You Look Ruff… World’s Ugliest Dog Competition

“Aww, what a lovely dog” is a phrase you might never hear said about these mutts. The World’s Ugliest Dog® competition features some of the most ‘facially-challenged‘ hounds on the planet. And this hideous gallery showcases some of the entries for this year’s coveted prize. The event is held annually the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California with the philosophy “That dog is so ugly it’s cute!”.
“We celebrate the spirit and imperfections that make these dogs loveable and adoptable,” explains Sarah Cummings, CEO. New at the annual contest, to be held June 26 this year, will be the consolidation of the prior categories, pedigreed and mutt, with awards now given for the World’s Ugliest Dog® and the addition of the Spirit Award. Dogs are judged generally on appearance, personality, and audience interaction. The World’s Ugliest Dog® Spirit Award will honour a dog and owner who have overcome obstacles and/or are providing service to the community based on the dog’s biography.
The World’s Ugliest Dog® winner will receive a grand prize of $1,500 and the Spirit Award Recipient will receive a special award. Other awards include trophies, cash and gifts from sponsors. There has been an Ugly Dog contest in the small Bay Area town of Petaluma for over 50 years, with 27 years at the Sonoma-Marin Fair which trademarked the World’s Ugliest Dog® Contest.

Source: Rex Features

True or False?

1. The term “facially-challenged hounds” refers to ugly dogs.

2. The World’s Ugliest Dog Competition is held in Petaluma every other year.

3. The prize is not sought after, there are hardly any contestants.

4. The CEO of the annual contest thinks these dogs are loveable and adoptable.

5. Dogs are judged on appearance and interaction with their owner.

6. The contest honours those dog-owner pairs who have had a hard time or are serving the community.

7. The special award is $1,500.

8. The Ugly Dog contest is a five-decades-long tradition in Petaluma.

Key: 1-true, 2-false, 3-false, 4-true, 5-false, 6-true, 7-false, 8-true

An Illinois yoga studio invited some shelter cats into their class recently, in a bid to help find the felines forever homes. The Homeward Bound Pet Shelter teamed up with Yoga at Connie’s studio to host the class. The shelter cat yoga class was a great success; June is also Adopt-a-Cat month, and the collaborative event raised more than $500 for Homeward Bound. The class also hoped to find homes for the friendly shelter cats.

Connie Pease, who runs Yoga at Connies and her friend Jeanette Skaluba are both cat lovers. Jeanette came up with event after a video of 12-year-old cat Oreo riding on her shoulder went viral. She explained that after seeing how popular cats were on the Internet, she hoped the event would spur on adoptions. Connie, says: “Jeannette Skabula and I have been practicing yoga together for five years at the studio which I own. Jeanette also volunteers at Homeward Bound, and she had the idea using yoga as a way to promote cat adoption. I thought it was great idea since we both love cats. We had only a week to prepare. Jeanette organized the volunteers and the cats. We had no idea this would go viral.”

Homeward Bound Pet Shelter in the city of Decatur, Illinois, posted the video to their YouTube channel in recognition of June being adopt-a-cat month. Connie, adds: “While we’re not sure all the cats would be so up for yoga on demand, they’re cats – we do know from experience they often times can’t resist a yoga mat and a Down Dog. In fact, we might be convinced they take more pleasure in interrupting yoga, than actually co-practicing with human companions. And, of course, as humans we can’t expect to get in the most meditative class we’ve ever had, but there’s something extra special about doing your animal poses right next to the fuzzy creatures who inspired them. In short, animals, and especially cats, are awesome.”

The video footage shows the shelter cats enjoying roaming around the gym whilst interacting with students practicing yoga. The video explains that cat owners are at 40 per cent lower risk of having a heart attack and that interacting with a cat can lower blood pressure.

source: Rex Features

Use the words from the table to complete the sentences.

