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: 10 September 2013
NB! For WEEKLY audio stories check out LISTEN & LEARN π
Tokyo To Host 2020 Olympic Games
Pre-Listening Vocabulary
- bid: an offer
- campaign (verb): to work in a group with the goal of convincing people to vote a certain way
- slogan: a phrase used in advertising
- host: to organize an event and receive guests and participants
- IOC: International Olympic Committee
- retire: to leave one’s job, usually due to age
Comprehension Questions
- What did Tokyo win?
- Why does the report mention World War II?
- What is the IOC president going to do?
Discussion Question: While people in Tokyo are overjoyed by the news, many Japanese residents who have been displaced by the Fukushima nuclear disaster think Japan’s money and effort should be spent on tsunami damage. What are your thoughts on this argument?
show Answershide Answers
Tokyo To Host 2020 Olympic Games
Tokyo beat out Madrid and Istanbul this week, winning the bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Japan’s capital city campaigned with the words, “the Olympics will be safe in our hands”. Its official slogan will be Discover Tomorrow. Tokyo hosted the Summer Games in 1964, and will be the first Asian city to host the Games more than once. The city was also scheduled to host the Games in 1940, but the event was cancelled due to World War II. Before the 2020 Olympics, the world will watch the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia, the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, and the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. IOC president Jacques Rogge, who announced the 2020 winning city, will be retiring this week.
- Tokyo won the bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
- The report mentions World War II because Tokyo was supposed to host the Games in 1940, but the event was cancelled due to the war.
- IOC president Jacque Rogge is going to retire.
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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