Innholdsfortegnelse for No. 147 i The Week Junior

GOING ON HOLIDAY Herman Gordon, a university cleaner, is on the holiday of a lifetime after students raised £1,500 for him to go to Jamaica. He is visiting family thanks to the help of 230 well-wishers at Bristol University, who said he brought a jolly mood to their campus. A RECORD-BREAKING CYCLIST Cycling fast can be fun, but Denise Mueller-Korenek took that to a whole new level when she cycled at an incredible speed of 183.9mph – three times as fast as a cheetah. Breaking the existing men’s and women’s records, Mueller-Korenek was towed along until she reached 100mph and then pedalled to go even faster. AN INCREDIBLE FIND A tapestry ordered by Henry VIII has been discovered in Spain after it disappeared in 1770. Measuring around six metres wide,…

Now that you’ve read a bit more about it, tell us what you think by voting in our poll at theweekjunior.co.uk/polls . Vote YES if you think pet cats should be banned, or NO if you don’t. We’ll publish the results next week. The aim of the Big debate page is to present two sides of an issue fairly and objectively, in order to stimulate discussion and allow our readers to make up their minds. The views on the page do not reflect those of The Week Junior, and the page is not funded by third parties. The page is created in association with the English-Speaking Union, an educational charity helping young people discover their voice and realise their full potential. For more information, please see esu.org…

Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park has many different habitats, from mountains, lochs (a Scottish word for lakes), to glens (valleys) and forests. Golden eagles soar overhead, otters swim in the water, red deer roam the mountainsides and red squirrels clamber in the woodland. There are campsites as well as places you can camp away from it all, which makes the park a great place to visit and explore for a few days. Find out more at lochlomond-trossachs.org…

Eurasian bittern Eurasian bitterns are making a comeback after coming close to extinction in the UK. A record number of male birds have been reported this year – 188, up from just 11 males 20 years ago. ● LIFESPAN IN THE WILD: Around 10 years ● HABITAT: The birds can be found in wetland parts of Africa, Asia and Europe. ● DIET: Bitterns eat a lot of things – crayfish, fish, frogs and other small swamp and marsh animals. ● FUN FACT: Because they are hard to see, bitterns are counted by listening out for their distinctive booming call. DID YOU KNOW? Bitterns have gone extinct in the UK before. Eaten in medieval times, they had vanished by 1870 but returned in the early 20th century.…

There are countless flags around the world used to represent different ideas or places. Here are the stories behind five of the world’s most fascinating and recognisable flag designs. UNION JACK Called the Union Jack or Union Flag, the UK’s flag is made up of flags representing England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Neither the red dragon nor St David’s Cross of Wales are included because when the Union Flag was first used in 1606, Wales was already united with England. NEPAL Nepal, a country between India and the Tibet region of China, is the only country in the world to have a non-quadrilateral flag – that is, a flag that is neither rectangular nor square. Nepal’s flag is two triangles. JOLLY ROGER Starting in the 1700s, pirates flew this flag…

There are millions and millions of microbes (microscopic living organisms, including bacteria) living in your gut that do all sorts of jobs, from helping with digestion to fighting harmful bugs. There are also some microbes that can make you sick. Now, scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, in the US, have discovered a group of gut-dwelling bacteria that can produce electricity. Electricity-producing bacteria are nothing new. Their normal home is in lakes, soil, around hydrothermal vents underwater and in acidic environments. People have even used this bacteria to make cheese and yoghurt, and purify water. However, this is the first time these electric bacteria have been found in the body. Many bacteria naturally generate electrical charge inside their cells and need to get rid of it. They normally use…

Bear-ly visible Dave Pennant, who owns Teeny Weeny Teddies, at an event in Birmingham. Field trip People mark the start of harvest in China. Life’s a circus Ringmaster David Williamson with Peanut the elephant puppet in London. Take flight Rolf Zimmermann holds one of his creations at a kite festival in Germany. Reach for the sky A Moon stars in the mid-autumn festival in Nanjing, China. Making a pointe A ballet dancer enjoys the sun in London’s Southbank skatepark.…

