Welcome to the CBC Newscast Lesson!
The CBC EAL Newscast is a listening lesson for students who are learning English.
The lessons are for students who are at Canadian Language Benchmarks 3 and 4 (high
beginner / low intermediate). Each newscast has a lesson file and an audio file.
The Lesson File
You will need to print the lesson file first. Here’s what you will find in each lesson.
1. A vocabulary match exercise for each story
Learning new vocabulary before you listen makes it easier for you to understand the
story.
2. Questions on the main ideas or details of each story
Can you listen to a news story and understand the main ideas? Are you hearing the
most important details? Answer the questions and find out!
3. A transcript for the newscast
If you are having difficulty understanding the story when you listen, you can use the
transcript to help you.
4. Answers to the questions in the lesson
The answers are at end of the lesson on page 5.
5. An internet link or other resource suggestion
Some stories will have an internet link or suggest another resource you can use to
find more information.
(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external websites)
The Audio File
Click on this file to hear three real world news stories read by a CBC news reader. The
first is a Manitoba story. The second is a Canadian story. The third is an international
story. All of the stories are in the same audio file
There are new stories and lessons every Thursday.
Now you are ready to begin. Read on!
Story 1: Manitoba government to allow lower school zone speeds
Step 1: Learn new vocabulary. Learning new vocabulary before you listen makes it
easier for you to understand the story. Can you match these vocabulary
words with their meaning? The first one is completed for you as an example.
Vocabulary Word
1. _e to allow something
a)
Meaning
how fast people are allowed to drive in a
certain area, e.g. 60 kilometres an hour
2. __ a school zone
b)
to select something
3. __ to pass legislation
c)
a town, city etc. that has its own government
and makes decisions about local affairs
4. __ a speed limit
d)
the titles of the people elected to govern a city
or town
5. __ a municipality
e)
to permit something to happen
6. __ to choose
something
f)
when government approves new laws or
regulations
7. __ the Mayor and
Council
g)
an early years school, e.g. K to 6
8. __ an elementary
school
h)
an area around a school where students cross
the street, walk to school etc.
Step 2: Listen to the first story in the audio file. Focus on listening for the main ideas
and key information. Listen as many times as you need to.
Step 3: Answer questions about the story. Fill in the blank with the correct word from
the box below. The first one is completed for you as an example.
1. Municipalities in Manitoba can _______ to lower ______ limits.
2. Lower speed limits near __________ help keep children _____.
3. Speed limits in school zones will be lowered to ______ or fifty __________.
4. The City of Winnipeg is planning to lower speed _______ around _______ schools.
speed schools
Municipalities
elementary thirty decide
safe
kilometres
limits
To find out more:
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-allows-lower-school-zone-speeds1.1855778
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Story 2: Survey suggests one in six Canadians need mental health care
Step 1: Learn new vocabulary. Learning new vocabulary before you listen makes it
easier for you to understand the story. Can you match these vocabulary words with
their meaning? The first one is completed for you as an example.
Vocabulary Word
1. _b a survey
a)
Meaning
to provide information about a study, report etc.
to the public
2. __ to need mental
health care
b)
a series of questions asked to a large group of
people to find about their opinions/ behaviour
3. __ Statistics Canada
c)
specific medicine prescribed by a doctor and
given out by a pharmacist
4. __ to release
information
d)
advice or support given by a trained
professional to someone who has
problems/issues to solve
5. __ a survey respondent
e)
to need counselling, medication and/or more
information about a mental health condition
6. __ counselling
f)
medicine/drugs
7. __ medication
g)
the federal government agency responsible
for collecting and reporting information on
economic and social trends
8. __ prescription
medication
h)
someone who takes part in a survey
Step 2: Listen to the first story in the audio file. Focus on listening for the main ideas
and key information. Listen as many times as you need to.
Step 3: Answer questions about the story. Does option a) or option b) make the
sentence correct? Underline or circle your answer. The first one is completed
for you as an example.
1.
The Canadian mental health survey included a) 25,000 people
_______.
b) 2,500 people
2.
The number of respondents in need of
mental health care services was ____.
a) one in six
b) 60 percent
3.
Most respondents who needed services said
they needed _______.
a) prescription medication
b) counselling
4.
