Tag: audio

Apple Workers Protest

B1 – Intermediate

Many, if not all, countries have relaxed their COVID restrictions over the past year. However, it is not the case in China. They continue to have strict rules to prevent new COVID infections in their country.

This means that some workers have to be quarantined in dormitories. Workers are not happy anymore with their conditions so they started protesting.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about Apple workers’ protests in China.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/apple-workers-protest-level-2/

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “lead to” mean? “Many of them were very unhappy with the situation, which led to protests.” Use it in a sentence.
  2. What does “tough” mean in this sentence, “Tough restrictions are still in China as the country is trying to stop new COVID-19 infections.“? Use it in your own sentence.
  3. What does “shorten” mean? “The government promised to make some changes such as shorten quarantines, but not much changed so far.” Use it in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on these protests?
  2. What is your opinion on the labor conditions of Apple’s factory workers in China?
  3. What is your opinion on China still having tough Covid restrictions until now?

Wedding Ring History

B1 – Intermediate

It is quite surprising how the practice of wearing engagement or wedding rings started. For the longest time, we have been associating these rings with the notion of love and commitment. However, this was not exactly what it meant in the past.

Listen to the audio and read the transcript to understand this history better.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/wedding-ring-history-level-1/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is the history of wedding rings? Which finger are they put on and why?
  2. In old Rome, the ring was a mark of ownership. What are your thoughts on this? How did this practice evolved over time?
  3. What is your opinion on engagement or wedding rings/symbols?
  4. In your country, are there alternatives to wedding/engagement rings? Give suggestions for other possible options.

Busy

B1 – Intermediate

People’s lives are surrounded by a great deal of work in today’s modern life, thanks to technological major advancements and cutting-edge breakthroughs in every aspect of science. Some people firmly believe that learning new sports or arts and crafts appears to help them make better use of their free time. So, how about you? Are you busy? 

Let’s listen to the audio and read the transcript below about being busy.

https://listenaminute.com/b/busy.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What takes up most of your time?
  2. Do you think you manage your time wisely? Why or why not?
  3. Would you rather be overly busy or unproductive? Explain your choice.
  4. How do you know when there are too many tasks and when they are manageable?
  5. Do you have enough time to pursue your interests? Why or why not?

Cyber Crime

B1 – Intermediate

Cyber crime is a criminal act, which is now a worldwide problem committed on the internet using the computer as either a tool or a targeted victim by hacker or cracker.

Listen to the audio and read the transcript below about cyber crimes.

https://listenaminute.com/c/cyber_crime.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you know about hacking?
  2. What could you lose if someone hacked into your computer and how upset would you be?
  3. Do you think large companies fear hackers? Why or why not?
  4. What punishment should a hacker receive?
  5. Do you think your computer is becoming less or more secure? Explain.

Culture

B1 – Intermediate

Culture includes things like moral standards, religious views, representations, social standards, and behavioral patterns. It has a major influence on our everyday practices, including how we converse and presume, what we wear, what we consider, how we sit at the table, and how we engage in conversation with others. But what role does culture play in our society?

Let’s listen to the audio and read the transcript below about culture.

https://listenaminute.com/c/culture.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think is interesting about your culture?
  2. Should an individual know much about their own culture? Why or why not?
  3. When people from other countries think about your culture, what do they usually think of?
  4. What does it mean to be polite in your culture?
  5. What is considered rude in your culture?

College Life

B1 – Intermediate

For a student, college life is the beginning of adulthood. College opens many new doors in life. There are new responsibilities and pressures that you have to deal with and with more freedom, these responsibilities and pressures can be difficult to handle.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript below about college life.

College Life – Script

Discussion Questions:

  1. What was you college/uni years like? What is your best memory of it?
  2. What are the best and worst things about being a university student?
  3. What are/were the top three things you hope/hoped to get out of (get as a result of) your university days?
  4. If you could change something from your college/uni days, what would it be and why?

Billions of People in the World 

B1 – Intermediate

Too many billions of people, too little planet. As of time of writing, the world’s population sits at around 8 billion. China and India are the countries with the highest number of people.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about the world’s population.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/8-billion-people-in-world-level-1/

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “populous” mean? Use this word in a sentence.
  2. What does “fall” mean in this sentence, “Experts say that China’s population will start to fall.”? Use this word in a sentence.
  3. What does “slum” mean? Use it in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your opinion on the world’s (rising) population?
  2. What are the good and bad things about the continuous increase in the world’s population?
  3. What do you think about your country’s population?
  4. What will happen when the population gets old?
  5. What do you think about populous places?

Cuddlers Help Babies

B1 – Intermediate

Cuddling has loads of benefits on people, including newborn babies. Cuddlers are very helpful in hospitals’ neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Newborn babies need to be taken care of and cuddled, but parents are not allowed to stay there 24/7. And the NICU staff could only do it so much.

So a hospital in Chicago, USA thought of having people to volunteer to cuddle babies in the NICU.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about the volunteer cuddler program at an American medical center.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about the volunteer cuddler program at an American medical center.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/cuddlers-help-babies-level-1/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on the volunteer cuddler program?
  2. What are the benefits of cuddling a baby/a person?
  3. Would you like to be a volunteer cuddler? Why or why not?

Young People Lose Hearing

B1 – Intermediate

What would the world be without music? Well, what would your world be without any sound? Or how would it be like if you couldn’t hear quite well?

According to studies, young people’s sense of hearing are getting worse. This could be because the volume on their headphones is too high or the sound at bars or clubs or concerts they go to is too loud.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about how more and more young people are having problems hearing well.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/young-people-lose-hearing-level-1/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction to this news?
  2. What are the reasons people’s sense of hearing is deteriorating? 
  3. What do you think about loud noises/music/places/people?
  4. What is your favorite sound and why?
  5. What would you do if or how would you feel if you had lost your ability to hear properly?

Smart Plaster

B1 – Intermediate

Waiting for a wound to heal could be a little stressful. But taking the plaster off to check it every so often isn’t a good thing.

So, three Polish students thought it would be a good idea to invent a plaster that has a sensor. This tells you and your doctor exactly how the would is healing.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about smart plaster.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/a-smart-plaster-level-1/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your opinion about this smart plaster?
  2. What do you think could be the good and bad things about the smart plaster?
  3. Would you be interested to use this plaster? Why or why not?