Pages & Co: Tilly and the Bookwanderers by Anna James (HarperCollins Children’s Books) Tilly can scarcely believe it when her favourite book characters – Alice in Wonderland and Anne of Green Gables – begin appearing in her grandparents’ bookshop. Things get even more exciting when Tilly learns she can follow Anne and Alice into their stories, and she discovers the hidden world of the Bookwanderers and their incredible secret Underlibrary. How to Live Forever by Colin Thompson (Random House Children’s) Peter makes his home in the cookery section of a magical library. At night, when the library comes to life, he ventures forth in search of a mysterious book called How to Live Forever – but will he ever find it? This clever and unusual illustrated book will intrigue readers…

What is your favourite thing about Tracy Beaker? I like that she’s so optimistic in spite of having so many things going wrong. She’s also wonderfully feisty, determined and imaginative – though she can be a pain at times, too. I’d love to have her as a friend, but I’d be worried if she was my enemy! What did you want to be when you were little? I wanted to be a writer from when I was six – but I also fancied being a hairdresser and combed all my dolls’ hair so enthusiastically they developed bald patches. I became a junior magazine journalist when I was 17 and I’ve been earning my living by writing ever since. Who is your favourite author? I loved Noel Streatfeild’s books when I…

Two decades after the original Space Jam film, featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and legendary basketball player Michael Jordan, the hit is getting a sequel. Space Jam 2 will feature LeBron James, who currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers in the US, and will be made by Black Panther director Ryan Coogler. The first Space Jam film was released in 1996 and has made more money than any other basketball film in history. “The collaboration is much more than just me and the Looney Tunes getting together and doing this movie,” James told The Hollywood Reporter. “I’d just love for kids to understand how empowered they can feel and how empowered they can be if they don’t give up on their dreams.” SCHOOL STAR LeBron James recently opened a…

Amber’s Airline – High Hopes Android / iOS (Free) The life of an aeroplane’s cabin crew may not seem like the perfect material for a mobile game, but Amber’s Airline turns the high-flying job into a fun game – with a proper story around its hero, Amber Hope. The app starts with Hope practising her professional skills, helping passengers to check in before flights, handling suitcases and carrying out a safety demonstration on board. Do this well and you’ll help Hope pass her flight-attendant exams. You play by tapping on the passengers, machines and items in the right order – which gets complicated when dealing with impatient people. As you play, you’ll learn Hope’s history and how she feels about her job, as well as helping her deal with her…

What you need ● 80g oats ● 130g peanut butter (smooth not crunchy) ● 46g chocolate chopped up into small pieces, or choc chips ● 5tbsp honey ● 1tbsp cocoa powder ● 2tbsp flax seeds (optional) ● 2tbsp chia seeds (optional) ● Large bowl ● Wooden spoon ● Tea towel ● Tablespoon ● Food storage container Instructions Put all the ingredients into the bowl and mix together with the wooden spoon until everything is evenly combined. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and place it in the fridge for around 30 minutes to allow the mixture to set. Once ready, you can begin turning the mixture into energy bites. Using a tablespoon, scoop out a small portion of the mix and (with clean hands) roll it into a ball.…

The story on page 3 about Aldi Novel Adilang, the Indonesian teenager who survived for an unbelievable 49 days at sea, got us all talking this week. He was understandably scared, so his relief at eventually being rescued must have been overwhelming. Happily he is now safe and sound. Incredibly, that wasn’t the only tale of survival in the news this week. An Indian around-the-world sailor who was competing in a competition was left stranded 2,000 miles off the coast of Australia after a violent ocean storm damaged his vessel and left him with a serious injury. Luckily he’s now safe too, after an international rescue mission. They’re both fantastic tales of human bravery and endurance, the type of story that sounds like something straight out of a book or…

