TEN TIPS FOR GREAT JOB INTERVIEWS

1. RESEARCH THE INDUSTRY AND COMPANY.
An interviewer may ask how you perceive¹ his company’s position in its industry, who the firm’s competitors are, what its competitive advantages are, and how it should best go forward.

2. CLARIFY² YOUR “SELLING POINTS” AND THE REASONS YOU WANT THE JOB.
Prepare to go into every interview with three to five key selling points in mind, such as what makes you the best candidate for the position. Have an example of each selling point prepared (“I have good communication skills.”) And be prepared to tell the interviewer why you want that job.

3. PREPARE FOR COMMON INTERVIEW QUESTIONS.
Pick any list and think about which questions you’re most likely to encounter³, given your age and status (about to graduate, looking for a summer internship⁴, etc). Then prepare your answers so you won’t have to fumble⁵ for them during the actual interview.

4.LINE UP YOUR QUESTIONS FOR THE INTERVIEWER.
Come to the interview with some intelligent questions for the interviewer that demonstrate your knowledge of the company as well as your serious intent. Interviewers always ask if you have any questions, and no matter what, you should have one or two questions ready. If you say, “No, not really,” he or she may conclude that you’re not all that interested in the job or the company.

5. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.
Get two friends and practice interviewing each other in a “round robin”: one person acts as the observer and the “interviewee” gets feedback from both the observer and the “interviewer.” Go for four or five rounds, switching roles as you go.

6. SCORE A SUCCESS IN THE FIRST FIVE MINUTES.
Some studies indicate that interviewers make up their minds about candidates in the first five minutes of the interview – and then spend the rest of the interview looking for things to confirm that decision! So, what can you do in those five minutes to get through the gate? Come in with energy and enthusiasm, and express your appreciation for the interviewer’s time.

7. THINK POSITIVE.
No one likes a complainer, so don’t dwell on negative experiences during an interview. Even if the interviewer asks you, “What courses have you liked least?” or “What did you like least about that previous job?” don’t answer the question.

8. USE THE RIGHT BODY LANGUAGE.
Dress appropriately, make eye contact, give a firm handshake, have good posture⁶, speak clearly, and don’t wear perfume or cologne! Sometimes interview locations are small rooms that may lack good air circulation.

9. SEND THANK-YOU NOTES.
Write a thank-you note after every interview. Type each note on paper or send them by email, depending on the interviewers’ preferences. Customize your notes by referring specifically to what you and the interviewer discussed. Thank-you notes should be sent within 48 hours of the interview.

10. DON’T GIVE UP!
If you’ve had a bad interview for a job that you truly think would be a great fit for you (not just something you want badly), don’t give up! Write a note, send an email, or call the interviewer to let him or her know that you think you did a poor job of communicating why you think this job would be a good match.

Ivana Petrušková

Vocabulary: 1 chápať, vnímať – chápat, vnímat; 2 objasniť, vysvetliť – objasnit, vysvětlit; 3 naraziť na – narazit na; 4 stáž; 5 tápať – tápat; 6 držanie tela, postoj – držení těla, postoj

Weather and Climate
The Earth is getting warmer, and the weather is getting more extreme. There are more natural disasters³, terrible fires, storms and hurricanes. Many areas are getting very dry. 2010-2020 was the hottest decade documented in human history. July 2019 was the hottest month ever documented. Deadly heat waves⁴ killed hundreds in Western Europe. There were terrible fires in Australia in winter.
Arctic regions have lost a lot of ice, Greenland has lost its first glacier⁵. Ships use new routes in the Arctic Sea that they could never use before. Coral reefs are dying and many animal species have become extinct.

Plastic Pollution
In 2018 people realized that plastic is a huge problem. Ten million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean every year. Plastic is everywhere – in the water, in the soil, in animals, and in our food. Experts believe there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050.

Positive Changes
It sounds very bad. But there is still hope. Greta Thunberg and other activists have started a real eco revolution. Millions of people have started to fight for ecology. ‘Climate strike’ became the Word of the Year for 2019 in the Collins Dictionary. Young inventors⁶ are working on technologies that clean the oceans. Fewer people are extremely poor and fewer children die each year in the world. It’s up to us all to help our planet. The race⁷ to save the Earth (and us) has just begun.

