15th précis

Title: Farhud memories: Baghdad's 1941 slaughter of the Jews

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13610702

Vocabulary:

vivid – (adj.) having or producing a strong, clear picture in your mind;
I’ve been having extraordinarily vivid dreams recently.
It was a vivid description of a wedding.

bullet – (n) a small piece of metal that is shot from a gun and causes serious damage to the person or thing it hits
She was hit by an assassin’s bullet.
The bullet hit her in the arm.

mob – (v) to gather round sb, with a large crowd of people, because you are angry  or are very interested in them;
An angry mob surrounded the palace.
The pop star was mobbed as he left the hotel.

slab – (n) piece of sth;
I like eating a slab of bread for breakfast.
Our city is a stone slab commemorating the World War II.
failure – (n) lack of success;
The failure of the exam was the reason for my sadness.
Her life's failures were the lack of faith in yourself.

flee – (v) to run away or escape from sth;
Earthquake victims have been forced to flee their homes.
Police caught up with one of the gang, but the other three fled.

tale – (n) a story about imaginary events or people;
I have heard a lot of tales about the people who live in that house.
These tales were written by my grandmother.


Precis:

              June 1, 1942 pogrom against the Jews erupted in Baghdad. Jewish children were witness to spill blood. Today, they remember these events as adults. Thousands of armed Iraqi Muslims passed through the city. People were shouting and begging God for help. The fire spread in the city. Jewish homes were marked and looted. Jewish family defended themselves as able. Children threw bricks and stones from the roofs of houses. Some people owed their lives to help Muslims. By 1941, Jews and Arabs were peaceful to each other in Baghdad. However, the radio began to broadcast Nazi propaganda. British troops could intervene in the tragic events because they were only 8 kilometers from the town in those days, but they did not do it. After the tragedy of Jewish life has changed in Baghdad. They were often arrested on false accusations or well-known Jews were murdered in public. In 1950, Jews were forced to abandon their property and bank accounting in exchange for peace.

14th précis

Title: Ancient cave women 'left childhood homes'

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13609260

Vocabulary:

natal – (adj) family, native;
It wasn’t the same natal group.
His natal day was a was a surprise for everyone.

landscape – (n) an area of land that is beautiful to look at;
Heather-covered hills dominate the Scottish landscape.
I see a beautiful landscape from my window every day.

resemble – (v) to be similar to someone or something, especially in appearance;
The two species resemble each other.
Laura resembles her brother.

frank – (adj.) honest about the situation or your opinions, even if this offends people;
To be perfectly frank with you, I don’t think you’ll pass your test.
The company has not been entirely frank with its workers.

robust – (adj.) strong and healthy;
She was a robust child.
This man was robust so he went to chop wood.

valid – (adj.) that can be used or accepted legally at a certain time;
This passport is valid for one year only.
A 50% turnout was required for the vote to be valid.

ancestor – (n) a person in your family who lived a long time before you;
Her ancestors went to America with the Pilgrims.
My ancestor was killed during the Second World War.


Precis:

                 Studies in Africa showed that women leave their family home, while men stayed at home. The researchers found that based on found teeth. These teeth were our ancestors who lived about 2-3 million years ago. Larger teeth were men, women were less. It is not known at what women move in other regions. May be they were abducted or went there in any particular order. Men hunted in certain territories. The researchers acknowledge that the material is found in small quantities and exact analysis is impossible at this stage of discovery. Further work will be carried out.

13th précis

Title: Why fathers have post-natal depression

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-13454471

Vocabulary:

acquit – (v) to state officially that someone is not guilty of the crime they were accused of;
He was eventually acquitted of the charges.
The jury acquitted her of murder.

struggle – (v) to try very hard to do sth although it is difficult;
He struggled a bit at first, but he reads well now.
We struggled along the road with our heavy suitcases.

peak - (n) a highest point;
I saw snow-covered peaks last holiday.
The traffic reaches its peak at about 8.30 in the morning.

resentment – (n) an angry unhappy feeling that you have when you think you have been treated unfairly or without enough respect;
Do you feel any resentment towards her new husband?
His promotion caused widespread resentment among the other lawyers.

vulnerable – (adj.) easy to attact, hurt or defeat; open to danger;
The government must help the most vulnerable groups in our society.
Poor organization left the troops vulnerable to enemy attact.

inevitable – (adj.) impossible to avoid or prevent;
War now seems almost inevitable.
With more cars on the road, traffic jams are inevitable.

anxiety - (n) a feeling of worry especially about the future;
There are anxieties over the effects of unemployment. 
Too much caffeine can cause anxiety, depression, and insomnia.


Precis:

                 A father who murdered his six-month-old daughter was acquitted because he presented statement that he was depressed. One out of every seven new mothers has post-natal depression and one out of every new fathers have depression before and after the birth of their child. This depression can last up to 6 months after birth. Causes of depression include: hormones, lack of sleep and increased responsibility. People who have had previous mental health problems are more prone to this type of depression. Fathers may feel abandoned. Women are concentrated only on their children and forget about their partners. Depression in new fathers has a very negative impact on their children. In this situation it is important to get professional, medical help and support.

