This month I read the May 23 issue of Time Magazine, and found a few useful articles about climate change, both by Aryn Baker.

First up, I read a short essay called “After Visiting Both Ends of the Earth, I Realized How Much Trouble We’re In.”  This description of the impact of climate change is similar in length to what you will read on the TOEFL, and it contains a lot of great vocabulary that you might need to succeed on the test.  I don’t often recommend Time here, but if you skip the political stuff you might find some good scientific content.

Next, I read a longer piece called “Polar Paradox: The Melting Arctic Could Destroy Indigenous Ways of Life While Making Some Alaskans Rich.”  It contains a lot of great on-the-ground reporting that captured my attention.  One of the nice things about Time is that the writing level is fairly similar to what you will see on the test (or in a freshman university textbook).  It contains articles that are challenging for ESL students, but not too challenging.  Consider making a short list of all the words in these two articles that are new to you.  After that you can look up their definitions and play with them a bit.

Moving along, I found a Popular Science article (via Reader’s Digest) about an effort to preserve the sound of a 1727 Stradivarius violin.  This one is a bit more fun that the above two articles, but still includes a lot of useful academic vocabulary.  

Finally, I want to recommend a few things to listen to this month.  Listening is good too, right?  I listened to a trio of Malcom Gladwell podcasts from 2016 about higher education in the USA.  I know that’s something that most readers here have an interest in.  Here are some quick links:

  • Carlos Doesn’t Remember covers the difficult of the American education system to foster the academic development of kids that are smart, but poor.  It’s heartbreaking at times.
  • Food Fight is about the differing ways that American universities use their money.  It’s frustrating.
  • My Little Hundred Million is about how wealthy Americans choose to donate to universities.  It is sometimes inspiring, but often frustrating.
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