[206] Sports champion and human rights legend Muhammad Ali

TRAVEL NEWS WIRE…

Sports champion and human rights legend Muhammad Ali was buried in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. He won a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy, and went on to be heavyweight boxing champion of the World. After winning the gold medal, he went to a restaurant in his hometown, and the waitress told him “We don’t serve negroes.” He converted to Islam in 1964. He refused to join the U.S. army during the time of the Vietnam War, and stood up for rights of African Americans with his famous quote “No Viet Cong ever called me a nigger.”

His funeral was attended by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, human rights activist Jesse Jackson, actor Will Smith, and boxing champions Sugar Ray Leonard and Lennox Lewis, along with thousands of others.

HEALTH AND TECH NEWS

Fake store employees steal Apple phones Police in New York have reported that a team of thieves have stolen more than 15,000$ of iPhones in one day simply by dressing like Apple store employees. The thieves gathered the phones and then slipped them under their clothes, before calmly walking out of the store. They stole 19 phones in one day. Last March a similar team stole 59 iPhones from one store.

THIS WEEK’S NATURAL PHRASE

double-check

Adeline: When is the first train in the morning from New Delhi?

Miles: I think the first train leaves at 5:32am, but let me double-check on the station schedule app. Hmm………no, actually the first train is at 5:05am.

Adeline: That’s good to know, but I don’t think I can get to the train station that early in the morning. Thanks for double-checking the information, though.

Explanation: To “double-check” means to check information a second time. We use this phrase as a polite way to ask someone to check the information again.

THIS WEEK’S MEDICAL PHRASE

diagnostic tool

Mr. Yong: Doctor, I’ve had very bad stomach pains, and sometimes I find blood when I go to the bathroom. What do you think is wrong with me?

Doctor Martinez: We can check your body by using a nasal endoscopy tube. It’s a thin cable with a tiny camera. We’ll use it to see inside your throat and your stomach.

Mr. Yong: I hate the idea of someone pushing a tube up my nose and then down my throat. Can’t we avoid that?

Doctor Martinez: You have to know that endoscopy is an important diagnostic tool. It will help us to diagnose the source of your pain.

Explanation: A “diagnostic tool” means any device that helps the medical team to diagnose a patient’s problem.

THIS WEEK’S BUSINESS/EMAIL PHRASE

halfway measure

Hello Cora:

Our sales have increased so rapidly that we have trouble making enough products. We asked a new supplier to handle an additional 5,000 units per week, but it’s only a halfway measure. I need you to look for a new property where we can build a new factory. Please give me a list of possible locations by next week.

Explanation: The term “halfway measure” means that a complete solution has not been found. Only a temporary solution has been found at the moment.