Why is it so hard for customers to get out from Ikea's shops ?

Here is one of Ikea's  mazes : 

"A-mazing : a route a customer took through a store. Professor Alan Penn said they are designed to stop customers leaving"

"If you've ever found yourself hopelessly lost in an Ikea store, you were probably not alone. The home  furnishing chain's mazy layouts are a psychological weapon to part shoppers from their cash, an expert in store design claims.     The theory is that while following a zig-zag trail between displays of minimalist Swedish furniture, a disorientated Ikea customer feels compelled  to pick up a few extra impulse purchase.[...]"

   Full article

ORAL COMPREHENSION

Here is "South Africa plans huge solar farm"

   NPR's  breaking  news  (delivered  on   October  28,   2010) :              a radio file you will use to train your oral comprehension.

This file is taken from the radio's website : NPR delivers both national and international breaking news  &  "top stories from business, politics, health, science, technology, music, arts and culture."

Click on the radio logo to listen to the file : 

COMPREHENSION  TRAINING

"The Story of Electronics [...] employs the Story of Stuff style to explore the high-tech revolution's collateral damage—25 million tons of e-waste and counting, poisoned workers and a public left holding the bill."

"Host Annie Leonard takes viewers from the mines and factories where our gadgets begin to the horrific backyard recycling shops in China where many end up. The film concludes with a call for a green 'race to the top' where designers compete to make long-lasting, toxic-free products that are fully and easily recyclable.
Their production partner on the electronics film is the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, which promotes green design and responsible recycling in the electronics industry."

How long did it take ?

Barack Obama's historic election as the first black president of the U.S.A. was the result of a process that had started long before, with the previous elections of black men/women to civic & state political positions. Patrick Garvin wondered "If it took 220 years to elect a black president, how long did it take for black men and women to get to other positions?"... hence this infographic ⇓ timeline.

Click on the illustration to get the full-size infographic

In "Banksy sprays the Simpsons",  <<

I told you about a famous British street artist who paints  awesome graffiti and murals.  The article also showed the introduction Banksy created for Simpsons' intro of episode 3 / season 22... You've already started working on Banksy's intro, now, here is the full Simpsons episode : "Money Bart"... I hope you'll enjoy it :o)

This episode tells Dahlia Brinkley's visit to Springfield Elementary School. Dahlia is the only Springfield Elementary graduate ever to enter an Ivy League college. This gives Lisa an inferiority complex because she is not involved in as many extracurricular activities as Dahlia was ! Therefore when the coach of Bart's Little League baseball team ("the Springfield Isotots")  resigns, Lisa tries to replace him... in order to extend her curriculum.

If your Internet connexion is a bit slow, I suggest you launch the video ("play")

then "pause", until the complete video is buffered (buffering the full video

might take a few minutes)... before you play it !

buffering = mise en mémoire-tampon