READINGIELTS

Time Travel   Time travel took a small step away from science fiction and toward science recently when physicists discovered that sub-atomic particles known as neutrinos – progeny of the sun’s radioactive debris – can exceed the speed of light. The unassuming particle – it is electrically neutral, small but with a “non-zero mass” and able to penetrate the human form undetected – is on its way to becoming a rock star of the scientific world. Researchers from the European…

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FAIR GAMES?   For seventeen days every four years the world is briefly arrested by the captivating, dizzying spectacle of athleticism, ambition, pride and celebration on display at the Summer Olympic Games. After the last weary spectators and competitors have returned home, however, host cities are often left awash in high debts and costly infrastructure maintenance. The staggering expenses involved in a successful Olympic bid are often assumed to be easily mitigated by tourist revenues and an increase in local…

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Electroreception A    Open your eyes in sea water and it is difficult to see much more than a murky, bleary green colour. Sounds, too, are garbled and difficult to comprehend. Without specialised equipment humans would be lost in these deep sea habitats, so how do fish make it seem so easy? Much of this is due to a biological phenomenon known as electroreception – the ability to perceive and act upon electrical stimuli as part of the overall senses….

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Television and Sport when the medium becomes the stadium   A    The relationship between television and sports is not widely thought of as problematic. For many people, television is a simple medium through which sports can be played, replayed, slowed down, and of course conveniently transmitted live to homes across the planet. What is often overlooked, however, is how television networks have reshaped the very foundations of an industry that they claim only to document. Major television stations immediately…

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Environmental medicine – also called conservation medicine, ecological medicine, or medical geology- A    In simple terms, environmental medicine deals with the interaction between human and animal health and the environment. It concerns the adverse reactions that people have on contact with or exposure to an environmental excitant . Ecological health is its primary concern, especially emerging infectious diseases and pathogens from insects, plants and vertebrate animals. B    Practitioners of environmental medicine work in teams involving many other specialists….

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“For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.” – Rudyard Kipling, The Law for the Wolves A wolf pack is an extremely well-organised family group with a well-defined social structure and a clear-cut code of conduct. Every wolf has a certain place and function within the pack and every member has to do its fair share of the work. The supreme leader is a very experienced wolf – the alpha…

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WILLPOWER A    Although willpower does not shape our decisions, it determines whether and how long we can follow through on them. It almost single-handedly determines life outcomes. Interestingly, research suggests the general population is indeed aware of how essential willpower is to their wellbeing; survey participants routinely identify a ‘lack of willpower’ as the major impediment to making beneficial life changes. There are, however, misunderstandings surrounding the nature of willpower and how we can acquire more of it. There…

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Daylight Saving Time   Each year in many countries around the world, clocks are set forward in spring and then back again in autumn in an effort to ‘save’ daylight hours. Like many modern practices, Daylight Savings Time (DST) dates back to ancient civilisations. The Romans would adjust their routines to the sun’s schedule by using different scales in their water clocks for different months of the year. This practice fell out of favour, however, and the concept was renewed…

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Who Wrote Shakespeare?   William Shakespeare is the Western world’s most famous playwright – but did he really write the plays and poems that are attributed to him? There has been controversy over the authorship of the works of Shakespeare since the nineteenth  century. The initial impetus for this debate came from the fact that nineteenth century critics, poets  and readers were puzzled and displeased when they were presented with the few remaining scraps  of evidence about the life of “Shakspere”,…

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