Tag: B2 – Upper intermediate

What’s On Your Bucket List?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

When was the last time you did something that you really wanted to do? Something that added value to your life? We tend to get so wrapped up in our day to day lives that  sometimes we forget that we need to just live and enjoy our lives. Making a bucket list will get you closer to accomplishing those things that you would hope to do.

Read the article below and be ready to answer the questions that follow.

Self-help books abound with pleas to get off the couch, get out of the house, and make your dreams come true. A perfect (or nearly perfect) life just needs a measure of self-discipline and hard work, and is within reach for those who try. Regrets, many of these books suggest, pile up and eat away at happiness and fulfillment.

Realistically, however, a dream life is impossible. It’s something to think about in the margins of everyday life, such as during the commute to work or just before you fall asleep each night. Most people can’t write a best-seller, for example, nor achieve financial independence with some sort of start-up business. Responsibilities like family, a mortgage, and work naturally come first, creating a certain level of mundaneness, and which thereby puts the kibosh on pursuing these flights of fancy. The self-help books do get one thing right, though: the bucket list.

A bucket list serves as a “to do” list before you die, like learn a foreign language, skydive, or travel to exotic locations around the world. The list should feature acts of aspiration, which offsets the more boring facets of life. You don’t need to live each day as though it were your last on the planet before kicking the bucket, but the list instead should encourage you to plan imaginative, colorful, and even daring acts. You should plumb your imagination, for human nature requires something on the horizon other than an endless monotony of identical days. What’s more, the list doesn’t need to be hedonistic. The best lists contain items which enrich the lives of others, too.

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

1. What are some activities you would put on your bucket list?
2. What are some popular activities that appear on many bucket lists? Why do you think these are popular?
3. How realistic is it to write a bucket list, and then do the activities listed? Please explain.
4. Why is it important to have dreams or goals to work towards?

Unmarried Households the Norm

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Americans are getting married later than ever before, but waiting to settle down can still be nerve-wracking. Will you ever find the right person? Will you be able to have kids?

Read the article below and be ready to answer the questions that follow.

For the first time in US history, traditional marriage isn’t the preferred living choice in most houses. Recent data shows that 50.2 percent of American families weren’t married. That figure, 56.8 million, is a large decrease from six years ago. At that time, married couples made up 52 percent of the 105.5 million households.

Single women headed more than 14 million households, while single men ran another 5 million. There was a large number of “non-family households,” which means unmarried, gay or heterosexual couples living together.

The change could mean significant changes in every part if American life in the future. For example, there could be changes in family law or national politics. In the short term, however, it shows the failed efforts of conservatives, despite their focus on traditional marriages and families.

Douglas Beshavor, a sociologist with the American Enterprise Institute, suggested that short-term relationships and unmarried couples who live together would be more common for years to come. As a result, people will find themselves more alone than ever before. Both parents will work, so there will be fewer siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles. America will move towards a society even more focused on the individual.

“Change is in the air,” Beshavor said. But will it be positive or negative?

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

1. What are the marriage rates in your country? Are the rates increasing or decreasing?
2. Why do you think less people are getting married in America?
3. Do you think marriage rates all over the world will eventually go down? Why/not?
4. What do you think will happen if there are more unmarried people?
5. Would you recommend young people to live together first before getting married?

97-Year-Old ‘Sees Future’ at Google

B2 – Upper Intermediate

97-year old Olive Horrell had her wish of a lifetime to see the future when she got to visit Google in California.

Read the article and watch the video below to know more about Ms. Horell and her wish.

http://www.voanews.com/a/olive-horrell-gets-wish-and-visits-google-sergey-brin/3023295.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Who is Olive Horell and what was her wish? What do you think of her wish?
  2. If you were 90+ years old and a wish of yours would be granted by an organization like Make a Wish, what would your wish be and why?
  3. If you were to ‘see the future’, what would you like to see and why?
  4. What socio-civic activities is your company involved in?
  5. What are some of the programs that your city or region has for senior citizens?

Video: Information the Gun Industry Won’t Tell

B2 – Upper intermediate

Gun control varies around the world.  Some countries impose stringent distribution and use of guns while others don’t. How about in your country?  What information do you know about the gun industry?

Watch the video and find out some interesting facts. Click CC on the video to watch with subtitles.

Five Things the Gun Industry Won’t Tell You

Discuss:

1. Explain the information given in the video.
2. What question/s do you have about the gun industry?
3. Is gun control a controversy in your country?
4. Would you like to own a gun? Have you tried firing one before?

