What do you think is the most expensive place in the world to live? New York? London? Maybe Tokyo?

While Japan has long had a reputation as an expensive place to live, its cities have been getting cheaper in recent years — with some big changes coming just in the last 12 months.

American consulting company Mercer recently released its 2024 Cost of Living City Ranking, which compares the costs of over 200 items in 226 cities around the world. The results are based on a March 2024 survey, and include things like housing and transportation, as well as food, clothing and entertainment.

All five of the world's most expensive cities are unchanged from last year, with Hong Kong and Singapore again in first and second place. These two Asian cities are followed by three Swiss cities: Zurich, Geneva and Basel.

Bern, another Swiss city, has risen from seventh to sixth place, while New York City has fallen one place to seventh.

However, Tokyo has dropped 30 places to 49th — putting it right after San Juan in Puerto Rico. And Osaka has dropped 53 places to 146th — just ahead of Wuhan in China.

However, the biggest drop since last year was for Lagos in Nigeria, which fell 178 places to 225th. And the least expensive city is now Abuja, Nigeria's capital, at 226th.

Mercer wrote that many big drops were caused by changes in exchange rates. Japan's yen dropped to a 34-year low against the US dollar in March — and hit a 38-year low in early July.

The ranking was also affected by inflation — especially in housing prices — as well as increasing political uncertainty around the world.

Mercer says it's important for companies to look at its cost of living ranking when thinking about sending staff to live abroad.




Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Japan Tumbles on Expensive Cities Ranking

Barbecue is a much-loved part of American food culture, with different areas having their own special flavors and cooking styles. From the Carolinas to Texas, there's a lot to learn about how barbecue styles are different across the country — and what better place to learn than at a museum!

Planned to open next spring in Kansas City, Missouri, the Museum of BBQ says it will be the world's first museum dedicated to teaching visitors about the history and culture of the cooking style.

"Barbecue is a feast for your senses," says food writer Jonathan Bender, who is opening the museum with chef Alex Pope. "Here in one of the BBQ capitals of the world, we're creating a place where you can immerse yourself in the stories of barbecue."

The museum will have rooms based on different barbecue styles, and what it calls "the main American regions of barbecue" — the Carolinas; Memphis, Tennessee; Texas; and Kansas City.



There will also be an oversized pot of "barbecue beans" for kids to play in, and a gift shop where visitors can buy things like barbecue spices, sauces and aprons.

Bender says the museum will be a place "where barbecue comes alive."

Kansas City is one of the barbecue capitals of the world, home to more than 100 local barbecue restaurants and many barbecue competitions. The city's barbecue style is famous for its "burnt ends" — charred pieces of slow-cooked beef brisket — often served with a thick, sweet, tomato-based sauce.

But the best styles and flavors are often debated among lovers of the cooking style — which is something the museum may help to encourage among its visitors!

"Barbecue isn't just food. It's culture," Bender told CNN Travel. And the founders hope visitors will come away from the museum with a new appreciation for barbecue and the community it creates.

Fired Up: Barbecue Museum to Open in Kansas City

One of the questions that many of us have about exercise is "should it hurt?"

Some people agree with the old saying: "No pain, no gain," which means if it's not hurting, you're not improving.

But is that really true?

When it comes to weight training, some experts tell people that they should train "until failure" for best results.

This means they keep lifting or training until their body cannot physically do any more.

However, others say that this approach is not suitable for everyone.

"If somebody wants to increase muscle mass as much as they possibly can, then training to failure is something to consider," said Michael Zourdos, from Florida Atlantic University, who has done research into this subject.

He and his colleagues found that lifting weights "until failure" may build bigger muscles, but isn't needed to increase strength.

He said people who work out hard, but don't push themselves to exhaustion, will still likely improve their fitness.

For the average person just looking to increase their fitness levels, Zourdos said it's easier to get results.

He said that these people would benefit from a hard session that comes within five to 10 repetitions of failure, rather than training to complete exhaustion.

He also said "failure training" often makes people so sore that they miss their next session.

Overdoing it can sometimes be harmful — and people who are planning on doing strenuous exercise should see a doctor first.

James Fisher, a sport science expert in the UK, says that resting muscle groups is an important part of training.

But he agrees that if people want to build muscle, they need to push themselves.

"If you lift a weight you can easily lift 10 times or more, you never really work hard enough," he said.

