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: U of M international students celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week
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 U of M
a)
2. __ international students
b)
Meaning
something you do to help others (often
people you don’t know) for no specific
reason or reward
to buy something
3. __ to celebrate something
c)
the acronym for the University of Manitoba
4. __ a random act of
kindness
d)
a small piece of paper with one sticky side
that can be used to stick the paper to a
book, wall etc.
5. __ an activity
e)
a type of bulletin board where information,
photos etc. are put up for others to see
6. __ to purchase something
f)
students who come from another country to
study in Manitoba
7. __ a food bank
g)
something you do to achieve something or
for fun
8. __ a post-it note
h)
to do something to show that an event or
occasion is important
9. __ a display board
i)
a place where people who need food and
can’t afford to buy it can get food for free
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. International students at the University of _______ celebrated Random _______ of
_________ Week.
2. During this ______ people do ______ things for others.
3. The U of M has _____ _______ international students from _______ - ______
countries.
4. The celebration helps people get to_____ each other and feel like part of a ______.
5. One activity involved purchasing _______ to help the _____ bank.
nice
Acts
nine hundred
Manitoba
food
week
candy
know
students
Kindness
group
seventy-two
To find out more: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/random-acts-of-kindness-warmu-of-m-international-students-1.2536217
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Story 2: Canada opens trade office in Iraqi city
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 a trade office
Meaning
oil found in a region that can potentially be taken
out of the ground and sold
a)
2. __ a Minister of State
b)
knowledge about growing crops / raising livestock
etc. for food purposes
3. __ the Minister of
Consular Affairs
c)
projects undertaken after a war which help rebuild
buildings, roads etc. in a country
4. __ a trade mission
d)
a junior Minister of Cabinet in the government of
Canada
5. __ to invest in
something
e)
an office that oversees the buying and selling of
goods between two countries
6. __ reconstruction
projects
f)
a product used to make machines run smoothly
or which is burned to create heat, e.g. oil
7. __ oil reserves
g)
to give money, time etc. to something
8. __ fuel
h)
a group of business people, government
representatives etc. who visit another country to
discuss trade issues
9. __ agricultural
expertise
i)
the Minister responsible for Canada’s consulate
offices which help Canadians when they’re
visiting / working in other countries
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.
Canada has opened________.
a) a new Consulate in Iraq
b) a new trade office in Iraq
2.
The Canadian trade mission to Iraq is
______.
a) the first in twenty-five years
b) the first in twenty years
3.
The Iraqi government hopes Canada
will invest in __________________.
a) rebuilding projects
b) oil reserves
To find out more: www.cbc.ca/news/politics/lynne-yelich-opens-trade-office-in-iraqicity-erbil-1.2536099
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Story 3: Record number of flights cancelled in the U.S. this winter
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_ a record number
a)
Meaning
to say that an event, flight etc. that was planned
will not happen
2. __ to cancel
something
b)
an official rule / law that says how something must
be done, e.g. safety and health rules
3. __ to be severe
c)
to use oil, gas etc. to produce heat
4. __ to prevent
something
d)
to spray a substance on an airplane to remove any
ice that has formed on its wings etc.
5. __ a government
regulation
e)
e.g. Air Canada, West Jet
6. __ a pilot
f)
to stop something from happening
7. __ to burn fuel
g)
the highest number / amount ever
8. __ an airline
h)
to happen; to take place
9. __ to deice a plane
i)
to be extreme; to be very serious
10. __ to occur
j)
a person who flies a plane
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.
A record number of flights in the United States have been
cancelled this winter.
True False
2.
More than 75,000,000 flights have been cancelled since December
first.
True False
3.
It is hard for travellers to find another flight if their flight is cancelled. True False
4.
The weather is the only reason why there have been cancellations.
True False
5.
There are new government regulations on the number of hours a
pilot can fly.
True False
6.
Airlines often cancel flights before a storm happens.
True False
Find out more: www.cbc.ca/news/business/u-s-sees-record-number-of-flightcancellations-this-winter-1.2537071
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Hi, this is Heather Wells. You’re listening to Learning English with CBC newscast for the
week of February 10th.
Here is our first news story.
U of M international students celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week
International students at the University of Manitoba celebrated Random Acts of
Kindness Week. During Random Acts of Kindness Week people are encouraged to do
nice things for others. The U of M has about nine hundred students from seventy-two
different countries. The celebration allows international students to get to know each
other and feel like part of a group. In one of the week’s activities, students purchased
candy and the money raised went to the university’s food bank. In another activity,
students wrote post-it notes about things they are thankful for and put them up on a
display board.
And in Canadian news,
Canada opens trade office in Iraqi city
Canada’s Minister of State for Foreign and Consular Affairs announced last week that
Canada has opened a new trade office in the Iraqi city of Erbil. The Minister was on a
three-day trade mission that included different areas of Iraq. It was the first trade
mission Canada has taken to Iraq in twenty-five years. The Iraqi government hopes that
Canada will invest in reconstruction projects in Iraq. Iraq has large oil reserves that
could provide fuel to Canada. Canada has agricultural expertise that could be shared
with Iraq.
And in international news,
Record number of flights cancelled in the U.S. this winter
People in the United States experienced more flight cancellations this winter than in the
past twenty-five years. Severe snow and ice storms have prevented safe air travel in
many parts of the United States. More than seventy-five thousand flights have been
cancelled since the beginning of December. However, the cancelation problem is not
just because of the weather. New government regulations have put limits on the
number of hours pilots can fly without a rest. Planes that have to spend time waiting to
land or take-off because of bad weather burn more fuel, which costs airlines more
money. Deicing a plane is also expensive. These increased costs mean airlines are
now cancelling flights before a storm occurs. There are also fewer flights available for
travelers to take if their flight is cancelled.
Answers for Story 1
Vocabulary: 1) c; 2) f; 3) h; 4) a; 5) g; 6) b; 7) i; 8) d; 9) e
Questions:
1) students, Manitoba, Acts, Kindness 2) week, nice 3) nine hundred, seventy-two
4) know, group 5) candy, food
Answers for Story 2
Vocabulary: 1) e; 2) d; 3) i; 4) h; 5) g; 6) c; 7) a; 8) f; 9) b
Questions:
1) b; 2) a; 3) a
Answers for Story 3
Vocabulary: 1) g 2) a; 3) i; 4) f; 5) b; 6) j; 7) c; 8) e; 9) d; 10) h
Questions:
1) T; 2) F; 3) T; 4) F; 5) T; 6) T
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