Учим английский по новостям

Шестнадцатый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate News 1: Uzbek Ipak Yuli Bank has asked customers from Russia to provide a personal identification number of an individual (PINFL) so that they can continue to use banking services. The bank's support said that this requirement has been in place since the beginning of 2023. According to customers, the bank has sent out notifications only now. News 2: The Pampadu insurance service bought the share of a foreign investor and consolidated 100% of its business in Russian jurisdiction, the company reported. Before this, 42% belonged to a German investment fund. News 3: AvtoVAZ has begun mass production of the Lada Vesta with a 1.8-liter engine producing 122 hp. and automatic transmission. News 4: The market volume of cloud infrastructure services in 2023 grew by 34%. Analysts attribute the growth, among other things, to an increase in the penetration of cloud services, the transition of “a significant share of users to Russian clouds from foreign ones,” the emergence of new participants and “the focus of large providers on the cloud services sector.” News 5: Fraudsters have developed a new scheme to deceive users. On behalf of banks, they send letters about the “new tax on special military operations” and offer to refuse to pay it. By clicking on the link, the “victim” leaves his data when logging into his personal account to the attackers.

Пятнадцатый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate News 1: The Australian government has imposed new sanctions against 55 people and 37 organizations. The restrictions are aimed at Russian defense, energy, mining companies, media, as well as organizations associated with “Russian procurement networks” in Belarus, Iran and North Korea. The specific list has not yet been published. News 2: 50-60% of auto component manufacturers in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region left the market after February 24, 2022. Most of these companies were “tied” to automobile factories, and they either froze work or closed. In order to “survive,” the remaining companies have to reconfigure production to produce Chinese cars, experts say. News 3: The EU approved the 13th package of sanctions against Russia. It included 106 individuals and 88 legal entities. It is aimed at the military-industrial complex. Some organizations on the list that allegedly help Russia circumvent export restrictions operate in third countries - India, China, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Turkey and Sri Lanka. Components for the production of unmanned aerial vehicles have been added to the list of goods prohibited for export to Russia. News 4: Since the mass departure of popular foreign clothing and footwear retailers from Russia, the share of domestic brands in shopping centers has increased by 20% on average. News 5: The German Federal Office of Economics and Export Control has issued permission to export German software to Russia. First of all, it concerns industrial SAP software. However, the license applies only to diplomatic and consular missions of the European Union

Четырнадцатый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate News 1: The Ministry of Digital Development has prepared a bill according to which the government and the Central Bank will be able to determine a list of critical information infrastructure objects - from 2025 they will have to switch to Russian software. News 2: Alfa Capital Management Company files a claim in the Moscow Arbitration Court against Euroclear for 248 billion rubles. The company requires the international depository to unblock client assets, as well as pay accumulated coupons and dividends. News 3: The Association of Trading Companies and Manufacturers of Electrical and Computer Equipment proposed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade abandon the idea of labeling consumer electronics, since the Russian market is “sufficiently legal” not to take additional measures against counterfeit goods. News 4: Russians began receiving notices on the border with Estonia warning that the Russian-Estonian border could be closed at any time due to “migration pressure.” The same information is posted on the website of the Estonian Border Guard. News 5: The Russian Automobile Dealers association said that the shortage of passenger cars on the Russian market has “globally passed”: first, the establishment of a parallel import mechanism helped, and then the influx of Chinese brands.

Тринадцатый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate News 1: The Korean company MStoryLink began looking for a partner to create a joint venture with him in Russia. The company wants to develop the “My Comics” platform with licensed Asian comics, but it cannot do this on its own and fight piracy, since it does not have sufficient knowledge about the market. News 2: At the end of 11 months of 2023, trade turnover between Russia and Turkey amounted to $48.5 billion, which is $11 billion less than the same period in 2022, said Russian Consul General in Istanbul Andrei Buravov, but added: the decrease does not negate the “presence of serious potential” for the development of trade relations between the two countries. He also noted that Russian companies are increasingly opening branches in Turkey. News 3: The Foreign Ministry said that the Russian government is studying the possibility of creating an alternative SWIFT payment and settlement infrastructure - because “this will form the financial and economic basis of a multipolar world.” News 4: From February 2023 to February 2024, the average cost of short-term rental apartments in the largest Russian cities increased by 11% - to 4,660 rubles per night. One of the key factors influencing prices is the growth of tourist travel. News 5: Corporate law, which governs special administrative regions on the Kaliningrad Oktyabrsky Island and on Russky Island in Primorye, “adopts the best practices of offshore jurisdictions such as Hong Kong and the Island of Jersey,” said First Deputy Minister of Economic Development Ilya Torosov. The pace of business relocation to such areas is growing.

