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EXERCISES IN Work It Out! The Loch Ness monster is a mysterious creature said to live in the deep, dark waters of Loch Ness. ‘Loch’ is the Scottish word for ‘lake’. Situated in the Highlands of Scotland, near the city of Inverness, Loch Ness is the second-largest lake in Scotland, after Loch Lomond. Its deepest point is 230 metres deep, and it is the lake with the greatest volume of water in the UK. This makes it the ideal hiding place for an aquatic monster! WHAT ‘NESSIE’ LOOKS LIKE The Loch Ness monster is also affectionately known by its nickname1, Nessie. Some individuals who claim2 to have spotted3 the creature describe it as having four limbs4 and a large round body. Others suggest it has a long, thin body and…

MUSIC For their self-titled third album, released1 in 1975, the Swedish pop group ABBA upped their game2. Lyricist3 Björn Ulvaeus explained that “my grasp4 of English had got much better so I began to think that it would be fun to say something.” The group's manager Stig Anderson often suggested song titles and came up with5 Mamma Mia, an Italian expression of surprise, anguish6 or excitement. Although infectiously upbeat7, the song is about ongoing8 heartbreak: the singer has suffered in a relationship, but cannot leave her partner. Improvising in the studio, pianist Benny Andersson found a marimba, a xylophone-like African instrument, and began trying to play it, saying “I just wanted to see what it sounded like. And it changed the course of the song. It made for a really…

PLACES EXERCISES IN Work It Out! Every loch is special in its own way. Some are remote and wild places that cannot be reached by car, others are legendary tourist locations. Here are five of the best lochs to explore: 1. Loch Ness Legendary in every sense, Loch Ness contains 7,452 million cubic metres of water, more than all the lakes in England and Wales put together. It lies south of Inverness on the Great Glen, a geological fault line1 visible from outer space. Tourists come to Loch Ness to enjoy boat trips, to fish, spot2 wildlife and photograph the ruins of Urquhart Castle. Many hope to catch a glimpse3 of the loch's most elusive inhabitant: Nessie, the Loch Ness monster, first photographed in 1933. There have been many sightings4…

PLACES INTERVIEW Bletchley Park may look like an idyllic English estate complete with cottages1, rolling green lawns2 and ponds3, but towards the end of the World War Two, life there was far from bucolic. Hundreds of people were involved in the activities at Bletchley and they often worked long, gruelling4 days with short breaks, in uncomfortable conditions. However, they continued the difficult work because they saw what was being done at Bletchley as part of a call to duty5. The codebreaking operations were understood to be essential. To find out more, Speak Up met with Bletchley historian Thomas Cheetham. He began with a brief history of Bletchley Park. Thomas Cheetham (English accent): Bletchley Park, originally it's a mediaeval estate. In the period before World War Two, it's the home of…

HEALTH The neurotransmitter dopamine is eliciting1 a lot of panic these days. According to books, articles and social media posts, our urge2 for a quick dopamine hit is why we crave3 cookies and spend too much time on Instagram. If we keep giving in4 to these desires, the rationale goes5, we'll never be able to stop ourselves. “We've transformed the world from a place of scarcity6 to a place of overwhelming abundance,” Dr. Anna Lembke, a Stanford University psychiatrist, wrote in her bestselling book Dopamine Nation. Consequently, we're all at risk for “compulsive overconsumption.” A self-improvement trend often called ‘dopamine fasting7’ that emerged in 2019 revolves around abstaining from anything that causes the release of the chemical. The premise is that modern-day entertainments rewire8 the brain so that slower-paced9 pastimes…

BOOKS The Indian-born British-American novelist Salman Rushdie was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) on 19 June 1947, just months before India became independent from Britain. Rushdie's family, Kashmiri Muslims, moved to Pakistan when he was seventeen. By this time, Rushdie was living in England. He attended1 Cambridge University, where he studied history. MAGICAL HISTORIES Rushdie became famous after his second novel Midnight's Children was published. The novel is about magical children born at midnight on the night India became independent. The bestseller, which combined fantasy and reality, won the Booker Prize in 1981. Rushdie's subsequent book Shame was another acclaimed attempt to make sense2 of recent Indian and Pakistani history. DEEPLY OFFENSIVE A laternovel,The Satanic Verses, published in 1988, also initially received praise3, although prominent members of the Islamic community…

