B1 Reading Practice (Improve Your FLUENCY in English)

Welcome back to JForrest English.

I'm Jennifer, and today we're going to read  a very interesting news article together.

And you're going to learn a  lot of advanced vocabulary  

to help you sound like a native English speaker.

Let's get started.

First, I'll read the headline.

Gwyneth Paltrow faces backlash  after listing Guest House on Airbnb.

To make the world a little less lonely,  

some commenters called Paltrow's  partnership with Airbnb out of touch.

So here is Gwyneth Paltrow.

She's a famous actor, but I  cannot think of 1 movie she is in.

So what about you?

Do you know any movies Gwyneth Paltrow's in?

If so, share in the comments below.

And this is the guest house that  will be available on Airbnb.

So if you're interested, you could stay  here and some pictures of the guest house.

So let's review this headline here.

So first, let's start with backlash.

Backlash is a noun.

It's a something and it's a strong negative  reaction to a decision, announcement or change.

So in this case, Gwyneth Paltrow  announced that her guest house will  

be available on Airbnb and apparently  people were not happy about that.

There was some sort of a negative reaction.

I know that simply because of the word backlash,  

so I don't even need to  read anymore of the article.

I know that people were not happy,  so a company might receive backlash  

for implementing a new policy,  like a dress code for example.

So you can receive backlash,  You can face backlash.

So this would be the verb that  goes with the noun backlash.

Receive, face.

Those are common verbs.

After listing guest house  in headlines of articles,  

they will omit certain grammatical  structures like articles.

So this is a news article,  

but an article in the English language is  the ah or an so in this case guest house.

This is a singular countable noun.

So grammatically I actually  need to have an article after  

listing her guest house because it belongs to her.

That would be the correct choice.

You could say all guest house if it was any  guest house, but it's not just any guest house.

It's a specific guest house and it belongs to her.

You can also say the guest house to  represent a specific guest house,  

but you would also have to  specify what that guest house is.

The guest house that belongs to her.

So rather than doing that, you  can just say her guest house.

So you do need an article grammatically.

But in the headlines of newspaper  articles it is very common to omit  

the grammatical structure of an article.

OK, so her guest house on Airbnb and the reason  why is to make the world a little less lonely.

I don't know why people are  reacting negatively towards that.

I'm not sure we'll find out some commenters.

A commenter is a person who comments.

OK, I'll write that for you.

A person who comments.

And this could be a text based comment to a social  media post or it could also be an oral comment at  

a presentation, conference or meeting.

So if you comment on my videos by saying  thanks, Jennifer, I love this video.

If you think so, put that in the comments,  

then you are a commenter, so  you can say I'm a commenter.

So put that in the comments and then automatically  

you are a commenter because  you put that in the comments.

So put this in the comments right  now so you can become a commenter.

Some commenters called Paltrow's  partnership with Airbnb out of touch.

Let's take a look at out of touch.

This is a very common idiom.

If you describe someone or something as out of  touch, you're saying that they're not informed.

They're not informed with the latest,  the most recent about something specific.

Or simply they don't have the same ideas as most  people, usually because they're not informed.

For example, the company wants you to  fax them, the invoice, fax, fax them.

Seriously, that's so out of touch  Today, nobody uses fax machines.

So if you are suggesting that someone should  use a fax machine, well then you were just  

not informed and you don't have the same idea as  most people who would obviously suggest e-mail.

And you can specify what  they are out of touch with.

So out of touch with technology, for example, you  don't have to, you can just say that's so out of  

touch and then it's obvious that is technology  because that's the topic of the example.

I don't know why announcing this on Airbnb cause  

backlash and cause people  to say she's out of touch.

I'm not sure, so let's keep reading and find out.

Now, first of all, don't worry about writing all  

these notes because I summarize  everything in a free lesson PDF.

So you can look in the description  for the link to download the free PDF.

Let's continue.

Very nice guest house, isn't it?

American actor and businesswoman Gwyneth  Paltrow faced swift social media backlash.

OK, you already know what backlash is, and  now they're saying social media backlash.

So the negative reactions were on social media.

So that's where you saw the negative reactions  in the comments section by the commenters.

And you are now a commenter as well, hopefully  with something positive, not backlash.

Hopefully notice how they use actor,  but in this case they use business.

Woman actor in the past was only used to describe  males and then actress was used for females,  

but that is not something that in modern  usage of English people continue to use.

So she is an actress, but you  can also call her an actor.

But the opposite does not work.

So you can't call a man and actress.

That doesn't sound correct.

But now actor has become gender  neutral in the English language  

and it refers to men and women, men, women.

So is gender neutral.

