Robot cat Doraemon receives residency in Japan city

Vocabulary

1. Feline -(adj.)- belonging or pertaining to the cat family
ex. The cat family of animals such as house cats, tigers, cheetahs and lions are considered felines.
2. exploits -(noun)- a notable or heroic act; heroic adventures
ex. The movie is about the exploits of Lt. John J. Dunbar.
3. alter -(verb)-to change or modify
ex. The dressmaker altered the wedding gown to fit her.
4. navigate -(verb)-to walk or find one's way on, in, or across
ex. It was difficult to navigate the stairs in the dark.
5. enormously -(adverb)-greatly exceeding the common size, extent, etc.
ex. the program was enormously succesful.

Doraemon, Japan's robot cat from the future, will celebrate turning minus 100 years old by being given official residence of the city where he will be born, a city official told AFP on Friday.

The electronic blue feline, whose cartoon exploits have captivated children across Asia, is to be given a residency certificate for Kawasaki, a city near Tokyo, on September 3, exactly a century ahead of his supposed birth.

The city, in which the character's creator lived, is also home to a popular museum of all things Doraemon and plans to issue copies of the time-travelling robot cat's residency certificate to fans and visitors.

"Doraemon was created and born in Kawasaki city. In that sense, he has always been a city resident," Mayor Takao Abe told reporters, according to the online edition of the local Kanagawa Shimbun newspaper.

"I hope (the residency certificate) will bring the museum closer to many people," he said.

The certificate will give Doraemon's birthday as September 3, 2112, as well as listing his likes -- pastries -- and his dislikes -- mice.

Doraemon was sent back in time from the 22nd century by a young boy who wanted to alter his family's historical misfortune.

His magic pocket provides an endless supply of fantastical gadgets that help his young friend Nobita Nobi navigate the trials of everyday life.

The character first appeared in manga strips in 1969, making the transition to small and big screen over the following decades.

Doraemon remains enormously popular in Japan, serving as an instantly recognisable cultural reference across generations.

The cartoon series also has a large following in the rest of Asia, including in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea.


SOURCE: http://ph.news.yahoo.com/robot-cat-doraemon-receives-residency-japan-city-063640051.html

Questions

1. What is the article all about?
2. How popular is the Doraemon character in your country?
3. Do you think by putting up a Doraemon museum Kawasaki will attract more tourists?
4. In your opinion, Is Doraemon alreay considered a part of Japanese culture?
5. How can children (and adults) relate with Doraemon?

Beijing restaurateur develops noodle-slicing robot army

Vocabulary Words

1. Automated - (adj.)- operated and controlled by machine
ex. She withdrew cash from the automated teller's machine.
2. Restaurateur - (noun)-The manager or owner of a restaurant
ex. He is a very successful restaurateur. He owns the biggest chain of restaurants in the country.
3. Laborious - (adj.)- something that requires long, hard work; involving great exertion or long effort
ex. The team spent many laborious hours on the project.
4. Prototype -(noun)- An original, full-scale, and usually working model of a new product or new version of an existing product.
ex. A prototype children's laptop, was showcased at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
5. Motion-sensored -(adj)- An equipment which detects,record movements of objects, people or animals
ex. The alarm system in our office is motion-sensored

In yet another sign that the restaurant business in Asia is becoming increasingly automated, a Chinese restaurateur is enjoying booming success after having created an army of robots that can ‘hand' slice noodles.

Using the motion of a windshield wiper, the Chef Cui shaves noodles from a block of dough in perfect strips, sparing many a Chinese chef the laborious, repetitive and often dreaded task of slicing noodles by hand.

While restaurateur Cui Runguan in Beijing first created the prototype in 2006, since going into production and launching the first commercial robo-chefs in March, creator Cui Runguan has sold 3,000 robots, according to a video report by Zoomin.TV in the UK.

The appeal? At about $2,000 USD, the Chef Cui is a bargain deal, say restaurateurs interviewed in the video: not only does a human chef cost about $4,700 USD a year, the robot chef doesn't call in sick or get tired.

