The English Blog

Cartoon: G8 Arm Wrestling

2013-06-18T08:14:32+02:00

In this cartoon from The Telegraph, Adams uses arm wrestling as a metaphor for the wrangling over the war in Syria at the G8 summit.

A bare-chested President Putin is shown arm-wrestling the other members of the G8—a reference to his hard-line stance over arming the Syrian opposition. UK Prime Minister and summit host David Cameron walks away, his hand throbbing, while the other G8 leaders nervously await their turn. The one exception is Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is shown relaxing with a cup of tea and a newspaper. It looks like Putin is beckoning him with his finger, but I could be wrong.

NOTE
Russian President Vladimir Putin is known for his displays of physical prowess, and actually took part in an arm wrestling contest back in 2011.

Reuters Video: A G8 scoop—ice cream-flavored world leaders

2013-06-18T07:46:12+02:00

Residents in the Northern Irish town of Enniskillen are enjoying world leader-inspired ice cream created especially for the G8 summit. Tara Cleary reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Nuts about Obama? Or do you prefer a White Russian? A store in Northern Ireland is making eight different ice creams in honor of the G8 summit being held nearby. Manager Una Lilley says some research went into choosing flavors.
UNA LILLEY, CENTRA STORE MANAGER: "In Nuts about O'Bama we found out that he liked toasted nuts so he likes pecans, he likes almonds, so we have lured them through the gelato that we have created for him. When that information wasn't available we sort of picked things that were obvious to each country."
REPORTER: Customer Genevieve Murphy's favorite is "Black Forest" representing Germany's Angela Merkel.
GENEVIEVE MURPHY: "This is my second time getting the Black Forest with the cherries because they are so delicious."
REPORTER: Flavors like tiramisu, macaroon and green tea have been enticing customers, but Lilley says she'd also like to see some of the ice creams' namesakes in the store.
UNA LILLEY: "The ultimate goal would be to see any of the world leaders come through the door, so, I mean, our doors are open and they are all very welcome, we'll take them all."
REPORTER: Now that's what you call a melt-in-your-mouth marketing move.

WORDPLAY
1. A scoop is:
a) an exciting news story which is reported in one newspaper or on one television programme before it appears anywhere else.
b) an object like a spoon which is used for picking up a quantity of a food such as ice cream.
2. If you are nuts about someone or something, you like them very much. Nuts are also small hard fruit with a very hard shell that grows on some trees.

Words in the News: Run Out

2013-06-18T07:27:16+02:00

The Guardian says that David Cameron used a dinner at the first night of the G8 summit to try and build consensus for a political transition in Syria. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
If something runs out, it becomes used up so that there is no more left. • The program will have to stop once the money runs out.

Cartoon: Cameron Meets President Putin at N° 10

2013-06-17T07:34:43+02:00

BACKGROUND
David Cameron met the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, yesterday for talks on the Syrian crisis amid fears that differences between Moscow and the west are pushing the two sides towards a new cold war. The meeting, on the eve of the G8 summit in Lough Erne, came as the US president, Barack Obama, prepares to arm the rebels, saying the US administration is convinced the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons against its own people. Putin has made no secret of his opposition to any move by the west to supply arms to the Syrian opposition. Full story >>

THE CARTOON
The cartoon, by Paul Thomas from The Daily Express, shows Cameron and Putin holding a press conference (the furry things in the foreground are microphones) beside the fireplace in Number 10. Putin says, "That's enough about Syria — now, is Kate expecting a girl or boy?"

EXPLANATION
The cartoon plays on the widespread speculation about the gender of the royal baby, which is due in mid-July. (On her last public appearance before the birth, Kate wore pink, leading some to wonder if she was giving us a not-so-subtle hint about the baby.)

VOCABULARY
If you say that a woman is expecting a baby, or that she is expecting, you mean that she is pregnant.

ALSO SEE
• Adams comment cartoon (The Telegraph)
• Gary Barker cartoon (The Times)

Reuters Video: From factory floor to store—the journey of jeans

2013-06-17T07:14:47+02:00

How far does a typical pair of jeans travel before it ends up in your closet — and at what cost? Reuters tracks the garment supply chain, from factories in Bangladesh to retailers near you.

Words in the News: Heatwave

2013-06-17T07:11:38+02:00

The Daily Express reports that a "tropical heatwave" is expected to hit Britain this week, with temperatures reaching a peak of 90°F. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
A heatwave is a period of time during which the weather is much hotter than usual. • Near-record temperatures in Pakistan have claimed hundreds of lives and devastated crops in the third major heatwave in four years.

