Статья 1.
Источник: Би-би-си (http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/21/haiti.police.shooting/index... )

Police kill man in Haiti over allegedly stolen rice

Haitian police shot and killed a man they suspected of stealing rice in earthquake-ravaged Port-au-Prince on Thursday, leaving his body on the sidewalk for hours as his family mourned.

The dead man's mother identified him as Gentile Cherie, a 20-year-old carpenter. A companion with him was wounded, and a third man nearby was hit by what he said was a stray bullet.

Witnesses said no one was looting at the time. Josef Josnain, the owner of a shop near the city's airport, said the five bags of rice the men were found with fell from a truck and passers-by picked them up. And Cherie's wounded companion, who did not give his name, said a truck driver gave them the rice.

"A truck stopped and we jumped on, and the driver gave us the rice as a gift," he said. "But the cops shot us."

A CNN crew spotted police stopping the two men Thursday afternoon. They stopped to film the arrests, but while they were getting out of the car, they heard four gunshots and saw the men on the ground. Both had been shot in the back.

A third man, Auxilus Maxo, was wounded by a stray bullet near the scene. He told CNN he was hit in the side while waiting for a bus -- after applying for a job as a police officer.

Marc Justin, a senior police officer in the area, said he would investigate the killing and said there was no shoot-to-kill order for suspected looters.

"Nobody can do this in any country," Justin said. "Even if somebody was stealing a bag of rice, nobody has a right to do this."

Justin said he had called for an ambulance for the wounded man, but none appeared. Instead, the man was picked up by members of the U.N. peacekeeping mission MINUSTAH who happened on the scene after the shooting.

CNN sought comment from the Haitian government about Thursday's incident. There was no immediate response.

Sporadic looting has broken out in Port-au-Prince, where relief workers have struggled to get food, water and medical aid into the hands of survivors of last week's magnitude 7.0 earthquake. Reports of police firing on looters have surfaced as well, but CNN has been unable to independently confirm them.

The Haitian National Police have been criticized for alleged abuses for years. A 2009 report by Human Rights Watch criticized its officers for the use of "excessive and indiscriminate force," including involvement in kidnappings, torture and arbitrary arrests. Meanwhile, the force "is largely ineffective in preventing and investigating crime," it found.

Reforming the national police is one of the major goals of the U.N. mission dispatched to Haiti after the 2004 revolt that forced then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from office. But a 2009 report for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights concluded, "The relationship between the population and the Haitian National Police is still characterized by suspicion, accusations of brutality, human rights violations and complicity with criminal and corrupt elements."

An Amnesty International report last year found the number of reported abuses appeared to be on the decline -- but at least two people died in police custody, and reports of excessive force, fatal shootings and warrantless arrests continued.

Two-and-a-half hours after the shooting Thursday, Cherie's body remained on the sidewalk.

ну и новость ты выбрала

Статья 3. Это нам всем стимул худеть!))

Источник: Би-би-см (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8471451.stm )

Air France offers free second seat to obese people

Air France is to offer a free second seat to obese passengers "for their own comfort", the airline has said.

Overweight passengers can already buy an extra one with a 25% discount, but from 1 February, this will be refunded if their flight is not full.

It also confirmed that, in common with other airlines, an obese traveller could be prevented from flying.

This was to ensure a flight can be evacuated within 90 seconds, the BBC's transport correspondent said.

It came down to the discretion of the captain whether to let them fly or tell them to disembark for safety reasons, Richard Scott said.

The airline said it had no intention of forcing heavier passengers to pay for a second seat.

It explained that if an overweight person turned up without having booked an extra one, the check-in staff would not intervene.

The passenger would continue to the plane, where the airline said "in 99% of cases" on-board staff would work something out as planes were rarely completely full so they would be able to position them next to an empty seat.

Other non-overweight passengers could also book a second seat for a 25% discount, Air France said.

But they would not get the refund if the plane was not full when it took off.

Air France is part of Air France-KLM, the largest airline group in Europe by revenue.

Спасибо за ссылку! Скромно полагаю, что чтение газет никак не повредит уровню знаний

Lady M, выкладывай названия и авторов прямо тут, хорошо? А я потом скажу, что удалось найти. Спасибо!
Насчет разговорного языка я с тобой не совсем согласна, но спорить не буду. Но про газеты говорю с позиций, изложенных уважаемыми преподавателями мгимо Это один из трех аспектов преподавания языка. Причем чтение книжек - не менее важно. Так что буду рада твоим ссылкам!

