Breaking News

Topic: Occupations

Mode: Interpretive

Level: Intermediate

Students will listen to a news report and answer comprehension questions about professions.

Components of this activity: A script, comprehension questions, answer key

Instructions to the teacher

  1. Record the following passage and save it as an audio file. 
  2. Print out the comprehension exercise worksheet for students.
  3. Play the audio in class and ask students to answer the questions in their worksheets.

Script

Early this morning a fire broke out at the courthouse. You can see all the lawyers and judges out on the lawn and firefighters battling the flames. The local police are investigating but think that a journalist may be responsible for the fire. We will continue to bring you the latest information as we get more details. 

Instructions to students

Listen to the news report and answer the following questions correctly. 

  1. What is the job of the person giving the information?

    lawyer        reporter     firefighter

  1. What are the jobs of the people on the lawn?

    judges    journalists    lawyers     police

  1. What is the job of the people investigating the cause of the fire?

    firefighters    reporter     police

  1. What is the job of the person that the police think is responsible for the fire?

    reporter    journalist     lawyer

Answer Key

  1. Reporter
  2. Judges, lawyers
  3. Police
  4. Journalist