News-based English language activities from the global newspaper Page 

June 2009
Level ≥ Advanced
Style ≥ Individual or group activities
Welcome to the Guardian Weekly’s special news-based materials to support learners and teachers of
English. Each month, the Guardian Weekly newspaper selects topical news articles that can be used to
practise English language skills. The materials are graded for two levels: Advanced and Lower Intermediate.
These worksheets can be downloaded free from guardianweekly.co.uk/learningenglish/. You can also
find more advice for teachers and learners on the site
Materials prepared by Janet Hardy-Gould

Belgian town proclaims Thursdays meat-free

‘Bean burghers’ ... Ghent’s population try vegetarian food Gianni Barbieux

2 What is the difference between these pairs of words?

Before reading Use a dictionary to help you.
1 What do these prefixes or suffixes mean? a To proclaim or to say that something is going to hap-
a All the dishes in this restaurant are meat-free. pen.

b The mayor of the town is an anti-meat campaigner.

b Vegetarian (veggie) food or vegan food.

c This restaurant is good for the meat-shy.

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News-based English language activities from the global newspaper
c To eat something or to munch something.
d A compulsory scheme or an optional scheme.
3 Look at the headline, photo and caption of the
article. Complete the gaps.
There is a new scheme in the
town of (a) in
(b) . save as much
Every (c) the people are
going to stop eating (d) and
start having (e) food instead.
Article
Belgian town proclaims
Thursdays meat-free
1 Outside the 15th-century slaughterhouse in
the Belgian city of Ghent last month a crowd
munched on soya fritters and queued to dip their
organic bread in aubergine caviar.
2 “This is pretty unique,” said Tobias Leenaert, an
anti-meat campaigner. “An entire city proclaim-
ing one day a week a veggie day.”
3 Ghent was launching a radical experiment seek-
ing to make every Thursday a day free of meat
and fish, turning its population into pioneers in
the fight against obesity, global warming and cru-
elty to animals.
4 The city council says it is the first town in Europe
and probably the western world to try to go veg-
etarian for a day every week. Tom Balthazar, the
Labour party councillor pushing the scheme,
said: “There’s nothing compulsory. We just
want to be a city that promotes sustainable and
healthy living.”
5 Every restaurant in the city has guaranteed a veg-
etarian dish on the menu, with some going fully
vegetarian every Thursday. From September,
the city’s schools are to make a meat-free meal
the “default” option every Thursday, although
Page 
June 2009
parents can insist on meat for their children. At
least one hospital wants to join in.
6 A small city of spires, bicycles and canals, Ghent
may be on to something. It appears to be tapping
into a zeitgeist awareness of the cost to human
health and the environment of intensive meat
and dairy farming. Other towns in Belgium and
the Netherlands are making inquiries; there has
even been one from Canada.
7 The organisers cite UN data arguing that meat
production and consumption are to blame for
18% of greenhouse gases. “If everyone in Flan-
ders does not eat meat one day a week, we will
carbon dioxide in a year as taking half a million
cars off the road,” said the Ethical Vegetarian
Association.
8 “This is not a plan for everyone to be forced into
vegetarianism,” said Wim Coenen, a vegan who
works as an importer of vegetarian pet food from
Italy. “But it will reduce our carbon footprint.
The basic premise is to introduce a way of lessen-
ing our meat consumption.”
9 Ninety thousand town maps listing the best
eateries for the meat-shy were handed out at a
food festival to launch the initiative last month,
along with recipe booklets and food samples.
Ian Traynor
Glossary
burgher (noun) a citizen of a particular town (old
fashioned)
slaughterhouse (noun) a place where animals are
killed for meat
tap into something (phrasal verb) to make use of ideas,
knowledge etc that already exist
zeitgeist (noun) the general mood or feeling of a par-
ticular period in history, as shown by people’s ideas at
the time
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News-based English language activities from the global newspaper
While reading
1 Read the first four paragraphs of the article. Answer
these questions.
a What type of food are the people eating? Give exam-
ples of it.
2 Read the rest of the article. Match the titles to para-
b Where are the people eating? Why is this strange?
c Why is the town of Ghent unique?
3 News in brief
d What are the people of Ghent helping to stop?
e Who is actively promoting the meat-free day?
Page 
June 2009
f What type of living does the city want to encourage?
graphs 5 – 9. Cross out the three titles that are not
needed.
a A city in tune with the concerns of the 21st
century
b Council plan to enforce vegetarianism
c Practical information for everybody
d French cities quick to copy Ghent’s example
e Meat production – a major source of CO2
emissions
f Ghent’s schools and eateries are all behind the
new idea
g Anti-vegetarian protesters speak out
h An optional scheme to reduce meat consumption
Write a summary of the article in 60 words for the
“News in brief” section of a newspaper. Begin with
the words: The city council in the Belgian town of
Ghent …
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News-based English language activities from the global newspaper
After reading
1 Vocabulary from the article
Complete the grid with words to match the defini-
tions. Paragraph numbers are in brackets. Find the
extra word that runs downwards. Put verbs in the
base form and nouns in the singular.
a completely; totally (5)
b to distribute (two words) (9)
c a small thin book with a paper cover (9)
d a restaurant or other place that serves food (9)
e something you can choose to have (5)
f a roof that rises to a point on a church tower or other
building (6)
g a request for information about something (6)
h to start a new scheme, project etc (9)
i to mention something in order to support what you
are saying (7)
g
h f Sustainable, healthy living.
i c It’s the first town in Europe/the world to go vegetarian one day a week.
What phrase in the article does the extra word come
from? What does it mean?
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June 2009
Activity — discussion
Decide if you agree [A] or disagree [D] with these
statements. Discuss your opinions with a partner.
a It’s wrong for councils to try to change people’s
habits. We should all have the freedom to eat what we
want.
b Intensive meat farming is a world-wide problem.
There should be a global meat-free day every Thursday.
c The meat-free day is a publicity stunt. The people
of Ghent will soon forget the scheme.
d Some people don’t like vegetarian food and they
shouldn’t have to change their diet..
e Climate change is a serious problem and we will
all need to change our daily habits in the future..
carbon footprint – how much carbon a person puts into the atmosphere
1 a fully b hand out c booklet d eatery e option f spire g inquiry h launch i cite
After reading
2 b, d, g not needed. a 6 c 9 e 7 f 5 h 8.
e Tom Balthazar.
d Obesity, global warming and cruelty to animals.
b Outside an old slaughterhouse. Because animals are killed here.
1 a Vegetarian. Soya fritters and aubergine caviar.
While reading
3 a Ghent b Belgium c Thursday d meat e vegetarian
d Compulsory – you have to do it; optional – you can choose to do it if you want.
c Eat (neutral); munch – to eat something steadily and possibly noisily.
ing milk, cheese or eggs. Both words can be adjectives or people.
b Vegetarian – without meat or fish; vegan – without any animal products includ-
important; say (neutral).
2 a Proclaim (formal) is to publicly and officially tell people about something
1 a without meat b against or opposed to meat c avoiding or not liking meat
Before reading
Answers