Nutella discount triggers fights in France

• How about asking questions?

1 - There were crazy scenes in ________________.

2 - Shoppers fought and punched each other to buy ________________________.

3 - A nationwide chain of supermarkets cut the price ___________ per cent.

4 - The supermarket Intermarché launched a promotion on 950-gram jars of the sweet treat on _______________________________.

5 -The maker of Nutella is ________________.

6 - It said it had nothing to do with the discount. It tweeted: "The __________"

7 - "We condemn __________________________________”

8 - “The operation created ___________________________"

9 - The supermarket did not _______________________

10 - A store employee said they nearly called ______________________"

11 - A tweeter explained ___________________. 

12 -She said: "French people eat it by the spoonful. I had it on toast for breakfast when _________________________"

• Read the article so as to find the answers

We’ve seen it before: Giant discounts on TVs or games consoles or perhaps the latest iPhone generate a frenzy among shoppers.

But in France, it seems, 70% off the hazelnut-and-chocolate spread Nutellan can also do the trick.

A supermarket chain slashed the price of the spread on Thursday. Videos on social media showed shoppers stamping on each other and shouting as they tried to grab the jars at the discounted price of about $1.75.

Some stores resorted to restricting sales to one jar per person, with several quickly running out of stock and having to turn away customers.

The spread is a favorite in France, often used for topping croissants and baguettes.

Ferrero, the product’s Italian maker, even has one of its biggest factories in Normandy,  in northern France.

Ferrero, however, in an apparent attempt to distance itself from the hysteria, said that it had nothing to do with the promotion by the supermarket chain, Intermarché.

"We regret the consequences of this operation," the Italian company said in a statement, arguing the offer had "created confusion and disappointment in consumers' minds.

"People just rushed in, shoving everyone, breaking things. It was like an orgy," one employee in the northeastern town of Forbach told AFP, asking to remain anonymous. "We nearly called the police."

A tweeter explained how important Nutella is in France. "French people eat it by the spoonful. I had it on toast for breakfast as a child. And like with candy, grownups continue to eat it to connect with their inner child "

Sophie Chevalier, a French anthropologist and specialist in customer behavior, said the scenes were out of the ordinary.

“These are unusual in France, except when there’s a particularly exceptional sale, and more what we see in developing countries or where there’s a regular shortage of essential products,” Chevalier told Le Parisien.

“Would there be the same reaction to jars of pickles? Certainly not. It’s a question of the kind of product that explains this. Nutella is pure pleasure for children and to offer it at a bargain price obviously attracts lots of customers.”

Still, although it may seem bizarre to many, it's nice to know the French can still surprise us from time to time. 

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Article edited from The New York Times

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Dentist Must Pay His Mother $ 1 M

The Taiwan Supreme Court in Taipei, Taiwan. CreditTakatoshi Kurikawa/Alamy

TAIPEI, Taiwan — It is an age-old arrangement, and one that is usually implicit: Parents pay for their children’s educations, and hope that in their old age the children will support them.

But in a case that made its way to Taiwan’s highest court, a mother who had financed her son’s dental training sued him, claiming that he had broken a written agreement to support her from the proceeds of his dental practice.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court sided with his mother.

The case attracted considerable attention because the mother and son had put down in a written contract — signed when he was 20 — what is often left unsaid. The principle is backed up by law in Taiwan, where adults are legally prohibited from abandoning their parents.

Each side advanced arguments: The mother urged the court to enforce the contract. The son maintained that he had already paid his mother $1 million and should not have to pay her more.

According to news outlets in Taiwan, the woman, identified only by her surname, Luo, raised her two sons after she and their father divorced, putting both through dental school.

Ms. Luo told the Supreme Court that when she worked as a single mother to put her sons through dental school, she was concerned that they might not help support her in old age, so she had each sign an agreement when they turned 20. Her sons both became practicing dentists in 2003.

The agreement stipulated that after becoming dentists, her sons would pay her 60 percent of their net profits until the total amount paid reached $1.7 million.

The younger son told the court that he repaid her more than $1 million. Given that he signed the contract when he was only 20 and that he had already paid back so much of his contractual debt to his mother — he argued that his debt should be cleared.

