Daylight Saving Time (DST): English Listening Practice with Questions and Vocabulary (B1 Level)

 

Vocabulary
A. Daylight (noun) [French: lumière du jour]: Natural light from the sun during the day. Example: We started our hike at daylight. (Nous avons commencé notre randonnée au lever du jour.)

B. Minimal (adjective) [French: minime]: Very small in amount or degree. Example: The new rule had a minimal effect on our daily lives. (La nouvelle règle a eu un effet minime sur notre vie quotidienne.)

C. Disrupt (verb) [French: perturber]: To interrupt something and stop it from working normally. Example: Loud noise can disrupt a lesson. (Un bruit fort peut perturber un cours.)

D. Strokes (noun) [French: accidents vasculaires cérébraux]: Serious medical conditions caused by a problem with blood flow to the brain. Example: The hospital organized a talk about preventing strokes. (L’hôpital a organisé une conférence sur la prévention des accidents vasculaires cérébraux.)

E. Sleep patterns (noun phrase) [French: habitudes de sommeil]: The usual times and ways a person sleeps. Example: Traveling across time zones can change your sleep patterns. (Voyager à travers plusieurs fuseaux horaires peut modifier vos habitudes de sommeil.)

F. Rise (verb) [French: augmenter]: To become greater in number, amount, or level. Example: The price of bread may rise next month. (Le prix du pain pourrait augmenter le mois prochain.)

Guide Questions
1. Why was Daylight Saving Time (DST) introduced in Europe?
2. What do people think about DST now?
3. What do studies show about DST?
4. What happened in 2019?
5. What other problems/issues does DST cause?

Discussion
1. How does DST affect you both in personal and professional ways? Are the effects mostly good or bad?

2. Do you prefer the summertime or the wintertime? Why?

TRANSCRIPT

Daylight Saving Time (DST) in Europe was introduced to make better use of daylight during the summer months. However, many people now think that DST isn’t useful anymore. Some studies show that the energy savings are minimal. In 2019, the European Union decided to end DST by 2021. Each country can choose to use either summertime or wintertime. DST also causes many issues. For instance, the time change can disrupt sleep and health. According to research, DST can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes in the days after the time change because it disrupts people's sleep patterns. Traffic accidents also rise during the transition into DST because people may feel more tired or less focused while driving.

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