WEIRD STORIES

A. I thought this picture was brilliant and I had to laugh. Early last week, there were more delays than usual on certain train lines in the south of England. Why was this? Rush hour had just begun when a herd of escaped cows found their way into a local railway station. Commuters and other travellers were surprised when they saw all these cows that were hanging around on the platform! Then of course they had to wait for several hours. One cow fell onto the tracks while the railway employees were attempting to move them off the platform but fortunately they all made it safely back to their farm.

B. How about this wacky idea? Designers in a New York architecture firm have produced drawings of a new style of skyscraper - one that would hang from an asteroid and then, amazingly, travel thousands of miles each day over the continents. People could then parachute off when their destination was reached. The skyscraper would have solar panels for heating a system for recycling water and sections for offices agriculture and living areas. It looks really cool for those who have a head for heights but terrifying for those who don't. This might sound like something out of a movie, but imagine if it becomes possible!

C. A town in Newfoundland, Canada, recently had what you might call a huge visitor' a massive iceberg, At fifteen storeys high, it was the biggest iceberg the residents had ever seen. I can't quite get my head around that, can you? The iceberg just appeared unusually close to the land so loads of people turned up to have a look. That would certainly make a great selfie! Normally, the people who live in that part of Canada - which is near where the Titanic sank, by the way - are not surprised by the sight of icebergs since they see hundreds every season. None quite this big, though.

D. Most of us have learnt about the Ancient Egyptians in our history lessons, and the way they used to cover their royal tombs and Temples with detailed pictures of their culture and everyday life. Then, in more recent history, there are the funny stone faces called gargoyles on places like Notre Dame in Paris. And now, a Dutch architect has decorated the outside of a building with concrete emojis. As a way of representing our twenty-first century culture, it's not a bad idea. What do you think?

E. Now for an update about robot experiments. One news item involved a robot lady in China. Researchers had spent three years developing her ability to have a conversation with humans. However, when an interviewer asked her questions., she would hesitate a lot. She didn't even know how many letters there were in the English alphabet - and that was after three years! Also, when he asked her where the Great Wall was in China, she replied, "China!' Back to robot school for her!

 F. That's it for now. I hope you have enjoyed my weekly pick of stories from the press. I had thought of simply choosing normal' news stories but while I was doing research, I realised that the media - TV, radio and newspapers - concentrated on rather negative issues. So I tried to discover sources of lighter news from around the world that would give us a more positive view of things. For next week's content. I’m asking readers to send in their favourite choices and I'll choose the best ones for my site. There'll also be a mystery prize. so net locking!

1. What does Rob say about the problem at the railway station?  ABCD

A. The railway workers didn't do their job properly

B. The farms were too close to the railway station

C. The passengers complained about the journey time

D. The trains were often late in that particular area

2. What was most unusual about the new skyscraper design?   ABCD

A. You can travel to different countries in it.

B. You can make your home in it.

C. You can have a great view from it.

D. You can enjoy solar heating in it

3. What does Rob say about the iceberg?  ABCD

A. It was in a group of a hundred or more icebergs

B. It was a great opportunity for him to take a selfie.

C. It was difficult for him to imagine its size

D. it was dangerous for ships in the area

4. Why does Rob mention historical buildings in paragraph D?  ABCD

A. to point out that nothing changes throughout history

B. to contrast the buildings with progress in computer technology

C. to show how much more interesting they were

D. to give examples of similar activities in the past

5. How did Rob feel about the robot story?   ABCD

A. worried that robots are not as intelligent as we thought

B. surprised that training robots is so difficult

C. frightened by the things that can go wrong with robots

D. excited by the latest developments with robots

6. What does Rob say in the last paragraph?  ABCD

A. He is running out of ideas to write about

B. He rarely reads newspapers

C. He reports news in a different way

D. He wants to learn more about his readers