Intermediate

Companies hire more women to avoid overtime work

2017年4月4日

Japan - Intermediate

Pre-reading questions: In your opinion, why are there generally more men than women in top positions in companies? Do you think employers should hire more women than men? Name some of the negative impacts of working overtime. Nowadays, more and more companies in Japan are looking for ways to reduce overtime work. As one measure to achieving this goal, companies are turning to hiring more women to work for them. With more women as employees, overtime work will be lessened. Women do not usually work overtime as they have responsibilities waiting at home. Rank up Co., a Tokyo-based cosmetics development and sales company, where employees are mostly women, start to…
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Intermediate

India’s Kailash Satyarthi’s Nobel medal stolen from home

2017年4月3日

World News - Intermediate

Pre-reading questions: How would you define success? What would you consider as your greatest success? Who do you think is the most successful person in your country? The copy of the Nobel medal granted to Kailash Satyarthi has been stolen from his home in Delhi. According to the Nobel Prize awardee, his Nobel certificate also went missing after the break in. He added that nobody was home at the time of the burglary. The Delhi police are still investigating the case and assessing what objects are missing. Kailash Satyarthi earned his Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for combating child labor and child trafficking in India. He also established Bachpan Bachao…
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Intermediate

Parents study Latin to help their children at school

2017年4月3日

Education - I

  Pre-reading questions: What is your mother tongue? How many languages do you speak? Do you think learning a foreign language is difficult? Why or why not?   Parents trying to help children with school work often struggle to dredge up what they once learned in maths or English, let alone Latin. At Colfe’s School, in south-east London, a few adults are signing up for Latin refresher classes, or taking on the language for the first time, so that they can help their offspring get ahead of the pack. The classics department has been so high it now runs two Monday night Latin classes. At Colfe’s, where headteacher Richard Russell…
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Intermediate

Pancake Tuesday before Lent

2017年3月31日

Lifestyle

  Pre-reading questions: Do you prefer sweet or savory pancakes? Why or why not? How often do you eat pancakes?   Pancake Day falls 47 days before Easter so the date is not fixed, but it will always be between February 3 and March 9. British people has celebrated Pancake Tuesday for centuries. It is also called Shrove Tuesday, from the word “shrive”, which means to obtain forgiveness through confession of sins. Shrove Tuesday was based on a Christian tradition to be shriven before Lent season begins. Aside from making and eating pancakes during Pancake Day, Britons love to have pancake races where participants run while flipping pancakes in a…
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Intermediate

Abe ‘builds trust’ with Trump

2017年3月31日

World News - Intermediate

Pre-reading questions: Why do you think the US and Japan should have a good relationship? What do you think are the qualities of a good leader? Name some of the best accomplishments of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid a visit to newly elected US President Donald Trump right after his victory in the 2016 presidential race. The Prime Minister was the first world leader to visit Trump since the elections. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Abe said that the two leaders are off to a good start. Abe and Trump’s meeting lasted for almost 90 minutes. Both leaders have both been mum about what they discussed….
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Intermediate

Traditional approach of Tokyo hotels

2017年3月31日

Lifestyle

  Pre-reading questions: What is the most difficult Olympic sport? How do countries get chosen to hold the games? If we hold the Olympics in this class, in which sport would you win the gold?   As a preparation for 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, hotels have started to offer Japanese-style accommodation and hospitality. Hotels like the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa, Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo, and the Park Hotel Tokyo recently unveiled an updated Japanese-style accommodation for their guests. Newly renovated hotels used tatami, paper screens, shiraki furniture and lantern-like lighting for their rooms. A kimono-clad staff welcomes guests upon their arrival and leads them through an incense-fumed Japanese garden to a…
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Intermediate

Recipe for success: The growth of team-building cookery classes

2017年3月31日

Business - I

  Pre-reading questions: What kind of activities do you enjoy doing with your friends? What comes to your mind when you hear “team building”?   Team building activities such as grinding in a seminar about effectivity at work or spending time doing potentially embarrassing activities are the usual ways to run through company away days. However, a new type of team building activity emerged in Europe. London-based Food@Work and Brussels-based Waffle Workshop offer team building cooking classes. SIG, a hardware company, was a client of Food@Work. SIG staff say that the cooking class was fun because of the different atmosphere from work. Meanwhile, attendees at Waffle Workshop say that they…
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Intermediate

Japanese government to give scholarships in 2018

2017年3月29日

Education - I

Pre-reading questions: What is your understanding of a scholarship? What kind of students do you think should be given scholarships? How do scholarship programs benefit the society? About 20,000 students will be given state-sponsored scholarships in Japan in 2018. Students at public universities who live with their parents will receive a monthly allowance of ¥20,000; students of such schools living away from their parents and students attending private universities who live with their parents will get ¥30,000 monthly; and, students at private universities who live away from their parents will receive ¥40,000. As a first step, Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) will give financial support to 2,650 students in 2017….
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Intermediate

Apple cider vinegar for weight loss

2017年3月29日

Health - Beginner

Pre-reading questions: Do you enjoy eating foods with vinegar? Do you agree that vinegar has health benefits too? Apple cider vinegar is known for its remarkable purposes – beauty, cleaning, cooking, etc. Experts from Japan believe that it may also have an impact on weight loss. Professor Carol Johnston, who has been studying the healthy benefits of vinegar, agrees that it may subtly help with digestion. Acetic acid found in vinegar, such as ACV, activate fat metabolism. Another evidence shows that diluted vinegar promotes healthier blood sugar levels. Johnston says that it really doesn’t matter what type of vinegar you’re digesting, All types of vinegar contains acetic acid, the vital…
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Intermediate

Asia’s fastest growing economies have the fastest growing slums

2017年3月29日

Business - I

  Pre-reading questions: Do you prefer living in a city or in the countryside? Please explain your answer. Do you think your hometown is overpopulated? Please explain your answer. What do you like most about your city?   World Bank data states that nations such as Cambodia, Mongolia, Myanmar, and the Philippines have a high number of informal settlers in key cities. Cities such as Manila and Jakarta offer illegal housing for migrants. A World Bank senior specialist said that the rise of migrants is an indicator of a growing economy. However, governments are unable to provide quality housing to increasing settlers. World Bank offers two solutions for improvement. One…
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Intermediate