Intermediate
READING COMPREHENSION
Embedded Files
Remember to complete your SALC Hours by Nov 30th!
REGISTER SALC HOURS:
Click on the link , read the story and answer the questions.
Click on the link , read the story and answer the questions.
Click on the link , read the story and answer the questions.
Click on the link , read the story and answer the questions.
Click on the link , read the story and answer the questions.
Click on the link , read the story and answer the questions.
Click on the link , read the story and answer the questions.
Click on the link , read the story and answer the questions.
CLICK ON THE LINKS, READ THE PASSAGES AND ANSWER THE EXERCISES.
CLICK ON THE LINKS, READ THE PASSAGES AND ANSWER THE EXERCISES.
Reading Comprehension 17
Reading Comprehension 17
Korean boy band BTS No.1 in US album chart
Korean boy band BTS No.1 in US album chart
A Korean band got to number one in the U.S. album charts for the first time. The band BTS debuted at No. 1 with their new album. They released it album on May 18. It sold 135,000 copies in a week. It is the second top-10 hit for K-pop. The first was also by BTS. The group thanked fans by tweeting: "We will keep doing our best."
A Korean band got to number one in the U.S. album charts for the first time. The band BTS debuted at No. 1 with their new album. They released it album on May 18. It sold 135,000 copies in a week. It is the second top-10 hit for K-pop. The first was also by BTS. The group thanked fans by tweeting: "We will keep doing our best."
BTS started in 2013. They became a big success in Korea, Japan and the USA. They won many new artist awards. They have many followers on social media. They broke the record for the most retweeted artist and the world's most tweeted about celebrities. BTS' new album is in Korean, but they sold out tours in the USA.
BTS started in 2013. They became a big success in Korea, Japan and the USA. They won many new artist awards. They have many followers on social media. They broke the record for the most retweeted artist and the world's most tweeted about celebrities. BTS' new album is in Korean, but they sold out tours in the USA.
Click on the following links to answer exercises related to the passage:
Click on the following links to answer exercises related to the passage:
Reading Comprehension 18
Reading Comprehension 18
No purchase needed to sit in Starbucks cafes
No purchase needed to sit in Starbucks cafes
The cafe chain Starbucks has made a new policy about who can use its cafes. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has announced that anyone can enter a Starbucks cafe in the USA without needing to make a purchase. That means people are free to sit in the cafe or use the restrooms. Mr Schulz has asked all Starbucks staff to treat every person entering the cafe as a customer. He said: "Any person who enters our spaces, including patios, cafes and restrooms, regardless of whether they make a purchase, is considered a customer." This means people can simply use Starbucks to sit down, relax and use the Internet. The new policy applies to more than 8,000 cafes in the United States.
The cafe chain Starbucks has made a new policy about who can use its cafes. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has announced that anyone can enter a Starbucks cafe in the USA without needing to make a purchase. That means people are free to sit in the cafe or use the restrooms. Mr Schulz has asked all Starbucks staff to treat every person entering the cafe as a customer. He said: "Any person who enters our spaces, including patios, cafes and restrooms, regardless of whether they make a purchase, is considered a customer." This means people can simply use Starbucks to sit down, relax and use the Internet. The new policy applies to more than 8,000 cafes in the United States.
The new policy will also make it easier for store managers and baristas to do their job. There have been high-profile cases recently of managers asking real customers to leave a cafe or telling them they cannot use the bathroom. On April 12, two black men were arrested and escorted out of a Philadelphia Starbucks in handcuffs for waiting for a friend to arrive before they ordered. A week later, another black man was told he could not use the bathroom because he hadn't bought anything. He posted a video online of a white man using the bathroom in the same cafe without buying anything first. Mr Schultz said he didn't want to make Starbucks a public bathroom, but the new policy was "the right thing" to do.
