Understanding the News
Lesson 2 of 13 in Canadian Media & Popular Culture · 25 minutes
Listen to a practice news broadcast (a made-up story, not real news) and identify main stories and key facts. Distinguish between facts and opinions, and who says them.
What you'll learn
- Listen to a news broadcast and identify main stories and key facts
- Distinguish between facts and opinions in the news
- Build confidence understanding spoken English in news contexts
From the transcript
Narrator: This is a practice story, not real news. The city and the organizations are made up. Sarah Mitchell, the news anchor, is a woman in her forties. Carlos Reyes, the weather reporter, is a man in his thirties. Helen Brooks, chair of the transit board, is a woman in her fifties. Dev, a transit rider, is a man in his thirties.
Anchor: Good evening. I'm Sarah Mitchell. Here are tonight's top stories in Riverton. Our first story tonight is a weather alert.
Weather reporter: Thanks, Sarah. The weather office has issued a winter storm warning for the Riverton area. Up to twenty-five centimetres of snow is expected overnight, with wind gusts up to sixty kilometres an hour. The city has…