Learning

English with CBC

Edmonton

Weekly newscast
th

January 16 , 2015
Lessons prepared by Barbara Edmondson & Justine Light

Objectives of the weekly newscast lesson

- to develop listening skills at the CLB 4 level

- to increase vocabulary among learners

- to increase knowledge of news stories

- to provide a self-study tool, as well as, an ESL classroom
resource

www.alberta.ca

http://www.cbc.ca/edmonton/learning-english/

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News story #1

Edmontonians fought for ISIS

What is ISIS? Why has ISIS been in the news so much in the past year? This story is about three
Edmonton residents who died fighting for ISIS.
Before you listen to the first news story, complete this vocabulary activity. It will help you to
understand the listening more easily.

Vocabulary
Choose the group of synonyms (words with similar meaning) that best match each of the
vocabulary words. Answers are in the appendix.
Answer
Word from the story
Related words
a) abroad
1) cousin

in a foreign country
b) explain
inform

2) overseas

3) along (with)

c) refuse
oppose

4) deny

d) your sisters son

your brothers son

5) nephew

e) your aunts child

your uncles child

6) break (the news)

f) reported by
stated in

7) according to

g) together
accompanying

Now listen to the first news story from the audio file.

Listening Activity: Matching

Match the subject (noun phrase) of the sentence with the correct predicate (verb phrase that affects
or is affected by the subject.) Answers are in the appendix.
Subject

Answer Predicate

Three Edmonton cousins

a) was also killed.

Ahmed Hirsi

b) called him last fall to break the news.

A another cousin from Minnesota

c) says his 20-year-old son Mahad was killed last fall.

Other family members

d) left Edmonton without telling him in October 2013.

His son and two nephews

e) have died while fighting overseas for ISIS.

Then his sister

f) deny the men died fighting for ISIS.

Discussion Question
Why are Canadians leaving Canada to fight for ISIS? What are some reasons that you would leave
Canada? Would you return home to help your family members? Would you join a war in your
home country? Would you join a war in another country?
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News story #2

Sales Tax for Alberta?

How do the falling oil prices affect Alberta (business and the government)? How do the falling
prices affect you? This story discusses some of the effects of the falling oil prices.
Before you listen to the second news story, complete this vocabulary activity. It will help you to
understand the listening more easily.

Vocabulary
Use one of the vocabulary words below to complete the sentences. Answers are in the appendix.
plunge
quickly and steeply fall
sales tax
a tax on all items sold (most Canadian provinces have this tax)
option
possible choice
deal with
to cope or to find a solution for a difficult situation
revenue
money made by a company or industry
meanwhile
at the same time
cut
to reduce or decrease in number
workforce
people who work for a company or organization
Extra definitions to help you understand the reading:
Suncor a large oil company that operates in northern Alberta
1. Alberta relies on ___________________ made from the sale of our oil. Because oil prices
have fallen so much Alberta must _________________ the loss of income. The government
will need to look at many ___________________ and decide what is best for the province.
2. ___________________ oil companies must also deal with the loss of income. Companies
may not be able to keep all their ___________________ because they are losing money.
3. If oil prices continue to ___________________ we will pay even less for gas at the pump.
This also means the money the province gets will be ___________________ even more.
4. One idea that will be considered is to add a ___________________ to all goods and
services in Alberta, so the government can increase its income.
Now listen to the second news story from the audio file.

Listening Activity: True/False

Decide whether the statements below are true or false. Answers are in the appendix.
1. ____ Jim Prentice, the premiere of Alberta, is talking about the plunging oil price.
2. ____ Because the price of oil is so low, Prentice is now willing to talk about a sales tax.
3. ____ It is up to the premiere to decide if Alberta should have a sales tax or not.
4. ____ Prentice would like to hear Albertans opinions about the issue.
5. ____ Alberta is losing millions of dollars from the decrease in oil revenue.
6. ____ Suncor will hire 1000 new employees because of low oil prices.

Discussion Question Do you think it is a good idea to add a sales tax in Alberta? Do you have any
other ideas of how the government can get back some of the income it is losing?

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News story #3

Goodbye Roxy Theatre

Have you heard of the Roxy Theatre in Edmonton? Do you enjoy watching live performances? This
story explains the unfortunate event that destroyed this historic Edmonton building.
Before you listen to the third news story, complete this vocabulary activity. It will help
you to understand the listening more easily.

