Podcast Special English

Try listening to this podcast a few times every day for one week. Sit, sat, sat spend, spent, spent ring, rang, rung wear, wore, worn sell, sold, sold beat, beat, beaten win, won, won hurt, hurt, hurt sing, sang, sung blow, blew, blown rise, rose, risen ride, rode ridden fly, flew, flown drink, drank, drunk, forget, forgot, forgotten throw, threw, thrown hang, hung, hung, swim, swam, swum.

Try listening to this podcast a few times every day for one week. Feel, felt, felt hold, held, held stand, stood, stood understand, understood, understood lose, lost, lost catch, caught, caught buy, bought, bought send, sent, sent fall, fell, fallen choose, chose, chosen sleep, slept, slept speak, spoke, spoken meet, met, met lead, led, led bite, bit, bitten hit, hit, hit drive, drove, driven break, broke, broken.

Try listening to this podcast a few times every day for one week. Take, took, taken put, put, put tell, told, told give, gave, given read, read, read keep, kept, kept begin, began, begun let, let, let hear, heard, heard cut, cut, cut eat, ate, eaten * run, ran, run bring, brought, brought become, became, become grow, grew, grown draw, drew, drawn show, showed, shown mean, meant, meant.

Try listening to this podcast a few times every day for one week. Have has had had say says said said do does did done see saw seen make made made find found found know knew known get got gotten go went gone write wrote written think thought thought come came come.

New research suggests that sleeping next to your pet increases your risk of getting sick. Researchers from the University of California-Davis believe pet owners have a greater chance of catching diseases as serious as the bubonic plague, an infection that killed 75 million people across Europe in the fourteenth century. Professor Bruno Chamel did, however, say that although this is extremely rare, it does happen. He said people are safer if they keep Kitty and Fido next to their bed, not on it. He wrote in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases: "There are private places in the household, and I think our pets should not go beyond next to the bed....Having a stuffed animal in your bed is fine, not a real one." This research will upset many people who love cuddling up to their pet or getting their face licked by them. Professor Chamel reckons that because people are having fewer children, pets have become replacements. More than 60 per cent of American households have a pet and up to 62 per cent of pet owners let their animals sleep with them, according to Chamel’s research. Chamel has already received many e-mails strongly disagreeing with his research. They say they have slept with their pets throughout their lives and are as healthy as anyone else. Larry Kornegay, president of the American Veterinary Association, agreed, saying: “The benefits of having a pet, whether or not you sleep with it, far outweigh the negatives.”

Celebrations have erupted across Egypt after Hosni Mubarak resigned as president. His resignation came after 18 days of pro-democracy protests in which millions of Egyptians voiced their desire for change. The end for Mubarak was a U-turn. On Thursday night he vowed to continue in power until September elections. Just 24 hours later, vice president Omar Suleiman announced to the nation that Mr. Mubarak had gone. The announcement brought wild scenes of joy in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and the rest of the country. A protestor speaking on Al Jazeera TV said there was an “explosion of happiness”. Fireworks lit the sky and car horns continued all night as people partied in the streets. Most people were too overcome with emotion to express their feelings. News of Mubarak’s fall from power was welcomed across the world. There was dancing in the streets outside the Egyptian Embassy in London and parties in many major cities. People across the Middle East took to the streets in solidarity with the Egyptian protesters. Egypt’s revolution took inspiration from Tunisia’s and was three days faster. The Associated Press quoted Tunis resident Safia Ruwees, who said: "These are democracies that we are bringing with our hands, no one has brought them to us, not America, not France, no one." An Egyptian in Beirut, Issam Allawi, said: "We are very happy today that we were able to overcome the dictator Hosni Mubarak. Tomorrow, the next dictators throughout the entire Arab world."

