Week91

Week91

English 2utor Weekly_Article

[Animals ★] Dog drives a motorbike

[Medical ★] Heimlich maneuver

[World News ★★] EgyptAir Investigators May Have Caught a Break

[Language ★★] How to learn SPEAKING and pronunciation

[Technology ★★★] LG launches 5.7-inch budget handset on global market

[Business ★★★] Kia Motors reports record sales in Latin America

[Health ★★★] What It Means When Moms Go Baby Crazy on Facebook

[World News ★★★] Drowned Baby a Crushing Symbol of Migrant Crisis

[Sports ★★★★] Lionel Messi testifies in tax fraud trial

[World News ★★★★] Swiss Inaugurate $12B Rail Tunnel, World’s Longest

Swiss Inaugurate $12B Rail Tunnel, World’s Longest

English 2utor ★★★★, Weekly_Article

[World News ★★★★]

Switzerland Railway Tunnel

(P1) It runs more than 35 miles underneath the Alps

(P2) Just like Hannibal in ancient times, Swiss engineers have conquered the Alps, the AP reports. European dignitaries on Wednesday inaugurated the 35.4-mile Gotthard Railway Tunnel, the world’s longest railway tunnel and a major engineering achievement deep under the Alps’ snow-capped peaks. It took 17 years to build at a cost of $12 billion, but workers kept to a key Swiss tradition and brought the massive project in on time and within budget. Many tunnels crisscross the Swiss Alps. The Gotthard Pass itself already has two. But the Gotthard base tunnel is a record-setter, eclipsing Japan’s 33.4-mile Seikan Tunnel as the world’s longest, and it also bores deeper than any other tunnel, running about 1.4 miles underground at its maximum depth.

(P3) The Gotthard Railway Tunnel is part of a broader, multi-tunnel project to shift the haulage of goods from roads to rails amid concerns that heavy trucks are destroying Switzerland’s pristine Alpine landscape. The tunnel’s impact will be felt across Europe for decades. The thoroughfare aims to cut travel times, ease roadway traffic, and reduce the air pollution spewed from trucks traveling between Europe’s north and south. Set to open for commercial service in December, the two-way tunnel can handle up to 260 freight trains and 65 passenger trains per day. Switzerland pulled out all the stops for Wednesday’s inauguration. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Francois Hollande of France, and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi all came to southern Switzerland for an upbeat, glitzy celebration featuring musical bands, dancers, and even a theme song for the tunnel.

WORDS: 266

SOURCE: http://www.newser.com/story/226001/swiss-inaugurate-12b-rail-tunnel-worlds-longest.html

VOCABULARY: dignitaries, inaugurated, crisscross, eclipsing, bores, haulage, pristine, thoroughfare, spewed, glitzy

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.

  1. Briefly, summarize the content of the article in your own words.
  2. Are there any mega transportation construction projects happening right now in your country? If so, describe one.
  3. If given the opportunity, would you take a ride on this train? Why or why not?
  4. Describe the public transportation systems used in your country.

READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:

  1. Who else besides the Swiss engineers have conquered the Alps?
  2. How long is the record-breaking tunnel?
  3. It took $12 billion and seventeen years to finish the underground passage. (T or F)
  4. Was the project completed on time and within budget? (Y or N)

EXPRESSIONS or PHRASES:

What do the following expressions or phrases mean?

  • Snow-capped peaks (P2)
  • On budget (P2)
  • Pulled out all the stops (p3)
  • Theme song (P3)

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Image source: by URS FLUEELER/KEYSTONE VIA AP https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2016-06-01/swiss-inaugurate-12-billion-rail-tunnel-worlds-longest

Lionel Messi testifies in tax fraud trial

English 2utor ★★★★, Weekly_Article

[Sports ★★★★]

barcelona-s-argentine

(P1) Soccer’s five-times World Player of the Year Lionel Messi arrived at a court in Barcelona on Thursday to testify against charges of tax evasion.

(P2) A few bypassers applauded the arrival of the Argentina and FC Barcelona player while several people shouted at him, but in contrast to when he appeared at a local court in 2013 to give evidence, there were no Barcelona supporters present.

(P3) Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, entered the court immediately without speaking to reporters.

