• Terminall ill boy sends farewell message
• His heart-breaking video goes viral
• “Live live to the fullest”

 
A terminally-ill Australian boy, Shaun Wilson Miller was making a heart-rending, private video farewell message to his family and friends. Accidentally, he posted the video on to YouTube via his Facebook account and has become the latest viral-video sensation.

Doctors have told Shaun that he doesn’t have long left to live after his body rejected his second heart transplant. So he recorded an agonising message to say that he didn’t want his friends to “feel sorry for him”. Even though the video is upsetting and traumatic at times, with Shaun fighting back tears, the overall message is uplifting: Shaun urges viewers to “live life to the fullest” in one of the video’s most poignant moments.

It’s hard to think that anyone could see this gut-wrenching message and not become emotional at his inspiring bravery.

Shaun’s tearjerker video has lead to an outpouring of emotion and donations in his native Australia and the Herald Sun newspaper reports that he is not pitiful for himself and is definitely living live to fullest in the short time he has left. In recent weeks, Shaun has been to Disneyland, met some of his sports star heroes and appeared on one of his favourite TV programmes, Neighbours.

I think that Shaun’s tragic story and the courageous way that he is dealing with it puts things into perspective for us all that get stressed about little, stupid, unimportant things in life. My advice: Say “I love you” today to someone that is really important to you. :)

Shaun’s Heart-breaking words

 
Hi Guys. I have some bad news I wanna tell you all. I have chronic heart rejection and I won’t be here for as long as I thought. What I wanna say is that this has been an awesome ride and I have no regrets. Live life to the fullest because you never know what’s going to happen. I just wanna thank all my family and friends, who’ve been my life. Please don’t cry for me. I will be OK. I do ask all my friends to make sure my Dad will be OK. I will miss you guys so much. I love you all. I know this is bad news, but good news came as well. I now have a girlfriend now called Maddie and I’m so happy at the moment. Nothing can bring me down. I hope I left footprints in all of your hearts because I’m going to miss you all and I love you dearly. Bye. Love from Shaun.
 
 

Heart-breaking Vocabulary

heart-breaking

very upsetting

heart-rending

sth causing great sadness

agonising

causing great pain

upsetting

sth that makes you unhappy

traumatic

emotionally disturbing

poignant

making you have a feeling of sadness

gut-wrenching

extremely upsetting

tearjerker

a story evoking sadness and sympathy; a story that makes you cry

The podcasts will also be available to download free from itunes for your smartphone, ipods, laptops or whatever.

We hope that you can develop your listening skills and really broaden your English vocabulary knowledge by listening to these podcasts.

In the future, we will be releasing a transcript, so that you can read everything that you hear…to help your understanding. There will also be vocabulary explanations and questions about the conversation to test whether you really understand what we are talking about.

Pod Subject: Clothes

Pod People: Charlie & Bren
 

 
Please leave us a comment to tell us what you think about the podcasts. We are doing them for you to help with your English study, so let us know if there is anything that we can improve….maybe you’d like to hear us talk about a particular subject??? All suggestions are welcome.
 
 

The close of the English football season provided a remarkable comeback story, the likes of which had never been seen before.

A Hollywood scriptwriter wouldn’t have dared to invent a story so ridiculous. In unbelievably dramatic fashion, Manchester City won the Premiership Football league in the dying seconds of the last match of the season that amazed even people with absolutely no interest in football.

The winning goal, scored with the last kick of the game, meant that Man City had made a comeback so incredible that normally dull commentators went absolutely mental (see video).

At the start of the game, Man City only had to win against their opponents, Queen’s Park Rangers (one of the worst teams this year) and they would beat their arch rivals, Manchester United into second place in the league. If they lost or drew, Man Utd would be handed the title if they won their game. After 90 minutes played, Man Utd had finished and won their game 1-0 and Man City were losing 2-1, with 4 minutes of added-time still to be played.

Man City also has a history of screwing things up and pretty much nobody believed that they could come back from the dead and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Maybe it was nerves, but the millionaire players of Man City, some of the best-paid footballers on the planet, had no response to two great goals from QPR and a last-minute rally looked impossible. The cameras showed pictures of the mostly silent crowd looking on in disbelief, crying and even leaving the stadium. But in the 92nd minute, Dzeko scored and suddenly there was a huge resurgence in the Man City team. But still, all looked lost. Only victory would be good enough to win the league title after a 44-year wait.

But then in the 94th minute, Aguero, rising like a phoenix from the ashes burst into the QPR penalty area and slammed home the winner for Man City, sending the crowd into absolute bedlam.

With the final kick of the season, Man City had gone from villains to heroes, from chokers to champions, rising like Lazarus from the grave and completely transcending sport with a piece of pure theatre.

That was liquid football!

