51.

The $265,000 job that no one wants (26th

February, 2016)

There is a job available in the small New Zealand town of Tokoroa, but no one wants it.
(There is a job available in the small island in an Indonesia of Mentawai Island, but no one wants it).
(The job is for teachers and it pays Rp.5.000.000 per month). For the lucky teachers who take the job,
there is

The job is for a doctor and it pays US$265,000 a year. For the lucky doctor who takes the job, there is
no night work, no weekend work, and house prices in the area are low. Also, he or she would work just
four days a week and get 12 weeks' annual holiday. The town's current doctor Alan Kenny is leaving
and cannot find anyone to replace him. He has been looking for a replacement for two years but has
had no success. Four medical recruitment companies also failed to find a replacement. Dr Kenny thinks
the problem is that the job is in the countryside and everyone wants to live and work in the big cities.

It is not only New Zealand that has problems trying to get doctors to live in rural areas. It is also a
problem in many other countries too. Last year, Dr Kenny had to cancel a family holiday because he
could not find anyone to replace him. Dr Kenny is from the UK and has been a doctor in Tokoroa for
30 years. He said he has a great lifestyle and he wouldn't swap it for city life. At the age of 61, he
wants to retire and pass his patients on to someone younger. He told a local newspaper that his job
keeps him busy all day and that he loves his work. He is worried about how he can find a new doctor.
He said: "I would like to stay but I hit my head against a brick wall trying to attract doctors."
52. What life will be like in 2116 (18th February,
2016)

A new report shows what life might be like in 100 years from now. It describes skyscrapers that are
much taller than today's buildings, underwater 'bubble' cities, and holidays in space. The report is
from Samsung's SmartThings. It asked experts on space, architecture, and city planners to give their
ideas on life in 2116. They said the way we live, work and play will be totally different to how we do
these things today. The experts said that 25 years ago, people could not imagine how the Internet and
smartphones would change our lives. The Internet has revolutionized the way we communicate, learn
and do daily things. The experts said the changes in the next century would be even more unbelievable.

Researchers questioned 2,000 adults about the predictions they thought were most likely to happen in
the future. They predicted that in the future, few people will go to an office but will work from home
and have virtual work meetings. People will have advanced 3D printers that will let you download a
design for furniture or a food recipe and then 'print' the sofa, table or pizza at home. There will also be
less need for visits to the doctor. We will all have a home health capsule that will tell us what the
problem is and give us treatment. We will also be going into space for holidays and to get resources
that we have used up on Earth. A prediction that was missing was whether people would still need to
study English.
53. Fast-growing weed covering Australian
town (20th February, 2016)

A fast-growing weed (rumput liar) is causing havoc (kerusakan) in a small Australian town. It
almost resembles (menyerupai,mirip) a scene (suasana) from a horror movie. The weed is called
"hairy panic". It is clogging up (menghalangi,menghambat) homes, farmyards (ladang pertanian)
and other buildings in the small Australian town of Wangaratta in the state of Victoria. Hairy panic is a
grass (rumput) that is found in every Australian state. It gets its name from the long hairs along the
edges (tepi, pinggir) of grass stalks (tangkai). The dead grass accumulates (bertumpuk) in large
bundles (ikat, buntelan), which are blown (meniup) across (seberang) the land by the wind (angin).
It has become a real nuisance (gangguan, susah) in Wangaratta because of the large quantity of weed
that is collecting in the town. It has reached roof level in some areas. Residents cannot see or reach
their garages because of the piles (tumpukan) of weed.

Many of the residents have left the town until authorities remove the weed. They are fed up (?) with
having to spend several hours a day clearing the piles of dead grass from their driveways and gardens.
For some residents, it is a battle to fight through the wall of weeds to get into their home. Local
resident Pam Twitchett told Australia's ABC news agency that the weed was physically and mentally
draining (menguras,mengeluarkan,menghabiskan). Another resident, Jason Perna, spoke about the
extent (luas, tingkat) of the problem. He said: "It makes it difficult to get the car out in the morning -
if you can find it." He also put the problem into context, saying: "It's a first-world problem. We don't
put it on the scale of any of the famine (kelaparan) or poverty (kemiskinan) going on in the world."
54. Over 18,300 apply for 14 astronaut jobs (22nd
February, 2016)
A record number of people have applied to NASA to be part of its astronaut training program. NASA
said it received over 18,300 applications for just 14 jobs. This is a record for the administration. Human
resources officials at NASA will now spend the next 18 months looking at the applications to select the
best ones. It plans to announce the successful applicants in the middle of 2017. Brian Kelly of NASA
said it would be a lot of work. He added: "It's heartening to know so many people recognize what a
great opportunity this is to be part of NASA's exciting mission. I look forward to meeting the men and
women talented enough to rise to the top of what is always a pool of incredible applicants."

It seems there is a great desire to work on America's space program and perhaps go to Mars. NASA's
Charlie Bolden said: "It's not at all surprising to me that so many Americans from diverse backgrounds
want to personally contribute to blazing the trail on our journey to Mars." The top applicants will have
an interview at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The chosen candidates will then get two
years of initial training. They will learn skills such as spacewalking, teamwork and operating
spacecraft systems, and learn Russian. After that, they could go to the International Space Station or
work for companies making spacecraft for tourists, such as Boeing and SpaceX.
55. Half of world population will be short-
sighted (24th February, 2016)

Researchers predicted in a new report published in the journal Ophthalmology that by 2050, half of
the world's population will be short-sighted. The medical term for this condition is myopia. It is also
known as near-sightedness. It is when we have difficulty focusing on objects that are far away from us.
The researchers say that around 4.8 billion people will suffer from myopia. This is a seven-fold
increase in cases from 2000 to 2050. Sixty years ago, around 15 per cent of the Chinese population was
short-sighted. Now, almost 90 per cent of Chinese teenagers and young adults have trouble seeing
faraway objects. A recent survey found that up 95 per cent of teenagers in South Korea are near-
sighted.

