Do you remember what mini sagas are? They are stories written in exactly 50 words. It may be a challenge to write such a short text, but it's also a lot of fun! Here are four mini sagas. The last word of each story is missing. Can you guess what they are?
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Writing mini sagas
Many celebrities have embraced the cause and lent their voices and faces to help raise public awareness to environmental problems. Click here to watch an interesting video narrated by Leonardo di Caprio.
To learn more about Earth Day 2008, visit the official website.
Three impotant British personalities have died this week: Anthony Minghella, Arthur C. Clarke and Paul Scofield. Who were they? Click on their names to read about their work and lives and then try this short matching activity.
Next time your teacher or boss catches you sleeping at your desk, tell him or her that you are following expert's advice and taking a nap to improve your memory! A recent study conducted by scientists in Israel indicates that a quick afternoon sleep can actually do wonders for your long-term memory and help you remember important information more easily. But different people have different daily rhythms and appear to be more alert at certain times of the day. What about you? When are you at your best? Answer this questionnaire and find out!
Here's a text with sleep-related vocabulary missing. Print and complete it with the words given. You can also try this error-correction activity. Read the sentences and click on the extra word - but be careful, some sentences are correct!
Finally, how about some listening practice? Listen to Ruth and Akane talking about sleeping problems and try the accomopanying activity. You can also read the script clicking here.
Wherever you are in Brazil this week, it will be impossible to ignore the country's most famous celebration. More than 750 thousand tourists are spending Carnival in Rio de Janeiro this year and hundreds of thousands more are joining the party in cities like Salvador and Recife. Here is a BBC article about this year's samba schools parade. Click on 'watch' under the picture next to the text to watch a related video.
Oklahoma City is among the '10 fattest cities' in the United States. And with an official state meal that includes cornbread, sausage and gravy, chicken fried steak and pecan pie, mayor Mick Cornett thought the beginning of a new year was the right time for a radical New Year's resolution. He has challenged Oklahoma City residents to lose 1 million pounds (a little less than 500 thousand kilos!) in 2008. Learn more about his plans in this AP article.
New year, new plans... What new places would you like to travel to this year? Here are, according to The New York Times, the 53 sights you can't miss in 2008, like the Maraú Península (photo) and Itacaré, in the south of Bahia, in Brazil. From far-away, exotic locations to well-known cosmopolitan cities, from desert tropical beaches to sophisticated ski resorts, there are options for every kind of traveller. 
On the last week of the year a lot of people like to sit down and reflect on their lives, making plans for the next year. Do you ever make a list with your New Year's resolutions? Have you decided what you are - or aren't - going to do next year? According to different studies, people's lists tend to be remarkably similar in their general goals. Can you guess the top 10 list of New Year's resolutions in the US? Would the list be the same in other cultures?
If you want to have a go at making your plans for 2008, 43 things is a good place to start. After signing up you can share your ideas with the rest of the community and read other people's lists - there are some very interesting plans going on there!
And here's a quick activity to revise the use of 'going to' to talk about plans and intentions.
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New Year's resolutions - a listening activity
Phrasal verbs activity
Do you and your family have any Christmas traditions? Do you decorate the house, exchange presents, sing carols? What do you know about how different cultures celebrate this date? Here is a website that lists Christmas traditions in various countries. You can also listen to Anya and her friend talking about decorating Christamas trees in their countries. Try the activity and then listen to the passage again clicking on 'text view: on' to listen and read at the same time. And how about trying a quiz about Christmas traditions?
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Christmas: vocabulary activities
Things you can do to help our planet: walk to work or ride your bike; drive hybrid cars; recycle; use energy-efficient resources; stay married. Yes, divorce is bad for the environment, according to a recent study published in an academic journal. The reason is simple: more family break-ups would mean people living in separate houses, and that would mean higher use of resources such as water and electricity. Here is a listening passage with the story. As you listen, complete the text and then check your answers here.
In 1988, the UN and the World Health Organization established December 1st as World Aids Day. Since then, a series of events are organised on this day to raise people's awareness to the problem and invite society as a whole to participate actively in the discussions for solutions. Here is a three-level quiz to check how much we know about Aids. The theme this year is Leadership and here is one of the ads created for the campaign. What kind of leaders are they looking for?
