Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. ambitious
    • ex. He has an ambitious plan to start a small business next month.
  2. repeal
    • ex. The president will repeal laws that don’t help the economy’s growth.
  3. tobacco
    • ex. Health experts warn people about the negative effects of smoking tobacco.
  4. a setback
    • ex. The company has no remaining funds for any projects. This is a setback to the IT team’s AI improvement project.
  5. beneficial
    • ex. The new tax law is beneficial to small business owners.

Article

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

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New Zealand’s new prime minister Christopher Luxon has announced his ambitious plans for his first 100 days in office. He plans to repeal tobacco regulations and ban cellphone use in schools. The new prime minister also announced many other actions that aim to repeal the previous government’s rules. However, the plan to change tobacco laws may lead to disagreements.

Luxon wants to change the law that stops many businesses from selling cigarettes. He said that his government’s new rules would bring in more tax income. Still, he emphasized that his government is going to bring down smoking rates. However, critics said that the plans are a setback for public health. And they are only beneficial to the tobacco industry, who now can continue to sell its products.

Luxon’s government also has two education proposals. Firstly, his government wants to require schools to teach reading, writing, and math for an hour each day. Second, he wants to ban cellphone use. These rules reflect the ideas of many New Zealanders. Many voters believe that schools should focus on their main mission.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Education Proposals

  • Prime Minister Luxon wants to ban cellphones in schools. Should students be banned from using cellphones in schools? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Many New Zealanders believe that schools should focus on their main mission. What do you think is the main mission of schools? Discuss.
  • Imagine you are making a proposal or plan to improve education. What would you propose (ex. more focus on a specific subject, less homework)? Why? Discuss.

Ambitious Plans and Goals

  • Do you consider yourself ambitious in setting goals and making plans? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Prime Minister Luxon has ambitious plans for his first 100 days. Do you like leaders who make ambitious plans? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think being ambitious is beneficial? Why or why not? Discuss.