International Students NZ

Today’s picture: The logo of Massey Students’ Team at the Uni Games. Good luck to all the students taking part in this weekend’s winter games in Wanaka!

Part 1: Today's word

A phenomenon is a thing or activity which is interesting or unusual in some way. It’s often used for the topic which is being researched and if there’s more than one topic, the plural form ‘phenomena’ is used.

The custom of young New Zealanders travelling round the world is not a recent phenomenon.

For more practice, go to Unit 5 of www.academicenglishgenerator.com

Press the green 'PLAY' button to hear this podcast!

Part 2: Test

Here are FOUR sentences with the word of the day. But only THREE are correct. Which is the Odd One Out?

The practice of fathers of migrant families staying at home while their families start a new life in New Zealand is a relatively recent phenomenon.

It’s possible to purchase a wide range of interesting phenomena online.

This research project aims to analyse the phenomenon of identity theft in the pre- and post- internet age.

Newton’s real achievement was to explain a number of apparently unconnected phenomena through one unified theory.

Part 3: Practice Question:

Apart from blogging, what other global phenomena have been in the news recently?

Are there any phenomena in your field that are still unexplained?

Part 4: Kiwi Quiz Question

New Zealand has one professional soccer club competing in Australia's A league. What is it?

The Kiwis
The Ball Blacks
The Phoenix
The Knights

Part 5: Today’s online reading: What's wrong with looking younger?

This is blog by a Chinese journalist based in Auckland where she considers the issue of age, especially in relation to the controversy over the age of some of the Chinese gymnasts in the Olympics

http://tinyurl.com/3fb4mn

Questions for the article:

1) How bad are Kiwis at guessing her real age?
2) To what does she attribute the success of Kiwis and Chinese at different kinds of sport?
3) To what does she attribute the youthful appearance of Chinese?
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Today’s musical intro & outro: from Spain & Mali
'Pozo del deseo' [Well of Desire] by Songhai. From the CD ‘Songhai 2’ by Ketama, Toumani Diabate, Jose Soto with Danny Thompson. CD may be purchased online, for instance at: http://www.amazon.com/Songhai-2/dp/B00000062K . The musicians can be viewed performing another of their songs, Jarabi, at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q3fHnKKems&feature=related
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