ага, я фильмы смотрю на англ яз. книги перестала читать как-то..

Мини, урра
Буду просвещаться и вспоминать то, что знала:)

Чмок тебя

Жулик, Аня, в понед. новая порция, так что читать за выхи!)) А будет время - еще по ссылке, которую дала Lady M, смотрите кино!))

Хммм, а я соглашусь с Леди М...я в школе училась по thinking-approach system, довольно-таки популярная система..если грамматику правилами объясняли - сразу ставили не зачет! Язык должен от себя идти, а не из правил...обязательным было чтение книг, просмотр фильмов ( мы и на уроках смотрели, а потом по ним писали сценарии), не могу смотреть фильмы теперь в переводе только оригинал, книги тоже!
Сейчас учусь на бакалавра на Кипре на английском языке...
Из опыта скажу - чтение таких статей не позволят нормально обшаться с людьми...т.е. я не спорю высокий язык полезен и правелен, его надо знать, но так ни произношение, ни идиомы не выучишь, а это самое необходимое для общения на английсском. Одно дело понимать, другое говорить, какие только образованные русские не приезжают, видно, что есть отличное знание языка, но применение слов и строгость стиля, ну и собственно произношение просто жуть, от этого никто не понимает их!

Kiska, да уж, произношение - беда многих. Я рада, что у вас были хорошие преподаватели, не всем так везет.
Но на критику газетных статей отвечу так же, как говорила раньше. Отказываться от чтения газет только потому, что есть варианты получше - это неправильно. Это всё равно, что сказать, что нет смысла читать русскую классическую литературу, потому что так на улицах не говорят. Или говорить, что вместо овсянки на завтрак гораздо лучше идут медальоны из омара под соусом из черной икры с трюфелями.
Мы это все понимаем. И о правильном обучении знаем. Просто возможности и цели у всех разные.
Кроме того, любое обучение может состоять из разных компонентов, чем они разнообразнее, тем лучше. Нам, например, легко доступны газеты, книжки, кино.
Вот Lady M обещала интересные книжки порекомендовать, мы уже ждем и собираемся читать. И ссылку дала для просмотра кино.
В общем, вывод: если есть желание поделиться с кем-то своим знанием языка, то милости просим, будем вам рады. А говорить, что читать газеты - это бесполезное дело, пожалуйста, не надо. Потому что это не так Удачи!

Занятие 2. Статья 1. Тема – рынок, экономика, так называемые "пузыри". Это статья для тех, кто готов посидеть со словарем над экономическими терминами. Довольно сложно, нудно, но актуально, чорд побери!)) Поэтому словарь в лапки - и вперед!
Источник: CNN, http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/25/news/economy/assets_bubbles.fortune/inde...

Beware the 4 new asset bubbles
Less than two years after the housing market collapsed, the U.S. economy is threatened by a new bubble in asset prices. This time, four billowing balloons are hovering: two commodities -- gold and oil -- stocks, and government bonds.

