Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. a demand
    • ex. There is a high demand for fresh fruits in the local market during summer.
  2. come up with (something)
    • ex. Anna and her classmates are coming up with a plan for their science project.
  3. craft
    • ex. Sarah likes to craft handmade greeting cards for her friends' birthdays.
  4. an entrepreneur
    • ex. During career day at school, the students met an entrepreneur who started his own company.
  5. affordable
    • ex. He was happy to find an affordable laptop at the store.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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The demand for chocolate is very high worldwide. In America, chocolate sales were over $25 billion (about ¥3.5 trillion) in 2023. However, the supply of chocolate is low because climate change is harming rainforests where cocoa beans, used to make chocolate, grow. This problem affected the price of cocoa earlier this year. So, companies are coming up with new ways to grow cocoa or craft cocoa alternatives.

A company called California Cultured is growing cocoa in a lab in Sacramento. Its CEO Alan Perlstein says they use a special process to grow cocoa bean cells in sugar water. This method takes only a week instead of the usual six to eight months. California Cultured plans to sell its products next year.

Traditionally, cocoa trees grow in areas such as West Africa and South America. But climate change is drying out these areas. So, some scientists and entrepreneurs are crafting cocoa alternatives using oats and other ingredients. Experts say these new methods and alternatives are important to keep chocolates affordable and available as climate change affects cocoa production.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

The Demand for Chocolate

  • Imagine there's not enough supply of chocolate. How will that affect you? (ex. it won’t have an impact, I’ll be sad if I can’t eat chocolate)? Discuss.
  • The demand for chocolate is very high worldwide. Why do you think there is a high demand for chocolates? Discuss.
  • In America, chocolate sales were over $25 billion (approximately ¥3.5 trillion) in 2023. In your country, is there also a high demand for chocolates? Why do you say so? Discuss.

Cocoa Alternatives and the New Ways of Growing Cocoa

  • The supply of chocolate is low because climate change is harming rainforests. What do you think will happen to the chocolate supply in the future? Discuss.
  • Some companies like California Cultured which is growing cocoa in a lab. What do you think of this process (ex. I'm okay with it, I prefer chocolates from naturally grown ingredients)? Discuss.
  • Some scientists and entrepreneurs are trying cocoa alternatives like oats. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this action (ex. advantage: chocolate will remain affordable, disadvantage: the supply of alternative ingredients may become low)? Discuss.