[219] Wing part from missing Malaysian Airlines MH370

TRAVEL NEWS WIRE…

Wing part from missing Malaysian Airlines MH370 A section of wing from the Malaysian Airlines flight that disappeared in March of 2014 has been found on the East African coastline of Tanzania. Experts checked the markings of the wing section and confirmed that it belonged to the Boeing 777 that disappeared. The flight had 239 passengers and crew on board when it departed from Kuala Lumpur airport.

HEALTH AND TECH NEWS

How many drinking straws do we use and throw away? A report by ecocycle.com points out that Americans use and throw away 500 million drinking straws each day. According to the report, those straws are enough to fill 127 school buses. This has negative effects on the environment, and brings virtually no benefit for people over the age of three or four. Some people suffer from physical disabilities, and need drinking straws, but most people are able to pick up a glass and drink from it without difficulty.

THIS WEEK’S NATURAL PHRASE

headwinds

Saori: How was your flight from Frankfurt to Tokyo?

Corey: Most of the flight was smooth, but we were flying into headwinds for most of the time in the air, so we landed 30 minutes later than scheduled.

Explanation: When a flight has “headwinds” we mean that there is wind going against the direction of the airplane. It will slow the plane down. We can also say that a business “is flying into headwinds” if they have a difficult time. The opposite is “tailwinds” meaning that the wind is helping to push the airplane forward.

THIS WEEK’S MEDICAL PHRASE

widely available

Mrs. Jones: I have had a bad cold for several days now. Can you prescribe some strong medicine to help me?

Dr. Jackson: Well, I understand your concern, but I don’t think that strong and expensive prescription medicines are needed in this case. There are some widely available medicines that you can buy at any drug store without a prescription. And they will have a lower risk of side effects.

Explanation: The phrase “widely available” means that something can be found at many stores in many cities. Many over-the-counter non-prescription drugs are widely available at normal drug stores.

THIS WEEK’S BUSINESS/EMAIL PHRASE

mingle

Hello Mr. Green:

We are invited to a party on Friday. Even though the location is on the other side of the city, I think that we should attend, and mingle with the other guests. We might be able to make friends and get some new clients.

Explanation: The verb “mingle” means to talk with many people, including new people who you don’t know.