Do you celebrate Earth Day?
How do you participate in Earth Day activities?

1[hæz čeindžd fə ðə wəːs] – zmenilo sa k horšiemu/ změnilo se k horšímu;
2[ˈdekeid] – desaťročie/ desítiletí;
3[ˈnæčərəl diˈzaːstəs] – prírodné pohromy/ přírodní pohromy;
4[ˈdedli ˈhiːtˌweivs] – smrtiace horúčavy/ smrtící vlny veder;
5[ˈɡlæsiə] – ľadovec v horách/ ledovec na horách;
6[inˈventəs] – vynálezcovia/ vynálezci;
7[reis] – preteky/ závody

‘Things’ can include countries. During the time of the British Empire, India was known as ‘the Jewel in the Crown.’
Australia is sometimes called ‘Down Under’ (look at the map!) or ‘Oz’ or ‘Aussie’ and New Zealand ‘Godzone,’ short for ‘God’s Own Country.’ Japan is ‘the Land of the Rising Sun’ and Ireland, historically a country of emigration, ‘the Auld Sod.’ (A sod is a lump of earth.) Cities, too, may have nicknames.
New York is ‘the Big Apple,’ Chicago ‘the Windy City,’ and Detroit ‘the Motor City.’ On this side of the Atlantic (also known as ‘the old herring pond’) you can find ‘the Smoke’ (London – so called because of the smog it used to have much of the time), ‘Auld Reekie’ (Edinburgh – again because of smog), or ‘Brum’ (Birmingham).
There are lots of nicknames for nationalities, but unfortunately many of them are insulting¹ and so they have no place in this educational article.
Inoffensive ones include ‘Aussies,’ ‘Kiwis,’ ‘Canucks,’ and ‘Saffers’ (people from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa), and an interesting one is a common US term for Brits, ‘Limeys,’ which has its roots in the habit British ships used to have of giving sailors lime juice to drink, which prevented scurvy².
Another nickname with maritime³ origins is ‘Scousers,’ people from Liverpool, formerly an important port. Sailors on Liverpool ships ate a dish called Lobscouse, which was common on ships from many Northern European countries. The origin of ‘Geordies,’ who come from the area around Newcastle, is not so clear – you can find several theories on the Internet – but it’s easy to guess where ‘Brummies’ are from – if you’re unsure, the paragraph about cities will help you.
Some professions have nicknames – ‘sparks’ for an electrician, a ‘sawbones’ for a surgeon – and in Britain some family names have a traditional nickname attached to them, such as ‘Spud’ Murphy, ‘Dusty’ Miller, or ‘Nobby’ Clark. Sports teams very often have them too – I wrote about nicknames for British football teams in this column in December 2017, for example. But surely the most common use of nicknames is for individual people.
Sadly, they are often quite boring and unimaginative. For example, the wonderful Manchester United midfield unit of twenty years ago consisted of Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, and David Beckham, or, if you prefer, ‘Giggsy’, ‘Keano’, ‘Scholesy’, and ‘Becks’. But they can be more interesting than that. Xherdan Shaqiri, a footballer who plays for Liverpool, is small and strong and is known as ‘the Power Cube,’ and there used to be a rugby player called Martin Offiah, whose nickname was ‘Chariots’ after the hugely successful film Chariots of Fire (so ‘Chariots Offiah’). My mum was very pretty but also very small when she was young and she was known as ‘the pocket Venus.’
A lot of the best nicknames for public figures come from the USA: William ‘The Refrigerator’ Perry was an enormous American footballer, and ‘Boom Boom’ Mancini and ‘Raging Bull’ Jake LaMotta were both boxers. ‘Mad Dog,’ ‘The Weasel,’ and ‘Scarface’ were all gangsters (real names Charles Gargotta, Jimmy Frattiano, and Alphonse Capone), as was ‘Baby Face Nelson’ (Lester Joseph Gillis), and ‘Tricky Dick’ and ‘The Big Dog’ were presidents (Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton). And so on…

ACTIVITIES
• What nicknames do you have for people you know?
• My Latin teacher created Latin nicknames for everyone in my class. Can you do something similar in English?

