Intermediate

Disabled soccer fan donates a wheelchair to a Russian man

2018年10月31日

Disabled soccer fan donates a wheelchair to a Russian man

Pre-reading questions: How do you treat people with disability? Is helping a good trait? Vocabulary: disabled /dis-EY-buhld/ [adjective] lacking one or more of the physical or mental abilities that most people have She was treated differently by the society because she’s disabled. annually /AN-yoo-uh-lee/ [adverb] every year He celebrates his birthday in Los Angeles anually. struggle /STRUHG-uhl/ [verb] to move with difficulty Most people struggle to commute when going home from work. hesitantly /HEZ-i-tuhnt-lee/ [adverb] nervous or not certain She hesitantly gave the food to the beggar. publicize /PUHB-luh-sahyz/ [verb] to make information available about someone or something The student was disappointed after the teacher publicized the test result. During…
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Intermediate

Princess Ayako to marry Kei Moriya

2018年10月24日

Princess Ayako to marry Kei Moriya

Pre-reading questions: What is a Japanese wedding like? Would you like to marry in Japan? Why or why not? Vocabulary: imperial /im-PEER-ee-uhl/ [adjective] an empire or the person or country that rules it The imperial guards stormed the palace. household /HOUS-hohld/ [noun] a group of people, often a family, who live together At that time, not many households had telephones. commoner /KOM-uh-ner/ [noun] a person who does not belong to the royal family A prince is allowed to marry a commoner. allow /uh-LOU/ [verb] to give permission or to permit Food and drinks are not allowed in some cinemas. payment /PEY-muhnt/ [noun] an amount of money paid The man will…
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Intermediate

Poor hand-washing increases in the United States

2018年10月17日

Poor hand-washing increases in the United States

Pre-reading questions: How often do you wash your hands? Is proper hand washing important? Please explain your answer. Vocabulary: habit /HAB-it/ [noun] something you do regularly I always get into the habit of drinking coffee. raw /ro/ [adjective] uncooked food They only eat raw food for special occasions. germs /jurms/ [noun] a very small organism that can cause diseases It is written on the alcohol bottle that it kills all known germs. reduce /re-DOOS/ [verb] to bring down to smaller amount A low-fat diet reduces the risk of a heart attack. infection /in-FEK-shuhn/ [noun] a disease in the body that caused by bacteria or virus He is taking an antibiotics…
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Intermediate

European Union and Japan sign a free trade deal

2018年10月10日

European Union and Japan sign a free trade deal

Pre-reading questions: Do you like buying foreign products? Why? Do you think foreign products are expensive? Why? Vocabulary: contract /KON-trakt/ [noun] a legal document that states and explains a formal agreement A partnership between two people needs a contract as a proof of agreement. remove /ri-MOOV/ [verb] to take something away from an object, group, or place They will remove the books from the shelf and arrange it. agreement /uh-GREE-muhnt/ [noun] a promise or decision made between two or more people The two enterprises made an agreement to sell the same product. hindrance /HIN-druhns/ [noun] something that makes it more difficult for you to do something Making mistakes is not…
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Intermediate

Child labor increases in tobacco industry

2018年10月3日

Child Labor Increases in Tobacco Industry

Pre-reading questions: What is your opinion about child labor? Is child labor prominent in your country? Vocabulary: aggrandize /uh-GRAN-dayhz/ [verb] to make great or greater: increase, enlarge Her teacher aggrandizes her pride because of too much praises. bore /bawr/ [verb] to make a hole in something using a tool It’s part of her morning routine to bore in her garden. endangered /en-DEYN-jerd/ [adjective] in danger of being harmed, lost, unsuccessful Tony’s health is endangered because of eating too much junk food. enduring /en-DOOR-ing/ [adjective] continuing for a long time; lasting She is known because of her enduring generosity. eradicate /ih-RAD-i-keyt/ [verb] to get rid of or destroy something completely People…
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Intermediate

India is facing a water crisis

2018年9月26日

India is facing a water crisis

Pre-reading questions: How many glasses of water do you drink in a day? Do you know ways on how to conserve water? Please cite them and explain each. Vocabulary: crisis /KRAHY-sis/ [noun] a situation that is extremely difficult The country’s citizens blame the government for the economic crisis. shortage /SHAWR-tij/ [noun] a situation when there is not enough of something There’s a shortage of chairs and school equipment in public schools. widespread /WAHYD-spred/ [adjective] affecting or including a lot of places, people, etc. The newest development on computer gaming was received with widespread interest. estimate /ES-tuh-meyt/ [verb] to guess the cost, size, value, etc. of something We need to estimate…
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Intermediate

Scent check: Japan’s new smell checking device

2018年9月19日

Scent check Japan's new smell checking device

Photo from © Tanita Pre-Reading Questions: Please describe your favorite scent. Do you like wearing perfume? Why or why not? Vocabulary: device /dih-VAHYS/ [noun] a piece of equipment that is used for a particular purpose A pen tablet is an electronic device that can be used for drawing digital art. reveal /ri-VEEL/ [verb] to make known or show something usually secret or hidden She opened the box carefully to reveal the mystery item. odor /OH-der/ [noun] a particular smell The odor of dried roses was so strong we had to cover our noses. assess /uh-SES/ [verb] to make a judgement about the quality, size, or value of something The first…
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Intermediate

Internet connection suspended in Algeria and Iraq

2018年9月12日

Internet connection suspended in Algeria and Iraq

Pre-reading questions: How often do you use the Internet? What do you usually do on the Internet? Vocabulary: social media /SOH-shuhl MEE-dee-uh/ [noun] programs that allow people to communicate using the Internet A lof of fake news can be found on social media sites. suspend /suh-SPEND/ [verb] to stop something from being active He was suspended from the team for missing too many practices. implement /IM-pluh-ment// [verb] to start using a plan or a system The training plan is harder to implement that we thought. arrange /uh-REYNJ/ [verb] to plan or prepare something More people would come if you arrange the events on the weekend. refuse /ri-FYOOZ/ [verb] to say…
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Intermediate

Heathrow’s airport expansion gets the green light

2018年9月5日

Heathrow's airport expansion gets the green light

Pre-Reading Questions: Do you like going to airports? What is your favorite airport so far? Vocabulary: expansion /ik-SPAN-shuhn/ [noun] the increase of something in size, number or importance No one expected that her house expansion will be that big. airfield /air-FEELD/ [noun] a level area where aircraft can take off and land The airfield was too wet which resulted to flight delays.. controversial /kon-truh-VUR-shuhl/ [adjective] causing or likely to cause disagreement The CEO was stressed about the spreading of the controversial report within the company. raze /reyz/ [verb] to destroy a building, structure, etc. completely The mayor is planning to raze the old sports center to build a new one….
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Intermediate

Hello Kitty to cover Western Japan’s Bullet Trains

2018年8月29日

Hello Kitty to cover Western Japans Bullet Train

Pre-Reading Questions: Do you like taking the bullet train? Explain your answer. What do you think about Hello Kitty characters? Vocabulary: region /REE-juhn/ [noun] an area of a country The army has been brought in to maintain order in the region. prefecture /PREE-fek-cher/ [noun] a political region or local government area in some countries Each prefecture is divided into cities, towns and villages. exclusive /ik-SKLOO-siv/ [adjective] limited to only one person or group of people You can watch exclusive video clips and audio clips on our website. on the other hand /on thee uhth-er hand/ [phrase] from a different, conflicting, or contradictory point of view My husband likes classical music….
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Intermediate