Двенадцатый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate News 1: The Ministry of Transport is working on a new mechanism for financing the reconstruction of regional airfields in 2025-2030. Air hubs want to be divided into two groups with different approaches to the financing scheme. To finance the first one - small airfields - a special fund should appear, which will be filled from fees to the State Corporation for Air Traffic Management. The second group will include larger harbors that are managed by private investors. News 2: One of the largest Chinese manufacturers of household appliances, Skyworth, will officially enter Russia. The company sent proposals for the placement of its products in Russian networks, and also agreed on the contract production of televisions at the Belarusian Horizon. News 3: The Chinese Chouzhou Commercial Bank, which Russian importers used as the main settlement center, notified clients that it was suspending transactions with Russia. Transactions were stopped not only using SWIFT, but also with the Russian SPFS and the Chinese CIPS. News 4: The cost of renting tourist buses this season has increased from 30% to two times. The rise in prices is associated, in particular, with higher fuel prices, the burden of parallel imports of spare parts, higher fuel prices and higher wages due to inflation. The lack of buses leads to higher prices for tours, especially one-day ones. News 5: The Federation Council unanimously approved a bill on confiscation of property for “fakes” about the Russian army. The senators noted that the document does not violate the constitutional rights of Russians.

Одиннадцатый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate News 1: The next round of EU sanctions against Russia will not include new import bans or “big names,” sources tell Reuters. This decision is due to the desire to adopt restrictions by February 24, 2024. The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that new European sanctions against Russia will affect individuals and legal entities that help sanctioned persons bypass the restrictions. News 2: In 2023, almost a third (27%) of entrepreneurs had difficulty finding financing. In particular, one in five (19%) found it difficult to find an investor. Another problem last year was the staff shortage, which was reported by 20% of founders. News 3: In January-December 2023, Russian citizens made 27 million trips abroad, according to statistics from the FSB border service. This is 17% more than in 2022. Also, the number of trips for tourism purposes increased by 35% year on year. News 4: The Russian government has simplified the procedure for admitting Russian transport companies to international road transportation: from September 1, 2024, this process will take not 20, but five working days. The number of documents that must be provided to obtain admission will also be reduced. News 5: The sanctions have affected the safety of Russian aviation, writes The Wall Street Journal. In 2023, operators in Russia recorded at least 74 incidents compared to 36 in 2022. At the same time, the company also includes in its statistics incidents not related to sanctions, such as bird strikes.

Десятый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate News 1: The volume of cash in circulation in Russia in January 2024 decreased by 540 billion rubles - this is the maximum drop since March 2022, according to Central Bank data. The drop is due to seasonal factors. News 2: Kaliningrad Avtotor plans to begin mass production of electric cars of its own design in 2025, and show the first copies in 2024, said Valery Gorbunov, head of the board of directors of the auto holding. News 3: Chinese AI chip manufacturer Sophgo has entered into a distribution contract with a Russian company. Softlogic became the partner. Based on Chinese chips, Softlogic plans to develop and produce domestic servers for AI. The company is also negotiating with two Russian companies to supply them with chips as a distributor. News 4: Russian gambling zones are experiencing a shortage of specialists, the Association of Entertainment and Event Tourism Operators (unites all legally operating gambling zones in Russia) reported. The personnel shortage is 15%; in the next two years, due to the expansion of the industry, it will grow to 25%. Experts attribute this to the development of domestic tourism and the specificity of professions. News 5: IKEA still has assets in Russia. On the balance sheet of Ikea Torg, to which the Federal Tax Service arose the day before, there is a distribution center with a total area of about 180 thousand m² in Yesipovo, near Moscow. There is talk on the real estate market that the IKEA structure does not want to sell the warehouse in Esipovo, but is instead ready to rent it out.

Девятый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate News 1: The Ministry of Economic Development has prepared step-by-step instructions for conducting foreign trade barter transactions. The document describes the mechanism for determining the equal value of exchanged goods and services, standard forms of contracts and governing regulations. News 2: The State Duma has developed bills to reduce the requirements for air taxis. The authors propose to separate transport into a separate category of aviation and partially abolish regulation, leaving safety control. News 3: The volume of transfers from Russia to Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan fell by 12% over the year, to $7.7 billion. Experts explain the dynamics by the fact that some citizens returned to Russia, some found income outside the country, and some faced restrictions on transfers due to sanctions. News 4: The permanent representatives of the European Union agreed on the European Commission's initial measures to use Russia's frozen assets to restore Ukraine. The income received by the European company Euroclear from the Russian frozen assets will be kept in special accounts until EU member states unanimously agree on how to spend it. News 5: Lipetsk Motorinvest, the official distributor of Chinese Dongfeng passenger cars in Russia, has agreed to assemble the first batch of crossover models ix5 and ix7 at the Avtotor plant in Kaliningrad. Assembly will be carried out from vehicle kits “obtained by semi-disassembling finished vehicles.”

