READING TEXT
The unhealthiest places in the world
Read first, then answer the questions. Select an underlined word to see its meaning and save it below.
Original fictional learning scenario. People, dialogue and personal experiences are created for language practice.
A travel website published a list of 'the unhealthiest places in the world'. Our reading group examined how it had been made. One score combined air pollution, access to parks and the number of fast-food outlets. The weights given to each factor were not explained.
A city with good hospitals could therefore appear below a city where those services were difficult to reach. The list also used averages that hid large differences between neighbourhoods. We did not conclude that the problems were imaginary. Instead, we decided the ranking was too simple to answer its own ambitious question. A better report would explain the measures and show who experienced the problems, rather than attaching one alarming label to an entire place.
