Today's Headlines:

London to build super-sewer

Harry Potter fans do yoga with a magical twist

Pets in the office? Some UK firms welcome them

Transcript:

Around once a week the river Thames becomes a toilet. Thousands of tons of raw sewage are flushed into the water because the old Victorian sewers can’t cope. Designed in the 1860s by engineer Joseph Bazalgette, these sewers saved countless lives by helping to stop the spread of cholera. Eight million people live in London today. So, now, they’ve begun building a new super-sewer.  Huge tunnelling machines will be lowered down to bore out a 16-mile sewer under the Thames. Instead of sewage going to into the river - it’ll go along the new tunnel.

Welcome to the world of Harry Potter yoga. A group in Toronto, Canada, have put a magical spin on yoga to raise money for charity. The yoga students get their own wand and a lightning bolt scar. The instructors combine yoga movements with passages from Potter stories to help amateur wizards practise their spells.

Brooke, Reggie, Max and Peggy are office buddies at Nestle in Gatwick. The firm’s pets at work scheme has proved so popular by the end of the year around a hundred dogs will have passed an assessment to gain their own staff pass. The dogs don't just relieve stress, but also seem to help build office camaraderie.

Words and phrases and definitions:

tunnelling
used for digging passages through the ground

put a spin on
present something in a particular way

camaraderie
a feeling of friendship towards someone

Exercise:

Use one of the words or phrases from Lingohack to complete each of these sentences. Note that you may have to change the form of a word or phrase to complete the sentence correctly.

tunnelling / put a positive spin on / camaraderie

1. Bob was happy to end his footballing career after earning a lot of money, but he missed the ______ of having teammates.

2. Thieves in Brazil have stolen up to $65m after ______ into a bank in what police say could be the country's biggest bank heist.

3. My brother's football team lost a crucial match today. But he did ______ the defeat saying at least his side was not relegated to a minor league.

Answers:

1. Bob was happy to end his footballing career after earning a lot of money, but he missed the camaraderie of having teammates.

2. Thieves in Brazil have stolen up to $65m after tunnelling into a bank in what police say could be the country's biggest bank heist.

3. My brother's football team lost a crucial match today. But he did put a positive spin on the defeat saying at least his side was not relegated to a minor league.