The court disagreed, however, ruling on Tuesday that because he signed the agreement as a legal adult, he was responsible for satisfying its terms.

The court ordered Dr. Chu to pay an “upbringing fee” of more than $754,000, with additional interest bringing the total award for his mother to more than $967,000.

The verdict drew mixed reactions.

                                     Edited from The New York Times

North and South Korea to March Together

  Korean delegations shake hands during the meeting on Jan. 17, 2018 - Associated Press

North and South Korea will march together in the opening ceremonies of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games which will take place from February 9 to the 25th in South Korea. 

Negotiators for the North and South announced the deal last Wednesday after talks in Panmunjom on the border between the countries (photo).

The negotiators also said that the two Koreas will compete as one team in the women’s ice hockey event.

North Korea will send a delegation of more than 400 members to South Korea. The delegation will include 230 cheerleaders and a 30-member team for a taekwondo demonstration.

The North will also send a delegation of about 150 to South Korea for the 2018 Paralympics Games, which will be held in March.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will soon meet in Lausanne, Switzerland to discuss details of the joint team and North Korea’s participation.

North Korea’s participation next month will be the North’s first appearance in an Olympic Games held in the South. North and South Korea last marched together at the Olympics on February 10, 2006.

Edited from VOA News 

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Apple should fight kids' smartphone addiction

“Apple should do more to curb growing smartphone addiction among children”, said two major investors in the iPhone maker who collectively control $2 billion worth of Apple shares on Monday in an open letter to the technology giant. 

They urged Apple to offer more choices and tools to help children fight addiction to its devices. Apple was not immediately available to comment on the letter. 

The letter cited various studies and surveys on how the heavy usage of smartphones and social media negatively affects children’s mental and physical health. Examples include distractions by digital technologies in the classroom, a decreased ability of students to focus on educational tasks, and higher risks of suicide and depression.

The investors asked Apple to establish an expert committee including child development specialists. They also suggested enhancing mobile device software so parents have more options to protect their children’s health.

The broad range of research cited detailing the negative consequences of excessive smartphone use included:

- A study by the Center on Media and Child Health and the University of Alberta that found that 67% of the over 2,300 teachers surveyed observed that the number of students who are negatively distracted by digital technologies in the classroom is growing and 75% say students’ ability to focus on educational tasks has decreased. 

- Research showing that students who are heavy users of social media have a 27% higher risk of depression, while those who exceed the average time spent playing sports, hanging out with friends, or doing homework have a much lower risk.  

- A study by UCLA researchers that showed that after 5 days at a device-free outdoor camp, children performed far better on tests for empathy than a control group.

- An American Psychological Association survey that found that of 3,500 U.S. parents, 58% say they worry about the influence of social media on their child’s physical and mental health; 48% say regulating their child’s screen time is a "constant battle"; and 58% say they feel like their child is "attached" to their phone or tablet.



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Words Borrowed from Japanese

Think of a language as a living thing. Like most things living, languages are always growing and changing. And today, in our highly connected world, these changes happen more and more quickly.

Most English words come from Latin, Germanic languages and French. But, in the last several hundred years, English has borrowed words and terms from other languages, such as Japanese.

Emoji - Let’s start with emoji. About 10 years ago, English speakers used the word emoticons for computer keyboard symbols that express emotion in electronic messages and on the Internet. That was before the invention of smiley face icons.

Then, in the late 1990s, a Japanese computer programmer named Shigetaku Kurita changed everything when he invented emoji -- images, icons and symbols that express meaning without words.

In Japanese, the word emoji means “pictograph” and comes from the word e meaning “picture” and moji, meaning “letter” or “character.” The similarity to the English word “emotion” is only by chance.

Honcho - Honcho, another word borrowed from Japanese, came into use around World War II.

In English, honcho means "person in charge.” In Japanese, the word is hancho. It means " squad leader" and comes from two words: han meaning “squad" and cho meaning "head" or "chief."

Imprisoned American servicemen in Japan learned about the word. Later, they brought it back with them to the United States.

Tycoon - Another borrowed Japanese word that describes someone who holds a lot of power is tycoon. In English, the word refers to a very wealthy and powerful businessperson.

