Tag: First Certificate FCE

Forex Trading Guide

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Some people mastered a new lifestyle — living without a traditional job. Some go into trading currencies. This could be an unconventional, but good way of making money. 

Read the article and know the fundamentals of forex trading.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/11/why-trade-forex.asp

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What is the meaning of “portmanteau“, “Forex (FX) is a portmanteau of foreign currency and exchange.”? Use it in a sentence.
  2. What is the meaning of a “triennial“, “According to a 2019 triennial report from the Bank for International Settlements (a global bank for national central banks), the daily trading volume for forex reached $6.6 trillion in 2019.”? Use it in a sentence.
  3. What is “(market) liquidity“, “It features in six of the seven currency pairs with the most liquidity in the markets.”? Use it in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Cite some of your key takeaways about forex trading from the article.
  2. What do you think are the qualities that make a good trader?
  3. How do you stay abreast with the ever-changing financial markets?
  4. Why might some people consider forex trading a scam? Have you tried forex trading?
  5. Do you think anyone is capable of forex trading? Why?
  6. Is it a good alternative to a regular job? Why?

The Pressure to Have the Perfect Birth

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Every birth story is unique and there is simply no such thing as a “perfect birth.” With that said, the more equipped we are for any major life journey or transformation, which would include acknowledging the truth of a Plan B or C, the more comfortable we will be when we are already in the situation.

Of course, when a beautiful newborn baby awaits you, it’s impossible to imagine being frustrated with the journey.

But as researchers noted in one study, individualized emotional support has been shown to empower women and increase the possibility of a positive birth experience. Women wanted to be recognized and viewed as wonderful human beings by their practitioners and their partners.

Read the article to know more about positive birth and hypnobirthing movements.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20230122-positive-birth-and-hypnobirthing-movements

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “hold much weight” mean, “And for many women, approaches like these have never held much weight, if you want to give birth as painlessly as possible, why not just use every modern medical intervention and drug available?”? Use this idiom in your own sentence.
  2. What does “laser-focused ” mean, “Feeling like there was one right way to have a baby, it made me laser-focused on that right way.” Use this word in your own sentence.
  3. What does the idiom “things started to go sideways” mean, “As a result, when things started to go sideways, it was very hard for me to adapt.”? Use this expression in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Is it possible to “have a ‘beautiful’ birth experience without medical intervention”? Explain.
  2. What are some benefits of natural birth?
  3. What is the meaning of a very positive birth experience?
  4. What factors contribute to a positive birthing experience for the mother?
  5. Do you believe that having contingencies, in addition to birth plans, is important? Discuss your opinion.

Voice Help Diagnose Illness

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Several studies have been conducted on and have proven how a person’s voice holds key information about their health. 

A team of 45 investigators from Europe and North America are working together to collect human voices as data. They hope to use this information to help identify a variety of medical conditions in patients just by analyzing their voices with the help of AI computer softwares.

Watch the video to know more about how one’s voice could help diagnose illnesses.

https://www.voanews.com/a/logon-could-your-voice-help-diagnose-your-next-illness/6941387.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “tackle” mean, “The study is one of four data generation projects funded by the National Institute of Health bridge to artificial intelligence program designed to use AI to tackle complex biomedical challenges.” Use this word in your own sentence.
  2. What does ”gap” mean here, ”They realized that there were such a big gap between the technology that we had available and the clinical knowledge and what we use in clinical care in our hospitals.”? Give two synonyms and use these words in sentences.
  3. What does the word “enroll” mean? “The study will start enrolling participants in the coming year.” Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on this study?
  2. In your own opinion, is our voice a good indicator of our underlying or imminent disease or condition? Explain your point.
  3. How would you like your voice to be used to diagnose an illness that you might have?
  4. What might be the good and bad things about using our voice to help diagnose some medical conditions?
  5. Would you be willing to participate in such a study? Why or why not?

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.

Global Scramble to Tackle Deepfakes

B2 – Upper Intermediate

A lot of fraudulent activities flourish in the online world. Nowadays, AI deepfakes have been a crucial tool in spreading misinformation on the internet.

