Tag: Business

Supermarkets Ration Fruits and Vegetables

B1 – Intermediate

In the UK, there have been a shortage in the supply of fruits and vegetables. Customers are having difficulties finding places to buy fruits and vegetables from. The big supermarkets said there are many reasons for this shortage in their supplies. As a result, most of their shelves are left almost empty.

Due to this, supermarkets have no choice but to ration some produces in the middle of this problem with low fruits and vegetables supply in the country.

Read the article about the fruits and vegetables shortage in the UK and how the supermarkets started rationing the supply to their customers.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2303/230306-uk-vegetable-rationing-5.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does ”bare” mean here, “The big chains have given various reasons for the shortfall in supply and why shelves are bare in supermarket aisles.”? Give 2 synonyms of the word ‘bare’ in this context and use them in sentences.
  2. What does the expression “to play a part” mean, “An industry analyst said Brexit has also played a part.”? Use this idiom in your own sentence.
  3. What does “war-torn” mean, “Many shoppers are shocked at seeing photos on social media of supermarket shelves in Europe, and in war-torn Ukraine, full of fresh produce.”? Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction to this news? Has something similar happened in your country too?
  2. What are the reasons for the lack of supply in fruits and vegetables in the UK?
  3. Is it a good solution to limit how much fruits and veggies each customer can buy? Explain your opinion.
  4. Do you agree or disagree to this, “If there are shortfalls in production in the EU, then it makes sense for EU producers to serve their local demand first.”? Share your thoughts.
  5. Talk about some products or produces that became low in supply in your country. How did that shortage affect you?

Inflation

B1 – Intermediate

Inflation is one of the most important economic issues in the world. It can be defined as the price of goods and services rising over monthly or yearly. Inflation leads to a decline in the value of money, it means that we cannot buy something at a price that same as before. This situation will increase our cost of living.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about inflation.

https://listenaminute.com/i/inflation.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What is “inflation rate“? “Zimbabwe once had an inflation rate of trillions of percent.” Use this phrase in a sentence.
  2. What does the phrase “to keep something under control” mean, “Many countries around the world are fighting to keep inflation under control.”? Use this in a sentence.
  3. What does “to lose the battle against something” mean, “Sometimes you read about countries that lose the battle against inflation.” Use this in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why is inflation important to economists?
  2. Have you changed your spending or your habits because of the rising prices?
  3. Do you think your government should do more to help people manage in the middle of this problem with inflation? Share your opinion.
  4. What will happen to the world if prices keep rising?
  5. What will happen to your lifestyle if prices keep rising?
  6. What hurts you more, increase in fuel prices or food prices? Why?

Businesses You Could Start From Your Garage

B2 – Upper Intermediate

In this article, we will explore five businesses you could start right from the comfort of your own home garage. From automotive repair to e-commerce, these ideas could be the inspiration you need to start your own successful business.

So roll up your sleeves, dust off your tools, and get ready to be inspired by the article below.

https://www.lifehack.org/526277/5-businesses-you-could-start-from-your-garage

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does the phrase “up and running” mean, “When that equipment has issues, they are willing to spend a significant amount to get everything up and running smoothly.” Use it in another sentence.
  2. What is the meaning of the term “know-how” in the sentence, “This is a simple job that requires very little tools and very little know-how.”? Explain your understanding and use it in a sentence.
  3. What does “upfront money” mean, “People can choose what background they want and no one will be the wiser. This takes a little more upfront money.” Use this phrase in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How does the article suggest identifying potential businesses to start from a garage?
  2. What do you think are some challenges and advantages of starting a business from a garage?
  3. How do you think starting a business from a garage can impact the community or neighborhood where the garage is located?
  4. Can you think of any successful businesses that started in a garage? What made them successful?
  5. Do you want to start a business in a garage? Why or why not? If so, what idea do you have in mind?

Sushi Terrorism

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Sushi is one of the most popular Japanese dishes all around the world. Recently, some pranks have become viral on social media where some pranksters are seen meddling with the food at some conveyor belt sushi restaurants. 

