Fun English Lessons

ESL Reading

I’m not sure as to the origin of the quote but it is common knowledge that a dog is a man’s best friend.  Several studies have supported the notion that dog owners reap several physical and psychological health benefits.  There’s been some evidence pointing to dog owners having lower blood pressure and better immune systems than non-dog owners.  It’s well known that dog owners consider their dog as a genuine family member, and this form of love and contact may help to explain some of these benefits.  Dog owners also have pressure to get exercise because they need to walk their dogs.  An added benefit of walking a dog is that it can help stimulate social interaction with other humans, because having a dog can make a person more approachable and provide a good ice-breaker.  Dogs also have an advantage over human companions because dogs are even more loyal than humans.  They are truly capable of unconditional love.

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Notion: A general understanding, opinion, or belief. 
I don’t agree with the notion that people shouldn’t eat meat.

Reap: To get, or obtain some kind of benefit.  All his hard work allowed him to reap the benefit of an early retirement.  Although exercising everyday isn’t easy, I’d say reaping a healthy and attractive body is worth the effort. 

Pointing:  Here we use pointing in a slightly abstract way.  Instead of physically pointing with a finger or something, we mean “providing evidence” or “indicating”.  “Although we’re not 100% sure who committed the crime, there’s a lot of evidence pointing to Steve being guilty.”  This means that there are some good reasons to believe that Steve likely committed the crime.

Blood pressure:  Blood pressure is the pressure against the inner walls of the blood vessels.  People with high blood pressure are at an increased risk of a heart attack.

Immune systems:  This is the body’s complex natural defense system against disease.  Our body comes in contact with a lot of foreign material and bacteria all the time.  Our immune system is what helps us fight against this so that we don’t get sick.  If we do get sick, for example a cold, then our immune system fights the disease and that’s how we get better.

Genuine:  Real, not fake.  “This is a genuine NBA basketball.”  That means the basketball is exactly the same kind of ball they use in the NBA.

Stimulate social interaction:  Stimulating social interaction is a complicated way of saying “getting people talking to each other”.  Because many people are shy, it is said that drinking some alcohol can help stimulate social interaction.

Approachable:  Being “approachable” means you make other people feel that you are an easy person to talk to.  People who smile a lot are more approachable than those who don’t.

Ice-breakers:  “Ice-breakers” are comments or other events that get people talking easily.  If you approach a girl at a bar, it’s important to think of a good “ice-breaker” to make her feel comfortable talking to you. 

Companions:  A person, “or animal” who accompanies you and helps you to feel not lonely.  Old people who live alone are often lonely without any companions. 

Unconditional love:  “unconditional love” is exactly what it sounds like.  It means loving someone no matter what.  It doesn’t matter what kind of mistakes they make, you will still love them anyway.  It’s important for children to feel that their parents love them unconditionally.  

 

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