Tag: Reading

Aid Package to Ease Inflation Pain

B2 – Upper Intermediate

As nations struggle with widespread cost of living crisis, governments must come up with measures to help their respective countries deal with the consequences of inflation.

Read the article about Spain’s $10bn aid package as a bid to ease the impact of inflation in the country. 

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/27/spain-announces-10bn-aid-package-in-bid-to-ease-inflation-pain

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does the expression ”to hit one’s wallet” mean, ”But food prices have continued to hit Spaniards’ wallets, climbing 15 percent during October and November from a year earlier.”? Use this idiom in your own sentence.
  2. What does “haulage” mean, “However, a rebate on the price of petrol for consumers except for the haulage sector will be discontinued.”? Use this word in your own sentence.
  3. What does “exacerbate” mean, “Measures come as Madrid grapples with a cost-of-living crisis exacerbated by the economic fallout from the Ukraine war.”? Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How is this aid package advantageous and disadvantageous?
  2. What are your thoughts on handing millions of low-income households a one-off bonus of 200 euros?
  3. Talk about some measures that your government has implemented to ease inflation consequences in your country.
  4. What other measures do you think can help a country get by during inflation?

Juggling Three Jobs Just to Get By

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Amidst Britain’s cost of living emergency, many struggle to make ends meet. Those in dire situations are pushed to juggle two to three jobs at a time just to survive.

Read the commentary on the worsening problem with steeply increasing cost of living in the UK and how citizens cope with it.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/14/heat-or-eat-poverty-rising-costs

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does the expression ”to drop the ball” mean, ”I’m juggling so I don’t drop the balls.”? Use this idiom in your own sentence.
  2. What does “sleaze” mean, “Tory sleaze every day, a drip, drip, drip effect.”? Use this word in your own sentence.
  3. What does “drip effect” mean, “Tory sleaze every day, a drip, drip, drip effect.”? Use this phrase in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction to having to keep 2 to 3 jobs at a time just to get by? How would you feel if you were in the same situation?
  2. Is it common for people to keep more than one job in your country? Why is this the case?
  3. What are ways to make ends meet amidst rising cost of living?
  4. Talk about the current cost of living in your country. 
  5. What are your thoughts on the writer’s opinion about the accountability from the government?

Sushi Terrorism

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Sushi is one of the most popular Japanese dishes all around the world. Recently, some pranks have become viral on social media where some pranksters are seen meddling with the food at some conveyor belt sushi restaurants. 

This lead to customers rethinking about going to this kind of restaurants, police conducting investigations, and restaurants’ shares plummeting.

Read the article about a series of pranks at conveyor belt sushi restaurants that is dubbed as “sushi terrorism”. 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/03/wave-of-sushi-terrorism-grips-japans-restaurant-world

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “meddle” mean, “Signature cuisine is at the centre of a police investigation after customers at revolving sushi restaurants posted video clips of themselves meddling with dishes.”? Use this word in your own sentence.
  2. What does ”egregious” mean, ”A clip of the most egregious culinary crime, which has been viewed almost 40m times on Twitter, shows what appears to be a teenager licking the open top of a communal soy sauce bottle and the entire rim of a teacup, which he then places back on a shelf.”? Give at least one (1) synonym of this word and use it in a sentence.
  3. What does “outpouring” mean? “The firm’s president, Kohei Nii, said he had been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support.”  Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction to this news? How does this affect your interest in going to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant?
  2. How can the restaurants bounce back from this controversy?
  3. What are your thoughts on the action by some conveyor belt sushi restaurants to install cameras above conveyor belts to monitor customers?
  4. How should these pranksters be punished?

Free Subway Rides for the Elderly

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Elderly people in South Korea have been enjoying free subway rides for about 40 years now. However, rapidly aging population coupled with increasing operating costs of subways have caused this perk to spark some issues for their national government.

