Everyone daydreams sometimes. We sit or lie down, close our eyes and use our imagination to think about something that might happen in the future or could have happened in the past. Most daydreaming is pleasant. We would like the daydream to happen and we would be very happy if it did actually happen. We …
When classes adjourn here at the Fayerweather Street School, eighth-graders ignore the mall down the street and go straight to the place they consider much cooler: the local natural-foods grocer’s. There, they gather in groups of ten or more sometimes, smitten by a marketing atmosphere that links attractiveness to eating well. When time comes to …
Teens Try to Change the World, One Purchase at a Time – IELTS Academic Reading Passage Read More »
A Falling populations – the despair of state pension systems – are often regarded with calmness, even a secret satisfaction, by ordinary people. Europeans no longer need large families to gather the harvest or to look after parents. They have used their good fortune to have fewer children, thinking this will make their lives better. Much …
The Fertility Bust – IELTS Academic Reading Passage Read More »
A Taxonomic history has been made this week, at least according In the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). a conservation group. Scientists have described a new species of clouded leopard from the tropical forests of Indonesia with spots (or “clouds”, as they are poetically known; smaller than those of other clouded leopards, with fur a little darker …
Spot the Difference – IELTS Academic Reading Passage Read More »
In a new study, Essex University sociologists have dissected the typical British Sunday, and found we get up later and do fewer chores than we did 40 years ago – and we are far more likely to be out shopping or enjoying ourselves than cooking Sunday lunch. Academics at the university’s Institute of Social and …
Sunday Is a Fun Day for Modern Brits – IELTS Academic Reading Passage Read More »
A For those of a certain age and educational background, it is hard to think of higher education without thinking of ancient institutions. Some universities are of a venerable age – the University of bologna was founded in 1088, the University of Oxford in 1096 – and many of them have a strong sense of tradition. …
The Brains Business – IELTS Academic Reading Passage Read More »
A Staying up an hour or two past bedtime makes it far harder for kids to learn, say scientists who deprived youngsters of sleep and tested whether their teachers could tell the difference. They could. If parents want their children to thrive academically, “Getting them to sleep on time is as important as getting them to …
Sleepy Students Perform Worse – IELTS Academic Reading Passage Read More »
If you are into technology, you are living in wonderful times. Things are developing in leaps and bounds, especially gadgets. Let us look at the technology that is set to break through. CELESTRON SKYSCOUTBackyard stargazing goes seriously hi-tech with the Celestron SkyScout, which was judged to be the Best of Innovations at the New York …
Rise of the Robots – IELTS Academic Reading Passage Read More »
A Despite conference jeers, job cuts, and a financial crisis, health secretary Patricia Hewitt may find a reason to smile this week, as the NHS (British National Health Service) was named one of the top places to work by students. Among engineering, science, and IT students, the health service was ranked second in this year’s Universum …
Patients Are a Virtue – IELTS Academic Reading Passage Read More »
A It is a question officials here in Asia are being posed more and more: Why are your economies so vibrant? Answers include young and swelling populations, decreased debt, growing cities, emerging middle-class consumer sectors, evolving markets and, of course, (China’s rise. Add this to that list: Women and their increasing role in Asia’s economies. The …
Secret of Thailand’s Success? – IELTS Academic Reading Passage Read More »
