Onion emergency in Bangladesh

 Watch:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ54CJLSaV8

Onions are very important in Bangladeshi cuisine. The vegetable is a staple in the country's cooking. However, many people are finding it difficult to buy onions. There is a shortage of them, which means prices have skyrocketed. Many Bangladeshis simply cannot afford to buy onions. Bangladesh traditionally imports onions from its neighbour India. Recent heavy monsoon rains in India damaged a lot of  their onion harvest. This has made India ban exports to Bangladesh. The price of one kilogram of onions in Bangladeshi markets has risen from US36 cents to around $3.25. This is nearly a ten-fold increase. Bangladesh's opposition party has called for nationwide protests over the record prices.

The onion crisis is so serious that even the Prime Minister has stopped using it in her cooking. Sheikh Hasina Wazed said she is using onion alternatives in her dishes. A limited number of onions are on sale in several Dhaka markets at twice their usual price. Hundreds of people queue for hours to buy just one kilo. A 41-year-old English teacher said: "Even if I have to stand another two hours, I will do that. I can save some money. I have never seen onion prices this high." A Dhaka resident said a lot of people in her neighbourhood have stopped eating onions. She said: "It has been 15 days since I bought one kilo of onion." Many street-food sellers can no longer make their onion-based snacks.

1. THE BEST: Students A strongly believe onions are the best vegetables in the world; Students B strongly believe they aren't.  Discuss.
2. LIVE WITHOUT: Can you live without these things? How would life be different? What alternatives are there? Complete this table .

	Can You Live Without It?	How Life Would Be Different	Alternatives
Onions
Smartphones
Chocolate
Music
Plastic
A hair brush Meat

3.Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

1.	cuisine	a.	All of the fruit, vegetables, wheat, rice, etc., gathered from the fields at certain times of the year.
2.	staple	b.	A main or important part of what a country eats (e.g. bread, rice, pasta, etc.).
3.	shortage	c.	Increased very, very quickly and suddenly.
4.	skyrocketed	d.	A style or method of cooking, from a particular country, region, or restaurant.
5.	import	e.	An organized event in which many people go into the streets because they are angry about the government or something else.
6.	harvest	f.	A state or situation in which there is not enough of something needed.
7.	protest	g.	Bring goods or services into a country from another country for sale.

    Paragraph 2

8.	crisis	h.	Stand in a line of people to wait for something to happen.
9.	alternative	i.	A particular variety or kind of cooked food served as part of a meal.
10.	dish	j.	An area in a town or city, especially one that has a community.
11.	queue	k.	A time of great difficulty, trouble, or danger.
12.	resident	l.	Available as another possibility.
13.	neighbourhood	m.	A small meal or food that is eaten quickly or in a casual way.
14.	snack	n.	A person who lives somewhere permanently or on a long-term basis.

 

4. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1. cuisine
2. shortage
3. damaged
4. increase
5. protests
6. crisis
7. alternatives
8. queue
9. resident
10. snacks

1. scarcity
2. nibbles
3. emergency
4. ruined
5. substitutes
6. wait in line
7. rise
8. local
9. food
10. demonstrations

5.Role play

Role  A – Onions You think onion is the best vegetable. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their vegetables. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): potatoes, corn or garlic.

Role  B – Potatoes You think potato is the best vegetable. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their vegetables. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): onions, corn or garlic.

Role  C –Corn You think corn the best vegetable. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their vegetables. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): potatoes, onions or garlic.

Role  D – Garlic You think garlic the best vegetable. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their vegetables. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): potatoes, corn or onions.  o ·        OR ·        carrots ·         broccoli ·         pumpkin ·         sweet corn ·         Brussels sprouts

6.Discussion - Onions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS 

1. Are tomatoes fruits or vegetables? Why?
2. What do you think of onions?
3. How important are onions in your country's cuisine?
4. How would you describe the taste of onions?
5. What can you do with onions in cooking?
6. How unhappy would you be without onions?
7. What would you do if food prices rocketed?
8. What do you know about Bangladeshi food?
9. Are people right to protest in the streets about onion prices?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS 

11. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
12. What do you think of when you hear the word 'emergency'?
13. What do you think about what you read?
14. What alternatives are there to onions?
15. What is your favourite onion dish?
16. Are onions best raw or cooked?
17. How long would you queue for food?
18. What food could you not live without?
19. What is your favourite street food?
20. What questions would you like to ask a Bangladeshi?

7.Spelling

Paragraph 1

1. Bangladeshi euicnsi
2. The vegetable is a plstea in the country's cooking
3. There is a oerahstg of them
4. Bangladesh traditionally mosiptr onions
5. damaged a lot of India's onion rteahsv
6. Bangladesh's onoiptiosp party

Paragraph 2

7. The onion crisis is so iusoser
8. she is using onion anevitesaltr
9. A dmiltei number of onions are on sale
10. Hundreds of people eueuq for hours
11. A Dhaka esrnitde
12. make their onion-based nsaskc