China’s people are getting fewer. Last year, there were 1.409 billion people, which is 2.08 million less than before. The number of people is going down faster now because not many babies are being born. Even though the government wants more people to have babies, living in the city is expensive and young people are busy with work.

The reason there are fewer people in China is because of sickness and money problems. Not many babies have been born for a while, and the sickness made it worse. This is what happens to some countries when they don’t make as many things in factories anymore. China needs to change how it takes care of old people and find new kinds of jobs, but it has time to do this.

China is also having trouble with money. Houses are too expensive, people are not buying as much, and many young people don’t have jobs. The country’s money grew a little bit, but not very much. There are not as many workers as before, which is not good for money, but China has plans to fix this by doing different kinds of work.

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:

– News Summary
Instructions: Have students read the article individually or in pairs. Then, ask them to write a summary of the article in their own words, using 3-5 sentences.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Ask each group to discuss and share their opinions on the following questions: 1) Do you think the decrease in China’s population is a problem? Why or why not? 2) What do you think China can do to encourage more people to have babies? After the discussion, each group can present their opinions to the class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write key vocabulary words from the article on separate slips of paper and put them in a box. Divide the class into two teams. One student from each team will come to the front of the class and choose a slip of paper from the box. They must then draw the word on the board while their team tries to guess the word. The team that guesses correctly gets a point. Continue until all the words have been drawn.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: Ask students to work in pairs or small groups. Give each group a headline related to the article, such as “China’s Population Decline: Causes and Solutions.” Ask them to discuss and brainstorm ideas for an article based on the headline. Once they have come up with their ideas, ask each group to present their headline and a brief summary of their article to the class.

– Synonym Challenge
Instructions: Write key vocabulary words from the article on the board. Ask students to work individually or in pairs to come up with as many synonyms as they can for each word. After a few minutes, discuss the synonyms as a class and see who can come up with the most.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. How many people were there in China last year?
2. Why are there fewer people in China now?
3. What are two reasons why not many babies are being born in China?
4. What happens to some countries when they don’t make as many things in factories anymore?
5. What does China need to change in order to take care of old people?
6. Why is China having trouble with money?
7. What plans does China have to fix the problem of not having as many workers?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

China’s people are (1)______ fewer. Last year, there were 1.409 billion people, which is 2.08 million (2)______ than before. The number of people is going down faster now because not many babies are being born. Even though the government wants (3)______ people to have babies, living in the city is expensive and young people are (4)______ with (5)______.

The reason there are fewer people in China is because of sickness and money problems. Not many babies have been born for a while, and the sickness made it (6)______. This is what happens to some countries when they don’t (7)______ as (8)______ things in factories anymore. China needs to change how it takes care of old people and (9)______ new kinds of jobs, but it has time to do this.

China is also having trouble with money. Houses are too expensive, people are not buying as much, and many young people don’t have (10)______. The country’s (11)______ grew a little bit, but not very much. There are not as many workers as before, which is not (12)______ for money, but China has plans to fix this by doing different kinds of work.
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 the government feels about the decrease in the number of babies being born?
3. How would you feel if you lived in a city where it was expensive to have a baby?
4. Do you think it’s important for a country to have a lot of babies being born? Why or why not?
5. What are some reasons why there are fewer babies being born in China?
6. What do you think China needs to do to take care of old people better?
7. How do you think China can find new kinds of jobs?
8. Do you think it’s a problem that houses in China are too expensive? Why or why not?
9. How would you feel if you didn’t have a job as a young person in China?
10. Do you think it’s important for a country to have a lot of workers? Why or why not?
11. What do you think China can do to fix its money problems?
12. How do you think China can do different kinds of work to improve its economy?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. billion
2. expensive
3. government
4. factories
5. sickness
6. jobs
7. workers
8. trouble
9. fewer
10. babies
11. plans
12. change

Meanings:
(A) The work that people do to earn money
(B) When something costs a lot of money
(C) A number that is 1,000 times one million
(D) The group of people who make decisions for a country
(E) Ideas about what to do in the future
(F) Not as many
(G) When you are not feeling well because of a disease
(H) Places where things are made
(I) When something is not going right and is difficult
(J) People who do work for money
(K) To make something different
(L) Very young children
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Why is the number of people in China decreasing?
(a) People are moving to other countries.
(b) Not many babies are being born.
(c) The government is sending people away.
(d) People are getting older and dying.

2. What is one reason why young people in China are not having babies?
(a) They don’t like children.
(b) They are too busy playing video games.
(c) Living in the city is expensive.
(d) The government doesn’t allow them to have babies.

3. What is one result of not many babies being born in China?
(a) The population is increasing.
(b) The government is happy.
(c) The population is decreasing.
(d) The government is sad.

