English Lesson Library
Cory Doctorow from Beautiful Downtown Burbank, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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Las Vegas ‘Sphere’ takes entertainment to a new level
The ‘Sphere’ is the newest entertainment complex in Las Vegas. It boasts an immersive, wraparound 16K LED screen, haptic seating, and thousands of speakers. But the most striking part is this: the exterior is covered in screens, so it can look like a basketball or the surface of Mars to onlookers. The venue will be best for concerts and films but can host other events, including e-sports.
Sleep researchers find consistency is as important as quantity
Most sleep advice focuses on how much sleep you get. And while that’s important, a new study also shows that consistency is also important. People who get irregular sleep perform worse in tests and suffer physically. Today, learn what “regular sleep” means and what its benefits are.
The Bankman-Fried trial: what the prosecution and defense argued
The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried lasted over a month. During that time, the prosecution called several witnesses that detailed fraud against customers and lenders of Bankman-Fried’s businesses. But the defense argued that this was a terrible mistake, but not a fraud. The jury found him guilty. After a monthlong trial, jurors needed just five hours to decide.
Sam Bankman-Fried: A sad case of crypto fraud and excess
After making a fortune trading cryptocurrencies, Sam Bankman-Fried started an exchange called FTX. That, he promised, would be the safest place to trade crypto assets. But just a few years after he started it, it all collapsed. Here is part one of the story.
Celine Dion all night, every night: one New Zealand town’s experience
A subculture of Pasifika people in New Zealand has a strange tradition: playing music through megaphones and loudspeakers. They try to play music as loud and as clearly as possible. And because their speakers don’t produce bass, they play songs from artists like Celine Dion. Not everyone in this town is happy about it.
People like short movies. So why are they getting longer?
Oppenheimer. Killers of the Flower Moon. Babylon. What do they have in common? They’re all box office hits. And they’re all over three hours long. Consumers, producers, and theaters all like short movies. But hit movies are getting longer. Today, we take a look at why.
Beloved snack food Twinkie goes from bankruptcy to billions
The Twinkie is a submarine-shaped yellow cake with a vanilla filling. Invented in 1930, it became one of America’s favorite indulgences. After losing money for years, its parent company shut down and stopped making Twinkies. But then, a group of investors revived the classic cake–and now the Twinkie is stronger than ever.
New generation of ‘super-shoes’ help marathoners break records
Kelvin Kiptum and Tigst Assefa, respectively, set records for the men’s and women’s marathon this year. But Nike and adidas are also winners. The runners were wearing a new generation of their shoes, aimed at helping marathoners go faster.
Taylor Swift and American football are getting serious
Just when you thought nothing could make American football more popular, Taylor Swift comes onto the scene. She is reportedly dating a football star, Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. The union brings together separate worlds of fandom, as Swifties tune in to football games for the first time.