Reading comprehension

UPPER INTERMEDIATE AND UP

Read the following  text about chocolate and then answer TRUE (t) or FALSE (f) or NOT STATED (ns) according to the text. 

11 Fun Facts about Chocolate

Chocolate can be bittersweet, and we don’t mean literally. Although chocolate has many benefits to your health, some facts about how chocolate is made may make you want to munch on a different snack, or at least lower your chocolate intake.

 1. Dark chocolate has more cacao (the beans that chocolate are made from) and less sugar than other chocolates, so it is considered healthier than milk and white chocolate.

1. 2. Dark chocolate contains lots of antioxidants that help the cardiovascular system by reducing blood pressure
2. 3. Eating dark chocolate widens arteries and promotes healthy blood flow that can prevent the buildup of plaque that can block arteries.
3. 4. Eating dark chocolate every day reduces the risk of heart disease by one third.
4. 5. Flavonoids found in cocoa products have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-clotting effects that can reduce the risk of diabetes by improving insulin sensitivity.
5. 6. The smell of chocolate increases theta brain waves, which trigger relaxation.
6. 7. Chocolate can cause headaches and is not recommended in large doses for people who suffer from migraines or chronic headaches.
7. 8. Because chocolate contains high doses of caffeine and sugar, chocolate products are largely to blame for ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) in children.
8. 9. In the U.S., most consumer chocolate comes from cocoa farms. Unfortunately, many cocoa farms have unsafe working conditions, unfair labor wages, and child labor trafficking.
9. 10 According to research by Tulane University in 2010, 1.8 million children ages 5 to 17 were forced laborers on cocoa farms across the Ivory Coast and Ghana. 40 percent of these children were not enrolled in school and only 5 percent of them were paid to work. UNICEF projects that 35,000 of these children are victims of trafficking.
10. 11. Fair Trade Certified chocolate says that no forced abusive child labor is used, but Fair Trade chocolate represents less than 1 percent of the $66 billion chocolate market.
11. via

Questions

1. All in all, chocolate proves to be healthier than counterproductive.
2. It is said that chocolate can trigger disruptive and uncontrolled behavior in kids.
3. Few under-aged people take part in the production process of chocolate.
4. Cocoa farms are the main cause of child labor in Africa.

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UPPER INTERMEDIATE AND UP

Read the following article and discuss the questions below or write a 200-word paragraph answering the questions.

10 mispronunciations that make you look stupid

Previously, TechRepublic ran an article about10 grammar mistakes that make you look stupid. The examples cited involved the misuse of words in written and verbal communications. I’d like to go a step farther here and talk about words that may be used correctly but are pronounced wrong. They also may be much more flagrant examples of stupidity.

A caveat: My ear may be abnormally sensitive to mispronunciations since in college I developed an unnatural affinity for linguistics (can you say “Get a life?”). However, people often make snap decisions about character and intelligence based on their language biases, so it’s something you should be aware of. Here are some of my pet peeves, which you may or may not ever use in your life.

Note: This article originally appeared in our Career Management blog.

#1: Realtor

Many people — I’ve even heard it from people on national TV — pronounce this word REAL-uh-ter. Is this a case of wide-spread dyslexia, transposing the a and the l? It’s REAL-tor. That’s it. You’d think only two syllables would be easier to pronounce, but apparently not.

#2: Nuclear

Do you know how tough it is to be an advocate for the correct pronunciation of this word (NU-clee-er) when the president of the United States pronounces it NU-cu-lar? I don’t buy that it’s a regional thing. Ya’ll is a regional thing; nu-cu-lar is not.

#3: Jewelry

It’s not JOO-la-ree, it’s JOOL-ree. Again with the making things harder by turning a word into three syllables. What’s with that?

#4: Supposedly/supposably

The latter is a nonexistent word.

#5: Supposed to/suppose to

I think this one is more a matter of a lazy tongue than of ignorance. It takes an extra beat in there to emphasize the d at the end, but it’s worth it. And never omit the d if you’re using the term in a written communication or people will think you were raised in a hollowed-out tree trunk somewhere.

#6: Used to/use to

Same as above.

#7: Anyway/anyways

There’s no s at the end. I swear. Look it up.

#8: February/Febuary

As much as it galls me, there is an r between the b and the u. When you pronounce the word correctly it should sound like you’re trying to talk with a mouthful of marbles — FEB broo ary.

#9: Recur/reoccur

Though the latter is tempting, it’s not a word. And again, why add another syllable if you don’t need it?

#10: Mischievous/mischievious

I know, I know, it sounds so Basil Rathbone to say MIS cha vous, but that’s the right way. Mis CHEE vee us is more commonly used, but it’s wrong.

And last but not least, my personal all-time pet peeve — the word often. It should be pronounced OFF un, not OFF tun. The t is silent.

Note: This article originally appeared in our Career Management blog via

The editor of the magazine Nü Thinking is asking his readers to comment if they've had or met someone who's made these mistakes; if they have a mispronunciation that resists to die out and is, in their native language, they have examples of common mispronunciations and how they can be corrected. 

Remember to write your answer using the correct style and divide your text in paragraphs.