STAYING ALIVE

Ho-ho. What’s up, dear English learners? I hope you’re both alive and kicking… at the same time. I’ve spent the whole week thinking about the meaning of life and death, and I must assure you it’s been some hard thinking. The result? I’ve come to the conclusion they are both meaningful. And here’s a story to prove that.

1. Translate the following words into Russian without using your battered English-Russian dictionary:

• If you can identify someone or something, you are able to recognize them or distinguish them from others.
• If you say that someone or something turns up, you mean that they arrive, often unexpectedly or after you have been waiting a long time.
• If something is in full swing, it is operating fully and is no longer in its early stages.

READING FOR MAIN IDEA

Read the text and say what you’ve learnt from it:

Angela Saraiva, 20, from Argentina, was only gone for 20 hours and was amazed to find herself declared dead.
Her worried mother mistakenly identified a dead body as being that of her daughter. And the funeral was in full swing when Ms Saraiva finally turned up again.
She said: "My parents thought I was this woman because she looked just like me.
"I loved this whole experience, it made me realize how much my friends and family love me and how much they would miss me if I die; that made me feel important!"