Video #5

Today I watched a video which was about the future of English. I was curious to find out what kind of changes English is thought to go through. The first change that was mentioned was related to adverbs' suffixes, particularly the -ly suffix which is slowly disappearing. The second one is connected with adjective suffixes ending with -n, such as wooden, broken etc. These have a tendency to shrink as well. Also, plural forms of nouns are becoming simpler. Instead of irregular forms (like mouse - mice, goose - geese) more regular -s endings are likely to occur. Another phenomenon - shortened future constructions (I'm going to show you - Imma show you) - is already present in the language and will probably become more common over time. Several more interesting modifications were mentioned so I recommend this video to anyone who's curious about the topic.

The average temperature of Earth's oceans is steadily increasing.

Life emerged so long ago that it's unimaginable. 

I should encode the message for security reasons.

https://youtu.be/ojkKXKFm4L4

Video #4

Another video I recently watched tells us the story of, formerly, the 4th largest lake in the world called The Aral Sea. No wonder it had been the center of the fishing economy in that area. Unfortunately, the leader of the USSR, Joseph Stalin, decided to change the course of two rivers which used to feed The Aral Sea - Amu-darya and Syr-darya. He had plans to irrigate the desert and use it to plant different crops, mainly cotton. In order to grant his wish Soviet engineers started to dig irrigation canals in the 1940s. Stalin's plan seemed to work but nobody cared about the future of the lake. Therefore, in the 1960s it began to shrink and now there's only 10% left of its previous size. The levels of salt also increased which is the main cause of The Aral Sea's ecosystem vanishing. As a result there is a gigantic desert covered in salt and useless in terms of agriculture. What's more, toxic chemicals from the lake form toxic dust storms that make local inhabitants suffer from various diseases and increase child mortality. The Aral Sea crisis has been called one of the worst ecological disasters on Earth.

Exercise is vital for humans.

The IT industry will continue to thrive.

The police are trying to unravel the mystery.

https://youtu.be/XJeobqc4mFk

Video #3

Another video I watched focuses on an odd psychological testing method called the Rorschach inkblot test. It was invented in 1921 by a Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach who was very curious about the way human perception works. He decided to show people various ink images and diagnose them, depending on what they'd seen. The test was popular among psychologists and was used to diagnose mental ilnesses and other conditions. It was even used during the Second World War to find out how Nazi Germans' perception worked. In the past people thought the Rorschach test was a reliable psychological tool but today scientists are skeptical about it. The method remains controversial and I think I agree that checking one's mental health takes more than just showing them ink images and hearing how they describe them.

She managed to draw out of her son where he had been.

It is still difficult to quantify the victims of this disaster.

 I hope our actions will yield expected results.

https://youtu.be/LYi19-Vx6go

Video #2

The next video I'd like to comment on is humorously titled 'The dinosaur on your dinner table'. In this video there was an explanation of a fun fact - that our feathered friends are actually related to dinosaurs. Researchers had come to that conclusion by comparing the bones of birds to the bones of a dinosaur called theropod. I was taught about this in biology lessons but I still think it's surprising and pretty interesting. If you've never heard of it before I recommend watching this video. 

https://youtu.be/gQJHuG1Byj0

Tea derived from China.

Europeans travelled to America hoping to unearth gold.

She isn't as agile as she was in her teens.

Video #1

Today I watched a video about a phenomenon I haven't heard of before - light pollution. It turns out that artificial light which illuminates our cities is used excessively and has harmful effects on ecosystems, as well as on human health. For instance, turtle hatchlings have more difficulty with reaching the sea. They are supposed to rely on Moon's glow but city lighting makes them disoriented to the point that some may never find their way. Excess light also impacts humans - it may lead to sleep depriviation, damaged eyesight or even cancer, as it affects our cells negatively. I found the information very interesting. The topic is not mentioned often but seems to be an important issue.

https://youtu.be/V_A78zDBwYE

We're living in a world of information abundance.

Many people, including me, agree that noise is disruptive to concentration.

I was overwhelmed with joy when I heard that I won the competition.

Limerick

There was once an adult man
Who was a huge Harry Potter fan
He lived in his many huts
And would drive the neighbours nuts

Invited over a woman named Tessa
And shouted all day Wingardium Leviosa
She liked Harry and he fell in love

Observations & reflections #5

Recently I found myself envious of my friend's success. It was not a good feeling, not only because of envy itself, but also because of me putting on a brave face. Pretending something is not a good behaviour in a friendship. I pretended that I was happy for her - basically that's what made me feel bad. However, as the time passed, I started to wonder if being envious even makes sense. I came to a conclusion that it doesn't, because it's only us who can change something in our lives. It's only us who can make ourselves succeed by working hard. That reflection helped me a lot. After I realized that, I noticed that whenever I talk with my friend about her success, my envy is not that big anymore. Even more, I can say it has actually disappeared.