What do you buy the man who has everything for Christmas? How about some perfume that smells of meat? The US hamburger giant Burger King has just released a fragrance for men based on the smell of its Whopper burger. The company is advertising the scent, called Flame, on its website firemeetsdesire.com. It says: “The Whopper sandwich is America’s favourite burger. Flame….captures the essence of that love and gives it to you.” The website also invites visitors to “Behold the scent of seduction.” The site features a variety of romantic images, including candlelit baths, wine and sunsets. Burger King says Flame will allow men to “Set the mood no matter what mood you’re in the mood for”. The scent is on sale online for $3.99, although just five days before Christmas, it was sold out. It is on sale in New York, for those who desperately want to buy a bottle. The website that is marketing Flame has a lot of feedback from some very satisfied customers. It seems the body spray is doing some amazing things to make men more irresistible. We found several people who were more than happy with their purchase. Jason Lowe from San Diego said: “I like the smell but would like the body spray to have the smell of extra cheese.” Carmen Diaz from Los Angeles said she loved the smell, but was worried about the number of dogs that now followed her husband. The fragrance has not yet been a big hit with vegetarians.

The world will soon know who will get the “best job in the world”. The position is for a caretaker to live on and look after a tropical island off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Duties include relaxing on the island, which is part of the Great Barrier Reef, and writing a blog to promote the area. Other responsibilities are to feed the fish, clean the pool and collect the mail. The job website, islandreefjob.com, tells applicants: “There are over 1,500 species of fish living in the Great Barrier Reef. Don’t worry. You won’t need to feed them all.” The successful applicant will get a salary of nearly US$100,000 for the six months. Officials from Queensland’s tourism department announced on Tuesday that they were now looking at 50 candidates. Unsurprisingly, over 35,000 people applied for the job. The next stage in the selection process is to get the list of candidates down to 11. The tourism board will select ten people. Visitors to the website will choose an eleventh person. The public can look at the video applications of all 50 hopeful caretakers. The eleven lucky finalists will then fly to Hamilton Island for a formal interview. The winner will be announced on May 6, and the job starts on July 1. The current shortlist of 50 includes people from 22 countries. They include dancers, chefs, scientists and students and they all want a slice of paradise. Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle said there was much discussion to narrow down the list to 50. He told reporters, “it boiled down to…the motivation and professionalism of the applicants and their 'fit' with the job and Tourism Queensland”.

An astronomy professor has turned the astrology world on its head by suggesting the 3,000-year-old zodiac system is wrong. Professor Parke Kunkle said the Earth's wobbly orbit means things have changed in the past three millennia and now has a different relationship to the stars. He said the ancient Babylonians determined the dates of the Zodiac and decided not to include a thirteenth sign called Ophiuchus. He believes the changes in the Earth’s orbit now mean this sign must be included in the Zodiac. This would change all of the dates we are used to with our star signs and many of us would have a new one. Professor Kunkle is surprised his recent announcement has shocked people: "Astronomers have known about this since about 130BC," he said. The story has caused millions around the world to worry their life might change because of this news. People who were happy at being a Virgo are upset because they are now Leos. Kunkle says people should not be worried because star signs were never meant to predict our future or provide an income to horoscope writers, saying: "You could predict when to harvest, when to plant, by the stars. So there is some predictive nature there. Then they took it too far, using it to determine when to go to war and people's personalities." Popular astrologer Susan Miller has reassured people they needn’t worry and called the news "ridiculous." In an interview with ABC News, she joked: "We've known about this for ages….Trying to explain something technical in 140 characters [on Twitter] is hard."

A newly-released study reveals that walking fast in your old age is a sign you will live a long life. The report in the Journal of the American Medical Association analyzed data from nine studies that involved 34,485 senior citizens. Participants in the research were regularly tested over a period of 21 years. The researchers looked at the relationship between walking speed in the over-65s and expected longevity. They concluded that the faster an older person can walk, the longer they can expect to live. Lead researcher Dr. Stephanie Studenski said: "It’s a real part of the human experience to see that when someone slows down with age, they may not be doing as well as they once were." Dr. Studenski explained why an elderly person’s walking pace could be an indicator of a longer life. She said walking involves the use of many bodily functions working in tandem. The heart, lungs, skeletal system and joints, muscles, nerves and brain must all work together to ensure a smooth and consistent speed. Damage to any of these systems could result in walking more slowly, which could signal medical problems. Studenski said that walking speed was a better indicator of longevity than other factors, and that elders who walked at “one metre per second or higher consistently demonstrated survival that was longer than expected by age and sex alone”. She also suggested doctors look more carefully at slow-walking patients.

