Intermediate

Thailand’s tallest building lets tourists walk on frightening glass floor

Pre-reading Questions Answer the following questions about the topic. Please explain your answer. Do you like trying extreme activities? Why? Why not? What things or situations are you afraid of? Article Reading Read the passage and take note of the highlighted words in the Vocabulary Guide. A terrifying experience awaits tourists in Bangkok. Situated at the top of King Power Mahanakhon, Thailand’s tallest completed building, is the new Mahanakhon SkyWalk. It offers a thrilling walk on a large glass floor that makes people afraid yet excited. The Mahanakhon Skywalk has an indoor deck where people who are too terrified to walk on the glass can have a 360-degree view of…
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First woman to qualify as a fighter jet pilot in Japan

Fighter jet woman Japan

Pre-reading questions: What are your thoughts about a female pilot? Do you like traveling by airplane? Why or why not? Vocabulary: successful /suhk-SES-fuhl/ [adjective] having achieved a lot, become popular, and/or made a lot of money My classmate in college is now a successful career woman. overcome /oh-ver-KUHM/ [verb] to defeat or succeed in controlling or dealing with something I want you to overcome your problem in your research study. path /path/ [noun] a set of actions, especially ones that lead to a goal or result The path to a successful life is to stay humble. assign /uh-SAYN/ [verb] to give a particular job or piece of work to someone…
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Families from South and North Korea meet after decades

Families from South and North Korea finally met

Pre-reading questions: Do you want to visit Korea? Why or why not? What is your opinion about the conflict between North and South Korea? Vocabulary: separation /sep-uh-REY-shuhn/ [noun] a situation in which two or more people or things are separated Separation is the time of high emotional stress. embrace /em-BREYS/ [verb] to hold someone close to you with your arms to express affection She greeted her daughter and embraced her tightly. reminisce /rem-uh-NIS/ [verb] to talk or write about past experiences that you remember She likes to reminisce about her years in high school. get-together /GET-tuh-geth-er/ [noun] a gathering of people, esp. for enjoyment She attended a family get-together last…
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Greenland’s giant iceberg threatens fishing community

Greenland's giant iceberg threatens fishing community

Pre-reading questions: Do you want to go to Greenland? Why or why not? Do you want to see an icerberg? Why? Vocabulary: huge /hyooj/ [adjective] extremely large in size or amount There was huge animal wandering on the road. community /kuh-MYOO-ni-tee/ [noun] the people living in one particular area All my relatives are living in one community. rise /rahyz/ [verb] to move up The price of the painting rises as it gets older. cause /kawz/ [noun] the reason why something happens Bacteria is one of the causes of human diseases. declare /dih-KLAIR/ [verb] to announce something publicly or officially The school declared suspension of classes because of the heavy rain….
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Too much body weight may cause depression

Pre-reading Questions Answer the following questions about the topic. Please explain your answer. What do you think is the ideal body weight? How does too much body weight affect a person’s life? Article Reading Read the passage and take note of the highlighted words in the vocabulary guide. According to the researchers of International Journal of Epidemiology, people with high body mass index are at higher risk of developing depression. Researchers of this study were able to gather hospital and personal data from 500,000 participants from year 2006 to 2010 with ages 37 to 73 and results show that there are 49,000 participants who have depression with high BMI.  …
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“Hiroshima – The Last Rose of Summer” to air in 2020

Hiroshima

Pre-reading questions: What kind of movies do you like to watch? Why? Do you think Japanese history is interesting? Why or why not? Vocabulary: production /proh-DUHK-shuhn/ [noun] a movie, television program, play, or other entertainment Samuel wants to be part of the new movie production team. aim /eym/ [verb] to plan Our team aims to finish the report by Friday. currently /KUR-uhnt-lee/ [adverb] at the present time My sister is currently in the hospital so she can’t come to the party. hostage /HOS-tij/ [noun] someone who is taken as a prisoner by an enemy Some of the hostages in our city are now free. well-known /wel-NOHN/ [adjective] popular or known…
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Sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of stroke

Sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of stroke

Pre-reading questions: What is your daily routine? How many hours in a day do you spend on your phone? Vocabulary: aggrandize /uh-GRAN-dahyz/ [verb] to make great or greater Her goal for this year is to aggrandize her business. descend /dih-SEND/ [verb] to go down or come down The percentage of people who get a virus descends from 20% to 15%. hypertension /hahy-per-TEN-shuhn/ [noun] a medical condition in which your blood pressure is extremely high Eating too much fatty food can cause hypertension. gaze /geyz/ [verb] to look at something or someone for a long time Beth spends 2 hours gazing at the computer. adjure /uh-JOOR/ [verb] to ask or order…
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Ikee Rikako wins the MVP award in Asian Games

asiangames

Pre-reading questions: Do you like watching sports? Why or why not? What kind of award do you want to receive in the future? Vocabulary: award /uh-WAWRD/ [noun] a prize or a sum of money that a person or organization is given for an achievement The president gave the award to the best employee of the year. athlete /ATH-leet// [noun] a person who is very good at sports or physical exercise, especially one who competes in organized events The game was ended abruptly because the athlete was injured. jubilant /JOO-buh-luhnt/ [adjective] feeling or showing great happiness, especially because of a success The student was jubilant when they saw the result of…
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Ant-Man and the Wasp on becoming the box-office movie of the year

Ant-Man and the Wasp on becoming the box-office movie of the year

Photo from © IMDB.com via IMDB.com Pre-Reading Questions: Are you a fan of Marvel movies? Why or why not? Who is your favorite Marvel superhero? Why? Vocabulary: plot /plot/ [noun] main story of a film or play The movie plot is nominated for the best story this year. method /METH-uhd/ [noun] a particular way of doing something Your method of fixing the files is working. value /VAL-yoo/ [noun] the amount of money that can be received for something The value of her jewelries are $50,000. income /IN-kuhm/ [noun] money that is earned from doing work or investments Jane is paying 15% of her income tax. massive /MAS-iv/ [adjective] very large…
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Starbucks on disposing plastic straws

Starbucks on disposing plastic straws

Pre-reading questions: How often do you drink coffee? Please specify your answer. Do you use recyclable materials? Why or why not? Vocabulary: ban /ban/ [verb] an official order that prevents something from happening He is banned from entering in this building. species /SPEE-sheez/ [noun] a set of animals or plants in which the members have similar characteristics to each other and Hundred of endangared species are in the ocean. replace /ri-PLEYS/ [verb] to start using another thing or person instead of the one that you are using now I had to replace my camera because I broke it last week. recyclable /ree-SAHY-kluh-buhl/ [adjective] to process waste materials so that it…
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