Tag: Reading

Uber’s Added and Improved App Features

B1 – Low Intermediate

Following the resignation of Uber’s chief executive, Travis Kalanick, the company announced a few app changes and added features. One of them is enabling cashless tipping.

Read the article to know more about Uber’s new features.

Dogged by scandal and the resignation of its top boss, the ride-summoning company Uber is hoping to win customer loyalty with a series of changes to its app.

Chief among them: Uber riders will soon be able to pay gratuities to their drivers inside the app instead of having to tip with cash. And there is much more to come. In an email to drivers, the company said it would be introducing improvements for the next 180 days.

Uber’s commitment to turn over a new leaf comes amid an ever-growing series of embarrassing episodes, including accusations of sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace, a rape-related lawsuit and the company’s use of a secret tool to thwart law enforcement. A shareholder revolt led to the resignation of Uber’s chief executive, Travis Kalanick, on Tuesday.

So what do all the changes mean for Uber customers? Here is what you need to know and how the app now compares with Lyft and traditional taxicabs.

The biggest change for Uber riders in the coming weeks will be the ability to add a tip through the app. At the end of a trip, after you leave the driver a star rating, you can decide whether to leave a tip.

This change should be a win for both riders and drivers. In the past, by not including an in-app tipping feature, Uber did not signal to its customers that tipping was an option, leaving the possibility that drivers could give riders lower star ratings for refusing (or not knowing) to tip with cash.

The tipping button brings Uber in line with Lyft, Uber’s biggest rival, which has offered in-app tipping for years. Yet by making tipping purely optional — you could always exit the car and decide to never leave a tip, and the driver would not know — both ride-summoning apps break from the traditional experience of taking a taxi, in which drivers expect tips with cash or a credit card.

Also coming soon are some changes that should benefit drivers. Customers will have less time to cancel a ride before incurring a fee. In the past, riders had five minutes to cancel a ride penalty-free, but soon you will have only two minutes to cancel before Uber may decide to charge you $5 to $10. Lyft still lets riders cancel penalty-free for up to five minutes. By contrast, taxis cannot charge a cancellation fee because you are not on the hook to pay anything until you are in the car.

Uber will also start charging riders for making drivers wait. Upon the arrival of an Uber driver, if you take longer than two minutes to get in the car, you will have to pay for each minute that you are late. (Rates will vary by city, but in Chicago, for example, the per-minute rate for UberX is 20 cents a minute.)

Finally, in a nod to how annoying adolescents tend to be, parents who registered their teenagers for Uber accounts will soon have to pay an extra fee of $2 for each ride with their teenager.

Over all, these changes favor drivers more than riders. But think of it this way: A happier driver will probably contribute to a better ride.

Uber has also gradually overhauled its app over the past several months with new features and design tweaks.

Notably, you can now easily see how much you are generally liked by drivers. Under your profile name, your star rating (out of five stars) is prominently displayed. Tapping on the rating also shows advice on how to be deemed a better rider.

In addition, Uber recently introduced the ability to bookmark places you frequently visit. When you are en route to a favorite place, just look for the option to save the destination. Lyft offers a similar feature: When choosing a pickup or drop-off location, just tap “Add custom shortcut” to bookmark a favorite location.

In January, Uber also added the ability to synchronize your calendar with the app, making it easy to set your destination to one stored in a calendar event. For example, if you had a meeting at a restaurant, the Uber app would detect the calendar event and show the option to set the destination to that restaurant. (Weeks later, Lyft unveiled a similar feature.)

By Brian X. Chen

Discussion Questions:

  1. Are you an Uber rider? What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of using taxi hailing apps such as this?
  2. What other ride-sharing apps are present in your country?
  3. What other areas of Uber do you think need attention?

Olive Oil Protects Brain from Alzheimer’s

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Extra-virgin olive oil is said to “protect memory and learning ability and reduce the formation of amyloid-beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain – classic markers of Alzheimer’s disease.”

Read more about the results of this study on the benefits our brains get from olive oil.

https://www.voanews.com/a/mht-olive-oil-protects-brain-from-alzheimers-study/3911487.html

Discussion Questions:

1. In your own words, define and describe Alzheimer’s disease.
2. Aside from Alzheimer’s disease, what other conditions exhibit cognitive decline?
3. What are the other benefits of olive oil?
4. Does olive oil have any negative effect on the body?

