Did you know?

                ... some interesting facts about African Wildlife

Four of the five fastest land animals live in Africa – the cheetah (70mph), wildebeest, lion and Thomson’s gazelle (all about 50 mph).

Butterfly

Having a wingspan of only 1/2”, the smallest butterfly in the world is found in South Africa. It is known as the Dwarf Blue Butterfly.

Chameleons

Madagascar is the home of the world’s _________ as well as the _______ chameleons!

Elephants

The African elephant is the largest living land mammal.

An elephant can weigh up to 6-7 tons and has no natural enemies for he is not a predator and there is no other animal large enough to challenge him.

Did you know elephants drink up to 160 liters of water per day?

An African elephant possesses such “manual” dexterity in his/her trunk tip that he/she can actually turn the pages of a book with it.

Fish

The only place are found is in Lake Tanganyika.

Giraffes

Did you know that the tongue of a giraffe can be ______________ 45 cm? Giraffes are 6 ft tall when they are born.

Penguins

South Africa has a penguin colony, which thrives thanks to the cold Antarctic currents on the west coast near the Cape.

Adapted from Google/ The African Guide

GLOSSARY:

Dexterity – the ability to perform a difficult action quickly with the hands.

Trunk – an elephant’s nose.  

Religion ________ central to people's lives in Africa. Although the majority of Africans are now Muslim or Christian, traditional religions have endured and still play a big role. Religion runs like a thread through daily life, marked by prayers of gratitude in times of plenty and prayers of supplication in times of need. Religion confirms identity on the individual and the group.

                 http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica

GLOSSARY:

Endure – to continue to exist for a long time

Thread – one part connecting with another  

And Now, Robodoc!

A robot in California performs its first invasive surgery on a human patient.

Medical robots in the U.S. have been used to locate hard-to-find tumors and guide a surgeon’s scalpel, but have never actually performed surgery on people. Now that line has been crossed. At Sutter General Hospital in Sacramento, California, a 90-kg machine called Robodoc has operated on its first human patient: a 64-year-old man with a bad hip.

The robot played a key role in a total hip replacement, one of 500,000 such operations performed each year. The trick in these procedures is to create a snug hole into which the artificial hip snaps. The standard method is to jam a cutting tool into the thighbone with a handheld mallet. Robodoc, using the high-speed drill at the end of its mechanical arm, can ream a cavity that is 20 times as precise.

Robosurgery doesn’t have to stop at the hip. In Europe, where officials are less squeamish about such things, robots have assisted in operations on the brain, the prostate and the inner ear.

(Time International, November 23 1992, p.15)

                                                         TEXT III

        A new Aviation English Test Speaks of Pilots’ voices and aviation safety

In addition ___(1) the development ___(2) various tests ___(3) response ___(4) the ICAO’s language proficiency requirement, a new test has been designed using flight simulators, ___(5) consideration of both the test takers and the ICAO’s fundamental focus ___(6) aviation safety. The test provides a familiar and work-related testing environment ___ (7) pilots, an efficient and cost-effective test system ___(8) airlines, and international credibility and valid evaluation tools to states, while fully covering both aviation and plain English Assessment needs.

                         (Jason Park and Tyler Kong ALTEON Training Asia LLC Seoul, Korea.)