TEXT OF NEWS ITEM
Text One
Communicative Purpose:
to inform readers about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or important
It is back-to-school time in the United States, which for many is bittersweet. The bitter part is for saying goodbye to carefree, unscheduled summer days. The sweet part is saying hello to a new school year and school friends.
This exciting time is filled with smells of new books, paper and pencils. Children might dress in a new set of clothes and wear new shoes. And of course there are the first-day-of-school pictures that parents share with family and friends.
However, going back to school can also be a stressful time for children and families. Everyone must make the transition from easy summer life to routines, schedules and homework.
Families might also feel stress about spending extra money for a new school year. Parents often need to pay school fees or to buy new school clothes, sports equipment, musical instruments and school supplies. When parents are stressed, children feel the tension.
Back-to-school stress is different for different ages. Younger children may feel scared to leave their families. Making new friends and dealing with bullying can also cause stress for students. Older students may stress about their appearances, grades and getting into college.
With teenagers in the United States, stress is a serious and growing problem. A 2013 survey by the American Psychological Association found that teens in the U.S. are now as stressed as adults.
The APA survey says teenagers are most stressed about:
- school (83%)
- getting into a good college or deciding what to do after high school (69%)
- and financial concerns for their family (65%)
Danielle Lanteri is 14 years old. This year she started a high school that is new to her. It is a private Catholic school that she attends on a scholarship. The demands of the scholarship keep her very busy … and stressed.
“What stresses me out most at this point in my life will have to be the amount of work I get from my teachers and the expectations that I am supposed to have. With the scholarship for high school, I’m expected to be on a sport, participate in clubs, get an above 100 average in all my classes. And I feel that it’s a little impossible. Very few people end up keeping this scholarship because it’s just too hard to do everything.”
However, parents, teachers and children can all help to make the transition back to school easier.
Lori Bambina has been a teacher for 22 years. She currently teaches first grade in Brooklyn, New York at Public School 229. Her students are 5- and 6-years-old.
Routines and knowing what to expect, or predictability, help to reduce stress in children, says Ms. Bambina. So, she focuses on the class routine during the start of the new school year.
“Well, for the students, I have my classroom set up with a very clear system. So, I will introduce the system. Then I will revisit the system because at this young age they enjoy structure and predictability. And that routine is very comforting and will not cause them stress if they know exactly where things are located and what type of behavior is expected of them. So, that really reduces the stress and the anxiety because they have their own comfort level now.”
Whether you are in 1st grade or 10th grade, knowing the teachers and what they expect is a good way to reduce stress.
At her new high school, Danielle did not know her teachers. She did not know the best way to build relationships with them. Also, the teachers did not know her learning style.
All these unknowns caused Danielle a lot of stress.
“It was the not knowing the teachers. They didn’t know me; so they don’t know how I work. So, that stressed me out. I didn’t know what type of relationship I should have with my teacher. And to cut down the stress, I will email my teachers if I have a problem and try to, like, get to know them better.”
Knowing what a teacher wants in the classroom is a good way to cut down on stress.
But there are things you can do in the home, too.
Mary Anne Aidala began teaching in the New York school system in 1962. She retired 39 years later, in 2001. She is an award-winning teacher and is also the mother of Lori Bambina, the teacher we heard from earlier.
Ms. Aidala advises parents to focus on the basics – get enough sleep, eat healthy foods, and turn off electronics before bedtime.
“Well, the first thing they (parents) have to do is to get them (children) on a schedule of sleep habits. And they should also make sure they have a good breakfast to keep their brains alert. And maybe before they go to sleep every night they should start to read them a story or do something educational; so, they can start to reactivate their brains into using them.”
The American Psychological Association makes the same suggestions on its website. They add that getting organized is also very important – for parents, children and teachers. For example, parents should keep their wallets and car keys in the same place. This way they do not have to look for them during a busy morning.
(Taken from http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/dealing-with-back-to-school-stress-part-1)
According to the above information, which statements below are correct!
- The scheduled summer days are gone when the children are back to school.
- Getting the new school stuff causes the feelings of enthusiasm in the freshman.
- Pictures of children are usually shared among relatives and friends during the school days.
- Schools are off during summer.
- Parents’ expense during the first days of school is less than during the school days.
- Being a freshman often becomes stressful though some of them can cope it.