Times are changing quickly in Cuba. Cubans can now build their own houses for the first time in 50 years. The country's president, Raul Castro, has announced changes to help the nation's housing shortage. For the past five decades, people had to rely on the government to provide them with houses. There was no such thing as housing loans or a property market. The new reforms will allow people to get loans to build their own homes. There will still be many restrictions. All new properties must follow strict building guidelines. The government has announced dimensions for new houses that all architects must stick to. Mr. Castro explained his decision live on television, telling his people: "I've given you this amount of space....Now build your little home with whatever you can." Housing has become a serious problem in Cuba. There are now too few houses for people to live in. Overcrowding is reaching record levels as more and more people live with their families in tiny properties. Cuba's government has had difficulty keeping to its targets of building 100,000 new homes per year. The situation has been made worse by three huge hurricanes that hit the island in 2008. Hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed in the fierce winds and driving rain. One potential Cuban homeowner, Jose Santana, was delighted with the news. "My dream to have my own home may soon come true," he said. This may be easier said than done. The average wage in Cuba is just $17 a month, and most building materials are only available on the black market.

A new study has found that having a child can make a couple less happy with each other. Researchers from the University of Denver conducted an eight-year study of 218 sets of parents. Their report is called “The effect of the transition to parenthood on relationship quality”. It is published in the March 2009 edition of the ‘Journal of Personality and Social Psychology’. The psychologists examined how happy couples were in the eight years after the birth of their first child. They concluded that the first baby put a lot of stress and pressure on a marriage. Ninety percent of couples experienced a decrease in marital bliss immediately following the birth of their first child. Unmarried couples experienced bigger problems. It’s not all bad news for would-be parents. Some couples in the research said their relationship was stronger after their baby was born. Parents who were married for a long time before starting a family were happier. Couples on higher incomes also seemed to have fewer problems. Researcher Scott Stanley said his team’s findings did not mean children bring unhappiness in life. He said that parents may be happier as part of a family than as a childless couple. He noted that “this type of happiness can be powerful and positive”. Stanley also pointed out that couples who did not have children also became unhappier with each other over time. However, he said parenthood accelerated levels of unhappiness.

Drinking wine can damage your teeth. That’s the conclusion of a report from the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. Researchers tested the effects of eight red and eight white wines on teeth from men and women aged between 40 to 65. They discovered all of the wines damaged the enamel that protects our teeth. This makes our teeth more sensitive to hot and cold food and drinks. It also means the teeth will stain quicker if someone drinks coffee. The research team said white wine causes more damage than red. The acid in white wines attacks the enamel and wears it away. The bad news is that brushing your teeth after drinking wine will only make things worse. Wine drinkers previously thought red wine was worse for your teeth. The research has been published in the journal “Nutrition Research”. Report co-author Dr. Brita Willershausen told reporters: “Within the limits of this study, it can be predicted that frequent consumption of white wines might lead to severe dental erosion.” The researchers did have some good news for wine lovers. They said food that is rich in calcium can help limit the damage. The report stated: “The tradition of enjoying different cheeses for dessert or in combination with drinking wine might have a beneficial effect on preventing dental erosion because cheese contains calcium in a high concentration.” Other factors can also help reduce the amount of erosion wine causes. Less frequent sips and swallowing the wine a little more quickly can help save your teeth.