SCAN, READ & LISTEN 19 ADVANCED C1 GLOSSARY 1 to splash: schizzare 2 oars: remi 3 watertight: a tenuta d'acqua 4 brids of prey: rapaci 5 hen harriers: albanelle reali 6 kestrels: gheppi 7 red kites: nibbi rossi 8 to row: remare 9 reservoir: bacino 10 chapel: cappella 11 pale: pallido 12 still: calma, ferma 13 breath of wind: soffio di vento 14 camp site: campeggio 15 the odd hiker: l'escursionista occasionale 16 times tables: tabelline 17 graveyard: cimitero 18 to flood: allagare 19 to disinter: esumare 20 higher ground: terreno più alto 21 to bear: sopportare 22 to dig up: disseppellire 23 coffin: bara 24 gravestones: lapide 25 to lay: posare 26 hands off: giù le mani 27 to pass an act: approvare una legge 28 to snatch off: strappare 29 to rock: far oscillare 30 herons: aironi 31 to wage a battle: intraprendere una battaglia So, what's this recording you're making for? A podcast? Ah, an art project,…

ARTICOLI PER LIVELLI Tutti i nostri articoli hanno un codice di colore che indica il livello di difficoltà dell'inglese in base al Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. A2 PRE-INTERMEDIATE B1 LOWER INTERMEDIATE B2 UPPER INTERMEDIATE C1 ADVANCED C2 PROFICIENCY GLOSSARIO In ogni articolo troverai le parole più rilevanti affiancate da un numero del colore corrispondente al livello di difficoltà, oltre alla traduzione nel glossario correlato. Gin and tonic is arguably1 Britain's favourite drink GLOSSARY 1 arguably: probabilmente 2 to skyrocket: andare alle stelle EXPLAINS Le frasi evidenziate in giallo sono quelle che hanno bisogno di approfondimenti, come nel caso di riferimenti storici o culturali, frasi fatte, proverbi o espressioni di slang. Troverai la spiegazione alla fine dell'articolo. SPEAK UP IN CLASS Ogni mese su Speak Up troverai anche degli esercizi pensati per gli…

CURRENT AFFAIRS Historically, the advice1 given to people who are overweight2 or obese has been simple: eat less and move more. However, this hasn't worked for many people. Now there's another solution: weight-loss drugs3, specifically semaglutide, which is sold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy. These injectable prescription medications4 have exploded in popularity in recent years. NOT FOR WEIGHT LOSS In the US, an estimated one in three adults is overweight, with more than two in five considered obese. Millions of people want to lose body fat. This has resulted in a multi-billion-dollar weight-loss industry which has promoted countless5 miracle diets and life-changing products for decades. INFLUENCERS In recent years, the industry has experienced a boost6 as celebrities and influencers are promoting Ozempic as an effective way to lose…

CULTURE The history of tartan, a pattern1 consisting of criss-crossed2 bands in multiple colours, is long and complex. What is clear, however, is its capacity to adapt to the times and stay relevant. It is usually associated with the quintessentially Scottish textile, but the pattern can also be found covering all kinds of objects. While its appeal seems timeless3, its omnipresence and its commercial use has led some to talk about the “Tartan Monster”. CHIEFTAIN WEAR Tartan is believed to date back to4 third-century Scotland, although it is difficult to find proof of this. The earliest representation of the tartan pattern comes from the 17th century; a painting by John Michael Wright titled Highland Chieftain5, for example, shows Lord Mungo Murray dressed in a tartan plaid and kilt. Tartan clothing…

EXERCISES IN Work It Out! The mathematical genius Alan Turing was the key figure in Britain's successful efforts to break Nazi Germany's military codes1 during the Second World War. His crucial wartime work at Bletchley Park Code and Cypher2 School shortened3 the conflict and saved millions of lives. Importantly too, his groundbreaking4 scientific work before and after the war made him the father of modern computing and artificial intelligence. UNRECOGNISED WORK Turing's work was never recognised during his lifetime as it was protected by Britain's Official Secrets Act5. The brilliant scientist died in obscurity. However, in 2019, sixty-five years after his death, BBC TV viewers named him the greatest person of the 20th century! SEMINAL CAMBRIDGE IDEAS Turing's scientific career began when he entered Cambridge University in 1931 as a…

