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Reading (RC327): Osborne unveils £140bn scheme to kick-start stagnant economy. (Telegraph)
George Osborne unveiled a £140 billion emergency scheme to try to avoid a second credit crunch caused by the ongoing chaos in the eurozone
The Bank of England is to offer money to high-street banks to kick-start mortgage and small business lending to prevent loans being rationed for many families and entrepreneurs, the Chancellor announced.
It comes after sharp rises in the costs of mortgages and other loans in recent months as banks struggle to raise money in the midst of the single currency crisis.
Sir Mervyn King, the Bank of England Governor, said that the “industrialised world has thrown everything bar the kitchen sink” at the global economic meltdown but that even “bolder action” was now required.
Questions
Answer with complete sentences.
- What did George Osborne announce?
- Why is he doing it?
- For what purpose is the Bank of England offering money to high street banks?
- Why has the cost of mortgages risen recently?
- Who is the Governor of the Bank of England?
- Does he believe that more or less action is required by governments?
General
- Banks do not want to lend money – in case it is not repaid. Should governments encourage them to lend money in this situation?
Answers
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Reading (RC326): Doctors face ban on denying treatment to elderly. (Telegraph)
Doctors and NHS managers will be banned by law from denying older patients treatment simply on the grounds of their age, ministers will announce.
Nurses and carers will also face a legal duty to consider the “well-being and dignity” of the elderly. The legal ban on age discrimination in public services will come into force in October, the Coalition will confirm.
It follows a series of shocking reports showing that older people often suffer sub-standard care and uneven treatment in the NHS and the social care system
“We know that older people are not always treated with the dignity and respect they deserve because of ageist attitudes – this will not be tolerated,” Paul Burstow, the Care Minister, said.
Questions
Answer with complete sentences.
- What will ministers announce today?
- What will nurses be obliged by law to consider?
- When will be new rules be introduced?
- What have several reports demonstrated?
- What attitudes cause this lack of respect, according to the Minister?
General
- As more people live longer, is it possible to offer a full range of medical treatments to old people?
- How can we finance the extra costs associated with medical care for an aging population?
Answers
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RC325: Euro 2012: Dutch threaten to walk off pitch over racist abuse after black players are targeted during training. (Telegraph)
The Polish city in which England are based for the finals of Euro 2012 was at the centre of a growing race row on Thursday with the Holland captain, Mark van Bommel, warning Uefa that he will lead his team off the pitch if they are abused during matches after an alleged incident occurred at a training session.
Black players in the Dutch squad were subjected to “monkey chants” from supporters of Wisla Krakow during open training at the Polish club’s stadium on Wednesday, according to the midfielder.
Uefa and the Dutch football association played down the row but on Thursday Van Bommel warned: “It’s a real disgrace, especially after getting back from Auschwitz, that you are confronted with this. We will take it up with Uefa and if it happens during matches we will talk to the referee and ask to leave the field.”
When questioned by Dutch journalists, some of whom claimed not to have heard the abuse, Van Bommel added: “You need to open your ears. If you heard it and did not want to hear it then that is even worse.”
Questions
Answer with complete sentences.
- In which country is the Euro 2012 football competition being held?
- Who is the captain of the Dutch team?
- Why is he angry?
- What does he say he will do if this happens during a match?
- Which famous site of an atrocity had the Dutch team just visited?
- Had all the Dutch journalists heard the abuse?
General
- What should a team captain do if there are racist chants during a match?
- Have you witnessed any examples of racism?
Answers
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RC324: Hosepipe ban to be lifted for millions. (Telegraph)
Millions of households will have the hosepipe ban lifted before the end of summer after two months of rain returned rivers and reservoirs to normal levels.
Restrictions were due to last until Christmas after two dry winters left water levels at their lowest since 1976. But the Environment Agency has confirmed the risk of drought had been “significantly reduced” with no further action expected.
Provided dry conditions do not return, the ban is likely to be lifted before the Olympics next month.
Thames Water, which supplies almost nine million people across London and the Thames Valley, said it expected to remove the ban “sooner rather than later” with an update on water reserves due by the end of the month.
Questions
Answer with complete sentences.
- What is banned at the moment?