12th précis

Title: No proof of mobile cancer risk, major study concludes

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8685839.stm

Vocabulary:

concern – (n) a feeling of worry about something, especially one that a lot of people have about an important issue;
Don’t worry. There is no cause for concern.
There’s a lot of public concern about modern farming methods.

allay – (v) to make sth less strong;
I allayed my doubts.
A doctor gave me an injetion and allayed my paint.

rate – (n) speed;
They should work at a steady rate.
He drove a car at a rate of 60 an hour.

prevalent – (adj.) very common in a particular place or among a particular group;
The prevalent atmosphere was one of fear.
This negative attitude is surprisingly prevalent among young boys.

quirk – (n) a strange habit or type of behaviour;
That crooked tree is a quirk of nature.
We met by an odd quirk of fate.

overestimate – (v) to consider something to be better than it really is;
She overestimated her abilities.
I overestimated my friend.

usage – (n) way sth is used;
With normal usage , the machine should last for years.
It’s had rough usage.


Precis:

                   Recent scientific studies have not shown that mobile phones can affect brain cancer. These studies were sponsored by the mobile phone industry. Tests were conducted in countries where mobile phones are used widely and for a long time for e.g. Sweden. The studies involved more than 500 patients who were sick of brain cancer (glioma or meningioma). According to previous research these types of brain cancer could be caused by using mobile phones. Patients answered the questions how long they used mobile phones. Studies have shown that people who talk on mobile phone for a long time have as much as 40% higher chance of developing glioma and 15% for meningioma. Scientists have rejected these results because they believe that patients gave false information, as brain cancer patients have a disturbance of memory and cognitive abilities. Other studies will be carried out on the impact the use of mobile phones for incidents of the salivary gland tumours and acoustic neuromas.

11th précis

Title: Tourists shun town after Bin Laden raid

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13518946

Vocabulary:

lacklustre – (adj.) not interesting or exciting; dull;
It was a lacklustre performance.
The coach criticized his team’s lacklustre performance.

gloom – (adj.) dark and depressing;
What a gloomy day!
This dark paint makes the room very gloomy.

flock – (n) a group of people, birds or sheep etc
The farmer kept a flock of geese.
Flocks of people were lining up to see Nelson Mandela.

dust-up – (n) a fight, usually a short one;
He get into a dust-up with his brother.
I saw a dust-up on a street yesterday.

vigil – (n) a period of time, especially at night, when you stay in a place to wait for something or to give your support to someone;
Bill kept a constant vigil by his wife’s bed during her illness.
All night she kept vigil over the sick child.

vendor – (n) a person who sells sth;
When I was a student during the holidays I worked as an ice cream vendor.
I don’t like a street vendor.

stream – (n) a small narrow river;
A path runs alongside the stream.
Streams are very charming in the mountains.


Precis:

               Osama Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan in Abbottabad on 2 May. This is the time the local tourist season which lasts until September. These four months bring the most profit for the owners hotels, restaurants, shops etc. Abbottabad is a tourist base for people who want visit other areas in Pakistan such as: Thandie, Nathiagali or Kaghan. About 500 tourists a day go here in the season. Tourist business is going down now. Few tourists have visited Abbottabad since the death of Bin Laden’s. Tourists are afraid for their safety. Only journalists come to Abbottabad because they want gain some information. The owners are thinking that killing Bin Laden in Abbottabad may have a lasting impact on this town. The crisis is affecting the larger companies and people are worring about work so some moving in other parts of the country.

10th précis

Title: John Paul II beatification: Politics of saint-making

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13207940

Vocabulary:

supernatural – (adj.) that cannot be explained by the laws of science;
A creature with supernatural powers.
She had supernatural powers to heal people.

exempt – (adj.) free from having to do sth or pay sth;
Children under 16 are exempt from dental charges.
Currently, developing nations are exempt from certain restrictions on carbon emissions.

writ  - (n) an official document that tells someone to do something or to stop doing something;
I got a writ from the court yesterday.
I have a writ to pay the overdue fee.

haste – (n) doing thongs too quickly;
In my haste to escape, I tripped over a fallen branch.
In my haste to get to the airport on time I left my passport at home.

hostile – very unfriendly towards sb/sth; not having a good opinion of sb/sth;
They are very hostile to any changes.
The minister found himself in the middle of a hostile crowd.

savvy – (n) the ability to understand and judge people and situations well;
He has a lot of political savvy.
Where’s your savvy?

feast – (n) a large, special meal;
Feast of The Royal Castle was wonderful.
We celebrated this special day feast.


Precis:

                 Catholics claim that Jesus is extranatural phennomenon and some people ought to be considered as blessed and even as saints. Sometimes observers disagreed with beatification of John Paul II due to his procedures to stop sexual abuse. It is supposed that the beatification of John Paul II has nothing to do with thruth but is only making politics. In the case of John Paul II all the required criteria of appraisal of the life of candidate for saint have been fulfilled. In England one of the argument against the whole idea of the beatification of John Paul II is the fact that he canonised and blessed the geratest number of people in comparicion to the total number of the recognised as saits in the whole history of the mankind. Another argument is that John Paul III changed the principles of recognition the sainthoodness, namely that the necessary number of evidences was reduced by him and now is smaller than in the previous centuries and before his pontificy. One of the strongest argument against beatifiication of John Paul II is that he beatified Gianna Beretta Molla which had refused the hysterectomy (and de faco abortion) as indicated by physicians. The next argument against beatification of JPII is that he can be included among sainnts in the short period of our times.

China

My friend was in China. It was a trip sponsored by the company where he works. I envied him this trip. It is very interesting to get to know the culture so different from ours. Beijing, the Chinese Wall, the Forbidden City are places worth visiting. A few days ago I got a message from my friend:

„This is my dinner.”