There is not enough water in a part of southern France. Now, people cannot buy garden swimming pools there. This is because there has not been a lot of rain for a long time. The place is called Pyrénées-Orientales. It is near Spain. On 10 May, this place will be in a “drought crisis.” People will not be allowed to wash cars, water gardens, or fill pools.
There has not been a full day of rain in Pyrénées-Orientales for over a year. The water is for drinking only. There is not enough water in other places in France too. Some places could have water from the sea. But this water is not good for drinking. It can also make water quality worse.
The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, has a plan for water. He wants to stop leaks and recycle more water. People who use a lot of water will have to pay more money. There are 2,000 villages and towns that might not have enough water this year. Last year, 1,000 places had big problems. Some of them needed water in bottles or from trucks.
Original news source: Drought prompts French ban on garden swimming pools (BBC)
Listen
Slow
Normal
Fast
Group or Classroom Activities
Warm-up Activities:
– Water Crisis Word Chain
Instructions: Divide the students into pairs. Give them a list of words related to the article, such as water, garden, swimming pool, rain, drought, crisis, France, and Spain. Have the students take turns saying a word from the list and then the next student must say a word starting with the last letter of the previous word. The game continues until all words have been used or no more words can be formed.
– Water Usage Role Play
Instructions: Divide the students into pairs. One student will play the role of a person living in an area with water restrictions, while the other will play the role of a neighbor or friend. They will have a conversation discussing the water crisis and how it affects their daily lives, using vocabulary from the article.
– Sentence Scramble
Instructions: Write several sentences from the article on the board, but with the words scrambled. Have the students work in pairs to unscramble the sentences and write them correctly. The first pair to complete all the sentences correctly wins.
Comprehension Questions:
1. What is not enough in southern France?
2. What can people not buy in Pyrénées-Orientales?
3. Why can’t people buy swimming pools there?
4. What will people not be allowed to do on 10 May?
5. How long has it been since a full day of rain in Pyrénées-Orientales?
6. What is the water for in Pyrénées-Orientales?
7. What does President Emmanuel Macron want to do with water?
8. How many places might not have enough water this year?
Go to answers ⇩
Listen and Fill in the Gaps:
There is not enough water in a part of southern France. Now, people cannot buy garden swimming pools there. This is because there has not been a lot of rain for a long time. The place is called (1)_______. It is near Spain. On 10 May, this place will be in a “(2)_______ crisis.” People will not be allowed to wash cars, water gardens, or fill pools.
There has not been a full day of rain in Pyrénées-Orientales for over a year. The water is for drinking only. There is not enough water in other places in France too. Some places could have water from the (3)_______. But this water is not good for drinking. It can also make water quality worse.
The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, has a plan for water. He wants to stop leaks and recycle more water. People who use a lot of water will have to pay more (4)_______. There are 2,000 villages and towns that might not have enough water this year. Last year, 1,000 places had big problems. Some of them needed water in (5)_______ or from (6)_______.
Go to answers ⇩
Discussion Questions:
Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.
1. What is the problem in southern France?
2. Why can’t people buy swimming pools there?
3. What is the name of the place near Spain?
4. What can’t people do in Pyrénées-Orientales?
5. Why is there not enough water?
6. Can people drink water from the sea?
7. What is the president’s plan for water?
8. What will happen to people who use a lot of water?
9. How many places might not have enough water this year?
10. Did places have problems last year too?
11. Have you ever had a water problem?
12. How do you save water at home?
13. Do you like swimming pools?
14. Is it important to save water? Why?
15. What would you do if you didn’t have enough water?
Individual Activities
Vocabulary Meanings:
Match each word to its meaning.
Words:
1. drought
2. crisis
3. rain
4. drinking
5. sea
6. leaks
7. recycle
8. villages
Shuffled Meanings:
A) A very bad or difficult situation
B) Small towns or communities
C) Water that is safe to put in your mouth and swallow
D) Using things again instead of throwing them away
E) Water that falls from the sky and makes things wet
F) A long time without enough rain, making it hard for plants to grow
G) The big, salty body of water that covers most of the Earth
H) Small holes or cracks that let water escape
Go to answers ⇩
Multiple Choice Questions:
