Weekly newscast March 30th 2012

[Pages:7]Learning English with CBC Edmonton

Weekly newscast March 30th 2012

Lessons prepared by Justine Light & Jennifer Foote

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

alberta.ca

cbc.ca/edmonton/eal/

News story #1

Before you listen to the news story, complete this vocabulary activity. It will help you to understand the listening more easily.

Vocabulary

Match the words with their definitions. Answers are in the appendix.

Answer Word

Definition

1. polls

a) person chosen in an election

2. front?running

b) one of the people taking part in an election, trying to get

elected

3. elected

c) the person in a race or election who is most likely to win

4. campaign

d) the place where you vote in an election

5. beliefs

e) a series of activities that try to get a politician elected in a

short period of time

6. candidates

f) an idea we think is true

7. spectrum

g) a person who tries to find out what people think

8. has an edge

h) all of the different ideas that are possible

9. pollster

i) to have an extra advantage or lead

10. appear

j) seem to be true

Now listen to the first news story from the audio file.

Listening activity: Multiple choice

Choose the best answer to complete the sentences. Answers are in the appendix.

1. There will be an election in Alberta,

a) April 3rd.

________

b) April 23rd.

2. Women have__________

a) been elected premier before.

b) led parties before.

3. Usually female voters prefer candidates, a) closer to the political right.

_______________

b) closer to the political centre.

4. Alison Redford may have

a) an advantage with female voters.

____________________________

b) a disadvantage with female voters.

5. Men seem to prefer ________________ a) Danielle Smith.

b) Alison Redford.

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.

Vocabulary

The words and phrases below are from the second news story. The definitions are next to the words. Read the definitions, and then choose the best synonym from the box (a synonym is a word with a similar meaning). The first one is done for you. Answers are in the appendix.

Word

analysts federal budget predict reducing measures environmental assessment resource production

Synonym

1. reporters 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Definition

a person whose job is to look at the details of a problem relating to the central, national government the government's plan for taxes and spending money to say what you think will happen in the future making something less steps to reach your goal related to the environment, natural world to judge the importance of something things connected to oil, gas, timber, etc. making something

Synonyms reporters

national

lowering

natural

review

products

plan

steps

think

manufacturing

Extra definitions to help you understand the reading: Penny pinching: When you do not like to spend money Old age security: A monthly payment to seniors in Canada Business friendly: A plan or idea that helps businesses to grow stronger Now listen to the second news story from the audio file

Listening Activity: Short Answer

Read and answer the questions below. Answers are on the last page. 1. By how much is the finance minister reducing federal spending? 2. What will the new age for Old Age Security be? 3. When will the new age for Old Age Security start? 4. Who will benefit from new rules about resource production? 5. What will change in the Canadian money system?

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.

Vocabulary

Use one of the vocabulary words below to complete the sentences. The first one is done for you. Answers are in the appendix.

captain disruptive wrestled

yelled code suspending

cockpit

restrain

announcement system

1. My dog didn't hear me when I told him not to run in the river, so I yelled at him. 2. I like it when I am flying and the _________________ tells you which country you are flying over

at that time. 3. A woman brought her baby to the movie and it cried a lot. It was very _________________ to

the rest of the audience. 4. I once saw a man who had tried to steal something from a department store,

_________________ to the ground by a security guard. 5. I need a _________________ to get into my building at work. 6. I heard that my favourite team is _________________ the goaltender for driving while drunk. 7. I am sure the _________________ was not working because I am sure I didn't hear them call my

flight. 8. I remember the old days when children used to be able to visit the _________________ during

a flight. 9. Sometimes it is necessary to _________________ your dog if it wants to chase your neighbour's

cat.

Now listen to the third 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 the appendix.

1. ____________ 2. ______________ 3. ______________ 4. ____________ 5. ____________

The captain of a JetBlue plane put a bomb on the plane. He was locked out of the cockpit. The co-pilot landed the plane. The captain was not wearing his uniform. The passengers restrained the captain.

Appendix Transcripts of Weekly news stories

Introduction Story 1

Story 2

Story 3

MARCH 30TH WEEKLY NEWS STORIES

TIME

Hi, this is Don Bell. You're listening to Learning English with CBC news for 0:00

March 30th.

Albertans are going to the polls on April 23rd and history will likely be 0:10

made. Two women are leading the front-running parties, which probably

means the province will have its first elected female premier.

Women have led Alberta parties before, but the province has never had

an elected female premier.

