レアジョブ英会話 Daily News Article Podcast

From Stitches to witches to a robot device that can "control" parents, the top 15 toys predicted to be most in demand in the U.K. this Christmas have finally been revealed. Controlling the mind of humans is often considered sinister rather than celebratory, but this game is set to be a real stocking-filler this Christmas for UK toy lovers. Human Controller by Tomy Toys is a simple concept of contr...

A new observation theater at a zoo in northern New Jersey lets visitors see animals get live medical treatments. Veterinarians at the Turtle Back Zoo hope the new installation educates people on the care that animals receive at the zoo while inspiring kids to pursue medicine as a profession. One morning, visitors peered through a large glass window into a new, spacious treatment room, watching as...

Americans will be allowed to contribute more of their money to 401(k) and similar retirement savings plans next year. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said the maximum contribution that an individual can make in 2026 to a 401(k), 403(b), and most 457 plans will be $24,500. That's up from $23,500 this year. People aged 50 and over, who have the option to make additional "catch-up" contributions t...

Doritos and Cheetos are getting a makeover. PepsiCo said in November that it’s launching toned-down versions of its bright orange snacks that won't have any artificial colors or flavors. Doritos and Cheetos Simply NKD hit store shelves on Dec. 1. It’s part of a broader shift underway at PepsiCo, which announced in April that it would accelerate a planned transition to using natural colors in its f...

Baumkuchen originated in Germany but has become a wildly popular sweet in Japan, where a prisoner of war (POW) on a small western island started making the treat that has thrived in its new homeland. Today, the confectionery known as “tree cake,” because of the resemblance to a trunk with rings, is considered a symbol of longevity and prosperity in Japan, where Baumkuchen festivals are regularly h...

Sales during China's largest online shopping festival, Singles' Day, jumped almost 18% from a year earlier, but the pace of growth slowed as bargain hunters opted for more affordable deals. Consumers have been tightening their belts, spending cautiously due to a prolonged slump in the property market, lagging wages, and high unemployment among the young Chinese who usually would be most likely to...

Outdoor Christmas decorations didn’t fly at U.S. Air Force base housing in the Florida Panhandle before Thanksgiving. The private company that operates a community of homes near Tyndall Air Force Base (AFB) instructed residents to remove their Yuletide decorations and refrain from putting them back up until after Turkey Day. “All holiday decorations should be reflective in their respective months...

Producing and manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs) and their batteries uses a lot of energy, leading many to be skeptical about the environmental benefits of switching to electric. But a new study says that after two years of use, EVs emit fewer carbon dioxide emissions than vehicles fueled by petrol. The findings are key, as transportation accounts for a significant portion of U.S. emissions. Wh...

Jacaranda trees are a symbol of spring in Gauteng. These subtropical trees, with their lavender flowers, bloom yearly in Gauteng, especially Pretoria and Johannesburg, adding a touch of color and joy to the South African cities. Apart from their captivating color and shape, what makes these trees fascinating is that they are not indigenous to South Africa. Scientifically known as Jacaranda mimosif...

Slime, that gooey, sticky, and often-homemade plaything, was enshrined in the National Toy Hall of Fame along with perennial bestselling games Battleship and Trivial Pursuit. Each year, the Hall of Fame recognizes toys that have inspired creative play across generations, culling its finalists from among thousands of nominees sent in online. Voting by the public and a panel of experts decides which...

Children wearing helmets and backpacks gathered with their parents in Montclair, New Jersey, for a group bicycle ride to two local elementary schools. Volunteers in orange safety vests made sure everyone assembled in a neighborhood shopping area was ready before the riders set off on their 5-mile “bike bus” route. Every few blocks, more adults and kids on bikes joined in. Eventually, the group gre...

Japanese video-game maker Nintendo’s net profit jumped 85% in April-September from the year before, as its sales more than doubled following the launch of its hit Switch 2 console in June, the company said. Nintendo, based in Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto, said its profit for the half-year totaled 198.9 billion yen, or $1.3 billion, up from 108.6 billion yen the year before. Sales for the first...

