Beginner

How North Korea makes its money

2017年5月4日

World News - Beginner

Pre-reading questions: Do you think your country is making enough money? Why? Or Why not? What does your country do to make money? North Korea is one of the most closed economies in the world. They earn money from selling tons of coal to China every year, trade basic goods abroad, hack banks in 18 countries, and force their citizens to work abroad. John Park, the director of the Korea Working Group at Harvard Kennedy school, believes Pyeongyang has kept a lot of money in China. These money can support North Korea’s weapons programs. Moreover, North Korea can easily avoid penalties from the global financial system by keeping their money…
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Beginner

Retiring seniors go on working

2017年5月4日

Japan - Beginner

Pre-reading questions: Are you still working? At what age do you want to retire? Is it good to work even if you are already 70 years and up? Why or why not? Retiring seniors can now work again. They will receive help from the education ministry. It is common for retired seniors to continue working in the same company, but with easier tasks. There are still so many things people can do as long as they are healthy. Vocabulary: retire – [verb] to leave your job or stop working because of old age or bad health senior – [noun] older and more experienced than the other members of a team…
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Beginner

Tokyo taxis lowered fare

2017年5月4日

Japan - Beginner

Pre-reading questions: Do you usually ride a taxi? Is riding a taxi convenient? Is it safe to ride a taxi in your city? Tokyo taxis have lowered their initial fare. The taxi fare used to be ¥730. It is now ¥410 for the first 1.052 kilometers. The taxi fare has been lowered to attract more passengers. The new system started in the cities of Musashino and Mitaka. This is going to be good for passengers. Vocabulary: lower – [verb] to move down initial – [adjective] at the beginning fare – [noun] the money paid for a public transport attract – [verb] to make someone interested in something passenger – [noun]…
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Beginner

Facebook denies responsible over fake news

2017年4月27日

technology

Pre-reading questions: Do you have social media accounts? How often do you use them? Why? Facebook is still in hot seat because of the fake news issue. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, is not happy about it. They do not want fake news to be on the site. It is not easy to know which is fake and which is not. Mark said that they are also victims of the issue. Users who post and share these kinds of news are responsible for it. Vocabulary: hot seat – [idiom] in an uncomfortable situation fake – [adjective] not true issue – [noun] important topic or problem responsible – [adjective] having to do…
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Beginner

Standford University offers program for older professionals

2017年4月26日

Education - B

Pre-reading questions: Do you like going to school? Which do you think is better, going to school or working? Please give some explanation. Stanford University started offering courses for people aged 50 to 60 years old. Most of the students are employees or professionals who already ended their careers. These retirees want to go back to studying because they don’t want to stay at home. They think staying at home is boring. 50 to 60 year old students say that going back to university and learning new things is fun. Vocabulary: university – [noun] a school for higher learning course – [noun] an order of lectures about a subject career…
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Beginner

Drug use in sports becoming a crisis

2017年4月25日

Sports - Beginner

Pre-reading questions: What do you think is the common problem of athletes? Please explain your answer. What can you say to those average-skilled athletes who worked really hard to be successful? Please explain your answer. With the latest BBC survey on amateur doping acts in sports. They found out that 35% personally know someone who has doped while 8% said they had taken steroids. The national group responsible for protecting clean sport is the UK Anti-Doping or Ukad. They think that number of amateurs who use performance enhancing substance in competition is alarming. Thus, Ukad chief Nicole Sapstead, encourage everyone to acknowledge the problem. Vocabulary: amateur – [noun] athletes who…
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Beginner

Foreign interns face tough road in Japan

2017年4月21日

Business - B

Pre-reading questions: Is it easy to work abroad? Have you studied abroad? Vietnamese trainees are studying Japanese language and culture in preparation for a job in Japan. Trainees will eventually leave their families to work abroad so they can provide a better life for them. However, there are trainees who escaped because they are not getting paid properly. They are also starting to feel the pressure because of the expensive lifestyle in Japan. Vocabulary: trainee – [noun] a person who is training for a job abroad – [abroad] in a foreign country escape – [verb] run away pressured – [verb] stressed out expensive – [adjective] high price True or False:…
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Beginner

Harvard Law School starts to consider GRE scores

2017年4月21日

Education - B

Pre-reading questions: Do you think academic admission test is important? Why? What are the university admission test requirements in your country? Harvard Law School piloted a new program that accepts GRE (Graduate Record Examination) score as an admission requirement for law students for the coming school year 2018. The said law school is the second accredited law school in the United States to accept GRE scores for admission. Most law schools in the US only recognize LSAT (Law School Admission Test) scores. LSAT is exclusively used for admission to law school programs. Vocabulary: pilot – [verb] test or experiment before formally introducing something admission – [noun] the process of allowing…
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Beginner

Yoga may beat depression

2017年4月20日

Health - Beg

Pre-reading questions: Do you exercise regularly? What are the exercises you know? Yoga is a system of exercises for mental and physical health. A new research suggests that the calming poses and deep breathing exercises of yoga might help people deal with depression since not all people take medications for this kind of disorder. Doctors recommend weekly yoga sessions to keep calm and ease the symptoms of patients such as hopelessness and sadness. Vocabulary: calming [adjective] – without rough motion depression [noun] – a mental illness in which a person is very unhappy and worried for long periods and cannot have a normal life during these periods medication [noun] –…
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Beginner

The surprising friendship of former president George W. Bush and former first lady Michelle Obama

2017年4月11日

entertainment

Pre-reading questions: Do you know George W. Bush? Do you know Michelle Obama? Former Republican President George W. Bush and previous Democrat First Lady Michele Obama showed their friendship in a recent photo from the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture. In the said photo, George W. Bush got a sweet hug from Michelle Obama. In an interview, Bush said Michelle Obama likes his sense of humor, and anybody who likes his sense of humor, he immediately likes. Furthermore, Bush added that he’s a teaser and Michelle can deal with it. Vocabulary: teaser – [noun] playful recent – [adjective] not so long ago Republican and…
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Beginner