 8)

This time last year, things weren't going too well for me.  I'd failed one exam at school, and I also had an argument with my sister. Friends invited me out, but I didn't really want to see them. I spent a lot of time on the computer, in my room.

Everything changed for me the day I read an article about the Paralympic Games. The article talks about one woman who lost on leg in a traffic accident and the sport helped her. Now this woman is more optimistic than the day before the accident. 
This woman made me realize that I should be a bit more positive.

These days, I fell much happier. Live your life more enthusiastically is the advice that I give to other people who feel bad. 

CHANGIN LAWS (unit 7)

The government plans to introduce a new law, which will mean that people must go to school on Saturday mornings in order to improve the level of education. In my view, this would have some negative consequences. 

In the first place, I believe that all the students need two days from the week to relax and do other things, which there aren't classes. So if this law is introduced, I've had no doubt that a lot of them will have difficulty concentration. I also think that this would discriminate bad students.

If the aim of the government is to lower the number of students which fail the exams, it seems to me that there's a better alternative: if they spent more money on better schools and better teachers, students in this country would be better. 

Water art

American photographer Tim Tadder has produced a great series of futuristic pictures showing bald people with water instead of hair. 

It's not a digital trick- the water is in ballons that are dropped on the model's head. Tadder takes the photo at the exact moment the balloon explodes.

Baby suit

FASHION! 
Yes, it's a onesie -a baby romper suit for adults. It's also the number one fashion item in the UK right now, widely adopted by celebrities from Rihanna to One Direction. Opinion is divided about whether they should be worn i public, but they are so successful that they were the most popular Christmas gift last year. They're all over Britain, the USA and Japan, but will the style-concuscious French also sccumb to the onesie?

Hyde Park on Hudson

The story of how King George VI convinced the USA to join the war

A few month before the Second World War, Britain knew it needed America's help to fight the Germans. But most Americans didn't want their country to get involved in the war. 

At this crucial moment, King George VI (recently played by Colin Firth in The King's Speech) was invited to President Franklin D.Roosevelt's country home for a picnic. Not to say too much, the film suggests that the Allied victory over Germany started with a hot-dog!

Bill Murray is charming as Roosevelt, and Samuel West has the difficult job of following Colin Firth as George VI, but he does it his own way and is good in the role. The hod-dog episode is real enough, but most of the scenes are imagined -so it may not be the entire turht, but it makes a good story. RM Week-End Royal.

OUT: FEBRUARY 27

director: Roger Michell

Stars: Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Samuel West

Story: King George VI meets President Roosevelt  

Surgical games

Austin, Texas

Students who play computer games are better than professional surgeons at perfoming virtual operations, say scientists. Researchers from the University of Texas found that the more time people spent on computer games, the better they were at perfoming simulated tasks such as putting in sutures. Although the difference was small, the improvements in hand-to-eye coordination may give an advantage to the next generation of surgeons.