Mount Royal professor Lori Williams says this campaign may change

some of our beliefs about women and politics. Williams says in the past

women have supported political candidates closer to the centre of the

political spectrum. She says in this way Tory leader Alison Redford has an

edge over the Wildrose Party's Danielle Smith. On the other hand,

pollster Bruce Cameron says right now, men appear to prefer Smith.

Analysts said the federal budget would be penny-pinching, but did not 1:12

predict the Conservatives would kill the penny.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has said he is reducing annual

federal spending by $ 5.2 billion and raising the age of old age security to

67 from 65.That change will not begin until 10 years from now, so it

won't affect anyone 54 or older.

The budget's business-friendly measures include making environmental

assessments quicker and easier, to speed up development of major

resource projects like pipelines. The government is also stopping

production of the penny this fall.

The captain of a JetBlue aircraft yelled about a bomb and had to be

2:23

locked out of the cockpit and restrained Tuesday. JetBlue Airways said in

a statement that the captain of the flight from New York to Las Vegas

had a "medical situation" and that the co - pilot decided to land in

Amarillo, Texas.

Passenger Grant Heppes told The Associated Press that a man in a

JetBlue uniform walked from the cockpit to the back of the plane, but

that he started to become disruptive when he was not allowed to go

back inside. Heidi Karg, another passenger, told CNN that the man

was shouting, "I need the code, gimme the code, I need to get in there."

The co- pilot used the announcement system to call for someone to

restrain him and some male passengers wrestled him to the ground.

JetBlue is suspending captain Clayton Osbon.

Answer keys

News story 1

Vocabulary

Answer Word d 1. polls

c 2. front ?running

a 3. elected

e 4. campaign

f

5. beliefs

b 6. candidates h 7. spectrum i 8. has an edge g 9. pollster j 10. appear

Definition a) person chosen in an election

b) The people taking part in an election, trying to get elected c) the person in a race or election who is most likely to win

d) the place where you vote in an election e) a series of activities that try to get a politician elected in a

short period of time f) an idea we think is true g) a person who tries to find out what people think h) all of the different ideas that are possible i) to have an extra advantage or lead j) seem to be true

Listening

1. There will be an election in Alberta, ________ 2. Women have__________

3. Usually female voters prefer candidates, _______________ 4. Alison Redford may have ____________________________ 5. Men seem to prefer ________________

News story 2 Vocabulary

a) April 3rd. b) April 23rd. a) been elected premier before. b) led parties before. a) closer to the political right. b) closer to the political centre. a) an advantage with female voters. b) a disadvantage with female voters. a) Danielle Smith. b) Alison Redford.

Word

analysts federal budget predict reducing measures environmental assessment resource production

Synonym

1. reporters 2. national 3. plan 4. think 5. lowering 6. step 7. natural 8. review 9.products 10. manufacturing

Definition

a person whose job is to look at the details of a problem relating to the central, national government the government's plan for taxes and spending money to say what you think will happen in the future making something less steps to reach your goal related to the environment, natural world to judge the importance of something things connected to oil, gas, timber etc. making something

Listening

1. By how much is the finance minister reducing federal spending? He is reducing federal spending by $5.2 billion.

2. What will the new age for Old Age Security payments be? The new age for AOS will be 67. 3. When will the new age for Old Age Security payments start? This will start in 11 years. 4. Who will benefit from new rules about resource production? Businesses will benefit. 5. What will change in the Canadian money system? There will no longer be a penny.

News story 3 Vocabulary

1. My dog didn't hear me when I told him not to run in the river, so I yelled at him. 2. I like it when I am flying and the captain tells you which country you are flying over at that time. 3. A woman brought her baby to the movie and it cried a lot. It was very disruptive to the rest of

the audience. 4. I once saw a man who had tried to steal something from a department store, wrestled to the

ground by a security guard. 5. I need a code to get into my building at work. 6. I heard that my favourite team is suspending the goaltender for driving while drunk. 7. I am sure the announcement system was not working because I am sure I didn't hear them call

my flight. 8. I remember the old days when children used to be able to visit the cockpit during a flight. 9. Sometimes it is necessary to restrain your dog if it wants to chase your neighbour's cat.

Listening 1. False 2. True 3. True 4. False 5. True

The captain of a JetBlue plane put a bomb on the plane. He was locked out of the cockpit. The co-pilot landed the plane. The captain was not wearing his uniform. The passengers restrained the captain.

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