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 charity needs coats for children
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 charity
a)
Meaning
to take an item to a specific place and leave it
there
2. __ to donate
b)
to work in an organized and active way toward a
particular political, social or charitable goal
3. __ gently used
clothing
c)
a business that professionally cleans clothes
4. __ to run a campaign d)
clothing that has been worn but is still in good
condition
5. __ the United Way
an organization that gives money, food or other
help to people in need
e)
6. __ to drop something f)
off
the building that firefighters/paramedics work from
and where fire trucks/ambulances are stored
7. __ a Fire Paramedic
station
g)
to give something, e.g. money or time, to a
person/organization to help them
8. __ a drycleaner
h)
an organization that collects/raises money and
distributes it to different charities
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. The United Way is asking for ___________ of gently-used winter __________ for
children.
2. The donations are for the Koats for Kids ____________.
3. Koats for Kids has provided _______ winter clothing for children for __________
years.
4. Donations can be ________ off at any Winnipeg Fire Paramedic _________ .
clothing
warm
station campaign
United Way
dropped
donations
twenty-two
To find out more:
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2011/12/05/mb-coats-kids-united-waymanitoba.html
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Story 2: Canada’s environment minister attends conference in South Africa
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 the environment minister a)
Meaning
countries, vehicles etc. that emit or
produce greenhouses gases
2. __ to attend a conference
b)
3. __ the UN
c)
gases released naturally or as a result of
human activity that warm the earth’s
atmosphere
the elected official in government who is
responsible for environmental issues
4. __ the Kyoto Protocol
d)
an official arrangement or promise to do
something that is signed by many countries
5. __ climate change
e)
to go to a large, formal meeting where a lot
of people come to discuss important issues
6. __ an international
agreement
f)
to end; to not be in effect any longer
7. __ greenhouse gases
g)
an international agreement to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions/fight climate
change that was signed in Kyoto, Japan
8. __ to expire
h)
a change in the average/normal weather
patterns in a region over time
9. __ greenhouse gas
emitters
i)
the acronym for the United Nations
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 recent international conference
on climate change was held in ____.
a) Kyoto, Japan
b) Durban, South Africa
2.
The Kyoto Protocol will soon
_________.
a) expire
b) be renewed
3.
Canada says it will not participate in
_________.
4.
China and India were _______
a) a new Kyoto Protocol
b) any kind of international agreement on
climate change
a) part of the original Kyoto agreement
b) not part of the original Kyoto agreement
To find out more:
www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/12/07/un-climate-kent.html
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Story 3: Afghanistan promised support after foreign troops leave
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. _f to promise support
a)
Meaning
a large, formal meeting where countries from
around the world discuss important issues
2. __ foreign troops
b)
money
3. __ a global
conference
c)
people who hold positions of authority and who
are in charge or responsible for what happens
4. __ to continue to offer
something
d)
to officially give political power to another
political party, leader etc
5. __ funding
e)
to be worried
6. __ officials
f)
to commit or provide assistance or help
7. __ to be concerned
g)
people whose job it is to protect the citizens of
their country
8. __ to transfer political
control
h)
groups of soldiers from other countries
9. __ to estimate
i)
to keep something in place; to not cancel
something that exists now
10. __ security forces
j)
to try to judge the cost of something without
calculating it exactly
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 global conference was held in Afghanistan to discuss the
country’s future.
True False
2.
The United States says it will continue to help Afghanistan, even
after its troops leave the country.
True False
3.
Canada says it is unable to provide further help of any kind.
True False
4.
The transfer of political control in Afghanistan will happen in 2014.
True False
5.
Afghanistan estimates it will need ten million dollars from other
nations in 2015.
True False
6.
The money is needed to help the economy and for security.
True False
To find out more:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/12/05/afghan-conference-1205.html
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Hi, this is Heather Wells. You’re listening to Learning English with CBC newscast for the
week of December 5th.
Here is our first news story.
Winnipeg charity needs coats for children
The United Way is asking Winnipeggers to donate gently used children’s coats, ski
pants, boots, mittens, hats, and scarves to the Koats for Kids campaign. Koats for Kids
is a charity that provides free used warm winter clothing to children. The United Way
has been running the Koats for Kids campaign for twenty-two years. People can donate
children’s winter clothing by dropping it off at any Winnipeg Fire Paramedic station or at
Perth’s drycleaners locations.
And in Canadian news,
Canada’s environment minister attends conference in South Africa
Canada’s environment minister attended the UN climate change conference in Durban,
South Africa last week. One of the issues discussed during the conference was the
Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement to fight climate change. Countries involved
in the agreement promised to decrease the amount of greenhouse gases they
produced. The minister announced that Canada would not participate in a new Kyoto
Protocol after the old one expires at the end of 2012. He said the federal government
does not believe a new Kyoto Protocol is the answer to the world’s climate change
issue. Canada says any new agreement must include major greenhouse gas emitters
like China and India, who were not part of the Kyoto agreement.
And in international news,
Afghanistan promised support after foreign troops leave
A global conference was held in Germany to discuss Afghanistan’s future. The United
States promised to continue to help Afghanistan with its political and financial issues
after American troops leave the country. Canada also promised to help by continuing to
offer funding to Afghanistan. Officials from Afghanistan are concerned that they will no
longer have support from other nations after political control is transferred from foreign
troops to Afghan officials in 2014. Afghanistan estimates that it will need about ten
billion dollars from other nations in 2015 to keep the country’s economy going and to
pay for security forces.
Answers for Story 1
Vocabulary: 1) e; 2) g; 3) d; 4) b; 5) h; 6) a; 7) f; 8) c
Questions:
1) United Way, donations, clothing 2) campaign 3) warm, twenty-two
4) dropped, station
Answers for Story 2
Vocabulary: 1) c; 2) e; 3) i; 4) g; 5) h; 6) d; 7) b; 8) f; 9) a
Questions:
1) b; 2) a; 3) a; 4) b
Answers for Story 3
Vocabulary:
Questions:
1) f; 2) h; 3) a; 4) i; 5) b; 6) c; 7) e; 8) d; 9) j; 10) g
1) F; 2) T; 3) F; 4) T; 5) F; 6) T
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