So if someone keeps referring to  someone as an actress, you can say Well,  

actually that's a little out of touch because in  modern usage you don't need to specify actress,  

You can simply use actor for both men and women.

All right.

American actor and business woman Gwyneth  Paltrow faced swift social media backlash.

Again, remember this verb here,  face receive and now swift.

If something is swift, it  means it happened quickly.

So as an alternative, you can say thank  you for your swift reply Instead of  

thank you for your quick reply,  thank you for your swift reply.

So now you've added that to your vocabulary, swift  social media backlash and was called out of touch.

You know what this idiom means now,  after announcing a new partnership  

with Airbnb that she said will make  the world a little less lonely?

So this basically repeated the headline.

But repetition when you're learning  something is always beneficial.

So I want to see if you're enjoying this  lesson, if you enjoy learning from the news.

Because if you do, then I know you'll  love the finely fluent Academy.

This is my premium training program where  we study native English speakers from TV,  

movies, YouTube and the news so you can  improve your listening skills of fast  

English and add the most common and advanced  vocabulary and grammatical structures to your  

speech so you can sound fluent and  natural just like a native speaker.

And you'll have me as your personal  coach, So you can look for the link in  

the description For more information  on how to join, Let's continue.

In a video posted on Instagram earlier this week,  

the Oscar winning film and television star said  she's listing her guest house in Montecito,  

California on the popular home  stay site, which is Airbnb.

This is the popular home stay site Airbnb,  

and I know that because they  previously mentioned Airbnb.

Airbnb.

What about you?

Do you like staying at Airbnb's?

Put that in the comment.

I love to know.

I personally love Airbnb.

I generally don't stay at hotels anymore.

I always stay at Airbnb's because I love having a  

kitchen so I can make my meals and  I find it's just more comfortable.

What about you?

And notice here you list  something on and then a site.

So let's say you're selling a cell phone,  an old cell phone, or a car or anything.

You could list your phone on Craigslist  or on Facebook Marketplace, for example.

Here's an example.

And this is a true example.

You may have watched my short where  I talked about selling my car.

Well, I listed my car on Facebook.

The Facebook marketplace.

I listed my car on Facebook  and it's sold in one week.

Now if I list an item somewhere  on a specific site, it means I  

make it available for purchase or for use.

So I did that.

What about you?

Have you listed any items on any websites?

Now in this case, she says  hosting up to two guests up to.

In this case, up to represents the maximum amount.

So if you were writing your  IL's or any kind of exam,  

they might say you have up to 20 minutes to  complete the writing section, up to 20 minutes.

This is a maximum of 20 minutes.

A maximum of is the more formal way.

So honestly in the instructions for a test,  

most likely it will say a maximum of  because this is the more formal way.

And just an alternative, perhaps more casual way  is you can say up to you have up to 20 minutes.

So this house will host up to two guests.

A maximum of two guests for a one night stay.

Loneliness.

Now pay attention because  quotation marks are here.

So I know that someone is  saying this, This is a quote.

And I know that because of the quotation  marks, loneliness is a human condition.

But in the past few years,  

increased isolation and our lack of community  has made our lives even more fragmented.

Fragmented is an adjective, and it means  consisting of several separate parts.

So she's saying, has made our  lives even more fragmented.

So in the past, perhaps you had  one part that represented an  

entire family unit and you had these  large families that live together.

But now if your lives are fragmented, it means  this one family unit is in separate parts.

So there maybe the parents are here in  one house and one city, one country.

One child is studying abroad, another  child is working in a different city.

The grandparents live somewhere else,  the brothers, the aunts, the uncles.

So this family unit that was  together is now fragmented,  

which means separated into different  parts, she wrote in the post.

So remember this is quoting  and the she is Gwyneth Paltrow.

So these are the words that she said, but it  sounds like she said she wrote it in a post.

So she didn't actually say them out loud.

She wrote them in the post  

and then she goes on because there's another  quotation mark, so I know she's continuing.

Now this was in the post, so she put at Airbnb.

So Airbnb was tagged in the post.

Airbnb had the brilliant idea of doing something  to make the world a little less lonely,  

which is why I'm inviting you to come stay  at my Montecito guest house for a night.

So remember here for a night all represents 11.

So here it's for a night come stay  for a night or for a one night stay.

So these are different ways of saying the exact  same thing for a night for a one night stay.

Now notice here come stay, come stay at my place.

This is how a native speaker would invite someone.

So let's say your friend is coming  from out of town and your friend says,  

oh, I'm just going to get an Airbnb.

I'm going to get an Airbnb, which  means they're going to book a Airbnb.

I'm going to get an Airbnb.