The Chef Cui is the latest robo-chef to hit the Asian restaurant scene, which is light years ahead of the West in automated dining.

Fast food restaurant Wishdoing in Shanghai, became the first in the country to hire two robo-chefs to do all the cooking and washing up. Automated chefs can whip up dishes like Kung Pao Chicken or Mapo Tofu, bean curd in a chili sauce, in three minutes flat.
Motion-sensored robot waiters also cycle around the Dalu Robot restaurant in the eastern province of Shandong, China, while Japanese eatery FuA-Men -- short for Fully-Automated raMen -- uses robot chefs to make bowls of ramen.

SOURCE: http://ph.news.yahoo.com/beijing-restaurateur-develops-noodle-slicing-robot-army-162426334.html

Questions:

1. What is the Article all about?
2. What comes to your mind when you hear the words Robots/machines?
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using robots in the preparation of food/s for restaurant customers?
4. Would you prefer a robot to take your orders,serve and prepare your food or would you rather have a real person to do these things?
5. Would you like a robot at home to do household chores for you?

127 Hours - The Aaron Ralston Story

Vocabulary

1. Canyon –(n) - a valley with steep sides - a good place for the sport of canyoning
ex. The Grand Canyon in Phoenix, Arizona is one of the most beautiful wonders of nature.
2. Dire straits/dire situation –(idiom) - a very difficult situation; in serious trouble or difficulties.
ex. The loss of major contracts has put the company in dire straits.
3. Ingenuity –(n)– cleverness; The quality of being cleverly inventive or resourceful
ex. The prisoners were able to escape from prison because of their ingenuity.
4. Spiritual -(adj)– Pertaining to the soul and religion
ex.She is more of a spiritual type than her rowdy brother.
5. Fanatic –(adj.)- a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal, as in religion or politics.
ex. Some terrorists are described to be religious fanatics
6. Gruelling -(adj)- exhausting; very tiring; arduously severe:
ex. His brother joined the grueling Boston marathon.
7. Spur of the moment –(Idiom) - If you do something on the spur of the moment, you do it as soon as you think of it, spontaneously, without any planning.
ex. He decided on the spur of the moment to buy flowers for his wife.
8. Drastic –(adj.)- extremely severe or extensive
ex. The citizens are protesting against the drastic consumption tax Increase.
9. Tourniquet –(n)- any device for arresting bleeding by forcibly compressing a blood vessel, as a bandage tightened by twisting.
ex. Before the nurse inserted the IV needle, he applied a tourniquet to lessen the flow of blood to the IV tube.

Aaron Ralston, a 27-year-old mountain sports fanatic from Colorado in the United States, found himself in dire straits alone in a canyon in the desert when a 500kg rock came crashing down the canyon to smash his right hand and trap it against the canyon wall. A terrible accident, but the situation was made all the more serious because on this occasion Aaron had failed to tell anyone where he was going. At the last minute the plans for a trip with his climbing partners had fallen through, and on the spur of the moment he decided to head out on his own to cycle up a long mountain trail, leave his bike and then walk down the Blue John canyon. No one had the slightest idea where he was.

After three days of not seeing or hearing any sign of life Aaron realised he would die there if he didn't do something drastic. The course of action was horrific, but there was no other way. He would have to amputate his right hand. Fortunately he had a small multitool knife with him and he had some straps that he could use to make a tourniquet to stop himself bleeding to death when he cut the arteries. The knife had two blades. When he tried with the larger blade he found that it was too blunt to cut the skin.

The following day he found the courage to try the shorter blade, and with that he managed to cut through the skin. Only when he had made a large hole in his arm did he realise that it was going to be impossible to use any of the little tools on his knife to cut through the bones. After another 24 hours of pain and despair the idea and the strength came to him in a flash on the sixth day. With a final burst of energy he broke both bones in his arm and freed himself.

