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: 05 February 2013

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Match-Fixing Rampant In Football

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

  • rampant: spreading uncontrollably
  • Europol: European Union’s police organization
  • extensive: widespread
  • inquiry: investigation
  • match-fixing: a form of cheating in organized sports; players and/or officials try to fix the result of a match (often in exchange for a bribe)
  • qualifier: a match that determines whether or not a team makes it to another round in a competition
  • suspicious: questionable; not fully trusted

Match-Fixing Rampant In Football

Europol has uncovered an extensive criminal network of match-fixing in football leagues in and outside Europe. At least 50 people since the inquiry began 18 months ago. Players, officials, and an organized criminal network based in Singapore are under investigation. Some of the fixed matches include and European Championship qualifiers. Previous scandals had revealed match-fixing in South Korea and South Africa, but new information suggests that many European football matches, including a few games in England may have also been in recent years. Hundreds of past matches at club and levels in and outside Europe have been labelled as “suspicious” and are currently under investigation.

Comprehension Questions

  1. What did Europol uncover?
  2. Who is involved in the crime?
  3. Why does the report mention England?

Discussion Question: According to Europol, a single fixed match can involved dozens of suspects in many countries. How do you think match-fixing works? What do corrupt players and officials do to “throw” a game, and why do they do it?

Match-Fixing Rampant In Football
Europol has uncovered an extensive criminal network of match-fixing in football leagues in and outside Europe. At least 50 people have been arrested since the inquiry began 18 months ago. Players, officials, and an organized criminal network based in Singapore are under investigation. Some of the suspected fixed matches include World Cup and European Championship qualifiers. Previous scandals had revealed match-fixing in South Korea and South Africa, but new information suggests that many European football matches, including a few games in England may have also been fixed in recent years. Hundreds of past matches at club and national levels in and outside Europe have been labelled as “suspicious” and are currently under investigation.

  1. Europol uncovered a criminal network related to match-fixing in football leagues around the world.
  2. Players, officials, and criminals based out of Singapore are involved.
  3. The report mentions England because a few matches in England are under investigation in this match-fixing scandal.
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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