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: 08 September 2015

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Egyptian Billionaire Wants To Buy Island For Refugees

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

  • uninhabited: not lived in or on; has no residents
  • refugee: one who is forced to escape his/her homeland due to something such as war or a natural disaster
  • logistics: the management of details in order to accomplish something

Egyptian Billionaire Wants To Buy Island For Refugees

A Egyptian has offered to buy an uninhabited Mediterranean island to refuge for hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees. Naguib Sawiris says if Italy or Greece will sell him an , he will take care of the logistics. He says he will build , schools, and a hospital, and will find a way for the people to have jobs. The billionaire has asked the to help spread the word so that he can convince politicians in Greece and Italy that this is a serious proposal.

Comprehension Questions

  1. Who is Naguib Sawiris?
  2. What problem does he want to help solve?
  3. Why does he need help from the media?

Discussion Questions: The billionaire told politicians, “Give me the island, and I will do the rest.” Is this a completely ridiculous idea, or do you think uninhabited islands could help refugees?

show Answers

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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