The English Blog

Cartoon: Euro Vision

2012-05-27T07:41:38+02:00

The Eurovision Song Contest took place last night in Baku, Azerbaijan, and in this cartoon from The Telegraph, Adams uses the event to make a comment on the euro zone debt crisis.

Various leaders including David Cameron, Angela Merkel, and IMF head Christine Lagarde are shown walking around in blindfolds. The title of the cartoon, 'Euro Vision' (a play on Eurovision!) is, of course, ironic since they don't have any, either literally or figuratively.

ALSO SEE
• Sweden's Loreen wins Eurovision song contest (Associated Press)

Newsy Video: Skydiver Survives Jump Without Parachute

2012-05-27T07:09:25+02:00

A video of Gary Connery skydiving from 2,400 feet in the air without a parachute has gone viral. See transcript >>

ALSO SEE
• Birdman of Henley jumps 2,400ft onto a pile of cardboard boxes... and lives to tell the tale (Mail Online)

Words in the News: OAP

2012-05-27T06:55:19+02:00

The Sunday Express reports that pensioners are having to ask their children for money because the recession has left them out of pocket. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
An OAP is a person who is old enough to receive an old age pension from the government. OAP is an abbreviation for 'old age pensioner'. • Police probing a savage attack on an OAP as she slept were yesterday due to speak to her about her ordeal for the first time.

Greek Debt Crisis Cartoons

2012-05-26T07:52:31+02:00

The Cagle Post has a good selection of cartoons about the Greek debt crisis. This one is by Jimmy Margulies, editorial cartoonist for The Record, in the northern New Jersey suburbs of New York City.

President Obama asks an aid, "Which states' economies give us the most worry?" The aid replies, "Greece ... Spain ... Italy ... Portugal ... France ..."

EXPLANATION
Obama is talking about American states (as in United States), but the aid, who is reading a newspaper about the euro debt crisis, thinks Obama is referring to countries. US officials see the European crisis as a threat to the fledgling US recovery, upon which Mr Obama's chances of re-election depend.

VOCABULARY
The cartoonist plays on two meanings of the word state. Some large countries such as the USA are divided into smaller areas called states. And you can refer to countries as states, particularly when you are discussing politics.

PUNCTUATION
Have you ever wondered what those three dots are called? Well, it's an ellipsis.

ALSO SEE
• What would Greek exit mean for the U.S. economy? (Reuters)

Words in the News: Payback Time

2012-05-26T07:02:40+02:00

IMF chief Christine Lagarde tells Greece to take responsibility and stop trying to avoid taxes, The Guardian reports. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
Payback time is when someone has to take the consequences of what they have done in the past. • Other EU member states have enjoyed a quality of life that has been supported by generations of deficit spending, and it's now payback time.

Cartoon: The Birdwoman of Heathrow

2012-05-25T08:32:05+02:00

This cartoon by Mac from The Daily Mail relates to the exploit of the so-called 'Birdman of Henley', stuntman Gary Connery, who yesterday 'flew' in a specially-designed wing suit for nearly a mile before landing on a pile of cardboard boxes. Mr Connery's stunt marked the first time anyone has jumped from such a height without deploying a parachute and lived. Read more >>

In the cartoon a man tells his wife, "I told your mother how she could save the taxi fare to Heathrow." The man's mother-in-law has just jumped from the plane we can see at the top of the cartoon, presumably wearing a wing suit like Gary Connery. The pile of cardboard boxes in the garden is for her to land on.

To fully appreciate the cartoon, you have to be familiar with the British tradition of mother-in-law jokes. The humour is based on the premise that the average mother-in-law often considers her son-in-law to be unsuitable for her daughter (or daughter-in-law unsuitable for her son), and usually includes the stereotype that mothers-in-law are generally overbearing, obnoxious, or unattractive. (source: Wikipedia)

COMMENT
Heathrow is an airport near London, so I'm not sure why the mother would be jumping from a plane to save the taxi fare to get there. It doesn't really make sense. Surely she should be jumping from the plane to save the taxi fare to her final destination (the couple's house) before her plane arrives at Heathrow.