(P4) The trial began on Tuesday although Messi missed the first and second day, which he was not obliged to attend, citing a back injury sustained in Argentina’s international friendly with Honduras last Friday.

(P5) Lionel and Jorge Horacio Messi are accused by the Spanish tax office of defrauding the government of 4.2 million euros ($4.7 million) between 2007 and 2009.

(P6) They could face jail terms of up to 22 months if found guilty, although it is customary in Spain that offenders of non-violent crime with a sentence of under two years do not serve time in jail.

(P7) The case centers on the player’s image rights and a web of shell companies allegedly used to evade taxes on income from those rights.

(P8) Tuesday’s hearing showed that Spain’s tax office made 20 inspections of Messi during its three-year investigation.

(P9) According to the prosecutors’ office, revenue was hidden using shell companies in Uruguay, Belize, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

(P10) Messi and his father paid five million euros to the tax authorities as a “corrective” measure after being formally investigated in June 2013.

(P11) Spain’s tax office has also begun investigating the finances of Messi’s Barcelona teammates Neymar Jr, Javier Mascherano, and Adriano.

(p12) Mascherano accepted a one-year prison sentence for tax evasion as part of a plea bargain in January, although is not expected to serve time in jail.

(P13) Messi moved to Barcelona from his birthplace of Rosario, Argentina in 2000, becoming a Spanish citizen in 2005.

(P14) He is 10th on Forbes Magazine’s list of the world’s highest-earning athletes over the past decade, with an estimated income of $350 million.

(P15) Messi has scored 453 goals in 531 appearances for Barca in all competitions.

(P16) He has also won eight La Liga titles, four King’s Cups and four Champions League crowns with Barca, leading them to a league and cup double last season.

(P17) Messi is also captain of Argentina and will rejoin the team immediately after his court appearance to prepare for the Copa America in the USA, playing their first game against holders Chile on Jun. 7.

WORDS: 420

SOURCE: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-spain-messi-idUSKCN0YO0W4

VOCABULARY: evasion, bypassers, obliged, defrauding, customary, shell companies, revenue, plea bargain

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.

  1. Briefly, summarize the content of the article in your own words.
  2. Are you a soccer fan? If so, which team/s do you like?
  3. In your opinion, what do you think about people who try to evade paying taxes?
  4. Do you think Messi should serve jail time if found guilty of tax evasion? Why or why not?

READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:

  1. How many times did Messi receive the World Player of the Year award?
  2. Who accompanied Messi to the trial?
  3. Three other Barcelona players are under investigation. Who are they?
  4. Messi is not the captain of the Argentina soccer team. (T or F)

EXPRESSIONS or PHRASES:

What do the following expressions or phrases mean?

  • Corrective measure (P10)

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Image source: © Reuters https://www.investing.com/news/general-news/lionel-messi-testifies-in-tax-fraud-trial-406035

Drowned Baby a Crushing Symbol of Migrant Crisis

English 2utor Weekly_Article

[World News ★★★]

1070180-11-20160531052443

(P1) The figure bobbing in the water looked “like a doll, arms outstretched.” But what German humanitarian organization Sea-Watch pulled from the Mediterranean Sea on Friday was not a doll. “I took hold of the forearm of the baby and pulled the light body protectively into my arms at once,” says a rescuer, who’s seen cradling the baby in a photo that’s quickly becoming a symbol of Europe’s devastating migrant crisis. “It held out its arms with tiny fingers into the air, the sun shone into its bright, friendly but motionless eyes.” The child, it isn’t clear if it was a boy or a girl, was likely less than a year old and was on a boat traveling from Libya to Italy when it capsized, reports Reuters. There were 135 survivors, but at least 44 others died, including two other infants, reports the Sun.

(P2) “I began to sing to comfort myself and to give some kind of expression to this incomprehensible, heartrending moment,” the rescuer, a father of three, adds. The body, photographed by a media company aboard the rescue boat, was then turned over to the Italian navy, along with 25 others Sea-Watch recovered. “It’s always a difficult decision to publish such a picture, but we thought that this material needs to be published because what we see here is the effect of European foreign policy,” a Sea-Watch rep tells Reuters, per CBS News. “The calls by EU politicians to avoid further death at sea sum up to nothing more than lip service,” the group adds. “If we do not want to see such pictures we have to stop producing them.”

