Tag: First Certificate FCE

Spanish Taxman Investigates Ronaldo Revelations

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Some high-profile personalities have been implicated in tax-dodging activities after documents gathered by German weekly Der Spiegel were leaked. Cristiano Ronaldo, among others, is one of them.

Read the article to know more about this tax controversy involving high-profile footballers.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40260517

Discussion Questions:

1. What are your thoughts on this news?

2. What can be done in order to prevent high-profile personalities from committing tax fraud?

3. What changes would you like to see in your country’s tax system?

Apple’s New Apple TV+

B2- Upper Intermediate

Apple is introducing Apple TV+ . It will be streaming original content videos similar to biggest and successful streaming companies like Netflix and Amazon. Many people subscribe to these streaming services and Apple has predicted that it will gain a huge  number of subscribers in the future as well.

Read the article:

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/26/tech/apple-streaming/index.html

 

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think about Apple’s  TV + ? Will the price be affordable for consumers?

2. Apple has succeeded at selling subscriptions, apps, movies and other services to iPhone customers, do you think this new service will be successful too?

3. Would you pay for another streaming company? Why or why not?

4. What kinds of streaming video contents do you think will be appealing to the public?

 

Viral Video

B2 – Upper Intermediate

We see it everyday; people sharing, retweeting, reposting images, videos or even just texts on social media. Most would do it for humour and entertainment. How does an online material get viral? What drives netizens to share them?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-170817

Discussion Questions:

1. Why do people share materials on social media?

2. What are high arousal emotions?

3. What kinds of videos or links do you usually share on social media?

Three-Parent Baby

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The joy of having a child is immeasurable and it is what most couples look forward to. However, there are situations when couples could not possibly have a normal and healthy offspring due to the genetic disorder of one of the would-be parents. Science has found the answer, but are parents willing to replace their genes with another person’s to conceive a healthy child?

Let’s learn more about the three-parent baby.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-150402

Discussion Questions:

1. How does the three-parent baby work?

2. Why is there a need for a three-parent baby technique?

3. What is your stand on this issue? Do you think it is morally acceptable to undergo this process?

Chocolate Child Slaves

B2 – Upper Intermediate

For the most of us, chocolate is a guilty pleasure. We probably think  we shouldn’t have it but why not reward ourselves after a long, tiring day?  Yet for thousands of children in the cocoa fields of West Africa, chocolate is not a source of pleasure but of a hard and hazardous work. Children working in the cocoa farm are victims of trafficking or slavery. They are kept out of school because their families need their help in the farms and 12-hour workdays make it impossible for them to attend school.

Watch the short video clip to know the bitter truth behind chocolate production.

 

Discussion Questions:

  1. What was your reaction to the film? What did you learn?
  2. How do you see child labor?
  3. How might this problem be addressed?
  4. What do you know about child labor laws and regulations in your country?

 

 

 

Water Scarcity

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Water scarcity is the lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the demands of water usage within a region. It already affects every continent and around 2.8 billion people around the world at least one month out of every year. More than 1.2 billion people lack access to clean drinking water.

Watch the video to know more why the taps run dry.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Is there/Has there ever been water crisis in your region / country?
  2. Why are there severe water shortages around the world?
  3. What are the causes of water scarcity?
  4. What are some solutions to  global water crisis?

 

Investment Scam Targets Instagram Users

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Scams that start on the internet are becoming more and more common nowadays. Sometimes, you’ll encounter fake websites tricking you into installing software that look legitimate but that is really just a virus or scams that are designed to lure people into investing money.

Please read the article to find out more about this new scam.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47358892

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is this new online scam?
  2. How does it lure people into investing money?
  3. How can getting scammed online be avoided?
  4. Why do you think some people get easily tricked by online scams?

Extinction Crisis Threatening Global Food Supply

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Right now, our soils, freshwater, oceans, forests, and biodiversity are being rapidly degraded. The decrease in the global diversity of plants and animals puts food security at risk. The report identified that changes to how land and water are used and managed, pollution, climate change, overharvesting, population growth, and urbanization caused the declining biodiversity which could have disastrous effects on our planet.

Read more about this  the article below:

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/22/health/food-biodiversity-report-intl/index.html

Discussion Questions:

1. What can be done to increase food production?

2. How can we preserve plants and animals’ natural habitats?

3. What environmental effects will this cause?

4. How can changing our diets save plants and animals from extinction? Should we rethink how we grow, share, and consume food?

5. What are your thoughts on the fact that we hold the extraordinary burden of responsibility to avert much of the damage we have done to the environment?

6. What is your reaction that just in the past 50 years, we have seen the destruction of 60% of mammal, bird, fish and reptile populations?

7. Would you know if this is an issue in your country as well? Do you think that this issue is attracting increasing attention in your country?

 

The Trolley Problem

B2 – Upper Intermediate

We are put in a situation where we must make a moral decision; and what if between two possible moral imperatives, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. It’s moral dilemma at its finest.
Here’s a scenario:
How would you decide if the two options you had would cost someone’s life? Could your action be justified?

Watch the video below and find out more about the trolley problem.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is trolley problem?

2. What do you consider in making a moral decision?

3. If you were the one to press the switch, would you let the trolley barrel down the track that would kill five workers or divert the trolley onto a second track with one? Or could there be a more ethical solution to the problem?

4. What are some real world applications of trolley problem? (Note: This is not always about sacrificing people’s life.)

The Placebo Effect

B2 – Upper Intermediate

One doctor made up a fake drug and used every skill he had to convince a group of people it was a cure for their fears, phobias, addictions and insecurities. He was able to get some remarkable results, but in fact the drug was nothing more than a sugar pill.

Can a “fake” treatment really cure an ailment?

Watch the video below to learn more about the placebo effect.

Discussion Questions:

1. Explain the placebo effect. How is it used in a medical research?

2. What are the positive and negative effects of the placebo effect?

3. What conditions do you think can a placebo produce results even when people know they are taking a placebo?

4. Talk about your own experience of a placebo effect.

5. What if all medicines were placebo all along?