Reuters Video: Jaguar's new model targets rich Chinese

2012-05-25T07:52:50+02:00

British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover has unveiled its most luxurious sedan yet in Hong Kong to appeal to the Chinese chauffeur-driven market. Andrew Potter reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: A car designed for one of Jaguar's most important markets. The XJ Ultimate was unveiled in Hong Kong and targets Chinese customers so wealthy they don't take the wheel themselves. Suzanne Taylor is with Jaguar Land Rover's Chinese operation.
SUZANNE TAYLOR: "The focus is on chauffeur-driven, there's a lot of chauffeur-driven cars in Hong Kong and mainland China. A lot of the functionality in the rear is focussed on that chauffeur-driven side."
REPORTER: If the half million dollar price tag isn't exclusive enough, the interior is designed to have the business class feel of a private jet. With that in mind there are plenty of creature comforts, including iPads and a place for the champagne, naturally. Jaguar's Joseph Lau explains.
GENERAL MANAGER OF JAGUAR LAND ROVER HONG KONG, JOSEPH LAU: "I think everywhere in the world people who are really looking for something very special for themselves, they really appreciate and enjoy the kind of workmanship design that's put into this car."
REPORTER: Strong sales in China and Russia have helped turn around Jaguar Land Rover's fortunes since it was bought by India's Tata in 2008. European luxury car makers like Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are also reaping the benefits of targeting growing numbers of wealthy Chinese. Andrew Potter, Reuters.

ALSO SEE
• Jaguar Luxury Sedan XJ Ultimate Wows Chinese Crowd (International Business Times)
• Jaguar XJ Ultimate: the $500,000 cat (Car Advice)

Words in the News: Stone

2012-05-25T07:36:55+02:00

The rescue of a 63-stone teenager with organ failure from her home in Wales features on the front of the Daily Mirror. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
The stone (abbreviation st) is a unit of weight measurement that was used in many North European countries until the advent of metrication. In the British Isles, the stone ceased to have legal status in 1986, but is still widely used informally to measure personal body weight, with a value of 14 avoirdupois pounds (approximately 6.35 kg). (source: Wikipedia) • Alfie was muscularly challenged - he was a five-stone weakling to be fair.

GRAMMAR
Note that we say '63-stone teenager' and not '63-stones teenager'. See here for an explanation of this grammar point.

Cartoon: Let's Expel the Greek

2012-05-24T08:11:16+02:00

In this cartoon from The Guardian, Steve Bell uses a leaking, sinking, rowing boat adrift on a stormy sea as a metaphor for the euro zone debt crisis. At the back of the boat sits a lone Greek with a broken oar. Meanwhile, German chancellor Angela Merkel tells her EU minions (portrayed as Smurfs), "Agreed then: we all pull together to expel the Greek."

COMMENTARY
The cartoon is a comment on the latest EU summit, which ended with a warning to Greece that it will have to stick to its bailout terms if it wants to stay in the eurozone. What's more, German chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out using eurobonds to save Greece as illegal under EU law. The irony is that the boat is going to sink whether they expel the Greek or not.

NOTE
Steve Bell's cartoon is inspired by this Low cartoon from 1932, which portrayed another banking crisis with again the major powers sitting at one end of the boat leaving the other Europeans in the leaking end whilst stating 'Phew that's a nastly leak thank goodness it's not our end of the boat'.

THE KEY QUESTION
Do Angela Merkel & Co. really want to see Greece leave the euro, or are they just playing chicken?

