Tag: Reading

What Makes Beauty So Appealing?

897B086D-300B-4492-B6CB-7B613D5CF7AD_cx2_cy5_cw73_w987_r1_s_r1

B2 – Upper intermediate

According to entertainment magazine People, Sandra Bullock is the most beautiful person in the world. Whether you agree or not, the magazine surely stirred up people’s interest. Our take on beauty is very individual and is shaped by our environment and experiences.

What Makes Beauty So Appealing?

Discuss:

1. Our View on Beauty: Personal or Genetic? What does the new study suggest?
2. What do you find beautiful in a face?
3. What does “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” mean?
4. How many different adjectives can you think of to describe a beautiful woman or a handsome man?

Processed Meat Cause Cancer

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The World Health Organization (WHO) released findings linking processed meat and cancer, particularly classifying Spanish jamon alongside others such as bacon and sausages.

Find out more about this report and the reaction of the Spanish meat industry regarding this report.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-34615621

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is the report about and what is your reaction to it?
  2. What are the good and bad things about meat?
  3. Would this report change the way you and most Spanish consume processed and cured meat especially the Spanish jamon?
  4. How do you think reports such as this one affect the Spanish meat sector?
  5. What are other cancer-causing food that you know of?

Virgin Trains Tops Rail Complaints List

_85971895_85971892

B2 – Upper intermediate

A study suggests that taking the train to work makes people happier. But what if you encounter inconveniences related to punctuality or reliability or ticket-buying facilities and others?

Find out why Virgin Trains topped the complaints list across all rail services in Britain.

Virgin Trains West Coast tops rail complaints list

Discuss:

1. How would you rate your city or country’s rail service performance?
2. Do you have a complaint or have you ever complained about the rail service in your city or country?
3. How else can the train service be improved in Spain?
4. What is your reaction on Virgin’s statement that complaints were not the ultimate measure of passenger satisfaction? What do you think is the true measure of commuters’ satisfaction?

What’s On Your Bucket List?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

When was the last time you did something that you really wanted to do? Something that added value to your life? We tend to get so wrapped up in our day to day lives that  sometimes we forget that we need to just live and enjoy our lives. Making a bucket list will get you closer to accomplishing those things that you would hope to do.

Read the article below and be ready to answer the questions that follow.

Self-help books abound with pleas to get off the couch, get out of the house, and make your dreams come true. A perfect (or nearly perfect) life just needs a measure of self-discipline and hard work, and is within reach for those who try. Regrets, many of these books suggest, pile up and eat away at happiness and fulfillment.

Realistically, however, a dream life is impossible. It’s something to think about in the margins of everyday life, such as during the commute to work or just before you fall asleep each night. Most people can’t write a best-seller, for example, nor achieve financial independence with some sort of start-up business. Responsibilities like family, a mortgage, and work naturally come first, creating a certain level of mundaneness, and which thereby puts the kibosh on pursuing these flights of fancy. The self-help books do get one thing right, though: the bucket list.

A bucket list serves as a “to do” list before you die, like learn a foreign language, skydive, or travel to exotic locations around the world. The list should feature acts of aspiration, which offsets the more boring facets of life. You don’t need to live each day as though it were your last on the planet before kicking the bucket, but the list instead should encourage you to plan imaginative, colorful, and even daring acts. You should plumb your imagination, for human nature requires something on the horizon other than an endless monotony of identical days. What’s more, the list doesn’t need to be hedonistic. The best lists contain items which enrich the lives of others, too.

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

1. What are some activities you would put on your bucket list?
2. What are some popular activities that appear on many bucket lists? Why do you think these are popular?
3. How realistic is it to write a bucket list, and then do the activities listed? Please explain.
4. Why is it important to have dreams or goals to work towards?

Unmarried Households the Norm

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Americans are getting married later than ever before, but waiting to settle down can still be nerve-wracking. Will you ever find the right person? Will you be able to have kids?

Read the article below and be ready to answer the questions that follow.

For the first time in US history, traditional marriage isn’t the preferred living choice in most houses. Recent data shows that 50.2 percent of American families weren’t married. That figure, 56.8 million, is a large decrease from six years ago. At that time, married couples made up 52 percent of the 105.5 million households.

Single women headed more than 14 million households, while single men ran another 5 million. There was a large number of “non-family households,” which means unmarried, gay or heterosexual couples living together.

