In China, there are fewer people now than there were last year. There are 1.409 billion people, which is 2.08 million less than before. This is happening because not many babies are being born and living in the city is expensive. Even though the government wants more babies, young people don’t want to have them because they want to work and have money. People who know a lot about this say it’s because of the sickness that spread all over the world and other money problems.

China is also having a hard time with money. The country didn’t make as much money as it usually does, and it was one of the worst years for making money in a long time. There are not enough jobs for young people, and people are not buying as much stuff. The people who work and make money for the country are getting old, which is not good. But the smart people think China can change and do different kinds of work that don’t need as many people.

Original news source: China records population decline for second straight year (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– Charades
Instructions: Divide the class into teams. Give each team a set of vocabulary words related to the article. One student from each team will act out a word without speaking, and their team members have to guess the word. The team that guesses the most words correctly wins.

– News Summary
Instructions: Have the students read the article individually or in pairs. Then, ask them to write a summary of the article in their own words. After they have finished, have a class discussion where students share their summaries and compare their answers.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Give each group a set of questions related to the article. Students take turns asking the questions to their group members and recording their answers. Afterward, have a class discussion where groups share their findings and discuss their opinions on the topics.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write a list of vocabulary words from the article on the board. Divide the class into pairs. One student from each pair will choose a word and draw a picture representing that word, while their partner tries to guess the word. The pair that guesses the most words correctly wins.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Ask the students to think about the information in the article and discuss in pairs or small groups what they think will happen in the future. Will the population continue to decrease? Will the economy improve? Afterward, have a class discussion where groups share their predictions and reasons for their opinions.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. How many people are in China now compared to last year?
2. Why are there fewer babies being born in China?
3. Why don’t young people want to have babies?
4. Why is China having a hard time with money?
5. Why are there not enough jobs for young people?
6. Why is it not good that the people who work and make money are getting old?
7. What do the smart people think China can do to solve its problems?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

In China, there are fewer people now than there were (1)______ (2)______. There are 1.409 billion people, which is 2.08 million less than before. This is happening because not many babies are being born and living in the city is expensive. Even though the government (3)______s more babies, (4)______ people don’t want to have them because they want to work and have money. People who know a lot about this say it’s because of the sickness that spread all over the world and other (5)______ problems.

China is also having a hard time with money. The country didn’t make as (6)______ money as it usually does, and it was one of the worst years for making money in a long time. There are not enough jobs for young people, and people are not buying as much stuff. The people who work and make money for the country are getting old, which is not good. But the smart people think China can change and do (7)______ kinds of work that don’t (8)______ as many people.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is happening to the number of people in China?
2. How do you think people feel about living in the city?
3. Do you like babies? Why or why not?
4. How do you think young people feel about having babies?
5. How do you think people feel about working and having money?
6. What do you think caused fewer babies to be born?
7. How do you think China feels about not making as much money?
8. Do you think it’s good or bad that there are not enough jobs for young people? Why?
9. How do you think people feel about not buying as much stuff?
10. How do you think China can change and do different kinds of work?
11. What do you think about the idea of doing work that doesn’t need as many people?
12. How do you think China can solve its money problems?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. billion
2. government
3. expensive
4. babies
5. work
6. experts
7. pandemic
8. economy
9. jobs
10. industry

Meanings:
(A) Very small children
(B) All the ways people make and spend money in a place
(C) A sickness that goes to lots of people everywhere
(D) When something costs a lot of money
(E) A really, really big number with nine zeros
(F) The things people do to get money
(G) Making things or doing work that makes things
(H) The group of people who make rules for a country
(I) What you do to make money
(J) People who know a lot about something
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. How many people are there in China now?
(a) 2.08 million
(b) 1.409 billion
(c) 1.5 billion
(d) 1 billion

2. Why are there fewer babies being born in China?
(a) The government doesn’t want more babies
(b) Living in the city is expensive
(c) Young people want to work and have money
(d) People are sick and can’t have babies