Cartoon: Father's Day Intel

2013-06-16T07:55:36+02:00

Today is Father's Day, and in this cartoon from The Columbus Dispatch, Nate Beeler makes a connection between this annual celebration and the U.S. Prism surveillance programme.

In the cartoon, President Obama is telling a little boy, "We turned up nothing. I'd just go with the standard Father's Day 'New Tie." Behind him, we can see an NSA intelligence officer spying on the boy's father, who is sitting in front of the TV eating popcorn (the TV is bugged).

EXPLANATION
We are meant to assume that the boy asked the President to use Prism to get some intelligence regarding what present he could give his father for Father's Day. However, they discovered nothing, so Obama suggests the boy just give him a tie, which is the classic Father's Day fall-back present.

VOCABULARY
1. Turn up is a phrasal verb meaning to find. • Our efforts to trace him turned up nothing.
2. If you go with something, you decide or agree to accept it. • A 10% discount? I think we can go with that.

MORE FATHER'S DAY CARTOONS
• Google Images
• Cagle Post

Reuters Video: Google's net empire soars skyward

2013-06-16T07:01:29+02:00

Google launches technology-laden helium balloons that aim to bring the Internet to remote parts of the world. Andrew Raven reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Could helium-filled balloons bring high speed Internet to the most remote parts of the world? Google thinks one day, they might. The tech giant is launching balloons in New Zealand as part of a bold experiment. Powered by solar panels, and laden with computers, Google says the balloons can beam down wireless signals at 3G-like speeds. That could be a game-breaker in areas with little infrastructure, says Google.
GOOGLE X CHIEF TECHNICAL ARCHITECT, RICHARD DeVAUL: "Sometimes if you want to make a huge big leap, you have to try something crazy."
REPORTER: The balloons fly at twice the height of a commercial plane and one can provide web access to an area of over 1200 square kilometres. While they can stay aloft for about 100 days, they can't remain in the same place. So Google's plan is launch a host of balloons into the winds of the stratosphere, creating a network that provides constant coverage.

Words in the News: Sack

2013-06-16T06:42:22+02:00

The Observer reports that more than 5,000 untrained teachers who have been allowed to work in academies and free schools under Michael Gove's education reforms will be sacked if Labour wins the next election, unless they gain a formal qualification within two years. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
The sack is being told by your employer that you can no longer continue working for a company, etc, usually because of something that you have done wrong. • Her work was so poor that she was given the sack.

Cartoon: Hands Up If You're One Of The Good Guys

2013-06-15T07:35:23+02:00

BACKGROUND
President Barack Obama has authorized direct US military support to Syrian rebels after concluding that the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad has crossed a red line by using chemical weapons against its own people. Read more >>

THE CARTOON
The cartoon by Morten Morland from The Times shows Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron standing on top of a building with boxes full of weapons, including grenades and rocket launchers. Down below in the street, a violent conflict is raging. Obama calls out, "Hands up if you're one of the good guys!"

EXPLANATION
One reason why the Obama administration has hesitated so long over arming the Syrian opposition is the risk of seeing U.S. weapons fall into the hands of extremist groups among the rebels. In fact, it is virtually impossible to know where the weapons will end end up, and some rebel groups are reported to be fighting each other. Hence Obama's rather desperate attempt to identify "the good guys".

LANGUAGE
"Hands up" is an expression meaning "Put your hands in the air". Although this expression is used when ordering someone to surrender (Hands up! We've got you surrounded.), it is also used, as here, when asking people to identify themselves or volunteer. For example, a teacher might say to her class, "Hands up if you know the answer."

ALSO SEE
• Bob cartoon (The Telegraph)

Reuters Video: UK PM promises tax crackdown at G8

2013-06-15T07:12:42+02:00

As security tightens in Northern Ireland ahead of Monday's G8 summit, Hayley Platt takes a look at the issues likely to be on the leaders' agenda.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Security tightens in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland ahead of next weeks' G8 summit. The remote location was specifically chosen by the British government to deter potential trouble-makers. Twenty-six years ago it was the target of an IRA bomb attack which killed eleven people and injured dozens more. Police say they're not taking any chances.
CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT PAULINE SHIELDS: "The threat across Northern Ireland is classified as severe and that's what it was prior to G8 and the arrival of G8 hasn't changed that."
REPORTER: British Prime Minister David Cameron says the G8 is an opportunity for Northern Ireland to shine.
DAVID CAMERON: "That summit is a great opportunity to show the world a Northern Ireland to the world that is open for business, for investment and for tourism."
REPORTER: He's promised to put tax evasion and agressive avoidance at the heart of the meeting, estimated to cost governments around the world around $3 trillion dollars a year in lost revenue. It follows public outcry over revelations that companies like Starbucks have used clever tax planning and exploited loopholes to reduce their taxes. Simon Wagman is a partner at chartered accountants Blick Rothenberg. He says it's difficult to say whether the G8 summit will bring meaningful tax reform.
SIMON WAGMAN: "Will the likes of Google and Amazon pay more tax in the UK? They may do, they may not do. But they certainly may pay more tax globally. And if it's into a US coffer, if it's into another EU jurisdiction, that's raising tax which can only be good. Obviously each government will have their own axe to grind as to whether it's coming to their coffers to spend on their own infrastructure and the costs that they need within their territory. So I'm sure there will be a lot of talk and I'm sure there will be things that come out of it because it's such a hot topic but realistically who knows what's going to happen?"
REPORTER: It's an issue close to the heart of these protesters who chose to demonstrate against capitalism in London's Canary Wharf, home to banks such as Barclays and JP Morgan. They're accusing governments of failing to take action against large companies dodging their tax responsibilities, and say ordinary people are paying for the financial crisis. The two-day G8 summit of world leaders gets underway on Monday.

