Category Archives: • Short, High-Interest Articles for Extensive Reading

• Short, High-Interest Articles for Extensive Reading: #15: “Wanting To Stop Unhealthy Habits”

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(This posting includes a handout LINK AT THE END OF THIS POST which you are welcome to use with your students.) *

                                      Wanting To Stop Unhealthy Habits

Jena and Daniel had similar problems. They both had habits that were bad for their health, and they couldn’t stop. Jena ate too much junk food, like chips, candy, and cupcakes. Daniel smoked cigarettes. They both had cravings, which means they wanted something very much and couldn’t stop thinking about it. They tried different ways to quit for many years, but they finally found a new method. Research shows that this method is more effective than others, and thousands of people have used it to stop their unhealthy habits.

Other methods didn’t work.                (See complete article below.)

For background information about these articles and for suggestions for how to use them with your students, see  • Introducing “Short, High-Interest Readings”  Also, I’ll be adding more of these articles in the right-hand column: ESL Reading> Short, High Interest Articles for Extensive Readings

Here is the 15th article. You can download the article for your students by clicking on the link at the end. Also included are three optional exercises: True-False Questions; Paraphrasing Exercise; Reflection Exercise.

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• Short, High-Interest Articles for Extensive Reading: # 14: “Why It’s Hard to Apologize”

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(This posting includes a handout LINK AT THE END OF THIS POST which you are welcome to use with your students.) *

Last week, Emily took her driver’s test but failed. At dinner, she told her family but asked them all to promise not to tell anyone because she felt embarrassed. Yesterday, a friend, Jay, said to her, “Your sister, Kara, told me that you failed your driver’s test. Are you going to take it again?” That afternoon at home, Emily was upset and told Kara, “Kara, I asked you not to tell anyone one about my test, but Jay said that you told him.” At that moment, Kara knew she should say sorry, but she didn’t want to. There is a common saying, “Three of the most difficult words for people to say are, ‘I am sorry.’”

(See complete article below.)

For background information about these articles and for suggestions for how to use them with your students, see  • Introducing “Short, High-Interest Readings”  Also, I’ll be adding more of these articles in the right-hand column: ESL Reading> Short, High Interest Articles for Extensive Readings

Here is the 13th article. You can download the article for your students by clicking on the link at the end. Also included are three optional exercises: True-False Questions; Paraphrasing Exercise; Reflection Exercise.

Continue reading →

• Short, High-Interest Articles for Extensive Reading: # 13: “The Types of People Who Drive Loud Cars And Motorcycles That Bother Other People”

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(This posting includes a handout LINK AT THE END OF THIS POST which you are welcome to use with your students.) *

You and a friend are sitting in an outdoor café next to a street lined with stores and shops. Suddenly, you can’t hear your friend because a car with a loud muffler drives past. After a minute, you are able to continue your conversation. However, five minutes later, a loud motorcycle stops next to the café waiting for the traffic light to change. While waiting, the driver revs his motor. In other words, he makes his motorcycle sound loud without moving it. You and your friend finally decide to move inside the café to escape the noise.

Researchers have conducted studies to try to understand the reasons why some people want their cars or motorcycles to be so loud. They found four different reasons. Most of these noisy drivers are young men between 18-35 years old. Perhaps they haven’t been very successful in school or sports or in a job or in dating, so nobody notices them. Loud vehicles can change that.

(See complete article below.)

For background information about these articles and for suggestions for how to use them with your students, see  • Introducing “Short, High-Interest Readings”  Also, I’ll be adding more of these articles in the right-hand column: ESL Reading> Short, High Interest Articles for Extensive Readings

Here is the 13th article. You can download the article for your students by clicking on the link at the end. Also included are three optional exercises: True-False Questions; Paraphrasing Exercise; Reflection Exercise.

Continue reading →

• Short, High-Interest Articles for Extensive Reading: # 12: The Scariest Sound To Wild Animals: People Not Lions

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(This posting includes a handout LINK AT THE END OF THIS POST which you are welcome to use with your students.) *

The video shows a leopard chasing and then catching a gazelle. The leopard then starts to drag the body next to a small pond. Just as it starts to eat, it hears a man’s soft voice talking about a book he had just read. The leopard stops eating, looks to the area that the voice came from for a moment, then jumps up and runs away, leaving its dinner behind.

The man’s voice was a recording playing from a speaker set up near the pond. Researchers had put the device there as part of their study to learn how scary human sounds were to wild animals compared to other sounds. (See complete article below.)

For background information about these articles and for suggestions for how to use them with your students, see  • Introducing “Short, High-Interest Readings”  Also, I’ll be adding more of these articles in the right-hand column: ESL Reading> Short, High Interest Articles for Extensive Readings

Here is the eleventh article. You can download the article for your students by clicking on the link at the end. Also included are three optional exercises: True-False Questions; Paraphrasing Exercise; Reflection Exercise.

Continue reading →