World News for Students of English

08-07-2020 07:00

Millions of people all around the world are wearing face masks now. However, for some people, communication with others can be very difficult with masks on their faces.

About 48 million people have problems with hearing. Some people are deaf which means that they cannot hear. Some people, usually older people, cannot hear well.

For these people who have problems with hearing, lipreading is very important. These people need to see other people’s lips and how they move. This way, they can understand what the speaker is saying. A mask is also some kind of a barrier between people, and it can make people feel more distant.

A team of fashion designers made a special mask with a window. People can see each other’s lips and facial expressions. For many people, this mask makes communication much easier.

Difficult words: hearing (when you hear noises and sounds through your ears), lipreading (when you watch a person’s lips and how they move, and it helps you understand what the person is saying), barrier (something that makes it difficult for people to understand each other), facial expression (if a person looks happy, sad, angry, surprised, and so on).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.