Frozen chips could be up to three centimetres shorter this year because of the hot, dry summer that has affected potato crops in Europe. Almost all of the frozen chips eaten in the UK come from Belgium and the Netherlands, both of which had little rain during the summer months. As a result, the number of spuds harvested by farmers this year has dropped by around 25%, and the potatoes themselves are much smaller than usual.…

Officials from Omaui, a village in New Zealand, want to ban people who live there from keeping cats as pets, in an attempt to protect the area’s natural wildlife. They say cats kill too many birds and small mammals. They want cat owners to register their moggies and when the cats die, their owners won’t be allowed to get a new one. Cats aren’t only a problem in New Zealand. In the US, they are estimated to kill 2.4 billion birds a year, and in the UK, the number of birds is declining. Wildlife presenters Chris Packham and Sir David Attenborough have both said cats contribute to the problem. Others claim moggies don’t have that much impact on bird numbers and that owning one can be beneficial to humans. So…

“Books should be like sweets, not Brussels sprouts,” Cressida Cowell tells The Week Junior, and she is keen to let children know that they too can be writers. The much-loved author of How to Train Your Dragon and The Wizards of Once started writing when she was six years old. She was inspired by books such as Lord of the Rings and also her holidays in Scotland. “My dad and I would go looking for dragons,” she says. It was from this particular experience that the Dragon books were inspired, many years later. One of Cowell’s tips for writing stories is to just “write whatever you want – no rules, no marking, just fun.” She says not to worry about handwriting or spelling, because you will learn how to master…

A sea turtle can die after eating just one piece of plastic, according to a new study. Researchers from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation discovered that one bit of plastic has a 22% chance of causing death. Because they can’t bring back up what they swallow, turtles are especially at risk. Flimsy plastic bits, such as carrier bags, can block their guts, and harder bits can cause internal injuries. More and more plastic is getting into the sea, raising fears over the long-term impact on marine life. The study estimates that half of the world’s sea turtles have eaten plastic. Younger turtles face a higher rate of plastic-related deaths, simply because they seem to eat more plastic than older ones. This causes more problems, according to Dr Britta…

Building an underwater wall in the Antarctic could help stop glaciers from melting and reduce the rise in sea levels. That’s according to surprising new research, which suggests ways of slowing down the effects of global warming on large ice sheets. Glaciers around the world are retreating fast, and if the problem gets any worse, it could have a drastic effect. For example, if the Britain-sized Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica keeps melting, it could trigger a collapse of the entire West Antarctic ice sheet. The ice would raise global sea levels by about three metres. One idea is to build an underwater wall that would stop warmer water from reaching the ice shelf. Another suggestion is to create underwater mounds of sand or gravel to prop up the glacier and…

Joe Capon Keeper, ZSL London Zoo The Gila monster is one of only two known species of venomous lizard in North America and eats eggs, small birds, frogs and insects. It mostly uses its venom for defence – its bite is painful to humans but rarely causes death. Unlike snakes, the venom is produced in salivary glands in its lower jaw. These lizards are covered in bead-like scales. Do you love animals? ZSL London Zoo’s Junior Zoo Academy is a great way to learn about creatures from all over the world. Find out more at zsl.org/experiences…

There are more than 500,000 pieces of man-made rubbish orbiting planet Earth. They include old satellites, nuts and bolts, used rocket boosters and tiny debris from objects that have crashed into one another. To try and clean up this space-junk problem, a team of scientists from the University of Surrey blasted a satellite called RemoveDEBRIS into space earlier this year. On 16 September, it began its first test. In the test a shoebox-sized object was fired from the satellite into space. Then, the satellite shot out a net to capture the object by wrapping itself around it. “It worked just as we hoped it would,” said Professor Guglielmo Aglietti, director of the Surrey Space Centre. When used for real, the net will catch space debris, which it will pull back…

