Intermediate

Children’s love in a truck

2017年1月16日

  Pre-reading questions: How can a child express his love for his/her parents? Have you ever cheered for your parents before they go to work? Can a drawing cheer anyone up? Why?   A decorated truck has been launched by a transportation company in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture. The project is to provide emotional support for drivers and to avoid misfortune while on the road. At first, the management has thought upgrading driving equipment would be inadequate to avoid accidents. Now, they have found out that it’s important for drivers and the people they love to find peace while drivers are at work. This project is supported by 15 transportation companies…
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Intermediate

Experts urge malnutrition be cured to prevent health catastrophe

2017年1月13日

  Pre-reading questions: Do you always eat healthy food? What unhealthy food do you enjoy eating? Which kind of food do you enjoy more: healthy food or unhealthy food?   Malnutrition is considered among undernourished and obese people. A third of the world’s population is now affected by the problem. People who have unhealthy diet and lack regular exercise are also at risk. Middle income countries have increasing numbers of malnourished patients. Experts say that governments must take action to prevent it from becoming worst. Nutrition is a public issue and state responsibility. Governments should give more monetary assistance to grow healthy food. Agricultural research must focus on nutritious products….
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Intermediate

Panda twins in Atlanta zoo get names

2017年1月12日

  Pre-reading questions: How often do you visit the zoo? What is your favorite zoo animal? Where is the nearest zoo in your place?   ZOO ATLANTA – The newest super stars in the said zoo gained their names last Monday, December 12, 2016 . A naming ceremony for the cubs revealed that they would be called Ya Lun and Xi Lun. Ya means “elegant” and Xi means “happy” while Lun is derived from their mother, Lun Lun. Their names were decided thru public votes from seven pairs of names prepared by the zoo’s panda conservation partners in China. Marking their 100 days, CEO Raymond King expresses high hopes for…
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Intermediate

Schools for young offenders instead of jails

2017年1月10日

Pre-reading questions: What is the legal age in your country? Why do you think people younger than the legal age commit crimes? Justice Secretary Liz Truss unveils her plan to hold some youth offenders to schools rather than youth jails. This plan is part of the government’s efforts to prioritize education to rehabilitate and reduce re-offending. Truss said she will commit an additional £15 million a year for this project. Two schools will be launched where youth offenders will study core subjects such as English and Math. Youth offenders will also have access to work training and internship programs to make them productive upon release. These plans are part of…
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Intermediate

New York SantaCon

2017年1月6日

Pre-reading questions: How do you celebrate Christmas? What are the most popular Christmas food and drinks in your country? How is Christmas celebrated in your country? A Christmas fundraiser event invited all alcohol-loving people to SantaCon. SantaCon is an annual Christmas bar crawl. The organizers say SantaCon celebrates Christmas traditions of festive dress and good cheer. It also raises tens of thousands of dollars for charity. The said event took place last December 10. The annual bar crawl was held in 380 cities across the US and in 51 countries all over the world. In New York, the bar crawl started at 23rd street Broadway Pedestrian Plaza, The Flatiron Building….
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Intermediate

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

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

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

A winter deer-calling event

2016年12月23日

Pre-reading questions: Do you enjoy going out in the cold? Where do you usually go every winter? Have you ever witnessed a deer calling event?   Shikayose or deer-calling is a winter affair in Nara. This event takes place at 10:00 in the morning every day, this year from November 29 to December 14. During the every day event, a man blows a horn to draw deer out of the forest. The deer are then fed acorns. Visitors can play with deer, pet them or take pictures with them. The Shikayose affair lasts for about half an hour. After that, most of the deer leave, and go back to the…
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Intermediate

Japan broadcasters to air in advanced TV formats

2016年12月22日

  Pre-reading questions: What is your favorite TV program? What is the model of your TV set? Do you watch TV every day?   Development of higher TV formats is rising in Japan. Japan has just started testing to broadcast in the new format. Private broadcasters and TV companies have high expectations for the broadcasting formats with higher resolution such as 4K and 8K. Companies are also into accelerating their development projects. Electronic companies are signing up to change their formats to 4K and 8K. The 4k format is times higher than the normal format while the 8K format is sixteen times better. This technology is anticipated by most. However,…
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Intermediate