No World Cup for David Beckham

David Beckham, the most famous footballer in the England team, won’t be able to take part in this year’s World Cup. Beckham injured the back of his ankle (his Achilles tendon) playing for Milan this week and will not be able to play for the next six months.

Beckham has already played for his country in three World Cup tournaments. He was hoping to play in a fourth tournament this year.

Lots of people are wondering what he will do during the World Cup in South Africa. There are suggestions he will go with the England team. There are also suggestions that he will join one of the British television stations as an expert to talk about the football matches as they are shown.

Kidnapped boy returns home

A five year old British boy from Manchester has just been returned to his family. Sahil Saeed was taken away from his father during a visit to relatives in Pakistan. The people who took Sahil demanded money for his safe return.

Police are still investigating exactly what happened. People have been arrested by police in Spain, and money has been found.

Cheese race banned

A race which has been held every year for 200 years has been stopped this year. The racers run down a very steep hill trying to catch several large cheeses which are rolling in front of them.

Last year so many people watched the event that the police and the local authorities were worried about their safety. The race, held in Gloucestershire, should be held again in 2011.

New Shakespeare play found?

A British professor says he has found a lost Shakespeare play.

Double Falsehood was based on a famous but lost play by Shakespeare. It was written more than a hundred years after the Shakespeare original. The writer said he had three copies of the Shakespeare play and based his play on these.

Until now people did not believe this was true. Now Professor Brean Hammond has spent ten years analysing the play and believes that it does contain Shakespeare’s work. The play may now be performed.

Student wins design competition

Korean-born Min-Kyu Choi has just won a British design competition with his folding electric plug.

Choi, who graduated from an MA course in design at the Royal College of Art in London last year, invented the plug because he was fed up carrying round the traditional large and heavy version with his light and thin laptop. British electric plugs are large and heavy.

Choi said the plug often tore paper when he travelled with it. It also scratched his laptop. His version folds down to be only a centimetre thick.

Now lots of people are waiting for the plug to be manufactured.

by Susan Young
susan@englishuk.com