English2Go.net – THE TOTAL NEWS WORKSHEET 12 October 2004
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Discussion Questions
VOLCANO ERUPTS
The Mount St Helens volcano in the United States has been providing some spectacular pictures for the past
week. When it erupted in 1980, however, 57 people died. Volcanic eruptions happen regularly around the
world and now scientists are able to use seismographs to measure the tremors and predict when a volcano
will erupt.
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Have you ever seen a volcano?
Are there any active volcanoes in your home country?
Do you know what the liquid inside a volcano is called?
What is the liquid called when it flows out of a volcano after an eruption?
ELECTION TALLY ROOM
Prime Minister John Howard has been re-elected in what turned out to be a comfortable victory. TTN was in
Canberra on Saturday night to watch the vote counting take place in the election tally room.
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Do you know the name of the man who John Howard defeated to become Prime Minister of
Australia?
Do you know how often federal elections are held in Australia?
Before the last election, do you know how many terms John Howard had already served as Prime
Minister?
Who is the leader of your home country?
AFGHANISTAN VOTES
From the early 1980's, the Taliban had ruled Afghanistan. In 2001, the Taliban was accused of hiding wanted
terrorist Osama Bin Laden and America invaded, throwing the Taliban out of power. Last weekend,
Afghanistan held its first ever direct presidential election. Voting is not compulsory, but around half the
population of 22 million have registered to vote. The elections were held under the watchful eye of the United
Nations.
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Where is Afghanistan located?
Do you know the name of the capital?
English2Go.net – THE TOTAL NEWS WORKSHEET 12 October 2004
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VOLCANO ERUPTS
The Mount St Helens volcano in the United States has been providing some spectacular pictures for the past
week. When it erupted in 1980, however, 57 people died. Volcanic eruptions happen regularly around the
world and now scientists are able to use seismographs to measure the tremors and predict when a volcano
will erupt.
Why do volcanoes erupt?
A. Match the sentence halves
a. Volcanoes erupt as a way for the planet to…
b. The earth's outer crust is made up of rocky tectonic plates
which are…
c. When the edges of these plates collide they can create a
hot liquid known as…
d. Pressure forces the magma to…
e. As the magma moves upwards…
f. If the magma is sticky, the gas can't escape and pressure
builds until the magma explodes, just like…
g. If the magma is runny, like water, the gas escapes and the
magma gently flows out as…
a
An explosive type of volcano is usually more dangerous.
B. True or False
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Lava flows can only travel for a few kilometres. T / F
Lava can stay hot for some time even after it has become solid. T / F
It can take millions of years for the walls of a volcano to form. T / F
Half the earth's surface was shaped by volcanic eruptions. T / F
There are no active volcanoes in Australia. T / F
The famous volcano, Mt Vesuvius in Italy, erupted in 1979. T / F
Volcanic eruptions can occur underwater. T / F
magma.
a bottle of soft drink.
constantly moving.
rise to the surface.
bubbles of gas start to
form.
cool its core.
boiling hot lava.
English2Go.net – THE TOTAL NEWS WORKSHEET 12 October 2004
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ELECTION TALLY ROOM
Prime Minister John Howard has been re-elected in what turned out to be a comfortable victory. TTN was in
Canberra on Saturday night to watch the vote counting take place in the election tally room.
Fill in the missing numbers
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Number of staff across Australia hired by the Australian Electoral Commission for election day ...
Time voting officially closed ...
Number of weeks it took 10 people to set up the Tally Board ...
Members of the media present for the counting in Canberra ...
Number of specially built television studios ...
Number of terms already served by John Howard as Prime Minister ...
INDONESIA VOTE
1. When was the Indonesian election held? …………………………
2. Who won the election? a. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
b. Megawati Sukarnoputri
AFGHANISTAN VOTES
From the early 1980's, the Taliban had ruled
Afghanistan. In 2001, the Taliban was accused of hiding
wanted terrorist Osama Bin Laden and America
invaded, throwing the Taliban out of power. Last
weekend, Afghanistan held its first ever direct
presidential election. Voting is not compulsory, but
around half the population of 22 million have registered
to vote. The elections were held under the watchful eye
of the United Nations.
Complete the sentences with no more than 3 words
1. Afghanistan is in Southern Asia near …………………………
2. Taliban, meaning "religious students", wanted to bring law and order to a war torn country so it
enforced a very strict …………………………
3. Under the Taliban, music was banned along with sport and …………………………
4. The UN's job was to make the process fair by establishing clear rules for voting and ensuring political
parties could only be registered if they cuts their links with …………………………
5. Around half the population of 22 million have registered to vote and more than 40 percent of these
…………………………
6. The United Nations Assistance Mission has worked in dozens of other countries struggling
for……………………
7. Next on their election list is Iraq in …………………………
English2Go.net – THE TOTAL NEWS WORKSHEET 12 October 2004
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BATHURST CAR RACE
It was a day of high speed crashes and thrilling racing at the Bathurst One Thousand on the weekend.
Complete the gaps with one word only
Steven Richards and Jason Bright collided soon after the start but managed to keep (1)……………………
Others weren't so lucky with Scotsman John Cleland coming to a sudden (2)…………………… And
legendary driver Peter Brock was also one who failed to (3)…………………… It was the Holden team of
Greg Murphy and Rick Kelly, which kept it together the best, becoming the first combination in 12 years
to score successive Bathurst (4)……………………
ATM MACHINES
Most people have a keycard. It allows you to purchase goods without carrying cash and can also be used at
Automated Teller Machines to withdraw cash. This week’s banking report explains how an ATM works.
