Do you always say "How are you?" to your English teacher and English speaking friends? While we DO use this common expression in everyday spoken English, there are many more informal and more popular ways of asking this question amongst friends! Learn my favorites in this episode of Stairway to English!
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Stairway to English: Short easy to understand episodes to improve your English grammar and fluency

Stop saying "How are you"! 

In 1950s America, smoking was cool, with movie stars like James Dean and Marlene Dietrich making it look stylish. Cigarette companies even claimed smoking was good for you, with one famous advertisement claiming, "More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette."

But things started to change in 1951, when a British scientist found a link between smoking and lung cancer.

Today, things look very different, and smoking in the US is at its lowest level in 80 years.

In the 1950s, nearly half of US adults smoked. Now, according to a poll from Gallup, only 11% of American adults say they've smoked in the past week — half the number from 10 years ago.

One reason is that more people now see smoking as bad for you, with 79% of Americans agreeing that cigarettes are very harmful.

Another major reason is that fewer young adults are smoking.

Young adults used to smoke the most out of any age group, but now they're the least likely to smoke. In the early 2000s, 35% of US adults under 30 smoked, but today, it's just 6%. Instead, it's the older generation that are the biggest smokers these days, with 18% of adults aged 50 to 64 saying they smoke.

Although smoking may be declining, vaping is becoming more popular.

Vaping, or using e-cigarettes, is less common than smoking, with just 7% of adults saying they vape. But vaping is more popular with young adults, and nearly 1 in 5 of American adults under 30 vape.

And if they keep vaping into middle age — and if young people today start vaping as they grow up — vaping might soon become more common than smoking.

Health experts say even though vaping is less harmful than smoking, it's best to avoid both.

English Conversation/Dialogue

US Smoking Hits 80-Year Low

Staying healthy can be difficult — it might mean we don't always get to eat and drink the things we want.

Sometimes we have to sacrifice some sweet things because we know they're not such a good idea!

But how far would you go to make sure you have a healthy diet?

A new survey has found that almost a quarter of people in the UK don't enjoy their meals because they put health before taste.

That means they're choosing to eat meals they don't like just because they're healthy.

However, the survey, by a bread company called Warburtons, also found that 74% of people aged between 25 and 44 aren't quite sure how to eat a balanced diet.

So it's perhaps not a surprise that people are eating meals they don't enjoy!

It's true that foods full of sugar, salt and butter can taste good, but experts say that healthy meals can taste great too.

And we can still enjoy some tasty things as part of a healthy diet.

In fact, some experts say that we shouldn't think of foods as "good" or "bad" — we should be able to enjoy everything in moderation.

This is something that older adults are better at, according to the survey, which included 2,000 people in the UK.

Adults over the age of 65 were most likely to put their enjoyment first when making food. Younger people admitted to eating meals in front of others to look like they're healthy — even if they don't like the food.

Survey: Young Adults Sacrifice Taste for Health in Meals

A flight attendant approaches Matt to offer him a drink.


Flight Attendant
Would you like something to drink? We have soda, coffee and tea as well as alcoholic beverages.


Matt
Sure, how much are the drinks?


Flight Attendant
Non-alcoholic beverages are free of charge. Alcoholic drinks are five dollars each.


Matt
Ok. I'd like to have a cup of coffee, please. Are meals going to be served on this flight?


Flight Attendant
Dinner will be served halfway through the flight. I will also bring you a snack with your beverage.


Matt
Can we choose what we will have for dinner?


Flight Attendant
Certainly. I will be bringing the menu for you to choose from. We have chicken, fish, and beef.


Matt
Is a vegetarian meal available?


Flight Attendant
Yes, but only if you have requested a special meal when you booked your flight. If not, I will try to find some extra servings of vegetables for you.


Matt
That would be great. Thank you very much.

Airline Food Services

Matt
Excuse me, could you help me find my seat?


Flight Attendant
Certainly. May I have your boarding pass?


Matt
Here it is.


Flight Attendant
Thank you! Let me see... Your seat number is 13D. It’s the aisle seat on the right side.


Matt
Thank you!

Someone is sitting in 13D.


Matt
Excuse me. I’m afraid you’re sitting in my seat.


Nicole
Oh, really?

Nicole looks at her boarding pass.


Nicole
Yes, you are right. I got the wrong seat. I'm so sorry!


Matt
No problem.

A flight attendant approaches Matt.


Flight Attendant
Would you like something to drink?


Matt
Yes, I’d like to have an orange juice.


Flight Attendant
Sure. Here it is.


Matt
Thank you. May I recline my seat?


Flight Attendant
Yes, of course.


Matt
And, can I have a blanket, please?


Flight Attendant
Sure, I will bring you one right away.


Matt
Thank you so much!


On an Airplane

Host: Welcome back to the podcast everyone. I’m joined today by Naseem, an IT consultant from 
Delhi and Deepa, an HR consultant from Bangore. Today we’ll be discussing the increase in the number of people moonlighting and what the future holds for companies and workers. So, Deepa, I’ll ask you first: What has created this problem?

Deepa: Well, as with many places around the world, during the pandemic, there was a big increase in the number of people working from home and also economic instability. So, at the same time, we had more people working without any supervision and people were more worried about being able to make a living. So, the increase in online moonlighting was a consequence of that situation really.

Naseem: That’s certainly what happened to me. At the time, you read about all of these companies that were *laying off * their staff and there wasn’t much you could do about it if it happened to you. So suddenly working for just one company seemed like a bad idea. I have a family to feed: three boys and a girl. I felt a lot of insecurity and was terrified of losing money, or maybe even worse, my house. So, I took two jobs.

Host: What effect did that have on you and your family?

Naseem: It gave us some comfort, financially, as I started making more money than I had before the pandemic. But I was also working very long hours each day. I saw the children every day of course, but I couldn’t spend any real time with them as I had to work from almost as soon as I got up, until late in the evening. My wife was working as well, so it was quite hard to manage everything. When the crisis was averted, we had gotten used to having the extra money, so although I cut back on my hours in both jobs, I still continued to work at both.

Host: Do you see anything wrong with doing what you are doing?

Naseem: Not at all. I’m a professional and I work hard at both jobs. My main job is in IT as you mentioned, but my second is in design. 