Have you ever wondered what happens to Tracy Beaker when she grows up? The favourite character from top author Jacqueline Wilson is back – and now she’s a mum. Her daughter Jess thinks Tracy is the best mum ever. They might not have much money, but Jess loves the little flat where they live, and things are always fun and exciting when her mum’s around. But when Tracy starts going out with a new boyfriend, super-rich Sean Godfrey, everything begins to change. His posh mansion and fancy cars might be straight out of one of Tracy’s childhood dreams, but Jess isn’t so sure about their new life. This warm-hearted story about the importance of family and friends is classic Jacqueline Wilson. A must-read for fans of Tracy Beaker.…

A achnophob h i (1991) DVD, iTunes, Amazon Here’s a film you don’t want to see if you’re absolutely terrified of spiders. Arachnophobia cleverly mixes comedy with lots of tension, telling the story of a small town overrun by deadly arachnids. It’s PG-rated, but very tense. It’s also one of the few Hollywood horror films made for family audiences (new film The House With a Clock in Its Walls is a more recent example). It balances the nervous moments with lots of funny bits – but you still may want to watch this one with the lights very much on. OOPS! Arachnophobia was expected to be a big hit – but as it turned out, people who were afraid of spiders stayed away from the cinema.…

Little Dragons Café Switch / PlayStation 4 You don’t get many restaurants with a resident pet dragon in the real world, sadly, but that’s the setting for Little Dragons Café. The game puts you in charge of the restaurant (and its dragon) as one half of a brother-sister duo hoping to save their mum from a mysterious illness. The game is partly about going out foraging for ingredients – meat, vegetables and spices from your own garden and the wider world. Then you have to cook them, discovering new recipes and cooking them for your café’s visitors to help it grow – all while raising your dragon to be big, powerful and helpful in the kitchen.…

Late September to the middle of October is the perfect time to start playing conkers with your friends. This is usually when conkers fall from horse chestnut trees, inside a greeny-brown spiky case, and can be collected. To begin playing, you’ll first need an adult to carefully drill or skewer a hole right through the conker. You then need to thread roughly 20–30 centimetres of cord, a shoelace or string through it and tie a knot at the end. One person holds their arm out and dangles their conker. The other person swings their conker, which is also on a string, in an attempt to hit the dangling conker. Rules vary, but you usually have three goes to hit the conker before the other person has their turn. Whoever has…

Name: Alexandra Year: 3 “I just completed the 170 kilometre [106 mile] long-distance walking route, the Tour de Mont Blanc. It passes through three countries; France, Italy and Germany, and I walked all of it, camping every night and carrying my own bag. I walked around the mountains for 14 days. The things I ate were cheese, chocolate and a lot of spaghetti! It was a big adventure and I am only seven.” What’s going on at your school? Have you taken part in a sporting event, put on a show or done something fun to raise money? Whatever you’re up to, we want to hear about it at hello@theweekjunior.co.uk JOKE OF THE WEEK “Why don’t you do maths homework in the jungle? Because if you add…

Teacher’s name: Mr Gould School: Chacewater Community Primary School, Cornwall “Mr Gould went above and beyond to help my mum and dad get me into secondary school. I was the ONLY one in my class who didn’t get in and it would have been awful if I was split up from my friends. Mr Gould is also a great headmaster. He lets us have fundraising days and dresses up with us.” Holly, Year 7 If we pick your teacher as Teacher of the Week, we’ll send your school three free issues of The Week Junior. Send your nominations, along with a picture of your teacher and your school’s full name and address, to hello@theweekjunior.co.uk…

Keith Smith, from Birmingham, spent 273 hours mowing his lawn so his children could enjoy playing on it. Smith mowed it three times a day, creating patterns by cutting some areas shorter than others. He also made sure the grass had enough water, saying, “If there’d been a hosepipe ban (which limits the water people can use in gardens) it would have been a disaster.” Did he really design this lawn for his children or should we cut it out?*…

