In The News

Japanese Names

If you had a child now, what name would you like to call it? John, Mary, Steven, Susan, James, Sarah, Charles? Those are some of the more common names in the English-speaking world. However, in Japan, parents have been giving their children all sorts of names, including Beetle, Sardine, Cancer, Dung, Who, Turnip and Spider. Incredible? Yes. And even more surprising is the fact that the Japanese government has agreed to all of them. Traditionally, most Japanese names have meanings related to character traits. Some typical ones used to be “Fortitude” and “Strength” for men; and “Grace” and “Beauty” for women. But unusual names have been on the rise in recent years, as parents want originality instead of tradition. As professor Masachi Osawa of the Kyoto University has said: “People should be free to choose. I am in favour of a broader range of options.”

Gorillas On TV

Staff at the Dallas zoo in Texas have come up with a very original way of entertaining their gorillas: allowing them to watch DVDs. And it’s working. Brian, a 14-year-old mountain gorilla, was diagnosed as clinically depressed. But now he’s much better and he can’t get enough of the TV. His favourite programmes are cartoons and National Geographic documentaries. “We tried to put on sports programmes, but he didn’t like them. At first we thought it might generate aggressive behaviour, but he really wasn’t interested,” said Erin McDougal, one of his keepers. The gorillas are also fond of Disney cartoons, with The Little Mermaid, The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast on their list of favourites. “They don’t follow the story, of course,” McDougal added. “But they like the music, the colour and all the movement.”

It’s All A Beer

A police officer is facing dismissal for an unusual offence: drinking police evidence. “They told me to go to destroy some confiscated property,” said 28-year-old officer Mark Lake. “And that’s what I did. And so what if I drank it? It got destroyed, didn’t it?” Lake said during a press conference. In total, officer Lake drank 84 cans of beer, which had been confiscated by police after a raid on an under-aged drinking party. “There was no crime committed,” says Lake’s lawyer, Simon Buze, who is threatening to sue to get Murphy reinstated. “Turning beer to urine is acceptable destruction of stolen property, in my opinion,” he added. G L O S S A R Y

a beetle n a small insect with a hard covering on its back a sardine n a type of small fish that we eat. They are often sold in tins dung n excrement from cows, horses, etc a turnip n a big yellow vegetable that is similar to a potato a character trait n one part of your personality fortitude n the quality of being brave, calm and strong on the rise exp increasing a broader range of options exp more things to choose from; more options to entertain vb to do interesting things to make someone happy; to give food and organise games, etc to diagnose vb if a doctor “diagnoses” an illness, he or she identifies the illness he can’t get enough of… exp “he wants more and more of…” fond of exp if you are “fond of” some-thing, you really like that thing a can n a metal container for drinks such as beer and Coca Cola a raid n if the police “raid” a party, the police go to the party to arrest people an under-aged drinking party exp a party with many young people (under 18) who are drinking. In many states in America, you cannot drink alcohol until you are 21 to threaten vb to promise to do something bad to someone to reinstate vb if they “reinstate” you, they permit you to return to your job