One Direction sing charity single for Comic Relief

Boy band One Direction have recorded a charity song for Comic Relief.

The single is called 'One Way or Another' and it's a cover of an old song by a band called Blondie.

The boys visited Ghana in Africa to see how millions of pounds worth of donations help families in desperate need of food, water and shelter.

The Comic Relief single will be released in mid February.

From CBBC News-Entertainment

Cheeky seal pup rescued from lorry park in Scotland

This cheeky six-week-old seal pup has been rescued after being found in a busy lorry park at a ferry port in south-west Scotland.

The port workers who spotted him tried to get him to go back into the water.

But it was really stormy and the seal pup, nicknamed Smartie, was having none of it!

One ferry worker tried to put Smartie in his car boot to keep him safe, but he broke out and was found on the dashboard!

The Scottish SPCA were called in and they took Smartie to one of their centres.

Animal rescue officer Alistair Hill said: "Normally we'd ask people to leave seals alone until we arrive but there was a risk he could have been injured in the busy lorry park so a member of staff put him in their car until I got there.

"He is clearly a very smart seal as he ended up watching the storm out the windscreen of the car from his warm, dry spot on the dash."

Smartie's now doing really well and already feeding himself. It's hoped the pup can return to the wild in about a month's time.

From CBBC News -animals

Cyclone leaves Mooloolaba covered in foam

This was the bizarre scene on Australia's Sunshine Coast over the weekend, where extreme weather has blanketed coastal towns with several feet of 'sea foam'.

Tourists, residents and emergency services were left bemused by the huge swathes of foam which were whipped up by high winds and then thrown onto land in eastern Australia.

Wild weather in the Australian state of Queensland has led to a small town becoming covered in foam whipped up by rough seas.

Residents and visitors could be seen playing in the foam and taking pictures of the unusual phenomenon in Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast.

Onlookers said the foam reached three metres high at its peak, with emergency services urging residents and tourists to cancel all non-essential travel.

From:

•  BBC News 
•  Yahoo! News

Bryant Park fountain in New York freezes in cold snap

A fountain in Bryant Park in New York has partially frozen because of the cold temperatures in the city.

It has become a temporary tourist attraction as passers-by take photos.

Bryant Park is a 9.603 acre (39,000 m²) privately managed public park located in the New York City borough of   Manhattan It is located between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. Although technically the main building of the New York Public Library is located within the park, effectively it forms the park's functional eastern boundary, making Sixth Avenue the park's primary entrance. Although part of the Newn York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Bryant Park is managed by a private not-for-profit corporation, the Bryant Park Corporation. The park is cited as a model for the success of public-private partnerships. Bryant Park is built entirely over an underground structure which houses the New York Public  Library's archives. In the 1980s, the park was closed to the public and excavated. The new library facilities were built below ground level and the park was restored above it.

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1-Statue of William Cullen Bryant, the park's namesake   
2-The Great Lawn in Bryant Park, with the New York Public Library in the background                                                                                                                              

Daily Routine Activities

Daily Routines Present Simple

Some more links for further exercises on this subject:

http://www.english-zone.com/verbs/myschedule01.html

http://www.citycol.com/esol/saccess/lang_systems/vocabulary/v-ele/E1_hot-pots/E1dailyroutine.htm

Wh- Words for Questions

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=1898

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=1718

Australian amateur prospector finds massive gold nugget

An amateur prospector in the Australian state of Victoria has astonished experts by unearthing a gold nugget weighing 5.5kg (177 ounces).

The unidentified man, using a handheld metal detector, found the nugget on Wednesday, lying 60cm underground near the town of Ballarat.

Its value has been estimated at more than A$300,000 ($315,000: £197,000).

Local gold experts say gold has been prospected in the area for decades, but no such discovery had been made before.

The man had only made small finds before, he said, but was a "person that really deserved it".

Congratulations Mr. Unidentified!

From BBC News

Nasa astronauts to test inflatable space station

An inflatable floating home for astronauts in orbit is to be tested on the International Space Station.

Nasa hopes the balloon-like capsules will be a low-cost way of providing somewhere to live in space.

The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) can be squeezed into a tube and easily sent into space where it can be inflated.

They also have more room than the traditional aluminium modules that astronauts currently live in.

The first capsule is due to launch in 2015.

Scale model of inside the inflatable space station

It'll be tested over a two-year period to see how it copes with things like radiation and temperature changes.

Nasa has teamed up with private company Bigelow Aerospace to build the module.

It's hoped this new technology will enable astronauts to spend longer in space as we look to explore faraway places like Mars.

From CBBC News

Beyonce may perform at 2013 Brit awards ceremony

There are reports that Beyoncé will be performing live at the 2013 Brit awards ceremony in February.

It will be her first UK performance in nearly two years.

