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Material for Quest 4

Bullfighting Ends in Catalonia, Spain (25th September, 2011)

Bullfighting has come to an end in northeastern Spain. Fans in the region of Catalonia saw their last fights on September 25. The actual ban comes into effect on the first of January, 2012, but Sunday’s fighting was the last of the season. Over 20,000 spectators packed Barcelona's Monumental arena to see this age-old spectacle performed in the city for the last time. Spain’s top matadors performed at the historic event, which sold out at record speed. One matador, Julian Lopez, told the AP news agency: “This is such a beautiful arena, with a lot of tradition both for bullfighters and this national celebration.” Despite this, bullfighting at the arena has been on the decline, with smaller and smaller crowds each year.

Catalonia decided to ban bullfighting last year after 180,000 people signed a petition against it. They argued the corrida* was barbaric. Opponents of the ban believe they have a chance of getting it overturned next year. Bull breeder, Moeses Fraele said: "I think the politicians will think twice about the ban and bullfighting will live on. And thank God because Catalonia has plenty of serious bullfighting fans.” He added that, “in a democratic country [fans] should be able to go to a bullfight." Catalonia is the first mainland region in Spain to ban bullfighting. The age-old sport has been part of Spanish life for centuries. It has been held at La Maestranza arena in Seville since 1765. There are dozens of bullrings across the country.

* Spanish for 'bullfighting'.

Material for Quest 5

The Angry Birds app has now been downloaded 500 million times, which makes it the most downloaded game ever. The addictive app, created two years ago by Finnish company Rovio, is also one of the most played games in gaming history. A Rovio spokesperson said gamers average about 300 million minutes of playing time every day. That works out to around 200,000 years of Angry Birds playing time in total. More than 400 billion angry birds have been created to wreak their havoc. Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio, said: "This is a fantastic landmark achievement for us, and we're extremely delighted.…We remain committed to creating more fun experiences and bringing exceptional quality to Angry Birds fans everywhere."

Angry Birds costs just $0.99 for the latest version and is number two on the iPhone App Store. The free version holds the number 20 spot in the store, while two more editions are in the top twelve. Rovio has also heavily marketed Angry Birds products, including 10 million soft toys, books and clothing shipped worldwide. The company recently bought an animation studio and will soon start releasing Angry Birds cartoons, including a movie version. Other plans include opening retail stores in Finland and China. Rovio hopes to cash in on the game’s popularity in China, where it has become the most counterfeited brand in the country. The company is creating merchandise products including a Chinese-language Angry Birds cook book.

Material for Quest 7

New research suggests that soccer players are at risk of brain injury, especially those who head the ball a lot. Researchers in America carried out tests on 38 amateur football players over the age of 30 who had played the sport since childhood. Doctors gave them MRI brain scans and tests to assess their brain function. The players were asked to estimate the number of times they had headed a ball in the past year. The research findings indicate a degree of brain injury not usually present in people who do not play soccer. Doctors reported the condition to be a form of concussion known as mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). This can easily occur in soccer due to the frequent impact of the head with a ball that can travel at speeds close to 100 kph.

Lead author Doctor Michael Lipton explained the effect heading a ball can have on the brain: “Heading a soccer ball is not an impact of a magnitude that will [cut] nerve fibers in the brain, but repetitive heading may set off a cascade of responses that can lead to a degeneration of brain cells." He added: “Brain injury and cognitive impairment can result from heading a soccer ball with high frequency….These are findings that should be taken into consideration in planning future research to develop approaches to protect soccer players." Doctor Lipton concluded it would be difficult to detect brain injury in children as it takes years of heading a ball for the damage to show up in brain scans.