Восьмой выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate News 1: Angola is forcing the Russian company Alrosa to leave the Catoca diamond mine (41% owned by Alrosa, 59% owned by the Angolan state-owned company Endiama). The joint project became “toxic” due to sanctions imposed against Russia. The confrontation has been going on for several months: Alrosa wants compensation for the development of the field, Endiama wants the Russian company to leave without any demands. News 2: In 2023, the authorities conducted 350 thousand business inspections (compared to 1.5 million in 2019 and 339 thousand in 2022). Half of them were in the private sector (building control - 23%, social facilities - 20%, state-owned enterprises - 7%). News 3: The share of loans issued for the purchase of used cars in 2023 amounted to 15% of the total volume of their sales in Russia. In total, Russians spent 5.8 trillion rubles on used cars News 4: Azerbaijan will resume the work of the representative office of the state tourism agency in Russia in 2024, said the country's ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbul ogly. It stopped working due to the Covid-19 pandemic. News 5: The Moscow Arbitration Court satisfied the claim against Google from 2GIS, which obliges it to return the application to Google Play. But lawyers doubt that this measure will help restore service in the store. News 6: The version of the bill on self-ban on loans, which deputies prepared for the second reading, proposes to allow Russians to apply for a ban not only through Gosuslugi, but also in banks.

Седьмой выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate News 1: The Chinese developer of tensor processors Sophgo offers Russian equipment manufacturers to arrange supplies of their solutions. Experts doubt the effectiveness of cooperation, since solutions based on x86 and ARM are more popular among domestic vendors, but they admit that Sophgo’s solutions may be of interest, including to AI developers. News 2: Foreign hosting providers have not submitted a single application for inclusion in the Roskomnadzor register to operate in Russia. From February 1, 2024, companies not included in the register will be prohibited from providing hosting services in the country. Experts attribute the reluctance of foreign providers to comply with the requirements with fear of sanctions and strict requirements of the Russian authorities. News 3: Russian state-owned companies must switch to Russian operating systems, office suites and antiviruses by January 1, 2025, and to domestic database management systems by January 2026. The recommendations were prepared by the Ministry of Digital Development. News 4: The demand of Russian business for foreign visas has doubled at the end of 2023, business tourism operators reported. More than half of the requests came from China. News 5: About 47% of industrial enterprises are experiencing a shortage of qualified personnel, a survey showed in January 2024. The level of personnel shortage has reached a record level in the history of surveys since 1996.

Шестой выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate News 1: The American coworking network WeWork has agreed to sell its business in Russia to the investment company O1 Properties. The deal has not yet been closed, but is at a high stage of readiness, said consultants working with the parties. It will include four sites in Moscow with 3,000 jobs and a total area of 18 thousand m². News 2: Sberbank is testing about 50 thousand tablets and laptops of its own brand in its branches. Deliveries of devices were carried out in 2023. Experts believe that Sberbank needs the devices for internal use. According to their estimates, the bank could already cover about 25% of its needs. News 3: In 2023, radio broadcasters managed to replace most of the foreign equipment that was subject to sanctions restrictions. Problems remain only with coaxial cables, which are not produced in Russia, and in China they cost one and a half times more. News 4: For the fifth month in a row, Russian banks have been increasing balances on dollar correspondent accounts with non-resident banks, according to Central Bank data. As of December 1, 2023, they grew to $17.4 billion. International payments are heavily “dollarized” and this will not change soon, experts explain. News 5: The number of transactions for the purchase of real estate by Russians in Bali in 2023 increased 1.5 times year-on-year, to 1,050 objects, according to data from the consulting company Ricci. In terms of money, their volume reached $230 million.

Пятый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate News 1: Microsoft reported an attack on corporate systems by the Russian hacker group Midnight Blizzard (also known as Nobelium). Hackers gained access to a “small percentage” of corporate email accounts, including senior management and employees responsible for cybersecurity and legal functions. News 2: A bill on confiscation of property for “fakes” about the army, public calls for extremist activities, calls against state security, and the imposition of sanctions will be submitted to the State Duma on January 22, 2024. News 3: Prices for secondary real estate in Russia increased by 8% in the fourth quarter of 2023; at the end of the year, the growth was 11.9%. Apartments have become more expensive in most cities with the exception of Moscow. In the capital, housing prices fell by an average of 3% over three months due to a decrease in the average area of ​​properties from 57 to 54 m². News 4: Qiwi will sell its business in Russia to Hong Kong Fusion Factor Fintech for 23.75 billion rubles. Also, after the sale of the Russian business, Qiwi Plc plans to repurchase up to 10% of its depositary receipts traded on Nasdaq and the Moscow Exchange. News 5: Google is laying off thousands of employees and has no plans to stop. In the first 20 days of the new year, Google laid off several thousand employees. This happened due to the large-scale introduction of artificial intelligence into the work of the corporation.

