Tag: Reading

Eating Late at Night

B1 – Intermediate

We already know that what we eat is important in making sure that we have a healthy body. But did you know that eating very late at night can have some negative effects on your health?

A new study finds that eating very late hours in the night affects how your body burns calories and increases the risk of gaining weight more.

Read the article about how late-night snacking can affect one’s health.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2210/221013-eating-late-at-night-1.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you agree or disagree that late-night eating is bad for us? Explain.
  2. What time do you normally have dinner? Why is it this early or late?
  3. How often do you eat or have a snack at very late hours?
  4. Tell us about your own eating habits.
  5. How important is it for you to maintain your weight? Explain.

Buying Pre-Loved Clothing More Important than Ever

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Some people love shopping for clothes, bags, jewelry, and all sorts of other things that have already been used by others previously. These products are called “pre-loved”. As you are not the first to use/wear them, they are normally priced very low as compared to brand new ones.

Read the article on why buying pre-loved clothing is important now more than ever and be able to answer the questions that follow.

Why Buying Pre-loved Clothing Is More Important Than Ever

Discussion Questions:

  1. Have you ever bought pre-loved items before? What do you think about these products?
  2. Do you agree with the author’s opinion about pre-loved items? Why or why not?
  3. What are the impacts of “pre-loved” shopping to people and environment?
  4. Are your shopping habits less detrimental to the world if you shop secondhand items anyway? Explain your thoughts.
  5. How does this article change your mind about buying pre-loved items from now own?

The premium that we have to pay to have exclusive rights to be the first consumer to use the product is eliminated in pre-loved shopping and the preloved consumer can enjoy the same product for a drastically reduced price. It’s definitely a tantalizing offer that many cannot afford to miss out on .

Quiet Quitting

B1 – Intermediate

The workplace is a very competitive world. We are taught to do our very best in order to succeed. 

However, it seems times have changed. Workers only work to achieve the minimum of what they should be doing in their job while they are working to later just leave.

Read the article about the concept of quiet quitting and how it is becoming more common in the workplace.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2210/221003-quiet-quitting-4.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are reasons workers are quiet quitting?
  2. Was there ever a time you had to quit quietly at work? Talk about this time.
  3. How to be a good employee?
  4. What is the proper way to quit work? 
  5. Talk about a time you ‘went the extra mile’ at work.
  6. How did the pandemic change the way you do or think about your job?

How People Drink Wine Around the World

B2 – Upper Intermediate

People’s choice of booze differs depending on many factors. But wine is undoubtedly one of the world’s most favorite. 

There are different ways people from every country enjoys this boozy drink.

Read the article about the different ways people drink their wine across the world.

https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/how-people-drink-wine-around-the-world

Discussion Questions:

  1. Which points in this article did you find the most interesting and surprising, and why?
  2. Share other ways people consume their wine that you’ve heard of.
  3. What’s the best way to enjoy wine?
  4. Do you have the custom to BYOB in your country? Why or why not?
  5. Do you think drinking wine will become more or less popular in the future? Explain your point.

The 15-Minute City

B2 – Upper Intermediate

To improve the quality of people’s lives, an urban planning design and policies were conceived by a French-Colombian professor, Carlos Moreno. It is what is known as the“15-Minute City”. The idea is to create cities where everything is within a 15-minute radius.

The aim is to build sustainable cities where residents can live locally, with everything they need within just a short walk or a bike ride away.

Read the article to learn more about decentralization of services, otherwise known as, the 15-minute city and be able to answer the questions below.

https://www.treehugger.com/the-15-minute-city-is-having-a-moment-5071739

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of the idea of a “The 15-Minute City”?
  2. Would you like to live in this kind of city? Why or why not?
  3. What are the positive and negative impact of such urban planning design to people and society?
  4. Describe the city you live in. What are the best things about it and what aspects can be improved?
  5. How important is urban planning?

