So what has happened in the world this week?

GOOD WEEK FOR:

• A man from Oregon, USA, who has ended a 2,000 km swim after spending 13 months in the icy waters of the Columbia River to raise awareness about its pollution. Christopher Swain, 35, began the journey in Canada more than a year ago. He battled six ear infections, three bouts of shoulder inflammation, two episodes of swollen lymph nodes, colds, sunburn, and chafed skin.
• Visitors to Alcatraz, who can now buy chunks of concrete from the walls of the famous prison. A piece of the historic rubble about the size of a golf ball costs $4.95.
• A villager in South Africa, who saved a young boy's life after wrestling a leopard to the ground by jamming his fingers in the beast's mouth. The 52-year-old is recovering in hospital after his arms, hands and feet had been savaged.
• A German housewife, who found a small fortune hidden in the back of a second-hand stereo system she had just bought. The 43-year-old was cleaning the equipment when she found two savings books from accounts worth more than 75,000 euros (US$85,000 dollars). She had bought the stereo system for 50 euros from a second-hand shop.
• A Swedish woman, who hopes to climb Mount Everest on a motorcycle in a bid to beat the unofficial world record for the highest altitude on a bike.
• German car drivers, after a court ruled that a man who had sex while driving at 100 km / hour down a motorway did not commit an offence.

BAD WEEK FOR:

• Nervous swimmers, with the news that man-eating sharks are coming to Britain. Thanks to global warming scientists say it is only a matter of time before Great White sharks make an appearance off our shores.
• Students of a Christian college in Australia, which has banned J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books because the tales of the boy wizard's exploits are "evil". "The Potter books portray and promote witchcraft as normal and that is not a policy the school wants to promote to young minds," said the principal of the college near Melbourne.
• Singapore Airlines, which made an unscheduled stop to eject a passenger who became unruly after a heated argument with his girl friend. The Australian man have to pay the A$25,000 bill.
• A man from New Hampshire, USA, who has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend after she beat him in an arm-wrestling match and called him a "wimp." The woman mocked her boyfriend after winning the contest and he responded by grabbing her by the hair, dragging her down a set of stairs and punching her several times in the head.
• An Oklahoma man, who was arrested on suspicion of beating his wife and faced a year in prison. However, when he spat in an arresting policeman’s face, he received a life sentence instead. The 36-year-old man was convicted with "placing bodily fluid upon a government employee."
• A Finnish man, who killed his wife and then cut the corpse in half so it would fit into a single plastic bag. He turned up for work the next day but left early to confess to police.
• An escaped circus monkey, who entered a pizzeria in a small German town and vandalised the ladies toilet even though the owner had tried to pacify the animal with salad and rolls.
• A German man, who woke up to find himself completely naked in the middle of a street after sleepwalking from home. The 37-year-old man called police at around 6 a.m. after discovering he had left his house-keys at home.
• Employers in Manchester, England; A survey of more than 4,300 businesses across the UK found that "Mancunians" called in sick more than anyone else in the country, an average of 11 days each a year. The most common causes of workplace illness and absenteeism were: food poisoning (24%), back problems (23%) and colds and flu (21%). Not surprisingly, the survey found Friday and Monday were the days most commonly missed because of illness.

POLITICALLY CORRECT OR MADNESS?

A family of asylum seekers is suing a London council for offering them inadequate housing. The Anufrijevas family, who fled Lithuania for Britain, rejected a GBP250,000 house in New Cross, London, because it did not have the "spacious gardens and orchard" of their house in Lithuania.

STATISTICS OF THE WEEK:

42% of Britons regularly work more than the national average of 48 hours a week. 45% wish they got more sleep. 52% would chose an extra hour of sleep over more sex.

QUOTATION OF THE WEEK:

"Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city."

So, that is the news for this week. How did you find last week’s homework? Difficult? Well, here are the answers:

PART A

1. Ivan was on cloud nine all day. (+)
2. Ivan was in a really black mood this morning. (-)
3. Ivan’s been going round like a bear with a sore head all day. (-)
4. Ivan seems to be in high spirits tonight. (+)
5. Ivan felt browned off with the situation. (-)
6. Ivan seems to be keeping her chin up. (+)
7. You’re looking down in the dumps. What happened? (-)
8. Ivan had a face as long as a fiddle. (-)
9. Ivan’s as happy as the day is long. (+)
10. Ivan was over the moon when she heard the news. (+)