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: 28 February 2012
NB! For WEEKLY audio stories check out LISTEN & LEARN 🔈
Osama Bin Laden’s Compound Demolished
Pre-Listening Vocabulary
- demolish: to destroy
- compound: an enclosed area
- bulldozer: a powerful tractor that can break through ground or structures
- disrupt: to break the flow or continuation of something
- al-Qaeda: a terrorist organization that was led by Osama Bin Laden
- raid: a sudden, unexpected attack
Comprehension Questions
- What was destroyed over the weekend?
- Why couldn’t journalists take good pictures of the demolition?
- Why will some local residents be happy about the demolition?
Discussion Question: Why do you think Pakistani officials decided to destroy this compound? Do you think it was the right decision?
show Answershide Answers
Osama Bin Laden’s Compound Demolished
The compound where US special forces killed Osama Bin Laden last May was demolished over the weekend by Pakistani forces. Hundreds of police officers guarded the site as bulldozers brought down the three-storey building. Journalists were barred from getting close to the scene, and the wreckage was removed immediately. No official cause for the demolition was given, but local residents had been complaining that their lives had been disrupted by ongoing security measures in the area. US officials claim that the al-Qaeda leader had been hiding in the compound with his family for several years before the May raid.
- The compound where Osama Bin Laden was killed by US forces was destroyed.
- Journalists couldn’t take good pictures of the demolition because hundreds of police officers were protecting the area.
- Some local residents will be happy about the demolition because their lives had been disrupted by ongoing security measures near the compound.
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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