1What is the name of Theresa May’s proposed Brexit deal? a) The chess deal b) The Cluedo deal c) The Chequers deal 2True or false? The London Stone is another name for Christmas cake. 3Where are authorities on a mission to stop tourists disrespecting their sacred temples? 4How many birds do cats kill each year in the UK? a) 2,000 b) 2 million c) 55 million 5Would author Cressida Cowell rather be a dragon rider or a wizard? 6True or False? Microplastics are pieces of plastic smaller than one millimetre. 7Which country is the only one in the world to have a non-rectangular or square flag? a) Nepal b) Netherlands c) New Zealand 8Which insect is the DelFly Nimble inspired by? 9True or False? The Moon features in the mid-autumn…

2 October 1836 Darwin returns home On 2 October 1836, scientist Charles Darwin arrived back in the UK after sailing around the world for five years collecting evidence to support his theory of evolution (how species develop). Darwin’s ship, HMS Beagle, was greeted by delighted locals when it arrived back in Falmouth, Cornwall. Darwin used evidence from the trip to prove his theory of natural selection – the process by which living things best suited to their environments survive and pass their characteristics on to their offspring.…

● Officials from a village in New Zealand want to ban people from keeping cats to help protect local wildlife. Worldwide, cats kill billions of birds and mammals each year. ● If the plan goes ahead, cat owners in Omaui will have to microchip and register their moggies with local authorities and will not be allowed to get a new one when their current moggy dies. ● There are around eight million cats in the UK, meaning around 18% of UK households have one. ● Cats in the UK catch around 55 million birds every year.…

Microplastics are extremely small pieces of plastics. They come from lots of objects, including broken-down bits of larger plastic debris. Microbeads are tiny pieces of polythene, which are added to health and beauty products like face scrubs and toothpaste. This year the UK banned them from being used in these products, following similar moves in Canada, India, New Zealand, the US and others. Work is under way to find ways to mop up microplastics. A team at Imperial College London suggested that offshore floating booms near densely-populated areas could remove nearly a third of the pollution.…

Whales The International Whaling Commission, an organisation set up to manage whale hunting, has voted to continue giving whales protection from being hunted for meat. After an angry debate, 41 countries chose to keep the whaling ban; 27 wanted to get rid of it. Nightingales Known for their beautiful singing, nightingales are facing extinction in parts of the UK. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust said it had recorded just 18 males this year, down from 335 in 1980. There is a real possibility the species could go extinct in these counties, it warns.…

Flags are bright, colourful and it’s fun to guess where they come from. They’re also very important. They’re used to display the design, colours or emblem of a nation, armed forces, community, organisation or individual, and can make people feel very proud. It’s believed that flags originated in either India or China around 1000 BC. They would traditionally be carried on chariots and placed on the walls of a captured city to show who owned it. During battle, the fall of a side’s flag would often signal defeat. Later in history the waving of a white flag would indicate a side’s wish to surrender or reach an agreement. World Vexillology Day is a celebration of flags. It’s held on 1 October because this was when the first flag studies journal,…

Earlier this year, The Week Junior wrote about Japan’s Hayabusa-2 spacecraft reaching an asteroid called Ryugu after travelling 180 million miles. On 21 September, the spacecraft dropped two mini-landers onto the asteroid. Weighing just one kilogram, each machine is fitted with different cameras and temperature sensors. They will hop around the surface of the asteroid to find out what it is made of, and send the data back to the orbiting spacecraft. Next year, Hayabusa-2 will release more landers, before collecting samples from the asteroid and heading back to Earth at the end of 2019.…

The first ocean-faring boat that runs with the help of solar-powered electricity has been unveiled by SolarImpact at Cannes Yachting Festival. Solar energy is much better for the environment than fuel, because it doesn’t release harmful gases into the Earth’s atmosphere. Solar panels attached to the top of the yacht use special cells to capture the Sun’s energy. The energy is converted into electricity, which helps power the boat. The eco-friendly, 24-metre yacht has a top speed of around 25mph, which drops to around 6mph if the boat relies solely on solar power. A boat of a similar size uses around 100 litres of fuel an hour if travelling at around 11mph.…