Четвёртый выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate News 1: Turkey has begun to reduce the flow of dual-use goods to Russia amid US pressure, according to the Turkish Institute of Statistics. For example, this applies to electronics, chips, printed circuit boards, communication and navigation equipment, and more. News 2: Kazakhstan's Kaspi raised $1 billion after its IPO on the Nasdaq exchange. The shares are already traded on the London Stock Exchange and two others in Kazakhstan. Kaspi is a bank and marketplace, services are available in one application. News 3: The German Parliament adopted a bill on simplified acquisition of citizenship. It allows you not to renounce other citizenship and apply for German citizenship after five years instead of eight. In the “coming weeks,” the amendments should be signed by the Bundestag with reference to members of parliament. The latter expect the law to come into force in April-May 2024. News 4: The European Commission has confirmed Apple's proposal to allow developers in the EU access to contactless payment via NFC. Apple confirmed that it has “committed” to providing European users with the ability to use third-party services for NFC payments. News 5: The EU has begun discussing a new package of sanctions against Russia, Bloomberg writes, citing sources. Potential measures could include additions to sanctions lists and new trade restrictions.

Третий выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate News 1: AvtoVAZ proposed to the Ministry of Industry and Trade to double localization points for installing Russian auto electronics on cars produced in Russia on Chinese platforms. AvtoVAZ explained that the idea is still being discussed and it is too early to announce details. News 2: The German OBI filed a new claim against the Russian network of the same name for 25 million rubles. Both sides declined to comment; the application itself has not yet been accepted for consideration. There are no details in the case card. The company once again demands to stop using OBI trademarks in Russia. News 3: Turkish banks have begun to more often break correspondent relationships with Russian financial institutions and suspend payment processing without officially terminating contracts. The problems arose a long time ago; they simply worsened in December 2023, after threats of secondary sanctions from the United States. News 4: The Central Bank reported that 557 banks and companies have connected to the domestic analogue of SWIFT, of which 159 are non-residents from 20 countries. Thus, in early January, the head of the Central Bank of Iran announced that Moscow and Tehran had connected their systems for transmitting financial messages and now the banks of the two countries “no longer need Switzerland” to communicate with each other. News 5: There are no “unfriendly” currencies left in the National Welfare Fund, the Ministry of Finance reported. As of January 1, 2024, funds in the National Welfare Fund were placed in yuan, rubles and gold.

Второй выпуск сезона №2. Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate News 1: The Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Transport are discussing the possibility of resuming the experiment on free travel of electric vehicles on toll roads, which was carried out from March to December 2023 as part of the concept for the development of the production and use of electric vehicles in Russia. News 2: In 2023, three foreign bank representative offices were closed in Russia, according to data from the Central Bank. These are branches of the German Aareal, the Cyprus AstroBank and the bank of the Italian financial group Intesa Sanpaolo. Another representative office, on the contrary, has opened - the Kyrgyz Aiyl Bank. News 3: The growth in prices for new buildings in the largest regional markets of Russia in January 2024 slowed down to 1% compared to December 2023. Analysts attribute the decline in dynamics to increased supply due to the uncertainty of the future of preferential mortgage programs, as well as limited holiday demand. News 4: At the end of 2023, Russia increased the volume of exports of goods to Brazil by 27%, to 10 billion rubles, and became one of the top five largest exporters in the country according to the Brazilian Statistical Service. News 5: There is an acute shortage of personnel in the Russian tourism industry, and salaries in the industry are among the lowest, said the head of Cosmos Hotel Group Alexander Biba. However, he said that the departure of foreign players had a positive impact on the market.

