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Speech Materals

791 Phone booths get new lease on life in Japan as smartphone charging stations

Rentable mobile phone chargers have been installed in a handful of public phone booths in Fukuoka, the first endeavor of...
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790 The 7 types of rest that every person needs

Have you ever tried to fix an ongoing lack of energy by getting more sleep — only to do so and still feel exhausted? If ...
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789 How to eat well in 2021

This year will be marked as a year of continued uncertainty, anxiety and -- if you're like many people -- a lot of stres...
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788 Here’s why Japanese supermarkets play “cheap” background music all day, according to Twitter

If you’ve ever been to a Japanese supermarket like Ito Yokado, Aeon, Seiyu, or Max Valu, then you’ve probably noticed th...
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787 The companies that help people vanish

All over the world, from the US to Germany to the UK, some people decide to disappear from their own lives without a tra...
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786 Unilever is testing a four-day work week in New Zealand

Unilever (UL) has become the latest major company to hop on the four-day work week bandwagon, lending credence to the id...
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785 What Is the Healthiest Bread?

Bread is not the enemy. “Find a bread you enjoy that is also healthy,” suggests DeFazio,a registered dietitian nutrition...
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784 Here’s a look at how the different coronavirus vaccines work

There's good news about coronavirus vaccines. At least three of the experimental vaccines show remarkable efficacy, at l...
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783 Love Social Media? You Could Scroll into Trouble

Mostly everyone, from glamorous influencers to your grumpy neighbor, use at least one social media platform. So it's tim...
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782 Kamala Harris: The many identities of the first woman vice-president

Born in Oakland, California, to two immigrant parents - an Indian-born mother and Jamaican-born father - her parents div...
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781 Japanese firms start to reconsider asking for resumes to specify gender

The requirement by many of Japan's firms that job applicants indicate their gender and even provide a photo on resumes h...
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780 Google Photos hooked users with free unlimited storage. Now that’s changing

Google will restrict free usage of a very popular service. The company will phase out unlimited storage on Google Photos...
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779 How to take a vacation without leaving your own home

It’s one thing to know you should take a vacation and it’s another to actually take one, especially when a simple trip t...
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778 Getting Back Pain While Working From Home? An Ergonomics Expert Offers Advice

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, roughly 1 in 6 U.S. workers, some 26 million people, worked either partly or f...
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777 Is Hiroshima the true home of Okonomiyaki?

Okonomiyaki is popular all over Japan, particularly in the Kansai region, which includes Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, and in H...
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776 Is cow hugging the world’s new wellness trend?

From goat yoga to sound baths, the world is full of wellness trends designed to soothe and calm both body and spirit. No...
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775 How walkable is your city? London, Hong Kong put pedestrians first

Urban planners and local authorities must improve walkability in cities to tackle poor health and social inequality, res...
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774 ‘Memorial’ held at Tokyo temple for hanko seals discarded due to digitalization

A Tokyo temple held a "memorial service" Monday for around 50 "hanko" seals that companies have discarded as part of the...
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773 The history of Halloween – how it all started

Halloween began as the festival of Samhain. It was part of the ancient Celtic religion in Britain and other parts of Eur...
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772 Mail delivery robot makes test run on Tokyo road

Japan Post Co unveiled to the press Wednesday a self-driving mail delivery robot, the first of its kind on a public road...
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771 Want to study better? Just two minutes of exercise beforehand could help

If you're feeling a bit sluggish today, just two minutes of exercise could give your brain a boost, a new study shows. R...
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770 Three main reasons why fewer and fewer Japanese people are having funerals

Traditional Japanese funerary practices are rooted within Buddhist rituals, and a traditional Japanese funeral consists ...
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769 Shinrin-Yoku: The Japanese Art Of Forest Bathing

Shinrin-yoku (森林浴)—which literally translates to “forest bath”—is the Japanese practice of “bathing” oneself in nature w...
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768 Meaningful Questions to Ask People Right Now That Go Deeper Than “How Are You?”