Words in the News: Dishonours

2013-06-15T06:56:23+02:00

A shamed water boss, a police chief criticised over a child murder and a hedge fund baron who funds the Tories receive awards in the Queen’s Birthday Honours today. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
The Mail's headline is a play on the word honours. In Britain, the honours list is the list of people who have been selected to receive titles or awards from the Queen because of their achievements. However, The Mail doesn't think that some of this year's recipients deserve their honours, so they've changed it to "dishonours". Dishonour is a state in which people disapprove of you and lose their respect for you. • Profumo served penance for parliamentary dishonour with more than 30 years of charity work among the poor in the East End of London. Note that dishonour is an uncountable noun and not usually used in the plural form.

Cartoon: Smashing Royal Princess

2013-06-14T07:56:37+02:00

THE STORY
The Duchess of Cambridge named a cruise ship yesterday on her last solo engagement before maternity leave. Kate, who is due to give birth in a month's time, flew by helicopter to Southampton to attend a colourful naming ceremony for Royal Princess, a new 141,000-tonne cruise liner at the city's Ocean Terminal. As the ship's Godmother, she was following in the footsteps of the Queen, the late Princess Diana and other senior royals in upholding a tradition of members of the family launching vessels. Read more >>

THE CARTOON
The cartoon by Paul Thomas from The Daily Express shows Kate christening the ship. However, instead of breaking the traditional bottle of champagne over the ship's bow, she smashes a baby's bottle — a reference to the fact that she is due to give birth in July.

VOCABULARY
1. If you smash something, you break it into many pieces. • He smashed the radio to pieces.
2. If you describe something or someone as smashing, you mean that you like them very much. • We had a smashing time at the party.

Reuters Video: Wrestlers toe away at world championship

2013-06-14T07:32:14+02:00

The world toe wrestling championships have contestants on their toes in rural Derbyshire in northern England. Elly Park reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: It's a competition requiring brute strength, concentration and balance. Once again wrestlers gathered in Derbyshire [pron: darby-sher] in northern England to go head to head … or rather toe to toe to win the top title at the world toe wrestling championships. And no smelly feet are allowed. After a hygiene check, competitors take part in best of three knockout duels until a winner is decided. Alan "Nasty" Nash is the undisputed favorite after winning the title nine times in the past.
ALAN "NASTY" NASH: "Toe wrestling is a sport the British are fantastic at that nobody else can do. It's like arm-wrestling, but you just use your legs instead."
REPORTER: Sounds simple ... but for most contestants surprisingly painful. In the end Nash reclaimed his crown for a tenth time, while in the women's draw Becca Beech won her title for the second consecutive year.

TOE IDIOMS
1. If you say that someone or something keeps you on your toes, you mean that they cause you to remain alert and ready for anything that might happen.
2. If you toe the line, you behave in the way that people in authority expect you.
3. If you tread (or step) on someone's toes, you offend them by criticizing the way that they do something or by interfering in their affairs.
4. If you dip your toes into something or dip your toes into the waters of something, you start doing that thing slowly and carefully, because you are not sure whether it will be successful or whether you will like it.
5. If something makes your toes curl, it makes you feel embarrassed or uncomfortable.
6. A toe-to-toe argument, etc., is one in which two people or groups are directly opposed to each other.

Words in the News: Whiplash

2013-06-14T07:19:19+02:00

The Daily Mail reports that a gang of criminals are to claim compensation for whiplash after their prison vans crashed into each other on the way to a trial. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
Whiplash is a neck injury caused by the head suddenly moving forwards and then back again, for example in a car accident. • Up to 60% of the whiplash claims brought by car drivers or passengers after accidents are either fraudulent or exaggerated.