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: 19 February 2013
NB! For WEEKLY audio stories check out LISTEN & LEARN 🔈
Meteor Explodes Over Russia
Pre-Listening Vocabulary
- meteor: an object from space that enters earth’s atmosphere; creates a fiery streak in the sky
- sonic boom: a loud noise caused by a shock wave; occurs when an object moves faster than the speed of sound
- dashboard: a panel in a vehicle that is in front of the driver
- spectacle: something that is amazing to see
- fatality: a death caused by a certain event or occurrence
- atmosphere: gases surrounding the earth
- asteroid: a body of rock that orbits the sun; sometimes called a small planet
Comprehension Questions
- Where did the meteor break up?
- How many fatalities resulted from the explosion?
- What do scientists say about the asteroid that passed very close to earth on the same day?
Discussion Question: Scientists believe that this type of event happens about once every 100 years. Does a rare occurrence like this justify the building of early warning systems for strikes from space?
show Answershide Answers
Meteor Explodes Over Russia
A meteor exploded over Russia on Friday, creating a large fireball in the sky followed by a sonic boom. Many cars with dashboard cameras caught the footage of the spectacle. No fatalities have been reported; however, hundreds of people were injured and thousands of windows were broken. Investigators believe that this was the largest meteor to enter our atmosphere since 1908 when a large section of a Siberian forest was destroyed from a similar blast. Scientists say that Friday’s meteor was unrelated to a large asteroid that passed extremely close to earth on the same day.
- The meteor exploded over Russia.
- No fatalities were reported from the explosion.
- Scientists believe that the passing of an asteroid near earth on the same day was not related to the meteor that broke up over Russia.
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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