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FREE Handout, Listening & Quizzes on Mexico
(11 Pages of Materials & 8 Online Activities)

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Mexico Facing Huge Water Shortage

Mexico City will soon face a huge water crisis. The city is now too big. There is not enough water for all the people who live there. The problem is that the city’s system of collecting water is too old. A large percentage of rain water disappears into the ground. Water companies even have to pump water into the city from 130 kilometres away. The city’s mayor Marcelo Ebrard recently said the water shortages will put people’s health at risk. Another politician said the government must guarantee access to water because it’s a basic human right.

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Water shortages will be a big problem in the future. There are several reasons for this. One is that global warming is changing our weather. Another big reason is that too many people are living in cities. We all have gardens, we wash our cars twice a week and some of us have swimming pools. We are all using too much water. The world will soon have its first water war over access to water. It’s time we all started to think more about how to save water. Our governments have to introduce campaigns to preserve this precious resource.

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PHRASE MATCH

Match the following phrases from the article.

Paragraph 1

1.	face a huge water	a.	at risk
2	There is not enough water	b.	right
3.	rain water disappears	c.	access to water
4.	put people’s health	d.	crisis
5.	the government must guarantee	e.	for all the people
6.	a basic human	f.	into the ground

Paragraph 2

1.	There are several	a.	twice a week
2	global warming is	b.	save water
3.	we wash our cars	c.	resource
4.	war over access	d.	reasons for this
5.	think more about how to	e.	to water
6.	preserve this precious	f.	changing our weather

LISTENING GAP FILL

Mexico City ______________ huge water crisis. The city is now too big. There is not enough water for all the people who live there. The problem ______________ system of collecting water is too old. A ______________ of rain water disappears into the ground. Water companies ______________ pump water into the city from 130 kilometres away. The city’s mayor Marcelo Ebrard recently said the water shortages will put people’s ______________. Another politician said the government must guarantee access to water because it’s ______________ right.

Water shortages ______________ problem in the future. There are several reasons for this. One is that global warming is changing our weather. Another ______________ that too many people are living in cities. We all have gardens, we wash our cars twice a week _________________ have swimming pools. We are all using too much water. The world will soon have its first water ______________ to water. It’s time we all started to think more about ______________ water. Our governments have to introduce campaigns ________________ precious resource.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

Mexico City will soon (1) ____ a huge water crisis. The city is now too big. There is not enough water for all the people who live there. The problem is that the (2) ____ system of collecting water is too old. A large percentage of rain water disappears into the ground. Water companies even have to (3) ____ water into the city from 130 kilometres away. The city’s mayor Marcelo Ebrard recently said the water shortages will put people’s health (4) ____ risk. Another politician said the government must guarantee access to water because it’s a basic human (5) ____.

Water shortages will be a big problem in the future. There are several (6) ____ for this. One is that global warming is changing our weather. Another big reason is that (7) ____ many people are living in cities. We all have gardens, we (8) ____ our cars twice a week and some of us have swimming pools. We are all using too much water. The world will soon have its first water war (9) ____ access to water. It’s time we all started to think more about how to save water. Our governments have to introduce campaigns to preserve this (10) ____ resource.

Put the correct words from this table into the article.

1.	(a)	face	(b)	head	(c)	skull
2.	(a)	cities	(b)	cities’	(c)	city’s
3.	(a)	pump	(b)	push	(c)	pull
4.	(a)	by	(b)	at	(c)	to
5.	(a)	wrong	(b)	right	(c)	write
6.	(a)	reasons	(b)	reason	(c)	reasoning
7.	(a)	to	(b)	two	(c)	too
8.	(a)	wash	(b)	washing	(c)	washed
9.	(a)	under	(b)	around	(c)	over
10.	(a)	previous	(b)	precious	(c)	percent

SPELLING

Spell the jumbled words (from the text) correctly.

Paragraph 1
1.	water isrisc
2.	not ngoheu water
3.	A large taegeencrp
4.	disappears into the drongu
5.	put people’s hhetal at risk
6.	a aiscb human right
Paragraph 2
7.	a big problem in the utefru
8.	labgol warming
9.	Another big onaser
10.	swimming oplos
11.	csaecs to water
12.	precious oseecurr

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	warming is changing our weather. Another big reason is that too many people are living in cities. We all have gardens, we wash
( )	Mexico City will soon face a huge water crisis. The city is now too big. There is not enough water for all
( )	the government must guarantee access to water because it’s a basic human right.
( )	first water war over access to water. It’s time we all started to think more about how
( )	the people who live there. The problem is that the city’s system of collecting water is too old. A large percentage of rain
( )	to save water. Our governments have to introduce campaigns to preserve this precious resource.
( )	water disappears into the ground. Water companies even have to pump water into the city from 130 kilometres
( 1 )	Water shortages will be a big problem in the future. There are several reasons for this. One is that global
( )	away. The city’s mayor Marcelo Ebrard recently said the water shortages will put people’s health at risk. Another politician said
( )	our cars twice a week and some of us have swimming pools. We are all using too much water. The world will soon have its

THE READING / TAPESCRIPT

With a partner, put the words back into the correct order.

1.	crisis City face water Mexico soon huge will a.
2.	water enough Not people the all for.
3.	disappears the water into ground Rain.
4.	shortages at will risk put people’s Water health.
5.	to access guarantee must government The water.
6.	the Shortages a in be problem future will big.
7.	cities in living are people many Too.
8.	We water much too using all are.
9.	we more all started It’s to time think.
10.	Campaigns preserve precious to this resource.

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

WRITING

Write about water for 10 minutes. Show your partner your paper. Correct each other’s work.

______________________________________________________________________________

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information about the water shortage in Mexico City. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about water. Include an imaginary interview with someone who has to walk 20 km a day to get water and that person’s president. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

4. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

5. LETTER: Write a letter to Mexico City’s mayor. Ask him three questions about the water shortage. Give him three of your ideas on how to save water. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Your partner will answer the questions you asked.

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News English Lessons FREE Handout, Listening & Quizzes on Mexico (11 Pages of Materials & 8 Online Activities)