This lead to customers rethinking about going to this kind of restaurants, police conducting investigations, and restaurants’ shares plummeting.

Read the article about a series of pranks at conveyor belt sushi restaurants that is dubbed as “sushi terrorism”. 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/03/wave-of-sushi-terrorism-grips-japans-restaurant-world

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “meddle” mean, “Signature cuisine is at the centre of a police investigation after customers at revolving sushi restaurants posted video clips of themselves meddling with dishes.”? Use this word in your own sentence.
  2. What does ”egregious” mean, ”A clip of the most egregious culinary crime, which has been viewed almost 40m times on Twitter, shows what appears to be a teenager licking the open top of a communal soy sauce bottle and the entire rim of a teacup, which he then places back on a shelf.”? Give at least one (1) synonym of this word and use it in a sentence.
  3. What does “outpouring” mean? “The firm’s president, Kohei Nii, said he had been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support.”  Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction to this news? How does this affect your interest in going to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant?
  2. How can the restaurants bounce back from this controversy?
  3. What are your thoughts on the action by some conveyor belt sushi restaurants to install cameras above conveyor belts to monitor customers?
  4. How should these pranksters be punished?

Hong Kong Needs Tourists

B1 – Intermediate

Countries all over the world have been affected by the pandemic. One of the countries that suffered the consequences is Hong Kong.

Now, the government needs to think of ways to boost tourism again.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about what Hong Kong is doing to attract more tourists into their country.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/hong-kong-needs-tourists-level-3/

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “lure” mean, “Hong Kong will give 500,000 air tickets to lure tourists and businesses back to the city.” Use this word in your own sentence.
  2. What does ”revive” mean here, ”The government is seeking to revive the economy and repair Hong Kong’s global image after 2019’s violent protests and three years of self-imposed isolation during the pandemic.”? Give at least one (1) other definition of this word and use it in a sentence.
  3. What is a “giveaway”? “The giveaway will begin at the start of March and will last six months.” Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why does Hong Kong have problems with low tourism?
  2. What is your opinion on their campaign to get more tourists to visit their country? Do you think it will work? Explain.
  3. What would you do if you won a free flight to Hong Kong?
  4. What does your local and/or national government do to attract tourists to visit?
  5. What are some interesting activities/events in your city/country?

Spot a Phone Scammer

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Phone scams are quite prevalent these days. Although this may seem like a little problem, it has had a large-scale impact and made the fraudsters very wealthy and their victims forever scarred.

Check out this video to learn how to spot a phone scammer.

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What is a “cold-call“, “Cold-call scammers pretending to be from the HMRC are targeting households threatening legal action unless you call them back.“? Use this word in your own sentence.
  2. What does the idiom “out of the blue” mean, “The HMRC will never contact you out of the blue and threaten you with arrest.“? Use this expression in your own sentence.
  3. What does the phrase “at hand” mean, “The issue at hand is extremely time-sensitive.“? Use this phrase in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think about cold-calls?
  2. Talk about some kind of calls such as this that you have received and how you handle it.
  3. If you had the ability to help stop these scam call centers, what would you do?
  4. How can you and others close to you prevent being phone scammed?
  5. Do you believe that law enforcement could do a better job in this type of situations? How so?

Google’s Digital Ad Business Dominance

B2 – Upper Intermediate

No doubt, Google has dominated the world of technology and business. However, the U.S. government has alleged the company of abusing its digital advertising business dominance.

They claim that Google has anticompetitive, exclusionary, and unlawful ways to thwart their competitions.

Read the article to know more about the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against Google.

