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Arms Trade Growth Stunted by Supply Chain Issues

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The pandemic’s lingering consequences can now be felt even in the arms industries. Despite demonstrating growth in the past year, this boost was still greatly stunted by worldwide issues in supply difficulties.

Read the article to know more about how supply chain issues has severely limited the growth in arms trade.

https://www.voanews.com/a/growth-in-arms-trade-stunted-by-supply-issues-report/6862357.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “sourcing” mean? “Disruptions from both labor shortages and difficulties in sourcing raw materials were slowing down the companies’ ability to produce weapons systems and deliver them on time.” Use it in your own sentence.
  2. What does “gauge” mean? “By how much was at the same time harder to gauge, Tian said pointing to two factors that would impact demand.” Use it in your own sentence.
  3. What does “hamper” mean in this sentence, “With the supply crunch expected to worsen, it could hamper these efforts.”? Use it in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on this news about the stunted growth of the arms trade due to supply chain issues?
  2. “The top 100 arms companies sold weapons and related services totaling $592 billion in 2021, 1.9% more than the year before.”. Share your reaction to this statement.
  3. “The worsening security environment means “countries are looking to procure more weapons.” What is your opinion on/reaction to this?
  4. What will be the result of the trend of private equity firms buying up arms companies?

India May Become World’s Third Largest Economy

B2 – Upper Intermediate

As most countries in the world struggle with slowing growth due to the economic turbulence caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, some economies are gaining momentum and might be able to overtake some of the world’s biggest economies.

For example, India’s economy has remained remarkably “navigating the storm”.

Read the article to know more about how India could possibly become the third largest economy in the world by the end of this decade.

https://www.voanews.com/a/forecasts-show-india-may-become-world-s-third-largest-economy-by-2030/6875735.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “to move to better pastures” mean? “There are good projections for the Indian economy. Plus, even in our friends’ circle, a lot of people are changing jobs, moving to better pastures.” Use it in your own sentence.
  2. What does “to put something on track” mean? “India’s economy is posting the fastest growth among major economies putting it on track to become the world’s third largest before the end of the decade.” Use it in your own sentence.
  3. What does “wave” mean in this sentence, “As companies record strong growth and hand out pay hikes, there is a wave of optimism among professionals.”? Use it in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is contributing to the Indian economy’s growth?
  2. “A lot of changes are happening across the world, and we hope that some of them will be beneficial for the Indian economy.” Do you think it is possible for India to become the third largest economy? Explain.
  3. How is your country doing amidst this global economic turbulence?

Amazon Alexa’s Symptom Checker: The Pros and Cons

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Amazon’s digital voice assistant Alexa seems to have the answer for nearly every question one might have and that includes your health or medical queries.

Read the article to know more about the pros and cons of using Alexa’s symptom checker in monitoring one’s health.

https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/electronics/amazon-alexa-symptom-checker

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “nuance” mean? Use it in your own sentence.
  2. What does “narrow down” mean here, “From there, Alexa will ask a series of yes-or-no questions to help narrow down which underlying medical conditions might be related.”? Use it in your own sentence.
  3. What does “resounding” mean? Use it in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the pros and cons of Alexa Symptom Checker?
  2. When it comes to your health, would you entrust it with a digital voice assistant? Explain.
  3. How often and for what do you use your AI assistant for? Do you think people would be more dependent on them in the near future? Why or why not?

Incorrect Battery Disposal Causes Needless Fires

B1 – Intermediate

One of the most common energy sources is batteries. Everyone uses them. However, if we are not careful in handling their disposal, they could cause fires that could have really serious consequences.

Read this lesson about how incorrectly disposing batteries can start needless fires.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2212/221205-batteries-4.html

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “needless” mean? Use it in a sentence.
  2. What does “bit” mean in this sentence, “Everyone can do their bit…by disposing of batteries correctly.”? Use it in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the uses of batteries?
  2. What are the consequences of incorrectly disposing them?
  3. What are the best ways to dispose of batteries?

Bosses Silently Nudge Out Workers

B2 – Upper Intermediate

We’ve all heard of “quiet quitting”, in which an employed person does the barest minimum in order to keep their job. And now there’s a great deal of discussion about “quiet firing” and it is currently making waves.

Is it, however, a new concept? Do you or someone you care about have this problem?

Read the article about how some bosses quietly nudge their employees out.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20221021-the-bosses-who-silently-nudge-out-workers

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “ marginalize ” mean? Use this word in a sentence.
  2. What does “nudge out” mean in this sentence,” An employee subtly nudged out the door isn’t without legal recourse, either.”? Use this word in a sentence.
  3. What does “rejection” mean? Mention some alternative words for this one.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are some common signs of quiet firing?
  2. Is quiet firing a constructive dismissal? Elaborate.
  3. How do you deal with unfair firing?
  4. How would you manage a boss who is not willing to bring the conversation of termination forward?
  5. Do you or someone you care about struggle with this issue? Share about it.

