Innehållsförteckning för No 464 från Speak Up

AÑO XL | N. 464 El pasado febrero, la ciudad de Nueva York demandó a cuatro empresas — las responsables de las redes sociales más populares entre los adolescentes: Meta (Instagram y Facebook), Google (YouTube), TikTok y Snapchat — por “fomentar la crisis nacional de salud mental juvenil”. En el centro del funcionamiento de estas plataformas tóxicas se halla un algoritmo. Para la mayoría de nosotros, el algoritmo se presenta como un ente sobrehumano, una fuerza superior que rige nuestros destinos a través de designios inescrutables. Pero aunque es cierto que los algoritmos que deciden qué muestran nuestras pantallas y condicionan nuestro comportamiento son artefactos de propiedad intelectual extremadamente secretos, complejos y lucrativos, en realidad su tecnología es muy sencilla: desde los inicios de las matemáticas en la antigua Mesopotamia,…

CULTURE The history of tartan, a pattern1 consisting of criss-crossed2 bands in multiple colours, is long and complex. What is clear, however, is its capacity to adapt to the times and stay relevant. It is usually associated with the quintessentially Scottish textile, but the pattern can also be found covering all kinds of objects. While its appeal seems timeless3, its omnipresence and its commercial use has led some to talk about the “Tartan Monster”. CHIEFTAIN WEAR Tartan is believed to date back to4 third-century Scotland, although it is difficult to find proof of this. The earliest representation of the tartan pattern comes from the 17th century; a painting by John Michael Wright titled Highland Chieftain5, for example, shows Lord Mungo Murray dressed in a tartan plaid and kilt. Tartan clothing…

FICTION So, what’s this recording you’re making for? A podcast? Ah, an art project, is it? For the Liverpool School of Art and Design! Well, that’s lovely. I’ve only been to Liverpool once, when I was a girl. ‘The Sounds of Nature’?! Interesting. Well, there’ll be plenty of those, I can promise you that. Your equipment looks expensive. You’d better put it right in the centre of the boat at the bottom so I don’t splash1 it with the oars2. No, no, don’t worry. This little boat is completely watertight3! “Yes, we have a lot of birds, especially birds of prey4: hen harriers5, kestrels6 and red kites7. The kites are my favourites; they were nearly extinct a few years ago. Now they’re coming back. They can, you see, when men…

PLACES Scotland is home to more than thirty thousand lochs, large and small. Located mainly in the northern and western Highlands, they are some of the country’s most scenic1 attractions. The lochs are vital culturally, environmentally and economically. They are part of Scottish mystery and folklore. Whether for sport, leisure2, wildlife, history or legend, no trip to Scotland is complete without a visit to a loch. SCOTTISH GAELIC The word ‘loch’ is the Scottish Gaelic word for a body of water completely or mostly surrounded3 by land. The word originates from the Old Irish ‘loch’, meaning ‘lake’. Scottish lochs can either be freshwater4 (lakes) or saltwater (tidal5 inlets6 of the sea, known as ‘sea lochs’ in Scotland or ‘fjords’ elsewhere.) Many were formed when the glaciers retreated7 at the end of…

HEALTHThe Guardian Until its recent emergence as a mainstream health craze1 , fasting2 was largely a religious ritual. But then longevity scientists discovered that regularly-fasted bodies lived longer, with better metabolic and cardiovascular health. Granted3, these bodies mostly belonged to mice4, but now Rishi Sunak, Elon Musk and many others are trying intermittent fasting (IF), with influencers singing its praises5 and apps offering to track your fasts and pepper6 you with motivational messages. The logic goes that, back when we were hunter-gatherers7 and our bodily systems evolved to work in balance, the absence of supermarkets and industrially-produced food meant that fasting sometimes happened naturally. The IF lifestyle, it is thought, could help us reset these systems, swerve8 disease and live longer. But is it as simple as that? Valter Longo,…

CLASSIC BOOKS The fourth novel by Salman Rushdie is an imaginative work of historical fiction with elements of fantasy and satire. It is also one of the most controversial books of the late 20th century: its perceived blasphemy led to tensions with the Islamic community that escalated into extremist violence. Nevertheless1, the Indian-born novelist still insists that the novel is not about Islam at all, but about Bombay (now called Mumbai), London, migration and identity. TWO ACTORS The novel intertwines2 different narratives across a timespan3 of hundreds of years. Central to the story is the relationship between two Indian Muslims: Bollywood star Gibreel Farishta and voice actor Saladin Chamcha. At the start, they are falling towards the English Channel4 from the debris5 of a plane. As they do so, Gibreel…

