Tag: Reading

Clutter Can Be So Bad For People With Anxiety

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Take a quick glance around your home: Do you see disorganized drawers, scattered toys on the floor, or stacks of mails? An overflowing trashcan? Having a cluttered home makes us feel out of control and exhausted. Is clutter just a housekeeping issue or has it already become a mental health issue?

Let’s read the article below to find out how clutter affects people with anxiety.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-clutter-bad-people-anxiety_l_60636df8c5b6d5b7a6936282

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you like cleaning? How often do you clean your house?
  2. Does clutter or mess bother you? Does it cause you anxiety?
  3. Are you a neat freak?  Do you know any neat freaks?  How crazy are they about cleanliness?
  4. How do you deal with the clutter in your home?
  5. Is it really possible to find beauty in chaos? Explain your point.

Pre-Loved Fashion from Niche to Mainstream

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Fashion-conscious consumers are turning towards pre-loved or secondhand clothes. As a result of this craze, big brands like Asos and Marks & Spencer are joining in. They believe that this trend could go into the mainstream.

Buying pre-loved clothes allows shoppers to keep up with trends without drying up their budgets. Aside from that, it is also good for the environment. Using and reusing clothes help reduce overall carbon emissions. Hence, it’s is hitting two birds with one stone.

Click the link and read the article to know more about how pre-loved fashion is turning from niche to mainstream.

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/may/01/pre-loved-fashion-moves-from-niche-to-mainstream-as-retailers-join-the-fray

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are pre-loved items? Have you ever owned any? Why or why not?
  2. What are your thoughts on this emerging trend in business and in the fashion industry?
  3. Do you agree or disagree that well-know retail brands should join in on this? Explain your point.
  4. What are the benefits and disadvantages of buying pre-loved items?
  5. How do you normally dispose of your old stuff?

Smacked Children Gets Involved in Partner Violence in Adulthood

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Corporal punishment is a punishment intended to cause physical pain to a person. It includes spanking, smacking, slapping, pinching, pulling, and hitting with an object. It has been a controversial topic for quite some time now – decades, in fact. But why does it happen, and how does it affect development and later relationships??

Let’s read the article below to find out the effects of smacking on children.

https://theconversation.com/evidence-shows-children-who-are-smacked-are-more-likely-to-be-involved-in-partner-violence-in-adulthood-159632

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of spanking/smacking children?
  2. In your opinion, how does smacking affect children?
  3. What do you think is the best way to discipline a child?
  4. What’s the difference between discipline and punishment?
  5. What would you do if your child behaved badly in public?
  6. Is it right for the government to ban smacking? Explain your point.

Professionals Want To Go Back To the Office

B2 – Upper Intermediate

COVID-19 has lead to more and more employees working from home. 98% of people surveyed said they would like the option to work remotely for the rest of their careers. With workers finding some challenges in this new work setup, not everything is positive.

Let’s read the article to find out what these 6 professionals shared about their experiences working from home and why they want to go back to working in the office again.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/return-to-office-work_l_60818168e4b01e14f06eb30a

Discussion Questions:

  1. Are you currently working from home? What’s your daily routine like for working?
  2. What’s your biggest struggle with working remotely?
  3. How can companies with remote workforce benefit from implementing flexible/remote working?
  4. What do you do when taking breaks and to recharge throughout the day?
  5. Are remote workers happier than office employees? Explain your point.

Pour Cold Water

B1 – Intermediate

We usually see people in movies stop whatever they are doing when someone throws water on them. This somehow relates to the phrase “pour cold water” that started out literally and now used more figuratively. When someone talks about an idea or a plan, the other discourages it for some reason.

Learn more about the expression “pour cold water” in the video below.

https://www.theidioms.com/pour-cold-water-on/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What does “pour cold water on something” mean?
  2. What were the things have you done but people discouraged?
  3. Do you regret any of those actions? Why or why not?
  4. What do you do when someone disapproves of your plans?
  5. Do you say your disapproval when someone has a bad idea? Why or why not?

