Author Archive: admin

Miyagi school opens to public after the great 2011 tsunami attack

2017年1月19日

  Pre-reading questions: Do you know what a tsunami is? Do you know someone who has been affected by a tsunami? Can a tsunami be prevented? How?   A school in Miyagi prefecture was hit by the 2011 tsunami attack. The school opened to the public for the very first time. Vehicles swept in the 14-meter waves remain on the grounds of Miyagi Kesennuma Koyo High School. Debris are scattered all around the building. I thought I had known what the disaster was like from news, but seeing a car sitting on the third floor taught me how powerful the tsunami was, said Satoshi Tanaka, a Kanagawa prefectural government official….
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Intermediate

Miyagi school opens to public after the great 2011 tsunami attack

2017年1月19日

World News - Beginner

  Pre-reading questions: Do you know other countries aside from Japan that got struck by a tsunami? Which part of Japan was hit by a tsunami back in 2011?   A school in Miyagi prefecture opened to the public for the first time after the tsunami attack in 2011. 135 people visited the old buildings last Dec.03. It was the last time people could see the buildings before clean-up work begins. All damaged buildings will be removed. But the four-story south building will open as a disaster monument in 2018.   Vocabulary: public – [noun] ordinary people; the community clean-up – [phrasal verb] make things or an area clean damage…
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Beginner

Paris Climate Change Agreement gains approval

2017年1月18日

  The Paris Agreement finally takes effect after a continuous effort to fend off the disastrous climate change. Reaching about 195 countries, the agreement endorses the goal to address the planet-warming emissions of greenhouse gases. It aims to limit the increase of global temperatures to 2°C, and if possible, to 1.5°C. Presenting the specific details to successfully eradicate the problems, however, remains a struggle. According to the Paris-based executive director of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, even if the countries that signed the agreement fully achieves their initial vows, the increase will still be closer to 2.7°C. A number of companies is still yet to implement financial changes to…
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Expert

Paris Climate Change Agreement gains approval

2017年1月18日

  Pre-reading questions: What is climate change? What do you think causes climate change? How does climate change affect our way of living?   The Paris Agreement gains approval to prevent climate change. It aims to limit the global temperatures to 2°C or possibly to 1.5°C. However, the steps to accomplish the agreement are yet to be figured out. Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency in Paris, said that temperatures will still be up to 2.7°C even if the countries that signed the agreement fully achieve their primary promises. Some companies are still thinking of ways to address climate change. The agreement also made the market…
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Intermediate

Paris Climate Change Agreement gains approval

2017年1月18日

World News - Beginner

  Pre-reading questions: What are the effects of climate change? Do you think climate change is really happening?   The Paris Climate Change Agreement was finally approved last November 2016. It was created to battle climate change. The agreement aims to restrict the worldwide temperature that causes global warming. 109 countries promised to control carbon production to fight climate change. Participating countries are expected to implement the agreement on 2017.   Vocabulary: agreement – [noun] an act of agreeing or act of mutual accord approve – [verb] to accept or to agree to restrict – [verb] to confine or to use with limits production – [noun] act of producing implement…
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Beginner

Stolen Yahoo data for sale on dark web

2017年1月17日

  Yahoo fell victim to 2013 hacking incident–weighed as the biggest data infringement in history. Personal information of Yahoo users including phone numbers, passwords, security questions, and backup email addresses had been stolen in the modus operandi. The acquired data was up for trading on the dark web, but its value had been expected to suffer since the incident had been public. Cybersecurity firm, InfoArmor, has identified Eastern Europe-based group of hackers called Group E responsible for the cybercrime. The same group was reported to have previously attacked Dropbox, Tumblr, and VK.com. This act was often led to identity theft where hackers could obtain further information. Hackers such as Group…
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Expert

Stolen Yahoo data for sale on dark web

2017年1月17日

Business - I

  Pre-reading questions: Do you have an email account? How long have you been using your email account? How important is security in email accounts?   Over one billion Yahoo accounts had been compromised in the hacking incident in 2013. Account owners’ personal data including phone numbers, passwords, security questions, and backup email addresses were illegally acquired in the process. It is considered the biggest data breach on the record. The stolen data had been for sale on the dark web, but since the incident had been disclosed to the public, the price was expected to decline. Investigators pointed the finger at Group E— a group of cybercriminals based in…
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Intermediate

Stolen Yahoo data for sale on dark web

2017年1月17日

Business - B

  Pre-reading questions: What email account do you have (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail)? What engine do you use for searching (Google, Yahoo, Safari, etc.)?   More than one billion Yahoo accounts were hacked last 2013. Yahoo users’ phone numbers, passwords, security questions, and backup email addresses were stolen. It is by far the biggest incident of data stealing. All the information has been for sale on the dark web. But now that many people know about it, the price will become cheaper. Investigation says the group of hackers called Group E stole all the personal information from Yahoo. Group E is based in Eastern Europe. They have also hacked Dropbox, Tumblr,…
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Beginner