People often
said that Thierry Boyle was the most boring man in the world. Thierry didn’t
know why people thought he was so boring. Thierry thought he was quite
interesting. After all, he collected stamps. What could be more interesting
than stamps? It was true that he didn’t have any other hobbies or interests,
but that didn’t matter for Thierry. He had his job, after all.
He had a
very interesting job. At least Thierry thought it was interesting. Everybody
else said that his job was boring. But he was an accountant! Why do people
think that accountants are boring? thought Thierry. Thierry thought his job was
fascinating. Everyday, he went to his office, switched on his computer and
spent seven and a half hours looking at spreadsheets, and moving numbers around
on them. What could be more interesting than that?
But Thierry
was unhappy. He was unhappy because people thought he was boring. He didn’t
want to be boring. He wanted people to think that he was a very interesting
person. He tried to talk to people about his stamp collection. But every time
he talked about his stamp collection he saw that people were bored. Because
people were bored when he talked about his stamp collection, he talked about
his job instead. He thought people would be very interested when he talked
about his job, but no. People thought his job was even more boring than his
stamp collection. Sometimes, people even went to sleep when he talked to them.
Thierry
thought about how to make himself more interesting. He decided that he needed to
be famous for something. He thought about his stamp collection, and decided
that perhaps his stamp collection could make him famous. Perhaps he had the
biggest stamp collection in the world, or perhaps he had a very valuable stamp.
Yes, this was it, he decided.
He wrote a
letter to a local newspaper, and asked them if they wanted to come and write an
article about a local man with the biggest stamp collection in the world. The
local newspaper wrote a letter back to Thierry telling him that actually the Queen
of England had the biggest stamp collection in the world.
Thierry was
very sad to learn this, but wrote back to the newspaper telling them that he
thought he had the most valuable stamp in the world. The newspaper wrote back
to him telling him that the most valuable stamp in the world cost 2, 240, 000
dollars, and asking him if he was sure that he had it.
Thierry
wasn’t sure that he had it. In fact, he was sure that he didn’t have it.
Perhaps his whole collection was very valuable though…
“Is it worth
10 million dollars?” asked the man from the newspaper on the telephone when
Thierry called him.
“Erm, no, I don’t think so…”
“Forget it then” said the man from the newspaper.
Thierry
thought about other things to make himself famous. Perhaps he could be the best
accountant in the world! Yes, this was it, he decided. He told a friend that he
was the best accountant in the world.
“How do you know?” asked his friend.
“Well” thought Thierry, “I have a good job, I like it …it’s very interesting …
spreadsheets … numbers … taxes … finance …” He saw his friend going to sleep.
“Hmmm” he thought. “Perhaps I’m not the best or the most interesting accountant
in the world.”
“Listen
Thierry” said his friend when he woke up again. “Perhaps you don’t have the
biggest or the most valuable stamp collection in the world. Perhaps you aren’t
the best or the most interesting accountant in the world. But there is one
thing – Thierry, you are probably the most boring man in the world.”
Yes! Of
course! This was it. Thierry could be famous because he was the most boring man
in the world. Now he saw that his friends were right. He phoned the newspaper
again.
“Hello!” he said. “Would you like to do an interview with the most boring man
in the world?”
“The most boring man in the world…?” said the man from the newspaper. “Now
that’s interesting!”
Next week
there was a big article in the newspaper. “The Most Boring Man in the World!”
There was a picture of Thierry in his office. There was a picture of Thierry
with his stamp collection. There was an interview with Thierry, and interviews
with his friends. His friends said they went to sleep when Thierry talked about
his job or his stamp collection.
The next day
the BBC and CNN called Thierry. They wanted stories about the most boring man
in the world. “The most boring man in the world!” they said. “That’s so
interesting!”
And so,
finally, Thierry Boyle, became the official Most Boring Man in the World. You
won’t find his name in the Guinness Book of Records, because they said that it
was impossible to decide exactly how boring somebody is, but it was no problem
for Thierry. Now he was famous, now he was so boring that he was interesting.
2. An ideal teacher from my
point of view.
