Keiko

Among Warner Brothers' productions there are many films to watch as a family. In 1993, a film Free Willy was released and gained great popularity with the audience. It was about an orca, or a killer whale, Willy, that was kept in captivity. The plot described the way the whale grew and his relationship with people who finally let the whale go back into the open sea and live his natural life.

The role of Willy was played by a male whale, Keiko. Sadly, his life was less happy than the life of his character. When a little calf, he was caught in a net near the coast of Iceland, in 1979. Then he lived in aquariums in Iceland, Canada and finally in Mexico. Keiko had to entertain people and his performances were always successful, but the Mexican aquarium was too small and warm for the animal from the north.

Soon Keiko fell seriously ill. His trainers and animal keepers insisted that Keiko should be transported to a spacious Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, in the north-west of the USA, where the climate was more suitable for the whale. There, Keiko was chosen by the film directors to play the role of Willy in the film Free Willy.

The films about Willy made Keiko popular with people in many countries. Also, Warner Brothers initiated the Free Keiko campaign. Thousands of volunteers collected money for the whale. As a result, Oregon Aquarium got seven-million dollars to build special facilities for Keiko that could help him become strong and healthy enough to live in the wild.

Medical treatment, however, was not the only problem. Keiko had spent twenty years with people and had become really tame. The whale liked swimming around the pool with his trainers, carrying them along and performing tricks. Keiko had learned how to communicate with people but he had completely forgotten how to hunt. Trainers always had enough fresh fish for him!

In 1998 the UPS Company took the responsibility to transport Keiko to the coast of Iceland. The whale weighed three tons and they had to use a military plane for him. When Keiko got to Iceland, he went into the sea quickly. Specialists hoped he would soon find a new family and adapt to the wild environment. Otherwise he could die.

Have you ever heard about the Klingon language? If you 20__ science fiction films, you probably haven't.

The language 21__ at the end of the 20th century specially for the films about aliens from other planets. In the StarTrek films, Klingon is the language of the warrior race.

Nowadays there 22__ about 3000 words in the language.

Most of 23__ refer to space craft and weapons but it's also possible to use Klingon for everyday conversations.

Mark Okrand, one of the people who created this language, said that soon Klingon 24__ very popular.

"Very soon, science fiction fans 25__ Klingon for communication within their community," he once predicted. But it never happened. At the present time there might be only twenty or thirty people who are able to speak Klingon fluently.

To most people, it 26__ strange and 'alien'. It's not easy to learn.

I personally 27__ to learn it several times, but without much success yet.

I wish I 28__ partners for conversations but for obvious reasons there are not many around.

Like most old cities, Moscow, the capital of Russia, stands on a river. It is wide and 29__ and it is called the Moskva River.
Unlike the city's name, the English equivalent of the river's name kept its original pronunciation. In English, it sounds the same as it sounds in 30__.
Of course, the Moskva River is 31__ important for the city.
It supplies Moscow with drinking water as well as water for 32__ use. The river is an efficient transportation system as it is navigable all year round.
Along with that, the riverside makes a very 33__ place where the citizens enjoy spending their weekends.
Many of them say that it's 34__ to find a better place for a family outing.
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