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: 11 September 2012
NB! For WEEKLY audio stories check out LISTEN & LEARN 🔈
US Broadcaster Criticized for Paralympics Coverage
Pre-Listening Vocabulary
- Paralympics: an international sporting competition for disabled athletes
- broadcast: the transmission of a show on TV or radio
- prime-time: the time of day when the most people are watching television
- outrage: to anger
Comprehension Questions
- What coverage did NBC offer of the 2012 Paralympic Games?
- Why does the report mention Australia?
- How did the US Paralympic team finish in 2012?
Discussion Question: Many people called the lack of live coverage a sign of disrespect. Is it also a form of discrimination?
show Answershide Answers
US Broadcaster Criticized For Paralympics Coverage
NBC Sports, the US rights holder of the broadcasting of the Paralympic Games, is being criticized for its coverage of the 2012 competition. NBC showed 4 one-hour programs with highlights from the competition. It is also scheduled to show a 90-minute special on September 16th. No live coverage was available on NBC. Australia and the UK showed more hours, though many other countries did not show live coverage either. The US had the third largest Paralympic team in 2012, but finished 6th in the medal count. Over 200 million people watched the NBC coverage of the London 2012 Olympic Games, though some of the most popular events were delayed for prime-time, which also outraged sports fans.
- NBC offered 4 one-hour programs with highlights of the 2012 Paralympic Games. It will also broadcast a 90-minute special on September 16th.
- The report mentions Australia because Australia had a lot more coverage of the Paralympics in 2012.
- The US Paralympic team finished 6th in the 2012 medal count.
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.
© EnglishClub.com
