Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. link
    • ex. Studies show that poor sleep is linked to higher stress levels.
  2. dementia
    • ex. It is hard for people with dementia to remember things and recognize faces.
  3. track
    • ex. This watch tracks my daily exercise.
  4. estimate
    • ex. She tried to estimate how long the project would take to finish.
  5. exposure
    • ex. Too much exposure to the sun can cause sunburn and skin damage.

Article

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

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A new study says that wildfire smoke may be more harmful to the brain than other types of air pollution. Wildfire smoke is linked to a higher risk of dementia. The study found that the risk of getting dementia increased about 21% following the increased wildfire dust. Researchers shared these findings at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference last July.

Researchers tracked the health records of 1.2 million Southern Californians from 2009 to 2019. They used air quality data to estimate how much wildfire dust exposure people had for over three years. The wildfire dust called PM2.5 is much smaller than human hair and can go deep into the lungs and enter the blood.

PM2.5 pollution from factories, fires, and traffic can cause heart and lung diseases, and now researchers have found that it can also cause dementia. Alzheimer’s Association chief science officer Maria Carrillo said more study is needed since wildfires are becoming more common. Also, it puts a lot of people at risk of dementia, especially lower-income people who cannot avoid unhealthy air, Carrillo said.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Dementia

  • A new study shows that wildfire smoke is linked to a higher risk of dementia. How does this study make you feel (ex. I'm concerned, there's nothing I can do about it)? Discuss.
  • What do you think people can do to prevent dementia (ex. play memory games, exercise regularly)? Discuss.
  • According to the article, wildfires put a lot of people at risk of dementia, especially lower-income people who cannot avoid unhealthy air. How can the government protect lower-income people? Discuss.

Air Pollution and Health

  • What health problems or difficulties do people in your country experience because of air pollution? Discuss.
  • How do you protect yourself from air pollution (ex. wearing of face mask, getting health checkups)? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, is it possible to solve the problem of air pollution? Why or why not? Discuss.