Should woolly mammoths be brought back to life?

Photo: Victor Habbick / freedigitalphotos.net

Cloning is not easy to do, and it's a difficult subject ethically, as well.  It's beginning to appear possible to clone extinct animals.  The idea:  clone a woolly mammoth!  Read more here: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/jul/14/wooly-mammoth-extinct-cloning-dna

1.  Why is it difficult to clone a mammoth?

2.  How do scientists think they can clone a woolly mammoth?

3.  Describe the arguments for and against cloning the woolly mammoth.

4.  Would you like to go to the zoo or a nature preserve and see a woolly mammoth? 

After reading the article, please respond to the questions and email your answers to sarah@virtualingua.de.  We'll respond with corrections and further learning tips, all for free!  Try us today!  

 Happy learning!

Real Beauty?

Maybe you've heard about or seen the latest advertising campaign that the Dove company has come up with. 

Watch the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOq71eKI5Mg

Watch a parody of the ad here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8Jiwo3u6Vo

What do you think?  Do you think the video is accurate?  Do women really see themselves in such a negative way?  And what about the men? :-)

Tell us your opinion!  Email your response to these videos to sarah@virtualingua.com.  You will receive an answer from a live teacher with corrections and further English learning tips.

Correct these mistakes!

Dear Students,

It's important to recognize when you make mistakes while speaking or writing, and it's also important to correct these.  Here's an exercise for you to practice doing this.  Please find and correct the mistakes in the sentences below and send them to me at sarah@virtualingua.de

1. Two we have seen.
2. We have not so much time.
3. We have too much ideas.
4. Much thanks for your invitation.
5. The room is reservated for us.
6. Would you like to walking?
7. Must I pay some more?
8. She want to visit us later.
9. I don't would say that.
10. There are not so much people in Australia.

Fun with idioms

Do you have a green thumb?  Are you all thumbs?  Do you give this blog the thumbs up?

Just what does all of this mean?  These phrases are idioms, and are typical phrases that native speakers use, but they are not at all clear to someone who doesn't speak English so well. 

• If you have a green thumb, you're good at gardening.  It has nothing to do with a terrible thumb disease!
• If you are all thumbs, you are not very well-coordinated, you are clumsy and not good with your hands.   But you still actually only have two thumbs, not more.
• If you give something the thumbs up like in the picture, you approve of it and think it is good.

Now I hope that at least those three idioms are clear.  The trouble is, we use so many idioms in English!  The best thing you can do is to learn one every day or every week.  You can do this by consulting a list, such as this one:  http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/ or by listening to podcasts, like the excellent ones from the BBC. 

Using these resources will help you to understand idioms, the next step is using the idioms yourself.  This is rather difficult, you must know the exact meaning of the idiom and which context to use it in. If you're ready to practice some of the idioms you've learned, please write a conversation with 10 idioms used by the partners in the conversation and send it to us at sarah@virtualingua.de  We'll correct your work, and you can sample our English teaching for free.