GERMAN CITIES PLAN TO START FREE PUBLIC

TRANSPORT

German cities are planning to start free public transport services. The
German government has suggested this action after the country, together with 7
other EU member states, have not met EU air
quality standards. Pollution, especially in large cities, has become a major problem.
Free public transport will be introduced in five cities including Bonn, Essen and
Mannheim by the end of the year.
Some major cities have already experimented with free transport services. In
Estonia's capital Tallinn, residents have been able to use buses, trams and trains in
the city for free since 2013. Paris and Seattle have tried offering free public transport,
but only for a short time.
Germany's decision to provide free public transport could prove to be expensive for
its taxpayers. Many transport services get up to half of their money through ticket
sales. Thus, the federal government would have to subsidize free transport in cities
heavily. Experts claim that it may cost up to 12 billion euros in extra money
to run the system for free.
Critics of the proposal say such a measure could put too much burden on public
transport systems in large cities. Berlin, Hamburg and Munich already have major
problems during rush hours and experts state that inviting more people to use public
transport would overload existing systems. As a result, even more money would be
needed to expand the country's public transport services.
In addition to making cities as car-free as possible, car-sharing schemes,
low emission zones and incentives for buying electric cars are also measures that are
being considered.

Words
 action =here: something that someone does or wants to do
 burden = here: to cause problems for ...
 capital = the most important city in a country; where the government is
 car-sharing scheme = plan in which two or more people travel to places using
the same car
 claim = to say that something is true
 consider = think about
 especially = above all
 expand = make larger and better
 federal = here: the central government of a country
 government = people who rule a country
 in addition = also
 incentive = something that makes you want to do something
 including = also
 introduce = here: start
 low emission zone = here: an area in which dirty cars or trucks are not
allowed to enter because they produce too much pollution
 major = very important
 measure = action, law
 offer = give someone to use
 overload = here: not manage
 pollution = making air, water etc.. dirty
 proposal = suggestion or plan
 provide = give
 public transport = buses, trains, trams etc.. that everyone can use
 resident = here: a person who lives in a city
 run = operate
 rush hour = time of day when buses, trains and trams are full because people
are travelling to or from work
 service = here: help or work that a country gives to its people
 standard = the level that you have to reach
 subsidize = to pay part of the costs
 taxpayer = person who pays money to the government according to the income
he/she gets from working
 thus = that is why

JAPAN'S POPULATION IS DECLINING

Population decrease is not evenly distributed across the country. While
large cities like Tokyo are experiencing strong growth, people are leaving
the rural, remote areas of the country. Especially younger workers are
moving away, leaving the older population behind.
Other Asian countries have the same problems. In South Korea and China ,
for example, improving living conditions for many people are also
leading to a decreasing population. As a result, China
has recently announced that families are allowed to have two children
again.
For the first time in a hundred years Japan's population is declining. In the
past 5 years it went down by 1 million people, according to a nationwide
census. Currently, there are 127 million people living in Japan, the tenth
most populous country in the world. According to United Nations reports ,
Japan will lose a third of its population by the end of
the century, dropping to 83 million.
Japan has had one of the lowest birth rates in the western world for many
years. Although the government has tried to persuade Japanese women
to have more children, this has had little effect. On average, every
Japanese woman has 1.4 babies. In addition, women are marrying at a
later age and do not want to give up their jobs. Population experts
have stated that the country needs a birth rate of at least 1.8 to stop
population decline.
Another reason for Japan's population decrease is immigration. Because
of the strict law, practically nobody can come to the country to live there.
The government has been thinking about easing Japanese immigration
rules, but this is not popular among the people.
Japan's low birth rate means that the country will face financial problems
in the next decades. Japan's growing population has been a driving
force behind its economy. In the future, there will be fewer people in
the workforce and they will have to support millions of older citizens and
pay for their pensions. Health care will also increase as the population
gets older.
Words
 according to = as said by ...
 although = while
 announce = to say something officially
 birth rate = the number of babies born per 1,000 people in a year
 census = when the government counts the number of people who live in a
country
 century = a hundred years
 citizen = a person who lives in a country and has rights there
 currently = at the moment, now
 decade = ten years
 decline = to go down
 decrease = go down
 distribute = spread
 driving force = here: something that keeps the economy getting better
 drop = go down
 ease = to make something less difficult or strict
 economy = the system of trade, industry and money in a country
 effect = result
 especially = above all
 evenly = in the same way
 experience = here: something that happens
 face = deal with
 government = the people who rule a country
 growth = the way something grows
 health care = the service that is responsible for the health of the people in a
country; it spends money for doctors and hospitals
 immigration = going to a different country to live and work there
 improve = get better
 in addition = also
 law = the rules a country has
 nationwide = across the whole country
 on average = normally, usually
 pension = the money you get from the government when you are too old to
work anymore
 persuade = to make someone believe that something is good for them
 popular = liked by many people
 populous = many people live in a place
 practically = almost, nearly
 recently = a short time ago
 remote = faraway
 rural = in the countryside
 state = to say officially
 strict = something that must be followed
 support = here: earn money for
 workforce = all the people who work in a country