The ordeal was not over, though. He was still a long way from help. He had to carefully strap up his right arm and then find a way of lowering himself down a 20m drop in the canyon with a rope and only his left arm, and then walk the 10 km back to his Bike. Despite his ingenuity* and all his efforts he would have bled to death if it hadn't been for a very happy coincidence: the moment he got out of the canyon into the open desert the rescue helicopter just happened to be flying overhead.

One of the doctors at the hospital recalls being impressed to see Ralston walk into the hospital on his own, in spite of his injuries and the gruelling experience of being in the desert for six days with almost nothing to eat and only a couple of litres of water. He describes the amputation as remarkable. "It's a perfect example of someone improvising in a dire situation*," he said. "He took a small knife and was able to amputate his arm in such a way that he did not bleed to death."

Slim and pale with short reddish-brown hair, Ralston believes that his story was not simply about an isolated individual who rose to a formidable challenge. For him there was a spiritual dimension to the experience. In his news conference he said, "I may never fully understand the spiritual aspects of what I experienced, but I will try. The source of the power I felt was the thoughts and prayers of many people, most of whom I will never know."


Comprehension Questions:

What Made the terrible accident terrible more serious?
What did Ralston decide to do when he realized that help is not coming?
What incident saved him from bleeding to death after he got out of the Canyon?
What is the most interesting “lesson” Ralston learned from his experience?

Related topic: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/8223925/127-Hours-Aron-Ralstons-story-of-survival.html

El Nino likely to last until winter, Japan Meteorological Agency says

El Nino Likely to Last Until Winter, Japan Meteorological Agency Says

Vocabulary Words

1. El Nino phenomenon –(n)- El Nino is a warming of sea-surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific that occurs every four to 12 years resulting to extended dry periods.
ex. The Philippines was hit by the El Nino Phenomenon in 1998 resulting to shortages in food supply.

2. Disruption –(n)- to interrupt the progress of; an interruption or disturbance in a cycle, continuity, flow or movement
ex. The presentation went on smoothly without disruption.

3. Equatorial Pacific –(n)- The area of the Pacific ocean near the equator
ex. Ecuador, Peru and Colombia are just some of the countries in the equatorial Pacific area.

4. Oil refineries –(n)- An oil refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas
ex. Many Filipino engineers work in the oil refineries in the Middle East.

5. Roil (v) - to disturb or irritate
ex. Financial markets have been roiled by the banking crisis.

6. Hampered –(v)- to hold back; hinder; impede
ex. A steady rain hampered the progress of the work. / The dancers' movements were hampered by their elaborate costumes.

7. Drought-(n)- a period of dry weather, especially a long one that is injurious to crops.
Ex. The long drought resulted to the destruction of crops.


The Japan Meteorological Agency said on Friday its climate monitoring data and models indicate the El Nino phenomenon has emerged and is likely to last until the northern winter, potentially adding strain to global food supplies.

Global food production can suffer widespread disruption from the weather caused by El Nino, particularly across Asia and Africa where harvests can be robbed of rain.

“Monitoring data for July suggests that the El Nino phenomenon has emerged,” the agency said, referring to the latest conditions in the equatorial Pacific.

“The chances are high that the El Nino phenomenon will be maintained until the winter,” the agency said in a statement on its website.

The U.S. Climate Prediction Center, part of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), warned that an El Nino was almost certain to occur over the next two months.

The last severe El Nino was in 1998, when the phenomenon caused more than 2,000 deaths and inflicted billions of dollars in damage to crops, infrastructure and mines in Australia and other parts of Asia.

The Japanese agency had said last month the chances were high that El Nino conditions would emerge in the northern summer.

El Nino is a warming of sea-surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific that occurs every four to 12 years, affecting crops from Asia to the Americas as well as industries, including hurricane-vulnerable oil refineries in the U.S. Gulf.

While the arrival of an El Nino raises the chances of favorable planting conditions in South America, it can roil farmers in Asia and Africa where it can bring extended dry periods.