3. Why is China having a hard time with money?
(a) They didn’t make as much money as usual
(b) People are buying too much stuff
(c) There are too many jobs for young people
(d) The smart people are getting old

4. What do the smart people think China can do?
(a) Change and do different kinds of work
(b) Have more babies
(c) Make more money
(d) Buy more stuff

5. How many jobs are there for young people in China?
(a) Too many
(b) Just right
(c) Not enough
(d) None

6. Why don’t young people want to have babies?
(a) The government doesn’t want more babies
(b) Living in the city is expensive
(c) People are sick and can’t have babies
(d) They want to work and have money

7. What is the population of China compared to last year?
(a) 1.5 billion
(b) 2.08 million less
(c) 1 billion
(d) 1.409 billion

8. Why are there fewer people in China now?
(a) People are getting sick
(b) Living in the city is expensive
(c) People are moving to other countries
(d) Not many babies are being born

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. China has fewer people now than it did last year.
2. China didn’t make as much money as usual this year.
3. There are sufficient jobs for young people in China.
4. The sickness that spread all over the world is one reason why young people don’t want to have babies.
5. China can change and do different kinds of work that don’t need as many people.
6. Living in the city is affordable in China.
7. There are 1.408 billion people in China.
8. The government wants fewer babies, but young people don’t want to have them.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. Why are there fewer people in China now?
2. Why don’t young people want to have babies?
3. Why is living in the city expensive?
4. Why is China having a hard time with money?
5. Why is it not good that the people who work and make money for the country are getting old?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. How many people are in China now compared to last year?
There are 1.409 billion people in China now, which is 2.08 million less than last year.

2. Why are there fewer babies being born in China?
There are fewer babies being born in China because young people don’t want to have them.

3. Why don’t young people want to have babies?
Young people don’t want to have babies because they want to work and have money.

4. Why is China having a hard time with money?
China is having a hard time with money because it didn’t make as much money as it usually does.

5. Why are there not enough jobs for young people?
There are not enough jobs for young people because there are not enough jobs available.

6. Why is it not good that the people who work and make money are getting old?
It is not good because when people who work and make money get old, there are not enough young people to take their place.

7. What do the smart people think China can do to solve its problems?
The smart people think China can do different kinds of work that don’t need as many people to solve its problems.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) last
(2) year
(3) want
(4) young
(5) money
(6) much
(7) different
(8) need
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. billion
Answer: (E) A really, really big number with nine zeros

2. government
Answer: (H) The group of people who make rules for a country

3. expensive
Answer: (D) When something costs a lot of money

4. babies
Answer: (A) Very small children

5. work
Answer: (I) What you do to make money

6. experts
Answer: (J) People who know a lot about something

7. pandemic
Answer: (C) A sickness that goes to lots of people everywhere

8. economy
Answer: (B) All the ways people make and spend money in a place

9. jobs
Answer: (F) The things people do to get money

10. industry
Answer: (G) Making things or doing work that makes things
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. How many people are there in China now?
Answer: (b) 1.409 billion

2. Why are there fewer babies being born in China?
Answer: (c) Young people want to work and have money

3. Why is China having a hard time with money?
Answer: (a) They didn’t make as much money as usual

4. What do the smart people think China can do?
Answer: (a) Change and do different kinds of work

5. How many jobs are there for young people in China?
Answer: (c) Not enough

6. Why don’t young people want to have babies?
Answer: (d) They want to work and have money

7. What is the population of China compared to last year?
Answer: (b) 2.08 million less

8. Why are there fewer people in China now?
Answer: (d) Not many babies are being born
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. China has fewer people now than it did last year. (Answer: True)
2. China didn’t make as much money as usual this year. (Answer: True)
3. There are sufficient jobs for young people in China. (Answer: False)
4. The sickness that spread all over the world is one reason why young people don’t want to have babies. (Answer: True)
5. China can change and do different kinds of work that don’t need as many people. (Answer: True)
6. Living in the city is affordable in China. (Answer: False)
7. There are 1.408 billion people in China. (Answer: False)
8. The government wants fewer babies, but young people don’t want to have them. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