Weekly newscast April 6th 2012

Transcription

1 Learning English with CBC Edmonton Weekly newscast April 6th 2012 Lessons prepared by Jennifer Foote & Justine Light Objectives of the weekly newscast lesson to develop listening skills at the CLB 4 level to increase vocabulary among learners to increase knowledge of news stories - to provide a self study tool, as well as, an ESL classroom resource

2 News story #1 Before you listen to the first news story, complete this vocabulary activity. It will help you to understand the listening more easily. The words and phrases below are from the first news story. The definitions are next to the words. Read the definitions, then choose the best synonym from the box (a synonym is a word with a similar meaning). The answers are in the appendix. Word Synonym Definition spiked 1. went up quickly average 2. the amount or level of something that is normal crude 3. a type of petroleum product reason 4. an explanation for why something is happening supply 5. the amount of something available to be used or sold disruption 6. when something is stopped from running normally sanctions 7. actions taking by one or more countries against another to stop that country from doing something pumps 8. where people get gas for their cars Synonyms standard cause penalties gas stations increased oil inventory interruption Extra definitions to help you understand the reading: a barrel: a measurement used for oil Now listen to the first news story from the audio file. Listening Activity: Short Answer Read and answer the questions below. The first one is done for you. Answers are on the last page. 1. What is the price of gas in Calgary? 2. Is the price of crude oil the reason for the increase in gas prices? 3. How much does oil cost right now? 4. Sanctions against which country could take oil of the supply chain? 5. How many barrels of oil could be taken out of the supply chain? 6. What is another reason gas prices might increase? News story #1 Discussion Question Why do you think spring and summer are the busy driving season? Do you think the high price of gas will cause people to drive less?

3 News story #2 Before you listen to the second news story, complete this vocabulary activity. It will help you to understand the listening more easily. Read the definitions below, and then put the sentences in the correct order. Answers are in the appendix Words and Definitions investigating: trying to figure out what happened in a situation struck: hit remote: far away from any cities or towns rural: away from the city indicate: show something 1. are the robbery investigating police The. 2. struck I the ball my with bat baseball. 3. beautiful We to hiked a place remote. 4. I Alberta rural up in grew. 5. and sneezing cold indicate Her that coughing she has a. Now listen to the second news story from the audio file. Listening Activity: True/False Decide whether the statements below are true or false. Write your answer in the blanks. Answers are in the appendix. 1. The couple were killed by a plane. 2. The couple were from Tofield. 3. The couple had German passports. 4. The police don t know where they were staying. 5. The train tracks were 15 km from Tofield. 6. The police think the couple were there hunting. News story #2 Discussion Question Why do you think the couple might have been walking on the train tracks?

4 News story #3 Before you listen to the third news story, complete this vocabulary activity. It will help you to understand the listening more easily. Match the words with their definitions. Answers are in the appendix Answer Word Definition 1. a dozen a) normally 2. tornadoes b) hit many times 3. power c) the part of a city where factories and refineries are 4. pummeled d) funnel clouds 5. a handful e) twelve 6. damaged f) goes from one point to another 7. industrial section g) electricity 8. typically h) a few 9. crumpled i) physically harmed something 10. stretches j) crushed Now listen to the third news story from the audio file. Listening activity: Multiple choice Choose the best answer to complete the sentences. The first one is done for you. Answers are in the appendix. 1. In Texas a) there were about 12 tornadoes b) there was a huge tornado 2. Thousands of people a) were killed. b) were left without power. 3. Hundreds of a) homes were damaged. b) people were injured. 4. Empty tracker-trailers were a) badly damaged. b) too big to be damaged. 5. The worst time for tornadoes is a) April b) November Discussion Question What kind of weather do you like the most? What are the worst kinds of weather we have in Alberta?

5 Appendix Transcripts of Weekly news stories APRIL 6TH WEEKLY NEWS STORIES TIME Introduction Story 1 Hi, this is Don Bell. You re listening to Learning English with CBC news for April 6th. Gas prices have spiked across Canada. In Edmonton, the price has gone up to an average of $1.185 for a litre of regular. In Calgary, the average price is more than $1.21 per litre. It's not the price of crude that is causing the higher prices, as some might think. Oil is sitting at less than $110 a barrel. One reason being given is supply disruption. Economists say sanctions on Iran could take a million barrels of oil out of the supply chain, daily. This is also the beginning of the busy driving season. Drivers in Toronto and Montreal are paying more than $1.40 at the pumps. 0:00 0:10 Story 2 Story 3 RCMP are investigating after a couple from Germany were struck and killed by a train in a remote rural area southeast of Edmonton. The 65-year-old man and 57-year-old woman were walking along the train tracks outside Tofield at around 11, Tuesday night, when they were hit by the train. They were both carrying German passports but had no information that would indicate where they were staying in Canada. RCMP say they don't know how the couple ended up on the train tracks 15 km away from Tofield, in the middle of the night. As many as a dozen tornadoes tore through northern Texas Tuesday, leaving thousands without power and hundreds of homes pummeled. Only a handful of people were hurt, and no deaths were reported, but about 650 homes were damaged. In one industrial section of Dallas, rows of empty tractortrailers, crumpled like soda cans, littered a parking lot. April is typically the worst month in the U.S. tornado season, that stretches from March to June. 1:12 2:23

6 Answer keys News story 1 Word Synonym Definition spiked 1. increased went up quickly average 2. standard the amount or level of something that is normal crude 3. oil a type of petroleum product reason 4. cause an explanation for why something is happening supply 5. inventory the amount of something available to be used or sold disruption 6. interruption when something is stopped from running normally sanctions 7. penalties actions taking by one or more countries against another to stop that country from doing something pumps 8. gas stations where people get gas for their cars Listening 1. What is the price of gas in Calgary? More than $1.21 per litre 2. Is the price of crude oil the reason for the increase in gas prices? No, it isn t. 3. How much does oil cost right now? Less that 110 dollars per barrel 4. Sanctions against which country could take oil of the supply chain? Iran 5. How many barrels of oil could be taken out of the supply chain? Millions 6. What is another reason gas prices might increase? The start of the busy driving season. News story 2 1. The police are investigating the robbery. 2. I struck the ball with my baseball bat. 3. We hiked to a beautiful remote place. 4. I grew up in rural Alberta. 5. Her coughing and sneezing indicate that she has a cold. Listening 1. False The couple were killed by a plane. 2. False The couple were from Tofield. 3. True The couple had German passports. 4. True The police don t know where they were staying. 5. True The train tracks were 15 km from Tofield. 6. False The police think the couple were there hunting.

7 News story 3 Answer Word Definition e 1) a dozen a) normally d 2) tornadoes b) hit many times g 3) power c) the part of a city where factories and refineries are b 4) pummeled d) funnel clouds h 5) a handful e) twelve i 6) damaged f) goes from one point to another c 7) industrial section g) electricity a 8) typically h) a few j 9) crumpled i) physically harmed something f 10) stretches j) crushed Listening 1. In Texas a) there were about 12 tornadoes b) there was a huge tornado 2. Thousands of people a) were killed. b) were left without power. 3. Hundreds of a) homes were damaged. b) people were injured. 4. empty tracker-trailers were a) badly damaged. b) too big to be damaged. 5. The worst time for tornadoes is a) April b) November