21 September
Family
Do you think your parents are strict or overprotective?
Do you like your family? Why or why not?
Do you live with your parents?
Whom do you take after, your mother or your father?
Do your parents let you stay out late?
Whom are you named after?
How big is your family? Tell us about your relatives.
How often is your entire family together?
What is your best memory with your family?
How do you usually spend time with your family?
What is the best advice you have received from a family member?
What is something you learned from your grandparents?
Do you have any siblings? What is your relationship like with them?
How has your family influenced your personality?
If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
Related Words: parents, siblings, relatives, home, support, love, care, upbringing, childhood, tradition, bond, relationship, respect, guidance, values, heritage, ancestry, household, unity, togetherness, trust, protection, responsibility, connection, generation, grandparents, cousins, marriage, loyalty, belonging
Watch the video above and discuss what you learned from it during your Spoken Cafe session
Michel Lotito: The Man Who Ate an Aeroplane and Other Unusual Objects
Michel Lotito, a French man with a rare condition known as pica syndrome, made headlines in 1978 when he began eating a Cessna 150 aeroplane. Pica is a disorder that leads individuals to crave and consume non-food items, which, in Lotito’s case, included some of the most unusual objects ever eaten by a human.
Lotito’s ability to digest dangerous materials fascinated many, and it took him two years to complete the daunting task of consuming the entire Cessna 150, finishing it in 1980. His unique eating habits didn’t stop with the plane—he also consumed 18 bicycles, 15 shopping carts, 7 televisions, 6 chandeliers, a bed, skis, a computer, a robot, a waterbed, and even a coffin. Despite the odd and hazardous nature of these foods, Lotito never experienced serious medical issues from consuming them.
In 1981, a year after finishing the aeroplane, Lotito suffered life-threatening injuries after being attacked and stabbed, leading to major surgery. Just three weeks after recovering, he ate a robot, showcasing his extraordinary ability to eat almost anything.
Lotito’s incredible eating habits earned him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, leaving behind a legacy of bizarre world records. He was known as “Monsieur Mangetout” (“Mr Eat-All”) for his insatiable appetite for inedible items.
Watch the video above and discuss what you learned from it during your Spoken Cafe session
READ/SPEAK
What’s the strangest thing you have eaten? Where and when did you eat it? Did you like it?
Do you know any interesting people like Michel?
Do you like trying new foods, or do you prefer to eat familiar dishes?
Have you ever eaten food from another country? What was it?
Used to say that it is still possible for a situation to change:
“Ok, Beşiktaş hasn’t been good this year. But don’t forget: it isn’t over till the fat lady sings.”
LEARN THE IDIOM AND SPEAK
How did your life plans end up for you? Which goals did you achieve, and which ones didn’t you?