VIP Class Notes (Celeste) [R]

Next Class Focus

Read articles from Breaking News English to read about relevant, interesting topics and focus on pronunciation. 

Reading

Japan’s $3,000 wagyu beef bento lunch box

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1801/180108-wagyu-bento-box.html

The bento is a very common part of Japanese cuisine. It is a ready-made meal in a box for one person. People buy it from convenience stores and railway stations. Japanese mothers and wives often spend a lot of time carefully preparing a bento lunch box for their husband or children. Bentos are usually cheap and contain a healthy mix of rice or noodles, fish or meat, and pickled and cooked vegetables. Now, a new bento is on the market that does not match our traditional image of this lunch box. The new bento is from Tottori and contains only premium cuts of the country’s highest-quality wagyu beef. It is a little more expensive than the average 600 yen for a bento, as it costs 292,929 yen ($3,000).

Tottori is in the west of Japan’s Honshu island. Its wagyu beef was recently rated as the best in all of Japan. It is also very expensive. The new Tottori Wagyu Complete Cow bento box contains 4.5kg of beef, Tottori-grown rice and wasabi, and a special dipping sauce flavored with Tottori’s famous pears, but no vegetables. The actual bento box is also more expensive than normal bento boxes. It is 60 centimeters long and is made from wood instead of plastic. The compartments in the box are in the shape of a cow. In Japan, you can buy the beefy bento online from the bento delivery service Gochikuru. However, you may have to wait two weeks for the company to prepare your meaty lunch.

Pronunciation

cuisine ( kwi zeen )

vegetables ( veg tuh bulls )

two hundred ninety-two

would / wood  / good / could / should

Reading

Online deliveries clogging up city streets

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1801/180106-online-deliveries.html

The huge surge in the popularity of online shopping is creating chaos on the streets of our cities and on our road networks. As the number of online deliveries is skyrocketing, the number of delivery trucks making sure we get our parcels has also increased. The result is that hundreds more trucks are clogging up city streets. This is increasing congestion and adding to levels of pollution. There are literally hundreds more delivery trucks in cities around the world all trying to get parcels delivered on time. Delivery drivers are battling for often non-existent parking spaces. Many are forced to park illegally, or double park, adding to the gridlock for other road users. And the problem is set to intensify.

The BBC reports that the volume of parcel deliveries surged by almost 50 per cent between 2014 and 2016. It said this could continue to increase by up to 28 per cent a year over the next three years. Many cities have taken tough measures to counteract the problems associated with the increasing number of deliveries. Many cities in Europe and Asia have barred deliveries during times when roads are busiest. London is looking at the possibility of using buses for parcel deliveries. Some areas of London are also cracking down on food delivery motorbikes after their streets were being ‘swarmed’ by scooter riders. Food delivery companies in one London district must now apply for permission to operate.

Pronunciation

huge (huej )

surge ( sir j )

volume *** don’t forget the V and Ume

thousand ( thow zind )