SPEAKER
DISPLAY
SCREEN
SENSOR
KEYPAD
RECEIPT
PRINTER
ELECTRIC
EYE
CARD
READER
CASH
DISPENSER
Before you listen, try to match the terms above with the definitions below
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Reads your account details stored on the card's magnetic strip …………………………
Lets you tell the bank what kind of transaction you need and what your Personal Identification
Number (PIN) is …………………………
Prompts you through each step of the transaction …………………………
Gives you feedback about what you have done …………………………
Gives you a paper receipt of your transaction …………………………
Gives you the cash …………………………
Counts each note as it exits the machine and records the information …………………………
Checks the thickness of each note …………………………
English2Go.net – THE TOTAL NEWS WORKSHEET 12 October 2004
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SHOWBIZ
Complete the gaps with a maximum of 2 words
Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian returns to the top of the Australian singles chart with his
(1)………………………… “Out With My Baby”. Another Idol contestant, beat boxer Joel Turner & The
Modern Day Poets also have a (2)…………………………debut with "These Kids" at number five, while
MTV winner, Melbourne band Jet, jump from number ten to (3)…………………………on the albums
chart, with "Get Born."
Rap star Usher sure can sing, but what's happening with his love life? First, the hot mail says he's
romancing singer Alicia Keys then that he's made up with his (4)…………………………, TLC member
Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Now, a New York newspaper says he's snuggling up with
(5)………………………Naomi Campbell.
Plenty of yo-yo's going at a competition in California. Contestants are out to secure a spot at the world
championships (6)……………………… But what about this - maybe the world's largest yo-yo - at a
whopping (7)…………………………! And when "BIG YO" drops from the top of a crane, you'd better hope
the string holds before it hits (8)…………………………
GLOBAL NEWS
Jakarta bombing survivor, Manny Musu has arrived back in Italy.
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How old is Manny? ………………
Who died in the blast? a. Her mother
b. Her father
Bird Flu claims another victim, a nine-year-old girl in Thailand.
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How did she catch the disease? From chickens on her family's ………………………
How many people have now died from bird flu in Thailand? ……………………
What is the Thai Government doing to stop the disease spreading?
Buying up and destroying about ……………………………………………
And a private rocket plane captures a 14 million dollar prize meant to encourage space tourism.
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What altitude did the 2 SpaceShipOne fly to?………………………… kilometres above the Earth
At what altitude was the plane released from the carrier craft it had been strapped to?
………………metres
English2Go.net – THE TOTAL NEWS WORKSHEET 12 October 2004
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NORFOLK ISLAND
Captain James Cook first landed on the then uninhabited Norfolk Island more than two hundred years ago.
Since then, the island, which is an Australian territory, has had a colourful history, including mutinies and
murder.
* The Bounty ship was transporting breadfruit plants to the
Caribbean when, in April 1789, one of the sailors aboard led a
mutiny and seized control from the captain. The captain and 18 of
his crew were set adrift in a launch boat while the mutineers
sailed the Bounty to Tahiti and settled on Pitcairn Island in 1790.
A. Complete the missing information in the table
NORFOLK ISLAND KEY FACTS
Size of island
(1)…………
kilometres long and 5 kilometres
wide
(2)…………………………………….
System of Government
Year Captain James Cook claimed the island for
Great Britain
1100 kilometres
Self-governed
(3)…………………………
Year British settlement began
1780
British settlement abandoned
Early 1800s
Year re-occupied as a penal colony
(4)…………………………
Year became home for descendants of those
who had taken over the Bounty *
(6)……………………………………
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(5)…………………………
More than one third
Has the murder of Janelle Patton, who lived on Norfolk Island for several years, been solved?
Yes / No
DOG ESCAPE
Finally, in London, it took surveillance cameras to solve how a pack of dogs escaped their pound each
night to raid a kitchen. It turns out that one dog, called Red, was able to undo the latch to his enclosure.
Then, he would let his mates out as well and they'd go to the kitchen. Staff say Red was underweight
when taken to the kennel and had a desperate urge to find food.
English2Go.net – THE TOTAL NEWS WORKSHEET 12 October 2004
Answers
VOLCANO ERUPTS
BANKING NEWS – ATM MACHINES
A.
c/f /b/d/e/a/g
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B.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
F
T
T
F
T
F
T
ELECTION TALLY ROOM
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67,000
6
2
700
4
3
CARD READER
KEYPAD
DISPLAY SCREEN
SPEAKER
RECEIPT PRINTER
CASH DISPENSER
ELECTRIC EYE
SENSOR
SHOWBIZ
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
latest release
Top 10
number five
ex-girlfriend
supermodel
next year
116 kilos
the ground
GLOBAL NEWS
INDONESIA VOTE
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September 20th
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
AFGHANISTAN VOTES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Pakistan and Iran.
way of living.
watching movies.
armed militias.
are women.
freedom.
January 2005.
BATHURST CAR RACE
1.
2.
3.
4.
going
stop
finish
victories
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5
Her mother
farm
11
five million eggs (from farmers)
100
14 thousand
NORFOLK ISLAND
A.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
8
Distance from Sydney
1774
1825
1856
Population related to the Bounty sailors
B.
 several years
 2 years
 no
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