Today's Target: At the end of the session, the participants are expected to be able to express their thoughts objectively about the topic being discussed.


News Proper

1. Loneliness is thought to be rising around the world and how often you see friends and family could have a significant effect on health.

2. Doctors have known for some time that loneliness is bad for the mind. It leads to mental health problems like depression, stress, anxiety, and a lack of confidence.

3. But there's growing evidence that social isolation is connected with an increased risk of physical ill health as well.

4. There are suggestions it can make some diseases both more likely to occur and more likely to be fatal.

5. In 2006, a study of 2,800 women who had breast cancer showed those who saw few friends or family were as much as five times more likely to die of their disease than women with many social contacts.

6. Researchers are trying to figure out what loneliness does to the body which can lead to illness and death.


...continue here


Discussion

1. Are you lonely or happy?

2. What makes people lonely?

3. How to overcome loneliness?

4. Are there benefits from being lonely?

5. Do you agree with the news article today?

Today's Target: At the end of the session, the participants are expected to be able to express their thoughts objectively about each topic being discussed.


We should be allowed to unlock everything we own Kyle Wiens | Wired | 18 March 2013



"We really don’t own our stuff anymore (at least not fully); the manufacturers do. Because modifying modern objects requires access to information: code, service manuals, error codes, and diagnostic tools. Modern cars are part horsepower, part high-powered computer. Silicon permeates and powers almost everything."


Question: Fixing our cars, tractors, and cellphones should have nothing to do with copyright. Agree or disagree?



Bringing them back to life Carl Zimmer | National Geographic | 15 March 2013



"The notion of bringing vanished species back to life – some call it de-extinction – has hovered at the boundary between reality and science fiction for more than two decades." Now it has crossed over into reality. Scientists have cloned a goat and a frog that were previously extinct. Coming soon: mammoths. But probably not dinosaurs.


Question: The revival of an extinct species is no longer a fantasy. But is it a good idea?



China is engineering genius babies Aleks Eror | Vice | 15 March 2013



Genetics firm in southern China buys DNA from "2,000 of the world's smartest people", hoping to find the alleles that determine intelligence. Future parents will fertilise many eggs, then choose the most promising. "Even if it only boosts the average kid by five IQ points, that’s a huge difference in the competitiveness of the country."


Question: What can you say about what China is doing with the DNA? What else is China doing that we aren’t?

Today's Target: At the end of this class, the students are expected to be able to express their personal thoughts about this new law whether they agree or disagree. Also, they are expected to be able to list the advantages and disadvantages of this new law.


A new law has come into force in South Korea that effectively bans the wearing of miniskirts. The controversial piece of legislation is called the "overexposure law" and is an attempt by the government to curb what it views as public indecency. Anyone caught wearing a miniskirt could be fined around $45. It is one of the first laws to be passed by new president Park Geun-hye and has come under considerable criticism. Her father, Park Chung-hee, who led the country between 1963 and 1979, introduced a similar decree on the appropriateness of what Korean women could and couldn't wear. A spokesperson from South Korea's police said the law is more concerned with public nudity than provocative clothing.



Celebrities and politicians are up in arms over the new law. Democratic United Party member Ki Sik Kim wrote on Twitter: "Why does the state interfere with how citizens dress? Park Geun-hye's government gives cause for concern that we are returning to the era when hair length and skirt length were regulated." Many female celebrities have posted photos of themselves in skimpy clothing online to make their feelings against the law known. Short skirts and shorts are extremely popular in South Korea. They are the fashion items of choice for the majority of the country's pop stars. Singer and fashion icon Lee Hyori tweeted: "Is the overexposure fine for real? I'm so dead."



Activity Proper

1. MINISKIRTS: What do you think about wearing or not wearing miniskirts? Would you allow your daughter or sister or girlfriend to wear miniskirts?



2. FASHION POLICE: You are a member of the fashion police. What do you suggest about these laws?

Law about… ----------People have to… ----------People can't…


miniskirts
tattoos
jewellery
underwear
footwear
jeans


3. CLOTHES: Should there be laws about the clothes we wear or should we be secured of our right to wear anything we want to whether we go out or stay home?



4. BANNED: What would you like to ban?

miniskirts
chewing gum
music players in public
children in restaurants
kissing in public
mobile phones in cinemas
drunkenness
other _______________



"Online activities, the mp3 and printable handouts are available for this lesson at http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com"