Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. stove
    • ex. My roommate mainly uses the oven, but I prefer to cook on the stove.
  2. fuel
    • ex. The price of gas and other fuels has been rising recently.
  3. charcoal
    • ex. I usually cook hamburgers with charcoal.
  4. air pollution
    • ex. The air pollution in our country is getting worse because of all the cars.
  5. deforestation
    • ex. Deforestation is a major problem; we are losing more and more trees every year.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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M-gas, a cooking gas company in Kenya, has launched a cheap prepaid gas service. The service includes a stove and gas tank with an electronic meter. The meter shows the price that the customer paid and the amount of gas that the customer can still use. Gas tanks are usually expensive, but M-gas is different because customers don’t need to pay for the whole tank. Families can make small payments for the gas that they will need that day. Some families choose to pay for a very small amount of gas before they cook each meal.

Before the new service’s launch, around 900 million people in Africa cooked with dirty fuels such as wood and charcoal. The use of dirty fuels is a major cause of air pollution. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), almost half a million deaths in the region are caused by air pollution. In addition, a high demand for wood and charcoal can cause deforestation, another major problem.

According to M-gas, their service is the perfect solution to the two problems. Through the service, customers can cook without smoke. No smoke means less air pollution. Additionally, because there is no need to use wood or charcoal anymore, local deforestation can also be slowed down.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Prices

  • Do you think that most people in your country can easily pay for basic household needs (ex. gas, food)?
  • What do you think is the most important household need (ex. water, food, electricity)?
  • How do you think the prices of basic household needs will change in the next five years?

Prepaid Services

  • Do you think more companies should offer prepaid services?
  • Do you agree that prepaid services are usually cheaper than non-prepaid services? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think prepaid services will be more popular in the future? Why or why not? Discuss.