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Brazil and AIDS
It's impossible to resist the magical appeal of a circus like the Cirque du Soleil. Once again touring the country, the group has taken the world of circus performance to a whole new level. But when was the Cirque created? How many shows are currently on? How many people have seen them? In how many countries? How many people work at the circus? How many countries do they represent? Watch the video and find out - what kind of performers can you see? Then explore their official website and find the answers to some more questions.
Some people become celebrities in their lifetime. There are those, however, who only achieve true stardom because they are, well... ghosts! Take a look at this funny list of the top 10 ghosts in the world and find out who they are (or were!) and where you can find them...
Did you know that the city of Chicago was almost completely destroyed by a great fire in 1871? Read this text, put the paragraphs in the correct sequence and learn about one of the greatest urban disasters in American history.
How about practising some vocabulary? Try this crossword puzzle (intermediate level and above) and see how much you know.
What would you do if you had 36 hours to spend in Brazil's busiest city? A reporter from The New York Times tells you where to go if you happen to be in São Paulo for the weekend. Read the article and try a reading activity. Have you ever been to São Paulo (or do you live there)? What other places of interest would you suggest people visit?
How do we read a text? This is a question that scientists have been trying to answer for many years. A recent study demonstrates that our eyes don't move through the text smoothly from left to right, but they tend to lock on different letters of the same word. This finding may help teachers and psychologists understand the reading process, improve the way schools teach kids to read and devise strategies to help children with reading problems such as dyslexia. Read all about it in this article and then, if you are preparing for the CAE, here's an activity to practise for the English in Use (paper 3).
British authorities have decided to permit scientific research using hybrid human-animal embryos. Researchers hope to use the embryos to create stem cells that might provide new medical treatments for degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's. The decision, however, is still controversial, and many countries are reluctant to allow similar studies. Here's the article discussing the issue.
How much do you know about stem cells? Take the quiz and find out. There are still many diseases that puzzle scientists. Learn about some of them here. Then try a reading comprehension activity.
For millions of fans around the world, he will always be the king of rock'n'roll. In the 1960's, composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein said: "Elvis Presley is the greatest cultural force in the twentieth century. He introduced the beat to everything, music, language, clothes, it's a whole new social revolution...". Thirty years after his death, Elvis still has a huge legion of fans, and his biggest hits are played and sung everywhere.
Did you know that Edinburgh, in Scotland, hosts one of the most important art festivals in the world? Although most people refer to it as the Edinburgh Festival, it is in fact made up of different art festivals which take place throughout the year, particularly in the summer. This year, the Edinburgh International Festival celebrates its 61st edition with a rich programme that includes music, opera, dance and theatre, plus the Fringe Festival, which started as an 'alternative' festival and and has now become the largest in the world, with more than 2,000 shows in 250 different venues. During the festival, which goes from August 10 to September 2, people can also watch the famous Military Tattoo, a parade of military bands that perform every night on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle (but tickets are usually very hard to get!). 
Use the links to learn more about the Scottish capital and its festivals. Then try this interesting quiz and test how much you know! You can also do some reading activities related to the websites.
On 29th July 1890, Vincent Van Gogh, one of the greatest painters of all times, shot himself after a long battle with mental illness. He was only 37, but in the years he dedicated to painting, he produced more than 2,000 works, including some of the most important (and expensive) pieces ever. The Museum Van Gogh in Amsterdam houses many of his paintings, but you can see his work in the most renowned art museums and galleries in the world.
In 1971, Don McLean wrote this beautiful song which captured Van Gogh's life and art beautifully. The slideshow is a collection of some of his paintings. After listening to the song, you can try a reading activity based on his biography. There is also a vocabulary activity about art based on the lyrics.
If you were one of Van Gogh's painting, which one would you be? Do the test and find out! Here's who I am...
Starry starry night
Paint your palette blue and grey
Look out on a summer's day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul
Shadows on the hills
Sketch the trees and the daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills
In colors on the snowy linen land
Now I understand what you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free
They would not listen they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now
Starry starry night
Flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds in violet haze
Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue
Colors changing hue
Morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain
Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand
Now I understand what you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now
For they could not love you but still your love was true
And when no hope was left in sight on that starry starry night
You took your life as lovers often do
But I could have told you Vincent
This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you
Starry starry night
Portraits hung in empty halls
Frameless heads on nameless walls
With eyes that watch the world and can't forget
Like the strangers that you've met
The ragged men in ragged clothes
The silver thorn of bloody rose
Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow
Now I think I know what you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free
They would not listen they're not listening still
Perhaps they never will
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