Tag: People

Friends

B1 – Intermediate

Friends are people who understands you, and if they don’t, they try to. They are always there for you when you need them. They care for you, love you, and respect you for who and what you are.

Let’s listen to the audio and read the transcript below about friends.

https://listenaminute.com/f/friends.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do friends mean to you?
  2. Do you stay in touch with all of the friends you’ve made? How?
  3. What makes a friend a best friend?
  4. What would life be like without friends?
  5. What is the most valuable thing you have to offer as a friend?

Clothes

B1 – Intermediate

Clothes are important because it protects us from the weather and provide us with warmth and cover. They also make us desirable in others’ eyes; making us wanted and even disliked.

Because clothes are important, do you buy too many of them?

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about clothes.

https://listenaminute.com/c/clothes.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. About how much money do you spend on clothes a year?
  2. Can you be fashionable without spending money?
  3. Do you have clothes in your closet that you’ve never worn? Why haven’t you worn them?
  4. Do you always recycle your old clothes or give them to charity?
  5. What’s your favorite piece of clothing? Why?
  6. Do you buy clothes online? Why or why not?
  7. Is fashion a kind of art? Elaborate.

Beauty

B1 – Intermediate

Perfect hair, perfect teeth and a perfect smile is ones definition of beauty. Beauty is solely dependent on how a person looks in the outside. However, inner beauty is more important for others because it’s the beauty within which makes a person beautiful.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about beauty.

https://listenaminute.com/b/beauty.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What makes a person beautiful?
  2. What is better, to be physically attractive or intelligent? Why?
  3. Do you think beauty affects your self-confidence? Why or why not?
  4. Does beauty affect a person’s success in personal/ professional life? How?
  5. Do people spend too much money and time on their beauty? In what ways?
  6. “There should be equal rights for most of us “non-beautiful” people.” Do you agree or disagree with this? Why or why not?

Town Has Strange Records

B1 – Intermediate

Every town is known for something. This small Czech town are famous for having some of the most unusual world records.

Setting new records is a way to make your town well-known. It is also something that can make everyone come together.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about the Czech town with some strange records.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/town-has-strange-records-level-3/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of this town and their unusual records?
  2. Why are such records so important to some people or for some cities/countries?
  3. What records does your city hold?
  4. Would you participate in an event to set a record for your city/country? Why or why not?
  5. If you could set a record for doing something, what would it be?

History for Sale

B1 – Intermediate

When you think of history, you probably think that important things related to them belong to a museum. However, some very important and historical items are auctioned off. The public can bid and buy them and keep them for themselves.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about historical items being sold on an auction.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/history-for-sale-level-1/

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think these items should be sold to the public? Why or why not?
  2. Which historical piece would you like to buy from this auction and why?
  3. Which historical piece would you like to have and why?
  4. Have you ever participated in an auction? Talk about your experience.
  5. What thing do you have do you want to sell on an auction? Describe it and how much it costs.

South Africa’s Women’s Soccer Team Wins

B1 – Intermediate

South Africans have recently experienced so much hardships. South Africa’s women’s soccer team Bafana Bafana finally winning the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations makes this an important victory.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about South Africa’s women’s soccer team’s important win.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/soccer-team-wins-important-award-level-2/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction to this news?
  2. Why is this an important win for South Africans?
  3. What is your favorite sports team from your country? How about from other countries? And why?
  4. How do you feel when sports teams from your country wins? How about when they lose?
  5. How important are sports teams for every country?

Woman Saves Dogs

B1 – Intermediate

They say dogs are man’s best friend. But in countries like China, they are nothing but juicy meat. Eating them is normal there.

A retired Chinese woman who also is a known animal activist does everything she can to save dogs from being killed and eaten. She takes care of many dogs in her home. Many people support her but there are also a lot who don’t because they think that eating dogs is a normal part of their tradition.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about a woman who rescues dogs.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/woman-saves-dogs-level-1/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of what this woman does for these dogs? Would you support her? 
  2. What do you think of some people taking advantage of her and selling her dogs to make money?
  3. What is your opinion on eating dogs as a tradition in some countries?
  4. If you could save an animal and take care of a lot of them, what would it be and why?
  5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of owning a pet?

Man Saves a Driver

B1 – Intermediate

Hundreds of car accidents happen every single day. Human errors and external factors have been associated with collisions on the roads. Getting into a car accident can lead to several unwanted consequences that is why road safety is something that road users must keep in mind at all times.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about how a courageous man saved a driver who was having a seizure.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/man-saves-a-driver-level-2/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction to this story?
  2. Are road accidents a major cause of death in your country?
  3. Have you ever been involved in a traffic accident? If yes, what happened?
  4. What do you do when you see an accident on the road? Do you stop to watch/help or do you pass?
  5. How strict are the traffic laws in your country?
  6. Are there any groups of people more likely to have car accidents than others? Who and why?

Napalm Girl

B1 – Intermediate

The Vietnam war was was a dark period in history. During that time, many attacks were launched. In one of them, South Vietnamese planes dropped napalm bombs on a village. Direct contact with flaming napalm can cause burns all over the body. 

One of the victims of this attack is Kim Phuc Phan Thi who was 9 years old at the time. While she was burning, she had to take her clothes off. She will later be known as “Napalm Girl”.

Photographer Nick Ut took a photo of her while running for her life without clothes on. This photograph will then become one of the most iconic photos of the 20th century.

Listen to this audio and read the transcript to know about napalm girl’s photograph.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/napalm-girl-level-1/

Discussion Questions:

  1. How do you feel about this story?
  2. Look for napalm girl’s photo on the internet. Talk about what you think of this photo.
  3. What do you think about ‘napalm girl’ and the photographer staying friends after all this time?
  4. Talk about a photo that you would remember forever. What makes this photo unforgettable?
  5. How important are photographs in telling our history?

Hobbies Are Great

B1 – Intermediate

How we spend our free time is important for our well-being. In fact, there are a lot of benefits to having hobbies. 

Listen to this audio and read the transcript about why hobbies are good for us.

https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/hobbies-are-great-level-2/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the good things about hobbies?
  2. Are there any disadvantages to hobbies?
  3. What hobbies do you have and why do you enjoy doing them so much?
  4. How do your hobbies help you in your life?
  5. What hobbies do you want to take up next and why?