Have a good laugh!

When I was young my father said to me:

“Knowledge is Power….Francis Bacon” I

understood it as “Knowledge is power, France is

Bacon”. For more than a decade I wondered over

the meaning of the second part and what was the

surreal linkage between the two? If I said the quote

to someone, “Knowledge is power, France is Bacon”

they nodded knowingly. Or someone might say,

“Knowledge is power” and I’d finish the quote

“France is Bacon” and they wouldn’t look at me like

I’d said something very odd but thoughtfully agree. I

did ask a teacher what did “Knowledge is power,

France is bacon” meant and got a full 10 minute

explanation of the Knowledge is power bit but

nothing on “France is bacon”. When I prompted

further explanation by saying “France is

Bacon?” in a questioning tone I just got a “yes”. at 12

I didn’t have the confidence to press it further. I just

accepted it as something I’d never understand. It

wasn’t until years later when I saw it written down

that the penny dropped.

March exam - Oral topics

The oral exam will be in pairs.

Student A talks about one of the topics on the list for 2 – 3 minutes

Student B asks 3 or 4 INTERESTING questions about what their partner said.

Then they exchange roles.

These are the topics we have seen in class. They are all based on the files in the book.

1.     Food and cooking

2.     Family life

3.     A person you admire

4.     Money

5.     Changing life

6.     Transport

7.     Stereotypes: men and women

8.     Failure & success

9.     Manners

10.    Sport

11.     Love

Try to make pairs as soon as possible and prepare together the topics. In this way your oral exam will be much easier. 

Next reader: When Summer Comes

When Summer Comes, Level 4 (Cambridge English Readers)
Helen Naylor

Deadline to buy it: 23 February

 

Chip and skin: The office that microchips its staff

29 January 2015 

A new office block in Sweden is offering workers the chance to have a microchip implanted under their skin to allow them to access to various services within the building.

A tiny gadget the size of a grain of rice is implanted in employees hands. It then allows them to open doors, or use the photocopier, without a traditional pass card.

Chief technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones went to try it out.

Click here to watch the video and see the complete article.

Chip and Skin_BBC