Vocabulary
Match the words with their definitions. Answers are in the appendix.
Answer
Word
Definition

1. landmark
a) at first; to begin with

2. destroy
b) to construct again

3. fixture
c) a building or place that has cultural importance and is easily
recognized by residents

4. far along
d) the audience watches real actors/actresses on stage

5. originally
e) something permanent; a building that belongs in a location

6. converted
f) to completely damage or ruin

7. live performance g) to be changed into something different

8. social media
h) to have existed for a long time

9. rebuild
i) in progress, almost complete

10. historic
j) websites used for communication by many people
Extra definitions to help you understand the reading:
go up in flames to start on fire and burn
Now listen to the third news story from the audio file.

Listening Activity: Chronological Order

After hearing the story organize the following sentences in order of the time they would have
occurred. Answers are in the appendix. Who?
1. ____ The Roxy Theatre went up in flames.
2. ____ The Roxy Theater was converted into a live performance site.
3. ____ The fire was so far along, the firefighters could not save the building.
4. ____ People have used social media to start plans to rebuild the theatre.
5. ____ The Roxy Theatre was built.
6. ____ The Roxy Theater was a movie theater.

Discussion Question
What are some other landmarks that you know of in Edmonton? What are some landmarks in
your home city? Do you think citizens or governments should help pay to keep or maintain
landmarks and historical buildings?

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Language Focus
Passive Voice
In the Active voice we focus on who is doing the action because the subject of the sentence is
the doer of the action.
Ex: Three Edmonton cousins died while fighting overseas.
In the Passive voice we focus on the action itself or on the object receiving the action, rather
than who is doing it. The subject of the sentence receives the action.
Ex: Mahad Hirsi was killed last fall along with his cousins.
We use passive voice in three situations:
1. When the doer of the action is unknown, or not important.

2. When we want to express that the action/event is more important than the actor.
3. When we write a scientific paper or lab report.
Forming the passive voice : be verb + past participle of the main verb.
Present tense: The news is read by Don Bell.

(Active: Don Bell reads the news.)

Past tense: The Roxy Theatre was destroyed by fire. (Active: Fire destroyed the Roxy Theatre.)
Present continuous: A sales tax is being discussed by the government. (Active: The government
is discussing a sales tax.)
Present perfect: A nearly 80-year-old Edmonton landmark has been destroyed by fire.
(Active: A fire has destroyed an 80-year-old Edmonton landmark.)
Lets look at some examples adapted from the stories this week. Which sentences are in the active
voice? Which are in the passive voice? Highlight the verbs. Try to change active sentences to
passive voice, and passive sentences to be active. Answers are in the appendix.

1. Ahmed Hirsi says another cousin from Minnesota was also killed.

2. The fact that the men died while fighting for ISIS is denied by other family members.
3. Hirsis sister called him last fall to break sad the news.
4. A sales tax is being talked about by Jim Prentice.
5. Suncor is cutting its workforce.
6. The Roxy could not be saved by the firefighters.
7. People converted the Roxy into a live performance hall.
8. Social media is being used to start rebuilding plans.

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Transcripts of Weekly news stories

Introduction

Story 1

Story 2

Story 3

JANUARY 16TH WEEKLY NEWS STORIES

Hi, this is Don Bell. Youre listening to Learning English with CBC for
January 16th.

Three Edmonton cousins have died while fighting overseas for ISIS
according to the father of one of the men. Ahmed Hirsi says his 20-
year-old son Mahad was killed last fall along with cousins Hamsa and
Hersi Kariye. He says another cousin from Minnesota was also killed.
Other family members deny the men died while fighting for ISIS, but
Hirsi says it's true. He says his son and two nephews left Edmonton
without telling him in October 2013. Then his sister called him last fall
to break the news that all four men had been killed.
The plunging price of oil has Alberta Premier Jim Prentice talking
about a "sales tax". After saying for weeks that a sales tax was not an
option, Prentice says it's now time to at least talk about the idea. He
says a sales tax is not his choice, but he wants to hear from people
about how Alberta can deal with billions of dollars in lost oil
revenue. Meanwhile, oilsands giant, Suncor, has said that it will cut its
workforce by one-thousand because of low oil prices.
A nearly 80 year old Edmonton landmark has been destroyed by
fire. The Roxy Theatre had been a fixture on 124 street since 1938. It
went up in flames early Tuesday morning. By the time firefighters got
there the fire was so far along, firefighters could only fight it from the
outside - knowing they could not save the building. The Roxy was
originally a movie theatre. It was converted into a live performance
site in 1989. Many people have used social media to start plans to
rebuild the historic theatre.