Начинаю сезон №2. Теперь в одном выпуске ещё больше новостей! Слушайте и прокачивайте свой английский. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate News 1: The FAS has received complaints about banks that impose restrictions on the issuance of preferential mortgages and commissions for developers. The FAS clarified that they will consider it in their “established order” - but did not say who exactly is complaining about the new practice. Sberbank, VTB and Alfa Bank announced in January 2024 that they would issue mortgages only for housing purchased from their partners. News 2: Higher educational institutions announced an increase in the cost of paid education for the new academic year by 10-12%, the Association of Non-State Universities of Russia reported. News 3: In 2023, Russians most often downloaded VPN services in the Google Play and App Store stores, and the top most popular applications by downloads were headed by Wildberries. The category of VPN services in Russia grew by 3%, to 160 million downloads. The top 20 downloaded apps included Planet VPN and VPN Master. News 4: Russia has terminated the agreement with Ukraine on international road transport from December 17, 2023, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. The agreement dealt with regular and irregular transportation of passengers by buses, including tourists, as well as transportation of goods by motor vehicles. News 5: The flow of tourists from Russia to Cuba broke the pre-pandemic record: in 2023, almost 185 thousand Russians visited the country, which is 7,000 more than in 2019.

News about Reddit, who will start giving money to users for popular posts. For English language learners at B1-B2 level. Новость для изучающих английский язык уровня B1-B2. Reddit начнет выдавать деньги пользователям за популярные посты. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate Интересные слова для запоминания / Interesting words to memorize: discussion - обсуждение coin - монета gesture - жест announce - объявить popular - популярный appreciate - ценить Contributor Program - Программа для участников upvote - голосовать за earn - зарабатывать NEWS: Reddit is a website where people share information and have discussions. Users can give “coins” to other users who write posts they like. In the past, these coins did not have any real value - they were just a nice gesture. Now Reddit has announced that it will start giving real money to users for popular posts. When a user buys “gold” to give to a post they appreciate, part of that money will go to the user who made the post. Reddit is also starting a new program called the Contributor Program. Through this program, users can earn money based on how many “upvotes” their posts get. Upvotes are when other users click a button to show they liked the post. Users can also earn money by giving and receiving gold.

News about Samsung’s shares, which went up. For English language learners at B1-B2 level. Новость для изучающих английский язык уровня B1-B2. Акции Samsung выросли. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate Интересные слова для запоминания / Interesting words to memorize: shares - акции profit - выгода third quarter - третий квартал tough time - трудное время wide market - широкий рынок expect - ожидать NEWS: Samsung Electronics announced that its profit for the third quarter was better than expected, and it dropped by only 78%. This is good news because the memory chip market has been going through a tough time, and now there are early signs that it might get better. Samsung’s shares went up by 3.3%, which is better than the wider market’s 1.4% increase. Some types of chips are starting to go up in price. Samsung estimated that its profit from July to September would be about 1.79 billion dollars, which is much less than last year. But this was better than what most experts expected.

News about fire in Luton Airport, England. For English language learners at B1-B2 level. Новость для изучающих английский язык уровня B1-B2. Пожар в аэропорту Лутона. Интересные слова для запоминания / Interesting words to memorize: flight - полет burned down - сгорел accident - несчастный случай firefighters - пожарные treatment - уход safety - безопасность sprinklers - разбрызгиватели suggest - предлагать install - установить NEWS: All flights at Luton Airport stopped because a big fire burned down a car park on Tuesday night. The fire damaged the car park badly. The fire service thought that it was an accident, which started in a car at around 9 PM. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt, but a few firefighters and an airport worker had to go for treatment because there was a lot of smoke. The airport is most concerned about safety and hopes to get back to work soon. The car park holds about 1,900 cars, and many of them are damaged. There were no sprinklers in the car park, and officials are suggesting installing them soon.

News about Israel, which was attacked by Hamas. For English language learners at B1-B2 level. Новость для изучающих английский язык уровня B1-B2. ХАМАС атакует Израиль. Интересные слова для запоминания / Interesting words to memorize: conflict - конфликт launch - запуск several - несколько declared a war - объявил войну got hurt  - gострадал violence - насилие NEWS: A big conflict started in Israel. On Saturday, Hamas launched a big surprise attack from Gaza. Soldiers fired thousands of rockets and they killed people in several Israeli towns. Israel declared a war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they would win. Many Israelis and Palestinians got hurt, and some Israelis were captured. Islamic Jihad also joined the fight, and people worry that the violence could spread to other places. The Israeli army called reservists to help because the situation is getting worse. Attackers in cars killed more than 260 people at a music festival on Saturday. Some people managed to run away or they pretended to be dead, but many were not lucky.

News about traveling around the world on an airship. For English language learners at B1-B2 level. Новость для изучающих английский язык уровня B1-B2. Кругосветное путешествие на дирижабле. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate Интересные слова для запоминания / Interesting words to memorize: distinguished - выдающийся necessary - необходимый replenish - пополнять solar panels - солнечные панели supply - поставлять hydrogen - водород NEWS: Euro Airship has announced a trip around the world on a new type of airship for 2026. It is called Solar Airship One and is distinguished by the fact that it does not use any fuel or energy reserves to fly. Everything necessary is obtained from solar energy directly during operation, and the only thing the airship needs to be replenished is water reserves. The aircraft has a length of 151 m, its upper part has an area of 4800 sq.m. covered with solar panels. The energy from them is supplied to electric motors for propellers, and is also used to electrolyze water to produce hydrogen. The gas is converted back into energy through the fuel cell to propel the airship at night.