- When is the ban likely to be lifted?
- Why?
- When was the ban expected to continue until?
- How many people get their water from Thames Water?
- When will Thames Water next tell people its plans?
General
- Do you find it strange that a country as wet as Britain has a hosepipe ban?
- Should we pay for water according to how much we use?
- Do you think water is a scarce natural resource?
Answers
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Reading (RC323): The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee: On a night of colour and noise, the Queen’s resolve stands out. (Telegraph)
She has spent 60 years putting duty above all else, and tonight the Queen stoically pressed on with her Jubilee engagements despite the Duke of Edinburgh being taken to hospital just hours earlier. The Prince of Wales summed up the mood of a nation last night as he thanked the Queen for “making us proud to be British”.
The sovereign put duty first, as she has done for the past 60 years, and pressed on with her Jubilee engagements despite the Duke of Edinburgh being taken to hospital a few hours earlier.
Her resolve was not lost on the 500,000 people who gave her a deafening reception at the end of last night’s Diamond Jubilee concert outside Buckingham Palace.
For someone who has seen so much during her reign, she still seemed taken aback by the sheer volume of the welcome as she took to the stage wearing a dazzling gold dress sewn with crystals that glittered in the lights as she waved to the crowd.
Background
The Queen is celebrating 60 years as monarch. Her husband, Prince Philip, is known as the Duke of Edinburgh. Her son, Prince Charles, is the Prince of Wales, and will become king when the Queen dies. Her home in London is Buckingham Palace. The Queen is 86 and the Duke of Edinburgh is 90.
Questions
Answer with complete sentences.
- Who had to go to hospital?
- Who spoke to thank the Queen for her service?
- How many people were outside Buckingham Palace?
- What had they been listening to?
- What was the Queen wearing?
- Which words mean that she seemed surprised?
General
- Have you ever attended any big outdoors festival? Why? Did you enjoy it?
Answers
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Reading (RC322): The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee: Happy and glorious, the river Queen. (Telegraph)
On a most British of days – right down to the weather – more than a million people line the Thames to pay tribute to the Queen on her Diamond Jubilee. Has there ever been a more robust, a more determined or a more downright stubborn display of support for the Queen?
On a day when the weather could not have been more cruel, more than a million people turned out regardless to line the Thames and give the Sovereign the biggest, albeit the soggiest, party of her 60-year reign.
Try explaining to the rest of the world why dozens camped overnight in pouring rain and bone-chilling cold for a passing glimpse of a tiny 86-year-old woman in the distance and it may be difficult finding where to start.
But no one knows better than the Queen that, for people who stood 20 deep in places on the river bank, the chance to say they saw her on her Diamond Jubilee weekend was what the day was all about.
Questions
Answer with complete sentences.
- How many people waited by the River Thames to see the Queen?
- How many years has she been the Queen?
- What is the name for this anniversary?
- Which words in paragraph 2 mean “arrived”?
- How old is the Queen?
- Is the Queen tall or short?
- What was the purpose of waiting on the river bank? (according to the text)
General
- Are you surprised by how popular the Queen is in the UK?
- What type of Head of State do you have?
- Does it surprise you to know that the Queen is also the Head of State of 15 other countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Jamaica?
Answers
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Reading (RC321): Sponsor turns off Olympics cash machines. (The Times)
Visitors to the Olympic Games who do not have a Visa card should be prepared to bring cash when attending venues this summer.
Visa, one of London 2012’s official sponsors, has requested that the 27 existing cash machines located in Olympic sporting venues be switched off during the Games. It will replace these machines, which currently accept all UK cards, with eight machines that will accept only Visa cards.
Ron Delnevo, director at the UK Payments Council, said that machines would be switched off at ExCeL, Earls Court, North Greenwich Arena, Wembley Arena, Wembley Stadium, Wimbledon, Old Trafford, St James’s Park, and City of Coventry Stadium.
He said that visitors who ran out of cash would “have to resort to using Visa debit or credit cards as no other cards will be acceptable at any of the 2012 venues”. Most UK bank debit cards have Visa, but many foreign tourists could be affected.
Questions
Answer with complete sentences.
- Which type of card will people need at the London Olympics?
- If you do not have this card, what should you do?
