[World News ★] Tourist bus on fire
[Entertainment ★] Minion attacks
[Sports ★★] Rio Olympics medal predictions
[World News ★★] Lava Goes to the sea
[People ★★] Man Late for His Flight Chases Plane Across Tarmac
[Health ★★★] People who read live longer
[Environment ★★★] At London Bus Stops, a Smog Report
[World News ★★★] Ailing Japanese King says he might abdicate
[Literature ★★★★]
(P1) Bonnefoy was born in 1923 in Tours, in central France, to a railway worker father and a schoolteacher mother.
(P2) In his early career, his work tended towards the surreal but he quickly turned away from this movement and his first classic, the 1953 “Du mouvement et de l’immobilite de Douve” (“On the motion and immobility of Douve”), went against the prevailing contemporary literary trends.
(P3) His writing career extended well into his 80’s and he picked up several literary awards along the way, including the 1987 Goncourt prize for poetry.
(P4) He acquired legions of fans that admired his lack of attachment to a “concept.”
(P5) “What saddens me is to see that our education system does not give poetry the place it deserves,” he told French radio in a recent interview.
(P6) “Everything around us can serve as an inspiration for poetry,” he said, which he saw as “a way of discovering the fundamental meaning of life.”
WORDS: 156
SOURCE: http://www.france24.com/en/20160702-french-poet-yves-bonnefoy-dead-93
VOCABULARY: railway, surreal, prevailing, legions, fundamental
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:
EXPRESSIONS or PHRASES:
What do the following expressions or phrases mean?
Image source: © Hector Guerrero, AFP http://www.france24.com/en/20160702-french-poet-yves-bonnefoy-dead-93
[Food ★★★★]
(P1) Look for asparagus that is freshly picked and has a juicy, firm feel. The ends should not be too white and dry. Asparagus with thicker stalks will naturally snap at the woodiest part of the spear.
(P2) Young asparagus spears are more tender and don’t need to be snapped before cooking. Simmer in a frying pan of boiling salted water. Check to see if the asparagus is cooked by testing with a knife halfway down the spear. When ready, shake off any water and serve immediately with a knob of butter.
(P3) Alternatively, you can blanch your asparagus spears in salted, boiling water for one minute. Remove with tongs and shake off the water. Fry on a hot griddle pan or frying pan in some olive oil until the spears are golden-brown in places. Season with freshly ground black pepper and sea salt flakes.
WORDS: 142
SOURCE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/techniques/how_to_cook_asparagus
VOCABULARY: stalks, snap, woodiest, simmer, knob, blanch, tongs, griddle pan
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:
EXPRESSIONS or PHRASES:
What do the following expressions or phrases mean?
Image source: by “unknown” http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/sites/rodalesorganiclife.com/files/styles/slideshow-desktop/public/images/slideshow2/cook-veggies-griddle-550.jpg?itok=60bn-26G
[World News ★★★]
(P1) Japanese King Akihito, 82, says he wants to step down due to his faltering health. “I am worried that it may become difficult for me to carry out my duties as the symbol of the state with my whole being as I have done until now, “he said in a rare video address to the public on Monday. He did not say exactly when he would abdicate.
(P2) Akihito has been a symbolic ruler for 27 years and his abdication would be unprecedented in modern Japan. His son, Crown Prince Naruhito, 56, is next in line.
(P3) After the statement, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his government would take “seriously” the king’s hint that he might abdicate.
(P4) According to state-run broadcaster NHK, Akihito had heart surgery in 2012 and is now being treated for prostate cancer.
WORDS: 134
SOURCE: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/world/2016/08/182_211393.html
VOCABULARY: step down, faltering, carry out, abdicate, unprecedented, hint, prostate
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:
EXPRESSIONS or PHRASES:
What do the following expressions or phrases mean?
Image source: by “unknown” http://www.japanbullet.com/images/2016/07/foreignmediaakitihojul13.jpg
[Environment ★★★]
(P1) Londoners will soon be able to get air quality reports when they check whether their bus is about to arrive, reports the AP. Mayor Sadiq Khan has ordered that 2,500 bus stop information signs display air quality alerts on high pollution days. Some 140 dot-matrix message boards on roads leading to London will also display the information, along with instructions for drivers to switch off their engines while stuck in traffic to reduce emissions. Electronic update signs at subway stations will also display information on air quality.
(P2) The initiative, which begins Aug. 15, is part of Khan’s crusade to clean up the air in the British capital. After taking office earlier this year, the mayor commissioned a survey showing that nearly 80% of those who responded were interested in receiving pollution data.
WORDS: 132
SOURCE: http://www.newser.com/story/229275/at-london-bus-stops-a-smog-report.html
VOCABULARY: dot-matrix, switch off, emissions, initiative, crusade, commissioned
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:
EXPRESSIONS or PHRASES:
What do the following expressions or phrases mean?
Image source: by Sang Tan http://www.newser.com/story/229275/at-london-bus-stops-a-smog-report.html
[Health ★★★]
(P1) Research from Yale University shows that people who read live longer. Reading for 30 minutes a day could help us. Researchers said reading keeps the mind active, reduces stress, and makes us take better care of our health. The researchers said books help the brain more than newspapers and magazines, but any kind of reading is good. In the study, researchers looked at the lifestyles, reading habits, health, and education of 3,500 men and women over a 12-year period. All of the people were at least 50 years old at the start of the research.
(P2) The study is in a journal. It found that people who read for up to 3.5 hours a week were 17 percent less likely to die than those who read no books. Those who read for over 3.5 hours a week were 23 percent less likely to die. A researcher said: “Older individuals, regardless of gender, health, wealth, or education; showed the survival advantage of reading books.” She added: “Individuals over the age of 65 spend an average of 4.4 hours per day watching television. Efforts to redirect leisure time into reading books could prove to be beneficial.”
WORDS: 195
SOURCE: http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1608/160810-reading-2.html
VOCABULARY: lifestyles, habits, journal, gender, survival, redirect
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:
EXPRESSIONS or PHRASES:
What do the following expressions or phrases mean?
Image source: Alamy https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/aug/08/book-up-for-a-longer-life-readers-die-later-study-finds
[People ★★]
(P1) Look, no one wants to miss their flight, but sometimes you just have to deal with it. The Guardian reports a man was late for his flight from Madrid to the Canary Islands on Friday. Instead of giving up, he ducked out a fire escape and chased a Ryanair plane down the tarmac.
(P2) The whole thing was caught on video and posted on Facebook. Workers stopped the man before catching the plane, which was actually the wrong one. He still somehow managed to get onto his flight, according to CNN. He was arrested upon landing in the Canary Islands.
WORDS: 99
SOURCE: http://www.newser.com/story/229403/video-man-late-for-his-flight-chases-plane-across-tarmac.html
VOCABULARY: giving up, ducked, fire escape, tarmac, catching, somehow, arrested
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:
EXPRESSIONS or PHRASES:
What do the following expressions or phrases mean?
Image source: Facebook https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1577466/incredible-moment-ryanair-passenger-runs-across-tarmac-at-madrid-airport-to-try-and-catch-his-flight/