News about first approved lab-grown meat sales in USA. For English language learners at A2-B1 level. Новость для изучающих английский язык уровня A2-B1. США одобрили первые продажи мяса, выращенного в лаборатории. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate Интересные слова для запоминания / Interesting words to memorize: approval - одобрение lab-grown - выращенный в лаборатории meat - мясо environment - окружающая среда multiply - умножать, размножаться restaurant - ресторан store - магазин milestone - веха challenge - испытание amount - количество NEWS: Two companies called Upside Foods and Eat Just got approval from the US government to sell lab-grown chicken. The companies will grow chicken cells in labs and turn them into meat products. This approval is the first time lab-grown meat can be sold in the US. Before, the only lab-grown meat sold was in Singapore. The companies say: growing meat in labs instead of on farms is better for the environment. To make their products, they get cells from chickens and grow them in tanks called bioreactors. The cells multiply and grow into meat that can be eaten. The companies first wanted to sell their lab-grown chicken in restaurants. Upside Foods will sell its chicken at a restaurant in San Francisco by the end of this year. Eat Just will first sell its chicken at a restaurant in Washington DC. After restaurants, the companies want to sell their lab-grown meat in stores. Getting approval in the US is a big milestone for lab-grown meat companies. The companies say: the next challenge is to produce large amounts of lab-grown meat.

News about the world’s oldest skydiver. For English language learners at A2-B1 level. Новость для изучающих английский язык уровня A2-B1. Самый старый парашютист в мире. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate Интересные слова для запоминания / Interesting words to memorize: celebrate - праздновать describe - описывать delightful - восхитительный adventure - приключение despite - несмотря на hot air balloon - воздушный шар brave - храбрый curious - любопытный inspiration - вдохновение fulfill - выполнить NEWS: Dorothy Hoffner from Chicago, the United States, will celebrate her 105th birthday soon. Recently, she jumped from an airplane with a parachute, and she described it as a wonderful and delightful experience. But here comes the thing, Hoffner plans other adventures. Despite her age, she’s already looking forward to her next thrill. She’s considering a ride in a hot air balloon, which is something she never tried before. Hoffner is brave and curious, and she could be an inspiration to all of us. She proves that age is just a number and we are never too old to fulfill our dreams.

News about a 300-year-old tree, which was cut down by mistake in England. For English language learners at A1-A2 level. Новость для изучающих английский язык уровня A1-A2. В Англии по ошибке срубили 300-летнее дерево. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate Интересные слова для запоминания / Interesting words to memorize: famous - известный appear - появляться starred - снялся в главной роли accident - несчастный случай chainsaw - бензопила to plant - посадить decades - десятилетия investigation - расследование NEWS: Police arrested a 16-year-old boy for cutting down a famous 300-year-old tree in Northumberland, England. This tree was famous because it appeared in a Robin Hood movie, which starred Kevin Costner, and it meant a lot to many people. The police believe it was not an accident because someone carefully used a chainsaw to cut it down. This left people very sad and puzzled about why someone would do something like this. People in the area are shocked by the loss of the tree, which was an important part of their community. There is a plan to plant a new tree in the same place, but it will take decades for it to grow. The police are asking for help from the public to provide any information which could help in their investigation.

News about Google, which has decided to close the podcast service. For English language learners at B1-B2 level. Новость для изучающих английский язык уровня B1-B2. Новость о Google, которая приняла решение закрыть сервис подкастов. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate Интересные слова для запоминания / Interesting words to memorize: graveyard - кладбище scrapped projects - отмененные проекты maintaining the service - поддержание сервиса profitable - прибыльный inconvenient - неудобный subscription - подписка carried out - выполненный intend - намереваться migration tool - инструмент миграции ongoing trend - продолжающаяся тенденция NEWS: New additions to Google's digital graveyard! There are currently more than 240 scrapped projects. The company has decided to close the podcast service. Google Podcasts launched in the summer of 2018 and is now in its final months. There is no longer any point in maintaining the service, because Google has a potentially more profitable product - YouTube Music. The one that is inconvenient to listen to without a subscription, so optimization of audio services will be carried out to the benefit of business. But it's not just about the money: Google is also very excited about the popularity of Spotify's podcast business and intends to join the fight so as not to end up broke in the future. To help users transition to YouTube Music, the company will offer an RSS feed migration and migration tool. In fact, there will only be one major market player left that still separates podcasts and music into different apps. Judging by the ongoing trend, Apple Podcasts won't be around for long either.