3. Youth problems.
4. The role of cinema in our life.
5. Enviromental protection.
6. Internet-addiction (the role of cinema in our life)
7. Different means of travelling.
8. Up-bringing of children.
9. The role of foreign languages in our life ( Give your resons)
10. Mass media.
Going
to bed at 10pm linked to lower heart disease
Everyone knows that
going to bed early is good for our health. Scientists say they have found the
healthiest time to go to bed. Researchers from the U.K. Biobank say a bedtime
of between 10pm and 11pm is best. They say people who sleep between these times
have a lower risk of heart disease. Six years ago, the researchers collected
data on the sleep patterns of 80,000 volunteers. The volunteers had to wear a
special watch for seven days so the researchers could collect data on their
sleeping and waking times. The scientists then monitored the health of the
volunteers. Around 3,000 volunteers developed heart problems. They went to bed earlier or later than the
"healthy" 10pm to 11pm timeframe. One of the authors of the study,
Dr David Plans, commented on his research and the effects of sleeping times on
the health of our heart. He said: "While we cannot conclude
causation from our study, the results suggest that early or late bedtimes may
be more likely to disrupt the body clock, with [negative] consequences for
cardiovascular health." He said it was important for our body to wake up
to the morning light. He said: "The riskiest time [to go to bed] was after
midnight because it may reduce the likelihood of seeing morning light, which
resets the body clock." He added that we risk cardiovascular disease if
our body clock is not reset properly.
1.What are the benefits of doing these things early?
When do you do these things? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often
and share what you wrote.
Benefits
You
Going to
bed
Having
breakfast
Waking up
Finishing
homework
Doing
housework
Planning
things
2.HEART: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with
the word "heart". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk
about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
3.HEALTH: Rank these with your partner. Put the best things for our health at the
top. Change partners often and share your rankings.
·Sleep
·Chocolate
·Laughing
·Good food
·Exercise
·Drinking water
·Chatting with friends
·Living in the countryside
Vocabulary
Paragraph 1
1.
health
a.
An illness
or sickness.
2.
risk
b.
A person's body and mind condition.
3.
disease
c.
Bring or gather together a number of things.
4.
collect
d.
Facts and numbers people use to make reports or understand more about
something.
5.
data
e.
A
situation involving danger.
6.
monitored
f.
Started to exist or happen.
7.
developed
g.
Looked at and checked the progress or quality of something.
Paragraph 2
8.
author
h.
A research book or article on a particular topic.
9.
study
i.
Stop an event, activity, or process by causing a problem.
10.
effect
j.
A writer of a book, article, or document.
11.
conclude
k.
A change which happens because of another action or cause.
12.
disrupt
l.
The chance of something happening.
13.
likelihood
m.
Reach a conclusion or opinion by thinking about something.
14.
properly
n.
Correctly
or satisfactorily.
Before reading /
listening
1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or
false (F).
The article says few people know that
sleeping early is good for us.T / F
The healthiest time to go to bed is between
10pm and 11pm.T / F
Researchers looked at the beds and pillows of
80,000 people.T / F
Around 3,000 who slept at 10:30pm developed
heart disease.T / F
A research said he needed to look into his
own body clock.T / F
The researcher said waking up to morning
light was important. T / F
The researcher said the riskiest time to go
to bed was 7pm.T / F
We can get heart disease if we do not set
our alarm clocks properly.T / F
2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.
health
good
risk
data
developed
authors
consequences
important
reduce
properly
chance
necessary
fell
ill with
beneficial
results
correctly
well-being
lower
writers
information
3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)
going to bed early is good
the
healthiest time
have a
lower
the
researchers could collect
monitored
the health of
the effects of sleeping times on the
disrupt
the body
it may
reduce the
cardiovascular
our
body clock is not
risk of
heart disease
clock
likelihood
the
volunteers
reset
properly
data
to go
to bed
health
of our heart
for our
health
disease
Guess the answers.
