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The US space shuttle Atlantis will blast off for the last time on Friday 8 July ending NASA's 30-year programme. Four crew members will be dropping off a year's worth of supplies at the International Space Station. They'll be in orbit for 12-days and travel 6.5 million kilometres during the sortie. In total, 355 astronauts will have flown on the shuttle since the inaugural mission in 1981. blast off dropping off in orbit sortie inaugural
Underwater volcano
Shimmering hot water seen coming out of an undersea volcano off the coast of Oregon. During a routine visit to the area last month, researchers found lava coming out of a vent that was formed on the seafloor. Scientists who have been studying it for over a decade predicted that it would erupt before the year 2014. According to them it's the first successful forecast of an underwater eruption. Shimmering erupt forecast lava a vent
Destination: Afghanistan
The turquoise waters of Afghanistans very first national park. The authorities here are trying to attract tourists to Bamian, the same place where the Taliban blew up a giant Buddha ten years ago. Its hoped once security concerns are addressed tourism can form the backbone of the Afghan economy. Last year even saw ski slopes open for business and the countrys first international skiing competition. the authorities: the group of people with official power in an area, like the government blow up: destroyed with a bomb or explosives security concerns: worries about safety and the threat of terrorism
the backbone of: the most important part of something which holds the rest together slopes: areas on the sides of mountains, hills and artificial hills used for the sport of skiing
Palestinians in UN bid
The site of the most intractable conflict in the modern era... This land, occupied by Israel since 1967, has been fought over in two Palestinian uprisings. Now their officials have launched a campaign to join the United Nations as a full member state. The ideas strongly opposed by Israel and its close ally, the United States, who say theyll veto the move. intractable: difficult to manage or resolve uprisings: violent protest against a higher authority
launched a campaign: started a series of activities to reach a goal ally: country which supports another veto: power to prevent a move
Laughter Yoga
A good laugh is equal to 10 prescriptions" or so the Vietnamese say. These fitness fans in Hanoi are hoping there is some truth to the saying as they take part in an early-morning 'laughter yoga' session. The combination of a good guffaw and exercise is said to stretch muscles and trigger endorphins - the chemical in the brain known for its feel-good effect. prescriptions: a prescription is an official document from a doctor stating which medicine you should have saying: a saying is a well-known phrase or expression which states something wise or true about life a good guffaw: a strong and noisy laugh trigger: to cause something to happen quickly here, the release of particular chemicals in the body feel-good effect: ability to make you feel happy and positive about life
A facility: a group of buildings and structures that are used for a particular purpose, often scientific or military quest: a long and hard search for something that is difficult or maybe even impossible to find an array of: a group of similar items, often an impressive collection of objects plateaus: a plateau is an area of flat land that is higher than the land around it. The plural can also be spelt 'plateaux'. emanated from: came from, was produced by