1. Can you show me the ………? It’s time to cut the film.

2. The photo of my cat with the bunny ears went ……… in a day.

3. I bought a ……….., because I decided to be more active.

4. It’s raining cats and dogs. Can you find ……… till I get there to pick you up?

5. I was ………. in the neighbourhood all night, because I couldn’t sleep.

6. Max came to the retirement home as a ……… and he is a big help.

7. Garfield is the …….. equivalent of a grumpy bachelor who loves lasagna.

8. I tried to make Julia to come to the party, but she …….., so I came alone.

1-video footage, 2-viral, 3-yoga mat, 4-shelter, 5-roaming around, 6-volunteer, 7-feline, 8- resisted

Ever pulled a duckface or eaten al desko? A lot of people have

Duckface, an exaggerated pout for a selfie, is among 1,000 new words in an online dictionary. It is joined by al desko for eating at your desk, man crush for non-sexual bonding between two men and jel, short for jealous. Other terms include shabby chic for deliberately aged items, along with a slew of social media acronyms.

Judy Pearsall, of OxfordDictionaries.com, said: “In this age of the selfie, it’s no surprise that monthly usage of duckface, for instance, is 35% higher than last year.” A slew of social media or gaming terms and abbreviations that will leave your mates either well jel or asking WTAF are included in the latest and so far largest quarterly update to OxfordDictionaries.com.

There are also business terms like “crony capitalism” and food references like the “five second rule”, the time between dropping food on the floor and it becoming too full of bacteria to pick up and eat. Other new terms include fone, a misspelling of phone, and tiki-taka, a style of aesthetically pleasing football made popular by Barcelona.

Last month Oxford Dictionaries announced vape as its international word of the year, reflecting the meteoric rise in popularity – and scrutiny – of electronic cigarettes.

www.mirror.co.uk

Match the new words with the definitions.

answers: 1-c 2-e 3-a 4-b 5-d

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At least 12 killed as massive tornado rips through Arkansas and Oklahoma

At least 12 people have been killed after a huge tornado ripped through southern US states last night. Entire neighbourhoods have been flattened after the twister hit Arkansas and Oklahoma.

A spokesman for the Faulkner County Sheriff’s office had said there was a "mass casualty situation", and numerous injuries were reported. TV footage showed houses ripped off their foundations, with cars toppled on top of the rubble. Rescuers were digging through the rubble of ruined buildings looking for more victims, according to authorities there.

"Tonight, I walked around what was only hours earlier a thriving neighbourhood that is now gone. An entire neighbourhood of 50 or so homes has been destroyed – many homes are completely gone except the foundation," U.S. Representative Tim Griffin said. "And there is more devastation like this in other parts of Arkansas."

One person died when a tornado tore through Mayflower, 22 miles northwest of Little Rock, at about 7:30 p.m. The tornado passed through the east side of town, tearing up trees and bringing down power lines, making it difficult for the emergency services to find stricken areas in the darkness, and forcing authorities to shut down Interstate 40. "It’s extremely hazardous here right now," said Elder. "The power lines are down, roads are blocked and they will have to proceed with caution."

source: www.mirror.co.uk

to rip through – letarolni
neighbourhood – szomszédság
to be flattened – kilapítják, itt tönkreteszik
casualty – sérült, sebesült, veszteség
numerous – számos
foundation – alap
rubble – törmelék
to dig – ásni
according to – szerint
authorities – hatóságok
thriving – virágzó, sikeres
to be destroyed – elpusztítják
devastation – pusztulás
to tear through – átvágtatni
power lines – elektromos vezetékek
stricken areas – katasztrófasujtott területek, érintett területek
hazardous – kockázatos
to proceed with caution – óvatosan eljárni

Word formation:

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Cosmetics and shaving

I. Scrambled letters: reconstruct the words and match them with the definitions.

1. A pen or pencil you use on your eyelids.

2. Expensive liquid with a pleasant or attractive smell.

3. You wash your hair with this.

4. You put this on your face when you have dry skin.

5. Special paint for your lips.

6. A cosmetic used against body odour.

7. You need this after a shower to keep your skin smooth.

8. A cosmetic base used on the face.

II. Fill the gaps with the right word.

1. Many people use ……………….. when travelling.

2. You can’t shave with a dull razor ……………….. .

3. Men use ……………….. on their face before they shave.

4. You don’t need water to shave with an ……………….. .

5. My grandfather used soap and a ……………….. to make foam.

6. There are loads of ……………….. commercials on TV.

7. ……………….. work better than traditional ones.

8. Some people prefer to use ……………….. instead of foam.

answers:

I. 1-eyeliner 2-perfume 3-shampoo 4-cream 5-lipstick 6-deodorant 7-body lotion 8-foundation

II. 1-c 2-h 3-g 4-a 5-f 6-b 7-e 8-d

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