Simon Gill

Vocabulary: 1 urážlivý; 2 choroba skorbut – choroba kurděje; 3 námorný – námořní

Šárka Valášková

Who Was He?

Shakespeare is one of the most famous writers and most famous Britons of all time. His name, the phrase ‘To be or not to be’ or the name ‘Hamlet’ are known to millions of people. We do not know much about William’s life.
He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon but we don’t know the exact date. We just know that he was baptized³ on 26 April 1564, which is really interesting because William died on 23 April 1616.
William was one of eight children. We don’t know much about his early years, but he probably had good schooling and spent a lot of time outdoors.

In 1582, William married Anne Hathaway and had three kids. Ten years later William appeared in London and started his career as an actor and playwright⁴. He had a tough time because many other writers were very jealous⁵. His theatre company was called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. They performed at the Globe Theatre. William’s plays were big hits and made him famous and rich.
Queen Elizabeth I and King James were big fans of his. William spent his last years back in Stratford-upon-Avon where he died.

What Was the Theatre Like?

In Shakespeare’s times, the theatre was much different from modern theatres.The Globe was a large, open- air⁶ theatre where the poor had to stand on the floor, rain or shine. The rich could sit in covered galleries in comfy seats. All actors were men.
The audience could shout and throw things at actors they didn’t like.
The theatre used special effects such as fire and smoke, trap doors⁷ or cannons. Actors were somtimes lifted up in the air on wires⁸. A replica Globe was opened in London in 1997.

Vocabulary: 1[fəˈɡet it] – kašli na to/ pusť to z hlavy; 2[ba:d of ˈeivən] – Bard z Avonu; 3[bæpˈtaizd] – pokrstený/ pokřtěný; 4[ˈpleirait] – dramatik; 5[ˈdželəs] – žiarlivý/ žárlivý; 6[ˈəupən eə] – pod holým nebom/ pod širým nebem; 7[træp do:s] – padacie dvere/ padací dveře; 8[waiəs] – drôty/ dráty

___ Water Pollution
___ Endangered Species
___ Land Pollution
___ Deforestation
___ Air Pollution
___ Climate Change

Discuss: Besides the problems mentioned in the first activity, can you name some other environmental issues? What are the top three most critical environmental issues, in your opinion? Choose one and write a few sentences about why you think it’s such a big problem.

 When you really start to look into all the problems our planet is facing right now, and the possible solutions that environmentalists have been debating and trying to implement¹ for decades already, you’ll see that there is no simple solution to fix our planet.

Maybe one individual can’t do much to make massive changes that would bring all issues to a halt²; otherwise someone would’ve done that already. But luckily, there are some things we each can do to help, and if everyone does them, together we can slowly turn the tide and
save our planet.
There are three commonly known ways to change your environmental impact³; you probably already learned them at school:
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

Reduce means that you use fewer things that have a negative impact on the environment, e.g., by using reusable bags at the grocery store instead of buying plastic ones every time. Or instead of wrapping⁴ your sandwich in several layers of plastic wrap, you carry it in a little reusable box.

Reusing means that you use something more than once to get more use out of it. Like if you buy a pair of shoes, instead of tossing out⁵ the box, you can use it to store something. And if you do use a plastic grocery bag, use it as many times as possible to get the most use out of it as possible.

Recycling is a term I hope you’re already familiar with. Don’t be lazy; separate your paper and rinse out⁶ your plastics so they can be turned into new products.
Ok, ok, I can just hear you saying that you already know those ways to help the environment, and you want to read some more ways to decrease your carbon footprint. You’re in luck, there are 5 more R’s for you to practice!

Repair:
How many things do you toss out without even trying to fix them first? Instead of sending more junk to the landfill⁷, pull out your screwdriver⁸ or needle and thread, and see if you can make your broken things just like (almost) new.

