If you want to develop your listening skills, try these tasks as you listen to the text. The answers are at the bottom of this page, after the Vocabulary. Thanks to Natasha Groves for preparing the tasks.
If you want to listen and read, just scroll down to the text.
1. Listening for main ideas
First, just listen to the text. What information can you catch during this first listening?
2. Now listen again and answer these questions:
a. What are the symptoms of whooping cough?
b. Which groups of people are most at risk from whooping cough?
c. What happens when an epidemic is declared?
d. Who should be vaccinated and when?
3. Listening to understand numbers. Now listen for a third time. What do these numbers and dates refer to?
a. 22 November
b. about 50% of babies
c. one or two in 100
d. three babies
e. 263
f. 187
g. 75
h. 2017
On Friday 22 November, health officials declared that there is a whooping cough epidemic in New Zealand.
Whooping cough is a very serious illness which causes breathing difficulties and periods of severe coughing. The illness can last for weeks or months, so it is sometimes called the “100-day cough”. It is particularly serious for newborn babies and older adults. About 50 percent of babies (that is, aged up to 12 months) who catch whooping cough need hospital care, and one or two in 100 of those babies in hospital die. Last year three babies died from whooping cough, and health officials want to avoid that happening again.
There have been 263 cases of whooping cough in the last month, compared with 187 cases in September and 75 cases in August. This increase led to the declaration of an epidemic, which means that health officials and professionals will now work together to respond to and manage the illness. Epidemics can last for months or even a year or more. Whooping cough is highly infectious – much more infectious than Covid19 – and is not a viral but a bacterial disease.
It is recommended that pregnant women have a vaccination because it will protect their babies for the first six weeks after they are born. It is also recommended that babies have their vaccinations on time at the ages of six weeks, three months, five months, and then at four years old. Vaccination for these groups is free. Currently, vaccination rates for whooping cough are very low, so there will be publicity campaigns now to inform the public and to try to boost those rates. Even if babies have missed a vaccination, they can receive them late and still get protected from the disease.
New Zealand’s last major outbreak of whooping cough was in 2017.
Vocabulary
epidemic – a large number of cases of a disease that happen at the same time, in one region (whereas in a pandemic it spreads to many regions)
infectious – if an illness is infectious, it can be passed from one person to another easily, especially through the air
viral – a viral disease is caused by a virus
bacterial – a bacterial disease is caused by a bacterium (plural, bacteria)
campaign – a series of activities that are intended to achieve a particular aim
boost – to increase or improve something
Answers
2. Listening for answers to questions
a. breathing difficulties and periods of severe coughing
b. newborn babies and older adults
c. health officials and professionals work together to respond to and manage the illness
d. pregnant women; babies at the ages of six weeks, three months, five months, and then at four years old.
3. Listening to understand numbers
a. 22 November: a whooping cough epidemic was declared
b. about 50% of babies need hospital care
c. one or two in 100 of those babies in hospital die
d. three babies died from whooping cough last year
e. 263 cases of whooping cough in the last month
f. 187 cases in September
g. 75 cases in August
h. 2017: New Zealand’s last major outbreak of whooping cough