4. Why does China need to find new kinds of jobs?
(a) The government wants more people to work.
(b) Not as many things are being made in factories anymore.
(c) People are lazy and don’t want to work in factories.
(d) China has too many jobs and needs to get rid of some.

5. What is one problem China is having with money?
(a) People are buying too much.
(b) Young people have too many jobs.
(c) The government has too much money.
(d) Houses are too expensive.

6. What is one reason why China’s money is not growing very much?
(a) There are not as many workers as before.
(b) The government is spending too much money.
(c) People are saving too much money.
(d) China is making too many things in factories.

7. What does China need to change in order to take care of old people?
(a) How it currently takes care of old people.
(b) How many old people there are.
(c) How old people take care of themselves.
(d) How old people feel about getting older.

8. How does China plan to fix the problem of not having as many workers?
(a) By sending people away.
(b) By having more babies.
(c) By closing down factories.
(d) By doing different kinds of work.

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. China needs to find new jobs and change how it takes care of old people.
2. China’s population is increasing because many babies are being born and people are getting healthier.
3. The government wants more people to have babies, but young people are too busy with work and living in the city is expensive.
4. Many young people in China have jobs.
5. China’s economy has grown a little, but not by much.
6. China plans to fix the decrease in workers by doing different kinds of work.
7. China is not facing money problems because houses are affordable and people are buying a lot.
8. The increase in population is happening because China is producing more things in factories now.
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. How many people were there in China last year?
2. Why are there fewer babies being born in China?
3. What are two reasons why there are fewer people in China?
4. Why is China having trouble with money?
5. What are some things China can do to fix their money problems?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. How many people were there in China last year?
There were 1.409 billion people in China last year.

2. Why are there fewer people in China now?
There are fewer people in China now because not many babies are being born.

3. What are two reasons why not many babies are being born in China?
Two reasons why not many babies are being born in China are sickness and money problems.

4. What happens to some countries when they don’t make as many things in factories anymore?
When some countries don’t make as many things in factories anymore, they may have fewer people and need to find new jobs.

5. What does China need to change in order to take care of old people?
China needs to change how it takes care of old people by finding new ways to support and provide for them.

6. Why is China having trouble with money?
China is having trouble with money because houses are expensive, people are not buying as much, and many young people don’t have jobs.

7. What plans does China have to fix the problem of not having as many workers?
China has plans to fix the problem of not having as many workers by creating different types of jobs and finding ways to increase employment.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) getting
(2) less
(3) more
(4) busy
(5) work
(6) worse
(7) make
(8) many
(9) find
(10) jobs
(11) money
(12) good
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. billion
Answer: (C) A number that is 1,000 times one million

2. expensive
Answer: (B) When something costs a lot of money

3. government
Answer: (D) The group of people who make decisions for a country

4. factories
Answer: (H) Places where things are made

5. sickness
Answer: (G) When you are not feeling well because of a disease

6. jobs
Answer: (A) The work that people do to earn money

7. workers
Answer: (J) People who do work for money

8. trouble
Answer: (I) When something is not going right and is difficult

9. fewer
Answer: (F) Not as many

10. babies
Answer: (L) Very young children

11. plans
Answer: (E) Ideas about what to do in the future

12. change
Answer: (K) To make something different
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Why is the number of people in China decreasing?
Answer: (b) Not many babies are being born.

2. What is one reason why young people in China are not having babies?
Answer: (c) Living in the city is expensive.

3. What is one result of not many babies being born in China?
Answer: (c) The population is decreasing.

4. Why does China need to find new kinds of jobs?
Answer: (b) Not as many things are being made in factories anymore.

5. What is one problem China is having with money?
Answer: (d) Houses are too expensive.

6. What is one reason why China’s money is not growing very much?
Answer: (a) There are not as many workers as before.

7. What does China need to change in order to take care of old people?
Answer: (a) How it currently takes care of old people.

8. How does China plan to fix the problem of not having as many workers?
Answer: (d) By doing different kinds of work.
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. China needs to find new jobs and change how it takes care of old people. (Answer: True)
2. China’s population is increasing because many babies are being born and people are getting healthier. (Answer: False)
3. The government wants more people to have babies, but young people are too busy with work and living in the city is expensive. (Answer: True)
4. Many young people in China have jobs. (Answer: False)
5. China’s economy has grown a little, but not by much. (Answer: True)
6. China plans to fix the decrease in workers by doing different kinds of work. (Answer: True)
7. China is not facing money problems because houses are affordable and people are buying a lot. (Answer: False)
8. The increase in population is happening because China is producing more things in factories now. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