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Lessons from Nov 2013 - Feb 2014

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"Easier" = Level 0, 1, 2 and 3   (CEFR A2 - B1).
"Harder" = Levels 4, 5 and 6   (CEFR B1 - C2).

Couple finds $10 million of coins in garden
28th February - "Easier"
A couple in California got a huge surprise last year while they were walking in their garden. They found over 1,000 gold coins...
Robots smarter than humans by 2029
26th February - "Easier"
A scientist said robots will be more intelligent than humans by 2029. The scientist's name is Ray Kurzweil. He works for Google as Director of Engineering.
Mount Everest security guards to stop fights
24th February - "Harder"
Tempers can get hot even in the freezing conditions on Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain. So hot, in fact, that fights break out among climbers.
Wikipedia may become million-page book
22nd February - "Easier"
A publishing company plans to print all of the articles from the Wikipedia website. PediaPress hopes to print the entire contents of Wikipedia in 1,000 books, each containing 1,200 pages.
Google investing $1billion in renewable energy
20th February - "Harder"
Tech giant Google is investing $1billion in renewable energies to make its operations totally green. The company hopes to exploit solar energy, wind farms and other forms of alternative energy. ...
U.N. 'very sorry' as Syria talks end in failure
18th February - "Easier"
The man in charge of the Syrian peace talks has apologised to the Syrian people. Lakhdar Brahimi is the United Nations peace envoy to Syria. His job was to help the two sides...
Belgium to allow euthanasia for children
16th February - "Harder"
Lawmakers in Belgium have passed a bill that will allow euthanasia for terminally ill children. The bill was passed with 86 votes for the motion, 44 against, and 12 abstentions.
UK to ban smoking in cars with kids
14th February - "Easier"
Britain will soon ban smoking in cars with children. Britain's government wants to reduce the harm cigarette smoke does to children.
No free wi-fi biggest tourist complaint
12th February - "Harder"
A new survey from the Thistle Hotels group reveals that the lack of free wi-fi in hotels is one of the biggest complaints among holidaymakers. ...
Hot drinks biggest cause of kids' burns
10th February - "Easier"
Hot cups and mugs are the biggest causes of burns in children. This is according to research from Cardiff University in Wales...
New York more fashionable than Paris
8th February - "Harder"
New York is officially the world's most fashionable city after taking top spot in the 2014 Top Global Fashion Capital contest.
Future rats could be the size of sheep
6th February - "Easier"
Rats that are the size of sheep might be a good horror movie story. However, scientists say that in the future, there could really be giant rats on the Earth.
Australia to dump sludge in Great Barrier Reef
4th February - "Harder"
Australia's government has approved a plan to dump massive amounts of sludge in the Great Barrier Reef. The mud will....
250 million children cannot read or write
2nd February - "Easier"
A new report from the United Nations says more than 250 million children of primary school age cannot read or write.
Mass graves found in Balochistan
31st January - "Harder"
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) says it has found 169 bodies in mass graves in the Pakistani province of Balochistan.
Online dining latest craze in South Korea
29th January - "Easier"
There is a new craze in South Korea that is very popular. It is watching other people eat online.
USA Olympics uniforms 'security risk' in Sochi
27th January - "Harder"
American athletes attending the Sochi Winter Olympics have been told that their Team USA uniforms pose a potential security risk if...
Almost no poor countries by 2035
25th January - "Easier"
The man who started Microsoft, Bill Gates, has predicted that by 2035, there will be almost no poor countries in the world. Today, the World Bank says there are 35 poor countries.
Night work could damage your health
23rd January - "Harder"
A new study suggests working shifts at night can be damaging to one's health. In particular, it increases the risk of several cancers....
Smog makes Beijing put sunrise on giant TV
21st January - "Easier"
People in Beijing cannot see the sun. The air is full of smog (a mixture of smoke and fog). The smog is so thick that it blocks the sun all day.
IBM to invest $1.2 billion in cloud services
19th January - "Harder"
IBM plans to invest $1.2 billion to expand its cloud services and the next generation of cloud storage and other services. ...
British Museum has most successful year
17th January - "Easier"
The British Museum in London had its most successful year ever in 2013. More than 6.7 million visitors passed through its doors.
Armed police to wear body cameras in London
15th January - "Harder"
Armed police in London will soon be wearing body cameras when they respond to incidents. This is to ensure greater transparency and ....
Alternative medicine popular in Bahrain
13th January - "Easier"
Alternative medicine is becoming more popular in Bahrain. More and more people are trying things like hypnotherapy and Reiki.
Record number of Rolls-Royces sold in 2013
11th January - "Harder"
The luxury automobile maker Rolls-Royce has reported record sales for 2013. The company said it's the fourth consecutive annual sales record.
Job hunter puts CV on billboard
9th January - "Easier"
A French man who had no job tried a new way to get a job. He put his CV on a giant billboard. The billboard was next to a very busy road.
Mental health nurses staff UK police stations
7th January - "Harder"
The UK government has announced a pilot scheme to help mentally ill people who have been arrested by the police.
Nearly 1 billion obese in developing world
5th January - "Easier"
There are now almost one billion obese adults in the developing world. This figure was around 250 million in 1980.
Candy Crush Saga most downloaded app
3rd January - "Harder"
Candy Crush Saga was the most downloaded app of 2013, both in Apple's App Store and Google's Play store.
2014 to be the best year ever
1st January - "Easier"