Separate the Art from the Artist

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Most people have a favorite artist and they know a lot about them, including their lifestyle, favorites, daily activities, and so on. But often, they naively believe that they know everything there is to know about them. Some even think their favorite artists aren’t capable of doing negative things. However, artists are human beings who are bound to make mistakes and have problematic sides, too.

What if their negative sides came to light? Would you ignore it or utterly stop supporting them?

Read the article to know if it’s really possible or impossible to separate the art from the artist.

https://www.theslateonline.com/article/2022/10/the-slate-speaks-can-you-separate-the-art-from-the-artist#:~:text=It%20is%20possible%20to%20separate,the%20actions%20of%20the%20artist.

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. What does “nuance” mean, “There’s a lot of nuance (hence why there’s plenty of books written on the subject).”? Use this word in a sentence.
  2. Explain the meaning of “heinous” in your own words. “But something like the Harry Potter books have themes that are so intertwined with J.K. Rowling’s heinous and ignorant world view that it’s almost impossible to separate the two.” Use it in a sentence.
  3. What does “mainstream” mean, “You can’t say Michael Jackson didn’t impact pop music and the presence of black artists in mainstream media, and you can respect that.”? Give some synonyms of this word.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you have a favorite artist? If yes, do you know a lot about him/her?  How would you react if you learned about your favorite artist’s negative side?
  2. What do you think about thinking too highly of an artist?
  3. Do you think it’s possible to separate the art from the artist? Elaborate. How can it be done?

Man Wins after Being Fired for Not Being Fun

B2 – Upper Intermediate

There are employees who decide to have some good times to ease themselves from a long-day of working.

Most of them plan for team building activities or have after-work drinks.

However, what if an employee does not join in any of these activities? Is it right to fire him for being ‘boring’?

Read this article to know about this issue.

https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/man-wins-4600-after-being-fired-for-not-being-fun-004904815.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIwXIqeja7zEhXhAKd_8qFJhQW_LMvh0oa44QDeXJbapTEdK9MdknWo0aiyDFoidpLnY1ifxfvGKaI6N7Khs535gId76brNT1YtT2y2Zg1fMcZWa1ufqS-BcxUPM2-apOh1A9sDq4L0Pleq0Ids-7nNmRWW38zE1bJ_G2-xX4wqd

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you think that it was only right to fire Mr. T for being boring? Explain.
  2. Will you consider your co-worker as “boring” when he/she does not join in team building activities? Explain.
  3. What do you think of the team building activities in your company?
  4. What do you think about going out for drinks every week with co-workers? Is it a good idea?

Britain’s Four-Day Workweek Shows No Loss in Productivity

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Once the trial is over, Britons need not wait for Friday anymore. If employees start their work week on Monday, the last day of work is Thursday.

If it sounds interesting, read the full article below.

https://www.optimistdaily.com/2022/09/britains-four-day-workweek-trial-shows-no-loss-in-productivity/

Vocabulary Questions:

  1. Give 2 synonyms of the word “expansive“, “More than 3,300 employees in Britain’s banking, marketing, health care, financial services, retail, hospitality, and other industries are participating in the trial, making it one of the most expansive studies to date. Use them in your own sentences.
  2. What does the expression “to give rise to” mean, “However, the rise of remote and hybrid labor due to the coronavirus epidemic gives rise to questions regarding other areas of employment.”? Use this expression in your own sentence.
  3. What does the phrase “to lag behind” mean, “That said, some critics express concern about increased expenses and decreased competitiveness, especially since many European businesses lag behind competitors in other countries.”? Use it in your own sentence.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How does the article make you feel?
  2. In your opinion, is it necessary to work for five days? Why or why not?
  3. What is the relationship between productivity and shorter work week?
  4. Is the concept of a four-day work week suitable in your country? Explain your answer.
  5. If people will only work for four days, how can they better spend the remaining three days?

Bring People Together with Food

B2 – Upper Intermediate

People consume food daily both for fuel and pleasure. On many occasions, it helps build relationships.

Read the article on ways to bring people together through food.

https://www.optimistdaily.com/2022/07/5-ways-to-bring-people-together-with-food/

Discussion Questions:

  1. The article suggested five ways to bring people together with food. Which ones can work in your home and workplace?
  2. Think about a time when you built a good relationship with someone through food. Talk about this experience.
  3. What is a crappy dinner party philosophy? Why do you think the article suggests embracing it?
  4. What other suggestions do you want to add to the list?

Billionaires’ CO2 Emissions

B1 – Intermediate

Some of the world’s wealthiest billionaires produce incredible high amount of carbon dioxide emissions every year. Their investments and luxurious lifestyles are the main causes of this unsustainable amounts of carbon emission. How exactly does this affect the entire population?

Let’s read the article and know more about this issue.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/2211/221110-super-rich-co2-emissions-1.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. How does the very wealthy people contribute in climate change?
  2. How can these billionaire investors reduce the intensity of their emissions?
  3. “Billionaires have escaped accountability for too long.” What are your thoughts on this statement?
  4. How do you think they can be held accountable?