We are living in a wealthier world. The number of people living in extreme poverty has halved in recent decades. More people own cars and mobile phones. But why do we still see poverty?
Listen to the podcast then be ready to answer some discussion questions.
Should skinny – or very thin – models be stopped from working on the catwalk? We’ve accepted the norm of fashion models to have very slim and slender figures.
Listen to this podcast on how thin is too thin for catwalk models then express your thoughts.
1. Summarize the discussion about skinny models. 2. Do you think that agencies should be responsible for their models? 3. Do very skinny models really give out a negative impression on children and young adults? 4. How would the fashion industry change if female models were not as skinny?
As we know, vitamins are essential to our health and vitamin D helps protect the body from diseases like diabetes and cancer. A study says it might also prevent brain diseases called dementia.
Read the article below and be ready to talk about health.
1. Do you have a strict diet? Why or why not? 2. The article mentions dementia. What do you know about dementia? 3. How do you think poor memory affects one’s life? 4. Do you think taking supplements is a good idea, or should you get your vitamins from just food? Explain.
Education is an enlightening experience we all deserve to have. Countries worldwide aim to have high literacy rate thus proper education should be catered to the citizens. However, in India, some textbooks were found with worrying information.
Read the article below to check some of the bizarre information in their textbooks.
1. What do you think about the article? Discuss the mentioned erroneous lessons. 2. What is the best way to rectify this issue? 3. Have you read history books that were erroneous?
Online shopping has gained popularity over the years. It is efficient, hassle-free and you don’t have to leave the comforts of your own home. Amazon is one of the most popular internet shopping sites in the world. It operates its own websites in Europe, Asia and South America.
Read the article below to know a little more about Amazon.
1. Do you shop online? 2. Which online shopping sites do you often visit? 3. What is the most popular online shopping site in Spain? 4. What do you think of Amazon.com?
Smoking pot. It’s been a controversial and long-running issue in the United States. But the city of Denver is trying to move forward albeit with some challenges.
Read the article about Denver becoming the first city to allow marijuana in bars and restaurants.
Everyone goes through different things in life everyday. One could be shocked and sad of a bad news, others could be determined and hopeful for better days.
Would you treat them differently if you could see what they are going through?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl2_knlv_xw
Discuss:
1. How would you explain the words sympathy, empathy and apathy? 2. Would you consider yourself a sympathetic person? 3. How do you handle social and emotional stress? 4. When going through a difficult situation, do you prefer sharing your problems or do you prefer keeping it to yourself?
When is a computer game just for fun and when does it become dangerous? Listen to Rob and Finn discussing whether adult computer games could affect our children’s health.
This podcast contains vocabulary expressions that your teacher might ask about so be ready for a discussion.
1. Do you think that computer games can be unhealthy or do you think there are good things that you can get out of it? 2. What are some computer games that you’ve played? 3. If you’re a parent, what rules do you have for your child/children when it comes to computer games? 4. Do you think the government or certain government bodies should be involved in regulating computer games?
In Spain, tourists have been spending billions of Euros from January to July alone.
This is said to be helping the country recover from the economic crisis. However, some top Spanish vacation destinations have experienced drawbacks from the heavy influx of tourists in the recent years, forcing authorities to impose stern measures to control the situation.
Tourist spending in Spain sets new record, boosting economic recovery
Foreign tourists spent €37.129 billion between January and July alone – the highest in recorded history, according to a report released by the federal Tourist Expenditure Survey released on Thursday.
This was an increase of 7.7 percent over the same time period from last year.
Spain has received a record number of tourists so far this year at 37.9 million, who have in turn been spending record amounts of cash each day – dropping on average €113 per person daily.
And each tourist spent nearly a grand – €978 – over the course of their vacation under the Spanish sun.
Tourists from the UK lined the coffers of Spain’s tourism industry the most, spending a total of €7.58 billion. But although one in four tourists you may see poking around gift shops hail from the British Isles, the British only contributed a fifth of the total tourist spend.
It was the American tourists, though, who seemed to have the deepest pockets with each US native spending on average €161 per day.
Catalonia, the coastal region in northeastern Spain, earned the most from tourism racking up €8.588 billion a figure that represents amost a quarter (23.1 percent) of all of the money spent by tourists across Spain.
But despite the fact that tourists have been bringing in evermore money to the cash-strapped country, Spain has seen backlash against mass tourism in recent years at some of the top vacation spots.
Magaluf is among those resorts attempting to crack down on tourists behaving badly through a raft of new bylaws prohibiting exhibitionism and binge drinking.
And Benidorm on the Costa Blanca will now be employing the help of British bobbies to patrol the shores where more than one million Brits holiday each year.
Money may not grow on trees, but in Spain it sure seems to grow on tourists as holidaymakers bring in more cash than they ever have before.
Discussion Questions:
1. What do you think leads to more tourists coming to your country? 2. Do you think tourism helped a lot in improving Spain’s economic condition? 3. What are the benefits and drawbacks of tourism? 4. What other places in Spain should be developed for tourism?
Almost everyone agrees that a white lie is a good kind of lie. But is it really good knowing you’re hiding the truth from someone?
Read the article to know the science and reason behind lying.
Everyone lies. In fact, lies are an important facet of humanity. For example, research shows that two acquaintances lie several times in the average ten minute conversation. Although we are told to always tell the truth from a very young age, parents lie about Santa Clause or about the pet dog’s death. Parents also smile and say “thank you” when receiving a gift, then possibly belittle it at home. These conflicting messages signal children to regard lies as okay.
We lie to ourselves all the time to make problems, fears, and failures seem less troublesome. A New Year’s resolution can be considered a lie, too, because in most cases we don’t intend to keep the promise — we’ve only deceived ourselves. Or consider the next time a friend or colleague asks, “How are you?” That person doesn’t want to hear that you’re tired, overworked, underpaid, and have problems with your significant other. Social rules demand that you reply, “I’m fine.”
Psychologist Paul Ekman offers some basic reasons for lying. We lie to escape punishment, to get out of uncomfortable situations, to boost our egos, to receive a reward, to protect someone, or to control the flow of information. Everything from a large exaggeration to a small lie falls into one of these categories.
Despite the fact that lying is an indivisible part of our psyche, we can only catch a lie about fifty percent of the time. The success rate is quite low, and suggests that we don’t want to know that another person isn’t being honest. Lies, some experts suggest, are the glue which holds society together.
Source: headsupenglish.com
Discussion Questions:
1. How often do you think you lie? Is it too much? 2. What are some of the reasons you’ve lied recently? 3. Do you think lies hold society together? Why/not? 4. What situations would it be better to lie than to tell the truth? Why do you think so? 5. Do you think one gender lies more than the other? Why/not?
