My wife and I enjoyed a holiday in Borneo this month. And that means we spent many hours on an airplane. And that means I read a few more issues from my endless stack of New Yorker magazines!
First up, I read the May 8, 2023 issue (yeah, I am still more than a year behind). I enjoyed “The Fugitive Princess of Dubai” about how several princesses (daughters of the ruler) have attempted to flee that country. It’s a weird, weird story. But it really captured my attention.
Next, I read the June 5, 2023 issue. That was the annual music issue! An interesting story is “The Case for and Against Ed Sheeran.” The premise here is that one of Sheeran’s songs sounds quite a lot like Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” Did he steal from Mr. Gaye and co-writer Ed Townsend? That’s for the court to decide. Some academic stuff about writing will strengthen your TOEFL muscles, perhaps.
Later, while sitting in the lobby of the luxurious Capital Residence Suites in Bandar Seri Begawan, I read a copy of the “Borneo Bulletin.” It had a perfect TOEFLy article about the discovery of some hobbit-sized bones. They connect to a scientific concept called “Island Dwarfism,” which I’m sure has already appeared on the test at least once. I took a picture of the article for you!
Moving ever forward, I also found the time to read a proper non-fiction book. It was “The Meritocracy Trap” by Daniel Markovits. The central premise here is that work in America has changed in recent decades. The author supposes that a small elite group of workers has monopolized profitable work, at great expense to themselves (who work way too hard) and the former middle class (who doesn’t have as much to do as before). If true, I suspect that this trend will be accelerated as AI takes over more and more tasks. I’ve even seen it in test prep – five overworked AI gurus can replace 100 teachers who formerly worked at a leisurely pace and enjoyed a nice work/life balance. Highly recommended.
Finally, continuing along with the Norton Library Podcast, I read a modern English translation of “The Canterbury Tales.” Look… I don’t recommend this to my TOEFL students, but the matching podcast episode could strengthen your academic listening skills.
More recommendations next month. Maybe even a bit more airplane time, if I’m lucky.