Álex+López

//Xrecent// //Xsources// //Xadvise// //Xspot// //Xinput// //Xdata// //Xearly// || //Xincredible// //Xk////ey// //Xrandom// //Ximportance// //Xfocused// //Xview// //Xtrack// || __**BY: ÁLEX LÓPEZ AND MIGUEL CAMPOS**__
 * Researchers say they can use news stories to help predict the future. Scientists from the University of Illinois in the USA (1) input over 100 million news articles into a supercomputer for analysis. The stories went back as far as 1945 and came from many (2) sources, including the BBC and New York Times. The (3) data showed how much unrest and discontent there was in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya before their (4) recent revolutions. The computer also saw (5) early indications of the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden before he was (6) captured. Researcher Kalev Leetar said the study could now help analysts (7) spot future trouble in potential hotspots around the world. Business strategists already do a similar thing to (8) advise their clients. ||  || //Xcaptured//
 * Leetar explained the (9) importance of news to look into the future: “News gives you (10) incredible information about people, places, and organizations. It also tells you about the relationships between them, about how people (11) view each other,” he said. Leetar used terabytes of data to look at three (12) key areas. One looked at the tone of the journalists’ writing. It used 1,500 different (13) emotions to build an assessment of a country’s stability. Secondly, it examined geocoding to (14) track references to people’s movement. A third technique was network analysis to show how much news channels (15)focused on one place. Leetar likened his predictions to weather forecasting, saying: “It’s never perfect, but we do better than (16) random guessing." ||  || //Xemotions//

Good things bad things: pass the school-year and begins another ||  ||   ||   ||
 * **3. THE FUTURE:** What are your predictions? Complete this table and share what you wrote with your partner(s). Change and share again.
 * This year for you: win the lottery ||  ||   ||
 * Your country: We will exit from the chrisis ||  ||   ||
 * Sport: Spain will win the "mundial" again ||  ||   ||
 * Inventions: a cancer cure ||  ||   ||
 * The world: chaos because of the lack of oil ||  ||   ||
 * Your old age: Miguel: 92; Alex: 80-90 ||  ||   ||

4. Talk to your friend and complete the predictions.

By the year 2020 we will both have ..................................................................................................................... In ten years' time we will both be ........................................................................................................................ By this time next week I will have.......................................and my friend will........................................................ This time tomorrow I will be ................................................. and my friend .........................................................

__**TASK 1. Choose the best option.**__

Scientists have discovered that addictions may be (1) hereditary. A team from Britain’s University of Cambridge found that siblings of drug addicts (2) share the same brain abnormalities as their drug-using brothers and sisters. The research team said these abnormal brain structures are linked (3) to poor self-control and drug dependence. The researchers suggest that addiction is (4) in some ways a “disorder of the brain”. This may provide important new ways into helping people with problems of self-control when it (5) comes to addictions. The study sought to find out if drugs changed the “wiring” of the brain or whether the brains of drug addicts were wired (6) differently from birth. Lead researcher Dr Karen Ersche told the BBC: “It has (7) long been known that not everyone who takes drugs becomes addicted.” She continued: “It shows that drug addiction is not a choice of lifestyle, it is a disorder of the brain and we (8) must to recognise this. These brothers and sisters who don't have addiction problems, what they can tell us is how they (9) overcome these problems, how they manage self-control in their (10) daily life.” Dr Ersche and her colleagues studied 50 pairs of siblings — one with a history of drug addiction and one with no experience (11) of taking drugs. She compared these with 50 healthy people. She concluded: “We need to find out how these non-addicted siblings were able to resist (12) using drugs.”
 * Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.**
 * 1. || (a) || **hereditary** || (b) || herald || (c) || herded || (d) || heresy ||
 * 2. || (a) || compare || (b) || **share** || (c) || repair || (d) || fare ||
 * 3. || (a) || as || (b) || at || (c) || **to** || (d) || up ||
 * 4. || (a) || to || (b) || of || (c) || by || (d) || **in** ||
 * 5. || (a) || arrives || (b) || leaves || (c) || goes || (d) || **comes** ||
 * 6. || (a) || difference || (b) || differs || (c) || **differently** || (d) || different ||
 * 7. || (a) || **long** || (b) || deep || (c) || wide || (d) || tall ||
 * 8. || (a) || **must** || (b) || need || (c) || should || (d) || necessary ||
 * 9. || (a) || overjoy || (b) || overkill || (c) || **overcome** || (d) || overplay ||
 * 10. || (a) || **daily** || (b) || nightly || (c) || afternoon || (d) || morning ||
 * 11. || (a) || as || (b) || for || (c) || to || (d) || **of** ||
 * 12. || (a) || users || (b) || **using** || (c) || use of || (d) || uses ||

__**TASK 2. TRUE / FALSE**__


 * a. || Scientists say that many addictions may be hereditary. || T ||
 * b. || Drug addicts can have the same brain abnormalities as their siblings. || T ||
 * c. || Abnormal brain structures usually results in better self-control. || F ||
 * d. || The study may be able to help people control themselves better. || T ||
 * e. || Everyone who takes drugs becomes addicted in some way. || F ||
 * f. || A researcher said addiction is a brain disorder and not a choice. || T ||
 * g. || The researcher said one in fifty of us are drug addicts. || F ||
 * h. || The doctor knows why some siblings of drug addicts are not addicts. || F ||

__**TASK 3. SYNONYM MATCH.**__ Match the following synonyms from the article.

__**WRITING UNIT 4**__
 * 1. || discovered || 8. || get over ||
 * 2 || siblings || 4. || give ||
 * 3. || linked || 5. || tried ||
 * 4. || provide || 7. || decision ||
 * 5. || sought || 2. || brothers and sisters ||
 * 6. || lead || 10. || stay away from ||
 * 7. || choice || 1. || found out ||
 * 8. || overcome || 6. || head ||
 * 9. || colleagues || 3. || connected ||
 * 10. || resist || 9. || co-workers ||

Marcus

There is a person who I've known for six yers. His name is Marcus and he is my best friend. He is from Hilltown, California.

Marcus is average height, slim and short, straight, bright-cinnamon hair. He's got a great sense of humour, he's kind and generous, and also very confident. He likes music a lot. His favourite music style is rock. He moved to Spain when I was in fifth grade at school and since then, we've been close friends. Too bad he's now in California; he moved again when we finished sixth grade. We were classmates, and when we finished school his parents had to move.

But we still e-mail from that moment to keep in touch once a month and exchange photos and music. I'm glad I've met him.