レアジョブ英会話 Daily News Article Podcast

The Bank of Thailand has tightened regulations on online gold trading to curb the impact of fluctuating prices on the local currency. The new measures will not have a big impact on gold trading, which has become increasingly popular, but will improve the transparency of online platforms, the central bank's assistant governor, Pimpan Charoenkwan, said. The regulations, which took effect this month,...

A new high-resolution map of distant galaxies may help scientists understand a mysterious invisible substance that helps hold the universe together. The ordinary matter all around us—stars, planets, and people—makes up just 5% of the universe. For decades, researchers have hoped to demystify what's known as dark matter, a material that comprises just over a quarter of our universe. Another equally...

Some blind and low-vision fans had unprecedented access to the Super Bowl thanks to a tactile device that tracks the ball, vibrates on key plays, and provides real-time audio. The NFL teamed up with OneCourt and Ticketmaster to pilot the game-enhancing experience 15 times during the regular season games hosted by the Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, and...

Can a few lines of verse make commuting less worse? That, in essence, is the question asked four decades ago by Judith Chernaik, an American writer in London who wondered whether posting poems inside subway cars might enlighten, amuse, and inspire riders. The result was Poems on the Underground, a project that turns 40 this year and has been copied in cities around the world. Since 1986, many mill...

Cheers rose from a bundled-up crowd as a loggerhead sea turtle that survived a likely shark attack trundled back into the ocean after months of rehabilitation in Florida, carrying a satellite tracker to see how she fares with only three flippers. The air on the beach was chilly, with temperatures in the 40s Fahrenheit (roughly 4 to 9°C). But the Atlantic Ocean has hovered around a comfortable 77°F...

The UK toy market returns to growth for the first time in five years, but it's adults buying toys for themselves who are helping fuel the boom. The so-called kidults have helped the toy market in the UK post a year-on-year growth of six percent, according to figures by the British Toy and Hobby Association, with one in three pounds of toy sales being spent by kidults. Retro arcade cabinets and LEG...

Tens of thousands of visitors flocked to Lucerne as the Lilu Light Festival turned the city’s cobbled streets and riverfront into a glowing, interactive art experience. The festival drew artists from across Europe, blending inspiration and technology, to transform the city into one of Switzerland’s most picturesque winter destinations. In the square of Vögeligärti, the planet “Venus” by Immersive...

Your watch says you had three hours of deep sleep. Should you believe it? Millions of people rely on phone apps and wearable devices like rings, smartwatches, and sensors to monitor how well they're sleeping, but these trackers don't necessarily measure sleep directly. Instead, they infer states of slumber from signals like heart rate and movement, raising questions about how reliable the informat...

The United Nations human rights chief has called on the United States to ensure that its migration policies and enforcement practices “respect human dignity and due process rights.” Volker Turk, in a statement relayed by spokesperson Marta Hurtado, decried the “dehumanizing portrayal and harmful treatment of migrants and refugees.” Hurtado said Turk called on leaders "at all levels in the U.S. to...

Deep in the Ecuadorian Andes, an ancient forest stands as a final sanctuary against the encroachment of human activity. This is the Yanacocha Reserve, the last refuge for the Black-breasted puffleg (Eriocnemis nigrivestis), a tiny hummingbird teetering on the edge of extinction. Measuring just 9 centimeters (3.5 inches), this emblematic bird of Quito is one of the most threatened species on the pl...

A former flight attendant accused of posing as a pilot and working as an airline employee fooled three U.S. carriers into giving him hundreds of free tickets over a span of four years, federal authorities say. But precisely how he is alleged to have done it—and why the airlines wouldn't have caught on sooner—has industry insiders scratching their heads. Dallas Pokornik, 33, of Toronto, was arreste...

It's no small potatoes that Rhode Islanders have been able to choose the image of Mr. Potato Head as a specialty license plate for decades. Yet with Hasbro's decision to move its headquarters from the smallest state in the U.S. to Boston, two lawmakers say it's time to hash out whether Rhode Island should continue promoting one of the company's most iconic characters. Under the proposal introduced...

