CLAPSTONE LEARNING

6 Minutes learning English  Why are we so fascinated with the superheroes that populate our cinema screens and comic books? Alice and Neil discuss their history – from ancient heroes like Thor and Hercules to modern-day Spiderman and Wolverine – and why women are getting short-changed.   This week's question   What is the name of the new character that replaces Tony Stark as Iron Man? Is it… a) Miles Morales? b) Riri Williams? c) Jane Foster?  You'll hear the answer at the end of the programme. Vocabulary closer to home relevant to their own lives shape shifter somebody who can change shape and become anything they want contaminated poisoned hard and fast clear blur make something unclear imbued filled bicker argue about something unimportant diverse varied manga Japanese comic books for adults and children  autonomous having the freedom to make your own decisions  Transcript  Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript. Neil Hello

6 Minutes Learning English  What is loneliness and why do we feel it? Sophie and Neil discuss how feeling lonely can help us to survive. This week's question Which country has the highest proportion of people living on their own? Is it … a) the US? b) Japan? c) Sweden? You'll hear the answer at the end of the programme. Vocabulary down in the dumps unhappy loneliness an unpleasant feeling that tells us that we're lacking contact with others, which motivates us to seek out companionship isolated lacking contact with others cooperation working together to get something done tolerate put up with intriguing very interesting back up support contagious get something (e.g. a cold, or a lonely feeling) from someone else who has it single occupancy a room or apartment for one person Transcript Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript Sophie Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Sophie… Neil And I'm Neil. Sophie How was yo

6 minutes learning English  How do you see yourself and how do others see you? Alice and Neil discuss identity and how appearances can be deceptive. This week's question What percentage of the UK population described themselves as ethnically mixed? Is it… a) 0.9%? b) 5.9%? c) 9%? You'll find the answer at the end of the programme. Vocabulary Caucasian white skinned and European identity who or what a person is ethnic racial   English rose an attractive girl with a pale delicate complexion  complexion skin colour, especially of the face   melting pot a society made of people from different countries who live together and create a new shared culture   adopted (describes) a child raised by people who aren't his or her biological parents  integrate become part of a group of people, often changing your habits and customs in order to fit in well   formative important for the development of something  reserve hiding what you're thinking or feel

6 Minutes Learning English  Introduction Storing information is an important function of our brains and scientists are always looking at ways to improve it but also to stop it deteriorating. Neil and Rob discuss ways of improving your memory and teach you new vocabulary - that they hope you'll remember later! This week's question There are many ways we can improve our memory but one way is through the type of food we eat. According to the BBC Food website, which type of food support good memory function? Is it… a) eggs b) spinach c) bananas Listen to the programme to find out the answer. Vocabulary memories things we remember from the past   kinaesthetic learning by 'doing' and practicing something over and over again   contextual seeing something in the situation where it usually exists   encoding changing information into a form that can be stored and later recalled   intuitive sense doing something based on feelings rather than facts