Practice makes perfectMichael Phelps has the body of a swimmer. He also has the will to win. At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Michael won six gold medals and two bronze. But being an Olympic champion doesn’t come easy.

Michael usually gets up at 6:00 a.m. goes to the pool. He trains five hours a day, and he swims eighty kilometers a week. Normally swimmers take a long time to recover and get back their strength from once race to the next. But Michael can recover and swim again in just twenty minutes.

Michael loves cars (he has a Cadillac with all kinds of accessories) and rap music. He usually listens to music on the pool deck before each race.

Basketball is a sporting passion in the northwestern town of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. But Ana was too young to play for her stare’s basketball team, so she started training in track, and field by chance in 1996. Today Ana Guevara is one of the world’s most respected runners, and an inspiration to thousands of young people in Mexico.

Ana represented her country in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and won a gold medal in the Pan-American games in Santo Domingo in 2003. In 2003, she also won the World Track Championship in Paris, France, making her the world champion in the 400 meters. In the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, the whole of Mexico stopped for one minute to watch Ana run the 400-meter race, where she won the silver medal.

Ana trains very hard, but she also likes enjoying life with her family and friends. One of her favorite pastimes is to sing accompanied by her father on the guitar.

About the Reading1. What time does Michael Phelps usually get up? 6:00 a.m.2. How long does he normally train? 5 hours3. What does he usually do before a race? Listens to music4. What was Ana Guevara’s first sport? basketball5. What race does Ana usually run? 400 meters6. What does she like to do in her free time? sing

Speaking1. How much free time do you have?2. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?3. What do you hate doing

Focus on the world

The Human PumpYour heart is about the size of your closed hand, and weighs only about 280 grams. But is very strong. It is the engine of the human body. The heart beats over 100 thousand times a day. It never stops pumping blood through your body.

The heart brings fresh blood to the rest of the body. The blood contains the food and oxygen that the body needs. The heart also recycles blood and cleans it of waste before it sends it on its journey through the body.

You have about 4.7 liters of blood in your body. Your heart pumps about 7,600 liters of blood a day, every day, all your life. The blood travels through tubes called vessels. There are about 96,000 blood vessels in the human body.

In order to have a healthy heart, observe the following points:Smoking: Don’t smoke. Smokers have twice the risk of heart disease.Overweight: Eat healthy food. Overweight people have an increased risk of heart disease.Stress: People with stressful jobs have a higher risk of heart disease. High blood pressure: People with high blood pressure have ore heart attacks.Fitness: Physical activities and exercise reduce the risk of heart disease.

Comprehension:A. Answer the questions.1. How big is the human heart? 280 grams2. What does the writer compare the human heart to? A hand3. How often does the heart beat per day? 100 thousand beats.4. How much blood is there in the body? 4.1 liters5. How many blood vessels are there in the body? 96.0006. How much blood does the heart pump per day? 1.600 liters

B. Complete the sentences based on the reading.1. Smoking is bad for you because.2. People who are overweight3. Physical activities and exercise.

ShopaholicsWe all like treat ourselves occasionally and buy a new pair of shoes, a shirt, or some new CDs. But shopping can become an addiction. Studies show that 17 million Americans can’t control their craze for shopping. That is about one in every twenty Americans! Cindy Marshall is one of those people.

Cindy stole $3.7 million from the company where she worked. She used the money to pay for the shopping adventures. The following is a list of thing she bought. Most of them she never opened, and they remained in their original packaging or were in storage units: 32 cars, 1,200 items of designer clothing (all unused), four Rolex watches, and 600 Barbie dolls.

Cindy suffers from a medical condition called compulsive shopping disorder. She cannot resist the temptation to buy something, even if she doesn’t need it. People with this addiction believe that if they shop, they are going to feel better. Cindy was arrested for stealing, and she is now in jail.

How to prevent uncontrolled shopping:Do not use credit cards a lot. Keep only one credit card for emergencies.Pay for purchases with cash or with a check.Don’t take a lot of money with you.Window-shop after stores are closed.Make a shopping list and only buy what is on the list.If you feel out of control. Then look for help from a professional counselor.

About the reading1. How many American suffer from compulsive shopping disorder? 11 million2. How did Cindy get money to pay for her shopping? She stole it.3. What did she do with her purchases? She stored them.4. What is Cindy’s problem? She has a compulsive.5. What happened to Cindy? Shopping disorder she went to jail.

Big blue, king of the SeasThe biggest living animal in the world is the blue whale. It weighs about 150 tons, the same as 40 big trucks. It is over 30 meters long, the length of three buses one behind the other. Just the whale’s tongue weighs 3.7 tons, and it heart is about 450 kilograms. A baby blue whale weighs more than 3 tons when it is born, and gains 90 kilos a day during its first year.

An adult whale eats between 900 and 4,100 kilograms of food each day. The whale swims slowly the water with its mouth open, and thousands of tiny fish and plankton swim into it. But the whale can’t swallow anything larger than a shrimp.

Whales live in the water, but they are not fish. They are mammals, and they cannot stay under water for too long. Blue whales can dive for an hour, to a depth of 105 meters, but they need to come to the surface to breathe. When they come to the surface, they blow a wet stream 8 to 10 meters up in the air.

Blue whales are the loudest animals on earth. Their call is louder than a jet, and it can travel for hundreds of miles in the ocean. They use their calls and songs to communicate with other blue whales.

About the ReadingComplete the sentences.1. The blue whale is biggest of all living animals.2. And adult what eats more than 900 kilograms each day.3. Whales can only swallow fish that are smaller than shrimp.4. The longest time that the whales can stay under water is an hour.5. Whale calls are louder than the noise of a jet engine.

October 11Hi Mario,

How are you? How is everyone? I miss you all.

Life is very different here, but it’s a great experience for me, and I’m enjoying it very much. It’s my first time living away from home, and I miss my mom’s cooking. The food in the school cafeteria is ok, but it doesn’t have much flavor.

My classes are difficult because they are all in English, but the teachers are very helpful. I think I’ll be all right soon because I’ll understand more and more as time passes. I like England, but I don’t like the weather. It’s so changeable. Tomorrow will probably be cloudy in the morning, the sun will come out around midday, and maybe it’ll rain in the afternoon!

My roommate, Helen, is Greek, from Athens. She’s very nice, and we speak English all the time. I’m learning a lot about Greece, and she tells me that she’s learning a lot about Mexico. She invited me to visit her country. I’m planning to go with her to Athens during the spring vacation. We’ll probably visit the Greek islands, too. I’m looking forward to that.

Say hello to all our friends,

Love,

Carmen.

About the Reading1. What does Carmen miss from home? Her mom’s cooking.2. What’s the food like in the cafeteria? Ok.3. Where is her roommate from? Athens.4. What will Carmen do in the spring? Go to Athens.5. Why are her classes difficult? They are all in English.6. What will the weather be like tomorrow? Cloudy in the morning the sun will come out midday, and maybe, rain in the afternoon.