Current Affairs Archive
Name: _____________________ (
Core
) Form: _________
Date: ____________________
Read the following passage and answer the questions.
The worldwide bedbug outbreak
[1] ‘Sleep tight. Don’t let the bedbugs bite!’ This popular rhyme is a playful way of saying good night
to children in some parts of the world. However, thanks to the global reappearance of bedbugs, the
rhyme is taking on a more serious meaning.
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[2] From Paris to New York to Seoul, large bedbug outbreaks are now being reported around the
world. In Paris, where the Summer Olympics are scheduled to take place in 2024, the bedbug problem
has gone viral. Videos of what appear to be bedbugs on city trains, on buses, in cinemas and at the
airport have all gone viral. Many people in the city have begun to panic over the insects.
[3] What exactly are bedbugs? They are tiny wingless insects that bite humans and feed on our blood.
They generally live in places where humans like to rest, such as in mattresses or sofas. They can find
us by sensing the carbon dioxide in our breath and our body heat. Their bites often produce itchy welts
on our skin.
Bedbugs in Hong Kong?
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[4] Hong Kong has not escaped the bedbug crisis. According to local media reports, Hong Kong
residents have begun panic-buying bedbug insecticides due to fears of a local outbreak. This began
after a photo was posted on social media showing an insect which appeared to be a bedbug on a seat of
the city’s Airport Express train.
[5] According to Francisco Pazos, the owner of a pest control company in the city, ‘Hong Kong is like
Disneyland for bedbugs […] because it’s so dense, there are lots of places for them to lay eggs but also
move from person to person.’
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25
[6] Pazos explained that his company would generally handle about 400 requests to take care of
bedbugs per month. Now, however, ‘we have done a month’s work in the last three days. The amount
of work we have right now is unbelievable’, he said.
[7] While the panic over bedbugs in the city is new, according to Professor Chiu Siu-wai, an honorary
senior research fellow of the Chinese University’s School of Life Sciences, bedbugs have been
common in Hong Kong for a long time.
[8] ‘A bedbug is a blood-sucking insect. It’s quite common in Hong Kong. We’ve conducted a survey
in 2021 and, at that time, one sixth of the respondents said they had found bed bugs at their home,’ she
explained. ‘It’s the second most popular blood-sucking insect in Hong Kong. The most popular one is
the mosquito.’
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The history of bedbugs
[9] While the recent panic over bedbugs may make them feel like a new problem, they have actually
been feeding on us for thousands of years. There is evidence of these creatures dating as far back as
ancient Egypt. However, the industrial era and the rise of cities allowed bedbugs to really thrive.
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[10] In the 19th century, for example, some hotels in London were so infested that occupants ‘were
advised to become half-drunk to obtain some sleep.’ There are even reports of entire buildings being
burnt down to get rid of an infestation.
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Current Affairs Archive
Name: _____________________ (
40
Core
) Form: _________
Date: ____________________
[11] In the 1940s, the chemical DDT became a popular insecticide. During the Second World War, it
was used by militaries to control mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria. It proved to also be
effective against bedbugs. Along with other new pesticides, DDT was used widely in wealthier
countries to all but eliminate bedbug outbreaks.
[12] Although DDT was banned in many places around the world in the 1970s due to its toxicity to
humans, most wealthy nations were already mostly bedbug-free by this time. However, around the
turn of the century, bedbugs began to make a comeback. This was due largely to bans on many types
of pesticides as well as large increases in international trade and travel.
45
I’ve got bed bugs, now what?
[13] There are many different methods for getting rid of bedbugs. Vacuuming can have some effect,
some insecticide sprays can work, and there are methods of using steam to kill the insects. However,
none are guaranteed to work as bedbugs are quite resilient creatures.
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[14] ‘No one strategy is going to be effective but if you start stacking them up you could eventually
catch everything,’ said Zachary DeVries, assistant professor of entomology at the University of
Kentucky.
2
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Current Affairs Archive
Name: _____________________ (
Core
) Form: _________
Date: ____________________
Answer the following questions using information from the text. Write your answers in the spaces
provided. For multiple-choice questions, choose the best answer and blacken ONE circle only.
1
Read paragraph 2 and decide if the following statements are True (T), False (F) or the information
is Not Given (NG). Blacken ONE circle only for each statement.
T
F
NG
i)
There has been a large bedbug outbreak in Tokyo.



ii)
The Winter Olympics will take place in Paris in 2024.



iii)
Many people in Paris are panicking due to viral videos of bedbugs.



2
Where do bedbugs usually live?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3
Complete the sentence.
Bedbugs find humans by _________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________.
4
In line 14, what does ‘This’ refer to?
______________________________________________________________________________
5
In paragraph 5, what simile does Francisco Pazos use to describe bedbugs in Hong Kong?
______________________________________________________________________________
6
Find words in paragraphs 5–6 that mean the same as the following:
i) crowded
_____________________
ii) deal with
_____________________
iii) incredible
_____________________
7
Fill in the table with information from paragraph 8.
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Most popular blood-sucking insect in Hong Kong
i)
Second most popular blood-sucking insect in Hong
Kong
ii)
Complete the summary of paragraph 9.
Bedbugs are not a new i) __________________ for humans; they have been around for
ii) __________________ of years. They can be dated back to iii) __________________
Egypt, but it was during the iv) __________________ era that they really began to flourish.
3
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Current Affairs Archive
Name: _____________________ (
9
Core
) Form: _________
Date: ____________________
Why did some hotels in London during the 1800s advise people to get drunk in order to get some
sleep?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
10 What caused the near elimination of bedbugs in wealthy countries during the 1970s?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
11 DDT was banned because it was _____________.
A ineffective
B
C
D
too expensive
a weapon of war
toxic to humans
A
B
C
D