Remake:
You can find all sorts of helpful tutorials⁹ online to help you turn something that you would normally toss out into something useful. This is known as „upcycling.“ Did you know you can turn an old t-shirt into a mini skirt? Or any plastic bottle into a planter? Or many plastic bottles into a couch or a chair? Upcycling not only keeps good stuff out of the landfills, it also helps you not need to buy as much new stuff. That’s good for your wallet, and it keeps some of your money out of the hands of the companies that have factories that cause so much pollution.

Refuse:
You can bring your own reusable cup when you have a coffee to go, so you can skip out on wasting a disposable¹⁰ one. If you want to get really drastic, you can refuse to buy brands that over-package their products, or always carry your own cutlery¹¹ with you so that you never have to use the plastic throw-away kind.

Remember:
Just having a collection of cloth shopping bags and reusable cups and bottles isn’t going to do any good for the environment if they just sit at home on your kitchen counter. Even your good intentions aren’t good enough. You’ve got to remember to practice the other R’s in order to actually have an impact.

Respect:
Respecting the planet is a mindset¹² you have to adopt in order to get yourself to put the other R’s into practice. Think about it, if we don’t take care of the planet, the consequences could be dire¹³, and we’re already starting to see that.

Leah Ráczová

Vocabulary: 1 realizovať – realizovat; 2 zastaviť – zastavit; 3 dopad, vplyv – dopad, vliv; 4 /ræp/ zabaliť – zabalit; 5 vyhodiť – vyhodit; 6 vypláchnuť – vypláchnout; 7 skládka odpadu – skládka odpadu; 8 skrutkovač – šroubovák; 9 konzultácia, cvičenie – konzultace, cvičení; 10 nevratný, na jedno použitie – nevratný, na jedno použití; 11 príbor (na jedenie) – příbor; 12 prístup, postoj – přístup, postoj; 13 katastrofálne – katastrofální; 14 holý, pustý

But have you ever thought why? It hasn’t always been that way. For many centuries there wasn’t really a lot of international communication in Europe. When there was, Latin was the main language used, at first because of the Roman Empire and then later the Church, which had a near-monopoly on education and literacy¹ and thus also on knowledge. Even now scientific disciplines such as botany, zoology, and anatomy use Latin. Later still, French became the language of diplomacy and German became important in scientific publishing. So, what changed?
Some people like to argue that English has become so universal because of its linguistic qualities. It’s beautiful, they say. Well, I guess most people think their native language is beautiful, so that’s probably not a very good reason.
A native speaker of Polish recently wrote that everyone who speaks English sounds like a duck, and a speaker of Armenian said it sounds as if they have a mouth full of stones.
English has a very rich vocabulary, people claim². But much of that is probably a result of its global character rather than a reason for it. English is easy, they say. That’s just nonsense.
There is no such thing as an easy language. Even highly educated people only know a fraction of the words in their native language. Yes, there’s plenty of simple English around, but again, I’d say that’s a result of the global dominance of English rather than a reason. But I would agree that starting English is easy; you don’t need to dig deep grammatical foundations in the way you would in Czech, Slovak, or Hungarian, for example.
The real reasons start with the British Empire, which exported English all over the world and made it a powerful language for education, administration, and trade in (and between) many countries. The decline of the Empire in the twentieth century happened at the same time as the rise of the USA as the biggest global military, economic, and cultural superpower. English became the dominant language for science and technology, print publishing, films, TV programmes, popular music, computer games, and other cultural products.
Technologies such as radio, TV, personal computers, and, later, the internet and social media helped to extend its influence still further and make it ‘cool.’ The massive recent trend towards globalisation has also had a big influence. Taken together, all these have led to a seemingly unstoppable snowball effect.
Before 1989, English was definitely not so visible here. It was a ‘capitalist language’ and therefore bad. Fast forward to 2022 and English has become one of the things pretty much every educated young person expects to have in their portfolio of skills. It’s also becoming more and more part of the Slovak and Czech languages. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is an issue for discussion, but one thing is for sure: English is truly everywhere.
And I don’t expect that to change any time soon.

Activities:
Take your phone and capture the presence of English where you live. Share your findings with your classmates.
What are your views on the presence of English in your life?

