LITMIR.BIZ

      A. The VLT (Very Large Telescope) is the world’s largest telescope and it is taking scientists further back to the Big Bang than they ever thought possible. In other words, the VLT is a kind of a time machine, giving astronomers detailed views of events that took place in the earliest days of the cosmos. One day, we will have a much clearer picture of how our planet was born.

      B. The latest development in the debate amongst scientists about what killed the prehistoric dinosaurs is the suggestion that acid rain was the cause. Some geologists suggest that a large meteor hitting the earth at 65 kilometres per second would have led to strongly acidic rain falling all over the world. This idea is fascinating but it would mean the dinosaurs would all have died within a very short time.

      C. In 1948, a British farmer discovered an interesting lump of metal while ploughing his field. At first he thought the metal bits were parts of an old bed. Then more «parts of old beds’ turned up and the farmer took them to the local museum. «But these bits are priceless!» exclaimed the keeper of the museum. «They are Iron Age jewellery and coins!» Over the next 40 years, more and more items were found in the same field.

      D. Rats may have had a bit of a hard time over the years but these days lots of people are forgetting about guinea-pigs and hamsters and are buying rats instead. Domestic rats aren’t the same as the ones that run around rubbish bins – they’re actually quite cute. They are very intelligent and can be trained like dogs. They come in different colours and – a big bonus – they will eat anything!

      E. In Western cultures, people look each other in the eye during a conversation to show interest and trust, but in many Asian countries, it’s rude to look people in the eye, especially a superior such as a teacher. One of the most basic and powerful signals is when a person crosses his or her arms across the chest. This can indicate that a person is putting up an unconscious barrier between themselves and others.

      F. Earthquakes happen all the time in all parts of the world but we don’t notice most of them because they are small. However, big earthquakes are really dangerous. They can make buildings fall down, set off landslides and do other deadly things. The highest death toll caused by an earthquake was in China in 1556, when at least 830,000 people died.

      G. According to scientists, Americans watch more TV on average than any other nationality. In fact, many people, particularly children, sit for 35 hours or more per week glued to the box. What’s wrong with watching all that TV? Studies have linked it to everything from obesity to aggression in children not to mention that it puts your mind into a sort of sedated state. Habitual television watching, over long periods of time, has been known to cause depression, and anger.