Comeback Vocabulary

to make a comeback

to be in a winning position after being in a losing position (usually in sport)

to come back from the dead

to return to a successful position from a very bad position – going from dead to alive/very bad to very good

to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat

to win at the last moment when it seemed that you were 100% going to lose

rally

to come together to continue fighting

resurgence

an increase in activity or strength after a period of weakness or little activity

to rise like a phoenix from the ashes

to make an amazing comeback

to go from villains to heroes

to become very successful after being in the worst position

to go from chokers to champions

‘choker’ – a person who performs badly in a high-pressure situation

to rise like Lazarus from the grave

as from the story in the bible where Jesus resurrects Lazarus from the dead – i.e. going from dead to alive

 
Do you know of a better comeback story than this?
 

Central London received all the pomp and circumstance of the State Opening of Parliament this week. This lavish ceremony is an annual event which normally takes place in October but has now been moved to May to fit in with new sessions of parliament.

This spectacle full of grandeur first began over 500 years ago and all the pageantry is exactly the same as back then…but they’ve probably fitted a new red carpet at some point along the way.

It all begins with the searching of the cellars underneath the Palace of Westminster. This is to avoid anything happening again like The Gunpowder Plot – this was when Guy Fawkes (maybe the first ever terrorist) tried unsuccessfully to blow up King James I in 1605.

Then a politician from the House of Commons is taken hostage (don’t worry, it’s only for ceremony – it’s not serious) by the Crown. This tradition was started by King Charles I, who had a very bad relationship with Parliament and eventually had his head chopped off after the end of 2 civil wars with them.

Eventually, the Queen arrives (as you can see in the video) in her horse-drawn carriage at the Sovereign’s Entrance (which is a special doorway only used once a year by the Queen). What you can’t see in the video is that the police close down all the roads in central London for this, so it causes a traffic nightmare.

While she is there, the flag on top of parliament is changed from The Union Jack to The Royal Standard (to show that she’s in the building).

The Queen, dressed in all the ceremonial robes, slowly makes her way to the House of Lords, sits down on the throne and then says, “My Lords, pray be seated”.

At this point, Black Rod (a Lords official) is ordered to go and get all the members of the House of Commons from the other chamber in the Palace of Westminster. He walks towards the Commons with the Doorkeeper of the House of Lords and a Police Inspector. As they begin their short journey the policeman/woman shouts, “Hats off, Strangers”.

As Black Rod approaches the Commons, the doors are slammed shut. This is symbolic to show that the Commons are independent and have the right to debate without the presence of the monarch. Black Rod then knocks on the door 3 times and they are then opened. He enters the House of Commons and bows to the speaker and declares: “Mr Speaker, The Queen commands this honourable House to attend Her Majesty immediately in the House of Peers.”

As you can hear on the video, this is unofficially traditionally followed by a joke from a very long-serving Labour MP, Dennis Skinner, who is an anti-royalist. Then the speaker follows Black Rod back to the House of Lords, followed by the leaders of the political parties and then everyone else…except Dennis Skinner, who stays in his seat.

The Queen then reads a speech that she did not write! It is written for her by the government of the day and it details all the plans for the forthcoming session of the parliamentary year.

The Queen isn’t smiling in the video because she probably wishes that she was at home with her corgies!
 

 

Royalty Vocabulary

pomp and circumstance

splendid celebration, usually involving lots of people in uniforms, trumpets, swords, gold and royalty

pageantry

elaborate display

grandeur

impressive appearance or style full of splendor

the crown

Here referring to officials who are representing the Queen

horse-drawn carriage

like an old fashioned car, but with horses instead of an engine :). Obviously the queen’s carriage is very expensive (see video)

The Royal Standard

the flag used by HRH The Queen

ceremonial robes

expensive clothes only used on very special occasions

throne

the big chair that a king or queen sits on – not like the chair that you are sitting on now! :)

monarch

the ruling King or Queen

Corgies

the small, funny dogs that the Queen owns

But this time, it’s a bit special. HRH Prince Charles tried his hand at ‘doing the weather’ today on BBC Scotland television news, which must have been surprising for viewers tuning in to see what their daywould be like weather-wise. Weathermen, like news readers, typically have voices that are easy to understand, so it was unusual to hear the Prince with his received pronunciation accent talking about sunshine and rain.

Once Charles had got used to ‘the clicker’ (the gadget that makes the pictures move forward), he seemed to do the forecast like a professional. His famously exaggerated and expressive hand movements made him a natural for the job.

When he mentions Balmoral (the holiday home of the Royal family) thinks turn a bit humorous – well as funny as you can be when you get royalty on the BBC.

But whether you hear it from the weatherman/woman or royalty, the weather forecast is always filled with specific vocabulary that needs explaining if you are not a native speaker: the difficult vocabulary is highlighted in bold and then explained below the text.