TECHNOLOGY EXERCISES IN Work It Out! Your phone pings1 and you stop what you're doing to read the message you've just received. Then you spend an hour on social media, reading and reacting to posts. By the time you finish, you feel uncomfortable — not only about the hour that you've just wasted on your phone, but also about how exciting everybody else's life seems compared to yours. But instead of deleting your accounts, you go back on social media later that day, and then the next day, and then the next, spending more and more time online and feeling worse and worse. If this sounds like you, then it's likely you are suffering from digital addiction. THE INTERNET According to a report by the global agency We Are Social…

CURRENT AFFAIRS Pantry1’ is an old-fashioned English word that refers to a small room or cupboard2 for storing food in. In recent years, however, many British families have found their pantries to be practically empty. Soaring3 food prices have meant increasing numbers of Britons are now experiencing food poverty. To tackle4 this problem, social supermarkets known as ‘local pantries’ are being set up. They are providing not only food, but also much needed hope and humanity to those forced to turn to charity. BASIC SUPPLIES The Trussell Trust is a charity that supplies basic food parcels5 to people referred to them by doctors or social services. Between April 2019 and March 2020 they provided a record 1.9 million parcels of food supplies through their food banks. This was an 18…

BOOKS INTERVIEW In his new memoir Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder the seventy-sixyear-old author Salman Rushdie revisits the 2022 knife attack that nearly killed him. While the author felt it important to write about what happened, the reason he became a writer, he says, was always to invent stories. In 2023, Rushdie published a new novel entitled Victory City, which he'd completed before the attack. Its protagonist is Pampa Kampana, who creates an empire in Southern India and then lives for 250 years! Speaking at a literary conference, Rushdie says that his novels are inspired by the stories he was told growing up in Mumbai. Salman Rushdie (Indian-English accent): I grew up with all the Hindu stories as well as stories from the Muslim tradition. There was this collection…

www.speakup.it SPEAK UP PIÙ COMODO Il nuovo sito web di Speak presenta strumenti e risorse interattive per creare un'esperienza utente coinvolgente e dinamica. Le tecnologie all'avanguardia che abbiamo applicato e la moderna interfaccia permetteranno di esplorare nuovi modi divertenti per migliorare e praticare l'inglese con maggiore comodità. Scopri subito il nuovo sito e inizia esplorare la vasta gamma di articoli e risorse! TEST DI LIVELLO Verifica qual è il tuo livello di inglese con il nostro test gratuito e scopri i tuoi progressi con i nostri articoli classificati per difficoltà. ESERCIZI INTERATTIVI Leggi e ascolta gli articoli e controlla i tuoi progressi con l'inglese grazie ai nostri test interattivi. Super comodo! PRACTICAL ENGLISH Un ampio catalogo di lezioni di grammatica, consigli, e materiale scaricabile per imparare quando e dove vuoi.…

CURRENT AFFAIRS EXERCISES IN work It Out! The fashion world presents a new collection. A few weeks later, imitations of that collection are on sale in shops like H&M and Zara for affordable1 prices. Many people buy clothes from this collection, wear them a few times, and then throw them away. This is all a result of the $100-billion industry known as ‘fast fashion’, which is one of the world's biggest pollutants2. THE RISE OF FAST FASHION The reason why fashion is so destructive is because of the enormous volume of clothes that are being cheaply produced and then discarded months or even weeks later. In the past, things were very different: fewer items3 were being produced, of a much greater quality, and most people only bought clothes occasionally and…