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-eight-states-sue-google-on-digital-ad-business-dominance/6932101.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “thwart” mean, “The lawsuit says “Google has thwarted meaningful competition and deterred innovation in the digital advertising industry…” Use this word in your own sentence.
  2. Explain ”antitrust”. ”The lawsuit is the second federal antitrust complaint filed against Google, alleging violations of antitrust law in how the company acquires or maintains its dominance.” Use this word in your own sentence.
  3. What does the expression “by a long shot” mean, “While Google remains the market leader by a long shot, its share of the U.S. digital ad revenue has been eroding, falling to 28.8% last year from 36.7% in 2016. Use this idiom in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on this antitrust complaint against Google?
  2. In your own opinion, are antitrust laws good or bad? Explain your point.
  3. How can antitrust practices be prevented?
  4. Why is competition important in business?
  5. What are some antitrust laws in your country? Explain each of them.

Dubai Luxury Hotel

B1 – Intermediate

Dubai is one of the most expensive countries. People there often live in luxury with their clothes, bags, shoes, cars, and overall lifestyle. 

There are countless luxury hotels in Dubai. One of them is the hotel chain Atlantis. They have a new luxury hotel called Atlantis The Royal which opened in February 2023.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about Atlantis Hotels.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/dubai-luxury-hotel-level-2/

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does ”perform” mean here, “Beyonce performed to a VIP audience for 24 million dollars, and fireworks lit up the sky above the city’s famous artificial island of Palm Jumeirah.”? Use this word in your own sentence.
  2. Give 2 synonyms of “extravagance”. Use them in sentences.
  3. What is “amenity”, “ It has seven bars and restaurants, 90 pools, gyms, spas, and many other amenities to bring in wealthy vacationers.”? Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of Atlantis The Royal? Given a chance, would you like to stay in this hotel? Why or why not?
  2. What is the most famous luxury hotel in your country?
  3. What are the good things about staying at luxury hotels?
  4. Talk about the most memorable hotel stay you’ve had? Why was this hotel very good?
  5. What amenities are important to you when booking a hotel?

Apple’s VR Headset

B1 – Intermediate

Apple has been one of the top technology companies in the whole world. They are known for very innovative products. But the last time they came out with a new product was in 2015. They introduced the smartwatch.

Seven years later, Apple’s new product which is a VR headset will be sold by the end of 2023.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about Apple’s mixed-reality headset.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/apples-new-product-level-2/

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does ”introduce” mean here, “Company Apple last introduced a new product in 2015 when it introduced its smartwatch.”? Use this word in your own sentence.
  2. Give 2 synonyms of “rival”. “Currently, company Meta dominates the VR market, and Apple hopes that its product will bring a different experience than its rival.” Use them in sentences.
  3. What does “mixed-reality” mean, “The new product is a mixed-reality headset, and users will control it by eye and hand.”? Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Are you impressed by this headset? Why or why not?
  2. Do you think the price of this headset is fair? Why or why not?
  3. “Apple hopes that its product will bring a different experience than its rival.” Do you think they will be able to do this? Why or why not?
  4. Talk about the last product/service your company introduced.
  5. How can companies keep innovating?

Adidas Loses Three-Stripe Trademark Battle

B1 – Intermediate

Trademarks help consumers distinguish one brand from another. 

Adidas’ three stripes is their trademark. They will fight against any other companies who will try to use or have something similar to their logo.

Recently, they were in a legal dispute with U.S. fashion brand Thom Browne for using a four-stripe logo, which looks a lot like that of Adidas’ three stripes.

Read the article about Adidas losing a legal battle for their iconic three-stripes trademark.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2301/230116-adidas-three-stripes-4.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What is a “jury”? Use this word in your own sentence. “However, a jury decided in Thom Browne’s favour.”
  2. Give 2 synonyms of “dispute”, “The dispute with Adidas goes back to 2007, when Browne used a three-stripe design on a jacket.“. Use them in your own sentences.
  3. What does the word “market” mean here, “Browne said its design was not a problem because the companies are in different markets and their products are priced differently.”? Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your opinion on Adidas losing against Thom Browne over trademark legal battle?
  2. Personally, what do you think about Thom Browne using a trademark that looks very similar to Adidas?
  3. Do you agree that consumers are unlikely to confuse the two brands? Explain your answer.
  4. Why are trademarks important?
  5. Talk about your company’s trademark.