Pre-reading questions:
I will read each question. Then, please answer them.
- Can people smoke anywhere in your country?
- What is the youngest age that a person allowed to smoke in your country?
Vocabulary:
I will read the words, meanings, and sample sentences. Then, repeat after me.
- rise /rahyz/
- decade /DEK-eyd/
- reduce /ri-DOOS/
- unlikely /uhn-LAHYK-lee/
- beyond /bih-YOND/
[verb] – to move upwards
The COVID-19 cases in the city rose last week.
[noun] – a period of ten years, especially a period such as 2010 to 2019
The internet went through a lot of progress in terms of speed and efficiency this decade.
[verb ] – to become or to make something become smaller in size, amount, degree, importance
The couple reduced their caloric intake to lose weight.
[adjective ] – not probable or likely to happen
It is unlikely that she would return here.
[preposition] – further away in the distance (than something)
He continued to work beyond his working hours.
Article reading:
Please read the whole article. Then, I will check your pronunciation and intonation.
New research published in The Lancet in May showed that the number of smokers around the world has reached 1.1 billion. In 2019, deaths resulting from smoking hit 8 million and continues to rise as more younger people pick up the habit. In the last three decades, the number of smokers increased for males in 20 countries and females in 12. 2/3 of the world’s smokers come from 10 countries, namely: China, India, Indonesia, the United States, Russia, Bangladesh, Japan, Turkey, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
The research is part of the Global Burden of Disease which studies issues that affect the health and disability of people at national, regional, and worldwide levels. The results showed that half of all countries made small progress in decreasing smoking consumption among 15 to 24-year-olds. According to Marissa Reitsma, the study’s lead author and a researcher at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the government must focus on reducing the number of young smokers because 89% of new smokers become addicted to the vice by 25 years old but are unlikely to begin smoking beyond that age.
The research is part of the Global Burden of Disease which studies issues that affect the health and disability of people at national, regional, and worldwide levels. The results showed that half of all countries made small progress in decreasing smoking consumption among 15 to 24-year-olds. According to Marissa Reitsma, the study’s lead author and a researcher at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the government must focus on reducing the number of young smokers because 89% of new smokers become addicted to the vice by 25 years old but are unlikely to begin smoking beyond that age.
Comprehension questions
I will read each question. Then, please answer them based on the article.
- When and where was the study published?
- How many deaths related to smoking happened in 2019?
- What is the “Global Burden of Disease”?
- Who is the lead author of the study?
- What did the lead author say the government must focus on according to the article?
Discussion questions
I will read each question. Then, please answer them.
- 2/3 of the world’s smokers come from only 10 countries. What can you say about this?
- Why do more and more young people become addicted to smoking?
- Do you know anyone who has successfully quit smoking? How did they do it?
- Do you think high tax should be imposed on cigarettes?
- What advice can you give to someone who wants to quit his/her smoking addiction?