Train companies in Tokyo are taking action to reduce the number of people jumping in front of trains. They are fitting blue lights on station platforms to try and create a more calming atmosphere. The East Japan Railway Company has invested almost $170,000 to install the lights in all of the 29 stations on the capital's busy Yamanote Line. There has been an alarming rise in the number of people committing suicide at train stations. A total of 68 people threw themselves under trains in the year up to March. This compares with 42 suicides in the same period a year earlier. In 2008, Japan had nearly 2,000 suicides by jumping in front of a train; around six percent of all suicides nationwide. Suicides have risen sharply in the past decade due to poor economic conditions. No one knows if the blue lights will work. There is no evidence to show that blue light reduces suicidal feelings. Keihan Railway spokesman Osamu Okawa stated: “We thought we had to do something to save lives. We know there is no scientific proof that blue lights deter suicides, but if blue has a soothing effect on the mind, we want to try it to save lives.” The Associated Press news agency reports on a Japanese therapist called Mizuki Takahashi. She explained her reasons why the blue lights might be a good idea: "We associate the colour with the sky and the sea. It has a calming effect on agitated people, or people obsessed with one particular thing, which in this case is committing suicide," she said. Other companies are watching this experiment with interest.

A survey on London’s subway train system has found over 80 per cent of passengers are stressed. The report is called ‘Too close for comfort: Passengers' experiences of the London Underground’. It was made by a London transport committee, who questioned more than 700 commuters. The findings paint an ugly picture of the famous railway system. The situation is so bad that the majority of travellers had to “psyche” themselves up before getting on a Tube train. People had to prepare mentally for their rail journey. Overcrowding was the biggest cause of discomfort. Over half of those questioned said they couldn’t get on the first train to arrive at a station because it was too full. Others said they hated being squashed against strangers. The London Underground carries more than 1 billion passengers a year. At the busiest times, there are four people per square metre packed onto the train. This has an impact on travellers’ behaviour. The report notes that the “overwhelming majority of passengers” think overcrowding is “a highly unpleasant and abnormal situation”. The committee listed a number of strategies people use to cope with travelling on the Tube. These include adopting a “dog-eat-dog” or “survival of the fittest” attitude, ignoring pregnant women who want to sit down, and switching off to what’s happening around them. One passenger said: “I’m a different animal on the Tube to normal life. I’m not me. I’m a bit less interested in others.”

A U.S. university has found a new use for the Apple iPhone – as a musical instrument. Academics from the University of Michigan have joined forces to create what they call a 21st century orchestra. There are no traditional instruments, only 20 of Apple’s best-selling mobile telephones. The project is a group effort from the university’s music, computer science and engineering departments. They call themselves the Michigan Mobile Phone Ensemble and describe their work as "new, crazy, electronic ensemble music". They will hold their first concert on Wednesday, December the 9th. Each ‘musician’ will ‘play’ the notes and tunes that they programmed into their handset. The result will be an original piece of... music. The brains behind the iPhone orchestra is assistant professor Georg Essl. He is a musician and an engineer. On his course, he encouraged students to experiment with the iPhone’s advanced technologies. They wrote special applications that used wireless radios, motion sensors and the touch screen to produce different noises. The result is the hi-tech sound of the experimental new orchestra. Professor Essl was excited about this innovative form of music. He said: “We can do interesting, weird and unusual things. This kind of technology is in its infancy, but it's a hot and growing area to use iPhones for artistic expression." He called the iPhone “a very nice platform for exploring new forms of musical performance". He didn’t say when the orchestra would record its first CD.

