Tag: B1 – Intermediate

A Man Collects Old Phones

B1 – Intermediate

Hassan al-Tourky has a fascination for old phones. This is his unusual past-time. He and his children have the same passion for old telephones. They even have a small business for it.

Read the transcript and listen to the audio to find out more about Hassan al-Tourky’s unusual hobby.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/a-man-collects-old-phones-level-1/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your hobbies? What are your unusual hobbies?
  2. What thing/things do you collect? Why do you love them?
  3. If you could collect any old thing what would it be and why?
  4. What thing do you want to own from a famous person?
  5. Do you want your children to have the same hobby as you? Why or why not?
  6. Why is having a hobby important?

Two-fifths of World’s Plants at Risk of Extinction

B1 – Intermediate

Plants are everywhere. They provide us with so many resources to survive and most importantly, they maintain the atmosphere. Plants play an important role in the discovery of new drugs/medicines even for life-threatening diseases.

What will happen if all plants become extinct?

Let’s read the article below to learn more about plants extinction.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2010/201002-plant-extinction-4.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of plants? How useful are they?
  2. What will happen as more and more plants become extinct?
  3. How serious an issue is food insecurity?
  4. Should we spend more money on genetically modifying plants? Why/why not?
  5. What do you think world leaders will do about this problem?

Vaccine Volunteers

B1 – Intermediate

Over 25,000 people in the US have volunteered to be part of COVID-19 vaccine trials. They will help find a safe and effective vaccine faster. This will help us to see the end of this pandemic soon.

Read the transcript and listen to the audio and be able to answer the discussion questions.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/vaccine-volunteers-level-1/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the risks and benefits of clinical trial vaccines?
  2. Would you volunteer for a vaccine study? Why or why not?
  3. Are human trials for vaccines worth the risk? Explain your point.

Go to Town

B1 – Intermediate

When you do things, do you do them with a lot of enthusiasm? How about when you want something, do you do or spend everything you’ve got just to enjoy it?

Let’s listen to the audio about the expression ‘go to town’.

http://www.idioms4you.com/complete-idioms/go-to-town.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is something that you have done with a lot of enthusiasm?
  2. What is something that you have splurged on?
  3. Are you the type who always ‘goes to town’ or do you do things in minimum?
  4. Why is it good to ‘go to town’? Why is it bad?

China’s Richest Man

B1 – Intermediate

Zhong Shanshan, the founder of the popular Chinese bottled water brand Nongfu Spring, is now the richest person in China. He worked as a construction worker before making it big in business of bottled water which is a huge industry in China.

Let’s read the article:

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2009/200926-richest-man-1.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think it’s like to be rich?

2. How easy is it to start a company?

3. How happy are you with your level of wealth?

4. What things would you change if you were a multi-billionaire?

Fight Tooth and Nail

B1 – Intermediate

One of the best traits a person can have is being persistence. It is the determination to achieve an objective despite setbacks. In order to do to reach our goal, we must sometimes ‘fight tooth and nail’.

Listen to this audio and find out what ‘fight tooth and nail’ means.

http://www.idioms4you.com/complete-idioms/fight-tooth-and-nail.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What does ‘fight tooth and nail’ mean?
  2. What do you do when things don’t go according to your plan? Do you usually have a fallback plan?
  3. Is being persistent always good or is it better to know when to give up?
  4. Talk about a time when you had to go through major difficulties to achieve your goal.

Young Adults Live With Parents

B1 – Intermediate

The advantage of living with your parents is that you don’t have to pay rent and you don’t have to worry about buying all those groceries every month. It can be very expensive if you eat out all the time. Most importantly, you don’t have to go through some problems alone because your parents will always be there for you no matter what.

Let’s read the article below to know more about it living with parents as a young adult.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2009/200908-young-adults-4.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the good and bad things about living with your parents?
  2. Should all young adults have to leave home? Why / Why not?
  3. Would you prefer to live at home or on your own?
  4. What advice do you have for young adults?
  5. How has Coronavirus affected young adults in your country financially?

Stop Hate for Profit Campaign Suspends Social Media Ads

B1 – Intermediate

A lot of businesses has either been suspended or paused for all of their social media advertisements because of hashtag “Stop Hate For Profit” from a campaign group. They demanded a stricter moderation for hate speech and misinformation. When the campaign skyrocketed, major brands paused their social media platform advertisements making Facebook lose a lot of money.

Read the article below to know more about it.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2007/200702-stop-hate-for-profit-4.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is the “Stop Hate For Profit” campaign all about?
  2. What do you think about it?
  3. How prevalent are hate speech/contents and misinformation on social media in your country?
  4. How do you feel about the social media advertisements these days?

Long Trip With No Money

B1 – Intermediate

It is always fun to travel for pleasure. One important thing we need when traveling is money. But what happens when you try traveling without any money. Some people tried it.

Find out what happened to their long trip without any money.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/long-trip-with-no-money-level-2/

Discussion Questions:

  1. Would you take this kind of pilgrimage too?
  2. What would happen if you traveled without any money in your city, country, and other countries?
  3. Do you agree or disagree with this statement: “when you smile at people, take time to understand their story, then they will come forward and are naturally kind”?
  4. Would you help a person who is traveling without any moment? What kind of help would you give them?
  5. Who is the kindest person you know?

Skiing Accident

B1 – Intermediate

Skiing is a very popular activity during winter. While it is very fun to do, it is also dangerous. You have to be very careful when you go skiing to prevent accidents.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about a professional American skier who had an accident while skiing in an Alaskan mountain.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/skiing-accident-in-alaska-level-3/

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you like skiing? Why or why not? Talk about your first time skiing.
  2. What other winter activities do you like?
  3. What was your most memorable skiing or winter trip? Why was it memorable?
  4. Have you ever had any accidents doing sports?
  5. What is your opinion on getting injured while doing sports?