The researchers said they could not pinpoint definite reasons for this phenomenon and say it could be
a combination of factors. They did say that looking at computer screens and mobile phones could be a
leading cause. Researchers said the sudden rise in myopia may be linked to "lifestyle changes resulting
from a combination of decreased time outdoors and increased near-work activities". Science journalist
Sarah Zhang said, "spending time outdoors, especially in early childhood, reduces the onset of
myopia". Professor Kovin Naidoo, a co-author of the report, offered some advice. He said: "You could
spend a long time reading computers and screens, but also spend two hours outdoors."
56. Man sells British countryside air to China (16th
February, 2016)

An English entrepreneur has started a booming business from selling bottled, British countryside air to
Chinese consumers. Leo De Watts, 27, struck upon the idea of selling air to China after seeing news
footage of pollution and smog in Chinese cities. He guessed there was a market for cleaner air. De
Watts launched his company last year in the somewhat imaginatively named industry of "air farming".
His team "harvests" air in bottles from various locations across Britain and ships it to China. Even
though the air is cheap to collect, De Watts puts a hefty price on his products. Chinese lovers of British
air have to pay around $115 for a 580 ml bottle of the fresh stuff.

De Watts was born in the British countryside and said he appreciates the quality of the air in rural
Britain. He now lives in Hong Kong where he sells his fresh air at local street markets. A lot of his
merchandise is sold in Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, where pollution can be particularly
bad. He said his Chinese customers can be quite fussy about exactly what kind of air they buy. He
explained in a promotional video that: "Quite often, a lot of our orders are bespoke. We have clients
who request very particular circumstances for their air. Sometimes we'll be at the top of a mountain,
and other times at the bottom of a valley." He added: "There's really a market for this. We've just
started."
57. Researchers find Einstein's space waves (14th
February, 2016)

Scientists in the USA have seen something amazing in space for the very first time. They saw
gravitational waves. These are waves that form in space and travel outwards. The waves are similar to
how ripples in water move outwards after you throw a stone in a lake. The gravitational waves in space
start when two giant space objects hit each other. Albert Einstein first spoke about waves in space in
1916 when he made his General Theory of Relativity. One hundred years later, the researchers have
proved that Einstein's theory was right. The researchers used powerful technology to see the
gravitational waves. Einstein did not have this technology. He used his genius to predict that the waves
existed.

Scientists say the discovery of the gravitational waves is one of the most important discoveries ever. Dr
Lawrence Krauss, from Arizona State University, said the discovery was as great as the invention of
the telescope. He said it would let scientists see many new things in space. It would also answer many
questions about our universe. Dr Krauss said: "It has opened a new window on the universe, just like
the telescope." He added that: "Using gravitational waves to explore the universe will allow us to see
things we could have never seen before….It will also allow us to explore objects in the universe we've
never seen before." He said it was beautiful that the discovery happened 100 years after Einstein's
prediction.
58. Drought Leaves Ethiopia Facing Food Crisis (12th
February, 2016)

International charities have issued a stark warning about a looming humanitarian catastrophe in
Ethiopia. The North African country has been hit by its worst drought for 50 years. It is widely
expected that emergency food aid for 10 million Ethiopians will run out unless more funds can be
found. John Graham, the head of the charity Save the Children in Ethiopia, said: "The international
community has just three weeks to provide $245 million in emergency food aid to help prevent a
potentially catastrophic escalation in severe malnutrition cases." He added that: "If these emergency
funds do not arrive in time, there is no question that there will be a critical fracture in the food aid
supply pipeline."

Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country. It is no stranger to natural disasters of this kind.
Famine killed over one million Ethiopians in 1984. The latest drought was brought on by the El Nino
weather phenomenon, which has caused drought and flooding across much of Africa. Ethiopia is one of
the countries hardest hit. Charities say that over 400,000 Ethiopian children under the age of five will
suffer from severe malnutrition this year. In addition, 1.7 million under-fives, pregnant women and
breast-feeding mothers will need treatment for malnutrition. Mr Graham warned that, "the window for
action is rapidly closing" as it can take four months to buy food aid and transport it into the landlocked
country.
59. School teaches baby orangutans survival
skills (10th February, 2016)

Baby orangutans in Indonesia are going to school to learn skills like finding food and making a nest.
The school hopes the skills the young apes learn will mean they can be reintroduced into the wild and
survive on their own. The school was set up by International Animal Rescue (IAR). There are currently
102 orangutans living at the centre. A spokesperson said: "We are committed to rescuing and
rehabilitating as many orangutans as we can and giving them a second chance to live safely in their
natural environment." Not all of them attend the school because some have suffered long-term injuries
so they can never go back to the forest. It could take up to eight years to get others ready to return to
the wild.

The IAR centre cares for animals that have been rescued from the wild. Some of the baby orangutans
lost their parents because of illegal poaching, habitat loss and forest fires. The IAR said they "are
suffering and dying because of the systematic destruction of the rainforest, primarily for palm oil
production". Other baby orangutans have been stolen from their mothers to be sold as pets. There are
also adult orangutans at the centre. These have spent most of their lives in captivity. The World
Wildlife Fund estimates there are around 45,000 to 69,000 orangutans in Borneo, but their numbers are
decreasing because their forests are being destroyed by illegal logging and palm oil companies.