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Parent Category: Lower-Intermediate News Lessons

Category: Health Lessons

Written by Chris Cotter

Be careful! The swine flu will kill millions of people, ruin the economy, and create chaos around the world! When there was an outbreak, schools closed. In Egypt, the health minister ordered all of the pigs slaughtered. Face masks became a booming business.

World health experts declared that almost two billion people could become sick from swine flu. And yet, there have been less than one hundred deaths worldwide. In fact, there have been fewer deaths than in any annual flu season. Few people listen to the health experts, who continue to state that the threat is very real.

People have become sick and tired of reports crying wolf. Many people are also critical of how the media unnecessarily scares people to sell newspapers, magazines, and air time.

Of course, the media and health experts disagree. Both say that they act quickly and properlywhenever there is the discovery of a serious threat like swine flu. They have taken the right steps in the past to spread the message. Perhaps, however, it is all just fear-mongering hype.