Mediterranean Sea Acidification

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Research shows that a portion of the Mediterranean Sea’s acidity has reached an almost 7-percent increase. This phenomenon poses a threat on sea creatures like oysters and mussels.

https://www.voanews.com/a/rising-temperatures-acidification-threaten-mediterranean-sea-species/3913767.html

Discussion Questions:

1. In your own words, describe the cause/s and effect/s of ocean acidification.
2. Based on the article, what caused the acidification of the Mediterranean Sea, and what are its effects?
3. In your opinion, what will be the impact of this phenomenon on countries like Italy, France and Spain?

Reasons To Study a Foreign Language Abroad

© via The Local ES

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Anybody who is trying to learn a foreign language constantly wants to find a way to speed up the process. There are many ways to do it. Is living and studying it abroad truly the most effective way?

Here are six reasons why one needs to live away from home to learn another language.

https://www.thelocal.es/20170524/6-reasons-you-should-study-a-foreign-language-abroad-esl-tlccu

Discussion Questions:
1. Do you agree that “learning and communicating in the language of a foreign country while living there is without doubt the best way of learning”?
2. What are ways you’ve tried to learn English? Which do you think are the most effective and which are not?
3. Would you consider studying a language abroad or recommend anyone to do it? Support your answer.

Theater in the Age of Shakespeare

B1 – Intermediate

The theater has always been a great source of entertainment, amusing people for centuries. Originally began to tell stories to those who cannot read and write; the curtains opened up to showcase more than just a story. It also conveyed feelings, and information that can greatly influence the minds of its viewers.

http://www.english-online.at/history/elizabethan-theatre/shakespeares-theatre.htm

Discussion Questions:
1. Have you ever seen a play before?
2. Describe the theater in the time of Shakespeare. How is it different from the theater today?
3. How did the government receive the theater in Shakespeare’s time?
4. Describe the lives of actors in the time of Shakespeare.
5. How can the theater influence its audience?

Generation Vacation: Holiday with Our Parents

B2 – Upper Intermediate

I bet you have heard of the word “quarter-life crisis” wherein at the age of 25, you are no longer too young to be an adult and you are already too old to be a teenager. Nowadays, it’s becoming more common to stay living with your parents because it’s too expensive to rent on your own. Sometimes, because of generation gap, we experience misunderstanding with our parents.

Here’s a unique article about a boy’s experience traveling with his mom and how this memorable trip changed how he thinks about her.

Read the interesting story below and let’s answer the questions together!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/relationships/generation-vacation-happens-millennials-like-go-holiday-parents/

Discussion Questions:

1. Have you ever traveled with your parents before? If yes, how was it and where did you go?
2. Can you tell me one of your most memorable trips abroad with your parents?
3. Talk about the difference between traveling with friends and family. What are the advantages and disadvantages when you travel with your family?
4. Do you prefer to travel with friends, relatives, or alone? Why?
5. What do you think it was like traveling for our parents “during their time”?

Slow Aging

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Getting older is inevitable, but our diet and lifestyle play a huge role in how we look and feel along the way. Aging doesn’t necessarily mean getting sick or feeling less than our best — if we pay attention to a few key factors and make a few important shifts, we can age healthfully and feel as optimal as possible.

Read the article and be able to answer the following questions.

Specific social behaviors and lifestyle choices affect aging. For example, if you smoke, then you will likely get dry, rough skin. There are wrinkles around the lips that come with smoking too. Or if you frequently suntan, then your skin will eventually become leathery. You’ll also develop much deeper wrinkles around the eyes. Stress can lead to dark circles beneath the eyes too. And that’s just your physical appearance, as smoking, sun, and stress affect your unseen inside. However, scientists could only guess how large the effects might be, at least until now.

Scientists have turned to identical twins. They are closely examining the lifestyles of the siblings to determine and better measure which social behaviors affect physical and mental health. These twins start as exact copies of one another, yet differences accumulate through the years. Photos show just how obvious lifestyle choices affect the outward appearance of the body. There are internal differences too. The study is currently examining 186 pairs of twins.

