Listen to News with Tara Benwell - Instructions:
1. Preview the vocabulary and read the gapfill text.
2. Play the news report and try to fill in the blanks.
3. Answer the comprehension questions by writing full sentences.
4. Use the discussion question to write an essay or discuss the story with other students.
5. Click "show Answers" to see the full text.
6. Pretend to be a news anchor by reading each story out loud.
dateline: 12 July 2011
NB! For WEEKLY audio stories check out LISTEN & LEARN π
“News Of The World” Shuts Down
Pre-Listening Vocabulary
- tabloid: a type of newspaper with half-sized pages; sensational news
- phone-hacking: accessing private information from personal telephones
- scandal: an illegal action that causes public rage
- allegedly: believed to be true, but not proven in court
- boycott: to refuse to buy or use something as a means of getting attention or making a point
Comprehension Questions
- How many copies of the tabloid paper were sold each week?
- What have staff members of News of the World been accused of?
- What did some advertisers recently do?
Discussion Question: Are tabloid newspapers popular in your country? Why are people so interested in celebrity gossip?
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News of the World Shuts Down
Britain’s Sunday tabloid, News of the World, ran its last edition on Sunday, July 10th. Rupert Murdoch’s paper sold 2.6 million copies a week, and had been in print for 168 years. The closure is related to a phone-hacking scandal, dating back to 2006. News of the World staff and journalists have been accused of using private investigators to hack into private voicemail boxes. Victims of the alleged scandal include politicians, members of the royal family, celebrities, and the military. News of the World journalists allegedly hired a PI to hack the voicemail of murder victim Milly Dowler. Deleted voicemail messages gave the school girl’s family false hope that she was alive. Prior to the closure, several advertisers said they would boycott the Sunday paper. A reader boycott was also in the works.
- 2.6 million copies of News of the World were sold each week.
- Some staff members have been accused of hacking phones to get information for a story.
- Advertisers recently said they would not advertise in the News of the World.
Written and recorded by Tara Benwell for EnglishClub
Tara Benwell is a Canadian freelance writer and editor who specializes in materials and articles for the ELT industry.
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