READING

 

 

 

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Click on the picture above and read about what being in the world of celebrities involves.
When you have finished reading, go to the Vocabulary section and do the exercises.

Of all the senses, smell is the most powerful for bringing back memories and setting off emotions. This is because smells are processed in the limbic system, which is both the emotional centre of the brain and the place where long-term memories are stored. Many businesses have discovered this amazing power and are currently using artificial smells to trigger a purchase, evoke an emotion or create a realistic experience.

Dollars and Scents

A pleasant scent in a shop puts you into a positive mood, making you relax, stay longer – and spend more. This concept, called scent marketing, is all the rage. The tantalising coconut aroma in Thomson’s UK travel agencies, for example, puts you in the mood for a tropical holiday. The mouth-watering smell of chocolate in London’s Superdrug on Valentine’s Day isn’t really coming from the boxes on sale – it’s being pumped into the building’s ventilation system. But it will still remind you to buy some chocolate for your girlfriend.

The scents are subtle and almost imperceptible – not enough to irritate people, but enough to form a particular association in their minds. The question remains whether this tactic takes advantage of innocent customers, who are quite unaware that it is being used.

Memory in a Bottle

A smell can bring back a memory so intensely that you feel you are going back in time. Could we somehow bottle these memories, to be used whenever we wish?

That’s exactly what perfumers at Demeter Fragrances of New York do. They make over 200 amazingly accurate fragrances, such as Rain, Christmas Tree, Thunderstorm, Chocolate Chip and Glue. According to the company, their goal is for each scent to transport the user back to a special place or time, such as a childhood on the family farm. But not every smell can be easily copied.
The company said that many customers had requested Puppy’s Breath, which is so chemically complicated that it’s very tough to capture.

The question is, would you really like to smell of black pepper or turpentine on your next date?

Weird Whiffs

Dale Air started out as an air-freshener firm. However, things changed in 1984, when the company was approached by the creators of the Jorvik Viking Centre, a replica of a British village at the time of the Viking invasions. They asked company founder Fred Dale whether he could manufacture nasty smells as well as pleasant ones, explaining that they wanted to add smell to make their exhibits more realistic. So the company manufactured the odours of fish, burning logs,
a marketplace, and even the stench of a Viking toilet!

Since then, Dale Air has produced aromas such as Egyptian Mummy for the City Museum of Stockholm, Sweaty Feet for the inside of a submarine at the Imperial War Museum and Dinosaur Breath for the Natural History Museum in London. Since the 2007 ban on smoking, one of their most popular products has been the scent of ashtrays, supplied mainly to pubs. It seems customers miss this smell, which is so much a part of the pub experience.

INDIAN NAVY SINKS SOMALI PIRATE SHIP

BEFORE READING / LISTENING 1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F): a. The Indian navy has sunk a Somali pirate ship in the River Ganges. T / F b. The mother of the ship’s captain was on board the Somali ship. T / F c. The pirates attacked the Indian navy ship first. T / F d. There was hardly a sound when the pirate ship sank. T / F e. One company has already paid over $30 million in ransom this year. T / F f. The pirates got a prize for hijacking a huge oil tanker. T / F g. There are twelve hijacked ships docked in Somali ports. T / F h. Some of the pirates drive expensive Toyota Land Cruisers. T / F 2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article: 1. destroyed a. so far 2 encountered b. ship 3. investigation c. happening 4. opened fire on d. check 5. vessel e. stop 6. incident f. got 7. gained g. wiped out 8. to date h. came across 9. prevent i. most expensive 10. top-of-the-range j. shot at 3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one. combination is possible): 1. a pirate ship off the a. explosions were heard 2 The captain of b. at sea 3. the pirates opened c. lawless 4. Fire broke out... and d. prize to date 5. ammunition that was stored e. coast of Somalia 6. a week of hijackings and high tension f. fire on the naval ship 7. Over $30 million in ransoms has g. Toyota Land Cruisers 8. the pirates gained their biggest h. in the vessel 9. The country is almost completely i. the Indian ship 10. top-of-the-range j. already been paid

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

An Indian warship has __________ a pirate ship off the coast of Somalia. The sinking is the first the first __________ against the Somali pirates. The Indian navy ship INS Tabar encountered the Somali “mother ship” off the coast of Oman in the Gulf of Aden. The captain of the Indian ship __________ the pirate ship to stop for an investigation. The pirate ship __________ by threatening to blow up the Indian warship if it got any __________. After the pirates opened fire on the naval ship, the Indian sailors retaliated and __________ the Somali vessel. An Indian navy statement said there were many explosions as the pirate ship went down. "Fire broke out...and __________ were heard, possibly due to exploding ammunition that was stored in the __________," an Indian navy spokesman said.		sank requested vessel responded destroyed nearer victory explosions
This incident comes after a week of hijackings and high __________ at sea. Piracy in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden is __________ companies and governments more and more money. Over $30 million in __________ has already been paid to the Somali pirates this year. At the weekend, the pirates gained their biggest __________ to date. They boarded and captured a Saudi Arabian supertanker carrying oil __________ $100 million. Since then, the pirates have hijacked a Thai fishing vessel, an Iranian cargo ship and a Chinese fishing boat. There are now __________ of hijacked ships in Somali ports. The country is almost completely __________. There is no one able to prevent the pirates, who are now driving around in top-of-the-__________ Toyota Land Cruisers and building luxury villas for themselves.		dozens  prize ransoms range tension lawless worth costing

How much do you know about Garbage Patch State?

Do this quiz and find out.

1.      How is the Great Pacific Garbage patch created?

a. garbage floating from Asia to North America

b. large waves

c. spiraling ocean currents

d. ships dumping the garbage

2.      Where does most of the garbage in the patch come from?

                a. Ships

                b. Land

                c. Airlines

                d. unknown origin

3.      How much garbage is floating in the Pacific garbage patch?

a.       6 million tons

b.      8 million tons

c.       4 million tons

d.      2 million tons

4.      What is the current size of the Pacific garbage patch?

a.       As big as the United States

b.      The size of Japan

c.       Twice the size of Texas

d.      Size of Minnesota

5.      What is the ratio of plastic to plankton in the garbage patch?

a.       3:1

b.      2:1

c.       6:1

d.      1:6

6.      How deep is the garbage in some areas of the garbage patch?

a.       10 ft

b.      30ft

c.       60 ft

d.      90 ft

7.      True or False: It is possible to clean-up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

8.      Briefly describe how the garbage patch affects the food chain

9.      What new threat is approaching the garbage patch?  Briefly describe what impact that will have on the food supply and populated areas?

10.   What would you do to clean up the garbage patch?

If you want to know more about The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, go to the VIDEOS section and watch the video.

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