Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo promised to swim in the Parisian river before the Olympic Games. On Wednesday, July 17, she proved that the city had cleaned up the river enough for the athletes to compete in the once-dirty water.
Her swim was rescheduled twice because of high bacteria1levels, but, on Wednesday, just nine days before the opening ceremony, the mayor jumped in, wearing a wetsuit and goggles2, and swam rapidly downstream.
Ms. Hidalgo, a socialist politician3 who has made many changes to the city, has been criticized for the high cost of cleaning the river.
Swimming was banned4 in the Seine in 1923. Ms. Hidalgo’s plan is for the river to be used not only for a handful of Olympic events but also, from next year, for public swimming at a few locations.
Next up for the Seine, on Friday, the 26th: the Opening Ceremony for the Olympic Games 2024!
Ask the reader: Do you know where the public pools are in your area? Is public swimming allowed in the rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water where you grew up?
Of course you know about our terrifically useful resource pages, don’t you?
In case you don’t, they comprise a collection of wonderful and fun ESL learning ideas. These links range from interactive pronunciation help to interesting reading comprehension aides to AI-enhanced writing assistance. That’s right – AI as in Artificial Intelligence!
You’ll find them enjoyable, informative, and easy to access and use.
We have carefully curated this collection, and added a few new tools to your toolbox. Among them:
ESL Literacy Readers Well-done, diverse reading texts with audio for all levels.
Punctuation Guide An extremely handy and comprehensive guide to – you guessed it! Enlightening examples of the most-used punctuation marks in the English language.
Happy English Podcast Conjunctions, idioms, and phrasal verbs – oh my! Fun and accessible Listening practice for all levels.
Better at Speaking Podcast Thought-provoking and entertaining; these podcasts are frequently accompanied by video to enrich comprehension and engagement.
The above links have been selected for BOTH teachers and students. We hope you find them helpful.
Where and how to see the sunset align with Manhattan’s street grid
Vocabulary
Alignment – n., to place or arrange in a straight line Solstice – n., either of the two times in the year when the sun is furthest from the celestial equator, occurring in June and December. Celestial – adj., of or having to do with the sky or outer space. Grid – n., parallel horizontal and vertical lines that cross each other to form squares of equal size. Anthropologist – n, someone who studies people and their cultures Presume – v., to take for granted; assume. Radiant – adj., sending out heat or rays of light; shining brightly
Sunset looking down 34th Street. One of two days when the sunset is exactly aligned with the grid of streets in Manhattan.
What will future civilizations think of Manhattan Island when they dig it up and find a carefully laid out network of streets and avenues? Surely the grid would be presumed to have astronomical significance, just as we have found for the pre-historic circle of large vertical rocks known as Stonehenge, in the Salisbury Plain of England. For Stonehenge, the special day is the summer solstice, when the Sun rises in perfect alignment with several of the stones, signaling the change of season.
For Manhattan, a place where evening matters more than morning, that special day comes twice a year, when the setting Sun aligns precisely with the Manhattan street grid, creating a radiant glow of light across Manhattan’s brick and steel canyons, simultaneously illuminating both the north and south sides of every cross street of the borough’s grid. A rare and beautiful sight. These two days happen to correspond with Memorial Day and Baseball’s All Star break. Future anthropologists might conclude that, via the Sun, the people who called themselves Americans worshiped War and Baseball.
For these two days, as the Sun sets on the grid, half the disk sits above and half below the horizon. My personal preference for photographs. But the day after also offers Manhattanhenge moments, but at sunset, you instead will find the entire ball of the Sun on the horizon.
Where to See Manhattanhenge
View the sunset from Manhattan’s main east/west thoroughfares:
14th Street
23rd Street
34th Street
42nd Street
57th Street
Find a spot as far east as possible that still has views of New Jersey across the Hudson River.
The sunset can also be viewed from these locations:
Tudor City Overpass, Manhattan
Hunter’s Point South Park in Long Island City, Queens
Manhattanhenge 2024 Times
Between May 30-July 11, the “Manhattanhenge Effect” occurs, where the Sun appears between the grid of the city as it’s low in the sky and setting.
Full Sun on the Grid
Friday, July 12, at 8:20 pm ET
Full sun on the grid during Manhattanhenge.
Half Sun on the Grid
Saturday, July 13 at 8:21 pm ET
Half sun on the grid during Manhattanhenge.
Manhattanhenge may just be a unique urban phenomenon in the world, if not the universe.