Read the article to know more about deepfakes and how the world struggles to fight against it.

https://www.voanews.com/a/seeing-is-believing-global-scramble-to-tackle-deepfakes-/6945185.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “to rein in” mean, “Chatbots spouting falsehoods, face-swapping apps crafting porn videos, and cloned voices defrauding companies of millions — the scramble is on to rein in AI deepfakes that have become a misinformation super spreader.”? Use this phrase in your own sentence.
  2. What does ”deluge” mean? “Artificial Intelligence is redefining the proverb “seeing is believing,” with a deluge of images created out of thin air and people shown mouthing things they never said in real-looking deepfakes that have eroded online trust.” Use this word in your own sentence.
  3. What does “stymie” mean? “China recently adopted expansive rules to regulate deepfakes but most countries appear to be struggling to keep up with the fast-evolving technology amid concerns that regulation could stymie innovation or be misused to curtail free speech.” Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on the prevalence of deepfakes nowadays?
  2. How can deepfakes be prevented?
  3. How would you feel and would you know what to do in case you fall victim to a deepfake content?
  4. Share your thoughts on this, “With no barriers to creating AI-synthesized text, audio and video, the potential for misuse in identity theft, financial fraud and tarnishing reputations has sparked global alarm.”
  5. According to the Eurasia group, “AI tools are “weapons of mass disruption.” What is your opinion on this?

Ransomware Attacks in Europe

B2 – Upper Intermediate

In Italy, the recent ransomware attacks coincided with the widespread internet outage. At this point, it is difficult to say whether the two incidents are related. However, cybersecurity groups have warned of ransomware attacks that involve systems that are already in circulation.

Read the article to know more about the ransomware attacks in Europe.

https://www.voanews.com/a/ransomware-attacks-in-europe-target-old-vmware-agencies-say/6949349.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What is ”ransomware”? “Cybersecurity agencies in Europe are warning of ransomware attacks exploiting a two-year-old computer bug as Italy experienced widespread internet outages.” Use this word in your own sentence.
  2. What is “hypervisor”? “A Friday technical bulletin from a French cybersecurity agency said the attack campaigns target VMware ESXi hypervisors, which are used to monitor virtual machines.” Use this word in your own sentence.
  3. What does “interfere with” mean, “The problem attracted particular public attention in Italy on Sunday because it coincided with a nationwide internet outage affecting telecommunications operator Telecom Italia, which interfered with streaming the Spezia v. Napoli soccer match …”? Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How can ransomware attacks be prevented?
  2. In case of a ransomware attack, should an individual or company pay a ransom to get their data back? Explain.
  3. How would you feel and would you know what to do in case you fall victim to a ransomware attack?
  4. Has there ever been a nationwide internet outage in your country? What caused it and how was it resolved?
  5. How do you feel when an internet outage occurs/would occur in your area?

Gen Z Make Friends in the Pandemic Era

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Building a relationship early in your career is vital, especially for those who are migrating to a foreign city and have no existing connections. These friends focus on providing assistance during both personal and professional shocks, and in some cases, they even become lifelong friends.

While work has traditionally been a place to make connections, many of these young people have lacked chances as businesses shifted to hybrid, distributed, or remote-working concepts. While making friends as an adult can be tough in and of itself, hurdles have never been significantly greater, particularly for Gen Z.

According to experts, social circles have downsized generally speaking after a desolate period of time during the global epidemic  and in some cases, they were never established at all. This indicates that some young adults are searching for fresh ways to form relationships.

Generation Z, in particular, is using mobile innovations to build long-term strong ties in different manners that earlier generations did not. Put bluntly, young employees are increasingly becoming innovative in their approaches of making new acquaintances.

