§ 1. If you've ever thought that talking to someone was a waste of breath, you might be comforted to know that in some cases you are right  — the words we utter have very little effect on people compared with how we say them and what we are doing when we say them.

§ 2. Recent research has shown that in a presentation before a group of people, 55 per cent of the effect on the audience is determined by the body language of the speaker, 38 per cent by their tone of voice and only 7 per cent by the actual content of what is being said. Body language speaks louder than words.

§ 3. So can performance and communication skills really be improved? It would appear so, according to Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP, which was developed in the 1970s by therapist Richard Bandler and linguistics professor John Grinder. They asked: "What makes the difference between someone who is competent at something and someone who is excellent?" They examined the behaviour of people generally considered to be examples of excellence in their respective fields to identify what they were doing consciously (осо­знан­но) and unconsciously. Surprisingly, they discovered patterns of communication which all these high achievers were using to produce consistently positive results. They found that they were able to copy these strategies and achieve similar success, so they developed a way of teaching these skills to other people, a method they called Neuro-Linguistic Programming.

§ 4. They have discovered how people achieve mutual understanding, both consciously and unconsciously, by observing the body language and voice patterns of the person they are talking to. If you're dealing with someone who is painfully shy, you're not going to make a good connection by overwhelming them with your cheerfulness. By matching someone's behaviour we can gain their confidence, achieve a good relationship and improve the quality of communication  — in other words, we can get on someone's wavelength. NLP practitioners claim anyone can learn how to do this, and quite quickly. NLP is all about taking one's unconscious, not very highly developed skills and practising them consciously.

§ 5. Another powerful aspect of NLP is its use of positive thinking. We can become aware of the negative and turn it to the positive. Once it is framed in a positive way as a goal, the brain can begin to cope with it and then apply itself to achieving that outcome. To put it another way, if you don't know where you're going, it makes it harder to get there.

§ 1. Over the past four hundred years, 450 types of plants and trees around the world have become extinct as a result of the combined effects of global warming, population growth, flooding and the fact that deserts are advancing in some regions at a rate of nearly four miles a year. Scientists estimate a quarter of the world's remaining 270,000 plant species will be under threat of extinction by 2050.

§ 2. In 1997, in an attempt to try to prevent the loss of plants, volunteers all over Britain began collecting seeds (се­ме­на). The seeds collected are now housed in the Millennium Seed Bank, which is expected to become the world's biggest seed bank and, apart from preserving almost all the plant life in Britain, it also aims to have saved the seeds of almost a tenth of the world's flowering plants in the next twenty years. If they are successful, the Millennium Seed Bank Project will be one of the largest international conservation projects ever undertaken.

§ 3. In order to achieve this aim, the Millennium Seed Bank has a team of scientists who travel to distant corners of the world to find and collect seeds. They also help local botanists to set up their own seed banks. They Spend a great deal of time negotiating with governments to allow them to collect the seeds and bring them back to Britain for storage in the Millennium Seed Bank.

§ 4. When these seeds arrive at the seed bank, they are sorted, cleaned and dried and then X-rayed to make sure that they haven't been damaged in any way that might stop them from growing into healthy plants. Finally, they are placed in ordinary glass jars and stored in three underground vaults (хра­ни­ли­ще) at temperatures of −20 °C. Most plant Species have seeds that can be dried, frozen and stored for years and still grow into healthy plants. However, the seeds of Some Species cannot be dried, so they can't be stored in seed banks in the usual way. Roger Smith, head of the Millennium Seed Bank, explains that Scientists at the bank are already working on finding new ways of storing those seeds that cannot survive the drying and freezing process, and also on how to regenerate the seeds when they become extinct in their natural habitats. "At the moment, all we're doing is preserving these plants for the future. We won't have managed to conserve any species until we find the way to successfully regenerate them and grow new plants from them," points out Smith. "But at least this way, when the technology becomes available, and it will, we won't have lost everything."

§ 5. Dr Hugh Pritchard, head of research at the Millennium Seed Bank, says: "While it's true that many of the plants we preserve at the bank aren't useful at the moment, that doesn't mean they won't become useful in the future. Something like thirty per cent of the medicines we use today are based on products or chemicals which have been extracted from plants. So it's easy to see why we need to preserve the diversity of the earth's plant life for the future."

§ 1. Ask a biologist what the most intelligent creatures are on Earth, and they'll probably come up with a fairly similar list: larger mammals such as horses, dogs, dolphins, pigs, the great apes as well as some birds like crows and ravens. But now some scientists believe that one of the most intelligent beings on Earth is in fact the octopus  — which doesn't belong to any of these groups.

§ 2. Every schoolchild knows that octopuses have eight legs and can shoot ink while trying to escape from enemies. But there are many other unusual things about octopuses. For example, if an octopus loses a leg, it can grow a new one. It also has three hearts and complex eyes, which seem to belong to a mammal rather than a Sea creature. Octopuses also seem to be experts at escaping  — they have extremely soft, flexible bodies and can escape through holes not much bigger than their eyes.

