The world's strangest hotel requests and complaints

Do you remember when we talked about complaining about the lack of free wi-fi?

Read HERE about the world's weirdest hotel requests and complaints.

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

An international travel site (1) ____ a survey on hotel complaints around the world and found some unusual things. The travel website Skyscanner.net (2) ____ 400 international hotel staff in 39 different countries. It asked them about the strangest things guests had asked for or complained (3) ____. The site said that most of the unusual complaints were about food. Other weird requests were related to the room. Not every hotel room or the services on offer are to everybody's (4) ____, but the complaints in the Skyscanner survey were so strange it makes you (5) ____ how the hotel staff responded. It would be impossible for any hotel in the world to make some of the (6) ____ guests happy.

The food-related complaints were very (7) ____. One guest asked for 16 cucumbers a day, while another requested only the right legs of a chicken. The staff had no (8) ____ why just the right leg, or whether the left leg of a chicken didn't taste as nice as the right leg. One guest asked for something not (9) ____ found on the room service menu – crocodile soup. Other complaints were crazy enough to make staff wonder about the mental (10) ____ of the guests. A man at a luxury hotel in London complained that his room did not have a sea (11) ____. The nearest beach to London is about 75 km away. Other guests wanted the toilet filled with mineral water, a bath full of honey and a (12) ____ because his girlfriend snored.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	contracted	(b)	conducted	(c)	condemned	(d)	conned
2.	(a)	survey	(b)	surveyed	(c)	surveying	(d)	surveys
3.	(a)	of	(b)	on	(c)	from	(d)	about
4.	(a)	love	(b)	taste	(c)	want	(d)	liked
5.	(a)	wander	(b)	winder	(c)	widen	(d)	wonder
6.	(a)	complainant	(b)	complained	(c)	complaining	(d)	complaints
7.	(a)	weird	(b)	wired	(c)	weir	(d)	wire
8.	(a)	reason	(b)	thought	(c)	idea	(d)	rationale
9.	(a)	occasionally	(b)	regularity	(c)	usual	(d)	normally
10.	(a)	age	(b)	old	(c)	years	(d)	date
11.	(a)	view	(b)	scene	(c)	see	(d)	scenery
12.	(a)	discount	(b)	tip	(c)	bonus	(d)	deposit

Read more:http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1405/140515-hotel-complaints.html#ixzz32BUpbpLd

Funky phrasals to talk about Health

Check this out!

1. Click on this link from BBC Learning English to find some Phrasal Verbs to talk about HEALTH.
You'll find a conversation to listen to and read, and examples to put these phrasal verbs into practice.
Finally, you'll find a quiz.

2. Also from the BBC, an episode from The Flatmates.

3. Sport and Health Phrasal Verbs

4. Huge list of Health Phrasal Verbs with example sentences.

Carbon footprint

Some of you didn't know what the CARBON FOOTPRINT is.

Here you have the Wikipedia definition.

Now go to myfootprint.org to find out how big is your ecological footprint. (I wasn't happy with my results :( )

36% in UK will never buy own home

Read the report findings at:
1. www.shropshirestar.com
2. www.lloydsbankinggroup.com

Key words and phrases:
house prices / third / a new report / an achievable goal / property ladder / aspiration / statistics / concern / bleaker / capital / social problems / homeowners / standstill

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

House prices in the U.K. are now so high that a (1) ____ of British people believe they will never buy their own home. This is according (2) ____ a new report published by the Halifax Bank. Home ownership was once an achievable goal for generations of Britons. However, rising prices now mean the (3) ____ of getting on the property (4) ____ are on the decline. The report says that one in five twentysomethings has no desire to own their own home. Craig McKinlay, mortgages director at Halifax, said: "We may be (5) ____ towards the point where the aspiration to own a nice home will be replaced by the aspiration to simply live in one." He added: "It seems that people are now beginning to accept a (6) ____ of renting."

Britain's Office for National Statistics earlier this week stated that house prices have risen by 10.5% in the past year. It (7) ____ concern at what it describes as "runaway train" house prices. The average U.K. house was valued at $425,000 in 2013. Things get (8) ____ for house hunters (9) ____ to buy in London. Prices in the capital have risen by 18 per cent in a year to an average of $610,000. The Halifax report writes about possible long-term social problems (10) ____ from, "the division between homeowners and non-homeowners". The report warned that if there are (11) ____ first-time buyers, "the market will come to a (12) ____ ". If this happens, prices will have to come down.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	thrice	(b)	thirdly	(c)	third	(d)	third-time
2.	(a)	to	(b)	by	(c)	of	(d)	on
3.	(a)	prospects	(b)	prospective	(c)	prospectus	(d)	prospector
4.	(a)	ladder	(b)	steps	(c)	stairs	(d)	staircase
5.	(a)	backing	(b)	heading	(c)	stomaching	(d)	arming
6.	(a)	living	(b)	lifer	(c)	livelihood	(d)	lifetime
7.	(a)	ushered	(b)	sequestered	(c)	expressed	(d)	fast-tracked
8.	(a)	beaker	(b)	breaker	(c)	blacken	(d)	bleaker
9.	(a)	wishing	(b)	wished	(c)	wishes	(d)	well wishers
10.	(a)	arising	(b)	arousal	(c)	arisen	(d)	arousing
11.	(a)	lesser	(b)	fewer	(c)	smaller	(d)	dearth
12.	(a)	stood	(b)	standing	(c)	standstill	(d)	standard

Read more and find the key at: http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1404/140423-home-ownership.html#ixzz31V2Bt2Jd

The Story of Bottled Water

• Where do you get your drinking water from?
• Do you drink tap water or bottled water?
• Is tap water safe?
• Is bottled water better for you than tap water?
• Do you think that there is an environmental impact to bottled water use?

Now watch a very insightful video I told you about. I remembered it when we did that listening exercise about facts and myths about our health...

The following video presentation is made by Annie Leonard, who fights for the environment and leads the movement to change the way we make, use, and throw away Stuff.

For over 15 years she’s been investigating where our Stuff comes from and where it goes when we toss it—along with the environmental and social impacts of that production, consumption, and disposal.
What she found inspired her to create The Story of Stuff Project, which works to give people around the world knowledge to fight for a more sustainable future.

1. According to the speaker, what is a manufactured demand?

2. How does the speaker dispute the statement  ”Bottled water is the most environmentally responsible consumer product in the world.” What’s your opinion about it?

3. What solutions does she put forward?

4. Are there any facts that you feel are misleading and you’d like to argue with?

Read some related news from last year: Concord, Massachussets bans sale of small water bottles

Conversation questions

Interesting link!

To prepare your speaking exam, here you have CONVERSATION QUESTIONS on ANY topic under the sun! Ideal for practicing at home, you could choose a topic and a couple of questions and prepare short presentations.

TIP: Record yourself with your mobile and listen to yourself afterwards.