News about presentation of new glasses by Mark Zuckerberk. For English language learners at B1-B2 level. Новость для изучающих английский язык уровня B1-B2. Новость о презентации новых очков Марком Цукерберком. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate Интересные слова для запоминания / Interesting words to memorize: legendary eyewear brand - легендарный бренд очков live broadcast - прямая трансляция enough - достаточно powerful - мощный assistant - помощник generation - поколение expect - ожидать surpass - превосходить NEWS: A few hours ago, Mark Zuckerberk and his company, together with the legendary eyewear brand Ray-Ban, presented their new glasses that can receive calls, play music and broadcast live from your face. Inside there is 32 GB of memory, which is enough for more than 100 videos and 500 photos, 5 microphones, a powerful 12 MP camera and an AI-based voice assistant. This is the second generation of glasses with more advanced functions. Mark Zeckerberg expects its sales to surpass the first generation, when more than 300,000 of the glasses were sold.

News about brain implant for paralyzed patients. For English language learners at B1-B2 level. Новость для изучающих английский язык уровня B1-B2 . Новость о мозговом импланте для парализованных пациентов. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate Интересные слова для запоминания / Interesting words to memorize: paralyzed - парализованный patients - пациенты participants - участники allow - позволять safety - безопасность obesity - ожирение widely - широко NEWS: Elon Musk’s company Neuralink received approval to start finding people for the first human test of its brain implant for paralyzed patients. The test will last about six years, but the exact number of participants is not clear. During the test, a robot will put an implant in the part of the brain which controls movement. Neuralink plans to allow people to control a computer with their minds only. At first, Neuralink wanted to put the implant in ten patients, but they had to talk with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) worried about the safety. So at the moment, it is not clear how many patients the FDA allows. Elon Musk believes that Neuralink can help with other problems like obesity, autism and depression. Experts say that even if the implant is safe for people, it will take more than ten years to use it widely.

News about how writers are suing ChatGPT. For English language learners at B1-B2 level. Новость для изучающих английский язык уровня B1-B2 . Новость о том как писатели подали иск к ChatGPT. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate Интересные слова для запоминания / Interesting words to memorize: sue - предъявить иск court - суд infringement - нарушение lawsuit - иск artificial intelligence - искусственный интеллект complaint - жалоба permission - разрешение generalise - обобщать NEWS: The author of "A Song of Ice and Flame" has sued the developers of ChatGPT. George R. R. Martin and other writers are going to court over copyright infringement. A growing number of authors are joining a lawsuit against OpenAI for copyright infringement by using their books to train large artificial intelligence language models. According to the complaint, OpenAI "copied plaintiffs' works wholesale, without permission or consideration" and used copyrighted material to train the models. The authors added that using AI to write books could lead to the creation of works "that build on, imitate, generalise or paraphrase their books".

News about global debt, that reached a new record. For English language learners at B1-B2 level. Новость для изучающих английский язык уровня B1-B2 . Новость о мировом долге, который достиг нового рекорда. Поддержите меня, если вам нравится то, что я делаю: https://boosty.to/english117/donate Интересные слова для запоминания / Interesting words to memorize: debt - долг quarter - квартал although - хотя interest rate - процентная ставка lent - в долг, одалживать went up - выросла growth - рост increase - увеличение developed countries - развитые страны emerging markets - развивающиеся рынки pressure - давление government - правительство NEWS: Global debt reached a new record of 307 trillion dollars in the second quarter of 2023. It happened although interest rates were going up and banks lent less money. A report by The Institute of International Finance says that the debt keeps rising. In the first half of 2023, global debt in US dollars went up by 10 trillion. In the past ten years, it went up by 100 trillion. The report said that slower growth and lower price increases caused this increase. Most of the new debt came from developed countries like the US, Japan, Britain, and France. In emerging markets, China, India, and Brazil saw the biggest increases. The Institute of International Finance said that as rates go up and debt levels get higher, it will put more pressure on governments and people.