Still, Fisher said that the best workout is "one that people will actually do," regardless of how hard they push themselves.

Does 'Training to Failure' Improve Strength, Fitness?

Standing desks have been promoted as a healthy alternative for office workers who don't want to stay seated in front of a computer all day. But a new study suggests that standing desks may not be so good for us after all.

A research team, led by scientists at the University of Sydney, has found that standing for over two hours a day may increase the risk of developing circulatory diseases that can prevent the proper flow of blood in the body.

The researchers looked at data from over 83,000 adults in the UK who were not suffering from heart disease at the start of the study. For seven days, the participants wore a device on their wrists that recorded the time they spent sitting or standing each day.

After collecting this data, the researchers recorded any heart disease or circulatory health problems the participants experienced over the following seven years.

The research team calculated that after standing for two hours, every extra 30 minutes someone stands increases their risk of having a circulatory disease by 11%.

And although standing was not associated with an increased risk of health problems like heart disease or stroke, standing does not reduce the risk of developing such health problems either.

Speaking to The Guardian, Matthew Ahmadi, one of the authors of the study, said the key point of the study's findings is that standing instead of sitting doesn't provide any health advantage, and could increase health risks for some people.

Emmanuel Stamatakis, one of the other authors of the study, told The Guardian that moving around during the day and getting regular exercise are better ways to reduce the risk of heart disease.

"Take regular breaks, walk around, go for a walking meeting, use the stairs, take regular breaks when driving long distances, or use that lunch hour to get away from the desk and do some movement," he said.

Standing Desks Could Be Bad for Your Health

Pizza is one of the world's most popular fast foods. It's believed that over 5 billion pizzas are sold around the world every year. In the US alone, people buy about 3 billion pizzas each year, which is about 46 slices per person!

But it wasn't always as popular as it is today — in fact, it used to be looked down on, even by Italians!

The modern pizza we know today started in Naples, Italy, in the 18th century. Poor people in the city needed cheap food that was easy to eat as they looked for work. Street vendors sold them pizzas with simple toppings like garlic and tomatoes.

For a long time, pizza was looked down on as food for the poor, and visitors to Naples thought it was dirty and unappealing.

But this changed in 1889, when Queen Margherita of Italy tried pizza and loved it. The pizza with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil was named after her, and pizza started to become a national dish in Italy.

Pizza became a favorite in the US after Italian immigrants brought it with them. It became especially popular in cities like New York, and new styles like Chicago deep dish and Hawaiian were invented.

And it became even more popular with the invention of frozen pizza, which let people make their own pizzas at home.

Today, pizza is enjoyed around the world, with many different toppings and styles. But its basic form hasn't changed very much from all those years ago.

From Poverty to Popularity: The History of Pizza

The Grand Egyptian Museum has finally opened some of its galleries to the public, as part of a trial run ahead of the still-unannounced official opening.

The museum, a mega-project near the Giza Pyramids, which has cost well over $1 billion so far, has opened 12 halls featuring ancient Egyptian exhibits.

Up to 4,000 people have been able to visit each day since the middle of October.

The museum has been under construction for more than a decade, but the official opening has been delayed for various reasons, including the coronavirus pandemic and political problems.

The idea, which was first announced in the early 1990s, was to collect ancient artifacts from around the country in one place.

The government wanted the new museum to be outside of Cairo, the busy capital city, to make it easier to get to.

Some sections have been open since 2022 for limited tours, to test the visitor experience and the museum's preparedness.

More than 100,000 of Egypt's ancient treasures will be displayed in the world's largest archaeological museum, according to the Egyptian state information website.

The grand staircase — six stories high and with a view of the pyramids — and the commercial area are open to the public, showcasing monuments and artifacts that include sarcophagi and statues.

Other parts of the museum, including the King Tutankhamun treasure collection, are set to open at later dates.

All halls are equipped with advanced technology and feature multimedia presentations to explain the lives of the ancient Egyptians, including its kings, according to Eissa Zidan from the museum.

One of the halls will use virtual reality to explain the history of burial and its development throughout ancient Egypt.

Some of the first tourists to visit said they were impressed by the museum, which Zidan called "a gift to all the world."

He said: "The museum is not only a place to display antiquities, but it also aims to attract children to learn about ancient Egyptian history."