The singer isn't up for any awards but is promoting a reunion single called Nuclear with her former girl band, Destiny's Child. She's also working on her fifth solo album.

The star has recently gone back to work after giving birth to a baby girl named Blue Ivy last year.

Beyoncé last performed at the Brits in 2004, when she was named best international female solo artist.

One Direction, Muse and Mumford & Sons will also be performing at the event. All three bands have been nominated for 2013 British group.

The ceremony will take place at the O2 Arena in London on 20 February.

From CBBC news

Adele and One Direction in top five US albums of 2012

Adele's 21 has been crowned America's biggest album of the year - for the second year in a row!

It sold 4.4 million copies in the US in 2012, adding to the 5.8 million it shifted in 2011.

One Direction had the third AND fifth top selling albums of 2012 across the pond. Up All Night sold 1.6 million and Take Me Home sold 1.3 million.

The 1D boys even kept Justin Bieber's Believe down in sixth place!

In an amazing year for British music, four of the five biggest albums were by UK artists.

Folk band Mumford & Sons' Babel album was placed fourth.

America's top five albums of 2012

1. Adele - 21 (4.4 million)

2. Taylor Swift - Red (3.1 million)

3. One Direction - Up All Night (1.6 million)

4. Mumford & Sons - Babel (1.5 million)

5. One Direction - Take Me Home (1.3 million)

Source: Nielsen SoundScan

What is dyslexia?

Dyslexia affects the way you recognise the sounds that groups of letters make. It can make it hard to read and write amongst other things.

It doesn't affect intelligence and it's not a disease or illness - it's a condition you're born with.

Some people learn special techniques to help them cope with dyslexia whilst others need special support.

What's it like for someone who has dyslexia?

Not everybody with dyslexia has the same experience.

Some people suffer with reading and writing, others with maths. A lot of people also struggle to remember things.

It can make simple things like going to the shops difficult. You might not remember what you wanted to buy and can't read your own shopping list.

Some children say words move about the page when they try and read. It makes school work difficult to complete and some children fall behind without special help.

Unfortunately some kids get bullied because of their dyslexia.

How do people with dyslexia cope?

Mollie King from The Saturdays (left) has dyslexia

There are lots of different ways children manage their dyslexia.

Some children who struggle to remember things use a voice recorder to set reminders. CBBC star Dom Wood says he learns his scripts by repeating them over and over!

Children who have trouble reading sometimes put coloured overlays over text which can help them read.

Others benefit from special learning techniques or personal tutoring - but not all schools provide it.

How many people have dyslexia?

Dyslexia is very common - about 1 in every 10 people in the UK has it.

What causes it?

Sir Richard Branson is a very successful businessman with dyslexia

Dyslexia is caused by differences in the language areas of the brain and the connections between them.It often runs in families and can affect people of any age from any country.

Is it curable?

Dyslexia can't be cured and people who are born with dyslexia have it all their lives.Luckily it can usually be managed and people with dyslexia can go on to be hugely successful - like business tycoon Sir Richard Branson!

From CBBC News

Guide: Albums to look out for in 2013

With One Direction, Emeli Sande and Labrinth all releasing massive albums last year you probably thought music couldn't get any better.

Well think again. Because 2013 is going to be huge.

This year will see albums released from some of the biggest artists in the world.

So, check out our guide to the music that you could be dancing around to in your bedroom over the next 12 months.

More to see

From CBBC

Cambridgeshire family find wallaby in garden

A family has found an unusual guest living in their garden - a wild wallaby!

The creature, which is normally found in Australia and parts of South East Asia, had made its home at the bottom of the Heathcote family's garden in Cambridgeshire.

Jane Heathcote said her family first spotted the animal the day after they moved in.

But nobody believed them until they took photos.

Reports of escaped wallabies living wild in the UK are not new.

There have also been sightings in Devon, Cornwall, East Sussex and Scotland.

Wilf the wallaby

When the family got in touch with the RSPCA, they told them it probably had a burrow nearby.

"They said he seemed happy and healthy and we should just keep an eye on him," Ms Heathcote said.

The family have named their new neighbour Wilf and say he likes to eat the food they throw out for birds and even plays with the local cats!

From CBBC News

Giant duck floating in Sydney

Rubber ducks are usually found swimming in bathtubs - not in one of the worlds most famous harbours!A giant yellow duck floated around Sydney Harbour on Thursday in a rehearsal for a Sydney Festival event which organizers say will turn the harbor into a "giant bathtub

But that's what's happening in Sydney, Australia where a 15 metre high rubber duck has taken to the water.

The duck is floating in the water as part of a rehearsal for a festival at the weekend.

Its creator Florentijn Hofman said he made the duck because "the global waters are our bathtub, so it joins people."

The giant toy will remain in the harbour until 23 January.

Imagine trying to share a bath with that!

From CBBC