{"id":31162,"date":"2025-11-03T16:10:45","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T15:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?p=31162"},"modified":"2025-11-05T10:29:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T09:29:24","slug":"parisians-take-a-historic-plunge-into-the-seine-river-after-100-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/11\/parisians-take-a-historic-plunge-into-the-seine-river-after-100-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Parisians Take a Historic Plunge into the Seine River after 100 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

B2 – Upper Intermediate<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a century-long ban, swimming is finally returning to the Seine River in Paris. Once considered too polluted for safe recreational use, the iconic river has now been cleaned enough to allow residents and tourists to take a dip, marking a historic moment for the city and its waterways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the article or watch video to learn more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/world\/europe\/paris-swimming-seine-100-years-rcna217021<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vocabulary Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. What does “to ring out<\/strong>” mean? \u201cCries of \u201cIt is warm!\u201d rang out<\/strong>\u00a0across the Seine\u00a0on Saturday morning as Parisians jumped into the river \u2014 legally \u2014 for the first time in\u00a0more than 100 years.\u201d<\/em> Give a synonym and make a sentence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. What’s the meaning of “to skim something away<\/strong>“? “Before sunrise, a municipal officer skimmed away<\/strong> the\u00a0last few patches of algae\u00a0with a fishnet. Soon after, a line of eager Parisians formed, towels in hand, waiting for their chance to jump in.”<\/em> Give a synonym and make a sentence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Define “threshold<\/strong>“. “Environmental authorities confirmed bacteria levels were well below official thresholds<\/strong>.”<\/em> Give a synonym and make a sentence.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Discussion Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Share your reaction to this news.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Do you think swimming in urban rivers should be encouraged in other cities? Why or why not?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. How might cleaning and maintaining rivers affect local communities and tourism?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. How can governments balance environmental preservation with public recreation?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. How could this initiative inspire other cities to focus on sustainable urban development?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    6. How would you feel if a polluted body of water in your city\/country became safe for activities like swimming again?
      <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      B2 – Upper Intermediate After a century-long ban, swimming is finally returning to the Seine River in Paris. Once considered too polluted for safe recreational use, the iconic river has now been cleaned enough to allow residents and tourists to take a dip, marking a historic moment for the city and its waterways. Read the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[291,461,292,289,293],"class_list":["post-31162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homework","tag-b2-upper-intermediate","tag-culture-and-countries","tag-first-certificate-fce","tag-reading","tag-text"],"yoast_head":"\nParisians Take a Historic Plunge into the Seine River after 100 Years | phone english blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/11\/parisians-take-a-historic-plunge-into-the-seine-river-after-100-years\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Parisians Take a Historic Plunge into the Seine River after 100 Years | phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"B2 – Upper Intermediate After a century-long ban, swimming is finally returning to the Seine River in Paris. Once considered too polluted for safe recreational use, the iconic river has now been cleaned enough to allow residents and tourists to take a dip, marking a historic moment for the city and its waterways. Read the […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/11\/parisians-take-a-historic-plunge-into-the-seine-river-after-100-years\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/phoneenglish.es\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-03T15:10:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-05T09:29:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@phoneenglishes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@phoneenglishes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"PHONE ENGLISH\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/phoneenglish.es\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/phoneenglish\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/phoneenglishes\"],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/phone-english1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/phone-english1.png\",\"width\":200,\"height\":124,\"caption\":\"PHONE ENGLISH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"phone english blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/11\/parisians-take-a-historic-plunge-into-the-seine-river-after-100-years\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/11\/parisians-take-a-historic-plunge-into-the-seine-river-after-100-years\/\",\"name\":\"Parisians Take a Historic Plunge into the Seine River after 100 Years | phone english blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-03T15:10:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-05T09:29:24+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/11\/parisians-take-a-historic-plunge-into-the-seine-river-after-100-years\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/11\/parisians-take-a-historic-plunge-into-the-seine-river-after-100-years\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/11\/parisians-take-a-historic-plunge-into-the-seine-river-after-100-years\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Blog\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"item\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/11\/parisians-take-a-historic-plunge-into-the-seine-river-after-100-years\/#webpage\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/11\/parisians-take-a-historic-plunge-into-the-seine-river-after-100-years\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/11\/parisians-take-a-historic-plunge-into-the-seine-river-after-100-years\/#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/08ee1b55e5073d0bac9e97e6d18fc2e0\"},\"headline\":\"Parisians Take a Historic Plunge into the Seine River after 100 Years\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-03T15:10:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-05T09:29:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/11\/parisians-take-a-historic-plunge-into-the-seine-river-after-100-years\/#webpage\"},\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"B2 - Upper intermediate\",\"Culture and Countries\",\"First Certificate FCE\",\"Reading\",\"Text\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Homework\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2025\/11\/parisians-take-a-historic-plunge-into-the-seine-river-after-100-years\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/08ee1b55e5073d0bac9e97e6d18fc2e0\",\"name\":\"kim\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31162"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31194,"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31162\/revisions\/31194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}