1) Everyone
knows that going to bed early is good ______
a. for our healthy
b. for our healthier
c. for our health
d. for our hearth
2) Biobank say a bedtime of between 10pm and ______
a. 11pm be best
b. 11pm is best
c. 11pm are best
d. 11pm at best
3) They say people who sleep between these times have ______
a. a lower risk
b. a lower risky
c. a lower risks
d. a lower risked
4) Six years ago, the researchers ______
a. collect it data
b. collection data
c. collected data
d. collective data
5) They went to bed earlier or later than the "healthy" 10pm
______
a. to 11pm timed frame
b. to 11pm time frames
c. to 11pm timer frame
d. to 11pm timeframe
6) One of
the authors of the study, Dr David Plans, commented ______
a. in his research
b. of his research
c. on his research
d. at his research
7) results suggest that early or late bedtimes may be more likely to ______
clock
a. disrupt the body
b. disrupt a body
c. disrupt their body
d. disrupt this body
8) He said it was important for our body to wake up to ______
a. the morn in light
b. the mourning light
c. the more non light
d. the morning light
9) The riskiest time [to go to bed] was after midnight because it may
______
a. reduce a likelihood
b. reduce the likelihood
c. reduce their likelihood
d. reduce thus likelihood
10) we risk cardiovascular disease if our body clock is ______
a. not reset property
b. not reset proper agree
c. not reset prop ally
d. not reset properly
Comprehension questions
Who does the article say knows that going
to bed early is good for us?
When is the healthiest sleeping time?
How many volunteers were part of the
research?
What did the volunteers have to wear?
How many volunteers developed heart
disease?
Who is
David Plans?
What kind of consequences could a disrupted
body clock have?
What does the researcher say we need to
see?
When is the riskiest time to go to bed?
What needs to be reset so we lower the risk
of cardiovascular disease?
Multiple choice quiz
1) Who does the
article say knows that going to bed early is good for us?
a) everyone
b) doctors
c) sleep therapists
d) volunteers
2) When is the healthiest sleeping time?
a) 8pm
b) lunchtime
c) between 10pm and 11pm
d) after dinner
3) How many volunteers were part of the research?
a) 88,000
b) 80,000
c) 18,000
d) 8,000
4) What did the volunteers have to wear?
a) high-tech pajamas
b) an eye mask
c) ear plugs
d) a special watch
5) How many volunteers developed heart disease?
a) around 3,000
b) exactly 3,000
c) fewer than 3,000
d) over 3,000
6) Who is David
Plans?
a) a bed maker
b) a sleep expert
c) a volunteer
d) an author
7) What kind of consequences could a disrupted body clock have?
a) serious consequences
b) negative consequences
c) mild consequences
d) no consequences
8) What does the researcher say we need to see?
a) the stars in the sky
b) an alarm clock
c) a doctor
d) the morning light
9) When is the riskiest time to go to bed?
a) after dinner
b) after breakfast
c) after midnight
d) after exercise
10) What needs to be reset so
we lower the risk of cardiovascular disease?
a) our opinions
b) our body clock
c) time
d) our alarm clock
Role play
Role A – Sleep
You think sleep is the best thing for our health. Tell the others three
reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others
which is the least useful of these (and why): chocolate, laughter or living
in the countryside.
Role B – Chocolate
You think chocolate is the best thing for our health. Tell the others three
reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others
which is the least useful of these (and why): sleep, laughter or living in
the countryside.
Role C – Laughter
You think laughter is the best thing for our health. Tell the others three reasons
why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which
is the least useful of these (and why): chocolate, sleep or living in the
countryside.
Role D – Living in the
Countryside
You think living in the countryside is the best thing for our health. Tell
the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things.
Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why):
chocolate, laughter or sleep.
Put the words in the right order
is early
good . to Everyone
going knows bed
go time
to healthiest to The
bed .
have a
disease . They risk
lower of heart
a had
to watch . wear
volunteers The special
of monitored
then Scientists health the
the volunteers .
of the
One study . of
the authors
clock .
more to likely body
Be the disrupt
midnight .
riskiest The was sleep
to after time
the It
morning of likelihood
seeing light . reduces
clock body
If properly . our
reset is not
Homework
1. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news
story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson. 2. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on bedtime. Ask him/her three questions about
bedtime. Give him/her three of your ideas. Read your letter to your partner(s)
in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.