WOULD - different uses and key to exercises

                  WOULD

1. To express unlikely or unreal situations:

Ex. We wouldn’t be here if we had taken the right train.

2. To express a past hypothesis or regret:

Ex. I wouldn’t have failed if I had worked hard.

3. To express habitual past with active verbs:

Ex. As a child, I’d walk to school every day.

4. To express the future in the past:

Ex. She met the man she would one day marry.

5. To express a refusal:

Ex. The car wouldn’t start.

6. To give advice:

Ex. If I were you, I’d stop smoking now.

7. To introduce cautious opinions:

Ex. I’d say / I’d imagine he is a good colleague.

8. To make polite requests, and express wants and preferences:

Ex. Would you mind opening the window?

I’d like to leave now. I’d prefer to go by train.

9. Past of will (often in reported speech):

Ex. She said she would come.

Key to exercises:

Togolese innovators turn the world's junk into robots

Togo imports an estimated 500,000 tonnes of e-waste a year, some of it can be a health hazard, but it also inspires local innovators and provides jobs.

It looks like a spider and it moves like one, but this robot creature cannot just be dismissed as a toy.

It is also a symbol of the digital revolution brewing in one of West Africa's smallest countries.

"I made this from a [discarded] 3D printer," Ousia Foli-Bebe says, pointing as his robotic arachnid.

"The plastic retrieved from the printer became the arms and legs. And I made a 3D printer as well from e-waste. I actually learned how to make the printer from the internet," he adds.

Mr Foli-Bebe takes the robot spider into schools hoping to interest the students in science and recycling.

"My hope is to make a science kit so that they can begin to make their own things and solve the problems of this community," the inventor says.

His Ecotec lab is situated in Amadanhome on the outskirts of Togo's capital, Lomé.

It is a modest space, with a blackboard dominating one wall and a 3D printer next to the opposite wall.

The 29-year-old is one of a growing number of young entrepreneurs who see all the e-waste imported by Togo as an opportunity.

Local environmental body E-Waste Centre estimates that 500,000 tonnes come into the country every year.

Outside his lab is a motley collection of old televisions and other used electronic goods spread over a tennis-court-sized dumpsite.

Conveniently, Mr Foli-Bebe shares the site with an e-waste recycler, giving easy access to parts for his inventions.

He admits he has learned a lot about recycling from others such as Gnikou Afate, who is credited with having made the first 3D printer in Togo.

So impressive was Mr Afate's homemade printer that it took first place at the Barcelona Fabrication Technology conference in 2015.

The soft-spoken 39-year-old innovator, who previously used to collaborate with another technology hub called Woelab, one of the best in town, recently started his own lab and operates out of a small workspace next to his house.

The new 'goldmine'

"At first, electronic waste was a plague - that's how we used to describe it," Mr Afate says.

"Our streets were littered with old computer bodies rotting away. But today that problem has turned into an opportunity. E-waste could be described as a goldmine."

Only 41 countries in the world, , most of them European, collect statistics on e-waste, according to The Global E-waste Monitor report.

In 2016 people around the world generated about 44 million tonnes of electronic waste, the report said.

Old mobile phones, laptops, TVs and generators jammed inside vans and lorries form part of what comes through Lomé's port.

The vehicles are opened up at a market next door to the port and the buyers gather round.

The rising demand for technology has created a market for people who want to buy second-hand electronics at bargain prices.

But it is not just demand for these products that is encouraging their arrival. It is also the inadequate recycling available in richer countries.

Organisations such as the Basel Action Network are raising concerns that Western countries are simply not handling their own electronic waste effectively, leaving it destined to end up on cargo ships bound for West Africa, among other places.

"The world does not know what to do with the e-waste that it is producing. Africa offers the best environment for dumping," says activist Sena Alouka from Youth for the Environment Togo.

"We have a weak regulatory framework, weak institutions and corruption also aids in the movement of e-waste. We need to emulate Thailand who threatened to use her military to ban the import of electronic waste."

While it is not against international law to export used goods to other countries, the problem comes about if these goods no longer work as outlined by treaties such as the Basel and Bamako conventions.

The Bamako convention, which came into force in 1998, commits African nations to banning the importation of hazardous waste, including radioactive material.

It also encourages countries on the continent to adopt legislation to control the importation of near-end-of-life or unwanted equipment by designating such equipment as hazardous waste.

"Think of a set of televisions - they have cadmium, lead and beryllium. All those are toxic and very dangerous to humans and to the environment," Mr Alouka says.

