Author Archive: admin

Even mild smoking can cause early death

2017年1月6日

A new study suggests that non-frequent smokers still have a higher chance of dying early than non-smokers. Smoking just once per day gives one a 64% chance of dying early. Those who smoke less than one cigarette per day are also nine times more likely to die of lung cancer. On the other hand, heavy smokers or those smoking one to 10 cigarettes per day have an 87% chance at an early death than non-smokers. They are also 12 times more likely to die of lung cancer. Although this research is too limited as most of its repondents were older and caucasian, this is an important research as it is…
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Expert

Even mild smoking can cause early death

2016年12月27日

Pre-reading questions: What comes to mind when you hear the word “smoking”? Do you think it is easy to quit smoking? Do you think banning smoking in public places could seriously hurt the economy?   People who smoke one cigarette a day or less still have greater chance of dying earlier than those who don’t smoke at all, according to a new study released in JAMA Internal Medicine journal. Researchers from the National Cancer Institute conducted the study that analyzed the effects of low-intensity smoking compared to mortality rates for people who don’t smoke. The study also examined that people are prone to develop lung cancer especially among those who…
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Intermediate

Even mild smoking can cause early death

2016年12月27日

Health - Beg

Pre-reading questions: Do you smoke? Do you have friends who smoke? Are people allowed to smoke in restaurants in your country?   A new study says smoking one cigarette a day can cause a person to die young. People who seldom smoke have a 64 percent chance of dying earlier than those who do not smoke. People who smoke up to 10 cigarettes a day have an 87 percent chance of dying early. Most respondents thought seldom smoking cannot harm them. But, the research shows that smoking, seldom or often, is not safe at all.   Vocabulary: seldom – [adverb] in few instances respondent – [noun] a person who gives…
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Beginner

University of Oxford ranked best in the world

2016年12月27日

Oxford University gained the top spot among the best ranking universities for the year 2016. Oxford surpassed California Institute of Technology this year because of a more substantial research budget and increased international reception. Oxford is really excited by this recent turn of events, being that the recent Brexit could have entirely jeopardized the university’s funding, collaborative projects and international reception. Joining Oxford are Cambridge and Imperial College London in the fourth and eight spots respectively. They join the ranks of top Amercian universities like Stanford, Harvard, Princeton & MIT. The recent positioning of the universities likewise demonstrates the rising impact of Asian universities, especially those in China, which are…
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Expert

Labor shortage

2016年12月23日

Japan’s apparent aging and decreasing population is causing the greatest shortages of manpower for labor-intensive sectors. Industries like hotels, restaurants, and elderly care facilities are less capable of offering competitive wages as they hit lowest on productivity per employee. Also, the elderly care system is undermined by government efforts that set the compensation down. In 2015, the average monthly wages in Japan fell for the fourth consecutive year. The central bank’s target for the average monthly wage increase is 2% for 2016, but the labor ministry data records an increase of only 1% in September. Adding to this labor predicament is the sabotage of employees’ bargaining power due to the…
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Expert

Labor shortage

2016年12月23日

Business - I

Pre-reading questions: What are the least popular jobs in your country? What is your dream job? What kind of jobs have you tried so far?   Japan’s population is diminishing and aging. It’s affecting the labor-intensive sectors. Hotels, restaurants and elderly care industries are coming up short in productive workers. The government cannot offer higher salary without productivity. Service businesses have a lot of part-time and contractual employees, which weakens the bargaining power of employees. The labor market is flawed and irregular in that there is a shortage of workers in jobs with the least productivity. With this kind of situation, it is not feasible to raise wages without studying,…
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Intermediate

Labor shortage

2016年12月23日

Business - B

Pre-reading questions: Name 3 most popular jobs in your country. What is the ideal age for a person to work? What is the ideal age for retirement?   Japan’s population is decreasing and aging. It causes labor problems. Hotels, restaurants and elderly care industries need more workers. These industries have low output per worker.  They cannot give higher pay without productivity. Service businesses are also having problems. They have many part-time and contractual employees. The labor market is not doing good.   Vocabulary: aging – [noun] the process of growing and maturing industries – [noun] any general business activity output – [noun] an amount produced at the time productivity – [noun]…
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Beginner

University of Oxford ranked best in the world

2016年12月23日

Pre-reading questions: Do/Did you like your school? What do/did you like best about it? What do you want to be when you grow up?/ Do you like your job now? Do/Did you like your university major?   The University of Oxford made it to the top at this year’s Times Higher Education World Rankings. The said magazine assesses top universities according to a set of criteria that consist of research, teaching method, knowledge transfer and international perspective. The California Institute of Technology occupies the second spot. Based on the magazine, the improvement of research facility and the growing number of international students are the factors that helped Oxford gain the…
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Intermediate