ALSO SEE
• EU summit ends with Greek warning (Aljazeera)
• EU summit fails to provide answers for eurozone crisis (The Telegraph)
• Bundesbank says Greek euro exit "manageable" (Reuters)
• Greek exit fears send global markets reeling (The Guardian)

Reuters Video: Europe's new power couple

2012-05-24T07:37:56+02:00

In a shift away from Europe's traditional Franco-German partnership, France's new President Francois Hollande met Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to discuss the need for growth, banking liquidity and euro bonds ahead of the EU summit in Brussels. Joanna Partridge reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: How times have changed. Before nearly all summits for the past two years, Nicolas Sarkozy met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss their strategy. But France's new President Francois Hollande met his Spanish counterpart - not the German leader - ahead of Wednesday evening's EU summit in Brussels. Hollande's policies seem more akin to those of Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
FRENCH PRESIDENT, FRANCOIS HOLLANDE: "The first priority is injecting liquidity into the European financial system, to ensure that European banks, all European banks, can be consolidated. We are also concerned about growth. All of us are following budgetary consolidation policies at our own level."
REPORTER: Spain has once again attracted investors' attention - due to its struggling economy and banking sector. Madrid is in the process of plugging a hole of at least 8 billion euros at its embattled lender Bankia, as part of an effort to clean up its debt-laden banks. Despite this, Rajoy repeated that Spain is not planning to seek bank bailout funds.
SPANISH PRIME MINISTER, MARIANO RAJOY: "As of today, the government does not have any desire or any intention of turning to any of funds from the EU or any other international organisation."
REPORTER: Before heading to the summit, Hollande said he would address the need for euro bonds - which Germany still opposes. One Spanish analyst is expecting a showdown between Hollande and Merkel.
DANIEL ALVAREZ, XTB TRADING ANALYST: "We know there will be a clash between two ways of dealing with the situation - the German way, the way of the nucleus of Europe captained evidently by Mrs. Merkel on one side and on the other side we will have what some are already calling the Latin block comprised of the peripheral countries plus France, and captained by Mr Hollande."
REPORTER: At the summit, leaders' minds will undoubtedly be focussed on the possibility of Greece leaving the euro zone. But after two years of trying to tackle the crisis, it's clear policymakers still disagree on what action they need to take. Joanna Partridge, Reuters.

ALSO SEE
• EU summit fails to inspire markets (Press Association)
• France's Hollande makes bold debut on EU summit stage (Reuters)

Words in the News: Turmoil

2012-05-24T07:26:34+02:00

The Financial Times reports the euro has tumbled to its lowest level in almost two years as investors dumped riskier European equities. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
Turmoil is a state of confusion, disorder, uncertainty, or great anxiety. • The unending turmoil in Greece spread fallout across the financial markets Wednesday.

Cartoon: Britain's Chillaxed Prime Minister

2012-05-23T11:45:59+02:00

BACKGROUND
A recent biography has described British PM David Cameron as spending much of his time as Prime Minister "chillaxing" and playing computer games. Cameron: Practically a Conservative – written by journalists Frances Elliott and James Hanning - quotes an ally of the PM as saying: "If there was an Olympic gold medal for 'chillaxing', the Prime Minister would win it". However, Mr Cameron this week dismissed the book as "a novel" and insisted he is extremely dedicated to his work.

THE CARTOON
The cartoon by Paul Thomas from The Daily Express shows David Cameron outside the door of Number 10 Downing Street, the prime minister's official residence. A policeman dressed in a flowery shirt, shorts, and flip-flops, and holding a can of beer, tells him, "I thought I'd try to be more chillaxed too."

VOCABULARY
The verb 'chillax' is a portmanteau word which combines 'chill' and 'relax'. (In fact, 'chill' is an informal way of saying 'relax'.) According to The Guardian, 'chillax' "was popularised in 2003 by the movie Final Destination 2, but it's been hanging around longer than that. The Indian singer Babul Supriyo released an album called Chillax in 1995".

The Daily Telegraph explores the meaning of 'chillax':

For those new to the term, the Urban Dictionary – an online repository of words yet to pass muster for the OED – describes “chillax” as meaning “to relax and chill out simultaneously”. Until now, it has been used mainly by teenagers to admonish parents for being uptight (“Chillax, Mum, I’ll do my homework later”). But the grown-up version has a different edge. While “chilling out” or “relaxing” on their own suggest a lack of activity, “chillaxing” is a more dynamic affair.