Read the article to know more about how Gen Z or zoomers make meaningful connections in the pandemic era.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20230201-can-gen-z-make-friends-in-the-pandemic-era

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “top of mind” mean, “For many, limited social networks have been top of mind, and they’re working on innovative ways to build the kinds of friendships older generations found more readily at places like offices.”? Use this expression in your own sentence.
  2. What does “all walks of life” mean, “The 24-year-old grew up in Ireland, and was eager to “meet people of all walks of life.” Use this idiom in your own sentence.
  3. What does the idiom “to put one’s self out there” mean, “During the pandemic, I was shocked with how anti-social I’d gotten, how nervous I was to talk to new people and put myself out there”? Use this expression in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How did the pandemic take a toll on your friendships? Please share.
  2. During the lockdown, how did you maintain contact with your friends?
  3. How did friendship help us cope with the isolation during the lockdowns? Talk about it.
  4. Are you comfortable extending your social circle online? Why or why not?
  5. How has your way of meeting new people or making new connections changed over the years?
  6. What are the advantages and pitfalls of online friendships?

Brexit Causes Collapse in European Research Funding 

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Research grants guarantee ample financial support to reach the completion of a study. Without the proper funding, it is highly unlikely for major research to reach its conclusion or to even get started. Universities are one of the institutions where research studies are usually done. In order to do so, they need to receive research grants from their government or other external funding sources.

Let’s read the article to know more about the effects of Brexit on UK’s university research and development.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/feb/04/brexit-causes-collapse-in-european-research-funding-for-oxbridge-universities

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. Define the word “high-catchet”, “He has taken his high-cachet European Research Council (ERC) advanced grant with him.” Use it in a sentence.
  2. What does the word “woo” mean in this sentence, “Although she was wooed to the US by what she calls “the best job in my field”, she says Brexit uncertainty was a big factor.” Use it in a sentence.
  3. What does “wrangling” mean in this sentence? “The government has guaranteed it will cover all successful Horizon Europe grants applied for by the end of March, but after watching the political wranglings for more than two years, many academics are now leaving the UK, saying they no longer believe their vital European research partnerships will be protected.” Use it in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How did Brexit affect higher education and research in the UK?
  2. What option is available to those who have received the grant in the UK?
  3. Does your government promote and invest in research and development? How?
  4. How did Brexit affect R&D in your country?
  5. Why should we invest in R&D?

Have A Calmer Sunday Night

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Weekends are a joy for employees after going through a tough week of work. As much as everyone loves the weekend, when the end of the weekend comes, most of us get the “Sunday Scaries”.

If you’re one of those who loathe Sundays, there are things you can do to make your Sunday evening and the rest of the week better and calmer.

Read the article to know more.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sunday-night-routine-monday_l_63c99561e4b01a4363856a1b

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “hustle and bustle” mean, “For most people, the end of the weekend isn’t a welcome time; it marks the return to the hustle and bustle of the workweek and all of the tasks therein.”? Use this word in your own sentence.
  2. What is the meaning of “frenzy“? Give at least 2 synonyms.
  3. What does “start (something) off on the right foot” mean in the sentence, “Putting things in place to start your Monday on the right foot is a good way to ease some of your Sunday scaries.”? Use this expression in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you usually experience the “Sunday Scaries”? Talk about it.
  2. What do you think of the ways mentioned in the article?
  3. Which ones do you practice to lessen the “Sunday Scaries”?
  4. What are other ways to have a more relaxed Sunday evening?
  5. What activities do you usually do to have a relaxing weekend?

Artificial Womb Facility

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Science has made it possible for humanity to advance significantly, as evidenced by the developments in delivery technology.

The first concept for artificial wombs has just been unveiled, showing an unthinkable way for humans to give birth in these pods.

However, this recent breakthrough has sparked much controversy, making many people afraid of its ramifications for the future.

To find out more about artificial wombs, let us watch this video.

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What is meant by “comfort of your zone“? “You can track your baby’s health from the comfort of your zone.” Use it in your own sentence.
  2. What is the meaning of “haptic“? “Using a wireless haptic suit connected to your baby’s growth pod, you will be able to sense their kicks in the womb.” Use it in your own sentence.
  3. What exactly is a “bioreactor“? “The second bioreactor is designed to eliminate any waste products created by the babies.” Use it in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your initial thoughts about such growth pods?
  2. Do you believe that science has gone too far with this kind of tech? Explain your thoughts.
  3. In your opinion, what are the worst and best parts of an artificial womb facility?