The question “How are you?” has long been a go-to greeting, a way to spark a bit of small talk. But this year, as our li...
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767 Seven-foot robots are stacking shelves in Tokyo convenience stores

Japan has the oldest population in the world, and that's causing an acute labor shortage. With almost a third of the pop...
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766 Drive-ins: A new way to watch live performances

Drive-ins as a solution to health crises is not without precedent. Before a polio vaccine became available in 1955, driv...
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765 Tokyo hotel offers free stay, drinks, and sashimi on one very simple condition

The travel business isn't exactly booming at the moment thanks to the social distancing and safety protocol necessary to...
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764 Japanese company successfully tests a manned flying car for the first time

A Japanese company has announced the successful test drive of a flying car. Sky Drive Inc. conducted the public demonstr...
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763 These planter-like urinals are Amsterdam’s answer to the problem of ‘wild peeing’

The city of Amsterdam is going greenThe local council has installed eight hemp-filled, sustainable urinals The local cou...
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762 Musk’s Neuralink Puts Computer Chips in Animal Brains

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's neuroscience startup Neuralink on Friday unveiled a pig named Gertrude that has had...
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761 The Swedish staycation obsession

Swedes have long embraced their version of staycations: hemester. Now, Covid-19 travel restrictions and remote working a...
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760 Japan finally announced a fee for plastic bags. Will that stop its obsession with plastic?

On July 1, 2020, supermarkets, department stores and major convenience stores in Japan started charging a fee for plasti...
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759 Florida mosquitoes: 750 million genetically modified insects to be released

Local officials in Florida have approved the release of 750 million mosquitoes that have been genetically modified to re...
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758 Why Do We Eat Birthday Cake?

The ancient Egyptians are credited with “inventing” the celebration of birthdays. They believed when pharaohs were crown...
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757 Inside the multibillion dollar race for a Covid-19 vaccine

Scientists are hoping to deliver a vaccine that protects against Covid-19, and its transmission, by early 2021. In order...
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756 Sitting on the floor: Is it better than sitting on a chair?

For thousands of years, humans have rested on the ground using variations of a squat, cross-legged or a kneeling positio...
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755 Japan’s most polarizing food?

Nattō is a traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans. It has an ammonia-like smell and mucus-like consisten...
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754 Coronavirus: France’s health workers given pay rises worth €8bn

The French government has agreed to give pay rises worth €8bn (£7.2bn; $9bn) to health workers, as it hailed their role ...
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753 Cooking Therapy Benefits That Will Surprise You

As most people are stuck at home making their own meals, they could be unconsciously experiencing the therapeutic effect...
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752 Coronavirus: Japan’s mysteriously low virus death rate

Why haven't more people in Japan died from Covid-19? It is a macabre question that has spawned dozens of theories, from ...
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751 Can you train yourself to like foods you hate?

Just like our taste in music, TV and culture, taste in food differs from person to person. But why does the same food br...
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750 Are human beings naturally lazy?

The current pandemic is forcing much of the world’s population to stay at home and take it easy. But we may not be wired...
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749 11 Ways to Improve Your Vocabulary in Just One Day

The average American has a vocabulary in the thousands. Try these tricks to make sure yours stacks up. 1, The words in m...
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748 Copy of Spanish Baroque painting botched by amateur restoration

An art collector in Spain has been left stunned by the botched restoration of a copy of a painting by Baroque artist Bar...
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747 7 Commons Reasons for Forgetfulness That Have Nothing to Do With Alzheimer’s

It could be something totally mundane—and treatable! You open your microwave and discover a cup of coffee you reheated—y...
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746 The rise of Japan’s ‘super solo’ culture

A decade ago, many Japanese were so embarrassed to be seen eating alone in the school or office cafeteria that they’d op...
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745 How Sweat Affects Your Skin Health

Sweat is a natural way to exfoliate and treat dry skin, as well as other skin conditions. This happens because sweat con...
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744 Racism definition: Merriam-Webster to make update after request

The American dictionary Merriam-Webster is to change its definition of the word racism after receiving an email from a y...
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743 How face masks affect our communication

More of us are wearing face masks to protect against the novel coronavirus. How do they alter our interactions with othe...
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742 Tom Cruise, NASA, SpaceX To Shoot An Action Movie In Space

As per the latest update, it seems like Hollywood A-list celebrity Tom Cruise, SpaceX and NASA are reportedly working al...