Practice makes perfect

Michael Phelps has the body of a swimmer. He also has the will to win. At the 2004
Olympic Games in Athens, Michael won six gold medals and two bronze. But being
an Olympic champion doesnt come easy.
Michael usually gets up at 6:00 a.m. goes to the pool. He trains five hours a day,
and he swims eighty kilometers a week. Normally swimmers take a long time to
recover and get back their strength from once race to the next. But Michael can
recover and swim again in just twenty minutes.
Michael loves cars (he has a Cadillac with all kinds of accessories) and rap music.
He usually listens to music on the pool deck before each race.
Basketball is a sporting passion in the northwestern town of Nogales, Sonora,
Mexico. But Ana was too young to play for her stares basketball team, so she
started training in track, and field by chance in 1996. Today Ana Guevara is one of
the worlds most respected runners, and an inspiration to thousands of young
people in Mexico.
Ana represented her country in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and won a
gold medal in the Pan-American games in Santo Domingo in 2003. In 2003, she
also won the World Track Championship in Paris, France, making her the world
champion in the 400 meters. In the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, the whole of
Mexico stopped for one minute to watch Ana run the 400-meter race, where she
won the silver medal.
Ana trains very hard, but she also likes enjoying life with her family and friends.
One of her favorite pastimes is to sing accompanied by her father on the guitar.
About the Reading
1. What time does Michael Phelps usually get up? 6:00 a.m.
2. How long does he normally train? 5 hours
3. What does he usually do before a race? Listens to music
4. What was Ana Guevaras first sport? basketball
5. What race does Ana usually run? 400 meters
6. What does she like to do in her free time? sing
Speaking
1. How much free time do you have?
2. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
3. What do you hate doing

Focus on the world

The Human Pump
Your heart is about the size of your closed hand, and weighs only about 280
grams. But is very strong. It is the engine of the human body. The heart beats over
100 thousand times a day. It never stops pumping blood through your body.
The heart brings fresh blood to the rest of the body. The blood contains the food
and oxygen that the body needs. The heart also recycles blood and cleans it of
waste before it sends it on its journey through the body.
You have about 4.7 liters of blood in your body. Your heart pumps about 7,600 liters
of blood a day, every day, all your life. The blood travels through tubes called
vessels. There are about 96,000 blood vessels in the human body.
In order to have a healthy heart, observe the following points:
Smoking: Dont smoke. Smokers have twice the risk of heart disease.
Overweight: Eat healthy food. Overweight people have an increased risk of heart
disease.
Stress: People with stressful jobs have a higher risk of heart disease.
High blood pressure: People with high blood pressure have ore heart attacks.
Fitness: Physical activities and exercise reduce the risk of heart disease.
Comprehension:
A. Answer the questions.
1. How big is the human heart? 280 grams
2. What does the writer compare the human heart to? A hand
3. How often does the heart beat per day? 100 thousand beats.
4. How much blood is there in the body? 4.1 liters
5. How many blood vessels are there in the body? 96.000
6. How much blood does the heart pump per day? 1.600 liters
B. Complete the sentences based on the reading.
1. Smoking is bad for you because.
2. People who are overweight
3. Physical activities and exercise.

Shopaholics
We all like treat ourselves occasionally and buy a new pair of shoes, a shirt, or
some new CDs. But shopping can become an addiction. Studies show that 17
million Americans cant control their craze for shopping. That is about one in every
twenty Americans! Cindy Marshall is one of those people.
Cindy stole $3.7 million from the company where she worked. She used the money
to pay for the shopping adventures. The following is a list of thing she bought. Most
of them she never opened, and they remained in their original packaging or were in
storage units: 32 cars, 1,200 items of designer clothing (all unused), four Rolex
watches, and 600 Barbie dolls.
Cindy suffers from a medical condition called compulsive shopping disorder. She
cannot resist the temptation to buy something, even if she doesnt need it. People
with this addiction believe that if they shop, they are going to feel better. Cindy was
arrested for stealing, and she is now in jail.
How to prevent uncontrolled shopping:
Do not use credit cards a lot. Keep only one credit card for emergencies.
Pay for purchases with cash or with a check.
Dont take a lot of money with you.
Window-shop after stores are closed.
Make a shopping list and only buy what is on the list.
If you feel out of control. Then look for help from a professional counselor.

About the reading

1. How many American suffer from compulsive shopping disorder? 11 million
2. How did Cindy get money to pay for her shopping? She stole it.
3. What did she do with her purchases? She stored them.
4. What is Cindys problem? She has a compulsive.
5. What happened to Cindy? Shopping disorder she went to jail.

Big blue, king of the Seas

The biggest living animal in the world is the blue whale. It weighs about 150 tons,
the same as 40 big trucks. It is over 30 meters long, the length of three buses one
behind the other. Just the whales tongue weighs 3.7 tons, and it heart is about 450
kilograms. A baby blue whale weighs more than 3 tons when it is born, and gains
90 kilos a day during its first year.
An adult whale eats between 900 and 4,100 kilograms of food each day. The whale
swims slowly the water with its mouth open, and thousands of tiny fish and
plankton swim into it. But the whale cant swallow anything larger than a shrimp.
Whales live in the water, but they are not fish. They are mammals, and they cannot
stay under water for too long. Blue whales can dive for an hour, to a depth of 105
meters, but they need to come to the surface to breathe. When they come to the
surface, they blow a wet stream 8 to 10 meters up in the air.
Blue whales are the loudest animals on earth. Their call is louder than a jet, and it
can travel for hundreds of miles in the ocean. They use their calls and songs to
communicate with other blue whales.
About the Reading
Complete the sentences.
1. The blue whale is biggest of all living animals.
2. And adult what eats more than 900 kilograms each day.
3. Whales can only swallow fish that are smaller than shrimp.
4. The longest time that the whales can stay under water is an hour.
5. Whale calls are louder than the noise of a jet engine.

October 11
Hi Mario,
How are you? How is everyone? I miss you all.
Life is very different here, but its a great experience for me, and Im enjoying it very
much. Its my first time living away from home, and I miss my moms cooking. The
food in the school cafeteria is ok, but it doesnt have much flavor.
My classes are difficult because they are all in English, but the teachers are very
helpful. I think Ill be all right soon because Ill understand more and more as time
passes. I like England, but I dont like the weather. Its so changeable. Tomorrow
will probably be cloudy in the morning, the sun will come out around midday, and
maybe itll rain in the afternoon!
My roommate, Helen, is Greek, from Athens. Shes very nice, and we speak
English all the time. Im learning a lot about Greece, and she tells me that shes
learning a lot about Mexico. She invited me to visit her country. Im planning to go
with her to Athens during the spring vacation. Well probably visit the Greek
islands, too. Im looking forward to that.
Say hello to all our friends,
Love,
Carmen.
About the Reading
1. What does Carmen miss from home? Her moms cooking.
2. Whats the food like in the cafeteria? Ok.
3. Where is her roommate from? Athens.
4. What will Carmen do in the spring? Go to Athens.
5. Why are her classes difficult? They are all in English.
6. What will the weather be like tomorrow? Cloudy in the morning the sun will come
out midday, and maybe, rain in the afternoon.