ALSO SEE
• David Cameron: a master of the art of chillaxing (Daily Telegraph)
• Better a chillaxed prime minister than a workaholic (Daily Telegraph)
• Reagan would have 'chillaxed' too (Financial Times)
• Chillax Dave ‘sneaks off’ from NATO summit to go sightseeing in Chicago (Mail Online)

Reuters Video: Selling human hair a growing industry

2012-05-23T07:45:22+02:00

British women struggling to cope with mounting debts are selling their hair as a novel way of making money, with some earning up to £250 for the best quality natural blonde hair. Hayley Platt reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Annette Moore's long blonde hair has been her crowing glory for years. Now she's decided to get the lot chopped off. But she won't be paying the salon - they'll be paying her.
GRAHAM WAKE, FOUNDER AND OWNER OF BLOOMSBURY WIGS: "You're looking at anything from about £60 upwards, I would have to put a top on it of about £120."
REPORTER: With money tight and bills to pay a number of British women are selling their hair to make some extra cash. And Annette's natural blond locks are among the most sought after.
ANNETTE MOORE: "Well I need the money really, I might use it for going abroad with friends in August or just keep it aside for the bills really."
REPORTER: It's a multi-million dollar industry and it's growing - Bloomsbury say they receive up to 40 envelopes of hair a week. Those that make the grade will either be made into a wig or sold as hair extensions. The late British singer Amy Winehouse once replied when asked if her hair was all her own "It's all mine because I bought it." The majority of hair comes from China, India or Eastern Europe, but that's changing. Bloomsbury Wigs run by Graham Wake, is one of a small number of so-called 'hair harvesting salons'.
GRAHAM WAKE: "This is a new market for the UK, I would say that about 50 percent of our purchased hair is now within the UK and I would hope to say that within about a year we'll be buying a 100 percent of our hair purely from the UK."
REPORTER: Graham estimates he'll spend £100,000 on hair this year. £120 of that will go to Annette but it will be sold for considerably more after it's been made into a wig or hair extensions.
GRAHAM WAKE: "The clients love to be able to come in, look at all this unprocessed hair and actually select the pony tails and they give us some time to obviously make them up into extensions. This will probably cost from about a £1,000 to about £1,300."
REPORTER: Annette's certainly pleased with the extra cash and her new complimentary hair do. But if she wants to repeat the process it may take up to five years until her hair grows back. Hayley Platt, Reuters.

Words in the News: Contempt

2012-05-23T07:36:55+02:00

A new ruling by European judges saying that prisoners must be allowed to vote makes the front page of the Daily Mail, which says the ruling is "contempt for our democracy". Full story >>

VOCABULARY
If you have contempt for someone or something, you have no respect for them or think that they are unimportant. • By rejecting specific recommendations made by dozens of countries the Iranian authorities showed contempt for international obligations.

Cartoon: Olympic Torches For Sale

2012-05-22T08:01:36+02:00

This cartoon by Mac from The Daily Mail relates to news that some of the runners chosen to carry the Olympic torch around Britain have put their souvenir torch up for sale even before they had carried the flame, offering to post it to the highest bidder immediately after their leg of the event. Read more >>

The cartoon shows an Olympic torchbearer running through a town. Instead of a torch, howevver, he's carrying a lighted match. His wife asks him, "I've booked three weeks in the Bahamas, Ron, love - how much did you get for it?"

EXPLANATION
The man (Ron, short for Ronald) is carrying a match because he's already sold his torch. The woman has booked a holiday in the Bahamas in anticipation of the sale.

COMMENT
It's been reported that one torchbearer sold her torch on eBay for £153,100, which seems incredible. In fact, she's almost certainly the victim of a hoax.

MORE 'TORCH' CARTOONS
• Pugh (Daily Mail)
• Andy Davey (The Sun)

ALSO READ
• Olympic relay torches put up for auction by bearers (BBC News)
• Burnham torchbearer sells Olympic torch for £153,100 on eBay (Burnham-on-Sea.com)