"They can find their way to aquifers, spill into the ocean. We eat the fish. They contain mercury and much more. [It is] very dangerous for our health. Especially to our children."

It is, however, a challenge to regulate electronic waste management because many people earn a living from it.

"If you look at the types of waste which arrives here, a lot of it is highly dangerous and toxic so we should really evaluate the economic impact that it could have on our environment," Hervé Tchamsi from the E-Waste Centre, a recycling business, says.

His team tries to minimise their exposure to the hazardous materials in the e-waste and he hopes this higher standard will one day be the norm in Togo.

Sent back to Europe

But for now, what they cannot repurpose, they export back to Europe, where it originally came from. An irony that is not lost on Mr Tchamsi.

"Here are the TVs that contain the toxic materials. We pay to send these back to Belgium for recycling - because we do not have the capacity here to recycle the e-waste in a safe way," he explains.

In a country with limited job opportunities for its young people there is huge potential for this industry.

Innovators and entrepreneurs alike are trying to come up with solutions that harness that potential and mitigate the dangers.

By Waihiga Mwaura

BBC NEWS

You can now watch some interesting videos and pictures published by BBC News clicking here:

Togolese innovators

Key Differences Between Customer and Client

The important differences between customer and client are discussed as under:

1. A person who purchases goods and services, from the company is known as the Customer. Client refers to someone who seeks professional services from the company.
2. There exist an agency agreement between the client and the service provider. Conversely, there is no such agreement between the customer and the business entity.
3. The customer engages in a transaction with the company whereas the company and clients are in a fiduciary relationship with each other.
4. A company focuses on selling the product and services to the customer. On the other hand, the company focuses on serving the client.
5. The company offers goods and services to its customers. Talking about clients, who seek for professional services like advisory, legal, consultancy and may more.
6. The degree of personal attention required in case of the customer is less as compared to the client.
7. A relationship between customer and business exist for a short term only. However, a customer can have repeated transactions but only for a limited time. In the case of a client, the business engages in a long-term project with the client.

Conclusion

The main difference between the words customers and clients is in the terms selling and serving. There are many instances that can make you think that these two entities are different. As for example, a company has the client of United States, to whom the company serves its professional services and at the same time the company offers and sells its products to the customers of different parts of the world.

Both are very important part of the organisation as they help the organisation to grow and flourish in the long term. The business should make products as per the demands of the customer and provide services according to the client’s requirement. This will prove helpful for the company to retain old and existing or new customers and clients.

You have the link here, in case you'd like to read more:

Customer vs client

Speaking about Nigeria ...

One culture, two languages.

Watch this conversation between a Nigerian mother (Habiba) and her British daughter (Lola) about language.

BBC_stories

Now answer these questions:

1. Why did they stop speaking to their daughter in Yoruba at home?
2. What is the "Windrush thing" Lola mentions? Maybe you'll have to do some research!
3. How do Nigerians get their names, according to the mother?
4. When does the  mother become so emotional and why?
5. Was it hard for Lola not to speak Nigerian fluently when she met other Nigerians?

Western lifestyle may cause blood pressure to rise with age

A western lifestyle might be the reason blood pressure tends to rise with age, according to a study of remote tribal communities.

Hypertension is a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and in many developed countries, including the UK, the likelihood of developing increases with age. More than a quarter of adults in England have high blood pressure, with recent figures showing the proportion rises to 58% among those aged 65-74.

A study of remote communities in the Venezuelan rainforest has backed the idea that hypertension is not an inherent part of ageing, but a result of longer exposure to risks arising from lifestyle, such as high levels of salt in the diet, lack of exercise and heavy drinking.

Dr Noel Mueller, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University, who led the research, said: “The idea that blood pressure rises with age as part of a natural phenomenon is increasingly being dispelled through evidence, including our findings here, which show that in a population that is largely free of exposure to western influences, there is no age-related rise in blood pressure.”

Writing in the Jama Cardiology journal, Mueller and his colleagues report how they contacted two rainforest communities. One, the Yanomami, has had very little contact with the western world. The group has a hunter-gatherer-gardener lifestyle and does not eat much salt.

The other is the nearby Yekwana community, which has experienced some aspects of western life through trade facilitated by an airstrip, including commodities such as processed food and salt, as well as the presence of visitors – including missionaries, medical professionals and miners.

The team took the blood pressure of 72 Yanomami people and 83 from the Yekwana community aged between one to 60. While previous research has highlighted the low blood pressure of the Yanomami, this is the first time children were included in such work.

