VOCABULARY PLUS - Use a dictionary to check the meaning of the words in blue in the text.

CRAZY CRAZES

An interview with Miley Jones, an expert on the history of crazes.

HOW DO CRAZES START?

Well, crazes generally start in the playground when we're young. We see someone doing something fun and obviously we want to join them.

WHAT WAS THE STRANGEST CRAZE?

Pole-sitting, probably. In 1924, Alvin Kelly sat on a pole for thirteen hours. Amazingly, it became popular, and people used to watch the best pole-sitters. The record was twenty-one days.

HOW DO CURRENT CRAZES DIFFER FROM PAST CRAZES?

Things like toys and card-collecting used to be popular. Now crazes often start online, when people see and copy funny ideas for photos or videos on social media.

IS THAT HOW CRAZES BECOME SO POPULAR QUICKLY?

Absolutely! Things can quickly become a craze. Before, people didn't use to have smartphones, but now we can post online games scores or photos immediately.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE CRAZE?

Pet rocks. In the 1970s, Gary Dahl started selling a pet rock in a special box with instructions.

DID PEOPLE REALLY USE TO BUY PET ROCKS?

Yes, they did. Apparently, he sold millions of them. No one really knows what the next craze will be.

VOCABULARY PLUS. Use a dictionary to check the meaning of the phrases in blue in the text.

                                               Rachel Ridley

Follow the dream

Hey! Do you dream of exotic places? Of trips to distant deserts and mountains? Do you dream of adventure? Well, Liz Clark has been living that dream, and I've been following her inspirational blog.

After finishing university, Liz learned to sail as one of her old professors offered to lend her his yacht for as long as she wanted it.

In October 2005, she set off on her journey. Liz found it hard to leave behind her friends and family, but she's been travelling to many fascinating places for over fifteen years. Among other countries, she has stopped off in Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and the Galapagos Islands.

When she stops somewhere, she surfs, does yoga and writes her blog. Adverts on Liz's blog have been paying for her trip. There are beautiful beaches, crystal clear water and perfect surf in her photos.

But life on the ocean can also be difficult. ‘It feels so great to inspire others to live their dreams,' says Liz, ‘I've worked hard and it hasn't always been easy or fun.’

She also gets very lonely, but she keeps going. She's looking for some company on the boat to stay with her as she carries on her journey around the world. Liz, I think I'll join you! Does anyone else want some adventure?

VOCABULARY PLUS. Use a dictionary to check the meaning of the nouns in blue in the text. What is the verb form of each one?

CHANGING THE WORLD WITH KINDNESS

Sometimes a spontaneous act of kindness can change another person’s life. Read about these incredible people and their actions that helped to make the world a better place for someone else.

IN BRITAIN

Life can't be easy for musician Daniel Black. After a cycling accident in 2009, the doctors told him that he couldn’t walk or play the guitar. He had saved £22,000 for his intended expensive surgery when he heard about a young boy who also needed surgery to allow him to walk. Daniel told the boy's family that he would donate all his money to the boy’s surgery. The little boy was then able to walk again.

IN THE US

Glen James, an unemployed and homeless office worker, did something both honest and kind. The police said that he decided to return a bag with $ 42,000 in it to the owner. A man called Ethan Whittington read about Glen and started a campaign to collect money forhim. Ethan said that anamazing 160,000 was raised and Glen's life hasn't been the same since.

IN VIET NAM

In March 2020, Hoang Tuan Anh, a Vietnamese entrepreneur in Ho Chi Minh City invented a 24/7 automatic dispensing machine providing free rice for the poor during the Covid 19 lockdown. The machine distributed a 1.5 kg (3.3lb) bagful of rice from a small silo. The team said that people in need still had access to food and resources during the pandemic.

These stories may persuade you that when you spread a little kindness, there may not be a personal benefit, but you could encourage people to be kind to you, too.

VOCABULARY PLUS Use a dictionary to check the meaning of the words in blue in the text.

Film records

The record books are full of great film trivia, but only gossip about stars is usually heard. I like the gossip, but what about the film trivia we aren't told about? Some film records are much more interesting. For example, did you know that Robert Downey Jr. was paid more than any other actor for his role as Iron Man in the Avengers films (the huge sum of eighty million US dollars)? And I bet you can’t guess which film has the record for the most tickets sold. I was amazed! Well, apparently more cinema tickets were sold for Gone with the Wind, a 1930s romance, than for any other film. I haven’t even seen it but it sounds terrible! The classic science fiction film Star Wars comes a close second, and I’m sure that it’s a much better movie.

One truly unbelievable film record was set by a man called Ashish Sharma in Mathura, India, in 2008. He sat in a cinema and watched films for an incredible 120 hours and twenty-three minutes – that’s forty-eight films in total.

Another film-related record from India is about the world’s largest film poster. It was made to advertise India’s biggest action film of 2015, Bãahubali. The size of it is extraordinary! At nearly 5,000 square metres, it’s more than half the size of a professional football pitch! It wasn’t made in the usual way. It was designed by the film’s director S. S. Rajamouli and it was made by a team of thirty people who worked around the clock for three days.