WORDS: 272

SOURCE: http://www.newser.com/story/225908/drowned-baby-a-crushing-symbol-of-migrant-crisis.html

VOCABULARY: bobbing, outstretched, forearm, cradling, capsized, incomprehensible, heartrending, effect

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.

  1. Briefly, summarize the content of the article in your own words.
  2. How would you feel if you were the rescuer pulling the baby from the water?
  3. Do you think enough is being done to help the migrants? Why or why not?
  4. In your opinion, what should be done to help the migrants?

READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:

  1. What did the baby resemble?
  2. The child was in the Red Sea. (T or F)
  3. Was the child male or female?
  4. How many children does the rescuer have?

EXPRESSIONS or PHRASES:

What do the following expressions or phrases mean?

  • Held out (P1)
  • Turned over (P2)
  • Sum-up (P2)
  • Lip service (P2)

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Image source: by Christian Buttner/EIKON NORD GMBH GERMANY via AP http://www.newser.com/story/225908/drowned-baby-a-crushing-symbol-of-migrant-crisis.html

What It Means When Moms Go Baby Crazy on Facebook

English 2utor Health, Weekly_Article

[Health ★★★]

1070138-13-20160530155310

(P1) They might be trying to live up to societal expectations

(P2) Baby pictures clogging up your Facebook feed could signal a new mom on a risky search for approval, according to a study of 127 working moms from Ohio. The fact that 98% uploaded photos of their baby to Facebook wasn’t surprising. What interested researchers, however, was that those who posted photos and updates most often felt pressure to be a perfect mom, sought validation, and considered motherhood to be an important part of their identity, reports Mashable. A key indicator was using a baby photo as a profile picture—which almost 80% of study participants did. These women “felt validated when they got a lot of ‘likes’ and comments, but they were also more likely to feel bad and disappointed when the reaction wasn’t what they had hoped,” a researcher explains in a release.

(P3) Sounds pretty harmless, right? Well, those same women were also more likely to experience “elevated levels of depressive symptoms” like restless sleep and a low appetite nine months after giving birth, co-author Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan tells WOSU. That doesn’t mean new moms should steer clear of Facebook, which can help them find advice and support. But if a woman “doesn’t get all the ‘likes’ and positive comments she expects, that could be a problem. She may end up feeling worse,” Schoppe-Sullivan says. Because the study focused on highly educated, working women who were predominantly white and married, the results might not be universal. But Schoppe-Sullivan stresses one point: “It’s great to share stories and pictures of your baby, but relying on Facebook to feel good about your parenting may be risky.”

WORDS: 274

SOURCE: http://www.newser.com/story/225879/what-it-means-when-moms-go-baby-crazy-on-facebook.html

VOCABULARY: societal, clogging, validation, indicator, harmless, depressive, predominately

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.

  1. Briefly, summarize the content of the article in your own words.
  2. Do you use Facebook? Why or why not?
  3. The results of the research say this problem may not be universal. Do you think it’s universal or not? Why?
  4. Do you think people use social media for attention? Why or why not?

READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:

  1. How many women were a part of the research in Ohio?
  2. Women in this study did not feel pressure to be a faultless mom. (T or F)
  3. The study suggested that the new moms probably had a higher level of what symptom?
  4. In the study, if the women didn’t get lots of likes and comments, she still felt good about herself. (T or F)

EXPRESSIONS or PHRASES:

What do the following expressions or phrases mean?

  • Live up to (P1)
  • Steer clear (p3)
  • End up (P3)

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Image source: by “unknown” Facebook – Shutterstock https://www.shutterstock.com/search/mom+laptop?language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=271296596&image_type=images&safe=true

Kia Motors reports record sales in Latin America

English 2utor Business, Weekly_Article

[Business ★★★]

k2016051600200-800

(P1) Kia Motors, South Korea’s second-largest automaker, posted record sales in Latin America this year, whose growth surpassed that of the Middle East and Eastern Europe, which are grappling with the economic slowdown, its report showed Tuesday.