CEO Hikes Life-Saving Drug 4000%

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B2 – Upper intermediate

Martin Shkreli just made hundreds of people hate him by making an outrageous decision of raising the price of his company’s products.

Read the article below to know more about the effects of his detested choice.

‘Hated’ CEO Hikes Life-Saving Drug 4000%

Discuss:

1. Is it fair that companies have the right to hike the price of their product as much as they desire?
2. How do you think consumers should be protected from any price hike of commodities?
3. Are pharmaceutical products in Spain affordable?

It Only Takes One Bad Apple

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Recent studies have shown that negative vibes have stronger influence in the workplace. An employee with a negative behavior could easily influence the rest of the team and might have undesirable effects on the team dynamics and quality of work.

Read the article to learn more about how negative behavior at work affect others around.

There is an old saying: It only takes one bad apple to spoil the bunch. The idiom can be applied to every day life. A recent research report indicates that “one bad apple” can quickly spoil the atmosphere of the office. An employee with a negative attitude brings conflict and stress to the workplace. A problem employee usually doesn’t do an equal amount of work, is always unhappy and complaining, and bullies others.

Negative behavior, the researchers found, is much stronger than positive behavior. As such, several positive employees can’t change the mood created by one negative teammate. In fact, it often leads to a downward spiral, with more and more employees becoming unhappier and unhappier as time continues. The news comes out of the University of Washington.

In order to solve the problem, companies need to deal with the negativity immediately. One answer is to have the employee work alone as much as possible. In effect, he should be isolated from other team members work-wise. Better yet, ensure that effective hiring practices prevent the problem from entering the building. Training managers to better determine potential hires helps, as do personality tests. These can identify and remove emotionally unstable or disagreeable people.

Case in point: The wife of the report’s lead author noticed that when a problem employee at her office was sick for several days, the atmosphere quickly changed. People began to help one another. They played classical music on their radios. Many went out for drinks after work. However, once the problem returned, the toxic atmosphere returned, too.

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you agree, that “one bad apple spoils the bunch?” Why/not?
  2. Have you ever had a similar experience as the example? What happened when the negative person was away?
  3. If your office were “toxic,” would you consider quitting? Why/not?
  4. What other solutions do you think might work with a bad apple? Why?
  5. Do you think that a bad apple usually knows he creates a negative atmosphere? Why/not?

Columbus Day: Some Love It, Others Not

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B2 – Upper intermediate

Columbus Day is known as the most disputed holiday in the US. For the Native Americans, Columbus was very devastating to them, as he enslaved the natives and caused depression in the place. Columbus’ critics say that he did not land in America on that day and he did not discover America because it has long been inhabited by the natives.

Read the article below and be ready to have a discussion.

Columbus Day: Some Love It, Others Not So Much

Discuss:

1. Is Christopher Columbus celebrated as an important person in Spanish history?
2. What is your opinion about the Americans dispute about “Columbus Day”?
3. Is there any controversial or disputed holiday in Spain?

Animals That Are Also Verbs

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B2 – Upper intermediate

Pay attention while listening and reading along with this very interesting article. You will find that some verbs are coined from animal names.

Take note of how some nouns can be used as verbs.

Weasel, Duck, Dog: Animals That Are Also Verbs

Discuss:

1. In your own words, explain what it means to weasel your way out of something.
2. Have you ever been hounded by someone to do something?
3. What does it mean to fish for compliments?
4. Aside from the ones used in the article, what other animals can be used as verbs?

Office Workers Head to Relaxation Parlours

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B2 – Upper intermediate

South Korean employees are finding ways to get energized and catch up on some sleep.

Read the article below to know more details about the issue. Be ready to express your thoughts.

South Korea: Office workers head to relaxation parlours

Discuss:

1. What do you think of the idea of relaxation parlours?
2. Are there rooms in your office where you can take a power nap or a short break?
3. Would you say that people in your country work long hours?
4. What are the long term consequences of working very long hours?

Spaniards Resort to Self-employment

B2 – Upper intermediate

Having one’s own business used to be something people did post-retirement. But with the long-drawn out unemployment crisis in Spain, it has become the only option left for many. The real issue however, is how to convert these people ‘s talents and skills into a regular source of income.

Watch the video and find out if  self-employment is the key to the unemployment problem in Spain.

Discuss:

1. What do you think of self-employment as a source of income? Would you consider it yourself?
2. Do you think the Spanish government is doing enough to support self-employed individuals?
3. What qualities should a self-employed individual have in order to succeed?
4. What are the pros and cons of being self-employed?