Coca-Cola’s Returnable Bottles

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Coca-Cola believes that reusable packaging is among the most effective way to reduce waste, use fewer resources, and lower the carbon footprint in support of a circular economy. Consequently, they aim to have at least 25% of all their beverages sold globally in refillable/returnable glass or plastic bottles or in refillable containers by 2030.

Read the article to know more about Coca Cola’s returnable bottles and be able to answer the questions that follow.

https://www.treehugger.com/coca-cola-returnable-bottles-5219470

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of Coca-Cola company using returnable bottles? Is it probably greenwashing? Explain your stand.
  2. What would be the impact of its change in packaging?
  3. What are the benefits and drawbacks of using reusable packaging?
  4. What are some practices that you do in order to reduce your carbon footprint?

Apple AirTag a Gift to Stalkers

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Apple Airtag is a very small device that was developed in order to help us find things that we commonly misplace. It was never meant to be a gadget for unwanted tracking of people.

Read the article about how some abusers are using Airtag to stalk their victims. Be ready to answer the questions that follow.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/sep/05/i-didnt-want-it-anywhere-near-me-how-the-apple-airtag-became-a-gift-to-stalkers

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on Apple Airtag? Are you interested to have one?
  2. What is your opinion on it being used maliciously?
  3. What can Apple do in order to address this problem with their product?
  4. How do you make sure your privacy is protected despite all of your online activities?
  5. What other gadgets do you think are dangerous and why?

The Dangers of Being Over-Confident

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Possessing self-confidence is generally a positive trait. Individuals with higher level of confidence often have greater success across a wide range of fields.

While self esteem, superior to any other characteristic, is typically perceived as a strength in many scenarios, having too much of it can be extremely negative to both success and well-being.

But can you ever have too much confidence? Is it possible to have a good thing in excess?

Let us go through the entire article to discover more about the pitfalls of overconfidence.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220901-the-dangers-of-being-over-confident

Discussion Questions:

  1. Is it possible to have too much self-belief? Explain.
  2. What drawbacks might overconfidence cause?
  3. Can overconfidence be handled? How?
  4. How do you deal with someone who is overconfident?
  5. Share a situation where being overconfident helped you.

Catastrophizing or Toxic Thinking

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Do you have the habit of magnifying your problems, anticipating the worst, or thinking that your circumstances are worse than they actually are? If you routinely find yourself catastrophizing, becoming aware of your tendency to do so may be beneficial before it impairs your quality of life.

Finding techniques to disrupt those poisonous thought loops should be beneficial in boosting one’s toughness and there may be no better time to learn than now.

Let us read the complete content to learn more about how toxic thinking can lead you down to a dangerous path.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220725-catastrophising-how-toxic-thinking-can-lead-down-dark-path

Discussion Questions:

  1. What exactly does it mean to catastrophize?
  2. How could you make adjustments if you are a catastrophizer but would prefer not to be?
  3. Is it doable to teach your brain to avoid automatically thinking the worst-case scenario? Why or why not?
  4. How do you deal with anxiety without the employ of medications?
  5. How has expecting the worst helped you in some situations in your life previously?

Workers and Employers Ghosting

B2 – Upper Intermediate

‘Ghosting’ was first used in the dating scene to describe an abrupt, unexpected halt to all contacts. This societal concept is quickly catching on in the workplace and both parties are guilty of committing the crime.

You might be surprised to learn that ghosting is becoming more pervasive. Additionally, ghosting is not solely done by employees. Employers are also guilty of abandoning prospects as the talent acquisition process moves forward, even while an offer is being made.

Understand why employees and employers are ghosting one another by going through the article.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220311-why-workers-and-employers-are-ghosting-each-other

Discussion Questions:

  1. Share your thoughts on this work issue.
  2. How can we end the trend of ‘quiet firing’ and ‘quiet quitting’?
  3. Why do employers ghost job applicants?
  4. Is it illegal to ghost your job? Why or why not?
  5. Is ghosting an employer profitable in the long term? Explain.
  6. What are the available alternatives to ghosting?