A 1. Activities

The spreadsheet with the vocabulary and phrases we used in the class.
Irregular verbs with Russian translations

English-Russian dictionaries:
Irina's favorite: http://www.multitran.ru/c/m.exe?a=1&SHL=2
 http://en.bab.la/dictionary/english-russian/bend

Searching for videos with captions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1sRvT2xFL0
A lion called Christian: a doc with captions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4enNZqNrwYc 

Green Technology

 http://inhabitat.com/green-technology/

Inhabitat.com is a weblog devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future.

Tongue twisters

http://www.uebersetzung.at/twister/en.htm 

Smart... or not really?

The more inept you are the smarter you think you are:

You're pretty smart right? Clever, and funny too. Of course you are, just like me. But wouldn't it be terrible if we were mistaken? Psychologists have shown that we are more likely to be blind to our own failings than perhaps we realise. This could explain why some incompetent people are so annoying, and also inject a healthy dose of humility into our own sense of self-regard.

In 1999, Justin Kruger and David Dunning, from Cornell University, New York, tested whether people who lack the skills or abilities for something are also more likely to lack awareness of their lack of ability. At the start of their research paper they cite a Pittsburgh bank robber called McArthur Wheeler as an example, who was arrested in 1995 shortly after robbing two banks in broad daylight without wearing a mask or any other kind of disguise. When police showed him the security camera footage, he protested "But I wore the juice". The hapless criminal believed that if you rubbed your face with lemon juice you would be invisible to security cameras.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20131125-why-the-stupid-say-theyre-smart

Construction catastrophies

http://g2.nh.ee/images/pix/maxima-choping-center-collapse-analysis-67149538.pdf

This report is an independent attempt to find the
cause based on photographic evidence, numerical and analytical calculations.
Based on photographic evidence presented in media, it is obvious that the primary cause for
such collapse is the steel truss bolted tension connection.

Future for schools

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20131107-could-video-games-replace-exams
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20131022-hacking-senses-to-boost-learning
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20131015-the-classroom-in-the-clouds
"Physical teachers are good, but in most remote places the quality of teacher will be lower than what you can recruit in the cloud. Mitra says that children aged 8-12 years don’t seem to mind. This young generation thinks differently about the need for a traditional teacher than we do. Interms of visions for future education it’s the older generation that thinks like dinosaurs."

De-privatisation

Is the tide now turning against privatisation? In the 1990s, a wave of sell-offs swept away countless publicly owned enterprises (though privatisation's fans would say that "enterprise" was the wrong word to describe them).

Hard-pressed governments everywhere sold power stations and electricity grids to private companies. If the taxpayer could not afford the huge bills for investment and modernisation, then why not let capitalism bear the burden - and reap the benefits? So ran the argument.

But now the trend is being reversed in Germany. In a referendum in Hamburg a month ago, 51% voted to buy back the energy grid the city sold.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24763311

e-trike

http://www.gizmag.com/hp-velotechnik-double-battery/29427/

German trike manufacturer HP Velotechnik plans to launch a new dual-battery option on its entire e-trike line next month. Double the battery will mean double the range.

Folding vehicles

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/11/tech/innovation/folding-origami-oru-kayak/index.html?hpt=hp_c4



and more.

e-cigarettes

What is the harm?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24440091

Facebook is bad for you - get a life!

http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21583593-using-social-network-seems-make-people-more-miserable-get-life?spc=scode&spv=xm&ah=9d7f7ab945510a56fa6d37c30b6f1709'


THOSE who have resisted the urge to join Facebook will surely feel vindicated when they read the latest research. A study just published by the Public Library of Science, conducted by Ethan Kross of the University of Michigan and Philippe Verduyn of Leuven University in Belgium, has shown that the more someone uses Facebook, the less satisfied he is with life.

Past investigations have found that using Facebook is associated with jealousy, social tension, isolation and depression. But these studies have all been “cross-sectional”—in other words, snapshots in time. As such, they risk confusing correlation with causation: perhaps those who spend more time on social media are more prone to negative emotions in the first place. The study conducted by Dr Kross and Dr Verduyn is the first to follow Facebook users for an extended period, to track how their emotions change.

Do It Yourself

a simple solar heater
http://www.motherearthnews.com/renewable-energy/build-a-simple-solar-heater.aspx#axzz2cy1Fp6Yq