Yekwana participants showed an increase in blood pressure with age – albeit at a far lower level than seen in the US, for example. However, in the Yanomami community, blood pressure stayed approximately the same.

While infants in both communities had similarly low measurements, the team noted that by the age of 10, Yekwana and Yanomami children showed significant differences in blood pressure, with the divergence increasing with age.

“[That] to us indicates that interventions to prevent the rise in blood pressure and high blood pressure need to start early in life, where we can still have the opportunity to modify some of the exposures that might lead to high blood pressure,” Mueller said.

However, the study is very small – only 11 Yekwana individuals over the age of 40 took part in the research – and the research did not unpick exactly which lifestyle and diet differences might be behind the trends for age and blood pressure.

“It is unclear whether these factors fully explain the results, which may also be partly due to genetic factors,” said Dr James Sheppard, an expert in hypertension at Oxford University who was not involved in the study. He added that another problem was that the research did not measure the participants’ blood pressure as they aged, and participants were relatively young.

Prof Bryan Williams, a specialist in hypertension at University College Hospital in London, said: “[The study] gives us a glimpse at what a normal blood pressure trajectory would be like without the impact of westernisation – many more people would have a normal blood pressure throughout life.”

The hypertension seen older people in western countries such as the UK, he added, was caused by a stiffening of the large arteries. “This most likely represents some genetic predisposition but is powerfully influenced by lifestyle, as suggested by this study. It points once again to the importance of a healthy lifestyle to delay ageing of the arteries and delay the rise in blood pressure with age.”

14 Nov 2018 Nicola Davis, The guardian

Group 4 - 6.30

Here you have the glossary you have prepared so far.

Glossary prologue - chapter 8

Children urged to play outdoors to cut risk of shortsightedness

Research reveals link between environmental factors and rising cases of myopia 

Children should be encouraged to spend time outdoors to reduce their risk of becoming shortsighted, experts have said.

Shortsightedness is rising around the world, with the condition said to have reached epidemic proportions in east Asia: estimates suggest about 90% of teenagers and young adults in China have the condition.

While genetics are thought to play a large role in who ends up shortsighted – a condition that is down to having an overly long eyeball – research also suggests environmental factors are important.

Several studies have found children who spend more time outdoors have a lower risk of myopia. While some report that looking into the distance could be important, others say exposure to outdoor light is key.

Experts say they have found new factors, and confirmed others, which could affect a child’s risk of becoming shortsighted. These include playing computer games, being born in the summer and having a more highly educated mother.

“There is not much you can do about when your child is born … but periods indoors doing indoor activities does increase your risk of myopia,” said Katie Williams, an author of the study by King’s College London. “A healthy balance of time outdoors and a balance during early education is important.”

Writing in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, Williams and her colleagues report how they used data from the twins early development study, which followed children born in England and Wales between 1994 and 1996. The project tracked their development, behaviour and education through questionnaires and tests, and studied their genetics.

Using data from 1,077 individuals for which all the necessary information was available – and taking into account factors such as age, sex and family relatedness – the team found children born by fertility treatment had a 37% reduced odds of myopia by the time of a sight test in their mid-teens.

“That wasn’t something we were expecting,” said Williams. She added that one reason is that such children have a lower birth weight and gestation, which might mean they have a slight neurodevelopmental delay.

However, those born in the summer had almost twice the odds of being shortsighted, which the researchers say is probably down to starting school earlier in life. In addition, for every higher level of education the mother had, the odds of the teenager having the condition rose by 33%. Williams said the latter could be due to a genetic link between intelligence and myopia or to genetic or social factors including class, wealth and encouragement.

The team learned from previous studies that every extra hour the child spent on computer games each week increased the chance of them having myopia by 3%. This is possibly due to proximity to screens or spending more time indoors. However, the research was conducted before widespread use of smartphones.

That said, the researchers noted that the four factors together only accounted for 4.4% of the overall variation in shortsightedness, while the study did not control for any genetic factors.

“We know from previous genetic studies that genetics plays a high role in population variance,” said Williams. “But genetics can’t explain [why myopia is becoming more common] because genes can’t change that quickly over a couple of generations, so it must be the pressures of modern-day childhood that is causing a rise in prevalence.”

James Wolffsohn, a professor of optometry at Aston University, who was not involved in the research, said high levels of myopia in Asia might be due to a genetic predisposition, but agreed that environmental factors are important.

“More gaming time and a more studious household may increase the progression of myopia through a mechanism of less time outdoors,” he said. “But the link with fertility treatment seems to be new and will help in targeting treatment for the most susceptible individuals.