FUN FACT:
While we are on the subject, when viewed from all latitudes north of the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees north latitude), the Sun always rises at an angle up and to the right, and sets at an angle down and to the right. That’s how you can spot a faked sunrise in a movie: it moves up and to the left. Filmmakers are not typically awake in the morning hours to film an actual sunrise, so they film a sunset instead, and then time-reverse it, thinking nobody will notice.
It’s so handy to have a couple 15-minute recipes up your sleeve for speedy midweek dinners. This dish has a spicy kick, with garlicky greens, crunchy golden chickpeas and a fresh zing from the lemon zest.
VOCABULARY –
handy (to come in handy) – to turn out to be useful when needed
a couple – two or more, but not many
to have something up your sleeve – to have an idea or plan that you have not told anyone about
to give it a kick – something that creates excitement – “The dish has a spicy kick.”
a zing – to make something interesting or exciting
lemon zest – the outermost layer of the lemon peel
Ingredients:
2 servings of orecchiette (about 150g / 5.3 ounces)
1 pack of broccolini
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 large cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 red chili finely chopped
1 can of chickpeas drained
1 lemon zested
a pinch of flaky sea salt & black pepper
Instructions:
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta for 8–10 minutes. Drain, reserving a mugful of cooking water.
Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a frying pan set over medium heat; add the garlic and chilli and cook for 2–3 minutes until just golden.
Pour in the chickpeas and cook for 3–5 minutes, stirring every now and again, until fragrant and golden. Keep a careful eye on the garlic as it will taste bitter if it burns.
Add the cooked pasta and broccolini to the frying pan, along with a splash of the cooking water (about 3–4 tablespoons); stir to combine. Season to taste with salt.
To serve, divide the pasta between bowls, then add lemon zest and plenty of black pepper.
researchers – someone who studies a subject, especially in order to discover new information
history – the study of past events, particularly in human affair
human beings – people
expert – a person who has a great deal of knowledge of or skill in a particular area
brain – an organ of soft nervous tissue contained in the skull
evolution – the gradual development of something
Read the Article –
Researchers may have found the time in history when human beings first spoke. An expert in prehistory believes that basic language started 1.6 million years ago. This is eight times earlier than scientists thought. Experts previously believed that spoken human language began 200,000 years ago. Studies show that the first human language developed in eastern or southern Africa. He said the ability to speak helped evolution. The expert said speech was, “without doubt, the key which made much of…human physical and cultural evolution possible”.
The expert wrote about how human speech developed in his new book called, “The Language Puzzle”. He says our brain increased in size over 1.5 million years ago. This changed the structure of our brain. An area developed that produced language. Another important change was the development of tissue that could make sounds, and therefore speech. This allowed humans to move all over the world. It meant humans could think of and plan future actions, and they could pass on knowledge. The expert said language changed the human story enormously.
Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Preheat a thick-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, add the oil, and then add the chicken legs skin-side down. Cook for 3-4 minutes then flip and cook on the other side for 3-4 minutes.
Add Shaoxing wine, water, ginger slices, and a whole scallion. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to the medium-low, and simmer (covered tightly) for 40 minutes.
Boil water in a separate pot. Remove the chicken leg quarters from the soup pot, and let cool for a few minutes. Add salt and white pepper powder to the soup to taste. Cover and keep warm on the stove. Shred the chicken into large strips with a fork.
By now, your water should be boiling. Cook the noodles according to package instructions. In the last 30 seconds to 1 minute of cooking, add the leafy greens, and cook along with the noodles.
Divide the noodles and greens among 2-3 bowls, and ladle the soup broth on top. Top with the shredded chicken and chili oil (if desired). Serve!
record-breaker – someone or something that beats the previous best result in a sport or other activity
scales – An instrument used for weighing
smoothie – a thick, smooth drink made from fruit
Guinness World Records – a reference book published every year that lists world records of human achievements
READ THE ARTICLE –
A farmer in Australia has broken the record for growing the world’s biggest blueberry. The giant berry weighed 20.4 grams. This smashed the previous record of 16.2 grams. The record-breaker was as wide as a ping pong ball. It was 39.31 millimeters (1.57 inches) in diameter. It was 10 times heavier than a regular blueberry. The farmer said he was overjoyed to be verified by Guinness World Records.
He added: “While the fruit is large, there’s absolutely no compromise on quality or flavor.” At first, he was unsure if he had broken the record. He said he had to check the weighing scales to make sure. When asked what he would do with his prize berry, he said he might use it in a smoothie.
SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.