The new policy will also make it easier for store managers and baristas to do their job. There have been high-profile cases recently of managers asking real customers to leave a cafe or telling them they cannot use the bathroom. On April 12, two black men were arrested and escorted out of a Philadelphia Starbucks in handcuffs for waiting for a friend to arrive before they ordered. A week later, another black man was told he could not use the bathroom because he hadn't bought anything. He posted a video online of a white man using the bathroom in the same cafe without buying anything first. Mr Schultz said he didn't want to make Starbucks a public bathroom, but the new policy was "the right thing" to do.
Click on the following links to answer exercises related to the passage:
Click on the following links to answer exercises related to the passage:
Reading Comprehension 20
Sleeping Late
A new study says that going to bed late may be bad for our health. It may even shorten our life. The study was carried out in the United Kingdom. Researchers spent six-and-a-half years looking at the lifestyles of 430,000 adults between the ages of 38 and 73. At the end of the study, the researchers compared the deaths of people who went to bed early to those who went to bed late. They found that night owls (people who go to bed late) were 10 per cent more likely to die during the period of the study. The researchers concluded that night owls were at higher risk of an early death than early birds (people who slept early). Night owls were also at a greater risk of poor health compared to early birds.
The researchers said society and working patterns needed to change to reduce the risks of ill health for night owls. Researcher Malcolm van Schantz said: "This is a public health issue that can no longer be ignored." He suggested that night owls should be allowed to start and finish work later in the day so they could sleep longer in the morning. The researchers said that night owls were more likely to suffer from mental problems, diabetes, and stomach and breathing troubles. They were also more likely to smoke, drink alcohol and coffee, and take drugs. Researchers also said different sleeping patterns during the week and at weekends could increase the chances of health problems for night owls.
Click on the following links to answer exercises related to the passage:
Article: Should e-mails open with Dear, Hi or Hey?
Article: Should e-mails open with Dear, Hi or Hey?
It's time people stopped using the word 'Dear…' to start work e-mails. That's according to Giselle Barry, a woman who works in the United States Congress. She surprised lots of people by starting an email to a group of journalists with the words 'Hey, folks.'
Ms Barry thinks 'Dear' is too intimate and makes it sound like you have a personal relationship with the person you are writing to.
It seems she's not alone. E-mail and the internet have changed the rules about how to write. In the past, there was no choice, but now you can see e-mails from people starting with 'hello', 'hi' and even 'hey'.
The American newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, wrote 'Across the internet, the use of 'dear' is going…'
But not everyone is as relaxed about this as Ms Barry. Etiquette expert Jean Broke-Smith says, 'I'm fed up with people writing 'Hi Jean' when they've never met me.'
'If you're sending a business e-mail you should begin 'Dear...' - like a letter. You are presenting yourself. Politeness and etiquette are essential.
How about you? Do you think that the internet has made the language you use less formal? Is that a good or a bad thing? How important is it to be polite?
Note: this article is based on an original story written by James Morgan from BBC News.
So, did you understand the words in bold? Try the definition game to see.
Next
Next
Well done! Understanding vocabulary in context is a very useful skill.
Now try the next activity to see how well you understood the article.
Black Panther
Black Panther
The new superhero movie Black Panther is breaking box office records. It is the highest moneymaking debut ever for a February film. Disney, the movie's maker, estimated that the film has earned over $361 million in its first three days. The opening was the fifth highest-earning film ever. The movie has been helped by great reviews from critics. The movie review site Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 97 per cent rating. It is very rare for any movie to get such a high score. The Los Angeles Times newspaper compared Black Panther to a Star Wars movie. It said "Black Panther fever" took over Los Angeles. It added: "The film opened to the kind of fervor typically reserved for the latest offering in the Star Wars franchise."
Black Panther is the first Marvel superhero movie with an African-American in the title role. It also has a largely black cast and is directed by a black man. Many people of African descent have been showing their pride in the movie by attending movie theatres dressed in traditional African clothes. CNN writer Van Jones said the film was very important. He said: "This film is a godsend that will lift the self-esteem of black children in the US and around the world for a long time." A seventh-grade student who watched the film said: "For people of color, it shows us that we can get through any obstacles that are thrown at us if we work together. We can also help the world by sharing our resources."
Click on the following links to answer exercises related to the passage:
Report abuse