Simon Gill

Vocabulary: 1 gramotnosť – gramotnost; 2 tvrdiť – tvrdit

Although environmental education has not become a school subject in every school yet, The Green School is a project which teaches students not only theoretical but also practical skills to behave and think in an ecological manner. It is intended³ for kindergartens, elementary schools, secondary schools, and special schools.
The project consists of seven steps which are implemented⁴. First, a Green School College is created where pupils and teachers meet to discuss the project. Then, using the Environmental Audit, the school’s environmentally friendly activities are checked. Afterwards, the ideas are gathered⁵ to improve the situation by composing an Environmental Action Plan. It covers seven topics: water, waste, energy, food, transport and air, green administration and greenery, and nature conservation. The objectives can be as follows: reduction of water and energy consumption, reduction of food waste and total waste, reduction of noise and dustiness at school, reduction of automobile transport, increase of recycled paper, creation of gardens and composting sites, etc. Of course, the objectives also include activities to achieve the goals: when trying to avoid water wasting, for example, this may include fixing dripping taps⁶ or using rainwater for watering. To save energy, bulbs can be replaced by energy saving ones. The topic of food is related to activities such as growing vegetables and fruits in school fields. As far as transport is concerned, cars can be banned from entering the campus, organizing a day without cars, and the like. In green schools, recycled paper should be preferred. Searching for the origin and composition of food or a day without meat might be a great challenge too. The implementation helps you find out what has been achieved and what needs to be improved. The next steps are Pro-environmental lessons, informing and involving the community, and drafting⁷ the Eco-Code.
This project also brings friendly relationships between teachers and pupils: positive change of thoughts, enthusiasm, optimism, and meaningful spare time activities. There is always a link between theory and practice. What pupils learn in theory at the lessons can also be practiced in a variety of activities e.g. the pupil learns how to grow vegetables, and then he can get them from the school fields. It brings with it some management thinking. It is necessary to set and plan the goal, then to fulfill this goal and to control its fulfillment. Family and friends are also informed about this project so it requires some form of marketing and presentation. Finally, all the effort is being displayed in an artistic way and is a part of the values of the school – the Eco-Code.
Ecology is, of course, the study of the relationships between organisms and the surrounding world. We are all part of one ecosystem, nothing is separate. This system has not been created by man, but he often acts as the owner. That is why we should realize that we are destroying ourselves by destroying nature. As the oceans, the air, the land, and energy sources have no borders, by destroying our own surroundings, we are destroying the whole world.

ACTIVITY:
Here is a list of activities that can be done in your school in order to make it more eco-friendly. Discuss the degree of importance by choosing the numbers 1-5 (1-most important, 5-least important) and compare your ideas with your classmate. Support your ideas with two or three arguments.

Lýdia Zelenayová

Vocabulary: 1 odhadovať – odhadovat; 2 vybaviť, vystrojiť – vybavit, vystrojit; 3 určený; 4 realizovaný – realizován; 5 zhromaždený – shromažděný, 6 kvapkajúce vodovodné kohútiky – kapajíci vodovodní kohoutky, 7 návrh

World Autism Awareness Day was established by the United Nations as a day to raise awareness¹ about people with Autism Spectrum Disorder throughout the world.

According to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, “On World Autism Awareness Day, we speak out against discrimination, celebrate the diversity of our global community and strengthen our commitment² to the full inclusion and participation of people with autism. Supporting them to achieve their full potential is a vital part of our efforts to uphold³ the core promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: to leave no one behind.”

According to autismspeaks.org, World Autism Awareness week is from 1st to 7th April, but Autism-friendly events and educational activities will usually be taking place all month, especially in the Member States of the United Nations, in order to increase understanding and acceptance, and foster⁴ worldwide support.

Hundreds of thousands of landmarks, buildings, homes and communities around the world will be lighting blue in honour of people living with autism.

WHAT IS AUTISM?
At this point, chances are, you might be asking, “what is autism in the first place?” Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a complicated developmental disorder which includes a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills and interaction, communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior. It can involve a wide range of symptoms and intensity; autistic people range from ones with mild symptoms, to those with disabilities needing full-time care in a special facility.