Its effects will be closely watched in India, where the slow development of monsoon rains has already hampered the planting of summer crops, such as rice, oilseeds and cotton, and weather forecasters have already warned of the first drought in three years.

Three years ago, an El Nino slowed development of the monsoon rains, sparking a rally in sugar prices to 30-year highs as India, the world’s second biggest producer, harvested a poor cane crop.

Keenly watched by the U.S. oil industry, the phenomenon may reduce the chances of storms forming in the Atlantic basin toward the end of the hurricane season that runs to Nov 30.

El Nino, which means “little boy” in Spanish, was first noticed by anchovy fishermen in Latin America in the 19th century.

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012.
Related topics:

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/pacific-drought-flood-to-intensify-study-20120816-249ha.html

http://globalwarming.solveyourproblem.com/el-nino.shtml

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cloud+seeding

Questions

1. What is the article all about?
2. How does this phenomenon affect the people?
3. Have you ever experienced the El Nino phenomenon in your country?
4. Do you think this phenomenon is caused by climate change?
5. How can people conserve water during this event?
6. What can the government do to help the farmers?
7. Have you heard of the Phrase “cloud seeding”?

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cloud+seeding

How To Quit Smoking by: Rob Mellor

VOCABULARY WORDS

1. Baffle –(v)- to restrain, or regulate (the flow of a fluid, air or the emission of sound or light)
ex. The sound-proofing material baffled the sounds coming from the room.
2. Repercussions –(n)- an effect or result, often indirect or remote, of some event or action
ex. A lack of communication among employees and supervisors can have severe repercussions.
3. Abhor –(v)-To regard with horror or loathing; detest, hate
ex. I particularly abhor his lack of attention to detail when he sends business emails.
4. Agitated –(Adj)- someone who is very distressed or troubled. ex. Being so nervous about something that you are constantly pacing is an example of agitated.
5. Fatigue –(n)- Physical or mental weariness resulting from exertion. ex. He is suffering from fatigue after driving for 12 hours.

One of the most vicious diseases in today’s times is smoking. It makes a person baffle for air 3 times more than a non-smoker. It has very many repercussions on the life of the smoker and those around him. It leads to lung cancer and various heart diseases like asthma and emphysema. We should thus abhor this deadly disease and quit smoking.

Quitting is not easy
But to actually quit smoking is not easy, because it is an addiction. However there are very many ways and methods that help us to quit smoking for instance we can opt for acupuncture therapy or aromatherapy. We can also opt for non-nicotine cigarettes or go for precise prescription by a doctor.

But first and foremost we need to decide in our heart to stop smoking and should also fix a day for the same. Inform your family about your decision and seek for their help and assistance. Throw away all the cigarette packets, ashtrays and lighters. Stop buying any more cigarettes. Rather think of the more useful and better things that you can buy with the money thus saved. Ask the other family members also, who smoke, to stop smoking. Keep yourself busy. Exercise regularly and meditate occasionally. Eat healthy food.

After doing all this you may still feel severe urges to smoke. You may also actually retort back to it, but that’s no problem, just be persistent and bring back your decision on to the right track after this break, because most of the people are successful only after 2-3 attempts.

Be prepared for withdrawal symptoms
About 80% people retort back to smoking after once leaving it and only 20% successfully accomplish the task. People retort back due to many reasons. Some say they feel agitated. Others say that the aroma when someone lights up is irresistible. But most of them do so due to the fear of symptoms that appears after that last puff viz. weight gain, aggressive thinking, dry throat, fatigue, muscle cramps, constipation, dizziness, hypersensitivity to stimuli, etc. but these are all just temporary symptoms and disappear in a few days. In fact after the initial bout is over the blood pressure, heart rate, pulse arte all get back to normal. You thus need to keep your will power strong and stick to your decision for a few more days.

Some people are not able to continue with the smoke cessation programs because they say that they are costly. But this is a wrong perception because they are not costlier than the price spent for buying cigarettes. And then isn’t it more logical to spend on your health rather on a disease.

