photo Tara Benwell 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: 04 July 2018

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More Than 100 Politicians Killed Ahead of Mexico Elections

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

  • candidate: a person trying to get a position or job
  • federal: related to an entire nation
  • drug cartel: a criminal organization involved in drug trafficking
  • collude: to work together secretly or illegally
  • landslide victory: a win by a lot of votes
  • homicide: murder

More than 100 Politicians Killed Ahead of Mexico Elections

At least 130 politicians were in the lead-up to Mexico’s federal last Sunday, making 2017-18 the most violent election season in Mexico’s modern history. Crime against politicians in Mexico is directly related to drug cartels. In addition to murder, Mexican are often victims of kidnapping and extortion. politicians who condemn the cartels are at a high risk as are those who collude with them. Two politicians were murdered on election day as left-wing López Obrador won the presidency in a landslide victory. In 2017, 30, 000 people were murdered in Mexico, the nation’s highest homicide rate in two decades.

Comprehension Questions

  1. What is the report mainly about?
  2. Why are politicians often victims of crimes in Mexico?
  3. What were the election results?

Discussion Questions

Mexico’s newly elected president used the slogan “hugs, not gunfire” during his election campaign. Rather than focusing on the war on drugs, Obrador wants to keep youth away from cartels by offering young people more jobs and scholarships. Do you think this will help reduce crime in Mexico?

show Answershide Answers

More than 100 Politicians Killed Ahead of Mexico Elections

At least 130 politicians were murdered in the lead-up to Mexico’s federal election last Sunday, making 2017-18 the most violent election season in Mexico’s modern history. Crime against politicians in Mexico is directly related to drug cartels. In addition to murder, Mexican politicians are often victims of kidnapping and extortion. Mexican politicians who condemn the cartels are at a high risk as are those who collude with them. Two politicians were murdered on election day as left-wing López Obrador won the presidency in a landslide victory. In 2017, nearly 30, 000 people were murdered in Mexico, the nation’s highest homicide rate in two decades.

  1. The report is mainly about crime in Mexico during the 2017-2018 election season.
  2. Politicians are often victims of crimes in Mexico because of drug cartels.
  3. López Obrador won the presidency in a landslide victory.
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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