Don't be fooled into thinking that last week's 5% drop in the S&P, and the recent sell-off in oil, remotely makes them fairly valued, let alone bargains. Equities and commodities, as well as Treasuries, which actually rallied as stocks dropped, still have a long way to fall. The reason: They've already seen huge run-ups that put their prices far above their historic averages, and far above the levels justified by fundamentals.
Two examples: Most companies can't possibly grow earnings fast enough to support their lofty valuations, and oil and gold are so expensive that we'll see what high prices always bring, a surge in new supply. That makes a price-pounding glut inevitable.
Since the start of 2009, oil has returned to the danger zone by jumping 63% to $75 a barrel, and gold has risen more than 20% to set astounding new records by climbing above $1,100 an ounce. After briefly returning to historically normal valuations in March, stocks are now selling at price-to-earnings multiples 40% above their historic range of 14, and 10-year Treasuries are so pricey that they yield 1.5% less than they did in 2007.
What's causing this resurgence of speculative fervor? One view blames the same policy that caused the real estate rampage -- incredibly low interest rates that are flooding the banks with cheap funds that, in theory, are available for loans. (The current Fed target rate is between 0 and 0.25%.)
"Investors can borrow at extremely low rates to buy assets," says Brian Wesbury, a monetary specialist at mutual fund manager First Trust. "So they're using cheap debt to bid up prices. The Fed's expansionary policies are making assets look a lot less risky than they really are."
Other prominent economists dispute that we're in bubble territory, at least right now. Allan Meltzer, the distinguished monetarist at Carnegie Mellon, argues that even though banks are loaded with cheap money, they aren't lending -- which is why we have a credit crunch. "I would be a lot more concerned if loan demand were higher," says Meltzer.
The one asset that definitely isn't bubbling is housing. There, prices have fallen to a level where new buyers buy a house for the same total monthly cost as rental. That's gravity operating.
So how do you spot a bubble? My view is that we're now seeing the same signs that exposed the frenzy in real estate: prices flying far above their historic averages, measured either in inflation-adjusted dollars (commodities) or as a ratio of the income they produce (stocks and Treasuries). Watch for gravity to take over, just as it did in housing.
Treasuries
The rate on the 10-year Treasury is now a mere 3.6%, well below the 5.5% rate that it averaged between 1993 and 2007, a period where inflation ran at an annual 3% clip, meaning that the "real rate" after inflation, stood at about 2.5%.
So let's assume that future inflation also averages 3%, about where it stood in the second half of 2009. At today's prices, Treasuries are offering a real yield of just 0.6% -- 1.9 points below our 14-year average.
But as the economy recovers and the threat of inflation causes the Fed to tighten monetary policy by raising rates, the yield could rise to 5.5%, handing investors a big loss. Reminder: When yields rise, bond prices fall.
Yet even that scenario is optimistic. Given the huge deficits from the bailouts, it's likely that investors will want a far bigger cushion for expected inflation -- which suggests, says Wesbury, that the yield on 10-year bills could go over 6% in 2011.
Oil
At around $75 a barrel, oil may look like a bargain compared to the record of $147 in July 2008. But we've simply moved from an immense bubble to a moderate one.
For oil, as in all commodity markets, the highest-cost unit that customers are willing to buy to "clear the market" sets the price. Indeed, prices can go far above cost for short periods, since it takes time for producers to drill new wells or because they hoard inventories.
So how much are oil companies paying to produce the world's most expensive barrels of oil? A good estimate is $55 to $60 a barrel. That's what it costs Anadarko Petroleum (APC, Fortune 500) to extract oil from deep wells in the Gulf of Mexico, according to Anadarko CEO Jim Hackett.
Hence, the world's highest-cost producers are now earning 30% to 40% margins. It won't last; to take advantage of the prices, oil companies will ramp up production, and that extra supply will cause prices to fall back into the $55 range, or even lower.
Gold
Investors are rushing to gold, because they rightly fear far higher inflation in the next couple of years and want to hedge against both rising prices and a declining dollar with a commodity that, they claim, has a fixed supply.
Since early 2009, the price has jumped to $1,100 an ounce from $875, triple its average price between 1990 and 2004. Yet the supply of gold is far more fluid than the gold bugs admit, partly because mining companies are investing heavily to increase production.
The real threat: Prices are so high all over the world that people who once treasured their gold jewelry are now rushing to sell it. Swiss refiners are offering irresistible prices for bracelets and brooches, "cash-for-gold" stores are in Chicago malls, and suburbanites are hosting Tupperware-style parties where neighbors show up to hock their gold teeth.
When this happened in the early 1980s with silver, prices plummeted from $50 to $15 in less than a year. Look for gold to end up below $500 an ounce within two years.
Stocks
Let's assume that investors want a 10% return from stocks (a 7% real return plus 3% gains from inflation). But at current prices, there is no way that the S&P can deliver those kind of gains in future years.
Here's why: Think of the S&P as one company that provides a total return in two components, a dividend yield and a capital gain. Together, the two should equal 10%. But the two are inversely correlated. The lower the dividend yield, the higher the earnings growth rate must be to get you to that 10%. When yields are extremely low, those growth rates become mathematically impossible.
Right now, the P/E multiple for the S&P is an extremely high 20, based on a formula developed by economist Robert Shiller that removes the constant gyrations that can under or overstate the ratio, and the dividend yield is just over 2%. So to hit that 10%, earnings must rise 8% -- assuming 3% inflation, 5% annually in real terms.
But earnings tend to track GDP, which rises about 3% a year over long periods, though far more slowly in a recession. So 3% real GDP growth isn't nearly enough to lift profits 5%. That implies that stock prices must drop sharply: A fallback to their historic P/E of around 14 would require a 29% correction, taking the S&P from its current level of 1,092 to around 770.
"Stocks will disappoint us if we buy them when they're expensive and delight us if we buy them when they're cheap," says Rob Arnott, chief of asset manager Research Affiliates. Now, they're extremely expensive, and destined to disappoint.

