The Reading / Listening - Hugging at Airports - Level 2

Hugging at Dunedin International Airport in New Zealand could get you in trouble. The airport has set a three-minute limit on the time people can spend hugging at the drop-off zone. This is to keep traffic flowing. There has recently been a problem of traffic jams near the departures building. Too many people are taking too long to say goodbye. The airport now has signs that say: "Max hug time 3 minutes. For fonder farewells, please use the car park." People who spend longer than three minutes saying their goodbyes could get a fine or get their car wheels clamped.

The airport's hugging policy is not popular with everybody. The airport CEO told reporters that he got many complaints. He said: "We were accused of breaching basic human rights." One unhappy person said the airport could not limit how long someone can have a hug. Someone on Facebook called the policy "inhumane". The CEO said: "Three minutes is plenty of time to pull up, say farewell to your loved ones and move on." He added that airports were "hotbeds of emotion". He said a hug that was longer than 20 seconds was "really awkward".

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Hugging at Airports - Level 0 Hugging at Airports - Level 1   or  Hugging at Airports - Level 3

Sources
  • https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/21/new-zealand-dunedin-aiport-hug-sign-cap-3-minute
  • https://apnews.com/article/new-zealand-airport-goodbye-hugs-time-limit-d6176082ffb6ab66e8d2f05dd590b8aa
  • https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13981771/Sign-New-Zealand-airport-hugging.html


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. The airport has set
  2. hugging at the drop-
  3. This is to keep traffic
  4. There has recently been a
  5. traffic
  6. people are taking too long
  7. Max hug
  8. please use
  1. jams
  2. flowing
  3. time 3 minutes
  4. to say goodbye
  5. off zone
  6. problem
  7. the car park
  8. a three-minute limit

Paragraph 2

  1. The airport's hugging policy
  2. he got many
  3. We were accused of breaching
  4. limit how long someone
  5. Someone on Facebook called
  6. Three minutes is
  7. say farewell
  8. airports were hotbeds
  1. basic human rights
  2. plenty of time
  3. complaints
  4. the policy inhumane
  5. to your loved ones
  6. is not popular
  7. of emotion
  8. can have a hug

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Hugging at Dunedin International Airport in New Zealand could get (1) ___________________. The airport has set a three-minute limit on the time people can spend hugging at the (2) ___________________. This is to keep traffic flowing. There has recently been (3) ___________________ traffic jams near the departures building. Too many people are taking (4) ___________________ say goodbye. The airport now has signs that say: "Max hug time 3 minutes. (5) ___________________, please use the car park." People who spend longer than three minutes saying their goodbyes could get a fine or get their (6) ___________________.

The airport's hugging policy (7) ___________________ with everybody. The airport CEO told reporters that he (8) ___________________. He said: "We were accused of breaching basic human rights." One unhappy person said the airport could not (9) ___________________ someone can have a hug. Someone on Facebook called the policy "inhumane". The CEO said: "Three minutes is (10) ___________________ to pull up, say farewell to your loved ones and move on." He added that airports were "(11) ___________________". He said a hug that was longer than 20 seconds (12) ___________________.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

HuggingatDunedinInternationalAirportinNewZealandcouldgetyouin
trouble.Theairporthassetathree-minutelimitonthetimepeoplecans
pendhuggingatthedrop-offzone.Thisistokeeptrafficflowing.Thereha
srecentlybeenaproblemoftrafficjamsnearthedeparturesbuilding.To
omanypeoplearetakingtoolongtosaygoodbye.Theairportnowhassig
nsthatsay:"Maxhugtime3minutes.Forfonderfarewells,pleaseusethe
carpark."Peoplewhospendlongerthanthreeminutessayingtheirgood
byescouldgetafineorgettheircarwheelsclamped.Theairport'shuggin
gpolicyisnotpopularwitheverybody.TheairportCEOtoldreportersthat
hegotmanycomplaints.Hesaid:"Wewereaccusedofbreachingbasich
umanrights."Oneunhappypersontheairportcouldnotlimithowlongso
meonecanhaveahug.SomeoneonFacebookcalledthepolicy"inhuman
e".TheCEOsaid:"Threeminutesisplentyoftimetopullup,sayfarewellto
yourlovedonesandmoveon."Headdedthatairportswere"hotbedsofe
motion".Hesaidahugthatwaslongerthan20secondswas"reallyawkw
ard".

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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