Listening

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Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. paralyze
    • ex. The COVID-19 pandemic paralyzed many businesses in our country.
  2. nationwide
    • ex. Some researchers are doing a nationwide survey on the use of social media.
  3. an outage
    • ex. The storm caused a temporary power outage.
  4. a disturbance
    • ex. The flight was delayed because of a disturbance at the airport.
  5. restore
    • ex. The water supply was cut because of a storm. But the water company restored it after a few hours.

Article

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

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Kenya experienced a power blackout in December. It paralyzed large parts of the country. The transport minister requested the National Police Service for an investigation. It was the third nationwide outage in three months. The blackout began at around 8 p.m. It affected many important facilities, like the main airport in Nairobi.

Kenya Power, a government-owned electric company, said the outage was a result of a “system disturbance.” The company’s employees worked hard to solve the problem. And they restored electricity in some parts of the country the following day. But many other areas were still without power. In November 2023, a similar outage lasted for over 12 hours.

The longest power outage in Kenya happened on August 25. Later, Kenya Power restored electricity after almost 24 hours. The reason for the outages remains a mystery. The power company said there was a problem at Africa’s largest wind farm. People in Kenya used social media to get answers from Kenya Power over the frequent blackouts.

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

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Blackouts

  • In December, Kenya experienced a blackout that paralyzed a large part of the country. Has a similar situation ever happened in your country? What was the longest period of blackout you experienced? Discuss.
  • Imagine there’s a blackout in your area for 24 hours. What would you do? Why? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, what items are important to have during a long blackout (ex. flashlight, food and water)? Why? Discuss.

Use of Social Media to Communicate with the Government

  • People used social media to get answers from Kenya Power over the frequent blackouts. Why do you think the people did this? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, is social media effective for communicating with the government? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Have you ever tried contacting a government office through social media? Why or why not? Discuss.