- Getting a job is more stressful than going to school at the first days.
- Having good knowledge on the school system may reduce the stress as predictability ensures what to be done.
- The good teacher always suggest that children should sleep more and abandon gadgets.
- The importance of having breakfast is to keep the brain and thing clearly.
VOCABULARY
CHOOSE THE CORRECT SYNONYM OF EACH UNDERLINED WORD BELOW BASED ON THE TEXT!
- Exciting (stimulating, sensational)
- Share (allot, divide)
- Routine (custom, habit)
- Appearance (look, emergence)
- Private (privilege, personal)
- Participate (enjoy. Take part in)
- Transition (switch, change)
- Structure (construction, constitution)
- Anxiety (nervousness, concern)
- Comfort (relaxation, relief)
- cut down (bring down, reduce)
- retired (be pensioned off, withdraw)
- alert (watchful, ready)
Text Two
GENEVA —
A World Food Program review of the global hunger situation in 2016 finds conflict emergencies in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere are hampering United Nations efforts to achieve zero hunger by the year 2030.
In its review 2016: A Year in Fighting Hunger, the World Food Program reports that 795 million people in the world went hungry last year. The organization’s spokeswoman Bettina Luescher tells VOA the Sustainable Development Goal to eliminate hunger by 2030 does not, for now, appear realistic.
“As you know, the world is a mess,” she said. “We have more emergencies than ever. We have more refugees than ever and we are struggling on all fronts to help the people be able to feed themselves.”
Last year, WFP assisted more than 82 million people with food or cash. While that is a lot, Luescher agrees it is far from enough. She says escalating conflicts are making the work of aid agencies much harder.
She says countries that had been making progress in development have gone backwards because of conflict. She points to South Sudan as an example of a country, which on the eve of independence appeared poised to prosper after decades of civil war.
“And look what happened,” she said. “They went back to fighting and for the first time in six years, this year, we saw in some areas of South Sudan, a famine again. And, that is just unbelievable in this time in our new century. It is just unbelievable. So, the conflicts have to stop.”
Luescher says it takes money to fight hunger. Unfortunately, she says international support is waning at a time of burgeoning emergencies. She says WFP urgently needs one $1 billion to fight four looming famines in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and in northeast Nigeria.
She says it will be extremely difficult to save people dying from hunger without help from international donors.
(taken from : https://www.voanews.com/a/conflit-emergencies-world-hunger/3919350.html)
Choose the correct answer!
1. United Nation has a plan to … (A. try finishing the conflict emergencies in some places; B. review the global hunger situation in 2016; C. make the people in the world free from hunger in 2030; D. refuse the realistic facts of eliminating the hunger)
- Bettina Luescher is … (A. the planner of the World Food Program; B. one of the person working for the World Food Program ; C.the person who will eliminate hunger by 2030; D. the person who refuses the realistic facts of eliminating the hunger)
- “The world is in a mess.” This sentence relates to these situations below, except … (A. There are too many people being hungry. ; B. The number of the refugee is increasing. ; C. There are conflicts emergencies in some countries.; D. The people are struggling for helping themselves to feed.)
- The escalating conflicts affect these followings, except … (A. the work of aid agencies; B. the country’s independence; C. the country’s prosperity D. The number of social agencies)
- The efforts of feeding people is about to cease because … (A. the help from international donors decreases.; B. the agencies cannot provide cash for them.; C. the people go on their fighting.; D. There are too many people to feed.)
VOCABULARY
FILL IN THE BLANK WITH WORDS TAKEN FROM THE TEXT! (THEY HAVE BEEN UNDERLINED)
- Although the government has a great effort in coping the rice shortage by opening more rice field, it is still … for them to import it to keep the national supplies.
- Poor countries have been … millions to decrease the hunger during the winter.
- Starvation has become the … problem since many productive countries converted the field for housing.
- It is not easy for developing countries to be … economically for their technology is still left behind.
- The unstable political situation … a nation to develop well.
- What many countries are fighting now is … which has caused many people in poor countries died due to the lack of food.
- The government from the poor countries are … forced to stop corruptions and conflicts hindering their development.
- The destroyed land by the war takes … to be revitalized.
- The famine problem … in many countries due to the change of the seasonal plantation.
- The problem on the children’s growth has … recently because of the malnutrition.