FirstNews
ISSUE 481 4th Sept – 10th Sept 2015
HEADLINES
Royal record!
This week, Elizabeth II will become Britain’s longest- serving monarch.
On Thursday 10 September she will have been Queen for
63 years and 218 days. That’s one day longer than Queen
Victoria, her great-great granny, who held the record until now.
Elizabeth II became Queen in 1952 when her father died. She
was just 25. She is also the oldest monarch in British history.
Next year she will be 90.
The Queen is spending her special day in Scotland, but she
won’t be putting her feet up! She will be in Edinburgh opening
the new Scottish Borders railway line. To celebrate this special
event, the Queen and her husband will take a steam train ride
along the new track.
Elizabeth becomes Queen in
1953
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Discussion Questions
FirstNews
Issue 481
4th Sept -10th Sept 2015
Royal record!
1)Why is Thursday 10 September a special day for the
Queen?
2) How long will Elizabeth II have been Queen for on this day?
............. years and ............. days
4)How is the Queen related to this person?
5)What does the word ‘monarch’ mean?
6) Why did Elizabeth become Queen in 1952?
7) What is the Queen going to do on her special day?
3)Who held the record before Queen Elizabeth?
Henry VIII
William the
Conqueror
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Queen Victoria
8) How do you think the Queen feels about being queen for
over 63 years?
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FirstNews
ISSUE 481 4th Sept – 10th Sept 2015
SCIENCE
Sleep Experiment
Have you ever complained about going to bed? Do you think that sleep is not important?
Scientists research the way people sleep to see if it brings benefits to
us. They have found out that sleep is crucial because it is good for our
health (the well-being of our brain and body).
Some people put on weight and become fatter because they are bad
sleepers. Poor sleep can also be bad for your heart, but a good sleep
can make you happier.
Now, sleep experiments have proved that if you sleep for less than
six hours, you are more likely to catch a cold than someone who has
seven hours of sleep a night.
So, if you want to be healthy, remember how essential sleep is. Don’t
moan about it. As some people say, just ‘get up those wooden hills to
Bedfordshire’!
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Discussion Questions
FirstNews
Issue 481
4th Sept -10th Sept 2015
Sleep Experiment
1) What is an experiment? Choose the best word.
test
holiday
ride
5) There is a saying, or expression, which means the same as
going up the stairs to bed. What is the saying?
2)Why is sleep good for us?
6)How many hours do you sleep for?
3) Find another word in the story which means the same as
important.
7)Do you agree with the scientists that getting a good night’s
sleep can make you happy the next day? Give reasons for
your answer.
4) If you have less than six hours sleep, you are more likely to...
8)What helps you to have a good night’s sleep?
be hungry
catch a cold
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talk too much
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FirstNews
ISSUE 481 4th Sept – 10th Sept 2015
SCIENCE
Fruit time in space
This astronaut is trying to sort out some fruit!
It’s difficult as there is no gravity in space, like there is on
Earth. This means there is nothing to hold you down. Instead,
on the International Space Station (ISS), everything floats,
including the fruit!
Unfortunately, there is no fridge on the spacecraft. Food does
not stay fresh for long and quickly goes off. So, most of the time,
astronauts have to eat dried food, which lasts longer.
NASA
Last week, a spacecraft called the Kounotori 5 H-II transfer
vehicle (HTV) delivered supplies to the ISS. This delivery included
fresh fruit so meals will be much more interesting for the
astronauts this week.
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Discussion Questions
FirstNews
Issue 481
4th Sept - 10th Sept 2015
Astronauts and fruit
1)What is another word to describe an astronaut? Choose the
best one:
athlete
spaceman or
spacewoman
5).What is the word fridge short for?
cool box
refrigerator
freezer
driver
2) What is the name of the spacecraft which brings food to the
astronauts on the International Space Station?
6) Why don’t the astronauts have much fresh food?
7) Why do you think astronauts ‘look forward’ to fresh food, such
as fruit?
3) What is the short name for International Space Station?
4) Why do you think people use shorter names, such as ISS for the
International Space Station and HTV-5 for the Kounotori 5 H-II
Transfer Vehicle?
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8) If you were on the International Space Station, what fresh food
would you miss?
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FirstNews
ISSUE 481 4th Sept – 10th Sept 2015
SPORT
Is Mo the best ever?
Mo Farah has won double gold at the Athletics World
Championships in China.
He destroyed his competitors to win the 5,000 metres, just days
after winning gold in the 10,000 metres. Not showing any signs of
tiredness, Farah found the energy for an amazing burst of speed just
before the finish line and left the other runners far behind.
This is the third time that Farah has won the 5,000 metres and the
10,000 metres in the same competition. His incredible achievement
has been nicknamed the ‘triple double’.
Brendan Foster (who won medals in these races in the past) has
called Farah “the greatest sportsman that Britain has ever had”.
Team GB finished fourth in the medal table, behind Kenya, Jamaica
and the US.
Getty
Farah with his pal Usain
Bolt in China
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Discussion Questions
FirstNews
Issue 481
4th Sept -10th Sept 2015
Is Mo the best ever?
1) What sports competition has just been held in China?
Rugby World Cup
Athletics World Championship
Wimbledon
6) Which countries won more medals than Great Britain?
2) Mo Farah competes in which kind of athletics?
running
jumping
5) What is the ‘triple double’?
throwing
3) Which two races did Mo Farah win?
7) What has Brendan Foster said about Mo Farah?
8) Do you think it’s easier to run a short distance very fast (like
Usain Bolt), or to run a long distance more slowly (like Mo
Farah)?
............. metres and ............. metres
4) The writer says that Mo Farah “destroyed his competitors”
in the race. Did he really ‘destroy’ them? What do you think
the writer means?
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