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 October 2019

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Bulgaria’s Population is Shrinking

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

  • shrink: to get smaller in size
  • European Union: a political and economical group of 28 countries
  • postsecondary: after high school
  • abroad: in a foreign country
  • pace: a continuous speed

Bulgaria’s Population is Shrinking

Bulgaria, a southeastern country in the European Union, is one of the fastest shrinking countries. In the last years, the population of Bulgaria has fallen from 9 to 7 million. Young people often leave the country for postsecondary studies and do not return for years. Approximately 1 million Bulgarians currently live abroad. Bulgarians are also having children. Despite the shrinking population, some Bulgarians do return after realizing that they miss some aspects of home, including the and relaxed pace of living.

Comprehension Questions

[wp_quiz id=”19071″]

Discussion Question

How does the expression “the grass is always greener on the other side” relate to this story?

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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