EnglishClub

Pre-listening vocabulary

• effort: hard work to achieve a result
• union: a group of workers that have come together to protect their own rights
• strike: a type of protest where people refuse to work
• negotiate: to try to come to an agreement about something
• advocate: to show support for something
• parade: a celebratory march

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:34 — 1.4MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. May Day is celebrated
   a. only in the United States
   b. in Canada and the United States
   c. around the world
   
2. Workers on strike during the Industrial Revolution were mostly advocating for
   a. more national holidays
   b. an eight-hour workday
   c. more job opportunities
   
3. The general strike that inspired May Day took place in
   a. Chicago
   b. Toronto
   c. London

Discussion/essay questions

1. Many of the unions that inspired May Day and Labour Day were organizing illegally. Today, unions are protected by law in many places. What do people think about unions where you live? Why might a country make unions illegal?

Transcript

In many countries around the world, a celebration of workers’ rights takes place on May 1st. This is called May Day, and it recognizes the efforts of unions to improve the working conditions of the Industrial Revolution. During that time, many people worked ten or more hours every day, and their work environments involved high risks of disease and injury. Workers organized strikes to negotiate an eight-hour workday. The general strike that led to May Day actually took place in Chicago in 1886. However, the United States and Canada celebrate a different holiday, called Labour Day, on the first Monday of September. This day originates from a union of Toronto print workers, who held parades and protests to advocate for labour rights. It became a national holiday in both countries in 1894.

Answers to comprehension questions

1c 2b 3a

Pre-listening vocabulary

• dystopian: describing a corrupt or oppressive society
• fertile: capable of having children
• protagonist: the main character of a story
• adaptation: a retelling of a story in a different form
• reproductive: relating to the concept of having children
• sequel: a book that comes after another book

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:07 — 1.0MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Comprehension questions

See answers below

1. The country that The Handmaid’s Tale is set in is
   a. Canada
   b. the United States
   c. Gilead
   
2. In the story, the role of Handmaids is to
   a. clean and cook
   b. have children
   c. raise children
   
3. The year that book sales rose by 200 percent was
   a. 1985
   b. 2017
   c. 2019

Discussion/essay questions

1. What do you think the purpose of dystopian fiction is? 

Transcript

The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian novel written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It was first published in 1985. The story is set in a fictional country called Gilead, which was once the United States. Gilead is run by a religious government that forces fertile women, known as Handmaids, to have children for powerful men. The protagonist, Offred, is one of these women. The Handmaid’s Tale got a TV adaptation in 2017, the same year that sales of the book rose by 200 percent. It has become an important symbol in reproductive rights movements, especially in North America. In 2019, Atwood published a sequel called The Testaments.

Answers to comprehension questions

1c 2b 3b

Pre-listening vocabulary

• diabetes: a disease that causes people to have very high blood sugar levels
• treatment: a process that helps a person with a disease
• diet: a selection of food that is recommended for someone to eat
• pancreas: a particular organ in the body
• hormone: a chemical that affects the way the body works
• regulate: to control the amount of something

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:22 — 1.3MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Comprehension questions

Discussion/essay questions

1. What is a medical discovery that you hope will happen in the near future?

Transcript

Diabetes is a very treatable disease today. But historically, people with diabetes did not live very long. For many years, the best treatment that doctors could offer was a diet low in sugar. In 1921, a Canadian doctor named Frederick Banting started to experiment with the cells in a dog’s pancreas. He believed that the pancreas was the organ that controlled blood sugar. Banting did his research at the University of Toronto with two other scientists named Charles Best and James Collip. During their research, they found the hormone that the body uses to regulate blood sugar levels. They used this hormone to create a treatment for diabetes, which we now call insulin. In 1923, Banting won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• host: to present a show or event
• game show: a show where people compete for money or prizes
• contestant: a person who participates in a competition
• reporter: a person who writes or broadcasts for a news company
• producer: a person who manages a movie or show
• hire: to choose someone for a job

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:19 — 1.8MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Comprehension questions

Discussion/essay questions

1. Jeopardy! was an extremely successful show, winning multiple awards and inspiring adaptations around the world. What do you think made the show so special?

Transcript

Alex Trebek was a Canadian-American television personality. He was known for hosting the popular game show Jeopardy!, a show where contestants receive a clue, and guess a question that the clue would answer.  Trebek was born in Sudbury, Ontario in 1940. At age 12, he moved to Ottawa, Ontario to go to boarding school, and later university. Before moving to the United States to find a job as a game show host, Trebek worked as a news reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Trebek hosted a few smaller game shows until 1984, when Jeopardy! producers hired him to be the host of their show. Jeopardy! was an instant success, and the show currently holds a world record for the most game show episodes ever produced. Trebek worked as the host of Jeopardy! from 1984 until his death in 2020, at age 80.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• classify: to put something into a certain category
• fictional: created for the purpose of a story; not real
• adopt: to take in and raise someone else’s child
• imaginative: creative; having a big imagination
• orphan: a child whose parents have died
• inspire: to influence the creation of something

Listening activity

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:32 — 1.4MB)

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Gapfill exercise

Comprehension questions

Discussion/essay questions

1. Anne Shirley has been called “the dearest, most moving and delightful child since the immortal Alice” by author Mark Twain. If you’ve read “Anne of Green Gables”, what do you think makes Anne so lovable?

Transcript

Anne of Green Gables is a classic novel written by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. The novel was published in 1908, and is classified as children’s literature, though it is enjoyed by people of all ages. The story is set on a farm in the fictional town of Avonlea, where siblings Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert live. The siblings are hoping to adopt a young boy to help them out on the farm. Instead, they are given an imaginative orphan girl named Anne Shirley, who has never had a real home. After learning how Anne grew up, Matthew and Marilla feel sorry for her and decide to keep her. The story continues to follow Anne as she gets older and forms friendships with other children in Avonlea. The book has sold over 50 million copies and has been translated into 36 languages. After writing Anne of Green Gables, Montgomery published seven additional books about Anne’s life. These novels have inspired several film and television adaptations, and Anne’s story is still loved by children and adults alike.