Peace by Chocolate

Peace by Chocolate is a chocolate company. It is owned by the Hadhad family. The Hadhad family had a chocolate factory in Syria. A bomb destroyed the factory. The family left Syria. They lived in a refugee camp in Lebanon for three years. A new life in Canada In 2016, the Hadhad family moved to…

Difficult returns

December is a busy time for shoppers. Some people like to buy gifts for their friends. Others like to take advantage of the many sales. But, sometimes, people buy things and regret it later. If a person doesn’t want a purchase anymore, they might try to return it. Some returns can be difficult Stores have…

Worm-picking

A worm picker is a worker who gathers worms. The worms are sold as live fish bait.  Worm-pickers work at night. They travel by trucks to different fields. They wear headlamps.  Each worm picker has two coffee cans strapped to their ankles. One is for worms. The other is filled with sawdust to dry off…

Single-use item bylaw

A new Vancouver bylaw will start in April. This bylaw will ban food vendors from giving customers disposable straws, forks, knives, chopsticks and spoons. People with disabilities can still get a straw if they need one. No more foam In January, Vancouver banned foam cups and foam take-out containers. Soon, the city hopes to stop…

Preparing for a job interview

Job interviews can be stressful. If you prepare for your job interview, you will be more confident and relaxed. There are many ways to prepare for a job interview. Practise your answers before going to the interview Many interviewers ask the same questions. They will ask about your work experience. They might ask you about…

Brother and sister cook up sauce

Level 2 Story adapted from The Vancouver Sun by Patty Bossort Skylar and Chloe Sinow run their own business. They make and sell pasta sauces. They wrote a cookbook. Their business is called Kids Can Cook Gourmet. The sauces They make three kinds of sauces. One hundred and thirty stores in Alberta and B.C. sell…

Employers are hiring more apprentices

Story adapted from The Vancouver Sun by Patty Bossort LEVEL 3 More employers are starting to hire and train apprentices. Hiring apprentices helps corporations get good workers. Working as an apprentice helps workers gain skills on-the-job. Why do we need more apprenticeship opportunities? Skilled trades workers “don’t grow on trees,” says one employer. Workers need to be…

Solly’s cinnamon buns go around the world

Adapted from WEVancouver by Nancy Carson Level 2 Leah Markovitch owns Solly’s in Vancouver. Solly’s is a bakery and deli. The bakery makes Jewish baking. They serve soup and sandwiches, too. You can sit down. You can have a snack. Or you can eat a nice lunch. Visit the link ]Watch bagels being made in Seattle…

A young inventor

A young inventor Adapted from The Province by Nila Gopaul Level 3 Listen to “A young inventor” – Level 3 Reading by Corey Muench Ann Makosinski is a young inventor. She and her flashlight are famous. The Victoria, B.C., teenager won a top prize at the 2013 Google Science Fair. She has been in Time Magazine and on…

A good business

A good business Adapted from The Province by Nila Gopaul Level one Listen to “A Good Business”– Level 1 Reading by Jessica Heafey Jason Vanderveen has a very good business. Vanderveen Hay Sales is in Surrey, B.C. Every day, it gets many calls. Farmers call to buy hay. They use the hay to feed their…

B.C. Subway opens 400th restaurant

B.C. Subway opens 400th restaurant Adapted from The Vancouver Sun and www.wikipedia.org by Nila Gopaul, 2013, Level 2 Subway restaurants are successful in B.C. Recently, the 400th Subway store opened in Vancouver. The restaurant is near Rogers Arena. An arena is an indoor sports place. The Vancouver Canucks hockey team plays there. It is a good…

From housewife to queen: Cindy Lee sells T&T* Supermarkets for $225 Million

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun and T&T Supermarket company website Level 2 October 2009 Cindy Lee came to Vancouver from Taiwan in 1972. She just wanted to have a simple life. Lee shopped in Chinatown in the rain with her three children. Shopping in Chinatown was not convenient (con-vee-nyint). There were no shopping carts. There…

Watson Gloves

Adapted from The Province by Nila Gopaul Level 2 Do you like to garden? Do you wear gloves when you garden? They are probably made by a company called Watson Gloves.

