Tag: B1 – Intermediate

Spikes Stop People Sleeping in the Streets

B1 – Intermediate

Over the last year, many buildings have installed “anti-homeless” spikes like these to stop people sleeping in the streets. The spikes are appearing in major cities such as London and Manchester, outside shops and under bridges where homeless people usually sleep.

The shops and businesses believe that when homeless people sleep near their buildings, this gives a bad impression to customers and it might stop people entering the buildings.

These spikes were installed outside Selfridges, a luxury department store in Manchester, on the 1st December last year.

The store says it has installed these spikes because customers have complained that people who sat here smoked and left litter. This made the front of the shop look ugly.

The phenomenon of “defensive architecture” such as this is very controversial. Over 3,000 people have signed a petition to remove the spikes from Selfridges saying that these spikes are “inhumane” and that they will not help solve the problem of homelessness in the UK. It will only move the problem to a different place.

The Guardian newspaper says that this type of architecture is a type of apartheid: it stops homeless people living in public places. It makes them invisible to the rest of society.

The UK is not the only country to install “anti-homeless” architecture. Spikes are also used in China. In New York City a famous bookstore has used water sprinklers to get rid of homeless people from the front of the shop.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your opinion about “defensive architecture”?
  2. Why is “defensive architecture” a controversial issue?
  3. What do you think can be done about homelessness in general?

Spain Sets New Rules for Airbnb

B1 – Intermediate

Airbnb connects people looking to have their homes rented with those who are trying to find a place to stay in specific locations. Airbnb offers its users a lot of options on different kinds of houses or properties and a stress-free way for house or apartment owners to make money by renting out their property.

However, Airbnb’s popularity has not come without any problems in some countries and their governments are quick to respond.

Read the article below on the new set of rules in Spain on Airbnb rentals.

In Barcelona and Madrid, Airbnb hosts will be required to register the rental property with the city government before listing it. New York and Paris already use this rule.

Spanish provinces are cracking down on Airbnbs. They have put in place several new rules that will limit the number of Airbnb rentals in Spanish cities including Barcelona, Madrid, Mallorca, Valencia, and Andalusia.

In Madrid, the city has proposed a rule (it’s not law yet) that would limit apartments to be rented only 90 days out of the year. It would also require that every property in the city center have a separate entrance for Airbnb guests. This proposal came after Madrid natives protested against tourists, saying that Airbnb has caused the city to have a lot more tourists. Some also believe that housing prices went up since Airbnb became so popular. With these new rules, 95% of Madrid’s existing Airbnbs would become illegal.

In Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza, the rules have already become laws. Starting July, only houses, no apartments, will be allowed to be rented out as an Airbnb. In addition, every property must be registered. As of right now, only 700 out of 20,000 properties are correctly registered. Airbnb is expected to remove illegal listings from the site. This means that a lot of people who rented properties in July and August will lose their reservations.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your opinion about the new rules set for Airbnb rentals?
  2. What is your opinion on this: “With these new rules, 95% of Madrid’s existing Airbnbs would become illegal.”?
  3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of putting up properties on platforms like Airbnb for rental?
  4. Have you used Airbnb before? What are the good and bad things about using it to book accommodations? If you haven’t, are you interested to try it out?
  5. What kind of accommodations do you prefer when you travel and why?

Amazon Alexa to Reward Kids

B1 – Intermediate

Where have all the manners gone? Rudeness is prevalent, while nobody seems to care and it seems that technology is behind it.

Amazon is changing this view by creating a version of Alexa that is helping children to be polite.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1804/180428-saying-please-2.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. In your opinion, does technology teach children to be rude? Can devices or apps teach kids to be polite?
  2. How important is it for children to learn to be polite?
  3. What’s the best way to teach children manners?
  4. Are people in your society becoming ruder or more polite?
  5. What rude behaviour do you see in public every day?

A Surprise Medical Treatment: Hypnosis

B1 – Intermediate

For centuries, people have been wondering and debating about hypnosis. Science has yet to fully explain how it actually works. But nowadays, more and more people are turning to this method to cure various ailments. But does it really work?

Read the article to find out more about this alternative treatment

This is how it works.

The patient settles into a chair. She stretches her feet onto an ottoman.

In a soothing voice, the doctor says, “I’m going to count from one to three, and as I count, your eyelids will get heavy. They will close whenever it feels right.”

The patient relaxes each part of her body. The doctor guides her to “a place of rest and comfort and healing.”

She tells the patient, “Enjoy the beauty of this natural, healing place. And as you do, something very powerful and healthy and positive is taking place deep inside your body. Your body knows what it needs to maintain healing your gut. It knows how to keep pleasant sensations in. How to avoid pain and discomfort.”

