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Lead-in

Your teacher will give you some tips on writing magazine articles. Match the headings to the tips.

Input

1 Read the article below. With a partner, think of a headline.

There are lots of ways to reduce A team of scientists have estimated that in the
emissions. Substituting conventional summer of 2013 in Beijing, swapping ordinary
cars with electric ones could have turned
cars for electric ones is apparently one
down the heat by roughly 1°C. In turn, the
of them. However, can they also help
reduction in air conditioning use would have
megalopolitans of cities like Beijing resulted in a drop of 10,686 tonnes in daily
beat the heat, by curtailing the use of greenhouse gas emissions. “I was taken aback
air conditioning? by just how much energy consumption would
Whether electric cars combat climate change have decreased.” says Du, chief researcher.
is hotly debated. Even though they potentially Some are more sceptical about the conclusion.
give off less carbon dioxide directly, their Jonas Streek of the Heat Island Association in
manufacturing process is more pollutant. Toronto, Canada states that it is much more
They are also more expensive. However, it has complicated than the research suggests. “The
been suggested that there may be hidden sophisticated relation between the effect
advantages to them. of wind, moisture balance and interactions
Electric cars emit around 20% less heat than of buildings and atmosphere need to be
regular cars, hence contributing less to the accounted for.” Kees van der Stoep of the
urban heat island effect: the phenomenon Dutch Institute of Technology adds that heat
of metropolitan areas being warmer than emissions are only responsible in part for the
the surrounding rural areas due to human heat island effect. “Cities also retain that heat
activity. If temperatures are lower, the usage due to tarmac surfaces, which take a long time
of air conditioning will also fall, subsequently to cool down.”
saving energy.

1  myClass Advanced W07 PHOTOCOPIABLE © British Council 2015

 Advanced
Current affairs
W07

2 Answer these questions.

1 Name two ways in which electric cars can be good for the environment.

2 Name two disadvantages of electric cars.

3 What is the heat island effect? Describe it in your own words.

4 What was the chief researcher’s reaction to the statistics?

5 What is Jonas Streek’s reaction to the research?

6 What is Kees van der Stoep’s reaction to the research?

3 Find words or phrases in the text that express similar ideas to these below.
1 reduce 6 roughly
2 conventional 7 a drop
3 substituting 8 cool down
4 combat 9 hence
5 give off 10 use
4 What is your reaction to the research? Do you think it’s true, possible or unlikely? Discuss with
your partner.

Language focus

1 What are the purposes of the opening paragraph of an article? Discuss with your partner.
2 Read these seven techniques to open a magazine article. Decide which the article on electric
cars uses.
a A surprising fact, perhaps with statistics.
b A shocking or outlandish statement, making the reader curious.
c A question, defining the subject of the article.
d A quotation.
e An anecdote that illustrates what you are going to write.
f A statement of the topic, often summarising what you are going to write.
g A reference to a widely-known phrase, e.g. from literature, a song or proverb.

2  myClass Advanced W07 PHOTOCOPIABLE © British Council 2015

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Current affairs
W07

3 The article is missing a paragraph. Which one?

4 Complete these phrases that are used to conclude and summarise.
1 All in … 3 In … 5 To some …
2 Broadly ... 4 On …
5 With your partner, write a concluding paragraph for the article in around 50 words.

Task

1 Look at these four headlines. With a partner, choose one to write an article on.

Save Water Save Money. How flush Illegal not to act: Could courts save
do you feel? world from climate change?

Seeking efficient paths to

Save Wildlife, Save Yourself?
slimmer children

2 Brainstorm what points the article could include.

3 With your partner, write the opening and closing paragraphs of the article.
4 Complete the rest of the article. The whole article should be between 220 and 260 words.

Assessment criteria
• The article is interesting and engaging for the reader and uses techniques to catch the reader’s
interest.
• The content is logically ordered into paragraphs and the layout is appropriate for a magazine
article.
• The letter is written in an appropriate and consistent neutral or semi-formal style.
• A wide range of vocabulary and structures is used to express ideas with precision and clarity.
• Grammatical and lexical choices are accurate.

Review

3  myClass Advanced W07 PHOTOCOPIABLE © British Council 2015