The shop that cuts for charity

The shop that cuts for charity Adapted from The Vancouver Sun by Nancy Carson Level 2 Iveta, 47, and Anna, 37, live in Vancouver. And they cut hair. They cut men’s hair. “No women, no children. Just men,” Anna said. A shop for men The shop has two TVs. The TVs show sports. The walls have…

Chinese buy B.C. businesses

Chinese buy B.C. businesses Adapted from The Province and the B.C. Ministry of International Trade by Nila Gopaul Level 2 [stextbox id=”audio”]Listen to “Chinse buy B.C. businesses”– Level 2 Reading by Nila Gopaul[/stextbox] Marco Chi and Sophie Pu are husband and wife. They come from Guangzhou, China. The couple wants to make Squamish their home. The town is “an…

Tourists love B.C.

Tourists love B.C. – Level 3 Adapted from The Vancouver Sun and The Province by Nila Gopaul B.C. is beautiful. And the world is noticing. In fact, tourism in B.C is up 39 per cent since 2001. In 2014, there were about nine million overnight stays in Metro Vancouver. In 2016, tourists may bring $18 billion…

Knitting

Knitting Adapted from The Vancouver Sun by Nila Gopaul Level 1 Grandmother, mother and daughter love to knit. Francesca, Zoe and Aija have a knitting store. The store is called Three Bags Full. The store opened in 2006. It sells knitting needles. It sells yarn. Knitting is popular again Many people come to the shop….

Canada’s first aboriginal arts hotel

Canada’s first aboriginal arts hotel Adapted from The Vancouver Sun by Nila Gopaul Level 3 Skwachàys* Lodge in Vancouver is Canada’s first aboriginal arts hotel. The lodge has 18 rooms. *say:  skywatch-eyes Six aboriginal artists and six designers worked on the rooms. Each room tells a different story. Rooms start at $99/night. Guests can experience…

The business of time

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun by Nila Gopaul Level 1 Meet Vahid. Vahid was born in Iran. He came to Canada 30 years ago. He sells and fixes clocks and watches. His business is called It’s About Time. It’s About Time is in Langley, B.C.

Atira wins award

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 2 Atira is an organization. Atira helps women in Vancouver, Surrey and White Rock. Atira builds homes for women. Atira owns 13 buildings. They house 1,200 women. The homes are safe places. The homes are low-cost. They built a new apartment in downtown Vancouver. They used old shipping containers. The…

Kamloops Daily News closes doors

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 The Kamloops Daily News was the only daily newspaper in Kamloops. It published for 80 years. The paper had 27,000 subscribers. The Kamloops Daily News stopped publishing in January. Fifty-five employees lost their jobs. They got two months’ notice. Read the PDF and do the exercise Kamloops News Visit…

Canada Post makes changes

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 Canada Post has a new business plan. The corporation needs to make more money. They will make more money in three ways. Stamps will cost more in 2014. A stamp costs $0.63 today. On March 31, a stamp will cost $1.00. In 2000, a stamp cost $0.46. The cost…

Shoppers plan to spend less this Christmas

Adapted from The Province Level 1 BC shoppers want to spend less for Christmas this year. Financial managers advise families to make a plan. A plan for spending is called a budget. Families should make a holiday budget. They should plan how much to spend. Spending tips for the holidays: Shop early. Shop with a plan….

A family business

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 January 2012 William and his wife, Jenny, started their beef jerky business 25 years ago. They bought the secret recipe for dried meat in Singapore for $35,000. BKH Jerky was a booming business for many years. But bad luck hit. A fire destroyed their business. BKH Jerky had…

The loonie turns 25

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 On June 30, 1987, 45 million golden dollar coins were released in Canadian cities. These coins had eleven sides. The new money replaced the $1 paper bills. People were curious to see them. The coins had a bird on one side. A picture of Queen Elizabeth was on…

A vest helps special-needs children

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 Lisa Fraser is 24 years old. She is a Vancouver designer. She has a company.  It is called Squeezease Therapy. Lisa’s company makes vests to comfort children with special-needs like autism and ADHD. The name of her vest is called “Snug Vest”. What is a Snug Vest? Lisa’s…

Canadian’s gelato scoops up award in Italy

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 3 Did you know you can study how to make ice cream at university? James Coleridge knows. In 2009 he studied in Italy for a year. He wanted to learn the old way of making this sweet, frozen treat. History of cold treats These cold treats are not new….

Toy of the Century

Adapted from The Vancouver Sun Level 2 They are small plastic bricks. They are different colours. And they have studs on them. Some have six studs. Others have four or eight studs. Millions of kids play with the bricks. They call these bricks “Lego”. Visit the links: Story of how LEGO is built Yo-yos with…