TIME
0:00

0:12

1:09

1:58

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Answer keys
News story 1
Vocabulary
Answer
e

Word from the story

1) your cousin

Related words
a) abroad
in a foreign country
b) explain
inform

2) overseas

3) along (with)

c) refuse
oppose

4) deny

d) your sisters son

your brothers son

5) nephew

e) your aunts child

your uncles child

6) break (the news)

f) reported by
stated in

7) according to

g) together
accompanying

Listening
Subject

Answer Predicate

Three Edmonton cousins

Ahmed Hirsi
Another cousin from Minnesota

e
c
a

a) was also killed.

b) called him last fall to break the news.
c) says his 20-year-old son Mahad was killed last fall.

Other family members

His son and two nephews

f
d

d) left Edmonton without telling him in October 2013.

e) have died while fighting overseas for ISIS.

Then his sister

f) deny the men died fighting for ISIS.

News story 2
Vocabulary
1. Alberta relies on revenue made from the sale of our oil. Because oil prices have fallen so
much Alberta must deal with the loss of income. The government will need to look at
many options and decide what is best for the province.
2. Meanwhile oil companies must also deal with the loss of income. Companies may not be
able to keep all their workforce because they are losing money.
3. If oil prices continue to plunge we will pay even less for gas at the pump. This also means
the money the province gets will be cut even more.
4. One idea that will be considered is to add a sales tax to all goods and services in Alberta,
so the government can increase its income.
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Listening

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

__F__ Jim Prentice is talking about the plunging oil price.

__T__ Because the price of oil is so low, Prentice is now willing to talk about a sales tax.
__F__ It is up to the premiere to decide if Alberta should have a sales tax or not.
__T__ Prentice would like to hear Albertans opinions about the issue.
__F__ Alberta is losing millions of dollars from decrease oil revenue.
__F__ Suncor will hire 1000 new employees because of low oil prices.

News story 3
Vocabulary
Answer
c
f

Word
1. landmark
2. destroy

Definition
a) at first; to begin with
b) to construct again

3. fixture

i
a
g
d
j
b
h

4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

c) a building or place that has cultural importance and is easily

recognized by residents
d) the audience watches real actors/actresses on stage
e) something permanent; a building that belongs in a location
f) to completely damage or ruin
g) to be changed into something different
h) to have existed a long time
i) in progress, almost complete
j) websites used for communication by many people

far along
originally
converted
live performance
social media
rebuild
historic

Listening
1. __4__ The Roxy Theatre went up in flames.
2. __3__ The Roxy Theater was converted into a live performance site.
3. __5__ The fire was so far along the firefighters could not save the building.
4. __6__ People have used social media to start plans to rebuild the theatre.
5. __1__ The Roxy Theatre was built.
6. __2__ The Roxy Theater was a movie theater.

Language Focus
1. Ahmed Hirsi says another cousin from Minnesota was also killed. Active/passive

It was said by Hirsi that someone killed another cousin from Minnesota.
2. The fact that the men died while fighting for ISIS is denied by other family members. Passive
Other family members deny that the men died while fighting for ISIS.

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3. Hirsis sister called him last fall to break sad the news. Active
Hirsi was called by his sister last fall to break the sad news.
4. A sales tax is being talked about by Jim Prentice. Passive
Jim Prentice is talking about a sales tax.
5. Suncor is cutting its workforce. Active
The workforce is being cut by Suncor. or Suncors workforce is being cut.
6. The Roxy could not be saved by the firefighters. Passive
Firefighters could not save the Roxy.
7. People converted the Roxy into a live performance hall. Active
The Roxy was converted into a live performance hall.
8. Social media is being used to start rebuilding plans. Passive
People are using social media to start rebuilding plans.

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