Wanna learn 1000 Phrasal Verbs in Context?

photo Tara Benwell Listen to News with Tara Benwell - Instructions:
1. Preview the vocabulary and read the gapfill text.
2. Play the news report and try to fill in the blanks.
3. Answer the comprehension questions by writing full sentences.
4. Use the discussion question to write an essay or discuss the story with other students.
5. Click "show Answers" to see the full text.
6. Pretend to be a news anchor by reading each story out loud.

dateline: 02 June 2015

NB! For WEEKLY audio stories check out LISTEN & LEARN 🔈

Public Smoking Banned in Beijing

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

  • ban: a rule or law that disallows something
  • public: related to or affecting all people
  • come into effect: to become the rule or law as of a certain date
  • fine: an amount of money owed as punishment for breaking a rule
  • enforce: to force people to obey
  • shame: to cause embarrassment
  • turn a blind eye: to pretend not to notice

Public Smoking Banned in Beijing

One third of the world’s cigarettes are smoked in China, where over people die from smoking every year. In 2011, smoking was banned in indoor public places in China; however, no punishments were attached. As a result, the ban was . A new ban came into effect in China’s capital this week. Public smoking in Beijing now comes with a fine of approximately $30 USD. Public establishments will much larger fines, and repeat offenders may be publicly shamed by being named on a government website. According to the Chinese government, thousands of inspectors will be employed to enforce the ban in Beijing before it is extended to other parts of the . China’s current president has quit smoking and has banned officials from smoking in public.

Comprehension Questions

  1. What law came into effect in Beijing this week?
  2. How does this ban differ from the ban in 2011?
  3. How has China’s president set himself up as a role model?

Discussion Questions: In the past, many restaurant owners in Beijing turned a blind eye to people smoking in their establishments. Do you think this smoking ban will change that? Why, or why not?

show Answers

Written and recorded by Tara Benwell for EnglishClub
Tara Benwell is a Canadian freelance writer and editor who specializes in materials and articles for the ELT industry.
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