And you can say, don't be  silly, come stay with me.

Come stay with me for a night and two nights  your entire state, whatever that might be.

So I wrote this here.

Don't be silly.

Come stay with me.

This could be something that a native  speaker uses to invite someone.

Now not necessarily.

The don't be silly.

That depends on context.

Why did I add this?

Well, it might be silly for my  very good friend to spend money  

on an Airbnb in the city I live in  when I have an extra bedroom and  

would love to have that friend in my  house so we can spend time together.

So that's why it's silly for that friend.

So you don't necessarily have to include  this part, but it is a common thing.

Don't be silly, come stay with me  while we may begin as strangers.

Okay, notice the quotation continues.

These are still the words of Gwyneth Paltrow.

And remember, she wrote this in a post.

While we may begin as strangers, I hope  we'll find connections and commonalities.

Commonalities.

You could also say things in common.

I hope we'll find connections  and things in common.

So things in common.

Commonalities.

This is when two people or two things share  the same interests, ideas, beliefs or features.

Now notice I said two people or two things,  

Because if it's things, then they  could share the same features.

For example, there are many  commonalities between iOS and Android.

I don't know if that's true.

That's just an example.

And of course, I might say, Oh well, my  friend and I, we have many commonalities.

We have many things in common.

And then I could talk about  the things we have in common.

We went to the same school.

We are both English teachers.

We both love traveling, for example.

So she says, I hope we'll find connections  and commonalities over a delicious meal.

When you do something over and then  another activity, it means during.

So the duration of over a delicious meal,  It's the duration of that delicious meal.

While we're having a delicious meal, we'll talk.

And as we're talking, I might  say, Oh yeah, I really love yoga.

And then Gwyneth Paltrow,  Oh my God, I love yoga too.

Well, we just found a commonality.

So over during while, it's the same meaning in  the course of over a delicious meal, she added.

OK, let's continue.

In the video, the actor remember gender neutral.

In the video, the actor gives a  tour of her picturesque residence.

This is a very nice adjective, picturesque.

If something is picturesque, it means  it's just very beautiful to look at.

It is a very nice sight.

So this would be a great adjective  to describe a entire city or a town  

or just a building or house in a city or town.

But you can describe a whole, a whole city, or  just one aspect of a city or place as picturesque.

A tour of our picturesque residents,  

noting guests will receive products from  Goop, Paltrow's modern lifestyle brand.

I have never heard of Goop, have you?

I guess it's Gwyneth Paltrow's  modern lifestyle brand.

She goes on to share a video of  her pool and cozy dining area.

Cozy is another great adjective,  especially in the context of a house.

So you will see this a lot in real estate  listings to describe a room or a house as cozy.

To me, cozy means warm and comfortable.

So let me spell this correctly for you.

Comfortable.

So if this dining area is described  as cozy, I picture really comfortable.

Couches, lots of pillows, maybe some  blankets that I can get nice and warm with.

Maybe there's a fire going.

And all of that gives the  image of warm and comfortable.

Cozy, so you can use it for real estate  to describe an entire house, a room.

We also use it for clothing.

Say, a sweater.

Most likely you have that one sweater you always  

put on after work or at the end of  your day, because it's very cozy.

It's warm and comfortable.

So you could say this sweater is  so cozy, warm and comfortable.

This sweater, this blanket.

The sheets are so cozy, for example, but some  social media users were having none of it.

Oh OK, here we get to the backlash.

Why are people angry about this?

Why are they having a negative reaction?

Because if they were having none of it, it means  that they were not accepting what she is singing.

So for example, let's say you were late  to work and you tried to explain that  

your alarm didn't go off or you were stuck in  traffic, but your boss was having none of it.

Your boss was not accepting what you were saying.

So that's a good expression.

I wrote that definition there for you,  

but some social media users, some commenters,  we're having none of it, with some quick to  

point out when you point something out, you  just you draw attention to it, you identify it.

So I'll put that there to identify and  then remember quick, we also learned  

what was the other adjective that you  can use with some Swift to point out.

Swift to point out, quick to point out that  the initiative, her initiative of offering her  

guest home for a one night stay, remember that's  her initiative, her initiative, where are we?

Her initiative will do little, do little to  address loneliness for those most vulnerable.

What do you think about that?

Is that true?

Is that reason for the backlash others mentioned?

The listing will likely be  unaffordable for many fans.

So obviously if something is unaffordable, it  means they cannot afford it, cannot afford it.

But I'll just show you that alternative  to be and notice this is be unaffordable.

Not able to afford it will be  unaffordable for many fans.

OK, so this is the reason for the backlash.

It won't address loneliness  and it will be unaffordable.