QUESTIONS

1. Why do you think it is so difficult for smokers to quit?
2. What are the possible effects/consequences of smoking?
3. According to the article, what are some ways a smoker could do to be successful in quitting?
4. In your opinion, is it more effective to stop smoking abruptly or gradually stop by lessening the number of cigarettes a person smokes every day?
5. What are the symptoms of withdrawal?

http://www.speakoz.com/english-articles/smoking/

THE CITY OF SHANGHAI IS SINKING!

Vocabulary

1. Immense –(adj)- unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope
ex. You did an immense job getting the project started.

2. Submerged -(adj)- under the surface of water; underwater
ex. The windows on the car were submerged in water and the victims trapped inside

3. Guzzles –(v)- to consume (food or drink) excessively or greedily
ex. They spent the whole night guzzling beer.

4. Aquifers –(n)- An underground layer of permeable rock, sediment (usually sand or gravel), or soil that yields water; underground bed or layer yielding ground water for wells and springs etc.
ex. Sandstones, unconsolidated gravels, and porous limestones make the best aquifers.

5. Droughts –(n)- A long period of abnormally low rainfall, especially one that adversely affects growing or living conditions.
ex. farmers most affected by the drought hope that there may yet be sufficient rain early in the growing season

It may sound like a science fiction problem of the future, but the reality is that China has an immense problem on its hands as 46 cities are currently headed toward being slowly submerged in water.

Why would this happen? Sinking cities are common in China because it has such a dry climate. Because it is so dry there, the government guzzles water from underground aquifers to supply the rapidly growing economy and population.

In fact, Beijing has sunk 14 inches over the past decade! The government is aware of the problem and warns its citizens to be cautious when consuming water because of their limited supply, yet because of recent droughts the problem has only increased.

Shanghai has switched to river water for most things now because the sinking was such a problem and currently descends at only two-fifths of an inch each year. However, the problem still remains throughout China, how they are going to continue with an underwater country.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=371702262884731&set=a.289245514463740.77512.289243791130579&type=1&theater

Questions

1. What is the reason why China is sinking?
2. What can the people do to conserve water?
3. Do you think the rivers could sustain the growing economy and population of China?
4. What do you think are the measures being done by the Chinese government to slow down or to eliminate the problem?

THE 2012 LONDON OLYMPIC GAMES

Vocabulary

1. Vibrant –(adj)- Pulsing or throbbing with energy or activity; Vigorous, lively
ex. She is enjoying the vibrant streets of a big city.

2. Paralympics –(n)- major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete
ex. Her disabled brother will compete in the 2012 Paralympic games

3. Equestrian –(n)- Pertaining to horseback riding or horseback riders ex. The princess is admired for her good equestrian skill.

4. Pentathlon –(n)- an athletic contest comprising five different track and field events and won by the contestant gaining the highest total score. ex. The athlete from Kenya won the gold medal in the Olympics pentathlon event.

5. Gymnastics –(n)– a sport that involves exercises intended to display strength, balance and agility. ex. Debbie is 6 years old and enjoys gymnastics, tennis and swimming.

In 2005, the International Olympic Committee selected London as the host city for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Summer Games. London had also hosted the Olympic games in 1908 and 1948. Athletes and spectators from around the world will gather in July, August and September to celebrate summer sporting excellence. The Games, along with the region's spectacular natural playground and its vibrant venues such as the Olympic Park, Wembley Stadium, Wimbledon, The Mall, Riverbank Arena, Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre, etc. will put London in the spotlight as a premier sporting destination.

The Olympic Opening Ceremony for the London 2012 will be done at the Olympic Stadium where her majesty the Queen will be greeted by the President of the IOC at the entrance of the stadium as the Head of State of the Host Country. Then we will see a procession of the participating teams in the stadium, nation by nation. Teams enter in alphabetical order, according to the language of the Host County, apart from the Greek team, which enters first for the Olympics, and the team of the Host Nation(in this case Great Britain), who march in last.