 

 
Prince Charles’ weather forecast vocabulary:

Well it’s an unsettled picture as we head towards the end of the week. This afternoon it’ll be cold, wet and windy across most of Scotland. We are under the influence of low pressure and this weather front pushing northwards is bringing clouds and outbreaks of rain. The rain, of course, will be heaviest over the borders and around Edinburgh, where it could lead to difficult conditions on the roads. In the west, rain will be lighter and patchier with maybe a few drier interludes over Dumfries House in Ayrshire. There will be snow for the higher ground of the Highlands and Aberdeenshire. There will be the potential for a few flurries over Balmoral…who the hell wrote this script! The best of the drier and brighter weather will, of course, be over the far northern isles and far north of the mainland. So a little hazy sunshine for the Castle of Mey and Caithness. But a cold day everywhere with temperatures of just eight celsius and a brisk north easterly wind.
Thank God it isn’t a bank holiday!

Weather Forecast vocabulary

unsettled

changeable: the weather will be changing a lot – sometimes good, sometimes bad

under the influence

We are experiencing: We are having

weather front

a body of weather: can also say ‘cold front’ or ‘warm front’

outbreaks of rain

rain that starts suddenly, usually not for a long time

difficult conditions on the roads

not easy to drive because of the amount of water

patchier

small bursts of rain, only in some areas

drier interludes

small periods of time without rain

flurries

short periods of rain in windy conditions

hazy sunshine

sunshine that is not 100% (difficult to describe!!!)

brisk

fast and strong

 
Going shopping can often be expensive nowadays. The prices of products and goods are frequently high in most shops. Sometimes when you go in a shop you only want to look at their products. However, more often than not, you purchase something.

Why?

Shops and shop assistants use different sales tactics:

1) Flattery

Compliments work on everyone. Shop assistants consistently say positive things about you and how good their products are for you. They may say that you look amazing in one of their shirts or how fashionable you look using their latest iPhone. Time and time again this really works.

2) Guilt

We all like helpful staff who answers our questions and tell us information. A lot of customers feel bad about not buying something when an assistant is very nice. This happens repeatedly in shoe shops because the assistants have to find bring you the shoes. After you have tried on the 5th pair you may feel guilty and just buy one.

3) The last product

Some assistants say that they only have 1 product left, like the last laptop or pair of jeans. They by and large tell you to buy them quick because there are no more. You see this online when you book rooms in a hotel. On a regular basis, the websites say ‘1 room left’ and suggest you ‘reserve now’. This is commonly used in sales when prices are reduced.

4) False discounts

The big sales are typically after Christmas. Some prices are reduced by 50% or even 70% so you can find very cheap products. However, not all of the discounts are real. The original prices are sometimes increased so that shops can afford to reduce them to the normal price. This regularly happens with cars.

Ways of saying often

 
Frequently
More often than not
Consistently
Time and time again
Repeatedly
Normally
By and large
On a regular basis
Commonly
Typically
Regularly

Discussion questions

1. Do these tactics work on you?
2. Do you know any other tactics?

On Tuesday Danielle was meant to take everyone to the Tate Britain but accidentally took them somewhere completely different and only realised when one of the students noticed! They all really enjoyed themselves and no one seemed to mind. Danielle felt so bad that she took them all for coffee and a chat afterwards!

On Wednesday Owen took a select few to see the Sweeney Todd musical. An adaptation of the film with Johnny Depp, it’s a gruesome story of a barber who chopped off his clients heads and then his wife turns them into pies and sells them back to the public. A great and horrible story, but everyone enjoyed it as well as the songs.

The walk on Thursday was cancelled due to the bad weather and everyone wanting to stay indoors.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and enjoys the Bank Holiday and Cafe de Paris tonight. See you next week

Microsoft’s research department is developing a home operating system called the HomeOS. In the future it will control every electrical device in your house.

The HomeOS can use single devices or several devices together. It can control the locks, TVs, Hi-Fi, cameras, air conditioning and anything else that is electrical. It turns a house into a ‘smart home’ so you can have more time to relax.

It is a simple system and easy to use. There will a number of main tasks like for lights or heating. Devices can connect to these tasks or you can download more from the internet. It will be like using Apps on your phone.

The system is intelligent so it can guess what you need and do it. But the best thing about the HomeOS is you can use it with your mobile phone. You will be able to manage all your home from inside or even outside. When you are on the train home you could turn on the cooker to make your dinner.

Most people like the idea because it will make our lives easier and maybe safer. However, a few people say it is a bad idea. They think it is dangerous because the system will control everything. If there is a computer problem or no electricity you may get trapped in your house or won’t be able to enter.

At the moment, Microsoft is planning how to make drivers for every device. A driver is needed so the device can be used with the HomeOS. They are also developing a Home Store website where people can buy and download these apps. It is the Microsoft version of iTunes.