Those two reasons?

There's no price listed for Paltrow's residents,  which is open for booking starting August 5th.

OK, so on August 5th you can go on  Airbnb and see how much this is.

And it's unclear whether this day is  paid or free through a competition.

OK, so not just free, It's  free through a competition.

So maybe the competition could be that guests  have to submit a video explaining why they  

want to meet Gwyneth Paltrow, and the best  video wins and the prize is they get to stay.

That's an interesting idea.

What do you think about that  

shortly after announcing the partnership with  Airbnb and receiving an onslaught of backlash?

We already know what backlash is.

Negative reaction.

Negative reaction to someone's  decision, announcement, policy change.

Now notice here is an onslaught of backlash,  

an onslaught of and then something suggests that  the something came quickly and aggressively.

So she posted this at, let's just say,  

noon and then by 12:05 or 12:15 there  were already a lot of negative reactions.

In the comments, people said, I'm having  none of this, this is so out of touch,  

Give me a break or some sort of  negative reaction and came quickly,  

quickly and aggressively,  an onslaught of backlash.

Paltrow announced she was  stepping back from social media.

Let's take a look at this  phrasal vert to step back.

She announced she was stepping  back from social media.

When you step back from something or from an  activity, it means that you stop that activity  

or you stop your involvement in that activity,  but is temporary, so you only temporarily stop.

So for a period of time, I don't know how long.

Oh, day, A weekend, a week, a month.

I'm not sure she's going to stop using  social media, but she'll be back on social  

media after a period of time because she's  just stepping back from social media now.

If I said OK, OK everyone, I'm  stepping back from my YouTube channel,  

then you would expect you wouldn't see any  new videos or you wouldn't see any new posts.

But don't worry, I'm not  announcing that is just an example.

And why did she step back?

Well, remember she received  that onslaught of backlash.

So the backlash, negative reactions  and the onslaught means it happened  

quite quickly and it happened quite aggressively.

So maybe she was really  excited about this initiative.

She thought it was a really good idea and then  she posted it and it was like, oh, I can't wait.

And then she checks and it's  just all this negativity.

So that could be why she stepped back from  social media and that is the end of the article.

Now I want you to be a commenter.

I want you to comment.

So here are two things you can comment on.

Do you think the onslaught,  

A backlash was justified based on  what you just learned in this article?

So that's when you can comment  on so you can be a commenter.

And the other one, the one I'm more interested in.

If I listed my home on  Airbnb, would you come stay?

Would you come stay with me for a one night  stay, have dinner and discuss our commonalities?

What do you think?

Would you say?

Put that in the comments  so you can be a commenter.

Now what I'll do is I'll read this article  

from start to finish and this time  you can focus on my pronunciation.

Gwyneth Paltrow faces backlash  after listing guest house on Airbnb.

To make the world a little less lonely,  

some commenters called Paltrow's  partnership with Airbnb out of touch.

American actor and businesswoman Gwyneth  Paltrow faced swift social media backlash  

and was called out of touch after  announcing a new partnership with  

Airbnb that she said will make  the world a little less lonely.

In a video posted on Instagram earlier this week,  

the Oscar winning film and television star said  she's listing her guest house in Montecito,  

California on the popular homestay site,  hosting up to two guests for a one night stay.

Loneliness is a human condition, but in  the past few years increased isolation  

and our lack of community has made our lives  even more fragmented, she wrote in the post.

At Airbnb had the brilliant idea of doing  something to make the world a little less lonely,  

which is why I'm inviting you to come stay  at my Montecito guesthouse for a night.

While we may begin as strangers,  I hope we'll find connections and  

commonalities over a delicious meal, she added.

In the video, the actor gives a  tour of her picturesque residence,  

noting guests will receive products from  Goop, Paltrow's modern lifestyle brand.

She goes on to share a video of  her pool and cozy dining area,  

but some social media users were having none  of it, with some quick to point out that the  

initiative will do little to address  loneliness for those most vulnerable.

Others mentioned, the listing will  likely be unaffordable for many fans.

There's no price listed for Paltrow's  residents, which is open for booking  

starting August 5th and is unclear whether  this day is paid or free through a competition.

Shortly after announcing the partnership  with Airbnb and receiving an onslaught  

of backlash, Paltrow announced she  was stepping back from social media.

So did you comment on this lesson?

Are you a commenter?

Making sure you're a commenter by leaving a  

comment and I can't wait to see  what you say in the comments.

And you can get this free speaking  guide where I share 6 tips on how  

to speak English fluently and confidently.

You can click here to download it or  look for the link in the description  

and why don't you get started  with your next lesson right now?