Статья 3. Развлекалочка и, главное, Жулька будет рада)).Источник: CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/25/ew.box.office/index.html?hp...

'Avatar' unstoppable at box office
Nothing can stop the reign of "Avatar."
A scant 16-percent drop in its sixth weekend of release has helped James Cameron's sci-fi spectacle become the second highest-grossing movie of all time. In contrast, the new releases failed to make a significant mark, with the apocalyptic film Legion performing strongest with an estimated $18.2 million and a second-place showing.
Avatar earned an additional $36 million this weekend, climbing to $552.8 million domestically and surpassing "The Dark Knight's" $533.3 million domestic haul. If it continues to drop in the 20-percent range as it has the last few weekends this time it only fell 16 percent it's on track to is top Titanic's $600.8 million by mid-February.
Worldwide, Avatar is also the second-highest grossing movie of all time at $1.8 billion, trailing "Titanic" by less than $7 million.
In contrast, none of the new releases is likely to have much of an afterlife. "Legion" may have bowed in second place, but it earned a dismal C- from exit pollster Cinemascore, meaning there is unlikely to be much positive word-of-mouth for this movie.
Twentieth Century Fox's "The Tooth Fairy," scored better with audiences (it's Cinemascore is an A-) but with a $14.5 million gross and a fourth place debut that portends an inauspicious future for this family-friendly comedy starring Dwayne Johnson.
And then there is "Extraordinary Measures." This debut film from nascent studio CBS Film didn't connect with audiences. Earning only $7 million for a three-day frame, the Harrison Ford/Brendan Fraser medical weepie landed in seventh place and will likely be out of the top 10 by next weekend when the Disney comedy "When in Rome" opens opposite Mel Gibson's R-rated revenge drama "Edge of Darkness."
For second week holdovers, "The Book of Eli" and "The Lovely Bones" both performed strongly.
"Eli" dropped 48 percent to land in third place with $17 million. It's total cume stands at $62 million. "The Lovely Bones" also dropped 48 percent, bringing its total gross to $32 million.
The rest of the top ten included "Sherlock Holmes," grossing an additional $7.1 million for a sixth slot, and "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" earning $6.5 million for eighth place.
"It's Complicated" and "The Spy Next Door" rounded out the top ten with $6.2 and $4.7 million, respectively. The weekend was still down compared to last year at this time when "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" claimed the top spot for the second weekend in a row

книги: Twilight и всe из серии.. очень легкий язык.
Jodi Picoult очень хороший автор! интересные книги, для тех, кто любит поломать голову над разными жизненными ситуациями.
The Other Hand (не помню автора Chris зовут точно...фамилию забыла)
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, автор John Boyne

вот вам на пока... потом еще напишу. ооочень много читала как только приехала в юк. телек не особо люблю смотреть тут. только xfactor и britain's got talent

акцент советую брать американский, его легче 'поймать', чем британский. британцы говорят очень мелодично, много интонаций.. у меня к 3 му году только стали замечать, что акцент Cornwall появился, когда приезжаю на север, все знают что я с юга англии. но то, что у тебя НИКОГДА не будет абсолютного англ акцента, это точно. хотя если у тебя абсолютный слух, то есть шанс научиться... мне помогла в этом музыкалка

попробуйте пописать что то тут. возьмите тему для дебатов и обсуждайте на английском... даже то же похудение. почему нет?

А по-моему, произношение не на 100% зависит от преподавателя.
Я учила английский с 5 лет 12 лет подряд. Учителя были разные...
В последнем учебном заведении ( а у меня их было 3, не считая школу) со мной учились девушки, которые тоже с 5 лет изучали язык, но с произношением никак... Акцент все равно остался.
Это зависит от способностей к языкам.
И как ни билась последний наш препод, она так и не смогла исправить их акцент.

May be we should start from this thread?

i'm very busi))))) гы-гы

X-lima. if u really up for abbreviations, here we go
here's the list of the most popular ones (mostly used for texts - they never say sms, only texts, or facebook etc)

soz - sorry
dt- do not
duno - dt know
plz - please
thx - thanks
x-mas - guess what?
by the way - btw
brb - be right back
laffin - laughing
cu - see you
l8er - later

hmm, there r lots of them... if we carry on speaking english here, u ll probably hear lots of 'em from me

i can also give u all some general overview of british rude words... who's up for it? huh, girls?

Lady M, thx! I didn't even know about some of this abbreviations.
x-mas - Cristhmas? ))

Rude words! I'm waiting
Nice ava