The change could mean significant changes in every part if American life in the future. For example, there could be changes in family law or national politics. In the short term, however, it shows the failed efforts of conservatives, despite their focus on traditional marriages and families.

Douglas Beshavor, a sociologist with the American Enterprise Institute, suggested that short-term relationships and unmarried couples who live together would be more common for years to come. As a result, people will find themselves more alone than ever before. Both parents will work, so there will be fewer siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles. America will move towards a society even more focused on the individual.

“Change is in the air,” Beshavor said. But will it be positive or negative?

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

1. What are the marriage rates in your country? Are the rates increasing or decreasing?
2. Why do you think less people are getting married in America?
3. Do you think marriage rates all over the world will eventually go down? Why/not?
4. What do you think will happen if there are more unmarried people?
5. Would you recommend young people to live together first before getting married?

97-Year-Old ‘Sees Future’ at Google

B2 – Upper Intermediate

97-year old Olive Horrell had her wish of a lifetime to see the future when she got to visit Google in California.

Read the article and watch the video below to know more about Ms. Horell and her wish.

http://www.voanews.com/a/olive-horrell-gets-wish-and-visits-google-sergey-brin/3023295.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Who is Olive Horell and what was her wish? What do you think of her wish?
  2. If you were 90+ years old and a wish of yours would be granted by an organization like Make a Wish, what would your wish be and why?
  3. If you were to ‘see the future’, what would you like to see and why?
  4. What socio-civic activities is your company involved in?
  5. What are some of the programs that your city or region has for senior citizens?

Why you Should Travel Solo

p030z0cm

C1 – Advanced

What was the worst experience you’ve had traveling with somebody? George Washington once said, “It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad company”.

If you haven’t tried traveling alone, read this BBC article that would surely leave you contemplating on going solo on your next vacation.

Why you Should Travel Solo

Discuss:

1. What do you think are the benefits and drawbacks of traveling without a companion?
2. Have you ever been on a vacation trip alone? How was it like?
3. Which do you prefer: traveling by yourself or with familiar company?

Chicago Pizza

B1 – Intermediate

There’s thin crust, there’s thick crust. Deep dish and all-meat. With so many choices out there, what makes pizza the best pizza?

Read the article and be ready to answer the discussion questions included in this article.

Chicago pizza is a unique and famous pizza from Chicago. But how is Chicago pizza different from the pizza served in New York, London, or Italy?

First, the crust is about 2.5 inches deep, or about 6.35 cm. It is cooked like a pie in a deep, round pan. The pan has a lot of olive oil, so the crust becomes crunchy on the bottom.

For toppings, the pizza usually has about 1/4 inch of sausage, 1/4 inch of cheese, and 1/4 inch of chunky tomato sauce. Other popular ingredients include pepperoni, green peppers, mushrooms, and olives.

No one know exactly who made this style of pizza first, because several restaurants claim to be the creators. However, everyone from Chicago has a favorite pizza restaurant, and they feel very strongly that it is the best pizza.

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you like pizza? What kind of pizza do you like?
2. Do you want to try Chicago pizza? Why/not?
3. Does your hometown or country have an unusual / unique dish?
4. Talk about some of the strange dishes that you have tried in the past.

CEO Hikes Life-Saving Drug 4000%

F24F054E-80C9-4736-8C0C-119C764BFE27_w987_r1_s

B2 – Upper intermediate

Martin Shkreli just made hundreds of people hate him by making an outrageous decision of raising the price of his company’s products.

Read the article below to know more about the effects of his detested choice.

‘Hated’ CEO Hikes Life-Saving Drug 4000%

Discuss:

1. Is it fair that companies have the right to hike the price of their product as much as they desire?
2. How do you think consumers should be protected from any price hike of commodities?
3. Are pharmaceutical products in Spain affordable?

Russia: Western Food Destroyed

_84730819_84730818

C1 – Advanced

In 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a certain presidential decree that has brought forth shock and outrage among the populace.

Find out why Russia’s head of state issued this ban and how the citizens reacted. Watch the videos included in the resource to get extra information.

Russians shocked as banned Western food destroyed

Discuss:

1. What does the presidential decree state?
2. Why do you think Russia came up with this ban?
3. What do you think of the said sanction?
4. What are the long term consequences of a sanction like the one mentioned in the article?