Read the article about how these free rides for the elderly have become a complicated political problem in South Korea.

https://www.voanews.com/a/in-south-korea-free-subway-rides-for-the-elderly-become-a-political-headache/6965331.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “thorny” mean here, “They have, however, become a thorny political issue as South Korea’s population rapidly ages and subway operating costs soar.” Use this word in your own sentence.
  2. What does ”staunchly” mean, ”The finance ministry is staunchly opposed.”? Give at least one (1) synonym of this word and use it in a sentence.
  3. What does “to remain in place” mean? “To cope, Seoul unveiled plans in December to hike subway fares for the first time since 2015, by as much as 30%, although free rides for the elderly will remain in place.” Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on these free subway rides for elderly people? Do you have the same perk for senior citizens in your country? Why or why not? Do you think it is a good idea?
  2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of free subway rides for the elderlies? 
  3. In your opinion, should the national SK government shoulder some of the cost of these free rides for the elders?
  4. What is your reaction to this, “Any scaling back of subway perks for the elderly will not help their chances in next year’s parliamentary election.”?
  5. To cope, some cities in SK are raising the minimum age for senior citizen benefits including free subway rides to 70. Express your opinion on this.
  6. Share your thoughts on the cost of senior welfare in your country.

Rule of Personal Communication

B2 – Upper Intermediate

We all want to make a good impression when we meet people for the first time, but how?

Read the article and find out what role body language plays in communication and what gestures to use when you want to make an excellent first impression on somebody. 

https://www.rightattitudes.com/2008/10/04/7-38-55-rule-personal-communication/

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “incongruent” mean, “The non-verbal elements are particularly important for communicating feelings and attitude, especially when they are incongruent: if words and body language disagree, one tends to believe the body language.” Use this in a sentence.
  2. What does “substantiate” mean, “These non-verbal elements can present a listener with important clues to the speaker’s thoughts and feelings and thus substantiate or contradict the speaker’s words.”? Use this in a sentence.
  3. What does “only a fraction” mean, “In communication, a speaker’s words are only a fraction of his efforts”? Use this phrase in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on this statement, “If a speaker’s words and body language differ, listeners are more likely to believe the nonverbal communication of the speaker, not his words.”?
  2. How can one be effective and persuasive in their verbal communication?
  3. What is the most crucial factor you pay attention to when you talk to someone? Is it their appearance, manners, or behavior? What about their voice and gestures?
  4. Are you surprised at the statistics? Why or why not?
  5. How do you control your voice and gestures when you talk to someone?

Spot A Vacation Rental Scam

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Short-term rentals have become more popular nowadays, especially among travelers. Most of them prefer renting Airbnb places because of their low cost, convenient location, and household amenities. Unfortunately, fraudsters have started scamming people.

Read the article to learn how to spot a vacation rental scam.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-to-spot-vacation-rental-scam-airbnb-vrbo_l_63bed1f6e4b0b2e1506d1838

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “to get bad press” mean, “These types of accommodations have also gotten bad press, thanks to reports of fraudsters using fake listings to swindle families out of their hard-earned vacation dollars.”? Use this phrase in your own sentence.
  2.  What does “swear by something” mean, “Many travelers swear by short-term rentals due to their space, privacy, and price options.”? Use this phrase in your own sentence.
  3. What does “fall victim to” mean, “If you fall victim to any type of vacation rental scam, it’s important to report it immediately…”? Use this idiom in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you prefer Airbnb to hotels when on a vacation? Why/why not?
  2. How and where do you usually book accommodations?
  3. What do you look for in accommodations?
  4. Have you or anyone you know experienced getting scammed when booking on Airbnb? Share this experience.
  5. Do you think the techniques mentioned in the article are helpful? Why/why not?
  6. What are other ways to avoid falling victim to rental fraud?

Rage Applying

B2 – Upper Intermediate

There’s no denying that everyone gets stressed with their job one way or another. There are lots of contributing factors as to why employees get sick and tired of their jobs. On the contrary, people are using this very stress they get from work to move to greener pastures.

Read the article to learn about rage applying and how it can possibly benefit employees.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/25/is-rage-applying-the-new-quiet-quitting-heres-what-experts-say.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “to be fed up with someone/something” mean in the sentence, “She was fed up with her job.? Use it in your own sentence.
  2. What does “jump from the frying pan into the fire” mean here, “You have the potential to jump from the frying pan into the fire.“? Use this idiom in your own sentence.
  3. What does “telltale” mean here, “A tell-tale sign of rage applying is when candidates pursue about a dozen different jobs.“? Use this word in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your opinion on rage applying?
  2. In your opinion, what are the reasons some workers are rage applying?
  3. What are the pros and cons of rage applying?
  4. Do you consider your job stressful? If yes, what are your coping mechanisms?
  5. Have you done rage applying? If yes, why? If not, would you consider doing it?