PLACES Scotland is home to more than thirty thousand lochs, large and small. Located mainly in the northern and western Highlands, they are some of the country's most scenic1 attractions. The lochs are vital culturally, environmentally and economically. They are part of Scottish mystery and folklore. Whether for sport, leisure2, wildlife, history or legend, no trip to Scotland is complete without a visit to a loch. SCOTTISH GAELIC The word ‘loch’ is the Scottish Gaelic word for a body of water completely or mostly surrounded3 by land. The word originates from the Old Irish ‘loch’, meaning ‘lake’. Scottish lochs can either be freshwater4 (lakes) or saltwater (tidal5 inlets6 of the sea, known as ‘sea lochs’ in Scotland or ‘fjords’ elsewhere.) Many were formed when the glaciers retreated7 at the end of…

PLACES During World War Two, the British government requisitioned1 many English country estates2 for the war effort. Some became schools, others hospitals, and Bletchley became the temporary home to the Government Code & Cypher school, otherwise known as GC&CS. This school was part of the greater British Intelligence service and was focused on wire-tapping3 communications among the Axis4 powers. Its staff were called codebreakers. THE CODEBREAKERS In order to be able to successfully infiltrate and decipher communications, British Intelligence needed to find profiles of trustworthy5 people, who also had the necessary mathematical and computing skills to decipher codes. The GC&CS recruited mainly university graduates and junior level staff, and Bletchley Park was perfectly located for such an endeavour6. The mansion was chosen as the site for the school because it…

DIALOGUES Are you still on your phone? We were supposed to leave half an hour ago! Oh, sorry, I lost track of the time. You know you waste1 hours on that thing. What is it now, social media? Online shopping? Hey, leave me alone! I'm not that bad! Not that bad?!? You're always staring2 at that screen from the moment you wake up! Perhaps I do spend a little too much time on it, but it's not like it's a problem. But it is! You're an addict! Oh, come on! That's not fair. You're blowing it out of proportion. OK, let's see, shall we3? Did we get the cinema too late to see the film yesterday? Did we go overdrawn last month because of an online order4 you forgot about?…

HEALTH EXERCISES IN Work It Out! Until its recent emergence as a mainstream health craze1, fasting2 was largely a religious ritual. But then longevity scientists discovered that regularly-fasted bodies lived longer, with better metabolic and cardiovascular health. Granted3, these bodies mostly belonged to mice4, but now Rishi Sunak, Elon Musk and many others are trying intermittent fasting (IF), with influencers singing its praises5 and apps offering to track your fasts and pepper6 you with motivational messages. The logic goes that, back when we were hunter-gatherers7 and our bodily systems evolved to work in balance, the absence of supermarkets and industrially-produced food meant that fasting sometimes happened naturally. The IF lifestyle, it is thought, could help us reset these systems, swerve8 disease and live longer. But is it as simple as…

CLASSIC BOOKS Verses EXERCISES IN Work It Out! UPPER INTERMEDIATE B2 SCAN, READ & LISTEN 18 GLOSSARY 1 nevertheless: ciò nonostante 2 to intertwine: intrecciare 3 timespan: periodo di tempo 4 English Channel: canale della Manica 5 debris: detriti 6 to join up: unire, connettere 7 to wash up: portare a riva 8 to summon back: convocare 9 advice: consiglio 10 to pursue: andare dietro a, inseguire 11 mountain climber: alpinista 12 comeback: ritorno 13 to brood: rimuginare 14 to leak: trapelare, filtrare 15 waking life: veglia 16 means: mezzo 17 to raise questions: sollevare domande 18 falsehood: falsità, menzogna 19 to take revenge: vendicarsi 20 to shortlist: selezionare 21 to issue: emettere 22 woefully: miseramente, tristemente The fourth novel by Salman Rushdie is an imaginative work of historical fiction with elements of fantasy and satire. It is also one of the most controversial books of the late 20th century: its perceived…

The idiom ‘To know which way the wind blows’ (or: ‘is blowing’) means to understand what is happening in changing circumstances and to be able to anticipate what will happen in the future. It suggests looking to external clues or gauging trends to make the most informed decision possible. This metaphoric term first appeared in John Heywood's English proverb collection of 1546. The proverb drew on the way sailors or farmers relied on knowing wind direction to do their jobs well. In the early 19th century, the idiom came to mean the tide of opinion in a political sense. Today, before elections are held, opinion polls are held to gauge ‘which way the wind is blowing’, i.e. which way people will vote. In his 1965 song Subterranean Homesick Blues, US…