Video Games Are Good for You

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Research has shown that more people are playing video games since the pandemic. Because of the drastic limitation on outdoor activities, people find themselves stuck at home with nothing much to do. As a result, more people turn to video gaming.

However, video games have always had mixed reception from parents. Some say they make their kids more aggressive and less healthy. On the other hand, some parents say that with moderation, video games are a good way for kids to spend their time at home.

Research shows that video games are actually beneficial in many ways.

Click the link and read the article to learn the benefits of playing video games.

https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/reading/upper-intermediate-b2-reading/video-games-are-good-you

Discussion Questions:

  1. According to the article, how can games help develop physical skills?
  2. What are the other benefits of playing games that were mentioned in the article?
  3. Do you play video games? Why or why not?
  4. What are some negative effects of playing video games?
  5. Do you think the benefits outweigh the negative effects of playing video games? Why or why not?

Domino’s Will Deliver Pizzas Using Robot

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Pizza is the perfect comfort food — not too messy, hard to mess up, good whether it’s hot or cold, and no silverware necessary. It’s just a perfect guaranteed meal to have during such uncertain times. 

The largest pizza company in the world by sales — Domino’s — had the biggest slice of the U.S. market coming into the pandemic. Now pizza lovers in Houston are going to see a new kind of delivery driver — a robot.

Let’s find out more about this autonomous pizza delivery robot.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/369394

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think about his autonomous pizza delivery car/robot?
  2. What could be the advantages and disadvantages of this technology?
  3. Overall, what are your thoughts on allocating efforts and resources in the development of autonomous vehicles?
  4. Where else could such technology be useful?
  5. Have you ever called for pizza delivery? If yes, how often do you order pizza to your home?

Levi’s Baggier Balloon Jeans

B1 – Intermediate

Levi’s Jeans spoke about the latest trend in baggier jeans. Consumers are now looking for a more comfortable, more relaxing denim during this pandemic.

Let’s read about the baggier ‘balloon’ jeans trend according to Levi’s.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2104/210412-levis-jeans-4.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of baggy jeans?
  2. For you, which is better: baggy or skinny jeans?
  3. Will jeans ever go out of fashion? Share your opinion.
  4. What was your best pair of jeans ever?
  5. How important is it for you to be fashionable?

No Loss of Marks for Spelling Mistakes

B1 – Intermediate

Problems in spelling, punctuation, and grammar are some troubles students face. Students in a university in England has said that teachers will be more flexible in grading their students’ writing.

Let’s read the article to know about marking for spelling mistakes.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2104/210414-spelling.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your opinion about the article and the university’s new policy?
  2. What are the best ways to learn to write properly?
  3. How should schools help people with learning disorders?
  4. How important is it to spell English words or even words in your native language correctly?
  5. How much importance is given to writing skills at schools in your country?
  6. Do you think you learned writing properly at school? Why or why not?

Why We Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Nightmares

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Did you know that most people dream 3-6 times per night? Dreaming is one of the most mysterious aspects of sleep. They can be fun, romantic, disturbing, frightening, and sometimes bizarre.

A nightmare is a bad dream. It’s normal to have a nightmare fom time to time. However, for some people, they recur frequently disrupting sleep and negatively impacting their waking life as well.

Read the article below to know why we shouldn’t be afraid of nightmares.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210330-why-we-shouldnt-be-afraid-of-nightmares

Discussion Questions:

  1. How often do you remember your dreams?
  2. Have you ever had the same dream many times? Was it a good one or a bad one?
  3. Have you ever woken up screaming in the middle of the night because nightmares?
  4. What is the worst nightmare you have ever had? Were you able to go back to sleep?
  5. Do you think that we can learn anything from our dreams? Some people claim that we can learn things about the future from dreams. What do you think about this idea?
  6. How can you help stop nightmares and get better sleep?