Parents typically notice the signs of autism spectrum disorder within the first three years of their child’s life, and sadly, autism is a lifelong condition. Early warning signs include problems with communication and social interaction; for example, no social smiling by six months, no babbling⁵, pointing, or meaningful gestures, poor eye contact and nonresponse to sounds, voices or their own name, no sharing of interests or showing items, etc. They often display repetitive behaviors like continually stacking⁶ items or lining up toys or other items.

Autism is believed to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Risk factors for pregnant mothers include certain infections like rubella, alcohol, cocaine, pesticides, lead⁷, toxins including valproic acid⁸, air pollution, autoimmune diseases, etc. Autism affects the interaction of nerve cells and synapses, and subsequently information processing in the brain.

CHALLENGES PEOPLE WITH ASD FACE
Living on the autistic spectrum can come with unique challenges for individuals, as well as their loved ones. These challenges can be minor or very major depending on how far along on the autistic spectrum the sufferers are.
Some autistic people may just have a hard time understanding instructions, and may need a bit more time to process information. Other autistic people may not be able to speak at all or even perform some basic self-care actions. They might have disabilities as a result of their disorder, and they will need full-time care for the rest of their lives.

According to the National Autism Association, the leader in autism safety information, Danish researchers found out in 2008 how high the mortality risk is among the autism population. In fact, twice as high as the general population!
Children with ASD seem to be prone to wandering⁹ and running away from safe environments, and accidental drownings¹⁰ accounted for 91 percent total U.S. deaths reported in children with an ASD ages 14 and younger.

Anxiety¹¹ is a common part of growing up, but according to research and reviews, up to 84 percent of individuals with autism actually have it bad enough to be clinically diagnosed.
Dealing with change is also very challenging for autistic people, and especially autistic children. We all might dislike change in general, but it is especially difficult for them. They really prefer familiar environments and predictable¹² routines due to how their brains work. Even small changes can cause them a lot of stress and anxiety.
Bullying is sadly something that a lot of autistic children have to face. They are especially vulnerable¹³ because of the nature of the disorder and because they find it difficult to process the world around us.

HOW WE CAN HELP
Be Patient when an autistic child does not smile back at you, or does not say thank you when you help him or her out. They are not being rude when they do not match your friendliness. They simply might be socially awkward¹⁴ and afraid of the new environment. A lot of patience and understanding is therefore needed.
Go beyond the blue¹⁵, offer practical help: It’s common in our society when raising awareness about a particular issue that we make a lot of noise on that day, and that’s where it ends. Let us not let it be the case this time. Let’s take the opportunity to help autistic people and various people with disabilities every day and not just in April.
Invite that autistic classmate out to sit with you at lunch. Invite him or her to your birthday party. Embrace¹⁶ them into your social circle.
Help out that single struggling mom with an autistic child. Offer to help with getting her groceries. Offer to push that wheelchair. Offer practical help.
Wearing blue to celebrate diversity, practical help is needed, and humanity is not as beautiful as we are when we seek to offer practical love and help to each other.

Happy World Autism Day!

Activity
Know anyone with autism or some sort of mental or physical activity? Brainstorm ways that you can offer practical help to make their lives easier and help them better contribute to the development of society and culture.
People with disabilities may struggle in some areas, but also have a lot to offer in other areas. Go ahead and include diversity in your friendships and social circles. You shall be pleasantly surprised!

