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Back to This Month's News | Monthly News Archives		 Dateline: 1 August 2006

Story #1

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

Story #1: Buffet Donates Majority of his Wealth to Gates
The second man in the world, Warren Buffet announced plans to donate 85% of his fortune to The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The , which will total $37 billion, has been called the largest singular charitable gift in US history. Earlier this month, Gates, the world's richest man, announced his plans to at Microsoft to on doing charitable work with his foundation. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation focuses on improving health and education, namely in poor countries. Mr. Gates said that finding for the top 20 diseases in the world is now achievable.

Comprehension Questions: Story #1

  1. What public announcement did Warren Buffet make in July?
  2. Who currently holds the largest fortune in the world?
  3. What does the Gates Foundation specialize in?
Discussion Question:
Warren Buffet has stated that he does not believe in "dynastic wealth" (money passed down through a family). How would you feel about Warren Buffet's decision if you were one of his children or grandchildren?

Story #2

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

Story #2: Pepsi Declines Coca-Cola Trade Secrets
Undercover FBI agents three suspects accused of attempting to sell Coca-Cola trade secrets to competitor, Pepsi. In May, Pepsi informed Coca-Cola of a letter it had received from a person offering to sell information related to Coca-Cola products. An administrative worker at Coca Cola was caught on camera smuggling a product sample along with confidential documents. An of $30,000 for trade secrets relating to Coca-Cola was made between one of the suspects and an undercover agent. The arrests were made on the day that the 3 suspects had agreed to sell additional trade secrets for over .

Comprehension Questions: Story #2

  1. How did Pepsi react after being offered Coca Cola trade secrets?
  2. What was a Coca Cola employee caught on camera doing?
  3. Who did one of the suspect receive $30,000 from?
Discussion Question:
The formula for Coca Cola has been called the most valuable "trade secret" in the world. Do you think there are other products with secrets that should be worth a greater price?

Story #3

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

Story #3: World Cup Idol Ejected from Finals
In the World Cup final , France's captain, Zinedine Zidane was handed a red card and removed from the game. Zidane headbutted Italian player, Marco Materazzi in the chest after a heated verbal exchange. Materazzi reportedly made comments to Zidane to provoke the violent act. Though Materazzi has denied saying anything to insult Zidane's family, many lip readers confirmed that he did. Italy went on to win the World Cup after the tied match was decided based on penalty kicks. Zidane has since announced his official retirement from the game and apologized for his .

Comprehension Questions: Story #3

  1. When and where did this incident happen?
  2. Why was Zidane taken out of the game?
  3. What occured in this match after Zidane was removed?
Discussion Question:
Both players have now been fined and handed a three-match ban for this incident. Is it fair for a professional player to be punished for something he said to another player?

Story #4

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

Story #4: War breaks out between Israel and Lebanon
Wednesday's (July 12) kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers prompted retaliation against Lebanon. The three main runways at Beirut Airport were among the targets hit by Israeli air strikes. The Islamic militia, Hezbollah, has that they will not release the soldiers until prisoners are released. The Israeli government has their offer, saying that this would encourage more kidnappings. However, prisoner exchanges have been common in the past, including the exchange of 400 Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners for one Israeli and three bodies in 2004. has threatened a reoccupation of Southern Lebanon if the soldiers aren't returned safely.

Comprehension Questions: Story #4

  1. What occurred on July 12th that caused Israel to be angry?
  2. What request did Hezbollah make?
  3. What threat was made by the Israeli government?
Discussion Question:
What role should the rest of the world play in this major conflict between Israel and Lebananon?

ANSWER CHECK

Story #1

Story #1: Story #1: Buffet Donates Majority of his Wealth to Gates
The second richest man in the world, Warren Buffet announced plans to donate 85% of his fortune to The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The donation, which will total $37 billion, has been called the largest singular charitable gift in US history. Earlier this month, Gates, the world's richest man, announced his plans to step down at Microsoft to concentrate on doing charitable work with his foundation. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation focuses on improving health and education, namely in poor countries. Mr. Gates said that finding cures for the top 20 diseases in the world is now achievable.

Comprehension Answers: Story #1

  1. Warren Buffet announced that he would donate the majority of his fortune to a charity run by Bill and Melinda Gates.
  2. Bill Gates is the richest man in the world.
  3. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation specializes in providing better health and education to people in poor countries.

Story #2

Story #2: Pepsi Declines Coca-Cola Trade Secrets
Undercover FBI agents arrested three suspects accused of attempting to sell Coca-Cola trade secrets to competitor, Pepsi. In May, Pepsi informed Coca-Cola of a letter it had received from a person offering to sell valuable information related to Coca-Cola products. An administrative worker at Coca Cola was caught on camera smuggling a product sample along with confidential documents. An exchange of $30, 000 for trade secrets relating to Coca-Cola recipes was made between one of the suspects and an undercover agent. The arrests were made on the day that the 3 suspects had agreed to sell additional trade secrets for over 1 million dollars.

Comprehension Answers: Story #2

  1. Pepsi contacted its competitor, Coca Cola after receiving the letter that offered a bribe.
  2. The adminstrative worker was caught taking private documents and a sample of a new Coca Cola product out of the company.
  3. One of the suspects was given $30, 000 from an undercover F.B.I. agent pretending to be a Pepsi employee.

Story #3

Story #3: World Cup Idol Ejected from Finals
In the World Cup final match, France's captain, Zinedine Zidane was handed a red card and removed from the game. Zidane intentionally headbutted Italian player, Marco Materazzi in the chest after a heated verbal exchange. Materazzi reportedly made rude comments to Zidane to provoke the violent act. Though Materazzi has denied saying anything to insult Zidane's family, many lip readers have confirmed that he did. Italy went on to win the World Cup after the tied match was decided based on penalty kicks. Zidane has since announced his official retirement from the game and apologized for his actions.

Comprehension Answers: Story #3

  1. The conflict occured in the final match between Italy and France at the World Cup.
  2. Zidane was given a red card because he headbutted an Italian player in the chest on purpose.
  3. After Zidane was sent off, the tied game went into penalty kicks. Italy won the shoot out and the World Cup.

Story #4

Story #4: War breaks out between Israel and Lebanon
Wednesday's (July 12) kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers prompted severe retaliation against Lebanon. The three main runways at Beirut Airport were among the targets hit by Israeli air strikes. The Islamic militia, Hezbollah, has announced that they will not release the soldiers until prisoners are released. The Israeli government has refused their offer, saying that this would encourage more kidnappings. However, prisoner exchanges have been common in the past, including the exchange of 400 Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners for one Israeli businessman and three bodies in 2004. Israel has threatened a reoccupation of Southern Lebanon if the soldiers aren't returned safely.

Comprehension Answers: Story #4

  1. Two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped by the Islamic militant group, Hezbollah.
  2. Hezbollah requested that some of its prisoners be released by Israel in return for the kidnapped soldiers.
  3. Israel has threatened to take over the land in Southern Lebananon once again if the kidnapped soldiers aren't set free unharmed.