If there’s an iconic fruit, it’s the apple. From the Big Apple to “American as apple pie” to your sweetheart being the “apple of your eye,” this delicious fruit has captured our imaginations like no other. It’s both revered for its health benefits and reviled for its contribution to original sin.
Apples fill not just our thoughts and religious traditions, but our shopping carts as well. The apple and its comical buddy, the banana, are the most consumed fruits in the world.
And no wonder apples are popular. They’re not only delicious but convenient as well. They’re portable, pre-wrapped, long-lasting, relatively inexpensive, and widely available. And, as we’ve seen, they’ve been imbued by our collective imagination with both wholesome and health-giving properties.

iconic - культовый
revere - почитать
contribution - вклад, взнос
original sin - первородный грех
consume  - потреблять
pre-wrapped - предварительно завернутый
long-lasting - долгоиграющий
imbued - проникнутый
wholesome - полезный


#intermediate

The major source of fuel throughout the world is coal. Coal is a black or brown rock that, when burned, releases energy in the form of heat. One of coal’s main uses is the production of electricity.
People get coal by mining. In one process, miners take coal from just below the surface. In deep mining, miners dig long tunnels to get to coal that is buried far underground.
Mining coal can be dangerous for the miners. Coal miners can be injured or killed when mine roofs collapse. Gases trapped in coal sometimes cause fires or explosions. Many miners have health problems from breathing in coal dust over the years.

fuel - топливо, горючее
release - выпускать, высвобождать
mining - добыча, горное дело
below the surface - под поверхностью
buried - захороненный
miners - шахтеры
injured - пострадать (получить травмы)
collapse - обвал
explosions - взрывы
breathing - дыхание


#elementary

For hudnerds of years, warroirs, kngiths, and mercenaries used swords to kill, maim and fight across various continents. During the Middle Ages, dueling, a sword fight bewteen two individuals, became standard practice for setting disagreements and arguments amongst nobility.
Though it comes from a bloody background, modern fencing is a sport of skill, intelligence and emotional control. It is now practiced in clubs around the world and training can lead to being a member of an Olympic team.
Being a form of exercise, it of course builds muscle and burns calories. However, it also increases agility and flexibility much more than other sports.
This sport activates the mind. Sparing and matches are as much about stategy as ability.

mercenaries - наемники
maim - калечить
dueling - дуэль
nobility - благородство
agility - ловкость
sparing - спарринг (тренировочный бой)


#advanced

When I say ‘discrimination’, some of the words that may commonly strike your minds are ‘racism’, ‘religious biases’, ‘cultural prejudices’, and ‘gender-based discrimination’ among others. While these are concepts that have been famously acknowledged by the masses over the years, it is not all that there is to discrimination. As people part of a complex world, it is important that we not only identify, but also attempt to understand the less prominent ways in which people discriminate among themselves.
Discrimination as a whole refers to the act of making fine distinctions between individuals based on the category to which they belong in terms of appearance, place of origin, or socio-economic status. It is generally used in a negative sense, and usually takes place when a person wants to portray oneself as superior to another.

religious biases - религиозные предубеждения
prejudices - предрассудки
acknowledged - признанный
prominent - заметный
distinctions - различия
portray - изобразить


#advanced

Babies. Just hearing the word makes us want to cuddle those adorable little infants. They’re cuteness is potent, they can calm any anger, and allay any sadness. As they grow older, their faces change and we no longer feel the overwhelming urge to cuddle and care for them. 
All babies have a few things in common: a large, rounded head, a big forehead, large eyes, chubby cheeks, a rounded body and soft, elastic skin. These features of cuteness make adults and children want to care for babies. It isn’t only an emotional, but a physical urge to protect and nurture. Our bodies appear to be hardwired to respond affectionately to cuteness.
Without adult caretakers, babies wouldn’t make it into adulthood. Human babies are especially vulnerable since they require care for a much longer time.

cuddle - обнимать, прижиматься
infants - младенцы
potent - мощный
allay - успокаивать
overwhelming urge - непреодолимое желание
chubby - полные
nurture - воспитывать
hardwired - запрограммированный