News about Artificial intelligence, which makes food healthier. For English language learners at B1-B2 level. Новость для изучающих английский язык уровня B1-B2 . Новость о том как искусственный интеллект делает еду более здоровой. Интересные слова для запоминания / Interesting words to memorize: environmentally friendly way - экологически чистый способ Global warming - Глобальное потепление chemicals - химикаты soil - почва, земля expensive - дорогой inefficient - неэффективный approach - подход reduce - уменьшать sprayers - опрыскиватели compare - сравнивать NEWS: Farmers need to deal with weeds in a more environmentally friendly way. Global warming makes weeds grow faster which means that farmers must use more chemicals. The surprising fact is that 95% of these chemicals go into the soil or they end up on plants. Spraying fields is expensive and very inefficient. Startups like Precision AI are introducing a fresh approach with AI-powered drones which reduce chemical use by up to 90%. Traditional farming uses expensive machines like ground sprayers, which cost a lot and farmers use them only a few weeks a year. Precision AI uses AI drones which scan fields, check plant types, and spray only the weeds. This saves about 95% of chemicals compared to old methods.

News about new acceleration world record. For English language learners at A1-A2 level. Новость для изучающих английский язык уровня А1-А2 . Новость об установлении нового мирового рекорда по ускорению. Интересные слова для запоминания / Interesting words to memorize: recently - недавно acceleration - ускорение vehicle - автомобиль, транспортное средство broke - побил design - дизайн optimize - оптимизировать connection - соединение chassi - шасси battery - батарея power - мощность challenge - вызов successful - успешный collaboration - сотрудничество solution - решение NEWS: Students from Zurich and Lucerne, Switzerland, created an electric racing car called Mythen. This car recently broke the world record for electric vehicle acceleration when it accelerated from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in less than a second. During this time, it drove 12.3 meters. Around 30 people worked on this project for nearly a year. They designed and optimized all parts of the car, from electrical connections to the chassis and battery. The car weighs 140 kilograms but has the power of 240 kilowatts of power. The driver Kate Maggetti took on the challenge. Experts said that the project was successful only thanks to the collaboration of students and their hard work to find new and unusual solutions.

News about a woman who won $50,000 in the lottery. Only in English for B1-B2 level. Новость уровня B1-B2 для изучающих английский язык. Новость о том, как женщина выиграла 50000 долларов в лоттерею весьма странным образом. Интересные слова для запоминания / Interesting words to memorize: license plate - номерной знак bill, bills - счёт, счета lucky, unlucky - счастливый, несчастный hassle - хлопоты stalking - преследование Spooky - жуткий nemesis - враг quasi-sentient - квази-разумный hubby - муженёк get stuck - застрять NEWS: A woman from Baltimore, Maryland got a car license plate number she did not like  9-1-1-0-4. She tried to change the number but it was too difficult. So she kept it. Then she started seeing 9-1-1-0-4 everywhere - at work, on other cars, on TV. It seemed like a lucky number. So she used 9-1-1-0-4 to play the Maryland lottery. She bought a lottery ticket with that number. And she won 50000 dollars! The woman and her husband were very happy. They said the money came at the perfect time. They can use it to pay bills and save money. So an unlucky license plate number turned out to be very lucky when the woman used it to win the lottery! Do you want to know what I think about this? This woman hated her license plate number so much she tried to change it, but gave up because of bureaucratic hassle. Then the number started stalking her everywhere - at work, on TV, even other license plates! Spooky. I'd be freaked out if I were her. But instead of moving to a new state, she had the genius idea to play the lottery with her nemesis numbers. And whaddya know, she won 50 grand! I guess having a quasi-sentient license plate number pays off after all. Now she and hubby can pay bills and save money instead of constantly battling the DMV. So remember - next time you get stuck with a terrible license plate number, don't sweat it! Lean into the number's chaotic energy, play the lottery, and wait for your ship to come in. It worked for this lucky woman!

Learning English from the news. Strange golden object. Учим английский по новостям. Новость про странный золотой объект. Интересные слова для запоминания / Interesting words to memorize: Scientist - учёный Egg - яйцо Unknown - неизвестный Sponge - губка Submarine - подводная лодка Soft skin - мягкая кожа During - во время Deep-sea animals - глубоководные животные.

Учим английский по новостям. Неурожай привел к росту стоимости оливкового масла. Learning English from the news. A poor harvest has led to an increase in the cost of olive oil.

Учим английский по новостям. Новость о чудесное спасении после двух месяцев скитаний по морю. Learning English from the news. News of a miraculous rescue after two months at sea.

Robot arm would grab defunct British satellites from space - Робот-манипулятор будет собирать отработавшие Британские спутники в космосе.

British researchers found that when you eat the traditional roast Christmas dinner, 230,000 pieces of microplastics come into your body - Британские исследователи обнаружили, что когда вы едите традиционное рождественское жаркое, в ваше тело попадает 230 000 частиц микропластика.

The tradition of the Christmas stocking likely began with the legend of Saint Nicholas - Традиция рождественских носков, вероятно, началась с легенды о Святом Николае.