It should be noted that positive lifestyle choices are also being recorded. Diets with a lot of fruits and vegetables are compared to less healthy diets, for example. Scientists are also looking at the amount of exercise the twins get, the amount of stress in their lives, and if their outlook is positive or negative. Each adds or subtracts years from a person’s life, as well as their overall healthfulness.

The ultimate goal is to one day discover the fountain of youth. This would allow humankind to double or triple their lifespan. In all likelihood, the near-future breakthroughs will add a decade or two. Twins may hold an important piece to an immense and very difficult puzzle.

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

  1. How concerned are you with aging? Please explain.
  2. Do members of your family live long and healthy lives? Please explain.
  3. What lifestyle choices have you made that have had negative effects?
  4. What lifestyle choices have you made that have had positive effects?
  5. If humans could double their lifespan, would it be a good idea? Why/not?

All Work and No Play

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth. Despite the benefits derived from play for both children and parents, time for free play has been markedly reduced for some children. This report addresses a variety of factors that have reduced play, including a hurried lifestyle, changes in family structure, and increased attention to academics and enrichment activities at the expense of recess or free child-centered play.

Read the article further and be able to discuss  the following questions.

According to a study released last week, children who are unruly in schools may simply work too much and play too little. The study examined more than 10,000 elementary school children between the ages of eight and nine in the US. It discovered that children behaved notably better when they played for at least fifteen minutes during the school day. More recess resulted in children who were even better behaved.

The researchers who conducted the study concluded that children use creativity and imagination when on the playground. Kids also learn how to socially interact with one another, as well as develop problem-solving skills. Therefore recess plays an important role in the education of children. Child psychiatrists agreed with the study’s findings, describing the learning environment created when children are play.

In recent years, though, recess has been cut at many schools, in part because of an increased emphasis placed on tests. More attention has been placed on academics because American children regularly score lower on international tests. Thus the Bush administration created No Child Left Behind in 2001, in an attempt to help US kids become more academically competitive with their international peers. Schools with poor test results were punished. Unfortunately, as a result to boost scores, students studied more and played less.

As a result of the study, another discovery was also made. The schools with the shortest amount of breaks tended to originate from areas with lower incomes and lower education levels. Therefore, these already disadvantaged children were harmed more with little or no playtime at school. All work and no play can thus be viewed as a path to poorer social skills, poorer behavior in the classroom, and poorer test scores.

Source: headsupenglish.com

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you agree that children should spend most of their day studying?
  2. Some people say that children who have piano, soccer, and other activities become smart adults. What you opinion about this?
  3. What’s a good balance between study and play for children? Why do you think so?
  4. How important are tests for children? Do tests accurately measure a child’s intelligence, skills, and/or abilities.Why do you think so?
  5. What is the education system like in your home country? Please explain.
  6. How can the education system in your home country be improved? Please explain.

Mixed-gender Events at the 2020 Olympics

B1 – Intermediate

The 2020 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXII Olympiad and commonly known as Tokyo 2020, is a major international multi-sport event due to be celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games as governed by the International Olympic Committee.

In the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics, some events will have mixed-gender participants. This will make the Tokyo Olympics very gender-balanced. However, not every is pleased with this.

Find out about mixed reactions towards mixed-gender sports events at Tokyo 2020.

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1706/170613-2020-olympics.html

Discussion Questions:

1. Are you a big fan of the Olympics?

2. Do you think skateboarding, 3-on-3 basketball, sport climbing and BMX freestyle belong in the Olympics?

3. Do your country’s athletes do well in the Olympics?

4. What is your favourite event at the Olympics and why?

5. Do you think the Olympics should only be for amateur athletes, like it used to be?

6. Which Olympics can you remember well?

7. What does hosting the Olympics do for a country?

Robot Police Officer

“RoboCop” is a 2014 film about a crime-fighting cyborg. Dubai Police have revealed their first robot officer, giving it the task of patrolling the city’s malls and tourist attractions. Now, this is real-life RoboCop!

Read more about the first robot police here:

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1705/170530-robot-police-officer.html

Discussion Questions:

1. What is your general opinion about robot police officers?

2. Some see robots as menacing, some see them as helpful – how about you?

3. What do you expect from a police officer? Do you think this robot will be a better alternative?

4. Do you think your government needs to spend money on employing more police officers, or availing robot police?

5. What other roles will robots play in our society later this century?