§ 3. However, even until quite recently, little was known about octopus intelligence. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, octopuses usually live at the bottom of river mouths and seas - areas which are not attractive to researchers. Secondly, they are not social animals so it can be difficult to study their interaction with others. Perhaps most importantly, octopus intelligence is not easy for humans to understand. Octopuses seem like strangers. Scientists need to have a lot of imagination to be able to understand what an octopus is thinking!

§ 4. In the 1950s, the US Air Force sponsored scientists to study the way octopuses use their brains. They hoped that they could use this knowledge to help them build better computers. However, their brains were so complex that the scientists quickly gave up. And even today the octopus brain is a mystery. Octopuses have a very complex nervous system and recent research suggests that they have some of their intelligence inside each arm, which means that each arm can 'think' for itself. It also appears that they have good memories, perhaps similar to a cat's. Some Octopuses in laboratories seem to play with objects as if they were toys  — a sure sign of intelligence. Others could pick up complicated skills like opening jars.

§ 5. Perhaps the most striking thing about octopuses is their ability to change their colour and body pattern. They do this to camouflage themselves and also to communicate with others. They can completely change their appearance in less than a second. A scientist once observed an octopus that changed its appearance nearly 1,000 times during seven hours of feeding!

1. Stacey

I had lessons in Hindi at a local language school. Unfortunately the only class available at my level was late in the evening. So after a long day at school, and then all the written homework we have to do, I didn't have a lot of energy left for language learning. Also, some of my classmates were much older than me and I didn't really get to know them. But that didn't matter because whenever we did group activities, which I'd never done before, but took to straight away, I made sure I was with the younger ones. I was having lessons every evening and that was costing my parents quite a lot, but we'd booked to go to India later that year so there was no time to lose.

2. Chloe

I really want to learn Polish so I bought a course of language lessons as an MP3 to play on my iPod. That meant I could work on it anywhere I went, particularly at those times when you've got nothing to do, like standing at the bus stop. Once I was concentrating so hard on getting a grammar point right that I completely forgot I was on the bus and I started repeating restaurant phrases aloud. I felt a bit uncomfortable when I noticed everyone looking at me, so I didn't do that again. Actually, one problem with learning on my own was not knowing when I was saying words properly and when I wasn't. Overall, though, it was a useful course and I think it was good value for money.

3. Amy

I used the Internet to improve my Spanish. It cost nothing, of course, and although at first I didn't know quite where to look, in the end I came across some great websites where I could practise reading and listening and do grammar exercises. At the same time, I was joining social networking sites and getting in touch with Spanish-speaking teenagers from various parts of the world. I also tried online chat in Spanish, but I couldn't keep up with people. All the time I was thinking about my grammar and it was taking me so long to reply to each sentence after I'd read it that I didn't think it was fair on them, so I gave up. I'll try again sometime, though.

4. Laura

I was living with an English-speaking family and the idea was that I'd pick up a lot of language by being there with them, but it just wasn't happening. Everyone watched television all the time and rarely spoke to me. After a week I left and moved in with a couple who had young children, and that was better. They were all very friendly and I could chat with them anytime, really. When I got things wrong they would often correct me and I think that helped me improve my speaking a lot. I would also have liked to be nearer the city centre, because the house was so far out of town that I couldn't get to the kinds of places where other teenagers went in the evenings.

One of the most difficult but rewarding pastimes is mountain climbing. The modern climber must (1) ... many different skills. Rock climbing (2) ... a combination of gymnastic ability, imagination and observation, but perhaps the most necessary skill is being able to (3) ... out how much weight a particular rock will support. Mountaineers climb in groups of three or four, each climber at a distance of approximately six meters from the next. Usually one person climbs while the other climbers (4) ... hold of the rope. There is no (5) ... that the most experienced climber goes first. He shows the other climbers which (6) ... to go, making the rope secure so that it is (7) ... for the others to follow. With much mountain climbing, snow skills (8) ... a very important part. The number of dangers (9) ... by climbers is almost endless. And the (10) ... of oxygen at high altitudes makes life even more difficult fot mountaineers.

It is said that technological development has given people more leisure time than they used to have, and that this frees them up to concentrate (1) ... their interests and hobbies. It seems to me however, that most people spend their free time doing things that do not contribute (2) ... their development. To start with, the most popular free-time activities seem to be ones that people do alone. For instance, most people spend much time (3) ... the internet and, even when they are interacting (4) ... others, t hey are only doing so electronically. In addition (5) ... this, when people go out it is often to visit the shopping centre. At (6) ... same time, there are examples of people making good use of their time. At weekends, there are parks, forests and beaches full of people doing sports or taking walks together. Some people do (7) ... volunteer work for charity organisations. Other people join theatre or singing groups and there are many people who enjoy reading Sadly, however, this reflects (8) ... relatively small part of the overall population.