Tycoon comes from the Japanese taikun meaning “great lord or prince.” The word comes from the Middle Chinese word tai kiun.

In the mid-1800s, the United States was ready to use military power to force Japan to re-open trade relations with the West. Navy officer Commodore Matthew Perry led the negotiations. When he arrived in Japan, he refused to meet with anyone other than the highest official in the empire.

The Japanese presented Perry with their shogun, or general of the Japanese army. But they were concerned that the English translation of his title would not seem powerful enough to Perry. So, they introduced their shogun using the title taikun.

What Perry – or the West – did not realize was that shoguns had more power than emperors in Japan at the time.

Perry’s negotiations with Japan were successful. And the word tycoon soon became popular in America. It came to mean “top leader.”

Edited from VOA News

Met mandatory admission fee

For the first time in half a century, visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art will have to pay a mandatory admission fee of $25 if they do not live in New York State under a new policy that begins March 1.

The change reflects the Met’s efforts to establish a reliable, annual revenue stream after a period of financial turbulence. But the move could provoke objections from suburbanites and tourists as well as from those who believe a taxpayer funded institution should be free to the public.

 “What we’re trying to do is find the right balance in generating revenue to support this enterprise,” Daniel Weiss, the Met’s president and chief executive officer, said in an interview.

The Met’s pay-as-you-wish tradition will continue for state residents, but they will be required, for the first time, to show address identification; those without it will be asked to bring it next time (but not turned away).

The Met is among the most prestigious institutions in the world, on par with the Louvre, the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim, but has long been distinguished from those museums for not charging a mandatory admissions fee. Instead, it has sustained itself through private donations and public dollars; the city contributes operating support every year, because it owns the Met’s Fifth Avenue building.

The Met currently receives about $26 million from the city. Under the new admissions policy, the $15 million that goes toward energy costs like heat and light will remain intact; the remaining $11 million which offsets the Met’s operating costs (for security and building staff) will reduce on a sliding scale after the first full year.

The Met’s reduced portion of city funds will be redirected to cultural institutions in undeserved parts of the city.

Fred Dixon, the chief executive of New York’s tourism agency, NYC & Company, said “I don’t think the new policy will affect the flow of visitors to the city.”

Principio del formulario

The admissions policy shift is one of the ways in which the Met is addressing a budget deficit that two years ago threatened to balloon to $40 million. While the museum now has a deficit of about $10 million, Mr. Weiss said it aims to balance its budget by 2020.

Though the required admission for out-of-towners will result in a relatively modest revenue increase, Mr. Weiss said, “If every part operates a little bit better, we can get where we need to go.”

Edited from The New York Times

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NY gym launches naked workout class

Hanson Fitness, a New York gym chain used by celebrities ranging from Rihanna to Sandra Bullock, is offering naked full body conditioning classes at its Soho location. The gym will start with three weekly nude exercise classes, one for women, one for men, and one mixed class. For those who want a more intimate nude exercise experience, there are private sessions available. 

"These naked personal training sessions are all about creating a ‘nude’ you’, as guests burn the calories while  nude," according to the gym’s Facebook event page.

So, what exactly are the benefits of working out nude? According to the gym, working out without clothes allows the skin to breathe, and "complete body awareness so you can see if you're cheating on your exercise routines."

"The class is designed to be a total body workout that uses your body weight as resistant making you look and feel good naked," the gym says on its Facebook page. 

According to Hanson Fitness, the advantages of training nude are fourfold:

1. It releases endorphins.

"Sunlight on the exposed skin will lead to the body producing Vitamin D which aids in bone and muscle health. Vitamin D also leads to serotonin production, the hormone responsible for our mood regulation."

2. It increases body awareness and empowerment.

"While you’re in your birthday suit, you can see every inch of your body which makes it easy to see if you’re cheating on your exercises."

3. It makes for unrestricted movement.

"While naked, there’s nothing at all holding you back. The only limitations are your own, not because you can’t move in a certain angle in your cute workout clothes."

4. Less laundry.

Pretty self-explanatory.

Still not convinced?  According to the gym's disclaimer, "nude underwear" can be worn during the workout sessions. 

Edited from Business Insider and USA Today