Author Archive: admin

Earthquake strikes New Zealand

2016年11月28日

Pre-reading questions: Do you live in an area that’s experiencing many earthquakes? Has your house been damaged by an earthquake? How can you prepare for a possible earthquake? A quake hits the South Island of the country early on Monday. It has a magnitude of 7.8. Tsunami waves were spotted along the marginal town of Kaikoura about 40 minutes after the quake. Authorities say at least 2 people perished, and several others injured. Authorities also added that some buildings collapsed and large cracks can be seen in roads. Landslides have also made some sections impassable. Telephone lines have been cut off. About 600 inhabitants and hundreds of tourists are incapable…
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Intermediate

Earthquake strikes New Zealand

2016年11月28日

World News - Beginner

  Pre-reading questions: Have you ever experienced an earthquake? Where is the best place to go during an earthquake?   The impact of magnitude 7.8 earthquake is still not clear. Officials say at least 2 people died. Small towns were inaccessible and roads were blocked by landslides. About 600 people were trapped in Kaikoura, but the government already gave help to the townspeople.   Vocabulary: magnitude – [noun] the great size inaccessible – [adjective] unable to be reached block – [noun] difficult; impossible landslide – [noun] rockslide; mudslide trapped – [verb] cannot move   True or False: The impact of magnitude 8 earthquake is still not clear. Officials say at…
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Beginner

Airport Wi-Fi

2016年11月28日

  Rotten Wi-Fi, a subsidiary of TelcoQ, reveals the Top 20 airports worldwide with best Wi-Fi connection in 2016. Wi-Fi speed and quality have been evaluated in two hundred twenty-six airports worldwide. Airports from USA and Thailand led the list, with at least six airports listed in the Top 20. Leading the list is Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, USA with an average download speed of 42.17 Mbps, and a customer satisfaction rating of 8/10. Succeeding the list is Lennart Meri Tallinn, Estonia with 38.30 Mbps followed by Don Mueang International Airport, Thailand with 37.10 Mbps. In terms of customer satisfaction, Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, USA and Changi International Airport,…
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Expert

Airport Wi-Fi

2016年11月28日

  Pre-reading questions: Can you bear waiting in a place where there is no Wi-Fi? Have you experienced traveling by plane? How was it? What do you usually do when there is no Wi-Fi in your area?   Rotten Wi-Fi, the public Wi-Fi watchdog, reveals the Top 20 airports worldwide for best Wi-Fi connection in 2016. Wi-Fi speed and quality have been assessed in two hundred twenty-six airports worldwide. Airports from the USA and Thailand lead the list, with at least six airports listed in the Top 20. Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, USA leads the list with average download speed of 42.17 Mbps. Next is Lennart Meri Tallinn,…
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Intermediate

Airport Wi-Fi

2016年11月28日

Lifestyle

  Pre-reading questions: Do you think Wi-Fi is useful for everyone? How important is Wi-Fi to you?   A new list of Wi-Fi speed in airports was issued this year. Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport USA is the first one on the list. These five Asian countries are added: Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Taiwan. Six airports from Thailand are also on the list this year.   Vocabulary: list – 一覧表[noun] a number of connected items or written names speed – スピード[noun] a rate of movement or action airport – 空港[noun] a place where airplanes can land or take off issued – 発する[verb] provided; given national – 国の[adjective] a…
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Beginner

Overworking Issue

2016年11月25日

Japan is doubling its efforts on tackling karoshi or death from work in the wake of a work-related suicide that sparked public outrage. Matsuri Takahashi, 24, committed suicide after working 105 hours of overtime a month. The advertising giant, Dentsu Inc., which she was then working for, was being thoroughly investigated by labor authorities to find any other employment violation. The company, in response, banned its employees from staying in the office later than 10pm and cut the maximum monthly overtime by five hours to alleviate their working condition. However, the reaction to Dentsu’s countermeasures was not as expected. A good number of their employees raised their concerns about not…
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Expert

Overworking Issue

2016年11月25日

Pre-reading Questions: Did you have a dream job when you were a child? Does anyone in your family work overnight? A company in Japan is inspected by authorities due to the report that employees from the company worked overtime illegally. It is suspected of violating the labor law. Japanese companies now are on a hot seat and will not be exempted to the inspection. Japanese businesses are far behind in legal compliance. Employees normally spend more than 100 hours of overtime work in a month. Authorities are aiming to stop excessive overtime. Surprise on-site inspections of workplace are also planned. The company Dentsu Inc. forbids employees to work from 10…
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Intermediate

Overworking Issue

2016年11月24日

Japan - Beginner

Pre-reading questions: What is your dream job? What are the most popular companies in your country? In Japan, working conditions are too strict and sometimes they cause employees to commit suicide. An employee from Dentsu Inc. was reported to have committed suicide due to overworking. Overworking can cause depression according to the health office. Now, authorities are inspecting the company and its branches because of the situation. They are also going to have on-site inspections to almost all companies in Japan. Vocabulary: strict – 厳しい[adjective] used to describe a rule or command that must be obeyed employee – 従業員[noun] a person who works for another person or a company for…
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Beginner