People in Tokyo asked to turn off lights in heat wave
30th June - "Easier"
Japan's government has asked people to use less electricity during a heat wave
Five planets line up 'like string of pearls'
27th June - "Harder"
Five major planets in our solar system lined up in a row over the weekend.
Africa museum to be one of world's greatest sights
23rd June - "Easier"
A museum in Africa will be among the world's top 100 places to visit.
Italy's largest river experiencing drought
20th June - "Harder"
Large areas of Italy's River Po is dying up.
New Zealand may tax farm animal burps
16th June - "Easier"
New Zealand is thinking about a new tax on the burps of sheep and cows.
Google Maps now lets you find fresh air
13th June - "Harder"
Google has just unveiled a real-time air quality index on Google Maps.
Study finds blue is the most popular colour
9th June - "Easier"
A new study has found that the most common favourite colour is blue.
Footballer unhurt after gunfight during mugging
6th June - "Harder"
A Premier League footballer had a lucky escape thanks to the heroism of a police officer.
Tom Cruise's "Top Gun: Maverick" breaks records
2nd June - "Easier"
Tom Cruise's Top Gun: Maverick movie has broken box office records across America.
Japan opens to foreign tourists after two years
30th May - "Harder"
Japan will reopen to overseas tourists and end its two-year pandemic closure.
Millionaires say 'tax us more'
26th May - "Easier"
A group of wealthy business leaders who own multi-billion-dollar companies has asked their governments to tax them more.
More cases of monkeypox detected worldwide
23rd May - "Harder"
The WHO reported there have been 120 worldwide cases of the rare monkeypox virus.
Tonga volcano eruption was a record explosion
19th May - "Easier"
The Tonga volcano was the biggest explosion recorded using modern technology.
Google Translate adds 24 new languages
16th May - "Harder"
Google Translate has added 24 languages to its translation service.
Airlines miss most of their climate change targets
12th May - "Easier"
A new report says airlines in the U.K. have missed all their climate change targets since 2000, except one.
New eye drops improve vision without glasses
9th May - "Harder"
New eye drops have been developed that can help people with blurred vision.
Gardeners urged not to cut the grass
5th May - "Easier"
A charity in the UK wants people not to cut the grass in their garden to help biodiversity.
Plant-based milk becoming more popular
2nd May - "Harder"
Plant-based milks have been growing in popularity for the past decade.
Elon Musk buys Twitter for $44 billion
28th April - "Easier"
The world's richest person, Elon Musk, has bought the social media site Twitter.
Hundreds of unpunished crimes at UK royal palaces
25th April - "Harder"
Hundreds of unpunished crimes have taken place at London's royal households.
Half the world's population get headaches
21st April - "Easier"
A new report says half of us suffer from headaches.
Electric scooter gets speaker to sound like sports car
18th April - "Harder"
Segway is selling a speaker accessory that can add V12 engine noises to scooters.
Scientists make skin look 30 years younger
14th April - "Easier"
Scientists have developed a method to "time jump" cells in human skin.
UK's help for Ukraine refugees called 'a disgrace'
11th April - "Harder"
A popular UK radio host has lambasted the UK's response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis.
WHO says 99% of people breathe unhealthy air
7th April - "Easier"
The WHO has found that almost everyone on Earth breathes unhealthy air.
'Shrinkflation' now widespread in goods and services
4th April - "Harder"
A new phenomenon is taking hold across the world - "shrinkflation".
Will Smith apologizes to Chris Rock after Oscars slap
31st March - "Easier"
Actor Will Smith has apologized to comedian Chris Rock for slapping him at the Oscars.
People in the UK have no money to boil potatoes
28th March - "Harder"
Some people in the UK do not have enough money to use gas or electricity to boil potatoes.
Sleeping with a light on can harm our health
24th March - "Easier"
Not everyone knows how important it is to sleep in the dark.
Company makes smartphone you can repair yourself
21st March - "Harder"
A new company has produced a self-repairable mobile phone.
World's largest ever cruise ship sets sail
17th March - "Easier"
The largest cruise ship ever made has set sail.
Digital detox leads to better health and lifestyle
14th March - "Harder"
Many studies suggest the need for "digital detox" to become part of our lives.
Study says plant-based diet helps heart a little
10th March - "Easier"
A study suggests eating lots of vegetables may not greatly reduce the risk of a heart attack.
TikTok videos to be 10 minutes long
3rd March - "Easier"
TikTok users will soon be able to upload 10-minute-long videos.
See the links below for earlier lessons.
Lessons were produced every day between Nov 2004 and Dec 2005.
Lessons were produced at "easier" and "harder" levels between Apr 2005 and Aug 2006.
Podcasts started in Apr 2005.
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