#intermediate

Photography is a great way to capture memories, as well as provide evidence for how you live your life. It’s also an outlet for creativity and artistry that can inspire people. Additionally, photography is sometimes just fun to do—and sometimes even therapeutic!
Photography helps you document what you do and where you go. It’s great for personal memories as well as for distribution to friends and family. And when you take a picture, it captures an instant of yourself—your thoughts, emotions, and creativity.
Photography is a form of artistry that can inspire people. It’s also an outlet for creativity that can help people relax and be creative in their own lives. Additionally, some find it therapeutic because they can feel like they are taking in the world around them without everything feeling chaotic or stressful.

capture - захватывать
evidence - доказательство
therapeutic - терапевтический
document - документировать
instant - мгновенный
artistry - артистизм
chaotic - хаотичный


#intermediate

Humans have lots of bones - the flat bones that form our skull, curved bones that form our chest, long bones in our arms and legs, stacked bones in our backbone, small bones in our hands and feet, and tiny bones in our ears. Why do we have all these bones?
Our bones protect our insides. Our skull wraps around our brain like a helmet. Our cage of ribs protects our heart and lungs - the spaces in between the ribs allow our chest to get bigger and smaller with each breath. Our kidneys are tucked up under the ribs at the back; our liver is under the ribs on the right and our spleen under our ribs on the left. All these organs are kept safe by the hard armour of our bones.

stacked bones - сложенные кости
insides - внутренности
cage of ribs - грудная клетка
kidneys - почки
spleen - селезенка
armour - броня

Speaking Club
#elementary

Should you wear a raincoat or a sweater today? Should you go to the office or work from home? These are all everyday questions we might only be able to answer with the help of a weather forecast.
Weather forecasting is the prediction of what the atmosphere will be like in a particular place by using technology and scientific knowledge to make weather observations. In other words, it's a way of predicting things like cloud cover, rain, snow, wind speed, and temperature before they happen.
Weather forecasters use all kinds of tools to achieve this goal. We have instruments called barometers to measure air pressure, radar to measure the location and speed of clouds, thermometers to measure temperature, and computer models to process data accumulated from these instruments.

weather forecast - прогноз погоды
prediction - прогноз, предсказание
observations - наблюдения
barometers  - барометры
air pressure - давление воздуха
thermometer  - термометр, градусник

Speaking Club
#intermediate

Everybody wants to look beautiful. However, just like a garden, beauty needs maintenance and care, that can be best provided by a professional. Going to a beauty salon can provide many benefits that you simply cannot receive at your home. Such a visit can do miracles for your looks and self-confidence. That is why you should not hesitate and put off taking care of your appearance.
A visit to a beauty salon will relieve you of stress. With the busy lives people lead today – career, children, school and managing household duties, opportunities for rest and recreation should not be missed. Whether you are having your hair styled, a facial, a manicure or pedicure, you will feel the pleasure of the massage, water, heat and the application of gentle pressure on your skin.

maintenance - уход
benefits - преимущества
hesitate - колебаться
relieve - облегчать
recreation - отдых
application - применение


Speaking Club
#intermediate

It’s not exactly clear who invented carpet, but some of the first carpets came about in the Middle East. They contained sheep wool or goat hair, and their purpose was to make the ground more comfortable for sitting.
Before the 1950s, most carpets contained woven wool, which was significantly expensive at the time. American homeowners wanted carpeting in their living spaces, but only the wealthy could afford to have it. In 1947, the invention of synthetic fibers such as nylon revolutionized the carpet and flooring industry. These new materials provided a quicker way to manufacture carpeting than woven, woolen ones. By the early 1950s, carpeting became so affordable that it was the most popular flooring option for homeowners.

the Middle East - Ближний Восток
woven wool - тканая шерсть
significantly - существенно
carpeting - ковровое покрытие
synthetic fibers - синтетические волокна
manufacture - производить
woven - сотканный
affordable - доступный, по средствам


Speaking Club
#intermediate