The Reading / Listening - Tokyo Energy - Level 1

Last week, the temperature near Tokyo went over 40ºC for the first time in June. It was a record 40.2ºC in a city north of Tokyo. People are using air conditioners more. This is making it difficult for power companies to produce electricity. Japan's government has asked people to use less electricity. It said: "We ask the public to reduce energy consumption during the early evening hours." It wants people to turn off lights from 3 pm to 6 pm.

Japan's heat wave will continue. The rainy season just finished. It's the earliest since records began in 1851. This means there'll be a long, hot summer. The government said: "Please cooperate and save as much power as possible." A power company warned there could be power shortages. There is also a risk of people getting heatstroke. More than 250 people were taken to hospital in Tokyo over the weekend with heatstroke.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Tokyo Energy - Level 0 Tokyo Energy - Level 2   or  Tokyo Energy - Level 3

Sources
  • https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/27/japanese-told-to-turn-off-lights-to-save-energy-amid-tokyo-heatwave
  • https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220628/p2g/00m/0na/039000c
  • https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/06/d57d2da4e5d5-tokyo-again-called-on-to-save-energy-as-heat-shortfalls-persist.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 temperature
  2. for the first
  3. This is making it
  4. produce
  5. reduce energy
  6. reduce energy
  7. during the early
  8. turn off
  1. time
  2. evening hours
  3. consumption
  4. lights
  5. electricity
  6. near Tokyo
  7. difficult
  8. consumption

Paragraph 2

  1. Japan's heat
  2. The rainy
  3. the earliest since records
  4. there'll be a long,
  5. save as much power
  6. power
  7. there could
  8. people were taken
  1. company
  2. began
  3. as possible
  4. season just finished
  5. be power shortages
  6. wave will continue
  7. to hospital
  8. hot summer

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Last week, (1) ___________________ Tokyo went over 40ºC for the first time in June. It was a record 40.2ºC in (2) ___________________ of Tokyo. People are using air conditioners more. This is making it difficult for power companies (3) ___________________. Japan's government has asked people to use less electricity. It said: "We ask the (4) ___________________ energy consumption (5) ___________________ evening hours." It wants people to (6) ___________________ from 3 pm to 6 pm.

Japan's heat (7) ___________________. The rainy season just finished. It's the earliest (8) ___________________ in 1851. This means there'll be a (9) ___________________. The government said: "Please cooperate and save as much power as possible." A power company warned there could (10) ___________________. There is also (11) ___________________ people getting heatstroke. More than 250 people were taken to hospital in Tokyo (12) ___________________ with heatstroke.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Lastweek,thetemperaturenearTokyowentover40ºCforthefirsttimei
nJune.Itwasarecord40.2ºCinacitynorthofTokyo.Peopleareusingairc
onditionersmore.Thisismakingitdifficultforpowercompaniestoprodu
ceelectricity.Japan'sgovernmenthasaskedpeopletouselesselectricit
y.Itsaid:"Weaskthepublictoreduceenergyconsumptionduringtheear
lyeveninghours."Itwantspeopletoturnofflightsfrom3pmto6pm.Japa
n'sheatwavewillcontinue.Therainyseasonjustfinished.It'stheearlies
tsincerecordsbeganin1851.Thismeansthere'llbealong,hotsummer.
Thegovernmentsaid:"Pleasecooperateandsaveasmuchpoweraspos
sible."Apowercompanywarnedtherecouldbepowershortages.Therei
salsoariskofpeoplegettingheatstroke.Morethan250peopleweretake
ntohospitalinTokyoovertheweekendwithheatstroke.

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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