Many university students are helping Microsoft develop this technology. There are also 12 houses testing HomeOS prototypes.

Useful language

Operating system/OS

The main software on a computer like Windows

Electrical device

Something that uses electricity like a TV

Task

Something that needs to be done

To connect

To join together

Apps

Applications or small programs for a mobile phone

To manage sthg

To control sthg

Turn on sthg

To make it work like when you turn on a laptop

To be trapped

When you cannot leave somewhere like in prison

Driver

A small computer program you need to make a device work with your computer like a printer driver

Prototype

The first model that is being tested

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
  

Discussion questions

 
1)    How would you use the HomeOS?

2)    Do you want to live in a ‘smart home’?

This is an IELTS speaking test sample: it’s part 1 – the Introdcution and Interview. The student is asked several basic personal questions about her life and has to give short but developed answers.
 
Listen to the audio and then read how this student can improve her IELTS band score below.

Student’s IELTS strengths

 
She manages to answer every question and uses a lot of word stress to convey meaning like ‘hot’ and ‘big’.

She uses her vocabulary effectively and says a couple of great phrases like ‘come together’, ‘especially during…’and ‘everything is under my control’.

Several examples are used well to explain the student’s answers.

Student’s IELTS weaknesses

 
She has limited vocabulary and so finds it hard to express herself fully and precisely.

Her grammar is also limited and she makes some basic mistakes.

She relies too much on the present simple when the present perfect could be better.

Pronunciation is an issue on several occasions as some words like poverty and heaven are very hard to understand.

What specific things will improve her IELTS Speaking?

 
She needs to learn and utilise more tenses so that she can talk more precisely about now, the past and the future.

She also needs more vocabulary in order to explain more about each topic.

More linking words would help her develop complex sentences

Some pronunciation training on individual sounds and words could also help people understand her better.

How can she improve her IELTS Speaking overall?

 
This student has to work on getting better and correcting her mistakes. In the speaking test she will gain mark for trying more advanced language but also lose them if she has lots of mistakes. So, she needs to focus on both.

She should learn vocabulary and useful structures for IELTS topics like holidays and hobbies. Then she needs to know speaking phrases for giving her opinion.

Learning how to use basic linkers like ‘but’ and ‘however’ will help her make complex sentences.

Studying the phonetic alphabet will help her to pronounce words correctly but she should also speak more to become more fluent.
 
 

IELTS Speaking Band Score

 
At the moment, this candidate would score an IELTS Speaking Band score of 4 or 4+ for this 1st section. However, the good news is that improving your IELTS score is possible. This recording was made with this student in her first week of lessons. Now, she has been studying IELTS in London with us here at SGI for 2 months and she is currently at a 6 level overall for IELTS!
 
Look out for parts 2 & 3 audio of this IELTS Speaking test next week.
 
 

The London Marathon last Sunday attracted it’s usual thousands of entrants who were running to raise money for charity. The London Marathon is famous for its fund-raising reputation. This year, the post race news was dominated by the tragic story of Claire Squires, who collapsed and died in the final mile of the race. The 30-year-old hairdresser’s chosen charity was The Samaritans, because her mother had volunteered with the charitable organisation for more than 20 years.

As with many people who do things for charity these days, Claire had a page on the justgiving.com website, where supporters could pledge their donations online. On justgiving the standard statement asks people to “dig deep and donate now” and Claire’s personal message said “if everyone I know could donate £5.00 that would be a great help and change lives”. Before the marathon began, Claire had raised £500 in sponsorship, but since her story went viral, donations have been pouring in from all over the world. At the time of writing, there have been 57,952 donations and the total raised has been £659,286.50.

Her devastated family have urged well-wishers to give what they can, so that her death can result in something positive. They said: “Don’t stop giving – just like her. It’s what she would have wanted.”

In 2006, Sir Steve Redgrave (winner of five consecutive Olympic gold medals for rowing) set the Guinness World Record for money raised through a marathon by collecting £1.8 million in sponsorship. In 2011, Steve Chalke broke the record by raising £2.32 million.

Charity Vocabulary

raise money for charity

to get money from people, not for yourself, but to give to people who are in need of help in some way

fund-raising

the act of getting/obtaining money for charity

chosen charity

the particular organisation that you are hoping to collect money for

charitable organisation

a company that tries to help people

pledge their donations

to give money to a charity

dig deep

Saying ‘dig deep in your pockets’: meaning to reach down into the very bottom of your trouser pockets to get all the little coins that you forgot about

sponsorship

the money that someone promises to give to charity because somebody completes an activity i.e. When you run the marathon, I will give £10 to your charity (or “I will sponsor you £10″)

change lives

common phrase used when talking about charity: a little bit of money can make a big difference to people whose lives are less fortunate than yours

do things for charity

run a marathon, get sponsorship

donations

money that is given to charity