(P2) A total of 57,495 Kia cars were sold in Central and South American countries in the first four months of this year, surging 27.8 percent from a year ago, its investor relations report said.

(P3) Its average monthly sales in the region first passed 10,000 in 2010, and rose to 14,374 this year, the firm said.Kia has fast expanded its presence in Mexico since entering the market in July 2015. It ranked 11th in the first month and has broken sales records every month to become the No. 8 auto brand in Mexico.

(P4) Kia has fast expanded its presence in Mexico since entering the market in July 2015. It ranked 11th in the first month and has broken sales records every month to become the No. 8 auto brand in Mexico.

(P5) The robust performance is in stark contrast with the Middle East and Eastern Europe where sales dips have been seen in the wake of the economic slowdown stemming from low oil prices.

(P6) Sales in the Middle East tumbled 24.2 percent on-year to 49,436 units in the January-April period, and those in Eastern Europe also fell 10.9 percent to 28,813 during the period, the smaller affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co. said.

(P7) The Korean firm expected a new factory in Mexico that began production earlier this month will further boost sales in the region.

(P8) “About 40 percent of 10,000 K3 sedans to be produced at the Mexican factory will be sold in Latin America, which will further boost sales in the region,” a company official said.

WORDS: 253

SOURCE: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2016/06/388_205915.html

VOCABULARY: surpassed, grappling, surging, robust, stark, wake, affiliate, boost

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.

  1. Briefly, summarize the content of the article in your own words.
  2. Which automaker sales the most cars in your country? Why do you think so?
  3. Would you buy a Kia automobile? Why or why not?
  4. Do you prefer to buy an old or new car? Why?

READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:

  1. Kia is the number 1 car maker in South Korea. (T or F)
  2. How many cars did Kia sell in Latin America between January and April of 2016?
  3. Which to areas of the world did Kia see a decrease in sales?
  4. What percent of the Kia K3 sedans will be produced in the new Mexican manufacturing facility?

EXPRESSIONS or PHRASES:

What do the following expressions or phrases mean?

  • Record sales (P1)
  • Investor relations (p2)
  • Sales dips (P5)

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Image source: by “unknown” Kia Motors’ K3 sedan http://res.heraldm.com/content/image/2016/08/24/20160824000898_0.jpg

How to learn SPEAKING and pronunciation

English 2utor Language, Weekly_Article

[Language ★★]

speaking

  1. Talk to yourself
    Talk about anything and everything. Do it in the privacy of your own home. If you can’t do this at first, try reading out loud until you feel comfortable hearing your own voice in English.
  2. Record your own voice
    This might feel very uncomfortable, but it will help you find your weak pronunciation points. Listen to yourself a few days later. Which sounds do you have difficulty hearing?
  3. Use the telephone using English
  4. Participate in class – don’t be shy
  5. Learn common idioms
  6. Understand the sounds that your language doesn’t have
    For example, many languages don’t have the “r” sound. These sounds require extra practice.
  7. Recognize that teachers are trained to understand you
    When you get out into the real world, average people will have a more difficult time understanding you unless you practice speaking slowly and with proper pronunciation.
  8. Practice minimal pairs
  9. Study word and sentence stress
  10. Practice tongue-twisters
  11. Learn common phrasal verbs 

WORDS: 167

SOURCE: https://www.englishclub.com/learn-english/how.htm

VOCABULARY: privacy, uncomfortable, idioms, minimal pairs, tongue-twisters, phrasal verbs

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.

  1. Briefly, summarize the content of the article in your own words.
  2. Do you like to record your voice? Why or why not?
  3. Are you a shy person? Why or why not?
  4. Are there tongue-twisters in your native language? If so, when did you learn them?

READING COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:

  1. You shouldn’t practice talking to yourself to improve your speaking. (T or F)
  2. How many tips does the article give to help improve speaking and pronunciation?
  3. The general native English speaker will have a more difficult time understanding an English learner. (T or F)
  4. You don’t have to learn verb phrases to speak better. (T or F)

EXPRESSIONS or PHRASES:

What do the following phrasal verbs mean?

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Image source: by “unknown” https://i1.wp.com/s8.postimg.org/72frylo2d/pronunciation_5.png?resize=350%2C200