Cara Siskova

Vocabulary: 1 povedomie, uvedomenie si – povědomí, uvědomění si; 2 záväzok, povinnosť – závazek, povinnost; 3 udržať – udržet; 4 podporovať – podporovat; 5 džavotanie – žvatlání; 6 zoraďovať – seřazovat; 7 olovo; 8 kyselina valproová; 9 byť náchylný na túlanie sa – být náchylný toulat se; 10 utopenie – utonutí; 11 strach, úzkosť, nekľud – strach, úzkost, neklid; 12 predvídateľný – předvídatelný; 13 zraniteľný – zranitelný; 14 neobratný, nemotorný, nešikovný; 15 urobte niečo navyše – udělejte něco navíc; 16 začleniť, zahrnúť – začlenit, zahrnout

Allergy Fighters
The old thinking was that if your family had a pet, the children were more likely to become allergic to the pet. And if you came from an allergy-prone family⁴, pets should be avoided.
However, a growing number of studies have suggested that kids growing up in a home with “furred animals” – whether it’s a pet cat or dog, or on a farm and exposed to large animals – will have a lower risk of allergies and asthma⁵. In a recent study, the blood of babies immediately after birth and one year later was analyzed.
If a dog lived in the home, infants were less likely to show evidence of pet allergies – 19% versus 33%. They were also less likely to have eczema⁶, a common skin allergy that causes red patches and itching⁷. In addition, they had higher levels of some immune system chemicals – a sign of stronger immune system activation.
“Dogs are dirty animals, and this suggests that babies who have greater exposure to dirt and allergens have a stronger immune system,” the study says.

Date Magnets
Dogs are great for making love connections. Forget Internet matchmaking – a dog is a natural conversation starter.
This especially helps ease people out of social isolation or shyness, the study says.
“People greet each other, ask about the breed⁸; they watch the dog‘s tricks,” a researcher says. “Sometimes the conversation stays at the ‘dog level;’ sometimes it becomes a real social interchange.”

Dogs for the Aged
A recent study says that dog owners have significantly lower levels of anxiety and depression. Dogs should be loaned⁹ to the elderly because they keep people a decade younger.
So if you have grandparents whom you love, give them a chance to own a dog or at least walk your dog as often as possible.
Dog owners over the age of 65 have fitness levels a decade younger than their biological age, according to a new study.
The authors of the research said that public health officials should introduce “dog loaning” schemes so that more people could benefit from a canine friend.
Previous studies have looked at the positive benefits of pet ownership on the elderly, with dog owners being shown to have fewer symptoms of depression and decreases in blood pressure and heart rate.
However, a study published in Preventative Medicine is the first to examine levels of physical activity in detail among pensioners with and without dogs.
One of the researchers said: “It is well known that pet ownership may help alleviate¹⁰ feelings of loneliness and depression in older people, but one area that has received little attention is the effect of dog ownership on the physical activity levels of the elderly.”
“Our results show that dog ownership is associated with an increased level of physical activity in the over-65s.”
“On average, older dog owners were 12 per cent more active than their counterparts who did not own a dog.”
Throughout the study, the activity of 547 elderly people was monitored – with an average age of 79. Around 50 people – nine per cent – of those monitored were dog owners, and 75 per cent of them walked their dogs.
Over a seven-day period participants were asked to wear an accelerometer which measured their movements. The dog owners were found to match the levels of activity of those without a dog, who were ten years younger.
“Our results suggest that dog ownership may motivate personal activity and enable older people to overcome many potential barriers such as lack of social support, inclement¹¹ weather and concerns over
personal safety.”
The researchers suggest that public health officials should consider setting up schemes to lend dogs to those without them, or to set up walking groups to encourage people to take more exercise.

Critical Thinking
Do you agree with the above statements? Explain your reasons.
Do you have a dog? Why or why not? How much time do you spend with it every day?
Dog ownership also definitely represents nuisances¹². Name a few of them. Dog ownership also means a lot of enjoyment. Name some benefits of owning a dog.

Janka Něničková

Vocabulary: 1.znížiť krvný tlak – snížit krevný tlak; 2. zmenšiť úzkosť, obavy – zmenšit úzkost, obavy; 3. zvyšujú – zvyšují; 4. rodina náchylná na alergie – rodina náchylná na alergie; 5. / æsm∂/ astma; 6. /eksim∂/ ekzém; 7. svrbenie – svědění; 8. plemeno; 9. by sa mali zapožičiavať – by se měli zapůjčovat; 10. /∂li:vieit/ zmierniť, zmenšiť – zmírnit, zmenšit; 11. nevľúdne – nevlídné;12. otrava, mrzutosť – otrava, svízel