London will host the following Olympic and Paralympics events
-The 26 Olympic sports at London 2012 will be aquatics, archery, athletics, badminton, basketball ,boxing, canoe and kayak, cycling, equestrian, fencing, gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing, table tennis, triathlon, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling among others. These games will take place in 28 venues.

The 20 Paralympics sports at London 2012 will be boccia, football, goalball, paralympic archery, paralympic athletics, paralympic cycling, paralympic equestrian, paralympic judo, paralympic powerlifting, paralympic rowing, paralympic shooting, paralympic swimming, paralympic table tennis, volleyball, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair tennis which will take place in 21 venues.

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games will be held in London from 27 July to 12 August 2012, followed by the 2012 Paralympics Games from 29 August to 9 September. There will be 5,500 Olympic athletes and officials. Over 205 countries are expected to participate in 305 events at the Olympic Games and over 147 countries will take part in the Paralympics.

Comprehension and Viewpoint Questions

1. According to this article how will the athletes from different countries enter the stadium? Which 2 countries will enter first and last?
2. In your opinion, is winning the most important objective of the Olympics?
3. Do you like watching the games? what are your favorite events in the Olympics?
4. What do you think are the advantages for the country that is hosting the Olympics?
5. What is the most memorable Olympic games in your opinion?

Doctor’s Tests (And Meds) You Don’t Need

Vocabulary

1. Skyrocketing-(v/idiom)- shoot up abruptly, like a rocket; to rise rapidly (as in price )
Ex. The skyrocketing costs of medical treatment cause people to look for alternative medicines/treatment.
2. Foregoing –(adj)- already written or stated; previously stated
Ex. The foregoing paragraph presents the problem.
3. Radiologists –(n)- a medical specialist who uses radioactive substances and X-rays in the treatment of disease
Ex. A radiologist is a medical doctor who specializes in the reading and interpretation of X-rays and other medical images.
4. Academicians –(n)- a member of an association or institution for the advancement of arts, sciences, or letters
Ex. Reforms were instituted over the protests of the academicians.
5. Oncologists –(n)- A medical doctor that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Some oncologists treat patients with all forms of cancer, and others specialize in only one type of cancer.
Ex. After Jan's doctor suspected she may have cancer, he referred her to an oncologist.

With the cost of gasoline and basic commodities skyrocketing, what's to stop the medical care system from increasing their rates too?
However, higher doctor’s fees shouldn’t mean putting your health at risk by skipping your regular check-up in a bid to save money.
Instead, the answer may lie in foregoing diagnostic tests that are unlikely to aid in the treatment of your condition.

Some tests can cause harm

In the U.S., an initiative called Choosing Wisely has been launched by an American medical foundation to encourage doctors and patients “to think and talk about medical tests and procedures that may be unnecessary, and in some instances can cause harm.”
It also encourages physicians to use evidence-based medicine in treating their patients.

Heeding the call are nine medical societies which compiled their list of "Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question" in an effort to make the patient avoid unnecessary and very often, costly, diagnostic tests.
For example, radiologists have been cautioned to avoid routine x-rays for patients checking into hospitals with a normal or “unremarkable” history and physical exam.

Overuse of CT scans and antibiotics

Also common among other groups like oncologists, family physicians and cardiologists and others are warnings against the overuse of CT scans and antibiotics.

Often, doctors choose to "over" prescribe lab tests for fear of missing out on a serious disease that the patient might have and avoiding the prospect of being sued for malpractice.

Evidence-based medicine, backed by several, large population studies, is the answer.
Decisions and choices that are supported by academicians and researchers who are the authorities in their field of specialty will give both the doctor and the patient peace of mind that they are taking the right course of action.

Questions

1. According to the article, what should people do to save money from medical bills without putting their health at risk?
2. Is it true that all medical/diagnostic tests are necessary and safe?
3. Why do doctors tend to “over-prescribe” lab tests/ antibiotics to their patients?
4. What is evidenced-based medicine?