I got one word for you all: ADOLESCENCE.
#Netflix

Adolescence has seen significant viewership success on Netflix following its release. In its first three weeks, the series garnered 96.7 million views on the platform.

By now, you’ve probably heard about the revival of the dire wolf, a species that went extinct 10,000 years ago. I’m sharing this fascinating article in case you’d like to learn more.

https://time.com/7274542/colossal-dire-wolf/#

The way the article is written really reminds me of the kind of language you often see in IELTS reading texts.

The paragraph below clearly illustrates the point:

Romulus and Remus are doing what puppies do: chasing, tussling, nipping, nuzzling. But there’s something very un-puppylike about the snowy white 6-month olds—their size, for starters. At their young age they already measure nearly 4 ft. long, tip the scales at 80 lb., and could grow to 6 ft. and 150 lb. Then there’s their behavior: the angelic exuberance puppies exhibit in the presence of humans—trotting up for hugs, belly rubs, kisses—is completely absent. They keep their distance, retreating if a person approaches. Even one of the handlers who raised them from birth can get only so close before Romulus and Remus flinch and retreat. This isn’t domestic canine behavior, this is wild lupine behavior: the pups are wolves. Not only that, they’re dire wolves—which means they have cause to be lonely.

Nihoyat rasman e’lon qilindi.

Aslida, ruchka yoki qalam bo‘lishining unchalik farqi yo‘q.

Chunki agar answer sheetdagi javobingizni o‘zgartirmoqchi bo‘lsangiz, shunchaki ustidan chizib, yoniga to‘g‘ri javobni yozib qo‘yishning o‘zi kifoya.

Writing qismida ham xuddi shunday — biror so‘zni o‘chirmoqchi bo‘lsangiz, ustidan chizib qo‘ysangiz bas.

https://www.tg-me.com/examsuz/1708

Reading an article a day keeps your IELTS worries away.

When reading articles like this one, don’t try to focus on everything at once. Instead, pick one or two aspects of the language to zoom in on.

For today’s article, I recommend paying attention to useful grammar structures.

Read it once and highlight any interesting sentence patterns or constructions you notice. Then, try breaking one of them down to see how it works.

Which grammar structure did you find useful from the article? Let us know in the comments section!

Tell me what you make of this short film; it’s less than 3 minutes long but leaves quite an impression.

https://youtu.be/P5_Msrdg3Hk?si=6TaaWF4gYSETqYlC

#DailyReading

A lot of people think getting rid of standardized tests helps disadvantaged students — but what if it’s actually the opposite?

This article from The Economist makes a pretty strong case for why keeping the SAT and ACT might do more to level the playing field than we realize.

#SelectArticles
#TheEconomist

I only post a #WordOfTheDay when I truly think the word is worth a closer look.

So, how confident are you with the word “given”? Let’s explore!

📖 #WordOfTheDay: GIVEN

Even though the OALD above highlights the adjective meaning of “given,” I thought it’d be helpful to explore its other uses too.

🔹 Preposition:
"Given the weather, we canceled the picnic."
*(= Considering; taking into account)*

🔹 Adjective:
1️⃣ "The assignment must be done by a given date."
*(= Already arranged or specified)*
2️⃣ "At a given moment, the signal will flash."
*(= Particular; specific)*
3️⃣ "She’s given to dramatic outbursts."
*(= Inclined or prone to something)*

🔹 Conjunction ("given that"):
"Given that it’s raining, we’ll stay indoors."
*(= Because; since)*

🎯 Idiom: "To be given to (doing) something" = To have a habit/tendency.
*Example*: "He’s given to biting his nails when nervous."

💡 Bonus: As a noun, *"given"* means a known fact ("It’s a given that practice improves skills!").

Which usage surprised you the most?

#CommonErrors

Each of these sentences contains a mistake that many English learners make. See if you can spot them WITHOUT consulting the AI:

1. During the protests, some students were killed and others were seriously damaged.

2. Most of the damage has been produced by acid rain.

3. We all know about the damage that smoking can do in our health.

4. The car crashed into a tree and suffered a serious damage.

Here are the correct answers with explanations:

❌ During the protests, some students were killed and others were seriously damaged.

✅ During the protests, some students were killed and others were seriously wounded/injured.

Explanation: People are hurt/injured/wounded, not damaged — that word is used for things.

❌ Most of the damage has been produced by acid rain.

✅ Most of the damage has been caused by acid rain.

Explanation: Use cause/do damage — NOT make or produce.

❌ We all know about the damage that smoking can do in our health.

✅ We all know about the damage that smoking can do to our health.

Explanation: The correct preposition is to, NOT in.

❌ The car crashed into a tree and suffered a serious damage.

✅ The car crashed into a tree and suffered serious damage.

Explanation: Damage is usually an uncountable noun, so no “a” or plural here.

But there is a context where “damages” (with an -s) is correct. Any guesses?