How reintroducing wolves helped save a famous park

Wolves were once the top predator in America’s world-famous Yellowstone National Park. But the population was eradicated in the 1920s, leaving the wilderness wolf-free for seven decades. In 1995, however, wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone; this gave biologists a unique opportunity to study what happens when a top predator returns to an ecosystem. They were brought in to manage the rising elk population, which had been overgrazing much of the park, but their effect went far beyond that. In this film, The Nature Conservancy’s lead scientist Dr M Sanjayan, Dr Valerie Kapos of the UN Environment Programme and animal behaviourist Kirsty Peake describe how the returning wolves dramatically changed the park’s rivers, forests – and the landscape itself.

Click on this link to watch the video

COMMENT

I love animals, that's why I chose this article. I think it's pretty interesting how people's opinion on wolves has changed. They have a good image now and that's awesome!

Rediscovered Francis Bacon portraits up for auction - BBC

Two self-portraits by Francis Bacon are going on public display for the first time after being rediscovered in a private collection, before being sold.

Although experts knew the works by the late painter existed, they had no idea who had bought them. Descendants of the original owner have decided to sell the paintings, which are expected to fetch up to £15m each. The artworks are titled Self-Portrait 1975 and Three Studies for Self-Portrait (1980).A Bacon painting featuring his friend and fellow artist Lucian Freud, became the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction when it fetched $142m (£89m) in New York in 2013. Oliver Barker, Sotheby's senior international specialist in contemporary art, described the discovery of the portraits as "a pretty extraordinary collecting moment". "(Art dealer) Marlborough Fine Art kept a photographic archive and so both of these paintings appeared in a book on Bacon's self-portraits, but apart from being reproduced in books they've not been seen," he said. "We knew of the existence of the paintings but simply had no idea where they could be. The first time I saw these paintings it was such a wonderful awakening. They're both so luminous." Self-Portrait 1975 was painted at the height of Bacon's career in the period which followed the suicide of his former lover George Dyer in 1971. Although Bacon was in his 60s he looked much younger in the work, having dyed his hair and worn make-up as he grew older. Three Studies for Self-Portrait (1980) shows him with downcast eyes, increasingly haunted by the inevitability of death. Mr Barker said that the artist "gave himself film star-style looks, appearing as photogenic as possible while still being highly self-critical". "He paints himself with a much more youthful appearance," he said. The self-portraits go on sale at Sotheby's London Contemporary Art Evening Sale on 1 July.

COMMENT

I thought this article was interesting because we are studying art at the moment and many words from the unit's vocabulary appear in it. Also, I'm really interested in paintings and lost masterpieces.

Romeo and Juliet

ROMEO AND JULIET

The Montagues and the Capulets

When the story begins we see both families fighting in the streets of Verona...

Benvolio wanted peace and Tybalt wanted to fight. It was a great insult to bite a thumb at someone. When the Prince arrived he decided that he didn't want any more fights between the two families. At the beginning of the play Romeo was in love with Rosaline. He felt sad because Rosaline did not love him. Benvolio and Romeo discovered that the Capulets were going to celebrate a party. Romeo found out about it reading a servant's list of names. He wanted to go there because Rosaline was going to be there. They decided to wear masks because they did not want to be recognized. At the Capulets' house, Lady Capulet told her daughter that she was supposed to have to get married soon and that she was going to meet Paris at the party.

The garden of the Capulets

Romeo fell in love with Juliet when he saw her for the first time. Tybalt recognized Romeo at the party. He didn't fight against him because Lord Capulet didn't want him to. Romeo and Juliet found out that their parents were enemies. After the party Romeo went to the garden of the Capulets. There, Juliet was talking to the night. They decided to get married.

A formal letter

Dear Sir or Madam,

I represent a group called 'Green lovers'. I am writing to you because we are concerned about plans to build a motoroway in our area.

In our opinion, the council should not close the park. A motorway would reduce the number of green areas we have in our town, which is not good. Also, cars would make a lot of noise and neighbors would complain. On the other hand, green areas give the residents a place to relax, go for a walk and have fun with their children. We are not interested in losing that.

We have therefore decided to take action, and we are going to organize a protest. For this reason, we are sending you a poster and we hope that you will support us and help to publicize this event.

Yours faithfully,

Elisenda Veciana
Grup Coordinator
Green lovers

Shailene Woodley

She's divergent!

This month, you can see Shailene in the second Divergent film, Insurgent. Shailene's natural lifestyle is very different to Hollywood glamour!

The planet
Shailene is a big fan of organic food and she is fascinated by indigenous cultures. "If you're in the city, then you can't go back to hunter-and-gatherer times"she says. But she makes an effort to adapt her ideology to urban life. "Pick up that piece of trash you pass every day," she says. "Or turn the water faucet off when you're brushing your teeth".

No technology
With the Divergent films, Shailene became famous very quickly. To protect her privacy, she now avoids technology, and doesn't have a mobile phone. Shailene communicates directly with people, and this way, no one can steal her personal information. "The more you get away from all the technological buzz, the more freedom you have" she says.

"If we want to save the planet we need to start saving ourselves"

Natural solutions
Shailene has a natural lifestyle, which is rare for a Hollywood star. "I gather my own spring water from mountaing every month" she says. "I go to a farm to get my food." She even makes her own toothpaste, body lotion, face cream and herbal medicine. She eats clay to purify her body, and she has a secret for beautiful hair: "I only shampoo it once a month. The oilier, the better!".

Compassion
Shailene comes from a very open family who discuss things a lot. "It was all very cerebral," she says. When Shailene was 10 years old, she lost a big film role to Dakota Fanning. But her  father suggested that, rather than be jealous of Dakota, Shailene should send Dakota her love. "There was a lot of analyzing situations from a place of compassion and empathy. I think that made me who I am today."

A balanced future
At just 23 years of age, Shailene is already planning her future. The big challenge is to be happy in two very different worlds: her idealistic, organic world and life in Hollywood. She has thought a lot about how to balance the two in the future... "I'd like to be living somewhere in the middle of the woods, flying to L.A when I need to." Shailene has found a Hollywood compromise!