© WEBIO via BBC NEWS
Pre-reading questions:
I will read each question. Then, please answer them.
- Have you tried trading your items for something else? Please tell me more about it.
- How do the local authorities in your city handle COVID-19?
Vocabulary:
I will read the words, meanings, and sample sentences. Then, repeat after me.
- trade /treyd/
- supply /suh-PLAHY/
- household /HOUS-hohld/
- run out /ruhn out/
- criticism /KRIT-uh-siz-uhm/
[verb] – to exchange something for another thing
Could I trade my Nintendo Switch for a PlayStation?
[noun] – an amount of something that is available for use
There is enough food supply for everyone.
[noun] – a group of people, often a family, who live together
Many households received financial aid from the government.
[phrasal verb] – if a supply of something runs out, all of it has been used or it is completely finished
We’ve run out of cooking oil. Could you buy some in the store?
[noun] – an opinion given about something or someone, especially a negative opinion, or the activity of making such judgments
There were a lot of criticisms online about the artist who copied someone else’s work.
Article reading:
Please read the whole article. Then, I will check your pronunciation and intonation.
Quarantined residents in Xi’an, China are trading supplies amid ongoing food shortages. Social media posts show locals exchanging cigarettes for cabbage, tech devices for instant noodles and steamed buns, and dishwashing soap for apples. About 13 million people have been confined to their homes since December 23. Although the Xi’an authorities have been providing free food to households, there have been numerous complaints on social media. Some residents say that their supplies had run out or had not received them.
COVID-19’s current devastation of China is centered in Xi’an, and local officials have taken drastic measures that have caused widespread criticisms on the internet. Merely three asymptomatic cases were found in Yuzhou, but the city was shut down overnight after the discovery. Several residents in the Mingde 8 Yingli housing compound in the south were recently advised that they needed to leave their houses and go to quarantine facilities shortly after midnight on January 1. China is currently pursuing a “zero COVID” approach to wipe out the virus rather than trying to live with it.
COVID-19’s current devastation of China is centered in Xi’an, and local officials have taken drastic measures that have caused widespread criticisms on the internet. Merely three asymptomatic cases were found in Yuzhou, but the city was shut down overnight after the discovery. Several residents in the Mingde 8 Yingli housing compound in the south were recently advised that they needed to leave their houses and go to quarantine facilities shortly after midnight on January 1. China is currently pursuing a “zero COVID” approach to wipe out the virus rather than trying to live with it.
Comprehension questions
I will read each question. Then, please answer them based on the article.
- What were people exchanging as seen in social media posts?
- How many people have been confined since December 23?
- What have the locals been complaining about despite receiving free food from the Xi’an authorities?
- How many asymptomatic cases were seen in Yuzhou?
- What were the residents in the Mingde 8 Yingli housing compound advised to do?
Discussion questions
I will read each question. Then, please answer them.
- Is it a normal occurrence in your country to trade items for food? Please tell me more about it.
- What do you do to make sure you do not experience food shortages?
- Which of your possessions would you trade for food if you experienced a food shortage?
- Do you think it is reasonable for the local authorities in China to implement strict regulations to control the virus spread?
- How did you feel upon learning that people in China have been trading their belongings for food and not for money?