The service that respondents said was
easiest to get was ___________.
a) prescription medication
b) counselling
To find out more:
www.cbc.ca/news/health/mental-health-care-needed-by-1-in-6-canadians-1.1858867
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Story 3: Mexico hit by two severe storms
Step 1: Learn new vocabulary. Learning new vocabulary before you listen makes it
easier for you to understand the story. Can you match these vocabulary
words with their meaning? The first one is completed for you as an example.
Vocabulary Word
1. d to be severe
a)
Meaning
to be strong
2. __ a hurricane
b)
to be unable to leave or escape
3. __ a tropical storm
c)
when large amounts of water cover areas of
land that are usually dry
4. __ to be forced to leave
d)
to be very serious, e.g. a bad storm
5. __ an emergency
shelter
e)
to be taken away from a dangerous situation by
plane
6. __ to run out of
supplies
f)
to have to leave somewhere, e.g. because
something dangerous could happen if you stay
7. __ to be powerful
g)
a safe place to sleep, get food etc.
8. __ to be massive
h)
a sudden falling of earth/rocks down a hill or cliff
9. __ a landslide
i)
to be very large; to be huge
10. __ a flood
j)
to not have enough food, water, blankets etc.
11. __ to be airlifted out
k)
a powerful storm that begins in the tropics but
is not as strong as a hurricane
12. __ to be stranded
l)
a storm with strong winds that moves over water
Step 2: Listen to the third story in the audio file. Focus on listening for the main ideas
and key information. Listen as many times as you need to.
Step 3: Answer questions about the story. Which of the following statements about
the story are true? Which are false? Underline or circle the correct answer.
The first one is completed for you as an example.
1.
Mexico was hit by two storms last week.
True False
2.
The storms forced hundreds of people out of their homes.
True False
3.
The storms caused shortages of water, power and supplies.
True False
4.
There were minor landslides and floods.
True False
5.
Some people had to be airlifted out of their communities because
they could not travel on roads or bridges.
True False
6.
The only people affected by the storm were local Mexican people.
True False
To find out more:
www.cbc.ca/news/world/mexico-storms-manuel-ingrid-leave-33-dead-1.1855042
www.cbc.ca/news/world/mexico-storm-manuel-reforms-off-coast-headed-for-baja1.1859562
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Hi, this is Heather Wells. You’re listening to Learning English with CBC newscast for the
week of September 16th.
Here is our first news story.
Manitoba government to allow lower school zone speeds
The provincial government has passed legislation that says municipalities can decide
what the speed limits should be for school zones in their area. This means
municipalities can choose to lower speed limits near schools to help keep children safe.
In some areas, the lowest speed limit in school zones will be thirty kilometres an hour.
In other areas, the lowest speed limit will be fifty kilometres an hour. Winnipeg’s Mayor
and Council say they plan to lower speed limits around elementary schools.
And in Canadian news,
Survey suggests one in six Canadians need mental health care
Statistics Canada has released the results of a mental health care survey. The survey
included twenty-five thousand people from across Canada. One in six survey
respondents said they needed mental health care last year. Most said they needed
counselling, but others said they needed medication and information about mental
health. The survey results showed that people were usually able to get prescription
medication but they were not always able to get counselling. One of the reasons that
people were not receiving counselling was because the cost was too high.
And in international news,
Mexico hit by two severe storms
Many people were killed when Hurricane Ingrid and Tropical Storm Manuel hit Mexico
last week. Thousands of people were forced to leave their homes and go to emergency
shelters. Many areas did not have water or power. Stores ran out of supplies. The
storms brought heavy rains and powerful winds. There were massive landslides and
floods in different areas of the country. People were airlifted out of areas where roads
were flooded or bridges were damaged. Many tourists were stranded during the storms.
They had to wait until highways and airports were open again before they could return
home.
Answers for Story 1
Vocabulary: 1) e; 2) h; 3) f; 4) a; 5) c; 6) b; 7) d; 8) g
Questions:
1) Municipalities, decide, speed 2) schools, safe 3) thirty, kilometres 4) limits,
elementary
Answers for Story 2
Vocabulary: 1) b; 2) e; 3) g; 4) a; 5) h; 6) d; 7) f; 8) c
Questions:
1) a; 2) a; 3) b; 4) a
Answers for Story 3
Vocabulary: 1) d; 2) l; 3) k; 4) f; 5) g; 6) j; 7) a; 8) i; 9) h; 10) c; 11) e; 12) b
Questions:
1) T; 2) F; 3) T; 4) F; 5) T; 6) F
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