The Reading / Listening - Onions - Level 0

Onions are important in Bangladesh. It is difficult to buy them. There is a shortage. Prices have gone up from US36 cents to around $3.25 a kilo. Bangladesh usually buys them from India. Recent heavy rain in India damaged its onion harvest. India stopped selling onions to Bangladesh. There may be protests because of this.

The onion crisis is very serious. The Prime Minister has stopped using onions. Hundreds of people waited for hours to buy one kilo. One person said he would wait for longer to save some money. In one area in Dhaka, people stopped eating onions 15 days ago. Street-food sellers cannot make onion-based snacks.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Onions - Level 1,  Onions - Level 2   or  Onions - Level 3

Sources
  • https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/18/bangladesh-flies-in-planeloads-of-onions-amid-national-outcry-over-shortage
  • https://www.dawn.com/news/1517352
  • https://bdnews24.com/lifestyle/2019/11/18/soaring-onion-prices-force-many-to-twist-their-taste-buds-in-dhaka


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. Onions are important in
  2. It is difficult to
  3. There is a
  4. Prices have
  5. Bangladesh usually buys them
  6. Recent heavy
  7. India stopped selling onions
  8. There may be protests
  1. shortage
  2. because of this
  3. from India
  4. to Bangladesh
  5. rain in India
  6. buy them
  7. gone up
  8. Bangladesh

Paragraph 2

  1. The onion crisis
  2. Hundreds of people
  3. save
  4. In one area
  5. people stopped
  6. 15 days
  7. Street-food
  8. make onion-
  1. some money
  2. based snacks
  3. waited for hours
  4. ago
  5. sellers
  6. in Dhaka
  7. eating onions
  8. is very serious

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Onions (1) ___________________ Bangladesh. It is difficult to buy them. There (2) ___________________. Prices have gone up from US36 (3) ___________________ $3.25 a kilo. Bangladesh usually buys them from India. Recent (4) ___________________ India damaged (5) ___________________. India stopped selling onions to Bangladesh. There may be protests (6) ___________________.

(7) ___________________ is very serious. The Prime Minister has (8) ___________________. Hundreds of people waited for hours to (9) ___________________. One person said he would wait for longer to (10) ___________________. In one area in Dhaka, people (11) ___________________ 15 days ago. Street-food sellers (12) ___________________-based snacks.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

OnionsareimportantinBangladesh.Itisdifficulttobuythem.Thereisas
hortage.PriceshavegoneupfromUS36centstoaround$3.25akilo.Ban
gladeshusuallybuysthemfromIndia.RecentheavyraininIndiadamag
editsonionharvest.IndiastoppedsellingonionstoBangladesh.Therem
aybeprotestsbecauseofthis.Theonioncrisisisveryserious.ThePrimeM
inisterhasstoppedusingonions.Hundredsofpeoplewaitedforhourstob
uyonekilo.Onepersonsaidhewouldwaitforlongertosavesomemoney.
InoneareainDhaka,peoplestoppedeatingonions15daysago.Street-
foodsellerscannotmakeonion-basedsnacks.

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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