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: Ten-digit dialling becomes official in Manitoba
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 ten digit dialling
Meaning
a three digit number that indicates the
broad area where a phone number is
located, e.g. Manitoba, Toronto
a)
2. __ to be official
b)
a call to somewhere nearby, for which
there are no long distance charges
3. __ to switch over
c)
using a three digit area code, followed by
seven digits
4. __ an area code
d)
a call you have to pay for
5. __ a local call
e)
to join the telephone line of the person
placing a call to the line of the person they
are calling
6. __ to connect a call
f)
to be publicly announced and in place
7. __ a long distance call
g)
to change from one system to another
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.
Manitoba’s new ten digit dialling system
is ________.
a) already in place
b) beginning in November
2.
Ten digit dialling now applies to
______.
a) all local numbers in the province
b) all long distance numbers in the
province
3.
Manitoba’s new area code will be
____________.
a) 204
b) 431
4.
The new area code will apply to
________.
5.
Long distance dialling procedures will
__________.
a) specific areas and regions of the
province
b) all new numbers in the province
a) remain the same
b) also be changed
To find out more: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2012/10/19/mb-ten-digitdialing-manitoba.html
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Story 2: Socializing is important for seniors’ health
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 socialize
a)
2. __ a senior
b)
3. __ a private dwelling
c)
Meaning
the organization that collects and analyses
information about economic and social
trends in Canada
e.g. playing sports or cards, going to a
dance, going to church, volunteering
to participate in something
4. __ Statistics Canada
d)
once a week
5. __ to compare
e)
6. __ social activities
f)
7. __ to be involved in
something
g)
to spend time with other people and enjoy
their company
to show how things are different or similar to
each other
once a month
8. __ daily
h)
someone 65 years of age and over
9. __ weekly
i)
e.g. a house, apartment, condo
10. __ monthly
j)
every day
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. 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.
Seniors are healthier if they socialize.
True False
2.
The study findings apply to all seniors who are sixty-five or older.
True False
3.
The study was conducted by the Manitoba Bureau of Statistics.
True False
4.
The study compared seniors’ health and happiness to their social
activities.
True False
5.
About eight percent of seniors participate in at least one social
activity.
True False
6.
Seniors who regularly participate in social activities are likely to be
the healthiest and happiest.
True False
To find out more:
www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/10/16/seniors-socialize.html
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Story 3: Scientists hope to send people beyond the solar system
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. _g scientists
a)
Meaning
one hundred years
2. __ to go beyond
something
b)
the physical universe beyond the earth's
atmosphere, where the stars and planets are
3. __ a century
c)
to solve a problem
4. __ distant
d)
machines and equipment that exist today and
provide new ways of doing things
5. __ a dreamer
e)
a vehicle that can carry people through space
6. __ to figure
something out
f)
someone who thinks about things they’d like to
see happen even though these things may not
be possible or practical
7. __ outer space
g)
a profession whose work involves testing,
examining and proving facts about the world
8. __ to estimate
h)
far away
9. __ current
technology
i)
to try to judge the time, cost etc. of something
10. __ a spaceship
j)
to go further than something
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. Fill in the blank with the correct word from
the box below. The first one is completed for you as an example.
1. A group of scientists and _______ want to figure out how to send people to the
________ stars.
2. They hope to do this in the next _______.
3. The scientists are interested in _______ travel and _________, but they also want to
find out how to grow _______ in outer space.
4. Scientists are looking at a new _______ design that would allow a spaceship to more
________ than the speed of ______.
scientists
technology
space
food
light
century
distant
dreamers
spaceship
faster
To find out more:
www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2012/10/16/space-100-year-starship-initiative.html
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Hi, this is Heather Wells. You’re listening to Learning English with CBC newscast for the
week of October 15th.
Here is our first news story.
Ten-digit dialling becomes official in Manitoba
Last weekend, Manitoba switched over to a ten-digit dialling system. Now people must
dial an area code before they dial a local phone number, even though that number is
not long distance. If the area code is not dialled before a phone number, the call will not
be connected. Currently Manitoba has only one area code, two-zero-four. In November,
a new area code will be introduced. The new area code will be four-three-one. All new
numbers given out in the province will have the 431 area code. This means people
living in the same community, or even on the same street, may have different area
codes. The long distance dialling system has not changed. Long distance calls begin
with one, followed by the area code and the seven digit number.
And in Canadian news,
Socializing is important for seniors’ health
According to a recent report by Statistics Canada, seniors need to socialize to be
healthy and happy. The study looked at seniors sixty-five and over who live in a private
dwelling. It compared how seniors feel about their health and happiness to the social
activities in which they are involved. About eighty per cent of seniors participated in at
least one social activity daily, weekly, or monthly. The activities included things like
visiting friends, attending church or church events, playing sports, and volunteering.
Seniors who do these kinds of activities regularly were more likely to say that they were
healthy and happy.
And in international news,
Scientists hope to send people beyond the solar system
A group of scientists and dreamers are trying to figure out how to send people beyond
our solar system and to the distant stars in the next hundred years. The scientists are
interested in space travel technology. They are also looking at things like how to grow
food in outer space. One scientist estimated that it would take about one hundred
thousand years to reach the nearest star using current technology. Scientists are
looking at using a new spaceship design that would allow a spaceship to move faster
than the speed of light.
Answers for Story 1
Vocabulary: 1) c; 2) f; 3) g; 4) a; 5) b; 6) e; 7) d
Questions:
1) a; 2) a; 3) b; 4) b; 5) a
Answers for Story 2
Vocabulary: 1) e; 2) h; 3) i; 4) a; 5) f; 6) b; 7) c; 8) j; 9) d; 10) g
Questions:
1) T; 2) F; 3) F; 4) T; 5) F; 6) T
Answers for Story 3
Vocabulary: 1) g; 2) j; 3) a; 4) h; 5) f; 6) c; 7) b; 8) i; 9) d; 10) e
Questions:
1) scientists, dreamers, distant 2) century 3) space, technology, food 4) spaceship,
faster, light
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