Topic Reading-Vol.1114-4/30/2015

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

Why we want food so much it hurts

Chocolate after having a big meal. Double-deep-fried French fries with mayonnaise for snack.

People sometimes experience sudden and irresistible desire for particular food or drink. Why? Is that because the body requires certain nutrition? Is it caused by some malfunction of the mind or discipline control mechanism?

There seem to be neither clear answers to the question nor solution to the problem. However, a researcher suggests one easy and forgiving countermeasure.

Enjoy reading and finding what could help you avoid indulging in this unhealthy behavior.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150424-why-you-want-food-so-much-it-hurts

Topic Reading-Vol.1113-4/29/2015

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

Is China-Pakistan 'silk road' a game-changer?

It’s not just the enemy of my enemy is my friend. China’s announcement of investing $46bn to build an economic corridor from Gwadar in Pakistan to Kashgar in the Chinese region of Xinjiang and other infrastructure developing projects surprised the region and beyond. The amount of the investment is far larger the ones Pakistan has received from the U.S. since 2002.

This newly announced China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a combination of transport and energy projects, also aims to develop a major deep-sea port that will offer direct access to the Indian Ocean and beyond. Since China is heavily depending on oil import from Middle East, it seems vital to secure logistic lines to the region and also faster access to ship goods to Africa and Europe.

And probably as usual, China will send many of its workforce for the construction which could benefits their own people in a short run as well.

Enjoy reading and learning this historical long-term investment that could reverse the role in and around the Indian Ocean regions.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32400091

Topic Reading-Vol.1112-4/282015

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

Armenians mark 1915 mass killings

Mass killing, massacre, or genocide. No matter how it is called, such criminal conduct shall never be justified. A hundred years after the massacre in Armenia that was executed by then ruling government, Ottoman Empire, present-day administration, The Republic of Turkey, refuse to recognize it as genocide. They insist the number of the deaths was inflated and the cause of the deaths was part of war and starvation.

Armenia, a small Christian country is located in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia bordered by Turkey to the west and Georgia to the north, became independent only a quarter century ago from then Soviet Union. On April 24, they made a centenary of the massacre of up to 1.5 million of their people allegedly by Ottoman forces. The event was attended by the leaders from France and Russia and delegates from over 60 countries. A century after the massacre, only 26 countries have officially recognized it as genocide.

Enjoy reading and learning about this 100-year-old tragedy.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/04/armenians-mark-centenary-mass-killing-150424081627069.html

Topic Reading-Vol.1111-4/27/2015

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,
Five classical music controversies
Progressive works, designs, and concepts often seem to be controversial, at least in the first place.
Some or many of now-highly-prominent painted or written arts, musical or performing arts, architectural designs or sculptural works were originally criticized or undervalued. When people first saw Picasso’s works or heard Beatles songs, those who digested or accepted their innovative style or progressive approach weren’t the majority.
Here are some examples of such controversies in classical music. Enjoy reading the article and listen to the controversial music works.
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150414-five-classical-controversies

Topic Reading-Vol.1110-4/26/2015

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

May the force be with ANA's awesome new "Star Wars" airplane

Livery designs for aircraft aren’t that new. Most of them represent the carrier’s corporate identity, brand logo or colors. Some of the look subtle and assuring and others look flashy and appealing.

But sometimes, carriers put promotional livery on their aircraft such as Pokémon and Kitty attempting family travelers to come on board.

This year, one of the biggest film works for years is scheduled to be released. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is under production for a December release. To take this sensational promotional opportunity, All Nippon Airways, or ANA, has decided to put a livery on one of its largest 787 Dreamliner fleet. Can you guess which of the characters is painted?

Enjoy reading and seeing this airliner’s unique promotional approach in the sky.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/17/travel/ana-star-wars-livery/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.1109-4/25/2015

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

What's it really like to work at McDonald's?

60 years have passed since the opening of the first franchised McDonald's restaurant opened in Illinois, the USA. There are now 36,000 restaurants in the world with nearly two millions crews, both more than any other fast food restaurant chains.

Are their food and services liked by their customers? McDonald's an annual global sales fell by 15% in 2014, describing the climate as "challenging".

Are those employees well or reasonably paid? Employees in the US rallied for a significant pay raise recently.

Is the management and operation supported positively by their employees? "McJob" is a term defined in The Oxford English Dictionary as "an unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects, especially one created by the expansion of the service sector".

Enjoy reading and learning about this 60-year-old fast food giant.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32283560

Topic Reading-Vol.1108-4/24/2015

Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,

How the selfie stick was invented twice

Who invented it first? The “selfie” which is seen anywhere tourists, especially the young, go to take photos of themselves. It has become so popular and also annoying to others that large events such as concerts halls, stadiums, and museums ban the use of it.

The original concept of selfie was born in Europe when two inventors visited there in different times. One of them wanted a picture of his family and asked the locals to take a photo of them. The locals took his camera and ran away instead of taking a photo of them. This disgraceful incident was more than enough for the engineer of a camera company to come up with a solution.

Enjoy reading and learning how now-popular selfie was invented.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32336808