Anthony Joshua The British heavyweight boxer beat Russia’s Alexander Povetkin in front of 80,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium, London, to keep his IBF, WBA and WBO titles. Luka Modric and Marta Brazilian star Marta won the annual FIFA award for world’s best female footballer. Croatia’s Luka Modric won the male prize. Bryony Page and Luke Strong The gymnasts were crowned singles champions at the Trampoline, Tumbling and Double Mini Trampoline British Championships, held in Birmingham. Tiger Woods The famous US golfer won the Tour Championship event in Atlanta, US. It was his first title in five years.…

Cheltenham Literature Festival 5–14 October Enjoy 10 days of literary fun in Cheltenham next month with Philip Pullman, Chris Riddell, Jacqueline Wilson and many others at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. You can also catch lively performances from the likes of comedian and author James Campbell, and the bursting-with-energy poet Joshua Seigal. Find out more at tinyurl.com/TWJ-cheltenham *If you are the competition winner, we will only use the details you provide to contact you and arrange delivery of your competition prize. Further details about how we manage the data you provide can be found at www.dennis.co.uk/privacy-policy…

Captain Marvel trailer tinyurl.com/TWJ-captainmarvel After a string of hits such as Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther, Marvel is now getting ready to release its first female-led superhero film. Captain Marvel, described as the most powerful character ever to appear in a Marvel film, will fight to save 1990s Earth from aliens. Skylanders Academy Out on 28 September on Netflix Based on the popular video-game series, the TV show is back for a third season. After Strykore turns Spyro evil, the Skylands face new dangers. Spyro returns to the Academy as an undercover agent, as his master plots to take over the world. Drowning in Plastic 8.30pm on 1 October, BBC One Plastics pose a huge threat to our oceans and the sea creatures who live in them. This documentary…

How easy is it to play? It’s very easy. Even children as young as three should be able to have a go, as long as an adult supervises and shows them how it’s played. The trickiest part is swiping or striking at the other conker, which takes practice. What should I not to? Never climb horse chestnut trees to collect conkers. It can be dangerous, and anyway, the conkers are only ready to be used once they fall to the ground. Never shake branches to make them drop. Any top tips? Conkers left over from last autumn will be dried out now and very difficult to break in a game. Letting a conker soak in vinegar for a couple of days will make it tough, too. Be careful though; some…

Get set to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) Children’s Charity, who have organised the RBC Race for the Kids 5k fun run for the ninth year. Taking place in Hyde Park, London, on 13 October, tickets cost £18 for adults and £12 for children, and the money raised will go towards improving the lives of seriously ill children from across the UK. For more information about the event and to register head to gosh.org/raceforthekids…

Follow The Week Junior on Popjam@TheWeekJunior. You can download the free Popjam app from the App Store or Google Play. A hoard of 5th century gold coins have been found in a stone urn in Italy. You said… “Ooh shiny!” @FOOTBALLCRAZY467 “Wow! I wish I could find some as I collect coins” @littlemisssew “Wow! Lucky find!” @profpuplex Researchers have discovered that Cornwall and South Devon were part of France millions of years ago. You said… “Omg! I was so shocked when I read this article! @ArtyDolphin101 “Cool!” @firebubble2209 “Wow! I never would have known!” @PinkAndPurple6 Tell us what you think of this week’s issue. We’ll give you a shout-out if your post is printed here. The Week Junior is delivered in a recyclable LDPE plastic bag to protect it in…

A supermarket trolley tunnel in the Cornish town of Bude, which protects shoppers from the rain as they walk between the shop and its car park, briefly became the area’s top attraction on a review website. One comment described the tunnel as a “hidden gem” likening it to India’s famous Taj Mahal palace. The website said that recently there had been lots of “spoof (joke) review submissions”. It has now lost its spot at the top to a local walking route.…