British people have voted a good night's sleep as life's "greatest little pleasure". The Batchelors Cup-A-Soup company conducted a survey into what gave Britons most pleasure. Bed activities filled four of the top ten spots. Cuddling a loved one in bed came third, having a lie-in was fifth and sleeping in freshly-washed sheets sixth. Finding £10 ($16) in your pocket was life’s second greatest pleasure for Brits. Also in the top ten were crying with laughter, making someone smile and catching up with an old friend. There were plenty of things in the list that most people around the world would agree with. These include realizing that your queue in the supermarket is the one moving fastest, and at number 50, popping bubble wrap. Batchelors spokesman Rob Stacey gave his thoughts on the findings of the survey, which 3,000 Britons did. He said: "It's often the little things that brighten up life, like getting into bed after a long day. You can't beat that feeling.” Mr. Stacey observed that almost all of the things in the top fifty didn’t need money. He stated: “Often the little gestures such as a quick cuddle or a compliment can really help to cheer someone up if they are having a bad day, and can even be more welcome than splashing out on expensive presents.” He added that it was “often the smaller things that can make a big difference”. Stacey may be happy that curling up on the sofa with a good book and a hot drink (or soup) came thirteenth in the poll.

Canadian researchers have found that most drivers think they are better than others behind the wheel. The team from Ottawa University interviewed nearly 400 motorists of all ages. They all had to answer questions about what they thought of their own driving skills. The question topics included how they react in different driving conditions, including terrible weather and congested roads. They then had to rate the skills of others on the road. The results were very similar across all age ranges – almost all of those interviewed believed their driving ability was better than that of other drivers. Older drivers in the poll were more confident in their ability than younger ones. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, males had the most confidence in their ability to handle a car. Lead researcher Sylvain Gagnon believes the attitudes found in his survey could be dangerous. Mr Gagnon said that although confidence can be a good thing, it often has dangerous consequences. He stated: “If you think that you are a better driver, then perhaps you start behaving differently behind the wheel and do not pay as much attention as you should. This might explain why young men tend to have more accidents on the roads than other drivers.” It is time for government road safety departments to start taking research such as this more seriously. Traffic accidents are a huge killer throughout the world. Very few drivers really think about how deadly their car can be in an accident. More regulation is needed as people buy more and more cars.

Does time fly or does it go slowly? We’ve all had experiences of wanting time to pass quicker, slow down or even stop. The BBC has reported on research on the speed time travels at. Its reporter Tom Colls discusses a study conducted by researchers at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, USA. Lead researcher Professor Aaron Sackett found he could make people feel that time was going more slowly and more quickly than it really was. Professor Sacket said there was a strong link between the feeling of time passing and levels of enjoyment. He said he showed that time really does fly when you’re having fun. “We could manipulate people's feelings of time quite easily," he said. The BBC’s article provides an analysis of how scientists have looked at time throughout history. The most famous scientist they include is Albert Einstein. He said time is simply something in our minds. Professor John Wearden, a time psychologist at Britain’s Keele University said it was difficult to analyze how time goes by. He said most people think time goes fast and slowly. As an example he quotes his own mother, who says days seem to last forever, but months fly by. Professor Wearden told the BBC: "Time doesn't really go fast or slowly, it can't do….It just goes at the speed it goes." He added that time can only be measured by a clock. Most language students might agree that time flies by when they are studying English.

Leaving your children with their grandparents may be bad for the little ones’ health. This is according to new research in the ‘International Journal of Obesity’. The British study showed that children who are looked after by their grandparents tend to me more overweight. Researchers looked at over 12,000 toddlers between the ages of nine months and three years. Their data showed that grandparents increased the risk of obesity in the children by as much as 34 per cent. Kids who are looked after by their parents or who go to nurseries had no similar risk of weight problems. The research also showed that children of richer parents were more at risk, especially if the mother had a management position and/or a university education. This research could help reduce the rate of obesity in Britain. Almost a quarter of pre-schoolers are overweight or obese. These new statistics should send an important message to grandparents – stop filling your grandchildren with snacks and sugary treats. We all know how our grandparents like to spoil us. It is the same all over the world. The research did not look into why young children are more at risk of obesity with their grandparents. However, there are several possible reasons. One is that older people might be less aware of proper nutrition and so give their grandchildren unhealthy food. Another possible cause is that older people are less active and might not play with the children. It might also be that British people in general are becoming less active.