Dear Catherine,

Thanks for your letter. It was great to hear from you. I hope your exams are over now and you're happy with the results. I've just had an awful weekend. We (1) ... to go camping, but in the end all our plans fell down because of our car. Everything was fine on Saturday morning when we set out, and we had no problems for the first half of our journey. Unfortunately, just before lunch, the car (2) ... down. My Dad tried several times to call for help, but the number (3) ... . In the end he gave up and we ate the picnic my Mum (4) ... that morning. After lunch my Dad decided to go and get help with my brother, so I stayed behind with my mother. We soon fell asleep in the car. When we woke up it (5) ... late and my Dad and my brother had still not come back. We started to get very worried about them. Just then they turned up in a van, which (6) ... our car to a garage. We went home in a taxi which had been following the van. I hope you had a better weekend than me. Please write soon and tell me what you (7) ... .

Best wishes,

Millie

Even though sign language has been used for thousands of years in one form or (1) ... , not much is known about its history. Some people believe that sign languages are not real languages, however, linguists (2) ... have studied them say that they are. The only difference is that instead of using speech or writing to express meaning, signers use their hands. As a (3) ... of fact, anything that can be expressed through spoken language can be expressed through sign language just as well. There is no (4) ... that learning sign language takes time and practice.

Many years ago, archaeology was about making discoveries and finding buried treasure. Now it has become a more scientific subject. Archaeologists are becoming (1) ... interested in finding out more about the lives of ordinary people rather than the dramatic lives of kings and emperors. 99% of archaeology is concerned with reading, excavating, recording, and classifying, and it is neither thrilling nor dangerous. However, the real (2) ... of archaeology comes through an (3) ... stream of new discoveries. Even the smallest piece of pottery, however (4) ... it may appear at first glance, can change our whole understanding of things that happened in the past.

The city authorities in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, have an unusual traffic problem to (1) ... with  — slow-moving elephants. The city already has a major problem with traffic (2) ... and the elephants are making things considerably worse. But the fast pace of life in the city is not very good for the elephants either. Many are suffering from breathing problems (3) ... by pollution. Others have sustained broken legs from falling into the ditches (канал) that typically (4) ... along the side of many Thai roads. Moreover, it is estimated that an average of twenty road traffic accidents a month (5) ... elephants. This is clearly a (6) ... of much concern not only for the city traffic authorities but also for anyone (7) ... to preserve wildlife. In (8) ... to the problem the government has organised a special team to help the police round up elephants in the city and send them back to the countryside to work, usually in the tourist (9) ... . But this campaign has met with strong resistance from elephant handlers in Bangkok who (10) ... a great deal of money selling fruit to visitors who want to feed the elephants.

June and Malcolm Harding spent their life savings on their first home, and thought they were set for life. But just over a year later, June handed the keys back to the estate agent. Since then they’ve also sold most of their furniture. (1)____

What started as a way to stop Kelly being bored in the summer holiday has become the focus of all their lives. She won her first competition after only 10 weeks of skating lessons. Soon after, Kelly’s coach left Britain for Canada and her parting words changed the Harding’s lives for ever. “Find the money to keep Kelly on the ice,” she urged. “She’ll go all the way to the top.” From then on, there was no question  — whatever it cost to make Kelly a winner, they’d find a way.

(2)____“I started skating when I was 10,”  — June said. “I saved all the money I could for lessons by doing errands for neighbours. But Mum and Dad were poor and when Mum saved to buy me boots, Dad said that it was a mere waste. I never skated again. I wasn’t going to let that happen to Kelly.” They had to take Kelly out of school so she could practise more. As she was still only fourteen, they had to guarantee the local authorities she’d continue her studies until she was seventeen. (3)____

“I worked out we only got £ 500 for £ 5,000 worth of furniture  — but at least it paid for some more lessons,” said June. “The only things we kept were the TV and video because we can never afford to go out. Luckily, our new accommodation is furnished. We took our car off the road because we can’t afford to run it. We haven’t had a phone for four months, or a holiday in six years.” (4)____

Despite being permanently poor, June and Malcolm have no doubt they’re doing the right thing. “Just seeing Kelly on the ice, smiling and happy, makes it all worthwhile,” her father said. .“Even if she doesn’t make it she’ll have had the opportunity thousands of girls haven’t.”

Kelly, now seventeen, was placed 13th in last year’s junior championship and has won nearly thirty competitions so far. “I know I’m very lucky,” she admits. (5)____Her coach, a former British champion, is convinced she’ll go far. “I think she’ll make the Olympic squad,” she said. “Kelly is an exceptional girl  — gifted and very hardworking.”

(6)____It’s unlikely that her mum will ever see her win, though, because she gets too nervous to watch. “People think we’re mad giving up everything,” continues June, “but we believe in our daughter... I’d do it all over again tomorrow.”