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: Winnipeg residents volunteer for cleanup
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 resident
a)
Meaning
left over materials or substances that people
don’t want, e.g. leftover food, household items
2. __ to volunteer for
something
b)
someone who lives or stays in a particular place
3. __ the inner city
c)
a place or area where many people drop off
garbage and items they don’t want anymore
4. __ to dump things
illegally
d)
the distance or space between two city streets
5. __ waste
e)
the middle of a city; an area where many
residents are poor or have low incomes
6. __ a city block
f)
to leave things you don’t want any more in back
lanes, on sidewalks, in parks etc. even though
leaving them there is against the law
7. __ a dumping ground
g)
to offer to do something without expecting a
payment or reward in return
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. Over one hundred people from Winnipeg’s inner city helped to ______ _____ two
neighbourhoods.
2. The __________ cleaned up ________ and other _______.
3. People who live in the _____ _____ don’t want their ________ used as a _______
ground.
4. After the _____ day cleanup, there was a ________ for the volunteers.
dumping
waste
two
people
barbecue
neighbourhoods
inner city
volunteers
clean up
garbage
To find out more:
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2013/05/24/mb-cleanup-william-whytedufferin-winnipeg.html
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Story 2: Eritreans in Canada want consul expelled for demanding tax payments
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. _c a consul
Meaning
to live somewhere
a)
2. __ to demand something
b)
to get money from people on behalf of
government
3. __ to reside somewhere
c)
a government official who is sent to live in a
foreign country to help people from his or her
own country who are living/staying there
4. __ to be in trouble
d)
to pay someone an amount of money
5. __ to make a payment
e)
to be forced to leave a place because you
broke the rules, e.g. a country or a school
6. __ to be equal to
f)
to be facing stress, anxiety or problems
7. __ to collect a tax
g)
to not be permitted to do something
8. __ to not be allowed to
do something
h)
to ask for something very firmly or strongly,
as if you have a right to have it
9. __ to be expelled
i)
to be the same as
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.
Eritreans living in Canada want
the consul expelled because
______.
a) he is demanding tax payments from them
b) he is threatening to send them back to
Eritrea
2.
The consul is a representative of a) the Canadian government
_______.
b) the Eritrean government
3.
Eritreans living in Canada feel
they have to pay the tax
because _______.
a) if they don’t pay it, Canada will expel them
b) if they don’t pay it, their family back in
Eritrea will be in trouble
4.
The Canadian government has
______________.
a) expelled the consul
b) told the consul that he is not allowed to
collect the tax
To find out more:
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/05/21/eritrea-consul-canada-rick-macinnesrae.html
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Story 3: World Health Organization helps Saudi Arabia investigate virus
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. k the World Health
Organization
a)
Meaning
to be exposed to a virus and to possibly be in
danger of catching it
2. __ to investigate
something
b)
when an area / place suddenly has many people
affected by a virus or disease
3. __ a virus
c)
a serious illness that affects the lungs / breathing
4. __ an outbreak of a
disease
d)
a small living thing that causes disease and can be
spread from one person to another
5. __ to have a fever
e)
when many people journey together to a holy place
6. __ pneumonia
f)
to try to find out the truth about something
7. __ to spread a virus
g)
to try to prevent a virus from spreading
8. __ to treat a virus
h)
to have a higher than normal body temperature
9. __ to control a virus
i)
to pass a virus on from one person to another
10. __ a pilgrimage
j)
to try to cure a virus with medication etc.
11. __ to be at risk of
infection
k)
a United Nations agency that provides leadership
on world health matters
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.
The World Health Organization is helping Saudi Arabia investigate
a deadly virus outbreak.
True False
2.
The virus causes coughing, fever and pneumonia.
True False
3.
The virus was first discovered in Saudi Arabia this year.
True False
4.
Seventeen people have died from the virus.
True False
5.
There is little information on how to control or treat the virus.
True False
6.
Health officials want to know how to control the virus before the
hajj, which takes place in October.
True False
7.
The hajj will put a million people at risk of being infected by the
virus.
True False
To find out more:
www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2013/05/24/coronavirus-saudi-arabia-who-hajj.html
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Hi, this is Heather Wells. You’re listening to Learning English with CBC newscast for the
week of May 20th.
Here is our first news story.
Winnipeg residents volunteer for cleanup
More than one hundred people from Winnipeg’s inner city volunteered to clean up two
neighbourhoods last week. People sometimes illegally dump large items like sofas,
mattresses, and rugs in the inner city area. The volunteers cleaned up garbage and
other waste. People who live in the inner city care about having a clean neighbourhood
to live in. They don’t want their neighbourhoods used as a dumping ground. The
cleanup lasted two days and covered one hundred city blocks. Volunteers received a
free barbeque lunch to thank them for their help.
And in Canadian news,
Eritreans in Canada want consul expelled for demanding tax payments
Eritreans living in Canada say the Eritrean consul demands tax payments from them.
The consul is a representative of the Eritrean government. He resides in Canada.
Eritreans in Canada say that if they do not pay the consul, their families in Eritrea will be
in trouble. The payments are equal to two per cent of each person’s income. The
Canadian government told the consul that collecting the tax was not allowed. Eritreans
in Canada want the consulate expelled because they say the demands for payment
have not stopped.
And in international news,
World Health Organization helps Saudi Arabia investigate virus
The World Health Organization says it will help Saudi Arabia investigate a deadly virus
outbreak in that country. The virus causes coughing, fever, and pneumonia. It was first
discovered in Saudi Arabia last year. Thirty-three people have the virus and seventeen
people have died. There is little information about how the virus is spread or how to
treat it. Health officials want to learn how to control the virus before this year’s hajj,
which will take place in October. The hajj is an annual Muslim pilgrimage to Saudi
Arabia. It will bring millions of people to the country, putting them at risk of being
infected with the virus.
Answers for Story 1
Vocabulary: 1) b; 2) g; 3) e; 4) f; 5) a; 6) d; 7) c
Questions:
1) people, clean up 2) volunteers, garbage, waste 3) inner city, neighbourhoods,
dumping 4) two, barbecue
Answers for Story 2
Vocabulary: 1) c; 2) h; 3) a; 4) f; 5) d; 6) i; 7) b; 8) g; 9) e
Questions:
1) a; 2) b; 3) b; 4) b
Answers for Story 3
Vocabulary: 1) k; 2) f; 3) d; 4) b; 5) h; 6) c; 7) i; 8) j; 9) g; 10) e; 11) a
Questions:
1) T; 2) T; 3) F; 4) T; 5) T; 6) T; 7) F
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