- How many cash machines will be switched off?
- Why does Visa have the power to request this?
- How many new Visa only machines will be installed?
- Will many UK customers be affected?
- Who is more likely to be affected?
General
- Should a sponsor have this kind of power?
- Do you think the Olympics are a purely commercial festival?
- Will you be watching the Olympics?
Answers
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Reading (RC320): Spain faces ‘total emergency’ as fear grips markets. (Telegraph)
Spain is facing the gravest danger since the end of the Franco dictatorship as the country is frozen out of global capital markets and slides towards an epic showdown with Europe.
“We’re in a situation of total emergency, the worst crisis we have ever lived through” said ex-premier Felipe Gonzalez, the country’s elder statesman.
The collapse in Spanish tax revenues is replicating the pattern in Greece. Fiscal revenues have fallen 4.8pc over the last year, and VAT returns have slumped 14.6pc. Debt service costs have risen by 18pc.
The country is caught in a classic deflationary vice: a rising debt burden on a shrinking economic base. “Once you get into such a negative feedback loop, you can move beyond the point of no return quickly,” he said.
Questions
Answer with complete sentences.
- Does Spain have easy access to capital markets?
- With whom is it coming into conflict?
- Who is the country’s elder statesman?
- By how much have the government’s fiscal revenues fallen?
- By how much have the government’s VAT returns fallen?
- By how much have debt service costs risen?
- What is the opposite of deflation?
General
- Is there any solution to the never-ending Euro problem?
- If you were Spanish where would you invest your money?
Answers
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Reading: (RC319): Apple chief Tim Cook admits ‘intense interest’ in television sector. (Telegraph)
Apple chief executive Tim Cook has admitted that television is “an area of intense interest for us” in comments that are likely to fuel speculation that the company plans to make TVs.
“We’re not a hobby kind of company, as you know,” Mr Cook said of Apple’s current TV offering. “We’ve stuck in this.”
The company’s efforts have so far been restricted to Apple TV, a gadget that the user plugs into their TV to be able to download content from iTunes and YouTube. Although sales have been climbing, the past 12 months has seen speculation mount that Apple has ambitions to revolutionise the TV business by making its own sets.
“We are going to keep pulling the string and see where this takes us,” Mr Cook said of its future TV plans. Asked during an interview at the All Things Digital Conference in California on Tuesday night whether Apple will produce a TV, Mr Cook said: “You were right. I’m not going to tell you.”
Questions
Answer with complete sentences.
- Who is the Chief Executive of Apple?
- Which new product do some people think Apple is going to make?
- What does Apple TV currently do?
- What might revolutionise the TV business?
- At which conference was Cook speaking?
- Did he say whether Apple will produce a TV or not?
General
- Do you think Apple will make TVs?
- If Apple makes a television do you think it will be successful?
- Do you think Apple’s run of successful products can continue for a long time?
Answers
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Reading (RC318): Syria Houla massacre: Russia told to intervene before it is too late. (Telegraph)
William Hague issued an ultimatum to Russia last night to intervene in the Syrian crisis before it was too late, warning that the massacre of at least 108 people, including 32 young children in Houla, had taken the country to the brink of civil war.
Speaking shortly before boarding a flight to Moscow for meetings with his counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Monday, the Foreign Secretary said that Russia now faced a stark choice between using its leverage with the Assad regime or risking its last bastion of influence in the Middle East descending into chaos.
Urging Moscow to put its full weight behind the six-point United Nations plan for Syria brokered by the former secretary general Kofi Annan, he said: “The Russians have a great deal of leverage over the Syrian regime.
“We’ve had many differences of view over Russia at the Security Council, but Russia does support the Annan plan and so I hope Russia will redouble its efforts to get the Assad regime to implement that plan,” he said.
Questions
Answer with complete sentences.
- Who has issued an ultimatum?
- What is his job?
- How many people were killed in Houla?
- Who is he meeting in Moscow?
- What does he say Russia risks in the Middle East?
- Who developed the six point plan for Syria?
- What does Hague now hope Russia will do about this plan?
General
- Should outside countries do anything about the killing in Syria? If so, what?
- If a government murders its own citizens, should other countries take action?
Answers
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