Category: Class

Ways to Live Longer

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Live healthy and live longer, right? There are many ways to live longer and I think it’s about time we re-asses our life to live better and longer. 

Let’s read the article below and consider the simple steps to live longer. 

https://www.health.com/mind-body/9-ways-to-live-longer

Discussion Questions:

  1. Talk about your lifestyle.
  2. What are the habits you want to change?
  3. What are the habits you want to have?
  4. How do you intend to achieve longevity?
  5. Do you want to live a very long life? Why or why not?

Big Breakfasts Help Burn More Calories

B1 – Intermediate

Some people don’t usually have breakfast so they don’t gain wait. However, a recent study shows that making big breakfasts a daily habit can help you lose weight. It could also help you burn more calories throughout the day.

Read the article to find out why some researchers recommend patients with obesity as well as healthy people to eat a significant amount of food for breakfast.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2002/200223-big-breakfast-4.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. How important is breakfast for you?
  2. What’s your breakfast usually like?
  3. Do you always have breakfast in the morning or do you sometimes skip it? Why/Why not?
  4. Do you agree that big breakfasts could result to weight loss? Explain.
  5. What is the most important meal of the day for you?
  6. What are other ways to lose weight that you know of?

Take Someone Under Your Wing

B1 – Intermediate

When someone needs your guidance on something, you help them. In a way, you are like their protector. You guide them to let them learn something that they need to know about.

When you join a new company, you are going to have a training and then have a coach or mentor to help you start with your tasks. Your coach/mentor has to take you under their wing during this time.

Listen to the audio and know about the expression “take someone under your wing”.

youtu.be/qToUpkUXXHQ?si=fIThrP1DpWoKWBu0

Discussion Questions:

  1. What does ‘take someone under your wing’ mean?
  2. Have you taken someone under your wing before? If yes, Why did you do so?
  3. Speak about your experience being taken under someone’s wing.
  4. In your opinion, does taking someone under your wing come with a lot of responsibilities?

Would You Return a Lost Wallet Full of Cash?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

At some point of our life we lost something that is valuable to us. One good example is losing a wallet. Isn’t it puzzling to imagine what will likely to happen if one day someone would find a lost wallet? Well, most of us would predict that it wouldn’t be returned as we assume it is normal to our human nature, but recently there is an intriguing yet very interesting social experiment of losing their wallets filled with cash to be likely returned.

Lost wallets are more likely to be returned if they hold cash

Discussion Questions:

  1. What will you do if you found a lost wallet? Will you return it?
  2. What if it has 10,000 Euros?
  3. Is it stealing if you won’t return it?
  4. What factors would influence your decision whether to return or keep it?
  5. What does this tell us about humanity?

Being Breadcrumbed At Work

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Breadcrumbing refers to leaving small pieces of bread for someone. It’s what happens when you lead someone on. It’s when your company gives you “just enough” to string you along. You can tell when you are being breadcrumbed when your manager gives hints about new projects, pay increase or promotions that may – or may not – ever happen.

Read the article below and learn more about breadcrumbing at work.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190723-how-to-tell-if-youre-being-breadcrumbed-at-work

Discussion Questions:

  1. Have you ever been breadcrumbed at work? Who did it to you and why do you think they did that? How did it affect you?
  2. What can an employee do so that they won’t be lead on/strung along?
  3. What do you think are reasons employers employ such practice?

Adjectives: Mitigators

Level: Intermediate – Advanced

Mitigators are used to make an adjective become less strong. They are the opposite of intensifiers. Some common examples of mitigators are: fairly, rather,  pretty, and quite.

The team was fairly convinced he had nothing to do with them winning.

By the end of the week, everyone was rather exhausted.
The food wasn’t cheap, but it was quite delicious.

He had a pretty good time hanging out with his girlfriend’s friends. (Informal)

QUITE

When the mitigator ‘quite’ is used with neutral adjectives, adding ‘quite’ makes them less strong.

They were quite loud.

( = They were loud but not very loud. )

My job is quite boring.

( = My job is boring but not very boring. )

On the other hand, when ‘quite’ is used with strong adjectives, they then mean ‘absolutely’.

Their behavior was quite awful.

( = Their behavior was absolutely awful. ) 

As a team, they are quite brilliant.

( = As a team, they are absolutely brilliant. )

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Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Level: Intermediate – Advanced

The Present Perfect Continuous is formed with – has/have + been+ present participle.

has/have + been + -ing

They have been practicing all afternoon.
Have you been practicing all afternoon?
She has not been practicing all afternoon.

The Present Perfect Continuous is used to express that the action began in the past and has continued up to present. Time phrases such as ‘for a few minutes’, ‘for several weeks’, ‘for today’, ‘since last week’, etc. are used together with the Present Perfect Continuous.

We have been dealing with this issue almost all morning.
He has been waiting for her for hours.
They have been winning since the beginning of the tournament.
How long has it been boiling?

Additionally, it doesn’t always need to have a duration but the words “recently” and “lately” need to be added in this case.

She has been feeling really lonely lately.
Have you been going to the gym recently?

NOTE: Always, only, never, ever, still, just etc. are normally placed in the middle of the auxiliary verb “has/have” and “been”.

She has only been working here for a few months.

Test 702

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Samsung’s New Foldable Phone

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Tech giant Samsung has once again created buzz around one of its new releases with the launch of the Galaxy Z Flip. Unorthodox in design, it resembles a flip phone when folded.

One Samsung executive hailed the phone’s innovative build, going so far as to say that “it changes everything.”

Listen to the audio and read the transcript to decide whether the Galaxy Z Flip truly deserves such high praise and if its features merit a hefty price tag.

Samsung Launches New Foldable ‘Flip’ Phone

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think the Galaxy Z Flip is a good buy?
  2. How often do you change your phone? What have been your reasons for switching?
  3. What features do you look for in a smartphone?