Forex Trading Guide

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Some people mastered a new lifestyle — living without a traditional job. Some go into trading currencies. This could be an unconventional, but good way of making money. 

Read the article and know the fundamentals of forex trading.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/11/why-trade-forex.asp

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What is the meaning of “portmanteau“, “Forex (FX) is a portmanteau of foreign currency and exchange.”? Use it in a sentence.
  2. What is the meaning of a “triennial“, “According to a 2019 triennial report from the Bank for International Settlements (a global bank for national central banks), the daily trading volume for forex reached $6.6 trillion in 2019.”? Use it in a sentence.
  3. What is “(market) liquidity“, “It features in six of the seven currency pairs with the most liquidity in the markets.”? Use it in a sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Cite some of your key takeaways about forex trading from the article.
  2. What do you think are the qualities that make a good trader?
  3. How do you stay abreast with the ever-changing financial markets?
  4. Why might some people consider forex trading a scam? Have you tried forex trading?
  5. Do you think anyone is capable of forex trading? Why?
  6. Is it a good alternative to a regular job? Why?

The Pressure to Have the Perfect Birth

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Every birth story is unique and there is simply no such thing as a “perfect birth.” With that said, the more equipped we are for any major life journey or transformation, which would include acknowledging the truth of a Plan B or C, the more comfortable we will be when we are already in the situation.

Of course, when a beautiful newborn baby awaits you, it’s impossible to imagine being frustrated with the journey.

But as researchers noted in one study, individualized emotional support has been shown to empower women and increase the possibility of a positive birth experience. Women wanted to be recognized and viewed as wonderful human beings by their practitioners and their partners.

Read the article to know more about positive birth and hypnobirthing movements.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20230122-positive-birth-and-hypnobirthing-movements

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “hold much weight” mean, “And for many women, approaches like these have never held much weight, if you want to give birth as painlessly as possible, why not just use every modern medical intervention and drug available?”? Use this idiom in your own sentence.
  2. What does “laser-focused ” mean, “Feeling like there was one right way to have a baby, it made me laser-focused on that right way.” Use this word in your own sentence.
  3. What does the idiom “things started to go sideways” mean, “As a result, when things started to go sideways, it was very hard for me to adapt.”? Use this expression in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Is it possible to “have a ‘beautiful’ birth experience without medical intervention”? Explain.
  2. What are some benefits of natural birth?
  3. What is the meaning of a very positive birth experience?
  4. What factors contribute to a positive birthing experience for the mother?
  5. Do you believe that having contingencies, in addition to birth plans, is important? Discuss your opinion.

Google’s Digital Ad Business Dominance

B2 – Upper Intermediate

No doubt, Google has dominated the world of technology and business. However, the U.S. government has alleged the company of abusing its digital advertising business dominance.

They claim that Google has anticompetitive, exclusionary, and unlawful ways to thwart their competitions.

Read the article to know more about the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against Google.

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-eight-states-sue-google-on-digital-ad-business-dominance/6932101.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “thwart” mean, “The lawsuit says “Google has thwarted meaningful competition and deterred innovation in the digital advertising industry…” Use this word in your own sentence.
  2. Explain ”antitrust”. ”The lawsuit is the second federal antitrust complaint filed against Google, alleging violations of antitrust law in how the company acquires or maintains its dominance.” Use this word in your own sentence.
  3. What does the expression “by a long shot” mean, “While Google remains the market leader by a long shot, its share of the U.S. digital ad revenue has been eroding, falling to 28.8% last year from 36.7% in 2016. Use this idiom in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on this antitrust complaint against Google?
  2. In your own opinion, are antitrust laws good or bad? Explain your point.
  3. How can antitrust practices be prevented?
  4. Why is competition important in business?
  5. What are some antitrust laws in your country? Explain each of them.