1. What is the problem in southern France?
(a) too much rain
(b) not enough water
(c) too many swimming pools
(d) too many cars
2. What is the name of the place in southern France?
(a) Spain
(b) Pyrénées-Orientales
(c) Paris
(d) France
3. When will the place be in a “drought crisis”?
(a) last year
(b) in 2,000 days
(c) on 10 May
(d) in 1,000 days
4. What are people not allowed to do?
(a) drink water
(b) sleep
(c) wash cars and water gardens
(d) eat food
5. How long has it been since a full day of rain in Pyrénées-Orientales?
(a) one week
(b) over a year
(c) one month
(d) two years
6. What is the problem with water from the sea?
(a) it is too cold
(b) it is too far away
(c) it is not good for drinking
(d) it is too salty
7. What does the president of France want to do?
(a) make more swimming pools
(b) stop leaks and recycle water
(c) make it rain more
(d) build more houses
8. How many places might not have enough water this year?
(a) 1,000
(b) 500
(c) 3,000
(d) 2,000
Go to answers ⇩
True or False Questions:
1. There is not enough water in a part of southern France.
2. People can buy garden swimming pools in southern France.
3. There has been a lot of rain in Pyrénées-Orientales.
4. People will not be allowed to wash cars, water gardens, or fill pools.
5. There has been a full day of rain in Pyrénées-Orientales this year.
6. The water is for drinking only.
7. The president of France does not have a plan for water.
8. Last year, 1,000 places had big problems with water.
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 can’t people buy swimming pools in Pyrénées-Orientales?
2. What does it mean when Pyrénées-Orientales is in a “drought crisis”?
3. Has there been a lot of rain in Pyrénées-Orientales in the past year?
4. Why is sea water not good for drinking?
5. What is Emmanuel Macron’s plan for water in France?
Answers
Comprehension Question Answers:
1. What is not enough in southern France?
There is not enough water in southern France.
2. What can people not buy in Pyrénées-Orientales?
People cannot buy garden swimming pools there.
3. Why can’t people buy swimming pools there?
They can’t buy swimming pools because there has not been a lot of rain for a long time.
4. What will people not be allowed to do on 10 May?
People will not be allowed to wash cars, water gardens, or fill pools.
5. How long has it been since a full day of rain in Pyrénées-Orientales?
It has been over a year since a full day of rain in Pyrénées-Orientales.
6. What is the water for in Pyrénées-Orientales?
The water is for drinking only.
7. What does President Emmanuel Macron want to do with water?
President Emmanuel Macron wants to stop leaks and recycle more water.
8. How many places might not have enough water this year?
There are 2,000 villages and towns that might not have enough water this year.
Go back to questions ⇧
Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:
1. Pyrénées-Orientales
2. drought
3. sea
4. money
5. bottles
6. trucks
Go back to questions ⇧
Vocabulary Meanings Answers:
1. drought
Answer: F) A long time without enough rain, making it hard for plants to grow
2. crisis
Answer: A) A very bad or difficult situation
3. rain
Answer: E) Water that falls from the sky and makes things wet
4. drinking
Answer: C) Water that is safe to put in your mouth and swallow
5. sea
Answer: G) The big, salty body of water that covers most of the Earth
6. leaks
Answer: H) Small holes or cracks that let water escape
7. recycle
Answer: D) Using things again instead of throwing them away
8. villages
Answer: B) Small towns or communities
Go back to questions ⇧
Multiple Choice Answers:
1. What is the problem in southern France?
Answer: (b) not enough water
2. What is the name of the place in southern France?
Answer: (b) Pyrénées-Orientales
3. When will the place be in a “drought crisis”?
Answer: (c) on 10 May
4. What are people not allowed to do?
Answer: (c) wash cars and water gardens
5. How long has it been since a full day of rain in Pyrénées-Orientales?
Answer: (b) over a year
6. What is the problem with water from the sea?
Answer: (c) it is not good for drinking
7. What does the president of France want to do?
Answer: (b) stop leaks and recycle water
8. How many places might not have enough water this year?
Answer: (d) 2,000
Go back to questions ⇧
True or False Answers:
1. There is not enough water in a part of southern France.
Answer: True
2. People can buy garden swimming pools in southern France.
Answer: False
3. There has been a lot of rain in Pyrénées-Orientales.
Answer: False
4. People will not be allowed to wash cars, water gardens, or fill pools.
Answer: True
5. There has been a full day of rain in Pyrénées-Orientales this year.
Answer: False
6. The water is for drinking only.
Answer: True
7. The president of France does not have a plan for water.
Answer: False
8. Last year, 1,000 places had big problems with water.
Answer: True
Go back to questions ⇧