CROSSWORD UPPER INTERMEDIATE Across 1 Disagreement, quarrel. Line of reasoning, logic.6 Latin preposition used in English meaning ‘for’ (each unit).9 Sick, not well.11 The biggest artery in the body.12 Language of north Africa and the Middle East.13 The state of things as they really exist.14 A building to live in.15 Border, side, limit.17 Prefix meaning ‘new’.18 Every single one.19 Simple past of ‘light’.21 Allow.23 The opposite of ‘rise’; drop, go down.25 To put into a state of slavery.26 Zone.27 Information Technology.29 Small point in an email address.31 Secret numbers.34 Ask in a polite, formal way.36 Complete group of classical musicians.41 Preposition of movement.42 Man whose wife has died.45 Sound Navigation Ranging; echo sounder.47 Removed.50 Beam or stream (of light).51 From the Alps.52 Homophone of ‘eight’.53 Rubbish! Making no sense!55 One…

CULTURE The UK is not famous for its food. British people eat a lot of frozen or ‘convenience’ food1. Sometimes British people don’t eat at mealtimes, but have a lot of snacks during the day. As lunch breaks can be short, families don’t always eat together. ANYTHING BUT BRITISH There are many different types of fast food restaurants, snack bars and bakeries2 , which sell savoury3 food. Greggs bakery chain is very popular, particularly with poorer families or young people, because it is cheap. They sell salads and some healthy food, but many school kids buy a sausage roll4 or a pasty5 for lunch. It’s not easy to find traditional British food. British people love food from other countries and there are many Indian, Chinese and Italian restaurants. FAKE ITALIAN…

PLACES Every loch is special in its own way. Some are remote and wild places that cannot be reached by car, others are legendary tourist locations. Here are five of the best lochs to explore: 1. Loch Ness Legendary in every sense, Loch Ness contains 7,452 million cubic metres of water, more than all the lakes in England and Wales put together. It lies south of Inverness on the Great Glen, a geological fault line1 visible from outer space. Tourists come to Loch Ness to enjoy boat trips, to fish, spot2 wildlife and photograph the ruins of Urquhart Castle. Many hope to catch a glimpse3 of the loch’s most elusive inhabitant: Nessie, the Loch Ness monster, first photographed in 1933. There have been many sightings4 since, but no scientific evidence that…

HEALTH The neurotransmitter dopamine is eliciting1 a lot of panic these days. According to books, articles and social media posts, our urge2 for a quick dopamine hit is why we crave3 cookies and spend too much time on Instagram. If we keep giving in4 to these desires, the rationale goes5, we’ll never be able to stop ourselves. “We’ve transformed the world from a place of scarcity6 to a place of overwhelming abundance,” Dr. Anna Lembke, a Stanford University psychiatrist, wrote in her bestselling book Dopamine Nation. Consequently, we’re all at risk for “compulsive overconsumption.” A self-improvement trend often called ‘dopamine fasting7 ’ that emerged in 2019 revolves around abstaining from anything that causes the release of the chemical. The premise is that modern-day entertainments rewire8 the brain so that slower-paced9…

MUSIC For their self-titled third album, released1 in 1975, the Swedish pop group ABBA upped their game2. Lyricist3 Björn Ulvaeus explained that “my grasp4 of English had got much better so I began to think that it would be fun to say something.” The group’s manager Stig Anderson often suggested song titles and came up with5 Mamma Mia, an Italian expression of surprise, anguish6 or excitement. Although infectiously upbeat7, the song is about ongoing8 heartbreak: the singer has suffered in a relationship, but cannot leave her partner. Improvising in the studio, pianist Benny Andersson found a marimba, a xylophone-like African instrument, and began trying to play it, saying “I just wanted to see what it sounded like. And it changed the course of the song. It made for a really catchy9…

Save the Apostrophe En el mundo anglosajón no es extraño ver rótulos o incluso etiquetas de productos de gran consumo con flagrantes erratas de puntuación. Pero un signo de puntuación en particular, el apóstrofo, se utiliza tan mal que existe una sociedad dedicada a preservar y promover su uso correcto. Nos lo explicará su (indignado) presidente. Bridgerton Conoceremos los detalles de la tercera temporada de esta exitosa serie de Netflix, basada en la saga de novelas de Julia Quinn. En esta nueva entrega, asistiremos a los obstáculos que hacen improbable el romance entre Penelope Featherington (encarnada por la actriz irlandesa Nicola Coughlan) y Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). The National Gallery En mayo comienzan las celebraciones del bicentenario de la National Gallery de Londres. El aniversario, bautizado como NG200, estará marcado…