Yodel-ay-hee ... what?! Those famed yodeling calls that for centuries have echoed through the Alps, and more recently have morphed into popular song and folk music, could soon reap a response—from faraway Paris. Switzerland's government is looking for a shout-out from the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO, based in the French capital, to include the tradition of yodeling on its list of intangible cultur...

U.S. airlines began canceling hundreds of flights on November 6 due to the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) order to reduce traffic at the country's busiest airports starting on November 7 because of the government shutdown. More than 790 planned November 7 flights were cut from airline schedules, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions. That number, already four...

A robotic food truck is cooking up fresh Korean stir-fries without the need for a human chef. At the crossroads of robotics and restaurants, one Silicon Valley startup says it’s serving up the future. It's a new kind of food truck hitting the road that might change the way we think about food delivery. In a world where delivery robots are dropping off food, Kish Shin is flipping the script. Kish S...

Indian authorities carried out a cloud-seeding experiment over smog-choked New Delhi in an attempt to induce rainfall and clear the city’s toxic air, which has sparked anger among residents. A plane sprayed chemicals into clouds over some areas of the Indian capital to encourage rain and wash pollutants from the air, which remained in the “very poor” category, according to air quality monitors. Cl...

The World Central Kitchen began distributing food to furloughed federal workers in Washington, D.C., during the government shutdown that started on October 1, 2025. Founded by Chef José Andrés in 2010 after Haiti was hit by a catastrophic earthquake, the World Central Kitchen adheres to its mission of feeding those in need. Their global reach has led them to Gaza and Ukraine, but they also swoop i...

Ever wondered what history smells like? Or ponder the odor of love, or the stench of medieval Paris, or the sacred fragrance of religion? A new exhibition in Germany allows visitors to discover unknown worlds of smells by sniffing their way through 81 different fragrances across 37 different galleries. The show "The Secret Power of Scents," which opened to the public in October at the Kunstpalast...

Citing a chronic shortage of financial backing for independent publishers and nonprofits dedicated to writing and reading, a coalition of seven charitable foundations has established a Literary Arts Fund that will distribute a minimum of $50 million over the next five years. The idea for the fund was initiated by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the country's largest philanthropic supporter of the...

Character. AI is banning minors from using its chatbots amid growing concerns about the effects of artificial intelligence conversations on children. The company is facing several lawsuits over child safety. Character Technologies, the Menlo Park, California-based company behind Character. AI, said it will be removing the ability of users under 18 to participate in open-ended chats with AI charact...

One viral video shows what appears to be four sharks swimming in a Jamaican hotel's pool as floodwaters allegedly brought on by Hurricane Melissa swamp the area. Another purportedly depicts Jamaica's Kingston airport completely ravaged by the storm. But neither of these events happened; they’re just AI-generated misinformation circulating on social media as the storm churned across the Caribbean s...

The most widely used COVID-19 vaccines may offer a surprise benefit for some cancer patients—revving up their immune systems to help fight tumors. People with advanced lung or skin cancer who were taking certain immunotherapy drugs lived substantially longer if they also got a Pfizer or Moderna shot within 100 days of starting treatment, according to preliminary research reported in the journal Na...

A decade after a landmark study proved that feeding peanut products to young babies could prevent the development of life-threatening allergies, new research finds the change has made a big difference in the real world. About 60,000 children have avoided developing peanut allergies after guidance first issued in 2015 upended medical practice by recommending introducing the allergen to infants star...

The Trump administration has agreed to resume student loan forgiveness for an estimated 2.5 million borrowers who are enrolled in certain federal repayment plans following a lawsuit from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Under the agreement reached on October 17 between the teachers' union and the administration, the Education Department will process loan forgiveness for those eligible in...

Millions of Indians celebrated Diwali in October as lamps illuminated homes and streets across the country to mark the Hindu festival symbolizing the victory of light over darkness. Diwali, derived from the word “Deepavali,” meaning “a row of lights,” is typically celebrated by socializing and exchanging gifts. The dates of the festival are based on the Hindu lunar calendar, typically falling in l...