This is hypnotherapy. Patients enter a trance-like state. They experience relaxation and visual images. Medical centers are now using hypnotherapy. The purpose is to treat gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. GI disorders include digestive conditions such as acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and ulcerative colitis.

The treatment usually is about seven sessions scheduled over a three-month period. People practice at home between sessions. Studies show the treatment works in more than half of patients. Treatment outcomes can last more than a year.

A doctor said, “Some patients get a little uneasy about the word ‘hypnosis.’ It brings up images of some guy in Vegas making you bark like a dog. It takes some education to explain to them.”

The doctor says about one-third of patients are open to trying hypnosis.

Faulty signals between the brain and the gut cause the body to have a bad reaction. It results in internal pain. Why does hypnosis work? Because it shifts the brain’s attention away from those signals. Hypnotherapy provides healthy suggestions about what is going on in the gut.

The problem does not go away. The GI tract is still upset. But the patient does not feel the pain in the same way. It is less intense.

Hypnosis works well on IBS patients. There are few treatments for IBS. Hypnosis has become a major treatment. A doctor said, “It sounds crazy, but we have been having great success with hypnotherapy.”

A patient says hypnotherapy helped rid him of pain in his abdomen. His doctor told him that his diagnosis of IBS was incorrect. The real problem was related to his brain.

The patient thought he had nothing to lose. Nothing else had helped him for two years. The pain disappeared in fewer than ten sessions. He said, “Sometimes it creeps back a little, and I just do one or two [home] sessions and it goes away.”.

Hypnosis is now an accepted treatment for some medical conditions. Most insurances cover it. Medical centers all over the country are using it.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is hypnosis? Explain how it is done.
  2. What is your opinion about this method?
  3. Do you know anybody who has tried this treatment before? Would you try it out yourself?

Divorce Exam

B1 – Intermediate

The number of couples getting divorced is increasing in China. The government is taking actions in order to reduce it.

Click the link below to read more about this:

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1806/180605-china-divorce-4.html

Discussion Questions:
1. What is your reaction to this?
2. Do you think this would be effective in your country?
3. What might be other ways to reduce the number of divorce in a country?

Man to Swim Across an Ocean

B1 – Intermediate

A man hopes to become the first to swim across the Pacific Ocean.

Read on to find out about his goal, how he prepared for this, and some challenges he might face during his attempt.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1806/180607-pacific-ocean-2.html

Discussion Questions:
1. What are Lecomte’s reasons for doing this?
2. What do you think about his goal?
3. What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do?

Getting a Driver’s License

B1 – Intermediate

Driving is a privilege and along with it is its responsibilities. In order to get a driver’s license you must have the necessary driving skills and knowledge and obedience to the traffic rules. All these should be enforced especially after you get your license and start to hit the road.

 

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you have a driver’s license? If yes, how long have you been driving?

2. Are you familiar with all the traffic rules?

3. Is it easy to get a driver’s license in your country?

Chinese Buy Fresh Air

B1 – Intermediate

China is one of the many countries that suffer air pollution. To have a breath of fresh air, local citizens are buying bottled fresh air from Canada.

To know more about this, let us watch the video below.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think about buying bottled fresh air?
  2. If you lived in China, would you consider buying one?
  3. How is the environmental condition in your country?
  4. How can we reduce air pollution?
  5. What can large cities do to improve their air quality?

Minimalism

B1 –  Intermediate

In an era when we can shop whenever and wherever,  why do some people choose not to?

Minimalism is a lifestyle where you just own what is necessary in order to focus on more important things, interesting isn’t?

Lets take a look on how Japanese people practice this lifestyle.

http://www.businessinsider.com/inside-japans-extremely-minimalist-homes-2016-6

Discussion Questions:

1. What is minimalism?

2. What do you think about minimalism?

3. Would you like to try living as a minimalist?

4. What are the pros and cons of being a minimalist?

Lack of Pencil Holding Skill

B1 –  Intermediate

Nowadays, it’s very common for parents to give kids access to computer tablets like iPads at a very young age. After all, early exposure will help our children understand the world better. Well, it turns out there is increasing evidence that allowing kids access to computer tablets at an early age may be counterproductive.

Read this lesson on how technology reduces children’s ability to hold a pencil.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1804/180404-pencils.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your view on this: “Children are not using pencils, so they now lack the muscle strength in their hands to be able to write properly.“?
  2. Do you know anyone who has had skills delay because of early exposure to gadgets? Talk about them.
  3. Do you think kids should never have access to gadgets? Explain your stand.
  4. According to the article, “Technology may be causing bigger problems.“. What do think are some of these problems?
  5. What other skills have we lost because of technology or too much dependency on gadgets?