Intermediate Listening Power

Activity 1.

Listen to the file.

Battle at the Front

Activity 2.

Listening Comprehension. Answer the following questions.

1. Where is the news reporter, Stan Fielding, in the city?
A. at a military facility
B. in the suburbs
C. in the downtown area

2. How long has the civil war been going on for?
A. almost one year
B. just over a year
C. a year and a half

3. About what time of day is this news report taking place?
A. in the early afternoon
B. in the late evening
C. in the middle of the night

4. What is the main target of the rebels in this latest attack?
A. the current location of city leaders
B. military stockpiles of ammunition
C. the main lines of transportation

5. Which is NOT a major problem as a result of the war so far?
A. infectious disease
B. lack of drinking water and food
C. insufficient housing

Activity 3.

Listening to Details. Listen to the file for the last time and fill in the blanks with the correct answer.

Newscaster: We interrupt our ⁽¹⁾scheduled news program to bring you live up-to-date coverage on the civil unrest in the newly ⁽²⁾ country of Karnak, where our man Stan Fielding is stationed. Stan . . .

News Reporter: This is Stan Fielding reporting live from the outskirts of the capital city. Just 20 minutes ago, rebel forces ⁽³⁾ the biggest offensive against the ruling government in the 18-month ⁽⁴⁾ here in this country.

Newscaster: Now Stan, is this a sign that the peace process has been totally abandoned?

News Reporter: Well, so far, peace negotiations have failed, and any resolution to ⁽⁵⁾ the civil war appears bleak at this point. As you can see . . . Whoa.

Newscaster: Stan, Stan, are you there?

News Reporter: Uh, yes, Bob. As you can probably hear behind me, rebel forces are also using heavy artillery to ⁽⁶⁾ government strongholds around the city center.

Activity 4

Vocabulary. Read and study the following words.

• unrest (noun): dissatisfaction or anger against society or political parties
  - Political unrest has caused instability in that region of the world.

• stationed (verb): to be assigned to a particular place like in the military
  - My father was stationed in Germany for two years with the airforce.

• outskirts (noun): the outer area of a city
  - Often, the outskirts of the city are the most peaceful.

• launch (verb): start
  - The vice-president decided to launchhis election campaign last week.

• abandon (verb): to stop or give up on something
  - The ruling government abandoned its decision to raise taxes further because of voter discontent.

• quell (verb): to put down or end
  - The military used force to quell social unrest.

• bleak (adjective): hopeless
  - The economy looks very bleak at this point with sky-high inflation and unemployment at 27 percent.

• artillery (noun): large guns, often on wheels, used by armies
  - Developing countries in that region are increasing their stockpiles of artillery as a way to demonstrate their military muscle.

• strongholds (noun): strongly defended places
  - The army attacked the enemy's strongholds just before dawn.

• starvation (noun): a state of extreme hunger which can lead to death
  - Thousands of people are on the verge of starvation in that country.

• adequate (adjective): enough
  - If adequate food supplies do not become available, many people will not survive the winter.

• shelter (noun): a place, like a house, that provides protection from danger or weather
  - We need to seek shelter before the storm.

• epidemics (noun): a sudden and widespread start of an infectious disease among many people
  - There has been an epidemic of malaria for the past three months.

• linger on (verb): continues slowly on
  - The conflict has lingered on for more than three years.

Activity 5.

Discussion. Answer the following questions related to the conversation.

• Why are some countries so eager to wage war, while others aren’t?
• Would you like to work as a war correspondent? Why or why not?
  
• How do you think current wars could be stopped?