They´re nice liberal people from the east coast. They understand the problems of ESL - Readers (and of uneducated immigrants in the first place, I suppose).
And that´s why there´s a great application: All N.Y.-Times articles are word to word connected with a dictionary. To find reference information about the words used in their articles, double-click on any word, phrase or name. A new window will open with a dictionary definition or encyclopedia entry.