12 In line 43, what does ‘This’ refer to?
______________________________________________________________________________
13 Complete the summary of paragraph 12.
Bedbugs eventually made a comeback because of the i) ________________ on many kinds of
pesticides and large increases in international ii) ________________ and iii)
________________.
14 Name THREE methods of eliminating bedbugs.
i) __________________________________________________________________________
ii) __________________________________________________________________________
iii) __________________________________________________________________________
15 Do you think governments should allow the use of stronger insecticides to eliminate bedbug
outbreaks? Why or why not?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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Current Affairs Archive
Name: _____________________ (
Core
) Form: _________
Date: ____________________
Useful sentence patterns
Giving reasons: thanks to + Reason + Result
However, thanks to the global resurgence of bedbugs, the rhyme is taking on a more serious
meaning.
Giving a time frame for past events: During + time period + event
During the Second World War, it was used by militaries to control mosquito-borne diseases, such
as malaria.
Make sentences using the sentence patterns above.
thanks to + Reason + Result
1
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
During + time period + event
1
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
5
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Current Affairs Archive
Name: _____________________ (
Core
) Form: _________
Date: ____________________
Vocabulary
A Read the sample sentences below.
1 The cat just appeared out of nowhere one day at their front door.
2 Joe had to go to the hospital because of a snake bite.
3 There are so many different creatures living in the jungle.
4 Sarah is always unable to handle the time difference whenever she travels.
5 I feel quite itchy all over because of all the mosquito bites I got.
6 There are several different methods you can use to eliminate pests.
7 I started to panic when I realized that my wallet was missing.
8 It is difficult to get rid of these troublesome insects.
9 Some bugs are so tiny that they’re quite difficult to see.
10 If you don’t vacuum up this mess, you’ll attract ants.
B Complete the following conversation using the words in the box below. You should make sure that
your answers are grammatically correct.
appear (v.)
handle (v.)
panic (v.)
tiny (adj.)
bite (n.)
itchy (adj.)
rid of (phr. v.)
vacuum (v.)
creature (n.)
method (n.)
Dear Jane,
I hope you can help me. I’ve got a problem here! I’ve only recently arrived back in Hong Kong
after my trip to Paris. Unfortunately, I think I’ve brought some bedbugs back with me! Lots of
small red (1) ________________ have (2) ________________ all over my legs. They’re quite
(3) ________________. What should I do?
I know you travel a lot. Have you ever dealt with these scary insects before? Do you know of any
effective (4) ________________ of getting (5) ________________ them?
Thanks,
Paul
Dear Paul,
I’m sorry to hear about your situation. As you may already know, there’s currently a worldwide
outbreak of these (6) ________________ insects. Unfortunately, they’re quite resilient
(7) ________________, so it’s difficult to deal with them.
However, there’s no need to (8) ________________. You can try using pesticides to kill them
then (9) ________________ the infested area thoroughly. If that doesn’t work, you can hire a
professional to come (10) ________________ the problem.
Good luck!
Best wishes,
Jane
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Current Affairs Archive
Name: _____________________ (
Core
) Form: _________
Date: ____________________
Writing
Your English teacher has asked you to write a short story titled ‘The Lonely Bedbug’. Write your short
story in about 200 words. You can use the writing plan below to organize your ideas, and the useful
expressions and phrases below in your writing.
Why is the bedbug lonely? What happened
to it?
What is the bedbug planning to do now?
What will it go to achieve its goal?
What happens to the bedbug at the end? Is
it a happy or sad ending?
as far back as
get rid of
guarantee to work
make a comeback
panic over
really thrive
resilient creature
sleep tight
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Current Affairs Archive
Name: _____________________ (
Core
) Form: _________
Date: ____________________
Answer key
Comprehension
1 i) NG
ii) F
iii) T
2 They usually live in places where humans
like to rest like mattresses or sofas.
3 sensing the carbon dioxide in our breath
and our body heat
4 Hong Kong residents panic-buying
bedbug insecticides
5 Hong Kong is like Disneyland for
bedbugs
6 i) dense
ii) handle
iii) unbelievable
7 i) mosquito(es)
ii) bedbug(s)
8 i) problem
ii) thousands
Vocabulary
1 bites
2 appeared
3 itchy
4 methods
Model writing
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
iii) ancient
iv) industrial
because there were so many bedbugs in
the hotel that the only way to be able to
sleep was to be half drunk
the use of DDT and other new pesticides
D
bedbugs making a comeback/the
comeback of bedbugs/bedbugs’ comeback
i) bans
ii) trade/travel
iii) travel/trade
i) vacuuming
ii) using insecticide sprays
iii) steaming
(student’s own answer)
9 vacuum
10 handle
rid of
tiny
creatures
panic
The lonely bedbug
Once, there was a bedbug named Benny. Benny lived in a mattress with the rest of his family. Every
night, they would come out to feast on the flesh of an elderly man, Mr Lee. They bit him so much, that
one day he saw welts all along his legs. The old man called the exterminator the next morning to get
rid of the pests.
The next day, Benny woke up to the most horrible smell. He tried to wake up his brothers and sisters,
but they wouldn’t move. Benny began to panic over this but soon realized that they were all dead. He
didn’t have time to mourn them. He had to get out of that mattress fast.
After getting away from the mattress and the horrible smell, Benny realized that he was now all alone
in the world. Benny felt so sad, but he was a resilient creature. He would find a way to go on.
After wandering and wandering for what seemed like forever, Benny finally came upon a new
mattress. He poked his head inside and had a look around.
Later that night, someone went to sleep on the mattress, and Benny could finally have a proper meal.
As he ate, Benny couldn’t help but feel sad. ‘What’s the point of eating alone?’ he thought.
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