| Level | Topic | Speakers | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intermediate | Current News | Man | 01:01 |
Pre-Listening Exercise
What are three of the most important or significant news events that have occurred over the last three months in your area or country? How do these events affect your life, directly or indirectly?
- TV news is still the most reliable way to stay informed.
- Watching the news every day can increase stress and anxiety.
- TV news focuses too much on negative stories.
- Young people prefer getting news online rather than on TV.
- News anchors should always stay neutral and never share opinions.
- International news is not covered enough on local TV stations.
- Watching TV news helps improve listening skills in a new language.
- TV news sometimes creates fear to get more viewers.
- It’s hard to know which news channel to trust.
- People should watch news from different countries to understand the world better.
Idioms
“hit the road” = leave or depart from a specific place
“Okay. It’s time to hit the road. Everyone, get in the car.”
“drive at something” = What do you mean or imply?
“Hey, what are you driving at? Are you trying to say that I’m a bad driver?“
Listening Exercise
Listen to the recording and answer the questions. (See transcript)
Vocabulary and Sample Sentences
Here are some words and expressions that appear in the recording:
-
miraculous (adjective): extraordinary, surprising, or unusual
– It was miraculous that everyone escaped from the accident unharmed. -
occur (verb): take place or happen
– Many miraculous events occur around the world every year. -
break out (verb): start suddenly
– War broke out last week in several places in that area of the world. -
witness (noun): a person who sees something happen
– Five witnesses saw the accident on the highway. -
evacuate (verb): move from a dangerous place to safety
– People need to evacuate the city when a dangerous hurricane approaches the coastline. -
panic (verb): have a great feeling of fear or anxiety
– Please don’t panic. Everything will be okay if you stay calm.
Post-Listening Exercise
Review the story with a partner. What interesting details do we learn about this event? In some societies, a dog is often said to be a man’s best friend. Are there certain pets that people value or keep as faithful companions?
Online Investigation
Find one interesting news story that involves animals and people. Who was involved in the event? What happened and how did things turn out?