“While myopia can easily be corrected by spectacles and contact lenses, the risk of sight-threatening conditions increases with the level of the shortsightedness. So anything that can be done to restrict its progression is of benefit to the individual.”

Nicola Davis, The Guardian, 6 Nov 2018

Talking about witches ...

Canada's last witch trials: Women accused of fake witchcraft

A law against pretending to practise witchcraft will soon be repealed in Canada. But that hasn't stopped local police from prosecuting those who use the "dark arts" to bilk people for thousands of dollars.

Two Canadian women have been charged with pretending to practise witchcraft, breaking a little-known law in Canada's criminal code that could soon be out the door.

The first charge was levied against Dorie "Madeena" Stevenson, a fortune teller from Milton, Ontario on 18 October after a months-long investigation.

She is accused of defrauding a client of C$60,000 ($45,700; £35,700) in cash and property.

A week later, Toronto psychic Samantha Stevenson was also arrested in a similar but unrelated investigation.

Police allege she convinced a man the only way to get rid of "evil spirits" in his home would be to sell it, and transfer the proceeds into her account.

The accused often advertise themselves as a psychic or religious healer, and demand large sums of money to help remove curses or evil spirits from clients, police say.

"What we typically see is a tendency for perpetrators to take advantage of persons when they are in their most vulnerable state," wrote Det Sgt Dave Costantini of Halton Regional Police, in a press release.

"Victims are manipulated into believing something bad will happen to them unless they remit cash. We even see incidents where victims are required to make purchases and remit these purchases in order to be cleansed.

"When victims cannot be squeezed any longer, the perpetrators rely on the victim's embarrassment in not contacting police."

The charges could lead to Canada's last witch trials, as the section of the law banning pretending to practise witchcraft will soon be repealed.

In June 2017, the federal government proposed a bill repealing dozens of outdated sections of the criminal code, including the law against pretending to be a witch.

"I suspect police had just forgotten [the laws against witchcraft] existed, and it was the publicity over the fact that they were being removed that made police even remember that they were there," said Dalhousie University law professor Stephen Coughlan.

Is witchcraft illegal in Canada?

It is not illegal to practise witchcraft in Canada - either as part of a religion like Wicca or as an occult practice.

However, according to Section 365 of Canada's Criminal Code, it is illegal to "fraudulently pretend to exercise or to use any kind of witchcraft, sorcery, enchantment or conjuration".

The law has generally been interpreted as a provision against using the occult to perpetuate fraud, say by someone promising to cure a disease with magic.

The conviction can lead to a C$2,000 fine and up to six months in jail.

The law has rarely been applied in the 21st Century, although it is not unheard of:

• In 2017, astrologist and psychic Murali Muthyalu was charged with witchcraft after a client allegedly paid $100,000 to have a curse removed. The witchcraft charge was dropped and he pleaded guilty to fraud
• In 2012, a man who billed himself as a "healer" was charged with witchcraft after clients paid him tens of thousands of dollars to remove curses. All charges were dropped after he agreed to pay restitution
• In 2009, Vishwantee Persaud was charged with witchcraft in addition to multiple fraud charges. The charge of witchcraft was eventually dropped. Prosecutors withdrew the witchcraft charge after she pleaded guilty to fraud

The law has been criticised for targeting women and cultural groups where beliefs in magic are more widespread.

"The provision that differentiates this type of fraud from others is mired in historic oppression of women and religious minorities, and is not necessary to prosecute fraud," wrote Natasha Bakht and Jordan Palmer in a working paper published in the journal Windsor Review of Legal and Social Issues.

Canada's last witch trial?

All this is about to change.

A proposed bill to repeal antiquated or redundant criminal offences passed its third reading in the Senate last week, and it is expected to come into force as soon as it receives royal assent.

The bill would repeal the law against pretending to be a witch, as well as other old-fashioned prohibitions such as laws against duelling and blasphemous libel.

Coughlin, the legal expert, told the BBC the bill is necessary to help bring the criminal code, parts of which date back to 1892, into the modern era.

"A lot of them are just out of step with the time, out of step with the facts or really, are duplicative of other offences," says the Dalhousie University professor.

"In the case of the witchcraft [law], realistically any behaviour that would fall within that provision... would also be captured by other provisions in the criminal code, like fraud."

Until the law comes into force, however, police have every right to charge being with pretending to practice witchcraft.

"It's not uncommon for police to lay every charge they can think of, simply because it gives them a bargaining chip," he says.

To read more, click here: Canada's witches