Pronunciation Challenge【CNN10】 Gas Prices and Inflation Rate / VR Gym / Giant Balloon

At Black Box VR, opened in 2019, your body transforms into a controller and real-world exercises are flashy attacks in a virtual battelground.

[Transcript]

Soaring Gas Prices and Inflation Rate in the U.S.

California, which has the largest population of any American state, also has the highest gas prices in the country. Average gasoline prices in northern California's Humboldt County come to $5 per gallon, and $4.68 per gallon in the Golden State, while the US national average is $3.41 per gallon. Drivers of midsize sedans in California are paying over $21 more every time they fill their tanks than they paid last year, when demand for gas and the cost of it were far lower. In addition to the rising demand for gas, powerful rainstorms in northern California have also reduced the state's ability to refine the fuel, that’s why record prices are set there but not nationwide.

What’s more frustrating than soaring gas prices right before Thanksgiving? Get ready for the most expensive grocery prices along with the high inflation rate. The rise in prices of goods and services⏤these are two of the big reasons why. It's having a negative impact on consumer sentiment; the way people feel about the US economy and their own personal finances.

This brings us to Atlanta, the state that has the overall highest inflation rate in the country. Its inflation rate, 7.9% compared to the national average at 6.2%. The southern city has that inflation rate due to big factors like housing, gas prices, and the cost of groceries as well. The demand for housing in the Atlanta metro area is outpacing supply, resulting in higher rents and home prices.

Now, with all the rising costs, whether it be gas prices, groceries or housing, it's no surprise that new statistics released by the University of Michigan shows that consumer sentiment is at a 10-year low. Tough times!

Black Box VR Gym

New digital technology is changing the way people perceive sports that have been strictly analog for centuries. At Black Box VR, opened in 2019, your body transforms into a controller where real-world exercises become flashy attacks in a virtual battleground.

Each member will be assigned to a private booth, and by simply putting on a VR headset, you’re instantly immersed in the vast, epic and futuristic sporting arena where you will be cheered by crowds. Just like any regular gym, you can perform various compound movements such as chest press, shoulder press, and back row. But as you're doing those movements, you're actually shooting a fire beam or an ice shard and creating dashing attacks against your opponent.

According to Preston Lewis, the co-founder of Black Box VR, fitness should be all fun and games. The interactive games have been created by some of the world's best behavioral psychologists, giving it the perfect little timing, the perfect little dopamine drips of an achievement or a reward that makes a 30 minute workout feel like 10. Workout gamification is truly awesome, but membership at Black Box VR costs $200 a single month, I guess I’ll stick to Ringfit on Nintendo Switch for now.

Speaking of fun and games, check out today’s CNN10 video for a glimpse of the upcoming Thanksgiving parade in New York City and how hundreds of volunteers took part in testing the giant balloons.

[Sentence of the day]

At Black Box VR, opened in 2019, your body transforms into a controller where real-world exercises become flashy attacks in a virtual battleground.

[Vocabulary words]

1. transform
To change completely into another state or something else

E.g. Name a movie where cars transform into robots.

2. virtual
Something that’s almost real, but not 100% real

E.g. Do we actually live in a virtual reality?

3. battleground (battlefield)
a place where a battle is being fought or has been fought in the past

E.g. We visited the Normandy battlegrounds and paid our respects to the brave souls.



Alright, that’s all we have time for today.
Folks, do you workout?
I love doing planks that make me sweat like a pig.
I wonder what that’s gonna be like in the VR world.
What’s your favorite and least favorite exercise?
Share it with me in the comment section down below.

This is Ken Miao and I’ll see you guys again next time.

At Black Box VR, opened in 2019, your body transforms into a controller and real-world exercises are flashy attacks in a virtual battleground