Category: Reading comprehension

Reading comprehension : “Ladakh’s tourism boom is slowly changing the age-old way of life in a corner of the Indian Himalayas” — Quartz

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I suggest that you check the vocabulary list before reading the article ;-). If the article is too difficult for you, you can also use Rewordify to read a simpler version of it. 

VOCABULARY

NESTLED: to be located in a position that is protected, sheltered or partly hidden.
Ex. And while the compound, nestled on the remote shores of Lake Nipissing, was his entire world.

DISPOSABLE: made to be used once or only a few times.

INCOME: money that is earned from doing work or received for investments. 

INCREASINGLY: more and more all the time.
Ex. Global warming is an increasingly serious threat.

TO FLOCK: to gather or move together somewhere in large numbers.
Ex. The people that flocked to that motorcycle to help him get a chance of doing the Grand Prix, they saw that he was something special.

PROLIFERATION: to increase a lot and suddenly in number.
Ex. Gun proliferation is a global problem.

PACKAGE TOUR: a group of services related to travel or vacations that are sold together for one price.

FIGURE: a number representing a particular amount, especially one given in official information.

TO FATHOM: to come to understand.
Ex. I thought I had a lifetime to fathom the secrets in your eyes.

WINDSWEPT: not protected from strong winds.

windswept.jpg

TO PERMEATE: to spread to every part of an object or a place.
Ex. The water permeated the sand. 

GREEDY: having or wanting a lot more money, food, etc. than you need.

greedy.jpg

HERDER: a person who take care of a large group of animals of the same type.

herder

SUBSIDY: money that is paid usually by a government to keep the price of a product or service low or to help a business or organization to continue to function.
Ex. The federal government gives us a subsidy for each person that completes the training.

Nestled high up in the Indian Himalayas, Ladakh was first opened up to tourists only in 1974. That year, just 527 visitors made the trip; of these, only 27 were from India. But in recent years, with rising disposable incomes and a growing interest in travel, Indians are increasingly flocking to the region’s high-altitude villages,…

via Ladakh’s tourism boom is slowly changing the age-old way of life in a corner of the Indian Himalayas — Quartz

Read the article, then answer the following questions (write your answers below):

  1. How many Indian tourists visited Ladakh in 1974?
  2. More and more Indian tourists are visiting the Indian Himalayas villages recently. What are the reasons?
  3. What are the consequences of the tourism rapid growth?
  4. What kind of crop is Tashi P. growing on her farm?
  5. What’s Tashi’s opinion about the tourism boom?
  6. What’s Phunchok Angmo’s profession? How has this boom affected the population according to her?
  7. What are the benefits of this economic growth?
  8. What’s your opinion?

8 Practical ways to help refugees – Reading comprehension

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An interesting article on how to help refugees by Melissa Fleming and published on IDEAS.TED.COM . Are you doing something in order to help refugees? If you have other ideas, share them in the comments below.

I’m teaching them Italian 
https://www.facebook.com/113824145324888/photos/pcb.1337847106255913/1337846886255935/?type=3&theater
and I hope I’ll be able to help them in this way. I find it both rewarding and informative. It’s fascinating getting to know them and their stories, helping them integrating with locals.

Here a vocabulary list for making it easier for you to read the article 8 practical ways to help refugees:

  • To show up: to arrive where you have arranged to meet somebody or do something. 
  • To take notice: to give attention to something. 
  • Steadily: happening or developing in a continuous and usually gradual way. 
  • Drifted: moved slowly, especially as a result of outside forces, with no control over direction. 
  • Stranded: left in a place without a way of leaving. 
  • To thrive: to flourish; to become, and continue to be, successful, strong, healthy, etc.

  • To exacerbate: to make something worse. 
  • Shunned: to ignore someone and not speak to that person because you cannot accept their behaviour, beliefs, etc. 
  • To exploit: to treat a person or situation as an opportunity to gain an advantage for yourself. 
  • Outpouring: an expression of strong feeling that is difficult to control. 
  • To enrol: to arrange for yourself or for somebody else to officially join a course, school, etc. 
  • Raffle: an activity in which people buy tickets with different numbers, some of which are later chosen to win prizes, that is organised in order to make money for a good social purpose.

Read the article, then try to answer the questions below it:

Melissa Fleming of the UN’s Refugee Agency shares some ways to help refugees right now.

When a million refugees showed up in Europe this past year, the world began to take notice of a problem that has been steadily growing before our eyes. Ten years ago, 38 million people had been driven from their homes because of war or persecution; right now that number stands at over 65 million. That’s equivalent to the population of France … drifting, stranded, with little hope of returning home, and few chances to thrive in neighboring countries.

In Europe, the lack of a unified system to manage the influx of refugees and migrants is exacerbating the problem. People are either welcomed or shunned. They can face fences of barbed wire or cheer locals. Around 50,000 people are stranded in Greece, waiting to be relocated to other European countries or sent back home.

On the streets of European cities, I have seen both remarkable generosity and irrational fear. People carry signs with the slogan “Refugees Welcome”; others set asylum homes on fire. While many push for values of tolerance and openness, others are full of fear, afraid of the arrival of so many people from a different continent, with different religions and cultures. Opportunistic right-wing politicians exploit these fears to make gains in elections.

People often ask me what they can do to help. It’s certainly possible to do small, practical but meaningful things to combat the feeling of helplessness that can all too easily become paralyzing. Already, I’ve been struck by the overwhelming outpouring of meaningful acts of kindness by individuals, local charities, religious groups and students who have made their way to borders and train stations to help arriving refugees and migrants (check out the inspiring work done by a team on Lesbos to coordinate efforts to greet the 5,000 refugees arriving on the Greek island every day). Their message is clear: they stand for a Europe that offers refuge to victims of war and compassion for those who are seeking a better life.

Click here to keep reading the article: http://ideas.ted.com/8-practical-ways-to-help-refugees/

Answer the following questions:

  1. A decade ago, 38 million people had been forced to leave their homes, for what reasons?
  2. Is Europe having issues in managing refugees and migrants?
  3. Why are some people scared of refugees?
  4. What are the 8 possible ways to help refugees suggested by Melissa Fleming?
  5. Where did the refugees Welcome Initiative start?
  6. How many entrepreneurs started a catering company with refugees chef in France?
  7. Someone started a football team for refugees and migrants, in what country?
  8. What did the What Design Can Do Refugee Challenge do?
  9. What’s doing the organisation United Invitations?
  10. What Universities offered funds and scholarships to refugees worldwide?
  11. Do you have other ideas for helping refugees?