The Internet says the year 2014 will be the best year ever for most of us. This year will be the year when we all start making progress with our plans.
U.N. makes first ever cut in staff
30th December - "Harder"
The United Nations is cutting staff for the first time in its history. The U.N. General Assembly approved a staff cut for the first time since the international body was created in 1945....
An apple a day keeps the doctor away
28th December - "Easier"
New research says eating an apple every day can protect your body from a heart attack. The research is from Oxford University in England.
Couple get married in Shrek costumes
26th December - "Harder"
Once upon a time, a woman dreamed of getting married in a fairy tale wedding. For one British woman, her dream came true.
Studying with news in English class is useful
24th December - "Easier"
New research from the BreakingNewsEnglish.com website suggests that news is good for students. A researcher asked many teachers...
Cubans can now buy a car more easily
22nd December - "Harder"
Cuba's government is making it easier for Cubans to buy foreign made, new and used cars. It has decided to open up the retail sale of new and used motorcycles, cars, vans and minibuses....
Christmas becoming less religious in U.S.
20th December - "Easier"
A new report says Christmas in the USA is becoming less religious. Nine out of ten Americans celebrate Christmas, but only about half ...
Jade Rabbit sends photos from the Moon
18th December - "Harder"
China's scientific expedition to the Moon has sent back its first photos of the lunar surface. A robot called the Jade Rabbit is the first ...
Beyonce releases a secret album
16th December - "Easier"
American pop singer Beyonce surprised her fans on Friday. She released her fifth album without telling anyone.
No Lesson
Coldest temperature on Earth recorded
12th December - "Easier"
Scientists recently found the coldest place on Earth. Satellites measured a temperature of minus 93.2 degrees Celsius in part of Antarctica.
UK leader tells schools - Mandarin, not French
10th December - "Harder"
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron is considering a big change in the languages taught in UK schools. On a visit to China, he told journalists that British schools should teach Mandarin ....
World mourns Nelson Mandela
8th December - "Easier"
South Africans and people from all over the world are mourning the death of Nelson Mandela. In South Africa, thousands of people gathered to say goodbye...
Bicycles outsell cars in most EU countries
6th December - "Easier"
The BBC reports that in 2102, more bicycles were sold than cars in 26 out of 28 countries in the European Union. There appear to be several reasons behind this growing trend.
Amazon.com testing drone delivery service
4th December - "Easier"
The online store Amazon is testing a new method of delivering packages to customers. It wants to start using drones to get packages to customers, in just 30 minutes.
More hospital staff being attacked in UK
2nd December - "Harder"
The number of physical attacks against hospital staff is rising in the U.K. New figures from Britain's National Health Service (NHS) show a six per cent rise in violent assaults ...
Moscow removes giant Louis Vuitton suitcase
30th November - "Easier"
Russia's government will remove a large building in the centre of Moscow. The building looked exactly like a brown Louis Vuitton suitcase. It was two storeys high and 30 metres long.
Central African Republic in chaos, says UN
28th November - "Harder"
The United Nations has warned that the Central African Republic needs desperate help. The UN said it was descending into complete chaos...
Xbox One has technical problems on day one
26th November - "Easier"
Microsoft's new games console, the Xbox One, has been hit with technical problems on its first day of sale. The company said it sold more than one million consoles within 24 hours of its release.
London 'slaves' rescued after 30 years
24th November - "Harder"
Three women have been rescued from a house in south London after being held in captivity for 30 years. Police raided the home of a 67-year-old man and woman who reportedly ...
Kids run more slowly than 30 years ago
22nd November - "Easier"
A new report from the American Heart Association says fitness levels in children are lower than 30 years ago.
Campaign to ban car hands-free phones
20th November - "Harder"
A major road-safety campaign is under way in Britain to get hands-free mobile phones banned. The charity Brake is also calling for motorists to switch off their phones while driving....
USA destroys 6,000kg of ivory
18th November - "Easier"
Elephants are in danger. Hunters kill them for their tusks. The hunters sell the tusks because they are made from ivory. The USA is working to stop this trade.
Aid too slow in reaching Philippine needy
16th November - "Harder"
The United Nations humanitarian chief Valerie Amos has said aid is not reaching survivors of Typhoon Haiyan quickly enough and described the situation as "dismal"....
"Invisible" helmet for cyclists invented
14th November - "Easier"
Two Swedish design students have invented a totally new kind of bicycle helmet. People are saying it's invisible because you cannot see it on a cyclist's head.
Being bilingual may delay dementia
12th November - "Harder"
A new study shows that being bilingual may delay dementia by five or more years. This is according to researchers from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland....
Better tables for beautiful people in Paris restaurants
10th November - "Easier"
Two trendy restaurants in Paris give good-looking people better tables than not-so-good-looking people.
No Lesson
Only 10% of UK engineers are women
6th November - "Easier"
Less than ten per cent of Britain's engineers are women. This is the lowest figure of all European countries.
No Lesson
Putin world's most powerful person
2nd November - "Harder"
The American business magazine "Forbes" has announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin is the most powerful person in the world. ...


See the links below for more.

Lessons were produced every day between Nov 2004 and Dec 2005.
Lessons were produced at "easier" and "harder" levels between Apr 2005 and Aug 2006.
Podcasts started in Apr 2005.

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