Tag: Reading

Zero Waste Woman

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Lauren Singer is a zero-waste advocate. As part of her advocacy, she lives a zero-waste lifestyle. She is able to do what would seem is the impossible — to only produce a jar that is 4 years worth of trash.

Read the article below to know more about Lauren Singer and her journey to living trashless.

https://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/04/us/lauren-singer-zero-waste-blogger-plastic/index.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What did Lauren Singer do to eliminate trash?
  2. How has her life improved since she went trash free?
  3. With your current lifestyle, do you think this is something you can do? If not, in what ways do you try to reduce your waste?

Swap Homes for Holidays

B2 – Upper Intermediate

If you’ve seen the movie The Holiday you may be familiar with the concept of “Home Exchange”.

Read the article below to know more about this kind of accommodation.

https://www.thelocal.es/20141101/travel-live-like-a-local-with-home-exchange-tlccu-2/

Discussion Questions:

1. Is Home Exchange interesting to you? Why or why not?
2. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of participating in this kind of service?
3. What accommodations do you prefer when you travel?

Behaviors That Could Kill Your Career

C1 – Advanced 

Does your job feel like a dead end? It’s easy to look around and blame company politics. But what if the problem is you?

Let Jack Welch help you evaluate yourself. Read the article on ten pitfalls that could stall your career.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141110044443-86541065-10-behaviors-that-could-kill-your-career

Discussion Questions:

  1. Are you guilty of any of these behaviors?
  2. What is the danger of over-committing?
  3. Do you have colleagues who have a rigid attitude? How do you deal with them?
  4. How can we fix or solve complacency?
  5. What are some methodologies, immediately actionable practices, and respected credentials does your company employ?

Obama’s Executive Order on Immigration

B2 – Upper intermediate

Immigration is a complex political issue worldwide. US President Obama announces an executive order that would help pave the way for enacting actions on immigration issues.

Obama to Announce Executive Order on Immigration

Discuss:

1. Does your country have problems with undocumented immigrants?
2. What are ways to solve a country’s problem on illegal immigration?
3. Do you think that parents who are undocumented should be deported?
4. What are the advantages of deportation?

*click on the title get an update on Obama’s immigration actions: The U.S. Supreme Court and Obama’s Immigration Actions

Illegal Job Interview Questions

85BB4D2A-BF66-4C84-B535-D42C4A99115F_w987_r1_s

Job Interview – B2 – Upper intermediate

Finding a job is hard. But perhaps harder is passing a job interview, especially if competition is tough. Always let a job interview show the best of you and avoid being pressed for unnecessary information about yourself that could lead to discrimination.

Here are some questions that employers may ask applicants that are actually stepping on their boundaries.

Five Illegal Job Interview Questions in the US

Discuss:

1. Share your job interview experiences. What kind of questions were you asked?
2. Has an employer ever made you uncomfortable answering their questions?
3. What was the most outrageous question that you were asked in a job interview?
4. Aside from the questions mentioned above, what questions during job interviews do you think shouldn’t be asked?

Is a College Education Worth the Price?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Attending college or university to complete a four- year course costs a lot of money. Is it really worth the price? Considering the high cost of education and the job market that remains weak.

http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/is-a-college-education-worth-the-price/2469390.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Would you say that college or university education is affordable in your country?
  2. What degrees are top earners in your country?
  3. How’s the job market in your country these days?
  4. What alternatives does your country have if a person cannot afford to attend university?

Blood Test May Predict Suicide Risk

shutterstock193661093

C1 – Advanced

A recent study found a simple blood test that can help identify a person’s risk of committing suicide. Read the article below to know more about a specific gene that has helped the study.

 

 

 

Blood Test May Predict Suicide Risk By Studying Levels Of Gene Mutation SKA2

Discuss:

1. Do you think this kind of test can be useful in your country? Why or why not?
2. How else can this test be useful?
3. What psychological disorders do you know of? Please briefly discuss them.
4. Do you think more studies should focus on psychological disorders? Why or why not?

Foodini Food Printer

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Lazy old days won’t be the same once you have a 3D printer that will just give you what you are craving for. ‘Foodini’ is an innovative machine that will print real food without taking your time preparing it. It was introduced by Natural Machines.

https://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/06/tech/innovation/foodini-machine-print-food/index.html

Discussion Questions:

1. Would you like to taste food straight from your printer? Why or why not?
2. Do you think food items processed by ‘Foodini’ are healthy? Explain your thoughts.
3. Will this machine be a helpful one? Is it worth buying, especially when it costs top dollar? Explain.
4. If you could invent something related to food, what would it be?
5. What are some of the food inventions that you truly enjoy and/or would like to try?

Beef Production Damages Environment

C1 – Advanced

We are what we eat. But do the food we eat harm our planet?

Read the article to know more about the scientific relationship of the food we eat and the environment.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-28409704

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you like meat and dairy products?
2. What meat or dairy product do you like the most?
3. Do you believe that food production has real significant effect on the environment? Explain.
4. How do you think you can reduce the environmental impact of the food you eat?

Self-Building Robot

B1 – Intermediate

Scientists have created a robot that can build and fold by itself in just 4 minutes. A researcher suggested that the self-building robot could be applied to a variety of different problems.

http://www.newsinlevels.com/products/self-building-robot-level-3/

Discussion Questions:

1. How do you think this robot can be useful in space explorations?
2. What do you think of robots in general?
3. How else can this robot be useful?