A major international research mission, led by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), is underway to investigate a newly discovered phenomenon: powerful underwater tsunamis triggered by collapsing Antarctic glaciers. These hidden waves are created when icebergs calve (shed and collapse) from the fronts of glaciers, and they can reach several meters in height beneath the ocean surface. They create bur...

Sparkling Porsches and Jaguars are just some of the sports cars and luxury vehicles that are helping to raise money for a local Detroit charity. About 500 guests spent $250 per person to catch a glimpse of some of the world’s most exclusive cars. The Gallery, a fundraising event for a local food bank, took place in January on the eve of the annual Detroit Auto Show. Attendees got the chance to see...

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate is now down to its lowest level in more than three years. The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage eased to 6.06%, down from 6.16%, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said. One year ago, the rate averaged 7.04%. The last time the average rate was lower was September 15, 2022, when it was at 6.02%. Meanwhile, borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular...

Without federal subsidies, Breyanna Rodriguez's child care bill for her four children would run $4,400 a month, which would eat up most of her husband's paycheck. With child care assistance, Rodriguez, who lives in Cortland, Illinois, is able to work part-time and take community college classes while she prepares for nursing school. Now, citing concerns about fraud, the Trump administration has sa...

Apple will rely on Google to help finish its efforts to smarten up its virtual assistant Siri and bring other artificial intelligence features to the iPhone as the trendsetting company plays catch-up in technology's latest craze. The deal allowing Apple to tap into Google's AI technology was disclosed in a joint statement from the Silicon Valley powerhouses. The partnership will draw upon Google's...

Mattel Inc. is introducing an autistic Barbie as the newest member of its line, intended to celebrate diversity, joining a collection that already includes Barbies with Down syndrome, a blind Barbie, a Barbie and a Ken with vitiligo, and other models the toymaker added to make its fashion dolls more inclusive. Mattel said it developed the autistic doll over more than 18 months in partnership with...

At a time when productivity means optimizing every second and screens blur the line between work and home, some people are slowing down and disconnecting by looking at communication devices from the past. Tactile activities ranging from writing letters and typewriter clubs to TikTok communities showcasing calligraphy skills and wax seals are giving retro writing instruments a resurgence. More than...

Sleep is usually associated with complex animals with brains and nervous systems. But new research suggests it may be far older and far more basic than previously thought. Scientists at Bar Ilan University in Israel studying jellyfish and sea anemones have found evidence of sleep-like states in animals without brains, helping explain why sleep may have evolved in the first place. Unlike humans and...

Crowds flooded the freshly opened showroom floors on Day 2 of the CES and were met by thousands of robots, AI companions, assistants, health longevity tech, wearables, and more. Allergic to dogs or cats but still dreaming of a furry companion? Chinese tech brand Ollobot may have an answer in its new “cyber-pet,” OlloNi, which debuted at the show. The company says the furry AI robot on wheels is me...

President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the entire United Nations climate-fighting apparatus takes America's environmental isolation to another level and is likely to damage both the United States and the world as the planet flirts with ecological tipping points, experts say. Leaders from around the world say the United States will be left behind as more than 190 other nations join in what they c...

The origins of snowboarding go back to Christmas Day 1965, when an engineer named Sherman Poppen strapped two skis together to give his daughters something to do. He called it a "snurfer" and started selling them the next year. Jake Burton came along, refined the toy, and helped turn snowboarding into a mass-market sport. Along the way, superstars like Shaun White and Chloe Kim redefined what coul...

Dogs are great at learning action commands like "sit" and "stay." They're less good at remembering the names of things, like what their squeaky or stuffed toys are called. Only an elite group of gifted word-learner dogs can retain the names of hundreds of toys. Scientists know of about 50 such pooches, but they aren't yet sure what's behind their wordy skills. Now, new research is pushing the limi...

The crisp crinkle of fallen leaves beneath your feet. The swish and trickle of water moving through a stream. A breath of crisp, fresh air. Spending time in nature can be invigorating or produce feelings of peace and calm. But many professions allow little time or access to the outdoors during the workday. After a youth spent climbing trees and playing soccer, Anna Rose Smith found it difficult wh...